Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INDEX
WHAT IS MARKETING?
Marketing is the process by which a firm profitably translates customer needs into revenue.
“Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy
the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and
desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit
potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs
and promotes the appropriate products and services.” – Dr. Philip Kotler.
SALES VS MARKETING
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Needs
• Needs are basic human requirements
• They are states of felt deprivation for basic human requirements
• These may include:
i. Physical Needs: Food, clothing, shelter, clean air
ii. Social Needs: Belonging and affection
iii. Individual Needs: Knowledge and self-expression
• Generally, the products which fall under the needs category of products do not require apish.
The new OnePlus 7 has positioned its brand to meet the following 5 needs of consumers as felt
by them:
Stated Need: “I need a premium smartphone”
Real Need: “I need a smartphone with latest features at an affordable rate”
Unstated Need: “I need a smartphone with high safety and durability and good customer
service support from seller”
Delight Need: “A smartphone with inbuilt application subscriptions, and free extended
warranty”
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Wants
• Wants are need satisfiers; they are described in terms of objects that will satisfy needs
• Wants are shaped by culture, society and individual personality. Ex: A hungry person in
Australia may want a hamburger, chips and a cola while someone from Singapore may want
noodles and someone from the South Pacific region may want mango, coconuts and beans
• Thus, wants are not mandatory part of life.
• Companies must measure not only how many people want their product but how many are
willing and able to buy it
• Customers view products as bundles of benefits and choose products that give them the best
bundle for their money
Desire is the basic difference between wants and demands. A customer may desire
something but he may not be able to fulfil it.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations SELECT, BUY,
USE and DISPOSE OFF goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.
A consumer’s buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social and personal factors.
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SEGMENTATION
Segmentation is a practice that seeks out pieces of the total market that contain customers with
identifiable characteristics, as defined by income, age, personal interests, ethnic background,
special needs, and so forth. The point of segmentation is to break a mass market into submarkets of
customers who have common needs.
Why do we need segmentation?
Not all individuals have similar needs. Individuals have different needs based on various factors
which define them or their lifestyle like needs of men, women and kids differ from each other
completely, or the needs of married individuals would differ from bachelors or needs of people
from different countries will be different, when they are to be satisfied using various products and
services. Identifying these segments makes it possible to do two things:
(1) create goods and services that are better tailored to the needs of specific customers and
(2) focus marketing resources more efficiently
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DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
Based on demographic variables, the firm can decide which group they need to cater to.
The Demographics in consideration are: gender, age, family, income, educational background,
religion, socio economic status, race, etc.
AGE
Horlicks has segmented the market to cater to all the age groups separately. It has
3 major segments, i.e. Toddlers, growing children and adults.
GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
Categorizing customers according to the geographic units and customizing group requirements
accordingly. This type of marketing strategy can be explained with some examples:
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PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
The art of marketing is such that the marketer needs to highlight that part of the commodity that
appeals most to a customer and tell him the features of the product and how it will benefit him,
as a part of the advertising process.
For example
Patanjali
Patanjali correctly identified the change in behavioral
trends and shifting towards a healthier lifestyle. It appeals
the most to consumers through its “Ayurvedic, Herbal,
Non-chemical” feature. It advertises to show how the
herbal ingredients would benefit the consumer.
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew with its tagline of “Dar ke aage jeet hai” has
positioned itself as a synonym of people who are adventurous.
It appeals to the young enthusiasts who are willing to take on
challenges in life
BEHAVIOURAL SEGMENTATION
For example
DOVE Shampoo
Dove Shampoo comes in a large variety. Hair fall, Anti-dandruff, Soft & silky,
Damage repair, etc. are all examples of different hair problems that are
addressed by DOVE by segmenting the consumers basis their USAGE
patterns.
Classification of cities as a basis of segmentation:
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TARGETING
Target Marketing involves breaking a market into segments and then concentrating your
marketing efforts on one or a few key segments consisting of the customers whose needs and
desires are first identified and then attempted to be met by your product or service offerings. It
can be the key to attract new business, increasing your sales or profitability.
For example
Paper Boat
To enter into the saturated market of juices in India, paper boat had to
look for a unique strategy. The target group being already
overwhelmed with juices, emotional marketing was adopted, by
giving it a nostalgic touch via names and quotes. The target group was
offered, a fruit content rich drink option which could also connect
them to their traditional roots, and thereby attracting them towards
Paper Boat.
.
ZARA
Zara’s target market is young, price-conscious, and highly
sensitive to the latest fashion trends. They have an advantage
over traditional retailers because they do not define their target
by segmenting ages and lifestyles giving them a much broader
market. They segment their product line by women’s (60%),
men’s (25%) and the fast- growing children’s (15%)
department.
POSITIONING
Positioning is defined as the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy
distinctive place in the target market’s mind.
Positioning is all about ‘perception’. As perception differs from person to person, so do the
results of the positioning map e.g. what one perceives as quality, value for money in terms of
worth, etc. will be different to any other person’s perception. However, there will be similarities
in certain cases.
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For example
Elements of positioning:
2. Points of Parity (POP): Attributes similar to other products in the category. Points of parity
are important because customers expect basic offerings from a category. For example, when
purchasing a toothpaste, a customer will expect that it should have freshness as well as it tastes
well.
3. Points of Difference (POD): Attributes that differentiate the product from others in the same
category. The more the number of PODs, the better is the positioning. PODs should satisfy the
following criteria
Apple introduced the fingerprint scanner to unlock device in the iPhone models. This was a
POD until Samsung and all other manufacturers used the same technology to make it into a
POP, thus nullifying Apple’s unique POD
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MARKETING MIX
Its purpose is to make a marketing strategy for a new market or an existing market.
For a product marketing mix has 4 Ps
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Channels of Distribution:
1. Intensive Distribution: Intensive distribution mainly means distribution on a large scale and
displaying the product in as many ways and places as possible so that the seller sells in high
volume due to large scale distribution. The chosen level of distribution generally depends on
different factors such as the production capacity, the size of the target market, pricing and
promotion policies as well as the seasonal requirement of the product by the end user.
Intensive distribution is most commonly used when the product is a very common product in
the market and there are many different alternatives available, for example, cigarettes, alcohol,
soft drinks, soaps etc.
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General Trade
General trade is associated with a spread-out distribution network of small retailers, dealers,
stockists, wholesalers, and distributors. It maintains inter-personal relations between the
customers and the retailers. Erratic demand leads to quick and ad-hoc orders which put a strain
on the schedule planning and last mile delivery for the distributors.
