Earlier this year, United Industries Limited (UIL), the parent company of Kashmir Cooking Oil and Banaspati, released their new campaign, ‘The Colors of Kashmir’.

The centrepiece of the campaign is a two-minute TVC that combined live filming and AI animation to create a visual journey depicting diverse landscapes ranging from picturesque valleys to concrete jungles while showcasing the different kinds of cuisines that can be produced using Kashmir’s cooking oil and ghee. Throughout the TVC, a yellow bird with prominent red wings is visible, leading the narrative and soaring from scene to scene.

The use of red was not incidental, as the packaging for Kashmir’s products changed in the latter half of 2023 and is now predominantly red (previously yellow was the primary colour with ‘Kashmir’ emblazoned in red).

According to Mian Shahzad Khalid, Director Marketing, UIL, “it was time to reposition the brand using bold colours and although red has always been a part of our branding, we have further emphasised the colour.”

Khalid says that the idea of using both live filming and AI for the TVC came from the insight that the attention span of audiences has shrunk and that in order to break the clutter, it was important to avoid the traditional minute-and-a-half-long storytelling route.

“We realised we had to create a visual journey that is aesthetically pleasing, engaging and clutter-breaking.”

Zareen Rathor, ECD, Red Communication Arts (Kashmir’s advertising agency), adds that “according to colour psychology, bold, solid colours evoke different feelings, and we wanted those feelings to be happiness, excitement and camaraderie (which red represents) and in that way make them conversation starters on social media.”

Another objective, she says, was to connect with the audience through the shared visual experience of food, family gatherings and their associated happiness, rather than focusing on functional aspects. A third objective was to launch the new packaging.

The campaign’s target audience are young and health-conscious consumers who value convenience, which prompted the introduction of the easy-pour pouch. In this respect, Khalid adds that “defining a target audience based on SECs and gender is a little outdated. It is more about keeping up with changing preferences. Our focus is on young homemakers who are more focused on experiences.”

Keeping the young homemaker’s preferences in mind, Kashmir discontinued its other oil variants and, in addition to the ghee variant, only offers the Kashmir Premium Gold Cooking Oil, where the primary ingredients include sunflower, canola and soybean oil. The campaign was released in February and ran until Eid, as during these months, oil consumption is higher compared to other periods, particularly during Ramzan.

Media included TV, radio, OOH and trade displays, with the focus on digital. Here, the campaign was supported by short reels and content featuring social media influencers like Ayesha Beig, Ken Doll, Rup Magon and Ali Sufian Wasif. “Each influencer caters to a distinct demographic of young people based on their interests and this enables us to reach a wider range of people,” says Khalid.

Commenting on the response, Rathor says the communication’s view-through rate was “brilliant compared to our previous campaigns and our competitors’ campaigns.” Although initially Khalid had reservations about the length of the TVC, he thinks it was the aesthetics of the visual journey and the different types of cuisine, people and locations that ensured viewers’ attention.

“More than 70% of our viewers watched 1.5 minutes of the video and this speaks volumes about the quality of the content we generated.”

He further points out that the TVC received positive comments on social media and a “whopping” 13 million views in 1.5 months. The impact of the campaign was also seen in the sales figures, as, according to the company, Kashmir experienced the highest sales numbers this Ramzan in the brand’s history.

To maintain this “growth momentum,” the company intends to keep up its digital media activity and reposition the company in the long run, as the brand does not want to depend entirely on its significant heritage equity. To this end, the brand has sponsored events like the Hum Awards, Women Leadership Awards, Homestyle Awards and the International Pakistan Prestige Awards (IPPA). For Khalid, this is one way to stay relevant with a young audience. “People now follow influencers and there is no guarantee that consumers will use a certain brand just because their mothers used it.”

UIL also sponsored Kashmir CreataVerse, an event that was held in February in Lahore and was attended by junior content creators who were mentored by nearly 300 prominent social media influencers, including Junaid Akram, Ducky Bhai and Ken Doll, thus giving the brand further visibility. The brand has also released two social media series, Kashmir Cooking Wisdom (cooking tips) and Out in the Open (celebrities sharing their favourite recipes).

According to Statista, revenue in the edible oils market amounts to $1.69 billion as of this year, and the market is expected to grow annually by 7.66% until 2028. With over 1,500 brands in the category, Kashmir prides itself on being among the top three in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We claim an approximate 17% share in the branded oil category,” clarifies Khalid.

Looking ahead, Kashmir Oil plans to expand its distribution network in the southern regions, particularly Karachi and Hyderabad. Referring to inflationary pressures, Khalid says that despite price increases, sales and the existing market share have remained unchanged over the past two years. This has given the brand cause for optimism in terms of the huge market potential that exists, especially when it comes to consumers who are currently opting for unbranded cooking oil.

Sadia Kamran is Marketing Manager and an English language instructor, Anees Hussain.
sadiaazam@yahoo.com