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The Face of Marketing

Volume X Issue 6 | March 2013

` 75

The Great

Entertainers Is marketing a ‘Science’? Or becoming a ‘Performing Art’? Marketers & CEOs of some of the biggest brands in India try and prove the latter

Anil Dua | Karthi Marshan | M V Krishna | Manisha Lath Gupta | Mansi Tripathy | Nalin Kapoor | Nikhil Sharma | Ranjivjit Singh | S P Shukla | Sandeep Aurora | Sashi Shankar | Shafalika Saxena | Shweta Singh | Sudeep Narayan | Sunil Gadgil | Viral Oza | Zubin Tatna

POWERED BY

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2013 Pitch | Feb-March March 2013

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INSIDE

COVER STORY

Pitch Volume X, Issue-6 March 2013 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra Editor & Director Amit Agnihotri Director Nawal Ahuja

EDITORIAL TEAM

Consulting Editor

Vinod Behl

Deputy Editor

Dhaleta Surender Kumar

Deputy Asst. Editor

Neha Pal

Correspondents

Abhinav Mohapatra Arshiya Khullar

Senior Art Director

Shamsad Shaikh

Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers

Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai) Suresh Gola (Noida)

AD SALES

Rohit Sardana Abdulla M Mazumder Varnikaa jain Sneha Walke

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Keynote Address

9811377592 9871609348 9769153087 9845541143

Brands should become the ‘Hero’, not the backdrop

Connecting and capturing the spirit of customers and doing things differently in an innovative and creative manner can be a game-changer for brands

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Money can’t buy experience HP keeps its TG engaged through channels like ‘HP Connected Music’, where one can access various contests and get a chance to win prizes in the form of passes and concert tickets

In this age of narcissism, consumers control brands In a world where individual egos are bigger than brand egos and everything revolves around ‘I’, consumers can no longer be blindly fed with information

0FFICES

NEW DELHI: Shop No. 32, 33 south Ettn. Part-I, Om vihar, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi 110 059 NOIDA: B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Phone: (0120) 4007700 Mumbai: 301, Kakad Bhavan, 3rd Floor, 11th Street, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050 Phone: (022) 2640 3303/09/14/16 Bengaluru: Flat No. 1,062, 1st Floor, 2nd Cross, 6th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 038

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Form IV Place of Publication Periodicity of this Publication Printer Nationality Address Publisher Nationality Editor Nationality Address

: Noida : Monthly : All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7, NOIDA – 201301, UP : Indian : B-20, Sector-57, NOIDA – 201301, UP : Mr. Annurag Batra : Indian : Mr Amit Agnihotri : Indian : B-20, Sector-57, NOIDA – 201301, UP

Name and address of individuals who own the Publication and partners or shareholders holding more than one percent of the total capital: CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION

Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com

Owner: M/S Adsert Web Solutions Pvt. Ltd. B-20, Sector-57, NOIDA – 201301, UP. Shareholders Holding More Than One Percent of the total Capital of the owner Company:

On News-stands ` 75

1. Mr Annurag Batra, R-282, GK-I, New Delhi - 110 048

www.pitchonnet.com

2. Mr Nawal Ahuja, C-2/2533, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110 070

Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301

3. Mr Amit Agnihotri, 505, Palm Grove Apartments, Sector-50, Noida, UP

Printed at All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 An exchange4media Publication

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4. Mr Shushil Pandit, 1A/49, Ashok Vihar, Phase-I, New Delhi-110 052 5. Ms Mona Jain, E-159, GK-III, Masjid Moth, New Delhi-110 048 6. Hive Communications Pvt. Ltd, 1, Nizamuddin East, New Delhi-110 014 I, Annurag Batra, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sd Annurag Batra

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Connection with the consumer

Fighting the drought of attention throuh 4 Cs

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In a competitive era, brands can survive by giving consumers the control. Brands who are not afraid of giving power to the consumers will be successful

When one thinks about Intel people think, what does a ‘chip’ brand know about segmentation? What would it know about the different kinds of consumers?

32 Decoding a more than

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63-year old relationship The partnership between Shell and Ferrari dates back to 1950 and involves over 500 races in on-track collaboration

Make communication more rewarding

Taking the gut feel out of decision making Partnership Intelligence allows marketers to make an informed selection of sponsorships and associations across properties like sports, movies, art and music

It is essential for brands to make communication rewarding and focus on consumers rather than talking about themselves

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Retainment is the mantra

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Volvo doesn’t want to get into the rat race, it wants to go slow and the mantra is ‘retainment’

Movies and cricket go to the end chain

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24 A pinch of humour in the Perfetti’s success formula for Happydent White, Chlormint, Alpenliebe and Mentos has been non-sensical humour in their communication

In today’s world product differentiation is hazy. Physical differences do not matter but story is what makes the difference

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The Vespa, in Italian, means ‘Wasp’.

The first Vespa, which was codenamed as MP6 resembled a Wasp

Pathos, Ethos and Logos

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pots and pans business

Branding is the goal, storytelling the means

It’s a scooter, it’s a wasp: Unscrambling the Vespa DNA

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There is an abundance of brand information in front of audiences, and thanks to entertainment, this information is reaching out to the TG in an interesting package

Hence, Hyundai has had campaigns with a rural touch and local dealers create interesting activities in the rural areas

Keynote Address

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Special Address

Experiential marketing is best when personalised As consumers, we keep in mind the experiences and believe only what we see or feel, be it a product or a service

When the target is volatile, one has to reinvent

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Resurgent markets need constant innovation and this was the key strategy of Nivea India, wanting to break the clutter among 400 brands trying to penetrate the market

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FEATURE

Empowering Women: On the back seat?

Too much for International Women’s Day and equality endorsed by the likes of Shah Rukh Khan. Women are still portrayed as behind men in most of the ads

By Arshiya Khullar

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ith the sea of brands in the marketplace vying for consumers’ attention, marketers and advertising agencies are coming up with innovative and out of the box advertising campaigns targeted at a specific, well defined audience to skim through the clutter and create brand recall. But lurking amidst this ambience of ingenuity and creative genius are certain archetypes and stereotypes that continue to thrive in the world of commercials irrespective of the passage of time. And one such trend is the use of gender-specific stereotypes in the advertisements of different product

categories.

International Women’s Day was celebrated with much aplomb last week.

While the ever increasing threats to women’s security have invited the wrath of the female population, the Finance Minister’s announcement of an all women’s bank drew praise from certain sections. However, the world of advertising doesn’t seem to have caught on to the concept of ‘equal opportunity’ fully. At least as far as certain communications suggest.

Banking on a myth The communication

released

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“Marketers haven’t changed their thinking according to the changing times; at least as far as the communications go” Kiran Khalap Co-Founder, Chlorophyll Brand & Communications Consultancy categories like BFSI and Auto continues to depict men as the key decision makers of the family – the ones who are at the helm of affairs while the wife is shown playing second fiddle. In automobile ads, it is always the men who are shown riding a bike or driving a car while women are the back warmers.

And in the case of financial products, any investment or bank related advice is always addressed to men – all advertisements focus on the man trying to protect his family against an eventuality by buying insurance or a house loan. There is seldom any commercial wherein the fairer sex is shown buying a car or investing in a mutual fund. Lest of course it is a product targeted specifically at women. On the other hand,

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FEATURE women are often the protagonists or the ‘decision maker’ in commercials for consumer durables.

Why does such a ghettoisation exist?

Are these advertisements knowingly or unknowingly selling socially constructed values that hold no meaning in today’s age? When women are active participants in all purchase decisions, why isn’t that reflected in brands’ communication?

According to Kiran Khalap, CoFounder, Chlorophyll Brand & Communications Consultancy, such a marketing practise stems from some kind of momentum from the past when men played the dominant role in most matters. In his opinion, marketers haven’t changed their thinking according to the changing times; at least as far as the communications go.

To this Shalini Rawla, Managing Consultant, The Key, Consumer Diagnostics and Intelligence Solutions, adds that the reason why advertising agencies and brand managers continue to think in this old-fashioned manner is because they have not personally interacted with customers and hence have no idea of what is happening on the ground.

Doesn’t such an approach impede the very idea of empowerment and equality?

“I don’t think it is related to equality or the lack of it. It is about portraying the reality. You should have women in the ads not because you want to promote the idea of equality but because you want to promote reality,” opines Khalap.

Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research, finds a lot of women regularly writing to him for investment-related advice. The same trend however, in his view, isn’t reflected in the advertisements of financial products where the wise and foresightful husband plans for

Women are active participants in all purchase decisions. They control the expenses at home. So why isn’t that reflected in brands’ communications? the future while the woman is buying LCD TVs and so on. Women are shown as the sensible decision maker in ads for nutrition-related products or consumer durables.

In his view, marketers are trying to pitch this communication on the basis of a very broad understanding of who the key decision maker is.

He also adds that in most of these BFSI ads, there is certain innocence in the character’s (man or woman) personality that is depicted. “The brand is always shown as someone who empowers the consumer with all the information. I have come across lot of men and women who take great pride in knowing great detail about something very trivial. People, for instance, will be extremely knowledgeable about cell phones- its features, variants and cost value equation. But in financial services, people take great pride in saying ‘I am

In ads of financial products, it’s the foresightful husband who plans the future. Women are shown as sensible decision makers in ads for nutrition-related products

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an idiot’,” says Kumar.

Some may argue that such a strategy is employed only to effectively capture the attention of the broader TG, which in the case of cars and insurance is men.

Rawla, who found the ‘Men are Back’ commercials for Maruti Suzuki SX4 distasteful on the grounds that the female audience for the car wasn’t considered, provides a differing perspective.

She agrees that the broader TG where marketers really want to optimise their money on, is perhaps a reflection of the market, and so marketers may not want to spend their money elsewhere.

