DIFFERENCIATE!- STANDING OUT

Differentiation is very vital to Products and Brand promotion. In the clutter of the competitive promotional material one might come up with something that is catchy and appealing BUT what if in all the creativity and styling the name of your product is lost!!

I have seen this happening with some product lines and its a very frustrating and sad feeling to see the target audience get all excited with the feel and attitude that the promo elicited but when at the time of purchase it is...."What was the name of the product?"...SHIT!

Two product lines that i can think of off-hand are the car-bikes and home paints line!

One can get over a defective copy by correcting it but what does one do when all the products of a certain genre present themselves in the same manner...how does one remember one from the other? That is what i mean by "Differentiation"

There are exceptions of course and kudos to them but largely the home paint brigade comes up with very subtle campaigns that emote well and may even connect well but there is no differentiation even with a celebrity endorser! Which brand does Amitabh Bachchan promote- Asian, Berger or Nerolac? What about Saif Ali Khan?...Which paint does he ask you to buy? Who says "Aapko banaye Style icon"? and who says "Is Ghar mein koi rehta hai"?

Its a very frustrating and disastrous feeling for a promoter to know that his ad has enticed the viewer to go out there and buy the product but the same buyer does not recollect the name of the product. However the long awaited decision to paint the house has been taken, the paint suggested by the counter guy is finalised!

I thus believe that for this problem the solution needs to be very direct and simple- a jingle, a phrase, a catch line or an anthem that punches in the name of the paint aggresively so that the viewer not only grasps the mood, feel and attitude of your product but most importantly also grasps your name!!

Remember- "The Raymonds Man"...says it all, hey?

Don't ask...Whats in a Name?...Everything is!

StoryTelling is now Story Built-up!!

The first thing that comes to mind when you think films is "Story telling". A story of people, their problems, their ways to over come those problems and whether they succeed or not.

With time the stories seem to have exhausted and the audience seemed to have grown, as such filmmakers came up with the convenient and novel idea of remakes.

However that too did not seem to satisfy the apetite of the audience and hence came the far more creative yet far more expensive idea of "Promotion and Marketing".

The secret for a films success today is no more a good story or performances but great promotions!

The Mantra goes- "Make an average film but design and execute such a powerpacked Promotional campaign that the audience goes to see the film not just because they are keen to see it but because they are wondering what all the noise is about!"

**Please note I'm not against or for such a practise...however i can't help but be amused at a line of thought wherein a script is given less importance than a marketing strategy!

A case in recent times is the Amir Khan starer Ghajini which was somewhere inspired from Memento- a far superior screenplay and direction. The biggest USP of the script was the character who looses his memory every 15 minutes and thus writes down every single minute detail of his life so he can re-memorize his life after every 15 minutes. It was a great concept and Amir Khan's presence would definitely bring in the loyal fan base who patronise theaters as first time viewer audience.

All this apart after the first time viewers and fans contributed their share the film still was not such to have made a business of Rs.190 crores ($38.57 Million) worldwide at the end of its run, making it Bollywood's highest grossing movie of all time. It is also the first Bollywood film to cross Rs.100 crores domestically (Rs.172 crores approx.) and grossed Rs.18 crores overseas (except US & Canada).

However when the film is made on a budget of around Rs. 50 Crore with marketing expenses of about 14 Crore irrespective of its Box office success it certainly becomes a study for the Marketing and Promotions of films. Read on to know the execution...

The Look(Online & Offline):

Think Ghajini, Think Aamir khan’s new and conspicuous hair cut and all those tattoos. Huge and never thought of before efforts have been made to imprint his hairdo into audience’s mind.
Online Tactics:

a) Aamir’s blog carries a full screen sized picture as on the film posters.

b) Two of the three websites related to the film also have a big bare chested picture of his on their homepage to reaffirm the associations ( http://www.wallofsuspects.com/ and http://www.rememberghajini.com/ )

Offline Tactics:

1) First and Foremost Aamir Khan still has the same haircut.
2) Aamir and his producers tied up with leading multiplexes(PVR, BIG, Cinemax) across the country to give all the ushers, ticket-sellers the distinctive “Buzz-cut” that Aamir sports in the film.

3)Aamir personally gave the ‘buzz cut’ — the hairstyle the actor sports in Ghajini to his fans in Delhi

2) “Interactive promotion”-
wallofsuspects: A supporting viral website for the film aims to replicate a similar concept from the film. To checkout the wallofsuspects one needs to have a code which can be obtained by uploading your or your friends images. One can also provide their mobile number which can be used to intimate if they win some prize.
findghajini : Another viral website built around the film. It’s a viral gaming application where the users can play the role of Aamir’s character in the film and try to find Ghajini through the clues provided.
3D PC Games: 25th Dec will see the release of the film and also India’s first 3D PC Game built around a movie. This is the first time there will be a complete game built around a movie.

- The video for the making of this game.

3) Getting Media Involved(Online):

http://www.rememberghajini.com/media/is the place where media people can upload their pictures to which Aamir can add notes based on their previous interaction(s) with him. This repository will help him in remembering those media people more vividly and the those who register will in turn get information kit on Ghajini along with Aamir’s personal note about them.

A splurge of videos on the making of Aamir’s body for the film.

Van Heusen has launched a similarly-named collection for today’s umber-confident young men that is inspired by the movie.

Van Heusen to promote the new range also organized a fashion show in which models sported Khan’s clothing style from the film, but also his hairstyle.

