MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Sanjeev Kotnala reviews TTK's Love Depot film, strategy and the marketplace

    Is there a market for sex toys?

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaTTK Healthcare launched D2C sexual pleasure fulfilment sex toys e-superstore called Love Depot. The launch campaign #ThePleasureIsAllYours crafted by ‘The Glitch’ was released across select digital platforms. To watch the film, click here. It only plays on YouTube, as it is an age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines).

     

    The film showcases the range of sex toys you can buy at Love Depot. It shows a spectrum of pleasure tactics amplified with sex toys. In the process, it highlights individual choices when it comes to sexual pleasure.

     

    Sexual Wellness Market

    As per earlier  estimates the global sexual wellness market was valued at $74 billion in 2019 and expected to be $108 billion in 2027  and expected to grow at CAGR 4.62% between 2021 to 2027. Sexual wellness includes products like Intimate Hygiene, female & make grooming, sexual wellness, delay sprays, sex enhancer supplements, sex toys  and pleasure products. Another report by Allied market Research places  the sexual wellness market to be $2.09 billion by 2030 this report pegged 2020 market in India at $1.15 billion.

     

    Lack of Sex Education

    One does not need research in the social and culturally constrained Indian environment where there is a lack of sex education. Even though it is the land of Kamasutra, it is the land of heightened, oppressed and unexpressed sexual fantasies. Forget access to sex toys. Anything other than typical traditional accepted positions and demands – everything else is abnormal, unaccepted and seen as unnatural.

    There is a massive chasm in the expectation and experience of sexual fulfilment. Understanding sex as a duty, a responsibility, and a way of giving birth to the next generation overpowers the need for sexual pleasure.

     

    Sexual Pleasure slowly getting its Due

    The current generation is slowly breaking these clutches. They are willing to express their individuality and choice and demand a new height of sexual pleasure, even if it includes using sex toys individually or with a partner.

    The TTK survey points out that over 81% of the women are dissatisfied with their sexual life, and 71 never experienced climax. Understandingly the range of products in the Vulva owner section is more. And no doubt there is an equal percentage on the male side that has other problems.

    In the Indian context, there is limited awareness of sex toys, which are considered more for personal use. The film does not miss the opportunity to break the misconception by pointing out that sex toys can even help couples reach a new level of pleasure. A visit to the site has me educated on the range and kind of toys that are available.

    I admire the head of the marketing  Vishal Vyas, TTK Healthcare, categorically introducing a few things while making the statement. He says, “Love Depot is built on one of the cornerstones of sexual wellness that we often let fall between the cracks: pleasure. … everyone deserves to seek and conquer the peaks of sexual fulfilment. It is structured to provide the shopper, regardless of gender identity or sexual preferences – an empowering experience, offering both choice and control. And it’s driven by a single-minded purpose – to close the pleasure deficit in the market”. One single statement that tells the story of the market.

     

    LoveDepot.com

    The site Lovedepot.com is well-designed. And as expected opens only after over 18 self-declaration. The copy like ‘we ship pleasure you manufacture it’, ‘Invite a little pleasure’, ‘Its official pleasure has an address’ and ‘Invite a little pleasure’ is to the mark.

    Interestingly and rightly, a small quiz helps you choose the right product. I like the way the site asks you a simple question. The choice is, Are you a penis owner or a Vulva owner, instead of the usual Male or Female. And the section Penis love- starts with a cliché- why should girls have all the fun?

    But choosing a sex toy until you have researched or know what you want is confusing. For example, the male section or the penis owners have multiple filters. So decide if you want a toy that is powered, non-powered or rechargeable. ABS plastic or silicon. Brands like Bathmate, fifty shades of grey, Satisfier and Tenga and  Skore. And if you were looking for a masturbator or a penis pump.

    Each product has sections like product details, features, how to use, faqs and user review. I feel it is underplayed and needs more information. Some seem more complicated, and as the how-to-use does not come with graphic visual or illustrative details, it can hold people back.

