Real stresses on brand proposition through BTL

Real, the Hindi general entertainment channel from Real Global Broadcasting Limited (RGBL), the joint venture between Turner and Alva Bros, has been talking all this while on its “real” brand proposition. However, the channel has not limited its proposition to mere words and has come out with massive on-ground promotions to give its prospective audience a feel of it as well.

The channel, which went on air on March 2, has come out with several on-ground initiatives to communicate that it is not about celebrities or famous people, but for ‘real’ people, as is evident from the tagline, Real People, Real Stories and Real Entertainment. While the concept of the on-ground campaign has been worked out by Real in conjunction with BBDO, the channel has hired Real World as its agency to execute the campaign.

Vidyuth Bhandary, head, marketing, RGBL, says, “Leave the signature of Real was the insight we shared with our agency. All our on-ground activities had to be aligned with the style we are trying to achieve through our positioning. Also, we made sure that all the activities we came out with were viral in nature, whether on-ground, outdoor or for that matter, even the designs of our visiting cards; it had to be clutter breaking and capable of starting a huge word of mouth.”

To achieve this, Real and BBDO came out with many on-ground activities focussing on two major markets, Mumbai and Delhi. The channel carried out mall activations, activities in gymnasiums, drama skits in Mumbai local trains and hired BEST buses for innovations. It also roped in Cafe Coffee Day to carry out innovations at its outlets.

A group of people went in and out of local trains in Mumbai, performing short skits to engage the commuters. The skits were timed to suit the time taken by the trains to reach the next station, so as to engage all the commuters with the idea.

Bhandary says, “All the promotions were vibrant in nature, drawing the common people in and starting a conversation about the channel and its shows.”

A 'Times of Sarkaar' was published for another initiative, which saw a group of people going with the ‘newspaper’ to high footfall areas such as public transports, college canteens and parks to catch the attention of passers-by and create intrigue. In addition, tent cards were placed on tables in Cafe Coffee Day outlets. Instead of regular tent cards, the cards featured people with their heads down and a message – ‘Hope you are watching them suffer’.

Another activation will soon make its presence felt on the streets of Mumbai. In an effort to further popularise Sarkaar Ki Duniya, the channel will have people in fine clothes carrying out difficult tasks on the streets, such as building roads and bridges. This activity is designed to connect with the tasks that the participants of the show will undertake, and as Bhandary says, will be launched only when the tasks commence on the show.

While all of these activities were specific to Mumbai and Delhi, a cantilever was also driven through important TRP markets of North India to popularise the channel. As for focussing on only Mumbai and Delhi, Bhandary shares, “Mumbai and Delhi are the two biggest cities of India and a smaller city like, say Indore, though equally important, will be well covered through a smaller amount of advertising.

“These two metros are so huge and diverse that one needs all the different media to reach out to all the people. Also, apart from population and ratings, in sheer economics, Mumbai and Delhi could be very well covered compared to 10 other cities.”