When brands engage with children, the rules of marketing change. Traditional formats alone are rarely enough to hold the attention of a demographic that expects interactive and immersive experiences—ones that invite them to participate and create, rather than just watch.
Britannia Tiger Krunch’s recent campaign, titled ‘Tiger Hero Hunt’, is built around this insight. Centred on making children aware about everyday situations of bullying and how to tackle them, the campaign follows an integrated storytelling approach to deliver the message. It unfolds through an on-pack activation, wherein consumers can scan the QR code on the biscuit pack to enter an immersive WhatsApp-based experience, where they move through various situations of bullying and choose how to respond to them. They can also choose to share their own stories.
This interactive storytelling approach, according to Archana Balaraman, General Manager – Marketing, Britannia Industries Ltd, was adopted because children largely learn through interactive and engaging means. “One of the key insights that led us to this form of delivery for the campaign was that children actually learn a lot better when the teaching is not instructional; when it comes to them in a way that's palatable and engaging,” she says, further revealing that they have received over 7,700 stories where kids have shared their experiences with bullying.
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The campaign also features a collaboration with Champak, through which a few selected stories will be published in the comic. About that, Balaraman says, “It is such a loved brand from our generation. We are seeing a lot of children going all the way to the end of the funnel in terms of engagement, and choosing to share their stories. There's a certain brag value that the child gets about their story being published in Champak; they are able to see themselves in a certain character in the comic strip. It gets personalised with their names printed. And it is able to stick within the storytelling format of deployment.”
Beyond ‘Tiger Hero Hunt’, several other brands and campaigns by Britannia also cater to children or a young audience. Balaraman says interactivity and personalisation are the key words the brand keeps in consideration while communicating with this demographic. “It is not about me making a piece of communication and just hoping to show it to as many people as possible. I need to be able to invite the consumer into that conversation in some way. And at the end of the day, if they are able to see themselves at the centre of a certain campaign or story, it's far more compelling for them.”
Another thing that Britannia brands try to incorporate in their campaigns, irrespective of the demographic, is cultural rootedness. “Britannia is over 100 years old. I think it would be fair to say that many of our brands have grown up with so many people in the country. There is a certain cultural understanding that these brands carry, and I think that needs to come alive pretty much in all the brand work that we do. So, that remains a key marketing focus,” Balaraman concludes.
