REPOSITIONING A GLOBAL BRAND FOR INDIA
Foster’s is an Australian beer brand with a culture of relaxation. It has a cool and dynamic approach, with a no-worries attitude. The brand was positioned in the territory of idyllic relaxation, and encourages consumers to take it easy and be themselves. While internationally, ‘The Art of Chilling’ is synonymous with beach, surf and barbeques, it did not appeal to an Indian audience. An in-depth survey suggested that a negligible number of Indian consumers actually equated chilling to surfing.
VGC’s first initiative was to localise the expression of chilling for an Indian audience. Doing away with the surf and sea scenarios, we redefined chilling as a highly individual activity, meaning different things to different people. We incorporated these individual ’Arts of Chilling’ into the branding through the ‘Chillheads’. The Chillheads are 18 characters, each representing a different way Indians chill. The Chillheads were used as brand mascots and formed an effective tool for communication.
VGC also rolled out a holistic communication strategy; right from brand activation to product advertisements, we conceptualised and executed the entire communication exercise. We took the communication to the digital platform which got the brand excellent results.
