Sujit Patil on how Godrej Industries is winning the experiential engagement game

In the last 10 years, PR has taken a different dimension, especially after the entry of social media and the rapid shift to digital during the pandemic period. At the same time, the industry has been facing stiff challenges; moreover client expectations have also increased, with more emphasis being given to digital and online reputation management. The industry has undergone a radical shift and the current times have pushed the industry to change gears.

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Sujit Patil, VP & Head, Corporate Brand and Communications, Godrej Industries Ltd and Associated Companies, speaks at length about building the corporate brand and reputation, creating engaging experiences through the company’s homegrown property - Godrej L’Affaire, creating a positive digital safety net, and much more.

How does Godrej L’Affaire serve as a strategic tool for Godrej Industries in enhancing its corporate brand image and reputation?

Godrej L’Affaire has been a strategic tool for building our corporate brand and reputation. It is a brand-agnostic owned media platform of Godrej Industries Limited & Associated Companies (GILAC) that brings together brands in the lifestyle space to provide immersive experiences. It was conceptualized to celebrate nuances of lifestyle through experiential engagement with key opinion leaders, content creators, business partners, customers and people from the industry who matter. Through Godrej L’Affaire, we strive to craft experiential engagement, build a community of lifestyle aficionados, and weave a robust digital safety net for all the participating brands through authentic content. For instance, this year, our theme is ‘Goodness’. Hence, we would be creating experiential experiences around ‘All Things Goodness’, which, in a way, is conducive to our group’s reputation.

Could you elaborate on how Godrej L’Affaire aligns with the overarching corporate communication goals and messaging of Godrej Industries?

Our communication goals entail engaging with multiple internal and external stakeholders – employees, media, key opinion leaders, investors, business partners and consumers. Godrej L’Affaire is attended by a curated list of our stakeholders and provides them with an opportunity to experientially engage with our brands. A large participation by non-competing brands in the lifestyle space adds an element of lifestyle quotient to our brands. Celebrating lifestyle with like-minded brands helps us beautifully position ourselves in the lifestyle space. Because it is a multitude of brands, engagements & conversations and cross-pollination of ideas all put together and amplified using various media platforms, the impact is high. We believe these sort of engagements help build trust and a good reputation for us.

How does Godrej L’Affaire contribute to fostering stronger relationships with stakeholders, including customers, partners, and the general public?

We strongly believe that engaging with customers, partners, and the general public should be experiential. Our owned media property, L’Affaire, was launched to create meaningful conversations with stakeholders. When these stakeholders visit the Godrej campus and witness the magic of our products in terms of their purpose and the goodness they bring to people’s lives, it fosters strong relationships. Being on the ground enables them to meet our CEOs, brand managers, and the people behind the brands, thereby further strengthening the bonds.

How does Godrej Industries utilize the platform Godrej L’Affaire as part of its crisis management strategy, particularly in terms of maintaining transparency, addressing concerns, and rebuilding trust in stakeholders during challenging times?

We believe in the concept of creating a positive digital safety net. This means that we want to generate a lot of authentic, positive content for our corporate and brands based on experiences. This, we believe, helps build larger trust and positive disposition towards our brands. This certainly helps during any unfortunate adverse situation. This proactive approach is designed to mitigate any potential negative effects that might arise from a crisis. For all the activations at Godrej L’Affaire, we choose a transparent and meaningful approach for showcasing our products. We don’t make false claims or engage in ‘greenwashing’. Instead, we let people experience our products for themselves. This helps us to create an authentic and positive digital safety net.

In what ways does Godrej L’Affaire facilitate the communication of Godrej Industries’ values, mission, and commitment to sustainability and social responsibility?

When you arrive at the venue and explore the experiential zones of each brand, including external brands, the aim is not to have stalls where products are sold. Instead, the focus is on showcasing the real values and purpose of each brand. And this year’s overarching theme of ‘Goodness’ allows us to communicate our values, mission, and commitment to sustainability and social responsibility in a very effective way through an experiential engagement.

Could you discuss the role of Godrej L’Affaire in strengthening internal communication within Godrej Industries and fostering employee engagement?

