Wrangler appoints Jia Khan as brand ambassador for its women’s range

The company is looking at a marketing spend of Rs 9-10 crore for this fiscal, last year the company had planned a spend of around Rs 7.5 crore

Wrangler, which has essentially been positioned as a male brand, has now launched a new range of denim wear for girls – Wrangler girl. Jia Khan, a young actress, who featured in 'Nishabd' has been brought on board to endorse the female range of products for the brand.

“Wrangler by heritage has been a brand, with an inclination of masculinity. When John Abraham was appointed as brand ambassador, the male quotient was strengthened even further – we had to talk to the women consumers as they are an important target audience for the brand, and that's why a new sub-brand. Wrangler, though a strong men's brand, had a 3 per cent share of the sales being consumed by the women consumers in 2000-01 (at the time of inception). Today this share has grown to 18 per cent. Over the years, in spite of the men's range being our forte, the focus shifted to the women's range. That's when the basics and back-end team were put in place – product, merchandisers, dedicated designers – especially for the women's line of denim,” says, Anshul Chaturvedi, marketing manager, Wrangler.

Moving beyond its traditional cowboy image, the brand moved towards evolving its brand image to that of modern and stylish urban cowboy one, which is contemporary and fashionable, yet rugged.

In 2005, John Abraham was roped in as the brand ambassador, who went on to design a range under his name in 2006. “Abraham has never been used as a celebrity actor, but rather as a celebrity model – the celebrity status of Abraham was not given prime importance. In 2005, when he was on the brink of his career, he fit well with the brand personality of an urban cowboy – it became easy for the consumer to visualise the brand personality. Making a good effect on the brand, he continues to endorse and carry forward the brand even today,” he adds.

Clarifying further, Chaturvedi adds, “But being a mens' brand, traditionally, and known for our ruggedness, we couldn't suddenly go 'pink' and produce extremely feminine stuff, that doesn't fit the identity of Wrangler. We had to retain our rugged identity, and at the same time appeal to women too, which was our challenge. As an observation, women need more option to choose from, as compared to men, and that was a factor which was kept in mind while designing the range for Wrangler girl – we had to have the right amount of products to give a girl to make a choice from.”

“On the appointment of young actress, Jia Khan, The thinking is quite similar – Abraham wasn't too big a celebrity when he was roped in as ambassador, and the same stands for Khan. She has had just one release' 'Nishabd', and she has been roped in for her personality, and is not just a girl with a pretty face, but has the right attitude, is funky – her personality matches the brand. A Wrangler girl is not ultra-delicate and feminine with pinks and florals; it is a bit rugged, a bit 'Wrangler' I could call it, but yes, feminine with it. We have picked up the right elements from the parent brand, to keep the essence of the feminine brand, guarded,” Chaturvedi adds.

He continues, “We have achieved a critical mass now, and we thought that it would be the right time for the company to go in for a separate high-fashion brand altogether for women. The company is growing at almost a 40 per cent plus rate, and considering that, we know that we are on the right track.”

The company is looking at a marketing spend of Rs 9-10 crore for this fiscal, last year the company had planned a spend of around Rs 7.5 crore.

Being a lifestyle brand, Wrangler uses a lot of outdoors, visual media, to give a larger than life perspective to its brands, and range of products.

Interestingly, since the last two seasons, the focus has shifted slightly to the new and interactive media- web, mobile advertising and also techniques such as blue casting. For the Spring-Summer collection-2007, apart from outdoor and print, bluecasting was used in Phoenix Mills, Mumbai to involve the consumer according to their convenience – mobile coupons, wallpapers, ringtones etc of the brand were sent out to consumers in the mall, through MMS, displaying the latest collection, and enticing them to buy the brand's products.

Chaturvedi feels that the limitation in the communication through traditional and outdoor advertising is that the medium is a one-way interaction with the consumer- instant feedback cannot be gathered, which becomes a hindrance in involving a consumer. Print advertising is also done, as reach also needs to be considered. A dedicated website for India, too, for Wrangler and Wrangler girl is in the process of being launched.

A part of VF Corporation, Wrangler was brought to India by Arvind Brands in the year 2000.