ITV

Tag: Sunsilk

  • Infectious Advertising hires Divesh Mehta and Kiran Salkar for key roles

    Infectious Advertising hires Divesh Mehta and Kiran Salkar for key roles

    MUMBAI: Infectious Advertising has just doubled its dose of creative and strategic medicine and the side effect could be potent campaigns. The independent agency has onboarded two industry veterans: Divesh Mehta as associate vice president planning and Kiran Salkar as creative director for art, bolstering both its brand strategy muscle and design flair.

    Mehta, who clocks in nearly 15 years in marketing communications, was a founding member of an omni-channel apparel brand that shook up casual wear retail. His advertising innings have spanned BFSI, finance, hospitality, pharma and heavy industry, all with the belief that “the right strategic intervention can transform client business.” On his move, Mehta said Infectious’ work is “both rooted and refreshing the kind of energy I want to be part of.”

    Salkar also brings over 15 years of adland experience, leading campaigns for marquee brands like Lux, Sunsilk, BMW, Tata Motors, Parle, Taj, SBI and Orra. An illustrator at heart with a photographer’s sensibility, he’s known for marrying bold aesthetics with brand storytelling. “I’m excited to join Infectious and look forward to doing some kickass work,” he said, adding that he’s been following the agency’s work “for a while” and likes what he’s seen.

    Co-founders Nisha Singhania and Ramanuj Shastry called the duo’s arrival a shot in the arm: “Both bring the attitude and skill sets needed to take Infectious to the next level.” With Mehta’s strategic scalpel and Salkar’s visual sizzle, the agency looks set to turn more heads and maybe win a few more awards in the months ahead.

  • CASE STUDY: How ABP Ananda put the ‘spotlight’ on Sunsilk for Durga Puja

    CASE STUDY: How ABP Ananda put the ‘spotlight’ on Sunsilk for Durga Puja

    Mumbai: Durga Puja marks the homecoming of goddess Durga and is the biggest festival in Kolkata. The grandeur and charm are no less in other parts of the country too and brands across categories release new campaigns to reach out to their target audience during this festive season. This past year the celebrations were somewhat muted due to the pandemic, however, ABP Ananda left no stone unturned to woo its audiences by lifting the pall of gloom with its special Durga Puja programming.

    Having partnered with a plethora of brands from diverse categories, ABP Network’s branded content division, ‘ABP Spotlight’ created several special integrations for partner brands such as Sunsilk to help achieve brand awareness and equity through interactive and customizable sponsor integrations.

    These properties have created exciting opportunities for brands to be involved in the channel’s programming in a meaningful way that doesn’t detract from its content, offering a high degree of presence and brand-building capabilities. For Sunsilk, ABP Spotlight created a five vignette series with each day defining a ‘Pujo look’. It shows the significance of all Pujo days from Sasthi to Dashami and the role of Bengali women in it.

    The vignette series brought together three talented and influential faces in Kolkata – upcoming model cum actress Darshana Banik, star hair-stylist Jolly Chanda and popular styling artist Sandip Jasiwal. Each of these vignettes features Darshana dressed up in new attire and look for each day of the Puja, aided by Chanda and Jasiwal’s professional expertise which make these vignettes even more interesting with their hair-do tips, anecdotes, and easy styling hacks that women can do at the convenience of their home. Thus, the essence of Girlgiri (Sunsilk positioning) and the mood of the festival have been synergized into creating this integration.

    Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w3iuHhcEV0

    During the anxious Covid times, Sunsilk wanted to spread some festive cheer amongst its consumers. The haircare brand wanted to promote easy DIY hairstyles during the Durga Puja. Their current brand communication of “Tyohaar wali feel, tyohaar wali deal” was converted into the Durga Puja Look of the day series. It showed the significance of all Pujo days- from Sasthi to Dashami, and the role of Bengali women in it.