But marketers should take the onus and responsibility of showing women in a modern light. “Media wise you can make a choice but it is the responsibility of the marketer to show an egalitarian role. If it is not even followed largely as a mainstream trend, it is the marketers’ responsibility to reinforce and up that trend. The communication can have the women whereas media planning and buying can be done according to the main market – the male. It is not as if men don’t see ads featuring women,” she appends.n -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com

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NEW DELHI

Presents

Keynote Address: BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND PERSUASION ANIL DUA; Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Hero Motocorp ENTERTAINMENT AS A PLATFORM TO MARKETING TECHNOLOGY DEVICES RANJIVJIT SINGH; Head Marketing, PPS, HP India MARKETING AS PERFORMING ART SHAFALIKA SAXENA; Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft India STREET THEATRE TO MULTIPLEX: OPPORTUNITY IN GETTING SEGMENTATION RIGHT SANDEEP AURORA; Director Marketing, Intel South Asia

MEC PARTNERSHIP INTELLIGENCE(TM): AN INFORMED APPROACH TO ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & PARTNERSHIPS SHWETA SINGH; Business Head, MEC Delhi (in New Delhi) ZUBIN TATNA; National Director, Planning, MEC (in Mumbai)

enTRETAINMENT SUDEEP NARAYAN; Marketing and PR Director, Volvo Auto India

SPORTS, CELEBRITIES & FASHION: CAR MARKETING GETS ENTERTAINING – THE HYUNDAI WAY NALIN KAPOOR; Senior General Manager and Group Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India

HUMOUR & FUN: A PERFE(C)TTI WAY TO RIDE THE CONFECTIONERY MARKET NIKHIL SHARMA; Director – Marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India Pitch | March 2013

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Brands should become the ‘Hero’, not the backdrop Connecting and capturing the spirit of customers and doing things differently in an innovative and creative manner can be a game-changer for brands

By Twishy

Brand: Hero MotoCorp

Presentation: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and Persuasion

Presented By: ANIL DUA Sr VP - Marketing & Sales, Hero MotoCorp

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he new Indian wakes up to a Google doodle every morning, tunes in to the favourite FM station to hear a Fevicol or a Zandu Balm song, enjoys the carni-val of IPL, sleeps to the melodramatic ‘Bigg Boss’ and often ponders over ques-tions like what is the link between entertainment and persuasion?

Can entertainment lead to persuasive

outcomes? Are the lines between entertainment and persuasion blurring?

It is widely believed by experts that one cannot be persuasive without entertaining. Persuasion through entertainment has a great potential, and brands are continuously making strong efforts to bridge the gap between the two. The communication campaign has to be

Campaigns become entertaining and persuasive if they build empathy and consumers can visualise themselves as being part of the brands 10

entertaining and compelling to persuade customers to change their current behavioural choice. A campaign becomes entertaining and persuasive if it builds empathy and the consumers can visualise themselves as being part of the brand.

In this changing scenario, brands have started relooking their fundamental principles. According to Anil Dua, Senior VP, Marketing and Sales, Hero MotoCorp, brands are becoming more ‘experimentative’. Shifting from being pro-gressive, brands have also started becoming entrepreneurial. Just a few years back brands were happy using a placid way, but they

Pitch | March 2013

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are increasingly becoming invasive. They have transformed themselves from being passive to extremely interactive, thereby becoming huge. However, Dua feels that brands are still far behind when it comes to chasing the youth, who are the new age consumers because of the dynamic behaviour of the category comprising uncertainty and randomness. Hence, brands are doing the catch-up game and the brand that stays ahead and close to the customers emerges the winner.

Engaging the youth Dua feels that the youth are engaged into shopping and travel, sports, events, socialising and gaming, movies and music.

Brands need to understand these activities and formulate plans to get into these areas to engage the youth. Hero Motocorp launched an auto dealership known as ‘Just 4 her’ that was ex-clusively managed by women and was dedicated towards selling only scooters. In travel, the auto brand holds bike rallies to engage the community.

“Don’t wait for a property to emerge.

Think of the pursuits that the customers are engaged in, tie up with a media channel, create a property and that could be-

Dua with Session Chair - Satyajit Sen, CEO, ZenithOptimedia

rural customer is entertaining himself or herself,” Dua said.

Effectively using socialising & gaming Socialising plays a crucial rule in the success of a brand. It provides an opportunity to get the customers together talking about the brand. One of the best ways is to socialise through cafes, believes Dua.

Socialising plays a crucial rule in the success of a brand. In the era of virtual hangouts, a brand should not forget the physical hang-outs come the most engaging ways to build a loyal fan base,” advised Dua. Traditionally events such as college fests and music concerts have been used by brands to create engagement. Events and activations like fairs and exhibitions are the most important forms of entertainment for rural customers. “Hero Motocorp has been trying to do this through the rural vertical with the vision of ‘Har Gaon, Har Aangan’ understanding the rural customers in every season. They are far more engaging and love to understand more. It provides an uncluttered medium to the brand to be persuasive while the

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Hero’s Hunk tied up with Café Coffee Day (CCD), wherein the coffee froth had a Hunk Logo with Hunk visuals all around to subtly get the attention of the people. Dua thinks that in the era of virtual hangouts, a brand should not forget the physical hang-outs.

Gaming also becomes an important engagement route and brands should put themselves within the game to enjoy greater participation. He believes that social media should be leveraged properly and highlighted the ‘Billion voices’ campaign that invited people to sing the Hero song, shoot their video and up-load it on

heromotocorp.com and their video became a part of the film. This was an attempt to make the consumer the centre of the entire communication process.

Association with music, movies and stars has been done by almost every brand. Going beyond the traditional ways, it becomes noteworthy when the brand ambassadors engage with fans on digital.

Hero Motocorp has had a long association with the TV programme ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ and they have also tied up with PVR to showcase the bikes.

Integrating the brands into the various sporting activities like cricket, hockey, football, golf and tennis can help in connecting with the youth. The brand has tied up with ‘MTV Roadies’ and various sports like cricket, hockey, golf, etc. “We have started sponsoring some teams in the US and we plan to bring some learnings from the western markets to India when we launch the large bikes,” said Dua. He feels that ascending the entertainment ladder and climbing higher to find new ways of engagement; and the brand becoming the medium and not the back drop along with connecting and capturing the spirit of customers and doing things differently in an innovative and creative manner can be a game-changer for brands.  -twishy@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Money can’t buy experience HP keeps its TG engaged through channels like ‘HP Connected Music’, where one can access various contests and get a chance to win prizes in the form of passes and concert tickets

By Neha Pal

Brand: HP India

Presentation: Entertainment as a Platform to Marketing Technology Devices

Presented By: RANJIVJIT SINGH Head, Marketing, PPS, HP India

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ith amount of entertainment increasingly being screened through PC screens, information technology companies like Hewlett Packard (HP) are clubbing the 4Ps of marketing with the ‘Entertainment Factor’.

Having started its operations in 1998 in India, US based company HP is not just working its way forward to be the ‘No 1’ in Indian PC market but is constantly aiming to go beyond the traditional touch points of technology

by creating greater engagement with their target audience through the ‘Entertainment Factor’.

Challenge After trailing Chinese PC maker Lenovo for three quarters of 2012 and US based Dell for two quarters of 2011, HP had this challenge to provide latest technology multimedia experience to their users by introducing products that would include music, movie and gaming at its best.

HP tied up with Universal Music and Hungama to launch one-of-its-kind notebook called HP Connected Music, which offered free unlimited download for one year 12

“We wanted to do marketing in a way that would integrate our technology with style as well as substance,” said Ranjivjit Singh, Head - Marketing, PPS, HP India.

While return on investment has always been the main challenge for the company in a diverse market like India, HP followed a two-pronged approach for gauging the ROI aspect. First was the return in terms of the business metrics and the other was how to make people relate to the brand.

Strategy and Implementation While HP thought that technology factor was important but ‘tech being simple’ was equally important. HP launched its higher end HP ENVY Sleekbook at a

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price range of ` 41,990 and HP ENVY Ultrabook series in second half of 2012 at a starting price of ` 57,990 in second half of 2012. With weight as light as 1.75 kilogram and a battery life of 8-9 hours, HP notebooks had a pair of in-built speakers and subwoofers to enhance audio experience along with HD Webcam to assure high quality HD images.

Another part of the HP’s strategy was ‘Exclusivity’. According to Singh, “The subwoofers for movies and built-in speakers were clubbed with ‘Beats Audio’ that was a high-performance technology and was exclusively developed

by HP”. All these features made sure that users felt every emotion which was in stored in the audio and video.

‘Value for money’ was the third aspect of the strategy. None of the other players in the market have a free download model and that’s the ‘Value for Money’ we provide, said Singh. HP tied up with Universal Music and Hungama to launch one-of-its-kind notebook called HP Connected Music which offered free unlimited download for one year.

The fourth part of HP’s strategy was ‘Entertainment’. While observing that today’s user wants a mix of technology and entertainment, Ranjivjit Singh said, “Entertainment will be the focus area for us this year.”

Commenting about the energy quotient involved, Singh said, “Available with a catalogue of over one million songs across different genres and languages, HP Connected music is a free service provided by HP for one year on the purchase of Windows 8. Apart from the unlimited download, it also offers a 30-second preview before you download a song.

Regarding the cost factor involved, Singh said, “As a part of the marketing strategy, first year is the seeding period, which is a compelling value proposition

Singh with Session Chair - Deepak Suri, Founder & Chief Brand Strategist, brand:architects

for users who would like to extend the service on a long term basis.”

HP Connected Music in India includes a section called ‘Money can’t buy experience’, which includes an access to various contests where users can win prizes in the form of passes and concert tickets.

HP has been involved in the launch of hybrid devices and ultrabooks displaying music and lifestyle. Besides HP Connected Music, the company has addictive entertainment properties and associations such as HP Print Art Workshop.

