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K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH VOL. 2 | ISSUE VII| DEC 11

Dear Readers,

As we bid adieu to 2011 and welcome 2012, raise a toast to the spirit of humanity

which has triumphed over all greed and individual desires across continents! 2011

has been a year of adversities, natural calamities and financial uncertainty but it has

also been the year of the Arab Spring, death of Osama bin Laden and the Lokpal

movement. We witnessed this year how the common man‟s voice has become a

force to reckon with.

Today each of the 800million users of Facebook has an opinion or update which

they share with friends and acquaintances and influence them and their choices.

Marketing efforts in 2012 should recognize and acknowledge the recent

developments and the role of social media in determining the success or failure of

a product or campaign. So this month, at MARKSMAN, we decode the maniacal

popularity of Kolaveri Di as our Special Story.

Oo la la la le o! Rings a bell? Kingfisher has used this tune to build its image of

being the king of good times. Our Cover Story on Sonic Branding reveals how

brands for years have been using sounds to reinforce brand identity. Other must

reads in this edition are articles on Regional Brands that Survived and Made It Big ,

United Colors of Benetton Peace Ad Campaign: Effective OR Disrespectful and

Surrogate Marketing. Also do not miss your monthly dose of Its all about Ad-itude,

Tweets, Buzz, Bookworm and SquAreheaD.

We at Interface bid farewell to 2011 in style by organizing its first ever marketing

fest Navikran- at SIMSR. It was a daylong event incorporating marketing events,

workshop on social media, quiz and much more. To know more read the Rewind

segment!

We congratulate Mr. Arun Leo, XIME Bengaluru, for being adjudged the best

featured article of December! Team Interface wishes all our readers a Merry

X‟mas and a prosperous year ahead! Usher in 2012 with Oprah Winfrey‟s quote-

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

Cheers !! Team – Marksman The Interface – The Marketing Club of SIMSR

EDITOR’S DESK

DECEMBER 2011 02

THE REGULARS SquAreheaD ǀ 9 20 ǀ Rewind Its all about Ad-itude ! ǀ 23 24 ǀ Bookworm Tweets ǀ 25 26 ǀ Buzz

CONTENTS

COVER STORY SONIC BRANDING

SPECIAL STORY WHY THIS KOLAVERI DI?

FEATURED ARTICLES

Regional Brands that Survived and Made It Big

United Colors of Benetton Peace Ad Campaign:

Effective OR Disrespectful?

Surrogate Marketing

11

13

16

19

25

20

24 23

26

04

08

DECEMBER 2011 03

Sonic Branding COVER STORY

DECEMBER 2011 04

From non-lyrical sound bites to

catchy snippets of tunes, these

sonic brands take advantage of one

of the brain‟s most powerful

memory senses – SOUND.

Sonic branding or Acoustic Branding is the use of Sound to reinforce brand identity. Sonic branding is becoming increasingly popular these days among marketers. From non-lyrical sound bites to catchy snippets of tunes, these sonic brands take advantage of one of the brain’s most powerful memory senses – SOUND.

A Sound Logo is a short distinctive melody or a sequence of sound, mostly positioned at the beginning or ending of a commercial. It can be seen as the acoustic equivalent of a visual logo. A combination of both types of logo is used to enforce the recognition of a brand. There are four

ways in which music is used in advertising today. Brand signature tunes: Some are very short, usually not more than five to six notes like the Intel tune. Some are longer 15-30 second signature tunes which create greater stickiness like the Airtel. Jingles/Songs: These are what consumer brands have used for most part of last century and many of them still echo in our minds. Background track: Its role is to simply accentuate the messaging and no one is supposed to remember the track. Sign-off track: The play is on the brand name and sometimes the tagline. It is usually used at the end of the ad. Examples are Gillette and Nescafe.

COVER STORY

DECEMBER 2011 05

MEMORABILITY A sonic brand captures a mind share that visual branding alone cannot achieve. It is for this reason that although you may not be able to draw the Intel logo or might not even know what a Pentium chip is, you will be able to sing the sound bite or recognize the sound as that belonging to Intel. UNIQUENESS Some brands capitalize in their uniqueness. A classic example of this is Harley Davidson, which in 1994, filed a sound trademark application for its distinctive V-twin engine sound. In this way, it distinguished its brand identity from the clutter at every point of customer interaction. PORTABILITY Development of technology and popularity of the internet and wireless communication allow companies to induce increased brand recognition across a variety of platforms- from the shop floor, to cell phones, to television sets, the consumer is within earshot of a brand.

