Mirc Electronics may license its devil to garment, shoe firms

The Onida devil is back in its 1980s avatar and this time around it is hell bent on grabbing a larger mindshare in the market.

Mirc Electronics, the owners of the Onida brand, are working on a revival strategy for its best-known icon that involves licensing the devil to garment and shoe companies to promote the values symbolised by it.

Unlike a co-branding arrangement the licensing agreement will include the devil image and his attributes but not the Onida brand name.

"This is one of the strategies we are considering to take the devil places. It might take some time for anything to come of it as we haven't even begun discussions with possible licensees," said a senior Mirc official.

The devil which did a vanishing act in the late nineties when the company switched its brand strategy from promoting the mother brand to model-driven promotions.

The company which was primarily a TV manufacturer diversified into the air conditioners and washing machines last year. With the diversification, the company felt the absence of a common thread to tie its products together and this is what inspired its return to the devils ways.

But the new devil does not inspire envy like its predecessor, its symbolises the technological revolution that Onida perceives as its USP. With the launch of the new campaign the company is trying to change the focus from promoting its different brands to displaying its technological competence.

Onida is also betting big on the new campaign to bring it additional volume sales this year. The company expects to improve its market share from the current 12 per cent to 16 per cent of the colour television market.