LinOpinion lands Viagra's India PR launch business

Ashish Bhasin, director, integrated marketing action group (IMAG), Lintas India, said the brief from the client was to handle the launch of Viagra in the country and register a healthy market share by end of the first year. "Our role is to devise and create communications that help the client achieve these objectives," said Bhasin. Lintas Healthcare is leading the account, with other IMAG divisions such as Advent (events) and Lintas Personal (DM/CRM) also involved. "PR played a part in launching Viagra, communicating what it stands for and quashing false notions and educating people about it," added Bhasin. The entire Lintas IMAG worked in conjunction with Lintas Healthcare and the launch event was handled by Advent based on a 'Sultans of sex' theme. "The challenge is to make sure Viagra is perceived in a proper medical arena to create a social awareness about the plight of men with ED in a country where it's a social taboo and is always swept under the carpet," added Bhasin. The account is headed by Lintas Healthcare's business head Dr Mehul Shukla.