MxMIndia

Category: SPECIALS

  • BTL provides us with 'touch points' to engage with consumer and create an impact which will help us influence their attitude towards the brand, says Revant Bhate, CMO, Faaso's

    BTL Baatein: Revant Bhate, Faaso’s… Powered by VISCOMM

    Set up in 2011, Faaso’s fashions itself as a food technology enterprise. A well-funded firm, Faaso’s has employed technology to efficiently manage the food-on-demand business. Thanks to excellent funding, it has expanded rapidly and added on some high profile ATL to its promotional arsenal.

     

    A computer science graduate from Mumbai University, Revant Bhate, co-founder and head of marketing, has worked with Yes Bank and Elara Capital after a PGDM at IIM Kozhikode.  In the process of building the business, he oversees marketing and finance at the firm.

     

    In this edition of BTL Baatein, Revant Bhate talks of how BTL marketing makes it easier and faster to get feedback from customers and addressing them quick.

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the space that Faasos operates in?

    At Faasos, we believe that we are in the business of experiential marketing. While ATL helps us create brand visibility, BTL provides us with ‘touch points’ to engage with our consumer and create an impact which will help us influence their attitude towards the brand.

     

    The position that we create through our ATL campaigns is then hammered in the minds of the consumers through a well integrated BTL piece.

     

    Thus, BTL is focused approach strategically driven towards generating results where we engage with a selective target group thus intending to build a long lasting relationship.

     

    What are the specific products or services for which BTL activations are used?

    Faasos as a brand has always been using BTL to engage with our consumers. We have only recently introduced ATL as a part our media mix. Thus, BTL has always been the first means of communicating with our consumers.

     

    We are currently operational in 11 cities and as a conscious brand decision; we have introduced ourselves in all these cities through BTL activities only. Thus, BTL runs across our portfolio of products.

     

    And how important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan?

    I think listening to customers and addressing them is a way of life, BTL marketing makes it easier and faster as there is a scope for instant feedback. Nearly 40% of our marketing budgets is allocated to BTL campaigns thus making it a very crucial part.

     

    Did you reduce/increase the BTL activity after your recent aggressive mass media blitz?

    As mentioned earlier, we have recently entered into the ATL space. However, our BTL spends have remained stable without alterations.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    Approximately 40% of our spends are targeted towards BTL campaigns.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    While we work with creative agencies for creative development, the execution is taken care of inhouse.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sure shot avenue than ATL?

    Faasos as a brand has been using only been using BTL so far and it has worked successfully for us. However, we have now started integrating the ATL campaigns with the BTL ones to create more effective messaging across all products.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    While we would love to have a concrete mechanism to calculate the ROI in order to measure the success of the campaign; we realize that it may not be 100% practical. We consider factors such as footfalls and leads generated as the two most important parameters to measure the success for the campaign.

     

    Also, we use different coupon codes in each of our campaigns to track the kind of momentum we gain through a particular activity. This more or less gives us an idea about the effectiveness of the campaign.

     

    There are many organisations who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?”

    All forms of engagement and experience have a defined role to play in creating and nurturing a brand. Both ATL and BTL marketing strategies need to co-exist in today’s environment. As a brand, your media mix should be determined by the objective you are trying to achieve through any particular activity.

     

    Having said that, BTL is gaining a lot of momentum and a lot of brands are focusing on BTL to introduce and build themselves in the market place.  Faasos is one such example.

     

     


  • To reach the niche and premium segments, BTL works the best with least spillover and media wastages, says Neelima Burra, CMO, Cargill Foods India

    BTL Baatein: Neelima Burra, Cargill Foods India…. Powered by VISCOMM

    As Chief Marketing Officer at Cargill Foods India Ltd (CFI), Neelima Burra is responsible for managing the marketing activities of CFI while leading a team of marketing specialists to drive brand leadership for the company.

     

    Burra has been associated with the FMCG, Consumer Durable and Healthcare industries for over 15 years and has in-depth understanding of the consumer trends in the category. Her core strength lies in business turnaround through Brand Marketing, Product/Category Management and Business Development. She is passionate about designing, implementing and integrating multifaceted marketing programmes that tie in successfully with mainstream business objectives. Neelima has been instrumental in setting up marketing structures and frameworks within organizations to drive sustainable and profitable growth through brand marketing

     

    Prior to joining Cargill Foods India in 2014, Neelima was Head of Marketing at Usha International handling a diverse portfolio of Kitchen Appliances, Home Appliances and Sewing Machine verticals.  She has also been associated with Whirlpool Corporation as GM Marketing, Britannia Industries Ltd. & HLL Lifecare Ltd in the past.

     

    An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Neelima Burra speaks on how BTL is a pillar for any product that requires knowledge creation, engagement or behavioral change.

     

    1. What according to you is the importance of BTL specifically for Cargill India products in the world of advertising and promotions?

    Brands in Cargill India’s portfolio cater to varied consumer segments with differentiated demographics, psychographics and geography. The choice of oil is a very complex process involving the cultural background, cooking and health needs. Price also plays a role since consumers don’t see perceptible difference in various brands of oils. Therefore, engaging with the consumer is an important element of our strategy. While ATL is important for creating brand awareness, BTL plays a huge role in the last mile conversion for all our brands.Emphasis on reason to believe and engagement with the brand at the ‘place of conversion’ i.e. the shop floor goes a long way in driving purchase. We also use BTL as a channel to create new business opportunities.