Modern Trade
Modern trade includes the larger players such as supermarket chains, mini -markets (Indonesia),
hypermarkets, etc. The customer-seller interaction is not as personal or regular as that in general
trade. It involves a more planned and organized approach to distribution and logistics
management.
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Customer
interaction Personal (retailer hands out the products to Customer can pick and choose the items
the customer) and then proceed to check-out.
Order
placement
Based on current stocks Strategically planned to meet
promotional demands
Product
range
Limited Extravagant
On-time
deliveries
Comparatively lower focus Comparatively higher focus
Order
fulfilment Must be specific to pre-decided
time Can be accommodated at different time- slots (missing which might
times raise a penalty on the distributor)
Economies
of scale
Goods traded on MRP Retailers can absorb cost and give
promotional discounts to drive purchases
Credit
cycle
Short Long (customized)
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PRICE
Total Customer Benefit is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic,
functional and psychological benefits customers expect from a given market offering
because of the product, service, people and image.
Total customer cost is the complete packet or fees a customer expects to pay in the
researching, buying, obtaining and maintaining of a given product or service including
monetary, time, energy, and psychological costs.
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For example
While buying a car, the expected reactions from family and friends also
become a part of benefits or gain. The customer evaluates whether the car
would be able to provide whatever he/she is looking for. Whether the car
would provide the comfort and the usability. Also, for many customers the
perceived value would also include the mileage a car, the opportunity and the
monetary cost as well.
Can you think of the factors that you considered while deciding to buy your last smart phone?
PRODUCT – Benefits
Products provide benefits, and it is for these benefits that they are bought by customers. These benefits
may be classified into three types:
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Go-to-Market Strategy
A go-to-market strategy (GTM strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a company will reach
customers and achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of a GTM strategy is to provide a
blueprint for delivering a product or service to the end customer, considering such factors as
pricing and distribution. A GTM strategy is somewhat like a business plan, although the latter is
broader in scope and considers such factors as funding.
EXTENDED P’s
In case of a service 3 more Ps are added to the marketing Mix, together they make 7 Ps for an
extended marketing mix of a service.
1. Product
2. Price
3. Place
4. Promotion
5. People
6. Physical Evidence
7. Process
People
All companies are reliant on the people who run them from front line Sales
staff to the Managing Director. Having the right people is essential because
they are as much a part of your business offering as the products/services you
are offering.
Processes
The delivery of your service is usually done with the customer present so
how the service is delivered is once again part of what the consumer is
paying for.
Physical Evidence
Almost all services include some physical elements even if the bulk of what
the consumer is paying for is intangible. For example, a hair salon (using all
L’Oréal Professional products) would provide their client with a completed
hairdo and an insurance company would give their customers some form of
printed material. Even if the material is not physically printed (in the case of
PDFs) they are still receiving a “physical product” by this definition.
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4P Analysis of KitKat
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4 A’s
Poor management as a consequence of not knowing what drives consumers is behind the majority
of marketing failures. Consumer knowledge is a much more reliable route to success. This
customer-centric marketing management framework emphasizes on the most important consumer
values – Acceptability, Affordability, Accessibility, and awareness – which is dubbed as the four
A’s.
This is based on the four distinctive roles that consumers play in the marketplace – seeker, buyer,
payer, and user.
The 4 As can also easily be related to the traditional 4 Ps.
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Acceptability Affordability
Came up with a new product, Colgate Quantity that Colgate offered consumer
Ayurvedic Toothpowder targeting rural rich was much higher than the competitor at
and consuming class. the same price. Price was also set low for
market penetration.
Came up with a sachet of tooth powder for Current Price: 50 gm – Rs. 20
rural population who buy in smaller lots.
Availability Awareness
Tying up with initiatives like E- Choupal Colgate created awareness by melas, door
and Disha to strengthen distribution to door selling, haats, sampark campaign,
network. vans, free dental checkups, free samples.
To focus more on customer’s wants and needs we can use the 4 C’s
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Product Line
A product line is a group of products within the product mix that are closely related, either
because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed
through the same types of outlets or fall within given price ranges.
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In PUSH; uses the manufacturer’s sales force, trade promotion money, or other means to
induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell product to the end users. This strategy is
appropriate when there is low brand loyalty, brand choice is made in the store, the product is
an impulse item and the benefits are well understood.
In a pull strategy the manufacturer uses advertising, promotion and other forms of
communication to persuade consumers to demand the product from intermediaries, thus
inducing the intermediaries to order it. This strategy is appropriate when there is high brand
loyalty, high involvement and the consumers choose the brand before they go to the
store.
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Parameters explaining Push and Pull Marketing
PULL PUSH
Advertisements: Radio, TV, Print Ad, Sales promotion: Trade promotions - Buy 1
Online Get 1 free
PR & Publicity: Non-paid, online blogs, Personal Selling : Face to face sales
press releases, etc.
Events and Experiences: Mall activations Direct to Consumer: Tele marketing
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PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
PLC describes the various stages that a product goes through from the time it was initially thought
of until it is finally removed from the market.
Profit Curve
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Stage 2: Introduction Stage (Phase 1: Introduction)
This is the stage where products are introduced to the market. Companies either create a new
product market or they enter with breakthrough or they come up with competitive products to the
existing products. This stage is characterized by high marketing costs since the company invests a
lot in creating awareness for the product. Sales growth is slow in this stage due to which the
company experiences huge losses during this period. Due to the inability to continuously sustain
losses, the failure at this stage is the highest.
Stage 3: Growth
This stage is marked by a sharp increase in sales and the product becomes profitable in this stage.
Company spends on marketing to strengthen market share and capture market share. This stage
also experiences competition from new entrants who now see value in entering the segment. This
stage also experiences the highest profits.
Stage 4: Maturity
This stage sees stagnation in profits and the sales after growing for a certain period start going
down. Companies often spend a lot on innovation and promotions to sustain this stage as long as
possible. This is also a stage that is characterized by strong competition since the segment is now
an established one. A product might be in this stage for months or for decades.
Stage 5: Decline
This is the stage when players start moving out of the segment because it has been replaced by
better and more lucrative alternatives. Companies reduce their marketing spends and do not invest
in innovations and the product sells by itself. The sales in this stage continuously decrease until
the product goes obsolete.
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Product Life Cycle Extension
PLC extension is a way for firms to compete for sales and market share. This can take place in a
number of ways:
Increase use of the product among current users
Obtain more varied use among current users
Identify new users
Bring in product line extension
BRAND EXTENSION
Brand extension is a method used by companies to launch a new product by using an existing
brand name. Brands Extensions fall into general categories:
Benefits:
• Allows company to leverage its existing customer base and brand loyalty to increase profits
and promote new products with reduced promotional costs because the new lines or brands benefit
from being part of an established name
• Achieves success much quicker than it would have as an original brand
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Disadvantages of brand extension:
• Brand dilution: It occurs when consumers start thinking less of the brand. If a firm launches
extensions consumers find inappropriate, they may question the brand integrity or become
confused or even frustrated.
