Campaign India Agency Report Card: Lodestar Universal

Type of agency: Media
Company ownership: IPG
Key personnel: Shashi Sinha, CEO, Nandini Dias, Anamika Mehta, COOs
Accounts won: IOC, ING, Asia Pacific Breweries, Hitachi, Welspun, MMAC, Fossil, Jaypee, Brown Forman,
VSNL, TTML, Sony Pictures, Asus
Accounts lost Intel, Zandu, Smirnoff

Lodestar added quite a number of accounts to its kitty this year including Indian Oil Corporation, ING, Asia Pacific Breweries, Kinetic and Hitachi. It lost one of the biggest accounts, Intel, to OMD and also lost out on Smirnoff and Zandu. 

The agency unveiled a global research project of 17000 active internet users across 29 countries which studies the growing power of the ‘Influence Economy’.  The study profiled consumer advocates and tested their ability to recommend or advise against opting for a brand or service.

The agency also rolled out a global study ‘When did we start trusting Strangers’ which aims to map the impact of consumer influence on products and purchases via use of social media across 29 countries identifying the Super Influencers shaping today’s world.

The agency beefed up its in house expertise via a partnership with digital agency Interactive Avenues. It also formed a strategic alliance with E-City Media in which a joint team has been set up to service the needs of Lodestar’s clients for out-of-home media and ground activation management.

Campaign Score: 8

How LODESTAR UNIVERSAL rates itself: 8

The team has been extremely stable and Lodestar Universal has had the lowest attrition in the market.
In the last seven years the laurels have been shared between Group M and Lodestar Universal.  The agency was declared second at the Goa ad fest in Feb where it won two golds, two silvers and a bronze. At the annual Emvies, the agency came in third, winning two gold and two silver awards.

This unique leverage arises from the way  brand teams focus across all client needs be it planning buying or execution and supported  via specialist cells .Great work for clients has been also supported with active investment in understanding consumer and media trends. A unique global study ‘When did we start trusting Strangers’ was rolled out under the WAVE programme which tracks the online world of consumers. A global first, it tries to map the impact of consumer influence on products and purchases via use of social media across 29 countries identifying the Super Influencers shaping today’s world.

 2008 has also seen an increase in our digital strength, adding to in house expertise via a partnership with Interactive Avenues, a leading digital agency.