     

    One of the brands where we invest significantly in BTL is Leonardo Olive Oil. Being a relatively new category, it requires knowledge creation amongst the influencers as well as the consumers on the health benefits of Leonardo Olive Oil. Some of the examples are:

    • Medico-Marketing to explain the benefits of Leonardo to Nutritionists and Doctors
    • We have piloted a concept Olive Bar – an experiential store where the consumer can taste the different variants of Leonardo Olive Oil and engage with the product.
    • Engagement with Nutritionists to discuss the health benefits of Leonardo Olive Oil
    • Chef Engagement to break the myth that olive oil cannot be used to make Indian dishes
    • We have hired promoters to communicate the benefits of Leonardo Olive Oil at different touch points such as Modern Trade, Market areas, Malls, Offices, RWAs etc.
    • We have created engagement platforms through digital and mobile with microsite, facebook page and twitter handle to support our on-ground activations

     

    2. Your products cater from urban to rural segments? Are there some audiences where BTL works better than ATL and vice versa?

    I believe BTL is driven by brand intent and audience for the category. It is a pillar for any product that requires knowledge creation, engagement or behavioral change. Depending on the need of the brand and the target audience, we decide the BTL strategy, method and approach. For instance, in Gemini which is our mass premium brand, we have a renowned Nutritionist to engage with the consumers on the benefits of Nutri-V fortified Gemini Cooking oil. In Nature Fresh Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil – our mass brand, we use BTL to demonstrate the high pungency and purity of the product. On the other hand, in Leonardo olive oil which is our niche and premium brand, we use BTL to engage with the audience. In that sense, where we use ATL or BTL is determined by the need for engagement and not necessarily by audience. Lastly, depending on the brand communication objective and task at hand, the degrees of ATL and BTL in the campaign mix may vary.

     

    Would you say that there are certain types of marketers who have a greater affinity for BTL? (eg FMCG, durables, auto, etc)

    Whether to have a BTL strategy or not, depends purely on the brand’s task at hand and in theory it should be industry-agnostic. Even within the industry, the affinity towards BTL changes by brand and consumers.

     

    Since we deal in the commodity space, ATL helps us in converting the commodity into popular brands and BTL helps us in creating consumer engagement, affinity and advocacy. Depending on the lifecycle at which the brand is in, the optimal mix of ATL and BTL is created. For instance, Nature Fresh Chakki Atta which has been absent from the mass media for a few years now, has majority of focus on ATL right now with BTL as a support.

     

    And typically what the break-up is of spends at Cargill…  ATL v/s BTL?

    Putting together all our brand’s spends, it is a 40:60 towards ATL and BTL respectively. While we maintain a balance between ATL & BTL at an overall level, niche segment like Olive oil has larger BTL spends at the moment.

     

    In terms of generating results esp. from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    Both ATL and BTL have specific roles to play.Today’s consumer is exposed to a variety of medium and the brand shift can happen at any stage during the buying cycle. Therefore, we use ATL and BTL together to ensure awareness, recall, experience, affinity and advocacy. In case of our B2Bbusiness where the audience is niche and decisions are made on relationships, we use only BTL strategy.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you/your clients look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    We spend a lot of time prior to any campaign in establishing theROI metrics that would define its success criteria. Aside of the volume-value generation as a result of a BTL campaign, we also track variables like consumers engaged, consumers converted and referrals generated. We also link most of our BTL initiatives with consumer offer and channel program for better trade engagement and conversion during the campaign with incremental gain in business. We also connect our campaigns with digital and social media platforms to ensure that the consumers can connect back to us when they want.

     

    There are many organizations who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    We don’t look at ATL and BTL as substitutes, but more as complements to one another. In general, our ATL drives awareness and consideration, and then task for conversions is taken up by BTL. Until the entire loop is closed, one won’t be able to get the desired results. However, I have a different view for brands catering to fragmented markets. Segmented, targeted and customised conversations with consumers always pay off. BTL can completely drive brand preference in such markets. To reach the niche and premium segments, BTL works the best with least spillover and media wastages.

     

    Lastly, given the rising usage of mobile devices, would you say that in times to come BTL and digital would go hand-in-hand?

    Brands are not made by marketers. They are made by consumers. Traditional ATL and BTL are controlled by the marketers however digital can also be used by the consumers to engage with the brand. While we use ATL to create awareness and BTL to engage with the consumers, the engagement loop is not complete until we have provided a platform to the consumers to engage with us when they would like to. Brand Advocacy is created when a campaign provides a two-way communication. Digital strategy forms an integral part of all our campaignswith specific microsites and social media platforms – be it for Leonardo Olive Oil, Gemini Refined Oil or Nature Fresh as of now.

     

  • The first session of BTL Baatein Live! happens on Friday, December 11 with Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP, Marketing, Product, Digital and E-commerce, HDFC Life in Mumbai

    MxMIndia announces BTL Baatein Live! powered by VISCOMM. Session 1 on Fri, Dec 11 with Sanjay Tripathy of HDFC Life

    By A Correspondent

     

    As competition grows in a marketplace that is getting crowded with multiple messages and many media entities, it has become a challenge for marketers to reach out to their audience, communicate the message and at an affordable cost. Moreover there is a fair amount of ‘wastage’ in mass media vehicles. Thus a ‘value for money’ and a ‘sureshot’ proposition of outreach is ‘below the line’ advertising and promotions (BTL).

     

    BTL is indeed a lot more than POS, vanilla activation ideas or outreach to potential consumers. There are scientific ways to design effective BTL campaigns. However, BTL is perceived as the distant cousin of various marketing tools, not many practitioners come out to discuss and share ideas on the craft and science of below-the-line activities. Ideas are shared peer to peer and are spread via word-of-mouth. Even the A&M trade media doesn’t cover BTL extensively.

