Case study: How Center fresh's association with Bandish Bandits helped the brand reach the youth

In an online survey conducted by NFX Digital, a brand imagery uplift on stylish and cool was found to be true as a result of Center fresh's partnership with Bandish Bandits. The case study explores how.

Center fresh announced its first-ever collaboration with online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video for their romantic series ‘Bandish Bandits’ that went Live in the month of August. As a part of the same, digital films were created and shared by the brand on digital platforms.

Category Introduction

Center fresh was launched in 1994 as India’s first liquid filled gum brand and currently holds over 30% market share within the gum segment of sugar confectionery. The brand also made its entry into the mint candy segment in 2018 with Center fresh mints extending its functional promise of fresh breath in this segment. The brand over the years has played the role of a category creator and has been well-entrenched on account of product innovation, extensive distribution and clutter-breaking advertising. 

Brand Introduction 

Center fresh is the flagship chewing gum & mint brand from the house of confectionery major Perfetti Van Melle. Center fresh has built strong equity & a loyal consumer base over the years and is built on the brand proposition of ‘fresh breath confidence’. Apart from the center-filled chewing gum proposition at INR 1 in mono-packs, the brand is also available in a novel 3-layer gum format at INR 5 in a reclosable pocket-friendly pack and in a mint candy format at INR 10 in a sleek pocket-friendly dispenser. 

Summary

Bandish Bandits revolves around the romance of Radhe and Tamanna — two musicians from different backgrounds (Indian classical and Pop respectively) who came together due to their love for the craft. Center fresh’s brand proposition of ‘fresh breath confidence’ was brought alive in this association with two co-branded digital films featuring the main leads Shreya Chaudhary and Ritwik Bhowmik. The role of Bandish Bandits stars in the digital film helps enhance the cool and stylish brand imagery for Center fresh through their youth appeal. Each of these digital films showcased the first meeting moments of the two main leads and their long-lasting conversations which in-turn leads to this fresh musical love story.

Problem Statement/Objective 

Due to the current pandemic situation, the youth have been mainly indoors,  also leading to a rise in content consumption on OTT platforms for entertainment in-home.  The opportunity was ripe for an association which can bring the core brand proposition of fresh breath confidence alive. 

Creative Idea

Leveraging the popularity of lead pair with the youth and appealing music from Shankar-Ehsaan and Loy, the brand proposition of ‘fresh breath confidence’ was brought alive in this association with two co-branded digital films. The brand plays the role of the catalyst to bring them closer and their conversations which leads to a fresh musical love story.

The idea was conceptualised and brought to life by Wavemaker India, Ogilvy & Mather and Group M ESP.

Challenges

It was a challenge in the current scenario to shoot (in-home and remote production) and bring the creative idea to life. 

Execution 

The videos went live on YouTube and Instagram. Also, a social media contest on the brand pages with the hashtag #PopToMyRaag was run, asking users to upload their fresh moments with their special someone also generated good excitement around the association.

Also Read: How AltBalaji leveraged star power to promote Mentalhood

Results

The digital films were extensively promoted on select social platforms (like YouTube and Instagram) and generated over 5 mn views cumulatively.

In an online consumer survey conducted by NFX digital over 88% of respondents found the digital film unique with high likeability.

The survey also revealed a brand imagery uplift on stylish and cool for the brand along with being a brand that is positioned on fresh breath confidence with a top box score of over 88%. 

Speaking about this association Rohit Kapoor, Director Marketing of Perfetti Van Melle India said “Center fresh’s association with Bandish Bandits was an initiative by the brand to collaborate with fresh content on Amazon Prime Video to which it’s youth audience can identify with. Apart from creating digital co-branded films which featured the two lead stars, this collaboration also invited brand followers on social media to share their own ‘fresh moments’ with that special someone. The success of this musical web-series and high engagement on our brand social platforms for the co-branded content helped us further enhance the proposition of fresh breath confidence for the brand.  We look forward to more compelling associations like Bandish Bandits in the future so as to stay meaningful and contemporary for our consumers."

Talking about the association, Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer, Wavemaker India said, “We have always believed in creating content partnerships that aid in stronger brand association for all partners. I am glad that the synergies were perfect between the two partners and the collaboration proved to be a great success”.

Anurag Agnihotri, Managing Partner - Creative, Ogilvy Mumbai said, "Fresh youthful content is the way to go for brand associations since it’s relatable to the youth in a way big movies aren’t. The Center fresh-Bandish Bandits association is a great attempt in that direction."