Mumbai: Versuni has a simple yet powerful purpose: turning houses into homes. As a global home appliances leader and with more than 900 patents on its name, the company develops innovations that are in tune with consumer demand and the connected world in which we live, across kitchen appliances, coffee, climate, garment, and floor care ranges. Products under the Philips brand include the Philips Airfryer, Espresso Machine with LatteGo, PerfectCare Steam Generator, Air Purifier and AquaTrio Cordless Vacuum. Their other brands are: Saeco, Gaggia, Preethi, Philips Walita, L’OR Barista and Senseo®. Versuni is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and has innovation, manufacturing, and commercial centers across the globe, with a footprint in over 100 countries. Its successful product ranges adhere to EcoDesign requirements and reflect the company’s commitment to sustainability best practices. Versuni is a former business division of Royal Philips and was formerly known as Philips Domestic Appliances.
Versuni India Home Solutions Ltd. CMO Pooja Baid has over 14years of experience in building businesses from scratch and establishing brands through creative and unique marketing strategies. As head of marketing strategies, She is responsible for creating and accelerating the company’s marketing strategy and brands’ recognition across India. She is focused on driving the company's purpose of turning houses into homes.
Drawn to challenges, with the vision to push her limits and go beyond, Pooja has also built, run and divested an e-commerce portal in the food aggregation space, quite early on in her career. She enjoys working with and mentoring Start-ups to help them grow their business.
Indiantelevision.com reached out to Baid, via email interaction, where she talked about their recent announcement of their new campaign on Valentine's Day in collaboration with Tiny Terrible Tales.
Edited excerpts
On the inspiration Versuni India Home Solutions Ltd to collaborate with Terribly Tiny Tales for their Valentine's Day campaign
Our collaboration aims to highlight the genuine essence of love and celebration, countering the commercialization often associated with Valentine's Day. Instead of lavish gifts, we want to spotlight sincere expressions of affection. Our inspiration stems from the belief that the most meaningful displays of love often revolve around simple acts, especially those involving food.
Teaming up with Terribly Tiny Tales, we aim to encourage people to prioritize heartfelt gestures over material possessions. We aspire to foster the notion that genuine affection is best conveyed through personal efforts. Our campaign seeks to spark individuals' culinary creativity, fostering lasting memories through the joy of cooking. With a reach of over 3 million, TTT has a unique way of telling stories that resonate well with Versuni's latest campaign - #MakeNotBuy.
Embedded within our initiative is the overarching goal of positioning Versuni as a brand that champions love and enables consumers to make Valentine's Day and the entire month of love extraordinary through thoughtful, homemade gestures. We aim to facilitate this through Versuni's innovative range of domestic appliances, such as Philips Air fryers.
On the brand planning to leverage the creative storytelling expertise of Terribly Tiny Tales in its campaign
Our approach was to create a campaign that integrates both physical and digital elements, ensuring resonance across various platforms with our target audience. While physical installations in stores engage customers directly, we acknowledge the paramount importance of digital media consumption, especially among early to late millennials and early Gen Z individuals.
Recognizing that traditional television advertisements may not effectively reach our desired demographic, we opted to collaborate with Terribly Tiny Tales (TTT), a platform catering to the same audience. Through this partnership, TTT played a pivotal role in crafting heartwarming story videos aligning with our campaign's theme. These narratives are complemented by influencer collaborations and static content, enriching the campaign's storytelling. Moreover, alongside our digital endeavors, we introduced experiential elements in select stores, such as the installation of a heart-shaped pizza at Vijay Sales outlets. This prompts customers to engage physically with our brand, capturing moments of love to share as part of our campaign.
Ultimately, our goal is to convey the message that cooking embodies love made visible, inviting all who resonate with this sentiment to participate in our campaign by sharing their experiences and moments of connection.
How does this campaign fit into Versuni’s overall marketing strategy
At Versuni, for Kitchen Appliances, our overall marketing strategy revolves around 2 axis – strengthening relevance of our products in consumer lives and building Brand love as well as Top of Mind recall for Philips. The Valentine’s Day campaign is no exception.
