Sunday, December 6, 2015

Updates || Cheena Pasrija || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition



BRAND LAUNCH


Brand Medimix to be launched in Sri Lanka 

FMCG player Cholayil Private Ltd today declared dispatch of Medimix cleansers in Sri Lanka. Chennai-headquartered organization’s items are presently accessible in 26 abroad countries, other than the Indian business sector. Pradeep Cholayil, managing director, Cholayil P Ltd said Sri Lanka expansion is part of company’s overall strategy to expand Medimix brand in international markets.



Hyundai to launch Genesis- the new Global luxury brand for the Company

The Hyundai Motor Company has declared an all-new worldwide extravagance brand – Genesis – that will convey ‘human-focused’ extravagance through a scope of new models that element “the most astounding gauges of execution, design and innovation”. Genesis will look to create a new meaning of luxury, that will provide a nuave platform for future mobility centered around people. By anticipating human needs at every touch point, Genesis models will embody four key aspects: human-focused innovation, refined and balanced performance, athletic elegance in design and hassle-free customer experience” says Hyundai.

BRAND WATCH


Study shows Amul as the most meaningful brand in India

According to the study conducted by Havas Media, Amul has emerged as the most meaningful brand in the country. The other players in the race were Cadbury, Google, Britannia, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Microsoft, Intel, HP, Parle and Samsung. Globally Samsung, Google and
Nestle emerged as the top rankers.



Disney looking forward to building a Brand in India

After a not so great start in the country, Disney India which a part of the American conglomerate Walt Disney Co. has a slew of movies lined up for the year 2016. The films have big names like Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Ashutosh Gowarikar attached to it and it is estimated that these 3 films alone are riding 450 crore on its shoulders. The Walt Disney Co., which set foot in India in 2004, additionally has a vicinity in the Indian market through its auxiliary, UTV Motion Pictures. Disney even has a controlling stake in UTV
Motion Pictures.


MEDIA


Media should be blamed for Modi shaming India in London


Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced some sharp questions at a press conference in London, which were quite different from those he is used to being asked in India. The way our anchors gush over Modi on Social Media, one can’t even point the finger at him for not tending to a solitary question and answer session after expecting office. Both online and offline, our standard media straightforwardly derided those giving back their honors. Most recently, some of the big names of Media have been exposed. Its high time our media stops showing larger than life picture and starts asking pertinent questions to the Prime Minister so that the country does not have to feel the shame ever again.

AD WATCH


HARLEY-DAVIDSON - Inner Child


Harley Davidson has come up with an extremely powerful advertisement that highlights the internal freedom and innocence of a human being. It showcases the journey of a man to meet his inner child. The concluding tagline sums it all: - “Whatever is in you, is out there.”

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1NYIYd54JQ

Radical Thoughts - The amalgamation of Mobile Marketing || Mohammed Fahd || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition


The Amalgamation of Mobile Marketing

- Mohammed Fahd
IIM Shillong

“The 21st century is a digital book.” Incredibly true words stated by the character of Agent Jasper Sitwell in the popular Marvel movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, while Hydra had taught the rogue SHIELD how to read this book in the movie, real world organisations have learnt it on their own & utilise it in a rather less sinister manner. The penetration of smart phones in the world will soon outstrip that of laptops & desktops. In fact, in many developing countries such as India a huge chunk of the population has already gained access to a smart phone, a large part of which never even owned a fixed landline phone. Thus, a large market has made itself available & with most of them being active on social media websites, every large company is looking for an efficient way to track & understand what these new customers, combined with their old ones, want & what they are saying about them. The contents of interest in this digital book are being made available on these social media websites & with the rise of mobile marketing a larger market is now available for marketers both to learn from & to provide to.

