— Laura Alencar, Saranya Chawla, Preeti Ganesh, Sarah Koessel, Namasya Patel
Dr. Bombay is a culturally distinct ice cream brand with an unusual identity: Bored Ape imagery, sherbet-based flavors, a personality that doesn't read like a grocery store freezer aisle.
One number that reframed the whole strategy: 38% of their customers had never bought an ice cream pint before Dr. Bombay. Most brands in a CPG category fight for share among existing category buyers. This brand was already converting people who had bypassed the category entirely. That's not a demographics finding. If your buyers weren't ice cream people before you, your real competition isn't Häagen-Dazs. It's whatever they were reaching for instead.
Identify a new target audience and build a full brand strategy to grow trial and awareness.
THE BRIEF
The team sized and profiled the target audience using MRI Simmons and Mintel: young multicultural families, specifically parents with kids 7-14, at 9M households. The data showed this segment values exploratory, convenient experiences and gravitates toward brands that feel culturally specific rather than generic.
Insert Dr. Bombay into rituals where ice cream doesn't already appear.
Brand objectives were built around that idea. Rather than competing for existing ice cream occasions, the behavioral goal was to make Dr. Bombay the brand families reach for during their own cultural moments.
THE BRAND GOAL
Full brand strategy presented to the Dr. Bombay team, covering positioning, audience definition, personas, creative brief, and omnichannel tactics.