Amir Khan – the newest advertising medium

In my opinion, Amir Khan is the biggest marketing guru. I want to know what his educational background is. Think about this, while all celebrities are still endorsing products, Amir has turned himself into the new-age movie advertising medium.

Sign a film with the guy, and the advertising and promotion are taken care of without any marketing consultants. What bigger medium do you need than the man himself?

This guy is creative director, strategic planner and marketing manager all rolled into one.

Even before the film industry turned into an organised market, Mr. Khan knew the exact value of things like brand identity, the look-feel of the brand, and the art of breaking clutter.

And there’s no question of media space – he does the bloody layout on his own face!

I say forget press conferences, even if he’s on a morning jog (or probably peeing at the airport), the people around think exactly of the film he’s doing at that time.

King khan vagairah theek hai, but look at SRK and you have no clue which film the pic is from. On the contrary look at Amir.

But you know the best part? In order to learn about creativity, strategy, branding and marketing, you no more have to go to a school. All thanks to this Khan. This guy single-handedly beats the IIM of A!

Brand Raj Thackeray – A case study

Remember how the strategy planners talk about ‘brand personality’ and ask you stupid questions? If Mercedes were a person, who would it be, etcetera.

Well I’m thinking the other way round. If Raj Thackeray were a brand, which one would he be? Sprite, I think. MNS dilaaye naukri ki aas, baaki sab bakwaas.

No, seriously. This guy makes for the perfect case study. He entered the market as a ‘me too’ product. Shiv sena definitely had the first mover’s advantage. Enter MNS with the same positioning, same strategy, same everything. So how to gain mindshare?

Positioning:
I have a strong feeling he’s seen the DDB campaign for Avis. “We are no. 2 so we try harder.” We give the Marathi manoos far more than no. 1 does. We not only go after the cabbies and auto drivers but also target the railway exam candidates.

Strategy:
Ambush marketing. When you come in late, you have too much of marketing to catch up on. So, their flags were seen everywhere. In far greater numbers. They were even put up at signals and on the top of hoardings (a first).

Creative communication:
The layouts of their banners were far clearer and made for better visibility. The competition, on the other hand, had pictures of two personalities, a tiger and too much copy. MNS banners had only one picture. And far more compelling lines.

His speeches were far more entertaining, therefore, appealing to the masses. Endearing, maybe? Where the senior Thackeray only had issues to rake up, the younger leader had people to pick at. “Be specific,” says David Ogilvy. This young man had Amitabh and Laloo to talk about. He even made his speeches more audience-friendly by adding mimicry. He actually had the audience in splits. I’ve even see him maro double-meaning lines. Youth-friendly, perhaps?

In fact, he’s done complete 360-degree campaigns. Public transport guys, railway people, shop owners and what not. In fact he even went for on-ground activities. Can you forget the instant changes in signboards all over the city?

And when things started slowing up a bit, a promotional activity. The arrest. (Read – the violence that ensued). And the subsequent bail.

He even went viral. Check youtube if you don’t believe me.

And now; like any good brand; further acquisition, expansion, attracting a greater target audience. I’m referring to the Jet Airways thingy. And he snatched the opportunity from under the competition’s nose. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Top-of-the-mind recall. High eyeball count. Heavy visibility. Attracting great tie-ups. Full marks on branding. Effies anyone?