Amul’s Sweet Marketing Play – Lessons Beyond the Obvious

Marketing always excited me because it is the only subject in management that is live, dynamic, and happening right in front of you. It’s always “in your face”. Brands are constantly talking to us, and it’s up to us to decode what they are really saying. 

Every day, we are dished out hundreds of live case studies. We have the lens to see them. Yesterday, when I picked up the Times of India, this full-page Amul Mithai advertisement instantly struck me. I decided to use it in my classroom session the same day. 

The question I posed to my students was simple yet powerful: “How much do you think this advertisement would have cost across all editions of TOI in India?”

The students’ jaws dropped when I revealed the figure – upwards of ₹3 crores! That’s when I told them why brands like a local Karachi Bakery would never think of advertising at this scale. Naturally, the next discussion was “Why such a big advertisement?”

Students came up with some good responses:

• It’s seasonal.
• Amul wants to highlight its presence in the sweets business.
• The brand wants to showcase its portfolio.
• Perhaps they are pushing online ordering.
• Or maybe they wanted to launch new SKUs.

All valid, but in my view, these answers were “seeing the trees but missing the forest.” The critical thinking was still surface level. Here’s how I see it:

 The Bigger Marketing Picture

1. A tectonic shift in sweet consumption: Amul is signalling the change in consumer behavior. For a country that once prided itself on having sweets for every occasion, consumption habits are evolving rapidly.

2. The ‘F-word’ of nutrition Sugar: Sweets are suddenly seen as the villain. With India on its way to becoming the diabetes capital of the world, consumers are cutting down or switching away.

3. From bulk to bite-sized: Ten years ago, a festival meant at least 5–8 kgs of sweets at home. Today, very few make sweets at home, and even when gifted, they’re either re-gifted (the infamous Soan Papdi loop!) or handed over to house help.

4. Quality over quantity: Indians are gravitating towards premium sweets. They don’t want 2 kgs of generic laddoo; they want a few pieces of Kaju Katli.

5. Smart price psychology: One student, Lahari, made a sharp observation: the ad makes Kaju Katli look affordable at Rs 230 for 200 grams. But when you scale it up , it’s  Rs 1150 per kg! Smart price framing. Why haven’t local mithai shops done this? Because they stick to the traditional “Rs/kg” display which feels unaffordable and pushes customers away.

6. Transparency vs. bundling: Local shops often sell ₹400–500/kg packs but fill them with cheap options like boondi laddoo, jalebi, or Rava sweets. Milk and khoa based sweets are minimized. With Amul, you know exactly what you’re buying a curated, premium range.

7. Convenience + Gifting appeal: The pack sizes are attractive, hygienic, and perfect for gifting. Small, manageable packs ensure there’s no guilt or wastage. Consumers perceive these as indulgent yet responsible purchases.

Why this ad works This is not just an ad – it’s a strategic brand play. Amul is:

• Repositioning mithai as modern, hygienic, and aspirational.
• Using price packaging strategy to make indulgence look affordable.
• Leveraging consumer psychology by shifting the focus from per kg to per 200 grams.
• Tapping into gifting economics where presentation matters as much as product.

In essence, Amul is telling us: “Mithai is not dead; it just needs to be reimagined.” As a marketing teacher, I see this campaign as a masterclass in consumer insight mining, price framing, and product portfolio communication. All in all – a brilliant move by AMUL. 

Keywords: 

Amul Mithai, Amul advertising, Amul sweets, marketing strategy, consumer insights, Indian sweets market, festive marketing, brand positioning, advertising cost India, Times of India ad, packaging strategy, pricing psychology, gifting trends, mithai consumption shift, premium sweets, quality vs quantity, sugar-free sweets, Indian consumer behavior, brand communication, FMCG marketing.

" Casagrand - High-End Homes, Low-End Placements: A Marketing Misstep"

I was coming home today — usual traffic, slight jam, nothing new. I casually turned to my left and spotted something peculiar.

There it was. A flyer, slapped onto the wall of a bus stand. Nothing unusual in that — except this one was for CasaGrande Apartments, with prices starting at ₹1.85 crore and going up to ₹3.8 or ₹3.9 crore!

Now, here’s where it gets interesting — or rather, absurd. Who exactly is this flyer speaking to? Let’s be honest. The average person waiting at a bus stand isn’t in the market for a ₹3.8 crore apartment. That’s just not how demographics — or logic — works. The kind of person considering a luxury apartment like that is probably not commuting via RTC buses. They’re more likely zipping by in a Mercedes, an Audi, BMW or at the very least, a cushy Uber.

So what’s the strategy here? Sticker shock? Accidental discovery? Or is someone at the media agency just ticking off deliverables without applying consumer insight?

Outdoor Media (OOH) has its place, especially in posh pockets like Gachibowli, Jubilee Hills, or Banjara Hills. Giant hoardings? Sure. Prime LED signage? Makes sense. But sticking a luxury apartment flyer on a dusty bus stand? That’s like promoting Rolex watches in the RTC timetable booklet.

And on a lighter note — maybe, just maybe, some of those Merc or BMW folks might notice the flyer while stopped at the signal. But what’s the brand perception then? Premium real estate stuck to public transport infrastructure? It’s a mismatch, and it cheapens the brand. The message you’re sending is confusing at best and contradictory at worst.

Let’s talk celebrity endorsers now. The face of this campaign? Venkatesh. Great actor, lots of respect, but let’s be honest — he’s past his peak when it comes to aspirational value for the younger, upwardly-mobile crowd. It feels like a safe, affordable choice rather than an impactful one.