FLEXIBILITY Sound transcends barriers of language and culture, allowing easier reception and delivery of the message. This is complemented by the fact that the modern IT world is becoming increasingly border agnostic. So, whether you are an Indian, German or American, if you have access to modern communications you are certain to share commonly recognizable sonic brands with international peers. ENGAGING THE CUSTOMER Batelco, a telecom brand in Bahrain, adopted an innovative strategy to create its impression using Sonic Branding recently. An audio signature was created and its five different versions were created and distributed. The five versions- House, Hip hop, Lounge, Rock and Sonic created waves with the audience and within a month it was playing in night clubs, car speakers, cell phones, laptops, ipods, etc.

COVER STORY

DECEMBER 2011 06

FIND YOUR SOUND It is very important for a brand to select a sound which is in tune with its brand identity. Various parameters such as pitch, tempo, rhythm, pace, genre of music, etc come into consideration when choosing a tune. A brand that uses jazz as a background score gives a very different image compared to a brand which uses blues. It is important that a company finds a tune which embodies the essence of the brand and becomes synonymous with it. Starbucks uses compilations of soothing jazz tunes to engage the customer not only to stay for a cup of coffee, but also to associate a level of sophistication with the company name. Sonic branding in India India as a nation is very influenced by sounds, rhythms and melodies. Sound Branding has been a part of our Marketing strategies for ages in the form of ad jingles. Age old jingles of brands like Vicco Tumeric cream,

Frooti,Kingfishers’ oo la la la leyo and Nirma washing powder, to name a few, have helped create strong brand identities and are still remembered today. In a more contemporary light however, Sonic Branding includes spending money on retail sounds, caller back tunes and signature tunes. These are used extensively on audio and video commercials across various platforms. No Indian brand has as yet gone to such great extent to invest in such amounts over Sonic branding. Infact, the yearly expenditure on Sonic Branding in India is less than Rs. 30 Crores. Titan watches used the 25th symphony of Mozart as the signature tune during its launch in 1986 and it is now an integral part of the brand identity. Over the years, this tune has been modified to make it more contemporary. A similar example of the same is the signature tune of Washing powder Nirma which has recently been pepped up to suit contemporary tastes.

COVER STORY

DECEMBER 2011 07

Airtel has been one such Indian brand which has had a consistent audio branding strategy through the years. The popular Airtel tune composed by A.R. Rahman has been successfully integrated into ringtones, caller tunes, customer care service tunes and of course in their ads. Vodafone, on the other hand, has had an inconsistent sound logo but has picked music which has made a connect with the audiences over the years, which is why it commands such high brand recall even after a name change. The Concept of Sonic Branding is not new but over the years the understanding of how u can make music work for your brand has grown immensely. Extensive research has been done in measuring brainwaves to see how consumers are responding to different kinds of music and how they can attract these consumers towards their brands by striking the right chord.

Chhina Surprise! The “Kolaveri Di” has an astounding 26,019,407 views on you tube and counting! A record of sorts! So what is it about this song that’s made it the winner of the YouTube Gold award, which is presented to viral videos from across the world? Is it the simple no fuss “Tanglish” lyrics, the fun and casual element that runs through the song or is it that the world is full of SOUP-BOYS? No straight answers to this one! The song has entire India humming to its tune. It has become the unofficial anthem of the youth. The epidemic has spread to all corners of the country from the IIMs to the IITs, crossing the north –south divide and enchanting people overseas too. There are ample versions and remixes, one for each mood and event, be it the Sharad Pawar slap-song, exam song, the female version, Gujarati version or the milk-song (sung by Sonu Nigam’s toddler).The creators of the song (read phenomenon) probably didn’t imagine their brain child would become such a rage! With no glamour quotient, no exotic locations, a queer and funky blend of two languages, who would have? But stereotypes are boring anyway; it’s the unusual that

excites! Kolaveri has brought to light a new, game changing trend that shall be a dominant force in deciding the success or failure of projects in future. Thanks to the advent of the burgeoning dominant race of netizens, now the Internet, as a medium, shall play a crucial role like never before! Kolaveri was written in flat 6 minutes for an up-coming movie called ‘3’ which has 3 reverent Tamil acting dynasties featuring in it! And there are rumours of Rajnikant starring in the official Kolaveri video in the movie! So it’s only going to get bigger and better from here! Even though the ingredients or the recipe to an effective viral campaign aka “Kolaveri” may not be know but we sure can take some cues:

SPECIAL STORY

DECEMBER 2011 08

Social Media- In Kolaveri’s case most traffic was driven by Facebook, which accounted for nearly 80% of social media mentions of the song, followed by Twitter and YouTube. The fact is that the likes and dislikes of the youth cannot be ignored. Every kid below the age of 20 has an opinion about Koleveri di, every minute there is an opinion being generated about this song and circulated on the Facebook status bar. It is fairly impossible to hope to market virally without using social media. That very fact has also made viral marketing far easier than it was before. Ensure you build a strong social network, and then pass your message on to the social sphere through your connection. You can also use it as an avenue to enhance your other efforts too, share your YouTube video on Facebook or retweet a link on Twitter.

