Vidyut Kaul, Philips India on marketing tactics rooted in consumer insights

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Paawan Sunam
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Vidyut Kaul Philips


In conversation with Social Samosa, Vidyut Kaul, Philips India, shares insights on the brand's campaigns, social media strategy, and learnings as a health and wellness brand in the cluttered space.

Vidyut Kaul, Head - Personal Health, Philips (Indian Subcontinent) shares how the roots of their various campaigns lie in consumer data, summarizing how integral data points can be converted into communicated vantage points.

Talking about the the current landscape, he highlights that the youth today wants to express themselves uninhibited and this is reflected in marketing strategies progressing from campaign to community to conversations to commerce

Campaign Insights - You're a 10, there's no but…

You must've recently seen memes doing rounds on social media saying "She's a 10, but…." and "He's a 10, but…". It's not just a meme, it's a common behavioral trait for the younger demographic to rate peers on the basis of their looks and personality, and it's quite normalized in pop culture too.

The non-humorous side of this demographic trait is a good chunk of the youth developing this constant need for social validation that does not stem from within and is very much dependent on how they are perceived, instead of how they actually are.

Vidyut Kaul states that the initiative of creating campaigns rooted in such consumer insights and realities, was an attempt to encourage the youth to believe in themselves and be their best version without any pressure of validation from others.

"We understand the pressure of constant social validation the youth in India nowadays face and its implications on their mental health and believe that what really matters is how a person feels about him/herself, despite all the judgment. #TenOnTenYou campaign puts the spotlight on this constant battle", he adds.

The campaign was created in collaboration with TBWA, the brand's Agency of Record (AOR), and worked with the team in collaboration for the conceptualization of this idea. It was executed with a multi-format approach, the main campaign film featured celebrity endorser Virat Kohli, with an influencer leg consisting of up-and-coming cricketers.

The whole thought behind the campaign was tied to the concept of cricketers in the country facing immense pressure due to its colossal popularity and the elevated competition in this sport. Vidyut shares that Virat Kohli as the lead celebrity embodies the spirit of #TenOnTenYou. "He truly believes in himself even in the face of external criticism and judgment".

#TenOnTenYou Ft. Virat Kohli

"We also wanted to bring to life the story of young cricketers like Yash Dhull, Umran Malik, and many others who continued to believe in themselves through highs and lows. These influencers are very relatable and equally inspirational to our audience" he reckons.

#TenOnTenYou Ft. Yash Dhull

#TenOnTenYou Ft. Umran Malik

The campaign was also extended to the short-format video platform Moj, popular in the regional belts. In partnership with the platform, the brand put out user-generated content with the 'How-To' theme, in collaboration with the influencers, balancing multiple aspects to drive meaningful content for the consumers.

Vidyut states the campaign was able to tap the youngsters by generating awareness and building self-confidence and attributed the increase in brand preference score of Philips India amongst the youth in Q2 2022.

Also Read: How Cadbury Campaigns fuse the ingredient of technology into humane storytelling

Social Media Strategy

Philips India has an active presence on social networks, and frequently infuses topics such as skin care, wellness, hygiene, and more, into topical templates, and makes it consumable for audiences through post formats such as Reels.

Vidyut reckons the brand's approach on social media is to create authentic content based on real stories, and the focus is divided between organic as well as partnership-led content.

The brand also engages with diverse influencers on social media targeting sports personalities, millennials, and youngsters for the product portfolios.

GRWM Ft. Varun Verma

The 360-degree approach intends to enable better, faster, and fact-based decisions to drive a higher conversion rate. "We carefully look at gaps in consumer needs and demand for hygiene, wellness, and care. According to these insights, we create meaningful and authentic content for our consumers. We believe most of our content whether influencer or brand led is realistic and aims to solve consumer dilemmas", affirms Vidyut.

#StraightFromHeart Ft. Amyra Dastur

Content marketing and the various digital touchpoints also require to be helpful in generating leads or completing the transaction, as conversion rates are as important as brand awareness and recall. According to Vidyut the distribution strategy designed to enable the purchase of products is inspired by the consumer journey and insights.

This includes building a presence in channels of choice, with the target audience being young Indians and young parents. "We build consumer funnels and monitor progress against them by using high-quality data analytics. It not only helps us with accurate attribution but also gives us the opportunity to optimize at the right point in the funnel for better outcomes. We also monitor both lead and lag indicators on the brand and business consistently to get timely indications of our campaign performance."

Key Takeaways

Here are a few key learnings shared by Vidyut Kaul from Philips India, as a skincare, grooming, and wellness brand on social media platforms.

  • Social media is a cluttered landscape and to stand out, take an audience and consumer insight-driven approach
  • Choose the platforms based on the content consumption insights of the audience
  • Generate content that is authentic, engaging & empathetic for the audience
  • Use a healthy mix of educational and entertaining content
  • Consumers are evolving faster than ever before, stay closer to them in order to predict the shifts and continue to stay relevant
  • It is important to cut through the noise of social media and find the ‘Aha!’ insight and focus on multiple creative ways and avenues to express the story based on that insight
  • The information and content need to be true to the consumer insight and in sync with the brand point of view as well
  • It is important for brands to connect themselves with the audience and add value to society as well. We need to empower consumers to be able to share their experience of the brand, this is the biggest source of influence
  • Consumers are also looking for real experiences to connect to and that presents a ripe opportunity for brands to interwind their stories into consumer life in a memorable way
  • The youth today wants to express themselves uninhibited and this is reflected in marketing progressing from campaign to community to conversations to commerce
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