Trends are no longer in the major metro cities: Kartik Mohindra, Pernod Ricard India

Pernod Ricard India, a premier subsidiary of Pernod Ricard SA, renowned for its exceptional range of alcoholic beverages, prides itself on delivering top-quality products to its esteemed consumers throughout the nation. With a portfolio boasting leading brands across various categories, including the iconic Seagram’s whiskies such as Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, and Imperial Blue, alongside a plethora of international premium labels, Pernod Ricard stands at the forefront of the industry.

Setting the stage for innovation and style, Pernod Ricard India recently unveiled its latest venture – the Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Nxt Preview. This event marked the launch of Fashion Nxt, a visionary platform dedicated to celebrating the cutting-edge trends in fashion.

In conversation with Adgully, Kartik Mohindra, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Global Business Development, Pernod Ricard India, shares invaluable insights into the brand's innovative marketing campaigns and the pivotal role of digital technology in enhancing consumer awareness.

Read further to delve into the dynamic world of Pernod Ricard India and uncover the strategies driving its unparalleled success in the industry.

What are some of the key marketing strategies employed to maintain a competitive edge in rapidly evolving beverage industry?

The Indian landscape is evolving very rapidly. Consumers are increasingly becoming more aware of global trends and are becoming more discerning. India is no longer a consumer cohort, but has become many, many cohorts coming together. I think the key challenge for any marketer is to make sure that the brand is relevant, is up to date with the trends, and is able to create brand love with its consumers, and then the spread is no different.

We rely on a lot of data that we get from consumers in terms of trends. We listen to them, we get their feedback, and we try to create meaningful relationships with them. Blenders Pride is one of the largest brands in the country. It continues to do very well. It has been built on the passion pillar of fashion, and has been around for 16 years. This time, we intend to take Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Nxt into the interiors of the country rather than the same Metros, because the Indian consumer is now present everywhere. And we want to showcase what the brand is about, even within the interiors in this country.

What is the one way that you want to stay relevant amongst your consumers?

I think when you look at the smaller towns, you’ll see that it’s not just the metro cities that are defining trends these days. The millennials in the smaller towns are fairly comfortable with themselves, and they consider themselves not only at par with the rest of the nation, but that they are global citizens. So, the responsibility is with the brands to actually go to them and not the other way round.

How does Pernod Ricard India approach consumer insights and market research to stay attuned to shifting consumer preferences and trends?

We have to listen to our consumers. Ultimately, they are the best judges to endorse or not endorse brands. We need to cater to their individualistic requirements. Therefore, we do a lot of consumer testing for new brand concepts. We do continuous consumer surveys to determine whether we are relevant with our brands, what more can we do, etc. From there, consumer insights are generated, which then gets translated into uniform marketing strategies.

Please tell us more about the Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Nxt Preview?

Blenders Pride has one of the longest-standing marketing platforms in the entire industry. We were pioneers to associate with fashion. Today, Blenders Pride Fashion NXT stands for one of the most definitive fashion platforms across the country; something that the brand has been associated with for the last 16 years. And of course, by no means does it mean that we don’t have to keep evolving year on year. This time is no exception either. What makes it very exciting this time around is the confluence of futurism being thrown in, and the confluence of tech at a certain level. And of course, the fact that we are taking it to the interiors of the country and throwing in a whole festival as a fore bait. We have got several designers on board, whether they are showcasing or not, but they are definitely showing their designs. And there’s a whole new partnership with FDCI that we have put together, which promises to be very respected.

How does Pernod Ricard India leverage digital platforms and technology to engage with consumers and drive brand awareness? 

There is no better way anymore. That’s the beauty of digital. Gone are the days where brands did their messaging using traditional mediums. Today, digital allows us to understand the nuances that consumers appreciate. It allows us to have a two-way conversation openly. It allows us to gain feedback and get data. Therefore, it also allows us to customise a lot of marketing campaigns to address different cohorts of consumers. So, it’s the central pivot of our marketing strategies.

In what ways does Blenders amplify its marketing efforts and reach new audiences? 

In many ways, we have several influencers or celebrities who are part of our roster, who are the face of the brand. They are selected when they mirror the personality of the brands that we have. Of course, again, coming back to digital landscape, it has given a lot of creative people, especially the youth, a voice to express their creativity, which is being appreciated by the digital audience. They have now garnered a very significant voice on their own right and their ability to influence a much wider audience has become critical. So yes, depending on the brands, we carefully select influencers who can carry our messages with their own flag, their audiences, and we work very closely with them. This is not only limited to communication with the organisation, but we also do very different kinds of partnerships with the organisation during festivities, interesting packaging for designers, artists, etc., across every walk of life, we engage with influencers.

The Fashion NXT platform of Blenders Pride Glassware has traditionally used many influencers to further the brand messaging. This year, I am going to see the biggest names of Bollywood and fashion – Soonam Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, Jim Sarbh, Sanya Malhotra and Aditi Rao Hydari. We’re very proud to associate with them and have them be the showstoppers for our events.

What role does storytelling play in Pernod’s marketing strategy, especially considering the vast cultural landscape of India?

Storytelling has become almost hygiene, because everyone wants to relate to a brand, and how they can relate to it is by relating to the brand’s story. The challenge, of course, is that there is no longer homogeneous consumer cohorts, there are different cohorts with different needs, different types of storytelling works well. It just makes our marketing strategies a lot more diverse, but then that’s the challenge, and then that’s how we go there and address it. And that’s where I spoke regarding listening to the requirements using data, tech, or research that allow us to carve out those interesting stories.

Looking ahead, what are some emerging trends or challenges that you foresee in the beverage industry, and how is Pernod preparing to address them from a marketing standpoint?

I think there are probably three big things: one is that trends are no longer in the major metro cities. I hate to use the words, but Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets have a personality of their own, with a demanding consumer base. So, one must address their needs as well, so the landscape is shifting to brands.

I think the digital ecosystem and its rapid pace of evolution keeps everyone on their toes. With it, customisation becomes an automatic expectation because consumers are now having a voice of their own. They are able to showcase their personalities. And then brands have to start conversing with them, which means different types of storytelling. So, that’s going to be big.

Last but not the least, related to the world of digital is tech. Increasingly, I expect a lot of tech coming in, whether it is pure marketing strategies or consumer engagement platforms, or even product development. It is going to keep all marketeers on their toes, particularly at Pernod Ricard, because we have the widest and probably the strongest portfolio around. Each brand has to thereby carve its niche in such an evolving scenario.

What are the other brand campaigns that you have underway?

There are many more activities that are lined up. In fact, I can share a few. We recently had a very successful launch for Longitude 77 in December, which is our first foray into the Indian single-malt business. It is doing superbly well, and now we are taking it across the sea to Dubai, and we’re going to have a mega launch towards the end of the month in Dubai. Royal Stag Boom Box is a fabulous music property, again targeted at the younger millennials or the Gen Z, and we are going into their hometowns. We are going to the youth-centric cities of this country with a very eclectic music experience, which kicked off in February. So, we’ve got a fairly packed calendar coming up, and the consumer should enjoy.