Saw 3 Idiots last week. And marvelled at the way Raju Hirani has been able to string together a series of hits. Cinema that is not only meaningful; but also connects with the masses. Pretty much like big advertising ideas.
Which got me thinking- what is Raju Hirani's advertising idea? Just as advertising ideas have different executions based on a common theme; so do Raju Hirani's films.
Any ad idea has 3 strong foundations; so do Raju Hirani's films:
1. Essentially like any ad idea his films too are based on a strong insight.Pepsi in the early 90s had hundreds of executions ; all of which were based on one insight - everyone wants to feel young.. Similarly Raju Hirani's films are also based on a powerful insight- people are looking to be inspired. That's what his quasi-social messages do - be it having a 'human approach to humans',non-violence and the virtues of honesty or the latest 'knowledge is about learning'.
2. Next is a strong brand personality. Any brand with a strong advertising idea has a distinct personality. This becomes the signature of the brand. While the brand name of Hutch has changed to Vodafone; across different executions you see a distinct(almost signature) personality . Fevicol is another example. Similarly Mr Hirani embellishes his films with a unique personality - a kind of everyday humour that is funny; yet believable.
3. And thirdly; most advertising ideas have a catchy executional phrase/concept that creates buzz for the brand. A kind of shorthand for what people think it stands for. So Pepsi had 'Ye Dil Maange More', Hutch - the Doggy or Zoo Zoos and Nike 'Just Do It'. The executional phrase/concept may change from execution to execution but its role (to make the core ad idea come alive) remains unchanged . Which is what Raju Hirani does in all his films - be it 'Jadoo ki Jhappi', 'Gandhigiri' or ' All is bhell'!
So there you ahve it. The Raju Hirani ad idea de-constructed. An idea that works across subjects, classes, heroes and market conditions.
Wonder which brand is going to snap him up first to write(and direct) their next ad campaign?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Jungle Book
There are different tricks advertisers do to make their ads more appealing and cut through the clutter. One of them is the choice of the protagonist in the advertising.
First; there’s the chubby baby. Goo Goo Gaa Gaa and some chubby skin show brings out the maternal instincts of every woman viewer from 16 to 60. Even men can’t help their ‘Cho Chweet’ instincts when encountered with that characteristic gurgle. I still remember a famous ad of the 90s (infact Mid-Day rated it the best ad of the 90s) recruiting models for Johnson & Johnson. It simply said “Nude Models Wanted”! Or the client in the mid-90s telling me to show more skin (of the baby kind) for a consumer durable ad!
Then; there’s the cute (or precocious; take your pick) kid. The kid who wins your heart with his childlike innocence(latest Airtel ads) or ‘one-up on adults’ attitude( a Rin detergent ad of a kid with the Big B actually made the child a star – in a parallel lead to AB in the film Bhoothnath!).
Then ofcourse; there’s the celebrity. Sign one on and nothing else matters. From AB to SRK to MSD to all the gorgeous Lux women– celebrities cut-through.
Most recently though; there’s a new kind of clutter breaker taking over the Indian advertising firmament. A protagonist who does not need to be paid a bomb, who can always be counted upon to deliver a stellar performance, whose innate values can be linked seamlessly to the brands proposition. And who manages to strike a chord with a variety of audiences- without mouthing a word of dialogue (no language dub hassles with this one!).
The latest successful advertising protagonist is not human.
It’s the Vodafone Dog, the Cadbury’s Gorilla, the IDBI Elephant, the CEAT Rhino (sadly discontinued) and ofcourse the Merrill Lynch Bull.
In todays advertising age animals have found their place not just as chaaps(Bandar Chhaap Dant Manjan, Tiger Chhaap biscuit etc) ; but as brand ambassadors.
If movies can make money out of animals (Jungle Book, Shrek, Sharks Tale, Ice Age, Bugs Life, Eight Below, Free Willy, Babe etc etc); why not brands?
In recent times brand benefits and advertising cut-through seem to be delivered more effectively through other species that inhabit our planet. Arguably; with good reason.
The innate qualities of the animal get automatically superimposed onto the brand (without having to establish them using precious airtime). And human emotions communicated through non-humans somehow seem to resonate more with humans.What's more you don't need to pay the performers much. Just a super in minimum font stating that you didn't harm them during the shoot and a few thousands of rupees!
So let's celebrate the coming of age of the animal kingdom in advertising. If you think advertising is running out of animals to use as protagonists; don’t . The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment notes approximately 2 million species formally described!
As for their ability to deliver emotions effectively; see any Disney Cartoon. Snakes can be cute , fishes can be smart and donkeys can have attitude!
