Roadblock Advertising: A new word in Marketing Dictionary

Submitted to: Prof. Manisha Karandikar

Submitted by: Monika Soni 50 Luvgun Miglani 51 GLC-RMM (Jr.)

ROADBLOCK ADVERTISING: A new word in the marketing dictionary

In simple words, the new term roadblock advertising is a jargon used to express that your favorite channel on TV or any other press medium could be bombarded with ads of the same brand. In technical terms, the definition of Roadblock advertising describes it as a temporary installation set up control or blocks traffic along a road. On commercial television, the term is used when an advertiser buys up all the advertising on a channel for a given length of time like a full day or across a band of channels at a particular time, thus preventing any other advertiser from being resent at those times. Roadblock advertising is done to ensure greater registration status in a consumers mind11. The most common medium of roadblock advertising is TV, even though it is considered to be expensive but it still manages to create a buzz within the mindset of the consumers. However it is not only TV but the increasing hype is also being created over the online advertisements. The need for roadblock advertisements has been increasing day by day as people want their products to register in the minds of the consumers. We can also underline two situations where roadblock advertising works best; a) when there is a major shift in the communication strategy of a brand; and b) when a new brand (product or service) is launched or when a brand enters a new market. Roadblock advertising can be segregated into two broad categories- vertical and horizontal. 2 Vertical Roadblock is when a particular media network [a channel or a newspaper] is blocked by the marketer for a single day, while Horizontal Roadblock is when different media networks are blocked for a single time slot by a particular brand. Of course, while both have their own advantages, the company should be extremely careful about its choice in this regard; after all airtime in either the Vertical or the Horizontal plan cannot be just bought with a few precious dimes! Therefore, which amongst the two should be used depends completely on the objective one wants to achieve from the campaign as MTVs Swamy advises, Vertical should be used when you want to maximize frequency of your advertisement(s) & Horizontal is to be used if you want to maximize the outreach of your mass communication.2

Situations where roadblock advertisements can be used:3

1. Branding Campaign The most commonly used reason for running a roadblock advertising campaign is for branding purposes. The key here is picking your day and the time that youll run the advertisement. 2. Cookbook Launch When launching a new cookbook into the market it is important to make a quick impact to drive sales. Most publishers use this to promote well known authors and roadblock advertising can also create awareness driving sales online and offline in bookstores.
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Road block a strategy to create or avoid TV traffic jams? Lynn De Souza, October 14, 2009 Roadblock is the new weapon- IIPM Article www.gourmetad.com

3. Shopping Sale During a shopping sale in store or online, running a roadblock advertising campaign will gain attention to your sale by either driving the consumer to your store or your online store. It is important in your advertisement to communicate savings the consumers can expect. 4. New Wine Release By undertaking a roadblock advertising campaign around the releasing of new wine to reach the millions of consumers not only would their online sales increase but also a consumer would also be able to create brand awareness of the product. 5. Consumer Packaged Goods Launch While launching a new product into the market it is important to undertake wide reaching media to capture the attention of consumers. So if its a new dishwasher detergent, tomato sauce or cooking oil which you are launching roadblock advertising is a great way to get the message across. 6. TV show Roadblock advertising can also be used to create awareness with possible viewers of a new TV show or a well known returning season of the show. This is a great way to lift the initial TV ratings and capture new viewers. 7. Popular Shopping Days Roadblock advertising campaigns on popular shopping days like festive seasons will also help in generating sales online and consumers into stores. 8. Gifts Sales Campaigns Key gift giving days like mothers day and valentines always generate sales of gifts online, so it is important to ensure that your target audience spends at your store. By running a roadblock advertising campaign will drive traffic to your store and sales. 9. Movie launch The launch of a movie these days is also extremely important, as the first weekends takings are a clear indication of how successful the movie will be and thus it is very important to use roadblock advertising. 10. Clearance Sale If there is a clearance sale then running a roadblock advertising campaign will gain attention to your sale by driving consumer to your store.

