Update: This tender is closed. Sorry for the inconvinience.
The ministry has put up seven tenders on its website as part of this review, which is restricted to buying and placement as the planning has been done in-house by the Government body.
According to these tenders, the ministry is looking for an agency to handle the launch of a global print campaign, a tourism campaign for TV in Europe, Americas and Asia-Pacific, and a print campaign for Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Agencies will be appointed for a period of 10 months period starting from September 2009 to June 2010.
The media pitch is believed to be run out of the Ministry of Tourism office in New Delhi.
Last year India’s tourism media account was split between four agencies - Crayons, Euro RSCG, Span Communications and ZenithOptimedia - after a similar review process.
The pitch is a part of a mandatory process that the ministry conducts every year. It is believed that almost all media agencies based in India will be vying for a piece of this business, with some responding to all seven tenders and some restricting themselves to just a few.
Sources suggest that the partners of the creative agencies handling the account stand a better chance of winning the business as they have significant influence over clients.
An insider who is familiar with the pitching process said that local agencies would have an advantage over international players because of their close links with the client team.
According to the source another challenging factor for agencies could be a clause in Ministry of Tourism reviews, which requires agencies to present a letter from media owners promising a certain rate.
The source added: “However, some international media agencies are able to obtain letters through their Indian offices.”
Another India-based source pointed out that a challenge for international agencies with this clause is that they are not able to use their global relationships to secure better prices in India as they have to go through the local operations of media owners.
Last year the Ministry of Tourism split its creative account among 15 creative agencies for the global ‘Incredible India’ campaign.
The 15 agencies include Mudra, Lowe, Contract, Wieden & Kennedy, Dentsu Marcom, TBWA India, Mercantile Advertising, Stark Communications, Crayons, Critique, Quantum, Basic Four, FS Advertising, IBD India and India Tourism Development Corporation’s creative wing (also known as Ashok Creatives).
The 15 agencies have been appointed for a period of two years.
In 2008, India attracted 2.72 million tourists between January and June, up 11.1 per cent year on year.
To access each of the seven tenders, click below: