INTERNSHIP AT THE OUTLOOK GROUP

INSTITUTE: - GD Goenka University, Gurugram

Submitted by: - Gaurav Batra

MBA (2020-22)
 TASK 1: CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT

Q1. Analyse Outlook with 2 of its competitors and find out the strategies it uses to maintain
customer life cycle?

Ans: : Customer life cycle is a term that describes the different steps that customers go through when
considering, buying, using, and loyal to a specific product or service. Its step is

I). Customer acquisition strategies In this regard, companies use these strategies to acquire new customers by
locating and contacting new customers in online or offline mode

. Customer retention strategy Here, the company uses this strategy to retain its customers for a specific period of
time three). Customer development strategy Here, the strategy is used to convert potential customers into actual
customers. Explain these steps in the context of The Outlook Group, The Week, and Forbes India magazines.
Outlook Magazine's strategy for maintaining the life cycle of its customers

: i). Customer acquisition strategy In order to acquire customers, Outlook submitted a discount of 1 Duffle Strolled
consumption rupees. 8549 and above and 1 travel bag consumes Rs. Magazine subscription 5899 and above.

ii). Customer retention strategy To retain customers, Outlook offers different extended subscription plans for their
respective 5 magazines, which cost Rs. 8549 / and up: Get a 12-month extended subscription, which costs Rs.
5899 / to Rs. 8548 / Enter: Get an extended subscription for 6 months and cost between Rs 4599 and Rs. 5898 /:
Get a 6-month extended subscription, which costs Rs 2,299 to Rs 4,598 /: Get a 3-month extended subscription.
Outlook even offers a variety of 1

subscription plans to retain customers for 1, 2, 3, and 5 years at a favorable price and help customers stick with
this

magazine. Three). Customer Development Strategy To convert potential customers into actual customers,
Outlook sells its magazines at significant discounts, attracting customers to buy Outlook magazines

i).Customer Acquisition Strategy-To acquire customers, The Week had come up with offers of giving gifts like
Amazon E-Gift Card Worth 500, United Colors Of Benetton Leather Wallet and Card Holder, The Week Travel
Bag, Amazon E-Gift Card Worth 1000, Wildcraft Bagpack etc for different subscription plans on yearly basis.

ii). Customer Retention Strategy- To retain customers, The Week provides different subscription plans for their
respective magazines for 1 and 3 years at discounted prices, and along with it, it gives a lot of gifts. It helps the
customers to stick to the magazine. It even provides renewal plans as well.

iii). Customer Development Strategy- For converting potential customers into actual customers, The Week sells
its magazine at heavily discounted price which attracts the customers towards buying of The Week magazine.
For different subscription plans ie of 1 and 3 years, The Week provides 58% off, 56% off on cover price of
magazine provided by it
Q2. Find the main reason behind each company going with the strategy and how these
strategies have paid dividends?

Ans. The strategies used by three competitors, namely The Outlook, The Week and Forbes India, to maintain the
customer lifecycle have been described above.

Why each competitor adopted these strategies outlined above and how these strategies paid dividends

Outlook Journal

The strategies this company used generate income (sell) rows) because by offering subscriptions, Outlook
makes money. The strategies used were so effective that they made Outlook one of the popular magazines in
India and it came in at #2, which is commendable. Therefore, even the students who intern here work with all
their heart and devote themselves to their work. Outlook even has some great deals (an unexpected money-
making opportunity). Here, every employee and employer works with full dedication to achieve the set goals and
the company achieves maximum profit through its strategies and retail division. By generating profits, it becomes
very easy to pay dividends and as a result Outlook can keep its shareholders happy and satisfied

The Week magazine

The strategies used by this competitor, generate revenue (sales) because The Week magazine provides
subscription on heavy discounted price and a lot of alluring offers. This helps the magazine to further increase the
sales leading to increase in profit which makes it quite easy for the magazine to pay off the dividends and keep
its shareholders satisfied. These strategies make the customers to stick to the magazine as they get attracted
towards the magazine and buy it. It even provides customers with renewal plans.

Q.3 What are the different loyalty programmes that these companies has assorted to?

Ans: Loyalty programs They are sponsored by retailers, offering rewards, discounts and other special offers as a
way to attract and retain customers. They are designed to encourage repeat business.

Outlook Loyalty Program:

a) Outlook has offered to give away 1 Duffle Strolly by spending Rs 8549 or more on magazine subscriptions.

b) 1 travel bag when spending Rs 5899 or more by magazine subscription.

c) Outlook offers different extended subscriptions to their 5 journals, such as extended subscriptions for 3, 6, and
12 months.

d) Outlook even offers different subscription plans to keep customers for 1, 2, 3, 5 years at a reduced price

. e) Outlook even offers different cash discounts for different ranges of ledger values, helping it to develop its
clientele.

