A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ADVERTISING

STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED BY AMAZON INDIA”

Project Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the

Post Graduate Diploma in Management.
Academic Session

2018-2020

(Approved by AICTE, Govt. of India)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF SUBMITTED BY

Dr. K.P KANCHANA ARAJ TANDON

(Faculty guide) (Batch 2018-20)
 DECLARATION

I, Araj Tandon, PGDM second year student of Jaipuria School of

Business, hereby declare that the project report under the Project title
― THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ADVERTISING STRATEGIES
IMPLEMENTED BY AMAZON INDIA is my own work and I have
done this project under the supervision of Prof. K.P. Kanchana. I also
declare that the content of this project is purely a part of this
comprehensive project work and the content has not been submitted to
any other university for the award of any degree, diploma or
fellowship. This Dissertation report is mandatory towards fulfillment
of Post Graduate Diploma in Management.

ARAJ TANDON
(2018-2020)
PGDM 2018-20
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe my gratitude to many people who helped and supported me

during this entire report preparation.

My sincere thanks to Dr. K.P. Kanchana, the Faculty Guide of the

project, for initiating and guiding the project with attention and care.

She has always been available for me to put me on track from time

to time to bring the project at its present form.

I am highly thankful to the Director of the Institute for his support,

motivation and continuous efforts in providing us the better learning

environment and opportunities to groom ourselves as per the

expectations of the corporate world. Without his support, it would

not be possible for me to successfully complete my Dissertation

report.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................... iii

EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................7
CHAPTER 1 ..................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................8
Chapter 2 ..................................................................................... 13
PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATIONError! Bookmark not
defined.
CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................ 28
DESIGN OF DISSERTATION
3.1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................. 29
3.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...................................... 32
3.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY .............................................. 32
CHAPTER 4 ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS ....................... 35
CHAPTER 5 ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION .......................................... 51
CONCLUSION............................................................................ 52
REFRENCES............................................................................... 55
 EXECUTUVE SUMMARY

There are various types of advertisements we see daily. Each type of advertisement

has a different type of advertising strategy. Advertising is very important for

popularizing the product as well as making it known to the people. Advertising is a

commercial business and is growing very fast. Today special ad directors, ad

creators, ad concept makers, ad actors, models, etc. all are needed to make a

successful and good ad. All these professionals’ help you create an ad that easily

connects with the people and will market your products and services in the best

possible way.

Today all the companies and corporate in India have products or services to sell and

they are advertising them via T.V, newspapers, brochures, magazines, radio etc. But

online retailers take the promotion online in an effective way of advertising that uses

the power of Internet and World Wide Web in order to deliver marketing messages

and attract customers.

Now, looking at the untapped demographic segment of the market, that is the aged and

the aging. With the younger generation preoccupied, ads are turning focus on senior

citizens. For years, advertisers have focused on the world’s largest population of the

young (51.8% of Indians are below 35 years of age), wooing them with youth-centric

advertisements. Experts believe the elderly are a captive audience for commercials

since they watch more TV, but advertisers say senior citizens have purchasing power

and are willing to spend more. For the most part, advertisers began to pay increased
attention to the senior citizens market not because of social movements or improved

comprehension of aging, but because older people began to constitute a larger portion

of the population.

Advertisers also came to realize that older consumers possess considerable wealth and

discretionary income. Still, stereotypes and myths about seniors persisted. Among the

most typical of these stereotypes is that virtually all older people are in poor health,

senile, crotchety, confined to retirement or nursing homes, inactive, isolated,

unproductive, uninterested in sex or romance, indifferent to material possessions, have

low incomes and are rigidly brand loyal.

Equally significant, marketing researchers found that older consumers have been

greatly underrepresented in the media and in advertising in the past few decades,

although they have become much more visible they once were.
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING

Marketing is the science of meeting the needs of a customer by providing valuable products to

customers by utilizing the expertise of the organizations, at the same time, to achieve

organizational goals. Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as "the activity,

set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging

offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

With the definition, it is important to realize that the customers can be an individual user, a

company, or several people who contribute to the purchasing decision. The product can be a good,

a service or even an idea – anything that would provide some value to the person who provides an

exchange. An exchange is most often thought of as money, but could also be a donation of time

and effort, or even a specific action. Classic marketing is often described in terms of the four p’s

which are:

Product: what good or services are offered to customers

Promotion: how the product communication the values of its products

Price: the value of the exchange between the customers and products

Place: how the product is delivered to the customer

SCOPE OF MARKETING
1. Goods:
Physical goods constitute the major part of a country’s production and marketing effort.

Companies market billions of food products, and millions of cars, refrigerators, television and

machines.

2. Services:
As economies advance, a large proportion of their activities is focused on the pro-duction of

services. Services include the work of airlines, hotels, car rental firms, beauticians, software

programmers, management consultants, and so on. Many market offerings consist of a mix of

goods and services. For example, a restaurant offers both goods and services.

3. Events:
Marketers promote events. Events can be trade shows, company anniversaries, entertainment

award shows, local festivals, health camps, and so on. For example, global sporting events such

as the Olympics or Common Wealth Games are promoted aggressively to both companies and

fans.

4. Experience

Marketers create experiences by offering a mix of both goods and services. A product is

promoted not only by communicating features but also by giving unique and interesting

experiences to customers. For example, Maruti Sx4 comes with Bluetooth technology to ensure

connectivity while driving, similarly residential townships offer landscaped gardens and gaming

zones.
5. Persons:

Due to a rise in testimonial advertising, celebrity marketing has become a business. All popular

personalities such as film stars, TV artists, and sportspersons have agents and personal

managers. They also tie up with PR agencies for better marketing of oneself

6. Places:

Cities, states, regions, and countries compete to attract tourists. Today, states and countries

are also marketing places to factories, companies, new residents, real estate agents, banks and

business associations. Place marketers are largely real estate agents and builders. They are

using mega events and exhibitions to market places. The tourism ministry is also aggressively

promoting tourist spots locally and globally.

7. Properties:

Properties can be categorized as real properties or financial properties. Real property is the

ownership of real estates, whereas financial property relates to stocks and bonds. Properties are

bought and sold through marketing.

Marketing enhances the need of ownership and creates possession utility. With improving

income levels in the economy, people are seeking better ways of saving money. Financial and

real property marketing need to build trust and confidence at higher levels.

8. Organizations:

Organizations actively work to build image in the minds of their target public. The PR

department plays an active role in marketing an organization’s image. Marketers of the services

need to build the corporate image, as exchange of services does not result in the ownership of
anything. The organization’s goodwill promotes trust and reliability. The organization’s image

also helps the companies in the smooth introduction of new products.

9. Information:

Information can be produced and marketed as a product. Educational institutions,

encyclopaedias, non-fiction books, specialized magazines and newspapers market information.

The production, packaging, and distribution of information is a major industry. Media revolution

and increased literacy levels have widened the scope of information marketing.

10. Idea:

Every market offering includes a basic idea. Products and services are used as platforms for

delivering some idea or benefit. Social marketers widely promote ideas. Maruti Udyog Limited

promoted safe driving habits, need to wear seat belts, need to prohibit children from sitting near

the driver’s seat, and so on.

INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING

Advertising is the concept of communicating a message about goods and services to a customer.

Advertising is done using various media like TV, print, radio, online, outdoor etc where

advertisements are showcased showing the value to the customer. Advertising is one of the most

critical components of marketing.

IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISING

Several companies are producing goods and products, which are critical for a customer to fulfill

their needs. However, with tremendous competition and limited span of attention for a customer,

it becomes difficult for a customer to know about a product or a service. Hence advertising plays

an important role in communication the value proposition of a company’s offering to the

customer. An advertisement clearly highlights the product/ service, its utility and also builds
a connect with the customer. Advertising and marketing a brand enables to reach out, teach about

the product and ensure that the customer is aware about the company. All these things can

influence the buying behaviour of a customer

COMPONENTS OF ADVERTISING

Advertising can be broadly broken down into four major components:

1. Advertising strategy- Focuses on the message, customer segment to be targeted and the

budget

2. Advertising media- Choosing the most appropriate advertising channel, medium or media

to reach out to the customers

3. Creative idea- This is the message or the visual which can be made to attract the customer

4. Creative execution- The final advertisement created based on the creative idea.

TYPES OF ADVERTISING MEDIA

Advertising is a massive exercise for any company. There are many options where ads can be

showcases through an advertising medium. Companies often use all the media available to do a

360 degree branding. Some different types of advertising media used by companies are mentioned

below:

1. TV- Television is one of the most developed ways to advertise. Advertising on TV is an

effective way to reach to millions of people, as TVs have an extremely high penetration

worldwide. The ad slots are given by broadcasting companies.

2. Radio- Radio channels offer ad slots to companies who can communicate their message to the

customers.
3. Print- This type of media includes magazines, newspapers, brochures etc which can be used

to advertise about the products and services offered by a company. This has been the most

widely used advertising media till date.

4. Online- With the growth in internet penetration, companies often use online advertising to

reach out to customer using social media; browsing websites etc. Online advertising also

includes blogging, viral marketing etc

5. Outdoor- Using hoardings, standees, OOH (out of home) media are covered under outdoor

advertising. This enables companies to reach out to those who are not a home but are outside

their homes or office during transit.

6. Mobile- Use of services like SMS and social media groups has also made mobile an effective

tool for advertising.

ADVERTISING STRATEGIES

Advertisers develop and place advertisements for many reasons. Some of the most basic types of

advertising are based on functional goals, that is, on what the advertiser is trying to accomplish.

The functional goals of advertising include primary and selective demand stimulation, direct and

delayed response advertising and corporate advertising.

