Why is B2B clean energy giant Suzlon betting big on B2C ads?

Imagine a planet where an orange regrows immediately after you pluck it, an ice cream replenishes after every bite and a drink refills automatically after each sip. 

This is the planet Suzlon, a clean energy generation company, is selling to the citizens of the world through its ad films. But here’s the catch: Suzlon Energy operates as a B2B company.

After 30 years of running successful operations across 17 countries, Suzlon Energy has gone under a brand refresh titled Suzlon 2.0, an evolution from a wind-only provider into a full-stack clean energy conglomerate spanning solar energy generation and clean energy storage. 

And the brand is not restricting its marketing efforts to corporate boardrooms.

Speaking to afaqs!, Dharini Mishra, chief brand and reputation officer, Suzlon Group, details the necessity behind a heavy-duty B2B company creating visually striking, consumer-facing advertising.

Why must a B2B brand grab consumer attention?

Now headquartered in Pune, Suzlon Energy was founded by Tulsi Tanti in 1995. Tanti originally made his fortune as a textile businessman who faced severe disruptions due to erratic power supply in Gujarat. 

He purchased a few windmills to solve the power crisis. However, what started as a solution to a business problem became his core business when Tanti realised the untapped potential of wind energy in India.  

The brand is swapping out dry engineering metrics for consumer storytelling to ensure it has citizens on its side so that larger businesses and governments feel obliged to invest in clean energy. 

The strategy hinges on building a groundswell to influence policy. 

Mishra points out that during their early years, there was a critical need to tie renewable energy to “day-to-day people’s problems”, filling a gap where “people thought that renewables are something that happens somewhere in some corner of the world, and what do I have to do with it?”

Because the power sector remains highly dependent on government frameworks, creating public demand was essential. Mishra says that when clean energy was still a premium, hesitant governments needed to feel “that the people of India really want this; the need is not just in boardrooms, the need is in the streets.” 

By taking the conversation to the public, Suzlon mobilised the youth, a segment “that the governments really want to factor into their policies”.

To turn this public engagement into policy action, the company utilised a structured process.

Mishra shares that the process works by gathering a groundswell, getting citizens to sign petitions, validating the data with a Delhi-based think tank to create a concrete proposal, and finally, “you give it to the government. That’s how the usual process works.”

She cites a successful initiative from 2011 called P.A.L.S. (Pure Air Lovers Society), an award-winning environmental awareness campaign launched by Suzlon Energy. The initiative was created to educate the public on the importance of clean air and to build a massive grassroots movement for pollution-free living.

The campaign managed to sign up a million people online back when the internet was only just becoming popular for the layperson. 

The know-how of B2C advertising in a B2B world

Mishra explains that because a B2B company “doesn’t advertise as much as an FMCG company does”, they rely on highly targeted bursts where they “really need to grab attention”. 

To break through, the work “has to be visually stunning” because “we can’t do something which kind of merges with the rest of the advertising landscape of that time because then we won’t stand out.”

Furthermore, the creative challenge required depicting a world that does not yet exist. Mishra notes that because they are projecting a future world in the making, “it really needs to be a world that people aspire to join or people want to be part of.” 

By making this environment visually attractive and technologically advanced, the campaign speaks directly to a younger demographic.

“I know that the youth of today and the way that AI and machine learning are going, they are looking forward to a very digitised future.”

Hurdles and setbacks

Executing this high-concept creative execution came with significant real-world challenges. Mishra admits they had to meter down certain elements, like replacing initial concepts of children flying on sky jets, because “while you want to be aspirational, you don’t want to become caricaturish. People might not relate to it just yet or find it unsafe.”

Geopolitics further disrupted production schedules. The team had its heart set on shooting in exotic locations around the world to maximise impact. While a bulk of the film and all still photography were executed in India, original plans to shoot special effects in Dubai were hit when the city briefly shut down due to the US-Iran war. 

Production units had to pivot at the last minute: “Most of my work was supposed to happen in Dubai. It didn’t because Dubai just shut down. So we had to move at the last minute. That’s why the second film is still not out.”

Production units had to split their workforce between local teams in Bombay and Dubai, shifting their lone international travel location from South Africa to Bangkok.

Money matters

Mishra confirms that Suzlon’s media budget is “a little shy of 1% of our revenue”. As per its annual report, Suzlon Energy recorded a consolidated revenue of Rs 16,679 crore for FY 25-26, representing a 54% year-over-year growth from Rs 10,851 crore in the previous financial year (FY 24-25).

With a media budget just under Rs 166.79 crore, 30% gets allocated to print media, and an equal share goes to digital media. 

Mishra notes that while “money is more on print effort”, their “exposure is far higher on digital”. Consequently, she emphasises that “digital is my lead channel” because they are “putting in much more effort and much more exposure there and getting a lot more in return as well”.

TV and OOH make up the remaining 40% of the budget, with a heavy emphasis placed on TV and CTV combinations. “CTV is very important for us,” Mishra adds. 

The Suzlon 2.0 brand refresh comes after the energy giant was brought under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for inflating the company’s net worth through circular transactions.