Campaign India Agency Report Card 2010: Rediffusion Y&R

Type of agency Advertising

Company ownership Diwan Arun Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan 60%, Y&R (WPP) 26%, Dentsu 14%

Key personnel Diwan Arun Nanda, chairman and MD, D Rajappa, president, Arvind Mohan, CSO, Minakshi Achan, CCO, N Padmakumar, NCD

Accounts won MTS, Pepsico, Amante , Bombay Realty, ITC (Digital), Kingfisher Airlines (Digital), Mahuaa Khabar, DNA, Hometown (Future group), Mighty Group, Anytime Fitness 

Accounts lost Airtel, Colgate, Sleepwell

This has been Annus horribilis for Rediffusion. If the early part of the year was the story of the loss of Colgate (which, as the agency says,  ‘was for reasons much beyond matters concerning creativity and effectiveness), the rest of the year was the story of the Rediffusion rumour. Was Mahesh leaving? Was he not? Were they losing Airtel? Were they not? The rumours were too strong and stubborn to be just rumours, and truth, finally, was out. Chauhan left the agency soon after Airtel pulled the plug.  Rediffusion has roped in Rajappa from Everest to start the re-building, and the re-building will be a tall task, The persistent rumours have caused a number of the flock to desert Rediffusion, and the agency has taken a beating. The losses of Colgate and Airtel are significant; new business wins do not compensate for such large losses.

How Campaign India rates the agency: 5 

How Rediffusion-Y&R rates itself: 8

We’ve continued to build strong enduring brands over the years.  Despite  Colgate and Airtel losses, for reasons much beyond matters concerning creativity and effectiveness, the agency is recognized for  the significant contributions made to help these brands be counted as some of the most trusted brands in India.  

The Agency also launched ‘Who’, the specialist Digital and Design entity extending digital capabilities as a parallel process to all the creative output from the agency, and extending specialist design capabilities to many  brands.

With a new leadership at the helm,  we intend to deliver transformational creative solutions  to  the business of  our clients.

Creatively, it was a good year for the agency. The Sugarfree D’lite “Buttons” campaign got rave reviews from critics and the advertising fraternity alike. The “Ace ka Dum” campaign for TATA Ace also did well to place the brand as the undisputed leader in its category perceptually as well, besides the marketplace. The VAS and service campaigns for Airtel (Sharman Joshi series) and the Airtel Rural films (Sreyash Talpade and Rajpal Yadav) were also well received.  The Rasna relaunch met with terrific  success in the marketplace. Besides, the Agency won two One Show Pencils (silver))  and  a Bronze at the London International for 70mm and a finalist at Cannes for Rasna packaging. as well.