CCTV camera maker CP Plus sees no RoI in digital

As competition in India's fast-growing CCTV camera market gets intense with the entry of Videocon and Canon, market leader CP Plus is strengthening its outreach by positioning itself as a B2C brand instead of being a B2B company.

The 10-year-old company had in the recent past launched campaigns on TV along with tying up with reality TV show Big Boss and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. The company launched its first TVC in 2015.

Yogesh Dutta

Yogesh Dutta, COO, CP Plus, said, “We are the only ones that advertise in this category. By advertising, we have created a big difference between the other players and us and that becomes the entry barrier for them.”

He said, “People think of security solutions as a B2B category, but our perspective is that this category relates to the people. You might not be a decision maker, but an influencer. Also, security has become an integral part of our lifestyle.”

The CCTV market in India is growing at 26 per cent every year and the next phase of growth is coming from the residential and small businesses segments. However, the government, municipal and industrial orders still continue to be strong.

The brand’s marketing expenses is mostly on television and out-of-home advertising. CP Plus is one the few brands that think that digital advertising doesn’t bear much RoI (return on investment) in comparison to TV and out-of-home.

Dutta said, “There has to be a very practical and relevant advertising in the digital space. Initially, we had tied up with Google and did some innovation as such but the return on investment was not much justified.”

Although the demand from the households is very less, Dutta said that with growing awareness and evolution of technology, this segment is also picking up.

In a smart move in 2015, CP Plus also associated itself with television reality show ‘Big Boss of Colors. The category being very relevant, the association with the show has helped CP Plus gain a huge brand recall.

Recent campaign films conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather:

Interestingly, the popular tagline of CP Plus ‘Upar wala sab dekh raha hai’ was conceptualised by Dentsu India.

The previous campaign films:

Television advertising is an expensive affair and given the category where demand mostly comes from offices and outside homes, CP Plus’ decision to buy media on TV was a huge step in advertising.

Dutta explained the reason for coming on TV. He said, “We wanted the category to become a mass thing because people used to think that the category mostly serves VVIPs. Television advertising not only helped us in getting brand recall but also helped the category as such.”

Dutta thinks that the challenge is to make people aware of the correct usage of the technology and product in this category.

Dutta believes anybody entering the category is a competition. Commenting on the new entrants such as Canon and Videocon, Dutta said, “I don’t think they are serious about the category. This is not the consumer product. The category requires a different focus and engagement altogether.”

CP Plus claims to be the number one player in the market with 35 per cent market share. The North and West regions are the strongest markets for the brand in India and Dutta sees further growth coming in from the regions where infrastructure is developing.

Dutta added, “The size of the unorganised market is reducing because the market is also becoming more mature with IP-based products coming in and people getting abreast of the technology and they know what they want. All these things are helping.”

Currently growing at 15-20 per cent per annum and a revenue target of Rs 1,000 crore, the company aims to continue growing in double digits.

“Our objective is not only to grow vertically but also horizontally. The market is growing in the double-digit numbers. We want to ensure that CP Plus grows in a double-digit number,” added Dutta.

In terms of the offerings, the brand’s product line include IP-based cameras, time and attendance solutions, recorders, video door phones, home automation solutions, etc. The CCTV business is its flagship, contributing the largest chunk of revenue.

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