THE FREE STORE

TitleTHE FREE STORE
BrandPIDILITE INDUSTRIES
Product / ServiceFEVICOL
CategoryA01. Event & Field Marketing
EntrantOGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company OGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Advertising Agency OGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Vishal Malhan Pidilite Industries Ltd. Advertiser's Manager
Nirav Parekh Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Account Planner
Vikek Verma Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Account Manager
Ramanathan Sridhar Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Account Supervisor
Ankita Gupta Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Art Director
Hazel Mehta Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Copywriter
Harshad Rajadhyaksha Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Executive Creative Director
Kainaz Karmakar Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai Executive Creative Director
Rajiv Rao Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai National Creative Director
Abhijit Avasthi Ogilvy/Mather- Mumbai National Creative Director

The Brief

Homeowners are the primary decision makers in choosing what materials will be used in refurnishing their homes. Although Fevicol is India's No.1 adhesive, people had started to opt for cheaper options as opposed to Fevicol SH for their carpentering needs. We wanted to remind people why Fevicol is still India's most reliable glue by giving them a first hand experience of the product in Fevicol's humorous and witty manner.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

‘The Free Store’ was launched in one of Mumbai’s busiest malls (that is frequented by homeowners) over a holiday weekend. Signs were put up all around the area announcing the arrival of the store with slogans such as ,”100% Sale”, “Free” and so on. Attracted by these and the artistic wooden bowls, cool clocks and various other items on display, hoards of shoppers eagerly tried to take the free items but in vain, since everything was glued down by Fevicol. Upon realizing the prank, people not only had a good laugh but gave extremely positive brand feedback. They also got interior decoration magazines that highlighted the benefits of using Fevicol SH, as a token of appreciation for trying.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

People who tried the activity, loved it. More than once we were told,"You should have told me it is Fevicol! I wouldn't have tried to pull!” indicating the strong belief in the brand's promise. Many more regaled nostalgic tales of their time with Fevicol, both onsite and online. With a less than 2000$ budget, Fevicol got :1260% return on investment : 426% increase in subscriptions for Pidilite India's YouTube channel : On YouTube India's top trending videos within 24 hours, with over 150,000 unique impressions : Favorable brand recall from all those who tried or viewed this activity.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Fevicol is synonymous with humor advertising in India and while Fevicol has established its brand promise of being 'The Ultimate Adhesive' successfully for over 50 years in 'reel life' (print, TVCs etc), it had yet to do so in 'real life' (activation, social media etc). By letting people experience Fevicol's bond first hand, Fevicol got to show rather than tell that it is indeed India's most reliable glue. Moreover, this simple activity over just one weekend was so successful in conveying the message that it instantly got covered by news and social media channels all over the country, leading to incalculable free media publicity and national recognition.