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGrP2jpLAQR/?igshid=1w6k9y8sn75je

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGwYeXCA6H0/?igshid=19afnc6xzwdo

    Sunsilk brand owner HUL’s Sandhya Poojary said, “We partnered with ABP Ananda on Parae Parae Serar Lodai (PPSL 2020) which is a fun Contest between Pandal Committees. As a part of the campaign, ABP Ananda is helping us reach out to our girls by creating beautiful short stories around the festive looks for the five days of the Durga Puja and encouraging them to gear up for the festive season under our ‘Tyohar Wali Feel, Tyohar Wali Deal’ campaign, through a series of vignettes.”

    Durga Puja is not just a religious or a social event for Bengalis, it is an event that is woven into the social fabric of the society. It has a grip on values, beliefs, cultural orientation, fun, and the social quotient. Poojary added, “We hope to further inroad into the Bengal market and create recall in the hearts of all Bengalis. We look forward to many such associations with ABP Network in the future.” Hence this special vignette has been created which beautifully blends in with the core features of the haircare brand, the festive revelry aspect of Durga Puja, and the overall celebratory bonhomie. 

    Through creative and authentic integrations in their content, ABP Ananda has created tremendous value for the brand to shine and stand out this festive season. It not just creates value for ABP’s viewers but also allows Sunsilk to create a distinct and recognizable voice through the inventive collaboration.  This creative offering has posed a unique opportunity for the beauty & personal care brand to leverage the reach & prominence of the news channel and engage effectively with their audiences at a crucial time when creating brand equity in the market is paramount. This innovative approach to creative integration urged the channel’s viewers to forget the pandemic and partake in the festivities, successfully implementing new-age influencer marketing techniques.

  • Airtel Cellular had highest TV ad insertions during ’16 Diwali

    Airtel Cellular had highest TV ad insertions during ’16 Diwali

    BENGALURU: Diwali week in 2016 was week 44 – between Saturday, 29 October 2016 and Friday 4 November 2016. Airtel Cellular Phone Service (Airtel Cellular) was the top advertiser on television as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data of top 10 brands across genre: All India (U+R): 4+ Individuals with 9,370 insertions or spots. Further, Airtel Cellular also had the highest insertions in the week leading to and the after Diwali. For week 43, as per BARC data, Airtel Cellular topped the charts with 9,229 insertions and for week 45 with an even higher 10,387 insertions.

    A total number of 83,178; 72,073; and 74,513 ad insertions were shared by the top ten brands in terms of number of insertions per weekin weeks 43, 44 and 45 respectively. Please refer to figure A below for the top 10 brands in terms of TV ad spots.

    As is obvious, only FMCG, Mobile (including services) and online brands are in the top 10 list in terms of number of ad insertions in all the three weeks. Week 43 also saw a small presence from auto, jewellery and food brands while week 44 saw the exit of auto brands from the top 10 brands list in terms of number of ad insertions. Week 45 saw jewellery and food brands also exit from the list. Online brands tripled their presence in week 45 in number of brands to three from only one in weeks 43 and 44 as well as in terms of percentage of total number of insertions by the top 10 brands  from 9.29 percent and 9.1 percent in weeks 43 and 44 to 28 percent in week 45. Of note is the fact that Patanjali, which was consistently among the top 10 brands in terms of insertions during weeks 40,41 and 42, was absent from the lists in week 43, 44 and 45.

     

  • Airtel Cellular had highest TV ad insertions during ’16 Diwali

    Airtel Cellular had highest TV ad insertions during ’16 Diwali

    BENGALURU: Diwali week in 2016 was week 44 – between Saturday, 29 October 2016 and Friday 4 November 2016. Airtel Cellular Phone Service (Airtel Cellular) was the top advertiser on television as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data of top 10 brands across genre: All India (U+R): 4+ Individuals with 9,370 insertions or spots. Further, Airtel Cellular also had the highest insertions in the week leading to and the after Diwali. For week 43, as per BARC data, Airtel Cellular topped the charts with 9,229 insertions and for week 45 with an even higher 10,387 insertions.

