Pitch August 2012

Volume IX Issue 11 | August 2012

` 75

Child Brands is the father of

20 odd marketers, brand experts, creative brains, media owners and media planners speak on how kids are redefining marketing

AJAY Jaiman | ANANT Nath | ANITA Nayyar | ANIL Lakhani | ANSHU Mor | BIKRAM Duggal | HIMANSHU Manglik | JAYAN Mehta | JESH Krishna Murthy | MAYANK Shah | MONICA Tata |VENKATESH M | NIKHIL Sharma | NINA Elavia Jaipuria | PHILIP Royappan | RAHUL Johri | ROHIT Ohri | SOMPRABH Singh | SHALINI Rawla | & VIRAJ Singh discuss the nitty gritties of marketing to kids

Interview: Aarushi Agarwal

Getting local

need and creation of the men’s body grooming category

The airline is luring the Indian travellers with localised menu, upper class suite and extra baggage allowance

Pitch |The August CMO at2012 Philips talks on the

New Section

Marketing Tree

In this new section, this month,7 we present the Marketing structure at Philips Electronics India

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Pitch | August 2012

Pitch | August 2012

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INSIDE COVER STORY

Pitch Volume IX, Issue-11 August 2012 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra Editor & Director Amit Agnihotri Director Nawal Ahuja

EDITORIAL TEAM

Consulting Editors

Vinod Behl Noor Fathima Warsia

Deputy Editor

Dhaleta Surender Kumar

Assistant Editor

Ruchika Kumar

Principal Correspondent

Pallavi Srivastava

Correspondents

Abhinav Mohapatra Aditi Malhotra Arshiya Khullar

Art Director

Jasper Levi

Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers

Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai) Suresh Gola (Noida)

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Child 0 Brands is the father of

AD SALES

Rohit Sardana Abdulla M Mazumder Varnikaa jain Sneha Walke

9811377592 9871609348 9769153087 9845541143

0FFICES

NOIDA: B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Phone: (0120) 4007700 Mumbai: 301, Kakad Bhavan, 3rd Floor, 11th Street, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050 Phone: (022) 2640 3303/09/14/16 Bengaluru: Flat No. 1,062, 1st Floor, 2nd Cross, 6th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 038 CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION

Dharmender Singh (Noida) Circulation & Distribution Head - 9999419197 dsingh@exchange4media.com Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com

How are Indian marketers luring the kids to their brands? In turn, how are Indian media houses aggregating an audience - consisting of kids - for their advertisers?

Biting Big

06

New launches, region based marketing and focus on home delivery: Is that enough to keep Domino’s thriving in the cut-throat competitive Indian QSR market?

On News-stands ` 75 www.pitchonnet.com Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Printed at All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 An exchange4media Publication

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Shedding Atlantic cold

52

Virgin Atlantic is cooking a local recipe to lure Indians travelling abroad. What are the key strategic elements the brand is using and are they working for it?

Pitch | August 2012

Out from the cold-store

34

No child’s play

Why has Coca-Cola got RimZim out of the deep freezer? How will it change market dynamics? And how is CocaCola looking to market it?

VAS up?

44

With mobile density on the rise in the rural areas, marketers are looking at an opportunity to tap this audience through the medium - mobile. How?

INTERVIEWS

“Men shaving body hair is acceptable”

30

Aarushi Agarwal Director Marketing, Personal Care, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips India

“3G is fueling Smartphones growth”

38

Faisal Siddiqui Country Manager, HTC India

“Digital has shifted power to consumers”

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Global Head, Digital Marketing Practices for Infosys & Head of BrandEdge

OTHERS John Abraham Brooke Bond I-Shakti

36 40 50

CMOSCAPE

54

Rance Crain Adam Shlachter Kuber Chopra Annurag Batra Pitch | August 2012

In today’s context, however, when consumption is on the rise, and every brand is vying for real estate in the consumer mindspace, kids play an important role in the marketers’ scheme of things. The audience cannot be ignored. With increasing pocket money, while they are consumers in their own right, they are becoming huge influencers in big ticket purchases like cars, mobile phones, laptops, etc too. And how big the pester power is, you will have to turn over the pages to find out. They directly or indirectly can make or mar brands. So it would be apt to say that ‘Child is the Father of Brands’.

And marketing to kids is an art. They have a mind of their own. They are fast movers and loyalties are defined, not by advertisements but eventual experience. But in the bigger scheme of things, marketers want to catch them young.

Having said that the opposite is equally true that while they have a mind of their own, they are culturally seen as a vulnerable group. The US society is coming out of the consumption era and is becoming more sensitive to the messaging and marketing to kids. And hence, there are codes of ethics on how kids should be featured or portrayed in communication and what needs to be told to them and what not. And marketers are themselves taking the onus to take care of that. The cause gives them the tag of responsible marketers.

However, in India, the consumption era has just started and brands in the game of volumes and numbers, often flout rules – which though don’t exist.

Ajay Anand

COLUMNS

At the outset, let me apologise to the literature puritans and to the ever ‘Romantic’ poet, William Wordsworth, for distorting his famous poem – ‘Child is the Father of Man’ to suit our headline for our cover story – ‘Child is the Father of Brands’. While I do not want to take away anything from the great poet, Indian culture goes a step further in eulogising kids, when we say, Bachche Bhagwaan ka roop hote hain (Kids are an image of God).

08 28 43 56

So should we ignore kids altogether? That would be harakiri. So how are Indian marketers looking at this audience? Where are they talking – dare not talk down – to them? And at the same time, how are media houses preparing that ground for marketers to talk to this audience? It is in this light that Pitch decided to decode the marketing mantra to kids.

Besides, we have some interesting features and interviews, like that of Aarushi Agarwal of Philips, a company that can be credited for creating the new – men’s body grooming category in India. So dive in and have a happy reading.

Amit Agnihotri

amit@pitchonnet.com

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LAUNCHPAD

Gadgets & Gizmos SONY XPERIA P

New Experience What: Yet another sleek and stylish phone from Sony, the younger brother or shall we call sister of Xperia S. Priced around Rs 25,799, the phone brings a smartphone with a bright viewing experience. A minimalistic design and modern look that makes it stand out among its counterparts.

Specification: The smartphone offers a four inch Reality Display with White Magic technology and Reality Display powered

by Mobile BRAVIA Engine. 1 GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera with fast capture and HD recording, 16GB flash storage, NFC high speed USB enabled with HDMI and DLNA connectivity and Google Android 2.3 upgradable to ice cream sandwich. The

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC G5 What: A touch enabled DSLR camera that claims to have an advantage of accuracy and speed over other high end

Xloud experience lets the user hear clear bass and clear stereo with audio or video playback as well as recording.

USP: The small yet powerful four inch screen is based on the BRAVIA Engine used in the high end BRAVIA flat-screen TVs. Features like 3D and Motion gaming bring in a spark of entertainment in the 120 gram phone. The 1GB RAM allows 8x zoom and fast capture with the 8Mega Pixel camera.

Background: Sony Ericsson was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between Sony and the Swedish telecommunications equipment company Ericsson. Sony

Economically Professional DSLR cameras. Pegged around ` 22,000 (approx) the camera is an upgrade to last year’s Lumix G3 model and is available with a line up of lightweight and small yet powerful LUMIX G and LECIA DG Lenses..

Specification: The camera packs a 16.05-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor. It brags a Multi-process Noise Reduction which quickly detects brightness in each part of a picture and applies optimum noise reduction in multiple steps. The 3DNR detects the smooth and edge part of a picture and adjust the strength of noise reduction to maintain the descriptiveness. Also is loaded with features like Creative Control of 14 Filters and Adjustable Parameters Light Speed AF with Precise Contrast AF. The camera also allows the user to make 1920 x

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acquired Ericsson’s share in the venture in February 2012 and now is known as Sony Mobile Communications. The Mobile Communication is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation, Japan which is the manafacurers of various electronic genres from cameras(cyber shot), audio devices, TVs(BRAVIA), Laptops(Vaio) to gaming consoles (Play Station). 

1080 60p (NTSC) / 50p (PAL) Videos in AVCHD Progressive format..

USP: 6 fps Burst Shooting with 16.05-megapixel Full-resolution lets the user shoot to capture fast subject motion. Full-area Focusing and Pinpoint AF for accurate framing makes it possible to set focus on any point in the field of view with the touch screen feature on the display screen. The camera has a scene guide of 23 scenes to learn photography.

Background: Panasonic Corporation develops and manufactures electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs globally.

Based in Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.42 trillion Yen for the year 2010. 

Pitch | August 2012

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 2 10.1

HUAWEI ASCEND G300

For the Family What: The second version of the widely acclaimed Galaxy Tab, priced at around ` 32,990 it is a bulkier and thicker version of the first one. The 10.1 boasts cutting edge multimedia and internet functionality in a personal tablet device.

Specification: The tablet is packed with a 10.1-inch PLS LCD display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, well connected with 3G, WiFi Direct and A-GPS. The tab has the usual Bluetooth v3.0, USB 2.0 for external connectivity. A 3MP auto-focus rear camera with

full HD 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second and a VGA front facing camera for video calling. The 16 or 32GB Internal memory with MicroSD Card support up to 32 GB lets the user store movies music and other work or entertainment related media with ease.

USP: The Tab is positioned not only as a corporate but as a device that the family can use. With ebook readers and the latest Android Ice cream Sandwich OS, an array of applications and widgets are available for the user. it also has Multimedia sharing on all DLNA compatible devices through the cloud media storage platform. The enhanced front speakers are a further to the multimedia experience and video calls.

Background: With seven new Smartphone models launched in the first quarter of 2012, Samsung is the leader in the Smartphone market with a 40.4 per cent share according to Cyber Media Research of march 2012. 

TOSHIBA SATELLITE U840W ULTRABOOK

Big Theatre What: Another addition from Toshiba to the Ultrabook family. The Laptop offers not only the swiftness of an ultrabook but also a cinematic viewing experience. Pegged at ` 63,500, the Laptop is light yet sturdy and is less than an inch in thickness.

Specification: Packed with the 3rd Gen Intel Core i5-3317U Processor 1.7 GHz, with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.6 GHz and a 14.4 inches Cinema High-Definition Clear SuperView LED Backlit Display, A decent 500GB SATA and 32GB SSD (5400RPM) which runs with a 6GB RAM which is expandable up to 10 GB. the Ultrabook has a HDMI, USB 3.0, headphone and a bridge media slot.. A slim HD webcam

Pitch | August 2012

with microphone for all the Skype lovers and Windows 7 Home Premium.

USP: The Satellite U840W displays movies without any black bars above and below the picture, which gives a movie theatre experience. The LED backlighting helps to boost contrast and colour saturation for a more pleasing image. The harman/kardon stereo speakers with SRS Premium Sound 3D ensures movies, music and games delivering a rich, clear and distortion free sound to match the cinematic visuals.

Background: Toshiba was founded in 1875, has annual sales surpassing 6.1 trillion yen.

Toshiba is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products, like LCD/LED TVs, home appliances, hyrdo and thermal power plant systems. 

Quick Charge What: The G300 is the first product of Ascend G Series. It is a value for money touchscreen Android Smarthone and is for those who search for style and multimedia features in a smartphone. Priced at ` 13,400 the phone claims to give a tough competition to its peers.

Specification: The smartphone offers a four inch WVGA IPS hard screen with anti figure print design. The phone bags a five Megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash and a 1GHz CPU with Android 2.3 OS.The OS allows access to a large array of softwares through Google Play, pre installed with social networking apps such as Facebook and Twitter. The phone interestingly has a digital compass and an FM radio too..

USP: The four inch wide screen with ambient light sensor allows the user to see the screen and view media uninterrupted in any lighting environment. Ascend G300 takes less than 120 minutes to get fully charged with high power charger.

Background: In India, Huawei Devices has been offering a range of high-quality products for the past several years and claims to satisfy the needs of nearly 25 million Indian house-holds and enterprises. According to the company, Huawei Device is transforming from a company that sells millions of devices in single transactions to large businesses, to a B2P brand that also sells individual devices directly to millions of people.  Compiled by Abhinav Mohapatra -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

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BOOK EXTRACTS

FAMILY DOMINO’S

Biting Big

New launches, region based marketing and focus on home delivery: Is that enough to keep Domino’s thriving in the cut-throat competitive Indian QSR market?

By Abhinav Mohapatra

H

ow do you keep the market interested and overcome consumer fatigue? The answer at Domino’s, the franchise of Jubilant Foodworks is to launch a new product every quarter. “This way, existing and new consumers get a chance to experience something novel,” says, Harneet Singh Rajpal, Vice President, Marketing, Domino’s India.

New offerings Domino’s this quarter, has launched Stuffed Garlic Bread, at a price of ` 79. The bread also comes at an introductory offer price of ` 45, along with medium pizzas and Coke.

With Coca Cola as its beverage partner, Domino’s has also launched a side platter called ‘Spicy Tasty’, which is only for dine ins.

It has launched Potato Smackers as a new product along with the Stuffed Garlic Bread in this quarter. Domino’s has launched three new gourmet pizzas and also had introduced pastas and Chocó Lava Cakes earlier.

The stuffed Garlic Bread has a creamy layer of mozzarella cheese mixed with golden corn and jalapenos.

To promote its latest offering, Domino’s has come up with a TVC, which shows a man proposing a woman by opening a box of stuffed garlic bread and a ring stuck in between the food item. “People like to give surprises to their loved ones. Therefore, this commercial connects with the element of surprise,” says Rajpal, According to Rajpal, about 15-20 per cent of sales come from new products that Domino’s launches every quarter. Jubilant Foodworks has had Domino’s as the main brand for a long time as it has 465 stores across 105 cities. “We are the largest brand in the organised food service industry in terms of the number of stores,” he says.

According to him, new products are

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launched after seeking feedback from consumers. “We start from customers and create all our products, our strategy and our innovations around them. Feedback is a very important part of developing our products.

Our R&D team develops a product, after which we go to every store and have cus-

Domino’s annual ` 1,017 isturnover for FY 2011-12

Crore

turnover goes 4-5% ofintoitsmarketing its delivery revenue 10% ofcomes from online orders

tomer trials, only if the feedback is good, we go ahead with the product,” adds Rajpal.

Pizzas remain the core However, he adds that offerings like garlic bread will always remain complimentary.

“Pizzas are the centre of our business; the rest is all complimentary. Today, Domino’s offers garlic breads, stuffed garlic breads, chicken kickers, pastas, hot and cold deserts as a part of its menu along with an option of an a la carte. We have a healthy mix of products, almost every order has these sides added to it,” Rajpal appends.

Domino’s believes that when the consumer wants to consume a pizza, they don’t

Organised pizza market in India is growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent; and Domino’s enjoys a 70 per cent share in the pizza home delivery segment Pitch | August 2012

want to have something with Indian toppings, they want to have something international. Yet the taste has to be suitable to the Indian palate. Thus, though, the procedure of making the pizza stays the same globally, Domino’s does tweak the spices to suit the Indian taste buds.

Organised pizza market in India is growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent. Domino’s also enjoys a 70 per cent share in the pizza home delivery segment in India.

“An average sale that a store has in Delhi, if compared to a city like Madurai, is not very different. In a big and small city the only difference is the quantum of stores. Delhi NCR is from where we get our maximum sales, followed by Mumbai. The top 10 cities out of 105 cities contribute to 40-45 per cent of our total revenue sales,” Rajpal adds.

The pizza consumption in major cities is far from the amount of pizza consumption in western counterparts says Rajpal. He says even the major cities in India are under penetrated. Smaller cities still need to be educated. There are many more markets that Domino’s wants to explore therefore, there it thinks that there is healthy potential to grow.

Its location strategy is based on the study where it feels the consumer is ready.

“Our idea is to cover big cities back to back in terms of delivery. We are a home delivery brand that delivers at an eight minute delivery drive time from the store. Which means, if Domino’s would need to cover a city like Delhi, it needs to have that many stores that can cover the entire city at an eight minute delivery time from the store. “There is a lot of potential to grow as Indian cities are still virgin markets for our products. The Business Development team keeps scouting for locations that we can open new stores,” says Rajpal.

Good business According to Rajpal, Domino’s recorded a turnover of ` 1,017 crore (FY 2011-12) as its annual turnover and it invests 4-5 per cent of its turnover in marketing, which is not only TV, it is also local store marketing and digital advertising.

“For BTL activities we are store specific we don’t have national BTL campaigns as such. Every store has a different catchment

Pitch | August 2012

It was the ` 35 pizza, launched in 2008 by Domino’s that created disruption in the market and opened up the category for those who had never tried a pizza area. Depending upon what is required in that store we set up the BTL activations,” Rajpal appends. Domino’s had launched a programme in Bangalore called ‘Namma Bengaluru Namma Domino’s’, which meant my Bangalore my Domino’s. The idea was to create excitement in the city on a tactical level, done only for cities where there is a need. “We do a lot of BTL activities when we are coming up with a store to create a buzz.

We do ATL in a big way and we also do local store marketing where we start form the catchment areas after studying the profiles of the consumers, so that we can set our offers accordingly,” he adds.

Digital wings Domino’s launched its mobile app and online ordering platform couple of months back, which was part of its home delivery business. “Customers can order from a mobile, website or call our national number.

Dining is important for us and today our business is spread between dining, take away and delivery,” he says.

Rajpal also adds that online is relatively new for Domino’s in India as well as the customers in India. Phone calls still remain

“We have as many stores that can cover the entire city at an eight minute delivery time from the store” Harneet Singh Rajpal Vice President, Marketing, Domino’s India

the biggest source for consumers reaching Domino’s. “Ten per cent of our delivery revenue comes from online orders. Digital is the future and we are the only national ordering platform of such a scale in this sector. We learnt a lot from the western countries who are sitting at 40 per cent revenue that comes from online ordering.

Approaching the consumer on the preferred platform is what we are doing, be it SMS, online or Smartphone apps.”

Age no bar As a brand its consumption is not restricted to a specific age group or SEC profile. Its product is consumed from an age group of 12 to13 year kids to 40 to 45 year adults in SEC A, A+, B, C categories. “We are not a fine dining brand; we are a home delivery brand, but if you look at India in comparison to the global counterparts, dining and takeaways is an important part of our business. We offer a casual dining experience which has self service, is clean and hygienic,” adds Rajpal.

While Domino’s offers both home delivery and casual dining, the only other brand well known in the pizza segment, Pizza Hut repositioned itself from a QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) to an ACDR (Affordable Casual Dining Restaurant) in October last year.

