Brick and mortar is alive still. But its tech-savvy cousin – the online retail format – is doing some irreparable damage. India is currently witnessing a near flood of players in the online retailing market. Reason? Investors trust numbers. A report from comScore (October 2012) suggests that of the 67.86 million unique Internet visitors in India, 60.2% visited online retail portals. Growing at a CAGR of 41% (as per Assocham), growing penetration of Internet in the country is expected to add $100 billion to India’s GDP by end-2015 (McKinsey), of which 34% will be contributed by these new age kins of brick and mortar (in 2012, online retail earned $14 billion in toplines). What online retailers earn accounts for only 1% of organised retailing in the country. Intuition would therefore tell us that the conventional form of organised retailing still rules, and that online portals have many-a-mountain to climb before they can claim any lead. But disruption is at most time only a matter of a wink. A couple of years later, we might be discussing why brick and mortar players eventually did have feet of clay!
And why not? Think of the most commonly used items around the house or the most sophisticated of brands or the most flashy of accessories – they’re all up for grabs on these dotcom stores. Your mouse can save you much time, energy and fuel. And with the try and buy variety of portals, this means of purchase is becoming even more compelling. So here is the proof – in the past year, India has witnessed a 362% increase in sales of the online shopping category. Despite allegations of data security, there are over 100 e-commerce portals lined up to delight the Indian consumer. But this growth story brings with it a cloud of competition – clutter as many reckon. And finding it hard to differentiate, portals are still playing the price war game. ‘More for less’ is the most valued end goal of most buyers in a price-conscious market like India. And online portals are at present highlighting most consciously those discount tags on tablet and PC screens across India.
Of the many portals that have joined this race, Fashionandyou.com is one four-year-old face, hard-to-ignore. It may not be counted a common noun yet in the Indian world of online retail, but already has 2 million names that fill its order logs. It is the latest when it comes to advertising to lure trend-conscious discount-hunters. And it’s not traditional media that it has chosen to side with. Social media (that has a reach of over 83% amongst online visitors in the country; a comScore 2012 study) is its primary bet. Says Aasheesh Mediratta, CEO, Fashionandyou.com, to 4Ps B&M, “Digital medium today has reached a point wherein one can measure the response and feedback from customers through social media. We are extremely psyched about having a growing network through a unique medium rather than opting for traditional media vehicles.”
So what’s the bait for its social media consumers? Bollywood actor Nargis Fakhri. And more. To highlight the brand’s USP of selling “Everyday something new”, Lighthouse Creative was handed over the responsibility to showcase the power of choice the portal offers to its customers. In order to showcase Fashionandyou.com’s latest proposition of 15 new flash sales each day and discounts of up to 80% better, the ad campaign tells the story of a doubting husband Suspi Singh and his shopaholic wife Daisy (Nargis Fakhri). In the first ad (that has been launched online) Suspi is seen discussing with his friends how he suspects that his wife has an extra-marital affair because she gets home new dresses and accessories every day. With a peppy Punjabi score playing in the background, during the ad, he is heard making remarks like, “Inne saare naye kapde te shoes, naya perfume! Kithon aaye?” [“So many new clothes and shoes and perfume. From where did she get them?”] During the last 15 seconds of the ad, Suspi questions his friends, “Every day, something new? How’s it possible yaar?” A VO closes the ad with the new communication tagline from the portal, “With over 15 new sales every day and up to 80 percent off, anything is possible. Fashionandyou.com. Shop now.”
Post four rounds of intense brainstorming to explore every possible proposition, the campaign was shot in Bangkok in a span of three days. The entire campaign – a package of four ads – took about four weeks to produce from start to close. Worth mentioning is the care taken during the process of shoot – a stuntman from the Thai Film industry (for the fall from the window scene) and a turban tying expert (flown in from Bollywood) were made available to keep the quality standards of the ad films high.
With humour entrenched in the film, little are we surprised that there were some entertaining moments on the sets too. While discussing one, Indroneel Dhar, Managing Partner, Lighthouse Creative, tells 4Ps B&M, “During the shooting of the fourth film, which you’ll see soon, there is a sequence where Suspi is beaten up by his wife in a case of mistaken identity. Nargis took her part a little too seriously, and the male model had to be given minor first aid after the shot!”
In terms of getting the message loud and clear, this campaign by Fashionandyou.com bears a strict tone of non-nonsense. The correct balance of humour in the script and the wise mix of actors gives the ad a fresh appeal. In short, the ad (though not totally out of the world in terms of the newness of the idea, special effects, et al) does hit the right nodes with social media followers. A youthful style icon used to deliver the core message of the campaign is common yet an effective strategy.
Having said this, it remains to be seen if three more ads to follow the first will help the campaign retain its freshness (given that the actors and communication line in the new ad films are a repeat), and whether viewers ignore the new ad films as just ignorable sequels to the first or lap them up as presentations that add weight to the brand perception. Whatever the outcome, it’s highly unlikely that post this campaign, Fashionandyou.com will not require another ice breaker. Suits its needs right, for there is many-a-mountain to climb before the portal and members of the online retail fraternity can claim victory over the ‘physical-store’ society.