    The user review seems a suspect, with the reviews’ names and dates looking like more of a copywriter job. And some of the text with Pheromone Activating Spray could be exaggerated and misleading product performance in case it was a press ad. Check it out; it is written well.

     

    Delivery of Sex Toys

    Love Depot promises attractively packaged products discretely delivered. But is silent on Pick-up space or time slots when the person can get them without worrying about others knowing. A long time back, some company (I don’t recall the name) tried marketing a limited range of sex toys but did not pick them up due to delivery issues. Maybe Love Depot has done the homework. Without a clear explanation of the process, the customer hesitancy will hold much back.
    One has seen some of the sexual wellness products prominently displayed in large medical stores, but that is just awareness build-up.  In a country where buying of sanitary napkins and condoms is still seen as a task, sexual wellness products have a long way to go. The digital platform for discovery- education and purchase will help the category. The  dependence on the street shops for these products will drop with the ease of purchase on e-commerce.

     

    Pricing is no Issue

    Price is something that will not work as a deterrent in the market. As such, Love Depot has many international brands and its own products offered across a wide range of price points. The brand has always been at the forefront of the male contraceptive brand like Skore– keeping the pleasure component high.

     

    Educating Prosumers and Consumers on Sex Toys

    There has to be a lot more to address the choice-control and awareness of the toys and their proper usage. The act of getting Dr Tanaya Narendra (@dr_cuterus) on social media to co-create educational content for the consumer is the right step. And the thought that the doctor amplifies is absolutely right, “We must leave shame behind and empower people with what they necessarily have to know about their sexual needs. I am quite excited to be partnering with Love Depot, which will not merely be a product marketplace but will also be a platform that makes all visitors aware of their entitlement to pleasure, and at the same time, educates them on the role of innovative and contemporary pleasure-providing products”.

    However, the prefix doctor educating the consumer makes it a problem. The brand may do itself and its customers good by extending the base and including an easy-to-relate character more like a confidant without a doctor prefix. Unfortunately, the best educator ambassador in this area- Sunny Leone, is with the competition- Manforce.

    The Indian masses are not fully aware of sec toy usage. They are a curious lot, and the curiosity could lead to some mishaps.

     

    Net-net

    TTK takes another step to be ahead in the business of sexual pleasure. They need a lot more to do to educate the consumer. Initially ensuring discreet deliveries and building on acceptance of the products. Maybe some more product placements in OTT could help. Possibly restricted videos could be of help. But much more must be done to make it gain wider acceptance and drop the stigma of talking about or using it.

    It might help to focus more on individual usage. As couple usage, in a way, hints at some lack of capabilities on the partner’s part to satisfy. Women feel inadequate to suggest, and the man is not inclined to offer anyway. So, it is. Catch-22 situation.

     

     

     

  • We know he loves the game, and part of the reason for today's question was to provoke him and contextualise it with the general chatter over the future of newspapers. Here's Dr Bhaskar Das and the July 6 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Like in the case of the media, there were many who wrote off Test cricket. As a species, human beings are very quick to write epitaphs?

    Bhaskar DasWe know he loves the game, and part of the reason for today’s question was to provoke him and contextualise it with the general chatter over the future of newspapers. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das and the July 6 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

     

    If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

     

    Q. Like in the case of the media, there were many who wrote off Test cricket, and the Birmingham India-England Test was so very exciting (even though we lost). As a species, human beings are very quick to write epitaphs?

     

    A. Armchair astrology is not one of my strengths. Every format of the game of cricket (or for that matter every aspect of life and other forms of sports) has the innate resilience to rediscover itself in sync with the unarticulated intent to be in sync with tastes and preferences of the marketplace.

     

    This is true for Test cricket too. Ishq hai to risk hai as one OTT episode dialogue opines. It’s true for every sport including cricket to keep the audience glued to its ever-evolving format. So: all epithets are largely bunkum.

