Brand Ambassador Karisma Kapoor with Vikas Mittal, Managing Director, McCain Food India

Brand Building at McCain Foods India; Karisma Kapoor Roped in to Engage 'Super Moms'

by  Rakhi Jerly Marketing | May 23, 2016 | Feature

Karisma Kapoor YES Bank

With a 360 degree integrated approach, McCain strives to establish its brand presence in the Indian market through a combination of ATL and BTL activities. Wide scale sampling drives are often used to engage the consumers, aided by impactful branding innovations. Instead of doing run-of-the-mill activities such as banners and cards, the McCain branding focusses on things that consumers automatically reach out for, such as charging stations, wall clocks etc, which help registered better brand recall.

EVENTFAQS spoke to Komal Yadav - General Manager, Food Service, McCain Foods India to know more about the ready-to-eat snack brand’s ExM strategies, associations and partnerships. Here's a round-up of McCain's brand building and engagement activities.

The ExM Strategy

It is easy to advertise a product, but conversion rates cannot be assessed through advertisement, especially when every players in the market uses the same tool to talk about their products. McCain has always wanted to gain consumers’ trust, and therefore been keen about experiential marketing. Kiosks are frequently placed at high footfall zones, such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, malls, etc. "There is no better way to make it to consumers’ monthly basket than making them try the hot fresh delic snacks curated keeping their taste buds in mind," says Yadav. 

Brand Building Engagements

McCain does a mix of both ATL and BTL activities and have continued with a two pronged marketing approach. As the category is relatively new but expanding with the demand for convenient food options, the brand has striven, first and foremost, to build the category space. McCain's freezerman experiment garnered huge visibility with a freezer-on-wheels reaching consumer at hypermarkets. 

Yadav elaborates, "We try to do branding that is impactful and not necessarily expensive. You might find charging stations planted in supermarkets with McCain branding. We promote our products not only through retail and institutional purchases but through engagement and experience. We engage consumers through contests and surprise gift packs on special occasion for them to experience the deliciousness and freshness of our products. We also do frequent sampling exercises with food writers and bloggers for their feedback. Our strength lies in localizing our offerings as per the consumer preferences."

Brand Ambassador - Karisma Kapoor

Karisma Kapoor represents the contemporary women of today – balancing the demands of work, children, and home with grace. She has brought a vibe and energy to the brand and modern women find it easy to relate to her. She has communicated the undisputable merits of having ready-to-cook snacks, effectively. "We strive to be an inextricable part of the modern, efficient, and time crunched lifestyle, said Yadav.

Association with Yes Bank

Yadav says, "We are happy to have associated with Yes Bank for the much awaited and well attended Polo match. It gave us an opportunity to reach out to a much wider consumer base." The event has a variety of audience from polo enthusiast to foodies and food critics in attendance. The polo match was part of a long term innovative tie up between McCain Foods India and YES Bank, to reach out to a larger yet exclusive audience. Under this partnership, privileged YES Bank customers are offered special access to information on products, events, and offers from McCain Foods over the next one year. 

Branding Strategy

McCain Foods India believe that the most important factor in channelising marketing initiatives is Market Research. It gives one a clear idea as to what the audience likes and how one needs to package that information. In order to promote the products and connect with them, McCain undertakes activities such as organizing HORECA meets, participation in B2B shows, print advertising, and sampling for institutional customers, etc.