Sunday, May 18, 2014

Big Bazaar's High Decibel Advertising plan

It is said, image once built can not be altered so easily. This is what Big Bazaar trying to do with its new advertising campaign. The objective is to shed away with "Sabse Sasta" proposition.
However this is not coming at a small cost. 
BB has hired DDB Mudra communication to create 52 week ATL plan. BB is expected to spend 100 crore over the course of next 52 weeks.

Every week a new TV commercial will be aired. Each commercial will focus on a new product or new business line of BB.

The underlying theme of all the Tv ads will be that "Big Bazaar Making India beautiful". All the ads are targeted at young India who is fashionable, trendy and aspiring.

Please find few of the commercials, which have hit the Indian TV



This is the second commercial.



No way the agency has done a wonderful job in depicting the Indian values and simultaneously showing the aspirational aspect. The ads touch the chords of the viewers by its light music, conversation and characterization.

However there is another school of thought, is it necessary to create 52 different advertisements every week. What is the objective? 
Is product promotion or business line promotion?  Definitely not. If that would have been the case, the agency would have stick to 4-5 different products and promoted the BB brand only.

Then the objective of creating BB as the fashion or shopping destination,  in my mind, is also far fetched because 52 ads, 52 weeks, every week new characters, new themes, new products. The recall value will not be high. People might remember ads but not the brand.

We have to answer the question that what could agency and the client have done better in this case?
The intention is right to change the image in the minds of the consumer then sticking to one theme and one brand i.e. BB for 52 weeks would have been a better bet.

May be showing the width of products,  no. Of stores or may be product quality or may be best trendy stuff or ultimate fashion destination but effectively communicating the same theme might be a better way to change the image. Simply by communicating the sale tagline "BB making India beautiful" will not fulfill the purpose. 100 crores could have been spent in more focused and sharp way.