Carat bags IndiaFirst Life Insurance's media account

After adding some of the largest accounts of 2014 including General Motors, Microsoft, Nokia, British Airways, Mastercard, Ayurwin and Meiji to its client kitty, Carat seems to be in no mood to slow down. They have started the year with a big bang adding IndiaFirst Life Insurance to their kitty in the West.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture between two of India's public sector banks – Bank of Baroda (44%) and Andhra Bank (30%), and UK's financial and investment company Legal & General (26%), has confirmed the appointment of Carat Media Services as its media agency. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch with eight major agencies participating in the battle including the likes of Lodestar, OMD and BPN. DDB MudraMax-Media was the incumbent on the account. The mandate is for all media such as TV, print, out-of-home, radio, activation and cinema.

Avers ‎Kartik Iyer, MD India - Carat Media, “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen by India First for this mandate. Our team looks forward to working with India First to create strong consumer centric digitally ahead solutions that will enable India First to become the preferred choice of consumer. We are especially pleased that the team of India First saw value in our offerings which are Redefining Media in the market and we look forward to a long partnership which enhances the brand of IndaiFirst in India.”

As part of its new mandate, Carat Media will handle the traditional media mandate for IndiaFirst Life Insurance including television, print, out-of-home, radio, cinema, activation and ambient. It will, thus, create an integrated media communication ecosystem for its latest client.

Says Himanka Das, ‎Sr. Vice President – West, Carat Media, “We are happy to partner with IndiaFirst Life Insurance. It gives us a market advantage to win such a competitive pitch, as it demonstrates that Carat India is riding on proprietary consumer data analytics and tools to design unique engaging communication plans across touch points, beyond traditional media planning. We are looking forward to exciting times ahead.”

For the record, IndiaFirst Life Insurance sells insurance plans, including life insurance, investment funds, and group policies. The company's product range covers protection (term insurance), savings, education and retirement. It has a range of group insurance products in forms of credit, life, term and employee liability (gratuity and leave encashment) plans as well. They have also introduced a range of health, pension and wealth accumulation plans.

Carat, the world’s largest independent media communications specialist, is part of the global operating unit - The Dentsu Aegis Network, which also includes Vizeum – media agency, Posterscope - the global OOH sector leader, Brandscope, Hyperspace (Retail), psLive (Activation), PSI (Airports), Isobar - the global communications agency with digital at its heart and iProspect Communicate 2 - the leading agency in search and performance marketing. The network also encapsulates Dentsu and Dentsu Media along with the local brands Webchutney, TaprootIndia and Milestone Brandcom.