Originality- “One theme [of viral marketing] will likely recur: originality. Originality that draws on popular culture or is so brilliant that it becomes popular culture.” The common fibre of all successful viral marketing campaigns has been its originality. Don’t try to manufacture coolness or try to be hip; consumers can see through that. Just be true to who you are, understand your DNA and make it relevant to people today. Kolaveri kept it simple with a no-frills video and repetitive, easy to sing along lyrics. There isn’t any pretence and the song touches on a subject closely identified with by today’s youth. Also the novelty of the word “kolaveri” created a buzz. Twelve percent of all conversations on Kolaveri were about the meaning of the word, generally translated as “murderous rage”.

SPECIAL STORY

DECEMBER 2011 09

Humor- The lyrics written by Dhanush are

simple, clean and funny and the music is

catchy and addictive. They connect with

the youth instantly.

If you look at the highest-rated videos

on YouTube, they‟re not sad dramas,

they‟re men getting hit with inflatable

balls or animals falling off things. Younger

generations love humour, which is why

advertising is using increasing quantities

of it to sell things. People like it. It works

Imitative- As can be seen with Kolaveri, a rage

spreads like fire through imitations and

remixes. It is fashionable to share, like,

comment and re-jig a hit! Social voting

sites are the media that has best evolved

to leverage the imitative nature of social

interaction. So to become viral you have

got to create memes that can be

imitated and copied in real time.

In conclusion, unless you‟re Paris Hilton,

no video is guaranteed to go viral. A

guide for creating a successful viral

campaign is as effective as a tutorial on

how to win the lottery. OK, you‟ll learn

the basics like „you don‟t win if you don‟t

play,‟ but that‟s about it. Viral work is, for

the most part, unpredictable.

SPECIAL STORY

DECEMBER 2011 10

Brands originating from India, often

called „desi brands‟, have their task cut

out to establish themselves outside the

country. But in a country with a

multitude of cultures, even regional

brands ostensibly face the same

challenges. While many have failed, some

have successfully transcended the

seamless borders and the rest evolved

into pan-India brands shedding their

regional identities. Pan-India brands like

Titan, Britannia, Infosys, Wipro, HDFC

bank, etc are not known for their places

of origin, but for the attributes they

reek of.

The long drawn debate of North versus

South India stems from the huge

differences in the culture of the two

regions. These differences also posed a

challenge to brands from the North or

South to cross the Vindhyas and

establish a foothold in the other region.

Jyothy Laboratories (Kerala), TVS (Tamil

Nadu), MTR Foods (Karnataka), V-Guard

(Kerala), CavinKare (Tamil Nadu) are

some of the brands from the South

which made it big in the North. Some

brands from the North like Haldiram‟s

(Rajasthan), Ghadi detergent (Uttar

Pradesh), Wagh Bakri tea (Gujarat),

Paras Pharmaceuticals (Gujarat), Bector

Foods (Punjab), Fena detergent (Delhi)

have been successful down south.

The desire to grow from the regional

clout was so big for companies like

CavinKare and Jyothy Laboratories that

in order to obtain a national footprint,

they were headquartered in Mumbai.

This strategy seems to have worked

since CavinKare‟s Chik shampoo and

Jyothy Laboratories‟ Ujala have done

reasonably well in the national market.

These companies initially targeted

migrant workers from their home

regions, who were aware of the

products, so as to leverage on their

familiarity to create a brand name in the

market.

- Arun Leo , XIME Bengaluru

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 11

All these companies, apart from having

got their promotion strategy right,

also made sure to hire local agents

and distributors to sell their products,

so that they can better interface with

the new markets.

Though these brands might have done

well nationally, still a major chunk of

their sales is derived from their

regional bastions. This is seen in the

case of CavinKare‟s Meera hair wash

powder which sells mainly in Tamil

Nadu and Karnataka, while there are

literally no takers for the same

product in other states. Jyothy

laboratories still makes it a point to

launch all their products first in their

home bastion of Kerala.

Perhaps the biggest example of a

regional brand making it big nationally

has been „Why this Kolaveri di‟. The

song, a mixture of Tamil and English, is

from the soundtrack of a Tamil film.

