BEACON VOLUME 04

i
October 2016 ISSUE 10
 Contents
ABOUT US

OUR TEAM

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

BRAND ANALYSIS

CASE ANALYSIS

CONCEPTOFTHEMONTH:
CROWD FUNDING

BEACON VOLUME 04
ii
October 2016 ISSUE 10
ABOUTUS
TheSIMCON-SIMSREEconsultingclubisan
initiativestartedin2012forthosestudentsin MISSION
pursuitofexcellenceinmanagementconsulting Tocreateawarenessamongstthestudents
andstrategicmanagement.Aimedatcreating aboutconsultingindustry&itslatesttrends.
awarenessamongthestudentsaboutconsultancy
asadiscipline,theclubstrivestomaintainstrong Tomaintainstrongrelationswithtop
relationswithtopconsultancyfirmsandprovide consultancy firms.
platformtocrafthighlyskilled&competent
consultantsfromSIMSREE.Theclubisaresource
forinformationaboutconsultingandaplacefor
studentstoobtainreal-worldconsultingexperience.
VISION
SIMCONprovidesanavenueofinteractionamong
Toprovideplatformtocrafthighlyskilled&
faculty,studentsandalumnithroughcompetitions,
competentconsultantsfromSIMSREE.
liveprojects,guestlectures,andconclaves.For
thispurposetheclubhasalsobeenpublishingits
To provide exposure to students via
monthlynewsletter–BEACON(BEACONSULTANT)
competitions,liveprojects,guestlectures&
andmaintainsaFACEBOOKPAGEwherelatest
conclaves.
newsanddevelopmentintheconsultingindustry
are posted.

Contributions invited:
Tomakethisfeatureasuccessfuleffort,weseekcontinuedinvolvementandcontributionfromourreaders,thatisYOU.We
invitearticles,researchpapers,andtriviaonthemesrelatedtoconsulting.Beitindustrynews,consultingtrends,ajoke,a
cartoonorfeedback,weareeagertohearfromyou.Sogoahead,doyourresearch,pendownyourthoughtsandmailyour
entries to simcon.simsree@gmail.com.

