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COCA-COLA HAI YAQEEN CAMPAIGN

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COCA-COLA HAI YAQEEN CAMPAIGN

Coca-Cola launched the local adaptation of its global “open happiness” and “reasons to believe” campaign by combining the two to give a patriotic appeal and came up with a new campaign, taglined in Urdu, “Ho yaqeen tou khulein khushiyan”.

As a firm believer of positive change, I was pleasantly surprised to see the ad campaign on TV that was launched at the start of this year. According to Mr. Fahad Qadir – Director Public Affairs & Communications, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan & Afghanistan Region, “Coca-Cola realized there was a need to address the prevailing negativity and disappointment amongst masses, and the beginning of 2012 was chosen to unveil our campaign. A new year is associated with new beginnings, new goals and identifying areas of self-improvement which serves to compliment the overall message of the campaign; of taking ownership, believing in yourself as an individual and a collective entity, but most importantly believing in a better Pakistan.” Charged with emotions and patriotism, the ad campaign carries the ‘feel good’ factor and successfully breaks through the negativity that surrounds all of us every day and invites the audience to keep the faith alive and look at the positive side of things. Personally, I found the campaign deeply moving and really apt to the times we live in where we mostly hear one bad news after another that in turn breeds many insecurities and negative thoughts within almost every Pakistani citizen. Through inspiring Urdu poetry, the “Hai Yaqeen” song in the TVC draws a positive example with every negative one that we face as Pakistanis in our everyday lives; leading to higher spirits and a renewed commitment to take ownership of our country and many reasons to believe in a better tomorrow.

Shedding some light on why the campaign was launched and what purpose it fulfilled for the brand, Coca Cola Pakistan, Mr. Qadir said, “Unwillingly and increasingly so, Pakistan is rapidly falling into a culture of negativity and despondency. Such undesirable attributions have severely impacted the mindset of the citizens of Pakistan, making it extremely difficult for them to look beyond this misconstrued world view. At Coca-Cola, we realized there was a pressing need to address this issue, and launched a campaign to shift the focus on all that’s right and the reason to believe in a better/positive Pakistan.”

He also added, “Globally, Coca-Cola stands as a beacon of happiness and optimism and has always provided a strong point of view which addresses current societal trends and ignites a new set of beliefs. Through the campaign we intend to project a culture of positivity, refresh optimism and define ‘Yaqeen’ as the catch-phrase which stands for optimism and looking at things positively, i.e. yaqeen in a better Pakistan.”

Lately, Coca-Cola Pakistan has employed a local prism to its campaigns. It was a general observation that majority of Coca-Cola ads in the past were global campaigns, in some cases only slightly tweaked for this region. However, recently more local initiatives, such as Coke Studio and even the “Reasons to believe” campaign that was completely localized to stir a new sense of optimism and positivity in Pakistani audience, is exactly what Coca-Cola needed to strengthen its footprint in Pakistan. These are the kind of extraordinarily creative campaigns that would let more Pakistanis associate with Coca-Cola on a deeper and more emotional level and would certainly help Coca-Cola to climb the brand ladder a few notches up. Talking about several original campaigns tailor-made for Pakistani market, Mr. Qadir informed, “If you look at the major campaigns throughout the year, they are locally developed e.g. Coke Studio, Sprite Cricket Next, Minute Maid etc. However, The Coca-Cola Company provides its country branches with a campaign framework which is then localized to suit the dynamics of the country the campaign is running for.”

Talking about the advertising strategy behind the “Hai Yaqeen” campaign, Mr. Qadir commented, “Our overall advertising strategy is to inculcate a sense of optimism through  various channels of communications.”

The campaign was executed using multiple media vehicles. While the TVC formed the centre stage for the campaign and communicated the key message effectively, the rest of the media vehicles such as print, radio and outdoor were used with equal efficacy to sustain the brand message.

As digital, and particularly social media continues to grow in Pakistan, digital activation was the second most important marketing communications tool for this campaign that further amplified the communications message and engaged a wider audience across a variety of vehicles such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. Coca-Cola introduced a campaign-centric website by the name of WorldofYaqeen.net which redirected the visitors to the campaign’s Facebook app on the international Coca-Cola page. With interesting creative depicting a globe with different activities and signs of happiness, the app provided access to Yaqeen gallery, Yaqeen blog and the booklet ‘101 Reasons to Believe in a Better Pakistan’. The Yaqeen gallery depicted photos and videos by Facebook users to showcase a positive aspect of Pakistan. The blog, on the other hand, encouraged Facebook users to enter into a dialogue and suggest what can be done for a brighter future of Pakistan. Similarly, the reasons to believe survey asked participants to answer questions about how often they perform small acts of kindness in their daily lives. The booklet narrated true stories of inspiring people from Pakistan who have made a positive difference in society. The Facebook app was further integrated with other social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube. The ‘Ho Yaqeen’ series produced by SOC Films owned by none other than Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy also gained a huge fan following on YouTube. The result was phenomenal as at the conclusion of the campaign, Coca-Cola achieved more than 16 million impressions on the digital media.

Commenting on the digital activation, Mr. Qadir said, “We engaged opinion leaders from various sectors of our society to help us spread this message. As the interest grew, more and more people (mostly on social media) started writing about the campaign.”

