Storyboard | Coca-Cola sends Thums Up out to bat first

Coca-Cola had its hand burnt when football star Cristiano Ronaldo moved bottles of Coke at a Euro Cup press conference. But that hasn’t stopped the company from stepping back on to the sports pitch, a marketing territory it knows well. This time, however, it’s sending homegrown brand Thums Up out to bat first at the T20 cricket World Cup.

In a conversation with Storyboard, Arnab Roy, vice-president and head-marketing, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, sheds light on the changes in Coca Cola India’s marketing strategy and plans for the festive season.

From thanda to thunder

Sometime back, Thums Up had announced its worldwide partnership with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The brand also partnered with athletes who represented India at these global sporting events. After the Olympic Games, Thums up also became the first FMCG brand to partner with the Paralympic Games. Now, Thums Up has partnered with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as an exclusive non-alcoholic beverage partner for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which kicks off on 17 October.

Speaking about what these associations have done for Thums Up’s brand, Roy says, “We have had an opportunity in India as we were coming out of Covid’s second wave to leverage both the Olympics and Paralympics and that coincided with what we were trying to do for Thums Up the brand.” What the marketer is trying to do is “evolve the positioning” of the brand.

Thums Up, it seems, is slowly shedding its all-macho madness personality for something that's greater and more inspirational to a new generation of consumers.

A new generation of heroes 

The campaigns featuring Olympic and Paralympic athletes were called #PalatDe and #TaanePalatDe. Created by Ogilvy India, the campaign line goes, ‘Toofan wahi jo sab palat de’. Roy tells us that the “positioning really fitted well with the stories we wanted to tell about the Indian athletes (defying odds and doubters). It has had a very good effect on both the brand as well as the business scores.” He adds, “We will have to wait and see if it has a long-term sustainable impact.”

While speaking about Coke’s long-standing association with Olympics, partnership with ICC and sporting events, Roy also addresses the growing concern for health consumers. It can’t be easy building a case for fizzy colas and soft drinks at a time when consumers are looking for healthier options. This became more apparent when Ronaldo snubbed Coca-Cola and asked people to drink water instead.

Roy’s response to the Ronaldo episode and growing health-related awareness among consumers: “We have a huge portfolio not just in sparkling but also hydration, isotonic and juice categories, and we believe that our job is to ensure that we are able to provide the consumers the choice.”  He adds, “We continue to believe that there will be a pretty big chunk of demand even for sparkling beverages and there is an opportunity for that.”

Owing to the pandemic and the changing consumer narrative, Coca-Cola India is now focused on evolving their marketing approach towards purpose-driven brand campaigns. It’s also dialing up the optimism quotient in its brand marketing campaigns as we get into the festive quarter. Roy echoes the sentiment expressed by many marketers in recent times. He says, “India is coming out of a tough period and as brands, we need to ensure that we authentically communicate the optimistic side.” The end goal, we suppose, is to move bottles and lift spirits.