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Harsha Subramaniam

CHENNAI, March 6

THE Chennai office of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), which had taken over a client's property in Kodaikanal a couple of years ago as the client owed it Rs 2.5 crore, is now making the best of a bad debt. Now actively developing and marketing the property as the Ogilvy eco-village, O&M has a full-fledged communication strategy, including a Web site launched recently, to market this property. What's more, it has also roped in the Pondicherry-based Auroville Building Centre (AVBC) to design eco-friendly cottages on one-acre plots and also tied up the financing for the purchase of these plots with housing finance company HDFC.

It all started when one of its clients was on the verge of collapse. "They owed us a fairly large sum of money and they also owned property in Kodaikanal," explains Mr R Krishna Mohan, Vice-President and Branch Head, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), Chennai. So the agency did a barter deal for the land in lieu of the money. It also initiated the marketing of the real estate property in Kodaikanal - perhaps a first for an advertising agency - on the "eco-friendly sustainable development" plank. Thus, were born the eco-villages near Kodaikanal, marketed by Ogilvy.

"We are now offering one acre plots with cottages. This is based on the idea of eco-friendly ownership of land and a perfect getaway," says Mr Mohan. The Auroville Building Centre provides eco-friendly designs for the cottages and is also involved in projects such as water harvesting, wastewater recycling and solar energy applications for the eco-village.

The agency now has four properties to offer: Ogilvy Eco-village and Ogilvy Tangerine (that it owns) and Misty Meadows, Green Orchards (through tie-ups)

E-promoting ecology

"This is not real estate selling actually; what we are doing is marketing a way of life," says Mr Mohan. For instance, buyers have to sign an eco-pledge and participate in community service.

To promote all this, O&M now has a Web site (www.kodaiecovillage.com) and is carrying out direct marketing activities through e-brochures and incentive letters.

For instance, if you send the promotional letter to five others, and one of them ends up buying a property, you receive a Rs 10,000 incentive. The venture also has a gamut of alliances to benefit the buyer - for example, EID Parry provides bathroom fittings for a cottage in the eco-village at a 20 percent discount on MRP, while both Tata Honeywell (security systems) and Godrej & Boyce (locks) offer their products at a discount.

The agency also has an alliance with HDFC, which will offer up to 75 per cent finance to prospective buyers. In addition to this, the venture has an escrow cover with Indian Bank to ensure that the buyer's money is safe.

However, Mr Mohan explains that the project will not bring revenues upfront to the agency. "We'll make the money only after the entire project comes through." For every sale made, Ogilvy gets a commission, much like the payment structure that it is used to in the advertising business.

But is this a long-term idea?

"We will evaluate once the project really kicks off," adds Mr Mohan. He says if the business model works, the agency may even replicate it in other places across the country. "We may have a separate division if it works," he says. He said other corporates were also in talks with O&M to market their idle properties.

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