Samar S Sheikhawat, Senior V-P, Marketing, United Breweries
With a 50 per cent share in the Indian beer market worth over Rs 3,500 crore (according to industry estimates), United Breweries (UB) is all set to increase its share with its new offering Kingfisher Ultra – ‘Emperor of good times’. The product in the mild beer category aims to lift the average consumption of beer among Indians. It also aims to become another big player in the UB’s rich portfolio that includes Kingfisher Premium, Kingfisher Strong, Kingfisher Blue and Kingfisher Draught. Pitch correspondent Pragati Ratti spoke to Samar S Sheikhawat, Senior V-P, Marketing, UB, about Ultra and its brand building strategies. Extracts:
What compelled Kingfisher to add Ultra to its kitty?
With international brands like Amstel and Corona in the mild beer category, it was necessary for us to make our loyal consumers stick to Kingfisher. The need of the hour was to launch something at par with these brands if not stronger than these.
How is it different from other beers of Kingfisher?
It tastes refreshingly different. This beer is not as strong as other beers. A person would finish off two to three drinks before he knows. Also, the smooth taste of Ultra has widened our TG to women as they don’t like bitter beer. To achieve the different taste, the ingredients including malts and hops, have been incorporated.
From Kingfisher Premium’s ‘The King of good times’, Kingfisher Ultra has moved on to ‘The Emperor of good times’. How do you translate this tag into your brand strategy?
After Kingfisher Premium, there was a gap to be filled as Kingfisher was not competing in the mild beer market. The challenge was to take it higher. After 3-4 years of hard work, we came out with the superior mild beer. Since it’s Ultra, it’s the ‘emperor’. It is a logical extension of the brand.
Why has Kingfisher Ultra been launched in Delhi after a year of its launch in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Pondicherry?
The excise rules in Delhi say that any new beer brand can be launched here only after it is launched at a certain number of places.
How have you priced Ultra?
Available in two packs, the 330 ml and 650 ml bottles of Kingfisher Ultra will cost `50 and `90 respectively in Delhi. The prices in other cities like Mumbai and Bangalore are slightly high, around `100, because of the difference in taxes.
With restrictions in the Indian market on advertising alcoholic drinks, how do you expect consumers to get attracted to Kingfisher Ultra?
The packaging of Kingfisher Ultra does the job for us. The design has been done by London based agency, Claysons. The stylish and fashionable look of the bottle grabs eyeballs. It is a slim see-through bottle with stylish golden label. In natural light, one can see the honey dew colour of the beer through the transparent bottle. The bottle also has the Kingfisher bird and logo embossed on it. Another USP of the bottle is that it has a ring pull cap. One does not require an opener. This time, we want the consumers to open their drink like they open their cans. For Kingfisher Ultra, I’ll say that ‘the bottle is my hero and my ad’.
What other promotional strategies do you plan for Kingfisher Ultra?
We have always kept our self actively associated with sports, food, fashion and music. In cricket, we own the team Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL; in football, we own Mohun Bagan team and in Formula One Car Racing, we own the team Force India. Kingfisher also keeps itself active in marathons, rugby and other sports. We have also floated properties based on two important genre of entertainment – music and movies. We have a music based property Kingfisher Ultra Soul Flyp, wherein we have musical parties with DJs and musical bands. The second edition of Soul Flyp was a DJ hunt, the winner of which got a year’s contract to perform in Kingfisher events. We also have a movie based property Kingfisher Ultra Reel Nights, wherein we give consumers a chance to win passes to the premier of an upcoming movie or to its special screening. We have done this in the recent past with movies like Clash of the Titans, Iron Man 2 and Raavan. We also had the youth icon Ranbir Kapoor drinking Kingfisher Ultra in the movie Rajneeti. Apart from these, we are also high on outdoor advertising with hoardings and posters. The packaging of Kingfisher Ultra clubbed with these activities do the job for us and does not let the advertising restrictions affect our brand.
Do you have an overall marketing strategy or a region wise marketing strategy?
In addition to our nationwide marketing, we also concentrate on regional sub-strategies in the form of support brands like Zingaro, Bullet, Charger and Kalyani Black Label. These are our unsung heroes in markets like Rajasthan and Kolkata. These support brands amount to 30 per cent of our total turnover.
What is the potential of the mild beer market in India?
In the beer market, strong beer has a share of 80 per cent and the remaining 20 per cent is economy mild beer. We expect to capture five per cent of the mild beer market with Ultra.
How does Kingfisher jingle connect to the brand and the consumers?
Kingfisher jingle started with its first ad in 1995 as part of Kingfisher’s support for the West Indies cricket team, which was the best team at that time. The jingle has created biggest brand recall for Kingfisher. We had cricketers in IPL singing the Kingfisher jingle. We also clubbed it with Shakira’s Waka Waka in our FIFA ads and in Formula One Racing, we made the car’s speed sound like the Kingfisher jingle.
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