 "ZopNow: Promising delivery and no excuses")
If speed of service is the USP of e-commerce, it is all the more so in case of e-grocery companies. And while some players in the online grocery segment may have scaled down operations or struggled to build customer loyalty, unlike well-entrenched online marketplaces, the promise of speed of delivery and ease for the user remains a hook that will decide who succeeds in the long run.
No wonder, Bengaluru-based ZopNow's maiden TV campaign (TVC) comprising three ad films emphasises on speed of delivery. The films are a quirky take on what can go wrong in case you run out of stocks in your household, as they show a household help, Kantabai, making excuses while answering the calls of her employer, presumably a working woman. Engaged in activities like power yoga or relaxing using a face pack or even lazing in a bath tub, the household help complains of lack of cleaning and washing tools and vegetables.
Praveen Singh, marketing director of ZopNow, says, "For the campaign we wanted to emphasise largely on speed. We wanted to give viewers the impression that with ZopNow you get fast delivery and it's a given that the inventory would be fresh. A typical housewife wouldn't want to wait for more than three or four hours. These are the pain points customers face almost regularly and we wanted viewers to connect in this respect." He adds that although the company's target group is working couples, it wants to convince any household including joint families about how they can save time with the help of ZopNow.
Praveen Singh points out the 30-second ads were aimed to communicate "three key benefits" for the customer - fast delivery, fresh products and easy to use - through a powerful medium. "We chose Kantabai as a character since we wanted to convey what can happen in a household if things run out of stock. We chose a character that could be a caricature, so Kantabai stands for anyone who makes excuses then. These are situations where our services come into play, and we get things delivered within three hours," he adds.
Akshat Gupt, director, Supari Studios - the production house that shot the ad films - says: "Zopnow's brief was clear; it was to highlight and establish ZopNow as the destination for anyone who wants her grocery shopping to be done 'fast, fresh and easy'. Humour has always been a great way of communicating a message, hence the use of an endearing, amusing, yet immensely infuriating character such as Kantabai highlights the frustrations and challenges one faces while running a household in India."
He points out that Supari Studios added much of the humour elements to the scripts. "We gave the character various activities that you wouldn't find a maid doing. But because there's no work in the house, she has the time to do other activities. She does not want to work because there is no material available."
The campaign will run till mid-August, with largely TV and digital play, besides out-of-home activities.
While no exact figures are available for the online grocery market size in India currently, it is projected to reach Rs 2.7 billion by 2019. ZopNow, founded in September 2011, had begun as an inventory-keeping online retailer. But it shifted focus in August 2014, positioning itself as "India's largest technology platform for online groceries" as it competes with the likes of Grofers and BigBasket.
Having partnered with big retailers like HyperCITY and More, ZopNow is targeting more partners. It promises to help magnify reach and limit the handicap of high rental costs - which prevent expansion of stores by big retailers - by providing logistic, technology, marketing and last-mile delivery support. Says Singh, "Since the TV campaign, our search volume has grown more than five times and our business itself has grown by 70-odd per cent in a matter of three weeks. So, we are getting a good response from it and the campaign is part of a larger plan for the year where we want to get a $50 million annual revenue run rate."
No wonder, Bengaluru-based ZopNow's maiden TV campaign (TVC) comprising three ad films emphasises on speed of delivery. The films are a quirky take on what can go wrong in case you run out of stocks in your household, as they show a household help, Kantabai, making excuses while answering the calls of her employer, presumably a working woman. Engaged in activities like power yoga or relaxing using a face pack or even lazing in a bath tub, the household help complains of lack of cleaning and washing tools and vegetables.
Praveen Singh, marketing director of ZopNow, says, "For the campaign we wanted to emphasise largely on speed. We wanted to give viewers the impression that with ZopNow you get fast delivery and it's a given that the inventory would be fresh. A typical housewife wouldn't want to wait for more than three or four hours. These are the pain points customers face almost regularly and we wanted viewers to connect in this respect." He adds that although the company's target group is working couples, it wants to convince any household including joint families about how they can save time with the help of ZopNow.
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The ads were conceptualised by the company itself, with chief executive officer Mukesh Singh even having a blink-and-you-miss appearance as the delivery guy in the final sequence of every film, handing over the goods to a bemused Kantabai. The punch line is, "No more excuses".
Praveen Singh points out the 30-second ads were aimed to communicate "three key benefits" for the customer - fast delivery, fresh products and easy to use - through a powerful medium. "We chose Kantabai as a character since we wanted to convey what can happen in a household if things run out of stock. We chose a character that could be a caricature, so Kantabai stands for anyone who makes excuses then. These are situations where our services come into play, and we get things delivered within three hours," he adds.
Akshat Gupt, director, Supari Studios - the production house that shot the ad films - says: "Zopnow's brief was clear; it was to highlight and establish ZopNow as the destination for anyone who wants her grocery shopping to be done 'fast, fresh and easy'. Humour has always been a great way of communicating a message, hence the use of an endearing, amusing, yet immensely infuriating character such as Kantabai highlights the frustrations and challenges one faces while running a household in India."
He points out that Supari Studios added much of the humour elements to the scripts. "We gave the character various activities that you wouldn't find a maid doing. But because there's no work in the house, she has the time to do other activities. She does not want to work because there is no material available."
The campaign will run till mid-August, with largely TV and digital play, besides out-of-home activities.
While no exact figures are available for the online grocery market size in India currently, it is projected to reach Rs 2.7 billion by 2019. ZopNow, founded in September 2011, had begun as an inventory-keeping online retailer. But it shifted focus in August 2014, positioning itself as "India's largest technology platform for online groceries" as it competes with the likes of Grofers and BigBasket.
Having partnered with big retailers like HyperCITY and More, ZopNow is targeting more partners. It promises to help magnify reach and limit the handicap of high rental costs - which prevent expansion of stores by big retailers - by providing logistic, technology, marketing and last-mile delivery support. Says Singh, "Since the TV campaign, our search volume has grown more than five times and our business itself has grown by 70-odd per cent in a matter of three weeks. So, we are getting a good response from it and the campaign is part of a larger plan for the year where we want to get a $50 million annual revenue run rate."