SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Bajaj V is a bike built from metal salvaged from the Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier. The bike was first unveiled on social media on the 26 of January, 2016 and the launch was part of a carefully calibrated marketing programme that was high on social currency and shareable moments. This was followed by a social media campaign “Invincible Indians” which recognises people for their selfless acts to society that make the nation proud. It is a collection of such inspiring stories and an invitation for people to share and spread the feeling of pride. The campaign turned into a deeper engagement on how the brand could contribute to causes some of such people had aligned themselves to.
“For V, we pulled out values of Vikrant’s invincibility and of pride. While our ATL work talked about the pride of riding the V, our engagement strategy talked about everyday pride.” said Sanjay Narang, VP – Marketing, Bajaj Auto.
BRAND LAUNCH OF THE YEAR
Launched in 2017, Sonata ACT (App-Enabled Coordinates Tracker) is billed as “India’s first safety watch for women”.
What made the product particularly worthy is that in an age where brands peddle so much rhetoric about cause and purpose, Sonata walked the talk. Delivering on effectiveness and business parameters was another reason why Sonata ACT was the clear victor. Simplicity and ease of use viz a viz smartphone safety alert systems were also other factors. Then there’s the fact that the brand took one of the world’s oldest technologies and merged it with new tech to create something that truly serves a purpose.
“At a brand level we’re extremely sensitive to the everyday concerns of the common man” said Utkarsh Thakur, Marketing Head, Sonata
DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
In March 2017, a bunch of journalists got an e-mail that created instant buzz in newsrooms. RB’s condom brand, Durex sent out a teaser that read – “Durex gets into Denim”. What followed was an elaborate hoax – with various articles, memes and even a video with their brand ambassador Ranveer Singh, leading many to believe that Durex might actually get into denim. Post the build-up, Durex launched two commercials, announcing a pack of two condoms in a sachet. The packaging makeover aimed to break the taboo of buying and aid ease of carrying: it fit snugly in the pocket of denimwear.
“Content that reflects social tensions while propagating a category benefit. When this happens in an intelligent, amusing or interesting way – it tends to catch on with the consumers and key opinion leaders.” Said Pankaj Duhan, Marketing Director, RB Health India, when quizzed on the secret sauce that drove virality.
MARKETING EXCELLENCE
Asian Paints is a remarkable firm that has managed to transform a boring and low-involvement category like paints into a snazzy and lifestyle-led category. The home-grown company, founded in 1942, has never behaved like a legacy firm but has kept itself at the cusp of technological innovations, futuristic brand building and anticipating consumer needs. Over the past years, the focus of the brand has evolved multiple times. In 2002, it moved from a colour focused positioning (“Mera wala…”) to one that invoked pride in one’s home: ‘Har ghar kuch kehta hai…’ Realising the future of the category may not be only on walls, the brand stealthily moved the needle to kitchen solutions and bathroom products too in recent years.
For years, its mascot Gattu — born in 1954 — was one of the most memorable brand icons. Other, more recent campaigns have also been equally memorable, winning awards and accolades. Asian Paints was also one of the earliest to introduce experience centers to fill the gap of online and offline. The most recent foray for the company is around #Homesnotshowrooms which makes a case for people to relax and let go in their perfectly interior-designed residences.
PRINT MARKETING CAMPAIGN
The “Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye- You haven’t seen it all” campaign by the Rajasthan State Government aimed to re-position Rajasthan as a youthful and contemporary destination. The campaign adopted a bold and fearless narrative – portraying Rajasthan through the eyes of a traveller. So, through the eyes of Arya, it became Aryasthan, through the eyes of Meera, Meerasthan and so on.
“The centrepiece of the campaign was to showcase the versatility and beauty of destinations across the state.” shares Subodh Agarwal, additional chief secretary, tourism, Government of Rajasthan
INTEGRATED MARKETING INITIATIVE
To the world at large, MakeMyTrip signing on young Bollywood stars – Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt – seemed like the most clichéd chapter in the marketing playbook. However, many campaigns across various modern and traditional media later, the strategy paid off by the spadesful.
Deepak Kalra, Founder, MakeMyTrip, said Kalra “We decided to chip away these blockers by deploying two celebrities, getting the message out in a creative way.”
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
In a market where everyone wants to target the millennials, Saregama came up with a meaningful innovation fulfilling a specific need of an ignored audience – their older consumers who found it difficult to access streaming services. Hence, they designed the Carvaan, a music player packed with 5000 songs from Saregama’s catalogue. The gadget resembles a stylised radio of yore, with big buttons and a simple interface, keeping in mind the older audience its pitched at.
“The only piece of brilliance around Carvaan was listening to the consumer, blindly implementing what they want rather than trying to outguess them”, said Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama
