Incito MentisA blog by Syed Abdul Karim

JWT Mumbai’s Diamond Bride Campaign is a great example of rock-solid strategic thinking. It demonstrates how a deep consumer insight can lead to a major change in behavior. It shows how something as rooted as tradition can be challenged and how a new paradigm can be created. De Beers India came up with a very challenging brief “How to get Indians to use more diamond jewelry instead of gold at their weddings?” A question that had no easy answers. It’s like asking women in America to wear a black dress at their weddings instead of a white one!

This meant that the battle had to be fought on a higher ground. The inherent symbolism of security, well-being, tradition and value that came with gold jewelry was not going to be easy to overcome. To win this cultural battle, the planners decided to explore the modernity, status and glamour of diamonds and give them a whole new context with respect to weddings.

So what is the key learning that we can draw from this as planners? For me I think it is the power of context. If we can put something in an entirely different context and yet be relevant we can uncover some big insights and inspire dramatic changes in behavior. So the next time you want someone to use more of your product or service, I think it would be a good idea to get out of context, experiment with something fresh, bounce it off with consumers and then see where it takes you!

Uninor, a joint venture between Unitech a local real estate giant and the Norway based Telenor Group, launched their mobile network service in India. In a market cluttered with about 13 operators (including at least 7 major operators) and a half billion connections already sold, Uninor has a tough task ahead of them. With Etisalat also expected to join the ranks branding and differentiation is going to be an enormous task!

Perhaps not quite so for India with it’s strategic branding and insight-led advertising history. Over the last two decades riding on the wave of an ever-booming popular culture which is now reaching epic proportions in terms of global reach and impact, one can expect great strategic thinking and creativity from both sides of the table – client and agency teams. And that’s been the case for the launch of Uninor as well.

With the other half a billion expected to take up a mobile connection in the next 5 years, the battle is far from over. And this is what Uninor has set it’s eye on and they have done so with an inspiring message that talks to the young ambitious Indians using real and everyday language. A nation aiming to play a bigger game in the global arena, the Uninor brand positioning taps this insight well and brings it down to one individual with “Ab mera number hai”  (which roughly means “My time has come!”). With this positioning they have occupied what I call the “Heroism” space as per Luciola’s Proprietary Telecom Branding Tool - TeleCompass. This space is about building on the “Winning/Success” platform. What’s interesting is the fact that they are not depicting clichéd images of success as we see so many brands doing but really sharpening it and making it real. Here are some of their latest TVCs to give you a feel of the brand idea:

Reposted from the Luciola Blog