Durga Puja is not the occasion for merry-making. At least, for corporate India that has unleashed a marketing blitzkrieg to woo all and sundry. Offers, banners, flexes, kiosks, cut-outs and sponsorships apart, marketing activities have spilt to awarding the best Pujas.
If market sources are to be believed around a few hundred crore of rupees are riding on various advertisement and sponsorship programmes in the city. Nearly Rs 30 crore of this is by way of corporate-sponsored awards only.
Puja committees aren’t worried over their inflation in budgets, sponsorships takes care of it all. Singhi Park Puja committee member, Bhaskar Nandi claimed a near 15 per cent increase in corporate sponsorships this year compared to the year before.
Some of the sponsors, Nandi maintains, include Garnier, cola majors Coke and Pepsi and Cadbury. Sponsorships will vary from setting up stalls to overhead gates (Garnier). Thums Up’s brand new TV Commercial coinciding with pujas went on air earlier this month across leading Bengali channels. No official confirmation regarding the TVC was available from the cola-major.
Marico through its “Nihar Naturals” brand will pay a tribute to the goddess inside every woman through infusing Patochitra with a play. The play will be modern- day rendition of Goddess Durga’s life.
Kolkata-based, FMCG majorEmami too will promote three of its brands “Healthy & Tasty” mustard oil, “Boroplus” sun protection lotion and its hair oil called “Hairlife”.
Campaigns will include hoardings, banners, print ads, TVCs and also some below the line activities, Debashis Bhattacharyya, general manager, marketing, Emami Biotech, said.
“With a total communication plan we hope to gain emotional connect by highlighting the festive mood of Durga Puja and the Bengali cuisine,” he adds. Emami has put up nearly 65 banners of the three brands across the city.
Telecos too are not averse to cashing in on the festive craze.
Vodafone has announced the launch of special SMS and data packs and special talktime vouchers (STVs). Aditya Birla group controlled Idea too has similar offerings and Tata Docomo on its part has come up with “unlimited” talk and data plans.
Awards
The other big draw is awards. Asian Paints in 1985 first introduced this concept into the festival. Today, 40 odd such awards vie for city’s eyeballs; half of them are sponsored by corporate groups.
This year, B K Birla group is the new entrant in the list of awards initiatives and has styled itself as the “Birla Tyres Unbeatable Sharad Samman”.
According to market sources, spend for each corporate award initiative varies anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and 30 lakh. This includes the prize money and honoraria for “celebrity judges”.
“Newer categories have emerged in a free-for-all competition of creative ideas and presentations,” said a painter, who earned various honours in the past.