The biggest challenge faced by the entertainment sector is the constant competition to get consumer’s share: Raveendra Singh, Adlabs Entertainment Ltd.

EE News Desk Nov 19, 2019

Raveendra Singh heads the Marketing and Sales teams at Imagica, India’s leading theme park and holiday destination. He has been associated with the company for over three years and is responsible for driving the company’s marketing strategy.

Imagica's new brand campaign has been ideated and conceptualized to bring out Imagica’s extensive entertainment offerings. In an interview with Everything Experiential, Raveendra shares about Imagica's new positioning statement and the bigger objectives of this campaign.

Excerpts:

What are the consumer insights which led to the new positioning statement?

Imagica is India’s only ‘Theme + Amusement park’ which means there is a theme associated with every thrill or family-based ride and attractions, food and beverage outlets and is home to other myriad entertainment options. Since its inceptions, it has indeed evolved into a holistic entertainment destination, built to deliver unique, differentiated and international standard experience. All other parks in the category are just ‘Amusement Parks’ consisting of amusement rides and food and beverage options.

As a result, of which the entire category communication is centralized to the variety of rides and offers and therefore the Indian audience is largely unable to distinguish between a Theme Park and an Amusement park. The need to educate consumers on the abundance and scale of wholesome entertainment offering, bundled under one roof at Imagica led to the ideation of the latest brand campaign.

The key proposition therefore was articulated using the tangible superiorities of Imagica by coining a new term in the category which was "India's Biggest Amazement Park". This was also derived out of consumers’ speak based on social media reviews, comments, etc. who termed their experience at Imagica as always amazing.

What are the bigger objectives that the new positioning will help Imagica achieve?

The new brand campaign has been ideated and conceptualized to bring out Imagica’s extensive entertainment offerings. Extending beyond the thrills rides and thematic shows, the campaign is designed to showcase what a day at Imagica also includes such as high-energy acrobatic stunts, interactive dance performances, carnival akin character parade, street magic and lots more. Building long term relationship with customers and sustenance by fulfilling the promise that every guest stays amazed, entertained and delighted every step of the way, is the ultimate objective to be achieved.

How did the idea of adding a face of the campaign Doc. M. A. Zing come about?

The key proposition was articulated using Imagica’s tangible superiorities (extensive entertainment offerings) by coining a new term in the category which was "India's Biggest Amazement Park". This was derived out of consumers’ speak who termed their experience at Imagica as always amazing.

To emulate, all of Imagica’s ‘amazing’ entertainment, exhilarating fun and vibrancy, the fictional character of Doc. M. A. Zing has been introduced. As the face and voice of the brand campaign, Imagica’s key, young target audience will easily relate to him due to his young, dynamic and extremely quirky personality.

What’s the media mix designed for the campaign?

Media marketing mix is a derivative of Imagica’s consumer segmentation which comprises mainly of on-the-go, media savvy ‘Young Adults’. Given their strong inclination towards being outdoors and heavy presence on social media, 80% marketing spends have been apportioned towards Out-of-Home (55%) and Digital (25%).

Out-of-Home i.e. billboards and hoardings have been Imagica’s key communication route through transit medium i.e. buses have also been leveraged as they are known to create more visibility and garner stronger attention.

The never before and key innovative route leveraged, for the campaign are a set of customized, ‘Youtube Pre-Roll Ads’. Since customer interests on the digital world are varied, these ads call out the customer’s specific search or interest term like “movies”, “music” or “standup comedy”, and then go on to show Imagica’s amazing offerings. Integration of contextual messaging in the ad has delivered results, more than expected.

How will you measure the effectiveness of the campaign?

Campaign effectiveness is going to be measured primarily by consumer response that contributes positively towards the park footfalls via conversions on transactions online or walk-in. Measuring likability, appeal, relevance in terms of ad engagement and traction on social media platforms is the other measurement metric which will also be validated by third party survey data at the end of the campaign.

What are the three big challenges facing the entertainment sector in India?

In today’s world, the biggest challenge faced by the entertainment sector is the constant competition to get consumer’s share of time as well share of wallet. This can be attributed to the exponential rise in varied entertainment formats ranging from right at one’s fingertips (mobile/tablets) to indoor(AR-VR, gaming) to outdoor (Theatres, Family Entertainment Centers, theme/amusement parks, recreational activity spaces).

Next big challenge that Media & Entertainment organizations are facing are the challenges arising from digitization and technology wave hitting the consumers. These waves are changing the way entertainment content is designed, created, distributed and consumed. This is also triggering a need among brands to constantly evaluate their media planning strategies and marketing spends so as to quickly adapt to the market dynamism.

Another big challenge poised is to sustain consumer engagement in order to fuel repeat business. Consumers nowadays are much more empowered than before and crave new experiences especially one that is customized or tailored to their needs. And, Indian consumers in generally are largely price sensitive and always on the lookout for something new, unique and differentiated. Market dynamics demands ‘constant innovation’ which is the key for prolonged sustainability and can vary from product to service to facilities. It is a must to remain relevant to our target audience and deliver content i.e. novel and apt. Customization based on user preference and customer interaction is the icing on the cake.