Onida realigns business with Rediffusion DY&R and Lemon

In December 2003, consumer durables company Onida called for a pitch ostensibly to realign its advertising business. The reason was not exactly palatable for the company, especially at the fag end of the year. Its two incumbent agencies - McCann Erickson (that had Onida air-conditioners and the company's economy range of CTVs, Igo) and O&M - had taken on rival business in the form of Korean durables brand LG.

Held in the second week of December 2003, the pitch for Onida involved Lowe, Rediffusion DY&R, FCB-Ulka, Ambience-Publicis and Lemon Communications, which serviced the Onida washing machine range.

As it turns out, Mirc Electronics has decided to award its advertising business to Rediffusion and Lemon. While the consumer electronics part has gone to Rediffusion, Lemon has won the creative duties for Onida washing machines, air-conditioners and Igo. At this stage, the company is not willing to disclose the size of the business with the two new agencies. "Suffice to say we are the among the Top 3 spenders in consumer durables," says V Chandramouli, vice-president, sales & marketing, Mirc Electronics.

Explaining why Mirc Electronics zeroed in on Rediffusion and Lemon, Chandramouli says, "Both the agencies performed well in strategy and creative." The company was especially impressed with the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) tool of Rediffusion. "Rediffusion's presentation focused on the brand, the position of the brand vis-à-vis the category. These inputs were collated through the BAV tool. In creative too, the agency came out very strong." So while Rediffusion scored high on creative, Lemon excelled in strategy. "Lemon's attention to details, such as, merchandise, giving a 360 degree orientation to the brand was just commendable," adds Chandramouli.

The collective task for the two agencies is to promote Onida as a premium brand. "With regard to Onida, we do not want to operate in the price game space. Thus the mandate for both the agencies is to pitch Onida as a premium brand," explains Chandramouli. For Lemon, the additional task is to pitch Igo as a value-for-money brand. The positioning of the mother brand, Onida, stays the same - Onida may cause envy. The company is not going to vacate that platform; instead it will expand on it.

Among the other key expectations from the agencies is the task to translate its business objectives - the company hopes to add another 5-7 per cent market share - through its new brand communication. "Today, Onida enjoys a healthy perception. Thus the ground is set. This is the right time to grow the brand," points out Chandramouli.

As far as Igo is concerned, Lemon is expected to focus on building brand salience and creating awareness. "For Igo, the objective would be to create awareness in the penetration segment - that is, among those who wish to upgrade from a black and white television," concludes Chandramouli. © 2004 agencyfaqs!