The basic theme revolves around an

Indian boy, who shunned by his

girlfriend, sings in a drunken stupor,

asking why she hurt him. The words,

which consist of street humor, are

simple and this helped it relate to a

national audience. The song was never

meant to be a brand in the first place,

but soon transformed from a regional

brand into a national one as it soon

rose to become „the national youth

anthem‟. The song became the most

searched Youtube video in India with

over 23 million hits. Thus even in the

midst of so much diversity, there are a

lot of common nodes between the

regions and their cultures, and it‟s

these opportunities that regional

brands must exploit to make it big

nationally.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 12

Since its inception, it has addressed

many social issues through its ad

campaigns which elicit mixed response.

But that is how Benetton kept itself out

from the league and positioned itself.

Let me throw light on some of the most

prominent ones.

1) The initial advertising campaigns

portrayed the youth of both different

gender and races to promote the

message of “racial integration”.

2) During the 1991 Gulf War, UCB

came up with the print ads to

emphasize on the mass destruction of

life and property. It was intended to

promote the message of peace and

harmony in the world.

.

3) In 1992, the ad campaigns were so

designed to address the social evil of

AIDS and promote awareness amongst

the masses.

4) In 1994, its campaign against racial

discrimination conveyed that every

individual is created similar and hence

cannot be treated as unequal by others.

- Ela Koshal, Welingkar Mumbai UCB has followed Luciano Benetton‟s philosophy -

“Communication should not be commissioned from outside the

company, but conceived from within its heart”.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 13

5) In 1996, it worked in collaboration

with FAO to campaign against the issues

of “poverty and hunger” and spread

awareness for the “World food summit”

held at Rome.

Throughout its journey, it has marketed

itself by conveying deep social messages

to the masses, some of them being

applauded, while others met

controversies. But, it never deterred the

brand as it was primarily focused on the

message getting the attention rather

than there being arguments on a brand

resorting to such advertising campaigns.

Recently it launched “Unhate” that

portrayed eminent personalities kissing.

It was focused on promoting tolerance,

peace & harmony. The kiss was used as a

symbol of love and care.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 14

The pictures targeted religious

leaders like the Pope Benedict XVI

kissing Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, the

imam of al-Azhar Mosque, or political

leaders like Barack Obama kissing

Chinese PM Hu Jintao or German

chancellor Angela Merkel kissing the

French president Nicolas Sarkozy. While

the campaign addressed a very sensitive

issue in an outrageous manner, it met

with controversies particularly from the

Catholics and the ad portraying Pope

had to be pulled off.

But was the campaign justified? It would

be difficult to talk in terms of black and

white but a grey analysis can be done

through the following arguments:

1) It is necessary to understand its

underlying message.

“Love and hate are not far away from

each other, but they are the two

opposing emotions that are in delicate

balance with each other. Thus, don‟t

hate, Unhate”.

(http://unhate.benetton.com)

2) The morphing of the pictures of the

leaders had been done without any

intimation to them. This was unjustified

as any individual would find this

derogatory and would not approve of

this.

3) It is undoubtedly true that the

campaign faced repercussions

throughout the world.. Well the answer

is clearly NO!! Would the impact be the

same if, instead of real pictures,

caricatures of the leaders were used

4) The marketing campaign gives an

audacious invitation to its target

customers: the ball is now in your court,

if you align with the message of

Benetton, come and be a part of our

proud family but if you don‟t, the choice

is all yours.

So I would conclude by saying that

Benetton has positioned itself not just

as a brand, but as a disseminator of the

sensitive world issues. “Unhate” has a

deep message to convey and it should

be left to the customers to decide

whether they would like to associate

themselves with it or not.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 15

Introduction Have you ever bought a Kingfisher soda

or Smirnoff cassettes and cds? No,

right? But it is almost sure that either

you or people around you have bought

a kingfisher beer or Smirnoff vodka.

Well, this is what surrogate advertising

or surrogate marketing does.

In simple words, surrogate marketing

means advertising or promoting a

particular banned or illegal product or

service of a company by using certain

acceptable brand extensions of the

same company with the same logo and

brand name.

Intention of Surrogate

Marketing Intention behind such advertisement is

to popularize certain banned for

advertisement products such as liquor

and cigarettes. Surrogate marketing

refers to intentionally utilizing a

company, person or object to help

convey the message of another party.

History of Surrogacy in

Advertising

Surrogate advertisements took off

not long ago in the UK, where

British housewives protested

strongly against liquor

advertisements "luring" away their

husbands.

- Prateek Malpani, MICA Ahmedabad

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 16

The liquor industry found a way

around the ban: Surrogate

advertisements for cocktail mixers,

fruit juices and soda water using the

brand names of the popular liquors.

