RR Kabel, Birla Aerocon launch campaigns, push brands out of the shadows

After years of promoting their wares in the unorganised segment, makers of pipes, cables and wires are going directly to consumers. Branding, not sales, is the goal, they say

Wire and cable manufacturer RR Kabel, a company that has stayed away from the media glare for the two-decades-plus that it has been in existence, recently released a campaign with Akshay Kumar endorsing its brand. 

Another debutante on the branding stage, wall and plumbing solutions company from the C K Birla group, Birla Aerocon has also launched a campaign using humour to drive home the nuisance that leaky pipes can be. Both brands say they are keen to speak directly to the end consumer.  What drags them into the spotlight?

One reason, both cite, is the need to create an identity within the category and generate a pull factor in the replacement market. Today many home owners, especially when it comes to replacement buys, are directly involved in the purchase decision. The branding efforts underway are meant to influence these shoppers. 

Also, increasingly, consumers (millennial home owners) are taking a keen interest in home supplies, where in the past, the builder, contractor or a plumber would take the decision. Companies are thus getting more aggressive in pitching for a larger slice of the estimated Rs 100-billion industry. 

The advertising narrative goes beyond the efficiency-price factor that has been the hallmark of such promotions in the past. The brands want to build an emotional connection with their consumers. To that end, humour works, so does endorsement by a known face. 

For RR Kabel it was important to challenge the market leader in the category. “As the company kept seeing news about fires caused by short circuits it decided to launch the campaign to build awareness,” says Kirti Kabra, director of the company.

“Simply talking about features or price points does not build a meaningful connection, instead we need to show how the product will enhance their lives,” says Christopher Higgins, business head, Ideate Labs that works with branding B2B firms.

“The smaller players in the market, who are very region-specific, play on a very low price strategy. This creates pricing pressure on a national brand,” says Dhirup Roy Choudhary, CEO and MD, HIL Ltd. With Birla Aerocon ads, he says, the company is targeting end customers as well as installers.

Higgins says that moving from B2B to B2C communication requires careful understanding of the audience and the objectives. “What do we want them to feel and do? How can we grow sales by building awareness and pull from the end user? RR Kabel ads use digital and TV to strengthen an emotional bond that echoes through the B2B supply chain,” he adds. Their ads take a dig at market leader Havell’s that has long used the tagline, ‘Wires that don’t catch fire’. It says fire-proof wires don’t exist, instead choose the ones that cause least damage. Kabra says it chose Akshay Kumar because “he forms a good connection with B2B buyers and electricians.” The campaign will be supported by a year round BTL campaign, she adds. 

Both brands are following in the footsteps of market leaders such as Havell’s, Finolex and to an extent, even Fevicol. The brands have sought to define a consumer facing side to their product lines even as they serve the B2B market.  In an increasingly competitive market where the consumer is getting more discerning, this is the need of the hour, say experts.