StationerymanufacturerKokuyoCamlin,formerlyknownasCamlin,iscurrently

scoutingforacreativeagency.Thepitchprocessbeganveryrecentlyandisunderway
inMumbai,wherethecompanyisbased.

ShriramDandekar,executivedirectorofthecompany,tellsafaqs!thatparticipating
agencieswillbeevaluatedontheirunderstandingofthewholeproductrangeand
competitivescenario."Themandatewillincludebrandplanning,brandstrategy,
brandpositioningaswellaspromotionofthebrandacrossbothBTL(belowtheline)
andATL(abovetheline)mediaplatforms,"hesays.
Healsospecifiesthatthemandatewillnotincludeproductpackaginganddesign,
dutiesforwhichthecompanyhasalreadyropedinanagencyofferingthese
specialisedservices.
Dandekarexpectsthepitchprocesstoyieldaresultnosoonerthanafewmonthsfrom
now.
Currently,LoweLintas&Partnershandlesthisaccount.Theagencyhascreatedsome
memorableadsforthebrandinthepast,suchastheaward-winning 'Rudali'
filminwhichawoman'sdyinghusbandsuddenlyrevivesasthe'bindi'onher

foreheadasymbolofhermarriedstatuscan'tbewipedoffbecauseitismadeusing
Camlin'spermanentmarker.Interestingly,afewyearsback,thiscommercialwas
selectedtobebroadcastinJapanbyNTV,aleadingtelevisionnetworkinthecountry.
EstablishedbytheDandekarfamily,Camlinisahomegrown,heritagebrandthat
cameintoexistencein1931over80yearsago.CamelInkwasoneofitsfirst
products.Itwasin1946that'Dandekar&Co'wasrenamed'Camlin',acombination
ofthewords'camel'and'ink'.Thatwaswhenthecamel,atoughandhardworking
desertanimal,wasselectedasthebrandsymbol,onethatwentontobecomevery
popularintheyearsthatfollowed.Infact,thecamelcontinuestoappearonthe
company'snewlogoaswell.
Acoupleofyearsago,Japan'sKokuyoS&T,a100yearoldmarketerofstationery
andinstitutionalfurniture,acquiredmajoritystakeinCamlin.Thiswaswhenthe
companywasrenamed'KokuyoCamlinLimited'.PopularproductbrandsCameland
Camlinwereretainedposttheacquisition.
Overall,brandCamlinhasveryhightopofmindrecallinIndia,especiallyinthose
subsegmentsofthestationerycategoryinwhichitenjoysalion'sshareofthemarket
(forinstanceartstationeryandgeometryboxes).Morerecently,however,the
competitivescenariointhemarkethaschangedwiththeentryofrelativelynewer
playerssuchasITC,whichforayedintothestationerycategoryin2002andcurrently
marketsitsproductsunderthebrandsClassmate,Paperkraft,andColourCrew.
OtherbrandsthatofferstationeryproductsincludeCello,Reynolds,Montex,Lexi,
Rotomac,LuxorandLinc(pens);NatarajandApsarafromthehouseofHindustan
Pencils(pencils);Cello,FaberCastell(mechanicalpencils);andBilt,Navneetand
Sundaram(notebooks),amongothers.Asfarasartstationerybrandsareconcerned,
somepopularnamesincludeStaedtler(whichalsomarketsotherstationeryitemssuch
aspens,pencilsandtechnicaldrawinginstruments)andFaberCastell(whichalso
marketsgeneralwritingandcraftproducts),amongothers.
Infact,thestationerycategoryhasevolvedfromunorganisedtoorganisedoverthe
pastfewyears.Itappearsasthoughtherecentlyformedentity,KokuyoCamlin,has
decidedtotacklethechangingmarketsituationandgrowingcompetitionbyinvesting
initsbrandimageandmediapresence.

Some cons
(1) Cheap Chinese import in this category is putting pressure on the margin
(2) Considering immense potential in the sector many global companies including Faber
etc is already active in market
(3) Record of japanes promoters in running Indian companies is not satisfactory due to
cultural differences unless Indian partner is in majority. View invited.