Exclusive | 'The Complete Man' gets social: Raymond's Mrinmoy Mukherjee

Today, Raymond has the distinction of being the world's largest integrated producers of worsted suiting fabrics. As an integrated player, they provide end-to-end fabric solutions right from manufacturing worsted, woollen and linen fabrics to creating suits, trousers and apparel. Raymond has the distinction of producing the finest suiting in the world using super fine wool from 80s to 250s count and blending the same with superfine polyester and other specialty fibres, like Cashmere, Angora, Alpaca, Pure Silk, Linen etc. It produces nearly 20,000 designs and colours of suiting fabric that have found their way in over 55 countries including the European Union, USA, Canada, Japan and Australia among others. 
 
In keeping with the times Raymond has conceptualised a unique platform for young aspiring models across India to make a mark and achieve their dreams in the world of men’s fashion. They took a conscious decision to run the Raymond Model Hunt exclusively on Facebook, as a tribute to the new-age social media friendly Indian male.  This model hunt which has attracted the attention of India’s youth is encouraging and they plan to expand Raymond’s presence in the social media significantly in the future.  
Adgully caught up with Mrinmoy Mukherjee, Director-Marketing & Business Development, Retail, Raymond Limited to talk about Raymond’s timeless campaign, ‘The Complete Man’, their search for the perfect Raymond model and the new age social media savvy Indian male. Below are the excerpts from the interview Adgully had with him:
 
Raymond has reflected the evolving Complete Man over the ages. Mr. Mrinmoy Mukherjee shared his views on this and said, “The core concept of The Complete Man is timeless. Therefore, his core values of trust, respect for relationships and appreciation of the finer things that life has to offer do not change. What evolves is the manifestation of the core values through his behavior. The Complete Man is real, so manifestation of the same through simple yet unique relationship moments between teacher-student, father-son, father-in-law – son-in-law, husband–wife has kept The Complete Man relevant over the years.”
The latest avatar of The Complete Man portrays the young professional ‘son’ who pleasantly surprises his mother by taking her along with him to Singapore where he has landed his first job.  “That is how The Complete Man remains relevant today and will be relevant in the time to come,” he said.
 
With regard to the fact that Raymond’s brand connect with consumers has been huge, Mr.Mukherjee commented that three cornerstones have consistently delivered to enable the brand connect and leadership that Raymond enjoys in the market place. He also said, “The positioning and communication platform of The Complete Man has been more than ably supported by the commitment on product quality and retail strategy. In all three, Raymond has the distinction of creating many firsts.”
 Raymond, crowned Mr. Phani Kumar of Hyderabad the proud winner of its novel Model Hunt staged exclusively on the popular online platform, Facebook, as a tribute to the new-age online savvy Indian male. Mr.Sandeep Gaikwad was the judged the runner-up in the contest. The eagerly awaited Grand Finale of the Raymond Model Hunt was held at the Raymond flagship store, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai at a gala evening ceremony on 14th June 2012.
 
Hosted by Karishma Kotak, the Grand Finale was the culmination of a three month-long activity on Facebook, wherein model aspirants from across India expressed their interest in participating in Raymond’s first ever model hunt. Having received around 200 serious contestants’ profiles, the 10 finalists were short-listed, covering physical and intellectual attributes, in addition to their understanding of Raymond as a brand and its qualities.
 
On being asked about how the idea of creating a model hunt on the social media was initiated  he said, “As part of Raymond’s varied initiatives to reach out to its younger audience, the brand launched this unique Model Hunt on the social media platform primarily because this was a unique opportunity to create a brand property that synergized the benefits of the real and virtual worlds. Given that over 50% of the Indian population is below 25 years of age, and the fact that a significant amount of their time is consumed in the digital world online, Raymond reached out to them in their preferred medium.”
 
In his opinion this provided a platform to the youth across India to engage with the brand, and be a part of Raymond’s iconic campaigns and legacy.
 
Their criteria to shortlist the selection of contestants too was unique. Mr. Mukherjee went on to explain, “The process of selection for the Raymond Model Hunt started in the virtual space. It was initiated by asking candidates to upload their photographs, along with a video expressing their views on Raymond as a brand and its campaigns. The short-listing was based on parameters that included physical appearance and intellectual ability. In the grand finale of the Raymond Model Hunt as well these parameters were tested to select the winners.”
 
The next step was to integrate the digital procedure with the actual event. This is what he had to say with regard to the integration of both. “The Raymond Model Hunt started with the initial short listing on the digital medium and after multiple rounds of selection, 10 finalists from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Karnataka were invited to Mumbai for the grand finale. In Mumbai, they were groomed by Marc Robinson, leading model and choreographer. The winner of the Raymond Model Hunt was chosen after intense competitive elimination rounds including an ethnic and Indian wear round.”
 
The 10 finalists, in addition to various other rounds of competition also made videos on “what it means to be a gentleman today” as part of the short listing process. Mr. Mukherjee explains why they came up with this idea. “For the Raymond Model Hunt, it was not just about sharp looks that mattered but also how well contestants reflected the traits of The Complete Man. This was ascertained by seeking the shortlisted contestants to either enact on or upload a monologue on “What it means to be a gentleman in this day and age”.  “The idea stemmed from the need for aspiring Raymond models to understand the attributes of The Complete Man and his expressive and responsible behaviour, to emote accordingly in the campaign images, he said.
 
Raymond is now looking to build greater engagement on social media platforms. Mr.Mukherjee said that since the brand enjoys a strong emotional connect with its consumers, especially the youth, they plan to leverage this strength by connecting with them on the social media.
 
“We celebrate the different relationships in the life of The Complete Man through various engaging contests on this platform. Some of our engagement ideas were around Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, Teachers’ Day etc. The most recent Raymond TV commercial on a son getting posted abroad, was extended through a Mothers’ Day contest in the virtual space, allowing a larger brand connect with the young.  The contest which sought people to shoot a video\share a picture\record a sound clip\write a piece that explains the special moment with their mothers, was aimed at enhancing the son-and-mother bonding. They were then asked to upload the same on the Raymond Facebook fan page. The winner, who uploaded a touching film, has won himself an opportunity to go to Singapore with his mother,” he said.
 
The process of brand building on social media is becoming increasingly popular. Having an extremely successful brand, he attributes the insights to the fact that social media is increasingly becoming a key marketing tool for brands/campaigns as it allows for two-way communication and interactivity. This also permits brands to garner direct insights from the youth /consumer on their communication.
 
On an end note Mr.Mrinmoy Mukherjee said, “Although the virtual space has evolved with time in terms of connecting with the youth, it does have its limitations as a medium. The medium can only play a support role in enhancing reach of an ongoing campaign. It is yet to establish itself as the primary and sole medium for any campaign/communication.” 
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