A positive consumer sentiment this festive season has unleashed a veritable brand war, and sent cash registers ringing in the advertising industry. E-commerce, automobile, mobile handset brands lead marketing spends, as they vie for media space and the attention of consumers
By Henna Achhpal
‘Acche Din’ has clearly arrived for the advertising industry, what with the first half of 2014 seeing fat ad spends from political parties and the latter part of the year witnessing an out-and-out brand war with heavy advertising by rival brands. It led GroupM to revise annual estimated advertising expenditure growth in India from 11.6% to 12.5%. This news was followed by a report from ASSOCHAM that stated: “Corporates are gearing up to spend about 25 to 30% more on advertising this festive season as compared to last year.” The report expects the consumer durables, automobile and e-commerce sectors to take the lead with maximum ad spends this festive season. Television, Digital, Print and Radio inventories are already full with festive advertising. The past week saw top e-commerce players (and some organized retail players) fight it out for the consumer’s attention and wallet. Ambush marketing, deals, discounts, new launches and celebrations — we take a look at the marketing activities of the top spending sectors this festive season.
INDIA’S FIRST ONLINE DIWALI
In a report, ASSOCHAM called this India’s first online Diwali as it predicts online shopping will cross Rs 10,000 crore. This may have something to do with the Rs 200 crore that e-commerce players are spending on marketing activities this festive season, according to top media planners.
One of the big surprises was Snapdeal becoming the presenting sponsor for the eighth season of Bigg Boss, a place held by Vodafone for the last five seasons. The sponsorship deal is estimated to be worth Rs 35 crore. Snapdeal also launched a Diwali campaign featuring 28 celebrities and 50 commercials. Says Sandeep Komaravelly, SVP, snapdeal.com, “We have strategically chosen the most popular characters from the best loved TV shows across India. The idea was to talk about the Diwali bumper sale using characters that everyone relates to.” According to a report in the Economic Times, Snapdeal has blocked up to 2,000 ad spots a day across 85 national and regional channels for this mega campaign. Komaravelly says, “We wanted to break the clutter that surrounds festive ads.”
Leveraging popular faces is a tactic employed by OLX India too. Acting as ‘used-less’ products, India’s current favourite comedian, Kapil Sharma, is the face of OLX India’s recent campaign. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX.in, says the festive season brings a rise of 15 to 20% in ads for the online classifieds website. Batra is also positive about Kapil Sharma being the hook for this traffic.
Flipkart kick-started its festive campaign with a mega sale called The Big Billion Day. According to reports, the category leader has blocked 1,000 ad spots a day on television for the month of October. Amazon India launched a 30-day shopping festival ahead of the peak festival season. Flipkart’s recent acquisition Myntra held a Fashion Weekend which was marketed using a blend of traditional and modern media. Making its advertising debut, furnishings portal Pepperfry rolled out a three-film campaign, and will also be seen on Print, Radio, OOH and Digital media. In time for the festive season, Jabong launched its 360-degree marketing campaign, Be You, which integrates Television, Print, OOH and Digital platforms.
Shopping portals are not the only ones leveraging the festive season. CouponDunia launched the Deal-Wali Diwali which brings to its customers 30 exclusive offers over 15 days. Staying true to its medium, CouponDunia is capitalizing Digital to the fullest for marketing. Sameer Parwani, Founder and CEO, CouponDunia says, “We have a strong SEO-led foundation that ensures we rank all the relevant keywords and phrases. There is a dedicated SEM push and our spending on online marketing has increased with focus on display ads.” Considering that video is the biggest content driver online, the coupon code website released original content in the form of ‘How Indians React to Gifts’. A branding tie-up with East India Comedy saw CouponDunia in the comedy collective’s video, Wrecking God, which went viral on social media.
This festive season, the e-commerce sector has conveniently nudged the usual suspects out, moving ahead with a slew of ads marketing everything from free-to-download apps, online vouchers, easy returns and tempting discounts.
