ON ADVERTISING FOR STARTUPS
"Is there any business that can succeed without advertising? Prostitution!"
How can small businesses and startups create and deliver impactful ads?
Simple—be original and do something different as compared to what the bigger companies are doing. Typically, bigger companies tend to play safe as they have lots to lose in case an ad goes bad.
However, in the case of small companies; they have the advantage of being able to take extremely high risks, as they more or less have nothing to lose. As it is they cannot afford huge advertising campaigns, so if they cannot be path-breaking in terms of advertising then there is no point in them advertising at all. Because if they are not original enough, they will end up competing with the bigger companies and losing out in the ordeal.
When I say take risks, I am talking about doing things with great ideas that bigger companies refuse to accept. The refusal could be simply because they think that the idea is too avant-garde, too radical, or that the people will not accept it, it is too funny and people will not take the product seriously, and so on. These are the problem-aspects that most MNCs face.
Let us take Britannia for instance. When Sunil Alagh was heading Britannia, they had a huge budget of around 40 crore rupees for advertising. What no one realized is that, within that budget, there were 30 brands that needed to be advertised. Effectively, each brand had about 1 crore 20 lacs at disposal to spend on advertising. Alagh said it publicly that he could not afford to be safe, as he did not have huge money. So he decided to be flamboyant, in-your-face, and do things that others would not dare to do. This is what made Britannia so unique, because they took a lot of risks.
What makes an effective advertisement?
Honesty, originality, spontaneity, and graphically very well designed.
As a thumb rule, how much of one’s monies should be pumped in for advertising?
This really depends on the product. Sometimes it is as high as 10% of its turnover. The thumb rule, usually though, is 5% of the turnover. If it is a brand new product that has no turnover but has a unique selling proposition, then I think that you should pump in enough monies to give the product a chance to survive and compete.
Sometimes it is not the money that counts, and it depends entirely on how original and gutsy you are. Let me cite an example here:
In the US, there used to be this small manufacturer of vests. The entrepreneur did not have much money on him. At that time, there was this huge million-dollar campaign by Rolex. This campaign was based on the idea that wherever you take the Rolex, whatever you do to it, it always works. They had Rolex on the moon, under the sea, in the jungle, in the monsoon, etc.
So this vest manufacturer made this small cheap little film—a takeoff on the Rolex campaign. He had this guy who was standing at the edge of Niagara Falls, and the announcer says, ‘We are going to do this historic test on the vest. We are going to throw the vest off the Niagara Falls and see what happens to it…’ This guy is trying to take the vest off, that is when two bigger guys show up and throw him along with the vest over the Niagara Falls. Then you cut to the bottom of the Niagara Falls, where everyone is waiting for the result of the test. The announcer goes, ‘We come to the end of the historic test. We are looking for the vest; there is no sign of it…’ Then you see the man floating past them, face downwards. They grab him with a walking stick and pull him out. The almost-drowned guy in the vest, all drenched, says ‘Hey, look at the vest. Nothing has happened to it. It is not even wet.’ While saying this, he is shaking his wrist near his ear, and someone asks him, ‘What’s wrong?’ To this he replies, ‘My watch stopped.’
This ad was run on the television just once or twice, because they could not afford anymore. However, every time the Rolex ad was aired, people were reminded of the vest. So you see, this worked brilliantly for them, but it took a lot of guts to do it.
Is choosing the right media luck, art, or science?
It is actually insight and instinct. For small companies, I would say go to a small and hot agency, which would give them radical solutions to one’s advertising problems.
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How much does roping in a celebrity to endorse a product help in advertising?
It depends on how well or how badly you use the celebrity. For instance, nobody has ever used Salman Khan properly. Everybody is trying to make him look respectable. While the truth is that he is the bad-boy of Indian films, so you have to use him as the bad-boy. His fan following as a bad-boy is much bigger than the fan following of people who hope he is going to become good. As a matter of fact, if he becomes good, he will become boring. Advertising constantly is trying to make him look good, instead of trying to make him look bad, which is his forte. The success of an ad does not solely depend on by roping in a celebrity; it really depends on how you use the celebrity.
Is there any business that can succeed without advertising?
Prostitution! (Laughs) They have their own way of advertising by standing in the balconies…
Any thoughts on lifestyle advertising versus feature advertising?
This can be determined by knowing what is required for the product at that particular point of time. It is very crucial to have an insight into your consumer. There are two consumers—one is the consumer that you see in front [of you], and the other one, who is your real consumer, is a secret person hidden inside the consumer’s mind.
Every consumer has an opinion of himself, which he never divulges to anyone else. Everybody has an aspiration, a secret dream that they are too embarrassed to talk about openly. Reality sucks! If I want to sell you something, I have to actually try to know you well enough to find out what is your mind saying, what makes you tick, and so on. The trick lies in tapping into that aspiration. The moment you are able to tap that one dream, the ad has served its purpose.
How can small ad agencies make a mark in the industry?
By doing great work… convince a small client, get them to let you run with the advertisement. You take the responsibilities of the advertising, and you create a piece that actually works for them. Do this and everyone will notice who you are. Only your work can sell you—it is as simple as that. You need to have a proving ground, where they allow you to prove yourself.
Got something to say to the entrepreneurial community?
Now is the time, buddy. This is your day. Grab it with both hands. The time for playing safe is gone, now is the time to take risks, the world is opening up to you and will accept you. Businesses are all about risk taking, and if you do not have the balls to take risks, then get out of the business!
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written by Nishant More, March 31, 2011
written by vipin kumar, March 11, 2011
I m advertising n marketing student n wanna work under you..........wanna learn something as I hve compltd my course. Plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I belong to Delhi.
written by Anupam Sinha, December 07, 2009
1. they shout and call the probable prospects. that is 'appealing advertising'
2. they stand outside : that is 'outdoor advertising'
3. the most famous way of advertising done by prostitutes is not by them , but by their 'customers': - 'viral advertising'
written by Dinesh K Mishra, December 05, 2009
written by deepak rai , May 11, 2009
written by Prashant, May 07, 2009
– Prashant, Mumbai
written by Naushad Ally - Creative Director -Advertising, December 05, 2008
He has done so much Creative work by now & he wants to tell the world...
" Work till eternity... only work & good work can make U eternal "
Prahlad ne to bahut Kiya... ab Duniya Tu kuch to KAR !
written by amit jolly, November 30, 2008
written by amit jolly, November 30, 2008
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Thankyou
Prateek Arora