Cadbury India Limited (CIL), a part of the Cadbury Schweppes Group, is Indias leading confectionary manufacturer.

Cadburys Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Eclairs, Perk and Gems are the largest selling brands in their segments. CIL is estimated to have a 65 percent share of the Indian chocolate market. The Indian chocolate market is estimated to be worth Rs. 3.2 billion, with an annual growth rate of 10 percent. Per Capita Consumption levels are very low in India, as compared to 8.7 kg per year in the U.K. The market therefore offers tremendous potential for growth. In this analysis, we examine some of the interesting aspects of Cadburys advertising strategy. The Advertising Message Chocolates have usually been viewed as something meant only for children. Perhaps realizing that children would be attracted to any chocolate, irrespective of the brand, CIL targeted adults with their advertising since the early 1990s. Most, if not all, of Cadburys advertisements in India feature people over 18 years of age. The message that CIL seems to be attempting to put across is this: In every adult, there is a child - let that child express itself, give in to temptation, and satisfy his or her desire to sink teeth into a smooth, creamy, delicious chocolate. This approach appears to be unique to Cadburys. CILs biggest competitor, Nestle, often stresses the energy giving aspects of chocolate (for example, in advertising for Nestle Charge), or on other attributes of the chocolate - taste in the case of Nestle Crunch, as a light snack in the case of Nestle Bar One. Nestle specifically targets children in the advertising for Milkybar, its white chocolate, again emphasizing its energy giving properties. To counter Milkybar, CIL has the Dairy Treat - where it targets the mothers of children by trying to convey the message that its product is full of the goodness of milk, and so equivalent to consuming milk itself. Message Execution Cadburys multi-award winning campaign - The Real Taste of Life - launched in the 90s attempts to capture the child like spontaneity in every adult. From the old man offering his wife a Dairy Milk chocolate to the dancing girl in a crowded stadium, all reflect the impulsiveness and the spontaneity of the child in the adult. Cadburys Perk, the light snack, addresses the hungry child in every adult, as exemplified by the bride who nibbles at a Perk under her pallu. Cadburys Dairy Treat conveys its message through the mother who refuses chocolates and other treats to her son, till Dairy Treat comes along and quickly changes her opinion about chocolates. Catchy lines such as The Real Taste of Life, Khane Walo Ko Khane Ka Bahana Chahiye, or Reach for the Stars, are also used extensively, and to good effect in Cadburys advertisements. Advertising Media Television, the print media and posters have been the main media of communication for Cadburys advertisements. However, with their understanding of the peculiarities of the Indian market, CIL has also explored many new ways of getting their message across to the consumers. Sheet Metal Dispensers: This purple salesperson for Cadburys is found in almost every shop stocking their chocolates. Since it is placed on the cash counter, its design offers visibility, ease of vending, and protection from the elements. It is also placed in the most appropriate position to cater to the impulse buyers. This first from CIL has become so popular that is now the standard design for all chocolate manufacturers. Visicoolers: Visibility for chocolates drops in the summer, as they disappear into the refrigerator. In high throughput outlets, the visicooler serves the need for cooling while still maintaining the visibility of the product. Jars: These are provided to small outlets, where they are prominently displayed. Vending machines: These high visibility machines are provided at busy locations.

Presence in Amusement Parks: Cadburys also maintains a presence in many amusement parks across the country, strengthening the association of its chocolates with fun occasions. Conclusion Cadburys strategy to attract consumers is somewhat unique in a sense, instead of focusing on the product, it seeks to tap into emotions normally associated with chocolates. They have also adapted their strategies to the unique demands of the Indian retail sector. The strategy has clearly proved successful, as they have been able to build and maintain a leadership position in the market with many loyal customers.