First; there’s the chubby baby. Goo Goo Gaa Gaa and some chubby skin show brings out the maternal instincts of every woman viewer from 16 to 60. Even men can’t help their ‘Cho Chweet’ instincts when encountered with that characteristic gurgle. I still remember a famous ad of the 90s (infact Mid-Day rated it the best ad of the 90s) recruiting models for Johnson & Johnson. It simply said “Nude Models Wanted”! Or the client in the mid-90s telling me to show more skin (of the baby kind) for a consumer durable ad!
Then; there’s the cute (or precocious; take your pick) kid. The kid who wins your heart with his childlike innocence(latest Airtel ads) or ‘one-up on adults’ attitude( a Rin detergent ad of a kid with the Big B actually made the child a star – in a parallel lead to AB in the film Bhoothnath!).
Then ofcourse; there’s the celebrity. Sign one on and nothing else matters. From AB to SRK to MSD to all the gorgeous Lux women– celebrities cut-through.
Most recently though; there’s a new kind of clutter breaker taking over the Indian advertising firmament. A protagonist who does not need to be paid a bomb, who can always be counted upon to deliver a stellar performance, whose innate values can be linked seamlessly to the brands proposition. And who manages to strike a chord with a variety of audiences- without mouthing a word of dialogue (no language dub hassles with this one!).
The latest successful advertising protagonist is not human.
It’s the Vodafone Dog, the Cadbury’s Gorilla, the IDBI Elephant, the CEAT Rhino (sadly discontinued) and ofcourse the Merrill Lynch Bull.
In todays advertising age animals have found their place not just as chaaps(Bandar Chhaap Dant Manjan, Tiger Chhaap biscuit etc) ; but as brand ambassadors.
If movies can make money out of animals (Jungle Book, Shrek, Sharks Tale, Ice Age, Bugs Life, Eight Below, Free Willy, Babe etc etc); why not brands?
In recent times brand benefits and advertising cut-through seem to be delivered more effectively through other species that inhabit our planet. Arguably; with good reason.
The innate qualities of the animal get automatically superimposed onto the brand (without having to establish them using precious airtime). And human emotions communicated through non-humans somehow seem to resonate more with humans.What's more you don't need to pay the performers much. Just a super in minimum font stating that you didn't harm them during the shoot and a few thousands of rupees!
So let's celebrate the coming of age of the animal kingdom in advertising. If you think advertising is running out of animals to use as protagonists; don’t . The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment notes approximately 2 million species formally described!
As for their ability to deliver emotions effectively; see any Disney Cartoon. Snakes can be cute , fishes can be smart and donkeys can have attitude!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Motilal Oswal Brand Campaign
The Brand Challenge –the financial advertising ghetto Due to the large number of players across asset classes in the investing space; the consumer is bombarded with umpteen messages from umpteen brands. Due to the similarities of the offerings; the lines between what one brand had to offer versus the other were extremely blurred. As a result all the financial brands were seen as offering similar offerings ; all bunched up close to one another – almost like a ghetto of brands. What’s more; Motilal Oswal being a late entrant did not have the legacy that some of the other brands (especially the multinational wealth management companies and Indian/foreign banks).The need of the hour was for a differentiated brand proposition in what was hitherto an undifferentiated space.
Understanding the Consumer The investor today can be divided into 3 archetypes 1. Self-directed – hard core traders who understand money and the stock markets. They do their own research and take investment decisions on their own. All they need is a speedy and reliable trading platform. 2. Validators – The bulk of today’s investors; they rely on an investment expert to provide them with research and insight into the markets. They use the advise given by the investment experts to decide on where to invest and where not to. 3. Delegators – People who do not have the time or the expertise to handle their investments. They delegate the same to experts who manage their money at their discretion. These would typically be people who invest in mutual funds, portfolio management schemes etc.
The Motilal Oswal Brand Differentiator Ever since the company was started in 1987; there has always been a strong focus on research based advice. Today; with 28 member equity analyst team tracking 200 companies across 26 sectors, research based advice is the Motilal Oswal brand differentiator. The proof of this can be seen in the numerous awards it has won at the AsiaMoney Brokers polls since 2003 as well as in the Starcom Mediavest Investment survey 2007, ET Starmine awards and Institutional Investor Awards for Research.
The Communication StrategyFrom the three consumer segments; the brand focus was on the validator archetype. Reason being that this was one segment that would be willing to pay a premium for the services that the brand would have to offer. Moreover; it also fit in very well with the brand proposition of research based advice.
