Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX India, talks about the brand’s marketing journey in India, innovations in communications, leveraging Kapil Sharma in recent campaigns and how ‘sell-phone’ is generating the maximum traffic for the brand
BY SALONI DUTTA
Q] What differentiates OLX from other players in the online classifieds category in India?
Our USP is that we were the category creators of online classifieds in the country. Our differentiating factor is that we are probably the only company in the category in India today that has 100% user generated content. As a platform, we don’t post content on the site, not even on the user’s behalf. Whereas others in the category have a sales force that collects data, have call centres, missed call services and various other ways of generating content and posting on the user’s behalf. The other differentiator is that we brought focus on mobile classifieds. We built our mobile app five years back, when nobody was even considering it. Today, 80% of our traffic comes from mobile.
Q] While planning the communication, what are the essentials of your brief?
Being the first of its kind in the category, we couldn’t replicate the brief from somebody else and had to cull up our own strategy. The first point in our brief is that the communication should be original and not reflect anyone else. The second point is that it should stand the test of time as our brand is here for the long term and not just for a couple of campaigns. Lastly, considering that we are the brand driving change in consumer behaviour in the country, we look at insight based communication. It is an integral part of our communication to help consumers overcome inertia and adopt classified tools.
Q] What was the insight behind associating with Kapil Sharma and how has it helped the brand?
Over the last three years, OLX had been in the brand-building stage and we stayed away from celebrities. So far, the protagonists in our ads used to be a person in the family convincing the other to sell online. With this campaign, for the first time the product is the protagonist and speaking to the user. The nature of the campaign was such that it demanded a strong personality. Apart from Kapil Sharma’s amazing timing and humour, it helped to have a known face because then the focus would be on the product rather than establishing the person. The campaign has received tremendous appreciation from consumers as well as the marketing fraternity. We were pleasantly surprised by positive comments from CMOs and CEOs of various organizations. We have been consistent with our communication and have been fortunate to have an aligned brand vision, both within the company as well as from our partners.
Q] What does your marketing mix look like and which medium utilizes the major chunk of your marketing spends?
It is funny that we are a digital brand but you see us a lot on TV. It is because of the nature of our country today where Internet penetration is still at around 20%. While we embrace several media, both offline and online, our major spends go to TV because of its mass reach and Digital because it’s the core of our business. We have leveraged OOH well, especially with Kapil Sharma’s campaign. When Mumbai’s first metro train was launched, we did an ambient media innovation by completely covering the train with OLX branding. We have also done a few unique activations such as the recent Great India Collectors Ride. A few bikes with OLX branding travelled across 45 cities for 50 days to gather collectible items with which we created ‘The Freedom Bike’.
Q] How did the recent marketing partnership with Flipkart pan out?
The marketing partnership with Flipkart is an example of innovation in whatever we do and an interesting tie-up between two market leaders. Since India is a nascent e-commerce market, people used to confuse OLX and Flipkart as competitors. The campaign was a great way to show that we are strategically different in the way we do business. While OLX is the best place for buying and selling pre-owned goods, Flipkart is the best place to buy new products. It also drove home the message that together Flipkart and OLX add a lot of value. Every user who is looking to buy a new product will probably have a used something to sell. In the whole process of disposing their second hand products and buying new products, Flipkart and OLX become overall solutions. As we go ahead, there will be further integrations and opportunities with them.
Q] Which markets have been contributing greatly to the brand’s growth?
In the last few years, key metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad have proven to be the largest markets for OLX. While they are the top five markets, we are present in over 1,000 cities in India. Smaller towns have now begun to drive a large part of our growth. The recent Internet penetration is largely coming via mobile which is happening for OLX as well. But if you look at volumes, the larger towns still lead because of their sizeable population and Internet literacy. Rest of the markets are also becoming meaningful and growth is happening fast.
Q] What are some of the emerging consumer trends and future opportunities that you see in the online retail space in India?
One of the key trends in India is a major shift from PC to mobile. Mobile Internet has leaped ahead of PC or broadband Internet in the same way mobile connections have surpassed landline connections. Every brand that is looking to develop any Internet-related information or reach out to the digital audience needs to incorporate mobile as a part of their communication. The second big thing that we are seeing is that social media itself is becoming pretty important and diverse with various platforms emerging besides the few which were there earlier. Brand building is no longer in complete control of brand owners. The process of brand building is shifting to how consumers are consuming the product, experiencing the services and then recommending or commenting on social media. The brands that are developing and doing well right now are also the ones receiving positive feedback and recommendations on social media. The brands which are only focusing on marketing and not delivering their brand promise are losing out on the actual brand building which is being developed by consumers. The third trend is something that we call ‘we commerce’ or the sharing economy which is becoming very big not only globally but in India as well. At OLX we are the front runners in creating ‘we commerce’ where products that are of no use to you can be used by somebody else. That is the underlying business opportunity for so much of lack of productivity that is lying in the country today, where products and services can be shifted from an un-used or an under-utilized user or owner to somebody else who could have a better use for that.
About the Brand
OLX.in is India’s leading online marketplace. OLX.in offers a free, fast and hyper-local way for Indians to sell and buy used goods and services. Every month, millions of people in India buy and sell a wide range of products including household items, furniture, consumer durables, musical instruments, cars and motorcycles, electronics and mobiles, property and local services on OLX.in. OLX recently won prestigious industry accolades such as being among Pitch Top 50 Brands in India, Most Trusted Online Brand by Trust Research Advisory’s Brand Trust Report 2014, and India’s second most searched shopping website by Google.
Facts
Creative Agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners
Media Agency: ZenithOptimedia
PR Agency: Edelman India
Marketing Tip
Be original. Be unconventional. Don’t think like everybody else as that leads you to the road of herd mentality.
CMO File
Amarjit Singh Batra is the CEO of OLX India (www.olx.in), a global Internet company headquartered in Argentina that offers the next generation of free online classifieds in 40 languages across 105 countries. He joined OLX in 2009 and has played a founding role in the establishment of OLX India and the horizontal online classifieds industry in the country. Batra has diverse management experience spanning nearly two decades of which the last 12 years have been in the Indian Internet space. Apart from India, he is also spearheading the company’s growth in other emerging markets of South Asia. Prior to joining OLX, Batra spent over five years with Baazee/eBay India. Batra holds a Bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering and has an MBA from University Business School (UBS), Chandigarh. He was on the 2012 and 2013 ‘IMPACT Digital Power 100’ list, which recognizes the most influential leaders in the Indian digital space. He was also awarded IDMA Digital Person of the Year in 2014. Batra lives in New Delhi with his wife, daughter and son. He enjoys sports and an active lifestyle, and spends his spare time playing squash, reading and listening to music.
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