Mumbai: Agthia Group, a leading UAE-based food and beverage company, owns the popular date brand Date Crown. Being present in India for more than a decade, the brand aims to expand its awareness and penetration in the Indian market. For the same, it launched the ‘King of Dates’ campaign with Schbang as its creative partner.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Agthia Group category marketing manager Lucky Ekene Ofurum and Schbang executive vice president Amisha Gulati to discuss the brand’s first campaign in India, its competition in the Indian market and more.
To begin with, the dates market is estimated to be over $ 200 million with the larger bulk of it being in the unorganized market and retail. The growth for the same is estimated to be 2 per cent post the COVID period.
The campaign for Date Crown was launched through a fun-filled TVC highlighting dates' quality and nutritional benefits, reinforcing the brand's royal credentials. Targeting southern regions, the film is also available in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
To develop effective communication and gain a deeper understanding of the Indian consumer of dates, Schbang’s Consulting and Research team worked with Date Crown to implement a "Voice of Consumer" study to understand various levers around date consumption in India. Consumers from different age groups and cultural backgrounds were interviewed to understand the consumption patterns and barriers to the consumption of dates in different regions of India.
The study helped identify the right positioning, communication, and media channels to take Date Crown to the masses. The team also went on-ground, did mystery shopping across various markets, and met dealers, chefs, and other stakeholders from the B2B segment to understand the push-and-pull levers.
Based on the research, the amplification was done in southern regions of India on digital platforms like Google, META, and leading OTT platforms. As a result of the omnichannel media approach, the campaign has already garnered 37.4M+ reach, 155M+ impressions, 575K+ clicks and 75M+ views - within a month of the launch.
Ofurum reveals that India is a big market and Date Crown takes all of its market/channels in high esteem. “Our dates can be consumed by anyone that enjoys a sweet but healthy treat, we intend to serve both existing users while attempting to recruit new users,” he mentions, with regard to the target group.
Edited excerpts:
On being present in the Indian market for a decade and taking to advertising finally
Ofurum: Date Crown has been in the market for over a decade, and we have supported it in the past with mostly BTL campaigns. However, in 2023, we intend to flex Date Crown’s muscles to its full potential by supporting it with an integrated marketing campaign covering ATL & BTL.
On competition
Ofurum: Date Crown believes in a competitive and free market, where all legitimate brands and products are allowed to strive. We believe we will compete with local and regional brands like Lion, Happilo, Kimia, Emperor, and Nature’s Choice.
On associating with the IPL in some way, considering it is the hottest property which every brand wants to piggyback ride on
Ofurum: Yes, we are exploring advertising slots and opportunities to take advantage of the wide viewership obtainable with IPL.
On the brief given by the brand
Gulati: Date Crown has the potential to be the number 1 date brand in India. The portfolio was limited in 2022 (only Fard and Buman date types) but has expanded significantly from Q1 '23. Date Crown has advertised on a very limited basis previously with an outdoor that had product branding but no brand storytelling. TOM (top of mind) awareness is low (7 per cent) vs. Lion (34 per cent) hence the need to build relevance for Date Crown among consumers. The objective was to increase brand awareness and penetration in the regional markets where there is a strong preference for packaged dates.
On the creative thought behind the campaign
Gulati: Dates are a symbol of royalty. And the Middle East (Arabia) is where the best of them are grown and we are here to bring this royalty to you. Date Crown is an authentic dates brand that is sourced from the lands of Arabia. It's rich, it's princely, and it's delicious.
Through the film, we have conveyed the product’s authentic roots and nutritional benefits. As a part of the creative call, we have introduced a mascot ‘Royal Messenger’ dressed in an Arabic outfit to establish the source.
On the tagline – ‘King of Dates’
Gulati: ‘King of Dates’ works on two levels. Firstly, the Middle East is well known as the world’s best producer of dates. Our dates, sourced directly from the date palms of Arabia, are hence, the ‘King’ among all other dates.
Secondly, the name Date Crown itself alludes to royalty. So, ‘King of Dates’ makes for a natural extension to the name while being supported by the source of our dates.
On the media mix that is to be utilised for the brand
Gulati: As per the research conducted by the brand, where our TOM awareness is lower in some regions, hence the plan is to use digital media including display, programmatic, and platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
On TV, we have taken our films on multiple Indian channels to reach the Target audience.
On considering influencer marketing and other newer methods of advertising and marketing the brand
Gulati: Date Crown as a brand is open to multiple advertising & marketing routes to leverage the Indian market for driving brand awareness followed by sales. Influencer marketing as a method is in the long-term plan for the brand in the future.
