I never imagined my life would take this course; nobody from my family had any background in the arts. I studied Political Science while at Lady Sri Ram College in Delhi and after I graduated, I worked in event management, marketing and public relations for four years. It was when I moved to England to study at the University of Arts that everything changed. I was hugely enthused by the diversity and dynamism of the art scene, the calendar was bursting with exhibitions, cultural programmes and fairs and I began to realise the potential of arts in society. This got me thinking, why didn’t we have more of this back home? That simple thought turned into an ambitious dream - to create a world-class art event in India. When we started, we only had four months to plan and execute the event. I didn’t know a soul in the arts fraternity here and that caused a lot of scepticism. There were many naysayers who told me that it was impossible to do something like this in India to an international standard but rather than being discouraged it motivated me to prove them wrong and create a world class arts event. After the first edition of the art fair, people began to see the potential of what could be possible and they started to rally with us. Within a year, we had many key galleries and top artists participating and our partnerships began to grow. By the fifth edition we had 91 exhibitors showcasing over one thousand artists from twenty countries including many internationally renowned artists. From 10,000 visitors in the first edition, we had over 100,000 visitors in 2015. Today India Art Fair is a meeting point that provides a large canvas (20,000 square feet) for discussion, discovery, collaboration and commerce. It is a major national platform that exposes a wide range of Indian galleries and artists to international audiences, collectors and museum groups. Conversely it also provides international galleries with the opportunity to showcase their galleries and artists to the Indian community. This two-way exchange is echoed in the Speakers Forum where a comprehensive series of talks encourages cultural exchange, debate and discussion. India Art Fair also serves to unite the local art scene with a coordinated series of collateral events around Delhi during what is traditionally becoming known as the country’s busiest week in the cultural calendar. However recognition and success has only meant greater responsibility. When I started out, ignorant of the art market and all of 28 years old, there weren’t any expectations of me. Now I can see the huge task that lies ahead. The challenge is to continue to build a vibrant platform for the arts in the region, remain fresh and relevant but also viable and profitable for our investors and participants. The main ethos of the fair is to encourage all visitors to find a way to connect with art. In the early years many visitors would simply take pictures of themselves in front of the works but now they talk to the gallerists about the work, they ask questions, they engage with the art in a different way, which is exactly what we want. I used to feel intimidated walking into art galleries, for me the art world was removed, something apart from everyday life. India Art Fair was created in part for people like me, to break down existing barriers and make art accessible for wider audiences. Working in the arts is a hugely enriching experience and I would like to bring art into more and more people’s lives. Today the fair continues to provide a platform for artists and galleries from the region as well as internationally to present their art in India. We are currently the largest showcase of Indian art in the world and we hope to build on our experience to provide high quality gallery presentations and programmes throughout the fair to engage the huge variety of visitors the fair attracts. The next edition of India Art Fair is scheduled in Delhi from 28th to 31st January 2016. About NehaKirpal NehaKirpal is the Founder of India Art Fair, an annual modern and contemporary art fair held in New Delhi. Founded in 2008, the fair is India's largest and most popular art exhibit attracting upwards of 80,000 visitors across 4 days of the event, as recorded in 2015. Twitter- @NehaKirpal1 (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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Imagine a world where cars purely performed a functional duty of getting you from point A to point B. Today, it’s unthinkable to view cars in this way. They are global beacons of design; a stimulus for constant innovation; the vanguard of new technology and connectivity. Did you know that the average luxury premium car now incorporates over 300 million lines of computer coding compared to just 8 million in the F35 fighter jet? All this amounts to an industry gripped by considerable and constant change. Automotive manufacturers cannot afford to stand-still – they are locked in an ongoing battle to out-perform, out-wit and out-run their competitors. And, this is why the automotive world remains such an exciting and intriguing sector for experiential agencies. However, the majority of work for agencies has little to do with the actual product. The fundamental issue when I and my partner, Jeremy Garbett, founded our company- Deeper Blue- was to understand that the way customers purchased cars had changed forever. The digital revolution had re-drawn the customer journey. Our job was to provide a new pathway for dealers to cultivate a relationship with their digital customers and to embed the tools, processes and dealership culture to respond to the demands of the 21st Century buyer”. The agency is now four years further forward with a culture-change