MxMIndia

Tag: BTL Baatein

  • BTL activities helps target customers to touch and feel the product and have the live experience of the brand, says Sanjeev Wadhwa, Executive Vice President – Marketing & Sales at Livpure in this edition of BTL Baatein, powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sanjeev Wadhwa, Livpure… Powered by VISCOMM

    A mechanical engineer from Nagpur University and an MBA from Centre for Management Development, Sanjeev Wadhwa has a career spanning over 24 years and has domestic and international expertise in spearheading and managing business operations and marketing strategies. With previous experience from working at Fisher and Paykel Appliances, Fedders Lloyd, Electrolux Kelvinator and Dr. Morepen Ltd, Sanjeev Wadhwa is currently the Executive Vice President – Marketing & Sales at Livpure. We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Sanjeev Wadhwa about Below The Line (BTL) advertising for water purifier sector, focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL.

     

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    BTL activities give a company/Brand to focus on one–to–one communication with the target audience. This is an important tool to increase brand awareness among the target customer. Below the line promotions ensures the recall of the brand and at the same time helps us highlighting the features, USPs and lot of the information of the product. BTL activities helps target customers to touch and feel the product and have the live experience of the brand. BTL activities have benefits like consumer engagement, interactivity and measurability.

     

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

    At Livpure, we undertake swell of BTL activities like hoardings, exhibitions, sponsorship activities, road shows, demo vans, vehicle branding, Point of Sale displays and price promotions. These activities are specific and targeted to end users profile and need.

     

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

    As both ATL & BTL are important for Livpure, the % split  between the two will be -  ATL (60%) & BTL (40%)

     

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

    We have specific agencies who executes the various BTL activities. The creative are designed by our on board creative agency and the same is executed through specialised BTL agencies.

     

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

    As BTL activities are more targeted and action-oriented, quantifying results become easy. One can get specific leads through these activities and follow it later. Specially in B2B, wherein the results are more effective doing BTL activities.

     

    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?

    At Livpure, the success of any BTL campaign is measured on the leads that we receive during the activity. And later how much has it resulted in conversions and recommendations.

     

    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?

    A new launch entirely through BTL activities require a lot of effort and it takes some time. On the other hand, ATL activities give you a quick recall and helps in brand saliency. So if the brand has luxury of time, then BTL activities give them opportunity to interact with the customers directly and gain their confidence. It also helps them in knowing if they are missing out on anything or any Value Proposition needs  some improvement. This can easily get corrected through specific BTL campaigns.

     

  • Since the brand has been youth-centric we associate with numerous colleges and youth events to appease our target audience, says Deepika Singh, Director – Marketing Communications, Gionee India in this edition of BTL Baatein, powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Deepika Singh, Gionee India… Powered by VISCOMM

    As Director – Marketing Communications, Deepika Singh is the official spokesperson and head of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at Gionee India. She has over 16 years of diverse experience in the field of communications and branding, and is an integral part of the core Corporate Strategy team at Gionee India. In this edition of ‘BTL Baatein’ which which is powered by VISCOMM, Santosh Jangid gets the views of Deepika Singh on Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL at this hyperactive cellular devices company.

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    We need to look at a 360-degree view in terms of reaching out to our consumers and reminding them about our presence and product lineup. We prioritise our basket of ATL and BTL activities to create awareness about our services offered to our consumers.

     

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

    There are various BTL activities that we focus on. Since the brand has been youth-centric we associate with numerous colleges and youth events to appease our target audience. Parallel to these we also undertake retail display and promotional activities, neighbourhood market branding, shop and market signage which sets us apart from our competition by creating a look and feel that is unique to the business.

     

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

    Both are essential advertising techniques for a brand and hence it reflects in marketing spends for ATL and BTL on equal platforms.

     

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

    Our existing creative media agency is for major executions for our brand. For small scale projects we use our local vendors who have been aligned to our local team to get the activities rolling to achieve maximum output.

     

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

    In terms of generating results from consumers and in B2B both ATL and BTL prove to be inevitable for our brand if planned and executed properly. Hence both are required to ensure recall, awareness, affinity and experience.  However, human factor, preparation time or training needs mean that BTL has a higher lead time.

     

    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?

    To measure the performance of a BTL activity we look at the ROI as the benchmark to record Incremental sales accomplished against the money spent of a new product sampling.

     

    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?

    Different brands perceive differently when it comes to fragmented markets. However, after a certain extent, a mix of both will always be more productive and practical as they both help build a consumer and influencer recall giving the brand a push across platforms.ATL and BTL conjointly ensure sufficient visibility and establish a multitude of consumer touchpoints.

     

  • BTL campaigns are a very effective source of feedback and research, says Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman and Managing Director at Bisleri International Private Limited in this edition of BTL Baatein, powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Ramesh Chauhan, Bisleri International… Powered by VISCOMM

    With a career spanning of around 52 years, Ramesh Chauhan, the man behind cola giant Thums Up and popular mineral water brand “Bisleri” holds a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management. At the age of 27, he took the bold step of introducing bottled mineral water to the Indian market, at a time when buying it was unheard of. In this edition of ‘BTL Baatein’ which which is powered by VISCOMM, Santosh Jangid gets the views of Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman and Managing Director at Bisleri International Private Limited on Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL… it is indeed an honour to have one of India’s most celebrated entrepreneur as part of the BTL Baatein series..

     

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    BTL advertising is more of one-to-one interaction with the consumers and gives them hands-on experience with a product or a service. BTL is precisely targeted for active engagement; once a consumer experiences a brand it helps develop a relationship with the brand thereby indirectly generating leads. It is of key significance to all our brands; and presently we are focusing more on BTL for our soft drinks range – Bisleri POP. It is important that the consumers try our products and become a repeat buyer. So far the response has been very encouraging for all the four variants – Spyci, Pina Colada, Limonata and Fonzo.