     

  • Jindal Aluminium Ltd has announced the launch of a new logo and brand identity

    Jindal Al unveils new identity

    By Our Staff

     

    Said Pragun Jindal Khaitan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Jindal Aluminium Ltd: “Our new logo and brand identity are in line with how the organisation has grown across five decades. Our approach over all these years has been to follow a bold and synergetic diversification model of organic growth without wavering from our core business competency. The changes to our logo and brand identity significantly represent the Jindal Aluminium of today and the pride that we take in our legacy. As an organisation, we felt the need to bring together, an idea of our journey and where we are headed. Thus, the change not only showcases what the company has always stood for as a brand, and its support for people, society and the economy but also provides a glimpse of future possibilities.”

     

  • The agency will manage the external communications for business operations and services offered by the brand

    DigiStreet Media bags digital mandate for Karara Ceramics

    By Our Staff

     

    Digistreet Media has bagged the digital mandate for Karara Ceramics in a multi-agency pitch. It will be managing the extensive external communication and handling the digital identity of the brand.

     

    Commenting on the win, Darpan Sharma, CEO, DigiStreet Media, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Karara Ceramics. Our partnership with them is the testimony of the consistent hard work that we put across for every brand. We are aligning our strategies to showcase the brand’s legacy of more than 50 years, delivering the right communication mix to retain transparency, build credibility and sustain trust amongst the stakeholders.”

     

    Added Vijay Garg, Managing Director, Karara Ceramics: “Our offerings and strong presence have carved a niche in the global market. We aspire to connect with our customers to channel a deeper bond and spread information among our desired target audience. With a digital marketing agency showcasing a track record of creating ideas beyond convention, we are certain that our relations with our stakeholders will continue to strengthen and help us build a credible digital identity that everyone trusts. We are happy to onboard DigiStreet Media as our digital communication partner.”

     

  • Aims to reach women countrywide, give them a voice on empowerment and inclusivity

    Mars focus on gender equallity

    By Our Staff

     

    Mars has launched the India extension of its #HereToBeHeard campaign. In 2021, Mars asked 10,000 women in 88 countries across intersections – race, age, sexuality, employment status, disability and more – one question: What needs to change so that more women can reach their full potential? The respondents, including 250 from India, called for systematic change from employers, colleagues, government, communities and men to break the patriarchal barriers in their path to growth and success.

     

    Said Kalpesh Parmar, Country General Manager, Mars Wrigley, India: “For generations, women have fulfilled many roles to the exclusion of what they stand for as individuals. Education and awareness have shifted that mindset, but deep-rooted ideologies persist even in evolved societies. Even today, women, irrespective of their backgrounds and upbringing, face bias and discrimination. It is necessary to voice women’s opinions and advocate their desire for a better, more inclusive society. We plan to do that by extending our #HereToBeHeard campaign in India. Mars believes that ‘The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today’ and this includes advocating for an inclusive society. We invite women to respond to the survey so we can amplify it to help organizations, government bodies, communities and people understand what changes the women of India are seeking. The responses will inform the concrete actions Mars will undertake – within its value chain and in the broader society – to close the gender opportunity gap.”

     

    In the initial phase of #HeretoBeHeard, women’s opinions will be collected over three months after which the submissions will be analysed by LeadCap Research. The results will be shared in a report and will inform the action plans and policies of Mars as part of its advocacy and commitment to unlock opportunities for women.

     

  • The campaign is titled #FaceWashNahiTreatKaro

    Sebamed launches campaign for acne care

    By Our Staff

     

    Sebamed, the German personal care brand, has launched a campaign with the theme “Face Wash Nahi Treat Karo” for its acne care portfolio.