Loyalty programs of the week:

a) Week of giveaways like $ 500 Amazon EGift card, United Colors Of Benetton leather wallet and card holder,
weekday duffel bag, 1 Amazon EGift card $ 000, a Wildcraft bag, etc. for different annual subscriptions

b) The Week offers different subscriptions to their respective magazines for 1 and 3 years at a reduced price.
 TASK 1: CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT

Q.1 Compare the NPS for each of the company and find the reasons behind the score. What do you
recommend these companies and how can they improve their scores?

AnsThe Net Promotion Score, or NPS, is a marketing tool used to measure people's loyalty to a company or
brand and how willing they are to recommend a company's or brand's products to others. customers to build and
strengthen customer relationships. To calculate the NPS, I circulated the following three questionnaires through
my network and completed them with 30 respondents to conduct the NPS survey..

Questionnaire for NPS survey of Outlook magazine

Q1. Are you familiar with The outlook India magazine?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

Q2. Gender preference for outlook magazine

• Male
• Female

Q3. Do you have internet connection?

• Yes
• No

Q4. If you read the Outlook magazine, in which form do you prefer it?

• Only Print
• Only Digital
• Both

Q5. Do you follow Outlook on any one the social media platforms?

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Others

Q6. Your perception about Outlook magazine?

• Very good
 • Good
• Fair
• Not good

Q7. Would you like to buy the e-magazine because

• Timely delivered
• Easy access
• No storage issue

Q8. How well does our magazine meet your needs?

• Badly
• Fine
• Well
• Very Well

Q9. How would you rate the value for the money of our magazine?

• Bad
• Average
• Good

Q10. How responsive have we been to your queries or concern about our magazine?

• Very responsive
• Usually responsive
• Not responsive

Questionnaire for NPS survey of The Week magazine

Q1. Are you familiar with The Week magazine?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

Q2. Gender preference for The Week magazine

• Male
• Female

Q3. Do you have internet connection?

• Yes
• No

Q4. If you read the Week magazine, in which form do you prefer it?

• Only Print
• Only Digital
 • Both

Q5. Do you follow The Week on any one the social media platforms?

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Others

Q6. Your perception about The Week magazine?

• Very good
• Good
• Fair
• Not good
Q7. Would you like to buy the e-magazine because

• Timely delivered
• Easy access
• No storage issue

Q8. How well does our magazine meet your needs?

• Badly
• Fine
• Well
• Very Well

Q9. How would you rate the value for the money of our magazine?

• Bad
• Average
• Good

Q10. How responsive have we been to your queries or concern about our magazine?

• Very responsive
• Usually responsive
• Not responsive

Questionnaire for NPS survey of Forbes India magazine

Q1. Are you familiar with Forbes India magazine?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

Q2. Gender preference for Forbes India magazine

• Male
• Female
 Q3. Do you have internet connection?

• Yes
• No

Q4. If you read the Forbes India magazine, in which form do you prefer it?

• Only Print
• Only Digital
• Both

Q5. Do you follow Forbes India on any one the social media platforms?

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Others

Q6. Your perception about Forbes India magazine?

• Very good
• Good
• Fair
• Not good

Q7. Would you like to buy the e-magazine because

• Timely delivered
• Easy access
• No storage issue

Q8. How well does our magazine meet your needs?

• Badly
• Fine
• Well
• Very Well

Q9. How would you rate the value for the money of our magazine?

• Bad
• Average
• Good

Q10. How responsive have we been to your queries or concern about our magazine?

• Very responsive
• Usually responsive
• Not responsive
Calculation of Net Promoter Score-

To calculate NPS, you need to count the number of Promoters, the number of Detractors and the amount of
customers who participated in your survey. The customers who turned out to be Passives are not taken into
account when calculating the Net Promoter Score.

The scoring of the NPS scale lays between 0 and 10:: 0 - not likely at all, 10 - extremely likely, or else it
will be a normal rating scale.

GROUP SCORE CHARACTERISTICS

Promoters 9 - 10 These are your most loyal customers, ready to promote your products and help other
customers to implement and use your products more effectively.

Passives 7 - 8 These customers are loyal, but not enthusiastic about your products. Working with this
group is especially important when the number of people in the group is relatively high.

Detractors 0 - 6 These people are unlikely to promote your product and are very likely to give it a negative
review. They are very often unsatisfied customers and are very sensitive to competitive offers.

The NPS calculation formula is:

Net Promoter Score (NPS) = % of Promoters - % of Detractors

Calculating NPS score for Outlook magazine:Promoters: 21 people gave scores of

9 and 10.

The % of Promoters = 21⁄30*100% = 70%

Passives: 0%

Detractors: 9 people gave a score between 0 and 6.

The % of Detractors = 9⁄30*100% = 30%

Net Promoter Score (NPS) = 70% - 30%= +40 Calculating NPS score for The Week
magazine:Promoters: 15 people gave scores of 9 and 10.
The % of Promoters = 15⁄30*100% = 50% Passives: 3 people gave scores
of 7 and 8.

