Branded Reality

Now for anyone who owns a cable connection or a DTH dish..if Reality TV doesn’t ring a bell ..well then they should give it all up and start backpacking towards the Himalayas. Because reality shows have literally become a synonym for ubiquity in general. They are everywhere, have everyone and are seen by everything( am including aliens and wingy creatures here cos honestly i feel they can relate to the content and contestants on some intergalactic level in a much better way).

But a recent trend that has cropped up is-A new batch of reality shows being created for the sheer purpose of promoting a brand. Other intentions can be consolidation of a brand image or cementing of brand loyalty.

Whatever be the reason,they are there.How effective, we don’t know!.Cos eventually 
they want people to
a) Get a feel of what their product is about,specially if there is a new launch or a revamping of an old one.
b) Convey the company’s or product's core brand values-what they stand for and what unique they have to offer.
c) Showcase why they are different form the competitor ( in simple words..woo hoo..we are totally awesome and way much better than them..you demented whit..what were you thinking when you wasted your not so hard earned money on em)
d) Oh yeah...tell people to BUY THEIR PRODUCT.

The few listed below are the recent ones that i recall. If you can remember and suggest more..please do (in light of the permanent dilapidated condition of my current memory).

1) Pulsar Stunt Mania
   Brand- Bajaj Pulsar
   Aired on- MTV
   Show plot: Stunt enthusiasts perform well..err..stunts in a bid to become the 
"Baap of stunt Biking"(the person who came up with this tagline should be hanged 
upside down on his..well.. Pulsar)

  Done with its season finale, the show aired just after Bajaj launched its revamped series of Pulsars.Now with Hero Honda Karizma drawing great mileage (pun pun) from the Roadies series,it knew it had to step up to the competition.Hmm..pulsar sales were up 30% within 6 weeks of the show,so the show seems to have served its purpose. But the show itself could have done with better production value and crew.

   Hits: Generated buzz about the new range of Pulsars. Reaffirmed bajaj's dna brand image of pro free biking company especially among its target customer segment-the youngsters.
   Misses: Return of investment may have been pretty low. May require to define need for a repeat season next year. 
  
2) Airtel Connected
   Brand- Airtel
   Aired on-MTV
   Show plot: Twins come together on a rather dimly lit stage and perform various tasks to showcase how well they know each other.

   Now the premise seemed pretty much OK. The brand Airtel wanted to get the message across to its customers- we are connected to your needs and we will help you stay connected to your loved ones. We promise (cho chweet).But its execution was nothing short of horrible. The central theme of connectivity which could have been used judiciously was lost in attempts to induce rona dhona,fights and stage performances. Low viewer ratings should ensure its not coming back for another season.

Hits: Good recall value for Airtel.
Misses: Gross underuse of the connected theme.

3) LG Mallika-e-Kitchen
   Brand- LG microwave ovens
   Aired on: Colors
   Show plot: Participants namely 2 ladies who enjoy cooking are invited each week in a cooking face-off :). They make dishes..one with a microwave oven(d-uh) and another with regular gas stove(so boring..yeah right) and their culinary products are judged by a celebrity. The winner is given the title, a certificate of Mallika-e-Kitchen and a free LG microwave oven.

    Now personally speaking, I think this is the best of the lot in terms of creating brand awareness, targeting the correct customer segment and being very direct about what the company intends on promoting. In simple terms it wants to convey."Hey..you have been using you gas stove for everyday cooking..but just see how a microwave oven can perform the same functions in less time, less calories per dish, without 
much hassles all the while maintaining the same or even better taste".

Although you cant be blamed for wondering why the microwave using lady ends up being the Mallika more often than not.

Hits: Simple and effective way of brand communication. Low cost of production. And the fact they didn't invite Mallika Sherawat as a celebrity:)
Misses: Very boring and predictable show format.

Other shows (you cannot humanly have the stamina to read all of the analysis) which have successfully tried to carry forward this new format are :

4) Godrej Khelo Jito Jiyo               
Short lived..but effective. Was made to show off  Godrej's appliances and new line of furniture for the festive offer period. Worked well..products were paraded around. But after the few lakhs (am estimating this was the marketing budget) the question remains..”Who really watched it?”.

5) Khatron Ke Khiladi
Whats the brand!!!!! No..not Idea.Not unless you think having tarantulas as pets can change your life.

Its Akshay Kumar.Now don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how season one's finale almost coincided with the release of Singh in King and this seasons level 2 ended just 2 weeks before release date of Blue. And boy oh boy..did he go all out on his promotion spree. Only if you set an alarm at 11 pm to get to know the result, you would have missed out on how great it was doing all the shark stunts etc etc with Sanju Baba and Zayed Khan, how they shot the “never –before-seen-on-silver-screen” stunts etc etc.

The show generated high trps and understandably so..it really is a fun thrill watch. But there also a smart and subtle brand promotion activity that was going on,which we did not realize. Akshay Kumar-the swashbuckling hero who performs stunts like its a walk in the park. It sure genrates"ooh""Wah""Kya diler sher hai" kind of comments. The Thumps Ups and Levises take notice..so does the audience! No wonder there were so many water based stunts this time around.

The Adventures of Chris Tomar

It can really qualify as the ( i am not even using one of the here) weirdest name you may have come across ever..ever.

Anyways..let me introduce myself. I am Chris Tomar (er.yeah..that was understood i take..u know the title and all..but err..thought i should be proper and all..umm)

I am your ( not really yours per se) 20 something average guy living my average life in this not so average world.

I like trees.

I read a lot of newspapers.

I fight crime.

I make awesome sandwiches.

(ho hey hey ho...you do what!!!!)

Oh that. Yeah. I was given this responsibility by the powers above to avenge the faceless people who suffer in quiet silence everyday in the hands of the money grabbers.

I stand for.....

THE CUSTOMER.

( drum beats..rolling sound...tan daaaa tannaaaaa)

I have placed an order for a cape..dont see that materializing pretty soon though.

Not much of an intro...i will take you along with me in my journey to attain customer satisfactionisc nirvana.

Watch out evil customer unfriendly forces. You will not be spared.

Why? (and other such non-violent queries)

Well..just like that :).

Have few ideas related to Marketing in general, Advertising and Branding bobbing around in my head...want to check whether they are  really as weird on digital paper as they are up there (somewhere..i have a difficult time finding things in the mess anyways)!

The title!!

Well..my cow can't be purple. The bovine creature is plain white for the reason it will barely manage to attract your attention (atleast i don't hope so).

So lets try to get over the herd mentality..lets generate fodder for thought, lets chew on creativity, lets ruminate on ideas.

( May God help you)