Viber India awards creative duties to BBH India

This is the first time Viber has appointed a creative agency. BBH India will work on developing the brand's architecture and positioning.

Viber India has awarded its creative duties to the Publicis Groupe agency, BBH India, following a multi-agency pitch.

The announcement comes close on the heels of the appointment of ZenithOptimedia as Viber India's media agency.

This is the first time that the brand has roped in a creative agency to handle its communication. BBH India will be in charge of developing the brand architecture and positioning for the brand. It will also roll out consumer-focused engagement modules across traditional and new age platforms.

Anubhav Nayyar, country head, Viber India, says, "Viber as a brand has been growing rapidly, especially over the last six months in India. We were looking at a creative partner that understands this category and is disruptive in their thinking. After evaluating a number of agencies, we believed BBH India had the best understanding of our requirements and was therefore the preferred choice."

On the win, Sanjay Sharma, head, planning, BBH India, says, "IM apps are increasingly becoming the most important aspect of a mobile phone and this is creating a lot of energy in this category. We are very happy to partner Viber and look forward to create some exciting work."

Russell Barrett, CCO and managing partner, BBH, says, "When you have fun, it reflects in the work. And we had a blast on the Viber pitch. The trick is to keep having fun as we go on to create the work that a global, dynamic, exciting brand like Viber needs."

Viber is one of the global free mobile calling and messaging apps. It has other features like sharing videos, photos, messaging using stickers and doodle messaging. Viber is growing steadily and claims a subscriber base of 300 million registered users globally, of which 16 million are from India.

BBH India was founded in 2009 and has a staff strength of 70 people. It manages a portfolio of diverse clients and brands that include Unilever, Marico, Diageo, Skoda, Red Bull, DSP BlackRock and World Gold Council.