Campaign India Agency Report Card 2010: Everest Brand Solutions

Type of agency: Advertising

Company ownership: Y&R

Key personnel: Dhunji S Wadia, president, Naveen Saraswat, COO, Dr Vinita Suri, VP and director strategy planning, Sanjay Sakharkar, ECD, Samir Chonkar, ECD, Romeen Yarkhan, ECD

Accounts won: Akai, Emami, Parle Actifit, Parle Clovemint, T-series mobiles, Tata Housing (new projects Shubh Griha, Aquila Heights, La Montana, New Haven) and Tru Milk

Accounts lost: Bajaj Auto (commercial vehicles) 

The biggest shakeup at Everest happened at the end of the year in December. D Rajappa (president) and N Padmakumar (national creative director) were moved to Rediffusion, and Dhunji Wadia, former managing partner at JWT, was brought in as president of Everest. Other key people who joined were Romeen Yarkhan and Samir Chonkar as executive creative directors (from Draft FCB Ulka), Dr Vinita Suri as vice president and director strategy planning (from Network Advertising), and Kenneth Rodrigues as general manager of the Mumbai branch. In November, the agency won the T-Series mobile phones account, and was reported to be “chalking out creative and brand building investments of over Rs 100 crores for its launch”. Everest says it chose not to participate in any of the awards, and hence there was no news on accolades won. All in all, with the new leadership in place, we need to see what happens next after first a steady, then a tumutous year.

How Campaign India rates the agency: 5

How Everest rates itself: 8

Based on a critical assessment, the team Everest assigns a rating of 8 to itself based on 3 parameters:
1. New business wins – Everest has grown organically as well as added new brands and accounts.

2. Stable and motivated team – Our senior management team has remained virtually unchanged over the last 4 years, and besides, has attracted back talent that Everest lost years ago. There has been very little churn at all levels and the atmosphere is charged and energetic.

3. Strong creative output – Everest has created great communication for all clients (‘Safed Teeka’ for Emami Boroplus is indicative of our superior, insightful creative ability), launched new brands and products successfully (such as Parle Clovemint, Tata’s New Haven and Shubh Griha, Tru Milk in Punjab). Everest’s commitment, passion and the level of creative ideas led to Emami entrusting a whole range of personal and skincare brands to Everest. Our relationship with most clients too has deepened over time. Together with the recent new wins and the long relationship clients - Parle, Bombay Chemicals and Zandu - our portfolio includes bluest of blue chip FMCG brands across categories. The accounts include: IOB to ACC, from Tata Housing to CNN-IBN, Akai to Tru Milk, KS Oils to Mount Shivalik Breweries.