Coke Studio - Not Music To Their Rival's Ears

Tracked By VARUN VASUDEVAN

Ever since Coca Cola India announced that it would be launching its cult musical property ‘Coke Studio’ in India, a deceptively simple question has been plaguing us at Brandwagon – Is it going to really work out for Coke? See Coke Studio Season 4 Promo (Pakistan version) -

Coca Cola’s flagship drink Coke (hereafter referred to by this name in the article) is one of the most famous examples of mass marketing. Over the years, Coke has stood for ubiquitous consumption as a product to be enjoyed by people of all ages. If any targeting has been done at all, its has been to up their sales in the country by focusing on consumers who were not taking note of their presence – targeting small town India through the ‘Tanda Matlab Coca Cola’ promotion or the lower income strata through the ‘Paanch Matlab Chotta coke’ campaign. On the other hand, their chief rival Pepsi has built a proposition clearly targeting the youth of India – teenagers and young adults.

Wooing the youth

Of late however, with the series of ‘Khule Toh Bat Chale’ advertisements, Coca Cola started signalling its intent of stepping into Pepsi’s territory. And Coke Studio is Coca Cola’s rocket to the moon. To quote Mr. Abhijit Datta - “Teens are the future of our business. We need to inculcate the habit of consuming our beverage at an early age. Through this association, our objective is not to tactfully drive sales in the next quarter but help strengthen the equity of the brand. Given that teens as a segment forms a critical part of Coca Cola’s spend, a significant part of the annual budget will be spent on Coke Studio.”

With so much riding on Coke Studio, the following questions need answering –

Will this concept really take-off in India?

With more than 96000 fans on facebook a month before its launch on TV (as I write this), there seems to be an enormous spill over effect of Coke Studio Pakistan. While sky high expectations and doubts of Bollywood’s interference may be weighing down some Coke custodians, they can take heart from the positive reviews posted on facebook by the lucky few who got to see it live.

There however remains a nagging question – Will there be a sizeable audience for indie music, classical music and rock on mainstream TV? Luckily for Coke, young India seems to be increasingly acceptable to new sounds (influenced by both home grown acts as well as the increased penetration of cult international acts like Porcupine Tree, Katatonia etc in India through college fests). It is a pleasant surprise that nearly one-third (Indian Classical, Indi Pop and Rock) of the youth fall into this category considering Bollywood’s all pervasiveness.*

Who will Coke really be targeting through this initiative? Will Coke and Pepsi end up spelling out the same positioning with only the product acting as a differentiator?

Continuing from the previous point, Coke is likely to end up catering to the more ‘serious music lover’ youth of India - the kind who would be listening to bands you don’t hear every day, appreciating specifics like guitar chords and riffs, the singer’s vocal range and not just humming the tune in a simple sing-a-long manner. One can almost see Coke getting positioned as this ‘cult-underground type youth brand’ as against Pepsi’s on your face and populistic ‘Youngistaan’.

So relax, there is a while to go before the only differentiator is a blind-taste test.

What tangible benefit is Coke looking at with respect to understanding its consumer?

Coke Studio has already been inviting facebook fans to watch episodes live and this offers a great touch point for Coca-cola to qualitatively understand its target audience first hand. Really, a small interaction with a fan waiting to see his idols perform will reveal some of his interests, traits etc.  

Also, a recently quoted incident by a fan where some Coke officials helped him out with his headphones again increases good-will towards the brand.

Besides, it serves as a platform for new coke offerings and promotional schemes.

Obviously, all this has to be carried out in the most unobtrusive manner possible, as the consumer has come mainly for the music.

 What advantage does such an entity offer Coca Cola vis-à-vis Pepsi?

Coke and Pepsi try to ensure top-of-mind recall through associations and sponsorships. If this concept works in India, Coke will reap the benefits of a proven tie-up running for a long time, something like a ‘Barclays’ Premier League giving it enormous recall mileage as consumers will discuss about the show all year round or importantly - atleast during the four summer months every year when the show is aired. Pepsi, on the other hand has no signature event of its own.

