A Mad Ad World:: David Vs Goliath

Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong
MARKATHON
Volume3 | Issue 9
Cover Story
A Mad Ad World:
David vs Goliath
An Interview with Mr Ramanujam Sridhar

CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd, An advertising and consulting firm
An Interview with Mr Mohanbir Sahwney

Professor of Marketing Kellogg School of Management
March 2012
FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Readers, I would like to start off by thanking the readers for the overwhelming response to the Markathon Collectors edition. The feeling of putting together so many big names over the last couple of years sunk in only once we compiled them into one edition. The names stand as a testament to the efforts put in by every member of Team Markathon since it was founded. The edition also helped us move back from running one month late, and embracing a new date format. Markathon will now be released in the beginning of the month rather than at the end of every month. Over the years Markathon has had cover stories taking the readers through various sectors and giving them the marketing overview of the same. This month, our cover story looks at the Advertising industry, which has evolved in a very interesting and radical way post liberalisation. It is a fascinating read , aptly titled David vs Goliath , we look at how the small, boutique communications firms are competing against the likes of Ogilvy, JWT, Lowe Lintas and others. These small firms have carved a unique niche for themselves and are creating waves in the industry. Our Vartalaap for this month covers an eminent personality from the world of advertising, Mr. Ramanujam Sridhar, the CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd. A communication consultant, author, columnist, teacher, trainer, cricket enthusiast and a passionate social activist, with his diverse interests and expertise has the credit of guiding organizations like R K SWAMY BBDO, Prathibha Advertising and Mudra Communications under his eminent leadership. He talks to our readers about branding, advertising and public relations and its future in India. From the academic world we have Professor Mohanbir Sawhney, Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management. Prof. Sawhney who is known for his scholarly work in the field of digital media and ecommerce, was named as one of the 25 most influential people in e-Business by Business Week. From research ranging from digital marketing to organic growth to network-centric innovation and widely recognized as a global thought leader he talks to our readers about innovation and ecommerce opportunities in India. This edition is also very special to me because it is my last one as an editor. It has been one year since the 2010-2012 team took over and weve had a great time working for the magazine. It also makes us proud that we had some wonderful Vartalaap guests in this period and also launched a very special Anniversary issue in the month of July. We also launched the magazine with the IIM Shillong Golf Cup wherein Team Markathon came out with a special Sports Edition featuring the interview of Harsha Bhogle.
All the success achieved is owed to the wonderful team I had, each one of them has worked with immense dedication and passion for the magazine and I am thankful to them. A special mention for the designers, who are probably the most patient folks, working painstakingly to create the beautiful stories month after month and also tolerating all the last minute changes the editorial team submitted to them. The faculty and administration at IIM Shillong has been very helpful to Markathon and supported us in every endeavour. Prof. D K Agrawal has always been a pillar of strength for the Markathon team. Dr. Shajahans kind words of encouragement and thoughtful criticism have ensured that the team has put its best to improve the magazine in every way. I also have to thank Prof. Harwant Singh Chabbra , the faculty co ordinator for Marketing Club who has been a constant source of inspiration for us. I am sure the incoming team of members for the 2011-2013 will put Markathon on a higher pedestal than it is currently. I am happy to hand over the reins of the magazine to them. The magazine will now have an Editorial team as an entirety and the position of Editor has been done away with. I would also like to thank the readers whove constantly sent in their feedback and suggestions to improve the magazine. Signing off; one last time. As always, do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com. Sit back and enjoy this issue! Happy Reading! Jitesh Pradeep Patel
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
CONTENTS
markathon | march 2012
FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVE

Logos and the Success of Divine Proportion! Mohit Talwar | NITIE
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PERSPECTIVE
THE RISE OF THE IMOVATION BHAVIK SHAH | IMT GHAZIABAD
PERSPECTIVE
TO LOYALLY USE THE DISLOYALTY SUBHASHREE | IBS
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VARTALAAP
MR MOHANBIR SAHWNEY PROFESSOR, KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
COVER STORY The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

RUSHIKA | DEEPIKA| ARITRA IIM S
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VARTALAAP
Mr. Ramanujam Sridha CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd, an advertising and consulting firm
WAR ZONE EYE 2 EYE Is piracy killing the music industry? Abhishek Shukla |NMIMS | Dhivya Ravikumar |IIM S SILENT VOICE 7UPS NEW POSITIONING: DIL BOLE I FEEL UP SPECIALS ADDICTED
UMANG KULSHRESTHA & G S N ADITYA | IIM S
RADICAL THOUGHTS
PIYUSH AGARWAL | IIMS
BRAND STORY
SWATI NIDIGANTI | IIM S
BOOK MARK
SOWMYA R & SRIA MAJUMDAR| IIMS
UPDATES
perspective
markathon |march 2012 markathon | august 2011
Logos and the Success of Divine Proportion!

Mohit Talwar | NITIE
The creation of differentiated, successful and sustainable international brands has gone beyond the promotion of tangible, functional and salient benefits into the mystical realms of emotion, perception and image. In an attempt to create global brands, companies now strive to evoke emotions in customers, and then link these to the brand in ways that can be sustained across international borders. Symbols, more specifically logos, are a more efficient management tool to orchestrate the desired features that the organization wants to express towards its two ways, either by intrinsic or by extrinsic properties. Intrinsic properties of a logo are properties resulting directly from a confrontation with the logo itself,
divided into: a perception of the graphical parts and perceptions of the referential parts. Extrinsic properties are properties originating from the associations with the company behind the logo. These associations, in return, are partly defined by the behavior of an organization in the past, and by the intensity of the communication in which they express their values to external and internal audiences.
stakeholders. Selecting a logo is an arduous task for companies and includes the difficulties distinguishing which logo would be remembered the best, be most liked, or create the strongest sense of familiarity on initial exposure. In addition, it is possible that desired responses are not achieved because the selected logo has a design that is difficult to store or access in memory, is not likeable, or fails to evoke any sense of meaning. Logos are successful only if two preconditions are fulfilled. First, stakeholders must remember seeing the logo (correct recognition). Second, logos must remind stakeholders of the brand or company name (recall). Logos can fulfill them in
Very little people know that visually compelling Logos created follows Aesthetic theory and tid-bits of
mathematics, called Golden Ratio or The divine proportion (a/b = 1.1618!!). Petal arrangements in a red rose, da Vincis The Last Supper, Monalisa and the Greek Parthenon all have in common the same geometrical proportion. Indeed, the same proportion is found in many globally successful brands logos like Toyota, Pepsi, Apple, NGC, BP, Disney and many more. Some believe it is a universal constant of design, the signature of God. Whatever you believe the pervasive appearance of divine proportion in all the logos we see and the sense of balance, harmony and beauty in all those brands we see is amazing. Isnt it? 4
perspective specials
markathon | march 2012 markathon | august 2011
The Rise of the Imovation

Bhavik Shah | IMT Ghaziabad
Thinking about Innovation? Google it - 659,000,000 results (0.11 seconds). Now google Imitation? 134,000,000 results (0.12 seconds). Guess there is the new buzzword which is gearing up and companies are using it to their benefit and may be this is the future. Google can find only 9,880 results for it (0.13 seconds precisely). Here comes Imovation A game changer for many companies in future. Imovation is Imitation plus Innovation. No doubt Innovators have first mover advantage but Imitators are the ones who are turning tables and making their mark in the business world where survival is important, hook or crook who sees and who cares. The world is quickly moving from the survival of the fittest to the survival of the fastest. Innovation helps companies to tap new markets for their products, new consumer base, and also helps in increasing the brand equity. Innovation though sounds good but has high research and development cost associated with it. If not recovered from sales then it would really be a disruptive innovation, though not for customers but for the company, definitely. Think what if a competitor imitates the new idea faster than the innovators expected time? Slight modification of same idea and faster release under legal imitation laws would give innovator a run for its money. Though in short term an innovator would manage to get attention in the market but in the long run it would suffer but how much and for how long it would suffer that depends on the imitators strategy and efforts to capitalize on innovation. Computer Axial Tomography (CAT) scanner was breakthrough Innovation by Godfrey Hounsfield at EMI in 1973. By the end of two years, companies like General Electric and Technicare imitated the new idea and finally pushed EMI out of business. The first company to issue the credit cards Diners Club lost ` 5 the majority of its market share to companies like American Express and Visa who copied idea of credit card by not limiting its usage to restaurants only. Similarly Coca Cola and Pepsi were not the innovators; they were faster imitators of diet Cola. Walmart too borrowed the idea of discount department stores from Corvette and now Walmart leads the US market and Corvette is bankrupt and closed. Hence the fact is that the competitive advantage of an innovator dies overtime. Approximately 97.8% of value of innovation goes to imitators. This surely depicts the importance of imitation in highly competitive business world. Idea of imovation comes from here. Companies need to realize that innovation is not the only key to stay competitive and gain strategic edge but should also imitate tactfully and focus its resources accordingly. Imitation of tried and tested innovation would help reduce companys spending on marketing and advertisement. Well, thanks to the innovators for offering a helping hand. Billion dollars of spending on research and development would be reduced if a company imitates well. As the world economy is struggling and the bottom-line of companies are taking a hit, it is always a wise option to also focus on imitation. There is a dark side of imitation too. The more you belong to me too category of companies the more you position your brand as copycats. Imitate smartly. Innovate too! Choosing the right mix of both is necessary to rule the market, minds and hearts of customers. Remember in the long run people would never remember who started well but people will definitely remember who is currently playing it well. As rightly said The business of business is to do business, hence imitating is no bad idea if a company can make a fortune out of it. Take an existing idea and enhance it beautifully. Mind it, not always!
perspective specials
markathon | march 2012 markathon | august 2011
To loyally use the disloyalty

