Q11With a mission to refresh the world and inspire moments of optimism and happiness, Coca-Cola India continues to tap into the massive opportunity in the Indian market which aims to be among the top 5 markets for The Coca-Cola Company globally. To this end, the company is focusing on the immense opportunity within the rural market and building a holistic portfolio of beverages for consumers across all segments.

According to a Coca-Cola spokesperson, “The rural market offers a lot of potential, accounting for one-third of our total volume today. Rural consumption is growing faster than the urban and we believe this will boost rural contribution to 40-45 per cent. The rural consumer wants the same products as their urban counterpart, the challenge is to bring it to them in a cost-effective way and we are constantly innovating to ensure this. ‘Happiness on the go’ is an open truck with a fountain machine that offers 100-150 ml beverages in small cups at Rs 5 and 200-300 ml at Rs 8-10, depending on the location. It has been tested in states such as Gujarat and Karnataka and we are planning to scale it up now. Our Parivartan retailer training program and eKOcool solar coolers are imbedded in the company’s framework of driving sustainable growth in rural markets.”

Building on the proposition of offering choice to consumers, Coca-Cola India is also enhancing portion choices available to consumers. The Splash Bar, pioneered by Hindustan Coca-Cola, uses a two-litre bottle which can be placed in an equipment to serve the beverage in smaller cups of 100-150 ml without compromising the quality and chilling of beverages.

According to a Coca-Cola spokesperson, “Our portfolio strategy has always focused on providing choice to the consumer and offering value. With the drive to deliver refreshing, safe and hydrating beverages to our consumers, we have built a portfolio which boasts 2 of the top selling soft drinks of the country today – Thums Up and Sprite. Coca-Cola is now one of the country’s fastest growing sparklingbrands.The Company alongwith its bottling partners, through a strong network of over 2.2 million retail outlets,touches the lives of millions of consumers, at a rate of more than 500 servings persecond. India continues to be one of the most important growth markets for The Coca-Cola Company. With a per capita consumption of 14 bottles per year, vis-à-vis Coca-Cola products, as compared to the global average of 94, we see tremendous opportunity to grow in the market.”

This year, Coca-Cola India’s communication plans are geared to reach across the spectrum of the market. The company will be using the mobile medium to reach places with low mass media penetration to communicate with rural audiences. With its earthy appeal and mass reach of the brand ambassadors, Coke’s new campaign with Farhan and Deepika aims at targeting consumers in metros and smaller towns.Theseare in tune with the company’s aim to enhance reach and distributionacross its portfolio of beverages.

Brand: Coca-Cola

This New Year, the brand universally synonymous with happiness, Coca-Cola, gave a refreshing new twist to ‘Open Happiness’ and urged consumers to revel in the joys of life- big and small. The new campaign ‘Choti hoya badi, har khushi mein Coca-Cola’, featuring for the first time ever the country’s heartthrobs and youth icons Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone, seeks to embrace and celebrate all the little moments of happiness that life throws up.

The new campaign, which brought together Farhan and Deepika for the first time for a television commercial, spread the Coca-Cola promise of happiness through a series of delightfully charming ads directed by the celebrated Anurag Kashyap. The campaign saw the two actors liven up the screen with their chemistry and engaging interactions in some everyday situations which have them cherish and rejoice the little joys of life with a bottle of refreshing Coca-Cola. The campaign has been scripted by Prasoon Joshi and his creative team at McCann Erickson. The film has been produced by Producer GuneetMonga’s Golden Gaddi Films and directed by acclaimed director, AnuragKashyap. The music of the campaign has been created by Mikey McCleary and Vishal Khurana.

Brand: Sprite

Sprite, India’s reining soft drink brand in the clear lime segment, kick started the year 2014 with a fresh new twist, reinforcing the signature Sprite promise “Clear Hai”. The drink which has created mind space across the country as a bastion of “ingenuity” and “clear thinking” took the proposition further with its latest campaign depicting a refreshing new side to the youth. Sprite, popular amongst its audience as a “Jugaad” drink, resonates the idea of ability to think clearly & overcome obstacles to achieve one’s goals.  The campaign shows the Sprite protagonist using his wit and cleverness in a considerate manner, helping out two elderly ladies get a parking spot.

The campaign was launched through two fresh TVC’s – ‘Valet’ and ‘Hill station’ – which showcased two different daily life situations that every youngster in India can relate to. The story depicts how the brand helps the youngsters attain clarity of thought, in turn allowing them to think smart, overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. The campaign has been conceptualized by Ajay Gahlaut, Group Creative Director and Piyush Pandey, Creative Head, Ogilvy and directed by reputed ad film maker, Prasoon Pandey, Corcoise films and features music by Dhruv Ghanekar.