Also, HP introduced its EliteBook 8470p starting at a price of ` 48, 060.

HP EliteBook 8470p has a battery life of 36 hours with integrated 720p webcam, SRS premium sound PRO, Intel HD Graphics card, backlit keyboard.

Commenting on entertainment through social media, Singh noted, “Even though there are many challenges in social media in terms of getting a

HP, as per IDC, regained its No 1 position in the Indian PC market in the fourth quarter of 2012 leaving Chinese PC maker Lenovo behind Pitch | March 2013

direct negative feedback, a DJ doesn’t just break his own music, but others’ as well.”

Keeping in mind the fact that a large part of India’s population is the youth, who are tech savvy and prefer laptops over television, HP recently launched its new Windows 8 based products for the Indian market, which include the Envy TouchsmartUltrabook 4, Envy X2 hybrid and Envy 23 AIO. Giving an example from his personal life, Singh said, “My 11-year old son doesn’t watch television anymore as his laptop has taken over this conventional source of entertainment.” Elaborating on this point, Singh further said, “Users prefer a flexible mode of entertainment with the right combo of style and substance and that’s where HP’s sleek technological devices come into picture.”

Results HP regained its number one position in the Indian PC market in the fourth quarter of 2012 leaving Chinese PC maker Lenovo behind, according to data released by market research firm IDC. HP enjoyed a 15.2 per cent market share in 2012.  -neha@pitchonnet.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

In this age of narcissism, consumers control brands In a world where individual egos are bigger than brand egos and everything revolves around ‘I’, consumers can no longer be blindly fed with information

By Arshiya Khullar

Brand: Microsoft

Presentation: Marketing as Performing Art

Presented By: SHAFALIKA SAXENA Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft India

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n today’s dynamic marketplace and with the emergence of newer tools of communication, marketers are constantly grappling with how to enthrall, entertain and retain their target audience. The only constant in this perennially changing landscape, according to Shafalika Saxena, Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft India, is engagement.

The traditional one-way communication between brands and customers has evolved to include greater conversation and dialogue between the two. “Facebook, with its sheer number of users, is

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When you listen to a story, you listen with defenses down and you are engaged. When you listen to facts, your barriers are up and you listen analytically and skeptically Pitch | March 2013

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referred as the third largest country in the world. Ninety per cent of the people trust things they hear from friends, 70 per cent trust what they hear from strangers and only 14 per cent trust brand advertising.

Engagement does matter,” said Saxena.

Performance Art as an Engagement Tool Saxena said that this is the age of narcissism where individual egos are bigger than brand egos and everything revolves around ‘I’. Consumers therefore, can no longer be blindly fed with information; it is they who control the brand, not the companies.

“Performance Art engages you, grabs your attention, draws you in, moves you, and makes you think, smile and act. But most importantly, it makes you remember,” she said.

Saxena, who has in the past, worked with brands like P&G in Germany, Pepsi and Unilever, and holds a rich experience in marketing, is of the belief that, rather than assuming attention, brands now need to grab attention.

She went ahead to cite examples of the multitude of ways in which performance art can be used to create relationships, and engage the audience.

Performance Art can be created with stories - stories that are sticky and that can be retold. “When you listen to a story, you listen with your defenses down and you are more engaged. When you listen to facts, your barriers are up and you listen analytically and skeptically,” she appended.

For instance, rather than have a factual

using dance as a tool. While videos such as ‘Kolaveri Di’ and ‘Gangnam Style’ were corporate led campaigns that became viral, ‘Harlem Shake’ is a perfect example of how a brand can be created from a completely

Performance Art engages you, grabs your attention, draws you in, and makes you think, smile and act.

But most importantly, it makes you remember grassroots level.

Social media has also become another popular tool for creating engagement. Saxena gave the example of how the cookie brand, Oreo used Twitter as a marketing tool and tweeted aggressively during a blackout in one of the Super bowl games. Their tweets read something like this - Oreo - Power Out? No Problem. You can still dunk in the dark (Oreo).

Microsoft has itself used differing aspects of performing art to entice and engage people. For instance, for its recent ‘Windows 8’ promotional activities it tied up with Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and organised interactive sessions with his fans. In another activity, to help people understand the complex ‘cloud’ technology, it organised a bus tour across 20 cities in the country in a span of two months. “With this initiative, about 10,000 cloud stories were told and 200,000 people were targeted. IT professionals downloaded augmented reality videos, and touched and experienced the power of a cloud,” said Saxena.

Rather than struggling to decide between old versus new media, brands should first develop an idea and create content that touches the emotional chord of people television commercial, American Express used storytelling and roped in popular American comedian, Tina Fey in one of their campaigns who spoke about her life and how there isn’t any ‘funny’ business happening with her credit cards.

Performance art can be mastered by

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versus new media, brands should first develop an idea and create compelling content that touches the emotional chord of people, and then move on to choose the correct medium to drive the aspired reach.

Marketing a Business Transaction or an Art? The first decision to be made at the start of any marketing campaign is often about the media mix and the different communication mediums that will be used. This, in Saxena’s view, is a wrong way to start. Rather than struggling to decide between old

“The factors that marketers needs to consider before choosing the medium are flair, authenticity, creating, trust, omnipresence, relevance and scalability,“ opined Saxena. Marketing has become an art rather than being just a business transaction.

At the same time, marketing is also being increasingly driven by ROI and data. The mathematics of marketing is changing.

In Saxena’s opinion, establishing trust and creating a relationship with the consumer has taken precedence over the objective of increasing transactions and revenues. At the same time, however, marketing is also becoming more of a rocket science with the stress of data, analytics and ROI. Is there a need therefore, to build a fine balance between perceiving marketing as a performance art (art that creates unique ideas and forges an emotional bond with the audience) and as a discipline being driven by data and analytics?

“Data is nothing more than a tool for the marketer/artist and marketing will always remain an art,” she said. To create masterpieces, marketers need data.

The conventional 4Ps of Marketing have also undergone a sea change. The product has become more commoditised, price has flattened, place isn’t restricted to a physical location anymore; it is now everywhere, and promotion has become desensitised. For a brand to thrive in such a milieu therefore, the focus should be on creation of a unique idea and differentiated content in line with its objective that can attract the audience’s attention. “Messaging is about influencing, not about directing. And that can be done with ideas,” said Saxena.  -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Connection with the consumer When one thinks about Intel people think, what does a ‘chip’ brand know about segmentation? What would it know about the different kinds of consumers?

By Abhinav Mohapatra

Brand: Intel

Presentation: Street Theatre to Multiplex: Opportunity in Getting Segmentation Right

Presented By: SANDEEP AURORA Director, Marketing, South Asia, Intel

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hen one thinks about Intel people think, what does a ‘chip’ brand know about segmentation? What would a silicon company know about the different kinds of consumers?” feels Sandeep Aurora, Director Marketing, Intel South Asia.

Delving into the brand journey of Intel, it was founded in 1968 and its first product came out in 1969. As per Aurora, Intel was a memory company from 1968 to 1985 and at some point of time it realised that it was getting beaten down by the Japanese memory players. It then decided to get involved with something else. it went into the microprocessor manufacturing business and the first big breakout marketing campaign that it came out with was the RedX, talking about how the old has gone and new is come. In 1991 Intel launched the

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Intel Inside programme, which according to Aurora, has been the longest running comarketing programme in history, “What it does is makes the OEM and manufactures of devices opt in and educate the consumers of what the device is all about and what are its benefits. In 2000s we planned to move beyond speeds GHz and MHz, and launched something called Centrino, there were laptops but were not mobile, Centrino brought the concept of true mobility with WiFi that changed the face of computing,” he adds.

Intel moved from Pentium to Core, we launched Atom for devices at lower costs and power consumption bracket, its campaign called ‘sponsors of tomorrow’ made its debut then and two years ago it again changed the game by launching Ultrabooks, Making sure the whole

ecosystem was made to redefine how it looks at computing. “Now we are looking at getting to other devices, phones, tablets etc,” Aurora says.

Fundamentally, Intel as a brand, in the last 30 to 40 years has evolved from focusing on technology and what it makes to who it is as a company and what it is capable of. Instead of concentrating on the communication of the chip, the speed and better technology, it aims at communicating how the brand opens up a huge possibility vector for consumers various ways. Aurora claims that it is among the top 10 brands in the world and the last value attributed to Intel was $ 39 billion, “that value gets attributed because of the constant investment and understanding of the market, bunch of assets that we have, like the Intel bong, which is among

Pitch | March 2013

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the top 10 most addictive sounds in the US second after a baby’s giggle,” he adds.

Aurora points out that, an Intel processor is never seen by the consumers directly when they buy the device. It is hidden inside the machine somewhere.

“But we take time to get to know our consumers. How we did that in terms of knowing our consumers is easy, the market was similar 20 years ago, but as we started to know that the market is changing, the preferences are changing. As per our understanding of the users the factors that come into play are mobility, engagement willingness to spend, usage models of the device and the style statement and we work around that,” he says.

The consumer segments that Intel defines are broad. The users are young adults plus, that is from the age group of 18 to 34 years. The two broad categories are ‘Priority segments’ (that have alpha techies, trendy mobiles, mobile achievers, selective, media moguls and everyday generalists. And the ‘secondary segment’ (includes practical movers, tools and takers, basic connectors and analogs). As a part of its marketing strategy Intel builds three to four personas around each user profile for example Alpha Techies, so that it can prepare and understand the products the consumer is looking at.

“To make sure the engineering and marketing connects, we think three to five years from now. Our business model is unique.

The FAB (factory) costs about four to five billion dollars and takes about two years to build. Hence, the FAB we are building today, are to make the products that will be out in 2014-15 the more we know what consumers would like at that time will be better for us,” aurora adds.

As an example of an ‘Alpha Techie’ as a persona, entertainment is big, video watching is 54 per cent vs. 33 per cent in normal adults. Music is 48 per cent vs. 28 per cent.

