'We are targeting a set of 25 million consumers': Anoop Manohar, Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company's premium bottled water brand, Smartwater is looking at a pool of 25 million Indians who it believes can be potential consumers says Anoop Manohar, head - hydration, dairy and coffee for The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola India's bottled water portfolio also consists of its mass brand Kinley. In terms of hydration, there's Aquarius and Aquarius 3X. 

 

The brand that launched in September 2017 with an OOH campaign featuring its global brand ambassador Jennifer Aniston, is now looking at its next wave of growth and aspires to be targetting the top NCCS in India.

 

Manohar explains, "We believe we have a uniquely differentiated product in Smartwater. We believe there’s a set of 25 million consumers within these categories. Within that 25 million, 18 million would be present in the top 12 cities of India. We are looking at creating one-to-one interactions for these users."

 

He adds, "Smartwater is talking to consumers, who are constantly innovating and are moving up the ladder. We have witnessed that with time their consumption needs and preferences are changing and we aim to tap into it. As India grows, we will see the consumption of Smartwater growing. Naturally, people on the top end of the pyramid have more choices. Someone who has grown up consuming bottled water will probably have to make that ‘attitudinal shift’ to move to Smartwater.”

 

Premium approach 

 

While on television too, the premium consumer is kept in mind for the brand. Even during the IPL, Smartwater was present on Star Sports Select HD (the premium offering). Other exposure on television for the brand was with Star Plus' TED Talks during its launch last year. The brand's most recent marketing tie-up sees an association to launch The Platform for the Lakme Fashion Week.

 

Manohar surmises, "We believed that people to watched and associated with these talks would be prime consumers for us. The idea is to also partner with fashion, art brands. In terms of digital, we looked at Inshorts. Even when we did OOH, we looked at sites around the airports.”