mark at hon december 2011

INTERVIEW: SHIVA KUMAR, MD & VP, NOKIA INDIA

INTERVIEW: JACK TROUT, PRESIDENT OF TROUT & PARTNERS LTD.

MARKETING MAGAZINE OF IIM SHILLONG VOL 3, ISSUE 6

DECEMBER 11

MARKATHON

Cover Story Education – An Evolving

Landscape

Dear Readers,

2011 has come to a close and what a year it has been! Tata Sons finally has a successor to Ratan Tata - Cyrus Mistry has proved to be the proverbial dark horse and is all set to don the chairman’s hat come December 2012, when Ratan Tata’s tenure ends. The story of how Pallonji Mistry’s son dropped out from the panel formed to choose an heir for the conglomerate and become a

FROM THE EDITOR From the world of corporates, the Vartalaap for this month features Mr. D Shivakumar, the Managing Director and Vice President of Nokia India, who is set to take over as the head of the newly formed India, Middle East and Africa sales region covering about 90 countries. In this exclusive interview for Markathon, he talks about his days at IIM Calcutta and also about Nokia’s strategies to overcome the slump it currently faces. The readers will certainly not want to miss this excellent interview. 2011 was a great year for Markathon with many great interviews and also the wide range of sectors we covered in our cover stories. Team Markathon is grateful to all the readers for their constant support and encouragement throughout the year. We hope 2012 will only see us scaling newer heights. Do send in your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

Sit back and enjoy this edition!

Happy Reading!

Jitesh Pradeep Patel

Nov 2011Cover

the best recognised brands worldwide. Several high profile international acquisitions saw Tata become a truly global player and Cyrus Mistry has a difficult task ahead in terms of matching his predecessor, leave alone outshining him. 2011 also saw the launch of the much touted ultra-low cost Indian tablet – Akaash. This tablet is supposed to revolutionise education in India. Education in India has often been overlooked and the Government’s policies have always fallen short of amending it. Team Markathon was fascinated by how the Education industry in India works and how it has changed radically in the recent past. Our cover story for the month ‘Education – An Evolving Landscape’ looks at this evolution from a marketing perspective and also gives out interesting snippets on how some companies are innovating to tackle some of the biggest issues plaguing the education sector in India. I am sure the readers will find this story a fascinating read. December’s Vartalaap has two of the biggest names Markathon has ever seen. The first is Jack Trout. Jack Trout, who along with Al Ries ( Interviewed in July 2011 edition of Markathon) came up with the concept of Positioning in 1972, is the pre-eminent guru of Marketing Strategy. He has authored over 10 bestsellers dealing with the domain of Marketing and has consulted the who’s who of the Fortune 500. He talks exclusively to Markathon on various topics right from his education years to his assignments with Indian companies like the Bajaj Group.

candidate for the same race is fascinating. Interestingly, Cyrus Mistry is an Irish national and will become the first non-Indian citizen to hold the chairmanship of Tata Sons. During Ratan Tata’s tenure, the Tata brand went from being an Indian conglomerate to one of

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THE MARKATHON TEAM

EDITOR Jitesh Pradeep Patel

SUB EDITORS Gaurav Ralhan

Kaustubh Rawool Rahul Mantri Ritika Nagar

Sria Majumdar

CREATIVE DESIGNERS Yashwanth Reddy Mandipati

Sana Parvez Akhtar

MEMBERS G S N Aditya

Piyush Agarwal Mayur Jain Sowmya R

Swati Nidiganti Umang Kulshreshtha Priya Kumari Agrawal

Rushika Sabnis

mailto:[email protected]

CONTENTS

FEATURED ARTICLES

PERSPECTIVE Cause marketing: The Worst a Brand can Get PRANAY SINGH| FMS

PERSPECTIVE Importance of Marketing: From Inception to Conclusion ASHISH AGARWAL | FMS Delhi VARTALAAP

JACK TROUT PRESIDENT, TROUT & PARTNERS LTD. VARTALAAP

SHIVA KUMAR MD & VP, NOKIA INDIA COVER STORY EDUCATION – AN EVOLOVING LANDSCAPE SWATI | RUSHIKA | ADITYA IIM S

WAR ZONE

EYE 2 EYE DoES Government intervention and equity infusion save the Indian Aviation industry players who are reeling under huge LOSSES? ANGIKA SAGAR |DEEPIKA SINHA| IIM S

SILENT VOICE Horlicks Oats- Three Way Health Advantage SPECIALS

BRAND STORY SANA AKHTAR

BOOKMARK SRIA MAJUMDAR

UPDATES MAYUR JAIN

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markathon | november 2011

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26 27 28

perspective markathon | November 2011

Cause marketing: The Worst a Brand can get

Pranay singh | fms

Over the last few years, companies have evolved their

marketing campaigns ranging from plain old direct

marketing to now ubiquitous social media marketing.

Along the way, there have been many innovations

which made everyone, including critics sit up and take

notice. One such tool, a result of this innovation is

Cause marketing which engages and empowers the

consumer while providing them with brand affinity at

the same time. Cause marketing can be defined as a

strategic positioning and marketing tool that links a

company or a brand to a relevant social cause or issue,

for mutual benefit. American Express first coined the

phrase “Cause Related Marketing (CRM)” in the 1980s

while raising money for the restoration of the Statue of

Liberty in New York City.

CRM is not a new phenomenon for companies but, over

the course of last few years it has become a preferred

medium to get connected with consumers. It is

differentiated from other campaigns by the espousal of

an idea to solve a problem which is affecting the nation

or its resources. The campaign gets a national platform

by empowering people’s voices through mainly social

media.

Global Cause marketing Success

In the Indian context, the prime example has been a

legend of sorts. Tata tea’s “Jaago Re” campaign raised

the topic of total participation of an individual in our

democratic process and also its various lacunae. Its

success can be gauged from the fact that even now it is

known as the flag bearer of CRM among Corporate

India and Business school students. The campaign’s

association with the TATA brand enhanced its efficacy

and reach. TATA has always been considered as an

institution which puts societal benefit first.

Another example is Aircel’s “Save Our Tiger” campaign

which highlighted the acute situation our national

animal now faces. Although, it cannot be considered as

a brand synchronization exercise for Aircel as it’s a

telecom company but the campaign tagline “Only 1411

left “ helped awaken today’s socially connected youth.

This goes on to show that CRM is a tool which if used

sensibly, can be effective in leveraging public opinion

for brand recognition. FMCG major P&G’s strategy

regarding CRM is interesting. Around a year back, they

had a campaign called “P&G Shiksha” through which,

for every P&G product purchased, a contribution went

for the education of under privileged children. They

aimed at opening 20+ schools across India. Anupam

Kher was chosen as the campaign’s brand ambassador.

perspective markathon | december 2011

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The move was sensible considering other initiatives but

somehow not very innovative as expected from a global

leader. According to P&G, the campaign was successful

as it reached a large number of children. But, there was

a clash of ideas as another similar initiative was already

in place by P&G’s rival ITC through its classmate range

of notebooks. Their brand communication was very

clear and the channel employed by ITC to communicate

this initiative was the product itself. So, in a way the

product itself became the brand ambassador and

communicated the message. P&G did not bring

anything new to the table in this competitive space.

