Ad for Ramada by Turrino

[vikram sharma]

never knew there was this agency in Kochi!

[Paromita]

here's something I learnt about Turrino

Sharjah-based Turrino Advertising LLC is setting shop in India beginning with Cochin this month, marking the group’s first office in an international location. The group has a client base spread across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, and plans to set up an office in Mumbai in the next six months.

Heading the agency’s operations in Kerala will be Lakshman Varma, who moved from Mudra Advertising’s Cochin office after an 11-year stint, in early February.

Speaking to exchange4media, Anil Nair, CEO, Turrino Advertising LLC, said, “This is the first international office for the agency. We are talking to clients in Kerala now, and it was a considered decision to start with a Class B town like Cochin and grow to a bigger city like Mumbai.”

Anil Nair started the agency four years ago, backed by the Rs 1,000-crore Zulekha Group based in Sharjah. Further international expansion for the agency will be in the form of a Qatar office.

Taher Shams, President, Zulekha Group and Turrino, said, “We look at India as the fastest growing free market democracy where global brands are queuing up to gain share while at the same time Indian brands are raring to go global. It is also amongst the two superpowers of the 21st century and the potential knowledge hub of the world.”

Shams explained that part of Turrino’s mission in India was to bring ‘lo spirito di Torino’ to India, to give a fresh perspective to brand development and communication, and to adapt to local sensibilities with the Indian affiliate, Turrino India.

Jacob Mathew, President, Indian Newspaper Society, and Executive Editor, Malayala Manorama, will launch the Cochin operations on February 15, 2006.

The Sharjah office has a 17-member team, which will support the start up in Cochin as and when necessary. The size of the Cochin team was four at present, and would be ramped up soon, Varma said.

Among the agency’s international clientele are brands such as Panasonic, Bang & Olufsen, Shownic, JVC, ALICO, and Czech Airlines, while its Middle East-based clientele includes Zulekha Hospital and Rahmani. None of these clients will land in the agency’s kitty immediately in India. Turrino will now try to make its presence felt in the Indian market, with the promise of ‘Building Enduring Brands’.