We don't do innovation and communication which has no meaning to the consumer: Pragya Bijalwan of Crompton

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals has made its presence felt on all platforms that matter to the new-age consumers, as per Pragya Bijalwan, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, who also said that from traditional modes of advertising to digital platforms, they have left no stone unturned in reaching out to the target audience. 

Crompton is reaching 60% of its audience through social media and YouTube, she stated. 

Bijalwan also spoke about Crompton’s new campaign 'Bachat ab Sabke Budget Mein' - which aims to bust the myth about energy efficiency fans being available only at a premium price and to spread awareness of affordable energy-saving fans. 

The campaign

Bijalwan said, “At Crompton, sustainability is one of our core agendas while providing meaningful consumer-centric innovation. Our purpose has always been to evolve with time and provide contemporary choices to Indian households. The BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) star ratings transition will help consumers save money by saving energy while choosing a fan that comes within their budget."

"By mere saving on energy, the new energy efficient fan pays for itself in less than two years’ time. The latest campaign captures the nuances of daily routines and frugal choices of every Indian mass household and establishes that Crompton’s wide range of star rated energy saving fans with “ActivPower Technology” gives the “power to save” to every consumer thus democratising “Energy Savings”, while also highlighting the essence of its core communication- ‘Bachat Ab Sabke Budget Mein’," she added. 

The 360-degree campaign was launched pan India on TV and is being further amplified through digital and on-ground outreach. The TVC has been conceptualised by BBDO. 

The ad film:

This campaign educates the consumer on how Crompton fans are both affordable and energy-efficient, compliant with the new BEE star ratings, and also establishes that anyone can now save energy through fans and it is possible to do so within their budget. 

Evolution of the consumer electricals market in India

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com, Bijalwan said that the way fans were seen as a product which provides you with a cooling experience has changed and now fans look like another decor in the house as they come in every shape, size and style.

“As per the equity research that we run, today people buy one fan over the other because of some key reasons including the one which gives a completely silent experience, has the fanciest features, designs, state of art, etc. Another reason is energy efficiency, I run a fan in my house for probably 16 hours in a day so I can't save energy by switching off the fan so I better have a fan which is energy efficient,” she added.

Furthermore, Bijalwan went on to say, “Times have moved from the fact where fans were just a cooling experience. Now they have become a statement of myself, a product which provides me with energy efficiency, looks great and also comes with the smartest features. So, that's how we see the evolution of fans and IT is only going to get bigger with time.”

Marketing Strategy

She further said that the brand keeps on rolling out “meaningful innovations” from time to time to keep itself at par or ahead of competitors.

“In terms of a go-to-market strategy, Amazon and Flipkart have recognised us as a brand which has been very successful in terms of driving consideration online. We have been awarded as the best brand for doing so and the only brand in the electrical consumer industry across both the platforms who have done it,” Bijalwan said. 

“So, both in terms of product innovation and a go-to-market strategy and driving meaningful conversations with consumers, that's how Crompton has evolved. We are proud of our legacy but we are also not a complacent brand which would live by the legacy,” she added. 

Bijalwan stated that Crompton presents itself heavily across digital platforms.

“Last year, we were highest in terms of share of voice (SOV), driving conversations with the consumers and media. We have also adapted ourselves beautifully to the world of digital. We are very cautious of the fact that while 10% of the buying happens online and 90% of the buying happens offline, people who are going offline to buy have already done the evaluation online,” she said. 

“So, that consumer already has the top two to three brands in mind while he goes out for purchasing and if you missed out on that game, you will miss it here as well. Therefore, we present heavily on digital channels including social media where we have got the best engagement rates across the industry. We use Google Display Network really well. We are working very hard to create visibility of the brand on Amazon and Flipkart,” Bijalwan added.

Bijalwan said that consumers are the most important to Crompton so advertising and marketing becomes a core activity for them. That's the way of reaching out to the consumers and driving their consideration and preference across the funnel.

“We don't do any innovation which has no meaning to the consumer and we don't do any communication which doesn't stand as different and resonates well with the consumer. We studied a full funnel and in the case of awareness we look at TV, and then we look at mass reach channels on digital as well. Going by the data, social media and YouTube are currently providing the best range and we are there. We are reaching 60% of our audience through these channels,” she added.

Bijalwan stated that apart from this Crompton is mindful of and maintains a good offline presence as well. 

New-age consumers are very difficult to retain. The data suggests that their loyalty score is only 29%. So, if they have 100 brands in mind or if they are buying something, the attribution of their loyalty is only 29%, Bijalwan said.

“This means that 70% of the time, a brand needs to be cautious that they need to be present at the top of mind. We are present on all the key platforms which matter to new-age consumers. We also know that they spend approximately 242 minutes a day on online channels and during which part of the day what they watch. So, we post content on channels likewise,” she added.

Furthermore, she said that another study suggests that to millennials and GenZ, the journey is probably more important than the end result. So, the brand posts content which is a little more engaging and isn’t pushing the products which get the brand registered subconsciously into minds.

Mathew Job

Further, Mathew Job, CEO and Executive Director said that the company had done pretty well going into the last quarter and it had succeeded in getting these new products into consumers’ hands as quickly as possible. 

Job explained that the annual savings with a five-star fan as compared to a non-star fan would be a lot. He also said that if every fan in India could be an energy-efficient one in India, the benefits would be equivalent to planting 110 crore trees. 

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