Philips India gets some bounce off the wicket

The brand behind the ‘Cricket Extra' show during the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup is grateful to the game. It has been associated with cricket in India for the last three years, with events featuring the Indian team, T20 matches, and pre- and post-match events.

It didn't come as a surprise then that the backdrop at Philips' annual media offsite event in Goa last weekend was a giant screen showing the WC quarter final. Cricket is just one of the vehicles where Philips India has been buzzing of late.

Quoting third-party estimates, Vivek Sharma, Head - Marketing and VP -Indian Subcontinent, Philips Electronics India, explains that the company's share of expenditure on mass media in 2011 was 3.2 times that in 2009.

On cricket, he says, “Cricket has helped us a lot. We have been associated with cricket in a consistent and long-term fashion for the last three years. It has really helped our engagement with the male decision-maker target group in multiple categories. It has given us good visibility and RoI. We intend to continue our association with cricket as a key vehicle for marketing.”

Retail Experience
The investment behind Philips' retail presence also increased substantially in 2010. Added to the brand's visibility and experience are 42 Light Lounges, exclusive outlets showcasing home decorative lighting from the group, and 400 shop-in-shops called Light Shoppes. The number of Light Lounges and Light Shoppes is set to double this calendar year.

This retail presence stretches across 20 cities, says Nirupam Sahay, Senior Director — Marketing, Philips Lighting. He says, “What we will be doing is getting more width of retail presence in the metros. There is a large, untapped potential and cities being large, there is a need for multiple stores.”

In Mumbai, where Philips has three Light Lounges, it will set up one more this year. In the NCR, there will be five Light Lounges from the current three. More stores will also come up in Bangalore and Chennai. After ramping up its presence across the metros and mini-metros, the brand will consider venturing into the tier-2 towns.

The Light Lounges showcase and sell only home decorative lighting solutions. One wonders if a Philips store selling home decorative lighting could also be used to promote some of its consumer appliances, if not all.