E.g. Tata Nano being launched as a “cheap” vehicle hit the positioning of Tata Motors hard.
• Brand confusion: Line extensions may cause the brand name to be less strongly identified with
one product.
E.g. By getting into powdered milk, soups and beverages, Cadbury ran the risk of losing its more
specific meaning as a chocolate and candy brand
• Cannibalization: Consumers may switch to extensions from parent-brand offerings, hence
cannibalizing the brand sales.
Apple introduced iPhone which include the features of iPod and thereafter
started its semi-yearly product launches introducing iPhone 4S within a
year of launching iPhone 4. According to Walter Isaacson’s interview of
Steve Jobs, one of his business rules was to never be afraid of cannibalizing
yourself. “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will,” he said.
ATTACKS
Attacks are aggressive marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness and respond to
competitors' marketing strategies. Sometimes, meek campaigns and responses don't generate any
buzz and companies need to get aggressive and create unique campaigns that stay in the minds of
consumers to remain competitive.
Frontal Attack
Attacker matches its opponent’s product, advertisement, price and distribution. There are different
types of frontal attacks:
Pure frontal attack: It involves matching the competitors in all aspects of marketing
Limited frontal attack: It involves attacking in specific customer segments
Price based frontal attack: Price attributes are matched by the competitors
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Flank Attack
This type of attack targets weak spots or gaps. They can be geographic gaps (where competition
product or distribution is weak) or product gaps (when competition product is not meeting some
specific needs).
An example would be H&M opening stores across metro cities, tier 1, tier 2 cities in 18 months
compared to Zara’s 16 metro and tier 1 cities since 2010. This led it to more than double its sales
in 2017.
An example for product gap would be Dabur entering the beverage market through its Real fruit
juice and entering a space that hadn’t been occupied by Coca Cola yet.
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Guerrilla Attacks
These consist of small, intermittent attacks, conventional and unconventional attacks to
embarrass competition which includes selective price cuts, intense promotional blitzes and even
legal actions.
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BCG Matrix
The BCG matrix (or Growth-Share Matrix), is a planning tool used to evaluate the strategic
position of a business brand portfolio and its potential. It classifies business brand portfolio into
four categories on the basis of industry attractiveness (growth rate of that industry) and
competitive position (relative market share).
The BCG analysis helps the company in deciding which entities in the business portfolio are
actually profitable and which are not. This helps businesses identify what it should concentrate on
and what gives it a competitive advantage over others.
Relative market share: Represented by the horizontal axis. Higher market share results in higher
cash returns. The mid-point is generally set at 1.0.
Market growth rate: Represented by the vertical axis. Higher market growth rate might lead to
higher returns in future, but this requires investment to stimulate further growth. So, this would
lead to higher cash usage.
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Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix also known as the Ansoff product and market growth matrix is a marketing
planning tool which usually aids a business in determining its product and market growth. This
is usually determined by focusing on whether the products are new or existing and whether the
market is new or existing.
The matrix shows four strategies you can use to grow and analyze the risks with each.
Market Penetration
• This involves increasing market share within existing market segments. This can be achieved
by selling more products/services to established customers or by finding new customers within
existing markets.
• The risk involved in its marketing strategies is usually the least since the products are already
familiar to the consumers and so is the established market.
Example: ITC has a strong presence in the cigarette industry and attempts to penetrate the
market further.
Product Development
• Product Development involves developing new products for existing markets. It involves
thinking about how new products can meet customer needs more closely and outperform the
products of competitors.
• It can also involve the modification of an existing product so that it can appeal more to the
already existing market.
• It is slightly riskier, because you're introducing a new product into your existing market.
Example: ITC introduced ready-to-eat gourmet cuisine ‘Kitchens of India’ which specialises in
bringing to life age-old Indian dishes from across the country, especially from the gourmet
cuisines of Dum Pukht, Bukhara and Dakshin. ITC developed this new product for an existing
RTE market.
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Market Development
• This strategy entails finding new markets for existing products. Market research and further
segmentation of markets helps to identify new groups of customers.
• This strategy assumes that the existing markets have been fully exploited thus the need to
venture into new markets.
• There are various approaches to this strategy, which include: New geographical markets, new
distribution channels, new product packaging, and different pricing policies.
Example: ITC's Agri Business Division, has conceived e-Choupal, an initiative by ITC to link
directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture
products. This will help develop the market in the rural sector.
Diversification
• This involves moving new products into new markets at the same time.
• It is the riskiest strategy among the others as it involves two unknowns, new products being
created and the business does not know the development problems that may occur in the
process. Additionally, you're introducing a new, unproven product into an entirely new market
that you may not fully understand.
• There are two types of diversification
• Related diversification: This means that the business remains in the same industry in which it is
familiar with.
• Unrelated diversification: In this, there are usually no previous industry relations or market
experiences. One can diversify from a food industry to a mechanical industry for instance.
Example: Coca Cola is using a number of strategies including introduction of new products
in existing markets and introducing products in new segments to increase its market share.
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• Whether or not a business can be profitable, based on the level of competition within a certain
industry.
• How does your competition’s action, changes your current bottom line and future planning?
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Threat of Substitutes
• When close substitute product exists in a market, it increases the likelihood of customers
switching to alternatives in response to price increases.
• In order to discover these alternatives, one should look beyond similar products, which are
branded differently by competitors. Instead, every product that serves a similar need for
customers should be taken into account.
• This reduces both the power of suppliers and market attractiveness.
Rivalry among existing competitors
• The main driver is the number and capability of competitors in the market.
• Many competitors, offering undifferentiated products & services reduce market attractiveness.
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Billboard Ads
Air Asia’s billboards were put up across various metros in India to attract
travelers with the low-priced flights to Phuket, Thailand
McDonald’s has conceived an astute way of using its branding to lead commuters into
its outlets, by sharing bits of its famous golden arches upon select outdoor ad buys. The
campaign is a playful example of how the arches are recognizable, even when the
consumer only sees a portion of the logo.
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Worldwide Breast Cancer, a global charity focused on early detection of breast cancer, had
their work cut out for them, touching on a very sensitive topic for many women: checking
for signs of cancer. They wanted to find a way to build awareness of the importance of
checking while alleviating some of the anxiety or fear around it.
