Sometimes brands don't realise the language has changed until they notice a disconnect: Skore’s Vishal Vyas

Conversations that often begin in a whisper or behind closed doors present a unique challenge for brands operating in the sexual wellness space. It's a market less traveled by overt campaigns and more by navigating cultural currents and individual reticence. Yet, into this historically hushed arena, stepped Skore, a brand that quickly found its voice amidst a chorus of established players.

But the story behind Skore's trajectory, from a newcomer on a crowded playing field to becoming a significant player, holds more layers than immediately visible. It’s interwoven with the surprising, less-celebrated history of its parent company, TTK Healthcare, a quiet pioneer that was, in fact, instrumental in introducing condoms to India decades ago.

Guiding Skore's narrative through this complex landscape, marked by shifting consumer attitudes, regulatory tightropes, and the digital revolution, is Vishal Vyas, CMO, CPD at TTK Healthcare. In this interview, Vyas peels back the curtain on Skore's journey—its initial positioning strategy that dared to be different, the early hurdles faced in building trust in a taboo category, and the strategic pivot towards a broader definition of sexual wellness that goes beyond traditional boundaries. He delves into the evolving relationship with its youthful audience, the delicate balance between edgy communication and cultural sensitivity, and how the boom in digital channels, particularly D2C and quick commerce, is reshaping not just marketing but product development itself. It's a look into how a brand finds its place and drives conversations in a category historically defined by silence.

Edited excerpts: 

Skore entered a category long dominated by legacy players, yet it managed to carve a bold and distinct identity. What was the initial brand positioning strategy, and how has that evolved with changing consumer attitudes over the years?

TTK, as a company, is not very widely known, but we were actually the first importer of condoms in India. Back in the day, Durex was called "Durapak," and it was imported by TTK Healthcare. So, in a way, we pioneered this category in India.

Later, TTK established the first condom manufacturing facility in India. We were the first to start domestic production. So, there are several "firsts" to our name in this category.

In the 1970s, we also managed a brand called Kohinoor, giving us extensive experience in the condom space. Then, around 2012, when a joint venture we were part of ended and the associated brands went to the other partner, we decided to launch our own brand—Skore.

At that point, we had deep knowledge of the category and market but no brand of our own. That’s how Skore was born.

Since then, Skore has grown and is now the third-largest brand in the category. From the beginning, Skore’s positioning has been about "winning the game of love," and our tagline is "There's a lot to be won." Over time, while the articulation has evolved, the core essence remains: in the game of love, both partners win.

In a traditionally taboo category, visibility and acceptance are major challenges. What were some of the early hurdles Skore faced in building brand trust and how did the marketing team overcome them?

One advantage we had was our prior experience in the category, so we knew what challenges to expect.

The biggest hurdle initially was consumer assertiveness. Buying condoms often involved embarrassment and shyness, especially 10 years ago. Even if marketing efforts convinced a consumer to choose Skore, when they went to the pharmacy, they often hesitated to ask for it by name, leaving the decision to the retailer. That limited the effectiveness of our marketing.

Over time, consumers have become more assertive—not just in this category but in general—but back then, it was a real challenge.

Another hurdle was media restrictions. Regulations limited when and where we could advertise, often relegating us to late-night slots like 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. This made it tough for a new brand like Skore to build visibility against established players.

Despite these hurdles, we were prepared to fight through and build the brand.

In recent years, we’ve seen Skore venture beyond condoms into a broader lifestyle space with products like lubricants and massagers. What’s the strategic thinking behind this portfolio expansion, and how does it tie back to the core brand narrative?

From the start, we never envisioned Skore as only a condom brand. The idea was to offer tools to "win the game of love." Condoms were just the beginning.

In 2019, we launched vibrating rings called Skore Buzz—the first of their kind in India with remote control features. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit soon after, limiting promotion, but for all practical purposes, we were pioneers in that segment.

All these products align with our philosophy: creating a win-win experience for both partners.

The youth demographic is clearly a primary audience for Skore, and digital media has played a key role in reaching them. How do you balance edgy, engaging content with the regulatory and cultural sensitivities of the Indian market?

Targeting youth is exciting but challenging. Youth today are far more open and accepting about discussions around sexual wellness.

However, they evolve rapidly, and even brands like us have to constantly keep pace to stay relevant. When we launched, our communication was more male-centric. But over time, we realised that winning the game of love involves both partners equally.

Digital media has been a big enabler in reaching youth, but we’re very conscious about maintaining a balance between edgy content and regulatory compliance. We still have a lot to learn and improve, but we're very conscious of these challenges and are working on them actively.

How has Skore's definition and understanding of its target audience changed over the years? How do you segment this audience, and how does this understanding translate into specific choices regarding messaging, channel selection (digital vs. traditional), and overall campaign tonality?

Targeting youth makes it essential to stay contemporary. If you slow down even a little, you risk becoming irrelevant.

Initially, IPL was a major media vehicle for us. Now, digital—Meta (Facebook, Instagram), and other online platforms—dominate. We've significantly increased our digital spend compared to TV.

Creatively, while the core brand message remains the same, we’ve had to evolve the language and tonality to keep up with how youth communicate today. It’s easier said than done—sometimes brands don't realise the language has changed until they notice a disconnect. We are consciously working on this.

Some of Skore’s campaigns—like those around consent, communication, and modern intimacy—have stood out for their progressive tone. Can you walk us through the conceptualisation of one such campaign that particularly resonated with you or your team?