Sanjay Purohit
Executive Director Marketing, Cadbury India

Sanjay Purohit, Executive Director - Marketing, at Cadbury India Limited has been with the organisation for more than a decade. Purohit is responsible for developing the strategic roadmap for the business. He is also custodian of brand development and winning marketing mixes. Prior to this he was working with Mobil Peevees Ltd as a Retail Saled Manager and with Asian Paints Ltd as a Product Manager. He has an experience as Business Head with over 20 years experience in creating and growing profitable businesses and brands across varied consumer product categories. In this free flowing conversation with Ritu Midha of AudienceMatters.com, Purohit discusses impact of slowdown, marketing strategies, modern trade, non traditional media and more. .

Q. Starting with the slowdown - impulse purchase category is the one least impacted. Shouldnt that be the first expense people cut? True, small treats or indulgences did not see so much of an
impact, and that is true across the board. We are not recession proof, but you can say we are recession resistant or slowdown resistant. Cola companies had a bumper summer this year, and perhaps the same thing is true for us also. We have continued to grow, and chocolates as a category, has continued to grow. The reason could be that the amount we spend on it is so small that we as consumers economised on larger things first. That s perhaps true of impulse category across the globe. Quite inexplicably though, as per Nielsen figures, confectionary category is not growing as much.

Q. Did you change your marketing strategy in some way to ride slowdown? At the beginning of the
year, we did take a hard look at what do we need to do differently. And we zeroed in on three things. One, contrary to the common belief that one should plan more promotions in difficult times, our belief was that we have to actually invest behind brand advertising. In any case, much of our brand advertising is built around changing consumer behavior, building more affinity towards the category and growing consumption of the category. Changing behavior is all about how we increase the frequency of consumption. Second, we put in place an aggressive plan to refurbish and renovate our existing brands themselves. Consumers flirting behavior goes down in tough times, and they go back to brands they trust. Longevity, trust etc become even more important. People are loyal towards Cadbury and they believe in it. We decided to enhance that experience. We have gone back and said for many of our brands how can we make them even better how can we renovate and innovate, what can we do to make it more appealing. Third and very important, we put a lot of emphasis on better marketing and sales alignment. Mainly on getting great distribution and visibility in retail stores.

Q. Moving to another direction, why did Cadbury opt for a campaign focused on a social message rather than product attributes this festival season? Giving happiness to others is a universal
thought. Normally, during Diwali, we are trying to get people to buy more of our gifting chocolates. But this year we decided to associate Dairy Milk or gifting chocolates with larger spirit of Diwali which happens to be about coming together and celebrating, being selfless and giving to someone rather than only taking. It had a two-fold objective passing on the positive social message, and at the same time associating ourselves with festival in a much larger way.

Q. Did the campaign work better in smaller cities? It worked in both small and big towns it was a universal
message that cuts across segment barriers.

Q. Would you say brand communication per se is changing? There is more social consciousness in the messages? Finally brands reflect happenings in the society. Society is demanding everyone to be socially and culturally responsible. I think that reflection you see in brands also. How successful we are I don t know. But there is greater positive pressure on brands and marketers to do the right thing, than being only interested in sales.

Q. How is the competitive scenario in your category? Competition in chocolate category has increased in the last few years, and it is good. Any category that is relatively underdeveloped grows when competition comes. It keeps us on our toes at one level, and secondly it keeps the consumer interested in the category. As the market leaders with 71% marketshare, a large proportion of the enhanced consumer interest accrues to us. We have held our share in spite of all the competition that has happened over the last three-five years, and hence have no reason to complain.

Q. A completely unrelated question has calorie consciousness impacted chocolate sales?

There is a growing awareness in all consumers on the need to be healthy and thus wealthy. However, it is also true that more and more consumers are realizing that health and fitness is more output related rather than input related. For a person with an active lifestyle, eating choices are quite different from a person with sedentary lifestyle. And to answer your question, no we have not seen any impact in any of our markets. We are a very small part of consumers daily diet. From a calorie point of view, chocolates per gram have same calories as biscuits, or most other processed foods.

