MAM
Bright Outdoor eyes 20% growth in 2010
MUMBAI: It’s looking at a brighter 2010. Mumbai-hqed Bright Outdoor Media is pushing for a 15-20 per cent revenue growth in the coming year.
The company expects 50 per cent of this revenue to come from its BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) business, the advertising rights of which it acquired recently for the period 2010 to 2013.
Says Bright Outdoor CMD Yogesh Lakhani, “We had bid very aggressively for the BEST tender and won it through a Rs 1.23 billion bid for a three-year period (2010-2013). This includes 4605 single–decker buses and 125 double-decker buses.”
Earlier, the BEST advertising rights business was held by Pioneer Publicity which had paid Rs 700 million for the period 2004-2010 for approximately 3200 BEST buses.
Lakhani says the higher bid has forced him to revise advertising rates by 10-15 per cent. Elaborates Lakhani, “We need to do this to get a return on our investment. Currently, we service approximately 600 clients in Mumbai, out of which 150 are corporates while others are local players.”
The BEST contract, informs Lakhani, will kick start from 1 April 2010. Lakhani expects TV channel and programme advertising to account for a majority of the spaces (vacancies), followed by pan masala brands, Bollywood releases and the banking sector, not necessarily in that order.
“GECs are expected to contribute about 5 per cent of the total revenue coming from BEST,” he says.
According to a source in the company, while branding on the back panel of a BEST bus is priced at Rs 8,000 for a month, the left panel is priced at Rs 4,500 for a month. The right panel is priced at Rs 5,500 for a month and a full double decker bus is priced at Rs 65,000 a month.
Bright Outdoor Media, which presently operates in Mumbai, Goa and Pune, plans to barge into the Delhi outdoors in the next six months. It owns and operates around 1500 hoardings in Mumbai city, of which 85 per cent are occupied currently, claims Lakhani. Luck sure tends to favour Lakhani.
Brands
DeVANS sparks buzz with self-chilling beer can April Fools campaign
Godfather stunt racks up 7 million impressions, blending humour with hype
NEW DELHI: DeVANS Modern Breweries has stirred up the marketing pot with a playful yet high-impact campaign teasing a futuristic “self-chilling beer can” under its flagship Godfather label.
What began as a seemingly bold product innovation quickly turned into one of the most talked-about brand moments online, before being revealed as an April Fools’ Day prank. The reveal, however, did little to cool the buzz.
The campaign clocked over 7 million organic impressions across platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X, with users debating whether the concept was a genuine breakthrough or clever marketing theatre. Thousands of shares and comments turned the idea into a full-blown conversation, drawing in both consumers and industry insiders.
The hook was simple but effective. A self-chilling can positioned as an on-the-go convenience product tapped into the imagination of younger, urban audiences. Add the timing around April Fools’ Day, and the campaign struck the perfect balance between curiosity and scepticism, keeping audiences guessing.
Marketing experts have pointed to the campaign as a case study in leveraging cultural moments. By leaving just enough ambiguity, the brand invited audiences to participate rather than simply observe, turning passive viewers into active contributors to the narrative.
“Godfather has always been an iconic brand, but iconicity must evolve to stay meaningful,” said DeVANS Modern Breweries chairman and managing director Prem Dewan. “The ‘Self-Chilling Can’ was our way of showing up in a cultural moment with confidence and a sense of humour.”
Beyond the numbers, the campaign signals a broader repositioning for Godfather. Long seen as a legacy beer brand, it is now leaning into youth culture, digital-first storytelling and topical engagement to stay relevant in a crowded alcobev market.
In a space where attention is fleeting, DeVANS has shown that sometimes the coolest idea is the one that keeps people guessing.