‘Guard against the impostures of pretended

patriotism’

-George Washington

Once again, P&G is attempting to do same thing with

its Gillette brand. With the launch of its new product

‘Soldier Razor’, P&G tried to identify itself as a brand

which cares for the soldiers of India and tries to connect

with the soldier spirit of every Indian. Another step in

this direction is the petition to rededicate Gateway of

India. According to the wise men in P&G India, Gateway

of India will then represent the courage and the

imbibed soldier in everyday Indian. Our Indian soldier

certainly deserves all the praise and appreciation

because they guard our frontiers of our country round

the clock which makes it possible for us to function as a

country and achieve all that we have. Although, on the

face of it, the campaign certainly seems like a good step

for the product to connect everyone in a single thread

but, the fundamental deficit lies in its basic premise.

Firstly, from an Indian citizen’s perspective, India as a

nation does not require any new monuments for

dedication to soldiers. The Amar Jawan Jyoti (Immortal

soldier Flame) and India Gate over the years have

represented this spirit across India and no one

complained till now. Why this sudden need at a time

when a product is being launched. The target

philosophy behind this brand initiative is not catering to

any immediate need of consumer.

Other point being, whether we like it or not, Gateway of

India or any other monument of the British Raj are a

part of our history and to manifest them through a

brands interest would be foolish as it tries to change

history’s structure. Otherwise, Rashtrapati Bhawan and

other monuments are next in line for other new

products. Also, these structures, either Mughal era

architecture or British Raj monuments like Victoria

memorial represent our unique cultural diversity while

this campaign represents a parochial interest group

which is inclined to take such a disastrous step.

As far as rededication is concerned, all monuments on

the Indian land were dedicated to every Indian on the

stroke of midnight when India famously had its tryst

with destiny. So, this rededication just shows that these

historical structures do not belong to Indians and are

properties of a foreign land.

A strategic perspective behind successful CRM

campaigns is that they are designed around an existing

social/national problem and all brand communication is

centered on that problem structure. This helps the

brand connect with people as they feel empowered to

do something for that cause and at least psychologically

they support the initiative taken by the brand, which

helps in creating an instant top of the mind brand recall.


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Whereas in this case, Gillette created a non-existent

problem structure (rededication of Gateway of India)

and then created all communication around it. In

essence, this rededication is not a social or national

problem and hence will only be remembered as one of

the many marketing gimmicks.

Other flawed aspect from a strategic point of view is

that if this initiative which is designed to enhance

communication with people is a good strategy then, the

ambassadors should be identifiable with the campaign.

So, instead of real war time heroes or others

identifiable with this social spirit, what we see is Arjun

Rampal and Neha Dhupia stressing the brand value and

soldier theme. P&G is considered as a pioneer in

advertising and marketing. Its known for the innovation

in sports marketing campaigns and commercials

featuring elite players of every sport, be it Rahul Dravid,

Thierry Henry, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. The

selection of celebrities for their CMR campaign surely

comes as a rude shock. Gillette previously had

campaigns like Gillette Champions which held got the

attention of everyone in its target segment and put

forth their brand proposition.

Gillette Champions: the Best a Campaign can get

And last but not the least, the marketing

communication is different for print campaigns and TV

ads. In the TV ads, the primary question asked is

“Should the Gateway of India be dedicated to Indian

Soldiers?” But, in its print ads, the company urges a

rededication to the spirit of the soldier in every Indian.

This difference between the communication and goals

is very ambiguous and clearly shows they somehow

want to relate it in any way to their new offering. This

creates a clutter in brand offering and subsequently in

the customer’s mind which does not help the brand in

any way.

‘The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do’

-Michael Porter

The worst a brand can go is by not being clear about its

value proposition and although this is road less taken by

leaders of any product category, Gillette certainly chose

to take it.

I believe that a company like P&G would have certainly

done extensive market research and analysis before

launching such a unique marketing campaign with so

much cost involved. It surprises me how off they were

though, in terms of their brand association.

The idea behind directing people towards your brand’s

Facebook page and requiring them to like it in order to

support your cause is too old and flooding their

Facebook walls with messages from the brand once the

campaign is over certainly does not break any new

grounds in terms of innovation. The aim of such a

marketing campaign is to set ideals and beliefs for the

people. This idea, over the course of time will

certainly draw attention for its focused petition

signing spree but Gillette’s success for this campaign

looks bleak.


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perspective markathon | august 2011

Importance of Marketing: From Inception To Conclusion

Ashish Agarwal | FMS Delhi

Author and management expert Peter Drucker very

aptly mentions: “Because the purpose of business is

to create and keep a customer, the business

enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions:

marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation

produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the

distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

Marketing in its very etymology includes ‘market’ and

that is what any product or service launched desires

to serve. The aim of a business to earn profit is met

through its customers and here comes the role of

Marketing. Marketing is necessary to realize what

products or services may be of interest to customers,

and the strategy to use in sales, communications and

business development .

An idea is just a

potential

business. Now

to realize the

possibility of the

conversion from idea to business is where the point of

marketing starts. Marketing since Inception of the

idea of the product or service to be offered is when

the curiosity is created in the minds of the customer.

Marketing should be treated more as a way to trigger

conversations than a “broadcast” channel, marketing

has been by far the best way to hone product pitch

and improve it too. Marketing during initial phases

helps to nurture products, position them strategically,

assess the competition, and work toward products’

development. Moreover it helps in developing

product-pricing strategies and monitoring trends. A

very generic idea of marketing an idea was displayed

by Mark Zuckerberg when he used the faces of

students of Harvard University to spread his idea of

comparing photos online. Today we all know how that

small marketing idea led to creation of one of fastest

growing Internet Company with more than 800mn

users and

revenues of more

than $4.25bn .

Successful

Launching a

product is as

important as

developing it.

Devising a

Marketing strategy

aligned with the Customer and partner needs

provides the product much needed recognition and

acceptance from its target audience. Various aspects

of Marketing in launch broadly involve

(a)Market Analysis, (b)Competitor

Offering,(c)Targeting Customers,(d)Unique Value

Proposition, and (e)Pilot Customers among others.

Assuming that marketing will take care of itself can

prove expensive at later stage. Apart from creating

awareness about the product it also dictates

important budgeting and long-term planning

decisions. A successful marketing campaign drives

hundreds of first time consumers who in turn spread

word of mouth driving other thousands. Today it is

common to see Bollywood movie makers exploring

new avenues to market their product (the movie, its

music, its ringtones) during the release of the movie.

“Approximately 70 percent of a movie’s revenue such

as theatrical, home video and satellite are impacted

by its marketing buzz, so the marketing has to


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perspective markathon | august 2011

undoubtedly be very effective,” says Studio 18 VP

marketing, distribution and syndication Priti Shahani.

The table below shows the expenditure incurred in

Marketing and Promotion of famous movies made in

Bollywood in recent past.

