Allied Domecq resorts to print to promote Teacher's 50

Allied Domecq Spirits and Wines (ADSW) India has launched a new press campaign for its scotch brand, Teacher's 50, to reach out to the "confident and the friendly young achiever." Through the new advertising campaign, which is designed by Bates India, the company hopes to establish the brand on the proposition "Genuine quality speaks for itself."

Following the ban on direct and surrogate advertising on television in October 2000, ADSW decided to resort to the print medium to garner mass visibility for Teacher's 50. But since print is a static medium with a relatively short shelf life, the use of visual cues to communicate the positioning of the brand was the main focus.

To reach a wider audience, a mix of niche and mass publication has been used in the print campaign, which would span three months, beginning January 2001. The campaign is targeted at men in the 30-40 years age group in the SEC A1 and SEC A-plus bracket, who consume scotch three to four times in a week.

The campaign is running in general interest magazines like Outlook and India Today, and in special interest magazines like Business World, Business Today and India Today Plus. Through these, the company is looking to reach the guy who is confident and friendly, despite being a young achiever.

The ads depict popular icons touting the punch line ‘Speaks for itself'. They are strategically placed on the top right hand corner to ensure visibility. To reinforce the message, the strip ads are placed on three consecutive pages. The idea is to make the consumer connect ‘Genuine Quality' with Teacher's 50 and recall the message.

The print campaign hopes to achieve three main objectives. The first is to strike an emotional bonding with consumers, second, to increase trials among non-users and, third, to strengthen loyalty among users.

The idea behind the campaign emerged from a recent research commissioned by ADSW. The Sofres-Mode research showed that the typical Teacher's loyalist consumed the brand because of its "outstanding quality". Another interesting fact that was brought to light was that while other consumers consumed scotch for the ‘show-off value', the Teacher's consumer was more ‘matter of fact' about his scotch consumption. The survey also indicated that in the consumers mind, Teacher's 50 stood for self-expression and subtlety. Thus the consequent repositioning of Teacher's 50 as a brand for young achievers.

Says V. Ramesh Mani, director, sales and marketing, ADSW, "The Sofres-Mode survey clearly pointed out that a repositioning of the Teachers brand was necessary for consolidation. The traditional stance of the brand, targeting consumers aged between mid-forties and fifties, was not generating the expected response. Now, Teacher's 50 is an aspirational brand for a younger consumer. The look of the bottle has been spruced up with attractive yellow labels. And of course, our USP will always be quality."

The print campaign will also be supplemented with below-the-line activities. ADSW is promoting Teacher's 50 aggressively in hotels and clubs in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Joint promotions are also being used effectively. For instance, ADSW promoted Teacher's 50 at the launch venue of a famous watch brand in Mumbai. With a strong distribution network of 1,500 retail outlets, the company hopes to improve its penetration in the India spirit industry very fast. "We are exploring the possibility of using the net as an advertising medium," says Mani.

© 2001 agencyfaqs!