Flipkart comes of age

I'm throwing down a challenge: There's probably not one person who's seen the Flipkart television spots this Diwali and not broken into a smile! With its feel-good factor, the campaign hits the right notes of warmth and happiness during the festive season.


The new TVCs will ensure the online retailer leapfrogs into the public consciousness, while making a serious pitch for the benefits of online shopping (as opposed to traditional offline shopping) during the busy and crucial festive shopping season. The spots are endearing, funny, sharp, and effective - but most important of all, intelligent in execution. The ads feature kids in adult situations, with voiceovers of adults. Each ad creates a story around a situation involving online buying, and goes on to showcase one of the benefits or features of buying online at Flipkart.com. (view all 3 spots here) There is no celebrity, no over-the-top, in-your-face assertiveness, just the effective use of classic advertising mantras - tell a story, surprise the audience with a novel approach to storytelling, and let them listen on their own accord - don't sermonize.

Still goes to prove that even in today's cluttered media space, advertising can be effective without quirks or tricks.


The messages are also clear and built into the story, so the audience laps them up loud and clear:
'Flipkart.com offers 30-day replacement guarantee on all products'.
'Flipkart.com offers cash-on-delivery for those still apprehensive about online shopping'.
'Flipkart.com offers original products with original warranty.'

Each script is equally well-written and produced with equal care and attention. It is evident that the young founders of the popular e-tailer have taken care to ensure the messaging is fresh, appeals to everyone and is buzzworthy enough to make their brand a talking point in social circles of all types!

This company isn't India Inc.'s darling for no reason. Its been described as smart, agile, slick, and 'in'. The young and old have embraced it - a recent article by TechCrunch claims that repeat purchase rates are around 70% and sales are growing by 25% every month. As a startup, Flipkart's rise into the public consciousness in such a short time has been astonishing - it was launched just in 2007.

Great advertising, great strategy, and great execution. The company's business and marketing smarts are amply evident. No kidding!

The Blackberry storm

A mobile phone revolution has been sweeping the world since some time. We aren't talking about the iPhone - its popularity explains itself. We're talking about the Blackberry and its evolution (or should I say devolution?) from a corporate-handheld to a hip, social device.

Once the darling of business executives who needed to stay connected 24x7, the Blackberry is now seen in the hand of your ordinary 13-year old. What gives? The phones themselves aren't great on hardware or software, Blackberry does not have an app store to write home about (40000 compared to Apple's 500000 as of June 2011), and the features, performance and user experience are a shame compared to that on the iPhone or Android. What then, has had 11people young and old scrambling to get themselves these QWERTY quirkies?

The BBM.

The Blackberry Messenger is a pre-installed instant messaging application that lets Blackerry users chat with each other in real-time. It lets users 'add' each other (much like social networking contacts) through an 8-digit alphanumeric 'BB Pin' that's unique for every Blackberry handset ... a sort of a unique identifier for that handset in the Blackberry universe. Users can chat with each other on a conversation-like interface, create groups, maintain status updates, upload profile pictures, and so on. Features also include group-sharing of images, file transfers between contacts, and alerts. But isn't this standard - the norm with any other mobile chat application from Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger to What's App and Nimbuzz?

It is. But where Research In Motion (RIM) succeeeded was in creating a closed ecosystem for its BB Messenger. BBM comes pre-installed on all Blackberry handsets, which means new users have a messenger they can begin using straightaway, without bothering to find and download one. RIM fiercely, and cleverly, limited the BBM to Blackberry phones. It meant that BBM became the preferred way for Blackberry users to stay in touch, while users on other platforms did not have a standard messenger app to connect with each other, or with Blackberry users for that matter. So while Blackberry users were congregating, conversing and collaborating over their phones, other users remained fragmented. The BBM universe expanded quickly - the messenger evolved into a social connection tool, in that social groups of individuals began interacting exclusively on BBM (because besides going with you everywhere, it was free and convenient). This led to social complications. For example, consider a group of 10 friends, wherein 6 out of 10 used Blackberry Messenger. As the use of BBM spread, those 6 people began to interact for everyday reasons on BBM chat. Exchange of messages, greetings, jokes, outing plans, and general sharing of gossip, news or updates moved to BBM. Over time, the other 4 individuals in the social group would, more often than not, become isolated in the virtual world. They began missing out on news, updates, gossip and so on.
Here's where the magic of human sociology and smart corporate strategy came together.

The situation gave birth to a sort of social pressure to 'get on BBM'. For the sake of being socially connected, those 4 individuals began migrating to Blackberry one-by-one. If there were, say 2 out of those 10 people left, they would eventually be coaxed, cajoled or pressurized into getting Blackberries.

