Markathon September 2012 issue

Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong

September 12

MARKATHON Volume4 | Issue3

Cover Story Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective Prof. Ravi Dhar George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing Yale School of Management

FROM TEAM MARKATHON Dear Readers, We would like to thank you all for the overwhelming number of entries that we have received for this month’s edition. We have witnessed a threefold increase in the number of entries. 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 analyses the role of marketing in Political campaigns which today, is the buzzword for most of the political campaigns around the world. The various tools and channels used for marketing political campaigns are examined. The cover story elucidates the importance of marketing in political campaigns by analysing examples from the Cover Story international as well as local environment.

Also, it gives us great pleasure to launch a new section called “Corporate Speaks”. This new section provides a unique platform for professionals from the corporate world to express their views and perspectives on various marketing issues. Thus Markathon taking one step forward has evolved from a simple platform for students to one that caters to students and corporates alike.

Moving on, this month’s Vartalaap features prominent academician, Prof. Ravi Dhar, George Rogers Clark Professor of Management & Marketing and Director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management. He is an expert in Consumer Behaviour and Branding, Marketing Management, and Marketing Strategy. Prof. Dhar shares with us his experiences from the industry and academia and throws light on trends that will shape the future.

We have also received great feedback about our section “Fun Zone”. And bowing to multiple requests, we have

decided to feature it in this edition as well. And work is under way to make it a regular section.

Recently one of my colleagues asked me, “why do you take the pain of working on a magazine every month”, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting answer than “Have you ever heard of the story of the scorpion and the frog?” (For those of you who haven’t seen the movie “Drive”, you should definitely read up on the tale of the “Scorpion and the Frog”). I calmly told him, “Because this is what we do”. I admit, I did feel like Ryan Gosling and I could hear Kavinksy’s “Nightcall” playing in my head. But Hey! Who is judging?

As always do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com Sit back and hold onto your “Scorpion Jackets”, because this is going to be a “Drive” you will remember.

Happy Reading

Team Markathon

THE MARKATHON TEAM Editors G S N Aditya Piyush Agarwal Mayur Jain Sowmya R Swati Nidiganti Umang Kulshrestha

Creative Designers Priya Kumari Agrawal Rushika Sabnis

CONTENTS

markathon | september 2012

FEATURED ARTICLES

PERSPECTIVE

MARKETING CAMPAIGNS THAT STOOD OUT AT THE LONDON GAMES ROHIT V TIWARI | WELINGKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH

PERSPECTIVE

MARKETING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID ARNAB ROY & APARUPA BANDYOPADHYAY | TAPMI

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PROF. RAVI DHAR GEORGE ROGERS CLARK PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING & DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR CUSTOMER INSIGHTS AT THE YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

COVER STORY

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE SAVITHA. B| SUKSHIT KAPUR| SWIKRUTI PANDA|IIM SHILLONG

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CORPORATE SPEAKS

PRODUCTOLYSIS: BINGO NITIN BHAT AND ADITI VIDYARTHI | INFOSYS LTD

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WAR ZONE EYE 2 EYE

“HOSTING OLYMPICS: MARKETING OF THE NATION BUT IS IT WORTH THE COST?” Padma Narayanan |IIM S | Nidhi Kanojia |IIM I

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SILENT VOICE PHILIPS BODYGROOM HARI KISHORE |Great Lakes

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SPECIALS BRAND STORY

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ADDICTED

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SWATI NIDIGANTI | IIM S

UMANG KULSHRESTHA & G S N ADITYA | IIM S

FUN ZONE

RUSHIKA SABNIS | IIM S

UPDATES

MAYUR JAIN | IIM S

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Marketing Campaigns That Stood Out at The London Games Rohit V Tiwari | Welingkar Institute of Management, Development & Research Do you think that the Olympic Games are only about sports and sportspersons? Do you believe that it’s only the national sentiment or the quintessential sportsman spirit that stands out during the Games? If yes, it’s time you brushed up your knowledge about the Games’ business side.

The Olympic Games have always embodied the pinnacle of human excellence; not only with respect to the sporting skills but also in terms of grit, determination, dedication, killer instinct, passion, emotions and spirit. A mega event like the Olympic Games offers one of the most efficacious international marketing platforms by reaching billions of people in more than 200 countries across the globe.

No wonder then that every major company, worth its salt, looks to be associated with this giant of a sporting event. A study conducted by Havas Sports and Entertainment (HS&E) reveals that the sponsorship of the Olympic Games leads to a stronger, more positive brand image across a range of official brands.

The study considered the Tier I and Tier II sponsors of

the London games and showed that the people who are aware of the fact that Brand X is an Olympic partner are on an average 50% more likely to find Brand X as trustable and inspiring and would be 50% more likely to purchase the products of Brand X. Olympic sponsorship can be said to be a mutually beneficial agreement between an Olympic organization and corporations, whereby the corporations are granted the rights to Olympic marketing opportunities and specific Olympic intellectual properties. In return, the corporations need to provide financial support and contribute by offering their goods and services.

Following are some of the ways in which the Olympic movement is benefited by the Olympic Sponsorship programmes: • Sponsors offer their direct support for the purpose of training and development of the Olympic athletes and hopefuls across the globe, besides providing essential services to the athletes who are a part of

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the Games.

• Sponsors also offer their support, when it comes to organizing the Olympic Games, in addition to aiding the operations of the Olympic movement in the form of staff deployment, expertise, technology, products and services.

• Sponsors also come up with interesting, creative promotional activities, which not only promote the Olympic ideals but also increase the public awareness of the Olympic Games.

• Sponsors offer the all-important products and services to the journalists, broadcasters, photographers and other media.

In return, the sponsors get access to billions of people, whom they can market their brands to. They also get near blanket media coverage in the host country, which in turn gives a fillip to their brands. In addition, since sponsorship agreement ensures that only one corporation can be a sponsor to a particular product or service, corporations gain an edge over their competitors by partnering with the Olympic Games.

The contract signed between the Olympic organization committee and the corporations also declares that both the parties will observe mutual respect and will refrain from violating their pact or publishing any piece of information that will prove derogatory to the other.

Here, we look at two of the most popular Marketing

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Campaigns during the London Games that managed to stand out: Adidas (London 2012 Olympic Partner): Adidas, the official sportswear partner for the 2012 London Games, emerged as one of the most successful sponsors of the London games, as the sales for the Adidas brand in the UK rose 24% currency-neutral for the first half of 2012. This was largely due to the increase in demand for the Olympic and Team GB (Great Britain) products.

A major credit for the success what Adidas considers its biggest ever UK marketing campaign can be attributed to its ‘Take the Stage’ campaign. The subtle yet striking TV and print advertisements beautifully summed up the spirit of modern Olympics. At a time when many sponsors would have played it safe by not taking sides, Adidas very clearly made its support for the Great Britain team known by focussing on the British life, culture, hopes and aspirations, and featuring top British athletes. At a time when the people of the Great Britain are fighting with recession, Adidas’ uninhibited showing of support to the home team and inspiring the nation’s youth to dream on and achieve greater heights turned out to be a winning formula.

The series of films and posters ad, created by the reputed agency Sid Lee, was emotionally-charged without being overtly schmaltzy. Each print

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advertisement featured a top British athlete with an accompanying message. For instance, a print ad featuring the picture of British Triple Jumper Phillips Idowu had the message “Take the Gold.”

One of the ads also featured the iconic British footballer David Beckham surprising the members of the public posing for the Team GB as part of the ‘Adidas Take the Stage’ campaign. Adidas got it bang on by roping in the charismatic Beckham, who still enjoys a strong fan base and is still considered a hero by many.

Following the conclusion of the games, Adidas polished up its sponsorship duties with an exciting video featuring many of the Team GB athletes. The two-anda-half minute video stars Louis Smith, Victoria Pendleton, Sir Chris Hoy and Jessica Ennis, mouthing the Queens’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now.’ Procter & Gamble (Worldwide Partner of the 2012 Olympic Games): For all those who believed that the Olympics was all about the athletes and their sacrifices, Procter & Gamble (P&G) had an enlightening message- behind the successful athletes, are the women who raised them.

P&G’s widely received and appreciated the “Thank You Mom” campaign paid tribute to the immensely critical role that mothers play in the development of the young athletes.

The initiative created by Wieden-Kennedy Portland and directed by the much-celebrated director- Alejandro González Iñárritu- the new advertisement was picturized on four continents and has athletes and local players from each continent- London, Beijing, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro.