subhashree | ibs
Without our knowledge, there are silent marketing pros lurking in the corners benefitting from the loyalty that was fostered into us. For example; it is a predictable trend that many people in our country go for a particular brand of toothpaste that their parents used. I use Colgate for no reason that I can recall. I was introduced to it when I was a kid and now, mindlessly grab one in a supermarket without giving a second thought. I have never tried to evaluate the value I get out of it or compare it with its rivals. In an unaware situation like this, the promoter of that particular brand uses this ignorance to the fullest ability. There are price hikes that we never find out, lesser promotions because of our undying loyalty and thus, the brand gains an inevitable greater margin. What happens if the customers are made aware of such an instance? If a rival brand provides greater benefits at a reasonable price, then communication of these two factors can actually kill the inherited generations of loyalty. Consider a brand that introduces a product aiming directly at the market leader and it is aware that their target customers are mindless loyalists of the rival; this may be a chance to educate the people and attract them towards itself. A classic example could be a company introducing salt to compete against Tata. People are loyally paying a premium for the Tata salt ` 6 because they blindly trust the brand. If a competitor with a caliber as much as the Tatas is able to provide same benefits at a lower price, it can acquire a considerable market share. These days, it is a common agenda to increase the marketing and ad spends to enormous amounts. Promotions and events play a major role in creating brand equity. Approximately, 90% of the promotions target towards customer who are already buying the product. What would it
be like if the brand targeted a disloyal customer? A disloyal customer here could mean that he/she is using your rival brand. Take an example; I noticed a common situation that occurs in the dhabba outside my college. There are coke loyalists while others prefer Pepsi. As an individual I may like Coke but when you ask me the reason behind it, I would only be able to tell that it does not taste sweet like Pepsi. But, when you ask Pepsi lovers why they dont prefer coke, they would
perspective be able to tell you more than the taste and that could vary from the shape of the bottle to the label. I once had a friend telling me that she didnt prefer coke because the logo didnt indicate any energy or creativity. Sometimes, trivial things like this could matter and it would only come from a brand disloyalist . Promotions like providing free coke during some college fest and then talking to people who dont prefer can actually help draw more insights. In the current highly competitive industry and cluttered markets, word of mouth plays a greater role than what it did few years ago. Most of the companies thrive on the vocally spread goodness. For example, the recent Airtel har ek friend zaroori hota hai campaign was a hit among youth. This must have spread good word of mouth. The brand users are bound to like the ad because they are able to connect to it. What if the customers of rival brand too liked it and help in spreading the word of mouth? Which would be considered more effective? The users are usually critical about the campaigns that are promoted by the competitors and if they liked the rivals campaign, it would help in more reliable and critical goodwill than that passed by loyal customers. In given situations like these, we can infer that when a brand disloyalist is converted into a loyalist, he will only help in gaining more market share and will also tend to remain more loyal than the existing customers. Thus, the `
markathon || august 2011 markathon march 2012 companies must not only aim at programmes and agenda that cover loyal customers but also work on information that might indicate why a particular customer is disloyal. It is a natural tendency for a customer hurt by certain beliefs, when satisfied, turns away from a brand that he was loyal for a long time. There may various reasons for a customer to be disloyal: be
(a)Has never used your brand because of mindless loyalty towards the competitor (b)Experienced a disloyal situation from the company side (c)Doesnt like something particular about your product/brand The CRM (customer relationship management) system must not only help in rewarding loyalty but also attracting the disloyalists from the competitor by identifying the reasons behind disloyalty. This way, disloyalty can help a company as much as loyalty , in fact , more!
Vartalaap
An Interview with Mr Mohanbir Sahwney

