Pursue the madness

Doraemon is a craze with kids in India. My daughter made it her basic need to carry cable TV when we shifted our house as first priority. Nothing else would she believe is required in new house. And when the craze is converted into something tangible, it relates better and makes for more meaning – to kids and parents alike.

Create the craze and pursue them with madness is a sure shot marketing success. And I realized it this way.

A new mall had opened up in Pune. Yea, one more spoilt for choice and lots of choices confuse you more. Don’t know if the new mall players cleverly deployed the tactic to attract kids and thus bring families to increase their footfalls but I would congratulate them if this is the case.

We went past the mall at 5 PM and didn’t see much of a crowd there. We thought may be the mall hopping population have given this outside the hip zone a miss. We did our shopping in nearby MG road and then thought let the kids enjoy what they love on TV – Doraemon. There were games and fun organized around Doraemon theme for kids with loads of giveaways in the said mall.

The reality started immediately when I turned to the road from MG road. A consumer exhibition and fair was going nearby. The traffic in that area which is normally choked is now more congested with pedestrians jostling for their space. Navigating traffic, I kept extreme left to make sure I don’t miss the parking lane. And lo, I saw a long queue of cars and bikes squeezing in between cars to enter the parking lot. With my wife and kids bolted out not wanting to accompany me in traffic snarls as Doraemon was more important than anything at that time.

I should appreciate Kumar Pacific mall in Shankar Seth Road. After 35 minutes of touch and go speeds, I finally slotted my gears to enter the gate. Few good things about the mall are:

1. The security managing the temperate crowd due to us waiting for our turn in entering the parking lot was ok and organized.

2. The parking lot has ample space and the driveway is spacious to maneuver.

3. The mall A/C was working. (many of you know what I mean if you visit Vishal and Big Bazaar).

4. There is ample room for walk ways and well lit shops.

But looking at this in positive way was short lived. I had to bide my kids wanting and paid for the events participation. Even if it meant that you needed to wait for 1 hour for you to get your turn.

It is all crazy, I said. My wife said “Kids are loving it. Do we say anything when you sit with your laptop all day long watching a download. Better watch them go after what they like.”

And I realized how sold are we when it comes to kids expectations and likings. Their craze is our madness, their wanting becomes our pursuit. And there in lies a great marketing tactic.