Best Regards,
SIMCON - SIMSREE CONSULTING CLUB

OUR PRESENCE

BEACON VOLUME 04
1
October 2016 ISSUE 10
 OURTEAM

ARPIT agrawal

HUZEFA BODABHAIWALA

ASHAY DHURI

KARAN CHOPRA

NAMAN CHANDAK

praCHI KORE

SARANG KULKARNI

YOGESH MOHATA

BEACON VOLUME 04
2
October 2016 ISSUE 10
 BEACON VOLUME 04
3
October 2016 ISSUE 10
 BATA
BRAND ANALYSIS

BEACON VOLUME 04
4
October 2016 ISSUE 10
Introduction
Bata brand known for well-made and well-priced
footwear, clothing and accessories, was founded in
1894 in Zlín,  Moravia by Tomáš Baťa, his brother
Antonín and his sister Anna. Its headquarters is lo-
cated in Lausanne, Switzerland.   Bata succeeded in
becoming one of Europe’s leading shoe manufac-
turers in just a few decades, due to smart entrepre-
neurship and competitive pricing. In the early 1930s,
the company was present in Switzerland, Germany,
England, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, India and the
Netherlands. By 1960, Bata employed about 42,000
employees owned thousands of companies and fac-
tories in almost every continent. It was one of the
few manufacturers to sell its products all over the
world. In 1970, Bata Industrials was founded to meet
a specific demand for footwear for professionals.
Since then, Bata Industrials has evolved to become a
designer, producer, and marketer of safety footwear
and socks, targeting the professional end user mar-
kets. At present, Bata Industrials is one of the world’s
largest manufacturers of this type of footwear. It op-
erates four business units worldwide- Bata Europe,
Bata Emerging Markets, Bata Branded Business and
Bata North America.
Bata World-Wide
Bata has recorded its presence in more 70 countries
with over 5000 stores. The 28 production units are
spread across 18 countries. Bata serves more than 1
BEACON
5
October 2016
million customers every day.
Bata Enters India
1931- The company, Bata Shoe Co Pvt Ltd was in-
corporated in Calcutta. It manufactured all types of
footwear, footwear components, leather and prod-
ucts allied to footwear trade.
1942- A machinery department was set up to pro-
duce the first Indian-made major shoe machine.
Also, a leather footwear factory was established in
Patna, Bihar, known today as Bataganj.
1973- Bata Shoe Co Pvt Ltd became a public limited
company and the name was changed to Bata India
Ltd.
1988- A new brand of shoe, `Tigre' was introduced
for sales through wholesalers and independent re-
tailers.
1989- The company entered into an agreement
with Adidas of West Germany for manufacturing
and marketing of sports footwear, sports goods and
sportswear in India.
1997- India’s largest shoe company made a remark-
able turnaround for the year ended December 1996.
Entered into a marketing tie-up with Nike.
2003- A retailing alliance with Lee Cooper Shoes
and repositioned itself as a marketing firm.
2004- Appointed P M Sinha, former CEO of Pep-
si-Cola International South Asia as the Chairman.
2013- Bata India won the award for 'Most Admired
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
Large Format Multi Brand Footwear Retailer of the
Year' by the Images Shoes & Accessories Forum –
2013. Brand Equity recognized Bata into the 'Top
Most Trusted Brands' in November 2013.
Product Portfolio
Bata’s vision is “To make great shoes accessible to
everyone!” It offers footwear for all age groups. It
has over 2500 styles of footwear & accessories. Ba-
ta’s portfolio includes Boots, Formal Shoes, Casu-
al Shoes, Sandals, Bags, Belts and Wallets for men;
Closed Shoes, Sandals, Head Over Heels, Clutches,
Scarves, Handbags for women & school shoes for
kids.
Competitors
The footwear market in India is highly unorganized
with many local brands still dominating the market.
Paragon & Relaxo are the brands with lower product
prices & targeting the masses. Brands like Nike, Adi-
das and Reebok are the most famous in the metro
cities and urban India. In the formal shoe market,
Red Tape & Lee Cooper are leading brands. Puma is
the fastest growing shoe brand in India.
Advertising
Vintage BATA Ads
In 1929, Bata ads were simple and straight forward. It
contained little more than two shoes with their price
mentioned along with the name of the company. By
1935, not much was changed with the ads being sim-
ple and direct connecting with the consumers. Some
BEACON
6
October 2016
changes were made which were socially acceptable
like the depiction of more personal moments, such as
a woman in her bedroom sleeping on a comfortable
pair of Bata slippers. These ads appeared in ladies
magazines at times. After the Second World War, ad-
vertising undergone major changes and Bata kept up
with it. In 1948, Bata came up with a Swiss ad featur-
ing a kitten popping out of the top of a boot. In 1960,
Bata exploded the global market, adding many sales
outlets and factories all over the world. In the 1960s
the ad industry shifted its focus to more youthful
markets. Bata incorporated photography into its ads
to attract the younger generations.
During 1970s, Bata was at the forefront of fashion
both in terms of product styles and presentation of
its ads of chunky, platform shoes and psychedelic co-
lours. In 1980s, Bata’s focus was to promote lifestyle
branded products and came up with a series of cam-
paigns like the almost futuristic, high-tech look of
Marie Claire and Power Athletics ads appealing to
aerobics fans of the era.
For a few years, Bata did not come up with any effec-
tive promotional campaigns. They did not advertise
for a long time. Considering the rising competition
and behaviour of customers it was necessary for Bata
to get into advertising. Advertising was needed to
create top of the mind awareness not only to attract
new customers, but also to retain their old custom-
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
ers. For example, a Bata customer might want to buy
Relaxo slipper because of the advertisements or the
models used to display it. Bata had to put in more
on repeated exposure and take advantage of various
mediums to do the same.
Marketing Campaigns
“Where Life Meets Style”- Spring-Summer 2014
Marketing Campaign
Bata India launched its new marketing campaign
“Where Life Meets Style” in March 2014 for its en-
tire range of footwear, bags, glasses and accessories.
The campaign featured a 360-degree multimedia in-
tegration of TV commercials, cinema, print, radio,
and innovative outdoor, promotions, events and
digital platforms. The T.V commercial aired across
channels had been shot to capture a slice-of-life sit-
uation in the lives of people through the focus on
footwear. It used a unique technique of depicting
real life moments by showing the actions only from
the knee down. It included a group of students eager-
ly looking at their exam results, colleagues watching
a cricket match and young girls enjoying their ‘day
