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EE News Desk
In mid November this year the city of Chennai woke up to its worst nightmare ever. Unexpected downpours brought with them massive crisis as the life in the sun city of the country was brought to a halt. More than a hundred lives were lost in these floods while more than a thousand people were displaced. As a result work and production stopped, the modes of transportation were severely affected and an imbalance was created in the demand supply curve of food supplies. The army and the government put their best foot forward and rescue operations to help Chennai went full throttle. Yes, this was a tragedy in its worst form. However, some brands took the initiative to help Chennai by extending a hand of support. They created positive experience among flood struck areas and populace in an attempt to bring the life in Chennai back to normal. We at EE this time list down brands that turned the Chennai Floods "Tragedy to Triumph" with their initiatives. 1- Zomato- The online food ordering and restaurant search e-platform Zomato recently launched a meal plan for Chennai flood victims. Their customized offer called 'Meal for Flood Relief' was announced by their CEO Deepinder Goyal, who said, "Help get food to those affected by #ChennaiRains. We buy a meal for each one you buy here". As per the offer if someone bought a meal for Chennai flood victims, Zomato would add one to it and send two meals instead of one in the flood affected areas. Through this marketing move Zomato was able to extend support to the flood victims in Chennai and also made sure that the entire country did too. 2- Ola/Uber- Ola, the cab booking service via mobile app added the much needed support to the affected Chennai transportation system by launching Ola Boats. These boats made commute for people easier in the turbulent times and hence Ola managed to create a positive impact in the minds of the people through this unique initiative. Meanwhile Uber too added more cars to their fleet and issued emergency numbers where people could contact if they were stranded. Uber also provided free pick and drop services to hospitals for the flood victims. 3- Paytm- E-commerce platform Paytm, which emphasizes on e-wallet facilities launched its Stay Safe Chennai initiative to help the Chennai flood victims. Through its blog, the company made the announcement, "If you would like to recharge anyone's mobile number so that they can remain connected during this tough time, please call us at 18001030033 and share the mobile number. We will recharge it with Rs 30 worth of talk-time, free of cost." 4- Airtel/BSNL- Mobile operators BSNL and Airtel extended their support to Chennai through free talk time and data packs. Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently declared that state-owned telecommunication company BSNL will not charge its customers in Chennai for one week starting today. Airtel also announced free talk time with a credit balance of 10 minutes for Airtel-to-Airtel calling and 50MB mobile data to its customers in flood-hit Chennai. 5- Practo- Health app Practo came to the aid of Chennai by putting together a list of verified doctors & hospitals available to help. The list is being updated every hour. Anyone in Chennai who feels the need of consulting a doctor can check the list and get the treatment done for free.
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With worldwide billings exceeding US$33 billion, MediaCom is one of the world’s leading media communications specialists. In India, MediaCom is a joint venture between Madison World’s Sam Balsaraand WPP’s GroupM and is one of the top six agencies in the country with billings in excess of USD 479 mn and blue chip clients including P&G, Volkswagen, Dell, and SAB Miller among others. For the last 5 years MediaCom India is led by Debraj Tripathy, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta with over 21 years of experience in the agency, media and technology domains. In conversation with Yamini Singh, he talks experiential, agency partnerships and award winning initiatives. Q- How has experiential marketing evolved over the years? The main development has been in the area of technology and number of possible touch points. Q- Experiential marketing is steadily rising on every brand's media plan. What is the reason behind this phenomenon? Experiential marketing has always been an important element of clients’ communication plans, though off late there has been a perceptible increase. This because of two reasons The understanding that stickiness among consumers increases when they actually experience that brand, has deepened. The number of touch points and technology have multiplied manifold. This gives brands more opportunities to include experiential marketing in their communication plans. Q- Is it because of the change in the client’s objectives, consumer mindset or marketing landscape? Objectives have not changed nor has the consumers' mindset. Market landscape has changed thanks to technology. This has made experiential marketing far more exciting and easier for marketers to execute and to get consumers to experience their brands. Q- MediaCom recently bagged 10 metals at the Emvies '15 with Ariel 'Share the Load' and Whisper 'Touch the Pickle' campaigns. What was common with both initiatives to make them award winning