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The name of Manav Sethi may not ring a bell to the common man, but his business in the corporate world will. He has been instrumental in the success stories of many brands. This time around, the magic of his wand can be experienced with 'Ask Me', the name which every Indian swears by.
The latest update on Ask Me is that, it has now signed up heart throb Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador. Satish Sundaresan of Bollywood Hungama caught up with Manav Sethi (Head- Marketing & Digital Products) to get all the possible information about Ranbir's association with Ask Me. Here are the excerpts:
Manav, to start with, let me ask you the 'obvious' question. What made you sign on Ranbir Kapoor as the brand ambassador for Ask Me? Is it because that he is a national heart throb or was it because you felt that he can do full justice to the brand?
When we were looking at the options of choosing a brand ambassador, we were looking at someone who resonates with the youth and somebody who has future ahead of him. Despite being a national heart throb and a well established Bollywood celebrity, we felt that Ranbir was the only one who had future ahead of him, in terms of the growth. And that's why we signed him as the brand ambassador for Ask Me.
What will be Ranbir's role as the brand ambassador in the whole deal?
He will not only be launching the brand, but also leading it. He has been an integral part in co-creating the entire campaign.
There's a making of Ask Me's TVC (which was exclusively shown on Bollywood Hungama), which sees Ranbir in many avtaars. Can you please share some details with us on that front?
When we did our focus group study, we found that people remembered Ranbir's top 3 films, but nobody remembered his commercials. We wanted to create a TVC which no one has seen before. So, the thought was to create something so impactful that it really comes across as the top of the mind recall in the commercial category, which is exactly what we have shot. As far as working with Ranbir is concerned, let me tell you that we had an awesome time with him. He is someone who is punctual and simply superb in everything that he does. Working with him has been not just sheer fun, but also an eye opener for many of us. All in all, Ranbir is an awesome human being.
The rest of the details about the TVC will be unveiled shortly. At this moment, all that I can tell you is that we are launching the TVC in the first week of July. But the same will be hitting the digital space much earlier than that.
It's generally said that, stars are very choosy about the brands that they endorse. Was it very tough to get Ranbir to say yes to Ask Me's offer?
To my surprise, Ranbir got hold of the category and the positioning, which is what we wanted him to understand. It only reinstated our belief in Ranbir as our choice for Ask Me's brand ambassador.
Even though Ask Me always had the first mover advantage, how do you see the competition which has mushroomed today.
I am of the opinion that the competition is always healthy. It keeps the brand on its toes. I am sure that other entities in this eco system will take notice of what we are trying to do.
On a personal front, how has your journey been so far? From schooling in Kanpur, doing your Masters in Pune and then Reliance BIG Entertainment and now Ask Me?
It's been full of learning and exciting times. Ask Me gave me that opportunity to create something in a campaign, which I believe is totally path breaking. I believe that not many get to work with a man of Ranbir's stature and also the team of Ask Me which helped me create this campaign.
If you were to sum up the association of Ask Me with Ranbir in one sentence, what will that be?
Ask Me Anything (smiles).
Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more
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