This fantastic phenomenon has led to an explosion of Blackberry sales in urban areas the world over. Literally entire 'gangs' or 'groups' of individually have migrated to the Blackberry platform for the sole sake of being able to connect virtually on BBM - for the satisfaction of knowing that they're not left out. There is no shortage of better messengers out there, but with the masterstroke of limiting BBM to its own handsets, Blackberry created sort of an exclusive circle, and the fee of entry was the purchase of a Blackberry phone.

Add to this RIM's smart advertising. With ads craftily directed at young users and students, RIM created a hype around the Blackberry - turning it into a movement, a social vehicle you simply had to get on. Taglines like 'Are you missing something?' and 'You have no excuse now!' fueled the hype and migration, with users switching over in hordes. The exodus in no small measure driven by Blackberry introducing low-priced handsets like the Curve, which brought the brand into the affordable range. It continues to be a rage, with first-time handset users having 'no choice' in a way but to get a Blackberry and BBM.

A fantastic business and marketing case, Blackberry Messenger is a veritable phenomenon. Are you a Blackberry Boy?

Switch to Wella Kolestint!

Most hair color brands largely position themselves as functional tools, a means to cover up grey hair. One of the leading brands, L'Oreal, has for the longest time consistently included the phrase 'Not a single grey!' in its marketing.

Wella Kolestint, launched in India in 2010, has created a differentiated positioning. Rather than a functional product, it has set itself up as a cosmetic product that makes you look more attractive through your hair.

Women go to great lengths (no pun intended) to ensure their hair looks attractive. Many young urban girls, as some as young as 13, are experimenting with their hair color: getting streaks, colored bangs or simply going for a new shade altogether. One reason for this is to impress the opposite sex. A new hair color job can be construed as a makeover and is part of women's efforts to constantly reinvent their appearance.

The spot for Wella Kolestint (view here) talks directly to women, trying to strike a chord by understanding their concern. It asks a simple yet relevant question: why go through the trouble of applying hair color when it isn't even noticed? Switch to Wella Kolestint. And get noticed now!

It is important to note the stress on the verb 'switch'. Women are generally loyal to their hair color brand. Wella Kolestint is trying to incentivize the elusive switch by putting forth the tantalizing prospect of 'getting noticed by others' - something that may not be happening with a current hair color brand. It tries to feed the intrinsic feminine desire to appear better. It sweetens the deal by offering a free trial pack in exchange of an incumbent hair color pack.

The brand was launched a few months back with a tremendous outdoor push. Hoardings were seen at numerous locations. The OOO campaign is now being complemented with this TV campaign endorsed by celebrities. The public is aware of the long and clean relationship between Bipasha Basu and John Abraham. The chemistry between the two is a selling point in itself. Additionally, this spot brings out the playful nature of male-female relationships in a cute and familiar way - notice John struggling to figure out what his girl's big change is...a common pickle men unwittingly find themselves in and women get upset about!

With this standalone positioning, Wella Kolestint should be able to capture the fancy of its young female audience that does a lot to look good, and is not necessarily concerned about greying. Older women should also find its transformational aspect appealing, along with its promise of deeper and longer-lasting color. With rising disposable incomes and increasing exposure to Western styles and appearances, there is plenty of scope for Wella to do well in the Rs. 1200 crore Indian hair color market (2009, A.C. Nielsen). Eventually, however, success of the brand remains up to the quality and attractiveness of the range of colors it is offering.

Cadbury Celebrations - Eating Into the Traditional Sweets Market

One of the most exciting case studies of this generation, in spotting a market opportunity within a traditional product space and exploiting using clever marketing, is that of Cadbury Celebrations.

Celebrations is a premium chocolate pack offering from Cadbury India. Designed as a 'gifting' product, it is offered in several assortments - as a collection of Cadbury's traditional brands like Dairy Milk, Five Star, Perk and Gems, or in combinations of rich chocolate and exotic ingredients like almond, raisin, cashew and caramel.

Indians have a long and cherished tradition of gifting sweets on occasions, be it festivals, weddings, ceremonies, or celebrations both personal and corporate. The category of 'gift sweets' has and continues to be dominated by traditional Indian sweets. From the humble motichur ladoo (bright orange balls made of gram flour and sugar) to the delicately prepared and exotic sandesh (made from fine cow's cheese and molasses), traditional sweets occupy a special place in the Indian psyche - gifting them is considered auspicious (from their use as offerings to deities), appropriate and as a gesture of goodwill. In fact, the psyche is such that the process of choosing and buying sweets creates a sense of importance, even elation if you will, in the buyer's mind because it is understood that Indian sweets befit a special reason or relationship.

