Happy to Help: The Aircel way

Ask any marketing manager his biggest challenge in a service industry. The answer nine times of ten would be delivering Customer satisfaction. For a telecom brand, it’s a matter of life and death. With churn (customer switching) highest in this segment, it becomes very important for a brand to be seen not only delivering on the promise but also come up innovative ways of ‘helping’ the customers at large. Vodafone is currently all over the channels with its ‘HAPPY TO HELP’ series of commercials. (And yes, finally my fear has been laid to rest. The pug has not been zoozooed. Yet). A total of four TVC are doing the circles. Sugar coated advertising. Nothing else.

So does advertising esp. when it comes to talking of customer service delivers on the promise when it comes to on ground execution of solving customer’s problems. Not sure. The Jury is still out on this.

On the other hand, Aircel which is a new entrant (till now a south specific brand) in Mumbai struck a chord with the Mumbaikars. Anybody familiar with the Mumbai rains will know how the city gets clogged and the harrowing time which the commuters have to go through. Milan subway is one such place which is notorious for get inundated with every shower.

Aircel got an inflatable rubber dingy on a hoarding near Milan subway in the first week of July with a message saying cut the rope in case of an emergency.

And on 15th July, it rained heavily and the dingy came down. Trained Aircel staff braved the rains and helped commuters throughout the day.

This effort of Aircel might or might not have increased sales.

But, what stands out for me from this case are three important lessons for advertisers.

1. There are enough avenues where a brand can contribute to the society meaningfully, which at the same time aids in tremendous brand recall. These avenues as in the case of Milan subway might not look appealing from a branding perspective but adds tremendous value if one looks at them with an open mind.

2. There is no point in doing frivolous stuff appealing to a niche audience on ground. A lot of brands are guilty of this and the culprits are the agency in most case that is after metals. Hutch and Ogilvy are a case in point with the rangashankara festival in Bangalore.

3. Meaningful CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) should be a must on every brand manager list.

Oh My GOD!!

Perhaps the best campaign ever made for a brand everyone wants to believe in but few do.

The Church association in Singapore had a problem on hand. People coming into church for the sunday mass was dwindling. Its seemed as if God had become passe therefore couldn't be seen as somebody who could 'solve' your everyday problems. The stress and toil of everyday life seems to have taken man away from God.

The brief therefore was to reach out to the masses in a witty and approachable manner. The result was an incredible campaign done by Ogilvy & Mather (who else) Singapore office. Since there are strict laws on religion advt in singapore, the campaign was banned within a week by the govt resulting in people wanting to know more about GOD!

The creative was kept very simple. No Visuals. Just typo on a black background. These were upon billboards, stations, buses, etc., in its original form.

I am listing down a few on which i could lay my hands on. Enjoy this once in a life time work.

And this is my favorite. And its true if you are a believer.
1. According to Hindusim, Kal yug will end and God will come down
2. Islam talks of 'qayamat' ka din
3. Christanity talks of Judgement day

Purrrfect match!

Sach ka Saamna expectedly has become the talk of the nation. I was catching the late night news and it has also caught the imagination of the Lok Sabha for expected reasons. Not wanting to get on the wrong foot, MPs crossing party lines have asked for a ban on the show!

But what caught my attention were the brands which are sponsoring the show. out of 4 brands, two have a 'sachai' element in their brand story. Medimix and Sprite.

But its sprite which comes close as a brand fit for the show. Their propostion of 'Seedhi baat. No bakwaas' gels perfectly with the format of the show where in the participant cannot bull shit his way to glory.

my gut is if the show gains popularity (which it will), you will find a lot of brands having 'in house' placements in the format. for e.g, sprite might be offered to a participant before he answers a tricky question.

for e.g, for every relationship question answered in the affirmative, you may see a fevicol slug saying yeh fevicol ka jod hai tutega nahi!

Match fixed in shows!

Breaking the Media clutter. Do the new.

One of the greatest challenges which every advertiser faces today is to be stand out from the clutter. With over hundreds of TV channels, FM stations, out of home options, the challenge increases many fold. If your product benefit is great, the execution is super; the brand still loses out if it’s not presented smartly.

In this context, i am reminded of two instances in the past and one that I saw last week.

The first instance is of a dish washer brand (don’t remember the name) which was launched in 80’s. In those days, the only national platform to reach out to the masses apart from All India Radio was the good old Doordarshan. There was a lot of high quality programming in the form of Hum Log, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad among others. Chitrahaar on Wednesdays and Fridays use to be hit with advertisers. And the top billing use to be for the Sunday evening movie.

So, on this particular Sunday, Shakti starring Amitabh and Dilip Kumar was to be aired. It was a top grosser and naturally it was to attract top billing. This brand of dish washer did the first known ‘black out’ that happened on TV. Theirs was the only ad that was advertised during the break that comes every 15-20 minutes. It was unheard or unseen on Indian Television. People remembered the product and it did attract a lot of enquires. Unfortunately, the product failed.

