Page >> 09

Page >> 13

The Apple Samsung Battle What are its

implications

Cat n Mouse Chase Are regional brands giving

big pocket MNC s a run

for their money

How are companies going out of their

way for new product launches

Page >> 16 Page >> 18 Page >> 20

Hall-Mark Campaigns

NEW SECTION

Page >> 08

EDITOR’S DESK

01 SEPTEMBER 2012

Dear Readers,

Unveiling yet another edition of your monthly dose of marketing. Hope our anniversary issue created its “MARK”. We ricochet with a deluge of information to satiate your marketing acumen. It is our ceaseless endeavour to outdo ourselves and serve our readers the best pot pourri from the marketing world. Hope it makes for a devouring read. In our Cover Story we uncover the nuances of TAGLINE MARKETING and shed light on the raconteuring ability of a few words. Our Special Story on THE CURIOUS CASE OF WILL-i-am AND CURIOSITY presents brand building in a different light and harps on the power of innovative marketing. We thank our readers for their overwhelming response to our CALL FOR ARTICLES. THE APPLE SAMSUNG BATTLE: WHAT ARE ITS IMPLICATIONS? is a comprehensive coverage of the topic. CAT-N-MOUSE CHASE: ARE REGIONAL BRANDS GIVING BIG POCKET MNC’s A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY? and HOW ARE COMPANIES GOING OUT OF THEIR WAY FOR NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES? are replete with illustrations which buttress the author’s point of view. We extend a hearty congratulations to the winners of our Featured Articles- Biswarup Saha, Isha Pandey & Ankush Gupta. The eclectic mix of our MARK-ive, Its all about AD-itude, Tweets, Hall-MARK Campaigns, BookWorm, Rewind, SquAreheaD and Buzz completes this sumptuous issue. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. So together lets aim high and fly higher.

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

CONTENTS

THE MARKSMAN 02

TWEETS

03

It’s all about

AD-itude!

07

Brand

MARK ive

05

Bookworm

22

SPECIAL STORY

The curious case of

will.i.am & Curiosity

13

SqAreheaD

24

BUZZ

25

COVER STORY

Tagline Marketing

09

Hall-MARK

Campaigns

08

Rewind

23

The Apple- Samsung

Battle: What are its

implications? …16

FEATURED ARTICLES

Cat-n-Mouse Chase:

Are regional brands

giving big-pocket

MNC’s a run for their money? …18

How are companies

going out of their way

for new product

launches? …20

IBM, originally International Business Machines, is a

multinational computer, technology and Information

Technology consulting company which has its

headquarters in New York, United States. IBM is one of

the few IT companies which has a history that dates

back to the early 19th century. IBM makes and sells

computer hardware as well as software with an

emphasis on software and offers infrastructure services

and IT consultancy services in fields that range from

computers to nanotechnology. It is also known as the

“Big Blue” for its official corporate colour.

1880s – The origin of IBM dates back to the

19th century, although IBM was registered in

the state of New York in 1911 (June 16) as

the Computing Tabulating Recording

Company.

1910s - In 1911, IBM was merged with

International Time Recording Company and

Computing Scale Company of America. In

1915 the famous "THINK" signs, the slogan

phrased by Thomas J. Watson Sr., were

first used in the company.

1920s - The CTR (Computing Tabulating

Recording Company) was renamed IBM -

International Business Machines

Corporation.

1930s – In the 1930s during the Great

Depression, IBM succeeded in growing

while the rest of the U.S. economy

struggled.

1960s – The first men on Moon, land with

the help of IBM computers and

personnel.

1970s – IBM introduced “floppy disk”, the

only medium to store personal data.

1980s – The brand IBM entered homes,

schools and small businesses with the

launch of the IBM Personal Computer.

1990s - In 1993, IBM recorded a net

annual loss of $8 billion. Louis Gerstner,

took reign as IBM's Chief Executive

Officer on 1st April, 1993 (the 1st outsider

since 1911) and helped the company

miraculously turnaround in just 1 year.

2000s – “Watson” – IBM’s supercomputer

competed on the quiz show Jeopardy, in

the show's only human v/s machine

match and won the 1st prize of $ 1 million

Brand MARK ive

05 SEPTEMBER 2012

DESCENT OF IBM LOGOS:

IBM is known for one of the most notable

and distinct logos in the world, simple yet

very appealing, it goes with IBM’s global

image.