out’. The film showcases the leading brands in their
latest styles. The new campaign emphasizes fashion
and comfort of Bata shoes. It is a remarkable mile-
stone in Bata’s journey.
“Have we met”- Campaign for shoe-lovers
Bata tied up with Digital agency Section to launch
a digital campaign ‘Have we met’ around the theme
of nostalgia. It includes a microsite to extend online
dedicated engagement and reach to reconnect with
younger customers. It also has a short film that en-
acts the reunion of two lost friends through a pair of
shoes. Section developed a digital platform for users
to share a personal message to a friend and select a
BEACON
7
October 2016
pair of their preferred Bata shoe. It helps individuals
relive memories and reconnect with one another.
Bata Club
Bata Club is a loyalty program which offers great
rewards and privileges. Customers need to register
their names & phone numbers to become a member.
With every purchase at Bata stores, points equal to
bill amount get added to the account which you can
redeem at next purchase with Bata. Few other ben-
efits include new registration bonus, Birthday bo-
nus, Member’s sale day & Special products in store
at exclusive prices for members. The Bata club has
approx. 6.7 million members & is growing rapidly.
Repositioning
Bata had initially positioned itself as a family store
for all footwear and related products. Bata became a
need brand as it positioned itself as providing prod-
ucts catering to the needs of the middle class sections
of the society. Bata was loved by everyone in the fam-
ily. The brand had something for every member of
the household.
It came up with new brands like Marie Claire, Hush
Puppies and North Star. Bata was known as a man-
ufacturing company which produced footwear and
sold them. It wanted to change its image from a
manufacturing company to a marketing company. It
wanted to be placed in the market as a fashion con-
scious and lifestyle brand. It decided to become more
visible in shopping malls and create a shop-in-shop
experience in multi-branded stores. The compa-
ny also introduced international brands like Scholl,
Marie Claire, Bubble gummers, POWER, and North
Star.
During the last few years, Bata has focused on the
modernisation of factories & manufacturing pro-
cesses. Bata stores are being renovated to provide
world class store ambience & delightful shopping ex-
perience. Bata plans to open 30 new retail stores, 30
new franchise stores & 5 destination stores with kid’s
playing area, food court etc. every year.
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
To leverage the exponential growth of e-commerce
Bata started with e-commerce division. Along
with online business, e-commerce division focus-
es on tie-ups with reputed companies & banks like
HDFC, Samsung, Spice Jet, State Bank of India etc.
to increase the brand awareness & customer data-
base. The launch of new Bata mobile application has
strengthened its e-commerce business. Bata blog is a
style inspiration for the young audience & a channel
for online surveys & feedbacks.
Online Presence
Apart from its vast offline presence, Bata is present
online through its website bata.in and has its own de-
livery channel ‘Bata Home’. It has various categories
ranging from women’s section to men’s, section for
kids and different brands such as Angry Birds, Hush
Puppies, marie claire, Sunshine and many more. The
company has tie-ups with e-commerce sites such as
Snapdeal, Jabong, Junglee and Rediff. In 2014-2015,
its multi-channel business has performed very well
and is expected to continue the same with its prod-
ucts and service. To facilitate the shopping ease,
M-wallet service has been launched. The company
website www.bata.in has been re-launched where
customers can now their favourite products on so-
cial media. The company also came with ‘Click and
BEACON
8
October 2016
Collect’ where customers can shop online and get
their products delivered to the local Bata shops, this
would also help bring more customers to their shops.
Social Initiatives
Bata launched ‘Bata Children’s Program’ (BCP) in
2010 to help disabled children in the communities
where Bata is present. It has adopted schools in their
areas of operations as a part of this initiative. It has
carried more than 100 initiatives in 22 countries.
Computer labs are set up at BCP schools in Bataganj
and Gurgaon and were able to reach out to 150 girls.
It also came up with Each One Teach One campaign
where volunteers dedicate four to six hours every
month to teach both curricular extra-curricular ac-
tivities to underprivileged children. BCP came up
with Each One Feed One campaign with The Ak-
shaypatra Foundation, where the employees were
requested to donate Rs 750 and with this, they pro-
vided meals to 200 underprivileged children. Other
initiatives include Book Wall Campaign, Donation
of fans in schools, Health check- ups, Infrastructure
improvement in BCP schools.
STP Analysis
Segmentation:
Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of
consumers with different needs exist.
Based on Demographics
The demographic factors are age, Income, gender &
occupation. Bata offers products mainly to men &
woman above the age of 14, with limited products
for school kids.
Based on psychographic factors
Personal Activities like hobbies, social events (mar-
athon), sports, shopping and Personal interests like
fashion, styles are considered in psychographic fac-
tors. Bata being the mother brand covers all these
segments in their portfolio.
Target:
Target customer of Bata includes Price conscious
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
middle-class families, youth looking for affordable &
trendy products. It targets all the age groups & has
something for every member of the family, i.e. men,
women & kids.
Position:
Positioning is done in order to locate the brand in
the minds of the customers. The positioning is done
with respect to the brand and product portfolio. Bata
positions itself as a brand that offers comfortable
footwear & stylish accessories for the entire family at
an affordable price.
SWOT Analysis
The government of India has now allowed 100% For-
BEACON
9
October 2016
eign Direct Investment (FDI) in the footwear manu-
facturing industry, the proposed reduction in excise
duty on rubber sheets for soles & heels from 12.5& to
6%. Such steps by the government are beneficial for
sector growth. Rapid change in lifestyle creates huge
potential for footwear industry & Bata India with its
relentless efforts continues to be the market leader.
References
Ukessays
Bata India Ltd. Annual report 2015-16
world.bata.com
marketing-interactive.com
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
 INSURANCE
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

