MxMIndia

Category: MARKETING

  • The 5Cs, tourism should focus on, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Now is the time to build Tourism

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Travel and hospitality business has opened to a considerable extent in Unlock 4.0. However, the Covid-19 induced mental lockdown continues.

     

    Tourism is critical. It has a multiplier effect on the economy. And the economy of certain places is entirely tourism-dependent.

     

    People have been living a life of restlessness in this period of uncertainty. They were forced to adopt a very in-door in-house lifestyle. Now, quite a few are itching to take their well-deserved vacations. Many are undecided. And a lot more, just not willing to risk it.

     

    The one thinking about vacation is full of doubts. They need to be nudged. Tourism needs to not only convince them of the destination pull but convince them of the safety.

     

    Domestic Travel Focus

    Families and couples have started discussing possible vacations during the festival period. Most are considering, 3N4D or a full week-long single destination trip. Hesitant to step out, they are mainly looking at intra-state and predominately domestic travel.

     

    Changing Needs

    To stay, people say they would prefer a private villa and houses or places they can completely own to create their sanitised bubble. They are willing to rent a car for local travel and eat out less often.

     

    They are not looking at adventure but a place to rest and enjoy. Places where privacy is guaranteed, service is stress-free and the environment; sanitised to their satisfaction. Not sure how the situation plays out, everyone wants free cancellation.

    They have simple needs. Adherence to safety and hygiene norms. Proper isolation and sanitisation. Predominately contactless service. Private pools and bars. Free high-speed complimentary WIFI. A sumptuous breakfast buffet. TV, and if possible a FireStick for OTT content they love to watch. These can tilt the choice and help make the decision to take the pending vacation.

     

    Vacations are no longer just a personal experience, They are more of a shared experience on social platforms. Hence memories need to be captured to be shared. And at times, this photogenic landscape or jaw-dropping experiences ( for the viewer) can help decide the destinations.

     

    Recalibrate The Promise

    Recalibrate the communication to address Indian audience; which has been under house arrest for the past six months. This recalibration is a need across all segment; Health, Religion, Adventure, Heritage, Nature or Wildlife tourism. As and when the places open up, expect a considerable skew towards religious travel.

     

    Tourism boards and the destinations must re-think and re-craft the re-aligned experience and destination proposition.

     

    Domestic Traveller. Domestic Destination.

    International inbound tourism remains doubtful. It is time to focus on the Indian population and give the domestic traveller its due.

     

    The experience expectations of the Indian audience is different.

     

    The domestic traveller is not going to religious places in search of peace but to thank God and pray. They are not visiting heritage sites not a deep dive in history, but for ticking off and picture opportunities that they can share, telling others, they have been there. Unlike the foreigners, local cuisines is not an adventure in spices for them. And the lake or the forest an ecosystem to explore.

     

    The vibrancy and cultural spectrum of India are not enough to nudge and excite the domestic traveller. However, a mountain still pulls a person living in coastal areas and beaches pull the north Indians. Temples, forests and backwaters have their own followers. Nevertheless, an authentic experience of their region can be an alternative worth exploring. They are not looking at exploring the unknown. They want to be sure of what they will get.

     

    Tourism needs to invest in redefining the proposition like God’s own country, The heart of Incredible India, One state Many worlds, The Awesome Assam, Jaane kya Dikh Jaaye and others from the domestic traveller perspective. Then they can fight within the consideration set for the final choice.

     

    The domestic traveller wants everything sorted. They willingly adapt to situations. But, they hate multiple discussions and confusion in planning. Stop confusing them with vague ideas and presenting a menu card of possibilities. Invest time to arrive at the positioning and what experience is being offered and then stick with it for some years like God’s Won Country, Vibrant Gujarat. Choices and changes confuse people. It forces them to  delay decisions. Take the best offering and experience and go all out with it.

     

    Tourism campaigns must work as a resume, just to make the recruiter interested enough to call for the interview, ultimately the in-face interaction ( tourism experience) will work.  So, they must be functional and do their job- winning awards or not should not be the consideration.

     

     

    5Cs of Tourism

    Tourism campaigns have mostly talked about Destination, Experience and Memorise. However, the tourism industry may be better served evaluating it through the 5C1D filter.