Professor, Kellogg School of Management
Dr. Mohanbir Sawhney is the McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology and the Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management. Prof. Sawhney is a globally recognized scholar, author, and speaker in strategic marketing, IT, innovation and e-business strategy. His research and teaching interests include marketing and media in the digital world, process-centric marketing, collaborative marketing, organic growth and network-centric innovation. Named as one of the 25 most influential people in e-Business by Business Week and widely recognized as a thought leader he talks to our readers about innovation and ecommerce opportunities in India.
Vartalaap
Markathon: Can you 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. Mohanbir: I was in IIM Calcutta from 1985 to 1987, and at that time the campus looked quite different. It was a very interesting formative time for me. While at IIT I had a wonderful time, but at IIM it was different, like there were more women in the class. It was a broadening experiencing from people that I became friends with. As far as the classroom is considered it helped me broaden my horizons from technical background to learning from multiple backgrounds like accounting and finance and it is there that I discovered that I really liked marketing because marketing really combines the creative and the analytical. My career since then got shaped by my IIM experience and I ended up doing Phd in marketing and have been teaching marketing for the past 20 years. So it was a very formative and it broadened me and set me on for the next stage of my career. Markathon: You started off your career in a very coveted position, that of a TAS Manager. How was your stint in the corporate world and what prompted you to switch over to academia? Mr. Mohanbir: After I finished my studies at IIM, I had some really good options. Few that I considered were Hindustan Lever and the other was the Tata Administrative Service (TAS). But I decided to go with TAS because it was an intellectually more challenging effort. And the first 18 months at TAS were perhaps the best learning experience I have had in my life. I got to work with very senior executives, got to work in many different industries and many different functional areas and it was truly a unique kind of job where you can decide where you wanted to go, what you want to do and who you want to work with. So I decided to work with both sunset and sunrise, wanted to see the contrast. I had my time with Tata Textiles and Tata Steel which were the more of the traditional industries but I also did assignments with Tata Telecom, Tata Unisys and Titan which were more of the emerging industries. So it was a phenomenal experience. After 18
months, I was assigned to Titan watches as an executive assistant to the senior VP of operations and my job was to co-ordinate the activities of marketing and manufacturing. So it was a great learning experience about cross functional thinking because I was acting as the link between the plant and the marketing people and I understood both sides as I was an engineer as well as a Marketing MBA. Also during that time, I got the opportunity to go to Singapore for a Tata company and work with them at Tata Elxsi. Having worked for 2.5 years at the corporate world, I felt that while it was interesting but I felt the intellectual component of my job was not as much as I wanted it to be, it starts to get routine over time. So I thought it might be worth considering a Phd and going into academia. While I was at Singapore, I applied to several B-schools and got admissions from Wharton and Kellog and few other places. So I decided to go to Wharton Phd knowing very little about what Phd was and what academia was but I wanted something different. It wasnt a very deliberate kind of choice but I sort of stumbled onto. I was always interested in teaching but didnt know what research meant. In retrospect, I think I made a really good choice because in academia I really enjoy the intellectual freedom and intellectual challenge in whatever I do. No two days are the same with reading, writing, consulting, speaking, travelling, the variety of the experience is amazing. Markathon: The Indian e-commerce industry suddenly seems to be buzzing with activity. What future do you foresee for some of the newer players who are trying to step up and make a mark? Mr. Mohanbir: In India, there are two inhibiting factors to the e-commerce industry. One is the limited penetration of network connectivity, in terms of penetration of PC, internet access and particularly broadband. But that is changing quickly and I think India is ready for a take-off in e-commerce, because now we are starting to reach critical mass and even in mobile device world smartphone penetration is starting to take off. Potentially e-commerce can also be done on smartphones and mobile devices. Second inhibiting factor is the logistical constraints which make it less
Vartalaap
Mr. Mohanbir: One has to understand the uniqueness efficient to deliver products that you buy online. Why is of Indian context, which has three different aspects. amazon so successful in US is because they have UPS First one is the communications infrastructure which and Fedex and the transportation system is efficient. refers to what kind of devices and networks people But India is at an inflex point and another interesting have. For example if we think of something as simple as thing is that there are several models which are well youtube, it is less effective in India because video established in US so there is a great opportunity to requires a good broadband connection and on mobile translate those ideas into the Indian context. For every device it requires 3G. Any site amazon there is a flipkart, for or ecommerce venture which every ebay there is a baazi.com, requires video or interactive for every monster there is a India is at an inflex point and demonstrations needing naukri.com, for every another interesting thing is that video or other high match.com there is a there are several models which are bandwidth things will not be shaadi.com, so there is an well established in US so there is a very effective. You have to interesting opportunity to great opportunity to translate those figure out how do you replicate some of the tried and ideas into the Indian context. For translate marketing and tested models that have worked every amazon there is a flipkart, for communications to feature in the US or other markets and every ebay there is a baazi.com, for phones. More people use text apply them to the Indian every monster there is a messaging so you have to context with the unique figure out how to make SMS translation to the India scenario. naukri.com, for every match.com based marketing more Like Flipkart manages logistics there is a shaadi.com, so there is an effective. This is contrary to differently from how amazon interesting opportunity to replicate US where SMS marketing is does some of the tried and tested almost non-existent. You have models that have worked in the US What will happen in the Indian to think about the third or other markets and apply them to e-commerce industry is not very screen optimization of e the Indian context with the unique different from what happened commerce because people in the US few years back. Lot of translation to the India scenario will come to it not through things will be tried, lot of the PC or TV but through a ventures will emerge, lot of mobile device probably a tablet or venture funding will go into it a phone. So India will be a pioneer but 90% of it will fail. So there will be a lot of failure and along with china for using mobile devices for econsolidation but ultimately 2-3 years from now there commerce or as it is called m-commerce. It offers an will be a dozen Indian companies that will have multi interesting opportunity to reach a very large subscriber hundred dollar revenues in a variety of industries base of more than 600 million where broadband whether it be travel or retail, financial services or connection may be limited to approximately 50 million auctions or social networking. So I think it is a very very people. So that is something which is an obstacle but it interesting time and I would place the Indian industry at is also an opportunity. where US industry was 5 years ago but the benefit is Other obstacle is that you have to be cognizant of the that you can learn from the models that have been physical and structural limitations, one of the important tested and tried in the United States. things that amazon does is next day delivery or one day Markathon: What kind of obstacles and challenges do delivery/two day delivery but that is not possible in you think will be the hardest to overcome for eIndia because the roads are not so good, transportation commerce to become a mainstream reality in India? is not very good. So the delivery of products to the
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customers, the ability to ship the products in one or two days is much more constrained. On the other hand it offers a very interesting opportunity in the fact that the labour is cheaper in India. You can do home delivery of even groceries which in the US is expensive. So the lesson to be learnt here is that hiding behind every obstacle is an opportunity, they are the two sides of the same coin. So when you see an obstacle you should ask yourself in what way can I creatively look at it and see what opportunity is hiding behind it. Markathon: Your article Lets get vertical on B2B ecommerce has been widely regarded as a seminal work. Can you share with us your thoughts on the evolution of B2B e-commerce and how organizational attitude towards this is changing? Mr. Mohanbir: When B2B commerce started there was a lot of excitement around creating vertical markets or industry specific hubs or exchanges. And the idea was that if the entire industry could come together for procurement and for supply chain management and other activities then that would create a very interesting opportunity for a lot of startup companies and many such startup companies were created such as e-steel, plastics math. So in every industry there were the startup companies. Now the challenge that they ran into was that, something that I also underestimated, was that they were talking of transforming very large industries and trying to get co-operation of very large companies which move very slowly. So the next phase of evolution was that the industry leaders themselves realized that why dont we get together to create these kinds of hubs in our industry rather than letting a startup company do this for themselves. So this is what led to the creation of industry exchanges that were created by the incumbents. For example, in the Automotive industry covisint was created as a consortia, Transforma was created in the consumer packaged goods and many such more were created in different industries. So stage 1 was the startups one and stage two was the industry consortia. What we found about industry consortia was that they worked well for certain things. They worked well only for supply chain collaboration, they didnt work so well for a lot of
other things which involved deeper collaboration across the industry players. So now we had started to see is a combination of private exchanges and public exchanges; that is stage 3. Some of the public consortia are still alive while some of them died and what they are doing is they are co-ordinating procurement and supply chain management for specific industries. But companies have also started to build private exchanges which is their own e-hubs which brings suppliers and partners and distributors together. So Cisco operates an e-hub, Walmart operates their own private exchange. So B2B commerce is now evolved to a point where larger companies have started to create their own ecosystem around themselves and then there are some of the industry specific exchanges but they have taken more of an operation and tactical role rather than being one of those big startup ventures that we originally thought they were going to be. That is where B2B commerce is currently. Clearly B2B commerce has got embedded deeply into the channels in every company. All companies are moving to doing things electronically be it procurement, distribution or selling. So now ecommerce has just become commerce. Markathon: You have been the author of 3 bestselling books. Which of those is your personal favourite and why? Mr. Mohanbir: I would highlight the book The global brain which I wrote about 3 years ago because that pointed out that there was a new paradigm for innovation where innovation really needed to leverage the creative and intellectual potential that existed outside your company. That was the metaphor of the global brain and the notion that lot of smart people and ideas and talent that exist in your company but those ideas and talent need to be harnessed with a very structured approach. Until then there was a lot of talk about open innovation, so we said yes that open innovation is good and we are also talking about it but open innovation also needs some structure. There are different models for creating innovation ecosystems. That is what the book is all about, we laid out types of structures that companies could create, some are open, some are closed, some are more community focused,
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some are more hierarchical. We identified several different models for how companies can create innovation ecosystems around themselves depending on how much control they wanted to have, how open they wanted the ecosystem to be and how well defined was the problem that they were trying to solve. We set out a set of models for building these open innovation ecosystems for example the orchestra model and so on. What I liked about the book was that it was well ahead of its time because we were writing this about 3-4 years ago and lot of companies were trying to embrace this idea of open innovation. It was the first book to provide a taxonomy and a roadmap for implementing open innovation strategy including all the capabilities, the barriers that would need to be overcome, the way intellectual property would have to be managed and so on.
some of these adaptations were not so good so there were a lot of failures but eventually they learnt. So that was the first wave which is innovation created in developed in developed market and adapted in emerging market. Wave 2 was innovation created in emerging market for emerging market. So thats an example of the Tata Nano, HUL created Fair and Lovely and Rin, Maruti Suzuki is another example, these are all innovations created for the Indian market.
Wave 3 is a very interesting phenomenon and is relatively recent which is innovation in emerging market and transferred to global markets. So this is the idea that while creating innovations that are designed for emerging markets you have to be doing some very interesting work because when you think of emerging markets the constraints are like your product has to be Markathon: R&D spending in India is only now gaining highly affordable, they have to be very robust because importance. Do you foresee India becoming a Global the operating conditions are very bad and they have to Innovation hub in the near future on the basis of a be energy efficient or even not rely on electric power strong skill set and also a potential cost advantage? because of the lack of Mr. Mohanbir: To talk availability of electric supply. about the India as a So when you build such kind center of innovation, let of functionalities then those To talk about the India as a center of innovation, me talk about the products can be taken to the let me talk about the different waves of different waves of developed market with very innovation. innovation. If you look at interesting applications. To Wave1: Innovation created in developed in the globalization of give an example, Godrej has developed market and adapted in emerging innovation, in the first made the ChotuKool market wave was I call the refrigerator in India, thats a waterfall, where western small size refrigerator that Wave2: Innovation created in emerging market countries would create uses only batteries and is for emerging market new products and very cheap and has a small technologies which capacity and is easy to Wave3: Innovation in emerging market and would be rolled out maintain and is meant for transferred to global markets across the outer world villages in the rural areas and they would waterfall where they dont have to different markets and reliable electricity. So that they would get adapted product can be used in the to the local markets. So for example, Microsoft builds US may be for campaigning. So these innovations can Windows or Mercedes comes up with a new car or Sony be transferred to the US market but they need to be builds a Walkman and they bring it to the Indian market adapted to the US market context just like in the first by adapting the products to the Indian context and
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Vartalaap
wave where the adaptation was done for the Indian market context. In that context, India does have an ability to become a global innovation hub particularly for low cost, high value adding engineering products. And early indications are already there, if you look at the automotive hub that is developed in Chennai, where lot of global automotive OEMs are building, research facilities and manufacturing facilities. India is already becoming the global Hub for the sub compact cars, the small cars. I think high value adding technology products, medical devices, pharmaceuticals particularly genetics and more recently potentially media and entertainment because we have such a rich tradition of Bollywood and so on, so there is no reason why India cannot become the hub for animated movies, which essentially requires talent. Having said that we need to pick up our targets carefully, Indian cannot be a global innovation hub for everything. There are certain things that cannot happen outside the Silicon Valley. But there is definitely a lot of innovation that can come out of India and there is an opportunity to make India into a global hub in selected few places. Markathon: Do you have a role model either from the corporate or academia who has inspired you and made a big impact in your way of thinking? Mr. Mohanbir: There are several but one that I would single out would be yy mentor and former dean Dipak Jain. He is from Guwahati, Assam. He was the one who recruited me to Kellog and helped me in my early career to get established. I believe mentors are very important and we must all seek out to a couple of mentors who can really help us and guide us. So he played an important role in my early days and now he is the Dean at Insead business school. Another person was Philip kotler who is like the grandfather of marketing. At very early in my career, he helped me with getting connected to corporate world and also getting ideas for research. In the corporate world, I am still inspired by my work at the Tata group.
Tata group in terms of its ethics and values stands out even to this day. And I had a good fortune of working with several executives including Mr. Ratan Tata and I have a lot of respect for them considering how they work in those conditions despite of all the corruption in India, sticking to their ethics and values. Markathon: What would be your advice to our readers who are looking for a career in marketing? Mr. Mohanbir: Marketing really engages both sides of brain, it is creative and yet it is analytical. So if you are looking for a career in marketing one thing that people have a misconception about is that marketing is all fluff, it is all creative. Today marketing is becoming highly technical and analytical. With the availability of large amount of data, social media analytics and marketing analytics are becoming very important. So if you are looking for a career in marketing make sure you are beefing up your analytical skills and learning to become computable with looking at data sets and doing analysis of big screen data, social media data and so on. So it is a much more analytical field than people think. Secondly, I think you really need to do few courses in Consumer Behaviour and psychology, because ultimately excellence in marketing is founded in understanding of customers and in gaining customer insights. So in order to understand customers and for them to tell you what they want, you really need to understand their psychology, for which you need techniques like culture anthropology etc. Make sure you do some of these courses on psychology. Finally, I would say that it is very important to work with real companies, either to do projects with them or case studies or internships, where you get exposed to what marketing is really done inside companies as against to the theory. Because marketing being such an applied discipline it is not about the theory, it is really about the practical applications. Make sure you have these contacts with the companies either through projects or more deeply through internships. These real world experiences are important otherwise you will only know the text books and not the practical aspect of it. Finally, just keep learning, be proactive.
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Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath
markathon march 2012
The Mad Ad World:

