Hamdard CMO, Suman Verma Talks Marketing, Digital Shift & Brand Loyalty

Sara Siddiqui

Hamdard, as a long-standing brand, has been leading the Unani market for decades. In conversation with BW Applause and Everything Experiential, Chief Marketing Officer of Hamdard, Suman Verma talks about their marketing, standing the test of time, the digital shift, and more. Below are edited excerpts from the interview.

Who would you attribute the resilience of this brand as the front custodian?

Any brand that has stood the test of time by definition is a very strong brand. Having survived 100 years in the market without much change in the formulations of its products, itself speaks for the efficacy of the product and therefore the trust of the brand amongst the people. As marketing people, what we have done is modernise the brand so that it connects with the people to whom we are reaching out. We try and engage with the consumers each year, ith a new narrative, without losing the ethos of the brand. That has been the trick.

For a brand like Hamdard, which channel is the most impactful for you in the age of new media?

The pandemic changed the world and the ways to do business. Even the lens of brand building has changed. Today people don’t have time, the consumers have changed, the medium of engagement has changed. Everybody is looking for instant solutions and Instant results. Time is the new currency. A brand also gets that few seconds to grab the attention of the consumers. Its like if you’ve got them, you’ve got them, or you’ve lost them. 

Things have changed for all and not just for Hamdard. Digital is now beginning to play a big role. Marketing has definitely changed. Today data and analytics are playing a big role, and between data and analytics, one has to join the dots to take Marketing to the next level. Earlier a major chunk of the marketing spending was on ATL. Today we find ourselves moving to social media and youtube platforms. 

All in all, it’s a very exciting time for everybody. For us, the pandemic forced us to view marketing and digital differently. We’re learning every day and that’s the best part.

How is market expansion going for Hamdard? 

For any marketing company, one has penetrated deeper into geographies. Whether it is opening a new market or looking at a particular geography, it is a continuous process. Coming to new market expansion, I wouldn’t say that we have gone and penetrated South India in a big way.

A lot of traditional brands are taking the D2C course, how has Hamdard’s approach been in distribution channels?

We have in our portfolio, OTC and traditional medicines. Traditional medicine is traditional in its approach, yet touch Hakeems /Doctors through medico marketing is a new initiative we have undertaken our Traditional medicines are available on e-commerce today and it is doing well there. D2C is what we have on our cards but right now we are strengthening. 

In terms of your marketing mix, how have you incorporated experiential marketing?

Experiential marketing for us comes alive with our wellness center. We have nine state-of-the-art Wellness Centres and pharmacies there and we keep doing sampling. One can get Hijama/ Cupping therapy here. 

For a company that had never invested in digital till 2020, other than having a few customary Facebook pages, we’ve come a long way. 

Now the playing ground is digital. Look even IPL makes its presence felt in an  OTT platform. People are beginning to realize that younger people are neither watching TV nor reading newspapers. The only way to grab their attention is through mobile or the internet. The world around us has changed and so have we changed. There has been learning in the past few years for sure.

When you have a brand that has been there for a long, does it really bother a brand like Hamdard to be concerned with loyalty? 

Brand loyalty is very important for all. It’s a relationship between a brand and a consumer. Conventional brand-building formulas have taught us certain things and we have to put it in the context of modern times and see what is that magic sauce that is going to help us stick in the minds of the new consumers. 

While all brands want their existing consumers to stay in the fold, it is a must to get new trials coming in from absolutely new consumers too

What is planned for this year on the marketing front?

We have our star products. We will still be going ahead and focusing on them because they are our focus brands. These include Cinkara, Safi, Roghan Badam Shirin, Swalin, and Joshina, all of these iconic brands. We’ve also recently launched Hamdard toothpaste and they are still in the product placement stage. We have humungous dreams and aspirations for this product. There are a few more products in the pipeline as well.