Showing posts with label Deepika Govind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deepika Govind. Show all posts

30 September, 2013

Airport Retailers get an added advantage

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are not allowed to carry Indian currency out of the country. Earlier, the limit was ₹10,000 to carry with them after clearing Customs and Immigration. This was basically some loose change to meet Food & Beverage expnses while in the Security hold area. While cafes and restaurants do accept prominent foreign currencies, even foreigners try to finish their Indian currencies while leaving the country.

What brings an opportunity is for Retailers to sell Indian souvenirs and interesting take aways which can be spent using the Indian currency.


Keeping this in mind, we had created a very large section called "The Spirit of India" at the Bangalore International Airport. Within this area was a designer boutique from ace designer Deepika Govind among others. One could buy scarves, stoles, jewellery, neck ties and many more before departing. There was also a bookstore which was operated by India's largest bookstore chain Crossword. The store had many interesting books that doicted Indian history, arts among others. I remember, the most sold book used to be "Kamasutra". Foreigners would take it as a souvenir and NRIs would take it as a gift for their friends who lived abroad.

The present rule is expected to be enforced with full force by RBI. If so, then this is a boon for Retailers to sell Indian products to those who are departing the country. 

18 November, 2011

UnHate the campaign, atleast for the Consumer’s sake!

 

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

There is so much brouhaha about the most recent campaign of United Colors of Benetton, the marquee fashion brand from Europe’s fashion capital, Italy. Benetton’s in-house design agency Fabrica has created the recent campaign among many others over the years, particularly the one which showed a blood smeared baby still attached to its umbilical cord which was also a much talked about one. Benetton also had campaigns which showed a nun kissing a priest, three hearts declaring “white, yellow and black” and so on. Over the years, Fabrica has attracted global talent to work in its think tank and has been a darling of the creative minds. The recent Unhate website has this to say;

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

The UNHATE Foundation, desired and founded by the Benetton Group, seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values. It is another important step in the group’s social responsibility strategy: not a cosmetic exercise, but a contribution that will have a real impact on the international community, especially through the vehicle of communication, which can reach social players in different areas.

The Foundation will organise initiatives involving different stakeholders, from the new generations to the institutions, international organisations and NGOs, through to civil society.

The Foundation also aims to be a think tank, attracting personalities and talents from the fields of culture, economy, law and politics, and people who have gone from simple citizens to leaders of movements, distinguishing themselves through their ideas and actions against the causes and effects of hatred.

UnHate Video campaign from benetton.com

The Media frenzy, as always makes it more sensational that it seems and there is enough outrage in the internet world and the real world about this. Industry leaders from the advertising world (in India) have commented on the afaqs! website, which is as follows;

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Piyush Pandey
Executive chairperson and national creative director, Ogilvy India

I think the entire campaign is sensational and unnecessary. It is certainly edgy, but being edgy does not mean that you cross limits. A lot of people will say that it is a fantastic way of doing things, but I feel there are other fantastic ways of doing things.

K V Sridhar
National creative director, Leo Burnett

The participants of Bigg Boss are supposed to behave in a certain way. Similarly, Benetton as a brand is supposed to behave in a particular way, too. If it does not behave in that manner, then it would be unique.

One other campaign of the brand showed a blood-smeared baby still attached to its umbilical cord. As a brand, it has done several such campaigns in the past. But, this time, I feel that it has done it intelligently. The message that nations/religions should not hate each other has been conveyed effectively through the best form of expression of adore - a kiss. Leaders are representatives of the masses. If they would have shown Barrack Obama hugging Hu Jintao, then it would not have been as interesting. But, this one works and is brilliantly executed.

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

Arun Iyer
National creative director, Lowe Lintas

It is a controversial ad. But, that is what it is supposed to do -- create controversy. Fifty per cent of the people will feel that it is in bad taste, while the other 50 per cent will find it interesting. However, despite the like or dislike, it will induce talk-ability. I think visually, it is supposed to be debatable, but at a thought level, it is not at all a debate.

The fact that this campaign has been successful in creating a debate is by itself a success of the brand and its objective. However, it is also trying to push too far.

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Well, the big question is, Does this campaign really solve the purpose of Love, or rather, Unhate? Oh, am not sure. Does this campaign appeal to the younger generation who is the intended customer base for "Brand Benetton”? Absolutely. Over the years, Benetton has seen stiff competition from Spanish fashion giant Zara (which apparently changes the design/range at its stores every few weeks) and several other brands such as Mango, Esprit and many other local brands in several markets (Benetton has over 6,000 stores across 120 countries and clocked over 2 Billion Euros in Sales in the year 2010). In India, the brand has done well in itself, thanks to its aggressive growth strategy and plans since its turnaround in 2005 under the new leadership led by its Indian division. The campaign has just gone viral and the company plans to spend over half of its less than advertising budget of 10 Million Euros  in digital media and the balance in traditional media. Like many I too wonder if this campaign will go public in the US, China, Korea and the Middle-east – the leaders of whose countries are mentioned in the said campaign. For obvious reasons, I am sure the campaign will not feature in India as well and they dare not even dream of having Indian Politicians (sic).

