JP Infra: Mira Road shows Mumbai 'how to live'

The OOH campaign for JP Infra's new project in Mira Road subtly challenges perceptions about the North of the city.

Most real estate ads - and there are plenty across media - tend to focus on the idea of 'dream homes' or 'premium lifestyle at affordable costs'. However, JP Infra has a different take for its newest project in Mira Road, Mumbai. The project JP Infra North has created quite a buzz in the city with its OOH campaign, designed by Mumbai-based Tugboat Communications. The company has used billboards, with cheeky messages, across railway stations and heavy footfalls areas in Mumbai, to spread the message about the upcoming project.

"Media, today, has become very, very cocky. The reality is that someone who is playing all alone in the digital field is not looked at seriously by buyers in our industry. There has to be that mix of print, outdoors etc," says Manoj Asrani, vice president, sales & marketing, JP Infra, on the reason for launching the campaign.

The first billboard and print campaign launched on August 24, simply said - 'Dear Mumbai, this is how you live. Love, Mira Road'. Having piqued curiosity, the company followed it up with more billboards in the 'dear dash, love dash' format. However, each of these was addressed to a particular part of the city. For example, the billboard on Linking Road asked its residents if kids actually spent time with nature, considering Linking Road has more traffic than nature. Billboards in Nepean Sea Road reminded people that in Mira Road, dads can come back home early and help kids with homework. Likewise, Grant Road's lack of greenery was compared to the North project's proximity to one of the greenest parts of the city, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

"A lot of people have not seen Mira Road in the recent years, and think it is still disconnected and under developed. But, it has caught on, and yet retained its quality of life; which is what we tried to show through our comparisons. Real estate ads always have comparisons, usually about the size and square foot area. But, this time, we have done it in a way people can relate more," adds Asrani.

The brand has used OOH mainly because of its 24-hour visibility, with minimal copy and effectiveness. The campaign is being extended to print (tabloids), radio and digital.

"Real estate is always about carpet area. But, people who are going to live there probably also care about the living space, and not just the carpet area and that is what we are trying to say - 'this house can give you more than the carpet area'. It lets you walk close to nature, lets you reach home early from work place, has health clubs and art studios. We wanted to talk about it first in a disruptive manner and then substantiate with print ads," explains Neeraj Karkal, founder and planning director, Tugboat Communications.