Why is Kellogg India betting big on YouTube, CTV, and OTT for advertising?

In 2017, the breakfast cereal market in India was valued at $283 million, according to a report by TechSci Research. It was projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 17 percent to reach a valuation of $751 million by 2023. Brands like Kellogg’s, who tapped this space with Kellogg’s cornflakes, have expanded their offerings over time. Now, the product range has been extended with the introduction of Kellogg’s Chocolate Muesli.

Storyboard18 connected with Vinay Subramanyam, senior director of marketing, Kellogg South Asia, who touched upon the launch, the genesis of the campaign, Kellogg's Chocolate Muesli’s media and marketing mix, and a lot more.

Edited excerpts

Speaking of the launch, how will it impact the breakfast cereals category?

What we have seen over the last five to six years is that muesli is the fastest growing segment in the breakfast products category. People love muesli because it is multigrain, it has fruits, nuts, and seeds, all in one package. It's almost like a heavenly concoction of goodness that people love to eat. That's one. The other truth is chocolate as a space is seeing a lot of traction. If you look at the world today, chocolate has found its way into so many different areas.

It's gotten into all kinds of beverages. It's gotten into personal care. It's gotten into beauty. And muesli is the fastest growing segment in breakfast cereals. Therefore, it was obvious that we needed to get into chocolate muesli. However, it has not been easy. It has taken months for us to craft not just any chocolate muesli, but a product which is really gold standard on taste. We have done extensive consumer research for this. We are the number one muesli brand in India, and all our research and experience tells us that this is India's tastiest muesli.

Could you touch upon the genesis of the campaign?

Ogilvy India conceived the campaign. One of the things we did in our briefing was to get everybody into a room in the morning and make sure that we all ate the product. And then describe what we felt when we ate the product. Products which are high on taste evoke a feeling which is very spontaneous. I think that is the first thing we heard from people.

Could you touch upon the marketing and media mix for the launch?

The new product variant has almonds, pumpkin seeds, black raisins, and not to forget the key ingredient: chocolate. We are doing a lot of digital work. We are getting onto YouTube, connected TV (CTV), and OTT in a big way. We are getting doing outdoor advertising in select cities. We are ensuring that we are generating some buzz which will help consumers, and also a bit of trade. We will be visible in high traffic locations, such as bus stops, and also in newspapers.

The product will not be launched in every city in India. It is going to be in select cities to make sure that we go deep instead of going wide. That's really the objective of this launch.

The typical price of a packet of muesli is about Rs 200. Often, that becomes a barrier even to try for a lot of people. We are ensuring that people can try our product at a lower price and then graduate to a larger pack. Our Rs 60 pack contains 75 grams, which is almost two serves. We also have a larger 450 gram pack, which is going to be priced at Rs 360.

We have gone to a lot of outlets where we have started the sampling of the product in fairly large quantities. We are seeing almost a 20 percent conversion of people who are trying (and buying), which is almost 3X the conversion that you normally see in sampling.

What are the marketing strategies you have deployed to bolster Kellogg’s, besides this launch?

In the five months that I've joined, my focus has been timely execution of the plans for 2023 that were made by the marketing team. Strategies are generally much longer by nature, but lately we've been focussed on ensuring that we land winning innovations in the market and create a robust marketing mix around them.

This is evidenced by the products we’ve rolled out in the last one year. We started with Protein Muesli, then we did Kellogg's Hershey's Chocos a few months ago, and now we have Kellogg's Chocolate Muesli.

Who is the target audience of this newly launched product and how has the target audience of Kellogg's evolved?

One of the things we saw in early days was that Kellogg’s would enter a lot of households thanks to kids. Over time, we are seeing a lot more adults get into this category as well. Muesli itself has been the gateway to a lot of adult consumption for Kellogg’s. And surprisingly, even Chocos and cornflakes have a fair amount of adult consumption.

We are seeing that adult cereals are picking up and chocolate is also picking up. Therefore, we are making sure that we are able to combine two really strong category insights and create a strong proposition, which is Kellogg's Chocolate Muesli.

What is your take on the snacking trends in the breakfast category? How has the role of Kellogg's evolved in this arena?

From a trend perspective, we have muesli, we have chocolate. We are seeing that people are consuming both nutritious and tasty food, which is resulting in more options for them.

What is really interesting is that the taste-seeking consumer and the nutrition-seeking consumer are the same person. As in, people indulge themselves more in and around weekends, vacations, special occasions, and the same person looks for nutritious products on other occasions.

Equally, there are people looking for a balance between both in each meal. Therefore, we see an opportunity to serve this multi-benefit seeking consumer through various parts of our product range.

You had spoken of the collaboration with Hershey’s for Kellogg's Chocos. Are there any other licensing plans in the pipeline?

I think Hershey's is doing pretty well for us. The Kellogg's-Hershey's Chocos collaboration is a special one. We are getting good repeats and equally importantly, we're getting very good reviews about the food.

You have held positions in Britannia, Pidilite, VIP, and General Mills. What have been your learnings in marketing that you have applied at Kellogg's?

The two most important things I've learned in marketing are to be consistent in your messaging, because it takes a long time to establish a brand. And make sure that your product is best-in-class.

What is your message to other marketers with regard to bolstering their brand?

Find your insight. Find the right message. Keep at it forever. Don't change it in a hurry. Be consistent about what you say. Be authentic. And make sure you have a damn good product.