Trendspotting: Brands leveraging competitors' unpopularity to win goodwill
Indian brands battle it out to capture consumer attention by taking digs at each other

Brands in India are growing feistier by the day. From taking digs at one another in advertising campaigns, to using social media as a tool to make a wittily positive statement, Indian companies are leaving no stone unturned to make sure they build a positive image in the consumers’ minds.
exchange4media takes a look at the most recent brand activities that leverage on other brands unpopularity.
HUL’s jab at Snapdeal
Laxminarayan Krishnamurthy, a Mumbai resident had ordered a Samsung Galaxy smartphone on Snapdeal. When the delivery came, he received Vim Bar in the package. Outraged, Krishnamurthy shared his grievance on Facebook.
The post was shared by over 20,000 people.
Snapdeal, of course, took notice of the complaint. However, it was a little late in resolving the concern. After six days of that post, Krishnamurthy posted that Snapdeal had refunded full money and apologized for the same.
Considering that 20,000 people had shared the post, covered by several mainstream media outlets as well, Vim Bar’s parent company, Hindustan Unilever Limited, decided to enter into a war of wits. And what they did next is being termed as “exceptional customer care service”.
HUL sent Krishnamurthy the same mobile which he had initially ordered on Snapdeal: a Samsung Galaxy Core Duo, along with a letter saying, “The pictures you posted online show that our brand was used in this incident. Vim is one of our iconic brands with some great consumer franchise. We felt bad about it, not to mention what you went through. Here is a small gesture from our side to cheer you up.”
An elated Krishnamurthy posted this on Facebook:
Volkswagen dig on Maruti and Nissan
Last week saw two of the biggest names in the Indian auto industry face flak for not meeting international safety norms. Popular hatchbacks Maruti Suzuki Swift and Datsun Go of Nissan have failed crash tests conducted by Global NCAP, showing high risk of life-threatening injuries.
The international auto testing agency, disclosed that the Maruti Suzuki Swift was put to a crash test and failed. Nissan’s Datsun Go went through the same test, and failed too. Datsun Go scored two stars while the Swift got one. In its report, Global NCAP rated the car structure of the Swift and Datsun Go as 'unstable' saying the latter collapsed when the car was crashed from the front at a speed of 64 kmph, the speed at which most fatalities occur.
So much so, that the consumer safety testing body has asked Japanese car maker, Nissan, to withdraw its compact car Datsun GO from the Indian market saying it was "sub-standard".
In January 2014, Global NCAP published crash test results for five of India’s best-known cars: the Suzuki Maruti Alto 800, the Hyundai i10, the Ford Figo, the Volkswagen Polo, and the Tata Nano. All the cars received zero-star adult protection ratings.
Volkswagen has since decided to offer the Polo for sale in India with two airbags as standard. This model subsequently received a four-star safety rating.
Seeing potential for leverage in these brands’ “failure”, Volkswagen decided to promote the new Polo as the “India’s safest premium hatchback”.
Flipkart-Amazon war
Last month, with the holiday season knocking at the door, e-retailers in India stepped on the gas to attract as many consumers as possible. E-retailers started their own marketing to lure consumers with wide range of products, heavy discounts, single day delivery promises, buy-one-get-one free and all such offers that can be thought of. However, not all what is promised is delivered in the way they seem to happen.
Flipkart had put up huge billboards at OOH spots on highways and close to Amazon's Indian headquarters for its festive season sale campaign called ‘Big Billion Day.’
However on the big day, it turned out to be a big blunder. Flipkart's infrastructure crumpled on the Big Billion Day with products vanishing from the cart, rampant order cancellations and system failure leading to the reality falling short by several miles of what was claimed in the promotional ads.
But during this Flipkart fiasco, Amazon stole the show as customers moved away from Flipkart and landed in the Amazon basket, and with the kind of dominance that Amazon holds in the ecommerce sector, it steered the Indian fanfare for online shopping from Flipkart to its own cart.
With such episodes on the rise, it seems all brands are looking at is grabbing the consumers’ eyeballs—by hook or by crook.
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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
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'
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 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
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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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
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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