30.5.12

Amul moppet captures India over the years

By Disha Thakker, Exchange4Media, Thursday, May 31, 2012

You must have laughed at Amul moppet’s wisecrack ‘Korbo lorbo Eatbo’ on KKR’s IPL victory. This one may not have made it to ‘Amul’s India’, a book brought out by Amul along with its ad agency DaCunha Communications, but a lot of others chronicling important events in India over a span of 50 years form a part of the forthcoming volume.

DaCunha Communications has been handling the Amul account for five decades. It has brought out iconic wisecracks on billboards and print that have been the hallmark of brand Amul. The book is published by Collins Business, part of HarperCollins publishers, in a joint venture with the India Today Group. The book’s cover says ‘Based on 50 years of Amul Advertising by DaCunha Communications’.

The volume which is to be officially launched on June 11 in Mumbai and June 13 in Delhi is a compilation of write-ups and interviews of various personalities on their perceptions of the brand. It has been brought together by Rahul DaCunha, who now manages DaCunha Communications. He has managed to get on board celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Harsha Bhogale, Sania Mirza, Rahul Dravid, Shobhaa De, Rajdeep Sardesai, Milind Deora, Sunil Gavaskar, Shyam Benegal and Santosh Desai.

Other people who have contributed to the book include industry experts and veterans such as Dr V Kurien, Manish Jhaveri, Alpana Parida, Anil Kapoor, Alyque Padamsee and of course Rahul and Sylvester DaCunha.

“The Amul brand has become iconic due to its advertising campaigns, primarily on hoardings, in the last five decades. Hence, we thought of bringing out this book which not only has compilation of 200+ evergreen topical ads but also commentary on the same from leading celebrities, authors, ad men and like to give the readers a unique perspective – both as a medium and the message,” said RS Sodhi, Chief General Manager, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul).

Brand design company DY Works has designed ‘Amul’s India’ that traces the journey of the dairy product brand from 1967 when the first hoardings of the brand’s mascot, the chubby moppet, appeared on a few lamp-posts in Mumbai.

The Amul ads have been ‘live’ and still bring smiles to people’s faces. We wanted to create a ‘living’ collection – which pushed the reader to engage and analyse rather than ‘collect’. The idea was to invite writers, social commentators, ad men and of course, the ‘victims’ of the hoardings themselves – to bring forth their unique viewpoint. Harsha Bhogale has written about cricket and the Amul hoardings, Santosh Desai on a changing India and Amitabh Bacchan on his personal recollection of being an Amul subject,” said Alpana Parida, President, DY Works.

A quote from the book sums it all up: “This book portrays how the endearing moppet and her tongue-in-cheek humour helped a milk producers’ co-operative create a ‘White Revolution’… it is a chronicle of India through the eyes of the Amul Girl.”

28.5.12

DY Works - Amul's India - Book Promo



The Amul ads have been 'live' and still bring smiles to people's faces. DY Works presents and anthology of these icon ads created by Da'Cunha Associates - a 'living' collection -- which pushed the reader to engage and analyse rather than 'collect'.

The Amul hoardings are markers of Indian contemporary and popular history and have touched many lives. Read views of various eminent personalities like Amitabh Bacchan, Harsha Bhogale, Santosh Desai, Cyrus Broacha, Milind Deora, Rahul Dravid, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sania Mirza, Shobha De, Shyam Benegal, Sunil Gavaskar, Sylvester daCunha and of course Dr. Kurien -- who gave us a few words. The people behind the brand were roped in as well including Rahul daCunha, Manish Jhaveri, Anil Kapoor and Alpana Parida.

For more information on Corporate Branding, feel free to contact us at DY Works -
Mumbai
: +91 022 40406767, Delhi:-+91 011 26548089,
Website: www.dyworks.in, Email: contact@dyworks.in

14.5.12

THE POWER OF THE BACK OF THE PACK

By ALPANA PARIDA
Financial Express - 15th May 2012

As consumers move from their homes where they see ads, to the point of sale where they are reaching out for their wallets, they need more and more rational information as against emotive hooks. That’s when the back of the pack becomes crucial

No matter how much you advertise, and how many awards you win, it is the actual sale of a product that ensures growth and brings in profits. At the time when a consumer is buying the product, there is nothing stronger than the packaging itself to clinch the deal. The imagery, or the need identification could have been driven by advertising, but when the consumer is deciding Harpic or Domex, Kelloggs or Baggry's, Medimix or Margo; the packs have to work hard to convert consumers at the retail shelf.

While the Front of Pack (FOP) interests and engages the consumer from 10ft to when the consumer handling the pack at 2 ft (arm’s length), it is the back of pack (BOP) that seals the deal. If the consumer is interested enough to pick the pack up and has turned the pack over to read the BOP, the consumer is yours. If you lose that consumer, then the BOP has failed big time. It has failed to provide information that would have caused conversion. Will I know how to use it? Is it easy? Are the ingredients good? Is this going to provide nutrition? Is it worth the price?

This is an opportunity to tell the brand / product story as the consumer is actively seeking information to rationalise the purchase decision. Too often the BOP says nothing at all. Or it says too much. The copy is too long, the font is too small, and it is an opportunity lost to win the consumer.

