Cooling appliance brands pull all guns out as demand set to soar this prolonged summer

With the weather reports highlighting a comparatively warmer and prolonged summer this year, various players from the consumer durable segment who deal in fans, air conditioners, etc. are hoping to see category growth and boosted sales.

In an interaction with BestMediaInfo.com, some industry players also shared that they have upped their ad spends to target and drive the likely-to-be high consumer demand in the period and that they’ll be focussing more on digital.

Pragya Bijalwan

According to Pragya Bijalwan, CMO, Crompton Consumer Electricals, the summer is the peak season for various consumer durable brands - since it is around this time that players see many of their appliances like air coolers and fans play a significant role in driving consumer comfort.

“As the market leader in ceiling fans and residential pumps category as well as a significant player in the air coolers category, we will be able to cater to this increased demand through our wide range of cooling appliances and residential pumps,” she added.

Bijalwan also went on to add that the company will be leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to its target audience through its marketing strategy, and therefore will be rolling out multiple campaigns from traditional advertising to digital platforms.

“For our upcoming summer campaigns, we are targeting a category-leading share of voice of 25% plus in fans and air coolers on TV. For digital, we will be targeting 60% plus reach at a frequency of 5+ on high-reach platforms like YouTube and Social Media. We will also be present on new-age platforms like connected TV and OTT,” she stated. 

Additionally, she also shared that Crompton will collaborate with influencers to co-create content and invest in Google Display Network, which provides the company with a site list of 100+ regional and national websites.

“Along with this, we will look at top keywords with high intent searches on Google to deliver High SOV% (50%+ on branded keywords, 25%+ on competition keywords and the rest on generic),” she added.

Moving on, Bijalwan also mentioned that Crompton’s retargeting campaigns would play an important role in all their brand campaigns which is why the brand is looking at building up frequency there as it wants to enhance the share of voice through a sponsored brand or a sponsored product on e-commerce marketplaces. 

“To target the premium audience, we will be present on cricket as well as other impact properties. 35% plus consumers rely on e-commerce as the key source of evaluation and hence it is now a key part of our marketing mix for the upcoming summer season,” she elaborated.

Priyanka Sethi

As per Priyanka Sethi, Director- Head of Marketing, Haier India, the company is extremely hopeful of registering an increase in its sales due to the early onset of summer this year. In her experience, the cooling appliances are one of Haier’s growth engines and the company is aiming to have a double-digit growth with the summers making indoor and household cooling systems an absolute necessity.

“Our advertising and marketing strategies are in line to not only increase awareness of our innovative cooling technology but also showcase how our products can enhance the summer experience for everyone. For us, customer satisfaction and product innovation go hand-in-hand, and hence we align our marketing strategies to bring in the best for the consumers across India,” she said.

Sethi also went on to add that Haier believes in growing and going ahead which is why this year the company will be focussing heavily on marketing since that is one of the best ways to communicate, align and address the needs of the end consumers.

“At Haier, we are well aligned with the customer demands, and thus focus on engaging with the consumers more frequently and innovatively. The strategy of 2023 is to spend around 60% of the marketing spend on the digital front,” she emphasised.

Furthermore, Sethi also went on to state that in order to cater to and assist the consumer demand for cooling devices, Haier will soon be launching a new campaign around its new range of ACs.

“We plan to make it an integrated digital-led campaign backed by influencers, social media and print promotions for a nationwide presence. We are confident that with our strategic marketing investments, we can bring refreshing results even during the hottest season,” she opined.

Swati Rathi

Swati Rathi, Head- Marketing, Godrej Appliances, in her interaction with BestMediaInfo.com also shared that since the country is expecting a severe and prolonged summer this year, the demand for the cooling categories will be high. 

“The surge in demand this summer season is expected to be largely led by ACs, followed by frost-free refrigerators and chest freezers. The cooling categories have already witnessed close to 40% value growth in Feb – March over last year, indicating the spike in demand,” she said.

She also went on to add that with Godrej’s recent launches, the brand now has a range of 25+ SKUs in the AC segment for the upcoming summers and is anticipating an over 2x growth in sales compared to last year driven by strong demand, robust portfolio, unique propositions backed up by marketing. 

“Summer is the highest-grossing period for the appliance industry, given the seasonality in cooling categories. With ACs, refrigerators, air coolers and deep freezers we have a strong cooling portfolio. We expect to have a good summer led by a strong portfolio and good demand – with expectations of over 40% growth this summer over last year from the entire set of cooling appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, air coolers and deep freezers,” she added.

In the views of Crompton’s Bijalwan, the consumer durables category, as of now, is also foreseeing that consumers would opt for more energy-efficient products during this summer season as the Bureau of Energy Efficiency has announced a mandate for ceiling fans under which every ceiling fan sold in India has to be a star-rated energy-efficient fan. 

“In the past one year, the sales of personal and desert air coolers are growing by more than 25% on e-commerce platforms. The consumers in tier-II and tier-III cities are increasing their preference towards air coolers for their cooling needs, hence, this will be another key trend that will drive consumer behaviour,” she shared.

As per Godrej Appliance’s Rathi, premiumisation is the biggest trend – and while it has always been a growth driver, it has never been this prominent. With this, she also went on to add that the consumer durable industry is betting on premium, feature-led products to drive growth in 2023. 

“We have witnessed growth in premium segments over mass segments across geographies and channels. For Godrej Appliances, the premium segment has grown over 50% in comparison to last year. Additionally, we have been witnessing more traction for appliances delivering higher convenience, larger capacities, and health-first innovative features with the latest technologies,” she opined.

Elaborating on the industry-wide trends, Rathi emphasised that worsening summer temperatures will play the biggest trigger - coupled with trends like work-from-home, or hybrid work culture. 

“On the other hand, Easy EMIs are enabling people to upgrade to a more comfortable lifestyle and are the single biggest conversion driver at stores,” she added.

During the course of the interaction, Rathi also shared that as far as consumer journey and purchase behaviour is concerned, the number of touchpoints in the consumer journey has been rising and this trend will continue to pose a challenge for marketers. 

“Ensuring consistency and alignment across touchpoints and being clear about which ones to prioritise will matter,” she opined.

On a concluding note, Rathi also told BestMediaInfo.com that when it comes to the actual selection, given the increasing clutter in appliances, product innovation will be a great advantage, something which Godrej has been a leader in. 

Info@BestMediaInfo.com