MUMBAI: Gossip and tea are two indispensable elements when it comes to life in the metro city of Kolkata. Goodricke – along with its Darjeeling tea brand – Roasted, has strived to keep this spirit alive in every gathering. In a bid to give a boost to the soulful adda (gossip) culture of Kolkata, Goodricke has taken the outdoor route for the first time to promote their highest selling brand – Roasted – amongst masses as the most sought after Darjeeling tea brand in the country.

Goodricke wanted the outdoor medium as the only mode of communication and it was indeed a challenge for Posterscope to craft a campaign. Since ‘adda’ was at the apex of the campaign brief, the primary target of the campaign was to target consumers at those touch points where mass-gatherings happen.

Posterscope identified areas where people generally gather to gossip and used those spots as a part of its client-campaign strategy. Apart from using main media billboards, different formats such as metro signages, island branding, glass façade and BQS were used for the campaign.

The campaign was rolled out in two phases wherein the initial burst was for a 30-day-period, which was followed up with a sustenance campaign for the next 30 days. In between, there were quite a few filler phases conducted, which were of short durations in a bid to give a time-boost to the campaign during the monthly buying cycles.

Supporting the next two phases of the strategic road map, Hyperspace, the retail solution division under the Posterscope umbrella, will map all their retail counters under general trade. A retail audit was conducted to know the exact visibility challenges and consecutive solutions were given in terms of visibility enhancements at those stores; also customized executions were carried out to increase the brand recall at loose-tea counters under general trade.

It is pertinent to note here that the whole campaign strategy has been to position ‘Roasted’ as an ‘Adda Starter’ among the masses and influence the buyer’s purchasing decisions, which is then tilted towards brand Roasted.

Commenting on the campaign, Goodricke Group senior general manager Vikram Sungh Gulia said, “When it came to the positioning of Kolkata’s No.1 Darjeeling tea, we wanted Roasted to truly speak of the spirit in which it is bought, made and consumed in most households in this city. The two things that truly define the spirit of this city and its old world charm are tea and adda... both being complementary, in etiquette, in habit and in practice. For years, it has been a custom in this City of Joy, to sit and discuss politics, cinema and life in general, over a cup of tea. In the mornings before everyone goes to work, in the evenings when everyone comes back from work and several times in between. These tea sessions are almost always accompanied by an adda.”

“Therefore, what better message could we send out than ‘Proti Chumuke Adda Jomuk’ (Let every sip be a conversation starter). Our current campaign idea, ‘Addai Attkhana’ also generates from the same idea of celebrating conversations. “Ahlade Atkhana’, the Bengali proverb, literally translates, as the utter joy and satisfaction one gets from unrestricted pampering. Our Roasted campaign is about indulging oneself, in such an adda,” he added.

Posterscope India MD Haresh Nayak said, “The media strategy was aligned to ensure that the campaign matches the means of communication across all platform, be it outdoor or retail, within the consumer ecosystem. A very scientific method was put into the media planning, considering the brand value and insight and took great care in formulating and executing a plan that would create a powerful impact across the target group.”