Brand Positioning of d2h range of Satellite Products

Videocon d2h was offering satellite range of products like Satellite Box, Satellite LCDs, Satellite DVDs etc. The brand positioning – a digital entertainment provider directly from satellite. It was the last entrant in the category of Direct to home. Competitors like Airtel Digital TV, TATA Sky, Reliance Big TV, Sun Direct, Dish TV apart from the public service provider DD Free Dish were all focussing on the entertainment as their positioning. The category was in its nascent stage, everyone was either harping on technology, digital picture/ sound or entertainment. Every player in this category which is capital intensive was educating the consumers about category benefits as product or brand benefits.   

The tag line – Direct Hai Correct Hai communicates the brands spirit. Its product benefit of in-built set top box in CRT television sets, LCDs, DVDs. An external Set top box is connected to your TV for accessing the digital channels of other players. This decodes signals received from the dish mounted on top of a house. But in this case, the signals from your outdoor unit reflector (ODU) commonly known as dish will be directly received by the TV.  The signals will be directly received by the TV/ LCD/ DVD. The product benefit of direct connectivity along with a popular brand name Videocon in TV Segment made it a correct choice. That’s how the tag line “DIRECT HAI CORRECT HAI” was coined.

NEED WANT DEMAND theory

DIFFERENTIATION

Classical brand pundits advocate that every brand should fulfil the principle of Need- Want – Demand. The need is what you require, want is looking for a benefit or solution for your need and finally the demand i.e. the brand which comes into picture. This principle was followed in the case of inbuilt TVs, LCDs which we named as Satellite Products like Satellite Box (STB), Satellite TV, Satellite LCD, Satellite DVDs.

The need is for a digital entertainment – better picture, better sound, wide range of entertainment channels . The want is for a devise which helps in providing you these. At the same time, the latent need is not to have too many wires dangling, too many remotes. The demand is for a brand which fulfils your needs, wants. All these problems are taken care by the brand Videocon d2h- Satellite LCD with its inbuilt satellite card. It gave access to world of digital entertainment. It also comes with a single remote which can be used for both TV and STB.

LAUNCH STRATEGY

The primary audience of any entertainment service is the family audience. It is assumed that Television programs bring the audience together. In the late 80s, early 90s it was the popular TV programs like Ramayan, Mahabharat brought the entire community together in front of TV. The same phenomenon was repeated when during the lockdown, re run of popular programs of DD like Ramayan was shown. The brief given to agency was to project brand Videocon d2h as wholesome digital entertainment provider directly from satellite.  The launch TVC was to educate that a new service provider is launched, communicating the brand name and the various channels that are being offered. Print Media launch ads was showcasing the d2h satellite products, channels available with us along with the intro offer.

MEDIA STRATEGY

MEDIA STRATEGY

For a brand launch, the objective is to reach to as many as possible. Regional media was used as the launch was a staggered one and only in Greater Punjab region. Print was given more weightage over Electronic channels. When the media consumption behaviour of Punjab was analysed, it was found that post 7 pm, the viewership shifted from regional channels to national channels like Hindi GECs. It was decided that we will use our budget judiciously in TV medium. Understanding this media behaviour helped us to use print and outdoor more then TV. 

All major newspapers like Punjab Kesari group, Tribune Group, Ajit Group, Dainik Jagran group was used with multiple ads in front page solo advertisements to full page advertisements. Later on, we consistently used the page killer strategy of vertical half page advertisements of size – 840 sq. cm (24cm(w) * 35(h)cms to 960 sq. cm 24(w)cms * 40(h)cms. This dimension was first used during my stint with brand Sansui occasionally. This vertical half page advertisements gave us good visibility, an impression of full-page advertisement but cannot turn out to be a page turner as there is still some news in the page.  This media strategy was duplicated in all the regional markets wherever we went like West and South.  By the time brand was available in Hindi Speaking Markets, we went ballistic with National Channels like Hindi GECs, Hindi News, Hindi Movies. 

TRADE LAUNCH

A mega trade dealer launch was organised in every state, followed by smaller one in each district. The launch was organised in large scale. Trade was very happy; they were very supportive. d2h satellite products were displayed on a stand. Along with a live video to give a glimpse of our services during the launch. Every dealer got a fair idea of the product, its benefits, how different it was from competitors. Videocon d2h was the only brand to use the compression technology of MPEG -4, DVBS -2. Features like transparent Onscreen Display, 12 PIP Mosaic features, Multi lingual Electronic Programming Guide were unique.

The result of an impeccable planning of brand and launch of d2h satellite products in media, trade. With confidence of enthusiastic field staff of service network and sales gave the brand a very good response. The trade network was very enthusiastic that d2h satellite products will be well received by the consumers.  Finally, in the first week of July, three days after the launch brand got its first subscriber.

BRAND CREATIVES

I don’t have the copies of the brand creatives which were used in Print, Outdoor. I lost the initial creatives after my laptop crashed. When the initial public offering was planned, that was the first time I actually realised the need to preserve creatives. I have kept the guard book of competitor creatives, but the physical copies or the soft copies of our own advertisements, creatives was not kept.  Team members also didn’t have the copies. But this experience gave me a vital lesson that there is a need to keep the records of my work. Writing a memoir is also a responsibility, it is to present the facts to the coming generations on the challenges, thinking and the state of mind.  

LESSONS

MY LESSONS

Many of the acts at that point of time, were dismissed by our creative agency members as not based on any data or scientific evidence during the offline interactions of ours with client servicing team. The criticism aided by a thought that a young talented bunch of brand team are reduced to puppets by the client servicing team was neither countered nor supported by us. I and my team members asked them if they feel this way, then why don’t they put it across in the team meetings where sometimes the CEO is also present.  But none of the agency members raised questions during the team meetings but continue to repeat offline.

I had worked with advertising agency, I understood that these were the like those psychological mind games that happens in advertising agency between creative team and servicing team for one-upmanship. I had tried to argue with the agency team but failed as my point was not supported by anyone. Everyone tried to play the martyr while with agency, but credit takers of success internally.  Every team member was more or less at the same level, so it was either collective success or collective failure. But as the time progressed, our confidence grew by leaps and bounds. As a bonus, brand Videocon d2h was awarded the 3rd most successful brand launch of the year 2009 across all categories in the brand derby survey carried out by Business – Standard.

This gave us a belief that we not inferior to others. I may be from a smaller and unknown b- school but the ability to do wonders was not limited. This was the first step towards discovering many hidden qualities, traits of a brand professional in coming years.  In one of my Shyamalsiddhanta, I have said that the man who writes history is more important. As without the writer, the man who makes the history would not be known to the world. In this case, I am the writer, part of history and a history maker.   I was fortunate enough to have experienced a major event like brand launch so early in my career.

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