Advertisements - Campaigns that struck a chord

Advertising is one of the most important factors behind the success of any product today. The quality of a product may be superb, but if it fails to create a buzz in the market in terms of visibility and desirability, it is more or less written off. However, there are times when the best of ad campaigns fall short of sending a clear and desired message to the target audience and end up being exercises in futility. These are either over ambitious, unrealistic or simply too intelligent for their own good.

But some of the products have managed to successfully create a brand of their own and have stayed connected to the people all these years through their memorable advertisements on television.

The top 10 brands in India have already been covered in Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India

Here are a few campaigns for different brands that are worth recognizing.

1. Apple - Think Different	2. Tata Tea - Jaago Re
3. Public Service Film - Respect the National Anthem	4. Public Service Film - Hostel
5. Public Service Film - Celebrating Independence	6. Tata - A Century of Trust
7. Titan - Be Born Everyday	8. Indian Cancer Association - Women feel safer with men who smoke
9. Future Group - Sone ki Chidiya	10. Mastercard - Priceless
11. Limca - Refreshing	12. 7 Up - I feel Up

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India - McDonald's

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbeque restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. In 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth.

McDonald's Corporation earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants. Its business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary franchise fees and marketing fees, which are calculated as a percentage of sales, McDonald's may also collect rent, which may also be calculated on the basis of sales.

When McDonald's thought of entering the Indian market, there was scepticism that Indians would prefer burgers and fast food to local food offerings. Also from the earliest investments in India, Multinational Company (MNC) owners of restaurant chains have struggled to adapt to the needs of India's many markets. Some pulled out of the country after failed ventures. But this didn't stopped McDonald's from opening its first outlet in Mumbai in 1996 under McDonald's India.

The starting point for McDonald's India was to change Indian consumers' perceptions, which associated it with being 'foreign', 'American', 'not knowing what to expect' and 'discomfort with the new or different'. McDonald's wanted to position itself as 'Indian' and a promoter of 'family values and culture', as well as being 'comfortable and easy'. Simultaneously, the brand wanted to communicate that, operationally, it was committed to maintaining a quality service, cleanliness and offering value for money.

Initially, McDonald's India did not have enough reach to use mass media such as television advertising. Instead, most of its marketing effort focused on outlet design, new store openings and PR about its attempts to tailor a menu to Indian tastes. Products like McAloo Tikki burger, Veg Pizza McPuff and Chicken McGrill burger were formulated and introduced using spices favored by Indians. The menu development team has been responsible for special sauces which use local spices do not contain beef and pork. Other products do not contain eggs and are 100% vegetarian.

Customers were educated about the build of the products and extensive kitchen tours were arranged for them. They were shown how separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian platforms are used for cooking - a first in any market for McDonald's.

McDonald's launched its first TVC Stage Fright under the campaign Mcdonald's mein hai kuch baat. This attempted to establish an emotional connection between the Indian family and the brand. Over the years advertising has reinforced this positioning, supported by promotions.

In 2003, McDonald’s launched a worldwide brand campaign called i’m lovin’ it. They incorporated the i’m lovin it theme into its advertising, promos, public relations, restaurant merchandising and overall brand communications initiatives. The company's one-minute service guarantee attempted to reinforce its reputation for fast, friendly and accurate service. To kids sitting on the Ronald McDonald bench, pumping sauce from the sauce machine became brand rituals.

In 2004, McDonald's realized there was untapped potential in the youth audience who considered McDonald's expensive and mainly for children. Hence they launched the Happy Price Menu campaign with a value message for a younger audience. For the first time McDonald's India saw a surge of younger consumers and people from socio-economic class B walk into the stores.


In 2008, the Happy Price Menu campaign used characters from the Indian film industry to reiterate the theme of Yesteryear's Prices. It featured Bollywood stars from past decades and a message that prices have not risen in line with the passage of time.

In addition to the McDelivery service, a number of products were launched under the i'm lovin' it campaign.

The recent themes used by Mcdonald's for advertisements is an attempt to maintain the already established connection with the family, kids and youth.

McDonald's success in the Indian market for the past 16 years can be mainly attributted to its creative advertising campaigns which struck a chord with the people of the country in addition to its tailored menu for Indian market.

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India - Amul

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India

Amul is the name of a dairy cooperative in India. Formed in 1946, it is a brand name managed by an Indian cooperative organisation, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.03 million milk producers in Gujarat, India.

Amul is based in Anand, Gujarat and has been a successful example of cooperative organization. Amul spurred the White Revolution in India which in turn made India the largest producer of milk and milk products in the world. Amul is the largest food brand in India and world's largest pouched milk brand. It is also the world's largest vegetarian cheese brand. Dr Verghese Kurien, former chairman of the GCMMF, was the pioneer of this White Revolution and a key person behind the success of Amul.

