Walk it OUT!

Written by Jaskiran Kapoor

August 7, 2009 03:34 AM IST

4 min read

Ever since Abhishek Bachchan tagged everyone with numbers,its hit the country like a virus. Forget the economics of telephony,at the core of Idea is its amazing grasp on the concept of communication,and this is whats made it an instant success with the ordinary Indian. Be it tackling a sensitive subject like caste,or using the cellular service to educate or empowering people to make the right choice,Idea has dialled D for dialogue,and now,with its walk when you talk campaign,its charged the country with a very interesting facet of the mobile – mobility. In fact,the company has a dedicated website for this purpose alone: log on to walkwhenyoutalk.in,and you can actually calculate the number potential calories you can burn while exercising this concept on walk n talk meter! And for the ones who are experimenting,you can capture the same and upload it as a video! Seriously,what an idea!

An Idea can change your life,and our effort has always been to make it a champion brand, shares Pradeep Shrivastava,Chief Marketing Officer,Idea Cellular. According to him,the Indian telecom industry has grown rapidly from an extremely low level of tele-density to its current level. During this period,subscriber acquisition was primary,and communications had the responsibility of educating the consumer and expanding the category. Our challenge was to break out of the commoditized environment and resonate with a diverse target audience. Each campaign from Idea had to reinforce the core philosophy of our brand, he adds. This time,with walk-talk,theyve used the colour yellow which stands for energy and positivity.

It has to appeal to a diverse audience,and hence our choice has been socially relevant topics in our campaigns like education,caste,elections,health etc, Shrivastava and team discuss the viability across the board,from consumers to stakeholders,and break free from the clutter. A pan India operator,quiz them about their current campaign,and Shrivastava gives a brief outline: it was during one of the brainstorming sessions that we this idea about how can technology positively affect our lifestyle. Technology has been bringing convenience,and thus rendering us lazy! Our question was: how can it make our lives healthier? Shrivastava feels that since advertising is always a reflection of and a response to social-cultural change,the thought resonates with the audience.

But is it necessary to have a brand ambassador? As we were expanding and venturing into new markets,we needed an ambassador who will appeal to all customer segments. A celebrity as our brand ambassador worked for us. However,more than a celebrity,Abhishek Bachchan has always appeared as the protagonist in our stories,in various avatars. He is the presenter of an idea that solves complex problems with surprisingly simple solutions through the power of mobile telephony. Bachchan was a natural choice,while Balki & Creative team at Lowe transformed Ideas message to a story.

The world of advertising is getting more complex,competitive and challenging. And it amuses Shrivastava when their Mera number Mumbai ka. Toh main mumbai ka! sailed through. There was turbulence,but all we did was salute the spirit of the Mumbaikar, he explains. Like he said,the information has to have the power to change,and it all begins with an idea!

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Tags:

Idea Cellular telecom

Walk it OUT!

Ever since Abhishek Bachchan tagged everyone with numbers,its hit the country like a virus. Forget the economics of telephony,at the core of Idea is its amazing grasp on the concept of communication...

Ever since Abhishek Bachchan tagged everyone with numbers,its hit the country like a virus. Forget the economics of telephony,at the core of Idea is its amazing grasp on the concept of communication...