Author: Ashwani Grewal, Ashwani.gr13@fms.edu
The rejuvenating revamp of the Tuborg brand and its spunky Surrogate Marketing campaign through TV ads and social media has quickly established a strong connect with the premium segment customer in the country. With an innovative approach in designing the marketing mix, the brand seems well positioned to give the established players a run for their money.
Tuborg is a premium beer brand having a strong presence in more than 70 countries. In India, Carlsberg India Limited that entered the Indian market in May 2006 bottles it. Tuborg was launched in India by the Carlsberg group in July 2009 with a creative campaign having a tagline “the fun starts here!!” .The beer instantly gained popularity among the party going premium customers. The campaigns targeted urban youth as its primary segment and focused on the ‘thump’ effect – which underlined the brand essence of music and fun.
In consistency with its India strategy of tapping the unexplored market first, Carlsberg initially launched Tuborg in the north, west and southwest of India. In the initial phase, the company strategically avoided intense competition in Southern part of the country that accounts for more than 45% of total beer consumption in India and focused on building its brand in rest of the country where it saw high growth potential. As of now, Tuborg has a pan India presence and riding on its popularity, Carlsberg is making strong inroads in India’s urban markets as it has already toppled SABMiller to become the 2nd largest player in Delhi. Clearly, the global brand has made strong inroads in the Indian beer market in a small time and looks all set to become the premium brand of choice for the urban segment.
In May 2012, as a part of its global enhancement program, Tuborg launched its new visual identity in India. In consistency with its brand essence of music and