The success of the dairy co-operative movement spread rapidly in Gujarat. In order to combine forces and expand the market while saving on advertising and avoid a situation where milk cooperatives would compete against each other it was decided to set up an apex marketing body of dairy cooperative unions in Gujarat. Thus, in 1973, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation was established. The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producer's Union Ltd. which had established the brand name Amul in 1955 decided to hand over the brand name to GCMMF. Impressed with the development of dairy cooperatives in Kaira District and its success, Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minister of India, in 1964 asked Dr. Kurien to replicate the Anand type dairy cooperatives all over India. Thus, the National Dairy Developed Board was formed and Operation Flood Programme was launched for replication of the Amul Model all over India.

Amul has been famous for its Ad campaigns which were designed as a series of hoardings with topical ads, relating to day-to-day issues. The campaign which started in 1970's was widely popular and earned a Guinness world record for the longest running ad campaign in the world. It was also popular for not using the celebrities in advertisement campaigns. A Day in the Life of India showcases the compilation of Amul's ads till date.

Amul products' mascot has been the very recognisable Amul baby (a chubby butter girl usually dressed in dotted dress) showing up on hoardings and product wrappers with the equally recognisable tag line Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul. The mascot was first used for Amul Butter. But in recent years in a second wave of ad campaign for Amul products, she has also been used for other products too.


Apart from this long running Ad campaign, Amul's TVC have been creative. The focus of these ads has always been to showcase the brand as one which inspires the masses and help create a stong recall. The Taste Of India as a tagline did wonders for Amul.


Amul has a wide variety of products to offer and hence the range of ad campaigns launched individually to promote each one of them. The most recognized among them is of Amul Butter with the famous tag line Utterly Butterly Delicious.


Amul tried to change the way how milk products were perceived by the youngsters in the country with its bubbly campaigns. Amul Milk along with Amul Kool helped increased the sales of milk for Amul in the country.


Amul Cheese's campaigns followed on similar lines and was a success too.


Amul launched a few more commercial ads under The Taste of India tag line to showcase the wide range of products on offer and how the brand has connected with the hearts of a billion people in this country.


The establishment of Amul is also known as White Revolution. The White Revolution of India inspired the notable Indian film-maker Shyam Benegal to base his film Manthan (1976) on it. The film itself was financed by over 5 lakh rural farmers in Gujarat who contributed Re 1 each to the film's budget. Upon its release, these same farmers went in truckloads to watch 'their' film, making it a commercial success and being chosen for the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
The popular song Mero gaam Katha parey... the title song of this national award winning film Manthan, told the story of Amul model of co-operatives.

 

Now, 35 years later, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul, has recreated the magic of Manthan with a new music video which shows Bharat catching up with India. The Manthan music video has an unique emotional appeal. The lines like khush rahe tera beta beti in the new music video shows how it is because of the efforts of a rural milk producer that nutritional requirements of a child to a urban mother is taken care off.

In all these years Amul has emerged as a leading Indian brand and was named the Most Trusted brand in the Food and Beverages sector in The Brand Trust Report, 2011. This is one of the very few brands to have had a huge impact on the society as a whole.

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India - Coca-Cola

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink produced by The Coca-Cola Company, an American multinational beverage corporation, and is often referred to simply as Coke. It was first produced in 1890's and is now sold in more than 200 countries.

Coca-Cola was the leading soft drink brand in India until 1977 when it left rather than reveal its formula to the government and reduce its equity stake as required under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) which governed the operations of foreign companies in India. Post liberalization, after a 16-year absence, Coca-Cola returned to India in 1993, cementing its presence with a deal that gave Coca-Cola ownership of the nation's top soft-drink brands and bottling network.

The post-liberalization period in India saw the comeback of Coke but Pepsi had already beaten Coca-Cola to the punch. Pepsi’s head-start gave Coke a disadvantage in the mind of the consumer. Pepsi’s appeal focused on youth and when Coke entered India in 1993 and approached the market selling an American way of life, it failed to resonate as expected.

Coke’s acquisition of local popular Indian brands including Thums Up, Limca, Maaza, Citra and Gold Spot provided not only physical manufacturing, bottling, and distribution assets but also strong consumer preference. Recognizing that a single global strategy or single global campaign wouldn’t work, locally relevant executions became an increasingly important element of supporting Coke’s global brand strategy.

This led to numerous advertising campaigns targeted to broaden the brand positioning and development. In 1999, they launched the Jo chaho ho Jaye, CocaCola Enjoy campaign. Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai were the new brand ambassadors for Coke. In 2000, CocaCola cashed in on Hrithik Roshan's overnight stardom by signing him as one of the company's brand ambassador. All 3 had a huge fan following and were successful in creating a recall.

In 2001, after almost a decade of lagging rival Pepsi in the region, Coke India re-examined its approach in an attempt to gain leadership in the Indian market and capitalize on significant growth potential, particularly in rural markets. The foundation of the new strategy grounded brand positioning and marketing communications in consumer insights, acknowledging that urban versus rural India were two distinct markets on a variety of important dimensions. This launched the 2 India campaign -

Life ho to aisi (life as it should be) campaign targeted at the urban market


and Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola campaign targeted at the rural market.


