Consumers and market conditions are ever evolving. As far as consumers are concerned, the big difference has been in the way they consume information and source knowledge about the products they buy.

This is especially true of the younger generation, most of whom are first-time users of cars and motorcycles and hence our engine oils.

Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and leaning towards ‘greener’ products. We recently launched Castrol Professional, the world’s first certified range of carbon dioxide-neutral engine oils for cars. There is also a growing demand for synthetic oils in the larger cities and towns where we are seeing faster growth.

We have also seen new categories – in fact led the category creation – in the scooter segment with the launch of Castrol Activ Scooter and Castrol CRB Mini Truck.

If we need to reach out to these young consumers, we need to be part of their online conversations. Therefore our Castrol Activ Cling On to the Cup campaign during this World Cup has a large digital component.

This time around we are playing the game quite differently — on a different pitch — with the emphasis on the digital world.

The second screen is getting more and more powerful and consumers don’t just want to watch sport, they want to be at the centre of the live action. Building on this insight and the knowledge and knowing that most Indian cricket fans couldn’t physically be in Australia and New Zealand, Castrol Activ launched a digital campaign titled ‘Castrol Activ Cling On To The Cup’.

Fans get featured! The campaign combines innovative technology, the power of social media and Castrol’s position as official Performance Partner of the ICC, to virtually take all of India to the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Fans can send in their pictures, videos and cheers on a Facebook application and have the opportunity of having that content displayed on the LED perimeter boards in the stadium — the first time ever something like this had been executed during a live ICC cricket tournament.

Taking the engagement a step further, the campaign also includes Castrol brand ambassador Harsha Bhogle along with Anil Kumble and Sanjay Manjrekar participating in Google Hangouts, featuring on the LED perimeter boards and also engaging with fans on social media.

What has made the campaign even more exciting is Castrol’s use of special events such as the festival of Holi to get fans to paint themselves and get featured on the LED screens. For International Women’s Day, we had Indian women cricketers featured on the LED boards. All of these innovations and exciting ideas helped take our campaign to a different level for this World Cup.

(Soma Ghosh is Vice-President, Marketing - India & South Asia, Castrol)

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW