Modernisation is essential to keep up with the rapidly evolving and digitising times. Older products and services are being replaced by newer, more contemporary versions and newer products too are constantly being updated in order to stay relevant in today’s times. Brands have been constantly innovating and looking for new unique ways to market their products.
A simple advertisement in a newspaper just won’t cut it today in this tech savvy, digital era. People are addicted to screens. They prefer to consume all information and content via their mobile phones. Brands realise this and try to come up with distinctive ways to display an ad in a newspaper.
Recently, we saw Cleartrip incorporate a unique feature in one of their newspaper ads where the reader could scan a QR code and be redirected to a website that showed you hotel and flight deals as cheap as any product ad in that newspaper.
This format seems to have stuck. QR codes are an interesting and interactive way to easily digitise a non-digital medium. In this case, the traditional newspaper.
India’s largest wearable electronics brand boAt recently went down a similar path. They released a print ad in a newspaper with a QR code attached to it. The ad celebrated boAt’s milestone of having manufactured 1 crore products in India thus promoting the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
At first glance, the ad seems like any other advert in a newspaper. Nothing exciting. However, once the QR code is scanned, the first page of the newspaper changes altogether. It turns into a celebration! With moving objects and a very Indianised theme, the ad is extremely intriguing and very cool indeed.
Through this ad campaign, boAt wanted not only to promote its milestone through the “Make in India’ initiative but to also establish India as a product nation. It wanted to prove that India too can be a reliable and efficient manufacturing hub without any dependency on foreign countries. Moreover, through the engineering and designing prowess that boAt has achieved through manufacturing in India will establish the brand globally.
Aman Gupta, Co-founder, and Chief Marketing Officer at boAt said, “boAt has proved naysayers wrong by successfully undertaking the design, engineering, and manufacturing of wearables in India. Today, 90 percent of our wearables are manufactured in India. We are grateful to the Govt. for putting in the right policies and support system that is helping in upgrading and providing the catalyst needed for wearables growth in the country. With this campaign, we want to reinforce our commitment and will continue to invest in ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.”
Celebrating the continuance of the ‘Make in India’ initiative boAt has launched the Rock In India campaign. The 360 degree campaign narrates how Indians are ushering in a new era of ‘Make in India’ products, the power of Indian-ness, and why it distinguishes India from the rest of the world. India’s growth story has been made possible by the undefeated spirit of the people. boAt salutes individuals like Athlete Hima Das and more who are #BreakingStereotypes and driving #DoWhatFloatsYourboAt philosophy. The stereotypical beliefs expected from girls never restrained the ‘Dhing Express’, Hima Das an Indian sprinter from achieving her desires. She became the first Indian woman — indeed the first ever Indian athlete — to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at IAAF World U20 Championships when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds.
It is certainly interesting to see homegrown brands adopt unique methods to promote their brands, products and services. boAt’s latest campaign is certainly a clutter breaker as it breaks stereotypes and positions itself at the front of the Make In India for the world story.