Incredible India: Ministry of Tourism starts media review

Rahul Kapoor - Televisionpoint.com | New Delhi
The Ministry of Tourism's Incredible India has started a media buying and placement review. The Ministry has put up seven tenders on its website as part of this review, which is restricted to buying and placement as the media planning has been done in-house by the government body.

Sources inform Televisionpoint.com that the Ministry will allot Rs 150-200 crore to its international campaigns. Including the outdoor done overseas (which is not included in this pitch process, and the budget for which is calculated separately, too) as well as the local campaigns, the budget could be in the region of Rs 250 crore.

The Ministry is looking for an agency for its television campaign, which has been divided on the basis of three continents - Europe, Asia Pacific and America; and for its global print campaign. The international campaigns are to be run between September and June 2010.

The Ministry has a global, open media bid every year. This year, the pitch was called for in August. More than being simply a media buying pitch, the process requires agencies to get the financial bid (the media quote), which they offer to the Ministry of Tourism, officially signed and accepted by media houses. The pitch will run out of the Ministry's office in New Delhi.

Last year India's tourism media account was split between four agencies - Crayons, ZenithOptimedia, Span Communications and MPG India. ZenithOptimedia had won the TV duties for Europe and the global, standalone print campaign. MPG has won the print duties for the APAC region and the TV duties for America. America's print and APAC's TV duties have been awarded to Span. The responsibility of Europe's print campaign has fallen to Crayons.

Last year, the Ministry of Tourism finalised 15 agencies to work on the Incredible India account. The agencies working on the account are Mudra, Lowe Lintas, Contract, W+K, Dentsu Marcom, TBWA India, Stark Communication, Quantum Communication, Crayons, Mercantile Advertising, Critique, Basic Four, FS Advertising, IBD India and India Tourism Development Corporation's creative wing (also known as Ashok Creatives).

Sources suggest that the partners of the creative agencies handling the account stand a better chance of winning the business as they have significant influence over clients. "Local agencies would have an advantage over international players because of their close links with the client team." they say.

Earlier this year, the Ministry had launched a global campaign to portray India as a favourable travel destination. The campaign was launched in print, television and digital formats.

The TVC opens on a shot of a foreigner writing a postcard, fondly remembering his adventures in India – camel rides in the desert, scuba diving in clear blue waters, the royal palaces and the culture and traditions of India. The film was shot over a period of 35 days across the length and breadth of the country.