Monday, April 9, 2012

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!

Friday, October 28, 2011

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!

Friday, August 5, 2011

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?