     

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

    Bisleri is presently involved more in BTL activities in terms of mall activations, canter activities, sampling at select locations where we can touch base with our consumers. We also associate with events which go in sync with our products’ positioning so that we reach our target audience. We also talk to our consumers regularly via social media and digital activities and engage them through contests and rewards.

     

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

    FMCG remains the most dominant sector in terms of ATL expenditures. Bisleri has had several successful ATL campaigns in the past such as Veri Veri Extraordinari, Play Safe, Stay Protected, Kiss to Drink; these campaigns were very effective and are still remembered by the consumers. However, since a couple of years, we are taking a different approach and concentrating more on BTL activities which help us to get valuable insights by consumer interactions. Nevertheless ATL is not completely ruled out.

     

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

    BTL activities are usually conducted via agencies who have the right expertise to execute such activities, with inputs from our existing creative media agencies. Some activities are also conceptualised and executed independently by us.

     

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

    BTL activities give you an opportunity to connect with your target audience and convert them into potential customers if you are able to create the right brand experience. It can certainly give you potential leads thereby enhancing sales; in our experience generally sales promotions give immediate 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?

    BTL activities are primarily conducted to drive brand awareness among the target audience and create strong relationship between brand and consumer. BTL campaigns are also a very effective source of feedback and research.

     

    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?

    ATL and BTL has their own pros and cons. While ATL activities create imagery around the brand, BTL gives relevant feedback and interaction opportunities with the consumers. Hence there needs to be the right balance between the two; we believe both ATL and BTL go hand in hand.

     

  • BTL is very important to us because real estate is a very touch-and-feel industry and consumers want to go, touch and feel the property, says Prasun Kumar, Head-Marketing at Magicbricks.com in this edition of BTL Baatein, powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Prasun Kumar, Magicbricks … Powered by VISCOMM

    With over 17 years of experience across advertising, retail and the telecom sectors, Prasun Kumar is a seasoned marketing professional, brand expert, blogger, technology enthusiast and an entrepreneur at heart. With previous experience from working with Levis, Sony and Reliance Communication, he is currently Head – Marketing at Magicbricks.com We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Prasun Kumar about Below The Line (BTL) advertising for real estate sector, focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL.

     

     

    In the real estate sector, how would you say have marketers adopted the concept of experiential marketing to its actual potential?

    They are accepting it in a big way. The more you see around, you see developers putting up experiential homes and centres all over the place because at the end of the day with supply overshooting demand, every developer is in the hands for every single consumer and they want to create different creations and that different creation comes largely across by giving a real-life experiences. The footfall at a developer’s site where the project is being executed is very limited and therefore for a real estate developer to enhance his reach and saliency as well as engage and create differentiation, BTL becomes a very important field. So to that extend we see a lot of that happening but largely it’s done by big builders and developers who have deep pockets. Mid to small level developers are not into this at this point of time but there is a prime need on their part as well because everyone wants to be different. Everyone wants to showcase projects in full glory because traditional channels have limited opportunities. To that extent, it becomes very important and for brands like us who are an online real estate website, it is also very pertinent for us to create such experiences and create such differentiations because at the end of the day the consumer who is of a very high value category and has a high purchase item wants to be well-informed and for us to be able to enable that to happen we also keep creating such experiences for them.

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    BTL is very important to us because real estate is a very touch-and-feel industry and consumers want to go, touch and feel the property. So it’s very important therefore to create stimulation for consumers where they can get probably as close to the house that they are looking for as possible. The closest is obviously to visit the site but from a marketing perspective, BTL allows us an opportunity. For instance, we have just last week, opened India’s first real estate experience centre in Mumbai. This experience centre is built on the Magicbricks Western Express Highway metro station where there is a captive footfall of over one lakh commuters every day. On the platform, we have built a 400 sq cm experience centre. Using technology, one can actually see the property that you might be looking for buy, sell, rent, etc., in a new light altogether and with more immersive experience which is otherwise not possible to deliver. Creating such stimulations in real life for consumers is very important especially in real estate business where it is a high ticket purchase item and high involvement activity and that’s why consumers want a lot of assurance before they take a decision and therefore the more the human touch, the better.

     

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

    Apart from the experience centres, we keep doing activities on ground. Some of them are in malls and multiplexes where the captive footfall is huge. The main motive is to at the end of the day to create and help consumers find and close their decisions with a more informed and immerse way and that’s why whatever opportunities we get in terms of creating real time experience at captive footfall area we continuously do.
    Magicbricks does regular consumer connect activities as part of its strategy to bring enhanced real estate experiences to its users. It has recently launched India’s First real estate Experience Centre in Mumbai. Located strategically at one of the busiest metro station in Mumbai, Magicbricks Western Express Highway Station, the centre is a never-before-seen innovation in  the category. Using technologies like Virtual reality, Augmented Reality, large interactive screens and video chat , the centre elevates the property search experience of intenders and delivers never before seen consumer engagement. The thought behind the centre is to give potential home buyers an opportunity to get over the hardships associated with property search. In true BTL fashion, it gives the brand ‘Thought Leadership’ in the category.  Apart from this, magicbricks.com keeps organising events like Real Estate Dialogues with the Developers / Builders. Normal Mall / Multiplex activities are staple part of the marketing initiatives at magicbricks.com.

     

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

    We do not quote the exact spends per se but between ATL and BTL we spend around 30% BTL and 70% on ATL but within BTL if we do some specific initiative like the magic bricks experience centre then that kind of twists the percentage ration but these are once in a while activity.

     

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

    Mostly the activities are done through BTL agencies because traditional media or creative agencies are not equipped with on ground activation team and the BTL agencies being specialist in that field bring in a lot of value on the table which otherwise probably would not come so for most of the activities including large scale activities we do it with BTL agencies.

     

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

    I wouldn’t say in terms of results but the inherent benefit or strength of BTL is that you can through a fleet on data capture, lead capture, etc., you can show some tangible ROI on the investment which through ATL unless you are doing digital where ROI is something that you can measure which otherwise on traditional ATL is not possible. So BTL does have that advantage if your activity in terms of capturing dats, leads and database leads you to a better ROI.

     

    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?

    The success of a BTL campaign depends on the objective with which you are doing it. There are BTL campaigns which are done purely on a brand engagement purposes and there are BTL campaigns which are done largely to capture data and lead. These are two different kinds of BTL campaigns but in both the cases, in terms of looking at an indicator to identify whether the campaign had been successful or not the metric would be different for both. For a lead generation activity or a sales support activity, the indicator becomes their database or lead generation from that activity. The activities that we do which are purely on brand engagement there you end up capturing a lot of feedback and it can be used further. So it does not directly impact salience per se because there are no touch measure at this point of time which tell you what saliency it delivers but about sales, unless you are closing sales at the BTL venue you will not be able to… and most of the times sales are not allowed because most of the BTL campaigns happen in a pre-defined area like a mall or a multiplex or some crowded market area where you are not allowed to sell. You can engage, you can capture lead but you cannot sell. Sales and salience are not something that you can merely measure out of a BTL campaign but the consumer feedback about the brand and brand attributes is something that you can capture as well as for sales support campaign or lead generation campaign which ends up generating a lot of leads which transitions into potential sales indicators. That comes close to sales as an indicator but it is not pure sales.

     

    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?

    I don’t think ATL vs BTL is the point. It’s about which channel or medium suits your objective at that point of time better. I have seen brands which have launched complete proposition on BTL largely because the proposition demanded a one to one consumer interaction or reaching out to a captive set of audiences which was not possible through ATL. I have seen brands using BTL largely as a standalone channel of reaching out to consumers and launching as well. That’s also possible but at the end of the day it all depends on the objective that you are carrying and how BTL or ATL or digital any of the channels in your strategy. I don’t think any force-fitting also helps. The inherent advantage of BTL is that because you are generating experiences, none of those experiences can become very engaging content for digital media, especially for social and therefore a lot of integration that can happen during a BTL activity and a lot of brands presently are doing that. BTL in terms of cost, a good event will cost as much as a full page ad on leading daily. So in terms of cost there is almost a parity.

     

  • While ATL is important to build the brand’s consumer connect, BTL is an equally important avenue for us to reach our partners, influencers and customers, says Ram Mehrotra, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Decorative Paints at Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited in BTL Baatein, powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Ram Mehrotra, Kansai Nerolac Paints… Powered by VISCOMM

    Ram Mehrotra has been with Kansai Nerolac since 1998 and brings with him over two decades of sectoral experience in the sales and marketing domain. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and an MBA in Marketing from Kanpur University.  Ram Mehrotra is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Decorative Paints at Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited.

     

    We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Ram Mehrotra about Below The Line (BTL) advertising, focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL.

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    The decorative paint industry has traditionally been a low to quasi involvement category. Consumers consult painters, contractors and dealers throughout the paint selection and home painting  execution process. Hence while ATL is important to build the brand’s consumer connect, BTL is an equally important avenue for us to reach our partners, influencers and customers.

     

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

    Painters or contactors and Dealers make up the ‘influencer network’ in the paint industry. They advise consumers on suitability of a product, spends and even colour choices. Therefore, every aspect and  detail of our offering from product attributes and innovations to pricing needs to be communicated clearly to them. Painters due to the nature of their work are often travelling, making it difficult to get in touch with many of them at one time. Here, activations like product demonstrations at dealer outlets or van activations help us communicate with them better, with the additional benefit of reaching non metros and even the remote parts of the country.

     

    Paint is not the final product as far as the consumer is concerned. The application process is as important if not more important than selecting the right product and colour. BTL activities with influencers like painters helps us build brand recall while improving service quality through painter training workshops and skill building sessions making it  a win-win for all involved. We also reach out to dealers through specially convened meets to address their concerns and gather feedback at regular intervals.

     

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

    Our investments in marketing initiatives continue to grow and BTL forms a significant chunk of the marketing mix.

     

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

    We choose to go with a variety of dedicated BTL agencies depending on the activity and region

     

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

    Not necessarily. Depending upon the business objectives and the medium role in the mix, each initiative’s (whether ATL or BTL) success  is  judged basis a predefined metric.

     

    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?

    Depending on the type of BTL activity the metrics differ. Attributes like increase in enquiry, attending trainings, brand interactions, participation of dealers in initiatives are some of the popular metrics.

     

    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?

    Consolidating ones presence in the consumers mind is important across categories. Especially in the paint industry where there is extremely high involvement during the painting cycle and low involvement at other times. Brands need to ensure sufficient visibility and establish a multitude of consumer touch points. ATL and BTL go hand in hand in these scenarios to complete the cycle and build on each other. Hence it is not fair to say either ATL or BTL will by itself achieve a brand’s goal. A great instance of this is the roll out of a new product like we did with Excel Mica Marble this year in September. We leveraged our tie up with the Gujarat Lions and an out of the box approach in the TVC storyline to establish the proposition ‘Mica ki Shakti, Marble ki Shaan’ for the first time in India. This was accompanied by print ads and hoardings pan India.   On the BTL front, innovative Point of Sale collaterals and displays helped strengthened the connect and built recall linking the TVC to the product and colour selection tools.   All these worked together to build consumer and influencer recall giving the brand a push across platforms.

