Creative fusion

As several newspapers and television channels gear up to launch this year, business has been particularly good for advertising agencies. According to a YesBank report, ad spends on media campaign this year has touched Rs 10,310 crore compared to Rs 9,052 crore last year.

And K S Chakravarty, the national creative director at Rediffusion, has reasons to smile. His company is in the middle of the media war spotlight for creating the controversial ad campaign for the English language newspaper DNA (Daily News & Analysis). The paper, which will be launched in August, is a joint venture between the Zee Group and Hindi newspaperDainik Bhaskar.

"The next 25 days are going to be hectic for us as we get into the final pre-launch phase of DNA. After the earlier teaser and thematic campaigns, the new DNA outdoor is likely to break in the next two days," says Chakravarty. He refusing to.

The agency is quite busy these days. Besides shooting a commercial for Onida's new range, the company is working on Air Tel's second part of the "Express Yourself" campaign, which will go on air next month.

It is also set to shoot two new films for Franklin Templeton. "The Franklin Templeton film will be shot with an Indian as well as a Chinese cast in Kuala Lumpur," he added.

According to industry sources, Rediffusion seems to have emerged from its "transition phase" when the thrust was more on business development than on creatives.

The agency's HR head, Benaifer Reporter, however, says there has been no paradigm shift in the agency's focus: "Each of our offices has always had a strong creative team. It's just that we didn't have a national creative director for a long time." Chakravarty, who was earlier with Leo Burnett, joined as the national head in August 2004.

This year, the company has bagged several businesses. It won the regional Coke account in Hyderabad from Mindset while it won the Nutrine account in Chennai. The other accounts it has bagged include R K Marble, Shapoorji Pallonji (real estate), TBZ (jewellery), IOCL, Onida and Space TV.

On the awards front, the agency entered the Abby's, Mumbai in March this year with 23 finalists and won eight awards in various categories.

Chakravarty has a clear-cut agenda for its creative cell in the future. With sizeable business in hand, Rediffusion is also on a hiring spree.

Two senior creatives have just been hired for the Delhi office. "We are in great momentum and plan to hit the high notes, and stay at the top," he says.