Author
Shantanu writes for Everything Experiential
Tata Motors has recently announced Lionel Messi as the first global brand ambassador for Tata passenger vehicles business. The brand has also launched a TVC campaign made of great with the international football icon. The campaign which aired on November 3 on television is expected to be followed with a digital, outdoor and BTL campaign as well. In an interaction with Tata Motors spokesperson we try to gain insight on the brand’s vision on this association and its future ahead. “Messi is a global icon and stands for attributes like cool, inspiring, innovative, simple, trusted and a self-driven human being. He connects with the audience that we want to connect with and thus he was the apt choice for Tata Motors, as he resonates with the three core values – Trustworthy, Pioneering and Cool.”- says the spokesperson when asked about the reasons behind Tata Motors association with Messi. Talk about the recent campaign and experiential marketing activities associated with it, spokesperson adds, “#madeofgreat is a 360 degree campaign. Besides the TVC, we have rolled out the digital, outdoor, print and will be launching BTL campaigns as well.” Though he did not reveal the kind of BTL campaigns Tata Motors will be launching in reference with this association but it is being speculated that Tata Motors has teamed up with Wizcraft for an all-new exciting on-ground multi-city activation which will involve the footballer and allow his fans to connect with him in a way never like before. The brand has reportedly also launched an augmented reality app which will help the fans of Messi get photographed with him. Speaking about the importance of experiential campaigns the spokesperson says, “Experiential marketing is very important as it allows customers to have better interface with the car. With the new Zest, Bolt and GenX Nano, we have rolled innovative and highly-engaging experiential campaigns like Zest Studios, Bolt Arena and Nano Campus Diaries.” To capitalize on the festive season Tata Motors is offering the special celebration edition range of passenger vehicles to rejoice the auspicious season with its customers. The celebration edition comprises of Bolt, GenX Nano, Safari Storme and Indigo with special celebration kit. The Zest Anniversary edition is also part of the offering. This range will be on sale till November 15, 2015. Tata Motors did not comment on the budget of the #madeofgreat campaign.
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As the year 2015 is drawing to a close, it is safe to say that we have pretty much seen all the experiential marketing campaigns that brands rolled out for their TG throughout the year. Yes, we have seen a significant increase in the investments being shifted towards the domain of experiential but has any brand rolled out a campaign which can be termed as an inspiration to follow over the years by others? Well, sadly the answer to all such questions is no. And the ‘No’ shouts out an important question, “Are marketers playing it safe when it comes to experiential?” Experience driven campaigns are not a new marketing practice for brands anymore. Local hatts, exhibitions, sampling and mall activations have always been a part of their selling practices. I still remember stalls of Lux soaps and Medicare hair care oil at local exhibitions, complimentary Milo shakes by the brand on annual days, Maggi and Colgate activations in school during festival times, being a popular practice by brands in the year 2000. Cut to 15 years later today, the brands have pretty much continued with the same practices to give an experience with their products. Clearly marketers are playing it safe when it comes to experimenting with experiential. Brands like Cadbury which recently created a giant Christmas calendar in UK, Red Bull which has made its presence felt even in the space, Starbucks which created a multi-sensory red cup installation, Heineken which has its own star constellation now are some of the most popular brand names in India. India is definitely an important market for them as it contributes majorly to their global sales figures but do these brands invest the same amount of money for experiential in the country as they do outside it? No they don’t. Marketing gurus believe that experiential is still at a very nascent stage in the country but have no concrete idea on the reasons behind it. Is it technology? Well, it can’t be. Is it the lack of resources? No, it isn’t. The main reason behind the reluctance of marketers to invest and experiment with experiential is deep rooted in experiential’s inability to calculate ROI and thus it not being seen as a direct contributor to the sales registered for the product. Hence, most marketers tick off experiential from their long list of “to be used marketing tools” by opting for mall activations rather than doing something thoroughly engaging with the same budget. What brand custodians do not understand today is that much the clutter in ATL, BTL too is filled with malls having brands lining up next to each other with fancy kiosks and shiny lights. As a result, even most mall activations are going unnoticed by audiences today as it is very difficult for them to distinguish between which mall activation to pay interest to as they all have the same style, same location and same strategy. For an experience to truly engage a consumer it has to be innovative at first and innovation can only come when a brand allows agencies the authority to go all out on creativity with a firm belief and a generous budget on the offer. Event agencies too, have a big role to play here as they need to make marketers understand how experiential is the only practice which will help a brand to create a difference in the minds of consumers. No matter how much does a brand pumps money into experiential but without innovative experiments with it they cannot expect it to churn out ATL benefits for them. A consumer is very smart today and in order to wow them a brand marketer has to be smarter