     

    Earlier this year, MxMIndia, in association with VISCOMM started cataloguing thoughts and opinions of customers, practitioners, marketers and academia about BTL.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy

    BTL Baatein now goes to the next level with BTL Baatein Live! – with a series of interactions with leading marketers and practitioners who believe in power of BTL. To be held every second Friday each month, the first of its kind forum will bring industry leaders, experts, students and academia at an interactive round table to discuss experiences and share views and advice.

     

     

    BTL Baatein Live! kickstarts with Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP, Marketing, Product, Digital and E-commerce, HDFC Life on Friday, December 11 in Mumbai (at Bandra West) to be precise.

     

    This is a closed event where only those invited can attend. However, if you would like to attend this or forthcoming events, please mail editor@mxmindia.com with BTL Baatein Live! in the subject. You may call or text VISCOMM at +917045874561

     

  • While ATL creates consumer interests in a brand and brings the brand in consideration of consumers. BTL helps convert this interest into consumer preference for the brand, says Manish Bhatia, President, Building Products Division, HSIL Ltd

    BTL Baatein with Manish Bhatia HSIL… Powered by VISCOMM

    We bring you a new season with Manish Bhatia, President, Building Products Division, HSIL Ltd. The genesis of Hindware goes way back to the 1960s when HSIL Limited introduced the virtuous China sanitaryware in India for the first time in 1963. Trusted and recognised by millions across the country, Hindware began its journey in the sanitaryware space and has continued to grow that segment through sustained focus on technology and design.

     

    What according to you is the importance of BTL specifically for HSIL products in the world of advertising and promotions?  While you do advertise in mass and specialised media, how much of point-of-sale and other BTL promotional activity do you employ?

    HSIL treats BTL as consumers connect opportunity and lays a lot of emphasis on positive MOT (Moment of Truth) driving experiences for the consumer. BTL for HSIL / HSIL products is of utmost importance as it is looked upon as a ‘Sell-out’ initiative, rather than a mere routine branding and display program. Planting right product proposition cues and consumer benefits in consumer’s mind is in focus while developing any BTL elements, be it catalogues, leaflets, Product Display Standees etc. We need to create a distinct consumer experience and we look upon BTL route as one of the a medium to connect with the consumer at the point-of-purchase level with meaningful product and consumer propositions.At this very moment, we are running a ‘Blockbuster Celebration’ consumer connect promotion campaign leveraging New Product Launches: Like Kylis Bathrooms  and Bathroom concept proposition as central theme for the campaign.

     

    Your products cater to diverse segments… are there some audiences where BTL works better than  ATL and vice versa?

    The role of these is somewhat overlapping but still distinct. ATL creates consumer interests in a brand and as he or she enters the first stage of interaction with the category, brings the brand in consideration. BTL starts from there, and helps convert this interest into consumer preference for the brand.

     

    What about outreach and promotions with the trade? How do you achieve that by way of promotions?

    Brand Hindware is committed to ensuring not only we work with our retailers to deliver sell ins; but also sell outs , so that retailer is able to rotate his working capital and make meaningful profit . “Hindware Block Buster Consumer promotion” , launched this year is a step in that direction.

     

    We have also embarked upon rolling out a unique and differentiated Program for Plumbers and Plumbing contractors , called Hindware Mitr which will help trade partners to drive sell-out as well as enable the plumber community to become more Saksham.

     

    And typically what is the break-up of spends at HSIL…  ATL v/s BTL? 

    At present it is 60% BTL and 40% ATL.

     

    In terms of generating results esp from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    Both mediums play a different role and they are not mutually agnostic. However while driving consumer conversions, BTL plays a relatively more meaningful role as you can run more targeted programs; e.g. Hindware Mitr is a targeted BTL program, which I am sure will be quite effective in building connect with influencers.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you/your clients look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    A good BTL program should result in sell outs and hence faster stock rotation. Increase in purchase frequency, both in number of orders as well as order size is a valuable indicator for this. Conversations on social media add value to BTL campaigns as the medium helps in creating buzz around these programs.

     

    There are many organisations – especially in your space – who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with or without an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    I think the answer lies in product categories and targeted consumers. If you are launching boutique or niche products or you have distribution weakness, doing only BTL is a viable and sensible option. It helps in creating a tailor made campaign and avoids media spill overs and wastage. However, for an industry leader like us, especially for our brand hindware, with its well spread out distribution, we believe a combination of two works better.

     

     

  • Apart from the sales and salience, BTL can have a direct measurement of the participation and engagement of the consumers, and the word-of-mouth it generates., says Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd

    BTL Baatein with Saumitra Prasad, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd… Powered by VISCOMM

    Kokuyo Camlin Limited (formerly known as Camlin Limited) has been in the business of  manufacturing and selling of art materials and stationery products under flagship brands ‘Camel’ and ‘Camlin’ for more than 80 years. The company offers a wide range of products such as Fine Art materials, scholastic Colours and stationery, hobby products, office products, writing and drawing instruments, adhesives and notebooks. In the year 2011, Kokuyo S&T ltd, a Japanese corporation engaged in the business of stationery, notebooks and school furniture acquired majority stake in the company. Here’s what Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd. says on below-the-line promotions in this edition of ‘BTL Baatein’.

     

    What according to you is the importance of BTL specifically for Kokuyo Camlin products in the world of advertising and promotions?  While you do advertise in mass and specialized media, how much of point-of-sale and other BTL promotional activity do you employ?