     

    Curiosity

    Tourism communication should not be a complete communication unless it is a package tour. That role is best done by the websites, brochures and the take-ones.

    Tourism communication must be a visual delight and a tease of an experience. It should still speak the language of possible experience. It must raise the curiosity levels enough to create the desire to find out more or to visit.

     

    Confidence 

    In the current era, it must enhance the confidence of the traveller. They must get a feeling that the travel will be safe, and there is nothing to worry about. Recently while I was searching for a nearby weekend trip, one of hotel explained their sanitisation protocol. According to them, my room will be ready and sanitised 48 hours before my arrival. It will remain unoccupied for 48 hours before I check-in. The other one was a bit cheeky. They said, in case we fail to see the staff, we should not think of it as a Ghost Hotel, but that the staff is following contactless service.

     

    Comfort.

    More than the bed and the mattress or the shower and the bathtub, it is the feeling of relaxation, of things moving smoothly with no stress. A complimentary high-speed WIFI, with a Firestick TV, could add to the comfort experience. The frequency of change of bedlinen is a small point, but it does matter.

     

    Customised

    Even if the destination and the hotel are the same, a lot of customisation can be done. Include express check-in and check-out. Special food requirements. What about providing Blue-tooth speakers or Carvaan for listening to songs. Car hire and customised sight-seeing trips may work better than pushing the often cribbed half-day complimentary city tours.

     

    Convenience.

    The hassle-free experience from hotel to point-of-interest. The hop-on-off city. Single ticket/pass for all monuments, heritage sites and museums. Room service. Housekeeping. The ease of movement all within the safety and hygiene bubble.

     

    Build It Up

    Tourism destinations and boards should invest in major destination and experience content on social media and Print. Make the current and past exploders share their real experiences. Incentivise the traveller with gifts/contest to share their experience. Films have so much power as a tourism influencer, so when the shooting resume, maybe enticing producers to shoot at dominant tourism areas.

    Campaigns must also explain the state level Covid-19 sanitation and travel protocol to enhance confidence. Still, one must not overplay it to create panic.

     

    Expectation Vs Experience

    Vacations are about Expectations, Emotions and Experiences. When the expectation and experience match, they create a achieve of memories are retrieved and replayed, shared and commented. They are what feeds the loop and installs the desire to experience in the traveller’s network.

     

    A traveller goes for vacation multiple times while planning while anticipating and waiting for the trip to start, during holidays, and while reliving or sharing experiences. And, a good experience must cover all the touchpoint and experiences. It is excellent when the experience is better than the expectations. Hence, the tourism campaigns have to promise what can be delivered also educate the traveller on how they can make the experience better.

     

    ……………………….

    Some of the inputs on possible consumer behaviour have been derived from a survey of 254 respondent across India, reached through social network.

    …………………………

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a brand and marketing consultant with 32+ years’ experience. He is continuously on the lookout for new challenges and assignments. He writes on MxMIndia on Wednesdays, and sometime more often. His views here are personal

     

     

  • It’s a three-film integrated approach to showcase a vast repertoire of content available on the service

    Leo Burnett launches  ‘What’s your mood?’ campaign for Amazon Prime Video

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amazon Prime Video has unveiled a new marketing campaign ‘What’s your mood’, a three-film integrated approach to showcase a vast repertoire of content available on the service.  The campaign has been conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett India.

     

    Speaking about the campaign Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director – India & Chief Creative Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett said: “Amazon Prime Video has one of the most extensive content libraries and exciting range of titles. We wanted to connect with the audiences and talk about  its varied content which will appeal across all age groups and genre preferences. We realised most of the times people decide what to watch basis their moods, which is a combination of need, states and occasions, and our latest campaign reflect this with a light-hearted and fun films which we are sure will connect with our consumers. How you showcase the range in every film genre was the challenge. But I think the team did a great job in executing the creative ideas in an entertaining way.”

     

     

  • Mi India, the smartphone and smart TV brand, recently unveiled its latest TVC for Redmi Note 9 Pro Max

    Mi India launches TVC for Redmi Note 9 Pro Max

    By A Correspondent

     

    Said Sandeep KS, Associate Director, Redmi India Marketing: “Having used the Redmi Note series extensively, when I first held the Note 9 Pro Max, it instantly felt like a flagship. It looks good, feels brilliant, performs like a dream and has the hero-like quality our fans claimed. We instantly decided that the phone had to be the central character of the television commercial all while weaving with a compelling narrative around its features. The video sequence is set inside a Metro compartment which is symbolic of the microcosm of the ‘Note’ cult.”