The second instance of a ‘black out’ was when Hutch changed to Vodafone. The entire Star network including its regional bouquets played only the Vodafone ads for one full day. Not sure what was the value of the deal, but the message was conveyed effectively.

The last instance that I heard (not saw) was the launch of Tata Docomo GSM service in Hyd. Their tag line is ‘do the new’ and as a product benefit, they are offering 1 paise per second billing across all calls in India.

So instead of doing the regular launch, they did the new. In perhaps the most effective and unheard of style, they pulled of a coup of sorts. They bought out the entire air time on all the four private FM channels in Hyd – Radio city, Big FM, Radio Mirchi and S FM.

All the channels played only their commercial. And here is the killer, they got all the four Top Radio Jockeys to come together and host the morning show from 8 to 10! So, whichever, channel one tuned into one could hear the same broadcast? And the knockout punch was in the fact that all the RJ’s talked on ‘how to do the new in life’ story.

Very interesting and absolutely engaging!

What next? A brand engaging Arnab Goswami (Times Now), Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN IBN) and Barkha Dutt (NDTV 24X7) together. Given the fact that the line between sensationalism and serious journalism is a thin red line, the day is not far off.

Its pays to keep your eyes open

My last two posts compared similar ads in the same category and same story line in different category respectively.

The one that takes the cake and the bakery along with it is the commercial by Sun Direct TV. In perhaps the first of its kind (outside of the cola wars), here is an irrefutable example of the power of borrowing a story line from ‘entertaining’ ads.

I am yet to come across a brand launching a high involvement product cramped with top players, riding on the success of a plot used by a brand in a completely alien category.
Bajaj Motorcycle had a big bang launch for their new 125 cc bike. The challenge here was to spate the bike from the plethora of 100cc bikes which were ruling the market. So, the plot had two guys discussing the various features of the bike. The punch was in the execution and the two actors.


Sun Direct DTH service was launched nationally in December 2008. The market already had two strong players in Tata Sky and Dish TV. Both were pan India brand and had established certain equity attached to them. On the other hand, Sun was a South Indian brand with national aspirations. Added to this were the intense competition with number of channels offered and the entry price being the deciding factors. Sun TV offered both the advantages.

But instead of doing the run of the mill stuff or hiring a celebrity (SUN network with deep pockets could have easily afforded it), they went with the wacky suggestion of the agency (McCann Erickson). And the result was a highly effective, most recalled ad of that period.
(but i must add that the heavy media spends by bajaj on XCD helped sun here!)

To me the success of the Sun Direct campaign shows three things:
1. Advertisers needs to keep their eyes open outside their category
2. You can piggy ride and actually get away with a borrowed but brilliantly improvised script
3. Guts shown by the advertiser to actually go ahead with the story line (it could have misfired badly)

Point number one deserves a special mention because a lot of client servicng and account planners keep a tab only on their category and their brands. they diligently prepare research reports on competition, keep guard books with competiton ads, etc., In short they are too focussed on their category.

Focus makes you narrow minded. Keep your eyes open. Stay defocussed.

Dealing with a Messy Boss. A tale of 2 ads across a few years.

I recently saw the re-run of Tata Indigo commercial (first released in Jan 2008) which was strikingly similar to the Hari Sadu ad of Naukri but with a twist. But what really set me of thinking was that the Twist clearly mirrors the sign of different times and the changing mindset of the working class.

Boss employee situation have been exploited to the hilt in advertising. One of the all time classics which won numerous awards was the ‘Hari Sadu’ ad for Naukri portal.
The ad worked big time for a variety of reasons.
1. Every employee has/had a Hari Sadu as boss in their life
2. Instead of using fear/anger, it uses humour to drive home the point
3. Every disgruntled worker likes to pay back this boss once. Big time!

Now what’s interesting to know is the time when this ad hit the market. The year was 2006. The economy was on the upward swing. The job market was thriving. People were spoilt for choices when it came to their careers. The whole IT and BPO fever was taking the tier 1 and II cites by storm. Naukri and the incumbent agency (Draft FCB Ulka) caught the pulse bang on and created this award winning creative.



The Tata Indigo CS commercial has a similar story line of a boss who cares a @#$% about you. But instead of quitting the guy gets back at this boss in style without giving up his job!

If I have to trace the story of the protagonist across the two phases – 2006 and 2008, through these commercials, what has really changed? Well, our man just got smarter. He will no longer switch a job at the drop of hat but prefers hitting back where it hurts the most – ego.

Now comes the most interesting part of this blog post.

Both the ads – Naukri and Tata Indigo have been created by the same agency – Draft FCB Ulka.

Same Promise. Different execution

After months of research (and procrastination) I picked up a wireless broadband connection for my laptop. The final trigger was in the hope that it will help me put my insomnia bouts to good use. So last week, I was handed a complimentary piece of Reliance to broadband Netconnect +
It’s small. Fits snugly in your hand And packs in speed not experienced before (equivalent with high speed access you get at office)

But that’s not what got me hooked to write this post. It’s rather a peculiar challenge which advertisers face in a category like this where the product differentiation is not there. In this case, the selling point is the speed of access. And it’s interesting to see how the players have had different renditions of speed for the same audience.

