Date:30/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/30/stories/2008083050110100.htm

Front Page

Campaign to market State’s potential in IT

S. Anandan

Kochi: Major information technology (IT) parks in the State have drawn up an action plan to market the State’s potential in the sector.

Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram, Infopark in Kochi and the under-construction Cyberpark in Kozhikode — in tandem with Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) — will launch a concerted campaign to highlight Kerala’s formidable social and technological infrastructure facilities, aimed at fashioning a Brand Kerala in IT. The programme will be formally kicked off in November or December this year.

“The idea is to have a single IT marketing plan for the State,” said State IT Secretary Ajay Kumar. “It is a niche area where general ad campaigns by diverse agencies will not work. We are looking forward to a campaign that more specifically targets our clients.”

The process of zeroing in on a marketing agency to formulate a promotion plan to ‘position’ the State on the world’s IT map is already under way.

“We are in receipt of expressions of interest (EoI) from agencies of national standing and by September, we would be able to select one,” said Mr. Ajay Kumar.

There would also be a media plan to pitch for the brand. “We will leverage on the expertise of various agencies to carry out the campaign,” said Technopark Chief Executive Officer N. Radhakrishnan Nair, who is also the KSITIL director.

Naturally, the KSITIL is keen on forging alliances with key players on various fronts — ranging from IT apex bodies such as NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) to connectivity providers and airlines — to rake up the capital required for such a sustained campaign. As Infopark CEO Siddhartha Bhattacharya puts it: “The objective is to recast Kerala and present on a platter its cost-effective but highly reliable physical, social and talent infrastructures in IT.”