Markathon April 2013 Issue

April 13

Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong

Cover Story

Volume 4 | Issue 10

Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

Mr. Rajesh Bagchi Associate Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech.

FROM TEAM MARKATHON is one of the most rewarding professions one can get into.

Dear Readers, The month of April marks the beginning of the Indian summer season. However, things got heated up in the month of March itself for the Indian Cricket enthusiasts who celebrated India's 4-0 whitewash over Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. It is a historic feat as the series victory is India's biggest win in its Test history.

The month of March also witnessed the launch of the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy S4, which according to many is a prominent sign of Samsung's lead over Apple in the smartphone market. Indian consumers can get a hand on the new gadget in the last week of April. Also, IPL fever returns in the month of April with the start of IPL Season 6, an exciting time for all marketing enthusiasts providing them the opportunity to witness new innovative television commercials that brands use to differentiate themselves in highly competitive market.

We would also like to thank you all for the overwhelming number of entries that we have received for this month’s edition. This goes to show how Markathon has developed as a platform to showcase the best minds of the Marketing domain. For a team that puts its soul into a magazine month in and month out, there cannot be a greater source of encouragement.

This edition's cover story is a fresh perspective on Valentine's Day and how it has gained tremendous popularity over other festival imports in India. There are many examples of why 14 February continues to attract intense interest from consumers and marketers alike.

Over the last decade, businesses have enthusiastically embraced and capitalized on the commercial opportunities presented by Valentine’s Day. This poses a question that is answered by different people in different ways. The question is whether Valentine’s Day is an event signifying expression of love or it is the marketing of feelings? Read the cover story to find out whether the writer shares similar views with you or not.

This month’s Academic Vartalaap features an interaction with Mr. Rajesh Bagchi, Associate Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. Rajesh studies the psychological processes that underlie consumer and managerial decision-making and takes special interest in the field of consumer pricing judgments. In this exclusive interview with Markathon, he talks extensively about his interesting works of research and shares his learnings from what he believes

With a host of exciting stuff lined up for you, waste no time in taking on this delightful journey as you flip through the pages of the latest edition of Markathon.

As always, do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

Sit back and enjoy this issue!

Happy Reading!

Team Markathon

THE MARKATHON TEAM Editors Ashok A Kamalpreet Singh Saluja Pallavi Prateek Gaurav Shashank S. Tomar Swikruti Panda

Creative Designers Sushree L. Tripathy Vaibhav Annam

markathon |april 2013

CONTENTS FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVES SOCIAL MEDIA MINING – CAPTURE THE FUTURE

BY KRISHNAN CHIDAMBARAM | GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

4

INGREDIENTS OF AN AGELESS BRAND SAURABH SHARMA | NMIMS

7

COVER STORY VALENTINE’S - EXPRESSION OF LOVE OR MARKETING OF FEELINGS? KAMALPREET SALUJA | IIM S

10

VARTALAAP MR. RAJESH BAGCHI ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, PAMPLIN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, VIRGINIA TECH.

16

EYE 2 EYE DO SOCIAL MEDIA CONTESTS REALLY HELP IN BRANDING OR DO THEY DIE AWAY AS MERE PUBLICITY STUNTS? PRADYUT V HANDE | SIMS ; NIDHI MITTAL | SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH COLLEGE, DELHI UNIVERSITY

20

SILENT VOICE TEMPLE RUN 2

21

ADDICTED SWIKRUTI PANDA & SUSHREE TRIPATHY | IIM S

22

BRAND STORY FEVICOL

BY SHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S

23

FUN CORNER VAIBHAV ANNAM | IIM

24

UPDATES PRATEEK | IIM S

25

3

perspective

markathon|april 2013

Social Media Mining- Capture the Future Krishnan chidambaram GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

‘Your brand is not what you say but what they say’!

This dictum clearly indicates a shift in the world order of branding that was earlier defined only by the sellers. Not anymore! Today the ‘they’- consumers, play a much bigger role in making a brand distinct or extinct.

As the world shrinks technologically and our informational ecology expands, every consumer has become a source of information and his/her information serves as a resource for another consumer in need of that valuable information. Social media is at the center of this information revolution.

All of us understand that social media and web space provide us with huge amount of data but have we really tapped the true potential of the data on offer? No, however, the progress is well and truly on and there is huge amount of effort and money being invested in deciphering the data by organizations across various domains. For example, a US

based Design Company, has invested huge amount of money in Facebook just for its advertisements.

Now Facebook positions these advertisements on user pages based on the browsing patterns of the users. Isn’t it fantastic to know that brands can also be positioned in the minds of the consumers in such a novel way? Welcome to the world of social media!

How do you figure out on your future plan of action based on Social Media? It is by listening to the conversations and being aware of what is happening in the consumer space on different social media platforms. This is where Social Media Mining plays a role. By definition, ‘Social media mining’ is a process that involves extracting data from data mines, processing the data and finally creating the required information knowledge.

Social media mining has come a long way from the time when it was mistakenly used by

4

perspective organizations only to market their already popular brands.

markathon|april 2013 protect intellectual property

Today, organizations focus on social media mining to understand the needs of the consumer and have started recognizing social media mining as yet another means to gain invaluable insights. To elaborate, today organizations use the findings of social media mining across various verticals – advertising, sales, marketing, customer service, product development, ecommerce/Retail and risk management to cater to the target segment.

A brief overview on the social media mining’s significance in the verticals stated above..,    

 



Advertising – right ad, right person, right time, right place Sales - identify prospects, build rapport, before they make their short list Marketing – measure effectiveness of marketing messages and promotions Customer Service – build loyalty by quickly addressing customer questions , spot cries for help Product development – identify new feature and function requests E-commerce/Retail – identify actionable leads with intent to buy, identify key issues and interest purchasing drivers.