entries? Both pieces of work, like any other MediaCom project, were deeply rooted in consumer insights. They were all multi touch point campaigns with messaging tailored to each touch point. Experiential was one integral element of the multi touch point campaign. Q- Which experiential agencies worked on both the campaigns? Both Ariel 'Share the Load' and Whisper 'Touch the Pickle' campaigns were executed by Encompass. Q- How important is the role of the experiential agency while delivering the experience? The experiential agency is very critical in the delivery of the brand experience. It helps in selecting the right touch point, creating the right messaging and delivering the experience using the right technology. Q- Does it go beyond just delivery or do the agency have a role to play in strategizing too? More often than not the experiential agency works with the creative and media agencies in building the communication strategy. Where the media agency/ creative agency and the experiential agency are the same or are able to work very closely, is where brands get the best results. Q- How is MediaCom strengthening its core to create more engaging and memorable experiences for brands? MediaCom has invested in its own experiential marketing team. This is part of what we globally call MediaCom Beyond Advertising (MBA). The MBA team works very closely with the brand teams to provide the most appropriate solution to clients. (The article first appeared on Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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The term ‘Wedding’ itself has no concrete definition. While some say it is a day where two lovers make their celestial bond official, a few others might feel it is an event that one organizes and pays for while others rejoice and dance away. Truly, weddingsare constantly evolving into more customized and more subjective experiences. And perhaps this is the reason why different people across the world are opting for some crazy and unique ways to celebrate their special day. Here’s our handpicked selection of few whacky weddings from around the globe- Oregon Weed Bar Wedding An interesting fact about living in Oregon is that the consumption of weed is permitted in small amounts. And basis this law, couple John Elledge and Whitney Alexander decided to give their guests a ‘mind altering’ experienceby setting up a weed tent. Alongside the open bar,the wedding celebration saw a weed tent and a ‘budtender’ to help guests in need of a little guidance. The celebrations saw 13 different varieties of pot being served to the guests. A special wedding planner from Lake Oswego's Bridal Bliss was brought on board to help with the legal proceedings and the couple also made special arrangements of safety transportation on their way back for the guests. The photographer claimed that she got the best candid photographs of the guests from the party. And the photos served as great memorabilia for those who couldn’t remember much from the wedding. Superheroes Wedding in England Every kid dreams of being a superhero but sadly life unfolds different plans for us doesn’t it. However, bride SharinWetherwell wasn’t willing to let go of her childhood dream so easily and therefore decided to have a superhero wedding to celebrate her special day. Sharindressed up as Wonder Woman and married her groom who wore a Batman costumeat their wedding. The guests of the wedding too followed the Superhero theme and even the families of the couple went along with the theme dressing as The Incredibles, Lara Croft and Iron Man. Interestingly Joker was in attendance too, but did not create any trouble. Wing WalkWedding Yes, being in love does gives wings to a lot of people but can you imagine getting married on top of the wings of two planes, 1,000 feet above the ground? Well, the adventurous couple Darren McWalters, and his bride Katie Hodgson had an unimaginable wedding strapped to the top wing of a biplane where Darren proclaimed his love to Katie who flew alongside on the wing of an identical aircraft. With the couples dressed in the traditional wedding attires, the ceremony was made official as the reverend flew ahead on the wings of a third aircraft and married the couple via an airborne communications system. The ceremony, previously delayed twice due to bad weather, had speakers throughout RFC Rendcomb Airfield, to communicate the congregation on the ground. LA Underwater Wedding with Sharks Most couples are on the lookout for exotic locations on the world map where they can have their dream wedding. Kym Dabney and Devon Brignoni were just another unique couple whose idea of a dream wedding was to haveit underwater, with sharks as attendees. The couple decided to have this unique wedding just because of the grooms love for ocean life and hence a team at the 120,000-gallon Lost City of Atlantis Shark Exhibit was hired to execute the challenging wedding. Even though the ‘environmental conditions’ left little room for choice, the adventurous couple refused to compromise on their outfits and wore regular elaborate wedding attires. Surprise In-flight Wedding in Rhodes Why book a venue for your wedding when you can get married mid- air? Sounds intriguing doesn’t it? Alexander entered a Valentine’s Day contest by Thomas Cook and was selected from 25 entries. Just after takeoff, he dropped on one knee, and proposed at 30,000 feet to Marieke van De Wal. The bride got her makeup done in the flight attendant galley while crew members hung flowers from the overhead bins. De Wal walked down the tiny aisle and was brought to tears as she discovered that her family and friends were hidden at the back of the plane.