    A total number of 83,178; 72,073; and 74,513 ad insertions were shared by the top ten brands in terms of number of insertions per weekin weeks 43, 44 and 45 respectively. Please refer to figure A below for the top 10 brands in terms of TV ad spots.

    As is obvious, only FMCG, Mobile (including services) and online brands are in the top 10 list in terms of number of ad insertions in all the three weeks. Week 43 also saw a small presence from auto, jewellery and food brands while week 44 saw the exit of auto brands from the top 10 brands list in terms of number of ad insertions. Week 45 saw jewellery and food brands also exit from the list. Online brands tripled their presence in week 45 in number of brands to three from only one in weeks 43 and 44 as well as in terms of percentage of total number of insertions by the top 10 brands  from 9.29 percent and 9.1 percent in weeks 43 and 44 to 28 percent in week 45. Of note is the fact that Patanjali, which was consistently among the top 10 brands in terms of insertions during weeks 40,41 and 42, was absent from the lists in week 43, 44 and 45.

     

  • Sunsilk to ‘rock with angels’ on MTV

    Sunsilk to ‘rock with angels’ on MTV

    MUMBAI: Vroom vroom! Travelers and wanderlusts, rev-up for MTV’s Angels Of Rock (AOR), starting from 31 July, where four girls — Shalmali Kholgade, Anusha Mani, Jasmine Sandlas and Akasa Singh — will ride across the country on bikes through nine touch points, gathering inspiring stories on their way from Mumbai to the Wagah border.

    With Sunsilk as title sponsor, the show will air every Sunday at 8 pm. Produced by FremantleMedia, the show boasts of a crew of 65 from female cast to female crew, and promises to represent a beautiful concoction of music, adventure and woman empowerment through the riding expedition.

    “Angels of Rock is a show that has been conceptualized by us and has been co-created with Sunsilk with a lot of love and passion. What the viewers will get to see in this show is a seamless amalgamation of music, sisterhood, a road trip across incredible India and inspiring stories of some absolutely incredible women. It’s got every element that would appeal to today’s young people from music to the open roads to stories that inspire them. I am sure our young viewers will also find it inspiring as the stories unfold on screen,” asserts Viacom18 youth and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia.

    From the female fire-fighters of Jaipur, the women running an all-woman radio station in a village in Gujarat, the female rickshaw drivers of Haryana in their famed Gulabi Autos, an inspiring young lady sarpanch — each episode will capture the spirit of their extraordinary stories with delightful original songs. Naturally the show warrants an eye for detail when it comes to the production. Industry sources are of the opinion that the per episode production cost will be grossly between Rs 23 – 25 lakhs.

    The four have a common connect – they’re all extremely talented young women and they have created music that resonates with the youth, they’re fresh and they appeal to today’s generation. Be it a sweeping love ballad like Pareshaan for which Shalmali has won many awards or a party song like Gulabo,which put Anusha Mani, they know how to reach out to the youth with their voice.

    “Music is a great way to connect with youth. Viewers can relate to these four girls which everyone can relate to irrespective of the geography. The leads will be seen without makeup in their natural avatar. They are real youth icons which everyone will look up to. While they have that pixie magic dust element, at the same time have the quality of great authenticity,” voices Sunsilk senior global brand manager Priyanka Singh.
    Singh also shares that the brand integration will be seamless and natural.

    “This association will spark off conversations between young Indian women and their stories of self-belief. We will celebrate them in the Sunsilk way that is full of joy, colour and music,” she further adds.

    An immersive 360 degree marketing plan has been framed focusing on driving conversations and engagements besides covering various touch points, while keeping the TG in mind. The show will be promoted on all mediums from print, TV, digital, traditional out of home advertising, etc. It will also leverage the digital space through interesting campaigns to keep the viewers aware of the latest happenings in the course for the journey and to allow them to be a part of the journey in interesting ways.

    The channel has also mapped a robust digital plan that profiles real life angels and focuses on garnering participation from the audiences.

