Over-The-Top Television is coming

Netflix has revolutionized the way Americans watch TV, with 33.5 million users in the US subscribing to its monthly video streaming service. 145 million people in the US are online video watchers, and the number of hours spend watching video online has risen to a whopping 36%. It is evident that on-demand streaming of video content over the internet is a model that's here to stay. Customers love it for the ability to watch what they want when they want, and wherever they want it, so traditional pay-TV providers like Comcast and DirecTV will eventually find it challenging to continue business as usual. The popularity of watching TV on mobile devices like the iPad, through apps, as well as via gaming consoles like Xbox is expected to increase, with one survey reporting 30% of respondents being inclined towards cord-cutting (the phenomenon of replacing cable/satellite TV with a streaming media subscription). 

There are many distribution technologies and hardware platforms at play in the convergence of television and the internet, so it is important to categorize and distinguish between terms like Internet-TV, Smart TVs, OTT, on-demand, etc. One category of terms deals with streaming content over the internet, the other with the (optional) extension of this content to traditional television sets.

OTT

First, what exactly is OTT? Over-the-top pay-TV is called so because of the way content is delivered via the internet - by coming over the subscriber's existing broadband connection. There is no necessary relation between the internet provider (MSO, say Comcast) and the content provider (say Netflix). A subscriber in New York City could have a broadband internet connection from Time Warner Cable but subscribe to an OTT content package from Dish Network, simply because the content and price offered by Dish serve the subscriber's needs, allowing him or her to watch that content on his laptop or tablet and potentially extend it to the TV set.

Consequently, the major players in the technology industry are hankering to get in on the OTT action. Google, Apple, Intel (now Verizon OnCue) and Sony all have a finger in the OTT pie.

THE CONVERGENCE OF TELEVISION AND INTERNET: WHAT ARE THE PIECES IN THE PUZZLE?

Set Top Boxes / Streaming Media Players (Hardware)
The current hardware involves some external box that helps you stream content delivered over the Internet to your TV. You could connect this set-top-box directly to the TV or go through a device like laptop or phone. Amongst existing tech players looking to break into television, the Apple TV does this currently. Similarly, Google's Chromecast dongle plugs into your computer and streams content from your device to your TV. The Roku's media player box as well as its recently announced Chromecast-like USB device are also designed to integrate online content with your TV.

On the console side, the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft XBox are devices already present in millions of living rooms that connect to TVs and the internet. They have interfaces allowing users to stream content from Netflix and Hulu to TVs like any other streaming media player device.

Dish Network's Hopper and Joey boxes also have streaming capabilities, but Dish currently does not offer content delivered over-the-top.

Amongst software-based streaming media players, Aereo is a company trying to enable streaming of over-the-air television on internet-connected devices.

All these streaming media player devices connect directly to your TV and to your high-speed internet service via your home network (Wi-Fi). Using apps, you then select the shows and movies you want to watch.The point to note is that Google, Apple, Roku, etc. don't yet have licensing deals with content providers, such as the ones that traditional cable/satellite-TV providers enjoy. And this is one of the biggest bottlenecks holding up OTT. The current streaming devices mostly stream old-ish content (called catch-up service) from online content storefronts: iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video and Netflix, to your TV. The major mobile tech companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft and now Amazon) have established ecosystems comprising hardware, software (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) and online content stores, and each seeks to tie customers to its ecosystem. These companies are now seeking solutions to bring TV, the final frontier, into their ecosystems.

It is interesting, however, to realize that OTT pay-TV need not involve a "TV" - which is the center of the scenarios described above. Video from Netflix, Amazon, etc. is usually streamed using an internet-connected device like laptop, tablet or phone and then viewed on the television set. The television is just another viewing screen, albeit the most popular, the most prized, and biggest one. It has traditionally received content from the cable companies but, as described above, consumption patterns are changing, which places it at the center of a renewed fight for the living room. All these companies, from Google, Apple, Amazon and Sony to Verizon and Dish (even Wal-Mart, with Vudu), are attempting to establish OTT services delivered to the TV set  via the internet as the disruption that will revolutionize pay-TV.

Integration with TVs:

Smart TVs are TVs that provide support for apps, allowing content from the Internet or other devices (like the streaming media devices above) to be played on them.

