Fevicol goes to Egypt

Mumbai's famous Peddar Road got a unique hoarding on Monday -- that of a huge sphinx with a long broken nose sealed with Fevicol.

The outdoor ad announces the launch of Fevicol in Egypt. Conceived by the creative team comprising Abhijeet Awasthi and Vijay Samant of Ogilvy & Mather in Mumbai, it's the talk of the town.

But why make a noise about Fevicol's Egypt foray, in India? "It makes consumers feel proud that the brand they use is accepted  internationally, thereby enhancing its image," explains Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, the agency associated with Fevicol since 1972. And the billboard ad sticks to humour that Fevicol commercials are synonymous with.

Fevicol, the Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) flagship brand of Pidilite Industries Ltd is already being exported to over 20 countries in Africa, Middle East and the SAARC region. And now there are plans to launch the brand in Pakistan, Indonesia and Myanmar as well.

"We plan to take Fevicol to 20 more countries in the next couple of years," says M B Parekh, managing director, Pidilite Industries Ltd. Pandey claims commercials geared for specific foreign markets are on the anvil.

"Any Fevicol ad for any market in the world will be created out of the O&M office in Mumbai only," he maintains.

The 46-year-old brand claims to have about 70 per cent share of the branded adhesives market and owes a lot of its popularity to creative marketing strategies, including successful advertising campaigns created by O&M.

"Fevicol has a strong presence in the domestic market and we continue to work towards increasing its share through creative advertising and below-the-line activities with carpenters and dealers," points out Parekh, who has been with the company since 1971.

Thanks to advertising campaigns over the years, the brand has become synonymous with 'bonding'. Giving it the unique brand image of 'ultimate bonding'-- the agency began with the 'Dam laga ke haisha' ad in 1989 and went on to create some memorable campaigns like the hen eating out of a Fevicol can laying unbreakable eggs (1998), or a man's shadow refusing to follow him as it gets stuck to a Fevicol logo (2000) or that of an overloaded bus in a desert with people not falling off due to the Fevicol signage.

"All Fevicol ads are just our takes on how we observe life and are designed to make both the man on the street and the international advertising awards jury smile," says Pandey.

But why does Pidilite spend between Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) and Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) on advertising  Fevicol which is not really a mass consumer product. The primary target consumers for the brand are interior decorators, carpenters, dealers and architects who can certainly be reached through more prudent ways.

"Fevicol advertisements appeal to everybody. Besides the carpenters and architects, it is essential to talk to the household owners who influence the decision on purchase of adhesives. Besides, Fevicol and its brand extensions such as Feviquik, Fevistic, Fevitite are being used in schools, offices, households and do-it-yourself segments (DIY)," says Parekh.