‘Mr Murthy’ does it again for voltas
By Simran Sabherwal The travails of ‘Mr Murthy’ in the Voltas ad do not just strike a chord with consumers, but have also helped the company garner leadership position in the competitive air-conditioner category. Deba Ghoshal, Head of Marketing & Key Accounts, Voltas UPBG, tells us that its consumer-centric approach and Indian roots is what makes the brand cooler than the rest Q] What is the thought process behind your latest marketing campaign? In its third season, the ‘All Weather’ positioning has been refined and re-energized. In 2012, the campaign educated consumers what a Voltas ‘All Weather’ AC can do. Voltas was seen as the ‘Climate Control’ expert with the strategy being to deseasonalize the brand. Last year, the ‘All Weather’ range was enhanced to deliver different benefits in markets with different weather conditions. This year, our objective is to make the ‘All Weather’ proposition sharper and our research revealed that consumers are concerned about ‘different kinds of heat’ – dry, sultry, dusty, specific to their area - and cannot be addressed with just ‘temperature control’. The campaign focuses on providing these solutions. The winter leg will also kick off later in the year. Q] You have stuck with the honest ‘Mr Murthy’ in your campaigns. Do you plan to stick with the aam aadmi as against taking the celeb route? In the first year, we seeded the concept of ‘All Weather’ and showed ‘Mr Murthy’ with his virtual boss, to communicate the message in an honest, simple manner with a hint of humour. The following year, we introduced ‘Mrs Murthy’ and showed situations at home. This year, we’ve changed the tonality by focusing on aspirations. ‘Mr Murthy’, who proved to be smarter than his boss in the past, has been promoted and become a ‘sahib’ but retains his honesty. The Murthys have been transferred again. This time the challenge is at home – a battle of wits with his demanding & unpredictable father-in-law visiting them in the peak of summer. The chemistry between the three is very consumer-centric and the target audience can relate to this. The feedback from trade, channel partners, buyers and end users has been – don’t let go of ‘Mr Murthy’. He reflects the basic values of Brand Voltas - honest, intelligent, trustworthy, grounded and with an ability to make things work even in extreme situations. Hence, we don’t see the need for a celebrity brand endorser at this stage. Q] Your advertising has played a key role in capturing market-share. How much of your success would you attribute to your creative agency? In the last two years, Voltas recorded the highest market-share in the AC category due to many factors - our product range, revamped distribution network with the highest reach in the category, increasing conversion and extraction from our point of sale, a distinct brand positioning and a clutter-breaking campaign. In 2012, we won the Effie Gold award in Consumer Durable category, followed by the WARC Gold award in 2013, and also the Tata Group Communications Award in 2013. The genesis of ‘Mr Murthy’ can be credited to our creative agency, Soho Square. Even our production house, Soda Films, has played a key role in making this campaign memorable and rewarding. Q] What are the challenges in establishing your key proposition in the AC category, where there is no clear differentiator? At the category level, he challenges are multiple – global brands offering products at competitive prices, fragmented market, multiple consumer touch-points, feature loaded communication, slow product innovation, less control on last mile connectivity with the consumer and a largely male-skewed decision-maker. With the changing consumer landscape, the focus is, ‘What is new that Voltas can do for the consumer?’ When MNCs entered the fray and the pitch was international, Voltas differentiated itself as an ‘India-centric’ brand through ‘India Ka Dil, Indian Ka AC’ campaign. We then used the hook of ‘energy efficiency’ in 2007- 08 with the proposition, ‘Save Karo India’, highlighting the premium offering of star-rated air-conditioners and low cost of operations and were the first to introduce the concept of Energy Efficiency in ACs. In 2010-11, when ‘energy-efficiency’ labelling was made mandatory, Voltas took its position higher, with the platform of ‘Sensible Cooling’. When brands positioned themselves on specific product features, Voltas adopted a leadership stance based on ‘responsible usage’ in the AC category. Consumer insights told us that consumers want more than cooling from ACs, hence the concept of ‘All Weather ACs’ was introduced in 2012. It emphasized the proposition of ‘comfort, all year round’, in a unique, memorable and clutter-breaking way with the promise ‘Whatever the weather outside, you stay comfortable inside’. In 2013, we were rated as the brand with the highest brand equity, top of mind awareness, and unaided recall in the AC category. Q] With the onslaught of competition how has Voltas managed to maintain