Nivea’s latest #BanBodyOdor campaign for its body deodorizers is a welcome change from the usual ads that the segment has to offer. Sunil Gadgil, Marketing Director, Nivea India talks to us about the campaign and about the challenges that Nivea had to face in the Indian market, being a late entrant
Q] With the ‘Ban Body Odor’ campaign, Nivea has come up with an ad that is very different from what competitors come up with. Can you tell us something about your latest campaign and what was the thought behind it?
The ‘Ban Body Odor’ campaign involves our body deodorizers. Through various consumer researches, we have understood that body odour is a big issue in our kind of tropical weather. While a lot of people face body odourrelated issues, very few actually want to talk about it. So, we wanted to bring the problem out of the closet, in a sense, and we needed to do it in a way that would not make consumers defensive. That was the primary thought behind the campaign.
Q] How did the idea of bringing back bear hugs for the campaign come about?
The idea behind the campaign was to make body odour a topical point so that consumers could relate to the problem. We wanted to try and make consumers say, ‘Yes, it is meant for me’. In the ad, the problem has been treated more as an enabler by talking about things that one can’t do when he or she has body odour which is turned around by saying that the way you greet people is decided by your confidence, and hence bear hugs mean no body odour. It was an interesting twist that came from our digital agency which worked on this brief.
Q] How has the presence of brand ambassadors like Arjun Rampal and Anushka Sharma helped Nivea become more visible?
We have been associated with Arjun on our men’s portfolio for more than two years now. The partnership has worked very well. He represents the values that Nivea wants to own, which is about being self-made, honest, straightforward, and a family person. And we hope that the partnership continues to build as it has in the past. With Anushka, our association is over four years old. Like Arjun, Anushka very strong way. And both, Anushka and Nivea have grown from strength to strength with the association. We believe it’s a win-win association for both the parties and we want to keep it like that.
Q] When it comes to the men’s grooming category in India, the biggest market-share belongs to deodorants. How have your other products been faring? And have Indian men really opened up to the idea of men’s grooming products?
Yes, Indian men have woken up to the responsibility of taking care of themselves. And they are not really shying away from using such products or using them within the four walls of their homes. It is very important for a man to be well-groomed because today, the insight of the young generation is, ‘My face is like my business card’. It opens a lot of doors without saying it. Men have finally realized that it is crucial to take care of themselves, especially their faces. Lately, a lot of grooming products are being adopted. Men are buying these products for themselves against the historical trend of them trying to pinch products from their wives, sisters and mothers. It is a big change, and we are happy about it.
Q] What is Nivea doing in the digital space to connect with customers?
Nivea is increasingly using the digital medium as a way of engaging with consumers. We are doing so to try and communicate with consumers in a set-up that they are comfortable with, while giving them a platform to voice their opinions. Digital is much closer to a consumer’s life, unlike TV, which is like a top-down medium where only the brand talks and the consumer listens. That’s the role that the digital medium is playing – making the brand more alive, more connectable and more in-tune with the consumer’s life.
Q] Brands are slowly moving towards digital by spending more on the digital platform. What is Nivea doing?
The consumer has already moved on to digital. While the consumer is still on TV, they are more and more on digital. Today, the consumer’s life is almost being driven by digital. So, as a brand, we have to take the lead and be present wherever the consumer wants to be.
Q] What are the categories that drive the business for Nivea? What are the categories where the company will be focusing on for growth?
Nivea has been a late entrant in the market in India. So, we have focused our attention on specific categories like body lotions, all-purpose creams, men’s portfolio and lip care, other than deodorants which is where we play in a big way.
Q] What do you think is the USP of Nivea? And, what differentiates you from your competition?
Nivea has a well-defined brand equity. It stands for making caring products. It stands for a brand which makes you comfortable in your own skin and that is something that sets us apart from a lot of other brands that are trying to tell the consumer that he or she can be more beautiful or better looking, not what they are naturally. Nivea doesn’t really believe in that philosophy. We are of the belief that when you feel good inside, you look good outside.
Q] Does you marketing strategy change from region to region? Do you approach Tier II and Tier III markets differently?
Currently, we are still in a scaling-up process. We are still making the transition from being a big city brand to an urban brand. So we basically segment our portfolio more by mindset of consumers rather than by geographies.
Q] Nivea made a late entry into the Indian market. What were the challenges that the brand had to face then? What are the challenges now?
The challenges of being a late entrant in a competitive and diverse market like India are obvious - you have a head-start for competition, the supply chain, distribution, the branding, all the levers of the FMCG business have been built very strongly by others. And then, the late-comer has to come and give the consumers a reason to choose the new brand instead of the others that are already available. That has been the challenge. However, we are a typical challenger brand when you see it in the Indian context. Getting more and more consumers to choose Nivea by dropping the other brands that they have been using for years has been our business task.
Q] Which medium utilizes a major chunk of your advertising and marketing spends?
We are following the consumer. The consumer is consuming TV. That’s still the lead medium, and digital is being adopted very aggressively today. So that has become our secondary medium now. We also use print, but only for specific tasks.
Q] What are the fundamental principles of your marketing strategy?
The principles of the marketing strategies have been very clear and simple. We are a challenger brand, so we need to really define for ourselves who are we talking to and how are we going to serve that set of consumers better than our competitors. So for us it’s really a one line definition of ‘less is more.’
Q] What role does innovation play in making the brand stronger?
Clearly coming from a position of being the challenger, we as a brand have to lead through innovations to give a very strong reason for the consumer to choose us instead of so many other brands. And that goes well with the DNA of our mother company Beiersdorf which is a 100-yearold company, and has always been the innovator in the market.
By SAMARPITA BANERJEE
