When we talk about Alcohol as a category, it has great appeal despite the advent of indirect advertising. In India, promoting alcohol through television commercials, print ads and hoardings is not allowed. One has to lookout for new and innovative ways to engage consumers through right communication when it comes to Alcohol advertisement.
India is positioned as number one whisky market. One of the main reasons behind this phenomenal success of Indian liquor brands is Surrogate advertising. As a result we see liquor brands selling a wide range of products from audio cassettes and CDs to darting kits, golf accessories, soda and mineral water under their respective brand names to create awareness.
Alcohol promotions in India
These brands also sponsor various events which have abundant viewership. Thus Kingfisher Premium has associated itself with 5 teams of IPL as the ‘Good Times Partner’ resulting in huge brand awareness among its target audience. Similarly Johnny Walker Awards for Excellence has been a great promotional campaign for the whisky giant over the years, where people from various sectors are awarded in recognition of their achievements in their career and life.
Seagram’s Royal Stag has roped in Saif Ali Khan along with famous cricketers like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan and Gautam Gambhir as its brand ambassadors. There have been a few TVCs where these men are seen promoting the Royal Stag Music Cds followed by their famous tagline ‘It’s your life, Make It large’. TV ads of Imperial Blue show the distinct behavior of the male gender in their tagline ‘Men will be Men’ thereby promoting their own range of Music cassettes and Cds.
Alcohol brands & Social Media
Social Media is the latest avenues for alcohol brands to establish their brand expression. Although there have been controversies
regarding the promotion of Alcohol Brands through Social Media, no specific regulations have been set as of now. Thus liquor brands can exploit platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to promote their brands. Companies like Kingfisher and Fosters have their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts in place and often get involved in weekly contests and promotional activities. The most important advantage of social media marketing is that one can practice new out of the box marketing techniques and reach the target customers directly. Thus in the near future Social Media will be the most effective method for alcohol companies to carry out their campaigning activities in an innovative manner.
As long as you consistently drink alcohol in moderation, your likelihood of seeking help for alcoholics in the near future is quite low.
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