1. Primary demand: One potential function of advertising is primary demand stimulation,

although this role is quite limited. In primary demand stimulation, an advertiser is seeking to

create a demand for a new product category in general. In its pure form, the purpose of this type

of advertising is to educate potential buyers about the fundamental values of an entire product

category rather than to emphasize the values of a specific brand within the product category.
Primary demand stimulation is challenging and costly, and research evidence suggests that it is

likely to have a perceivable impact only for new products on the market – such as when VCR

was first developed and introduced to the market. With a product that is totally new to the

market, consumers need to be convinced that the product category itself is available and

valuable. For organizations that have tried to stimulate primary demand in mature product

categories, typically trade associations, the results have been dismal.

2. Selective demand: While some corporations have tried primary demand stimulation, the true

power of advertising is shown when it functions to stimulate demand for a particular company’s

brand. This is known as selective demand stimulation. The purpose of selective demand

stimulation advertising is to point out a brand’s unique benefits compared to the competition.

Likewise, now that the VCR is past the stage of primary demand stimulations and is a mature

product category, households accept the value of this product and each brand selectively appeals

to different consumer needs.

3. Direct response: Another important type of advertising involves goals related to the

immediacy of consumer response. Direct response advertising asks the receiver of the message to

act immediately. An ad that suggests that you “call this toll-free number” is an example of direct

response advertisement.

While exceptions exist, direct response advertising is most often used for products that

consumers are familiar with, that do not require inspection at the point of purchase, and that are

relatively low-cost. The proliferation of toll-free numbers and the widespread use of credit cards

have been a boon to direct response advertisers.

4. Delayed response: Delayed response advertising relies on imagery and message themes that

emphasize the benefits and satisfying characteristics of a brand. Rather than trying to stimulate

an immediate action from an audience, delayed response advertising attempts to develop

recognition and approval of a brand over time. In general, delayed response advertising attempts
to create brand awareness, reinforce the benefits brand. When a consumer enters the purchase

process, the information from delayed response advertising comes into play. Most

advertisements we see on television and in magazines are of the delayed response type.

5. Corporate advertising: Corporate advertising is not designed to promote a specific brand but

rather functions to establish favourable attitude toward the company as a whole. Prominent users

of corporate advertising are Philips Petroleum, Xerox and IBM. These firms have long-

established corporate campaigns aimed at generating favourable public opinion toward the

corporation and its products. This type of advertising can also have an effect on the shareholders

of a firm. When shareholders see good corporate advertising, it instils confidence and ultimately,

long-term commitment to the firm and stocks.

 CHAPTER 2

PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

 AMAZON.COM

Amazon is a Fortune 500 e-commerce company based in Seattle, Wash. It has the distinction of

being one of the first large companies to sell goods over the Internet. In 1994, Jeff Bezos founded

Amazon, which launched the following year. In 1999, just five years after he started Amazon, Jeff

Bezos was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year." He received this honour largely because

of the company's success in popularizing online shopping.

The tech giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market

capitalization and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales. The amazon.com

website started as an online bookstore and later diversified to sell video downloads/streaming,

MP3 downloads/streaming, and audio book downloads/streaming, software, video games,

electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewellery. The company also produces consumer

electronics—Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo—and is the world's largest provider

of cloud infrastructure services. Amazon also sells certain low-end products under its in-house

brand Amazon Basics.

Amazon has separate retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland,

France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India, and

Mexico. In 2016, Dutch, Polish, and Turkish language versions of the German Amazon website

were also launched. Amazon also offers international shipping to certain other countries for some

of its products.

In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market

capitalization. Amazon is the fourth most valuable public company in the world, the largest

Internet Company by revenue in the world, and the eighth largest employer in the United States.

In 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.4 billion, which vastly increased
Amazon's presence as a brick-and-mortar retailer. The acquisition was interpreted by some as a

direct attempt to challenge Wal-Mart’s traditional retail stores.

AMAZON INDIA

On June 5, 2013, the e-commerce giant Amazon quietly launched its Indian website via Amazon

Seller Services Pvt Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. The website is called Amazon India and

the address is www.amazon.in. Initially, Amazon India housed over 7 million books spread across

200 plus categories and around 12,000 movies across all formats such as DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray

3D and Video CD. Amazon India offered free home delivery for all orders for the initial period of

time. Currently, Amazon India charges INR 40 as delivery charges for orders that are less than

INR 499. Within 10 months of the launch of Amazon India, the total selection stood at over 15

million products across 20 categories, as reported by the Business Standard. Amazon India is the

tenth marketplace launch of Amazon.com. Amazon India also offered two new seller programs –

“Selling on Amazon” and “Fulfillment by Amazon”.

Selling on Amazon:

Selling on Amazon provides businesses of all sizes a compelling sales channel with a nationwide

reach. The listing of sellers on Amazon India is free, and in celebration of the launch of Amazon

India the sellers were not charged any subscription fee for the first year.