The logo that was used from 1924 to

1946 aims to suggest a globe encircled

by the word "International" showcasing

IBM as an international brand.

In the logo that was used from 1947 to

1956, the known globe was substituted

with the three plain letters "IBM” which

highlighted IBM’s simplified structure.

The logo that was used from 1956 to

1972 emphasized IBM’s bold,

continuous and grounded approach.

The striped logo was first used in 1967,

totally replacing the bold logo,

highlighting the dynamic culture at

IBM.

The logo in 1972 was developed by

graphic designer Paul Rand, making

IBM’s logo one of the most

recognizable logos in the world.

IBM’s near Death and Rebirth! – The World’s

Most Successful Corporate Turnaround!

IBM, had one of its toughest time in the

early 1990s. In spite of recording a

profitable year in 1990, in the year 1994, the

company recorded a loss of close to $16

billion due to the changing dynamics in the

IT Industry. The company had money to

sustain for just another 100 days. The

reason behind the sudden shift in fortunes

was attributed to its elephantine size, an

easy going work culture and an inability to

integrate the business effectively to offer a

gamut of solutions to its customers. The

company had to do something fast and

that’s when Louis Gerstner took hold of the

company and over the next decade brought

the world’s largest and the most successful

corporate turnaround.

expanded by around 40% with majority of

the growth coming from the services and

consulting division. Also, the stock price of

the company increased by 8 times during

that period. His vision led the growth of

services and consulting of IBM and

propelled the company back to its

triumphant ways. Louis Gerstner will always

be remembered in the company and also

across the world in times to come as the

architect of one of the world’s most

successful corporate turnaround stories.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1997, Deep Blue, a chess-playing

computer designed by IBM won the

second six-game match against world

champion Garry Kasparov.

IBM set up its 1st office in INDIA in

1951. It re-entered India in 1992 with a

Joint Venture with TATA after its exit

from INDIA in 1970s.

With this Louis

Gartner had been

successful in

making the

elephants dance to

his tunes. With

Gartner in IBM for

around a decade, the company

Brand MARK ive

MARKSMAN 06

Its all about AD-itude!

07 SEPTEMBER 2012

50 branches of Mother’s pride and

Presidium schools spearheaded a 2-month

activation called Teacher’s Touch, with

intent to thank over 2500 teachers for their

selfless dedication, on the occasion of

Teacher’s Day. The activation started off on

1st July,2012 and ended on Teacher’s Day

i.e. 5th September,2012.

The conceptualization by Out of the Box,

India which started off as a crusade,

metamorphosed into a festival of

celebration to thank teachers for their

endless support.

The concept of the ads was to highlight

how teachers have the vision to determine

what their students can become in future

and also to showcase their determination to

help the students identify their passion.

Marico’s Nihar Naturals has recently

launched its new campaign “Chhotte

Kadam Pragati ki Aur” in partnership with

CRY India. The campaign aims at

enabling and helping its consumers to

take the step of providing opportunities to

underprivileged children, for a bright

future.

The TVC, created by BBH India starts off

with the Brand Ambassador ‘Vidya Balan’

walking up to two children who are

studying in the open, giving them both a

cup of tea and encouraging them to study.

The campaign also aimed at spreading the

vital message that it’s the ‘Teacher’s

Touch’ that ultimately creates leaders.

To throw some light on what the activation

was about; the first stage urged teachers to

leave a thumbprint on a poster, to honour

teachers and their teaching. This was

eventually followed by a special SMS

service, which involved sending special

messages to teachers every morning at

7.30. Further, all the teachers were

photographed by professional

photographers, who captured a special

expression of each one of them and life

size banners of these photographs were

displayed on the corridors of every school.

Also teachers were given personalized

books that saluted their work and effort,

along with a personalized mug embossed

with the message, ‘I have the Touch’.

She then provides a voice over, introducing

Nihar Natural’s new initiative offer whereby

each time a consumer buys a bottle of Nihar

Naturals, 2 percent of the proceeds will be

contributed to the education of

underprivileged children.

The campaign thus provides consumers

across India a channel, through which they

can do their bit for the society and enables

them to participate in its growth and

progress.