BEACON VOLUME 04
10
October 2016 ISSUE 10
Overview
The insurance industry in India consists of 52 com-
panies in all
• Life Insurance (24)
• General (Non-Life) Insurance (28)
On 6th January 2000, the President of India gave
his assent to the Insurance Regulatory and Develop-
ment Authority of India (IRDAI) Bill, which enabled
opening up of the insurance sector to private players.
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 has provi-
sioned for increasing the Foreign Investment Cap in
an Indian Insurance Company from 26% to 49% with
the safeguard of Indian Ownership and Control.
History
Segments of the industry
Distribution channels and other intermedi-
aries
• Intermediaries involved in distribution of insur-
ance products are agents, brokers, web aggrega-
tors, Common Service Centers.
• Intermediaries like surveyors and loss assessors
are involved in claim assessment of general in-
surance.
• Specialized intermediaries for health services
called Third Party Administrators (TPAs) op-
erate in Health insurance for issuance of policy
cards, for organizing cash less treatment facility
BEACON
11
October 2016
through network of hospitals, handling and set-
tlement of claims.
• Insurance Repositories are intermediaries intro-
duced recently to electronically maintain data of
insurance policies for ease in storage, retrieval
and servicing of insurance policies
Insurance Ombudsman
• Grievance redressal mechanism is provided for
in the insurance sector through the institution of
Insurance Ombudsman set up under the Redres-
sal of Public Grievance Rules, 1998.
• Complaints that can be taken are partial or com-
plete repudiation of claims and delay in settle-
ment, non-issuance of policy, dispute relating to
premium and interpretation of clauses in relation
to claim.
• If not satisfied, the policyholder may ignore the
award and go to the court, consumer forum etc.,
and if the customer consents, the insurer has to
implement the award unless it chooses to ap-
proach Court.
Market Size
The life insurance sector in India grew from $ 10.5
billion in FY-02 to $ 61.78 billion in FY-15. In this
period, the premium collected in life insurance ex-
panded at a CAGR of 14.7%.
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
The general insurance market grew from $ 2.6 billion
in FY-02 to $ 13.9 billion in FY-15. In this period, the
premium collected in non-life insurance expanded
at a CAGR of 13.8%. The number of policies issued
grew from 43.6 million in FY-03 to 126 million in
FY-15, at a CAGR of 9.2%
Insurance density in India grew from 3.57 in FY-05
to 11.23 in FY-15 at a CAGR of 12.1%. Insurance
penetration was 3.3% in FY15.
India is the biggest life insurance sector in the world
with close to 360 million policies. India’s insurance
market is expected to grow 4 times in terms of pre-
mium collected in the next decade. During this time,
life insurance market is deemed to cross $160 billion.
India's Insurance industry intends to reach penetra-
tion level of 5% by 2020.
India currently accounts for less than 1.5% of the
world’s total insurance premiums and about 2% of
the world’s life insurance premiums in spite of be-
ing the second most populous country. It is the 15th
largest insurance market across the globe with re-
spect to premium volume.
Drivers for the Insurance Industry
• Improving consumer interest in insurance and
healthcare
Healthcare facilities have improved with the cut-
ting-edge technology but so have the costs. It seems a
sensible choice to be insured to account for any such
BEACON
12
October 2016
future expenses. With a huge percentage of working
age population with disposable income, it also acts as
a tax-saving financial instrument.
Premium collected by Indian insurers is 3.30% of GDP in“
”FY 2014-15
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority -
• Infrastructure and manufacturing sector on the
way up
The ‘Make in India’ initiative will boost the manu-
facturing sector for all the industries. Consequently,
this will make the stakeholders insure their cargo and
properties. The infrastructure includes the construc-
tion of various amenities and facilities like dams,
highways and the likes. Despite a gloomy global out-
look, India has managed to maintain a good market
sentiment in the infrastructure sector.
• Travel industry upbeat
The tourism industry has benefited a lot with a weak-
ened Dollar and other currencies. More people than
ever are considering foreign destination for vaca-
tions. This complements the insurance sector since
every leg of travel and stay is insured including the
flights and other means of transportation. The pas-
senger traffic is surging in the upward path thus im-
proving the prospects of the insurance industry.
• Auto industry insurance surge
Insurance covers for all vehicles is not a new factor
contributing however it is worth noting that recent
flooding events in Chennai caused a spike in the in-
surance claims. However, it also made automobile
owners run for insurance cover to account for nat-
ural calamities.
Additionally, the insurance industry caters to an ever
increasing market of automobiles in India.
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
• FDI up from 26% to 49%
The non-life insurers’ market is an altogether dif-
Effective May 2015, the government liberalized FDI
ferent story with private players dominating up to a
in the insurance sector from the then existing 26% to
very large extent.
49%. This substantial increase in the capital foreign
investors can pump into the Indian market will defi- The comprehensive list of life and non-life insurers
nitely benefit this sector given how capital-intensive can be accessed at below link:
it gets. http://www.policyholder.gov.in/Meet_the_Insurers.aspx
According to IRDAI, the total FDI in insurance sector as on“ 2014 2015 2016
March 31, 2015, was about Rs.8,031 crore.” -ASSOCHAM (` Crore) (` Crore) (` Crore)
LIC* 1656 1823 2518
Major Players in the Insurance Industry ICICI Prudential 1566 1634 1650
Life Insurance Corporation of India has a lion’s share Bajaj Allianz 1024 876 878
SBI Life Insurance 740 820 861
in the pie. A 69% market despite numerous players HDFC Life Insurance 725 785 818
has been strongly based on its brand and credibility United India Insurance 527 300 200
Birla Sun Life 370 285 140
as a representative of the government. Reliance Nippon Life
358 135 197
Insurance
Max Life Insurance 435 414 439