Advertising Idea In the financial services space there are a plethora of brands trying to position themselves on providing the end benefit/payoff to the customer. As a result different brands of mutual funds, life insurance and wealth management were bombarding the customer with messages on better returns, fulfilling dreams, better service etc. Rather than focusing on these undifferentiated propositions; the brand positioned itself on an attitude. One that believed in putting research before everything else we do in the advice we give to our customers. Hence the advertising idea ‘Knowledge First’ To give the idea a larger than life feel, the creative idea was to link the fact that all great inventions, discoveries etc were based on knowledge. Hence be it science or creating wealth; it pays to know more.
Creatives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wwjjHhGrEw
ResultsThe campaign broke in November 2007. We conducted a brand track in October 2007 and also in March 2008. In just 6 months of the campaign, brand recall has gone up from 64% to 89%. Brand Consideration from 24% to 58%. Brand Recommendation from 17% to 41%. On the key image parameter of ‘Has strong research’; brand scores have gone up from 12% to 52 %. (Source – Hansa Research Brand Track Study. See annexure for details) What’s more; in the Cirrus PR Tracking study for the year 2007-08; the company achieved a ‘visibility’ score of 6087, an ‘image’ score of 11020 and a ‘quality of exposure’ score of 181 – the second highest in the category(
Friday, November 27, 2009
The 5-10 Plan to Marketing
The first thing we are taught in marketing is the 4 Ps - Product Place Price Promotion.The first thing I was taught in advertising was the Trikaya Grey 5-10 plan.
Everyone knows the 4Ps; but the 5-10 Plan? Whats that? This is what it is:
Simply put; the 5-10 plan states that any brand communication needs to aspire towards a rating of 10.To reach the same you need to first have a strategy( or proposition/brief etc).On strategy you can either be right or wrong. Hence the strategy can either be 0 or 5.No 1/2/3/4 etc.Once you have reached a 5 on strategy it is the job of the creative product(including its execution through media) to take you towards 10. So the creative can take you to a 6 , a 7, a 8 , a 9 or a 10.
Right strategy with creative that takes you to a 6 can also work. Only; you will end up spending a lot of money to get your message through to the consumer ( eg some P&G ads).Right strategy with a creative product that takes you to a 9 or 10 can fulfill the same task. Only at a much lower cost( eg some of the CeaseFire ads of the early 90s)
So what relevance does this have to the 4Ps? Well the first P i.e the Product is like the right strategy.Either you have it...or you are a 0. The other 3 Ps i.e the Price, Promotion and Place of distribution are the elements that can take your brand from a 5 to a 10.
Simple? Or simplistic?
You decide.
Everyone knows the 4Ps; but the 5-10 Plan? Whats that? This is what it is:
Simply put; the 5-10 plan states that any brand communication needs to aspire towards a rating of 10.To reach the same you need to first have a strategy( or proposition/brief etc).On strategy you can either be right or wrong. Hence the strategy can either be 0 or 5.No 1/2/3/4 etc.Once you have reached a 5 on strategy it is the job of the creative product(including its execution through media) to take you towards 10. So the creative can take you to a 6 , a 7, a 8 , a 9 or a 10.
Right strategy with creative that takes you to a 6 can also work. Only; you will end up spending a lot of money to get your message through to the consumer ( eg some P&G ads).Right strategy with a creative product that takes you to a 9 or 10 can fulfill the same task. Only at a much lower cost( eg some of the CeaseFire ads of the early 90s)
So what relevance does this have to the 4Ps? Well the first P i.e the Product is like the right strategy.Either you have it...or you are a 0. The other 3 Ps i.e the Price, Promotion and Place of distribution are the elements that can take your brand from a 5 to a 10.
Simple? Or simplistic?
You decide.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Advertising Categories that defined a decade
Every decade throws up a period defining category .
A category that hits the sweet spot where client needs, agency business and the creative product meet. A category that not only throws up hip, buzz creating , award winning work; but work that actually helps sell the product. A category whose growth ,ad spends (and competition!) booms.
Let's look back at the 70s/early 80s. I'd say the defining category of that decade was soaps and detergents. Be it the bikini clad Liril girl, the Nirma girl and "Surf ki khariddaari mein aur bhi samajhdaari hai", "Rin ki safedi ki chamkaar"; the ads from this category and that era are still remembered.
Then came the 80s. A decade when India got wheels. So "Fill it .shut it .forget it." and "Hamara Bajaj" ruled.
The 90s were clearly about colas . The cola MNC entry and the subsequent cola wars gave us memorable campaigns that most agencies would give an arm to have on their portfolios. Remember " Yehi hai right choice baby", "Nothing official about it", "Mera number aayega", "Taste the Thunder"?
