Experiential marketing is the backbone of Duracell: David Abraham.
In India. we communicate in multiple languages, but that’s not the same in the Middle- East says, David Abraham in an interview with Exchange4media.
Duracell, the consumer battery company and manufacturer of high performance alkaline batteries is all set to launch the second edition of Durathon- The family run, which first took place in Mumbai. This time it will take place on March 25, 2018, in Delhi and aims to encourage each member of the family to unlock their true power and improve their performance.
“As a brand empowering people and their devices to run stronger for longer, we are proud and excited to motivate Delhiites to come together. We were overwhelmed with the number of people participated in the first Durathon in Mumbai. That’s why we are very confident that we will get a great response from Delhi families as well, says, David Abraham, Marketing Director for Middle East and India.
Exchange4media caught up with Abraham to know more about the campaign and get insight on the Middle East and India Market.
Experts:
How is Duracell's Running Bunny an iconic symbol of the brand?
The Duracell Running Bunny was started as a toy in the 1970’s and from there it appeared in the first ever Duracell TV commercial. The Running Bunny is a key spokesperson of the brand, who talks about how Duracell as a brand runs stronger, has unmatched quality, and over the years has evolved. The Bunny is an emotional side of the brand. The Duracell Bunny graciously wins over his weaker battery powered contenders, which became a global cultural phenomenon. Now, we have refreshed and relaunched the Running Bunny TV commercial, which is currently on-air across India.
What is Duracell's marketing mix in India and Middle East region?
In India, we focus primarily on four points of communication, which is TV, digital, in-store and experiential. TV is still the effective medium to reach mass audience in a country like India. Our TV commercials are aired in 7 languages across India (Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali). Digital media is our 2nd preferred choice to reach out to the consumers.
If you look at Middle- East, we are still talking to the relatively homogeneous group, in two languages, which is English and Arabic. We have used TV in the past, but now the plans are to focus more on digital, where we can engage with our core target audience in a relevant environment.
How would you compare the Indian market to the Middle East? What are the other areas you are looking to expand your product portfolio in India?
In India, we communicate in multiple languages, but that’s not the same case in the Middle East. We will continue to improve the performance of our existing product as it innovates the brand. Our aim is to improve the quality of the products, giving consumers unmatched superior quality. We will expand the existing double- AA, triple- AAA and CB portfolios. There is a need for smarter devices and by 2018, Duracell will offer button cells and rechargeable batteries to India.
Experiential marketing makes Duracell contextual and emotionally relevant. Is it true, if yes then how?
Yes, that’s true. Experiential marketing helps the brand get a lot more personal by engaging with consumers at a one to one level. It differs from traditional marketing, in which consumers are not treated as passive receivers of a message; here they are encouraged to be actively involved with the brand. For Duracell, experiential marketing is one of the important key strategies and gives the opportunity to interact with consumers in an environment, which is cluttered.
The digital marketing landscape is changing the way old brands use to market themselves. How Duracell is leveraging the digital medium to reach out to consumers?
Digital medium works differently, as compared to conventional marketing, print or TV. With television, one can run an ad to drive the message of the brand, but from the digital perspective, one needs to be contextually relevant to have a conversation with the consumers. We have started using digital as a medium to explore our brand more. As Durathon is in its second phase, we have chosen digital as a medium to promote the campaign.
What is your marketing budget and how much of it is spent on digital?
We allocate about 25% of our overall budget to marketing and it varies from experiential marketing to digital, TV and more, and we hope to continue investing more with the time.
The Durathon campaign is entering into its second phase. Tell us more about it and what kind of response that you're expecting this time?
The first edition in Mumbai was very successful, though we were nervous as we did it for first time. The turnout of the event was extremely great. We had 200 families and 700 participants who came out and had fun.
This time it will begin on March 25 in Delhi, starting from Connaught Place. We hope that this year the participation will be double and it will become a property that Duracell can activate every year as a marketing initiative. We would like to bring the Durathon to multiple cities across India.
“As a brand empowering people and their devices to run stronger for longer, we are proud and excited to motivate Delhiites to come together. We were overwhelmed with the number of people participated in the first Durathon in Mumbai. That’s why we are very confident that we will get a great response from Delhi families as well, says, David Abraham, Marketing Director for Middle East and India.
Exchange4media caught up with Abraham to know more about the campaign and get insight on the Middle East and India Market.
Experts:
How is Duracell's Running Bunny an iconic symbol of the brand?
The Duracell Running Bunny was started as a toy in the 1970’s and from there it appeared in the first ever Duracell TV commercial. The Running Bunny is a key spokesperson of the brand, who talks about how Duracell as a brand runs stronger, has unmatched quality, and over the years has evolved. The Bunny is an emotional side of the brand. The Duracell Bunny graciously wins over his weaker battery powered contenders, which became a global cultural phenomenon. Now, we have refreshed and relaunched the Running Bunny TV commercial, which is currently on-air across India.
What is Duracell's marketing mix in India and Middle East region?
In India, we focus primarily on four points of communication, which is TV, digital, in-store and experiential. TV is still the effective medium to reach mass audience in a country like India. Our TV commercials are aired in 7 languages across India (Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali). Digital media is our 2nd preferred choice to reach out to the consumers.
If you look at Middle- East, we are still talking to the relatively homogeneous group, in two languages, which is English and Arabic. We have used TV in the past, but now the plans are to focus more on digital, where we can engage with our core target audience in a relevant environment.
How would you compare the Indian market to the Middle East? What are the other areas you are looking to expand your product portfolio in India?
In India, we communicate in multiple languages, but that’s not the same case in the Middle East. We will continue to improve the performance of our existing product as it innovates the brand. Our aim is to improve the quality of the products, giving consumers unmatched superior quality. We will expand the existing double- AA, triple- AAA and CB portfolios. There is a need for smarter devices and by 2018, Duracell will offer button cells and rechargeable batteries to India.
Experiential marketing makes Duracell contextual and emotionally relevant. Is it true, if yes then how?
Yes, that’s true. Experiential marketing helps the brand get a lot more personal by engaging with consumers at a one to one level. It differs from traditional marketing, in which consumers are not treated as passive receivers of a message; here they are encouraged to be actively involved with the brand. For Duracell, experiential marketing is one of the important key strategies and gives the opportunity to interact with consumers in an environment, which is cluttered.
The digital marketing landscape is changing the way old brands use to market themselves. How Duracell is leveraging the digital medium to reach out to consumers?
Digital medium works differently, as compared to conventional marketing, print or TV. With television, one can run an ad to drive the message of the brand, but from the digital perspective, one needs to be contextually relevant to have a conversation with the consumers. We have started using digital as a medium to explore our brand more. As Durathon is in its second phase, we have chosen digital as a medium to promote the campaign.
What is your marketing budget and how much of it is spent on digital?
We allocate about 25% of our overall budget to marketing and it varies from experiential marketing to digital, TV and more, and we hope to continue investing more with the time.
The Durathon campaign is entering into its second phase. Tell us more about it and what kind of response that you're expecting this time?
The first edition in Mumbai was very successful, though we were nervous as we did it for first time. The turnout of the event was extremely great. We had 200 families and 700 participants who came out and had fun.
This time it will begin on March 25 in Delhi, starting from Connaught Place. We hope that this year the participation will be double and it will become a property that Duracell can activate every year as a marketing initiative. We would like to bring the Durathon to multiple cities across India.
