Will Adani Wilmar jump back on metro branding with #Metrobackontrack?

With the Delhi metro resuming services after 169 days on September 7, there has been sigh of relief for commuters. With the Delhi Metro’s busiest line- the Blue Line, connecting Dwarka to Ghaziabad and Noida- reopening, total ridership nearly tripled to 53,400 on September 9. Talking with Media4Growth, Rohit Markanday, Deputy GM- Trade Marketing, Adani Wilmar, shares how these numbers will attract advertisers for Delhi metro branding.

“We are still in wait and watch mode as the metro operations have just begun with various new necessary protocols like social distancing and many more. Being in the first phase of reopening, travellers are also regaining confidence in public transportation,” said Rohit.

Moreover, he added, “Our strategy is always to have a long-term branding, at least for three months. Accordingly, we need to make calculations to get the right mileage as per our spends because metro rentals are quite high. However, we believe that response from people will improve in next three months and accordingly we will make our business strategy for OOH by Diwali.”

This doesn’t mean that the brand has completely weed out the outdoor branding from its marketing chart during lockdown. The brand had conducted outdoor branding activities in close to 20 towns of Gujarat promoting its cottonseed oil. “This product is majorly consumed in rural areas. Therefore, we leveraged the outdoor branding in those markets considering the fact that the spread and impact of Covid19 is relatively lower in rural markets as compared to metro cities,” he explained. 

Agreeing to the fact that FMCG category wasn’t much affected due to business slowdown during the lockdown but there has been a shift in the marketing strategy understanding the consumer behaviour, Rohit said, “We have increased our concentration on contextual engaging activities through digital marketing followed by TV and print. Wherein on the OOH front, we have executed shop branding activity to strategically target consumers and retailers.”

The brand is expected to make a comeback on the OOH media by coming festive season to leverage the occasion.