    Mass media is more cost effective and reaches to a larger audience as compared to BTL initiatives. However we have always supported our old iconic BTL initiatives with media to make them more effective and also ensuring that they reach more consumers. For examples the world’s largest art competition – Camel Art Contest – todays a digital media component for only promoting the event to more children even outside India, also ensuring that they can participate as well. This strategy has been applied to many BTL initiatives like Camlin World Art Day, Camel Art Foundation & Camlin Principal’s day etc

     

    Kokuyo Camlin products are a household name. Do you really need to look at doing promotions to boost sales and salience? Or is it essentially engagement with the children and other buyers?

    While it’s true that Kokuyo Camlin products have always maintained a strong connect with consumers for last many generations, it’s important to maintain that connect in the current times and not allow the competition to take it away from you.

     

    Is your TG better served by BTL or ATL?

    We use both BTL and ATL to reach our consumers, and if we have to pick one tool which gaining the maximum importance in recent times its social media

     

    What about outreach and promotions with the trade? How do you achieve that by way of promotions?

    We have also been looking at expanding our distribution so that we can reach small towns. The promotions here are targeted at increasing the passive distribution.

     

    And typically what is the break-up of spends at Kokuyo Camlin…  ATL v/s BTL?

    Our current ration of ATL : BTL is 80:20

     

    In terms of generating results esp. from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sure shot avenue than ATL?

    We believe that both ATL and BTL will be required to drive the consumer & B2B business, and ideally they both complement each other and have multiplier effect.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you/your clients look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign

    Apart from the sales and salience, BTL can have a direct measurement of the participation and engagement of the consumers, and the word of mouth it has generated.

     

    There are many organisations – especially in your space – who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with or without an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    In our category where Kokuyo Camlin has the widest range of presence and have a very high number of NPDs getting launched every month, it’s not possible to support it with media, hence good BTL supported launch is general practice for most of them. However,now social media has made it possible to amplify the launch support.

     

  • Most need-based services would generally work well in the BTL domain, says Nilesh Parwani, Managing Director and India Head at Vistaprint

    BTL Baateni: Nilesh Parwani, MD and India Head, Vistaprint… Powered by VISCOMM

    As Managing Director and India Head at Vistaprint, a Cimpress company, Nilesh Parwani has been spearheading the attempt to empower some 14 million micro-businesses and consumers annually with affordable, professional options to make an impression.

     

    Parwani graduated from the Kelley School of Business where he majored in  Finance and Business Process Management. After graduation he worked for UBS’ Healthcare group where he was instrumental in making the biggest overseas acquisition by an Indian pharmaceutical company at that time. After that he joined Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm where he helped make investments across sectors such as hospitality and real estate.

     

    In January 2008, Parwani launched Printbell.com with a vision to provide cost-effective printing solutions to small business owners. In July 2012, Vistaprint acquired Printbell. Excerpts from an interview with Nilesh Parwani where he dwells on how BTL is a key part of reaching out to potential customers and  how most need-based services would generally work well in the BTL domain.

     

    How critical is BTL for a service provider in terms of advertising and promotions?

    Almost the backbone of the marketing strategy I would say. Direct marketing through online channels and real-time access to data enables optimizing ROI and efficiency of marketing spends.

     

    Are there some audiences where BTL works better than ATL and vice versa? And specifically digital where Vistaprint is very strong?

    Audiences which form the primary target audience set for us are best reached through BTL – these are typically classified in three buckets: (1) Business Consumers such as entrepreneurs, (2) small and medium enterprises, and (3) independent professionals such as doctors, lawyers, architects, CAs, etc. These audiences are actively searching for online service providers for better value and convenience and therefore BTL works well to drive them our platform. We primarily use digital channels given the  e-commerce and online savviness among these target groups.

     

    Would you say that there are certain types of products and services where BTL works better, and which have a greater affinity for BTL? (eg FMCG, autos, durables, auto fuels, etc)

    Most need-based services would generally work well in the BTL domain. In our case, because we are also disrupting the print industry as it has existed in the fragmented, unorganised format for years, sampling and trials become important tools for attracting new customers – again great affinity with BTL activities.

     

    And typically what is the break-up of spends at Vistaprint…  ATL v/s BTL?

    We have just recently started doing things like TV and the reason for that is the need to communicate the ‘alternative’ in Vistaprint to help address traditional barriers in the print industry, these are typically around delayed deliveries, poor quality, lack of design options, and compulsion to order larger quantities for a particular product – we believe the story-telling format using TV as a medium is a powerful way to demonstrate the power of our platform and therefore the initiative on TV – since its early days though, ATL continues to be a minority share of our overall spends.

     

    In terms of generating results esp from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    Balance is what is important: while BTL is easy to measure and more predictable, ATL is important for a brand like ours which is trying to disrupt an existing print industry and needs to create awareness for our offering and service/quality superlative.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you/your clients look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign

    Long-term value after the first order or sampling/trials for customer cohorts are generally a good indicator of the quality of acquisitions during a BTL campaign.

     

    There are many organisations who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    Really depends on how established the product and/or the market for it is. In the online/digital world specifically, BTL generally will help attract or convert the ‘low-hanging’ fruit so to speak, but ATL is very important for players like us who are trying to (a) create a new category through some product lines and (b) driving conversion of established behaviour of printing locally or offline vendors to ‘online’ through our platform

     

    Lastly, given the rising usage of mobile devices, would you say that in times to come BTL and digital would go hand-in-hand?

    We already use BTL and digital interchangeably – so it’s already happening. Given the power of real-time data analytics, this is inevitable.