Hence Intel gets to know that the exact percentage to look forward and work upon future ready devices.

“When you come to segmentation, how do we connect to the profiles of the world? One of the key campaigns we did was ‘Museum of Me’ on Facebook, where

Pitch | March 2013

one can create an archive of your social life in a simple and short way. It got 1.1 crore visitors, 20 lakh people created their personal museums. It was awarded as the FWA site of 2011 and also won six Cannes Lions and why this was a winning idea was because it was simple, it showed you stuff about yourself,” says Aurora.

Similarly, when Intel launched Ultrabooks it did flash mobs in the US, transforming potential everyday consumers connecting them with Ultrabooks. According to Intel these videos had 4.5 crore views 1.5 lakh visitors. This campaign took a bunch of people using synchronised Ultrabooks on the street that would coordinate and showcase content, help someone catch a cab or show a large menu in a restaurant like a digital billboard or big screen with live content. Thus, acting as a pop up studio live, on ground.

produces full songs through Ultrablooks.

The program saw 21 lakh viewers, 13 lakh video views online.

“While on one side we had this avatar who has high end needs, we also have personas in tier II and III cities, we got trough them through ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ and music as a passion point. We also associated with ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, in terms of connecting with the same audience, which got good results, the connect of the device in the movie and real life element was bought to other platforms too,” Aurora opines.

Thus, Aurora establishes a connection of the brand with entertainment activities says. “From a sales marketing standpoint, we are a B2B brand that caters to engineering based clients, but from a communication and emotional marketing standpoint we are a B2C brand. Our consumers want to know their devices are Intel Inside.”

An Intel processor is never seen by the consumer directly. It is hidden inside the machine somewhere, and that makes marketing the it more challenging “During Sydney Festival, historical places would transform themselves, we digitally painted one of the monuments showcasing ‘Art through Technology’ by transforming a monument to look like an Intel chip.

The idea of connecting with potential consumers does well with this example,” Aurora says. He further explaining the campaigns using music exemplifies a campaign from the Melbourne music week. He says that Intel had campaign called ‘Where?house’, it gave clues to people about a building that hadn’t been used for many months and when people guessed and came in there, they got introduced to Ultrabooks and how it was used to make music. “They got into an immersive and engaging experience,” he adds.

In India Intel associated with MTV and aired a programme called ‘SoundTrippin’ that showcased how music can be used through Ultrabooks. The host of the show carried an Ultrabook and recorded, edited, captured sounds, mixed and

In a Q&A session with the Chair and the audience, Aurora says, “we are late in the mobile space, last year we have launched XOLO in India, we got late because we did not think that there would be so much growth in this sector but we have lined up more mobile products in for the coming future.” Further to this, he says that the Digital Literacy Mission is a part of its CSR activity that also is a sync between education and entertainment. For example ‘My Discoveries’ campaign and the “Go Do Something Wonderful’ campaign which are both pegged at art, music and theatre on the lines of entertainment.

In summary quoting an author, he says, “It is not all about marketing where the real crafts come in. The best actors do not necessarily become the biggest stars vice versa.

How we make sure that the things we learn from the market, how we take the same to our office so that our products can become connected,” he appends. -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

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Taking the gut feel out of decision making Partnership Intelligence allows marketers to make an informed selection of sponsorships and associations across properties like sports, movies, art and music

By Arshiya Khullar & Simran Sabherwal

Brand: MEC

Presentation: MEC Partnership Intelligence (TM): An Informed Approach to Entertainment, Sports & Partnerships

Presented By: SHWETA SINGH, Business Head, MEC Delhi (in New Delhi) & ZUBIN TATNA, National Director, Planning, MEC (in Mumbai)

E

vent sponsorships and associations with different properties are increasingly becoming a preferred marketing tool for companies to connect and engage with their discerning consumers. Whether it is sporting extravaganzas such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) or Formula One or musical events, brands are jumping onto to the sponsorship bandwagon.

However, for such associations to be

Shweta Singh

successful, there needs to be a similarity and connect between the attributes of the brand and the particular property or platform.

Partnership Intelligence, a research based tool developed by MEC allows marketers to make a more informed selection of sponsorships and associations across seemingly non-comparable properties – sports, movies, art and music to name a few. Partnership Intelligence provides

Partnership Intelligence provides in-depth analysis into consumer interests, media consumption and attitudes towards different partnership platforms 18

in-depth analysis into consumer interests, media consumption and attitudes towards different partnership platforms and thereby, helps to deliver an analysis of the property attributes and a comprehensive assessment of the potential fit of a property with a brand’s own values. This assessment is reached at by imparting qualitative dimensions to these platforms and properties.

Partnership Intelligence was born out of an online administered study conducted across 17 countries last year. The surveyed people belonged to SEC A, B and C. According to the findings of the study, the ODI Cricket World Cup and the

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T-20 Cricket Tournament last year were the most preferred sporting properties among the Indian audience with a love and like score of 80 per cent. IPL came in third with a 71 per cent love and like score. FIFA World Cup was found to be the highest among non-cricket properties with a 66 per cent love and like score.

How is Partnership Intelligence Different With the advent of digital, there is a growing emphasis on the creation of

Singh with Session Chair - Sandeep Pandey, Principal Partner - Consulting, Intelligence and Analytics, Mindshare

Zubin Tatna

content that can be consumed across multiple platforms. In such a dynamic and competitive milieu, a tool like Partnership Intelligence claims to help marketers make informed decisions about how to effectively use multiple channels for engagement.

There are tools like TAM, TGI and IRS which have been providing essential insights about consumer behaviour. Explaining the functioning of these, Singh said that while TAM provides viewership data, and information about the consumption of programming channels mathematically, in TGI, brand consumption is mapped to the audience consumption

Pitch | March 2013

and to the media consumption. However, there is no linkage between each of them.

“TAM and IRS are numerically driven. TGI has psychographics covered to an extent.

Partnership Intelligence links brand, audience and media consumption with each other. We take a set of qualitative attributes equivalent to psychographic dimensions and layer it on the brands as well as the properties. You are, therefore, able to marry the brand with the property much better,” she said.

How Partnership Intelligence Works To give an overview into how the tool works, Partnership Intelligence helps

brands to see how a property is perceived.

There are five different levels of perception that are used – love, like, okay, don’t like, don’t know and indifferent. For instance, according to the findings of the study, Olympic engages more number of people any other property (sports). 53 per cent of the respondents like or love the sporting event versus 36 per cent for Formula One. Secondly, it compares a brands attributes to a platforms or property’s attributes. On comparison of the London Olympics to the Rugby World Cup, the study showed that the former is perceived by people to be a more realistic and healthy sport while Rugby is thought of as a more aggressive game.

Thirdly, the tool determines a properties’ strength or weakness. While Olympic was found to be the most popular sport among audience, the interest level varied across geographies. In Italy, for instance, 66 per cent of the respondents love plus like Olympics while in Singapore this number is 39 per cent. Next, the tool helps identify the product categories that are of highest interest to those engaged with a property. To give an example, according to the study, 62 per cent of the people who like or love Olympics are interested in travel and 52 per cent are interested in fashion.

Lastly, it helps to assess media consumption habits across properties. In China, for instance, 53 per cent respondents watch the sport live online while 11 per cent prefer to see the video highlights. -feedback@exchange4media.com

19

CMO SUMMIT 2013

Retainment is the mantra Volvo doesn’t want to get into the rat race, it wants to go slow and the mantra is ‘retainment’

By Abhinav Mohapatra

Brand: Volvo Auto India

Presentation: entRETAINMENT

Presented By: SUDEEP NARAYAN Marketing & PR Director, Volvo Auto India

e

ntRETAINMENT, is an amalgam of two basic theories behind marketing a product - Entering (Entre) and Retainment. A brand must be able to draw its TG and be in continuous engagement with them. Narayan, pointed out that the new parliamentary budget didn’t paint a good picture for the premium luxury auto industry even though it held merely a 1.2 per cent share of the entire auto industry in India.

Narayan said that the communication experience is more important than the

product-experience, even though both go hand in hand. He gave an example of an ad known as ‘One black coffee’, the first TV commercial from India to win the Cannes Lion. This TV commercial changed the face of the cell-phone industry in the country. Narayan pointed out that the widely acclaimed commercial was researched upon, and it was found that while a majority recognised the ad but were unable to identify the brand, Ericsson. They linked it to Nokia, which had the majority share in the market at that

From an ideology point of view, brand and sales can never be able to come together as there is always a tussle. Eventually, the brand loses out 20

point of time. “The reason why I have this example is because it was good entertainment but it may not have been good retainment,” he added.

Discussing various aspects of clutterbreaking campaigns that drew a lot of eyeballs he reiterated the example of Domino’s in Australia that used geo targeting. “People in Australia move out on weekends, go off to the country and remote areas and do not have enough connectivity. Therefore, Domino’s was losing business because its stronghold is the system of home delivery. Domino’s thus developed a home delivery application that could geo-target the audience once they have ordered. So one could order a pizza from the Bondi beach of New South Wales. With the app, the sales

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increased by 50 per cent, hence bringing the factor of ‘retainment’ and marketing,” Narayan said.

Narayan suggested that from an ideology point of view, brand and sales can never be able to come together as there is always a tussle, and eventually the brand loses out. Narayan claimed that Volvo is not into the ‘number game’, for Volvo, a car sold is a car advertised.

Hence, the owners become the brand ambassadors and evangelists. He threw light upon the strategy that Volvo follows. He said that the brand believes in ‘BRETAIL’. What is ‘Bretail’ about? He said that mostly sales always have a pitch and through much verbal and perception based communication one sells the products. “What we do is that we say that one should experience the car. We claim to have the best safety system as a part of the sales pitch at our dealership, to put that to test and make it interesting, we were able to showcase the automatic brake system. We tell our customers to test the automatic brake system with blindfolds. We stick balloons to the

Volvo focuses at geo-targeting. It looks at customers and prospects. Since it is a brand that claims to mould itself around the customer, it is focused on experiential too Forbes database and sent them a device with it. The device can be opened like a brochure and one can consume rich content videos on it explaining everything about the various models that we have. Hence this is a device that becomes something that is retainable,” he added.

