Swaminathan Balasubramanian
Present in over 350 cities in India, Blackberrys today operates more than 270 exclusive brand outlets and 700-plus multi-brand outlets, making fashion accessible to aspiring and driven men. In an exclusive chat with MediaNews4U, Ramesh Kaushik VP – Brand Experience at Blackberrys speaks on the challenges and opportunities in taking the brand to the public.
Edited excerpts
What are the factors you keep in mind while planning for campaigns?
Before running any campaign it is important to determine the key objectives and messages of the campaign. Asses all communication channels and develops a strategy and flow of the campaign. Post determining the budgets, it is important to have a key metrics to measure the success and analyse the overall effectiveness and impact of the campaign.
What were the recent campaigns you had done and what kind of impacts you witnessed out of it?
One of our big brand campaigns this year, till now, was India Khaki Week (IKW), which is also our annual brand property. This was the second edition of IKW where we launched India’s first 100% cotton knitted khaki in association with cricketer Dinesh Kartik. In order to further promote this latest offering in a proposition – communicating the finesse, purity, comfort stretch and breathability of fabric was promoted extensively across all online brand channels. Much like last year we received an overwhelming response from the same both online and offline customers and we aim to make IKW bigger and better every year.We have few campaigns planned for the later part of the year.
How much the purchase patterns have changed in the recent days and how your campaigns had evolved over the time?
One of the single biggest event that has affected marketing over the last three decades is the mass adoption of the internet into everyday life. This has entirely changed how we plan and execute the campaigns today. Today a campaigns needs to have a 360 reach so as to reach and engage with customers at all possible points of contact. Moreover the concept for “One size/message for all” is not applicable anymore where one message or product can cater to all your TG. Key message and product offering needs to be tailored as per the need and requirements of the customers.
What challenges you face in convincing the millennial crowd towards the purchase of product?
Being digital natives, millennial have definitely changed the rules of marketing today. Unlike previous generations they do not trust advertising and like exploring multiple options and connect before purchase decision but once the brand proves its loyalty to them, they find it difficult to leave the brand and look for something new. But you can’t take this for granted. You have to constantly look out for their needs.
What are your expansion plans in terms of number of stores?
Blackberrys is currently present across 350 cities in India and operates more than 270 exclusive brand outlets and 700-plus multi-brand outlets. In 2018, Blackberrys has added 90 new doors to its retail footprint and is confident of adding upto 50 more in the current financial year
What is the key activation you had planned in the coming year?
We have a wedding and festive campaign planned for the coming months. Apart from this we aim to delight our customer with a new product launch.
What are the plans ahead in terms of promoting your brand?
Our marketing plan is an ideal mix of online and offline activities for all respective campaigns and brands. With festive season round the corner we plan to heavily promote our offering across India especially South, since it offers a great platform to us to be unique to the consumers in that geography. Apart from this, we will be investing in influencer campaigns to further connect with the customers
