Ajay Devgn to endorse affordable footwear brand Walkaroo; replaces Aamir Khan

Laal Singh Chaddha brand integration did not deliver the expected ROI, says Walkaroo’s director

The Coimbatore-headquartered affordable footwear brand Walkaroo is all set to bring on actor Ajay Devgn as its brand ambassador starting October 4, 2022. This is the brand’s third big-ticket endorser after Rohit Sharma and Aamir Khan. 

The brand signed on cricketer Rohit Sharma in 2016 followed by a two-year endorsement deal with Aamir Khan in 2019. Taking advantage of the engagement with Khan, Walkaroo integrated its brand into the actor’s latest film Laal Singh Chaddha. Owing to the low box office numbers the brand could not extract a high ROI on the brand integration. 

“The association with Aamir Khan helped us gain a significant amount of mileage in the market. However, the association with Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha did not give us the outcomes we expected. The movie did not do well at the box office, therefore, the brand integration didn’t go as well as expected,” says Rajesh Kurian, director, Walkaroo International. 

Starting October 2022, the brand has entered into a brand endorsement deal with actor Ajay Devgn. “The contract with Devgn will begin this October. The TV campaign is expected to start around October 4. Creatives will be released soon,” Kurian confirms.

Kurian says that the company is focused on building its presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities as its affordable range of footwear have a greater appeal in these markets. The brand claims to have a 4-5% market share in the Indian footwear market. It offers a range of footwear from casual to formal for men, women and kids. Walkaroo sells footwear in the range of Rs 150 (open footwear category - slippers) to Rs 2,000 (men’s sports shoes).

“Our brand is available across 1.5 lakh retailers through a network of 750 distributors. We have 13 manufacturing units in India. Although having an online presence is not our first priority, our brand is sold on various e-commerce platforms. The priority so far has been to promote our footwear in-store,” Kurian says.

He says that implementing an effective marketing campaign in smaller cities requires establishing a proper distribution channel. Having established a strong distribution network, Walkaroo believes that the affordable price range is a compelling USP for the brand.

With advertising and marketing, the brand’s aim is to ensure reassurance regarding the brand’s durability and accountability. Outlining the advertising strategy of the brand, Kurian says, “For marketing, our primary investment is to ensure branding at the point of sale. We also put up co-branded shop boards and OOH advertisements so that the brand is visible across cities. We support our outdoor ads with TV campaigns in regional languages and print ads in regional dailies”.

The brand has a strong footprint in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. As a result, the brand advertises in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

Apart from the new endorsement, the brand is testing QR codes as a tool for engaging with audiences through its latest print campaign. “Consumers will now be able to scan a QR code and enter a contest which would fetch them a gift depending on their performance in a game of cricket. The benefits can range from a Paytm recharge to a trip to Australia,” he adds.

Kurian shares that the efforts all are leading up to the brand’s bid to establish itself as a pan-India brand. “We are making continuous efforts to build brand Walkaroo since it is not a well-known brand nationally,” he concludes.