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Let’s face it; the life of an event planner is not a cakewalk. From keeping a tap on multiple expenses to dealing with an array of vendors & curators and from managing a 100 people at one go to having a keen eye on arrangements, event planners have to do it all and still not collapse (even if they wished to). But thanks to technological advancements and the invention of smartphone’s, existing in the market today are several mobile applications that are absolutely god’s gift to event planners. We at EE, are sharing a few must have mobile apps to make the lives of event planners a little easier. 1-Evernote – It is a no-brainer that the most crucial need of an event planner is to always be more organized. Just imagine, you have some ideas in your mind but you are not in a state to pen it down or give it a proper shape, or you suddenly remembered of a task that has to be done or you have to coordinate travel document or make research notes about the venue; what do you do? Well, you have Evernote to the rescue. The app serves as a general filing system where you can file documents, share them with people, set reminders, sync them with other devices and update them all with one change. Isn’t it great? 2-ScannerPro – Are you too frustrated about the phenomenon of keeping receipts in your pockets as they come in and never find them after the event? Well then scannerpro is the answer to your problems. Breakout from the worry of keeping a track of all paperwork when you are just bustling with things to manage as the app allows you to scan documents with a click, convert them into PDF and mail them right away to wherever you want them too. Well, why worry even if you lost the receipts then? You have them saved already. 3-Heytell – We know of all a lot of event planners in India, who use whatsapp to communicate with your team during events. And as convenient as whatsapp is it still has its limitations. Heytell is an alternative to whatsapp that most people do not know about. The app turns your smartphone into a walkie-talkie. When you need something even snappier than texting or email, get the app, choose a contact and start talking over all free of cost and forget the worry of signal drop outs! 4-Hootsuite – During executing a live event every event manager wants to capitalize on the social media to amplify the event content however managing all different platforms is a big challenge. You have to be on your toes with multiple apps and websites opened which can be chaotic at times. But luckily there is Hootsuite as an app today which helps you manage all your social media that lets you create streams for each platform and keep you up to date with the latest buzz. Best part about the app is you can schedule tweets and updates prior to the event at strategic times to stay ahead. 5-Meetup Time- Do you have to deal with international clients, performers and speakers at your next event but always lose out on when to communicate because of the time gap? Well, no worries now as you can always keep a track of contact time zones with Meetup Time’s intuitive interface. The app helps you to call people at the best time without having to check the internet or ask somebody about the time in a different continent, the app does that for you free of cost.
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Nearly 1,000 marketers, event specialists and most innovative marketing agencies gathered at Las Vegas for Event Tech, a conference and exposition on using social media and technology to optimize live experiences. With over 100 insightful sessions, opportunity to test-drive multiple technologies, discussing & decoding successful case studies and the ultimate chance to network with the most creative marketing minds on the offer, Event Tech ’15 was certainly a place to be at. However, for those of you who could not make it to the event. We bring to you some interesting updates directly from the confrence. Day 1 of Event Tech began with 30 attendees hopping on the morning shuttle to the Mojave Desert for a two-hour hiking excursion. The content of program however started with three workshops which were Drone University, Instagram Power Workshop and Viral Video Workshop. The Drone University session was headed by Expert Drones CEO Brett Velicovich, who discussed about how drones could be creatively integrated into events safely. Author Jason Miles then, led a workshop on brand building through Instagram, and viral video architect Rob Bliss offered his tips, insights and strategies to create viral content for the social media. Day 2 of Event Tech started off with Allen Adamson, author of the book Brand Digital, giving a keynote presentation on the challenges of communicating a brand story. Talking about it he said, “Precision is the key, there is very little that distinguishes your brand from its competitors and how you decode that 2 percent of difference is the secret to break the clutter.” Later, the attendees headed to the EventTech campus from wherein they could choose from 5 learning labs for crisp, 30-minute sessions. The topics of these ranged from Anatomy of the viral video, digital+live strategies: creating ‘liquid’ experiences, neuromarketing-driven tech planning for b-to-b events, real-time video content: supercharge event buzz, the 411 on periscope and meerkat, lessons from mastercard: upping your b-to-b meetings tech