Appliance maker Inglis will increase its ad spending by nearly 100% in 1995 over 1994, says the company’s new director of brand marketing.

Karim Lalani, who was promoted to the post Oct. 1 from his previous role as director of trade marketing, says Inglis has embarked on a strategy to ‘build the equity of its brands.

‘We will be putting a focus on brand building as opposed to price,’ Lalani says.

Inglis, which is the Canadian arm of u.s.-based Whirlpool, sells household appliances under such brand names as Inglis, Whirlpool, Admiral and Kitchen Aid and Speed Queen.

Two years ago, Whirlpool made known its intention to return to the high ground of brand building after a decade of abdicating product marketing to the retail trade.

This year, Inglis ran two tv spots adapted from the u.s., one for Kitchen Aid, which aired only in Quebec, and the other for Whirlpool, which appeared nationally.

Women’s shelter pubs

As well, the firm ran ads for both brands in a host of women’s shelter publications.

Lalani says Inglis is still in the process of formulating its 1995 advertising plans, but adds it has already been determined Kitchen Aid and Whirlpool will get tv backing once again.

As well, Inglis might run ads informing consumers it now offers a line of refrigerators with its recently developed refrigerant technology, free of the controversial cfcs.

Lalani declines to reveal how much Inglis will spend on media in 1995, saying only that the company’s advertising will begin in the first quarter of the year.

In June, Inglis put its ad account up for review, eventually awarding the creative and media assignments to Cossette Communication-Marketing.

Previously, creative had been assigned on a project basis to dmb&b in Toronto, while ProMedia of Boston handled media buying.

dmb&b is the Whirlpool brand agency in the u.s. ProMedia works on u.s.-based Whirlpool’s media buying.

Lalani says he has yet to decide whether Cossette will be called on to develop original tv creative for the Canadian market.