Mark at Hon February 2011

MARKETING MAGAZINE OF IIM SHILLONG
MARKATHON
VOL 2, ISSUE 10
FEBRUARY11
Cover Story Private label vs brand
Interview:
Special Feature:
DOUGLAS B HOLT,
LOREAL PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
SETH GODIN
Renowned Author and Marketing Guru
FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Readers,
The World Cup fever is up and running, now that slowly and steadily we are moving towards the business end of it. The minnows, if I may call them that with due respect, have as expected caused a few upsets. But as far as I am concerned the match that has been the ONE of this world cup so far has been the tie between India & England. No doubt the match in itself was a roller coaster ride, but what has left an indelible mark in my mind and many others too post that match was the suspense breaking launch of Vodafones Super ZooZoos. To denote the huge shift in technology from 2G to 3G, ZooZoos have become Super ZooZoos to communicate Faster, Smarter and Better services with Vodafone 3G. To launch the ZooZoos this time around, Vodafone have taken a different Our January 2011 approach. It launched four teasers almost a week before to Cover create a buzz for the upcoming ZooZoos. The teasers left people guessing what Vodafone is supposed to announce this time. The telecom giant had used all the mediums for a week long teaser campaign. Vodafone even had an exclusive tie-up with NDTV Group to present the teasers in the form of Breaking News Alert. The inspiration for Super Zoozoo, apparently is that its like Superman meets Rajinikanth Rajinikanth style with Supermans powers. Its all the clichs of superhero films like using the eyes as a laser and so on. Vodafone, have a got a hands down winner in their stables, yet again! In this months Cover Story, we look at and analyse the Private Labels that are rising from strength to strength and giving the established players a run for their money. We were prompted to look at the strength of the Private Labels after the recent spat between some of the retail chains and Reckitt Benckiser. The retails chains countered the announcement of margins being cut by stocking their own labels replacing some of Reckitts products. We analyse what makes the labels click and why brands are increasingly concerned about the labels.
In this months Vartalaap we have Mr. Douglas Holt, who talks to us about Branding in the Socio-Cultural context. Mr Holt, who is currently Professor of Marketing at Said Business School, Oxford University has authored a couple of books on Cultural Branding and gives us valuable insights on how cultural issues are necessary to keep a brand ticking. We also have a special feature talk with Mr. Seth Godin, one of the most renowned marketers in present day marketing. He shares with us some wonderful insights ranging from his favourite book, his idea for Permission Marketing in India, his views on the world of blogging and much more. Moving on, it has been exactly a year since I took over as the Editor from my illustrious seniors and these past twelve months have been nothing short of an exhilarating roller coaster ride. In this period I have interacted with a number of corporates & academia, written and read a number of articles from some of the best minds in the country and also interacted with them. All this has taught me innumerable valuable lessons which would stand me in good stead no matter where I go. Coming out with a monthly magazine is by no means an easy task, and to have done this month after month, without fail, is solely because of the team I had that was backing me up, behind the scenes. This bunch of marketing enthusiasts has shown me what Markathon meant to them, by the sheer effort and passion they have displayed.
I am forever indebted to my editorial team including Debanjana Sinha, Samita Srijaya Patnaik, Samrat Singh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar Sinha & Varshik Nimmagadda.
I would like to place on record my gratitude to two of the most patient souls I have worked with, my designers, Keshav Sahani & Priyanka Pandit, without whom Markathon would not be complete. I would also like to thank the faculty and the administration for their unwavering support through thick and thin. Last but not the least me and my team would like to express our sincere gratitude to YOU, our readers and contributors without whom this dream called Markathon wouldnt have turned into reality.
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THE MARKATHON TEAM

Now it is time for us to pass on the baton to our juniors who we believe will continue to strive and give you the best in marketing and ensure that Markathon becomes an iconic brand. It gives me great pleasure to announce that Jitesh Pradeep Patel would be the next Editor, Markathon, supported by his able colleagues, Gaurav, Kaustubh, Rahul, Ritika, Sana, Sria& Yashwanth. We hope that you continue to shower your love and blessings on them as much as you did on us and more. Signing off for one last time on behalf of the entire Markathon team Goodbye! Love & Regards Kaushik Happy Reading! EDITOR
Kaushik Subramanian
SUB EDITORS
Debanjana Sinha SamitaPatnaik Samrat Singh Yadav Saurabh Kumar Sinha VarshikNimmagadda
CREATIVE DESIGNERS
KeshavSahani Priyanka Pandit
MEMBERS
Gaurav Ralhan Jitesh Patel Kaustubh Rawool Rahul Mantri Ritika Nagar Sria Majumdar Sana Parvez Akhtar Yashwanth Reddy Mandipati
Kaushik Subramanian
CONTENTS
FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVE I
Adapting to Cultures Marketing in Global Environment
ARAVIND BM | NITIE
markathon | february 2011
PERSPECTIVE II
Digging into the reality of Reality Shows: A Booming Marketing Platform
DEBASMITA PANJA | IIM B
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PERSPECTIVE III
Marketing at source: the no-nonsense marketing
KUMAR RAUNAK| IIFT DELHI
SPECIAL
Interview with SETH GODIN
AUTHOR AND MARKETING EXPERT
COVER STORY Private Labels

S. SANDHYA | YASHWANTH | JITESH PATEL | IIM S
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VARTALAAP
Douglas B Holt
LOREAL PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, SAID BUSINESS SCHOOL
WAR ZONE EYE 2 EYE

Is the launch of six new world cup flavours by lays justified or would it confuse the brand loyal? ANSHUL KUMAR | BIT NOIDA, AMRITA BANGA| NMIMS
SILENT VOICE
Cricket World Cup 2011
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25 26 28 30 31 32
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SPECIALS ADDICTIVE
GAURAV RALHAN | KAUSHIK SUBRAMANIAN
RADICAL THOUGHTS
JITESH PATEL | VARSHIK N
UPDATES
KAUSTUBH
BOOK MARK
SRIA MAJUMDAR | PRIYANKA PANDIT
Brand Story
SANA AKHTAR | SAMITA PATNAIK
FOR THOSE WHO TOOK IT FORWARD
perspective
Adapting to Cultures Marketing in Global Environment

Aravind BM | NITIE
Globalization has not only brought people, communities, places closer to each other but has also turned many cities, regions in the world to cosmopolitan. We should not be surprised to find that our neighbour or our colleague or a friend in Facebook comes from a land thousands of miles away and follows an entirely different lifestyle and culture from ours. The never before proximity of people of varying background in both digital and physical world has enabled us to know about a variety of cultures which seemed arcane a few years ago. This everwidening knowledge about different cultures owing to growing number of touch points to experience various cultures has helped marketers to understand the culture and use their understanding to develop new marketing strategies based on culture. Culture can be understood as an integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs and behaviour. Culture exerts a considerable influence on day to day activities of life thereby forming an integral and important part of anyones life. People pay attention when you identify and acknowledge them and they identify themselves with their culture. People of any given cultural group feel more connected to the products/ services when they are advertised keeping the cultural aspect of that particular group in mind.
As they say One mans thrash is another mans treasure, a promotional strategy which is very successful in one culture might be an utter failure in another culture. One of the classic examples is the ever famous Bite the wax tadpole translation of coca cola in Chinese. Coca Cola had to change its name in Mandarin to comply with the language which forms an integral part of any culture. Ogilvy and Mather, the ad wizards of the world have started Ogilvy Noor the ad agency of the Muslim world. Ogilvy Noor is the worlds first bespoke Islamic Branding practice, offering expert practical advice on how to build brands that appeal to Muslim consumers, globally. Muslims Consumers occupy a significant part of world consumer base, both in terms of individual purchasing power and number of consumers. Ogilvy and Mather recognized both the uniqueness and importance of this market and by creating Ogilvy Noor it makes ads and offers market insights for companies targeting the Muslim market.
perspective
Back home in India, similar efforts are in progress to woo consumers on culture factor. India is a motley of cultures with each state boasting of multiple cultures. We have been seeing different Television ads for a single product, each ad targeting consumers of a specific culture /language, some others stressing on the cultural heritage of various regions of India (e.g The taste of India campaign of AMUL). This is just the tip of the iceberg, a lot of By virtue of a rich cultural heritage; India offers huge opportunities as well as challenges in the field of cultural marketing. Culture is not only just a way of life for people; it is also a potential demand generator and a market creator. For example the traditional Indian wedding which is celebrated with pomp and gaiety and which is an integral part of the culture of people is a billion dollar market. It is the biggest market for various goods (e.g. Textiles, Gifts, jewellery) and services (Catering, event management). Similarly the innumerable festivals in India also provide a good opportunity for cultural marketing. Crackers and sweets attract very high demand during the festival of Diwali; Greeting cards and other goodies during Christmas, New year time are classic examples of demand stimulated by culture. Thus we see that Culture has become one of the most important aspects of marketing in todays world, offering new avenues for marketing products and even encouraging development of culture specific offerings and creation of new markets.
The marketing world seems to have recognized the importance of cultural marketing. Cultural marketing assumes absolute importance in order to avoid marketing blunders.
perspective
Digging into the reality of Reality Shows: A Booming Marketing Platform