game, live streaming events: inside coke’s e-sports playbook, virtual reality: best practices for using VR and choosing the perfect hashtag: the power of # and others. Next, the Event Technology Awards saw the best digital and technology integrated events winning top honors. In the most popular categories, The Gold in the Best Use of a Single Technology (B-to-C) was bagged by Merell for its Trailscape campaign that used oculus rift to make people feel like they were walking around a crumbling ledge and over a treacherous wooden bridge high in the mountains. The sliver in the same category was won by Survive the Strain of FX networks. The campaign was VR Experience to promote season two of the FX Networks horror drama series ‘The Strain’ and followed the story’s character as he lead viewers on a 360º journey through an abandoned warehouse, while under constant threat of attack from vampires. In the category of Best Use of a Single Technology (B-to-B). The Gold was awarded to Microsoft for its initiatives at Worldwide Partner Conference 2015. The computer brand at the conference had used technologies like Hololens, Project GigJam, Cortana Analytics Suite and LiveTiles to create a surreal life like experience. The Best Digital+Live Campaign was won by Verizon #WhosGonnaWin. The campaign WhosGonnaWin gave all NFL fans a chance to let everyone know which team they are rooting for. Fans could visit WhosGonnaWin.com and use Google Street View to decorate houses in team colors and share those decorations socially with friends. On NFL Mobile, fans could also claim territory for their team by rapidly clicking within their designated zip code to take over the #WhosGonnaWin map. The Silver in the same category was won by #DellLounge Powered by Windows 10 by Dell, Microsoft. The campaign featured a lighting lounge created by Lacy Maxwell Productions. The Bronze in this category was won by Untameable Tour of Bacardi created by GMR Marketing. The Bacardi Untameable Tour combined the latest beats with killer cocktails to ignite the most passionate music fans in the bar, at music festivals and at the after-party. In another category of Best Audience Interaction Gold was awarded to Coke Zero Drinkable Billboard. For the campaign Ogilvy & Mather installed a "drinkable billboard" that shot soda through a massive straw into a public drinking fountain. Coke Zero in the campaign activity was flown through 4,500 feet of straw to spell out "Taste It." Then the liquid traveled from the bottom of the billboard to a sampling area with six fountain spouts where people can taste the soda. The Silver Winner in this category was Ignite Launch by Puma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0whqsvHPw5E The campaign saw New Yorkers harnessing running energy in Times Square with an epic group run. Their energy was collected, and upon reaching 100%, Usain Bolt, the World’s Fastest Man, appeared to officially reveal Ignite. The day 2 of event tech continued with more sessions and ended with EventTech group networking dinner at Carmine’s. The final day of the conference concluded with 35 final sessions on topics ranging from geofencing technologies, particle photons, internet and others.
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Accor Hotels, recently announced the opening of its upscale Pullman New Delhi Aerocity and the Novotel New Delhi Aerocity. The two hotels, with a combined 670 rooms, were inaugurated at New Delhi Aerocity, a 43-acre hospitality precinct at Delhi International Airport by the Honorable Union Ministerfor Civil Aviation, Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati. The Pullman New Delhi Aerocity and Novotel New Delhi Aerocity are developed as a part of a strategic and joint partnership between InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd, APHV India Investco Pte. Ltd and Accor Hotels. The new Pullman and Novotel New Delhi Aerocity are located in close proximity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport and offer easy access to the prominent business hubs of Gurgaon. In an exclusive conversation with EE, Tristan Beau De Lomenie, GM, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity and the Novotel New Delhi Aerocity talked about what gives these two properties an edge over hotels in the area. Talking about the banquet space in the hotel Lomenie says, "The hotels have one of largest convention spaces in the NCR region, spread over more than 40,000 square feet with a seating capacity of 1800 in theater style and 800 in sitting dinner. Additionally, the combination hotel properties offer a courtyard situated lower ground which can host a cocktail gathering of 500 people. With these features we are sure that the hotels will soon become the favorite choice for everyone to host events and gala dinners." Interestingly, The convention space at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity comprises of thirteen co-meeting rooms, three boardrooms and a business centre, with flexible seating facility to suit all formats of conferencing requirements. The hotels will serve Indian, Western schezuan mixed with Indian and Pan Asian cuisines via two restaurants in Pullman and 1 in Novotel. When asked if the hotels have any event agencies empanelled to execute their events. Lomenie says, "Not as of yet as so far we have worked with different event agencies." Sharing his opinions on what will give the combination hotel property an edge over other hotels in Aerocity area, Lomenie responded by saying, "Firstly the hotels are high on capacity as we have a huge banqueting space. Then with our third plug hotel Ibis we offer 1200 rooms across different categories which makes it the most event friendly hotel in the Delhi/NCR region."