Narayan also revealed that Volvo does not target everyone and market in a big way. The brand focuses at sharp and geo-targeting. It looks at customers and prospects. Since it is a brand that claims to mould itself around the customer, it is also focused on experiential events. He said that there is no brand in the segment that does not do golf. “We wanted to do it (golf) differently. What we did was that instead of buying a trophy, like everyone does, we got it handcrafted by a top creative artist and advertised it

In the digital space, particularly on facebook, Volvo’s strategy has been to discuss and engage, where others have been focusing on hitting the ‘Like’ button walls of the testing compound, and let the consumer dive the car. As soon as the car get very close to the balloons it automatically stops. These are small things, but these small things is what gives us the empathy that our prospects desire,” he said.

Narayan, connecting how Volvo captivates and retains its audience through entertainment platforms, talked about augmented reality. He said that TV and newspapers use augmented reality these days. What Volvo did was a first of its kind in India. “We gave out a device with Forbes magazine that was based on the concept of an augmented reality. We targeted the top 100 CXOs (Chief Executive Officers) of the city through

Pitch | March 2013

though sharp targeting channels to the golfing community, creating an aspirational value around that trophy. Those who could not make it through the qualifying rounds were given free test drives and those who were chosen as our prospective clients were given the model they were interested to drive around for a weekend, just to build up the ‘entRETAINMENT’ aspect,” he said.

In a totally candid manner, Narayan said that there is always a sales objective when Volvo does an event. It looks at the prospects and then communicates.

“If you look at our Facebook account we have probably the least number of fans. I am happy about it because, if I do a winner trip to Sweden or meet Sachin

Tendulkar, I will have a million fans, but that is not engagement. We have got three to four thousand fans, most of them are prospects and people who know the brand,” he said. He further added that Volvo’s strategy is to discuss and engage where others have been focusing on hitting the ‘Like’ button. Narayan also shared that as a part of the ‘retainment’ aspect with the golf tournament that Volvo hosted, it planned that it will not let the tournament have any ‘golf-widows’ (when golfers would go out to play they would forget about their spouse or family, getting heavily engrossed in the sport), “We tied up with Ritu Beri and said that whoever won the golf tournament would win the designer set form Ritu Beri for his wife, which actually made the women get excited about the golfing event. The level of affinity a brand gets though this is tremendous,” he added.

Narayan said that to connect the dots Volvo’s other engagement was fashion.

As a sponsor of the Lakme Fashion Week, it talked about golf and in golf, it talked about the Lakme Fashion Week. “So everybody who came, knew that Volvo is involved in both fashion and golf. For this we made the blue jacket, designed by Ritu Beri where the winners of the golf tournament would be awarded with the blue jacket and the jacket was launched as a part of the Lakme Fashion Week,” added Narayan.

But is this really retainment? Narayan thought that small things help the brand make a difference. In 2011 Volvo sold 321 cars, in 2012 it sold 820 cars and it expects to sell more than 1,200 cars this year. Eyeing a 15 per cent market share in the luxury segment that is 1.2 per cent of the Indian auto industry, Narayan said that Volvo doesn’t want to get into the rat race, it wants to go slow and the mantra is ‘retainment’.  -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

21

CMO SUMMIT 2013

Movies and cricket go to the end chain Hence, Hyundai has had campaigns with a rural touch and local dealers create interesting activities in the rural areas

By Twishy

Brand: Hyundai Motor India

Presentation: Sports, Celebrities & Fashion: Car Marketing Gets Entertaining – The Hyundai Way

Presented By: NALIN KAPOOR Senior GM & Group Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motor India

F

rom association with cricket and FIFA to placing creativity in the hands of the consumer through ‘Write your i10 story’ and campaigns titled ‘Live Brilliant’, Hyundai has made car marketing truly entertaining. The brand’s association with Shah Rukh Khan, recent campaigns like – Write Your i10 Story with Khan, ‘Live Brilliant’ and engagement titled ‘Moments of Brilliance’ have brought forward the aspect of marketing through entertainment.

Celebrities, Music & Sports Highlighting the importance of sports, celebrities and fashion, Nalin Kapoor, Senior General Manager and Group Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India spoke on the relevance of cross-media digital activations and value of cricket that goes beyond just a sport. He feels that cricket is a means of entertainment, bonding and engagement apart from being a regular sport that made the brand the official sponsors of ICC cricket. Entertainment

Entertainment is a marriage between celebrity, brand, music, and sport, and Hyundai has associated with these properties to make it engaging for the customers 22

is a marriage between celebrity, brand, music, sport and Hyundai has associated with these properties to make it engaging for the customers.

Keep them Engaged The brand has introduced the concept of fan parks that has giant video screens along with quizzes, concerts, tattoomaking to make the experience richer.

The products are launched with high entertainment quotients like fashion shows, dance and dramas.

‘I Live the Uber Life’ campaign of i20 was based on the concept of ‘Uber Cool’ idea and this contest named ‘I Live the Uber Life’ discovered millions of brand engagement opportunities across all

Pitch | March 2013

Presents

Larger than Life Hyundai has introduced the concept of Fan Parks that has giant video screens along with quizzes, concerts, tattoo-making to make the experience richer. The products are launched with high entertainment quotients like fashion shows, dance and dramas.

Through ‘I Live the Uber Life’ campaign for i20 consumers were asked to share images of their ‘Uber Life’.

The crowd-sourcing activity ‘Write Your i10 Story’ contest invited scripts for the new i10 TVC and the winners got an opportunity to star in a television commercial alongside Shah Rukh Khan.

On rural engagements, Kapoor feels, “Movies and cricket go to the end chain,” hence, cricket is the best bet for sports associations. the online platforms. The consumers were asked to share their Uber Life ideas through unique images of their ‘Uber Life’ moments at the brand’s social page.

The crowd-sourcing activity ‘Write Your i10 Story’ contest invited scripts for the new i10 TVC and the winners got an opportunity to star in a television commercial alongside Shah Rukh Khan.

He believes that Khan as an ambassador works everywhere and the universal appeal of the product matches with the mass appeal of Khan. Kapoor also highlighted that gaming, messaging and augmented reality is a crucial part of marketing.

The Rural Connect On rural engagements, Kapoor said,

“Movies and cricket go to the end chain, but we need to do more. There are campaigns with a rural touch and local dealers create interesting and engaging activities in the rural areas.”

He feels that cricket lovers want to watch the sport in any form, whether it is IPL or ODI. The brand wants to talk to the cricket fans and optimise on the best property. “We found ICC fulfilling all the guidelines. However, if there are opportunities, we would definitely like to look beyond ICC (read IPL).”

Betting on Print As per the Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2013, the auto sector has started spending more on print rather than TV. Commenting on this, he believes

When buyer sentiment is not buoyant, it is important to pull people out of homes to buy the product. To do so, there have to be hooks like insurance and low interest schemes Pitch | March 2013

that even when there is a slowdown, brands have to spend to stay relevant in the market and it’s not that auto is spending less. However, more money is going into print because when the sentiment of buyers is not so buoyant, it becomes important to pull people out of homes to buy the product. In order to do so, there have to be hooks like insurance and low interest schemes that have to be communicated effectively. Dealership also plays an important role and when these are the objectives, then print starts playing a more dominant role.

Radio can be entertaining too Radio also plays an important role for brand promotions. Kapoor feels that nobody can undermine the importance of the medium and the brand has done a lot of radio activations in local languages. The activations could be promotional but they are entertaining at the same time, according to Kapoor.  -twishy@exchange4media.com

23

CMO SUMMIT 2013

A pinch of humour in the pots and pans business Perfetti’s success formula for Happydent White, Chlormint, Alpenliebe and Mentos has been non-sensical humour in their communication

By Neha Pal

Brand: Perfetti Van Melle India

Presentation: Humour & Fun: A Perfe(c)tti Way to Ride the Confectionery Market

Presented By: NIKHIL SHARMA Director - Marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India

P

erfetti Van Melle India, a fully owned subsidiary of the global conglomerate Perfetti Van Melle started its Indian operations in 1994 with just one brand Center Fresh and in no time, the company became the ‘numero uno’ in confectionery business winning a 30 per cent market share. Playing its card

at a time, when people confused ‘confectionery’ with ‘bakery’, the company with more than 15 brands under its umbrella has come a long way not just in terms of revenues but also for having changed ‘consumer perception’.

With campaigns such as Mentos ‘Dimaag ki Batti Jala De’ or Center Shock

Every year, there are about 1,200 confectionery brand launches and at the end of it, only 3% survive because it’s an impulse purchase category 24

‘Hilake Rakh De’, the company has almost become symbolic of the fact that ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ even when it comes to selling a low denomination product like a 50 paisa candy.

Challenge In his 14-year-old stint at Perfetti, Nikhil Sharma, Director- Marketing has been responsible for formulating the overall marketing strategy along with capacity planning and research. According to Sharma, it’s a ‘pots and pans business’. “Every year, we have about 1,200 launches and at the end of it only “three per cent” survive

Pitch | March 2013

Presents

because it’s an impulse purchase category which makes this market extremely tough for new entrants.”

Being a 50 paisa product has its own pitfalls, which is why the company has not been able to take up its prices despite the increasingly operational and R&D costs.

Overall, it’s a tough place to be in because there is competition on the one hand and huge clutter on the other.

“You can’t take your prices up because you are continuously stretched for margins and profitability,” said Sharma.

