Hitting The Bulls Eyes

By R V Rajan CMD, Anugrah Madison Advertising P Ltd. (Feb 1, 2004)

In the world of communication, if you can identify your target audience by name and address, it is considered to be half the job done. It makes it easy for the communicator to develop a suitable communication package and deliver it to the pin-pointed target audience through Direct Marketing efforts like Road Shows, Direct Mail or one to one communication. This reduces the huge wastage involved in using mass media, which can never guarantee you a 100% focussed audience.

With the proliferation of satellite channels, their astronomical costs and the absence of 100% reliable data on popularity ratings of programmes, it has become extremely difficult for ad agencies to assure the clients that there is no wastage involved in using such expensive media. It is in this context that FMCGs like HLL are beginning to prune their media budgets and look at investing more in Direct Marketing efforts through below-the-line activities. The importance of such efforts for promoting high end or expensive products like the consumer durable, life style or any other product category which necessitates educating a target audience with a new concept or product category, cannot be underestimated. This becomes even more relevant when you are dealing with target audiences located in semi-urban and rural areas, where the mass media plays a limited role and use of unconventional media and below the line activities become very important.

This is the story of one such effort by the Shriram Group, a Rs.5000 crore company with Headquarters in Chennai known for their pioneering efforts in Chit Funds, who are also involved in Truck Finance business for the last 30 years. The vast experience of the Shriram Group in the Truck Finance business supported by the excellent infrastructure and innovative products with effective promotional strategies have helped the group take on the might of Sundaram Finance and Ashok Leyland, who are considered to be big players in the field.

Shriram’s Strength
Shriram has a unique strength and expertise in truck finance business. They finance only small lorry operators having one or two trucks whereas most other leading NBFCs are lending to big fleet operators. Shriram have become very strong in this segment with a network of 200 locations, facilitating the company in lending and easy collection of installments from lorry operators.

In addition to their own funds generated through deposits, Shriram also act as a channel partner for utilization of funds from leading banks like Citicorp, who use the infrastructure strength of the Group and disburse funds to the trucking industry. Because of this, the Shriram Group, though an NBFC, is able to provide loans to the trucking industry at bank rates which are lower than NBFC rates.

Shriram is also very strong in second hand truck finance. Recently they have come up with the concept of Recon Trucks, which are reconditioned second hand trucks. No other organisation in the country is financing second hand trucks in such a large scale as Shriram. In fact the mega dream of the Chairman of the Group, is to help modernise the trucking industry in India, by helping small fleet owners replace their very old trucks with either new trucks or reconditioned trucks at affordable costs.

When they decided to promote their loan products in the southern markets in a big way, with Tamilnadu as a first step, Shriram decided to launch a basket of products aimed at the trucking industry. They sought the help of Anugrah Madison, the Chennai based Rural Communication Specialists to develop an effective communication strategy aimed at the semi urban and rural markets.

Challenge of creating target specific campaigns
In the brief given to the agency, client had listed a basket of eight loan products aimed at the trucking industry, out of which the following four products were shortlisted:

a. New truck finance
b. Truck Exchange Scheme
c. Used truck finance
d. Recon truck finance

In order to help them develop a communication package, the Agency decided to conduct a qualitative study among the potential target audience of small fleet owners and drivers. The study helped the Agency understand the mindset of customers, their hopes, their fears, their aspirations, etc. Based on the findings, the Agency recommended that the products be grouped and targeted at small fleet owners (New truck finance & Truck Exchange scheme) and drivers (Used truck finance & Recon truck finance) separately.

The next challenge was to create separate communication packages which were not only different in terms of concepts and contents, but also had to be delivered in different locations. The agency developed a very focused campaign aimed at the Owners (who had to be persuaded to buy more trucks) and Drivers (whose dream of owning a truck some day had to become a reality with the help of Shriram).

So the communication strategy for the ‘Owners’ was to ‘appeal to their business sense’ and promote Shriram as their best friend (Shriram – your best friend). The communication strategy for the Drivers was to ‘appeal to their aspiration’ and the theme “Even a Driver can now become an owner” literally tugged their hearts and made them act on their dream of becoming owners with the help of Shriram.

Location specific delivery of the campaign

Once the creatives were ready, it was decided to deliver the campaign in two phases. In the first phase, the small fleet owners were targeted which was followed by the campaign targeted at drivers.

