MAM
Why unconventional advertising is on the rise
MUMBAI: In May last year, what started as a wager between Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson and Air Asia owner Tony Fernandes, ended up with Branson serving drinks on an Air Asia flight, sporting lipstick and a red skirt.
The British billionaire had laid a bet with Fernandes that if his Grand Prix team finished ahead of Fernandes’ team, Fernandes would work as a flight attendant on-board Virgin Atlantic and vice-versa. With the Virgin team losing, Branson had to fulfil his part of the deal.
Not only did the stunt garner world-wide publicity, it helped raise over $300,000 for the charity, Starlight Foundation, supported by both Virgin Australia and Air Asia.
In Germany, Big Pilot’s Watches were attached to the hanging straps of buses ferrying passengers between the airport and airplane to encourage them to try them on.
Closer home, Jet Airways came up with a print ad seven years ago saying, “We’ve Changed”. No sooner, rival Kingfisher Airlines came up with an ad above the Jet one saying, “We made them change!”
All instances go to show that marketers are increasingly adopting unconventional means of advertising. And why not, for given the plethora of options, consumers’ attention spans are only heading south. In such a scenario, advertisers are compelled to come up with ‘out-of-the-box’ ways to get their brands noticed.
Newly-appointed regional head of Posterscope APAC, Haresh Nayak, puts it as: “The ultimate goal of the advertiser is to sell things, but the necessary preliminary goal is to get the attention of the public. Advertisers will go to great lengths to get this attention, as the pay-off for a truly successful advertising campaign can be enormous.”
Of the many triggers for unconventional advertising, Madison Media Sigma COO Vanita Keswani enlists some. “The need to target a niche audience and to avoid spill-over from mass media. The need for a lead brand in a competitive category to add unconventional to conventional to beat the clutter. The need for a small brand which does not have adequate monies to compete in traditional media,” she says.
Big Cinemas’ marketing and sales head Shirish Srivastava adds, “Advertisers and marketers have to use unconventional methods to target consumers at the opportune time and sell them the service at the Zero Moment of Truth. This is where non-traditional, out of the box, clutter-breaking ideas and media come into play. For instance, look at the way in-cinema advertising has evolved in the wake of a rise in multiplexes.”
For example, the HDFC Life ad in cinemas a couple of years ago was played right after the national anthem and this helped the brand get the attention it wanted. Similarly, Piramal Healthcare’s ad for its iSure ovulation kit was plastered across doors, mirrors and hand dryers of washrooms at Big cinemas. This was followed by a feedback camp with two promoters stationed at cinema exits, gathering feedback from women about the activation.
Says Amit Sinha of Piramal Healthcare, “Washroom advertising is effective as it gives you a one-on-one moment of impact for a range of products like i-Sure in the intimate space, while ensuring it is gender-targeted and thus very relevant. We are glad to have chosen BIG Cinemas as one of our media vehicles on this one, since the brand provided us a significant reach to connect with our customers, at the right time.”
Unconventional advertising is often referred to as guerrilla marketing and consists of creative, low-cost marketing methods used by businesses to temporarily promote their products or services. According to Srivastava, “Brands need to search for these convenience factors, create communication, create POS and convenient touch-points to generate business. Like traditional paan shops which have now become mini convenience shops where so many more products are available.”
Nayak recalls an innovation which encouraged immediate action on the part of consumers. The bespoke ad for Skoda Rapid, which was played in theatres, had a patron appear on the screen, take a test drive and return back to his/her seat to continue watching the movie. It created a lot of buzz on YouTube and facebook. HDFC Ergo did the same thing to promote car insurance through mobile.
Sometimes, unconventional media channels are to be found within the traditional ones. For instance, HD and DTH on TV or catching consumers at relevant touch-points like out of home screens or multiplexes or activations or stunts.