Government Dilemma

The government is usually caught up in

between revenue and responsibility

and the only leeway that they can give

the companies is surrogacy to glorify

their products. The Government has

already imposed a ban on cigarettes

and the Union and Health Ministry has

decided to impose a ban on surrogate

advertisements of Tobacco Industry as

well. The health ministry is putting a

ban on surrogate advertisements under

the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco

products (Prohibition of advertisement

and Regulation of Trade and

Commerce, Production, Supply and

Distribution) Act.

BRAND WHAT THEY PROMOTE

WHAT THEY ACTUALLY WANT TO SELL

Seagrams Compact discs. Alcoholic Beverages

Bagpiper Water and Soda, Cassettes and Compact discs.

Whisky

Mc Dowells Water and Soda Whisky

Red and White Bravery Awards Cigarettes

Bacardi Cassettes and Compact discs

Rum

Kingfisher Mineral Water and Calendars

Beer

Four Square White Water Rafting and Gliding Cigarettes

Wills lifestyle Apparels, Accessories Cigarettes

Pan Parag Pan Masala Gutkha

Johnny Walker Soda Scotch Whisky

502 Pataka 502 Pataka chai Bidi

Smirnoff, Aristocrat Apple Juices Vodka

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 17

ASCI (Advertising Standard

Council of India) Code

Section 6 of the said code states:

„Advertisements for products whose

advertising is prohibited or restricted by

law or by this code must not

circumvent such restrictions by

purporting to be advertisements for

other products the advertising of which

is not prohibited or restricted by law or

by this code. In judging whether or not

any particular advertisement is an

indirect advertisement for product

whose

advertising is restricted or prohibited,

due attention shall be paid to the

following:

(a) Visual content of the advertisement

must depict only the product being

advertised and not the prohibited or

restricted product in any form or

manner.

(b) The advertisement must not make

any direct or indirect reference to the

prohibited or restricted products.

(c) The advertisement must not create

any nuances or phrases promoting

prohibited products.

Future of Surrogate Advertising -

A balance between positives and

negatives

As avenues to advertise and new media

are on an increase and there is little

reliance on traditional media the

methods of surrogate marketing is going

to don a new look. With more and

more brands coming on the internet

and the

exposure to online video advertising

increasing the, surrogate marketing

departments of all such companies have

a new light of the day to see. It is still to

be seen how these companies keep in

mind their responsibility as well as the

uncontrolled and viral nature of the

internet.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DECEMBER 2011 18

Smartness holds different meaning for different people. But for us,

smartness is defined as the ability to leverage one‟s thoughts to

achieve one‟s desires. In this issue , Squarehead is dedicated to

smartness. Enjoy !

SqUaReHeAd !

DECEMBER 2011 19

DRAFT FCB Ulka presents COMSTRAT:10th Dec 2011

COMSTRAT is a Case study Competition of SIMSR organized by Interface –

the Marketing Club of SIMSR in association with DRAFT FCB Ulka for

designing Innovative and Effective Communication Strategies. COMSTRAT,

now in its 16th year, presented a case study on Bru Café. Over 100 teams from

across the country sent in their entries for the preliminary rounds and 6

teams battled it out in the final round held in SIMSR on 10th Dec 2011.

The team from Welingkar Mumbai (Raashi Mehra, Karan Bavishi, Aditya

Nagavekar) was the second runner up, followed by the team from SIMSR

(Shreya Bhattacharji, Aditya Nair, Atul Mirje), which was the runner up. The

team from NMIMS, Mumbai (Dinesh Yegireddi, Sapna Kalmadi, Mohita Jajodia)

stood first.

REWIND

DECEMBER 2011 20

NaviKaran 2011: 23rd Dec 2011

NaviKaran‟11- Renovate through Ideas is the first Marketing Fest of SIMSR

organized by Interface, the Marketing Club of SIMSR held on 23rd December

2011. The official sponsors for the event were Godrej Interio, MTS, Uni-Spa,

zoomin.com, GyanCentral etc.

The event kick started with a Q&A session on New and Emerging Ideas in the

field of Marketing and communications with Mr. Aditya Bhat from Business of

Ideas. This young but dynamic company has been the brains behind popular

shows like "Rakhi ka Swayamwar" and has done promotions for movies like

Band Baja Baraat and Aarakshan.

This event had a basket of exciting contests under its umbrella:

Ranniti 2011 ,the flagship event of Navikaran 2011, sponsored by Godrej

Interio was a Case Study Competition to test strategic thinking & branding

capabilities in devising a viral marketing strategy for Godrej Interio using social

media. It was a three stage event launched on 14th December 2011 and had

more than 150 teams registering for the preliminary rounds. Six teams made

the cut to the final round which was held in SIMSR on 23rd Dec and was

judged by Mr. Bedraj Tripathy, Senior General Manager, Advertising and

Communications, Godrej Interio.