This is an amazing opportunity where cross functional teams collaborate together. This is not only a passion project for the corporate brand and communications team, but also for the representatives of each of the brands involved. Each brand has around five to six representatives and their business heads and CEOs also get involved in creating the showcase of Godrej L’Affaire. This collaboration results in cross-learning, understanding, and empathy towards each other, which is very powerful. At the end, all this translates into an employer brand that fosters communication, collaboration, partnerships, and a positive environment within the organization.

How does Godrej L’Affaire leverage digital platforms and social media channels to amplify its corporate communication efforts and reach a wider audience?

For Godrej L’Affaire, almost 70% of our amplification is through digital platforms and social media channels. Therefore, we utilize almost every possible channel available. This includes content creators and their channels, as well as social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, hybrid and dark media, and everything in the realms of digital platforms that can be used as a medium to communicate an authentic story of all the participating brands. We are expecting about 30-plus brands, which will be showcasing experiential engagements at Godrej L’Affaire, thereby creating a blast of authentic content. This has always resulted in huge engagement and reach on social media.

Could you share any specific corporate communication strategies or tactics employed during Godrej L’Affaire events to effectively engage attendees and promote brand awareness?

The whole pretext of Godrej L’Affaire event is about engaging attendees and promoting brand awareness. Engagement takes place at multiple levels. Starting with teaser campaigns featuring the logos of all participants and what attendees can expect at the event, there are also numerous social media posts and PR activities, including a pre-event press release designed to create buzz and generate interest. There are three main ways to create buzz: pre, which includes a variety of media, digital media, shout-outs by participants, and shout-outs by participating brands. Radio is also leveraged to announce the event.

Although it is invite-only, we create curiosity around what participants are going to see on-ground. Even the participating brands come and talk about their expectations from the evening soiree. The biggest amplification happens during the event, with live-tweeted content, Instagram stories, and Reels. There are also opportunities for people to take pictures and learn about the brand propositions.

Each brand has a content creator assigned to them to create discerning stories and meaningful content. After the event, a lot of content is generated, including films and videos, that are packaged in a variety of formats, such as snackable videos, Instagram or bite-sized videos, and larger videos for YouTube. The communication strategy is designed to amplify the event using all types of communication modes available. This helps us create a buzz and brings out brand awareness. And it has been our experience that if brand nuances come out based on experiential engagement by content creators on-ground, that’s when real brand awareness happens, and meaningful conversation starts.

How does Godrej L’Affaire integrate feedback and insights gathered from attendees and participants into its corporate communication strategy for future events?

We generate a complete report that includes both qualitative and quantitative data. The report consists of various efficiency parameters that help us understand the experiences of the people attending the event. We gather feedback on what people liked and what they didn’t like, feedback from participating brands and our internal learning system. The best practices from all of this input and insight are collectively selected and then used to improve future events. We should keep in mind that our homegrown property, Godrej L’Affaire, did not have a benchmark six years ago when it was launched. However, with the continuous improvement process, the event has grown in size and value every year. This is because we use all the insights, we gather to understand what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided to make the event successful.

What role does storytelling play in the corporate communication initiatives surrounding Godrej L’Affaire, and how does it contribute to building brand affinity and loyalty?

As I mentioned earlier, storytelling is just a base. Through engaging experiences at Godrej L’Affaire, we are trying to tell a story. All the brands would be engaging in some manner.

For instance, for one of our flagship brands – Good Knight, we are creating a ‘Circle of Protection’. It is a mosquito museum, wherein people can see different kind of mosquitoes, their life cycle, their impacts, and what actions we as an entity are taking to combat malaria and dengue in villages through our program EMBED (Elimination of Mosquito Borne Endemic Diseases). We are doing this through an informative and experiential zone, where guests can enjoy an artistic depiction of vector varietals, their life cycles and experience the mosquito menace in a lifestyle space. While a mosquito might not be a glamorous protagonist, the zone promises to be both educational and captivating.

It is all about creating lasting impact in people’s minds as they visit zones across the venue. This, in turn, helps create brand affinity by providing personal experiences and filling gaps in knowledge.

We will also be showcasing other products such as perfumes and automobiles, demonstrating their value and how they contribute to sustainability. Through an authentic approach and experiential engagement, we hope to create brand loyalty and affinity.