Vishal Parekh
Marketing Director
Kingston Technology
How has been your journey at Kingston?
My role of marketing strategy started five years back. In those days, USBs were seen as purely a technology product. The effort which we had to make way back in 2007 was to make channel partners believe that it is going to be an everyday-use commodity soon. The storage was completely on CDs and DVDs at that time. It was difficult to convince them that flash was the future of storage. So, the challenge then was as a vendor we had to make them believe in the technology as something that is going to take you ahead in volumes and that is what happened. In 2008, the entire focus was to bring this brand usage to the lifestyle segment and since then there has been no looking back. Today, the pen drive has become so helpful to everyone and it's pretty much a part of all our lives.
How are you positioning your brand in India?
We have transformed the brand Kingston in the Indian market into more than just a memory module manufacturer or another storage company. We have given the brand name a more lifestylish appeal, especially over the past couple of years with some unique marketing innovations. We introduced the concept of customized in-shop branding, which was a first-of-its- kind endeavour. In 2011, Kingston became the first memory brand to tie up with a Bollywood movie. Very recently, Kingston also tied up with the IPL team Rajasthan Royals – another first for a memory brand.
How do you maintain a good, strong relationship with the channel?
Our very first effort was towards positioning Kingston as a lifestyle technology brand and later, making partners believe that we are an organization that is here to stay. Unfortunately, 2008 was the year when we saw recession and being an American company we saw the signs of the decline much in advance. Immediately we started to re-work our strategies to ensure that the channel partners and the consumer didn't have to bear the brunt of the slowdown.
We also started investing in branding the stores where partners do not have to invest a single penny, except giving us space. We have over 1,500 stores across 23 cities with customised Kingston branding. This not only instilled the loyalty factor in our partners but also gave a new look to their old shops. In 2007, we found that partners were more interested in international tours, whereas today they look for incentives and accordingly we have changed the game plan. Today, my team and I work on the programmes based on the feedback from our channel partners.
What makes you connect with the channel well?
I am a"people's person" and that enables me to understand better what works for the channel partners. Channel, according to me, is the one who takes my brand to the audience. It is important that I stay connected with them and understand what works for them and what excites them. My marketing plans are often based on their feedback and suggestions.
