Ad world goes hyper-local; targeted commercials gaining ground

Brands take to tailored communication for higher return on investment

- VAISHALI DAR

THE ONE-SIZE-fits-all approach is taking a back seat when it comes to advertising. The rising demand for vernacular content has made brands turn to localised and culturally targeted advertising, which ensures maximum efficacy in business communication combined with product integration.

Remember the 'Not A Cadbury Ad' featuring Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as Sharmaji, where different content was aired in different geographies with the actor reeling off names of local shops.

The data-driven campaign using machine learning was created by Ogilvy India for Cadbury Celebrations, which doubled as communication for Cadbury and thousands of local businesses and was a brilliant example of an online hyper-personalised and relatable creative.

"With local content, brands expect to connect better with consumers of a certain cohort concentrated in a geographical area to get a higher return on investment," says Anuraag Khandelwal, executive creative director and creative head, 82.5 Communications, an Ogilvy & WPP Group Company.

"Localised targeting helps translate offers and messages in circles of influence around retail stores or showrooms the brand might have," adds Khandelwal, who has worked on PhonePe 'Tension Chhodo, Insurance Lo' campaign to shatter the myth of south India being a monolith, and did four different ads for PhonePe insurance - different cast, settings and nuances.

For Bisleri, he pioneered language labels in Telugu (AP, Telangana), Marathi (Maharashtra), and Hindi for Uttar Pradesh, not merely to connect, but also to beat the fakes.