DEbasmita panja | IIMB
Culture Reality shows have become a catchphrase in the Indian Television industry. Indian viewers mind set seems to have undergone a dramatic change. A significant fraction of the audience base have become bored of the never ending saga of family dramas and soaps and are switching over to reality shows. The Indian reality television, though in the nascent stage of its development, is growing at a phenomenal rate. The international history of reality shows dates back to 1948 with the telecast of the first TV reality show Candid Camera by Allen Funt. The Granada Television Series Seven Up in 1964 was among the pioneers of reality shows that were broadcast in the United Kingdom. The industry earned global popularity with the revolutionary success of shows like Big Brother, Survivor and American Idol. Similar journey commenced in India in the 1990s with the advent of music reality shows like Meri Awaz Suno. The show became highly popular but at that point of time in the industry, there were not many players in this segment. The scenario changed tremendously with the huge success of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The enigmatic presence of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan alongside the differentiated concept of KBC in terms of Indian viewers tastes and perceptions proved to be a successful venture and opened up opportunities for such reality shows in future. The rising popularity has given a new dimension to the business of television channels in India. It has broken the monotony with interesting scripts and innovative formats of reality shows. Perhaps one of the prime reasons for reality shows dominating the industry is the ability of audience to be a part of the shows and easily relate themselves to the characters. However competition in this segment of the industry is becoming intense due to its continued success in increasing TRP ratings. Channel executives have become keen in outdoing others with almost every channel broadcasting two to three reality shows in the same season. In such a high growing, competitive industry, what strategies are being adopted by the various television channels to position their shows in the most favorable manner? How are the production houses trying to set themselves apart to pull the crowd? What marketing weapons are these players using? Primarily, the production houses are negotiating deals with television channels and launching various categories of reality shows like game shows, celeb-reality, prank-reality, talent hunts, adventure based shows etc. Such a varied offering keeps the audience hooked to their television screens without a feel of monotony. Production firms like Endemol International BV, BBC Worldwide Productions India and FreeMantle India Television Productions Pvt. Ltd. are frequently coming up with innovative concepts ranging from shows on cooking to biggest comedian hunt which are entertaining and are being widely accepted by Indian audience. The formats and ideas of the shows are being used by the companies as a differentiating factor. Endemol, for example, has signed a joint venture with a sports management firm for bringing in reality shows on boxing and cricket while others are conceptualizing reality shows on business for testing entrepreneurial aptitudes. Though these reality shows seem to be entirely Indian products, they are often a result of deals with foreign networks. For example, the local station Network 18 and the media corporation Viacom collaborated to produce Big Boss. India is a comparatively new entrant in the reality show business. So such cooperation with highly experienced foreign companies adds to the competence of the programs. The production firms are also bringing in international formats for adaptation in India. At the same time, they are focusing on localized 7
perspective contents to tap the local audience. Deepak Dhar, managing director, Endemol India says, We are planning to get a format called The Million Pound Drop for the Hindi audience and then extend it to south India and the Bengalispeaking market. Internet is also playing an important role in its growth. It has been used as a cost-effective and interactive tool for promotion of reality shows by several television channels. These companies have partnered with popular websites like facebook, YouTube, Orkut, rediff etc. for advertising their shows. Star Plus, for instance, has made use of social networking sites for initiating conversations on its show Master Chef. These channels have released web premiers for their shows and are popularizing them through online media posts. The channels are using blogs, launching their own sites and placing promos of their shows across video sites. A lot of popular reality television shows have profiles on wellaccepted social networking sites. They are also creating websites for getting regular feedbacks about their shows, thereby creating awareness and excitement in the minds of the viewers. In addition to internet, channels are also using editorials in print publications for promoting the shows. An evolving trend of cross-promotion of shows and promoting movies through reality shows have become quite successful. The television channels are working towards introducing a synergetic relation between film promotion and reality shows. This is setting up a win-win situation for all players in the business. Reality shows provide an efficient platform for movie promotion with minimum cost being entailed by the film producer. The appearance of celebrity actors in the shows captivates more people thereby registering
markathon | february 2011 more TRPs. The viewers are also entertained by the show and the celebrities. Among the other tools that are being employed by the television channels are celebrity hosts and judges and this has been established as a very effective approach as the Indian viewers always have had a special connection with Bollywood. Anupam Vasudev, EVP marketing, Star Plus, said, "Celebrity-based reality shows attract new viewers. So, more people are sampling your channel when such shows come on. A number of them stay with the channel even after the reality show ends." The increasing popularity of the reality shows is making it easier for the producers to attract higher sponsorship. Also most of the revenues are generated from text messaging and mobile interactions by the audience for voting purposes. There is effective utilization of content in a reality show shoot as almost nothing goes waste. Even auditions and behind-the-screen happenings are shot, and broadcast before the actual show goes on air...controversies and fights between participants create frenzy and the show becomes a talking point in the press or on social media, says a production team member of a show. However what remains to be seen is whether this dynamic success of the reality television industry is sustainable or not. A lot depends on the ability of the industry to come up with further interesting concepts. Gavin Wood, director of production, India Freemantle Media says, "India has a great potential to produce its own formats. We may discover some formats that existed earlier and got sidelined or forgotten. We can work on them as well. Indian formats have the potential to go global as the passion and creativity in India grows in the years to come. This will drive the growth of the television industry in India." 8
perspective
Marketing at source : the no-nonsense marketing

