"We are aiming to double our distribution in smaller towns": Vineet Sharma

We spoke to Vineet Sharma - brand manager, Tropicana, about the brand's new 'My Health My Way' campaign featuring Katrina Kaif.

Tropicana, the beverage brand marketed by PepsiCo, recently released its #MyHealthMyWay campaign. The brand has roped in Bollywood star Katrina Kaif as its first-ever brand ambassador for India.

Tropicana's #MyHealthMyWay campaign

Conceptualised and created by J. Walter Thomson (JWT), the film has been produced by 10Films. The TVC features a series of health-hacks from today's fast-paced millennials, reflecting their 'My Health My Way' lifestyle. It shows Katrina making time for her morning run even before the sun rises, a young professional effortlessly cycling at her desk while working, a young woman using her grocery bags for weight-lifting, a boy walking his energetic dog, and a young man doing push-ups with his sister sitting on his back. Each of them finds their own way to adopt fitness and Tropicana offers them a convenient format to add nutrition to their routine.

Vineet Sharma

The brand conducted thorough research before launching the campaign. "When we went to the consumers, the first thing that we found was people were concerned about their health at a much younger age. So, we wanted to know what the notion of health was that the consumers were taking," informs Vineet Sharma - brand manager, Tropicana.

The brand thus came to the conclusion that the youth of today are looking out for something that is tasty, nutritious and contemporary. "Quite unlike the older cohort who looked at health as something preventive or curative, the younger consumers consider health an important part of their identity. In fact, they believed that being healthy ladders up to being confident, optimistic and positive in life. Therefore, we were very clear that we wanted a rendition which is very easy, comfortable and which we are proud of," says Sharma.

The other thing the brand found, as part of their research, was that health for different consumers meant different things. For different people, being healthy has a different definition - for some, it may be doing a particular physical activity, while for others it may be just a jog in the park. Hence, the expression was 'I want to be healthy, but I want to be healthy my way.' This concluded the notion that the youth of today want to be healthy, but don't want to be told how to be healthy; they want to make their own choices.

"Hence, we coined this term 'My Health, My Way' that has two elements - first: 'Health, as a way of self-expression', and second: 'Health, My Way' i.e. I want to be healthy but I want it to be my way," shares Sharma.

Sharma believes juices, as a category, are the most healthy, convenient and tasty form of getting nutrition and staying healthy. That's what the brand is trying to communicate. "Under the Tropicana umbrella, we have a range of options from 'Total Veggies' - that has a combination of fruits and vegetables - to 'Nectars' with various flavours. So, the basic idea is to give you good health, the way you want it," says Sharma.

He, however, maintains, "The problem is that most of the juice brands don't communicate to the young consumers, rather, only to moms and kids. So, we are the first brand in the category to communicate to the younger consumers and talk to them in the language that they understand. We feel that our task is to drive preference for Tropicana."

All for a Mass Appeal

The #MyHealthMyWay campaign will be amplified through a strategic 360-degree marketing plan. It will be carried forward on digital, outdoor and print.

"We are aiming to double our distribution in smaller towns. We believe outdoor ads and OOH will play a major role in penetrating the markets in smaller towns, while TVCs and the digital legs will play a key role in metro cities," says Sharma.

Katrina is best remembered for the Tropicana Slice commercials. So, we asked Sharma, if having her for #MyHealthMyWay campaign will do justice to the brand as it is positioned more as a health drink.

"Katrina has worked with us for a very long time. In fact, it's been more than 10 years that she has been associated with the brand. The reason we believe that Katrina is a strong fit is because she is a youth icon and is one of the fittest celebrities. It's for the first time that we have leveraged on a celebrity for Tropicana. And we believe that it strongly brings out the message of health which was relatively more niche and something of a metro phenomenon. So, in terms of distribution we are going to penetrate the market further," says Sharma.

But why did the brand choose a Bollywood actor over other youth icons such as PV Sindhu or Saina Nehwal?

"We thought about it a lot. PepsiCo already has PV Sindhu as the brand ambassador for Gatorade. It was a very conscious call to choose someone from the mainstream because Tropicana is a far more fun and easy way of staying healthy. Given her (Katrina's) zeal for fitness, despite a very demanding work schedule, she is a great fit for our new 'My Health My Way' campaign," opines Sharma.

The brand will soon be launching a new campaign for Tropicana Essentials. Katrina will also be the face of Tropicana Essentials - IRON. She will be the face of the campaign to increase awareness about the unique product that is designed to help bridge the gap in iron intake among consumers who suffer from iron deficiency.