programme that has revolutionised the retailer sales process. It has armed dealers with a deeper understanding of how to activate and retain customers; supported by a rigorous measurement capability that continuously monitors their performance. The communications programme itself merged live events, film, workshops, training and digital solutions to form a long-term, integrated roll-out of activity - a constant drumbeat of relevant, actionable and timely information. Interestingly, when Deeper Blue was recently invited to launch a new product for Opel and Vauxhall, the product was not a car but a revolutionary, hi-tech personal connectivity and serviceassistant called OnStar. The challenge was to generate customer enthusiasm and a clear understanding of the features and benefits of OnStar. In short, we had to make the complex appear simple, human and fun - in 8 different languages. We created a series of eight, easy to understand animated films - each showing exactly how all the features work. Each 60 second animation featured our ‘On Star family’ and demonstrated how this advanced information technology could assist them in their everyday life situations. The films are now available to watch on Opel’s You Tube channeland are also used in dealerships to make sure that no questions are left unanswered when the order books open. Amidst the constant change, there’s one truism that remains unaltered – the way to drive sales is to get customers behind the wheel. For the past two years, Deeper Blue has designed and delivered the most sophisticated form of experiential ‘sampling’. For 3 weeks every summer on the Island of Ibiza in Spain, the agency acts as a ‘connector’ between high net-worth individuals and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Building deep relationships with the Island’s most attractive hotspots where the wealthy hang-out and play, Rolls-Royce offer individuals the chance to test-drive the car at a time and place that suits them. Perfectly delivered, in a highly personalised but relaxed style, a team of professional drivers is primed to interact with prospects and give them access to the Rolls-Royce of their choice. It’s all about finding the right people, at the right time. Thereafter, we let the cars speak for themselves – no fanfare, no fuss, just all-eyes on personally experiencing any one of five beautiful vehicles. Since 2014, Deeper Blue is now engaged in India, with the formation of Deeper Blue Asia operating from its Bangalore HQ. Already, its automotive specialism is attracting attention from manufacturers keen to address some of their most pressing issues across the Asia-Pacific region. When we imagine the world of creating experiences, it’s no longer about getting our automotive clients from A to B. Agencies need to be a true partner on their longer journey – developing deeper understanding, anticipating their needs, and assisting them in innovating a better marketing platform. (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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There are places I’ll remember.All my life, though some have changed. Some forever, not for better. Some have gone and some remain. All these places have their moments. With lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living. In my life, I’ve loved them all. The quaint old Beatle song strikes a consonant note as I sit down to write this. Growing up may now be far behind, but the people, places and moments it imprints in one’s mind and heart will always remain special. In the long journey of life (or at least in this case my own life),music will always remain my most consistent and special companion. I have always considered myself to be extremely fortunate to have grown up in the vibrant and multi-cultural suburb of Bandra – a beautiful slice of this crazy city of Mumbai.This once quaint and leafy milieu has been the cradle of some of the finest talent of music specifically, and the arts at large. It was Bandra’screatively fertile environmentthat personally helped me bloom, as it did so many others. It all began with impromptu weekend street jams and sing-songson terrace tops and at house parties. Constantly networked with like-minded friends, I developed an early love for music. Back in the day, the love affair launched with nostalgic vinyl. Cassettes – so passé today – were the premium of the day... prized possessions that you owned only if you were lucky enough to have a relative abroad. Then of course, technology gave us laser discs and VCDs, before cable came along and changed the entire dynamic. My passion for music was as strong as my love for theatre. My thrust into the spotlight came by way of roles in musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing TechnicolourDreamcoat, Greased Lightning and Evita, to name a few. Meanwhile, with talented friends who shared my passion for music, we formed our own band Voices – Aid Bhopal amongst our biggest gigs. Other musicians were also trying to make the scene and get some momentum going; but despite everyone’s best efforts, the independent music scene simply failed to get off the ground. There were,however, green shoots of hope of a different kind. What began with The Police’s almost incognito gig in then Bombay back in 1980 would lead to a steady trickle in later years. Bryan Adams made India his stomping ground for a bit, while JethroTull, MLTR, Deep Purple, America, Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson made fleeting, but significant, stopovers too. Fan passion was being ignited. TV helped expand our exposure to the world of music. I remember the marathon Live Aid concert being televised live (or at least some part of it) back in 1985. The arrival of satellite television in the 90skind of opened the floodgates as, for the first time, Indians could keep abreast with the latest in music, with negligible time lag in terms of releases. FM happened almost simultaneously and suddenly we never had it better – endless hours of music programming, countdown shows, live banter... RJs were becoming the new celebrities.All this increased the appetite for music. CDs, DVDs and LDs were being voraciously lapped up.New-age music stores were the hip place to hang out. And then the Internetblew everything out of proportion. Indians were now truly up-to-the-second with the latest trends in the world of music. YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, Twitter... there was no stopping us now. Concerts,as a concept, sprung from this platform. Sunburn, Mahindra Blues Festival, Johnny Walker – The Journey, NH7... they all became potent properties for their owners and focal points for the fans. All of this coalesced into an environment that opened up never before opportunities for the Indie scene. Local talent started to experience a warm acceptance and, more importantly, gained platforms to showcase their wares to music fans with now open minds. But there’s still a long way to go. The way forward is to introduce larger volumes of audiences to newer music genres and to promote local independent artistes. Infrastructure will hold the key. We need to see the immediate development of new concert venues – both small and large. Radio, which now enjoys immense traction especially with younger audiences, can play a pivotal role here. It must allow quality local music to share space with international content. Today’s youth and Gen Next will continue to consume music of their choice. They are a privileged generation with multiple mediums at their behest to explore and pick and choose from the very latest, as they please. Consumption mediums and patterns will continue to evolve and be defined by technology. The message is clear to providers of music content: Merge with evolving trends or be eased out. About the author Brian Tellis is the Chairman at Fountainhead Promotions and Events. He boasts of a multi-faceted career in the entertainment industry spread over three decades. Popular for hosting the Mahindra Blues Show on 94.3 FM he is also the man behind for organizing the Mahindra Blues Festival since 2011 in February each year. Twitter Handle: @Brian_Tellis
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The event planning industry is an old one with various chapters written in its history. Events which started out as community gatherings, festivals and pageants, balls etc, with time and technology have preceded to being full blown theme based, dramatic, larger than life social events. I still remember there was a time when social events were designed and fabricated only to celebrate happiness and frolic but overtime the definition of these celebrations have changed and now along with the intention to celebrate happiness about a particular instance, events today have also become a platform to display one’s status and how far can one go to give the most lavish and joyous experience to their guests. The evolution of social events has been as phenomenal as the evolution of our modes of communication. Much like the modes of communication, the transformations in the social events domain have also been dynamic in nature. Our clientele will notice a fashion trend, a film, or even spectacular interiors from a venue that they have visited recently and would want that to be translated into reality at their events. “The Great Gatsby”, starring Leonardo Di Caprio was released in May 2013, and was on our company’s drawing boards a week later after a client was awestruck from the movie. As a result our rendering was produced as a full décor concept later that November. In comparison to the earlier times, the clients today are much more aware of their tastes and preferences. It is really refreshing to see this change as I have been designing weddings since the time when we were just given an approximate budget for the event and the entire concept and execution of the wedding was shouldered to us. Today as the clients have the capacity to spend more and are more exposed to various cultures, norms and traditions, this has also led to them to ask for specific demands at their events. Gone are the days of the coy bride who did not even look up to say hi, today the brides and their grooms have a clear and concrete vision for their dream wedding, which we have to give shape to, and with every little detail associated with the wedding that has an emotional value to them. Experience is the key word I would use to describe the event industry today. As it is the experiences that people obtain in their travel, leisure or routine affairs that they desire to inculcate in their events. Simple fascination towards a place, sometimes leads to events which are specifically designed to depict the attachment. In our experience we have often done events where we have recreated the beauty and opulence of places such as Paris, Greece to match the client’s desire. Also the transformation in the social events domain is not limited only to the demands expressed by the clients. Over the years, the event Industry has also evolved technologically to adapt to the current trends. Computer aided tools, social Media, special design Software, and easy communication techniques make the process of Event designing a much simpler process. Client approvals for the finest of details are one photograph away. Also these technological elements have found their presence everywhere, from the invitation cards to the overall attire of the bride and groom and from the revolving stage and décor to the mobile seating arrangements, a huge change is openly evident. The clients today also wish to incorporate Social media as an element to their wedding. Not only are the social media platforms today helpful in getting more information about latest trends but they also make you accessible to an entirely different world out there. Weddings that trend on social media grab the most eyeballs and are termed the best organized. So as you see, everything has changed in the social events domain in the last decade. The only thing that is yet to change about weddings in India today is the anxiousness of a new journey in the eyes of the bride and the sense of contentment in the face of the groom as the bride joins him on the stage for all times to come.