Roadblock Ad- Campaigns

Roadblock advertisers require an impact, an impact which would come from superior strategy, smart targeting, skilful innovation, and masterly execution. The very first roadblock to be attempted on Indian television was way back in 1994, when a small fire extinguisher making company decided to use 9 different commercials to launch its diversification into keep fresh kitchenware. A creative plan adopted by the media planners was that they acquired the telecast rights of a full length feature film and aired only these commercials in every break, so that the viewer got the whole message about the range. However in this case roadblock advertising worked well but there was no improvement in the sales.4 Vodafone: Dialing the winning number5

Roadblock re-appeared in the market with a bang when Vodafone announced change of to the world. Apart from spending 10 crore for the name change Vodafone also used short and long commercials exclusively in all breaks, both vertically and horizontally. Vodafone ran commercials, transition bumpers and contest spots to promote the Vodafone brand to reach 63 million viewers in five languages including Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi and English through the television network including the TV Channels like Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold, Star Movies, Star World, Channel [V], Star Utsav, Star Vijay, Star News, Star Ananda, Star Majha, National Geographic Channel and History Channel. Vodafones roadblock initiative with Star brought in 90-95% brand recall and opened up a new avenue for advertisers wanting to make a splash, said Priti Murthy, national director, Insights, the research arm of media buying agency Maxus. 6 For Vodafone 2009 was another spectacular year. This year the zoozoo campaign became a matter of intense debate and speculation. The zoozoos entered the chart at number onethe first time any campaign had achieved this on its debut. The zoozoos were a profound example of promotion strategy adopted by Vodafone. The characters were a bunch of egg shaped, gibberish speaking and hysterically laughing little white creatures. Each of the 29 Zoozoo commercials revolved around a Vodafone product or service. Soon Zoozoos were everywhere. From the internet to newspapers and magazines to TV channels, Zoozoos swamped

Road block a strategy to create or avoid TV traffic jams? Lynn De Souza, October 14, 2009 www.vodafone.in Brands erect roadblocks on the air to get ahead of competitors- Priyanka Mehra (www.livemint.com)

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even coffee break banter. Facebook had a Zoozoo fan page while the Zoozoo Youtube channel became the most subscribed. Zoozoo became the fourth most searched word on Google. Things you didnt know about Vodafone: y When the advertising with the Pug was first introduced, India fell in love with it; the price of a Pug pup shot up to Rs. 80,000 (US$ 1670). Zoozoo rakhis sold for up to Rs. 350 (US$ 7.30) on the internet during Raksha Bandhan. The Zoozoos, believed to be animated, are actually real people in body suits. Today, cakes, cookies and theme birthday parties with Zoozoos as central characters have become a rage. Over 6000 Indian blogs carry reference to the Vodafone Zoozoo story. The Zoozoo campaign is the first-ever Indian entry to reach Ad Ages top viral film list.

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HUL: Colossal way of advertising

The second initiative of roadblock advertising was conducted by HUL. HUL conducted a roadblock on 25 Zee channels and their estimated spendings were in the range of 80-90 million. Lifebouy and Lux were the two main brands promoted during these campaigns. HUL advertsised its product on 25 TV major TV channels which included Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee

Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Kannada, Zee Telegu, Zee Studio, Zee Caf, Zee Trendz, Zee Premiere, Zee Action, Zee Classic, Zee Smile, Zing, ETC Music, Zee Punjabi, ETC Punjabi, Jagran, Akaash Bangla, Ghantalu, 24 Taas, 24 Ghanta, Zee Talkies, Zee Sports and Zee Tamil. These channels will carry only HUL brands' advertising for the entire day and will also create special opportunities for HUL and showcase its various brands innovatively like using Zee's graphical packaging elements to highlight the brands of HUL. It will also highlight the healthy lifestyle through its programming. Hindustan Unilever general manager - media services Srikanth Srinivasamadhavan said, "We are pleased to be a part of an idea that will exclusively reach us to more than 100 million viewers in India at the same time throughout the day. It is innovative and is expected to bring stronger engagement with consumers." In a recession-hit market when advertisers are heavily cautious on their spending, conducting roadblocks seems to be the new innovation to gain optimum brand exposure. For the broadcasters, it also provides an excellent opportunity to bring in advertising premium.7 MTV India

