Going Beyond Cooling: A Study on Brand Positioning Strategy of a Leader in Indian Air Conditioner Market

Brand positioning has been defined by Kotler as “the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market”. In other words, brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or how, it sits in customers’ minds. A brand positioning strategy, therefore, involves creating brand associations in customers’ minds to make them perceive the brand in a specific way. By shaping consumer preferences, brand positioning strategies are directly linked to consumer loyalty, consumer-based brand equity, and the willingness to purchase the brand. Effective brand positioning can be referred as the extent to which a brand is perceived as favorable, different and credible in consumers’ minds. As an MBA student and doing MBA project on marketing, you’ve heard about the concept of brand positioning. Today in this MBA Project on Brand Positioning Strategy of a Leader in Indian Air Conditioner Market, we shall study how Panasonic brand is perceived as different and credible in its Customers’ minds and has become successful in the Air conditioner Market in India. 

About the Brand

Panasonic Group is a global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for a wide-range of applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, industry, communications, and energy sectors. Panasonic India, the Indian arm of Panasonic Group has been selected for this MBA project on study of Brand Positioning Strategy in the Air Conditioner market in India. Panasonic commenced its operations in India in 1972. In 2008, Panasonic India Pvt Ltd was formed to integrate the different Panasonic interests in India. Mr. Daizo Ito joined as CEO Panasonic India in April 2008 and ensured Panasonic’s aggressive focus on India with heavy investments and expansion.

Since then Panasonic has been on an upward growth path in the country with innovative product offerings, increased investments on business and various promotional initiatives. Today, Panasonic India is increasingly being seen as an Indian company, though with Japanese roots. In your MBA project work more details are to be presented on Panasonic.

Marketing Strategy

The brand for this MBA Project study is committed to provide a ‘Better life’ for its consumers and contribute to creating a ‘Better World’ around them. The requirement of its consumers differs across geographies and therefore, technological solutions are customized to the local environment by Panasonic. With this philosophy, Panasonic provides solutions that are made in India for the Indians, across business and consumer sectors. India is at the cusp of change, and is being recognized as one of the most influential markets globally. With more than half of India’s population under the age of 25 India has a rapidly expanding youth segment. The country also boasts of a dynamic social and cultural fabric. Taking into account these unique local conditions, Panasonic is now looking at India as a priority market. Taking from our legacy, the company provides solutions which will now be fueled by its ‘Indovation’ strategy, of weaving local solutions to the global approach.

Brand Positioning & Growth in Indian Air Conditioner Market

As far as positioning strategy is concerned, the brand does a lot of product-led campaigns throughout the year. For positioning, Panasonic brand have also identified certain topical events, and are leveraging that to define the purpose of the brand. Mother’s Day is one such topical event that the brand has picked up. The campaign is primarily based on the well-being, and healthy sleep of mothers. Sleep deprivation is very common among mothers, especially in the new ones, and Panasonic truly believes that wellness begins at home. The technology that it offers in the products, focuses on the comfort and convenience of the users. So, Panasonic is trying to reflect that in the campaigns too.

As far as AC is concerned, Panasonic had recorded a growth of over 80 % this April as compared to the April of 2021. The brand recorded a growth of 60% in comparison to the same period of 2019. In March this year, Panasonic recorded a growth of nearly 142% as compared to the March of 2019.

There has been huge demand for inverter ACs. Consumers are looking at high-end air conditioners, which are smart and can help them multitask. This is applicable across all categories. In refrigerators, the demand for 550 litres and above has gone up. As for televisions, 50 inches is the new 40 inches these days. Likewise, the demand for fully automatic washing machines has gone up. People are spending more time at home, and are looking at convenient appliances that help with multitasking, and can keep them connected remotely, no matter where they are. So, the demand for high-end products is going up across all the categories. So, positioning strategy vis-à-vis growth of the brand across its various product categories should be studied as part of the MBA project.

Strategy to meet future challenges in Air Conditioner market in India

In the Air Conditioner category, cooling is now taken for granted by consumers. They say, ‘tell me, what else you are offering.’ So, Panasonic’s future ready answer is that while Panasonic ACs are good for cooling, there are also a host of other features, which makes it a complete device for consumers. Its ACs come with a patented technology called Nanoe, which actually works on eliminating bacteria and viruses. In the smart ACs category, the brand also has its IoT app MirAIe, which gives consumers complete control over the air conditioner remotely. It has built-in artificial intelligence, and thus the machine can take calls on its own, based on the customer's usage pattern. For example, when we go to bed at night, we keep our air conditioner at the lowest temperature, and we have to keep changing it manually from time to time. Through artificial intelligence, the smart ACs understand the usage patterns of consumers over a period of time, and then start adjusting the temperature on its own. Therefore, strategy to remain future ready should also form a part of the MBA Project.

Conclusion & recommendation

Smartness lies in understanding consumer needs and pushing relevant communication. So Panasonic as a brand tries to understand which stage of the purchase cycle a consumer is in, and then deliver messages based on it. Such experiments cannot be done on television. But when it comes to Digital, the brand should utilize that platform very smartly. If a consumer is in the second stage, which is the research stage, the brand should ensure that they have relevant review content on YouTube, and other platforms. Such content talks about the key buying factors, and also highlights the proposition. Likewise, Panasonic should ensure that all platforms are equipped with relevant offers, schemes for the consumers who are in the final stage of the cycle. So, a detailed study is a must on communication strategy of the brand before making recommendations and conclusions.Also future marketing strategy to stay relevant in Indian market with increase in market share to be studied as part of the MBA Project.

Dedicated faculty member of Madembaezy can help a student during the MBA Project study and to find a subject, select a topic, find an organisation for the MBA Project work and plan the MBA project and will act as a liaison between the student and the host organisation.