Risk Management – identify potential fraud,

To give a specific example, consider that Samsung is looking at launching a smart phone in a particular market similar to that of what its competitor launched a quarter ago. Social media mining would be able to track all conversations related to the competitor’s product features that the consumers felt would have added value to their purchase and filter the negative attributes. This would act as input to Samsung, which in turn would add all the bells and whistles to the existing model before releasing it in the market. Samsung precisely gets to offer what the customer wants and it is very likely that this product would be a winner. From the above example we clearly understand the significant role of social media mining from an organizations perspective. But the question remains as to what really happens within the mining process?

Speaking to one of the architects of Serendio Inc, an organization that specializes in providing social media intelligence, gave enough insights on how a raw data is converted in to useful and actionable information.

Harvesting data is the easiest stage in the mining process. The harvested data is next passed through

5

perspective taxonomic mining (intelligence built to pick the required data) stage. The taxonomy is built by words, functionalities and attributes that are unique to a domain.

The drawback in this stage is that the mining tool would not be able to distinguish between a positive and a negative attribute.

For example, if the review states that the particular mobile device has a greater battery life (positive attribute) and a greater charging time (negative attribute), the mining tool when fed with an input to pick data based on the word ‘greater’ captures both the positive and the negative attributes of the mobile device.

In order to differentiate such attributes, the third step in mining process involves capturing sentiments based on the richness of words used. A negative emotion is graded -1, a positive emotion is graded +1 and neutral is given a 0. Based on the end result, the knowledge base is built as required by the organizations.

There are many examples around us that have already started using the data available from the social media successfully. Here success is not only about making profits by launching the right products but also avoiding

markathon|april 2013 possible failures and scrapping the deals that do not yield the required returns.

For example, one of the banks was in a dilemma to change or drop one of its personal loan schemes. They analyzed the feedback given by its customers on its loan schemes across various social media sites and found out that the bank did not enjoy a good feedback response from its customers. In addition it had gained lot of bad publicity in personal loans scheme among its customers. They understood that it would be tough selling if they go ahead and hold the scheme.

Rightly, the scheme was dropped.

As our information ecology keeps growing, social media mining is going to gain more and more prominence and this cannot be ignored. This would provide real insights and not just numbers. There is a great deal of latent power and value that exists in the data, which ideally would be the insights your organization needs to make the right decisions. In addition, it is very important for corporations to keep track of the social media conversations and be a part of it to respond as well as to influence the brand perception in the minds of consumers

6

perspective

markathon|april 2013

Ingredients of an Ageless brand Saurabh sharma Nmims, mumbai Surf is synonymous to detergent powder, just like Colgate is to toothpaste or Maggi is to instant noodles.

That’s the kind of recall a real timeless and successful brand creates. Question arises do all successful brands stay relevant forever? Well the answer is an obvious no; we have several examples ranging from BPL TVs in India to General Motors cars in USA, which once ruled the markets but later lost the hold. So what keeps a brand relevant forever and why do some brands even successful market leaders lose their sheen with time and crash out of competition?

A strong brand is an amalgamation of quality, reliability and relevance, which creates a perception of being the best in the buyer’s mind. It enjoys a loyalty as long as it delivers all what is desired by the customers. But this loyalty of customer may not last forever if the brand fails to capture the changing needs and aspirations of the customers. Nokia once led the market of feature phones but failed when market shifted towards smartphones. Whereas brands like Coca Cola or IKEA stood the test of time and retained their strong positions in the market because they embraced change

and kept on improving themselves.

In a nutshell a truly ageless brand would have a great recall, an everlasting relevance and flexibility to change.

It evolves with time and resonates with customers by exhibiting the following.

Innovation A brand’s success is not merely an outcome of what it delivers; it also depends on the brand’s prowess of innovating. A brand should be able to gauge the change early and find better ways to serve its customers through product innovation or innovation in its service.

Innovation provides early mover advantage and positions a brand in a favorable position in the changing environment of demand.

Amul observed a shift of demand from carbonated drinks to health drinks in the market and grabbed the opportunity by bringing flavored milk. Whereas some of the very successful brands like Fiat car lost out when it failed to find newer offerings and new entrants like Maruti 800 took away the market share.

Emotional Connect A marketer must understand that the benefits a customer seeks are a combination of tangible and intangible kinds. A good product may win the race on the basis of delivered value, but to sustain the lead it

7

perspective

has to have a strong bonding with the customer. A feeling of belongingness with a brand is important to differentiate itself from the competitors. Like Harley Davidson motorbikes have created a great emotional connect with the customers by creating HOGs. Another aspect of emotional connect is the feeling of pride that is associated with the ownership of a brand. On the contrary if a brand somehow relegates a buyer’s ego it may prove to be harmful for the brand just like it happened with Tata Nano, positioning as a poor man’s car backfired as it hurt the feeling of pride associated with ownership of a car for an Indian middle class buyer.

Experience What makes watching a cricket match in the stadium different from doing that on television is the

markathon|april 2013

experience. A brand is as good as the experience it provides to its buyers. It could be an experience of buying like an Apple product in an Apple store or experience of using a brand like a BMW car. A great experience translates into strong recall value for a brand. It cuts across the plethora of other rival offerings and provides the brand a unique position in the mind of buyers. On the other hand a bad experience will not just result into one disgruntled customer but it will create negative sentiments about it and in the era of social media and internet it may cause a widespread unpopularity.

Extension A successful product in a category can establish a brand vis-à-vis the competition and can make it a household name. Using the brand equity to further extend it into other categories is a wise idea for a) increasing market share b) diversifying risk of failure from one single product. FMCG companies are the best followers of this practice; we have several examples like Mr. Clean, ITC, Saffola, and Dove etc. that have successfully extended themselves into other product categories. But it may not always be a good idea to extend into a category that doesn’t go well with the brand image. Virgin water purifiers, Harley Davidson perfume failed to reap benefits of brand extension into these categories.

