MAM
O&M advocates simplicty in Hutch campaigns
NEW DELHI: For a category such as telecommunications – in which products and services keep on changing at a blistering pace – to break through the advertising clutter can be a challenging proposition. Considering this, Hutchison Telecom seems to be following a peculiar strategy.
Ogilvy & Mather Delhi office, which handles Hutchison Telecom’s Hutch brand here, follows a `child-like’ communication strategy to differentiate the value-added services.
Whether it’s the recent `Hutch4help’ print and outdoor campaign; or the print campaign for the personalisation offer for postpaid connection (through a special series); the agency continues to work on simple text and cute visuals for propagating the message.
Says O&M creative consultant Ajay Gahlaut: “The communication is not ‘childish’ but it’s child-like. Anyone can understand the communication. It’s not too clever and idea is to keep it simple. The objective is to convey the benefit immediately. The ads might also bring a smile as one views them.”
Gahlaut’s colleague and creative consultant Sudip Bandyopadhyay, states that purposely agency is not using any shocking visuals. “The stuff we portray is very cute and pretty. We don’t try to show any shocking visual. The painted thumb (depicting different emotions) denotes this strategy. The proposition is also very upfront as the service, which one wants to avail, can be understood easily,” says Bandyopadhyay.
Citing an example from `Hutch4help’ campaign, Bandyopadhyay says: “For example, one has to type `4flowers’, if flowers are needed or `4taxi’ for communication purposes. So idea is get message across instantly.” The usage of numerical 4 is part of the communication strategy for availing value-added services. “We have created a branding instead of long sentences. It’s a regular SMS language, which has shaped up through usage of mobile phones,” adds Gahlaut.
In the personalisation number advertisements, restricted only to English and Hindi dailies, the campaign tries to stress upon tendency to use personal incidents or numbers such as anniversary or house number for luring consumer to get hooked on to new number.
“The idea of personalisation seems to have worked very well with consumer, who loves the idea of having his or her car number or house number or any preferred number for mobile connection. The response is very good and apparently it has worked very well for the client,” adds Gahlaut.
Brands
Nodwin Gaming appoints Sonal Varma as global director of live events
Former Comic Con India VP to scale global gaming and pop culture experiences
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has appointed Sonal Varma as global director of live events, bringing on board a seasoned architect of fan communities as the company accelerates its global push in gaming, esports and youth culture.
Varma steps into the role with more than 15 years of experience creating large-scale fan experiences and cultural platforms. She is best known for her long stint at Comic Con India, where she most recently served as vice president and helped transform the convention into one of the country’s most recognisable pop culture gatherings.
At Nodwin Gaming, Varma will lead the strategy, design and execution of the company’s global live event initiatives. Her mandate includes expanding flagship intellectual properties and developing new formats that bring gaming communities together across emerging markets.
Over the years, Varma has been closely associated with building and scaling community-led events such as Comic Con India, Geekly and the Indian Cosplay Championship. Her work has focused on turning niche fandoms into thriving cultural ecosystems by blending entertainment, creator culture and brand partnerships.
Her appointment comes at a time when Nodwin Gaming is expanding its international events footprint through properties such as DreamHack India, NH7 Weekender, Comic Con India and the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series. The company has also been growing its presence across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa through esports tournaments, gaming festivals and fan conventions.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director Akshat Rathee, said Varma’s experience in building fan-centric platforms would play a key role in the company’s next phase of growth.
“Sonal brings a deep understanding of how live experiences can bring communities together around gaming and pop culture. As we expand our global live events footprint, her experience will help us create experiences that feel authentic and meaningful for audiences across markets,” he said.
Varma said the scale of opportunity at Nodwin Gaming made the move particularly exciting.
“Joining Nodwin Gaming at this moment feels incredibly exciting because the canvas is so large. There are new audiences, new markets and new formats waiting to be explored. I’m looking forward to working with teams across the network to create live experiences that celebrate gaming culture while staying rooted in the communities that power it,” she said.
Over the past few years, Nodwin Gaming has built an ecosystem that stretches across competitive gaming, creator communities, music festivals and youth culture platforms. With Varma now leading global live events, the company is looking to further expand its flagship properties while experimenting with new formats that blend gaming, entertainment and fandom for audiences around the world.
