Cadbury India takes brand Perk online

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
After marking the re-launch of Perk and roping in Bollywood actor Genelia D'Souza as the brand ambassador, Cadbury India has now taken the brand Perk online with their website www.takeitlightly.com.

Sanjay Purohit, marketing director, Cadbury India, said, "The new Perk and the all new Perk Poppers seek to combine buyer insights with the product benefits in an modern style. Perk is a youth brand and therefore it is very important for us to connect with them. We couldn't think of a better platform, than going online."

On the website, the target audience can download music, videos and applications that interest them, and also create their own content. OgilvyOne has conceptualized the campaign with the communication strategy, "Identify pain points (everyday irritable situations) that the youth/teenager experiences online."

Kaizad Pardiwala, president, OgilvyOne, says, "We have used the Internet in a unique manner by capitalizing on the minor irritants youth experience online to drive home the message. The client has been fantastic and brave to go with a campaign that doesn't have a product website as a culmination point because it so beautifully blends in with the messaging of the campaign."

Kunal Jeswani, head of planning, new media, OgilvyOne, says, "The beauty of the online campaign for Perk is that we just identified those moments and placed the brand in the context of those moments. The 30 second website just closes the experience."

The 'Take it lightly' positioning was introduced in 2008 with a campaign featuring Sharman Joshi. Incidentally, this was the first time a male celebrity was used to promote the brand, although not as an endorser.

Film actor and singer, Raageshwari featured in one of the earliest commercials for Cadbury Perk, during its launch in 1996. With the tag line – 'Thodi si pet pooja' – the brand wanted to target teenagers and their hunger pangs. Gayatri Joshi of Swades fame and Amrita Rao also featured in the Perk commercials after Raageshwari.

After that, Preity Zinta was roped in as the first ambassador, as she personified the brand qualities of being vivacious. By 2000, the brand progressed to being an ideal snack, with the tag line, 'Kabhi bhi kaise bhi.'

In 2004, the brand moved to yet another positioning – 'Baaki sab bhula de', with the insight that consuming Perk is an experience that makes you forget everything else. Zinta endorsed the brand till 2007.