     

  • Recapping the many interviews with leading marketing heads… MxMIndia has been carrying as part of its BTL Baatein series… powered by VISCOMM

    Celebrating BTL

     

    Over the last many months, we have been featuring interviews of the top marketing captains (and other CxOs leading the marketing function) – all speaking on Below The Line advertising and promotions.

     

    Here’s a recap of the many interviews with leading marketings MxMIndia has been carrying as part of its BTL Baatein series… all powered by VISCOMM​

     

    BTL Baatein: Pulkit Abrol, ACCA … Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sheran Mehra, DBS Bank… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Chris Weil, Momentum Worldwide … Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Siddharth Banerjee, Vodafone India …. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: N V Chakravarthi, Himalaya BabyCare … Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Lokesh Kataria, Mattel Toys… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Samar Singh Sheikhawat, United Breweries Ltd… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Malay Dikshit, Tata Sky… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Yogesh Shinde, Wagh Bakri Tea… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: BTL plays a pivotal role in Videocon d2h’s marketing mix… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Bharat Kharbanda, Usha International… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Amit Kumar Gope, CenturyPly… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Shweta Shrivastava, London Dairy… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sarthak Seth, Panasonic India… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sevantika Bhandari, DHFL… Powered by VISCOMM

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

    BTL Baatein: Sagar Boke, Tata Chemicals Ltd… Powered by VISCOMM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    BTL Baatein with Manish Bhatia HSIL… Powered by VISCOMM

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

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

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

    BTL Baatein: Mandeep Malhotra, The Social Street… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Vandana Verma, Leo Burnett… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Vidur Patney, Maxus… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sidharth Ghosh, pSLIVE,…. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Vineet Jain, Himalaya Drug Company…. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Amit Arora, Trivitron Healthcare… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Amit Sarda, Soulflower… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Prakash Chari, Apollo White Dental… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Gulbahar Taurani, Philips India… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Deepali Naair, Mahindra Holidays… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Uma Talreja, Burger King India… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: GK Suresh, ITC Limited… Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Swati Rathi, Godrej Appliances

    BTL Baatein: Sachin Dingankar, Zydus Wellness Ltd. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Pravin Kulkarnii, Parle Products. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Sagar Boke, Bunge India. Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein:Sumeet Narang,Bajaj Auto Powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein with Sanjay Tripathy of HDFC Life

    BTL Baatein: Interview with Kamal Basu of Volkswagen in new weekly series powered by VISCOMM

     

  • Our marketing strategies are usually integrated and BTL is definitely an important part of our activities, says Pulkit Abrol, Head of Marketing, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in in BTL Baatein… powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Pulkit Abrol, ACCA … Powered by VISCOMM

    A 15-year career commencing as a management trainee with ITC limited in India to brand and marketing stints in Reliance Communications, Diageo and brand and luxury marketing strategy consulting with Open D Group, Pulkit Abrol has a deep understanding of consumers in developed and developing economies bringing both executive leadership and real-life practical experience. Pulkit Abrol heads the Marketing and Planning function for ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the global body for professional accountants) for its emerging markets directorate. We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Pulkit Abrol about Below The Line (BTL) advertising and promotions for the educational sector and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    ACCA is the leading body for professional chartered accountancy qualification and we have over 110 years of experience in the world of building and creating opportunities for accountancy across the world and we work with approximately 80 global accountancy partnerships across various offices. Our marketing strategies are usually integrated and BTL is definitely an important part of our activities. It is integral to our work and our marketing tasks. Specifically in India, it does feature as an important part of the work that we do with our partners and various stakeholders.

     

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

    The range of activities that we try to integrate in our ATL and BTL activities across our campaigns would be location-based outdoor programmes, which are highly targeted around universities, colleges, employers and our learning provider network across India. We also do tele-marketing which goes in tandem with our digital efforts and digital customer journeys. We also believe in supporting the customer journey with what we believe as a moment of truth in retail visibility programs. We do have a wide range of learning providers and universities where we support them with events, educational fares and we also conduct road shows or information sessions in physical locations.  We regularly conduct finance and accountancy workshops for a wide variety of stakeholders such as teachers who deliver the qualification, corporates who want their finance talent to be globally relevant, CFO’s and finance function leadership who focus on corporate governance, assurance, risk management and so on. We also encourage and regularly hold interactions with student counsellors through roundtable discussions, debate and understand the key trends in the future of education, skills development, work readiness, employment and career opportunities in the finance and accountancy profession in India.

     

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

    That really depends on the audiences and the target segments across the various markets that we operate in. It depends on the campaign that we are running. Since we are  building our presence in India, it’s an incremental pattern that we see. Historically, if we look at the figures, we are constantly increasing our BTL funds year-on-year and that will go up.

     

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

    We believe there are components in our marketing work which require specialised BTL agencies. These would be those agencies who work on customer journeys or retain customer journeys. We believe there is a role in our customer journey through specialised agency and there are other agencies such as our media partner Adfactors which supports us on outdoor and various location-based targeted key cities in India.

