Zomato is offering 25 lakh for a consumer-created ad after users said its ‘YouTube ads suck'

• After consumers spammed Zomato’s social media pages criticising its Butter Chicken ad on YouTube, the brand has decided to give its users an offer they wouldn’t refuse.
• It is calling for entries for an ad from its consumers and has promised a handsome reward of Rs 25 lakh for the best creation. There are 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes, too!
• Apart from the quirkiness in which they made this announcement, we loved the fact that the platform agreed with the consumer reaction to their ads and said they agree their YouTube ads suck.

Zomato’s latest social media plan is proof that the brand has a super innovative marketing team working behind the scenes.

After consumers felt tired of watching Zomato’s YouTube and TV ads, a few of them took to social media platforms to make fun of the brand for its Butter Chicken ad. However, Zomato is taking this criticism in its stride and has come up with a rather smart idea that will not only help it come up with some fun campaign ideas, it will also help it win brownie points with its consumers.

The food-tech firm has admitted that its “YouTube ads suck!” So now, the brand has opened the floor for consumers to send in their entries for a creative ad. Apart from the novelty of the idea of crowdsourcing an ad, the fact that they admitted that they are as tired of watching their Youtube ad as is their consumer, made them win a lot of hearts.

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CONTEST ALERT! Make a suuuper fun zomato ad (of less than 1 min) and WIN 25 LACS – use #zomatoloot for every video ad you post on your instagram feed 📢 . Tag all the creative people you know – there are 2nd, 3rd and many 4th prizes too :p

A post shared by zomato (@zomatoin) on Sep 25, 2020 at 1:38am PDT

Users can send in their entries by uploading their advertisement under one minute on Instagram (not TikTok, reminds Zomato with an lol) with #zomatoloot before Gandhi Jayanti. The best entry will win Rs 25 lakh and the ad will be aired on TV. There are 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes as well. The winner will also get bragging rights.

The creator is required to follow all social distancing rules. Another criteria for judging the best ad will depend on the likes the ad sees on Instagram. Winners will be announced 7-10 after Gandhi Jayanti.

It is Zomato’s honest and witty communication that has helped it see steady growth now as par to pre-COVID levels. The overall sector is clocking ~85%+ of pre-COVID GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), up from ~75%+ last month.

With the ongoing IPL season and the subsequent festival season, Zomato is also expecting food delivery in both metros and smaller cities to make a full recovery soon – and resume growing over pre-COVID levels.