Posted:
"Not many get to work with a man of Ranbir's
stature" - Manav Sethi
By Satish Sundaresan , Jul 1, 2014 - 10:33 IST
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).
Cricket
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