The % of Passives = 3⁄30*100% = 10%

Detractors: 12 people gave a score between 0 and 6.

The % of Detractors = 12⁄30*100% = 40%

Net Promoter Score (NPS) = 50% - 40%= +10 Calculating NPS score for Forbes
India magazine:Promoters: 18 people gave scores of 9 and 10.
The % of Promoters = 18⁄30*100% = 60% Passives: 3 people gave scores
of 7 and 8.

The % of Passives = 3⁄30*100% = 10%

Detractors: 9 people gave a score between 0 and 6.

The % of Detractors = 9⁄30*100% = 30%

Net Promoter Score (NPS) = 70% - 40%= +30

NPS global standards treat +50 as ‘excellent’ and +70 as ‘world class.’ Any NPS that is above 0 is
considered to be ‘good,’ as this means that the number of loyal customers is higher than the number of
disloyal customers.
Outlook magazine-

The NPS score of Outlook magazine is +40 i.e. above 0 which indicates that the number of loyal customers is
higher than the number of disloyal customers. As +50 is considered excellent, so +40 score clearly states that the
client perception and brand loyalty is good of Outlook. Even, the customers encourage others in their network to
take its subscription leading to increase in Outlook’s business.

The Week magazine-

The NPS score of The Week magazine is +10 i.e. above 0 which indicates that the number of loyal customers is
higher than the number of disloyal customers, but still this score needs a lot of improvement because when
compared to its competitors, The Week magazine has the least score. The reason for this score when surveyed
was that sometimes, gifts to be given with magazine gets out of stock and this leads to dropping of subscription
by the target market. Even, the customers are not satisfied with the service provided as the magazine doesn’t
reach out to them on time.

For The Week magazine-

• The company should have marketing department of the Week magazine in towns for the benefit of the
subscribers as well for the company. This would lead to awareness amongst people.
The most important suggestion is that company should give priority to coverage by covering towns, cities, rural
areas. It would then create more magazines readers and this would further lead to increase in the market share.

Q.2 What lessons can the Print Media Industry take from the International Print Media companies so as to
improve the NPS?

Ans. Media Printing Industry is the industry associated with printing and distributing news through
newspapers and magazines. Newspapers are one of the oldest and most basic forms of mass
communication.

Lessons The Indian print media industry can learn from international print media companies to improve NPS

• India The print media industry is italicized for entertainment rather than information. actual information that
the country requires, because the drug business is more important in our country than the GDP or our
economy, unlike is the case with the international print media, because they focus on printing news on
demand by country.

• English is the language of the elite in India and thus the print medium is somewhat elitist in nature. Most
Indian journalists are trained in English, belong to the middle class and therefore do not understand the
issues of the road. Farmer suicide has always been a tough problem compared to what Trump said. This
problem is not encountered by the international written press.

• Most international magazines such as New York magazine offer a one month free trial of their magazine
subscriptions, unlike Indian magazines.

• Indian Print Media is responsible for displaying information and not passing judgment. Our media have the
expertise to reach a verdict and reach a conclusion even before a case is filed. This is not the case with the
international newspaper industry because it does not believe and just wants to limit its limits when it comes
to reporting.

• Indian journalism is primarily a business and not a profession as most channels are sponsored by political
parties, their leaders and influential businessmen. They speak the language of their boss even though it may
be against the national interest. They care little for the nation or the masses. On the other hand, the
international press always supports the government and supports the national interest.
 TASK- 2: DIGITAL MARKETING
Where do you think the Raheja group company is leading its competitors and in which aspect does it
need improvement?

Ans:- Globally the print media industry has been on a decline in terms of business.Newspaper in
development markets been over the last few years losing customer and advertisement revenues to
alternative medium but print in india is a very different business from that is most development
regions it has not only survived the rough times but continues to grow.

While the Indian newspaper industry has faced multiple headwinds,especially in the last two years in
the form of demonetization of GST and RERA and rapid growth of digital content it is still here to
stay according to reports

Factors that contribute to the growth of the print media in india.

Ad revenue dominates

Growth Drivers

Regional play

Digital onslaught

Q.3 If you Where the digital marketing manager what steps will you take to reap higher dividends?

Step 1: Create a Customer Persona

Previously, digital marketers collected qualitative and quantitative information about the target
audience that included age, gender, occupation, interests, and location. The definition of the
potential customer has been taken to another level recently, with buyer personas taking over. Now,
the most effective marketing strategies are incomplete without them.

Buyer personas are a term used to describe the ideal customer that can be defined by surveying and
contacting the pre-defined target group. To define your own buyer persona, you can make use of
online tools like MakeMyPersona and Persona Creator.

Step 2: Identify Your Goals and Tools

Every professional marketer knows how important this stage is. Without goals, the strategy simply
will not work, so defining them is your main task. Make sure that the goals you developed are
suitable, and make them measurable.