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The advent of social media has blurred the ‘line’ segregating the marketing
techniques
Companies now use an integrated approach involving both ATL and BTL and it is
called Through The Line (TTL)approach
Allows brands to engage with a customer at multiple points
Delivers both a wide reach and a focus on conversions
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Launch of IGTV
The app is designed for users to upload and watch long-form vertical video
(up to 1 hr in length). Featuring content from various Instagram 'creators', the
app has been released both as a standalone and embedded Instagram app.
Like YouTube, the app will likely generate revenue for the brand through
advertising.
Marketing is NOT JUST advertising - it includes ALL the elements of the marketing
mix (4 or 7Ps).
Promotion is NOT JUST advertising - it includes ALL the elements, such as PR and
direct selling.
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Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or
how, it sits in customers’ minds.
It requires an organizational commitment.
It is not something that is constantly changed.
At the same time, it is important to regularly monitor the desirability, deliverability and
differentiability of the brand’s POPs and PODs in the marketplace to understand how
the positioning might have to evolve or rarely replaced.
When analyzing potential threats posed to the brand positioning by competitors three
high level variables are useful:
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BRAND EQUITY
Brand Equity is the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable
name as compared to its generic equivalent. Companies can create brand equity for their
products by making them memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability.
Mass marketing campaigns can also help to create brand equity.
Availability
Association Preference
BRAND
EQUITY
Familiarity Awareness
The additional money that consumers are willing to spend to buy iPhone X rather
than a Moto G5 s plus is an example of brand equity.
Starbucks’ customers choose its brand of coffee over others both because of its
quality and the kind of personalized experience it offers. A customer really likes it
when their name is called out once the order arrives. Starbucks is able to build an
emotional connect with the consumers. Also, it remains the largest roaster and
retailer of Arabica coffee beans and specialty coffees. Therefore, due to the brand
equity, consumers are ready to pay a premium for the coffee.
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1. Brand Revitalization
Focus to capture lost sources of brand equity and identify and establish its new sources. This
may include brand modification or brand positioning. In short it is to make a brand
comeback.
In the early 2000s, Starbucks was expanding very fast. But, the
quality of service couldn't keep up with its rapid expansion. Also, by
investing in non-coffee-related products, Starbucks was diluting
its brand. By 2008, Starbucks was in dire straits.
In the late '90s, LEGO expanded their brand via new, innovative
product designs but it turned out that these new designs had never
actually resonated with their target audience: kids.
So, when Jorgen Vig Knudstorp took over as CEO in 2004, he took a
new approach: Ask the kids what they want. They discovered kids
didn't want to play with pre-built action figures. They wanted to
build. So, LEGO got rid of all those new, super-fancy pieces, and
made sure they were creating what kids actually wanted.
In 2015, LEGO became the second biggest toy company in the
world.
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2. Brand Reinforcement
Focus on maintaining the brand equity by keeping the brand alive among both the existing
and new customers.
A brand needs to be carefully managed, so its value does not depreciate. Brand leaders of 70
years ago that remain leaders today — companies such as Amul, Nirma washing powder,
Parle-G, Coca Cola — only do so by constantly striving to improve their products, services
and marketing. Marketers can reinforce brand equity by consistently conveying the brand’s
meaning in terms of:
(1) What products it represents, what core benefits it supplies, and what needs it satisfies
(2) How the brand makes products superior, and which strong, favorable and unique brand
associations should exist in consumers’ minds.
The Dancing girl of Nirma was created 44 years ago but she is still
seen in Nirma advertisements every day. A little girl in a frilly white
dress twirls her way into a pack of detergent to the tune of a catchy
jingle. This petite mascot that appeared in every commercial back
then was none other than Nirma Group founder Karsanbhai Patel's
daughter
The Amul girl was created in 1966. Half a century later, she is still
seen in witty advertisements every day. The ads funnily address
pressing issues, yet are able to evoke nostalgia for one of India's
most loved mascots.
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Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or
how, it sits in customers’ minds.
It requires an organizational commitment.
It is not something that is constantly changed.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The theory was proposed by Michael Porter in 1985. Competitive advantage occurs when an
organization acquires or develops an attribute or a combination of attributes that allow it to
outperform its competitors. It is the ability to perform at a higher level than others in the same
market or industry. There are four strategies that can be followed to achieve a competitive
advantage.
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DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the marketing of products or services using digital
technologies, mainly on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and
any other digital medium that may or may not require the internet. It consists of search engine
optimization, search engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, e- commerce
marketing, social media optimization, email direct marketing, etc.
Viral Viral
Digital
Content
Online
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EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
Experiential marketing, sometimes used interchangeably with “live marketing” or “event
marketing,” is a marketing strategy that engages consumers using branded experiences. These
experiences could include an event, a part of an event, or a pop-up activation not tied to any
event. Rather than looking at consumers as a passive entity in marketing, this branch believes
that consumers should be involved in the production and co-creation marketing programs,
developing relationship with brand.
For example- OnePlus India
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Social media marketing is a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social networking
websites as a marketing tool. The goal of SMM is to produce content that users will share
with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure and broaden customer
reaches. This form of marketing is driven by word- of-mouth, meaning it results in earned
media rather than paid media.
For example- Volvo Super Bowl Contest #VolvoContest
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GUERRILLA MARKETING
Guerrilla Marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on low-cost unconventional marketing
tactics that yield maximum results. The original term was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his
1984 book ‘Guerrilla Advertising’.
In other words, guerrilla marketing is the act of executing an unusual or unexpected marketing
activity in a common, everyday place in order to generate a buzz for products or services. The
main point of guerrilla marketing is to get your business's name in front of as many people as
possible in an unexpected way. Guerrilla marketing is usually a low or no- cost form of
marketing that can reap substantial profits if implemented correctly.
Thus, it is a marketing tactic in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional
interactions in order to promote a product or service. Guerrilla marketing is different than
traditional marketing in that it often relies on personal interaction, has a smaller budget, and
focuses on smaller groups of promoters that are responsible for getting the word out in a
particular location rather than through widespread media campaigns.
For instance, (clockwise from top left), Adidas opened up stores that were shaped liked their shoe
boxes to attract customers; Axe creatively used the exit signs to demonstrate its position as a
deodorant that helps men attract women; Marvel Studios placed giant hammers on the streets to
advertise for Avengers; Duracell placed torches at places to create an image of it emitting light.
