Aarong

Showcasing Bangladesh

13 March 2008
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but
in having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust
Who are we and what are we
here to achieve?

The Big Idea & The Holistic

Solution

•Brand Activation
•Event Design &
Management
•Branded Experience
Management
•Promotional Activities for
Rural & Semi Urban
•Direct Marketing for
Rural & Semi Urban
•Outreach Programs
•Training Academy
•Trade Marketing
•Training & Development
•Channel Development &
Management
•Merchandising & Promotions
•Outsourced Field Ops.
Management
•Provide total PR solution
•Brand PR, Media. and
Stakeholder Mgt.
•Brand building, Strengthen
corporate & brand identity
•Direct MarketingDirect
Sales
•Creative
Communication
•New Market Entry
Strategies
•Brand Development
•Media Planning and
Buying
•Retail Distribution
•Catalogue Marketing
•Retailing
•HR Process Outsourcing
•Recruitment
Management
•Payroll Management
•Performance Appraisal
System
•HR Policy Planning
•Fiction & Non-fiction
Creative writing
•Audio Visual Production
•Post Production Services
•TV Media Content
Producers
•Logistic & Technical
Support
The Brief
– Why do we want new
advertising/campaign
• To reposition ourselves in a NEW direction.
• To connect with our existing and
prospective customers in a new platform of
appeal, value and image.
– What is the consumer insight?
• I love my country. I love being Bangladeshi.
Embracing my heritage and culture gives
me the uniqueness that will help me
conquer the world. I want my dress, my
ambience, household to reflect that.
– Advertising Objective
• Establish the NEW brand positioning
• Commence 30 year celebration
The Brief
– Who is the target audience
• Young Men/women (25-35)
– What does the target audience think and
do now?
• For them Aarong is a trusted brand. They visit the
store often, buying products mostly for gifts,
sometimes for their own consumption. For them
Aarong provides the reassurance that they have
bought a quality product, that their friends will
appreciate as it is from Aarong. But they don’t
feel excited about the brand. They miss out the
excitement. They don’t feel it fits completely in
their life
– What would we like them to think and do
in response to the advertising?
• The advertising should
– a. Trigger strong interest among non – users to try
the brand.
» Aarong has surprised me. I never saw it like this. It
looks so exciting and suits my beliefs and values. I
want to visit their store. I think it will make me unique
– b. Encourage regular usage and establish strong
connection with the brand.
» ‘Each Aarong product I buy goes with me so well. I am
so enthused to use it.
– c. Establish the New Aarong positioning.
The Brief
– What is most likely to achieve this change?
• Only Aarong connects my modern lifestyle with my
roots, giving me the confidence to reach out for a more
fulfilling life.
– Why should the consumer believe it
• The advertising is able to touch and emotionally involve
consumers in such a strong way, that it grabs their
imagination and makes them fantasize about the future.
– List of practical consideration for execution
• 2 Key tasks are
– Advertising & execution idea that will help establish the
brand positioning.
– Campaign idea and plan for Naksi Katha exhibition
• Naskhi Katha exhibition is not a stand alone event
rather the starting campaign for a number of other
activations to celebrate the 30 year of operation.
Aarong through all the events and activation wants to
portray the dawn of a new beginning of reaching out to
newer heights.
• All individual activation must provide their uniqueness
to the brands new positioning.
• The campaign plan should focus on the execution plans
focusing on different channels without moving into
executional details
• Aarong is a lifestyle brand with a strong association with
fashion and style. It is critical that all campaigns and
communication builds reflects that.
Situation Analysis
• We need to break free from
being OLD and STATIC to YOUNG
& DYNAMIC
• Has been here, is here, and will
be here
• A wide TG – youth, mature, NRB,
expat, et al
– ALL WHO CARE
• The nation is pregnant with
possibilities
Questions leading to
Insights
• How does a national heritage &
lifestyle brand compete on a
global scale?
• Does Aarong only mean
‘souvenirs?’
• Does Aarong only mean
‘festivity?’
• What is it that we (TG) desire to
obtain when we shop at Aarong?
– The experience?
– The badge?
– The value?
– The indigenous art?
Questions leading to
Insights
• What are we as Bangladeshi’s
that define us?
• Is there any discord?
• What can I say (as Aarong) that
will be mine (ownable and
extendable)?
• Lastly, if all of the above were to
be considered
– What is our platform?
Being the Storyteller Brand!

recreating imagery banked on our

heritage
But what are our stories?
• The Story of Stitches
• The Story of Motifs
• The Story of Breaking Boundaries

Not anti jeans but pro Kurta!

What do they speak about
and who do they speak to,
really?
• The Story of Stitches
– Romanticizing the Nakshi Kantha
– Tertiary TG – the opinion leaders
• The Story of Breaking Boundaries
– Taking pride in being a artisan, a woman,
an entrepreneur, and a free soul
– Secondary TG – the artisans
• The Story of Motifs
– Seeking creative sparks from a design POV
– Primary TG – new and upcoming consumers

The existing consumer stays!

Again…

What is the single-most powerful

idea/platform?
Simply put…

Whatever we choose from Aarong

to take home...
Is not merely a product, but we
take with us….
A PIECE OF BANGLADESH

That stays with us as our badge of

‘pride’
This piece
• Is the freedom that we express
through our daily lifestyle choices
• Is the fusion and adaptability
that we own
• Is in our heart always…
• Extends its meaning to all ‘who
care – about Bangladesh
We commence with the…

“Nakshi Kanthar Maath”

Jasimuddin

Lets retell the stories that make

us who we are.
We highlight ourselves being…

“An Empowered Nation of

Women”

Lets uphold the simple stories of a

‘creative Bangladesh’
We extend ourselves further by encouraging…

“The Land of Ideas”

Lets encourage the rise of ‘torch

bearers’ of our heritage
Example: Analysing the
Kantha
• History
– Encapsulates the rural essence of
Bangladesh
• Design
– Expresses that essence into
geometric & technical patterns
• Usage
– Takes it forward in a multitude of
applications
The Execution Plan
• Commencing
– Invite-based inauguration at Shilpakala
Academy
• Live Art in Motion: A Nakshi Kantha of 30
years
• PR Exercises
• Open Exhibition
• Highlighting
– Story based programs
– Newsletters
– In-house Sales Training
• Extending
– Design competitions
– Commissioning those designs into artistry
– Showing off the art at outlet locations
Extendibility
• All these ‘stories’ should be exploited
COMPLIMENTARY TO EACH OTHER
to ensure maximum reach and
frequency by extending the leaps into
the following mediums
– Event Marketing – Exhibition & Fashion
Shows
– Print (Newspaper, Magazine) – Launch &
Tactical
– Outdoor - Launch
– Retail Environment – Architecture &
Initiation of Action
– Promotional Activities – yearlong, festivals
– Foundational Activities with Secondary TG
The creative mood-boards
are…

(that can be brought forward in

any media/medium)
A piece of Bangladesh
The Aarong Life
Next Steps
• Awarding the account!
• Finalizing the details
– Cost/Budget
– Timelines
– Deliverables
– Scope
• Design
• Production
• Implementation
– ON A YEARLONG GRID