When technology bellwethers take to TV promotion, you know they are targetting more than just the online crowd. Microsoft and Google have been flashing TV ads in India, where each company is trying to humanise its technology products and services.
Microsoft has chosen TV advertising to emphasise how families can sync and share data across devices, while Google’s 90-second advertisements show the story of a South India-based artist, G Rajendran who uses the web to keep the dying art form ‘Tanjore’ alive. The ad shows how the artist’s decision to launch an online shop for his paintings helps him in his business.
The ad focuses on the use of Google Search and AdWords. “Chrome is designed to help you make the most of the modern web. ‘The Web Is What You Make It’ campaign is all about inspiring more people to get online and change their lives,” says Nikhil Rungta, head marketing, Google India.
Earlier Google commercials, “Letters from Dad”, etc were meant to showcase how parents can take advantage of technology and web services to capture and document the lives of their children. Its second TVC, “Archana’s Kitchen” tells the story of Archana who grew up in Tamil Nadu and took forward her childhood passion of cooking to the web through Blooking (Blog Cooking). Rungta gives credit to the extensive TV campaigns for Google’s market share moving from 13 per cent to 37 per cent by the end of 2011.
TV ads have delivered a similar success story for Microsoft, which rolled out several new commercials in 2011 and more are expected in 2012. “The idea was to introduce to the family how Microsoft products can improve their daily lives,” says Amrish Goyal, Director (Windows Business Group), Microsoft. The technology company drives home the point that Microsoft Office products are easy-to-use in a commercial when a father and son swap their Windows 7 laptops, with the son surprising the father by adding a few visual additions to his office presentation.
Microsoft claims that since it began running the TV commercials in India, it has seen more than 7 per cent increase in “intent of purchase” at the stores. “We have seen an increase in sales of Windows products and that gives us confidence to push more TV commercials focused on other Microsoft products and services in 2012,” says Goyal.
While Microsoft got the ads commissioned and executed by international agency Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Google India signed on Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s India (BBH) to show how the internet has changed people’s life for the better.
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“It took more than eight weeks to develop the advertisement and a lot of attention was given to minute details. We flew around 50 paintings from Chennai to create a proper background which was the backbone of the commercial. It has been depicted without a single use of any computer in the commercial. Instead, several windows resonating different sections of his website are shown in a physical state,” points out Rungta. The search giant already runs billboard adverts and extensive online campaigning on its web properties. With the new TV ads, it hopes to convert general consumers to use its services.
Microsoft, on other hand, will continue to launch TV commercials targeted at the family in 2012. “For the younger consumers, we have an active social media and online campaign strategy in place. In fact, we have two people from India dedicated to monitor the social web and manage the Microsoft campaigns while a team of 15 people manage the India marketing side,” says Goyal.