Vineeta Singh: While creating a brand, don’t just think about advertising

Speaking on day one of Goafest, Vineeta Singh, CEO and founder, Sugar Cosmetics, explained how Rs 5 to 6 crore companies, can disrupt the bigger companies like L’Oreal, P&G and Unilever.

Calling digital the big game-changer, Singh, explained, “The largest legacy brands were built on the back of advertising budgets and distribution. Then came digital. That has helped companies like us to get more than the 40-50 million reach (an ad campaign usually gives). A big advertising campaign for big brands, requires a high spending. We spend much lesser and get that reach on Instagram.” 

Singh added that when the pandemic hit the world, it changed consumer habits big time.    

“When one was looking to capture the attention of a consumer, one looked at TV, radio or print. That has now moved to social media and content. The consumer has also moved from looking to ‘be beautiful’ to now looking at what a brand can do for him/her. When it comes to desire, a consumer looked at price, now it’s about positioning values. When it comes to action, the purchase came in the retail stores, now it’s on D2C apps, the internet and retail,” she added.

Sugar Cosmetics’ journey  
Singh went on to reveal the Sugar Cosmetics’ journey from 2015 to now. The company that now ships more than 10 million products a month, looked to do the following:  

First, it looked at brand building as a long term exercise. “When we think about creating a brand, we don’t just think about advertising. We think about product, trust and consistency,” she said.  

She added that the company looked to steer clear of discounts and performance marketing.  

“Performance marketing made a lot of brands spend budgets on shortcuts to drive sales. Discounts can help a brand trend for the season. But we’ve made sure we follow a price consistency model as we are looking at building a brand for the next two decades,” she said.  

On Sugar Cosmetics’ strategy, she added, “Our consumer is a young woman and wants authenticity, and wants to know how a product will look on real women. We also want to have the right product. One must understand, that great content goes viral on its own. We have 2.1 million followers and we don’t have any post about a sale. It’s about entertainingly educating our consumer.”  

Revealing the second reason why the company has prospered, she shared, “Our team closely mirrors the ambition of the 25-year old Bharat girl who is very different from her mom. She wants to be independent and take charge of her destiny. The shift started happening a decade ago. To understand this shift, one needs to put a few of those 25-year olds in a room, and you’ll see innovation happening automatically.”

Source: Campaign India