Marketing through the Internet – The ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’ Phenomenon
By UK India Business Council (UKIBC)
BBC Radio London 94.9 FM, presented by Sunny and Shay on 26th November 2011 aired “Why this Kolaveri Di”, a song from a Tamil (South Indian) movie.
This radio station had picked up in 10 days on a song that had become a sensation in India through the viral effects of the internet and became one of the first international radio stations to play it.
In a phenomenal marketing strategy, Sony posted a video of “Why this Kolaveri di” on English, Hindi and Tamil pages of Facebook and made it available on youTube on 16th November 2011. In a matter of days, the video became India’s most searched video on youTube. It also became the first Tamil film song to play on MTV India and international radio stations such as BBC. In less than 15 days, the song had crossed 10 Million views on youTube.
A quirky song in broken English, with nonsense as lyrics, “Why this Kolaveri Di”, which translates to “Why this murderous rage, Girl”, is a phenomenon for many reasons. One, it has managed to bridge the North-South divide in India. Tamil, being a language primarily spoken in one Southern state in India, it is a wonder that this song has all of India crazy about it. People point to the simple but catchy tune and rhythm, as well as the nonsensical lyrics to be a good reason for this – it’s a fun song!
The second point is how it has managed to make itself an international phenomenon. The viral effect emerging from India has truly gone global with the song making waves as far away as Auckland, New Zealand, when a flash mob danced to the song in a shopping centre in December 2011. It has also got international recognition with BBC and several other international news agencies reporting the phenomenon.
Now that there are over a 100 Million internet users, “Why this Kolaveri Di” demonstrates how the internet today and in the future will play a role in the day to day lives of people in India. Across the globe, it has also doubtless been eye opening on how effective the internet can be as a strategic marketing tool. Thus, the time has come for digital media, content and marketing to play a significant role in the lives of Indians.