As the product changes

from being introduced to

being accepted by the

customers, the role of

Marketing in growth of

product changes from

establishing the Brand to

creating brand Loyalty

and increasing the

customer base. At this

stage Marketing activities

are designed to i) get

your potential customer's

attention ii) motivate

them to buy iii) get them to actually buy iv) get them

to buy again (and again). It is more about making the

consumer realize the company’s unique product

proposition that demarks it from the competition

around. In case the firm deals with products in which

the features and customer desires keeps on changing,

lack of proper marketing can prove fatal. The growing

market share in Telecom is the youth and realizing the

same Airtel has recently launched its ‘Har ek friend

zaroori hota hai” campaign. The campaign catches the

youth’s sentiments and positions the brand in the

most vibrant and happening target segment. The

campaign has been very successful in getting Airtel

the attention and its dominance in the youth market

by focussing on the ‘friendship’ concept. This

campaign illustrates that the fast today's marketer

reacts to these change agents will decide the success

of their brand.

In today’s fierce market competition, relatively similar

product quality, and excessive marketing by all

companies, the quality of service provided after-sales

of the product becomes a major differentiator for any

customer. Poor after-sales has more annoying effect

on a customer than minor faults in the product

quality, as it directly reflects on the customer

friendliness of the firm. Apart from customer service,

after-sales have also proved to be a source of revenue

for many manufacturing firms. Manufacturers of

everything from automobiles and consumer durables

to security systems and technology equipment have

realized that revenues from after-sales product

installation, configuration, maintenance, and repairs

are around 30 percent of

their total revenues, and the

proportion is increasing.

Moreover, recent Economic

downturn has made

everyone realize the

importance of after sales

service marketing (eg.

Chevrolet Motors) when

customer buying sentiments

were all time low. During

July 2011, when car sales

were falling, Chevrolet

managed to increase sales

by 34% . One of the reasons

for the increase as mentioned by Mr. P. Balendran,

Vice President, GM India is unique value propositions

in terms of Chevrolet promise to deliver quality and

performance have also contributed to the impressive

sales. The promise detailed the 5 year free after sales

service the company would provide to its customers,

which was core of their marketing strategy during the

slowdown phases.

There has never been any doubt about the

importance of marketing but realizing its potential

from inception to conclusion has led to creation of

Successful Global brands in Ford, Apple or our Indian

Brands like Tata or Airtel. The firms have always

utilized the Marketing strategies be it 4P’s, STP or

Branding to keep their products ahead of competitors

and increase their benefits to shareholders. From

Inception of the idea of Product or service to its

conclusion which covers the whole life cycle

Marketing has definitive and significant role which is

instrumental for market share growth. Realizing the

fact many multinational firms have created a Chief

Marketing Officer level post at par with other

Executive level, to foster and better coordinate the

Marketing strategies. At last it becomes imperative to

mention that Quality of product or service is

quintessential and Marketing can only enhance and

accentuate the USP of the product making them more

desirable.


9

Vartalaap markathon | December 2011

9

An Interview with Mr Jack Trout

President of Trout & Partners Ltd.

An international marketing consultancy, Connecticut

Mr Jack Trout is the president of Trout & Partners Ltd. an international marketing consultancy based in Connecticut. The marketing guru is the originator of Positioning, Marketing Warfare theory and many leading edge marketing strategies. He has written many books on marketing and brand management, right from the famous “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind” in 1981 to the latest “Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change, and Crisis” in 2010. In his 40 years of consulting career he has been associated with big brands like Hewlett-Packard, Southwest Airlines, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, AT&T, Intel and many others including “Brand USA”, helping Democrats to regain leadership in 2006. He has gained an international reputation as a consultant, writer, speaker, and proponent of leading-edge marketing strategies.

Vartalaap markathon | december 2011

10

Markathon: Could you tell us something about your

early years, your education and how you began your

career in the Advertising department at General

Electric?

Mr. Jack: My early years were about getting a college

degree in Economics and spending a tour in the U.S.

Navy flying on and off an aircraft carrier. From there it

was off to General Electric and their training program in

advertising and public relations. I had a choice of

Procter & Gamble, IBM or GE. I chose General Electric.

Markathon: What was the genesis of the ‘Positioning’

concept? How and when did Al Ries and you come up

with this powerful idea?

Mr. Jack: It all started in 1969 with the first article I

wrote on the subject. I was looking for a competitive

process to describe how our advertising agency

approached problems. I borrowed a military term to

describe this process which is about the battle for the

mind. The rest is history.

Markathon: Your laws on the concepts of marketing

and about influencing the mind have often been

compared to Newton’s Laws of Physics and yet there

are companies which have failed to abide by these

tenets. Why do you think the companies often fail in

getting into the consumer’s minds?

Mr. Jack: Most problems are caused by companies that

use the word but don’t understand the theories. Or

they violate the laws because of pressure from Wall

Street to grow beyond where they should grow. They

lose focus.

Markathon: You have had a very successful career as

an author including many bestsellers. Which of those

books is the closest to you and why?

Mr. Jack: My favourite is “Differentiate or Die”. While

“Positioning” is critical to understand, figuring out how

to do it is what “Differentiate” is all about. It gets to the

basic definition of “Positioning” which is how to

differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospects.

Markathon: You’ve been closely involved with Bajaj in

India. What was the rationale behind asking them to

remove the Bajaj name from all but their 2-wheeler

business?

Mr. Jack: Bajaj has been involved with building sub-

brands such as Apple (Mac, iPod, iPad). They have

Discover, Pulsar and Boxer. Rajiv Bajaj has felt that this

was the priority in building a portfolio of motorcycle

brands. Perhaps they will re-introduce “Bajaj” as the

brought-to-you by brand in coming months when their

new retail stores are opened.

Markathon How have Global Brands evolved in the last

decade or so; in the context of the emerging

economies becoming a massive consumer base?

Mr. Jack: The scope of the marketing problem has now

become the entire world because of the global

economy. Places like China, India and Eastern Europe

are now getting into the brand building business. China

has put my positioning material into Peking University’s

business school. They are China’s “Harvard” so you can

see that it is a major priority as China moves from

manufacturing to marketing.

Markathon: Do you see any key trends emerging that

will revolutionise the marketing world in the coming

decade?

Mr. Jack: Naturally. The internet is a new tool but it is a

work in progress. More and more companies are just in

a learning process as to improve their marketing skills

so as to better compete in the global economy.

Everything old is new again.

Markathon: Any words of advice for our readers who

are looking to start a career in marketing and brand

management?

Mr. Jack: My advice is always the same. Find some

smart people to work with and a company you admire.

Marketing takes on the job training.

Change is the only constant. What was trending a decade ago is already obsolete. Constant updating of one's product line as well as one's skill set is the only way out

“If you understand how the mind works,

You will understand Positioning”


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11

An Interview with Mr Shivakumar

Managing Director & Vice President - Nokia India Private Limited

Mr. D. Shivakumar is the Managing Director and Vice President of Sales for

mobile phones in Nokia India Private Limited. Having done his B.E from IIT

Chennai and Post-graduation from IIM Calcutta, he has handled more than 34

brands in his two decade long career, Hindustan Lever, Philips consumer

electronics, Godrej Consumer products being few of the most prominent ones.

