LG India: Changing the rules of the game

The Korean electronic giant plans to spend Rs 60 crore on an activity to promote its mobile phone range, and thereby, increase its share in the Indian mobile market.

For the upcoming ICC World Cup, which will be held in the Indian subcontinent after 15 years, commercial partner, LG India has launched an on-ground activity. Named the LG Mobile Army, the campaign highlights the company's affiliation and commitment to the spirit of the game.

The LG Mobile Army plans to recruit 2,500 cadets from 38 cities across India. The selection of these cadets will be based on their unique dance moves. Led by cricketer Dinesh Karthik, brand ambassador Genelia D'souza, and actors, John Abraham and Abhay Deol, the company will select these cadets based on the way they express their enthusiasm for the game.

Talking about the initiative, LK Gupta, chief marketing officer, LG Electronics India, says, "What we are doing is recruiting these people, who will be given access to the World Cup matches through us. In every match, they will be present in a group of 50. They will be there to create a cheerful atmosphere inside the stadium during the matches."

To call for entries, LG has rolled out promotional ads on television, featuring D'souza and Abraham. The company has also rolled out branded canters at popular youth hangouts in the cities, where people can appear for auditions. Interested individuals can also send their entries online.

With this campaign, the company plans to target youngsters in the age group of 15-30 years. Gupta adds, "We will give an opportunity to the youth to come up and show us how they would cheer for the game in their unique way. This would be video recorded. People who are not able to participate in this can upload their videos."

"We are looking for youth to express their enthusiasm for the game in their own way. This can be innovative, unique or whacky," Gupta explains.

The company expects to reach about five lakh people through this activity and receive at least one lakh entries for the contest. From these, 2,500 individuals will be selected by a panel of judges from various fields such as dance and cricket, as well as radio jockeys.

These cadets would then be given training in making "infectious" moves, which can be replicated in the stadiums. Thus, the LG Mobile Army would create a fun atmosphere within the stadiums and also encourage other viewers to participate in the dance moves.

Gupta says that this is a new concept for Indian cricket, and the company wants to inject a lot of enthusiasm and joy into the game.

He explains that the activity has been designed to promote LG's mobile phone range, by building a better emotional connect with the target audience. The company plans to increase its share in the Indian mobile market to 10 per cent from the current 7.6 per cent.

In order to achieve this, the Indian arm of the Korean electronic giant would invest close to Rs 60 crore on this campaign. The lion's share of this would go to ATL (comprising television and the internet), followed by BTL and merchandising.

During the World Cup (February - April), the company will also introduce seven models of mobile phones, all in the price range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000. This range would consist of Android-and Windows-based smartphones and 3G-enabled handsets.

"In every stadium, a person or a group of people enacts something, which the camera also loves. So, we are preparing a similar army of 50 people. Who knows, we might be able to create the next thing in the way people cheer," Gupta concludes.