The Hindu Business Line : Going digital to sharpen focus

Digital marketing is the future: Vikram Grover, Category Head, Beverages, Hindustan Unilever (right); Bernett Orlando, current world champion in solving 555 professor cubes blindfolded; and Bollywood actor, Rahul Bose, at a press conference to announce the Lipton Stay Sharp online jigsaw challenge in Mumbai.

Lipton has kicked off a digital marketing platform called ‘Stay Sharp’. What’s this all about? Is this a new trend altogether?

- Raman P. Durai, Tiruchi

Raman, not entirely new. Digital marketing has been around for a while. This is yet another ‘avatar’ at play. In the repertoire of brands that relate to young people and the young at heart, candies and chocolate are right on top. Just below this is the softdrink category of bottled, coloured, carbonated, sugared and fizzy drinks. And just below this lies every other drink, hot and cold. Lipton tea is one such, as is every other tea.

These are edgy-buzzy categories. These brands bank on a large chunk of their volumes coming from young people. The demographic challenge of India is unique as 54 per cent of the population is below the age of 25 and 72 per cent is below the age of 35. In this demographic block, digital marketing needs to figure as a dominant part of the marketing mix. Digital marketing is non-intrusive, low-cost, and can afford to be edgier and buzzier than mass advertising through press, television and radio, which need to consider the sensibilities of the common man on the street.

Digital marketing is therefore something every brand plans for. ‘Lipton’ has followed Tata Tea in this case with its ‘Jaago Re’ campaign which has a dominant digital marketing footprint as well, but I do believe that is completely accidental. Both ‘Jaago Re’ and ‘Stay Sharp’ are great pieces in the jigsaw of the digital marketing format being set up by companies that market to young people. Watch out for more to come, Raman.

Is price the crucial cutting-edge differentiator for the MNC fast food player in India?

- S. S. Singh, New Delhi

Singh-saab, most certainly, yes! Price is of very key importance in driving footfalls within MNC fast-food retail chains today.

Fast food chains in India have been through the price grind for long. These are retail warriors who have understood the Indian consumer’s psyche on price, affordability and value-for-money. The ‘paisa vasool’ syndrome of the Indian at large, young and old alike, has been understood well by fast food players. This has resulted in very unique Indian offerings. Be it burgers or softies. The quantum doled out has been adjusted, cost has been adjusted to the lowest common denominator need and the offering has been publicised well. This has resulted in the price of Indian fast food being a point of distinction. During a slowdown, low-cost options tend to do very well. This is the survival and domination mantra of the fast food chain in India.

This is common to the corner samosa-wallah who sells his samosa at Rs 3 a piece, the vada paav guy who doles it out still at Rs 2.50 on a Mumbai street (price of spicy pickled green chilli included) and the cutting-chai wallah who still sells his tea at Rs 2 per serving. Price has been a breakthrough point. Price is a game-changer. In short, price has been the point of everything!

During a slowdown the last category to be hit is basic food and beverages. Fast food in India, due to the nature of its clever pricing, is ‘basic’ food. This category gets hits the last! Takeaway foods cost cheaper as well.

Is a teenager important to marketing decision making?

- Rohit Shetty, Mumbai

Rohit, the teenager is a very important decision-maker in buys, sells and marketing participation at large. There is plenty of scope in building brands through the route of the teenager.

There is a need to build equity for brands through the route of the teenager. It is wrong to assume that teenagers impact only the category of the soap and toothpaste. They impact white goods solidly as well. If you do an impact value study in terms of value of revenue impacted upon by youngsters, the white goods category occupies depth. In the case of auto, this impact is deeper still.

Teenagers are very solid decision support systems. Older people in the family tend to look at them as knowledgeable participants. Peer-to-peer teenager talk and participation in virtual forums such as Facebook and Twitter is considered helpful as well in such decision-making today.

When you go to recruit at a management institute, what do you look for as basic traits in a fresher? What does one hone?

- Shyla Ganguly, Mumbai

Shyla, in a fresher the three most important traits one looks for are as follows. In order of my priority:

Integrity: The ability to be and stay honest. The ability to distinguish right from wrong. Straight logic vs convoluted logic.

Ability to work hard: One peeks behind the masks young people wear. Is she or he really capable of hard work? Is this a youngster from the ‘scratch-card’ generation where everything is wanted on a platter in a jiffy? Or is this a person who is willing to put in hard work to achieve results for himself and the company he works for?

Hunger: The hunger to want to achieve. What are the motivations to achieve? Does she/he come from a cocooned background, where the hunger to achieve is not hot? Or is she/he from a background where hunger to achieve thrives in the familial background?

The politician is a brand at large. Does s/he normally stick to one positioning or does s/he keep wanting to change? After all the politician is a chameleon!

- Shiny K., Thiruvananthapuram

Shiny, I cannot use such colourful insect words for people I do work for. You can.

By and large, I do recommend consistency. The brand is a thought. A thought that lives in a person’s mind. The politician and his credibility along with the credibility of the party that fields him is important. Consistency is a big peg here.

Most politicians find it difficult to maintain consistency. We, however, do insist. We are very professional in what we say and we stick by our guns. The hard-core politician who is used to people who work for him bend a lot, finds it difficult to understand.

People brands need to stay consistent in their appeal and brand-throw. I encourage that all the time. A brand can meander a wee bit, possibly 5 per cent this way and that, but not more. Consistency is it!

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