Turning Cost to Revenue

TICKETS: It’s that one thing that you very carefully preserve till the end of your journey. Sometimes you preserve it, marking a memory. And sometimes it just pops out from the corner of your bag where it rested for weeks and maybe even months. Can tickets be a powerful and effective media for advertisement? Can tickets benefit your marketing mix?

They will preserve it as their own personal property. Advertising on the reverse of tickets ensures effective one on one communication with the consumer.

Is it Targeted?

You put the brand communication in the hands of the consumer. Just choose the right medium. Need I say more?

Is it Effective?

It’s a cost effective communication method beneficial to both the advertiser and the ticket company. The ticket for the issuing company is an additional cost, which can be covered through selling advertising space on tickets. For the advertising company, it is a cheap form of brochure/voucher, targeting almost every demographic sector, flexible and effective campaign management procedure.

Is it Accountable?

Ticket advertising is one of the most accountable and effective forms of advertising available to advertisers. A set number of tickets can be printed per campaign and issued to consumers over a set period. Each ticket can have a unique code and one can accurately keep a track of how many tickets are issued at any specific time. Reach and frequency figures can also be analyzed.

How can one advertise on tickets?

• Tickets can be issued as a voucher to redeem a scheme.
• Tickets can be bar coded which can be scanned at POP.
• Tickets can be used for awareness, store openings, events, etc.
• Tickets may also be used to award loyalty points.

Where it can be used?

• Transport tickets – Bus, Train, Tube, Air
• Car Parks
• Movie/Entertainment
• Or any Electronic Point of Sale

What is required?

• Artwork
• Print Technology
• And a simple calculation of rate/ticket

Innovations Unlimited!!!

Probably the first internet marketing campaign that I can recall is the Sunsilk Gang of Girls. It was when Sunsilk was sponsoring for the Miss India beauty pageant. Sunsilk decided to establish an online presence for its first time endeavour. It started with developing a portal for young girls which spawned with hair and beauty tips and featured Javed Habib as the hair care expert. The success of the campaign however moved further from connecting with consumers to product development with the launch of Sunsilk Naturals and an exclusive all girls’ online community called Gang of Girls.  It has always operated on a thorough understanding of its target with certain fundamental principle of self-expression, interactivity and what women love to do most i.e. hair & fashion content.

Another brand for the same product category of hair care used the internet for a marketing campaign as well. Dove was launching its hair-care product in India with an ambition to deliver the most beautiful hair. Yahoo created a space for like minded women who would create their own idea of beauty. The platform was Yahoo Answers with Dove branding. However the brand wanted to match the product with the brand communication and consumer mindset. Thus, came the idea of capturing the answers from relevant consumers on the street and a big innovation - Video Answers was born. The Product launch amplified on Internet by tapping the Beat on the Streets – Getting Video Answers on Yahoo! India Answers (first time in the world).

These campaigns had set a fine example of what Internet can deliver to the brand.

Gone with the wind (Some enjoyed the glory, some didn’t) PART III

Help.. Fire Fire!!.. Bring the Cease Fire

I had seen it around so much so that till late I used to think that Cease Fire is synonymous to a fire extinguisher. The brand ruled the market, and was the one to bring domestic fire extinguishers first in the market. And it moved on to offices, theatres, commercial centres etc. the product was well received in the market and it was advertised focussing on customer awareness about a fire mishap. A fire extinguisher is a product where customers are not unhappy if it is not being used. Hence the fear of fire, kept the sales up. Not for long however. the company diversified to Vaccumizer Cooking Appliance. Makes any sense? Not to me. The unsuccessful new product like vaccumizer and the alleged mismanagement failed the brand once gloried as a marketing success story. But surprisingly, no other brands have come forward to take that position. The potential is there as long as the fear is there.

Who the hell is RAGINI?

"Ragini ka MMS dekha kya?"

"Ragini yahan baithi thi"

All of the sudden it seemed all of Mumbai rickshawallaz were sporting the same stickers on their vehicles. Forgive my inquisitive nature, but one fine morning I googled the word even before I checked my mail. “Oh it’s a movie”. Hmm quite a catchy way of promoting a movie right before its release. I guess Transit media as they call it is moving faster now. Gone are the days of busses and trains. And it makes perfect sense. Millions of people spend hours simply travelling from one place to another. Stuck hours in traffic, eyes are bound to wonder and the catchy message will surely catch up. The movie is supposedly a low budget movie and might have come and gone without much buzz around it. The medium is super cheap and wide spread. But this definitely will enable the movie to gain popularity. Whether people go to watch it or not is another question, but will people be talk about it? Well they certainly are. How does one advertise on Auto rickshaw? Simply approach one auto driver and ask him to distribute to his group, or approach an auto rickshaw union. In a city like Mumbai, there are licensed to advertise on transit media agencies. Its not a new phenomenon. Remember "Capacity 3 Idiots"?.. surely u do.

