The campaigns of Taj Mahal Tea have by no means did not entice its target market. Be it the long-running marketing campaign Wah Taj! that featured tabla mogul Ustad Zakir Hussain or campaigns presenting musical maestros, they’ve carved a distinct segment for themselves over time.
The not too long ago unveiled out of doors marketing campaign, Megh Santoor, reverse the Vijayawada junction railway station in Andhra Pradesh is a cherry on the cake. The out-of-home set up, which measures a complete floor space of two,250 sq ft, makes use of the droplets of rain to create the ‘Raaga of the rains’, which is ‘Raag Megh Malhar’.
For this, Taj Mahal model was honoured with a Guinness World Report certification for a marketing campaign that gained the popularity of being the world’s largest environmentally interactive billboard.
Storyboard18 caught up with Shiva Krishnamurthy, diet South Asia meals and drinks head, Hindustan Unilever, who touched upon the marketing campaign’s genesis, the model’s relationship with Indian classical music, his tackle movie star endorsements and much more.
Edited excerpts: India is considered a tea-drinking nation. How has Taj Mahal Tea, as a model, contributed to this?
Taj Mahal Tea has been round since 1966. It has at all times had one of the best of teas from one of the best of gardens. ‘Hazaroon mein ek’ was the kind of the phrase related to the model. Whether or not it’s Wah Taj, one in every of India’s most iconic campaigns, which had the presence of tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, and which ran for many years, or the marketing campaign that includes vocalist Nirali Kartik, we have at all times communicated with Indian classical music.
So, I would say Taj has at all times stood for being one of the best of India, one of the best of Indian tea, one of the best of Indian classical music, and true to its title, it’s nonetheless one in every of India’s most beloved manufacturers.
Might you clarify the genesis of the out of doors marketing campaign and the Guinness World Report certification for a similar?
The Guinness World Report is a really nice consequence. The target for many manufacturers in mature classes like tea is salience. So we have to turn out to be salient for our target market.
There are mainly three components to Unilever’s advertising credo or assemble. One is ‘Get Actual’. Then, ‘Do Good’. After which ‘Be Unmissable’.
Once we say ‘Get Actual’, it means we have to be actual for our target market, which is why a metropolis like Vijayawada, the place a lot of Taj Mahal tea shoppers reside, turned an apparent option to do one thing like this.
Being actual means not getting dictated by what’s handy to us or the place we’re positioned, however going to the place a lot of our target market lives.
‘Do Good’ is that, in Unilever, we consider that every one manufacturers must have a goal past simply promoting the product. So the aim of Taj Mahal tea is to champion Indian classical music. So, that is one thing we want to proceed constructing and nurturing as our goal.
The third a part of ‘Be Unmissable’ is that right this moment, there may be a lot of an consideration deficit. We had been on the lookout for one thing over and above the everyday methods during which one communicates, one thing that captures folks’s creativeness and breaks the litter. Our strategy was to do some form of a public set up. That is the best way we thought concerning the marketing campaign.
Might you contact upon the patron analysis that was carried out to know the heartbeat of the shoppers and conceptualise the out of doors marketing campaign?
An unconventional marketing campaign like this cannot be researched. So, we’ve got to only go together with the collective judgement of the folks. We weren’t anticipating as a lot success as we appear to have bought. It has discovered its manner into all of the household and faculty WhatsApp teams, which, I believe, is a giant marker of virality. We’re going to promote the video and get influencer advertising behind it. Hopefully, we’ll hold the thrill going for a month or two extra.
Might you clarify extra on the influencer advertising half?
Today, folks watch numerous content material and there are numerous social media influencers who say and do issues that are helpful to our target market. So there may very well be some folks, for instance, who discuss what is occurring in Vijayawada. However, there are individuals who speak so much about classical music on-line. Strategies like that’s what I imply by influencer advertising.
How has the target market of Taj Mahal tea developed over a interval?
The target market of tea or the drinkers of Taj Mahal tea are mainly tea lovers. They’re tea connoisseurs who actually love tea and recognize what good tea is. The opposite factor is that additionally they have a look at tea as a method to take pleasure in some ‘me time’.
Usually, for homemakers, when the household has left dwelling for work or faculty or faculty, they’ve a while for themselves to organize an exquisite cup of tea and have a bit of ritual going round it. They could go to a bit of nook of the home, placed on their favorite music or watch their favorite TV present.
Might you clarify the distinction and similarities in client developments in 2022, in comparison with 2023?
Tea isa mature class. The mega developments, like in any mature class, is upgradation. As India turns into extra prosperous, because the footprint of recent commerce shops will increase, as urbanisation goes up, as extra folks be a part of the workforce, there’s higher aspiration and premiumisation.
