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Why Pink is Red Hot Marketing Mantra
Champagne
to shoes, diamonds to lingerie and even two-wheelers – Indians love buying
things pink just as they do in the West
“I believe in pink”, Audrey
Hepburn had famously said. So do lots and lots of people – and companies.
In life, the colour pink has many associations. Pink slips are grim stuff.
Pink cities, like Jaipur and Marrakesh, are considered as epitomes of urban
prettiness. Pink ribbons are symbols of awareness about fighting breast
cancer. Pink triangles are used as representational symbols for gays,
lesbians and bisexuals. Pink in politics means diluted left-wing
radicalism. And the Chinese never had a word for pink till they came in
touch with the West. So, the Mandarin word for pink literally means
‘foreign colour’.
In certain lines of business, though, pink usually means one thing – a
great marketing tool.
Early October, global mining giant Rio Tinto received a record $2 million
bid for an Argyle pink diamond. The pink diamond was a part of its 2013
tender. Red hot prices for pink diamonds are the norm, not the exception.
Auction house Sotheby’s is expecting a 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond —
described as “full of fire and light” – to fetch a record $60 million in an
auction to be held this month in Switzerland.
Pink glitters beyond diamonds. It’s the colour of high end marketing, a
signaling mechanism for consumers who don’t mind paying for branding attributes
that include cool, sexy and being different.
The pink portfolio includes champagne, high end women’s shoes and bags,
lingerie, cosmetics and jewellery. Add to that list pink flowers for
ceremonial decorations and pink scooters for making that really cool
statement.
There are few better illustrative examples of the power of pink than the
2002 launch of ‘Pink’, a lingerie, perfume, apparels and beauty products
brand from Victoria’s Secret that targeted young women. ‘Pink’ was judged
as one of the smartest marketmaking
moves by Victoria’s Secret.
Pink shines even in charity auctions. Priyanka Chopra’s pink and spiky
Christian Louboutin shoes – the actor-singer sported them in the music
video of her debut album, Exotic – fetched a handsome . 2.5 lakh in an
auction for a charity.
Marketing mavens in America have a phrase that sums up pink’s proven
success in targeting women consumers – pink it and shrink it. Make
something pink, and make it small. The mantra would apply to India as well.
Pink, says Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing, IIMAhmedabad, is a colour
that lends itself to many interpretations. For luxury products pink signals
“cool” and “ostentatious”. For clothes and accessories pink is associated
with in-your-face femininity. For diamonds pink means rarity. Because the
colour has no fixed meaning, says Koshy, it can be used across categories.
Marketing strategies of a large number of companies in India bear this out.
Rajiv Singhal, India representative of Comite Champagne, which promotes Champagne
region sparkling wines globally, says demand for pink champagne is growing
in India. The category accounted for almost 14% of the 348,000 champagne
bottles imported to India last year. Bear in mind pink champagne is about
30% costlier than white wine.
American luxury clutch brand Judith Leiber sells pink bags priced . 2 lakh
and more. “Pink is the colour of choice after gold and silver”, says Varsha
Ahuja, brand manager, Judith Leiber, India. Ahuja says pink clutches are
particularly popular for bridal trousseaus. Swiss eyewear-to-perfume maker
Davidoff has launched a pink perfume – Cool Water Sea Rose – that’s being
marketed aggressively.
Jewellery designer Nirav Modi designs around 50 pink diamond-based pieces
annually. Demand always outstrips supply Modi says, even though pink
diamondbased jewelry can be up to twice as expensive as its colourless
diamond-based counterpart.
If a clear one carat white diamond costs about . 7 lakh, the same in pink
will cost . 7 crore, says Modi. His pink diamond-studded Golconda Lotus
Necklace was auctioned at Christie’s Hong Kong for . 16.29 crore in 2010.
Pink flowers? Why not. Florist chain Ferns ‘n’ Petals recently imported
7,000 bundles of pink roses (each bundle has 100 pieces) for a client’s
wedding decor. Pink flowers contribute 40-50% of FNP’s yearly sales. Lalita
Raghav, FNP’s vicepresident, weddings, says pink is versatile, suitable for
traditional as well as modern themes, and for day and night.
Many women buy pink clothes, every marketer knows that. Some men do, too.
“Indian men would shy away from pink clothes. But some of them are now
ready to experiment with pink,” says Rajesh Jain, chief executive of
Lacoste India. About aquarter of Lacoste’s springsummer offerings for women
in India are in pink. For men’s tee-shirts, the pink quotient has gone up
from three shades to a dozen shades.
May be the final proof of pink’s success in India comes from the most
unlikely product – pink two-wheelers. TVS Motors’ sells 15,000 to 20,000
units of Scooty every month. Nearly a third of this ‘forwomen’ two-wheeler
is coloured pink.
Audrey Hepburn would have probably loved riding a pink two-wheeler.
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