Rediffusion-Y&R wins two Emami brands; ad spends pegged at Rs 30 crore

Rediffusion-Y&R has won the creative duties for the Emami brands Zandu and Boroplus.

Kolkata-based consumer product giant Emami has awarded Rediffusion-Y&R the creative mandate for two of its flagship brands, Boroplus and Zandu.

Harsh Agarwal, director, Emami Group of Companies, as well as D Rajappa, president, Rediffusion-Y&R have confirmed the development to afaqs!.

The agency will now handle the entire product portfolio for the brands Boroplus and Zandu, including Himani Boroplus antiseptic cream, other specialist creams and lotions, and Zandu Balm. The agency will also be responsible for re-introducing a range of OTC (over-the-counter) products from the Zandu family, including heritage products such as Zandu Pancharishta and Nityam Churna.

The combined ad spends for both these brands is pegged at Rs 30 crore.

Earlier, the creative agency for Boroplus was Everest Brand Solutions. The agency was handed the Boroplus account in July 2010. The mandate for Everest, back then, was to position the product as a multi-purpose cream, trusted by users across the country.

The Zandu account has been handled by freelance creative talent for the past year-and-a-half, prior to which the creative business was with TBWA.

While the media planning for these brands is handled by an in-house team, the media buying mandate currently lies with Prachar Communications.

Regarding the selection of Rediffusion as the creative agency for these brands, Agarwal tells afaqs!, "When N Padmakumar (Paddy) and Rajappa moved from Everest to Rediffusion, we thought the Boroplus business must move with them too, as we were very happy with their work. Regarding Zandu, since we have had freelance creative work for a while now, we thought it's about time we brought on board a creative agency."

Agarwal goes on to reveal that Rediffusion has been working closely with Emami for more than three years, on a yet-to-be launched brand.

Addressing the win, Rajappa says, "Boroplus and Zandu are both legendary brands. They present an opportunity to create iconic work in a highly cluttered and competitive category, and we are looking forward to partner Emami in its next phase of growth."

Currently, Zandu Pancharishta is being endorsed by Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni. Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor have been the brand ambassadors of Boroplus in the recent past. To mark the completion of 100 years of Zandu providing ayurvedic relief and solutions, Pandit Birju Maharaj was recently appointed as brand ambassador for Zandu Pharmaceuticals.

It may be noted that Curry-Nation handles the creative duties for three Emami brands -- Fast Relief, Hairlife and Lalima. The agency won the creative mandate for these brands on a fee basis, in January this year.