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With the year about to end, brands are going all out to charm their target audiences in more ways than one. The month of October saw some of the biggest brands names creating the most immersive experiences for their TG. Below mentioned is a roundabout of some of the most engaging campaigns to have been executed by brands in October last month. 1- Carlsberg's shave-off event with Ted Baker Carlsberg recently collaborated with the men and women fashion brand Ted Baker to host a shave-off event across London. As part of the event audiences were offered a shave as well as complimentary Carlsberg beer for just 99p and not is original price of 22.50p. The main idea behind the activity was raise awareness of the annual Movember campaign which features men not shaving for November and donating the money saved to The Movember Foundation, a men’s health charity that focuses its efforts on the four key areas of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and physical inactivity. Now with this one campaign, the brand managed to give its audiences an experience with the brand, support a good cause and establish a unanimous style statement at the same time. All we can say is good job Calsberg and Ted Baker. 2- Aero creates prize bubble experience for Mousse launch The last week of October saw Nestle launching one of its premier products Aero Mousse chocolate bar through an engaging game show experience. As part of the activity consumers were being invited to step inside the Aero Mousse Bubble for a chance to win a spa treatment for two people. With 30 seconds on the clock the challenge was to get hold of as many discs as possible. If the participants were lucky enough one of those discs would have a ticket for the spa treatment. Also people were asked to create social media buzz through watching the participants perform and tweeting with the #AeroMousse hastag. Now this is one gaming experience everyone would love to participate in. 3- Bacardi LolaWolf gig in Miami For an alcohol brand that does mostly club music events, this experience driven initiative by Bacardi was certainly refreshing. For this campaign Bacardi teamed up with R&B/Electro pop trio LolaWolf to host a special gig in Miami. The event saw the band unveil its new creative platform known as Lolaloopz. Referred to as 'live special media effective lab', Lolaloopz offered fans the chance to use real-life analogue effects across their social media accounts. The show was the final event in Bacardi’s Untameable Artists Series, which also featured AlunaGeorge, Run The Jewels and Future. The main idea behind the campaign was to showcase the personality behind each artist, and saw the brand additionally hosting a number of 'house parties' across the United States. With most social media impressions made by a brand campaign in the state this month, this campaign was a well deserved entry to the list. 4- Haribo 'trick or treat door' activation at Victoria station Wow, finally an engaging campaign that got the best out of the Halloween celebration. The German confectionary brand as a part of this activity installed a branded trick or treat door within London's Victoria station. The 3.5-metre high structure resembled an old stone castle, and consisted a large door at its centre with the words ‘trick or treat’. Also bats and pumpkins were located to make the structure appear more real. In the activity commuters were being encouraged to knock on the oversized door, at which point it creaked open and they were handed a sweet treat from Haribo’s Halloween range. This certainly fits the bill for the perfect experiential campaign for the Halloween month. 5- Coca-Cola London Eye initiative and smile vending machine Last but certainly not the least, this initiative from the global beverage giant shows how important are experiential engagements for a brand. Coca-Cola in London had previously rolled multiple customer experiences to celebrate the Rugby World Cup and this engagement by the brand was the coolest addition to its initiative for the same. The brand lighted The London Eye to reflect the colours of the two remaining teams in the tournament . Also it has installed a 'smile vending machine' within King’s Cross station wherein passers-by can receive a free can of coke. So simple yet so impactful. Subtle experience at its best. .
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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.”