A notable aspect of the P&G ad was the fact that it started off by focussing on its core audience-Mothers.

The ad is a celebration of women around the world and traces the hard work put in by them in making their kids realize the dreams of becoming athletes.

The ad shows the women waking their children up early morning, preparing appropriate breakfasts, waiting for their school bus in the rain, nursing their bruises and acting as a pillar of strength - all of these to ensure that their kids’ preparation to becoming great athletes stays on track.

With a tagline that says, “The Hardest Job in The World is The Best Job in The World,” the ad managed to strike an emotional chord with the audience.

Nike (Non-Sponsor): Did you notice the distinct neon-yellow Nike shoes that the sprinters sported during the Olympic games? Were you enamoured by the “Find your Greatness” campaign Nike came up with during the Games? If yes, then it’s not really your mistake if you thought Nike was the most successful sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games.

In fact, it was not even a sponsor. With a popular name like Adidas already associated with the Olympics, need of the hour for Nike was to think out of the box. And so it did.

Nike came up with an ad “Find Your Greatness” in its attempt to be a part of the Olympics conversation without actually having to pay the sponsorship fees or

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abide by the sponsorship agreement. The ad featured local athletes and everyday folks of different skill levels and ages competing in different ‘LONDONS’ of the world- London (Norway), London (Ohio), Little London (Jamaica), East London (South Africa) and Small London (Nigeria).

Nike neon-yellow shoes sported by many sprinters didn’t go unnoticed either. Ashton Eaton (US) and Trey Hardee (US) sported the Nike Volt shoes during their men’s Decathlon event. They went on to win the gold and silver medals, respectively in the event. Thus, being associated with the Gold medal winners gave a fillip to their brand promotion. Nike spokesman Brian Strong stated that "Over 400 athletes are wearing the Volt Nike footwear at the Games. The majority of those are in track and field but also in boxing and fencing."

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with a creative “Thank You Mom” campaign and generating a positive sentiment. Nike on the other hand, having mastered the art of ambush marketing by now, seemed to have got their strategy bang on. Their “Find your Greatness” campaign became so popular, that it went on to top ViralVideoChart.com’s viewership.

If you think that the color of the shoes was just for the ornamental purpose, think again. A lot of thought went into making the Volt a distinct, ubiquitous public magnet. As Mr. Strong put it, “Of all the colors of the rainbow, the human eye and visual system is most sensitive to the yellow/green zone, the power of this visual signal is capitalized on when the background is highly contrasting, which the London Olympic track isreddish. The human eye has relatively low sensitivity to red vs. much higher sensitivity to Volt color.”

As per the BBCs viewing figures, the London Games have become the most watched sporting event on record. 87% of the Brits watched at least 15 minutes of the Games. According to the Nielsen Co. ratings figures, the London Games were watched by over 219 million viewers on NBC and many other sister networks, thereby surpassing the previous record of 215 million viewers during the Beijing Games, 2008. No wonder then, Adidas registered a 24% hike in sales within the UK during year’s first six months, which is supposedly due to the people wanting to buy Olympics-related items. Meanwhile, for Adidas group worldwide, the sales went up by 11% currency neutral. As for P&G, although it has a relatively lesser reach in comparison to a McDonald, it managed to grab eyeballs by coming up

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Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid arnab Roy & Aparupa Bandyopadhyay | tapmi Rural India has arrived On August 10, 2012, the Business Standard said it all with an article bearing the headline, ‘Nokia digs gold at the bottom of the pyramid’. “Rural India does not need a smartphone” is a misplaced assumption. This is so because of the simple fact that whether we see it or not, a typical rural consumer consumes close to 97100 MB of data every month. Nokia, being very good with anticipating the Indian market, has noticed this again and played an ace. It has launched the Asha series of cell phones which are power packed with smartphone-like features. Globally it may not be doing so well in catching up with Samsung and iPhone as far as the smartphone market is concerned but given the vast number of people in tier 3 cities, towns and villages in India, Nokia is banking heavily on this strategic move and rightly so.

Snapshots of the increase in mobile subscription base and literacy rate are given below indicating why Nokia is excited with the release of Asha series.

The past couple of years have seen India come up with innovations from the likes of TATA group with its Swach range of water purifiers, Godrej & Boyce with its battery run Chotukool, Narayana Hrudayalaya with cardiac surgeries costing as low as Rs 50,000 and Vortex with low cost ATM machines among others.

These products although may look cheap on the manufacturing side are in reality distribution nightmares and pose strategic challenges on the operational fronts. A closer look at some of the marketing strategies would show us that the marketing mix for rural India needs something more than the 4Ps. Rural marketing mix It is the universal knowledge that a perfect marketing mix would involve the 4Ps. But for rural markets, 4 As also become relevant. These are Affordability, Availability, Awareness and Acceptability. Some strategies which have worked successfully in selling to the rural people are listed below.

Product Regional branded products Regional brands score on their abilities of efficient distribution structure, closeness to retailers and knowledge of consumer tastes. Their promoters being highly flexible and innovative repeatedly reorient their strategies to suit current trends.

MNC like HUL has eight brands in the tea category.

The strongest is the Brooke Bond brand followed by Three Roses in the South. In 1996, it successfully

Mobile subscription base in India

300

Literacy rates in % A decade ago and now

Source: Cellular Operators Associatin of India

Source: India Census 2011

Mobile subscriptions (in millions)

250

Persons

Male

Female

200 150

58.7

70.7

68.91

78.5 58.7

46.13

100 50 0

Years 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

2001

2011

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revamped and relaunched A1. Whereas the brand has national positioning as being a strong or kadak tea, it varies in taste across the nearby dozen clusters, the company has identified nationally.

Spurious products The purpose of spurious products is to capitalize on the trust built by established brands. In spite of being inferior in quality, they have been able to eat into the market share of established brands due to the following reasons: • • •

Retailers and not manufacturers undertake the entire promotional activity.

The names usually have a close phonetic resemblance to the original They have limited market coverage and thus require low investment.

tend to remember how a particular product looks like or should look like. E.g a rural customer is more likely to ask for sher chaap paint rather than Nerolac.

Trialability Due to the conservative nature of the rural customer, sometimes marketers can sell his/her product in smaller packs or trial packs. Many companies have been able to shift hesitant rural customers into buying their brands by adopting this tactic.

Coca-Cola launched Kinley purified drinking water in small pouches to address affordability.

Price Low Unit price Rasna followed this strategy by offering sachet at Rs 5 per packet for 6 glasses as compared to Rs 27.5 for 32 glasses.

Semiotics In rural markets, consumers identify brands based on their logos, symbols and colour.

Semiotics works best for low-involvement products at the time of purchase but can be pretty high for FMCG products. Thus, marketers have to be very careful in choosing the right colour, logo size and symbol for their products.

This strategy is basically meant for durables. The companies can offer basic versions of the products to make it more affordable for the rural consumers. This does not mean compromising on quality but only means a reduction in features.

Brands like Britannia Tiger have been able to capitalize on this with its bright red pack. The colour red symbolizes festivity and auspicious occasions to the rural masses.

Promotion

Packaging A large proportion of the rural masses are still illiterate and thus, when they watch television and go to the shopkeeper, they often

Economy models

Kodak, LG and BPL have undertaken this strategy for selling basic models in interior India.

Folk media The traditional folk-based themes of advertising can go a long way in strategic marketing in rural areas.

Marico for instance tied up with Kolkata-based folk theatre group called Gram to travel to interiors of West Bengal for promoting Parachute Uttam. Marico

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perspective issues pamphlets to the rural folks during the shows to increase its visibility.

Wall paintings Companies often paint the walls of homes and shops in villages with the picture of their products. This is generally welcomed by common people as it is often considered a status symbol. This is also an intelligent way of advertising products for a long time without paying any fee at all.

in Punjab that has been a hallmark in rural sports.

Audio-Visual Van A van carrying a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) linked to a television monitor is popularly known as an Audio-Visual Van. It is more than a single medium as it

Dabur uses this tactic to advertise its products in villages.

Melas and Haats This is a cheaper option for marketer because it only involves setting up of tents rather than go for a brick and mortar store. Use of a simple handheld megaphone can attract a lot of attention, instead of hiring a video van for 20-25 days.

uses a combination of audio-visual and print (banners and posters). Side and rear panels of this van bear visuals and written messages to serve as a mobile hoarding.

LG attends all popular religious gatherings starting from Kumbh Mela to right up to the stalls at Sabarimalai by putting up stalls offering free first aid and clean drinking water.

Dabur selected a cluster of 300 villages in Banda district and sent in three mobile bowling alleys (each specially fabricated for Rs 30,000). The bowling pins represented various germs that Chyawanprash protects against.

Rural Games

Place

Sponsored sports tournaments are mega events with mega exposure. As games provide a lot of chances for participation, they are ideal for rural consumers for whom involvement increases the chances of recall.

Hero Cycles sponsored the Killa Raipur Rural Olympics

Non-Governmental Organizations Companies can tie up with NGOs working for the development of rural areas. Even if ideas and opinions vary, most of the NGOs are working for sustainable development by providing avenues for income

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perspective generation. Companies and NGOs can join hands for mutual benefit. With NGOs undertaking distribution, companies realize grassroots level networking and benefits accruing from infrastructure. From the NGO standpoint, such association with companies could yield employment opportunities for local residents.

costs. The tie-up could be at a national level or much closer to the end consumer at the district level, where most distribution stockists represent two-three companies.

HUL has tied up with such NGOs in distributing their products.

JK Diary went into rural India with whitener packaged in small 50 g sachets. JK Diary was peddling only a single product and thus it shared its distribution expenses with two-three other companies.

Self-Help Groups (SHG)

Conclusions

HUL followed this highly successful model in which 1520 villagers below the poverty line (Rs 750/ month) took micro-credit from banks, and used that to buy HUL products, which they directly sold to the customers. This project was coined as ‘Project Shakti’.

HUL had started this initiative in Andhra Pradesh and expanded it to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Above marketing strategies are just a start and far from being exhaustive. A marketer may need to combine one or more of these strategies to be successful in rural India. Rural India today wants to be educated and aim high. In rural India lies the real treasures of breakthrough success of the future and thus one can’t help but wonder that bottom of the pyramid is where the Pharaohs along with their treasures used to be buried and India’s bottom of the pyramid is no different.

Syndicated distribution In this arrangement, two or more companies in noncompeting product categories share facilities of a distribution van with a crew enabling dispersal of

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AN INTERVIEW WITH PROF. RAVI DHAR George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing & Director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management

Prof. Ravi Dhar is the George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing and director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management. He also has an affiliated appointment as professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology, Yale University. He is an expert in consumer behavior and branding, marketing management, and marketing strategy. He has been a consultant to companies such as IBM, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsico, Lucent Technologies and Visa to name a few. In this exclusive interview with Markathon, he shares with us his experiences from the industry and academia and throws light on trends that will shape the future.

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Markathon: From high tech companies like IBM to FMCG majors like PepsiCo and P&G, what were the major differences that you came across while devising marketing strategy for B2B corporations and B2C corporations?

Prof Ravi: I think one of the major differences is that in B2C, you are more interested in making an emotional connection with the end user or the consumer. For B2C marketing, the functional benefit is there, but the emotional payoff is often even more important than the functional benefit. If you look at bottled water, shampoo, detergents, etc, the brand-consumer relationship is important. With B2B, you are dealing with a sophisticated customer or a group of decisionmakers who are focused on quantifying the benefits. In some ways, B2B customers have different stakeholder who think of the same attributes differently. For example, in evaluating costs, a B2B customer, who may be the CFO, may focus on the total cost of ownership (TCO), while a B2C consumer is more likely to just think about purchase price. Likewise, the focus may move beyond an individual product, but rather an overall need that the customer is trying to address, perhaps through multiple products or services that provide an integrated solution.

Additionally, because decision-making in the B2B channel is often shared, with numerous people/company stakeholders involved, a firm has to market both the technical benefits of its products as well as the broader, solutions-oriented aspects that the product will provide to the customer’s business units. A third difference has to do with the way products are developed and brought to market. In B2C, the products are generally designed to please an aggregate customer group. However, in B2B, you see more of a co-creation process, where the customers actively participate in the product development by sharing the needs/problems they are seeking to address and providing input as to the product features that are most valuable to them. A CPG company is unlikely to respond to a demand from an individual customer for a new flavor of juice. However, a B2B company providing computer hardware will likely be

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willing to adjust their product offerings to offer a better solution to a corporate customer.

Markathon: Our primary understanding tells us that needs cannot be created; marketing only helps individuals to identify their needs, which have always existed. Do you think the present day marketing takes us beyond that basic assumption?

Prof Ravi: At the highest level the needs are determined by the cultural environment and while any single firm does not create needs, needs are not static, but keep changing as the culture changes. What savvy marketers do well is to embed their products in a way that helps meet those needs. For example, the need for convenience in food increases as both members of the household work. CPG firms can take advantage of that cultural change amongst customers to create foods that one can eat on the go, cook quickly, etc.

Similarly, if consumers have a perception that they don’t have enough time to deal with all the tasks in their busy days, you would want to make your product easier for them, perhaps by shrinking the assortment offered (to reduce the burden of choice) or making your product less labor-intensive. For example, adding a spoon to yogurt to enable it to be eaten on the go might help address your customer’s need to multitask.

Markathon: What do you think is more helpful in deriving reliable customer insights – an analytical approach using data driven techniques or a more psychological approach by direct communication with customer? Why? Prof Ravi: If you think of Insights as powerful discoveries about consumers, these can be uncovered in many different ways. The best ideas come from observing actual behavior. Analytically, this is done through Big Data that allows you to analyze the patterns of purchase behavior and customer data, and also tracking how people interact online with your product and brand. Ethnographically, one can watch how people shop and see the consumer decisionmaking process on a very individual level. So, with the analytical approach, you’re looking at the aggregate

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and drawing conclusions about the individual, while with the more ethnographic approach, you are looking at the individual to see if there are any ideas or experiences that can be generalized to the aggregate.

We’re seeing very exciting things with predictive analytics right now, but you do need a customer communication piece to understand the “why” behind some of the effects that you are seeing. For example, if you see a trend in the data where consumers are cutting back on the amount of groceries they buy, you know what is happening at a sales level, but you need to listen to your customer to find out what’s motivating that. Is it that they have less disposable income, that they feel insecure and are drawing down their pantry goods, or is it that they actually feel better about the economy and are eating out more? The answer is going to make a difference in what kind of messaging and promotions will best connect with that customer.

Markathon: Considering China is developing fast and India is also catching up, how do you think the consumption and investment pattern will change at these emerging places in the times to come?

Prof Ravi: The initial focus of marketers in both of these places was to cater to high-income consumers. And now, I think you’re seeing a realization of the tremendous aggregate purchasing power of the so-called bottom-of-thepyramid consumers at the lower income levels in these markets and a desire to offer products to reach these shoppers. Also, certainly in both of these places, you are seeing a rise of the middle class, and more consumers who are able to move beyond subsistence to discretionary purchases.

One of the most important insights that marketers have had in approaching China and India is the realization that these markets are not just like younger versions of the US market, but rather, that China and India are fundamentally different markets that will evolve in fundamentally different ways. For example, we’re seeing that smartphones will be the main gateway to the internet, as opposed to computers, and that mobile banking may be the primary way to move unbanked consumers into formal banking, since the branch networks will not develop fast enough, or be cost-effective enough to serve all these new consumers. Luxury retail is likely to develop and grow with a different trajectory than it did in Europe or the US. Retail formats present another open question— will these develop to mirror those in the US or will they develop more unique formats to meet country-specific needs? Certainly, and I think we’re already seeing this, multi-national companies are going to make more of an effort to develop specific products to meet the needs and desires of consumers in these markets, rather than just making little tweaks to products that were originally designed for existing developed markets. And I think we will see more innovations flowing from China and India back into the developed markets in the future.

China and India are fundamentally different markets that will evolve in fundamentally different ways

Markathon: E-commerce is the new buzz word in the business world. What do you think is the future of e-commerce industry in India?

Prof Ravi: I think that what we’ve seen from other markets in that e-commerce is only as good as internet access defined broadly. In India, that creates problems, because you have a huge proportion of the population that doesn’t have any in-home internet access. You also have the issue of access to credit, which is also a barrier leading to a reliance on COD. But even if they have access to credit, people aren’t going to feel secure shopping in an internet café. What I see in India is the potential for

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technology to leapfrog – as regulatory structures stabilize and more people have smartphone access, mobile e-commerce is going to be the primary ecommerce channel in India with novel payment mechanisms that are suited to the country, though there are regulatory issues that must be addressed in order for this to become a reality.

Finally, e-commerce eventually rests on delivery, which will be a challenge in India. Many of the obstacles (geographic distribution, infrastructure shortcomings) that have held back traditional retailers from entering/expanding within India will also apply to ecommerce retailers. These may be easier for ecommerce retailers to overcome, and particularly in urban areas, I think we’ll see a rapid growth in ecommerce, but the Goods that are process may not be as superior on a immediate as it may hedonic dimension seem at first glance.

- they provide more fun, pleasure and excitement to the consumer

Markathon: Your paper on Consumer Choice between Hedonic and Utilitarian goods won the William F. O’Dell Award in 2005. Can you share some of the insights from the paper?

Prof Ravi: Sure. Many goods can be mapped onto two fundamental differences—those that are superior on a hedonic dimension—that is, they provide more fun, pleasure and excitement to the consumer—and those that are superior on a utilitarian dimension, offering primarily functional benefits. We set out to see how people made choices that required trading off hedonic and utilitarian benefits, basically how consumers make choices between these two types of goods.

What we found was that, initially, people are less likely to choose hedonic goods—they feel guilty about making this choice or need justification to do so.

However, once people have these hedonic goods, they are much more reluctant to give them up. Essentially, people are reluctant to part with fun stuff they already own, even if they value the fun stuff less when they are choosing between two similar items.

Managerially, this is actually pretty interesting. For example, if you offer a product or service and you must cut some attribute, your existing consumers are going to be more sensitive to cuts in a hedonic benefit than a utilitarian benefit. So, for example, an apartment manager who faces making cuts somewhere might be better to remove one of the building’s laundry rooms than a movie screening room from the property. Our research also suggests that acquisition programs, like trial periods, free samples and low introductory Goods that are prices, are likely to be more effective for hedonic superior on a goods (cable TV) then for Utilitarian utilitarian goods dimension - they (encyclopedia sets).

provide primarily functional benefits

Markathon: What would be your advice to the young marketing enthusiasts?

Prof Ravi: In my work, I deal with executives at big consumerfacing companies all the time and so I have a pretty good idea of what these companies are looking for in the next generation of marketing leaders. My advice would be to start with building communication skills, curiosity, and persistence. More recently, with the advent of Big Data and social media, I often hear that marketing executives struggle to find enough employees who can really work with data and interpret it. I think this is a gap that young enthusiasts could certainly fill. But it’s not just being a data monkey--it’s being able to synthesize the data and act on it. So, while I think building some level of understanding of analytic tools is necessary, I don’t think it’s sufficient to reach the top levels of marketing. It’s the ability to make and explain smart decisions using those tools that should be the critical focus area.

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story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective Cover Story

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POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE Savitha. B| Sukshit Kapur| Swikruti Panda IIM Shillong

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cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective

markathon|september 2012

Marketing is the art of creating and communicating values effectively to prospective consumers. As Kotler suggested, the marketing concepts are applicable not only to a product or service, but even to an idea, a person or an organization. And this school of thought has triggered the concept of “Political Marketing” fast replacing political campaigning. If we look back into the history, the extent of success of a political leader can be directly associated with the effective communication of their core values and ideologies to the people; which today is technically known as political marketing. A leader who demonstrated political marketing in the framework of effective value communication was Martin Luther King Jr. The recent examples of Barrack Obama, Akhilesh Yadav etc. stand testimony to the impact of political marketing on the voters.

HOW MUCH DOES AN ELECTION COST???

POLITICAL MARKETING

Congress Party candidates spent a total of Rs 31.53 crore, contesting 355 assembly seats

The process by which the political candidates and their ideas are directed at the voters in order to satisfy their political needs is known as Political Marketing. The objective of the political marketing strategy is to gain support for the candidate and the ideas or promises made by them. The idea of political marketing is similar to the conventional marketing of goods and services.

The similarities between the two is listed below

Political marketing requires a lot of funds & cash flow for the campaigns. The Election Commission of India has strict rules regarding the cap on expenditure made on political campaigns. Currently, in India the maximum poll expenditure for parliamentary constituencies is Rs 40 lakh and Rs 16 lakh for assembly constituencies.

Expenditure limit varies according to the size of states.

However, in the recent assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh it is reported that, Samajwadi Party candidates spent a total of Rs 33.4 crore, contesting 401 seats

BSP candidates spent a total of Rs 29.39 crore, contesting 403 assembly seats BJP candidates spent a total of Rs 26.12 crore, contesting 398 seats IT’S A WHOOPING AMOUNT OF MONEY- IT IS REQUIRED! Why? Read on…

PRODUCT

CANDIDATE

PRODUCT IMAGE

QUALITY OF THE CANDIDATE

CONSUMERS

VOTERS

BRAND LOYALTY

PARTY LOYALTY

PRODUCT POSITIONING

CANDIDATE POSITIONING

Conventional Marketing - Political Marketing 17 14

cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective

MEDIA USED CAMPAIGNING

FOR

POLITICAL

Television: The most powerful and impactful media to target the voters is undoubtedly the television. The parties hire ad consultancies to make videos based upon the party manifestos. For example in the USA, the first ever extensive television campaign can be attributed to the 1952 race between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. The significant innovation related to role of television in the same campaign was undoubtedly the use of short spot commercials to enhance the image of the candidate. Reasons for the impact of television are firstly, television spots and their content are under the straight control of the candidate. Secondly, the spots can reach a much broader audience than other typical forms of electoral communication. Thirdly, the spots, because they occur in the middle of other programmes, have been shown to overcome one-sided discrimination (e.g., the spots are generally seen by all voters, not just those whose political party is the same as that of the candidate). Finally, study has shown that electors actually learn more from political spots than they do from television news or debates. But in spite of it being the most impactful medium, it covers only 15-20 % of the total campaign budget.

Print: Though the era of digital media is ruling the world, still print media at least in India has been the biggest gainer from the political marketing. They take a major share of the total budget allocated by any party. The main

markathon|september 2012

advantage associated with the print media is its ability to cater to a larger section of the general public. An ad may cost anywhere around 5 – 45 lakhs and the parties do not mind it because the print media is still considered to be the most reliable form of media amongst the people.

Radio: Radio is a localized medium that reaches out to listeners from above the age of 12, thereby catering to an audience of at least 19 Crores or more. What works in favor of the radio is that there is no space or time constraints for airing the ads and also that the ads can be in the vernacular languages. This creates a bigger impact on the voters. Also the other reason which ensures a bright future for radio marketing is the expense for the political parties. Comparing the other forms of media, radio is undoubtedly the cheapest form and hence it is the viable option for all parties given the restrictions on political campaign spending by the Election Commission.

Internet: In the early 2000’s the internet accounted for as less as 1% of the total budget allocated for the political marketing. But today the tables have turned and the internet market now has a share of around 10-15%. This change is due to the rise in the number of youth generation that has taken to the social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and G+ etc. The extent to which Obama used Twitter before presidential elections and his strategy to connect with people even after the elections clearly shows the impact such social networking sites have on the voters. The internet is still confined to urban voters but with the developing technology, it is sure to attract rural people as well in the near future. The Indian scenario is very much alive as the parties such as Congress, BJP have their own websites to connect with the people anytime and anywhere.

The latest trend catching up is

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cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective advertisements in sites such as Google, Yahoo etc. The internet marketing has started to gain a strong foothold and is here to stay.

Mobiles: A whooping 929 million mobile phone users in India has caught the eyes of politicians who are looking to market themselves to the voters in every possible manner .The same is the scenario worldwide. The parties use SMS, tele-calling etc. to reach out to the voters. The mobile strategy is a win-win situation for the political parties as the mobile communication is direct political marketing.

The SMS enables the candidates to talk about themselves in the wittiest manner. The trick behind the success and failure of such marketing is the difference in the creativity of the language used by every candidate. With the growing subscriber base, the mobile form of political marketing is definitely a medium that we should look for in the future.

SUCCESS STORIES OF POLITICAL MARKETING

markathon|september 2012

from his campaign. The first and most important thing when one goes about marketing a product, in this context “candidate”, is the value proposition you want to bring forth. Obama had struck the right chord at the right time when other candidates were beating around the bush and diluting their communication. Obama talked precisely of his vision, Change. The target consumers, i.e. the voters could connect to his dream as change was the dire need of the time. The art of good communication lies in understanding correctly what your audience wants to hear from you. And this understanding helped Obama in articulating the central theme of his talks, ‘problems and intent to solve them’.

