The Hindu Business Line : Rediffusion DY&R floats design consultancy arm

Mr Preet Bedi, President, Rediffusion DY&R, told Business Line, "The market is getting dynamic with an increase in both Indian and MNC businesses, and brands have been growing rapidly. Companies need a complete makeover, and the look and feel of their identity needs to be re-visited with higher frequency."

The agency has already appointed Mr Tejinder Singh as the creative director of its newly-formed design unit, and intends appointing a business head as well.

Says Mr Bedi, "Just like in advertising, we will be having both a creative and a business head for the new business. We are pitching high for this business and should be able to record revenues to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore after a full year of operations."

Creating new corporate identities is the new area the agency will be entering, and business is expected from both existing and new clients.

Mr Tejinder Singh, creative head of the agency's new design division, is a NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Design) graduate, and has also obtained a Master of Design degree from the Royal College of Art in London. He has had stints with design outfits such as Wolf Olins and with the Living Media Group, where he helped create the visual identity for its Aaj Tak channel.

This is the first time that Rediffusion DY&R has decided to float a major division within its agency. The rest of its businesses such as healthcare advertising (Sudler & Hennessey), direct marketing (Wunderman) and event and sports marketing (Showdiff Worldwide) have been spun off as separate companies and treated as different businesses.

Says Mr Bedi, "We have set up a complete design unit which will be the first division within the agency. This will be not be a separate company like the rest of the businesses."

However, mainline advertising continues to rule the roost at the agency. "There is talk about the end of the 30-second commercial, but there is still a lot of juice left in advertising and it continues to be an exciting business with enough potential," says Mr Bedi.

The earlier reports about DY&R increasing its stake in the agency and buying out the stakes of its Indian promoters are also no longer valid, according to Mr Bedi. Currently, DY&R (belonging to the WPP group) holds a 40 per cent stake in the agency, while its promoters (Mr Arun Nanda and Mr Ajit Balakrishnan) continue to own the rest.

The Rs 750-crore Rediffusion DY&R grew at 17 per cent this year.

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