Strategy and Implementation Perfetti Van Melle entered the Indian market in 1994 by offering its first brand Center Fresh, followed by Big Babol and Alpenliebe in 1995. Today, the company has more than 15 brands under its umbrella including Chlormint, Mentos, Fruittella, Cofitos, Happydent, Marble followed by others, all of which have been launched after considerable market research and insight which could adapt to the likes and preferences of consumers.

Sharma said that the climatic conditions of the Indian geographical region have been kept under consideration for product composition and long shelf life.

With manufacturing plants located in Gurgaon, Chennai, Rudrapur, Perfetti Van Melle has adopted an aggressive sales strategy to retain the numero uno position in the confectionery industry in India

Sharma with Session Chair - Hemant Misra, CEO, Publicis Capital

realised that probably ‘this wasn’t enough’.

Perfetti roped in a brand ambassador for the first time in its history in India.

“After doing well for some years, Alpenliebe reached a saturation level and that is when we thought of roping in a ‘Brand Ambassador’ for the first time which was Bollywood actress Kajol,” said Nikhil.

Kajol is loved for her energetic and vivacious personality, and Perfetti thought she was just perfect for their one-of-its-kind brand Alpenliebe, which had taste an initial flavour of success after its launch. The dose of entertainment in the form of Kajol and humour in the shape of a crocodile made a huge impact on the minds of the

Being a 50 paisa product has its own pitfalls, which is why the company has not been able to take up its prices despite the increasingly operational and R&D costs backed by a wide network of Carry and Forwarding agent (C&FA), distributors and sales force. Perfetti Van Melle India has a network of around 4,500 distributors spread across 2000 urban towns.

Sharma said that PVMI has launched several innovative ad campaigns for Happydent White, Chlormint, Alpenliebe and Mentos which have won several awards for the company but the company soon

Pitch | March 2013

consumers and also increased the recall value of Alpenliebe as a brand by Perfetti amongst the audience.

The success formula – ‘laughter is the best medicine’ worked well for the confectionery major. Nikhil believes that a pinch of humour, along with a dose of entertainment is the right marketing mantra for the brand.

With things falling in place, what else

was it that the brand could do and this time “we thought of changing the perception of the consumer who envisaged lollypop as a ‘kiddy thing’ by launching an ‘Anti-boring’ campaign for Alpenliebe pop”, said Nikhil.

Social media also emerged on the forefront and helped in creating an image for the brand through campaigns like ‘Mentos - Dimaag ki Batti Jala De’ which was an instant hit on Facebook and You Tube.

Talking about its recent campaign, the Mentos Batti Jalao contest – Khuni Kaun Hai?, Sharma said, “We are sure that this campaign will work in our favour because the winner will get a cash prize of ` 25 lakh and the Facebook baseline says: ‘25 lakh main aap kya kuch nahi khareed sakte hain’.”

Results Even though the confectionery market is a highly fragmented market, but Perfetti is the undisputed market leader in that. The company headquartered in Lainate (Italy), today enjoys close to 30 per cent of Indian market share, thus making it one of the leading confectionery players of India with a total market share of ` 3,000 crores.

In terms of consumer interaction, it’s two billion interactions a month, which is remarkable for a company that is selling a low denomination product such as a 50 paisa candy or a ` 1 chewing gum.  -neha@pitchonnet.com

25

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Pitch | March 2013

MUMBAI

Presents

Keynote Address: BRANDS AS STORYTELLERS: WHAT AN ENTERTAINMENT SIRJI! SASHI SHANKAR; CMO, Idea Cellular MARKETING & THE 4CS OF ENTERTAINMENT: CONTENT, CONDUIT, CONSUMPTION & CONVERGENCE! VIRAL OZA; Marketing Director, Nokia India

OIL’S WELL: MARKETING ON THE FAST TRACK MANSI TRIPATHY; Chief Marketing Officer, Shell Lubricants India

BLURRING THE HIGHWAY AXIS FOR COLLECTIVE PROGRESS MANISHA LATH GUPTA; Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank

VESPA – UNSCOOTER: CREATING A DIFFERENTIATED POSITION FOR VESPA THROUGH EVENTS, TV PROPERTIES, COMMUNITY AND ART MV KRISHNA; VP, Marketing (Two-Wheelers), Piaggio India

MONEY NEEDN’T BE COMPLICATED: SIMPLIFYING BANKING THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT KARTHI MARSHAN; Marketing Head, Kotak Mahindra Group

Special Address: BRINGING YOUR BRAND TO LIFE: THE EXPERIENTIAL ROUTE SP SHUKLA; President Group Strategy and Chief Brand Officer, Mahindra

MAKING NIVEA RELEVANT TO INDIA SUNIL GADGIL; Director – Marketing, NIVEA India

Pitch | March 2013

27

CMO SUMMIT 2013

Branding is the goal, storytelling the means In today’s world product differentiation is hazy. Physical differences do not matter but customer experience matters and story is what makes the difference

By Saloni Surti

Brand: Idea Cellular

Presentation: ‘Brands as Storytellers: What an Entertainment Sirji!’

Presented By: SASHI SHANKAR CMO, Idea Cellular

E

stablishing a unique identity amidst fierce competition is one of the major problems faced by Telecom players. In the milieu of changing marketing dynamics, the importance of consumer experience and real time marketing tools is stronger than ever.

Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea Cellular explained that keeping it different, was one

of the major concerns of the service provider in their early days. Speaking at the Pitch CMO Summit – 2013, Shankar shared how Idea, did not take the traditional advertising route of highlighting network and services, rather took a higher route to associate the brand with bigger issues of the society.

In his address, on the topic ‘Brands as

Be it the quirky Hunny Bunny song, or the witty TVCs, featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Idea has always managed to strike a chord with the audience 28

Storytellers: What an Entertainment Sirji!’ shared Idea Cellular’s journey as one of the best TVC making brand.

Be it the quirky Hunny Bunny song, or the witty advertisements featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Idea Cellular commercials have always managed to strike a chord with the audience. The ad films usually strike out as different for they manage to narrate a complete tale in the 30-45 seconds time slot.

While one might receive it as a form of entertaining content or mere advertising, Idea TVCs are go beyond the traditional telecom advertisements and

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establish the company’s stand point very effectively.

“Idea believes in storytelling,” said Shankar commenting on the strategy behind Idea’s storytelling method. “Stories have a magical power. They are not attached to any shackles and help in creating emotions or giving wings to one’s imaginations. A good story is always remembered.”

Idea commercials function more or less like a short film, having a plot, characters and a conclusion. While most of their advertisements convey a social message, Shankar explains that it was no theme but an effective means to deliver their promise of ‘An Idea can change your life’ in an innovative manner.

“Like the four elements of earth (air, water, fire and earth) storytelling is also based on four crucial elements – message, plot, characters and conflict,” added Shankar. These elements not only craft a story well but also help establish the message one wants to put across.

Shankar explained that in today’s world, product differentiation is hazy.

Now physical difference does not matter but communication and customer experience matter and story is what brings in the difference for Idea. He expressed that branding is the goal and storytelling is the means.

Ideas storytelling culture goes back to the early 2000s where the company emerged under one brand name, from the former four brand names in different circles. While the name and the tag line (An idea can change your life) were very promising, the brand was not sure as to how to deliver this promise to their TG. “We went about building brand idea,” explained Shankar. “We decided to connect with the consumers not on a rational level but on an emotional level.

We wanted to have the qualities of a champion – a champion of thoughts and

Shankar with Session Chair - Arvind Sharma, Chairman & CEO India Subcontinent, Leo Burnett

champion of ideas.”

Shankar shared that Idea commercials starting establishing the brand as a solution provider and decided not to promote network, price or value added services at all. The brand started associating itself with solutions to bigger problems.

Idea commercials associated with various social issues such as education in rural areas (for expansions of coverage and network) and population control (to promote 3G network).

“When the story was discussed most people were not comfortable with the idea of a telecom company addressing a social issue. However, our CEO and the agency had the conviction that this is what will help us to stand out.”

Also humour and music was incorporated to make the advertisements more entertaining and interesting. Abhishek Bachchan, who was then and upcoming star, was roped in as the brand ambassador. To keep the commercials different and to maintain the theme of a story,

Like the four elements of earth (air, water, fire and earth) storytelling is also based on four crucial elements – message, plot, characters and conflict Pitch | March 2013

Junior AB was portrayed as a character and not himself.

In its latest campaigns – Hunny bunny and Telephone exchange Idea moves from social level to a personal level. While Hunny Bunny captured the ingrained habit of humming songs that people have, telephone exchange tapped at the marital problems faced by a couple.

Shankar pointed out that through Hunny Bunny Idea wanted to establish that it is a pan India network. The campaign was a deviation from what usually Idea did. The jingle was composed by Amit Trivedi basis the brief given to Lowe Lintas. The campaign has been the most successful Idea commercial so far.

While Idea has so far managed to deliver its promise of ‘An idea can change your life’ through its commercial and create a landmark in the advertisement world, how much can these advertisements help in the RoI is the real question.

RoI has always been a marketer’s biggest woe. Shankar highlighted that advertisements can help in achieving numbers only up to a certain extent. There is no substitute of what can be done on ground through network quality and sales and distribution. -saloni.surti@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Fighting the drought of attention throuh 4 Cs In a competitive era, brands can survive by giving consumers the control. Brands who are not afraid of giving power to the consumers will be successful

By Saloni Surti

Brand: Nokia India

Presentation: Marketing & the 4Cs of Entertainment: Content, Conduit, Consumption & Convergence

Presented By: VIRAL OZA Marketing Director, Nokia India

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ntertainment is one of the strongest elements that can hold on to a consumer’s memory. However, getting the equation right is not a simple job.

Viral Oza, Marketing Director, Nokia India highlighted that upcoming trends challenge more or less every marketing axiom, leaving marketers no option

but to adapt and change the rules of the game. The game is now about pulling the consumer’s attention in a sea of same products.

