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Havell’s gets aggressive on advertising

If you are not enlightened, then you must not be using Havell’s CFLs. Confused? Well, then you must have missed the second advertisement from the Havell’s stable. As the adage goes, ‘Better late than never’, Havell’s seems to have followed it religiously. Practically, after being miles away from advertising & branding exercises, the $1 billion electrical and power distribution equipment company has finally come out with quite ‘Shock proof’ & ‘Enlightening’ ads!

The imminent question is that why these sudden appearances in the media? Actually, the company has entered new product segments to leverage on its brand & distribution strength. The company aims at making Havell’s among the top brands in the domestic market for all these new segments like fans, lighting or bathroom furniture. Sunil Sikka, President, Havell’s India Ltd., states, “Though the brand ‘Havell’s’ is pretty well entrenched in trade & institutional markets, the need was to have top of the mind recall in the consumers mind of its existing products & make them aware of new products.”

The company has also taken the sponsorship route to achieve its aim. It associated itself with the ICC Twenty20 World Cup series, which has been a revelation in itself for big media spenders. This strategy is believed to have worked wonders, considering the immense reach of the marketing plan, which envisages 30,000 seconds of ad time, 625 Shock Laga “push backs” and much more. Sources reveal that the company has increased its advertising pie to Rs.30 crore. Reveals Sikka, “Havell’s’ total communication & promotion budget for above the line and below the line activities is close to 3% of gross revenues this fiscal.” Well, Havell’s does seem to be making some exceptionally enlightening moves!

Wipro, of course, has caught on to the lighter vein of the serious WEF event to get themselves noticed in the international community. Azim Premji’s company is sponsoring not only the cocktails, but has in store a special event with Bollywood stars pumping up the action. They also have Wipro’s name stamped across three of the ten buses out there in Davos. Some more special occasions in the alpines are also on track, thanks to the company. This, however, is anticipated, as the company in the last year and a half has participated in over 70 events – which explains, in part, the boom in recognition and also in accounts that it has been winning.

Noticeably, Infosys does not advertise to that extent. In fact, Nandan Nilekani adamantly exclaims, “I do not believe in advertising.” But the company has done its bit by participating in repeated surveys that are organised. For instance, it has been ranked 32 in the Business Week list of Top 100 Innovative Companies. Their exceptional ratings in such lists have led to a powerful brand image and much enhanced credibility for Infosys, which also helps it in all its dealings with its client organisations.

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