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) :

Amazon has created one of the most advanced fulfilment networks in the world and sellers in India

can benefit from Amazon’s expertise in fulfilment, reliable nationwide delivery and customer

service. When using FBA, sellers across India can send their products to Amazon’s fulfilment

centre located on the outskirts of Mumbai. Once an order is placed, Amazon packs and ships the

order to the customer without the sellers having to do anything. Orders fulfilled by Amazon are
eligible for Free Delivery promotions and Cash on Delivery, and Amazon provides customer

service and returns management, enabling sellers to focus on their core business.

Sellers save money by replacing their upfront capital expense with low variable cost and pay only

for the storage space they use and the orders Amazon fulfils. Sellers always have the flexibility to

choose the number of products they want to have fulfilled by Amazon and scale according to their

business requirements.

As part of the launch celebrations, sellers on Amazon India were entitled promotional storage and

fulfilment fees.

Building an empire in India

Since its launch, Amazon India has expanded immensely and built a very strong base in India

proving to be a pain in the “nose” for its competitors Flipkart and Snapdeal through the launch of

a number of services, some of which were clear heroes among its competitor Flipkart and

Snapdeal.

Spread the cheer – ‘Light up a child’s Diwali’: In October 2013, Amazon India launched this

initiative to enable the customers to select and send Diwali gifts to underprivileged children across

the country. Pratham and Naandi Foundation, two NGOs working to improve the lives of

disadvantaged children created and put up on Amazon.in wish-lists, a selection of products like

educational toys & puzzles, books, comics, dictionaries, encyclopaedias that are needed by

children under their care across the country. Customers would browse the wish-list and select

products they want to gift and Amazon.in delivered them to the NGOs. Amazon.in also donated

the fees it made from these transactions to the two NGOs.

Guaranteed ‘One Day Delivery’ service:

Within 6 months of its launch, Amazon India announced the availability of guaranteed “One-Day

Delivery” service for items fulfilled by Amazon in select pin codes across several Indian cities

including Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune. Orders placed with

“One-Day Delivery” service are guaranteed to be delivered the next business day excluding

Sundays and public holidays. Amazon.in will automatically refund shipping charges if orders are

not received by the promised day.

Gift Cards:

Amazon India launched Gift Cards ranging from Rs. 10 to Rs. 10,000. Available in over 9 Indian

languages, customers can choose from an extensive selection in more than 200 designs that aptly

celebrate various special and memorable occasions in a person’s life. The Amazon.in Gift Cards

offer a gifting experience that is not only easy, simple & convenient but also instantaneous and

bridges distances. Customers no longer need to fret over an appropriate choice of gift and

especially wonder how to gift to their loved ones in faraway places. With a wide range of

Amazon.in Gift Card options customized for various occasions coupled with an extensive selection

of products available on amazon.in.

The Seller App:

Amazon introduced its best-in-class app – the Amazon Seller App – for its seller base in India.

The Amazon Seller app makes it easy and convenient than ever before for sellers to quickly update

inventory, source and list new items on Amazon.in and respond faster to customer queries.

Sellers are also able to view their sales summary for the same day, week to date and month to date,

all at the touch of a button and thus evolve their sales strategy and grow profitably on the platform.
Globally, sellers using the Amazon Seller App have reported that they have a 30% faster response

time to customer inquiries and grow listed offers nearly 10 times faster.

Sunday is just like another day – Sunday Delivery:

Having facilitated one day delivery, two day delivery, release day delivery and midnight delivery,

Amazon India launched Sunday Delivery across 100 cities in India, promising residential

addresses for all FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) products at no extra cost. Thus, Amazon India

customers can count Sunday “just another day” for receiving deliveries from Amazon.in.

Now, let us look at the various campaigns of Amazon India

Aur Dikhao, Aur Dikhao:

We can never forget #AurDikhao ad of Amazon India on the TV. Early April 2015, this campaign

was launched with two key objectives:

1. To educate the masses that Amazon has over 22 million products for the consumers.

2. To engage the existing customers, score new buyers and maintain a buzz around the

campaign.

The very name captures the mind-set of Indian consumer masses, who just love a variety of options

to choose from anything and everything.

Kya Pehnu? :

Amazon India released the “Kya Pehnu” campaign which captures the dilemma people face while

“trying” to decide what to wear for a particular occasion. Almost all of us face this dilemma be it

dressing up for a job interview, wedding, party or a fancy dinner date, and this ad injects the belief

into the consumers that Amazon India is the ultimate solution to the ultimate fashion dilemma.
Apni Dukaan :

We all need familiarity, a strong trust factor and transparency of quality when it comes to shopping.

This ad campaign captures the shopper’s dilemma and showcases specific features of the Amazon

India shopping site like genuine products, easy payment options, easy returns etc. Amazon India

also roped in famous comedian and actor Gaurav Gera for promoting this campaign.

SWOT Analysis of Amazon

Amazon’s Strengths – Internal Strategic Factors

1. Strong brand name – As a global e-commerce giant, Amazon has a strong position and

successful brand image in the market.

2. Customer oriented – Amazon caters to a large number of customers for everyday needs

at inexpensive prices. This has made it a customer-oriented brand.