     

  • The first 5-6 years were very BTL-centric for IDBI Federal Life Insurance, says Vighnesh Shahane, CEO and Wholetime Director in the first of a new season of our popular ‘BTL Baatein’ series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Vighnesh Shahane, IDBI Federal Life Insurance… Powered by VISCOMM

    With over 20 years of extensive experience in consumer banking and life insurance sector, across diverse geographies, varied markets and multiple customer segments, Vighnesh Shahane is the CEO and Wholetime Director of IDBI Federal Life Insurance. A postgraduate from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Shahane has also represented Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy for three years. He has worked with well-known financial services organizations in India like ANZ Grindlays, Standard Chartered Bank and with Mashreq Bank in the UAE.  We kick off a new season of ‘BTL Baatein’ which is powered by VISCOMM with Anuka Roy speaking to him Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    How important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan? And overall in the financial services sector?

    I think BTL activity is important to us. We have a marketing budget, out of which we allocate some to ATL and lot of it is BTL. BTL is what we do at point of sales. We have a lot of sales coming from brank branches. So, BTL is very important to us. It has to be a combination of ATL and BTL, a clever tactical combination.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    Very ballpark, now, it could be 80-20. After we got in to sports marketing and sports branding, promoting sports at the grassroot level along with these foundations [like the IDBI Bowling Foundation], we are also sponsoring marathons. Now, with ATL advertising, we have been investing a lot more to create a balance. We want to build a brand and create some awareness about the brand.

     

    Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    These are regular activities- the brochure, the posters, banners, a lot of activation games and stuff like that, we keep doing as BTL.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    We do it internally. It is all inhouse.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    ATL has a different purpose; BTL has its different purpose. ATL creates awareness, recognition. BTL happens at the point of sale. So, both have a role to play. A lot of business comes from branch of the banks. So, people who walk in to the banks, if visible in the branch premise, and then it helps. At the same time they should have heard about our product. They should be aware about IDBI Federal.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    What output comes out of a BTL campaign is how we measure. If not, fulfill sales but at least how many leads do you generate, how many people will make enquires, how many people are interested; so we measure a successful BTL activity across these parameters. It is not only the final output in terms of sales, it is also about how many people came, enquired and how many leads that you get. May be they did not convert immediately, they will convert later.

     

    There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    Especially, for a company like ours, the first five to six years we were very BTL-centric. It is only now, in the last two years, that we realised that we need to create a brand and create more recognition for our brand that we have gone for ATL. Otherwise, a lot of our sales come from bank branches and we need to be extremely focused at the point of sales. But we need to create awareness also and hence in the last two years we have gone ATL centric. But initially we were very BTL-centric, 95% of our marketing budget would have been BTL.

     

  • BTL helps most brands not only for the last push on shop floor and brand visibility at the time of purchase/sale, but also silently helps to register brand awareness, says Anil Bhamre, General Manager Marketing of Racold Thermo Ltd in this edition of our 'BTL Baatein' series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Anil Bhamre, GM-Marketing, Racold Thermo… Powered by VISCOMM

    With over thirteen years of experience in marketing, product management, sales and strategic planning, Anil Bhamre is an alumnus of Department of Management Sciences, PUMBA, Pune. He joined Racold Themo Pvt Ltd as General Manager Marketing recently A strategic planner with proficiency in streamlining marketing inclusive of ATL/BTL, social media, product management, strategic planning etc., Bhamre has been an experienced practitioner in the industry for some time. We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Anuka Roy speaking to him on the balance between ATL and BTL marketing at Racold.

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the durable goods space?

    BTL plays a vital role in marketing of durable goods, no doubt over last few years its importance is getting diluted due to online shopping. BTL helps most brands not only for the last push on shop floor and brand visibility at the time of purchase/sale, but also silently helps to register brand awareness.

     

    Are there any specific products at Racold for which you only use BTL?

    As mentioned earlier, BTL is a good medium but even today for any durable player it is difficult to do away with ATL and completely rely only on BTL.

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    We spend diligently as per our marketing strategy based on innovations, effectiveness, mileage and reach as per the brand and market requirements in both ATL and BTL, where BTL plays a slightly lesser role compared to ATL.

    Over the last three-four years, the company has increased its reach among consumers in India and is in more than 10,000 stores across towns. Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    We at Racold Thermo Private Limited follow the philosophy ‘Reborn Every Day with Hot Water’ and have always promoted our brand through many BTL activities, to name few are e.g. corporate social responsibility activities like Switch2Green, Wake Up Bucket Challenge and Turn Up The Heat Challenge in association with strategic partners.

    Recently, we initiated a campaign called Racold SunCity, which is a thought provoking campaign for the internet users of India. With this campaign we are supporting the thought of using solar products and reduce carbon emissions. We continuously work on increasing visibility in market place through sign boards, in shop branding, POP (Point Of Purchase)/POS (Point of Sale) and activations.

    Racold recently launched its new range of solar water heaters. There are many organisations who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    Every brand and organisation has their own brand/marketing strategy based on their current expectations/needs. Only BTL does not have the reach today which most organisation would like to have with limited time, money and resources they have. Yes, if BTL is used intelligently with other ATL mediums e.g. outdoor or digital yes it many a times can be effective too. But today even outdoor and digital are expensive too.