Oza, explained that audience have now been pushed to the unknown from the cozy 30-second television commercial corner. With the arrival of digital consumption of content has increased

While marketing continues to be a pillar for any brand, entertainment has emerged as another strength on which brands can bank on 30

voraciously from various sources. Thus, the new challenge that marketers face is making the brand available at every touch point so as to gain their attention.

“We fight the drought of attention.

With the kind of competition that exists now, the only way brands can survive is that their consumers take control. Brands who are not afraid of giving power to consumers will be successful,” said Oza. While marketing now has no specific definition, there are some traditional truths that continue to remain the same. Oza pointed out that every

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brand is seeking relevance and this will not change. By staying relevant, brands intend to make their presence felt in the consumers’ life space and that requires engagement.

Nokia India has experienced an eventful journey in the last 18 years. Oza stressed that at every stage in this journey Nokia’s aim was to stay relevant.

“Eighteen years ago, when mobility was new, we had to establish the category as necessary,” he added.

Mobile then became the product enabler, that allowed consumers to perform a number of functions and was promoted accordingly. The next stage was moving to ecosystem and its benefits (applications and services). At all the levels that brand managed to sustain relevance with its target audience through content and engagement.

While marketing continues to be a pillar for a brand, entertainment has emerged as another strength on which a brand can bank on.

Oza remarked that entertainment has four Cs – content, conduit, consumption and convergence. He further

Oza with Session Chair - T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India

explained that content plays a very important role in creating engagement with consumers and engagement is a sign of commitment. It signifies that the brand is relevant in a consumers’ life and there is to and fro of communication between

Serial-kisser For its Trendify app and campaign, and to promote the Lumia 510, Nokia came up with the Trendify campaign, urging users to share ‘actions’ into trending topics on social media.

To promote the activity itself, a TVC was put in place, which showed young people engaging each other with a bird-kiss gesture with their hands. The TVC declared in the end: ‘The kiss just got trendified’. According to Oza, the aim was to connect to the urban youth on a platform and space that is relevant to them. Topics that trend affect their lives in a big way. However, sitting in one corner and doing something cool can never become a trend on its own.

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the brand and the target audience.

Nokia launched an application named City Lens that helped users explore the locality through augmented reality. To promote the application Nokia organised various activities inviting consumers to try out the application. “These activities created content for the digital medium,” added Oza. Through campaigns such as Nokia Lumia S10 – Trendify and IPL live stream, Nokia managed to create a connect with the consumers at various touch points.

While content and conduit have proved to be very significant in brand and consumer relation, consumption has also redefined its position. The new pricing of a product is determined by how and how much is product consumed and convergence is the new distribution.

To simplify the role of the 4Cs Oza said, “Conduit relates to the product, convergence to place, consumption to price and content to promotion.”

He concluded by saying that it is necessary that brands now tie up all the elements to function smoothly. He explained that all the elements will now have a different place in the room. - saloni.surti@exchange4media.com

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Decoding a more than 63-year old relationship The partnership between Shell and Ferrari dates back to 1950 and involves over 500 races in on-track collaboration

By Simran Sabherwal

Brand: Shell Lubricants India

Presentation: Oil’s Well: Marketing on the Fast Track

Presented By: MANSI TRIPATHY CMO, Shell Lubricants India

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ports marketing is different from other forms of marketing,” states Mansi Tripathy, Chief Marketing Officer, Shell Lubricants India. However, for most marketers today, associating with a sporting event, sponsoring a team or even having a sportsperson as a brand ambassador is part of the marketing mix.

The reason – the reach and importantly, garnering the attention of the TG,

especially during big ticket sporting events.

But, these partnerships have usually been for a limited period of time. An exception to this is the technical partnership between Shell and Italian automotive giant Ferrari. This partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in the history of motorsport. According to Tripathy, the key takeaway from this partnership can be explained as the ‘6 Ps of sports marketing’.

For Ferrari and Shell, the common ground has been passion for performance, being premium, no compromise in quality, sustaining excellence and pushing the limits 32

Positioning Fit Tripathy points out that the key to success in sports marketing is how both brands are able to complement each other as sharing equity is important. For Ferrari and Shell, the common ground was also the passion for performance, being premium, no compromise in quality, sustaining excellence and pushing the limits.

Ferrari also gets the R&D support from Shell, the best support in terms of technology and also the global reach of Shell, which is present in over 150 countries.

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Partnership The partnership between Shell and Ferrari dates back to 1950 and involves over 500 races in on-track collaboration. In fact, Shell has a dedicated team focused on building this partnership.

Shell also has a concept of track to road, wherein the developments and learnings from the race track are taken and transferred directly to products for customer’s car. Tripathy adds, “The Shell brand with the racing horse is a very good combination.”

Planning Planning for any Formula One event starts about 18-24 months before the main event. Shell also uses this time to build a relationship with its core client base of retailers and distributors. Tripathi calls planning the “make or break of how successfully you will be able to execute an event”.

Participate (Pre & Post event) The pre-activation starts about 6-9

6 Ps of Sports Marketing • • • • • •

Positioning Fit Partnership Planning Participate (Pre & Post event) Presence Multiplier Performance Review

Shell looks at its partnership between Shell and Ferrari dating back to 1950 and involving over 500 races in on-track collaboration, a success of the 6Ps of Marketing. Shell has a dedicated team focused on building this partnership. Shell also has a concept of track to road, wherein the developments and learnings from the race track are taken and transferred directly to products for customer’s car.

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Tripathy with Session Chair - Sandeep Sharma, President, R K Swamy Media Group

months before the event and goes on till D-Day with a host of activities, including road shows, simulator rides, and Shell customers even get an opportuni-

ty to engage with the Ferrari drivers. For Shell, D-Day presents an opportunity to showcase its visibility on the scene in a variety of ways. Key clients get the opportunity to visit Shell Track lab located at the Ferrari paddock, where scientists run constant tests on the fuel and oil used during the F1 race. Post event, the focus shifts to the digital platform to continue the engagement with the target consumer. Tripathy also adds that for every dollar spent on the partnership, three dollars need to be spent on activation.

Presence Multiplier “One hit to be multiplied to 100”, that’s the target that Shell looks at by engaging with bloggers, utilising various social media tools and ensuring interconnectivity through various touch points.

Performance Review For Shell, this association has created intangible benefits and helped the lubricant major build relations with its OEM partners. In fact, markets like Brazil saw a significant increase in retail business sales post a Formula One race.  -simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Make communication more rewarding It is essential for brands to make communication rewarding and focus on consumers rather than talking about themselves

By Synjini Nandi

Brand: Axis Bank

Presentation: Blurring the Highway Axis for Collective Progress

Presented By: MANISHA LATH GUPTA Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank

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anking is not a category that we look for in the everyday lives compared to the other elements that form a part of our daily lives. Consumers might not be actively thinking about the brand but entertainment has its own mindshare. The consumer is much more receptive when brands undertake

the entertainment route to reach out to consumers.

Axis Bank’s association with entertainment hubs for product promotion and the launch of its My Zone Credit Cards for entertainment related activities are a few entities of marketing through entertainment. Axis Bank’s campaign pro-

It is important for a brand to undertake experential communication to enage better, thus blurring the ‘Highway Axis’ for the collective progres 34

jecting a film direction ‘Kyunki Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi’ is an example of marketing through entertainment.

Elaborating on the key elements which are instrumental in making brands seem more interesting, Manisha Lath Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank stated, “There are three key aspects which we follow. The first is to create advertising which is entertaining. The second is to create content which is entertaining for the consumers and also increases enagagement with the brand. The third is to integrate with existing content and

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create partnerships that delivers the brand communication in a truely innovative manner.”

Create entertaining advertisements Gupta believes that it is essential for brands to make communication much more rewarding and focus on consumers rather than talking about themselves.

Also, it is important to start from a single proposition to creating multiple propositions, in order to create a multiplier effect which Axis Bank did with its campaigns ‘Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi’ and ‘Zindagi Ke Highway Mein Koi Akele Nahin Badhta’.

The second important aspect is to create multimedia content, which Axis Bank did with ‘ProgressTogether’ which is a forum where people can thank each other and is an extension on one of its earlier campaigns. ”Quality of engagement becomes important then just impressions” added Gupta.

According to Gupta, another element which makes a brand interesting is the idea of creating products, which would engage with the audiences. Taking the concept forward Axis Bank introduced various product games such as ‘Ladies First Card’, ‘What is the role of EMI in happy homes?’, ‘Axis Direct’ and ‘You Decide’,

Lath Gupta (Right) with Session Chair - Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, Brand Programming Network

which put across the thoughts to the consumers in an effective and engaging manner.

Commenting on the third element, Gupta stated, “We have also undertaken branding in shows such as ‘KBC’ on Sony Entertainment Television and ‘Satyamev Jayate’ on Star Plus’ as a part of

collaborative activities with channels.”

Gupta concluded by saying that it is important for a brand to undertake and associate with experential communication in order to enage better with the consumers thus blurring the ‘Highway Axis’ for the collective progress.  -synjini.nandi@exchange4media.com

Reel Life vs Real Life

There are three key aspects, which Axis Bank follows to make the brand more interesting: Create advertising that is entertaining (e.g. Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi campaign)

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Create content which is entertaining for the consumers and also increases enagagement with the brand (e.g. Progress Together, a platform where people can thank each other

Integrate existing content and create partnerships that deliver the brand communication in an innovative manner (Branding in shows like KBC and Satyamev Jayate)

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

It’s a scooter, it’s a wasp:

Unscrambling the Vespa DNA The Vespa, in Italian, means ‘Wasp’. The first Vespa, which was code-named as MP6 resembled a Wasp

By Synjini Nandi

Brand: Piaggio India

Presentation: Vespa – Unscooter: Creating a Differentiated Position for Vespa through Events, TV Properties, Community & Art

Presented By: MV KRISHNA VP, Marketing (TwoWheelers), Piaggio India

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he two wheeler business is big, with a double digit growth been observed. There are four big players and six including Yamaha and Suzuki. Big brands usually hold fort due to the presence of emotional drivers such as conformance, safety in num-

bers, trusted, reliable etc which creates barriers for new brands to foray into the market. In the market of scooters which has around 11 brands as well as the presence of heavy weights, how to create a differentiated positioning for Vespa is the question.

