Lalit Parmar decodes Hasbro’s marketing Blueprint for India

After launching varied language editions of the popular board game Monopoly in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, Hasbro India recently launched a Cricket-themed edition, where the game integrates the fan favourite sport of Cricket with Monopoly.

Monopoly: Cricket Edition is envisioned and designed in India by Hasbro in collaboration with Mozaic Games, a game design agency based in Bengaluru. As part of its activation, Hasbro adopted a multi-platform 360-degree approach to raise awareness about the Monopoly game. For devising its marketing strategy, Hasbro leveraged audience insights to know about their tastes and preferences.

In conversation with Adgully, Lalit Parmar, Country Manager, Hasbro India, said, “Through our Gaming brands and arts and crafts segment Play-Doh, we believe Hasbro can play a significant role in developing toy-based pedagogy in school curriculum and classrooms, so we look forward to partnering with the government on this next phase of exponential growth.”

How is Monopoly Cricket tapping into the opportunity of India’s craze for cricket?

The Monopoly: Cricket Edition brings together two global fan favourites – Monopoly and Cricket. We’ve often heard that Cricket is like a religion in India that brings people together! Similarly, for more than 85 years, Monopoly has been enjoyed by billions of people and has helped to create memories across generations.

Leveraging the frenzy of the popular sport of Cricket, we believe this new Monopoly game will be a rich source of entertainment at home for friends and family. You can be an expert in the sport, a casual fan, or know nothing about it. You would have probably played Monopoly or never tried it. It doesn’t matter. This game has been designed for all various age groups offering the thrill of cricket on a board game.

What are the marketing activities undertaken by Hasbro to promote its new launch?

We’ve activated a multi-platform 360⁰ approach to build awareness of this new Monopoly game. Through a media mix of digital, TV, and social media with creative content, we aim to ultimately drive brand engagement and increase conversions. The TVC conceptualised in-house along with the agency League Brand Partners truly embodies Hasbro’s promise of delivering immersive play experiences. We are also working closely with our retail partners to place the game across stores and get consumers excited through engaging merchandising.

What is Hasbro India’s overall marketing strategy?

Hasbro’s foundation is built on innovation in play and entertainment. Brands sit at the center of everything we do, and we have a robust portfolio for different age groups, families, kids, and fans. We leverage audience insights – what are they watching, where are they shopping, and their preferences of gameplay. This has allowed our brand portfolio to reach the broadest consumer demographics across the country through – TV, digital platforms, and social media along with creative retail in-store merchandising. We develop campaigns for both kids and parents – both our key audiences.

Our overall marketing strategy is based on Hasbro’s Blueprint which is a strategic framework to bring our brands to life to drive long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth. This guides us to bring alive our brands through different consumer touchpoints – e-commerce, location-based entertainment, digital games, and entertainment, to name a few. This framework also evolves given the dynamic external factors in which we operate.

What are the major milestones achieved by Hasbro in the Indian market?

Over the last 5 years, Hasbro has invested significantly in India and is a strong believer in India’s potential as both a market and a manufacturing hub for our global toy supply chain. We are proud to design innovative products and experiences that spark joy and create human connection.

The launch of Monopoly Cricket is yet another milestone for Hasbro India after the launch of varied vernacular (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam) editions of Monopoly and Game of Life in 2022.

We have also just announced an offline version of the popular digital game, Wordle, now available in India.

Hasbro India has a wide range of locally manufactured games, which includes Monopoly Deluxe Edition, Cluedo, Jenga, Battleship, Monopoly: India Edition, Monopoly Junior, Peppa Pig and Hungry Hippos. We’ve also just reintroduced electronic versions of Monopoly: Super E-Banking and Ultimate Banking.

A wide portfolio of Nerf Blasters is manufactured locally in India such as Elite 2.0, Super Soaker, Dino Squad, and Alpha Strike. Recently, games like Monopoly Chance, Risk Strike, and Puzl It have also been added to the portfolio, offering more opportunities for families and kids to play a variety of games. Also available from Hasbro are exciting, quick-playing card games like Monopoly Bid, 5 Alive, and the Classic Card Game range (Clue, Battleship, Connect 4, and Guess Who?).

What are Hasbro’s expansion plans in India?

We will continue to stay committed to making India a top investment destination over the next three decades.

Our teams will develop an innovation pipeline for locally relevant toys and games, which is already set in motion.

Through our Gaming brands and arts and crafts segment Play-Doh, we believe Hasbro can play a significant role in developing toy-based pedagogy in school curriculum and classrooms. So, we look forward to partnering with the government on this next phase of exponential growth.