Joy Personal Care is continuing its fourth consecutive year of partnership with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and with that it is also aiming to promote inclusivity. This year, the brand is also launching a musical lyrical video featuring its players Manish Pandey, Venkatesh Iyer, and Harshit Rana, aiming to challenge outdated norms around men’s skincare. The campaign encourages men to embrace self-care confidently.
In a strategic move to enhance its presence during the Indian Premier League (IPL), Joy Personal Care has entered into a partnership with JioStar’s Brand Spotlight initiative. This collaboration facilitates brand visibility during the IPL’s inaugural match on Star Sports and includes a dedicated Brand Spotlight segment on JioHotstar. The segment features behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews, and immersive brand storytelling.
In an interview with Marketing Mind, Poulomi Roy, Chief Marketing Officer, Joy Personal Care (RSH Global), shared that the results after partnering with KKR have been promising. Initially, during the COVID phase, the brand didn’t receive the full mileage from the association as it entered at a time when fewer brands were participating. That strategic timing helped Joy Personal Care build a strong foundation.
“Over the years, especially post-COVID, we’ve seen significant growth—both in reach and business performance. IPL is a massive media vehicle, and associating with KKR, particularly in a region where our headquarters are also based, has helped us build a closer connection with our audience. The fan engagement and emotional association are invaluable,” she said.
As per the brand, it has seen a noticeable uptick in consumer interest during IPL seasons, particularly in its face wash category. Roy mentioned that the brand has started to see measurable business benefits, especially since it began leveraging the platform in a structured way from its third year of involvement.
She also added that the brand always ensures its distribution is in place so it could ride on the visibility the IPL offers. Beyond digital and TV visibility, Joy has also taken the IPL to the ground, using the association in trade marketing initiatives. “We’ve engaged dealers and distributors through on-ground activities and watch parties, fostering stronger relationships,” Roy said.
As per Roy, women make up a significant 42% of IPL’s massive 326 million TV audience, to which the brand has intentionally crafted campaigns to resonate with this demographic. “This year, we launched a fresh campaign for our face wash category featuring Shah Rukh Khan. It was light-hearted, memorable, and built around his iconic dialogues, designed to create strong top-of-mind recall,” she stated.
With cricket today being more of a social phenomenon than just a sport, it makes a right platform to reach both men and women effectively. Roy also pointed to the timing of the IPL as a strategic advantage. “IPL coincides with peak summer, making it an ideal time to promote face wash. The property has excellent viewer stickiness—about 18 minutes on average,” she said.
Joy Personal Care is also committed to regional and hyper-local marketing, especially in West Bengal. “We deeply localise both messaging and media planning,” Roy emphasised. “In Bengal, for instance, we have a dedicated Instagram page featuring micro-influencers and content reflecting West Bengal’s pop culture—not just generic festive posts.”
The brand’s ambassador in Bengal, popular actress Mimi Chakraborty, is central to building local resonance. Offline, the company also taps into cultural moments through community-driven events. “We conduct hyper-local events—like small-town cultural gatherings and artist interactions—to engage with semi-urban and rural consumers,” Roy shared.
“In Maharashtra, beyond Mumbai, we partner with regional channels and non-fiction content to connect with audiences,” she added.
This dual focus on national reach and local relevance has informed Joy’s long-term association strategy with properties like the IPL and the Bengal Filmfare Awards. Roy stressed that sustained engagement is more valuable than quick wins.
“Consistency is key. We’re not chasing short-term wins. Before entering any association, we commit to it for at least 2–3 years and build metrics around awareness, consideration, and distribution,” she said.
Joy Personal Care has set its sights on entering the Rs 1,000 crore revenue club by March 2026, as per Roy. She detailed the metrics used to gauge the success of the IPL campaign. “Our key IPL KPIs are awareness and reach. For example, after the 22nd IPL match this year, we saw a 48% lift in search volume on Google for our brand,” she said.
Joy uses a combination of quantitative tools and agency-driven evaluations to measure the campaign’s impact across key marketing funnel stages. “We track awareness, consideration, and recall,” Roy explained. “Our focus is not just on cricket viewers but on mass awareness. IPL is ideal for generating top-of-mind recall—especially for face wash, our lead category during summer.”
The IPL visibility is just one part of a broader strategy aimed at building scale across categories and geographies. With a revenue target of Rs 1,000 crore by 2026, Joy’s growth blueprint is focused on data-driven planning and execution.
Roy remarked that this target is not just a sales-driven number. It is broken down by geography, product category, and infrastructure. By analysing regional performance—be it in the north, west, or east—the company tailors its marketing and distribution strategies to specific markets.
“We identify our primary and secondary KPIs, determine which geographies and products will contribute what share, and then execute marketing efforts accordingly,” Roy said. “Everything is aligned—from trade relationships to consumer marketing—to ensure consistent, sustainable growth.”
The emphasis isn’t just on acquiring new customers but on converting awareness into trial and loyalty. “Our ultimate aim is to increase the number of households that are aware of and consider Joy. Our growth has come from both volume and value—which means not just more revenue per customer, but also more customers,” Roy added.
