Change is easy, says Quikr

Following the launch of its new identity last month, the online classifieds portal rolled out an outdoor campaign to make its presence felt amidst the high decibel advertising run by its competitor OLX.

Online classifieds portal Quikr seems to be in an aggressive advertising mode since the launch of its new identity last month. After changing its logo and tagline - from 'No Fikar, Bech Quikr' to 'Aasan Hai Badalna' - the brand rolled out a massive outdoor campaign across cities in the country.

Executed by McCann Erickson Bengaluru, the campaign showcased multiple ways in which one can change. For instance: 'ego-friendly to eco-friendly' (car to bike) and 'over weight to 'right weight' (selling sofa to buying a treadmill).

Sharing the rationale behind the brand's makeover and the new campaign, Vijay Jacob Parakkal, SVP & GM, McCann, Bengaluru, tells us that the apparently hard-core transactional activities - 'buy' and 'sell' - carry a deeper insight. "They are not merely transactions; they transform your way of life. The transformation starts when one lets go of the past by clicking the 'sell' button. The cycle is completed when one moves to the next phase of transformation by choosing a new way of life, by clicking the 'buy' button. That's what our campaign talks about in an engaging storyline drawn from real life situations. It fitted perfectly as a launch pad for the new Quikr logo and brand identity," he adds.

Outdoor, which is generally considered a reminder medium, was used for the launch of this campaign. To ensure maximum impact, hoardings were put up at important, yet uncluttered locations in the top eight cities including Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. Bus shelter and transit advertising are the other formats that were employed.

Pranay Chulet, founder and CEO, Quikr, informs that the aim was to target regular internet users in the 18-35, SEC A-B category. "Our audience is upwardly mobile, discerning and progressive in outlook," he says.

In line with its new brand positioning which reflects the changing aspirations of its TG (the modern Indian youth), last week, Quikr also announced the appointment of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and South Indian actor Suriya as its official brand ambassadors.

Launched in 2008, the portal claims to get over 30 million unique users and 15 million active listings every month. It also boasts of carrying out 60,000 transactions daily (Source: HBL).

Quikr operates across cities in India in over 10 categories including mobile phones, household goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services and education. It allows consumers as well as small businesses to sell, buy, rent and find things across multiple categories.

Quikr's investors include Warburg Pincus, Kinnevik, Tiger Global Management, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Steadview Capital, Omidyar Network and Ebay Inc.