Amul gets a Second Life

Restrictions on billboards pushes the brand to explore digital media.

Riding on eye-catching hoardings painted with smart ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul’ spoofs, the table butter brand from Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has grown to capture 86 per cent share of the market. RS Sodhi, chief general manager at GCMMF says that its Outdoor campaigns have helped boost sales.

“Our communication strategy has been consistently executed for more than 40 years. Though table butter is not an ethnic Indian dairy product, we have single-handedly managed to build the category that’s growing on the strength of our marketing efforts,” claims BM Vyas, managing director, GCMMF. The Indian branded butter market is estimated at Rs 700-800 crore, growing at five per cent a year.

But now diminishing billboard sites seem to be posing a challenge for the brand built through the Outdoor. Hoardings are banned in Chennai and with Commonwealth Games round the corner, even Delhi is likely to impose mores restrictions on billboards. Independent brand consultant Harish Bijoor feels that Amul has already compromised on visibility. “It’s presence in print has shrunk and today Amul is all about point-of-purchase advertising,” he says. Chlorophyll co-founder Kiran Khalap points out that the Amul campaign is restricted to urban audiences. “Most of its ideas work best for those who understand English,” he says.

To stay visible, Vyas is re-jigging Amul’s media plans. “In Delhi and Chennai, we have shifted the topical campaigns to print,” he informs. But to be seen where it matters, Amul is experimenting with digital media. It has entered Second Life (an Internet-enabled virtual world in which users can create their virtual identities) by setting up its virtual parlour. The Amul parlours showcase its ads beginning from the late 1990s.

Vyas says he’s exploring new concepts and ideas on how to take the venture forward. “Ultimately, we may attempt to replicate the entire Amul co-operative model in Second Life, including the plant and manufacturing process,” he says. Trimensions, a Gurgaon based company has helped Amul get on to the virtual world.

The brand has increased its below-the-line activities too. Every year, it gives scholarships (Amul Vidya Shree and Amul Vidya Bhushan awards to X and XII class students respectively) to deserving candidates in 10,000 schools across India. There is Amul food festival, too, which is held between October and December every year in about 50,000 retail outlets.

Not surprisingly, Rahul daCunha, creative director, daCunha Associates (full-service agency for Amul), sees no threat to Amul’s visibility. “Amul messages will never run the risk of losing visibility. True there are hoarding bans in Delhi and Chennai, but the Internet and press have compensated. We are about to launch a major television campaign. Many modern techniques are around the corner to get our messages through to our audiences.”

The agency has been handling the campaign since its promoter Sylvester daCunha bagged the account in 1966. All the credit for the brand’s tag line ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul’, the moppet and the yummy spoofs goes to daCunha. The brand (not just butter) spends less than per cent of its total turnover on advertising.