mbanews:To raise awareness and inform the consumers to distinguish between fake and authentic ‘brake fluids’, FoumanChimi has broadcasted a TV commercial. The design and execution of this TV advertisement project have been carried by Eshareh Creative Solutions. We interviewed FoumanChimi automobile section marketing manager Kianoush Nazary, the project manager of the commercial creative team Miad Dehqany, and Armita Madelat the creative director from Eshareh Creative Solutions, to find more about Fouman Chimi advertising activities:

Kianoush Nazary: After research and assessment we realized that FoumanChimi faces two major challenges regarding the brake fluid section. If we can overcome these challenges, we can achieve considerable success in the brake fluid market section.  The history of FoumanChimi goes beyond half a century, making it one of the main companies in the Iranian automobile field. FoumanChimi is one of the first brands who started offering brake fluid products to the Iranian market in the form that the consumers know today. The brake fluid products are available in the market in both yellow (DOT-3) and blue (DOT-4) packages. Since FoumanChimi is the market leader in the brake fluids section, holding a major share of the market, these two products have become famous to the consumers as “the blue” and “the yellow”. In other words, the consumers know the blue and yellow products regardless of FoumanChimi brand. Some competitors have taken advantage this situation, and have started offering their products to the market in blue and yellow packages. This situation has created confusion in the market, leading the consumers to buy the wrong blue and yellow packages. In addition, compared to other markets, consumer engagement in the brake fluids section is low, and this has also contributed to the problem.

As a result, although FoumanChimi blue and yellow brake fluid products are very popular among the consumers, some competitors have exploited the low consumer engagement by offering similar fake packages to the market, posing a challenge to us. We had to warn the audience by conveying the message not every blue and yellow is FoumanChimi brake fluid. After identifying the problem, we briefed Eshareh Creative Solutions. They provided us with a scenario to overcome this challenge.

The commercial emphasizes the FoumanChimi brand name, and every time the blue and yellow colors are displayed the audience see the brand name. So far, the commercial has been broadcasted in two time periods during June and August. According to research, these time periods are the peak of brake fluid consumption, and they were selected to broadcast the commercial for the same reason.

 

Miad Dehqany: FoumanChimi is a well-known brand in the brake fluid market across the country. In fact, according to research data they are the market leader in this section, and the competitors gradually entered the market after FoumanChimi. The packaging color of their products is blue and yellow and the majority of the competitors have copied the same colors offering their products to the market with similar packaging.

While buying the products many consumers remember the appearance, but they don’t pay attention to the writings on the package. The competitors copying of the package has caused confusion among the consumers and consequently, they sometimes buy the copy products. This has turned into a challenge for FoumanChimi. To overcome this challenge, they asked Eshareh Creative Solutions to plan and implement an ATL campaign and also to make a TV commercial in order to raise awareness among FoumanChimi end-users. In this TV commercial we have tried to inform the consumers that the similar fake products in blue and yellow packages are all over the market, but not every blue or yellow package is a FoumanChimi product.

Nazary: We also tried to convey this message to the consumers through other media, such as digital platforms. The concept for conveying the message is different, the core message, however, is the same. Within digital platforms, especially on Instagram, the message has been communicated to the audience through hashtags such as Don’t take it wrong (#اشتباه_نگیر). In the social media the message has been communicated to the audience in a more intimate way and through holding contests. The message was initially published through the TV commercial and then through the digital platforms. In the digital media we witnessed high participation from the audience. The message was also communicated to the target audience using BTL advertisement. In this section we equipped the store spaces using in-store advertisement tools to communicate the message to the audience in various forms. As I already mentioned, for a better message communication we held contests on Instagram using the “Don’t take it wrong” hashtag (#اشتباه_نگیر). In these contests, for instance, the image of a famous Iranian tourist site was compared to the image of another region in another country. We asked the audience to guess the region to which the image belonged. For example, we photographed the main square of Rasht, Iran in a way that was similar to the Taksim district in Istanbul, Turkey. Then we put the images next to each other. We used this method to help “Don’t take it wrong” go viral. Other similar contests were also held using the same method. All these contents were linked to blue and yellow, and again to the core message.

Armita Ma’delat: FoumanChimi needed to raise awareness in their customers. They needed the commercial message to prevent their customers from buying the wrong products, and to make them pay more attention when buying. The leading brake fluid brand across the country was concerned with the right communication of this message.  The best way to satisfy this concern was to display the authentic product next to a copy. Through this simple contrast the buyers will note both the message and the subject. The contrast technique was the best solution to meet this concern. Consequently, we prepared a TV commercial which displayed the authentic FoumanChimi products next to similar ones. According to the regulations, however, we could not display the name of the competitor products. 

In the making of the commercial, we tried to associate a product photography session. A scene which is carefully directed. The products enter the scene one after another and they are photographed like superstars. The first group includes copy products that carry no label. Due to lacking the required quality these bottles cannot ‘brake’ on the right time and stop on the defined line. These products crash at each other and at the same time with the crash we hear the sound of two cars braking. Then the two main products of FoumanChimi enter the scene. They can brake on the right moment and stop at the right point.

At the ending of the commercial, the audience is straightforwardly informed about ‘every blue and yellow’ not being FoumanChimi. Moreover, the audience is reminded to pay attention to the name of FoumanChimi on the package while buying brake fluids. The commercial displays the most significant characteristic of the product which is braking and stopping on time.  The commercial communicates the message to the audience during a very short time. A communication which the FoumanChimi management found satisfactory. 

Nazary: Having identified the right audience, adequate and quality content can be produced. There are four groups of brake fluid consumers in the market. Each of these consumer groups has its key characteristics. Two of these groups are considered the main audience of FoumanChimi brake fluid products. Perfectionists and pragmatists are considered to be our main audience throughout this campaign. They are more engaged with the brake fluid products. These groups are not influenced by the salespeople in the stores and make buying decisions on their own.

Nazary: According to the market research FoumanChimi faced to main challenges. The first was the blue and yellow packages which was addressed as mentioned. For the other challenge, plans have been made and the audience will see the changes very soon. Increasing FoumanChimi market share in the brake fluid section is one of the goals of FoumanChimi. Regarding the feedback, I can say that we are observing and analyzing the digital platforms feedback data with precision. In the BTL section methods, such as SMS feedback panel and salespeople feedback were used for getting feedback. The feedback data show us that satisfactory communication has been established between the audience and the message.

Generally, I believe conducting market research, analyzing the challenges, and defining briefings for advertising agencies accordingly, before the execution of any plan or campaign, will contribute to brands’ realizing their marketing goals. In addition, such conditions will certainly help the advertising agencies to come up with better and more creative ideas and solutions. I also think that the companies and corporations, having come up with a reliable brief, should give the agencies room for creativity and idea development.

Eshareh strategy and creativity team listened to our concerns and ideas with patience and attention. Based on the given briefing they proposed various solutions to the FoumanChimi group. This is a desirable performance. Eshareh and FoumanChimi have formed a pleasant cooperation and it will continue in the future.