[Image above: The poster outside William Penn, Koramangala]

Not much to say really… This ad poster just reminds me of my college notebooks
let me know if you felt the same..

I have not been much of a cricket fan, ever since India’s dramatic loss in the 1996 world cup against Sri Lanka. That was the last straw. But when I saw this billboard, I was pissed !! They didn’t shy away to rub it in.. I liked the Foster’s “Australian for Beer” ads before.. But I don’t think this ad is gonna help the image of Foster’s in India (the cricket crazy country that it is..) But wait.. Foster’s India is owned by SABMiller, the UK based company. Hmm.. What are the Brits upto ??

But think about it, this world cup was little more than joke to me. Felt like the Aussies stole an ice cream from a bunch of kids. Even ICC chief Malcolm Speed has admitted that 2007 cricket world cup was too long. So they have decided to shorten the duration of the next world cup and keep it short & sweet: opening ceremony, photo session and presenting the world cup to Australia !! (I received this as a forwarded SMS joke today, thanks subhash)

[Image Above: "The Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice !" Billboard on Hosur Road (Just Before Forum Mall), Bangalore]

Apparently its part of Big Bazaar‘s (owned by Biyani’s Future Group) new Guerrilla Marketing Strategy according to agencyfaqs.com Surely one must have heard about the guerilla warfare strategies during one of those boring history sessions in school (generally its boring!!), wherein guerrilla force is divided into small groups that selectively attacks the target at its weak points. Wah lah, enter the future and in the world of cut throat competition, corporates use extension of the same strategy in marketing…hmmmm never imagined this while we were in our shorts !! Corporates like coke, pepsi, etc have been using the same for quite some time now and the latest entrant is our very own ‘Future Group’- Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Future Bazaar, eZone are all part of this group and they are taking on the biggies like Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, and Tata’s Westside.

In order to do the same, Future Group have come up with 3 catchy/cocky and cheeky ad campaign which surely does catch your eyes (whether one changes their loyalty or not, only time will tell) and surely one cant resist appreciating the same..

Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice !

Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice !

Change Your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice ! (See Image Below)

Not surprisingly; according to the latest release in ET the campaign has made the competition very uncomfortable because they somehow feel “the ads make a subtle reference to them”. Heloooooo, subtle is a very weak word used here !!

With retail market in India especially in metros where standard of living and disposable income is at an all time high, competitors will vie for the market share and can stoop to any levels while marketing their products. Guerilla marketing is just one of the strategies and surely one can learn a lot from the ongoing battle, especially people interested in marketing/marketing techniques.

Things have already started to boil coz of this ad campaign and both Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop are analyzing the effect of the strategy used by Mr Biyani and Future Group. Lifestyle are even planning to take Future Group and their ad campaign to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). I just feel, Future Group have done a very creative job and surely time will tell the effect of this strategy – by this I refer to both Future Group and their competitors.

Keep watching this space for more cuz I am sure this is just is just the beginning !!

For more on Guerilla marketing strategy : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_marketing_warfare_strategies

About the author:

Guru Prasad is a marketing consultant by profession and hopefully will be a regular guest blogger here.