leaves a sonic impression
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Idea Cellular Ltd.
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ET SPECIAL:
Although not carved in stone, telecommunication
brands in the country have etched a niche for themselves. Vodafone has
an urban tone and its campaigns are directed at everybody from sixteens
to sixties.
A few years ago, Airtel shifted its focus to the twenty-something demographic, so did Reliance Telecom while relying on new celebrity brand endorsers. Tata Docomo sings a slightly more inclusive tune. Their campaigns swing from sensitive to amusing and cutesy as they unleash dancing toddlers, familiar mutts, alien beings and pesky girlfriends on to the world to prove the brand's in-with-the-cool-kids status. And somewhere in the middle of this mêlée, is Idea with its peculiar brand of advertising directed at the smartphone (and the not so smart kind) wielding aam man, woman and teenager.
Over the years, it's gone from being a stand-in for Captain Planet to the saviour of clueless consumers, with a sprinkling of seasonal campaigns. In 2012, after the Aditya Birla Group company retained its pan-India presence, it released the campaign that launched well over a thousand ringtones across the nation as they banked almost entirely on the jingle's virus like qualities.
Idea's latest offering has some of Honey Bunny's sticky traits. The campaign is for its mobile showroom, 121. It's a service provided by all companies but communication for it has not been clear and sufficient. So Idea wants to clear things up and put its own unique stamp on a common service like they did with mobile number portability. It comes not only with its custom tune but also a dance move. No Swan Lake this one, however, it does leave a sonic impression, whether you allow it or not.
A common critique leveled against Idea's communication is that it's got more ideas than it knows what to do with. Especially after the disappearance of Abhishek Bachchan, it seems to be flitting from concept to concept with not very much tying it all together. However Arun Iyer, NCD, Lowe Lintas, Idea's creative agency, puts it down to the quantum of work, back-to-back launches and the fact that sometimes what holds the campaigns together may not be very obvious.
In fact, a lot of telecom brands have taken the carpet bombing approach, with a new series of commercials every few months. "But there's, in fact, a clear tone of voice in Idea's work," says Iyer. "There's a distinctive execution style. We take care to include certain codes. And, above all, the work is rooted in a core telephony idea." These factors, according to Iyer, bind the campaigns together.
The brand's properties, What an idea, Sirjee!, No Idea, Get Idea and Honey Bunny have been embedded in popular culture, and maybe even the deepest recesses of some of our brains, a feat Airtel achieved with 'Har Ek Friend' in 2011 and Vodafone did as well with a little help from the Zoozoos. Says Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea CellularBSE -0.42 %, "The brand's advertising has lifted the dialogue from category transactional plane. The advertising demonstrates the power of an idea by looking at mobile telephony and what it can do for our lives, in a way that's imaginative and elevating."
But practicality has no room here. Consider if you will Idea's portfolio — using mobile numbers instead of names as identification thus eliminating caste bias and mobile entertainment to curb the population explosion. We are not expecting anyone to break in to the 121 Cha-cha on the street. It's worked well for the brand so far though. Says Kartik Smetacek, ECD, Ideas@Work, "My image of brand Idea comes from their long-running thematic campaigns. It's an innovative, witty brand that doesn't take itself too seriously."
And whether you are a fan of the Bachchan series or the ones sans sirji, the bottom line is it works. "These campaigns are popular," says Kartik Iyer, founder, Happy Creative Services, "they are entertaining without being crass or irritating." And that counts, because, as Cosmo Brown put it, they'll be standing in lines, for those old honky tonk monkeyshines. So make 'em laugh.
A few years ago, Airtel shifted its focus to the twenty-something demographic, so did Reliance Telecom while relying on new celebrity brand endorsers. Tata Docomo sings a slightly more inclusive tune. Their campaigns swing from sensitive to amusing and cutesy as they unleash dancing toddlers, familiar mutts, alien beings and pesky girlfriends on to the world to prove the brand's in-with-the-cool-kids status. And somewhere in the middle of this mêlée, is Idea with its peculiar brand of advertising directed at the smartphone (and the not so smart kind) wielding aam man, woman and teenager.
Over the years, it's gone from being a stand-in for Captain Planet to the saviour of clueless consumers, with a sprinkling of seasonal campaigns. In 2012, after the Aditya Birla Group company retained its pan-India presence, it released the campaign that launched well over a thousand ringtones across the nation as they banked almost entirely on the jingle's virus like qualities.
Idea's latest offering has some of Honey Bunny's sticky traits. The campaign is for its mobile showroom, 121. It's a service provided by all companies but communication for it has not been clear and sufficient. So Idea wants to clear things up and put its own unique stamp on a common service like they did with mobile number portability. It comes not only with its custom tune but also a dance move. No Swan Lake this one, however, it does leave a sonic impression, whether you allow it or not.
A common critique leveled against Idea's communication is that it's got more ideas than it knows what to do with. Especially after the disappearance of Abhishek Bachchan, it seems to be flitting from concept to concept with not very much tying it all together. However Arun Iyer, NCD, Lowe Lintas, Idea's creative agency, puts it down to the quantum of work, back-to-back launches and the fact that sometimes what holds the campaigns together may not be very obvious.
In fact, a lot of telecom brands have taken the carpet bombing approach, with a new series of commercials every few months. "But there's, in fact, a clear tone of voice in Idea's work," says Iyer. "There's a distinctive execution style. We take care to include certain codes. And, above all, the work is rooted in a core telephony idea." These factors, according to Iyer, bind the campaigns together.
The brand's properties, What an idea, Sirjee!, No Idea, Get Idea and Honey Bunny have been embedded in popular culture, and maybe even the deepest recesses of some of our brains, a feat Airtel achieved with 'Har Ek Friend' in 2011 and Vodafone did as well with a little help from the Zoozoos. Says Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea CellularBSE -0.42 %, "The brand's advertising has lifted the dialogue from category transactional plane. The advertising demonstrates the power of an idea by looking at mobile telephony and what it can do for our lives, in a way that's imaginative and elevating."
But practicality has no room here. Consider if you will Idea's portfolio — using mobile numbers instead of names as identification thus eliminating caste bias and mobile entertainment to curb the population explosion. We are not expecting anyone to break in to the 121 Cha-cha on the street. It's worked well for the brand so far though. Says Kartik Smetacek, ECD, Ideas@Work, "My image of brand Idea comes from their long-running thematic campaigns. It's an innovative, witty brand that doesn't take itself too seriously."
And whether you are a fan of the Bachchan series or the ones sans sirji, the bottom line is it works. "These campaigns are popular," says Kartik Iyer, founder, Happy Creative Services, "they are entertaining without being crass or irritating." And that counts, because, as Cosmo Brown put it, they'll be standing in lines, for those old honky tonk monkeyshines. So make 'em laugh.
sumit kumar singh
pgdm 1sem
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