Media: Print

Client: Presidium Schools

Creative agency: Out of the

box, India

Media: TVC

Client: Marico’s Nihar Naturals

Creative agency: BBH India

Hippo hit a sixer when it launched the

Indian food league campaign this IPL

season .This year, Hippo’s fight against

hunger started with our national obsession

Cricket, marinated with our national fixation

with Food!

This campaign revolved around the rivalry

existing between the cities/states

participating in the IPL, but with a twist.

People’s emotional connect with their city

was channelized via FOOD.

Hippo had a dedicated micro site where

people could login with their respective

Facebook/twitter ID and enter the tastefully

done Hippo site. The menu card consisted

of teams in IPL like Pav Bhaji for Mumbai, Idli Sambhar for Chennai, Dal Bati for Rajasthan, etc.The ‘Today’s Special‘menu

card consisted of the match scheduled for

the day. So say, if a match between Delhi

daredevils and Kings XI Punjab was on,

they would simply say Papdi Chaat Delhi

vs. Aloo Paratha Punjab. By referring to the

specialty dishes from that region people

immediately connected. And the ‘free’ hit

that people received was the Hippo Bean

bag. The Hippo bean bag was a giveaway

for the audience who posted their

comments and posters on the site.

This tempting offer was taken up by a lot of

fans .People unleashed their creativity with

loyalty for their teams dripping from each of

their comments.

Hall-MARK Campaigns

@KeshavSingla

ROSH GOLLA is delicious.....It’s just like

Hippo... GOL GOL Hippo...Gol Gol Golla

@RajdeepBarman

rosh golla is the best sweet in the world.

khabo golla, jeetbo re!!!

@RinaChoudhary

Hippo says today Idli Sambhar will win as

Idli is lighter than fatty roshgolla and can

swim better in sambhar.

These were a few tweet based comments

during the final match between Chennai

super kings and Kolkata knight riders.

Hippo cleverly leveraged our love for

snacking through this campaign. While

cricket is our religion, Hippo knew Food is

not for our thoughts but for our stomach. So

it served two flavors with one spoon. The

flavor of our regional specialty and that of

our spicy cricket moments. And we are not

complaining!

THE MARKSMAN 08

NEW SECTION

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09 SEPTEMBER 2012

A tagline is nothing but a short set of words that companies use to associate

themselves with their company or brand. It communicates the highest

priority message about your brand identity, in a reminiscent manner. It

presents a precious opportunity to communicate point of differences,

solutions or benefits, promises on everything from letterhead to

website. The fact is taglines, good taglines, do an important work that no

other element in an ad could possibly ever do.

They can punctuate, urge,

crystallize, energize, intrigue,

raise the bar and most

importantly provide the crucial barbed hook at the very end of the advertising experience—that

memorable little brand byte that

stays with you when everything

else within the ad has faded from

your memory. When you think

about it, for at least the last 75

years, no other advertising genre

or element has been more

sustainable, more powerful and

more engaging than the tagline

(with the possible exception of

the jingle which very often is a

tagline put to music.)

A tagline is a very important element of branding. It can be one of the best

brand communication tools, if used right. However, you don’t always need a

tagline to have a successful brand. Some big brands such as Google don’t

use a tagline. But a fine tagline is the single-most powerful, condensed,

petite expression of your brand that you can ever have.

YOU LIKE IT...IT LIKES YOU | VALUES STRONGER THAN STEEL

| JUST DO IT| I'M LOVIN' IT

COVER STORY

Taglines show their real worth when you want to bring your brand in front of

people and ally with them in little space and time. The tagline is the first

impression that your brand creates. However, a tagline is not an explanation

and it shouldn’t tell a long story. It needs to inculcate the feeling you want

people to have about you. For that reason, you should take great care in

creating one. The key is having a clear idea of what your brand stands for.

Taglines are the first step and an

integral part of brand building

campaign. Their value builds for

years, and over time, a nice tagline

can be your best as well as least

expensive form of advertising. If

your company name, logo and

tagline are all working together as

they should, they definitely become

an ad in and of themselves. Then it

doesn’t matter what your company

does, your tagline creates an

opening expression. People will

keep in mind this slogan even

before a company name.