By the way, I also read that the producer of the movie, Ekta Kapoor is also sporting the same stickers on her BMW and Jaguar!!!

Cinema: The New Age Advertising Media

I recently watched the new pepy flick "Luv Ka The End" by Yash Raj Films and was amazed at how numerous brands were promoted in the movie within the storyline itself. The movie revolves around a girl (and her bunch of friends) who falls in love with a rich boy.. boy cheats girl.. girl seeks revenge instead of locking herself in d room and wasting tears.. Thats pretty much the crux of the movie. 

It starts off with the rich boy flaunting his dad owned Jaguar. Mentos, a popular youth brand of confectionary, where the lead actress of the movie gets an offer for a Mentos ad causing ripples in her social circle. When she realizes that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she decides to get even with him and comes up with innovative ideas (Dimaag ki batti jala de- Mentos tagline) to bring him down. Next comes Onida mobile phones. All the characters in the movie are shown carrying Onida mobile phones and it was ensured that the brand name is clearly in the visible range. The extensive use of video calls via 3G flaunts the fact that Onida is out with 3G mobiles. Its doesnt ends here. Cosmetic giant LAKME was also promoted in the movie where street smart girls turn into Diva's by applying Lakme make up. The movie also promotes "Love Bird" restaurant and bar in Juhu, Mumbai with a peppy item number by the lead actor (the rich brat). There was a repetetive mention of a posh Thai restaurant (name of which I cannot recall) where the rich boys goes out on a date. There were mentions of famous tattoo artist (Pali Hill), fashion brands like Diesel, Aldo etc. 

This practice of indirectly publicizing a product through movies and TV shows is popularly known as Covert advertising.  The actress in the film or the TV show may be shown to be using a particular brand of clothes or cosmetics; a particular restaurant or company may be shot so that the company name appears in the scene. The audiences watching the show or the movie are sure to notice the name advertised, thus contributing to the promotion of the product showcased. The brands used "Luv ka the end" a new youth movie as a mode of promoting products that the youth associates itself with the most - fashion, technology, hang out places. A perfect platform for covert advertising... hmm I did learn something from this brainless movie.

Gone with the wind (Some enjoyed the glory, some didn’t) PART II

Ambassador

Considered to be the definitive Indian car, was once the most popular car in India as it was perceived to be best suited to the harsh Indian terrain. Its iconic status was helped by the fact that it was the preferred means of conveyance of India's political leadership, including the Prime Minister of India, before they moved on to other luxury cars and SUVs. What went wrong?

It was unable to create barrier for potential new entrants & was unable to compete with their existing strategies. Even suppliers were not looked into deep; company was in a snail pace and couldn’t take up the challenge of new potential entrants in the market, including the suppliers of its different parts (remember Porter’s Model?). The brand was banking upon its niche markets (government and taxi). But even these two sectors were taken over by Maruti. Was it a case of a typical marketing myopia? The decline is sales can also be credited to the very simple fact that the Indian customer was awed by the new flashy foreign entrants. We just got bored..!

Gone with the wind (Some enjoyed the glory, some didn’t) PART I

Canada Dry… & GoldSpot & many more.. Sigh!

From the house of Cadbury Schweppes, if I could recall it correctly, then Canada Dry was quite a hyped drink in India. It was promoted as a champagne softdrink and it positioned itself as a premium product. The advertisements were flashed with a white tiger in an ice cold land and a tag line “Cool Cool Canada”. Its association with Cadbury further enhanced its brand image. But alas as CocaCola took over the beverage business of Cadbury Schweppes, like Canada Dry even drinks like GoldSpot (remember the Zing Thingggg) and my personal favourite Crush was brutally killed. I some how could find any particular reason for the death of these products except for the reason that Coke wanted to make space for its own products. Strangely however Limca still survived.

 

What We Miss From the Early Days

A couple weeks back, I stumbled upon a community and it just made me nostalgic for the early day’s shows. This inquisitiveness driven show had so much potential and plenty of charm back then, infusing high school drama with sci-fi twists. Obviously, things have changed since then, and not for the better.

“Bournvita Quiz Contest” – who can forget the common household name and a common high school phenomena. Growing up with BQC was a part of the Sunday routine. The nervous kids representing schools from pan India, neatly decked up in their school uniforms frantically battled with the very vocal Derek ‘O Brian. I vaguely remember the times when mothers would stuff their children with Bournvita so they could possess super sharp brains and schools would have special classes conducted to ensure that the students were well equipped with general knowledge and current affairs. And yes, who can forget the pride of participation in the BQC? Win or no win, the contestants would all come back home with loads of chocolates sponsored by Cadbury.