Domino’s sees a huge space to grow in the Indian market. The organised food sector is underdeveloped and is in single digits of the total food market. “Any brand that the consumer consumes to satisfy what Domino’s offers lies in the category of competition for us. We are a meal replacement brand. So it is not only the players in the pizza market but anything that the customer consumes instead of Domino’s. When we launched a ` 35 pizza in 2008 we created disruption in the market which gave us a first move advantage over all the other brands. It acts as an entry to this category of pizza for those who have never tried a pizza,” Rajpal adds. n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

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EXCLUSIVE!

COLUMN

Apple’s ‘Genius’ spots were smart One of company’s great strengths is its support group in stores

I Rance Crain

President, Crain Communications

don’t understand the hysterically negative reaction to Apple’s “Genius” ads. Yes, I know that the Apple purists objected to the departure from Apple’s iconic commercials showing all the great things the products can do. To them, nothing should change - the type, the music, the voice-over.

But one of Apple’s great strengths is its support group at Apple stores - the geniuses who can answer all your questions and explain all the apps.

And there’s another motive in play here. Apple knows that if consumers buy one of its products at an Apple store, the genius support staff will take the time to school them in all the features of the product.

So Apple’s strategy in running the genius commercials, I surmise, is to promote sales at its own stores. Apple’s management team probably feels that the company can’t rely on its other retail partners, like Best Buy, to pull their weight. Apple makes more money on sales from its own stores and the “genius bar” ads were intended to drive more people to Apple stores.

But I hope negative reaction won’t deter Apple from its goal.

One person who commented on our online story on Apple’s dropping the ads had it exactly right: “To be honest, I think they got terrible after everyone said they were terrible. Considering the amount of free press they got, I

think more people saw the ad than was originally intended. And let’s face it, Jobs designed the Genius Bar for a reason, and it’s because despite how simple Macs are to use, there’s still a learning curve. All you do is admit that this advertising is for older, new customers, and it works. It’s just all the “fan-boys’ who are upset because Apple lost a little of its cool for practicality.”

Our story said that since midJuly 2011, adults 35 and older have been the biggest supporters of the Apple brand and its most enthusiastic customers. The Olympics, where the Apple ads ran, drew an audience “comfortably over 35, meaning Apple is hitting the right demo with - dare we say it? - the right message.”

As another commentator said: “Why is the aging of Apple’s fan base, if indeed that’s what’s occurring, an “uncomfortable truth’?

Aren’t the 35+ age group the people with the money?”

So what’s so off-putting about the Apple spots? One opens with a shot of people sitting on an airplane. A voice comes over the intercom: “This is your captain. Is there an Apple Genius onboard?”

An Apple employee in a blue shirt stands up and raises his hand.

“I’m a genius,” he says. A flight attendant leads him down the aisle, explaining that a man in 3B forgot his anniversary and wants to make his wife an iMovie but the plane lands in 27 minutes. The man in a panic says: “Look at all

Apple’s strategy in running the genius commercials, I surmise, is to promote sales at its own stores 8

this footage.” Genius: “It’s gonna be OK.” The man says: “Move this here? So I just drag in our wedding song. ... What if I want to add an ...” Cut off by announcement: “Please turn off all electronic devices.” Man: “Oh, we’re not going to make it.” Genius: “We’re gonna make it. Add the sepia effect. It’s very romantic.” They chuckle and shake hands. Then the flight attendant leans in and says: “We have two minutes, 21F is working on a keynote.” Genius: “Let’s go!”

Man: “Let’s do this!” On YouTube, negative reaction outweighed positive reaction.

Other ads show a man who is more interested in creating a photo card to announce the birth of his baby than getting his wife to the hospital. Another features a guy who says he “basically” just bought a Mac from a rather sleazy electronics store. These two also received a large number of dislikes on YouTube, which mostly attracts younger viewers.

The Apple stores are the most productive in US retail, generating revenue of $6,123 per square feet (compared with $801 for Best Buy), according to Retail Sails as quoted in the Financial Times.

But Apple is matching competitors’ prices on iPhones.

So it makes utmost sense for the company to attract buyers of other Apple products to its stores, and the self-proclaimed guardians of the brand who hooted the Apple genius ads off the air should understand what’s important is authenticity. And what could be more authentic than buying an Apple product in an Apple store? 

Pitch | August 2012

THE

LIGHTER

THE DM IDEA THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.

THE PROBLEM THE WORLD FACED Fire has always played an important role in our lives.

It satisfies two of humankind’s most basic needs – it cooks our food and gives us warmth.

But creating fire was never easy. You would need 2 stones, some dry grass and lungs full of twice the amount of air they could hold. What was needed was something pocketsize, to light a spark in the darkness and create fire with the flick of a finger.

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THE BIG IDEA Pocketsize being the keyword here.

After a few failed attempts (pocket candle – short life span along with hot wax in pants and portable chimney – couldn’t fit inside even an XXXXL pocket), our imagination sparked off a great idea. We chanced upon a simple design – a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable fluid or pressurized liquid gas. And an even simpler mechanism - flint for ignition, some provision for extinguishing the flame and voila.

We called this piece the Lighter.

+

HOW OUR ‘IDEA’ CHANGED THE WORLD Besides just our basic needs being fulfilled, ever since its introduction, the Lighter has also helped humankind take to the outdoors and is responsible for starting off many a campfires and a whole lot more BBQ’s. The Lighter has also been immortalized as an important accessory at rock concerts and has made its way into lyrics of over thousands of rock/folk/pop/country songs.

What started off as a small solution sparked off a great wave of uses. Today, no birthday is celebrated without the Lighter.

Pitch | July 2012

Celebrating Ideas That Change The World Spikes Asia takes place at Suntec Singapore from 16-18 September 2012.

To register to attend visit www.spikes.asia/attend_the_festival

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BOOK EXTRACTS

COVER STORY

Advt.

Image Source: ikfw.in (India Kids Fashion Week)

Child Brands is the father of

How are Indian marketers luring the kids to their brands?

In turn, how are Indian media houses aggregating an audience - consisting of kids - for their advertisers?

10

Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING

Tough nut to crack?

Do marketers find kids a tough nut to crack when it comes to convincing them to try out their products? Can marketers expect brand loyalty from kids? And how do they keep them engaged?

By Arshiya Khullar

T

he camera pans in to a hospital where the father is nervously perched on the hospital bed, waiting for an injection from a doctor. Giving him consolation and courage is his young son – barely 10 years old, who promises him a McAloo Tikki burger at the local McDonald’s, if the father goes through the pain of the injection without any fuss.

While for the purpose of this story, McDonald’s refused to “participate” in the story, stating they do not target kids, the TVC is indicative of the significant change in the power equation between parents and kids today. Marketing to kids has been a sensitive issue and brands like Britannia and Cadbury’s, which clearly have kids on the radar for many of their products were also evasive in responding to our queries.

However, the fact that kids represent an important demographic to marketers with their ability to influence purchase decisions not only for products that directly appeal to them, but for family buys as well, cannot be denied. They have always had a grip over both the shopping list as well as the purse strings but in the present scenario, with greater disposable incomes, smaller family sizes, and evolving buying behaviour, this grip has become even more firm and strong.

According to The World Bank data for the year 2011, roughly 30 per cent of the population in India falls below the age group of 14 years. Add to this base a blend of ingredients like greater education, exposure, and engagement and it whips up a perfect tailor-made recipe for marketers.

Pitch set out to explore the booming kids market in India and spoke to several kids’ brands spanning across different industry verticals to demystify what kids want as well as the strategies that marketers are pursuing to catch them young.

a year, toys are 10 times purchased by kids Amongst the most wanted toys are dolls and

cars

the kids play games 22% of on TV/internet Average time spent on gaming by kids per week is

68

minutes

Source: IMRB Kidscan in association with Nick

spanning across all sub ages? Or do brands need to further slice this group into smaller, micro slabs and devise separate marketing and communication strategies for each of them?

Typically, the 4-14 group is sub-divided into 4-10 and 10-14 but can be further segmented depending on the category and product.

Advt.

What do you call a consumer who wants to buy everything you have, doesn’t care what it costs and is less than five feet tall? A marketer’s dream? Nope. You call them kids.

-AdRelevance Intelligence Report, 2000

One size fits all?

The age-group of 4-14 years is the conventionally accepted segment for marketers while targeting kids. Lesser than four years of age is classified as infants and toddlers, who are largely dependent on parents and hence do not warrant any separate marketing while those upwards of 14 years of age bear a strong semblance to adults in terms of their choice of brands, and would therefore need an entirely different marketing approach.

However, is it possible to group all 4-14 year olds under one homogenous whole and look at them in entirety, with a single strategy

Pitch | August 2012

11

BOOK EXTRACTS

COVER STORY INTERVIEW

“Kids these days don’t want to be kids”

F

rom a wide array of kid-centric goodies to clutter-breaking creatives, Perfetti Van Melle has managed to maintain brand recall among a highly fickle minded kids’ segment.

Arshiya Khullar of Pitch speaks with Nikhil Sharma, Marketing Director, PVMI, to know his views on marketing to kids. Excerpts: Can we have one strategy for kids in the age of 4-14, as a single homogenous group?

From a marketing standpoint, we don’t distinguish between a 4-9 and 9-14 separately. To give an example, we have a brand called Alpenliebe Lollypops for which we are trying to intentionally go to a higher age group, so cutting edge advertising for this product is being planned. Filly Folly and Marbles, on the other hand, are promo-centric brands so we go a little kiddier and do prime toys, tattoos.

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Can kids’ attention be caught in print advertising or even outdoor and radio and how affectively?

Television is huge for kids. There is a high level of penetration in the digital space for kids but we are really at the tip of the iceberg there. We know that there are kids on Facebook but they are not really allowed to be there and we can’t design a campaign for them. For our line of business where most of the sales come from down the pop strata, even till now, digital penetration isn’t that great. We also do radio advertising that compliments the television plan. While we do strategic out-

door, there is nothing on the print front.

What part of your marketing budget is assigned to specifically target kids or used on kids’ channels?

Advertising to kids channels is cheaper than advertising to youth. We can’t share numbers but for instance, if there are 3-4 kids’ brands versus 10-12 other brands, around “A kid will take a 15-20 per cent of the toparticular brand name tal budget will go to kids out of sheer habit. advertising.

That is not loyalty but

Do kids have brand top of mind recall” loyalty?

Nikhil Sharma It is very difficult to have Marketing Director, brand loyalty in this catePVMI gory. If you ask a kid which is the most often used brand, he may come up with the name Alpenliebe two times out of five. A kid will take a particular brand name out of sheer habit. That is not loyalty but it is essentially being on top of mind and most often used which is really a function of the huge equity you have built over the years.

How have kids’ consumer behaviour changed over the years?

Kids these days don’t want to be kids. They want to be older than what they actually are. They are fast learners. They want value added stuff now. There is so much exposure to media and there is this whole iPad, iPod generation, at least in the metros. You are talking to individuals with a mind of their own and need to treat them as equals. That is when they respect you.

In your communication strategy, would you target directly at kids or target parents?

For small confectionary, kids are the main target audience so we target them directly. We don’t do a surrogate advertising.

Do you have an ethics code for marketing to kids?

We are responsible marketers. We do not want to show anything that is detrimental to them like if it is a graphical representation, we will flash it. That really is the bedrock of all thematic communication that we do. n -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com

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Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING

“while simple, slapstick humour works best for kids, the early teens prefer tongue-in-cheek advertising” Mayank Shah Group Product Manager, Parle Products

load, this fickle minded and easily swayed consumer segment presents a formidable challenge to marketers. While on one instant, kids would be swooning over a ‘cool’ product, the next moment it would be brushed aside to embrace the next ‘in’ thing.

Marketers plant seeds of brand recognition among children early on so that it can culminate into a lifelong association and relationship. But while a child can rattle off brand names and distinguish between logos and mascots of different companies, is this characteristic of a brand loyalty?

Philip Royappan, Deputy Marketing Manager, Funskool India, believes that kids are loyal to a brand till the time it brand is able to retain their interest. He also adds that in the present day cluttered Advt.

In confectionaries and biscuits, for example, Parle classifies 4-8 year-olds as typical young kids and its confectionery brand, Poppins is positioned for this class. Mango Bites candies cater to the next class of 12-14 year-olds- the tweenagers, and then there are offerings like Melody for the 12-14 year-olds, who are in their early teens.

Explaining the communication strategy for each of them, Mayank Shah, Group Product Manager, Parle Products, says that while simple, slapstick humour works best for the younger segment, the early teens prefer more evolved and tongue-in-cheek advertising and marketing. Adolescents, on the other hand respond favourably to emotional communication.

When it comes to biscuit brand, Parle G, Shah says that since 8-14 year-olds represent only half of the product’s customer base with the remaining being families and adults, the communication plan cannot narrowly focus on one segment.

Italian Confectionery major, Perfetti Van Melle also has several products in its portfolio for kids. While the gum brands, Big Babol, Filly Folly gum and Marbles are some of the offerings for the 4-14 year-olds, it also has toffees like Alpenliebe and Chocoliebe, which fascinate both kids and adults.

However, while each of these brands have a different positioning to varied emotional needs of kids, Nikhil Sharma, Marketing Director, PVMI doesn’t see significant difference between a 4-9 and a 9-14 year-old from a marketing standpoint. “In terms of positioning, while Big Babol is all about using the gum for a gain and Alpenliebe signifies irresistibility, Filly Folly and Marbles are essentially promo-centric brands and are ‘kiddier’ than the others,” says Sharma.

For others, like Amul, a dairy cooperative with a bevy of products that both directly and indirectly target kids, the mantra is to have a universally loved communication strategy. It is a question of appealing to the intellect of people, yet staying young in the mind, says Jayan Mehta, General Manager (Planning and Marketing), Amul. He gives an example of the popular Amul Butter Girl campaign, which has been using a caricature of a six-year-old girl to appeal to even the mature audience. In contrast, one of the recent campaigns for Amul Milk featured children from various age-groups and regional backgrounds.

There are also product categories, where the segmentation strategy is guided by gender preferences besides different age-groups.

Zoop, a kids’ watch brand by Titan, segments kids into three classes, the younger kids who are excited about colours and characters, and the older boys and girls. While girls are driven by the need to accessorise, boys are attracted by the ways in which they can interact with the watch, says Somprabh Singh, Marketing Head, Titan India.

Since the target audience is fragmented, we ensure that our communication and products appeal to all segments of the audience while maintaining a similar appeal amongst their parents.

So while Zoop would have a collection inspired by cars for boys, there is another range inspired by candies for the fairer sex.

The loyalty test Children might hold the purse strings and be the ones to walk you to the shopping store and influence purchases, but they are also a tough nut to crack. With the deluge of brands and information over-

Pitch | August 2012

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environment, what is popular today might not be so tomorrow, and that is when kids change their loyalty.

“Their brand loyalty is driven on factors like the experience the child has at the store, the parents’ brand loyalty, and the merchandising of the brand in terms of colours and designs,” feels Anil Lakhani, Executive Director, Gini & Jony, an apparel brand for kids.

Involvement and loyalty also depend on the product category and segment. In the FMCG space, for instance, where the costs involved aren’t of huge proportions, a child can easily end up buying confectioneries or biscuits on impulse and never purchase the same again.

Parle’s Shah echoes similar views and feels kids to be early adopters of new innovative products and fascinating offerings, and eager in trying out new products. This is the reason why most marketers looking to launch new concepts usually run after kids.

However, he also adds that because of this minimal loyalty, companies need to build a stronger association and emotional bonding to confirm their products’ place in the shopping bag.

Also, what are the odds that a child really differentiates on the bases of brand attributes? A brightly coloured and uniquely packaged product sitting pretty on the shelf with attractive freebies by its side is most likely to draw the attention of a child, and in many cases, even be bought, regardless of the brand name or attributes.

Amul’s Mehta reminisces the days when such promotional offers and freebies had an aspirational value attached to them and drove purchases. “Five years ago, these promotional offers drove kids, but I doubt if today’s generation would appreciate the kind of freebies that are given out with brands. Kids these days are not attracted to the gifts but the intrinsic qualities,” he says.

Himanshu Manglik who heads Corporate Communications at Nestle has a different spin on this. He feels that since children are not the ones making the purchase decision, it is more important to

14

“Kids’ brand loyalty is driven on factors like the experience they have at the store and the merchandising in terms of colours and designs” Anil Lakhani Executive Director, Gini & Jony

ensure that the actual buyers - parents understand the product differentiation and brand qualities.

So how do I catch them?

For a consumer segment that is characterised by a wavering attention span and impulsive behaviour, television, with its strong visual appeal, storytelling format and vast reach, remains for most brands the prime and most effective marketing tool to engross children.

Direct contact programmes and outdoor engagement activities are the other widely used platforms to target children. Interactive and entertaining activities work best since they are more involving and experiential, says Lakhani from Gini & Jony. The brand organises direct contact programmes at schools and malls. It also organises store activities like designer and drawing competitions, fashion makeover events, photo sessions, to engage both the kids and their mothers.

For Parle, while television remains the best medium, it also dabbles in outdoor activities and activations depending on the product category. In case of a new product launch where the quality of contact is important, the brand indulges in school contact programmes, which have a lower cost per contact as compared to activation in malls. For a new innovative offering, it focuses on trial inducing marketing initiatives outside homes.

Nestle recently launched a range of fruit yoghurts, Junior Daheez, for kids in the age-group of 4-8 years. Positioned as an ‘anytime healthy snack’, it targets both parents and kids. To make the marketing more relevant and visually engaging, the company developed toy train creatives on outdoor hoardings and billboards.

Toy company, Funskool, which has a diverse product portfolio catering to children of different ages also targets its audience in schools through workshops. On the brand’s overall marketing strategy, Royappan says, “Today, with over six main line channels for kids and with most programmes in regional languages, TV is still an important medium to capture the attention of kids. However, for infants and preschool children, where parents are key decision makers, we do

Pitch | August 2012

How much would parents consider a child’s involvement in a product purchase?

Definitely Consider May consider Would not consider

46%

Source: Cartoon Network New Generations India 2011

KIDS MARKETING

45%

49% 31%

20%

COMPUTER

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

43%

48%

37%

37%

17%

HAIR OIL

MOBILE PHONE

CAR

46%

41%

17%

11%

`

35%

21%

47%

42%

44%

39%

40%

16% *SAVINGS PLAN FOR CHILD

14% MOTORBIKE

target print advertising like child, mother & baby magazines.”

The company also conducts promotional activities across its various stores based on popular games like Othello, Monopoly, Connect 4, and Guess Who to encourage children to play more games and engage their minds in a more constructive manner. It recently ran a championship for a popular board game, Rummikub, whose winner would go on to represent the country in the World Rummikub Championship to be held in Italy later this year.