MTV had also conducted a similar roadblock with Bingo and with Cadbury. The entire day it was Cadbury ads which we could see it on Mtv. Avers MTV India GM and SVP content and creative Ashish Patil, MTV has been doing these stunts since 2003. We do not just roadblock but also create content to support the brands."Elaborating further, he says, "On 1 July, we did the stunt with Cadbury, where we also created two promos for them with the theme khush hai jamana aaj pahli tarikh hai. The entire day was branded as pay day on MTV. Cadbury even used our promos on other channels. Bingo worked with MTV to sponsor April Fools Day turning it into a Bakra Din, so much in character with the brands irreverent whacky persona. All commercial breaks were exclusive to Bingo of course, but beyond that the content itself was recreated to showcase the brand and its no confusion, great combination message. Fake cricketers, spoofing VJs, all paid tribute to the brand as foolishly as possible! This is one form of vertical roadblock advertising which is in the form of day associations.9 MTV also associated with Nokia on Independence Day last year, promoting the launch of the new N96 through Freedom of Expression. Not a single normal commercial was used. Instead the entire day was peppered with celebrity vignettes branded by the N96, teasers showcasing the features of the product, interactive scrolls offering special mobile downloads of the national anthem, and so on.8

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Roadblock: extravagance that can be justified- Shailesh Velandy (www.campaignindia.in) Roadblock advertising- Priya (www.mabbit.org)

Volkswagen: Roadblock for India

Volkswagen tied up with Times of India to make a Volkswagen edition on 11th November 2009. Advertisements of Volkswagen brands such as Beetle, Jetta and others dominated the complete newspaper from cover to cover for the day. The front page had a Volkswagen cutout in the form of a car. As per industry estimates, Volkswagen spent around Rs. 100 million for the one-day roadblock. The print ads introduced and appraised readers to the various Volkswagen brands that are currently available (Passat & Jetta) & the ones that are lined up for India (Polo, Beetle, Touareg). The relevance of this kind of advertising by Volkswagen was that it helped in building their brand image.10 Justifying the cash spent on the advertising warfront, Lutz Kothe, CGM Marketing & PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India affirms, We have witnessed a huge rise in the awareness for the Volkswagen brand within a very short time period in the country post the campaign. Apart from increasing the sales of the New Beetle and Touareg, the Volkswagen brand received a huge number of Internet hits, which clearly signifies the rise in the brand awareness for the Volkswagen brand in India. In fact, the campaign has also resulted in huge motivations amongst the dealers and employees of the company.9 In 2010 at the outdoor advertising convention, Volkswagen bagged two awards for roadblock for the new beetle and the creative outdoor advertsing for Touareg, one award for the media plan of the year for Volkswagen brand campaign and one awrd for the campaign of the year for Volkswagen total roadblock at the convention. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Lutz Kothe, Chief General Manager, Marketing, and PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd said, The idea behind the Outdoor Advertising was to create maximum buzz, awareness and impact about Brand Volkswagen in India and help the company grab attention and mindshare of potential customers. These campaigns not only created brand recall for Volkswagen across the nation but also played as key part in boosting the companys sales.10

