"Most apps compete with WhatsApp for space": Ankur Singla, Tapzo

Tapzo, an 'all-in-one' app brand has released its first TV campaign. We spoke to Ankur Singla, founder and chief executive officer, Tapzo, about it.

What would a guy do if he had to recharge his girlfriend's mobile phone, check the cricket score, read his horoscope for the day and book for a cab for his boss; all at the same time from his smartphone? Of course, he'd use different apps. But switching between apps would just slow him down.

Enter Tapzo, the all-in-one app that aggregates multiple categories of apps into one comprehensive platform; giving consumers access to 35+ applications without having to download any of them. Currently, partners such as, Uber, Ola, Swiggy, Zomato, Nearbuy and others are part of Tapzo.

In this day and age, users are spoilt for choice with multiple apps offering discounts and cashback offers. We asked Ankur Singla, founder and chief executive officer, Tapzo, how different his app is going to be? He says, "We are a platform where external apps integrate with ours and the user can use the discounts offered by the main app on our app. If one has an Uber coupon you could apply it on our app and avail the discount."

However, if the user has booked an Ola or Uber cab through Tapzo, the user might be able to avail the offers either from Tapzo or the ride-sharing service; or from both.

Singla adds, "If a consumer gets cashback from us, it will get transferred to Tapzo Cash (eWallet) and at the same time if he gets cashback from Ola or Uber, it will go directly to his Ola Money or Paytm."

If one has the individual apps (Ola and Uber), you can actually compare the prices and then make a selection. But Tapzo, as an app, doesn't let one compare the ride rates. Singla says, "Yes, currently we are not showing the comparisons between the Ola and Uber pricing and that's a limitation."

We asked Singla the criteria for apps to be a part of Tapzo. He answers, "We take a close look at the daily life of our users and try to incorporate all those on our app."

Adding onto Tapzo's list of benefits, he says, "People are always running out of storage on their smartphone. Whether it is a low budget or high budget smartphone. Most of the apps end up competing with Whatsapp that takes the most space due to videos or photos. The user is in an unequal dilemma of either getting rid of Whatapp or some other apps. With Tapzo, he doesn't need to make that choice."

To promote the app, Tapzo has come up with three TV ads conceptualised by BBH India. The ads trace real life situations where people only need one app to address all their daily needs. The film's protagonists are known faces from the digital world, including YouTube actor Bhuvan Bam (BB Ki Vines), Amol Parashar (TVF Tripling) and Naveen Kasturia (TVF Pitchers).

Apart from the TVCs, the brand is also promoting its campaign through YouTube, Google, Facebook and radio. The core TG for the brand is male, 22-30 year olds, living in the top 10 cities of India with an income level ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 per month.

Speaking about the campaign, Russell Barrett, managing partner and chief creative officer, BBH India, says in a press release, "Our idea reflects how a random observation can sometimes trigger a memory of something we've obviously forgotten to do. Tapzo, actually allows us to solve life's little problems before they become big ones. The 'stream of consciousness' approach to the films was chosen to reflect the meandering of a mind in a humorous, yet real way. We had a great team working on this project led by Sippy (our brilliant director), the hugely talented cast (made up of famous YouTubers) and the BBH teams led creatively by Sapna and Yohan."

Tapzo belongs to a young segment of brands that are inherently intangible, mobile-first and driven by technology. When it comes to advertising these products on mass media, should the creative agency apply rules different to that applicable to FMCG or apparel products? Our digital expert answers...

Akshat Bhardwaj, creative director, DigitasLBi India, says, "In advertising, as long as the product benefit is showcased strongly enough to persuade the user to take the right decision, the job gets done. With these ads, Tapzo has done exactly that, and I don't believe that the intangibility of the brand (or any other tech driven mobile service) will change that. Having said that, I believe that good use of the digital space can take this thought beyond videos."

He adds, "Every now and then, something or the other reminds us of things that need to be done. Tapzo has seamlessly tapped into this insight, and as a result, brought us a fun showcase of its use case scenarios. It'll now be interesting to see how this showcase can be brought alive using the digital space. For example, starting with a search based video response campaign on YouTube would be damn cool. It would give this thought a much more inclusive dimension and enhance the brands value in the eyes of the consumer."