MxMIndia

Tag: Arunava Sengupta

  • Hungry to have a presence in India, M&C Saatchi buys Vivek Suchanti’s stake in agency

    Scarecrow now a part of M&C Saatchi

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    We were all set to do the trek to Ballard Estate in South Mumbai. As also huff and puff up to the second floor office for a roundtable and a revelation. Except that the lure of an exclusive in a pink major killed the idea of the press meet-up.

     

    L to R: Raghu Bhat, Arunava Sengupta and Manish Bhatt

    Guess at the lunch, the rest of the media were to be served the crumbs, while the meat was handed over to the bigger fish. Sigh.

     

    Scarecrow, the eight-plus-year-old independent agency owned by Vivek Suchanti and Manish Bhatt, Raghu Bhat and Arunava Sengupta, has sold majority stake to M&C Saatchi. A global ad network set up by the founders of Saatchi & Saatchi, M&C Saatchi, has had a failed existence in India thus far. It will use the Scarecrow buy as a means to exert its influence in India.

     

    Vivek Suchanti

    With this transaction – much below the Rs 100 crore tag that has reported in the paper in honour of which Scarecrow compromised its relations with the rest of the press, M&C Saatchi has bought the majority 51 per cent stake that Suchanti owned. According to the info we have, there will be a gradual buy over five-six years of the 16.33% stake that Sengupta, Bhat and Bhatt will own. For now, the trio do not get even the crumbs, but they’ll get it with time.

     

    Scarecrow, as an agency, has been doing reasonably well with an impressive clients roster. It has done reasonably well on the awards circuit, though it boycotted Goafest 2018 reportedly because (Manish) Bhatt was upset on not being invited to be part of the Master Jury for the Creative Awards.

     

    So will M&C Saatchi truck with Scarecrow work? Yes, it should, say observers. Even though the 23-year-old agency formed by Jeremy Sinclair (Chairman), Bill Muirhead, David Kershaw (Chief Executive) and the brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi has floundered in the country. Its buy of Delhi-based February in 2014 and the setting of the mobile arm have not achieved much. In 2015, it sold its digital and direct business to Pi Communcations.

     

    The Scarecrow co-founders Bhat, Bhatt & Sengupta are known to have the drive and have produced advertising that has been memorable.

     

    We’ll wait to see what happens next. We can sure it’ll be handed over first to that pink paper.

     

     

  • Gromax is an agri-equipment entity that is committed to the cause of enhancing and enriching the lives of farmers

    Gromax partners Scarecrow Communications to launch new range of tractors

     

     

    Scarecrow Mumbai has launched a new tractor brand – Trakstar – in the 30-50 HP category for Gromax Agri Equipment Limited (eka Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Ltd).

     

    Said Harish Chavan, Director, Gromax Agri Equipment Limited, said:”This is not the first time Mahindra is associating with Scarecrow team. They have previously worked on some of our brands like Trringo. We realised Scarecrow’s approach to develop brand communication is something that we resonate with and we were more than confident to award the creative duties to them. From branding of the Tractor to coming up with company and implements names to developing positioning and communication for the brand, everything has been taken care of by Scarecrow, Mumbai.”

     

    Added Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications: “Mahindra has always been the leader in categories like Tractors and SUVs. This entire project has been a precious opportunity for Scarecrow. Though we have an extensive experience of working on similar projects where we played a key role in the formation of brands like the creation of &Pictures (for &Network, a part of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. and Essel Group), our association with Gromax is still an inspiring experience.”

     

    Said Arunava Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said: “India being an agricultural country, it is very important to have a brand that touches the lives of farmers in true sense. Since Gromax and its flagship brand Trakstar meet the category’s need of the hour, we are all geared up to bring something meaningful to the table.”

     

  • The Essel group company has awarded its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications after a comprehensive pitch process

    Zee Learn Appoints Scarecrow as its creative agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Learn, an arm of the Essel Group and one of the leading education companies in India, has awarded its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications. The agency was selected after a comprehensive pitch process. It may be noted that Scarecrow already handles multiple brands of the Essel Group including &Pictures, Zee Khana Khazana and DittoTv.

