A marketing plan

Godrej Group has roped in students of filmmaking to fuel a new marketing strategy for their products. Prachi Rege reports on this unique industry-academia tie-up

“Old brands are more susceptible to the dangers of being ignored by consumers,” quips Shireesh Joshi, head, strategic marketing, Godrej. It is for this reason that the Indian conglomerate tied-up with Whistling Woods International to work on their new marketing strategy. “Instead of giving our view about our own products through advertisements, we wanted to portray the consumer's view of the group's numerous products,” explains Joshi, who along with his team came up with this idea. According to him, this leg of their marketing project is more conversational-oriented rather than business-oriented. Under the title, “Har Idea Pe Zindagi Muskuraye,” the brief given to the students was to make a video for the internet, using any five products of the company.

Eight video films of approximately three minutes each have been prepared by final year students of the institute. All of them have been worked out on the common theme of family ties and values, showing how Godrej products have made life easier for them to function effectively. Joshi's personal favourite is the video titled Kal aaj aur kal, which depicts the mother-daughter relationship against the backdrop of many Godrej products. “The concept appealed to me emotionally, and showed how our products have the power to bind people,” he points out.

While the group got a fair amount of creative publicity for its products online, the students were able to apply their aesthetic learning on the project. Also, since most of them will be graduating this academic year, this project will add to their resumes for future assignments.

Parth Navale, a final year cinematography student, who worked as an associate camera person on the video titled Boss says, “Besides getting an opportunity to operate the camera and work in tandem with my director, I also learnt how to talk to people.” About his interactions with the marketing team of Godrej, Navale says that given the nature of his profession he has never interacted with corporate professionals. “So communicating creative ideas was the biggest challenge,” he reflects.

Navale's director and also the story writer of the video, Karan Gupta, states that since Godrej is a household brand, it was essential to keep with the family theme. “I gave it a patriarchal twist, as most families in India function that way. Of course in the end the grandchild cheers the grandpa,” explains Gupta.

For now, both the company and students are busy monitoring the hits and comments that the videos have gathered over a one week of going live. “Marketing is more about communicating with your consumer through various tools and engaging in a dialogue with them,” signs off Joshi.