How Whirlpool taps consumers

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The consumer durable sector has been undergoing a tough phase in the last couple of years, and consequently sales of airconditioners and washing machines have not gone up. But though the sentiments have been low, Whirlpool India is targeting leadership in entry level single door refrigerators by March 2015, backed by marketing spends amounting to Rs 75 crore. But how is the brand reaching out with its message in various parts of the country? Kanika Mehrotra spoke to Shantanu Dasgupta, Vice President (Corporate Affairs and Strategy) South Asia, Whirlpool India to find out about its strategy for North India, an important region for the brand

Q] How important is North India as a market for Whirlpool?

North India is an important market for Whirlpool as the weather creates a huge demand for cooling products like air-conditioners and refrigerators. About 32% of Whirlpool’s sales come from this part of the country. This market also has the power to purchase consumer durables. Punjab, especially, has robust purchasing power. Uttar Pradesh is critical because of its sheer size and a well spread out consumer base. Our market-share for refrigerators and washing machines is the second largest for the Northern belt. From 17% market-share we aim to reach 20%.

Q] What is your marketing strategy for consumers in states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh?

Our campaigns are launched on all media , with the campaign idea and execution remaining the same across the country. The language used differs according to the region. What is also different is the weightage given to various media for different products in different regions. The use of the medium depends on the product as well. For Whirlpool, the domestic market is very important as we get 90% of the business from India.

Q] What are the media channels you use for marketing your products?

Whirlpool uses a multi-media approach - TV, Print, Magazine, Cinema, Outdoor, Digital, OOH, etc. The approximate medium wise split of the ad budget is: TV – 50%, Print – 22%, Magazines – 3%, Cinema – 10%, Outdoor & OOH – 12% and Digital – 4%. Two major changes that have taken place in our media planning in the last couple of years are firstly, we have started investing and advertising more in the digital space and secondly, magazines have gained significance as a medium for us. Earlier, we had not focused on magazines because we did not have as many high-end products. Hence, we focused more on mass advertising channels. With the launch of high-end products, magazines have grown in relevance for us. The readers of premium magazines are our target audience for high-end products. Whirlpool has advertised premium frost free refrigerators such as Neo I-Chill and Proton Wold Series, high-end washing machines like 360 Bloomwash and built- in kitchen appliances in magazines.

Q] Why is Print important as a medium of advertising for Whirlpool?

Print is used by us to signal the launch of a new product. In Print, we go in for three to four insertions when we have to announce a product launch. The vernacular medium is important when we have to reach a specific target audience in any belt of the country. If we want to reach people in North India then we use vernacular print media. Regional channels in the North don’t have a large viewership like regional channels in the South. Use of National channels for regional targeting is not a very good option so one of the most effective mediums that we use is vernacular Print. In Bengal, we use Ananda Bazaar Patrika. In the North, during the festive season, we reach out to consumers in the Hindi belt through newspapers like Hindustan, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. Approximately 20-25% of our annual advertising budget is allocated for supporting the brand during the festive season, from Onam to Diwali. Of the total annual budget, around 8-10% is set aside for festive advertising in North India. The festive campaigns are offer-led and predominantly talk about the gifts on offer across the range. Some examples of successful campaigns that were launched on TV and Print are:

1. Whirlpool Makes You Look Good: This was launched in September 2013 as a festival promotion across India. The promotion was in line with the brand’s proposition to help the home-maker create magic every time she brought a Whirlpool product home. She was entitled to a gift hamper from Revlon

or a Philips Hair Dryer or an Arrow gift hamper.

2. A Kitchen In Your Honour: This was launched in 2012; through it the consumer was entitled to a scratch card and gifts on every purchase. Around 1200 lucky customers stood a chance to win Whirlpool kitchen appliances.

3. Sab Ka Jashn Sab Ki Jeet: Launched in 2011, this campaign offered an assured gift on every purchase.

North is a very important market for Whirlpool as this is a very large Direct Cool (single door) refrigerator and Semi Automatic (twin tub) washing machine market. Direct Cool is Whirlpool’s largest category and hence it becomes imperative for Whirlpool to ensure that we win in the North. Similarly, for semi-automatic washers, the North is very large, contributing to almost 50-55% of the industry volume. For Whirlpool, semi automatic washers account for 65% of total washing machine sales, and hence North becomes a very important market. 

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