Pepperfry.com, one of India’s largest Furniture and home products marketplace has recently rolled-out a new Diwali campaign exhorting viewers & consumers to make a change in their mind-sets, reach-out to people around them and take some positive actions that do good.
Interestingly, the campaign conceptualized by Saatchi & Saatchi reflects a change in the marketing philosophy of the brand. Pepperfry which has so far through its ATL and BTL campaigns like ‘Happy Furniture to you’ and ‘key quality proposition’ launched earlier this year, focused on the ‘rational approach’ to sell its products have now seemed to have taken an ‘emotional approach’ for this one.
Speaking about the campaign,
Kashyap Vadapalli, Chief Marketing Officer, Pepperfry says, “In the past 18-24 months brand Pepperfry has grown significantly and established itself as the number one destination for Furniture and other home products in the country. We are now in a position to move beyond communicating just the features of a great furniture product or experience to establish Pepperfry as an agent of transformation. We’ve tapped into the Diwali festive spirit to make an appeal to the consumers to: 'Iss Diwali Kuch Badal Ke Dekhiye'”
This is the fifth campaign rolled out by Pepperfry since its entry into the market and the second one to have rolled after the online giant having raised $100 million in a Series D funding round from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Zodius Technology Fund.
Early in the year it was speculated that Pepperfry aimed to spend nearly $3 million on its brand campaigns to help build and run campaigns across television, outdoor, social, cinema and digital media.
Speaking on the reasons behind launching this Diwali campaign Vadapalli shares, “We really wanted consumers to make a change and connect with the goodness within themselves, something that they don’t do in their busy daily routines, and then extend that connect to the brand because of the key role it can play in how this life enhancement can be manifested.
Diwali and the days leading up to it - Dussehra, Navratri, Durga Puja etc., - is not only India’s premier festival season but is also a period when people make efforts and take time to strengthen their family and social ties. Hence, we decided to approach the season with a clutter-breaking message that builds on this Diwali spirit. Unlike the transactional nature of every day interactions, in this festive season there is an opportunity for people to reflect on their behaviors and actions and their relationships with others.”
Pepperfry unlike most e-commerce giants in the country also sits high on experiential. The brand has previously collaborated with Homestop for pop-up furniture stores to give its customers hands on experience of its offerings and also initiated a set of engaging on-ground activation at key airports of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.
In their last ‘Happy Furniture to you’ on ground campaign, the brand had created “Pepperfry Furniture Lounges” at the domestic departure lobbies of these airports to engage travelers, who could check-out the curated furniture range from Pepperfry.
The brand has previously also rolled-out a “Festive Bonanza” and a “Selfie Mania” contest for travelers wherein every traveler who visited the Pepperfry furniture lounge could avail discounts and cash backs on furniture and 12 lucky winners who got the most likes on selfies clicked at Pepperfry lounges were provided with shopping vouchers worth Rs 5000.
Speaking on the activity Vadapalli said, “We want customers to experience the quality of our furniture and familiarise them with the brand. These lounges act as Pepperfry display zones meant solely for experiencing the range of furniture from Pepperfry. The activation is an integral part of our larger marketing campaign to multiply our brand reach and build confidence in the minds of our prospective customers.”
Additionally, the brand also has an exclusive tie-up the global indoor theme park Kidzania and features two activities for the kids – ‘The Custom Modular Furniture Assembly’ that displays the artistic practice of making furniture and the ‘Custom Modular In-time Delivery’ which enables kids to understand the importance of quality products, punctuality and time management.
Both these activities at the theme park are aimed at illustrating the highest quality standards that go into making of great furniture and building a top-of-the-line establishment. Also children who choose to participate in these activities are recognized as the ‘Pepperfry Furniture Champs’.
Speaking about how the association with Kidzania fits into the brand ethos of Pepperfry, Vadapalli responded by saying, “At Pepperfry we believe that through this ingenious platform, we will be able to provide children a fun and experiential based learning experience that instils creativity, planning, independent thinking and problem solving in kids. Personally, as a parent I feel that the activities conducted at KidZania Mumbai help to broaden their horizon when they learn how to manage a complete lifecycle of a product or a service through role plays.”
