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CAMPAIGN LOGIC

Is Marico's latest campaign balancing a corporate image building routine and a recruitment exercise?

A man lives on the 10th floor and takes the elevator to the ground floor on his way to work. But when he returns, he takes the elevator to the 7th floor and walks up the remaining floors.

The man in question is no fitness freak. Nor does he have a point to prove to his wife. He's a dwarf who cannot reach the lift button for the 10th floor. Interesting, but what's the connection between the short-statured man in the ad copy and fast moving consumer goods company Marico?

It's a part of Marico's effort to tell the world "" more precisely, the universe of prospective employees "" that its work environment encourages lateral thinking and does not stunt growth. And the Rs 1,000-crore FMCG major is pumping Rs 2 crore into a campaign of six print ads and three 30-second television commercials.

That's a lot of money for what is being perceived as essentially a recruitment campaign and advertising professionals have their own takes on the reasons why. One of them says, "Companies that launch corporate campaigns are looked upon as the bad boys of the business, or as companies that are planning an IPO or raising more money from the market."

Marico Chief Financial Officer Milind Sarwate denies this. "The campaign was conceived around the propagation of Marico's corporate identity "" uncommon sense. There are no plans of having any follow-on issue around the release of the campaign," he says.

Adds Saugata Gupta, chief, sales and marketing, Marico, "The campaign was designed with an aim to increase Marico's brand saliency and to strengthen it as an employer brand." The idea for the campaign, which was released towards the last week of January 2005, came up after Marico conducted a two-month long exercise with existing employees and its external stakeholders such as dealers and placement agencies.

The study revealed that the opinions of the employees and external stakeholders did not match. Their perceptions differed on parameters ranging from product offering to experience at the workplace. For instance, if existing employees thought that Marico was young and vibrant, the outside world perceived it to be complacent.

Then, most stakeholders (read: prospective employees) associated Marico with just two brands "" Parachute or Saffola. That perception is shared by market analysts. One of them says, "Marico has an amorphous image. It is difficult to imagine the company as anything other than the maker of hair oil or cooking oil." He adds, "The corporate campaign will help Marico create an awareness for its various brands and highlight their success."

Creating awareness is more important because Marico has been adding to its portfolio, in India and outside. In 2005, the company acquired Nihar hair oil from Hindustan Lever and three soap brands "" an Ayurvedic soap, Manjal, in Kerala, and two brands (Aromatic and Camelia) in Bangladesh.

Then, Marico also had to increase its gloss and sheen in B-schools. That too, during the placement week. Management schools in Mumbai point out that Marico is a respected brand on campus, but it's not an organisation students fight to enter.

The reason: Marico's salary package did not match up with other FMCG companies. For instance, if FMCG major HLL offered students an average annual package of Rs 7.5 lakh in 2005, Marico offered about Rs 4-4.5 lakh. That's now been hiked to Rs 6 lakh a year.

B-school directors say that Marico is now on par with the package that Colgate and Gillette offer students in India. (With most placements still going on, it's too early to predict the results of Marico's image-building exercise.)

Marico's campaign had to reflect all these changes. The brief given to the agency Bates India was simple "" highlight the company's internal strengths such as work culture, brand success and growth opportunities, with a focus on the prospective talent. This isn't Bates' first campaign for Marico.

The agency has been associated with the company since October 2005 and has worked on its soap brands in the past. Of course, there's a difference between lathering up interest in soaps and creating a buzz around B-school placements. Points out Bates India CEO Subhash Kamat, "We wanted to bring out real emotions from real people, as the campaign was aimed at reflecting Marico's internal culture and attracting potential talent."

Which is why the "uncommon sense" campaign stayed away from professional models. Instead, it featured Marico employees and faces from the crowd "" the kind of people you would meet at coffee shops and restaurants. The campaign, which is launched on a national level, is focused more on business channels, newspapers and magazines.

The spruced-up image is not only for the benefit of the outside world. Marico is also extending its corporate campaign inside the office. Under its direction, Bates has also worked on a poster campaign for internal communication, besides re-designing the website to suit the mood of the campaign.

The poster campaign can be seen in the pantry, washrooms and reception areas of the organisation "" Marico believes that most ideas are born in an informal atmosphere. For instance, the posters, which are an extension of the theme "uncommon sense", label the pantry as a conference room.

Says a senior ad professional, "With growing opportunities, the battle of talent has become a crucial feature for companies across sectors. Companies, however, need to understand that it is not about attracting talent, but about appointing the appropriate talent." Marico agrees. Points out Gupta, "The campaign is focused on roping in the right talent at the right time. Therefore, the success of the campaign will be decided by the quality of conversions and not quantity."

The corporate campaign will continue for the next two years. And Marico aims to double its turnover to Rs 2,000 crore in the next four years, as its base of 650 employees increases gradually.

So far, Marico claims to have received a positive response for the campaign. Gupta points out, "It's too early to rate the success of the campaign in numbers. But a positive fallout is that now we don't have to sell our company or the job."