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Purvita Chatterjee

Mr Subhash Kamath

Mumbai , May 12

BATES India is contemplating expanding its operations in south India by setting up branches in Chennai and Bangalore. At present the agency has liaison offices in these cities and there are plans to acquire smaller agencies and marketing service companies to make a foray into these territories.

Mr Subhash Kamath, CEO, Bates India, told Business Line, "Currently, we have representative offices in these cities but now we are looking at setting up branches through mergers and acquisitions to enter these markets.''

Currently, Bates India has its operations limited to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata and some of its biggest accounts comprise Tata AIG, Hamam, Ayush, Pfizer, Dabur (oralcare), Nokia and Indian Airlines.

Post the induction into the WPP Group, Bates India has been looking at growth through mergers and acquisitions. Mr Kamath has already a new business game plan in place and is on the look out for smaller agencies and marketing service companies which can help the agency make its aggressive moves in the industry.

Being headless without a CEO for a while due to the sudden exit of Mr Rajiv Agarwal last year, Bates India has now chalked out a new business strategy and helping it make the right moves is its parent company - Bates Asia - which has already marked India and China as its two biggest markets.

"We have been reticent last year without an active CEO, but now we have a new business programme in place,'' states Mr Kamath. Adding to its client list, the agency recently bagged the Sony audio account from its Delhi branch.

Besides the agency is actively planning to expand its marketing services brand - 141- to offer the 360 degree solutions its clients are already demanding. 141 Worldwide, a Bates brand, offers services in the areas of promotional marketing, CRM, public relations, event marketing, point-of-sale (POS) and design. In fact most of its existing clients such as Nokia, ITC, Tata AIG and Dabur have already availed of its services. "Most of our clients are in fact asking not just for advertising solutions but are demanding a 360 degree solution for their brands,'' says Mr Kamath.

Other Bates brands being launched in the country includes its technology communication brand - XM and its retail architecture communication brand - Underline: Fitch. XM includes services in interactive marketing, digital branding, database expertise, technology marketing and Consultancy. XM is headquartered at Singapore and services the Nokia account. Adds Mr Kamath, "India is a strong resource base and has the necessary talent and people to make XM successful.''

Underline: Fitch would offer services in retail designing with respect to in-store design and branding. Bates India already services the retail account of Star India Bazaar at Ahmedabad and the entry of Underline: Fitch would also help the agency provide its value added services in the retail-branding arena.

"We intend bringing in the Bates brands such and XM and Underline: Fitch into the country within the next two years,'' he specifies.

Bates India has already unleashed its Healthworld brand in healthcare communications but business has yet to pick up in this arena. As he says, "The market is still nascent at the moment but will become critical in the next five years.''

With intentions of emerging as one of the top 10 agencies in the country, Bates India has pegged its growth rates between 70-80 per cent in the next 18 months through its strategy of mergers and acquisitions, he says.

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