The corporate has labored with cricketers up to now however is now embracing Bollywood with open arms. The reason being its shifting advertising and marketing technique that’s now extra about vogue and developments. As a part of this, watch model Timex India lately signed up Ananya Panday as its model ambassador. In a chat with Storyboard18, Deepak Chhabra, managing director, Timex India, spoke concerning the model’s advertising and marketing finances, how Bollywood will assist amplify the messaging, the smartwatch enterprise complementing its enterprise and extra. Edited excerpts:
Inform us a little bit concerning the ‘Waste Extra Time’ marketing campaign. It is a catchy tagline. What’s the concept behind it and the way does Ananya Panday amplify this messaging?
Waste Extra Time is a worldwide marketing campaign for us… The goals behind this initiative are multifaceted. Firstly, it serves as a fascinating tagline that grabs consideration and sparks curiosity. It isn’t every single day {that a} watch model encourages individuals to waste time, prompting people to take discover.
The inspiration for this marketing campaign stems from the post-COVID period, the place people re-evaluated the importance of life, relationships and private time. The emphasis is on indulgence, recognising its significance within the face of life’s uncertainties. This sentiment is especially resonant among the many youthful technology, who typically prioritise digital interactions however are actually grappling with the drawbacks and habit related to social media. The marketing campaign goals to encourage them to seek out pleasure and fulfilment in seemingly mundane actions, fostering a shift from the relentless hustle tradition.
The marketing campaign seeks to attach with a broad viewers, with a particular give attention to the youth who’re navigating the evolving panorama of digital life. By advocating for spending time on personally fulfilling endeavours, the marketing campaign challenges the notion that each second should be devoted to a predefined set of duties.
To reinforce the affect of the message, the marketing campaign options Ananya Panday who’s a youth icon, fastidiously chosen to resonate with the audience. Recognized for her carefree perspective, she serves as a relatable determine who promotes spending time with household and interesting in actions that deliver private satisfaction. Her alignment with the marketing campaign’s ethos makes her a becoming selection.
Timex has labored with cricketers Brett Lee and Suresh Raina up to now and now you’ve got gotten a Bollywood face on board. Is that this a change in technique? Moreover, will you even be partaking influencers for the marketing campaign?
Brett Lee and Suresh Raina have been related to us fairly a while in the past, possible round 5 to seven years up to now. Since then, there was a notable shift within the notion of watches. They’re now not simply timekeeping gadgets; they’ve developed into particular equipment. This transformation necessitates a steady evolution of our ideas and campaigns.
Within the current situation, individuals are buying extra watches than ever, not merely for timekeeping however to enhance their vogue decisions. The affect Bollywood has develop into much more pronounced, emphasising the necessity for our campaigns to adapt.
Given the present emphasis on watches as vogue equipment, our technique has shifted in direction of collaborations with influencers, Bollywood stars and fashions. This variation goals to distance us from sports activities associations, as our model’s id is extra aligned with vogue.
As a substitute of sports activities, we are actually channelling our efforts into working with influencers to convey a message that resonates with our model’s id. Whereas influencer collaborations are ongoing every month, the brand new marketing campaign will function a extra intensive roster of influencers than our standard month-to-month collaborations.
Assist us perceive the media plans across the marketing campaign.
As a digital-first organisation, our marketing campaign strategically blends conventional and digital channels to achieve each clients (sellers) and shoppers (patrons) successfully. Roughly two-thirds of our finances is allotted to digital platforms, together with social media, PR and influencers, whereas the remaining one-third targets conventional channels like TV and out of doors promoting.
Is the marketing campaign timed for the festive season?
The marketing campaign is tailor-made for the festive season and the upcoming city wedding ceremony season.
We’ve a group known as From that’s particularly designed for weddings, that includes jewelry watches adorned with crystals and stones. This assortment has expanded considerably within the final two years and has clocked exceptional development. The vary boasts an intensive number of colors in stones and crystals, providing roughly 40 to 45 choices. This versatility permits people, whether or not they’re getting married or attending a marriage, to seamlessly match their timepiece with their apparel.
Within the period of smartwatches gaining widespread reputation, how does your conventional watchmaking firm foresee and adapt to trade developments, making certain continued relevance?
Smartwatches are undoubtedly seeing vital development. They characterize a definite section, contributing incrementally to our enterprise moderately than changing or competing with analogue watches. Our firm additionally gives smartwatches to fulfill the demand of shoppers who’re keen about this class. We view smartwatches as a further consumption class, and our objective is to actively take part on this rising market.
Remarkably, the affect of smartwatches on analogue watches has not been damaging, each in India and globally. As a substitute of cannibalising the market, smartwatches have expanded the general watch class. In our enterprise, whereas we observe strong gross sales of smartwatches, the standard analogue watch section is experiencing excessive double-digit development in comparison with the earlier 12 months. This demonstrates that the 2 classes can coexist and thrive concurrently out there.
Lastly, assist us perceive your advertising and marketing finances, the way it has gone up and what are the advertising and marketing initiatives developing from the model?
In 2018-19, which was the pre-COVID period, our advertising and marketing funding accounted for about 7 % of our income. Quick-forward to 2022-23, and the panorama has remodeled. We’re presently allocating round 11-12 % of our income to advertising and marketing. Though the share has not elevated lots, the noteworthy facet is that this alteration is in opposition to a a lot bigger income base.
Our enterprise has almost doubled in comparison with 2019, leading to a considerable rise in each the share and absolutely the funding. During the last two years, we’ve got witnessed a major and substantial enhance in our advertising and marketing funding, reflecting the expansion and growth of our model.
Moreover, whereas we presently have a feminine endorsement, we’re actively searching for a male counterpart to finish our model illustration. The upcoming marketing campaign will function one other male superstar endorsement, making certain a well-rounded model picture. Moreover, influencers will play a considerable function, with month-to-month influencer engagements complemented by frequent superstar occasions, averaging one occasion per quarter.
