MxMIndia

Tag: BTL Baatein

  • 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.

     

  • 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.

     

  • 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.

     

     

  • 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

     

  • 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.

     

  • 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.

     

     


  • BTL is the most effective way of geotargeting in a large country like India, says Mandeep Malhotra, CEO and co-founder, The Social Street

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

    Known as one of the best brains in outdoor and experiential advertising and marketing in India, Mandeep Malhotra is co-founder and CEO of The Social Street. With a Masters in Business Advertising from Australia, Malhotra has over 15 years of professional experience in outdoor media. Prior to his stint as President, DDB Mudra and Head of MudraMax, he has worked with Ogilvy & Mather, Rediffusion DY&R and Bates India amongst others.

     

    In this edition of BTL Baatein, Mandeep Malhotra on the important role BTL plays in helping being in touch with prospects on the ground in the process of brand-building.

     

    What according to you is the importance of BTL in the world of advertising and promotions?

    There is no such thing as BTL. These definitions are outdated, but for the purpose of larger audience I will answer:

    a. Technology might be bridging gaps between brands, but people-to-people engagement is the biggest generator of word-of-mouth publicity.

    b. Marketers need to generate experiences in whatever medium chosen. Print/ TV/ Radio/ Digital/ social/ OOH/ Promotions/ Events all coexist and complement each other. Some case studies prove multiple effective touchpoints deliver x multiplier then two medias in silos.

     

    What would you say is that the importance marketers given to BTL activity in their overall marketing plan? Is it getting its due?

    FMCG brands have been giving importance for experiential marketing for sure. The other categories are already working their marketing plans to ensure accommodating most of them. Some wake up late, some wake up early 🙂

     

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

    Absolutely. Till you don’t get the consumer to experience or educate them, monologue mediums cant beyond a point deliver sale. Some brands have understood really early in the cycle of building brands that you have to be in touch with prospects on ground. The journey from mind-heart-wallet is well experienced one on one.

     

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

    ATL still gets the major chunk. It would be fair to say 7-10% budgets go into generating experiences, split between events, promotions and sampling.

     

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

    Where you have a concentrated audience, one to many (focused) formats work the best. The audience usually has the hint of what is coming their way, therefore concentration levels are higher.

     

    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?

    Most of our clients measure success rate by conversions/ impressions or leads generated on promotions campaign. For large events, you usually get feedback from word-of-mouth instantaneously.

     

    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?

    There are no lines but yes the best way of geotargeting specially when in a large country like India, distribution takes its own sweet time. BTL works most effective. We do campaigns for clients which link BTL to OOH as gratification. Recently, a great campaign was done for one such client. The proof of the pudding lies in the prospective consumer becoming the brand ambassador for the campaign itself.

     

  • Marketers today realise that experiential offers a chance to tailor their message in a more personalised way and helps establish a stronger connect with consumers, says Vandana Verma, EVP Leo Burnett & Head of Experience

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

    Vandana Verma has worked with leading organisations in the two decades that she has worked in the marketing services sector. Teamwork Films, TIC Integrated Marketing Services, Big Live, Ogilvy & Mather where she headed North at Ogilvy Action Live, Mudra Max (VP and Country Head, Mudra Celsius) and since 2012 as with Leo Burnett where she is now Executive Vice President and Head of Experience. In this edition of BTL Baatein, Vandana Verma speaks on how experiential is the oxygen brands need to survive in the marketplace, and more…

    What is the importance of BTL in the world of advertising and promotions?

    Experiential is the oxygen brands need to survive in the marketplace. While mainstream advertising works as an announcement platform for most brands, experiential initiatives help brands cover the last mile and trigger purchase decisions.

     

    What would you say is that the importance marketers given to BTL activity in their overall marketing plan?

    Marketers today understand the need for Experiential. They do realise that experiential solutions is the only way to deliver communication that is targeted at a specific kind of audience. It gives marketers a chance to tailor their message in a more personalised way and establish a stronger connect with consumers.

     

    ROI measurement on traditional platforms is fraught with issues, but not in the case of Experiential. Tracking down campaign performance in an accurate manner is easier and less complicated in Experiential and that’s a huge plus. Marketers are increasingly becoming fans of Experiential. No wonder we are seeing so many agencies enter this space.

     

    In Experiential, one can gather feedback easily and take corrective actions immediately in case of any crisis.  Something mainstream advertising can never achieve.

     

    Are there certain types of marketers who have a greater affinity for BTL? (eg FMCG, durables, auto, etc)

     

    My answer would be NO. The average spends on experiential across brands is about 35-40%, which has risen from 15% three years ago. Activations are most commonly used for sales promotions, branding, launches, channel partner appeasement, channel expansion and lead generation. There are different objectives for different activities. These requirements would remain across categories of marketers.

