 "Gulbahar Taurani")
What has been the most interesting sales promotion you have engineered so far?
The 'Kadhai ki Ladai' (battle of the cooking vessel) promotion which we did last year was not only effective but also very innovative. The aim of the campaign was to promote Air Fryer, a new consumer goods category that Philips was getting into, which championed the enjoyment of eating fried food without, frying. The result: a healthier option to fried food. We thought of stepping outside the league of a conventional sales promotion. We wanted the consumer to come to our store and feel the product but we decided to integrate online and on-ground activation. So the online activation was linked to the on-the-ground demonstrations. The mix of online and offline made this campaign very interesting and effective.
Who did you primarily target with it - new or existing customers or both?
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It was a new category, so the target consumer was new. This category is still in the penetration mode in India. So the idea was to create more awareness and target as many customers as possible.
What kind of promotion was it?
We took around three weeks to launch the campaign. We ensured that the buzz was first created online so that the demonstrations offline could be successful. For three weeks, in fact, we only concentrated on talking about Air Fryer on the social network sites. We created a Facebook page where we spoke of not only the product but the importance of eating the healthy way. The Air Fryer's mantra 'tasting is believing', which we promoted online, was translated into bringing consumers closer to the on-ground demonstrations that were being held in the four Indian metros.
Since it was a new category, simply talking to the consumers wouldn't have worked. We wanted consumers to experience the product on their own so they could relate to the claims that we were making about the perfect frying through the Rapid Air Technology used in the Philips Air Fryer. We got consumers to cook both through the traditional medium of cooking, complete with kadhai and lots of oil for deep frying, and with the Air Fryer. We urged them to taste what they fried in the kadhai and through the new Philips product and the asked them to judge which tasted better.
Why was it designed so?
Like I mentioned earlier, since it was a new product category, we needed a holistic approach wherein people needed to get aware of it. When companies are operating in categories that are well established, consumers know the benefits of those categories so the awareness of those products is already high. The sales pitch or promotional campaigns in those categories are designed to give claims to consumers on how one company is better than the other with promises of better offerings etc.
In our case, we wanted to connect with audiences online, give them offline demonstrations for proof of the claims we made and once getting the consumer approval, we wanted to put back each and every experience of our consumers online. The collaboration of the offline and online modes of sales promotion was vital.
What were the challenges?
There were some challenges, of course, given that this was not a standalone online activity nor was it a standalone offline exercise. We had to be careful not to overdo either one of the activation. The coordination between the two media was essential.
The company was also clear it wanted the promo at the same time in all the four cities (for consumers in different cities to be able to give feedback together and list what they thought of the product online). So the timing and the coordination, both online and offline, in all the four cities, had to be perfect and seamless. Remember, once the company gives a commitment to the consumers on the date, time, venue etc for demonstrations related to sales promotion, it is blasphemous to even think of changing it the last minute.
Who were your partners?
We had a special Facebook page. Offline, we had demonstrations of the Air Fryer product at select stores. We did not have any print or radio or television advertisements for this product.
How effective was the exercise? Don't sales promotions incur high long-term costs for the company?
In our case, given that this category is so new, the buzz created around the product was positive. The sales of the Air Fryer increased five times during the promotion period. The traffic on our Facebook page increased manifold and so did the comments by members/fans.
It would be unfair to generalise whether promotions incur long-term or short-term costs. How campaigns are designed, what's their purpose, are they tactical (if it is, results will be short term) are questions companies should ask themselves before they plan such campaigns.
In our case, we saw short term gains through an increase in sales but we are sure of having a long term impact in terms of generating awareness about the category on the whole. We have plans to launch the second phase of the campaign soon.
'Kadhai ki Ladai'
Aim
To promote Air Fryer, a new consumer goods category that Philips was getting into
Target
Women audience. The idea was to create more awareness and target as many customers as possible
Plan
For three weeks, we only concentrated on talking about Air Fryer on the social network sites. The idea was to create awareness about our on-ground promotions where we got consumers to cook both through the traditional medium of cooking, complete with kadhai and lots of oil for deep frying, and with the Air Fryer. We urged them to taste what they fried in the kadhai and through the new Philips product and the asked them to judge which tasted better
Outcome
The sales of the Air Fryer increased five times during the promotion period. The traffic on our Facebook page increased manifold and so did the comments by members/fans
Gulbahar Taurani
Director marketing, domestic appliances, Philips India