     

    Commenting on the same Shashi Ranjan, Head, Consumer business said: “Beauty & Personal care is a key growth driver for us. We are thrilled to make more strides in this segment and to bring global expertise to the Indian consumers.  Acne is a common problem encountered by a large percentage of our population at some point in their lives. Sebamed’s range of acne care products are highly efficacious which helps in getting rid of acne, hence through this campaign our goal is to provide reassurance to our consumers and bring back their confidence”

     

    Added Jaydeep Shah, Marketing Head for Sebamed brands in India: “Staying true to Sebamed’s core proposition of #SirfScienceKiSuno, the campaign talks about how Sebamed Clear face foam has been scientifically formulated in a new format (foam instead of wash) , which not only stops acne but also prevents recurrence. We are sure it will resonate well with the discerning customers”

     

    Said Dhaval Jadwani, Business Head, The Womb: “Sebamed Clear face foam is scientifically proven to stop acne and prevent them from reoccurring. The product formulation works best when massaged and kept on for 3-minutes for the science to work. Our focus was to deliver this message in simple, yet in an interesting manner. We created ‘Face wash, nahi treat karo” to shine the light on the right product and its right usage”

     

  • Shilpi Kapoor will lead the marketing and corporate communication function for the Bank

    Shilpi Kapoor is CMO, Airtel Payments Bank

    By Our Staff

     

    Airtel Payments Bank has announced the appointment of Shilpi Kapoor as its Chief Marketing Officer. She will oversee the marketing and corporate communication function for the bank.

     

    Said Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO, Airtel Payments Bank: “I am very pleased to welcome Shilpi to Airtel Payments Bank’s leadership team. Shilpi’s vast experience across different industries combined with her deep understanding of consumer, digital and business-to-business marketing will play a vital role in further strengthening the bank’s differentiated position.”

     

    Added Kapoor: “Airtel Payments Bank has been registering strong growth over the last few years. With its unique business model, the bank is able to serve a diverse set of customers with simple, safe and rewarding digital financial solutions. I look forward to working with the team to develop the bank’s robust growth story.”

     

    In her last stint, she was with American Express as Director of Marketing, where she led the brand strategy and communications. Shilpi is an alumnus of Amity University and has completed special programs in leadership excellence and digital marketing from Harvard Business School and Northwestern Kellogg University.

     

  • Conceptualised by Wieden+Kennedy, the campaign features PokerBaazi's recently signed brand ambassador in a new brand film

    PokerBaazi features Shahid Kapoor in new ad

    By Our Staff

     

    PokerBaazi.com, the poker platform, today launched its new brand campaign ‘You Hold the Cards’ featuring its brand ambassador, actor Shahid Kapoor and conceptualized and designed by Wieden+Kennedy

     

    Speaking on the launch, Varun Ganjoo, Co-Founder and Marketing Director – Baazi Games said: “Poker is a sport, period. Poker is also a lot of fun. We are extremely thrilled with the launch of our campaign – “You Hold the Cards” and excited to have Shahid Kapoor as our flagbearer. The idea of this campaign is primarily to create awareness around poker as a skill sport which the brand film captures beautifully. This is a big step forward toward making Poker a household game in our country. While our approach is digital-first, the campaign shall be promoted across all possible avenues aligned with our target audience.”

     

    Added Amrish Kondurkar and Sunayna Sabharwal- Creative Directors, Wieden + Kennedy: “Poker is a new space in the world of gaming apps in India and it does come with its baggage of being exclusive for only those who know how to play the game well and therefore makes it a bit limiting. We wanted to treat this campaign as a way to build a personality for the brand which is truly distinct. While the category goes behind the usual areas of winning/making money, we created a space which came from a true-life insight and could make people feel they had a chance. That’s where the tagline, Pokerbaazi, ‘You hold the cards’ came from. To clearly establish that what matters is your skill and not luck”.

     

  • The question doesn't need any contextualising, so let's dive straight into the response by Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 7 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | We see a lot of discussion on the state of legacy media in India. That it’s dead, alive or dying. What’s your view?

    Bhaskar DasThe question doesn’t need any contextualising, so let’s dive straight into the response by Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 7 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

     

    If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

     

    Q. We see a lot of discussion on the state of legacy media in India. That it’s dead, alive or dying. What’s your view?

     

    A. In the first place you have to clear about the definition or legacy media. There is a cliched definition, ie, media before digital media arrived on the scene. To my mind, legacy is a mindset issue.  Even Alphabet and Meta are a legacy company today in their space. But their mindset is future backwards and growth-oriented.  Thirdly, my favourite axiom is that morbid attachment to business models kills businesses. Aren’t New York Times or HUL or Coke legacy businesses? Why are they thriving even after spending 100 years or close to that on this planet. Culture destroys organisations. One has to ve born at regular intervals for renewal of vision as business landscape is in constantly shifting. Adoptability and adeptability are sine qua non for thriving in today’s environment.