What about someone like Ram Charan, Junior NTR, or Nitish Reddy? Even Sania Mirza or a young, dynamic achiever like P. L. Sindu could’ve added a fresh spark. Someone who aligns with ambition, aspiration, and modern luxury.

Affordability in endorsements is important, yes. But is affordability the reason we’re picking a celebrity who no longer connects with the target market? That’s a branding misstep. Just like that flyer at the bus stop.

So here’s some food for thought: Luxury brands must act like luxury brands. That means everything — from the celebrity you choose, to the place your flyer shows up — must reflect the image you're trying to build. Or else, you end up with a ₹3.9 crore apartment ad being read by someone figuring out if they can afford even a Rs 30 lakh apartment.

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A sweet Lesson in Positioning – How Cadbury became India’s new “Meetha”

A Lesson in Brand Positioning. Why did Cadbury try to replace India’s traditional sweets and actually succeed?

For decades, chocolate in India was seen as a product meant for children. Yet today, Cadbury Dairy Milk is not just a chocolate — it is “meetha”, part of celebrations, rituals, and even new beginnings. How did a foreign chocolate brand enter a deeply rooted cultural space dominated by traditional sweets? The answer lies in one of the most remarkable brand positioning journeys in Indian marketing.

Cadbury India Ltd. is a part of Mondelēz International. Cadbury India operates in five categories:  chocolate confectionery, beverages, biscuits, gum, and candy. In the chocolate confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years. Some of its key brands are Cadbury Dairy Milk, Bournvita, 5 Star, Perk, Bournville, Celebrations, Gems, Halls, Éclairs, Bubbaloo, Tang, and Oreo.

In India, Cadbury began its operations in 1948 by importing chocolates. After over 60 years of existence, it now has six company-owned manufacturing facilities at Thane, Induri (Pune), Malanpur (Gwalior), Bengaluru, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), and Hyderabad, along with four sales offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. The corporate office is in Mumbai.

In the milk food drinks segment, its main product is Bournvita — the leading malted food drink (MFD) in the country. Similarly, in the medicated candy category, Halls is the leader. Cadbury also entered the biscuits category with the launch of the world’s No. 1 biscuit brand, Oreo.

Cadbury chocolates — the ultimate seductress in the form of chocolate — have been a favorite among Indians. The brand repositioning strategies that Cadbury has adopted over the years have been very interesting and are worth a detailed study.

CDM is for the kid in you: In the early days, Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) had a huge fan following among children. In order to build stronger appeal among older age groups, the brand repositioned itself through the ‘Real Taste of Life’ campaign in 1994. The campaign positioned Cadbury Dairy Milk as the chocolate that awakens the little child in every adult.

CDM is for all occasions: With the launch of the ₹5 pack in 1998, CDM became more affordable and accessible to the masses. The subsequent positioning — ‘Khaane waalon ko khaane ka bahana chahiye’ — transformed consumption into a joyful and social occasion.

CDM as a substitute for Indian sweets: In 2004, the ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ campaign was launched, with the objective of increasing CDM consumption by making it synonymous with traditional Indian sweets (mithai).

CDM as a dessert: With the campaign ‘Khaane ke baad meethe mein kuch meetha ho jaaye’, Cadbury aimed to introduce the idea of having a Cadbury Dairy Milk as a post-dinner dessert.

CDM and cultural integration: In 2010, the ‘Shubh Aarambh’ campaign was launched, drawing from the traditional Indian custom of having something sweet before beginning something new. With this, Cadbury took the Dairy Milk journey a step further into the hearts of millions of consumers.

Cadbury Gems — the kid in you: The 2011 campaign ‘Raho Umarless’ celebrates the child within all of us. The advertisement depicts two friends unabashedly exchanging gifts that they receive when they buy a Cadbury Gems pack.

Cadbury Éclairs: Cadbury Éclairs has been present in India since 1971. The credit for creating éclairs goes to an English confectionery firm that devised this delicious formula in the 1960s. This indulgent combination of chocolate wrapped in soft, chewy caramel came to Cadbury when it acquired the firm. In 1994, the brand adopted the purple and gold packaging that has since become its trademark.

A New Repositioning Move — Choclairs: Cadbury has also introduced a new repositioning strategy by changing the name from Cadbury Éclairs to Cadbury Choclairs. The think tank at Cadbury seems to believe that its strongest associations lie with the words Cadbury and chocolate, and it wants to avoid any dilution of this identity. Hence, the reinforcement of the word Choclairs alongside Cadbury.

However, one small doubt arises. The category itself is known as an éclair. By moving away from the category name, is Cadbury opening a small window for competitors to step in and claim ownership of the “éclair” space?

Final Thought: Cadbury’s journey clearly shows that positioning is not static. It evolves with time, culture, and consumer behavior. From being a children’s chocolate to becoming India’s preferred “meetha,” Cadbury has successfully embedded itself into the cultural fabric of the country.

The question, however, remains, Is the move to Choclairs a reinforcement of strength, or the beginning of a subtle shift in category ownership?

Keywords: Cadbury positioning strategy, Cadbury Dairy Milk marketing strategy, brand repositioning examples India, Cadbury case study marketing, how Cadbury became meetha, chocolate marketing India, FMCG branding strategies, cultural branding examples,  marketing lessons from Cadbury, brand positioning case study India, Cadbury advertising campaigns India, consumer behaviour chocolate India

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