David vs Goliath
Rushika | Deepika | Aritra
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"I know that half of my advertising doesn't work. The problem is, I don't know which half." These words of retailing tycoon John Wanamaker perfectly describe the way the advertising industry works, which has always been an enigma. A company may be spending millions of dollars on advertising but there is no way to predict the effectiveness of the ad. Especially in the Indian context where tastes, preferences and choices change radically from region to region, advertising to reach to the right people at the right time is a herculean task. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding this industry, it has grown in leaps and bounds. From a modest beginning of a few lines spoken on the radio to the flashy world of internet- the advertising world has come a long way. The advertising world has fast fine-tuned itself to appeal to the representatives of the changing face of modern India.
periodicals. Leading newspapers like The Times of India began having their own advertising departments in order to optimize revenues through print ads so as to benefit both themselves and the advertiser. There were specialized agents who acted as middlemen and also contributed towards the formal layout for the advertisements, selection of clients, leading to advertising becoming a distinct profession, turning these agents into advertising agencies. Indias first full-fledged Ad Agency, the National Advertising Service, was established in 1931. Many more agencies such as the Publicity Co. in Madras, the Calcutta Publicity, and the Oriental Advertising Agency in Tiruchirapalli came up and began promoting outdoor publicity campaigns. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) was established in 1945, and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) in 1948. These organizations emerged as representative body of the profession and helped make the industry more competitive. Post-independence the British-owned ad agencies were either completely sold to Indian businesses or retained their affiliate leading to rapid growth and expansion. This was also aided by the introduction of new technology such as color printing, offset printing, commercial art etc. During the 1970s ad agencies began offering a more comprehensive service portfolio by offering additional services such as artwork, organization of exhibitions, market research and consulting. The highlight of the phenomenal growth story of ad agencies was through Television commercials (TVCs) soon after the introduction of television and cable. The color TV and the 1982 Asiad helped popularize TV and radio as the main mediums of advertising. Bombay Dyeing became the first to air a color TVC in 1982. Over the next four years close to 900 brands and services were visible in the Indian market. The 1980s also saw an increase in Public sector advertising. There was rapid expansion and diversification of agencies. Over the years Indian Advertising industry has carved a niche for itself and acquired a global visibility. It has evolved as one of the fastest growing industries and has broadened its horizons across different sectors. Today
A brief history and evolution of the advertising in India

Advertising in India started with the hawkers shouting out their wares in public market places. The intent of advertising was to inform everyone not only about your business but also about important events in life like birth, death, sale of house, arrival of trade ships etc. The first form of formal advertising dates back to the pre independence era when print ads appeared in Indias first newspaper, Hickeys Bengal Gazette. During the British rule in the early 1900s, print advertisements started appearing on the front page of most journals. In 1905 B Dattaram & Co Indias first and oldest agency was founded in Girgaum in Bombay. By the 1920s foreign owned ad agencies like Gujarat Advertising and Indian Advertising were set up in India. With the rapid growth in trade and commerce, products and services, companies both new and existing began to realize the power of marketing themselves through the advertisement in columns of the newspapers and
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the advertising industry has grown to become an INR 247.5 billion industry with a 14.3% growth in 2010. It is growing at an overall CAGR of 11.4%. Technology has been a major driver of this industry giving rise to new modes of advertising such as social media advertising, mobile advertising etc.
Big Daddies of the Ad World

Advertising agencies in the country too have taken a leap. They have come a long way from being small and medium sized industries to becoming well-known brands in the business. Let us take a sneak peek into some of the giants of the Indian ad world who command bulk of the market share and have been instrumental in delivering many blockbuster ads.
Consulting unit and Maatra - a Localization & Pre-media Specialist. Mudra India has been responsible for several iconic campaigns over its 30 year history, including Only Vimal, I Love You Rasna, My Daddy Strongest, The Mint with the Hole, McDonalds Mein Hai Kuch Baat and Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein, amongst others. Mudra India clients include Economic Times, Bank of Baroda, Godrej, Union Bank, LIC, Emirates, Femina, Lonely Planet, Future Group, Central Bank, Black and Decker etc.
Lowe Lintas
Lintas is the agency that gave India its very first television commercial, and is today a household name synonymous with exceptional and long standing communication platforms. They have created specialized services to provide end to end digital services such as websites, viral marketing etc. through Linteractive. In addition it has tried to cater customized solution through DCell, its strategic design consultancy, PR relation services through LinOpinion, healthcare specific solutions through LinHealth and specifically targeted the Indian rural population through Linterland. Lintas has created iconic advertising imagery like the Liril girl, Surf's Lalitaji or Cherry Blossom's Cherry Charlie. They have also gained a lot of popularity for their recent Tata Tea campaign.
Mudra Communication Limited

Mudra communication limited grew to become the largest Indian Advertising agency from a humble start in the year 1980 from a 500 sq. ft. office in Ahmedabad and a single client Vimal in just a span of 9 years. It specializes in offering a customized and collaborative approach with a deep customer understanding developed throughout the legacy of 30 years. Mudra delivers Inventive Brand Solutions through its four strategic business units Mudra West, Mudra South, Mudra North & East that specialize in Advertising and Brand Management, Water - a Strategy & Design
Ogilvy And Mather India Ltd

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) is regarded as almost a household name for marketing and communication. It has gained a name for itself due to its initiatives in leadership, creative ability, investment in employees and client servicing. It provides services in almost all spheres of advertising and brand management that 16
includes brand consulting, PR, consulting and sales promotions .They have made a mark for themselves in the field of relationship and interactive marketing strategy. Some of the best known advertisements created by O&M are Limca, Hutch (zoo zoo), Bingo (No confusion great combination) and Fevicol.
Indian market specific branding campaign to capture the minds of the consumers. The winds of change have been able to create opportunities and sail the boats of a few very innovative Indian agencies that provide unique solutions to its clients specifically tailored for the indigenous markets. These agencies have started creating ripples in the advertising world by their creative ideas and offerings. Let us have a look at some of these innovative game changers.
JWT
JWT India consider themselves as a full integrated advertising service industry and offers advertising, public relations, direct marketing, design, and social and rural communications services in India. Their core competency lies in creative services and developing digital, web and interactive campaigns. Some of their key accounts include Airtel, Ford, Godrej, GSK, Hero Motocorp, Horlicks, Kellogs, Kurkure, Lays, Lux, Levis, Nestle, Nokia, Nike, Pepsi, Slice, and Sony.
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll was founded in 1999 by Madan Bahal and Kiran Khalap as Indias first end-toend brand consultancy, based in Mumbai. The agency offers innovative brand management solutions much beyond the traditional ad agencies which till now are famous for creation of TV or print ads. The main competency of the agency is in creation of a complete set of services in terms of Brand Creation, Brand Transformation and Brand Translation. The ideas generated by them have been translated into many IPRs like one branding process, anthrop, wholon, ideantity, litmosi for the entire gamut of media channels print, internet or service. These values have been able to land them with some of the most illustrious clients in their portfolio like HLL, Taj Hotels, Arvind Mafatlal etc.
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett India is a full service advertising agency that offers end to end solutions to clients for their brands. This includes campaigns across mass media and below the line (including digital and activation).They have a special division for integrated and specialized communications and their competency lies in brand launches and rebranding. Some of its popular campaigns include McDonalds, Complan, Glucon D, Thums Up, Maaza among others.
India Awakening: The Emergence of a New Class of Branders

