Dr. Fixit: Plugging gaps with a sticky promise

Dr. Fixit's new TVC spreads awareness on waterproofing needs

Regardless of the industry, it's pretty likely that the product you offer is important to your customer - or there wouldn't be such an industry. But what can go against your product is that it operates in a low-involvement category and more often than not the end consumer doesn't even know where to start when it comes to finding the brand that solves their problem.

So how do you shine the spotlight on your brand?

The answer is simple really: Even if what you did wasn't sexy, you could create a compelling brand campaign that positioned you and your product as approachable, fun, and helpful.

That is the path Pidilite Industries has taken to advertise all its brands - be it Fevicol, Fevikwik, Fevistick or Dr. Fixit. In a new TV commercial (TVC) for its construction chemicals brand Dr. Fixit, the company has used Hindi movie star Amitabh Bachchan's signature comic timing to drive home the message straight and clear.

Bachchan is seen as a lovesick old man daydreaming about non-existent younger women next door, as he delivers a monologue imagining how he happily "suffers" the consequences of his neighbours taking a shower (leaving his side of the wall damp), and watering plants or dancing on the floor above (even as droplets or peeling flakes of paint fall on his head). Transported back to reality, he rues how none of it could come true because while their home was being built his wife had got it entirely waterproofed with Dr Fixit!

The ad campaign's launch was timed with August 15, with the company touting it as a "Freedom from Leakages" drive to spread awareness on waterproofing needs and citing estimates of over 2,600 people a year losing their lives in India due to building collapses.

Vivek Sharma, chief marketing officer, Pidilite Industries, says: "Eight out of 10 home owners have waterproofing issues; two out of 10 actually address the problem. They don't usually think of waterproofing while constructing a home. It becomes crucial only when they see leakage or seepage. Even then people tend to lean towards traditional or quick-fix solutions trying to minimise cost."

Dr Fixit was launched by Pidilite in 2001 to expand its portfolio of construction chemicals. Sharma feels customers have become increasingly demanding. They are attached to their homes, especially interiors as they reflect their personalities, but aren't too aware of waterproofing, he adds. "Dr. Fixit is the market leader in waterproofing and it continues to play the role of creating the market for waterproofing using modern methods. This involves changing behaviour of people through messages that are relevant, persuasive and delivered in a memorable way."

The TVC, like other Pidilite ads over the decades, was conceived by Ogilvy & Mather.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather (India and South Asia), says the creative approach was very much in keeping with the personality of Pidilite - looking at the lighter side of life and bringing a smile to people's faces, and yet being able to give the product message.

"It uses Mr Bachchan's presence in a fantastic fashion, uses his ability to perform so brilliantly, and it's a perfect match of the product and his aura," he says.

Pidilite ads have evoked much humour because of their ability to imply what the products stand for rather than spell out their features. Pandey says, "The feature is always built into our story. We do Fevicol, it is all about the perfect bond. So whether we show a chair or not, the bond is understood by people. We do it in a fashion where we respect the consumer, and the consumer has enough sense of what we are trying to say. And that is why people love all Pidilite advertising, because it is not trying to spoon-feed anyone."

Pidilite has a share of 70 per cent in the organised market for adhesives and chemicals in India. The Indian chemicals industry, valued at Rs 3,500 crore in 2013-14, is expected to grow by 15 per cent per annum to reach Rs 7,000 crore by 2018-19. Given its track record of ads which made people engage more in low-involvement categories, the new campaign may contribute to the same in waterproofing.