Date:28/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/09/28/stories/2005092802260800.htm

Back Emami ropes in Shah Rukh as new brand ambassador

Our Bureau

Kolkata , Sept. 27

THE personal and healthcare products major Emami Ltd, a member of the Rs 700-crore Emami Group, has roped in actor Shah Rukh Khan as its new brand ambassador.

Emami, which manufactures herbal and ayurvedic products, has set a new trend in celebrity endorsements in the country and has already signed up several celebrities such as Sourav Ganguly and Virendra Sehwag from the sports arena, and Bollywood stars such as Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Govinda, Madhuri Dixit and Amitabh Bachchan. It is however, not known which products in the Emami line Shah Rukh Khan would actually endorse.

Talking to Business Line, Mr Aditya V. Agarwal, Director, Emami, said Shah Rukh Khan would feature in Emami commercials expected to hit the screen within a month's time. He said the company has a Rs 60-crore annual budget for product promos, and till August, has already spent around Rs 25 crore. He said the artiste has been roped in with a two-year endorsement contract, and will be paid 40 per cent of his contracted fee (of about Rs 8 crore) upfront. The special commercials featuring Shah Rukh are being handled by a Mumbai-based ad agency.

Mr Agarwal said with the signing up of Shah Rukh, "Emami hopes to promote brand advocacy among its young consumers".

According to Mr Agarwal, "one of the important targets for our product range is the fun-loving, lifestyle-oriented and trendy youth of today. "And by associating with a youth icon like Shah Rukh, we are seeking to further strengthen our relationship with today's youth".

He said an ambitious brand-building plan has been chalked out, and in addition to several new products on the anvil in the personal care segment, the Group has also planned a major foray into the healthcare segment.

The Emami Group, which started as a manufacturer of beauty products, toiletries and cosmetics in 1974, now has interests in paper manufacturing, writing instruments, healthcare, retail and retail estate apart from the core FMCG business. The product basket comprises over 20 items, which are sold across all States in India, and in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Gulf countries, Africa and Europe.