Example of a weak marketing goal:

Increase the conversions on the website next year and create two promotional offers.

What is wrong with this goal? Right, it is non-measurable! How one can measure the progress using
this goal?

Here is how it should have been formulated:

Increase the conversions on the website by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2020, and create two
promotional offers: free marketing report and a marketing book. Have them online by February and
March respectively.

There, measuring the progress becomes possible now.

Step 3: Focus on Blogging

Creating high-quality content is important for any digital marketing strategy. Blogging is one way to
create quality content for a site and expand your content marketing strategy. This key aspect of the
strategy performs some critical functions, including bringing more traffic to your website, reinforcing
social media presence, positioning against other companies, and ranking all those long-tail search
queries and keywords.

If you have a regularly updated blog that the visitors find useful, it means that your website will be
easily found through the search engines and can be used as a platform for your marketing campaign.
If you don't have capacity to tackle blogs in-house you can looking into blog writing services for
support.

Step 4: Evaluate Existing Digital Marketing Channels

Analyze the digital assets and channels that you are already using, including website, blog content,
social media account, word-of-mouth, native advertising, Google Adwords, paid advertising, and so
on. Ask yourself: how effective were they and how can they be used next year?
It is okay if your future digital marketing strategy process does not incorporate all of these elements,
but it sure should use those that were the most effective in the previous year. For example, if a
landing page you recently created has been effective in generating leads, use it again but improve it
as much as possible. The same applies to other assets and channels.

Step 5: Automate Marketing

Marketing automation is huge, and it’s only getting better with new technology and software.
Today’s leading marketing automation platforms can do wonders for your digital marketing strategy,
making it easy for you to automate activities such as content marketing, email marketing, lead
generation, and more. Plus, it’s easy to find marketing automation platforms that are integrated
with your company’s sales CRM, which improves the entire sales process.

If your company is still not on board with automated lead generation, make sure you add it to your
strategy this year.

Step 6: Nail Mobile Optimization

It’s a mobile-first era, and there’s no excuse for not improving your site for a wonderful mobile
experience. Mobile optimization includes page speed, site design, and various other search engine
optimization practices to ensure that people who come to your site using a mobile device have a
good experience.

Review your mobile responsive design and email templates to ensure that you are using the latest
methods and provide only relevant and latest data.

Step 7: Make it Easy for Customers to Reach You

Online business is all about connecting with potential customers, so traffic on your website should
be high to ensure positive outcomes. Your digital marketing strategy therefore should ensure that
your leads and visitors are not exerting unnecessary effort to connect with you. Engaging with your
customers is invaluable for your business.

“There’s a lot to be learned from your audience online. You’ll get honest feedback on campaigns and
messaging, for one. Incorporating your fans’ interpretation and opinion of your brand can get you
both fresh content and loyal fans." –Adam Fridman

To eliminate the unnecessary effort, you should ensure that landing pages do not ask for irrelevant
data. Make call-to-actions clearly visible on the landing page and other pages on the website. You
can also use tools like Target Everyone and Zenreach to make customer communication easier than
ever.
Step 8: Use the Right Technology

A marketing effort is wasted if an ineffective or inappropriate technology is used.

For a proper digital marketing strategy, you’ll need tools such as marketing automation software as
well as industry tools such as the Snapshot Report by Vendasta. There are tools that can help you
during every stage of the digital marketing process, including tools that help you identify your goals
to tools that help you track where your visitors are coming from.

Step 9: Confirm Your Differentiators

If your company is not different from your competitors, you should not expect high profits. Make
sure you change (or reinforce) your difference from the others by talking to your customers and
asking them why they selected your company. Every company has a unique selling proposition, an
attribute that sets you apart from the competition. Do the research and work to find out what that
is. Then, fix your existing differentiators if needed. Incorporate this message into your content
marketing campaigns.

Step 10: Track Your Process

Constant monitoring should be provided to ensure that the strategy is working effectively. This is
done by assigning teams that would deliver this task. Remember to learn from the mistakes and
always find improvement opportunities!

There is a lot of work involved in designing a digital marketing strategy process, but an effective and
well thought-out plan will make it much easier.

At Vendasta, we specialize in an end-to-end platform for companies who sell digital products and
services to small and medium businesses. This includes our white-label marketing services you can
resell under your own brand. We have the software and tools along with a team of in-house
marketing strategists and content creators to help you identify and create a digital marketing
strategy that delivers results.
Q.4 To what level does these companies use social media marketing? Does it have an optimized
social media marketing plan?

1. Account optimization

First thing’s first: you need to ensure that your brand accounts align with your business and its goals.
This requires a general audit of your social profiles with an emphasis on branding and marketing
messaging.

