Celebrity endorsers: Rise of the South
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 26, 2022
Global beverage major Coca-Cola on Wednesday unveiled its first original song, Memu Aagamu, a dance-pop number that fuses Hindi, Korean, and English lyrics, with a Telugu hook phrase “memu aagamu, asalu aagamu” which means “we won’t stop, we really won’t stop”. Starring Allu Arjun, the track has been sung by Armaan Malik, and also features the Korean band TRI.BE. Arnab Roy, vice-president and head, marketing, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, says the aim of this song is to further the brand’s heritage of connecting people across borders and cultures.
Coca-Cola is not the only one. McDonald’s has named Rashmika Mandanna of Geetha Govindam fame, its brand ambassador. The company’s consumer surveys indicate that the brand affinity for McDonald’s has grown by a substantial 25-30% in the South over the past 15 months, says Arvind RP, director of marketing and communications, McDonald’s India West and South. “These are still early days, but we’re seeing the popularity of the southern stars across the country growing, and it will be interesting to watch this trend in the months ahead. This is an exciting time for marketers, since the pool of brand ambassador choices has really grown,” he adds.
Then there’s Parle Agro which has roped in Ram Charan and Junior NTR to endorse its beverage brands Frooti and Appy Fizz, respectively, a move that has paid off well, says Madhur Pandey, vice-president, marketing, at Parle Agro. “Partnering with regional brand ambassadors has proved beneficial for us. Our market share grew exponentially in the southern states after we signed on regional celebrity brand ambassadors,” he notes, adding that while these actors may have national recognition, their popularity in regional markets is far greater.
The reasons for this newfound enthusiasm among brands are not far to seek. For one, they have amazing mass appeal. The overwhelming box-office response to Hindi-dubbed movies from the South such as Pushpa: The Rise, KGF and RRR in the Hindi heartland demonstrated that effectively. Vishnu Srivatsav, national creative director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide, attributes part of their success to the dramatic rise in content consumption on OTT platforms. Language barriers are a thing of the past, he explains, since today content matters far more than star power. The very fact that Korean pop music is trending in the south Indian hinterlands is testament to this.
For another, changing viewing preferences of Hindi-speaking audiences. “Audiences today appreciate meaningful content over a popular film cast. One key reason for the nationwide success of Pushpa: The Rise, RRR and KGF is that they offer a good story, great production quality and high-quality entertainment which is comparable to, and at times surpassing, what any Bollywood blockbuster offers,” says Ashish Karnad, executive vice-president, Hansa Research.
For more proof, scan the recent Brand Endorser report by Hansa. The report named Allu Arjun, the lead star of the Telugu blockbuster Pushpa among the top 10 all-India celebrities list, with a recognition score of 85%. Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who acted in the same movie as well as others such as
A Aa, was named as the leading female star from the South with a score of 74%. While these are leading actors from the South, there is now a host of fresh new faces such as Rashmika Mandanna, Suriya, Vijay Deverakonda, Ram Charan, Junior NTR, Shruti Haasan and Chaitanya Akkineni winning viewer appreciation across the country.
Recognisability plays a big role in determining the success of a brand endorser. Sandeep Goyal, managing director of Rediffusion, points out there is still some way to go before they become widely recognisable. He draws parallels with badminton star PV Sindhu, who despite her huge success, took a long time to win recognition and become an impactful ambassador for brands. That said, he adds, one clear advantage of roping in these emerging stars instead of a Bollywood A-lister is they are not endorsing too many brands, so there is less clutter and greater chance to stand out, especially in the southern geographies where Bollywood is less influential.
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