Q. And now the oft asked question. Has advent of modern retail helped Cadbury in terms of

sales and marketing? Definitely. Modern trade or retail is big enabler to the category. If you compare traditional vs
modern outlets, display of our category is so much better in modern trade. We have been able to keep the full range in a better and hygienic manner, which though some traditional retailers are able to do many are not, so they keep a limited range. The range being made available and kept and displayed well, means that sales for impulse products go up. We do a lot of work with retailers to enable them to grow the category and our share of the whole category. We have a process called category captaincy, which means to help the retailer to understand what would help in growing chocolate category business per square feet in his retail store. It guides the retailers on the best way to display, the best way to merchandise, best range and the number of SKUs (stock keeping units). So we work significantly on point of buy both in terms of visibility and the planogram.

Q. Have you explored advertising on OOH screens in malls? We have used very little of it as of now, and
it is part of our evolution of total media opportunity.

Q. What is your take on digital media? Is Cadbury s looking at venturing into it in a big way? Of course digital
works for a category like ours, and we are certainly big believers in the power of digital and social media. We have various target groups preteens, teens, tweens, young adults, adults, so on and so forth. For each one of them, we map media that reaches out to them effectively. We have discovered that Net and social media is really important. We are there on social media sites like facebook etc. it is a great enabler of interaction and for having conversations. We are learning what we need to do the best there. We did some interesting stuff for Cadbury Dairy Milk this year. We tied up with several job and shaadi sites and every time someone found a partner or job that matched their requirement, a message would come up asking them to celebrate the happy moment with CD.

Q. Still on media, are you looking at print more favourably now? True. We used print this year far more than we have done in the past. One of the reasons is that print media is looking at FMCG and trying to get it to advertise with them. They might not have bothered with us in the heady days of excellent sales, but this year many publications including The Times of India have made special efforts in reaching out to us, and making us understand the power of print and that has worked for us. So it is not just about rate cuts.

Q. Touching on the creative aspects of advertising, a number of global brands adapt their advertising in India for local consumption. Cadbury doesnt do it much? We strongly believe that if
there is a very strong idea that has worked anywhere else in the world, we must be able to adapt it. For example for Halls, we have run a commercial that has been a global success, we have done that for bubble gum too. However, for brands like CDM we have not done so. Reason is that evolution of category is at a different stage in India as compared to the UK and Australia. Our biggest challenge is to make a western product part of Indian cultural milieu. And hence, our advertising is very Indian, not only in its look feel, but also in its messaging. Bournvita is an Indian brand so all advertising for that has to come from India

Q. How would you rate your interaction with your agencies? Trust is very important. For sure, there
would be times when things are not going well or otherwise. In such situations, you have to ask yourself also why is it not working? Today, all three of our agencies Contract, O&M and Madison, or for that matter our research agencies we have got partnerships that are fifteen years old. They understand that we want from them honest work, and they are also upholders of our brand values. We want them to push us. As much knowledge about Cadbury resides in Cadbury house, same resides with our advertising, media and marketing agencies. That cannot happen in a couple of years you have to work on it it is the difference between a successful marriage and a failed marriage.

Q. Lets end with where we started where do you see economy going in 2010? All predictions by
economists suggest that it would be better than 2009. At least first half would be much better. Therefore cautious optimism is there.