TV manufacturers (like Sony, Samsung) collaborated with tech companies to market a line of OS-specific smart TVs. For example the Google TV initiative is a collaboration of Sony, Logitech and Google that provides support for the Android OS.

Going forward, 2 types of triumvirates will be interesting to watch for their impact on the industry:
1). Of content creators (Disney) + content distributors (Comcast, Dish Network, Amazon, Google) + methods of distribution (cable, satellite, IPTV, Over-the-top-TV / Internet pay-TV)
2). Of TV manufacturers (Samsung / Sony) + Operating System or mobile ecosystem (Android, iOS) + streaming player (Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku)

Going forward, one could also see TVs from Apple, Google, Amazon with the OS built in, the streaming-enabling box like Chromecast built in, with content licensing deals that allow access to old and live content via apps / appstores. These TVs would get content from the Internet as mobile devices currently do, through OS-based content ecosystems.

Pay-TV Providers: Why cable won't die easily
One of the most crucial issues for accessing content is price: how much the consumer pays to watch OTT streaming content. Traditional pay-TV providers enjoy low carriage rates (the amount they pay creators like Disney to carry their content and distribute to subscribers) arising out of long-term negotiations that allow them to charge low prices to subscribers. While the Amazons, Googles and Sonys of the world could build their ecosystems to include TVs and on-demand internet-based TV services, the content certainly won't come cheap because the HBOs and Disneys do not want OTT to cannibalize the large cable companies who serve millions of their existing subscribers.

Recently however, DISH Network signed a long-term content licensing deal with Disney, allowing it rights to stream video content over the internet. This is an inflection point. DISH realized that younger customers are not willing to pay $80 per month to receive channels they don't want to watch, and has secured the right to provide specific content over the internet in a Netflix-type service. Disney gains additional new subscribers who were not being targeted earlier. It is a win-win situation and signals the beginning of OTT. Subscribers certainly have a lot to cheer about!

References:
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/80069.html
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Digital-TV-Movie-Streaming-Reaches-Tipping-Point/1009775
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/22/5334934/netflix-q4-2013-earnings

Creativity and the Brand

What are the things that you like to associate yourself with? The clothes you buy, the watch you wear, the car you drive are all brands. Sure, they serve a purpose, they have certain functionality, but the reason you choose one thing over  another of the same type is its brand.

What is a consumer brand? A brand is formed when a product begins to stand for something common in the perceptions of multiple consumers. When multiple people associate a product with a common characteristic(s), the product rises from being a product to a brand.

The objective of any consumer product-maker, then, would be to create a qualitative perception that stands for something more than just the purpose or intention of the product. A watch is supposed to tell the time, and every watch does that, but what makes say, Tag Heuer a brand is that consumers perceive Tag Heuer watches as more than trinkets that tell time. When a consumer thinks about Tag Heuer, the first thing to cross his mind isn't "a watch that tells time perfectly". Rather, what cross his mind are more intangible, more abstract nuances : 'quality', 'rarity', 'Swiss-made', 'pride in owning a Tag'. Besides these, a significant component of these mental associations (and which influences his buying decision) is how his public image will be enhanced when he is seen sporting this brand. Our quest for social status includes the unapologetic acquisition of items with brands accepted as reflective of wealth and good taste. So the product (a Tag Heuer watch) now becomes associated with values - in terms of respect, stature, and as said before, a sign of the owner's wealth and good taste. And these attributes that lift the product to being a brand.

What is the role of creativity here? Consider the objective mentioned earlier - create a favorable perception that links the product to definite, aspirational attributes in the minds of potential customers. There are channels and techniques of communication to meet these objectives, but creativity is the enabler that allows this to be met memorably, with originality, and in a way that is innovative. The other big role of creativity is in how one manipulates and utilizes these techniques to create a desire in the audience to be associated with the brand.

Creativity and brand-building go hand-in-hand. As much as branding becomes quantitative, that human element that allows the product to transform into an emotional attachment cannot, and will not, be captured by technology. It must come from the human brain - the only machine capable of synthesizing ideas and solutions through a little thing called imagination.

The Brand Jingle Makes A Comeback

There has been a noticeable trend in Indian marketing over the last couple of years. Brands, both domestic and international, have seen an increased focus on the TVC jingle : that distinctive 3-4 second tune that appears at the end of every TV or radio commercial of the brand.