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    In B2B, yes, BTL is a winner provided you are in his/her (consumer, decision-maker, influencer) consideration set. In order to register in consideration set you need to generate some awareness through strategic mix of ATL and BTL. But when it comes to final execution and results in B2B , BTL like exhibitions, meets, sponsorships, one to one dialogues are more sure shot avenue than ATL.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    BTL campaigns are having two types, one that has immediate results e.g. walk ins, purchases, enquiries, sales, etc. when we use mediums like activations, exhibitions, events, meets, dialogues etc. But in second type it is difficult to measure success through BTL activities like store opening, in shop branding, visibility, POP/POS etc.

     

  • BTL helps most brands not only for the last push on the shopfloor and brand visibility at the time of purchase/sale, but also silently assists in registering brand awareness, says Anil Bhamre, General Manager Marketing of Racold Thermo Ltd in ‘BTL Baatein’ that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Arun Souza Varma, AAK Kamani Pvt Ltd… Powered by VISCOMM

    A sales professional with vast experience in channel management, key account management, B2B and sales strategy across various industries, Arun Souza Varma, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, AAK Kamani Pvt Ltd, heads the sales and marketing for the Food Service Division which caters to the requirements of Horeca, bakery, confectionary and ice cream industry. A postgraduate from the Sydenham Institute Of Management, Mumbai, Varma has been Zonal Business Head, West and Sales Head for Dr Fixit Urban at Pidilite Industries. We present to you the VISCOMM-powerd ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week with Anuka Roy speaking to him Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    What according to you is the importance of BTL specifically for AAK Kamani Pvt Ltd products in the world of advertising and promotions?

    For our particular products it is pretty important. We hardly do ATL and the kind of business we cater to is SMEs (Small and Medium-sized enterprises) – the smaller bakeries, confectioneries, frozen dessert manufacturers- for them BTL plays a major role. So, BTL is very important in our line of business.

     

    Your products cater to which consumers? Are there some audiences where BTL works better than ATL and vice versa?

    It is basically a food ingredient. We are in to specialty oils and fats. Largely we cater to bakeries, they use fats to make biscuits, cakes and creams; and then you have the HORECA segment which is the hotels, caterers etc., they generally use our culinary oils. Then we confectioneries which make toffees, wafer biscuits, so they use chocolate substitutes and we basically manufacture those specialty fats which are substitutes to the actual cocoa butter. We also operate in the frozen desserts segment, where again there’s the fat and the oil we have to make frozen desserts. These are the four consumer segments that we largely address to. They are all ingredients, we do not sell finished products but of course these products are finally consumed by large audience. So, if you look at it, ATL is more for mass mediums. Though we do a little bit of ATL, we do advertisements in paid magazines to target it to sector we cater to. But largely, it is BTL that works.

     

    Would you say that there are certain types of marketers who have a greater affinity for BTL?

    Well even if I have an affinity towards ATL, given the business I am in, I have to go for BTL because that is what the industry demands.  It largely depends on your model of business, customers and the kind of product you are making; that is what is important for determining whether to focus more on BTL or ATL.

     

    And typically what the break-up is of spends in Aak Kamani on ATL v/s BTL?

    Well, it is largely BTL. On a percentage basis, probably 10-15% is what you spend on ATL but the maximum 80-95% of our budget is on BTL.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    In the smaller B2Bs, yes. In SMEs, BTL does play a better role and success would be more. There you can track your conversions through BTL, you know your consumers. For larger B2Bs like a Cadbury or a Nestle, I would say it should a mix of both ATL and BTL.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you/ your clients look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    At the end of the day, all of them are into business. They are not the consumers; they have set up a bakery or a confectionery, they are also small businessmen. So, I think they are looking at their ROI (Return On Investment) and anything we do in BTL, we need to look at what is the ROI benefit that your target group is getting through BTL. When it is a BTL activity, I think it is more on the ROI of that business and how you impact the business that is a measure we would look at.

     

    There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    When it comes specifically to your industry segment and target group, if you are going on a FMCG market launch, I think you cannot do it only on the basis of BTL, you would need ATL support because if your target audience is too large for a BTL to reach out and it would be more expensive. However, if you come to businesses like what we are in, then, yes we can definitely do an entire launch and make it a success without spending more than 5-10% on ATL. The more smaller B2B you are, I think it is dependent on BTL but the more large audience you have, you have to combine BTL and support it with ATL campaign.

     

  • BTL is here to stay and is very important, says Sudheer Srinivas, Marketing Manager at Himalaya Drug Company in our 'BTL Baatein' series powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sudheer Srinivas, Himalaya Drug Co… Powered by VISCOMM

    Sudheer Srinivas is Marketing Manager at The Himalaya Drug Company. He looks after the newly launched division Himalaya Wellness. Divided into three wings, it comprises Pure Herbs, General Wellness and Nutrition, addressing a wide spectrum of medical issues – from preventive care to health management. We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Anuka Roy speaking to him Read on…

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the wellness care products space?

    The importance of retailing for our wellness range is because of many reasons. First, people today can afford and second, they think about their health more than anything today. Third, people have stopped being reactive and started being proactive over their health issues. Earlier when we used to go to a doctor we would spend Rs 50 maximum but today it is minimum of three to four thousand rupees. People today want a solution for their basic health care needs which they can pick it up along with their monthly shopping and they would want to make it a part of their lifestyle. The need for having a retailing for wellness range is the elderly population. The life expectancy of India today is 72 years.  But the quality of life between 52 and 72 years have suffered a lot. They go through diabetes, arthritis, infections etc. What this population is looking for is a daily health supplement which maintains their health apart from the regular medication that their doctor prescribes. They would prefer picking up Guduchi tablet, considering the benefits of it. Even Guduchi as a product is popular among the working professionals.

