changing habits by blending tradition and taste.

Brand: Cadbury Dairy Milk
Agency: wavemaker INDIA

Brand Context

Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) is a market leader in the Indian chocolates industry.

Situation Context

While CDM witnessed remarkable YoY growth fueled by its core markets, growth in West Bengal, a crucial market for the brand, was sluggish, stemming from its well-established sweet tooth preference for local and traditional, leading to relatively low consumption and penetration for chocolates.

PS - India is an immensely diverse multi-cultural nation, and West Bengal is a state where the locals speak a different language (Bangla) than the more common native language (Hindi), much like french-speaking Québec vs rest of Canada.

The Challenge

As the market leader, the challenge was two-fold:

boost category penetration in West Bengal, and
register brand growth by 20% while doing so.

The Insight

West Bengal boasts a vibrant tapestry of local folk music, yet traditional regional songs have gradually taken a backseat to more mainstream Bangla music, presenting an opportunity to revive and celebrate the folk heritage.

The Strategy

Harness West Bengal’s passion for music to introduce a fusion of flavors.

Create a folk fusion music festival to celebrate the state’s love for tradition.
Leverage the festival to seamlessly blend culture and confection and introduce another fusion - their favorite Bengali sweets infused with CDM.

The Execution

The 10-week campaign was designed in 3 parts:

creation and promotion of fusion-music,
creation and promotion of fusion-sweet, and
a 2 day fusion-festival to celebrate both, the music and the sweets

Teaming up with celebrated Bengali music directors and renowned singers, five traditional folk songs were transformed into a vibrant fusion with contemporary iconic tracks. While the music flowed seamlessly, the real challenge lay in infusing Cadbury Dairy Milk into local sweets; this had to feel organic, crafted by locals rather than imposed by the brand.

To achieve this, 138 local sweet-makers were engaged on-ground to create over 250 unique Cadbury-infused treats. To motivate creativity, a competition was held to recognize the best sweet, with winners celebrated at the culmination carnival.
Print insertions across regional newspapers announcing both the campaign's start and conclusion, while encouraging user engagement through QR codes.
Digital efforts included the promotion of five folk fusion music videos on Meta and YouTube, complemented by sweet offerings to drive footfalls.
TV integrations with popular regional shows expanded reach and reinforced openness to chocolate infused sweets.
The culmination of the campaign took place over 2 days of star-studded, live music performances along with winning sweet stalls engaging around 70,000 consumers.

The Results

25% sales growth, more than the national average.
3.8% increase in category penetration, 3.2% increase in brand penetration.
11.5M reach across the state.
6.8M views on the fusion songs.

These results paint a clear picture - the campaign successfully captured the hearts and taste buds of Bengalis, paving the way for continued growth and solidifying Cadbury's place in their hearts.