EXCLUSIVE: Building on the success from last year, we saw a strategic opportunity to continue leveraging our partnership with RCB for WPL 2024 – Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Director of Himalaya Wellness Company | SportsMint Media

The leading beauty and wellness brand, Himalaya Wellness, in partnership with the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), formerly known as Royal Challengers Bangalore, had a successful outing with the #TakeMySPOT campaign during the recently concluded second season.

The #TakeMySPOT campaign emphasized honouring the on-field achievements and well-deserved places of RCB players. Himalaya also released a humorous advertisement recognising that, while no one can take these well-deserved spots, the Himalaya Dark Spot Clearing Turmeric Face Wash and Face Care Range can help with unsightly spots on the face.

With a fabulous start to WPL 2024, our girls are Playing Bold to claim the top spot. They donned the caps with #TakeMySPOT for the first two matches but can anyone take it? Naa!

Our stars know how to own their much deserved spot in the team. But for the spots on the face, we… pic.twitter.com/qqe87tOPB4

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) February 29, 2024

SportsMint Media conducted an exclusive interview with Mr Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Director of Himalaya Wellness Company, to understand more. Mr Rajesh spoke about the Himalaya Wellness’ #TakeMySpot campaign’s exposure in Tier 2 & 3 cities, the reason for renewing the partnership, and more.

1. How did Himalaya Wellness measure the success of its association with RCB in the 2023 edition? And what led to the continuation in the 2024 season?

We measured the success of our association with RCB in the 2023 edition by assessing the impact of our “#NotFair” campaign. It achieved remarkable brand awareness and sparked positive conversations about inclusivity, perfectly aligning with our commitment to celebrating women in sports and promoting beauty and wellness.

Building on this success, we saw a strategic opportunity to continue leveraging our partnership with RCB for the 2024 season. Our decision to return to the Women’s T20 League with the #TakeMySPOT campaign was driven by our desire to replicate the positive brand impact from the prior season and further strengthen our association with RCB. Through this campaign, we aimed to promote our latest product, the Himalaya Dark Spot Clearing Turmeric Face Wash, while celebrating women in sports.

2. Apart from the sales and product awareness, how will Himalaya Wellness measure the success of the campaign and customer touchpoint activations this year?

Apart from sales and product awareness, we’ll measure the success of our campaign and customer touchpoint activations this year through various key performance indicators such as brand love, trust, etc. Our campaign revealed on Himalaya and RCB’s official Instagram channel, introduced the new Himalaya Dark Spot Clearing Turmeric Face Wash in an innovative way, garnering attention and engagement from our audience. Additionally, traditional media channels such as radio and outdoor advertising ensured broader exposure across diverse audience segments. This cohesive multi-platform approach maintained momentum throughout the campaign, consistently reinforcing the message across different channels. By keeping the audience engaged and enthusiastic, we aim to amplify brand visibility, foster user engagement, and maximize the impact of the #TakeMySPOT initiative.

3. How does the brand cater to tier 2 and 3 cities?

Face wash as a category is growing exponentially in tier 2 and 3 cities and this has been driving the category penetration as well. The good news is that with the growth of digital media across the different Tiers in India, these consumers are now reachable through these platforms in addition to the traditional media. A lot of our followers on social media and even the consumption on OTT platforms are being generated from these markets. So our comprehensive 360 plan across the different media channels helps us ensure product awareness. The established awareness will be leveraged with Himalaya’s large distribution network and partnering with giant e-commerce players which will help the right set of products reach the right set of audiences everywhere, be it tier 1, 2 or 3. In addition to distribution and awareness, we also have the right penetration pack sizes to facilitate product trials.

4. RCB won the WPL 2023; how vital will it be for Himalaya Wellness to get the much-needed exposure?

Firstly, it is a proud moment for Himalaya Wellness to be associated with the winning team. It reinforces our campaign’s main messaging, which celebrates the spot that women have earned in the WPL and the world of sports. The presence of these RCB superstars in our ads will serve as an inspiration for young girls who aspire to get into this world.

5. Was the team’s on-field performance considered while renewing the pact or did the franchise’s popularity play a major role in the extension?

RCB has done a commendable job in being one of the top franchises. Their 12th-man army, as they affectionately call their supporters, is one of their biggest efforts and a lot of our audience coincide with their supporters as well. As far as the performance is concerned, what mattered more to us when initially taking the decision was supporting the team and standing for a cause. However, it is also true that some of the best performers are a part of the RCB WPL team with a long list of superstars-from Smriti to Ellyse to Shreyanka to Richa and more. The last edition of WPL was not a huge success for RCB but the love that fans showered on the franchise was commendable. This year’s fabulous performance and the win were very well deserved and a proud moment for us.

6. Why did Himalaya Wellness specifically go ahead with the headgear asset to display #TakeMySpot?

During the first year of our association with RCB and WPL, our campaign aimed to celebrate the unique glow of every face. RCB players wore headgear with #NotFair during the initial matches, initiating conversations about inclusivity. Subsequently, the headgear featured the message “Himalaya Rose, Beauty is not equal to Color,” further fostering discussion. The partnership garnered significant brand awareness, trending #1 on Twitter and generating 3.2 crore impressions, directly correlating with the successful launch of Himalaya Rose Face Wash. The success of this campaign reinforced our belief in the headgear as an effective asset to amplify our brand messaging.

Like our successful two-phased campaign from the first season, the #TakeMySpot campaign also unfolded in two phases. The campaign cleverly used the concept of “spot” with a playful twist. The teaser phase, launched during the first RCB match, saw players sporting #TakeMySPOT on their caps, leaving viewers curious while sparking social conversations. A video featuring RCB star cricketers Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, and Shreyanka Patil alongside content creator Danish Sait who added a layer of humour into the video with his witty take on the “spot” theme kept the audience guessing, effectively amplifying the campaign’s message. To build further excitement, the brand utilized a 360-degree strategy across radio, social media, outdoor advertising, and YouTube. The teaser ignited user interest and online discussions on Twitter. We actively participated in these conversations, responding to tweets, retweeting relevant content, and stimulating discussions around the campaign theme. This strategy effectively fuelled curiosity and led to the teaser hashtag #TakeMySpot trending #1 on Twitter during RCB’s opening match. The teaser was also posted on RCB’s official Instagram handle with a consumer contest encouraging respondents to guess what the teaser was about, by giving out free tickets to respondents who guess close to the reveal campaign.

The campaign was revealed on RCB WPL player’s cap with “Himalaya Dark Spot Clearing Face Wash” message was coupled with the campaign reveal on Himalaya and RCB’s official Instagram channels. Additionally, traditional media channels like radio and outdoor advertising ensured broader exposure across diverse audience segments.

The #TakeMySPOT on the cap was used to build curiosity around the spot women have earned in cricket. We wanted our viewers to question what did it exactly mean. And what better than the spot on the headgear where almost all the eyeballs would fall?

7. Will Himalaya Wellness also partner up with IPL teams to cater to a predominantly male audience, emphasizing skincare and grooming?

Himalaya did partner with RCB’s men’s team a few years back with Himalaya Men Range of products. That campaign also delivered handsomely for us. However, this year our focus has been on appealing to female audiences and WPL was a no-brainer for an association.