     

    The commercial has been conceptualized and executed by Bengaluru-based agency Brave New world. Said Joono Simon, Chief Creative Officer of the agency: “The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is a power packed device that believes it has the license to thrill. Creating a commercial that does justice to its superior camera and performance capabilities was always going to be a challenge. The task became even more arduous because of the pandemic and the global lockdown. Shooting a commercial of this kind in Ukraine with most of the crew stationed in location, the director in Tel Aviv, and the agency and client teams in Bangalore was pathbreaking in many ways a rewarding experience for the team with a lot of new learnings. The team at Xiaomi was all in for an out of the box bold approach as against the standard listing of features with very little life moments.”

     

     

  • The agency will handle the entire communication mandate and help Puranik’s market its projects and the corporate brand to their consumers and stakeholders

    Manish Porwal’s Alchemist bags Puranik Builders AOR mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Puranik Builders has appointed Alchemist Marketing Solutions and its real estate division, Clay, as its startegy and creative AOR (Agency on Record). The agency will handle the entire communication mandate and help Puranik’s market its projects and the corporate brand to their consumers and stakeholders

     

    Said Manish Porwal, Managing Director of Alchemist Group: “Alchemist prides itself on the fact that we don’t just create brands. We help businesses. In the recent past, we have launched numerous successful campaigns for real estate giants, and this has led us to develop a deep understanding on real estate market. We are thankful to Puraniks for having awarded us their mandate accepting the fact that we don’t pitch and based on our past work and client satisfaction.  That puts us under happy pressure and gives us an opportunity to prove ourselves yet again during this crucial time. With this addition, we get to work with 8 of the Top 20 real estate brands of the country”

     

    Added Shailesh Puranik, Managing Director of Puranik Builders: “After having dealt with top agencies of the world, we found that Alchemist had something that other agencies did not. Team Alchemist’s passion coupled with the strategic thinking the management has, is what made us welcome Alchemist on board”

     

    Said Farhan Khan, COO, Clay at Alchemist Mumbai: “We have been able to gain the trust of brands through the years. Having learnt a lot from our past experience, it has helped us to continue on the path of growth during these tough times. We are keen on having a strategic and lasting relation with Puraniks and look forward to working in tandem with their growth plans”.

     

     

  • Chakraborty is seen in an all-new avatar

    Kalyan celebrates Mahalaya with Ritabhari Chakraborty

    By A Correspondent

     

    The occasion of Shubho Mahalaya Amavasya marks the end of Shradh or Pitru Paksha and the beginning of the auspicious Devi Paksha. Usually, this also marks the beginning of the 10-day Durja Pujo festival, but this year, the homecoming of the goddess will be observed exactly a month after Shubho Mahalaya Amavasya.

     

    To mark this significant day, Kalyan Jewellers brand ambassador Ritabhari Chakraborty’s is seen in an all-new avatar.

     

    Said Chakraborty: “It’s an honour for me to portray Maa Durga in collaboration with Kalyan Jewellers and Anandabazar Patrika. It is all the more special because it gives out a very important message that if Maa Durga symbolises women power then why don’t we respect and worship our women equally.”

     

     

  • The film has been conceived by Creativeland Asia

    Godrej Consumer Products unveils new TVC for Cinthol Original

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the new film, Sunil Kataria, CEO – India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), said: “Cinthol is among the iconic brands that we have at Godrej Consumer and the Cinthol Original soap enjoys a very strong affinity with its consumers in South India. 2020 has made market innovations happen at a rapid speed, made us reinvent our strategies, shoot campaigns at home, be more agile and execute new product launches within months. With this new and improved approach, we wanted to come out with something that would help connect with our stakeholders in a meaningful manner, so, for this new TVC, we have re-defined protection which is the core brand value. The film helps to convey the brand’s core proposition and we are optimistic that our audience will enjoy it too.”

