Sahara Q-Shop – Completely Adulteration Free 100%, Really?

Sahara Q-Shop, a great start with a big chase for 800 shops. Launched on Independence Day – the August 15^th, 2012. I wonder, were they trying to give the Q-Shop an image of - ‘Swadeshi’ (Domestic) Brand.

The Subroto Roy group has come up with a distinguished ‘Positioning Strategy’. There promise it to get rid of Adulteration. The message which is going to hit everyone – though they say they target the two tier cities, I am sure the TVC has created a buzz in everyone’s mind.Watch here

Who won’t be shocked to see Sachin Tendulkar – taking rounds of a dining table and depicting a funeral scene, M.S.Dhoni with an RIP placard, the advertisement is intriguing and the message very strong. Everybody in this country is tired of and wants to fight adulteration. Who would not fear of drinking the glass of milk after reading in the morning newspaper about samples of Urea in your brand of milk packet? This is disastrous and Sahara ‘Q’ shop is offering a promise. The TVC stands different but the message it leaves on our minds – is negative almost everyone gets horrified of what we eat or drink. I wish it had a hopeful message too but it leaves us with an introduction to a hopeful retail brand – the Q shop.

With the inflation going up every day, the retail sector is experiencing a slowdown. The big retail players are finding ways to restructure and fight back. The middle class who were fond of Big Bazaars have started going back to nearby Kirana shops as the fuel expenses have gone up. Like these, the challenges have grown and now enter the Q shops.

When I saw the advertisements – I readily wanted to explore about it. It is a feast to watch the Indian Cricket stars – all in one go and then you see Sahara and the quest is kind of sorted but the message they are conveying – stays!  Though I am yet to visit a Sahara Q shop and experience the experience they offer but as far as the communication is concerned – we all remember the advertisement. Don’t we?

The advertisement is a simple, to the point message reaching straight to the end consumer with a promise of delivery.

Coming to the business intentions – Sahara Group claims to have set a Quality Revolution with a state of art laboratory process, where the merchandise in Sahara Q-shops will go through Quality Checks and Quality Assurance. Proper care is said to be taken in the Packaging Measures as well.

Check out the Unbeatable Advantages offered at Sahara ‘Q Shops’ (as mentioned on their official website)

• 100% commitment to quality
• Most competitive price
• Doorstep delivery of products under strict supervision
• Right weight/quantity
• 100% disclosure policy across all products
• Convenience of phone shopping
• State-of-the-art Quality Control labs in New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Patna
• Pan-India quality team of 800 people, comprising Scientist Associates, Senior Quality Controllers, Quality Assurance Managers and Quality Assurance Executives
• 305 warehouses in 285 cities

So we can say that the consumers are going to have another Swadeshi (Domestic) brand with a mission of quality and purity. The offerings are multiple from staples to personal care, from lifestyle products to natural water, they almost have it all.

Sahara Group certainly is on a mission and it is a real challenge to fight adulteration. I hope the consumers find a pure brand in Sahara Q shops as the challenge is getting bigger with the influx of foreign retail giants in Indian Retail scene. But there is another challenge- How many of us are willing to adopt a domestic brand with the so many pleasing foreign brands on the retail shelf?

Starved for Content, Flooded with Junk Food - Indian Television

Content Marketing is on its peak in India and with the influx of Tv channels – it looks like the marketer is suffering with a lack of content. Look at the kind of daily soaps which are running these days and riding the TRP bull, you will find a remarkable repetition of once hit bollywood movies.  Since it is a tried & tested formula the idea hits and makes initial points with great TRPs and reviews. As the story reaches its peak and the characters get into a routine life of heroes, victims, friends etc in the serial – an average viewer takes the remote in hand and is ready to flip channels.

Unlike few most popular ones, several daily soaps are taken out of a popular hindi movie. On one hand the recently popular ‘Saubhagyavati bhava’ on Like OK reminds of the movie Agneesakhi and on the other hand – the tele-serial ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ looks like a replica of the Salman-Karisma starrer Biwi No.1, the serials do pick up instantly because of the tried and tested formula but few more episodes and we lose the charm completely. Even the sequences and situations are found to be copied.

At times I wonder, is it because of Consumerism and the Brand Endorsements making the channel owners mad to win advertising business? Certainly a point to ponder!!