The jingle has long been one of the most important and enduring brand elements - a trademark that seeks to differentiate the brand and install a sense of identity in the mind of the audience. But there is a noticeable trend of them becoming a mainstay of TVCs. In a medium where every second is precious, committing 2-3 seconds of airtime to the jingle is significant. It is certain that brand architects and marketers see tremendous value in leaving audiences with this element.

Some iconic brands have featured a jingle at the end of their TVCs for years. Take Sony, for instance. The Sony jingle helped establish the the aura of the brand and was one of the most significant elements associated with the Sony brand.  The jingle (a quick montage of images followed by the phrase, 'It's A Sony') became the brand's symbol of quality. I call this a jingle rather than a phrase, because it appeared prominently in Sony TVCs in the concluding montage. Whenever you heard it, you recalled Sony's premium legacy, along with your sense of aspiration. 'Its A Sony' conveyed the brand's superiority, proudly and confidently stating that a Sony product carries clout. It made you want to be an owner, as much of the brand as of the clout and prestige attached to it!

Another iconic jingle that helped define the ubiquity of its brand is the Intel jingle. This famous five-note jingle has accompanied the long-running Intel Inside campaign for about two decades. Listen to it here. 
The Intel Inside jingle sought to establish the reliability and quality that came with the presence of an Intel chip in a computer. It has become one of the most recognizable sounds across televisions and radios. The fact that it has remained largely untouched for such a long time, and still is as ubiquitous as ever, signals the power of this trademark. It demonstrates how jingles can become critical to the identity of the brand if nurtured and built carefully. Such is the impact of the jingle that an Intel ad now seems incomplete without it.

Samsung is another company that has nurtured its brand with a consistent TVC jingle. Watch it here. In fact, the Samsung jingle has evolved from featuring in advertisements to being part of the product itself - it is the melody that accompanies the switching on / off of every Samsung television.

LG (Life's Good), Maruti (Way of Life), BMW (Sheer Driving Pleasure), Nestle and Coca-Cola are a few more visible brands that have introduced jingles with their TVC taglines.

Given the high recall value of this brand element, and the distinctiveness it adds to the brand, the TVC jingle can only get more popular. Expect to see more brands jump onto the bandwagon. Its going to be jingle all the way!

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.

Sugar Free Gold: A Study in Advertising Effectiveness

The Sugar Free Gold campaign, 'First Step to Fitness', is a lesson in advertising effectiveness.

The ad (view ad here) shows a slim and sultry Bipasha walking us through a malaise that most individuals suffer from.. the desire to stay fit but the absence of action. We do plenty of thinking about staying fit, but don't end up acting on our thoughts. She goes on to promote Sugar Free Gold, the 'low-calorie sugar substitute', as a starting point to getting fit.

The ad stands out because it illustrates this problem of failure to launch cleverly and clearly. Through familiar scenes like an unused treadmill and the 'unavoidable' partaking of sweets, the spot illustrates the problem in a way that makes you nod sheepishly and say to yourself , 'Yeah, that's me..'. It gets your attention, because it’s talking about you in real life faced with realistic situations that get your fitness goat. No preposterous or over the top advertising here.

It also shows that the planners have done their job. They've studied the audience's behavior in this area and understood how the mind works - most people are bullish on staying fit, but most often its the start, the launch, that's daunting. People are wary about the fitness regime, the grind, and they create excuses to skip it or delay it or simply not begin an exercise routine. The ad has a solution...a simple one, a familiar one that gives that friendly little mental push needed to begin the journey.

'The First Step to Fitness.'

It need not be a big deal, Bipasha says. Start small. Little everyday habits can help you meet your goal. Don't take the elevator, take the stairs instead. It's that simple. And in place of sugar, take Sugar-Free Gold.

Piece of cake, isn't it? That's advertising!

The marketing message has cleverly juxtaposed the product with a social message. By placing the product as the secondary solution that simply accompanies the first, the ad takes the spotlight away from the product. It tries to indicate that the real concern is our well-being instead. By providing a solution that we know is do-able, is good for us, the ad creates trust, and then it very matter-of-factly, almost casually, slips the product before our eyes ("Lift ke jagah stairs lijiye, aur cheeni ki jagah, Sugar-Free Gold"); meaning, 'in place of the elevator, take the stairs, and in place of sugar, take Sugar Free Gold'.
They've refrained from directly selling the product. They've made it look less like advertising and more like community health advice. They know, we're more likely to digest the second pill.

