OMD wins Vodafone’s global media biz; changes to take place in India too
Global telecom major Vodafone has decided to partner with OMD for its global media business. Sources close to the situation informed that the changes would take place in India as well, and this meant a dent to Maxus India that has been the custodian of the Vodafone business for several years now. The transition period of the business, however, is still uncertain.
The global media review of telecom major Vodafone is now complete, and the decision is in favour of OMD Worldwide. In a statement issued on the development, a Vodafone spokesperson said, “After an extensive review, Vodafone has appointed OMD as its global media network.” OMD would be handling the media duties of Vodafone in 20 key markets, and this would include the India mandate as well.
The total ad spend for Vodafone in India has been pegged at Rs 350-400 crore.
Neither OMD officials nor Vodafone officials were available for comments at the time of filing the report, however, sources familiar with the situation informed that OMD India would be gearing to take the charge of this business, though the transition period from the incumbent Maxus to OMD is still uncertain.
Maxus has been the custodian of the business in India for over seven years now – the agency was called Maximize then, and the account still operated with the brand name Orange too. Hutch had even moved the Loop mobile business, formerly known as BPL Mobile, to Maxus following Hutchison Essar’s acquisition of BPL Mobile Cellular in March 2006.
It is still uncertain whether the Loop Telecom mobile business will also automatically move to OMD India with this development. Reportedly, Vodafone and Essar Group have been engaged in disagreements for some time now over the BPL Mobile business and their expected merger with Vodafone in India.
After the Vodafone buyout of Hutch in India, Maxus was responsible for the communication exercise regarding Hutch’s rebranding to Vodafone in 2007. Maxus was the agency even for the rebranding of BPL Mobile to Loop in 2008. Maxus has been awarded on various platforms such as the Emvie Awards, year-on-year for the kind of work that it has done for Vodafone.
For OMD India, this is a strong shot in the arm. OMD India businesses have been growing steadily, Henkel being the latest that was added to the company. OMD is already handling significant accounts like Johnson & Johnson, Parle Agro, Hewlett Packard and Intel in India, among others. Industry observers expect Vodafone to grow OMD’s size by at least 50 per cent in India and place it safely in the Rs 1,000-plus crore threshold mark.
The Vodafone media duties shift is a significant landmark for OMD in India. It is understood that more details on the account shift would be known in the coming days.
