Use of brand ambassadors and endorsements for Cadbury, India

Another strategy that has been recently adopted by Cadbury Australia and can do wonders in the Indian market too is initiating “flavor conversations, flavor matching & favor competitions” between consumers and audiences.  This is a powerful attempt to increase brand loyalty and ‘engagement’ via social media, rather than penetration, which is vital for brand growth (Victory & Newstead, 2014). The reason why this marketing strategy can work exceedingly well in the Indian market is because every single flavor at the back end is tied with certain characteristics and celebrities. This sits perfectly with the Indian market where there is an extreme fan-following of the Indian film industry superstars who are looked upon as heroes and goddesses.  The Indian market looks up to them and greatly follows the styles adopted by the celebrities. Cadbury India already has brand ambassadors and endorsements of people from the Indian film industry. Stars like Pretty Zinta and Cyrus Brocha are the brand ambassadors. Thus launching this campaign will not only put these Celebrity endorsements to good use, it will be useful to the brand image of both the celebrity and the brand. Moreover when some gorgeous or handsome and slim, smart celebrity endorses the brand this publicly, the health-conscious segment of the society could also warm up to the brand. Furthermore this campaign is unique, one of its kind and has been practiced by none so far. So this also gives Cadbury the first mover advantage. 

Use of Social Media for Cadbury, India

Past year has seen Cadbury’s use of Facebook and Google+ for product launches, as well as its shift away from traditional media thanks to its success in social media (Econsultancy, 2013). Cadbury’s presence on social media and its usage as an important tool has been welcomed by the audiences and users who have embraced it with open arms. There are specific, different pages for different brands of Cadbury which are actively updated and promptly interact with customers on a daily basis. This so far is being exclusively done by Cadbury and none of its competitors have been able to tap into this realm of digital marketing this effectively. From uploading recipes to asking question and creating customer interactive groups, Cadbury is doing it all correctly. One thing that they can add to their already existing competitive strategy is making country specific pages, especially for Indian market and conduct mini-competitions and award winning consumers with Cadbury gift hampers. This activity should be conducted along exclusive lines, not every other day or anything of that sort, but rather such that it holds consumer attention as well as generates a further positive image about the company. With the advent of internet becoming increasingly common in India, especially rural areas, working along these lines will greatly help the company project a positive image especially to the rural population.