Indian food giant Tata Consumer Products has officially arrived in Canada, and is announcing its arrival with a major new campaign from Balmoral Multicultural Marketing called “Now in Canada.”
Running in the GTA, Vancouver and Calgary, the campaign promoting Tata’s signature teas, spices and salts launched this week, and runs through early April across linear and connected TV, cinema, digital out-of-home, print and radio, as well as influencer and experiential. There is also a homepage takeover of The Times of India website today.
The company expects to hit each person in its target audience about 25 times over the various media platforms during the life of the campaign, said Jennifer Dickens, senior marketing manager with Tata in Toronto.
The product launch features just over 20 SKUs, including 10 spices, nine teas, and two salt products.
Tetley has been Tata’s flagship brand in Canada for years, but the country’s significant Indian population (about 4% of our population, 1.4 million, is of Indian Heritage according to government data) led the company to launch its namesake line of teas, spices and salt into the market, said Dickens.
The campaign is about making Canada’s sizeable Indian population, which is fiercely loyal to Tata products, aware that they can now be purchased in Canada. “These are products that people know and trust back home in India,” said Dickens. “It’s like reuniting with an old friend because it’s so beloved among people from South Asia.”
Tata has been significantly ramping up distribution, with a retail presence that now includes Costco, Walmart, Food Basics, FreshCo, and the Loblaws family of banners. “Now that we’ve established mainstream distribution outside of ethnic retailers… it’s time to let every consumer know we are available,” said Dickens.
The video creative features scenarios like people abandoning a newscast and a Zoom call so they can enjoy some of the Tata products. It uses “Hinglish” a mixture of the English and Hindi languages that is spoken by more than 350 million people.
“For many Canadians born in India, finding these familiar Tata brands is serendipitous. It’s like being visited by a long-lost friend,” said Donovan D’Souza, executive creative director at Balmoral. Each scenario is intended to show someone “currently unavailable” as they enjoy Tata products.
“The idea is that now that Tata products are available, a few of us are going to be unavailable for a bit because we’re enjoying these products,” said Dickens. “Because Tata products are now available to them, they’re taking a break to enjoy the moment.”
The campaign is also unique in that the various brands would never be promoted together in Tata’s home country. “They are advertised in silos and never the three shall meet,” said Dickens. “In the Canadian context, we have permission to do things a little bit differently because it allows us to create awareness of all three brands.”