     

    Typically what is the break-up of spends….ATL v/s BTL?

     

    35-40% BTL, balance ATL and Digital.

     

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

     

    Leo Burnett Experience is a specialist unit that offers holistic experiential solutions to clients including activation, events and exhibitions and rural marketing across metros and 5,000 small towns and cities. We function in an integrated manner by collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team of strategists and creators.

     

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

    Strategy driven experiential solutions have always guaranteed results for our clients. Going forward we will explore new ways of solving business problems for our clients.

     

    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?

     

    ROI is an obvious measure and every client would use that as a measurement tool, but what clients also look at is the quality of engagement your idea brings to the table. Experiential also seamlessly enables integration across all other media. Most agencies struggle in this regard as they lack the skillsets and the capabilities to enable real integration. Integration of specialists to solve a single brand problem. That’s what makes us unique.

     

    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?

     

    We are still at an early stage where clients do not truly understand the role of BTL in growing their business. Most still treat it as just one part of the media mix. However, we at Leo Burnett, are blessed with some clients like Bajaj Auto, Mc Donalds, ITC foods, Coke etc., whom we have partnered in their journey building where BTL plays a substantial role.

     

    I don’t think any major brand entirely depends experiential to achieve what it wants to in the marketplace. Integration is key.

     

    Do you have a view on BTL? Would you like to engage in a conversation on BTL marketing and promotions? Write to us at editor@mxmindia.com with BTL Baatein in the subject line

     

  • Some brands do launch with BTL as their marketing backbone, but that’s not a one-size-fits-all model. A combination of ATL, BTL and Digital is in my mind critical and the most effective, says Vidur Patney, National Director, Maxus Experiential Marketing

    BTL Baatein: Vidur Patney, Maxus… Powered by VISCOMM

    After this education in India and the UK, Vidur Patney, National Director, Maxus Experiential Marketing, has worked for nearly 20 years across the marketing spectrum. Recently, he has worked with Encompass, Dentsu and most recently Globox until joining Maxus earlier this year. In this edition of BTL Baatein, Vidur Patney speaks on the importance marketers give to BTL activity in their overall marketing plan, and more.

    What is the importance of BTL in the world of advertising and promotions?

    Experiential marketing has over the last few years moved more centerstage as a tool to promote and engage with consumers. Advertising has been the medium of choice for years and has largely worked, but today consumers are smarter, more aware and crave personalised interaction, that’s why more and more marketers who want to have one-on-one conversations with consumers are looking at experiential marketing as the medium of choice.

    What would you say is the importance marketers give to BTL activity in their overall marketing plan?

    Brands that need localised solutions are far keener on going down the BTL route, as are brands that need to provide specific personalized information to consumers. The lines are however a bit blurred and the need is defined by the information to be delivered. Having said that, BTL spends are on the rise. But it’s not just BTL, digital solutions are also gaining popularity.

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

    Any marketer who wants to engage with consumers will by and large look at BTL solutions as the way forward. FMCG brands use BTL as a tool not just to promote products but also for sampling new products. Auto brands, use BTL to expose the physical car or bike to a larger audience and give them a 1st hand touch and feel of the vehicle beyond a showroom. So, yes, different brands use BTL in for different needs and to achieve different results. BTL is also a great tool for influencing consumers at the point of sale.

    Typically what is the break-up of spends…. ATL v/s BTL?

    Varies from industry and brand, but is fast growing. For some it’s close to 30-40% for some even higher.  But as mentioned, looking ahead, a BTL – Digital solution is the way forward. Consumers will demand it and brands will have to follow suit.

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

    Ranges from localised promotions to mall displays to school and college contact programmes to modern trade activities, events internal and external, roadshows, conferences and exhibitions. Quite honestly just about everything and everywhere.

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

    A tough one to call. BTL solutions provide more focused results as compared to traditional spray and pray advertising. So if the need is to engage with consumers one-on-one, BTL is the way. But here again having a digital layer is critical.

    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?

    It depends on the requirement. If it’s a new product launch and sampling, then that’s measurable, but if it’s just promoting a product to drive sales, it’s very tough to work out the math on how many people bought a product after any sort of BTL engagement vis-à-vis an ATL campaign. The only other measurable element is cost per contact. Participation and experience delivered are tough to quantify.

    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?

    Some brands do launch with BTL as their marketing backbone, but that’s not a one-size-fits-all model. A combination of ATL, BTL and Digital is in my mind critical and the most effective.