    When it comes to experiential marketing, colleges are a huge touch point for the channel encouraging a host of engagements and activation. Youth touch points like multiplexes, cinemas and coffee shops will also be targeted. Mobile, radio and DTH are other avenues the channel aims to push their communication through.

    “Over the last several months, our young viewers have appreciated the way MTV has taken the lead on creating content that showcases women in strong roles – be it through MTV Girls On Top or India’s Next Top Model. And now, we’re going a step ahead and celebrating womanhood in all its glory by bringing our viewers a unique proposition in the form of Sunsilk and MTV present Angels of Rock – a show that’s by the women, of the women but for everyone,” Palia adds in parting.

  • Sunsilk to ‘rock with angels’ on MTV

    Sunsilk to ‘rock with angels’ on MTV

    MUMBAI: Vroom vroom! Travelers and wanderlusts, rev-up for MTV’s Angels Of Rock (AOR), starting from 31 July, where four girls — Shalmali Kholgade, Anusha Mani, Jasmine Sandlas and Akasa Singh — will ride across the country on bikes through nine touch points, gathering inspiring stories on their way from Mumbai to the Wagah border.

    With Sunsilk as title sponsor, the show will air every Sunday at 8 pm. Produced by FremantleMedia, the show boasts of a crew of 65 from female cast to female crew, and promises to represent a beautiful concoction of music, adventure and woman empowerment through the riding expedition.

    “Angels of Rock is a show that has been conceptualized by us and has been co-created with Sunsilk with a lot of love and passion. What the viewers will get to see in this show is a seamless amalgamation of music, sisterhood, a road trip across incredible India and inspiring stories of some absolutely incredible women. It’s got every element that would appeal to today’s young people from music to the open roads to stories that inspire them. I am sure our young viewers will also find it inspiring as the stories unfold on screen,” asserts Viacom18 youth and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia.

    From the female fire-fighters of Jaipur, the women running an all-woman radio station in a village in Gujarat, the female rickshaw drivers of Haryana in their famed Gulabi Autos, an inspiring young lady sarpanch — each episode will capture the spirit of their extraordinary stories with delightful original songs. Naturally the show warrants an eye for detail when it comes to the production. Industry sources are of the opinion that the per episode production cost will be grossly between Rs 23 – 25 lakhs.

    The four have a common connect – they’re all extremely talented young women and they have created music that resonates with the youth, they’re fresh and they appeal to today’s generation. Be it a sweeping love ballad like Pareshaan for which Shalmali has won many awards or a party song like Gulabo,which put Anusha Mani, they know how to reach out to the youth with their voice.

    “Music is a great way to connect with youth. Viewers can relate to these four girls which everyone can relate to irrespective of the geography. The leads will be seen without makeup in their natural avatar. They are real youth icons which everyone will look up to. While they have that pixie magic dust element, at the same time have the quality of great authenticity,” voices Sunsilk senior global brand manager Priyanka Singh.
    Singh also shares that the brand integration will be seamless and natural.

    “This association will spark off conversations between young Indian women and their stories of self-belief. We will celebrate them in the Sunsilk way that is full of joy, colour and music,” she further adds.

    An immersive 360 degree marketing plan has been framed focusing on driving conversations and engagements besides covering various touch points, while keeping the TG in mind. The show will be promoted on all mediums from print, TV, digital, traditional out of home advertising, etc. It will also leverage the digital space through interesting campaigns to keep the viewers aware of the latest happenings in the course for the journey and to allow them to be a part of the journey in interesting ways.

    The channel has also mapped a robust digital plan that profiles real life angels and focuses on garnering participation from the audiences.

    When it comes to experiential marketing, colleges are a huge touch point for the channel encouraging a host of engagements and activation. Youth touch points like multiplexes, cinemas and coffee shops will also be targeted. Mobile, radio and DTH are other avenues the channel aims to push their communication through.