For example, some details to consider when it comes to account optimization include:

Branding and creative visuals that are consistent with your business’ online presence (logos, fonts,
hashtags, taglines and slogans)

An appropriate link and/or call-to-action that sends visitors to the proper landing page

Marketing messaging and languages that match your current promotions

Think of your social presence as a sort of gateway to your products and brand. Assuming that this is
someones’ first encounter with your business, consistency counts for the sake of keeping customers
engaged and not potentially confusing them.

Optimization doesn’t have to be a scary word in digital marketing.

Perhaps the term makes you think of search engine optimization (SEO) and rigid, restrictive keyword
requirements.

Or maybe you associate optimization with stripping any sense of creativity from your marketing.

The reality, though? Social media optimization (SMO) is an entirely different ballgame.

Because while businesses at large are on board with social media, many fail to make simple changes
that could significantly boost their performance.
The good news is that optimizing your social presence doesn’t mean sacrificing your brand’s voice
and creativity. In this guide, we’ll break down some easy social optimization techniques for brands
big and small.

“What’s the point of social media optimization, though?”

In short, social media optimization (SMO) encourages businesses to analyze, audit and make
adjustments to both their content and accounts to stay in line with the best practices of social
media.

The concept of SMO is pretty straightforward. Much like SEO or CRO (conversion rate optimization)
requires tweaking and testing, so does SMO.

So, why bother? Although many brands make their social efforts seem effortless, the reality is that
top-performing accounts don’t ignore the fine details of optimization. The benefits of social media
optimization are three-fold:

Increase the visibility and reach of your content, resulting in greater engagement (clicks, traffic and
so on)

Assess the overall ROI and outcomes of your social marketing (think: sales, brand awareness)

Develop a consistent process for creating content that’s poised to perform well (relative to your
brand)

We’ve seen firsthand how more and more marketers are being held accountable when it comes to
social media performance. Through optimization, you increase the likelihood of hitting your KPIs and
make your own job easier by establishing a process for fine-tuning your content.

6 social media optimization strategies you should totally try

Now, onto the good stuff! Below are six aspects of social media optimization that businesses should
pay close attention to.

1. Account optimization

First thing’s first: you need to ensure that your brand accounts align with your business and its goals.
This requires a general audit of your social profiles with an emphasis on branding and marketing
messaging.
For example, some details to consider when it comes to account optimization include:

Branding and creative visuals that are consistent with your business’ online presence (logos, fonts,
hashtags, taglines and slogans)

An appropriate link and/or call-to-action that sends visitors to the proper landing page

Marketing messaging and languages that match your current promotions

Think of your social presence as a sort of gateway to your products and brand. Assuming that this is
someones’ first encounter with your business, consistency counts for the sake of keeping customers
engaged and not potentially confusing them.

For example, check out Oatly’s homepage…

oatly homepage

…and how their Twitter and Instagram reflect similar messaging, creatives and branding. These
accounts feel like they belong to Oatly at a glance.

Part of Oatly's social media optimization strategy is to create a cohesive creative image across all
social platforms.

Through account optimization, you guarantee that your leads never feel lost no matter how they
find you.

As a side note, you may have slightly different links, promotions and bios across multiple networks.
That’s fine! Just make sure that you stick with the proper social media image sizes so each account
looks sharp.

2. Social searchability optimization

Figuring out how to optimize social media for search should be a top priority for brands today.

We’re seeing a growing trend of more social profiles popping up in Google searches. Recent rollouts
such as Instagram’s updated search features also highlight how brands should mind how they use
keywords across their posts and accounts.
Don’t worry, though: you don’t have to keyword stuff your posts to boost your social searchability.
Start by performing keyword research for industry and brand-specific keywords you can sprinkle
throughout your social content. Then, implement some key social media optimization techniques as
it relates to search such as:

Including relevant keywords (and keyword #hashtags) in your social bios

Make sure that your business’ key details such as @username, address and contact options are
consistent across accounts

Completely fill out your bio and “About” sections for any given social network

Let’s look at an example of social searchability optimization in action. If we search “vegan haircare”
via Instagram, we’re met with a combination of consumer, influencer and brand accounts.
 TASK- 3: PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT

Q1. Take a Raheja group company and analyze the aspects of brand positioning and repositioning, logo
and jingles, communication strategies, campaigns, co-branding and associations, brand personality, role
of reference groups. Along with this you can analyze other brand element too.

Compare the same brand elements with the competitor company which is operating the same segment.

Ans. Here, in this task we will be talking about brand and its various elements as mentioned above in the question,
how much impact does a brand has on the customers and company as well.
Brand
A name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those
of other sellers.
Brand elements
Elements used to express and identify/differentiate the brand. The consistent use of Brand Elements in all
marketing programs helps communicate the Brand Character to the marketplace. The brand name, logo, slogan,
jingle etc are all examples of Brand Elements.
The Raheja Group Company taken by me is The Outlook India. The competitor company taken by me which is
operating in the same segment is India Today.
Analyzing brand elements of The Outlook India and India Today-
Brand Positioning
The positioning strategy of the brand with the goal to create a unique impression in the minds of the customers and
at the marketplace. Brand Positioning has to be desirable, specific, clear, and distinctive in nature from the rest of
the competitors in the market. The Outlook magazine has positioned itself as a news magazine that gives more
than just news whereas India Today magazine has positioned itself as a magazine that offers a thorough insight
on India.

