Orient DC Inverter marketing strategy goes back to square one

If you could wind your memory only a few years back, you may recall how Orient DC Inverter turned the air-conditioner market upside down. Was it an easy task to change the market dynamics, a market that was comfortable selling fixed-speed air-conditioners? Certainly not. Orient knew well that you cannot always play on price points. It had to do more, and it did. The all-important mass awareness about the new technology and its far-reaching benefits started translating into creative themes and campaigns.

JWT-Lahore was the agency that gave the brand the necessary creative support it needed to launch Orient DC Inverter successfully. The agency on the directives of its client made sure to mention ‘Heat & Cool’ whenever and wherever Orient DC Inverter was written or spoken. Thus, the point that Orient DC Inverter is both ‘Heat & Cool’ capable was communicated effectively to the consumer. The creative team of JWT-Lahore, lead by Naeem Ahasn, also created thematic snippets highlighting various features including the ‘Heat & Cool’ function.

After investing time, money, and ideas on product awareness, Orient Electronics has wiped the slate clean with its recent DC Inverter TVC. A seemingly well-educated girl, played by Sumbal Iqbal, is utterly ignorant of the fact that Orient DC Inverter comes with ‘Heat & Cool’ feature. The opening line of the TVC negates all the good work the brand had sedulously done before.

There is a large population of women that live in harsh economic conditions. As housewives, they work day in and day out within the confines of their homes. They usually don’t have access to the internet and smart gadgets. A woman living in such a socio-economic spectrum could be oblivious of DC Inverter’s heating function. But the TVC reflects SEC B+, a section of society where women are not only educated but also work as professionals. It is unimaginable how Instinct Media came up with such a concept.

Ever since JWT-Lahore was shut down, the creative side of Orient Electronics has been going downhill. Interflow in the last couple of years failed to come up with any sound creative strategy and now Instinct Media is shooting arrows in the dark. Being creative is one thing, and knowing the brand inside out is another. To make effective creative campaigns it is extremely important to understand the brand, its history, personality, target audience, and competition.

With the brand idea Living Innovation and Orient DC Inverter offering IOT enabled features like AutoPilot, the campaign could have creatively explained its innovative features that most people still don’t fully understand. The 47-sec long advert, directed by Manan Roy, takes the marketing strategy of Orient Electronics back to square one. In old times, when radio was most popular, football commentators, for the visual reference of the listeners, named the football field as squares. The square at the mouth of the goal was called Square One. Passing the football all the way back to the goalkeeper was ‘Back to Square One’, hence the term.