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The self made Grasim man: Akshay Kumar
Grasim Suitings has changed it tagline to ‘For the self made’, and who could better endorse the brand than Akshay Kumar, whose story of rag to riches without a godfather in the industry is well known
Rahul Dravid is gung-ho about his cricketing style being similar to Sansui’s product innovations. Sachin Tendulkar can’t stop talking of how life is so similar to cricket, with Aviva Life Insurance figuring somewhere in that analogy. The inference is simple: brand ambassadors, in an effort to show the world that they truly believe in the brand, are drawing parallels between their own lives and the brands.
Next on the list is actor Akshay Kumar, who was recently roped in as the new face for Grasim Suitings.
The TVC, created by O&M, sketches Akshay's life and the struggles he went through to become a movie star, and connects it with the brand story. The TVC shows how the film star started as a cook, then became a martial arts trainer and finally a celebrated movie star, and that too without the help of a godfather in the industry. O&M is the agency handling Grasim and Titus Upputuru of the Delhi branch is the creative director behind it. The story of his life is narrated by the film star himself.
Abhijit Ganguly, brand director, Grasim Suitings, says, “The self made man is not restricted to the metros any more. Even a small town guy can make it big in life.”
“We wanted to go ahead with this philosophy, and Akshay seemed to be a perfect fit with the brand proposition. His success story from rags to riches without any godfather in the industry is well known. Besides, Akshay is one star who appeals to both the elites as well as masses,” he adds.
The brand had spent Rs 7-8 crore in the last fiscal, and it plans to increase its advertising budget to Rs 11-12 crore. Even this time around, the brand plans to spend 90 per cent of its advertising budget on television, besides print ads for the metros. The company also plans to use other media platform such as cinema, Internet, radio and outdoor.
The ready-to-stitch segment is a Rs 2,500 crore market. Grasim Suitings, a part of the textiles division of Grasim Industries, which is the flagship company for the Aditya Birla group, holds a 12-15 per cent share of the market. Raymond’s is the leader with approximately 25-30 per cent of the pie. The other players in this segment are Siyaram’s, Reid & Taylor, Mayur Suitings, Donear, Graviera (the second suitings brand by the Aditya Birla group), Digjam and OCM.
The strengths across the markets for the company’s two brands – Grasim and Graviera – vary. Grasim, being a premium brand, has a national presence. Graviera, on the other hand, has more of a regional presence and is popular in the central and western areas of the country.