     

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

    There are two parts to this. We do have a sizeable stakeholder audience in B2B, so we usually have direct response efforts such as programs which are either digital lead generation or event based marketing. We participate with bodies like the Institute of Directors, India and have a working relationship with the Institute of Cost Accountants of India. We do have a B2B-led management programme which is event-based where we do see conversions, we are also in partnership with CFO India Network where we run a series of roundtable discussions with the finance leadership in the country making them aware about this qualification and how it adds value to employers. As far as B2C marketing is concerned, we do believe that to drive salience and to drive awareness we do see an important part of the consideration aspects of the brand coming through with all the work that Adfactors supports us with in outdoor and location based marketing.

     

    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?

    For BTL, there is a broad range of measures that we look at. Some of the tactics that I mentioned are difficult to measure while some have very direct hard key performance indicators (KPI). If we are doing something on telemarketing or digital or road shows or information sessions, we can directly link that to conversations, opportunities, conversions. When we try to drive awareness and our target audience are more fragmented we use outdoor, which would be opportunity to see, locations, investments to support that end.

     

    Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL in educational sector?

    There is a growing trend in India that we are accustomed to that a lot of product launches, especially in the consumer space does tend to have a lot of awareness building, promotion tactics done through the BTL channels. For ACCA, our conversation is slightly different. For us, when we are engaging with our B2B audiences, we have to have conversation about how the qualification supports the employer and how universities and the academic fraternity can engage with the professional qualification because there is difference in academic qualification and a professional qualification. As far as B2C is concerned, there is probably a greater tendency on having in India BTL-aided campaigns, but we believe that given our brand and the evolved marketing strategies today, which are mostly integrated, you need to have different messages, different conversions, considerations drivers across different paths of consumer’s journey. When you are looking at making a choice for an educational qualification, there are various factors into place. If you’re looking at making a career in finance and accounting there are various factors such as what is it that you are considering, what are your sources, what are your friends doing. There is a lot going on in the head of a key target customer for us and the to add to that there is teacher’s role, professor’s role, parent’s role. so all these factors come into place so we not only have to bring appropriate value proposition across the customer journey for all of these audiences but also work on some of the new media which is available to converge the aspect of physical learning as well as the digital environment. So, it is a shifting terrain and there are media costs in BTL which will increase. For our brand it will be difficult to say BTL would 100% help in obtaining the desired results. The task for our organisation is to support the public interest, to talk about our membership , to support students across India and to work with employers and this will not happen just by ATL. It does require some investment in BTL as well.

     

  • It is an integral part because a lot of times especially for the HNI segment and even for B2B spaces you need to build that connect with consumers

    BTL Baatein: Sheran Mehra, DBS Bank… Powered by VISCOMM

    Armed with an experience of over 18 years, Sheran Mehra has spearheaded marketing & communications teams across sectors and has successfully launched and positioned global brands. Sheran Mehra is Head, Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at DBS Bank in India. She has been credited for leading several disruptive and clutter breaking award winning campaigns like Chilli Paneer, Portraits of Purpose (PoP) and Action against Cyber Thefts (ACT). We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Sheran Mehra about Below The Line (BTL) advertising for Banking sector and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    In the financial sector, banks specifically, how would you say have marketers adopted the concept of experiential marketing to its actual potential?

    Experiential marketing is not new in banking. It’s been on for a while be it for a credit cards or home loans you see a lot of these products using experiential marketing. Many banks have been doing it for a long time. In smaller pockets when you have to reach people then thats the best way you can build connect with the consumers. We call it the neighbourhood marketing or community marketing but now it has taken different forms and shapes. It has gone to malls, multiplexes and societies. It has been there for a long time but this is not something that is new.

     

    What do you use as a measure for judging the success of experiential marketing?

    It depends on what level you are doing. If you are actually amplifying it on digital as well because one leg is that you do an offline and bring it to online. Thats what many brands also do, online to offline or offline to online. So you initiate an idea offline and take it online or the other way round. So depending on what we are doing, then we measure it accordingly. It could be the number of leads, the conversions that you get from there, the interaction that you measure on digital, the engagement that you build, it also has an impact on the brand’s health course that you measure and the word of mouth will also happen. These are the measures that we look at and depending on what is the objective of the particular activity that we are doing.

     

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

    It is an integral part because a lot of times especially for the HNI segment and even for B2B spaces you need to build that connect with consumers. It may not happen in a very large scale but in smaller forms for HNI customer it is important to build that connect. To that extent it is an important part of the marketing mix. But depends on what level you are doing and what scale do you want to take it to.

     

    We have seen the recent Sachin campaign being very visible on the ground as well? Tell us more on that.

    It was a mix that we did as a part of our campaign. While there was something happening online, we had to have that surround on ground as well because if you see that surround on ground, it is again a reminder medium for people. You see it online and then you see it offline or vice versa. It helps in brand recall and in consideration set as well because when you’ve seen it you build familiarity with the brand. We did a couple of things when we launched the campaign. We were riding on IPL and we had signed up with Pune team. We did a lot of stuff on ground in Pune. We did go to malls, we did go to multiplexes and we leveraged Sachin there. The moment you see any activity around Sachin it helps pull the crowd. So you have something to start conversation with and the you build on it with the kind of activation that you are doing, be it at the stadium or mall, multiplexes or societies. The whole proposition is around, Live More, Bank Less. This is about how you live more and that is actually how we took it forward and embedded it in the activities that we were doing. If it is around shopping than you would have it in malls, when we were doing cricket then it was messaging around cricket.

     

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

    We look at a mix of 70-30 in the whole plan but really depends on at that point in time what is the activity that we are doing. So BTL is 70% and ATL is 30%

     

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

    We are present in 12 markets, four metros in Pune, Bangalore and other smaller cities. So for brands like us, it is very important to build connect in smaller cities and also in the cities we are present in. We had done a mix at key malls, multiplexes and because we had tied up with the Pune team we were actually looked at stadium. Wherever the team was travelling, if the team was travelling to Bangalore then we would do an event with them in Bangalore. So wherever we had our footprint, branches we did a BTL activity there.