Things go wrong when the talks are designed from the speaker’s perspective and not the audience’s.

Candidates speak about themselves very frequently, trying to differentiate themselves with words, ignoring the fact that people prefer solutions from the audience's perspective and not from the speaker's perspective. The imbalance comes in most cases because the speaker belongs to a different social and economic class.

One of the unique attribute of this campaign is that, Obama was successful in making the competition irrelevant by giving absolutely no space to even the names of his competitors during his campaigns. He left the judgment of the right candidate to his consumers, i.e. voters. This enhanced the trust that citizens had for him.

Fans received their share of attention and importance and the political situation did not alter anything. His thoughts, his views, his plan of action was communicated to his fans first and then to the media at large. Social networking was used as the

BARACK OBAMA’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN Irrespective of the fact that who is in favor Obama and who is not, each one will acknowledge that there is a lot to learn

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cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective primary tool to dissipate information. He had perfectly gauged the power of citizen journalists. Unlike others, he allowed them to be present among the press and was open to their criticism.

Last but not the least, Obama’s justification of ‘Family first’, when he left campaigning towards the end, to be with his ailing grandmother, surprisingly brought into light, his values and genuineness. This is one of the best possible examples to look back on, when one has to strategize political marketing. The glittery package does matter, but what matters more is the core value that is being communicated.

NARENDRA MODI’S POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: SADBHAVNA FAST

markathon|september 2012

Political marketing is not always used to win the majority of voters. At times, political marketing is sought after for strengthening the candidate’s image.

Mr. Narendra Modi’s strategic move in this direction will bring into picture this dimension of political marketing.

Gujarat has, no doubt, become the land of gold, not merely because of the rich resources it is bestowed with, but because of the strong leadership of its chief minister. But still when Mr. CM says that the state has let the bygone be bygone, it feels like a lump in the throat .For a long time, he refused to take questions on the Gujarat riots, 2002.

This seemed to work fine until Mr. Modi’s ambitions to foray into the national politics culminated. At this point of time, it was very apparent that it is not possible to sustain growth, without changing people’s perception and cleaning all the stains. This led to the design of the campaign of “Sadbhavna fasts” in all the districts of Gujarat. The sole intention was to win the goodwill of even the Muslim minority segments, by recognizing the power of opinion leaders in this minority, in formulation of the image of a candidate. The opinion leaders play a major role as citizen journalists in affecting the general perception. When one thinks of building or changing perception, then the say of opinion leaders matters in today’s generation.

Having assessed this aspect right, if not anything, the Sadbhawna campaign was successful in establishing that it was an initiative to acknowledge the sentiments of the hurt soul of Gujarat.

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cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective As in conventional marketing, in political marketing also, tremendous thinking goes behind building the image and developing appropriate public relations, keeping in perspective the long-term returns.

AKHILESH YADAV: THE ‘GAME CHANGER’ The novelty in strategy and the perfect use of marketing in campaigns created an impact of epic magnitude in the political domain. The following is an analysis of the campaign of the genius: Akhilesh Yadav, the man behind the success of Samajwadi Party in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The ‘Umeed ki Cycle’ campaign which eventually turned out to be a game winner for the SP was created by a Mumbai based production house called Arkash.

Arkash is headed by Arjun Sablo who has been linked with the Yash Raj films for a long time & has had a major contribution in three of its major films. He has created ad films for iBall & Dabur & many more featuring Bollywood Biggies such as Amitabh Bachchan & Rani Mukherjee. Arjun was involved in every aspect from research to strategy to media planning. Ideas in advertisements such as – A banarasi sari maker who needed electricity so that the sari would not get ruined by the sweat, A 17 year old girl who wanted to study to make sure that her parents don’t miss having a son. The first film featured a solitary rider on a cycle (the symbol of the SP) racing past a lumbering elephant (the symbol of the ruling BSP); followed by eight tactical ads, and finally an 80 second poetic opus on hope called Musafir, the last shot of which featured the same cyclist on his way to the house of parliament. The use of professionals definitely had a major bearing on the results achieved by SP.

markathon|september 2012

There was no single campaign or a single marketing strategy. Different sections of the society, different strata of potential voters were targeted with a corresponding campaign. Women, youth, farmers or unemployed- there was something for everyone. New & innovative approaches to have a strong impact on the section were made. The idea was to move away from the old & cheap strategy of using caste & religion.

The people liked it. There was an increase of 15% voter turnout this year. The strategy worked.

SP worked hard on changing the old perception of the product- the SP party. A fresh new look. No more ‘Gundaraaj’ was allowed. A zero tolerance level policy was followed. D.P. Yadav was not issued a ticket to contest the elections. The old perception of the SP being a backward party was changed by saying yes to technology. The use of AV campaigns, print ads, Facebook & Twitter as a medium of communication all portrayed a new SP. They also supported technology like computers & laptops despite being against it in 2009 elections.

A whole new modern perception of the party was created.

No effort was left in reaching to the customer. A personal touch was made with the help of cycle rallies.

In October last year, Akhilesh cycled for about 40 km and reached the PWD guest house in Unnao. He was tired and sweating, yet he did not stop interacting with the party workers. The Rath Yatra was a great success all across UP and successful in bringing out young voters and people from all communities. As a result of this, in the 2012 UP Assembly Polls, the Samajwadi Party won

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cover story | Political Campaigning: A Marketing Perspective 224 seats out of the total 403. It was also instrumental in increasing the party’s 97 seats in the Vidhan Sabha to 224.

Every effort was made to cater to the actual needs of the customer. Leaders do great things when they understand regional issues, aspirations & needs.

Akhilesh spoke about local development like building toilets or roads which were the real needs of the people of UP. Akhilesh kept it short & simple. He simply catered to the requirements of UP. MNCs around the world have set up R&D labs in different countries to modify old products and to develop new products that meet the needs of the local consumers. Hence we see McDonald's launching "Tadka" flavor burgers or Coca Cola launching Nimbu Pani. Similarly An amazing change was made with the content of the product- the SP. There was a new young & educated look to the party. Akhilesh introduced highly educated youngsters to the party administration.

Around 122 contestants were younger than 40 years, and 60 of them were not even 30. Among them were a number of doctors and engineers who have studied abroad, IIT’s and even an IIM professor. The customers liked what they saw.

markathon|september 2012

Success was inevitable.

Lots of advantage & promises were made to the customers. There was something for everyone. Realistic promises were made to the public with deadlines. The Cabinet decided to give free laptop computers to students who have passed class 12 and tablets to those students who have passed class 10 this academic session. It also decided to provide a one-time financial assistance of Rs.30,000 to all Muslim girls who have passed class 10 to fund further education or pay for their wedding. It also approved a proposal to streamline the traffic system in the state capital and has decided to install CCTV at all crossings for better security and traffic control. Every segment of the population had an interest being fulfilled by the Samajwadi Party.

Looking forward, the kind of growth & innovation political marketing has seen there seems to be no end.

Hiring of consultants, specialists, psychologists, researchers to leave no stone unturned seems to be the future of this ever evolving field. Rest assured; be ready for a lot of surprises!

Whosoever thought marketing and politics are two diverse sciences - it’s time they think again.

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Corporate speaks

Productolysis: Analysis of a

product from the point of view of marketing Nitin Bhat and Aditi Vidyarthi, INFOSYS LTD When it comes to snacks in India, the markets figures are as alluring as the product varieties. According to a McKinsey report, the Indian snacks industry is currently valued at Rs 7,500 crore and is expected to grow at more than 20% annually. The organized sector takes up half the market with the unorganized taking the rest.

The main socio-economic contributor for the growth is the improving lifestyle of Indians coupled with our increasing need for variety in snacks. The increase in the disposable income is another factor adding to the tremendous growth. Out of the Rs 7,500 crore snack market, the potato wafers market is about Rs 2,500 crore. This market, once largely dominated by Lays, has seen several strong entrants over the years who have proved to be formidable competitors. Out of the colossal Rs 2,500 crore markets, approximately half the pie is taken by Lays, while ITC Bingo commands roughly 10-12%. The remaining is distributed among Parle, Balaji, Haldirams and other small players.

This article focuses on ITCs offering BINGO and how it managed to make a place for itself in a largely monopolistic potato wafers market in India.