With the fast changing dynamic Indian markets the needs of a company for building its brand has far moved from just creating whacky TV commercials. The empowered customers today are less likely to be pulled to the shelves by virtue of just advertisements. What companies today are on the lookout is for a customized
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Taproot Media
Some of the most recent eye ball grabbing ad campaigns like the Pepsico Change the Game during the ICC Cricket World Cup or the Airtel's Har Friend Zaroori hai - Online Campaign have been the brainchild of Taproot Media. The agency was founded only in 2009 when Angello Dias and Santosh Padhi decided to leave
The New Strategy: Breaking the Conventions

The story of David and Goliath is a legend that is being reenacted in the Indian Advertisement world where relatively new and small agencies are challenging the much more established and bigger agencies in an altogether new and dynamic environment. The Airtel ad campaign of HFZ being awarded to Taproot ahead of JWT seems to the reckoning of changing times. Let us try to analyze where these firms score their tactical victories over their much larger rivals. Some of the most important factors and trends that have changed the rules of the game are as follows:
the famed ad agencies they worked for to start a new initiative. The small firm has already made huge footprints in the ad world by virtue of these campaigns. The core competency of all their ad campaigns has been the way it has been able to strike the chords of the Indian audience across the regions and age groups by virtue of its Indianess. Yet another milestone of the firm is how it has been able to leverage on the Social Media wave of the younger generation, where its Facebook App of the Airtel Campaign have been flying of the shelves with more than four and half lakh have visited the site and around 57, 000 have used the app and have tagged their friends.
Brand-comm
Established in 1998, and with offices in 8 cities across India Brand-comm provides for integrated services include comprehensive consultancy across brand consulting, advertising and public relations. The company has offerings that spring board on various dimensions of PR, brand management and Power of Insight to provide its clients exact strategies about launching of products so as to provide a distinguishing edge in the market place. The agency has been able to deliver some of the most interesting brand campaign for various FMCG companies as well as for Public Service campaigns ideally crafted for the Indian scenario.
The Indian Consumers Enlightened Choices the increased exposure of the consumers to the internet and decreasing TV impact has been attributed to the fact that today TVC are not as effective as it was earlier. The costs involved in the content development of TVC ads have also become a burden for the clients. The fact is easily highlighted by the bearish growth of TVC at around 14% compared to 28.3% in internet advertising and 20% in radio advertising as per a PWC Report, 2011. Agencies like Chlorophyll are like the one stop solution shop for most clients in branding issues. The agency provides a complete solution of all branding campaigns corporate, product or service. The success they have woven is mostly due the niche they have been able to create as a hybrid of the traditional advertising agency and a marketing consultant. They serve not just the needs of launching ads 18
Cover story|The Mad Ad World:David vs Goliath
in the media but also work in tandem with their clients to decide the excruciating details for every new product launch. In the words of Kiran Khalap of Chlorophyll Advertising is a culture specific skill: you dont need a foreigner to teach you how to speak your mother tongue. The fact that today most advertisements that attract the consumers are those which reflect the Indian Growth Story has been one of the key factors where these firms have out smarted the forms like Leo Burnett or JWT who despite having Indian operations are still at core not born out of the same culture as what is true India. The size advantage these firms have a smaller workforce but they are more independent compared to the traditional structures giving them more space to generate fresh ideas. As a matter of fact most experts deem the advertising world to be thriving on creativity and ideas, these small firms work in relatively small structures away from the limelight but are able to come up with ideas that have been able to paint the advertising world in new colors, which have caught the attention of both the consumers and the clients.
Today as companies are spending more and more money on different aspects of brand building, the average annual growth rate of the Indian advertising is estimated at 7% from 2011-2016. Trends show that the impact which conventionally was more through TVC has fallen in terms of the impressions, reach and frequency mostly due to evolution of a more conscious audience, changing lifestyles and newer mediums. Advertising today has evolved to communicating the entire meaning of the brand. The future will see it move to guarding and expressing the brand to the consumers. Ad agencies are moving from handling the advertising aspect of product marketing to providing end to end marketing consulting. The bigger agencies have taken cue of the winds of change knowledge cells, design shops are being promoted to counter the growing threat of the new entrants who have the changed the paradigms of advertising. The new rules of the game have blurred the lines between pure ad agency and a marketing consultant. The question is however whether this new models are sustainable? Will they be able to survive and carve out a niche for themselves? Or will the much larger firms on the basis of their experience blunt them? If advertising is about fresh ideas then it is to be seen whether the industry will continue to thrive on radical thinking or will be become more strategy based end to end service. Who wins the war : David or Goliath remains a mystery!
The battle ahead
How Ad Companies can get in shape for the battle ahead
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Vartalaap
An Interview with Mr. Ramanujam Sridhar CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd, an advertising and consulting firm
Mr. Ramanujam Sridhar is the CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd, an advertising and consulting firm. A postgraduate in Management from IIM Bangalore and an MA in Economics from Loyola College, Chennai, Sridhar had spent over six years in the banking industry, and in his own words "counted other people's money and wrote other people's Fixed Deposit receipts" before entering the fascinating and often frustrating world of advertising where he led R K SWAMY BBDO, Prathibha Advertising and Mudra Communications over the past few years. He is a communication consultant, author, columnist, teacher, trainer, cricket enthusiast and a passionate social activist.
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Vartalaap
Markathon: Tell us about your IIM-B experience and how it has helped you in your career? Mr. Ramanujam I think IIM-B helped me a lot, they were transformational years. I had worked for 6 and a half years, left my job, took a loan, the course meant a lot more to me. The most significant thing about IIM is that, I suddenly came across more than a 100 people from various backgrounds, degrees, languages and skills. I learnt the importance of networking. Just going to a good school is not enough, I am still active with IIM B alumni and many of my clients have been Alumni at some stage. On a professional level, the gain for me was my alumni network. Markathon: What was the reason for your shift from banking to advertising? Mr. Ramanujam: Banking was quite a boring kind of a job in those days. It was quite well paying but I was into Retail banking, not even evaluation of projects or valuations and that kind of thing. It was fairly mundane. Although I was in a new market every few years such as Ahmedabad, Bombay and Madras, I found the job boring. Advertising on the other hand was fascinating. I have always been fascinated by it and used to read a number of books from the British Council. There was no Television at that time, Madison Avenue books inspired me. I spent a lot of time reading a lot of books on advertisement and not spending too much time on other subjects. I took courses on marketing and advertising and not really on other subjects. I knew that this is the path I wanted to pursue. Markathon: After so many years in the industry, what is your feeling about branding. Does it come under the purview of the marketer or the advertiser. Who takes crucial branding decisions? Mr. Ramanujam: Advertising is something that is often misunderstood. Advertising is only one aspect of branding. There are so many things like packaging, color, identity and story which constitute a brand and what is most important is the entire customer experience. That really is what a brand is. In laymans terms, advertising and branding are often used
interchangeably. So the crucial decisions are being made by people in branding. Most of the time, the client takes the call. That is important because I always believe that larger stakes are with the client. He has invested in the brand in the first place, so it is only fair that these people who are behind the brand take the call. Markathon: How can brands use PR to their advantage? Mr. Ramanujam: If you see, the technology companies are the ones who have really made the best use of PR for their advantage. The best example is Infosys. They hardly have any advertising, barring their recruitment advertising. They understand the value of PR. They may not be the number one, but are larger than life since they have been sensible in handling PR. Infosys was the 1st Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ and have undergone four changes of leadership from Narayan Murthy, to Nandan to Krish Gopalakrishnan to now Shibulal; all of this was facilitated through PR. If you have a clear strategy, you can make a difference. Particularly in FMCG industry, there is a great dependence on advertising since PR is not easy for a consumer brand, unlike a technology company. PR can work well in online media, if good strategy and execution are in place. Yes, it acts like a double edged sword since what media writes about me is not under my control. But it is a process, not an event and even if there a criticisms, having more positive comments means I am on the right track. Two things about PR are source credibility is there. If Economic Times says something, it is better than me saying something. And the second is that the cost of PR is a fraction of the cost of Advertising. Most people in India believe that PR just manages media. Actually, it is a strategy that few companies have got right. Markathon: There are a number examples of rebranding that were considered risky. What are the issues you keep in mind and how do you go about executing them?
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Vartalaap
Mr. Ramanujam: The problem with rebranding is that while many companies are not spending much time on strategy. But then if we ask why is a company doing rebranding, they say my customer is getting younger, my identity is getting old. If you look at most big brands like IBM, Nokia (which was initially a furniture manufacturer) and Apple have all been refurbishing their identity. My advice is every company should ask these questions before going for rebranding: Can you think through what is the reason for your rebranding? Is something changing in your company: are you offering a new product, service or re-engineering your company in a manner that is more customer friendly structure? If it is purely a design exercise, then only sub optimal results can be achieved. But it if it is a part of re-engineering strategy, like for example Bank of Baroda changed its identity through a new sun logo and it was successful. I feel the reason behind its success is that they did new things along with rebranding, such as bringing in Rahul Dravid as their Brand ambassador and introducing new services such as Internet banking and 24 hour banking in a few branches. Moreover, the rebranding was addressing the issue of the perception of the bank which was being seen as a retired persons bank or a Public Services bank which does not care about customers. On the other hand see the example of Canara bank. They changed the logo completely, and had no feature or property from the old logo. They had a younger customer target. But if I am a 25 year old customer of the bank, what is being offered to me? A bank represents Solidity. If I were to do that assignment, I would have taken some features from the past. Unfortunately very often companies throw the baby out of the bath water. They want to makes some changes, without considering, what equity they already have. That is something that should be avoided. Look at what Airtel did. They had their rebranding done by an international company, but that is fine since they wanted to give it an international feel. But if the company had come to India and seen the Vodafone and Videocon logos on every street corner they may wonder why have a logo similar to your competitor! So it is
important to look at it strategically and not as a mere cosmetic exercise. Markathon: Branding in India- What according to you are the issues and challenges? Mr. Ramanujam: Challenges are there across markets. The key challenges I see are that there are vast pockets of customers, so I think unfortunately in this vast desire of reaching out to the young customer (<25 yrs), all brands are trying to look young and forgetting their basic characteristics. The result is all brands are looking alike, so how do they overcome this problem? Another challenge is to cater to the vast diversity across regions, markets and across income groups. Markathon: Your advice to future Marketers? Mr. Ramanujam: My advice is to be sure you want to get into marketing. Unfortunately many people dont know what they want and I dont blame them since they are young. Ive seen a lot of people who want to come into branding, after being in a career in, say, financial services or consulting which offered more pay, was more glamorous or was a big brand. My suggestion is basically to do a lot of homework before choosing a career path. Think of what is it you want to do, and it is important to like what you are doing. Else a lot of chaos happens and you end up doing jobs that do not particularly make you happy. Therefore it is important to have a sense of priority, and if you get into marketing, it is very important to be grounded. Many of us have our biases and it is often the case that I tend to forget that it is not about me, but about my customer. It is also important, in the Zen way, to learn and unlearn. We have to unlearn our past and focus on our customers. It is a journey. If you go to a rural market, you have to understand how a person who earns Rs.1000 actually buys your product. Unless I know the pain points of a detergent user, I am not going to get consumer insight that is going to make a difference. Being grounded and putting yourself in the customers shoes are key to a career in marketing.
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war zone | eye 2 eye
markathon | march 2012 markathon | june 2011
Is piracy killing the music industry?