So all in all, the concept seems to be a ‘sound’ vehicle for Coke to carve a greater niche for itself in the minds of the Indian youth.

*References for data -
http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/YouthSurvey/Habit-Belief.aspx

Kya Cool Hai Hum?

Contributed By AMAN OBEROI


It's not just about cooling anymore. Most Air Conditioning brands are having to sweat it out in order to differentiate themselves from the rest.The basic function of cooling simply isn't enough for these brands to sell.
Carrier still focusses on their core competency of Even Cooling , Just like in the Office.


On the other hand we have Voltas which focuses on Sensible cooling, and reduced power bills. A very TATA way of going about things - solid and sensible products for the value conscious and discerning Indian customer. They have continued their concept of using Kids to showcase the fact that even kids know that Voltas provides Sensible Cooling techniques.The latest series of commercials have kids using Nursery Rhymes such as Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty etc. to drive home the point of reduced power bills.

Hitachi i-Clean AC

Hitachi seems to promote itself on the ease of maintenance factor that its AC's feature. The new line of i-Clean AC's do not require the tedious process of the yearly cleaning that is required for other AC's.


Panasonic Hide and Seek AC

Panasonic seems to use the dual strategy of a Brand Ambassador as well as a product Innovation. They have come up with a cube AC,which is a slightly squared to rectangle shape and will be in the shape of cube on the whole and thereby giving you an aesthetic look to your interiors and may look unique unlike the regular split ACs.


Samsung Virus Doctor AC

Samsung has decided to bank upon the popularity of its brand ambassador as well as the fear that viruses have created in the mind of the public . They try to showcase the AC as an effective way to keep the house Germ free and Virus Free.This AC seems to be certified by various organizations like Kitasato, Yeonsei, Retrosceen, Chungnam National University, BAK UK, RTI test.  This is the first of its kind air conditioner to hit the market, made possible by Samsung.


Onida Pre Cool AC

Onida makes use of an everyday situation in the life of most people , the problem of entering a heated home and then having to switch on the AC.
Onida Air Conditioners have come up with this Pre Cool ACs which just does that without any hassles.  Just before you are about to enter or nearer your home just send an SMS from your regular Onida Pre-Cool Mobile Phone to the AC receiving device and now your Airconditioner will be switched on automatically without any manual intervention and when you enter your home, then you can enjoy the full coolness of the AC immediately upon your entering.  You will need to send the SMS “AC ON” to the receiving device to make your air conditioner switched on automatically. They have clearly differentiated themselves with respect to the competition and have created a strong impact in the consumers mind, who remembers it as the SMS wala AC at the time of purchase.


LG active AC

LG uses its status as the official sponsor of the ICC world cup to draw attention to its tagline STAY HEALTHY, STAY ACTIVE. It focuses on the benefits of clean germ free air conditioning, and how it leads to a more active lifestyle.

Axe - The Googly Commercials

Tracked By ANIKET KHARE

Perhaps in the west, a group watching them would chorus “AWESOME!!!”

In India, the reaction, when asked in public would perhaps be closer to outrage!!!

But privately, the same question would perhaps evoke amusement and a little admiration too for the guys who designed them!!!

Yes people, I am talking about the latest set of Axe-Googly advertisements -

Now, naughty ads with more than a normal hint at sensuality has generally been the flavour of most Axe advertisements, but for once they seem to have gotten really creative . . .

With a host of cricketing terms that have then been interpreted in the AXE-way, the advertisements certainly increased the fun component of cricket in IPL, not that the IPL was fun-starved in any way.