The marketers have tried to kickstart a revolution that requires their product. Positioning Sugar-Free Gold as the first (and most convenient, mind you!) step to fitness is sure to have consumers switching to it to prove to themselves that they're officially on a fitness regime! It is bound to be effective.

Dabur Honey - The Sugar Replacement

Dabur Honey, by far the largest player in the Indian branded honey market with over 75% market share, has reinforced the extension of its positioning from simply a 'honey brand' to a 'daily sweetener' : a healthier, more beneficial alternative to sugar. The new ad campaign (view here) features Indian actress Shilpa Shetty promoting honey as being healthier than sugar, with three clear benefits: making you fit, active, and glowing; that is, younger.

It is exciting to see a widely-used consumer product expanding its positioning to include more functional uses, with a view to boosting consumption. The idea of honey as a sugar alternative isn't new, and has only recently been actively pursued by a honey brand. The timing for Dabur couldn't be better. In an age when fitness, health-food and calorie-counting are buzzwords, especially amongst urbanites, people are constantly looking for ways to rationalize their non-nutritious food intake, while not overly compromising on taste. Sugar is widely viewed as an unhealthy additive, yet necessary for taste, hence it ends up being part of every diet. Positioning honey as its replacement is a sure-shot way to catch the fancy of this segment. From the marketer's perspective, it presents a huge captive market that is already consuming sweetener in the form of sugar, so there is no question of creating a need. And honey is anyway widely consumed for its health benefits, in fact, most urban households invariably stock a bottle of honey as a wellness product. Dabur's attempt is a logical extension of the 'sweet' characteristic of honey to the sweetener category.

From the consumer's perspective, it is a welcome and sought-after solution to the burning problem of reducing sugar intake while maintaining taste. And if it comes with additional benefits like making you look younger, as Shilpa coos in the ad, that's even better. In fact, there is every reason for Shilpa's fitness mantra to turn into a mass, new-age trend - a virally spreading lifestyle choice.

However, as always, the devil is in the details. One must note that the brand / ad has consciously stayed away from mentioning anything related to calories. That's because honey is not a reduced-calorie replacement for sugar, as opposed to artificial sweeteners like Sugar-Free. In fact, honey is composed of 82% sugars! But,being rich and naturally-occurring, and enjoying ancestral branding as a life-enhancing nectar, these facts are largely ignored by Indian consumers. Dabur has shrewdly glossed over this little detail with the perceived transformational benefits of the product.

Still, it shouldn't stand in the way of the brand gate-crashing its way into the sugar cabinet. With a 75% market share already, things can only get sweeter for the brand.

Emirates : Destination First

The Emirates ad campaign that celebrated the airline's various destinations had a different and interesting strategy.

When airlines advertise, they try to impress a differentiating factor in their quality of service or exclusivity of product offering. In this industry, the product is the aircraft itself, plus everything in and around it. So you will see ads showing off brand new aircraft, spacious seats and upgraded in-flight entertainment systems, or service ads highlighting on-time service, a wide connectivity network and hot food.

This is also why airlines tend to go in for brand and livery makeovers so often. It is a constant attempt to paint a picture of health and novelty in the consumers’ minds. Wouldn’t you prefer flying in a gleaming, newly-painted aircraft that has “fresh-off-the- assembly-line” written all over it, as compared to one with dull and drab exteriors that have looked the same since ages? Never mind that the decked-up aircraft is more than 20 years old!

And for all its shortcomings, this approach may be right, because when ticket prices are nearly the same, all that distinguishes one airline from another in the mind of the traveler are these superficial benefits or qualities.

The Emirates campaign brought a new dimension to the airline-traveler equation: the destination of travel. It is a strategy that results, I think, from a deep and true understanding of the traveler’s mindset.

When you think about booking a ticket, what is the first, root thought in your mind? Where do you begin the process of planning a trip from?

Your destination.

