JWT = Juniper, Wheat and Tabasco

Juniper, Wheat and Tabasco goes on to decode each of the benefit spaces in detail, capturing new trends and identifying new opportunities for brands

Ananya Saha | Delhi | July 30, 2012

Behind every little food act, there is an emotional exploration. Even when JWT rebranded itself a few years ago, the colours of the logo came from the colours of Juniper – herb, Wheat –cereal, and Tabasco – spice. And hence, began the journey of advertising agency towards an initiative on 'foods' as a category. JWT has initiated an extraordinary journey to see connections between consumers and brands; joining the dots between human emotions, the rationalising of food choices and the path to behavioural change.

“As marketers, and proposition writers, increasingly slice consumer's life to create a story, little gets left as an interesting message for the brand itself. This idea is a curation exercise for brands,” said Bindu Sethi, Chief Strategy Office India, JWT, adding, “How do you curate years of learning, dig for new insights and funnel it back into the thinking process? How do you constantly evolve new perspectives on timeless brand issues, be it increasing penetration and trial, getting into the consideration set, or increasing consumption? What finally makes a mother add our brand to her grocery list, or a youth reach for our brand rather than the other?”

Mythili Chandrasekar, Sr VP and Executive Planning Officer, JWT, explained, “Juniper, Wheat and Tabasco is a hunt for tipping points to adoption of branded food practices. We wish to find connections for brand positioning, and understand opportunities for different food portfolios.” To kick it off, JWT has created a battery of 10 “packticons” – representing the discovery of the 10 benefit spaces that drive all food choices. A creative interpretation of a strategic framework! Everything planning team does is finally input brand propositions and creative ideation. This is a proposition and idea generating tool for food brands that planning team at JWT has co-created with the creative team. What JWT did was that it curated its learnings from food brands that it handles, looked at cases, analysed ads, read up on Indian food psychology, and spoke to consumers to find patterns.

JWT started this exercise with research using Brand Chakras, and uncovered three fundamental drivers: The Drive for Power, The Need for Love and Care, and The Search for Pleasure. These further cascades into the 10 benefit spaces. Juniper, Wheat and Tabasco goes on to decode each of the benefit spaces in detail, capturing new trends and identifying new opportunities for brands. The exercise helped JWT to understand each space in depth and discover unused angles in regards to various perspectives on the functional claims in each space, explore combinations spaces, and explore disruption by moving one product from one space to another space. With an aim to explore tipping points to adoption of branded food practices, this exercise would help the brands to realise which space can help a brand too locked into health to come out to be more inclusive, and increase trial and penetration, according to Chandrasekhar.

As the brands get stuck in few words in order to define it, the idea is to go beyond. JWT aims to create such exercises in four stages, with the identification and classification being the first stage. Coming up next is the new age Indian housewife, and her changing grocery list; followed by food hunting on the net. JWT's plan is to offer newer perspectives to the new categories every now and then.

Will it actually result in evolved communication? Only time can tell. Who is hungry, now?

Ananya@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com