At the e4m Pitch CMO Summit 2022, the President of Mondelez International, India, presented an informative keynote talk on ‘The Cadbury Dairy Milk Journey.’
Deepak Iyer, President, Mondelez International, India, delivered the keynote lecture on “The Cadbury Dairy Milk Journey – Building one of India’s Most Trusted Brands” at the recent e4m Pitch CMO Summit 2022.
Cadbury Dairy Milk, or CDM, was named the most trusted brand across all categories in India by a recognised newspaper in 2020, according to Iyer. He emphasised four key factors in explaining how CDM has established trust throughout the years. The first thing, he believes, is a real relationship with customers. With their catchy lyric ‘kuch meetha ho jaye,’ CDM established that link. The Hindi sentence epitomises Indianness and, more crucially, connects with Indians who ask, “What is the sense of being in India if you can’t say kuch meetha ho jaye?”
Iyer pointed out that CDM never elevated the brand to the status of a hero. “For us, it’s always ‘kuch khaas hei hum sabhi mein,’ not Cadbury mein,” he explained. This is how we are humbly engaged with people, and CDM today epitomises the flavour of chocolate.”
Quality and consistency, according to Iyer, are the second most important factors in building brand confidence. Despite living in an inflationary climate in India, CDM’s product formula has stayed consistent throughout the years. “Productivity is crucial for business, but we don’t compromise on product quality.” When any Indian customer picks up a bar of CDM today, he or she may be certain of the same old flavour that he or she discovered as a child. When he or she sees a CDM advertisement, he or she will experience the same excitement, spirit of giving, and slogan that he or she is accustomed to. This is referred to as consistency,” he noted.
The third crucial aspect of establishing trust is to constantly be available to customers and have an opinion on what is going on in the world. “It is critical to be present in new channels and customer touchpoints.” “It’s just as vital to be aspirational and relevant to a rural home as it is to be present on digital and social media and speak the language of Gen Z customers,” he added.
The fourth component is ‘story doing’ rather than ‘storytelling.’ According to him, trust is developed when people realise that a company exists to make a difference in society rather than simply for themselves and their profits. “It is a deeply ingrained value in CDM.”
is a virtue that the Cadbury family has maintained since the company’s inception, and it has now become a brand mission. In India, this is referred to as ‘kuch acha ho jaaye.’ We’ve expanded on it and done work throughout the years. “The way the brand exposes difficulties around us and how the brand and customers collaborate to address them has really stood out,” he added.