By Saloni Dutta
Jayant K Singh, EVP-Marketing, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited, India talks about screen neutral marketing, innovations and activations run by the brand to target both premium and mass segments of consumers, while driving growth in the North and West markets and targeting overall growth in the healthcare category
Q] Chocolate Horlicks tied up with Fox Studios for Amol Gupte’s film Hawaa Hawaai. How did this in-film integration work?
Films in India play an important role, not just for entertainment but also in shaping the society and its beliefs. Hawaa Hawaai talks about the journey of a child who despite financial and family issues is able to achieve his dreams. Hence, Horlicks is a strong brand fit in terms of helping people and children grow and realize their dreams. We were keen to associate in terms of extending our brand presence in the North and West. For the film’s directors and producers, this was a great fit, because Horlicks is an iconic brand. We wanted strong in-story integration and not just a brand placement and that is what we were able to achieve.
Q] What are the marketing initiatives that you have undertaken at GSK?
Recently, we had a ‘wake up to tooth sensitivity’ campaign on Sensodyne, where dentists across the country pledged with us to help take care of the dental sensitivity issue. On women’s Horlicks we are doing a campaign around bone mineral density where women can get their bone mineral density checked and a nutritionist guides them on taking care of their bones. One of our most successful programmes has been on Horlicks Kesar Badaam, which we launched earlier this year. We created a game in the digital world with the Chote Sultan character and then made the game come alive in the real world, in malls, schools and residential areas. We also did an innovation with Amazon where children play this game, but after a certain level they need to buy Horlicks Kesar Badam online and punch a code from the pack. A number of such innovations on digital, in store, consumer activation, real world, are planned for consumers to have a seamless experience.
Q] How did you go about planning and executing the recent digital innovation with Mindshare, and what else are you doing in the medium?
Digital is a journey that we began, and we are increasing our investments in it, while seeking the most innovative way to use this medium. The proposition behind new chocolate Horlicks is that it’s instant and mixes very quickly, and what better ways to demonstrate that, than to say in the time you take to skip this YouTube ad, new chocolate Horlicks would mix in milk? Every brand and marketing initiative of ours has a relevant digital leg. For example, for Iodex Ultragel, we got Saina Nehwal on board, and worked with her Facebook and Twitter account, her followers to leverage the ‘relief from pain’ equity. On Crocin Cold and Flu, we have worked with Vishwanathan Anand during the chess tournament in Chennai. On Boost we have the Boost anthem, Sachin’s 100 century celebrations. On Junior Horlicks, we had ‘Moms know best’ where we provide a peer group opportunity to mothers.
Q] What does your marketing mix look like? Which medium utilizes a major chunk of your advertising and marketing spends?
We are in the consumer business of convincing mothers who are our core consumers, as well as adults to use brands like Eno, Iodex and Sensodyne, to take care of their problems. Every product in our portfolio is geared towards helping consumers do more, feel better, and live longer. Our portfolio is backed by science in terms of delivering real consumer benefits. Hence, we try to reach consumers wherever they are and use a variety of media available, to convince them, and help understand the problem. We use both traditional marketing as well as things like in-film integration, digital, consumer activations like chill test, games, etc. Over a period of time, we are reducing our reliance on traditional media, like TV screens, and going more into screen neutral planning. So, whether it is a computer screen or a TV screen, or a cinema screen, it should not matter as long as we can reach our consumers, in a cost efficient and effective manner. Like all other organizations, we are getting increasingly focused and spending more money on digital. And lastly, we are increasing focus on shopper and consumer activations because the journey from the in-home TV, computer, mobiles, to in-store and making sure that they make right decisions in-store is also extremely important.
Q] How do you increase consumer engagement in smaller markets?
In rural markets, we run a long term programme known as Horlicks Mission Health, where we work in close partnership with rural medical practitioners and the village community to make a sustainable difference. We provide education to children and women on how they should take care of their nutrition and the role hygiene plays in their world. Similarly, we have this whole cause-related marketing called Horlicks Ahaar Abhiyaan, in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, for two months in a year, where we invite consumer participation to solve the problem of malnutrition. We have a strong focus on our low unit packs and sachets to drive penetration. There are a number of such programmes to leverage our brand strength and reach more consumers.
