INTRODUCTION

Naturals is one of the largest and most affordable salon brands in India, that caters to a whole potpourri of people from different walks of life. Naturals flourished over the years to become a name synonymous with hair and beauty care in India. Naturals India created quite a lot of buzz with their first social media campaign this Christmas based on Santa getting a makeover #MynewSanta followed by Santa goes Natural #SantagoesNatural.

On January 28^th  2014 11.30 am amidst political trends like #ArnabVsRahul , #RaGa , Rahul Gandhi , Modi #ThePurpleBox took twitterverse by surprise trending at No.2 in India. This signalled the launch of Naturals second social media campaign with a mystery surrounding #ThePurpleBox and contest promising loads of gifts , fun and surprises.

OBJECTIVES

The Objectives of #ThePurpleBox campaign by Naturals India are very loud and clear. By utilizing the mystery and curiosity appeal surrounding #ThePurpleBox the brand intends to :

1.     Create awareness, buzz and curiosity about #ThePurpleBox which is basically a pre cursor/build up to reveal something bigger and better.

2.     Engage with tweeples, crowd source views, suggestions and content from netizens across the country enticing them with contests involving surprises, gifts and lots of fun.

EXECUTION

Naturals India initiated the build up to reveal campaign by putting up teaser posts like

Stay Glued to @Naturals_India from tomorrow.. There is something huge which is awaiting ! :)
— Naturals (@Naturals_India) January 27, 2014

We have a certain number of gifts to be given today.. Any guesses on the number? Lets see if any one guesses it right?
— Naturals (@Naturals_India) January 28, 2014

This was followed up a change in the cover picture on twitter as well as facebook Introducing #ThePurpleBox and asking people to help the brand in opening the box.

SO we have a huge purple box with us!! And What do we have in store for you ?? Stay Tuned!! Rt #ThePurpleBox pic.twitter.com/onwOzXrMch
— Naturals (@Naturals_India) January 28, 2014

So there is gng to be 5 lucky ones amongst you who will know whats inside #ThePurpleBox .. DO you think you are one among the 5?
— Naturals (@Naturals_India) January 28, 2014

EXECUTION (Contd)

Twitter verse across the country joined in the frenzy to play and win the contest which comprised of five questions and the answers to those questions had to be witty , wacky and out of the box.

The contest received a humongous response from tweeples and the answers to these questions were actually very interesting , creative and hilarious at times.

OUTCOME

The outcome as desired by @Naturals_India #ThePurpleBox was trending till late evening.

ANALYSIS

The timing for the campaign was spot on as twitter verse was bugged and irritated with all the political issues trending, the only element of fun for them was funny spoofs on all the main stream leaders amidst this political chaos #ThePurpleBox managed to bring in the elements of curiosity , real fun and surprises which was received heartily by the target audience.

The Twitter Campaign looks like a promising teaser , a build up to reveal something bigger and better which Naturals India has in store. The idea of having a mysterious box in the lines of Pandora box is brilliant and moulding it with the Brand’s identity and colors will definitely aid in strengthening the connect between Naturals and the color purple this in turn will increase brand recall.

Although the campaign was successful , but the campaign could have had a better impact if a random mix of engagement tactics were employed rather than sticking to text response based questions. In their first campaign the brand had utilized video based questions as well so to tap on to the buzz some other interactive trivia could have been conducted. As said #ThePurpleBox in itself is an exceptional idea it can traverse across other channels of digital media quite easily and effectively.

CONCLUSION

Naturals #ThePurpleBox managed to meet the desired objectives of creating the aura of mystery, curiosity around the brand’s circles at the same time the engagement levels were also high. The campaign would have been far more effective if other social media channels were leveraged to the best of their capabilities. The Brand has a strong social media presence over facebook , youtube , google+ and pinterest efforts should be made to connect all these networks seamlessly for greater prospects.

Overall, I would rate the campaign 8.5/10 for the brilliant idea , flawless execution and the perfect timing.  Excellent job by the exceptionally talented young guns at BluGrass.

Let us all await the bigger and better announcement out of #ThePurpleBox from Naturals India.

To download the case study log on to slideshare

              

Naturals ThePurpleBox Social Media Campaign Review from Hitesh Rajwani

On the auspicious occasion of Uttarayan popularly known as Makar Sakranti , a visual retreat awaited the people of Ahmedabad it was the Bollywood super star Salman Khan meeting their super star Shri Narendra Modi. The icing on the cake was both of them flying kites together adding to the aura of happiness and joy spread across the country on the onset of the harvest season.

Picture Source - India Today , Edit Credits - Mrinil Mathur

Elementary science education tells that when two individuals come together to share mutual benefits it is known as a Symbiotic relationship.  As simple as it looks main stream media quotes

“Salman Khan meeting Modi is being seen in political circles as an attempt to appease the minority community on the day of Eid to garner votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections”

      With @BeingSalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/jUyNzj86eD

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2014

From a public relations perspective this was a perfect set up – Salman Khan was slated to come to Ahmedabad for his latest movie Jai Ho's promotion. To propel the message loud and clear about ‘Jai Ho’ Salman Khan could not have asked for a better platform than this.