     

    Added Anu Joseph, Chief Creative Officer, Creativeland Asia: “Amidst the pandemic situation, there are so many frontliners who are putting society over self. This Cinthol Original ad narrates the story of Doctor Amma and her journalist daughter, both frontliners. The daughter assuages the mother’s concern of her protection by telling her that she follows her mother’s advice of putting society over self and protecting her skin with Cinthol. The ad carries forward Cinthol’s legacy of being a doctor recommended brand, while at the same time paying a tribute to the workers on the frontline.”

     

     

  • The campaign features Policybazaar’s brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar

    Policybazaar unveils ‘AapKiSideHai’ campaign on IPL 2020

    By A Correspondent

     

    Policybazaar.com, the online insurance marketplace, has unveiled its new television campaign titled ‘AapKiSideHai’. The campaign features Policybazaar’s brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar.

     

    Said Samir Sethi, Head of Brand Marketing, Policybazaar.com: “While we continue to highlight the importance of Health & Term life Insurance through our marketing campaigns, with the brand promise of Policybazaar AapKiSideHai, we also intend to position Policybazaar as a customer centric brand, that is committed to stand by its customers, both pre and post purchase.”

     

     

  • The objective: revive the tradition of celebrating with sweets

    Haldiram’s campaign by Lowe Lintas

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sweets and namkeens maker Haldiram’s, has released a campaign conceived by Lowe Lintas Bangalore to revive the tradition of celebrating with sweets.

     

    Said Neeraj Agrawal, Director, Haldiram Foods: “Through the decades, we have always been known for our quality and consistency in our products and same applies to our sweets portfolio. In India, sweets are consumed and gifted on a regular basis. They also hold immense importance during festivities. This campaign has been designed to make the brand extremely relatable to our audiences, by showcasing Haldiram’s as a part of their daily lives. Hence ‘Desh ki Mithaas’.”

     

    Talking about the campaign, Sagar Kapoor, Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas said: “Haldiram’s is as Indian as any brand can get. With this campaign, we are bringing alive India’s love for ‘meetha’, the fact that we Indians don’t need occasions to enjoy our sweets. Also, the fact that we love serving and sharing sweets a bit more than eating them.”

     

     

  • The ad is conceptualised by Leo Burnett

    DBS Bank campaign features Tendulkar

    By A Correspondent

     

    DBS Bank India has unveiled its latest campaign that talks about safety and stars DBS’ brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. The ad is conceptualised by Leo Burnett.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Shoma Narayanan, Executive Director – Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at DBS Bank India, said: “The narrative of our new brand film hinges on safety, trust and resilience. The well-being, both physical and financial, of our customers, colleagues and partners has been our top priority through these challenging times. The film aligns with this and assures viewers that DBS is a partner they can rely on.”

     

    Added Neel Roy Cruz, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett, said, “From a creative point of view, this was one of the most challenging projects we have executed. How does one conceptualise and create a film when the whole world is confined to their homes? Just like our film narrative, we partnered with talented professionals and executed the film with all safety protocols. The very project itself stands testimony to the message we are trying to convey to our customers. Another interesting aspect of the campaign is that the idea for the film script came from one of Sachin Tendulkar’s video challenge, which went viral and was trending during the nationwide lockdown.”

     

     

  • Onboards Rahul Dravid as Brand Ambassador

    CarDekho Group launches “The everyday hero” TV campaigns

    By A Correspondent

     

    CarDekho has launched its newest TV campaign ‘The everyday hero’ championing the cause of personal mobility. The campaign has been created by Leo Burnett India and has Rahul Dravid endorsing the brand.

     

    Commenting on the new campaigns, Gaurav Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, CarDekho, said: “Consumer behavior has shifted and personal mobility and a trusted mode of transportation have taken centerstage. Since commuting is unavoidable, everyone wants a trusted and secure means of personal mobility. Rahul Dravid embodies Trust and Security for all Indians and constantly motivates us to dig in for a long and successful innings, despite overwhelming odds. His team-centric performances inspire us to collectively push towards success. We are honoured to partner with him and inspire people to take their destiny in their own hands. CarDekho aims to become a personal mobility partner to every Indian in their journeys ahead.”

