The brand plans to go all out with its advertising with TV commercials, innovative print, mobile and digital activations
Beverage company Parle Agro recently launched a new drink ‘B-Fizz’, a refreshing malt-flavoured carbonated drink with apple juice. B-Fizz is a new addition to the fruit plus fizz-based product portfolio from Parle Agro, who pioneered this category with Appy Fizz. Indicating its aggressive marketing plans, the brand signed Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the national brand ambassador to maximise reach and awareness of the new launch, while Jr. NTR has been signed in as the brand ambassador for Southern India. “We are investing Rs 40 cores for a mass media campaign across digital, television, outdoor and print for B-Fizz. This budget for B-Fizz is until the end of the calendar year for 2020,” said Nadia Chauhan, JMD & CMO, Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd in conversation with exchange4media.
Chauhan shared that as the country emerged from the various phases of unlock since the lockdown, the company noticed a remarkable performance in its sparkling fruit-based drink category with Appy Fizz. And that's what prompted the launch of B-fizz. “Our growth strategy includes investment in R&D to introduce innovative new products to the consumers; products that will appeal to the market and take our business further. Our team had developed B-Fizz a sometime back. You could say we were waiting for the opportune time to launch it post conducting successful trials,” she said.
She observed that the timing of the launch couldn’t have been better. “Retailers who were earlier operating under numerous constraints during the lockdown, have opened up and consumers have also started getting back to some sense of normalcy. We are also back to operating at 100% of our distribution base. Additionally, the second half of the year is not just the festive period, but it also sees a second summer. Since the season also plays a large role in the beverage industry it was a great time for us to launch B-Fizz,” Chauhan added.
The company’s marketing plans for B-Fizz include a high-decibel 360-degree campaign across various media. “We have launched two new TVCs, one featuring global icon, Priyanka Chopra for national media, and the other featuring Jr. NTR exclusively for southern markets. The TVC campaign will be supported by innovative print, mobile and digital activations. B-Fizz will also be the sponsor to select marquee television properties,” she said. The campaign is also being aggressively promoted across IPL on Hotstar and YouTube.
The brand has not only undertaken large-scale sampling of the product through various direct-to-consumer delivery apps but also deployed OOH for higher impact across 96 cities as of now.
Furthermore, Chauhan spilled the beans on why its packaging and pricing gives it an edge over others. “The packaging of B-Fizz is a striking bold red colour which is distinctive and ensures a high shelf throw. The price of the product at Rs. 10 has also disrupted the market as a new launch at this price is extremely critical in the context of FMCG in India. The 10 rupee price point allows the product to have high penetration across the country, both rural and urban markets and makes it more accessible to consumers. Today, in just a few weeks since the launch, we are at almost 600,000 outlets, with more than 4000 towns activated already for B-Fizz,” she said.
The brand expects B-Fizz to become a ?1000-crore brand in the next couple of years. “We believe that B-Fizz itself is a hero product with great taste and strong mass appeal. Additionally, as shared above, the bold packaging and unbeatable price point coupled with our robust sales and distribution network will enable us to achieve our target. In just a few weeks since its launch, we have already crossed 600,000 stores and are growing rapidly each week. We hope to reach the 2 million mark shortly, and keep it growing thereafter since the category that it operates in has a deep reach,” she said.
&Walsh, the creative agency for B-Fizz, has led the campaign narrative for the television commercials, print and digital. The films have been produced by Superlounge, LLC, New York, USA along with Scissor Films and directed by John Poliquin.