     

  • These mandates are of ATS Homekraft, Cremica Foods, Blocktickets, Niine and Zumbido

    Blue Lotus signs 5 clients from North India

    By Our Staff

     

    Blue Lotus Communications has added five retainer accounts from North India for its national mandates. These mandates are of ATS Homekraft, Cremica Foods, Blocktickets, Niine and Zumbido.

     

    Said N Chandramouli, CEO, Blue Lotus Communications: “Each of the companies Blue Lotus has been awarded the PR mandate is doing some unique and amazing work. These wins are an endorsement to our unique and proprietary Brand Trust-based approach to public relations. As a group we are custodians of Brand Trust, with our sister-concern publishing TRA’s Brand Trust Report over a decade. Blue Lotus uses the same trust science to deliver focused trust-based messages for our clients.”

     

  • The dividing line between what a good creative and a good planner does is pretty thin, writes Ashoke Agarrwal

    The Account Planner: A Coroner of Ideas? Or a Curator of Insights?

     

     

    By Ashoke Agarrwal

     

    Ashoke AgarrwalAccount Planning came to the world of advertising in the eighties and matured in the nineties.

     

    The trope was that while Account Management represents the client within the agency, Account Planning represents the consumer. And Creative? Well, Creative was the agency itself and only needed to express itself!

     

    I started in advertising, right out of management school, as a copywriter. Then, after a few years of a detour into entrepreneurship, I took on the role of Director of Account Planning at one of India’s top five agencies.

     

    In my first stint, I allied with Account Management and struggled to define and express the role of Account Planning. During this struggle, I ended up griping about the function as, to paraphrase US President Harry S Truman, “the piano player in the whorehouse” gently tapping out his ditties while the others, unaffected, went about their business.

     

    However, after a detour into Account Management, I finally discovered the soul of Account Planning. I realised that Account Panning’s natural partner was not Account Management but Creative. And as Creative’s partner, Account Planning’s role was to define and explain “the creative dimension of strategy and the strategic dimension of creative.”

     

    Traditionally Account Planning’s role was to work with Account Management to translate a brand’s marketing objectives into a “creative brief”. Very often, though, the “creative brief” was anything but creative. Instead, filled with Blinding Glimpses of The Obvious (BGOs) culled from reams of marketing research translated into cardboard cutout profiles of target consumers. No wonder you will find these briefs buzzing around as paper planes in any self-respecting creative department.

     

    I discovered that the real work of Account Planning began where the creative brief ended. It lay in bringing to life the person and the context the creative needs to address. This work lay in insight mining. These insights were not in market research but out there in the world, in the news, songs, films, books, anecdotes and conversations. In short, in life. And how does one mine life? With the twin tools of high curiosity and extraordinary empathy. For example, an Account Planner may be a geek and an introvert but should be able to view the world from the eyes of a rabid extrovert. She may be a snob in private life but will dig into every pop culture hit – listen to the songs, watch the movies, surf the memes.

     

    Insight mining leads to, for example, recognizing that the unstated gold standard of freshness is how you look and feel at the end of a hard day. It is in the realization that cooking oil is not a health risk but an essential energy source for most people.

     

    The dividing line between what a good creative and a good planner does is pretty thin. And that’s why they are twins. And like all twins, they sometimes run down each other. A few years ago, one of India’s name brand Creative Directors ran down his Account Planning partner as the one whose job was explaining the rationale behind the hit campaigns to the world. After the fact! A coroner of ideas! Somebody good at explaining why an idea was great after somebody else had thought of it!

     

    The big Creative pooh-bah is not wrong. The Account Planner does put the strategic dimension into the creative part, explaining why a creative idea works. That is useful, not just for the post-facto award shows and the trade papers but can be an essential part of selling a campaign before it can see the world’s light. Because, in most cases, the Account Planner is better at strategy-speak than creative people.

