By Ananya Saha
As part of its ongoing campaign against Half Knowledge, ET launched a unique activity targeting working professionals at tea stalls outside corporate parks. Called Tea with ET, it is an unusual tea-stall act over three cities. Nearly two lakh corporate executives who visited any of 120 tea stalls in and around corporate parks in the three cities over three days were greeted with a custom-designed tea cup. The messages included lines like ‘When it comes to knowledge, cutting won’t do’; adapted for Bengaluru as, ‘When it comes to knowledge, by 2 won’t do’ etc.
The teacup activity was experienced by executives across tea vendors at major corporate campuses such as Peninsula Corporate Park, Express Towers, Kamla Mills in Mumbai; Global Business Park (Gurgaon), International Trade Tower, Statesman House in Delhi and IBC Knowledge Park, ITPL, Salapuria Infinity in Bengaluru. This was part of The Economic Times’ latest marketing campaign Against Half Knowledge. The objective of this particular activity was to engage with India Inc’s young workforce in casual settings with a whacky yet serious message.
Conceived by Lowe Lintas + Partners, the campaign – ET Against Half Knowledge “seeks to connect with young corporate executives wherever we can find them – at corporate parks, in our newspapers, on TV, radio, in coffee houses, on Facebook and other Internet channels, on the road, in cinema houses. We are using all channels that connect them with us,” said Ravi Dhariwal, CEO, BCCL. The campaign uses humour, colour and illustrations in an otherwise serious category. Much of the campaign rides on media channels owned by BCCL and Group companies.
Multi-media approach
The print campaign exposes the various stereotypes of half-knowledge people, in office and outside. “With a compelling combination of colourful illustrations and witty lines, the ads bring out the reasons why we need to arm ourselves with relevant, continual knowledge and ward off half knowledge. Some of the lines include: ‘Half Knowledge is always very loud, never necessarily clear’; ‘A visit to the auto expo and Half Knowledge becomes an auto expert’; ‘Half Knowledge has an answer to every question, even before it is asked’,” said Mr Dhariwal.
Lodestar handled Media Planning, Indigo Consultant & Technology for Website outreach, Windchimes was involved with Social media engagement and several other agencies such as Fountainhead, Hungama Digital Services, Elevate and Candid Marketing have executed on-ground activations.
“The trio of TV spots is a fresh jab at short film-making and a creative introduction to three Half Knowledge stereotypes. “In just 30 seconds, we are introduced to a body-painted “Corporate Explorer”, who, in turn, introduces us to Half Knowledge stereotypes in the form of Last-Mile Repeaters; Elevator-Leeches; and Watering-Hole Hunters. The satirical narrative exposes Half Knowledge types that bump into us in our private and professional lives every other day. Those that are waiting to find the opportune moment to try and sound intelligent, offer suggestions that are mostly wrong, and feed off opinions that aren’t their own,” he said. The TVC is currently playing on Times channels (Movies Now, Times Now, ET Now), besides Star Movies, HBO and National Geographic Channel. Apart from this, three catchy jungles dedicated to Half Knowledge types were run on Radio Mirchi and additionally onRadioCityin Bengaluru, Big FM inDelhiand Red FM in Mumbai where listeners were invited to dedicate the Half Knowledge jingle to anyone in their office or peers. The campaign was launched with its own microsite – www.knowgrow.economictimes.com – and Facebook page – www.facebook.com/etagainsthk. Both sites also run a series of contests that invite consumers to win some cool merchandise by sharing their views and stories on Half Knowledge. Airports and some strategic locations were taken up in Mumbai,Delhiand Bengaluru for a period of a month to amplify the message.
In a partnership with Cafe Coffee Day, 24 cafes inDelhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru carried tent-cards busting common Half Knowledge myths. Branded newsstands carried the day’s copies of ET for visitors to sample and read the newspaper and dispel other such myths. Media planners, Creative Directors, CMOs and CEOs of about 204 companies (creative agencies, media agencies, top marketers in FMCG, Auto, BFSI, Luxury), were sent a bright green box, which instructed them to prick a balloon (with an elegant pin placed inside) and burst a Half Knowledge myth – that ET is only about finance and stock markets.
In the first week of April, over 80 percent of the 2,000-plus attendees at GoaFest were rapping at the ‘ET Against Half Knowledge’ booth. A graffiti wall invited them to doodle and have their say on the subject. A Balloon Wall was burst with darts and revealed ET’s depth of coverage such as Business of Brands, Worldview, Personal Technology etc. And a specially made song Against Half Knowledge saw people rap to the lyrics.
Participation
The campaign has witnessed over 1.6 lakh active participants on digital and on-ground media in a span of a month, besides the engagements that we have generated with millions of consumers in mass-media – print, TV, radio, outdoors. The thought behind this campaign was to start a dialogue with young corporate executives, but in an unconventional manner.
“Everybody knows The Economic Times as a knowledge powerhouse and an essential catalyst for professional success. So just saying so would have gone unnoticed, elaborated Mr Dhariwal, adding, “At the same time, we found a growing trend of 2-minute experts (like 2-minute noodles) mushrooming everywhere around us, but being particularly disturbing in corporate life because of their potential for harm. This gave us the chance to experiment with a lateral thought – half knowledge and how it comes in the way of your growth, hence staying in touch with ET everyday for continual learning and professional growth.”
The campaign, which has been rolled out nationally, will run in phases through the year.
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