Panasonic, soon after announcing their agencies for creative and media work a month ago has again suddenly announced a change.
Panasonic had announced Leo Burnett as the new creative custodian for its corporate and home appliances business, while Percept’s IBD bagged the Viera (LCD and plasma TV range) and Lumix (digital camera range) businesses. Media Planning Group (MPG) was awarded the media duties.
However, in a rapid development, Dentsu, which has handled the creative duties for the corporate account as well as the home appliances and business solutions such as telephone handsets and fax machines for around three years, has won back the business from Leo Burnett. However, IBD retains its portfolio.
Percept H’s media agency, Allied Media, which has been Panasonic’s media partner for quite some time, has wooed back the media business.
Sabiha Kidwai, Director, Marketing, Panasonic India, said, “Yes, we have switched our creative duties back to Dentsu (along with IBD) and our media duties to Allied Media.”
In a confirmation to the media a month ago, Kidwai had revealed that Leo Burnett was brought on board as its creative partner, along with IBD.
“I know we had brought both Leo Burnett and MPG on board,” says Kidwai, and quotes ‘internal miscommunication’ is the reason for a change in the decision.
Rajesh Aggarwal, President, Dentsu India, confirms that the creative duties have been won by the agency.
It is also learnt that Panasonic had allotted Rs 20-25 crore last year for the brand’s communication activities. This year, with Ranbir Kapoor on board as brand ambassador for the LCD and Plasma TV range, the company plans to step up its communication and is definitely looking at a higher spend.