So how are modern companies embracing the feedback they receive? Well, the process they employ is relatively straightforward. A number of social media monitoring systems have been developed with every new system being more sophisticated than the previous one. However, they are also being integrated with Voice of Customer (VOC) data. This integration of social media with VOC data provides much more information as stated by Bruce Temkin, managing partner of the Temkin Group, “Companies are moving from just listening to their customers' moods to figuring out how to respond. It's one thing to know what people are saying about you, but it's another thing to know how to react and engage your customers.” This trend is now becoming apparent with more & more social media monitoring companies merging or acquiring traditional VOC companies.

And how is the growth of mobiles going to help everyone? Well, mobile marketing is the answer because it’s going to be huge. That’s why companies like InMobi are the next big thing because they can target these mobile platforms & help the big companies of this time & age reach out directly to their customers. As stated by GMR Marketing’s Senior Vice-President, Bryan Rasch, “Smartphones and tablets are taking over, as we get past more than fifty percent of people having smartphones, we're getting into the meat of consumerism, in which people will have a device that allows them to have a richer engagement with content. This presents lots of opportunities for retailers to introduce a full-blown mobile program.” Additionally, the campaigns can be even more successful if integrated with other channels, such as local & social.  Moreover, geolocation tools are emerging as an increasingly popular way to provide consumers customised information about a company’s products.

Thus, the 21st century & especially the last 2 years have provided a relative breakthrough for marketers to use the inter-connected world to their advantage & with technology advancements providing more & more insights, let’s hope that any further advances don’t go the rogue SHIELD/Hydra way!

Brand Story - Micromax || Sumit Bedi || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition


Micromax - Nothing Like Anything

- Sumit Bedi
IIM Shillong

Micromax, a well-known brand in the Indian smartphone market has been a big game changer in India. Micromax started as an IT software company in the year 2000 pivoted its business and entered the mobile phone market in early 2008.

It came up with its first offering named X1i, a mobile handset that had a month long battery life. The first handset was not very successful but it set the ball rolling for Micromax to ride the smartphone wave that started across the globe.

Micromax innovated a new way to capture the Indian market. They focused on the rural India rather than urban India in the early years of their operations. They became the third largest company in the mobile phone industry by offering affordable phones with great features.

In early 2011, Micromax shifted its focus to the urban areas. They made their presence felt to the urban consumer by making Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna its brand ambassadors. They made unique TV commercials that featured Akshay Kumar’s stupid laughter and Twinkle Khanna’s twinkle.

These initial ad campaigns were a success. The mobile phone sales started to increase but all was not rosy for Micromax. The increased sales brought an additional challenge of after sales service. Micromax was criticized for having poor after sales service but the sales remained high because of the unique proposition that is great product features at affordable pricing. Also, Micromax was perceived as a cheap brand in the eyes of the urban consumer.

Micromax slowly built on its after sales capability and also focused sharply on its product offerings. It challenged the big brands like Samsung and Apple by bringing in the new canvas series in market. The canvas provided all the similar features as any high-end smartphone but at fraction of the price.

Micromax again stunned the world by bringing in Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador in the mid-2013. The new canvas series and Hugh Jackman stunt brought great gains for Micromax. It became the number 2-smartphone seller in India in August 2013.

Micromax did not stop there and continued to capture greater share in the Indian market. It went on to become the largest smartphone seller in India in Q2, 2014 replacing Samsung. Along with the innovative ad campaigns and great product launches Micromax has been bold enough to take on Apple and Samsung for their high prices. “I can afford this phone 4 sure” advertisement makes it quite clear.

Micromax also took on Samsung with its “Why Y?” ad campaign where it ridiculed the Samsung Galaxy Y for smaller screen and high price. Micromax still has the winning mindset. It has no intention of stopping. The Roobaroo: Micromax Unit Anthem was intended to make people emotionally connect to the brand on the occasion of Independence Day. 

Micromax wants to penetrate deeper in the Indian market and that to at affordable prices. It teamed up with Google to launch the Android One in India. Android One enabled Micromax to provide affordable android devices to even larger number of Indian consumers.

