In conversation with Garima Sharma, Assistant General Manager, Pernod Ricard India.

Above: Garima Sharma

Susan Mathen, Partner & Strategy Director, Hue & Why in conversation with Garima Sharma, Assistant General Manager, Pernod Ricard India.

Garima has spent the last 16+ years in Marketing & Advertising across Skin, Hair and Personal Care in FMCG and Retail, working on brands like Kaya Skin Clinic, Garnier Men, Matrix Professionel, Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals, HDFC Standard Life Whisper and Wella. After 5 years of Brand Communication at Leo Burnett India, she pivoted to a marketing role at Marico/Kaya where she was part of an exciting brand restage. This was followed by a robust stint at L’Oreal, where she led skincare and hair color brands. After 10 years in beauty, she pivoted once again – to AlcoBev with Pernod Ricard India.

Through her various stints, Garima has worked on Brand Communication, New Product Development and Category Management, and we feel honoured to get this awesome opportunity to have an insightful conversation about her experience with brands, branding and brand restages.

Excerpts from the chat below:

Susan: You mentioned your experience at L’Oreal, and how you played a key role in establishing brand Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals within L’Oreal after the acquisition by L’Oreal Group. Could you take us through this journey briefly? How did you bring this new brand within the larger L’Oreal parent brand and also maintain its distinct brand identity?

Garima: Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals was an Indian skincare brand used in salons by professionals. The brand had strong equity in a few markets but after the acquisition, we needed to expand nationally without alienating the core retainers of the brand. While L’Oreal group is a pioneer and a leader in Hair Care with the largest distribution in salons, the group has limited experience in skincare. Additionally, the salons aspired for an international brand to be introduced by L’Oreal. The two tasks on rebranding were 1. Premiumize the brand 2. Establish its expertise credentials and differentiate from the host of natural/herbal brands in the market.

We started with a Logo Redesign. The objective was to build an emotional connect with our first consumer -  the beauticians.  We also needed to explain “Cosmeceuticals” as it wasn’t understood amongst this audience. We were conscious that the rebranding should build on familiarity with the brand. The introduction of the two green leaves on the top of the logo was symbolic of the two hands coming together, one is the hand of the brand ( Cheryl’s) that supports and the second is of the beautician. When these two come together, a skin transformation happens. As an added benefit, the green bought in cues of “natural” which complemented the “science” behind the product. ‘Skincare that works’ as a line came from the key brand differentiator and helped to explain the concept of '“cosmeceuticals”. The primary brand on packaging was Cheryl’s. L’Oreal was not to feature as an endorser brand – this would help Cheryl’s can create its own distinct identity in the market.  The role of sub brands (eg. Tan Clear) was to describe the product benefit succinctly to both the beautician and the consumer. The color identity of the brand was white and silver, enforcing its presence on the shelf as a cosmeceutical expert.

The journey of re-branding was to gain acceptance of the brand from the sales force of L’Oreal, for them to take pride in the brand they had to sell, the salons from stocking this brand and finally the consumer.

Susan: You had mentioned the Kaya Brand Restage. Could you take us through how it was brought alive across touchpoints? What changes were made to the brand identity and what aspects were retained?

Garima: Kaya Skin Clinic was a brand that had been around for 10 years before they decided to refresh their identity. Consumer Research showed that the detractors of the brand thought that it was a serious clinic meant to fix a problem and not  considered a beauty destination. This limited the relevance of the brand and its  ability to acquire new consumers. The muted, black and white identity of the brand across its retail facades differentiated the brand but only added to its perception of exclusivity and occasion driven. The brand  wanted to get closer to the consumer by taking the products to mall kiosks and high streets, outside of its clinics, a brand identity refresh had to make it more vibrant while retaining its expertise.

The brand refresh started from re-organising the portfolio of services, the beauty led services like facials would be advertised more than the problem solution like laser hair removal. A new campaign showcasing these services was launched revealing the new identity. Instore all the collaterals were revised to focus on these services and new logo and new imagery bringing in consistency across touchpoints. The retail identity was redesigned, bringing color and vibrancy to the logo, the word “Skin” was added and the visibility of the facades was improved to drive traffic to the stores. In store, the uniforms of the clinicians were changed to ensure that the experience changed for the consumer.

