And that is almost like an in-house studio that we have, a content studio that we have, that is helping us, you know, fuel content for all our brands.
Three takeaways worth carrying forward.
- 01
So, we're working very closely with those influencers, content creators, YouTubers, and, you know, we are sort of immersing them into our brand.
- 02
And we are sort of co-partnering with them to create content that is very high on brand and brand message.
- 03
So, a lot of your competitors now are doing branded content, native advertising.
Connected to the DMAasia operating frame.
Proof
This episode connects content strategy to credible evidence, leadership archives and field-tested marketing practice.
Access
This episode connects content strategy to routes into communities, councils, juries and senior conversations.
Ascent
This episode connects content strategy to learning, recognition and the next generation of marketing leadership.
AdChoices / DAA
This episode connects content strategy to privacy-first marketing, consumer trust and responsible data use.
Unfinished Business
This episode connects content strategy to open industry problems that still need senior participation.
Durable lessons from the record.
- Start with the consumer problem, not the channel.
- Treat digital transformation as a behaviour change, not a software purchase.
- Measure effectiveness without losing the brand story.
If content strategy is now table stakes, what will make the brand genuinely harder to ignore?
Take it into Unfinished Business →READABLE TRANSCRIPT810 words
Believe in yourself, believe in your gut and don't be afraid to take risks and experiment. Most of the communication that you put out is targeted towards men. So how are you working on breaking this stereotype? Yeah, so you know the culture is changing rapidly. I think women drinking is going up significantly and rightfully so and interestingly so. I think we are not particularly masculine when it comes to our thinking or our communication. You know, we love to sort of make our brands be, you know, approachable to both men and women alike.
Unisex marketing and unisex in our approach to, as I said, communication building. Oh, brand building is the right thing to do and that's always what we maintained at Bacardi. You know, take our products like Bacardi rums, Aubri's or even Gregoo's, vodka for that matter. You know, we absolutely are unisex in our approach to brand building. Also when you look at these new TGs, do you like also look at some kind of product innovations to attract them? Yeah, so innovation is obviously a critical growth driver to the business.
And, you know, more importantly in two ways. One is increasingly we are seeing a trend of consumers' premiumization, right? So, which means premium products are being picked up more and more frequently by consumers who are willing to pay the money for great quality products. So, we are doing a lot of innovation in that space where we are launching some of our iconic premium brands into the country. Case in point, we've just launched a Bacardi eight years aged rum called Bacardi Ocho. So, that's getting into the markets now. Right.
So, yeah, so, you know, premiumization is a space where we are really driving a lot of innovation. And then secondly, on a category like Breezer, which is an RTD product, you know, there we are doing a lot of innovation in flavors and formats. So, Bacardi is mostly seen as a, it's largely seen as a white spirit brand, right? Whereas the Indian market is more whiskey dominated. So, you have this say, a brand stereotype that Bacardi is associated with white spirits. So, how are you trying to break that stereotype? Yeah. By doing interviews like these.
But Bacardi is, as you rightly said, look, Bacardi is a lot more than just white spirits. Right. We've got a thriving Scotch portfolio. We started to really invest behind our Scotch portfolio for the last 18 to 24 months. Both the brands, which is William Lawson's at entry level Scotch and Dewar's at premium Scotch, are both now sort of national brands available in 20 plus days. Right. And both are doing increasingly well in terms of gaining market share, you know, month after month.
So, great consumer acceptance for these two brands and we are really driving hard and really being a very aggressive player in Scotch going forward. So, a lot of your competitors now are doing branded content, native advertising. How is Bacardi kind of getting into this kind of form of marketing? Yeah. So, at Bacardi, we have a digital center of excellence based in Mumbai. And that is almost like an in-house studio that we have, a content studio that we have, that is helping us, you know, fuel content for all our brands. So, it's called 1862.
That's the year, you know, Bacardi was created globally. And, you know, on the back of that, you know, we've got access to a great influencer network on social media. Okay. So, we're working very closely with those influencers, content creators, YouTubers, and, you know, we are sort of immersing them into our brand. And we are sort of co-partnering with them to create content that is very high on brand and brand message. Yet, it's delivered in the exclusive style of that creator. So, the consumer gets the best of both.
So, Anjan, you're an industry leader when it comes to marketing. What is your one piece of advice to young marketeers? One simple advice, don't be afraid to experiment. I think it's important that in this dynamic environment that we live in, we will never have all the answers to the questions. Right. We will never be able to connect the T's to the dots. And we will never be able to really get enough insights and enough data to be able to take hard decisions. Right. And sometimes gut intuition is what will take you there.
So, you know, believe in yourself, believe in your gut and don't be afraid to take risks and experiment. So, basically keep experimenting, keep evolving. Absolutely. And keep learning. Keep learning. Equally important. Thank you.