As the festive season is just around the corner, Ferns N Petals (FNP) is setting up for one of its busiest seasons with a strategy reflecting the changing consumer behaviour along with its digital marketing preferences.
While speaking to BW Marketing World, Avi Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer of FNP shared insights into the company's approach to this year's festive season, highlighting a shift towards digital channels and personalised experiences in their marketing strategy.
The Digital Dominance
The company, known for its expansive gifting solutions, recently released a video campaign for Raksha Bandhan featuring actor Sumeet Vyas, tapping into the essence of sibling relationships with humour and heart.
The ad humorously captures the evolution of sibling relationships from childhood pranks to adult affection. Vyas's relatable quest for the perfect Rakhi gift leads him to FNP.com, highlighting the platform's extensive range of Rakhis and gifts. The narrative encourages viewers to explore more thoughtful gifting options beyond traditional choices.
Kumar reveals that the current campaign is the result of over 15 months of meticulous planning and curation. The company's focus on emotion-driven gifting is showcased through its extensive curation of a wide range of options that resonate with customers' sentiments.
In terms of marketing spend, Kumar discloses, “We are primarily focusing on digital mediums right now. A lot of focus is on social media and influencers. Meta and Google continue to be our largest partners. In our overall scheme of things, we are 98 per cent digital and 2 per cent on traditional platforms and that's the case with this campaign as well.”
Targeting New Demographics
Kumar notes several key trends shaping consumer behaviour this festive season. "Consumers are looking for more. They have become more discerning," he observed. The shift led the company to focus on offering unique, curated choices that go beyond traditional offerings. He emphasised that the overall experience has become a significant factor in purchase decisions. Looking at consumers today, the advent of quick commerce has reduced the gifting planning cycle from 3-4 weeks to about 14 days, with some consumers even opting for same-day delivery.
He adds, "More and more consumers are shifting towards curated hampers rather than standalone products", indicating a trend towards more comprehensive gifting options.
FNP is also focusing on attracting new customer segments, particularly Gen Z and first-time earners. Kumar outlines their approach stating, “For any marketer, new customer acquisition is always an objective from a marketing point of view. For the business, it's always important that while you nurture the existing customers, how do you keep the funnel going where more and more customers, new customers also come in?”
He stresses the importance of building trust and showcasing the platform's unique curation to attract these segments.
Balancing Personalisation, Privacy and Sustainability
In an era of hyper-personalisation and data-driven marketing, Kumar assures that the company takes data protection seriously, implementing robust systems to secure customer information. He states, "Data privacy, I think, is imperative. And while, when you have such a big base, we take that very seriously", explaining that only hashed data is used for targeting and personalisation efforts.
Sustainability is another key focus for FNP, especially given the increasing environmental consciousness among younger consumers. While acknowledging that it's an ongoing process, Kumar highlights the differentiation in generations when it comes to sustainability.
"The millennials can sometimes pass it off and look more for value than anything else. But the generation - Gen Z and Gen Alpha, they are very particular about what the brand ethics are and what the brand promises and how the brand is also looking at giving back to the environment", he remarks.
Kumar emphasises the brand's efforts to incorporate sustainability into their packaging and product offerings, including the introduction of seed Rakhis this season.
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