1800-210-2123: Leave a message for the Rio Olympics Indian Contingent

The Rio Olympics, one of the most-awaited international sports events of the year, commenced on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, and the Olympics fever is here to stay until August 21, when the Olympic Games will conclude. Cashing in on the international event are brands trying to outdo each other in order to grab a slice of consumer attention.

Tata Salt, the salt brand under the Tata Chemicals umbrella, launched an integrated campaign 'Namak Ke Waastey', last month. The first leg of the campaign focussed on generating mass support for the participants. The brand tried to create awareness about sports such as boxing, shotput, and judo, by releasing video films on four accomplished sportspersons -- Shiva Thapa (boxing), Babita Kumari (wrestling), Inderjeet Singh (shot put), and Avtar Singh (judoka).

In a call-to-action, it has also requested customers to give a missed call on the number given on the pack, in order to register their wishes in support of the Indian Olympics Contingent. The limited edition Tata Salt packs are available across grocery stores, as well as modern retail stores, including online platforms.

Commenting on the collaboration with Tata Salt, Ashwini Deshpande, founder, director, and practice head, Elephant Design, says, "According to an estimation based on the current market share of Tata Salt, and the frequency of purchase of salt in a household for the duration of the Rio Olympics, we zeroed in on reaching the seven crore household mark through this leg of the campaign."

Talking about the challenges encountered from a design perspective, Deshpande says that to do a limited edition for a brand with a large consumer base in itself is a remarkable and brave exercise, both in terms of design, as well as production and distribution. "Since Tata Salt's portfolio had undergone a re-branding exercise just over a year ago (also done by Elephant), it was important not to do a drastic change for the sake of consumers who had just got used to the re-designed pack; and yet, the message of encouraging our athletes had be loud and clear. So, the challenge was to retain the familiarity, and still manage to convey the message of call-to-action and national pride."

It may be recalled that Tata Salt had partnered with Elephant Design for re-branding and developing packaging for its entire range last year. The idea was to align the brand and packaging communication with changing consumers. The exercise included a change in the brand's visual identity, harmonising the portfolio across Tata Salt, Tata Salt Lite, and Tata Salt Plus.