Simply Fresh, the flagship brand of BN Group, an edible oil manufacturer, has launched a brand film to celebrate the spirit of Durga Pooja. #HarLadkiDurga, the campaign pays tribute to Goddess Durga, who symbolises strength, courage, and female empowerment.
The video campaign looks to reflect the core message that every woman embodies the essence of Goddess Durga. It inspires viewers to recognise and respect women’s inner strength as they navigate life’s challenges with resilience and determination.
Medianews4U.com caught up with Kiran Giradkar, CMO BN Group to find out more about the company’s marketing activities.
1. Earlier this year BN Group awarded the integrated marketing responsibilities to GOZOOP Group. The mandate is to craft an overarching brand communication strategy, to convey the brand persona and philosophy. What does this entail?
BN Group wants to extend Building Nation philosophy to the width and breadth of Nation though its mass brand Simply Fresh. Right now, the GOZOOP team is working on creating a unique yet compelling communication strategy for Simply Fresh that aims to stand out from the clutter. Meanwhile we at BN Group are putting all our efforts to make the brand available across states.
The overarching brand communication strategy also includes significant marketing investments towards the group’s foray into the Wellness and Fitness category through a premium niche brand – Nutrica. I must say GOZOOP has done a commendable job in creating a mainline communication that sticks. Nutrica social media strategy is pivoted around sleek content and well-crafted influencer strategy to position it as a wellness and lifestyle brand.
2. During the festive season what marketing tactics will the BN Group employ to ensure that it gets its share of voice across the country? Are there specific markets being targeted more? How will these campaigns help your brands, such as Simply Fresh, grow?
Simply Fresh always supports fresh ideas and perspectives that help in building nations. We have many digital campaigns lined up that call for a fresh look at how we celebrate the festivals.
The brand flipped Independence day with #HappyZimmedariDay so that viewers must exercise their freedom with empathy and responsibility. Our #BappaHiBatayenge campaign was a stark reminder that although we think we decide the duration of the Ganesha’s stay, it’s him who graciously decides when to depart, after sumptuous hospitality.
Our latest digital campaign #HarLadkiDurga highlights a need to look beyond the pomp and pageantry of festivals and start cultivating a deeper reverence for society. Along with this we are heavily behind on-ground activations in our P1 markets with alignment with festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali to stay ahead of competition and stand out from the clutter.
3. What will the media mix look like during the festive season? Will there be an even focus between traditional like GEC TV channels and digital mediums?
For our wellness and fitness brand Nutrica, that’s niche and available across only a few metros, media mix will be restricted to Digital that includes Social, OTT and Influencer collaborations. Along with that, activations at the stores and OOH amplification will continue. We are also investing to promote our ads in premium cinema chains.
Simply Fresh however will look at mass media avenues along with activations and socially relevant digital campaigns.
4. The use of influencer marketing is expected to be much higher during the festive season across categories compared to last year’s festive season. What are BN Group’s plans in this area?
Influencer collaborations are at the heart of our brand strategy for our wellness and fitness brand Nutrica. We have recently collaborated with a Cricketer Smriti Mandhana that coincides with on-going ICC Women’s T20 WC. We are continuing with active investments for other influencer collaborations with Nutritionists, Chefs and Lifestyle content creators. We are increasing our marketing investments this festive season as compared to last year for Influencer marketing for sure.
5. What role is AI playing in helping the company with innovative marketing initiatives? At the same time do marketers have to be careful about overusing AI?
Speed is the essence of today’s fast paced digital world. We use AI for ideation for lots of moment marketing and low stake marketing collaterals.
It’s helping in designing mainline marketing communication as well. While there is lots of data churned by digital campaigns, more often than not real insights get lost in the sea of that data. AI has helped us in mining those useful Insights. Your creative strategy or for media planning emerges out of that ‘one insight’. Once you get there, it’s a job of creative juices to make the best of storytelling. Hence the delicate balance of data-driven insights and creative storytelling is an essence of impactful marketing.
6. Nutrica, the new brand for kids used humour rather than fear as the theme of the campaign. How did the strategy help it ‘break the box’?
If you have a real insight in a communication, then that storytelling will stay with you. For instance, for ages cooking oil brands have been bombarding us with lots of technical data through ads but none answered why doctors and nutritionists suggest we change oil frequently. Now that was a genesis of Nutrica- Jaisa Ghar Waisa Cooking Oil.
I have never encountered a conversation around the type of oil preferred for children. As a matter of fact, no one in India has yet tapped into an oil category specifically for kids. Nutrica aims to fill that gap. Kids need energy for their day-long heroics, and Nutrica provides the same – energy is provided by the fat specifically designed for growing needs of young adults.
7. How did the company go about targeting English medium schools to create awareness about Nutrica? Were there on-ground events?
From installing OOH sites near schools to activating stores near schools have helped us generate trials for the brand. We are also collaborating with sports activities and championship leagues to educate and sample.
Nutrica Pro-Energy communication is flashed on LED screens in elevators and corridors of these schools. Our digital strategy for this particular variant is curated to talk to their moms through nutritionists as well.