The point to be noted is that, like food, literature and art, the tagline can be

meaningful and priceless. And more so today than ever, as the explicit sell

becomes less present in ads, the presence of the tagline becomes more

important. It is very often the sole bearer of the brand’s message.

People memorize taglines for products from their early childhood. In fact,

some taglines become so deep-rooted in the culture that they are familiar to

people who hadn’t even taken birth at the time the tagline was dynamic, and

who never used the product. Whenever a brand is born, it very often suckles at its tagline teat. Also, when a

brand dies, the legacy it leaves is usually the tagline. To quote just one of

countless, if earliest, examples, when Standard Oil was taken over by Amoco,

and then by BP, what did people retain of the original brand? “You Expect

More From Standard, And You Get It.” Granted, those of us who still retain

that tagline are starting to die off; nevertheless, it far outlived the brand.

Because no other component has the latent to convey this much unforgettable

touching stuff about the brand with such a communicative economy. If the aim

is to find a hook that will succinctly express your brand, and your customers’

attitude towards it, nothing else works as well as a tagline.

THE MARKSMAN 10

COVER STORY

No image, no headline, no punch line, no celebrity spokesman, no viral

video, and no nothing sticks and communicates like a good tagline. Mostly, it

is often the tagline alone which makes sense of the words and/or images

which precede it.

And while the tagline, on the face, may express the benefit or the brand bond

on a deeper level, it itself can be a critical component of that very bond or

benefit. The tagline satisfies a deeply engrained, inherent human desire to

wrap things up tidily and with a twist. This universally shared desire is often

most sensitive in advertisers themselves. They just love that short and

snappy, catchy, crystallized expression of what their brand is about. Apart

from the corporate ego of it, a good tagline can assist everyone in the

company stay determined. Satisfying this desire to wrap things up efficiently

and with a twist, by itself, may or may not be sufficient explanation for using a

tagline, but it certainly is, at a minimum, a happy by-product.

Nike was founded in 1978. While it

was clear that Nike was a brand

focused on footwear and sportswear,

no one knew precisely what it stood

for until 10 years later when the "Just

Do It" campaign was launched.

Right away, the message began to

echo. It was no longer about just a

shoe or a pair of shorts; it was about

a state of mind. You don't have to be

an athlete to be in shape or tackle an

obstacle. If you want to do it, just do it. That's all it takes.

This tagline is a proof that a brand needs to give itself time for a tagline to marinate before anyone can truly understand what it means to its audience.

Cadbury Dairy Milk encapsulates a gigantic breath of emotions, from shared

values of family togetherness, to the personal values of individual enjoyment.

Essentially, it stands for goodness.

In 2004, the `Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ campaign was launched, seeking to

increase CDM consumption by making it synonymous with traditional

sweets (Mithai). Having Amitabh Bachchan as the face and voice of the brand, the campaign went on to become a very huge success.

11 SEPTEMBER 2012

COVER STORY People could relate to the commercials that were published to

promote Cadbury Dairy Milk. How many can forget the `Pappu Pass Ho

Gaya’ advertisement? The country cheered on as Pappu fell in love in the

‘Pappu Love Test commercial’. Then came`Miss Palampur’ and the country

celebrated the beauty pageant with a difference. The ‘Kenya’ commercial that

was aired in 2008 celebrated the true spirit of cricket and that of true

sportsmanship. In 2009, it aired another commercial under the `Kuch Meetha

Ho Jaaye’ platform, called the `Pay Day’ commercial.

In the year 2010, the `Shubh

Aarambh’ campaign was

launched, drawing lines from

the traditional Indian tradition

of having something sweet

before starting off with

something new.

If the tagline were no longer filling a need, it would have no endurance value

and would plainly disappear. But taglines continue to dominate the advertising

arena as they have throughout the course of advertising. The need is clearly

still there. The task of advertisers and the tagline writers they rely on is to

revalue the tagline, to dig deeper to find the nugget, to spot the little piece of

pith that rings true, that emanates from the true voice of the brand.

With `Shubh Aarambh’, Cadbury took forward the Dairy Milk journey a step

further into the hearts of its million lovers.

The point is taglines are here to stay and that too

for good reasons. Our environment is saturated

with lot of commercial messages. The need and

desire to be quicky and entertaining in the

broadest sense is surely increasing exponentially.

