Apppl Combine recently bagged two coveted titles at the 10th Edition of the ACEF Asian Leaders Forum & Awards for Branding, Marketing & CSR for its marketing campaigns formulated for the Dalmia Bharat parivar’s maiden Retail Venture, Hippo Stores. The team was announced to be the gold winner in 2 categories, winning against other reputed and renowned brands. The agency was awarded Gold in the ‘Marketing Campaign Of The Year’ category, which it shared with Dialog Axiata PLC
(Sri Lanka) & Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited while Tyres won Silver and
HDFC Ergo, the bronze. Apppl Combine won another Gold in the ’Excellence in Launch Marketing’, category with Airtel Payment Bank bagging silver and Zee Entertainment, the bronze.
Various other prominent brands were awarded in several categories that ran across marketing, branding & CSR, recognizing and rewarding the exceptional work and initiatives undertaken by individuals and corporations.
Ranjan Das, MD, Apppl Combine, expressed his joy upon receiving the award and said “It is always difficult to uncomplicate a brand and its complex working, especially when it’s the first of its kind in the market. To add to this challenge was the occurrence of pandemic resulting in lockdowns that further slowed down the process. The entire brand development journey, including the various digital films, were all produced amidst these lockdowns and covid restrictions and fear. While the execution and implementation of plans had become difficult, we did not compromise on the quality at all as our agency strives to give the best output, come what may. With strong support from Team Hippo, we were successful in delivering par excellence content and it is great to see it being appreciated and rewarded now.”
Hippo Stores has proven to be a successful category creator in the building products industry. The megastore, with over 160+ brands, 250+ product categories and 12000+ products on retail display, has been experiencing an astonishing response and growth from all its 3 categories of target audience- contractors, resellers & individual home builders.
The digital campaign videos spread across platforms have an average CVTR of 50% against an industry average of 20%. The Digital Films and Static Digital Ads account for more than 90% of Website Traffic which has grown around 6157% over the months. The revenue has grown over 270% since the launch of the store. These staggering numbers are a testament to the disruption that Hippo Stores has created in the market with their comprehensive brand offerings and will surely lead to an unprecedented growth in the coming times.
But how can a concept become a brand without it getting communicated to and associated effectively with the consumers .
Under the apt leadership and guidance of Ranjan Das & Raashi Das, Apppl Combine developed the brand Hippo Stores from the ground up. Right from simplifying the story and weaving the brand and its various elements together, to designing its static and motion marketing collaterals, the team made the brand market-ready. Forming a meaningful brand story that included the brand pillars, messaging framework, relation to the rooted category, brand ethos etc., from the bits and pieces of information received, effective strategizing, development and execution of strong market & customer-insight-based strategies and creative roadmap, Apppl Combine did it all to churn out a brand that would be understood, recognized and appreciated by the consumers.
The journey of establishing Hippo Stores was a challenging yet a fulfilling one.
Munir Suri, Head of Demand Generation, Hippo Stores expressed his views, ‘Hippo Stores success is an outcome of a lot of carefully crafted strategies, immaculate planning and most importantly, excellent execution. Our ethos, our message, positioning, differentiators and offerings were aptly communicated by every piece of brand communication designed and developed by Apppl Combine. Hippo Stores Team worked closely and in tandem with Team Apppl Combine, leading and guiding them with most essential inputs, feedbacks and insights.’
Rashi Das, Business Director, Apppl Combine added “Understanding the finer nuances of the industry and the three distinct customer segments of Hippo stores gave a strong foundation to our work. Powered with our understanding of the industry, research and valuable insights we got from Team Hippo, we were able to bring to life the very essence of the brand and its offerings. Right from the first brochure to our digital films and then the print campaign, we struck a chord with our TG in the most fruitful way.’”
Apppl Combine has been in the industry for over 20 years now, developing, nurturing and promoting brands across industry verticals. Having worked with prominent national and international brands, Apppl Combine has garnered a lot of expertise in the market of interest. Nike, Reebok, Airtel, Bacardi, Audi, TOPS, Max Life Insurance, NIVIA, Dalmia Bharat, Snapdeal are some of many brands Apppl Combine has been fortunate to have serviced. Along with its specialist wings- BrandWand, BuyingEngine, Three Hundred Frames, Fox & Angel, Code01, Apppl Combine has delivered outstanding output over the years for various Start-ups and MNCs and continues to do so.
