MAM
JCB India to kick off marketing campaign in Jan 2014
BENGALURU: Indian construction equipment manufacturer JCB India (JCB) plans to showcase 19 innovative made-in-India machines at Excon 2013 in Bengaluru on 20 November. The company also plans to kick off a campaign at the start of its financial year, which is January-December.
JCB’s marketing and communication plans are mainly BTL. “In the case of an automobile company, the spends would be around 70:30 skewed towards mass media, with BTL forming a small part of the spends. In the case of construction machinery companies such as ours, it would be around 85 per cent spends on BTL activities, and just 15 per cent towards mass media and that too generally in bursts,” revealed JCB Executive VP of marketing, business development and corporate affairs Amit Gossain to indiantelevision.com.
“Our communications on television make more sense on the regional channels where, maybe, my customer doesn’t even understand English, but could be a big buyer. We do use mass media such as television and newsprint and spend some money on news channels, etc., but our core communications are more the experiential kind,” said Gossain.
JCB takes part in events such as Excon 2013 where it claims to have booked the largest exhibition space of 4250 square meters this year. JCB holds customer-connect programmes, takes customers to visit its factories, gets dealer inputs, etc., as a part of its BTL activities. Besides, it subsidises a part of the marketing and communication expenses of its dealers.
Industry experts say that companies such as JCB could be spending anything from 0.5 to 3 per cent of annual turnover towards marketing, a figure range that Gossain agrees with for JCB, but refuses to peg the actual spends. In the case of a company such as JCB India with revenue of Rs 6000 crore, even the lower number would translate into marketing spends of Rs 30 crore per year.
“Despite an industry downturn of about 24 per cent, we have seen our revenue drop by just about 9-10 per cent, which means that our market share has grown,” said Gossain. “We are confident of the future in India and are setting up two new manufacturing plants in Rajasthan and have planned investments of Rs 500 crore over the next five years,” he revealed.
Stressing on quality, a strong customer support network and fuel efficiency, JCB’s tagline is ‘We care, that is why we are everywhere.’
New Delhi based Infinity handles the creative and media buying duties for JCB India.
Brands
Samsung India elevates Aditya Babbar to lead mobile business
Exec takes charge of MX sales and marketing after Raju Pullan’s exit
NEW DELHI: Samsung India has elevated Aditya Babbar to lead its mobile phone business, following the exit of Raju Antony Pullan.
Babbar, who previously served as vice president within the mobile division, has been appointed head of sales and marketing for the MX (mobile experience) business, effective May 1. In his new role, he will oversee the company’s sales and marketing operations for smartphones and related categories in India, reporting to the executive vice president of the MX business.
A long-time Samsung executive, Babbar brings over a decade of experience within the organisation, having held multiple leadership roles across product, marketing and category management. Most recently, he led product marketing and e-commerce for the mobile division, following earlier stints as head of product and marketing and senior director roles.
His career within Samsung Electronics and its India operations has also included responsibilities for flagship devices, tablets and wearables, giving him a broad view of the company’s premium and mass-market portfolio.
Babbar succeeds Pullan, who stepped down from the role, marking a leadership transition at a time when India remains a key battleground for global smartphone makers.
The appointment signals continuity within Samsung’s leadership bench, with an internal candidate stepping up to steer one of its most critical business units in a highly competitive market.