Brand Positioning Strategies used by both the brands are-

• Quality Positioning
Uses the relation between price and quality such that it optimally prices a product according to the quality of the
product to keep the product higher in the customers mind. Quality plays a very essential role in building a brand.
Both the magazines have positioned itself well in terms of quality and therefore India Today has Rank1 and Outlook
India has Rank2 overall in India.
• Benefit Positioning
Communicating the unique benefits of a product or service has long been a popular brand position. Outlook India
uses a benefit strategy with an effective message: “Think beyond, stay ahead.” India Today uses a benefit strategy
with an effective message: “Making Sense of India.” The goal is to highlight company's most powerful attributes.
• Competitor based positioning
Business is nothing if not competitive. Therefore, with this positioning strategy, a company takes aim at one or
several competitors to demonstrate its superiority among others offering the same type of product or service. This
is done by both the companies.
• Problem and solution positioning
The idea is to demonstrate that the company has the power to relieve customers of whatever problem they may
be facing, both quickly and efficiently. Both the companies aim for it so as to grow in the market.
• Value/Price Positioning
There are two ways to approach value or price positioning, both of which are crucially dependent on quality. One
approach is to use a high-end tack, which exploits the psychological belief that the more expensive something is,
the more intrinsically valuable it must be. You can also cement your brand as the provider of high-quality, value-
priced products or services. Outlook is providing their magazine subscriptions at an affordable price and on the
other hand India today is charging a bit high price from the consumer.
Brand Repositioning
It occurs when you make changes to what your customers associate with and expect from your brand i.e. change
the customer’s understanding of product. When you reposition your brand, you maintain the brand identity that
you've established but with some modifications.
When the company observes that the revenue is falling due to changes in the industry, then they are bound to do
brand repositioning. It is a challenging task for well established brand.
Outlook India eliminated its luxury magazine subscription because it was costlier as compared to other
subscriptions and it has middle class as its target market, who would never invest in that subscription willingly.
There was no brand repositioning strategy taken up by India Today.

Co-branding and Association

Co branding is the utilization of two or more brands to name a new product. The ingredient brands help each other
to achieve their aims. The overall synchronization between the brand pair and the new product has to be kept in
mind. Neither India Today, nor Outlook India have done co-branding till date. A customer does not simply buy a
branded product. He tries to recall the brand or product in his mind with something else. That association of the
brand with the customer which forms a mental image of the product in his mind is called brand association. When
a customer thinks of knowing everything about India i.e. in just one magazine , then they think of India Today as it
does exactly the same. When a customer wants know specifically about personal investments, where can they
travel in current situation, current business etc separately, then the Outlook magazines click onto their minds.
Brand Personality
Brand personality is a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name. A brand personality is
something to which the consumer can relate; an effective brand increases its brand equity by having a consistent
set of traits that a specific consumer segment enjoys. Customers are more likely to purchase a brand if its
personality is similar to their own.

Reference Groups
Reference groups are considered a social influence in consumer purchasing.
They are often groups that consumers will look to make purchasing decisions. So if a reference group endorses a
product, either through use or statements about the product, those that look to the group will often purchase that
product.
The consistent use of brand elements in all marketing programs helps communicate the brand character to the
market place

Q3.Which amongst these companies has been able to implement sound product and brand management
strategies and what has been the outcome?

Ans. The India today has become one of the most recognised brands built on the pillars of professional and media industry.
Outlook entered the market attacking India today on price. Outlook alone shows that they are pushing customers towards
low cost, better quality of product.

However, India today also competes on quality. They further differentiated by creating messages that is far from the
Outlook India advertisements to create a base in the market. Both the companies have their product display, more refined
and they offer huge discounts to the consumers. Their main red colour defines the fiery and attacking side of the brand.
Both companies have fantastic branding. One is not better than the other. They both organize all their activities to re-

enforce their brand message and build loyalty with their target personas .

Q4. You are an entrepreneur. You are coming up with a company in the same segment as the above two companies.
Make an action plan pertaining to product and brand management for your company.

Ans. Product and Brand management

Brand management is a function of marketing that uses techniques to increase the perceived value of a product line or
brand over time. Effective brand management enables the price of products to go up and builds loyal customers through
positive brand associations and images or a strong awareness of the brand.

I am coming up with a company say XYZ Ltd. in the same segment i.e. magazine. This company’s magazine with which I
would be coming up will have magazines in which there would be complete information about cocurricular activities like
dancing, singing etc. in which one wants to pursue their dreams. Along with it news, career magazines would also be there.