Critics of these ads say they are a tad too close to being raunchy than being all that entertaining and to that extent cater to more basal instincts than are common amongst the Sec-A and Sec-B customers (target of AXE). But it is exactly on these points that the advertising strategy needs to be looked into, a few salient points of which are listed below:

•    The ads weren't and haven’t yet been launched on TV. The ad makers were very clear that they did not want to incur the wrath of social-acceptability brigade by broadcasting it through media where bigger social units like families/friend circles/elderly circles would view the same. The ads were launched only on Internet TV knowing too well that viewers of this medium would often be watching the telecast alone on their laptops/mobile phones/occasional desktops. Thus they very craftily negotiated a lot of pressure on the social acceptability of these ads.
•     Many brands went to ridiculous extents to have their ads have something to do with cricket while the Cricket World Cup 2011 was on. From Hair Oil and Shampoos to Telecom service providers and auto companies, everyone wanted a piece of the World Cup action. Not AXE!!! They waited for the IPL, knowing very well that the sanctity associated with cricket as it is played in the World Cup is quite different from the seriousness with which people would look at things during IPL, thus not rubbing any of those very very serious cricket lovers on the wrong side.
•     And subtly somewhere, I got the feeling people would’ve been much more offended had these ads been released stand-alone. However, the AXE super models seemed just a variant of the IPL cheerleaders . . . I mean, if you could have the White Mischief Girls, not reason AXE-mischief Girls should be frowned upon!!!

A look around the Sec-A and Sec-B crowd would tell us that the crowd using laptops, their age groups and habits matched the AXE identity better than any other singular group entity.

To conclude, while the debate of aesthetics vs. acceptability of these ads could be a long-drawn one, they have certainly given a breath of fresh air to the world of advertising that so revolves around cricket in this country!! 

ESPNSTAR - Changing The Game

Tracked By VARUN VASUDEVAN

Make no mistake about it. The massive outpouring of love, support and idiosyncrasies of 1.2 billion Indians played a big role in pushing Team India across the boundary in the 2011 cricket world cup. So when 1.2 billion people cried tears of joy with Sachin and co on that fateful day, a certain sports-production house was weeping copious tears of happiness*. There was only one thing left to do and they did it exactly a month later, but with a difference! Piqued? Read on...

When NDTV comes out with clippings of terror attacks or other big stories along with a slogan ‘You saw it first on NDTV’, you know that the channel is trying to brand itself as the quickest news provider in the country. No doubt, you would have seen similar advertisements by other media houses – print, TV or radio.

While this self-effusive branding has started to become rather stale, media houses are unable to resist similar slogans when they pull-off some coverage of significance. What media houses fail to understand is that these TV promotions fail to connect on an emotional level with most consumers – it’s too cold and business like. It goes in through one ear and out the other. Popular press consumers are just an extension of the you and me of today – they will shake the achiever’s hand just for the heck of it, caring not a tuppence as long as they have no mention in the achievement. 

But finally, when one felt that egoism will continue to ignore this cold reasoning, ESPNSTAR and their agency – Image Communications bucked the trend. See TVC –

There is little doubt about the fact that ESPNSTAR wanted to pat itself on the back and remind its viewers about where they watched the world cup (You saw it here, baby!). But, where this creative and brand exercise stands out is in its consumer (viewer) connect, not perhaps on a direct level like some ‘khelo and jeeto’ contest, but on a more emotional level.

The channel did well to understand that there is a sentiment of ‘this world cup belongs to every Indian’ running deep in India. They just needed to check out the number of ‘I am a proud Indian’ posts on facebook that day. 


Every Indian - from a granny to a kid follows some superstition for the greater good of the Indian Cricket Team. When India wins, you hear the usual – ‘Thank god, I did not shift out of my lucky seat’. And generally, when we are watching the match in a group, we make a great fuss over such people, and they feel good about it - leading to a good deal of bonding between the fuss-maker and the superstitious friend.

ESPNSTAR simply tapped into this typical Indian behavior, donning the fuss-maker’s hat, thanking the fan for his role, knowing that he would feel happy about it. What's more, he would even return the wishes and compliment the channel for its coverage, thereby establishing a greater bond between the two entities. Don't we see it everywhere - a mutual admiration society!


This might be game changing as far as 'media-house' branding is concerned.


As for the TVC itself - it has the feel of one of those classic commercials from the 90s.

