Campaign India Agency Report Card:Draftfcb+Ulka

Type of agency: Advertising
Company ownership: IPG
Key personnel: MG Parameswaran, executive director and CEO, Anil Kapoor, regional president, Asia Pacific, KS Chakravarthy, national creative director
Accounts won: Tata Docomo, Indigo Manza, Jaguar
Accounts lost: Bank of Baroda

A decent year for Draftfcb+Ulka. A dampener was the loss of Bank of Baroda. But on the bright side, the agency picked up some great business through the course of the year, such as Tata Docomo, the latest GSM cell phone service from the Tata Teleservices stable. Other business won includes Indigo Manza, Micromax and Jaguar.
The agency lost some talent this year, most notably Pinaki Bhattacharyaand Moneka Khurana.
The Docomo work was the most high-decibel one. With telecom and automotive comprising a significant part of their business, this year, it’s been a robust 2009. In the early part of the year, Draftfcb+Ulka’s work for Indica Vista was adjudged the Best Car Commercial of the Year, at the annual Autocar India – UTVi Awards. Other work released through the year includes campaigns for Amul Doodh, Minto Fresh and Whirlpool.

Campaign Score: 8
 
How DRAFTFCB+ULKA rates itself: 9

The year 2009 saw Draftfcb+Ulka produce what was arguably the most impactful, effective advertising campaign in India: Tata Docomo’s  “When life changes in seconds, why pay in minutes” . The account has resulted in some of the most recalled and talked about campaigns in the country. Led by  NCD Chax (K S Chakravarthy), creative teams across offices worked at breakneck speed to produce advertising that cut through the huge clutter of telecom advertising and helped establish Tata Docomo as a vibrant, youthful, exciting and smart brand. We also helped launch Tata Motors’ latest offering, Indigo Manza, with a bang. Striking teaser ads led readers to a  a pre-launch website which became the gateway to a full digital campaign, orchestrated by  Draftfcb+Ulka Interactive. Manza became the most eagerly awaited, talked-about new car to be launched in 2009 and Google actually rated ‘Tata Manza’ as one of the top 20 search phrases during the festival period . The agency’s brand of consumer insight driven  advertising continued to strengthen the leadership positions of  brands like  Santoor, Amul, Hero Honda Hunk, Minto Fresh, Sunfeast, Whirlpool and  Zee TV, to name a few. The new clients added during the year include Wyeth Asprin, MicroMax Mobiles, HCL Laptops and several new assignments from long standing clients including Tata Group, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Hero Honda, J&J Healthcare, Zee Group etc.