So while dealing with children, outdoor remains a preferred marketing tool, print and radio advertising figure low in priority.

Parle’s Shah explains that radio listenership among kids is not high, and most of it is passive as opposed to primal listening. Singh from Zoop seems to agree and opines that radio works better for the brand’s secondary target segment – parents.

SHAMPOO

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12%

The creative appeal From a creative standpoint too, the scenario has changed. Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group, feels that today’s creatives need to establish a real life connect. What would work, in his opinion is showing empathy and understanding towards the challenges that kids face today.

Pitch | August 2012

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COVER STORY

their age – socialising with friends and competing in “Five years back, animation ad films or films games with each other. This is a captive audience, which drawn from fairy tales worked. Now, online gamno marketer wants to let go. ing, live action sports and real life action are what “Today’s generation is called the screenagers. They live on a kids want. They don’t like being talked down to,” television screen, console screen or a tablet screen. Within the he opines. digital space, while gaming remains the No 1 activity for 4-10 He speaks of a campaign by Horlicks, ‘Exams year-olds, as you move up the age ladder, social media begins ka bhoot bhagaye’, which connected well to take precedence over gaming,” says Shah. with kids since the brand gave them the While most brands are hopping on to the digital strength to chase the ‘bhoot’ and bandwagon to tap these netizens, it also raises scare of exams. questions about the safety of such a medium Whether it is the aforementioned from a marketing standpoint.

McDonald’s’ advertisement or the “Digital is a safe way to target kids. Content much talked about ‘Kids as Adults’ can be harmful, not the media and we make campaign of Flipkart showing chilsure the content is suitable for their viewing,” dren emulating adult behaviour, “Five years back, says Zoop’s Singh. there is little room left for debate animation drawn Dairy company, Amul has also been using on the challenges that brands from fairy tales/ the digital space for its range of ice-creams, and marketers face while trying and for Amul PRO, the recently launched malt to appease this headstrong yet Panchatantra worked based milk additive for kids in the age-group gullible lot. While Flipkart is an for kids” of 2-15 years. While its Facebook page has online retail store and has a tarclose to 5,00,000 likes, the brand’s websites are geted kids’ audience, the medium Rohit Ohri also buzzing with activity.

– online – itself has become an Executive Chairman, However, Mehta lists parental involvement and important platform for marketers to Dentsu India Group control as key requisites. He refers to one of the recatch the kids’ attention. cent online campaigns for Amul PRO, wherein mothers were asked to use the App to encourage creativity The net widespread among kids.

And what are kids doing online? They are playing games and doing research for their projects. While, Facebook doesn’t allow membership below 13 years Barbie versus Spiderman of age, the truth is there is a huge kids audience – lying about We also asked brands if they use different communication strategies to appeal to boys and girls.

According to Singh, the behaviour of the two sexes differs in terms of the product stimuli, exposure to media and influencers, and these differences are factored in while planning Zoop’s media outlay and

77% kids like funny ads

who like ads with vs 60% their favourite celebrities Source: IMRB Kidscan in association with Nick

product development.

For Amul, the ‘Utterly, Butterly’ girl has been its advertising mascot for half a century, winning hearts with her tongue-in-cheek humour.

Mehta adds further, “We have a feminist bent of mind and the girl child has been given utmost importance. It is not a gender specific brand but our marketing involves a girl as the central character of the brand.”

For apparel brand, Gini and Jony, on the other hand, while its design and colour themes are in sync with the preferences of boys and

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Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING girls, its communication strategy is more gender neutral.

O

ver the years, Hollywood movies, especially animated film franchises have increasingly found flavour among brands indulging in co-branding activities in association with films. Marketers are vying for tie-ups with animation movies and films targeted at children to leverage the noise created by these Hollywood films prior to their release in the country and cash in on their popularity and exposure.

The animation flick Ice Age-4, for instance had associations with seven different brands: MTR Milk Drinks, McDonald’s, MCD, Crax Corn Rings, Perfetti Alpenliebe, LG Electronics 3D TV and The Mobile Store.

For Perfetti, the partnership with Fox Studios for its marketing campaign was aimed at bringing alive the ‘irresistibility’ positioning of Alpenliebe.

MTR Foods, known for its packaged meals, recently launched

a range of kids’ drinks, a Badam Drink Mix and a Chocolate Badam Drink Mix, and tied up with Ice Age-4 franchise to create an instant connect with its core target audience. Its campaign included promotional activities like Ice Age-4 cobranded packs, giving away free sippers with packs, creation of movie merchandise as well as special movie screenings for contest winners.

Pester Power Those days are passé when kids’ eyes would be riveted only to the products meant for their usage or consumption, and would nag their parents into wielding their rising disposable incomes to purchase these goods. Kids are well informed, have clear likes and dislikes, and often have a say in most purchase decisions. Advertisements featuring children in categories such as air conditioners, washing machines, cooking oil and home appliances are based on marketers’ acceptance of this target audience as a strong influencing and persuasive group.

Pester power has thus, evolved to a whole new dimension over the years, with children exerting influences on family buys such as cars, mobile phones, laptops, and even insurance policies.

Cartoon Network New Generations Study 2011, a large scale quantitative study conducted by Nielsen among close to 3,700 kids in the age-group of 7-14 years as well as around 1,000 parents of 4-6 yearolds throws up interesting insights to corroborate this changing power equation.

According to the findings of the report, 48 per cent of parents are likely to consider their children’s opinion while buying a mobile phone.

Further, parents involving kids in car purchase decision making stood at a robust 63 per cent in 2011.

Another report, IMRB Kidscan tells a familiar story. The research, conducted by IMRB Kidscan in partnership with Nickelodeon in 2011, with a respondent base of 5,500 kids and 5,000 parents across 22 cities and socio-economic classes estimates kids to have the highest influence on food, food products, kids products followed by household items. 61 per cent parents agreed to have taken their kid’s advice while buying things for them, while 71 per cent consider it

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Ticket to Hollywood

Earlier this year in June, dairy major, Amul experimented with a new marketing initiative and associated itself with the Hollywood movie, Amazing Spiderman. It went on to release its first ever three-dimensional commercial over 280 screens all over India along with the 3D version of the movie. Among many other brands, the movie also partnered with Kelloggs and Horlicks.

In another instance, Zoop, the children brand of watches by Titan launched a collection of watches inspired by the movie Madagascar 3. The collection comprised 20 watches for young boys and girls, in eclectic colours inspired by the characters in the movie. n Pitch | August 2012

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COVER STORY Playstore

In today’s iPad and Smart phone generation, toys are no longer the only fancied fun stuff for children. Gaming consoles, tablets, and phones with tailor-made content and apps for kids, which combine learning and play are becoming a rage among kids.

One such gaming console which children are hooked on to is Microsoft Xbox, which offers a slew of games like Disneyland and Nat Geo for the 6-12 year olds and also caters to the 13-18 segment with games related to sports and dance.

Edutainment is the new buzz word in the kids’ genre. This extends from gadgets & gizmos to theme parks

While the brand has also used print and radio, Mor feels that the underlying reason was to reach out to not just kids, but also the parents since they happen to be the ultimate decision-makers and need to be apprised of the benefits of a particular game. Besides, Xbox also looks at a holistic family involvement in each of its games- a game called Nike Fitness, for instance, is a sport game for kids along with being a fitness regime for parents.

Also, gone are the days when kids would be content with playing with their parents’ gizmos or hand-me-down tablets as their Xbox, over the years has been less Business Group Lead, Interactive parents upgrade to a new version. Earlier aggressive on advertising yet has been Entertainment Business, Microsoft this year saw Micromax launch its studentable to retain its brand connect through Corporation (India) friendly tablet, Funbook and Inspan Infotech, focusing on experiential marketing and an IT distribution company also came out with a peer referencing. “To reach out to the new, upgraded version of its kids tablet, Genius Kids audiences we have to get them to play, be it in Designer II pen tablet targeted at the 3-8 year-olds. a mall or a kids’ area. The idea is to go experiential.

Edutainment is the new buzz word in the kids’ genre which is Unless the kids play the game they will not understand what extending beyond gadgets and gizmos to theme parks. Mexico is the differentiator,” explains Anshu Mor, Business Group Lead, based edutainment brand Kidzania is in the process of creating the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft Corporation (India). first of its kind educational and indoor theme park for children in India which will engage its primary target audience of 4-14 year olds through a fine blend of reality and entertainment sprinkled with learning and knowledge. Set to be completed by 2013, KidZania Mumbai will be a 75,000 sq. ft. indoor city built to scale for children with streets, building, vehicles, and even having its own economy and currency. With an estimated investment of around $20 million for the Mumbai centre, Kidzania is looking to fill the void that exists in Indian kids entertainment space.

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Viraj Singh (L), CMO, Kidzania India & Anshu Mor (R),

What has added to the buzz and hype is Bollywood actor, Shah Rukh Khan’s stake in the Indian venture of Kidzania. The brand is also looking to target both children and parents, through an - integrated communication strategy using TV, print, OOH, radio, digital & BTL. “The creative execution of the communication will target parents by “highlighting the value”, says Viraj Singh, CMO, Kidzania, India.

While the overall format for the theme park will remain the same in India as is elsewhere, the company is looking at localising certain activities to increase engagement and appeal to the Indian customer. Explaining the localisation plans Singh says, “The culinary school, for instance will have children learning how to cook Indian food, the dance studio will teach Indian forms of dance.” n

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Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING

claim their kids visit 20%Parents Social Networking Sites claim to visit Social 19% Kids Networking Sites

Top 5 Social Networking Sites Kids 7-14

Teens 13-14

Facebook

93%

97%

Orkut

50%

62%

Google Buzz

23%

23%

Twitter

21% 10%

22% 15%

Base: Social Networkers

ibibo

Source: Cartoon Network New Generations India 2011

important to listen to their opinion even while buying generic household items.

the communication revolves around educating parents about the benefits of a glucose biscuit over junk food while at the same time also enticing and engaging kids through its marketing campaigns.

Follow the code While the kids’ segment presents an immensely potential and lucrative landscape to marketers, there is also the looming risk of children getting vulnerable to psychological appeals and strong, visual imagery. Since they have a limited knowledge about brands, marketing and selling strategies, as well as media, questions on ethics and morality sometimes crop up.

On being quizzed about the code of ethics while marketing to kids, most brands agree to having strict mandates and codes.

Nestle, is among the major food and beverage companies who have signed a unique pledge committing themselves to responsible advertising and marketing to children.

Parle’s Shah also agrees to comply by a strict code of ethics but also wants to refrain from drawing comparisons between India and the West, in this regard due to the stark difference in the requirements of the two markets. “India, for instance, has the highest level of child malnutrition so one cannot really talk of child obesity here. Yes, I cannot pass off a tasty looking, indulgent kind of a product that may not do any good to their health. But we cannot compare the West and India since India hasn’t really evolved to that level,” he concludes.

While, we have already said that television is the most preferred medium to reach out to kids, in turn how are kids’ channels wooing both the kids and the marketers? Turn over to find out. n -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com With inputs from Abhinav Mohapatra & Aditi Malhotra

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Kids on Social Media

Don’t forget the mom Many a times, the reverse also holds true. Brands that directly or indirectly target kids also go via the influencers’ route and target moms in their communication and advertising plans.

However, there can be no uniform approach and it all depends on the product and the decision maker.

Amul follows a communication strategy that largely appeals to the entire family. Its family-centric ice-cream commercials show the whole family revelling in the product. Decoding the strategy further, Mehta points out that the mother is often the decision maker for nourishment products like butter and cheese and kids trigger impulse buying. For Amul PRO, therefore, it is equally important to appeal the goodness of the product to the mother, and the taste to the discerning child.

Nestle Daheez has a similar approach and with its positioning as a healthy, nutritional snack for young kids, its real marketing and engagement is with parents.

In certain product categories, like biscuits, parents are the gatekeepers, if not necessarily the decision makers. For Parle G biscuits,

Pitch | August 2012

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COVER STORY

The kiddy land The media - TV, magazines and online have created a different world full of animation and cartoons for kids. But when it comes to engagement, they too have to go on-ground

By Arshiya Khullar

O

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nce upon a time, Cinderella, Tom and Jerry, and a few other shows would be the ones keeping the young ones glued to the television screen. Fast forward to 2012, and the list of favourites doesn’t seem to end. The multitude of channels and bewildering plethora of options available has made today’s kids spoilt for choice and the task of a kids channel even harder.

Currently, there are 15 kids’ channels in India. Discovery Kids from the Discovery Networks Asia Pacific being the latest addition. Earlier this year, Viacom 18 launched a new action-centric channel, Sonic to strengthen its portfolio, which includes another immensely popular kids’ channel, Nick. While Turner’s Cartoon Network and Pogo have been around for quite some time now, late entrant Disney Network has Disney, Hungama and Disney XD in its portfolio. Wholly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Animax, specialises in Japanese animation. BBC too airs its kids’ brand, Cbeebies in India. In the regional space, Sun Network has four channels – Chutti TV (Tamil), Chintu TV (Kannada), Kushi TV (Telugu) and Kochu TV (Malayalam).

Meanwhile, MAA Network too has its Telugu offering – MAA Junior.

According to the findings of the IMRB Kidscan Study, in association with Nick, kids spend the maximum time of 106 minutes on

20

television on weekspent watchsion by kids on goes up to 155 In comparigets attention 24 minutes on days. Internet average, cononly 14 minutes time. No wonder, channels targeting

Discovery Kids will offer Indian children an entertaining way to satisfy their natural curiosity

days. The time ing televiwe e ke n d s minutes. son, print only for weekon an Rahul Johri sumes Senior VP & GM - South of their Asia, Discovery Networks kids have Asia-Pacific them directly.

Age. No bar?

While most of these channels cater to the 4-14 age-group and some of them also run shows to appeal to infants and toddlers, the underlying endeavour by all of them is to make the channel amenable to viewing by the whole family.

Cartoon Network and Pogo dissects its target audience into 4-9 year olds and 10-14 year olds, with separate content for each segment. For Monica Tata, GM, Entertainment Networks (South Asia), Turner International, the bull’s eye is the 10-year-old since upwards of 12 years, children’s viewing habits tend to skew towards other types of genres.

For Disney Network, its channels’ positioning is that of a family entertainment brand and while kids are at the front and centre, there is a huge overlap of the family. “Whether it is the Suite Life of Karan and Kabir and Best of Luck Nikki or the various franchises that we have - Mickey Mouse Club, Princess, Pirates, are all family shows,” says Bikram Duggal, Director, Marketing, Disney Network.

Discovery Kids will also be catering to children in the age-group of 4-11 years and will have distinct morning, evening, and afternoon schedules keeping in mind the relevant viewer segments ranging from pre-schoolers to tweens. In terms of its content, the channel will offer

Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING animation and live-action series under multiple genres such as adventure, mythology, nature, history, and science - with its core proposition centring on providing intelligent entertainment. Fun, Smart, Learning, and Transformative have been established as the channel’s core brand features.

“Discovery Kids will offer Indian children an entertaining way to satisfy their natural curiosity and promises to ignite their imagination through stimulating programming. It will form the bedrock for development of their social, cognitive, emotional and personal skills. The channel will usher in a new wave of kids’ entertainment in India – one which will have them engaged and their parents satisfied,” says Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President & General Manager - South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

ing dvertis a f o 60% s Nearly s from brand e e com kids lik o t t e k tc ar that m es, candies, e lat choco a Tata orks Montiakinment Netw

ter GM, En South Asia), ( tional Interna r e n r u T

Local flavour

The growing years How has the kids genre on TV grown over the years

5.8

6.56

H1 2009

H1 2011

Genre share

Even, Discovery Kids, barely a month-old in the game, has Indiacentric themes from the beginning itself. Sally Bollywood and an animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s Kim are some examples.

With majority of Indian households being a one television home environment, these channels face competition not just from each other but also from the general entertainment world. Turner’s Tata points out that close to 85 per cent of her channels’ audience consume Hindi GECs. In such a scenario, how crucial is creation of brand loyalty among kids?

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While the supply side is witnessing an upswing, both in quantity and quality, there is also a marked change in the kids’ viewing behaviour and preferences. Most channel heads agree that while a few years back, kids would demand more choice, and more shows to choose from, they have now zeroed in on a particular basket of shows that they would like to watch repeatedly. An avid watcher of Tom and Jerry or Ben Ten, for instance would stick to these characters rather than jump on to any new show.

Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP & GM at Sonic and Nick India points out another key behavioural change in their viewing habits. She says that while humour was the most popular genre for children, preferences have now shifted towards action and localised Indian content, for example, the animated series, Shaktimaan. Disney is also wooing kids with local offerings - Suite Life of Karan and Kabir, and Best of Luck Nikki. Meanwhile, Chhota Bheem franchise continues to be the prime selling property on Pogo.

H1 2010

6.25

H1 2012*

7.46

Number of kids channels

Source: TAM Media

* The addition of Discovery Kids in H2, takes the current number to 15

Pitch | August 2012

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Is reading dying?

W

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ith the onslaught of digital media, the kids’ genre on the web is also seeing a flurry of activity. While there is a surge of online magazines and e-learning sites for children, many e-commerce players have also started selling kid stuff.

Flipkart recently ventured into the kids’ space and has started selling baby care products, toys, and games joining the ranks of e-tailers like BabyOye.com, Hoopos.com, allschoolstuff. com.

Some of the e-learning and interactive sites include pitara. com, dimdima.com, chandamama.com and mocomi.com.

Both Mocomi and Pitara are built around the theme of using teaching, learning and playing tools to impart an immersive and interactive experience to the child. Mocomi primarily caters to children below the age of 12 years through its array of games, videos, stories, and crafts, while Pitara targets both pre-teen children as well as the younger kids who need parental assistance. It has positioned itself in-between the pure entertainment category and the serious, academic one; with its reading material, stories, quizzes, videos as well as a dedicated science section.

Explaining Mocomi’s communication strategy, Jesh Krishna Murthy, CEO and Founder, Mocomi.com, says that in case of live events, kids are the primary target but its overall communication also targets the caretakers, who can be parents or teachers.

Pitara, on the other hand, primarily pursues online marketing initiatives like contests and quizzes on its website.

With the semi-urban towns and cities riding high on digital

22

media, Mocomi is making attempts to reach out to these locales and recently released a Hindi version of the website to engage these children. Pitara’s founder, Ajay Jaiman, does not see a strong distinction in the psychographics of the urban and semi-urban profile. He adds that the site’s audience essentially belongs to an affluent background.

