Social Marketers - Brands which believe in People and Planet

Going beyond the mere goal of ‘Profit-Making’, organizations that have an objective vision with a social cause in place, are the ones that are the real growth drivers for the economy, is what Ramanujam Sridhar, Founder and CEO, Integrated Brand-comm has to say about ‘Social Marketers’, one of the ten categories of the Pitch Brands 50 –Awards For Excellence in Marketing, presented by ABP News, in partnership with Percept to be held on June 12 at Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon.

Sridhar further says, “When organizations have a clear strategy in mind that reaches to the grass root level in terms of business and social good, then we have a winning organization in shape.”

While more than 30 brands made it to the shortlist after going through investigative – scrutiny of the Pitch’s editorial team, 13 were selected to go to the next level. While the jury has locked five winners, let’s take a quick-peek look at the 13 names that went to the jury.

One of the brands that made it to the shortlisted list was ‘Punar Vivah’, a daily soap on Zee TV, which is based on the trials and tribunes of remarriage in India. The show wanted to reach out to viewer’s battling the same taboo. So the question was how to communicate with the audience on this sensitive issue? Mobilox and Zee TV partnered in conceptualizing a mobile solution that would provide a platform for all viewers access to live counselling where they can seek professional help on issues enveloping around remarriage right from their mobile phone.

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Tata Tea: A case of ‘social-cause’ marketing

From cartons to polypacks, heritage plantation to a branded beverage company, ‘Gaon Chalo’ to ‘Jaago Re’, Tata tea has come a long way since its inception in 1986 when the packaged tea market was dominated by one large player with over 70 per cent market share. Tata Tea claims to stand for a way of life for its consumers and has transformed the way beverages are marketed through its ‘Jaago Re’ campaigns. Striking a chord with the youth, the tea brand launched a series of campaigns over the last four years that wove in the theme of social issues.

Social stimulation
Tata Tea was launched with a communication on its product functionality of ‘garden fresh.’ From there it has moved to the current campaign since 2007, which is about bringing important social issues to the forefront of societal mindset. “The campaign has worked on two levels: by intertwining the themes of civic consciousness with that of the physical and psychological boost that a cup of tea delivers. The ‘Jaago Re’ campaign drives synergy by providing a common, unique umbrella message of ‘social awakening’ that brings its national brands together,” says Vikram Grover, Vice-President, Marketing, Tata Global Beverages.   He adds that, ‘Jaago Re’ has not just reflected the nation’s mood, in many ways, it has been ahead of the curve and in fact shaped the nations mood. “Causes like corruption etc were taken up far before they became popular topics of discussion,” he says. 

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