Kumar raunak | IIft, delhi
Whenever we think of marketing campaign, the two ubiquitous words across the marketing fraternity, things that first come to our mind are glitzy television commercials, giant billboards at posh locations and high profile celebrity endorsements. These product promotion tactics have captured much of the creative bandwidth of most of the marketing managers associated with companies from diverse sectors. The underlying philosophy for these marketing and advertising tactics has been that launching a high decibel mega campaign on television and other forms of media creates a pull effect among target consumers and draws them to the distribution outlets. This philosophy indeed worked when we had lesser number of competing brands and products in every sector and some of the communication media were relatively new, like television. Take for example Hamarabajaj campaign by bajaj scooters in the late 80s and early 90s when the television medium was relatively new and the two wheeler market was not cluttered with umpteen brands. This campaign actually established bajaj scooters as a household name by creating the desired pull effect. Same holds true for HULs lux campaign with stars like HemaMalini and Madhuri Dixit when celebrity endorsements had not picked up in a big way. Cut to present time and we find a plethora of brands with glitzy and whacky advertisements on television and in newspaper dailies making use of each and every spot available. Same holds true for billboards and hoardings at posh locations. Now the issue is how much impact do such campaigns have on the minds of target consumers, especially when we take into account the fact that in a small span of time, let us say during 3-4 min commercial break on television he is supposed to watch numerous ads, remember them and recall them while making purchasing decision. It is also a herculean task to measure the impact of these ads in quantitative terms. Also one big issue in this regard is that many a time when these ads are aired in the midst of any popular show they act as irritants from the point of view of consumers and more often than not they nullify any eye catching effect that was built into them to attract viewers. To counter this many advertisers thought of using more and more celebrities so we had Aamir Khan endorsing Coca Cola and Shahrukh Khan endorsing Pepsi, HUL roped in former Miss India and model MehrJessiaRampal for ponds cosmetic products in response to another former Miss India and Universe SushmitaSens endorsement of P&Gs Olay cosmetics products. This excessive use of celebrities by almost all the brands has again robbed this tactic of any novelty that it promised in the beginning. So what should be the way forward? Marketers and brand owners themselves seem to have come up with an alternative which can be termed as the concept of marketing at source.This is fast becoming a trend on the marketing and advertising landscape and is being increasingly used by advertisers and marketing managers. What is this concept all about? This concept entails intercepting the target consumers at the right location and the right time in a more direct manner than what traditional forms of advertising allow. This enables greater impact of marketing and advertising on consumers while ensuring that they are engaged in an entertaining way. To illustrate this there are two examples that really stand out.
perspective
HULsTHE BAJE KI KNORR LOCAL CAMPAIGN Under this campaign which was launched in September 2010 the women commuters in local trains in suburban Mumbai were served delicacies prepared with Knorr ready to cook spice mixes. This idea of serving hot and fresh delicacies to women commuters on their way back home after a day of hard work clicked with the consumers. Over here what HUL was trying to do is to influence the influencers and break the clutter. In India the decision regarding the purchase of kitchen items is taken primarily by the women of the house, so by actually providing them with a memorable experience of Knorr ready to cook food items, they hoped to create a strong recall and ensure repeated purchase. It also broke the clutter in processed food category which has players like Nestle, Britannia, ITC, Frito Lay etc. Instead of going ahead with any run off the mill television commercial or print ad, it made direct contact with the source of its market and revenue i.e. middle class women commuters and it did so not by pestering them but by making the encounter a unique and entertaining one and this created a favourable image of the product.
it sought to educate consumers about a never before used product in a more direct and engaging way. In both of the examples the idea worked because consumers were directly impacted by the campaign and were made to feel special, so next time around when they go to retail outlets the memory of this experience would in all its likelihood make them buy the product and use it and hopefully trigger repeated purchases. Prerequisites of a successful marketing at source There are certain things that marketers need to keep in mind while implementing this ideaA large number of dedicated sales forces would be required to make direct contact with the source i.e. end consumers. For example in case of HULs campaign, they needed a large number of sales personnel to serve delicacies to commuters in different local trains and on different routes. Good distribution network and product visibility- to cash in on initial strong recall after the campaign, visibility and availability of the product in the retail outlets via strong distribution network is needed because if consumers ask for the product and do not find it there is a likelihood that they may switch to some other product. Complementary use of traditional forms of advertisingto say that the traditional forms of advertising are pass would be nave. Once the initial recall is created through marketing at source, at this point traditional advertising would kick in, in the form of television commercial and print advertising to reinforce the positive memories of the product and convert it into a purchase decision. Innovative and out of the box thinking is required to make direct engagement with the consumers an exciting and memorable experience for them because this task is quite unlike sales promotion where either free samples are doled out or hefty discounts are given which trigger short term sales. Over here the idea is to build long term association with the consumer by starting the relationship on a memorable note which can be used to build upon a strong relationship.
NESTLEs RURAL CAMPAIGN In its bid to promote Maggi noodles in the rural markets, nestle organised a programme wherein the representatives from Nestle travelled to rural areas of UP and Bihar and showcased to inhabitants the process of preparing Maggi and then they were served piping hot noodles. The entire idea was to educate the rural consumers about the product and create a powerful impact by making them taste hot and delicious noodles. Again over here Nestle chose to give traditional forms of advertising and marketing a miss which could have been making use of hoardings, distributing pamphlets, or advertising on radio. Rather
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Special
markathon |february 2011
An Interview with Seth GODIN

