Cricket World Cup 2011 brings in relishing time for TV makers in India

As the countdown for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 begins, manufacturers of electronic goods are aiming to cash in on the cricket fever and double their TV sales. Customers can look forward to being wooed with a slew of discounts, attractive prizes and promotional campaigns.

“The World Cup is a very important sales period for all the TV makers in this cricket crazy nation. Most companies clock good sales in this season. We expect 85 per cent of our flat TV sales for this quarter to come only from the World Cup,” Eric Braganza, president, Haier, said. Other TV makers have echoed similar sentiments.

While electronics major Sony has set a target of selling 2.5 lakh television sets during the World Cup, Samsung, Panasonic, Videocon and LG expect a jump of 50-100 per cent in the sales of their flat TV panels during this period.

To achieve their sales targets, some electronic firms are resorting to price cuts, while others are spicing up their deals with tempting offers.

Panasonic has slashed the prices of its flat television models by three per cent, while Haier is extending the warranty on all television sets sold during this period to four years. LG, which has hiked the prices of its products like air conditioners (ACs) and refrigerators, is holding the prices of TV sets to boost sales.

Samsung is offering a zero per cent finance scheme and has tied up with Dish TV to offer free direct-to-home (DTH) services with every TV set purchased. Sony, on the other hand, has tied up with Airtel DTH, while Videocon is offering scratch cards to customers, who could win half a kilo of gold besides other prizes on the purchase of Videocon products. The scheme kicked off on February 10.

Panasonic, too, is offering a similar deal on the purchase of Panasonic Viera TVs, where customers can win assured gifts by finding the letters of the word ‘Cricket’ in a scratch card.

The firms assert that more than providing a boost to sales, the World Cup is an opportunity to burnish their brand image and impress consumers with the array of their product line.

For example, Korean major LG, the official global partner of ICC, is planning to launch the Lead 11 contest where children would get a chance to lead the cricketers to the ground, and Sony has signed up Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador for promoting the Sony Bravia television sets.

“ Our commitment with ICC gives us the platform to connect directly with audiences through various promotional and consumer engagement programmes.

So, CWC 2011 is not only linked to product sales but also towards creating a bridge between the brand and potential consumers,” L. K. Gupta, chief marketing officer, LG Electronics, said.

Companies are being generous with their promotional budgets, going all out to attract customers.

While LG has invested around Rs. 10 crore on the Lead 11 campaign, Videocon would be spending more than Rs. 40 crore on marketing and consumer engagement activities alone. Sony India has hiked its budget to a whopping Rs. 100 crore for various multimedia campaigns for the World Cup.