Report this ad

3. Differentiation and Innovation – Amazon frequently brings creative ideas and innovative

additions to its product line and service offerings like Witlings Aura Smart Sleep System. This

creates a differentiation from other companies.

4. Cost Leadership – Amazon doesn’t incur costs in maintaining physical retail stores by selling

everything online. With economies of scale, Amazon efficiently controls its costs and lowers its

inventory replenishment time. The company has formed numerous strategic alliances with many

companies like Evi Technologies, Thalmic Labs, Shoefitr, The Orange Chef etc. It has a strong

value chain system which also helps in maintaining a low-cost structure.

5. Largest Merchandise Selection – Amazon owns extensive product mix which attracts online

customers to make their majority of purchases from it rather than other online retailers. As of 2018.

Amazon has sold 562.3 million products in its Amazon.com Marketplace.

6. Large number of third-party sellers – Due to the high traffic volume on Amazon’s sites, a

large number of third-party sellers have joined the platform of Amazon to sell their own

merchandises. The data from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) reveals that there are more than 2

billion items available from third-party sellers.

7. Go Global and Act Local strategy – This strategy has benefitted Amazon the most. Amazon

develops partnerships with local supply chain companies that help it in competing against domestic

e-commerce rivals. It understands the local needs and launches its services as per the country’s

culture.

In India, for example, it has launched a market campaign “Aur Dikhao” to encourage users

to search more of its products.

8. Large number of acquisitions – The successful acquisitions of Whole Foods, Zappos.com,

woot.com, Junglee.com, IMBD.com, and many others have produced significant revenues and

profits for Amazon.

9. Involved into 3 key business – Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and

Amazon Prime are 3 key businesses of Amazon which work and support each other. As a whole,

they generate massive profits and advantages for the company.

10. Highest revenues in the industry – With over $778.39 billion market capitalization and above

$200 billion annual revenues, Amazon is the market leader with the highest revenues in the

industry.

11. Superior logistics and distribution systems – Amazon uses highly efficient logistics and

distribution systems. It even has fixed rates for different delivery time periods. Thus, it executes

reliable, secure, and fast delivery of goods and products to the customers.
Amazon’s Weaknesses – Internal Strategic Factors

1. Easily imitable business model – Online retail businesses have become quite common in this

digital world. So imitating Amazon’s business model for rival firms is not so difficult. A few

businesses are even giving Amazon a tough time. These include Barnes & Noble, eBay, Netflix,

Hulu, and Oyster etc.

2. Losing Margins in Few Areas – In few areas such as India, Amazon has faced losses. It’s free

shipping to customers can be one of the reasons that expose the risks of losing margins in some

markets.

3. Product Flops and Failures – Its Fire Phone’s launch in the US was a big failure while its

Kindle fire device didn’t even grow well.

4. Tax Avoidance Controversy – Tax avoidance in Japan, UK and US has sparked negative

publicity for Amazon. President Trump has recently criticized Amazon over taxes on social media

network.

5. Limited brick-and-mortar presence – Amazon owns very limited physical stores. This

sometimes hinders to attract customers buy things which are not sellable on online stores.

6. Vox published negative reports related to employees’ treatment and workplace

conditions against Amazon in July 2018. Poor air conditioning, timed bathroom breaks, and

constant video surveillance are few of the negative remarks made by the employees. Such things

affect the market reputation of Amazon.

Amazon’s Opportunities – External Strategic Factors

1. Amazon can gain the opportunity to penetrate or expand its operations in developing

markets.

2. By expanding physical stores, Amazon can improve competitiveness against big box retailers

and engage customers with the brand.

3. Amazon has the opportunity to improve technological measures and organizational

policies to reduce counterfeit sales. One case of counterfeit sales came into light when Amazon

sold a fake My Critter Catcher. The product was sold for $1 less than the original product.

4. Can do backward Integration by expanding its production of in-house brands such as Amazon

basics to differentiate its offerings and improve profit margins.

5. More acquisitions of e-commerce companies can increase the company’s market share and

reduce the competition level.

Amazon’s Threats – External Strategic Factors

1. Few controversies have caused a dent in Amazon’s brand image. People critically reacted and

boycotted Amazon sites in 2010 when they found that it’s selling the book “The Pedophile’s Guide

to Love & Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct.”

2. Government regulations can also threaten the business proceedings of Amazon in some critical

countries. Amazon does not ship to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Styria.

3. Increasing cybercrime can affect the network security system of the company.

4. Aggressive competition with big retail firms like Walmart and eBay can give Amazon a tough

time in the future.

