MUMBAI: Mondelēz International has made some key elevations in the company, with Prashant Peres, previously director – marketing for chocolates, Mondelez India, moving into a new regional role of senior director for chocolate equity and innovations, AMEA, Mondelēz International.
Furthermore, in line with the company’s ongoing commitment to develop and groom internal talent, it has announced the appointment of Anil Viswanathan as the new director of marketing for chocolates Mondelez India, succeeding Prashant.
Serving as the director of marketing for chocolates Mondelez India since 2015, Prashant has been instrumental in leading the chocolate category turnaround, achieving double digit growth despite external economic challenges, such as the sudden currency demonetisation and GST implementation. He is credited for launching various successful innovations under Mondelez India’s chocolate portfolio, including a made-in-India innovation like Cadbury Dairy Milk Lickables in 2017, which is now a global best practice. Mondelez India is the undisputed chocolate category leader in the country and is currently in its all-time high, with respect to market share.
Stepping into Prashant’s role is Anil Viswanathan who has been with Mondelez India for about 18 years. His journey in the company has taken him into regional and global roles and into different categories including chocolate and biscuits. He has progressed through various product, brand management, and category marketing roles. Most recently, he was part of the global chocolate team driving chocolate innovation based out of Zurich, Switzerland. One of his achievements, during his stint here as senior innovation platform manager has been the launch of Cadbury 5Star globally, which is now present in three continents including markets like Brazil, South Africa and Southeast Asia. Viswanathan has also been instrumental in the launch of Cadbury Fuse in India, in 2016.
His close to two-decade long connection with the chocolate category and understanding of the Indian market will ensure Mondelez India’s continued reign as the undisputed market leader in the chocolate category in the country.
Mondelēz International is building the best snacking company in the world, with 2017 net revenues of approximately $26 billion.
Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has sales offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and manufacturing facilities at Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in addition to a vast distribution network across the country.
MUMBAI: What comes to your mind when you hear ‘kuch meetha ho jaaye?’ If you’ve been in India for the last two decades, you would instantly blurt out Cadbury. But the popular Indian chocolate has a 100-year-old history.
In June 1905 in England, Cadbury made its first Dairy Milk bar, with a higher proportion of milk than previous chocolate bars, and it became the company’s best-selling product by 1914. Cadbury India, now known as Mondelez India, began its operations in the country as early as 1948 by importing chocolates.
The Indian chocolate industry was worth Rs 58 billion at the end of 2014 and is predicted to reach Rs 122 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 16 per cent by 2019. According to the 2016 Euromonitor International report, the chocolate confectionery market in India is projected to grow at 8 per cent per annum between 2016 and 2021 to reach Rs 16,200 crore (on constant value) from Rs 11,256 crore in 2016, backed by better retailing across rural areas. Mondelez is the market leader in India’s chocolate space with more than 65 per cent market share and Cadbury Dairy Milk is its highest-selling product that has a market share of 41 per cent.
Mondelez India has given birth to some of the most memorable ads in its 70 years of existence in the Indian market with catch-phrases that come to us at the tip of our tongue—‘kuch khans hai zindagi mein’, ‘shubh aarambh’, ‘pappu paas ho gaya’, ‘aaj pehli tareek hai’ and ‘kiss me.’
All these notable campaigns are attributed to Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), an advertising agency that has been associated with the brand for over 26 years.
English was the medium of communication for Cadbury’s when the chocolate market was a niche in 1948. Mondelez India director of marketing for chocolates category Prashant Peres believes that all of Cadbury’s communication throughout the years has been about relations and bringing people joy in celebrating relations. While that has remained constant, what has changed is what the brand is trying to achieve with advertising.
“In the beginning, we were just trying to say that chocolate is a nice treat for kids but today Dairy Milk is a mass brand and it is a part of everyone’s heart. We have made a huge change in communication right from talking to kids to being occasion specific to now a casual consumption product,” he adds.
The brand has always been known for its loveable advertisements that make you want to sing along and do a little jig yourself. We take you down memory lane and explore how the brand communication for Cadbury Dairy Milk has changed and evolved over the years.
1993: The brand launched its first TVC in India in 1993 showcasing a teenage girl watching cricket in the stadium and then jumps into the ground, eating a Cadbury chocolate as soon as the cricketer hits a century.
1994: Another advertisement showed a to-be bride with henna on her hands, trying hard to open the wrapping of Cadbury chocolate with her elbows. The ad showed that teenagers too can enjoy a treat.
1999: With the tagline ‘khane walo ko khaane ka bahana chahiye’, the ad featuring popular video jockey Cyrus Brocha became an instant hit among viewers. The objective behind the communication was to make the chocolate category more socially and culturally relevant and drive penetration in the process as the penetration level of the chocolate category in 1999 was 19 per cent in the urban market at the time.
2002: This was when Cadbury changed its strategy. Having tapped all age-groups, it wanted to project Cadbury chocolates as a meetha – thereby trying to eat into the market of traditional Indian sweets. Advertisements were doled out showing Cadbury chocolate being enjoyed at every possible instance.