     

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

    We mostly do it with an BTL agency, we do have support from creative agencies because this is something that happens almost every week. We go to corporates as well. Those guys are the best equipped to understand this space very well. So you have to find someone who are more nimble and who have the local city knowledge and also have that network.

     

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

    In the B2B space, yes I would say that especially for SMEs where you have to build a stronger connect, then a one to one interaction helps than doing a one to many. While we will do one to many, it is also important that you follow up with a one on one. There is a limitation of what you can do one to one so it has to be a combination. In B2B the conversions take a little longer, a personal connect does help.

     

    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?

    Depends on what the activity is. If it is alone on ground then you will look at the number of people you’ve touched, then if you take it online or you take it offline. If you take it online it will be the number of interactions, responses that you get, the feedback that you get, the interactions, engagement that you get. On field it will be the number of walk-in and the conversions that happened.

     

    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?

    All these mediums complement each other. So it’s not about you doing ATL and not doing BTL, you do digital and not do BTL and ATL. Sometimes the ATL works better, sometimes the BTL works better. For brands like us, which have limited network, BTL works brilliantly for us. At various times that you need ATL, then you will do that push. We are present in 12 cities, we have 1 branch per city so we don’t need a national publish but need to secure yourself in the cities that you are present, then BTL works well. But the moment you have a national footprint, like we did for DigiBank, while we are present in only 12 cities that product can be bought by anyone since its available on the app store. However for brands like us who have limited network, BTL and out of home works brilliantly but if you need more eyeballs, then ATL complements.

     

  • There is definitely a change in the media environment going on right now and where that dollars flow we will be the interesting part of the business., says Chris Weil is the Chairman and CEO, Momentum Worldwide in BTL Baatein… powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Chris Weil, Momentum Worldwide … Powered by VISCOMM

    With a degree in Economics from Westminster College, Columbia, Chris Weil is the Chairman and CEO, Momentum Worldwide and believes that experience creates the connections that lead to loyalty, advocacy and sales. He leads Momentum in imagining and creating those memorable moments for brands, as the Total Brand Experience. Weil believes that what a brand does is more important than what it says and that these days people demand more from brands than just products or service – people need these relationships to have meaning.  We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to Chris Weil about Below The Line (BTL) advertising and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    How important is BTL to the overall marketing plan of a brand?

    Just the term BTL to me is really antiquated and does not make sense from a consumer perspective. First, you have to look at what BTL stands for. It is an accounted term. It was Below-The-Line what was not commissionable back in the day when agencies were commissioned. Secondly, the consumer does not distinguish between Above-The-Line or Below-The-Line or Through-The-Line or online or offline. The consumer looks at a brand in totality. What is the total brand experience that I have with a brand is what dictates my love, loyalty, warmth or coldness towards a brand and whether or not I am going to recommend it. If we talk about all the touch-points that I as a consumer have with a brand and one of those could be television which is a tactic, one of those could be experiential, one of those could be print, or online. It doesn’t matter but all of them together is what adds up to what a brand is.

     

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

    We are blessed that we work with some of the best brands in the world. Brands like American Express, Coca-Cola, SAP, Verizon wireless in the United States, Microsoft on a global basis, Procter & Gamble, etc are our clients. The ones that really get it are the ones that understand that experiential marketing is at the core of any brand. Outside of the core product or service that a company has, the experience is the most important thing. We try to look at what is the customer’s overall experience and what is the customer’s total brand experience for our clients.

     

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

    I don’t think you can look at ATL or BTL but you have to look at the total brand experience for a customer because each one of them ads up to what is the important factor of creating brand love and driving sales and you cannot segment  them and say, this is what we are doing Below-The-Line and this is what we are doing Above-The-Line because there is no line in the consumer’s mind. It’s not you as a consumer say, that’s my online experience with the brand but my physical experience with the brand is different or this is my Above-The-Line television experience but if I get a Below-The-Line it’s different. It is all the same. So we as marketers have to look at things that way.

     

    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.

    For every brand, it is going to be different so there is no set formula. Let’s take two different brands of soft drinks for example – Coca-Cola and Red bull. Coca-Cola grew up in the age of modern media and it helped define them in a lot of ways through their iconic classic television advertisements not just in the US but around the world. Red Bull, on the other hand. up until recently had not done any television commercial. They built the entire brand around experiences. Every bit of that brand was built on experiences. They are two very different brands in the consumer’s head. So, is one better than the other, I don’t know about that but they are just two very different approaches but they also grew up in different time. Red Bull had the ability to utilise the extensions of new media.

     

    Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    There is definitely a change in the media environment going on right now and where that dollars flow we will be the interesting part of the business. When we get past looking at things such as, this is the cost of my experience or that is the cost of a television ad but instead look at is as this is how I reach X number of consumers, that’s when we will see the expansion and as we look at it, it is paid, owned and  earned. What is it that we do that can earn media as opposed to just go out there and paying for it and owned is what you have inside your organisation. One of the biggest expansion that we will see in the coming years is around earned media. It doesn’t matter what a brand says, it’s what a brand does that matters.

     

  • BTL has its own advantage even though reach is limited, says N V Chakravarthi, General Manager, Himalaya BabyCare in BTL Baatein… powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: N V Chakravarthi, Himalaya BabyCare … Powered by VISCOMM

    An MBA in marketing from Karnataka University and over nine years of experience in developing and executing marketing strategies For Himalaya Drug Company where he joined in 2007, N V Chakravarthi, General Manager, Himalaya BabyCare believes BTL has played a crucial part in getting Himalaya brand where it is today.

