The company had set sales target of one lakh sets for the April-June 1999 quarter with special focus on the large screen models. ``We are well on our way. We will sell around one-lakh CTVs during this quarter,'' claims Pisharody.

Industry sources estimate that the company has sold about 45,000 sets in May 1999, when the tournament was well underway. Philips is particularly delighted with its performance in the large screen segment. The company achieved 50 per cent of the entire 1998 sales of the 25-inch CTVs in May alone this time, adds Pisharody. The performance of the 29-inch modelswas even better. As much as 60 per cent of the entire 1998 sales was achieved in May 1999 alone. ``During this World Cup, we have witnessed customers wanting to move into the 29-inch and 34-inch segment,'' he said.

The company's best performance, perhaps, came from the eastern region of the country. ``For Philips, the east grew by 80 per cent in April and May. Unlike the rest of the country, the east market was the first to take off -- sales began picking up by the end of April,'' reveals Pisharody.Philips had planned a Rs 12-crore spend for the World Cup encompassing schemes, contests and promotions. The interactive contests, anchored by MTV VJ Cyrus Broacha and directed by Ken Ghosh, were conceived so as to capture moments of a cricket match that would remind the viewer of the brand.

For instance, the `Third Umpire Concept' was promoted during the World Cup with the intention to create and establish a strong link with Philips. The commercial shown after the fall of a wicket, showed Cyrus Broacha as theThird Umpire, having to make a tough decision. Unhappy with the TVs in the stadium he dashes home to view the action replay on his Philips Powervision, and ``takes the right decision.'' Special exchange- and finance-schemes were introduced during the World Cup to enable consumers buy a Philips CTV.

India's performance in the league matches was one major contributing factor for the tremendous sales growth during the season, the company feels. ``Our research shows that during a match when India was performing well, our dealers were flooded with inquiries from consumers desperate to buy a new CTV,'' says Pisharody. The offers played a decisive role in making the consumer ``take the right decision'' in favour of the brand, the company admits.

Philips found that the PowerExchange Offer and the Extra Guarantee schemes performed exceptionally well. The PowerExchange was designed specifically for Philips by Countrywide Finance and enabled a consumer to take home a CTV on payment of Rs 1,000 only, with the balancepayable in easy installments. Other schemes such as the `Super Six Bonanza' launched after India entered the Super Six, and designed for large screen CTV buyers, has also worked well. The introduction of new models, particularly, the double-window models in the large-screen segment too enabled the company capture a larger market share.