Kumar Shankar Roy

Kolkata

Electricity bills and railway tickets, which are often discarded, are in great demand from personal media service companies which are innovating opportunities in these mundane items for advertisers. Utility companies and railways are partnering with personal media service firms to create advertising spots and get brands to participate. Brands like Close up, Airtel, Clinic, Mahindra, Surf Excel, among others, have already carried out campaigns.

Axis APM, a personal media service company, is all set to revolutionise brand communication in West Bengal. The power of personal media will give advertisers the power to reach consumers on a one-to-one basis, the company expects. Axis, through West Bengal’s electricity bills alone, plans to reach 70 lakh households directly.

It will also use Eastern Railway tickets as a vehicle to reach out to more than 20 lakh people, via monthly tickets. Axis will utilise the potential of direct media through the combined channels of Indian Oil and HPCL to tap a base of 45 lakhs, company officials said.

Elaborating the advantage of personal medium for advertisers, Amit Dey, CEO, Axis APM, said, “The personal medium ensures that a consumer is exposed to the brand as it communicates directly with households and individuals. In some of our campaigns, we have succeeded in urging the consumer to contact advertisers which has lead to an extensive and reliable database. With our reach extending to the eastern region, we now have more room for such productive practices in the field.”

The company claims to have pioneered the innovative advertising opportunity which reaches millions of consumers at one go. Various public sector and government of India utility organisations are involved: State Electricity Boards, Indian railways (world’s largest utility employer), domestic LPG companies like Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, among others.

According to AC Nielsen, which has recently conducted research on every kind of advertisement used in personal medium by Axis APM, the result has proved that this medium enjoys high brand recall. It is totally accountable and provides high effectiveness for advertisers. This has led to an increase in the demand of personal medium advertising among all kinds of advertisers.

Industry analysts and advertising proffesionals are overjoyed at this innovative idea of using public sector undertakings as a mass medium to connect with brands. Not only have these utility infrastructures been largely ignored by the private sector brands, their innate capability to connect with ordinary citizens in everyday affairs is remarkable.

kumarsroy

@mydigitalfc.com