     

    We present to you the ‘BTL Baatein’ of the week which is powered by VISCOMM with Santosh Jangid speaking to him about Below The Line (BTL) advertising, the focus of the company and the balance between ATL (Above The Line) and BTL

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    It is extremely important for us because of a very simple reason that we don’t do ATL activities. We promote the entire range through medical fraternity that is through doctors, nurses, general practitioners, paediatricians and gynaecologist. We are in the state of so-called ethical marketing and because there is no ATL activity for us, we are dependent on BTL very much.

     

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

    We do very regular doctors and parents engagement programmes where we call top notch doctors from the city and  we call both the parents, we also do a lot of awareness about health related issues and health related programs, we do nurses education related programmes where we educate them about breast feeding, massage, how to do diapering, what are diaper rashes related health concerns, we do a lot of activities keeping that in mind. We do lots of high visibility campaigns pan-India so if you notice our product’s visibility has improved in the last five to six years and that is because of BTL. We do direct to parents campaign where we distribute the sample, we distribute the information leaflets, we create a lot of buzz around point of purchase activity. We also have sales promoters in our division. The modern trade and stand alone are increasing in a very good number because we have sales promoters there who educate and clarify many things about point of sale and we initiate sample trials. So, these are few important things that we do in BTL – one is doctors-parents meet programmes, second is nurses education programme, third is high visibility campaigns, fourth is sales promoter programme and the fifth is point of sale point of purchase activity and lastly we do direct-to-parents activity.

     

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

    We don’t have ATL budget at all because we have consciously not taken that route. So whatever we spend, we spend on BTL and the remaining strategies through medical fraternity, trial packs and bundle packs. So I can say that 90-95% of our spend is on BTL.

     

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

    Right now our 70% work happens in house as we have our creative team and design team in house. We also have our registered vendors and so the rest 30% happens with people who help us at BTL activities. Right now we do not work with any creative agency.

     

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

    For us it has worked out well. All of us are aware that segment target group is very important to decide ATL or BTL. We have seen very measurable results in BTL. Both ATL and BTL are important based on the company’s needs. It comes down to the budget, target group, segmentation for the company. Specifically for our brand though BTL has worked great for us.

     

    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?

    We first look at how the sale of the product is moving. For example, there is a particular modern trade or a supermarket where we do the activity. There we measure how the activity is happening, secondly, we take the customer’s feedback and we maintain the database so we come to know about their preferences and suggestions and customer feedback is a very good indicator. A very important attribute for us is word-of-mouth publicity which might be from doctors or parents. Lastly, we always complete the loop. Once we start the activity till the end how it works, what difficulties, impact and what response is given by the channel is also very important. It may be a hospital, a chemist, modern trade, doctor, nurses or shop keepers. These key channel partners give us the feedback that this is the result, this is where you can improve yourself and so on. So these are the measurable parameters for us.

     

    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?

    That is a very sensitive question because two-three parameters play a great role here. One is the company turnover and brand equity in the market and what I am expecting from the brand or what are my expectations for the next five to ten years, what budget do I have, what resources do I have and what target groups I am approaching. For mid-scale or small companies BTL is always preferable because they work with small challenges. BTL has its own advantage even though the reach is limited. It all depends once again on company, expectation, budget, segment and target group. For us, BTL worked out and if BTL is highly creative and reaching to masses effectively, if BTL is well-planned and organised and keeping expectation in mind it definitely works.

     

  • Historically, the BTL part of our business has been an extremely important part, whether it is at Point of Sale or Point of Consumption, or whether it is displays, shop frontage, all consumer activations and promotions, sponsorships, events, associations etc. are very critical to our business, says Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President – Marketing, United Breweries Limited in this edition of 'BTL Baatein' series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Samar Singh Sheikhawat, United Breweries Ltd… Powered by VISCOMM

    A veteran in building brands, Samar Singh Sheikhawat joined United Breweries Limited, as Senior Vice President – Marketing in November 2009. A post graduate in MBA – Marketing and Finance from Symbiosis, Pune, Sheikhawatstarted his career with Cadbury’s India Ltd in 1989. He is currently theSenior Vice President – Marketing of United Breweries Limited. 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

     

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    It is extremely important. We function in a media dark environment. So, historically, the BTL part of our business has been an extremely important part, whether it is at Point of Sale or Point of Consumption, or whether it is displays, shop frontage, all consumer activations and promotions, sponsorships, events, associations etc. are very critical to our business.

     

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

    We do everything under the sun from sponsorship to promotions to road shows to events- music, sports, food festivals, fashion gigs, display in stores, posters, danglers, streamers, digital intervention, activations on ground. I mean everything that is possible to be done is literally done in the alcohol business because you technically are not allowed to advertise. Things have changed a lot in the last few years but so far it was that way.

     

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

    It typically would be 60% of our total spends will be ATL now and about 40% is BTL. BTL, there is a lower percentage in other consumer product companies.

     

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

    We use both. We use agency that specialises in BTL work and we use our ATL agencies also. But largely it is working with agency that specialises in BTL work. A lot of BTL is also executed by our own sales teams but at the end of the day we end up using agency that specialises in this business.

     

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

    I do not think you can compare the two. It is like cricket, you need both batsmen and bowlers. You cannot have a team of 11 batsmen or 11 bowlers. So, they need to work in conjunction with each other. First of all, you need to have distribution of the brands, you have to have cold stock available, you have to be visible etc. So, those three basic things have to happen. Thereafter, you need ATL to bring consumer pull in to the stores and you need BTL to give them an added incentive once they are there. Sometimes BTL can also play the role of ATL, if it’s associational and desirable property. The two play a complimentary role to each other.