How then, did a chocolate brand fit into this equation? Cadbury was ingenious in spotting a huge opportunity in this category. Despite the huge variety, all Indian sweets eventually fell under the same title - mithai (traditional sweet). There were no alternate options available; no differentiated offering that satisfied the parameters established by mithai - grand in presentation, exotic and sweet in taste, rich in ingredients, fairly expensive, and having enough grammage to be appropriate for gifting.


Gifting in India is governed by these rules of propriety, and if a product had to compete with the monopoly enjoyed by traditional sweets, it had to be elevated to the plane of special occasions, special relationships, and special gifts.

It is imperative to note here that Indian sweets are delicious; they are considered a treat and an indulgence. Creating and projecting the perception of a far 'superior' product would have been difficult, to say the least. Proposing differentiation solely on the basis of taste or ingredients would have been a challenge. The solution was in the marketing. Cadbury had to market its product not as much as an alternate to mithai than as an exciting 'gifting concept' - one that people looked forward to receiving.

Launched in 1992, Celebrations was presented as a gifting choice that results when one really cares about the receiver, when one knows that expectations are higher than just traditional mithai.

The significance of marketing for this product is evident from the presence of a huge icon, Amitabh Bachchan, as brand ambassador since the beginning. So what points worked in Celebrations' favor?

Marketing prowess: Cadbury created campaigns centered around emotion and sentiment. The TVCs have consistently featured twin themes: an occasion for gifting and sharing (Diwali, Rakshabandhan, parties / celebrations), and a play on relationships - between brother and sister (view here), between old friends (view here), between families (view here). The spots bring out the special place our relationships occupy in our lives. Although they do focus on the product: the delicious combination of Cadbury chocolate and ingredients of traditional Indian sweets like dry fruit, they focus more on creating the perception that the 'brand' is perfectly appropriate for gifting and in fact, even desirable as a gift. The idea is to promote the magic of gifting, of building relationships through gifting, of sharing happiness through gifting. The spots are designed to create an aura around occasions and gifting on those occasions; they bundle together the little things that make gifting so special  - the joy experienced when handing over a gift, the expectancy, thrill and excitement of receiving one, the glint in people's eyes, the mischief of sharing (or not!), and people's realization that the gift is an expression of love. Cadbury has popularized, glamorized, and commercialized the idea of gifting - made it classy, aspirational, a lofty ideal, a source of happiness. And at the center of these ideas is Celebrations.

What are the other points in the product's list of selling points?

- Chocolate + rich ingredients
- The Cadbury brand and the public's fondness for Dairy Milk chocolate. The taste and acceptance factor is taken care of (everyone knows that everyone likes chocolate)

- Price: This is a significant point because Cadbury priced Celebrations competitively, as low as Rs. 125 for the Chocolates Assortment box and Rs. 200 for the Rich Dry Fruit Collection box. As the only unit available in terms of weight, price and form factor, there is no complication in the mind of the receiver as to the value of the gift received. In comparison, Indian sweets come with huge differences in price and quality (depending on the sweet and the store from where it is purchased), which possibly creates uncertainty in the mind of the receiver (the reverse is also true, though).

Adoption was swift and widespread. People have accepted Celebrations as a respectable gifting option, one comparable to Indian sweets. The TVCs continue to focus on the core tenet of the brand: nurturing relationships through sweetness. It is indeed a success story born out of smart, incisive understanding of a market accompanied by consistent, impactful messaging.

Cadbury Dairy Milk: An India Story

Cadbury Dairy Milk has enjoyed a long and celebrated history of consumption in India. With about 30% share of the Indian branded chocolate market currently, it is by far the most popular brand in the country.

Dairy Milk has also been a sustained advertiser, churning out new campaigns year after year and spending generously on the choicest of media spots.

Dairy Milk TV campaigns were always about celebrating life. Remember the 'Real Taste of Life' campaign that swept award shows in the mid '90s (view here)? The audience was broad (the cricket setting); the spots were simple in concept but accompanied by thoughtful execution. They made you smile, and you didn't quite know why.

It was about 5-6 years back that the chocolate maker started to follow a noticeable trend in its targeting. We began to see occasion-based themes such as 'Pappu Pass Ho Gaya', in which Dairy Milk was pitched as the celebratory food that everyone must partake in. Dairy Milk was shown as the obvious and most easily distributable of sweets on such occasions. One also began to notice a pronounced Indianness in the spots. Where there were location-neutral settings, we began to see rural or typical urban Indian settings. Where the themes were general, we began to see campaigns built around very specific insights into Indian consumption of sweets.

A recent, deeply insightful campaign has been 'Shubh Aarambh', meaning 'Prosperous Beginning'.

