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Days of opportunity
India is today a country that has a fair number of marketing-created festivals. Is this going to be the future?
Warangal
Pallavi, there are many kinds of festivals for sure. In the beginning are the lunar and solar festivals of yore. Then come the harvest festivals that are more recent. Next, the religious celebrations. And finally emerge the marketing-created festivals of today.
India is full of festivals of its own. Add to it a plethora of imported festivals, and you have a humongous number of opportunistic days to market. Special days are marketing creations, really. The idea is simple. Monetise the special day that you create. Create one, and wait for it to flourish. Therefore, you have Diwali, which is a big marketing special day, just as you have a more neutral New Year’s Day, and a very special Valentine’s Day and an even more commercial International Day of Beer. And now, we have the International Day of Yoga as well. Wait for more. And why not make one yourself as well?
Special days help focus very special eyeballs on the special day. When the whole world or a whole country focuses on that special day, it is a marketing opportunity to salivate over. The International Day of Yoga, for instance, will become a special day for monetising yoga accoutrements. Yoga mats, yoga jammies, yoga mugs and yoga bands and more, even. All this brings in marketing money. On Valentine’s Day, India exports the largest consignment of roses, for instance. The sale of heart-shaped balloons is possibly the highest on February 14.
Airtel has become an open network. Is this going to be a fad across other telecom service providers?
Bangalore
Jayesh, I think Airtel has taken that proverbial first step in this space. And the timing is just right, just as Jio takes its first steps in offering blazing speed connectivity.
As consumers grapple with poor connectivity, and cast a suspicious eye on every telecom service provider, this campaign will focus positive attention on Airtel. The brand has climbed a peg down with this piece of communication. It is emotive, joins the issue rather than deny it, and then offers transparency. That’s a big step. I like it for its honesty. I do believe consumers will like it for just that.
The others may not quite follow. It is embarrassing to be a second-mover in this space, you see.
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