Browsing tag

Marketing

Chance pe Dance marketing: Bhajji blog at BigAdda

April 20, 2009

Looks like BigAdda has got this special fascination for the letter “B”, that’s why all their blog promotion strategies revolve around the famous Bs. Earlier they created so much of hype by launching the blog  http://bigb.bigadda.com & now it is http://bhajji.bigadda.com/. In fact blog of Mr. Bachchan became such a craze that it broke all records of comments received on single posts in India. Not only it gathered enough media attention, it also led to some phenomenal increase in traffic & hits of the website. Well, nothing to ponder over or doubt on those jump in traffic, I mean what else do you need than to have Mr. Bachchan blogging on your portal himself. Trust Mr. Bachchan’s fan to leave everything else & spend their whole time on his blog! We know it was definitely one of the marketing gimmicks of BigAdda but nonetheless a successful gimmick, in fact so successful that celebrity blogging became a fad in Bollywood with so many other celebrities joining the blogosphere suddenly.

And they have done it yet again, that too at the perfect time. This time they launched a blog of cricketer Harbhajan Singh Bhajji on their portal. The blog’s page title as well some PR coverage read as “Bhajji blogs at BigAdda”. Well, impressive & definitely an attention grabber. With IPL fever running across the nation, cricket & cricketers are definitely THE buzzwords of the moment. Launching a blog of none other than Bhajji at this moment is no doubt a great promotion strategy & this is what I really call a chance pe dance marketing strategy. With bhajji blogging about all details of IPL, I’m sure BigAdda is going to see a surge in its traffic. Let’s wait to see the number of comments on his posts, I am quite curious to see if the interactivity level & statistics of this cricket icon’s blog will surpass the figures of bollywood shehenshah  or not 🙂.

Aside: My inquisitive mind wondering if Bhajji is really having time amidst all the matches to come & blog minute details about IPL 😛 😀 :O

Communicating or Spamming?

April 7, 2009

Yes, I am liking this new media communication strategy of Indian Political parties this year esp. of BJP but think they are definitely going over-board now. Can somebody please tell BJP campaign management team that:

  • Over communication esp. through certain media can really KILL your campaign.
  • Bombarding consumers repeatedly with too many messages, promises & benefits of the same product can actually be treated as spamming and not marketing.

Here is what I mean by my above two statements. On a daily basis I am getting SMSes from “TA-BJP” on my both mobile phones. Some of those messages are:

  • BJP’s promise: Terror-free India, Hunger-free society, Debt-free kisan, Worry-free middle class. 3.5 crore families to benefit from income tax exemption for incomes up to Rs. 3 lakh p.a. Student loans at 4%. Advani for PM. www.lkadvani.in
  • Har school jaane wali balika ko lakhpati banane wali LADLI LAKSHMI YOJANA par karenge amal. Advaniji ki shapath. http://www.lkadvani.in
  • BJP’s JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN JAI VIGYAN promise. Longstanding demands of our brave Armed Forces to be met. Farm loans at 4%. Road and broadband connectivity to all villages. 1.2 crore IT-enabled jobs in rural areas. Advani for PM. www.lkadvani.in

Need I say more??? These are just few samples, I have definitely received a lot more messages to attain a reflex reaction of pressing the DELETE button as soon as I see the sender as “TA-BJP” now.

Suggestion: BJP campaign team, good to see your aggressive strategies but please introduce some section on your website for consumers to unsubscribe from receiving these messages. Permission is the KEY for certain medium! Also would be good if you can post some anecdotes on your website about execution of any of these promises. Will help in establishing some credibility towards your SMSes!

 

Political Advertising: Indian Politics Reaches Twitter

March 30, 2009

Whew! Indian Political parties are on twitter now… While I was already chating about change in campaign strategy of Indian politicians this time, here I observe some other interesting & noticeable updates:

  • BJP on Twitter: Yeah BJP has really gone ahead of Congress as far as online strategies are concerned, you go anywhere online & you just can’t ignore BJP’s ads or L.K.Advani messages. And now they are on the latest micro-blogging fad – Twitter too! Not only they are present but they are tweeting quite regularly both by posting their updates as well as interacting with followers. Have a look on some of their latest updates, updates do look promising enough.

bjp_twitter

 

  • Congress on Twitter: Till now I have not observed Indian Congress Party formally present on twitter, yes but SM Krishna (candidate from Bangalore) has definitely joined twitter now. He says he has done this to interact with net savvy Bangaloreans!

Well, all interactions & communications on internet with today’s generation are fine but I again wonder – do all these political parties really understand their image amongst Indian Youth? As mentioned in my previous post it’s a welcome change to see such aggressive new age political campaigning in India but don’t you think that these are simply marketing gimmicks? Will they really act on their promises or will these remain as just promises once the elections are over? How much can marketing help them when the core product itself is not good? Would be good to know it from the readers of this post – do you really believe in current communications sent out by any of these parties? Personally speaking as a marketer I like their campaign & appreciate their effort but as a consumer, these communications are not impacting me much as somehow don’t have that trust left on the product itself.

“Jai Ho” vs.” Bhay Ho”

March 29, 2009

While Congress was quick enough to take rights & create a video out of much acclaimed song “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire but quicker was the counter strategy from BJP to come out with another video based on the same song. And I must say I loved this video! Truly marvelous & strikes straight within! This video titled “Bhay Ho” speaks something like –  “Aaja aaja voter is jhanse ke tale, aaja jhote moote vaade ke tale, BHAY HO”.

What a competitive attack! Though BJP says that they have not officially released this video & it’s some party supporter who has sent this video to them but I think it’s one of the smartest counter campaigns against any competitor in Indian Politics. It’s surely an interesting case study for new age Indian Political Advertising & if it’s really done by a common man, then I think BJP should immediately look at hiring the man behind this video in their promotional team. Have a look on it, I definitely had a laugh watching this video.

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0yL7Dv_keo]

Engagement is the KEY!

March 25, 2009

Hitesh shared this video at a very right time today…with so much of focus on customer engagement in my organization these days surely this video acts as yet another confirmation on the mantra – “It’s not about listening, it’s not about monitoring, it’s about ENGAGING”. Thanks Hitesh for sharing this.

More to follow on this mantra soon based on my experiences, as of now I just wanted to break the stagnation of this blog, have not updated it since 5th Feb’09 (that fateful day!). Till then have a look on this video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HhWakaGvY4]

Advaniji goes further aggressive on digital medium!

February 5, 2009

I had earlier written about Advaniji getting net savvy and his portal www.lkadvani.in. But looks like humare neta, Advaniji toh internet space mein super aggressive ho rahe hai :D. Ah he is not leaving any stone unturned to reach out the online Indian citizens. Here are some developments which I observed recently from Advaniji and his campaign promotion teamJ

  • Blog: Like everybody and anybody on this earth, even L.K. Advani has decided to have his presence on blogosphere. His blog http://blog.lkadvani.in/ got launched in Jan’09 & supposedly Mr. Advani is blogging personally on this space. Well, posts are good but don’t think he is writing it himself. Fan following of his blog seems to be ok with each post having on an average 100+ comments. No, I don’t mean 100+ comments is less but kya karein, celebs like BigB and Aamir Khan have set a very high bench-mark for popular personality blogs with each of their posts receiving on an average 1000+ comments.
  • Online Advertisement / SEM: Oh this was truly a surprise for me, I noticed 2-3 sites as well as Google sponsored search displaying L.K.Advani portal ads. And yeah quite an extensive keyword listing they have done for these ads, you type any election related keyword & you get to see these ads. Impressive isn’t it?

lkadvani_website

  • Emailer campaigns: Personally I have not received this email but one of my associates was mentioning that after pre-recorded voices now people are doing email blasts as part of political advertising. He received an email with subject as invitation from L.K.Advani to visit his portal www.lkadvani.in

Well, I am neither a big supporter of BJP nor I am active into Indian Politics scenario. Most of the times I find it to be so dirty that I prefer to have my involvement limited to reading or watching just headlines and that too not because of any interest but only to be updated about the latest happenings. Having said that, I do find this initiative of BJP a good move and sort of positive change in Indian Politics. At least they are trying to connect to the newer generation; at least they are taking some effort to reach out to educated mass. Wondering if it is Obama effect or the Social media effect on his campaign management team but whatever it is, I must say it is a welcome change J.

