According to an independent survey conducted in five cities, LG enjoyed better brand recall than its arch rival and other durables companies. The soft-drink company Pepsi, one of the official sponsors of tournament, and arch rival Coca-Cola were the only ones to score better on the brand recall report card. The survey also found that LG's `All thebest' campaign enjoyed the highest recall among viewers in the five cities at 26 per cent, with Hero Honda as a distant second.

Karwal estimates that the CTV sales of the company during April-June 1999 has grown almost 150 per cent over the corresponding period last year. ``We have sold about 1.09 lakh televisions since April, and by the end of the month, we should sell 10,000 more sets,'' he reckons. The company had targetted sales of CTVS at 75,000-80,000 sets during the April-June quarter.Even the sales of other products such as appliances like refrigerators and washing machine are on the upswing, according to Karwal. ``The brand pull created by the three-pronged campaign has translated into robust sales of our white goods range. So much so, that we faced an availability constraint during the World Cup,'' he adds. The positioning of the products as the star in each of the product-based advertisements has generated tremendous brand pull for LG, according to him.

Reiterates Karwal: ``We do not believein gimmicks of huge price-offs and discounts to lure customers.'' LG Electronics stuck to the contests and promotions even while other televisions and appliances brands offered price-offs, discounts and freebies to lure the customers. The company is understood to have used about 480 seconds of airtime on various ESPN/Star Sports and Doordarshan during the World Cup.

``We have already achieved sales turnover of Rs 450 crore of the annual target. By the end of the month, we should be Rs 500 crore. We should easily achieve Rs 900-950 crore by the year end,'' says Karwal.

LG Electronics' build-up for the World Cup included the `Champions Gallery' contest anchored by three members from the victorious team of 1983 -- Roger Binny, Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath, besides the `All the best' campaign and product-based commercials.

The contest, open to the general public, was a success with over 40,000 people vying for the 350 tickets to watch the matches live in England. LG Electronics is estimated to have spentabout Rs 12 crore for promotions and the contest during this period, without including the expense incurred in securing the official supplier status. That expense was borne by the South Korean parent, and just about Rs 3.5 crore was charged to the Indian subsidiary.

Karwal now estimates that his company's strategy in the market will ensure that it will complete the year with the healthiest bottomline in the consumer electronics industry. That's because, Karwal maintains: ``Our collections from the market have a cycle of just 14 days.''

As for the vibes from the market place? Karwal, who is just back from an up-country tour, says: ``Today, even while travelling in Punjab, I get the message very clearly-`LG has gained the maximum in the World Cup.' It might have failed the India XI, but at least the `all the best' campaign brought good luck to LG.