The Cool Big Idea

The crux of this Marketing Folklore Series remains the Big Idea. But big ideas need not always be advertising or communication ideas; perhaps not even something to do with marketing. This next one was a designing big idea. Specifically, innovative product design!

Returning to this series’ focused timeline of the late eighties-early nineties, given that period as the transition to liberalisation and the resultant opening of lifestyles, perceptions, product usage and higher disposable incomes, it was a time when the Indian consumer landscape was moving from a historically clear demarcation of haves and have-nots, to an in between (and fast emerging) category that ‘aspired to have’.

Creating a New Category

India being a tropical country, air cooling systems have always been a must in every home. Air-conditioner, if you could afford one (chiefly, the resultant spike in electricity costs) but, at the very least, the humble fan. A very small category had also developed – buyers of air coolers… those who wanted some semblance of an air-conditioner, albeit unable to afford an AC outlay.

The air cooler was a happy compromise. It wasn’t a fan; it blew cool air along the lines of an AC, except that it wasn’t one. Back then, it didn’t even pretend to be. It was more an ugly box with zero aesthetics that cooled an immediate, limited area. It definitely wasn’t hip to own an air cooler. It certainly wasn’t something you showed off.

Around that time, the Bakeris – an Ahmedabad-based business family – were looking for a new business idea. That emerged from a casual dinner conversation, where the chat veered to the two desert coolers newly installed in the house. The common sentiment around the dinner table was that they were utilitarian, but downright ugly. Someone simply, but perfectly, summed it up: “Why can’t they make attractive coolers?”

An AC-like Air Cooler

In the answer to that question lay the family’s next business idea. Some research and enquiries later, they realised that the cooler was an ugly product, precisely because it was an entirely unorganized market. The category had no brands. Coolers were typically constructed in shabby, small-scale, industrial galas, and sold without any marketing savvy.

The family had their mission all cut out and lucid: Build a smart-looking air cooler. And in pursuing that goal, hit paydirt when one of them came up with this big idea: Why not an air cooler designed to look like an air-conditioner.

They instantly knew they had a winning idea. In no time, five prototype-clones were built, to which family and friends gave full marks. A pilot batch of 900 pieces was assembled next, every one of which disappeared from dealer shelves in a blink.

Turns out, it was exactly what the wannabe audience was waiting for. An air cooler that looked like an AC, but cost significantly less. To be sure, it was priced much higher than the grey market cooler; but that strategy worked in its favour. As a branded product with a smart name – Symphony, and even smarter looks, there was a category of people who didn’t mind paying a premium for quasi-snob value. They could now show off their status, nearly bringing them on par with AC-wallahs.

Overcoming Obstacles

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. There were still issues to address. High excise duty was slapped on the category. The company’s top brass camped in Delhi to lobby for a lower rate, reasoning that the high rate would kill off branded players and in effect would be the demise of the category itself; while the unorganized sector wasn’t anyway adding to Government coffers. The authorities relented, bringing down the excise rate to manageable levels.

The other fire that needed to be doused was the plethora of customer complaints. In their hurry to go to market, the brand hadn’t fixed all the bugs. Then, there was the expected scourge of competition. Having set the trend and yardstick, the me-toos jumped on the gravy train as well. Not just me-toos, but formidable ones – Videocon, Weston, Racold... But Symphony held the first-mover advantage, and never yielded that, by continuing to innovate.

Continued to expand too. From assembling coolers in any available space, including a basement in an under-construction building, the infrastructure slowly evolved to a former textile unit, and finally to a proper factory floor. With time, Symphony grew into a 17-branch office with a countrywide network of nearly 2,500 retailers. Sales gradually picked up even in earlier cooler-agnostic regions. Of course, a smart and sophisticated ad campaign also helped to give the brand a classy image, justifying the price-point.

Global Success

The Bakeris themselves leveraged Symphony’s success to expand their business into other related household products such as exhaust fans, fan heaters, geysers, water purifiers and even washing machines.

35 years on, Symphony is a global success, a true Indian multi-national with a presence in over 60 countries, with claims of being the world’s largest manufacturer of air coolers. Their range has evolved even further by way of looks, performance and technology. The company has long ventured into the commercial and industrial space as well.

It’s uncanny how destiny works. One casual dinner conversation led to a big idea that is now dominant on a global scale. But like one of the owners put it back in time… in the end it all came down to product design. Proves our opening point – the big idea need not come from fancy advertising campaigns or convoluted marketing strategy. It can emerge from almost anywhere.