Focus Circle's Finolex TVC hits boundaries on TV; hits over the top boundaries on SN sites

Finolex Industries is an established name in South India for wide varieties of domestic and industrial sanitation pipes which are also used in agriculture for water dispersing. With a sound base in south Indian markets the company wanted to expand its market base and reach out to every household in India. A dream that was long due for K P Chhabria, Managing Director, Finolex Industries.

Focus Circle studied the sanitation pipes segment and inferred that although sanitation pipes have considerable amount of importance in its usage, it suffers from very low levels of customer involvement. Considered as a mere "hardware', it's the construction and trade fraternity who are involved in the decision making process.

The brief was simple. To make the brand Finolex synonymous to the pipes category. Shoot up the recall of the brand which will create an enquiry for it at the counter. A collective team from Focus circle brands pvt. Ltd. (the advertising wing), Focus media 360 degrees pvt. Ltd. (media wing) and Trinetra Focus (The production and digital wing) got up to the task.

Indians tend to connect the most with films and cricket, it is no secret that these two garner a lot of attention and people associated with these fraternities are revered as demigods. So the best possible way identified to connect with masses on a national scale would require the media strategy for promotion revolved around movies and cricket. Since, Finolex is based out of Pune, partnering with Pune Warriors, the new entrant in the IPL 2011 seemed like a wonderful opportunity to gain visibility in a matter of few days of the game. A sponsorship with The Pune Warriors team paved way for the brand to be hammered with all the players wearing Finolex logos on their Team shirt and at several other stadium sites. The commercial took care of the rest of the challenge.

Focus had to do a commercial that stayed with the consumer for long. It had to be fast, just like the IPL format. Humour was the hook, but the brand had to be ingrained into the message as well else like many other cases, people would remember the joke and forget the brand. Rahool Talukdar, National Creative Director, Focus Circle Brands Pvt. Ltd. said, "We wanted to make a "silly' film which would make people to laugh out loud. We made a different film out of a cliché. Finolex is big in the South and we encashed on it and took it national. Sometimes clichés work. And it did in this case. A miraculous superhero film where 60 runs get scored in a single ball. IPL is a six-hitting format. People couldn't help but smile and talk about the commercial."

Eventually the video became an instant hit on social networking platforms such as YouTube and Facebook garnering more than 20,000 views within two and a half weeks since the ad released on television.