The Campaign

Branded content is still evolving in India. Advertisers are still to comprehend that heavily brand-oriented content does not appeal to the average viewer, who is out there to consume entertainment and not brand communication. As a direct result broadcasters mete out harsh treatment to all branded content initiatives by allocating poorly performing slots and pithy marketing support. It’s not surprising then that branded content initiatives in India over the years have been either overly expensive properties that only serve to miff the viewer and negatively affect brand equity or properties whose names are known only to the marketers & agencies that created them.

Results

Dishwash is a low involvement and functional category. Vim was steadily losing share in a price competitive market due to decreasing differentiation and increased competitive activity. The goal was to build brand preference to transcend the price competitiveness by going beyond the 30 second TVC. Since Maharashtra is the highest contributor to Vim’s business, we piloted our strategy here. Popular cooking show Aamhi Saare Khawaiye, on leading Marathi channel, Zee Marathi was transformed into a competitive cooking format, the first of its kind on Marathi Television. To create relatability with female viewers, we brought the biggest female celebrity of Marathi entertainment industry, Supriya Pilgaonkar, to host the show. The activity kicked off with the product packaging transforming, asking consumers to call on an easy-to-use IVRS platform to participate. The message was then blasted on TV & Print for a period of 2 months. 52k housewives called. After selections, 8 weeks of episodes captured the entire competition. 2 articles/week across 8 weeks on leading daily in the state, Lokmat, drove further tune-ins in traditionally weak Zee Marathi markets. Also we got extensive free media coverage worth INR 50 Lakhs across leading Marathi dailies and news channels. The challenge was to integrate the brand without compromising content quality. We created branded elements within the show that would not only seamless communicate the brand’s functional proposition of faster degreasing but also add to the entertainment quotient rather than being distractions from the content itself. - Vim Points and advantages for finishing tasks faster - Vim Round with limited vessels, so everybody had to wash their dishes - Vim Kitchen Tips to help housewives manage their kitchen better - There was also an engagement platform where viewers could send tips to help their favorite contestants and win exciting Vim hampers.

The average housewife is multi-tasking expert. But she has a thankless job, with her efforts usually taken for granted by the family. Cookery shows across channels do well in afternoon band. This fascination for cookery shows stems from her desire to explore new recipes to wow her family with; because at the end of the day all she craves is a little appreciation We created a platform that rewards and recognizes housewives and gives them the appreciation they deserve. We created a “competitive cooking format” that would test and reward every skill employed by an average housewife in the kitchen.

The show became extremely popular, changing the fortunes of both the broadcaster and the brand. Housewives kept coming back episode after episode resulting in the average rating of the show doubling from 0.7 to 1.5 (F 15+ SEC BCD) after Vim’s intervention. In fact in the first week, it was the 2nd best show in this time-band across top mainline channels (including Hindi) in Maharashtra. Brand imagery improved significantly: - Brand likability improved from 81% to 93% - Brand preference improved from 77% to 87% - Purchase intent improved from 74% to 84% As a result, after a consistent decline throughout 2013, market share increased by 220 bps in Maharashtra during the activity period. Given the success of the initiative, the activity has now become a template for the brand and will be sustained in Maharashtra and executed across other key markets Other Results: - 93% of the viewers loved the content - 73% viewers recalled Vim at an unaided level - 50 Lakh people reached through TV content - 35 Lakh people reached via customized VIM pack - 2 Crore people reached through Print - 52000 calls received in just 30 days