Quadrant rolls on two Bajaj two-wheeler brands, Radisson Resorts

Interpublic Group-agency Quadrant Communications is in the thick of action these days. The agency has picked up three new advertising businesses over the past month, including the prestigious accounts of two two-wheeler brands of auto major, Bajaj Auto. Also, Radisson Resorts has awarded the agency with the advertising for three of its upcoming leisure properties, while Quadrant is one of the agencies to be recently empanelled by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).

Sharing details of the gains with agencyfaqs!, Noshir Desai, president, Quadrant Communications, said, "This has been a very productive and fulfilling time for us at this agency. First, we made it to the IOC panel after an eight-month process that had 20-odd agencies in the fray. After that, we picked up the Radisson business. And late last week, we got the new accounts from Bajaj."

Understandably, Desai is particularly pleased with the Bajaj wins. "The two Bajaj brands that we've won are very large, and both are in the fast-growing ‘sunrise category' of two-wheelers," he beams. "With these brands, we are no longer a second-level agency at Bajaj… Quadrant now is on par with Leo Burnett, Lowe and O&M (the other agencies in Bajaj Auto's roster) as far as businesses from Bajaj are concerned." He is, however, unwilling to reveal any more information about either brand, citing "confidentiality". All he says is that one is "an existing brand", while the other is a new brand.

Interestingly, by what Desai says, there was no pitch for the Bajaj accounts. "As you know, Quadrant has been handling Bajaj Auto's moped (the M 80 brand) and three-wheeler accounts for quite some time," he explains. "Now, the work we've recently done for the M 80 (a ‘sunset category' product) pleased the client a whole lot, and seeing the merit of our work, Bajaj asked us to present our ideas on the two brands. As you can see, they loved that work too…" He informs that the work on the account has begun, and will be in the media by November 2002.

Vis-à-vis the Radisson wins, Desai discloses that the agency has been placed in charge with the communication for the hospitality group's new resort ventures. "The client has one leisure property coming up in Goa, and two others in coastal south India," he says. "The Goa project is, in fact, almost ready for launch. Our job is to build equity for all three Radisson Resorts." Incidentally, Radisson's Delhi property - Radisson Hotel - is handled by Contract Advertising.

Attributing reasons for the recent acquisitions, Desai says, "The common thread that runs through all these wins is Quadrant's creative edge. Our creativity has impressed both our existing clients and new ones, and has enabled us to achieve our intended positioning of being an ‘enabler agency'." He also points out that the agency has been able to double its turnover this year, courtesy all new wins - including those of N-joi (Parle Agro's fruit-milk beverage brand) and SuperMax (shaving systems). "From a billing point of view, we are today at Rs 140 crore, up from the Rs 75-crore figure in January," he smiles. © 2002 agencyfaqs!