SAN DIEGO – A new report by TWICE market research partner Gap Intelligence shows that Electrolux’s Frigidaire brand has dominated range advertising throughout the year, and will likely continue to do so for the balance of 2014.
According to Gap home appliance analyst Christine Boersing, the firm’s year-to-date advertising data reflects “a strong advertising initiative by Frigidaire for its range products.”
Specifically, the brand captured 20 percent of the more than 2,500 range advertisements that Gap collected this year across seven major U.S. markets and 11 retailers. (Gap’s appliance retail panel includes ABC Warehouse, Best Buy, BrandsMart USA, Fry’s Electronics, hhgregg, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Pacific Sales, P.C. Richard & Son, R.C. Willey and Sears.)
The ad share is nearly double that of Frigidaire’s competitors and reflects an average monthly advertising average share of 21 percent.
Boersing said that “the strength seen in Frigidaire’s range advertising is reflective of its focus” on this product category, as advertising figures for its other home appliance segments typically rank among the lowest when compared to contending brands.
Of Frigidaire’s total range advertisements year to date, the greatest number were placed with hhgregg and Best Buy, respectively. Boersing believes that “the brand’s advertising focus within these retailers is perhaps reflective of its tactic to secure presence within a big-box retailer and [multi]regional retailer concurrently.”
Notably, Best Buy and hhgregg are two of the leading retailers year to date in overall range advertising, driven up largely by Frigidaire’s contribution, she said.
What’s more, Frigidaire’s ad placements thus far this year reflect “an overall focus on regional retailers” and “a noticeably small presence at home improvement [chains],” Boersing observed.
Overall range advertisements peaked in May and June, to a high of 446 and 435 placements, respectively. The spike can be attributed to the Memorial Day holiday period, when advertising activity typically increases across all major appliance categories for the retail panel.
Not surprisingly, Frigidaire also peaked in its range ad placements during May and June, featuring up to 40 more ads than competing brands.
Despite their smaller overall ad volume, brands such as LG and Samsung maintain a consistent monthly ad share, Boersing added.
Compared to laundry and refrigeration, the range category is the least advertised by volume, based on historical ad trends and Gap Intelligence ad data, she said.
Total advertising was expected to spike again in August as the Labor Day weekend approached, and Boersing projected that Frigidaire is likely to “significantly increase” its range advertisements not just for the end-of-summer sale period but throughout the remainder of the year.