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The role of a customer in the fortunesand success of a brand can hardly ever be overstated. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the customer, his loyalty and continued patronage is what a brand strives for and thrives on. Building brand credibility in order to foster loyalty is, one of the most pivotal focus areas for any enterprise, regardless of its nature. And to achieve this, an organization has to offer the most superlative levels of customer experience. Only then can it aim to acquire new patrons every day and retain the existing ones to turn them into veritable brand ambassadors.While building brand advocacy amongst your audience, it is important to: Know Your Customer Nurturing a brand reputation is a particularly tricky task for a B2C business where the market is larger and harder to pin down. However, a brand that successfully manages to identify its target audience and understand it well has already won half the battle. Once the key customers have been ascertained, it is easier to gauge their preferences, propensities and desires. The foremost task of a brand or marketing manager is to comprehend the eco-system which his target client inhabits. For a premium brand, the marketer has to get a sense of what echelons of luxury the customer is exposed to and expects, and then outdo this benchmark to wow him. Building a credible brand identity involves plugging the gap in the market when it comes to the desires of patrons and also establishing new standards of excellence ensuring customersfeel proud to be associated with the brand.Brand experiences create customer affinity that leads not just to consumption but also brand advocacy through word-of-mouth advertising, one of the most powerful ways of cementing the business’s market reputation. Define Your Vision To elicit this kind of unstinted loyalty, there has to be considerable investment in intelligent marketing tools. A business today has to carefully outline the values that it is driven by as this is what differentiates it from any competition. It has to then ensure that this value proposition or brand philosophy is communicated articulately and audibly to its target demographic.According to many studies, brands tend to have a higher perception of credibility if there is uniformity in their marketing mix over a long term. Therefore, marketers must not have a myopic vision when coming up with a brand communication. If these values and communications appeal to the identified target market, they are sure to create an indelible recall in the minds of consumers when thinking of ways to meet their needs. The consistency in branding activities is especially imperative in today’s age of digital interactions. While social media creates an opportunity for a brand to have a two-way interaction with the customer, it can also lead to adverse consequences if the communication strategies are not pre-defined and well-thought through. Fulfill the Brand Promise The most definitive way of building credibility and loyalty, however, is to fulfill the brand promise made to consumers.While many a times, we find that the focus of marketing shifts from the product itself, this can be a grave trap that brand managers fall into. The only way of ensuring continued association of target customers with your brand is by offering them the experience that your communication platform, product qualities, service platform assure. For instance, if you promise a perfect amalgamation of functional superiority and visual excellence, each aspect of product must be a manifestation of these qualities.Over and above that, if the business retails through a physical store, the outlet must offer a shopping experience in perfect consonance with the brand identity. Build showrooms that give customers an experience of what it will be like to bring home your products. If your brand vision talks of quality, design and technology, then these attributes must be palpable from the moment they enter the store. If they are pampered and indulged from the word go, their perception of your brand image immediately gets enhanced. Also, they will begin to associate the company with the fulfillment of a higher, aspirational desire and are likely to come back repeatedly for the same feeling of importance and luxury. In essence, customers must always feel a sense of delight on interacting with your brand. Capitalise on your brand strengths and leverage these pro-actively to deliver a customer experience that no other player can match up to. With a good mix of smart marketing and superlative products and services, building a credible brand is only a matter of time and patience. With sustained efforts and a shot of innovation in brand building activities, customers will find it increasingly easy to identify with your brand vision and will be more likely to invest in your brand on an ongoing basis.
