9: Flipkart: Virtual Cart

At No 9 in our “10 Brands that got marketing right in 2012″ list is Flipkart.com

Although the internet has become a household buzzword, online shopping is still looked upon with distrust. But, Flipkart turned this around with just a couple of ads. The first edition of the ‘No Kidding, No Worries’ campaign managed to entrench Flipkart in the traditional shopper’s psyche as reliable by addressing the 3 basic apprehensions of online shoppers – return and replacement of goods, product warranty, and convenient payment options, while adding free home delivery to the irresistible package. Using kids in the commercials effectively managed to convey the message of implicit trust and belief that the brand inspired along with the ease of shopping online.

For close to 4 years after they began operations, the e-commerce player mainly depended on SEO, viral marketing, and Google’s AdWords. The brand has also successfully leveraged social media to connect as well as actively engage with potential and existing customers since 2009.

In March 2011, Flipkart came out with their first TV commercial ‘The Fairytale’ where they highlighted their offering of 10 million titles. The aim was to showcase the breadth of choice available as well as the convenience of online shopping. However, it was the second campaign – ‘No Kidding, No Worries’ – that catapulted them into the limelight. It showcased them as the ‘Online Megastore’, with a rapidly expanding product offering, rather than merely an online book retailer. The third campaign came out in August this year with three films (Mr Forgetful, Mr Impatient, and Mr Twitterati) drawn from real life experiences of Flipkart’s customers. The tagline read ‘Don’t shop, Flipkart it’, positioning the site as the one-stop destination for quick and convenient shopping. Six other commercials showcasing new categories on the site were also released around the same time. They have also just come out with a Twitter handle – @flipkartsupport – that will exclusively provide customer care on a real-time basis. They also have regular contests such as the ‘Six Degrees of Connection’ and announce offers and new arrivals first on social media.

Earlier this year, Flipkart made its foray into the digital content space with music store Flyte. In November, Flyte began offering e-books for mobile devices. The Flyte e-book app is presently available for Android devices with another for Windows to follow soon.

Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy Creative Services

“The core of Flipkart’s success came from the need to create service benefits to appease the untrusting Indian psyche against e-commerce. The fact that it was needed itself was a marketing discovery. Then of course, the understanding committed effort to communicate the same creatively and charmingly was icing on the cake.”