Britannia calls for credentials presentation; pitch on the cards

Through much of Monday and Tuesday, almost all national-level advertising agencies in Bangalore would be making visits to Britannia Industries' (BIL) corporate office, situated on Bangalore's Airport Road. The reason? The biscuit major has invited at least eight agencies in the city to make credentials presentations, informed agencyfaqs! sources revealed late last evening. The same sources added that the company would subsequently be shortlisting agencies for a round of strategic and creative presentations.

Meaning, a creative pitch is very much in the offing.

While details pertaining to the account/brands that would be put up for review were not immediately available (yesterday being Sunday, getting through to Britannia for an official comment was out of the question), the picture that has emerged suggests that while the focus of the pitch would be BIL's biscuit and bakery portfolio (currently being handled by Lowe), the dairy products portfolio (which is with Grey Worldwide) might also come under the scanner. This, of course, is subject to official confirmation by BIL.

What has been established beyond doubt, however, is the fact that the company has decided to relook at the constitution of its creative duties. While the identities of all the agencies that would be making credentials presentations are not know (we'll update you on that very soon), O&M India, McCann-Erickson India, Rediffusion | DYR and Orchard Advertising are certainly on the list. Lowe and Grey, our sources add, are not making credentials presentations by virtue of being the incumbent agencies. Incidentally, our sources maintain that BIL's media AOR, which is currently with Initiative Media, is also likely to be thrown open for review.

An interesting aspect of BIL's creative evaluation is the presence of O&M among the hopefuls. The creative powerhouse currently handles the advertising accounts of four Parle Products brands - Krackjack (which is in direct competition with Britannia's Fifty-Fifty), Hide & Seek, Fun Centre and Monaco Bites (the last, in fact, was awarded to the agency late last year). The fact that BIL has invited a ‘rival agency' to make a credentials presentation demonstrates the seriousness with which it is approaching the creative evaluation.

While a lot of blank spaces need to be filled in for a more comprehensive understanding of the exact situation on the ground, let it suffice to say that Bangalore will be at the center of a lot of action over the coming few weeks. Rest assured, we'll keep you posted. © 2004 agencyfaqs!