Mktg - YOMO directs you to Planet M

Readers in Mumbai would know about this. Recently, Mumbai newspapers carried ads which proclaimed that a UFO had been sighted and that Mumbaikars need not panic. It also disclaimed that UFOs existed at all. This were teaser ads released by Planet M to introduce its mascot Yomo. This idea of having a brand mascot was initiated by TBWA, while pitching for this business. The idea was to create a disruption with an outer space invasion scare. Planet M, the music store started by Times Group nearly a decade ago, was acquired by Next Retail, Videocon’s electronic retailing arm, about a year ago. Since the acquisition, TBWAIndia was brought in to handle Planet M’s creative duties. Besides the teaser ada, a mock site, www.shockingtruths.in was also created which hosted content (data, images and videos) on possible extraterrestrial occurrences. Visitation stories, sightings and reactions were also hosted. Nearly 26,000 views were obtained for these videos. All this was a run up to introduce YOMO, the fun and friendly intergalactic brand avatar of Planet M. YOMO is looking for a fun planet and he soon finds that at Planet M.“Planet M wanted to re-launch, so that it was now associated with mobiles and mobile accessories, and yet different from other mobile stores,” explains Ambarish Ray, associate general manager, TBWAIndia. YOMO was created to embody the brand and its brand promise. Planet M, which started out as a music store, had slowly expanded into other merchandise. It now intends to highlight mobiles as its flagship driver. Hence, all communication focused in that direction.
As a brand, Planet M stands for a place where the young hang out, a place where they can get affordable merchandise and indulge themselves. “Even though the brand aims to be synonymous with mobiles, as it is with music, it did not try and change its logo too much,” says Ray. The tagline now says ‘Mobiles, Music, Movies and Mauj’. Apart from mobiles and mobile accessories, music and movies, the stores also have gaming consoles, downloadable applications and many other offerings that would draw Planet M’s core TG – 18-22 year olds. The chain of stores would also like to attract young, upwardly mobile individuals. Subir Ghosh, CEO, Planet M says, “The concept of YOMO was created to connect to the spirit of the young consumers and of our young colleagues who run our stores with the philosophy of, ‘Life is to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest’. ‘’The campaign was kickstarted in the first week of September, but the teaser ran during the fag end of August. The teaser used media channels such as internet and print to spread the intrigue. The revealer was carried out on outdoor, print, radio, hoardings, bus panels, bus shelters and many other ambient media. Local area catchments were wisely used in necessary areas, such as Bandra, Lower Parel and Goregaon in Mumbai. Television has not been employed as part of the re-launch exercise.Presently, the brand has been re-launched only in Mumbai. In the second phase, Planet M will re-launch in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, and later, Chennai. A pan India launch has been chalked out over the next three to four months.Post this and after having a significant presence in terms of number of stores in all these locations, Planet M will also employ television as a medium to reach its TG.The last part of the campaign will be a 10 day fun celebration with YOMO at 10 key Planet M stores, to bring alive the brand’s promise of fun and celebration along with cool mobiles and merchandise. The payoffs are huge, with high-ticket prizes to be won throughout the day. The team at TBWAIndia included Madan Mohan, COO, West and Sourabh Mishra, chief strategy officer, who provided general counsel and guidance. The brand team from the agency was Ambarish Ray with Pradnya Hattangadi (associate account director) and Smriti Chhabra (account supervisor) from account management; and Siddharth Deo (associate creative director), Kimberley Flanagan, Manas Thorat and Deepa Rao from the creative team.