Bisleri is taking a very integrated approach to its festive season budget: Tushar Malhotra

Bisleri International, one of India’s leading packaged drinking water companies and a pioneer in carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), has announced Bollywood stars Ishaan Khatter and Palak Tiwari as the new brand ambassadors for Bisleri Pop.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Tushar Malhotra, Director of Sales and Marketing, Bisleri International, speaks at length about what sets Bisleri Pop apart from its soft drink portfolio. He also shares insights into the decision to associate with Ishaan Khatter and Palak Tiwari as brand ambassadors for Bisleri Pop, along with the creative process behind the campaign.

Beyond the campaign, Malhotra delves into current consumer trends and buying behaviours in India, how the campaign aligns with these trends, other marketing strategies planned for the upcoming festive season, and the marketing and advertising budget for the 2024 festive season, and more.

Bisleri is synonymous with packaged drinking water. The brand has also entered the carbonated drinks market with its product, Limonata. This time, Bisleri is launching a new campaign for its latest product, Bisleri Pop. What sets Bisleri Pop apart from its soft drink portfolio?

When we look at Bisleri Pop, we see an orangey drink that has a refreshing orange flavour. It’s sweet, fizzy, and perfect for any occasion.

For us, we wanted to bring the product’s truth to life, and what better emotion to embody that truth than love – simple, uncomplicated, sweet, and refreshing. Hence, the campaign is titled ‘Flavor of Love’.

Additionally, if you look at the brand name itself, “Pop” carries a lot of retro vibes. We want our consumers to travel back to the 1950s through our campaign. The styling of the campaign reflects this era, from the music to the clothing.

And who better to feature than Ishaan Khatter and Palak Tiwari? They are incredibly charming and exude innocence and simplicity, making them the perfect brand ambassadors for the product. We’re thrilled to have them on board for this campaign.

Bisleri has collaborated with numerous celebrity faces for its different verticals, including Deepika Padukone and Aditya Roy Kapur. What motivated the decision to associate with Ishaan Khatter and Palak Tiwari as the brand ambassadors for Bisleri Pop? What unique qualities made them the right fit for this campaign?

If you look at every product that we have, each one has a unique product story. And of course, there is a message that we want to communicate through our campaign.

For Bisleri, we wanted to make hydration cool, hence the tagline “Drink It Up”. Who better to embody that than Deepika Padukone? For our Limonata campaign, we wanted to communicate “Double the Chill”, which combines lime and mint together. The coolest and chillest guy in Bollywood today is Aditya Roy Kapur, making him the perfect fit for us.

For this campaign, we wanted to capture innocence, charm, and elegance, and I believe Ishaan and Palak both fit the bill. We aimed to take our consumers back to the 1950s. If you look at their styling and the sets we’ve created, we’ve considered every element down to the smallest details. You’ll see old cars and retro TV sets. This campaign brings the 1950s era to life and is entertaining for our consumers.

Today, when we look at consumers, especially Gen Z, they are seeking a love that is simple and uncomplicated. They want to recapture the innocence of a bygone era, and that’s what we’ve tried to convey.

Which agency did you collaborate with for this project, and what media mix are you using to maximize the campaign’s reach, especially with your focus on Instagram and connecting with Gen Z?

I’m proud to say that everything, from the insights generation to the creative idea, was done in-house. We have a strong in-house creative team, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job designing every element of this campaign and developing the tagline and storyline.

From a media mix perspective, this is a digital-first campaign, which we are calling an “insta-mercial”. If you look at Gen Z today, they are primarily hooked onto Instagram, so a significant portion of our budget will be allocated to this platform. However, our philosophy is to maintain an integrated marketing mix in everything that we do.

While we have launched this campaign digitally, there will be spin-offs across different mediums. For example, we will have multiple experiential associations and college activations because the idea is very strong.

We have several tie-ups coming up, such as with the Dua Lipa concert and with Bryan Adams. You will see our product featured there, as well as variations of the campaign brought to life. Additionally, we have about 25-30 college fests tied up with us, where you will see our execution in college canteens and out-of-home advertising.

Looking at the current consumer trends and buying behaviour, how is this campaign adapting to those trends? What role do these trends play in shaping your marketing and advertising strategies?

Overall, we are a complete beverage organization.

There are three consumer trends that we are capitalizing on and integrating into our strategies. The first trend is hydration. This is where Bisleri comes into play, and our campaign, “Drink It Up”, focuses on making drinking water cool.

The second trend is nourishment, which is where Vedica, our Himalayan spring water, comes into play. The third trend is refreshment. In terms of refreshment, we have our entire range of carbonated soft drinks, as well as Bisleri soda.

Thus, our complete portfolio addresses these three consumer needs and trends today.

Are there any other marketing strategies in the pipeline for the festive season?

First, we have Bisleri Pop, which is our major launch for the season. We also have the campaign for Limonata, which is very new and will be featured prominently during this festive season. For Bisleri Water, there is the ISL season, where we have hydration partnerships with seven teams, leading to significant consumer engagement. There is the Delhi Half Marathon in October, followed by the Kolkata Marathon and then the Mumbai Marathon. Our sporting calendar is aligned that way, which will again be followed by the Dubai Marathon.

Additionally, we have completed our first music video collaboration with Warner Music India, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest track, ‘Jachdi’, which also stars Pashmina Roshan.

We have several new campaigns launching in November as well, so our calendar is busy and action-packed. From an experiential angle, as I mentioned, we have the Dua Lipa concert and the Bryan Adams concert. We are also present at many college festivals, and during the festive season, you will find us with our carbonated range at various Garba nights.

For Dussehra and Diwali celebrations, we are collaborating with quick commerce platforms to enhance our presence. A lot of action is happening in the next three months!

What is your marketing/ advertising budget for the festive season in 2024? What percentage increase (or decrease) is it compared to the previous year?

From a budget perspective, we are taking a very integrated approach. Bisleri, being a mainline brand, allocates a significant portion of our budget to TV, but we are also very digital-first when it comes to our carbonated soft drink range.

Additionally, our experiential associations with sports form a major component of our strategy. If I look at Bisleri, it’s all about sports. For our carbonated soft drink range, we focus on engaging Gen Z through college fests and music festivals. In contrast, Vedica is about partnering with premium and luxury events. Our calendar is fully locked up from that aspect.

In terms of our media mix, I would estimate that about 40% to 50% is allocated to above-the-line (ATL) efforts, while the other 50% is dedicated to below-the-line (BTL) initiatives, including extensive trade marketing for our dealers and trade presence. Overall, we maintain a very balanced mix in our strategy.

Given the increasing fragmentation of media consumption, how are you allocating festive ad budgets across different platforms?

From our perspective, we aim to communicate our message to consumers through various mediums.

We deliver the same message in different ways and with different executions. To my mind, this is where a campaign truly comes alive. For example, you might have one communication on TV, but then you also have engagements happening digitally, such as influencer collaborations or capturing the essence of your experiential marketing associations, all conveying the same message. Additionally, the on-ground experiences provided during events like the IFPL or ISL calendar with our partner teams are extremely important.

For instance, during the Lollapalooza partnership last year, we saw five and a half glasses of water consumed, which is a testament to the fact that there are multiple ways to engage with consumers and create strong brand associations. This approach helps us generate trials and foster brand love as well.

Also Read: Bisleri POP unveils #FlavourOfLove with Ishaan Khatter & Palak Tiwari