Maggi noodles will be back soon. I remember having it for the first time in my school where a promotional campaign was organised distributing free samples to all the students! On returning home I handed over that yellow packet to my mother and waited for a surprise. I remember having it with milk the first time as my mother thought it was some sort of food supplement!

It has been more than 16 years now since I first tasted Maggi and during all these years all of us have been experimenting with new recipes for this snack. The packet has become smaller and prices kept fluctuating between ₹5, ₹10, ₹15 and ₹25.

The passion for this two-minute snack has actually soared during all these years, as we can see little children, even infants, getting addicted to it. It’s a cute scene to see a young mother sharing the noodles with the infant in her arms! What more, the passion is not limited to youths; it’s the same among older generations.

In fact, Maggi has become a staple of the Indian kitchen and one of the most preferred substitutes for a full-course meal! Not in a mood to cook? Have Maggi. “Want a change in taste”, “just two minutes” and many more uninteresting excuses exist to eat Maggi. When it had earned a permanent seat in the family there was this sudden ban that left everyone surprised.

As I pause for a second I analysed that for the past 10 minutes I have been doing nothing but recalling Maggi and its lovely memories! All the above statements encompass the feelings of the innumerable fans of this magical snack. Certainly, over the years Maggi has nurtured this emotional bond with the Indian consumers.

And it is these emotions that can help Maggi recover its lost brand equity once again by recalling Maggi to the minds of its consumers.

The recall advantage Technically speaking recall is the second objective of advertising and now when the ban is being lifted, Nestle needs to pursue this given the fact that there are many similar players to take advantage. The company can achieve this by utilising the free publicity it had gained from media!

Keeping Maggi alive The word ‘recall’ that was extensively used by the media, indicating withdrawal of the product from the market, has unknowingly helped the drowning brand live on in our hearts through negative publicity.

Revival In the past one year there has been news about the falling market share of Maggi from 90 per cent to 70 per cent. Maggi, the lead actor, it seems, was losing to the newcomers. Before it is too late, Maggi Noodles has started working on its strategy to make the customers recall their favourite two-minute treat. The entire episode can be seen as a positive reinforcement strategy that will help Maggi pull back its lost customers who went on to try other brands such as Yippee, Knorr and Wai Wai. This Maggi affair can surely help Nestle in reintroducing the brand with a stronger advertising appeal, this time an emotional one to connect and bond with their innumerable fans. And this has already begun. Certainly this will not come for free. Nestle will have to work on increasing the nutritional value of the product and developing a rational campaign as well to overcome the doubts about health concerns. A mix of logic, emotions and relationship will definitely make an effective advertisement.

The hue and cry over Maggi noodles can actually do the company some good. The company has benefited from the attention. The product that was losing its importance has received overwhelming attention from its customers. The frequent coverage about people’s emotions, their craving for the noodles, their concerns, and such may become a boon in disguise.

It’s time that the company turns around its advertising strategy and builds on these past incidents. Though Maggi has suffered badly in terms of market share and brand image, it still can make a powerful comeback with a creative marketing plan.

Payal Johari is a management consultant and Assistant Professor at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management & Technology, Bareilly

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