New Delhi has forever been tainted by its ‘unorganized’ culture and for this reason, till a few back, was easily overlooked as a destination for international acts, concerts and big-crowd events. So when I heard that Canadian funny-man Russell Peters was planning a performance in the city I was immediately ecstatic. More so as my shameless hints to an influential friend were picked up and now I had a certified ticket in flesh and blood. Nothing could go wrong.
Turns out I wasnt the only one who’d heard the big news. Tickets in all four cities-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru- were a clean sell out weeks in advance. What was initially a feeling of excitement quickly transcended into fear. Now, I love Delhi. But I know if you put ten or more people from Delhi together in one place you have a sure-shot recipe for disaster. This mob culture is characteristic of every event. Be it at a Bryan Adams concert a decade ago or Sunburn Greater Noida earlier this month. There is always this looming fear that someone may get hot under the collar and the whole situation might explode. Last I was this excited was when Metallica had come to Delhi last year and we all know how badly that bombed. I was going to wait for my eggs to hatch this time.
As I drove in towards the Huda Grounds arena on the day, I half expected to see a frenzied crowd pushing and shoving at each other, women trying to keep their bottoms from being pinched, people scheming to avoid getting frisked or trying to slip past without a valid ticket. Little did I know, I was in store for a revelation. It was a Delhi from my dreams. Well behaved people, sharply dressed ushers, ‘queues’ for the love of God.
4500 people enjoying the show in unanimity and not one disturbing handphone, pain inducing sound of ‘OYE’ in the backdrop or single casualty in the first-aid booth (surprisingly an achievement for Delhi). Something is different here. Something that has brought forth the good side of the mob. The crowd was obedient, no fights broke out and people came and left in an orderly fashion. So after much observation and calculation, I have reached upon this justifiable formula:
Act aimed at the urbane community + trained management/ushers/security + hiked ticket prices – alcohol = A possibly enjoyable event in Delhi.Peters has been performing for the past 24 years and is an international stand-up comedy icon. Though he has toured in India before, use of repetitive material thanks to the internet and being relatively less popular in the country, did not yield expected returns back then. The Notorious World Tour is evidently his biggest wager in the country. The event was sponsored by Micromax, a brand that has embraced experiential marketing tactics with complete gusto. Initially perceived as a chinese brand, Micromax is one of the few companies that has travelled up the funnel in terms of popularity. After successfully establishing itself within the rural market it is now aggressively riding on unique marketing and branding strategies aimed at urban India.
“Our marketing strategy is largely driven by entertainment. We know our target audience connects with music, cinema and sports therefore we constantly invest in strengthening our product portfolio through R&D and innovative marketing strategies within this area”, says Shubhodip Pal, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax. In the year 2012 Micromax has sponsored big music events such as Sunburn Goa, Snoop Dogg India Concert Tour, Enrique India Tour and MTV Video Music Awards. “With Russell Peters Notorious World Tour, Micromax is yet again taking a lead in bringing the best in the world to enthrall Indian audiences across the country for the first time”, adds Pal.