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director – India & Chief Creative Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett said: ““With the current situation dictating personal mobility as one of the key measures for safety. And online car buying has seen a major boost. Good news is with the new behaviour CarDekho is becoming the first choice for most buyers. Having one of the finest Indian cricketing legends, Rahul Dravid onboard as our brand ambassador further cements our relationship with the audiences. We are working with CarDekho and Rahul to create a new blueprint for the car buying process and establish itself as the most trusted and preferred partner for new buyers. We can’t wait to create some magic with both these powerhouse brands.”

     

     

  • It has been executed by Ayappa KM, Co-founder, Early Man Films, the production agency

    Cred’s campaign stars Anil Kapoor and other 1990s

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cred, an app-based platform for credit card payments, has launched a campaign three ad films slated to launch over the course of IPL, and starring actor Anil Kapoor along with other iconic celebrities from the 1990s The campaign has been conceptualised by an in-house team and executed by Ayappa KM, Co-founder, Early Man Films, the production agency.

     

    Speaking about this exciting campaign to kickstart the IPL Season, Trupthi Shetty, Lead – Growth and Engagement at Cred, said: “We are extremely excited to be associated with IPL 2020. At CRED, we believe in rewarding good financial behavior and with this campaign, we are positive that our message of encouraging financial literacy and educating viewers on the rewarding benefits of responsible financial behavior would come through in an entertaining manner. With Anil Kapoor and others lending their inimitable styles and unique personalities to each video, we are sure audiences would definitely relate to this campaign and our association would be off to a rewarding start.”

     

    Sharing these views, Anand Menon, Executive Producer & Co Founder, Early Man Film added: “It was a massive challenge for us to turn around this production keeping in mind the current scenario. But the fact that we had an opportunity to use these celebrities in a unique and entertaining way to tell the CRED story, made the effort worthwhile. We hope everyone enjoys these films and they bring a much needed smile to people’s lives.”

     

     

  • The message will be amplified via INS-affiliated newspapers

    Mullen Lintas and Indian Newspaper Society create campaign ‘Rupaiyyah Hai Pahiya’ to jumpstart economic activity

    By A Correspondent

     

    Given the ongoing downturn in the economy, Mullen Lintas has launched a campaign with the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), to “encourage consumers to start spending and to create liquidity in the market, and help boost the country’s economy”. The message will be amplified via INS-affiliated newspapers.

     

    Commenting on the initiative, Amer Jaleel, Group CCO & Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group said: “There’s a training inside Lintas to think scale and to think mass. We involve ourselves with brands yes, with marketing yes, but beyond that our embrace is towards our culture and our economy. Lintas cannot ignore what’s happening to demand and to consumerism as a fallout of the Covid Lockdown. Too much of our work depends on consumer sentiment and to reigniting consumer sentiment becomes not just necessary to our work and survival but it’s a calling, it’s a duty. Very early we recognised that this turn of the cycle will not revive on its own and the wheel of the country’s economy will need everyone to push. Spending with confidence is probably the only people-linked initiative that can bring about this momentum, and so we stuck our shoulder to the task and hope that the country gives it a heave too.”

     

    IPG Mediabrands forged this collaboration with Indian Newspaper Society to provide the necessary reach. Added Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands: “This pandemic has proved that if we can survive together, we can revive together. It is this collective that can help in crafting the ‘India Revival’ story. The series of unlockdowns announced by the government via print media is playing its part to spread the word. Consumers are closely linked to print media and the campaign message amplification is best suited for a message such as this. The campaign by Mullen Lintas, with a massive reach supported by INS, is a call to spend in order to save.”

     

    Said Shailesh Gupta, President, Indian Newspaper Society: “Newspapers are the lifeline of the people and have been responsible to bring about national upheavals. Even though a lot of people migrated to online versions, the readership remained like a rock. It plays a strong connection with the people joining them with the mainstream and bringing them upto speed. A reach such as this can be harnessed for a national initiative like Rupaiyyah Hai Pahiya and help to turn the wheels of the economy. INS proudly supports this campaign.”

     

    Speaking about the idea for the campaign, Azazul Haque and Garima Khandelwal, Chief Creative Officers, Mullen Lintas added: “We’re happy and proud to have been able to do this campaign for the Nation. Since consumer confidence and discretionary spending is down, our attempt has been to humbly nudge the consumer to not hold back and that Every Rupee Spent is a Rupee Earned for the Nation. That’s how the idea “Rupaiah Hai Pahiya’ was born to encourage consumers to keep the wheels of the economy turning.”