LINE: A Social Entertainment Platform with emoticon

LINE is a Japanese company which launched its mobile apps in India. The line users can send messages, images, video, audio media messages and make free VOIP calls. Its family of 52 apps — which includes games, tools, communication services and photo apps for iOS and Android — have been downloaded more than 290 million times — Line Camera alone has clocked 48 million downloads worldwide. Line is competing against WeChat and Whatsapp. Few months back we saw China made WeChat  targeting Indian using celebrities like Parineeti Chopra and Varun Dhawan. 

LINE initially started in Japan as a text-messaging service allowing users to text-chat with other LINE users or have group-chats with multiple users. Once the app is installed it’s easy to know which of your friends also has the app installed as LINE simply looks at the numbers in your address book and cross-checks them with registered LINE users. If a user has friends who are already on LINE, at registration the app will suggest friends to add to your LINE-friends network.  Three months after its launch, the ability to make free voice calls from smartphones was also added to LINE. If users have a flat-data plan, or are connected to WiFi, all calls to other LINE users will cost nothing. This is obviously of great appeal and due to the simplicity of registering with an existing phone number rather than having to give an email address, LINE is also giving Skype a run for its money.

Line is perhaps best known for its virtual stickers – often featuring cute and quirky cartoon characters – that people can send as messages. Line is making over $10 million (1 billion yen) per month selling stickers, the rich emoticon-like content.  Stickers are larger-scale emoticons which are primarily used for instant messaging (IM) chats. They are popular among some, particularly in Asia, because they help convey emotion, and are more visual than blocks of text. Stickers typically come in packs of up to a dozen, most of which are free to download and use, but some services charge $1/$2 for premium packs — which may be customized for brands, products or limited edition events. Once downloaded or bought, they appear as an option in the text box, and are published when pressed.

Tata Nano - Celebrate Awesomeness

The Tata Motors new campaign titled ‘Celebrate Awesomeness’ released for its brand Tata Nano. The new campaign targeting the youth focuses on the young generation’s penchant for being awesome at what they do. The film features young achievers from different fields such as actress and model Sarah Jane Dias, designer Masaba Gupta and magician Ugesh Sarcar. It comes across almost like a music video.

The ad opens with urban youth in different situations in a rush to get somewhere. A couple of girls in a local taxi witness Tata Nanos in various colours zipping on the roads. It is revealed that everyone is headed to a particular spot. The Nano drivers park and soon the gang breaks into a what seems like a flash mob. Elsewhere, magician Ugesh Sarcar who plays himself in the TVC, performs a trick in front of three girls. He snaps his fingers and vanishes leaving his hat behind. The girls find a small model of the Tata Nano in the hat. One of them throws it on the street and the model transforms into a real car. They too drive to where the youth are congregating. As more people assemble, the place gets a carnival look. Designer Masaba Gupta walks towards an orange Nano and yanks off the ‘cover’ to reveal a blue Nano. All along the 90-second film, a dash of vibrant colours make their presence felt through the costumes, cars and special effects. The film ends with the supers ‘Celebrate youness’, ‘Celebrate kickassness’, ‘Celebrate epicness’, ‘Celebrate magicness’, ‘Celebrate awesomeness.’ (Source: Campaign India)

The campaign has been extended onto social media as well. It has around 3,844,465 likes as of 31st August. A Facebook app on the Tata Nano page featuring the ‘Sound of awesomeness’ was shared to spread the word. Fans were asked to invite their friends through the app and help them discover the sound of awesomeness. The app had the provision to send the link via an SMS or as a Facebook message to their friends. 

We need to watch how this new campaign ‘Celebrate awesomeness’ can encourage the target group to test drive. Tata has been pushing the Nano in many ways to get an even better sales figure on the sales chart which include ‘Two-wheeler exchange’ programme, get Nano by simply swiping the credit card and many other. The latest from company is a new generation television commercial which is very colourful and attracts youths towards it. Will it attract the youth?

http://www.tatanano.com/

Cadbury Bournvita Tayyari Jeet Ki (preparing to win)

I saw an interesting Cadbury Bournvita yesterday. The new Cadbury Bournvita TVC tell about the importance of cultivating good habits (Aadatein) in children. The ad shows the story of a mother who instils in her son the habit of winning. Tayyari Jeet Ki (preparing to win) has been the theme of Bournvita’s campaign since 2011. Bournvita's communication strategy focus on mothers feel good about buying into the rational benefits of health and wellness, for the kids it is more about the taste and fun of drinking Bournvita. Unlike other brands which have focused on health benefits, Bournvita has always been about taste with heath benefits. 

The TVC created by Ogilvy & Mather went on air in early April. The film starts with a mother and son racing in the woods. She is shown pitting herself against the boy in regular sprints. The mother tells the story through the voice over. She says, “Mere bête ko jeet ki aadat tab lagegi jab woh mujhe harayega” (My son will learn the habit of winning when he defeats me). But she is in mood to let her son win by giving in. “Akhir adatein na ek din mein banti hay na asani se” (Habits are neither built in a day nor easily) she says. The day arrives when the son defeats her in their race. The VO says, “Toh jis din woh mujhe harayega, main jeet jaoongi” (So the day he defeats me, I will win). As she pours him a cup of Bournvita, the VO explains that only a mother knows the value of good habits. The TVC ends with the boy sprinting and the super reads, ‘Taiyaari jeet ki’ (Preparation to win).” (Source: Campaign India)

India, the world's largest malt-based drinks market, accounts for 22% of the world's retail volume sales. These drinks are traditionally consumed as milk substitutes and marketed as a nutritious drink, mainly consumed by the old, the young and the sick. The Health Food Drinks category consists of white drinks and brown drinks. South and East India are large markets for these drinks, accounting for the largest proportion of all India sales. The major players in the market are Bournvita, Complan, Horlicks, Boost and Milo. Cadbury's Bournvita is the leader in the brown drink segment with a market share of around 16.2% (as per Nielsen data for the quarter ending March) and overtakes Boost 12% market share. 

Horlicks, being a white malted beverage, has never really been a direct competitor to Bournvita. Horlicks has always been the market leader, with almost 45 per cent share in the category. Boost is strong in the South while Bournvita’s strength has been the North and West. Horilicks is the most popular brand in Chennai and its brand is ingrained in the minds of Chennai consumers and it is also served in tea stalls in Chennai. In the past there was milk shortage in Chennai and this helped Horlicks become a popular brand in Chennai where consumers started taking it as a milk substitute.

Image Source: http://print-ads-india.blogspot.in/2011/02/cadbury-bournvita-taiyyari-jeet-ki-camp.html

Market Study Source: http://www.pbr.co.in/julyseptissue/9.pdf

Tanishq Diamonds now at a Flat 15% off!

Another cute and funny ad from Tanishq....