Ashok Namboodiri, Business Director, JK Helene Curtis, India talks about the revamping of the deodorant division, signing up Farhan Akhtar for the brand and the future of the male grooming category in India
By Saloni Dutta
JK Helene Curtis Ltd (JKHC) is revamping the look and feel of the Park Avenue deodorant division. Sharing interesting insights on the industry and consumption patterns, Ashok Namboodiri, Business Director, JK Helene Curtis says, “The deodorant category is about Rs 2,200 crore in terms of size and within it male deodorants is about Rs 1,800 crore. In the last three to four years, there has been intense competition with a lot of new players entering the market. If you look at the tonality of what everybody is saying in terms of deodorants, it is pretty much the same message that brands are conveying to consumers. That is where we believe this rebranding of Park Avenue will make a difference. The strength of the brand is tremendous, we have a huge legacy. To take this forward, we are doing two things –one, improving the connect with younger consumers and this is where for the first time, we are looking to bring in a celebrity to endorse the brand and two, complete overhaul of the marketing mix, which means we have a new packaging, a new product formulation, and the communication that we are going to market with is taking an altogether different language. So we are breaking away from the typical deodorant communication which is all about the bedroom, the night, black shirts etc...”
Discussing the campaign, Namboodiri says, “The insights that we got was there is a lot of customer fatigue in what the category is saying. People are looking at appreciation in a very different manner, to be not just attractive but also more confident and therefore more productive, whether it is in a work situation or amongst friends in a peer group and the need to be recognized as somebody who is thinking differently is actually a very powerful insight that we got.” The campaign will be using TV, Print and Digital as the media mix, he informs.
In order to engage its customers and make it appealing for the discerning consumers, for the first time Farhan Akhtar has been signed on as the brand ambassador. “People today do not believe in a single track career and are vying to break out and do the impossible. There is a good match between Park Avenue and Farhan because he started out as an actor, but today he is an actor, director, singer, is compering TV shows, doing travelogues and many other things. So Farhan is the perfect person to endorse our brand and talk to our audience,” explains Namboodiri on the connect between the brand and the celebrity.
The re-launch marks a shift in the general landscape of the deodorant segment and the male grooming category in India. Explaining the shift in the environment, Namboodiri says, “Men are finally stepping out of the closet and saying that they want products which are designed for them. The three insights that stand out when it comes to men are that – one, they just don’t have the time to use complex products and that applies to deodorants as well. Second is anti-ageing and prevention. So, ageing is something that people are concerned about and the need to look good and stay young is something which is critical even to men. The third insight is that men tend to look for an all-in-one solution for multiple problems. So if you combine all the three insights, what men are saying is that they need one product before they step out and that is going to be the next phase of the deodorant category as well.
I strongly believe that there is going to be consolidation. So for us, we are going to talk about more the fundamental reasons to use a deodorant rather than just a cosmetic reason and that is going to be an exciting phase for the category,” Namboodiri concludes.
