TOPIC: AMUL GIRL-STAYING RELEVANT IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

B.COM [Applied Economics] 3rd YEAR

NITYA MISHRA - 19062107

ABSTRACT
This case study, "Amul Girl: Staying Relevant in the Digital World," is about the "Amul Girl,"
a moppet used by Anand Milk Union Ltd. (Amul) for brand promotion and advertisement.
The Amul Girl had been the face of Amul since 1966 and was considered the longest running
advertising campaign in Indian advertising. The case traces the Amul Girl's journey
since inception and lists her sharp and witty takes on Indian and global events, with amusing
taglines used for Amul's brand promotion and product advertisement. The case also
describes how Amul used its moppet in various mediums such as radio (1976), television
commercials (since 1976 and a fresh start in 1994), and social media such as Facebook
(2014), Twitter (2014), and YouTube (2014).

KEYWORD
Advertising; Amul Girl; Branding; Brand Promotion; Amul; Marketing & Brand Strategies; Mascot.

INTRODUCTION
On May 24, 2019, the Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) "Amul Girl," the moppet used by Amul for
brand promotion and advertisement, congratulated India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the
Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and his election as Prime
Minister of India for the second time. The tagline read,
"kamaal ka performance" (great performance), but the
second caption read, "Amul lotus and lotus of taste!" (The
BJP's symbol is the lotus). On January 30, 2019, the Amul
Girl paid tribute to Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal for his
outstanding performance in the Hindi film "Uri" (based on
surgical strikes in 2018 at the India-Pakistan border) by
putting her own spin on a dialogue in the movie “How’s the
josh (spirit)” to exclaim, “Makhan ka josh!” (buttery spirit).
CASE
A NOTE ON AMUL AND AMUL GIRL

“Amul” was formed in December 1949, as a part of a cooperative movement by dairy farmers
against the exploitation by Polson Dairy in Anand, Gujarat, India. The movement was conceived
under the patronage of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (in 1946) and led by local leader Tribhuvandas
Patel. It was carried forward by Verghese Kurien. Started from a small village named, “Kaira” (in
Anand), the movement gained momentum and spread to major villages near Anand by 1949. The
movement was called the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd. (KDCMPUL). The
name was changed to “Anand Milk Union Ltd.” in 1949.

AMUL GIRL IN PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS

Since 1966, Amul has used the moppet in its advertising
campaigns to add a sense of humor to its print advertisements.
This improved the company's customer connection and, as a
result, increased Amul's brand value. The picture, the main text,
and the slogan were the three main elements of the Amul
advertisements. The image captivated people's interest and
ignited their curiosity.

AMUL GIRL IN TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

In 1976, Amul began its television advertising campaign with the

Hindi film "Manthan" (churning), directed by Bollywood Movie
Director Shyam Benegal and produced through Crowdfunding by
500,000 dairy farmers who paid Rs 2 each to contribute Rs 1
million. The film detailed Amul's White Revolution and
demonstrated how it obliterated milk inadequacies in India.
However, in the 1980s and early 1990s, radio was the most
convenient medium for product advertising, and Amul used radio to
promote its product.

AMUL GIRL IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Amul launched the 'Har Ghar Amul Ghar' (every house is an Amul house) campaign in January 2014
to reach out to a new generation of consumers via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Amul produced
a series of films that were only advertised on YouTube because it was easier to tell stories over a
longer period of time than within the time constraints imposed by television. Those advertisements
told emotional stories about middle class families with comedic twists. In 2014, R S Sodhi, Managing
Director of Amul, stated, "Our digital marketing activities and social media availability initiatives are
helping us to connect with young folks and arising generation of new consumers.”

CHALLENGES FOR AMUL

Analysts opinioned that despite being popular, the challenge before Amul Girl was to stay relevant
to the millennial generation. As Chandramouli said, “Youngsters today ask for Go cheese, Amul is
nowhere on their minds. Amul would need to rethink its strategies to get back on the platter of
young Indians.”

AMUL’s MARKETING CAMPAIGNS & STRATEGY - In this increasingly digitized world,

every brand needs to revamp its marketing strategy. Amul too has cut down its expenditure on TV
Ads and has started focusing more on the online form of advertising just like its competitors.
1) In the present day, the shift from offline to online marketing was fairly an easy task for
Amul. They were already creating content for banners and newspapers previously and now
they just follow the same style for their creatives on Facebook & Instagram as well as
twitter.

2) Amul’s Digital Marketing Strategies during COVID-19

Despite lockdown and Amul also being an
FMCG brand, sales have increased due to
excess consumption of households during the
lockdowns and its presence on E-commerce
sites like Grofers, Big Basket, Paytm mall, etc.
However, it has also doubled its spending on
its marketing efforts.

3) During the lockdown, everyone avoided stepping out of their homes and even if they did,
nobody wanted to travel too far for their food supplies and put their safety at stake. So Amul
went one step ahead and created an App to help its customers locate Amul products near
them.

4) AMUL CLASSICS: Amul took its customers on a nostalgic trip by

airing its old com online as well as on TV. Amul is making a lot of
effort to increase its visibility for the Indian public which is sitting
home and consuming content on Social Media platforms.
 5) Simple Homemade Recipes: During the start of the lockdown, Amul came up with a
campaign called #SimpleHomeMadeRecipes.

In each episode of this cooking show, chefs

shared a new recipe in which they used Amul
products. Around 750 million people viewed
these episodes, and Amul even shared pictures
of dishes prepared by their audience. It has
released more than 700 episodes on its
YouTube channel and continues to upload it
regularly.

CONCLUSION
Campaign Magazine ranked Amul as the No. 1 brand in its list of the Top 1000 Asian Brands. Amul
has come a long way from struggling with middlemen exploitation to becoming a mandatory product
in every Indian household.

Amul rose to prominence by devising brilliant marketing strategies that touched the hearts of every
Indian. Amul was able to create a strong presence in the minds of its customers by subtly placing
"Amul Girl" with current events and then posting the same on every social media platform.

It has attracted a large number of customers through digital marketing and has implemented
consumer-friendly strategies.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1) How a fictional character can be effectively utilized for a company’s brand promotion?
2) How the wit and humor of a fictional character can be used for product promotion?
3) How a company’s sales and revenue can be enhanced with minimal spends on
advertisement and promotional activities?
4) The challenges faced by FMCG brands in connecting with millennials?
5) How FMCG brands need to take a relook at their advertising strategy in the face of
increasing penetration of digital media?

REFERENCES
 https://iide.co/case-studies/amul-marketing-campaign-case-study/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul
 https://www.amul.com/