Bingo was launched in March 2007, with a modest aim of capturing roughly a quarter of the then Rs 2,000 crore wafers market. Within months, it was proven that the modest target was grossly underestimated by ITC. Much like a dark horse in any race, Bingo beat the market forecasts to become the second largest player in the market in only 6 months!

Within this short span, Lays market share fell from 65% to less than 50%, while the market share of ITC Bingo rose from 0% to 16%. In some

markathon|september 2012 regional markets, the market share even skyrocketed to 50%!! As per Ravi Naware, divisional chief executive, “there was no market where the share of Bingo was less than 15%”. How did a new entrant like ITC manage to grab a large portion of market share form Lays?

Perhaps, a quick analysis of Bingo from the point of view of 4Ps would give an answer to the question.

PRODUCT The Indian potato wafers market comprised of largely standard flavors like ‘Salted’, ‘Masala’ and ‘Tomato’.

With market research indicating that the customers wanted some ethnic variety in flavors. Lays launched Chaat Street, which failed to take off. At about the same time, Bingo was launched. The launch of Bingo was symbolic of ITC Foods' distinct approach of introducing innovative and differentiated products in a largely undifferentiated market place. The product offering included the classic flavors (Salted, Masala, Tomato) as well as an array of ethnic flavors like Masala Chaas, Chatpata Nimbu and Paneer Tikka, in order to cater to the Indian taste buds. This was a welcome change in a market where the tastes were continually changing but the offering remained monotonous. These mouth-watering flavors were a great incentive for the Indian customers to try the new product. By bringing in a regional twist to the taste, Bingo improvised on Lays idea of adapting local taste for their offerings. This is where Bingo beat Lays in their own game. Apart from the Potato chips segment, they also offered the finger snacks segment which included unique products like Live Wires (pakoda flavored), Mad Angles and TedheMedhe. The rationale for this product offering was derived from their market research done by ITC where more than 70% of those surveyed responded positively to try out new Indian flavors.

While the market segmentation for Bingo was made on the basis of age, the main target market was people in the 15-25 year age group, who were willing to try out new flavors.

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Corporate speaks As far as the product quality is concerned, due to its unique direct procurement model echoupal, ITC was able to source quality grade of raw materials which went into the production of Bingo chips and wafers.

ITC always guaranteed a superior product by ensuring only the best quality potatoes went into making of chips.

The current product offering includes Bingo Potato chips, Bingo mad Angles, Bingo Tedhe-Medhe and Bingo Tangles, each of these having numerous variants for flavors.

PLACE One of the most critical factors responsible for Bingo’s success is the extensive distribution network on ITC. Bingo’s success story is an epitome of how a company can leverage on its existing distribution network to market a new offering. With its strong web of more than 10,000 distributors across the country, ITC ensured that Bingo reached the remotest of villages, the smallest of shops. In regions where only unorganized players dominated the market, customers embraced Bingo because of its unique taste, high standards of packaging and superior quality. Within months of launching, Bingo’s ubiquity was reflected in the fact that more than 2, 00,000 retailers had stocked it.

Since a large part of this distribution network was comprised of small kirana stores to pan shops where Bingo was stocked, availability to the public was not an issue at all. As soon as the TVCs hit the media, the product was made available so that no customer who wanted Bingo returned home empty handed. ITCs distribution muscle helped Bingo get an edge over Lays in its battle for shelf space. To aid sales through big retail institutions, ITC inked a strategic pact with the Future group to stock Bingo products exclusively. This move forced Pepsi to renegotiate its commercial terms with the retail giant. In short, by leveraging on its

markathon|september 2012 distribution strength ITC carpet bombed the market with Bingo to ensure its availability.

PROMOTION Bingo was and is still being promoted as an innovative snack for the youth with the brand philosophy of ‘making the exotic familiar and the familiar exotic’. The youth were the epicenter for promoting the brand. However, by doing so, they needed to be inclusive and did not want to alienate the family. The thinking was that once the youth buy, the family is bound to follow.

The name Bingo was truly out of the box, and it had all the characteristics needed to build a strong brand.

Some of the characters are listed below: 1. Easy to pronounce 2. Supported with high familiarity, high connotations 3. Trendy, Sophisticated 4. Had a unique appeal with the youth (The Bingo Launch by Hemant Malik) To build the brand identity, the packaging had a bright color combination, with a stylized font. The uneven size lettering made it funky and eye catching.

Some of the early feedback about the name is depicted in the snapshot. . ITC was launched during the Cricket world cup to leverage on the world cup fever in India. ITC adopted a twin pronged strategy where ITC used media as well as online marketing to promote its product. Its TV ads were largely based on light humor, and had a distinctive advantage in occupying share of mind. These ads were broadcasted on all major TV channels, including national, regional, sports, and kids channel and were very well received by the audience. Bingo also had different ads for each of its regional flavors which helped in better customer reception. The ads featured prominent stars which helped in increasing both recall and retention. But, it was at the point of sale, that the promotion helped the most. ITC was the first to

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Corporate speaks distribute about 4 lakh modular racks to stock the SKUs of Bingo. The rack dispenser aided in impactful display and created sufficient space for branding at Point Of Sale, where the customer contact is the most. The dispenser was contemporary and was sturdy too. This modular dispenser created a lot of brand building by creating awareness. It looked aesthetically superior as compared to the wire mesh racks that Lays was offering. (Exhibit 2) Retailers embraced this idea and happily stocked Bingo. ITC employed 360 degree brand building for Bingo, which in the long run has proven to be highly effective. They were the first to employ the Railway Announcement System to promote Bingo. This was a fabulous idea which no one had thought about before. Their ads created a lot of impact due to high humor content.

Some of the brand building exercises carried out by ITC are as follows: • • • • • •

• •

•

Heavy Sampling across major cities of India Marketing on popular Radio stations HoReCa- A special event having Bingo remix nights having music and dance Association with Aerosmith concert in Bangalore OnMobile contest in Delhi to increase awareness Online branding by opening the portal www.bingeonbingo.com wherein users could go and share their Bingo experience.

Press Ads for announcement Bingo tick tock boing contest with fever FM Radio station, where in more than 1 million entries were received.

Bingo Xtreme Zone for adventure gaming for youth. (The Bingo Launch by Hemant Malik)

In a nutshell, the marketing activities were in line with the brand image that the company was trying to create.

All the marketing activities were focused on enticing the youth to join the bandwagon. The positioning was clear, the communication was highly articulated in a manner that there was no difference between the Brand image and the Brand identity. All these activities ensured in creation of high Brand equity for Bingo, which is being leveraged currently.

markathon|september 2012 PRICING On the pricing front, Bingo adopted a competitive pricing strategy, by introducing SKUs at Rs 5, 10 and 20.

By doing this they tried to be on par with the current market offerings. The method of pricing adopted was Reference pricing, wherein the current market prices were taken as a point of reference. They also managed to communicate their product value by offering more quantity for the existing price points. Initially they offered an odd numbered discount, 33%. Bingo priced itself Rs 10 for 45 gms, wherein Lays charged Rs 15 for 45 gms. This gave them an added advantage and helped in gaining market shares in the initial days. Later on in 2009, Bingo played another strategic move by adding 50% more volume to its SKUs without increasing prices.

This move, as quoted by ITC, was aimed at maximizing revenues by driving high sales volumes in the high potential western India market. This move proved to be successful by causing customer delight due to the greater volume offering for the same price. This led to enhanced customer experience and increased trials and repeat uses. This move took everyone by surprise since all the raw material prices were rising through the roof.

As ITC were well prepared for this activity, they had budgeted the price hike. Its unique procurement system through e-choupal, helped in creating synergies in manufacturing and procurement, thus helping in reducing costs. Bingo’s pricing strategy also included higher margins for its retailers, to offer them an incentive to stock Bingo.

To summarize, the crucial factors attributable to success of Bingo in the market are 1. Insightful understanding of consumer needs leading to product innovation 2. Retail Distribution Strength leading to heavy penetration in the deepest markets 3. High decibel advertising and clear communication helping in building a strong brand image 4. Competitive and Aggressive Pricing leading to a rapid acquisition of market share

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war war zone zone || eye eye 22 eye eye

markathon |September markathon | june 2012 2011

“In the long run, costs incurred return as payback in terms of huge profits for the host nation.”

The greatest showcase “Olympics” has always been not just a sporting event for the nations of the world but also a platform for branding themselves.