There is a widely followed tradition in India that before a person sets out to do something positive or enterprising, he or she must be fed a morsel of something sweet. If he/she consumes this before stepping out of the premises, it is believed the attempt will proceed successfully and the result will be positive. Indians aren't known to be skeptical when it comes to beliefs. Even the most skeptical ones will rather follow a tradition than risk inviting the wrath of being a non-believer. Capitalizing on this, Cadbury has deftly positioned Dairy Milk as an accepted foodstuff for this tradition (like yogurt sweetened with sugar). A piece of Dairy Milk chocolate, by virtue of its sweetness, appears as the new-age replacement of the traditional morsel. The ads are light-hearted and show situations that are not too significant in terms of stakes involved (view here). This may be deliberate so as to avoid illusion of false promise and invite bitter feedback in case of failure. But with a series of well-written spots supported by sensitive production, the brand will win hearts. Perhaps not beliefs yet, but hearts, definitely (view here).

The positioning opens up a huge opportunity to expand sales simply by virtue of India's size. It also pushes Dairy Milk into the league of must-haves in one's house for the purpose of tradition - a great achievement for any consumer brand. When a brand moves into the ethos of a people, it stays there. Remember 'Hamara Bajaj' with its 'Buland Bharat Ki Buland Tasveer'? Cadbury Dairy Milk is trying hard to do the same.

Following the Shubh Aarambh campaign is a cute ad released just recently. It is built around another very Indian want / need of consuming sweets after a meal. The trend is aptly presented by the ubiquitous question that pops up at every Indian dining table, 'Bhai meethe mein kya hai?', or 'Tell us, what's for dessert?' Now, every meal need not be followed by an elaborate dessert ; people simply want a sliver of something sweet; they want to be left with a sweet taste in the mouth. Dairy Milk fits this profile because chocolate, unlike traditional Indian sweets, has longer shelf life, occupies lesser fridge space and is much, much cheaper to stock for homemakers. Cadbury has presented Dairy Milk as a perfect option - little pieces of chocolate for everyone, satisfying the entire family. The spot has tried to position Dairy Milk as the obvious, convenient answer to the above question (view here). The message seems to have gotten a bit lost in the story, which features some brilliant acting by the little girl. Yet, the spot has recall value, has become popular and will help Cadbury's concentrated push into the Indian home. The brand's goal is in progress but clear: for every Indian occasion that calls for sweets, Cadbury Dairy Milk is the answer.

Micromax: How great advertising can do wonders for brand image

If done correctly, advertising truly has the power to influence public perception of a brand.

Micromax Mobile broke into public consciousness only recently, in 2008. At the time, its share of the Indian mobile handset market was a meager 0.59%. The company was largely viewed by the public as a maker of low-cost desi phones, famous for their market-changing dual-sim feature. The phone-maker, however, was not content with the low-cost, value-deliverer tag it had been labeled with. It had bigger plans - to target the high-spending urban buyer who is as brand-conscious as he is feature-conscious. Here, Micromax faced an uphill task. Creating brand equity is not easy. It is even tougher if you are jostling for attention with a slew of similarly-positioned domestic brands like Maxx, Karbonn, Spice, Lemon and Lava, all promoting themselves with high-visibility campaigns at big sporting events and on TV channels. More importantly, Micromax was also competing with the amassed brand attachment and trust enjoyed by industry bigwigs like Nokia and Samsung.

So then, how did the company build its brand value? It advertised heavily to make itself visible, as other competitors did. But there was one significant difference. The Micromax campaigns were spiffy, polished, and unapologetic about the brand's nascency. The Twinkle Khanna ad for Bling, the ‘Really Sorry’ ad for Q7 (view ad here), the recent war-themed ad for Qube - all had an international look and feel, an air of plucky, smarty-pants confidence - vanity even - that you'd normally associate with an evolved brand’s communication. The 'Nothing Like Anything' tagline too, though a tad diluted, points to its aggressive, better-notice-me posturing. Kudos to the phone-maker for partnering with a prestigious agency like Lowe Lintas.

The most impressive ad, however, is the new one for the Android phone, the Andro A60 (view ad here). Slickly-produced and watchable repeatedly, it is a clear indication that Micromax is targeting the young, upscale user who understands the significance of the Android OS. Hence the campaign 'What’ll you do to get your first Android?' In fact, the company’s decision to embrace Android and feature the platform so prominently in its communication is itself progressive, and should help build the brand’s cool-quotient. The ad has no flim-flam, no preaching, no listing of features. Just attitude. The fact that the company has shunned the use of a celebrity for this ad is also gratifying, and shows its understanding of this audience, which isn't swayed by big names… this is a self-aware tribe who's loyalty needs to be earned, not bought. It speaks volumes of the maturity of the company’s marketers.

They have rightly strategized that stand-out marketing is the way to support their innovative and value-delivering product line. And the results are for all to see. With its market share now up to 6.24% in just 2 years, Micromax is already the largest Indian mobile handsets company in terms of units shipped. The only way ahead should be upward.