DDB India wins creative mandate for Bajaj Allianz

M&C Saatchi, the incumbent agency on the account, will also continue to stay on board; the account size is pegged at Rs 60 crore

Sensing the need to bring another creative partner on board, insurance company Bajaj Allianz has assigned its creative mandate to DDB India. M&C Saatchi, the agency that has been handling the duties so far, will also be retained by Bajaj Allianz.

The size of the business is pegged at Rs 60 crore.

Akshay Mehrotra, head, marketing and corporate communications, Bajaj Allianz, says, "In DDB India, we see people and partners who have a deep understanding and capability to provide integrated communication solutions that connect with customers across the country. We believe and hope this association will help brand Bajaj Allianz grow."

DDB India was chosen after the company invited a few agencies to present their communication approach. The names of the other agencies could not be ascertained.

The brief to the agencies was to take the brand campaign of 'Jiyo Befikar' to its next logical level and also create more opportunities to sell insurance to the existing customer base of Bajaj Allianz.

"The company was looking for a partner who understands the fast changing business landscape in the insurance industry and appreciates the fact that in a hitherto push-dominated industry, creating customer pull will be even more crucial going forward," says Rajiv Sabnis, president, DDB India.

"A very simple life insight that translates into an extremely lateral creative expression, which is campaign-able over time and could be integrated across media and touch points; the ability of DDB India to provide true integration through its energetic and excitable teams and capabilities, and to create talk value through the power of creativity, helped us win the business," adds Sabnis.

The presentation was led by Mike Follett, national planning head; and Mou Roy, senior planner, DDB India, while the creative expression was by Rajeev Raja, national creative director and Anand Karir, creative director.

"Insurance is an exciting and dynamic category and as the role of the intermediary changes and the industry evolves, the role of collaborative communication becomes that much more challenging. Bajaj Allianz values the strategic planning process, human insights and the need for integration. We see an opportunity to create meaningful connections between Indian masses and the business," Follett says.

Adding the creative perspective, Raja says, "What makes the win even more exciting is the fact that the campaign presented during the pitch got approved without any modification and will soon be executed."

DDB India, which will handle the mainline and online business of the brand, expects to break the integrated campaign in the next couple of months. Television will be used extensively, along with outdoor, radio, the Internet, mobile, point-of-sale, sales aids and innovative touch point communication.

The media duties continue to be handled by Maxus.