Cadbury India celebrates 'pay day' with Dairy Milk

Mukta Lad, 24 June, 2009

Mumbai Cadbury India has unveiled a new campaign that continues with the brand's 'Kucch Meetha Ho Jaye' positioning. Created by Ogilvy & Mather, the campaign revolves around the theme of 'Pay Day', which is associated with happiness by most people. Commenting about Cadbury's latest communication, Sanjay Purohit, director - marketing, Cadbury India said, "This new campaign takes the concept of celebrations to yet another level. With the Pappu and Miss Palampur campaigns, Cadbury Dairy Milk created a space for itself during the big, community celebration moments. This new commercial keeps the core promise of happiness while introducing another 'moment of joy' in ones life. Also, the new TVC highlights the celebratory occasion of pay day, which is an important event in the life of every middle-class Indian." Said Abhijit Avasthi, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather (India & South Asia), We were looking to come up with another interesting, unique meetha moment. We realised that while celebrations have been done for various occasions, the celebration for pay day was not done. Pay day emotes feelings that are naturally celebratory in nature. Pay day makes you feel as rich as a king or as rich as a crorepati. This is the moment that CDM captures in the new CDM campaign. And then we lucked out on the 50s' Kishore Kumar song that brings the pay day story idea together beautifully. Speaking to Campaign India about the task at hand, Shekhar Jha, creative director, Ogilvy & Mather said, "Generally, the first of every month is the day everyone feels rich and in the mood to indulge. We had to position Cadbury Dairy Milk as something that can be a part of this day of happiness, promises and salaries. Cadbury automatically lends itself to the celebrations." Watch the TVC here: Cadbury Dairy Milk from Campaign India on Vimeo.

The storyline unfolds in a really old office where clerks are busy typing and the main protagonist is one of them. A cashier approaches the main protagonist to give him his salary. The protagonists soon starts singing with sheer happiness as do all the typists. Similarly the newspaper boy and doctor appear as well. And then a kid appears to whom he hands over a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. Cut to the scene where he protagonist's wife is all ready to go to the cinema for the evening. He even buys a ticket for her in black, since the movie is housefull. While watching the movie, he puts his hand around his wifes shoulder and she sees he is holding a Cadbury chocolate bar in his hand. Everybody joins in the celebration. The TVC underlines the brand's positioning that Cadbury Dairy Milk is always around to celebrate one's joyous occasions. "The consumer insight," says Jha, "arose from the fact that most people feel indulgent on the day they receive their salaries. We decided to build up on this insight." The media mix for the campaign comprises TV, outdoor, Internet and radio. The creative team includes Piyush Pandey, Avasthi, Jha and Mahesh Gharat. The film has been directed by Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films.

Amitabh Bachchan: The advertiser's safest bet?

By N. Shatrujeet, agencyfaqs!, January 12, 2004 Section: News Category:
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Amitabh Bachchan is a favourite among Indian advertisers when it comes to imparting freshness and respectability to brands. What makes the star such a popular endorser?

All through the seventies and early eighties, filmmakers in Bollywood regularly used a surefire recipe for the success of their feature films at the box office: Amitabh Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan, in equal measure. Today, more than 20 years since feature filmmakers first woke up to Bachchan's star power and used it to their advantage, Indian advertisers are taking a leaf out of that much-thumbed recipe book. By signing Bachchan on as their brands' ambassador and star endorser. The idea, evidently, is to ride on the immense popularity and goodwill that the actor enjoys, and use the positive rub-off of the association to the brand's benefit. Be it in terms of recall or likeability. Or both. So, in the last five months alone, three big advertisers have struck multi-crore endorsement deals with Bachchan - Nerolac Paints, Dabur India (for flagship chyawanprash brand Dabur Chyawanprash), and most recently, Cadbury India. Add to this list last year's endorsement contract between the star and suiting brand Reid & Taylor, and Bachchan's enduring association