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From top left, clockwise: Zomato (Conscience), Mentos: Dimaag Ki Batti (Humour), Tata
Tea: Jaago Re (Self Awakening), Royal Enfield: Himalayan (Travel Emotion), Ponds: Googly
WooglyWoosh (Happiness) Happydent White (Humour), Indian Army: Live a Life Less
Ordinary (Pride and Motivation), Maggi: Miss You Maggi (Nostalgia), Coca Cola: Ummedon
Wali Dhoop/Reasons to Believe (Trust), Fortune Oil: Maa Ki Haath Ka Khana (Family
Emotion), Maruti Suzuki: India Comes Home (Homecoming Emotion), Fevicol (Humour)
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FADS
A Fad is an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is
short-lived; a craze.
• Fads can be a powerful influence over consumer purchases and can even move entire
industries in a new direction, at least for a time
• Riding the wave of a fad can get a company big revenue relatively quickly. It can also
leave the marketers stranded when the fad inevitably ends
• Fads can disappear just as quickly as they begun, and having an escape route is one way to
eliminate the dangers of being left with piles of unused inventory
One of the major Fads that arose during the recent times is the Pokemon Go.
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality mobile game developed and published by
Niantic. The game has crossed 1 billion downloads worldwide as of February
2019 and has 147 million monthly active users as of May 2018. As of December
2018, the game has grossed over $3 billion in worldwide revenue.
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TRENDS
• Trends don’t skyrocket and then crash in popularity. Trends are in it for the long haul, so
they tend to rise in popularity more slowly
• Trends have identifiable and explainable rises that are driven by audience needs and
demonstrated in cultural shifts
• It has a sense of permanence and place. Trends point to the future as much as they do the
present
MEGATRENDS
It is slow to form, and once in place, influences us for some time- between 7 and 10 years or
longer.
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Marketing Plan: It is a document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the
marketplace and indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. A marketing
plan focuses on winning and keeping customers; it's strategic and includes numbers, facts and
objectives. A good marketing plan spells out all the tools and tactics you’ll use to achieve
your sales goals. It’s your plan of action—what you’ll sell, who'll want to buy.
Situation Analysis: Gather data on current sales, market share, cost to company. Analyze
your product’s features and decide how they distinguish your product from its competitors.
Make your situation analysis a succinct overview of your company’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats.
Determine Target Market: List anything and everything about the ideal customer. This
includes basic demographic information, such as gender, age, sex, family composition,
earnings and geographic location— as well as lifestyle. Gather relevant customer traits such
as are they conservative or innovative? Leaders or followers? Timid or aggressive?
Traditional or modern? Introverted or extroverted? How often do they purchase what I offer?
In what quantity?
Set Goals: Set measurable goals depending on current situation and ambitions. Goals can
range from lofty and grandiose (such as doubling sales or increasing market share) to smaller,
more bite- sized ambitions (like getting 1000 new Instagram followers on your brand’s
account or starting a blog for your business).
Distribution Plan: Think through different ways in which you might be able to reach
customers and document them in this section of your marketing plan. The distribution plan
should provide details on the buying method preferences. For example, will customers
purchase directly from you on your website? Will they buy from distributors or other
retailers?
Develop Marketing Communication Strategies: Define the marketing methods and decide
upon the advertisement method, using Internet marketing, direct marketing, or public
relations?
Depending on the target audience, you will need to pick the best marketing methods to
explain, teach, and promote how your product or service stands out above other competitors.
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Set a Budget: Stay focused on marketing related activities. Chalk out a plan and decide the
budget allocation on marketing and promotion throughout the next year, and the cost of the
item. Most importantly, also decide the source of these funds.
All these models assume the buyer passes through cognitive, affective and behavioral stages.
Moving from step to step in these models, one loses some percent of prospects. Analyzing this
structure helps one understand the root cause of an underperforming communication
(advertising/marketing) campaign.
AIDA MODEL
AIDA is an acronym used in marketing and advertising that describes a common list of events
that may occur when a consumer engages with an advertisement.
Attention
Typical promotion includes commercials, print ads, billboards, contests, etc. Advertisements
are designed to occupy the mind space of the potential customer. Every major medium is used
to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video
games, the Internet and billboards.
Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other
organization. These advertisements expose people to the product’s existence.
Example: Celebrity endorsement by Dabur
By associating with names like Amitabh Bachchan, M. S. Dhoni etc Dabur intrigues its
customers and gets their attention. Dabur invested Rs.150 crore just on the advertising of Real
“Fruit Juice” and “Real Active”.
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Interest
By demonstrating the advantages and benefits, potential customer interest rises. To boost
sales, it may include an advertising campaign, increased PR activity, a free- sample campaign,
offering free gifts or trading stamps, arranging demonstrations or exhibitions, setting up
competitions with attractive prizes, temporary price reductions, door-to-door calling,
telemarketing, and personal letters on other methods. This stage involves short-term
incentives to encourage buyers to purchase a product.
Example: A temporary reduction in the price is given to consumer during some festival
session by Dabur foods. Sometimes there are price pack deals where the packaging offers a
consumer a certain percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25 %
extra). Dabur also gives a gift with purchase to increase interest (for example a glass,
spoon etc.)
Desire
After the potential customers find your product interesting, at some point, there’s a shift in
their mind. It’s about that moment of the shift, from intellectual curiosity to making the
decision “I want that for myself.”
Dabur tries to convince customers that they want and desire the product and that it will
satisfy their needs. If there is a need to stay healthy and fit, the person will desire a Dabur
product to satisfy this need. It has developed a temptation among consumer that they
really need these products, to pursue healthy and carefree life.
Action
Once you’ve stirred up enough desire to get your prospect thinking about taking action, it’s
time to close the deal. This focuses primarily on using a powerful call to action. Calls to
action are simple statements that let readers know what you want them to do next. For
example, buy a product, sign up for a newsletter, watch a video, or share your tweets.
There is a need to make the customer to take action and buy their product. This will reflect in
sales. Because of action, 2.5 crore Hajmola tablets are consumed daily in India, Dabur Amla is
the largest hair oil brand in India with 35 million consumers, one in every three fairness bleach
consumers uses Fem and Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest-selling nutraceutical in the
country.
Purchase Funnel
The purchase / purchasing funnel is a model which describes the theoretical customer journey
from the moment of first contact with your brand to the ultimate goal of a purchase.
This model is important when marketing your business as it provides a method of
understanding and tracking the behavior of an average customer throughout the sales process.
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The traditional marketing funnel revolved around awareness, interest, and desire. Customers
had to be aware that a kind of product existed and had to be interested in obtaining the product.
They also needed desire to actually make the purchase.
There are two major differences between the traditional marketing funnel and the digital
marketing funnel.
