Another eye-popping deal from Groupon

After selling onions at an unbelievable price of just Rs.9 per kg and delighting customers by giving amazing gifts in the mystery bag deal worth Rs. 199, Groupon introduces yet another eye-popping deal by partnering with Red Chillies Entertainment to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fans to share the silver screen with Shah Rukh Khan in the most-awaited movie of 2014 – ‘Happy New Year’.

This unique initiative has been designed keeping in mind the Bollywood frenzy in the country, and a desire among millions to act with the best of Bollywood stars. This deal aims at giving a chance to millions of aspirants to showcase their talent on the silver screen.

Adgully caught up with Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India to know more about this partnership.

Speaking about the partnership, he said, “We live in a country, where Bollywood runs in our blood and is almost like a religion to some. It has made us cry, laugh, sing, dance and above all- DREAM to be like one of our favourite stars. Through our collaboration with Red Chillies for their movie – ‘Happy New Year’, we launched a unique and exciting deal, giving Bollywood fanatics a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appear on the silver screen with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah”. Called the ‘One Way Ticket’ to Bollywood, the deal was priced at Rs. 499, giving aspirants a chance to audition and take the first step towards realizing their dream of appearing in a mainstream Bollywood movie.

“We explored in order to give our consumers a unique experience. This has definitely been one of our largest campaigns in terms of scale and we are excited with the overwhelming response we have got,” Wakroo added.

Owing to Shah Rukh’s global fan following, the deal was also launched in multiple countries across the world including Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Dubai, Indonesia and New Zealand. The concept and the idea has seen positive response from SRK fans in and outside India and is definitely one of the most exciting deals they have been offered on Groupon. “Through this deal, we have been able to secure higher levels of consumer engagement and interest, and aim at offering them an experiential feel of what Groupon is all about,” he stated.

The deal is being promoted with an extensive use of a variety of marketing channels such as print, radio and digital. “We are reaching out to the masses through leading publications such as The Times of India in all the metro cities, and The Hindu in the south of India.  Moreover, consumers can also listen to Shah Rukh’s and Farah’s calls for entries on the Radio and view our creative ads on YouTube. Apart from YouTube videos, our extensive Facebook campaign has also enabled us to reach out to a wider audience and the tech-savvy consumer of today’s generation” Wakroo added.

Additionally, UBER and Wave Cinemas also came on board the Bollywood wagon and are supporting them in promoting this unique deal. Consumers who bought the deal were awarded UBER credits worth Rs 1000, while Wave Cinemas partnered with them for on-ground promotions.

In terms of further plans, he said, “Currently, we have partnered with Red Chillies for the ‘One Way Ticket’ deal, in association with Shah Rukh Khan and ‘Happy New Year’. This has truly been a unique collaboration, and one of our most exciting deals ever. We look forward to more such creative collaborations in the future, and aim to consistently offer our consumers some amazing and jaw-dropping deals.”

Another deal, ‘The mystery deal’ where consumers would get a surprise worth way more than the price by buying a surprise package from them & many more including helicopter rides, New year Parties etc. In the past, they have run several exciting deals such as; an exclusive helicopter ride @ just Rs.2500/- in Bangalore, Nirulas Hot Chocolate Fudge @Rs.49, and unconventional deals on services such as Laser eye surgery, amongst others. Very recently they also ran a larger-than-life raffle, wherein the winner received a trip to Las Vegas for two, sponsored by Groupon.

It has been Groupon’s constant endeavour to offer their consumers exciting, innovative and fun deals. World loves Groupon for - Epic Deals. ‘Onions deal’ is one such example, where they sold more than 22 Thousand Kilos of Onions in 279 minutes across 5 days & 78 cities in India. The onions deal is a great example of how they constantly think creatively to surprise their consumers and offer them irresistible deals and experiences. While it was not a simple deal as there were many challenges attached to the idea, experts believe they nailed it with a strong strategy and impeccable execution.

While concluding Wakroo said, “We hope that such creative and innovative deals enable us to connect better with the minds and hearts of our consumers, and fulfill our aim of being one-stop ‘Lifestyle Discovery Engine’ that every consumer turns to before making a purchase.”