Mumbai, Jan 31: It's celebration time at MTV India Private Limited. For the company's in- house creative team has walked away with the prestigious `Subhas Ghosal AdWorks VII Gold Trophy' this year. Pitted against Indian advertising giants like HTA and Lintas India, MTV's in-house team has succeeded in bagging the gold trophy at the `AdWorks VII Seminar' organised by the Advertising Club, Bombay and BPL Mobile.The criteria for winning: did the advertising work? And how effective was the campaign in promoting the product? The five nominees for the `AdWorks Gold Trophy' included Vim (Lintas), Whirlpool Quick Chill( FCB Ulka), Ujala( Situations), Pepsi( HTA) and MTV. Outlining its creative, media and advertising strategies, MTV struck gold at the `AdWorks' function. The club also presented silver trophies to felicitate the five nominees for the award.
It may be recalled that the Advertising Club of Bombay had announced a special trophy that recognises the effectiveness of an advertising campaign in the marketplace last year. According to Sorab Mistry, chairperson, AdWorks Committee, the club has plans to take the `AdWorks Award' to a higher level next year. ``The club has been appointed as the licensee for EFFIES, the most prestigious international award for effective advertising. In association with EFFIES, we will hold the `AdWorks VIII ' in 2001,'' added Mistry.
According to Mistry, the club will now move on from the general category to other special categories next year. The special categories will include: consumer goods, consumer durables, corporate communications and services.``This year, EFFIE has also invited an Indian advertising professional, Mr Ramesh Narayan, to participate in the final round of judging for the `EFFIE Award 2000','' adds Mistry. Incidentally, Mr Narayan will be the first Indian to participate in the `EFFIE Awards Function' to be held in New York.
Wooing youth with a vengeance
Is advertising worthwhile? Do effective ad campaigns really push the brand in the marketplace? Ask Sangeetha Gupta, associate director, research & development, MTV, and she will say effective advertising certainly has favourable impact on the bottomline of any company. Says Gupta: ``It was in 1996 that MTV launched its India operations. And our mission was to be India's No.1 music channel. And with effective advertising we have achieved our goal in 1999.''
According to Gupta, MTV's viewership has jumped from 8 per cent to 36 per cent in the last four years. ``Also, the number of sponsors has risen to 800 from 100. In 1996, our revenues accounted for Rs100 million and now it stands at Rs 1,300 million,'' adds Gupta. According to Gupta, the first step of MTV's gameplan was to get tuned to the Indian youth.``To woo the Indian youth, we offered them `cultural khichidis' and `lassi in cans'. We wanted to be everywhere to catch their attention,''informs Gupta.
MTV's ad strategy included the following steps:
Thematized the network-bug, voice mail and stationery.
Ran promo spots, specials, events mascots as show plugins, backdrops and sets.
Opted for cross media promotions to popularise the channel.
Targeted youth hangouts like college canteens, cinemas and shopping malls.
Opted for internet advertising and outdoor media campaigns.
For effective advertising, chose major channels such as TNT, CNBC and cable networks.
Used Coke Pet bottles and Lays's packs for advertising MTV.Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.