Karishma Initiative retains Samsonite's media mandate

The agency continues to be the media buying partner of Samsonite South-Asia following a multi-agency pitch that was called in January.

Karishma Initiative, the third media agency of the Lintas Group has retained the media duties of the travel luggage brand, Samsonite South-Asia. The business was up for a review and a pitch was called in January.

Among the other agencies who had pitched for the account included Mindshare Media, Starcom Worldwide, OMD India and Madison Media. Karishma Initiative, which has been handling the Samsonite business for around seven years, will continue to be the group's media partner for their entire portfolio of brands.

In a press statement, Sudip Ghose, director, marketing, Samsonite South-Asia says, "After evaluating all presentations, we felt that it would be in our best interest to continue with Karishma Initiative."

NP Sathyamurthy, chief executive officer, Karishma Initiative says, "We have been associated with Samsonite for several years and have grown together. It is going to be very rewarding for us to collaborate with the Samsonite team and celebrate the growing success of their brands."

"In the year of Samsonite's centenary celebration and aiming for aggressive business growth, one cannot ask for more challenges and exciting times ahead," adds Himanka Das, vice-president, Karishma Initiative.

Samsonite is likely to invest about Rs 50 crore in mass media and below-the-line promotions to support their expansion plans. The creative duties for the brand are with Contract Advertising.

Samsonite operates in the mid-to-high-end segment (with its range starting from Rs 5,500 and going up to Rs 85,000), while its second brand, American Tourister (the brand's range starts at Rs 2,700), caters to the 'mass with a class', or those who don't mind paying a little extra for better quality.