Then there’s “Tata Indicom’s" outbound dialer service with Khan’s pre-recorded voice. In this a Tata Indicom service user will get a call in Khan’s voice, asking the caller whether he is Ghajini and will tell the caller that the film is releasing on 25 December. Tata Indicom plans to reach out to 10 million customers with these outbound dialer calls. Tata Indicom is also advertising on TV for mobile downloads of Ghajini songs.” - businessofcinema.com

Samsung will be launching special Ghajini edition of models L700 and M200 of its mobile phones of L700 and M200 models. These handsets will be pre-loaded with ringtones, pictures and songs from Ghajini. Ghajini is the first Indian film to release a handset as part of the film’s content.

Aamir has also tied-up with some leading sculptors who are creating replicas of Khan’s Ghajini look. These sculptures would be installed at various multiplexes in the country.

Irrespective of how the film fares it sure has some important lessons for all of us....

...and ofcourse one must remember that Ghajini was inspired by Memento...made in Tamil first and then remade in Hindi!!!!

Tata Indica- MUST BE TRUE!!

This was one commercial that i would love seeing again and again...

The product was Tata's Indica four wheeler and the commercial was entertaining and informative in the most subtle way.

From concept to performance to execution...all of it was on target. (see video on blog: Tata India-Must be true)

The concept had an male executive(see pic above) blowing his trumpet at various places like a lounge, a mall, at an interview, at a bar, etc. However everytime he says something that's exaggerated at unbelievable- a punch lands on his face thus signifying that he is lying!

The background effect and actors expression adds to the experience!

However at the end of the ad the same executive is shown listing out the attributes of the Tata Indica and although the attributes of the car seem too good to be true..this time there is no punch that lands on him signalling that he is speaking the Truth!

After the pack shots we see the same executive standing beside an Indica and admitting- "Must be true".

The beauty in the ad is not just its concept and execution but also the minor nuances that have been looked into. Like after establishing the character of the guy in the ad we have moments where he is simply thinking at an airport and is landed with a punch- that i thought was amazing besides there are points where you could relate to the character when you see him falsely counting the reps in the gym when the instructor is not around, again here, he is landed with the punch!!

The ad has recall value and entertainment value and most importantly it says clearly what it means to say.

ZOOOOPERB!!

Its fun to watch the vodafone essar TV-commercials that are unveiled around the IPL. In all there are around 27 ads with a single concept of -ZOOZOOS- linking them all. Its very refreshing to see the ads that are sans any celebrity or too much of blah... blah...blah...

They are very precise, very innocent, very funny and thus extremely entertaining. You can watch one of the ads at http://www.afaqs.com/main1.html

It was amusing to learn that the ads were not animated, which is the impression that one gets! The snow white characters that we see are thin and tiny woman in costumes acting out the sequences surrounded by large sets and shot at 22 frames per second(Normal Speed being 25 FPS) which gives it the fast- forward effect!!

The music and the squecky chatter ads to the experience and makes you want to watch more and YES- we do understand what they are trying to tell us!

The people behind it-

Creative Team: O&M Creative

TeamProduction House: Nirvana

Director: Prakash Varma

Media Agency: MaxusPost-production

Studio: Platypus ProductionExposure: 360

MARATHON, PRINT AD

The first thing that comes to our mind- quiet naturally- when we think of a marathon is RUNNING!

During couple of years back when the marathon fever had just begun in our metropolis Mumbai, i was cajoling some of my friends to join me for the marathon and the popular point of contention was- "WHY WOULD WE RUN AT 7.00 p.m.... on a SUNDAY???"

That's when i came up with my counter attack identifying to them that all through your week and lives...you run alone- behind a bus, behind a train, behind a girl, behind a job... to be on time, to stay fit, to save a life, to please your wife....to escape an accident or to prevent one....etc etc... SO on this Sunday morning..."WHY NOT RUN TOGETHER SIMPLY FOR THE SPIRIT THAT KEEPS US GOING?"

Guess what?...that Sunday i had a lot of company!!

MOVIE CHANNEL- PRINT AD

This is when a movie channel announces a movie festival...Great movies to be shown to attract more eye balls, what do you do-

Good films make you "SIT" until they are over...Good movie channels make you "SIT" all through the day and night as they follow one good movie after another!

As such although the popcorn might simple get over and Beer might have to be refilled what happens to the couch that you are lodged on?

This thought gave lead to the image-

and the line which followed was:

1) A small price to pay for a great experience!

2) Effects of watching great films...the break is to avoid this!!(This line captured the pun of the commercial breaks that break the flow of a film but had to be there. By letting the audience know that we are aware of the disturbance but it is unavoidable and we care for them all the same the idea was stay light hearted yet matured.)

3) Another line keeping the same image in mind but taking a different tone was-

"You will be surprised how long you can sit on this!"-

It means that the sofa that was extremely uncomfortable to sit on has been used all day by you as you were engrossed in the films you were watching!!

4) A definite slogan that went with the above was- STAY SEATED!

VISA POWER [TVC/ PRINT]

Visa- credit cards are something that exudes power and class. The access that is provided to us, say, through the exit of shopping malls with a bag full of goodies or the respect that we get when we get up from a sumptuous dinner(especially an unexpectedly expensive one) because we possessed a visa card made me think of a passage way or a unrestricted road for all those who carried the VISA and thus came the line- "THERE IS NO STOPPING YOU NOW!"

Another thought that followed while i was still three stops away from my destination was the co-relation between a Visa application without which we cannot enter a country and as such when you have a say- WORLD VISA there would be no boundaries and a Visa card is one such license hence, 'THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES FOR YOU NOW!' one can also add a KEEP GOING for effect herein.