     

    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?

    Depending on the campaign there are several ways of looking at it. Whether it is number of consumer contacts, strike rates or conversions, then you look at how that outlet or that brand or that market how it is doing during the BTL activation period and how it does after the activation period. So, typically if it is executed well, it will do well during the BTL period but we also hope that after the activity is over, it settles at a level higher than the level at which you started. Otherwise, it is not a permanent change.

     

    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?

    Most companies across the world, actually, cannot afford ATL costs. You look at smaller businesses SMEs, startup businesses, local businesses etc. most of them do what traditionally is known as BTL. The number of organisations and brands that are sold only on BTL anywhere in the world is always larger than the number of brands that actually get on to ATL. So, if I run a neighbourhood grocery delivery business, how will I make sure that people know about me? May be in every bill I will have rubber stamp with my phone number, may be I would give a leaflet with every delivery bag that goes. So, the number of people who use BTL in our country is- I am not talking about volume of business and the amount of money that is spent, obviously a far more popular way of communicating to consumers than ATL. ATL requires certain size, a certain funding and also it requires a certain economic threshold to be effective. If I have one crore for instance, it will be suboptimal to put it up to television. Whereas, one crore on BTL could make a big difference depending on what I want to achieve.

     

  • Both ATL and BTL co-exist together with specific roles. Yes, it is an important leg of our brand planning says Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky in this edition of 'BTL Baatein' series that is powered by VISCOMM

    BTL Baatein: Malay Dikshit, Tata Sky… Powered by VISCOMM

    Malay Dikshit is the Chief Communications Officer of Tata Sky Ltd. His role comprises being responsible for developing marketing and communication strategies traditional and new age mediums. He brings with him over 15 years of experience spanning across divisions like marketing, sales and operations. 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

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    It is an essential and it is not just important. Both ATL and BTL co-exist together with specific roles. Yes, it is an important leg of our brand planning.

     

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

    We go to about 12,000 villages below 5,000 population towns to start with. There are many things we do but essentially we want to give a simple message to the consumer who has not seen DTH, to say that Tata Sky in particular takes your family entertainment to a different level. A simple message which says ‘TV banega super TV’ meaning you will get much more value out of your TV, is the message we give. It is a campaign in our BTL activations. We go to villages either in the form of vans, going to about 8,000 villages, displaying our content through huge TV screens, through mailers, showing the depth and quality of content that we have. We got some good results and we extended it to urban areas, seven or eight towns we have targeted right now. People who do not have a DTH connection at home and how can Tata Sky bring a lot of value to the household. So, that is the broad kind of activities that we do.

     

    In terms of BTL, there is usually associated with just going on the field and announcing but taking some learnings from our digital marketing where we see influencer marketing in a very evolved stage. We have an influencer marketing programme even in the rural areas. Our people go there, they talk to a school, take a session with children which introduces Active Education for you, there is Vedic Mathematics, there is English that you can learn, there is classroom tutorial that fits the sixth, seventh or eighth standard syllabus seesions you can have on TV, you use the school Principal as the influencer there or the school teacher. Then you go to a housewife of a particular mohalla and talk to her about cooking, influence her so that she spreads the message that you can learn cooking. We talk to Pandits in the village about Active Darshan or Active Devotion; they become influencer in the town. So, there is an influencer model also in place.

     

    Even our campaign extensions are in the BTL area. Once we ran a Kangana and Dhanushko missed call campaign, it got included in the same activation infrastructure we had. We keep on refreshing our messages also for our BTL activations.

     

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

    More important than spends is where do our acquisitions come from and I am very pleased that at least 50% plus of our new acquisitions come from rural areas. That is the sign of our BTL activations working.

     

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

    It is difficult to isolate either or. Everybody has got to work in alignment because there is a brand message, there a brand priority that we need to relay to the rest of the world. The most important thing is you need to offer to the consumer, there has to be uniformity in the messaging irrespective of the medium we are using, whether it is BTL or ATL. Usually, we tie them up together- the BTL and ATL agency- and both of them together come up with ideas.

     

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

    ATL plays a very specific role of driving consideration. BTL comes in to the loop when the person has got inquisitive; there is a demand, a pull towards the brand, it is the BTL activation which converts to buy a product. For example, if we even consider the rural activation programme that we are doing – TV banega super TV – the consumer gets to see our advertisement, he gets to see our message and here comes an activation team and starts convincing him to buy a conversion action, that is when the magic works. Both of them have to work in tandem and it is not one or the other.

     

    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?

    One is top to bottom consideration, how are they doing. Actual conversions: how are they moving and as I said share of acquisition. So, of my acquisitions in a month or a year coming from a particular geography is an indicator of the entire marketing mix. It is not just BTL which works; it is both of them together that work. It depends on where you want to focus as geography – a region or a particular consumer type- that decides how you want to lay out advertising and sales promotion plans. All of that put together works for us.

     

    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?

    It is a mixture of consideration and conversion. So, many times BTL on its own if it tries to do becomes sub-optimal. Both of them have to co-exist. There has to be a consideration message and conversion message. Sometimes just an outdoor and a digital blitz might do the consideration job and BTL does the conversion job. It depends on who the consumer is, what the particular company is targeting and what it is not. For us, we have a huge range of consumers, right from people who are digital natives to people who have not seen DTH in their house at all. Different kinds of messages work, different kinds of marketing plans work there. When that happens it needs to be a mix of ATL as well as BTL.