Not stuck for ideas

MARKETING: Pidilite's latest attention-getter shows that it still has tricks up its tubes.

Pidilite has stuck to a simple philosophy "" do the unexpected to raise consumer involvement with something as dull as adhesives "" for years, and gained vastly from it. But just when you thought the company (least of all its brand Fevicol) cannot surprise you much further, out pops an "infomercial" to knock you off again.

It doesn't look like an ad. It looks like a chat show. Or maybe a tele-shopping spot. Whatever it is, it does its job.

What job? Explains Rajesh Mehta, head of marketing, Pidilite Industries, "Many of the Pidilite products fall in the do-it-yourself category and have multiple usages. To explain these multiple usages and how consumers can benefit from them, we decided to do infomercials."

"Pidilite "" lakh dukhon ki ek dawa" is the message, and it aims to help the everyday consumer get on with life. Anchored by Roshan Abbas, the infomercial is in the classic problem-solution format, with a dash of FeviKwik, Terminator, SteelGrip or M-seal (four of the company's products) playing the hero's role in case after case.

This is part of a wider effort to have the brands seep into daily life. The company is using Sony's show CID, for example, to affix the brands in viewer mindspace. On a recent episode of the show, Mr Fixit, a Pidilite brand, does the job of plugging a tank leakage.

"Our flagship advertising has been the creative campaign for Fevicol," says Mehta, "but people need to know the exact usage of Pidilite products."

Thanks to the power of breakthrough advertising, people understand Fevicol's promise of adhesion even in abstract terms, but are vague about multiple benefis of products such as M-Seal, which isn't only about sealing a will. And then there is FeviKwik, which isn't only about quick fishing. Though you can hardly blame anyone for thinking so.