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E-Factor Entertainment founded by Samit Garg in 2001, is acclaimed as one of the most celebrated wedding planning agencies in the country and proudly sits on its laurels of having organized some of the most high-profile weddings. After having secured a niche in the social events space, the company is now putting the pedal to the metal by creating memorable experiences around the country. The first step in that direction is the Taj Balloon Festival, which is a first of its kind experience allowing guests to enjoy the aerial view of the majestic TajMahal from as close as 500m. Interestingly, Samit has also signed a 5 year PPP with the government to Rajasthan to take over the Pushkar Fair. With an ambitious plan of launching 5 event properties in the coming 5 years,SamitGarg, Founder Director- E Factor &SkyWaltzhas a great set of cards. We find out how he’s going to play them. “It was an idea that was brewing in my mind since the past two and a half years. Taj is obviously the most photographed monument in the country and ropes in the maximum international tourism for it. However, when people view Taj, its beauty is only be enjoyed through the front, no one ever gets to see this pride of India through an aerial viewpoint. Co-incidentally statistics show that balloons are the second most photographed things in the world after a celebrity. Hence, we decided to combine both to create the most mesmerizing experience one can have.”- says Samit elucidating on how the concept of Taj Balloon festival born. However, Taj being a national heritage weaving an event concept around it was not an easy feat. Speaking on the challenges he faced while bringing his ideas to reality Samit adds, “Without a doubt it has been a tough journey. It has taken us two and a half years to get all the necessary permissions in place. Right from the local administrative authorities, to the airspace, to the licenses all had to be taken care of individually. But thankfully with god’s grace we got the permission in place and the necessary support from the respected Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.” Scheduled to be held from the 14th-16th November in Agra, the highlights of the TajBaloon Festival will be, 15 hot air balloons coming in from different countries, evening night glow concert that will showcase the sight and sound of the balloons lighting up the dark night sky along with the performances of locally and nationally recognized artists. Samit shares that a balloon flight will cost a tourist 275 dollars while just enjoying the morning and evening spectacle is free of cost. With most event properties deemed to be unprofitable in the first few years when asked upon if the Taj Balloon Festival is expecting to make profits in the first year itself. Samit responded by saying, “There is no profitability angle in place as of now as it is the first year. However, profits can be expected from the second or third edition of the festival.” Samit also shared that he has since spent 1.5CR to create this property. Talking about his recent endeavor on signing a 5 year public private partnership agreement to organize the Pushkarmelahe says, “I have been going to the annual PushkarMela for the past 5-6 years and havealways enjoyed it. For me this mela has always been an interesting canvas filled with multiple opportunities to create diverse experiences for people. Moreover it attracts a million people from across the globe over a period of 5-7 says so this was a property that we wanted to elevate to another level.” It is after the takeover by E-Factor that the marketing of the 100 year old PushkarMelahave gone full throttle online. Known to attract more than 50,000 camels, horses and cattle, 8,00,000 tourists and 60,000 expats from across the world, the PushkarMela is hosted every year on the edge of the Thar Desert, in the tiny desert town of Pushkar, Talking about this edition of the mela Samit says, “The highlights of the mela this year are the VIP Hospitality arena, an especially curated Sky Waltz Café, an engaging opening and flag off ceremony, fusion music performances, hot air ballooning, 360* podium, adventure activities and night glow music concert among other elements.” Additionally the mela which is scheduled from the 19th to 25th November is offering a wide range of customized packages for visitors. Also reputed bands like Astitiva, Prem Joshua and Indian Ocean will be elevating the entertainment quotient at the annual festivities. With two interesting international event properties at his helm, Samit is certainly one man to look out for. More importantly so as he reveals his plans on creating 5 more of such intellectual properties in the next 5 years. (The article first appeared on Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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The Delhi Comic Con organized by Comic Con India saw a massive turnout throughout all 3 days of the fest. The convention which started on December 4 and ended yesterday on Dec 6 