Retailers and consumer brands are increasingly going ‘desi’ in their advertisements and marketing message, as they try to connect quickly with their target audience, and also facilitate the purchase decision As part of that strategy, brands are increasingly utilising India-centric themes and visual elements in their television and print commercials, coupled with models that also emphasise the ‘traditional’ aspects of a particular product or service. And, once an emotional connect with the consumer is created, the aspects relating to product and allied features in a commercial are far easier to understood, point out advertising experts. A task that is often described as Herculean, given the limited attention span of consumer and various product categories that are also vying for his attention.
Amit Wadhwa, Senior VP, Dentsu Creative Impact, said, “Communication and marketing strategies relate largely to creating
an affinity, and a brand needs to communicate in a tone that its audience can quickly understand.” A number of other marketing experts also highlighted that an Indian-themed commercial helps a brand to break “the advertising clutter” across the various media channels and position their product to a wider consume base. In addition, these commercials also help to portray the utility of a particular product in a context relevant to consumers here, and quicken the purchase decision.
COMMERCIALS WITH INDIAN; THEMES AND MODELS ARE 10-15 PER CENT CHEAPER VIS-A-VIS FOREIGN COUNTERPART
INDIAN THEMES
This ‘Indianisation’ strategy was in contrast to the situation a few years earlier, when consumer brands often preferred foreign visual elements and models in their commercials. And, a range of consumer product categories and retailers are utilising this ‘desi’ strategy, effectively. For instance, Canon utilises bright visuals of Rajasthani folk dancers followed by the beautiful landscape of Banaras, to highlight their DSLR range of cameras. They are not alone. McDonald’s also has the “pakka Indian hai,” tagline to emphasise the desi taste of its product, right from masalas and other ingredients, for creating a truly Indian burger.
The leader in jewellery retail Tanishq too has the ‘Accessible Tanishq’ campaign, and it highlights once again the strong
emotional bond amongst Indian families, especially between a brother and sister. Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas & Partners, said, “This communication campaign had to create an emotional bond with the audience and also highlight the brand at the same time.” Clearly, retailers and consumer brands are aggressively wooing the consumer with marketing messages that are easily understood by them.