  • BTL is not a cost-effective solution for a brand always and at times the cost per contact is a bit higher. But it surely provides more scope for customisation/ innovation and ensures reach and optimum visibility, says Sidharth Ghosh, Vice President, pSLIVE of the Dentsu Aegis Network

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

    BTL is not a cost-effective solution for a brand always and at times the cost per contact is a bit higher. But it surely provides more scope for customisation/ innovation and ensures reach and optimum visibility.

     

    Sidharth Ghosh, a management graduate in marketing from MET, has over 15 years of experience in the functions of Experiential Marketing and also has keen interest in PR,  Branded Entertainment as well as Sports Marketing. He has played an important role in creating Planman Life, the events division at Planman Consulting. He established the branded entertainment and PR arm at Carat Fresh Integrated, now psLive. In this edition of BTL Baatein, Sidharth Ghosh, Vice President, pSLIVE of the Dentsu Aegis Network, speaks on how BTL compares with ATL and why.

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the world of advertising and promotions?

    BTL is an important aspect for any brand’s promotional campaign. BTL spends in India is growing and is an integral part of the advertising Industry. It involves promotional techniques which aim to reach consumers more directly and in an extremely controlled environment.

     

    What would you say is that the importance marketers given to BTL activity in their overall marketing plan?

    BTL platform gives marketers the opportunity to customize their messaging in a more personal manner. They also provide marketers valuable insights into their return on investment.

     

    Are there certain types of marketers who have a greater affinity for BTL? (eg FMCG, durables, auto, etc)

    It depends on the category and the product lifecycle. FMCG has a greater affinity for BTL compared to others but other categories are catching up fast. Luxury goods focus more on word of mouth and direct selling.

     

    Auto sector too is quite active in the BTL domain – be it new car launches or promotions. Increasingly, be it lifestyle, retail or education, more and more categories are using BTL to influence their TG.

     

    Typically what is the break-up of spends….ATL v/s BTL?

    Marketers are using BTL advertising and allocating increased budgets toward this segment to reach out to their consumers. Earlier the trend tallied around the 20:80 ratio for BTL and ATL but now the market dynamics are changing. There are brands that primarily focus on BTL for new brand launches whereas for others the mix could be 40:60. It purely depends on the marketing objective.

     

    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 at psLive aim to re-define the way brands are built through engaging experiences. We are a new age experiential agency and undertake both urban and rural activation as part of our activation business.

     

    For urban markets, we do product launches, lifestyle events, roadshows, mall promotions, trade engagement programmes, school/college contact programmes etc whereas for rural activation we undertake haat and mela activation, road shows, rural engagement activities etc. We have also started a specialised exhibition arm.

     

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

    BTL has a more ROI-based approach and a lot of our brands have successfully achieved their desired marketing objective. Both the avenues surely complement each other.

     

    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?

    Brands are now looking at more innovative and non-traditional way for launches and BTL provides the platform. In fact sports and entertainment are also emerging mediums for brand activation.

     

    BTL is not a cost-effective solution for a brand always and at times the cost per contact is a bit higher. But it surely provides more scope for customisation/ innovation and ensures reach and optimum visibility. Considering the current trend, BTL is only going to gain more momentum and the market will see interesting innovations.

     

  • BTL is an essential part of the marketing mix, it complements ATL and, marketing RoI should always be calculated on overall spends, says Vineet Jain is General Manager – Marketing, Consumer Product Division, The Himalaya Drug Company

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

    Vineet Jain, General Manager – Marketing, Consumer Product Division, The Himalaya Drug Company, started his stint at Himalaya in 2008 as Marketing Manager for the consumer  products division for South East Asian region based out of Singapore, where he was  responsible for building awareness for brand Himalaya, increasing distribution in mainstream  retail outlets and crafting the marketing strategy aimed at driving consumer connect.

     

    In his five-year stint at Himalaya Singapore, he successfully built the company’s equity in the face care segment, especially driving awareness for Purifying Neem Face Wash & Nourishing Skin Cream. He was also responsible for the success of AyurSlim, Himalaya’s weight management product, in the APAC market. At the end of his assignment in Singapore, he had established Himalaya as one of the top selling brands in leading retails chains including  Watsons and Guardian Pharmacies.

     

    In 2013, Vineet moved to Himalaya Global Holdings in Dubai as the General Manager for brands across all Himalaya subsidiaries. In this role, he was closely involved with product innovation and global portfolio management strategy.