8

perspective

markathon|april 2013 whole look and feel and reposition itself in the consumer’s mind like a new one. Burberry a 150 years old brand famous for making trench coats during World War II had lost its appeal completely in the recent times. But rebranding it with new designs and ad campaigns renewed the brand and reestablished the legacy in a formidable way.

New challenges So all these factors are important for a brand to gain longevity and stay relevant. But business environment is changing rapidly and so is the consumer behavior. Social media is gaining great visibility and has become a big game changer. There is no longer one way communication and consumers are more than willing voice their opinions. A small dissent can spread virally and dent a brand’s image faster than a nuclear fission.

Fast pace of globalization is making brands international and is bringing newer complexities arising out of different cultures, languages, aspirations and needs.

Rebranding A brand needs to stay young to fight the competitors. It has to have that appealing X-factor to keep consumers interested and flocking. With time brands tend to lose their appeal and the heritage value these carry. Some of the products these brands were famous for fail to find users or a profitable share of the market. So it becomes imperative for the brand to reinvent itself, to revamp its

Technological advancements though pose newer challenges but open better avenues to comprehend customer better. Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and web blogs capture customers’ sentiments and can be used as a channel to connect with the customers. The user-generated content can act as word of mouth or as a feedback to improve. Another great advancement is big data analytics, which allows marketers to capture usage pattern of consumers and to position the brands accordingly thus gaining maximum traction.

9

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

markathon|april 2013 markathon|month

Cover Story

Valentine’s Day - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

Kamalpreet Saluja | IIM S

10

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

Valentine's Day is a modern-day festival, imported into India from the West and not a part of our own native calendar or traditions. Well, none of this makes it any less significant. There are many reasons Valentine's Day stands out amongst loads of other such imports including Friendship Day, Father’s Day and Halloween, and one of the reasons is marketing. It is not that the Indian marketers are not capitalizing on the other festival imports; it’s just that Valentine’s Day happens to fall in the lovely spring season and it is not a single-day fete.

Marketers have grasped the opportunity and transformed a single-day event into a weeklong carnival starting with Rose Day, followed by Proposal Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Kiss Day and Valentine’s Day.

markathon|april 2013

consumers and marketers alike. Over the last decade, businesses have enthusiastically embraced and capitalized on the commercial opportunities presented

by Valentine’s Day. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) have valued the Valentine's Day market in India at USD 27

To throw some light on the origins of Valentine’s Day, there is as Valentine’s Day apps on the iOS App Store much colour and variation when it million or INR 15 billion. Greeting cards, flowers, comes to its history as there is in the range and diversity chocolates and jewellery continue to be staple of gift ideas offered to consumers. The most popular purchases whilst gifts that have gained popularity in belief is that St Valentine was a third century priest who recent times include lingerie, champagne, dinner incurred the wrath of Claudius II, Emperor of Rome. reservations, spa treatments and other expensive Claudius had apparently ordered that young men electronic gadgets. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, sales for should not be allowed to marry, and instead should be greeting cards go up ten times at Archies Ltd, that has encouraged to join his army. Valentine perceived this also introduced more than 200 gifts - from musical gifts, ban as injustice and performed marriage ceremonies in crystal items, quotation books, photo frames and secret until this came to the attention of an angry jewellery – especially for this day. For the more techClaudius. Whilst Valentine was imprisoned, it is believed savvy consumer seeking an alternative to the traditional that he befriended his jailer’s blind daughter and wrote card, there is a plethora of Android and iOS apps for her a farewell letter, signed “from your Valentine”, smartphones and tablets. before being executed on the 14 February 269 AD. Today, Valentine’s Day has become highly commercialized and it has caught the imagination of the Indian consumer. With 60% of the Indian population between 15 and 50 years of age, it is no wonder that 14 February continues to attract intense interest from

What is more interesting is how the greeting card and gift market has evolved to include and acknowledge all forms of relationships and situations. To give an example, let’s say a guy gathers the courage to propose a girl on this auspicious day and spends a few thousand bucks to buy a Valentine’s gift for her. But sad for him,

11

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

markathon|april 2013 and affection. One such example that I doubt will be introduced in India (but we never know) is the pets sector.

I was surprised to read that PetSmart, a major speciality pet retailer, operating over thousand stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, has developed a line of gifts for pets featuring over 40 Valentine-themed products for pet owners seeking to treat their dogs or cats.

In India, the market for Valentine’s Day has been growing at a rate of 10% every year for the past few years, Valentine’s Day shopping options available at Indian retail stores mainly due to an increase in Internet penetration.

With the emergence of online the girl happily accepts the gift and then says, ‘I just shopping retailers such as Flipkart, Jabong.com and want to be friends with you’. He will surely be heartFashionandyou, gifting has taken a completely new broken, right! But so what? Marketers have in store a form. Now, you can sit in the comfort of your home and greeting card or a song specifically for the moment. So in a way, the guy’s cash outflow is guaranteed whether the girl’s response is heartening or disheartening, creating a cash pool that every marketer will like to have a greater share of.

If you think that ‘single’ people have nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, you could be wrong.

Marketers have started targeting consumers who may not be giving or receiving Valentine’s Day cards and gifts this year, but would like to be. For example, one approach used by advertisers is to use positive phrases such as “pamper yourself this Valentines” and “celebrate you”, to encourage single consumers to enjoy their independent status by treating themselves.

Talking about relationships, Archies has a range of Valentine’s cards for parents, siblings, children and even schoolteachers. So, the market for Valentine’s Day gifts continues to grow as marketers cannily identify other recipients of the gift-giver’s fondness

Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan promoting their movie ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’ that released on Valentine’s Day weekend. Source: UTVStars

12

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

markathon|april 2013

Valentine’s Day offers on MakemyTrip.com. Source: www.makemytrip.com get a gift (with a bunch of fresh red roses and a personalized message) delivered at the doorsteps of your loved one, even if that loved one lives in the same city. I know a few people (including girls) who have proposed their crush through this way, but I think that it is very lame. Why would you think that you are in love with a person if you don’t even have the courage to look into that person’s eyes and express your feelings?

