12 April,2010 11:36 AM IST | | Midday Correspondent
It's like our Super Bowl, a yearly bonanza of sorts for Indian media and entertainment. This year was no different, with lots of flash, some amount of innovation, and a whole lot of advertising.
To begin with, as one of the main television sponsors (and presenting sponsors of the Indian Premier League), Vodafone's deal gave the company adequate airtime throughout the tournament. According to a company source, "Zoozoos reinforce the Vodafone brand promise, covering all aspects of the brand matrix. They create awareness about our products and services with absolute simplicity." The spokesperson adds that there is no set target audience for the animated creatures, as they appeal to all age groups.
As for the other innovative things this year, the 10-second main screen ads between overs were interesting. They managed to break the clutter, created some amount of space, and managed to grab attention. Given the fact that these were short breaks, the option of channel-surfing simply didn't exist. Brands like Munch, Karbon and Micromax used this innovation effectively.
Since its launch at IPL 2, the Zoozoo campaign has evolved dramatically over the last year. Apparently, the response has been overwhelming. "This is evident in the growing numbers across various fan clubs, many of which are unofficial. The Zoozoo Fan Club on Facebook, which has over 4,17,000 fans, attracts new members daily. We've received a great response from Shoppers' Stop, who retail official merchandise. Lakhs of Zoozoo DVDs have been distributed to customers from Vodafone stores across the country. And, our recently launched Zoozoo Winamp skin has already been downloaded a whooping 4,77,000 times," says the spokesperson.
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Also helping advertisers this year was the YouTube-IPL partnership, leading to a lot more eyeballs. Vodafone initiated a number of on-ground initiatives including LED board animation, SMS-based contests, the Star of the Match Contest, IPL ticket sales via mobile, and Vodafone chargers placed at IPL venues.
Another interesting campaign was run by Axe. It may not have been award-winning in any way, but the ads were undoubtedly amusing. Here's to more innovative stuff in the day ahead.