5. Imitation is easy as many new entrants are coming up in the market usually with the same

business model of Amazon

 CHAPTER 3

DESIGN OF DISSERTATION
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Elisabetta Corvi, Associate Professor of Economics and Business Management University

of Brescia in his research project “The effectiveness of advertising” Advertising

effectiveness can be defined as the extent to which advertising generates a certain desired

effect. While it is not possible to obtain a global measure of the advertising effectiveness,

we should seek to develop and apply methods and measures for a partial verification of

results. In literature and practice the evaluation of advertising effectiveness has used two

basic models:

The dichotomous model

The three-dimensional model

The dichotomous model is applied mainly in product and brand advertising, tending to

isolate and evaluate separately the following:

Sales effect;

Communication effect.

The sales effect refers to the assessment of the capability of advertising to affect the sales

volume and/or the market share, regardless of the possible influence of other variables. The

effect of communication refers to the ability to reach, with appropriate messages, a more

significant share of public.

Prateek Maheshwari in his research project “The influence of advertisements” the literature

review will briefly discuss the effects advertising has on society. One of the primary focuses

of advertisements is to influence the behaviour of customers. However, this influence of

behaviour does not only represent swaying consumers to buy products. By using specific

images and specific people, advertisements can create needs and faults consumers never

knew they had. There is several social and ethical criticism of advertising, including how it

can be untruthful and deceptive towards consumers. While deception is based on how the

consumer perceives the ad, marketers knowingly and deliberately include specific factors

in an ad in order to get the consumer to discern it in a specific way.

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
“A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ADVERTISING STRATEGIES

IMPLEMENTED BY AMAZON INDIA”

Over the years there has been an increasing competition in the field of online retailing due

to the advancement in technology. Hence it has been important for the companies to hold

onto its market share. Due to increased competition in the market, satisfying the customers,

retaining them has become difficult. This can be done by attracting the potential customers

by way of advertising the company’s products so as to meet the demands of the customers.

Advertisers also came to realize that older consumers possess considerable wealth and

discretionary income.

This project focuses on the impact of Amazon India’s advertising and promotional strategies

and study whether it is able to reach the population of India effectively.

 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To study the socio demographic characteristics of customers

 To study the current advertising strategies followed by Amazon India.

 To study customers perception towards various advertising strategies used by

Amazon India.

 To find out the impact and reach of advertising strategies of Amazon India.

 To access whether the advertising strategies of Amazon help them to attract new

customers.
THE SAMPLE

• Sampling method- The method used to collect data is primary data, which has been

collected from the customers of amazon. In this method data is collected and prepared

through a questionnaire for the further study.

• Sample size- The sample size of the study is 150.

THE TOOLS

• Data collection- Primary data collection method has been used in the study.

• Tools for data analysis- Microsoft Word has been used has been used to analyze and

interpret the data.

 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
TABLE 4.1:

TABLE SHOWING THE GENDER WISE DISTRIBUTION RESPONSES

GENDER MALE FEMALE TOTAL

NUMBER 50 100 150

PERCENTAGE 33.30% 66.70% 100

INTERPRETATION:

From the above graph we can interpret that, out of 150 respondents, most respondents are

female with their percentage being more than the percentage of female respondents.
TABLE 4.2

TABLE SHOWING THE AGE GROUP OF THE RESPONDENTS

AGE BELOW 25- 36- 46- ABOVE 55

25 35 45 55

NUMBER 85 55 8 2 0

INTERPRETATION:

From the above graph we can interpret those majorities of the respondents are below the age

of 25 and are mostly teenagers. A large number of respondents were also between the age

group of 25-35 of young adults. Some of them are middle aged and very few of them are

aged.
TABLE 4.3

TABLE SHOWING THE OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

OCCUPATION STUDENT EMPLOYED BUSINESS HOMEMAKER RETIRED

NUMBER 88 50 9 2 1

OCCUPATION

1%
6%1% STUDENT
EMPLOYED
33% BUSINESS
59%
HOMEMAKER
RETIRED

INTERPRETATION:

From the above chart it can be interpreted that most of them are students and also some of them

are employed or into business and are salary takers.

TABLE 4.4

HOW DID YOU FIRST COME TO KNOW ABOUT AMAZON?

number

television 26

family 35

online advertisement 63

billboards 16

newspaper 10

7% 17%
11%
television
family
23%
online advertisement
42%
billboards
newspaper

INTERPRETATION:

From the above chart, it can be inferred that majority of the respondents have come to know about

Amazon through the online advertisements on the World Wide Web and through their circle of

family and friends. A big number of the promotion was also known through the television

advertisements. A minimal amount of the promotion was appointed for the outdoor and traditional

media of advertising such as newspapers, therefore only few number of respondents were aware

of the outdoors and newspapers advertisement.

TABLE 4.5

WHEN DO YOU GENERALLY SEE AN AMAZON AD?

numbers

daily 48

weekly 28

weekends 8

festive season 30

season sales 31

amazon events 5
40

38
32
20

20

HUMOUR PERSONAL SOCIAL SCARCITY PLAIN

APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL

INTERPRETATION:

It can be clearly seen from the above chart that Amazon actively promotes its services on a daily

basis mostly and are able to grab the attention of the masses. It also emphasizes mostly on the

festive seasons with extra offers and discounts and also during the end of season sales which help

them to attract more attention from the people. A very few number during the weekends shows

that it is not just on weekends that they notice an Amazon ad, it is basically on a daily or weekly
basis that they notice an Amazon ad. A very few respondents have chosen Amazon events as they

happen very rarely.