Ho Yaqeen – a series of documentary films produced and directed by the Oscar-winning film maker, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, in collaboration with Coca Cola, lent an air of authenticity to the entire campaign and made the audience feel that Coca-Cola Pakistan was taking active steps to make a real difference in the way people think instead of just , lip servicing. Talking about the Ho Yaqeen documentary project, Mr. Qadir said, “The Ho Yaqeen series celebrates Pakistan’s unsung heroes by documenting their stories, with each of the six documentaries related to one six different individuals from a different region of the country. The Ho Yaqeen series complements the ongoing campaign by spreading moments of inspiration and reasons to believe in a better Pakistan.”

About Coke Studio which has been a huge success story for Pakistan, he said, “We are very proud of Coke Studio’s paramount success, it has become a global phenomenon and a platform asset for the Company. Coke Studio YouTube Channel is the number 1 Channel by any brand in Pakistan, which  has achieved 75.3 + million hits. Coke Studio Pakistan has a global viewer base; more than 47% visits come from outside Pakistan. Subsequently it has an immense following on Facebook- there are more than 1.5 million likes on the Coke Studio page. The success of Coke Studio can be measured by the fact that other countries have adopted it with their local versions.”

Ogilvy is the official Coca-Cola’s creative agency globally and its office in Pakistan has the credits of executing the “Hai Yaqeen” campaign in the country. As far as the digital media is concerned, the scope of digital has grown enormously in Pakistan and hence a separate digital media agency, Symmetry, was given the responsibilities of executing the digital aspect of the campaign. One must commemorate them for doing a brilliant job with online content, promoting the campaign across the digital media vehicles and engaging a younger audience that is active online.

Currently enjoying a clear 2nd position in Pakistan’s market, the Coca-Cola brand gained new momentum at the conclusion of “Hai Yaqeen” campaign. The campaign was targeted towards the masses; the notion of being Pakistani concerns every citizen of Pakistan and through this campaign, Coca-Cola aimed to target everyone to project a culture of positivity and optimism.  One of the most impactful 360 degree campaigns of the year, “Hai Yaqeen” nailed it by successfully communicating a beautiful message with great finesse and uniformity on traditional as well as non-traditional media. One of the loudest lessons to learn from the success of this campaign is how the strength and potential of digital media can be utilized to successfully connect and interact with a large audience and make your campaign become talk of the town.  It managed to inspire millions of Pakistanis through concerted communication efforts leaving the brand in the spotlight that it truly deserves and will continue to do so with the kind of creative flair they are showing of late. Hats off to Coca-Cola’s creative, media and digital team for this one!

 

 

 

 

DIGI BYTES: Website Reviews

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DIGI BYTES: Website Reviews

Featuring website reviews for the digital marketer: a look at Pakistan’s finest online resources.

 MEDIAPOONDI.COM
by Hammad Ilyas

With a very catchy name, Mediapoondi is generating a lot of waves in the local marketing circles. The brain child (literally) of a digital strategist and a media planner has become a go-to place for latest campaigns, research material and media news. The idea behind the launch of this website is a joint effort to compile all the high-quality research that the couple does as a daily part of their jobs.

The website has different sections including ‘News’, where all the latest happenings in the media and agency industry are covered; ‘Traditional Media’, which features articles about the latest programs being aired on local TV channels and then there are sections for ‘Digital Media’ and ‘Social Media’. There’s also a guest section called ‘The Viewpoint’ where opinions come in from everywhere. Recently the website hosted an interview with Akshey Karla, the Social Media Officer for Green Peace, India. As an addendum to the website, Mediapoondi also has active Facebook and Twitter pages.

DEALTODAY.PK
by Hammad Ilyas

As the name suggests, DealToday is an online venture currently in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad which posts a variety of discounts and services provided by different food, beauty, clothing, photography and other such lifestyle businesses. Initiated by Shahrukh Chaudhry, who is currently the Director Marketing at 14th Street Pizza, is a young, enterprising marketer who also has Homexpress to his credit. The idea behind DealToday is to capture the market of ardent internet users who are looking for goods and services via the internet. The website works in a simple way where “deal sellers” (businesses) collaborate with DealToday and offer their products at reduced prices. Deal vouchers are delivered to those registered users who “buy” the “deal” through the website. Payments are collected utilizing the cash-on-delivery mode when vouchers are delivered to customers, who can avail deals within a fixed timeframe.

Since online buyers are fast increasing in Pakistan, the demand for better forums of shopping are also growing in number. DealToday adds value by offering discounted deals at more affordable prices and providing a forum for sellers to promote their products, giving a boost to their businesses and augmenting their sales in the process.

Websites like DealToday are likely to grow in number as this decade is expected to mark the boom of business and trade over the internet.

Hammad Ilyas is a certified advertiser on Google Adwords Network and a firm believer in the digital media industry. He, along with his team, has worked to make TNBT the Digital Media Agency of the Year.

BRANDSYNARIO.COM
By Farhat Kapadia

A unique, interactive web portal established in 2006, Brandsynario.com provides a platform for advertising, media and marketing professionals, students, advertisers and agencies, publications and research agencies; both local and international to share their wealth of experience and bring them together for mutual benefit from the interaction. It provides up-to-date information on the happenings in various industries; interviews from industry experts; webinars on topics of current interest; sections on CSR, company profiles and directories, and research that provides insights into key decision making factors. Some of the segments on the website are: Cinesynario for entertainment, Brandepreneur for entrepreneurs, Brand Activation, Viral Marketing, Blog, Digital Media, and Brandsynario Exclusive which portrays brands through short films, event coverage and featured campaigns. Brands can also feature polls on the website. Brandsynario covers all aspects related to the marketing of a brand; be it outdoor, activation, digital, viral or mobile.

