It is always interesting to see how brands creatively navigate the strict rules that prohibit them from marketing their products openly. When it comes to surrogate advertising, alcohol companies have always been open about their approach, finding novel ways to get their brand name imprinted in the minds of people. They may also create an IP to create a recall for the brand.

Ishwindar Singh, Marketing Director, Pernod Ricard India - Seagram's Whiskey, spoke to us about their recent campaign, the category, and how they are using different tactics to touch base with the Indian audience. The company’s recent campaign, 'Drink More…Water' which The Mill conceptualised, talks about drinking responsibly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdVPH2t0hY&ab_channel=RoyalStagLiveItLarge

Talking about the thought behind the campaign, Singh said, “It really comes from the values of organizations. We believe that we are the creators of conviviality in all our markets. And if people are gonna go out there and in fact enjoy consumption, we believe that they cannot be any convivial moments if there's excess.  We wanted to empower our consumers to decide for themselves on social occasions how they should consume their favourite drinks. From that point of time, we said that you got to pace your drink over a certain period of the social occasion you are in. And therefore, the importance of staying hydrated is very important.”

“We want to tell consumers at the end of the day that drink responsibly and ensure that they have enough water through the evening. It's to ensure that you do not lose control and that's the most important premise of the campaign. As leaders in the category, it's very important for us to ensure responsible consumption.”

When asked about how they are trying to reach consumers with this campaign, Singh said that it is their first digital-first campaign and they are using different digital channels but also trying to reach consumers on various touch-points.

About Pernod Ricard's marketing initiatives, Singh said that they do everything they can but under the framework of the government. He said, “We touched the consumer at every touch point, right from awareness building, which would be brand visibility in above-the-line communication in media, down to being a part of campaigns, concerts, music festivals, all the areas of conviviality where people come together in a social network and really enjoy themselves.”

“We there to partner on those occasions and most importantly is when you go out with friends at the end of the day to enjoy an evening social occasion, we are there. So if you see from a touch point perspective, we're there through consumers' lifestyle choices and we play within the regulatory framework of where we can touch with them and where we can talk with them.” He went on to say that they promote different brands given the nature of the occasion or association.

Alcohol and beverage brands have always tried to do something with music and also be partners in many music festivals. We asked Singh why music is the go-to thing for alcohol brands, and he said, “Music is one of the best passion points in the country. It is basically creating a community that vibes together.”

Singh also said that they are building more non-alcoholic options and will be capturing that market as well. He also spoke about experimenting with AI and Metaverse. In conclusion, he said that earlier it used to be about consumers shifting, now it is more about being engaged with the consumers. He said, “Digital has made it easy and we have increased our digital spends.”