In a normal manner, few people will draw a connection between home appliances & V-Day. But we realized that we do have a very strong role to play. That got illustrated in the form of #MakeNotBuy.
Also, as a brand, we always play Omni-Channel as we realize that our consumer expects us to engage with them though the funnel. Likewise, this was a phygital campiagn that had Digital & Shop floor legs to it.
On leveraging the use of digital and emerging technology as a medium
Leveraging digital and emerging technologies as a medium requires a strategic approach that aligns with audience preferences and behaviors. Firstly, understanding the target demographic enables tailored content creation and delivery. Integrating interactive elements like AR or VR enhances engagement and immersion.
Utilizing data analytics helps refine strategies and optimize content for maximum impact. Platforms such as social media, podcasts, and streaming services offer vast opportunities for reaching audiences and fostering community engagement. AI-driven personalization ensures relevant and timely content delivery, enhancing the overall user experience.
Remaining agile and adaptable to emerging trends and technologies is essential for staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Collaboration with tech innovators and prioritizing ethical considerations, such as data privacy and digital responsibility, are crucial for maintaining trust and integrity. By embracing innovation while focusing on audience needs, one can effectively leverage digital and emerging technology as a powerful medium for communication and connection.
We at Versuni, are dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge features like adapting to digital transformation, data-driven strategies, and customer-centric approaches to stay in the competitive market. We have harnessed disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to create innovative smart appliances. Our products like Philips Airfryer with a connected app and the first all-in-one Air Purifier with AI are in tune with consumer demand. Digital platforms allow marketers to reach a broader audience compared to traditional methods.
On the key trends in the domestic appliance market
The domestic appliance market in India is witnessing some significant shifts and trends driven by urbanization, rising incomes, premiumisation, and a tech-savvy culture. There’s a noticeable shift towards premiumization. With increased exposure to global products and rising affluence, consumers are seeking better quality and premium offerings that deliver superior value. Secondly, there's a growing adoption of smart appliances driven by the affordability of internet access and high internet penetration rates in India. This trend indicates a swift acceptance of technology among consumers, paving the way for the rapid integration of smart devices into households. Additionally, there's a significant rise in health consciousness among consumers, particularly post-COVID. This is evidenced by the increasing demand for air purifiers as people prioritize clean indoor air quality. Healthy eating is also on the rise, with a focus on nutritious foods and cooking methods. The popularity of air fryers exemplifies this trend, as consumers embrace healthier cooking alternatives.
Overall, these trends reflect changing consumer preferences and lifestyles, and they're likely to shape the direction of the domestic appliance market in India in the coming years. We are grateful to play a pivotal role in this evolving consumer behaviour with our products and we believe will shape the way forward for the industry.
On type of content customers expect from the Valentine's Day campaign by Versuni India Home Solutions Ltd and Tiny Terrible Tales
As a leading brand dedicated to transforming houses into homes, Versuni is thrilled to enhance the joy of Valentine's Day with our latest campaign alongside Terribly Tiny Tales. We aim to add a heartwarming twist to the typical Valentine's narrative, encouraging a shift from store-bought gestures to heartfelt homemade moments through #MakeNotBuy. We truly believe that genuine affection is best expressed through personal efforts, which is why our campaign emphasizes the beauty of culinary creativity. We're inviting individuals to step away from the ordinary and explore the world of diverse dishes that can be effortlessly prepared with our innovative range of Philips Airfryers.
With our digital film, we're leveraging a digital-first strategy to reach our audience through various digital and social platforms, engaging them in a visually resonant experience. In collaboration with Terribly Tiny Tales, we're encouraging people to share the delightful dishes they'll be preparing for their loved ones this Valentine's Day. This partnership not only amplifies the reach of our campaign but also fosters a community of individuals who celebrate love through the art of cooking.