Author And marketing expert
Seth Godin, Author and Marketing Expert is someone who does not need any introduction. He has written thirteen books all of which have been bestsellers. His blog is perhaps the popular in the world written by a single individual. As an entrepreneur, he has founded dozens of companies, including Yoyodyne, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. It pioneered the use of ethical direct mail online, something Seth calls Permission Marketing. His latest company, Squidoo.com, is ranked among the top 125 sites in the US (by traffic) by Quantcast.
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Special
Markathon: Your Driving Force
Markathon: Role of Blogging
I like to solve interesting problems and share the answers. At the same time, I find I work best as a soloist, working on project after project. Add those up and there you go.
I think that blogging has a bigger role in the world of life. Blogging makes you more thoughtful and probably more generous.
Markathon: The next big thing in marketing
Markathon: Best Medium for Permission Marketing in India
Permission Marketing and Social Media Marketing is the next big thing. Dont wait for another revolution, this is the one.
SMS
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Special
Markathon: On the application of innovation Markathon: The book closest to your heart and insights
In the book Linchpin I talk about the role of the individual who creates generous art. In India, there are so many people with so much to contribute, but the topdown imperialistic boss mindset often gets in the way. This needs to change.
Probably Survival is Not Enough. It took the most work, sold the least copies.
Markathon: You were called The Ultimate Markathon: Last word for our readers Entrepreneur for the Information Age by BusinessWeek. Whats your motivation to keep starting new ventures?
Isnt that the whole point? To make a ruckus? To see what works? Each project has its own reasons, but its always about the project.
GO!
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cover story
There was a giant who was bullying and harassing the children in the village. One day, a 17-year-old shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, "Why don't you stand up and fight the giant?" The brothers were terrified and they replied, "Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said, "No, he is not too big to hit, he is too big to miss." The rest is history. We all know what happened. David killed the giant. Same giant, different perception --- From the Bible
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cover story
The David vs Goliath story is a true reflection of the often unsurprising power of the underdog when battling a giant. The Private Labels are becoming more and more of a powerful David making a dent into the markets of existing gigantic brands (the Goliath). Reckitt Benckiser recently cut retailer margins and the retail chains including Aditya Birla Retail and Future group stopped stocking R&B products. The retailers are countering Reckitt Benckiser by using Private Labels and are very confident in their plans too. What are Private Labels? What makes Private Labels a force to reckon with? What keeps them ticking? Why are brands getting wary of the Private Labels? We explore the answer to these questions and much more in this cover story....
Private Labels are brands owned by the retailers themselves. They are often restricted to individual stores or to a particular chain of stores operating under a single company. They are often referred to as store brands or own labels. These Private Labels are growing at an ever increasing pace thanks to rapid expansion of retail chains in India; most of these retail chains have their own Private Label products which are cheaper alternatives to branded products. Some studies estimate that store brands already might be accounting for up to 40% of the shopping basket in some of the developing countries and the growth is outstripping the growth of manufactured brands. They are now the biggest worry on every brand managers mind and in India it is only now gathering momentum. Private labels were introduced as a clever marketing scheme to extend the visibility of the store when the customer carries home groceries named after the store, every time they use the product, they remember the store too. As the margins set by the store are significantly lower than those set by popular national brands, the perception of the consumer towards the store brand is one of value for money. Soon, the labels grow into solid brands without large scale advertising or marketing activities. This trend is catching on very fast and most corporates (including the Tatas, RPG Enterprises and the Future Group among others) who wish to tap into the organised retail market have private labels as one of their key strategies. Private labels increase brand loyalty and tap on the extensive in-store marketing that retailers can provide and instead of the 10-12% margin provided by national brands, the retailers gain anywhere between 20-40% on their own labels. The watch-word among these private brands is value addition. The advantage they have over leading brands is that they have more contact with the customer and consequentially have better knowledge of local tastes and can penetrate niche markets with ease. Food Bazaars (part of Future Group) initiative to sell Mustard Kasundi sauce which is native to east India is one such effort which became highly popular. Most stores also have an employee grinding wheat, driving home the
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cover story point that their flour is chakki-atta, freshly packaged to retain the aroma. The secret of the success of private labels lies in the trust the customers place on the parent chain Spencers Retail was already a household name when they introduced their store label. Most players in this business tend to start off in the un-branded space and then branch out to products which are highinvolvement or high-technology oriented because priceconscious consumers are more willing to go for private labels in the case of daily-use commodities than highinvolvement products such as in the personal care segment. Simply put, one might take a risk with a dishwash than with their brand of bodywash. Ebony However, once the chain establishes their label as trust-worthy, it is possible to break into the tougher segments too as indicated by Univercell and Croma.
Spencers Subhiksha Retailer Name Shopper's Stop Food World Indiaiullus/pyramid Nilgiri's Pantaloon Reliance
markathon |february 2011 provide a balance of price with quality, convenience, consistency, innovation and enhanced in-store experience. The market penetration of Reliance is 80%, Pantaloons 75% and Shoppers Stop and Spencers have a penetration of 20% and 10% respectively.
Depth of Private Labels by Retailer
Trent However, this movement 0% isnt one without challenges there is the flip side that the profusion of the store brands causes lesser choice among branded items. The problems in the retail market including effective and efficient supply chain management, integrating management with technology and high cost of set-up percolate into the private labels business too. Added to this is the growing awareness that private labels arent as cheap as they are often made out to be.
At the start of the private label revolution, many manufacturers considered it as an avenue to increase revenue. They used excess production capacity to supply to the labels but this only caused a reduction in their brands sales, which further increased their excess capacity. By the time manufacturers caught up, the labels were very well established. From 13% of food products in 2005, they grew to 25% in 2008 in the US and are now here to stay. But this intense competition has resulted in one clear winner the customer. He is now spoilt for choice, spends lesser and enjoys higher quality and benefits from the constant innovation in 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% the retail space. % share in private labels The reason major brands are wary of private labels is their rapid growth nearly 40% of Walmart sales and 50% of Tescos are through labels. In India, Stop (of Shoppers Stop) and Fresh and Pure (of Food Bazaar) have become brands of their own right. This has given the retailers greater bargaining power over the manufacturers. Private-label only retailers such as Ikea and Zara make the market more complex and competitive. Manufacturers hit back with their own retail stores such as that of Raymond and online services such as Sangam of Unilever. The downturn contributed to further complications such as preference for private labels due to price sensitivity and then efforts towards price 16
Currently, private labels occupy only 10-12% share in the organized retail sector, which by itself make up only 7-8% in the total $400 Billion retail industry. This underpenetration offers great scope for those who manage to
cover story discovery as brands brought down their margins while stores increased theirs. Major brands such as Britannia, Hindustan Unilever and P&G originally utilized third party manufacturers to outsource part of their production but this strategy back fired as these small companies now had the knowhow of production and are now competing against the major players by tying up with new entrants or major retailers. Such was the case with Frito Lays which has trouble due to ITCs Bingo and Future Groups Tasty Treat or Britannia against Sunfeast of ITC. Nearly 36 consumer products including breakfast cereals, detergent, fragrance and packaged tea, household products like cleaners have high penetration of private label brands, according to the Nielsen study which puts their share at 6% of the total retail sales in those stores in late 2010. The private labels scene in India is still in the nascent stage and as the focus shifts from low price to product differentiation and quality, it could shift to the mature stage as seen in US , UK and the rest of the EU in the next 5 years. Feature differentiation, free samples and increase in Advertising budgets have helped these labels better their perception in the eyes of customers. However major inhibitors are the lack of sophistication in business processes such as management of supply chain and successful implementation of IT as demonstrated by Walmart as well as reluctance to
markathon |february 2011 penetrate into the rural segment. Lack of a rural retailing model and infrastructure are often cited as reasons for the same but is a cause of concern as this limits the market to urban areas which are already overcrowded with brands. Market predictions indicate that there is high potential for private labels in food and groceries, medium potential in clothing and consumer durables and quite low potential in segments such as jewellery, watches and footwear. But retailers are wary about volumes as spiralling inflation brings price hikes with it, which adversely affects private labels. For instance, the increase in cotton prices by nearly 50% might lead to 10-15% hike in prices at Shoppers Stop and Pantaloon Retail. The food and apparels segments are of particular interests when looking at private labels after all the profit margins are generally a lot higher in these sectors with foods at 20% and apparels at 40%. It is evident that private brands come with their own share of issues, especially in retail scenario like Indias where the market is highly fragmented. The high costs for initial investment, product establishment, promotion, and heavy competition from established brands all paint a bleak picture. Yes, David was small and young. However, he had a sling. And Private labels have higher margins and increasing customer loyalty. The giant was huge, the national brands have higher market shares, are established and rich. The giant was also complacent about David.
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cover story
The private labels of the retailing giant Big Bazaar include Fresh n Pure, DreamLine, Jyro, Pure, Premium Harvest, Tasty Treat, Clean Mate and Care Mate and account for 30% of their total sales in FMCG and 25% in personal care products. From the time Big Bazaar had the run in with Frito Lay and was denied stock of their snack brand, what happened is an indication of the growing power of Private Labels - the only tangible effect was the increase in consumption of the private label Tasty Treat making it the largest selling snack brand with 16% market share. It is disputable whether they might have reached such sales figures if they still stocked Lays... Yes, the power is shifting slowly from the manufacturer and is increasingly aided by private labels. Big Bazaar aims at a diversified product portfolio with specific lines of niche goods that cater to the local taste, identified through the better contact they have with end users than manufacturers. Thus, apart from cornflakes, cheese, ghee, butter, toothpaste and even diapers, they have entered the niche markets through their community foods brand Ektaa. Their marketing mix offers an interesting insight into the way they have become this successful - the product is what the customer wants (red rice in Kerala, Basmati in Punjab, Sona Masoori in Hyderabad under Ektaa, poha, community specific pickles and snacks such as khakra are some examples), Promotion is mainly in store, Prices are kept low by lower costs and the distribution includes nearly 300 Stock keeping units and planned supply chain initiatives. According to Big Bazaar executives, private labels mean a 15% savings in retailer margin, 7% in distributor margin and 5% in marketing costs this translates to 27% net savings which is transferred to the customer thus ensuring higher sales even in categories without extremely high demand. Marketing efforts involve strategic placement of products next to the main competitor so that visibility is increased and there is an effort to gauge the merits of the private label against the major brand. There is high emphasis on the price aspect, in fact, the labels are distinctly categorised as opening price point labels, promotional labels, trade-up labels and deep-discount labels. Further, there are ads placed at eye-level to the customer and products are sold as a bundle, for instance noodles and sauce in a combined offer this way it is also easier to get relevant feedback regarding the suitability of the products. Big Bazaar is aiming for a 60% increase from last years 1000 Crore revenue and it can be expected that 25% of their bottom line is met by private labels! 18
cover story
The different approaches in managing private labels can be brought ging out best by the contrasting styles of Pantaloons (the apparels division) and Shoppers Stop. Pantaloons takes an aggressive approach and nearly 80% of their revenues are through private labels in essence, they are looking at creating a chain like Zara, whose value comes from the unique merchandise, variety and trendiness. They sell 20 different labels and associate certain labels with popular designers to accentuate the perception of uniqueness. They adopt a vertically integrated structure and source from the manufacturer for additional margins. Expansion plans include upgrading the labels John Miller, Bare, DJ&C, Rig and Ajile into stand-alone brands with their own stores and even retailing them outside the company-owned stores. This is possible with labels that have become hugely popular with the public, have significant volumes and have a distinct identity. It has become a case of private label established through the retailer and eventually maturing into a brand of its own. This gives Pantaloons segments such as the Star and Sitara line of beauty products, to be moulded into beauty salons. Shoppers stop takes a different route with only 20-25% of their revenues being generated through private labels. In this case, the emphasis is on leveraging the private labels for the higher margins that they provide. Their labels include Kashish, STOP, Life, Mario Zegnoti, Acropolis, Push and Shove, Vettorio Fratini and Elliza Donatein. In contrast with Pantaloons which aims at creating its own identity, Shoppers Stop aims at providing customers with an international shopping experience. Key to this is providing a wide variety of brands and ensuring that the visibility is not predominant only for their own labels. However, in the interest of revenues, they spend 2-4% of their revenue from private labels, 200 Crores, in marketing efforts even 4 Crores of expenditure is generally huge for private labels where usually marketing is in-store. Shoppers Stop takes a different line and promotes its labels through extensive advertising including product placements in movies (such as Om Shanti Om), television and print ads and stark black and white logos that are arresting. And this is their strategy to build their House of Brands, not increasing the profusion of private labels but increasing revenue and providing a much wider variety than competitors. History tends to repeat itself. And we, were betting on David to put up a good fight and maybe down Goliath once again.
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vartalaap
2011 markathon |february 2010
An Interview with Douglas B Holt

