7 months ago| article
Homi Battiwalla, director, juices and juice drinks, PepsiCo India, explains why Slice has broken the usual format for marketing the brand this time
Feb 14, 2012 03:09:00 PM | Video | Shephali Bhatt Share - 
Could you throw some light on the strategy behind launching the season with a promotional campaign instead of a thematic one?
We tend to start off the year around February with a big thematic campaign which is run throughout that particular summer season. But this time, we have tried to break that format to come out with two specific pieces of ad campaigns. The initial promotional campaign has been created to cut through amplification and focus on increasing the consumption of a bottle of Slice.
What is the rationale behind the first (promotional) campaign?
The idea is to engage more and more people into consuming a bottle of Slice by offering them a chance to go out on a date with Katrina Kaif. Every bottle's crown will have a number and one of those numbers would take a lucky guy to fetch himself a date with Katrina Kaif. In the quest to get there, people will consume more of Slice and it will ultimately enhance consumer engagement with the brand during this fun exercise.
How have you used different channels of media to drive this engagement?
We have tried to keep it simple, so there's a conventional TVC, there are no codes, whatsoever. What makes the campaign interesting and novel are the interactive outdoor installations and a significant presence on the digital forum. The digital and holographic projections would be present not just in the metros but in 12 cities across the country. There's a lot more intrigue in smaller towns when it comes to interactive outdoor installations and we have scaled up our marketing spends to ensure our presence in these areas. We will also announce the launch of a Slice Excel (1.8l) for the North Indian market.
What is Slice's contribution to the total beverage mix for PepsiCo, and given the way the category is growing, what are the growth targets for this summer season?
In volume, Slice contributes about 10-12% to our total mix. Mango category has been the fastest growing category for the past 3-4 years even though the last year was a tad softer owing to variable pulp pricing. But the last two quarters have seen a rebound in growth at 20% approximately. There's a lot of headroom in this category to keep a high paced growth trajectory in 2012 with growing household consumption in rural parts of India. All I can say at the moment is that we have highly stiff targets ahead of us.
To know more about the interactive promotional campaign, click here.
Credits:
Agency: JWT
Client: PepsiCo India
Creative: Swati Bhattacharya
Director: Prakash Varma
Production House: Nirvana Films
Media Agency: Mindshare