Q] What is the brand’s current marketshare in India? Which is the biggest brand in your portfolio?
We are leading in the nutrition market and are almost 4.5 times our closest competitor. In Eno’s category, we are No. 1 by far and have gained about 5 to 6 share points in the space of a year. Crocin and Sensodyne too are at No.1 in their categories. We are extremely proud that across our portfolio, we have No. 1 or No. 2 position in the categories in which we operate. The biggest jewel brand in our portfolio is Horlicks - it is present across a number of extensions of flavour and life stage, serving different needs. Then we have Boost, a rapidly growing big brand in the South. Across GSK globally, we are the No. 1 market for Eno.
Q] Which markets have been contributing greatly to the growth of the brand?
While South and East remain our largest markets by far, growing well, we are increasingly driving more and more growth from North and West markets as well in line with our overall vision to build pan India strength.
Q] What is the thought behind launching more premium products for urban consumers?
The growth of FMCG in India comes from two places. One is the premium end, with a lot of tailor-made and customized offerings. As the economy develops and spending power increases, the market starts to segment into more specific approaches. Equally strong growth comes from the mass end as well, as a lot of our rural consumers still use unbranded stuff. They start moving into more brand usage with higher brand awareness. So our efforts in terms of driving growth are directed both towards the premium end as well as the mass end. We are launching products like Sensodyne repair and protect, Iodex Ultragel for our higher end premium consumers.
Q] What are your predictions for the market in the coming year?
The company believes that there is a huge opportunity to grow in the healthcare market from a long term perspective, both from the point of view of percentage spend on healthcare as well as general awareness and penetration of some of the healthcare categories, which still remains low. As people become more aware and the economy progresses, healthcare as a category is very strategically poised to grow. From an overall market perspective, it is less exposed to some of the economy worries, because if you have got a headache, you will treat a headache, no matter whether the economy is slowing down or not.
Q] What are the opportunities and plans for the coming year for GSK?
Our growth is driven on sharp understanding of consumers; we will keep bringing innovation to the marketplace, both in terms of new products, new formats as well as marketing innovations.
ABOUT THE BRAND
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline plc. of UK, a global science-based healthcare company. It is the largest player in the health food drinks industry, with manufacturing plants in Nabha, Rajahmundry and Sonepat and a total workforce of about 3475. It has a marketing and distribution network in India comprising over 700 distributors and direct coverage of over 8 lakh retail outlets. Its flagship product, Horlicks, is a widely regarded and respected brand for 150 years. Its products include Boost, Viva, Maltova, Eno, Crocin, Iodex as well as products from the global portfolio like Sensodyne.
CMO FILE
Jayant Kumar Singh is the Executive Vice President, Marketing of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited, based at Gurgaon. He is an MBA from IIM, Lucknow and has over 19 years of experience in marketing and business leadership. He has worked with P&G, Mars (Europe), Gillette & GSK. He then moved into general management as the CEO of Henkel India. Singh re-joined GSK in 2011 and has been a key member of the Indian management team.
MARKETING TIP
Stay close to consumers. Be truthful, with increasing freedom that consumers are enjoying around expressing their opinions, a brand, a product… a marketer who is not truthful to the consumer will do more damage
FACTS
CREATIVE AGENCY:
JWT INDIA FOR HORLICKS AND BOOST
LEO BURNETT FOR IODEX
GREY FOR SENSODYNE AND CROCIN
OGILVY FOR ENO
MEDIA AGENCY: MINDSHARE
SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY:
PHD FOR HORLICKS (BEVERAGES)
MEDIA2WIN FOR BOOST AND HORLICKS FOODS
WUNDERMAN FOR ORAL HEALTHCARE AND WELLNESS
BTL/ACTIVATION AGENCY: WORK ON PROJECT BASIS WITH DIFFERENT AGENCIES
PR AGENCY: GENESIS BURSON-MARSTELLER
Feedback: saloni.dutta@exchange4media.com
