Brands seek a classical connect with consumers 

Why has Czech automaker Skoda veered onto a musical route? Last month, it launched a virtual Carnatic music talent scouting platform called Deccan Beats. The brand has invited entries in four languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada) and roped in musicians such as Andrea Jeremiah (Tamil), Geetha Madhuri (Telegu), Sithara Krishnakumar (Malayalam) and Raghu Dixit (Kannada) to mentor the talent.

Skoda has co-travellers. Last month, FMCG major CavinKare flagged off a musical initiative too. It unveiled a YouTube channel — Meera Music — to rev up its 30-year-old haircare brand Meera. Launched by Carnatic music duo Ranjani – Gayatri, the channel is a musical celebration of top-shelf talent.

Of course, brands have always had a symbiotic association with music and musicians. But the refrain has been mostly pop. Suddenly, they seem to be doing jugalbandi with classical music — especially Carnatic. What’s with the new pitch?

A rich medley

As a result of prolonged pandemic living, classical music has exploded across a medley of formats on social media and become accessible to more people. The core audience is evolving, and according to Raja Varatharaju, Business Head, Personal Care, CavinKare, “A lot of younger consumers are developing a propensity towards this genre, contrary to popular belief.”

Varatharaju explains that the Meera Music initiative is an extension of the brand thought — the goodness of tradition. Classical music, with its cultural richness, fits in perfectly with this thought. “Taking the goodness of tradition to them (consumers) is one of our key motives. We want to be a small part of the larger, ongoing musical movement in the digital space,” he adds.

If it takes off, this will be proof of concept for the brand to scale up, expand the scope of the campaign, and turn language-agnostic, says Varatharaju.

Deeper connect

An interesting point made by Varatharaju is that the engagement with classical music is deeper than merely sponsoring a show or putting out a digital ad. “With an ad, if you swipe right or left, up or down, you are done with it. But this sort of offerings and curated experiences will emotionally wallop audiences,” he says.

Certainly, classical music leads to deeper connections with its concert-style content with a longer shelf life in the virtual world compared to pop songs that work in 15-second bursts in Reels and Shorts.

For Skoda Auto India, classical music ties well with its 125-year-old legacy. “It has storied heritage and is embedded in culture, and that’s what we stand for. There is a sub-conscious appeal,” says Tarun Jha, a trained Hindustani musician himself, and the Head of Marketing at Skoda India.

The brand is banking on Deccan Beats to strike a chord with South Indian audiences and expand to tier-2 and tier-3 towns. “In a South Indian household, from morning suprabhatam till you hit the bed, classical music is all around, like a breezy presence. It is a polite and subtle way to be a part of their day-to-day without imposing yourself,” adds Jha.

Wooing the south

Another reason for brands to invest in Carnatic classical music, explains digital marketing expert Shubho Sengupta, is that the North-South divide in advertising is subtle, but it exists. Lately, brands are taking the cultural route to bridge the south. “Carnatic music is community-driven, family-based, and a gateway to understanding the culture. Generations of family listen to an artiste and it is passed on,” says Sengupta.

Also, an additional reason for the high action in the classical music space, surmises Sengupta, is that it has a certain aspirational quality to it, and for expensive cars and products moving up the value chain, it provides an opportunity to connect with a crème de la crème audience — the classical music aficionados that go to paid shows, both digital and live concerts.

The content imperative

Post pandemic, digital stands centre stage for brands to engage with their target groups, and content has become an important part of the marketing mix. With classical music moving online when the pandemic brought the curtain down on sabhas, brands spotted an opportunity.

Take Chennai-based MGM Healthcare, which was one of the first to leverage the online sabhas. The musical property Margazhi@MGM kicked off in 2020.

The two-day hybrid musical show by MGM featured pianist Anil Srinivasan, vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan, and vocalist duo Ranjani-Gayatri — incidentally the artists’ only live performance that year – and raked in over 50,000 views from across the world.

Now, as the pandemic is waning, the company continues to scale up its branded music initiatives with the idea that music heals. “Music therapy works and is used at our hospitals. All these initiatives are an endeavour to establish MGM Healthcare as a destination where people don’t just come when they are sick, but to bring about holistic well-being, in mind, body and spirit. We wanted to change the stereotypical idea of healthcare branding and engagement and tap into something new,” says Prashanth Rajagopalan, Director, MGM Healthcare.

This Margazhi season, the brand collaborated with vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan on four live shows.

On whether these brands are hitting the right notes, Sengupta says music needs to fit that groove for it to work, and the connection has to be meaningful. “If you force that connection, people can see through it. You may get some attention for a brief period of time, but it won’t last. You can get your strategy worked out, mathematics worked out, but the emotional aspect has to be authentic,” he concludes.

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