Flipkart.com: Not Kidding anymore

In a flight from tradition, Flipkart's latest campaign features a young woman instead of its trademark kids. A look at why the brand changed tack.

Ever since it started advertising on TV, e-commerce brand Flipkart has featured kids in its films. These 'child-adults' have appeared in almost every new category launch and the accompanying piece of communication. In fact, over the years they have become a visual brand identity of sorts. But every kid grows up eventually. Flipkart's kids are no exception.

In a noteworthy departure from tradition, the brand has recently launched an ad campaign to promote its women's lifestyle category. Titled 'When you have everything and still nothing to wear', the campaign features a young woman and, well, her closet. The insight is in the title; despite their overly stocked closets, women are convinced they don't have enough clothes.

Conceptualised by Happy Creative Services, the TVC is targeted towards the internet savvy working woman who is hard-pressed for time and familiar with online transactions for physical, travel or financial products.

The film opens with a young woman getting out of bed and looking to get dressed. She is shown trying on different clothes and accessories, one after the other, all of which come from a visibly well-endowed closet. But alas, nothing seems good enough. The background score tells the story: "I'm the girl with a closet full; a closet full of nothing." An exasperated voice over, accompanied by a super on the screen, goes: "When you have everything and still nothing to wear. Introducing Women's lifestyle. Flipkart.com."

Why did the brand custodians do away with their signature child-adults? Ravi Vora, senior VP, marketing, Flipkart, explains that till now, most of the marketing campaigns around online shopping have been targeted at men. This one is tailor-made for women. The feeling that one's closet is eternally empty is something most women can instantly identify with.

"Women shoppers are becoming increasingly savvy. They know what they need and which sites to go to. This growing segment is what we wanted to tap into while creating awareness about our women's lifestyle offerings. Moreover, in this case, given the insight that we were working around, we felt that an actual representation of the target audience would do more justice to the brand story," says Vora.

Flipkart started building its fashion lifestyle vertical this year and is already close to a leadership position in the online space. The company has also revamped the look and feel of this section on the site and has put together a large selection of relevant products and verticals. The brand approached this campaign as a 'creative culmination' of all these efforts.

The brand has created an original sound track for the film. The full song can be downloaded for free. The singer is Mili Nair (of Coke Studio fame) and the music is composed by Kunal Kulkarni. The film is directed by Kishore Aiyyar of Nirvana films.

According to Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy Creative Services, this insight is something that can strike the right emotional chord with the TG. And for Flipkart, it's the insight that matters more than the creative execution. "Women are always an interesting audience and in this case, the insight about their behaviour was gathered by observing all the women around us," he admits.

The brand team researched its target audience and realised that regardless of the style/preference, there was a common thread running through them all. "Women love to shop. And even if they have a closet full of clothes they feel the need for that 'one more perfect outfit'," shares Vora. The next step was to highlight this finding in a simple, charming and memorable fashion.

Missing the kids?

Kids, Flipkart's erstwhile protagonists, are absent in this campaign. Does this make the ad less noticeable, despite the 'bang-on' insight?

Anirban Chaudhuri, head, strategic planning, Draft FCB Ulka, Delhi, opines, "This insight is so true. And not just in the case of women, but also in the case of metro-sexual men! But where is that Flipkart narrative? The kids in role play? For me, their absence takes away the uniqueness that made me notice the brand previously."

Interestingly, for Flipkart, the use of kids was never a brand strategy per se. "It was more of an advertising approach - a creative way of making a point," clarifies Vora.

The e-commerce market in India is expected to grow by 33 per cent to reach Rs 62,967 crore by the end of 2013, as predicted by a report released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International. Flipkart believes the market has plenty of room to grow and is still just scratching the surface.

"There is a lot of growth potential that needs to be channelised effectively. Marketing for Tier II markets and creating brand salience in a crowded market are just some of the requirements. Also, consumers are becoming choosy when it comes to the online sites they frequent. So focus needs to shift from merely selling products to building lasting relationships with the customer," states Vora.

Flipkart entered the fashion category in May 2013 and announced its entry with a TVC featuring child-adults. In September, the company launched a campaign in which these child-adults were shown simulating a panel discussion, as seen in TV news debates. A particular loud and aggressive news anchor was the object of the brand's wit at the time.