with ICICI, Pepsi and Parker. That makes it seven active endorsement deals. And though not a commercial endorsement in the strictest sense, one mustn't overlook Bachchan's role as ambassador in the ongoing Pulse Polio campaign being coordinated by UNICEF for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Now add to all this those brands that the actor has endorsed at various times in the past - BPL (in the mid-nineties, in case you had forgotten) and Maruti Versa - and one gets a fair idea of l'affaire d'amour that has blossomed between Bachchan and the Advertiser. While the list of Bachchan's endorsements is long - and growing, in all probability - let us focus on the three most recent endorsement deals that the actor has struck. For the sheer convenience it affords, true, but more importantly, for the circumstances that might have led to the contracts being signed. Let's first take Nerolac, which has been the distant second to rival Asian Paints, certainly in image terms. Nerolac signed on Bachchan as its ambassador, and shortly thereafter, unveiled a multimedia campaign featuring the actor which centred at the theme Yeh rang har kisi ko chhoota hai'. The agency handling the account (Interface Communications) has been claiming that the campaign is a hit with consumers, and to be fair to the agency and the advertisers, Nerolac has gained a few notches in image terms. In the case of Dabur Chyawanprash, although the brand is the clear leader in the chyawanprash market, the category has been a victim of flat growth rates for a while now. And it has been speculated that even Dabur Chyawanprash is in need of a makeover, aimed at keeping the brand relevant to consumers. The answer, as Dabur saw it, lay in getting Bachchan to endorse the brand. "The coming together of brand Amitabh and Dabur Chyawanprash would not only help the brand, but also the category, which has been witnessing near flat growth rates," Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India, has been quoted as saying. Cadbury, of course, has the strongest reason for roping in an endorser of Bachchan's stature. The company is trying to live down the worm controversy' that tailed its flagship chocolate brand Cadbury Dairy Milk for much of end-2003 (the damaging controversy also caught other Cadbury chocolate brands in its slipstream), and it believes Bachchan is its best bet in the bid to rebuild consumer confidence in the brand. "This is a perfect first between Bachchan and Cadbury chocolates - their timelessness, and the love and trust they both share with people across India, makes this an ideal partnership," Cadbury India's managing director Bharat Puri has been quoted in the media. "Moreover, Bachchan has a universal appeal that extends to everyone from six years to 60, just as our chocolates do." These endorsement deals clearly point to one thing: Bachchan seems to be something of a blessing for Indian advertisers when it comes to imparting freshness, vigour and, most importantly, respectability to brands. Especially to those in need of some sort of image modification or rejuvenation. But the question is, what makes Bachchan such a safe bet? And how exactly can brands best leverage the star's goodwill to come out on top? That too by beating the burgeoning clutter of Bachchan-endorsed ads? Cadbury's Puri may have been speaking about Bachchan's timelessness and universal appeal from Cadbury's point of view, but he might as well have been echoing every advertiser's sentiment. "Bachchan is as relevant today as he was 20 years ago, especially after his reinvention

through Kaun Banega Crorepati," observes Madhukar Sabnavis, country head, Ogilvy Discovery. "And the best part is his appeal cuts across socio-economic and age strata. Our generation has grown up on Bachchan, while his current popularity ensures that today's generation is also growing up on him." The fact that one of 2003's sleeper hits was Bachchanstarrer Baghban - virtually a one-hero movie - shows the 62-year-old star is still capable of pulling in the crowds. Universal appeal is a plus, but what really clinches the deal for advertisers is the trust factor. "Amitabh is one of the rare celebrities who still enjoys credibility in people's minds, especially at a time when the lives of celebrities are becoming more and more public," says Rekha Nigam, creative consultant. "By borrowing from that persona, brands come across as more credible." Rensil D'Silva, creative director, Mudra Communications, agrees. "There is great respect for Amitabh among consumers, and his endorsement lends dignity to the communication." Ultimately, a lot depends on the brand being advertised and the figure of speech. Citing the instances of Nerolac and Dabur Chyawanprash, Nigam says, "If you look at both pieces of communication, it is clear that both are about brand salience and brand differentiation in their respective commoditised markets. There is little brand differentiation in either category, and neither brand is saying anything new. The idea is just to get the brand to stick in consumers' minds." She, however, sees a good opportunity for Cadbury to leverage the aspect of trust. "Both Bachchan and Cadbury are trusted names in India, though now Cadbury has come under a cloud. If Cadbury is able to tap into the trust that consumers have in Bachchan, people will sit up and listen." The respect Bachchan commands was used very skillfully in last year's campaign for polio eradication (by O&M), an example that almost everyone cites when discussing how best to use Bachchan's firepower. "The agency was clear in its thinking, and the campaign was good as it had a strong idea at the core," says D'Silva. "Amitabh walked the fine line between anger, disgust and humour, and it came naturally." The idea of an angry Bachchan rapping viewers for not doing their bit towards eradicating polio was sincere, and the message homed in true. Interestingly, Prasoon Joshi, national creative director, McCann-Erickson India, insists that brands have to come across as sincere while leveraging the benefits of celebrity endorsement. "The consumer is cynical, so you must know how far you can go," he says. "Whatever claim your endorser makes has to be believable. The moment you cross the invisible line, the consumer stops believing in your communication and your endorser - which is bad for the endorser." Joshi too points to the Pulse Polio campaign as an example of clever use of a celebrity endorser. "Amitabh commands respect, so people listened to him." He adds that roping in Bachchan was "smart" on Cadbury's part, as, "Amitabh's positive persona can override whatever negatives Cadbury has been exposed to." D'Silva, for his part, also believes that endorsements cease being credible when the endorser mouths manufacturer speak'. "Often, a brand's desperation shows when it tries too hard. Yes, in the short-term, Bachchan might be able to rescue you if you are down in the dumps, but he cannot be an alternative to a sound strategic or creative idea. If you don't have an idea, Bachchan will only be parroting a manufacturer's claim, which will ring hollow." There is a consensus that

