Panasonic India ups the ante for its smartphones; banks on Japanese legacy

Panasonic, which had entered the highly competitive smartphone market in India in 2013, is now upping its game with the introduction of two new smartphones Eluga A3 and A3 Pro. The company recently assigned the creative mandate for its smartphones business to Makani Creatives following a multi-agency pitch. Newcomer actor Tapsee Pannu has been roped in as brand ambassador. 

In an interaction with PTI, Pankaj Rana, Business Head - Mobility Division, Panasonic India, has said that the company is eyeing revenues of Rs 2,000 crore from its smartphone business this year. 

Meanwhile, Sarthak Seth, Head - Brand & Marketing Communication (India    & South Asia), Panasonic, told Adgully, “Last year, we had revenues of Rs 14 crore. This time we are looking forward to an increase of 15-25 per cent in our revenues.” 

To support the launch of its Eluga series, Panasonic India has rolled out a new ad campaign – ‘So Much To Do’ – featuring Taapsee Pannu and Varun Dhawan. The campaign is about exploring, creating, and trying what one has never done with Panasonic Eluga smartphones. The 360 degree campaign will be supported on television, Print, OOH, Cinema and Digital platforms. 

Elaborating on the campaign Seth said, “With the tagline – ‘So much to do’, we are telling people that one can do so many things which is beyond possibilities with a phone. In today’s time, a phone is not just a device but also acts as a companion for an individual. Both Taapsee Pannu and Varun Dhawan feature as brand ambassadors in short commercials individually.” 

On the choice of brand ambassadors, he remarked that Varun Dhawan has his own set of fan following and is an individual who appeals to everyone. Taapsee Pannu has been roped in to get closer to today’s youngsters as well as the females TG. “Considering Taapsee’s position in today’s film industry, she is the perfect blend of quirkiness and fun. Thus, keeping all this in mind, I feel Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu together will grab more attention of today’s youth,” Seth affirmed. 

The creative brief shared with Makani Creatives has been to showcase the premium side and the bold side of the business. Seth further said, “Since, the core TG is in the 15-25 age group, it was more about connecting with the masses, which is the most important thing. Makani has come up with some sharp creatives for both television and print.” 

According to Seth, in terms of leveraging media, one needs to be present in every medium because as a brand sometimes one could miss out on reaching the right consumers that one really wants to target. “In order to surpass that, we are using Television, Print, Radio, Digital and OOH for promoting the brand. Apart from these, there are mall activations to gain consumers’ attention by giving them a touch and feel experience of the brand,” he added. 

Seth stressed that from a marketing perspective, consistency is the key to success. “You always need to remind the consumers about the existence of the brand. Beside this, we have also made commitment to our consumers that we will be launching 11 new devices with unique features in a couple of years,” he further said. 

While acknowledging the fact that Chinese mobile brands are stealing a march over other smartphone brands, Seth maintained, “We Indians always look for a trustworthy product. Panasonic, being a Japanese brand, is high on technology and innovation. Thus, as a brand we will always focus on technology along with trust. We are the only brand in this space who will be celebrating completion of 100 years in the market next year, which shows the volume of consumers that have accepted this brand.”