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The month of November has a lot to offer to event lovers. With the season festivities just around the corner, people are already in party mood and brands alongside curators are set to capitalize on the same by serving a range of diverse and enthralling experiences. With multiple EDM, Rock, Art and Music festivals lined up to wow target audiences, we at EE are listing down our pick for Events to look out in the month of November. #1 Bacardi NH7 Weekender It is without a doubt one of the biggest EDM properties in the country and serves as the biggest platform for Indian independent music artists. With a magnificent lineup performers already advertised to appear, this celebration of music and dance is definitely on the must attend list of all music junkies. Date- Shillong 23-24 Oct | Kolkata 31 Oct-1 Nov | New Delhi 28-29 Nov | Pune 4-6 Dec | Bengaluru 5-6 Dec #2 Rider Mania A direct competition to Harley Rock Riders which is scheduled to take place on 30th and 31st October. Rider Mania is an initiative Royal Enfield and is one of its kind motorcycling festival in India that celebrates music, art, photography and lifestyle. Date-November 20 to 22 #3 Officers Choice Blue Mirchi Top 20 Live with Sunidhi Chauhan India's music countdown show, Mirchi Top 20 is set to make its presence felt in Gurgaon with a concert, featuring Sunidhi Chauhan! The concert promises to be a stellar experience for all fans of the Bollywood Diva. Date- November 21 #4 Sunburn City Festival A precursor to Sunburn Goa, the Sunburn city festival will showcase some of the most promising names in dance music. With the lineup including reputed performers like DJ Snake, R3hab, Chuckie and Matisse &Sadko, Sartek, Joshi, DJ SA, Mojojojoand Sunburn's resident DJ Shaan on the cards, this one has massive expectations riding on it. Date- November 12-15 #5 BuddyDaddy Family Bash BuddyDaddy Family has positioned itself as an entertainment family festival. With over 80 live performers and a line-up of kids and family activitieson the offer, Buddy Daddy promises to have something for everyone. Date- November 13-15 #6 Pushkar Mela The annual festivities of the 100 year old PushkarMelaattract more than 50,000 camels, horses and cattle, 8,00,000 tourists and 60,000 expats from across the world, to the tiny desert town of Pushkar, on the edge of the Thar Desert. The highlights of the mela this year are VIP Hospitality arena, Sky Waltz Café, an especially curated opening and flag off ceremony, fusion music performances, Hot air ballooning, 360* podium, adventure activities and Night glow music concert among other elements. Date- November 18-25 #7 MTVI Xtreme Festival MTVi Xtreme is a high on adrenalin rock music and adventure sports festival. With its its 2nd Season, being headlined by Saul Hudson, better known as Slash, featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, along with some high profile Indian Rock Bands; this one has high expectations riding on it. Date- November 7 at JIO Gardens, Mumbai November 14 at SUPERNOVA, Bangalore #8 Above and Beyond LIVE Viacom18 ups the excitement for dance music rock lovers as they bring Above and Beyond back to India for the highly anticipated Vh1 Supersonic Arcade. One of India’s favourite dance music trio is all set to perform in India across three cities Pune (27th November), Mumbai (28th November) and Bangalore (29th November). Date- Pune (27th November), Mumbai (28th November) and Bangalore (29th November)
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One of India's most trusted and popular industrial house, the Godrej group was established in 1897 and has since then diversified with offerings across the verticals of FMCG, real estate, agriculture, office, consumer durables and home appliances. With the brand often being lauded for churning some of the most innovating ATL campaigns over the years, it now also boasts of having an impressive presence in the experiential space as well. The Godrej India Culture Lab initiative the brand, is a fluid experimental space that cross-pollinates ideas and people to explore what it means to be modern and Indian. Having been launched in January 2011, the lab is as an attempt by Godej to create an intellectual hub in the city of Mumbai, which would act as a catalyst for conversations about contemporary India. The initiative aims to evoke interactions by introducing representatives from academia, creative industries, corporate world and the not-for-profit sector. Parmesh Shahani, who heads Godrej India Culture Lab for the group is vehement that this endeavor by the Indian multinational giant is making boundaries disappear between India and Bharat. Citing the phycology behind the conceptualization of The Godrej India Culture Lab Shahani shares, “The reason for setting up an experiential space like is deep-rooted in the brands belief. We at Godrej look up to India as an important world power and strongly believe that our contemporary culture needs to be chronicled, amplified and debated across interdisciplinary silos. There was no reference space as such for the Lab as what we were trying to do was rather unique in a corporate Indian context. We wanted to open ourselves out as a platform for outsiders to come in, think and experiment, in a very public sense.” The Godrej India Culture Lab’s interactions take the shape of curated events of different sizes, most of which are held within the Godrej campus in Vikhroli and are free to be attended by all. The theme of the events range from Friday Fundas speaker and performer series to and film and book clubs, with filmmakers and authors in attendance respectively. The Lab also organizes larger events within Mumbai including full day conferences like Urban (Re) Imagination (2011), or lectures with internationally acclaimed speakers like Tadao Ando (2012) or Henry Jenkins or Sheena Iyengar (2015). It also organizes pop-up spectacles like the Museum of Memories (2012) and Vikhroli Skin (2013) that combined the elements of art, science, performance and design in an unconventional manner.