The first is that customers experience the funnel in a different way. Before the internet,
customers tended to experience the marketing funnel in the same order. Now, customers can
experience stages of the funnel out of order, or even skip phases entirely. People demand a more
customized experience, and the marketing funnel has adapted to that demand.
The second major difference is an increased focus on the brand/customer relationship.
Customers have become more aware of marketing and being “sold to,” so brands have to work
harder to ensure that their interactions with customers are positive, authentic, and valuable.
The digital marketing funnel goes beyond the purchase state
Engagement
This stage of the digital marketing funnel is concerned with ensuring that customers’
interactions with your brand are positive and that they’re open to future interactions.
Many brands use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to engage with potential
customers.
Education
It is specifically, helping potential customers realize that they have a problem that you can
solve for them.
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Example, potential user might not even know that automation, drones, and robotics could
increase efficiency on a job site; the education stage is about identifying that pain point.
Research
At this point, marketing still isn’t focused on selling a product, but rather on helping
customers identify how they can benefit from solving the problem.
Evaluation
Customers may be looking at multiple competing solutions to their problem, so your focus
should be on showing customers why your product is their best solution.
Justification
The justification stage is about finding ways to overcome objections, obstacles, or inertia.
Perhaps the customer isn’t the one with the ability to make buying decisions. Maybe the
customer is simply fine with the status quo, and solving the problem isn’t a high priority.
Provide customers with reasons why it is a priority or with information they can use to
convince those with buying power.
Purchase
The purchase stage is all about the sale. Make sure customers are comfortable with the
purchase, that you’ve answered all their questions, and that they’re confident in the value your
product will provide for them.
Adoption
Adoption, the first post-purchase stage of the digital marketing funnel, necessitates making
good on your promises, so that the customer has a good experience with your product.
Retention
Satisfied customers become repeat customers. To retain customers, give them help when they
need it and provide them with educational materials on how to get the most out of your
product.
Expansion
This might mean selling customers additional products or services, upgrading their service, or
getting them interested in a completely different product that solves a different problem. The
key to reaching this stage is helping the customer see your brand as dependable and an
authority on the products you sell and the problems you solve.
Advocacy
Extremely satisfied customers can help you expand your customer base further. They become
brand advocates and do part of the work of selling your product to their peers,
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Adoption of a new idea, behaviour or product does not happen simultaneously in a social system,
but rather it is a process whereby some people are more suited to adopt innovation than others.
Research has shown that people who adopt innovation early have different characteristics to those
who adopt innovation later on- they have different motives for adopting or resisting. When selling
an innovation to various target markets, it is important to understand the characteristics of each of
them.
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Customer Lifetime Value is the projected revenue a customer will realize during his/her lifetime
after deducting the costs.
With a CLV calculation, you’re learning, in essence, what your average customer is “worth” to
your company. It is useful metric used by marketing managers especially at a time of acquiring a
customer. Ideally, lifetime value should be greater than the cost of acquiring a customer. Some
also call it a break-even point.
Conceptually, this is what it means:
For example, let's say you run a Health Club where customers pay Rs 1000 per month and the
average time that a person remains a customer in your club is 3 years. Then the lifetime value of
each customer is (according to the formula above):
Rs 1,000 per month x 12 months x 3 years = Rs 36,000.
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Once we calculate CLTV we know how much the company can spend on paid advertising such as
Facebook ads, YouTube ads, Google Adwords etc. in order to acquire a new customer. CLV helps
you make important business decisions about sales, marketing,
product development, and customer support. For example:
Surrogate Marketing
Surrogate marketing uses the marketing campaign of a brand or product, to convey a message
which is related to another brand or product. This is done due to various reasons. Primary reason
is to circumvent the ban on advertising for a particular type of product(s).
Example: This is an advert in India for Club glasses manufactured by Carlsberg. A company
which is proud about its beer quality and states that it is gives the best beer in the world is not able
to advertise its beer. And therefore, it has to advertise its club glasses which can symbolize for its
beer.
Surrogate marketing may also be used in cases where the use of a product is linked to a service. In
such cases, the service is advertised widely, and the service provider uses only the product in
question.
How marketing campaigns of companies changed after ban in India:
Trends before Ban in advertising – Direct Advertising
• “Wills” a cigarette brand of ITC, used to sponsor the Indian Cricket Team/Matches
• Tennis Tournaments were sponsored by “Gold Flake”, another cigarette brand
• “Manikchand”, manufacturers of ghutka, sponsored the Filmfare Awards for number of
years.
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BRAND SURROGATE
Seagram’s Music
McDowell’s Water and Soda
Bagpiper Water, Soda, and Music
Bacardi Music
Kingfisher Water and Calendars
Brand Personality
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Some marketers carefully orchestrate brand experiences to express brand personalities. For
example, Axe, the popular deodorant, caters to consumers who want others to view them as
attractive and appealing.
These traits may vary depending on the socio-economic factors in different geographies with
different people.
For example, Japan lacks ‘Ruggedness’ and has Peacefulness instead. China lacks ‘Ruggedness’
and ‘Sincerity’ and instead has ‘Joyfulness’, ‘Traditionalism’ and ‘Trendiness’.
Marketing Research
Market research consists of systematically gathering data about consumers and then analysing it to
better understand their needs. Market research results are then used to identify and define
marketing opportunities and problems; generate, evaluate, refine marketing actions; monitor
marketing performance and improve understanding of marketing as a process. The Market
Research process includes:
1. Define the problem and research objectives: Understand the root question that needs to be
addressed by market research. For example, “Business problems” might be “How should we price
this new widget?” or “Which features should we prioritize?” or “How are customers responding to
our offering?
2. Determine research design: 4 types of research approaches depending on the objectives
• Observational research is used to gather data by observing customers as they shop or
consume products. For Example, Large retail chains use new age technologies to understand
consumer behavior
• Focus group research is a gathering of 6 to 10 people carefully selected to discuss
various topics at length where the questions are based on the marketing research agenda. For
Example: Gathering of women by a cosmetic company to understand how they view the product
and what they expect, etc.
• Survey research is used to assess thoughts, opinions, and feelings of larger set of
customers by standardized questionnaires through online or offline surveys, face to face interviews,
telephonic interviews etc. For Example, Researchers approach people in a mall and ask them to fill
out surveys
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• Behavioral research is to trace and analyze consumer purchase behavior from customer
database and in-store scanning data to make reliable conclusions For Example, Amazon
analyses consumer preferences based on usage patterns and then shows customized
recommendations.
