When the United States announced its presidential election campaign open last year, it was not just presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney fighting to influence the voter?s viewpoint. Brands such as FedEx, Pizza Hut, Cabbage Patch Dolls, JetBlue Airlines and Heaven Hill Distilleries had almost highjacked the election wave to grab a chunk of that much sought-after ?consumer? attention. Boston Market, a chain of American casual restaurants headquartered in Florida, launched the ?Bowl Poll? campaign to shine a light on the chain?s newest menu item then, Market Bowls. They devised a campaign to provide an early projection of the election race and the citizen?s sentiment regarding the ?left-wing? and the ?right-wing? candidates. However, the candidates this time were not Obama and Romney, but rather the ?chicken? from the left wing and the ?turkey? representing the right.
So as globalisation takes charge and India gets ready to witness a momentous general election early next year, are brands turning wise enough to explicitly exploit the election buzz to grab even a corner of that voter?s mind?
Let?s take a look.
In January this year, men?s innerwear brand Rupa Frontline highlighted the nation?s indifference towards voting and rolled out a campaign that took forward its brand message ? Sabse Aage (ahead of everyone). Created by Scarecrow Communications, the commercial showcased the protagonist riding on his bike into a politically disturbed zone. When he tries to walk into the voting booth to cast his vote, he is stopped and threatened by a bunch of political goons. Undeterred, he walks into the booth and casts his vote.
Commenting on the campaign, Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow Communications says, ?Barring some of the last few elections, there has been a steep decline in eligible voters turning up at election booths to cast their vote. There is a lot of cynicism and negativity about politics and elections in this country. Now, the Frontline man chooses to do things ahead of others?as suggested by its positioning ?Raho Duniya Se Ek Kadam Aage?. We wanted to make that positioning more meaningful by using the context of voting.?
Talk of the more recent campaigns and plywood-to-laminates maker Greenlam Laminates chose to exploit the election flutter by launching the ?Mahaul sundar toh khayal sundar? campaign in October this year. An extension to the brand message, ?Zamane Ko Sajane Hai? campaign from last year, the commercial shows a group of politicians walk into an assembly hall and transform into patriotic leaders with oaths to create a better and thoughtful India. And why this sudden change? For they enter a room which is renovated by Greenlam?s decorative laminates. The message: When one?s surroundings and interiors are beautiful, it automatically implores positive thoughts in one?s life. The ad was conceptualised and written by Prasoon Joshi, chairman, CEO and chief creative officer, McCann Worldgroup India.
According to Joshi, brands often choose topical themes to stay in the news and increase recall. ?And when you find the right brand fit, you literally ride the wave. In the idea, we found a creative fit between the elections and Greenlam?s creative theme ?Zamane Ko Sajana Hai?. And since satire, a great form of communication, has been the tone of Greenlam?s creatives, we chose to continue with it even in the latest ad.?
Adds Alex Joseph, vice president, marketing and communications, Greenlam Laminates, ?Greenlam is part of a very low involvement category. Therefore, advertising has to be very smart and clutter-breaking. Elections are a very topical theme. So we chose to use elections as the campaign backdrop to highlight the good that can be done through politicians and politics. The script carefully strikes a balance between cynicism and humour.?
Interestingly, for now, the election-themed campaigns do not follow any trend. Rather, quite visibly the experimentation is up across categories. Goel TMT, a player in the steel and power sector from central India, launched an eight-week-long election awareness campaign in October. Backed by radio, print, outdoor, digital campaigns, the television commercial showcases a middle-aged politician getting off his jeep in a busy market place and thanking every passer-by individually. When one of them asks why he is thanking him for he did not vote anyway, the politician replies, ?That?s exactly why!?. The ad finally ends with a voice-over which urges the nation to vote and make this country stronger.
Says KV Sridhar, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett – India subcontinent, ?In this age of social media, brands tend to be more topical in their communication in a bid to start conversations not just on television but also on social media. So pitching on topical issues such as Sachin, cricket, elections, have gained much more importance.?
He adds, ?Earlier, every brand had a product benefit which distinguished it from the rest of the brands. Today, all the benefits are absolutely equal. Therefore, riding on a topical issue (especially social) and exhibiting your stand becomes even more important.?
