MAM
Lowe Lintas and Partners and HUL win at Global Mobile Awards
MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas and Partners along with India’s largest FMCG Company Hindustan Unilever Ltd. have won the Global Mobile Awards under the category- Best Advertising or Marketing on Mobile for their innovative ‘Free mobile Radio’ service- ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’. HUL and Lowe Lintas are amongst one of the 31 winners from 680 entries across the world.
An ‘innovative’ medium that effectively reaches to the rural audience, The ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’ is a ‘Free mobile Radio’ in Bihar that provides users to access entertainment content worth 15 minutes per week. Reaching out to more than 5 million consumers, the channel has now become the biggest radio station in the state that was otherwise termed to be ‘media dark’.
Speaking more about the service, Anaheeta Goenka (Executive Director, Lowe Lintas and Partners, India) said, “For Kan Khajura to take off, we needed people to take the first step and hence our singular task was to drive missed calls. Unlike all other mediums where you push the message out, here the consumer had to first call to even experience the content. The communication strategy was built around making them remember a 10 digit number, and call this number, again and again and again”. Quite a challenge in a day and age where we remember nothing beyond our own mobile numbers!
Deepa Geetakrishnan (President, Creative – Lowe Lintas and Partners) said, “Kan Khajura Tesan was an answer to this task. We needed something surprising and sticky around this innovative mobile channel that would make people want to call it. And from there came the idea of Kan Khajura tesan….the tesan that gets stuck to your ears. A Kan Khajura (Centipede) is an insect that enters the ear, and gets lodged there. It’s quite common in North India.”
To access the content the consumer is required to give a “Missed call” (the call here gets disconnected automatically after the two initial rings) on a given number. He is then called back where some content, which includes an RJ speak, jokes, and Bollywood songs amongst others, is played to him. Hence, giving the entertainment hungry audience exactly what they want.
In today’s age of communication, although it has become easier to reach out to people globally, brands still face a problem in reaching out to the heart of India – the rural population. Currently, about 70% of India’s population resides in rural areas. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, for a while, had been trying to explore this untapped market further. Most of rural India lives in darkness due to lack of electricity, and hence most of rural India is ‘Media dark’. Keeping in mind the tremendous success achieved in Bihar, HUL has launched the campaign in Jharkhand and plans to take it to other states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Brands
Raj Cooling Systems launches Agreyas appliances brand
Emraan Hashmi named brand ambassador for consumer appliance push.
MUMBAI: A company known for cooling solutions is now heating up its ambitions in the home appliances market. Raj Cooling Systems Pvt. Ltd. has launched a new consumer appliances brand, Agreyas, marking its entry into India’s rapidly expanding home appliances sector valued at more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The move represents a strategic diversification for the company, which has traditionally focused on cooling solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Through Agreyas, the firm plans to tap into growing consumer demand for energy efficient and technology driven household appliances.
To build brand visibility, Agreyas has appointed Emraan Hashmi as its brand ambassador. The campaign has been developed under the banner of Zoommantra Productions, with actor and filmmaker Rohit Roy contributing to the creative direction.
The brand’s initial portfolio will include mid premium air conditioners, washing machines, geysers and other white goods designed to cater to modern Indian households seeking efficient and reliable appliances.
Raj Cooling Systems, founder and chairman Kalpesh Ramoliya said the launch aligns with the company’s broader expansion plans.
“The launch of Agreyas is in line with our vision to build a strong presence in India’s consumer electronics and home appliances market. The brand has been developed as a standalone identity to meet the evolving needs of Indian consumers,” he said.
Hashmi said the collaboration comes at a time when Indian buyers are increasingly looking for innovative and functional home solutions.
“I’m looking forward to working with Agreyas at a time when consumers are seeking more innovative and efficient home products. The brand reflects changing consumer behaviour around functionality, innovation and ease of use,” he said.
Raj Cooling Systems plans to invest around 10 million dollars in developing the brand, with an additional 5 million dollars earmarked over the next three to five years for product development and distribution expansion.
Agreyas will follow a multi channel distribution approach, selling through online platforms, retail outlets and dealer networks aimed at both urban and semi urban markets across India.
With the launch, the company is positioning Agreyas as a standalone consumer facing brand while continuing to leverage its existing manufacturing, engineering and research capabilities built through its core cooling solutions business.