When it comes to the print world, magazines like Nandan, Parag, Chandamama, Champak, and Suman Saurabh to name a few, have been part of the growing up years. However, at a time when the survival of the very medium is under debate, how relevant are these kids’ magazines and books?

Champak, which caters to the 6-10 year-olds, underwent a comprehensive redesign last year to keep pace with the changing entertainment landscape for children. Since its inception in 1968, the magazine was published in the smaller digest size format and has now been given a makeover.

Both Champak and Suman Saurabh, another offering from Delhi Press for the 13-17 year-olds engages in various school connect programmes and events in malls across cities to engage with its readers. While such marketing initiatives certainly help in maintaining a mind recall and connect, there is also the risk of magazines losing out its audience to the more aggressive and popular digital platform and television.

Anant Nath, Director, Delhi Press Group seems to disagree and feels that unlike popular perception, children book sales are perhaps at its highest ever. Champak, he says, enjoys a circulation of close to 3,00,000 collectively in all its eight languages. The regional space, in particular, is growing at a favourable pace, with 70 per cent of the 3, 00,000 copies of Champak being in non-English editions. “We have been quite aggressive in our subscription drives. One of the more successful initiatives has been the Champak Cheeku Club, which is a bulk subscription scheme for schools,” he adds.

However, Nath also points out the issues faced by the magazine industry and feels that there exist severe loopholes in terms of retail availability and subscription delivery. “More than ever before, parents are keen that their children latch on to the habit of reading early on. Therefore there is always a huge latent demand for magazines and books. But because distribution is not able to serve each and every part of a city effectively, we have this huge gap,” he says.

Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING Serving this latent demand for books and providing a haven for the young bibliophiles is a small bookstore cosily tucked away in swish South Delhi-Eureka. Started by journalist friends, M Venkatesh and Swati Roy in 2004, Eureka stands as India’s first specialist children’s bookstore providing an array of books that span across genres.

To take the reading experience a notch higher, the duo also conduct storytelling sessions, workshops, and events for kids, both in the store as well as in schools. One of the biggest draws and an annual calendar event for the young reader, organised by the duo is the three-day-long Bookaroo Literature Festival. Held in the last week of November, Bookaroo seeks to provide a platform to publishers, illustrators, and authors as well as a canvas to children where they can interact with their favourite writers, engage in panel discussions, attend storytelling workshops, and so on. While it is primarily targeted towards the 4-13 year olds, the popularity of the festival has also resulted in older children in the age group of 16-17 years

Loyalty does exist Tata is of the opinion that the very nature of television viewing is all about brand loyalty. The success of a channel is a combination of the right brand fit and show loyalty. She cites the example of the surge of audience that came when Oggy and the Cockroaches started showing on Cartoon Network. In another instance, while Chhota Bheem holds the numero uno slot on Pogo, the same failed to woo the audience when it was telecasted on Cartoon Network.

Another noticeable trend off late has been the growth of regional feeds of these channels. Disney XD, which is essentially a boy-centric offering with accomplishment, sports, action being its core brand values, enjoys immense popularity down South.

It also claims to be the first channel to be available in six languages – Marathi and Bengali, besides the usual English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

spent by a kid watching 106 are television on weekdays.

The number, however, on 155 weekends goes up to minutes

minutes

Source: IMRB Kidscan in association with Nick

Tough talking to kids

Christoper Cheng, Australian children’s author, engaging with kids at the Bookaroo Literature Festival. Aviva Life Insurance has been actively supporting the event

Advt.

While kids have their favourite toon characters, they on their own cannot sustain kids’ attention for long. And aggregating audience

thronging the event.

Bookaroo, on its part, does not engage in aggressive advertising and relies on word of mouth and social media (for parents) to build engagement and connect, along with promotions during the store’s participation in school book fairs and workshops.

If the response to both their store as well as the festival is anything to go by, reading is certainly not a dying hobby among children. With the plethora of choices and authors to choose from today, and the steady upswing of successful Indian writers and publishers, books and reading are far from being swept away by the iPads and iPhones. While some of the popular Indian publishers include Katha, Tulika, Puffin, and Young Zubaan, there is also a whole new world of Indian authors including the likes of Ranjit Lal, Anushka Ravishankar, and Roopa Pai besides great names like Ruskin Bond and RK Narayan. n Pitch | August 2012

23

BOOK EXTRACTS

COVER STORY

INTERVIEW

Kids keep marketers on their toes

N

i ina Elavia Jaipuria, SVP & GM, Nickeloedon, focuses on the fact that experience lasts longer than just viewing. Abhinav Mohapatra of Pitch speaks to Jaipuria, to find out how the channel engages with its TG. Excerpts:

Do kids differentiate on the basis of brand attribute?

I don’t think so. It is more content, show and character led. So for them, the brand attribute is actually the character attribute and the peronly sonality of their favourite toon.

Animation is the alternate universe that can take the child to the place where he wants to be and live action cannot do it Nina Elavia Jaipuria

Advt.

SVP & GM, Nickelodeon

Do you face the problem of attention retention?

It is not about attention as much as it is about engagement. Attention can be grabbed by any GEC show. The engagement comes from the point of view of three aspects, storytelling, character and animation. Animation is the only alternate universe that can take the child to the place where he wants to be and live action cannot do it.

How tough is marketing to kids?

It is very tough, if you are a TV channel.

The primary medium that they consume is TV, and the guys who are on your channel are your instant consumers, but if you

24

are looking to create awareness among non consumers then it is a tough one. There is also a lot of money required to get to these contacts. The cost to contact is more in malls, vans, retail outlets and schools. I also feel that since the kids are always on the move, their preferences and habits are constantly changing so they keep marketers on their toes.

Do you do any activities to influence moms (or parents), who will then influence the kids?

All the activities that do, be it the mall, retail or on ground, the parents are the ones who bring their child there eventually. We do talk to parents. For example, we know that mothers are watching GECs, therefore we as marketers to tap them, include them in our processes. The core viewership is kids but there are a lot of non kid advertisers that are attracted to the platform because they know that the parents are also watching them. Today, you will see telecom operators, FMCGs, consumer durables, etc. advertising on these channels. When it comes to viewership, it is the kid that makes a choice.

What are the opportunities for licensing and merchandising for kids in India?

The whole experience of the character coming out of the TV and engaging with the kid, the touch feel and play experience is a delight and the engagement of the character that the kids love. That is where the business opportunity and consumer products come in. Merchandising is not the primary revenue source.

Nickelodeon started consumer products only three years ago, therefore, it is not an established route, it is a double digit percentage and there is a huge potential for it to grow in the market.

Is India still behind in the licensing route?

Well we do have a large number of licensing happening in the grey market. From the formal format stores there is not much. But if you look from the perspective of how much is available, there is a large opportunity. We haven’t reached the global benchmark as yet. My competitors have been here for a longer time and therefore, have that kind of shelf space. Having said that, all of us combined are nowhere near to the global benchmark. n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING

Advt.

schools across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad. to woo marketers in turn is a tough game, even On the digital front, most channels are using the websites as though television remains a favourite pass-time of collateral to drive communication about their products and kids. On-ground initiatives and differentiated marshows. Duggal feels that digital is important from a marketketing campaigns are paramount to sustaining a ing perspective. But from the viewers’ standpoint, due to loyal viewership base, in an ambience of severe infrastructural bottlenecks, low broadband penetration and competition and the rapid growth of both reconnectivity issues, the level of engagement on the web gional and national channels for children. still remains low. “According to a research, the rate of In line with its objective to provide wholebroadband penetration for kids in the age-group of some family experience at various 4-14 years is as low as four per cent. This gives an intouch points, Disney Network redication that the level of engagement is still in its cently ran a campaign called ‘Jet nascent stage and remains a very small subSet Go’, a contest that promised set of the kind if audience on television,” he to take the winners to Hong opines. But who eventually are the advertisKong Disneyland, along with ers for whom the channels are aggregating giving free Disney merchandise. the audience?

According to Duggal, more than 60 lakh kids participated in the Engaging kids online contest. To add to the experiTarget the moms too ence, Disney has also tied up with Surprise! It’s not always the kids. Moms is tough due to Jet Airways and branded one of too form a handful of viewer of these infrastructural the carrier’s aircrafts with Disney channels. Tata gives an interesting bottlenecks and low characters. insight in terms of the kind of adverFor Nickelodeon too, the tisers that ride on kids’ channels. Acbroadband penetration mainstay of its brand building cording to her, since close to 30-40 Bikram Duggal initiatives is to give kids’ an exper cent of the channel’s consumpperience beyond television and tion comes from 25 plus adults, brands Director, Marketing, engage them in a holistic fashion which cut across this target audience Disney Network - at schools, through reading comic also figure in its list of advertisers. “Nearbooks or using the digital platform and ly 60 per cent of the advertising comes movie theatres. In an example of a BTL from brands that market to kids like chocoactivation in the rural and semi-urban lolates, candies, school bags, and so on. But the rest cales, Nick, in association with RW Promotions recently, concluded an activity for its popular show on Sonic, Power Rangers Samurai. The activity, which was targeted at kids in the age-group of 5-12 years and lasted for a month, made use of a branded van which could open into a stage, and was driven around various parts of Uttar Pradesh, entertaining and interacting with kids.

Cartoon Network and Pogo also go beyond television to allow kids to personally interact with cartoon characters through school contact programmes, on-ground initiatives and games, contests and videos on its websites.

Currently, much of the network’s marketing strategy is focussed on its biggest show on Pogo, Chhota Bheem. The channel, in association with Jump Games, Reliance Entertainment Digital’s mobile and web games developer and publisher, has created several Chhota Bheem based mobile games to tap on to the character’s surging popularity. The latest game in this franchise, called Chhota Bheem: Mice Mayhem was launched last month.

In another marketing exercise, The ‘Dholakpur Breaking News’ contest gave children an opportunity to create a news story for their superhero, ‘Chhota Bheem’, and win a chance to feature on the channel. The channel claims to have reached out to 800

Pitch | August 2012

25

BOOK EXTRACTS

COVER STORY COLUMN

The kidult generation

For starters, marketers should stop addressing them as kids

W

Shalini Rawla

Managing Consultant, The Key shalini@thekey.co.in

Advt.

@sherryrawla

26

ho are kids? Nobody who is 8-12 years old considers himself/herself a kid. Kids to them are less than five years old who have not yet started going to a proper school.

Kids are those who watch Doraemon, Barbie and Chhota Bheem.

Kids are those whose mothers help in homework. Kids are those who are still into board games, art & craft and soft toys and spend most of their time at home. The ones who go to tuitions on their own are adults. The ones who have a 9 AM – 6 PM day out like their dads and sometimes moms, are actually adults. The ones who like Shin Chan and Power Rangers are adults.

Those who were once considered the latchkey generation, today is the kidult generation. Kidult is not kiddie. Kidult is cool. Kidult is aspirational. Kidult is something

what the adults do, done in a child like manner. The coding is very adult for everything they do - eat, wear and play with. They have Facebook accounts, they have ‘cooldude’ and ‘hotgal’ as email ids. They chat on the net. They understand logic. They are the Smiley SMS Gen as the only language they converse in is visual.

They read visually and communicate in abbreviations. And that is why they hate language (Marathi/ Sanskrit/Hindi) as a subject but love Math, Geometry and Speech and Drama. Brevity is in their DNA. Short attention span is the key trait and subjects that demand objective and logical answers are nice.

Long sentences are their bane.

The power of expression of words is lost on them. Potter’s wand is finally mightier than the pen.

Mobile phones (read smartphones and tablets), MP3 (read iPods), Play Stations (read PS3 or Wii), Laptops are the kidult ‘gifts’ they demand and get from their parents. All these are expensive and adult like. Gone are the days when Pokemon cards and Tazzo collectibles were traded. Now GTAs, CS and Soccer games are the mobile apps they use and share. Or better still play against each other – not face to face but online in front of two PCs in the same room!

Certainly, they are growing older younger. And adopting the adult way of life much earlier.

So the toy laptop morphs into a real one as soon as they start going to school. As they grow older, they quickly move away from animation to live action, from kids’ channels to GECs and from fairy tales to reality – all this

while we still call them kids.

Then should we market to them in the same manner as we do with the adults? Certainly not.

Avoiding long copy and providing visual text apart, within this age cohort are smaller homogenous behavioral sub segments.

Copy, Create and Conform are the three key cognitive behaviors across this age cohort. The youngest age of formal school goers viz 7-9 years is prone to copying role models. Hence Hannah Montana, Power Rangers and Michael Jackson define what they like and do. The next segment of 10-12 years old are the most creative. As indeed was Harry Potter when he entered Hogwarts or Mowgli when he was sent to the man village. Brands can get them to co-create new concepts and start an indelible connection and engagement with them by creating a unique experience for them.

The last cohort of 13-15 years is the one that chooses to conform to what the cohort as a whole does. They dress alike, behave alike and sometimes even look alike. Their parents become less and less influential and peers become more and more important.

As is evident with Harry Potter when he formed Dumbledore’s Army, a secret study group, to teach his classmates the higherlevel skills of Defence Against the Dark Arts that he had learnt.

Brands must understand whom they are targeting when they say kids. And for starters, they should stop addressing them as kids. As they are kidults having fun with their own versions of kidultery across various ages. n

Pitch | August 2012

KIDS MARKETING

Licensing and Merchandising Meanwhile, it’s not just advertising that rakes in the moolah for the channels. The media houses are looking at merchandising too as a serious revenue churner. And with kids having an affinity to their favourite characters, channels cannot help but explore selling merchandise related to these toons.

Cartoon Network and Pogo have been indulging in licensing since the last 5-7 years and this lucrative segment has grown at a robust rate of 70 per cent, with around 680 SKUs being added in the year 2011. There are 5,300 retail counters across the country where its merchandise is available. Close to 10 per cent of the two channels’ revenue comes in from the merchandising route.

While Ben 10 remains Turner’s most popular franchise, Disney, with its Mickey Mouse, Princess, and several other franchises claims to be the number one in the licensing business. Disney has in the past, also associated with the IPL Cricket team, Mumbai Indians and launched a special range of Mickey inspired Mumbai Indians merchandise.

While there are opportunities abound in the licensing and merchandising space, we asked these channels if India still lags behind the West in this regard.

Turner’s Tata is of the opinion that India is way behind on account of the unorganised retail environment that exists in the country. “At present, we still have to deal with mom & pop stores, and piracy, even though it has been controlled to some extent.

If FDI in retail is opened up and the sector becomes organised,

Pitch | August 2012

Audiences are audiences and qualitative planning is not different across audiences are irrespective of the fact if they kids, males, females or all adults Anita Nayyar

Media CEO, India and South Asia, Havas

there are better chances of licensing and merchan- dising picking up pace,” she adds.

Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry – have all been characters that we have grown up with and still manage to get our rib tickling. If these kids channels are to stay relevant without losing their appeal to a six-year-old inundated with options, not only will they have to develop new characters and shows that can command the same fervour as these erstwhile characters but also find relevant paradigms of providing fresh experiences with these existing favourites. n -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com With inputs from Abhinav Mohapatra & Aditi Malhotra Advt.

comes from non-kids advertisers like banks, automobiles, financial institutions,” she adds.

This, in a sense, reinforces the kind of influence that kids exert on the consumption behaviour of adults, which explains why many kids’ channels also target parents in their communication plan.

Anita Nayyar, CEO, India and South Asia, Havas Media, delves on this trend further and says that with the reach of kids programmes among adults, especially moms, advertisers are using this opportunity to connect with and influence parents. Citing a personal experience, she adds, “I recollect way back in early 2000, while planning for McDonald’s, with budgets being limited, advertising on Cartoon Network was evaluated both from kids’ perspective and for female (moms) audiences as well. The case was clear wherein Cartoon Network was a far efficient option in reaching moms as compared to the GECs and McDonald’s needed to catch the mom’s in an environment where the kid-mom relationship was far more conducive for the advertiser.”

From a media planners’ perspective, however, she doesn’t find a significant difference in planning a media plan for a kids channel vis-a-vis an adult one. “Audiences are audiences and qualitative planning is not different across audiences irrespective of the fact if they are kids, males, females or all adults. The qualitative aspect of planning does look at softer aspects. For example, will Shin Chan be more popular amongst boys or girls and hence, programme affinities towards audiences do matter.” she adds

27

EXCLUSIVE!

COLUMN

Are you ready for ‘Generation S’?

Successful brands will go to where the kids are - Touch Screens

E Adam Shlachter

Managing Partner, Practice Lead, Digital at MEC (part of GroupM)

very generation experiences advances in technology that change people’s lives and expectations; children are almost always born into a different technological world than were their parents. This is particularly true when it comes to how they discover, consume and share content and information.

Children born in the last three to five years are what I call “Gen S,” or “Generation Screen.” They came on the scene during one of the most significant technological revolutions in the digital age. According to NPD, 27 per cent of all TVs shipped in the first quarter of 2012 (almost 14 million) were internet-ready.

Gartner estimates there will be almost 60 million tablets sold this year, doubling total users.

And, Goldman Sachs estimates almost 2 billion smartphones will be sold this year around the globe.

These youngsters are growing up in a world where screens are used for everything from entertainment, communication, education, shopping and transacting.

It makes the world much smaller and more accessible - and at virtually any time, on demand.

Who is Gen S? Gen S will never know a world without screens, without being

connected, without touch and swipe, or gesture control, or without cameras to capture, interact, share and connect with others, instantly. We’ve all witnessed toddlers navigating a smartphone or iPad better than we can, or swiping a TV or laptop screen expecting it to react to their touch, only to be dismayed. The keyboard and mouse are foreign to them, and soon may be remote controls.

Will wallets, credit cards or even cash have any purpose for them a few years from now?

How will marketers, brands, retailers and publishers stay relevant to this audience that expects to transact nearly everything on a touch screen?

First, they need to be where the consumer is and ensure a relevant brand experience irrespective of how the content and information were discovered.

That means creating and redesigning sites to render appropriately and dynamically for different screens and operating systems. How will brands facilitate seamless transaction and communication with these new consumers, who will only have the expectation of such an experience?

Brands are behind Today, 45 per cent of Fortune 500 companies do not have mobile-optimised websites, ac-

Gen S will never know a world without screens, without being connected, without touch and swipe, or gesture control, or without cameras 28

cording to a recentstudy from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. But now is not the time to sit back and watch this all happen through the looking glass. A number of apps have been created for parents and kids alike to experience brands and content in new ways.

Examples include learning and literacy apps from education companies like Scholastic or Penguin Books; the Whole Foods “Awesome Eats,” which teaches kids about patterns and sorting while promoting nutrition and a healthy diet; the Band-Aid”Magic Vision” app that helps take a child’s mind off his cuts and scrapes by letting him interact with the Muppets; the Crayola ColorStudio, which allows kids to draw and “color” on their tablet using a stylus that resembles a Crayola marker; and the American Museum of Natural History app that brings the dinosaur exhibit to the palm of a hand.

