ITC’s food business recorded consolidated sales of Rs 17,194.5 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. This figure includes both domestic sales and exports of the company that owns brands such as Aashirvaad atta, Bingo potato chips, and Sunfeast biscuits.
ITC Aashirvaad Atta has achieved 85% penetration in Odisha, while YiPPee! noodles has a 60% market share in the state. This year, Aashirvaad Atta offered a virtual ‘Chariot Pulling’ experience and Sunfeast YiPPee! created 56 recipes of YiPPee! noodles at Puri Rath Yatra with YiPPee! Chappan Bowls.
ITC’s Sunfeast Marie Light also played a role in Orissa’s Rath Yatra by setting up a ‘Sunfeast Surjyalay’ experience zone, while Aashirvaad Salt highlighted the importance of iodine consumption with its Aashirvaad Iodine ka Chheenta campaign.
Storyboard18 reached out to Shuvadip Banerjee, Chief Digital Marketing Officer at ITC Ltd., to dissect how ITC has been capturing the essence of Orissa, showcasing it outside the state, and strengthening brand equity in the process.
Banerjee discusses the blueprint for relevant brand activation and winning over discerning Gen Z consumers.
Edited excerpts:
So many brands are vying for consumer attention. How is ITC Food using data to create engaging brand experiences that connect with consumers on a deeper level?
Culture-centric marketing is key to our strategy. Orissa is an excellent example here. The state has been resilient even in the face of natural disasters like cyclones and floods. Orissa has had a strong drive to grow in spite of historical underdevelopment and the constraints provided by previous empires.
Currently, Orissa is going through a metamorphosis. While the state’s citizens are proud of their past, there is a desire to promote it on a national and worldwide scale. Therefore, ITC wanted to capture the essence of Orissa, which combines deep-rooted traditions with modern aspiration on a national scale.
Our strategy of immersing the brands under ITC Foods in Orissa’s cultural fabric to better articulate the nuances of the culture to the rest of the country has resulted in Aashirvad having an 85% penetration rate in the state and YiPPee! having more than 60% market share.
Can you elaborate more on leveraging Orissa’s cultural nuances?
Brand activations are about generating experiences that attract people rather than pushing them to engage. Aashirvad exemplified cultural integration with its Pattachitra-inspired packaging and community programs. Similarly, Sunfeast Marie Light used the sun symbol that is common in Orissa’s tradition.
Beyond the Rath Yatra, our focus has been on culturally relevant activations across festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Bihu, and Onam.
Moreover, we’ve recognized the evolving consumer desire for blending tradition with new experiences, leading us to offer innovative noodle-based dishes like the ‘Chappan Bowls’ of Sunfeast YiPPee! at Puri Rath Yatra.
Could you elaborate on some specific examples of how ITC food brands have been successfully leveraging large-scale events like these, to achieve their marketing objectives, and what were some measurable results of these campaigns?
We evaluate success based on its influence on consumers and the brand. Did we improve our relationship with customers? Did we increase brand equity? Were our acts relevant and engaging? These qualitative indicators are crucial. Of course, we also monitor traditional indicators such as share, penetration, revenue, and profitability.
Every year, we perform an extensive assessment of large-scale programs, finding areas for growth. Continuous learning is vital. If we ever stop looking for methods to improve our performance, it suggests a problem. The emphasis remains on exceeding previous results and laying the groundwork for future success.
In today’s rapidly evolving consumer landscape, how are the ITC Food brands ensuring that the brand activations remain fresh, engaging, and relevant to the youth?
Comprehending Gen Z remains critical. Their preferences are drastically different from those of earlier generations. We’re focusing on determining their requirements, desires, and engagement triggers. To obtain a better understanding of Gen Z’s online activity, our Sixth Sense team studies everything from social media trends to video preferences.
The rise of “creative tech” is changing how we interact with this audience. Rather than bombarding people with endless stuff, we’re using technology to create interesting experiences. AR, interactive material, and even choose-your-own adventure narratives are becoming indispensable tools.
Gen Z doesn’t like watching advertisements. They are blocking a lot of ads. They are not interested if the brand is overtly in your face and speaking to you. To break through the clutter, we must change our storytelling technique. By merging physical and digital activations, we can create immersive and memorable brand experiences. Our goal is to continuously evolve storytelling.
There’s often a thin line between brand activation and brand intrusion. Can you share your insights on this?
I believe activations are not intrusive. When people willingly queue up at a stall, it’s a clear indication of interest rather than coercion.
We have done our part by announcing it on social media, in front of the stall, and the consumers have also heard about the brand activation through word-of-mouth. I don’t think it’s a tightrope, because each of them contributes significantly to the brand’s growth in their own unique way. So, does advertising communication still have a function today? At the top of the funnel, increasing brand saliency is crucial.
Does sponsored content work? Does ‘Bingo! Comedy Adda’ and ‘Five Star Kitchens of the World’ all make good sense? Yes.
Or consider a digital activation in which you might appear in a Shahrukh Khan advertisement by face swapping. Does it make a significant difference? Is that a tightrope? No, it’s almost like a movie, where each character plays a role to make the film fascinating and engaging. It’s similar to multiple heroes and heroines are all doing their part to make it happen, and the core is responsibility for what transpired—strong brand equity and a fantastic relationship with my customers. So, it’s not a tightrope, correct?