New Delhi : In a market where alcoholic beverage advertising is not allowed, the power of authentic social media content is driving Mot Hennessy India to sell its luxury brands such as Dom Pérignon, Mot and Chandon, Hennessy, Glenmorangie and Belvedere . In an interview, Smriti Sekhsaria, Head of Marketing, Moet Hennessy India, part of the French conglomerate LVMH, said this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Edited excerpt:
How has your job changed since moving from Starbucks to Moet Hennessy India?
I spent eight years with Starbucks India and worked for them in a wide variety of roles ranging from digital to loyalty, technology and omnichannel. What I did there and what I did here (know) is the liquid “part” of the stomach, so it’s going from morning drink to evening. The role here is focused on marketing, which has a huge context in wine, where most of the work (as a luxury brand) is about getting the right ingredients, talking about the brand’s legacy and innovation, using digital a lot. To do it in a fast way so that we can reach the consumers directly in the (media) dark category like alcohol, which is not easy to do. And for a luxury brand, the challenge is a bit more. It’s a very different place from Starbucks. As a luxury spirits brand, marketing rules are the same as a piece of clothing, makeup product or leather item and create desire.
The companies said premiumization was a trend they started seeing before the pandemic. Is it still ongoing?
So, broadly speaking, if we look at our 2015 to 2019 numbers on premiumization in spirits, because that’s most telling, given that there’s such a huge spirits consumer market, the story was already in double digits. But then, during the pandemic, travel and airport purchases, which are otherwise huge for Indians, dwindled. We saw that jumpstart to premium home buying and move toward the mid-20s (in percentage growth). I think it is too early to tell if the trend has ended. Although the need for premiumization is quite ready for consumers, where they buy and where we see the numbers going is a different question.
How do you promote your brand, outside the confines of traditional media for wine advertising?
We look at where the consumer of luxury products that consumes the material is today. across devices, be it media or social media. The primary channels of yesterday such as TV, print and radio are now becoming to some extent secondary channels. Lifestyle media has gone digital, and they are very clear about what they expect, which helps marketers like me, even in a prohibitive space. Of course, the focus is on digital, and the kind of content we’re putting out… and how we strike a balance between brand values and impactful content. When we look at the page of an influencer, the content that is being created should not sound like a sore throat.
There are brands that use surrogates and extensions. We are a luxury player, so extensions are not right for our brand.
How do you ensure that digital influencers create brand value?
We have to look beyond the numbers as we are not a direct-to-consumer product. One cannot say “shop” by clicking on Glenmorangie. So really authentic content, which is relevant.
So, with Chandan, which is our sparkling wine, we started a campaign around rosé. This is a category that is the fastest growing among wines. We are seeing this consumption take place globally and from metro and non-metropolitan cities in India. We recently did a campaign called Rose-O-Clock. This helped the engagement go from 30% to 40% over a period of one and a half year. We took some influential people like chefs and artists and showed them consuming rosé in our environment.
This is where we saw our engagement and reach numbers going up 2x and 3x respectively. So that’s the power of authentic content, and it’s also a challenge and an opportunity.