Digital to lead festive advertising for consumer durable firms

An integrated approach to advertising with a clear focus on digital and social media has been identified as the go to strategy for these brands as they look to leverage festive demand to help recover from losses incurred during the first half of the year.

"Every year digital takes up huge ad spends from consumer durable category. I expect 25% jump in festive spends on digital which stood at ₹5, 000 crore last year. Out of this, at least 40% will come from consumer durables category," said Shradha Agarwal, co-founder and COO at digital media agency Grapes Digital.

Agrawal said that the focus will be on ads that drive people to ecommerce platforms such as Amazon or Flipkart as well as brand's own ecommerce site as customers avoid venturing out due to safety concerns. This is in line with the industry forecast by consulting firm Boston Consulting Group in collaboration with search giant Google India which stated that by 2023, $10.4 billion or 28% of sales for durables will be online.

Noting that digital has emerged as the most important consumer touchpoint when it comes to consumer durables, Shirish Agarwal, head of marketing and brand, Panasonic India said that consumers are researching online and then making purchase decisions, therefore our investments are led by performance marketing.

"Marketing mix for consumer durables firms will change with digital taking the lead as it has become the most important touch point for the category. Social media, influencer marketing, content marketing which drives usage of products will be our focus. Currently, online contributes to 40% of our overall sales and we expect this to go up," he said at a recently held Mint webinar 'CMO Dialogues'.

Brands are also actively investing in developing digital content and do‐it‐yourself (DIY) videos and social media posts often featuring influencers to create awareness about new products. This could be dishwashers and low penetrated products such as microwave.

Tahir Hakeem, head, brand and retail marketing, LG Electronics India said that digital will be a key awareness generating platform where we talk about usage, features and utility of products.

"Microwave and dishwasher penetration will go up as consumers better understand its benefits. We will take an integrated approach heavy on digital media to create awareness about products. Television and print will further aid in creating demand. Ad spends will be higher than last year as we have launched new products which needs to be promoted," he added.

The local arm of Korean electronics company, which launched its online store in August, is expecting business to be up 30% this festive season compared to a year ago period, said Hakeem.

For Havells India, digital marketing will help spur demand in the non-metros of the country. Amit Tiwari, vice‐president, marketing, Havells India said that this festival would be a digital festival both from consumer and marketing perspective.

"Most product categories will see a big spike in the festive season. However, customers will look for affordability and value in each purchase. Therefore, targeted performance marketing will work best to reach out to customers especially in the non-metro markets," he added.

Deba Ghoshal, vice‐president, marketing and key accounts, Voltas said that their festive promotion strategy will be based on a combination of search marketing and activation.

"We have observed consumer researching online and in store activation will work well in the festive season. It will be supported by campaigns across television purely for the new category we have launched," he noted.