Focus East: How FMCG brands are sharpening their regional marketing strategies

When it comes to market focus for brands and marketers, the North, West and South markets have always had a dominant share. The East and North-East markets are a distant second. The equations are now changing as these markets become more assimilated into the mainstream.

However, marketers do need to take note that the East is not one composite, homologous market. Despite the geographical closeness, West Bengal is very different from Assam or Arunachal Pradesh or Sikkim. Here, the regional share a strong co-existence with the national. Traditional media has a stronger play than digital media. There are local nuances in the East markets that marketers cannot afford to miss out on.

The FMCG sector is not bound by regional encumbrances, nor is it season-specific. FMCG brands occupy a significant share of the shelf space and are one of the heaviest ad spenders. The East markets have the presence of several key national FMCG companies – ITC, HUL, P&G, Colgate Palmolive, Marico, Dabur, Emami, Joy Personal Care, Bata, and many more.

As part of our Focus East series in the run-up to the CMOs’ Charcha – Kolkata Chapter, Adgully turns the spotlight on the FMCG sector’s presence in the East markets and how it is engaging with its TG, the media mix strategy that works the best, content consumption and consumer behaviour trends, the regional-national outlook, and much more.

Marketing and advertising strategies

Speaking about the media in the East markets, Rajiv Dubey, Senior General Manager - Head of Media, Dabur India, noted that if brands want to specifically target West Bengal they can do it through television and print. “The East market is very significant in terms of business, we have deep rooted connection with the East. Dabur started from Calcutta, approx. 138 years back. In media terms, East market is media-isolatable. The General Entertainment Channels, News Channels, Newspapers, Social Media influencers have their own flavour” he observed.

Citing Dabur’s example, Dubey said, “To cater to the specific needs of local markets, we launched Real ORS specifically for NE market and Dabur Olive Oil for West Bengal.”

Continuing further, he said, “Secondly, Because of isolatable market, the communication strategy has to suit the local flavour as well. So, when we create commercials for our brands, we make specific versions for specific markets, for example Dabur Honey commercials we use local celebrities with the help of local agencies. For Hajmola too, we have used Bengali Actress Nusrat Jahan for one of the influencer campaigns..”

As far as media is concerned, Dubey said that television and newspapers work pretty well for the East market.

On the other hand, Poulomi Roy, CMO, RSH Global (parent company of Joy Personal Care) noted, “The region, particularly West Bengal, had been a media isolated one, but this is changing, and there has been noticeable growth in recent times, especially in Odisha. The region’s cultural diversity adds unique nuances to consumer preferences and behaviours.”

She added, “It is also to be noted that the younger population in Bengal has a preference for consuming content and engaging on social media platforms in their native language. The market is price-sensitive, which presents an opportunity for brands to offer localised flavours and products that resonate well with the consumers.”

She also shared some examples specifically for West Bengal, and said, “In the Eastern region, JOY places a strong emphasis on Bengal, which is why the brand has enlisted Mimi Chakraborty as the brand ambassador for West Bengal. The key priority is to utilise Bengal-specific media platforms, while also considering the unique attributes of the East market in our planning of both ATL and BTL activities.”

The right media mix

“Urban areas in West Bengal exhibit a robust reach of traditional media and digital platforms. According to the EY FICCI M&E 2022 report, the paid subscription for television is projected to witness growth not only in West Bengal, but also in Bihar and several other states.” Roy added.

She further highlighted that a significant portion of the youth population has a preference for consuming content in their native language. In the Eastern market, prime time Bengali shows in both fiction and non-fiction categories hold substantial influence. Moreover, a major Bengali OTT platform is experiencing remarkable growth in subscriptions. While product categories do influence media selection, the aforementioned factors have prompted FMCG companies in East India to strike a balance between regional TV channels, the flourishing Bengali OTT platforms, and digital media platforms in regional languages.

On the other hand, Dabur’s Dubey said that his company’s strategy is similar across markets, even for the Eastern Market. “So, we use local influencers who are popular in that respective region. And to learn local nuances and to get an insight for the local nuances, we have regional marketing teams, who give us insights and tell us whom to target and advocate, what kind of content strategy we should have, what kinds of local, nano and micro influencers we should take for digital. So, these are the kinds of insights that we get and we use it. We even have customised communication, which is created only for a particular market,” he added.

Content consumption trends

Dubey pointed out that the East has a very strong print market as well. “East has a very strong print market as well. So, one has to balance between print and digital which are very strong in the East, although media is very expensive in the East, sustained presence in the market helps the brands grow,” he said.

Poulomi Roy noted that the consumption of personal care products witnesses a surge during festivals, such as Durga Puja, Diwali, and the Bengali New Year in the Eastern region. People prioritise skincare both before and during these festive occasions. “Therefore, we concentrate on promoting specialised products that cater to the needs of our target consumers during festivals,” she added.

Roy further shared that the skincare market witnessed an influx of local brands in West Bengal around 8-10 years ago. “However, the scenario has now changed, and we no longer see the presence of these local brands to a large extent. This shift is attributed to consumers transitioning to national brands, primarily driven by the price matrix,” she concluded.