Farhat Kapadia is the Marketing Manager for Brandsynario. She can be reached at farhat.mehboob@synergyadvertising.biz

Pring: The Everyman’s Social Network

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Pring: The Everyman’s Social Network

As originally published in Synergyzer Issue 6 – 2012

By Ghalia Mirza

You don’t draw the attention of Red Herring, a leading global magazine on technological innovations, unless you are as promising as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, or eBay, to name a few.

Hence, when Pring, Pakistan’s very own internet and cellular social network, was included in the magazine’s list of 2012 Asia Top 100, and more recently, won the Red Herring 2012 Top 100 Global award, it was due to its innovative use of technology, entrepreneurial edge, and the difference it has made to cellular communication in a short while.

Now, there’s no looking back from here.

The social media revolution is taking place differently in Pakistan than the developed world. All major social networks are accessible via the internet and there are about 20 million internet connections in the country. But comparing this number to the nearly 120 million active cellular connections shows that mobiles reign when it comes to connecting with others in Pakistan.

The mobile has been our modern companion everywhere we go for a decade now; from telling us today’s weather to where that new restaurant is and how to get there.  People are using their cell phones to socialize and find out what’s going on around them, besides just taking calls.

Yet, the benefits of this innovation still cannot be utilized by those 95% Pakistanis who are not smartphone users; and this is precisely the gap that Pring is working to bridge.

“You should be able to socialize, access information and services on any device, anywhere,” says Nash, the founder of Pring. “Whether you have a smartphone or a basic cellular device that can only take calls and send SMS, it’s important that you stay connected to information and services.”

The social network works on SMS, the internet, as well as smartphones. This opens up 120 million mobile users to social and business opportunities that were out of reach before. Circles of friends can talk to each other collectively. People from big cities, small cities and rural areas alike, are able to create and join communities of shared interests or a cause.

Millions of conversations are happening on Pring. News, sports, books, religion, celebrities, you name the topic and chances are a debate is taking place right now. Instead of waiting to log on to the internet and accessing a social network to see what your friends and family are up to, Pring lets you connect and communicate with them anytime, anywhere. Currently, more than 4.5 million users are already experiencing this.

The best part is that texting had always existed for mobile users; its ‘mainstream’ and we’re all pretty used to it. What Pring has done is open a gateway for mobile users to connect to a bigger world through a secure platform.

To become a part of Pring, all you have to do is log on to www.pringit.com and sign up by entering your email address and your mobile phone number. You can also join by sending an SMS from your cell phone to 9900. You can invite friends by entering their mobile phone numbers or search for communities, celebrities, or brands and choose whoever you’d like to follow. Pring’s Public Feed is a live feed with the most recent updates by public communities or businesses. You will get regular updates from the people who you are following and can opt out at any time. A status update can be made from your mobile or from your Pring account on the web and it will go to everyone who is following you.

The idea of Pring was pieced together slowly over a span of about 3 years by founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Pring, Muhammad Nasrullah aka Nash, a graduate of Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute. Working at the telecommunications giant Ericsson, Nash felt there was a gaping separation between entrepreneurs and millions of consumers.  After a lot of experiments, Pring final came into existence in May 2009 and has been growing phenomenally since then, gaining 4.5 million users by now. Compared to this, Facebook and Twitter, the world’s biggest social networks, have been in Pakistan for nearly seven years, with 6.5 million and 1 million users in the country, respectively.

It’s fascinating to see how much can be done with mobiles if done right. College and university events, involving hundreds of students, are organized through Pring. At the recently held 3-day annual Softcom event at GIK University, Pring was used to alert students of the various activities going on around the campus. Also, when the issue of a separate Seraiki province in Pakistan was a hot topic, 20,000 people on Pring were asked to participate in a survey, asking whether it should come into existence. An overwhelming response came in a matter of hours. Besides this, when dengue fever broke out across the country in 2011, hundreds of Pringers turned into citizen journalists, texting in the names and locations of people around them who had been afflicted with the disease. The information was collected to give a clear picture of which areas were most affected.

The BBC recently published a report about a study group on Pring that helps students with questions on several subjects. It also gives students tips on how to take college examinations, all through SMS. The community, called D-study, started by two MBBS students, Mehsim Samir and Waqar Karim, has now grown to include hundreds of students and teachers, eager to educate and help others.

With such a fantastic response by people, businesses are not to be left behind. From corporations such as Coca Cola, TCS, and Telenor, to small and medium business owners, marketers are on Pring, keen to be where consumers are. P&G’s Ariel built up publicity around the TV program, ‘Ariel Maa’, by engaging followers with stories about motherhood, which thousands of people responded to by sending in anecdotes and shout-outs to their mothers. Sprite used Pring to spread its Cricket Next campaign on a scale wider than ever before, getting hundreds of thousands of registrations through it. Followers were sent texts, to alert them where the campaign was headed next. It was organized, hassle-free and fun! When Chughtai’s Lab wanted a one-on-one connection with its customers, Pring was the network they turned to for delivering test results. Mobile social ads may be the most powerful marketing tool yet since mobile messages have a 97% probability of getting read, allowing advertisers to get to know their customers through direct communication and immediate feedback.

