NEW DELHI: The Congress is in the process of hiring a professional advertising agency to handle its publicity and media campaign for a year including the next Lok Sabha elections. The media blitzkrieg that is currently being given the final touches is likely to commerce well ahead of the general elections.
Unlike the last few elections, the party has begun its preparations well in advance of the polls next year. The party not only plans to target people through print and the electronic media, but also aims at reaching out to the masses through advertising on cellphones and Internet.
Bids were first invited from 12 top advertising agencies in the country and a high-powered publicity and campaign committee, comprising leaders such as Digvijay Singh Rahul Gandhi, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh whittled down the number to six.
On Tuesday, top executives of Reddifusion, Madison, Circon, JWT, Percept and Thompson made detailed presentations before the committee at the partys headquarters at Akbar Road.
The committee is likely to shortlist the agency that fits the bill, and will then recommend it to the Congress president for her approval. The strategy, thrust and focus of the partys campaign will be decided by the extended working committee of the party which will then be conveyed to the agency, so that the publicity and communication strategy can be built around it.
Care is also been taken to ensure that its campaign strategy remains under wraps and the agency will be bound to a contractual agreement making them responsible for any leakage of plan.
The agency will also have to give an undertaking that neither will the agency nor any of its affiliates will do business with any other political party during the contract period.
Incidentally, in the last general elections, the Congress advertising campaign had reached the BJP camp even before it was released.
