A national ad campaign on an ad budget of Rs 1.5 crore is in the pipeline and will coincide with the product launches at the end of this year. This would be a first as the company has not invested in a mass advertising campaign as yet, though it does have sporadic ad spots on Channel V. ``We want the youth audience to grow with the brand,'' says Salil Chaturvedi, director, Acme Exports.

Starting with Delhi, the brand is currently being launched in North India and will be rolled out in the South in September. Sold through top department stores and shop-in-shops, Provogue is currently available in 48 outlets and plans to cover about 150 image storesby the end of 2000.

Eventually it plans to sell through independent franchisee outlets. ``We'll open our own exclusive outlets once we have launched the entire product portfolio,'' says Chaturvedi. The accessories will include watches, wallets, and ``everything image-oriented which complements the Provogue man.'' The company plans to outsource these products and sell under the Provogue brand. Positioned as a semi-casual shirt for the ``fashion conscious, ambitious and aspiring'' 22 to 35-year-old men, the brand is priced between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and competes with brands such as Color Plus and Allen Solly.

Chaturvedi claims that Provogue sells 2.5 times more than Color Plus and thrice as much as Allen Solly in the stores where the three brands are present. The brand has a total sales turnover of Rs 1.5 crore so far.

The company has been building the brand through aggressive below-the-line activities such as fashion shows and theme parties. For instance, realising that 80 per cent of the purchases (formen's clothes) are done by women, Acme organised a preview of its collection exclusively for women in Mumbai early this year. The show, claims Chaturvedi was not only well appreciated but also helped pump up sales.

Coming up from the company is now a Millennium meltdown-a countdown to the next century in the form of a series of fashion shows. Kicking off in October '99, the shows are to be held in major metros and will finally culminate in a gala do in Mumbai. Provogue plans to showcase a special Millennium range during this series of fashion shows.