Feature | Celebrating Children's Day, the branded way!

"Jump and grab the opportunity that you come across'; one must have heard this statement and even applied it at many instances. It seems that companies and brands have taken this statement to heart and brought out their armory to beat the competition on this Children's Day with the little but innovative and attractive initiatives for the young consumers.

On the occasion of Children's Day kids across Mumbai came together and celebrated "their' day preparing "World's Largest Jammy Art' in over two hours. This Kissan jammy art carnival, a part of the brands on-going initiatives and created a fresh record which gained the brand an entry into Limca Book of Records. Speaking on this occasion, Harpreet Singh ' Tibb, General Manager Packaged Foods, Hindustan Unilever Limited said, "Kissan has been a heritage brand in providing happiness to millions of families. Jammy Art is an innovative attempt to let kid's imagination run wild with foods. Children are creative and they showcase their creativity in many forms like painting, clay modeling, origami etc. In an attempt to bring forth their creativity using an interesting mix of food and jams, Kissan Jammy art was created. This is a huge milestone for the brand as we enter the Limca Book of Records with the creation of the Largest Jammy Art."

With similar objective of enhancing creativity in the children, Perfetti Van Melle India (PVMI), the confectionery giant has brought an innovative out of home space campaign - "Grow More Dreams". Perfetti has developed a life-sized "Candy Tree" that has been set-up inside a mall, Mumbai and this Candy tree will sprout candies when it is shaken. In this activity, children entering the mall were invited to pen down or draw their dream and in turn were given a chance to shake the tree. Upon shaking, the tree showered an assortment of Perfetti candies from its branches.

Commenting on this innovative campaign, Nikhil Sharma, Category Head, Perfetti Van Melle India, said, "Through this campaign, Perfetti Van Melle India plans to encourage children to indulge in creative, crazy thinking and dreaming. The whole idea is to do something really special for children this Children's Day. Innovation and innocence is the heart and soul of this campaign and is expected to make a lot of kids happy this Children's Day."

With so much sweetness pouring in this Children's Day kids had a lot more to chose from. The little ones were offered an array of enthralling gifts by The Body Shop. An extensive range of product like Mango lip butter, Banana Shampoo or Grapefruit lip butter to see wide smiles on those special faces, making it a perfect avenue to express soothing emotions and spotless thoughts for the special one. Bata, the shoe giant in India, presented its unique collection for the "young feet'. Flaunting a wide variety this season, the brand provides best fine stitch and new styles and comfort.

The collection is a gamut of joy, available from a wide variety to choose from. For the little angels, flats, polka dots, bows and shiny footwear are a hit. To pair with all the cute dresses, the range offers footwear in funky red, pink and orange colour. Complimenting the outdoor personality of the boys, the new collection is available in easy to wear & upper straps sneakers. The rough & tough sole helps the boys enjoy a fun filled day. With a smartly assigned price range of Rs. 129, the brand is sure to give a smile to your child!

To dress the kids in style, Fashionandyou.com took the drool-worthy world of indulgence to another level with the introduction of "Fashionandyou Juniors" to "up' the junior fashionista's style quotient up with premium and luxury brands. Catering to kids, babies, busy parents, and moms-to-be, this shop is filled with fabulous apparel, travel accessories, toys, essentials, and more, tailored to families and their growing needs.

Speaking on this perfectly timed brand extension activity, Pearl Uppal, CEO, Fashionandyou.com said, "Fashionandyou Juniors is an exciting addition to the Fashion and You family. The portal is loved by our 3 million members for the excitement it brings to shopping, through its daily flash sales. Our members asked us to extend the daily indulgence for their little ones and here we are- Fashionandyou Juniors will be a shop within www.fashionandyou.com where each day you will feel the joy of discovering style from the most sought after brands for your juniors! We are confident our members will love the indulgence!"

DLF Promenade, the ideal fashion and lifestyle mall, celebrated Children's Day with a week-long fashion carnival for Kids. The first edition of the Kids Fashion Week concluded with celebrity child actor, Darsheel Safary, walking the ramp as the Showstopper. Leading kids' brands, like Kidology, Marks and Spenser Kids, Mothercare, ELC, Ginni and Joni, Smart Kids and Crocs participated in the fashion show.

Speaking about the fashion show, Pushpa Bector, Vice President and Mall Head, DLF Promenade Mall says '"DLF Promenade is a perfect fashion destination for adults and kids alike. It is our constant endeavour to bring together the most unique and engaging activities for our patrons. With celebrity events like these, we ensure an opportunity to our patrons to meet their favourite stars and at the same time highlight the latest fall winter trends available at our retailers for the customers".

While companies and brands were doing so much, how could the media stay behind. The King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan on this Children's Day, donned yet another charismatic avatar and turned as Guest Editor for Lokmat Media Ltd. Recalling about his childhood, youth, his growth in cinema and as a businessman who wants to give back to the industry which made him big, SRK essayed the perfect task as the Guest Editor for this special day balancing the tonality of news with compilation of stories and anecdotes.

Endorsed by SRK, the talented Lokmat editorial team put together thought-provoking, trend-setting and wonderful stories for the Children's Day. It was an edition, ranging from the current state of education to saving the environment, sports and technology ' all in all an interactive read for all age groups. It is a Collector's Item, definitely.

In a unique twist to the Children's Day celebrations, PlanetRadiocity.com invited 10 year old Devika to be the guest RJ on Dedication Top 10. RJ Rahul and guest RJ Devika brought the house down with their fun banter and endearing rapport.

India's top rated television channel for kids and their families ' Disney and Hungama TV brought out a special treat of fun and laughter to kids with an exciting array of programs. While Disney offered Junior's Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doraemon and everyone's favourite inventor brothers - Phineas and Ferb together with their pet Platypus Perry; Hungama TV was set to present all new episodes of "Shin Chan' from 4.00 pm onwards to join in the Children's Day celebrations. With a slew of exciting programs, Disney Channel and Hungama TV promised to make this Children's Day a memorable one for kids across India.

So from what it looks like, brands today just constructively eyeing opportunities and making optimum use of it. With occasion like Children's Day, brands have not only used their marketing skills and revenue to boost the company's monetary charts, but also utilized this as opening for brand extensions as well.