As advertising adapts to increasing pressure to

communicate even more concisely, and to up the

entertainment quotient, the tagline becomes a

more and more valuable means to achieve those

ends. And so true to itself -

“A good tagline is one of the least expensive forms of marketing you can develop and use.”

THE MARKSMAN 12

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the curious case of

will.i.am and curiosity

On 28th August 2012, Earth received a voice message from Mars.

SETI(Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) would have had a field day

had it been from the Martians or any aliens we have come to perceive so

well; thanks to Hollywood’s rich embellishments!

But this signal-despite its extra terrestrial origins-turned out to be a song

called Reach for the stars, performed by an artist called Will.I.am. The focus

of this article is on the buzz surrounding this phenomenon. But before that, a

glance at our protagonist..

Will.i.am is famously known as one of

the singers of the pop group Black Eyed Peas. As a solo artist he has

composed music which ranges from

rap to electro-pop. His work has

earned him 7 Grammys and a

recognition which few musicians of his

caliber have been able to achieve. But

this talented musician also has his

hands in many other pies.

One would surely remember him as a mutant with teleportation ability in the

movie “X Men Origins-Wolverine”. If one would think harder, images of him

appearing in music videos alongside artists like Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj,

Cheryl Cole & Justin Timberlake would also come to mind. What might not

come to mind is the fact that Will.i.am is also the Director of Creative

Innovation at Intel, the microchip giant! He also owns a clothing line called

i.am.

This versatile artist has made his mark not only as a singer but also as a

master collaborator. He has promoted the brand Will.i.am unlike any other

musician. He has been involved in projects whose breadth ranges from

politics to microchips. One of the latest collaborations has been with the soft

drink giant Coke with whom he partners to promote the brand EkoCycle.

13 SEPTEMBER 2012

SPECIAL STORY

This branded line of products would comprise of luxury goods made out of

recycled Coke bottles. With Ekocycle, the singer has brought his creative

designing sensibilities to create high end products with value additions.(Did

we forget to mention that he had attended the Fashion Institute of Design and

Merchandising in California?). This product line will go “live” the following

year.

C A N D I D S C R U T I N Y Will.i.am’s new song “Reach for the Stars” debuted worldwide on 28th August

2012. This song is quite different from the kind of music that he is associated

with. However, it is not the song that raised eyebrows. It was the song’s

mode of unveiling that made history.

The song was streamed via the Mars Rover Curiosity!!

Curiosity “played” the Will.i.am song on August 28th and it was unveiled in the

form of a video at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena,

California, USA. The collaborative effort came to fruition with the joint effort of

NASA, i.am angel( a non-profit organization owned by Will.i.am which is

dedicated to "transforming lives through education, opportunity and

inspiration") and Discovery Education. According to Will.i.am, the song Reach for the stars is special. It is not the typical pop song of a genre that the singer

is known for. It has more of western traditional composition which combines a

lot of elements of orchestrated symphony.

From marketing perspective, this latest move of the helmsman of the Black

Eyed Peas is brilliant. He has managed to bring the elements of

CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility), brand development and market

expansion in one act. His objective- to reach out to children and make higher

education more appealing-has been quite successful. The mystical images of

another world coupled with a song that stirs introspective strings has already

won the hearts of millions. The sincerity of the campaign is evident, but here is

another thought- the singer has thus increased his market base by a huge

quantum in one bold move. The “intellectual” strains of the song have appeals

to all age groups. The platform for its projection, the music and the cause, all

add to the depth of the promotion of the Will.i.am brand which now stands out

amongst all musicians. In one majestic swipe, the singer has earned the

respect of the scientific and academic community too.

THE MARKSMAN 14

SPECIAL STORY

Now bearing in mind that his collaboration

with Coke Ekocycle(high end products

made out of recycled bottles) is due for

launch next year, this brand image

enforces both loyalty as well as increase in

sales. The Curiosity broadcast comes

barely a month after the Ekocycle

announcement and it clearly depicts the

brand reinforcement strategy adopted by

Will.i.am.

(For the benefit of the science newbies,

who might not know much about

Curiosity, here is an (offbeat)

explanation- Curiosity is one of the

most sophisticated vehicles doing off

road runs on one of the farthest

terrains known to man- Planet Mars!