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla saw the audiences rejoice with the line-up of International Guest appearances, Experiential & Gaming Zones by brands, exclusive fan sessions, Cosplay, Book Launches and so much more. With more than 250 participants exhibitors from across the world, the highlight of this years Comic Con was the presence of Actor, Kristian Nairn who is best known for his role as Hodor in the award-winning HBO fantasy drama series ‘Game of Thrones’. Additionally international personalities like Rob Denbleyker, Author of Cyanide and Happiness; Ty Templeton, Eisner Award Nominated, Comic Book Artist & writer and Dinesh Shamdasani, CEO, Valiant Entertainment were also a part of the event making Comic Con Delhi a significant success. In a candid conversation with EE, Jatin Varma, Founder Comic Con India talks about the success of the fifth edition of Comic Con, the expected revenues and why is the property a dream engagement platform for brands. What is the kind of response you have received so far? So far the response we have received is that people have enjoyed themselves. I was very worried about doing a show outdoors because this sort of a convention in mostly done indoors and it was challenging for us too as basically we had to convert an empty parking space into a welcome, fun and jazzy venue where something like a Comic-Con could be organized. What was so different in this year’s Comic Con vs. the one you organized last year? A lot changed for us after we executed the Comic Con in Delhi last year. We got bought over by Reed Exhibitions, a new team came in, the way how we worked was changed, and the way how we positioned our shows was changed as well. In terms of content this there was more research involved, people like Cos-play so we decided to incentivize it bigger this time. Also for the first time we have had celebrity guests at Comic Con and we are doing meet-and-greet opportunities with them. We are also doing a fair bit of research as people leave to make sure we work on their feedback both good and back and come back stronger the next time. What have been the major obstacles that you faced in creating this property? My first two Comic-Con shows in Delhi were executed out in the open. In the first year at Delhi Hatt it was a free entry event where it was a basic exhibition style concept but from thereon we decided to make the concept bigger. Last year in Delhi, we faced massive issues with the venue in terms of people finding ways to get in so there was an idea of taking the property out of Delhi to NCR regions. But we were of the opinion that this is Delhi Comic-Con and we wanted to organize it in Delhi itself and hence we selected this venue after rescheduling the dates. But why not have it at Pragati Maidan? Pragati Maidan is not feasible in terms of business as firstly the rental is really high and secondly they take 50% of your revenue in addition to rental so one might as well stop doing business and start a charitable organization. It ironic as well because it’s called a trade organization. Also the show that I am trying to create is slightly premium and doesn’t really gel with the concept of a Pragati Maidan. In terms of the audience participation what is the number so far? So far we are at par with the last years number which is 35,000 but considering today is the last day, its Sunday and hence we are expecting more crowd to come in the evening. We are seeing a lot of brands like Alto and AXN doing some really cool experiential engagements. How did the association with these brands happen? It has been a watershed for us in terms of brand engagements. Brands are really happy as well as they are getting premium youth customers here who want to get engaged as they are spending a lot of time with us. Even brands are realizing that this not a conventional mall crowd coming in, instead it is a more premium youth crowd which is looking towards having a nice time and brands are going all out to create those experiences for them. Comic Con is certainly a dream engagement platform for all the brands. In terms of revenue have you earmarked something that you are looking forward to pack with this edition of Comic-Con? In terms of exhibitor sales we are looking forward to top what we did in Bangalore in our last edition, which is 3-4 crore.
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In spite of new launches, expansion of dealership programs and a 360 degree ‘Crafted for Car Lovers’ media campaign, Fiat India has failed to increase its share in the automobile market in India. As per a recent news report by the Financial Express, the brand merely sold 4,204 units in the first six months of this fiscal year and currently holds a minimalistic 0.24 percent market share. In an attempt to reestablish its position, the automobile brand has now launched two new products under the 10 Lakh price category in collaboration with the company’s performance division Abarth. The new AbarthPunto and Avventura powered by Abarth aim to provide the thrill of a racing car without hampering the fuel efficiency quotient. Kevin Flynn President and Managing Director Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India is vociferous about the importance of India as a market and eyes a dominant presence for the company witha new campaign in place and new products in the market. In an exclusive conversation with EE