Raju Hirani's Advertising Idea

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?

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!

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(