The Kellogg’s BOP does a great job telling the oats story. (Except that the BOP says oat flakes on top and cornflakes on bottom. Huh? What did I miss?)

The brand story is neatly placed, the product benefits are highlighted, and everything the brand needs to say is there.

The bowl of oats highlights the serving suggestions and the Iron Shakti mnemonic completes the brand USP.

But why so many verbose and repetitive messages? “All these help in keeping your family healthy” and “So give your family the advantage of Iron Shakti and ready-to-eat oats in a single bowl”. And “Mental performance depends on ade- quate Iron at every stage of life— for all members of your family.” And in case you didn’t get it, “This is because: Iron Deficiency leads to reduced attention span and lack of concentration that affects children’s performance at school and adults performance at work”. The iron story is further bolstered by the Iron Shakti logo and the blurb that says “this is the best source of iron”. This copy, I suspect, was on an internal power point and then cut and paste on the pack!

Further, the one thing that a corn flakes box allows you is pack real estate – that sits in front of the consumer as they are eating their daily bowl. The pack can have engagement devices built in. Puzzles, iron facts, Kelloggs history, possible recipes - they can all be extremely interactive devices that continue the relationship with the consumer long after the pack is bought.

In contrast, you have the Sofit pack. Who, why, what – all neatly detailed and succinct. The visual accentuates the health/ fitness proposition through a simple device of a measure tape that extends from the front of pack. The delicious glass adds to drool appeal and says pick me up. The taste parameters are not overdone (it is soya after all) and the pack real estate is beautifully used. The chocolate and the soya ingredients tell the rest of the story – and the chances are high that the consumers will read everything on the BOP and buy the product.

Genteel? A large bottle (2kg), and the point size is so small, my eyes hurt to read it. The real estate of the large shrink wrap (not just a 4x2 label) bottle is totally wasted and all the relevant information is inside a blue bone-shaped unit. The shape does not borrow from the category or the brand, and only distracts. The BOP has large blank spaces that are dead zones – and could have been used to tell the story better. As a consumer, I would like to know that my sweaters would not shrink and my Kanjivarams will stay pristine. It could communicate to me interestingly through visuals and mnemonics. Does neither, and I will bet anyone who cares to, this brand has lost share.

As consumers move from their homes where they are seeing advertising, to the point of sale where they are reaching out for their wallets, they need more and more rational information as against emotive hooks. In this case, the colour of the product and the texture of the product are shown through a window. The uses and relevant surfaces are visually depicted. Any potential consumer gets all the relevant information and the product is sold.

The back of pack is what wins consumers. The FOPs can engage them; the BOPs are what they are reading. Indeed, for every high engagement category – the consumer wants to know more. If you are a marketer, pay attention to the BOP and you could see a 3-3-5% spike in sales due to that alone.

The writer is president of DY Works. The views expressed here are her own

9.5.12

Retail Glossary: Asymmetric Retail Units

The 30% yoy growth of modern trade in India is leading to an increase in demand for retail design innovation. As part of the DY Works retail scanning activities, we bring to you a new trend that seems to be surfacing – Asymmetric Retail Units.

Here are a few brands that have recently deployed Asymmetric Retail unitsBlack Label, Loreal and Tata Tea – Tea Veda.

Images from Point of Purchase Magazine
The thought is fairly simple – take a traditional FSU; create visual strata (layers) and rotate each layer around the vertical axis.

Advantages
  1. Breaks the visual clutter
  2. Point of differentiators for early adopters
  3. For stand alone, four side open units, these enhance visibility from multiple angles
Disadvantages
  1. The design is not easily to units that have less than four side open
  2. Are not efficient in terms of stacking efficiency
  3. May not perform well under conditions of regular handling or movement
  4. If not executed well, it might appear gimmicky
It would be interesting to hear from you on your views about these units ... sure there are loads of better examples out there. Will they only create a disruption in the short run for early adopters? OR can they become innovative units that add significant value to the retail rollout plan for a brand.

Contributed by Devatanu Banerjee, VP - Retail & New Media at DY Works.




Resources
  1. Growth of Modern Trade in India
  2. Black Label
  3. Loreal
  4. Tata Tea – Tea Veda
  5. Point of Purchase Magazine

7.5.12

SME Corporate Identity - Lifting the brand SSA to a new level




Background

SSA Business Solutions, erstwhile Six Sigma Alchemy established in 1999 is an Indian Management consulting brand with global aspirations.

With alliances all over the world, the brand partners with its clients offering solutions that translate to increase in top-line and bottom-line. SSA Business Solutions was looking to morph from a small Indian business to a competent global player

Identity and brand rejuvenation

DY Works started this identity rejuvenation exercise with identifying the business values. This was followed by extensive understanding of the industry and the assets of the current identity.

Definition of the brand colour palette and house colours. The system and order of the visual device usage was created along with the guidelines as per application.

The new brand identity crafted by DY Works is modern, contemporary and has an international flavor.

For more information on Corporate Branding, feel free to contact us at DY Works -
Mumbai
: +91 022 40406767, Delhi:-+91 011 26548089,
Website: www.dyworks.in, Email: contact@dyworks.in