Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India
The Times of India (TOI) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper which is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2011, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in India.
The Times Of India was founded in Nov 1838, during the British Raj as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce in Mumbai. Later in 1861, it was renamed to The Times of India. For almost 2 centuries, TOI has stood strong as one of the top brands in print media.
Its easier to sell a high-involvement product where the prospective customer spends enough time learning about it in general, than a low-involvement product like newspapers. The news are pretty much the same in any of them. So the question that arises is how has The Times of India been able to successfully get the prospective customer to pick up their brand of newspaper over the others? This requires a very good understanding of marketing and especially consumer behaviour and TOI has mastered the same.
Research has shown us that 85% of purchases are made at the point of sale. With such a significant statistic to support and this number will probably be higher for low-involvement products, creating a recall is the best proven solution to direct consumer to the product or brand.
This is what Times of India has done all these years through the advertising campaigns. In the past couple of years they have been able to initiate some wonderful campaigns to connect with the society and create a positive brand for themselves.
The oldest ad from TOI that I could remember was a parody of Sachin Tendulkar in the 90's.
In 2006, TOI initiated A Day in the Life of India campaign to try and showcase the pieces of a vast multi-cultural mosaic called India. The purpose was to connect on a common platform with the people of the county and spread the brand awareness. How can one forget the famous "Rs. 100 note ad"?
In Dec 2007, TOI launched the famous Lead India campaign. This was a sequel to the newspaper's earlier India Poised initiative launched in January 2007. While India Poised celebrated India's recent successes and its growing importance on the global radar, it also conducted a critical assessment of sectors where India failed to deliver. Public governance was on top of this list.
Lead India, therefore, addressed that concern by offering the most deserving a shot at active politics while cutting short the regular long-winded, and often extremely frustrating, path up the political ladder. To spread the message to a wider audience, the campaign showcased some wonderful ads and roped in a couple of celebrities too like Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor etc. and Abhishek Bachchan as the brand ambassador.
Lead India was a hunt to identify new leaders for a new India, men and women with the vision and ability to empower India with the kind of political leadership that is so conspicuous by its absence.
In 2008, TOI launched the Teach India campaign to to teach spoken English to the youth belonging to the underprivileged sections of the urban society. The aim was to empower the youth for a better livelihood. As with the Lead India campaign, the message was to be spread to the entire nation and hence needed a brand ambassador to campaign for them. Aamir Khan was choosen for the same.
In 2010, The Times of India in collaboration with the Jang Group had initiated a campaign Aman ki Asha - A desire for peace. They have come together to energize the process of peace between the two countries - India and Pakistan and feel that the media which speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the people can help in writing a final chapter, adding a happy twist to a story that seemed headed for tragedy.
Last year, TOI re-initiated A Day in the Life of India - Celebrating a circus called India campaign but with a different motive as compared to earlier. The campaign sought to invite every Indian to capture A Day in the Life of India in their inimitable style - Shoot a photo or video, draw a cartoon or just tell a joke, on anything which they feel makes India, India. The best entries won attractive prizes. It went on to become one of the country’s largest ever programme in collective story-telling. The following website developed for the same contains all the contents.
http://adayinlife.timesofindia.com/index.html
Even after almost 2 centuries of being in the business, Times of India is doing every bit to maintain the already established positive brand through its social campaigns. These campaigns are interesting, fun to watch and spread an important message to the nation and in its own way helps to awaken the society and bring the people together for a noble cause. I hope to see more such initiatives from them in the coming years.
The Times of India (TOI) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper which is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2011, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in India.
The Times Of India was founded in Nov 1838, during the British Raj as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce in Mumbai. Later in 1861, it was renamed to The Times of India. For almost 2 centuries, TOI has stood strong as one of the top brands in print media.
Its easier to sell a high-involvement product where the prospective customer spends enough time learning about it in general, than a low-involvement product like newspapers. The news are pretty much the same in any of them. So the question that arises is how has The Times of India been able to successfully get the prospective customer to pick up their brand of newspaper over the others? This requires a very good understanding of marketing and especially consumer behaviour and TOI has mastered the same.
Research has shown us that 85% of purchases are made at the point of sale. With such a significant statistic to support and this number will probably be higher for low-involvement products, creating a recall is the best proven solution to direct consumer to the product or brand.
This is what Times of India has done all these years through the advertising campaigns. In the past couple of years they have been able to initiate some wonderful campaigns to connect with the society and create a positive brand for themselves.
The oldest ad from TOI that I could remember was a parody of Sachin Tendulkar in the 90's.
In 2006, TOI initiated A Day in the Life of India campaign to try and showcase the pieces of a vast multi-cultural mosaic called India. The purpose was to connect on a common platform with the people of the county and spread the brand awareness. How can one forget the famous "Rs. 100 note ad"?
In Dec 2007, TOI launched the famous Lead India campaign. This was a sequel to the newspaper's earlier India Poised initiative launched in January 2007. While India Poised celebrated India's recent successes and its growing importance on the global radar, it also conducted a critical assessment of sectors where India failed to deliver. Public governance was on top of this list.
Lead India, therefore, addressed that concern by offering the most deserving a shot at active politics while cutting short the regular long-winded, and often extremely frustrating, path up the political ladder. To spread the message to a wider audience, the campaign showcased some wonderful ads and roped in a couple of celebrities too like Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor etc. and Abhishek Bachchan as the brand ambassador.
Lead India was a hunt to identify new leaders for a new India, men and women with the vision and ability to empower India with the kind of political leadership that is so conspicuous by its absence.
In 2008, TOI launched the Teach India campaign to to teach spoken English to the youth belonging to the underprivileged sections of the urban society. The aim was to empower the youth for a better livelihood. As with the Lead India campaign, the message was to be spread to the entire nation and hence needed a brand ambassador to campaign for them. Aamir Khan was choosen for the same.
In 2010, The Times of India in collaboration with the Jang Group had initiated a campaign Aman ki Asha - A desire for peace. They have come together to energize the process of peace between the two countries - India and Pakistan and feel that the media which speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the people can help in writing a final chapter, adding a happy twist to a story that seemed headed for tragedy.
Last year, TOI re-initiated A Day in the Life of India - Celebrating a circus called India campaign but with a different motive as compared to earlier. The campaign sought to invite every Indian to capture A Day in the Life of India in their inimitable style - Shoot a photo or video, draw a cartoon or just tell a joke, on anything which they feel makes India, India. The best entries won attractive prizes. It went on to become one of the country’s largest ever programme in collective story-telling. The following website developed for the same contains all the contents.
http://adayinlife.timesofindia.com/index.html
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Even after almost 2 centuries of being in the business, Times of India is doing every bit to maintain the already established positive brand through its social campaigns. These campaigns are interesting, fun to watch and spread an important message to the nation and in its own way helps to awaken the society and bring the people together for a noble cause. I hope to see more such initiatives from them in the coming years.
A very good post Avnish! TOI has always been innovative in implementing new ideas which not only help them maintain a positive brand image but to leave a long-lasting impression in the minds of people. All of these campaigns have India as the central theme let be education,leadership, social service etc.
ReplyDeleteEven the latest one I found is "Maitree Bandhan" a campaign aimed at developing friendship between India and Bangladesh.
Its trually fantastic!
Thanks a lot Rushi...
ReplyDelete