Taking coke to the masses
By Kanika Mehrotra and Rashi Bisaria Debabrata Mukherjee, VP, Marketing and Commercial, Coca-Cola says Print has been a very strong medium for the brand, and it has made successful inroads into the Hindi-speaking belt of North India through its slice-of-life messaging delivered via targeted advertising When a brand starts reflecting life, it starts to connect with the masses. Coca Cola’s appeal is not restricted to the urban elite, but goes deeper into the heart of the country. It has made successful inroads into the Hindi-speaking belt of North India through its slice-of-life messaging delivered through targeted advertising. Print as a medium has helped solidify the brand’s identity and credibility in some of the remotest corners of the country. Whether it was the Aamir Khan starrer advertisement with the tagline ‘Thanda matlab Coca-Cola’ in 2003 or the set of posters connecting people from India and Pakistan with a Coca-Cola swirl, the brand has been able to make a connect with the masses through its targeted strategies. The ‘Thanda...’ campaign appealed most to the upper and lower middle classes from the small towns. Aamir in his various regional avatars was splashed across news dailies and hoardings. ‘Pervasive penetration’ was one of the strategies used by the brand to drive home the safety aspect of Coca-Cola when doubts about its ingredients had set in. The latest communication by Coca-Cola ‘Choti ho ya badi, har khushi mein Coca-Cola’ is another attempt to strike a chord with people in metros and small towns of India. The brand has signed on Deepika Padukone and Farhan Akhtar to refresh its image. “This campaign, is another step in our journey of taking Coca-Cola to where it really belongs – the masses, the people at large. The language is the everyday language we use, the emotions are the ones that all of us go through every day. The whole campaign has a very earthy feel and people from all over India can connect to it. So far, we have received a great response for the campaign,” explains Debabrata Mukherjee, VP, Marketing and Commercial, Coca-Cola. The changing consumption patterns with respect to the beverage industry have led Coca-Cola to seize the opportunity to connect with the masses in different ways. The company’s operations have expanded since its re-launch in 1993, but more than anything else, it is Coke’s eye-catching advertising that has made it one of the most preferred brands in this category. Connecting to the consumers through different media has made Coke’s popularity soar. Their portfolio of products is differentiated through unique brand positioning. Speaking about the rapid expansion of the beverage industry, Mukherjee says, “Over the last 20 years, the Indian beverage industry has greatly evolved. From a per capita consumption of three in 1993, the figure has grown to 45 in 2013.” But what has really worked in favour of Coca-Cola is its targeted communication, choice of medium and hence the strong connect with consumers. Print has been a very strong medium for the brand with its strong visual imagery reflecting the daily life of the common man. Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2014 has predicted that Print will remain the medium of choice for marketers. Commenting on the importance of this traditional medium, Mukherjee says, “We believe that Print is a powerful medium. At Coca-Cola, our focus has shifted from delivering one message to the world, to delivering targeted variations, to the current climate where we create conversations that work two ways. This new landscape is one of ‘liquid and linked’. Liquid because every piece of marketing has to spread out to the very furthest communication point and linked because it all has to relate back to the core message. As a model, we believe that content and messaging have to spread into four parts - Paid, Owned, Earned and Shared media. In our kind of model, we do not evaluate one avenue in competition with another.” The New Year 2014 began with an advertising blitzkrieg for brand Coke, as it kicked off one of its most expensive Print campaigns. There has been a surfeit of advertisements across national and regional dailies this year. The latest ad campaign by Coca-Cola has created the right buzz for the brand. Earlier, the campaign ‘Umeedon Wali Dhoop’ managed to spread sunshine across platforms. Talking about it and the interest it has been able to generate, Mukherjee says, “We ushered in the New Year with an integrated message of hope, optimism and happiness through the campaign ‘Umeedon Wali Dhoop’. We leveraged the Print medium as well to establish a holistic connect with the consumers and received an overwhelming response.” With its finger on the pulse of the masses and huge investments to back its innovative campaigns, Coca-Cola seems to be on the right growth path. THE EDGE
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