Correspondent Shantanu Jain, Kevin unfurls the plans ahead for the brand. Q- Tell us about the latest media campaign to promote Abarth Punto and Avventura? We currently have the TV ad in place that revolves around the philosophy that the steering wheel and a car are not just elements of commute but they are also elements of having fun. What we have tried to deliver with the launch of these two products is the thrill of a race car experience married with high performance in terms of fuel efficiency and our media campaign will reflect upon the same concept. At the launch event too, the ambience that we have used is dark and menacing which resonates with the products that we are offering. A different idea like this will surely give us an edge. Our new media campaign is supposed to do a two-fold job for us. Firstly, to create awareness about the new products and secondly to still be in synch with the kind of presence we have maintained in the media so far. Q- Are there any brand experiences associated with the new campaign? In terms of experiential we will be doing a lot of mall displays, road shows and exhibitions with these products as I fervently believe that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. It’s really an experience that we are trying to sell at the end of the day so we are definitely looking for a lot of demonstrative dealership deals, we have also invited a lot of car club owners to experience the products. The newly launchedproducts open up opportunities for experiential and there is so much more than we will be doing with it. We are currently working to create an optimum mix for experiential campaigns but first off we want to focus on traditional media there is a real need to create something new and spicy. Q- Fiat holds a very minimalistic market share in the automobile segment. What is it that you hope to achieve with the new products in place? Yes, I do understand that we have not been doing well as far as the sales numbers are concerned but like a lot of people we do have our goals in place. What we have focused on with these products is to deliver on the consumer insights received as we understand that big colorful promises are not going to work now. We are going to use every channel on the marketing table to clearly get our piece of the market. I have a set of realities that I am working with. Q- A common trend among automotive brands in India is leveraging on the various platforms of digital and social media. Is there a strategy in place for Fiat to use the same platforms? Our new marketing campaign is majorly going to focus on the aspects of social media and experiential. Though I have only been in India for 7 months, the insight I have gained is that there is already too much noise in the ATL and outdoor mediums today. The answer here is not to invest more money into it to make it noisier but create unique ways to cut through it. As a result in a few weeks you will see us using both the spaces innovatively and intelligently to create memorable experience for our target consumers. (The article first appeared on Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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Motorola is without a doubt a crucial player in the overall mobile market of the country. With an estimated 7.6% market share at its helm, the brand is the fifth largest mobile company in the industry and caters to varied age groups through an array of phonemodels including Moto G, Moto X and Moto E. What distinguishes Motorola from its rival brands is the unique marketing strategy that the brand has resorted to since its revival. The brand is only known to market its products through the national e-commerce giant Filpkart with an extensive social media and print campaign to support it. Interestingly so far the brand has kept away from on ground promotional campaigns and experiential endeavors. But with the most recent Moto X and Moto E launch, Motorola too has joined the consumer engagement bandwagon with its latest Moto SpotLight campaign. Rachna Lather, Marketing Head, Motorola is vociferous about the brand’s decision to sketch for itself an experiential roadmap. She says, “So far the marketing activities for the brand were sales oriented but at Motorola we understand that consumers are looking for engagements and hands on experiences as well. We wanted our target customers to have a better connection with our brand and this is the reason why moving on we will be coming up with more experience driven initiatives.” The pilot experiential engagement by Motorola, Moto SpotLight was unveiled in October this year. Through this initiative Motorola has customized buses into platforms where people can showcase their talent. Customers can participate in the Moto Spotlight campaign by registering online and submitting their talent videos. After the videos have been uploaded they are shared on social media platforms and the most voted for are then judged by an esteemed jury. The chosen few will get to perform at Moto SpotLight bus tour which will travel 12 cities across the country and will also get a chance to showcase their talent at Bacardi NH7 Weekender as a part of Motorola’s on-ground initiative during the music festival. Speaking about the maiden experiential initiative, Rachna says, “We wanted to come up with a platform where our customers can come experience our products