With a bulk of experience in marketing and general management, he shares

insights on changing consumer patterns with reference to different industries

ranging from FMCG to Consumer Electronics and Nokia’s upcoming strategies in

this competitive industry.

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11

Markathon: Tell us something about your years in IIM

Calcutta. How have some of the experiences you had

in college helped you over the years in your career?

Mr. Shivakumar: IIM Calcutta was a very open institute.

The Professors and the institute treated us like adults; it

was a very healthy interaction. We never had things like

compulsory attendance and it allowed us to go to the

classes we wanted to, treating us like adults which most

other institutes in the country fail to do. The other

factor was the small batch size unlike the institutes

nowadays. We had a batch of 97 students and people

knew everybody else. We also had a very good mix of

academic, social and extracurricular interaction. We had

a good dialogue with the faculty there as well as

teamwork with our peers. The students pursued things

which made sense to them and there was ample

opportunity for everyone which I think helped us a

great deal in our careers.

Markathon: You have had wide experience across the

consumer electronics industry in India. How have the

consumers in this industry changed over the last

decade?

Mr. Shivakumar: I would say not just the consumer

electronics industry, but the

Indian consumers as a whole.

Indian consumers have always

had an aspiration for brands,

which has moved up

significantly in the last decade

or so with the explosion of

media, the exposure to

brands and with more

international brands coming

into India.

Second thing is the Indian

consumers’ fascination with

design and the ability to pay

for it also has moved up

significantly, whether we look

at bikes or cars or packaging

etc. Packaging is no longer utilitarian; it is truly a

sensory element to add to the final appeal of the

product.

The third dimension is how the Indian consumer has

moved up on the aspect of sensory appeal of

categories. Whether it is about fragrance, touch- feel -

every single element of the five senses. Let us take taste

for example; the taste profiles of most of the food

products and toothpastes have changed dramatically

over the last decade.

Another thing I would say is the consumer receptivity

towards advertising, the whole concept of storytelling.

The concept that advertising not just informs but builds

an emotional bond and connects to the consumer. I also

feel that the Indian consumer has shifted from a ‘price

equation’ to more of a ‘value equation’, so price is no

longer the one-dimensional measure for whether the

consumer will buy a product or not.

The Indian consumer, especially the young people have

taken to a big way to digital information and the

internet. This growth has been phenomenal and young

people have taken to technology and digital information

faster than most other countries in the world.

13



11

Markathon: What was the rationale behind the newly-

formed India, Middle East and Africa global sales

region for Nokia? Could you tell us some similarities

and differences between Nokia’s customers in these

markets?

Mr. Shivakumar: If we look at India and Africa, they are

similar on a lot of dimensions. India has a population of

about 1.2 billion and Africa has a population of roughly

1 billion. The demography of the population is also

similar, both are very young populations. The average

age in India is 26-27 and Africa has an average age of

about 23. When we look at passions of the consumers,

Indian consumers are passionate about cricket and

music; African consumers are passionate about football

and music. If you look at movies, Hollywood produces

about 900 movies a year, India produces about 1000

and Nollywood (which is Nigeria) produces about 2000.

If we look at the role of mobile phones, in India, mobile

phones are the most widely distributed and penetrated

product among all the durables. The same is going to be

true for Africa as well. The business model of telecom is

homogenous in both these geographies. About 97% of

the marketing in Telecom in India is pre-paid and 93% in

Africa is pre-paid.

The differences will always be there across geographies.

There will be differences in terms of culture, nuances of

the consumers and how the different services reach out

to them. But for India and Africa, the commonalities are

a lot and that is why Nokia has formed a Global Sales

Region combining them.

Markathon: Going ahead, how is Nokia planning to

regain lost ground in the smartphone segment? What

do you think will be the next big wave in this segment

and how does Nokia plan to capitalise on it?

Mr. Shivakumar: If we look at the global market, the

world population is 7 billion out of which 5 billion

people already own phones. It is estimated that about 1

billion of them own smartphones and the remaining

own feature phones. Nokia started the smartphone

revolution in 2005 with the N-series and over a period

of time, a lot of things have converged in making the

smartphone what it is today. I personally think Nokia

with its innovation capabilities and with the newly

released Windows Operation system out for mobile

phones is poised well to regain its strength in the smart

phones market.

Markathon: What were the reasons for Nokia’s success

in reaching out to the rural consumers in India?

Mr. Shivakumar: The first was the fact that Nokia

identified the market before everyone else did. Second,

we also set up an infrastructure to reach out and service

the rural consumer before anyone else in the market.

Third, we worked with the eco-system to ensure that

we could get there, like the telecom operators. We also

put care of service ahead of sales, because in rural India

when people are buying products, they want to be

absolutely sure that there is someone there to manage

or repair it for them. In terms of the brand, we spent a

lot of time on awareness and visibility. For example, one

of the early campaigns we ran was about security,

which is a very important characteristic both in urban

and rural India. I think these factors came together and

helped us succeed in the rural markets.

Markathon: What is Nokia’s strategy in dealing with

low cost phone makers, the likes of Karbonn,

Micromax and Spice?

Mr. Shivakumar: I think I mentioned earlier about the

importance of aspirational brands for the Indian

consumer. I would say that it is brand and innovation

which matter and not just the price. A lot of people are

mistaking, what I can call ‘amateur innovation’ for

innovation, including the media. One mosquito

repellent or a Bluetooth remote application is not

innovation. Amateur innovation does not work; you

need to give the consumer the right value and the

genuine innovation. The history of the mobile phone

markets shows that leaders consolidate and that’s

where I’d leave my argument.

Markathon: Given your experience in the FMCG

industry, what do you feel are the key differences for a

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11

marketer between the FMCG and Consumer

Electronics industry?

Mr. Shivakumar: FMCG depends on wide distribution.

India has about 10 million retail outlets for FMCG, most

categories would have about 6-8 million retail outlets.

However, the branding and the value of the brand is the

same in both cases.

If you look at innovation, in FMCG sector you have 6

innovations every 100 years; which means that the life

of the next innovation is about 15-20 years.

Innovation in the technology sector is almost every

month. In the technology sector, you have 3

types of disruptions- price disruption, trade

disruption and technology disruption. In

the FMCG sector, none of these are

there to the same level and degree.

You introduce successful brands,

you do a lot of variances in

the FMCG sector. In the

technology business,

specifically

mobile

phones, the

life of a model

is about 18-24

months, that’s all. In

that sense also, it is

dramatically different.

The value in FMCG is created

through the emotional surplus through

advertising, the value here is through

what the technology and the product

make the consumer feel. This is much more

about a personality statement.

Markathon: What is your advice for graduates in B-

schools looking to make a career in sales and

marketing?