Considering the case of news channels – it is no different. Shockingly, each of them have on an average 6-10 breaking news a day. All kinds of content – be it political, social, economic, defense related, crime, a tv program or its artists, a God men – almost everything is served as a Breaking News. Gosh! How many breaking news a country can tolerate in a day.  

Leaving a bunch of reporters and journalists, you can find many on news channel who are inacting emotions while anchoring the show. Celebs and Bollywood stars are pulled in to anchor, because for TRPs they need a face – whether or not they have the Content/ Experience or Purpose to do it.

Advertising Slots are increasing multi-folds. You watch a movie on tv, it will take at least 4 hours and post that you wonder, you would have it rather watched in cinema or a DVD – not only it takes hell lot of time but also it didn’t offered any relevant advertisement in between. Even this issue needs to be addressed. A half an hour tv serial offers 3 to 4 advertisement slots of minimum 2 minutes during prime time.

A lot is been said and discussed about the Censorship on TV. The content is obscene and so is the depiction. The tele-serials are getting bolder without a notification of U/A but why shall they – you have a look at the reality shows, even if they introduce beeps and blur for certain scenes – you cannot just change the way – people dress, their basic mannerism etc. Is it all because there is a lack of content or it is because, this sells.  Vodafone sponsors Splits-villa, Roadies is trying its best to be what it intended to be, whereas it was the contenders who wanted Instant shot to fame and hence got into what wasn’t required.

Coming back to the news channel, why are they becoming Offending and even funny at times? Is it again the lack of content or the race of TRPs. Do they have a moral responsibility? Why cannot we still create wonderful memories of Jungle Book – there wasn’t anything obscene. Even the cartoons today are becoming hotter & bolder.

Is is the LACK of Content or attempt to oversell with whatever clicks to the audience. Or it is simply because the content on television is too much to monitor? Or it is the pressure to get more business from consumer brands who will only advertise in the show with maximum TRPs.

It is certainly sad to see Indian Television struggling for Brand Loyalty amidst the battle of content marketing.

Cymbolism - Your guide to Branding & Logo colors

Recently came across a wonderful & quick read which I think is very useful for any brand assignment. Colors are all good but going for the most approriate is a challenge. At some point of brainstorming, colors become the ultimate factor for any creative decision be it for a designer or a conceptualiser. Cymbolism is an interactive survey of color & word associations. The details of the same could be read here.

A detailed survey on Choosing Colors for your brand provides wonderful inputs. The same could be read at Usabilitypost.com

Jaago Re - A way forward in Societal Marketing

Everyday ambience, Sharp Humor, Single Message, Plain Straight Truth – on face brings lot of relevance in any marketing communication. That’s how the magical communication campaigns are being aired for Tata Tea’s – Jaago Re Campaign. The campaign is straight on Corruption.

The creativity, the communication, the ad copy, the actors all of these just create a dovetail in a truly effective way. This is a purely common man’s campaign and everyone can relate & link to it so conveniently. The problems, issues are so common that everyone could relate it to oneself, someone or the system. They talk about bribes, under the table projects, donation driven admissions etc. Their remains no doubt of authenticity or credibility in the communication because it is coming out of our daily routine lives. Everyone has been a part of that situation and if not they are aware of several such situations.

The message of ‘Jaago Re Campaign’ is a very well integrated communication, meant for all and provoking young & sleepy India. It is an urge, a wake up call against corruption. The TVCs of Jaago Re are not mere entertainment or a brand communication, it is more importantly an alert message touching not only hearts but several minds and telling them to react & respond. Showing them what it takes to see the India they want to see.

Tata Tea is just not into the awareness spree, they are also backing the campaign with the corruption index on their site. They plan to promote the internationally marked Anti Corruption Day on Dec 09 as a national event.
The latest TVC titled, ‘Aaj se khilana band, pilana shuru’ caption on air is, Har Subah bas utho mat, jaago re. They are banging on the thin line between getting up & waking up. Online & mobile media is the most popular one when it comes to youth - the campaign is absolutely on track. We, as in the present day generation are more internet friendly and Jaago Re provides an excellent communication on their site. The voter id registration process too is kept very interactive & user friendly.

The impact is phenomenal. The masses are taken aback and with the corruption index the magic should be kept alive. As far as brand strategy is concerned, they are promotions almost all 4 variants through this. But the customer insight seems different here – I the tea should be now interpreted as a youthful drink. Nevertheless, its an excellent Social media campaign.