     

    Zee Learn pre-schools chain Kidzee (which has 1350+ pre-schools in more than 500+ cities), Mount Litera Zee schools, Brain Cafe, Zee Institute of Creative Art and Zee Institute of Media Arts.

     

    Confirming the news, KVS Seshasai, Chief Executive Officer, Zee Learn Limited said, “In Scarecrow, we found the perfect blend of creativity and passion that can empower our journey to the next level. Also, we are poised for strong growth across different categories and this journey with our creative partner will play  a critical role in bringing strong ideas and innovations to life for our brands”

     

    “With Scarecrow Communications as our creative agency, we are confident their passion for creativity will help us communicate our passion and excellence in knowledge building”, added Abhinav Upadhyay, Head – Marketing and Innovation, Zee Learn Limited.

     

    Raghu Bhat

    Said Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said, “At a personal level, I am very happy to be working on Zee Learn as this is an interest area. But there are two other things that make this mandate even more exciting. Firstly, the sheer audacity of Zee Learn’s vision plus the role of communication in realising it and secondly, the company is very entrepreneurial in its approach.”

     

    Added Arunava Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications: “We are thrilled to be partnering Zee Learn at such an important stage of the brand life cycle. Through this mandate, we have an opportunity to touch of lives of children from the ages of 2 to 18. That is very satisfying.”

     

  • The account moved after a multi-agency pitch

    Scarecrow bags creative duties of Graviti Smartphone Accessories

    By A Correspondent

     

    Delhi-based EasyTech Global Pvt. Ltd., has appointed Scarecrow Communications as its creative agency. One of the flagship products of the company is Graviti Power Banks. The account moved after a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Graviti has a wide range of mobile accessories from power banks to car chargers to bluetooth accessories to screen protectors. The promoter of the brand is Gopal Kalra, a veteran in the telecom space and co-founder of Lemon Mobiles.

     

    Referring to the association with Scarecrow, Gopal Kalra, Chairman, Easy Global Pvt. Ltd. says, “In Scarecrow, we found the right mix of creative excellence, consumer understanding and passionate involvement, which made us choose to work with them“

     

    Raghu Bhat

    Says Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, “There is an immense opportunity to create a premium brand in this category that is highly commoditized. We like the challenge of achieving maximum impact with minimum spends in a cluttered market as that gives the widest canvas for our creativity.”

     

    Says Arunava Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, “Start ups like to work with us. Graviti is one more validation of that. There is something highly satisfying working on brands that are at an inception stage be it Localbanya or &Pictures as that gives us the chance to create things from scratch.”

     

  • The account was won following a multi-agency pitch that included top agencies of the country

    Scarecrow bags creative mandate of Radio City 91.1 FM

    By a correspondent

     

    Scarecrow Communications has won the creative mandate for Radio City 91.1 FM, one of the leading radio networks in the country. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch that included top agencies of the country and will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai branch.

     

    Ashit Kukian

    Talking about the development, Ashit Kukian, President & COO, Radio City 91.1 FM said, “Radio City is a robust media brand and it is a matter of great pride that after 13 years of inception, we are now considered synonymous to the category. With radio industry poised for the next phase of growth, we see a need to further augment the brand Radio City and therefore called for creative partners. We were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and participation of the creative agencies. We narrowed down on Scare Crow communications after evaluating their past credentials and their radio understanding and are confident that they would partner our efforts.  We look forward to some great work from them.”

     

     

    Manish Bhatt

    On winning the account, Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, said “We are very ecstatic about this win, as Scarecrow has a soft spot for radio as a powerful communication medium. The fact that we won this account soon after we were crowned ‘The Agency of the Year’ at Mirchi Kaan, 2014, is truly the icing on the cake and what makes it a special achievement for us. Radio City being one of the big players of the industry, it gives us the challenge and excitement that we look for in building a brand”

     

    Arunava Sengupta (Joy), Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, added, “This win is very significant as to work on a Radio brand it is very important to have knowledge of local nuances of different cities as radio needs to connect at a local level. I am really looking forward to deepening the connect that Radio City already has along with the brand team.”