It’s still early innings for this screen-driven world, and there are many other avenues to still develop and explore (i.e. banks tackling financial education and the importance of saving).

Now is the time to get involved, to experiment and learn, to collaborate with partners and help shape GenS media platforms and experiences. It will require investment and patience, but will best position brands to be prepared for what comes next . . . which we can only imagine and likely will arrive even faster than before. 

Pitch | August 2012

INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE AWARDS

Pitch | July 2012

29

BOOK EXTRACTS INTERVIEW AARUSHI AGARWAL

“Men shaving body hair is P

hilips has off late been trying to expand the neglected men’s grooming category. Last year, it roped in John Abraham as its brand ambassador to showcase how men could experiment with styles with their facial hair. Lately, Philips has ventured into the men’s body grooming space too with products – Philips BodyGroom – that let’s men trim or shave their body hair. Aarushi Agarwal, Director Marketing, Personal Care, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips India, tells Dhaleta Surender Kumar of Pitch, how men are more open to experimenting and shedding off their body hair now. Excerpts from the interview: Before launching your body shaving products for men, you ran a teaser campaign that gave some statistics that almost 65 per cent men ‘would like to do’ it and about 80 per cent women would ‘want’ their boyfriend or husband to ‘do it’. Has the trend already started or is it still “would like to”?

We met about 1,100 people across the country in the age group of 16-25 years. We realised that there is this nascent style evolution happening amongst men, which we didn’t credit them for. We think that it’s only women’s right to dress themselves up, look good, go to salons and spend lot of time on themselves. But, a lot of men have started indulging in it in their own way…

So are you giving the men enough credit?

As a marketing community, as a country, we don’t really credit them for that because even though it’s happening, no one has really focused on it and taken it to what they really need. We realised that there was

this huge need gap in the market of male grooming, which the consumer was really indulging in. They were going regularly to salons to pamper themselves with everything from facials to pedicure and what was considered unacceptable before is now more the norm, rather than the exception.

More men were saying that this is something even my girlfriend or my wife is really open to. So, we had two phases of campaigns - Style Sutra-1 & Style Sutra-2. In Style Sutra-1 the focus was more on the men’s face. We

Did you take women’s opinion too in that?

Yes. We did ask women that if excessive hair on men turned them off and 80 per cent of them said “Yes”. Today’s new age man is too evolved to let women force him into what he wants to do. It becomes important because a lot of men in India think that women find hair on their body sexy or

We think that it’s only women’s right to dress themselves up, look good... But, a lot of men have started indulging in it in their own way came up with grooming tools and products which focused on how men could get different styles, at home and on their own. And for the same, John Abraham was roped in and we saw five Johns in a campaign with different styles. What really did well for us was an augmented reality application on Facebook, where people could actually try twelve different looks on their face.

Did you leave it at online?

It was not about exclusion that you need to buy my products to see results, it was all about inclusion. We carried this forward where we were teaching people how to do it themselves. So whoever was interested, we were offering services free of cost and we fully realised that this is a space where we’re creating a category.

What was Style Sutra-2 then?

This year, we did a survey which went be-

BodyGroom is about the evolution of man from being the ape man to today’s more evolved man. He’s not metrosexual because metrosexual men are indulgent 30

yond the face – Style Sutra-2 – and we got a little more intimate and asked more questions on body grooming, per se.

masculine. It was equated to virility till a few years ago – “the more carpet of hair I have on my body, the more masculine I am”. So we just wanted to see if that still continues. There were conflicting opinions. It was mostly about figuring out what is the right balance. You may not want your man to be completely clean shaven but that does not mean that you want him to look like a bear.

So, it could well be about trimming your body hair.

And how did the men react?

Sixty five percent of the men we surveyed considered doing something about it, which is quite a large proportion. We’d expected it to be a much smaller proportion. Men are more aware about the fact that they need to look a certain way for themselves, as much as they do for the opposite sex.

What has come now in style and fashion is what they call the “casual cool”.

One doesn’t want to show the amount of effort put in having to look that way.

It should look casual and at the same time, effortless. So BoodyGroom offers a versatility of clean shaving your body or also trimming any part of your body.

Pitch | August 2012

acceptable” It is almost about the evolution of man from being the ape man to today’s more evolved man. He’s not really metrosexual because metrosexual men are more indulgent.

You aren’t talking to the metrosexual man?

We are talking to a larger space. It doesn’t have to be about a guy who’s all about his looks only. He’s not so self indulgent but he still wants to look well groomed and more acceptable to himself, his peers and the opposite sex.

Were men comfortable talking about body grooming in the survey?

If you look at body grooming, they were very open. He was supremely conscious that I have body hair and I have to do something about it. We realised that men weren’t vocalising and verbalising this need and there’s also a self-consciousness, which comes if I say it in a larger group. The consciousness doesn’t lie in that fact in doing something about it but in saying that “I have too much hair on my body.”

Are Indian men going for body waxing too?

Our idea was not to try and understand how they’re removing body hair. We were pretty clear that it’s not the space we want to target. It’s a niche phenomenon, I’m sure it’s happening. But we’re looking at a much more mass phenomenon. Whether they want to do it on their own or go out and do it. Most men wanted to do it on their own. We got responses on how it’s more convenient and a response of how it was about their self consciousness. Whatever experimentation one needs to do, it could be done in a more confined space.

Director Marketing,

Aarushi Agarwal | Personal Care, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips India

You may not want your man to have a complete body shave, but that does not mean that you want him to look like a bear

So are you positioning the products as a style statement?

The way we’ve currently positioned it is

Pitch | August 2012

31

BOOK EXTRACTS

INTERVIEW AARUSHI AGARWAL more of coming of age and evolution. For some people that decodes into hygiene.

For example, men who are married, it would become more about hygiene and the fact that my partner will demand it from me, if I need to get intimate. Whereas, for a younger guy, it will be more about the fact that I’m wearing a shirt, where my chest buttons are open and I don’t want too many hair popping out. So our positioning is more on the coming of age and the next phase. We haven’t gone for functional positioning here. It’s more of an emotional positioning, rather than functional.

How are you helping the men accept that body shaving is ‘cool’?

We are having live mannequins in certain stores in New Delhi on weekends. These men are bare chested, have tattoos on their

bodies, which obviously get highlighted on a clean look. It’s more of an experiential service, letting the guys try the products and giving them confidence that it’s acceptable.

Are you using pester power of women too in your campaigns?

As of now, we’re not using any female pester power. We decided that we want to do something ‘By the Men, For the Men and Of the Men’. Also, it was an attempt to not follow what competition (read ‘Gillette Women Against Lazy Stubble’ campaign) is or was doing. As a brand we want to have our own unique identity as far as marketing is concerned. We want to come up with campaigns which are new age. If you see a campaign with live mannequins in store, it’s unthought-of.

Aren’t you taking the campaign online

with augmented reality as you did for Style Sutra-1?

On BodyGroom currently, we’re not planning on going online with it. We would stick to more safe spaces. It was more a conscious call as a brand for us to not go too much into the online space for this, because, it can get a little tricky. Sensitivities are there in the body grooming space.

If I post something on Facebook, it goes live immediately and it’s not being moderated. So it can get into spaces and genres where I don’t want to get into. So we were very particular about how we managed it and our focus was more on facial grooming in the online space. For anything which is more visible and is limited to confined spaces, we did not want to have an in your face activity.

In the future, we may go into the online space with body grooming, but there’s no plan as of now for this year. For us also the survey came as a shocker to even realise the fact that people do consider it.

Also, let’s understand that we’re not creating a category on body groomers per se.

It is a category for any kind of grooming which is happening with the hair. Anything beyond going to a barber and getting your hair cut is what we’re focusing on.

So how’s been the response so far in terms of sales?

Honestly, we’ve far sold out beyond our expectations. Though we are keeping the productions low. You always want to go mass with something you’re confident about and you know that the audience is ready for it. I can only say that we’re having triple digit growth for the entire category and this is from a value perspective.

We are having live mannequins in certain stores in New Delhi. It’s an experiential service, giving the guys 32 confidence that shaving body hair is acceptable

Are you looking at diversifying this portfolio of body grooming?

Yes. Currently, we have two models in the price point of ` 2,495. We’re looking at a much wider range. We’re looking at models with attachments. The attempt is to help the consumer as much as possible – reaching out to difficult parts like the back. So products which come with attachments would stretch the price point to most of ` 4,000. n -surender@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | August 2012

STAY TUNED FOR MORE

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For more information contact:

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For sponsorship opportunities, contact: Rohit Sardana (Delhi) +91 98113 77592 Abdulla Mazumder (Delhi) +91 98716 09348 Pitch | August 2012 Himanshu Arora (Mumbai) +91 99200 69109 Sneha Walke (Bengaluru) +91 98455 41143

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33

YOUTH RIMZIM

Out from the cold-store Why has Coca-Cola got RimZim out of the deep freezer? How will it change market dynamics? And how is Coca-Cola looking to market it?

By Ruchika Kumar

M

ove on cola wars, it’s the battle of the desi flavours. After PepsiCo relaunched its lemony drink Duke in various localised flavours last year, it is now time for rival Coca Cola to spice up the aerated drinks market with 80s brand RimZim, the masala soda drink.

Not just that, the company plans to add a twist to RimZim with a more contemporary formulation and packaging as per the evolving palate of Indian consumers.

Not only is the company looking at retaining its brand heritage in terms of reviving nostalgia, it is also trying to expand consumer base with youth as RimZim’s main TG. Debabrata Mukherjee, VP, Strategy and Innovations, Coca-Cola India, adds, “The distinct Indian taste preference with a dominant spicy palate has been the prime reason for re-formulating the ‘Masala Soda’ in order to make the product more contemporary and relevant

legacy issues. The name of the brand is indicator enough to create a certain brand imagery, however, the formulation suggest that the drink is made of digestive Indian food ingredients like zeera (cumin), thus having therapeutic qualities. She says, “RimZim in Hindi more or

youthful and exciting.”

Since packaging helps products stand out on the shelf and are specifically relevant in cluttered markets where products fight for mind-share, the logo of the brand has been reinvented to lend a more modern touch. Letter ‘M’ of Rim and Zim have been crafted to cue this positioning.

Plus, the packaging uses spiral elements to make it look more youthful and natural flavour cues have been subtly introduced in the design.

As observed by Brand expert Santosh Desai, it is a good move on part of the cola giants that they are waking up to the changing needs of the consumers.

According to him, flavours other than cola are doing well in the market off late as consumers are ready to experiment.

“The Indian palate is evolving and the consumer is looking at experimenting new things in the F&B industry.” He also points that for long, beverage companies

RimZim is being revived in keeping with a brand study by Coca-Cola that indicates that the brand has a very strong recall amongst consumers for the young adults of today’s times.”

Thus, a more youthful packaging is being created to cater to the young consumer.

Old wine in new bottle The new packaging has been created by branding studio agency, Design ORB, which also created the commemorative Sachin Tendulkar Coca Cola cans earlier this year. According to Poornima Burte, Director, Design Orb, the design parameters were quite different for RimZim as the agency was not required to deal with

34

less translates to a sparkling product thus communicating the idea of a spicy masala soda. However, masala soda as a product was seen as a digestive product in the market. While we needed to subtly cue the fact that it contained natural flavours, we needed to stress more on the fact that Rimzim was a spicy and tasty masala soda. The way it would be differentiated is positioning RimZim as a fun, tasty Indian masala soda, with the quality stamp of being a Coca-Cola product - its personality being unique, spirited,

“The distinct Indian taste preference with a spicy palate has been the reason for reformulating RimZim” Debabrata Mukherjee VP, Strategy and Innovations, Coca-Cola India

Pitch | August 2012

have had a standard set of offerings, the move makes sense for them to expand portfolio, according to the needs of the changing market.”

As far RimZim is concerned, Burte feels that the brand is being revived in keeping with a brand study by the company that indicates that it has very strong recall and holds latent equity with the consumers.

“The strong zeera flavour along with other masalas has also shown good results in consumer samplings and research,” she adds.

Turning back the clock RimZim, which was bought over by Coca Cola from Parle’s Ramesh Chauhan in the 1990s, is currently being piloted in select towns in Punjab, Haryana and in parts of Delhi (towards the last week of August).

During the pilot phase, it will be available in two SKUs – 600 ml PET pack, priced at ` 25. In comparison, PepsiCo’s Duke is available in 200 ml RGB (returnable glass bottle) at ` 10 and 500 ml PET bottles at ` 25, which is more or less as competitively priced.

For the record, Coca Cola acquired Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot, Limca, Citra and Maaza too from Chauhan in 1993. While Thums Up, Limca and Maaza continued to survive in the market, the others lost some fizz and were discontinued. However, there was news that the company also started piloting brands like Citra too in the market.

So, will the relaunch of yesteryear brands like RimZim and Duke, be able to create a wider consumer base in today’s time?

Desai is of the opinion that drinks like Duke have strong brand equity in a limited geography, so the success of the relaunch will depend on how the company scales that up and move the brand out of the niche consumer segment it has been serving so far. “The success depends on how the company backs these

with widening the brand’s portfolio and offerings and increasing volumes rather than reviving the brand heritage. In this case, it seems the two beverages giants are leveraging on the growing demand for more and more localised flavours, deemed as healthy too.

“The strong zeera and masala flavour has shown good results in consumer samplings and research” Poornima Burte VP, Strategy and Innovations, Coca-Cola India

“The Indian palate is evolving and the consumer is looking at experimenting new things in the F&B industry” Santosh Desai VP, Strategy and Innovations, Coca-Cola India relaunches, and how much muscle the company is putting into the brand. If the relaunch is a tactical move and not based on larger consumer need, the strategy may not survive,” he feels.

Moreover, some experts feel that relaunching an old brand has more to do

The radio ads for RimZim sign off with the company’s name mentioned clearly. This is being done to create the brand connect with the company Pitch | August 2012

Spicing up consumer engagement Through this launch, Coca Cola aims to capture the growing demand for the brand. Hence, to begin with, marketing efforts are focused on enhancing brand visibility through an aggressive consumer activation campaign to market RimZim in selected channels and outlets in the three regions.

Coca Cola started advertising heavily on radio before the relaunch to create the brand connect with the company as the advertisements signed off with the company’s name being mentioned towards the end. In addition, its marketing communication plan focuses on Out-ofHome media complimented with a range of activities including radio and print advertising, extensive experiential sampling, point of sale/shopper communication and presence in engaging touch points. A new brand campaign has been specially created for RimZim. Keeping the core of the drink’s Indian taste, the entire brand campaign is being communicated through its tagline ‘Har sip main masala’. Mukherjee explains, “The word masala transcends food and beverages, and epitomises the melting pot called India. It’s a one word explanation of what we experience – an assault on the senses.”

Thus, the company is seriously looking at tapping into the emerging market for flavoured aerated drinks other than cola with a wider portfolio. According to global market research agency, eprobe, the Indian carbonated industry is worth Rs. 60 billion and growing now at 5 per cent annually with a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 per cent. Encouraged by the growth of this industry, Coca Cola plans to invest $5 billion till 2020 in the Indian market. n -ruchika@pitchonnet.com

35

BOOK EXTRACTS

CELEBRITY JOHN ABRAHAM

The edgy one

From bikes to fairness creams, engine oils and grooming appliances; John Abraham has a wide basket of endorsements. Is it his edgy biker image that’s doing the trick?

By Abhinav Mohapatra

M

etrosexual marketing is on the rise with personal grooming brands launching a bevy of products targeting the male consumer.

And model turned actor John Abraham, seems to be a favourite amongst these metrosexual marketers. Garnier and Philips are two popular brands which are

betting big on John Abraham’s appeal amongst the metrosexual consumers.

The actor’s endorsement projects are handled by Mates, the entertainment unit of Madison World, and perhaps is one of the highest value association in the industry, pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Other than personal grooming products, the actor has also been endorsing brands that strictly have a macho image like Yamaha and Castrol. He has also endorsed youth brands like VIP bags, Fastrack eye gear, Wrangler jeans and family brands like Haier. Recently, he bagged Ultimate Nutrition and Audi as a brand evangelist, since Audi does not hire brand ambassadors. Traditionally, Abraham has had a biker’s image, who personally too owns a wide range of bikes.

A biker?

According to Roy Kurian, National Business Head, India, Yamaha Motor, a brand that was one of the few to sign the actor as the brand ambassador in early days, says, “John has a macho image. Biking has a direct connect with John. He has the personality with an edge that fits with the technology of Yamaha, so I cannot think of any other actor endorsing our bikes the

36

“John Abraham has a macho image. I cannot think of any other actor endorsing our bikes the way he does” Roy Kurian National Business Head, India, Yamaha Motors way John Abraham does.”

Abraham may not be a big star as Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan are, but they according to Kurian do not fit well with the brand.

Abraham has been the brand ambassador for Yamaha since 2004, and also plays an important role on the advisory board of Yamaha. Add to that, Castrol, a brand which too is finding a right fit in Abraham being an avid biker.

So entrenched is Abraham’s biker image that when Philips decided to get the actor on board to endorse its personal grooming products, it decided to give away Yamaha RX1 as a winning prize for an online activation. “John is all about doing edgy stuff. He stretches the limits but still is within certain bounds. That is the personality that he has been taking to every space. He is crazily fond of bikes, therefore, we, in an online activa-

Pitch | August 2012

20% tion, gave off a Yamaha RX1 as a winning prize,” says Arushi Agarwal, Director Marketing, Personal Care, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips India.

Abraham co-creates facial styles with Philips grooming products. He is talking to an aspirational youth in the SEC A, B1 and in the age group of 16 – 28 years.

According to Agarwal, Philips had conducted a study in eight cities to find out the aspirational youth icon, and Abraham emerged as the No 1 choice.

It’s not with Philips that Abraham got into the grooming space. He has been endorsing Garnier’s men’s range for quite some time now. According to Darshana Bhalla, CEO, Mates, there are two more major brands in the pipeline that are ready to lap up Abraham. With such a wide line-up of brands, is the actor looking at moving beyond his stereotypical image of a biker boy?

According to Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, the biker boy image will remain with Abraham and he is not shifting his category from a bike person to a personal care product person. “I do believe that he would be fit for personal category brands and auto category. In terms of TG, he could do well in the cosmetics side as it is growth oriented. He is not the guy who would cater to some ‘housewife in Hoshiarpur’ and is not a durables or a refrigerator kind of a guy, but a motorbike and personal care kind,” he says.