Susan: In your opinion when should a brand ideally go for a Brand Refresh? 

Garima: A brand should go for a refresh if they want to be relevant to a different demographic that what they currently appeal to. Another reason is when there is a gap between consumer perception and the intended values the brand wants to communicate. Third reason could be an innovation or a breakthrough technology which doesn’t allow for a brand extension but needs a new brand. It is tempting to treat Brand Refresh as a silver bullet however relaunching a failed new product under a different brand name is futile.

Susan: There is, unfortunately, still a misconception that logo = brand. Could you highlight some key focus areas that a marketer dwells on when trying to pin down what a brand is all about, logo being just one element among many others?

Garima: A marketer today has to deliver the brand through multiple touchpoints to cut through the noise and reach the consumer. Let’s take the example of an AlcoBev brand, it is a highly regulated industry where soliciting Alcohol through advertising isn’t allowed. A brand has to invest behind 1. A Brand Extension: invest in a product that isn’t alcohol but has synergies with the brand’s positioning and helps the brand deliver its message. 2. Brand Activation: Kind of events the brand wants to tie up with, its spatial design, the artists it will showcase, the cause it will take up. 3. Retail Activation: The messaging at the Last 3 Feet that can be seen on shelf. 4. Packaging: sustainability  and impact on the environment  5. Technology: Apps that can drive engagement or explain the product to the consumer 6. Brand Shops: setting up exclusive stores which offer the undiluted brand world to the consumer. 7. Sonic Marketing: what music genre can the brand activate? 8. Merchandise created by the brand for its influencers and consumers

A marketer’s biggest challenge is to deliver a consistent brand experience through a portfolio of assets that touch consumers in different ways.

Susan: Could you tell us about the repositioning of the whiskey brand that you did at Pernod Ricard?

Garima: At Pernod Ricard India, we took a bet on a Brand - Oaken Glow that was being sold only in North East of India. The  whisky had a unique smoky profile and the company wanted to see if it would get national acceptance with its flavour. The brand was re-launched with a new identity across a few markets with new packaging, retail identity and product centric campaigns focusing on its smokiness and we had a winner as the brand started driving share of growth in the segment. The brand has been re-positioned as an unconventional taste for an unconventional youth to build on its product differentiation. The positioning is in the Red Needspace - standing for vitality, energy, dynamism - and the brand conveys it through its campaign, the activations it does with the youth through music, the affinities/ passion points that it targets.

Susan: Given your experience in the Beauty category and more recently in the Alco-bev category, do you feel there are any broad differences in the approach to the visual identity and verbal identity of brands that exist in these two vastly different categories.

Garima: Although both are lifestyle categories and the spends are discretionary there are some significant differences in the approach.

As a real estate on the pack, a beauty product has to communicate besides a mother brand and sub brand a descriptor of the product benefit and a strong RTB – visually or verbally to be able to drive conversions by a discerning consumer. While in AlcoBev it is the heritage / origin story is most important to establish the credentials amongst the trialists. Verbally, the liquid profile, the process of making the blend needs to woo the consumer while in beauty products, the language tends to focus  towards performance and tends to be more claim centric.

Susan: Within the Alco-bev category, there are lots of Indian brands that are popping up today. Are there any trends that you see in their packaging/bottle designs?

Garima: The center of gravity has moved in gins from international to Indian home grown brands. The packaging designs are centered on Indian botanicals like Jamun, Mahua Flower or pay homage to the source of Origin like Hapusa, Kumaon or Cherrapunji Gin allowing for more storytelling in the category.

The one trend I see in label design is maximalism an outlet for self expression and discovery . A raucous design theme that is kitschy with a curated overlay of Indian Design, Colors, Fonts and elements celebrating the individuality of the product and the consumer.  

Susan: Thank you so much, Garima. This has been a wonderful conversation. Hope to catch up with you again soon.

Garima: Thanks for having me. Been a pleasure!