Who would not like to have BQC back in all its old-school glory, with questions aplenty and gimmicks only a few. Join the movement here http://www.facebook.com/bringbqcback

Party Abhi Baaki Hai - RIO Ishstyle

One of the most memorable takeaways from Pune would be a drink called RIO. Born in 2007 out of an entrepreneur  venture ‘Silver Ice Beverages’, RIO is all set to hit the cola and juice market of India. Hitting a health conscious and cola hungry market wasn’t that easy. RIO comes in three different fruity flavours with a dash of fizz, and the company has gone an extra mile by adding a healthy dose of Honey and Vitamin C. IMPRESSIVE! What makes RIO stand out in the crowded space of drinks is not only does it offer unique flavours and healthy carbonated drink, but it also comes in exceptionally good package. And mind it, when I say unique flavours, they are some that you haven’t have heard off – Karma (Blue berry and Peach), Nirvana (Green Mango) and Moksha (Wild Berries i.e. strawberry and Raspberry).

As a relatively new entrant in the beverage market, RIO has so far adopted marketing and promotional strategies that are convenient, safe and inexpensive. RIO uses the following for the purpose of sale as well as promotion:

• General Stores (convenient stores): Plan for stores; Profit ratio + RIO branding material + schemes for higher sales + schemes for exclusivity. Now that’s a lot of POS promotion.
• Night Clubs & Lounges: RIO goes hand in hand with night clubs. Being the perfect mix for alcoholic drinks and a good stand alone non alcoholic beverage. They have developed Rio based cocktails recipes as well.
• Restaurants: RIO has tie ups with restaurants around Pune which offer RIO to its customers.
• Event Management Companies: RIO has shared stage with the finest events in and around Pune city.

It is not an easy road ahead competing with brands like Coca Cola and PepsiCo in the soft drink market, with RedBull in the mixers segment and with fruit based drinks like Appy, Fruity, Slice etc. Traditionally the soft drink market has concentrated on mass media advertising, Out Of Home (OOH) media, point of sale merchandise and on ground activities. Online media is an evolving marketing space and one can experience significant advantages in enhancing customer connect. As RIO’s target audience is the young India, the internet can indeed be an important medium.

Search marketing: to my utter dismay, at present a Google search for the word ‘RIO’ does not bring up results relevant to the beverage nor does it shows a link to the brands existing website.

Website management: the existing website gives basic information about the product and an overview of the company. RIO can definitely do better than just that. Offers, purchasing online, contest, design for bottles or anything to keep the viewer engaged.

Web marketing: Nothing, absolutely nothing on social networks, micro blogs or blogs.. Absolute lack of communication! Can RIO be used in online gaming like Dinner dash?

However all in not that bad! The news is that RIO is coming up with two more flavours, tie up with Hi5 (online social networking website which intends to re-brand themselves in India by conducting camps in PVR malls across India. Hmm.. Eagerly waiting to see RIO in every town.

Financial Inclusion: The need of the hour

There is no one magic wand that will take financial inclusion to the poor across all of India. Various reforms, ideas and innovations are floating in the air. Here are a few that need to be given immediate attention to.

No-Frills Banking

Basic bank accounts with negligible minimum deposit and a set number of free transactions.

India has a dismal record with its no-frill account plan. It did manage to get 25 million people to sign up for such accounts from various banks, but today only 2.77 million of them, or a mere 11 percent, are active. The scheme will begin to work better when more friendly avenues of banking such as kiosks and mobile phones reach a large number of people. Also, the country should encourage a transaction-led model.

Branchless Banking

Spread access to banking through agents called banking correspondents (BCs).

India had tried out pygmy deposit agents in the 1970s but the experience was not good. These agents went about claiming to be bank employees and that led to a lot of disputes and litigation. In India, there is a very large informal system for transactions that authorities have failed to bring into the banking system so far. There is a need for the authorities to establish a strong viable business line for BCs rather than treating it as a mere CSR activity.

Bank without a Bank

Do away with the need to have a bank account. Use the mobile phone company as a conduit for keeping and transacting money.

In India, the RBI doesn’t allow mobile phone companies to operate as banking channels. I agree that there will be security issues but maybe limiting the number of players who are trying to provide financial inclusion seems a bit counter-productive. Think mobile, think M-PESA.

A Super Efficient Lending Mission

Focus on micro credit and allied products. Build enormous scale with supreme efficiency and the power of private capital.

