Can cola brands create fizz without stars?

Cola brands have to keep the unique positioning intact to avoid over-reliance on celebrity endorsers

With Indian cricket’s biggest superstar and team captain Virat Kohli turning down an endorsement deal from Pepsi, the focus is back on the carbonated beverage industry’s over-dependence on celebrity endorsements to create buzz and drive sales. Given the scant product differentiation on offer, cola giants have for long hitched a ride on the celebrity bandwagon to woo consumers. If Coke had actor Aamir Khan batting for it, Pepsi had roped in his rival Shah Rukh Khan. The companies have often deployed cricketers as well to push their brands. But with growing consumer awareness around “healthy and nutritious” products and celebrities increasingly being wary about endorsing brands that are “unhealthy”, is the era of big-bang celebrity endorsements for cola majors over? Is it time for the industry to revisit its strategy to market and sell the sugary drinks without Bollywood and cricket star power?

Aerated cold drinks are amongst the most advertised product categories in the world. Many brands have used celebrities in their communication and will continue to do so for a long time, says Ashish Bhasin, chairman and chief executive officer, South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network. “Endorsement decisions differ from celebrity to celebrity. Just because Kohli has said no to a brand, it does not mean that other celebrities would do the same. It’s the cricketer’s personal stance and needs to be appreciated for what it is. Probably, the suggested endorsement is not in sync with his personal choices.”

At the same time, he underlines that a celebrity alone cannot be a distinguishing factor for brands. A celebrity may be a success today and a failure tomorrow. So, she cannot be a substitute for product differentiation. A celebrity association may make a brand more recognisable and likeable. But purely relying on celebrity advertising is lazy and can sway with the fluctuating fortunes of the endorser.

Publicis Capital chief executive officer Hemant Misra is more critical of the cola industry’s overt fascination for star power. “Over the years, big ideas have taken a back seat in the aerated drinks market. If a product category starts doing that (ignoring good ideas), brands certainly lose focus. Celebrity is not the idea of the brand. She is there to only magnify the idea,” says Misra.

Also, he adds, Kohli’s snub no to a cola deal makes for good PR. But what about the cricketer endorsing Kingfisher brand, which is clearly unhealthier than a cola product? It isn’t talked about much because alcoholic beverage is a passive category as compared to colas where competition is intense.

“Kohli is not an individual. He is a brand and sometimes brands need to sacrifice to make brand equity stronger. So, Kohli’s move smacks of double standards,” suggests Misra.

Can aerated drink manufacturers, despite their little differentiation, continue to sell even without celebrity faces who lend an attractive persona to a product?

“The question makes a mockery of the strategic positions that cola brands have built around their brands. Not contesting how celebrities have accentuated the differentiation between the similar products, but attributing the brand pull to only celebrities is too broad a brush,” says Snehasis Bose, senior vice-president, planning, Law & Kenneth Saatchi &Saatchi.

He points out that from soaps to tea and detergents to fashion or cars, categories are full of product parity couched within well-crafted brand stories. And hence, colas too can find non-celebrity-led narratives for themselves. They can do this by building on their basic promises of a drink that quenches thirst, refreshes, instantly gratifies, acts as licensed energisers and so on.

With or without celebrity, every aerated drink brand has to adopt unique positioning. And the positioning has nothing to do with a celebrity. For example, in the soap category, if one brand promises customers the proposition of freshness the second one may focus on cleanliness or glowing skin.

“Likewise, each aerated drinks brand already has a distinct positioning. All they have to do is to reinforce it and make sure that this positioning is consistently carried forward in all communication messages. On top of it Pepsi and Coca-Cola both have very strong brand mnemonics and properties. For instance, a Coke bottle is immediately recognisable,” says Bhasin.

Misra goes a step further to say that for cola companies, it’s a problem of product and not brand. Cola brands are undergoing transformation. It being a sweet drink, sugar is a concern for consumers. So on the product front, be it Pepsi or Coke, they need to develop new variants and come up with substitutes. Also, brands need to figure out how to promote indulgence without getting defensive. At the end of the day health is important, and so is indulgence.

There is still hope still for a Pepsi or Coke. At one point Pepsi was sailing smooth by selling an attitude and idea with its war cry of “Yeh dil maange more”. If people start selecting the products, they have to pick the brand and hence it’s time cola companies set right their product as well as communications strategies.

Back to Basics

• A celebrity may be a success today and a failure tomorrow. So, she cannot be a substitute for product differentiation. A celebrity association may only make a brand more recognisable
• Colas can find non-celebrity-led narratives by building on basic promises of a drink that quenches thirst, refreshes, gratifies, acts as licensed energisers, etc
• Brands need to figure out how to promote indulgence without getting defensive. At the end of the day, health is important, as is indulgence