MTS creative duties goes to Rediffusion-Y&R

Rediffusion-Y&R has added yet another win to its kitty by winning the creative duties for the telecom brand MTS, which is currently operational in 12 circles with ambitions to become one of India's largest telecom players with a pan India presence. MTS has recently been ranked by Millward Brown as 72nd out of the top 100 brands in the world.

The account was awarded to Rediffusion-Y&R by Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), a joint venture between Sistema {LSE: SSA} of Russia and the Shyam Group of India. Sistema is the majority shareholder in this joint venture with a 74% equity stake; the Shyam Group holds a 23.5% stake and the remaining 2.5% is publicly held. SSTL has been allocated spectrum to provide mobile telephony services in all the 22 circles across the country.

In a short span of time, MTS has secured over 7 million subscribers in the telecom circles of Kolkata, West Bengal & Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chennai & Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar & Jharkhand, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Delhi & NCR, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. MBlaze, the data service of MTS, offered in 84 towns of India, has over 2.5 lakh subscribers so far since its launch in November 2009. MTS has more than 100 million subscribers across the world.

The account was up for a pitch in August, with the incumbent agency Saatchi & Saatchi and Rediffusion-Y&R battling it out in the final stage. Rediffusion-Y&R, having emerged the winner, will start work on the account from its Gurgaon office with immediate effect.

Diwan Arun Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Rediffusion-Y&R, says "MTS is a world player in the Telecom space. We are delighted to be chosen to partner them to make MTS an iconic future generation telecom brand in India. Rediffusion-Y&R's 15+ years experience of this category should help us partner the client with great strategy, insightful ideas, a great positioning and "wow" creative."

Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), said "We are glad to have Rediffusion-Y&R on board. We have found an ideal partner in them, knowing their exceptional track record in the telecom space in the past, and the zeal and passion shown by their team. I believe, we will be able to take MTS to great heights with this partnership."