Cant beat them, join them: Indeed, Piracy is killing the music industry. Piracy, be it online through illegal distribution of songs or be it physical through illegal copying of discs, is indeed a menace which is here to stay. The million dollar question isnt Abhishek Shukla how you fight piracy but rather NMIMS how you develop a strategy making piracy as your ally and make it work. Changing players: Indias biggest music company is Saregama. No. It is Airtel. Apart from being the largest telecom provider, Airtel boosts of being the largest music player in the industry owing to hello tunes, callback tunes and music on demand. Nokia provides over 6 million free unlimited songs through OVI music store. The traditional model has indeed turned on its head. The working model: There is no substitute for free distribution. Google keeps all its primary services free and generates revenue through advertisements. Music industry needs to simulate on similar grounds. With changing consumer dynamics, mobile phone is considered to be one stop shop for all entertainment needs. Telecom and music companies need to work together to make it a win-win situation. Distributing music for free and earning through advertisements will be the mantra in future. Innovation has already begun with music companies collaborating with youtube.com and sharing the profits. Hungama has tied up with Bsnl, Ndtv and Tata Photon to sell music online. With 894 million mobile users and 121 million internet users, telecom industry has the potential to change the rules of the music industry. Rising Phoenix: Music industry is weak but still breathing. All it requires is a disruptive business model to get it up and running again. All piracy has done is to make us think hard. The music industry has always been growing and evolving with the changing times. The music media format has evolved as well, right from gramophone records, cassettes, CDs and now, MP3s. With the digital revolution, the music industry landscape is facing formidable challenges.
The industry needs to find new business models and accept the fact that the digital age is here to stay.
Piracy, be it online or physical, is indeed a menace which is here to stay.
Dhivya Ravikumar IIM S
With the growing popularity of the internet, computers and MP3-players, digital files have become the norm. The shift from the physical form of music to digital has caused an important issue to become predominant in the music industry, online music piracy and file sharing. Contrary to popular belief, music piracy has existed right from the times of mix-tapes, where fans had continually copied music illegally to cheap CDs. A paper published by the London School of Economics in 2011 concluded that the decline in sales of physical copies of recorded music cannot be attributed solely to file sharing. There was a combination of factors at play such as changing patterns in music consumption and decreasing disposable household incomes for leisure products. While sales have declined, the revenue earned by artists from live performances has been increasing, the paper found. File-sharing has not caused people to stop consuming music; it has changed the way people consume music. Recent moves by the industry to embrace new technologies have helped in converting illegal downloaders to legitimate services. People are now consuming experiences and alternatives to the music album, such as concert tickets, t-shirts and other merchandising. The industry needs to find new business models and accept the fact that the digital age is here to stay.
Topic for the next issues Eye to Eye: Will flashmobs be an effective marketing tool in the Indian context? Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 10th March 2012. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry. 23
war zone | silent voice
markathon | april 2011 markathon | march 2012
Silent Voice
LAST MONTHS RESULTS

Theme: 7UPs new positioning: Dil Bole I Feel Up
WINNER: Varun Kumar Rai| Jindal Global Business School Congratulations!!! receives a cash prize of Rs 500!
NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: Lay's 'Baked' LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 10th March, 2012 EMAIL ID: markathon.iims@gmail.com Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.
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specials | ADdicted
Ad-dicted
Umang Kulshrestha & G S N Aditya | iim s
PRODUCT #2: Thomas Cook POSITIONING: Travel Smooth AD AGENCY: JWT, India CONCEPT: The TVC opens with the shot of a dimly lit, sleazy club where couples are drinking and having fun. The characterization of the cast suggests that, the club is based in a Balkan country. The presence of poles further suggests that it is a strip club. A conservative south Indian male enters the Club along with his family to check in. The family is shocked at realizing where they are about to check in. The entire club comes to a standstill as they are surprised to find the family there. The male musters courage and approaches the receptionist and produces his booking receipt. The receptionist gives him the keys to his room. The family wearily moves to their room as the entire club observes them silently. The screen freezes to display the message Dont just Book it, Thomas Cook it. VERDICT: Catch/Miss Catch I personally liked the TVC. This TVC belongs to a set of 3 TVCs which work around the same concept of Dont just Book it, Thomas Cook it. I felt that the other 2 TVCs were desperately trying to be funny and failed miserably. However, this TVC is subtle and well crafted. Even the depiction of the Club at the beginning of the TVC is very tactful and controlled and would not make conservative Indian Families squirm in their seats. While the other 2 TVCs lose their way during the course of the AD and leave the viewer confused about the product, this AD is bang on target. However, there are a few run of the mill sequences which the TVC could have done without, such as The old man letching at a female as the family proceeds to their room at the end of the TVC. All in all, it is a smart TVC which delivers the message clearly Dont just Book it, Thomas Cook it. It might not be the best TVC that you will come across over the year, but it is definitely worth a watch. So Id recommend that you Catch it. LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp1kql2V9ZY
PRODUCT #1: Lux Cozi ONN POSITIONING: ONN hai to DON hai AD AGENCY: Meridian Communication Group CONCEPT: The TV Commercial opens with Shah Rukh Khan and a model coming out from a Casino with a vibrant music in the background when soon a Police Car comes in; to arrest the DON i.e. Shah Rukh Khan but he just takes off his Lux Cozi vest and turns out to be some commoner, realising which, the cops leave. The moment the suspected victim puts on the vest again, he changes back to Shah Rukh Khan. VERDICT: Catch/Miss Catch/Miss Catch The commercial well leverages the association of the brand with Shah Rukh Khan in the form of positioning the product synonymous to the heroism and machismo of DON since it is with the Lux Cozi vest on, that the commoner was The DON. Also, symbolic of heroism associated with the product, it well reinstates the fact that DON ko pakadna mushqil hi nahin namumkin hai and so one with this product adorned can escape any situation of crisis, emphasizing the recall factor of the product among youngsters. Though, just as a piece of information, SRK had annulled his team Kolkata Knight Riders association with Lux Cozi back in 2010 itself, after the issue of a fatwa against him because of his association with Lux Cozi. LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKWHpn3mkKo
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Specials | Brand Story
Brand Story: maggi noodles