     

    Presently, as General Manager – Marketing for the Consumer Products at Himalaya India, the  fastest growing division within the company, Jain is responsible for driving the division’s growth and building the company’s presence in key categories including oral care, men’s personal care and hair care. Prior to joining Himalaya, he has worked with SAB Miller, ITC Limited and Proctor & Gamble. He loves playing cricket and reading fiction.Vineet completed his MBA in Marketing and Systems from IIM Calcutta and engineering from NIT Raipur. In this edition of BTL Baatein, Vineet Jain speaks on Himalaya’s BTL activity in the personal care space and how it’s a vital component in the consumer products major’s marketing strategy…

     

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

    BTL Communication helps personal care brands make an impact during the ‘first moment of truth’, where the consumers experience the brand, its products’ and make their purchase decision.  In the AIDA sales model, while ATL communication drives the stimulus or awareness, BTL helps in increasing ‘interest and desire’ for the brand. It is BTL interaction that gives the marketer the ability to tailor their messaging in a more personal manner to the audience. However, in today’s day and age, most of the companies follow Through the Line or Integrated Marketing Communication for all their campaigns to ensure connecting with consumers through all moments of truth.

     

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

    We use BTL activations across our portfolio and at various consumer touch points.  We have 150 Himalaya exclusive retail outlets across India where we use glitzier in-store displays, provide testers to experience the products and showcase the story behind our products. We have a year round ‘Pure Skin Facial’ activation running across Indian colleges for consumers to experience our face care range including Face Washes, Scrubs and Packs.  In Modern Trade, for Moisturizing Aloe Vera Face Wash (MAV) our focus has been to convert soap users into face wash users for which we created displays of MAV in the ‘Soaps category’ along with putting parasites there. With such BTL initiatives, we have noticed change in consumer behavior and built affinity towards brand Himalaya.

     

    How important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan?

    Every campaign has a go-to-market strategy that includes exhaustive BTL plan along with ATL. For our recent Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo launch, our impactful in-shop displays helped tap consumers at the point of decision making and purchase. While ATL creates the buzz, BTL helps engage with consumers and gives that further push to influence their purchase decision. To build awareness for our entire hair care range, we launched a BTL campaign ‘Bring Hair Alive’, where bloggers, Facebook fans and followers experience a 6 step hair care solution including Shampoos, Conditioners, Hair Creams and Oils. The campaign so far has travelled to three cities Mumbai, Bangalore and very recently Delhi.

     

    Given your foray in the rural market, do you see a special role for BTL there

    To be honest, rural consumers are cost-inefficient to be targeted through BTL due to high CPC. However, as consumers aren’t over-exposed to brands activations, rural offers undivided attention from consumer if we are willing to invest in BTL.  Today, our most distributed brand, Purifying Neem Face Wash (PNFW), is available in more than 4 lakh rural outlets.  Despite that, rural penetration for face washes is only at 5%.  One reason for the low penetration is the price barrier that we are addressing through our newly launched sachet at Rs 5. We have invested in a large number of branded hangers to capture the ‘air space’ that is currently dominated by shampoo sachets in these rural outlets.  The hangers also effectively communicate our price point thus enabling the rural girl to rethink her personal care basket. We are also planning a BTL outreach programme to maintain facial hygiene and educate the rural girls to get rid of pimples through use of PNFW.

     

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

    Our BTL efforts are approximately 30% of our total marketing spends.

     

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

    We continue investing in beauty advisors at Point of Sale, in-shop displays, consumer activation at colleges, product sampling through promotion packs and driving conversations on social media as part of our BTL activities.  For example, when Face Packs & Scrubs category was stagnant, we grew the category through BTL by bringing in face wash consumers to packs and scrubs fold. It was a multi-point BTL effort including:  promotion packs like ‘Purifying Neem Scrub’ sample free with Purifying Neem Face Wash, also as mentioned earlier, continuing our on-going Pure Skin Facial across colleges, we in turn scaled it up and created a Guinness Record by providing maximum number of facials simultaneously. These initiatives have helped us built Step 1-2-3 (Wash, Scrub, Pack) merchandising in key modern trade stores, making our scrubs and packs sachet danglers as regular sales units that have higher visibility compared to the counter top boxes.  These efforts helped us build importance of a face cleansing regimen amongst consumers.

     

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

    We prefer to go through specialized BTL agencies for production / activation work.  Although, our creative agency would have contributed to the big idea, these agencies bring out certain nuances that enhance the execution given their experience in the field.  They also are able to provide cost effective solutions given the scale at which they operate.

     

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

    BTL is an essential part of the marketing mix, it complements ATL and, marketing RoI should always be calculated on overall spends.

     

    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?

    Sales and Salience are the primary indicators for BTL success.  We also look at Household Panel to provide us net shift of consumers to our brand wherever BTL is implemented. If there is a specific objective for which BTL is activated, we look at shift in certain imagery scores in our Brand Health Track.