)PAT for major players (Source: respective annual reports

As per section 28 of LIC Act, 1956, 95% of the profits are*
returned to policy holders through bonuses effectively
meaning the profits on the P&L statement are 5% of the
actual

News & Developments

• FDI limit hiked up to 49% from existing 26%

Paving way for FIIs to invest in India, the govern-

ment has taken another step towards progress.
With a substantial capital inflow, the insurance
sector can definitely attract more takers with in-
novative schemes and improved services ensur-
ing the incumbent leaders do not slack up.

• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana

As an initiative to improve insurance penetra-

BEACON VOLUME 04
13
October 2016 ISSUE 10
 tion, Government of India introduced the above
scheme wherein for a nominal premium of Rs.12
per annum, an individual is insured for maxi-
mum sum of Rs.2 lakh.
• Health insurance portability
Though not a latest update, this policy update has
remarkable implications with the consumer ben-
efited in terms of service provided by insurers.
All insurers must allow credit gained by the cus-
tomer for existing conditions (sum assured, pre-
miums, waiting period, etc.) if consumer decides
to switch the insurance company or the plan.
• IRDA (Issuance of Capital by General Insurance
Companies) Regulations, 2012
This amendment provides for an insurance com-
pany operating for more than 10 years to raise
capital through IPOs subject to fulfilling other
prerequisites.
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
• Existing Competitive Rivalry
With 52 players in the arena, the competition has
heated up with the consumer having multiple
choices to choose from. Though LIC of India has
the majority of the market share and despite any
unlikely changes in the incumbent’s outreach,
the private players are coming up with innovative
schemes to attract the customers.
• Threat of Substitutes
Though there exist a limited number of competi-
tors, the threat of substitution is substantial since
the insurance products are evenly matched in al-
most all aspects. It becomes easy for the consum-
BEACON
14
October 2016
er to switch insurers if he does not continue to
see value for his investments. This threat is com-
pounded by the fact that the regulator facilitates
such a move called “porting”
• Bargaining Power of Customers
The customer is indeed the king here since he
has tremendous bargaining power in terms of the
customizations he needs and the options he has.
Insurers today have agents servicing individual
customer requirements. This has made insurance
easily accessible to anyone.
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers here are the insurance distributors/
agents. They tend to have a lower bargaining
power than the customers partly because volume
of policies is an important target. Competitors
only make it more difficult for them to hold any
kind of advantage with the insurance companies
since policies can be substituted easily. With the
advent of E-Commerce, insurance can be ob-
tained without any interaction with agents. This
is another roadblock the suppliers face reducing
their weightage since insurance companies uti-
lize these alternative modes of communications
which are easier and cheaper.
• Threat of new competitors
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
 Licensing and regulations are strictly enforced by
IRDA making it a not-so-easily-accessible mar-
ket for private players to enter. An organization
with enough financial backing and a brand name
can establish itself but despite liberalization since
1991, very little has changed in this industry with
LIC of India being the most trusted and go-to
brand.
Investments in Insurance Sector
• Aegon has increased its investment in Aegon Re-
ligare Life Insurance Company Ltd. from 26% to
49%
• Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance increased its stake
in Reliance Life from 26% to 49% in a deal worth
Rs.2265 crore with total stake valued at Rs.8630
crore.
• Bupa group raised its stake in Max India Life In-
surance from 26% to 49% in a deal worth Rs.207
crore.
• France’s AXA invested Rs.1290 crore in Bharti
AXA Insurance to increase its stake by 23% to
49%
BEACON
15
October 2016
Conclusion
The insurance industry as we have today is dominat-
ed by LIC of India. It would definitely be a Herculean
task to displace it off the pedestal as its firmly placed
due to the legacy it carries and the people outreach
it has. Private players will find it difficult to sustain
in such choppy waters. The only approach as of now
they can adopt is to fend off the competition before
even considering to take on the industry leader.
From consumer perspective, the options have in-
creased and improved with customizations available
to suit individual requirements. This coupled with
an augmenting penetration of insurance for has en-
sured this sector progresses with time. It’s a bright
outlook to this industry despite the trying times for
the world economy with a sluggish growth.
References
IRDAI Annual Report 2014-2015, Insurance Sector in
India - IBEF, Indian Insurance Market, Insurance
Trends - policybazaar.com, Insurance Industry –
Challenges, reforms and realignment (E&Y), CRISIL
– ASSOCHAM Insurance Report
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
 MTV
EVENT REPORT
BRAND ANALYSIS
GUEST LECTURE