TABLE 4.6

WHICH ACCORDING TO YOU IS THE MOST COMMON ADVERTISING APPEAL USED

BY AMAZON ADS?

humour appeal 20

personal appeal 40

social appeal 32

scarcity appeal 20

plain appeal 38

total 150

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
humour appeal personal appeal social appeal scarcity appeal plain appeal

INTERPRETATION:

Majority of the respondents have voted for the personal appeal and plain appeal as the one most

used by Amazon ads. Personal appeal deals with personal emotions such as safety, pride, self-

esteem, comfort, etc. Plain appeal deals with the everyday aspects of life. Also a vast number of

21% have also voted for social appeal which deals with status, rejection, acceptance, etc. A very

few number have voted for humour appeal which Amazon advertisement don’t usually indulge in

and also for scarcity appeal with the least percentage of 13%.
TABLE 4.7

WHAT IS THE PERCEPTION OF AMAZON IN YOUR MIND?

(POSITIONING)

INTERPRETATION:

From the above chart we can interpret that majority of the respondents feel that the core positioning

of Amazon lays in their variety of products which offer a vast range of assortment of items. An

equal amount of percentage was seen for good product quality and good service quality. Also an

equal number of respondents also felt that Amazon offered good value for money with their

reasonable pricing structures and also the reliability of the brand and its services.
TABLE 4.8

HOW MANY AMAZON CAMPAIGNS ARE YOU AWARE OF?

INTERPRETATION:

From the above chart it can be interpreted that the campaign which got the highest number of
recognition was for the “Aur dikhao Aur dikhao” campaign followed by the “Apni dukaan
“campaign, “Mom be a girl again” campaign and “Try toh kar” campaign.” Kya pehnu” and “Yaha
dekhlo” were among the least popular campaigns and few respondents were not aware of any of
the Amazon campaigns.
TABLE 4.9

DO YOU THINK AMAZON ADS HAVE TRIGGERED YOU TO SHOP FROM THEM?

INTERPRETATION:
The above chart clearly shows that Amazon ads have no part in influencing a consumers
purchasing decision as equal percentages can be seen between “Yes” and “No”. The brand itself
has its own customers that generate sales and popularity. Few of the respondents neither agreed
nor disagreed with the influence of Amazon ads to their purchase decision.
TABLE 4.10
DO PEOPLE RECOMMEND YOU TO SHOP FROM AMAZON?

INTERPRETATION:

We can interpret from the above chart that most of the people recommend others to buy from
Amazon. Few of the people who might have had a bad experience with Amazon do not usually
recommend other people to buy from them which happen very rarely.
TABLE 4.11
DO YOU RECOMMEND PEOPLE TO SHOP FROM AMAZON?

INTERPRETATION:

The above chart shows that most of the people recommend other people to try Amazon but also
there are few exceptions who feel that the services or products are not up to the mark to be
recommended to other people. The reasons can range from bad service delivery, product quality
or availability to miscommunication or other possible failures.
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS,

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

 FINDINGS

The goal of this project was to study the effectiveness of the advertising strategies of Amazon in

India. We will now discus the key findings according to each of the objectives.

OBJECTIVE 1:

“TO STUDY THE SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CUSTOMERS”

Various demographic characteristics were analysed like age, gender, occupation, income level and

education and it was found that they have a major impact when it comes to deciding the target

segment for publishing the advertisements. Some of the key findings are:

Majority of the respondents were female with 66.7% More than 80% were below the age of 35

that means most of the respondents belong to teenagers and young adults group. Around 59% were

students which mean they had no income.Around 35% of the respondents had income below 5

lakhs per annum.

OBJECTIVE 2

“TO STUDY THE CURRENT ADVERTISING STRATEGIES FOLLOWED BY AMAZON

INDIA

The findings suggest that Amazon India has implemented various strategies to grab the attention

of the Indian market and has also used various mediums for advertisement. According to the

primary data collected, It was found that Amazon heavily uses the online platform to promote their

advertising strategies, followed by Television ads. It was also found that most of the respondents

were encouraged to try Amazon through the good word of mouth of their friends and family.

According to the secondary data analysis,

Online advertisements: Amazon has used internet as it has also become a major and effective

medium for advertising and it has been predicted that the online advertising and marketing is soon
going to replace the advertising through traditional Medias such as television, radio, newspaper

and magazines. Amazon focuses on online advertising because of the wider coverage and to reach

its targeted audience.

Amazon is highly visible on television platform. Experts say the greater the exposure of the

advertisement, the longer is the period of its impact. Although online advertisement has taken the

lion’s share, television media also has considerable impact on the mind of the consumers resulting

in the huge investments in television commercials as well.