Final Day of the kite flying festival that too with the man of the moment – Shri Narendra Modi

Looking at things from Shri Narendra Modi’s point of view spending time with Salman Khan would reinforce the fact that he is a leader for the masses and would also confirm his solidarity with the minority community. This also gave him a chance to connect with the mass followers of Salman.

Speaking to reporters following his meeting with BJP’S Prime Ministerial Candidate, Khan said,

“I have been impressed by the development in Gujarat. Seeing everyone happy and content gives me immense pleasure. The best man for the country should be the PM, good man (Narendra Modi) is standing next to me.”

The Dabangg star also evaded the question as who according to him is the best man for the country by saying “God should decide who should be the best man for India” The actor added by saying

“Jo Modi sahab ke takdeer main hai woh unko milega, (Modi will get what is in his destiny),”

                                      Here's a spoof from Amul on the high flyer meeting 

Picture Source Amul's Facebook Page

After the likes of Ajay Devgan , Paresh Rawal, Lataji endorsing and supporting Narendra Modi for PM of India. An appearance from the mass actor Salman Khan is very likely to give a major boost to Narendra Modi’s prospects and accelerate his run towards the post of Prime Minister. Although Salman did not endorse Namo directly, he was very clever with the choice of his words.

Would Jai Ho turn out to be a blockbuster ? Will Narendra Modi become the PM of India ?  The answers to all these questions lies in the future for now all we can say is

Jai Ho Namo !

Alok Nath was trending on twitter few days ago with funny 'Sanskari Babuji' jokes this was followed up on several other social media networks like facebook, quora , blogs , news articles in the form of memes , alok nath Jokes etc. Since then the actor has become an Internet sensation the memes , funny jokes on Alok Nath have gone viral. 

Veteran actor Alok Nath says although he was initially perturbed with the jokes made on him , he is now enjoying them. When asked which jokes he enjoyed the most, he said some of them are really funny 

When Alok Nath was born, doctor said 'Badhaai ho, babuji huay hain!';

Alok Nath is so sanskari, ki uska ghar ka pressure cooker bhi seeti nahi Marta are the ones I enjoyed the most.

Social Samosa - Indian Social Media Knowledge store house shared an interesting insight on the Alok Nath trend on twitter - 

According to Topsy.com, about 42,706 tweets about Alok Nath were tweeted in the past 30 days, with an obvious spike (i.e 42544 tweets) between 29th December to 1st January

Have a look at the complete article - http://www.socialsamosa.com/2014/01/alok-nath/

Here's a case study to analyze the content which lead to buzz around the bollywood actor and how content marketers have leveraged the trend to weave a strong social media presence around the theme of Alok Nath Memes. The content in this case was so compelling and engaging that it is now being crowd sourced. Such is the power of Content Marketing in todays world. While Alok Nath looks amused with the popularity his managers and PRO needs to put on the thinking cap to plan on channelizing the buzz created around his image towards better endorsements and greater prospects.

 
                                  

The Curious Case of Alok Nath - Why did Alok Nath Trend on Twitter from Hitesh Rajwani

      The Curious Case of Alok Nath - Why did Alok Nath Trend on Twitter from Hitesh Rajwani

The Advantages of Content Marketing over Traditional Publicity

Many companies are still clinging to the outdated notion that advertising is the only way to get their message out there. Their default option is to set aside a considerable budget for radio, TV, print and pay per click ads even though the results are often far less than stellar

 But a revolution is upon us, one where savvy companies are winning the day by creating customised articles for their client base in place of interruption-based advertising.They have tapped into consumer hunger for relevant information that will help them to make more meaningful purchasing decisions

Done well, content marketing can help you to make profitable connections with your customers without giving them the hard sell.

Here are some of the key benefits that content marketing has over traditional publicity:

1) The content you write has a much longer shelf life than an advert. Once you stop paying for an advertising campaign it’s no longer in circulation and slips out of the audience’s memory. But quality content can live for days, weeks, months and years, long after you’ve paid for the articles and posts. They can also be modified and freshened up to give them an even longer lifespan.

2) Content writing is much cheaper than paid for ads.

3) People want great content not great adverts. You don’t buy a magazine to read the adverts, or sit in front of the television eagerly anticipating the commercials. Advertising messages interrupt viewing, reading or listening pleasure, and most people switch off. They fast forward the ads, change channels or swiftly turn the pages. And online adverts are incredibly easy to ignore.

4) Traditional TV and radio adverts are losing the audience as we are increasingly spending more time viewing, listening and reading digital content on the Internet.

5) Adverts are a one-size fits all method of promoting products and services, but quality content can be tailored to target specific sections of your audience.

6) Adverts scream ‘buy me buy me’ to consumers which is a huge turnoff. Well written pieces gently draw people in and reward them with something that leads to more meaningful relationships.

7) Content marketing develops trust by providing buyers and potential buyers with information that will help them in some way.

8) Great content can expand your audience exponentially when your readers pass your articles onto their social media networks that in turn may pass them onto theirs. This is how content can become viral.

Content Writing is King

As long as you have something useful to say content writing can be used as a standalone strategy or to bolster faltering advertising campaigns.  By getting into the game now you can steal a march on your competitors.  Those who turn their knowledge into great content to support their brand become industry thought leaders who differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Providing enlightening information about your business through articles and facts can entertain and inform readers and increase sales.

Image Source :- Attach Media

Content Source :- Virtual Global - James Gough