Six agencies in the race for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

These include Publicis Ambience, Bates 141 and RK Swamy/BBDO, in addition to incumbents Mudra, JWT and Leo Burnett.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has shortlisted six agencies for its creative, media and BTL (below-the-line) pitch. These include Publicis Ambience, Bates 141, RK Swamy/BBDO, Mudra, JWT and Leo Burnett. As is known, Mudra, JWT and Leo Burnett are the incumbents, which had been brought aboard after a pitch process in 2008.

HPCL is known for reviewing its advertising duties once in three years, and hence the occasion for this pitch process. Ad spends are estimated by industry sources to be around Rs 50 crore. The pitch has been called for HPCL as a whole, including all its verticals as well as corporate branding.

In all likelihood, there shall be more than one agency that shall be empanelled, as is always the case with HPCL. The concerned agencies brought aboard shall be expected to handle the creative duties, media planning and buying, outdoor, PR, direct marketing/BTL including loyalty programmes, promotional campaigns, events and other activities.

Some of the work for agencies in the HPCL spectrum will include HPCL corporate; HPCL retail brands such as Club HP, PoWer, TurboJet and e-fuel station; direct sales - automotive and industrial fuels and specialities; lubricants such as HP Milcy Turbo, HP Racer 4, HP Bajaj Genuine Oil, HP Tata Genuine Oil, HP Cruise and others; LPG that includes HP Gas, End to End Solutions, Ji Haan and Auto LPG; and HP Aviation (a B2B product).

The concerned six agencies, which have been shortlisted for the rounds of pitching for HPCL, shall make their set of presentations by the end of July, as per industry sources. A decision on the final panel is expected to be taken much later.