Branding and communication strategy of Maggi Noodles before and after the MSG Crisis

1. Brand Management Assignment
-Alisha Jain
Brand Communication Strategy of Maggi Noodles
Brand Maggi
Maggi has enjoyed its spot for being the most loved and fondly remembered
noodles brand in the country by children and adults alike since it’s introduction
in 1983.
Maggi has not only been a packet of noodles, it has been a way of life for most
Indians. With an image that has been carefully crafted over the last 32 years, it is
a more frequent substance on the kitchen shelves than perhaps any other
packaged food. Having been a savior for adolescents when they have ventured
away from the comfort of their homes
and home-cooked food, it has enjoyed a
mother’s trust, a bachelor’s faith, a
child’s crave and the nation’s affection.
Maggi single-handedly created the
instant noodles category in India. Its
promise of easy preparation became the
basis for many food formats. And then
the trust was shattered in 2015. MSG
and lead-related accusations hit at the
very core. The swift action of the
government and consequent total
withdrawal of the product caused
extreme reactions both for and against
Maggi.

2. Consequent media bashing and lack of a strong
rejoinder from the brand management stoked the fire.
The brand stoically bore the loss, destroyed its huge
stock, waited for international lab reports and court
orders, and then came back to the consumer. The
strategic intent is not about cost; it is now about
gaining back consumer confidence. So, it becomes a
kind of brand relaunch. Their task is now to regain
confidence to the extent it was before this problem
occurred and thereby the communication has to be
calibrated very finely. Thus, I decided to study the
brand communication strategy of Maggi after the crisis
through its campaigns.
Maggi noodles is a high-stakes brand for Nestle with
sales of more than Rs 2,000 crore and accounting for a
third of Nestlé’s India business. The once category
leader is currently witnessing tough competition with
a number of new entrants such as Sunfeast Yippee!
Hindustan Unilever's (HUL) Knorr Soupy Noodles, Top Ramen and Ching's
Secret.
Brand Strategy of Maggi from 1983-2015 (Before Crisis)
In the early 80s Maggi was positioned as a quick to cook noodles. The tagline
used was “Fast to Cook. Good to Eat”. The same theme continued in the 90s as
well, but the communication was a little different. In the 90s the communication
changed from the kids coming home hungry and asking their mother for
something, to the kids saying that they were hungry and they wanted Maggi
quickly. This emphasized the brand’s popularity, and also reflected on the role
children played in influencing buying decisions (subtly).
In a fast growing India, where women were no more just homemakers but
professionals helping their spouses to run their households, cooking food was an
important issue. Therefore, initially maggi 2-minute noodles targeted the
women. But the sales was not picking up despite heavy Media Advertising.
Indian consumers were rather conservative in their food habits, preferring to eat
traditional Indian dishes rather than canned or packaged food. They realized
that, the Indian consumer, was still orthodox and believed in traditional home
made Indian food, they conducted market surveys. They found that it was the
children who enjoyed the taste of maggi more than women. They shifted their
focus on children and their mothers.
In the year 2006, Nestle began rebranding itself as a Health and Wellness
company. In line with this, Maggi products were promoted with the tagline
“Taste bhi, Health bhi”. To commermorate 25 yeaes of Maggi in India a new
marketing campaign with the slogan ‘Me and Meri Maggi’. The purpose was to
cherish the emotional binding created by the product with all the age groups.
The consumers had to send their Maggi related memorable stories to Nestle

