McCann Erickson gets Sun Direct’s business

South Indian direct-to-home (DTH) provider Sun Direct TV has appointed McCann Erickson as its creative agency.

Sun Direct is reported to have allocated a marketing spend of Rs120 crore to  accompany its aggressive expansion plans for regions other than the South. 

Sun Direct's campaigns in South India were done mostly in-house. Tony D'Silva, COO says that with business expanding, it became increasing difficult to follow the in-house route, which is what prompted the company to take on McCann Erickson as its creative agency.

The company has allocated Rs120 crore for marketing, though it could be increase if needed.

MaCann Erickson managed to bag the account because of its strong base in the South, where only a few agencies have a strong set-up. McCann Erickson's Chennai brand would manage the account. In around a month and a half, Sun Direct plans to launch its services in Assam, Orissa, and West Bengal. 

Sun Direct beams its services using the more advanced MPEG4 technology that offers better compression and signal quality. Competitors Tata Sky and Dish TV use MPEG2 compression. Sun Direct is an 80:20 joint venture between the Kalanidhi Maran family and the Astro Group of Malaysia.