Action plan pertaining to product and brand management for XYZ Ltd.

company:-

• Positive brand association

Building of positive brand association is very important. The customers must be persuaded that the brand possess the
features and attributes satisfying their needs. The magazines which would be marketed by my company would associate
target market .i.e. lower, middle and upper class with fulfilling their dreams.

• Price Penetration Strategy

Price penetration strategy would be used by my company wherein magazines would be sold out to target audience at
lower prices as compared to its competitors. It would help my magazine to grab a good market share and once this is done,
I would increase the prices so as to grow in the market.

• Logo

The logo of my company would be having yellow colour in it because this warm colour is the shining example of
friendliness and cheer. Brands which are seeking to draw in consumers with a comforting, warm embrace and youthful
energy should look towards Yellow. Additionally,

the colour can radiate a playful and affordable identity. These characteristics jell up well with pursuing of dreams.

• Use of social media

For creating brand awareness, social media can’t be ignored. That’s where a brand is created and the magic takes place.
Few businesses have been built solely on the backs of social media. Posting on social media is getting easier and easier over
time and is has a commendable influence on public.

• Blogging

A blog for our brand can also be started. It would be acting as a medium of business to consumer, like people reaction and
comments section wherein they can put up their reviews.

• Leverage influencers

I would be finding the right influencer in my circle so that we are targeting the right audience and also to ensure that target
audience is being influenced as per the expectations. It is not just about spreading your message, it is about spreading your
message to the right customer base and in correct way.
 TASK-4: ADVERTISEMENT

Outlook is a media company which has its presence in the market for a period of 25 years and it
exists in both print and digital media. Outlook is coming up with a premium fashion magazine which
is Outlook Spurge. You are Advertising Manager from Outlook India.Come up with strategies for the
following

Q1. Bringing on the Buzz, PR Management, Influencer Marketing Management and Corporate Advertising

Ans. Buzz marketing is a strategy to create word of mouth marketing with viral content, influencers,
and interactive events to create buzz around an upcoming product or service launch.

Strategies to create buzz in which Outlook Group is launching a couture magazine is Outlook Spurge

a. As you work to build anticipation for an upcoming product launch, you'll be sending a free product
to top influencers and thought leaders in your category. They will then post your product on their
various social media platforms to get their followers excited. This helps create a conversation with a
larger audience about your product.

b. Live streaming videos are a successful buzz marketing activity because they provide an element of
interaction for consumers. When people feel like they're part of the conversation, they feel more
invested and connected to your brand and what's on offer.

Public relations is a management function that helps to build and maintain a positive image of your
business with the public.

The PR management strategy in which Outlook Group launches a high fashion magazine is Outlook
Spurge

a. Public relations can be achieved through a set of planned and sustained activities. You will need a
calendar to organize your outreach activities. You should also start building a list of relevant media
contacts, thought leaders, personalities, customers, and businesses to interact and collaborate with.

b. Set up a team dedicated to your public relations efforts. If you have an employee who is good at
graphics, writes witty quotes, or just takes great photos, bring them to your team. Your team will
help you add value to your post, provide feedback, and get your message out there.

Managing influencer marketing is about identifying, finding, engaging, and supporting the people
who create productive conversations with your customers.

Influencer marketing management strategies where Outlook Group launches a high fashion
magazine, Outlook Spurge
 a. Social media is the easiest way to find influencers. Search by topic to identify conversations and
see who's talking. Follow influencers and check who they follow. Engage in regular conversations
related to your industry.

b. Influencer marketing is not just about reaching a large number of people, it is also about reaching
the right people. After all, you'll need at least the tacit approval of other experts in your field if your
idea is to gain traction.

Corporate advertising is advertising made for the whole organization / company / organization and
not for individual brands or products. This type of activity is an extension of the Public Relations
activity carried out by the company in order to improve the company's image in the public mind.

The Company's promotional strategies in which Outlook Group launches a high fashion magazine is
Outlook Spurge

a. Develop a unique language The way you communicate with your customers makes all the
difference in making you stand out in the market, and it should be standardized (and have your own
style!).

b. Providing Impeccable Customer Service Business marketing is all about putting the customer first.
However, in addition to considering their needs and always providing the best service, you should
also provide all the necessary support before, during and after their purchase.

Q2. Implement customer market sales promotion techniques.

Ans. Consumer promotion is a marketing technique used to entice customers to buy a product.
Promotions usually last for a period of time and are used to achieve a specific goal, such as
increasing market share.

