India Inc joins summer gold rush

THE HEAT is on, April is knocking on the doors. And marketers — from budget airlines and travel agents to cola biggies and AC makers — are drooling. Summer of 2007 promises to be packed with big action and big new launches... and the buzzword is the “young consumer.” “Companies will also be focused on kids, as they would be enjoying vacations and are the perfect target audience,” feels Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. From Les Elfes, a company that’s organising two-week adventure camps in locales such as Switzerland and Australia for kids at Rs 1.5 lakh per participant, to Coca Cola’s ‘Red Lounge’ - a destination for the youth to hangout, surf the net, chat and watch TV — the kids will be woo’d in a big way this summer. And if it’s good to be young, it’s even better to be cool - specially in the sizzling summer. So from Lacoste’s French Riviera collection in innovative light fabrics, to funky, floral Tees and tank tops from Adidas, the cool quotient will be high in the branded fashion apparel section this summer. “All things cool and breezy will be the flavour of the season,” says Mr Bijoor. This is also set to be the summer of a big splash from the organised retail segment. “Summer 2007 will see new products being launched and jostling for space in the big retail outlets. In fact, we will see the launch of at least 15 international brands. This summer is also expected to see two to three times growth in mall traffic over last summer, partly because of new malls coming up in all the metros,” feels Prasenjit Roy, CEO In-Store Consulting Services, a marketing company that specialises in tracking shopper behaviour in the retail space. Unni Krishnan, country manager, Brand Finance, India, too agrees that this summer is going to see arrival of retail and a number of luxury brands. “We’ll see a lot more new launches especially in organised retailing,” predicts brand consultant Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman and managing director Samsika. But it’s not just new products at the malls, summer has brought with it new combo offers for Indian outbound tourists too, who are are growing in numbers. Air fares may be going up to shave off a part of your summer holidays budget but despite that hot destinations include Sri Lanka with South East Asia or Maldives and Mauritius with South Africa and Turkey.

Everybody loves a good summer

The sizzling season is just round the corner. From colas to ACs and from Switzerland to Bermuda...here's an update on the hot deals that Indian companies have lined up

John Sarkar

IT’S that time of the year again when the sun never seems to set. With global warming pushing up the mercury every year, most people dread the onset of summer. But there are some, to whom sunny days mean a superb business opportunity. No surprise that beverage majors are gearing up for the hot and humid season with a vengeance with a slight twist. While colas used to be big earlier, health drinks are currently in. The Indian soft drink market is worth about Rs 6,000 crore per annum. But here too, innovation is the key if you have to capture a share of the consumer’s throat. Coca-Cola has big plans for the oncoming summer and is all set to roll out a radical concept, The Red Lounge experience, in Pune. Coca-Cola officials say: “Red Lounge is a one-stop destination for the youth to hangout, surf the net, chat, watch TV and experience our entire portfolio, all under the same roof.” Other plans include beefing up their online presence with a one-stop interactive, online destination for Coke consumers in India. The innovative Internet platform has over 4 lakh plus registered users in the age band of 19-24 years. Coca-Cola has also launched new campaigns for each of its brands. Venkatesh Kini, VP- marketing, Coca-Cola India, says: “Over the years, we have made ‘thanda’ and refreshment synonymous with Coca-Cola. The new campaign ‘Sabka Thanda Ek’ strengthens the universal appeal of the brand. It offers a higher order of emotional benefit of bringing people together.” The cola giant has also launched a juice brand Minute Maid Pulpy Orange supported by a 360-degree marketing communication plan involving road shows, extensive experiential sampling sessions in markets, offices, malls, colleges, and a range of contests. “The roll out of the naturally refreshing, orange beverage with real pulp has been designed to extend the company’s market leadership in the juice drink segment,” adds Mr Kini. If Coca-Cola is there, Pepsi can’t be far behind. PepsiCo India has also launched its new drink Mirinda Sorbet and is planning to follow it up by reaching out to its consumers through radio tie-ups and activation plans across Modern Trade & BPOs. Pepsico officials say, “The sampling activation, planned across 22 cities will aim at targeting nearly a lakh consumer across channels. Mirinda Sorbet is a premium offering targeted at young consumers, ranging from students to first jobbers.” Dabur Foods is also going into overdrive with its summer preparations. Sanjay Sharma, GM, sales and marketing, Dabur Foods also reveals his company’s plans for summer: “We have reinvented our ‘Real’ brand to create a stronger differentiation from competitors’ products. In the juice segment 10 years back there was only one flavour that is mango. We have come out with new flavours like pomegranate and ‘mausambi’ this season. We also plan to target teenagers in the 13-19 age group with our new brand, Real Twist. For the health conscious we have launched a Soya drink too. With rapid expansion of distribution we intend to penetrate more towns and cities this season.” Similarly, Rasna also has a few aces up its sleeve. Penetrating small towns and cities seem to be the flavour of the season. Piruz Khambatta, CMD, Rasna says. “We plan to enter towns with product offerings that cost as less as 50 paisa. During the group eight matches of the World Cup we will launch a new campaign with a new Rasna girl,” he says. If beverage companies are planning strategies, can ice-cream companies be far behind. The Rs 800 crore branded ice cream market in India will see players grappling for market share. Currently the number one player in the market Amul is ready with innovative products in its probiotic and diabetic range. Jayen Mehta, AGM, marketing, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) says, “There are 5-6 crores diabetic persons in India. Since we are first to introduce the innovation, we expect to build the market and generate additional business of Rs 30 cr this year.” In the beverage segment too Amul has plans to launch three new drinks in the summer of 2007 - Amul Kool Koko - in the branded ready to serve chocolate drink segment, Amul Kool Salted Lassi and ready to drink Nutramul. HLL, meanwhile, is playing its cards close to its chest. But by the look of things they have major plans for summer. An HLL spokesperson says, “For some of our product categories like ice creams there is a heightened seasonal demand. We will use this opportunity to launch product innovations, trade schemes and on ground consumer activities. These activities will help to strengthen brand equity and preference in consumers.”

Courtesy: EconomicTimes

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