How Saregama Carvaan avoided superficially happy world of gift advertising

India’s oldest music label Saregama has yet again taken upon itself to trigger nostalgic memories of music lovers by launching Saregama Carvaan. The launch of the portable digital audio player with inbuilt stereo speakers is supported by a digital and TV film. The digital film went on air on November 18, which positions Carvaan as the most meaningful gift that the young can give to the seniors in their family and evokes many memories. 

The 5-minute film showcases a couple as they move through life and how a song is an integral part of their relationship. It is the husband’s stressbuster, providing him much solace, happiness and joy. It is also his ‘lori’ (lullaby)! Until one day, the wife passes away and the song ceases to exist. Enter the son, who has been observing the song and its role in his parents’ relationship. So, he brings along Carvaan as a gift, which may never replace the mother’s presence, but most surely bring the song and associated memories back to life. 

Speaking on the insight behind the campaign, Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama India, said that they had conducted an extensive research early on 2015 on the music consumption patterns across different age groups. There was unanimous reaction amongst the older age group that they find it very difficult to consume music of their choice in an easily accessible way. People who have grown up on old Hindi songs find that they can no longer get to listen to their favourite songs in the way they want, especially after the death of cassettes and then CDs. The fact that they are not as digitally savvy as the younger generation to download apps, search for songs, etc., adds to their challenge. 

Mehra added, “With Carvaan, we are using the younger age group as the essential buyer, who will purchase it for their parents and seniors and who then become our primary users.” 

Taking us through the process of creative ideation to the execution of the film, Kawal Shoor and Navin Talreja, Co-Founders, The Womb, said, “This product, along with the gifting strategy, demanded a story which touched hearts and resonated with our TG, that is, 30-45 years. Yet, we consciously stayed away from the casual, flippant and superficially happy-clappy world of gift advertising. This was no chocolate or shirt. This was music, at its purest. Hence, we wanted a real story, with the brand playing a real role in the life of the consumer. Thankfully, a wonderful product which brings alive nostalgia even when you just look at it and music allowed us to do just that. The film has gone viral and is now doing the rounds across many countries in the world.” 

Further commenting on film’s direction, the duo believes that Amit Sharma, Chrome Pictures, was the perfect choice as director as he is considered to be one of the best in the country in emotional story-telling and has a pulse of what will connect with the masses. “He loved the film and not only made it technically great, but also emotionally very rich. Without Amit, this would not have been a story well told,” they added. 

Elaborating on the digital push for the campaign, Mehra stated that the idea is that the brand film encapsulates the nostalgia and the emotion that music instills in relationships, and the company wants people to experience the full story. Through targeted Facebook and YouTube campaigns, it has been able to make the ad reach out to the intended demographic. The brand film has gone viral on its own, with people sharing the same on various messaging services. Saregama is also doing extensive digital PR on the brand film. 

Shedding further light on the benefits of the newly launched product, he said that it is the perfect use of digital technology of today, married to an attractive retro physical form factor. It is simple and easy to use. Anyone from 8 to 80 years will find it simple to use and enjoy the music. Its power packed with 5,000 curated songs across artistes, moods and genres. “We want our users to have the ideal lean-back non-interactive experience ala 70’s Vividh Bharti radio. It also has the entire collection of Ameen Sayani’s ‘Geetmala’, FM Radio, Bluetooth connectivity and USB drive. Saregama has made Carvaan as the perfect gift that the younger generation can gift to your parents, relatives, etc.,” Mehra added. 

Carvaan also has come up with a smaller version – Carvaan Mini, which has 251 of the best evergreen classics from legends like Lata, Asha, Kishore, Rafi and Mukesh. In the coming months, the company will be launching different variants of Carvaan for regional markets, such as Carvaan Tamil, etc. 

Meanwhile, when asked how the year 2017 been for Saregama and what more was in the pipeline, Mehra elucidated, “We launched the product a few months back, in May 2017. In the first quarter post launch, we clocked 95k unit sales, which was our target in 6 months. This was done despite there being no ATL marketing activities, and purely banking on social media, word of mouth and PR. Regarding the ad, the feedback coming from every quarter is that the ad has touched heartstrings. It finds a relevant connect with people across segments and evokes a sense of nostalgia and emotional bonding. Suffice it to say that the demand is currently outstripping supply by a huge margin. This is because of the inherent virality of the product and what it communicates.”

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