In both the cases, it was decided to have very focused, target specific get-togethers with very focused creatives to achieve maximum cost effectiveness. The entire campaign for both the target audience was meticulously planned and executed.

Owners Campaign
An exhaustive database of fleet-owners, consisting of both current customers of Shriram, as well as competition was used to deliver the campaign at special “Shriram Prosperity Shows” conducted in hired auditoriums in selected towns of Tamilnadu, to which the Owners were invited.

As a first step, a special ‘pop-up’ invitation card for the show was designed to trigger interest and was personally delivered to the target audience. The invitation card with lucky dip nos., provided a good incentive to ensure better participation, starting with five lucky winners chosen from the invitees who arrived in time for the show.

Everyone who attended was provided with gift kits including promotional brochures and refreshments after the lucky dip coupon was detached from their cards.

As an audience involvement gimmick and in order to promote Shriram logo and to further refine the database, invitees were asked to “guess the money in the briefcase” carried by a cut out of the Shriram mascot and win exciting prizes. Everyone who filled the form got a “thank you” gift which was sent to their houses and the first three correct entries got special prizes.

To add a touch of glamour to the show, an anchor who was a well known TV personality was chosen to conduct the whole show.

The show itself had three major communication packages, the first being a specially created motivational video film based on a popular film tune depicting friendship which is the core message of the owners campaign (i.e.) Shriram – your best friend.

Next a special tele film (15 minutes duration) using TV stars and an interesting story line was shown to launch the products and highlight the special features. This was followed by a quiz competition to double check the comprehension of the main messages in the film providing one more opportunity for a lucky few to win prizes.

Following this was a short testimonial film based on real life stories of Shriram customers on how Shriram financed not only buying trucks, but also helped their general welfare by providing loans for marriages, education, purchase of properties, medical emergencies, etc.

The most awaited moment came next. The time to pick the bumper prize winners. As invitees waited with bated breath, luck favoured some with two wheelers, refrigerators, washing machines, cookers, mixer grinders, water filters, etc.

Everyone who came stayed glued to their seats till the end, enjoying the 90 to 100 minutes of the Week-end evening with entertainment, edutainment and much more. Each show attracted thousands of small fleet owners, the primary target audience. The day after the show, hundreds of fleet owners queued up outside Shriram offices for loans with great hopes.

The campaign which was launched in Tamilnadu in April 2001 has been extended to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh with excellent results.

Drivers Campaign
Unlike the Owners, drivers, who are constantly mobile, had to be reached, where they are found in groups. The Drivers campaign, therefore, started with the Shriram team mapping the locations like Dhabas and wholesale or other markets where the drivers are found in groups.

A specially decorated van equipped with AV equipment and other promotional materials took off to each location based on a predetermined journey cycle plan.

In each location, the drivers were identified and given a specially designed invitation card to attend the Road Show – this was important to make them feel special.

At the venue the show started with a video contest – 5 lucky dip winners from the audience had to identify the film star hidden behind the Shriram logo. Every winner had to mouth the theme of the campaign before he was asked to give the answers.

After this a special 15 minutes tele film, which was totally different from the one shown to owners, once again based on a slice of life approach featuring popular film stars was shown. A quiz contest following the show ensured that the core message of the film was clearly understood apart from helping the selected participants to win prizes.

Finally the show ended with distribution of prizes including the bumper prize.

At the show every participant was given a special gift kit including a brochure, giving full details of the two loan schemes and addresses where the company representatives can be contacted.
Each show has been attracting 50 to 100 drivers with very positive response from them, after each show. This campaign which was also launched successfully in Tamilnadu is now being extended to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Phenomenal Results
Both the campaigns have helped the company achieve excellent results – almost 20 times growth in loan disbursals, establishing Shriram as the undisputed leader in the Truck Finance business.

The phenomenal success of this campaign has been mainly due to the delivery of a well conceived and hard hitting communication package to a very focused target audience. This coupled with the total commitment of Shriram Executives in ensuring the successful implementation of the campaign supported by the excellent infrastructure the group has built in all the markets for handling the impact of such a massive campaign has helped Shriram group take giant strides in the truck finance business. No wonder that an MNC outfit like Citi decided to give its “trust vote” to Shriram by taking an equity stake in two group companies – Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd., based in Mumbai and Shriram Investments Ltd., based in Chennai. This is sure to impact positively the image of the group and help it realise its dream of contributing to the modernisation of the Indian trucking industry. Jai Shriram.