Sriram Srinivasan
Ajita Shashidhar

Chennai , June 9

A BROCHURE to go with a box of apples and ascorbic acid, a preservative. Oh, yes, add to it a note that says none of the apples will go bad. That's Polaris' way of assuring top bankers that its software will keep tab of what they have lent.

At a total cost of Rs 30,000 for the entire exercise, Polaris targeted 20 Indian bankers through this direct marketing tactic for its banking product Intellect Suite, and says the results have been great: 14 of the 20 responded.

The company's Vice-President (Marketing), Mr Hemant Kumar Bhardwaj, says most direct mailers don't reach top business executives, as they get filtered by their secretaries. So, to make sure the mailers get noticed by the persons who matter, Polaris was advised by its ad agency Lowe to send the bankers top-grade apples in a sturdy box, along with a preservative and a detailed note on its banking product.

Mr Bhardwaj says the response wouldn't have been that good had not a mass media campaign preceded it. Late last year, the company followed what was touted as the `FMCG way' of marketing software; it used niche television channels and print publications to promote Intellect Suite. Using mass media is the fastest way for a late entrant to establish itself, especially when there are well-entrenched players such as i-flex and Infosys, he says.

"We got base visibility because of the initial campaign, and it helped build trust," says Mr Bhardwaj, who will now launch such `apple campaigns' in overseas markets.

The second stage of Polaris' campaign to promote Intellect will shortly be unveiled. Though the strategy is still being worked out, it is certain to be more product-specific than previous ones.

One of the ways, he said, would be to conduct what Polaris calls `value expos,' which would bring select customers face-to-face with the company's domain specialists.

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