The winning team was from IIM Lucknow, followed by the team from FMS

which came second.

REWIND

DECEMBER 2011 21

Srijan 2011 was the Graffiti Designing Competition in association with Uni-Spa. The winning team was Pradumna Swain, Abhishek Das from SIMSR. ChitraRekha 2011 was the Online Photography competition in association with zoomin.com. The theme of the contest is "Happiness in the Simple things of Life". First Prize: Bharat Baswani, EMRC Indore. Second Prize: Gaurav Arora, FORE School of Management. Best Photo and Tagline: by Indrajit Chavan, SCMHRD. Maximum Facebook “likes”: Charanjot Kaur, Government College of Art. Chandigarh. Jigyasa 2011Online Business Quiz on Brands to be held at 10:30 pm on 21st December 2011 . First prize: Suket Gupta - SIMSR Second prize: Sameer Agarwal – IIM Ranchi. The event was concluded with a Workshop on Social Media by Mr. Gregory Fernandes, Sr. Executive, Training at Social Wavelengh. The workshop gave insights on how to leverage Social Media and the power that surmounts it.

REWIND

DECEMBER 2011 22

Lay‟s Potato Chip Vending

Machine- „100% Natural Potato

Chips‟

Advertiser: Lay‟s

Baseline: 100% Natural Potato

Chips‟

Agency: +Castro

Media/ Origin: OOH media

(Ambient Advertisement)

Castro, an agency out of Argentina,

developed a special vending machine

that turns raw potatoes into bags of

potato chips right before one‟s eyes.

The consumer are handed potato as

they enter the store and are directed to

the vending machine. Once dropped

into the machine (which only accepts

potatoes; no coins allowed) a video

appears that brings consumers across

the six-step process of creating a potato

chip and at the end customer gets the

chip packet.

A very innovative advertisement and

stands out from the clutter. It sends the

message right across. Surely it creates

hold over two elements of AIDA-

Attention and Interests, Also it did not

miss out at minute details like the

heater that warms each bag to give the

feeling that it is a packet of freshly

cooked potato chips.

Mumbai Mirror- „I am Mumbai‟

ugly

Advertiser: Bennett Coleman &

Co. Ltd

Baseline: I am Mumbai

Agency: Taproot, India

Media/Origin: TVC

The TVC portrays how the city

newspaper has become the voice of the

average Mumbai citizen (Mumbaikar). It

is based on four real stories broken by

the newspaper in the recent past - the

destruction of an author's works, the

adulteration of milk, the dreadful

conditions of an orphanage, and the

unattractiveness of the city created by

banners - these depictions show the

affected citizens taking to a loudspeaker

(that represents Mumbai Mirror) to

make their grievances heard.

The Ad questions, „Mumbai Speaks Every

Morning. Are you listening?‟ The paper

empowers the reader and gives him a

voice. With the creativity, brand recall,

concept and the execution the TVC

takes the accolade.

Its all about Ad-itude !

DECEMBER 2011 23

The book was written in 1980‟s and is one of the

first books to talk about positioning as a marketing

tool. It tells us how an advertising budget can all go

to waste if it is not positioned properly and how

positioning is more about the mind of the

consumer rather than the product itself. It talks

about terms which we freely use today like first

mover advantage and sticking to core

competencies and multi product strategies. In a

way the book introduced us to these terms. It also

talks about different kinds of traps that people get

into while trying to position there product like line

extensions and giving away freebies.

What will make you buy? Even though it was written long back, it‟s still very

relevant to the current world and all the concepts

it talks about are still very much applied and in use.

It can be called a modern classic of marketing. Also

the approach followed is very lucid and it explains

with a lot of real life examples which gives us a

better understanding of the concept and helps us

relate better to what the authors are saying.

Why you may not buy? It focuses more on big businesses and even the

examples and cases taken are such and a budding

entrepreneur might get inspiration from it but

nothing more than that which he can actually apply.

Also, internet marketing which is a big thing

nowadays is not talked about at all because it was

written in pre- internet times.

BOOKWORM

DECEMBER 2011 24

Positioning : The battle for your mind

By : Al Ries and Jack Trout

Rating (courtesy

www.goodreads.com)A

TWEETS

DECEMBER 2011 25

Samsung Galaxy Nexus popularity levels rising above

Apple's iPhone Samsung's recent advertising campaign for the latest

Galaxy Nexus is making the product more popular

than Apple's iPhone. The adverts poke fun at Apple fans

who camp outside stores for the latest iPhone release,

as well as taking a swing at the device's poor battery

life and lack of 4G connectivity.

Gillette banking on soldiers as mascots for shaving.

