Tata Power’s first major campaign in years tries to create differentiation in the competitive power distribution space
Power companies come out with advertising campaigns when they need to raise money from the capital markets. They buy space in the media, put up hoardings and even get into some sponsorship deals. Once the money is in the bank, they roll back the campaign. The latest Tata Power campaign has nothing to do with fund-raising; it is meant to do what any ordinary campaign does — create differentiation in the mind of the consumer.
The company’s first major 360-degree campaign in years comes hot on the heels of a regulatory change in Mumbai’s retail power market. With the chance to finally woo customers (and stakeholders) in Mumbai suburbs, the market is going to be the next battlefield for private power companies. “Until last year, switching power providers was not permitted in Mumbai; but in June 2008, the Supreme Court allowed the migration from the Reliance network to the Tata Power network and vice versa,” says a power-sector analyst at a leading brokerage firm in India. This is akin to mobile number portability in telecom — a vital reason behind Bharti Airtel’s brand revamp. Faced with multiple choices, consumers go for a brand that touches an emotional chord.
“In terms of power distribution, while South Mumbai is catered by state-owned BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport), the suburbs are catered by private players Reliance Infrastructure (Infra) and Tata Power. Hence, the entire Reliance Infrastructure’s area of supply also forms Tata Power’s area of supply, while BEST is exclusive,” he adds. “Given the change in policy, the power distribution space has become competitive.”
“With this campaign, Tata Power is targeting residential customers in Mumbai, across all socio-economic strata. This includes the low-end users as well as people living in expensive homes who have a higher propensity of consumption,” says Dentsu India Executive Creative Director Harish Arora who led the team that has designed the campaign. The campaign will address an audience base beyond residential users. According to Arora, “At a secondary level, Tata Power also wanted to engage opinion makers, government, large institutional consumers and influencers who are vital stakeholders for any power company.”
Tell apart
So how does one position a service which is a necessity rather than a desire, a staple commodity and not an item of discretionary purchase? How is one different from the other? The brief given to Dentsu India included two things. One was to communicate the rational benefits delivered by Tata Power, which includes superior customer service and technology, transparency in dealings and eco-friendly initiatives promoting sustainability. The second was to deepen the bond between the brand and its consumers at an emotional level by positioning the company as a reliable, trustworthy and preferred provider of power. This, the thought went, would be a good enough differentiator.
The result was the film titled Mumbai ki lifeline (the lifeline of Mumbai) which is being broadcast across top channels, including some regional channels. To make the campaign locally relevant, it is being aired in two languages — Hindi and Marathi — in clips of 30 and 45 seconds.
The television commercial unfolds with a peek into the life of an average Mumbaikar who considers the local train a vital part of his life. Naikji, the protagonist, on his daily commute on the Mumbai local train, befriends several fellow travellers. Be it the quintessential Bengali, Sen Babu, to the lively Punjabi, Singh Sahib, the commercial aims to capture the camaraderie and warmth shared in a train journey that Naikji has been making for years.
The local train draws parallel to the role of Tata Power which, the commercial shows, also plays an integral role in the lives of ordinary people in the city of Mumbai. Tata Power is one of India’s largest integrated private power utilities and has been supplying power to Mumbai for over 100 years.
The film has been directed and shot by Aniruddha Sen, composed by Amar and produced by Oneeyedjax. The voiceover is of Harish Arora of Dentsu. “It took us a month and a half to create the campaign,” explains Arora. “Since the entire commercial was shot in a moving train, the task was even more challenging. We hired a local train for two days in platform number 5 at the Goregaon station [a suburb of Mumbai] to finish the assignment,” adds Arora.
Across mediums
The commercial, though most prominent, is the third phase of the campaign for Tata Power. Phase 1 was a print campaign across mainline dailies. Phase 2 was an outdoor campaign which included branding across the local trains, AC buses and other outdoor media. Running parallel across all phases is a radio campaign. “The key idea in phases 1 and 2 of the campaign was to generate awareness about the lesser-known fact that Tata Power is a power supplier to essential public utilities in the city like trains, hospitals and refineries,” adds Arora. Phase 3 of the campaign also includes some outdoor initiatives.
Currently, the campaign has been planned for three months. However Arora explains that the campaign will not phase out here. “After this, we will launch another campaign which will focus on the Tata Power Energy Club, an initiative that promotes energy conservation among school children.” The company hopes that awareness at schools will sensitise not only children but also indirectly influence parents, relatives and friends. For now, the company has conducted this programme in 15 schools each in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. Schools around the area where Tata Power has its facilities are also on the company’s radar.
Ashish Mishra, chief strategist & head of Water Consulting, a part of the Mudra Group, which currently handles the communication for Reliance Infrastructure, also shares a similar brand philosophy. “The brand experience and communication for power companies essentially lies in building a service brand that is committed, efficient, honest and environmentally awakened. So a power company’s communication on these lines helps assuage the conflicts and frustrations related to power shortage, which is natural in a country like ours,” says he. It would be interesting to see how Reliance Infrastructure responds to Tata Power’s latest attempt to forge a bond with consumers.
