American Tourister’s IPL campaign aims to put consumers into an adventure frenzy

The brand’s head of marketing talks to afaqs! about the campaign, association with Virat Kohli, and consumer trends in luggage bags category. 

Samsonite-owned luggage brand American Tourister has forayed into the space of Indian Premier League (IPL) advertising, with its recent campaign, titled ‘Born to cross boundaries’. The campaign, featuring star cricketer and brand ambassador Virat Kohli, asks travellers to surge past their limits in adventures. 

Conceptualised and created by Famous Innovations, the TVC sees Kohli try his hands at all sorts of adventures - from bungee jumping to exploring Scottish culture. The entire vibe of the TVC is that of a wanderer going all out on a series of venturesome activities.

Kohli has been American Tourister’s ambassador for the past seven years. The association has yielded many campaigns over the years, and carries a consistent undertone of travel and adventure. He’s been at the forefront of many of American Tourister’s largest pan-India promotions, such as ‘I’m Ready’, ‘Swagpack’ and ‘Your Access To The World’.

While a lot of brands strategise their IPL campaigns to up their sales, American Tourister is focusing on brand awareness and imagery with its efforts. Speaking to afaqs!, Pradnya Popade, head of marketing communications, South Asia, Samsonite, reveals that American Tourister’s objectives with this season’s IPL lie within the scope of building brand image, while reaching its target consumers.

She says, “The IPL is one of the most watched tournaments across India and the world. We wanted to reach out to the audiences at scale and, at the same time, build the imagery.” 

“The audience can be reached in multiple ways, but the combination of impact, reach and affinity, makes communication work more effectively, and what better than associating with the IPL.”

A cricketer shouldering a brand campaign during a cricketing event, is a common sight. Many brands have roped in top Indian cricketers to woo customers during the IPL. American Tourister’s collab with Kohli fits right into the self-imposed requisite that brands seem to have adopted for IPL advertising. 

Commenting on the brand’s choice of ambassador, in the context of the IPL, Popade opines, “It is not just about him (Kohli), but about how he and (the partnership with) American Tourister, complement each other. The overall brand campaign recall should be good during the IPL.”

For American Tourister, the IPL serves as a treasure trove of customer outreach. The brand predominantly targets younger audiences that range from school-goers to family vacationers. 

From an execution point of view, the campaign has been manufactured in multiple format styles to amplify its visibility. 

Popade reveals, “The brand has worked out two smaller edits, communicating the idea in a snackable content format with high frequency across different matches reaching pan-India audiences.”

The brand has also taken a 360-degree approach to promote the campaign. 

On the campaign’s media mix, Popade shares, “We tapped into different genres, like sports, movies, music, news, gaming, etc., to reach out to the core audience. The multimedia offline and online campaigns across TV, digital, social media, point of sale, e-commerce, OOH, cinema halls, etc., have been used to build imagery and win over the consumers.”