Though the new ad for Lehar uses the brain-versus-brawn idea to communicate the launch of two new variants, the emphasis is on the small-sized pack. What’s the strategy?
N. Shatrujeet
agencyfaqs!
NEW DELHI, October 23
It is the evergreen brain-versus-brawn story. As an advertising theme, there's nothing new to it - the plot has wriggled its way into countless commercials before this. But what sets apart the new commercial for Lehar Namkeen is the way brain pits brawn against brawn and comes up trumps.
"It was a tough brief," admits Pranav Dewan, creative director, Mudra Communications, Delhi. "The client wanted to communicate the launch of two new Lehar variants in the same ad. They also wanted us to re-emphasize the ‘control nahi hota' aspect of Lehar."
The idea came from the children's parable of two cats and a clever monkey. "Once we had the basic idea, we gave the story a slight twist and the characters fell into place," says Pranav. The Jat and the sardarji were selected because, traditionally, the two are rivals with Himalayan egos - and a penchant for one-upmanship. Which, in this case, suits the ad's protagonist just fine. In fact, when he says "control nahi hota", he might as well be referring to his urge to play on the egos of the brawny duo.
On the face of it, the ad talks about the launch of two new Lehar variants. But the underlying message is ‘chota pack, badi range'. The emphasis on the wide range is understandable: consumers tend to associate Lehar with aloo bhujia - after all, Frito-Lays was the first to introduce aloo bhujia in India. "The idea is to inform consumers that Lehar has a huge variety of namkeens," says Ipomea Arjuna, account supervisor, Mudra.
But why chota packs? Well… Namkeens, as a category, comes under the snack market, which is valued at approximately 4 lakh tonne per annum. This market includes biscuits, namkeens, chocolates and extruded snacks. Namkeen consumption alone constitutes roughly 2.8 lakh tonne per annum. Of this, the branded namkeens market makes up a mere 25,000 tonne. Haldiram's controls about half of this market. Lehar is at No 2, while regional players account for whatever is left.
"One major hurdle that Lehar faces is competition from the local and the unbranded markets," points out Ipomea. Barriers to entry are phenomenally low. Also, for instance, in Mumbai, farsans are a tradition by themselves. In South India, namkeens in the form of muruku are made at home. And, of course, there is Haldiram's.
"It is very difficult to take shares from Haldiram's," admits Ipomea. "The only solution lies in market expansion through innovation." Innovation both in terms of product and packaging. Product innovations include experimenting and launching new variants such as Mast Masala, Tomato Chilli and the phenomenally successful Kurkure. And packaging innovations in terms of hygiene, eye-catchiness and sizes. "Lehar was the first to get into small pack sizes of 35 gm," Ipomea reveals. It's paying - a huge chunk of Lehar's sales come from small packs.
Lehar's logic is watertight. Unlike potato chips, namkeens have generally been associated with the family unit, not as a snack meant for individuals. And in the absence of small, easily disposable pack sizes, namkeens never really appealed to a lone consumer looking for a snack. "If you bought a big packet of chips, you are likely to finish the whole lot. Not the case in namkeens," Pranav makes his point. "What are you going to do with what is left?"
It is here that the chota pack fits in. "For the first time Lehar gave consumers the option of snacking namkeens on the go," says Ipomea. The idea is to eventually ensure out-of-home namkeen consumption becomes a habit.
Maintaining Lehar's brand salience is another objective. "Namkeens had always been a very dull, low-involvement category," says Ipomea. "Lehar has managed adding zing to the category." As one industry watcher remarks, "Be it through ‘Is mein hai mazaa unlimited' or through ‘control nahi hota', Lehar's communication is a manifestation of the Indian consumer's deep-seated urge to break the shackles of self-control imposed by our upbringing."
The Team:
Scriptwriter : Pranav Dewan
Servicing : Nita Kapoor, Ipomea Arjuna
Filmmaker : D. Ranganathan
Production House : Final Cut Pvt Ltd
Models : Abhay Chopra, Jahangir Khan (the Jat), Amarjeet Singh (the sardarji)
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