This is a story of two websites best begun with simple numbers. Three years after starting up his online and offline contests venture, Alok Kejriwal, CEO, c2w.com, boasts a registered user base of 1.8 million-and still growing. In the 1,100 days since he began in August 1998, he's evolved 1,500 online contests for corporate clients, and expanded to China eight months ago. But the most telling factor is the turnover: Rs 5.06 crore (Rs 3.01 crore in India and rest in China).

Neeraj Roy, CEO, Hungama.com, launched in April 1999. Since then, he's built a user base of two million, provided over 750 branding solutions for not just a host of consumer brands but also an oil company, had crossed Rs 4 crore in turnover by March 2001.

How do they do it in an age when dotcom is as dirty a word as the bhai from Dubai? Roy, 35, and Kejriwal, 31, are two dotcommers who have not only survived the storm but used the overall economic downturn to flourish. Their area of speciality-contests and e-promotions through entertainment-is ideally suited to the finely targeted markets and the new cash-strapped consciousness of their corporate clients. They both look like classical dotcoms, but the key to their success is probably because their souls have evolved into creative brand-promotion corporates. Telco used c2w's database to send direct mailers to the 35-plus audience in Mumbai and Delhi for its Tata Safari campaign. An Indian jewellery chain, planning to enter China, wants to run a contest on c2w China as a research tool before making a decision.

"INSTEAD OF THE SPRAY-AND-PRAY kind of marketing, our promotions essentially combine the best of both online and offline worlds." Alok Kejriwal, CEO, contests2win.com CONTESTS2WIN.COM STARTED OPERATION: August 1998 REVENUES FOR 2001-2002: Rs 5.6 crore BREAK-EVEN: In May 2001.C2W China will break even in April 2002

c2w.com conceptualises and creates customised contests for brands. The idea is to lure mainly young spenders into contests or any kind of electronic tomfoolery that reaches out to the new quick-witted, wired consumer. Hungama.com provides what Roy calls ''experiential marketing'', which is to create an experience of the brand. Remember, the pundits said there would be a handful of dotcoms that would survive the great tech crash? That despite the crash the net would-quietly this time-continue its growth? Well the net has grown to 1.5 million users in India, a 30 per cent jump from March 2001. And Roy and Kejriwal could be some of the leading candidates to be the prophesied survivors.

''While other peers in the category have dropped out of the race, these two generic contest or entertainment sites have built a loyal base of subscribers, providing one-to-one interaction between the brands and the customers,'' says Probir Roy, CEO, RSCG Interactive, and a keen internet industry observer. At the same time, the Rs 10,000-crore kitty of adspend by 250 top advertisers has not grown but is being splintered like never before. While the lion's share continues to go to TV, new media can earn their bit, if they can convince companies that it works.

The Way Of The Survivor

The grey of the Raghuvanshi Mills compound in gritty Lower Parel, Mumbai, is offset by the splashy yellow walls of the Hungama.com office. Roy, Managing Director and CEO, is busy with Chetan Kumar, ePromotions Manager, discussing the final details for the 10-city Valentine Hungama promotions-both online and offline in 150 colleges-for clients that include Cadbury, Nokia, Himalaya Drug, and MusicWorld. Roy, who describes his business as ''branding of brands'', says he carries forward the message of his company in a manner that is ''entertaining and experiential''. The revenues come in from corporates who can access their consumer base.

''Contests and ePromotions are interactive and there is a benefit in the end,'' explains Bala Deshpande, coo (Private Equity), ICICI Ventures, which has invested in both the companies. ''Soliciting customers is, therefore, easy and more ubiquitous. Moreover, you are not trying to create a need, but riding on a need that already exists.'' Add to it the fact that both of them have definite intellectual ability to create innovative promotion ideas. They not only have an understanding of the brand, but they also keep the brand value in mind while creating the experience rather than doing buy-one-get-one-free gimmicks where consumer fatigue is high.

"CLIENTS ARE FAR MORE DISCERNING, and we are able to give innovative solutions, which they want over and above the thematic advertising." Neeraj Roy, CEO, hungama.com HUNGAMA.COM STARTED OPERATION: May 1999 REVENUES FOR 2001-2002: Rs 4 crore BREAK-EVEN: April 2002

Chubby and voluble, former sock manufacturer Kejriwal works in an open office-formerly a film production area-at Tardeo's Film Centre in Mumbai amidst his staff of 35 employees. He tells you how the website has distributed over Rs 1.6 crore of prizes in the last three years. ''Instead of the spray-and-pray kind of marketing, our promotions essentially combine the best of both online and offline worlds," says Kejriwal. To enthuse the legions of surfers-who tend to be not just smart but cynical-Kejriwal offers what he calls ''money-can't-buy prizes'' for contests that he creates for nearly 400 brands (300 in India, 75 in China). He's variously offered a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle in retro colours and a piece of the Berlin Wall. On Hungama.com there's a loyalty programme: earn points and redeem them against any of the 300 brands he promotes.

''We first understand what the brand is all about and reflect it in a contest that is offered to customers,'' says Kejriwal. ''Our revenue essentially comes from corporates for accessing our customer base and providing (them) innovative marketing solutions.'' It's all very hard work though, and Kejriwal and his eight-person sales team must meet at least three clients a day to keep the revenues coming.

With today's belt-fastening, brand managers are looking for innovative means for making an impact. e-Marketing seems to be one such solution. ''Clients are far more discerning and we are able to give innovative, transparent solutions, which they want over and above the thematic advertising,'' says Roy.

But why would corporates look to the net really when, at the end of the day, its reach is still so limited?

Both websites provide an innovative hybrid online-offline approach to brand promotion. Consider Colgate's marketing approach focussed on youth to promote Colgate Fresh Energy Gel through the 'Talk to me' campaign. ''In addition to TV and outdoor media, the online medium was an important component of this marketing approach as the internet offers a powerful and immediate medium to connect with the target audience,'' says a Colgate spokesperson. Between January 1 and 15, Colgate invited consumers to give in their telephone number at the c2w website. If anyone called home, consumers had to answer with the phrase, ''Talk to me''. More than one lakh people logged in their mobile numbers on c2w in just 15 days.

BPCL manager M.S. Ashok similarly explains why an oil company would approach hungama.com to promote their petro cards. ''The Petro card is a smart card, a technologically advanced product,'' says Ashok. ''Since the online surfer is tech-savvy, we used Hungama.com.'' The site offered discounted petro cards and an online redemption centre for regular usage. ''We have primarily looked at 'entertainment' on the net to excite customers,'' says Aditya Swami, Coca-Cola spokesperson. ''The interactive nature of the content results in higher level of consumer involvement, which is the primary benefit of online activity.'' e-Gaming, it must be said, is something that routinely attracts surfers.

The other big advantage that the websites offer is the easy calculation of cost per customer contact and cost of acquisition. Back-of-the-envelope calculations show that companies can tap a whole new segment of netizens by doing away with the cutting/posting/couriering of contest forms/coupons. A contest on c2w.com for 30 days costs a minimum of Rs 1.5 lakh to the brand manager. That is for a contest on c2w, the cost per entry would work to Rs 5 as against around Rs 200 per entry in case of a full-page print advertisement with a post-office box.

With a cable audience of over 80 million, the net has a long way to go, but the promise is obvious as Indians wire up. ''These avenues of brand promotion will start picking up,'' says Deshpande. But until that happens, Roy and Kejriwal can't take their hard-won clients for granted. ''It's a challenging task month on month,'' acknowledges Roy. The days of breathtaking dotcom growth are done and gone. This is not the time of the hare. This is clearly a race of the tortoise. Slow and steady.