So shoppers transfer from a cheaper or a decrease high quality product to a costlier and the next high quality product.
A mega development in meals and drinks is well being and wellness. The best way during which it has been addressed greatest is with inexperienced tea.
So, 5 to seven years again, solely only a few folks had even heard about inexperienced tea. However now, everybody has not solely heard about it, however can also be satisfied about its advantages, which is important for weight administration and general well being and well-being. We’re fairly pleased with having pushed it by way of our Lipton model. So well being and well-being is a giant development. Dwelling treatment that has at all times been a part of Indian life and folklore is what is named the kada (natural concoction).
And that is what we’ve got accomplished with it by way of Crimson Label Pure Care. It’s India’s solely tea, which is clinically confirmed to extend immunity and depends on our age-old Ayurvedic knowledge. It is bought a clinically confirmed mixture of components which is Ashwagandha, Muleti, Tulsi, and many others.
The opposite development is experiences. Folks today crave experiences greater than merchandise. Taj Mahal Tea Home is an expertise that our model Taj Mahal creates. So in some ways, when one visits the tea home, they go to the model Taj Mahal. That is the place the model lives. It affords nice tea, it’s set to Indian classical music, and it additionally lets one take a pause and indulge.
Taj Mahal Tea and classical music share a particular bond. How has classical music and the presence of musical maestros in campaigns enhanced the model picture and worth of Taj Mahal tea?
Taj Mahal tea is an experience model. Its values are experience, sophistication, connoisseurship, rigour, craftsmanship, and many others. I believe all these values are embodied by Indian classical music. And the maestros that practise Indian classical music stand for this stuff. In some ways, by changing into related to the artwork type and with the artists, we’re in a position to create the kind of imagery that we wish to.
There may be additionally a bigger goal round championing Indian classical music. Lots of people in India, their solely actual expertise with Indian classical music is likely to be by way of Taj promoting. Due to the dimensions at which we function, tens of millions of individuals see, say, an advert of Taj each week. So, they expertise classical music and we successfully propagate classical music by doing that. So, I believe it is a great symbiotic relationship that we’ve got with Indian classical music and we intend to maintain strengthening it.
For Taj Mahal tea, which has been essentially the most tried and examined advertising method, what has helped ring a bell among the many viewers?
I do not suppose there may be any Taj Mahal-specific advertising method. It’s simply good client advertising strategies — whether or not it’s having an amazing product, charging a value that’s applicable, backing it in a manner that buyers are in a position to get pleasure from after which selling it by way of distinctive model belongings.
I believe Taj notably stands out in just a few issues. We spoke so much about promoting in Indian classical music. But when we additionally have a look at our packaging, our design philosophy is impressed by the monument itself. The monument Taj Mahal stands for beautiful Indian craftsmanship.
It additionally stands for symmetry and for all that which one can see on the Taj pack. If one sees the motifs and the dome and every thing else on the pack, it is one thing that most likely is kind of distinctive within the tea class. In order that’s one factor that works.
I believe Taj can also be lucky sufficient to have a particular model asset as we name it within the phrase ‘Wah Taj’. So ‘Wah Taj’ is an expression. Even right this moment, if a dignitary visits the Taj Mahal, a newspaper would have a caption referred to as ‘Wah Taj’ or one thing to that impact. So, it is simply a part of the favored lexicon, and it is a great asset for a model to have. As a result of if one says ‘Wah Taj’, it is simply immediately recognisable.
What’s your tackle movie star endorsements? How profitable has this technique confirmed to be for the endorsement of the model?
I believe it’s extremely case-specific and depends upon numerous issues. For instance, if we stick with Taj, it’s going to have a celeb in Indian classical music as a result of it is such a particular affiliation. If I have a look at different tea manufacturers, like Crimson Label, which is about heat and togetherness, it depicts an on a regular basis slice of life. So it’s extremely brand-specific. I believe movie star endorsements work for a lot of manufacturers, however they don’t seem to be wanted for each model.
Might you contact upon the e-concert ‘Sur Ke Saath’ marketing campaign that was launched in 2020. How did that improve the model picture of Taj Mahal tea? Does it nonetheless proceed?
That is one thing that’s fairly near our hearts. One of many issues that was taking place throughout COVID-19 was that individuals had been denied or folks simply couldn’t have reside experiences. All the things had come to a halt from the viewer or the listener’s perspective. However extra importantly, from the attitude of the musicians, which is the place we are available, for them, numerous pleasure is derived from reside performances.
For a few of the artists, reside performances are additionally a giant supply of revenue. So, if we put all that collectively, the COVID-19 interval was very harsh on music lovers and musicians.