BEACON VOLUME 04
16
October 2016 ISSUE 10

Event Report - Guest Lecture
SIMCON organized a guest lecture by Devang Meh-
ta, Head & Senior VP, Wealth Advisory, at BNP Pa-
ribas on 4th of September, 2016. He is the alumni of
JBIMS from the 1996 batch with diploma in invest-
ment studies and has worked with top notch firms
like Anand Rathi Securities and Angel Broking­. The
lecture revolved around the discussion on evolution
of financial markets in the Indian economy. Mr. Me-
hta started the lecture by talking briefly about his ca-
reer in finance. He then discussed about the Indian
stock markets NSE and BSE, giving basic idea about
the need for stock markets, how BSE started in 1855
wherein 5 stockbrokers would sit under a banyan
tree in front of Town Hall in Mumbai which later
shifted to Dalal Street in 1874 and became an offi-
cial organization in 1875. BSE became the first stock
exchange to be recognized by Indian government in
1956 under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act.
In the year 1980 BSE moved to Phiroze Jeejeebhoy
Towers at Dalal Street in Fort, Mumbai which has
been home to the stock exchange till date.
Mr. Mehta then talked about the advent of Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that worked as a
regulator for securities market; he then talked in brief
about the Demat (Dematerialized) accounts which
are used to hold the shares electronically. Moving
ahead, he talked about fundamental and technical
BEACON
17
October 2016
analysis of the stocks and securities listed on a stock
exchange. The fundamental analysis also known as the
top down approach helps relate the fundamental fac-
tors to the performance of the company, the industry
or the economy and thus provides an analytical frame-
work which helps in decision making.
On the other hand technical analysis is basically the
study of the market carried out as a supplement to the
fundamental analysis. It is basically the study of varia-
tion of stock price based on its demand and supply in
the market and provides a simple and inclusive pic-
ture of the price of security. Sir then discussed about
the effects of stock markets on Indian economy, stat-
ing that if the stock markets do well then it creates a
sense of confidence about the direction of the econ-
omy. Sir also talked about negative interests rates in
ageing countries like Japan. The students found the
lecture beneficial and an engaging one where they
asked questions related to the topic and Mr. Mehta
answered them all. We thank Mr. Devang Mehta for
taking time out from his busy schedule and sharing
valuable knowledge with the batch.
Key Takeaways
Fundamental and Technical analysis
The fundamental and technical analysis is carried
out to predict the price of a security by studying the
factors affecting the economy, industries and compa-
nies. The fundamental analysis studies the effect of
economy, industry on a macro scale and microeco-
nomic factors such as company’s financial condition
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
and its management. The main objective is to deter-
mine the direction of national economy as it affects
the corporate profit, investor attitudes and expecta-
tions, which thus helps in investing at right time in
right security. Fundamental analysis is a three phase
analysis, which includes analyzing economy, indus-
try, and company. Economic analysis helps assess
economic situation of the nation, industry analysis
is done to gain insight on prospects of a group of in-
dustries and lastly, company analysis is done to ana-
lyze financial and non-financial aspects of the com-
pany to determine whether to invest in that company
or not. Fundamental analysis helps in making long
term investments, spotting the right company with
BEACON
18
October 2016
valuable assets, a strong balance sheet, stable earn-
ings, and staying power, and it also provides the
good understanding of the business & also key value
drivers within the company.
Technical analysis is directed towards predicting the
price of a security. The price at which a buyer and
seller settle a deal is considered to be the one precise
figure which synthesis, weighs and finally expresses
all factors, rational and irrational, quantifiable and
non-quantifiable and is the only figure that counts.
The most commonly used method for technical anal-
ysis is the Dow Theory. According to Charles Dow
“The market is always considered as having three
movements, all going at the same time. The first is
the narrow movement from day to day. The second is
the short swing, running from two weeks to a month
or more and the third is the main movement, cover-
ing at least four years in its duration”. It states that the
behavior of the stock is 90% psychological and 10%
logical. The Dow Theory only determines the direc-
tion of market and not the actual stock prices or the
future movements of the market.
One of the basic tools used in technical analysis is
charting. It is believed that stocks follow a particular
trend due to an inbuilt inertia until an opposite force
created by the demand-supply changes acts upon it.
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
 CONCEPT OF THE MONTH
BUG BOUNTY