2003: With this ad, the company aimed to position the brand as not just an occasion-based chocolate but as more of a casual consumption habit with the ‘khush hoon khamakha’.
2005: Passing an exam always calls for a celebration and when Pappu finally does finally clear his 12th standard exams, it calls for a sweeter celebration. The new communication from Cadbury’s Dairy Milk extended the core promise of happiness to yet another ‘moment of joy’ in one’s life. The brand signed actor Amitabh Bachchan as a brand ambassador.
2008: In this ad, Cadbury vouches that pay day is always a reason to celebrate. The brand pays a tribute to the salaried employees by giving them another reason to celebrate the payday.
2009: The campaign showcased people living a fast life in the cities spreading happiness during the festival of lights among neighbours, the postman, the pizza delivery boy and many others who, though significant, are never valued for their little contributions that bring joy to one’s life. The core thought behind the new campaign is to surprise those who work unconditionally on Diwali day and at least expect their little gestures to be appreciated.
2010-2012: Cadbury by now had launched its campaign ‘shubh aarambh’ that was based on the concept of the Indian tradition of having something sweet before every auspicious occasion, with the belief that it leads to a favourable outcome.
2014: In a significant move, Cadbury decided to move away from its occasion-related brand positioning and to make chocolate consumption a casual habit with its tagline – ‘dil jo keh raha hai suno’. The campaign was in sync with Cadbury’s global proposition of ‘Free the Joy’.
2015: With an aim to change its communication, Cadbury launched this campaign showing the bonding between a saas and bahu (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) duo. The ad shows a small-town mother-in-law and daughter-in-law strengthening their bond of friendship with a piece of chocolate.
2016: Mondelez International created animated ads as early as 1980’s in the United States and other markets but the concept came to India only in 2004 when Mondelez India (then known as, Cadbury India) decided to have an animation film to promote its new product. Cadbury introduced an animated alien series in 2016 to promote its product with #InterstellarParty where the aliens were thoroughly enticed by the chocolate. The song became an instant hit among viewers.
The brand stopped creating ads specifically for Cadbury Dairy Milk as its focus shifted to newer variants that the company launched in the market including Silk Oreo, Lickables and Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk.
MUMBAI: Cadbury Dairy Milk has been associated with meetha (sweet) for the longest time and is the popular choice for gifting by most Indians. Over the years, Mondelez India has built and led the occasion through its concerted marketing efforts and gifting innovations.
Although Dairy Milk was always the most preferred gift by lovers on Valentine’s Day, the brand wanted to introduce a special product dedicated especially for young adults, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk (CDMS). In India, CDMS has been one of the marquee products for the brand, which was launched in early 2010. Ever since then, the Silk jingle has probably been one of the most loved and recognised tunes in advertising and popular culture. Mondelez recently renovated its Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk making it curvier and with a fresh packaging and rolled out a jingle by Bollywood singers Armaan Malik and YouTuber Shirley Setia.
This Valentine’s Day, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has launched its new special edition pack with a heart pop, which urges consumers to not hold back from expressing their love.
Mondelez India has rolled out a new thematic TVC about the product where the new Heart Pop bar is the hero. The film which is about two friends—a boy and a girl at their college hangout, showcases the girl proposing to the boy by popping the heart out of CDMS.
Mondelez has a dedicated 360 degree marketing campaign to support the TVC that went live from 28 January. The marketing mix includes multiple TV associations, digital, outdoor activations, exciting in-store activations and samplings.
In addition to TVC, the brand will utilise more touch points for movie integration with channels such as Romedy Now, Zee Studio and UTV Movies.There will also be brand placement and brand inegtartion with Zee’s dance reality show Dance India Dance along with special associations with music channels such as Sony Mix Adda and 9XM.
On the outdoor marketing front, Mondelez has opted for a comprehensive strategy wherein the brand has outdoor installation across Mumbai and Delhi along with outdoor billboards across Mumbai and Bangalore cities.
Coffee and chocolates go together and are the best ice breakers during dates. For that reason Mondelez has partnered with Cafe Coffee Day across top cities to provide the product on shelf.
Moreover, the brand has added the first ever Snapchat integration in India through heart pop filters along with creating a branded playlist on music app, Saavn.
This year, the company has also designed a gifting innovation using augmented reality (AR) to take the gifting experience a notch up. It has introduced a Cadbury Joy Deliveries AR-enabled gift box and will roll-out a limited edition pack exclusively on www.amazon.in. The gift box comes with two large Silk Limited Edition Valentine Chocolate bars (250 gm each). Once a Giftor orders a box to be sent over to the Giftee, the latter can experience the box coming alive with animation and virtual personalised messaging, this which will be powered by a Blippar App.
The product will be available on Grofers, Big Basket, Paytm Mall and Haptik along with the brand’s exclusive partner amazon.in.
The special edition chocolate is priced at Rs 275 for 250 gm of pack, Rs 150 for regular 150 gm pack and Rs 720 for the amazon exclusive pack.
