DM: So Narasimha, give us the low-down on TELibrahma if you would please
NS: TELiBrahma is an Intel-funded technology company. We help brands to achieve higher ROI on their traditional media investments using mobile. TELiBrahma’s mobile marketing campaigns go beyond digital budgets to integrate with traditional media budgets.
DM: How do you achieve this?
NS: Though a solution called intARact. This is a visual search and Augmented Reality-based platform that helps brands deliver deeper engagements with consumers. intARact has been integrated with newspapers, TV channels, outdoor campaigns and product packaging. Consumers use their mobile camera to capture the logo, product packaging or other creative element of the brand through intARact to engage with the brand through multiple dimensions. Engagements can include social media connections, 3D interactions, image morphing, and location-based services, amongst other things. We believe that intARact enables much better integration than QR codes, delivering multiple engagements for a given user action.
DM: So which brands have deployed intARact?
NS: There are many of them, including Ford, Unilever, Kraft, GM, SCB, HSBC, Nike, Nokia, Toyota, Hyundai and many others. Unilever uses intARact to help consumers understand the benefits of anti-ageing cream. Consumers can capture a picture of their face and experience the effects of using anti-ageing cream on their actual face.
Perfetti used intARact to create an augmented gaming experience where consumers used their finger as a cricket bat to play a game of cricket on mobile.
DM: And what other solutions do you offer?
NS: We also have a location-based platform called Buzz that helps brands reach consumers closest to the point of brand consumption. Consumers in retail, “hangout” locations receive free location-based engagements and content on their mobile. Buzz is an operator-independent network that uses wi-fi and Bluetooth to connect to consumers through their mobile. To date, it has been deployed across more than 2,000 location across India, including at major events such as the ICC Ccricket World Cup, and currently delivers more than 12m transactions a month.
DM: And again, who uses the platform?
NS: Brands using Buzz include Ford, Unilever, Kraft, Coca Cola, Mercedes Benz, Puma, Toyota, Volkswagen and many others. Coke used buzz to connect consumers with the brand closer to point of consumption as part of its ‘Coke Studio campaign. 10m downloads were delivered over a 45-day campaign. Volkswagen used Buzz to engage high net worth consumers in airports. The platform delivered more than 100,000 engagements across three car launches.
DM: And how do you tailor your solutions to the peculiarities of the Indian market?
NS: It’s a fair question. There is very low smartphone penetration in India, so all of our solutions are designed to work on feature phones, and 65 per cent of our engagements are on phones that do not support smartphone features. Similarly, mobile internet penetration is very low, with only 4 per cent of the Indian population able to access it, which is why the Buzz solution runs over wi-fi and Bluetooth. We have also engineered our solutions to optimize for the slower network speeds that you find in India.
DM: Well you have obviously succeeded in attracting big brands to your solutions; what next for Telibrahma?
NS: We are well established in India. We are now expanding rapidly in APAC and the US by focusing on publisher partnerships.
Narasimha Suresh is CEO and co-founder of TELiBrahma