At a time when the nation is grappling with a health crisis and the economic slowdown, Titan has unveiled an integrated campaign #LetsGetIndiaTicking to encourage consumers to consider investing in non-essential products to lead economic recovery. With the objective of driving an industry-level revival,
Titan’s latest campaign encompasses initiatives at the consumer, brand and wider ecosystem level. Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches and Wearables Division, Titan Company Limited talks at length about the insights behind the campaign and tells us her expectations from the festive season this year
Q] Tell us a bit about your latest #LetsGetIndiaTicking campaign. What are the key objectives behind it?
There has been a lot of anxiety about the economy. While we look at companies and the government to restart the economy, consumers too have a role to play because all of us are part of the ecosystem.
The economy will actually become functional when there is consumer demand. When there is demand, there is production, manufacturing and the demand is fulfilled, resulting in employment generation which in turn generates more income and therefore more demand.
So we need to nudge people to start consuming. And we found that big companies and brands are still capable of navigating the situation. But it’ll be difficult for the small traders like the flower seller, ‘jalebi wala’ and ‘chaiwala’ to earn if we all don’t start consuming.
So somewhere it is the responsibility of every individual who can afford to start spending to consume a little bit more. That’s the only sustainable way in which we can work out the economic slowdown, and that is the underlying insight behind the LetsGetIndiaTicking campaign.
Q] What is the media mix you’re using for this campaign, and how are you amplifying it?
The campaign is digital oriented, but in this particular case we’re also looking at it as a movement. And if people emotionally resonate and feel connected to the campaign then they in turn will share it on their social media.
The power of this campaign is actually more in how many people will feel moved to take some action. For this campaign, we are also reaching out to CEOs of different companies. We started with the Tata Group of companies along with many other organisations.
And incidentally it’s a message for every category and it is brand agnostic. It’s still early days. But hopefully over the next few days, we will gather momentum and a lot of other brands and companies will also join this movement.
Q] What are your expectations from the festive season in view of the ongoing pandemic? What impact do you expect the COVID situation to have on the demand for non-essential products?
By the time festive season comes, the mood in the country will be celebratory. People will feel like they need to do good. Also, people wait in anticipation for the festive season, so we are hopeful and have lined up a lot of activities including campaigns and select launches for the festive months.
We saw extremely good sales for both Raksha Bandhan and Eid. People will eventually come out and a lot of people are buying online, which is also perfectly fine. Some search online and buy offline, which is also fine.
There is still a certain amount of touch and feel required, so people will want to try on a watch or jewellery. Because of the high levels of trust that people have for our brand, they are coming and they are choosing to purchase from us.
Q] What are some of the changes you expect to see in your businesses during these unprecedented times?
We can now look at everything through a different lens. We are already seeing a combination of work from home and work from the office and it’s a nice arrangement. Similarly, in sales, a lot of store staff are calling and engaging with customers.
Sales staff are also showing consumers through a video call how a certain wrist watch looks like, so the consumer sitting at home can make a choice. It’s so interesting and powerful that many of these customers even post COVID will continue with this arrangement for sheer convenience.