LOreal Professor of Marketing, Sad Business School, University of Oxford and Renowned Author on Cultural Branding
Douglas Holt is the LOreal Professor of Marketing at the University of Oxford, and Co-Principal of The Cultural Strategy Group. Previously he was a Professor of Marketing at the Harvard Business School. He is a leading expert on brand strategy, having established cultural branding as an important new strategy tool in his best-selling book How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding. He is also the author of Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands. He has developed cultural strategies for a wide range of brands, including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Ben & Jerry's, Sprite, Jack Daniel's, MINI, MasterCard, Fat Tire beer, Qdoba, Georgia Coffee, Planet Green, and Mike's Hard Lemonade, along with a number of non-profit organizations. He holds degrees from Stanford, the University of Chicago, and North western University, and is the editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. He has been invited to give talks at universities and management 20
vartalaap Markathon: How have global brands evolved in the last decade or so; in the context of the emerging economies becoming a massive consumer base? Mr. Holt: It is hard to provide any overarching comments because there are a number of different types of global brands that succeed (or fail) based upon different brand mechanics. Generally western companies have viewed developing markets as their last great hope at double digit growth. But to expand their brands into such countries, theyve had to learn the hard way that creating brand value requires a nuanced understanding of issues like national identity and global status. Western brands can bring potent cross-cultural value, representing western ideologies that are much valued in developing countries. But they can also act as a ball-and-chain, carrying symbolic baggage from the westsuch as connotations of post-colonial dominationthat consumers in developing countries resent. Branding in such situations requires considerable cultural nuance. Markathon: You have emphasized on socio-cultural branding for the creation of an Iconic Brand. Can you share with us an example of a brand which has achieved it in a successful manner and how it has achieved it?
markathon |february 2011 2010 scuttled with the first waves of outsourcing in the 1970s, Budweisers extolling of the virtues of the traditional artisan served up a shot of old-fashioned respect with every brew to embattled blue-collar men. Budweiser understood the socio cultural context and used their campaign to capitalize on it. Markathon: Do you feel that in a country like India, cultural branding might be difficult, given that the culture is highly diverse across the nation (most of the state provinces speak different languages, have different customs) unlike the United States or United Kingdom? Mr. Holt: First I disagree with your premise. If youve ever visited London, you would find that it is one of the ethnically diverse cities in the world. Likewise the United States is extremely heterogeneous despite that most people speak English. Finally, cultural branding often thrives on political and cultural difference. For instance ben & jerrys ice cream shot to success in the USA by opposing Reagans politics in the 1980s, and Apple and Starbucks have championed ideologies that the majority of Americans find condescending and elitist. The cultural diversity of the USA was helpful for these brands. So Indias diversity likely produces excellent conditions for cultural branding. Markathon: What trends in consumer culture and behaviour do you see emerging in the next decade and the impact that they make on the way brands are created, marketed? Mr. Holt: In cultural branding, we avoid looking at trends because they are usually characterized in an extremely generic manner. To do cultural strategy, 21
Mr. Holt: There are lots of brands which have achieved iconic status by using cultural branding which I have talked about in my two books. To explain how they achieved would take a long time. One example which comes to mind is that of Budweiser, when Americas high-wage industrial base was being
Cultural branding works because people are cultural beings, which applies to all people in all countries regardless the configuration. The idea is that brands respond to major shifts in society that create cultural tensions, which can only be resolved by new ideologies. Brands can provide these ideologies. Iconic brands never work for everyone in society, only a segment. So there is no reason to exclude India due to cultural diversity.
vartalaap you need to move beyond thinking about social change in terms of a handful of trends. Rather society is always changing in myriad ways and only a small fraction of these changes are important for a particular category and a segment therein. So the challenge is always to treat historical changes in a highly customized manner, studying the particular changes that are important to the business problem you are trying to solve rather than buying in to the generic trends hyped by the media. Markathon: What, in your opinion, is one common error (if any) most of the brands commit which prevents them from becoming an iconic brand? Mr. Holt: The managers of such brands follow the conventional marketing handbook. They believe that the value of the brand is derived from the distinctiveness of the brands rational and emotional benefits in the consumers mind and they hammer these benefits across all marketing efforts and consistently over time. Iconic brands are created because the brand is dynamic: it responds decisively to changes in society with new ideology. And rather than think of value in benefit terms, iconic brands dominate their categories by proposing new ideologies that consumers value so much that they are more than willing to ascribe rational benefits to the brandit is the highest quality, tastes the best, is the most innovative etc simply because consumers identify with what the brand stands for. Markathon: Youve had an amazing career spanning from being a brand manager to teaching at Harvard Business School and now Sad Business School at Oxford, could you share with us an incident/moment which youd call a great learning experience?
2011 markathon |february 2010 Mr. Holt: Im very interested in how branding can be used to improve the lot of the poor, especially commodity producers in the global south. At Oxford I worked with Oxfam to help Ethiopian coffee farmers make more money by branding their traditional coffee appellations (like yergecheffe), which are highly renowned in the West. This is a fresh branding idea, ripe with huge possibilities to push value chain rents down to the farmers in the south. However Starbucks was deeply opposed to this effort because they made lots of money by using these Ethiopian appellations for free. As a result, the leadership of the Sad Business School stridently opposed my work, even stripping my essays from the faculty website, on the rationale that Starbucks might interview at the school someday and they might take offense to what i was doing. This is despite the fact that I testified before the British parliament, conducted interviews on the BBC, and so on. This incident shocked me. It taught me that even supposed liberal bastions like Oxford are very much captured by economic elites. It is a real challenge to work within business schools to advance the interests of common people. Markathon: Any advice for young marketing graduates (our readers) stepping out from college and looking to make a career in the world of branding?
Get a liberal arts education along with the nuts-and-bolts analytic skills needed to do day-to-day brand management. Marketing as taught in most MBA programs strips from students the key humanistic expertise necessary to build brands. Studying history, anthropology, sociology, media, politics and such provides a much richer foundation for branding than what is taught in business education.
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war zone | eye 2 eye
Is the launch of six new world cup flavours by lays justified os would it confuse the brand loyal customers?
Lays, the global leader in the salty snack industry, enjoys huge popularity with its customers and has earned consistently large profits from its business. From customers perspective, introduction of new flavours would be a clear positive on the Anshul Kumar basis of conventional thinking. BIT Noida The reason being, Lays is a renowned brand and with the introduction of new flavors, could expect that customers who have developed trust in the brand would not have hesitation in not only accepting but welcoming new variants in the product portfolio. It could also be argued that new flavors would entice existing customers as well as possibly gain new ones.From Frito Lays perspective, adding to the existing offering would leverage the existing brand equity and enable inexpensive market launch of new products. It could also be viewed as a competitive thrust to gain advantage over its rivals in the market place with an enhanced product offering. The firm would be able to spread the cost of advertising and promotion over a larger group of variants and thereby bring down unit marketing cost which should in turn contribute to improved profits and profitability. The company should do a thorough study of the sales performance of its existing variants. Those variants which show a declining sale trend or have reached a plateau can be discontinued. Such products can be replaced by new ones. It should be the effort of every firm to keep its existing customers happy and to attract new customers. An obvious area for this critical marketing requirement would be new product introduction. So this is a step towards the same objective, which is taking advantage of World Cup for its new offering. You go to a store to buy a packet of chips of your favourite brand. You know the flavour you want but what you see on the display is a number of new flavours which look almost same as what you buy ordinarily and Amrita Banga the shopkeeper is trying NMIMS hislevel best to persuade to buy the new flavors that he has just stocked, you wasting your time and his energy.
The launch of new flavours would create discomfort for the brand loyal customers
Lays is right in taking advantage of the world Cup to launch new flavours
This is the story behind every shopper who knows which flavour he likes and wants to buy that. With the company trying to push new flavours in the forefront, more often than not, the old flavours are pushed to the background irritating the customers who have been companys regular buyers for a long time. Moreover, how many of these flavours would actually be sustained is another question because most of these flavours are launched near some event to grab consumers attention and interest and are killed after a few months. Its not for the first time that Lays has launched new flavours or has held a competition related to it. This technique has been used by them before also to spike their sales and is being repeated because of positive result it generated, not taking into account the discomfort it causes for the brand and flavour loyal customers. Adding on to this grievance is launching of new brands of chips like by Parle etc. which have same color packaging done as Lays to confuse the customer. In such a scenario, when in a shop the customer sees a variety of bag of chips he is bound to get confused and lose faith if the flavor that he picked out doesnt please his taste buds!
Topic for the next issues Eye to Eye: After Starbucks with Tata, Dunkin Donuts with Jubilant Food is also
entering Indian market. Will India be a success story for these coffee retail chains or is Indian market not big enough for all these players. Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 17th March 2011. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.
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war zone | silent voice
Silent Voice
LAST MONTHS RESULTS
Theme:Cricket World Cup-2011
WINNER:SamikshaKalbande&Varun Agarwal | MET-IOM, MUMBAI Congratulations!!!They receive a cash prize of Rs.500!
Runner Up
RaseshPadia| NMIMS
NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: GlaxoSmithKline Healthcares launch of toothpaste brandSensodyne in the Indian market LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD:17thMarch, 2011 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
Gaurav Ralhan, Kaushik Subramanian | iim s
PRODUCT #1: Reliance Netconnect TARGET AUDIENCE: Young professionals who aspire for all time connectivity along with faster internet speed. POSITIONING:Because we know youre always in a hurry. AD AGENCY:Grey Mumbai CONCEPT: The film opens in an aeroplane that has just landed. It describes a scene that is very common in the domestic flights, the airhostess is doing announcement to be seated with mobile phone still in switch off mode till the plane stops completely. In the mean while all the passengers get up from their seats, switch on mobile phone and start opening the overhead compartments. As the passengers are jostling a young executive shoves her way to the front. At this point the narrator kicks in introducing the Reliance Netconnect with the tagline Because we know youre always in a hurry. This connects the fast paced life of an executive with the fast internet service Reliance provides. VERDICT: Catch/Miss Catch The film is based on a situation that is not very uncommon in the regular life and the connect between the incident and the product has been spot on. The film is very catchy and is able to attract all the audience attention that it deserves. The concept is fantabulous and dovetails perfectly with the product. Nice Work, Grey Mumbai!!
PRODUCT #2: Pepsi TARGET AUDIENCE: All the cricket lovers, the ad film is a part of Change the Game campaign to cash on the rising ICC Cricket World Cup fever. POSITIONING:The official sponsor of TedhiUngal ..Change the Game AD AGENCY:Taproot India CONCEPT:The backdrop of the advertisement is a small village in Haryana. The film opens with Billy Bowden and a local sitting having a paratha surrounded by all the villagers. Billy Bowden asks for a spoon to take out butter from the utensil to which the local replies Jab seedhiungal se ghee nanikaletohungaltedhikal le Bowden symbolizing a Hindi idiom to get work done by all means. In the next scene the local encourages Billy to do the same TedhiUngal in the Match as well. Then the few spectacular helicopter shots show Billy Bowden repeating the same, signalling out to the batmen in the match. The film ends with the tagline the Official Sponser of TedhiUngal , Pepsi. VERDICT: Catch/Miss Catch The idea of the commercial is very unique and innovative. The film has a bit of surprise element as it uses Umpire rather than the players and adding to that Billys acting has made the commercial more interesting. The film clearly portrays Pepsi as the official sponsor of the World Cup and has been able to create a buzz among the cricket lovers. With the Change the Game campaign Pepsi wants to cash on the rising cricket fever in the country where cricket is considered as a second religion.
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specials | radical thoughts
Railway Budget, Election Campaigns and more

Jitesh Patel | Varshik N. | IIM S
If there ever was a marketing gimmick going on in the Indian Parliament, it happened when our very own Mamata Di was presenting the Railway Budget. There seemed to be a single minded approach to it, one single goal, ensure that Trinamool Congress emerges the vote winner in Bengal. Many dailies sarcastically but rather accurately termed the budget as The Voter Express. Can there be a more effective marketing campaign than the railway budget? Let us look at what elements of a marketing campaign the budget encompasses. An essential element of any marketing campaign is the timing. Mamata Di is immaculate on this front. With elections scheduled early in West Bengal this year, the budget will garner a lot of attention and stay in the minds of the people till elections come up. Though it can be argued that she doesnt handle the timing of the budget, but the fact is that she is taking advantage of it and using it to her benefit. Capitalizing on the timing opportunity is as important as getting hold of an opportunity. The Message is another pillar of an efficient campaign. The one which the railway budget sends out is loud and clear. West Bengal gets all the apples in the basket and the leftovers are distributed among the other states. There are more trains for Kolkata(34 new Metro services), more trains for other areas of West Bengal, lucrative railway projects being set up all over West Bengal. There are projects given to other states but meager and there isnt any justification for these project going to West Bengal apart from it being the railway ministers home state. The final cornerstone of a successful marketing agenda is the target audience. The target audience for any political party is the common man and they would be thoroughly pleased with the announced budget. No hike in train fares despite a deficit shows a pro poor attitude for attracting more votes. There is actually a reduction in booking charges aiding Mamata Banerjees populist measures. Any marketing company would love to have a campaign which is so fundamentally sound. In all probability, this budget will ensure Trinamool Congress victory in the forthcoming Bengal Elections. Talking about campaigns, it reminds me of how much an Election Campaign has changed over the years. If we go back in history and look at some of the National elections and how they were won, there was always one decisive factor- the election campaign. The oratory skills of the party candidate could sway the voters in his/her favor and so could a catchy election slogan. Indian National Congress ruled the roost in Indian politics till 1977, when the first Non-Congress government was formed by the Janata Party. The two reasons why Janata Party came into power were a) The dissatisfaction due to the emergency imposed b) The countrywide campaign by Janata Party reaching every nook of the diverse Indian geography. The campaign was done by stalwarts like Morarji Desai, JB Kripalani and Jayprakash Narayan. The latter two did not want a seat, but became the leading campaigners for the amalgamated mix of parties and drew huge masses (in some cases 100,000 in a single gathering) of people across the country. Not to forget, Atal Behari Vajpayee, whose oratory skills were stupendous and could win over the hearts of any crowd he spoke to. This was a 26
specials | radical thoughts
markathon | january markathon | february 2011
massive marketing campaign where there was reach, there were charismatic spokespeople and there was a clear cut agenda on what to speak about. The Congress tried hard to rebutt , but in vain. The result was clear; Janata Party got a sweeping majority in these elections. Catchy slogans in an election campaign are as important, if not more than a company tagline. Congress did a brilliant job with its lineCongress ka haath, Aam aadmi ke saath. It was what wed call a Unique Value Proposition in marketing terminology, just that it sounded lot cooler when it rhymed! It caught peoples attention, held it and boosted Congress image significantly. One of the catchiest slogans Ive come across is one used by Jana Sangh in the 1980sJana Sangh ko vote do Bidi peena chhod doBidi mein tambaku haiKangress wala daku hain. Jana Sangh was asking the voters to give up two things which they considered Evil - Cigarettes and Congress. This cheeky campaign is what advertisers call Comparative advertising. There are firms now taking up the task for creating a whole marketing campaign for the elections. These campaigns are very important for the Parties as the voting in India will depend on the campaign more than the party ideals.
Congress kahaath, Aamaadmikesaath
Jana Sanghko vote do Bidipeenachhod doBidimeintambakuhai Kangresswaladakuhain
Ultimately, as every marketing book will tell you, Customer (the voter) is King!
This column has been a tough one to write for me and a bigger headache for my editor. Hes become used to my column always ending up as the last one submitted. All things said and done, this is the last time I don the hat for writing this column. The farewell is here, I am going to miss this column a lot even though it was never easy for me to write it. I pass on the baton to the oncoming team members of Markathon and wish them success. Goodbye guys!
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specials | updates
BRAND WATCH
Muthoot Group: Main team sponsors of Delhi Daredevils
The Muthoot Group has signed as the main team sponsor of the Delhi Daredevils for the fourth edition of IPL which is scheduled to start on April 8, 2011. Marketing and promotion agency Creatigies Communications played an important role in forging this partnership. Director of Muthoot Group, Alexander George Muthoot, said, IPL is by far the biggest sporting spectacle in India and has got bigger and better each year. The Muthoot Group looks at this association with Delhi Daredevils to grow from strength to strength. The Muthoot group believes that investing in the partnership would reap greater mutual returns.
BRAND LAUNCH
InterContinental to Launch New Brand in China
InterContinental Hotels Group will launch an entirely new brand this year in China to cash in on the booming economy. The companys revenues in China went up more than 25% over 2009. According to the official reports, the new brand will be positioned between Crowne Plaza and the luxury InterContinental brand. The company believes that China will be the biggest hotel market in the word by 2025 and so launching the brand now will prove to be strategic advantage for the company
BMW to launch a new sub-brand