    “Over the last several months, our young viewers have appreciated the way MTV has taken the lead on creating content that showcases women in strong roles – be it through MTV Girls On Top or India’s Next Top Model. And now, we’re going a step ahead and celebrating womanhood in all its glory by bringing our viewers a unique proposition in the form of Sunsilk and MTV present Angels of Rock – a show that’s by the women, of the women but for everyone,” Palia adds in parting.

  • HUL joins twitter to reach out to its consumers

    HUL joins twitter to reach out to its consumers

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the market leader in consumer products in the country, has joined twitter recently.

     

    The company which has presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products joined the social media site with the handle @HUL­_News with a tweet saying “HUL, India’s largest FMCG company is now on Twitter. Join the conversation with us on topics like #Sustainability, Marketing & #Leadership.”

     

    When asked why did the company as a corporate brand chose to join twitter, the HUL spokesperson said: “Social media provides us an opportunity to reach out to our consumers and other stakeholders in an ongoing and engaging manner.”

     

    And with 4,233 followers already on the site in a short span is proof enough what the brand means to the country.

     

    Not to forget that HUL has been on social media for several years now through its various brands like Sunsilk, Surf Excel, Dove which the company boasts of having led digital marketing in India with some path-breaking work and innovations.

  • Kareena Kapoor-starrer Heroine gets eight brand associations

    MUMBAI: Kareena Kapoor, who plays a stellar role in UTV Motion Pictures‘ Heroine has become favourite of different brands. In other words, it can also be said that she leads the brand race.

    After The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, women-centric films have been garnering all the right attention, not just for being glamorous, but with great content and author-backed role, they are also collecting a moolah at the box-office.

    But Kapoor has gone ahead and has managed to get maximum brands for her upcoming film Heroine. Trade pundits say she is ‘leading and coming at par with her male colleagues in the industry‘. Her much-awaited film has managed to get over eight brands on board. This is by far the most for any heroine-oriented film. Besides Lakme, Head and Shoulders and Monarch Universal for whom Kapoor already endorses, other brands like Cera, Rupa, Jealous 21 and the likes have also associated with the film for in-film integration and various media associations.

    While Lakme is launching Heroine-branded makeup under the Absolute range endorsed by Kapoor, apparel brand Jealous21 will soon be launching a special clothing line inspired by the clothes worn by her in the film. Industry sources estimate at least Rs 15-20 crores of brand spends to be blocked for promotions around Heroine.

    “My director Madhur Bhandarkar and producer UTV‘s vision is finally ready and I am glad I could live through Mahi the character. It‘s been an exhilarating experience and Madhur has pushed the envelope to bring out a strong performance from me. Heroine is a women oriented film and I am happy that brands today are open to associate with such films which was never the case before. The trend is changing and I‘m glad to have instigated it,” said Kareena Kapoor.

    Heroine has an author-backed role for Kareena and Madhur‘s zeal to make it the way he had envisioned has prompted many brands to see an opportunity worth associating. Even though it‘s a heroine led film, because of its sheer content and Kareena‘s strong brand recall, we have successfully managed to have key brands on board. The product placement is integrated with the film‘s storyline in a manner that is inherent to the narrative and accelerates the story further.” Observed Disney UTV executive director – marketing, studios, Shikha Kapur.

    It may be interesting to learn that the Vidya Balan-starrers Kahaani, The Dirty Picture and No One Killed Jessica had no brands associated with them, while the Priyanka Chopra-starrer Fashion had brands like Sunsilk, Lenovo, Reebok and Kimaya associated with it and the Sonam Kapoor-starrer Aisha had Loreal, Christian Dior Couture and DLF Emporio associated with it.

  • Sony eyes ad rev of Rs 900 mn from Indian Idol

    Sony eyes ad rev of Rs 900 mn from Indian Idol

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) is targeting advertising revenue of Rs 900 million from the sixth edition of its singing talent hunt reality show, Indian Idol, that airs from 1 June.

    Indian Idol moves to a weekend property this time, airing at 8.30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. In the fifth season, the show started on weekdays as there was no strong fiction property that gave the channel good ratings.

