Orchard Advertising goes national; Nitish Mukherjee is now managing director

Bangalore-based Orchard Advertising is set to go national. Nitish Mukherjee, who was recently elevated to the position of managing director, has announced the opening of the agency's third office in Chennai and unveiled plans to start operations in Delhi in the next 12 months. The two new offices are in addition to the current Bangalore and Mumbai operations.

The first wins specific to the agency's Chennai office are FMCG company CavinKare, which moved its fairness cream brand Fairever to Orchard earlier this year. Even while the agency is setting up shop in Chennai, the TVS Tyres business has been assigned to Orchard. Prakash Dharmarajan will oversee the operations of the Chennai branch as brand planning director.

"Three years ago we sowed the seeds of a thriving independent agency; that's where we see us today," Mukherjee told agencyfaqs!. He added, "In an environment where only a few successful agencies are head-quartered outside Mumbai, the emergence of a south-based agency as a national player in just the last three years is significant."

He attributes the agency's rapid progress to three factors, "First, a new-age structure that aligns an agency's investment in resources to clients' actual needs. Agencies put only about a-third of their payroll into creative and planning, the two functions that add value to clients' brands. At Orchard we recognise that these are the only two functions that help a client enhance brand value and almost two-thirds of our payroll goes into hiring the best talent in these areas."

"Second," Mukherjee continues, "we don't go for every piece of business that comes into the market. We have been clear about the kind of businesses we wish to partner with and work hard to convince those clients that we are worthwhile partners. At times it has taken us over a year to finally get a breakthrough. But we have had the patience and perseverance to see it through."

Interestingly, because the agency has not yet been handed the number one brand in any category, it has frequently partnered with the challenger brands. The agency's clients such as Acer computers, Top Ramen and Fiero F2 compete against well-entrenched competitors in their respective categories. "This has honed our competitive instincts and the brands' success has augured well for us in terms of market respect," Mukherjee concluded.

The agency has also been busy adding new clients to its roster in Bangalore, including Shaw Wallace Breweries' brands Royal Challenge and Knock Out, which are getting ready for a major onslaught in the Indian beer market. The agency's long-standing clients Himalaya and Wipro have recently assigned additional projects to the agency.

In Mumbai, the agency has added Marico and automaker Skoda to its portfolio. Skoda almost immediately replaces Toyota, which is scheduled to move to a new Dentsu entity effective October 1.

Significant work from Orchard in recent months includes the relaunch of Top Ramen instant noodles against Nestle's Maggi, the introduction of TVS Fiero F2 150-cc motorcycle for TVS Motors, and an Effie Award winning 2002 campaign for Coke in Tamil Nadu. Orchard is also credited with designing the corporate identity and launch campaign for India's first low fare airline Air Deccan. © 2003 agencyfaqs!