• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Richa Mishra
P.T. Jyothi Datta

NEW DELHI, June 10

ARE companies looking for more than the 30 seconds of fame that a television commercial on prime-time can provide?

It certainly seems so, with the increasing number of companies associating with channels, programmes or even instituting awards to build their brand recall. Whirlpool Woman's Hour on Discovery, Dr Morepen Tango's health programme on Star Plus and Dabur's Star Parivaar Awards, may just be the start of an increasingly sought after avenue in concept or innovative advertising.

While Whirlpool's association with Woman's Hour on Discovery Channel is about a year old, Dr Morepen's Tango is an in-programme promotion "to create the initial hype" for a retail chain that is slated to be launched later this month. And Dabur's Red Toothpaste Star Parivaar Awards, to be announced on July 1, 2003, seeks to promote not just the Dabur brand name, but also provides the burst of excitement around a new product, the Lal Dantmanjan Toothpaste. "Viewers do not have a platform to express their point of view on characters they like in the numerous family-sitcoms. These awards will provide them the opportunity to express themselves, besides getting interactive and bonding with the company that sponsors the event," says the company spokesperson.

While reinforcing the concept of the "homemaker", Whirlpool recognises the evolving role of the woman in her different avatars as the wife, the mother, the professional etc, points out Whirlpool's spokesperson. `Woman's Hour' covers a gamut of topics such as romance, holidays, cookery, love & beauty, fashion dreams and is based on research and feedback from women from all walks of life. The promos for the programme include a presentation by the Whirlpool Brand Protagonist - thereby creating perfect synergy between the programme and the presenting brand, said the official.

And it is the synergy between the programme and the product that companies seek to build on, according to analysts.

Ms Radhika Roy, Head, Qualitative Division, NFO-MBL India, said while it was conceptually a good idea, it is for companies looking at the long-term. "Works very well for niche, sharply focussed brands," she commented.

Initial grounds for concept advertising were laid when companies advertised in films, such as Coke or Pass Pass in the Bollywood flick Yaadein or film-based programmes such as Close-Up Antaakshri, Philips Top 10 or TVS Saregama, observe analysts.

But does such investment give a better return to the company, as compared with a spot-on commercial? "Though investments involved for programme sponsorships may be high, since it reinforces the brand presence, it does reflect in increased sales," points out an analyst. And that figures why companies, programmes and channels go all out to suit the convenience of the consumer they target, while slotting their company-sponsored shows, concludes a media-analyst.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Dabur plans foray into fruit candy market

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line