MUMBAI: Ramesh and Suresh are back and this time they are lost at a whole new level. Over the last twelve years, Cadbury 5Star has entertained viewers bringing to them ‘lost’ antics of the iconic duo of Ramesh and Suresh.
Each time as they get lost in the flavour of the chocolate, the world around them twists and turns giving way for quirky madness and laughter. With this ad, Cadbury 5Star takes forward the idea of getting ‘Lost in Taste at a different level’ with the all new Cadbury 5Star 3D. Mondelez India aims to build on its market leadership in the count line segment as it aims at premiumising the eating experience for its consumers.
The TVC opens with Ramesh and Suresh standing in a lifeless lobby staring at a painting of a calm lake. As soon as they take a bite of the all new crunchy Cadbury 5Star 3D, the painting comes alive and Ramesh & Suresh begin to swim their way into the painting entering a whole new three-dimensional world. The viewers are taken in for a joy ride, when the ‘lost’ antics of Ramesh and Suresh land them up in a fashion show. Ramesh and Suresh are so lost in its taste appeal that they fail to realise that they are walking on a ramp. The audience is taken in for a surprise and they burst into applauding the brave quirkiness of Ramesh & Suresh.
Mondelez India director of marketing Chocolates Prashant Peres says, “With Cadbury 5Star 3D, we aim at widening the brand’s play in the category as we add another dimension of ‘Crunch’ to the mix and hence the name ‘Cadbury 5Star 3D’. Ramesh-Suresh have become synonymous with Cadbury 5Star and even as we enter the twelfth year of our campaign, they continue to tickle the funny bone of the viewers. We are confident that they will further help the brand generate strong cut through and continue to be much loved by our consumers.”
Building on the 12-year-strong legacy of Ramesh and Suresh, the new TVC conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather has given the iconic duo a cool look as they swim their way into the 3D world.
Ogilvy & Mather group creative director Amitabh Agnihotri adds, “With the launch of Cadbury 5Star 3D, ‘lost’ gains a new dimension. The launch TVC takes everything; from entertainment to humour, to look & feel; onto a whole new level. We hope that people will enjoy Ramesh & Suresh getting lost on a different level.”
MUMBAI: Mondelez India has launched its new innovation Cadbury 5Star 3D, a premium offering in the countline segment. Cadbury 5Star 3D comes in a crunchy, chewy, chocolaty bar that promises the consumers to ‘get lost at a different level’.
Mondelez India director of marketing chocolates segment Prashant Peres says, “Cadbury 5Star has been one of our strongest brands under the Indian portfolio and has consistently experimented and revamped itself. After launching the exciting brand Cadbury Fuse last year, we are extremely delighted to bring in Cadbury 5Star 3D, which is a great milestone in our premiumisation journey and will further strengthen our market leadership in the countline segment. ”
The brand will continue to use their eccentric and quirky characters Ramesh-Suresh who have been synonymous with Cadbury 5Star to further aid the brand generate strong cut. Mondelez India’s Cadbury 5Star has been an Indian favourite for almost 5 decades.
Cadbury 5Star 3D will be first available at Big Bazaar, followed by other modern trade and traditional trade stores and will be priced at Rs 30 for a 45 gram offering.
MUMBAI: Cadbury Dairy Milk would be celebrating Friendship Day at a unique Cadbury Friendship Adda on 4 August at Sophia College, Mumbai. In association with MTV, a number of engagement activities, musical performances by college bands etc are planned.
Popular Indie band The Raghu Dixit Project would be performing at the Adda. With the message of #RealDosti at the centre of the communication, Cadbury Dairy Milk will be taking the message of urging the youth to celebrate Friendship Day through digital innovations of contextual messaging on Youtube and having a Friendship Day filter on Facebook. The message would be amplified across youth touch-points, media elements and social platforms through Live sessions and engaging content.
Mondelez India director – marketing (chocolates) Prashant Peres said, “The friendship day is a collective and one of the more popular occasions amongst the youth in schools and colleges. We wanted to use this as an opportunity to remind the digital savvy youth that Friendship Day could be a great opportunity to meet their friends in the real world. The thought is to get the youth off social media, and get them to meet, greet and wish friends in person this friendship day.”
The launch of the limited edition Cadbury Dairy Milk will be supported by a communication campaign that includes a new TVC, as well as outdoor, print and digital campaigns targeting the brands core target audience i.e. youth. The new TVC conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, begins with the scene of a college campus where two friends meet in the morning on friendship’s day. While one of the friends is busy responding to the friendship day messages on her phone, the other friend is immersed in relishing a Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate that she has been gifted. A moment of realisation dawns upon her as she then hands over a Cadbury Dairy Milk to her friend as a gift, urging her to get off that phone and make real connections this Friendship’s Day.
Ogilvy & Mather ECD Neville Shah said “The world today is about digital connections. We’ve lost the pleasures of actual connections. Friendship day seemed like the right day to remind people that while the digital exists, it may be nice to meet your real friends in the real world. And placing Cadbury Dairy Milk at the heart of the story, implying that real friends celebrate together with a CDM.”
