LG India, the India arm of South Korean consumer durable maker, LG Electronics, for years, has been associated with cricket. On the cricket-based advertising front, in 2009, LG came up with the LG moment concept. The national anthem ceremony held before every match was the slot that LG notched in 2009. LG sponsored the kids that were used during the national anthem. As part of this, the company had conducted a contest to hunt talented kids, another initiative that made the brand more visible and appealing.
LG India is the global partner of International Cricket Council (ICC) till 2015. On the brand?s association with ICC, LG India head (strategy division) V Ramachandran said, ?LG is a global company and it always makes sense to be associated with events that have a global reach like the ICC or IPL. Cricket events like these are a vehicle that takes the brand across the globe. And so we are fairly associated with cricket events.? In a bid to promote this partnership, the company launched the LG Cricket Quiz Contest where winners could get various LG products.
The company spent Rs 360 crore on advertising in 2009. ?Compared to the previous year our ad spend has improved in 2009,? he said.
For LG, the overall business strategy for 2009 was built on two pillars—brand trust and flagship product communication.
As part of building the brand?s trust in the domestic market, LG India came up with the ?Stars of India? campaign that was introduced in April. The campaign was to mark the launch of a new range of products under the concept ?Stars of India? which was based on Indian consumer insight. The products were customized to meet the Indian consumer?s need and were seen as a proof of LG?s commitment to the consumers. With the new brand identity, the company aimed to establish itself as a refreshing brand for improving Indian consumers? lives.
?Our motive was to blend with the Indian consumer and provide customized products. With ?Stars of India? we materialized to create something unique for our consumer,? LG India head (strategy division) V Ramachandran said.
The products that were launched under the ?Stars of India? concept include top loading washing machine with audio assistance speech technology, providing assistance in both Hindi and English and microwave ovens with an auto cook menu of up to 56 Indian recipes.
As part of the campaign, it launched the LG Stars Ideas Contest where customers were invited to submit their ideas which could help improve the products.
To promote its ?Stars of India? campaign, it launched a new TVC titled ?Jaadu Ki Nagri? around the middle of the year. The ad comprises a montage of situations, where LG products are an irreplaceable part of people?s lives.
In order to gain more visibility, LG worked aggressively on various consumer touch points that included digital media and the company website, apart from traditional media such as television and print.?We invested heavily on digital media in 2009. We also enhanced our website making it customer friendly. Our aim was to connect with the customers more closely,? Ramachandran said.
Meanwhile, the company also concentrated on improving its visual design and invested on retailing too. The company also rolled out a health plus campaign in an attempt to introduce healthcare products aimed at helping consumers to maintain healthy homes.