Soft drink makers change ad strategy

Campaign Logic: Flavours of the season

Soft drink makers have changed their advertising strategies this summer.

The unusually cold winter just past has led meteorologists to predict a scorching summer ahead. The rest of us may groan aloud at the prospect, but for some people, at least, this is great news.

About 60 per cent of all soft drink sales in India happen during these four-five months, so an extended and intense summer "" which means more sweaty, thirsty people reaching for something cold to drink "" is obviously welcomed by the folks at PepsiCo and Coca-Cola India.

And it is easy to see why television channels are already clogged with new campaigns from soft drink makers. In the past few weeks, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, 7UP, Sprite, Thums Up and Fanta have all broken new campaigns that they plan to run throughout this summer. And it isn't just the ads that are different. New brand ambassadors, new themes, new media and even new formulations... the summer of '08 is quite different from last year.

Cola conundrums
Consider Pepsi, which has moved away from cricket for the first time in many years. Pepsi's last campaign was the "Blue Billion" one, which focused on Indians' love for cricket. Released in time for the World Cup last summer, the company even launched a special, blue Pepsi for the occasion.

This year, though, Pepsi has roped in two new celebrities to accompany brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan "" Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, who acted in the two most-talked about Hindi films in 2007. The new theme, "Youngistan", hopes to cash in on the buzz surrounding today's youngsters.

"This time we wanted an all-encompassing theme. 'Youngistan' reflects the mood of India's youth, which is today keen to take the ropes and drive India," says Punita Lal, executive director, marketing, PepsiCo.

Coincidentally, Coca-Cola's ad also focuses on youth and features a new celebrity. Moving away from Aamir Khan and the immensely popular "Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola" series, which ran over the past couple of years, Coke's new "Jashn Mana Le" campaign features Hrithik Roshan.

The ad shows a deserted place coming alive when a bottle of the cola is opened and how the magic stops once the last drop of Coke is drunk "" neatly tying in with Coca-Cola's 2007 corporate brand campaign.

"With this campaign we are trying to establish Coke as a drink that refreshes and brings joy to its consumers. It also resonates with our corporate campaign on drops of joy," confirms Venkatesh Kini, vice-president marketing, Coca-Cola India. And by showing the cola as an accompaniment to different foods, there's another subtle message at play in the ad: Coca-Cola goes well with food.

They may be archrivals in the Rs 7,000-crore Indian soft drink market (and across the globe), but when it comes to advertising strategies, Pepsi and Coca-Cola are remarkably alike. Both believe in celebrity pull-power and in 360-degree campaigns that will help them reach their target consumers at various levels.

"Celebrities bring both eyeballs and attention," declares Ashish Chakravarty, creative chief, McCann-Erickson, Delhi, which handles Coca-Cola. Soumitra Karnik, vice president and executive creative director, JWT "" Pepsi's agency "" adds that not only do celebrities help break clutter, companies also need to use them because consumers expect them.

"Cola advertisements are like making a 70-mm film. Consumers expect that we use celebrities and showcase a story," he declares.

Both colas are targeting their communication at young adults: Coke is looking at the 16- to 24-year age group, while Pepsi is aiming for 18- to 21-year-olds. Not surprising, then, that the Internet is an important medium.

While Coca-Cola is using gaming and internet content to build on its joy and fun theme, Pepsi has launched a website for Youngistan inside the Pepsi Cool Zone and is planning to make it a responsive peer group site where youngsters can visit and make comments on any topic.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it
The only cola conspicuous by its absence online is Thums Up. But that is easily explained. Coca-Cola India has clearly differentiated its two cola brands.

While Coke is the youth-focused, fun-loving brand, Thums Up is targeted at a more mature (20- to 29-year-olds) consumer and has a macho image. Its advertising, therefore, continues to be about fast-paced stunts featuring brand ambassador Akshay Kumar.

Last year's ads showed Kumar engaging in Yamakasi (an extreme sport); this time, it is a car chase. "Thums Up has a strong, macho male image and Akshay resonates this perfectly to excite consumers," says Kini.

Thums Up isn't the only Coca-Cola brand to stick with last year's advertising theme. Clear lime drink Sprite is sticking with its honest drink image this summer, too. The new "seedhi baat, no bakwaas" ad continues its irreverent take on honesty being the best policy: it shows a young man telling his girlfriend so frankly he is going out on a date with his other girlfriend that she refuses to believe him.

Change is good
Sprite's competitor 7Up, meanwhile, has adopted a complete change in advertising. Starting from the advertising agency itself. About a year ago PepsiCo called for a pitch and BBDO replaced JWT as creative agency for 7Up. BBDO's brief was to look beyond the drink's mascot, Fido Dido.

Although Fido had been the face of 7Up in India for some years, research had shown that consumers did not relate to these ads. The new 7Up campaign, therefore, relegates Fido to the tagline: instead, the ad "" BBDO India's first offering "" shows a young man in a vexing, "bheja fry" situation, offering the clear drink as a mind and mood "freshener".

What's happening with the orange drinks, in the meantime? Mirinda is yet to unveil its Summer '08 ad, but Fanta is already out with a "" surprise "" product-based campaign. Based on research by Coca-Cola India, which revealed that consumers like tangier orange drinks, Fanta's formulation was tweaked to better suit Indian palates. The new campaign, therefore, emphasises Fanta's "more orangey" taste.

All campaigns are multimedia, leaning heavily towards television "" it is, after all, the simplest way to build brand recall. Some slight differences in strategy are apparent, however: Fanta advertising incorporates a lot of radio, while Coca-Cola spends on in-store advertising.

According to industry estimates, Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo are likely to spend anywhere Rs 50-70 crore on each brand this season. That should turn the heat on in the soft drink market, regardless of the temperature outside.