Micromax wants to have even better pricing for its product and hence it has set up its own manufacturing plant in Uttarakhand, India. It used to source its products from Chinese manufactures till date.
Micromax is a great success story in India. It has become the market leader in smartphones from being an underdog in just 4 years but it has no time to relax. The entry of Chinese smartphone manufactures like Gionee and Xiaomi in India has marked a beginning of new era in the Indian smartphone markets. The market will be more competitive and also more dynamic. Micromax will have to come up with great new initiative and product line to maintain its lead.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

AD-Dicted - Catch or Miss || Kasturi Guha Thakurta & Ansul Jindal || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition


CATCH


PRODUCT: OLX Bech De Campaign

POSITIONING: Keemat bhi, Kuch keemti bhi

CREATIVE AGENCY: Mullen Love Lintas 

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=fCE3jR3FSdQ


CONCEPT: 

This time again OLX released this heartwarming ad under its Aadhe Tere Aadhe Mere campaign. It suggests sharing of dreams to make your loved ones happy. The ad shows a
story of a married couple. One day when the husband fails to pick his wife from her workplace, she realizes that she is so much depended on her husband for every day travelling need to and fro her workplace. When the husband realizes this, he sells their bigger car to buy two smaller cars for each of them. This way, the husband gives his wife her independence back.

VERDICT: Catch 

OLX has taken an emotional route and weaved a real good story which will connect with many working couples. It shows the expression of love and respect for the wife. OLX has also managed to successfully focus on car buying and selling in this ad. The concept that bigger is not always better has been successfully shown by OLX. The background song makes this ad even more appealing. Markathon thinks that this ad will definitely create a positive impact for the brand.

MISS

PRODUCT: Intex LED 5010 FHD TV Commercial

POSITIONING: Colour and sound in perfect harmony

CREATIVE AGENCY: August Communications

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYiO67R_Tfk


CONCEPT: 

The ad shows an orchestra playing violins as the conductor
waves his stick and directs the musicians. As tunes play loud through the violins, bright and bold colours are shown to pop out of the ground. The ad moves forward and a lot of other musicians join in with instruments like the sitar and trumpet. The ad is set in the picturesque location of ancient Europe but even the backdrop fails to add to the quality of the ad. As the music grows louder and faster, the colour jumps higher into the sky in perfect sync with each other. The ad ends with the
statement “Colour and sound in perfect harmony”.

VERDICT: Miss 
Markathon believes that the ad fails to stay with you for a long time. Though set in a beautiful location, it does not create much difference to make the product stand out. Nothing much is said in the ad about the product features.The viewers are left with a lot of questions about the product, its uses and features. Also in the age where advertisements are evolving and becoming all the more thoughtful, this ad fails to evoke strong feelings in the viewers, making it an ad easy to forget.

Eye2Eye - Baba Ramdev : Yogi by choice, entrepreneur by chance. Really? || Abhinav Singh & Ajay Singla || MJPRU, Bareilly & IIM Raipur || November 2015 edition


Baba Ramdev : An entrepreneur by choice

- Abhinav Singh
MJPRU Bareilly

“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” This famous quote suits yoga guru Baba Ramdev. If you want to learn about Brand success, then Baba Ramdev is the right person. He spends nothing on advertising and marketing but has built an FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) empire in just three and half years. According to a Senior Congress leader, Baba is an entrepreneur, not a yoga guru. Today, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali is sweeping away everything in its path. The product quality is the best in breed. For the last decade, Baba told us the evils of MNCs, the corruption of corporates, the exploitation of farmers. By doing this, he left us on our own to explore his products. This was brilliant. He created an environment where we wanted to see if the alternative to the above mentioned evils was usable. I think Patanjali Ayurveda was a startup that displayed as good a content marketing strategy as anyone ever before. According to a Times of India report, for fiscal 2014. Patanjali Ayurveda clocked a turnover of about 1200 crore, up from about Rs 850 crore a year earlier and Rs 450 crore in fiscal 2012, company filings and industry sources said. Baba Ramdev understands that building a business means hiring the best. So Ramdev’s Patanjali group of companies do not hire “Digital Ninjas” but hard core experts in the field which includes Masters in Science, Biology. Big retailers like Reliance Retail, Big Bazaar are also stocking Ramdev’s FMCG products. Now Baba has launched Patanjali Atta Noodles, contain no lead or MSG. “Jhat pat pakao, aur befikar khao” is the catchline of Patanjali Noodles. A great entrepreneur is one who embraces the latest technology for his business and Baba Ramdev has done just that. Taking advantage of the e-commerce boom, one can also buy his products online at websites. I hope to see Baba Ramdev speaking to IIM graduates at some business seminar soon. There is no denying that the man has a sharp business mind.

