Punita Lal has played on both sides of the fence. Literally. For one, she has worked at both cola rivals, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. She's done time at an ad agency, a stint as a client, and has experience both in India and abroad. Perhaps that's exactly the reason Pepsi hired Lal as director of marketing of its South Asian operations -- even if it took the company nearly a year to get her on board.
In the short time she's been there, Lal has launched three high-decibel campaigns for Diet Pepsi, a promotional campaign, 'Khufia'‚ for flagship Pepsi Cola, and 7-Up ads featuring popular Czech-born Indian model Yana Gupta. "These three months have been a fun-filled rollercoaster ride for me. This is a business where you suddenly jump in at the deep end. There's no preparation, and it is reflective of the nature of the industry -- an impulse business," says Lal.
But she's already stamping her own style on Pepsi's marketing. In India, a large part of marketing for both cola majors has been reactive, and here's where Lal wants to do things differerntly. Pepsi has to set its own agenda and be innovative, she insists: "Of course, we want great sales, but for me, from a marketing view point, connecting with consumers is equally crucial and we want to do that differently. We want to define our agenda and not look at what our rivals are doing."
Lal's ability to cut through the clutter and clearly identify issues is appreciated by her colleagues and agency hands. "She is a forthright client who knows what she wants, and that makes things clear for everyone," says Anuja Chauhan, VP and executive director, JWT, who works on the Pepsi account.
In a career spanning across 17 years, Lal has worked on global marketing campaigns as well as below-the-line grassroots campaigns and new product developments. "Her experience as part of the JWT team that worked on Pepsi's first campaign in India and her subsequent global experience in brand marketing will make her transition seamless," says Rajeev Bakshi, CEO, PepsiCo India.
One of the big challenges for Lal will be to put the zing back into Pepsi's advertising. There was a time when Pepsi saw some breakthrough and clutter-busting advertising; in the '90s, it was the benchmark brand in the category.
"It was a great challenger brand and that was Pepsi's raison d'etre," says an industry source, "but, over the years, the advertising hasn't adequately responded to Coke's hit 'Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola' campaign." One reason is that former marketing head Vibha Paul Rishi moved to Pepsi's headquarters in New York, and the company didn't replace her -- until now.
Lal started her career in the advertising industry with Lintas, before moving to JWT. While there, she helped crystallise Pepsi's memorable 'Are you ready for the magic?' campaign. Much of Pepsi's gain of 20 per cent market share (despite limited distribution to five cities) was widely attributed to Lal's efforts. At JWT, Lal's next assignment was as account director for the Unilever dental business, from where she moved as vice-president and unit head to Mumbai for the company. She also worked in marketing roles with Coke in China and regional markets until 2002.
Lal comes in at a time when the cola market is going through a quiet spell, following contamination controversies and fierce price wars in the last two years. In her new role, she will be responsible for the marketing and advertising strategy for PepsiCo's beverage brands in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Her key concern, of course, will be to put the fizz back into Pepsi's advertising -- and there is little doubt that she will succeed. Additional reporting by Bhanu Pande