3. India and the best were shown on the television in the form of advertisements.
In an effort to maintain its growth in Indian market, Maggi launched many
products like Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles, Maggi Vegetable Multigrainz
Noodles, Maggi Dal Atta Noodles and Rice Noodles in its product portfolio
targeting health conscious people.
Brand Extensions: Over the years, Nestle extended the Maggi brand to a variety
of culinary products like soups, sauces and ketchups, and cooking aids among
others. Later Nestle also forayed into other food segments like pickles, using the
Maggi brand, but it was unsuccessful and the products were dumped. Maggi also
introduced a range of pastas in the year 2009 to complement the consumers
need for variety in snack food.
After Crisis
After the MSG and lead crisis in
2015, they blocked all lines of
communication with consumers.
For more than a fortnight, barring
a computer-generated statement,
there was no word from Nestle.
Nearly all beat journalists wrote
and re-wrote to Nestle for a more
human, in-depth response, but
Nestle was too arrogant for a 2-
minute reply. Their social media
response was a disaster. Robotic
replies, sharing heavy PDF files in
the name of responses. Nestle
stayed in denial. For a situation of
this magnitude, the Nestle global
site did not even acknowledge the
controversy in India. Nestle
ignored the fact that the Indian
consumers appreciated personal
involvement at the time of crisis
and not an automated response or
an extensive research by a
regulatory body.
Four months after running into perhaps its worst credibility crisis, Nestle started
increasing spending on television commercials, setting the ground for the
relaunch of its Maggi instant noodle brand in the country. Today, Nestle is
expected to advertise aggressively to regain Maggi's lost ground in retail shelves
and consumers' shopping carts. Campaigns, estimated at Rs 40-50 crore are
being made to reassure consumers that Maggi is and has always been safe to
consume. The re-launch campaigns are on more than just the traditional media
or television, press and radio. A lot is happening on digital and on ground
activation to rapidly connect with not just consumers but also dhabas, canteens

4. and street vendors of Maggi noodles
Industry opinion: How Maggi could proceed with its communication after
the crisis?
Since Maggi is a very popular
brand with a bunch of loyalists
who stood by it during its trials
and tribulations, it is not very
tough for Maggi to bounce back.
Nestle just has to clear all
misunderstandings around which
it is shrouded, change the
perception towards the brand
since it’s a matter of health and
children, be transparent in its
communication, use positivity to
hide negativity, get something new
to get things back on track. They should also talk to tradesmen, make them the
spokesperson and the company should not hide behind any celebrity.
Communication Strategy of Maggi After the Crisis
Maggi keeps the love alive, says #WeMissYouToo
August 24, 2016
Right after the crisis, Maggi rolled out three films as
part of a brand campaign themed #WeMissYouToo
on its social media channels. McCann Erickson
conceptualized the campaign. The three films

5. underlined consumers’ love for the noodles brand, and each of them featured a
young male protagonist (the graph beside explains the reason).
One of the films (above) features the protagonist
sitting on the floor at home saying home delivery
menus were of no use to him earlier. He values
them these days, he reveals. He appeals to his
‘yaar’ (friend) to come back, even as the brand’s
logo signs off with the message #WeMissYouToo.
Another film features the protagonist standing
outside his door, confessing that he never had
time for his caring neighbours. That’s changed
now, because he is dependent on them for a
meal, with Maggi not available. He reveals, "But
today I had to smile at them for the first time
Look at what all I need to do to feed myself now.
I miss you yaar! Come back man!"
A young man playing with a tennis ball at home
is the messenger in one of the films. He says,
"There's one thing I'm very proud of: I've never
troubled my mom. Never woke her up late in the
night. And it's not like my friends don't come
over. We do have late nights. We party, we listen
to music and do a lot more. And since we're
humans it's only natural we feel hungry. But it's wrong to bother mom at that
time. When will you come back yaar? Miss you!"
All the films end with Maggi's logo alongside a #WeMissYouToo message.
Analysis of the Campaign: Immediately after the ban, there were a lot of
negative social media reactions around the Maggi brand. The strong connection
many people felt for the brand now made them feel a personal betrayal of trust.
The objective was to take the emotion from extremely negative to nostalgic and
then positive. Rife with affectionate endearments, the ads were crafted to
resemble a series of personal messages to an old buddy. These short films
reflected the spontaneity and affection between consumers and Maggi. In each
film, the context of consumption, and the convenience Maggi brought to people's
lives, was highlighted. The films left no room for the possibility that Maggi could
be replaced by some other 'instant snack'. It was a subtle way of saying 'Maggi or
nothing'. It appeared to be guided by the fact that the brand still didn’t have
formal approval and that the product was still not available in the marketplace.
This was also a way of subtly putting pressure on the authorities. The films also
showed that the consumer was dying to hear from Maggi. It was a campaign that
showed respect to the consumer. There was a longing; this was something

