Hasta La Creative!

Sanjeev Jasani, Vice President, OgilvyOne, New Delhi writes.

Words, words, words – the power of language is something we focus on with customers everyday, but nowhere can it have more impact than with teenagers and tweens. Harnessing the power of language for today’s multi-tasking, tech-savvy youth is the first step in effectively communicating and building loyalty among them.

To truly connect with kids – to form and keep a meaningful dialogue that will help win their hearts and minds – you must learn to have a conversation. On their terms. In their language. In fact, according to teen marketing experts “Teens identify best with someone who speaks their language, dresses like them and understands their human condition.”

Smart use of language with our youth audiences can help us achieve two key challenges online. One, you can earn and maintain credibility with a tough, web savvy audience. Two, you can provoke action in an environment where they, perhaps more than anyone else, feel right at home.

KFC wanted to connect with teens and tweens. They wanted to be seen as a cool brand.  A brand that this audience would like to hang out with. From a more business perspective, we wanted to build a community and engage them so that with time the brand could get closer to them.

So we went back to understanding how teens and tweens are different. To start with they surely spoke differently. A language that your dad wouldn’t be able to relate to at all. And that was cool. We introduced LICKONOMICS. And this was, how should I say it, “Finger licking good”.  There was a brand connect and we could suddenly see where this was going. We built certain facts or truths about “finger licking food” and called them Lickonomics. Suddenly we were seeing the birth of an absolutely new language. And thus was formed “The Indian School Of Lickonomics”. A place where cool dudes hang out. Where they learn and speak a whole new language. Where they bond with their friends, poking fun at one another. Where they could feel at home.

The portal was built like a university with many rooms to do various activities. Things, which you couldn’t do in the real world, you could do here. For example, you could scribble graffiti on the bathroom walls and let out secrets about your friends or you could learn cool pickup lines and woo that girl next door. There was the gym where you could vent out your frustrations by taking on your friends or colleagues in a verbal duel of words. And off course there was the classroom where you could build your very own dictionary containing cool words. Every activity you did allowed you to share it with the world at large in your own existing social network using Facebook Connect. There was also a Facebook app that was made and connected to the portal. So it didn’t matter where you accessed the site from. You could be on Facebook and still be in “The Indian School of Lickonomics”.

We intentionally kept the branding to a minimum as we did not want to put off the kids and did not want it to seem as if we were trying to sell them anything. It was subtle in the form of Col. Sanders who acts as the principal of the university walking you through every room. What have more there were opportunities to win KFC discount vouchers for all that you did, hence driving footfall into the stores.

Parts of engaging is provoking. Kids have tons of energy; give them something to do. Online we must engage, we must inspire activity. Whether its getting them to IM or clicking through a mindless game, we only succeed if they act. Otherwise, we are not making good use of how they instinctively use the web and the channel as a medium. They are impatient but the right message can unleash a torrent of activity and participation from kids.

The site and the application are in beta mode right now and ill be sharing and updating the final link pretty soon. Till then you can enjoy these link. If you have a Facebook id I would recommend that you log into the application. It’s easier to invite your friends to come join the community or should I say university.

The portal is temporarily here