Advertisements are seriously a passé now. No longer billboards and hoardings appeal to our wallet investments until its too creative or something unique a product. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has gone over the top this time. Taking publicity to a new level, HUL has strategized a partnership with Star Network, Yash Raj Films, Facebook and Google - to produce content across channels where HUL brands can participate, in form of a song or conversation and hash tags.
HUL has been producing a variety of products needed for daily living including beauty care, kitchen products and hygienic products.
Last Friday, the maker of Dove and Rin invited 13 producers including broadcasters, radio channels, film producers and top-notch digital companies to its campus to ideate how they can seamlessly weave HUL brands in their content, messages and shows, instead of just product placement and brand plugs, according to a news report in The Economic Times.
"As media is changing, there is a skill that needs to gevolved - as content explodes, how to tell compelling brand stories and really cut through to consumers by making sure the brand is able to tell a story that consumer can relate to," Gaurav Jeet Singh, HUL's head of media services in South Asia told the ET.
While the latest move of HUL, the country's largest advertiser, won't replace advertisements, the company is trying to partner media channels beyond obvious marketing. "Through popular culture, how can we ride on content that is designed to entertain, engage and connect? Something that is not force fit. But something that naturally fits into the content and can carry the brand story seamlessly," explained Singh.
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