It is a well known fact that music

celebrities have a way of showing off

by the use of their vehicles. Now

picture a SUV sized vehicle on a

distant planet playing a Will.i.am song!

………The singer certainly has earned

bragging rights which will not be

surpassed anytime soon. )

The artist’s modesty in

contrast with his flamboyance

also adds to the favorable

image.

In doing a charitable act, he has

managed to attract audience who

may or may not have been

interested in his music earlier.

His face has become symbolic as

a singer cum humanitarian of

NASA. This balance of

personality commands loyalty. It

is a feat which is certainly difficult

to achieve with negligible

investment.

Another observation is the sheer

brilliance of the concept which

otherwise was not possible at

any level of investment cost.

NASA-despite immense budget cuts- would never allow its assets to be used

for music promotions (or for that matter, any other commercial purposes) at

any cost. Even if it did, the price would be too steep for any business to break

even.

Over the years, Will.i.am has diversified his interests and successfully

promoted himself as a solo artist and a celebrity who has myriad facets to his

personality. The Curiosity chapter has added another feather to his (signature)

hat!

15 SEPTEMBER 2012

The Apple-Samsung Battle: What are it’s implications?

FEATURED ARTICLES

MARKSMAN 16

The viral photo (shown below), circulated on Facebook, most aptly sums up the

situation post the judgment in the Apple-Samsung patent infringement case.

While Samsung and Apple were battling

in and out of the court, Nokia, pioneer of

the smartphones, was lagging behind in

the race for the numero uno position in

the smartphone segment. However,

Nokia with its Lumia series with

Microsoft’s Mobile Windows OS is

planning to make a big comeback.

Into the Future The mobile phone industry has

mainly three interdependent

stakeholders with variable

dependence as shown in the above

figure. These players are – the

equipment manufacturer

(handsets), the software developer

(OS), and the network provider.

Any dispute between two players in

a sector, affects all the players in

the remaining two sectors.

The first and most publicized implication is the business ethics. Apple

executives claim that this case will serve as a reminder to all those who reap

the rewards of someone else’s idea.

Customers However, the most interesting implication in this regard is how the

consumers will react to this judgment. The Samsung Galaxy S III has sold

over 20 million units in 100 days. Analysts say that the new Apple iPhone 5

will sell approximately 10 million units in a week. The impressive figures

suggest that each product has its niche customer base. One may also

conclude that customer will not get involved in the quagmire of legalities

between the two giants.

-Biswarup Saha, IIM Kozhikode

FEATURED ARTICLES

The verdict in favor of Apple has increased the awe for the company. The

trial has brought a lot of publicity to the company and its product. This has

worked well for the September 12, 2012 launch of the new iPhone 5.

Handset Manufacturers

This development has left its competitors in a rush. Nokia and Motorola have

launched, between themselves, five smartphones, a week before the launch

of iPhone 5. The companies hope that this gives them a “potent weapon” in

the global mobile industry. However, analysts have given them a thumb’s

down because they lack the ‘wow’ factor. Did Nokia and Motorola

compromise on product features and capabilities for a quick entry in the

market?

The case in point, pitted two of the world’s most used OS – Apple’s iOS and

Google’s android –head-to-head. The verdict has actually affected the

distribution of the android OS. Since phones operating on android have very

similar physical characteristics as those of iPhone, mobile manufactures will

be vary of using android. Two likely outcomes are that handset

manufacturers will look for newer platforms, like Nokia’s tie up with Microsoft

for the Widows Mobile 8 platform for its Lumia smartphones, or develop

newer OS in-house, like Samsung’s BADA.

Software Developers

One of the parties in the case is Apple the other being the collaboration

between Samsung and Google. The entire episode has been dubbed as war

of hardware.

Apple vs. Google

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of

Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Steve Jobs told his

biographer. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m

willing to go to thermonuclear war on this.”

One of the most affected players in the case is undoubtedly, Google. So, one

has to ask, who was Apple’s intended target?

17 SEPTEMBER 2012

FEATURED ARTICLES

MARKSMAN 20

Recently, the famous American rapper, Will.i.am, launched his latest sound-

track on planet Mars. The song is titled ‘Reach for the stars’ and was

broadcasted in an unprecedented manner by NASA’s rover Curiosity stationed

on the surface of mars.