*Source for data - http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-04-01/news/29370596_1_semi-final-advertisers-india-vs-sri-lanka

Maggi - The Mystery Marketing

Tracked By KUMAR RAUNAK

Nestle maggi has come out with another marketing masterstroke to engage its target consumers and create excitement around the brand by launching the all new maggi with a mystery flavour. Under this campaign the consumers are asked to taste and name the flavour and send in their entries via sms, facebook fan page and email. This campaign is being supported by some good television commercials and print ads. The entire campaign is designed by advertising agency Publicis India.

This is an engaging way to keep the target consumers excited about the brand and maintain the novelty factor. Maggi which has had virtual monopoly in India in packaged noodles market has off late seen some good competition from players like Glaxosmithkline’s Foodles, HUL Knorr soupy noodles, Ching’s secrets, and Smith & Jones. In order to avoid ceding ground to such players this kind of marketing strategies would stand them in good stead.

The Royal Wedding

Contributed by AMAN OBEROI

When I read reports of people waking up at 4am to watch the Royal wedding , I knew that this was the Wedding of the decade. One can understand UK going all gaga over the wedding but such was the kind of global hype surrounding the wedding that the hysteria was not limited to the UK alone. People from Australia to India to the US have been talking about this event.

Analysts have estimated that the economic impact of the Royal Wedding is around $3.3 billion, although there were no direct sponsors for the wedding, the TV channels had a great spectacle to cover, which meant more eyeballs that translates to higher advertising revenues.

Brands such as Pond's White Beauty(The reason for Princess Kate's flawless glowing skin), Maggi Pazzta (Italian delight For those hungry moments during the extremely stretched wedding), Volkswagen (The German People's car sponsoring the Royal Wedding), MakeMyTrip (Royal Honeymoon Packages) , 

Tanishq (the wedding ring), Slice ( Aamasutra??), Yardley (The only British Brand in this list) - All of them lined up to be sponsors of this Mega Event. This was in India!

In the online space we had the the Royal Wedding Channel on Youtube, which was the most viewed channel that day with live streaming of the Royal spectacle. But the single most impressive Royal wedding Stunt was pulled off by T mobile, who spoofed the Royal Wedding Entrance Dance in this Video 

They used Royal Look alikes to create an impressive sequence which has attracted 18million views so far. They had a channel named the Life is For Sharing Channel which showcased their creative genius.

Shaadi.com chose to take advantage of the Royal Wedding by using the Royal Wedding theme to revamp their website and ran a survey on which do their members think is the best Indian celebrity to match Prince William. The survey showed that Katrina Kaif as the top voted celebrity with 75% votes followed by Priyanka Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha. 

The Kodak ad, which was a corny pun intended at Middletons (Middletones).

TLC has been offering viewers 89 hours of programming with royal themes, among them “Royally Astounding: 30 Defining Days of the Monarchy,” “Untold Stories of a Royal Bridesmaid” and “Wild About Harry.”

Betty Crocker has been a symbol for the American Kitchen Values since 1921 but even they found a reason to get associated with the British  Royal Wedding, with a special Royal wedding cake recipe.

The Papa John's commemorative pizza was too much for Advertising Age, which said, "There is no excuse for this sort of marketing tie-in".

Such a neutral event allowed brands to jump onto the advertising brandwagon and get associated in anyway that was possible. Such a stunt works only if executed properly , otherwise they might end up like Kodak , whose Middleton ad is being severely criticized (only a 34% approval rating).But if pulled of with grace they could end up becoming Legendary campaign like the T Mobile Dance.

Volkswagen - The Company That Stands By Its Meaning

Contributed By TEJA BANDARU

Germany is known for cars. The country is so connected to cars that whenever the word ‘Germany’ comes up, BMW, Benz or VW flash almost in an instant; well beer also flashes for some people but since I am a teetotaler, cars usually come up. VW was created by the Nazis. Though they were notorious, the company that they created was pure, classy and a brand in itself. It has got some of the best brands in the auto industry under its umbrella and is one of the largest auto companies in the world. Such a company which has conquered most of the major world car markets was late to enter India but is quite ahead of what it does when compared to its competitors. It has done some brilliant work in all kinds of media; be it digital, print, TVC.

