How MTR got GenZ eating out of its hands

Time of India

13 hours ago

Gen Z, a demographic often perceived as a discerning and unpredictable audience, with a reputation for rapidly switching allegiances posed a significant challenge for the Bengaluru headquartered,
MTR
.
Gen Z was known to seeing traditional brands as relics of a bygone era. And MTR was more than a century old. For the ready-to-eat legacy brand, the answer lay not in a conventional advertising blitz, but in a comic-book inspired, pop culture embrace.
The challenge is that many legacy brands are seen as catering to a "homemaker" demographic. The challenge for Wavemaker, the agency of MTR, was to prove that authentic storytelling transcends generations.
"Whenever we are planning to target Gen Z, we don't know how," admits an agency executive, highlighting another problem. "They know everything and if they want to latch on to something, they may latch on to something and they can switch very easily."
To bridge this gap, the brand chose to associate with Gen Z through the one thing they're "latched upon"—pop culture. The brand became a key player at Delhi's Comic Con, opting for a highly unconventional approach. Instead of a traditional sales booth, the goal was to foster engagement and understanding.
"Our objective was to have an understanding and how we can engage with the audience. At the same time they should know what kind of brand offerings are there for them," the Wavemaker executive stated.
The Rise of the 'Hungry Man'
To connect with the audience, the brand created a roster of "superheroes" or mascots, each embodying a quintessential Gen Z trait. They included, The Night Owl: the late-coming queen; The Hungry Man: a perpetually hungry individual who wants immediate food; The Disaster Master: someone who thinks they can cook but can't.
These characters were more than just mascots. They were relatable archetypes designed to resonate with a young audience. A dedicated arena at Comic Con became their home, where they interacted with an estimated 60,000 attendees, primarily aged 15 to 24. The space was filled with games, quizzes, and meet-and-greets, creating a "fun-filled" and highly interactive experience.
The campaign's success was not just anecdotal. The three-day event, targeting an audience primarily aged 14 to 22, drove significant growth for the brand. Wavemaker claims that a pre-campaign digital push reached 22 million people and the event itself saw 49,000 footfalls. This effort led to a 30 per cent increase in sales for the brand in the Delhi market during that month of the campaign. What also helped is the fact that the MTR range could be ready in three minutes, for a generation that believes in instant gratification.
Quick Commerce and the Future
While the exact percentage of sales attributed directly to Gen Z is difficult to pinpoint—due to a lack of age-specific sales data—the campaign confirmed a crucial trend: the growing importance of quick commerce. In 2023, nearly 80 per cent of the brand's sales were still offline in 2023, the year 2024 saw a significant shift, with online sales potentially reaching 35 per cent. 'The brand's focus on quick, three-minute recipes perfectly aligns with the Gen Z desire for immediate, convenient food options.' the executive says.
This strategic shift isn't about abandoning the brand's legacy customers, but rather about growth. "Every brand needs growth in terms of penetration or frequency of purchase," the Wavemaker representative explained, adding, "Gen Z is the cohort that we need to target, and we have a product range which is very apt for them."
The brand's legacy, in fact, aids this new approach by giving customers confidence in the quality and safety of the product.
For now, the superheroes of Comic Con have done their job, proving that with a little creativity and a deep understanding of a new audience, even a legacy brand can be the hero of its own story. The question remains, however: will the Hungry Man and his fellow mascots continue to live on? That, it seems, is a question for the next campaign.
(This is a report of the proceedings at The Ad Club Bangalore's inaugural Neuron Nights which offered a peek behind the curtains of campaigns, narrated by the minds who crafted them.)