Summer of content

Slice aims for a bigger share of the juice drinks market with its new Aamsutra campaign

As the heat beats down, beverage makers are ready to slug it out once again. Carbonated drinks may rule the market, but the health-conscious consumer is increasingly turning on to juices and juice-based drinks. PepsiCo wouldn’t like to miss out on this opportunity. Early on this season, it has been pitching hard for its mango-pulp drink Slice. An advertising campaign featuring actress Katrina Kaif — called Aamsutra — is running in burst mode on almost every eyeball-drawing television channel. PepsiCo is certainly hoping to snatch a bigger share this year for Slice from Parle Agro’s Frooti, the market leader and Coca-Cola’s Maaza.

The new TVC, with the catch-line “Sabr Ka Phal Meetha Hota Hai”, opens with a scenic view of a waterfall in the backdrop and the camera closing-up on Kaif who plucks a green mango from a tree, stares at it in anticipation, and waits. The mango ripens and Kaif then pierces it and lifts it up as a juice drop falls on her lip. The next shot shows sliced mango pieces and juice comes out. Kaif enjoys drinking Slice.

The Slice campaign is a progression of the Aamsutra series that started in 2008 — since then PepsiCo has rolled out several Aamsutra TVCs with Kaif in the lead. This new TVC is what PepsiCo calls a pre-summer campaign; it plans to launch another campaign in the second half of the year. The current roll out certainly aims at taking advantage of the eyeball stickiness to the ICC World Cup broadcast on TV.

Worth the wait
PepsiCo India Director (juices and juice drinks) Homi Battiwalla says, “The new TVC takes forward the pleasure of having a mango when the season of the fruit starts. It has an adult-oriented approach.” The company’s brief to its creative agency JWT, which handles the Slice account, was to show how the fresh mango finally reaches a bottle of Slice. The logic, says Battiwalla, is the Indian insight of how we all anxiously wait for the first mango of the season. Similarly, he says, “Slice, too, waits for the right fruit. The new campaign builds on the concept of indulgence and pleasure that the customers get when they relish Slice.”

Soumitra Karnik, vice-president and executive creative director, JWT, says, “The current film builds on the already popular Slice Aamsutra campaign. Aamsutra was designed as a brand idea to give the consumer a differentiated and a superior mango experience. In the TVC, the importance of ‘wait’ is highlighted as one of the ways by which one can truly enhance the pleasure of enjoying the real taste of mango. The insight is true to the mango fruit which is seasonal, and we eagerly await rest of the months for it to arrive.” The 40-second TVC was shot by well-known Japanese-American photographer and film director Karina Taira in the forests of Thailand over two days.

Juicy growth
According to industry estimates, the juices and juice-drinks category is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 25 per cent since the last three-four years. Concentrated mango drinks dominate this market with a share of about 70 per cent. It’s this huge demand that Slice hopes to cash in on by battling with rivals. Anand Dikshit, executive director (corporate finance & investment banking), PricewaterhouseCoopers, says: “In the organised sector, market leader Frooti (65-70 per cent market share) is followed by Slice with 15-20 per cent share — closely followed by Maaza which holds close to 15 per cent.” He adds that the Indian juice and juice-based drinks market is estimated at $600 million (Rs 2,698 crore). “Although the market size is much smaller than the carbonated beverage market in India, the growth is faster, riding on health consciousness which is currently driving the Indian consumer market. Juices are now becoming part of Indian breakfast, creating a huge market.”

Battiwalla says PepsiCo is acting aggressively to score on this front. The company has started an on-ground activation and sampling programme which aims to reach over 1.5 million consumers to go along with the Slice campaign. Under the activation, luxury buses done-up as mango lounges will travel across the country for two to three months for the purpose of sampling and publicity. “This category is all about taste. Slice has a 360-degree marketing and activation plan for this year, which will be rolled out over the next few months. As part of it, we will create ‘experiential mango lounges’ in more than 50 small towns across India. These lounges will enable consumers to indulge in the mango pleasure, brought to them by Slice. The activation will also tell the consumer about the ways to savour mango drinks. Part of the initiative will involve tricks to make mango mocktails,” says Battiwalla.

The TVC roll out coincided with the launch of the new Mango Slice handy pack priced at Rs 22 for 350 ml. Battiwalla says, “We have seen a robust growth since the relaunch of Slice, and the PET bottle format sells more. With the new stock keeping unit, we will unlock new consumer segments — like people on-the-go who want the most convenient size to carry around.”