Sumita Vaid
Advertising

Allied Domecq looks to build brand salience through awards

Allied Domecq has chosen to strengthen its association with its core brand values through Teacher's Achievement Awards propped up by an interesting line of events

In the wake of the ban on hard liquor advertising in media, lateral brand associations have taken over the task of mainline communication. Ground events are one such mode of communication. Examples of hard liquor marketers sponsoring golf tournaments, musical events, award shows are not difficult to find. Allied Domecq, a major player in the Indian scotch segment with brands like Teacher's, Teacher's 50, Old Smuggler and Long John, has chosen to strengthen its association with its core brand values in a slightly different fashion - through Teacher's Achievement Awards (TAA) propped up by an interesting line of events.

At Allied Domecq the approach to brand promotion is somewhere between above-the-line and below-the-line; officials at the company call it ‘through-the-line' approach. Explaining the concept, Neeraj Kumar, general manager, marketing, Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine (I), says, "We link the ground promotions to connect better with our consumers. The Teacher's Achievement Awards process is a successful example of a ‘through-the-line' strategy."

TAA was instituted in 2001 with a view to growing the flagship brand - Teacher's. With that objective, the awards use the ‘achievement' platform to reiterate the brand values of Teacher's. "TAA endeavours to salute the wealth of individual talent and success across diverse fields in India. Its objective is to honour these achievers and encourage them to scale new heights in excellence," explains Kumar.

The awards ceremony for this year will be held in the month of November. The categories for this year's awards include Teacher's Achievement Award in Sports, Teacher's Achievement Award in Business, Teacher's Achievement Award in Communication, Teacher's Achievement Award in Entertainment and Teacher's Lifetime Achievement Award. The short-listing of the nominees is underway for each category.

However, this year the endeavour of Allied Domecq is to increase the scope and magnitude of the awards. To that effect, the company has commissioned Wizcraft International Entertainment to manage and coordinate the entire awards process.

Interestingly, the idea of instituting the TAA came from a consumer group survey. "Basic inputs from frequent research conducted by Allied to determine scotch drinking habits across the country and to determine the reason behind the preference for Teacher's, helped Allied Domecq identify ‘achievement' as a platform for the brand three years back. Achievement and celebration go hand in hand. This, coupled with the key consumer insight that there is an achiever in all of us, served as a base to institute the Teacher's Achievement Award in 2001," informs Kumar.

Feroz Khan, theatre director, producer and actor was the first recipient of TAA in 2002. He was awarded the Teacher's Achievement Award for Theatre. Nagesh Kukunoor, chemical engineer turned filmmaker with small budget blockbusters like Rockford, Hyderabad Blues and Bollywood Calling to his credit, won the TAA last year for Creative and Performing Arts. Promoting the awards is an extensive print campaign, conceived by Bates featuring Khan and Kukunoor.

Alongside, the company has been building brand salience through events such as Teacher's Achiever's Nights (TAN) and Scotch appreciation workshops. TAN is a series of events celebrations in leading pubs and discotheques across the country. For these events, Allied Domecq had specially flown in DJ Jay Walker from the UK and Australian Dance Troupe Trailblazers, with celebrated barman Sandeep Verma aka Sandy as a constant feature in the events. © 2003 agencyfaqs!

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