Text marketing can be supported by traditional marketing. Pring has been integrated smoothly in 360-degree advertising campaigns that include outdoors, TV and radio. But mobile marketing is a flight that has just taken off. The cell phone is an intimate gadget. Given its private nature, mobile marketing must be tread upon very carefully. Pring’s main goal is to respect that privacy. Push messaging? Don’t even think about it. Spamming or spraying bulk messages to millions of users in one go is the exact antithesis of what Pring is striving for. It’s about forming long-term relationships and actually engaging users, rather than merely gaining followers.  The mobile users give their consent before they begin receiving messages from any business. Pring always gives users the choice of ‘opting out’, that is, stop receiving messages at any time. Privacy settings let users control who sees their information and updates and who can follow them. A mobile app version of Pring has just been developed to be used on smartphones.

This is just the beginning for Pring. The future holds endless possibilities. Booking airline or movie theater tickets through SMS, receiving text message coupons automatically as soon as you walk in a store, getting directions to a particular destination, accessing information from the web without actually logging on to the internet; these are all ideas the Pring team is working on to bring to life.

Using a mobile is simple, inexpensive, and popular, which is just the right mix of ingredients for a gadget to become an integral part of our lives. Pring has refined and enhanced the meaning of SMS, bringing the whole world right to your fingertips.

 

About the Writer

Ghalia Mirza is a Content Developer at Pring who believes the written word has the power to give birth to revolutions – within the mind and outside.

Social Media – What Should it Anticipate from Pakistan

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Social Media – What Should it Anticipate from Pakistan

Written by Farhan Chawla

We live in a digital world, from the moment we wake up to the time we sleep, we are being bombarded by bits and bytes whether they are in the form of email, instant messaging, social media, text messaging or calls, and every time we use them we leave a piece of information for the marketers to use.

Our digital lives now define our entity and we happily share information on social media websites; like our date of birth, likes and dislikes where we are, where we vacation, and so on, with Facebook ‘friends’ – which could even be people we have only met once – giving access to a gold mine of information to marketers who make extensive use of it for targeting their products.

One very good example of how marketers use data mining techniques was seen during the recent Obama campaign for the 2012 US elections that was able to generate US$1 billion in fundraising.

One of the strategies employed was to host fundraising dinners at locations such as George Clooney’s house on the west coast and Sarah Jessica Parker’s house for the east coast. An extensive research was conducted about the demographics to be targeted that resulted in $15 million raised alone by the George Clooney dinner.

In Pakistan, social media is on the rise with 7.6 million Facebook users. The country ranks 28th in the world with 4.24% penetration, according to Socialbakers.com. Similarly, there is increased penetration of smart phones due to lowered costs and influx of mobile data, currently within 5% of the population. Realizing the enormity of these numbers, Facebook has teamed with local cellular companies providing mobile access to its users.

The popularity of Facebook has inspired a couple of local software applications developers to play a significant role in providing customers easy access through apps to share experiences without connecting to the internet. Pring (www.pringit.com) is a social medium which enables users to connect to their favorite brands through SMS. Brands like Domino’s Pakistan is using Pring effectively to stay in touch with their customers by sending them regular updates and contests via SMS with comments being posted directly upon the international pizza brand’s Facebook page.

Another upcoming startup in local scenario is OlAround (www.olaround.me). Supported by Google, Ufone, P@SHA and Bramerz,  OlAround is the digital concept of loyalty cards, where instead of swiping or punching a card, the customer simply scans the QR code of the outlet to get a Punch, the app’s term for loyalty points, and when enough punches are collected it gives the customer a Free Kick, or reward. The service is solely for Facebook users and provides access through Facebook login, only.

Social media has the potential to make or break a brand. For example, a few years ago, Lays Pakistan faced a nightmarish scenario as a slight rumor about the ingredients used in preparing the potato chips became a full blown public scandal, dipping sales so much so that the company had to address the issue by advertising on electronic media to negate the rumors.

On the brighter side, a simple tweet or share can give millions of dollars worth of free publicity to a brand. The case of Murree Brewery, a Pakistani liquor manufacturer, with no significant presence abroad, is worth mentioning here: Demi Moore’s and Bruce Willis’ daughter, Scout Willis, was arrested for underage drinking while holding a Murree Brewery can last June. The company started receiving inquiries from all over the world, propelling them to expand their business to countries such as the USA, UK and UAE. A similar surge in publicity and sales happened for Ayesha Khurram, a Pakistani designer whose fame skyrocketed overnight as Katy Perry tweeted a picture of herself holding one of Ayesha’s designed t-shirts. The design sold out immediately at her online outlet!

However, not every brand is using social media for its proper potential to reach customers. We do have examples of international brands operating in Pakistan like Nokia Pakistan and Dell Pakistan, who have a strong social presence through Facebook, but other successful local brands like Shan Foods, EBM etc. have a long way to go to be significantly present on social media. What most Pakistani businesses need to realize is that sometimes a simple tweet, post or comment can provide great mileage to their brand, since their customers are connected almost 24/7 with information at their fingertips. For instance, today’s housewives, who are the major decision makers for FMCG brands, are connected through Facebook, actively sharing opinions and surfing through brand pages. Call it a big virtual Tupperware party where the business need not spend anything, only have an active online presence to thwart any negative views and reward the positive. Even just a reply from brands on any comments or complaints can do much to boost the consumer ego and loyalty versus millions spent in advertising. A number of new businesses like the 14th Street Pizza Company realize this and have accumulated a huge following and customer base mainly due to their active social media presence.

Since marketers are still questioning the viability of social media in Pakistan, it is high time they realize that the consumer here is ready, online and talking. It’s up to the brand builders to find out how they can utilize the huge untapped potential they offer.

Farhan Chawla is a pharmaceutical marketer by profession and passionate about everything mobile.  He blogs at www.senseapplied.com and can be reached under the pseudonym schawlaf on all social media networks. 

 

LEADING THE SOCIALSPHERE

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LEADING THE SOCIALSPHERE

 Haseeb Ihtisham, Area Head of Marketing, Nokia – Near East talks about how Nokia Pakistan has strategically utilized Facebook to become the leading brand from Pakistan on the social network.

 Synergyzer: Recently, Nokia Pakistan achieved the milestone of being the first brand from Pakistan to have 1 million fans on Facebook. How does it feel to achieve this milestone?

Haseeb Ihtisham: It is certainly a great achievement for Nokia Pakistan. It reflects that we have a growing fan following in Pakistan especially among youth. What makes us really proud is that we became the most popular brand page on Facebook in Pakistan only nine months after we launched our page. This testifies that our digital media strategy was set in the right direction and eventually helped our page gain maximum momentum. Due credit also goes to our digital media partners in Pakistan for living and breathing Nokia’s digital strategy and taking up targets set as a new challenge. Our strategy was well executed, which helped us achieve exceptional engagement on Nokia Pakistan Facebook page.

Synergyzer: Nokia has been active on the digital front internationally for quite some time. Why was there a delay in launching the brand on that front in Pakistan, even though you have yourself experienced its vivid potential?

Haseeb: It’s true that we initiated our digital presence in more mature international markets much earlier. But the criteria for digital media presence in any country remains the same; we have to see a growing level of activity online, higher adoption rates on social media, increasing conversations and the growth potential in terms of online consumption; which indicates the right time to  establish our presence online. As soon as we saw these trends emerging in Pakistan, we decided to  connect with our target audience here through digital media in new and interesting ways.

Synergyzer: How has Nokia Pakistan gained momentum on Facebook? Does the brand have a similar strategy with Twitter?

Haseeb: Since day one, we were clear about how we want to make our presence felt in the digital media. We all have a fundamental need to connect with people and things that matter to us. People want to reach out to each other: talk, share, laugh, cry, gossip, anything. They share information, exchange greetings, send messages of love– but regardless of the content, its connecting with others that make us who we are. Nokia Pakistan has successfully translated the same level of connection through its Facebook page and introduced compelling content to generate interactivity and initiate conversations amongst our target audience. We wanted our page to resonate with our brand which is all about fun and adventure; hence we made the page activity-intensive, yet  made sure it stayed relevant to the brand. We have celebrated special occasions with our Facebook fans and introduced fun games and activities where they got a chance to win amazing gifts. Hence, we continue to inform, engage and entertain our followers.

On Twitter, our strategy is to keep everyone informed about the latest happenings around Nokia Pakistan; new and interesting stories and our future direction.

Synergyzer: Has Nokia Pakistan’s digital media budget increased this year versus previous years?

Haseeb: This year is the defining year for Nokia Pakistan’s presence on digital media. In February, we launched our online presence through social media, followed by listing the Nokia Pakistan page onto the Nokia global website. All these initiatives demand extensive research and dedicated efforts and to ensure this, we have invested in specialized human resources to manage our social media site and content. To build traffic towards our website and social media pages, we increased our digital spend to introduce new and innovative activities and keep masses engaged.

Synergyzer: Besides Facebook, what is going to be the next digital or social medium that marketers should consider adopting in Pakistan?

Haseeb: Marketers in Pakistan haven’t fully utilized the most popular social medium in the country i.e. Facebook. Brands can do a lot more on it and we will see higher brand presence and engagement, as marketers continue to realize the true potential of this medium.

Other high-potential digital media in Pakistan can be Twitter and Foursquare. Based on the unique benefits that these have to offer, the rate of adoption in Pakistan and social behavior on each of these mediums is likely to dictate how they will be utilized by marketers in future.

Synergyzer: How has the Pakistani market responded to Nokia’s presence on the digital medium versus the international market?

Haseeb: Compared to international markets, Pakistani market has shown phenomenal growth on the digital medium and we expect this trend to continue to grow. A large portion of the market constitutes of young people, who also form a majority of Facebook users. They are vibrant and high-spirited and some of them literally eat, drink and sleep Facebook, which presents a unique opportunity for brands like Nokia to attract them to what they like. That’s precisely what we did on our Nokia Pakistan page and the result is in front of you. The success of our Pakistan brand page has exceeded the expectations of both local and global Nokia teams. The growth rate we have experienced over digital media in Pakistan is better than most of the international markets where we are digitally active.

 Synergyzer: How do you engage bloggers for your brand?

Haseeb: We regularly work with leading bloggers and technology enthusiasts in Pakistan by keeping them updated about the latest happenings surrounding the Nokia brand. This helps generate content on Nokia’s thought leadership, our latest devices in Pakistan, how we are bringing better mobility solutions as well as our future direction.

Synergyzer: How do you use digital media to project your activities and events?

Haseeb: Digital media is a great tool for building pre-event hype and for generating content around events and activities, which hawse have successfully capitalized upon. When Nokia Pakistan is about to do any such activity or event, we usually pitch it to influential technology bloggers who promote it through their blogs and social forums. We provide them with relevant material such as videos or information to generate their own content around it. Also, we introduce teasers on Facebook to generate interest and give regular updates about the event on relevant blogs and our fan page. We start these activities at pre-launch and carry them out through the event and post-launch.

Synergyzer: Do you think digital media has the potential to take over traditional media in terms of marketing and promotion in Pakistan? If yes, when are you looking forward to see it happen?