Moving on, people who actually want to spend quality time with their partner on Valentine’s Day have the option of purchasing discount deals on top-end restaurants and spa treatments through e-commerce sites like Snapdeal and Groupon. And those who would

Supporters of an Indian political party protesting against Valentine’s Day

like to take their loved one on a holiday; MakemyTrip.com offers customized Valentines holidays with an exclusive candlelight dinner.

Romantic Bollywood movies are also planned for release during the Valentine’s Day weekend to cash in on the event (e.g. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu). Overall, the situation is such that it has assumed the form of a carnival and not celebration of an individual’s love for another. Whether it is chocolates, dinner, jewellery or travel – every company has a solution customised just for you and your loved one! It will be interesting to see how stocks of such companies fare on the share market in early February each year. I will ask my friends who are editors of Niveshak (IIM Shillong’s monthly Finance magazine. If you haven’t read it, you are missing something) to throw some light on this.

It is not only the gift businesses and retailers who benefit from Valentine’s Day; some Indian political parties also make full use of it. If you happen to browse over a few Indian news channels on 14th February, you will definitely notice news related to political parties protesting against Valentine’s Day celebrations. Why is it that these political parties are only against Valentine’s Day and not other Western festival imports? The answer is quite straightforward. Even political parties use Valentine’s Day to

13

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

markathon|april 2013

market their ideology. Someone should tell them that there are so many other pressing issues in India that demand protests. But these parties know that there is no other marketing opportunity similar to the one presented by Valentine’s Day. Let’s talk about some of the marketing trends that are popular amongst retailers during Valentine’s week. We all know what the 4Ps of marketing mix are. Now here are my 4Ps for Valentine’s Day: 



Premium Image: One would think that top brands use discount offers to get a higher share of the pie, but that is not the case. It is very important for a company not to dilute its brand and retain a premium image during this period to drive sales. Not many people like to give their partner a Valentines gift bought during sales period, and marketers target this psychology well Packaging is the key: When a young boy goes Valentines shopping for his girlfriend, he has little clue as to what is the ideal gift. He is more likely to get his hands on a product that is visually more appealing. I am not saying that the quality of product does not matter, but

when there are hundreds of products to choose from, packaging becomes the deciding purchase factor 

Promotional offers (not discounts) leading up to Valentine’s Day: Many companies are using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to get people into their stores or visiting their websites. Some of the offers leading up to Valentine’s Day include a chance to win something, a fashion show at the nearest store, a best dressed couple contest or a chocolate tasting event  Pleasing your customers: No wonder why greeting cards business hits a new high each year around Valentine’s Day. It’s not only the consumers, but retailers also who send Valentines cards. Everyone loves to get something in the mail on Valentine's Day. Some companies send cards specifically created for Valentine's Day to their customers via direct mail, while others who have email addresses of customers send e-cards. This is an opportunity for them to thank their customers/clients for their business saying, "We love our customers!"

14

cover story | Valentine’s - Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

markathon|april 2013

One will always meet three kinds of people – first who believe that 14th February stands for eternal romance and an opportunity to showcase one’s feelings in a special way, second who believe that authentic romance would never accept being forced into one day out of 365 and the best way to make love last forever is to show it every day, not just on Valentine's Day, and the third who have no opinion because they just don’t care. I respect all the three different views but I must admit that I fall into the second category of people. At the end of the day, I myself am a marketing enthusiast, who would love to think of innovative marketing ideas to cater to the first category of people, but I am not a person who would buy expensive gifts for my loved ones on Valentine’s Day. What is the fun of giving a gift to a special one when he/she is already expecting it? The same gift becomes more special when your loved one is not expecting it and does not have a gift for you in return. I would like to ask the girls who receive printed greeting cards whether it is satisfying to receive a printed declaration, embossed and gilded according to a set pattern, and which is a precise copy of thousands of other cards that have been sent to, God knows, how many other girls in the country. In my opinion, greeting cards are considered sweet only if they are hand-written with a personalized message.

There is no doubt modern commercialism will have true love tightly sequestered into Valentine’s Day, Teacher's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Women's Day, Youth Day and the like. So what really is Valentine’s Day Expression of love or marketing of feelings?

Different people have different opinions. No wonders then that while some celebrate Valentines with a bunch of red roses and an expensive gift, others with a peck on the cheek and a hug. And still others by just getting along with the business of life, knowing that someone somewhere cares for them.

14

15

vartalaap cover story |

markathon|april 2013 markathon|january markathon|month

An Interview with Mr. Rajesh Bagchi Associate Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech.

Rajesh Bagchi is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. Rajesh received his Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai in Civil Engineering in 1998 and his Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in Environmental Engineering in 2000.

After having worked in several high technology start-ups, he obtained his Doctoral degree in Marketing from the University of Colorado in 2008. Rajesh studies the psychological processes that underlie consumer and managerial decision-making. His research primarily focuses on the impact of information framing on consumer behavior and consumer pricing judgments. His exemplary works of research have been published in several journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing. Rajesh was also a fellow at the AMA-Sheth Marketing Doctoral Consortium in 2006. In this exclusive interview with Markathon, he talks extensively about his interesting works of research and shares his learnings from what he believes is one of the most rewarding professions.

10 16

vartalaap vartalaap cover story | Markathon: After pursuing engineering and working in couple of high technology start-ups in the early phase of your career, what drove your interest towards pursuing teaching as a career path? What sort of challenges did you face while making this transition?

