Pumping vigour in the brand

 

This licensing deal is an exciting benchmark in the journey of celebrity based licensing in India.
 
The extension, if done correctly, can meet one of the many different objectives: brand realises that it can capture additional market share in a logical extension from its core business (eg, Tide Bleach and Tide care products); a brand introduces a brand extension as a form of advertising to ensure that their brand stays on top of the mind (eg, Marlboro cigarettes and Marlboro merchandise, such as, lighters, apparel, accessories), and a brand wants to reach a new customer segment that has not been targeted (eg, Harley Davidson motorcycles and Harley Davidson apparel for non-riders).
 
Once the brand extension objectives are clearly defined, the retail opportunity clearly researched, the target consumer clearly defined,the opportunity can be large from either a brand building or revenue perspective, or both. Brand extensions are the only tool in the marketing toolbox that actually make money as opposed to costing money. 
 
AN OVERVIEW
Hrithik Roshan, often called the Prince of Bollywood, has very clearly defined brand attributes.  A study was initiated by The Wild East Group in partnership with Carving Dreams by research agency, IMRB, where his brand attributes were tested in over 3000 panels across the country.  The results supported our hypothesis that Hrithik is one of the few Bollywood celebrities who has very clearly defined and extendable brand attributes.  Over 90 per cent of the people stated that his top five attributes were that he was a hero, sexy, inspirational, stylish, and macho, which is in more consistency than has been seen for other global celebrities, which average around 65 per cent.
 
THE SITUATION
In 2010, plans were being set for the next installment of Krissh, India’s first and only super hero franchise. It has been six years since the last installment of the franchise and Hrithik wanted to develop an innovative way to re-introduce himself to the target demographic – boys between 5-14 years. 
 
We partnered with leading talent management agency, Carving Dreams, to identify various opportunities that met Hrithik’s objectives.  Mattel was identified as the market leader in terms of their incomparable reach with the target segment.  In parallel, Mattel was developing their tent pole programme leading up to Hot Wheel’s 45th anniversary called Team Xtreme.  Research was conducted which validated that Hrithik’s brand attributes would be logically aligned and complimentary to the Hot Wheels brand as an extension of his persona. 
 
BRAND POSITIONING
In August 2011, Hrithik Roshan was introduced as captain of Team Xtreme.  The programme specifically targets boys from 5 14 years, and spreads the message of being a go-getter and achiever, something that Hrithik Roshan is known for. The programme began by inviting boys to join Team Xtreme via facebook and a Team Xtreme microsite.  Apart from the many benefits of membership, members of Team Xtreme were also given the opportunity to meet Hrithik to attend exclusive Hot Wheel’s parties, and win toys and prizes. In 2012, we will see the launch of Team Xtreme cars, car sets, apparels and a variety of other product categories specifically targeting this demographic.
 
COMMENTARY
In any brand extension or licensing opportunity, you are always looking for the perfect tri-fecta – brand, agency and partner. In the case of Team Xtreme, we had two global brands joining forces – Hrithik Roshan and Hot Wheels; we had two leading agencies in their respective fields to ideate and put the deal together – The Wild East Group and Carving Dreams; and we had a market leader, Mattel, as the partner and driving force to execute upon the vision.
 
The success was based on a few critical factors – alignment around business objectives, participation of all parties and vision and capabilities to execute. 
 
The author is President, The Wild East Group 
 

 

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