Bata pitches a new image, runs into a sticky spot

The footwear brand runs into controversy over its new campaign. Will this help or dent its image?

In its 123 years of existence, European footwear brand Bata has spent 85 years in India. But never has it stirred the pot the way it has done with its latest campaign. Labelled ‘Me and comfortable with it’ the campaign exhorts women to not labour over labels (feminist, optimist and many such) and be comfortable with ‘being what no man can ever be’. However many women are booing the brand online, calling the message about feminism, empowerment and gender problematic. The company says that while all are entitled to their views, much of the response that they have received for the campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather has been positive.

 
The campaign is an attempt to reposition the brand in a country where it is known for school shoes and comfortable affordable footwear. The brand is evolving to include style and fashion as inherent value points. Anand Narang, vice president marketing at Bata says, “It is not about looking pretty, behaving as per others’ expectations or fitting the standards.” The brand is about empowering women to be as they are.

Empowerment advertising also called ‘femvertising’ is not new. Detergent brands Ghadi, Ariel, jewellery brand Tanishq are among those that have had recent campaigns exhorting women to speak up and do their thing. While many decry this as feminism through hashtags, marketing experts say that this is reflective of a more gender-aware society. Brands are merely adopting a language that is gaining currency among their target audience.

 

The Bata ads tell women that they should celebrate the fact that they get free club entry, that they can cry in public and when all else fails the real woman knows she can turn to retail therapy. This is a myopic view and for an ad targeted at women customers, these might not have been the best lines. But ad veteran Ambi Parameswaran, founder of Brand-Building.com and former CEO of FCB Ulka, says that at least the controversy has grabbed them eyeballs. “The brand had lost connect with the youth. The only people who now associate with it are 30-pluses who have grown up wearing the brand. Controversial or not, the ad is in focus and the brand name is being discussed,” he says.

 
Critics say that the preachy message trivialises an important issue. But Narang says that the campaign has surprised the TG in a good way. “The idea is to refresh the brand imagery and make it more contemporary and relevant,” he says. Bata is India’s leading footwear brand (Euromonitor) but a growing number of international and national brands threaten its growth. In its 85th year in India, it is looking to redefine the brand’s image and imbue it with a more contemporary appeal.
 
India is an important market; ranking among its top 5 footwear markets globally. While net profit in the fourth quarter of 2016-17 grew 27 per cent year on year, for the full year, profits have shrunk 26.8 per cent. It was time to shake off the old staid image say experts. “Bata has done well to shed off its ‘old school’ image and the campaign would help them ‘connect’ with their target audience,” says N Chandramouli, CEO of brand intelligence and data insights company, TRA.

 
Narang says, “We base our plans on consumer insights as opposed to reacting to competitor’s moves. We are at a stage, even globally, where we are focusing on evolving the brand to encompass style and fashion intrinsically.” The company is doubling the advertising budget for 2017 and “We are all geared to communicate our new focus. Engaging our consumers is a long-term strategy and the shift towards being a lifestyle brand will be achieved over the next three to five years,” he adds.
 
Bata sells around 50 million pairs of footwear every year and retails in over 1,265 owned stores across India apart from multi-brand outlets and online marketplaces. India is the second largest footwear producer in the world. Interestingly the men’s market, which contributes 60 per cent of sales is growing at a 10 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate), while the women’s market (30 per cent) is clocking 30 per cent CAGR. The campaign targets the fastest growing category: women buyers.

 
True, but femvertising is tricky. Not just in India, brands have been pilloried across the world for their attempts at being gender right; Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign (where the company launched body wash bottles in different shapes and sizes) being a recent example. Women protested saying that they do not need bottles to tell them about body image issues.
 
Narang says, “The feedback that we have got is very encouraging and positive. Women and young customers are walking into stores, writing on social channels and also expressing how they have liked this modern-looking brand image,” he says. The campaign reaches out to a consumer neglected by other marquee footwear brands like Nike, Adidas among others say experts. Parameswaran believes that women are a direct target as well as an indirect one for another category that Bata is known for, children’s footwear. Chandramouli says, “If the ad is courting controversy, then it might hit it with today’s generation who like to take a controversial approach to life. This kind of a narrative works for them.”