Baba Ramdev : An entrepreneur by chance

- Ajay Singla
IIM Raipur

After completing the study of yoga and Sanskrit, Baba Ramdev renounced all the worldly pleasures and became a saint by choice to serve the humanity. He desires to make the country healthy and disease free. So he founded the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust where research activities are conducted to discover the healing powers of yoga and Ayurveda. The objective of Baba Ramdev is not to earn money but to help people. Aastha channel started broadcasting the yoga sessions of Baba Ramdev in morning slot. These yoga sessions became very popular among the general public and RamDev came to known as yog guru. Baba Ramdev formed Patanjali Ayurved in 1997. The first products of
Patanjali Ayurved were Aloe Vera Oil and Amla Juice. Amla juice was started to help the loss driven farmers producing amla. Baba Ramdev was quite aware of the benefits of amla for health. So he started making amla juice and promoted it among the general public. Soon Amla juice became traffic builder for Patanjali Ayurved. Thus Baba Ramdev started emerging as an entrepreneur by chance. Fortunately, it didn’t take much time to make Patanjali Ayurved reach to the heights in FMCG promoted by Baba Ramdev. To give healthy food to children, he introduced corn flakes. Recently, to provide healthy noodles, he introduced Atta noodles. He is planning to introduce power booster free from any side effects for children. The idea behind such products is not to make profits, but to provide healthy products to the people. Going by the same approach, today Patanjali product mix constitutes soaps, shampoos, dental care, balms, skin creams, biscuits, ghee, juices, honey, atta, mustard oil, masala, sugar and much more and gives tough competition to top FMCG giants. Clearly Baba Ramdev has become a successful entrepreneur without having any intention to do so.

Vartalaap - in conversation with Mr. Prashant Parameswaran || Marketing Manager || General Mills || Vinay Jain || Cheena Pasrija || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition


Mr. Prashant Parameswaran, Marketing Manager - Convenient Meal Solutions, General Mills is an Experienced Marketing professional with over 15 years in Consumer Insights in leading MNCs spanning areas such as Innovation, Brand Marketing and Business Strategy across markets in Asia, Middle East and Africa. He is an expert in the field of getting consumer insights and has given direction to many programs in his organization to make innovation systematic.


Markathon : Considering your diverse work experience with FMCG, we would like to get an understanding from you, what are these firms doing to penetrate into the rural markets and what better could they do?

If you really look at rural India, it is first of all very important to understand from a ‘need’ point of view what works in rural villages or small towns in India. If I have a product that sells well in the urban India then I need to understand whether the same product will work well in rural India or not, because a rural consumer is ready, they do have aspirations and emerging needs and we need to find out is ways to fulfill those needs. Another big challenge for marketers or in fact the biggest challenge that every FMCG company has to face, is how to reach these consumers and to tell them about your products. 

Raising brand awareness amongst this consumer base is another challenge in itself because the media penetration in such areas is very low. Most of them either don’t have radios & Televisions or satellite connections. But one thing that is changing is the mobile penetration and I think different companies are and should take advantage of this shifting scenario because marketers at the end have to send across their message to the consumer. They should come up with as innovative campaigns as possible to reach their customers. They can come up with mobile campaigns or could leverage upon the ‘melas’ that happen in or around these villages. 

