Cut the Crap brands under construction buildings with Taj Cement

To launch the cement brand in the Northeast, Cut the Crap came up with an OOH campaign involving strategic use of buildings under construction

An ongoing construction site certainly does not make an attractive view, unless it is used for advertising in an unusual way. Hill Cement Company, a five-year-old cement manufacturer based in Shillong, discovered an innovative way to communicate the launch of its latest brand, Taj Cement, across states and territories in the Northeast, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

Cut the Crap brands under construction buildings with Taj Cement

Beginning in Guwahati by the end of 2009, the OOH (out of home) led launch campaign saw wall wraps draped on under construction buildings across the city. The creative carried the logo of the brand, along with the copy: Something permanent is under construction. The exteriors of banks and shopping malls were also branded with a tweaked copy - 'Recession: Temporary. Taj cement: Permanent'. The company put up 1,000 boards with the brand logo on various small shops, including 'paan' and tea stalls located close to the roads. Also, balloon branding was done, creating balloons in the shape of cement bags.

Kunal Mittal, director, Hill Cement Company, says, "Though national players have always been present in the cement category, the industry is observing an increase in the number of new local entrants in the Northeast."

Overall, 500 sites will be taken for the campaign being rolled out in other locations in the Northeast. This is being backed by radio and print. Taj Cement sponsored time-checks run throughout the day on radio stations, including Red FM, Ooh La La and Radio Gupshup, with a message in the end: 'Taj cement time: 10 am (or the time of the day). Time changes. Taj does not'. While hosting shows, RJs (radio jockeys) talk of changes around our lives in climate, fashion, politics and the Sensex, and sneak in the brand message at the end - Only Taj does not change.

In print, full page ads are being featured in national and regional dailies.

Jagdish Acharya, founder and creative head, Cut the Crap, the agency that cracked the campaign, shares that the cement market in the Northeast is predominantly consumer led rather than trade or builder led. "This is because many people from upper middle class households here are still very involved in the process of constructing a house. The ratio of cement demand between consumers and builders is 60:40," he adds.

India is considered to be the second largest producer of cement after China. With the government of India giving boost to various infrastructure projects, housing facilities and road networks, the cement industry in India is growing steadily. According to industry estimates, cement production in India will rise to 236.16 million tonnes in the year 2011.

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National Hill Cement Company