"Our Effie marks the arrival of direct into mainstream": Bimal Nair of iContract

For that huge mass of mainline media-obsessed advertising professionals, iContract was just another ‘letterhead' division that existed somewhere in the periphery of the Great Indian Communication Carousel. Till June this year, that is.

For on June 21, to be precise, the one-to-one specialist division of Contract Advertising created history of sorts (at least for us in India) by winning a Gold Lion at Lions Direct 2002, the inaugural direct marketing festival organized under the aegis of the Cannes International Advertising Festival. The division won the Lion for India - and for its client, ICICI Children's Growth Bond - by beating 17 other contenders in the Financial Services category.

And yesterday, at the Effie 2002 Awards, iContract once again took centre stage as it helped mother brand Contract Advertising virtually highjack the show. Of the four awards (out of a total of nine that were awarded) that Contract won, three were courtesy iContract's work for ICICI Children's Growth Bond. And the awards that it garnered for Contract include all the big ones - the Grand Effie, one gold Effie (of the two that were given away; the other going to Lowe) in the Services category and the People's Choice Trophy (a very deserving win, that one).

Needless to say, Bimal Nair, associate vice-president, iContract, was brimming with ecstasy as he backslapped and bear-hugged colleagues and associates. "Mazaa aa gaya… this is so gratifying after all the hard work we've put in," he said, speaking to agencyfaqs! about the award-winning DM exercise. "This was one hell of a tough job, and the logistics were mind-numbing. I'm glad we pulled it off without a hitch. And these awards give me and my team a lot of encouragement."

When asked about the wider implications of the awards, Nair said, "I think our Effie marks the arrival of direct (marketing) into mainstream ad budgets. All along, direct has been relegated to the background, with clients allocating little money for serious direct marketing efforts. Clients should really take a good hard look at direct marketing, especially when monies are limited. And I think clients will now start seeing the benefits of direct."

Nair has every reason to believe DM can work - there's a great example in the ICICI case, after all. Of a total of 21,008 solicitations, ICICI received a response from 4,387 respondents (20.88 per cent response). And of that, conversions amounted to 2,896 (a 66-per cent conversion rate). And all this achieved with a seven-digit budget. "DM can work very well in India," Nair insists. "In fact, there are a lot of people in this (DM) industry who are doing a lot of good work. It's just that you don't see them or hear of them as they keep a low profile. They constitute the unglamourized side of the communication business."

For Contract, as a whole, this has been a great showing. Three of its case studies - ICICI, Cadbury Temptations and Shoppers' Stop - were in the final shortlist, and two fetched awards (Temptations won a silver Effie in the Consumer Products category). More importantly, this is the second year running that the agency has won the Grand Effie. Last year, the agency won the Grand Effie for Cadbury's Milk Treat.

"We're on to a hat-trick and we'll win," promises Colvyn J Harris, president, Contract Advertising, smiling. "We're going to go all out for it next year. And we'll really prove that we're more than a hotshop where things are done purely for creativity's sake. We'll prove to the world that we're a better thinking agency." © 2002 agencyfaqs!