In a market like Chennai, every agency’s fortune lies in the SME segment: Kaushik Tiwari

After an eventful year and a half, as Fresh Lime Communications’ MD and erstwhile planner, Kaushik Tiwari tells exchange4media, he is happy with the overall performance and is proud of the fact that in a short span, the agency has already added ready to wear, healthcare, media, retail, FMCG, education, infrastructure, laundry and homecare to its roster.

e4m by Judy Franko
Published: Dec 7, 2009 8:46 AM  | 3 min read
In a market like Chennai, every agency’s fortune lies in the SME segment: Kaushik Tiwari

Last April, Kaushik Tiwari, former Publicis Ambience’s South Head, decided to float a full-fledged advertising agency, christened Fresh Lime Communications. The agency started with one of the biggest infrastructure accounts – MARG Constructions – in its roster. Interestingly, this account also remains the agency’s biggest client till date.

After an eventful year and a half, as the agency’s MD and erstwhile planner, Tiwari tells exchange4media, he is happy with the overall performance and is proud of the fact that in a short span, the agency has already added ready to wear, healthcare, media, retail, FMCG, education, infrastructure, laundry and homecare to its roster.

The Chennai-based agency’s recent wins include Klin Wrap, Chennai Live, Exemplarr, a BPO company, Zara to name a few. What makes this agency even more special is that all the accounts have come on board without pitching.

Tiwari said, “As a policy, Fresh Lime doesn’t participate in pitches. Word of mouth, clarity in thought, openness to new ideas, high level of trust, and above all, the engaging result-oriented work are what have endeared the agency to clients across categories.”

He strongly felt that in a market like Chennai, every agency’s fortune lay with the SME segment. And Fresh Lime has been precisely modeled to service the SMEs. Most SMEs don’t have full fledge marketing set-ups, in most cases they are run by first generation entrepreneurs, who need a lot of hand holding, they basically need agencies that can also double up as their marketing wings.

According to him, SMEs were not that comfortable working with big agencies. Contrary to popular belief that small clients could not afford big agencies, it was actually the lack of attention that annoyed SMEs, Tiwari said, adding “That is why serious creative shops have flourished in the last decade and have given stiff competition to the top rung agencies.”

What Fresh Lime brings to the table was “big agency expertise and solutions at not so big agency rates,” he maintained. In fact, Tiwari sees the agency playing a much larger role than merely making profits. He also felt that there was ample room in Chennai for more such creative shops to completely dedicate themselves to SMEs.

When asked why start an agency just before the slowdown, Tiwari said that the downturn never really affected the agency for the simple reason that the clients kept feeding them with adequate work and because of the size and retainer business model.

He further said that the recession was indeed a boon for all the medium and small agencies because of the cost cutting measures adopted by big clients, though these clients were globally aligned with their incumbent agencies, they still had the liberty to outsource their work.

“With mounting overhead costs, the big agencies are not able to cope with the cost of talent. Since it does not make economical sense, they resort to leaning heavily on their offices located in the North. Without a core team to address the local needs, quality takes a beating and there is a severe compromise in services rendered. That apart, you won’t find too many generous clients in Chennai when it comes to paying robust retainers. So, life has become doubly tough for big agency models. Since clients’ all over value ‘brand custodianship’, agencies like Fresh Lime will continue to flourish,” Tiwari asserted.

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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