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Godrej Consumer Products Limited is one of those brands which has always emphasized on constant innovation to cater to its target audiences. The company recently wanted to penetrate the rural market of the country through a campaign for its mosquito repellant Good knight Fast Card with the tagline-"fattack se furr". The main objective of the campaign was to introduce and thoroughly educate rural consumers of Maharashtra about Good Knight’s innovative cost-effective mosquito repellant – Fast Card. And the mandate to conceptualize and execute the campaign was handed over to Vritti iMedia. In an exclusive conversation with EE, Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Director- Marketing Strategies, Vritti iMedia shared how the Audiowala Bus Station Campaign by Goodknight enabled the brand to establish a strong foothold in the rural hinterland. Speaking about the concept of the experiential initiative Radhakrishnan says, The whole concept was co-creation of Good knight Team and Vritti iMedia. For the campaign we initially conceptualized a few ideas and the client added a few more. Subsequently Godrej and our team brainstormed for almost 2 full days on all the options and finally we arrived at the executable ideas for this activity in Pandharpur. The campaign focused on “Pandharpur Aashadi Eakadasi”, which is the biggest yatra of Maharashtra in July and coincidently the most favorable breeding season for mosquitoes. During this time Pandharpur witnesses around 15-20 lakh devotees mostly from rural Maharashtra, which was a strong opportunity for the brand to reach a high number of target customers in a lesser area coverage. The Godrej team wanted some different kind of integrated communication and engagement at Pandharpur which could connect people both socially and emotionally beyond some traditional stall or outdoor branding. Vritti iMedia created the communication through: 1) Audio Communication (Jingle Wala Bus Stand) across Maharashtra: From over 30 Bus stations across Maharashtra State, devotees travelling to Pandharpur were guided about the bus schedules and were welcomed through Public Announcement Systems accompanied with the informative Fast Card jingles at Bus Stands across Maharashtra. This audio campaign was released 20 days before the main Ashadi ekadash to build some initial momentum and create some inquisitiveness about the Fast card. 2) Outdoor Communication: Information boards /Direction Boards/ Sign boards communicating social and information messages at important locations were branded and erected at strategic points around the town of Pandharpur. 3) Print communication: 5 lakh booklets containing Bhajan/Mantra/Stotra and other information about the city like the locations, directions, and bus schedules as well as the information about Good Knight Fast Card were distributed to every person in the city. 4) On Ground activation: Bhajan Mandaps were established near the temple and river area, which were the prime spots of rest for the pilgrims. Volunteers announced about Good Knight Fast Card sponsorships and basic product information during the intervals. 5) Free Water Distribution: Devotees in order to complete their religious journey had to endure a long wait of about 2-3 days in the queue that was almost 10 kilometers long. 80 volunteers served water to the devotees round the clock for complete seven days in the temple queue and other waiting areas. 6) Live Darshan on 8X6 LED: For the first time in the city Live Darshan of the deity was aired on 8X6 Outdoor LED TV installed adjacent to the Queue wherein everyone standing in the queue could watch lord Vithoba live. Also those who could not experience the actual view of the deity at a recommended time could watch it on the LED TVs. Fast card product information’s was given through bands and scrollers and were also telecast in between intervals which made numerous devotees emotional and grateful towards Good Knight Fast Card. 7) Mutt Demonstrations: A Mutt is a huge hall that can accommodate around 1000-2000 devotees for sleeping. Promoters were engaged for demonstration and sampling during the evening hours for 7 days which made their night peaceful. 8) Branding: Vritti iMedia also created strong branding propositions for Good Knight through Information boards/sign boards/ t-shirts/water tank/ LED TVs at all congregation places. Temple queue/river side/inside maths/railway stations/bus stations were also branded and the product tag line Phatak se Furr was also communicated on these in Marathi language. The campaign was executed over 20 days and resulted in huge success for the brand product. Speaking about it Radhakrishnan shared, ““Audiowala Bus station” with its spread across 80+ locations and reach of 90 Million people played a pivotal role in the launch of Fast Card in rural parts of Maharashtra. The 20 days campaign which srated before the Pandharpur event helped creating buzz in rural parts of Maharashtra and the activities during the event helped the brand creating a strong recall value for it.” The audio ad of the campaign alone reached 60,000 people every day and was broadcasted around 30 district Bus stations for 20 days and the campaign overall touched 3.6 Cr people across the state. Also the activation Impacted and increased sales for Fast card in a massive way across Mahrashtra. When asked upon what as per him resulted in the success of this campaign, Radhakrishnan says, “The key ingredients for any successful campaign is understanding of insights, detailed planning, and execution. Fast card launch at Pandharpur was all about getting the right idea at the right place at the right time.
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