6. people genuinely missed.
#LetYourMomKnow: Maggi warms up to mothers, reiterates safe stance
ahead of market return
November 6, 2016
Maggi then rolled out a campaign
following the announcement of it being
safe to return to the markets.
One of the films shows a lady talking by a
balcony. She says when Maggi was
questioned (for safety) in the media and in
her neighborhood, she wondered how was
this possible as her mom fed her Maggi since she was a child, and she's done the
same for her children. So would this mean two mothers were wrong? She reveals
that when she got to know that Maggi has passed the safety tests, it felt good
because she and her mother, were both proven right. The film ends with a super,
'Your Maggi is safe and has always been.'
Another film features a lady sitting at a
dining table. She talks about her son
(Sonu) and how he would come in late
at night to the house quietly to cook
Maggi. She says that even though he
would do all this quietly, she was
aware about it, as nothing can escape a
mother's attention. But, she would let
him do the cooking and eat it, without stopping him as children require some
space. Also, she wouldn't stop him because eating Maggi would mean that Sonu
isn't going to sleep hungry. She goes on to add that when Maggi's safety
standards were questioned, she felt that she was doing something incorrect by
letting him eat it at night, that too for so many years. But now, with Maggi being
proven safe, it's not only Maggi that has passed, it also feels like she has passed a
test. This film too ends with the 'safe as ever' message.
Analysis of the Campaign: It was a fabulous strategy to restore the confidence
of people. Bringing mothers to the forefront strengthened the belief and
developed deeper affinity with the brand. These ads were not about selling
Maggi but the thoughts, which people had in mind about the brand. The
advertising brought it out very nicely. Using mothers to stamp their seal of
approval would have been the obvious, and perhaps the only route to take, as
opposed to taking a celebrity endorser since moms are their other big
constituency (along with the kids). The strategy helped them greatly in
assuaging doubts about the safety of the product.

7. #WelcomeBackMaggi: Maggi returns, captures the celebrations it claims to
evoke
December 1, 2015
Maggi noodles from the Nestle India stable then launched a campaign to
announce that it is back on customers’ plates. This followed campaigns to
underline that it has always been safe to assure buyers, following clearances
from the relevant laboratories.
One of the films featured a dhaba owner, with
several packs of Maggi noodles on display. He
calls out to his assistant to switch on the
lights and arrange the plates, and breaks into
a dance move stating that the glitter is back in
the dhaba now, referring to the return of
Maggi noodles. As he settles into his seat, a
#WelcomeBackMaggi tune takes over the soundtrack. The film signs off with a
#WelcomeBack message.
One of them features two young men returning home late. As one of them is
concerned about food, the other assures him that they’ll manage, stating that
‘Midnight Cooking’ is back, referring to Maggi noodles.
At a girls hostel, some young women have
taken over the kitchen and are cooking
noodles, to the surprise of the cook. They
explain to him that ‘Hostel main phir jaan
aa gayi’ (The ‘life’ is back in the hostel),
referring to the brand’s return.
A man says ‘Miss you too baby’ to his life
partner on the phone before joining his
friends for a ‘bachelor’ celebration at
home, with Maggi, in another of the films.
The brand has also launched a
#WelcomeBackMAGGI tune.
Analysis of the Campaign: These were simple short films that welcomed Maggi
back from different people’s perspective. Emotions often defy logic, and Maggi
has that emotional connection with its consumers, which advertisers exploited in
the campaign.
Maggi’s market share in the noodle segment was around 80%. The expense on
creating a new customer is 6 times greater than the expense incurred on
sustaining an existing customer. Having 80% of the market share before the ban,

8. Maggi targeted their existing customers itself.
The opposers of Maggi were
homemakers who once
bought maggi for their
children. They were health
conscious people, which is
why they were against maggi.
Maggi very tactfully used
them as protagonists in its
films. The supporters of
Maggi are kids, juveniles and
PG and hostel walas. They
love maggi for it’s taste and
easy making tendency which make them still long for maggi. The brand featured
them in the campaigns too.
Conclusion
It is rightly said one can do anything but only if God and Time permits. Those
who fail to analyse the happenings in the surroundings become losers and those
who accommodate and adjust according to time rule the world. The controversy
started igniting last year but no officials of Nestle India paid heed to do the
necessary rectification resulting now a bad name and shame for the company.
Health is of prime concern for everyone though taste also matters. It is very
difficult to restore the faith lost because even the school going kids now say
Maggi is bad. For Nestle Company only thing, which could be said, is ‘Miles to go
before they return, Miles to go before they return....’ Repositioning their brand in
India again is the major challenge before Nestle Global for which we have to wait
and watch, but right and effective communication strategy can help them in a big
way.