BMW is planning to launch a new sub brand to manufacture and market electric vehicles. The new subbrand will help BMW attain its ambition of becoming the worlds largest manufacturer of premium electric vehicles. The new range of Megacity cars will initially be offered in a two-door, four-seat configuration with launch of launch the ICV short Intracity Vehicle in 2015. In 2017 the company will launch a four-door, five seater vehicle with the name UCV.
Strategic alliance- Mint and Bloomberg UTV

Mint and Bloomberg UTV have entered into a strategic content alliance under which they will share content with each other on a daily basis and undertake various joint editorial initiatives through the year. This partnership is an attempt to expand their content footprint to multiple platforms and reach new audiences. In this partnership, Bloomberg UTV will feature important news and analyses from Mint every day and every issue of Mint will carry relevant news related stories from Bloomberg UTV. In addition to this, Mint will produce news and lifestyle related weekly television shows to be aired exclusively on Bloomberg UTV.
Brand Relaunch
Mahindra to relaunch two Logan variants without Renault brand
After the dissolution of the JV between Mahindra and Renault on account of poor sales performance of the Logon, Mahindra plans to roll out two new variants of the Logan without the Renault tag and its diamondshaped logo. Logan will now be Mahindra's first and solo product in the passenger car segment. The company is currently focusing on two aspects- developing a new re-styled version and developing a new lower-price version of the model. Mahindra will reduce the length and other specifications of the car so that it fits into the small car definition.
AOL to buy Huffington Post for $315 mn

AOL Inc has agreed to buy The Huffington Post, the struggling US Internet company, for $315 million. The move will create a media group that has an enormous impact reaching a global audience on every imaginable platform. The deal will combine AOLs infrastructure and scale with The Huffington Posts pioneering approach to news and innovative community building
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specials | updates
markathon | february 2011 features. The campaign includes three TVCs and a digital collaboration with MTV. It involves a contest where users can upload videos of themselves asking for Lenovo PCs among other prizes, with the highest-rated ones to air on MTV. This helps in maintaining connect with the customers where the youth are the main target. Lenovo believes that the follow-up campaign along with MTV collaboration will help strengthen bond with the audience
Geneva Motor Show 2011: Skoda unveils new brand design

Czech automaker Skoda has launched a new direction for its brand at this year's Geneva Motor Show. The company is gearing up to intensify its activity in Europe, China, India and Russia. The brand revamp involves "above average" interior space and an integrated tailgate for the rear of the concept. A new logo for the automaker has also been released, making the winged arrow design larger and more visible with a brighter colour.
Videocon makes zero the new hero for new campaign

Videocon Mobile Phones has launched its new advertising campaign promoting the concept of zero paisa per second tariff plan. The campaign is ideated by ad agency MWG TAG Ideation under Prasoon Joshi. The Ad campaign begins with teaser commercials on the death of one paisa tariff plans, followed by the birth of Zero character representing the introduction of zero paisa per second. The visualization of the characters also gels well with the Videocon Groups overall philosophy of being at the source of innovative ideas and making them accessible to the Indian mass.
Ad-Watch
Honda Accord new performance and comfort campaign-
Honda has unveiled a new campaign to promote the added features to their flagship car, Accord. DentsuMarcom has worked on the Ad campaign that will showcase the features and change points of the car. TVC, internet film and print ads will be the medium of communication. The Ad campaign emphasizes that the car provides a perfect mix of performance and comfort to deliver an unforgettable driving experience.
New Foodles campaign-"Scientist Bhaskar"

Foodles has launched a new TVC for its instant noodles with JWT as the creative team. It emphasizes on the nutritional value of the noodles. Main aim of the TVC is to reinforce the unique balance of taste and science in Foodles which differentiates it from the instant noodles category. The Ad is presented from a kids point of view so as to develop connect with the young kids who are the main target audience.
Lenovos follow-up campaign to "Please Daddy Please" campaign

Lenovo has launched a new 360-degree TVC campaign as a follow-up to its "Please Daddy Please" TVC launched last year. The new campaign integrates the entire product story with focusing on the product
Articles Are invited