It is also the first automobile company to use ‘road blocking’; which is blocking the entire newspaper for its ads. The result: superb visibility. Similarly its talking newspaper created a quite a flutter. Digital marketing or ‘whatever’ marketing should be more interactive in order to capture potential customers. The world is evolving with lots of knowledge at disposal to the common man. Marketers should understand that the future customers no longer respond to static promotion. They should involve the audience and this is what VW has done. It involved the audience. It connected to people. One example of this can be seen in this video:

Same is the case with the talking newspaper.

Now you must be thinking “alright! Promotion is excellent .But what about cars?” I am coming to that point. In India, VW initially launched Jetta and the Passat. Unlike the west, VW in India is perceived as a premium brand, hence the launch of the ‘premium’ cars (actually Jetta is not while Passat is somewhat premium). And price? The price WILL be expensive as the company sources most of its components from abroad as VW doesn’t compromise on quality and is still trying to find local suppliers to match its requirements. Next it launched the Taureg and the Beetle a little later (sorry if I interchanged). Now why Beetle? Beetle, in Europe is the actual people’s car that Hitler conceived (stolen, to be precise). Well yeah, though it sells for 20 odd lakhs in India. Now for a late entrant like VW, it is foolish to assume that a country whose per capita income is less has lot of potential for an iconic two seater car whose power, mileage is less than a small car that comes for 5.5 lakhs (Its Swift, if you’re thinking). So why did it launch? The answer is that the company launched Beetle to propel its brand further in India. VW is not clearly looking at the numbers but is looking at the intangible benefits it obtains and with Beetle’s iconic design; it isn’t tough to capture the audience mindshare. This was a clever move and has really paid off. Next was the stunning Polo that arrived; solid build quality, nimble etc. etc. were there. The numbers took off and opened a new avenue for VW in India.

So, the essence is that VW has made a pioneer in itself in one of the world’s fastest growing auto markets. It is really a tough task to enter a new market when the competition is already at logger heads. It is a lesson that needs to be learnt by not only its fellow competitors but also other companies.

Tanishq - Shining Out From The Crowd

Tracked By VARUN VASUDEVAN

In a first for this blog, Brandwagon forays into the luxury branding space (that’s one P less to worry about) to make sense of the recent Tanishq promotion featuring the Big B and Jaya Bachchan.

Question. Who is the target audience for branded diamond jewellery? Off the top of my head, I would say – women, belonging to sec A and sec B socio-economic class, either engaged or married. So obvious, ain’t it? Given this background, on what lines do you position your diamond jewellery?

To the above target group, XYZ diamonds are more than just pretty stones, they elevate you to your most beautiful self (ala Nakshatra) or they radiate your true inner beauty (ala Asmi). Really, it’s like most apparel positionings you see in the popular press – You rack your brains to break the clutter and you come up with the same thing again and again. So, what’s the way out of this quandary? Get a better looking model than Katrina Kaif?

This is where consumer research came to the aid of Tanishq. The marketing guys here decided to dig deep and found that –

• There is a huge diamond gifting market in India – hubbies or fiancés buying diamonds for their better halves
• Diamonds are expensive. Needless to say, all its quality parameters must be A grade. “Hey, but what are these parameters” – ask not only men but also women. So there is a need to educate the masses about discerning the quality of a diamond  
• Men find it very difficult to choose jewellery for their partners, put in effort and expect that elusive ‘wifey’s appreciation’

Armed with these precious insights, Tanishq set off to create the following TVC –

The new positioning can be seen targeting both men (as the buyer) and women (as the ultimate consumer) and can be stated as – To the above target audience, Tanishq is a brand of diamond jewellery that brings with it the stamp of quality – with each of the parameters taken care of and is your trusted guide to diamond gifting. Thus, Tanishq positions itself as a diamond expert expertly conveyed by the male characters of the TVC.

We at Brandwagon think that this TVC is truly clutter breaking. Hey, but don’t take our word for it. See what the facebookers have to say about its efficacy –

Ah, you know its working when they say.....'so sweet'. Now maybe, Tanishq should teach a thing or two about standing out (and not up!) to its cousin brand – a certain Docomo.