Back in August, when I stumbled on a promoted tweet from Reliance Mutual Funds, I quite liked the fact that they connected the occasion (at that time, Raksha Bandhan) *and* their product together in a way that made sense.
Their new series (the same illustrator, I presume – a new in-house illustrator or an agency for art?) for Ganesh Chaturthi, however, seems pointless, particularly when you notice the fact that the series has been promoted on Twitter.
For comparison, imagine Reliance Mutual Fund putting up billboards or releasing print advertisements with the same content. Would they? I *really* doubt it. There is zero connect with the product/service from the brand, except for the branding and disclaimer. Did they do it because it’s relatively cheaper online to indulge in such communication that lacks the brand’s context?
Running generic contests on social media just to gain ‘engagement’ is a tactic that is at least a decade old. I too indulged in it, while at Edelman Digital, back in 2008-09 (primarily on Facebook) and stopped it by 2009-end because of how incredibly meaningless it was. And that too, mind you, this was all organic – mo wasting marketing budget on media. Plus, we used to make black-lists of ‘contest hunters’, generic contest participants who are only in it for the freebies/gifts and not for any category connect. The list was to ensure that they don’t keep getting the freebies between themselves 🙂
Reliance Mutual Fund still indulging in such generic contest tactics, paying Twitter to promote it too, baffles me. Question is – what do you think they may get out of this exercise?