OLX: shifting strategy works better

Over the last couple of years, the online classified ad brands have attempted the following strategies: urging consumers to place ads to sell things quicker, promoting the download and use of the mobile app to post ads, highlighting the likely monetary gains of selling things and reminding consumers of the kind of objects which could be. The advertising has varied from the direct (also bland, boring) ‘place an ad and watch potential buyers line up in droves’ to the interesting (those ads featuring Kapil Sharma). The focus has been on the potential seller – addressing him directly.

In this context, the latest OLX campaign is refreshing because the advertising message shifts focus from the seller to the buyer. The buyer is only a conduit as the end message is directed at the seller – giving him the feeling that ‘there is a buyer for everything out there’. The strategy is spot on because this – ‘there is a buyer for everything out there’ is a bigger motivator than simply saying ‘put an ad and watch your items for sale disappear’. The humorous creative execution strikes a chord too.

Agency: Lowe Lintas

The only grouse I had is the use of hashtags like #patiparmeshwarNOT and #SushilBaccha. In my view, it is a half-hearted, ticking the box approach. The reason: the hashtags are unlikely to get Twitter users engaged in terms of contributing tweets or getting the hashtag to trend. The ads are created for TV and not created specifically for YouTube with strong Twitter integration, like Wendy’s #PretzelLoveSongs.

My views on Twitter hashtags & advertising:

Twitter campaigns from brands: thoughts on the new ‘trend’
Twitter hashtags in advertising: aiming to be symbiotic

Your views on the OLX ads and hashtags? Do comment in.