AIRCEL

A print ad from Aircel, made out as a social campaign, initiates "Save Our Tigers' message in a very visually alluring manner. The ad shows a cub standing alone in a forest. The picture grabs our attention instantly and our eyes as quickly move on to the headline: Two months. Scared, Hungry, Jumping at every sudden sound, wondering when his mother's coming back. Maybe she isn't...The baseline tells us boldly to save our tigers. According to Aircel, The numbers of tigers
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The FMCG and RETAIL marketing Blog www.afaqs.com

in India have come down to 1411 from 40000. The advertisement gains Aircel consumer acceptability. By using the tiger concept it gets great applause. In a similar gesture, Idea also does a "Use mobile. Save paper" campaign with none other than Abhishek Bachchan acting in it. Calling upon the public to use mobile for communication purpose, the campaign subtly envisages a save trees idea too on the social advertising front. In terms of print advertisements, for Times of India, a landmark innovation was executed wherein its name for the newspaper for the day was changed to Move on India in keeping with the brand tagline. For radio, Aircel went beyond the mundane and did a complete takeover of Red FM on the day of the launch with an all inventory roadblock, Station ID integration and complete overhaul of the station format to fit within the brand template.11

Roadblock Strategy:
Roadblock Advertising refers to buying all the advertisement spaces in a media vehicle for a day, thus blocking all other advertisers. Since 2009, it has become one of the most important and popular form of advertising to gain visibility and getting value for money. Given the above examples we can see that how it has become very important for any brand to advertise to gain visibility in the market and in the mindsets of the consumers. Vodafone spent 10 crores to change its brand name from Hutch to Vodafone which created a 90- 95% of brand recall for the company. Conventionally awareness for a new brand takes a longer time but Vodafone wanted to set into the mindsets of the customers at the shortest possible time. The mission of Vodafone included being the communications leader in an increasingly connected world. 14 Vodafone used this strategy to reach a broad or targeted audience quickly. The second initiative towards roadblock advertising was done by HUL. HUL marketed its two major products Lux and Lifebouy. Snce FMCG space was cluttered and fragmented; HUL used this strategy to create a big impact and exposure in the mindsets of the targeted consumers. HUL showcased the theme of care and entertainment through its advertisements. For instance Lifebouy soap was advertised keeping in view the widespread swine flu. The main aim of this strategy was to reach to 100 million consumers and to bring in stronger engagement for the consumers.12 MTV channel was another medium through which a number of brands adopted roadblock advertisements to increase their brand value. Cadburys Meetha hai khana, aaj pehli taareekh hai campaign, the advertisements were showcased the entire day. Roadblock advertising is an important part of our marketing plan. We set aside a certain portion of our ad-budget every year for Roadblock advertising for a particular brand from ITC Foods, reveals an ITC foods official. To quote an example of Horizontal Roadblock advertising we can look into SRKs film My Name is Khan, whose trailers blocked 11 Star India channels, including Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold & Channel V, on December 16, 2009, at 10 pm to telecast a three-minute trailer of the film.13

www.reflectionsadvt.com Vol 2, issue 2, March 2010 www.ndtv.com 13 www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

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Roadblock advertising is considered to be very expensive but in case of Volkswagen it was probably the best medium of advertising to reach the high decibel competitive category. The roadblock was also part of the effort to build a foundation for Volkswagens entry into the volume segment of the Indian car mart. Another impactful launch was created by Aircel since it was the 6th or the 7th brand to come into the market in the telecom sector. The main strategy of Aircel was to create a brand image in the minds of the consumers and create a different perception across mediums. Thus we can see that Roadblock advertising is being adopted by major brands to create a value for the brand along with creating an impact in the mindsets of the consumers. Apart from these it also helps the brands in gaining monetary benefits. However it is considered to be a very expensive medium but by far it has proved to be a very effective medium to deliver value as well as satisfaction to the consumers. From a consumers perspective, this strategy serves as a good tactical route to ensure quick registration of the new message through repeat viewing at high frequency. Media owners are the biggest gainers from this arrangement, as it not only helps them meet their targets, but also showcases the network as an innovator, while helping them fill-up low-inventory time bands. The opportunity cost of letting go of other advertisers for a day is made up for by the premium that such an activity attracts.