Squirrels get a break in Kit Kat commercial

Category: Confectionary (Chocolate)

Company: Nestle

Campaign: Take a break with squirrels

I couldn’t resist myself from writing about the most exciting campaign ever from the stable of Nestle’s chocolate brand, Kit Kat.

In the previous post of Cadbury Dairy Milk’s Shubh Aarambh campaign I have laid out an overview of Indian Confectionary Industry. As stated in the previous post, Nestlé with its brands, Munch, Kit Kat, Bar One and Milkybar, has about 25 per cent of market share in the total confectionary industry. Kit Kat falls under the sub-category of chocolate which is dominated by Cadbury Dairy Milk. In recent period the market share of Nestle Kit Kat was ceded by the Cadbury’s Perk. The recent campaign could be the reaction to this defeat.

Nestlé Kit Kat was launched in India in 1995 and was well received by consumers owing to both the 'finger format' of the chocolate as well as the way its advertising celebrated the 'consumption ritual'. Globally Nestle Kit Kat follows the same proposition of “Have a break have a Kit Kat”. It is very difficult to find out & implement the brand proposition which suits all your markets. But once you find it you will have a cake walk in handling the brand.

Let’s check the effectiveness & rationale of the brand proposition. Brand proposition is nothing but a benefit offered by a brand which gives reason to the consumer to consider your brand. Unfortunately it is very difficult in chocolate category to offer any rational or emotional benefit. Kit Kat is facing the same problems as all other brands in the confectionary category are facing i.e. the problem of brand recognition. As I have mentioned in my previous post, in confectionary category, it is very important to give some reason to the target group to buy your brand to minimise the impulse purchase. You need to create Brand Salience (the brand’s propensity to be noticed or come to mind in buying situations) in the category of confectionary; Cadbury is doing this & that too very effectively. To achieve brand salience what could be better than the proposition like “Have a break have a Kit Kat”, which offers you an occasion to have a Kit Kat i.e. a break.

The 'Have a break, have a Kit Kat' tagline got a 'desi' twist a few years ago, when the brand rolled out its 'Kit Kat break toh banta hai' communication. Now, the campaign marked the return to its 'take a break' ideation, after the brand had given it a rest for a while.

The brand has always targeted the youth and it is logical too. The fast & furious world is driven by youth only. And it is logical to offer them a rest with a Kit Kat.

Key lies in communicating such a good proposition. This time Kit Kat has launched a new ad campaign to extend the brand thought. The new campaign for the brand urges youngsters to celebrate the present and notice the fun events in their surroundings.

The first TVC of the campaign is on air and creating buzz for the brand.  The TVC begins with a visual of two young men sitting in a park. One of them is involved in his work, completely engrossed in his laptop and headphones, whereas the other pops opens a Kit Kat. No sooner does he eat the chocolate than a couple of animated squirrels appear in front of him. He is shocked to see how the male squirrel is wooing the female by singing Bollywood songs and performing some pretty raunchy dance moves. However, when he tries to show his friend the scene, the friend is unable to see what he sees. The friend is clearly not interested in what the first youngster is trying to show him and even expresses a hint of annoyance. The film ends with a VO that states 'Mana ki life bahut busy hai, Par kabhi kahi break lo, Kit Kat khao, Zindagi aapko shayad kuch haseen dikhade'.

According to me till now Kit Kat was at brand benefit stage as it was focusing on the consumer benefits. Till now Kit Kat had TVC’s focusing on the literal meaning of break between tasks & the ‘consumption ritual’ with ‘finger format’. It also tried the theme of ‘more chocolaty’ through its TVC’s. But now it is entering into area of emotions by focusing on the brand value. It is now trying to extend its brand philosophy of ‘take a break’. The ad tells you to get out of your busy, gadget-laden world and get into the real world for a change.

I think it is the time for Kit Kat to engage its consumers further by innovating the ways of the communication. With such a strong brand proposition it can have a ‘National Kit Kat break’ wherein it can appeal people to have a break at a particular time of the day on a particular day of the year. It is like the whole nation taking a break at the same time. For BTL campaigns it can target college canteens & movie theatres in the breaks & intervals respectively.

Wising all the best to Kit Kat!

