Rediffusion Y&R creates the launch campaign of "Mahuaa Khobor'

Rediffusion Y&R, a leading communications agency in the country recently crafted the launch campaign of the news channel "Mahuaa Khobor' in Kolkata. The campaign was divided into two phases. Pre launch and launch. The pre launch phase, a teaser campaign, had outdoor hoardings and giant cut outs of words "Ki Khobor?' , a popular Bengali greeting as much as it literally translates into "What's the news?' at prime traffic crossings to generate curiosity.

The consumer insight of the campaign was "The Bengali never ceases to surprise you' i.e the Bengali has an opinion on everything and always seeks information on subjects that have nothing to do with what he does in life or his place in society. The Role of "Mahuaa Khobor' for this target audience is therefore that of a Facilitator of Enlightened Expression that enables them to justice to the aforesaid Bengali trait . "News from the world over is now on every lip' was the product underpinning that connected the consumer propensity to the launch of the news channel.

Thus as many as nine identifiable consumer stereo-types were depicted in the campaign holding forth on subjects one would hardly expect them to talk about . So If there was a retired septuagenarian talking about Facebook being the third largest populated land in the world after China and India' , a young female student on a tram car was shown musing as to who would be the successor to Ratan Tata at Bombay House. There was equally the mother of a schoolgoing child talking about Sashi-Sunanda's "hattrick' wedding , a typical coffee house intellectual on Bollywoood gossip , a serious professor in a library on the sensex like fluctuation of Hilsa prices , an elderly lady in a fish market on the CWG controversy , not to speak of a unemployed youth on ozone layers to mention a few.

Word play and puns obviously had a big role in the campaign and this was brought alive particularly well in the very realistic radio renditions with the ambient sound and local twangs complete.