Emvies 2010: Havells' 'shocking' media innovation

Media agency Motivator presented its case for Havells, in the category of 'Best Media Innovation - Cinema'

Media agency, Motivator presented a rather 'shocking' case study of Havells RCCB and MCB's 'Shock Laga Kya?' campaign. The brand, already dominant in the cricket space for over two years, now made its presence felt in the high-involvement medium of cinema.

The brand partnered with popular cinema chains, such as PVR and Fun Cinemas, and came up with a rather unique idea that was executed in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Prior to the screening of the film, De Dana Dan, a clip of the movie, Rangeela was played. Thus, audiences in theatres were hoodwinked into believing that the wrong movie was being played. People were short of getting up and leaving or expressing their annoyance in other ways, when the Havells 'Shock Laga Kya' commercial was played, followed by the right film. And it wasn't long before audiences' irritation gave way to appreciative comments.

The innovation generated more than three-fold spontaneous recall. As a result, the agency claimed that the market share of the brand rose by a good 7 percentage points, from 33 per cent to 40 per cent. This unconventional innovation also led to a 30 per cent increase in monthly sales for the brand.

Towards the end of the case study presentation, the presenter gave the audience a heads-up regarding the upcoming leg of this campaign. She warned those present not to be too 'shocked', if they catch a glimpse of Lagaan when they go to watch the recently released Peepli Live.

Other brands in the cinema category included Godrej's 'Godrej-Aladin Make a Wish Offer' (Mindshare) for its appliances range; Vodafone's 'Do Not Disturb!' campaign (Maxus) that rode on the power of guilt marketing; Fortis Hospital (Lodestar UM) that built a hospital brand using cinema and Nokia with two entries (Maxus) -- a campaign that gave India its first 'Cinesode' and one in which movies are just 'widgets' away.