Hiking digital spends by 10% in 2021, focusing on tech to appeal to youth: Rohit Malkani of Crompton

Backed by a deep legacy that connects across generations, consumer electrical company Crompton used to be initially perceived as a nostalgic brand. They are now steadily changing that perception to that of a more contemporary brand backed by a legacy of experience.  

Technology is now an integral part of consumer lives and a fundamental factor that appeals to the younger audience. They are naturally drawn to tech and innovation, and that has become Crompton’s proposition in driving its brand equity in 2021.   

“We have accelerated our product innovations and will continue to do so even in the future to appeal to the younger audience. Innovations are developed keeping in mind the needs of relatively younger, nuclear families,” said Rohit Malkani, Vice-President, Marketing, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals.

The brand sees a healthy contribution towards digital in its business this year. In FY 2019-20, it was spending approximately 10% of its marketing budgets on digital.

“In the current year, on the basis of changes, the contribution is more than 20%. The nature of the shift is surely significant. In the lockdown, we saw a 2x multiplier in consumers who are now digitally influenced for our categories. Hence, the need to ensure that the brand is present across digital touch-points that the consumers are accessing became a key factor,” Malkani said.

The lockdown was implemented during the category’s peak retail time, which affected some of the brand’s segments — fans, pumps and air coolers.

According to Malkani, as all brands get active and jump into the digital space, efficiency of their campaigns will be important and require consistent focus. Innovative concepts will be required to break the clutter, build equity and drive sales.

Malkani said the younger audience, especially millennials, are considered as the ‘connected’ generation as technology plays a big factor in always helping them stay connected with everyone and everything. The development of the internet of things (IoT) has been one of the most interesting trends, especially augmented and virtual realities, as it allows brands to be more interactive with consumers.

The brand will capitalise on the trend of augmented reality to enhance and advance unique experiences that will help the company provide new standards of innovation to consumers.

Crompton has plans to launch a wide range of IoT products and started the year by launching a Wi-Fi enabled LED lamp.

“While we see many things gradually returning to normal, certain trends will continue to spill over into this year. Lighting has played an important role for many consumers, especially as they spend more time at home and look for ways to brighten up their environment. With the developing trend of IoT, we will focus a lot more in this space in 2021 with many new products in the pipeline,” Malkani said.

The company comes with an 80-year brand legacy that has been catering to its consumers through various products ranging from fans, lamps and luminaries

Info@BestMediaInfo.com