“Celeb endorsements are effective in building lasting relationships with customers”

Since 2012, Piramal Realty has aimed to enrich lives by setting gold standards for customer-centricity, architectural design, quality and safety. Piramal Group’s legacy of responsible stewardship for individual and community growth, as well as the group’s unwavering commitment to Knowledge, Action, Care, and Impact is reflected in their activities as its development arm. Their empathetic engagement with customers guarantees that their needs are continuously met and exceeded, making Piramal Realty developments, places that offer opportunities to thrive.

Recently, Piramal Realty onboarded Rahul Dravid as its brand ambassador. The former captain of the Indian National Cricket Team, who was nicknamed The Wall, was known for his dependable and composed nature on the cricket field.  We all know that a brand ambassador helps in strengthening the connection with the audience and also helps to shape the brand’s perception by leveraging the equity of the brand ambassador. Rahul Dravid’s collaboration with Piramal Realty as an experienced ambassador will portray Piramal Realty’s key values through emotion, speaking directly to our customers with signature messages on the importance of homeownership.

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Kyron Dinshaw, Vice President, Marketing, Piramal Realty, elaborates on the company’s campaign and marketing strategies, bringing on board Rahul Dravid as the brand ambassador, how celebrity endorsements are an effective way to build a lasting relationship with customers and more.

Firstly, what was the reason for going the celebrity route for your brand, Piramal Realty? Why did you choose the Wall of Indian cricket – Rahul Dravid for this campaign?

With innovation as one of our driving forces, Piramal Realty strives to stay ahead of the curve. We think celebrity endorsements are an effective way to build a lasting relationship with our customers as they help in influencing and creating a connection between us and our target audience. This is our first celebrity-led association, with Rahul Dravid being selected as our brand ambassador. Rahul Dravid has been carefully selected for his integrity, humility, performance and resilience – all of which reflect our core brand values. Also, considering his success and reputation as a top personality, this charismatic icon is an excellent match for our brand.

We have transformed a simple celebrity endorsement into brand advocacy, amalgamating the persona of Rahul Dravid and Piramal Realty. The current campaign positions Rahul Dravid as an experienced ambassador, which helps in speaking directly to our customers with signature messages. It further drives our message of warmth and happiness that a home brings. A loving home for one’s family is their greatest accolade. At Piramal Realty, we strive to make homes where you want to be crafting moments you want to revere. 

The personalities of Piramal Realty and Rahul intertwine with each other in the values they share. Our aim through this partnership is to connect with consumers and bring out the emotional value associated with the feeling of coming back home. 

Where do you see the brand connect with Rahul Dravid? What are some of the personality characteristics of Rahul Dravid that matches with Piramal Realty?

Piramal Realty is an established brand that brings a great deal of credibility. As an organisation, we strive to set new standards for quality and design by building world-class developments. Appointing Rahul Dravid as a brand ambassador is a perfect match for us since he is known for his dependability and reliability, the brand ethos that we as an organisation endorse. 

We believe that this will be a great collaboration that will deliver outstanding results. Among India’s most prominent sports figures, Rahul Dravid, whose appeal, and dependability corresponds strongly with our core values, was a natural choice for us.

Whom are you targeting through this campaign? What’s your end objective and expectation set on this campaign leveraging Rahul Dravid?

We aim to target consumers who want to own a home in one of Mumbai’s most prestigious addresses. Celebrities have the ability to influence purchase intent and shape consumers perceptions. The familiarity of the endorser in the hearts and minds of the consumers contributes to the campaign’s effectiveness. The current campaign – “#AtHomeWithDravid” – is inspired by a simple thought – “No matter who you are or wherever you reach, coming back home is always a special and the most reassuring feeling.”

Through this campaign, we intend to convey the message that a home is a belief as much as a place, and even celebrities such as Rahul Dravid find utmost comfort in their own home surrounded by family members. At Piramal Realty, our core thought is to serve families and help them build a home. More than just bricks and mortar, we sell something real – something meaningful. Put simply, we make homes as individual as the people who own them. 

The realty business works on the trust factor and legacy of the construction company and its reputation. What kind of role will a brand ambassador play, in this case Rahul Dravid, to market and sell the brand?

There is no doubt that Piramal Realty possesses a great deal of reliability. Building world-class developments is part of our commitment to set new standards in quality and design. We believe in winning and leaving a legacy. Appointing Rahul Dravid as a brand ambassador represents our brand’s alignment with his credibility. The former Indian captain is known for his dependability and calm demeanor on and off the field. Throughout this campaign, we want to illustrate how we can assist consumers in making informed home buying decisions and make the process of buying a home as convenient as possible, with an offer that will help our customers play their best innings towards home-ownership.

What are your key markets for this campaign? And what is the duration of this campaign on various media?

The campaign is targeted towards consumers across the country with an additional focus on metros such as Mumbai, in line with our Mumbai-focused strategy. The duration of the campaign is four months and will be phased out with multiple sub-campaigns coming under the larger umbrella to create awareness amongst our consumers. A 360-degree marketing effort, comprising print, digital, outdoor, and social media promotions, has been activated to amplify and promote the association in a phased manner.

What will be your engagement strategy? Are you looking at a multi-media approach, and how will digital be leveraged?

With the pandemic, we have witnessed a shift in consumer behaviour towards digital, making it convenient for us to interact with our customers. Consumers today are more open and comfortable with digital channels. Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have focused our communications efforts on building and strengthening a two-way relationship with our consumers. Digital channels play a very key role in our marketing strategy at Piramal Realty, and this campaign will be no different. We will be present across all leading publishers, ensuring maximum reach and visibility, driving home the value of owning a home amongst our Target Group. To capitalise on the IPL buzz, we’ve included ad inventory across leading news & cricket-based publishers in our media mix; we’ve also planned high visibility campaigns across OTT platforms & YouTube through connected TV (CTV) ads to ensure we reach out to as many homes as possible.

We will be leveraging the #AtHomeWithDravid campaign across social platforms to convey the primary message that even famous personalities like Rahul Dravid return home to their families despite being a Hall of Fame and a top-ranked sportsman. Through this campaign and our promotional offers, consumers will be aided with the opportunity to buy a home and build the perfect home with their loved ones.