Even Anand Have, Founder Chlorophyll Brand & Communications Consultancy feels that Abraham has no image to break away from. He goes on to an extend to say that Abraham is a popular face and that is the only connect that he brings in with brands, especially in case of Garnier.

“He has no connect with Garnier but Garnier wants someone who is popular as well as has maintained himself.”

Shades of grey: A metrosexual man Piyush Sinha, professor at IIM-Ahmedabad partly agrees with Halve when he says that “Brands have been saying different stories through different people. A brand fit depends more on the storyline than the storyteller or the characters.”

Pitch | August 2012

“John Abraham is a popular face and that is the only connect that he brings in with the brands he endorses” Anand Halve Co-founder, Chlorophyll Brand & Communications Consultancy

“Shahrukh or Dhoni would have a connect with masses but John Abraham would work for the niche category” Harish Bijoor CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults

In the same vein, he however, says that Abraham is catering to the metrosexual youth, “who is somebody who appreciates shades and is not just black and white.”

Sinha finds support in Bijoor’s statement, when the latter says that Abraham is a person who has a very global persona and he portrays an idea, that a macho man can fit into different brand categories too. “He has a very ‘unIndian Indian’ image,” he says.

His macho imagery and being a met-

rosexual man, according to Bijoor, makes him a perfect candidate to endorse a product like a fairness cream that has feminine orientation but may not entirely be a feminine product, especially when the model turned actor has a large female following.

“He is not a small town man. He is a big city guy. Someone like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan or MS Dhoni would cater to the masses, whereas the niche category would like to see John Abraham,” he adds.

Sex symbol?

Meanwhile, Bhalla of Mates adds another dimension to his personality, when she says that Abraham is a sex symbol. “He is the kind of guy who has been comfortable in showing his six pack abs. He has been linked to products that portray a sex symbol or a style icon or a pin up boy. And the recent commercial about men’s grooming and anything to do with looks, comes naturally for John,” she says.

Philips hired Abraham largely for three traits – that he is a style icon; someone who is exceptionally comfortable in his skin and is effortless in his style; and who is popular among women.

So largely it is a mix of all – his biker’s imagery, fitness and style conscious and a metrosexual man that make him perfect for certain brands. Bhalla says, “If we look at the top 200 advertisers, 150 out of them will not hire brand endorsers if they do not have any tangible benefits.

Everyone looks for a rise in numbers and recall.”

From the horse’s mouth In the end, what does Abraham feel about his associations with brands?

“Brands have been a part of my DNA since the start of my career,” says Abraham, adding, “I have known how they plan and what do they look for in communication strategies. So my aim is to deliver solutions they are seeking from a celebrity endorsement point of view. I align with their needs and do the best to help them get optimum results.” n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

37

INTERVIEW FAISAL SIDDIQUI

“3G is fueling Smartphones growth” Faisal Siddiqui | Country Manager, HTC India

W

ith the smartphones rage gripping Indian consumers further, the war in the category has become fiercer. Taiwan based brand, HTC, has also become aggressive in the Indian market in the last 12 months. Faisal Siddiqui, Country Manager, HTC India, wants HTC to become the No 1 brand in the smartphones segment in India. In an exclusive interview with Pallavi Srivastava of Pitch, Siddiqui, talks about HTC’s marketing strategy in India. Excerpts: How important is the Indian market in your global strategy?

We have been in India for almost six years and we were the first one to bring the concept of smartphones in India and in the world. India is one of the key and strategic markets for us and is the fastest growing market across the world.

Estimates suggest that the Indian smartphones market is growing by 80 per cent and according to IDC, it will be the third largest market in the world by 2016. As a brand we want to be the leader in the smartphones category in the country and bring the most personalised experience for consumers in the country.

What are the key trends you see in the smartphones segment in the country?

One is smart phones becoming affordable and reaching the mass segment.

Second is the prevalence of 3G services

and high speed internet devices, and third is data tariffs coming down. These three are driving the usage of smart phones.

Going forward, how do you want the consumers to perceive HTC as a brand?

We want the consumer to think of HTC whenever they want to think of buying a smartphone. We want them to think of HTC whenever they think of the most personalised experience.

What is your marketing strategy and media mix?

We follow a balanced media mix which includes: TVC, Print, OOH and BTL activities. In fact, we invest quite heavily on BTL. As far as the media mix break up is concerned, it varies from product to product. For instance, we launched HTC Explorer, which is our first phone below the ` 10,000 bracket; for that spends are high on TV. Similar is the case for our high end model HTC One. But for another range like Desire, spends are high on print.

How important is social media as a tool to engage consumers for your brand?

Social media is very important for us and in the last one year we have been very aggressive on this. In October last year, we had just 3,000 fans on Facebook and we invested on social media and the numbers will speak for them: today we have over 13 lakh fans.

The general sentiment is that Indian consumers are price oriented but that is not true. They are very savvy and they are more value sensitive than price sensitive 38

Compared to other smartphone brands, HTC’s visibility in terms of advertising seems low. Why so?

Well, if you are talking about our presence on TV, then we have been selective. Our presence on TV has been primarily for two products: HTC Explorer and HTC One. You have focussed only on the mid and high segment of smartphones. Why so?

We have launched HTC Explorer, which is priced at less than ` 10,000. The general sentiment is that Indian consumers are price oriented but that is not true.

They are very savvy and they are more value sensitive than price sensitive. We keep that in mind while bringing phones in this market. So our portfolio starts at ` 8,500 with HTC Explorer and goes up to ` 37,000 with HTC One X. So it is pretty wide and balanced portfolio that we have.

How big is your distribution network?

We are currently present in top 100 cities and we want to expand the distribution.

We are expanding our service infrastructure too. We are close to 130 service centres in the country and half of them have been opened in the last five months.

Why hasn’t HTC focused on exclusive retail outlets?

We have realised that consumers prefer to go to a multi-brand outlet (MBO) while buying a phone. That ways they can compare brands and buy the best deal.

So we have taken the approach to partner with MBOs and we have 300 stores across top 100 cities in the country.  -pallavi@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | August 2012

I n t e r I n n e t e fa t fun rne Mu ceboo Youtht faceb k o Y o f o k u M sic I u n n t a Y h t r e o I k f r a n n c t e e e uth t I b r creaeting fu n n o t e o Y e t k r o t n n u i M v e M t e t h u a f s M a r i k c c u e e b t i o n o g sic Y k o Y u th o u t You t h c h r e I a t i v nter e n e t

How Youthful is Your Brand?

Mu sic

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fun

For editorial queries contact:

For more information contact:

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Kanu Priya +91 8377042086 kanupriya@exchange4media.com Palak +91 8377042096 palak@exchange4media.com

For sponsorship opportunities, contact: Rohit Sardana (Delhi) | July 2012 (Delhi) AbdullaPitch Mazumder Himanshu Arora (Mumbai) Sneha Walke (Bengaluru)

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39

BOOK EXTRACTS

FAMILY TEA

Cuppa full of health Brooke Bond Red Label is playing the health card. But is it really working for the brand? The toplines suggest otherwise

By Abhinav Mohapatra

Sipping on the health factor Recently HUL launched a campaign for tea brand Brooke Bond Red Label with

Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha as the endorsers. The commercial underlined the fact that tea drinking is a healthy habit. A number was flashed by Akshay Kumar for users to call and convince Sonakshi Sinha that it is healthy. “There are many myths associated with tea in India. For example, people believe it is unhealthy, where in reality; it is actually a super food. This triggered our initiative to make our consumers aware of the many

Leaderboard Retail value share of tea in India

29%

a Market Organised Te

I

ndian hot beverages market has always been dominated largely by tea. While the majority of the market consists of unorganised players, major branded players include Godrej Tea, Tata Tea, Brooke Bond, Lipton, and home grown brands like Wagh Bakri and Pataka Tea. HUL, with its wide basket of offerings that caters to almost all segments of consumers, has been trying to stay ahead of competition on the back of its consistent positioning of tea as a healthy beverage. It has yet again reiterated this positioning in its latest campaign for Brooke Bond Red Label tea.

According to Euromonitor, Black standard tea is a traditional and highly popular drink in India and accounted for some 84 per cent of tea retail volume sales in 2011.

And amongst the players, Tata Tea Premium, by Tata Global Beverage, and Brooke Bond Red Label by Hindustan Unilever, were the two largest brands in retail value sales terms within tea in the same year.

Hindustan Unilever led sales with a retail value share of 29 per cent followed by Tata Global Beverages (25 per cent).

The report also points out the fact that consumers are fast moving towards testing new products especially in terms of flavour and health benefits.

Hindustan Unilever

84%

Black Standard Tea

25%

Tata Global Beverages Source: Euromonitor

health benefits of tea including its positive effects towards improving blood circulation. The Akshay-Sonakshi campaign is a part of Red Label’s long standing effort to bring the goodness of drinking tea to the fore. ,” says HUL spokesperson.

Both Akshay & Sonakshi are said to

Research points out that Indian consumers are getting more open to the idea of trying new products especially in terms of flavours and health benefits 40

have strong health credentials according to HUL. Brooke Bond has a wide array of offerings in the tea industry. According to HUL, Brooke Bond Taj Mahal and 3 Roses are premium offerings from the brand, playing the aroma and expertise card. Red Label, Sehatmand and Tazaa are, on the other hand, inclined towards taste and health in the mass segment.

Talking from a health point of view Shripad Nadkarni, Director, MarketGate Consulting, says that, for a long time Brooke Bond has been talking about health, like Tata tea is talking about social activism.

“Brands such as Lipton Tazza, talks about freshness, Tata on the other hand projects a jolt, waking the consumer up to the current affairs; and the health platform is captured by Brooke Bond Red Label.

Therefore, the strategy is well thought out and HUL has been consistent to the platform,” he adds.

Commenting on th strategy, Shushmul Maheswari, Chief Executive, RNCOS, opines, “Most of the time tea is something that is taste specific; most of the people find it difficult to switch over from one brand to the other. The market entry barriers are high in terms of the consumer taste buds.” He further suggested that the ‘tea is healthy’ is a good strategy because the urban population is health conscious and the general perception is that green tea is healthy and milk tea is unhealthy.

“It is something the mothers don’t want their children to drink”, he adds.

Pitch | August 2012

20% Marketing tea as a healthy drink might help change the perception. Experts feel market education is very important.

“There is no other way to change the TG or expand it unless there is a different pitch. By bringing in the ‘healthy factor’ in the commercial, Brooke Bond is trying to differentiate the product. But at the same time, I don’t think it is going to help much.

Most people do not connect the dots, but go for the taste that suits them,” feels Maheshwari.

But interestingly, the numbers tell a different tale. According to a report on the HUL website, the company sold ` 1,982.35 crore worth tea (including exports) for FY 2012, compared to ` 2,097.50 crore in FY 2011. If tea is a healthy beverage, then why has the sales gone down?

“Brooke Bond Red Label is looking at the mother as its communication TG and ignoring the young audience” Shushmul Maheshwari Chief Executive, RNCOS

Not reaching out to youth?

According to Market Gate’s Nadkarni, he is not very sure about growth. He says, “Maybe because it is not relevant for

HUL Tea Sales

(in crore)

FY 2011

FY 2012

` 2,097.5

` 1,982.35

the younger audience, Since there are a lot of beverage options available for the younger audience. Hence, that is the biggest challenge. Health is based on both dimensions functional and emotional.”

He adds that it is a solid platform, if it is delivered through credible sources.

However, Maheshwari, on the other hand says, “It (Brooke Bond) is doing a lot of television ads; I have seen ads on television and newspaper. It has not done anything on social media, which means it is not very keen on looking at the young generation. I think it is not targeting the young, as the decision maker, to buy tea

“Tea may not be very relevant for young consumers as there are many other beverage options ” Shripad Nadkarni Director, MarketGate Consulting in the family is the mother. She is the person who is usually not too net savvy and online social network friendly. I think it is important for a brand with wide offerings to have a wide TG because of the number of brands that are available. The grey market brands and the domestic brands

There are many myths associated with tea in India.

With its health proposition, Red Label is attempting to educate consumers about the health benefits of tea Pitch | August 2012

are many; if big brands won’t have a wide coverage then it will be difficult to have a big TG.” HUL has been pursuing marketing initiatives that help establish each brand’s seperate identity in the market. Being a ` 7,900 crore packaged tea market, HUL claims that it is one of the largest players. “We believe that each brand has a distinct functional and emotional proposition and hence, we communicate their benefits individually,” the spokesperson adds.

Fine brewing The tea market, which witnessed downtrading in 2010-11 stabilised in 2011-12.

The market saw low single digit volume growth and close to double digit value growth. According to HUL’s report, most parts of the portfolio witnessed good performance. 3 Roses had another year of strong growth strengthening its position in the southern part of India. Red Label witnessed second consecutive year of volume and value growth ahead of market, across geographies. Natural Care, a value added variant of Red Label and 3 Roses also grew well ahead of the market by building on the differentiated proposition of immunity.

Taj Mahal and Lipton led the charge in the premium segment and witnessed both price and volume growth. Tea bags had a very successful year, with the launch of new flavoured and green tea bags under these two brands, enabling HUL to build leadership in the format of the future. Lipton Ice Tea was launched in ready to drink and powder formats to enter into the fast growing non-carbonated beverage market and to make the tea portfolio future ready. A strong entry in the bottom of the pyramid and mid price segment was made in select geographies through relevant brands like Taaza Bachat, Ruby, A1 and Super.

According to the Tea Board of India, India presently has a CAGR of 15 per cent at an annual turnover of ` 19,500 crore, which is estimated to grow to ` 33,000 crore by 2015. n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

41

INTERVIEW AJAY ANAND

“Digital has shifted power to consumers” Ajay Anand | Global Head, Digital Marketing Practices for Infosys & Head of BrandEdge

BrandEdge, a digital marketing platform for large FMCGs, and an arm of Infosys, that came into being early this year, is focusing more on international clients. In an exclusive interview with Aditi Malhotra of Pitch, Ajay Anand, Global Head, Digital Marketing Practices for Infosys and Head of BrandEdge, talks about the challenges marketers face in the digital space in emerging markets like India. Excerpts from the interview: What sets BrandEdge apart from other digital marketing solution agencies?

We started off with a focus on servicing the large enterprises since they require a service provider who can give them not only top leadership but also the scale. And, Infosys is well equipped because we have been servicing large scale customers.

Can you give some examples of your successful initiatives?

In a multi-million dollar initiative, GlaxoSmithKline in UK adopted BrandEdge for its global digital transformation initiative.

It created a centralised organisation called the Global Digital Service Board, which is aimed at centralising the digital activity across all its different brands. They have about 120 brands across 200 markets.

The company has used BrandEdge’s campaign building capabilities to build the campaign, for all possible channels. And then deployed the campaigns on to these

different channels and thereafter we have helped capture information identifying the right TG. How do you think FMCG can leverage digital, especially in rural marketing?

For the large number of brands that FMCG companies have, it becomes supremely important to use digital channels. I think FMCG and/or the retail and CPG sector is one of the most potent spaces for digital marketing. For rural markets, digital marketing can enable the consumer through the mobile device. For example, in banking there’s Airtel Money, which is a solution being built by Infosys is helping bank the unbanked. Moreover, in FMCG, digital is used throughout the product life cycle.

One, it is used to build awareness and create brand loyalists and secondly, to generate commerce.

Are Indian marketers getting accustomed to digital marketing?

It has been a challenge for marketers to adapt to the digital sector because most of the marketers have been used to conventional channels, which follow push marketing, be it TV or print. It’s been all about giving a message out to the consumers. But, digital marketing itself has allowed the power to shift to the consumers. It’s more of pull marketing now. The consumers make their own opinions on ratings and comments using search.

For rural markets, digital marketing can enable the consumer through the mobile device. In banking there’s Airtel Money, which is a solution being built by Infosys 42

Is BrandEdge looking to explore Indian markets too?

Given the rapidity with which digital marketing is finding space in emerging markets, I do believe that our looking at the Indian market is somewhere around the corner.

Internationally, you have tied up with WPP. How does the association work?

When we started we were not equipped to provide holistic solutions to all the identified problem areas for digital marketers. And if we had to get into marketing with a ground breaking solution, we obviously had to strengthen our marketing capabilities. We, thus, partnered with a company that already was a leader in the marketing domain and that was WPP, which is one of the world’s largest communications services company.

So we integrated the best in marketing with the best in technology to create an overall solution which would meet the needs of digital marketers.

What is the process that the company follows for integrating technology with marketing?

We have built a very strong integration framework, which allows marketers to bring in their existing tools. And because of our partnership with WPP, which has a deep expertise in most of the marketing specific areas, we bring the best in class tools.

Moreover, we offer a solution on the cloud where the customer doesn’t have to invest in hardware or software. They consume this service on a subscription basis, just like they wouldn’t with any utility service. We focus on two key areas of efficiency and effectiveness.  -aditi@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | August 2012

COLUMN

An open letter to hard working brands I used to like you once, but allow me to remind you that I was never obsessively “in love” with you

D Kuber Chopra Founder, Rasta

kuber@thinkrasta.com @kuberchopra

ear Overworked Brand, What’s up?

Last I heard from you was, a minute back. You sent me an SMS asking me for feedback. Sorry, I couldn’t reply to that. Here, I hope I’ll make it up by writing to you directly.

So, is everything okay? You seem lonely and desperate.

What’s going on with that new product you were launching?

I was intrigued by its standard features in the first mail, but then your guys started pestering me with calls, making it quite suspect. No offence, but I think you’ve started talking too much and way too often.

I’ve also noticed you on Facebook these days, turning cool eh? Except, it’s a bit late in the day, and, after paying attention to what you had to say, I realised you’ve turned into an egotistical bore. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? O yeah! it was about you!

I used to like you once, but allow me to remind you that I was never obsessively “in love” with you. So, next time you talk to me like we were a match made in heaven, remember you’re competing with messages from people I really do fancy listening to. I added these folks on Facebook, they did not ask me to ‘Like’ their page because it would entitle me to a free key chain!

How must I express my unquenchable curiosity to learn all about offers you and your friends send in every waking hour!!?? O hold on, I beg your pardon; these other guys are anything but your friends, right? This might offend you, but you lads look like twins. I know you try and talk different, dress up unique and all that, but really, it’s difficult to hide the fact that you came from the same set of parents, Ms Gluttony & Mr Duh. Recently one of your young online cousins offered me 100 points for buying a shoe and referring a friend. I was like “WOW 100 points that mean absolutely nothing! Have to try this!”