Haseeb: Marketers are getting more and more convinced about the high-potential of digital media because of its very nature to help us communicate with the target audience on multiple levels. Its versatility, ability to target specific audience, accuracy of measurement, level of interaction and cost effectiveness makes it the next big thing for marketers. Considering the medium’s growth momentum, the digital medium is likely to become the most important and highly utilized media for marketing communications in the next five years.

Synergyzer: Is it the content that works for brands or the frequency of engagement?

Haseeb: Actually it’s a balanced combination of both that drives conversations and user interest on digital media. There’s an increasing number of brand presence on digital media, so to attract audience it is important that the content is interesting and relevant to the audience. At the same time the element of entertainment has to be kept alive through activities that are in line with overall marketing communications objectives and compliment brand personality.

 

 

 

FACEBOOK TIMELINE: A MARKETER’S DREAM OR NIGHTMARE?

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FACEBOOK TIMELINE: A MARKETER’S DREAM OR NIGHTMARE?

As originally published in Synergyzer Issue 6 – 2012

By Ali Alvi & Saira

 As the social media website ages and finds more and more competition around itself, it’s necessary for Facebook to keep presenting its users with new options. The company keeps changing and updating its data usage policy in an attempt to provide users more clarity on how it’s using the information that they share.

These changes are announced through the Facebook blogs. Also, in a bid to keep users and stakeholders informed about any updates in their policy, the social media forum developers have created a section that explains using technology such as cookies to deliver ads, securing the site and offering various features.

One of the very first changes Facebook made to its format included the ‘New Friend Button with Smart Lists’ and ‘Top Stories and Most Recent now in one News Feed’. All of these changes are further incorporated in the new format overall format that Facebook has introduced to its website, called the Timeline format. Even though Timeline aids in increasing ad revenue for Facebook by focusing on user interests and ranking them through graphs, many brands complained of a sharp decrease in fan engagement when the celebrated format was launched. Yet, those marketers with a futuristic vision quickly discovered that the actual problem were the strategies being employed by brands to market on Facebook and soon discovered that using the right techniques will easily give their brands more exposure.

While marketers had mixed reactions to the new feature, users felt the same: Some found it very exciting; taking it as a mode of expression and immediately putting cover photos that defined them, while some were left feeling confused.

These changes give a glimpse of what Facebook plans and does for marketers. It is continuously working to provide better insights on user demographics and psychographics.

Also, it has launched multiple ad formats, the latest being the ‘Promote your post’. This format has a very organic touch; it helps in increasing engagement as well as building audience at a very low cost. Page post ads allows increased reach for content; ensuring that it’s seen by more people. The content shows up on a fan’s newsfeed as a “sponsored post”, and is an excellent feature that helps in getting more interactions and impressions.

Certain changes in Facebook have led to many controversies, too. It’s a hot topic on message boards, where the Timeline is said to be playing a major role in invading user privacy, since it makes visible older information, bringing posts made years back to the forefront. It also highlights more personal entries such as the place of birth and even maps out the user’s favorite hangout spots. This has sparked numerous issues, particularly concerns that this will make it easier for identity thieves and stalkers to profile individuals..

Yet, the Timeline is now a mandatory part of the Facebook experience, for brands and users alike, and apart from these cons, there are pros to the format as well. It provides brands with new options for self-expression: They can now outline their corporate history such as product launches, store openings etc., which simultaneously helps marketers in constructing a narrative for their audience. Also, it gives marketers countless opportunities to educate the public, customize brands and remove the perception of corporate anonymity. While brands work on developing the Timeline loop by adding new milestones as they happen, conversations can be stimulated around major achievements.

Finally, brands will be able to initiate deeper consumer interactions. They will be able to send and receive private messages and take extended customer inquiries off the Timeline and to a private message thread. Brands that constantly create engaging updates and share important milestones will stay at the forefront of users’ attention. Another way to promote brands is to share videos, other than still images. Imagine every time a user likes a brand, the action will share a video, depending on what the brand custodians decide for it project, ranging from showing its benefits to the glamour it holds. This does not mean sharing pictures is not helpful, visual marketing is undoubtedly an all time winner and is still one of the best ways of interaction.

Every change brings along with it certain highs and lows, but it is wise to accept those that are here to stay and start learning how they can help grow your business. As time passes, the changes in Facebook are showing a lot of diversity that may benefit every brand and business, and the results are fast becoming clearer than ever.

 

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: ‘DIG-IT 2012’ DEFINES ‘FIT’

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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: ‘DIG-IT 2012’ DEFINES ‘FIT’

By Quratulain Tejani

 I wonder if more content exposure can be achieved through digital media versus electronic broadcasts: Did you know that human eyes can read 2500 words per minute compared to the ear which listens to only 125 words?

Conventional advertising and the novice, yet exponentially growing, digital media, were running parallel to each other until Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) decided to come up with a one-of-its-kind event to bring both kinds of media at a single common platform. Thus, ‘Dig-It 12’ was organized and was done splendidly well.

With the purchasing power of households and families moving into the hands of digital natives, it is becoming quite imperative that digital strategists and specialists are made an integral part of the marketing planning process. After the welcome address by Javed Jabbar, the conference kicked off with a case study of Coca Cola’s campaigns; how their magnitudes got multiplied manifold due to digital media and integrating the brand’s strategies with it. Shakir Moin – Marketing Director, ASEAN, Coca Cola shared some useful insights into the campaigns’ digital journeys and emphasized how it added value to their brand.

