The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly chosen advertising agencies McCann Worldgroup and Scarecrow M&C Saatchi out of nearly a dozen contenders to oversee its creative advertising efforts for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
According to an Economic Times report, citing executives familiar with knowledge of the matter, the creative responsibilities are expected to be handled by McCann Worldgroup-TAG, a modern advertising agency under the ownership of McCann, along with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
It remains uncertain whether other agencies that vied for the significant creative account, such as Ogilvy and Efficacy, will also receive portions of the mandate, given the BJP's extensive outreach strategy aimed at attracting voters.
The process of finalising and assigning crucial responsibilities to advertising agencies gained momentum over the weekend following the Election Commission of India (ECI) announcement that the general elections would commence on April 19.
Additionally, the BJP is reportedly in the process of selecting three to four independent agencies to handle data-driven technology and digital advertising, as well as regional, outdoor, and influencer-led campaigns, along with social media initiatives, according to the executives cited above.
The Congress party has, meanwhile, picked DDB Mudra to lead its election campaign.
A Centre for Media Studies report estimated that the BJP spent a total of Rs 27,000 crore leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. As per the above-mentioned executives, advertising budgets are projected to see a spike of 30-40 percent compared to 2019.
The ECI declared the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections on March 16. Spanning seven phases, the general election is set to commence on April 19 and conclude on June 1, with the results slated for announcement on June 4.
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