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Jagdeep Kapoor

The friendship theme is something that brands such as Airtel and Horlicks have exploited well. More product categories can follow them.

FRIENDS play an important role both at the individual level and at the group level. Friendship signals joy, togetherness, sharing and also a certain sense of vibrancy. Marketers are using this slice of life in an interesting fashion to increase the brand image and salience for the benefit of both consumers and marketers themselves. The `Brand Friends' strategy helps you get a friendly brand thereby increasing awareness, trials, repeats, sales growth, market share and profit.

The Airtel campaign, recently, has leveraged various locations and occasions of friendship to announce the launch of an initiative called `Friendz.' With interesting use of humour, the campaign beckons and invites groups of friends to participate in its new offering. Whether it is a programme for a movie to be communicated or pestering a friend for a birthday treat or expressing affection for one another, each of these friendly moments are brought out well in a modern format which has an impression of being young, trendy and contemporary. In the case of Horlicks, children participate in the brand offering as a cluster of pals not only enjoying and relishing the brand in its various forms, but also understanding that the brand has `do good' properties for their health and nutrition. The brand context in a friendly manner makes it come alive and raises the brand's perception positively to the relevant audience. When peers consume the brand, the acceptance level goes up, helping the brand achieve a soft, near-and-dear personality, leading to a positive impact on its fortunes. Here too, the platform of friendship has been brought out tastefully.

Similar is the case with the Lays Chaat Street commercial. The sheer joy of having the brand and enjoying it with friends makes the brand very desirable and something to have during friendly jaunts or outings. The tangibles of the taste and the ingredients get peppered and sprinkled with the intangibles of wholesome friendship and appetising affinity.

In all three cases, `brand friends' as a concept is used to effectively communicate the brands' benefits and their wide acceptance. The friendly atmosphere makes the brand come across as a young pal with whom we could enjoy life and have the best of times.

Friends are always considered positive, enthusiastic, caring and sharing beings. By using `Brand Friends' as a theme, a number of Indian brands have been able to enter the hearts and minds of Indian consumers and get the brand close to the consumers.

This recent trend has been well digested by Indians and also reflects well in Bollywood films like Dil Chahta Hai or Kal Ho Na Ho. This also reflects the profile of the Indian population, which is predominated by the young and the most likely to indulge deeply in friendship.

Brands which want to appeal to the Indian consumer and increase the width, depth and frequency of consumption,, must definitely consider the option of targeting a friend's circle. Barista and some Indian shoe brands have leveraged indoor and outdoor friendship and surroundings.

There are many categories which can easily be amenable to using the friendship theme. They could be brands for school children like Navneet or Acron Rangeela, beverages such as Frooti, confectioneries like Perfetti or products such as jeans or T-shirts.

Build your brand in a friendly manner. Brand Friends!

(The author is the Managing Director of Samsika Marketing Consultancy.)

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