Oberoi Realty invites people to find their island of calm

The real-estate developer's campaign for its new Splendor Grande property takes a lateral communication route.

While real-estate and property advertising in India has been mostly lacklustre, a new campaign by Mumbai-based realty developer Oberoi Realty, has broken the mould.

Oberoi Realty, which launched an IPO (Initial Public Offering), last October, is now promoting its new property 'Oberoi Splendor Grande' located in Andheri East, in Mumbai.

Oberoi Splendor Grande boasts a 27-storeyed residential property, with 3BHK apartments set in a luxurious residential habitat, surrounded by the lush Aarey green belt and landscaped gardens. The new campaign promotes peaceful living in the chaotic suburbs, where the property offers an 'island of calm'.

Interestingly, the campaign does not display the property at all, and instead, shows a melting pot of the chaotic Mumbai city life, all illustrated in black-and-white, with dashes of yellow. The artwork shows local trains, fisherwomen, dogs barking, traffic, policemen, dabbawallas, computers, taxis, cows in the middle of a street, rickshaws, and all the bustle that is so much a part of the city.

In the centre of the illustration is a plain white area that contains the words 'Find your island of calm' with the Oberoi Splendor Grande branding, symbolising the much-needed peace of mind at the end of a long day that Oberoi Splendor Grande offers.

The campaign has been created by Ogilvy's sister agency Meridian, and is being communicated through outdoor, print and digital media, along with direct mailers. In print, the campaign is seen in The Times of India and Property Times, while the company also plans to advertise in luxury magazines like Vogue. The campaign aims to reach Oberoi's target group, the 'lifestyle seeker', SEC A+, male and investors.

On the idea behind the campaign, Reema Kundnani, vice-president, marketing and communications, Oberoi Realty tells afaqs!, "We wanted to do something different with this campaign. While others talk about features, quality, luxury and more, we wanted to stay away from this, as at Oberoi, these are a given. We wanted to communicate to people that this could be their zone of peace and calm, away from the bustle of the city."

The brief given to the agency was to position Splendor Grande differently, in order to isolate it from the other properties in the market.

Kundnani discusses how this idea of not depicting the property itself, but rather portray its intangible offerings has worked for the brand. Oberoi Exquisite, their other property was similarly displayed with serene natural surroundings, complete with a pond with lily pads, greenery and more. The copy read 'Location available on request', like the way luxury brands are advertised.

Oberoi Realty is currently advertising four different projects in the city and the total ad spend for all these projects is to the tune of approximately Rs 13 crore, shares Kundnani.

For the record, Oberoi Realty is focussed on premium developments in the residential, office space, retail, hospitality and social infrastructure segments. It seeks to create 'destination developments' through its mixed-use and single-segment developments. It currently has a total of 33 completed projects across Mumbai, and over 20 milion sq ft of saleable area in ongoing and planned projects.