“Raymond focusses on TV for driving brand love & digital for consumer engagement”

The wedding season is on full swing, especially after muted celebrations amid the pandemic and the lockdowns of 2020. Apparel and textile brands are having a busy season this year and have rolled out several campaigns.

Over the years, Raymond as a brand, which has had the brand proposition of ‘A Complete Man’, has come to have a very strong association with weddings and is a market leader in that space. Raymond has released its new ad campaign that highlights Matches Made at Weddings. The ad showcases Raymond’s stellar wedding collection for the groom as well as friends and family.

In this edition of ‘Talking Insights’, Himanshu Khanna, Chief Marketing Officer, Lifestyle Business, Raymond Ltd, speaks about the thought and strategy behind the ad film campaign as well as how the brand plans to engage with their audience this wedding season.

How is the wedding season looking for Raymond’s after last year’s washout? How have you beefed up your designs and stock for easy availability of your products across your outlets both online and offline?

Weddings are making a strong comeback this year and we are witnessing an upward trend in terms of footfalls and increasing Average Bill Values (ABVs) in our stores across the country. Weddings are amongst the most special occasion in everyone’s life and so are the wedding related purchases. Big-ticket wedding purchases are mostly experience-driven and hence, happen in retail stores. Raymond as a brand and its offerings has always been integral to weddings. It’s not just for the groom, but also meant for friends and family. Our entire wedding collection is meticulously curated taking into account this thought and there are numerous options for one and all to design different ensembles, be it Indian, Western wear or Indo western and for every occasion within the wedding space.

What’s your end objective for the film? What kind of expectations have you set from this campaign for the brand?

Weddings are delightful occasions, wherein most young hearts dream of their big day with their soulmates. Capturing this very thought, the ‘Think Weddings, Think Raymond’ campaign showcases Raymond’s wedding offerings, in a gorgeous setting that modern India can identify with. As weddings make a comeback, the campaign comes at an opportune moment, wherein we at Raymond want to be an integral part of this important celebration for the entire family, friends and the attendees – who wish to celebrate every occasion with style.

Specifically who are you targeting with this new campaign and what are the markets you are focusing on to get traction?

Our latest campaign celebrates weddings and is not just meant for the younger generation, but also aspires to strike a chord with friends and family of the bride and groom. We are a home-grown brand that has a loyal consumer base and products that are well designed for every occasion. We believe in crafting product offerings that elevates the sense of style of our consumers. Through our expansive store network spread across the length and breadth of the country, we continue to delight our consumers with offerings that embody the latest trends in global fashion.

Can you elaborate on the creative idea for the campaign? Where did you draw the insights for the campaign, was any research conducted for the campaign?

The idea was to look beyond just the wedding moment and involve the groom’s entourage – as friends liven up the celebrations. So, we zoomed in on one such priceless moment.

The insight stemmed from the observation that weddings become the perfect backdrop to bring many other new couples together.

We relied on our deep consumer understanding and life experiences to narrate one sweet moment that captures the attention of family and friends.

What’s going to be your engagement strategy to get the brand noticed and considered? How do you plan to leverage the film on media as you need to look at mass media to create visibility?

The early feedback of the campaign has been encouraging. Raymond being a home-grown legacy brand, our endeavour has been to focus on TV for driving brand love and leverage our digital content marketing strategy to drive consumer engagement. Also, at the same time we are constantly evaluating different opportunities that are relevant and resonate with our consumers.

Finally, what is the duration of the campaign and how do you plan to measure the effectiveness of the campaign?

The current campaign is meant for this winter wedding season. An upward trend in sales is always a good metric to measure the effectiveness of any campaign. As a brand, we do engage in research and Brand Track studies to build on our consumer understanding and sharpen our communication strategies.