as well as showcase their talent. Motorola SpotLight offers just that and so far the response that we have received is extremely positive and welcoming.” Interestingly, Cream Events, which has been a regular event partner with Motorola,is not the agency behind this campaign. Rachna Lather reveals that it was Fountainhead Entertainment that came up with the entire concept of this experiential campaign and were hence given the mandate to execute it as well. On being asked what are the upcoming experiential campaigns by Motorola? Rachna explains that since this is the first customer engagement attempt by the brand, they are waiting for the feedback and will accordingly customize their subsequent ground activities. She responds, “Moto SpotLight is an attempt by us to set the base as far as experiential initiatives by Motorola are concerned. It is a 63 day road tour which is in progress right now and the upcoming engagements can only come into picture after we have received the inputs on this one. We have always been a brand that has kept our customer in its focus and hence our next initiative will be customized depending on the customer feedback received.” However, Rachana establishes that Moto SpotLight is a flagship engagement by the brand and will make its presence felt every year now. Sharing her views on the availability Motorola phones only through FlipkartRachna adds that the brand is open to diversification and will now be more attainable in the market with a slight shift in its usual strategy. She says, “With the launch of Moto E we have for the first time partnered with other e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Snapdeal too. We have for long had an association with Airtel and hence some of our key products will also be showcased through Airtel stores exclusively.” Emphasizing on the overall philosophy of her brand Rachna says, “Whatever we do at Motorola is not driven by an attempt to capture the maximum share of the mobile industry pie but by the spirit to provide the best mobile phone experience to our customers. We want to deliver satisfaction and value for money with all our products and that is our ultimate motto at Motorola.” (The article first appeared on Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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What is an experience, if not unforgettable? And when I say ‘unforgettable’ I don’t simply mean the sheer magnitude and size. To me, an unforgettable experience means so much more. They are experiences that are powerful, evoke emotions, shape opinions and make things happen. And it is the very motivation to deliver these experiences that has inspired and driven me to finally start out on my long pending journey in the world of blogging. I want to highlight the importance of creating experiences that impact, not just businesses, but touch lives along the way. Experiences that live on in our minds even years after they are executed. My travels over the years and my participation in many global properties form the basis of some of some key insights I’ve absorbed, certain key observations I’ve gleaned, lessons I’ve learned and pretty much anything that blows me away. I want to interact, absorb and exchange valuable insights, trends and takeaways of experiences that make this space tick. Today all events are hopping onto the digital bandwagon. Integrating across all platforms to provide that holistic edge that turns it into a lasting experience. From my point of view, it’s these digital aspects that take these experiences to the next level and give it that X factor resulting in a truly Digitalized India. I mean Thank God for Whatsapp! Me and my wife now sort our ‘I said you said’ squabbles in minutes on Whatsapp, saving the dramatic confrontation and the impending anxiety till the Mrs. finally decides she can let the matter rest. A few angry emoticons, a rushed exchange of words and a few doe eyed sorry smileys and yeah baby we’re back in business! Being in the business of creating experiences, the past 25 years has taught me so much. A journey nothing short of a Broadway production. The disciplinarian father who wanted his son to prove his mettle, the drive, the determination, the grind, the drama, the hard work, the beautiful woman and now my eternal partner in crime, Shital, and then the quest to conquer. Yup my very own claim to fame story. A whirlwind indeed! Way back in the day in 1990, when I started out as a stagehand to the Sultan of set design and the industry’s pioneer, Rehmatali Tobaccowala, my father, little did I ever imagine I would be orchestrating some of the industry’s defining moments. The first memory, very close to my heart, is the Liril event we did in 1990 - my first big break in this space. Other milestones included enabling Coca-Cola’s return to India in 1993 and Tata IBM’s first appearance into India. The mid 90’s saw us enter the automotive space with the big launch of the Tata Indica. Come 1997 and I was named CEO and took charge of the reigns and along with me Shobiz got its three pillars of strength in the form of Tejpal, Rajesh and Subir who came on board as trainees. From being colleagues to becoming great friends, the Shobiz journey would not have been possible without them. The new millennium saw us produce our first international world tour in 22 international cities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East