The event’s attendance ranges from tourists to foreign media motivating the country to put its best foot Ilica Chauhan forward. But for that, the IIFT- Kolkata country incurs three types of costs- infrastructure costs, public costs for better civic amenities and private sectors costs like hotel up gradations etc. And the costs incurred for marketing of the nation is worth its cost. Everything should not be looked upon on monetary basis. Hosting nation’s presence is globally felt and its stature rises politically.

Not just the government but also the people of the nation get benefits most notably huge employment opportunities which are created during Olympics, the local people are trained for requisite technical skills which help them later on to sustain as a skilled professional in the market. The quality of life is boosted as the civil infrastructure and environmental conditions are vastly improved in a very short time.

Spain and Australia enjoyed the benefits of the Olympic event after few years. Barcelona has become a popular tourist destination forever and after Sydney 2000, the tourism in Australia witnessed a surge of more than 2Bn dollars. China considered to be a closed society, opened its doors both for the tourists and the foreign companies to come and witness its rich cultural heritage and its industrial and engineering might. Seamless coordination of Chinese authorities ensured a successful Olympics and also an experience to remember for the tourists while its people trained themselves in both the technical and communication skills which presented China as a wonderful place and a market with a huge potential.

Hence, in the long run, costs incurred return as payback in terms of huge profits for the host nation.

Nothing matches the prestige gained from 17 days of global partying and hosting of the world’s finest athletes. In the geopolitics of sports, it has become a necessity for a nation to show to the world that it has the infrastructural and technical competence of a highly developed economy.

Sandeep Singh School of Inspired Leadership

The marketing strategy to win international goodwill begins with politically influenced bidding events, the huge burden of which is borne by the tax payer.

Olympics demand extravagant expenses in building new venues that require continuous maintenance.

Massive 80,000 seat stadiums, spaces for beach volleyball, horse tracks and swimming pools are created and never used again. Such spending triggers short-term inflationary pressures in the economy. Even the official sponsors don’t get the best returns due to deliberate ambush marketing.

Though it develops the host city, in the long run the money would be better utilized for the betterment of local residents rather than in trying to impress IOC members.

The 1976 Olympics left Montreal bankrupt with a $1.48 billion-price tag which its tax payers took 30 years to repay. In hosting the 2004 Olympics, Greece lost billions and now has an inventory of large unused public arenas. In terms of environmental impact, China polluted its already polluted air with extravagant fireworks at the opening ceremony and interfered with nature through cloud seeding aimed at stopping the rains. Even the little gains the London Olympics are expected to bring to a structurally sick British economy could be invalidated due to the euro crisis. It has become an egotistical posturing of national pride

“Massive 80,000 seat stadiums, spaces for beach volleyball, horse tracks etc are created and never used again”

“HOSTING OLYMPICS: MARKETING OF THE NATION BUT IS IT WORTH THE COST?”

Topic for the next issue’s Eye to Eye: “Brand Genericide - A boon or a bane?”

Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 15th September, 2012. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.

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markathon markathon | september | april 2012

war zone | silent voice

Silent Voice LAST MONTH’S RESULTS Theme: “Philips Bodygroom”

WINNER: HARI KISHORE |Great Lakes Congratulations!!! Hari receives a cash prize of Rs. 500!

HONORARY MENTION

Rohit VT| WE School, Mumbai

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “Google+” LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 15th September, 2012 EMAIL ID: markathon.iims@gmail.com Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.

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specials | brand story

markathon |september 2012

Brand Story: VICCO Turmeric Nahi Cosmetic!

Swati nidiganti | IIM S Vicco also turned to Magazines and TV for advertising their products. Also in 2010, leveraging the mass appeal of its jingles, be it the “Vajradanti vajradanti, vicco Vajradanti..” or the “Vicco Turmeric Nahi cosmetic..”, Vicco decided to use FM Radio as an effective tool of communication.

For those of our age, watching a movie in a cinema hall brings back the memories of the vibrant Vicco TVC played before every show. Founded in 1952 by late Shri K.V.Pendharkar, the VICCO Group is the manufacturer of best internationally known Ayurvedic products. Vicco Turmeric, their flagship product, was introduced in 1970 as a pure and natural product in bottles. Priced at more than 50 per cent higher than other brands, owing to the high prices of sandalwood oil, the brand set out to make its mark.

The advertisements attracted their target women by showing the Haldi function, where turmeric is applied on the would-be bride, amidst laughter and songs. As for Vajradanti paste and powder, Vicco chose to simply highlight that its daily usage led to strong gums and long-lasting teeth, showing consumers biting apples and chewing sugarcanes in fields. The advertisements were shown in cinema halls all over India and also on Doordarshan during prime time shows. With an effective reach, Vicco became the pioneer of television advertising in those days. Five years later, the company came out with a fresh bout of advertising, when model Sangeeta Bijlani began endorsing the brand. By the end of 1980, Vicco reached a turnover of Rs 3 crore. Vicco enjoyed an excellent brand recall and could have leveraged it further to cater to the growing ambitious women class.

They also used innovative incentive programmes at retail outlets, one being, a mystery shopper would ask for ayurvedic toothpaste or skin cream and if offered a Vicco product then the retailer would be rewarded the price of that product in cash. This acted as an attractive incentive for retailers to push Vicco products. Along with their signature advertisements in Cinema Halls,

However what really went against them is their short sightedness to understand the Indian women. In the initial days they aptly targeted women of marriageable age. But the homely girl “banno” had now transformed into a modern confident woman. Vicco failed to understand the Indian women who have many more aspirations than just marriage. And today the Vicco jingles have become more of a childhood memory rather than something that can influence a purchase, while the likes of Fair & Lovely and Fairever have captured the fairness market with ease. Vicco tried really hard to position it differently as a remedy for skin problems like pimples, acne and so on, as against Fair & Lovely which was more of a fairness cream. But then that was not what the Indian consumer was looking for!

Though the local market slipped, Vicco built a strong foothold in the international market, with 15% of their total production going to overseas market. Cashing in on the roots of Indian heritage, Vicco built its brand image on Ayurveda and Herbal content of products.

And while the metropolitan Indian consumer moved on to more sophisticated products from multinationals, Vicco managed to create a niche for itself in the international market. Today, the company is exporting products to countries like U.S.A., Mauritius, U.K., Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and France amongst others.

The natural segment in India is still going strong with brands like Ayur and Himalayas coming up with extensive range of products and also big names like Body Shop and L’Occitane turning to India. The market still exists in India, Vicco only has to figure out how to reposition it in order to cater to the new Indian class which is modern in outlook yet desi at heart!

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specials | ADdicted

markathon | | september january 2012 markathon

Ad-dicted Umang Kulshrestha | IIM S

G.S.N Aditya | iim s

PRODUCT # 1: INDIAN CHEMICAL COUNCIL

PRODUCT # 2: GLAMSTAR SUNGLASSES

POSITIONING: Life’s Miracle

POSITIONING: The New You

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Harshavardhan Kulkarni

CREATIVE AGENCY: Venus Productions, Mumbai

CONCEPT:

CONCEPT:

The TVC portrays how chemicals have been significant in creating various miracles of life. It beautifully opens with a child swimming in a refreshing pool of water (H2O) lifting her face out to gulp in air (O2) transiting to a field with a huge tree inhaling CO2 and emitting oxygen (O2). The next scene signifies the importance of “building” structures crucial for our survival. A truck loaded with LPG cylinders and the kid pumping air into his cycle tyre reflects “energizing” of human life. The “healing” action of antiseptic, chemical spray on plants to “feed” the nation and the “colours” used to paint the house; they are all remarkable events of life. “Dressing” up for the party to watch the “beauties” glossed with make-up and sharing the ice cream with a beautiful girl to “nourish” the bond and “celebrate” is well ended with an image of the city glittering with lights

The TVC features a Rajasthani traveler who is stuck on a deserted road as his car has broken down. It is a hot and sunny day. He is tired, parched and is waiting for a passing vehicle to help him out. Unfortunately there are none. Then out of nowhere, enters “Amisha Patel” in a red convertible! And if that wasn’t enough, there are 4 clones of her!!! She goes on to flaunt her beauty while sporting Glamstar sunglasses. This goes on for what seems to be an eternity. At the end of her act, as the awestruck traveler can’t get his eyes off Amisha Patel, she calmly points at the huge queue of Cars waiting behind them. The traveler is more than happy and hitches a ride with one of the waiting cars.