     

    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?

    Reach and frequency, trial potential measure, sales and salience are biggest KPIs of a campaign.  An Audio Visual communication is essential to delivering on them.  However, choosing the medium depends on campaign objective and the budgets.  BTL is efficient and cost-effective for targeting a limited and specific group.  Aiding it with digital, increases reach and can definitely work as a full-fledged campaign.  As an example, airline companies use this combo very well (SEM + Direct mailers + Retargeting – ads that follow you if you have shown interest) and we plan to learn from them and implement for few of our brands.

     


  • It is not a question of mass media versus below-the-line. It is an era of mass media plus below-the-line., says Amit Arora, Head of Marketing at Trivitron Healthcare

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

    Amit Arora is a postgraduate in the field of marketing from Punjabi University. He holds rich expertise and experience of over seven years in the healthcare industry with marketing as a prime domain. He is been associated with Trivitron Healthcare for more than a year. Prior to Trivitron, he was working with HealthFore Technologies (formerly Religare Technologies (Healthcare IT organization of Religare/Fortis Group) and Hindustan Times.

     

    As Senior Manager- Group Marketing & Corporate Communication, he heads brand & marketing activities and brand communication management (internal/ external) for Trivitron Healthcare and other group companies. Amit Arora speaks responds to Dyanne Coelhi for this edition of BTL Baatein

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the space of healthcare products?

    BTL is growing prominence in the marketing space as it is more customized and personal. Especially in the healthcare segment, BTL activities play a vital role to reach out to the right target audience. Healthcare is a personalized industry and each one’s requirement will differ. In order to reach out to individual audience and cater their specific needs BTL plays a prime role. BTL in healthcare also helps in sampling when the TG is niche, when budget is a concern and the brand wants to have a consumer connect. BTL has better ROI and physical display of healthcare products for better understanding and awareness.

     

    Are there any specific products or services for which BTL activations are used at Trivitron?

    Trivitron Healthcare is one of the largest Medical Technology Company of Indian Origin, offering 360 degrees products and solution with presence in Laboratory Products, Imaging/ Radiology Products, New Born Screening, Critical Care & ICU products, Operating Room, and Ophthalmology. For all our verticals we widely use BTL activities such as targeted healthcare conferences, events, CMEs etc. We at Trivitron participate/ organize more than 80+ domestic events & conferences and 10+ International events to showcase our products & solutions and reach out to the right audience.

     

    With 8 manufacturing facilities spread across Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Helsinki in collaboration with international partners, we manufacture products across In–Vitro Diagnostics (IVD), New Born Screening, Patient Monitors, Imaging/ Radiology, Intensive Care and OT. We do many collaborative BTL activities with our channel partners across the globe for our manufacturing range of products.

     

    How important is BTL activity to your overall marketing plan?

    For us BTL is one of the prime pillars for product promotion activities. For our domestic as well as international market event participations, engagement activities, emails, brochures,  with healthcare fraternity is of major role. Our annual marketing plan is very well segregated and all activities are measured in return of investment (ROI).

     

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

    Considering BTL is our main focus, we allocate 60 percent of our marketing spends in BTL activities and remaining in Online and ATL activities. For us digital activities/ campaigning is more important than ATL. With internet taking a big spin for B2B and B2C segment, online looks more lucrative for today’s marketers. The power to reach the right audience, right geography, at a mass scale is making digital a clear return on investment platform. With the internet reaching increasing many fold, I am sure digital will take a major pie of our spending in coming years.

     

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

    Under Below the line activities, we do majorly the healthcare event participations, focused group road shows in targeted cities, Product demonstration forums for healthcare fraternity, emails, brochures, awareness drives and collaborative activities with our channel partners for market penetration.

     

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

    We primarily do this through our existing agencies and sales and marketing teams in all our regions.

     

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

    Since BTL is more targeted and specific, it is considered to derive better results and returns. However, online is the future and consumers are connected much more and have more information and choices at their fingertips today. The rise of such digital activities and resulting data is the stimulating factor for formulating strategies, thus affecting the business model and driving growth for players in the Indian market. On the other hand ATL advertising tries to reach out to the mass as consumer audience and not accurate in terms of 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?

    For any of the BTL activities, the assessment begins with the right audience, cost to reach, cost to generate a lead for a business/ product and at the end cost per acquisition of a customer. But definitely, the first measure would be the right audience turn around & reach.

     

    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?

    BTL with a digital blitz would be the right mix in coming days for new launches or rather for regular brand activities as well.

     

    It is not a question of mass media versus below-the-line. It is an era of mass media plus below-the-line.