Mid-Day Delhi shrinks to accommodate 'chhotu' Kurkure

As a part of its tie up with Frito-Lay's Kurkure, Mid-Day Delhi will be half its regular size

Mid-Day Delhi turns 'chhotu' for a day today. To promote the 'chhotu' pack of Frito-Lay's Kurkure, the Rs 3 pack, today's Delhi edition of the tabloid has shrunk to half its regular size in order to give an impact to the message and generate brand recall.

The size of the main Mid-Day Delhi has been reduced to 24x15 cms (height x width) for a day (December 29), as opposed to the regular 32x25 cms. The special edition came out with the regular sized Delhi Edition.

Mid-Day Delhi shrinks to accommodate 'chhotu' Kurkure

JWT Delhi is the creative agency behind the campaign. Sonia Bhatnagar, vice-president and senior creative director, JWT India, says, "We wanted to do something that's never been done before to announce the launch of the small pack of Kurkure. The innovation aims to drive home the point that though the size is smaller, the 'masala' is still the same. Also, since both Kurkure and Mid-Day are full of 'masala' (spices), it was a natural fit."

Talking about the innovation, Rajnish Rawat, publisher, Mid-Day Delhi, says, "Mid-Day has always focused on providing innovative media solutions to meet the needs of the clients. For the Kurkure small pack, we not only reduced the size of our newspaper to half but also integrated a lead story and infused special distribution drive for product sampling."

Rawat adds that the idea behind the innovation was to further reinforce the launch of the small pack of Kurkure through an innovative communication. Incidentally, Mid-Day also comes at a cover price of Rs 3.

The innovation is being supported by suitable sections in the content, too. The main story of the special edition is about sportspersons who made an impact at an early age. Also, the front page of the tabloid has a message written in a strip below the masthead that reads 'We've shrunk, but our masala is still big. Flip to Page 31 to discover why', with Page 31 showcasing a full page ad of Kurkure's small pack.

With the prominent difference in the size of the tabloid, the innovation hopes to create the buzz and hype. The 32 page special edition will be distributed as usual with a special distribution drive in areas such as the airport, metro stations, coffee chain outlets and retail stores.

This is not the first time that Mid-Day has altered its size to accommodate a brand innovation. On August 1, 2007, when UTI Bank was rechristened Axis Bank, Mid-Day had turned into a broadsheet for a day to announce the name change. The change was accompanied by an editorial on the front page about the innovation done for the brand. Also, there were ads at various positions in the tabloid, along with related content. Rawat adds that the revised format done for the bank was noticed by 96 per cent of the people.

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