Zivame has launched campaigns like ‘Salesman bhaiya ka favourite bra’ and is known for featuring ‘real’ women in its ads. How has the advertising worked for Zivame over the years?
Zivame’s campaigns have always shaped conversation about the intimate wear category in India. We have been influential in breaking the cultural barrier that exists and encouraged discussion about the category to make it a lot real and mainstream. ‘Salesman wali bra’ was our first brand campaign and it was the first time when a brand used the word bra on national television. We were also the first brand in India to showcase inclusivity in our communication. We featured women across different body types in intimate wear commercials. Our objective has been to create awareness and build education around intimate wear.
A lot of campaigns that we have done over the past few years were also made keeping these objectives as the centre point. For example: ‘Zivame Fit for all’ was about how it’s important for your intimate wear to keep changing with the outer wear. Women have multiple outfits in their wardrobe, but most of them use the same type of bra for their outfits. The result of the campaign is that today when we talk to women, they realise that they have to have at least six to eight different styles and types of bras in their wardrobe.
We have also consistently spoken about how the right intimate wear which is designed for your body can add more to the confidence.
There is a reason why we consciously portray real, relatable Indian women, instead of women in provocative poses. As mentioned earlier, our primary objective is to create meaningful conversation in the intimate wear category. We don’t want the content to move away from the message or topic – that’s very critical. Zivame always wanted to create spaces for women which are personalised, inclusive, and celebrate them for who they are.
Zivame has recently launched a ‘Wear your confidence’ campaign. Tell us the thought process and objective behind it.
The ‘Wear your confidence’ campaign is basically there to strengthen our positioning of body confidence and how it comes from the right intimate wear.
It is based on the insights that confidence is required in every aspect of your life. It doesn’t matter what your day is going to look like, but that day requires a certain kind of confidence. If you have the right intimate wear, it really empowers you to take on any day confidently. It showcases women across different stages and situations. It talks about how women in different situations are confidently seizing the day by wearing the right intimate wear.
There seems to be an obsession with using foreign locales and models by some brands in the category, ostensibly to create a premium imagery. Does that help? Is it something Zivame has consciously stayed away from?
Zivame has always been a proud Indian brand. We as a brand have been designed for Indian women and Indian body types. Therefore every piece of communication that we build really brings alive the thought on how Zivame is completely Indian in every emotion and essence. Hence, we don’t believe in featuring International models and foreign locales.
We make sure our communication pieces are aspirational and appeal to the sensitivities of the audience we are catering to.
Are there any purchasing trends that you have noticed between urban vs tier 2, 3 cities? Is the marketing aligned with such trends and customised by cluster?
The pandemic redefined channel preferences of consumers. Barriers existed when it came to online shopping especially for intimate wear, like trust issues, fear of changing and quality, size issues etc. A lot of these barriers existed in Tier 2, 3 markets but were removed in a matter of weeks when the pandemic hit. At that point, Zivame was best placed to serve consumers because we are a specialised intimate wear platform. We have built our platform to simplify the journey of a consumer who comes to shop with us. The category is very technical and it can get overwhelming for a lot of consumers. Therefore, for any consumer coming to Zivame, it should be easy for them to navigate and figure out what is right for them and eventually be able to choose the ultimate wear which is designed for their specific needs. Zivame was able to do that, especially for Tier 2, 3 markets.
From a marketing point of view, we use data analytics to identify trends and purchase patterns. We do this at the state and city level and based on the insights received we customise the communication to make it more relevant and relatable to that particular geography.
Who is the core TG of Zivame? Besides the advertising, what are the other ways of engaging this audience?
The woman that Zivame is talking to has a desire to imagine herself in new, exciting ways and wants to expand her boundaries, but within her comfort level. She wants to experiment with her looks, expand her wardrobe, wants to be at the top of trends and fashion.
There are three types of Es used by Zivame. The first E is education. The brand motto has always been creating awareness about the importance of the category in a consumer’s life from a functional and emotional point of view.
The second E stands for empathising with consumers. We really finunderstand how overwhelming and technical the category can be for a lot of people. We create products that solve the pain points of consumers and guide and help them to discover the right kind of products.
The third E stands for ‘entertain’. A lot of content we do, either on social media or the video content, they are humorous, relatable, and educate the consumer. We make it entertaining and engaging for the consumers. Given the sensitivities around the category, it is important that the content is packed in a way that it is easier to consume and share.
Influencers and social commerce: what has been your experience and what are the plans therein?
Influencer marketing is a critical part of the work we do on a regular basis. It is very important for our category because of the fact that we need to change the mindset and want to normalise conversations. The conversations initiated should be delivered through a real person who is looked up to by consumers and who they aspired to become. When that person talks about the brand message, they add more credibility to the brand and the sensitive topic also becomes normalised. Therefore, influencers play a very important role in Zivame’s marketing strategy.
Also, given that influencer marketing is primarily on social media platforms, it enables us to initiate conversations on a personal level. At the end of the day all of us are consuming content on our devices. The content consumption is very personal and it is very easy for consumers to interact with the content.
We are also very conscious while selecting influencers. We make sure that they are the right fit for the brand, that they stand true to the brand's personality and value system. We also have to make sure that whatever content we are building, it needs to be formulated in a way which appeals to the influencer’s audience. Every influencer has a different way of talking to the audience. If you try and change that, then the content is not going to appeal to their followers.
From your own website to marketplaces to retail outlets, how is omnichannel working for Zivame and what are the marketing challenges?
Zivame has been an omnichannel player for the longest time. We started off as an online D2C platform and expanded to the retail space. Irrespective of what channel we operate from, the brand ethos and marketing strategies of Zivame doesn’t change.
Women’s lingerie as a category has come a long way. Are there any noticeable patterns in consumer preferences in the segment you have observed in the last two years or so? Was there an impact of Covid and WFH on the category?
Over the course of the pandemic, a few consumption patterns have evolved. For example, when the lockdown happened, during the initial stages, comfort was the most sought after benefit by the consumer.
Post that, when lockdown was eased and things were getting normalised, there arose the need to make up for all the missed out occasions and celebrations. During that period, we witnessed a jump in our fashion styles as people wanted to experiment with more colours, bolder prints etc. Also, the trend of making sure that the intimate wear matched with the outer wear emerged in a stronger way.
As the pandemic put a lot of focus on health and wellness, we witnessed a spurt in active wear. Loungewear, which are comfortable to wear at home and can be worn while stepping out for a coffee, has also grown.
How has conversation around lingerie as a category changed over the recent years? What’s the role played by Zivame on the same?
About five to six years back, lingerie used to be a hushed topic of conversation. That is slowly changing. Now, the consumers are no longer hesitating to share their opinion related to the category. I believe Zivame has led the change in normalising these conversations.
Consumers are now looking to explore and experiment with the category. They are willing to experiment with colours. The importance of fit has gained traction. A lot of women are realising the importance of knowing and wearing the right sized bra, so they don’t have to struggle with the discomfort. Consumers are also refreshing their intimate wear wardrobe at regular intervals.
How has the ‘Lingerie Festival’ grown over the years? How has its contribution grown?
Zivame Grand Lingerie festival is the biggest intimate wear sale in India which is a bi-annual event. It is done in a way to ensure that women can shop whatever they need in the intimate wear category. The last event which happened in September 2022 had 50,000-plus styles and 100-plus brands had participated. The event is endorsed by Kriti Sanon. We have seen massive success in the last edition where we witnessed 5X growth in traffic. We clocked 75,000 orders in the first 24 hours.
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