Farhan Qureshi – CEO Starcom, took to the podium after the session resumed and explained the significance of the medium from a media buyer’s perspective. Traditional marketers are not migrating to digital because they believe in myths like:

  • Digital does not give a good ROI
  • It doesn’t give a sexy sell, or
  • They don’t know it well enough yet.

The panel discussions and syndicate sessions later in the day bombarded the participants with mind blowing facts and statistics. Amir Paracha from Unilever distributed brands into digital agencies last year after realizing the importance of digital media, and with that experience, took the audience briefly through the company’s digital journey.

Pakistan momentarily has the highest internet growth rate in the South East Asian region. 7.8 million Pakistanis are on Facebook and an average internet consuming Pakistani watches 97 minutes of videos on YouTube a day. 65% of the people now look up for brands themselves on the internet and post comments, queries, complaints and suggestions on the brand pages. Digital is very interactive. So is it just about fans or is engagement a more integral part of digital? Nick Whetham – GM, Tribal DDB Gulf, says it’s all about interaction and building customer-oriented brands.

Ufone from the telecom sector and Geo TV from the electronic media have witnessed the highest levels of Facebook activity and emerged as digital leaders in their respective industries. On November 9, Ufone posted a picture of Allama Iqbal which got over 22,000 interactions. Nokia posted a picture of its gadgets recently on its page which got around 12,000 interactions. Brand presence and activity on the internet is doing wonders to their awareness, recall and customer driven responses, ; leading to massive increments in their sales volumes.

In 2011, only 5% brands were responding to customer queries and feedback, said Adnan Shahid, a number which has exponentially increased to 48% in 2012. For a brand to become more socially devoted, it needs to ‘listen, engage and measure’ audiences through its digital brand pages. Statistics show that the five most devoted brands in Pakistan (in sequential order) are Telenor, Mobilink, Talk Shawk, Djiuce, and Body Shop.

A lot of numbers and statistics were added by Richard Webb – CEO, Effective Measure; Imtiaz Noor – Country Manager Pakistan, Effective Measure; Aly Mustansir – Head of Marketing and Brand Management, HBL; Monis Rahman – VP, DPAP and CEO Naseeb Networks; Babar Bhatti – CEO, Mutual Minds; Salman Abedin – Consultant, JWT; Kieran O’ Sullivan – Head of Digital, JWT (MENA); Naeem Zamindar – CEO, Wateen Telecom; and other renowned speakers and industry leaders.

Another interesting digital avenue for brands to reach their desired audience is ‘Mobile Marketing’ which was also the focus of ‘Dig It 2012’. According to PTA, there are 120.5 million mobile subscribers in Pakistan out of which 20 million users consume mobile internet. Michael Leander said there are around 5 to 6 million smartphone users in Pakistan and the number is still growing.

The last session was a debate on the shift that is required by traditional marketers from conventional to a more digital driven brand promotions strategy. Mehmood Nanji – Advisor, Millac Foods, believes that digital should be a crucial part of brand strategy yet traditional media cannot be eliminated. Brands need the latter media but in the coming years, the most thriving brands will be those that are digital leaders or adapters and will survive the cut-throat cluttered competition in the digital age.

“Learn to walk before you run,” said Yasir Riaz who believes that digital strategies of brands should be formulated around this idea. It’s high time that every brand starts walking as the day is not far when they’ll have to start running to save themselves from becoming history.

 

Quratulain Tejani is currently majoring in advertising and public relations from SZABIST. She has a flair for writing and is a social media fanatic. She tweets @qtejani

IOBM LIPDUB 2011

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IOBM LIPDUB 2011

By Zuhair Abbas Merchant & Haris Naeem Nini

Why would a colorful ensemble of people, dressed to the nines, show up on an early Friday morning to sing and dance? It wasn’t a competition nor were there any commercial gains for the producers. It was simply school spirit. Seven hundred students from IoBM, from every clique came together to serve one purpose: to represent their university in the craziest way possible. From alpha nerds to airheads, we had every character stereotype head-banging and sashaying to the same songs.

LipDubs are one-shot music videos that have been organized and recorded around the world in many universities and offices and made viral through popular social media websites. They celebrate diversity and portray color and vigor in what might seem an otherwise dull setting. Since there are no rehearsals held, spontaneity and self-direction are very much recommended. People take the day off, hunt through their wardrobes for the zaniest outfits, put on loud garish makeup and participate through lip-synching and dancing.

While IoBM holds the honors for organizing the first Pakistani university LipDub, it also braved the act by attaching a theme to it and creating a mash up of three songs. The theme of IoBM LipDub was, “Fighting Labels and Confronting Your Weaknesses”. Our purpose was augmented with a need to portray a softer side of Pakistan. In a broader sense of the term, we were rooting for the underdog. Pakistan has always been conspiracy’s favorite child and the people of Pakistan try extremely hard, to fight labels, on an individual, as well as an international front. The prologue of the video showcased one of the directors standing against a spotlight with his own personal labels cast across his face.

IoBM LipDub was the fruit of four weeks of labor. After pitching the idea to Talib Karim and Sabina Mohsin, the patrons of IoBM, and presenting it in front of faculty advisors and student society Presidents, who were thrilled to be on board, we got ourselves a desk in the student activity centre and started creating hype. The LipDub corner was decked with balloons, ribbons, videos of other university LipDubs and an enthusiastic crew of costume directors, choreographers and art directors who were giving advice to people and manning flash mob rehearsals. Social media was ablaze with a LipDub Concept Photoshoot on our official Facebook page which became viral and was lauded unanimously. Our photo-shoot showcased the artsy, glamorous, fun side to our university. We sent customized messages to everyone registered with us, informing them of meetings, flash-mob rehearsals, and coordination with costume directors and so on.

