Initiative Media is AOR for Sara Lee TTK

Interpublic Group company Initiative Media is now the agency of record (AOR) for the Chennai-based Sara Lee TTK Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of the $18-billion US firm, Sara Lee. Acquired in a three-way pitch involving MindShare and Madison Media (besides Initiative Media), the agency will handle both media buying and planning with the account estimated to be in the region of Rs 10-12 crore.

Speaking about the possible factors that contributed to the account gain, Ashish Bhasin, president, Initiative Media says, "One possible reason could be the fact that we handle quite a few AORs in Chennai such as Reynolds and MRF. Besides, I do feel that our media product is by far the best in terms of planning and buying."

On his part, KM Chandy, product manager - Brylcreem, Sara Lee TTK Ltd, has this to say, "It was a natural progression for us. At some stage we had to move to an AOR arrangement and consolidate planning and buying since there is so much activity happening across brands."

The company - which is part of the products and bodycare division of the global giant, Sara Lee with brands such as Kiwi (shoe polish), Brylcreem (hair styling cream and gel) and Kleen (household cleaner with a number of surface applications under the same brand name) - has so far used its creative agencies, RK Swamy/BBDO and Euro RSCG, to fulfill its media requirements. This is the first time that the company plans to use a media specialist, with both creative agencies continuing to handle their respective portfolios. While RK Swamy/BBDO handles Kiwi and Brylcreem, Euro RSCG is in charge of Kleen.

Initiative Media has its job cut out. "Though our initial focus will be Brylcreem, our media plans will work in tandem with the marketing plans. Our approach will be to provide holistic planning with an emphasis on being media neutral," states Bhasin.

Besides adding one more AOR to its long list including Bajaj Auto, Maruti, ITC, HSBC, Britannia, LG and Coke (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), Initiative Media is actively involved in a research project centred at FM radio stations with fieldwork in progress in the city of Mumbai.

The research aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the medium with an emphasis on the qualitative aspects of the area of study. "This research will not only provide numbers but will attempt to track the frame of mind of listeners, its consequent impact on the choice of stations, who's listening to what and how much time does a listener spend on a station and so on. The research will be exclusively available to our clients in the next two to three weeks, conditional to the fact that are able to find a good party who can partner with us in the project."

Earlier, the agency had joined hands with BBC World to launch ‘AdWatch 2002', a research monitoring consumer attitude towards advertising and media. Conducted across the cities of Mumbai and Delhi between December 2001 and March 2002, the study aimed to shed light on the way qualitative factors impact recall of advertisements, especially in a marketplace noted for advertising clutter.

The agency now plans to include a few more cities in the study besides Mumbai. "We are looking at two or three more cities besides Bangalore, where some work has already been carried out," Bhasin adds tentatively. © 2002 agencyfaqs!