Still cool?

CAMPAIGN LOGIC: Dabur Coolers

Amit Burman

The new Coolers campaign continues with the andar se thanda proposition.

It's like a mela, by the beach. A dreadlocked sadhu is buried neck-deep in sand, children crowd around an old-fashioned baiscope "" and a wedge of watermelon is being dragged to and fro over a wooden ice grater.

As a man on stilts walks past, a vendor calls out. He's in a stall that says "thande phalon ki bahaar" and he's surrounded by fruit "" watermelons, pomegranates and green mangoes.

The vendor "" complete with lush black moustache and eye-catching mole high on one cheek "" sings and beckons children "" "Schik, schik, schik, schik, phalon ki gaadi, thande phalon ki gaadi" "" in a voice and tune that imitates the old Ashok Kumar song "rail gaadi".

As a crowd gathers, he grates the watermelon "" and ice cubes fall out on the other side of the grater. The ice stacks up and transforms into a carton of Dabur Coolers, and the vendor passes it on.

A child reaches out and takes a sip. Cut to a product shot with the tagline "Kare andar se thanda".

At first glance, there's nothing new about the new TV commercial for Dabur Coolers, which went on air last fortnight. The basic brand promise "" andar se thanda (cool from within) "" remains unchanged; the same communication was used when Coolers was launched in June last year.

Even the product packaging is the same. So why fork out big money for a new campaign less than a year after the first one? "There were too many messages in last year's ad," says Amit Burman, CEO, Dabur Foods, the Rs 130-crore Dabur group company that owns the brand.

Adds Sanjeev Bhargava, COO, FCB-Ulka (the agency that's handled the Coolers account since its launch), "Last year's message was relevant, but it didn't portray the intrinsic nature of these fruit. The 'cool from within' property was lost."

That's something Dabur can't afford. Coolers are fruit-based drinks, that were launched on the premise that they are prepared with thande taseer ke phal (fruit that have intrinsic cooling properties).

Three varieties "" watermelon, aam panna and pomegranate "" were offered last year, while a fourth, jamun, has been added this summer.

More than Rs 12 crore went into the development and brand launch last year, which was based on over a year's research into consumer needs as well as the development of processing capabilities.

"Our research showed that there was a definite opportunity for such 'cooling' drinks, as opposed to others that 'refresh'," explains Burman.

Nevertheless, Coolers is a player in the "refreshers" market, in direct competition with giants such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola. That's a Rs 1,500 crore market, and Coolers' share last year was just Rs 5 crore.

That's a microscopic share, but Dabur isn't bothered overmuch "" its track record in marketing juices in India is already well proven. In 1996, Dabur launched the Real brand of pure fruit juices; it is now the market leader, accounting for more than half of the Rs 150-crore juices and nectars market.

It would have been easy for Dabur to leverage the Real brand name when it introduced Coolers. But the company chose to launch the cooling drinks as a separate brand, mentioning the Real connection only in passing.

"Real is about taste and health. Coolers is about a totally different benefit; besides, it is lighter, not 100 per cent juice. It had to be kept separate from Real," says Burman.

The dividing line extends even to the choice of advertising agency: while Real is handled by Dhar & Hoon, FCB-Ulka holds the Coolers account.

The agency spent close to three months working on the current campaign, says Bhargava. That includes prime time spots on channels such as Star Plus, Sony, Set Max and Zee Cinema, as well as the main regional channels.

A rerun of last year's print campaign prepared the ground for the new TVC, which will be on air right through the summer. Simultaneously, in-store promotions, including price offs and displays, will ensure high brand recall.

Radio jingles will take over in the key metros in a couple of months, but the "mini summer" in September-October will see some renewed, targeted marketing activity in south and west India. "Sales pick up again in those areas at that time," points out Sanjay Sharma, general manager, sales and marketing, Dabur Foods.

A budget of Rs 4 crore has been earmarked for this year's ad campaign for Coolers. That's less than last year's Rs 5 crore, but still a fair amount, "given the market and the season," says Bhargava, adding "Advertising is a small part of the marketing effort."

That effort includes doubling Coolers' retail presence, from 50,000 to over 100,000 outlets in the top 50 cities. A separate distribution network is being put in place for the peak summer months, to ensure Coolers' range extends beyond that of Real.

The targets are ambitious: Burman says he is looking for Rs 10 crore in sales by the year-end, twice what Coolers brought in last year. But he doesn't think it will be too difficult.

After all, he points out, in its first year, Real's sales were around Rs 3 crore; in comparison, Coolers' first year netted more than Rs 5 crore. "Coolers has a wider, more commonly understood benefit," Burman explains.

Still, both the agency and the company agree that communicating the brand proposition was challenging. "We had to simplify the proposition," says Bhargava. Even the decision to focus on watermelon was carefully thought out.

The benefits of "cooling" fruit are widely understood across India, but the usage varies just as widely. Aam panna is a north Indian drink, while pomegranate is considered expensive.

Watermelon, on the other hand, was considered the most evocative choice, besides being pan-Indian in its appeal. Even the ad, while appealing to children, had to carry a message that would reach out to mothers.

"While children may influence purchasing decisions, the deciding factor for such a product will be the mother," explains Sharma. So, the setting and tone are child-friendly, and a 200-ml pack is shown, emphasising the anytime-anywhere nature of the product.

At the same time, the jingle pushes the functional proposition, while the fruit-transforming-into-ice presents the same message visually.