Strategies that can be used by Outlook Group to implement sales promotion techniques in the
customer market to launch a high fashion magazine, ie Outlook Spurge

a. Offering free samples is a technique used to introduce new products to the market. Samples give
consumers a chance to see how much they like a product or try something they wouldn't normally
buy.

b. Freebies entice consumers to purchase by including a bonus with the product. The gift can be
included on the outside of the product packaging as a visual attraction. It can also be in the form of a
price inside the package.

ch. Contests give customers a chance to win prizes like cash or in-store merchandise. For example, a
magazine retailer might run a quiz contest in their store while using local celebrities as judges. The
entrant who is voted the winner will receive a prize such as a free Outlook Spurge subscription for a
specific period of time.

d. A free trial is a way to offer a free one-month subscription to a newly launched fashion magazine
so that as many people as possible can read the magazine and decide whether or not to purchase
their subscription without having to pay. a penny.
Q3. Promote the product using integrated brand Promotion tools in digital and interactive media.

Ans. Embedded branding is basically a marketing element that ensures that your brand message is
consistent throughout your marketing.

Digital media refers to any type of information transmitted to us through a screen. This information
can be found on websites or in applications, software packages, video games, etc.

Interactive media generally refers to products and services on digital computer systems that
respond to user actions by presenting content such as text, moving images, activities, etc., photos,
videos and sound . Interactive media is digital media.

Some of the interactive and digital media branding tools that help promote Outlook Magazine
specifically

Spurge are mentioned below: Social media marketing provides Outlook a way to interact Engage
with existing customers and reach new ones while allowing them to promote their desired culture,
mission or tone. Social networking sites like facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. great for promoting
Outlook's new Spurge fashion magazine.

Interactive Video - Interactive video (also known as “IV”) is a form of digital video that supports user
interaction. Interactive videos give viewers the option to click desktop or mobile in the video to take
action. We could create an interactive video for our next magazine, which is Outlook Spurge. First,
for example, the video might start by asking the customer what magazines they like to see (news,
travel, fashion, etc.) and then the potential customer will click on the fashion magazine. After that,
the video will introduce different fashion magazines like Outlook Spurge, Vogue, etc. Then the
customers click Outlook spurge to know the latest fashion trends and all the fashion related
information will be known to them. We can play this video on Youtube, Instagram, linkedin etc.

Post offers and promotional codes on social networks Newly introduced but proven, a good way to
promote products on social networks is to distribute offers and promotional codes

Advertising Advertise your products on social networks Communities Join groups / social media
communities relevant to your niche can also be a good way to market your product

Q4. Prepare a media plan to achieve the above objective.

Ans. Media planning is the process of determining how, when, and to what audience a branding or advertising message will
be delivered. A media planner analyzes how a message is intended to support a marketing or advertising strategy and then
develops tactics to share that message in the right places with the right people.

Our media plan is:-

1. Conduct market Research: Here we will conduct market research for our new Outlook magazine i.e. Spurge. In
this market research we will target the audience through which we came to know the characteristics of buyers such as age,
income, demographics etc. These factors helps in getting the information of buyers habits and their personal preference.

2. Clarify the Objective: The main objective of launching this new magazine i.e. Spurge is to provide the information
pertaining to fashion trends to our target audience.

3. Identify the target audience: Here we are identifying the target audience such as corporates, students,
youngsters (male and female) and even females of having age above 30, for the new magazine i.e. Spurge. Here basically
we separate these consumers into segments based on interest and demographic data so for this magazine segmentation is
middle class and upper middle class. This segmentation is done by keeping in mind the income of our consumer. The main
purpose of segmentation is to ensure the right people are receiving the message. The right people are those who are likely
to buy Outlook Spurge Magazine. We can found out effective audience by mining the analytics. Mine the analytics means
Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms provide deep dives into consumer data such as
geographic location, websites visited, and personal and professional interests. Mine these sources for information to learn
more about consumers who already are engaged with the organization.

4. Selecting Relevant Media Channel: Channels are platforms, digital or traditional, that serve content to users.
Traditional channels are TV, radio, and print ads. Digital channels are social media, websites, email, and other online
platforms. The channel chosen should be a platform the target audience is likely to use frequently. Channels appeal to
users based on age, gender, socioeconomic status, and other demographic factors. Therefore, channel chosen by me is
digital platform because of usage of social media by everyone nowadays. Social networking websites such as facebook,
twitter, instagram, etc are really handy for promoting Outlook’s new fashion magazine Spurge and therefore we can add
new web page of Outlook Spurge fashion magazine in its social networking websites. We can make interactive video of our
upcoming magazine i.e. Outlook Spurge. . We can broadcast this video on Youtube by doing up tie ups with different
famous youtubers, known lecturers who put up their videos which are viewed by huge number of students so that they can
show this interactive video of outlook Spurge as add in between. This video can also be out up at Instagram, linkedin etc.

5. Set the budget: Here we will set the budget for our new magazine i.e. Outlook Spurge for different expenses to
promote the new magazine say for example Search Engine Optimization, Social media and placement, influencer
marketing expense and many more. This is the role of media buyer who possesses working knowledge of the platforms
used to distribute content and how much it cost to use those platform. This budget is to anticipate the ROI.