3. Decide research instrument: The market research instrument to collect the data can be following
• Qualitative market research data collection ranges from focus group, case study,
participation observation, innovation game and individual depth interview
• Quantitative marketing research involves the construction of questionnaires and scales
which aids in the conduction of surveys and experiments.
4. Sample design: Sampling unit: Whom should we survey? Sample size: How manypeople
should we survey? Sampling procedure: How should we choose the respondents?
5. Analyze the data: Extract findings by tabulating the data anddeveloping summary measures by
analyzing and extrapolating the same in a structured manner.
6. Visualize & communicate results: Make decisions using the formulated data and arrive at a
plausible outcome, keeping in mind all the input parameters and expected outputs.
Business Models
B2B Model (Business 2 Business)
It is a type of commerce transaction that exists between businesses, such as those involving a
manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. Business to business refers to
business that is conducted between companies, rather than between a company and individual
consumers. For instance, the tires, batteries, electronics, hoses and door locks may be
manufactured elsewhere and sold directly to the automobile manufacturer.
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The main feature of the marketplace model is that the e-commerce firm like Flipkart, Snapdeal,
Amazon etc. will be providing a platform for customers to interact with a selected number of
sellers. When an individual is purchasing a product from Flipkart, he will be buying it from a
registered seller in Flipkart. The product is not directly sold by Flipkart. Here, Flipkart is just a
website platform where a consumer meets a seller. Inventory, stock management, logistics etc. are
not supposed to be actively done by the ecommerce firm.
Inventory model of ecommerce means an ecommerce activity where inventory of goods and
services is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to the consumers directly. The main feature of
inventory model is that the customer buys the product from the ecommerce firm. He manages an
inventory (stock of products), interfaces with customers, runs logistics and involves in every
aspects of the business. Alibaba of China is following the inventory model.
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AD ANALYSIS
Summary: In keeping with the campaign’s principal idea ‘Har Rishta Bola, Mere Naam Ki Coca-
Cola,’ Coke cans and bottles are now available with 20 special relationships printed on them,
including Bae, Bro, Dude, BFF, Dad, Mom, Daughter, etc. The brand wanted to give people a
reason to ‘share a coke’. These bottles were placed across retail shops and the campaign was
launched across multiple channels including newspapers, social media platforms like Facebook
and YouTube etc. Enlisted below are the findings from Share a Coke campaign analysis: (i) The
ratio of young to adult consumption of Coca-Cola was up by 7%. (ii) The campaign earned around
18.3 Lakhs media impressions. (iii) The Facebook website saw traffic increased by 870% while
the Facebook page, on the other hand, grew by 39% in terms of fans. (iv) Around 76,000 virtual
Coke cans were shared online. (v) A total of 378,000 custom Coke cans were printed across the
country. (vi) The campaign created a positive image of Coca-Cola as a brand.
Purpose: The primary objective of the campaign was to increase the sale of Coca-Cola over
summers and to get people to actually consume more of the brand instead of just talking about it.
With the world shifting significantly towards the digital space, Coca-Cola remind people to
jumpstart real conversations and remind them of those people with whom they may have lost
touch. Their primary objective was to encourage people to see more friends in real life while
sharing a Coke.
Links:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ahnFYzMp8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Rxj2z4HZA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sso64xi5vuo
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Summary: The campaign shows the long -lasting gender inequality in India through one of its
most basic aspects, not sharing the housework load across the Genders. It picks upon various
relationships such as father-daughter/ Son-mother where the first generation corrects their
mistake and set a precedent now, to teach their sons, what they had only taught their daughters
until now, to do the household chores. The campaign was first launched in 2015, and has been
continued time and again in the following years till 2019, where they have been showing the
improvements since the campaign was launched and inspiring others to join the change.
Purpose: The campaign is presented via emotional marketing, to reach out to every household
across India, towards removing gender inequality stains, promoting sharing of domestic
workload as the jobs have become gender neutral by questioning, “Is laundry only a woman’s
job?” which certainly struck many conversations in the target segment across the nation. This
gave a re-birth to Ariel in India, creating a new brand identity to be continued for the years to
come till today, where Ariel stands for a positive change towards progress.
Tag Line: #ShareTheLoad
Link: https://youtu.be/8QDlv8kfwIM
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3. VodaFone: The pug Returns (2018) (Ad Agency: Ogilvy & Mather India)
Summary: Stronger Together features a full army of pugs (30 to be precise) running behind
a young boy through different locations, signifying the strong 4G network of Vodafone.
Purpose: The ads of Vodafone have previously depicted that the Vodafone network is
everywhere. This campaign uses the brand’s most loved assets i.e. the pug to retain the
brand’s simplicity and build on it conveying the new network proposition, "we are getting
stronger”, highlighting the continued commitment of Vodafone to providing a world class
network.
Target Group: Current and prospective Vodafone users Tag Line: Stronger Together
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EIwhPoAdV0
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Summary: Three iconic ads-Dhara's 'Jalebi boy', the Cadbury Dairy Milk girl with her
strange dance on the cricket field, Nirma Super's 'Deepikaji' with her 'paar ki nazar' for 'sasta'
options are being used by UBER to create 90’s nostalgia campaign where they signify that
the app is new but with a 90’s factor i.e. the prices.
Purpose: Recognizing that value for money is one of the key things customers care about
while ordering-in food, Uber communicates that prices are low on their app, as low as the
90’s in order to get consumers to try the new Uber app.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS9_XczpCGs
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5. Samsonite gives packing your bags on voting day a new twist - #EkDinKiChhutti
Summary
Samsonite launched the #EkDinKiChutti initiative, which encouraged people to take a day off and
travel home to vote. With this unique initiative, company wanted to remind everyone that the chutti
(holiday) that they might have been ignoring all this while, shouldn’t be disregarded at all.
Reinforcing this thought process, brand announced an official #EkDinKiChutti for all outstation
employees who were registered in their home towns, giving them an opportunity to #TravelToVote.
Samsonite worked on the insight that most of the employees had migrated to another city for work
years back and had never made an effort to go back home to cast their vote.” The film opens with a
man taking a day’s leave from work to visit his home town. Over the course of his journey, he savors
the sights and sounds of his birthplace, reconnecting with old friends and spending time with his
loved ones. But these reunions are short-lived as his motive to take
the chutti is different. The man informs us that he’s only in town for a day. With this revelation, the
camera zooms out to reveal him casting a vote in a polling booth.
Purpose
The ad campaign champions the idea of packing your bags on voting day and hence travelling for one
day to vote leading to top of the mind recall of the brand Samsonite
Link: https://youtu.be/BPBJH9FUZSE
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Summary: The new Onida Inverter ACs advertisement shows the devil beating the heat in hell with
Onida ACs. After all, who but the devil knows which AC works the best even in the most extreme
heat.