Anyway, because you’ve been trying so hard, actually, more out of pity, let me offer you some advice: The other day one of your conversation starters cracked me up, “Greetings from your favorite underwear brand”. Here’s the thing, nobody says “greetings” to greet anymore. Sort your language out.

The other thing is about the sheer intensity with which you are trying to grab my attention.

Stop being a weirdo, I’ve got a few as friends like that, because “Har ek zaroori hota hai …right?”, I forget their names… and that is the point!

360-degree is what you call

I am not saying “leave me alone”, not yet. I’m saying “challenge me like an equal”. Speak to us honestly and we’ll respect you for that Pitch | August 2012

it? I feel like your posters and banners are caving in on me.

Honestly, the only thing that goes 360 is my head.

Chances are you’ll get me wrong. I mean, you spend a lot of money on research to get me wrong, so I have no reason to think otherwise. So allow me to clear the air, I am not saying “leave me alone”, not yet.

I’m saying “challenge me like an equal”. Speak to us honestly and we’ll respect you for that.

For instance I dig genuine offers and discounts but the little repulsive star at the bottom of everything makes me leak.

Now, you might say: “Yeah yeah, we got the point smarty pants” (By the way no one uses that kind of language anymore either). Come on! I’ve been to one of those focus groups you organize (will again, just for the grub, well done on that).

Those pompous B-School grads you keep for company are hurting you. I mean, the reason they joined you was because they wanted to get off the streets we inhabit. Fire their ass and invite us for dinner. Here, I’ve spilled it and it is really that simple.

Let’s start with not sending me a “thank you” message in the next second.

Cheers, The Youth 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

43

RURAL TELECOM

VAS up?

With mobile density on the rise in the rural areas, marketers are looking at an opportunity to tap this audience through the medium - mobile. How?

By Ruchika Kumar

M

obile telephony has changed the shape of the rural Indian landscape. With the proliferation of various service providers and increasing sales of low-end mobile handsets, mobiles have become the ultimate choice for rural marketing. Perhaps, this is why wireless solution provider of mobile entertainment and Value Added Services (VAS), Handygo Technologies is investing ` 120 crore in its VAS led initiative called Behtar Zindagi, across six states of India in a span of one year. The initiative is in partnership with Airtel.

‘VAS’T reach According to ASSOCHAM, the Indian Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) industry is projected to register a turnover of ` 28,000 crore by 2013 from the current ` 9,700 crore after the rollout of 3G services in India. It also points out that VAS, which constitutes 10-12 per cent of the total revenues for telecom operators, would also see a rise of 20 per cent during the same period. The organisation, however, suggests that for generating more revenues, telecom players will have to generate awareness among the rural population about the benefits of the value added services.

Hence, the Behtar Zindagi initiative is a step in that direction. The programme is described as a unique IVR-based service that will allow farming and allied communities to access a wide variety of relevant and useful information, including market prices, agricultural & cropping advisory, livestock advisory, weather and finance through the Airtel network. In its first phase the service is being provided for farming and allied

44

VAS constitutes 10-12 per cent of the total revenues for telecom operators, and would see a rise of 20 per cent by 2013 communities across Rajasthan.

Mobile: the right choice for marketers According to Praveen Rajpal, CEO, Handygo Technologies, rural is the next big market for telcos as more or less the urban market is saturated. He adds, “With the Government, through NTP 2012, also laying emphasis on the spread of mobile services in the rural regions, Handygo has already forayed and are the pioneers in introducing m-governance, m-health, m-commerce, m-education, m-enter-

` 9,700 from Value Related

is the current turnover

Crore Services (VAS)

the projected ` 28,000 isturnover from

Crore VAS by 2013

Source: ASSOCHAM

tainment services. Through this unique IVR- based solution, focus has been on uplifting the rural population in key areas such as livelihood, health and education.”

Moreover, teaming up with a service provider that has over 1.45 crore mobile subscribers, seems to be a logical move at this juncture. Rajpal shares, “When we intended to initiate this activity in India, Mr Sudipto Chowdhary, CEO, Airtel Rajasthan, came forward and showed his confidence in our ‘User Connect’ campaign. Airtel in Rajasthan is well positioned to drive the role of the mobile platform as a key enabler of lives. This launch was in line with both brands’ continued efforts towards launching services that are innovative, relevant, affordable and beneficial for their rural customers. With this thought we jointly launched this unique activity in June 2012.” In addition, the association has

Pitch | August 2012

Ad-verse challenges With DND coming in the way, marketers are getting innovative to reach out to the consumer

By Arshiya Khullar

“Rural consumers have less mobile usage and are really sensitive towards the prices of the products and services” Praveen Rajpal CEO, Handygo Technologies helped Handygo reach out to a larger audience in a more structured manner.

Furthermore Airtel is supporting the company with ground activities. For instance, in order to reach out to masses, the two conducted a mass awareness drive through mobile vans that reached out to 30,000 villagers in Rajasthan. This service is available to farmers 24x7 and 365 days. It will further be promoted at various touch points including agricultural and rural fairs, farmers’ exhibitions, van promotions, contests, associations with local NGOs, announcements through community radio, distribution of free physical coupons etc.

Making a long call Now, the company is all set to invest around ` 120 crore in 12 months across six states in India. Through this activity, Behtar Zindagi is expected to reach out to approx 1, 00,000 villages across these states. The service, which was launched in 2009 is available in 18 regional languages, has more than 1.67 million subscribers across the country.

The company feels that the informational gap within the community, which led to inaccessibility to valuable information regarding agricultural advisory, market rates, weather scenario and more, has been bridged. After this

Pitch | August 2012

T

he latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India puts the total mobile subscriber base in India in May 2012 at over 900 million. Add to this the staggering number of users accessing content on their mobile phones and the galloping growth of technology; many brands are gradually seeing mobile marketing as a potent alternative to the existing advertising platforms.

Until now a relatively unchartered space, several mobile marketing agencies and companies are bringing in innovative mobile marketing initiatives encompassing both intrusive and non-intrusive methods of advertising.

According to sources, mobile advertising spend is expected to increase from ` 400 crore to around ` 2,000 crore by 2015.

Customer initiated mobile advertising One such new entrant, who is banking on a differentiated mobile marketing strategy, is GullakMaster, a mobile advertising network. It is a customer-initiated

estimated mobile ` 2,000 isadthe spend by 2015 from

Crore the current ` 400 crore

form of advertising in which a customer sends a message to GullakMaster and checks-in his location. GullakMaster, in return sends in advertisements, discounts, and promotional offers via SMS to these customers from its network of merchants in that specific location. The word Gullak essentially means a cash-

box in Hindi, and from the company’s standpoint, the name has been incorporated to communicate the two prime aspects of its business, Savings and GoodLuck.

GullakMaster claims to customise the promotion that each brand sends out to its customer base. The merchants are asked to set up customer profiles on GullakMaster’s platform, and on the basis of these pre-defined profiles, the mobile advertiser issues a different promotion for each customer.

“Most marketing firms use the same ad creatives for different consumers. We bring in the customisation angle and are among the first ones to do so,” says Abhishek Dadoo, the founder of GullakMaster.

Dadoo finds the closest competitor in FourSquare, a location-based social networking website for mobile devices.

45

RURAL TELECOM However, the value proposition of FourSquare is entirely social, and with GullakMaster, Dadoo is introducing advertising in return for checking in.

It is essentially targeting young customers between the age group of 18 to 30 years, and is targeting merchants in the apparels and the hospitality sector which cater to its intended target audience.

Dual Marketing Approach With services such as DND (Do Not Disturb) bringing in welcomed respite to customers tired of pesky calls and messages, SMS advertising in the country has certainly taken a hit. It is this hindrance that GullakMaster is looking to convert into an opportunity. “With GullakMaster, people can initiate and request for ads on their own. Besides, we have already got a transactional gateway, much like how banks work,” comments Dadoo.

Dadoo also feels that smartphones are not a mass model in India at present, and advertising via SMS still remains a powerful tool that can be exploited.

Another mobile marketing agency, which is leveraging both smartphones and SMS services to appeal to different customer segments, is ad2c (the recently set up JV between D2C of Japan and Affle group of companies, Singapore).

Some of the agency’s recent mobile marketing campaigns include one for Samsung’s latest range of Smart TV’s wherein consumers can experiment with gesture control by dragging and dropping features on the television to see how they work. It has also created a gaming application for Samsung S3, on the lines of the popular Pictionary game in which consumers have to guess the particular phone feature that is being drawn out on the screen.

“SMS has become more of an enterprise solution as opposed to a marketing solution ” Madan Sanglikar CEO, AD2C

SMSing a solution?

According to Madan Sanglikar, CEO, ad2c, mobile marketing in India is driven by two parallel worlds, smartphones and feature phones.

He further adds that while it is difficult to ignore any of the two, and both hold potential, SMS has become more of an enterprise solution as opposed to a marketing solution and dependency on messages as a push medium is going down. “While a store may resort to advertising via messaging about deals and discounts, messaging has lost its sheen from a brand’s perspective,” he says.

One of the inherent advantages of mobile advertising is that it helps in targeted and pointed advertising. ad2c is

Smartphones not being mass, advertising via SMS still remains a powerful tool to be exploited to appeal to different customer segments

46

also using handset profiling to promote this new marketing tool in the country and to effectively reach out to its intended target audience. For a consumer segment which is not literate, it would pursue voice-based advertising. Similarly, if the target audience is the young teenager, the agency would look at a using a feature-based phone, like a gaming phone for better results.

On the limited appeal of marketing centring on smartphones, Rohit Khurana, CEO and Co-founder, Technixmedia feels that smartphones are gradually becoming more affordable. He points out that most youth buyers are opting for touch screen based smartphones that are available for as low as ` 4,000.

While both Khurana and Sanglikar seem to sense potential and scope in smartphone-based mobile marketing, Dadoo feels it is still some time before the smart device can penetrate into mass markets in India. “While more people might be buying smartphones, very few of them subscribe to monthly data plans because they still remain an expensive proposition. This renders smartphone as a simple phone with communication via SMS. The challenge facing merchants today is how to provide intelligent advertising through messages, and that’s what we offer,” he explains.

Key Trends & Challenges Sanglikar highlights some key trends in the mobile marketing industry that point to the growth of both feature-based phones and smartphones.

He appends that while on one hand brands are upgrading to the iPad and the Tablet inventory, in Tier 2 cities, there is a great traction being seen in social networking services in featurebased phones. Several brands are now beginning to use the location-based platform and connect to the usage patterns of consumers and offer pointed advertising.

In terms of the challenges, Dadoo finds it a task when it comes to con-

Pitch | August 2012

vincing marketers about the underlying dynamics of his business model.

Marketers’ prime concern is to generate footfalls, but GullakMaster can only draw customers using customised promotions but cannot guarantee conversion into actual sales.

However, with plans of reaching an end customer base of 1.5 lakh in the next six months and hopes of generating close to half a million dollars in funding, GullakMaster certainly seems to be unfazed by these challenges.

What also helps is that with very players in the mobile marketing space at present, there is room for each player to grow on account of its unique,

differentiated value proposition.

“I think there is lot of space for new entrants in this field and since this is an emerging area, there can be many more business models based on mobile SMS service, data service and other services which will gradually evolve in this field as data access becomes more affordable on mobile phones,” opines Technixmedia’s Khurana.

While all this optimism certainly points to the lucrative future for mobile marketing in the country, the treatment of this marketing platform from a marketers’ perspective needs to change for it to become more effective. Sanglikar feels that one of the biggest challenges comes from the fact that marketers see mobile as a sub-set of digital, and with digital receiving only 10 per cent of the marketing budget of a company, mobile’s share cannot grow beyond a mere 4-5 per cent.  -arshiya@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | August 2012

campaign, the subscriber base in Rajasthan has increased more than 50 per cent within two months. “This activity has further strengthened the brand presence for both of us,” the CEO adds.

Marketers need to think differently So, what has made the two brands tick in the market? The reason lies in the changing landscape of rural consumerism. According to Rajpal, this growing segment has increasingly becoming demanding and looking for more innovative and beneficial ideas. He also adds, “Interestingly, they are becoming brand conscious too, which is surely beneficial for industry players. From marketer’s point of view, it is important to ‘think-out-of-the-box’ and brings value-for-money products and services for this segment.

There are lots of opportunities in utility segment for VAS providers, more innovative your service is, more

Hang ups However, the consumption pattern for mobile marketing is not as evolved as in the cities, which may ultimately affect the usage of such schemes and initiatives.

Agreeing upon this, Rajpal adds, “Rural consumer is less informed as compared to consumers in the metros and cities.

The usage pattern of the rural subscriber is totally different from the urban subscriber. They have less usage and are really sensitive towards the prices of the products and services. With the spread of mobile telephony, affordable phones and gadgets the rural audiences have also understood the benefits technology brings in improving their standards of living, which in turn will increase the utilisation of services like Behtar Zindagi.”

Nevertheless, the biggest challenge for the programme would be to educate and reaching out to rural areas. “Making this segment aware about the product is an expensive affair as you need to spend a lot to increase

With the spread of mobile telephony, affordable phones the rural audiences have understood the benefits technology brings in beneficial it will be.”

He also suggests that it is crucial for marketers to gauge the aspirational levels of this new age rural consumer and their need for ‘value for money’ or ‘affordable comfort’. Thus, product placement and marketing activities have to be based on that factor. Thus, Airtel users can avail this service at a charge as low as ` 1/day.

Thus, to leverage the advancements in mobile marketing, the company plans to extend the initiative in the field of mbanking, m-education, m-governance and others as well. It is also planning to come up with a GPRS application in the near future and strengthen the processes and infrastructure, initiate tie ups with various Government and Non Government bodies, soil and agricultural research institutes and educate the rural masses for leveraging the application for the betterment of their lives.

awareness, need to run TV campaigns, send human resources to showcase your product range, give them trial offers and lots more.

Unlike urban population, acceptability of this segment is not easy; it needs a lot of efforts, concentration and attention. Moreover there are various other issues in reaching out to these audiences like poor infrastructure, lack of transport facilities, resources and lots more,” Rajpal explains.

Thus, he seeks the support of the government to reach out to the TG in a more cost effective way. “If nothing more, at least local administration should support us to make this service available for all. We hope that government would motivate services like ours and include it under their M-governance project, as the motive for us and government is same - Empowering Rural segment to lead a Behtar Zindagi,” he sums up.  -ruchika@pitchonnet.com

47

Jobs from exchange4media.com Markigence Executive – Business Development, New Delhi PHP Developer, New Delhi Content Writer, Delhi Child Rights and You - CRY requires: Call for Internships Consultant – Brand Communications Institutional Partnerships Associate General Manager (Brand) Assistant Manager - Brand Senior Manager, Channel Management (Individual Par Consultant – Telecaller Senior Manager - Resource Generation Sr Manager, Resource Generation for the Chennai/ Delhi/ Mumbai/ Kolkata For details log on to www.exchange4media.com B.D.Khanna Publicity requires: Asst. Business Development Manger Client Servicing Executive Graphic Designer / Visualization for the Delhi For details log on to www.exchange4media.com Franchise Plus requires: Regional Head Ad Sales Manager/ Asst. Sales Manager Ad Sales Executive for the Noida For details log on to www.exchange4media.com Charson Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd.

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For more jobs from exchange4media log on to: http://www.exchange4media.com/jobscareer/microsite/index.htm

Jobs From Post: Head - Ad Sales/Space Selling Company: Carzonrent (India) Pvt Ltd Profile: Will be building Network with advertising agencies and advertisers as well as pipeline of prospective customers.

Exp: 8-13 Location: Delhi/NCR Email: humanresources@carzonrent.com Post: Head/ Associate Director Company: Media Moments

Profile: Will be responsible for generating topline and bottom line and drive organization direction and culture to generate long term sustainable value.

Exp: 8-10 Location: Delhi/NCR Email: mediamoments@ymail.com Post: Sr.Client Servicing Manager Company: Flags Communications Pvt Ltd Profile: Should be passionate about advertis-

ing having an in-depth understanding of ATL/ BTL communication.

Exp: 7-10 Location: Delhi Email: careers@flagscommunications.com Post: Account Director- Sales & Marketing Company: RC&M Pvt Ltd Profile: Responsible for new Business development with a good understanding of the Advertising or BTL agency and generate new

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The biggest gathering of jobs above ` 15 Lakhs CTC. 6

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For Advertising on Jobs & Career Mail to: abdulla@exchange4media.com or Call +919871609348

Pitch | August 2012

in association with

ideas/services for the client.

Exp: 6-9 Location: Mumbai Email: hrd@rcmindia.com Post: Key Account Manager Company: Matrix Direct Communication Pvt Ltd Profile: The main role is to create and maintain relationship between the agency and its clients. Prior experiance in an advertisement agency or any media house is mandatory.

Exp: 5-10 Location: Kolkata Email: hr@matrixdirect.in Post: Project Manager Company: Finedge India Pvt Ltd Profile: Applicant having experience in FMCG/ Promotions/ BTL activities/ Logistics desired.

Exp: 5-7 Location: Delhi/NCR Email: info@finedgeindia.com Post: Business Development Manager Company: Sensations Marcom Pvt. Ltd. Profile: Should have experience in Event management company having complete end to end knowledge of managing big events.

Exp: 5-7 Location: Delhi Email: piyush@sensations.co.in Post: Account Director Company: Candid Marketing Profile: Responsible for Client Relationship Management by proposing customized brand activation solutions to client.

Exp: 4-9 Location: Mumbai Email: tuhi@candidmarketing.com Post: Sr.Project Manager Company: United Business Media Profile: Any Graduate, MBA preferred will be responsible for strategizing, developing and executing marketing activities to drive space selling for conference/exhibition.

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Post: Business Development ManagerExibitions Company: Craft World Events Pvt Ltd Profile: Will be responsible for Revenue generation through new account development & key account management.

Exp: 3-8 Location: Mumbai Email: hr@cwe.in Post: Brand Manager Company: Bigshoebazaar India Pvt. Ltd. Profile: Accountable for branding of all the private labels-converting private labels into national Brands and closely dealing with merchandisers.

Exp: 2-7 Location: Gurgaon Email: tania.sadiq@yebhi.com Post: International Business Development Manager Company: CommissionEmpire LLC Profile: Will be responsible for creating business with our existing US clients as well as will be looking for new avenues of advertising.

Exp: 2-6 Location: Delhi/NCR Email: sam@commissionempire.com Post: Social Media Marketing Manager Company: HGS Interactive Profile: Experience in the social media marketing domain should have strong expertise in various social media marketing techniques.

Exp: 2-6 Location: Mumbai Email: brian@hgsinteractive.com Post: Manager - Client Service Company: Collective Heads Profile: Events and communication professional with relevant experience in handling events and BTL projects should have worked with large brand.

