MTS sides with Rediffusion Y&R

The size of the business is estimated to be more than Rs 200 crore.

The decision on the much sought after MTS pitch is out. afaqs! learnt early on Monday morning that Rediffusion Y&R has grabbed the business.

The pitch process went through several twists and turns. Initially, it was learnt that JWT was a strong contender for the business. Subsequently, in August, afaqs! broke the news on Airtel appointing JWT as its creative agency. The development was a setback for Rediffusion Y&R, which was handling Airtel's creative duties right from its inception in 1995. This also meant that JWT was no longer in the fray for the business.

After losing the Airtel business, Rediffusion pitched for the MTS account. The incumbent agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, was also in the race to retain the business. The other agencies in the fray were Grey Worldwide and BBDO India.

The win has come as a great relief for Rediffusion, which has lost a few significant businesses such as Airtel and Colgate in the last few months.

It seems that Rediff's expertise in handling a telecom brand for the last 15 years finally helped it to corner the business.

Diwan Arun Nanda, chairperson and managing director, Rediffusion Y&R, says in a press release, "Our experience will help us partner the client with great strategy, insightful ideas, a great positioning and 'wow' creative."

MTS' media duties are handled by Media Planning Group (MPG) India, the media buying arm of Havas Media.

Leonid Musatov, chief marketing officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), says in an official communiqué, "MTS has found an ideal partner in Rediffusion Y&R in view of the agency's exceptional track record in the telecom space in the past and the zeal and passion shown by its team."

MTS, which is a joint venture between Sistema, a Russian telecom company and Shyam Telelink, has licences for 22 circles in India. Of this, it is operational in 12 circles with a customer base of 4.5 million. The coming year will see the telecom player entering other circles as well.

Shyam Telelink started with a brand, Rainbow, in Rajasthan. The business was handled by Lintas Pickle then. Later, when it entered into a joint venture with Sistema, the brand was renamed MTS and the creative duties were awarded to Saatchi & Saatchi.

The brand is known for disruptive marketing. To create a buzz around its launch in the Capital, the telecom player arranged for free entry for all vehicles on DND flyover - the main route from NOIDA to Delhi - to convey the message of a congestion free network.