     

    So, BTL is very important for wellness care products. And, we would target it along with awareness. Today, somebody who is overweight may be looking for a solution but may not have found it. In the BTL space, there are health advisers give out pamphlets, talk to them about the products at Himalaya Wellness. That is helping us a lot. Creating awareness via BTL is what we are working on.

     

    What are the specific products or services for which BTL activations are used at Himalaya Wellness?

    First is our over weight, obesity product, second is our health drink. Third are our general category products like cold and pain balms, foot care crème. These are the three main categories. And the range, where we have Karela and other products, we educate the people, we do not insist on buying that. We tell them you have a solution in hand if you are suffering from diabetes or hyper cholesterol.

     

    How important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan?

    BTL is the only way we have taken as a policy from our division. It is the only thing that we are exposing our brands to.

     

    Do you see a special role for BTL in the rural market?

    The general belief among all of us city dwellers is that Class B and C towns are not that much health oriented. But the reverse is true. Today, even the B and C town people are very health conscious, they go to gyms , they jog and walk. They are interested in their health. So, BTL is very important in rural also. Rural, not the village kind but towns with less than five lakh population. Considering the wellness products, I would not recommend ATL because I would not take an anti-obesity product just because a Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan tells me to. The brand benefit should talk and it talks better we feel through BTL.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    We do not have an ATL plan at all. Not in the wellness portfolio.We haveseparate team promoting these products to Doctors community also. Even today, doctors are very important to generate the trigger of product. We strongly believe in that and are promoting to doctors through separate channel. Medical Representatives who approach the doctors and we have doctors across the country prescribing our products.

     

    Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    We do a lot of POSM (Point of Sale Materials) and product activations. We do a lot of tasting campaigns for our health drink. We do nutritional talk programmes, doctor meets, chemist meets, branding meets, all these activities. And all this is targeted at increasing the awareness.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    Where it requires a specific skill set we do it with an outside agency. The regular activities are done through our staff only.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    Firstly, it is sales. Secondly, what we look for is repeat process. Third thing is we conduct regular market insights. For our health drink, we are currently looking at a small sample size in four or five cities to find out the brand awareness and things like that. So, we look at what was our target and what we have achieved in terms of awareness. That is a very realistic measure of my BTL activities.

     

    There are many organisations who often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    For certain categories, definitely yes, BTL can be the only mode of promotion. Media cost is definitely rising. For our set of products it would not make sense in going ATL. So, BTL is here to stay and is very important.

     

  • BTL plays a very large role for me in getting new people and converting them, says Bedraj Tripathy, AVP, Marketing, Godrej Interio in our new season of 'BTL Baatein' series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Bedraj Tripathy, Godrej Interio… Powered by VISCOMM

    Starting as an on-the-field sales professional, Bedraj Tripathy moved to the field of brand communications and then stepped into the corporate world. With over 20 years of experience, he has been managing and building many coveted brands around the world. He has a wide range of experience in retail, BFSI and technology, both in B2C and B2B segments. Currently he is working as AVP, Marketing, Godrej Interio (the furniture division of Godrej &Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd). We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Anuka Roy speaking to him on Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    How important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan?

    I think it is a very big part for me. When I say very big part, if I had a very small presence, whether it is retail or B2B, then that would have been the largest piece. For me reach is critical. 250 cities in retail, and I am present in 250 cities. So, 250 cities for me is a combination of ATL and BTL is what works the best. But what I do is I combine them together. So, it is not independent BTL and independent ATL. They work hand in hand with each other. That is really the crux of it. I do online, offline and BTL all of it together.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    I think 45% would be BTL. Hence, it is a very large part for me. Normally, if I look at FMCG Company they would have 14-15% in BTL but for us it is critical. In our business, you do not have people who keep coming in to your stores just for browsing. They will come in if they have a need for furniture. And, as a brand we are not present in high footfall zones. So, you will not find Godrej Interio stores inside a mall. They are always kept independently outside.  The objective is to ensure that the people who have a need come in there. If people have a need and come in, I have got two reasons for BTL. One, I should be able to attract them to my stores to increase footfall and the right kind of people who are in need of furniture or looking for re-doing their homes or moving to new homes and two is, converting them. So, we at times very proudly say, 48% of our customers get converted. But the sad part is 52% do not get converted. The objective is always how I can convert that. BTL plays a very large role for me in getting new people and converting them. A smaller part which does not add up over here is, can I increase the average transaction value? Their lifetime value, I spend good enough time, money and effort but same customer on a BTL level I do not spend so much.

     

    Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    It can start from a very national campaign. Two large properties that we run nationally every year for the last 5 years, we do at a regional level and then we do at a local level. There are three layers that we work on BTL. If you look at all these BTLs, the whole objective is engagement. So, I can get people in to my store if they are engaged with me. I can get them to convert if they are engaged with me. So, our focus in any of these activities is purely engagement. I think it is like a brand mantra, ‘Engagement’. At the national level, there is one programme, which is possibly the largest in Asia, an engagement programme with users, ‘Upload and Transform’. We ask users to upload photographs of their homes and a small brief about what is the transformation they are looking for in that space. Then our architects tell us which homes are feasible and need transformation, we go and do it in 48 hours. The reason behind increasing the number of homes each year is, people who we are engaging is one part of it but people viewing that transformation. We have seen footfalls going up because of this programme. This year the whole focus of this programme is only customers. It is one of the largest pieces we are running and it is round the year.