     

    However, dig deep enough into the making of an effective advertising campaign, you will find that the team, as a first step dug out a fresh insight into the relevant attitudes and behaviour of the appropriate target consumer. And then subsequently used this fresh insight and oodles of lateral thinking giving birth to a clutter-bursting, emotion-laden piece of communication.

     

    The first step was Account Planning and the second step was Creative. No matter the labels, the people who accomplished them carried.

     

    A decade ago, as digital marketing was coming into focus, I thought the world of advertising and, therefore, Account Planning would change dramatically. That it has not is mainly, to my mind, a failure on the part of brands and agencies to recognise the true potential of digital marketing. Instead, for the most part, brand and communication strategies have stuck to the many-to-one communication paradigm. Most marketing and advertising strategies still consider the world in terms of broad demographic segments. Dig into the strategy at the heart of fancy programmatic-platform-driven performance marketing campaigns. and you will find that the messaging is one-way targeting based on gender, age and socioeconomic status. The difference is that due to cost economics, a brand can run multiple digital campaigns targeted at a matrix of demographic segments crossed with stages in the marketing funnel.

     

    However, I believe this will change as digital marketing matures over the next decade.

     

    Imagine a world where most marketing communication becomes a one-to-one two-way conversation? How does that change Account Planning? To my mind, a third entity would enter the Account Planning and Creative dyad. This third function would be that of the Data Analyst. Ill-used, as he is in today’s digital marketing world, a Data Analyst is also akin to a “piano player in a whorehouse”. Or is it “a warehouse”?

     

    Instead, over the coming decades, as digital marketing and machine learning mature, brand communications will become multi-dimensional . One dimension of digital marketing will be at the purely cognitive level. Through this channel, a brand’s AI engine will communicate with the CI (Concierge Intelligence – see my earlier MxMIndia column on CI) of the individual consumer. The channel will share relevant information about functional features and promotional offerings and set up a two-way information channel on needs, complaints and wish lists. The second dimension will be a two-way conversation that will be a permission-driven one-to-one conversation between the brand (as an avatar) and the individual whose objective would be to entertain, edify and enable personal growth. Given that the cognitive channel is taking care of selling the brand’s products, this emotive channel could focus on a no-agenda development of “brand friendship.”, a concept that goes much beyond brand loyalty. An individual will share a “friends” relationship with a chosen set of brands, and a new metric for a brand will emerge besides market share – “friendship share”.

     

    The triumvirate of Data Analysts, Account Planners, and Creative will operate both the cognitive and emotional channels by setting and continuously tweaking the parameters on the agency’s proprietary AI – the Spin Engine. Spin Engine? That calls for its very own post one of these coming fortnights!

     

  • Mumbai-based digital sports fan engagement solutions provider turns 20 on July 10

    Sportz Interactive plans global expansion

    By Our Staff

     

    Sportz Interactive (SI), the Mumbai-based sports media firm that began operations in 2002, is celebrating its 20th anniversary on July 10. The company, according to a communique, now has a focus on international expansion.

     

    Arvind Iyengar
    Arvind Iyengar

    Said Arvind Iyengar, CEO, Sportz Interactive International: “The company set out with a vision to revolutionize the sports fan experience and we’ve been fortunate to have worked with some of the biggest sports federations, teams, broadcasters and technology companies to reach hundreds of millions of fans. All of this is driven by our passionate and committed team. It’s a high energy atmosphere which makes every day feel like a match day at Sportz Interactive!”

     

    Siddharth Raman
    Siddharth Raman

    Elaborating on the business model, Siddharth Raman, Deputy CEO, Sportz Interactive added: “We are privileged to play a key role in the digital transformation of our clients’ businesses. Our fan engagement solutions suite across Data & Video Tech, Interactive Solutions and Content Management are key commercial drivers. We are excited about the next phase of growth as we invest in staying technologically ahead of the curve and becoming an employer of choice for anyone looking to build a career in the business of sport.”