OBJECTIVE 3:

“TO STUDY CUSTOMERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS VARIOUS ADVERTISING

STRATEGIES USED BY AMAZON INDIA

The findings from this objective showed the perception of the respondents towards the various

advertisements made by Amazon.33% which is the highest number of respondents analyses an

Amazon ad to be seen on a daily basis. Equal numbers of respondents consisting of 25% were of

the opinion that most of the Amazon ads were seen during the festive and season sale.

Around 40%-43% feel that Amazon uses personal appeal and plain appeal for most of their ads.

Around 35% feel that Amazon ads are mostly informative and quite entertaining.

Thus the findings show that the Amazon ads are successful in creating a positive perception in the

minds of the Indian consumer.

OBJECTIVE 4:

“TO FIND OUT THE REACH AND IMPACT OF ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF

AMAZON INDIA”

The findings suggest that: More than 70% of the respondents were aware of the popular Amazon

campaigns Almost 92% of the respondents showed that they have family members who are above

the age of 50 and among them 60% of them were aware of Amazon.
Around 25% of the respondents have found the Amazon advertisements to be quite innovative.

OBJECTIVE 5:

“TO ACCESS WHETHER THE ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF AMAZON HELP THEM

TO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS”

The findings suggest that:

88% of the respondents were of the opinion that they were very likely to recommend Amazon to

their friends and colleagues.

Around 81% of them have mentioned that they have also received recommendation from their

circle of friends and family to shop from Amazon.

 CONCLUSION

Amazon has pumped in billions of dollars into its Indian operations. It is by far the leading online

retailer giving a tough competition to its competitor Flipkart which is a home grown online retailer.

It is successful in creating a place in the hearts of the Indian consumer with the striving competitors

in the online industry but also it should work more on the advertising strategies and help people

recognize the brand within all age groups.

In this study it can be analyzed that the respondents are interested to know about the advertisements

of Amazon they are attracted towards the ads by the various channels and promotional campaign.

In the course of my research majority of the respondents felt the ads were attractive, useful and

they conveyed the required message.

It is also seen that majority of them comes to know about their advertisements of Amazon almost

on a daily basis which proves that the advertisements are quite frequent which help them to create

a brand remembrance in the minds of the consumers which induce many people to make a

purchase.

It was also seen that some of the respondents were unsure about whether it is just for the

advertisements that induce a purchase. Some have used Amazon on the reference of their family

and friends.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Advertising always cannot be the main criteria for the

customers to make a purchase. However, its existence is a perquisite, as it verified the presence of

Amazon in the Indian market and also helped to make a mark among the competitors.
 SUGGESTIONS

According to my research the following suggestions can be made:

The advertisements should be equally displayed among all the channels to grab a larger hold of

the market share.

The company should also emphasize on creating awareness among the older generation of the

population as it consists of a large part of the population.

For more effective ads Amazon should try to indulge more and more celebrities to gain attraction

Amazon should also induce some humour in their ads as it has a long lasting impression on the

minds of the consumer.

The company should also invest more on outdoor advertisements such as hoardings in prime

location and also in various local languages for ease of reading for the local masses.

It should make its advertising focused on other advertising appeals as well.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Michael Levy and Barton A.Weitz, Retail Management, Tata McGraw Hill,

Fifth Edition, 2004

Blech & Blech, Advertising and Promotion

Chawla Deepak and Neena Sondhi, 2011, Research Methodology concepts and cases, Vikas

Publications.

Rossiter J.R, Percy L, 1987, “Advertising and promotional management”, McGraw- Hill, New

York

WEBSITES

www.wikipedia.com www.google.com

www.amazon.in/about-us

www.yourarticlelibrary.com
 ANNEXURE

“A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ADVERTISING STRATEGIES

IMPLEMENTED BY AMAZON INDIA”

1. NAME:

………………………………………………………..

2. GENDER:

MALE

FEMALE

3. AGE:

Below 25

25-35

36-45

46-55

Above 55

4. Occupation:

Student

Employed

Business

Homemaker Retired

Other
5. How did you first come to know about Amazon?

Television

Family/Friends

Online advertisements

Billboards/hoardings

Newspaper

6. When do you generally see an Amazon ad?

Daily Weekly

Weekends

Festive season

Season sale

Amazon events

7. which according to you is the most common advertising appeal used by Amazon ads?

Humor appeal

Personal appeal

Social appeal

Scarcity appeal

Plain appeal

8. What is the perception of Amazon ads in your mind? (Positioning)

Value for money

Variety of products

Good product quality

Good service quality

Reliability
9. How many Amazon campaigns are you aware of ?

Aur dikhao Aur dikhao

Apni Dukaan

Kya pehnu?

Mom be a girl again

We Indians

Try toh kar

Yaha dekhlo

10. Do you think Amazon ads have triggered you to shop from them?

Yes

No

Maybe

11. Do people recommend you to shop from Amazon?

Yes

No

12. Do you recommend people to shop from Amazon?

Yes

No

18. Comments (if any):

………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

………………