- Ankush Gupta, IMI Delhi, PGDM

This little story tells us how

marketers all over the world are

doing things differently, trying to

make an impact on the public and

making their presence felt. ‘Reach for the stars’ is a depiction of the

singer’s love for science,

technology and space exploration.

And could there be a better way

than to collude with the finest aeronautics agency in the world

This is just one of the many examples of companies thinking out of the box

and defying all conventional logic to make things happen for them.

Samsung’s latest release – Galaxy S3, also under the limelight for a series of

patent infringes, claims to be ‘Designed for humans’. The message they

intend to convey is clear - that this handset has everything a human being

needs in life – and nothing else – there are no supernatural claims. Even the

launch of this product was held independently at an exhibition centre in

London, instead of the regular worldwide Consumer electronics show.

With so much of clutter in the market space, the average consumer’s mind

may be perceived as sponge soaked in water, and so various brands are

trying to squeeze this sponge as hard as they can to make space for

themselves. The quest for launching products differently is not new. Back in

and make magic happen 150 million miles away from the surface of the earth?

FEATURED ARTICLES

In light of the social media rampage, companies all over the world are trying

hard to get their hands on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and YouTube to break new

grounds in innovation and strive harder than ever to exceed customer’s

expectations. A near perfect example is that of the soundtrack ‘Kolaveri Di’, a

viral marketing campaign by the producers of a Tamil film titled ‘3’. Now

whether this actually was a leak, as claimed by the organization, or not, is a big

debate, but what they managed to do was to create a mass presence of an

otherwise limited Tamil film industry.

Another on-going ad campaign is that of

RIM, called ‘people-action’ in which they

are trying to revamp Blackberry’s alert

icon ‘splat’. The strategy they have

followed is lurking out bits of information

every now and then through

newspapers etc., trying to create a

sense of curiosity among the general

public. This may also be looked at as an

opposite of viral marketing.

2007, the advertising team of

Steven Spielberg’s film

Transformers roped in the

famous illusionist Franz Harary to

demonstrate the transformation

of a car into a 30 foot robot live

on stage in front of hundreds of

people, thereby hinting at what

was to be expected in the movie

and thus creating worldwide curiosity and interest.

Whether they will successfully manage this or not will have to be left to the

future, but one thing is for sure – there is no room for relaxation in this ever changing dynamic world.

21 SEPTEMBER 2012

Bookworm

The New rules of marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott is a Marketing Strategist, an advisor

to many upcoming companies in marketing technology.

He is also the author of many e-books, article in

Huffington Post, blog titled Web Ink Now which is ranked

as one of top marketing blogs. He has also published

many books such as Newsjacking, Real time Marketing

and PR , Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead,

World Wide Rave( having co-authored the last two with

Brian Halligan) etc. He is also keynote speaker at many

corporate events.

He is currently working as recovering marketing VP of two

publicly traded US companies.

About the Author:

This book talks about how social media and online

marketing are changing the rules of marketing and

transforming the marketing landscape from mass markets

to niche markets. It talks about the Long Tail of marketing

and PR which is basically about catering to niche markets

and reducing production and distribution costs. It is a very

good guide on how to use the emerging marketing and PR

techniques for anyone who wants to market their products.

The book covers everything from networking sites to blogs

as a means of marketing and includes good examples of

companies who have used the new rules of marketing and

PR to market themselves. It also talks about how not

adapting to these new rules can hurt companies. The

downside is that having taken too many examples to

explain makes the book repetitive thereby a bit tedious in

some parts. Also the book covers mainly the U.S

landscape, so how these new rules apply in emerging

markets like India are not covered. In all the book is a

good read and explains the intricacies of new age

marketing & PR well.

About the Book:

Rating : 3/5

THE MARKSMAN 22

Rewind

Brand-O-Mania

For the first time Interface conducted a CSR Event in association with the Rotaract Club by

organising a Brand Equity Quiz “BRAND-O-MANIA” for Rotaract Club members and

students of SIMSR on 9th September, 2012. It gave a platform to the budding marketers to

showcase their mettle.

A total of 60 teams participated from SIMSR and Rotaract Club. The first round was a

shortlist round on the basis of which top 10 teams were selected. In the second round the

10 teams vied with each other in the CONNECT round followed by dumb charades.

