Wednesday, June 6, 2012

BTL Activity Magnum Relaunch - The Royal Treatment Campaign in Pakistan

Admit it or not, everyone of us had imagined himself / herself as a king / queen once in a life time. I always wanted to be a King of the Chocoland - The land of Indulgence, pleasure, bliss and ecstasy! Well I always had a thing for chocolates ever since I was a kid. Last week I saw a TV Commercial of New Magnum with Belgian Chocolate which brought back my Chocoland fantasies again.






The very next day I get an invitation to Unilever Guest House for the Relaunch Ceremony on 3rd of June 2012 at 5:00PM along with a cute little gift box of Belgian chocolate from LALS. As they say Good things in life come in small packages ;). guess what. My day just got better! I had no clue what was awaiting for me but I had an idea it was going to be an ecstatic experience given the fact that Magnum was an ice-cream I always felt close to.



Oh by the way Marketing students, please stay attentive. This is practical case example of direct marketing and consumer engagement. Coming back to Magnum, Magnum ice cream is being sold in supermarkets and retail outlets nationwide. It comes in three flavours: classic, almond, and chocolate truffle is a new addition. 

To know more about Magnum Icecream click here.

In the past it had been linked with lust and sensuality in the minds of the consumers. Given the fact Magnum is a premium brand, and it should be positioned in such a way that the prestige of the brand should remain in the minds of the consumers. Hence the Royal Treatment campaign came into play. 



I reached the Unilever guesthouse well before the event was about to start (Still trying to kill my habit of driving fast when I'm driving alone :/ ). I was greeted by Salaar who is the Brand Manager for  Magnum. I was escorted to the VIP Lounge where the Ceremony was about to start. Managed to take some clicks. Arriving first has its perks you know.









The guests included journalists, Coporates, Bloggers, fashion designers, photographers, fashion models etc. The guests were briefed about the Magnum's brand personality, it's target market and audience (adults obviously) and the Royal Treatment campaign. The guests were offered to taste and experience Belgian chocolate while Madiha from Lals chocolates briefed about the history of Belgian Chocolate. The special factor that makes Belgian chocolate standout among its contemporaries is the great respect for the chocolate manufacturing techniques that have been perfected by Europeans for centuries as well as the excellent quality of the ingredients used for making the chocolates. The Unique thing about the campaign is they've got the Brand Council including brand ambassodors Ayesha Linnea, Ayan, Tappu Javeri, Nabila and Deepak Perwani who will be playing their role based on their expertise in the campaign. We were then introduced to the Magnum Dip station which will be launched in various cities where you can customize your magnum the way you want. 






and the big surprise. when I had my magnum, next thing I noticed two lovely ladies crowned me and brought me the throne! Whoa I became the king of the Choco-land. 






The guests were asked to get their pictures taken from Unilever's Official Photographer capturing their memory of the Royal Experience of pleasure they just had! That's not it. The Pleasure Lounge and the dip station is coming to you soon! Magnum will be launching the all famous most tweeted game of 2011 "The Pleasure Hunt" online! and of course you can also spot the Magnum Airship at Clifton if you're around.


Well Done Wall's. Well Done Magnum Brand team! To see more pictures of the album on facebook visit Shutter Speed page. You can be a part of the campaign by joining the MAGNUM PAKISTAN page on facebook.


hail to the king baby. happy eating.
Owi

Monday, April 2, 2012

Gossip and back-biting: A Lethal pastime

One fine afternoon I was caught up in work, a colleague of mine came to my desk.
She looked around to see if someone is noticing. After getting satisfied that no one is there to hear what she is about to reveal, she whispers, “hey Owi, pssst.” “Hmmm what’s up”, I said while typing along an email. And then she goes again, “Hey listen I need to tell you something important.”

Realizing the fact that she is not going to let me go until I listen with 100% attention to what she has to say, I decided to pause and kept my hands on the table to show that I was in the listening mode. She exclaimed, “It’s about Sara and Imran.. I just heard that…”
“hey hey hey, wait.” I interrupted. Before you get started about my friends you need to pass a “Socrates’ - Triple Filter Test.”

“Oh come on, I was about to share an interesting gossip with you and you started your philosophy with me again. You’re so boring. Now what is this Tripple Filter Test.” She asked.
“Well Miss BBC, before you break something to me about my friends it would be a good idea if you filter what you are about to say.” I explained.

“Now the 1st filter is the TRUTH FILTER. Are you absolutely sure what you heard about Imran and Sara is truth and nothing but the truth?” I inquired.

“No Shazia was telling Anum and I heard their conversation” She said hesitantly.
I continued, “Aha. So what you were about to tell me may not be 100%. Ok now let’s try the second filter which is the GOODNESS FILTER. What you are about to tell me is good or bad?”

“Umm well.. No it’s not” She said. “Ok so you are telling me something bad about my friends which you are not even sure whether it’s true or not.” I smiled while enjoying the sheepish look on her face. “Ok lets try the third and last filter. After that I may buy you gossip if you pass. The third filter is the filter of USEFULNESS. What you are about to tell me is useful for me or not. What impact will it create on my health?”

“No not really.” She said. “there you go. Thank you very much for coming up with an information that is not true, defaming and has nothing to do with me or you so to speak”  So why share and spread useless piece of gossip behind their back?

As they say Rumour is a monster that runs faster than light. People tend to get attracted towards spreading negativity of others after hearing and witnessing the scenes about the ones they don’t like. The only reason I see is they see their lives less fulfilled than others. Remember my friends this habit is so cynical that it prevents you from seeing the goodness in a person.
If you are a person with a positive mindset you will always see goodness and positivity in everything and in every person. Remember there are bigger battles to fight in life in pursuit of your passion instead of gossiping and back-biting other people. Focus focus focus! And next time you hear a gossip, apply 3 Filter test. It will make your life much much easier. And by the way this test can be applied to any life situation too!  :)