And the first decade of 2000 clearly belongs to the mobile category. Be it the Hutch/Vodafone dog, Airtel "Express Yourself" , or even "What an Idea Sirji"; mobile service/mobile phone campaigns are the most ubiquitous and talked about in todays day and age.
So what is common among these categories that made their campaigns decade definers?
Firstly; it was a category that came of age in that decade. Indians made the mega shift from laundry bars to detergents in the 70s,from cycles to two-wheelers in the 80s, started drinking soft drinks Vs sherbets/water in the 90s and ofcourse , in the first decade of 2000, mobilephones evolved from a techno-status toy to an indispensible must have.
Secondly ; the consumer evolved to appreciate the value of the category promise; and had the werewithal to buy into it.
Given the above decade defining category characteristics; is it possible to forecast the hot advertising category for 2010 to 2020? The category that's going to have big spends and win big awards?
My wager is that it'll be financial services. A category currently considered dull, boring, confusing and something that any self respective creative person will run away from.
But then ; consider some facts.With India growing from a 1 trillion dollar GDP economy to a 2trillion dollar economy in this decade ; and with savings rates around 35%; people are going to have a lot of money to invest in money!
What's more with the category opening up(thru the entry of multi-nationals) and the consumer evolving via insurance, mutual fund communication ; the financial services category is surely one whose advertising star is on the ascendent.
So my guess is that instead of detergent wars, cola wars and mobile wars; the coming decade are is going to have a new type of marketing war - the Money wars!. Be it banking, wealth management, insurance, broking or insurance.
In a hi-growth, competitive scenario; brands will need to be a lot more creative to take advantage of the opportunity.The stakes are large and the opportunity immense. In the coming decade; the campaigns of the year will be from this hitherto unheralded category. A beginning has already been made - IDBI Bank 'Elephant', SBI Life'Diamond', Motilal Oswal 'Knowledge First' etc.
But this is just the beginning of the wave.The coming decade can look forward to some insightful, creative and buzz creating campaigns from the financial services space.
Ad agencies are your ready?
A category that hits the sweet spot where client needs, agency business and the creative product meet. A category that not only throws up hip, buzz creating , award winning work; but work that actually helps sell the product. A category whose growth ,ad spends (and competition!) booms.
Let's look back at the 70s/early 80s. I'd say the defining category of that decade was soaps and detergents. Be it the bikini clad Liril girl, the Nirma girl and "Surf ki khariddaari mein aur bhi samajhdaari hai", "Rin ki safedi ki chamkaar"; the ads from this category and that era are still remembered.
Then came the 80s. A decade when India got wheels. So "Fill it .shut it .forget it." and "Hamara Bajaj" ruled.
The 90s were clearly about colas . The cola MNC entry and the subsequent cola wars gave us memorable campaigns that most agencies would give an arm to have on their portfolios. Remember " Yehi hai right choice baby", "Nothing official about it", "Mera number aayega", "Taste the Thunder"?
And the first decade of 2000 clearly belongs to the mobile category. Be it the Hutch/Vodafone dog, Airtel "Express Yourself" , or even "What an Idea Sirji"; mobile service/mobile phone campaigns are the most ubiquitous and talked about in todays day and age.
So what is common among these categories that made their campaigns decade definers?
Firstly; it was a category that came of age in that decade. Indians made the mega shift from laundry bars to detergents in the 70s,from cycles to two-wheelers in the 80s, started drinking soft drinks Vs sherbets/water in the 90s and ofcourse , in the first decade of 2000, mobilephones evolved from a techno-status toy to an indispensible must have.
Secondly ; the consumer evolved to appreciate the value of the category promise; and had the werewithal to buy into it.
Given the above decade defining category characteristics; is it possible to forecast the hot advertising category for 2010 to 2020? The category that's going to have big spends and win big awards?
My wager is that it'll be financial services. A category currently considered dull, boring, confusing and something that any self respective creative person will run away from.
But then ; consider some facts.With India growing from a 1 trillion dollar GDP economy to a 2trillion dollar economy in this decade ; and with savings rates around 35%; people are going to have a lot of money to invest in money!
What's more with the category opening up(thru the entry of multi-nationals) and the consumer evolving via insurance, mutual fund communication ; the financial services category is surely one whose advertising star is on the ascendent.
So my guess is that instead of detergent wars, cola wars and mobile wars; the coming decade are is going to have a new type of marketing war - the Money wars!. Be it banking, wealth management, insurance, broking or insurance.
