The Hindu Business Line : Godrej pitches Pentacool ad on emotional plank

A DRINK chilled just right could save the day — and an image that's just right can do even more. That's the plan that Godrej & Boyce Mfg is taking forward, with the new ad campaign for the Pentacool range of refrigerators.

The campaign — which features brand ambassador, actress Preity Zinta, who has been signed on for another year — seeks to appeal to the consumer on a rational and an emotional level, and create a buzz around the product's technology, according to Mr Soumitra K. Ghatak, Executive Vice-President - Marketing, Sales and Service (Appliances Division) Godrej.

The Pentacool range was launched in 2001.

"In durables and appliances, it is important to be seen as innovative, dynamic and hi-tech," he said. "Five-side cooling is the technology, and the image of the brand comes through in the personality of the endorser — which is fresh, dynamic, modern and young."

The annual advertising budget for refrigerators is Rs 25 crore. The company has also upped its in-shop presence.

A marketing team headed by Mr Shyam Motwani, Vice- President - Marketing & Exports, Godrej, and JWT conducted consumer research, which indicated that at a rational level, `fastest cooling' is the single most desired feature.

The technology in the Godrej Pentacool — the five-side cooling system in the freezer — delivers this benefit; freezers of other direct cool refrigerators only cool from four sides, according to the company. The technology and the benefit are integrated in the tagline, "Five side funda, fastest thanda".

The refrigerator market was estimated at 35-lakh units in 2002-'03, with direct cool refrigerators accounting for about 83 per cent of the market. Godrej, the No. 2 player, has a 23 per cent share of the market, and hopes to clock an 11 per cent growth rate this year.

As availability of the product and assurance of service are also vital to the consumer, Godrej is expanding its distribution network and its service network, Smart Care. It currently has 5,500 dealers, and will have 10,000 by the end of the year, he said. For service, there are call centres in the four metros, which are accessible at all hours, and 10 franchised Smart Care centres.

Godrej is also aggressively selling its annual maintenance contract, which provides consumers free service for a year for Rs 500. The northern region accounts for more than 40 per cent of the overall demand for refrigerators, and Godrej will focus on the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Mr Ghatak added.

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