Brand: Fanta

Snack time will never be the same again with India’s favourite orangey soft drink, Fanta, bringing a playful proposition to snack times everywhere! In its latest communication campaign – “Snack-time Fanta-Time”, the brand added a zing factor to snack time with “orangey Fanta time”, showing a group of youngsters enjoying a snack together with a bottle of the “orangey” drink. For the first time ever, the playful Fanta animation, characteristic of the brand’s advertising, has been produced in India with the introduction of a new Indian Fanta Character, the ‘Mom’.

This year, the brand focused on the fact that Fanta is the top most preferred and enjoyable beverage with snacks. The campaign brings alive the strong tingly craving that the consumers have for the orangey, bubbly taste of Fanta along with their special snack time of the day. The new campaign will reach out to the consumers through an array of touch points including television ads, outdoor, radio, activation and social media.

In addition to this, the company is also distributing the 750 ml Fanta pack called the ‘snack pack’. The 750 ml pack is a perfect serve for a nuclear family of three and is conveniently priced between the 600 ml on-the-go pack and the 1.25 litre fridge pack. The 750 ml pack is priced at around Rs. 35/- while the 1.25 litre fridge pack is priced at Rs. 50/- (delhi). Prices may slightly vary as per city and geography.

The new campaign has been conceptualized byOgilvy & Mather led by Ajay Gahlot, Executive Creative Director; Shailendar Mahajan, Senior Creative Director and Riazat Khan, Creative Director and produced by Nomad Films (For Animation). The lyricshave been written byAmitabh Bhattacharya and music composed by Vijay Antony. With its upbeat and playful tempo, the jingle has been rendered into seven languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.

Brand: Thums Up

India’s most iconic soft drink brand, Thums Up came back with a thunderous campaign to kick start the year, featuring Bollywood’s own toofani superstar Salman Khan. With characteristic oomph and chutzpah, the new campaign reminds consumers to push boundaries, pave their own path and unleash the potential within, with the tagline “Toofan to sab ke ander hai, bas dhakkan hi to hatana hai”. This clarion call is a further build on the drink’s iconic and much celebrated brand philosophy of ‘Live Like Thunder’.

As a part of the launch of the campaign, Thums Up previewed the TVC to Salman’s fan base of more than 20 Million (14 MM Facebook fans + 6 MM Twitter followers) people, on 13thMarch 2014 before the TVC hit mass media on 14thMarch 2014. Thums Up also rolled out a robust digital plan to leverage the campaign. This includes digital and social media platforms for targeted genres: Social, Video on Demand (VOD), Search, Travel, Games, Reach portals and Mobile.

Conceptualized by Leo Burnett, the TVC has been created by KV Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer India Sub-continent, Leo Burnett and Sainath Saraban, Executive Creative Director Leo Burnett. The TVC has been directed by Julien Troussellier under the Cutting Edge Pictures production banner.

Brand: Limca

India’s ultimate thirst quencher, the refreshing, Lime & Lemoni, Limca came back this year only to quench the distinct, ‘Limca Waali Pyaas’, a thirst, unlike the regular. In the latest campaign, the country’s iconic soft drink brand in the cloudy lemon segment further elevates the concept of ‘thirst’. This idea is being portrayed by the quintessential Limca girl, Kareena Kapoor, inspiring the Limca lovers to not just drink the refreshing, hydrating beverage but also quench their thirst under demanding situations.

The campaign, through relatable and humorous stories in travel settings, differentiates between ‘Pyaas’ and ‘Limca waali pyaas’ – i.e. normal thirst and extreme physical thirst. The idea of the campaign is rooted in a basic truth – the hotter it gets or the more physically strenuous a situation becomes, the thirstier you feel and only Limca, the ultimate thirst quencher has the ability to quench that extreme thirst.

The campaign has been conceptualized by K.V Shridhar (Pops) and his creative team at Leo Burnett.  The film has been directed Nitish Tewari and produced by Tubelight Films.In addition to leveraging mass media advertising, the integrated communication plan includes roll-out of an array of touch points including out-of-home (OOH) media, digital, behind the label promotion, point of sale merchandise and on-ground initiatives across all key markets.

Thums Up Jalsa

Thums Up Jalsa, running nationally in its fifth year now, is a unique consumer engagement initiative, allowing Thums Up to connect and engage with its loyalists, giving them the opportunity to participate in and experience an evening of entertainment and action.

Thums Up Jalsa is one of Coca-Cola’s largest consumer connect initiative for rural India through which consumers will not only be entertained but they also stand a chance to participate in an exclusive meet and greet with Salman Khan, the brand Ambassador of Thums Up.

This year, Thums Up is rolling out its rural marketing initiative, Thums Up Toofani Jalsa, in Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajhmundhary.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar