The Consumer electronics brand TCL has reiterated their passion for cricket through its association with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the third consecutive year. As part of the association, the TCL brand logo will appear on the upper non-leading arm right of the players’ jersey. TCL recently participated in the annual consumer electronics show (CES) and showcased products like the thinnest 8K Mini LED TV prototype along with other QLED TVs, mobile devices, and smart home appliances. TCL has taken TV viewing, especially fast-paced sports or action movie-watching experiences to the next level. They are using this opportunity to come up with televisions in smaller screen sizes.
Elaborating on the objectives and the strategies behind the association, Vijay Kumar Mikkilineni, Marketing Head, TCL India said, “TCL as a brand has always supported and associated with sports in whatever way possible and we strongly believe that by sponsoring every country’s favourite sport we can reach out to the masses. We have applied the same strategy in India and nothing could be a better fit than cricket and in particular IPL. As far as associating with Sunrisers is considered we see Hyderabad as a major market for the brand apart from this we have always noticed that our synergies match a lot.”
The brand has invested heavily in the advertising campaign for IPL 2022 and is focusing equally on offline and digital advertising.
“We are on our toes to gain the maximum out of this association. Unlike the last two years, we expect significant ROI from our association this year. The last two years have been a roller coaster ride for all the sponsors including TCL where we did not see the usual ROI. However, with things getting better this year we are looking forward to a great association and better ROI,” said Mikkilineni.
The company’s ad and marketing spend go hand in hand.
“We maintain a ratio of 60:40 varying upon the demand of the market. While the last two years our focus was on enhancing digital ads and marketing, this year we are planning to go back and focus more on offline marketing and advertising,” said Mikkilineni.
Though a late entrant, TLC is slowly making its presence felt in the TV industry and managed to increase its share to 6 percent last year.
Speaking about the brand’s plan for this year, he said “I agree that TCL has entered the market a little late, however, with the kind of products, services and technology that we offer TCL has become a household name. We also have the first-mover advantage when we talk about Mini LED TVs. We consider India as a strategic market and we are continuously developing products that suit the needs of the Indian consumers. Our largest overseas CSOT panel factory in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh has started functioning, through this, we aim to save largely upon the import cost and more.”
Like all other brands, TCL also had been in a tough spot during the pandemic period.
“Honestly, speaking, our sales, revenue and growth were severely impacted during the pandemic. However, we did not lose hope and we have now pulled up our socks and gotten back on track. To achieve the performance of the pre-pandemic era would certainly take some time but I am sure that with the kind of marketing and sales strategy that we are following we would soon match up the numbers,” he said.
Speaking on the marketing strategies planned for the year, he said, “Apart from the IPL campaign we are also looking ahead to launch a new range of products in the offline market. Since the summers are already here, we have recently introduced our new range of ACs with 5 step purification. Apart from this TCL once again plans to increase its brand visibility in the offline market.”