Clean-shaven and distinguished looking, soldiers with

steely resolve and fastidious manners are perfect pin-

up boys for Gillette. The message is bang on. The

campaign rides on familiarity, aspiration, respect and

sympathy for soldiers in a world which is into a fad of

keeping stubbles.

Facebook shifts to new headquarters in California

Facebook has announced that its final wave of

employees have moved into its new headquarters in

the one million-square foot Menlo Park city of

California.The world's largest social network is now

officially headquartered at 1601 Willow Road in Menlo

Park.

Coke secret formula gets 1st new home since 1925

The Coca-Cola Co. has made its secret formula the

centrepiece of a new exhibit at its corporate museum,

ditching the confines of the bank vault where the list

of ingredients had been stored since 1925. The world's

largest beverage maker said today a new vault

containing the formula will be on display for visitors to

its World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta.

However, the formula itself, which dates back to 1886,

will remain hidden from view.

ACROSS

1) The picture is the first design made

by designer Art Paul for the logo of

which company?"Top Hat", "Gentleman",

"Sir'", "Satyr", "Pan" and "Bachelor“

were the names suggested for naming

the company but were rejected.

2) Identify the company whose logo is

shown, which owns brands like "Nature

Fresh", "Gemini" and "Sweekar".

8) Chesebrough Manufacturing

Company was the company that first

sold this product. The name of the

product was derived from the German

words meaning "Water" and "Oil".

9) “Top Boy” is the mascot of which

company?

DOWN

3. This is the logo of which web service?

4. DAT Motorcar Co. was the earlier

name of which car company? The logo

might look familiar.

5. "K cups" are single coffee brewing

cups that works on a special filtering

mechanism. These are patented by

which company.

6. The name of this company is the

name of the product itself.

7. Name the new channel whose logo is

shown and that replaced Star One.

BUZZ

DECEMBER 2011 26

1..Playboy 2.Cargill 3.Icloud

4.Nissan 5.Keurig 6.Ajinomoto

7.LifeOk 8.Vaseline 9.TopRamen

Answers

More than ever before, the statement

of Albert Einstein is extremely relevant

in today‟s business environment, where

boundaries of all business functions and

consumers are being demolished.

Marketing, which is the closest function

to customers, is the most impacted

area. Technology and changing

consumer profile and behavior have

provided opportunities for path

breaking innovations and hitherto

unthought-of possibilities for identifying

and serving new & old consumer needs,

and developing strategies to strive and

thrive in the market place.

Classic, pristine marketing is moving

from the traditional to the hitherto

unchartered areas of the digitalized

world. Newer competitors are creeping

silently into every area of marketing

and taking away the high ground from

brands that have held their space

before. How will the traditional

marketer compete with such New

Invaders? What do we understand of

strategies that have worked or not

worked under these conditions? One-

on-one customized marketing is all

around us. Need fragmentation,

customer individuality and self-concept

have been driving companies to micro

segment markets for better brand pull-

through and value migration. How has

customer engagement and experiential

marketing been spiked using marketing

and communication strategies involving

the heart, the mind, and the senses of

the customers to deliver a compelling

brand experience? All elements of

marketing are undergoing a paradigm

shift, some major changes are:

Product:

Marketing Unbound “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”. Albert Einstein.

Technology has made it possible for

the companies to launch greater

variety in products and services at

very fast speed. They are not only

making the product lifecycle very

short, almost to a dot, but also the

classic pattern of product lifecycle is

no longer applicable in most

categories.

This is especially visible in categories

like mobile phones and movies where

the lifecycle of the mobile or movie

could last between few weekends to a

few months. The trend of hybrid

products/services is the order of the

day. Combination foods like “Chinese

Bhel, Chinese Samosa, Paneer Tikka

Pizza, Idli Manchurian“are the new

items on the menu card of restaurants.

Product convergence due to

technological advances has become

another major challenge for companies

in defining their competitors.

Brand:

Brands are an important asset and a

major source of revenue for

companies. They are becoming more

ubiquitous - nationally and

internationally. With an unfettered

customer environment and markets

with borderless economies, how does

a global brand build relevance to the

local customers and still maintain its

national / global Identity. E.g.: for global

banks and companies like HSBC,

McDonald‟s and Kentucky Fried

Chicken (KFC), how should they

create new products, product delivery

and communication, within the

backdrop of customer needs, culture,

and marketing infrastructure and

government regulations.

Retail:

Global retail chains are seeing

opportunity in emerging markets like

India, China, Brazil and others. Are the

original country strategies relevant and

conducive to success in such markets?