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Celebrations in India are a larger than life affair and have been instrumental in establishing a distinguished identity for the country as a whole on the global map. But how can events and these festivities be used to foster India’s growth? Well, the answer was given by Shri Maheish Girri, Member of Parliament, East Delhi in his keynote address at the launch of BW APPLAUSE on 5th September at Shangrila Eros. Shri Girri began his address by sharing that though he had recently joined politics and had no background in it he is a spiritual person and has looked and observed India very closely. He said, “I fervently believe that India is a country is a land of festivals and despite of being a land of festivals India has not been able to capitalize on its festivities to attract tourists.Be it Mathura or Varanasi, Karnataka or Kanyakuvari we have a lot of tourists attractions in India but we have never laid emphasis on keeping them clean.” Highlighting the recent developments made in this area Shri Girri said, “I salute the efforts of Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi who on 15th of August for the first time advocated taking care of very small things in the country. These things might be small but if the entire country takes care of such small things the face of the entire country will change. As an example, “The Swaccha Bharat Campaign” is one such initiative which has been appreciated and applauded by anyone. Even all the religious places associated with Lord Rama are being connected by various transportation mediums. Such is the vision of our respected Prime Minister.” Suggesting how can events and India’s culture can be used for its growth Shri. Girri voiced his opinion by saying, “I feel that we has Indians have not promoted our culture the way it should have been promoted. When a pizza from Italy can come to India then why can’t an Indian Paratha go to Italy. We have so many cultural and religious heritages which have not been promoted at all but thanks to our prime minister such things are being taken care of now. I congratulate BW Businessworld and BW APPLAUSE for the launch and feel they will be instrumental in taking the vision of our Prime Minister ahead by showcasing the importance of India, its heritage and its events.”
