GURGAON: Brands in categories as diverse as auto and FMCG are exploring how they can best reach residents of upmarket condominiums in India's cities.

"Residential premises are an important catchment area for most brands," said Sidharth Ghosh, CEO of ITW Playworx, the entertainment, media and communication arm of ITW Consulting.

"They can reach the potential customers in their comfort zone and reduce turnaround time by providing touch and feel and generating instant leads for sales," he told the Economic Times.

The title noted that brands' current work in high-end condominiums in Gurgaon, for example, is far removed from earlier efforts which amounted to little more than putting a TV screen outside a lift.

It reported that a car company and a bank had jointly organised a drawing competition for children in one such location as a way of making them aware of the brands and, hopefully, influencing the purchase decisions of parents. This was reinforced with an outdoor advertising campaign.

An FMCG brand, meanwhile, intends to run yoga classes in residential complexes to get closer to their target customers in what Omer Basith, director of experiential marketing agency Jossbox, described as a "hearts and minds" strategy.

"In such cases, brands are trying to integrate their message with activities that are of interest to their target audience and are trying not to be pushy," he said. "Instead, sway the heart and mind of consumers."

Luxury auto brands such as Audi and Mercedes have experimented with mobile showrooms and pop-up stores as a way of reaching consumers in lower tier cities where they don't have a permanent presence. But even in cities where they already do, condos are a potentially useful new marketing option.

"We believe in increasing accessibility by reaching out to the customers, even at their doorstep," said Rahil Ansari, head of Audi India. "These initiatives enable us to take the buying experience directly to customers, who sometimes prefer to connect with the brand at their comfort."

He added that leads generated at condos tend to be better quality than those at malls, thanks to the targeted audience which contains a higher proportion of people who can actually afford Audi's cars.

Data sourced from Economic Times; additional content by WARC staff