TV extremely relevant for FMCG players with large retail footprint, says Reckitt Benckiser's Sukhleen Aneja

TV will continue to hold extreme relevance for FMCG players with a large retail footprint, says Sukhleen Aneja, CMO and Marketing Director, RB Hygiene Home South Asia.

At the launch of pest control brand Mortein’s latest innovative product Mortein Smart, Aneja said, “For any FMCG player today, who's got a large retail footprint, India continues to be one country in which TV will continue to be extremely relevant. Apart from this, brands need media to serve not just consumers, but also trade. So, TV has a huge role to play.”

However, supplementary media like print and digital varies by market, she added. “Today, digital has become extremely relevant. Our strategy is to protect the base by adding mobile on top to solve new problems. The reason why I'm extremely focused as a marketer is to make sure the brand does many more conversations because brands are not built by 25-second advertising alone. They are really built when brands see the category in popular culture, in a conversation where they are honest about what they're selling and also willing to listen, which happens in a dialogue. It doesn't happen in a monologue. So whether it's digital or its PR, these mediums allow brands to engage with real people, ask real questions. It's a two-way loop.”

Mortein Smart is the new plug-in machine comprising a pre-programmed chip that auto pulsates between high and low mode and is 100% automatic, promising 100% continuous protection.

Through this launch, RB India aims to bring in tech-driven solutions that will strengthen its foothold in the Rs 2,200-crore liquid vaporiser segment in India.

Aneja said, “It's not an incremental innovation. It's a true technological breakthrough where you plug in, and you forget because the only innovations that people adopt are those that have solved real problems.”

The brand has launched a 360-degree campaign around the product.

Talking about the campaign, she said, “We are using TV because we can't cover the retail footprint of the brand. However, a large part of our spends also going to be mobile first because this is a category in which you do expect young moms to be watching less TV. So it will be mobile first, TV first.”

The TVC: 

Talking about the brief given to Havas Group for the campaign, she said, “We wanted to upgrade the consumers through a smarter choice in a smarter way to protect. So, the brief clearly was to bring alive the product magic but with a relevant consumer insight. Consumers are already using smart devices but when it came to their protection they still continue to use machines. That is when we really threw the challenge at the creative agency to say that it is a very functional category but how do we really bring in the promise of protection and also bring in an emotional benefit.”

Rana Barua, Group CEO of Havas India, said, “It is a functional product trying to be actually appealing to the mothers of the house to keep their houses as much as mosquito-free.”

The product is targeted at busy mothers who are seeking uncompromising protection for their families.

Talking about the brand’s communication towards mothers and how it changed over the years, Aneja said, “I think the biggest difference that we have made is to recognise mothers’ changing needs. And I think more than the communication, what first needs to change is the product strategy. In pest control, liquid vaporisers or aerosol as a category is growing much faster than other formats. It's simply because people want solutions that take away the need.”

Mortein competes with Godrej's Good Knight and SC Johnson's All Out in the repellent space. In fact, last week only, Goodknight had announced the release of a new model of liquid vapourisers titled ‘Goodknight Gold Flash’.

The product, Mortein Smart, is available with the machine and a 45ML refill in one pack for Rs 149 and is currently available across e-commerce platforms, traditional trade and modern trade stores across the country.

The latest technological innovation designed by global research labs is based on the insight that in India, three out of four households do not use a repellent machine during the day, leaving their families vulnerable to day biting dengue causing mosquitoes like Aedes Aegypti.

In addition, independent consumer research conducted by Mortein indicated that 73% women may forget to change modes between high and low modes. This automatic technology resonated well with consumers who tested the product, wherein nine out of 10 consumers showed inclination to switch from their current device after trial.

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