As an Engineer I always felt that my job was to deliver the best product possible. At some point in my career, however, I realized that even the best products do not sell if consumers don’t feel that they need this product. I had this realization when I was working for a startup in Silicon Valley working on an email product. When you send an email to someone (even someone living next door), this email might traverse across the globe before reaching the intended recipient, leaving imprints at several locations. These imprints could be used to reconstruct the contents of the email even if the email were deleted. My company came up with a novel way to send emails that were completely secure. These emails could not be reconstructed after they were deleted. We thought this product would be extremely popular with firms— such as banks, for instance. However, this was not the case. Firms and consumers did not see the need for email security (this is before these issues became important). The product was ahead of its time and there was no demand for it. This is when I realized that a good product alone is not enough, it is extremely important to pay attention to your consumer’s needs. This led me to the fascinating field of consumer research. Here we try to investigate the psychological underpinnings of how consumers think and what is it that they want. I now teach courses in some of these areas—Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, Judgment and Decision-Making, and so on.

In terms of challenges, I think the biggest challenge was just realizing that a product-centric perspective is unlikely to be successful in today’s day and age. In terms of skill set, I had to learn to speak a new language and learn new methods to investigate research questions. I also learned that it was important to read widely and keep an open mind. It is also important to realize that we are also creating knowledge that we disseminate so it is perfectly fine to be inquisitive and question even the most fundamental of assumptions and/or findings. Once you recognize this the rest becomes easy.

markathon|january markathon|month markathon|april 2013 2013 Markathon: Your area of interest lies in studying the psychological processes that underlie consumer behavior and decision-making. What in your opinion influences customers’ decisions more: appealing to their emotional side or their rational thinking?

I think this is a very interesting question. The definition of rationality itself is unclear—different experts and different fields have different opinions on this. If we assume that by rational side you are referring to cognitions then my answer is “it depends.” There are many factors that go into play when consumers make decisions. These factors could relate to characteristics of the product, the context in which the decision is being made, the individuals making this decision, and/or their interactions. For instance, some products (such as hedonic products) are more affect rich (e.g., a new camera) while others are of a more utilitarian nature (e.g., a toaster or a dishwasher). All else being equal, for hedonic products emotions might play a more important role than cognitions. Context also plays a huge role. If decisions have to be made quickly consumers may make decisions that are based on intuitions and instinct rather than after cognitive deliberations. For instance, when making a choice between a chocolate cake and a salad, when cognitive capacity is limited consumers will often buy the chocolate cake as it is more affect-rich (it appears to their emotional side).

However, when cognitive capacity is not limited, they are more likely to choose the more virtuous product (i.e., salad). Individual differences also may influence which of the two strategies are useful. Some of us rely more on cognitions than others. For such individuals, a cognitive approach may yield greater success.

Markathon: Can you share with us some of your interesting research work on numerosity? Are there any firms which have successfully implemented these techniques?

The goal of this research stream is to understand how consumers interpret numerical information. In one of my papers with a former student (Xingbo Li), we studied how consumers interpret loyalty program points. For instance, imagine that a firm offers a loyalty program: “Get $6 off on earning 1000 points.”

How good is this deal? What if instead the deal were

10 17

vartalaap vartalaap cover story | “Get $6 off on earning 100 points.“ Would this seem like a better deal? Why? As you might well imagine, often deals such as these are mere illusions. Consumers should not be focusing on the points needed but should be paying attention to the actual money one needs to spend to earn these points. Thus, one should also pay attention to how many points one earns per dollar spent. In the first case, firms might also say that for every $1 that consumers spend, they earn 10 points, while in the second case, every $1 may fetch 1 point. So, in both cases consumers end up spending $100 to earn the $6 discount, yet perspectives may differ depending on whether consumers focus on total points needed or points earned per dollar spent. We investigate what happens when consumers focus on the 1000 points needed (we call this distance) or on the points earned per dollar spent (we call this step size). We also study why this happens. We find that when consumers focus on distances in the medium they like the medium with smaller distances more (100 points preferred over 1000 points), but when consumers focus on step sizes, they like the larger medium more as the corresponding step sizes are larger (10 points per dollar vs. 1 point per dollar) and they feel they can get to their goal faster. These findings are important to firms designing loyalty programs. It may be better to design programs with smaller total distances, but if consumers are likely to focus on step-sizes, it may be better to design programs with larger total distances (as step sizes will be larger in such cases) In another project with a Marketing Professor at the University of South Carolina (Ashwani Monga), we studied how consumers interpret information that is provided using different units. For instance, a 6 month time delay could also be expressed in days—as a 182 days delay. In this project, we investigated how and why consumer interpretations might vary. We show that when consumers focus on numbers, they are more sensitive to differences expressed in smaller units (i.e., a duration of 182 days seems larger than a 6 month duration) as the corresponding numbers are larger (182 vs. 6). However, when consumers focus on units, they are more sensitive to changes expressed in larger units (i.e., a 6 month duration is larger than 182 days) as these consumers ignore the numbers and pay more attention to units and a change in a larger unit

markathon|april 2013 markathon|january markathon|month 2013 (change of months) appears larger than a change in a smaller unit (change of days). We also show that when events are likely to occur in the near future, consumers are more likely to pay attention to the numbers, but when events are likely to occur in the distant future, units become more important. These results are important in contexts where consumers are provided numerical information—such as duration of warrant periods (90 days vs. 3 months), shipping times (7 days vs. 1 week), and/or size of products (36 inch vs. 3 feet long table)—and affects willingness to pay and other inferences that consumers make.

Yes, firms do try to understand and learn from our research. I have had discussions with credit card companies as well as firms that design loyalty programs on some of my work.

Markathon: “The easier a goal is to see, the closer it seems”, profound indeed. How do you think this can be used innovatively by marketers?

In this research we demonstrate that the ability to visualize a goal has important benefits for both consumers and managers. We demonstrate that external markers that increase the ability to visualize one’s goal increase goal proximity perceptions and have a positive impact on goal pursuit. In other words, the ability to visualize leads you to believe that you are almost there. For instance, showing progress towards a goal with a progress bar (vs. with numerical information) leads to the perception that the goal is near and increases consumers’ ability to visualize reaching this goal. Managers can use such kinds of visual depictions to inform consumers of their progress towards loyalty rewards. This is likely to increase loyalty relative to other ways of presenting information (e.g., providing numerical information relating to the number of points earned etc). Showing progress using progress bars in consumer waiting contexts can also reduce perceptions of wait times and help evaluations. Managers can also use these approaches to improve performance of employees (for e.g., showing them visual depictions of what they need to do to reach a sales goal).