its leadership position? The primary drivers of growth have been: > Revamped distribution, based on a Retail Aggregation Model, with a network of over 9,700 touch-points, across India and the highest reach in the category. > An augmented model mix, suitable for consumers varied preferences, in terms of new technology, features, aesthetics and price points. > Consumer-centric brand positioning and the trust factor of being a Tata brand. > Highly responsive service network > A strong and involved leadership team, with a focus on AC category. Erratic weather, power-cuts, de-growth in the consumer durable space and slowing economy are the main challenges within the category. However, even in a stagnant market, Voltas has grown in market-share, top line and brand equity. Q] What are the key pointers you keep in mind while deciding your media mix? In the consumer durable space, especially in ACs, the main decision-maker is the chief wage earner while the housewife is a strong influencer. The TG being adults, slightly male-skewed, 35+, we have to spread the stimuli effectively in the market, to generate the right response. A 360-degree media mix is used to effectively spread the message. While we use Television to build upon the core brand message, Print, especially newspapers, are used for tactical offers, and to drive sales. Radio & OOH are used to further amplify the brand message, at a local level. For the younger audience, 25+, we have started various digital initiatives, both in the owned and paid space. All this is supported by on-ground activations, in-shop branding, in-shop demonstrators and state of the art on product branding for visual appeal and engagement. The most critical phase in the buying process of an AC is the conversion on the shop floor. Hence we emphasize our investment towards In-Shop-Demonstrators (known as ISDs) and deploy maximum ISDs during peak summers and the festive season. Q] There was a significant increase in your marketing spends last fiscal. Will this continue? As per industry standards, the consumer durable space is high on media spends, and the AC category ranks second, after flat panel television. Many brands operating in the white goods space with multiple products have the advantage of a brand halo around them. To compete in this challenging environment, our marketing spends form around 3% of our turnover. In 2013, we had the second largest share of expense within the AC category but the highest share of voice due to our efficiencies. The household penetration of ACs is only 3.8% in India and our brand-building exercise is not compromised, even when consumers are cautious. Q] What is your current turnover and have you planned any special initiatives this summer to drive sales? Our turnover for the fiscal FY13 was Rs. 1,833 cr for the Unitary Products business and Rs 5,565 cr for Voltas as a whole. We have maintained a healthy CAGR over the past six years, and we will continue to do so. With summer setting in late, especially in North India, we’ve devised offers to help consumers make a quick decision. With the recent price rise, the AC category has become the highest in terms of ASPs (average selling prices). To reduce these barriers for first time buyers we have initiated various consumer finance schemes through NBFCs and credit cards. To increase traffic from existing users of ACs, we’ve devised exchange offers which induce preference for the brand on the shop floor. CMO FILE Deba Ghoshal, Head of Marketing & Key Accounts, Voltas UPBG, has more than two decades of cross functional and multicultural experience in marketing, sales and product management, across diverse product categories, ranging from consumer durables to automobiles. He began his career in sales & distribution before moving to marketing and product management. Ghoshal has also worked at Shriram Honda, LG Electronics, Honda and Hero Group. He holds a Masters degree in Business from IMI, Delhi. MARKETING TIP Leverage the last mile connectivity. Experiences at the POS are more powerful than any research; respect your trade partners’ feedback ABOUT THE BRAND Voltas Ltd., part of the Tata Group, is an engineering solutions provider and project specialist. Founded in India in 1954, Voltas offers engineering solutions for a wide spectrum of industries in areas such as material handling equipment, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, refrigeration, electro-mechanical projects, textile machinery, mining and construction equipment, water management & treatment, cold chain solutions, building management systems, and indoor air quality. FACTS CREATIVE AGENCY: SOHO SQUARE ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COMMUNICATION PVT LTD MEDIA AGENCY: HAVAS MEDIA INDIA SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY: HAVAS MEDIA INDIA BTL/ACTIVATION AGENCY: MUDRA MAX, POSTERSCOPE PR AGENCY: REDIFFUSION EDELMAN Feedback: simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com
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