branded monks_quinon proficit defici

8/8/2019 Branded Monks_Quinon Proficit Defici

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Brand Ambassadors

reviving the brands at

the time of recession

Team: Branded Monks

College: NMIMS

Team Members:

Binit Kumar Kartikey Sharma

+91 9867764657 +91 9833220538

[email protected] [email protected]

Vikas Soni

+91 9920782879

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Signing up stars for endorsements is a time-tested strategy and has been effectively used by

some of the top brands in the world including Nike and Pepsi. In India too, HLL has used

Hindi film stars to endorse their beauty soap Lux since the fifties. Vimal, Thums Up, Gwalior

and Dinesh are some of the other brands that used star-appeal in the early days of mass

advertising. And who can forget Kapil Palmolive Dev?

Ask about the objective of using a celebrity in an ad and most admen will talk about making

an impact on the bottom line. They believe that star endorsements have several benefits, key

among them being building credibility, fostering trust and drawing attention any or all of

which can translate into higher brand sales. In an extremely cluttered world of advertising

brand ambassadors help brands break the clutter. So when there are thousand mint brands

running their ads, association with Salman Khan helps Chloromint stand out and be noted.

Also there is a flow of values from celebrity to the brand. When Amitabh Bachchan promotes

Parker, trust and credibility of Amitabh rubs on to the Parker brand as well.

Recession with it has brought a reality check for the advertisers. The benefits that Brand

Ambassadors bring to any brand are not cheap. So companies in the slow down across the

board are feeling the pinch and the major corrective measure is cost cutting. As in any

economic downturn, advertising takes a big hit when costs are cut. Several companies are

demanding more accountability from their ad agencies and marketing departments. Gone are

the days of I know half of my ad spending is wasted but not sure which half. Companies

now want laser like precision in their advertising. As a result celebrity advertising has come

under pressure. With big celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, Amitah Bachchan, Sachin

Tendulkar costing companies crores, advertisers are now looking to use celebrities more

cautiously. Also with celebrities like Shahrukh, Amitabh endorsing almost 30 brands, the

whole idea of celebrities breaking the clutter has come under a question mark.

Does this then mean death of the brand ambassadors? If success of some of the ad campaigns

during this recession is any indication, answer is a profound no. As Mohammed Khan,

Chairman of Enterprise Nexus puts it, Using a celebrity by itself is not a bad idea provided it

is done intelligently.


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Idea whose time has come

Idea needed to have a strong communication plank. In its initial days, the brand did falter

with its various propositions as most of its communication looked high on imagery and lowon promise and offering. This made the brand re-think its strategy and it went in for the

different-strokes-for-different folks strategy to clearly communicate to its core users. Ideas

real stroke of luck came during the past two years after it signed Abhishek Bachchan as its

brand ambassador and used various socially relevant, progressive and disruptive ideas

weaved around mobility to connect to its core TG in non-metro circles. And today Idea not

only sailed through rough weathers of recession but made inroads in the market share of the

existing players.

Frito Lays: Chala change ka chakkar

Since snacking is mostly a hunger-driven impulse decision, staying fresh in the consumer

mind is very important. To maintain top of the mind recall among its customers the brand has

undertaken several unique communication initiatives for example, was called "Chala Change

ka Chakkar," which is an umbrella campaign for Frito Lay Indias entire product portfolio(Lays, Kurkure, Cheetos, Uncle Chips, and Lehar). This promotion had allowed chosen

consumers to live a day in the life of an Indian Bollywood celebrity (who are the brand

endorsers) like Juhi Chawla or Saif Ali Khan. The idea did the magic in generating

excitement around the brand and made it stand out in the clutter of existing brands at the time

of recession.

Bajaj Allianz: Life after super agent

Bajaj Allianze for last few years have used their mascot Bajaj Allianze Super Agent for its

advertising. Customer could discuss and clear doubts with the mascot. Now the company has

signed Olympic Bronze medallist Vijender Singh as its brand ambassador. When we signed

on Vijender, we did so with a view to talk to a younger target group (TG) in the age range of

28-33 years, says Akshay Mehrotra, head, marketing, Bajaj Allianz Life. Our products

have been adapted to suit the younger generation. The new campaign not only helps Bajaj

Allianze to stand out among the slew of Insurance companies but also sends the message loud


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and clear. When someone takes out a life insurance policy, the idea is to protect and defend

oneself against unseen harm. Therefore, when an accomplished boxer, who can knock the

living daylights out of his opponent, tells you to buy insurance, it's in line with the brand

identity.