BEACON VOLUME 04
19
October 2016 ISSUE 10
Concept of the Month – Bug Bounty
A Bug Bounty program is a challenge offered by com-
panies for reporting bugs and security lacunae with
their website or software. The individuals who point
out the vulnerabilities are recognised and awarded
with monetary prizes. Such programs ensure that the
company identifies and looks into the issues before it
gets exposed publicly.
Bug bounty programs have been implemented by gi-
ants like Apple, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft,
Reddit etc.
Origination and History
The original ‘Bugs Bounty’ program was created
by an employee of the Netscape Communications
named Mr. Jarrett Ridlinghafer. Mr. Ridlinghafer
recognized people who were interested in finding the
bugs in different browsers and discovered that many
of those were software engineers who were fixing the
bugs and publishing them on the ‘Netscape U-FAQ’
website or on the news forums along with the work-
arounds of these bugs.
Ridlinghafer thought that the company should lever-
age these valuable resources and drafted out a pro-
posal for the 'Netscape Bugs Bounty Program'. The
first official 'Bugs Bounty' program was launched in
the year 1995 and turned out to be a huge success.
Bug Bounties
Some of the Notable Bug bounty programs in the re-
cent years are as follows:
Facebook started paying researchers who report-
BEACON
20
October 2016
ed security bugs by issuing them custom branded
‘White Hat’ debit cards that can be loaded with funds
every time the researchers discover new vulnerabil-
ities.
In
2014, Facebook stopped issuing the debit cards.
Since it launched in 2011, Facebook has award-
ed around $4.3 million to a little more than 800 re-
searchers. The Facebook bug bounty program deter-
mines the payout based on the level of a bug's risk
than its complexity. In the year 2015, total amount
of $936,000 was rewarded to 210 researchers with an
average payout of $1,780. Recently, a 10 year student
from Helsinki has become the youngest recipient of
a $10,000 award under the program, after he found
vulnerability into the photo sharing application – In-
stagram.
United Airlines announced a bug bounty program
where the reward was given in the form of ‘free air
miles’. The reward was based on the basis of the com-
plexity of the bug. It did not include the flaws found
on aircraft such as avionics or in-flight wifi. Also, the
regulations stated that the researcher should not dis-
close the flaws to public or any third party.
Google announced a major change to its ongoing
Vulnerability Reward Program in the year 2013.
Previously, it used to cover Google products in its
program but the new program was expanded to in-
clude high-risk free software applications and librar-
ies primarily designed for networking or low-level
operating system functionality. Reward amounts for
qualifying bugs range from $100 to $20000.
Microsoft and Facebook partnered in 2013 for pro-
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
viding financial support to The Internet Bug Bounty
- a program designed to offer rewards for reporting
hacks and bugs for a wide range of softwares. The
softwares covered by the program include Adobe
Flash, Nginx, Ruby PHP, Ruby on Rails, OpenSSL,
Python, Perl Apache HTTP Server, Django and Pha-
bricator. This program assisted in harnessing the col-
lective intelligence of the security researchers to help
protect valuable customer data.
In 2016, US Department of Defence announced its
bug bounty program known as the ‘Hack the Pen-
tagon’ program. The program targeted public facing
websites and had paired up with HackerOne – a Sil-
icon Valley based firm who advised, operated and
executed the program. The program ran for duration
of 25 days and saw 1410 hackers submitting 138 le-
gitimate reports. HackerOne promptly paid $75,000
as rewards to the researchers.
Conclusion
While the use of ethical hackers to find bugs can be
very effective and organizations have been benefited
with such bug bounty programs, such programs can
BEACON
21
October 2016
also be controversial. Hackers can pose a threat of ex-
posing the vulnerability to the world if the developer
organization fails to respond promptly. Also, such a
program cannot completely eliminate the need of re-
search and inspection processes.
To limit this potential risk, some organizations are
offering closed bug bounty programs that require an
invitation. For example, Apple has limited bug boun-
ty participation to few researchers.
Bug bounty sponsors have found a way to make all
the searching and failing time cost free to the software
companies. Though they are in essence an extension
of security testing programs and are time saving and
relatively cost effective, companies should ensure ef-
fective implementation of such programs.
References:
History of Bug Bounties - BugCrowd, Microsoft Se-
curity: Security Vulnerability, Hack the Pentagon
Bug Bounty Cybersecurity Program: from idea to
successful results – HackerOne, 10-year-old gets
$10,000 bounty for finding Instagram vulnerability
| Ars Technica
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10
 OLA
CASE STUDY

BEACON VOLUME 04
22
October 2016 ISSUE 10
Introduction to case the company and hence their misbehavior
directly affects the brand image. Hence train-
Ola is India’s first and largest aggregator of cabs,it  is
ing them and teaching them to use technolo-
the result of brainstorming idea of 2 IITians Bhavish
gy was a major challenge.Further safety and
Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. They set up the firm in
quality of service was important. Following
January 2011 with its operation limited to Mumbai
was the tweet made by one of ola’s customer
only. Now it is the largest cab-booking service pro-
expressing inconvenience caused due to  Ola
vider in India and provides service in around 100
Cab’s personnels service.
cities .