REVIVAL OF THE AUTO SECTOR
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, domestic car sales went up by 5.04% and 15.16% in July and August 2014 respectively. Marking the fourth consecutive month that car sales have increased, this signals a recovery in the auto sector. No wonder the sector is reportedly spending close to Rs 400 crore on marketing this festive season. While e-commerce players flaunt their discounts and offers, the auto sector is all set to introduce a string of new launches. After the first Scorpio in 2002, Mahindra & Mahindra launched the new generation Scorpio which was made available for online booking in partnership with Snapdeal. Hyundai introduced Elite i20 and announced Shah Rukh Khan, associated with the car manufacturer for 16 years, as the brand ambassador for Xcent. Maruti Suzuki roped in a dapper looking Ranveer Singh for the launch campaign of its Ciaz. Zest from Tata Motors was unveiled to the public through a disruptive Print ad. The front page of all editions of The Times of India carried a mock key, inviting readers to test drive the car. Hero MotoCorp bagged the title sponsorship for the Indian Super League at Rs 20 crore while Maruti Suzuki signed on as associate sponsor for an estimated Rs 8 crore. Marking the Terrano’s first anniversary in India, Nissan launched a special limited edition of the mid-sized SUV. Volkswagen has no new launches in the pipeline, but it isn’t missing out the chance to cash in on the festive season. The German car manufacturer announced the Volksfest 2014, a 24-day festival where customers can avail of offers and gifts.
GOING MOBILE
With smart phones becoming more affordable by the day, they have easily replaced sweet boxes as gifting options during Diwali. Continuing from last year, the mobile handsets category is a big spender this time around as well. While there’s enough competition in the category in every price range, the leading two, Apple and Samsung, are bringing out the big guns, reportedly spending a total of Rs 200 crore on marketing. While Apple introduces its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to Indian customers, Samsung which has lain low this year won’t be far behind with the launch of its Galaxy Alpha and Note 4. Microsoft launched three new devices ahead of the festive season, Lumia 730, Lumia 830 and Lumia 930.
Google Android One has given the affordable smartphones category an additional boost in India, seeing new launches from Micromax, Spice and Karbonn. China’s Oppo mobile made its India debut with a bang, albeit with the odd celebrity pairing of Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor, bagging title sponsorship rights of Champions League T20 and power sponsor for Bigg Boss season 8. “There is no denying that Television is one of the most important media for any brand looking to establish itself. And till date, sports and entertainment rule the roost as far as ratings are concerned,” Tom Lu, CEO, Oppo Mobiles India told Financial Express. Talking of marketing spends during the festive season, Sudhir Hasija, Chairman, Karbonn explains, “If we normally spend 10% of our budget on advertising each month, we usually reduce the spends to 5% immediately before the festive season and then increase to 20% during the season.” With 75% of its spends invested in Television, Karbonn is the title sponsor for India’s Raw Star on Star Plus for which it reportedly spent around Rs 6 to 8 crore. Hasija says, “We usually put our money on cricket which has given us enough coverage right from when we started.” The title sponsorship of Life OK’s Dare 2 Dance went to Micromax for a reported Rs 15 crore.
‘TIS THE SEASON OF CONSUMER DURABLES
Recovering from a disappointing festive season in 2013, the consumer durables category is expecting double digit growth this year. Shantanu Das Gupta, VP, Corporate Affairs & Strategy, South Asia, Whirpool of India says, “We sense a certain amount of optimism in consumer sentiment. The reality, however, is that cost of living has gone up, food inflation is high, and interest rates have not come down. We believe this Diwali will be better than the last but it will certainly not be like the ones in 2009 and 2010 when we saw growth rates of 30-40%.” Riding high on the buoyancy, Sony India has allocated Rs 250 crore towards its marketing initiatives, Panasonic India has earmarked Rs 85 crore and Whirlpool India is investing Rs 12 crore on its campaigns with an additional Rs 20 crore on gifts. Voltas, which has introduced a ‘Diwali Ho To AC Ho’ offer, is set to invest 25% of its annual marketing budget for the season. The brand will be seen on Print, Radio and Digital. Deba Ghoshal, Head – Marketing & Key Accounts, Voltas UPBG says, “We are the only AC brand to heavily promote the concept of ACs during the festival period of Dussehra and Diwali.”