Swati nidiganti | IIM S
When Julius Michael Johannes Maggi first used the name Maggi for his formula to add taste to the meals in 1863, little did he know that it will become synonymous to noodles all over the world. Started during the Industrial revolution in Switzerland when working women were not getting enough time to prepare meals, it was launched in India only in 1982 after being merged with Nestle in 1947. Started with powdered soups which was widely appreciated and accepted, Maggi moved on to a wider range of products which included bouillon cubes, sauces, ketchups and flavorings. It was with the launch of Maggi noodles that Maggi became an inseparable household name by creating the entirely new food category of instant noodles in the packaged food segment. Having grown over a period of time through consumer oriented innovation, Maggi is today available in four variants - Chicken, Masala, Tomato and Curry. After its initial launch, it had one setback in 1990 when the sale of Maggi Noodles declined with the entry of Top Ramen Noodles. It then changed the formulation of its Noodles to bring out some variety for their customers but unfortunately the new taste was out rightly rejected by its customers and it soon reverted to its original flavor. With the launch of the 2 minute cooking idea and the extensive advertisements that followed, Maggi soon became the unchallenged market leader in the instant noodles segment. Another part of its innovative journey was the launch of Maggi Atta Noodles in 2005 as a more nutritious variant of Maggi Noodles. Maggi Rice Mania and Maggi Dal Atta Noodles also formed a part of the same series. Though Maggi Atta Noodles are still available in the market, they have not been as successful as the all-time favourite original Maggi Noodles to capture the consumers. Maggi has adopted the consumer himself as the face of the product. Their advertisements focus on the mother child relationship which connects well with the avid Maggi lovers. Its jingle - Maggi Maggi Maggi caught up well with the kids and is still fresh in the minds of its loyal customers and strikes a chord even with the onetime Maggi users. On its 25th anniversary Maggi launched the Me and Meri Maggi campaign where consumers could share their Maggi moments and those whose stories or recipes become a hit would be getting a chance to feature on the Maggi packets and the advertisements. With a mix of naughty, romantic, simple and adventurous stories pouring in from all over the country, the aim to make the Maggi users nostalgic was very well achieved, where every consumer could recollect at least one Maggi moment which was special in its own unique way. The campaign used social Media tools like facebook and twitter extensively to reach out to a wider audience and create a larger impact. Driven mainly by the creative content with over 6 lakh likes on the facebook page, it gave users a platform to share their Maggi experiences and recipes. The campaign helped build an emotional bond with the consumers by making them believe that they own the brand. Maggis innovation led strategy still continues with the launch of Cuppa Mania which is still in its growth stage and is fast catching up among the youth. From being a late night respite to the working bachelors savior, Maggi has played an important role in many Indian lives and will continue to do so in the days to come. This is one product which willingly or unwillingly has successfully found space in the kitchens of many Indian houses.
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Specials | Radical Thoughts
Successfully marketing a prejudice

Piyush agarwal | IIM S
A dark skinned girl walks in for an interview for a position as an air hostess. Everything about her shouts LOSER and she is virtually mopping the floor with herself. Even the receptionist laughs right at her face and its implied that she didnt even make it to the interview room. Cut to 7 weeks later after having applied Fair and Lovely and what we see is a beautiful down south and one would expect the South Indians to be more sympathetic to the issue. But, one look at the actresses of the southern film industries and youd quickly throw away that notion. Once, you actually start noticing these things you would soon be aware of the prevailing skin deep prejudice that is so deep rooted amongst most of us Indians. Coming back to the issue of fairness creams and the way they are marketed. Fair ad Lovely is the largest selling fairness cream in the whole world. Its so successful that they went on to create fairness creams for men and aptly named it Fair and Handsome (the success of which clearly tells us that Tall, Dark and Handsome was never a thing). Anyways, the question Im trying to address here is if the way in which these creams are marketed by playing on the ubiquitous color prejudice, ethically correct? If you actually think about it any discrimination based on physical appearance is as arbitrary as this one. I mean, why single out the skin color. Why is the desire to be taller or thinner not considered as bad or as racist? Also, wanting to be fairer eventually comes down to personal freedom and its also perhaps as arbitrary as applying other types of makeup like an eyeliner or concealer. So, as a business proposition I think the creation of the fairness cream was perhaps inevitable. In a way, these advertisements show a mirror to the society and its eventually us, the consumer who chose to buy the product and make it the success it is today.
girl who screams of confidence. Everything about her personality has suddenly transformed and not just her skin. This time the receptionist is speechless and needless to say our protagonist lands the job. When I first saw this TVC I was overwhelmed with disgust. How can such blatant racism be allowed on TV? I mean its almost like saying that fairness is a virtue and being fair is the key to success. Once I had this parasite of a thought in my mind I began to notice how prevalent racism is in our society. You pick up a newspaper and open up the matrimonial section, all you will see are ads which read something on the lines of Wanted, fair and beautiful girl. How many times have we heard the statement from one of our distant aunts Bilkul gori chitti ladki layenge tere liye. Even if you take our very own Bollywood, how many dark skinned actress can you remember having figured in a homely, beautiful girls role. Its always the sensuous, sultry roles that the dark skinned actress portray. In fact, come to think of it, how many dark skinned actresses can you think of? Whats even more surprising is the movie industry down south. In India, the color of the skin gets darker as you move
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specials | bookmark
Marketing 3.0 From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit: Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya and Iwan Setiawan
Review by SOWMYA R & sria majumdar
John Wiley & sons Inc. | Price Rs.495
As I sit down to write my last Bookmark, I look back on the year that was with nostalgia. I am sure that the year ahead will bring you equally good, if not better, book reviews from the world of Marketing by Sowmya- a bibliophile and keen marketing enthusiast. For my last Bookmark, we chose Marketing 3.0 by the legend Philip Kotler himself. Marketing 3.0 is more than just a book title. It is a phenomenon, a new school of thought crafted to suit the kaleidoscopic world of Marketing. A book by Philip Kotler, a man who needs no introduction, needless to say holds the rapt attention of the reader from cover to cover.
technology, namely Social media marketing. The shift to a values-driven marketing style has redefined brands by giving them a 3-dimensional outlook of Identity, image and integrity.
Part 2 discusses Strategy. With the aid of a host of examples, it tries to educate the reader of the importance of weaving a story around a product, service or an idea in a way that ensures consumer involvement and guarantees a promise of transformation. This section also propagates the idea of a values-driven channel partnership.
Summary
The book quotes a Chinese proverb: Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand. This is the essence throughout this tome, where the authors explain the transition of marketing from an orientation towards Products (Marketing 1.0), to Consumers (Marketing 2.0) and its culmination in the Human Spirit (Marketing 3.0). It talks about the role of a consumer, from a faceless, passive respondent in the past, to a more active participant today. In a way the process inverts the Maslows pyramid by satisfying the self-actualization need of its customers as well as its employees (internal customers). One question that the book tries to answer is whether profitability can be balanced with corporate responsibility whilst making its customers, strategic partners.
Finally, the third part is Application-oriented and stresses on the significance of Sustainable practices as the solution to Market Polarization. The challenge, as rightly put forth in the book is to transform the wealth in the community from a pyramid to a diamond. The book ends with an innovative ten credos of marketing 3.0 that effectually puts it all together.
Verdict: 4.5/5
This is a book, whose theories if practised are sure to bring a revolution in the arena of Marketing. It is a gripping book that at places puzzles you, takes you by surprise, makes you smile, drives you to think and is sure to inspire you.
Bottom-line
To put it in one statement, the book is an attempt to define or rather redefine the Meaning of marketing and the marketing of meaning. So what are you waiting for? Read the book and feel the pulse of the revolution that is called Marketing 3.0.
Organization
The book is organized into three parts. The first part discusses Trends, such as Globalization, culture, participative and collaborative marketing and new wave
28
specials | updates
BRAND LAUNCH
Hero Cycles launches new brand to enter luxury market
Foraying in to the premium segment with new product Red Dot priced at Rs 43,000, Hero cycle is planning for a makeover. The world's largest bicycle maker will roll out all the luxury bicycles under a new brand Urban Trail. Red dot is made up of carbon fibre which is also used in Formula 1 Cars and aircrafts. Hero Cycles is setting up a dedicated unit of Rs 50 crore to build the premium cycles at Ludhiana which will have a capacity to produce five lakh units annually. With this launch company wants to achieve the leadership position in premium and luxury segments
World Kitchen announced the official launch of its Indian wholly-owned subsidiary, World Kitchen (India). Under this brand, extensive network retail outlets and channel partners will be used to directly sell to Indian consumers. TTK Prestige is appointed as partner to overlook the southern distribution while North, East and West India will be taken care by World Kitchen itself. The future holds good for the consumers who will get benefit from the wider distribution system from new products and designs launched not only from the iconic Corelle brand, but also from Corningware, Pyrex and Visions which are also from the World Kitchen stable.
BRAND WATCH
Shoppers Stop on expansion plans with investment of around Rs 220 crore
Shoppers Stop, an Indian department store chain, plans to invest Rs 220 crore for expansion by 2014. Shoppers Stop has 51 stores in 22 cities and is planning to open 19 stores across the India. Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate and Managing Director, Shoppers Stop, said: Our main focus is to expand our department store and hypermarket formats in India with high growth potential. Company has already come up HyperCity which offers different product range like food, entertainment, furniture, toys, electronic appliances and fashion in the premium range.
Nokia India with Indiatimes launches its new online store

