eBay: Nine in Mumbai

The online shopping giant carried out an awareness campaign in Mumbai for its nine-hour service feature, 'Order by lunch and get delivered by dinner'.

Order by lunch on eBay India and get delivery by dinner - this is the latest service feature launched by eBay for the people of Mumbai on January 15. Through the service, consumers in Mumbai can purchase popular lifestyle and technology products such as mobiles, tablets, laptops, watches, perfumes, jewellery and more and can receive the product on the same day of purchase. To promote this feature, the US-based online shopping portal initiated an on-ground engagement programme in partnership with the Mumbai Dabbawalas, Meru Cabs and radio channels.

The Dabbawalas wore eBay-branded T-shirts and distributed a coupon giving details about the nine-hour delivery feature of the portal, at the time of the delivery of the lunch boxes.

Meru provided free cab rides for passengers across select locations in the city including the Kalaghoda Festival on February 9. The passengers were then told about the eBay feature. The branded cabs took passengers between South Bombay and Western Suburbs (CST, Bandra, Lower Parel, Andheri and Malad) between 12 noon and 9:00 pm. The campaign was amplified through live contests on radio and social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

The entire activity was carried out during February 7-11.

Speaking about the idea behind the campaign that used on ground virality to promote its online brand, Deepa Thomas, e-commerce evangelist, eBay India, says, "We did it to target the people of Mumbai. The greatest joy in the online medium is when you get your product in hand, so with this nine-hour service, consumers can get it on the same day. We also found that food and commute are part of everyone's lives and if we could create a touch point here, then it would be relevant to most. Other than the ads on the television and online medium, it would create additional touch points on the ground."

She further adds that the campaign also promoted eBay's logistics service.

eBay India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of eBay Inc and offers products across electronics, lifestyle, collectibles and media categories.