    “We are looking at ad revenue of Rs 900 million. We have put Indian Idol on weekends this time as our fiction properties on weekdays are doing well. That was not the case when we aired the fifth season of Indian Idol,” said a source in the company who did not want his name to be revealed.

    Sony has kept the marketing spend of the show flat at Rs 80 million while pushing for ad revenue growth as the channel has made significant progress in ratings since the last airing of the property in 2010.

    “If you take the media inflation, we should have spent more. But the channel has vastly improved its performance since the fifth season ran in 2010. It has climbed to the No. 2 spot in the Hindi GEC ratings order. This is also the reason why we will use less of television for marketing the show. Besides, we are promoting it more aggressively during the IPL this time,” the source said.

    Produced by Fremantle Media India, the singing reality show will air every Friday and Saturday at 8.30 pm.

    “The show will be bigger in scale this time. It will penetrate deeper across the country for hunting talent,” said FremantleMedia India MD SK Barua.

    Sony has roped in a clutch of sponsors. While Close Up is the presenting sponsor, MTS is powering the show. The associate sponsors on board are Flipkart.com, TVS Tyres, Vivel, Max New York Life Insurance, Amul Macho, Sunsilk and Suzuki Motorcycle.

    Indian Idol will run for 26 episodes, positioning itself as ‘Idol behind an idol‘.

    “The entire marketing strategy of the show was built around one insight that Indian Idol is a journey from nobody to somebody. And this can’t be an independent journey; it is a journey of emotional support, motivation and inspiration that a person gets on the way to become an idol. This is where the thought of ‘Idol behind an idol’ came,” said Set marketing head Danish Khan.

    Sony is creating four TVCs to push the show. “Once we solidified the positioning, we came up with four TVCs, digital, OOH, print, different other media applications. We are setting up a mood for the content. It’s not just about singing but the journey that is also important,” said Khan.

    The promotional activities will remain high across the Hindi speaking market (HSM). Apart from Set‘s own network, the channel has booked 8700 TV spots across 20 television channels. The channel has also bought 5000 radio spots on radio channels across the country to promote the show.

    The marketing campaign is being launched in two phases. The first phase talks about the new positioning of the show. The second phase will come 10 days prior to the show launch when the channel will start with the ‘countdown’ campaign. The channel will highlight the show’s music and look through the campaign.

    The new season will be judged by Anu Malik, Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan and will be hosted by Hussain and Mini Mathur.

  • Access Only!! Sunsilk Gang Of Girls

    There are places in the webosphere like the dumb jock paradise Axeland, where the guys supposedly go to exercise their goofy fantasies about (what else but) girls. Then there are the places where the girls hang out… lining up for makeovers, landing themselves in great jobs, showcasing their talents, winning fantastic prizes and even able to freely voice their opinions on any issue under the sun! This is no utopian planet inhabited by women but Sunsilk’s new all girl online community ‘Gang Of Girls’.

    Sunsilkgangofgirls.com homepage

    Launched on 17 June 2006, the membership on sunsilkgangofgirls.com is growing by leaps and bounds and currently boasts over 100,000 members in a time span of 36 days. The content on the site goes beyond hair care and styling information to blogs, job offers, games and contests. It has all the qualities of a very girlie fun filled space for online interaction, thus catering to the average young urban female.

    What’s interesting is that it attempts to propagate its brand proposition through a community building exercise among its target group. Among several brands in India that are now opting to go viral through interactive brand portals, Sunsilk has leaped ahead of the rest to create a really involved community.

    Commenting on the ideation that went into this project, HLL category head Vipul Chawla said, “This initiative comes from an effort by Sunsilk to develop a greater understanding and connect between the consumer and the brand by building another interface with them. The brand stands for togetherness, fun and expertise and that’s what the site seeks to propagate.”

    A brand tie up with job site Monster.com enables members to paste their CV’s online. Girls can even showcase their talents to win a hefty prize, currently iPod Shuffles are up for grabs. Beyond beauty, fitness, fashion, relationships, astrology and expert advice from celebrity hair stylist Jawed Habib, the gang blogs and message boards entertain discussions ranging from names for your baby to patriotic themes saluting the ‘Spirit of Mumbai.’

