27-01-2011 Jaypee Cement goes on ground for th…

Jaypee Cement goes on ground for the first time

By Rohit Nautiyal, afaqs!, New Delhi, June 04, 2010
Section: News Category: Advertising

The brand has used on ground for the first time and plans to make it a regular part of its media plan
To create noise about its latest packaging innovation across Punjab, Jaypee Cement, a part of the Rs 10,000 crore
infrastructural industrial conglomerate Jaypee Group, has launched a phased on ground campaign using BTL (below-the-
line) marketing on a big scale for the very first time since the brand's inception in 1986.

The brand has introduced a laminated cement bag in Punjab, replacing the one made of high density polyethylene (HDP).
Cement bags are often handled in a rough manner and get damaged, causing reduction in the quantity of the cement
added while sealing the bag. The new bag introduced by Jaypee is also waterproof and has been launched at this point in
time considering the much awaited arrival of the monsoon.

Punjab is renowned for its history of revolutions and the same thought was explored by Soi Live Marketing & Events for the
on ground campaign. To begin with, the teaser campaign aimed to catch the attention of end users of cement. The week
long activity involved life size torches fabricated on floats, with an accompanying message: 'Pujab mein kranti, cement
industry mein pehli baar'. Every day, after 7:30 pm, the life size torch was lighted and promoters carried real torches or
'mashaals' in both hands. Besides, close to 5 lakh hand bills shaped like mashaals were distributed across the length and
breadth of the state.

For the reveal campaign, the torch on the float has been replaced with a life size replica of the new cement bag. To
penetrate semi urban areas in the state, the same display has been executed on Tata Sumos. Promoters are visiting
retailers (including paint, hardware and cement shops) and informing them about the new pack and its advantages over
other bags of inferior quality. Also, a bat signed by brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar is being given away as a memento.

Though the activity will continue for a few more days, Soi Live Marketing & Events claims to have touched base with 10,000
retailers already. Soon, the campaign will enter its third phase, where print and radio will be used to create buzz.

Typically, a cement brand has two sets of TGs (target groups) - clients in the institutional space including builders and
construction companies; and the second set comprising individual house builders and petty contractors. As a matter of fact,
the second category of clients contribute to 75 per cent of sales of any cement brand and that is why a majority of ad spends
are directed to connect with them. The first set of TG is more interested in the price point.

As compared to other parts of the country where markets are crowded with cement players, Punjab has only a few big
players such as ACC, UltraTech and Ambuja. Therefore, the need to come up with a unique communication strategy is
evident and this is where the brand decided to explore the potential of on ground.

Shiva Dixit, executive vice-president, Jaypee Cement, says, "Mass media is expensive and when you are dealing in a
category like cement, there is hardly any scope for experimentation. While our earlier on ground initiatives were traditional
activities such as retailer and dealer meets, we plan to use BTL aggressively in the future."

The brand has spent 15 per cent of its marketing budget on BTL activities for this campaign.

Hemant Shah, chief mentor, Soi Live Marketing & Events shares how, unlike mass media platforms, with BTL, measurability
is instantaneous. "Before executing a plan, we work on actual figures on touch points and reach so that the client is assured
that the results will be closer to its estimates," he says.

With an annual production capacity of one million tonnes, Jaypee Cement's first facility came up in Madhya Pradesh in 1986.
As the brand entered other markets in the country beginning with UP in 2003, the production capacity touched the mark of
seven million tonnes and today, it is more than 22 million tonnes. Currently, the brand is available in 20 states pan India,
including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal and Orissa.

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27-01-2011 Jaypee Cement goes on ground for th…
Soon, the brand will make its foray into various markets in South India.

Earlier, there were two products under the Jaypee Cement banner, called Buland and Buniyaad. Now, both products have
been dissolved and there is only one cement product from the Jaypee Group.

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