Mumbai: Dentsu Creative India has launched a new campaign titled “A Honda Goes Beyond” for the leading premium car manufacturer, Honda Cars India. The campaign aims to connect with brand enthusiasts and a new generation of customers.
The campaign underlines the brand’s philosophy of ‘durability, quality, and reliability’ with the objective of developing a communication that celebrates the bond that the customers have with Honda. In addition to this, the film also highlights the brand’s offering of innovative and futuristic technology products, which make the driving experience not only safe but also exciting and superior.
Commenting on the campaign, Dentsu Creative India executive vice president Ujjwal Anand said, “Honda’s promise to its customers is to go the extra mile, to make sure that every Honda journey is a joy and delight for them; and this goes way beyond just the drive, the engineering, and the cars. It is a commitment to every side of the ownership experience. Honda aims to fulfil all expectations, delighting its customers at every touchpoint throughout their relationship, and therefore, “A Honda Goes Beyond.””
Dentsu Creative India group executive creative director Auryndom Bose added, “Honda has always stood for engineering that holds true to the experience of the product. Whilst the category codes of automobile advertising are loaded with mostly rational depictions, this new brand campaign for Honda is our way to transcend beyond the conventions and create an emotionally evocative communication that appeals to the heart and impacts the consideration for the brand.”
“The current campaign is a celebration of the bond that the customers share with Honda, and the company promises to go beyond in everything that they do. Honda’s journey in India has been nothing less than spectacular, and the credit goes to our customers who have bestowed their trust in Honda’s premium cars for the last 25 years. It has always been our endeavour to keep customers at the centre of our products and services,” commented Honda Cars India president & CEO Takuya Tsumura.
DELHI: Some may say that advertising is dead while some may refute the claim. However, what definitely is not dead is the agency-client relationship, which is built of sour-and-sweet tractions and successes. Anyone would agree that there have been as many unsuccessful campaigns as there have been successful ones. And while the celebrated campaigns get the fame for the brand, the dubious ones often get the fingers pointed towards the agency. But is it always the agency’s fault?
None in the agency world would agree to that. Yes, there have been cases of mistakes from the creative side, but doesn’t the brand hold some responsibility too? Industry insiders would say yes, and the first step to a faulty campaign can, in fact, be taken by the brand when it comes to brief the agency about what it wants.
Havas Media Group managing director Mohit Joshi says brands often come up to the agencies with a lack of tangible communication objective. “They try to achieve too many things at the same time,” he adds.
This can be a serious problem, especially in today’s time when each brand is trying to steer ahead with a purpose. CMOs are actively looking to find agency partners that allow them to sell their products with an added touch of integrity and social responsibility in campaigns.
Yes, some stunning campaigns have come out with this approach, but sometimes too much of demands can end up in creating stories that are fragmented and do little for the brand.
While we are not sure if the ad was conceptualised based on a faulty brand brief or was the agency’s call, but All Out’s #MujheSabNahiPata can be a good example of brand message overshadowing brand purpose, that is to get rid of mosquitos. The campaign was created by BBDO.
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Another mistake that brands make while briefing an agency is seeking absolute clarity in message, shares Dentsu One group creative director Auryndom Bose.
He says, “The idea of absolute and total clarity in a message, commonly prescribed as Comprehension. If absolute comprehension was really what people were looking for, demo videos would go viral. Engagement and Comprehension are opposite to each other, and for 30 seconds worth of media money, I would multiply it any day with Engagement rather than Comprehension.”
Bose is also averse to the idea of an agency testing an idea or a message on a group of people before going ahead with it, “Testing an idea or message to see if it works with consumers might be the right thing to do for a business but is a strange thing to do to a human being. The human being in that situation understands this strangeness and reacts accordingly. Frankly, because humans are complicated. Which is why I think reading a human being’s eyes and heartbeats and asking him/her questions about the idea in that time and place can reveal little or nothing about the idea that not already self-evident. Ideas simply need conviction and a simple understanding of human nature, testing them on human is just strange.”
Bose continues, “Research after research has come back with no influence on customers who sat poker-faced through extended product windows and couldn’t play back how many chemicals made the formula. The assumption that consumers are waiting in a room to hear from you, listen to how well your product works or what goes into the making of the product is a common error. It could work but then why do you need an advertising agency.”
Brands need to be extra careful while going ahead with a communication idea to an agency and to the consumers. Creative briefs can sometimes close the doors for experimentation that an agency might be willing to do for you.
So, how can a CMO work on an ideal brief?
Mohit Joshi says, “An ideal brief needs to give us a clear marketing and communication challenge – which becomes a KPI for us.”
Be very clear of your message and your intentions, but do not try to make them completely comprehensible as Bose suggests.
From an agency perspective, Bose shares, “I think context is really important these days especially since we are out the days of one single mass media message, it needs to start conversations and pick up on digital, has to have ‘legs’. Having a real-world context on which to set the brand pitch is important. Originality is key because a differentiated brand space is worth the wait. Human insight is another classical device we use in our weaponry, it helps storytelling, but these days if that insight doesn’t translate or ‘tie in’ into a larger context, it becomes ‘a one message wonder’.”
MUMBAI: There are a greater number of ardent photography aspirants than ever before thanks to the ecosystem (social media and smartphones) that’s fueling the love for photography. Appealing to such audiences who have the photography bug, so to speak, to take their first step towards the journey of photographic excellence, Canon has created a campaign with the tagline, ‘Do Great with Canon’, to promote its range of EOS DSLRs.
Equipped with its large sensor, advanced DIGIC imaging processor and optics, Canon DSLR cameras empower consumers to capture beautiful and stunning images.
The campaign story revolves around a young protagonist on his quest to make great shots from the ordinary everyday moments. The campaign shows how being at the right place at the right time means nothing without the right camera.
The campaign, consisting of film, print, and OOH, is conceived by Dentsu One.
On the occasion of launch, director, image communication products & consumer systems products, division C Sukumaran said, “At Canon, it has always been our endeavour to empower consumers to excel in the art of photography. Through our ‘Do Great with Canon campaign’, we want consumers to explore the possibility of taking great images out of ordinary everyday moments with Canon DSLRs. The team at Dentsu One has conceptualised a great campaign to drive this message to our consumers.”
Speaking about the campaign, Dentsu One group creative director Auryndom Bose said, “We live in an age of cool gadgets. And a DSLR that feels like anything less than that – won’t reach out to this new crop of photographers, who are beginning to find their feet and fame on Instagram. The idea that life around you could be pushed to greatness by simply looking at it through a DSLR became both the story and the strategy of the creative.”
Dentsu One senior VP Sunita Prakash added, “The platform idea of ‘Do Great’ is large enough to encompass the entire range of DSLRs – from entry to high end professional series. In this instance, the campaign premise is based on Gen Z’s desire to excel at whatever they choose as their passion point. Their journeys are not about doing just good…or good enough…which is reflected in whatever they do. And DSLR is their ally in going from 'Good enough' to 'Great' in photography.”