for a renowned IT firm. 2004 too was a lucky year for us as we spearheaded ‘The Century of Trust’ campaign for the Tata Group, as well as conducted the first ever SAP TechEd an event we produced for 10 consecutive years after that. And believe me I was so damn proud of how far the industry has come when the world applauded Shobiz with a global award – the Exhibitor’s Corporate Event Award for the Tata Nano Superdrive in 2011. From being one of the country’s leading production houses, to the transition into one of the country’s first experiential communications agency, I feel blessed to have made it from sweating it out at the carpentry workshop to the man behind the wheel today. How time has flown! And yet ironically deep down inside, I’m still that long haired 18 year old boy on a quest to fill this industry with impactful out of the world experiences. I want the Indian experiential space to be able to churn out the kind of stuff only dreams are made of. Every day, for the rest of my life I want to wake up with the same fire in my belly. To create experiences that impact in the space I refer to as my home turf. E-narrating these blogs, travelling the world and hitting the perfect Tee shot in the many golf courses around the world that I’ve dreamed of playing on. The industry is making major advancements with the next level experiences its creating all around. After all, events are the experience you take home with you. It should awe you, shock you, inspire you and impact …… And it will. Sooner than you think! About the Author Sameer Tobaccowala is the Chief Executive Officer at Shobiz Experiential Communications Twitter- @tobaccowala (The article first appeared on Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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As marketers and advertisers chase trends and tools to reach elusive audiences, they have often ignored experiential marketing in favor of digital and television ads.That is a serious mistake; experiential campaigns are more important than ever and will continue to be crucial for the foreseeable future. A confluence of market forces is making experiential indispensible. Perhaps the most prevalent is the fact that messaging is becoming more complex for people to process. Just think about all the telephone plans, offers and features that various carriers use to compete with each other, or financing options for appliances and cars. The higher the price of the item, the more experiential marketing is needed to inform, involve and incentivize people. Campaigns need real-world outreach and personal engagement. This is exactly the advantage that experiential marketing provides. Interestingly, an increasing number of TV spots are actually experiential campaigns on camera. Think of the Push For Drama video for TNT or any one of those car spots where real people take real test drives. Experiential ideas are becoming fodder to TV-centric work and more of this kind of hybridization is on the horizon. It’s important to note that at time when most people mistrust advertising, we are beginning to use real people to tell brand stories for us. This is as experiential as it gets. The ability to be authentic and credible through real-world experiences is integral for brand trust. Great brands should be eager to create unfiltered engagements with their audiences, and experiential approaches to their marketing strategies do just that. Experientialism is certainly found in broadcast and video content, but it is equally applicable to online and mobile marketing. As "digital" becomes more prevalent in our consuming life, the need for "physical" engagements will grow in parallel. In fact, creating bridges between physical and digital experiences will integral to experiential campaigns going forward. Products and innovations will follow suit. The physical-digital dynamic — increasingly symbiotic and important to marketing campaigns — manifests itself in many different ways. Take Amazon’s Dash button, for instance. This physical button lets you place an order for a single, specific product from brands like Glad, Gatorade, Clorox, Maxwell House, Tide, Gillette and Bounty. Stick the button anywhere you like and, when you run low, press the button and an order is automatically shipped to you. And Amazon sells each one for $4.99. A recent survey from Javelin found that people are now using their phones to buy more physical than digital things. "Even with the mobile purchasing of digital goods such as music, games and apps, physical goods now are the most popular products bought by the majority (51%) of mobile purchasers," it stated. "Physical goods are the only product type to grow in the world of mobile purchasing." This example, of how we will use our digital tools to transact physical purchases and experiences, provides a glimpse into the future of our business. And experiential approaches are at the heart of what’s to come. We will increasingly rely on real-world campaigns that require authentic engagements and live experiences. In other words, experiential will make marketing more personal, more responsive and more human. It’s a brand-new world, indeed. About the Author Max Lenderman in founder and CEO of School, a purposeful creative agency that specializes in digital, social and experiential campaigns. His book called Experience the Message has been cited as “the best book about experiential marketing.” His second book called Brand New World has been translated into five languages and is available in India. Twitter @maxlenderman. (The article first appeared on the Oct-Nov '15 issue of BW APPLAUSE)
