Innovation driving Brand Promotion: the new age off-beat approach to beat the clutter of communication
Social Impact Infomercials (SII) now replacing ‘Commercials’ & working so well for the Brands in this Digital overdosed world
– By Swadeep Srivastava
In today’s world of ‘information clutter’ when we are flooded with messages from multiple mediums, be it the Social media platforms- WhatsApp, Facebook, LinkedIn, SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter, etc. or hundreds of TV channels on your DTH network and the old habit of browsing through daily newspapers, magazines & outdoor hoardings add up heavily to this clutter of media on daily basis. Not to say that the Brand Managers are having the toughest time ever to break through this clutter and make a mark for their Brand in most cost-effective ways.
What we have been talking about from the last 10 years in ‘healthcare communications’ while dealing with Healthcare Brands- be in Pharma, Consumer Healthcare, Medical Device or MedTech Products & services, where the budgets are quite less compared to say- an FMCG or a Consumer Durable Brand and where in addition to direct Advertising, there’s also a great need for stakeholder ecosystem sensitization & also for general awareness around the brand concept amongst the Consumers as well as Prescribers/ Influencers.
In recent times, we have seen a good list of Brands coming to us with social & health messaging. The impact these Brands would wish to create around those segment is quite inspiring. It not only gives such Brands and their campaigns an edge to beat this clutter but also associates these Brands with the social impact they create in this due course of time and not to say, that generates a positive buzz and such campaigns become popular as they also become viral quickly. Such initiative can also be bracketed as Social Impact Infomercials (SII) which are taken up as a 360* campaign and once they get ‘viral’, they help the Brand achieve a positive rub-off effect amongst its targeted segment in a cost-effective way.
Let’s start with the latest example of the Lux Ad. They come up with a brilliant idea of 
creating a lump size bulge in their Lux soap and associated the bulge with the ‘breast cancer lump’. It was an impressive thought in which the soap wishes to remind its users (the women users who use Lux soap) on the need of regular breast examination (identifying the lump through self-examination), which is a proven behavior for identifying any Breast lump formation in the early stages & getting it cross-checked through advance investigations (gold standard being mammography) & Dr. Consultation and getting it sorted out early, before any big damage is been done.
Here’s a link to their video of their campaign: ‘Lux-the soap with a lump’:
Similarly, another campaign caught my attention, which was a resultant of the out-of-box thinking, i.e. the India Gate- Donate Rice – not throw it campaign, its link is as below:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/04/16/india-gate-ad-urges-people-donate-rice-not-throw-it-weddings
Here how India Gate Rice has played on the fact which was not often talked of in public, i.e. the wastage of rice during marriage rituals and other such auspicious occasions, including Poojas in India and creates a narrative around don’t waste rice, rather collect it and donate it to the poor who need it. It will be useful to those kids who sleep hungry due to poverty.
Drum.com says: “A new campaign from India Gate has encouraged people to donate the rice they would traditionally throw at weddings, saying the simple action could help millions of poverty-stricken Indians.
The campaign, created by The Classic Partnership (part of WPP’s VMLY&R), is a new take on the tradition of ‘shower blessings’ which take place during a wedding ceremony. The custom can see many kilograms of rice go to waste after it’s been tossed on the newly married couple.
It encouraged couples to have rice packaged and donated instead.
“The campaign acknowledged the significance of tradition within Indian culture while empowering society to make a positive and effective change,” explained Anoop Gupta, Joint Managing Director, at India Gate parent company KRBL India.”
Not to say that both the campaigns got high appreciation amongst the Advertisers and the industry and also got popular amongst their target viewers & the customers and the public at large. The campaigns became the talk of the media and hence the talk of the town and the objective of the Brand was met in a cost-effective and impactful way.
The campaign I would like to give special mention and also term it as ‘the campaign of the year 2018’ was the HP infomercial around Diwali, titled- Ummid ka Diya… Kick start your Diwali work week with this film by HP for the festival.
Read more at: https://www.campaignindia.in/video/mmgb-hp-crafts-an-emotional-diwali-message/448169
Conceptualised by Autumn Worldwide, this film shows a young boy helping out a lady selling diyas by the road. He uses his HP printer to urge people in his neighbourhood to purchase diyas from the lady, which in turn makes her Diwali ‘happy’. The message HP looks to spread through this film is ‘go local’. Neelima Burra, country marketing director, HP India, said, “At HP India, we believe in giving back to the society, and Diwali is just the right festival for us to come up with this inspiring campaign; where technology acts as an enabler. It is heart-warming to see how a small act of empathy can have a positive impact on someone else’s life. We all should pledge to make this Diwali a brighter one for at least one street vendor out there. Iss Diwali, #TuJashnBan kisi ki zindagi ka.”
Read more at: https://www.campaignindia.in/video/mmgb-hp-crafts-an-emotional-diwali-message/448169
It already has achieved more than 6.5 million views and created the right impact for the brand.
A similar initiative was undertaken by Medtronic in India when they took Medtronic’s global initiative of CPR Training to the Kumbh 2019 @ Prayagraj. This campaign CHIRANJEEV HRIDAY- Dil ko dhadakne do was conceptualized & implemented by our Heal Health Connect (www.hhconnect.in) and trained about 8000 people during 25 days of on-ground training to Kumbh visitors & mainly the ‘First Responders’, the Police, Fire Dept. & the Administrative/ Municipality Workers and reached to more than 1 crore public through Nukkad Nataks, CPR Training van and other 360° BTL & ATL activities.
Sharing views on the company’s initiative with 
www.health.economictimes.indiatimes.com, Mr. Madan Krishnan, Vice President, and Managing Director, Medtronic Indian Subcontinent said, “Kumbh presents itself as a platform to reach lakhs of people and make them aware about SCA and role of CPR. We are employing unique activities like street plays, activation on boats that take pilgrims to Sangam, partnering with leading akhadas like Juna Akhada, a CPR express to spread awareness through innovative messaging in the Kumbh Mela region, hoardings, radio jingles etc. – all with the objective of making more and more people aware about SCA and training them to save lives.”
The campaign can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vATSqZE95N4
Such out of box thinking is definitely changing the whole perspective on ‘campaigning’ and the emergence of SII (Socially Impactful Infomercial) will prove a boon for the Brand Managers & Agencies who want to bring out their Brand messages in a cost-effective and impactful way amongst their targeted Consumers and help them ride the ‘popular bandwagon’ to success.
Now it seems, the Campaign world is moving from just creative Ads to creative Commercials and now towards the ‘Infomercials’ which also bring through socially tangible messages, their CSR messages or stories around their Brand which also help the Brand strengthen the ‘emotional connect’ with its targeted users and the community at large.