Markathon: You have researched extensively in unearthing how consumers form pricing judgements.

What are some of the latest pricing techniques being

10 18

vartalaap vartalaap cover story |

markathon|april 2013 markathon|january markathon|month 2013

used by brands for influencing consumer buying decisions?

you think these programs are found to be more effective?

In one of my projects we find that the order in which price and benefits are presented to consumers influences their price perceptions. For instance, consider the following two deals: $29 for 70 items vs.

70 items for $29. Which is a better deal? We find that for larger packages when unit price calculations are difficult, consumers use the first piece of information to make judgments about the deal. So, when price is presented first, they anchor on price and do not adjust for benefits as much. On the contrary, when benefits information is presented first, they anchor on the benefits and do not adjust for price. Therefore, consumers prefer deals where the benefits information is presented first.

I think the problem with loyalty programs is that less than 1/4th of consumers enrolled in these programs actually end up redeeming rewards. I think part of the problem is that firms believe that once consumers have enrolled in these programs their job is done. Like in any relationship, it is important to not take your partner (in this case your consumer) for granted.

Firms should keep engaging with their consumers and try to understand their needs. For instance, instead of offering generic programs—a one size fits all approach—firms need to learn how to communicate with consumers and customize loyalty programs based on usage level, individual differences, and needs. I also think that firms should be frank and honest with their consumers and not only offer them good value (it costs so much more to get a new consumer), but also keep them informed of how they are progressing towards rewards.

Some of my other research shows that incidental exposure to background colors can influence price judgments. We find that in auction settings exposure to red increases consumers’ willingness to pay relative to exposure to blue. We show that this occurs because red increases aggression relative to blue.

Because in auctions consumers compete with other bidders, an aggressive consumer tries to outbid other consumers. This increases their willingness-to-pay. In contrast, in negotiations and in fixed-price settings (e.g., in retail contexts), red decreases willingness to pay and lowers purchase likelihoods relative to blue.

This is because in these contexts, consumers are not competing with other consumers but are directly competing with the seller. So, an aggressive consumer in these contexts tries to get the best deals possible and so this lowers their willingness to pay.

In general there is a lot of interesting work emerging in pricing contexts. These relate to what kinds of discounts should be offered, whether consumers prefer 50% off on a product or prefer a “buy one get one free” deal and why. There is also some interesting research on how presentation formats of discounts (e.g., percentage off vs. dollars off) influence consumer judgments. I suspect in the coming years there will be more interesting work in these areas.

Markathon: Today many academicians question the relevance of loyalty programs. In which industries do

Generally, loyalty programs tend to work well in the travel sector (airlines, hotels), and with credit cards.

They could work well in other sectors if firms are more creative and kept in touch with their consumers.

Markathon: What would be your advice to our readers who are looking for a career in marketing?

I think in today’s day and age it is very important to listen to your consumers. Being able to understand how consumers think and how they interpret information can be a huge asset. The ability to interpret secondary data is also going to be very important. There is a lot of data out there and being able to make sense out of this will be important.

Hence being comfortable with statistical tools will be useful. Social media is another important and emerging area. Consumers are likely to be influenced by others and the roles that these social networks play will be important too. I think the future will be about customization and firms that can learn to adapt in this fast-paced world will be most successful. So, I think marketing professionals will need to have the same skills—be willing to learn new things, listen to your consumer, and keep an open mind. But most importantly, enjoy your job. This is probably one of the best kinds of job you can get.

10 19

markathon | april 2013

Do social media contests really help in branding or do they die away as mere publicity stunts?

Pradyut v hande | SIMS, pune

nidhi mittal | sbsc, delhi university

In an age of increasingly innovative marketing strategies, propelled by prudently leveraging the reach and impact of new media, carefully conceptualised and target consumer specific digital media contests present an efficacious brand building/reinforcement avenue. As long as these contests are easy to follow, offer appealing prizes and adequate windows of participation; they provide companies with the ideal platform for active consumer engagement and direct interface management. Moreover, such contests instill a greater degree of consumer participation and stakeholder sentiment, thereby, supplementing the value delivery chain. As a result, brands benefit from enhanced word-of-mouth publicity, what with consumers donning the mantle of "virtual brand ambassadors" with aplomb.

Social Media contests in particular have gained in popularity and can be a powerful catalyst for spreading a brand’s message where it matters most.

Online marketers are finding that social media is great for holding online contests that boost awareness and engagement for consumer brands. One of the most tempting types of social contests for brands to run is the “Retweet to Win” style contest on Twitter or “Get more likes” as you can on Facebook.

Encouraging consumers/fans/followers to upload pictures or videos as part of a contest further augments the consumer-brand connect and the element of brand accessibility. Saying that, companies ought to focus on the relevance, frequency and participatory incentives of such contests in order to ensure the success of any digital media campaign.

At the end of the day, these contests constitute a short-term, high impact marketing strategy.

Unless carefully executed, managed, updated and refreshed; these initiatives can rapidly become stale and uninteresting. The degree of engagement thus, becomes a critical factor in the long run.

These are not just the publicity stunts but create a lasting impact of product’s image on one’s mind.

People use social media in their free time, rather than just traditional use for updating their status or uploading pictures. The contests provide them a chance to do the new things. These make consumers associate a specific product with a specific manufacturer. These should aim at involving people, their ideas and the way they want to see the product.

It not only helps in knowing what the consumer wants but getting them design what they want. A bond is created between the product brand and the customer. As others can also see a person’s activity, some of them also try them. A company can ask the contestants to identify the characteristics of their product and thus increasing the awareness regarding it. The latest 4E mix is must to be considered. This is engage, educate, excite, and evangelize. Only a well define strategic contest can help in creating a niche. As more and more of young generation is getting divert from television to social media. The role of online contests in creating branding is increasing. But people don’t search for brands rather solutions to daily lives. Thus, companies need to be the ‘solution provider’.

Topic for the next issue Eye to Eye: “Digital Marketing: Death knell for Traditional Marketing or Jumping the gun?”

Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 15th April, 2013. Include your photograph (JPEG format) with the entry. Entries without photo will be discarded.

20

The role of online contests in creating branding is increasing. Only a well define strategic contest can help in creating a niche.

Brands benefit from enhanced word-of-mouth publicity as consumers don the mantle of "virtual brand ambassadors"

war zone | eye 2 eye

markathon markathon||april april2013 2012

war zone zone | | silent silent voice voice war

Silent Voice

LAST MONTH’S RESULTS Theme: “Temple Run 2”

WINNER: Ankur Baj and Pulkit Kohli Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai Congratulations!!! Ankur and Pulkit receive a cash prize of Rs 500!

Shobhit Agrawal| Shugato Banerjee |NMIMS

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “McDonald’s Health (Fictional)” LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 15th April, 2013 EMAIL ID: markathon.iims@gmail.com Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.

2115

markathon | april 2013

specials | ADdicted

Ad-dicted Swikruti panda | iim s

Sushree tripathy | IIM S

PRODUCT: Acer Aspire | S7 Ultrabook

PRODUCT: Idea

POSITIONING: Optimized touchscreen experience with the most beautifully built Ultrabook ever

POSITIONING: “An idea can change your life!”

CREATIVE AGENCY: Mother London

CREATIVE AGENCY: Lowe Lintas, India

YouTube Link

YouTube Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzO_DzGpH0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbFK6xndsoE

CONCEPT:

CONCEPT:

The ad is created with an attempt to portray that the new Acer Aspire helps people discover their hidden ambitions and pursue them to carve a completely different side of theirs in the world. So here it goes by showing the gorgeous Megan Fox confronting her hidden desire to be a marine biologist. In this pursuit she sat with her Acer Aspire for days together to seek all the available avenues highlighting the wonderful build and graphics of the laptop. Finally she went up to join a group of scientists and helped them develop software to communicate with dolphins by translating the sounds they make. Towards the end, the ad says “See the Ultrabook that helped transform Megan Fox”.

With a pop of a daily morning bread toast, starts an equally routine argument among a typical Indian married couple. Their young son suddenly gets an ‘idea’ to bring them closer to each other’s life and hardships. He decides to exchange their mobile phones for a day and then starts a series of wrong numbers from each other’s part of daily lives. Through this confusion emerges a clear picture at both ends about how the other manages their daily chores and work life and brings them together, all this made possible by a simple idea of a telephone exchange.

VERDICT: Catch/Miss- Miss Though the ad is still bang-on on the fact that Acer should be projected as an aid to pursue the wildest of hidden desires, but this time around the central catch point has somehow shifted to Megan rather than the laptop with its brilliant build and exceptional touch experience. Going scientifically as well, the ad has blundered by ignoring the fact that the aquatic mammals can talk. If this were not enough, in order to keep the randomness factor alive, why on earth it had to be something as random as visualizing the goddess of beauty in the drape of a scientist with a Ph.D. Towards the end it’s an absolute overdose of Ms. Fox which makes you even forget what the ad was all about and even the name of the laptop. Could it be worse!

VERDICT: Catch/Miss- Catch This ad aptly portrays a two-fold idea central to promoting the brand image of Idea. First, it communicates how powerful a simple idea can be in resolving the most demanding complications of our social lives. With time turning into a rarity, it is becoming increasingly difficult to appreciate and empathize in relationships that seem to snap at the smallest provocation. Secondly, and more importantly, it shows how our mobile phones have taken over our lives and are a close reflection of us. The campaign with a tagline“ek doosre ko samajhne ke liye telephone exchange, what an idea”, very well communicates a simple yet powerful thought through a well-executed commercial and once again reinforces the brand’s tagline – An Idea can change your life!

22

cover story ||brand

specials story

markathon|month 2013 markathon|april 2013

BRAND STORY: FEVICOL SHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S

An unquestionable market leadership with 70% market share, a legacy of 54 years, a whopping total of 99 awards for advertising excellence, a network of 1000 stockists and 60,000 retailers is indeed very impressive for a brand having its core customer as the carpenter.

It takes a lot for a brand to reach the epitome of brand recall and become synonymous with the product category. Fevicol, in its signature blue and white packaging with a logo of two elephants trying to pull apart a piece of wood stuck by Fevicol, will always remain eponymous to an adhesive that binds for life.

From warding off competition-­‐ both small-­‐scale to multinationals like Hoechst Dyes & Chemicals (which had a similar brand of white glue called ‘Movicol’); to creating a durable bond with carpenters; to innovative packaging and retailing that brought the brand within buying distance of households, the Fevicol story is one of progression and reverence on how to transform a brand in a low-­‐ involvement category into one that enjoys recall and equity reserved for colas, soaps and shampoos.

Indian carpenters have been swearing by its name, since Fevicol was launched in 1959 by Pidilite Industries to target the synthetic glue market in India.

Its ease of application, consistent quality, widespread distribution network and excellent customer relations have made it the champion in its category.

While competitors constrained their product distribution to hardware stores and timber marts, Fevicol pursued a direct marketing strategy to capture the minds of carpenters-­‐ chief decision makers of the adhesive to be used in furniture. A plethora of activities were taken up to be close to the customer.

Fevicol Furniture Books showcasing latest furniture designs with illustrations and measurements, Fevicol

Champion’s Club for building a social network of carpenters, Sponsorships and Knowledge Series to engage with Architecture and Interior Designing fraternity, and initiatives such as ‘Jud jayein tyoharon par’ for community building for families of carpenters have all made it the most trusted and preferred brand for its customers.

Fevicol brand’s success was leveraged by launching versions suitable for the retail market. Product line extensions were done through a spate of uniquely packaged Fevicol products in collapsible tubes, glue-­‐ sticks and other usage-­‐friendly versions, available for students as well as professionals. The introduction of various packaging formats helped transition the brand from the image of an industrial product to an all-­‐purpose glue.

Fevicol was promoted as an attribute to bonding. The adhesive brand soon became a household name, thanks to its interesting campaigns -­‐ Bob Christo wrestling with a chair made of Fevicol, a politician who is glued to his chair, a hen that lays unbreakable eggs, an overloaded bus, a joint family that refuses to fall apart, a persistent cyclist following a pick-­‐up loaded with Fevicol, the moochhwali campaign, and many more.

The brand has been consistently reinvented through its creative non-­‐traditional advertising through in-­‐film placements in movies, outdoor activation campaigns such as the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon activation or the placement in hummable tunes of the famous item song ‘Fevicol se’ in Dabangg 2.

Fevicol is a brand that will be recognized and cherished forever through its catchphrases ‘Pakde rehna, Chhodna nahi’ and ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Zor Laga Ke Haisha’.

10 23

17 24 Answers 1) Ronald McDonald

2) Tux, mascot of Linux

3) Poppin Fresh, of Pilsbury

4) Bholu of Indian Railways

5) Mr Six Flags of Six Flags

6) Mario of Nintend o

7) Bibendu m of Michelin

8 )

8) Fido Dido of Seven Up

9) Energy Bunny of Energizer

7 )

5 )

4 ) 1 )

9 ) 6 )

2 )

Vaibhav annam | IIM S

3 )

Guess the Mascots

Fun corner markathon|february markathon|april 2013

specials | Fun Corner

markathon | april 2013

specials | updates

By prateek | IIM-S

BRAND LAUNCH With Arms wide open, the world welcomes Galaxy S4 The Korean electronics giant Samsung recently introduced its latest offering, the Galaxy S4 extending the legacy of the ‘Galaxy S’ series. The phone offers everything one could imagine and beyond. The phone is powered by eight core processor and flaunts a 13 megapixel camera. The 5 inch AMOLED display is surely going to be a big hit with consumers.

Sony says game on with its PlayStation 4 The gaming zone is likely to get heated up with Sony bringing its latest edition of gaming console, much to the delight of the gaming fraternity. With its previous three predecessors selling more than 300 million units, all eyes are on the PS4 to revamp Sony’s gaming division.

JLR plans to rule the road with XJ Ultimate Edition The luxury carmaker from the stable of Tata unveiled the latest ultra-luxury sedan to capture the imagination of the super-rich. With a price tag of approx. 1.9 crore, and interors suited for individual preferences of massage and other indulgences, this dream machine is surely going to take Indian roads with a storm.

Web-based, allowing third party developers to develop and sell application without having to share revenue.

WildStone adds a touch of elegance with Dia Mirza After a series of ‘wild’ ad campaigns, WildStone has come up with a sense of class and elegance by roping in ethereal beauty Dia Mirza. Through its latest campaign, the deodorant major aims to show the effect of the product on mature, married lady next door and hence tries to capture the imagination of married people.

Tata Motors high on hopes with Aria part two After a flop show by Aria in the high priced Multi Utility Vehicle Segment, Tata Motors is looking forward for change of fortunes with its sub 10 lakhs variant of Tata Aria. The auto giant is likely to compete with Mahindra XUV500 and Toyota Innova for market share to give a substantial push to its debt laden balance sheet.

MEDIA Star Sports 2 set to enhance sports bouquet in Indian subcontinent ESPN Star Sports present their latest offering to cater to the undying appetite for sports through the sixth sports channel. Their stable already includes channels like Star Sports, Star Cricket, Star Cricket HD, ESPN and ESPN HD. The channel will air live and non-live events across cricket, soccer, tennis, motor racing and golf.

MTV, Lenovo transcending borders through music

BRAND WATCH Web browser Mozilla to enter mobile OS territory The hyper competitive mobile OS domain gets a new entrant with Mozilla joining the bandwagon of Apple and android. Mozilla known for its browsing application introduced its OS for mobiles which is open-source and

As they say, music and talent knows no boundary. To identify and promote wizards of art, the two companies launched Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB, an integrated social platform that will enable gifted youths from seven countries - India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - to connect with like-minded individuals with different artistic skills

25

across DJs, Vocalists/Instrumentalists, Film Makers or Motion Graphic Artists.

AD Watch Lifebuoy One of the most talked about ads in recent times, the ad beautifully captures the essence of hygiene and successfully connects with the consumers through high emotional content of the ad. The ad addresses the issue of increasing death toll due to diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia which could be easily prevented by washing hands properly with the HUL product.

Youtube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBRC0rBjISg

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance After a string of ads in recent times praising women for

their selfless attitude, this one is for the men. The ad portrays the subtle caring nature of men leading their family and loved ones without actually trying to take credit for it. The ad brings a nice ring to the ears and the music is hummable lending a high recall value to the ad.

Youtube Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpmVDwXUoDA

Frooti: Magic of Mangoes Parle Agro has roped in Shah Rukh khan to be the new face of frooti. The ad brilliantly demonstrates young lads drooling over frooti with the intent that age is not a bar for lusting over the mango rich product. Moreover, with brand Shah Rukh in the kitty, Parle will surely get the cash registers ringing for its juicy temptation.

Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_x8SOYngNY

Articles are invited “Best Article” He/She receives a cash prize of Rs.1000 & a letter of appreciation We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes:  Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena.  Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing.  Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of the marketing strategy of any company or an event.

Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx.

We’re inviting photographs of interesting promotional events/advertisements/hoardings/banners etc. you might have come across in your daily life for our new section “The 4th P”.

Send your self-clicked photographs in JPEG format only.

The last date of receiving all entries is 15th April, 2013. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

26

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

Š Team Markathon, IIM Shillong