We approach tier-1 and tier-2 consumers differently with content, says Keventers' Agastya Dalmia

Milkshake brand Keventers approaches tier 1 and tier 2 consumers differently when it comes to reaching out to them through content marketing.

“We are also one of the few brands in the country who plug and play as per our consumers’ demographics and psychographics. We understand that a consumer sitting in a tier 2 city will have different behavioural patterns to a consumer in a tier 1 city and we respect that,” said Agastya Dalmia, Co-founder and Director, Keventers.

According to Dalmia, the brands will invest more on honing their digital presence in the next few years and invest more in building content, especially videos on visually stimulating, bite-sized consumption platforms like Instagram.

The company with aggressive plans to expand its retail footprint across India and other international markets has a bit of a softer corner for digital considering its target millennial audience. “However, we are in the process of creating an interesting mix of marketing tools and leverage quality content via outdoor, radio, below-the-line, above-the-line, PR, branding and events,” said Dalmia.

Excerpts:

What makes Keventers focus on content marketing?

At Keventers, content is at the centre of whatever we do. In today’s market, food and beverages are not eaten from the mouth; we all eat with our brains. A consumer has already tasted the flavour of our milkshake in his head even before he buys it – and this helps him/her in making the choice.

Having understood that, we have ensured that our content strategy is focussed across all platforms on building an uber cool, relevant, visually appealing and aspirational brand that targets our customer’s sensibility.

In such a fragmented media world with decreasing attention span, how are you making sure that your content works well for the brand?

In an era of the distracted consumer, digital and content in particular has changed the way we see the world and even more so for the Food and Beverage industry. Social media platforms have now become a great way to connect with your target audience. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer a great avenue to engage with your customer and address their concerns in real time. At Keventers, we truly believe that an integrated approach to communication with consistent content is the way to the right consumer.

We have also maintained a distinct identity and tonality that is consistent in all our content, products and even our stores. This has helped in enhancing brand recall and helping establish our inherent connect with the category.

How do you think content marketing is benefiting the Food and Beverage category?

The Food and Beverage industry in India is evolving at a rapid rate and one of the most interesting things to note is that one need not have a large product portfolio to grow in the market. And as more and more players enter the segment, it has now evolved to become a customer experience-centric market. It is sad that a lot of brands in today’s date think that their consumers are only engaging with them through social media platforms. The truth is customer care service still stands as the best and the most effective medium of engagement. Adding voice to a consumer’s concern has helped the brand create the personal touch.

Many brands take a conservative approach to target their audience and this also tends to create a sense of monotony for the customer. Instead, if brands engage in building an individual connect with their audience and curate a one-on-one experience with the customer this will help in growing the business considerably.

Being more personal in nature, what role does content play in customising your strategy differently for tier 1, 2 and 3 cities?

Like I had mentioned previously, we are not just digitally driven on social media platforms which we have been able to build for the brand in a span of merely 2.5 years. We are also one of the few brands in the country who plug and play as per our consumers’ demographics and psychographics. We understand that a consumer sitting in a tier 2 city will have different behavioural patterns than a consumer in a tier 1 city and we respect that. Hence, at Keventers we reach out to both, differently with interesting content.

Do you think that content marketing is mainly a digital play? How about utilising outdoor and radio? Why don't we see much content happening there? Radio isn't as expensive as TV and outdoor not necessarily means huge hoardings.

While we aren’t biased towards any particular media, we do have a bit of a softer corner for digital considering our target audience is largely millennial. However, we are in the process of creating an interesting mix of marketing tools and leverage quality content via outdoor, radio, below-the-line, above-the-line, PR, branding and events.

How do you see content marketing shaping up in India?

In the next few years, I anticipate that brands will invest more on honing their digital presence and invest more in building content, especially videos on visually stimulating, bite-sized consumption platforms like Instagram.

What is more important for you? Educating consumers about the category through content or building the brand's reputation?

We have one thumb rule for marketing at Keventers – Always keep your consumers wanting for more!

Initially when we re-entered the market in 2015, we focussed on building education and awareness because the category of just milkshake didn’t exist – and we took it on ourselves to create the category. This then prompted a lot of players to enter and expand the category, but our first-mover advantage and innovative evolution has helped in keeping us ahead of the crowd. Now, considering we have been able to build and sustain a specific place for ourselves in the market, we are more keen to use our content strategy to keep our customers intrigued and interested in the brand as they evolve.

What are a few content marketing challenges that you see for yourself?

Producing content is easy. Producing good content is much harder. It takes time and skill to produce quality content consistently. Lack of time is arguably one of the biggest barriers to content marketing that many businesses face. The other is a lack of sufficient budget. Understanding what good content can do to your sales helps businesses allocate sufficient budgets towards content creation.

How much of the total spend at Keventers is allocated in doing content? Any plans to increase focus?

A sustainable amount of spend has been allocated towards content for the current year.

And as we expand, our consumer dynamics also do. Hence, we are constantly reinventing ways to understand our consumer better by increasing our presence in their lives. We are currently on our journey of creating a space for ourselves in our consumer’s life.