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Profile: Experience in sales management should have strong understanding of customer and market dynamics.

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7

FAMILY I-SHAKTI

Setting the ‘pulse’ racing Though it’s been two years since Tata launched I-Shakti, but it’s been lately that it’s got aggressive on the marketing front. What are the company’s plans?

By Ruchika Kumar

S

eeing a gap in the branded pulse market in India, Tata Chemicals forayed into the food grains market with Tata I-Shakti Dals in 2010. Once the brand was available pan India, the company set out to endorse the positive health qualities of its unpolished pulses offering, by recently rolling in Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor as its brand ambassador.

Brand extension and wide networking Tata had established food retail presence through Tata Salt and I-Shakti covering a total of around 18 lakh outlets. Hence, there was an opportunity to extend the I-Shakti brand from salt to other food essentials.

Plus, the pulses category also had a limited branded presence and most of the consumers believed that the polished version of the dals, was the best that the market had to offer. In a bid to overcome this misperception and hail unpolished variety as the best form of the food grain, the company launched the brand and rolled out TVCs to educate the end consumer of the health benefits of the product. However, in the initial phase of the launch, the focus was on extending distribution coverage and reach and once the I-Shakti brand established an all India presence, the company started its media campaigns with the celebrity chef.

The company also saw a huge opportunity in the fact that India predominantly is a vegetarian country; it is probably the only nation that depends heavily on pulses as its staple food. “Pulses are not only a rich source

of protein; but also the mainstay of every Indian’s diet. The stagnant domestic production of pulses in India vis-à-vis increasing demand makes India a net importer. India would require 33-37 MT by 2017-18 of pulses to meet the protein balance of its population,” observes, Ashvini Hiran, COO – Consumer Product Business, Tata Chemicals.

Taking this into consideration, Tata Chem-

The pulses category has had a limited branded presence and most of the consumers believed that the polished version of the dals, was the best 50

icals started an initiative called ‘Grow More Pulses’, endeavouring to work closely with farmers and state governments across the country to increase pulses productivity. According to the company, this program leverages on the strong linkages with the farmer through expansive and well entrenched networks of Rallis and Tata Kisan Sansars (catering to 30 lakh farmers). PPP projects were initiated with Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments under this program and farmers were also keen that Tata buys the produce. Hiran says that with I-Shakti, the company’s thrust is on offering superior quality and hygienic pulses at an affordable price.

Pitch | August 2012

All that glitters is not gold Explaining the key differentiator for I-Shakti dals, Hiran spells out the merits and demerits of unpolished and polished dals, respectively. “We realised that unpolished dal is the dal in its purest form – retaining taste and flavour. At an initial stage of a product life cycle, it is imperative to have enough awareness generation on the goodness and benefits of unpolished dals. The customer is looking for a good quality product that is healthy besides being tasty and that is the reason we are focused on delivering unpolished pulses. The shiny looking polished dals which are commonly available at nearby kirana store may have gone through different form of polishing using water, oil or even leather thus deteriorating the quality of dals in terms of added moisture content and depletion of proteins.

With Tata I-Shakti Dal the customer not only gets the best tasting dal but gets more dal/kg, due to lower moisture levels than in loose dals,” he adds.

The company has launched five popular varieties of pulses i.e. Chana, Toor, Urad, Masoor and Moong in the Indian market.

The sub categories include Moong whole, Moong Chilka, Urad whole, Urad Kali and Masoor whole. Further, in terms of widening the portfolio the company will be looking to augment that based on consumer needs.

However, Tata’s biggest challenge in this industry will come from the largely unorganised loose food grains market in India.

Hiran adds that within the challenges faced while competing with unorganised sector include the supply chain cost and distribution expansion, sourcing the best variety of pulses from a specific location and keeping a tight quality control. Hence, the company is using the Tata Salt distribution network to gain efficiencies in operations, and now the dals brand reaches 21 states.

In addition, the dals are widely available in large and medium format stores as well as neighbourhood kirana stores.

pulses. But Hiran also points out that the adoption of branded unpolished dals will be initially higher in Tier 1 cities and then later percolate to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

“Protein retention in unpolished dals would be the perceived value that will be leveraged for differentiation” Ashvini Hiran COO – Consumer Product Business, Tata Chemicals Ltd. Tempering growth; meeting challenges In terms of creating a space in the market category, the COO also points out that as the customer does not have many options of packaged dal, thus, in the long run the challenge will be providing a differentiated product and giving consumers value that can be perceived. Thus, the company is laying emphasis on the health benefits of the offering.

“Protein retention in unpolished dals would be the perceived value that will be leveraged for product differentiation. Parallels can be drawn from Oil, Rice, Flour (aata) industry and other staples in which the branded packaged segment is gaining in roads at a healthy and sustainable growth rate, primarily through upgradation in usership,” explains Hiran.

There might be a challenge in terms of the price sensitivity of consumers, who prefer buying the food grain in bulk from a local wholesale dealer store. However, Tata Chemicals does not feel threatened as it thinks that favourable macroeconomic indicators, rising disposable income, general awareness and depleting trust in loose food products will assist adoption of packed

The adoption of branded unpolished dals is expected to be initially higher in Tier 1 cities and then later percolate to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities Pitch | August 2012

Promotional strategy On the choice of the brand ambassador as the apt spokesperson for the benefits of unpolished dals over polished ones, Hiran, says that Sanjeev Kapoor is the quintessential and by far one of the first and recognised faces of Indian cooking. “He is a household name in our country and he is one whom we can call a true blue Indian chef. Through his cooking, he has always helped housewives & mothers cook better and healthier food for their families. Dals being the staple food of India, we see a direct connect between him and our audience/end consumers. To propagate and spread the message we thought that who better to rope in as the ambassador than chef himself,” he says.

Apart from the TV advertisement being aired across national & regional channels, the promotional campaign will be supported by market level visibility drives. Attempts are being made to get the brand closer to consumers through various consumer engagement platforms like local cookery activations and on the site ‘feel it, know it and taste it’ format activations across markets. An initiative on retail focuses on catching the eyes and attention of the consumers at retail shelf through merchandising and visibility drives.

Looking deep The company does not want to divulge the market share of I-Shakti pulses, but feels that market share for any brand at early stages of category development- in commodity such as pulses - may not carry as much relevance as the brand building efforts. Tata Chemicals’ future roadmap is to leverage the geographical spread and the brand affinity it commands to further expand its market penetration and user base.

“The company has a vision of making Tata I-Shakti unpolished dals a household phenomenon in all Tier I & II cities and the idea right now is to give the end user a quality product which is superior and hygienic,” Hiran sums up. n -ruchika@pitchonnet.com

51

BOOK EXTRACTS

FAMILY VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Shedding Atlantic cold Virgin Atlantic is cooking a local recipe to lure Indians travelling abroad. What are the key strategic elements the brand is using and are they working for it?

By Abhinav Mohapatra

W

ith the inevitable price rise in the airline sector and many companies facing the heat, Virgin Atlantic has come up with out of the box offerings to attract its Indian customers. Various student offers, flights from Mumbai and the luxury lounge in the new A330 connecting Delhi and London, with capabilities of in-flight mobile calling and airside recording studio at Heathrow, are a few offerings Virgin Atlantic puts forth for its passengers.

According to a report by ICRA, while the domestic airlines have not been able to attract foreign investors (up to 49 per cent FDI is allowed, though foreign airlines are currently not allowed any stake), foreign airlines may be interested in taking strategic stakes due to their deeper business understanding, longer investment horizons and overall long term commitment towards the global aviation industry.

Healthy passenger traffic growth on account of favourable demographics, rising disposable incomes and low air travel penetration could attract long-term strategic investments in the sector. As a matter of fact, the industry has grown at a 16 per cent CAGR in passenger traffic terms over the past decade. This certaily shows that there is an immense scope for the growth of international airline players in the country.

The interiors of the Upper Class suite introduced on the Delhi-London route Going local In a bid to appeal to its Indian TG, the global airline is adding an Indian flavour to most of its offerings including food and in-flight entertainment. Recently, it launched an Upper Class suite on the Delhi-London route, with a new addition of the longest on-board bar spanning approximately 8.8 feet. The company invited the public to share its ideas about a cocktail recipe that can be cownsumed 37,000 feet above the ground while flying. According to Stephen King, General Manager India, Virgin Atlantic, the airlines received more than 200 innovative recipes and the winning cocktail is named ‘The Supernova’. “The cocktail will be served at our exclusive on-board bar in the A330,” he adds.

Besides the cocktail, the flight also

Virgin commissioned a survey focusing on what students like to carry when flying abroad. The results varied from mangoes to Maggi and from Aloo Bhujia to pressure cookers 52

serves Indian Mughlai food and also offers its passengers on board Indian movies. In addition, Virgin Atlantic is also planning to engage its on-ground as well as on-board audience with celebration gifts, competitions, special desserts and traditionally dressed staff on Indian national holidays and festive days.

Explaining the concept of taking localised initiatives, King says that to attract Indian passengers, Virgin Atlantic has to offer something special to meet their tastes and requirements through constant engagement at all consumer touch-points.

“We try to stay close to our existing and potential consumers. Understanding that Indian consumers like to carry more baggage when travelling long haul, we took the decision to increase our ‘Economy’ baggage allowance to two pieces of 23 kgs each to London. This was an innovative move and we are still the only airline that offers 46 kgs baggage allowance to London. Such constant gestures ensure customers prefer us, have a strong affinity and love the brand,” appends King.

Pitch | August 2012

Budgeted move According to Virgin Atlantic, the company has been flying from Delhi since more than 12 years. King adds that Virgin has developed a strong relationship with travel and trade and built up partnerships over the years. “Beyond our consumer touch points and true to our brand spirit, we have done some unique advertising and PR activities.

With perhaps the lowest advertising budget, we have ensured our advertising campaigns are well aimed at the predefined target audience and we use strategic placements for our stunning ads rather than large and expensive formats,” says King.

Last year, Virgin Atlantic tried a different technique to make its presence felt.

“An elevator perhaps is the only place, if compared to a hoarding or newspaper ad, where a consumer stands for at least for 20 seconds doing nothing,” says King.

The service focused at creatives in shopping malls and also tried to target corporate travellers by tapping their buildings. The airlines branded the elevators that it believed its potential passengers boarded at least twice every day, therefore making the brand visible.

“The cost was perhaps as much as two insertions in a newspaper but the exposure and recollection was much better,” adds King.

In India, Virgin Atlantic, like most airlines designs an annual offer supporting students travelling abroad for further studies. A similar offer was in the air, on radio for British Airways also. But what Virgin did differently was that it commissioned a survey focusing on what students like to take with them when flying abroad and the results varied from mangoes to Maggi and from Aloo Bhujia to pressure cookers.

“Delhi remains one of our most important routes with passengers travelling to the UK and the US” Stephen King General Manager India, Virgin Atlantic

Fly high In style • Introduction of Upper Class suite on the Delhi-London route • On-board bar

With local flavours • Indian Mughlai food on the menu • Indian movies on-board • Traditionally dressed staff on Indian national days and festivals

And demand for more • Engage on-board audience with celebration gifts, competitions and special desserts • Economy baggage allowance increased to two pieces each of 23 kgs to London (making it 46 kgs in all)

Virgin has installed AeroMobile system in its A330 aircrafts, which allows passengers to make and receive phone calls and send texts from their own mobile phones Pitch | August 2012

More on board The airside recording studio at Heathrow airport caters to Indian and global artists alike. The studio vaunts professional grade equipment that provides a unique environment for artists to do some last minute editing. Once finished, the tracks can be emailed or uploaded to a record company or broadcaster directly from the Clubhouse.

Apart from music, one very good innovation that the brand has done for its consumers is, it has installed the AeroMobile system in its A330 aircrafts, which actually allows passengers to make and receive phone calls and send texts from their own mobile phones.

“Our business is very much focussed on India as one of the fastest and most vibrant economies of the world and we are very excited about our future here,” says King. According to him, Delhi remains one of our most important routes with passengers travelling to the UK and the US. Since Virgin Atlantic has seen more passengers travelling to New York, it is planning to launch an additional flight from London to New York JFK specifically to connect to the Delhi-London flight.

Virgin Atlantic will be introducing its new A330 aircraft on the route, which boasts of the new Upper Class cabin and touch screen in-flight entertainment.

In October it is also going to launch its flights from Mumbai. According to Virgin Atlantic, it carried 32 per cent of all the economy passengers travelling to the US in this route, in the first half of 2012. King says that, Virgin is seeing that the passengers prefer its service via London over United Airlines’ direct flight. As per DGCA data, foreign carriers already enjoy 65 per cent market share in international traffic and hence, 27 per cent of total passenger traffic (domestic + international).

“Though the Delhi-London route is one of the most competitive routes, we have a strong market share and are proud that Indian passengers choose Virgin again and again. After us, Air India has the second biggest share,” shares King. n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

53

BOOK EXTRACTS

CMOSCAPE

Marketing Tree of the month The Story Rajeev Chopra

Managing Director & CEO

A Vivek Sharma

Chief Marketing Officer

Gaurav Dudeja

General Manager, Marketing Communications (Advertising, BTL)

Amit Tiwari

Director, Country Head Media

Consumer Lifestyle Gunjan Srivastava

Director Marketing, Lifestyle Entertainment

Aarushi Agarwal

Director Marketing, Personal Care and Health & Wellness

Genevieve Tearle

Director Marketing, Domestic Appliances and Coffee

January 2011

Kitchen appliances brand Preethi (formerly owned by Chennai based Maya Appliances), reportedly for over ` 350 crore

Account Reckoner Ogilvy & Mather India: Consumer Lifestyle; & Lighting

Senior Director, Marketing, Philips Lighting India

DDB Mudra: Health & Lifestyle

Healthcare Rekha Ranganathan

Senior Director, Strategy and Marketing, Healthcare

Recent Buzz

Recent Acquisitions

Creative

Lighting Sumit Joshi

54

subsidiary of the Netherlandsbased Royal Philips Electronics, Philips Electronics India, has been operating in India for over 75 years and employs over 4,500 employees around the country in the verticals of Healthcare, Lighting and Consumer Lifestyle

Media Carat

August 2012

August 2012

July 2012

Launched Philips Saeco coffee machines in India. The three Philips Saeco models - Manual Poemia, Intelia Focus, and Intelia One Touch Cappuccino – spearhead the company’s plan to develop the country’s Italian coffee machines category

Launched a new range of women styling products and appointed Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor as brand ambassador.

Launched BodyGroom, a men’s body grooming product, hoping to create a new category. The gadget helps men keep a neatly trimmed chest, back, shoulders, and more. John abraham is the brand ambassador for Philips’ men’s grooming category.

The four products take care of MultiStyling; Curls and Bounce; Straights and Shine; and Blow and Shine and are priced in the range of ` 1945 to ` 2995

The product is priced at ` 2,495

Pitch | August 2012

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Pitch August 2012

5

COLUMN ANNURAG BATRA

Kids Marketing: A Child’s Play?

To say that the maturity and wisdom of marketing dwindles when it comes to designing strategies for kids is only the half truth

I

n fact, the complexity of it quadruples when it comes to marketing for kids. It’s only fair to say that delving into a youngster’s psyche is no child’s play. There Annurag Batra Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, are so many nuances attached to Pitch Magazine kids marketing, that it is increasabatra@exchange4media.com ingly becoming the prerogative of @anuragbatrayo marketers to keep pace with the www.facebook.com/anuragbatrayo changing behaviors of kids which are brewing out of an exposure that is amplifying by the second. At the same time, marketers must recognise that even though adults might feel the Generation Gap stretching, kids are tightening it by constantly reflecting an awareness which is as good, if not worse, as an adult. The Flipkart ads are a perfect and literal translation of kids effortlessly mouthing adult conversations.

There are brands which kids grow up with. A classic Maggi meal that is gorged on or a glass of Rasna that is gulped down, are like bedtime stories told to kids. Therefore, the semblance with these brands starts young and trickles down into stages of evolution when these kids begin to age. At a young age, brands which are strong tend to become a generic for the category they comprise.

But, come to think of it, there are also brands, which are not targeted towards kids, but still manage to strap them and resonate equally amongst them. The iPad could very well qualify as a toy for a child who fiddles around with it as often

as the older sibling or the parent.

So, does the Micromax Funbook suffice for kids or should there be a different range for iPads altogether for kids who can fluently distinguish Apple as a brand?

Needless to say, pester power has been working its way for generations now. But, even the reverse holds true where parents stand guard for brands and absolutely need to be convinced and pleased before the actual engagement with the child begins. That’s why the artwork on the front of a Kellogg’s carton is as important as the detailing of its nutritional value at the back.

The question of ‘What Kids Want’ must be pondered over time and again because it is, in fact, a fragment of the larger question of ‘Do Kids Know What They Want’? Are trends in marketing for kids guided by their preferences or are preferences crafted so that the inherent unskeptical nature of a child is navigated with ease?

Having said that, how safe is to presume the degree the gullibility of a child? With trouble-free accessibility to the World Wide Web, a child is enabled to make an informed and researched purchase and ultimately procure the best in the market. And once a peer is seen flaunting the best perceived product, the child makes an instant note and orients himself for a potential purchase. The loop is never locked.

There are brands, which are not targeted at kids, but still manage to resonate equally amongst them. The iPad can qualify as a toy for a child who fiddles around with it as often as the parent 56

To quote from an AdAge article on “Where Kids Are“ by Brian Steinberg “Now that digital media has emerged from its infancy, reaching kids has gotten harder. About 48% of consumers between the ages of 8 and 12 spend two hours online every day, according to eMarketer, while 24% of teens between 13 and 17 spend more than 15 hours online each week. That doesn’t mean they aren’t watching TV, but it certainly signifies that there are ways to reach them that don’t necessarily involve buying the same old pipelines. “ As a target group, these kids are demanding, tricky and are capable of an instant Accept or Reject reaction. While marketing for kids therefore, marketers are frequently challenging extant notions which take little time, to become extinct.

And hovering above them are the repetitive concerns of sensitively handling ethical issues as far as content and advertising for kids is concerned.

We’re witnessing times when various definitions are undergoing a metamorphosis, when there are new norms in communication and when alternatives are slowly becoming the mainstream. Pertinent to ask, therefore, whether the multiple dimensions of marketing for kids can be tethered into a tight knot? And then, scratch the surface further, to examine the way in which kids are defined.

Parents have to also move away from using their kids behaviour as a mirror to the kids marketing puzzle.

“A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn’t act that way very often.”. 

Pitch | August 2012

Pitch | August 2012

7

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