Movie Marketing : Promotion “By Chance”

January 31, 2009

As I always say movie marketers are getting innovative day by day in India. Now here are some interesting marketing initiatives which have created quite some buzz esp. in Mumbai for the movie “Luck By Chance”. The production house has directly handled the marketing campaign of this movie and they have launched online as well as offline properties to create an overall impact.

·         Apart from regular reality show presence, production house has created an offline reality property known as “Auto By Chance”. They have branded auto rickshaws in Mumbai with “Luck By Chance” theme and anybody who spots any of these autos gets a free ride anywhere in Mumbai free of cost! Wow, so time for Mumbaikars to get lucky J. They have also branded some bus shelters as well as local trains in Mumbai with the movie theme. One lucky winner of “Auto by Chance” promotion will be interviewed live on Big FM. (Image Source: TOI)

TOI

·         The movie has also created good visibility in online space through different contests and promotions on many portals but what is again different is this online game property known as “Luck by Chance – Lucky Break” on zapak.com. You can choose your identity as any of the actors of the movie and play this luck game. Nice game it is from a promotion point of view and lucky winners get to win some prizes as well.

As per me, they have taken a good integrated marketing approach. Let’s see how lucky this movie gets at BO. Personally speaking I’ve been waiting for this movie for long esp. after watching Rock On and I would have anyways gone to see the movie in theater even if there was no promotion for this movie at all. Yeah, I think that’s the aftereffect of “Rock On” on me J. But from initial reactions it looks like Farhan Akhtar has gone second time lucky in his acting stint as movie has received positive response across theaters.

Stampede of price driven promotions!

January 29, 2009

I get to cross this mall daily on my way back home and its one of the most popular malls of Bangalore. Always damn crowded and is having all popular brands which you can think of. It used to have those occasional promotions during Diwali, Christmas or End of season sale. But now instead of those occasional sale offers, the mall has sort of become “discounted product” mall only. Just think of last 3 months – November they were having “festival special”, December they were having “Christmas / New Year Special” and now in Jan, 1st it was “26th Jan” special which got extended to “end of season sale” on 27th Jan’09. 😀 Wow every day there is a sale and most of these are not “upto 50% off”, rather “FLAT 50% or 40% off”.

Well as a consumer, it’ too good and I’m loving it but then it forces me to think, are these brands going through sales volume crisis which is forcing them to come out with such price driven promotions every day? Is it another after-effect of recession? I can understand it for few brands but almost every brand is currently running a price driven promotion including some very big names which are not so famous for their discount promotions. Even they have jumped into this price game now. One walk in any popular mall / market and you will see nothing less than a stampede of price driven promotions. As a first impression, it definitely communicates that brands / retailers are trying hard to sell the products to Indian consumers who have otherwise become conscious now of their expenses esp. in categories like luxury & entertainment. Since not many consumers are hit by recession in India as badly as in US, so expenses in necessary categories are still going on but if I think of me, my friends and acquaintances as a sample set, I definitely know that people have curtailed frequency of activities like eating out, multiplexes, impulse apparel purchase and frequent air flying. Though price driven promotions like these are good to some extent, it helps in attracting attention of consumers but do such tactical sales promotions and that too regularly really help companies in meeting their numbers? And even if they will meet their numbers, how about their P&L? And with most of the main marketing budget frozen now, do they have any other option than to do such promotions to increase footfall…Hmmm let me think and in case you have any thoughts, do share it here. In the meantime I think I should enjoy these sales and discounts before companies realize that its hitting their margins badly and decide to stop it J

Update on 30th Jan’09: Two interesting observations related to this post:

·         Yesterday I actually stopped at that mall and went to this very prominent apparel retail outlet, they were running an announcement there for promos and offers. And guess what? Despite yesterday being 29th, the promotions running were having old dates, one of the announcements sounded like, “100% money back offer! Dear shoppers, shop for X amount between 10th Jan – 26th Jan and get a gift voucher worth Rs. X back”. And no, the date was not announced by mistake, they kept on repeating the same recorded message J. The promo was still on but collateral as well as promo clip was having the last date as 26th Jan’09. Clearly communicates that they had plans to end the sale on 26th but were continuing it till now!