LG India, which is spending 50% more on marketing this festive season as compared to last year, has launched its first 360-degree brand campaign. Instead of focusing on the usual offers and discounts, LG’s campaign highlights its brand portfolio and how its various products are integrated in the consumer’s daily life. “LG has picked up the entire range of media available to run the festive campaign. The TVC will be supported by Print, Radio, OOH and Digital. We will be promoting the same campaign via in shop promotion and other BTL activations,” says Sanjay Chitkara, Corporate – Head Marketing, LG India.
To break through the clutter of the festive season, Godrej Appliances is prompting customers to celebrate Holi at Diwali through the campaign for its Godrej Eon U-Sonic washing machine. Spending 35 to 40% of the annual marketing budget during the festive season, Ramesh Chembath, AVP & Head – Marketing, Godrej Appliances says, “We have launched the ‘Bura Na Mano U-Sonic Hai’ campaign to break the clutter. We have created a disruptive and innovative marketing plan wherein we are asking people to play Holi during Diwali. We are saying play with colours this Diwali because U-Sonic is a washing machine that can remove tough stains.” Talking about the media mix, Chembath says, “We are focusing a lot more on ground activations and have heavily invested in Print and ATL. Compared to last year, our investment in Digital will be higher, standing at approximately 15 to 20% more.”
AND THEN SOME MORE
Launching a timely Festive Gold Collection, Tanishq released a heart-warming commercial, Sunheri Diwali, to market the launch. Drawing a comparison with last year’s communication, Deepika Tiwari, GM – Marketing, Tanishq says, “Last year’s communication was based on the consumer sentiment. When you’re indulging in a category like jewellery, all the other things in your life have to be in place. Last year the sentiment was a lot about guarding and holding back; therefore the communication reflected that. It nudged the consumer to indulge because it is Diwali. This year, the sentiment is far more positive; therefore the commercial reflects the sentiment of abundance and celebration. In a subtle manner, it says that good times are here.”
Thomas Cook is leveraging the opportunity of the long weekend to its benefit with special offers. Abraham Alapatt, Chief Innovation Officer & Head – Marketing & Service Quality, Thomas Cook India says, “Our product teams worked on special festive itineraries for instance Durga Puja & Diwali packages. Our Navratri and Independence Day packages were launched at the end of the summer.” Commenting on the media mix, Alapatt says, “We have traditionally been very Print-focused with more than 80% of our spends being in Print. TV comes in at around 10% and Radio/Digital contribute the balance 10%. However this year, we are aggressively focusing more on Digital, reducing spends in Print accordingly.”
Meanwhile, the food and beverages category is busy altering cultural stereotypes. While Coca-Cola’s festive campaign tells customers to let go of formalities with the catchphrase ‘Formality Hatao, Coca-Cola Pilao’, Kurkure’s campaign insists on celebrating with friends and family in person rather than over the phone. Going a step further, Kurkure is offering its consumers the chance to win a free air ticket to anywhere in the country to help them meet their loved ones and celebrate the festivities. Commenting on the campaign, Vani Gupta, Director Marketing, PepsiCo India says, “People today are challenged for time and would rather call and SMS, versus making the effort of meeting people. Our campaign seeks to reignite the warmth and love of celebrating as a family.” On a similar line, Dell India launched its ‘Stay Connected – Dell Se’ campaign. While it doesn’t prompt customers to meet loved ones in person, the campaign communicates how Dell’s computers can help them stay connected during the festive season.
Feedback: henna@exchange4media.com
