Which agency won the Keo Karpin mandate?

Arena Media India, part of Havas Media Network India, following a multi-agency pitch.

What does the mandate cover?

Media planning and buying, digital and data-led strategy, audience targeting and content-commerce integration, across traditional, digital and performance channels.

Dey's Medical Stores Pvt Ltd. The brand has been in Indian hair care for more than six decades.

News

Arena Media India Wins Keo Karpin's Integrated Media Mandate

Ad Tribe! Bureau48 mins ago2 min read

Illustration of a hair oil bottle and comb marking Arena Media India's Keo Karpin mandate

Arena Media India, part of Havas Media Network India, has secured the integrated media mandate for hair care brand Keo Karpin following a multi-agency pitch. The account will be led by Manish Sharma, president at Arena Media, and managed from the agency's Gurugram office.

Agency: Arena Media India, part of Havas Media Network India
Client: Keo Karpin, part of Dey's Medical Stores Pvt Ltd
Won via: a multi-agency pitch
Led by: Manish Sharma, president, Arena Media
Office: Gurugram
Scope: media planning and buying, digital and data-led strategy, audience targeting and content-commerce integration
Channels: traditional media, digital platforms and performance-led channels
Brand age: present in Indian hair care for more than six decades

A Heritage Brand in a Crowded Segment

The brief here is a specific and difficult one. Keo Karpin has more than sixty years of presence in Indian hair care, which means high recognition, an older core consumer and a set of associations formed long before the current competitive set existed.

Hair care has since become one of the most contested categories in Indian personal care, with heavy competition from newer direct-to-consumer entrants marketing on ingredients and claims, and from established players with far larger media budgets.

Gautam Dey, Chairman and Managing Director of Dey's Medical Stores, framed the requirement in exactly those terms, saying Keo Karpin carries decades of trust and love from Indian consumers and that as the brand embarks on its next chapter the company wanted a media partner that understands both the heritage of what it represents and the ambition of where it wants to go. He said Arena Media demonstrated a sharp strategic lens, deep consumer understanding and an integrated approach.

Content-Commerce Is the Tell

The most informative item in the scope list is content-commerce integration, sitting alongside conventional planning and buying.

For a legacy personal care brand, that indicates the mandate is not simply about maintaining reach among an existing consumer base. Content-commerce means shortening the distance between a piece of content and a purchase, which is the mechanism newer competitors have used to take share in this exact category.

Mohit Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of Havas Media Network India, called Keo Karpin one of India's most beloved brand names, a brand that has earned its place in the everyday lives of millions of consumers across generations.