Mr. Shivakumar: When I talk to various people who

come to recruit from B Schools, one of the common

refrains people have is that the current generation is

very competitive and not collaborative and they are

very bookish. My advice would be to never look at life in

relative terms. Never think that you are better/worse

than someone. You should always aim for the absolute

best. You should never worry about relative.

Second thing that I would say is that learn after you

leave the institute. Most people stop learning after they

leave college and they forget that today the world is

changing at a much faster pace. What you learn in the

institute might carry you at best for 6-18 months. Read

a lot and learn. When you look at your career and

job, the first two years is about learning. It’s

unlikely that you will contribute anything. The

time for contribution will come, but at a

later date. You can’t join a company on

Day 1 and think that you will start

contributing from Day 2. Next,

whatever you do, build the

institution you work for. If

you work for a

company, you

should always be

proud of the

company and

build the

company. Secondly,

always work for the

betterment of your team.

Lastly, work for your own

betterment. Quite often, young

people get that order wrong. They work

for the betterment of themselves first,

team later and the company last.

I would also say that your generation is a global

generation. You can work anywhere in the world.

My generation was an India focussed generation.

Hence, you have to be multi culturally sensitive as

opposed to multi linguistically sensitive in a country like

India. You can be anywhere in the globe, and hence you

are not just a manager or leader; you are also an

ambassador for India.

If we look at the global market, the

world population is 7 billion out of

which 5 billion people already own

phones. It is estimated that about 1

billion of them own smartphones and

the remaining own feature phones.

Nokia started the smartphone

revolution in 2005 with the N-series

and over a period of time, a lot of

things have converged in making the

smartphone what it is today

15


Cover story|Business or not- Education needs Marketing markathon | december 2011

1

Education – An Evolving LandscapeSwati| Rushika | Aditya

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1

When the cheapest tablet – ‘Aakash’ was launched in India for rural students, many people had misgivings about rural people using such an advanced device. These people might have forgotten about the famous

Hole in the Wall experiment by Mr. Sugata

Mitra, which was an awakening call for many. As a part of the experiment, Mr. Mitra placed a PC with high-speed Internet in a concrete wall next near a slum in Delhi. He simply left the computer on and observed passersby play with it. Within a few days, he was astonished to see kids aged 6 to 12 years, most of whom had only the most rudimentary education and little knowledge of English had taught themselves to draw on the computer and to browse the Internet. The experiment opened a can of questions; will it be worthwhile to provide computer education in rural India, what can the Indian government do to foster computer education in villages, can it help create more employment opportunities in villages and so on. If nothing, it at least proved the immense capability that kids have today. They are hungry for knowledge, if only someone is willing to provide. This brings us to the current state of education in India. Though the Indian government has continuously taken efforts to improve

the state of education, including a 24% hike in the budget allocation last session, one still doubts whether the benefits are being reaped.

Education forming the backbone of any economy, it plays an important role for a developing country like ours. As our Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee rightly said during the last budget session, "Our demographic dividend, a relatively younger population compared to developed countries, is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge.” Education is the key to cash in on this opportunity. Today, institutes are coming up and closing down daily, competition has increased followed by the pressure to perform, increasing demand has led to increased supply in the form of new institutes and with more options, choice undoubtedly becomes even more difficult. With this cover story we plan to review this industry, how it has grown over the years; bringing in the need for marketing and where it can go from here on.

Need for Marketing in Education

According to a theory by academicians Hargreaves and Goodson, education has evolved over three different

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eras. In the first era (up to late 1970s) it was based on “optimism and innovation” where education was driven by autonomy of teachers and schools and concentrated towards technological innovation. In the second era (1970s to mid-1990s) it was based on “complexity and contradiction” which introduced regulations in schools through evaluations and inspections. The third era introduced standardization and marketization (mid-1990s to date) which is characterized by centralized curriculum and standardized assessment processes. This standardization brought in competition and as a result an increased need for marketing to create a differential positioning in the eyes of their prospective students.

Education, for a student, is not merely a product which he is buying, but it is something which guides his future and his life. And that makes it even more important for him to evaluate the options before taking a final decision. The product, price and place no doubt make the core of the package which influences the decision but it is the promotional activities undertaken by the institutes which provide information about these core elements to the prospective students. Hence marketing has become an inseparable part of education like any other industry. A few people might argue or disapprove that education has become a business today. The topic remains controversial to say the least, but immaterial of

the verdict, marketing has undoubtedly become an indispensable part of this sector.

Indian Education Industry:

With a market of 450 million students and per annum revenue of US $50 billion, Education is one of the largest service sector industries in India. Moreover, with the growing population and the rise of knowledge driven sectors attracting massive employment opportunities, this sector is expected to grow at CAGR of 10-15 per cent over 2011-2012.

The education industry in India can be broadly divided into schools, higher education (which together contribute to 80% of the revenue) and other non-core areas which include preschools, vocational training, coaching classes and others which contribute the remaining 20%. Needless to say, higher the revenue, greater the attraction for investors and hence higher is the need for marketing in these sectors.

Primary Education

With 70% of the Indian population living in rural areas and struggling to fight exploitation at the hands of landlords and industrialists, it becomes important for

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them to learn to read and write to be able to lead their lives. The Right to Education Act, 2009 by the Government of India was to ensure primary education for all to eradicate this exploitation and give everyone a chance to earn a place in the society. The changing mindset of the Indian population further drives the growth of primary education in India. People have moved from viewing education as a formality to a long term investment.

But irrespective of the improving conditions, a major challenge to tackle is the high dropout rate at elementary levels. Also, though places like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are quite high on literacy rate accounted by the high number of quality institutes and the importance attached to education at these places, but places like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh still lag far behind in terms of both quality and quantity. People in rural regions still have to walk a few kilometers before they reach their schools. These socio economic and regional disparities have hindered the overall growth of education in India. It has brought in the need of marketing to advocate affordable education opportunities to lower segments of the society and most importantly to create awareness. Television has been used effectively in the past, to reach out to the remote locations and create awareness about education through well-known campaigns like “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” and “School Chale Hum”, which gave an overall boost to this sector.

There are a lot of NGOs taking efforts to promote education, as it has the power to change the face of our country. The aim is to build an educated and skilled workforce out of the growing population, to reform India from a

developing to a developed nation. Times of India’s ‘Teach India’ campaign was a small step towards this massive mission, by bridging the gap between those who need education and those who can educate. With more than 50,000 volunteers applying, it saw senior executives like Lalit Malik, Vice-President of American Express volunteering to teach. While TOI did not have any eligibility criteria except the motivation to contribute towards the cause, Teach for India (TFI) went a step further by recruiting outstanding graduate students and young professionals to serve as full time teachers for two years in under resourced schools. Started in 2006 and borrowed from the Teach for America concept, it has a vision to end educational inequity in India. It has rightly started from places like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai which look developed but still house a number of municipal and low income private schools which are unable to operate efficiently due to under staffing.

