Acharya Balakrishna on 'aaj kal kay ads'

At Goafest 2017 the CEO of Patanjali Ayurved addressed ad-land. Quick highlights.

The auditorium was packed at the Grand Hyatt, Goa, as people eagerly waited to attend the session of Acharya Balakrishna, chief executive officer of Patanjali Ayurved.

During the session, Balakrishna spoke about the marketing done by Patanjali and other brands. He said, "When we started our marketing with putting up ads of several products in print media, experts said we are wrong. We never looked at or thought of how to increase our market share. Rather we thought of helping the farmers and citizens of India."

Speaking about Patanjali's Aloe-Vera juice, Balakrishna said, "On a daily basis, we sell around 50 tons of Aloe-Vera juice in India. There were companies which sold the juice for more than Rs 1000 and now are selling for Rs 300 because of Patanjali's pricing."

He also took a dig at other advertisers while talking about Patanjali Dant Kanti. He said, "We sell Danth Kanti to strengthen your teeth and gums. Should a toothpaste do anything more than that? Aaj kal kay tooth paste ad toh ladkiyon ko patane me madat karte hain. (Today's toothpaste ads help guys get closer girls)."

He added, "While making such ads, think about your mothers and daughters at home and whether you will be fine if this ad could be executed in reality keeping them in mind. If you advertise the right way, the product will do equally well in the market."

Acharya concluded the session by saying, "We are not competing against anyone. Let people choose what they want. Some would come to us and some would go to them."