Cadbury Dairy Milk's Shubh Aarambh

Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM)

Category- Confectionery (Sub-category- Chocolate)

Company- Cadbury India (Kraft Foods Inc.)

Campaign- Shubh Aarambh

After a long break I am writing this post, it is like Re-Shubh Aarambh for me and my blog. And as per the tradition I would like to start with kuch meetha & what could be better than CDM.

As usual we will start with the industry analysis.

The Confectionery Industry in India is divided into following sub-categories:

1. Chocolates
2. Hard-boiled Candies
3. Eclairs & toffie
4. Lollipops
5. Bubble Gum
6. Mints & lozenges

The total confectionary market in India is valued at about Rs. 4,500 crore, out of which the chocolate sub-category is valued at about Rs. 2,000 crore. In the sub-category of chocolates about 71 per cent market belongs to Cadbury; CDM has about 35 per cent share of the Indian chocolate market. Cadbury 5-Star has about 14 per cent; while Perk and Gems have seven per cent each. Cadbury Celebrations has 5 per cent, and Cadbury Bournville has about 1 per cent market share. Nestlé with its brands, Munch, KitKat, Bar One and Milkybar, has about 25 per cent. The rest includes players such as Amul and others.

I got surprised by the data about CDM’s market share, but it is true. Though CDM is the generic name for the chocolates in India, it doesn’t reflect in the substantial market share. The poor brand recognition, in the chocolate category, is ruing the market share of CDM. Shockingly, still about 80-90% of the consumers ask for chocolate or candies at the retailer’s shop without mentioning any brand name. And they accept any brand given by retailer without any hesitation; rather they don’t recognise the brand. Secondly almost 80% purchases in the confectionary category are impulse purchase. These are the two reasons why Cadbury & other players are spending a lot on the brand campaigns.

The key to success, in terms of market share, lies in the branding & distribution. Till you are not known to the consumer, you should try to be ‘the chocolate’ handed over by the retailer to the unaware consumer. One can’t totally avoid the impulse purchase but one can reduce it. Cadbury is successfully doing it by providing consumers with the ample reasons to buy its products. Be it “Pehli tarikh” or Diwali.

In the chocolate business it is very difficult to differentiate your product. Firstly because of very less tangible benefits attached with the chocolate. And secondly it is low involvement product leaving very less place to play on intangible benefits.

CDM has identified the nabz of Indian consumer. It started by encouraging people to celebrate the small joys of life with CDM. And now it is encouraging people to anticipate the occurrence of something good after consuming the CDM. Right from the celebration of pay day to the festival celebration CDM has captured every moment of joy in the life of Indian consumer. When I analysed the positioning of other players I found very interesting insight, ‘CDM is targeting the start of good things and Nestle’s Kitkat is targeting the break in the good things and again CDM is there to celebrate the end of good things with you’.

With Subha Aarambh CDM is again making place in the heart & mind of the Indian consumer. It is very apt campaign idea nicely justifying positioning.

Now let’s analyse the execution of campaign idea whether it is successful to communicate the positioning or not.

The media mix for this campaign includes television, radio, digital, outdoor and print. The campaign also includes significant point of purchase (POP) activities.

The TVC part of the campaign opens with a scene at a local bus stop, where a teenage girl is devouring a Cadbury Dairy Milk while waiting for the bus. A humble looking, equally young boy asks her for a bite. When she refuses, attributing her behaviour to the fact that he is a mere stranger, he goes on to explain how his mother advocates sweet consumption before doing something noble. Drawn into this explanation, the girl obliges and hands him a piece of her chocolate. Curiosity gets the better of her and she asks him what the good deed is, to which he replies that he is about to drop her home. The scene closes on two blushing teenagers. Too cute.

According to me the execution of the campaign idea is just superb. It connects with the target group and stand out in the crowded jungle of TVCs. The idea is very wide and can be extended across all media channels with all possible interpretations.

In the digital space, the brand plans to tie up with marriage and job portals; and also intends to tie up with Indian Railways for branding on tickets. This is an effort to merge the concept of a happy start i.e. Shubh Aarambh with relevant occasions such as marriage, a new job and the onset of a purposeful journey. I have seen beautiful hoardings of this campaign on the CST station, communicating very good message at the right time & right place.