The need for development and the vast opportunities that this sector provides, has led to corporatization of education with Educomp taking the lead by providing a one stop solution for all educational needs. With a mission to solve problems relating to "Quality of

Education" and "Access to Education" for all, Educomp is providing solutions to teachers and students alike by working closely with schools, educators and government including HRD Ministry and Ministry of IT. With the rise of digital world, it has come up with many pioneering initiatives in the e-education space. The online learning portal

Mathguru.com, Professional

Development workshops for

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teachers, ‘smartclass’ – a teacher led content delivery system and many more have set the path. These products, powered with visual aids and comprehensive material, are available at affordable prices on a time-based validity and are accessible to all, leveraging on the growing reach of internet in Indian households.

Primary education forms the base, where the tree will grow bigger only if the roots are stronger. A good primary education system can drive the growth of higher education system by providing more qualified students seeking better growth opportunities though education. This makes it all the more important for the overall growth of this sector.

Higher Education

The higher education sector in India has seen remarkable growth especially in the post-independence period and is on its way to becoming one of the largest system of its kind in the world.

There is an increase in the establishment of public private partnerships, which will play an important role in the future. This has especially been the case with colleges providing higher education in order to generate and disseminate knowledge coupled with the noble intention of providing easy access to education to the common Indian. The sector has many issues at present, like financing and management including access, return on investment, re-orientation of programmes by laying emphasis on health consciousness, values and ethics and quality of higher education together with the assessment of institutions and their accreditation.

There are new methods and procedures of financial regulations which are enabling better and direct interference of the finance department in the management of Universities. The introduction of 100 % FDI in the sector is also encouraging a lot of foreign universities to open centres in India. Over the past two decades or so there are new career options for students to pursue. Also, throughout there is emphasis on other facets of development apart from academics alone such as ethics, sustainability, physical fitness etc.

Due to the various career options available today, institutes have to market themselves so as to highlight their core ideologies and attract the right students. Marketing campaigns have become important for higher educational institutes in order to achieve their commercial goals. They are engaging in both traditional as well as internet and digital marketing campaigns. Considering the rising involvement of youth in social media, there has been a rise in the use of electronic and digital media for marketing. Hence it is not surprising to see an educational institution have a website

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engineered to sit at the top of the search engines in order to attract students and increase ‘sales’.

Email marketing has become the new mantra in the education sector. At present only 22 percent of educational institutes are using email and about 37 percent claim that they plan to use online marketing and promotional activities in the future.

Considering that students, who are highly active on social media, are the main target of higher educational institutes, social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are used as effective tools to create a buzz and engage with students. Another tool is blogging to create awareness and increase word of mouth publicity. Blogs are mainly maintained by the students of the institute. It helps get an insight into campus life and various campus activities. Top institutes, including IIMs have adopted blogging for getting more visibility. Blogs are highly influential and are used to boost website popularity and reaching top grade candidates.

Public relations play an important role in this segment. Irrespective of the rankings, in the end most of the decisions are driven by public perception of the institute. Thus, public relations have become an indispensable part of the marketing strategies by institutes. Forums like PagalGuy, which acts as a platform for students to interact with other MBA aspirants and take the right decision in selecting a B-school, might not give institutes any competitive advantage over others but have created a necessity to be listed in the elite group. Considering the increasing number of students turning to such platforms, institutes can definitely benefit by creating a positive image here.

Other ways of effectively leveraging public relations is through sharing internal news, happenings and achievements with public via news clips and online

forums, building associations with corporates and foreign institutes etc.

Coaching Classes and Training Institutes

Given the limited number of opportunities and our population, education has become a rat race. Coaching institutes have seized the opportunity and made a killing. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the size of the Coaching institute industry for IITs and Engineering colleges alone is Rs 10,000 crore, which is more than sufficient to fund more than 30-40 IITs every year. About 6 lakh students are estimated to be attending these institutes.

Coaching institutes provide a range of courses that can be broadly divided into three categories

1) Coaching for competitive exams

2) Tuitions to complement the curriculum that is being taught in Schools and colleges

3) Certified courses in select domains such as Graphic designing, C++ , Java etc

One of the biggest factors that have contributed significantly to the success of institutes such as TIME, IMS, NIIT and FIITJEE is their extensive reach. Coaching institutes today are aggressively expanding to Tier 2 and

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Tier 3 cities as well, thereby rapidly increasing their reach.

In a country where 42% of its people are estimated to be below the poverty line, the fee charged by these institutes has become a bone of contention, especially for the economically constrained population. The fee ranges anywhere between INR 10,000 to INR 1,50,000 depending upon the nature of the course and the reputation of the Institute. In spite of the soaring prices, students are still struggling to get into them to survive this competitive scenario. However, there are also institutes such as the Super 30 which provide coaching to the meritorious yet economically challenged students.

The Coaching industry is riddled with cut throat competition as well and promotion plays a very critical role. While there are the premier institutes such as the Super 30 and Bansal classes at Kota that have already established their brands and barely need any promotion, there are a lot of other upcoming institutes

that resort to various means of promotion. Institutes today utilize online media, print media and various other PR activities such as “Achiever’s talks” and “free counselling sessions” in order to promote their institute.

The lack of quality lab equipment at graduation and under graduation levels is a gap that coaching institutes can capitalize on. Today there are hordes of engineering colleges popping up around every nook and corner, many of which lack quality laboratory equipment. Coaching Institutes can help train students from a laboratory examination perspective. Coaching institutes can also consider expanding into some of our neighbouring countries in the subcontinent that have a similar education system.

The destruction of individuality at these institutes has often been alleged. Today there are a few worrying trends such as students enrolling into IIT coaching classes as early as 6th Std, which is actually 6 years before the actual exam. There have also been reports of

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coaching institutes that train children as young as 10 years to get into premier primary schools and high schools. Such practices further add to the stress on children.

It won’t be long before there are coaching institutes that train children between 6th- 9th Std in order to help them to get into other premier coaching institutes during their 10th-12th Std.

The pros and cons of coaching institutes have often been debated. There are certain issues that need to be sorted out and the government is considering the regulation of the education sector and the coaching industry as well. However one cannot deny the critical role that coaching institutes play today and it definitely is a sector that would be interesting to watch over the future.

Conclusion:

In today’s competitive world, marketing is essential for this industry. It helps position the institute in the minds of the people. On one hand we have institutes like the IITs, IIMs and the top 30 which resort to bare minimum marketing, but use Public Relations effectively to build their brand value. On the other hand, there are many universities down South as well in the Northern states that do extensive advertising through print and television. With more and more students and their parents becoming conscious of the overcrowding in this sector and taking preventive measures not to fall prey to any false claims, marketing of educational institutes might not pay off during the initial years, but will definitely help in building the brand over a period of time. This in turn will determine the quality of the student pool, faculty and the amount of fee that the institutes can demand further down the line. Marketing, if used effectively, can help create a win-win situation for all- the institute, students and the country.