Every travel plan starts with a destination in mind. The destination is the reason for flying in the first place, isn’t it? It is after the destination is clear that you get down to the lesser details like flight booking, airline, price, stopovers, departure/arrival timing, seats, service etc. It is here, in this segment of the travel planning process that airlines vie against each for space in the consumer’s mind. And breaking this clutter becomes difficult.

Emirates, brilliantly, tried to influence the consumer at one step earlier in the decision making process. Their ads promoted Emirates’ destinations as the reason to fly, not the airline itself. With rich, striking portrayals of popular and exotic travel places like Rome, Barcelona, Las Vegas and New York, the ads created exciting, aspirational images of those destinations in the mind, giving birth to a want. When the time for actual travel to that destination arrived (when the want turned into a need), the rich, visual memory of that destination (as created by the ad) would instantly be linked to the impending journey, creating gratification that the want is about to be fulfilled. And consequently, with the image of the destination in mind, travel to that destination would immediately be linked to Emirates.

Emirates created a want that it enticingly offered to fulfill, and when the want became a need, the consumer automatically associated Emirates as the preferred vehicle to fulfill that need.

Insightful, fresh, and clutter-breaking.

Knorr Soupy Noodles - a tasty treat, but difficult to eat

HUL's Knorr has been a major player in the packaged soup category. With no presence in the noodles category, it has recently introduced a product that makes both categories meet half-way: soupy noodles.

Both instant noodles (read Maggi) and soups have been marketed as a pre-dinner, evening time snack for families. Pushed as a healthy alternative to junk food during the evening hours when kids, especially, feel hungry and tend to grab whatever they can lay their hands on to satiate cravings. Soupy Noodles maintains this target group and rightly so, because the combination of soup and noodles brings a sense of excitement, almost playfulness, to the food. It sends out a clear message to kids and moms both - why choose one, when you can get both together.

But whether one really does get both together is a matter of contention, as this author uncovered while sampling the product personally. After trying it, there remained one question unanswered - How does one consume it?

There were two aspects -  one with the contents in the bowl, the other with the method of consuming them.

The soup is no doubt delicious, but the noodles themselves are bland. If you use a fork to twist up some noodles, the soup is left behind, and you get a mouthful of ordinary-tasting noodles that aren't as delicious as the original, instant variety. On the other hand, if you've tried using a spoon to eat noodles before, you know it isn't the easiest thing to do - they simply slip off. So if you attack your soupy noodles with a spoon, all you get is a spoonful of soup, and you miss out on the noodles.

It may sound like a trifle, almost comical. But it is a grave situation for the consumer, for this IS what he/she will experience. The reality is that whether you use a spoon, fork or try alternating between the two as this author did, more often that not you do not get to savor the goodness of both ingredients at once.

The product may initially create excitement by riding on the novelty wave, but as repeat consumers will find, you simply don't get the mazaa of noodles and soup together. When it comes down to the actual act of consumption, the brand finds it difficult to deliver on its promise. Its simply an issue of cutlery.

Cinderella Marketing

"Get 12-hour protection from germs."

"The first 24-hour deodorant."

"Keep lips soft and shiny from 9 to 5."

Many products sound like they come with a countdown timer. Twelve hours, and you're out of luck! Like the fairytale's midnight deadline, your products are hourglassed, with the sand slowly slipping away until its time for a re-use.

I call it Cinderella Marketing - giving products a threshold of effectiveness. As limiting as it may sound for the product, it may actually be a well-thought marketing strategy playing on behavioral tendencies : make to the consumer a concrete promise of working for a guaranteed period of time - those few hours in which he/she can rest assured that nothing can go wrong. Its the assurance that for those few hours, he won't suffer from body odor, or that the gleam of her lip gloss will still remain as attractive. But also getting ingrained at the back of his/her mind is the warning that the clock is ticking - there's a stipulated time, only a few hours left before the effect wears off, the promise is broken, the magic disappears, and things go back to normal.


That's where the re-consumption aspect comes in - as a consumer, you've been surreptitiously convinced that one use of your product is good for just X hours, so you'll automatically reach for a re-use after that. Makes marketing sense - if the need for a re-consumption can be created after a fixed number of hours, why make it ambiguous and subjective by attaching indefinite ('long-lasting') time periods to it?

For the seller, its the tangible, numerical value that helps sell more more than the term 'long-lasting'.