Experiential (BTL) always plays a very key role in any brand’s marketing plan, says Lokesh Kataria, Head, Marketing Mattel Toys, India. Mattel has a large portfolio of global consumer brands includes Barbie, American Girl, Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Hot Wheels, Scrabble, Uno and Pictionary among many others. in this edition of ‘BTL Baatein’ series that is powered by VISCOMM. Read Lokesh Kataria’s views on below-the-line marketing and promotions…
How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?
Experiential (BTL) always plays a very key role in any brand’s marketing plan. It’s no different for us. The category that we operate in is much better presented with experiential activities to our consumers and shoppers. Toys bring alive our childhood and are best of the friends to any kid. Seeing them live in action anywhere always puts across a smile to everyone’s face. This is the best any brand can ask for! So yes, Experiential plays a very important part of our plans across all categories we operate in.
Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?
The activities range from interactive demos in store to larger than life activations across mass convergence areas like Malls. There is a huge potential to extend the boundaries of experiential now given the Digital means of interaction with everyone out there with a smartphone.
Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?
Experiential has been gathering steam and given the way traditional media consumption patter is changing, there is always more for experiential initiatives to play their part.
Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?
Mostly, we work directly with the agencies who specialise in experiential and activations.
In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sure shot avenue than ATL?
Both mass and experiential activities have got their own pros and cons. It largely depends on type of campaigns and expected results.
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?
Given the rise of digital and social media, a very good measure is to understand how much of your initiatives were liked and then shared on social media. A true experiential initiative has a huge potential to deliver you a “fan†rather than just a “consumerâ€. Fans are always loyal. Then there are other classical ways of brand dipstick and NPS measurements.
There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your views on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?
We have seen brands do that in past and deliver success. However, this largely depends on the awareness level and acceptance a brand/product needs before it is called a success. In my view, it is always good to have a balanced approach depending upon the outcome a brand manager is expecting.