Meru Cabs launches its first campaign 'Ab Haath Na Hilao, Bas App Dabao'

In the new campaign, Enormous has played on the insight that hailing a taxi by waving one's hands is tiresome and irritating

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | February 13, 2014

Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Meru Cabs has launched its first nationwide thematic marketing campaign titled 'Ab Haath Na Hilao, Bas App Dabao' to highlight how their cab facilities can be availed via just an app. The TVC has been conceptualised by Enormous and produced by Apostrophe Films. The company had relaunched its app in October 2014 with many new features like advance booking, intercity booking, current booking and payment wallet.

Enormous has played on the insight that hailing a taxi by waving one's hands is tiresome and irritating. Most cab drivers don't stop and the others refuse to ply on the route of a passenger. So, to rescue such harassed and stranded passengers, Meru Cabs came in with its revamped app which facilitates the entire cab booking process. The marketing campaign is targeted mainly at youngsters who are above 20 years.

The TVC talks about what one could have done with the help of just a gesture of hand. Instead, they wasted to wave it on the roads to avail a cab. It ends with the voiceover saying 'Ab Haath Na Hilao, Bas App Dabao'.

Commenting on the creative insight, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous, said, “Since the idea was flapping the hand, we decided to give the commercial a strict economy of movement. Almost static frames with the protagonist staring at the camera, so the effect of waving the hand would be isolated and amplified. This in turn also gives the Meru Cabs commercial a quirky and memorable execution.”

The campaign will be supported with a radio, social media and outdoor campaign with ad creatives on 1,300 Meru cabs across Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Jaipur.

Rathin Lahiri

Rathin Lahiri, CMO, Meru Cabs, commented, “The radio cab category is around Rs 80,000 crore and out of which only 4 to 5 per cent is organised. But the market is growing and opening up with consumers adopting smartphones and apps. Our app contributes to 50 per cent of all our trips. In the last one year, we have done quite a few things, like expanded our portfolio, relaunched our app and entered newer markets. Our aim is to go into one new market every month. With so many new things to offer our consumers, we thought it is the best time to come out with a TV ad to highlight two main purposes: to spread the awareness of the app and to bring out the convenience of the app.”

When asked about the challenges in this hugely competitive category, Lahiri decided to speak on the opportunities rather than the road blocks. “It is a hugely under-penetrated market, which gives lots of scope to attract new users to this category. Also, in many of the metro markets, users have been substituting their personal transport to avail our Meru cabs because of sheer convenience. So a large user base is convinced and have bestowed their trust on the brand,” he said.

The TVC:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Credits:

Client: Meru Cab

Chief Marketing Officer: Rathin Lahiri

Agency: Enormous

Managing Partner: Ashish Khazanchi

Production House: Apostrophe Films

Info@bestmediainfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com