Even as
Warren Buffett is here in India inviting India's top businessmen for dinner and looking forward to getting India's rich to pledge a decent portion of their wealth toward philanthropy along the lines of what he himself has done, the legendary investor hasn't forgotten business.
On Thursday, his fully-owned Indian subsidiary, Berkshire India, roped in Mumbai-based METAL Communications, an integrated marketing communications company, as its branding and marketing communications partner. It is understood from industry sources that the account is worth Rs 20 crore anually. Kurien Mathews, Chairman and founder of METAL Communications refused to comment on the deal size and only said it is a prestigious account.
Berkshire India concentrates on insurance sales and distribution space. It is a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and will sell insurance products through its online portal berkshire.com and telemarketing channel, beginning with auto insurance. Internationally, Berkshire Hathaway has a successful online and direct distribution model in the US and is looking to replicate that success in India.
Arun Balakrishnan, CEO, Berkshire India, says: "We interacted with advertising agencies in India and zeroed in on METAL as the team brought in the right degree of enthusiasm backed with skill sets. We feel that building a brand in the online insurance industry requires an out-of-the-box approach and feel that METAL would be the right partner for that."
In its latest new business acquisition, METAL will partner with Berkshire India to build and grow the brand in the distribution of motor insurance space to begin with. "We started working with Berkshire a few days ago and working around Warren Buffett's visit to India. Our mandate is largely to build the brand successfully in India," says Mathews.
METAL Communications Vice President, Ambarish Ray says: "This is a great opportunity for METAL to not only work with one of the world's most admired companies but also tackle some unique challenges in the sector. Traditionally, insurance has been sold in India and not bought. With its direct model and best practices, Buffett's company is all set to change the game and we are thrilled to be a part of it."
Kurien is also confident of pulling this through successfully as he has in the past worked with several insurance clients. Above all he has worked with Bajaj Alliance during his stint at TBWA and has build the brand successfully to what it is today. METAL also represents other clients like Platinum Guild International, Axis Mutual Fund, Web 18, Sennheiser, Bajaj Capital, Zoom TV and Star CJ Alive, among others.
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