Similar to international markets, there is a clear tendency in Indian advertising to take cues from the environment. But dig a little more deep and one would find that unlike the West, brands which intend to ride on the election buzz are only a handful. Wagh Bakri Tea is one of those. The brand decided to cash in on the election fever and launched a television commercial across its key markets of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where assembly polls were also due, in November this year.
Says Parag Desai, executive director, sales, marketing and international trade, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, ?The brand Wagh Bakri stands for peace and harmony. Elections being a point of discussion create excitement and lead to arguments, Wagh Bakri Tea plays the role of a catalyst to establish peace and harmony through its superior quality.?
Adds Desai, ?In the commercial, Wagh Bakri Tea compels people to choose taste over arguments and disharmony and urges people to ?choose right? (sahi chuno) in an effective way.?
Are brands hesitant?
Most brands unanimously agree that elections in India are neither perceived to be transparent nor law-abiding; consequently, the initial hesitance to associate with elections as the theme. Also, unlike the ICC Cricket World Cup, the Olympics or even the Indian Premier League, the other caveat with elections is that it has to be neutral. ?But again, elections in India are not as neutral as patriotism or national integration. India is a more sensitive nation given its many religions, dialects and belief systems. So the brand needs to be bold enough to take up election as a theme and exploit its topicality,? Scarecrow Communications? Bhatt avers. Additionally, if the brand does not project a firm ground to declare a political statement, its election-themed campaign may sound more opportunistic than real. Questions a top advertising executive who did not want to be named, ?For me, a brand such as Greenlam whose original positioning was about making the world more beautiful, does not so seamlessly connect to a political statement. It leads me to ask why are you making a statement at all? Is it just being opportunistic or does your brand do anything about it? Have they had a view on the political state at all??
Incidentally, there are chances that an election-themed advertising idea could backfire too. Pizza Hut launched a high-profile marketing campaign during the 2012 US presidential polls daring fans to ask the presidential candidates to choose between sausage or pepperoni as a pizza topping during the presidential debate in the town hall. In turn, the person who dared would get a lifetime supply of pizza. The campaign backfired almost instantly attracting a lot of criticism wherein Pizza Hut was accused of not taking the debate seriously enough. The brand had to withdraw the challenge immediately and instead launch a contest based on the theme.
Dheeraj Sinha, head, planning, South and Southeast Asia, Grey, notes that in the past 6-8 months there have been quite a few clients who have shown interest to link themselves to politically-themed advertising. ?However, brands do realise that they have to be a bit careful about riding the election buzz. If you are a brand which in some way is being run by the government, then you do not want to make a comment on the elections; if you are a mainstream FMCG brand, you would be careful of riding the election bandwagon as the statement you make could result in a backlash,? he says.
Adds Sridhar, ?I do not think that any brand would choose to launch any new product while riding the election buzz. Elections come once in five years while the Olympics happen once in four. But we know that the Olympics are not going to be controversial. Also, there is a certain guarantee in the way in which it will be governed. Elections can turn into anything in our country. One can use it as a tactical tool, but you cannot bank on it.?
Frankly, a brand?s association with an election-themed campaign depends on the positioning that the brand holds; and if the positioning and theme fit well, riding the election buzz can become quite an easy task. Perhaps, this is exactly why even brands such as Rupa Frontline and Greenlam Laminates found their ?recall relevance? with the topic of elections. But its easier for brands which have been consistently making statements on the political situation of the country. Take for instance, The Hindu?s latest campaign which asks the politicians to behave, ?for the youth is watching?. Evidently, this is not the first politically-themed campaign that the daily decided to roll out to ride the election buzz. Rather, the sarcastic and yet straightforward communication marks the next phase of The Hindu?s ?Behave Yourself? campaign, which was launched in October last. Interestingly, while in the last campaign the politicians were admonished for their bad behaviour, the latest one focuses on reminding the clan that the power to re-elect them undoubtedly lies in the hands of the youth.
Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather India and South Asia says, ?This has been an ongoing campaign for The Hindu newspaper and it is its duty to bring out issues which are relevant to the society. We designed and launched the campaign last year when there were no elections. But the launch of the second phase this time is just ahead of the elections, thus making the campaign more relevant.?
Adds Pandey, ?Brands which will have relevance to the message can do an election-themed campaign. If my brand has nothing to do with the issue, them I am just wasting my money.?