·         Today’s ET states – “Subhiksha is closing a significant number of its 1,600 stores across the country to cope with a cash crunch”. Very recently I read a write-up mentioning Subhiksha’s success story and while I was wondering on these price driven promotions and cash situation of the retailers, here I get to read about a situation which is self-explanatory and that too of Subhiksha! Wondering if other such announcements are also on their way?

 

IPL is back with yet another marketing gimmick

January 28, 2009

Last year we did see the birth and rise of one of the greatest marketing phenomenon in sports marketing in India, yes of course I am referring to IPL’2008. More than cricket, it was this whole business and marketing angle to it which made it so popular. Cricket combined with entertainment and that too Bollywood, what more do you need to create pull in Indian market? After all cricket and Bollywood are like two religions in India. As expected this combination of cricket and entertainment did create a huge roar in the market esp. from business and brand point of view.  And when this year IPL is back in news, it is again so with yet another marketing gimmick viz., reality show for Cheerleaders!

Watched it on television first and then read it in news that Shahrukh Khan, owner of Kolkata team Knight Riders is conducting a talent hunt show this time to find cheerleaders for his team. This reality show will be aired on NDTV Imagine and will be produced by his home production “Red Chillies Entertainment”. The program called as “Knights & Angels” will be first ever such contest in India and is open for only young girls who aspire to be cheerleaders in the second season of IPL. Well, I am confused. Do girls really aspire to be cheerleaders in life??? But on second thought when girls can compete to be the item number queen on television now, then why not a cheerleader? Personally speaking I’m all for IPL and its overall marketing angle to it, it definitely gives a different edge to sports in India, but a reality show for cheerleaders is something which didn’t go well with me. Anyways reality show is done to death now, so I don’t know if there will be any added charm for this program and most importantly how does it matter if these cheerleaders come through reality contest or through some other medium? Will it really make any difference to the team? From promotion perspective it can create some hype but let’s see if it really benefits the overall Knight Rider brand in IPL season two.

Myspace’s new marketing / engagement strategy: Black Curtain

January 21, 2009

Now this is one such marketing cum engagement initiative which I’m sure can’t be missed. Myspace has launched this initiative known as “Black Curtain India” where its Indian users get to watch new releases for free and that too before the public release of the film! The initiative starts with an exclusive screening of four golden globes winner and one of the most awaited movies of recent times – “Slumdog Millionaire” on January 23 at Fame Theatre in Mumbai. Movie screening FREE & that too of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE? Yet another interesting example of marketing with entertainment content. I am sure this will grab lots of eyeballs for myspace.

myspace_blackcurtain

All you need to do is following (as mentioned in their website, click here to visit the page):

  • Add Black Curtain India profile to your friends
  • Include Black Curtains India screening profile in your top friends
  • Print out your profile with Black Curtains India in your top friend
  • Show up at the theater with the print out

After Slumdog, Black Curtain has plans to do more free screenings like Ice Age 3, Valkyrie etc. Now this seriously sounds very tempting to me as a consumer! Even though I am not regular on Myspace but still this made me stick to their website and surf some more content on their pages today. Myspace India had already started focusing on Indian entertainment content by associating with programs like Nach Baliye but getting associated with movies and arranging free premieres like these will give them an edge now. At least they will get to see some more traffic and bit more engaged visitors. But hope they do it on a continual basis and not as one of those engagement strategies, else like many other promotional campaigns of other social networking sites, this will also act as an initiative which will lead to one time positive spike in their pageviews graph.