Given the potential of e-commerce industry in India where this market is growing at an average rate of 70 per cent annually and has grown over 500 per cent in the past three years alone, Indiatimes and Nokia are confident of high growth in the mobile phone category. Nokia India and Indiatimes Shopping have launched Nokias online store, NokiaShop. In the present era of online shopping Nokia doesnt wants to lag behind in offering superior online shopping experience to the consumers with which it is giving an opportunity to buy the mobile device directly from the company.
Actress Barrymore launches own wine brand

After seeing many venturing from celebrity world like musician Dave Matthews and rock band AC/DC, Actress Drew Barrymore has launched her own brand of fine wine. The actress has collaborated with California-based distributor Wilson Daniels to create a crisp, dry and fruity white Pinot Grigio made of grapes from northern Italy.
Sony India appoints Hakuhodo Percept as its creative partner

Sony India has decided on its creative agency. After a highly competitive pitch process that included eight agencies, the electronics major has chosen Hakuhodo Percept as creative partner. The business is pegged at over Rs 100 crore. The pitch process that began in November 2011 saw agencies such as JWT, Lowe Lintas, Contract, Dentsu, Law & Kenneth, BBDO and Hakuhodo Percept. According to Ryusuke Fukushima, Deputy
World Kitchen subsidiary
launches
its
Indian
29
specials | updates
General Manager, Marketing Communication, Sony India - Hakuhodo Percepts understanding of this industry, their skill in going beyond the brief and the ability to translate consumer insights into unique media touch points, made us choose them as our creative partner for a unified Sony approach.
Internet site in terms of unique visitors in the country according to the latest comScore rankings.
Ad Watch
Aviva launches its new brand campaign
Aviva India, announced the launch of their new brand campaign with a TVC focusing on father and child relationship. The 35 second commercial will be played across channels and will also be supported by an integrated marketing campaign involving print, outdoor and digital communication to send the message to the target audience.
Airport advertising offers new avenue for out of home players

With the entry of new consumers in the segment targeted by airlines there is rapid growth in the airport retail business in India. The same is triggered primarily by increase in passenger traffic and innovations in advertising which has brought about robust revenue stream for the Out Of Home players. Advertisers are ready to take advantage of the rapidly changing profile of the air travellers in India. The airport retail business in India topped $1 billion in revenues during 2011 with increased airport traffic and people preferring shopping while going on board.
ICICI Lombard offers Plan B for future life through its new TV commercial
ICICI Lombard has launched a new campaign promising for an alternative as Plan B in invertors lives. While Plan A can fail at any point of time so ICICI Lombard has the Plan B that ensures that Plan A goes on uninterrupted even in the face of lifes unexpected uncertainties. The basic idea behind the campaign was to establish ICICI Lombard as offering something with differentiation through customers Plan B in a highly competitive general insurance industry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSlv4JV2eI4
Mankind on lookout for creative partners

Mankind Pharma, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies of India is looking for creative partners for two of its brands Manforce Condoms and Kaloree 1 sugar free tablets. The pitch process, to be held in Delhi, has just been initiated by the company and agencies are yet to pitch against good competition. Cumulative size of the business is estimated to be at around Rs 15-20 crore.
Maaza as an all season mango in new TVC

Maaza's new commercial offers the mango juice drink brand as the solution for those who are die heart lovers of mangoes through the year with for those whose derive their livelihood from the seasonal fruit. Created by Leo Burnett Delhi, the ad shows Maaza, which comes in all season as a substitute to mango fruit which comes seasonally. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqKRSimePIY
Sulekha.com identity
showcases
new
brand
Digital marketplace Sulekha.com has showcased a new visual identification for its corporate brand, which reflects Sulekha.coms renewed form as an e-commerce company. To launch its fresh brand identity Sulekha.com is currently running a massive multi-city campaign with a host of above-the-line and below-the-line marketing activities which will cover the spending of Rs 5 crore during the first month of the launch. Sulekha.com is the 5th largest
Chevrolet tries again to connect emotionally with Indian consumers.

Chevys corporate campaign, 'Sang rishte chale', is being strengthened with new TVC that showcases emotions in a father-son relationship. The advertisement focuses not on the car features or
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specials | updates
markathon | march 2012 like to interview, then come up with the questions to ask.
functional benefits rather tries to strike the emotional cord by showing the detachment of the son from his family where the son leaves in a Chevy car and hence trying to build an emotional bond with the consumers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F4bPgjgPOQ
Lokmat Media launches biggest front page coverage

Lokmat Connect had managed to assemble over a lakh of people in the stadium and outside, on a mid-week working morning in order to set a world record for singing the National Anthem. Its the first instance when a broadsheet newspaper is innovatively using not the usual 8 but full 16 columns across the front and back pages for a picture to physically communicate the size and scale of a world-record-setting event.
MEDIA
Youths targeted for My Dream Interview in global journal meet
From all around the world, Newspapers are invited to participate in a new global journalism experience organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for youth that results in young people interviewing entertainment stars and other prominent figures. The My Dream Interview international youth reporter festival of success stories, supported by the Fundacion Acindar of Argentina has also encouraged school students in the age group of 11to 15-year to choose a famous personality they would
Vodafone India planning to introduce new TV commercials

Vodafone India will be unveiling a new series of TV commercials, which mark the return of cheeka, the pug, with emphasis on the quality of its network. Facing the direct competition from big players like airtel, company wants to reinforce the belief that Vodafone network offers a superior experience than its competitors across three key parameters namely voice quality & clarity, instant connectivity and no call drops.
Articles are invited

Best Article: TO LOYALLY USE THE DISLOYALTY| SUBHASHREE | IBS He/She 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. Were 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 March 12. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.
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Please send in your comments/feedback to: markathon.iims@gmail.com Visit: www.iims-markathon.in
Team Markathon, IIM Shillong

A Mad Ad World:: David Vs Goliath

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Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong

An Interview with Mr Ramanujam Sridhar

An Interview with Mr Mohanbir Sahwney

FROM THE EDITOR

THE MARKATHON TEAM

markathon | march 2012

FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVE

COVER STORY The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon |march 2012 markathon | august 2011

Logos and the Success of Divine Proportion!

markathon | march 2012 markathon | august 2011

The Rise of the Imovation

markathon | march 2012 markathon | august 2011

To loyally use the disloyalty

markathon | march 2012

An Interview with Mr Mohanbir Sahwney

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

The Mad Ad World:

Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

A brief history and evolution of the advertising in India

Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

Big Daddies of the Ad World

Mudra Communication Limited

Ogilvy And Mather India Ltd

Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

India Awakening: The Emergence of a New Class of Branders

Cover story|The Mad Ad World: David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

The New Strategy: Breaking the Conventions

Cover story|The Mad Ad World:David vs Goliath

markathon march 2012

The battle ahead

How Ad Companies can get in shape for the battle ahead

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

war zone | eye 2 eye

markathon | march 2012 markathon | june 2011

Is piracy killing the music industry?

Piracy, be it online or physical, is indeed a menace which is here to stay.

Dhivya Ravikumar IIM S

war zone | silent voice

markathon | april 2011 markathon | march 2012

LAST MONTHS RESULTS

markathon | march 2012

Specials | Brand Story

markathon | march 2012

Brand Story: maggi noodles

Specials | Radical Thoughts

markathon | march 2012

Successfully marketing a prejudice

markathon | march 2012

markathon | march 2012

Nokia India with Indiatimes launches its new online store