I’ve been with Skore since 2012, right from zero sales. All our campaigns are close to my heart—some succeeded, some didn’t.

The recent "Won Love" campaign stands out. It introduces pleasure products like vibrators and toys, which is a bold step in India.

Communicating about such products to a modern, evolving youth audience while staying true to our core—winning in love together—was challenging but rewarding. The campaign resonated strongly with both our team and consumers.

The sexual wellness category in India has traditionally faced stigma—but that seems to be slowly changing. From your perspective, what are the key cultural or behavioural shifts you're observing in urban and semi-urban consumers?

Historically, India has been quite open—after all, it’s the land of the Kama Sutra! However, over time, cultural sensitivities developed.

Today, sexual wellness is increasingly seen as an essential part of overall well-being. Consumers, especially the youth, are more aware and accepting.

A major shift occurred after the pandemic. Before 2020, we struggled with distribution and communication. Post-pandemic, digital media exploded, allowing private, direct communication with consumers.

E-commerce and quick-commerce channels also boomed. Today, Q-commerce is our largest channel for products like massagers and lubricants.

There was always a latent need—what was missing was access and information. The digital revolution fixed that, speeding up the category’s acceptance dramatically in just a few years.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) and e-commerce channels are revolutionising how personal care products are bought and marketed. How is Skore leveraging digital commerce platforms, and how do insights from these platforms inform product innovation or campaign messaging?

After 2021, we launched our own D2C platform, LoveDepot.com. It's about three years old and still in its initial stages. Apart from Score and one more in-house brand, Mischief, which focuses on sexual wellness for women, we also have other intellectual brands available. Consumers can buy products directly from our platform.

This direct-to-consumer model has helped us better understand consumer behaviour—what products are preferred, usage patterns, etc.—because we're directly interacting with consumers. In traditional e-commerce, there’s usually a channel partner who holds the data, and while they share insights, it’s indirect. Through LoveDepot.com, we get firsthand consumer information, which has been instrumental in shaping our current product range.

For example, when launching our accessories range, we identified that T-Cloakers and vibrating massagers were among the top-selling categories. It helped us understand product preferences, pricing expectations, and overall consumer demand patterns.

Today, we have brands like Skore, B Vibe, and MsChief, and LoveDepot serves as our D2C platform. All these work in synergy, and we’ve seen good momentum across the board.

In addition, Q-commerce platforms have exploded. They don't stock the full range because of storage constraints, but they carry select products that perform well, and we are doing quite well there too.

Selling directly via LoveDepot gives us comprehensive consumer insights, which help us stay competitive.

Skore’s social media, specifically Instagram, features a mix of bold carousels, vibrant imagery, and a vivid colour palette. It taps into banter around sex and pop culture references—from topical posts to ingenious wordplay. Could you shed light on the thought process behind your social media strategy?   

I have a fantastic team that handles this, and I trust them fully. They have their own philosophy when it comes to social media.

That said, I believe social media is where a brand truly speaks to people. It's about interaction and engagement without any pretence. I keep a close eye on the communication, tonality, and the overall look and feel to ensure that the brand personality comes alive authentically.

We focus on moment marketing as well—capturing topical events that fit with our brand ethos. Influencer marketing also plays a crucial role, especially in our category. Recent studies have shown that influencers not only drive engagement but also help with conversions, especially in performance marketing. For us, influencers are like micro-brand ambassadors, helping consumers relate to and trust the brand.

As consumer attention spans shrink and content ecosystems grow more cluttered, brands need to be both memorable and meaningful. What do you see as the next big frontier for brand storytelling in a space like yours?

It's definitely becoming more challenging. Earlier, you could reach consumers via TV or YouTube ads, but now many users are on subscription-based platforms with no ads. The dynamic has shifted: instead of brands reaching consumers, consumers now choose the content they engage with.

This makes content strategy critical. Brands must create content that consumers want to seek out. For example, there's a razor brand with a podcast—it's not about razors but about creating engaging content that builds brand affinity.

We’re thinking along similar lines—not necessarily podcasts, but creating meaningful content that invites consumers to discover and connect with us. Content-driven consumer engagement will be the next big challenge and opportunity.

Looking ahead to the next 5 years—with Gen Z coming of age and sexuality becoming a more open conversation in pockets of India—How do you envision Skore’s role evolving in this changing socio-cultural landscape?

Yes, things are changing. Consumers are changing, but the fundamental human need for love and pleasure remains. Our role will be to keep innovating and launching new products to enhance and enable this need.

We see our brands and the ecosystem we're building as key players in supporting consumers as the market matures. As more consumers open up to conversations around sexuality and personal wellness, we aim to be a strong, trusted name in this space.

Finally, as a marketer, how do you think the role of a CMO has changed from when you started your career to now?

When I started, I was a brand manager. Back then, marketing leadership often meant doing things yourself because you believed you could do them best.

But as you grow, you realise leadership is about enabling others to succeed. Your team may not always do things exactly as you would, but they may do it even better. That transition—from being a doer to being a strategic enabler—is crucial.

Today, my role as a CMO is to provide direction, strategy, and ensure brand consistency. The actual execution lies with the team. You have to step back and trust them.

Marketing itself has changed dramatically. Consumers are evolving so fast that no one can claim to have mastered marketing. Every day is a learning experience. Sometimes, even the most junior person on the team might teach you something new.

In marketing, humility, adaptability, and continuous learning are essential. Success in one campaign doesn't guarantee success in the next. You must stay on your toes, keep learning, and stay open to change.

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