The story of a fallen devil
ONIDA was the first TV that came into my household. The long-eared devil with its horns in the ONIDA ad never looked scary in my childhood. One day that TV failed and my family bought a Samsung. The age of ONIDA was over in my house and we never looked back.
Nevertheless, I always wonder what happened to the long-tailed devil of ONIDA.
ONIDA TV was once the king of the market. With its popular tagline — Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride — and the devil on the screen — ONIDA TV made explosive sales numbers in the market until its downfall.
What happened to the most-talked TV brand?
In 1982, MIRC electronics launched its ONIDA TV after the company’s first anniversary. It gained the trust and love of customers in the electronic sector. People admired the two-horned devil of ONIDA TV. In 1998, 450,000 ONIDA TV sets were sold and the company established another milestone. However, the devil disappeared from the screen in the same year.
Disappearance of Devil
After selling a record number of ONIDA tv sets, MIRC Electronics wanted to experiment with branding and positioning. They hired Ogilvy & Mathers, a global marketing agency for branding and positioning among the newer-older generation.
With a flick of a wand, MIRC decided to obliterate the devil from the visual promotions. The company thought that horn donned devil might not work with new customers and might not stand right in front of its contemporaries. The departure did not go well with the market and the sales plummeted from 1998 to 2003.
Shifts in Marketing Strategies
After witnessing drastic sales numbers, MIRC Electronics moved to another marketing agency, ReDiffusion. In 2004, the ONIDA Devil came back with a new look and style. In the month of October 2004, the sales numbers went up to 54%.
To reposition the branding, MIRC came up with a new tagline ‘ Nothing but the truth’. With time, the brand position kept changing with new taglines and updated mascots.
In addition, a lot of new players such as Sony, Samsung, LG, Acer, etc entered the market with modern and technologically advanced televisions. According to a report by Counterpoint Research, Samsung and LG dominated the Indian TV market in Q1 2021, with a combined market share of 50%.
According to a report by Exchange4media, the downfall of ONIDA TV was largely due to inconsistent branding and marketing strategies. The report suggests that the company’s constant changes in taglines and mascots led to confusion among customers and blurred segmentation, which eventually led to a decline in sales and market share.
Today’s market is still volatile and full of cutthroat competition. The solution for any brand lies in its marketing, segmentation, and positioning among customers. The downfall of ONIDA TV highlights the importance of consistent branding, positioning, and marketing strategies for any brand in a volatile and competitive market. Companies should be careful when experimenting with their branding and mascot as it can have a significant impact on their market position and customer perception.
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