I came across an article on afaqs! about a brand’s communication strategy for ITC Sunfeast YiPPee (I didn’t find Sunfeast biscuits) The article discusses how the brand aims to create a cultural connect and reach its audience effectively. It made me pause and think, “Really?” Since it’s written in English, it sounds sophisticated, but I wonder, what’s the cultural connect here? I appreciate the initiative. The information provided in the story is accurate, and I liked the illustrations. But where’s the connection? Is this an ad, content, or an infomercial? It’s certainly not just a social media thing. I would not share it with my family or friends. Something seems missing - perhaps an opportunity to connect more deeply with the consumer. Chhath Puja is a significant cultural event for the Purvanchal region and the Indian Purvanchali diaspora (Bihar, Eastern UP, Jharkhand) worldwide. ITC Sunfeast had a huge opportunity here to connect in a way that truly resonates with people. They could have released a Chhath Geet album, for instance - something with more cultural depth. But this old-fashioned jingle falls flat. It clearly feels client-directed, lacking the depth and natural touch of an authentic cultural piece. And why choose Hindi (Khadi Boli) for the jingle’s language when there’s a thriving Bhojpuri dialect that speaks more directly to this audience? What is Culturally Relevant Content? Culturally relevant content goes beyond just using traditional elements, it taps into the audience’s values, languages, and rituals to build a connection. For example, Coke did something recently in West Bengal for Durgo Pujo. (https://lnkd.in/dsCBsZqw) In this case, Sunfeast could have used the Bhojpuri dialect or music styles that resonate with Purvanchal culture, such as folk tunes associated with Chhath. But I can understand that this must have been a low budget project and brief would have been - “kuch chhath ke liye karna hai.” And times lines would have been tight. Right? I am sorry dear brand manager of the ITC sunfeast, I am sounding harsh. But I am tired of this kind of digital pollution. You know your brand deserve a better cultural narrative, not “sunfeast khao, chhath geet gao.” https://lnkd.in/d2tvCgJD
Sunfeast Marie Light खाओ, छठ के गीत गाओ
https://www.youtube.com/
Zahid Shaikh
1mo
Rupesh Kashyap (Brand Culturist). 😂 digital pollution. In simple language, it is budget starved execution.
making sense of consumer conversations
1mothe coke thing elegantly arrogated the pre pujo and pujo rituals with coke and that's why it's such a sweet piece, and needless to say the look feel is so very different from typical pujo work. For me the biggest disappointment with the sunfeast thing is the almost 'product window' fitment of the brand- who eats biscuits and singa hymns of a festival! If they had released it as just audio piece and distributed it as ring tone I guess it would have created some memory structure in the operating markets