In a hi-growth, competitive scenario; brands will need to be a lot more creative to take advantage of the opportunity.The stakes are large and the opportunity immense. In the coming decade; the campaigns of the year will be from this hitherto unheralded category. A beginning has already been made - IDBI Bank 'Elephant', SBI Life'Diamond', Motilal Oswal 'Knowledge First' etc.
But this is just the beginning of the wave.The coming decade can look forward to some insightful, creative and buzz creating campaigns from the financial services space.
Ad agencies are your ready?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Global Marketing /Advertising /Promotion Spends
Just read that Businessweek estimates worldwide Marketing, Advertising and Promotion spends at 1.2 trillion dollars per annum. That's 20% higher than India's GDP; btw.
Now coming to the famous "Half of my marketing money is wasted; but I don't know which half" quote; figuring out wasted marketing spends is a 600 billion dollar business!
Marketing Efficiency experts please take note.
ps: wonder what's the global size of the IT Industry? Any guesses?
Now coming to the famous "Half of my marketing money is wasted; but I don't know which half" quote; figuring out wasted marketing spends is a 600 billion dollar business!
Marketing Efficiency experts please take note.
ps: wonder what's the global size of the IT Industry? Any guesses?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
THE ROLE OF BRANDING IN FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION
In financial services everything can be quantified. The amount of money you invest, the returns you get, the fee charged; everything can be neatly put into a P&L.So in such a cut and dried world; what role would branding have? After all; isn’t branding the fuzzy, subjective discipline ; the role of which cannot be quantified by anyone –the consumer or the business?
There is a strong role that branding plays in a financial services business. And it can be summarized in two words –Trustmarks & Choice Simplifiers.
Finance is extremely complex for the lay investor. And in more cases than not, financial products and advisors complicate things even more through the use of conditions, riders, etc. What's more; every financial product is different and works in different ways. It takes an expert to gauge one offering from another. Consumers inherently like simplicity. If they can get a single hook to evaluate/form a perception of an offering it helps them all the more. That's where Trustmarks come in. It gives the consumer a simple understanding of what he can expect from a particular brand. Be it transparency & ethics(Tata's), Knowledge based advise(Motilal Oswal) or Financial Supermarket(ICICI) you can trust the brand to deliver on that parameter due to its track record.You then evaluate the Trustmark on how relevant it is to you before taking a decision. The role of branding is in building solid trustmarks.
There are over 200 brokers who you can buy shares from, over 100 banks that you can bank with, over 25 life insurance policies, over 500 mutual fund schemes…..do you think in today’s ‘time poor’ lifestyles we will have the patience, bandwidth and knowledge to evaluate all of them? That’s where branding comes in. Based on your overall perception of the brand( how to build this perception is the focus of another post)you bring down this list of hundreds to a list that is manageable, one you can count on your fingers. You then evaluate this list one-on-one to choose the brand you want to park your precious money(and future) with. Brands act as Choice Simplifiers.
So the next time someone asks you how brands can add value to a financial services business ; you can summarise in two words - Trustmarks & Choice Simplifiers. Neither of these feature on a balance sheet or performance statement; but something tells me they are valued more than both !
Cheers.
There is a strong role that branding plays in a financial services business. And it can be summarized in two words –Trustmarks & Choice Simplifiers.
Finance is extremely complex for the lay investor. And in more cases than not, financial products and advisors complicate things even more through the use of conditions, riders, etc. What's more; every financial product is different and works in different ways. It takes an expert to gauge one offering from another. Consumers inherently like simplicity. If they can get a single hook to evaluate/form a perception of an offering it helps them all the more. That's where Trustmarks come in. It gives the consumer a simple understanding of what he can expect from a particular brand. Be it transparency & ethics(Tata's), Knowledge based advise(Motilal Oswal) or Financial Supermarket(ICICI) you can trust the brand to deliver on that parameter due to its track record.You then evaluate the Trustmark on how relevant it is to you before taking a decision. The role of branding is in building solid trustmarks.
There are over 200 brokers who you can buy shares from, over 100 banks that you can bank with, over 25 life insurance policies, over 500 mutual fund schemes…..do you think in today’s ‘time poor’ lifestyles we will have the patience, bandwidth and knowledge to evaluate all of them? That’s where branding comes in. Based on your overall perception of the brand( how to build this perception is the focus of another post)you bring down this list of hundreds to a list that is manageable, one you can count on your fingers. You then evaluate this list one-on-one to choose the brand you want to park your precious money(and future) with. Brands act as Choice Simplifiers.
So the next time someone asks you how brands can add value to a financial services business ; you can summarise in two words - Trustmarks & Choice Simplifiers. Neither of these feature on a balance sheet or performance statement; but something tells me they are valued more than both !
Cheers.
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