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As weddings in India are getting bigger and fatter every year, each element be it big or small associated with them is also rapidly changing. Gone are the times when invitation cards for social events were merely simple announcements of nuptial bonds. Today these invitation cards have emerged as a medium to give its attendees a hint on what to expect from the invitees larger than life wedding. In a candid conversation with the biggest names of invitation card designs industry Ravish Kapoor of Ravish Kapoor Innovative Invitations and Sandy Khurana of The Entertainment Design Co, we at EE trace the emerging trends in invitation cards designs and the future that lies ahead of it. Q-What is the average price range of the invitation cards that you design and how flexible is it? Sandy Khurana- Well, it is a trick question as working on a invitation card is a creative process. On the basis of the brief we get we work upon a few designs, there are meetings, production cost for the samples and so much more. So it becomes a project cost rather than the cost of an invitation card. But in general sense you can get an invitation card for 400 INR and then the range goes up to as high as you want. It is basically like ordering the toppings on a pizza, the more toppings you want the more expensive your pizza will be. Ravish Kapoor- Price of an invitation card is a very personal subject. Whenever we are discussing a design with a client we ask them to come experience the kind of work that we deliver first and then we can discuss the other details. By sharing an approximate price for an invitation card we limit ourselves in terms of creativity and what can we add to the overall concept and hence its always better to give clients an experience of what we deliver and then everything else can follow. Q- Share with us the story of the most unique card you have designed so far? Sandy Khurana- The key to our business is innovation and doing something different every time so picking just one of our designs is very difficult. But to answer your question, for a client in Dubai recently we created a coffee table book on Shiv and Parvati as a part of the overall wedding invitation. The book was content driven and very artistic, also it had a brass trishool which locked the book and held it together. So i think it was one of the most unique and creative work that we have done so far. Ravish Kapoor- Recently for an industrialist we designed a box for I-Pad which was a very different concept. Also once we did an invitation card which also had a smartphone inside, which the attendee had to bring to the event for entry. For the box of the card we had designed it in the shape of a Lotus which went really well with it. The concept was unique and interesting and it was fun working on it. [caption id="attachment_22561" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ravish Kapoor Innovative designs[/caption] Q- What are the latest trends in terms of invitation card designs for social events? Sandy Khurana- I feel that the success of an invitation card today lies in its packaging. As it is a sure shot way of how can you make a card different from all the others. So innovation is certainly a long lasting trend but the emphasis on the packaging of the entire card is the latest trend. Ravish Kapoor- The wedding card invitation industry is so dynamic that every day there are new trends entering and taking over the existing ones. But I think digital innovation in cards is the latest trend as people have really absorbed the social media wave. Q- An on-going trend currently is the process of sending creative e-invites instead of physical cards. Do you think this culture will affect the traditional invitation card business? Sandy Khurana- Weddings in India are very big and everyone has big desires for them. E-Invites are best suited for international invitations in the absence of proper logistics or for 'Save the Date' invitations but sending physical invites for your wedding is a tradition as old as the concept of weddings itself and is very important. Even in case of e-invitations not everyone understands technology and hence i don't see anything taking over the concept of sending out invitation cards. Ravish Kapoor-Not at all, Indians are still very rooted and traditional in their approach. Yes there are a few new age couples who believe in the cause of saving the trees but the majority of people in India still prefer conventional and traditional wedding concepts and thus tangible wedding invitation cards are here to stay forever, Q- Do you predict any changes in the invitation card business 5 years down the line? Sandy Khurana- There will be a shift to digital and invitation cards in the future will see an innovative integration of technology in them. This is undoubtedly where things are heading as of now. Ravish Kapoor- Obviously technology amalgamation in invitation cards is the next big thing and we at Ravish Kapoor innovative designs are already in the process of creating something refreshingly new with it.
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