The wireless broadband market saw three high profile launches in the last few months back to back.
1. Reliance Broadband Netconnect
2. Airtel Broadband
3. Tata Indicom Photon

Reliance and Airtel have TVCs running for their brands. Haven’t seen Tata Indicom’s TVC yet.

Both the ads focus on the same target audience who is
1. upwardly mobile professional
2. Always on the move

Both the campaigns emphasise the same product promise – Speed. But what is remarkably different is the way it is pitched.
Let’s look at Airtel first.

The ad turns a negative virtue (Impatience) found in today’s generation into a positive one. The TVC accepts the fact that the youth of today are in a hurry, can’t wait for their turn to come and wants everything at a click of a button. They want the world to keep pace with them and the other way round. And Airtel promises to deliver that speed with their broadband.

How many times have you been in a situation where you wanted to experience/check out something while on the do the move? You wanted to listen to your favourite Kishore kumar Song while you experience the rains but could not do so while watching the rain on the move?

Reliance promise to deliver the same, right here and right now. It explores situations which we always want to do the right things at the right time in the wrong place. It takes out the time factor out and also promises to deliver it at great speed.

So there you have. Two different brands in the same category. Same product promise with no differentiation. But different executions. Personally for me both worked.

So, which one did you like?

Horlicks. Wants more

Universal Truth No#1: Majority of the kids hate milk.
Universal Truth No#2: Making kids drink is every mother’s nightmare.
Universal Truth No#3: Helping the mothers in this is a billion dollar business

The malted drinks category in India is estimated around 1800 – 2000 crores. The top players include:
1. GSK’s Horlicks, Maltova, Viva and Boost.
2. Cadbury’s Bournvita
3. Nestlé’s Milo
4. Heinz’s Complan

GSK dominates the market not only by the number of the brands but also in terms of the market share (around 70%) with Horlicks leading from the front.
And as market leader, Horlicks has always stayed ahead of the curve with some smart line extensions. For the uninitiated Line extensions happen when the brand launches the new product in the same category targeting a new segment through new flavours, added ingredients, package sizes etc.

Horlicks started out with their basic bread and butter brand targeted at the Kids segment where the action is the hottest.

Released couple of years back, The Taller, Stronger Sharper campaign had a series of TVC running. An interesting facet of this TVC was the focus shifting from the ‘problem-solution’ format advertising that such category follows. The mother is absent is conspicuously absent. And instead the campaign talks to the kid directly. One of the reasons perhaps is the amount of exposure a kid has today that you no longer can take him for granted or not talk to him directly. Horlicks understood this early and spoke to him like a friend. It wanted him to change the world around him by being taller, stronger and sharper.

Horlicks also has a variant for preschool children – Junior Horlicks. Specially formulated to work as a nutritional supplement.

Another variant which was launched was Horlicks Lite. Targeted at the father of the house, its key selling points are that it has no added sugar and helps in cholesterol control. Horlicks slowly, but surely started moving together towards the brand promise – The Great Family Nourisher.

The TVC explores the tried and tested clichéd route of how stress and fatigue ca n take a toll on relationships and how to circumvent (if not avoid) them.
I have a theory on clichéd advertising.
Clichés works in certain categories. For three reasons (I still swear by the rule of three!)
1. They ‘mirror’ the consumer’s life to the T
2. They have an uncanny knack of ‘romancing’ the problem
3. They make you feel ‘this is me’ and I need it.
The caution here is you may get an entry in a category but sooner or later the consumer or the competition will sort you out.
One of the best and smart extensions to come out of Horlicks has been Women’s Horlicks. All through the category over its existence, all brands have spoken to the mother at a subtle level on the fact that it’s good for them. It’s not uncommon in an Indian Household to see parents (especially mothers) drink up left over milk of their children. But I assume this is out of compulsion and not out of choice. Though I must say, I have seen many actually enjoy a glass of it too.
Keeping this insight in mind, Horlicks used another cliché to launch a new variant for women in general. Any guess on the cliché? Yes, the multi tasking angle!. In fact the Horlicks website confirms this: it says something to his effect. “...For centuries, women have been taking care of the family. You realize now that you need to take care of yourself...”

Smartly executed and roping in an ‘intelligent’ actress – Konkana Sen, Horlicks launched Women’s Horlicks.What worked in this campaign were its interesting cuts between the numerous roles a women plays in her life. From running the kitchen, taking care of kids, office pressure, etc the TVC hits the bulls eye by beautifully capturing the cliché no 1 (They mirror the consumer’s life to a T); moves to the cliché point number 2 (They have an uncanny knack of romancing the problem) and logically moves you to cliché no 3 (This makes you fell ‘this is me’ and I need it)

Clichéd hai par bikta hai!

Btw, Horlicks is sold in UK as a brand targeted at adults. The brand tag line says: unwind for a good night’s sleep