In a market where brand loyalty lasts no longer than the fleeting light of a glowworm, Smytten’s campaign #TryItAll attempts to appeal to Gen Z’s incessant desire for more and varied options. The direct-to-consumer platform player released an ad campaign comprising three films on the occasion of its ninth anniversary to connect with the Gen Z audience.
For Smytten, a brand that has invested nine years in enabling the Indian consumer to deal with a complex web of options, the objective for the campaign was clear-cut: how does it bond with a generation that is accustomed to ceaseless scrolling and convey that it is absolutely acceptable to have abundant choices?
This is where its concept of trial packs come in—where consumers can try product samples before deciding to buy. Smytten allows online shoppers to try up to six products for free while paying only for servicing and shipping. Shoppers can select products from more than 800 brands across categories including makeup, skincare, fragrances, grooming, bath and body, baby care, food and beverages, and smart technology.
Its latest ad campaign #TryItAll aims to endorses Gen Z’s natural urge to sample it all before selecting anything.
Swagat Sarangi, Smytten’s co-founder and director explained to Campaign, “The idea was to assure the consumers that they have the right to try before buying and experience products in a way that adds joy to their product discovery journeys.”
The campaign recognises that for the Gen Z audience, the product selection process is as critical as buying. It is, therefore, not only about finding the perfect product but also about the innate desire to explore better options.
Touching the core
The core problem that the company wanted to address was the trust deficit among Indian consumers, which persists despite the pervasive adoption of digital. Buyers are often unsure about the accuracy of product information on online marketplaces.
Given this reality, it is critical for D2C brands to establish trust and credibility with customers today. After all, clear and consistent information not only minimises potential errors but also boosts customer satisfaction and helps lower return rates by aligning expectations with reality.
A KYC of sorts
Working with the agency, Digital Refresh Networks (DRN), Smytten created a set of three ad films capturing the deep emotions and experiences of the Gen Z audience when it comes to product exploration.
Explaining the adverts creation process, Barin Mukherjee, CEO and founder, Digital Refresh Networks (DRN), Smytten’s agency for this project, informed Campaign that the concepts in the original brief centred on educating the audience about ‘trying’ with Smytten, so the creative team decided to emphasise on the platform’s relatability in this context. “We wanted to create a space where every choice is available to explore and try,” Mukherjee noted.
The agency researched the behaviour of Gen Z consumers, understanding how they think, act, and approach choices. One key research insight was that this generation loved options and unapologetically asked for more.
Onboarding the well-known and young actors Apoorva Arora, Taaruk Raina, and Kritika Bhardwaj as protagonists in these films was how the brand sought to add credibility to its campaign narrative. For instance, Taaruk Raina, recently seen in the ‘Mismatched’ TV series, represents ambition and disappointment, the themes that are central to the #TryItAll campaign.
“The consumer feedback we gathered through several years of digital presence points to a gap between consumers’ expectations and delivery. It also drew our attention to the need for education,” said Sarangi.
The films, therefore, focus on this gap between expectations and reality, which, for shoppers, often leads to a feeling of shock.
“Our research revealed that Gen Zs generally aren’t worried about being judged,” DRN’s Mukherjee shared. “More choices equals more experience for them.” This understanding directly impacted the campaign narrative of challenging the traditional shopping assumptions while validating ‘choice’ as a buyer’s fundamental right.
For instance, in one of the films, when a shopkeeper requests a walk-in shopper not to try any product but just buy ‘kuchh bhi’ (anything), the shopper—a role played by Apoorva Arora—is alarmed. In her Instagram reel, she writes,
“The shock is real! Imagine living in the 21st century and still not being able to #TryItAll! �� I mean, come on—it’s 2024, and ‘Kuch Bhi’ se ab kaam nahi chalta!” (Just buy anything’ will not work today.)
Reflecting on the campaign’s creative approach, Mukherjee explained that the dramatisation of the concept of limited options was deliberate. Drawing inspiration from Ekta Kapoor’s popular TV series, the agency tried to create a climactic moment that could resonate with the Gen Z audience, turning the routine buying experience into a consumer empowerment narrative.
The bigger picture
The film trilogy should also be viewed in light of a larger, ongoing physical retail expansion programme undertaken by Smytten. The company currently has its presence in Ahmedabad, Ghaziabad, and Indore. In the next 12 months, it will establish its retail presence in 50 Indian cities, with a special emphasis on tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
Each new retail outlet will have an area of 1,500-2,000 sq ft. Smytten will open these outlets primarily in popular malls in every town and also explore prime locations within those towns as it expands its physical retail-footprint further. The company has earmarked a budget of about $2 million toward this expansion to get closer to the Indian consumer.
The funds will utilised in identification, acquisition, and setting up of retail counters, manning them, and providing them with adequate logistical and marketing support. This ambitious expansion plan emanates from the company’s track record of strong performance. Smytten hit INR 100 crores revenue milestone two years ago. Commenting on profits, Sarangi said, “We are highly profitable at the unit economics level and are on track to become profitable at the company level by the end of this financial year.”
The brand has taken the digital route to promote this campaign and woo its young target consumers in India. The film trilogy is being promoted through social platforms like YouTube and Instagram, various OTT platforms, and CTV.
Has Smytten successfully solved the consumer expectation puzzle with its campaign? The jury is still out. However, the brand has tried to include all the content ingredients right—messaging, packaging, and digital-first approach.
Demonstrating a year-on-year growth of 30 to 35 percent for the past few years, and given the brand’s upcoming expansion plans, the ad campaign trilogy may just be the catalyst for Smytten’s growth and profitability in the next 12 months.
.jpg&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