The second round gave us the top 5 teams who battled it out for the medals and the

certificates. In the final round- Ad-mad round, which was pretty interesting, each team was

given a product to be sold with 10 minutes at their disposal to decide the product name,

tagline and an advertisement for the same.

The event was a big hit and gave a chance to the participants to brain storm and put on their

thinking caps for creative ideas to make the ads.

Participants from Sydenham were the winners of the quiz with a team from SIMSR as the

runners up. Both, Winners and Runners-up were given medals and certificates.

Inquizzitive

Since its inception, Interface has been organizing ‘INQUIZZITIVE’, the biggest Business Quiz

of SIMSR, every year.

This year 'Inquizzitive' was conducted on 24th August 2012. A whooping 90 entries were

received, of which 6 finalist teams were shortlisted after a 30 minute mind boggling

questionnaire round.

The quiz focused on four rounds i.e. TVC, Print Ad, Connect and Personality guessing. There

were special goodies for the audience as well.

The event was a huge success and the winners came out with flying colors after a nail biting

tie breaker round.

Certificates were given to all the finalist teams and cash prize was given to the winning team.

Vibhav Kamat & Rajnil Thakur (PGDM-Communications)

bagged the first position with

Siddhartha Lodha & Mohit Sharma (PG-A & PG-B )

as the runners up!

THE MARKSMAN 23

24 SEPTEMBER 2012

SquAreheaD

BUZZ

THE CROSSWORD

THE CLUES

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Dabur 2. UFOMoviez 3. Edelweiss 4. Everonn 5.Bharti 6. Frommers 7. Sony 8. JetKonnect 9. Unilever

1. As per the Indian FDI policy for Insurance, FDI is allowed only upto 26%. Aviva is a British company/brand. Name its Indian partner which owns 74%. 3. Tokio Insurance has a JV with IFFCO for General Insurance. With whom do they have a JV for Life Insurance? 6. Name the travel brand which Google has acquired from John Wiley to provide information on hotels and destinations. 8. Jet has merged Jet-Konnect and Jet-Lite. Which brand name has been retained?

2. Which company prides itself as the world’s largest digital satellite linked cinema chain?

4. Who has acquired Bharti’s Centum learning division?

5. FDI in retail is not allowed as per the current policy of the Govt. of India. With which Indian group is Wal-Mart collaborating to launch in India as soon as it is announced?

7. Which international corporate has 42 dots in its logo?

9. Most logos carry one icon. The logo of which company has as many as 25 icons with symbols such as sun, DNA, bee, flower and heart?

THE MARKSMAN 25

CALL FOR ARTICLES OCTOBER 2012

Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*: *Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are clearly mentioned The best adjudged article will be given a winner's certificate. Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59 PM , 16 October 2012.

1. The newspaper talks, shivers and even smells nice! Is this the new level of innovation in print media!

2. Gangnam Style - viral effect of the video. 3. Facebook vs LinkedIn – with Facebook entered in

professional networking (Glassdoor) & LinkedIn to break into social networking.

1. One article can have only one author. 2. Your article should be from 500-600 words and

MUST be replete with relevant pictures that can be used to enhance your article.

3. Send in your articles in .doc/.docxformat with font size 11 (Arial) to: interface.newsletter@gmail.com

4. Subject Line: Your Name_InstituteName_CourseYear.

5. Kindly name your file as: Your Name_Topic

26 SEPTEMBER 2012

To subscribe to "The Marksman", Follow the link:-http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com/the-marksman.html

OR drop in a mail/contact us at : interface.newsletter@gmail.com Subject line: Subscribe: Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year

COVER STORY Mandar Dongre

SPECIAL STORY Vivek Misra

It’s all about AD-itude Nitya Kumar

SquAreheaD Pallavi Srivastava

Brand MARK ive Priyam Prasad

Hall-MARK Campaigns Smriti Sudish

TWEETS Meeta Khatri

BUZZ Nishant Singla

BOOKWORM Divya Damera

DESIGNING Nishant Singla Divya Damera

PROOF READ Roma Sehgal

PROMOTIONS Richa Garg

Mandar Dongre

THE TEAM

Website: http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com

/the-marksman.html

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THE MARKSMAN 27