All said and done, it is indeed a wonderful attention-seeking opportunity for Benetton, although it is anybody’s guess if such (unwanted) publicity would necessarily translate into Sales!

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

12 October, 2010

Chitti wears Ray Ban, drives a Bentley, shops at Joy Alukkas & Lifestyle

Chitti, the Robot created by its scientist Dr. Vaseegaran (both characters portrayed by the Superstar of Indian Cinema Rajnikanth) in the tamil film Enthiran (Robot in Hindi) that is directed by Shankar wears Ray Ban, Police and other designer sun glasses all through. There is a particular scene where the two of them shop diamond necklaces for their common girlfriend at Joy Alukkas, a leading name in ornamental jewellery in the southern markets in India. And the villainy Robot drives a Bentley, ransacks a Lifestyle Department Store only to stock up everything that’s needed for its lover. The scientist and his robot travel in a Mercedes CLK while the scientist’s home is shown as an exquisitely designed villa. All through the film, the leading characters including Aishwarya Rai wear designer stuff, exclusively crafted by ace designer Manish Malhotra who shot to fame since the late 90’s when he designed outfits for the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and his contemporaries of the Hindi film industry. This is Manish’s second outing in the South after the previous hugely successful Sivaji (2007) which had the super-hit combo of Rajnikanth & Shankar. Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s recent Dabangg portrayed him as a Police officer whose moustache and Ray Ban became more popular at some stage than the plot of the movie itself.


So, what’s with film actors and Brands? What is the underlining message? Well, there are two, in my opinion. One, that the film shows the characters as having been “evolved” using the latest – be it gadgets or cars, clothes or accessories. Second, “brand placement” or “product placement” is seen as a great opportunity by many brands (including retailers) to create aspirational value. While the trend has been popular in English and European movies for many decades (James Bond and his love for cars and gadgets, for example), the trend has been on and off in Indian movies. I remember another Tamil movie “Tenali” (2001) which featured Kamal Hassan as a “hyper” patient who is scared of almost everything in life, portraying Toyota Qualis as a very reliable car when it hits the edge of a mountain wall and nothing happens to its occupants. Shah Rukh Khan in the movie “Don” (2006) sported Tag Heuer watches which became hugely popular among the relevant target groups. Most recently, Sonam Kapoor in the film Aisha (2010) sported trendy bags and sun glasses while also shopping at Delhi’s DLF Emporio, the most upmarket Mall that houses Dior, CK, etc.


But the big question is do these product placements have any impact on “consumers”? Yes and No. While there is certainly an impact on the consumers about the awareness of the brands and products, the aspiration to own them is limited, given the fact that most of these brands appeal to the top-end of the society. As much as a Rajnikanth or Salman fan who pays over Rs. 300 for a movie ticket during the first week of release would love to own one of those sun glasses, he just can’t afford it. And it applies to clothes, accessories, and even cars. So, do these placements atleast bring walk-ins into the Retail stores? Ace designer Deepika Govind feels not necessarily as those who wear designer stuff may not want to wear something that’s very common. “Such clients follow global fashion and hence do not pick up something off the shelf worn by actors and actresses that are available off the shelf”, she says. It could be a bit different for street wear as promoted by the likes of Hrithik Roshan or Ranbir Kapoor but the following is limited and appeals mostly to the urban audience. Budding designer Aarti Tibrewal opines that the characters portrayed by films stars have indeed impacted what the audience what to wear. “At the same time, the commercial success of the movie has much to do with the brand recall,” she says. For example, the Anarkali dresses worn in them movie “Devdas” (2002) were popular also because the movie was a box-office hit, while Aisha didn’t fare as well as it was expected to be and hence the follow-up was also mute.


Retailers like Cafe Coffee Day and many other restaurants and bars allow a lot of movie shootings at their outlets so the audience are able to connect easily with their favourite hang-outs.  While some charge the producers for letting their “space on hire” a few exchange it for the publicity they would derive. Brands, on the other hand use this primarily as a promotional tool, taking their product range to a wider audience. While the topic of “success on product placements” can be debated a lot, immediate results vouch for its success. A quick check at the eyewear counters of Department Stores in Mumbai and Chennai / Bangalore confirmed that there were a number of enquiries for sunglasses after shoppers saw Dabangg & Enthiran respectively. May not be the same for the Mercedes and Bentley though. Anyway, I am planning to increase my Ray-Ban collection, so what about you?  


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