Paper Boats: The New Age Marketing Strategy

Remember the first time you came across the brand Paper Boats? I was first introduced to the brand by an endearing and engaging video I received on WhatsApp featuring a bunch of young adults who refused to let the child in them die. A few more of such videos followed, and then a few months down the line, we were neatly introduced to the very economically priced, interestingly designed tetra packed flavoured soft drinks.

I am no marketing professional, but being a fairly intelligent, generally observant kind of a person, I understand this to be an excellent marketing strategy. Their marketing is primarily through the social media and they evoke one of the most beautiful emotions in the world – nostalgia, and you can never go wrong with it. The simple joys of our precious childhood are some of the best things we love to reminisce about – our school, our school friends, the games we played, and, as the company has most beautifully named and captioned its brand, making paper boats and watching them drift away in the rains. Those were the first of videos from Paper Boats that I remember having watched and thoroughly enjoyed.

The company continues its marketing on the same lines via Facebook showing posters of siblings doing stuff together, of families celebrating Eid, of young children playing Sathodiyu (that’s what we called it), of train journeys and leaking ceilings and every other thing that made our childhood eventful and worthwhile. Each carry short, honest captions that you can easily relate to most of the time. 

And in the meanwhile, you forget what they essentially are – ads.

On Facebook, it starts a string of conversations, and people just love to share their stories in the comments below, tagging more people along the way, and making the brand the talk of the town before you know it. The company is getting people to spread the word, and they seem more than willing to participate! The company, a fast-growing Bangalore based start up, according to Wikipedia, had a brand value of $100 million in July 2015, and a production capacity of 10 million pouches per day.

So much for keeping simple things simple!

Life is a beautiful collection of memories, and anything that allows us to relish those beautiful moments is worth cherishing. Hats off to the efforts of this company that helps us to appreciate the beauty of the little things in life, while also creating a brand value for itself.

Cheers to life and to the fond memories of fond childhood.

#TheLittleThingsInLife