With both Amazon and Flipkart going headstrong with their respective festive season sales, experts share who's strategy has been impressive.
The festive season is here or to say ‘shopping da season’ is knocking our doors. The e-commerce industry is spending huge monies on the festive sale and is set to deliver a record this season, estimate industry experts.
Meanwhile, e-tail giants, Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart gear up for their respective season offers with The Great Indian Shopping Festival and Big Billion Days and are going head to head in a bid to stand out amidst a plethora of shopping discounts online.
Amazon’s The Great Indian Shopping Festival
This time Amazon India says, ‘Ab India ki khushiyon ke beech budget nahi aayega!’ (Budget will not limit your happiness anymore). The company is going all out in attracting every individual to it’s offerings and facilities.
In the main video devised for the festival, Amazon India showcases the same story of an Indian Parivar- how they prep to shop for clothes, jewelry and more, not restricting to any pre-equipped budget through Amazon.
Flipkart’s Big Billion Days
Flipkart goes beyond just advertising by integrating with content that people consume actively; India's biggest passion points: Entertainment & Sports. The company has roped in who's who of the country from Amitabh Bachchan, Virat Kohli, MSD, Deepika Padukone, and Sunil Chhetri. This extended to Regional stars too, such as Mahesh Babu, Tammana, Mahesh Manjerekar, Presenjit, and Yash.
In the feature video for the campaign, Flipkart played a trump card by featuring ‘Shahenshah of Bollywood' and captioning the video as 'The Big B of sales in back', where Senior Bachchan is seen asking people to gear up for the biggest sale of the year with Flipkart.
Social Media Buzz
Amazon
Amazon's digital advertising mix included all major platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter. The buzz started two weeks prior to the shopping festival with teaser ads, moving onto unveiling official dates, showcasing individual offers and then featuring stars like Govinda, Karisma Kapoor, The dancing Uncle to generate excitement among the consumers.
There were also product oriented videos, creating buzz around the offers and products.
Amazon went a step ahead this time to introduce a live digital music concert roping in sensations like Monali Thakur, Badshah, Hardy Sandhu, Arjun Kanungo, and Aastha Gill.
Send us a parody video of your ultimate favourite Bollywood number and you may be one among the 6 lucky winners of an Amazon Gift Card worth ₹2000. Contest end of 9th October. #AmazonGreatIndianFestival https://t.co/qN7ijYON1v pic.twitter.com/zU9GSOJHn8
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) October 8, 2018
Watch the live countdown to the #AmazonGreatIndianFestival with me on 9th Oct, 10:30 PM on the Amazon India/ Sony Music YouTube channel. Be there! :) @amazonIN @sonymusicindia pic.twitter.com/CcS8jiYCn5
— Aastha Gill (@GillAastha) October 8, 2018
Watch the live countdown to the #AmazonGreatIndianFestival with me on 9th Oct, 10:30 PM on the Amazon India/ Sony Music YouTube channel. Be there! :)@amazonIN pic.twitter.com/o6Vy5YkxQo
— Monali Thakur (@monalithakur03) October 7, 2018
Also Read: Campaign Face Off: Levi’s #IShapeMyWorld v/s FabAlley’s #FabFitsAll
On Twitter it also asked users to create a parody version of Bollywood's famous songs and the best ones will be winning some amazing Amazon gift cards.
Can you parody this Bollywood song? Make a video of yourself doing a parody of this song and you may just win an Amazon Gift Card worth ₹2000! Don't forget to send in your entries before 9th October, 6 prizes up for grabs! #AmazonGreatIndianFestival https://t.co/qN7ijYxbCV pic.twitter.com/bTbJXHAygk
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) October 7, 2018
The Amazon Great Indian Festival is back and with exciting news! Introducing the Great Indian Festival Band. pic.twitter.com/2r3Ookb2zu
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) September 22, 2018
The retailer also arranged for Live Karoake session challenge in cities like Mumbai and Gurgaon.
Mumbai, are you up for the challenge? Join the Great Indian Band for the Live Karaoke Challenge at T1, CSI Airport between 2pm – 5pm. Don’t miss it! #AmazonGreatIndianFestival pic.twitter.com/x7xMJsaCQT
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) October 5, 2018
Get ready for some serious shopping at the Amazon Great Indian Festival from 10th - 15th Oct. Save the date. https://t.co/dCki7D2YzX pic.twitter.com/OAr8LxJXXf
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) October 1, 2018
Flipkart
Meanwhile, Flipkart is going headstrong with its advertising strategy for the sale season by releasing as many as 79 videos featuring stars including Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Deepika Padukone, Saina Nehwal and much more. The videos show them gushing over some exciting offers that Flipkart has to offer and that they can't wait for long.
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Also Read: Campaign Face Off: Levi’s #IShapeMyWorld v/s FabAlley’s #FabFitsAll
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The same strategy was followed on Twitter.
Do not miss this #PSA from @aliaa08! Keep your wishlists ready and set your alarm clocks, #TheBigBillionDays starts tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/d4RFx1295F
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) October 9, 2018
Get a BIG TV for the price of a small one? Dada says GO BIG! #BigBillionDaysAreBack pic.twitter.com/f5MSRkARYr
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) October 8, 2018
Large appliances at small prices? @NimmaYash has some good news for you! #BigBillionDaysAreBack pic.twitter.com/8XZem4aNWJ
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) October 7, 2018
Mi fans! We have some really exciting news about India's #1 dual camera smartphone - #RedmiNote5Pro! ?
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) October 6, 2018
Watch the video to know more ?@XiaomiIndia @RedmiIndia @Flipkart @_Kalyan_K pic.twitter.com/a8y3m2olQF
More than 10 lakh styles, all in your budget! Only during India’s Biggest Sale! #BigBillionDaysAreBack pic.twitter.com/aQuubq5uwx
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) October 5, 2018
Planning to buy a new Washing machine? Don’t do it before you check out MarQ by Flipkart.
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) September 26, 2018
Presenting an exclusive range of Washing Machines from #MarQByFlipkart. Quality or Price, No Compromise!
Explore more : https://t.co/WRCqzbtbvN
India's Biggest Sale is back! This time, with India's biggest stars! ? pic.twitter.com/EC3nOHL8qD
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) September 25, 2018
India's Biggest Sale is back! This time, with India's biggest stars! ?
A post shared by Flipkart (@flipkart) on
Who steals the cake?
Sujala Martis, Director, Consumer Marketing, Platinum Guild International
It’s a face-off between 2 giants. The intended message for both is the same – it’s a time of fulfilling desires & in the tussle between desires & budget. For me, however, it is Amazon that works better. While band baaja as creative device is not novel it serves better in terms of its disruptive, clutter breaking ability & memorability, especially in a pre-festive period.
When there are a plethora of sales/discounts/offers I think what you need to do is build that recall & sense of a sales destination. In the end, however, it will be product, payment options & ease, service & delivery parameters that will decide actual impact & that remains to be seen.
Hiren Joshi, Founder, Bee Online Communications:
It brings out joy, celebration whilst addressing the TG’s concerns. These aspects definitely work more than solely a celebrity face for a savvy digital audience who is looking to wrap their Diwali spends within set budgets, while being introduced to the idea of celebration.