Several administrative hurdles later and having sealed the deal with the cameraman mere hours before the shoot, we reached the university at seven in the morning. We had requested the management to run transport facility for a few area networks so that more students could be easily accommodated. Two hours later the sound system was in place, the decorations were hung and we announced that the shooting of the flash mob would begin. Even though most students had already attended the rehearsals and were aware of the choreography, some had trouble keeping sync with their peers. Within half an hour, all participants were neatly arranged in a grid in the expansive convocation ground and were ready to face the camera. We had an overhead camera shooting from the rooftop and two cameramen within the crowd for dual perspective.

Organizing seven hundred people in that snaky passageway from the IT building to the Student Activity Centre exit was a tough feat to accomplish. While some participants weren’t ready, some were adamant on staying with their friends at the expense of disrupting the flow of the shoot and some could not act even if their house was on fire. Hours later, after returning with disastrous test run results and convincing participants to look happy, exaggerate musical movements and act for the camera, we took a conclusive shot and it has been seen by several people worldwide. The biggest drawback lay in the fact that the participants were too rigid in their comfort zones and found it difficult to ‘let themselves loose’.

A month after the shoot, having edited and sorted out the formalities, the video was prepared for a premiere in the university auditorium. The over-capacitated auditorium, brimming with eager-eyed students, sat to witness the biggest event in the history of their university. Every scene was welcomed with zealous whistles and catcalls. The response was genuinely overwhelming. Eventually, three weeks later, the video was hosted on YouTube and soon became the top most viewed video (events category) in Canada (where Haris lives). Today, at over 100,000 views the IoBM LipDub stands tall and proud for having accomplished what many talented individuals dream about and for having started a similar trend among other universities.

 

 

AUGMENTED REALITY: GETTING REAL!

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AUGMENTED REALITY: GETTING REAL!

Compiled by Dosti Zahra

To state the definition, augmented reality is the term used for a camera-enhanced view of a physical real-world environment, where virtual elements are merged with a real-life scene creating a ‘mixed reality’ of virtual elements and the real world. These virtual elements could basically be anything, such as 3D models, video, web information and so on. If AR begins to be implemented in Pakistan, you could view a street in Saddar, Karachi through your phone camera and could actually see the buildings that existed there, what they looked like in their glory and could learn their history immediately. Similarly, if you visited Lahore, for example, you could point your smart phone’s camera down the road and in return, be presented with information or data relative to nearby interest points such as shops, eateries and prime tourist spots. All this and a lot more is possible with AR technology such as bringing home a brochure and trying on all the luxury watches available in it.

As a marketing and sales tool, the scope for augmented reality is endless. Any sales person will tell you that the ability to put a self-demonstrating version of your product in your prospective customer’s hand is crucial, but not always possible, or is it? AR makes it possible for customers to visualize any product regardless of size or location. There is scientific evidence that shows by simply touching a product for a few seconds, people get attached to it that often leads to buying or even paying more for the item. Marketing and sales teams assisted by augmented reality are able to achieve this type of connection. This is especially powerful as research into the psychology of sales indicated that people become personally attached to a product within the first 30 seconds of contact when presented with a physical or virtual item.

To use augmented reality all you need is a standard computer with a webcam or a smart device such as a phone or tablet with a camera. If using a more advanced commercial brand of augmented reality, there may be a small download required when viewing the augmentation through a web browser. The download is typically less than 1MB and obtained and installed no differently than any other simple browser plug-in. If viewing an augmented reality experience on a smart phone or tablet device, you will be required to download the application just as you would with any other application you might install on the device. There are no special configuration requirements and installation should be transparent to the user.

Augmented reality is a fast growing technology and the ‘must have’ marketing tool which is helping transform the way we engage information. AR is already being used as part of marketing communication to help bring brand experiences to life; it has also been used to drive traffic to digital campaigns or as a part of coupon or redemption-led sales promotion strategies. Marketers are driving growth in AR and data from ABI Research has proven that the market for augmented reality will reach $350m (£218m) during 2014 – and that is just in the US alone. Augmented reality has undergone a period of fast growth and the adoption of the first wave of market-based technology is now being used productively. Recent research by Hidden Creative demonstrates just how marketers are embracing the technology. Research has shown that events, conferences, brochures, online campaigns and pitches are the most popular uses of AR. The technology has the ability to bring to life intricate architecture and engineering designs. In these markets, putting the product in the audience’s hand is typically costly, difficult, dangerous or impossible but not when done through augmented reality. Marketers are also using the technology to add a visual representation of the product or service to their collateral through AR, and consumers can access richer and more immersive information via their smart devices, laptops, PCs and webcams.

Some of the biggest companies in the world are using AR e.g. Lego has implemented in-store kiosks that allow customers to hold a Lego product box up to a camera and see the item inside build itself into a virtual model of the product; BMW uses augmented reality for training purposes as engineers are equipped with eyewear that overlays virtual information specific to procedure used in the construction or repair of their automobiles and so on.

Hence, AR is being hailed as the next big step in technology, especially for marketers and clients and is expected to become more commonly used. Whether our market will utilize this technology and its many benefits remains to be seen.

 

Content provided by 7WIN

 

 

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