Unique Identity For Better Recall Value

<p>The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry is cluttered with multiple brands; no one has a monopoly in the market. The only way for a brand to grab a decent market share is through a distinguished identity. <em><strong>Hita Gupta</strong></em> in conversation with <em><strong>Nadia Chauhan</strong></em>, joint managing director and chief marketing officer of Parle Agro, explores the attributes of differentiation in marketing and how digital marketing is helping brands.<br><br><strong>What are your key marketing objectives for this financial year?</strong><br>This year is going to be about ensuring our brands have a distinguished identity and a marketing strategy that will make them stand out in the cluttered marketing landscape that we operate in. For instance, with the relaunch of Frooti, we have been able to give it a defined and distinguished identity in this cluttered market environment. We are also looking forward to exciting campaigns this financial year for Appy Fizz, one of our brands that has been growing rapidly over the last few years.<br><br><strong>What changes have you noticed in India’s FMCG sector as far as marketing is concerned?</strong><br>The marketing approach at large involves a lot more than what we could do before. There are more mediums in the market for brands to communicate with the consumer now. This is enabling innovation and more focused targeting in terms of who the brands want to talk to; this is a big aspect of marketing today compared to earlier when there was a huge spill over of marketing initiatives. Today, marketing is more focused and there are so many mediums that are evolving quite dramatically beyond just television and that is opening up the industry for more innovation and creative marketing altogether.<br><br><strong>How are you looking at digital marketing in the FMCG space? How does the platform help FMCG?</strong><br>Today, digital media is a very important part of marketing for any brand catering specifically to the youth as the target group is spending more time on digital compared to television. So digital is very important to us as a company and to our individual brands. In digital, we are looking at more engagement and unique opportunities. We are also looking at content creation and a lot of user generated content as well. This ensures engagement and many interesting conversations for the brand online.<br><br>Today, almost 30 per cent of the marketing spend is going to digital, while television continues to have a large chunk. We don’t do a lot in print, but invest in outdoor, which gets 10-15 per cent of the total ad spends.<br><br><strong>What are the challenges facing the Indian marketing industry with regard to the digital space?</strong><br>We work with an international advertising agency for our campaigns. And there is a huge difference in their approach to advertising. Many international advertising agencies are tuned into thinking for digital-first and if there is a campaign idea which cannot expend itself on digital, we do not take it forward.<br><br>Unlike just rolling out a television commercial, in digital, we have to spend a lot more time on developing an engagement strategy. For our campaign on Frooti, we engaged with a well known comedian who became the face of the brand online. That got us a lot of traction.<br><br><strong>What has been the impact of e-commerce on the FMCG industry?</strong><br>For a product that is widely distributed and easily accessible, the e-commerce industry does not bear an impact. So, brands that are spending a lot on distribution have not been impacted by the rise in e-commerce activity. But from a bulk purchase point of view or occasional or event purchases, e-commerce plays a role. And as a matter of hygiene, we have to ensure that our products are placed across all portals.<br><br>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 24-08-2015)</p>