STRATEGY

SEL 32 May-June 2014

FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN ORIENT FANS, THE COUNTRY’S number two fan manufacturer, forayed into lighting and later home appliances, many felt it was aping

peers such as CG, Bajaj and Havells. And that it was doing so with little ammunition to capture markets and no media strategy to gain mind space.

Fast forward to the present. At the company’s headquarters in New Delhi we find the company’s 15-month CEO Manoj Verma and his newly appointed branding head reviewing a changed goal sheet: ‘Talk

the language of a complete lifestyle electrical solutions provider, address Gen-X’. Verma wants to achieve this through a new brand identity; Orient Electric which is accompanied by a logo in orange, and launch an integrated campaign that will enable Orient to assert itself as a potent player in home appliances and lighting.

Ever the radical, Verma explained the philosophy and strategy behind Orient’s re-branding in a no-holds-barred interview with SEL. Here are the edited excerpts.

“The word ‘electricals’ has trade connotations while ‘electric’ relates to technology and the power of manufacturing”

STRATEGY

to our parent CK Birla Group’s philosophy, we didn’t play the trading game just as in fans business. We got on to the technology platform by setting up a CFL unit in Faridabad that brings out 1.2 million burners a month, while the balance is outsourced. We are currently working at enhancing the production capacity, which would fructify by fiscal end.

Initially we were outsourcing the electronics for CFLs, but within six months a decision was taken to integrate backward in terms of designing PCBs and manufacturing them as well.

Why this decision to integrate, when importing is probably a more economic option?At the heart of a CFL is electronics, which is not only the stamp of quality and reliability but also determines its life in the Indian context. European or Chinese circuits work at a different voltage, frequency and temperature dynamics. While the imported circuits function at 220V plus and minus 3V, in our country what’s needed is circuits that respond to 230V plus and minus 10%. This is as per law. But in reality the range is 90V on the lower side and 280V on the upper!

We needed circuits that can work at the 3°C of Delhi winters and 48°C of summers in Bihar. Today, all our lamps are fitted with the company’s PCBs that are designed to suit Indian conditions. Our company’s average monthly PCB capacity at Noida is 2.5 million.

What’s your game plan for LEDs? Manufacturing only CFLs isn’t a sustainable business model. So we looked at other options such as HID lamps, but the talking point in the industry was LED. We thought it’s better to channelise our energy and resources into new lighting rather than pursuing traditional lighting. The company had a skeletal LED program before I joined, which was waiting to be brought to life. We decided to focus on designing and manufacturing drivers and working on thermal management; the rest could be done through contract manufacturing. The rationale was that having created these two competencies, which account for 70%

of the product’s value, we would be left with assembly which could be done in house if viable.

What was your key challenge at the distribution level?Till we had just CFLs in our basket, dealers and distributors didn’t show much interest in us. During the last 15 months we concentrated on building an attractive portfolio in order to get entry into counters. We now have GLS, linear fluorescent, T5 and LED.

Orient as a brand has had a weak presence in the west and south. Has anything being done to ramp up distribution in these regions?That’s no longer true, at least in the west. In the last 15 months, we have changed our position in lighting as well as fans. We recorded 40-50% increase in dealership numbers by focussing on the best of the channel partners. With regard to our presence in south, I don’t have qualms in accepting that we are weak there [laughs].

As a fans marketer, Orient has depended on retail. But in lighting, the LED business in particular is being driven by projects owing to price sensitivity and awareness deficiency of end-consumers about new lighting. What is your plan for projects?In fans we always wanted to be like that. But in lighting our company will cater to retail and projects. In the next few months Orient Electric will look at opening brand stores on the lines of experience centres. In June we are releasing downlighters, 2x2 tiles, high bay lights, street lights and flood lights to address the growing projects business.

Have you set a target for the lighting business?We want to clock lighting revenues of `1,000 crore by 2020.