The profit-led model is here to stay. In India, there are over 1,000 MFIs. The long-term success of MFIs rests on being seen as socially helpful. They can’t afford to antagonize the various stakeholders.

Why cigarette packs matter?

The government is making escalating efforts to warn smokers of the fatal consequences of cigarette smoking. Today we see the pretty dramatic scene on the packages which the government hopes will spread the message. Although I believe (strictly my opinion) this is a "gimmick" to make the masses think that our government cares. People already know the truth about cigarettes, overeating, alcohol and other actions that are harmful. You don't need a picture of blood and brains on the ceiling to realize how dangerous guns are.

Based on my observations I was wondering why all of the sudden the graphics on cigarette packs are changing every month. Ok we cannot advertise about tobacco sales, so what can our poor marketer do? Packaging has been used for brand building and sales expansion however unlike other products where one might be successful in making a sale based on good impactful advertising or brilliant packaging (convenient size, shape or just the right colour and graphics) cigarette sells itself solely on its tobacco blend. People’s preference towards a particular brand is mostly based on their preference and liking towards the taste. Price sensitivity is another issue but not the point of discussion here.

Earlier it was mostly "plain packaging". Plain packages increase the visibility, brand recall, and credibility of warning labels. Whilst I don’t dispute the effects of branding but the idea of changing graphics on packages though look lame to me, actually seemed appealing to others. Some even out of curiosity ask for the pack to have a proper look. But never did I witness change in preference because of the package. The only place where brands can showcase itself is probably retail shelves. With rows and columns stacked with multiple brands and blends available, the way a customer will recognize its brands availability will be through the look of the package. Like for example, Wills classic regular in all red, milds in white n red, ultra milds in silver and gold flake in gold (off course what else). In a country like India, cigarettes are available in packs and loose pieces as well. A customer walks into a cigarette shop or a local tea stall and his eyes browses through the rows of display. He spots his brand and viola! Makes his purchase. Incase he is unable to spot it, he will ask for it to the shop owner in doubt (or move on to the next shop/stall.. no dearth of vendors in India)

The point here is that Packaging has some influence on behaviour. If you think that changing the look of the packets will make any difference at all to the demand for cigarettes, you are fairly mistaken. But yes you are offering a refreshing new package once in a while, giving a new feel of using the same product to the customer. On a personal note, I believe the customer would still like to have its stick coming out of a pack that’s been the brand image for long.

The Gloom beneath the Glam!

"One day this city will know me"...

7am, 22nd floor in one of the posh localities in the city of dreams, Mumbai. We gazed out at the rising sun as the busy world rushed beneath us. Dreams glittered in his eyes, determination ruled his heart.

Roshan, a model by profession moved in the city six months ago. Having succeeded in his hometown, Calcutta, he dreamed of making it big, making it real. But the world was harder than he ever imagined.

Roshan has it all. The face, the physique, and the guts to face the camera. but what he fails to submit to is his own conscious. "COMPROMISE" is the word ruling the entertainment industry today. You want to walk on the ramp, and everyone from the Designer to the stylist to the producer wants a piece of you. Where will you go? Roshan's experience has been so bitter that he sometimes wants to give it up.

Karishma, another model and a familiar face in the industry has the same say. "It’s safer for the girls now", she says. Karishma is sceptical to appear for any audition, no matter how renowned the agency might be. It’s a matter of 99% luck and 1% talent. “Most of the time its all fixed.”  Karishma recalls that in one of the assignment she bagged, she got selected the moment she was entering the building gates. “Though rest of the girls all got chance for the audition, I was selected without undergoing any process.”

Anoop, a master in various dance forms is from Delhi, says his family has granted him a year to try his luck in the glamour city. “I just want fame…Anyhow and in any form," claims Anoop. But it’s your connections that can save a spot for you. For a newbie acquiring a spot is impossible unless you have the right references.

Entertainment Industry in India comprises of Film Industry and Television Industry. The Indian entertainment industry is among the fastest growing sectors in the country. Entertainment industry in India is presently in a consolidation phase as boundary lines between films, music and television are fast disappearing. Skills and resources are being pooled extensively. In terms of employment, an estimated 6 million people earn their livelihood from the entertainment industry and this number is all set to grow. But is this growth owing to a corrupt industry? Media reports are read and forgotten? But the same leaves a lasting impression when inflicted upon your own loved ones. For some, it’s an industry, for some it’s a source or employment, but for some it’s their dream, their life, their aim and only passion in life. How long can a life sustain on dreams, hope and patience? Will dreams shatter in pieces? Are we to remain deaf to the woes and cries?

This article is a narration by artists from the industry. Names changed on request.