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Audience relocation from manual ticketing to online ticketing platforms is strongly being felt as sports and entertainment centric events steadily burgeon nationwide. Offering consumers easy access to all forms of ticketed entertainment with multiple payment options across retail, mobile, social and box-office distribution channels, online ticketing platformsoutgun manual ticketing simply by enhancing the purchase experience while democratizing access for consumers to world-class events. In India, Kyazoonga is one such online ticketing company that has managed to brave its way to the major league through a sea of similar platforms. Besides qualifying as a finalist for an Olympics ticketing bid, it is also the only ticketing company in the subcontinent to have ticketed a major international event – the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Neetu Bhatia, CEO, Kyazoongais of the opinion that “online ticketing is soon going to wipe clean every other existing alternative”. Observing the transformation in the event ticketing industry,she talks about traditional mindsets and futuristic solutions. Q-What are some of the challenges when providing online ticketing solutions for a large-scale sporting event? A- Sports and leagues that are seeing success with live audiences will contribute to the online ticketing pie. Demand often exceeds supply and hence people flock online to ensure they have booked their spot in their favorite match. For example, last year most of Pro Kabaddi tickets were sold online. If the event is hot, tickets will get sold out online in no time. In such cases, geography or demographics of a particular region does not matter. Of course convenience and paucity of time are other major drivers. However, there remains a final frontier to be captured– and that is smooth and seamless access using Print-at-Home technology or using the barcode on your phoneto gain access to events. This is generally constrained by the regulatory environment that insists on paper tickets and the lack of robust access control infrastructure at the venues. While we have successfully developed and implemented our systems to work effectively with these challenges, fundamental changes in some of these areas will help in realizing the true potential of the market. Q-How do you market Kyazoonga for a wider reach? A-Our major brand asset is our name and what is represents. The founding team figured that having a ‘different’ sounding name would stick with customers and result in greater brand recall. Over time, the Kyazoonga brand has associated with high profile events like the Cricket World Cup, the Sachin Tendulkar 200th Test match, the CPL, the IPL or the Jaipur Lit Fest, the Bryan Adams concert, the Guns ’N Roses concert, and also smaller events such as the local Cathedral School reunion or the MIT alumni club get-togethers. The name gives us the flexibility to operate the business and build to scale while customizing individual experiences rather than a “one size fits all” approach that a pedestrian name may signify. We continue to push the envelope on ATL and BTL alike. We are also constantly analyzing our database, north of 5 million users, with the use of big data analytics tools as we are on the constant lookout for trends in customer behavior and buying patterns. Q- But why should an event organizer sign a ticketing deal with one platform while it can have itself featured on numerous platforms through ticket selling? A- I fervently believe that if a ticketing platform is centralized end-to-end and enables all the complex requirements of event ticketing, it obviates the need for another platform to be used simultaneously. In fact, doing so will make the ticketing less seamless as the inventory would then not reside in one place centrally and in fact would necessitate offline inventory management which is not desirable if one wants to optimize supply and demand. Furthermore, ticketing isthe first customer touch point for an event and is a key revenue source for an organizer. Hence it is in the best interest of the organizer that they pick the one platform that caters to all the ticketing requirements for the event. With one able platform the effort is focused and the message to the end customer is unambiguous and it also allows the event organizer undivided focus on the content and quality of the event. Q- How has the method and procedure of ticketing in sports and entertainment events grown over the last decade? A-Ticketing continues to grow ever more complex at the back-end in an effort to keep it simple for the end customer. The introduction of real-time social media interactions and feedback has necessitated that ticketing systems be fully real-time and accurately predict the status of demand and supply. As events grow in size, so do their complexity levels. Traffic conditions for large events as we saw during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the Sachin Tendulkar farewell 200th Test Match reach peaks that demand scalability of server and cloud infrastructure, accelerated content delivery networks, and the ability to sustain peak demand for limited inventory residing on the database. Q-Are there any significant changes in the ticket system technology being used in India and abroad? A-Speaking only forKyazoonga in this matter, since inception, it has been our endeavor to offer world-class services and products to our customers and clients. To that end, our products compare with the best in the business globally. Our making it to the very shortlist and being a finalist at the Rio Olympics ticketing program is testament to the fact that we are leading the pack in terms of technical, system and operational capability and have been validated at the highest levels by a global body that runs the most complex ticketing exercise on the planet. This is also testament to the fact that we’ve leapfrogged some of the legacy systems of companies operating in more mature markets of the West while others in emerging markets have yet to catch up. Q-What changes do you foresee in the online ticketing space in the next 5 years? A-Online ticketing is still only about15-20% of the overall pie, which means that we are only scratching the surface. A recent Bain report mentioned that every month India is adding 5-6 million Internet users and about 650 million users are estimated to be online by 2020 – of which 250 million will shop online – spending over $50 billion. The report also suggests that mobile phones will dominate 70 per cent of the total number of Internet users. We believe that these are extremely positive trends and that online ticketing will become the norm in 5 years. We are well positioned to capitalize on this trend both domestically as well internationally.