Coming to which is better, unconventional or traditional advertising? Media experts say that the biggest risk in unconventional advertising is that the insurgent stunts can flop and ultimately become a PR nightmare. However, smaller businesses don’t run as much risk as most people would just write it off as another failed stunt. There are other risks in unconventional advertising too like misrepresentation of brand image, vague communication creating false rumours about the brand and so on. As Keswani says: “There are risks of not having measurement metrics like traditional media, but then brands need to derive learnings through their own internal research and create measurement criteria for success.”
MAM
Microdrama Specialist COL Group International Builds Out With Narativ, Rock Networks & BlingWood Deals
MUMBAI: Microdrama powerhouse COL Group International is building out its distribution network, with its CEO saying vertical video is about to enter its “next competitive chapter.”
The microdrama arm of publicly-listed Chinese company COL Group appointed Narativ Media as its official distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and CIS regions and Africa, and a struck new content deal with a new Dubai-based microdrama platform.
The deals were unveiled this morning at MIP London, and also included Rock Networks as its exclusive Southeast Asia telco distribution partner for its app, FlareFlow. MIP London is now into its second day at the Savoy Hotel and adjoining IET London complex.
The deals come soon after COL appointed Harbour Rights to represent its titles in Europe and Latin America, as we reported yesterday in our extended feature on microdrama distribution.
COL’s Singapore-based microdrama unit says its “coordinated global distribution architecture and significantly expanded international content slate” would help to scale its catalogue to more than 1,700 microdrama titles worldwide. These hail from South Korea, Japan, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the UK and roll out across Sereal+, FlareFlow and 17K.
A deal with Dubai-based BlingWood, which recently launched as an OTT platform, will expand COL’s access to Middle Eastern and Indian microdramas, and includes a broader pipeline of Indian series from storytelling platform Pratilipi, Korean titles from BeLive Studios and British reality-led formats from Tattle TV — the UK’s first dedicated microdrama app, including titles such as Dog Dates.
“Microdrama is entering its next competitive chapter, where quality, retention and monetization standards are increasingly shaped by data and operational discipline,” said Timothy Oh, General Manager of COL Group International.
“As pioneers in both China and the U.S., scaling some of the world’s leading platforms in this space, we understand what it truly takes to win sustainably. Our role is not simply to offer catalogue volume, but to help partners select, position and scale the right content for their platform and audience. By bringing together a broad, constantly refreshed slate from across regions, we enable smarter curation, clearer differentiation and long-term growth for serious industry players.”
Narativ deal
COL and UAE-based Narativ described their deal as a “strategic expansion of premium vertical content distribution across high-growth emerging markets,” and comes as the microdrama continues to boom financially. The growth of the medium will be among the key topics of conversation today at MIP London, where COL chief Oh will be speaking.
The pact extends beyond content representation and is being billed as part of a more “structured micro-drama distribution infrastructure.”
Narativ will spearhead market development, platform alliances, broadcaster relationships and digital monetization frameworks across the MENA and CIS regions and Africa, where they have identified “rapid mobile-first consumption growth and strong demand for short-form, high-engagement storytelling formats.”
“Micro-dramas are reshaping global viewing habits, particularly across mobile-first markets like MENA, Africa and CIS,” said Manjyot Sandhu, CEO and co-founder of Narativ. “Our appointment as official distributor for COL Group in these territories reflects Narativ’s strategy to build sustainable distribution architecture.
“A key pillar of the collaboration includes integration with FlareFlow, enabling strategic telco partnerships, bundled carrier offerings, and alternative monetization pathways designed to accelerate scale across mobile ecosystems and OTT platforms.”
Oh added: “We are building more than a content slate – we are building the global infrastructure for microdrama. With hundreds of new titles launching every quarter, scale and regional strength are critical. Narativ with its deep foothold in MENA, Africa CIS and other key markets makes them a natural strategic partner as we expand FlareFlow and bring microdrama to new platforms, telcos and audiences.
Narativ, which is joint venture Sandhu operates with Copyright Capital, manages around 7,000 hours of content and has a digital network spanning 150 million subscribers across 21 language.
COL Group has emerged as one of the biggest microdrama platforms, running platforms such as FlareFow. It is also a part-owner of ReelShort.
