Crompton’s Tanmay Prusty on marketing in categories where features look the same

India’s consumer durables market has been shaped less by emotion and more by efficiency. Fans are compared on sweep size and power consumption. Pumps are evaluated on durability. Water heaters are judged on safety and price. In such categories, brand loyalty is often inherited, distribution is decisive, and advertising has historically played a supporting role in amplifying product launches rather than shaping demand. 

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited has long operated in such categories where differentiation is rarely glamorous. Fans, pumps, water heaters and kitchen appliances are functional purchases. They are bought on need, price and reliability.

Under what the company calls its ‘Crompton 2.0’ phase, marketing is being repositioned from a downstream support function to an upstream growth engine. In a conversation with Chief Marketing Officer Tanmay Prusty, what emerges is a story about organisational rewiring.

Prusty describes the hardest internal myth to break as the idea that marketing’s job begins once the product is ready.

“In categories like ours, products can look similar on the surface,” he says. “The opportunity lies in shaping preference earlier, through sharper insight, innovation and storytelling.”

Instead of starting with features, the marketing team now begins by asking what problem the consumer is actually facing. The answers to that, he says, are increasingly influencing decisions around product development, portfolio choices and communication 

“This strategic shift has been backed by a clear increase in marketing investments,” Prusty adds.

Following the money

Strategic intent is easier to articulate than to fund. In Crompton’s case, the financial commitment has also changed.

“In FY25, Crompton spent ₹300+ crore on advertising and sales promotion, approximately 4% of revenue from operations. This marks a significant increase from historical spends of around 1.5% of revenue in FY22.”

The higher allocation, Prusty says, reflects an effort to strengthen brand salience across categories and build deeper consumer engagement through consistent storytelling. 

“It also supports premium portfolio growth, as premiumisation requires sustained brand-building and stronger communication of value,” he says.

The investment push was also accompanied by structured consumer immersion. Prusty shares that the company engaged nearly 18,000 consumers across India to map how its categories intersect with daily routines, seasonal needs and life-stage transitions. 

Pain points and feature expectations were codified into insights intended to influence product roadmaps as much as advertising scripts.

He says, “These learnings are being integrated into product ideation, innovation roadmaps, and communication development.”

A hybrid media blueprint

Crompton follows a hybrid media approach that aims to balance reach with relevance. 

Prusty shares that television continues to anchor large categories such as fans and pumps, where reach remains decisive. But the mix has widened. 

The company has leaned into digital ecosystems, podcasts, sports integrations, creator-led content and AI-powered campaigns, in an effort to engage consumers where they are spending more time discovering and evaluating brands. 

“We have partnered with podcast properties such as Serving It Up with Sania, collaborated with Cricbuzz to connect with cricket audiences during peak summer, and executed creator-led campaigns on Spotify for air coolers. We have also deployed multiple AI-powered campaigns across categories.”

On-ground visibility has been strengthened across high-footfall locations such as airports, malls, and metro stations.

Influencer-led topical campaigns, he shares, have also become a key part of the brand’s media strategy, helping it stay contextual and timely across seasons. 

“Overall, traditional media-heavy approaches are being replaced by hybrid strategies that blend mass reach with digital engagement, content-led storytelling, and platform-first thinking.”

Strengthening growth momentum

E-commerce has quietly become a significant contributor to Crompton’s business. The online channel, Prusty shares, now exceeds ₹1,000 crore in revenue and is growing at approximately 20% year-on-year.

“This growth is driven by the increasing role digital platforms play in consumer discovery and purchase. Crompton follows a channel-agnostic approach, maintaining a strong presence across general trade, e-commerce, and quick commerce to ensure accessibility wherever consumers prefer to shop.”

Beyond pure volume, digital plays a strategic role. It allows consumers to compare features, evaluate performance and consider premium options more deliberately than in traditional retail settings.

In many ways, digital is not just a sales channel; it is an evaluation environment.

The road ahead

Over the next two years, the marketing agenda is closely tied to the company’s larger growth ambitions: strengthening the master brand across categories, accelerating premiumisation, and building a more seamless omni-channel experience.

“The focus will be on strengthening the master brand across categories, deepening consumer engagement, and creating a seamless omni-channel experience.”

Data-led media planning and sharper storytelling are expected to anchor this phase. But the more structural change may already be underway, repositioning marketing as one of the first voices in the value chain rather than the last.