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war zone | eye 2 eye markathon | august 2011

30

DoES Government intervention and equity infusion save the Indian Aviation industry players who are reeling under huge LOSSES?

has significant impact on the development of trade and tourism in India. The industry has been trying hard to avoid the losses currently plaguing most of the players. As per the calculations, the Cost-to-revenues ratio per seat mile is very high (>13). There are lot of factors which have come together and impacted the airline industry. One of them is the valuation of the rupee which has fallen substantially against the dollar over the past year. Most of the airline companies’ costs are in dollars and therefore their bottom lines have taken a hit because of the rupee’s fall. Fuel is another cost which has proven to be unmanageable for the airlines. Fuel costs have risen to almost 30% of total cost for airlines in India compared to around 10-15% for airlines in other parts of the world. The rise of fuel costs is a major worry for the airlines in India and hedging of fuel costs has at best been minimal and provided negligible savings. The airlines have also suffered because of the price war. This has proved to be beneficial to the travellers but all airlines have made almost nothing out of the huge growth in domestic travel because of the low fares. The price war needs to be checked like it happened with telecom. We see that most of the factors are such that the Airlines need to redefine their business models and focus on effective cost cutting to achieve profits. When Indigo can manage to make profits without any extra help, the others should realise that they can make profits too. Government intervention can at best be only a temporary measure to infuse liquidity, but it will not guarantee the industry’s revival.

down to USD 10 billion which is even worse compared to financial year 2008/09 where there was a huge decline in traffic coupled with massive spike in fuel prices at USD 150/barrel. This alarming situation has prompted intervention by the government resulting in a 12 point agenda that the Ministry of Civil Aviation needs to act upon. But the question here is “Will these be enough to save the sinking ship of our aviation sector”?? The main factors resulting in higher costs of airline industry – fuel, aircraft leases and maintenance are not going to be solved with the continuous decrease in India’s growth rate and a weak government plagued by corruption and scandals. Ajit Singh sworn in as a dedicated minister is a certainly a positive development, but a change of leadership at this critical time means uncertainty will persist, especially in the absence of a clear strategic framework for the sector. Air India has always been monopolising government’s attention and creating problems for the private carriers by discounting fares that they are forced to match. If strong reforms are not implemented to curb this, there is no way the situation can improve by pumping more tax payer’s money into problem-ridden aviation sector. Also unless the government stops micro managing issues and focuses on creating an environment to recognise and support industry viability and competitiveness the health of the sector will not improve. It will require important decisions in 2012 by government and operators alike to position Indian aviation as a safe, efficient and viable sector.

Topic for the next Issue’s Eye to Eye: “Will 2012 see online retail give real competition to the next door retailer?”

Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 10th January 2012. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.

Angika Sagar

IIM S

India is a very large market albeit a low fare one. India’s location might translate into the country becoming a transit hub for major airlines. The aviation industry has become a critical element of the country’s infrastructure and has significant impact on the development of trade and

The greatest paradox faced by Indian Aviation Sector is that it is serving one of the world’s fastest growing economies yet it is estimated that the sector will face losses close to USD 2.5 billion in the coming financial year. The revenues have stooped

F

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osts

hav

e ris

en to

alm

ost 3

0% o

f tot

al c

ost f

or a

irlin

es in

Indi

a Effectively tax payer’s m

oney is being wasted on destabilizing private sector airlines

Deepika Sinha IIM S

war zone | eye 2 eye markathon | december 2011

24

war zone | silent voice markathon |june 2011

15

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “Rebranding of Nestle Milk as Nestle A+”

LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 10th January, 2012 EMAIL ID: [email protected]

Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.

Silent Voice LAST MONTH’S RESULTS

Theme: “Horlicks Oats- Three Way Health Advantage”

WINNER: Arun Leo | XIME

Congratulations!!! Arun receives a cash prize of Rs 500!

Subhashree| IBS, Hyderabad

HONORARY MENTION

war zone | silent voice markathon |december 2011

25


Brand Story: Hero honda

Sana akhtar | IIM S

Started in 1943 by the Munjal brothers- Dayanand,

Satyanand, Brij and Om as a bicycle component trading

business, the making of Hero Honda is an amazing story

in itself. Owing to the inevitable partition of India, the

brothers decided to shift base from Lahore to Amritsar

and then to Ludhiana. India’s industrial machinery at

that time was devastated by the demands made on it by

World War II. So, the administration invited

entrepreneurs to build new avenues which would create

wealth for the country. The Munjals took the

opportunity to take their business to newer heights and

thus Hero Cycles was born. By 1975, Hero Cycles

became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in India.

The Munjals then approached French two-wheeler giant

Peugot for a tie-up to manufacture mopeds but things

didn’t work out

as planned and

Hero went on to

make its own

mopeds and it

was called

Majestic Auto.

They then

expanded and

diversified and went into textile mills and financial

services.

A major milestone in the success of the Hero Group was

the decision to join hands with the Japanese

automobile giant, Honda giving birth to Hero Honda.

Hero Honda set up its assembly line in Haryana and

with the rolling of its first 100 cc motorcycle named

Unicorn in 1985, it started its journey to unimaginable

success.

Hero Honda came up with a slick and unforgettable

slogan for its launch- “Fill it, shut it, forget it”. Targeted

at the youth, Unicorn looked sportier than all the

existing motorcycles in the premium segment and was

promoted with the caption "Be a wing rider."

Within a couple of years after the launch of its

successful products including Activa, Dio and Eterno,

Hero Honda had emerged as the largest scooter

company in India. Hero Honda decided that their

marketing strategy would emphasize on offering

innovative products at competitive prices, novel

promotional campaigns and developing an extensive

distribution network.

In December, 2010 the Munjal family and Honda Moto

Corp decided to part ways and terminate the 26-year-

old relationship due to unresolved differences and

ambitious independent plans. Hero Motors hired global

brand and innovation specialist Wolff Olins to create its

new brand identity post the split. The name, Hero

MotoCorp was thoughtfully kept such that Hero signals

continuity and MotoCorp indicates mobility, modernity

and technology. The logo continues to have the colour

red, a colour

that has been

associated with

the Indian two-

wheeler giant for

ages. The new

campaign- “Hum

mein hai hero”

was released on

August 15, Independence Day across 30 television

channels and leading newspapers. The 120 second film

directed by Anurag Kashyap has stories of individuals in

India who conquer what seem to be impossibilities, to

unearth the hero within themselves. The anthem

composed by A R Rehman adds stature to the film. The

campaign soon became a big hit and was put on 200

radio stations and 4,000 cinema halls in Tier 2 & 3 cities,

and signages were changed in all the 4,500 consumer

contact points like dealerships and service centres.

The outcome of the split on Hero Moto Corp still

remains to be seen. Only time will tell whether they are

able to tap the opportunities worldwide and maintain

their position in India as well as the overseas markets.

specials | brand story markathon | december 2011

26

googly

Branding on Indian Turf: Ramanujam Sridhar

Review by sria majumdar The Icfai University Press | Price Rs.600

Ramanujam Sridhar, known as the ‘Third Umpire’ in the marketing circles in India, writes for columns in Business Line and Deccan Herald and also maintains his own blog. His second book on branding, Googly, is a sequel to the hugely popular ‘One Land, One Billion Minds’ and brings forth more than 20 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry in India.