Ministry of tourism: Atithi Devo Bhav

With recession looming large coupled with terrorist attack on India made a huge impact in

terms of foreign travelers coming to India for business or pleasure. To tackle the situation, the

Ministry of Tourism had roped in Aamir as the brand Ambassador for its brand campaign

'Atithi Devo Bhava' (guest is akin to god) to showcase the country's rich heritage and culture.The kind of personality which Aamir has did a favor to the Incredible India initiative and this

has increased the confidence of tourists which was reflected with the improved number in the

tourists this fiscal.

Zoozoos: Not just mascots

A brand ambassador may not always be a celebrity or for that matter it need not be human. It

could be a symbol or a mascot which symbolizes the values of a brand. The advantage of a

mascot over celebrity endorsement is that it is cost-effective. Also a celebrity endorses

multiple products, creating confusion in the minds of the consumers, unlike the mascot that is

unique to each brand. Not only do the mascots create instant recognition for the brand, it also

helps advertisers cut through the clutter. In a diverse market like India where mass brands

have not less than 16 language translations for their ads, mascots are a very powerful means

to create a stronger connect with the consumers. It appeals not only to the educated mass, buteven an illiterate consumer, who instantly identifies the brand with help of the mascot.

In 2008, Vodafone had unveiled the Happy to Help series during the first season of the

Indian Premier League (IPL). With the launch of the second season, Vodafone has given birth

to the Zoozoo: a special character created specifically to convey a value added service (VAS)

offering in each of the newly released commercials. The popularity of zoozoos, the white,

ghost-like creatures promoting Vodafones value-added services, are indicative of the fact

that mascots are definitely here to stay.


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Not one but range of ambassadors

Another new phenomenon this recession has been using multiple brand ambassadors. Harish

Bijoor, brand-strategy specialist and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, believes, Celebs withuniversal appeal are no longer available and the Shah Rukhs and Amitabhs, by endorsing 30-

odd brands at the same time, have led to a disappearance of the single-star-to-single-brand

concept. If one of them were to leave the brand, it will still have some faces on board.

Therefore while Dabur has Dhoni alongside Amitabh, Kurkure has retained Juhi Chawala

while roping in Kareena Kapoor for its sub brand.

Conclusion

This recession has highlighted the fact that Brand Ambassadors including celebrities and

mascots remain the most efficient way of getting quick and real consumer mind share in the

smallest possible time. Companies which realised the fact that cutting marketing expenses

was a short sighted approach that will not help them get out of the slow down and lack of

sales invested wisely in brand ambassadors which were a natural fit with the brands and thus

realised the benefits, cases in point being success of Abhishek Bachchan for Idea, Genelia forFanta and Amir Khan for Tata Sky. The learning from this economic slowdown was not

going for wild cost cuttings but making effective and efficient investments. So brands

invested wisely in synergistic brand ambassadors and in turn brand ambassadors imparted

credibility and aspiration to their endorsed brands. Thus breaking the clutter, reinforcing trust

in brands, reinvigorating sales and bringing the profits back to the positives.


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References

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/recession-bruises-big-brand-faces-freshers-lucky/89882-7.html

http://www.topnews.in/fanta-drops-rani-mukerjee-its-brand-ambassador-2121492

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-

spinz-523

http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-

081208.html

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-

devo-bhava-campaign

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/14/slide-show-1-what-an-idea-sir-ji.htm
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/recession-bruises-big-brand-faces-freshers-lucky/89882-7.htmlhttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/recession-bruises-big-brand-faces-freshers-lucky/89882-7.htmlhttp://www.topnews.in/fanta-drops-rani-mukerjee-its-brand-ambassador-2121492http://www.topnews.in/fanta-drops-rani-mukerjee-its-brand-ambassador-2121492http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-spinz-523http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-spinz-523http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-spinz-523http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-081208.htmlhttp://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-081208.htmlhttp://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-081208.htmlhttp://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-devo-bhava-campaignhttp://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-devo-bhava-campaignhttp://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-devo-bhava-campaignhttp://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/14/slide-show-1-what-an-idea-sir-ji.htmhttp://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/14/slide-show-1-what-an-idea-sir-ji.htmhttp://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/14/slide-show-1-what-an-idea-sir-ji.htmhttp://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-devo-bhava-campaignhttp://www.travelbizmonitor.com/aamir-khan-selected-as-brand-ambassador-for-mots-atithi-devo-bhava-campaignhttp://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-081208.htmlhttp://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2008/brand-endorsement-hit-081208.htmlhttp://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-spinz-523http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/genelia-d%E2%80%99souza-brand-ambassador-spinz-523http://www.topnews.in/fanta-drops-rani-mukerjee-its-brand-ambassador-2121492http://ibnlive.in.com/news/recession-bruises-big-brand-faces-freshers-lucky/89882-7.html

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