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We spoke to Rajan Bhalla, group CMO, HT Media, about the effort.
Hindustan Times has rolled out a campaign through which it celebrates the spirit of Mumbai - talking about nostalgia, the qualities of the metropolis and how the city accepts everyone while preserving a distinct culture of its own.
Titled 'Mumbai Meri Hai', the campaign aims at building an emotional connect with Mumbai and the Mumbaikars while emphasising on the fact that today, HT gets Mumbai better than others.
In addition, HT Media also has a very strong radio presence in the city with two leading stations (Fever 104 and Radio Nasha) along with a business paper - Mint. "All this, in addition to our digital platforms, give us millions of touch points with our consumers and customers. Its our way of thanking the city for not only accepting us but making us a part of their lives," says Bhalla.
Although the films will be seen more on digital and cinema platforms, the brand did not produce them specifically for a platform.
"While we have started with Bollywood, Cricket and Irani Cafes, it's extremely hard to capture the spirit of Mumbai in just three films. We have started with two mass platforms - Bollywood and Cricket and one on a typical slice of life from Mumbai, the Irani café. Expect a lot more!" Bhalla informs.
On choosing the topics for the films, Bhalla says it's always hard to create films that connect with the consumers without many added layers. "The toughest part of creating these films was keeping them simple, touching the right emotional cord, entertaining the viewer while not losing sight of the key message... And I personally think both RK Swamy and Venus Films have done a terrific job."
Tough Competition
The other good thing Banik says about the campaign is about its extendability and how as a city, Mumbai has so many shades and dimensions to it, that you can create refreshingly new communication around a newer facet of Mumbai. "For me, it's a pretty nice, eye-catching campaign with a very nice, hummable tune, well-packaged and presented with high eye ball grabbing quotient, which fully justifies its role in creating awareness about HT's entry into the fiefdom of its key competitor - TOI," says he.
Suman Srivastava, founder and innovation artist, Marketing Unplugged, says that the ads are well executed but he puts a question mark on the strategy adopted by the brand. "After so many years of being in Mumbai, does HT really have to tell us that it gets Mumbai? And if it does, then shouldn't it have something more insightful to say?" he asks.
"HT itself has been running the 'No TV Day' campaign for several years and I think that is a better conversation for this brand to have with its readers. This campaign looks good, but is a pretty superficial look at Mumbai and in my opinion, does nothing for brand HT," he adds.
CREDITS
Client: HT Media
Brand: Hindustan Times, Mumbai
Creative agency: RKSwamy BBDO
Mumbai Production house: Venus Productions