The third and the most important thing to take care of, is the distribution network. Your products should be available to the consumer at the end and I think all companies that are successful in the rural markets have a strong distribution channel.  So I think these are the little things that the companies usually do to enter the rural markets.

Markathon: What is your take on the changing digital marketing space? What new marketing initiatives is  General mills planning to take on this medium?

Couple of things that we are doing: -

Number one, we are actively observing the conversations and engagement that happens on the digital platform. As there are a lot of conversations that happen on the social media, there is currently huge need for something known as ‘social media listening’. It is currently very important for marketers to follow what is trending in social media.

Number two; marketing on the digital space is way different than other traditional channels. Digital space is an altogether different space and unlike other medias, consumers more or less have the option to skip advertisements and that is why you need to focus on content. You need to generate content, which the consumers would be interested in watching.

Lastly, Another thing that you need to understand is how to advertise on different medias, now if we talk about Google Display network (GDN), which includes channels like twitter, Facebook, YouTube and what not. This enables you to have different campaign on different mediums and at the same time allows you to integrate your brand on all these mediums. We are using Google tools like SQL tools and trying to retarget our consumers with the help of ‘adwords’ and ‘adsense’. For E.g. If someone is searching on YouTube ‘butter chicken’, our advertisement in relation to that product should display on his screen. We are emphasizing on targeting our customers in such ways. Although we plan on taking Baby steps for now, as digital marketing is an altogether new media and unlike the traditional media, all of us are trying to learn from our little experiences.

Markathon: How do you think should companies motivate their marketeers to innovate constantly, considering you have initiated & led many programs in your career to drive innovation?

I think it’s not just about motivating the employees; it’s about the excitement to uncover something, which is a lot more powerful. For e.g. in general mills what we do differently is the way we interact with our customers. It is not just a simple step but an entire process that can’t be easily replicated by others. So we start by identifying ‘jobs to be done’ and ‘needs’. So if I want to start something in a field of says ‘snacking’, then I  go out and understand what are the different needs of consumers in this space. And out of these, which is that particular need I want to fulfill, or which is that need that has the maximum opportunity. Accordingly I work on that one particular need. So I think as far as innovation is concerned, you need to understand what is that you really need to work on rather than going out in the market and figuring out what should I make new.

The second important thing is to engage with the consumers. In today’s world it is very important to talk to your consumer and we ‘at General mills’, do a lot to ensure we engage and understand our consumers. A lot of the innovations for our products came because we understood, how our consumers cook , what goes on in their kitchen and what kind of products they use.

The last part, which is very important, is that it is not just the responsibility of a marketer to come up with new ideas. It can come from any department or domain of the firm and I think it is our duty to create a platform where all employees of the firm can contribute.

Markathon: You have said that your professional goal is to build a “Consumer First” culture in organizations, please elaborate on this goal and it's significance.

 We believe that whenever you want to take a decision, see if it makes sense for your consumer. I think every organization should build an intuitive ability over the time, to answer what will work and what will not work and we shouldn’t always rely for all our answers on insights from a market survey. For every marketing problem that comes our way, our approach shouldn’t be just go and do market survey. And that intuitive ability would come by continuously interacting with the consumers and knowing them so well, that at a point of time you will be in sync with their thought process. An organization needs to ensure that the only interaction it has with its consumer is not transactional. You need to talk to your consumer on continuous basis, not only when you need something out of them.


Markathon: You have also worked with Nielson’s and since startups are the next big thing in India, what market research techniques can startups use to get consumer insights as they don’t have big budgets like MNCs for such expenditure?

It is not always necessary to have that kind of money to really try and understand something. It could be done at a very basic level by engaging with your consumers, interacting and even observing them. As a startup you can always go stand in a mall, observe what people are buying etc. I think first and foremost is seeking information is very very expensive, you need to understand what are your challenges? Say you have some limitations when it comes to investment but that doesn’t stop you from getting the information that you want. Yes, it might be limited and might not be as much as you want but you will get information that you can use, that is point number 1. 