But is it good enough when the communication is just about advertising? No! There has to be a follow-up too. Quite a few marketers believe that a follow-up move does prevent a tendency to sound hollow and exploit ?just another media opportunity?. ?There is an overall level of disenchantment in this country with not walking the talk and instead making big promises. And that motivation is at its peak in terms of elections. Brands should not get caught in doing the same,? says Sinha.
Well, when it comes to consistency combined with follow-ups, Tata Tea?s ?Jaago Re?campaign surely walks the talk. In reference to the 2013 assembly elections followed by the general election coming up in 2014 as its latest theme, Tata Global Beverages launched the ?Power Of 49? campaign in August this year. The campaign, led by a television commercial, aims to highlight the fact that 49% of the electorate are female voters and it is time they realized their power during elections and even after that. But this is not a one-off campaign from Tata Tea. Tata Global Beverages launched its ?Jaago Re? marketing initiative in 2007 and was one of the first brands to talk about elections and social awareness. It also works with non-government organisations to raise awareness for specific causes around the Indian elections. For the latest ?Power Of 49? campaign, Tata Tea?s jaagore.com website features various topics with the power of women as the backdrop, urging them to wake up to the cause and vote. It is also tying up with groups and individuals who are actually helping new voters to enumerate.
?Over the last six years we have developed strong credentials in this space and Tata Tea has now become synonymous to the Jaago Re social awakening message,? says Vikram Grover, vice president? marketing, Tata Global Beverages. ?Campaigns which are based on social issues become sustainable in the long term when the brand message is integrated with the social message. Only then does it have a positive impact on the business. And when that happens, there is a vested interest for the brand to keep doing it because there are long-term returns. And that?s been Jaago Re?s secret to success.? It is pertinent to note here that Tata Global Beverages has invested over R100 crore in the Jaago Re campaign till now.
The Amul girl has also had her take on political situations and in particular, the elections. Amul has done ads in the past such as ?Kaun banega Rashtrapati? and ?Amul in every sabha?.
?The upcoming general election is rich with interesting sentiments. It?s up to brands to find the right connect. Any brand can leverage the election to create an impact as long as it touches a social chord with a relevant idea that offers consumers a real and useful platform for change,? says Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative director, BBDO India.
Youth brand MTV has launched the ?Hero MTV Rock the Vote? campaign. In a tongue-in-cheek tagline ?Dabao na …button?, MTV puns on the voting button to urge the first-time voters to vote. In coming weeks, MTV will take this campaign across multiple cities through college festivals, concerts and panel discussions with policy makers. Hero MTV Rock the Vote will also include Polt 101, a series of short films, animations and web-series that will talk about election facts and voting process with a fun twist.
Kiran Khalap, co-founder, Chlorophyll, a Mumbai-based brand and communications consultancy, says that an election is essentially a tactical opportunity. So the first criterion is relevance of the topic to the brand. ?How close is the fit of the ad theme and the theme of elections needs to be studied,? he says. ?The second criterion is instantaneity. Campaigns that tap into current and live events rather than the generic theme of elections will become more memorable. And the third criterion is the link to behaviour ? can the customer be made to try the brand through the election-themed campaign?,? he adds.
This means, while a cola brand could craft a campaign asking the consumer to celebrate his first vote with a sip of that brand, Google could launch a campaign asking the voter to do a background check on the politicians before casting his vote. Meanwhile, young and sarcastic brands could choose to make social commentary during elections to bring cheer and topicality.
The key is to keep the communication idea party neutral and sensitive enough not to offend the sensibilities of society and many of its cultural and social groups. And as far as the media platform is concerned, that could be any. ?It?s not about the media, it?s about the idea. And that idea needs to be action oriented and relevant. If the brand gets this right, it can work in any media?depending on the brand?s communication budget,? says Paul.
However, if apprehensions are high, brands could use digital first to understand the reactions to their election-themed experiments. After all, of the 149.36 million first-time voters, quite a big chunk would surely have access to the digital world. ?Digital and social platforms are best suited for election themed campaigns because they enable brands to curate and amplify opinions, sparking debate on issues that are close to consumers. Brands not taking a strong stand on elections can still participate by playing the role of an enabler through digital platforms,? says Suvajyoti Ghosh, director, Brandmovers India.
Meanwhile, Khalap feels that the most successful campaigns will use a mix of mass and digital media: Tweet and get a free trial; then shoot a video and put it up on YouTube; then wait for the TV newscasters to pick up the story.
