Major consumer durables companies, which have been seeing good times with a 20-40 per cent growth in the recent months, are now banking on the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket games to add to their sales.
LG, Samsung, Godrej and Videocon are either the main or associate sponsors for IPL-3, which begins from March 12. These companies are targeting a growth of over 30 per cent in their sales across various product categories. Each of these have blocked several 10-second television advertisement slots — around 120-140 seconds each per match — to promote their products.
“It is a coincidence that IPL is scheduled to take place during summers; we get around 35 per cent of our sales during this season. IPL certainly helps boost growth, and sponsorships have been going up every year,” said George Menezes, chief operating officer (marketing and operations), Godrej and Boyce. The company plans to push its television sets during this season’s IPL. It also hopes to see a growth in the sale of its air-conditioners and refrigerators. The company targets sales of around 700,000 units this year.
Samsung India, an associate sponsor of IPL-3, is preparing to market and advertise its high-definition (HD) television sets and expects its yearly sales to at least double, boosted by IPL. “With even multiplexes planning to screen the matches, the viewership will be very different this time,” said Samsung India Deputy Managing Director Ravindra Zutshi.
LG, which has booked an official slot for its liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and mobile phones, believes IPL would help its sales grow 22 per cent this year. With the company looking at leveraging on match updates and scores, it expects its mobile phone sales to grow 11 per cent, compared with 9 per cent last year. “Across categories, we are looking at a growth of nearly 30 per cent during the IPL season. The target audience is young and would want to watch the matches with a world-class display,” said a company spokesperson.
According to analysts, these companies could see an additional 10-15 per cent growth across all categories as IPL draws closer. “These events bring in a lot of sales. So, ACs, fridges and televisions would see a decent rise in sales,” said Technopak India analyst Purnendu Kumar.
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Videocon, which had entered the mobile handset market last month, targets sales of around 300,000 handsets during the IPL season and plans to go pan India with its mobile phones. The company’s main focus, however, would remain LCD range and the newly-launched 32- and 42-inch light-emitting diode (LED) televisions.
Industry experts believe the industry can even target female audiences this year — thanks to the nature of advertising and marketing these matches are known for. It makes sense for these companies to also market products like microwaves and washing machines, Technopak’s Kumar said, adding: “Such purchase decisions are taken by the lady of the house because, with an equal number of women viewers, IPL matches now are a family event.”