In an effort to make the price point of Coke within reach of this high-potential market, Coca-Cola launched the Accessibility Campaign, introducing a new 200ml bottle, smaller than the traditional 300ml bottle found in urban markets, and concurrently cutting the price in half, to Rs. 5. This pricing strategy closed the gap between Coke and basic refreshments like lemonade and tea, making soft drinks truly accessible for the first time.
Literally translated to "Coke means refreshment", the phrase directly addressed both the primary need of this segment for cold refreshment while at the same time positioning Coke as a "Thanda" or generic cold beverage just like tea, lassi, or lemonade. As a result of the Thanda campaign, Coca-Cola won Advertiser of the Year and Campaign of the Year in 2003.

The allegations of higher pesticides content in Coke than the specified limits had hit the company hard after it had managed to successfully establish the brand in the country. With sales continuing to experience a precipitous drop, Coca-Cola tried hard to restore the positive image. The following advertisement was one of them under the Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola campaign.

In 2010, a new advertising campaign Open Happiness was launched following the Jashan Manale campaign with Hrithik. The brand was linked to happiness and there were a series of advertisements under it with Coke Khule to baat chale and Brrrrrr campaign. Imran Khan was the new face of CocaCola replacing Hrithik Roshan.

During the Diwali celebrations in India, CocaCola launched the Celebrate Diwali @ home with friends and family! campaign in 2010 and Do Diye campaign in 2011. The catchy jingle was an instant hit on both the occasions.



The current campaign Umeedon wali dhoop, sunshine wali aasha is a part of CocaCola's worldwide initiative to spread the message - There are reasons to believe in a better world. This continues to project Coke as a reason to spread happiness. Hope to see more such initiatives from them in the coming years.

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India - The Times Of India

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.

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India - Vodafone India

Advertisements - Brands to have stayed connected in India

Vodafone India, formerly Vodafone Essar (2007-2011) and Hutchison Essar (1992-2007), is one of the largest mobile network operator in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India.

In 1995, Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner – Max Group, launched the mobile telecommunications services as Hutchison Max in Mumbai.
By 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had acquired interests in 7 mobile telecommunications operators including BPL Mobile providing service in 16 of India's 23 licence areas and by 2006, it established itself in all the 23 licence areas. With this it was also able to establish a robust network, well known brand and large distribution network – all vital to long-term success in India.

In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had agreed to sell its 67% stake in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration of approximately $11.1 billion to a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc. The company was renamed Vodafone Essar.

Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. The same was continued by Vodafone after the rebranding and is known for the memorable communication.

In the year 2003, when several telecommunications companies were competing for a share of the rapidly growing mobile phone market, Hutch wanted to convey the message that its service was robust enough to provide coverage in every part of the country. It hired Ogilvy & Mather to create an advertisement campaign focusing on this theme which led to the launch of the highly acclaimed and successful campaign Wherever you go, our network follows.

There were a number of advertisements launched under Wherever you go, our network follows campaign until 2007, when Vodafone India took over and launched the Hutch is now Vodafone and Change is Good campaign. 'Hutch' was now rebranded to 'Vodafone'.


To try and establish Vodafone as a brand in India, the Happy to Help campaign was launched in 2008. The initial ad was promising but later ones failed to create a buzz.

A company’s new brand campaign should be extremely powerful particularly when a new brand’s identity has to be established on top of an existing and already quite established brand. Vodafone’s Zoozoo campaign was launched in 2009 along with IPL 2 with a lot of expectations and a motto of promoting its Value Added Services (VAS) and another subtle motto of replacing brand Hutch with that of the Vodafone. As expected Zoozoos or Zoozooperstars had become overnight brand ambassadors of Vodafone and saved the company from the negative impacts of Happy to Help You campaign.

The Zoozoos are small-bodied thin women and occasionally children covered in layers of white fabric. Each facial expression is made of rubber and pasted on the actors to cut down on the time and cost for shoot. The thin limbs contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head and along with the huge sets added to the illusion that these creatures were cartoons and 'smaller' than humans.

In efforts to keep connecting with more than a billion hearts in the country, in 2010, Vodafone launched the Little Things You do campaign followed by the launch of the much awaited 3G services in India in 2011, for which the Zoozoos were retained as their brand ambassadors.


With the current campaign Instant Connection, the pug is again the focus. With the variety of campaigns that Vodafone India has launched recently, it has rightly balanced the use of its brand ambassadors. People would lose interest if they are exposed to too much of Zoozoos or the pug.

Vodafone India continues to surprise us with its innovative and fresh campaigns and has successfully managed to replace Hutch and establish itself as a separate identity and a brand in the mind and heart of the people.