What are our key learning‟s and

findings? How has international biggies

tackled the problems of culture, buying

parities, quality of product and

services, service delivery, people and

their management, nuances of product

development and acceptance, private

label branding and management, value

delivery and retail store brand

positioning?

Distribution

From a single channel to mandatory

presence across different distribution

channels including online presence, the

function of distribution presents

tremendous challenges and opportunities

for the companies. With convenience and

ease of purchase becoming the biggest

requirement for a consumer, what

strategies do companies follow to tackle

these issues? Is de-intermediation the

new mantra?

The Digitalized Customer

With technology becoming a big enabler,

not only for communication but for

consumer connect, newer and more

value creating opportunities are

emerging for the new wave marketers.

But how should the traditional marketing

organizations contend with such

changes? What is our understanding of

the new wave and the not-so-new wave

marketing organizations and their

parameters of success in the shifting

marketplace?

Understanding the implications of the

Long Tail has benefitted the new wave

marketers through the customers, their

specific and diverse needs, effect on

retailers, marketers‟ thinking and

strategies, the marketing researchers, the

digitalized communication media world,

newer and more cost effective

distribution channels, etc. What is our

understanding of these new frontiers

that is going to unfold in the next few

years?

Pricing:

Value delivery has always been the capstone of great marketing success. How can the price-value equation be altered, changed, and amended into a strategic thrust by transposing the traditional value chain onto the virtual value chain?

Does such a hybrid value creating

system compellingly drive value

creation for the customer, the company

and the shareholders by value

delivering through effective pricing and

efficient distribution or both?

Integrated Communication Management:

The digitalized world has had the maximum impact on Marketing Communication and Promotion. Emerging markets such as India are seeing a tremendous surge in the adoption and use of digitalized media. A) How does the digitalized medium help in enhancing the delivery of a holistic communication experience to the customer in emerging markets? B) What are the new strategies and metrics that are evolving to ensure

greater marketing productivity and measurement systems, enabling the marketers to better understand marketing ROI? C) How versatile is the new digital / social media and its effect in brand building /creating long term customer value?

7th SIMSR Asia Marketing Conference

The 7th SIMSR Asia Marketing Conference, with its theme for this year – “Marketing

Unbound”, looks to elaborate on these aspects and more. It is a conference which

gives the best marketing minds to share their work with the world. Participants from

US, UK and APAC region convene to deliver their marketing work which changes the

marketing landscape.

Conference Objectives

To offer a platform for marketing practitioners, academicians and researchers to:

1. Analyze and share their knowledge and experience of cutting edge innovations in marketing.

2. Discuss possible strategies and strategic options to overcome the challenges of technology, competition, and changing consumer profile/behavior.

3. Analyze, understand and develop strategies to cope with the ever changing marketing landscape.

Areas Covered

Brand / Product Management

Consumer Behavior / Services

Integrated Marketing Communication

Brand & Product Management

Consumer Behavior & Services

Rural & Social Marketing

E – Marketing

Strategic Marketing And Strategic Management

Retail Management

For Whom

1. Marketing Academicians 2. Marketing Practitioners 3. Doctoral Students 4. Marketing Researchers

Guest Speakers

Mr Nitin Paranjpe CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever Ltd Dr. Bhaskar Das President, The Times Of India Group, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) Mr Vidyut Arte Managing Director, Kraft Foods, Thailand Mr Sanjiv Sarin Regional President, Tata Beverages, South Asian Region Mr Kinjal Medh COO at Cogito Consulting

Venue

K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, Vidyavihar (East),

Mumbai – 400 077, India Website: http://simsr.somaiya.edu

Email: simsrasiamktg@simsr.somaiya.edu / simsrasiamktg@gmail.com Phone: +91 22 6728 3000 / 3050 (Board)

Fax: +91 22 2102 7219

For more details

http://simsrasiamarketing.weebly.com https://www.facebook.com/asiamarketingconference

CALL FOR ARTICLES

JANUARY ISSUE

Articles can be sent on any one of the following

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1) Employer Branding versus Celebrity endorsements

2) Sensory Branding - creating retail experience

3) 4Ps of Samsung smartphones. What made it

possible for Samsung to beat Apple in smartphone

sales ?

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references are clearly mentioned

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Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59 PM ,

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23

COVER STORY Tilottama Sanyal

SPECIAL STORY Niyati Chamyal

ITS ALL ABOUT AD-itude !

Hinal Shah

SquAreheaD Pallavi Srivastava

REWIND Tillotama Sanyal

COVER PAGE Vibhav Shukla

TWEETS Upveen Tameri

BUZZ Sujit Mishra

DESIGN Yash Chamaria

BOOKWORM Upveen Tameri

PROMOTIONS Keith Mascarenhas

THE TEAM