While the proposition of 25% power saving is not a new one for brand Polycab, the new ‘Connection Zindagi ka’ ad campaign featuring Paresh Rawal clearly gives a fresh look to the brand. Chief Marketing Officer of Polycab, Shashank Pore shares the strategy behind the campaign and the brand’s future plans
In the Polycab TVC, when you see Paresh Rawal’s character running behind his family, who seem unmoved by any of his attempts to save electricity in the house, you know that the brand has touched a nerve and you can’t help but relate with this middle class man’s plight. The new campaign rolled out by India’s leading cable and wire manufacturing company, however, has a tall order. It does not ask you to install a power-saving bulb or a tube-light but expects you to change the wiring of the entire house. Shashank Pore, CMO, Polycab tells us why he is confident that the campaign will find its mark.
“We are India’s No.1 wires and cables brand and the second competitor is less than half our size. Our market-share is close to 22% and both B2B and B2C are our core competency. We are in transition from being a B2B to B2C brand,” he says. Talking about how they wanted the ad to be a leaf out of every household’s diary, he adds, “Paresh Rawal was an ideal fit for the script which revolved around a family head who feels helpless about changing the electricity-wasting habits of his loved ones. So he decides to change electrical wires of his home, which provides him 25% power saving.”
This ad comes from a company which has a wide product category that includes fans, lighting, switches, pipes, appliances which they have built in the last three years. “We had a campaign in January for the corporate brand Polycab that highlighted all businesses in which we are present. Since wires and cables are our core business, we thought it needs to have a focused campaign emphasizing the USP of 25% saving,” says Pore.
Polycab has a 360-degree marketing campaign. The major share of marketing mix is for TV; however it is adequately backed with Radio, Social and on-ground activations. It has different brand messaging for different product categories, like for fans it is ‘Refreshing your life’, for lighting it is ‘Brightening your life’ and for switches is ‘Switch on Happiness’; all of which revolve around their core philosophy of happiness through electricity. However, all brand promises are within the broad framework of the tagline ‘Connection Zindagi Ka’, a campaign that the brand went big with earlier this year.
Despite a presence of four decades in the Indian market, the brand started taking marketing very seriously only about three years ago and now spends around Rs 100 crore annually. “We have different product portfolios for urban and rural consumers and different marketing strategies. For example, we have sub-economy fans for rural while the rest are urban-centric products,” adds Pore. “Social media is an integral part of our brand strategy as well. We have a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., and we create a buzz around our core brand promise of ‘Connection Zindagi ka.”
With a turnover of Rs 4300 crore in 2013-14, Polycab is one of India’s fastest growing companies. It has achieved a consistent growth rate of more than 40% per annum and hopes to outdo that in the coming years. Talking of the factors that will contribute to this growth, Pore says, “Our business is dependent on various macro environment factors and key policy decisions with regard to Smart Cities, LED lights, Road Infrastructure Development initiatives, etc., which will be vital for the growth of the wires and cables industry as well as Polycab.”
Facts
Creative Agency – RK Swamy
Media Agency – RK Swamy
Social & Digital Media Agency – Tonic Media
PR Agency – Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd
