Meridian makes the fingers talk for HTC Explorer

The campaign created by Meridian Communications aims to create a buzz for the touch phone amongst the youth through a light-hearted youth-centric story.

e4m by Deepika Bhardwaj
Published: Dec 13, 2011 10:09 AM  | 4 min read
Meridian makes the fingers talk for HTC Explorer

It’s the ‘Fingers’ in the lead role in the latest campaign for HTC Explorer created by Meridian Communications. Connoting ‘Fingers’ as walking Legs, these ads highlight the One-Touch feature of the phone, suggesting your fingers can today do all the walking and talking through just a simple touch. The main brief behind this campaign by HTC, pretty much a late entrant in the Indian mobile market was to break ice with the launch of HTC explorer- a phone for the youth.
 

The Brief:
Speaking on the main idea behind the campaign, Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India, said, “The insight for the launch of this campaign came out from the fact that the youth of today is tech savvy and prefers keeping in touch with friends and peers through social media websites, chats, and mails. Our main objective was to communicate that HTC Explorer helps achieve all this through the magic of your fingers.HTC Explorer is a device, which today is an extension of its user. A friend, buddy that lets you access the world in your hands and this is the emotional aspect that we have tried to bring out in this campaign"

The Execution:
Following HTC’s brief, Meridian Communication designed a light hearted, playful & youth centric story in order to attract the youth through the campaign. While the print Creative showcases the one-touch feature of the phone for various uses like keeping in touch with friends, Bollywood Gossips or Sports, the TVCs limit the fingers to that of a boy, trying to woo his girl.

Explaining the reason behind taking this approach, Krishna Mani, Creative Director, Meridian Communication, said “HTC makes brilliant touch phones. The Explorer is a fully loaded, sexily designed and affordable touch phone for the youth. And we all know that the youth is always communicating with their friends and the world with the phone. So we used the simple idea of the fingers literally doing the job of communicating. It’s simple without being stupid. It says a lot visually without using too many words.”

The Campaign:

Expert Opinion:
While the print campaign is a visual treat, the visual treatment misses connect, feels the ad frat.

Amit Shankar, ECD, Grey Worldwide, likes the uniqueness and creativity in the print and outdoor campaigns, but has a different view for the TVCs. He says “When I saw the fingers in the hoardings and print, they looked attractive and seemed to beautifully capture the idea. But, the same device of fingers falls short in the current film execution. The films are not doing justice to the idea of fingers doing the talking. Fingers simply come and go and it’s even worse in the shorter edits. The longer version also is not tight and looks loose.”

For Anindya Banerjee, ECD, Scarecrow Communications, while the ads are lovely, the message itself is a bit too old to be used for something as new as HTC Explorer. He shares, “I loved the ads. The films are nicely shot, the characters are sweet and the soundtrack is lovely. It’s difficult not to like the film and it has a nice feel-good feel about it. The painted fingers convey the message nicely, but my problem with the film is the message itself. Letting your fingers do the talking is old and generic to the category. This would have been the brief when a touch phone was introduced for the first time. That and the VO that says the fastest phone in its category comes out of nowhere.”
 

Our Opinion:
Whether it’s a touch phone or a Qwerty key pad, communication on social platforms which Explorer seems to be promoting, happens with fingers only. So while painted fingers may be a new idea, using fingers as a communication vehicle is pretty old. Also, apps, games, friends and music is a touch away in almost every touch phone today, so the ad doesn’t really communicate why the phone is the fastest in its category. The 15-second ads may get the viewer completely confused. However, the music and lyrics are quite sweet and catchy and may attract the college goers.

Conveying moods and emotions, maybe facial expressions through fingers to communicate the idea that the phone is just an extension of your personality - spoken through fingers, could have been better. Stars: Print – 3.5/5 ; 2/5

 

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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