Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Apr 20, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Apr 20, 2002 |
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Marketing
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Advertising AC majors hike ad budgets this summer Neha Kaushik
NEW DELHI, April 19 KEEPING in view the growing popularity of air-conditioners, major consumer durable companies have pushed up their advertising budgets for the category this year in a bid to increase sales. According to industry estimates, there has been an approximate 60-70 per cent jump in advertising for air-conditioners over last year. Some companies have gone as far as to increase ad budgets for the category by over 100 per cent. The Rs 1,000-crore Voltas Ltd, for instance has more than doubled its advertising spend on air conditioners from Rs 8 crore last year to Rs 20 crore, thus making it the highest spender in the category. The company is aggressively promoting its new range of air-conditioners through almost all media. Daikin Shriram Airconditioning Pvt Ltd, an 80:20 joint venture between the Japanese Daikin Industries and Shriram group company, Siel Ltd, too has increased its expenditure from about Rs 4.5 crore last year to Rs 7 crore. Meanwhile, Blue Star is stepping up its focus on the retail segment and has increased its advertising expenditure to about Rs 10 crore. Consumer durables major, Videocon, is also stepping up its advertising expenditure for air conditioners this year. Says Mr Nipun Gupta, Chief Operating Officer - Air Conditioners, Videocon, "We are proposing to spend approximately Rs 4 crore this year. We will also launch three new TV commercials this year unlike last year during which we did not come out with any TV commercials." Meanwhile, both the Korean companies — LG and Samsung — are also spending heavily on the category. Says a market analyst, "As the category is expected to do well this year, companies are going all out to grab customers' attention. Also, competition in the category is increasing rapidly. Currently, there are about 15 major players competing to grab a share of the air conditioner market."
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