Grofers' Bad Full-Page Ad - Strategy With RS

A full-page advertisement (referenced above) was released in a leading newspaper in Mumbai. If I were ‪#‎Grofers‬, I would not have approved this advertisement nor put financial resources behind releasing it.

1. Placement of products: Take yourself. You are visiting a ‪#‎hypermarket‬ to buy milk. Next to milk cartons are stacked Phenyl bottles, which are in ‘sealed’ condition, except they are barely milli-meters away from the milk cartons. Which milk carton will you pick? The one placed closest to the sealed bottle of phenyl or the one furthest from it? Chances are that you will pick up the milk carton, which is placed furthest from the bottle of Phenyl? This phenomena is called as ‘Contagious effect’ – when the attributes of one spreads out & affects the other. In this case the attributes of phenyl ‘spread’ on to milk & therefore it becomes ‘unpalatable’.
In this advertisement, edible oil, dog food & insect repellent are placed in close proximity.

Result: Food items may suffer from ‘Contagious’ effect.

2. ‪‎Hot‬ Buttons: Words such as, ‘‪#‎Sale‬’, ‘‪#‎Now‬’, ‘‪#‎Just‬’, ‘‪#‎Limited‬’ are labeled as Hot Buttons & have the power of stopping people & getting to notice it. The advertisement has attempted to use ‘Hot buttons’, but it could have been used more effectively.
a. Current copy:
i. Order today and get 20% cask back* on payment through …’.
b. Proposed Copy:
i. Order Now. Get 20% cash back instantly on payment through …’. Offer available for today Only.

3. Headline: The headline is intriguing. But it could be disappointing for many ‘potential’ users of Grofer when they realize that they have been placed on the same pedestal as ‘cockroaches’. Given the phobia that many people have with cockroaches it may not be the most judicious or impactful headline.

4. Layout: I believe the communication objective of this advertisement would have been to inform & educate potential users of Grofers that it offers entire range of household products & much more. That part is tucked away at the bottom of the advertisement. I would rework the layout to give it prominence.
What did I like about the advertisement?

#‎House‬ color: It seems that Grofers House color is ‘orange’. And this advisement is bathed in its house color. Remember that House color improves brand recognition by up to 70%. Bottom line: Attempt to build in principles of ‪#‎behavioralsciences‬ into your communication strategy. When it is embedded intelligently it will garner better response & vice versa. How did you feel about this advertisement? What are your views on it?   ———-   In this series, Rajesh Srivastava, Business Strategist and Visiting Faculty at IIM Indore gives you a regular dose of strategy case studies to help you think and keep you one step ahead as a professional as compared to your peers. Rajesh is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and IIT Kanpur and has over 2 decades of experience in the FMCG industry. All previous Strategy with RS posts can be found here