Purpose: The devil mascot helped Onida to make a space in the heart of Indians back in the 90s
when the company was a market leader in the country. The ads involved the devil to show that Onida
products induced envy in the hearts of those who did not own them. The ads focused on indulgence
and showed the devil endorsing the luxury that Onida TVs were synonymous with at that time. The
relaunched campaign plays on the nostalgia of the 1990s campaign and tries to entice potential
customers through brand recall. However, the devil now endorses the whole Onida range, namely
TV, washing machine, AC and microwave, as compared to only TVs the last time.
Target Group: Potential customers who have grown up watching Onida commercials
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUT44N_h408
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Summary: The food ordering and delivery platform is made commercials that celebrate India’s
undying love for cricket and food in a witty and relatable manner. Under the ‘What a Delivery’
theme, Swiggy is allowing consumers the convenience of enjoying the cricketing action while it
takes care of all their food needs. Shot in an entertaining and tongue-in-cheek manner, the ads are
inspired
by everyday situations with simple storylines and minimum dialogues. The brand has witnessed a
25% growth in orders during IPL and over a 10X increase in consumers searching for gulab
jamuns on the platform post the gulab jamun ad's success.
Purpose: After influencing a change in consumers’ food-ordering habits with some unique
differentiators such as ‘No Minimum Order’, ‘Lightning Fast Delivery’ and ‘Variety of
Restaurants’ to choose from, Swiggy current advertising narrative focuses on how Swiggy brings
convenience in the life of the consumers through 'Swiggy karo, phir jo chahe karo' thought.
Swiggy has to be intelligent and dynamic as a brand creating simple stories rooted in real
consumer behaviour.
Link: https://youtu.be/nq9P2KxHvoU
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Summary: Amazon India creates a fictional team ‘Chonkpur Cheetahs’ which is a part of
the company’s IPL campaign and it traces the journey of this aspiring team which wants to
play the T20 tournament. Under the campaign multiple films are released, touching upon
various characters and aspects of Chonkpur Cheetahsteam.
Taking this further, Amazon released another ad for IPL 2018. The campaign “Ajnabi
Shahar Mein Apni Dukaan”, shows the everyday struggles of an unknown city through this
endearing team, where Amazon helps resolve dilemmas getting in the way of things truly
important.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akH-5adtYoA
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Summary: To celebrate its 60 years anniversary, Pidilite’s flagship brand Fevicol has unveiled a
new mega campaign that captures its bonding qualities. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, its creative
agency partner, the new TV film highlights Fevicol’s journey over the years in its typical human
and humorous fashion. The film showcases the strength of Fevicol while drawing parallels with the
changing paradigms of Indian social and cultural scenario. It takes the audience on a journey of
multiple generations through a perspective of a sofa. The spot opens in the old era where we see a
newly wedded couple heading home with a gifted sofa.
As the story progresses, we see the sofa being handed over from one family to another, one
generation to another. The same is complimented through a peppy background score in UP dialect.
It showcases how the sofa has witnessed various events through its lifetime yet it’s going strong.
The closing visuals takes us through the making of the sofa and how Fevicol is integral to making
any furniture.
Purpose: The campaign seeks to take advantage of the high recall value that the brand possesses.
The brand’s name does not appear on the screen till the very end. The ad portrays the fact that the
brand has been there through social changes in the country with a subtle hint of its functional
benefits in a quirky manner with a catchy background score. The company is known for its quirky
and contemporary advertisements. With Schbang as its digital creative (AOR), it has been creating
minimalistic ads for social media in the past couple years.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM48JJRkQu8
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These are some of the questions that were asked during previous years’ marketing interviews at
MDI.
The questions have been classified into three types: Concept-related questions, Industry/Trend
related questions and Application questions. General
Pointers for Marketing Interviews
● Read up about the company and analyses their marketing strategies and campaigns
● See how you can fit marketing concepts to the company and its brands/products
● Prepare convincing answers for questions like ‘Why Sales?’ and ‘Why Marketing?’
● Read up on the latest trends and marketing techniques involved in the company’s industry
Concept-based questions
● These are general marketing concepts found in Kotler and available through other online
sources. Companies test your basic marketing knowledge through the questions.
● What is the difference between Sales and Marketing? (Godrej Consumers Products Ltd)
● Explain STP through examples. (Snapdeal)
● Positioning vs. Proposition. (BCCL)
● 4 Ps of Marketing? (Sony Pictures)
● What is porter's five forces model? (Tata Motors)
● What is Product Lifecycle? (Philips)
● What is Go to Market Strategy? (Snapdeal)
● What are the key characteristics of B2B marketing? (Asian Paints)
● B2B Vs B2C? (Danaher, Lenovo)
● What are ATL, BTL and TTL?(Lenovo)
● What is the distribution channel and role of technology in distribution? (BCCL)
● FMCG vs. FMCD? (Pidilite)
● What is Modern Trade? Challenges in Modern Trade? (Loreal)
● What is Brand management? (DCM Sriram)
● Favorite Marketing Campaign. (BCCL)
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● How would you market Stella Artois in market without any budget. (AbInBev)
● Difference between sales and marketing in pharma and FMCG (Novartis)
● What’s wrong with the logo of Minute Maid? (CocaCola)
● What should Snapdeal do to increase its market share? (Snapdeal)
● What is the business model of Snapdeal? (Snapdeal)
● Questions on digital marketing like bidding strategy, customer lifetimevalue, customer
acquisition cost. (Snapdeal)
● Sketch an entire marketing plan for a residential unit that GPL is launching. (GPL)
● Google AdWords and Marketing at Google (Google)
● Where will a certain product (Garnier Men Face Wash) be placed inthe Modern Trade
store? (Loreal)
● How do you add value to a product if you are simply reselling it? (Agro Tech Food Ltd)
● Compare brand positioning of Nivea and HUL, Nike and Adidas. (Nivea)
● What is digital marketing? Devise a digital marketing strategy foroneof Loreal's products.
(Loreal)
● Rural marketing strategies for Telecom companies? (Vodafone)
● Recent social media marketing campaigns by companies? (Raymond)
● Conventional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing? (Axis Bank, Emami)
● What is the product portfolio of banks? (Axis Bank)
● Which are the 2 best and the 2 worst FMCG companies according to you? Give reasoning.
(Reckitt Benckiser)
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These questions were some of the frequently asked ones in the last two years and you can see that
some of them are often repeated. Having unique examples to these questions is strongly advised,
so that one can differentiate their answers from the standard example’s others might choose.
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