Parle Agro to pump ₹240 cr in high decibel summer advertising
- The company’s focus shifted to reinventing sales and distribution network to cater to the market effectively which helped it to gain over 8% market share in the category
New Delhi: Homegrown beverage firm Parle Agro, which retails brands such as Frooti and Appy Fizz, said it has earmarked ₹240 crore in marketing and advertising spends across media platforms and high reach properties such as Indian Premier League (IPL). The aim is to get top-of-mind recall and mindshare of consumers as consumption resumes after complete washout of summer season last year owing to pandemic led lockdown.
The company is leveraging the popularity of celebrity endorsers for summer campaigns for its two flagship beverage brands Frooti and Appy Fizz. While Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Allu Arjun feature in Frooti’s national summer campaign promoting the mango drink, actor Priyanka Chopra and Jr. NTR are endorsing the Appy Fizz brand both at the national level and regional (Southern markets) level respectively. Created by ad agency, &Walsh, these campaigns will be promoted across television, outdoor and digital platforms.
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“We are coming back to television advertising after a gap of 1.5 years with two strong campaigns. Since our beverages fall in the impulse purchase category the top-of-mind recall plays a critical role. 2021 is going to be our biggest growth year. We are hoping to grow at 50% this year over 2019 taking us towards our goal of achieving ₹10,000 crore turnover by 2022," said Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director and chief marketing officer at Parle Agro.
The company is also betting on IPL 2021. Frooti is the official on-air sponsor for the IPL, B-Fizz being youth-centric brand will be promoted on Disney + Hostar during the tournament to generate the right reach, impact and visibility for the brand among the core audience.
Chauhan said that the company’s focus shifted to reinventing sales and distribution network to cater to the market effectively despite the lockdown in 2020 which helped it to gain over 8% market share in the category.
Parle Agro has a distribution network that reaches 1.9 million stores across the country. The company has also witnessed over 1,000% growth in the e-commerce business owing to small base and increased consumer demand across e-commerce platforms.
“This growth has continued though it still contributes small percentage of less than 2%. There is definitely a change in consumer buying behaviour," Chauhan said.
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The company is betting big on smaller SKUs and plans to launch B-Fizz‘s SKU to reach new audiences and to expand the brand’s footprint.
“With our 160ml PET for Frooti priced at ₹10, we are certain it will act as our biggest distribution driver across markets and we will see a 20% plus overall growth in sales. With a clear focus on sales & distribution, digital amplification and the association with IPL, we are confident to see an increase in consumption patterns,“ said Chauhan.
Noting that out of home consumption is critical for the beverage category, Anand Ramanathan, partner, Deloitte India said people tend to consume cold beverages when they are on the move. Therefore, compared to last year, more people are stepping out of the homes which will help these brands to sell.
“Additionally, an intense summer is expected to further aid this growth. However, it would also depend on how the state of covid infections evolve. The intensity with which certain brands advertise during the summer season can help take share from competition. Therefore, any kind advertising budgets are welcome as they create movement in the category," he added.
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