Amazon solves 'Kya Pehnu' dilemma

The online giant goes an extra mile and creates a fashion squad of experts to solve consumers' fashion queries with its #KyaPehnu campaign.

Amazon India, which gave us the colloquial #AurDikhao campaign, is back again positioning itself as the ultimate solution to fashion woes. In its latest campaign, the online marketplace has once again leveraged a familiar expression of a common dilemma one faces through the phrase 'Kya Pehnu'.

The company has executed three television ads created by Ogilvy and Mather through which consumers find answers to their fashion queries on the Amazon app. Apart from the television campaigns, the company has also put in place the 'Amazon Fashion Squad', a panel of experts who will address customer queries on what to wear. The squad includes Narendra Kumar, creative director, Amazon Fashion, model and actor Milind Soman, actor Ayushman Khurana, popular blogger Miss Malini, anchor, fashion designer and actor Mandira Bedi and other renowned stylists from the industry.

Beginning December 17, consumers can reach out to them and get professional assistance for all day-to-day fashion emergencies. They can post their queries using the #KyaPehnu hashtag on social media platforms like Facebook and
Twitter
, or send in their queries by SMS. The SOS helpline number launched was functional from December 17th to the 19th.

Amazon is also organising an on-ground activation where consumers will get a chance to meet the members of the Amazon Fashion Squad and get tips and tricks on how to dress up fashionably. The activation is spread across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Bedi, who was at the Great India Place Mall in Noida on December 20, interacted with consumers on various fashion trends.

This is Amazon India's third campaign in the fashion category. The category, which was launched two years ago, unveiled its first campaign 'Fashion For who You are' in December 2014. It was followed with the print campaign #MustHaves, earlier in mid-2015.

Mayank Shivam, category leader, Amazon Fashion, India, informs that fashion has grown to become the top three fastest growing categories for Amazon.in.

Talking about its latest campaign, Shivam says, "This campaign underlines the concept that is primarily driven by real-life consumer insight kya pehnu or what to wear. In addition to this, we have also invested in creating and scaling up the Amazon India Fashion Week and will continue to invest in this category."

The campaign features the youth in a perennial state of dilemma while picking apparels for various occasions. Shivam, however, points out that the 'Kya Pehnu' concept has a wide appeal as the insight resonation is high with both youth, as well as adults.

"We are a fashion destination, not just a fashion brand, and therefore, it is imperative for us to cut across TG segments. The campaign addresses both youth and young professionals through the spectrum of situations," he explains.

Currently, ethnic wear is the highest performing sub-category on Amazon, followed by western wear. In ethnic, sarees and kurtas contribute 75 per cent of the total sales. In women's western wear, the company claims to witness huge traction for jeans, jeggings, T-Shirts, and casual dresses. In men's wear, there is a huge demand for T-shirts, work-wear shirts, casual shirts, and jeans.

Shivam informs that Amazon's Designer Store has also been performing well among customers across metros and Tier II cities. Currently, Amazon offers collections curated by designers such as Anju Modi, Manish Arora, and AM:PM.

"The fashion store has shown a growth rate of 500 per cent year-on-year, with more than 50 per cent of our sales coming from mobile. There is also huge interest among customers in smaller towns and cities with over 50 per cent of the orders being received from cities other than the eight metros," he reveals.

Amazon Fashion competes with horizontal players such as Snapdeal, Flipkart, and eBay India, as well as vertical players focussed on the fashion category including Myntra (owned by Flipkart) and Jabong.

Amazon says that it feels no heat from any fashion focussed platforms, as it has an extensive catalogue which caters to the different needs of consumers. Currently, it offers products across categories such as apparel, precious jewellery, sunglasses, handbags, watches, and shoes, as well as designer wear.

It has also launched specific stores such as Crafted in India where, 3,500 products from 11 regions are directly sourced from craftsmen, weavers and artisans.

Like Jabong, which has exclusive tie-ups with international brands such as Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, Amazon has also launched an international shoe store where brands such as British Knights, CR7 by Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Botticelli, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Desigual, and Font are available.

While its competitors have celebrity clothing lines such as Alia Bhatt for Jabong, and All About You by Deepika Padukone on Myntra, Amazon has no such plans in the immediate future.

Fashionably Yours

Jayanto Banerjee, national planning director, Hakhuhodo Percept, appreciates Amazon's knack of picking up a great linguistic expression that represents a typical behaviour.

"It did the same with 'Aur Dikhao', and while I don't think 'Kya Pehnu' is in the same league, I believe it will do its job effectively," he notes.

Unlike 'Aur Dikhao', which set the standard high for the brand according to Banerjee, the situations in the current films are not very insightful. A little twist, he thinks, would have made it more endearing.

Karan Rawat, founder and executive creative director, AutumnWinter Agency, who has worked on Killer Jeans and various other fashion brands, finds the campaign defiant. He goes on to add that few campaigns are based on insight in the fashion category.

"I feel 'Kya Pehnu', which has a simple insight, will work considering the other players in the space are doing whacky things," he points out.

Rawat, on the other hand, says the rap could have been much better and more appealing across generations if the lyrics were in Hinglish. The casting, he feels, should have been better with models who look cool.