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SagarBoke, the Head of Marketing for Bunge India, is a happy man today. The marketer takes great pride in expressing how the brands primary product,Dalda edible oils,made an impact at the JagannathRathYatra in Puri this year through the innovative concept of 'Bhajan se BhojanTak'. Often known as one of the biggest congregations of pilgrims across the world, the RathYatra this year was attended by over 15 lakh devotees who came from all nook and corners of the country to witness Lord Jagannath’s majestic journey from JagannathPuri temple to Gundecha temple. Carrying out a BTL engagement at such a massive scale can be challenging for any marketer or execution agency, but through the campaign ‘Bhajan se BhojanTak’, Dalda managed to not only create awareness about its edible oils but also successfully become a true companion for the pilgrims in their holy journey. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Dalda managed to emotionally captivate its target consumers through its experiential efforts. In the past too, be it the activations at NauchandiMela in UP or ‘Meri Mom Sabki Mom’ campaign in the metros, the brand has regularly invented innovative concepts to engageits target segment. Boke is vociferous about how important experiential marketing is for Dalda as a brand.He states, “We compete in the commodities category. While the awareness for any product is created by the mass media, the emotional connect for a brand will only happen through activations and creating experiences. Dalda has always been associated with Vanaspati oil and now since the brand has also extended in terms of edible oils it is important for people to be aware about it, which can only happen through these diverse experiential campaigns and activations.” Openly and unabashedly excited about the future of marketing, Sagar feels it is integral for a brand today to look beyond the embedded features in its products and try to forge emotional relationships with its customers. He says, “I strongly believe that in the current times one cannot sell a brand only on the functionality of its product or the product attributes, beyond a point all such practices are bound to fail and it is only the experiences that customers have with your brand will help you sustain.” This year Dalda edible oils activation at JagannathRathYatra in Puri featured Dalda creating their own rath at Puri from where they distributed a mixture of uncooked rice and dal sourced from the temple raw materials. The mixture was packaged in Dalda branded bottles and were distributed to over 1.5 million devotees. A highlighting feature of this activation was the fact that the plastic Dalda bottles with uncooked dal and rice in them, created a musical sound and hence were used by devotees as a percussion instrument that facilitated ‘Bhajans’. Apart from this core activity the brand had also created various installations and collaborated with noted Indian sand artist, SudarsanPattnaik to create a life size sand art illustration of the deity Lord Jagannath at Puri Beach. Revealing the real statistics of the brand impact, SagarBoke explains, “Our activations at RathYatra in Puri is going to be our annual property which is going to have a new theme every year. Official number of people that have been touched through this activation this year stands at 1.5 million however the unofficial figures estimate that a further 1 million people were touched through it.” The Brand Brewery won the mandate to execute this campaign for Dalda. While most brands are still hesitant to experiment with experiential campaigns Sagaropenly admits that 20% of the marketing budget for Dalda is allocated exclusively for BTL activations and activities. He also agrees that the brand aims to come up with more IPs in the future to further engage consumers through experiential. More experiential by marketers directly rings money bells for event agencies as well. So what are the qualities that Dalda looks for in event agency before shouldering them the mandate for a campaign execution? Sagar responds to the question by stating, “The most important characteristic that we look for in an event agency is the ability to whip up a path breaking idea. Currently a lot of brands are experimenting with experiential and unless and until you have something clutter breaking you cannot expect to be noticed.” As he predicts the future of marketing in India, Sagar says, “I think marketing has a lot to do with the kinds of media platforms a consumer is exposed to. Earlier most consumers had access to only TV and radios and hence the marketing strategies so far for most brands have been focused around the two. With that being said, today and even in the future the most used media device by consumers is going to be the smartphones so that is going to be center of marketing attention in the future I believe. Also we cannot overlook the fact that a lot of purchasing for consumer products is going to happen through e-commerce so that is bound to impact the overall marketing strategy for a brand.”
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