BBC Knowledge launches its first brand campaign

The campaign speaks directly to parents, instead of the youngsters, at whom the magazine is targeted.

Worldwide Media's (WWM) magazine for youngsters, BBC Knowledge, has launched a new brand campaign titled 'There's no telling what knowledge can do'. Interestingly, the campaign is not directed at the core target audience of the magazine, young inquisitive minds, but a more mature audience -- their parents.

Talking about the new campaign, Soela Joshi, brand publisher, BBC Knowledge says that since parents as the central role models have the responsibility to bring knowledge into their children's life, targeting the parents made sense. "Since our core TG is formed by an age group where parents are the decision makers, it was time for the brand to address parents directly. The campaign reminds them that knowledge is the only edge they can give their kids. And, that it's not an option but a prerequisite today."

The brand campaign hinges on the fact that the magazine gives the child a head start in today's competitive world.

Apart from reaching out to readers through newsstand sales and subscriptions, BBC Knowledge also reaches out to the students of more than 2,000 schools in nine cities across India.

The campaign will run across mainstream dailies, magazines, outdoor and digital media for the next few weeks in major metros. It has been designed by DDB Mudra.

The campaign is spread across all major metros of the country including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Apart from in house publications of WWM, main editions of The Times of India across metros, and supplements like Education Times are also being used in the above mentioned cities. Times Crest and The Economic Times also form a part of this plan.

Among magazines, the WWM slew of magazines including Femina, Filmfare, GoodHomes, Lonely Planet, Grazia and Hello have been included.

As far as the out of home medium is concerned, the magazine will focus on POS (point of sale) and has taken select windows at Crosswords outlets in the metros.

For digital presence, the title banks largely on Facebook as the primary medium to spread the message. "Since Facebook ads allow for a very focused targeting, we have used this advantage to target parents and draw them to our page. The BBC Knowledge Facebook page will be dedicated to promote this campaign for the next couple of weeks," adds Joshi.

The magazine also plans to initiate parent-child contests as a part of this campaign. Each week, the activation will encourage parents to spend time with their children, teach them new skills, and share their activities on the page. Through its Facebook and banner ads, the magazine aims to reach more than 1 million people by the end of the campaign period.

"The campaign reminds the parents that knowledge is the only edge they can give their kids. And that it's not an option, but a prerequisite today, when it has become as important to outdo the competition as it has to outdo yourself," says Ayesha Bedi, creative group head, DDB Mudra Group.

For the record, the magazine was launched in October, 2010 in India as a bi-monthly. It covers content from the fields of nature, science and history that appeals to the young adults aged 12-19 years.

The magazine was first introduced in the United States in August, 2008. It is also available in the UK, Brazil, Singapore and Bulgaria. In India, it was launched in 2011.