I have idea envy. CentreFresh’s new digital campaign #GumCharades caught my eye (albeit through a banner ad in my own blog, not through Twitter buzz) primarily because it shows how even FMCG brands can use digital for engagement. Perfetti, the parent company of CenterFresh is known for its funny, whacky TV spots – setting trends in the category. Television plays the role of keeping the brand top of mind through entertaining spots that build affinity for the brand. The rest is a pricing and distribution game. Of course, novelty in product format plays an important role in the confectionary category. But until now, digital (social networks in particular) has not been used in the integrated, engaging way the team behind #GumCharades (is Maxus Global behind the idea?) have done.
Why do I like it? No, not because it uses Twitter. It’s because the idea is rooted in the brand promise of ‘Zaban pe rakhe lagaam’. Secondly, the execution borrows from the very familiar dumb charades game and gives it a digital flavour. How does it work? A microsite serves up as the centrepiece (it also works through a Facebook page) for interaction. Users have to guess the names of movies by watching models enact it through a video.
I guess with this hash tag, Twitter can only serve as a place to drive traffic to the microsite or Facebook – as one cannot play the game on Twitter itself. Nevertheless, a case where the brand and the idea comes before the technology or platform in digital.