VERDICT: CATCH This time deciding upon a TVC was a difficult task, with the inspiring “slap nahi clap” and “beti hui hai” ads of Kaun Banega Crorepati and then this. I chose to write a little unconventionally by picking an organization, rather than a company or brand as I always do. TVC has an amazing concept which shows how chemicals touch our life in so many ways right from the time we wake up till the time we sleep and in fact all our happy and sad moments comprise of nothing but chemicals! The simple, soft background music with just the apt words to support make you smile all the while you watch the Ad Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=herfuMbY0aQ

VERDICT: MISS The TVC makes no sense what so ever. While the positioning of the brand is “The New You”, the TVC is completely unrelated. It is more of a TVC for Amisha Patel. The TVC shows Amisha Patel in a few stunning shots. So if you are among the few fans that Amisha Patel has, you might just like the TVC. However, chances are that you will not remember the Sunglasses brand at all. The attitude that the TVC portrays (intentionally or unintentionally) in a silly way is that, “if you wear our Sunglasses, you will let go of your inhibitions and put up crazy antics”. This is ludicrous to me.

The TVC simply does not work for me. However for all you Amisha Patel fans out there, here is the link Link: http://www.afaqs.com/advertising/creative_showcas e/inside.html?id=37301&media=TV&type=Indian

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markathon|september 2012 markathon|september 2012

specials | Fun Corner Fun CornerCROSSWORD

Fun corner Rushika Sabnis | IIM S 20. This Japansese motor company name means 'Three Diamonds' 21. This Spanish chain store owned by Inditex Group is known for its agile supply chain DOWN 1. This Kraft brand celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011 3. This advertisement is designed to simulate editorial content, while at the same time offering valid information to prospective clients 4. 'Poppin Fresh' serves as the mascot of this international brand/company

5. This personality coined the term 'Marketing Myopia'?

7. A group of relevant brands that a prospective consumer is favorably familiar with when they are thinking about making a purchase is called a ___________ set 13. Grouping goods according to size, quality and other characteristics 17. Companies that have their business segments only in online markets are called ________ companies ( 2 words) 18. The number of sub-products offered by a business within a particular line of product is called product _____

11. The acronym for the strategies adopted by retail chains like Walmart 15. This brand is endorsed by Olympic bronze Medalist Mary Kom (2 words) 16. A technique which uses graphic design elements to communicate a message subconsciously is called _____ Marketing 19. The tagline â&#x20AC;&#x153;Touch the perfectionâ&#x20AC;? is associated with this brand

ANSWERS

3. This leading FMGC company got its name from a Sanskrit word which means "Priceless"

8. The Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message is called ________ marketing

Down 1. Oreo 3.advertorial 4. Pillsbury 6. Reference 8. viral 11. EDLP 15. TagHeuer 16. subliminal 19. Toyota

2. This brand was originally produced and marketed by Stokely-Van Camp. It was purchased by the Quaker Oats Company in 1983, which itself was bought by PepsiCo in 2001

6. The pricing information a consumer retains in memory which is used to interpret and evaluate a new price: is called _________ price

Across 2. Gatorade 3. Amul 5. Levitt 7. evoked 13. Grading 17. pureclick 18,. Depth 20. Mitsubishi 21. Zara

ACROSS

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31 14 ANSWERS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Rolex Umbro John Deere Boeing Four Seasons Capgemini Safari Web browser Central Bank of India Life Ok DLF

6.

5.

10.

4.

9.

3.

2.

8.

1.

Identify the company/ brand

7.

specials|fun corner

markathon|september2012

markathon | september 2012

specials | updates

BRAND LAUNCH Hyundai Elantra fluidic Launched

Regarded as US car of the year in Detroit Auto show, Hyundai has come up with its Elantra saloon in India. Hyundai aims to capitalise on the fluidic design concept and has given the car a starting price tag of 12.51 Lakhs with four diesel and three petrol variants. Hyundai seems to approach successfully towards the premium segment with the well greeted fluidic Verna some time back and now with fluidic Elantra unlike its fiercest competitor Maruti Suzuki which tried the same through ‘Kizashi’, regarded as one of the biggest flops in the industry.

Revamped version of Mahindra Verito launched Mahindra’s first and only sedan got the much needed facelift where the prominent changes are in front grille, boot lid and headlamps. The base prices of petrol and diesel versions are 5.42 lakhs and 6.2 lakhs respectively. The car is going to compete with Maruti Swift Dzire, Toyota Etios and Hyundai Accent.

TAG Heuer Launches Elegance’ collection

‘Carrera

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Having utilised the brand value of Shahrukh Khan to the fullest, TAG Heuer has renewed his contract as the brand ambassador after the 9 years long association. On the occasion when TAG Heuer completed a decade of operations in India, the company in the auspicious presence of General Manager, Franck Dardenne and Shahrukh Khan himself, launched the latest TAG Heuer ‘Carrera 1887 Elegance’ collection.

Zync launches budget Android tablet for INR 3699 The Indian Brand Zync launches another low priced tabled Z-909 based on the Android 2.3 ginger bread platform to fight in the highly competitive Indian tablet industry. The tablet weighs just 360

grams and has features such as 7 inch resistive touch screen, front facing 0.3 Megapixels camera, 4 GB internal memory and normal sized USB port.

BRAND WATCH Videocon to revolutionize TV viewing

Partnering with Digital Direct Broadcast to use the TV technology platform, Videocon is set to transform the TV Viewing experience. The set-top box free platform will be incorporated in all new Led TVs with high quality audio-visual, cloud computing abilities to allow work & save files and browsing on social media sites like YouTube, facebook and Twitter.

Karl Slym as new MD at Tata Motors Replacing the position of P.N. Telang, Karl Slym will join as Managing Director to lead operations in Indian and overseas market such as Spain, Indonesia, South Korea and South Africa. He has had 17 years of work experience with General Motors where he headed the positions of President, Managing Director and Board Member.

Tanishq, aggressive with smart discount promotions Tanishq is offering 20% discount on its diamond jewellery from 29th July to 26th August which is communicated aggressively with the campaign covering print, television and outdoor media.

Keeping in mind, that the discount does not tarnish the image of the premium brand, the TVC focuses on the celebration moments rather than the monetary benefits that are being offered.

MEDIA Kareena Kapoor: Most desired brand endorser From personal care brands like Lakme, Head & Shoulders, Anne French to tech brands like Sony Vaio, iBall to confectionary brands like Alpenliebe, Kareena Kapoor has become the most wanted

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markathon | september 2012

specials | updates

brand ‘heroine’ for marketers. Companies are banking on her youthful and classy appeal to target young consumers.

ESPN launches ESPNFC site In an effort to make the most of the upcoming football spell, ESPN has launched ESPNFC, with full sets of applications for the users. The Company is also having plans to provide apps for iOS, Android and windows based phones.

Acer launches new marketing campaign with Hrithik Roshan Acer will endorse its wide range of products through its brand ambassador, Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, through communication across advertisements on print, TV, radio and outdoor. As an official IT partner of the London Olympics 2012, the company via its campaign has showcased the Bollywood stars, urging Indians to boost the morale of Indian athletes participating in the international event.

Ad Watch

Following the paths of Maruti Swift and Tata Nano, Renault is using social media for promoting its product but in a unique way. Renault has used its tagline “Big Beautiful Efficient” to title the campaign. Lucky one out of those who participated in the campaign will get a chance to ride Renault Duster with their friends.

Cadbury’s Oreo TVC, No. 1 Advertisement of the month The world’s top selling biscuit tops the Ad reach index which is formulated on the measurement of Brand awareness and Brand recall. The survey was conducted by Mint-TVAdIndx for this month.

Click here to watch

Honda’s dream Yuga with 110 CC Honda is trying not letting Indian consumers realise that Honda is now without any Indian counterpart.

The name of the bike is so chosen such that it connects well with the Indian youth. Honda is trying to sell dreams to the young Indians as evident from its latest TV commercial.

Click here to watch

Renault India launches the Facebook campaign for Duster

Articles are invited “Best Article”: arnab Roy & Aparupa Bandyopadhyay | tapmi They receive a cash prize of Rs.1000 & a letter of appreciation We are inviting articles from all the B-schools and Corporates 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.

• Corporate Speaks: Articles related to marketing trends from a corporate perspective.

• The 4th P: Photographs of interesting promotional events, advertisements, hoardings, banners etc. you might have come across in your daily life 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.

The last date of receiving all entries is 15th September 2012. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

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

Š Team Markathon, IIM Shillong