Best Article:DebasmitaPunja|IIM B They receive 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. The last date of receiving all entries is 15th March 2011. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.
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specials | bookmark
markathon | februaury 2011
How to drive your competition crazy Create Disruption For Fun And Profit; Guy Kawasaki
Review by Priyanka Pandit and sriamajumdar Hyperion Books | Hardcover Edition, Price Rs.1100 approx.
Sitting down to write my last BookMark, I feel more than confident that this column would continue shining bright, bringing to you the gist of the books every Marketing enthusiast must read. The biggest reason behind this confidence is Sria, an extreme bibliophile counting Marketing as one of her passions, who shall be taking over the column full-time from next month. For this special occasion, we decided to review one of the ten bestsellers by the marketing brains behind Apples early successes, Guy Kawasaki. Known for the enthusiasm he professes, be it in writing, public speaking, marketing or consulting, Guy Kawasaki has served as the chief evangelist at Apple and is the cofounder of the RSS aggregator Alltop.com and Garage Technology Ventures. His books, including this one, are famous because they are filled with how-to-do-it steps along with real life examples which validate his thoughts.
Organization
The structure of the book speaks volumes about the thought process of the author. Guy Kawasaki asks marketers to first explore within before knowing the customer or understanding the enemy. The next section talks about focusing on the customer, concentrating on the decisive point of the product/service and finally converting the customers into evangelists. The focus on the customer is re-emphasied in his section on building brand loyalty. Guy advises the reader to use molehills well, and leverage them to gain the differentiating advantage. Packaging deserves a special mention in the book, replete with examples of companies which have turned this P into a selling point. He ends on the note that in order to succeed, one must ignore conventions and grab opportunities with both hands.
Verdict
3/5. Although it seems like common sense at times, it is a sheer reading pleasure for a marketing enthusiast. The theory is replete with numerous interesting examples and the easy flow of language keeps the reader tuned in. The methodical approach and clear guidelines make the book useful for a student as well as for a marketer looking out for ways to rejuvenate his product.
Summary
The book draws from Guy Kawasakis experience in marketing the Macintosh back in the 1980s when people could not think beyond IBM and MS DOS. In order to disrupt the market, customers were turned into evangelists. According to Guy, clear and shrewd thinking, guts, hard work and a willingness to think out of the box are essential to drive the competition nuts and take on Goliaths.The book begins by asking fundamental questions about the nature of business and products and services. Knowing Thyself is the key to understanding customers and competition. Like Sam Walton, Guy is also an advocate of following the competitor religiously, playing fair and grabbing a niche market share. He also advises competition and cannibalization but strongly believes a nemesis is essential to drive innovation.
Bottom-line
The book is easily available in bookstores or online stores. Priced at Rs.1100, the book does burn a hole in the pocket for a student. However, it is definitely worth the visit to a nearby library. We hope you readers continue to send in your suggestions for books you would like to have reviewed, as well as for any special inputs on how we can improvethis column. Keep Reading!
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specials | brand story
Brand Story: TITAN

Sana Akhtar, SAMITA S PATNAIK | IIM S
Titan, in the Indian context has become synonymous with watches. The brand which started as a joint venture between the TATA Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in July 1984 has grown to become Indias leading watch brands capturing over 50% of the market share. Titan brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market offering quart technology with international styling at a time when the only technology prevalent was that of the bulky and reliable mechanical spring. Titan brought in the ritual of gifting watches and it benefitted hugely from the campaign which included a series of films depicting strong emotional bonds and moving personal moments. In a time when watches were considered no more than a time keeping device, Titan positioned itself as a fashion accessory and introduced the concept of Matching Watches To Clothes. It roped in Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador to match with the brands new persona. Talking of the communication of Titan requires a mention of the sonic branding done by the brandMozarts 25th Symphony which is arguably Indian Advertisings most memorable track and has seen a number of innovations ranging from Indian Classical, Indian Folk, Operatic to Rock and Funk. In an attempt to increase its volumes Titan introduced brand Sonata which was a huge success in itself owing to its cheap prices but it fell heavily on the mother brand Titan which was perceived as a premium brand. Realising this mistake Titan took away its brand name from Sonata which was then endorsed by Tata. The World Of Titan, another pioneering effort from Titan, was born to introduce the concept of retailing in the watch market. This network of exclusive showrooms helped the brand establish itself as one of the most prestigious and visible retail brands in the country. Titans latest tagline, Be More, encompasses all that the brand stands for-leadership, innovation and pride in the consumers mind and appeals strongly to every contemporary Indian. The campaign, conceptualised by O&M, seeks to nurture and maintain the appeal of the iconic brand and invite consumers to cherish Titan as a symbol of their own identities. The Titan Aviator series, the Titan Octane collection, Titan Raga crystals for women, and Titan Heritage each represent a different identity. Titan also targeted children and youth with its brands Dash and The Cool WatchesFastrack. Realising that the only way to sustain the fashion accessory perception is by continuous innovation, Titan has come up with several sub-brands to connect with the various facets of deep-rooted human yearnings for self-expression. The Raga focussed on different roles that a woman plays, that of a mother, a wife, a girlfriend and how from 9 to 5, she becomes a professional after fulfilling her other roles. The target was the woman in metros from Sec A homes and former Miss India Gul Panag was roped in as the brand ambassador. Xylys, another offering from Titan, brought about a redefinition of sorts in the premium watch segment. It was targeted at new generation achievers who go beyond the obvious who know who they are and set their own standards and live by their own values. It is a style statement for those who stand apart from the crowd. The most stellar example of Titans innovation is the Edge, positioned as the slimmest watch in the universe. This technological marvel received the Best Design Award in the Lifestyle Product category. Titan has indeed created a market for itself with careful strategies and constant innovation. Coupled with passion and energy, the brand Titan has a very promising future. 31
For those who took it Forward

Kaushik Subramanian Samita Srijaya Patnaik
The guy you go to when there is an issue with anything about the magazine. He is immensely passionate about Markathon and holds it very close to his heart. Always pushing for things to get done on time and always ready to help the juniors. He has given a lot to this magazine and also loads of guidance to the incoming team. Markathon will miss such a wonderful editor! Have an awesome life ahead!
Is a vivacious and simple girl who believes in being down to earth. She is known for being calm and composed, and Team Markathon has always admired her ideas and her thought process. We are sure Samitas diligent work and her ethics will be admired wherever she goes. Heres wishing you a wonderful career!
a.k.a Stud, is a girl who never shies away from speaking her mind and standing by her principles. Practical, smart and cool, Debu has always put Markathon on the top of her priority list. Her knowledge in the world of marketing is a force to reckon with. We are sure that she will excel in every endeavour and we wish her all the best for the future.
A super talented guy with great skills, Samrat is a hard working person. His knowledge is phenomenal and he is always ready to help others. Markathon will surely miss someone with such great passion as him. Wishing you success in all your endeavours!
Debanjana Sinha
Samrat Singh Yadav
32
For those who took it Forward

Varshik Nimmagadda Saurabh Kumar Sinha
Perhaps, the most talented and laziest of the bunch. Varshik is a voracious reader with an appetite for almost any book. He is like a walking, talking encyclopaedia and always comes up with great examples to explain things. His contribution to Markathon has been immense and he has given us some wonderful writeups in the column Radical Thoughts. Wishing you a wonderful career ahead!
Saurabh is a dedicated person, the kind of love and effort he puts into his work his commendable. Highly talented and a humble personality, he is one guy responsible for many of the awesome Vartalaap interviews published in Markathon. May success always be with you!
The creative head of Markathon, is a critic by nature and a designer by choice. Sharp and ready wit, insane amounts of knowledge and a die-hard enthusiasm for marketing make Keshav Sahani. An avid blogger, Keshav has an awesome sense of humour and his jokes have brightened many Markathon meetings. We will miss you Keshav!
Is a designer par excellence and a voracious reader. You can easily find 4 books on marketing at any point of time on her table. No surprises then that she has contributed to the Bookmark section of Markathon, with critical appraisals of various books she read. A social media freak, she is always found on Facebook and Twitter posting and commenting on contemporary issues. We are sure that she will go a long way in life. Heres wishing you all the best!
Keshav Sahani
Priyanka Pandit
33
Please send in your comments/feedback to: markathon.iims@gmail.com Visit: www.iims-markathon.in
Team Markathon, IIM Shillong

Mark at Hon February 2011

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Brand Story: TITAN

For those who took it Forward

Samrat Singh Yadav

For those who took it Forward

Please send in your comments/feedback to: markathon.iims@gmail.com Visit: www.iims-markathon.in

Team Markathon, IIM Shillong

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