using Bachchan as an endorser is a good short-term idea. "Bachchan stands for credibility and brands can benefit from that," says Nigam. In the same breath she cautions that celebrity endorsements are not long-term propositions. "In the long-term, the brand has to be the hero." There is, however, one little patch of debate. With the star simultaneously endorsing so many brands, a Bachchan endorsement has ceased to be a novelty as far as consumers are concerned. So is an endorsement deal with the actor worth all that money? "There is a theory going around that multiple endorsements by your ambassador don't hinder as long as your endorsement is relevant," points out Sabnavis. There is some merit in that, considering Bachchan's polio campaign cut through all the clutter fairly easily. "Yes, the question that advertisers and agencies have to answer is whether there is merit in using Amitabh Bachchan as an endorser," Sabnavis continues. "But that equally applies to all celebrity endorsers
The Big B is going to promote the Big C in the chocolate business - Cadbury in India. Indian cine superstar Amitabh Bachchan has signed on to become the brand ambassador of the chocolate major for two years. AB will play a pivotal role in all communication relating to Cadbury's products and brands, be it in print, on television or the great outdoors, the company's managing director Bharat Puri has been quoted as saying in media reports.

AB had played a lead role in helping turn around the fortunes of the then straggling television channel Star Plus by anchoring the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and taking it up the ratings charts a couple of years ago. Many other advertisers such as ICICI, Nerolac, have used AB in their advertising since then. Cadbury India, whose chocolates had ridden into controversy late last year during the festival season because worms were discovered in some stocks of its Dairy Milk chocolates is probably hoping the association with Bachchan will help consumers forget the bad press the company got on account of the discovery. The Food and Drug Administration had then seized the company's stocks and the Cadbury India management had explained it was bad storage practices by retailers and distributors which had led to the worms. Cadbury India's sales fell following the discovery. And even the government got into the act with the central health ministry asking for a report on the controversy. Cadbury on its part has since then been taking corrective measures. It immediately initiated Project Vishwas, a three-step programme involving wholesalers and retailers in which the company partners with the traders on a war-footing to build awareness about storage requirements for Cadbury products. The AB association is another step in this direction to help consumers build confidence in the brand. AB is among the most trusted and revered film stars in India. While making the announcement, Cadbury today launched a strengthened, new 'purity sealed' packaging for Cadbury Dairy Milk and this new packaging for 13 mg (Rs 5) is double

wrapped for maximum protection. The chocolate is wrapped in aluminium foil and enclosed in a poly flow pack, which is completely sealed on all sides. In the second phase, the larger Cadbury Dairy Milk packs will come in poly-coated aluminium foil, which will be heat-sealed and wrapped in the branded outer package. The Indian chocolate market is estimated at about 4,000 tonnes with a valuation of around Rs 6500 million annually. Cadbury India has the lion's share of 60 per cent with its closest competitor being Swiss confectionery company Nestle with an estimated 25 per cent.