Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Daikin : Complete Silence

Brand : Daikin
Company: Daikin Shriram Ltd
Agency : Dentsu

Indian A/c Market is growing at a scorching pace and more and more international players are lining up to take their share of the pie. The Indian domestic A/c Market is estimated to be around Rs 3600 crore is dominated by Window A/c's. The market is dominated by LG with a market share of 30% followed by Voltas (16%) and Samsung (13%).

Daikin was launched in 2000 as a joint venture between the Japanese Major Daikin and Shriram group. Daikin was initially not concentrating on the home market. With the upwardly mobile Indian family started shopping heavily, Daikin was not able to resist the temptation of tapping this market.

In India A/C is always considered a luxury owing to the price and the cost of maintaining the machine. The entry barrier was removed by our home grown Voltas with the launch of India's first sub 10000 A/C. The product was a block buster and took away the price barrier from the mind of the Indian consumer. A/C became more affordable. But the popularity is restricted to upper class because of the electricity cost associated with A/C's.

Although Voltas changed the rules of the game, much of the action is taking place in the premium segment. It is interesting to see the positioning of the major players in the value added category

LG is positioned on the basis of its time tested health platform
Voltas on the basis of pricing.
O'General on Cooling (lousy ad)
Hitachi is positioned on the size ( Hitachi Atom range)
Samsung on Breathing safe
Blue star on Fresh Air
The new entrant Onida is focusing on the cooling power telling the customer that an A/C that does not cool at 45 degree is just a cooler ( smart positioning given the fact that Samsung have models that cool even at 54 degree).

Given that most of the players have taken on one feature or another, Daikin differentiate on the basis of the " Silence " factor. The A/C taking the feature of its "Silent working " as its USP. Launched with this USP, the brand is now extending the Silence to being Calm. The latest ad clearly shows this USP. The ads of Daikin stands out from the other A/C ads since it is devoid of any noise. These ads are critically acclaimed and gives the brand a premium touch. Daikin also boasts of "Variable Refrigerant Volume " technology which allows the A/C to be more flexible in its installation.
The positioning has to be relevant to the consumer so as to influence his purchasing decision. It has to be seen how much is the relevance of "Silence" feature in the purchasing decision of a functional product like A/C. In the hierarchy of importance in the case of features, Silence plays second fiddle to Cooling and Fresh Air. That may be the reason Daikin have changed the Postioning from Silence to a much more flexible "Calm" option.
Daikin have upped its share of voice in the Indian market, with smart campaigns backed with good product, this brand is worth watching.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:05 PM

    This campaign from Daikin might be talking about the Silence as its USP ( isnt this concept already used by other A/C manufacturer.......when ants moved n a guy sitting inside the room and was able to listen the noise of the ants.... i think the brand was Hitachi) . but it might not be able to influence the indian consumer as the indian market is dominated by the middle class families. So when they go out to make a purchasing decision they might not look on silence as decision making attribute. They do have cooling effectiveness in mind + the price. Rest all other issues are below the point of parity.
    So i dont know whether the Daikin will be able to woo the indian consumer or not.
    What i feel that daikin might be able to attract the bigger corporations where noise may be one of the issue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi could you please help me find the ad of Daikin AC which starts with a raging sea ( taken from the painting of Hokusai's series of 36 views of Mt. Fuji Yama) and ends with a painitng of a placid ocean which is yet anopther painting by Hokusai(I do not remember the painting at all :-( ). The name of the first paininting is "Behind the Great Wave at Kanagawa". If you can provide me the link to the print ad or the TVC it would be great.Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi could you please help me findout which is a better AC in 2 ton - Diaken or O-Genral

    ReplyDelete

Your Views are Important. Please share your views as comments.