Ola translates to ‘Hello’ in Spanish. Probably to in- Recovery strategy

dicate that their services are as easy and friendly as Hashtag campaigns
that, just like saying a ‘hello’.
Ola Cabs’ topical and continuous use of the hashtag
Ola integrates car transportation within the city onto has enabled it to become one of the most well
a technology platform, ensuring convenient, trans- known radio cab brands on social media accord-
parent and quick service fulfillment for the custom-
ers and driver partners. Customers can access Ola
on the web, through the mobile app or through the
customer service centre.

But Journey of Ola cabs was never so easy as there

were many challenges thrown by Uber. This is be-
cause Uber is a San Francisco based taxi aggregator
valued at $40 bn as compared Ola valuation of $2.5
bn. Uber has a war chest of $1.5 billion for interna-
tional expansion and has committed $400million to
grow and expand its services in India.

Challenges faced by Ola

• Failed ad campaign Creating brand aware-
ness is crucial during initial phase of any
product. Ola’s initial offline “ChaloNiklo”
brand campaign did not get desired results.
It did not utilize social media to target right
audience.
• Surge Pricing The reason given by aggrega-
tors for surge pricing is more demand. How-
ever It was believed the drivers may be play-
ing the system. Drivers concentrate in one
location, switch off their app, and create ar- ing to a report by Simplify360. Along with catchy
tificial scarcity. They use the second phones hashtag campaigns, their association with popular
to keep track on the rising prices. Once the events is also another reason for their high popu-
surge begins, they log back again. larity among social media users. For example, Ola
• Customer complaints Drivers are the face of ran the #AccesstoArmin campaign during Armin
BEACON VOLUME 04
23
October 2016 ISSUE 10
van Buuren’s performance at this year’s A State of chance from the dissatisfied client.
Trance.
• For winning the trust of a dissatisfied client,
understanding of the damage caused is im-
portant.

• Creativity hitting the direct cause help in con-

verting frustrated client into Brand Advocate.

• Customer’s tweet :-

Ola’s response:-

Mobile app awareness

• Facebook has designed a customized mobile

specific methodology by the name ‘App An-
alytics’, that enables apps to track and mea-
sure performance. It enabled Ola to track its
performance and make informed decisions
about reaching their customers.

• Olacabs is run by Mumbai-based ANI Tech-

nologies Pvt Ltd. Of the total, around four-
fifths of the bookings come from mobile.
The Other differentiators of Ola
• The meteoric growth of Ola cabs is due to
• Convenience - “Book within seconds and get
intensive use of high technology, namely use
instant confirmations. Easy online payments
of Google maps, fully automated operations,
or cash on delivery. Booking car rentals will
New security features in Apps ,Use of data
never be a headache again!”
analytics software, ease of payment (using
OlaMoney), tie-ups with clubs, sponsoring • Quality - “Our cars are audited for cleanli-
events. ness, safety and comfort. Our drivers are well
trained and reliable. Sit back and enjoy the
Customer centric approach
Ola experience!”
For any company to perform well it’s Customer sat-
• Control- “ We have clear and transparent
isfaction Index should always be on higher side. Ola
pricing listed online. Never haggle with driv-
followed below mentioned principles for the same-
ers again on payments and be confident and
• Immediate acknowledgment of the mistake assured of what you are being charged for!”
gives relief to the frustrated client.
• Further Taxi for Sure was acquired by Ola
• A genuine apology from the company in- for $200 million i.e., Rs 1200 crore in March
creases an opportunity of getting a second 2015 (Business Standard Reporter, 2015).
BEACON VOLUME 04
24
October 2016 ISSUE 10
Number crunch
• Ola's revenue is growing at an average of 30%
month on month (fastest in its league) and
at least 2000 cars get added on the platform
every month pan-India.
• Over 70% of the bookings come through
the mobile app! The rest significantly comes
through the call centre and a small number
via the website.
• Ola has raised ~$70mn through venture capi-
tal funds and has prestigious investors like Ti-
ger Global, Matrix Partners, Steadview Capi-
tal and Sequoia Capital on board.
Global Examples and Success Stories:
• Lyft is a privately held, San Francisco-based
American transportation network company.
The company's mobile-phone application fa-
cilitates peer-to-peer ride sharing by enabling
passengers who need a ride to request one
from available "community drivers".
BEACON
25
October 2016
• BlaBlaCar is a French startup building a com-
munity marketplace that connects drivers
with empty seats to passengers looking for
a ride. Car owners and ride-seekers sign up
as members of BlaBlaCar much like a social
network.
• Sidecar is a Transportation Network Compa-
ny that connects people for shared rides with
operations based in San Francisco.
Will Ola succeed or fail in the long run, only time
would tell us. Till then, we say, “Ole, Ole, Ola!”
(PS - Ole: A Spanish word used as a shout of approv-
al, triumph, or encouragement)
Bibliography :
SDMIMD | Honoring a Commitment, Digital Mar-
keting Training courses, Delhi School of Internet
Marketing, Chandigarh Institute of International
Marketing, Yourstory, Indian Advertising Media
and Marketing News, Analytics India Magazine
VOLUME 04
ISSUE 10