Number 2 is that there is so much information available on social media space where people are talking about their needs, talking about what they want and people are monitoring that. Today you think about any startup, say Uber, it became big not because of only information right, it became big because the founder experienced some problem and thought that there can be a solution to this problem. He uncovered an unmet need without any market research at all. This was the information that Uber worked upon, you don’t always have to do conventional market research to get valuable information. 

However, as you grow as an organisation you do need a lot of information but it is a gradual process. I am not of the belief that you need a lot of information to uncover a need.

Markathon: Are there any newer technologies that organizations are using for market research other than the traditional surveys and interviews etc.?

Technology is picking up and even usage of technology in collecting information is picking up. Today, people not only want accurate information but they also want faster information. A lot of investment is going on technologies which help collect the information faster. 

Number 2 is that there are also evolved techniques, a lot happening in the neuro-marketing space where people are trying to understand the impact of various stimuli on the human brain. These technologies are expensive and hence they will take some time for becoming the technique used by everyone but the good thing is people are looking beyond the traditional methods. Surveys are going to be there, they are important. 

The questions is how much we will use the other techniques as well. As an industry, Market research has been investing a lot in technology thinking about how they can get better information at a faster pace. 

Markathon: Since you are an expert on consumer insights and like the subject, I would like to know what would you give more emphasis on Product R&D or market research?

If you see market research as an industry, as lot of money is invested on what I call as scorecard research which includes questions like “is it working or not working?”, “am I doing well or not?” I think now what is happening is that a lot more money has been invested in trying to develop things at work place. Simply put, more emphasis is put on developing the right product rather than spending a lot more on testing later on. 

Today companies, General Mills for example follow a practice called launch and learn where beyond a point we just launch the product and learn about it from the market and develop the right product. The second thing that is happening is that if you look at R&D and the market research, they are coming a lot closer. There is a lot more engagement and interaction that is happening between them rather than both of them working in silos. 

We have done that in all our products that we have developed. Where it’s not been such that something is done at the marketing and then we go to the R&D and tell them to develop a product. Instead both the teams went together to the consumers and uncovered their needs. I am of that philosophy and that’s worked very well for us.

Markathon: What would you suggest to all the budding marketeers who want to make a career in this field?


I can talk about my experiences, the most important thing that has helped me is listening. It is important to observe, listen to what is happening around you rather than forming a particular bias in your mind. You should learn about the environment with respect to engaging with the consumers. Talk to consumers, look at what is happening in their lives, and look at how they are living. I think it is important that you spend a lot of time interacting with the consumers and putting that extra effort to know your consumers in and out. 

The second thing that has helped me a lot is looking at some of the other brands which have made it big. What has been their approach, what did they do, you might see some patterns which you can follow as a marketer. It is important to have that thirst to know more about the things that other brands are doing. 

Also, I always am more interested in the how than the what. I like knowing how they uncovered something rather than what they did after uncovering it. From a competitor’s point of view you should always ask yourself that what you have done, can that also be done by your competition? Can you do something which your competition cannot? 
It is always important to ask these questions and never should you follow your competitor blindly. The last thing I would suggest is that everyone should push their limits and go that extra mile to make yourselves stand out.

Cover Story - Marketing Campaigns that Indian Marketeers can learn from || Vinay Jain || IIM Shillong || November 2015 edition


Marketing Campaigns that Indian Marketeers can learn from

-Vinay Jain
IIM Shillong

The marketing campaigns that we see nowadays in India are really creative and are more than just advertising and sales promotion campaigns. Ask your dad, he will tell you that the marketing campaigns during his time weren’t even half as cool and engaging they are now. We might feel proud believing that the Indian marketers are stepping up the game in the field of marketing with their innovative ideas. Sorry to say this but we would be wrong in believing so. The marketing campaigns that were launched in the other countries will not only blow your minds but also make you ask yourself that why such campaigns aren’t being implemented in our country. Let us take a look at the campaigns that I have been talking about:

Skyfall:
The marketing of an Indian movie includes actors walking into TV shows, calling a press conference, attending the talk shows of Cricket matches or launching Games at most. These may do the trick but are really expensive and not innovative and hence doesn’t attract as much attention. What Skyfall did in association with Coca-Cola was something that needs to be appreciated. They gave away free tickets to people. How is giving away free tickets creative? The catch here was the way they gave those tickets. They had to prove that they too are as good as James Bond, they literally had to! They were given 70 seconds to reach a different floor of the mall to get free tickets with a set of obstacles in between which did make many people fall on their face. The successful ones got their tickets and both Coca-Cola and Skyfall got their publicity for a very meagre expense.
Watch the video on YouTube: Unlock the 007 in you. You have 70 seconds!

Volkswagen: 
Since, social marketing is the cool thing now, all Indian firms are trying to capitalize on it. Ads like Jaago Re! By TATA Tea are all over the place now and also widely appreciated because it is for a social cause. Volkswagen has taken social marketing to another level by its Campaign in a theatre in Hong kong where an ad starts with a person driving a car and only the road view can be seen from the driver’s point of view. All the people in the theatre look at this like any other ad shown in the theatre. Then, a location based broadcaster was used to send a text based message to all the people in the theatre all at once. Everyone in the theatre look at their phone and the next instant the person driving the car in the ad crashes into a tree with a loud bang. Everyone in the theatre is left shocked for a few seconds. Then the screen flashes “Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel”. This was another cost effective and creative way of spreading your message.

Watch the video on YouTube: [FULL] Volkswagen Eyes On The Road Cinema Stunt - Shocking Danger of Texting and Driving

Coca-Cola Friendly Twist: 
Coca-Cola is said to have few of the most creative campaigns of marketing their drink. One such campaign is the ‘Friendly Twist’ campaign that they used on the first day of college. As a usual first day scene in any college, the freshmen year students were all sitting alone listening to music, texting on their phone, just looking around. Amidst all this there was a refrigerator containing bottles of Coca-Cola which can be drunk for free. Obviously, most of the students went to get for themselves a bottle of Coca-Cola. The catch here was that these bottles didn’t have the usual caps and weren’t getting opened by any of the students. Only after sometime did the students realise that these could be only opened by another bottle where both the caps were to be connected and then twisted to open both the bottles. The trick here was that to open a bottle a student will have to talk to another student and will end up socializing with people around him. The campaign was a big hit and couldn’t have gotten a better response from across the globe.

Watch the video on YouTube: Coca-Cola friendly twist

 The Smoking Kid: 
Everyone is aware of the famous ‘Gutka Mukesh’ anti-smoking campaign that is shown before the start of every movie in the theatre and sometimes even on TV. A lot of us only find it funny and not something that compels us to stop smoking. The Thai health promotion foundation wanted to make sure that people quit smoking and they commissioned Ogilvy to come up with a campaign that made sure that happened. Ogilvy came up with a master campaign which made every smoker realise what a big mistake smoking was. The video starts with people smoking all over the place some old, some college students, some even school kids. When all of a sudden two small kids go to the smokers and ask for a lighter. The smoker is shocked looking at such small kids and gives all sorts of reasons as to why the kid shouldn’t smoke stating reasons like “Cigarettes contain poison”, “it leads to cancer”, “you look old when you smoke”, “if you smoke you die faster, don’t you want to live and play?”. The kid replies to them “if it’s so bad, why are you smoking?” and then hands them a paper asking them to take care of themselves too and reminding them to quit smoking. This campaign received a lot of appreciation from smokers and Non-smokers equally.

Watch the video on YouTube: Smoking Kid - Best of #OgilvyCannes 2012 / #CannesLions


Why is this happening?

The Indian audience is not as such developed and mature as compared to the common population in the other countries shown in the above campaigns. We still have people here fighting daily for three meals a day therefore the thirst for new marketing campaigns is definitely not on their list. Also, the marketing managers of the country didn’t really take the marketing campaigns to the ground level and were stuck