     

    The other part we are doing is a lot of families do not get the chance of transformation because of the volume. But it still does not matter, we should give them design. So, this year, we want to give almost 250 homes, actual designed homes. We will tell them how and who will implement it for them. The other one is we do an ATL and BTL combination. Typically, pre festive, is the ‘The great Indian furniture sale’. It is localized yet we look at it from a centralised level and it is large BTL activation we do.

     

    We are launching one of our stores in Delhi, in a furniture market. You will naturally get footfalls in a furniture market, but how do you get the kind of people you want? So, we wanted people who are more youthful, we got stand-up comedians to perform and started an open mic over there. We have people walking in. It is free advertising, not on paper, at the store as a poster that is all that you are seeing and people see, remember and come back. We do simple things like rangoli, mehendi contests. For us, as a team the core part is to go out and identify what is critical.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    If there is a national campaign, we do use our existing media agencies as well as localised BTL agencies or a large BTL agency is implemented across. For me, it is not one or two stores at a national level; it is almost 250 cities and 850 stores. The lower contributing stores, I may not take in to account but then also we have about 800 stores. However, when you look at local ones, we find somebody who is strong in that space.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    For us, look at it this way, you need footfalls and conversions. BTL independently or ATL independently, we have tried both. ATL gets footfalls may not be the volume of relevant footfall that you want. Only BTL gets you footfall but the average transaction value falls drastically. So, ATL gives the customers the confidence and BTL gives them that push to go in now. Hence, we do a combination of both.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    There are three aspects. Footfalls and conversions are the two things, if I am not looking at sales at all. Average transaction value for that number of conversions would give me my sales. It does not matter really. If I have got these two in place and I am doing a combination of both, I have always found my average transaction value going up. Hence, sales targets are achieved. Sales, I look at it as a really lag indicator. To see the success of the campaign, have I got enough footfalls and the right kind? These are the two indicators that I look at. For it to be successful, I need it to be implemented in the right way as well. We have seen wherever there is implementation gap, our number starts falling in footfalls as well as in conversions. That is one of the key things we measure, that is the whether the implementation is right.

     

    There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    If we take the example of Planet M, which is 10 stores in five cities, for them it makes a lot of sense because focus is only 10 stores. It makes a lot of sense for them to only invest in BTL. But when you have widespread operations, BTL will always be more expensive. It is actual activation; you are physically meeting n number of people. For a smaller set of presence, it can make a lot of sense but for larger set of presence you have to do a combination. If you look at a mobile company, will have at least a million outlets, for them BTL may not make a large sense until and unless it is a launch. Yes, mass costs are going up but it is still cheaper. But the engagement that I can get from BTL, I can never get from mass. As a practice, it will keep growing.

     

  • BTL is the more effective tool to help us with consumer engagement, saysChaitanyaRele, Vice President, Marketing, Havmor Ice Cream Ltd in our new season of 'BTL Baatein' series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Chaitanya Rele, Vice President, Marketing, Havmor Ice Cream… Powered by VISCOMM

    An economics graduate, Chaitanya Rele, Vice President, Marketing  of Havmor Ice Cream Ltd  is no stranger to businesses and their dynamics. After a short stint with the banking industry, Rele began a career in marketing and brand consulting. Over the last 16 years he has worked for clients across the board from telecommunication to FMCG and manufacturing to fashion. We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Anuka Roy speaking to him Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

     

    It is interesting to note that a company like Havmor which we assumed would only look at the ATL route of promotions is looking at BTL in such a big way. How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    While ATL is important to create brand recognition, BTL play a significant role in ensuring our brand stays top of mind through the year. Ice-creams fall under the food category and without trying it – consumers are not easily convinced. The summer months are where our ATL communication is at its peak, but BTL is something that is on and in clear focus 12 of 12 months.

     

    Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    Taste and trials become critical – especially when entering new markets. We’ve been expanding over the last few years and the best way to convince people about our brand is our product. It’s our hero and we know it. That’s the very reason we don’t actually have a brand ambassador. Alongside taste & trial activities, we’re focused on partnering with events on ground – creating availability on-ground. India is a hot place and ice-cream helps you cool down – no pun intended! Ice-cream is also a great energiser and consumers have the opportunity to try a variety of products through BTL activities. We also have a very strong parlour, push kart and dealer network across India – and these too become BTL tools for our brand promotions. ATL is often used to amplify these efforts – but BTL is the focus for all year round.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    While I can’t provide specific numbers – our ATL: BTL spends are about 2:5.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    We have begun working with some of the best in the business, and we over 70 years of experience in the industry. It is not a rule for us yet – great ideas come from everywhere and we encourage this. But we are looking to engage specific shopper practice agencies in the near future.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sureshot avenue than ATL?

    Sureshot is really based on the effectiveness of the activity or idea. ATL has proved to be useful, but let’s take into context that ATL is something we have invested in just twice so far. BTL activities have also been unsuccessful in the past. But if we were to objectively break it down – BTL is the more effective engagement tool and when combined with targeted ATL communication – the BTL activity becomes even more effective.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    Consumer engagement and brand recall. These are the two most important things for us. There is always a debate between biggest or best – and I can firmly say that we want to be the best. We’re a vibrant and authentic brand, and it comes to life through our product, our communication and really through everything we do. There is certain positivity about us and BTL is the more effective tool to help us with consumer engagement and through this – recall.

     

    There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    India is an enormous country, in more ways than one. Even a small BTL activity if done strategically, can yield positive results – in their catchment areas. But ATL does help amplify; now ATL can be radio, OOH, TV or even digital. I feel the dependency on traditional ATL media will dwindle for us in the next 5 years and our focus will be on BTL and amplification through digital.