The best part about the book is, unlike others in its genre, it is ‘friendly, charming and disarmingly informal’- as the preface of the book clearly boasts. Googly- the name given to the idiosyncratic behaviour of Indian consumers-is a classic delivery of a leg spinner, one which needs an experienced professional to handle. Read on to learn how Mr Sridhar teaches the Indian marketer to play the ‘Googly’.

Summary

The book draws parallels between the world of branding and advertising, while putting forward interesting insights on what makes a brand a success or a failure. From the clutter in advertising to the software industry’s future- the author discusses contemporary issues in the world of marketing. The book is written in a lucid and crisp style, yet conversational and simple all the way. Indian brands, and how they relate to Indian consumers and what makes the diverse Indian market tick- Googly unravels all this and more. Each piece in the book reads like a short article, and each one provides a valuable lesson to the discerning reader.

Organization

The book is divided into 6 distinct sections- the consumers where the author talks of the difficult consumers and the lack of consumer insights in

advertising; advertising where talent crunch, scams and ideas are discussed; and branding which talks of brand properties and leaders as brands. The fourth section is on case studies, where brands like Tanishq, Jet Airways, Canara Bank, TTK Prestige are presented. This is followed by a section on strategy, which aims to link communication, creativity and advertising to the broader goals of the firm.

The book concludes with a section on PR, and the author talks about using crisis as an opportunity to generate goodwill from the consumers, using the Satyam case as an example.

Verdict: 4.5/5

The book is difficult to put down, and once you pick it up, you will learn more about advertising and branding than any other 200 pages can teach. Ramanujam Sridhar knows now to engage the reader, and the book is filled with insights he has gained with his years of experience in the industry. If you are interested in reading, and are looking for a book which will give you a glimpse of the practical world of advertising and branding- your search ends with ‘Googly’.

Bottom-line

The book is a must read, not only for newcomers but also for old timers in the industry. As Bhaskar Bhat, MD of Titan Industries puts it, ‘It is appropriate and indeed timely that Sridhar has brought out an immensely readable book on branding which is experiential, anecdotal, but at the same time, factual. He has used his inimitable style of mixing consumer insight with his extraordinary love for cricket. At the end of each article, he leaves you with not just more information, but with better understanding’. Need I say more?

specials | bookmark markathon | dec 2011

27

specials | updates markathon | june 2011

AD WATCH

The new ad for Fortune cooking oil, by Ogilvy and Mather India

Instead of relating to its functional and health benefits, Fortune has tried to strike the emotional string attached to tasty food. Advertisement shows a mother lovingly packing a meal and delivering it to her son. The ad very elegantly captures a mother’s love and also appeals to the ‘home cooked food’ mantra.

Finnish handset major Nokia unleashes its biggest marketing campaign to announce Windows smartphone

To keep itself relevant in a market being swarmed by Google Android phones such as Samsung Galaxy range, Nokia has launched Windows-based smartphone Lumia. Analysts call it a desperate attempt to reclaim ground in the smartphone market. It’s a game changer by redefining what Nokia means to consumers according to Nokia India Marketing Director Viral Oza.

Brand Launch

Yahoo! India launches Yahoo! Video

The platform is a video destination that offers original content across genres such as news, entertainment, lifestyle and movies. Yahoo! Video is available free for all internet users in India and has currently partnered with 35 leading content producers including NDTV, Star TV, Shemaroo, Headlines Today, PVR Pictures and Ultra

Honda City's new version launched

Japanese car maker Honda last week launched a new entry-level variant of its flagship sedan City in India, slashing the price by Rs 50,000 compared to that of the existing model. Now the new City comes in the price range from Rs 6.99 lakh to Rs 10.22 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Brand Watch

Aston Martin replaces Apple as the coolest brand of 2011

According to CoolBrands’s annual UK ranking, British car manufacturer came out as the coolest brand of 2011. The list comes with a vote by a combination of 2000 consumers and a panel of 36 designers, style experts, media personalities and prominent figures from the world of TV, music and fashion. The panel score each brand, bearing in mind factors such as style, innovation, originality, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness.

Ogilvy Asia Pacific sweeps Agency of the Year awards 2011

Ogilvy Asia Pacific scooped the top prize Regional Network of the Year, which is awarded based on the accumulation of scores from all the awards, at the Campaign Asia Pacific Agency of the Year 2011, on December 13, 2011. In addition, Ogilvy took home Creative Agency Network of the Year, which is a testament to the region continually producing great work that works. Anirudh Dhoot bags Corporate Leader of the year 2011 at Power Brands 2011

Anirudh Dhoot, Director, Videocon is the Power Brands Hall of fame Corporate Leader of the year 2011.The grand award ceremony was held on 12 December 2011 in London. The award was given by Subrata Roy Chairman of Sahara group and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri for Mr. Dhoot's contribution in the consumer durable industry Fortune India releases Fortune 500 India issue

Fortune India magazine has released the Fortune 500 India list for 2011 with its December issue. It comes as no surprise that the list is dominated by the oil and gas sector, led by Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. The gainers are automobile firms and their ancillary suppliers.

Renault bets on diesel models to beat competition

specials | updates markathon | december 2011

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specials | updates markathon | june 2011

With diesel variants now accounting for over a fourth of India's passenger car sales, French major Renault has decided to roll out this fuel's versions in three of its new launches next year with more locally-sourced parts to cut costs.

Britannia eyes better margins in 2011-12, lines up new products Biscuits Major Britannia is aiming for higher profitability during the current fiscal as the market remains robust and cost pressures are likely to ease. Furthermore, Britannia is ready with more breakfast products for expanding its national footprint

MEDIA

Lintas Media Group appoints Raghav Subramanian as COO

Lintas Media Group has appointed Raghav Subramanian as chief operating officer. Subramanian joins the agency

on 19 December 2011. He will be operating out of the agency's office in Gurgaon and will also be responsible for the digital offering. Prior to joining LMG, he headed strategy across Vivaki Media Brands.

Law and Kenneth bags Lazzava Contract

Lavazza has appointed Law & Kenneth communications as its strategic and creative solutions agency in India. The agency will handle the entire portfolio of Lavazza business, from coffee shops to vending services and other traditional businesses.

Channel [V] maintains its leadership in the youth entertainment genre

The youth entertainment channel from the Star Network, has maintained its leadership in the youth entertainment genre for six consecutive weeks. With an all-time high of 37 GRPs (Gross Rating Points) for week 50, Channel [v] has left its nearest competitors far behind.

Articles Are invited

“Best Article”: PRANAY SINGH | FMS He receives a cash prize of Rs. 1000 & a letter of appreciation.

We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes:

• Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena. • Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing. • Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of the marketing strategy of any company or an

event. Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx.

We’re inviting photographs of interesting promotional events/advertisements/hoardings/banners etc. you might have come across in your daily life

for our new section “The 4th P”. Send your self-clicked photographs in JPEG format only.

The last date of receiving all entries is 10th January 2012. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to [email protected].

specials | updates markathon | december 2011

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