BRAND SPEAK.

“Being a new brand in an industry with so many established and trusted names for many years, it was pertinent for us to go with the flow yet bring a strong communication that would enable us to engage the audiences with us at trade and non-trade level.”

Ravinder Reddy

- Head of Marketing - Vicat Group (India) Director Marketing, Bharathi Cement

Which was the first brand/ product campaign of the company and what was the strategy used to reach out to the stakeholders?

In 2009, India had many big players in the cement industry.  Most brands came with a strong legacy of producing cement for over 50 years.  While regionally too, there were many brands that were making a niche for themselves. So the markets were very competitive. When we entered the market, we thought of bringing the best of technology that would ensure consistent quality.  With most cement companies using the traditional methods of quality check and packing, we introduced robotic quality control for perfect consistency in every bag and tamper proof packing to ensure there was no pilferage or adulteration. Also, the vertical roller machine used for crushing of the raw materials was German make. This was the first time in the industry that such a machine was installed.  So, we took these as our launch USP and came with a strategic and creative route with a simple tagline "Three Times Better".  To substantiate, we signed Suriya (south Indian actor)as our brand ambassador. This helped the brand get instant recognition and connected with the audience perfectly.

What kind of market survey was done for the promotion of the brand/ product and how was it executed?

Our strategy was very clear from the very beginning to give superior quality with the existing premium brands. With the markets already having many brands in the same premium segment who were advertising to their best capacity, we too could not be left behind despite being a just born brand.  With extensive research and brainstorming with the creative and media agencies, we made sure we used every medium available, including wall painting, shop painting, shop branding, print media, outdoor campaigns, TV ads in GEC and news channels, radio campaigns across south, along with some of the major sponsorships like celebrity cricket league(CCL) cricket match with film fraternities, Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL)cricket match with first class cricket players. We distributed our budgets strategically for ATL and BTL activities across all the markets.

What were the challenges faced while marketing the brand/ product and how did the team overcome them?

Being a new brand in an industry with so many established and trusted names for many years, it was pertinent for us to go with the flow yet bring a strong communication that would enable us to engage the audiences with us at trade and non-trade level.  We went aggressively and steady in building that trust along with communication.  We penetrated the markets with proving our quality benefits over other established players - in terms of quality.  We placed our brand in premium segment with premium pricing as we have given superior quality, which people have accepted it.  With on boarding of new dealers who agreed to accept a new brand and were assured to promote it, I think we were home in the initial days.  Over the period with right alignments with the channel partners and supported communication (ATL/BTL) we were successful in creating Bharathi Cement the top of mind brand across the southern states. To support other branding activities, we regularly conduct knowledge sharing events for engineers, contractors, masons, dealers, retailers, architects where we discuss about the latest trends in the construction industry and how we implement to deliver the best and quality products to end user.  We have even deployed technical services to the customers' door step through Mobile Construction Advisor.

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