Brands jacket-up to brace for air pollution

Not only has the Delhi government carried multiple full page ads in newspapers to raise awareness on air pollution, brands, too, have taken the print route to market their products.

In recent times, the air in the national capital region turned hazardous and the Air Quality Index (AQI) deteriorated sharply post-Diwali. The extreme conditions led the Supreme court to intervene in the matter and it even compared Delhi-NCR to a gas chamber. The worst situation faced by Delhi-ites led the authorities to declare a public health emergency in the state and saw the return of odd-even scheme to combat the hazardous smog.

Brands grabbed the opportunity to raise awareness about the deadly situation through product marketing. Major national dailies carried front page ads in the Delhi edition. Dabur, Uber and Honeywell opted for the print medium to impart their messages, while other brands such as Manforce Condoms, PolicyBazaar, Peesafe, Fortis Healthcare, Jio and others used the digital medium and joined the movement to grab the attention of their audience.

Delhi government, too, published multiple jacket advertisements on the national dailies in the past few weeks.

A senior media planner who did not wish to be quoted says, “It depends on which newspaper the brand is advertising in. A full page jacket appearing in the Delhi edition of a leading national daily could cost around 45-50 lakhs and for its closet rival cost around 35-40 lakhs.”

Sudhir Kumar, director, Media DCMN India states, “Brands are using this moment to increase their visibility. Although costs are huge for a print ad (especially full jackets), but it's very tactical to use the medium as it delivers reach. This is the best period for Honeywell to advertise in comparison to the overall year. Also, traditionally, the festive season has been the key period for newspapers to maximise their revenues. The volume of ads during this season, on this medium, is higher when compared to the overall average of the year. Post festivities the volume drops.”

We take a look at some campaigns attempting to gain product visibility when environmental visibility is compromised.

Honeywell

Last week, Honeywell published a full page ad in a leading English daily newspaper advertising its line of air purifiers. The brand featured Kareena Kapoor, who is also the brand's face. The ad pointed out how indoor air is more polluted than the air outside air, even though it can't be seen.

Dabur

The leading FMCG company Dabur, released a print ad campaign in a popular national daily, for its immunity boost based product 'Chyawanprash'. Last year, too, the brand launched a TVC, targeted at mothers that how the product can help their child to improve its immunity around the same time.

Hero Electric

Two-wheeler brand Hero Electric has launched a #CodeGreen initiative to highlight the importance of e-mobility. It encourages consumers to buy electric vehicles in an effort to curb increasing air pollution. The campaign coincides with the odd-even campaign to build awareness about greener and cleaner mobility. The brand has run many campaigns to raise public awareness on the bad effects of air pollution.

Uber

Ride-hailing app, Uber recently launched a campaign #LeaveYourCarBehind to promote the use of public transport and its ride sharing service or carpooling, instead of your own vehicle or one person per car routine. The brand launched full jacket ads in newspapers, encouraging people to leave their car keys at home and choose transport that works best for them.