Brands celebrate the spirit of friendship with unique activations

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows you to grow,” thus said William Shakespeare. Let’s tweak it a little for the brands of today: “A brand is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows itself to grow over you.”

When Joyce Clyde Hall an American businessman, founder of Hallmark Cards, started Friendship Day in 1930, little did he know that his business strategy would create a marketing opportunity for so many brands. Right from FMCGs to media houses to e-commerce players – everyone has turned to Friendship Day as a lucrative marketing opportunity.

In keeping with the spirit of Friendship Day, Cadbury Dairy Milk spread the joy with new limited edition flavours – Cadbury Dairy Milk Honey Nut Crunch and Cadbury Dairy Milk Coffee Almond. The limited edition Cadbury Dairy Milk was supported by a 360-degree communication campaign that included a new TVC, as well as outdoor, print and digital campaigns targeting the brand’s core target audience – the youth. On the social media front, the brand leveraged this occasion to bind friends through a Twitter #Madfie contest, which went viral and grabbed eyeballs. Through its Twitter handle and Facebook page, the brand asked friends to get their crazy bunch together, take a mad selfie and post it on their Twitter handle using #Madfie. The chosen best #Madfie will be featured on Cadbury hoardings or cover page. On-ground activations at point of sale in select modern trade and traditional trade outlets also formed part of the campaign to drive awareness for the product.

Meanwhile, Vodafone recently launched Vodafone U to connect and engage with the youth in India. Vodafone U has introduced Million Fun Experiences; celebrating youth and friendship. Targeted at the socially active and increasingly demanding Indian youth, Vodafone U recently launched Back to Campus campaign across 200 colleges and 50 cities in India. The month-long campaign will be driven through campus engagements and social media.

Brands like Caprese, high-fashion woman accessories brand from the house of V.I.P. Industries, has launched a heart-warming digital campaign that cherishes the true spirit of friendship. Presenting the latest collection of Caprese crafted in chic designs, the campaign features four friends who are in different countries and are planning their reunion for Friendship Day.

Speaking about the marketing approach, Sudip Ghose, Vice President -Marketing, V.I.P Industries, said, “We believe this campaign truly expresses the importance of best friends in today’s era of fast-paced lifestyles, and how she makes time for best friends who always remain special throughout her life just like Caprese handbags. Caprese has an international high-fashion collection designed to provide chic handbags with fuss-free glam for every occasion; work, travel or just the everyday on-the- go self! Our campaign will be successful if we are able to help women find a high-fashion handbag suitable for every occasion in her life.”

Witlinger Beer, with its adventurous flavour and zesty spices, offered to take consumers to a fun journey and create to memories with their friends and loved ones. The Witlinger came up with unique ‘Beer Friends forever (BFF)’ at Flyp@MTV Café. The brand also hosted various activities around friendship and moments to create memories. The guests could participate in an online contest of sharing a picture of their friends and a beer with hashtag #BFF and tagging Witlinger and Flyp@MTV Café in their posts. The winners will get 30 per cent discount on all Witlinger brews and can grab exciting goodie bags.

Brands like Amkette and Logitech came up with gaming gadgets like GamePad Pro2 and Logitech Wheels and asked consumers to gift their friends a new gadget this Friendships Day and spend the entire day playing games with them, re-living the childhood memories and at the same time, creating new ones and turning Friendship Day into Gadget Day.

Back2basics farm, a unique Bengaluru-based farm-to-fork startup that supplies organic produce direct from its own farms, too, launched a unique campaign, which allows middle-aged individuals to gift each other a basket full of organic fruits, vegetables and greens, along with a note which wishes them to be healthy, all the year round.

Speaking about the campaign, advertising and marketing veteran, Srinivasan Madhusudhan, Chief Farmer, back2basics farm, commented, “The campaign kicked off with celebrations around Friendship Day, whereby the company encouraged middle aged individuals to gift each other baskets containing organic fruits and vegetables. This unique first-of-its-kind Friendship Day campaign not only upheld the very essence of friendship, but also sought to promote a healthier livelihood amongst people who are in their middle ages.”

Giftease.com, a leading gifting portal, decided to customise this day to extend the bond of love and friendship to the underprivileged ones. Giftease.com entered into a unique tie-up with NGO Hope for the Children Foundation. Ashish Chandani, Co-Founder & COO at Giftease.com, elaborated, “Through Giftease.com, it is our attempt at recognising and celebrating relationships through the heartfelt gesture of gifting. We are delighted to be associated with Hope for the Children Foundation. Our basic attempt is to get a smile on the face of the underprivileged ones. We also had a variety of options at Giftease.com specifically for the day.”

Meanwhile, this Friendship Day Comedy Central stirred up viewers’ memories with 12 hours of fun with the airing of ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ episodes. Vh1 brought the ‘#Vh1Squad’, where the best friends of the music industry collaborated and produced some favourite tracks.