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Global Shared Feature: Deciding on Media and Measuring Effectiveness

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has successfully implemented its Amul butter campaignprimarily through the use of billboards at strategic locations on a pan-ndia level! "he campaign uses a Amul butter

mascot# popularly kno$n as the Amul girl# $hich has $on the hearts of ndian consumers by playing the role of asocial observer and commenting on current events using humor! "his has succeeded in enhancing the brand image ofAmul leading to a virtual monopoly for the GCMMF in the butter category! "he success of the campaign is reflected inthe GCMMF%s plan to nominate it to the Guinness &ook of 'orld ecords for the longest running campaign in ndia!

Feature Copy

"he Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)# ndia%s largest food products marketing organiation#has successfully implemented its Amul butter campaign primarily through the use of billboards at strategic places! "hecampaign# $hich started in *+,# introducing Amul butter%s brand ambassador.a round-eyed# chubby-cheeked girl ina polka-dotted frock# had been ndia%s longest running campaign!

"he Amul butter campaign forms part of the collective memory of a large number of ndians# many of $hom gre$ up$atching the Amul butter topicals! 'hen the campaign $as launched in *+,# Amul $anted to break the dull# boringimage built by normal corporate advertisement and establish a livelier image! Moreover# Amul $anted a mascot $hich$ould $in hearts of house$ives and could rival /"he &utter Girl%# the mascot of the main competitor 0olson! "hechallenge $as to bring e1citement to the image of Amul butter by involving humor but $ithout offending the ndianmass and house$ives $ho had taken food seriously and $ould not like to fool around $ith it!

"he campaign $as managed by 2ylvester daCunha# $ho in collaboration $ith artist 3ustace Fernandes# created theAmul butter mascot# no$ popularly called Amul girl! "hey also $rote the tag-line 45tterly &utterly 6elicious Amul7!"he campaign introduced the strategy of $ooing the consumer by applying humor in advertisements for the first timein ndia! 2ince the campaign planned to use a number of billboards in the city of &ombay (no$ Mumbai)# the sketches$ere kept simple so that painters could paint the billboards 8uickly! "he first billboards# put up in *+,# not onlycharmed everyone%s hearts but also enabled Amul butter to establish itself in the city of &ombay!

As the campaign became successful# Amul continued the campaign $ith the objective of ruling the hearts ofconsumers by reminding them of its presence in their daily life! 'hile the initial ads made statements of some kind orthe other# the campaign slo$ly ac8uired a topical tenor! "he campaign utilied billboards at strategic locations on apan-ndia level and emerged as a communication tool that commented on current events related to politics# televisionfilms# celebrities# cricket# economy# environment# festivals# foreign affairs# great ndians# nternet# kids# lifestyles#music# sports# strikes# and the urban life! "he message strategy tried to evoke humor in the target audience by use of

9inglish# a mi1ture of 9indi and 3nglish! "he message# $ith the Amul butter girl playing the role of a social observer#succeeded in connecting $ith the target consumer# thus enhancing the brand image! "he success is also reflected inthe sales as the sales of Amul butter has jumped from less than : * million in *+, to over : ; billion in ver the last forty years# the basic structure of the campaign has remained the same $ith the Amul girl holding outher favorite packet of butter# accompanying a sketch of the topic for $hich comments $ere made along $ith thecatch-line 45tterly &utterly 6elicious7! "he consistency has been attributed to GCMMF%s policy of continuing $ith thesame agency for the e1ecution of campaign! Another hallmark of the Amul butter topical campaign had been thespeed $ith $hich the advertisements $ere put up on the billboards overnight! daCunha Communications# $ho havebeen handling the campaign for nearly forty years# credit the speed of e1ecution to the free hand given by GCMMF tothe ad agency for the content and the art$ork of the ads! n fact even the top management of GCMMF comes to kno$about the contents of the ads only $hen the advertisements go on the billboards!

For each of the products# GCMMF has a policy of spending up to one percent of the previous year%s turnover for the

ne1t year%s advertising! 9o$ever# the high levels of brand a$areness# large-market share# and the lo$ cost ofbillboard strategy ensure that GCMMF does not have to spend more than one percent of Amul butter turnover onadvertising! 6espite the entry of many ne$ players in the butter market# GCMMF is only spending :

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Sources

Gaurav 2ood# 45tterly butterly adorable campaign#7 "he "ribune#http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010304/spectrum/main7.htm# March ?#

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"he billboards have become a kind of moving timeline marking $hat $e have considered significant at various

points of time in our past!

"he great advantage is that it has never tried too hard to make a comment# it is by highlighting a subject $ith

gentle humour and unerring timing that it allo$s the audience to think abt the event using their o$nperspective!

"hey are able to bring a message across $ith humour# satire and sarcasm to reflect current affairs!

9as lasted for so many years thus leaving a mark on the people%s lives and becoming a part of it!

"he language used is very simple and believes in being minimalistic! "here is nothing complicated in the amul

characters and their message! t is simple and accessible!

t does not go unnoticed as at some point everyone is out on the streets and if the sites are $ell located they

$ill grab attention t al$ays keeps changing its ads and has thus made people to look for$ard for it!

Disadvantages are

"he hoardings can only catch a glimpse of the reality

"he different kind of issues happening in ndia makes the country diverse and disparate and thus they have to

create region specific hoardings!

"hey have to be changed every three days ight heartedness has often lead them to the doorstep of the legal process!!!for eg jagmohan dalmiya

9as a very fe$ time to create an impact as the people don%t stop and $atch it# they $atch it as they travel or

pass by

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Objectives ere as follos

"he event has to be of sufficient interest# it needs to have some dramatic potential and a $ay to connect it $ith thebrand# ho$ever superficial or contrived that link might be! "he link $ith the brand is an imp part of the charm of themessage for it gives boundaries to the message

"he objective is to link the brand# the humour and the topicality!

"ell the stories of india

iss

Meshing the brand statement into a fun line!

&ringing out the topic