Young Achievers – Sayuj Jaganathan, Senior Brand Manager, Cavinkare

In conversation with Sayuj Jaganathan, Senior Brand Manager, Cavinkare

Please tell us about your professional & academic background. Can you also brief us about your role in your current organization?

I have an engineering degree in Biotechnology from SASTRA University, Thanjavur and post that, I decided to pursue my MBA from Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai.

While at LIBA, I interned with Cavinkare and subsequently got a PPO from them which I accepted. From then it has been an exciting journey with one of the most respected and entrepreneurial home-grown companies in India. I have had sales stints in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where I was responsible for the sales of entire range of Personal Care, Foods and Beverage in the region. Post my sales stint, I moved into marketing as part of the Traditional Hair Care team.

As the Brand Manager for “Meera”, I took up the task of making the brand relevant to the current generation. This gave me the opportunity to do a lot of research – about the consumer and category. With the new learning and insights, I went on to define the positioning and strategy for the brand for the next 5 years.

Once this was done, work was started on New Packaging development, New Communication development and New Product development in line with the aligned strategy. Before moving on to my next role, my final achievement was helping the Brand reach Rs 100 Cr in turnover for the first time.

After this my next stint involved working with the Beverage Division. Here I have handled Cavinkare’s flagship Fruit Drink brand, Maa, and was also involved in the market launch of Cavin’s Milkshake – which is Milkshakes in tetrapaks.

The dairy beverage portfolio was at a nascent stage when I started and this again gave me the opportunity to work on the brand strategy and positioning for the Cavin brand. One of the key highlights was working on the launch communication for Cavin’s Milkshake with cricketer Ashwin Ravichandran. Post the campaign the brand surged ahead to become the No. 1 Milk Drink Brand in South India.

What is your favorite advertising campaign in the present scenario?

I love the “Fastrack, move on” campaign. They are bold and definitely memorable. They seem to court controversy with each new ad but that has helped them also stay relevant with their core Target Group.  Another recent ad that I like was the “Tanishq Wedding commercial”.

I also admire the Coca Cola Happiness series, especially the “Happiness truck” campaign and the “Friendship machine” Campaigns.

How and by what channels do you create an emotional attachment with customers to build brand loyalty?

All marketing in the world is futile if the product does not deliver. I believe in investing in the product to deliver a consistent superior product experience to the consumer each and every time. This will ensure their loyalty and they in turn will turn evangelists for your brand/product.

Do you think having a “Brand Character” is an important component of a successful branding strategy? Who is your favorite brand character?

I believe Brand Characters really help your brand stand out in categories where there is very little to differentiate you from your competitors.

Classic examples that come to my mind are “The Marlboro Man” and “The Amul Moppet”.

What measures do you take to ensure a better brand positioning vis-à-vis your competitors? Cite one such example.

A brand positioning that comes out of a real life consumer insight is the best kind. It ensures that your TG will relate to your brand.  We, at Cavinkare, realized that mothers everywhere were worried about their kids’ unhealthy snacking habits. They wanted to replace this with a healthier alternative which would be accepted by the kids. Thus was born the positioning statement for Cavin’s Milkshakes “Crush your unhealthy snacking habit”.