Today’s marketing challenge is creating vibrant, interactive communities of consumers who make products and brands a part of their daily lives”, wrote Phillip Kotler, the marketing and management whiz.
Assuming that Kotler was not exaggerating and that interactions actually drive the success of brand building campaigns, the digital medium is fast emerging as the best platform to engage one’s audience today given the ease with which it allows interaction.
Justifiably then, cigarettes to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major ITC’s Fiama Di Wills has come out with a campaign targeting participation from users who would take a picture and upload it on the website in the hope of winning the “Fiama Di Wills Men Face of the Year” contest. In a way this is an effort to take forward the national Fiama Di Wills Beautiful Face Hunt that was launched in 2008 to provide an opportunity to aspiring models across the country to represent India in the International Elite Model Look contest.
ITC focus on the internet population is understandable. “For all brands, it is necessary now to ensure maximum user participation on social networking sites. This results in maximum brand recall,” says Mahesh Murthy, founder, digital marketing agency, Pinstorm.
In India itself, a regular net user spends an average of over two days a week online, according to a survey by internet security company Norton. Of this, approximately, 10 hours a week are spent on social networking.
Keeping the statistics in mind, the new campaign of Fiama Di Wills-which offers shampoos, conditioner, bathing bars and shower gels-works on the back of a webcam integrated rich media banner site format. The user, once he clicks on the banner is redirected to a webcam from which he can upload his picture on the site and become a contestant.
The success of most digital brand campaigns is measured in terms of user clicks which are ensured in this case because of the webcam integration format. Partner sites for the campaign include Yahoo, MSN and Indiatimes. Also, the campaign has been integrated on You Tube.
That the campaign is innovative and therefore had a high possibility of success was highlighted by partner websites. “It is one of the first campaigns on the internet that engages the audience with a webcam interface,” points out Avinash Mudaliar, business head, Indiatimes.com.
Other campaign partners argue that the relevance of this campaign emanates from the fact that it is among the first dedicated digital marketing campaigns indicative of a shift in mediums. “The Fiama Di Wills Men campaign is a reflection of how the needle has moved on digital advertising. Advertisers are now experimenting with the potential that internet offers to engage their target audience,” Nitin Mathur, senior director and head of marketing, India and South-East Asia, Yahoo!.
The campaign itself comes after months of focus on the digital medium from Fiama D’Wills. A few months back, the product website was launched on Google Plus Hangout, complete with widget conversations on men-oriented subjects. Besides this, the Facebook page is integrated with the advertising applications as well.