    ‘Gang Of Girls’ had its roots in the previously launched product site Sunsilknaturals.com with 100,000 registered users. This too offered hair suggestions and had an active message board where members took discussions beyond hair care. The activity of these members gave an impetus to the brand to take the bold step of establishing a community led website.

    B C Web Wise, the creative team behind Sunsilkgangofgirls.com, supported the proposition of an online community, with a background of research via a test site targeting the existing members of the Sunsilk Naturals website. In addition, offline consumer research spread across multiple centres was conducted on the brand front.

    B C Web Wise CEO & MD Chaya Brian Carvalho said, “We have tried and tested tools that work online, and are constantly researching consumer behaviour online, trends that are catching up, popularity of various offerings etc. Backed by these learnings, we also conducted focus group research amongst the TG to find out what would get them all kicked up. Every idea that has been expressed online (Gang Wars, Makeover machine, etc.) are based on what we felt would work, and the feedback we got from our research.”

    In its attempts to restrict the membership to “the ladies”, the site has a separate section for “Desperate Guys”. Still, these so-called desperadoes are also making their presence felt with a growing membership that currently stands at around 4,000. The site also claims to have basic and content filters that can be automatically or manually operated for security purposes to block out personal information like phone numbers and email ID’s and censor foul language that appears to be a common feature.

    With proliferation of media, here’s a classic example of a brand that has been willing to experiment with a non-traditional medium and the reach of the internet has allowed Sunsilk to interact with each ‘girl’ on a personal basis. However, in stating that it is an ‘all girl’ product, it does in fact isolate that segment of male consumers that pay a good deal of attention to their tresses.

    The brand has adopted a 360 degree approach to take this huge Gang Of Girls forward through various on air and on ground activities. With a 30 second commercial aired specifically on news and English entertainment channels, the campaign has also been profiled and supported with an interview by HLL’s Chawla which has been featured on the channels including CNBC’s Ad of the Day, NDTV 24×7 Your Day Today, NDTV Profit’s All About Ads and Awaaz’s Storyboard.

    Radio promotion was also carried out through Radio Mirchi’s programme Khubsurat which had singer Mehnaz come on air with two of her oldest friends promoting the website and the innovative concept of having an online gang.

    Mehnaz was also featured in DNA, not to endorse the brand but to spread the campaign. The TVC and print campaigns were handled by JWT. In addition, online promotions were also rolled out on Rediff, Yahoo! and MSN.

    But that’s not all, the brand still has great plans in the pipeline with a calendar of activities for 2007. More immediately however, they plan to add new features to the website, including new tools like gang scopes (horoscopes), new hair styles to the makeover machine and content updates. They also plan to roll out a game show called Crack the Code, road shows and more locally to partake in college activities by setting up kiosks at college festivals like St Xavier’s ‘Malhar’ in Mumbai.

    Taking online advertising to another dimension, the Gang Of Girls URL is finding its way as forwards in many-a-girl’s inbox, thus illustrating the magnitude its seems to have acquired. “Community-building as opposed to plain info about brands is catching on. A lot of brand sites blatantly push their products even in a designated ‘fun zone’ or space on the web, which puts off the youth of today. Community-building attempts to reach out to this audience by appealing to what they like most and entwining it with their brand communication,” adds Carvalho.

    Besides facilitating the collection of data through registrations from users and instant feedback, the extensive participation in the campaign Carvalho suggests has “set global benchmarks for online marketing.”

    The brand hopes to strengthen its proposition through this initiative and a natural outcome of which could possibly be reflected in higher sales. However, Chawla opines, “Too early to say… We have a long term perspective for this and are not looking for any short term gains.”

    Either ways, the responses it has been able to garner speaks for itself and indeed marketers across the country could well follow suite exploring the varied options “non-traditional” mediums have to offer.