Print as a medium wasn’t used by the Brooke Bond brand for many years. Hence, it was critical for Dainik Bhaskar to establish its medium credentials while delivering value beyond that of a TV performance.

This was the first-ever attempt by a tea brand in India to test the merit of the print medium and measure the additional impact that print delivers.

To accomplish this, several creative objectives had to be met. Primary was our partnership with the creative agency Ogilvy & Mather in developing a print centric campaign that connected with the readers in their lingo. It needed nuances that made an emotional difference to the reader.

This was a unique partnership where the client, the creative agency, the media agency, and the publication worked together to create a multiplier effect for the desired call for action.

Using the basic platform of “Tea is Healthy,” the campaign encouraged readers to write in their views (SMS/mail) to the antagonist in the ads. The first stage of the campaign featured the protagonist asking for advice on whether tea is healthy. The second stage featured live respondents/readers sending their recommendations.

The entire campaign ran exclusively in one newspaper in all of India — Dainik Bhaskar — to evaluate the results in complete isolation. Key players in the communication were attractive leading film personalities, which helped us connect with the readers.

Dainik Bhaskar created the entire, five-month media plan (July to November, 2012). The print campaign launched 10 days after the launch of the national TV campaign so we could measure the before-print and after-print effect on the call-ins.

Staff-created innovations on the front page, in the women’s magazine section, and on the back and inside pages added lustre to the campaign.

Overall, the number of call-ins grew by more than 2.5 times, with spikes clearly seen on the days that innovations or larger-sized ads were released:

1. On day one, the call-ins jumped from an average of 4,100 to 22,385 — a 500% jump.
   
   
2. One week later, the ad was carried in Madhurima (our women’s magazine), and on that day 14,140 calls were recorded.
   
   
3. Within a week, the tally went to 120,634 calls.
   
   
4. The entire Dainik Bhaskar campaign tallied more than 400,000 calls.

Key learnings for all partners were:

• Print works as a medium for thematic campaigns if created specifically for the medium and given sustained exposure.
  
  
• Print can be a strategic choice to supplement heavy TV campaigns through its local reach/spread.
  
  
• If the objectives are clearly spelled out, they can be monitored and the efficacy of print for the FMCG category can be measured.

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