Going forward, will Orient Electric enter any other segment?We will roll out manufactured low voltage switchgear by November. n

Mrinmoy Bhattacharjee

SEL 33May-June 2014

First things first, how did Orient’s identity transition happen? When I came on board, the lighting business was known as Orient Fans, the business head of appliances was designated ‘business head appliances-Orient Fans’, our email ID and website too was @orientfans. We changed this to Orient Electricals and later to Orient Electric, realising that the word ‘electricals’ has trade connotations while ‘electric’ relates to technology and the power of manufacturing.So, Orient Electric emerged as an umbrella brand which could unify our entire business. The new brand identity, aided by the orange logo, will enable us to walk and talk the same language, and have similar product and packaging. We were quite sure that if we do this, we will attain a multiplier effect in terms of brand worth. And we are getting it ever since we launched the identity in mid-April.

Your tag-line says ‘switch to smart’…The next generation is smarter; they are more aware, decisive, vibrant, clear-sighted and straight faced and do not beat around the bush. We intend to say, “You are smart, so are our products that have been developed keeping in view your desire for lifestyle and convenient solutions. So, why don’t you switch to smart products of our company?”

The larger message that we want to convey is that our company is not a product-centric one, because being that would be looking in the rear view mirror. We are now an outward looking company that makes what Gen-X wants.

What made you change track? For 40-50 years we were happy playing the fans game, until we realised that the company should look at businesses that have synergies in terms of route to market or target audience. We found that lighting and home appliances are arenas where opportunities exist for us.

To be a serious player in lighting, you need to have manufacturing muscle. How has Orient evolved as a manufacturer? We entered lighting with CFLs and attained volume and size in that segment. Adhering

STRATEGY

SEL 34 May-June 2014

Brand TalkMultinational marketing communications firm JWT was commissioned to design a new brand identity for Orient Paper & Industries’ electric division. Creative head Kalpita Bose gave SEL an insider’s view of the design stages of the new identity - Orient Electric.

Pre-production Client’s concerns Orient until now always had a product forward strategy. They started with fans, then lighting and subsequently appliances. The company was largely known for fans and had great equity in the sector. This equity was entrusted to the lighting and appliances verticals. They now intend to widen their offerings to include any and all electric solutions. The idea of re-inventing the brand was to shed the image of being a fan brand, and become a complete electric solutions brand. So, we have created an identity for brand Orient that is relevant to its growing audience and growing SBUs (strategic business units). Additionally, in the process of this progression we have styled the brand to be relevant to today’s times and audience.

Elements of brand Orient We learned through our consumer interactions that they went to different brands for different electrical solutions. They seek the best brand in lighting, the best in a p p l i a n c e s , and largely the loyalty with Orient lies in the fans. There is no one brand that they can go to for all electric solutions.

Brand perception, challenges & goals We spent a lot of time with stakeholders of the company to understand their vision and intent of the brand. Orient has a highly motivated team that is gunning for serious product innovations. But there is a vast difference in what happens on the product development side and what the consumers feel about Orient. We have tried to bridge that gap through a new brand promise and identity.

ProductionThe identity The biggest challenge was to strike a balance between the newness and energy, and the solid trust and legacy that this brand beholds. It had to be an identity that would relate to a vast consumer set ranging from business units to homes, young new couples, to the existing loyal customers and users of fans and geysers.

Creative strategyThe creative strategy for Orient Electric was to infuse a lot of fun, energy and spunk into the brand. The idea was to go beyond just a logo, and design a fun and playful visual language, tonality and brand behaviour.

Logo, colour The design is an elegant blend of style and solidity. It aptly captures the legacy of Orient’s performance and at the same time gives it a chic, modern appeal. The vivid orange colour represents a new

attitude of vibrancy, youthfulness and an insatiable enthusiasm for creativity. This fresh identity connects with the exciting

dreams of the new generation without compromising on the values of warmth and comfort. With this identity, Orient is all set to cater to every expectation of today’s smart families nestling in equally intelligent homes.

Post-productionImplement the new identityNow we need to develop and extend the identity across various surfaces, to ensure it comes alive the way we have imagined it. n

Mrinmoy Bhattacharjee

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