In order to establish a label in a logic driven, linear market and command a premium, it was essential for Vespa to remove ‘scooter’ out of the equation

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Commenting on the same, MV krishna, VP Marketing (two wheelers), Piaggio India, stated, “Vespa has been around since 1946 making it an iconic timeless classic having a Vespa DNA, which never goes out of fashion.

In order to establish a label in a logic driven, linear market and command a premium, it was essential for us to remove scooter out of the equation and hence unscooter Vespa. This was done in order to create different yardstick to create value and establish the Vespa brand”.

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Krishna believes that the brand Vespa targets three types of mindsets. The first is the liberated who is expressive and belongs to the affiliate group. The second is the achiever whose vehicle is a symbol of he/she is and the third is the badge seeker whose vehicle defines the way he/she wants to be perceived.

Inorder to reach across to the target mindset Piaggio created a differentiated position for the brand Vespa through events, TV properties, community and art. “Apart from the mass media and digital campaigns, we focussed on various on ground entertainment activities to build the world of Vespa. This included glamour, youth connect, art and culture, in movies, properties (MTV) and the Vespa Club” added Krishna.

Krishna with Session Chair - Shripad Kulkarni, CEO, Percept Media

The Wasp The iconic Vespa has always shared a very close association with art and fashion with its rich cultural heritage. The Vespa means Wasp in Italian.

The first Vespa, which was code-named as MP6 resembled a Wasp. The first-of-itskind Vespa art installation at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2013 showcased the birth of Vespa in an artistic form.

History has it that post World War II, in 1945 a movement was created to redefine the future of transportation in Italy. The world’s first scooter was designed and created by an Aeronautical Engineer Corradino D’ Ascanio. A masterpiece and an engineering marvel, it incorporated aeroplane engineering principles. On seeing the scooter, at the very first sight, Enrico Piaggio exclaimed “Sembra una vespa!” (It resembles a wasp!). The buzzing noise of the scooter resembled the buzz of the wasp as well. The scooter was thus named Vespa - Italian for wasp.

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival started with the endeavour of preserving art and heritage along with vibrancy, drama, excitement and the beautiful colours of culture meets a common visionary in Vespa. The Vespa art installation drew inspiration from its origin – the wasp. It brings out the similarity in form that the Vespa shares with the wasp by an amalgamation of unique attributes e.g. downward sloping engine ~ curved abdomen of the wasp; steering rod ~ antennae; front mudguard ~ head of the wasp. The Art form so created is a visual statement in contemporary art inspired by the legend of the Vespa.

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According to Krishna, it is essential to engage the consumers through activities which would be able to deliver the message about brand ‘Vespa’ unambigously and sharply. Hence ‘Vespa was integrated with photoshoots on the magazine space such as HT Brunch, Femina, Elle, People’s Magazine, Stuff magazine etc as a part of brand placement. The Vespa Club is also one of the activities which has been undertaken for community building.

Elaborating further on the activities, Krishna stated, “We are also associating with MTV to create a MOD Club which would recognized as ‘cool’.

Since art and culture is an important facet for Vespa, we have associated with Kala Ghoda Festival. There has also been a pre launch digital contest ‘Once upon a Vespa’”.

Krishna concluded by saying that since movies are an expensive deal, it is not done on a large scale. The other activities which were undertaken were youth connect through college festivals in key colleges as well as events such as concerts, fashion shows etc.  -synjini.nandi@exchange4media.

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Pathos, Ethos and Logos There is an abundance of brand information in front of audiences, and thanks to entertainment, this information is reaching out to the TG in an interesting package

By Priyanka Nair

Brand: Kotak Mahindra Bank

Presentation: Money Needn’t be Complicated: Simplifying Banking through Entertainment

Presented By: KARTHI MARSHAN Marketing Head, Kotak Mahindra Group

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arthi Marshan, Marketing Head, Kotak Mahindra Group believes that the art of persuading audiences means using the three basic appeals that Aristotle first described: ethos, pathos, and logos. He considers Aristotle’s model effective even today.

Entertainment Owns Us Marshan is of the opinion that there is

an abundance of brand information in front of audiences today and all thanks to entertainment that this information is reaching out to the target audience in an interesting package.

“Today entertainment owns us – right from films to the ever evolving digital media,” he said.

Marshan decodes how Kotak Bank, over the recent times, has kept in mind

Pathos in advertising means persuading by betting on consumer’s emotions. Kotak too, believes that storytelling has emerged as a strong marketing tool 38

the ethos, pathos, and logos while crafting its communication.

Ethical Appeal An ethical appeal by definition, and in the advertising context, means convincing the target audiences. In the case of Kotak Bank, Marshan points out, that it tries to leverage what consumers have to say about them in its communications. For instance, in a category where age and trust are linearly co-related, Kotak Mahindra Bank chose to convey a statement of youthfulness for its ‘25 Years’ campaign in 2011. Kotak Mahindra Bank, on this occasion, unveiled a high-impact

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campaign that featured a series of 10-second television commercials and print campaigns. The idea of 10-second commercials came from the onesecond commercials by Miller High Life during the Super Bowl. Since India does not have media spots for such one-second innovations, Kotak Mahindra picked up the ten-second spots instead.

Through this campaign, Kotak wanted to discuss not just what money can do for its costumers in a practical sense, viz provide security and growth, but also what money does to them, viz self esteem, freedom, choices, etc.

Betting on Emotions Pathos in advertising means persuading by betting on consumer’s emotions.

Marshan with Session Chair - Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner, BBH India

Its grt 2b 25 Where age and trust are linearly co-related, Kotak Mahindra Bank chose to convey a statement of youthfulness for its ‘25 Years’ campaign in 2011.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, on this occasion, unveiled a high-impact campaign that featured a series of 10-second television commercials and print campaigns. The idea of 10-second commercials came from the one-second commercials by Miller High Life during the Super Bowl. Since India does not have media spots for such one-second innovations, Kotak Mahindra picked up the ten-second spots instead.

Subbu knows all

Subbu is a voice of the brand and not a brand endorser that helped consumers decode their worries.

Subbu was created at the time when the Reserve Bank of India deregulated interest rates on savings accounts. Subbu, using various media platforms, spread the word on various products that the bank launches from time to time.

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Kotak too, like many other Indian brands, believes that the art of music and storytelling has emerged as a strong marketing tool because consumers use these forms in their daily life.

Persuading by Reasoning Logos or logical percussion as it is known in advertising, means persuading by the use of reasoning. That was the time when Kotak Bank brought in Subbu as a character in its communications. Subbu is a voice of the brand and not a brand endorser that helped consumers decode their worries. Subbu was created at the time when the Reserve Bank of India de-regulated interest rates on savings accounts. Subbu, using various media platforms, spread the word on various products that the bank launches from time to time.

Kotak Bank, one of youngest in the category, is using traditional principles of communication and modernising it with consumer demands. It will be interesting to see how the brand will continue to inform, persuade and entertain its customers and potential customers.  -priyanka.nair@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

Experiential marketing works best when it’s personalised As consumers, we keep in mind the experiences and believe only what we see or feel, be it a product or a service

By Priyanka Nair

Brand: Mahindra

Special Address: Bringing Your Brand to Life: The Experiential Route

Presented By: SP SHUKLA President – Group Strategy and Chief Brand Officer, Mahindra

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f one had to recall the brand building mediums of the 1980s in India, newspapers and governmentowned television are the ones that are remembered the most. News then was serious. The scope of advertising was minimal and not very evolved.

It was later with the revolution of content on television that the scale of branding increased. With the entry of private television players, consumers were exposed to content and introduced to audio visual advertising in a big way. That was the first time

There are consumers who are willing to pay a premium price for getting to experience a product that they have never availed, but definitely interests them 40

Indian consumers experienced content and sales messaging in an attractive manner. Human beings learn from experiences.

As consumers, we keep in mind the experiences and believe only what we see or feel, be it a product or a service.

Brands quickly learnt to tap into this consumer insight and this is how experiential marketing kicked off in India.

With the emergence of new media post 1990s, various brand categories realised the importance of keeping real time

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experiences at the top of their marketing relevance and started studying consumer needs. Sampling was one of the earlier methodologies used to understand this aspect of consumer behaviour.

With this, experiential marketing continued to remain in many brands’ marketing plans. Many a times brands don’t decode the power of experiential marketing and end up indulging in activates that might not be the right way to approach this area of marketing. According to SP Shukla, President – Group Strategy and Chief Brand Officer, Mahindra, “Experiential marketing works best when it is personalised and is memorable.”

He is of the opinion that two people might not perceive an experience in the same way. Similarly, experiences that are memorable could be positive or negative ones. On why brands still go ahead with experiential marketing, Shukla feels that there are consumers who are willing to pay a premium price for getting to experience a product that they have never availed, but definitely interests them. Experiences are thereby used by brands to position their company.

They can improve customer satisfaction and help boost sales. With experiential marketing, brands cannot only create awareness about themselves but

Shukla with Session Chair - Pratap Bose, COO, DDB Mudra Group

represents a new chapter in the history of the iconic, 65-year old brand and seeks to communicate the new face of this diversified federation of companies with its increasing global ambitions. In the same year, the company announced

Interaction and product trials can happen using only experiential marketing. It then stimulates positive word of mouth also create an emotional connect. Interaction and product trials can happen using only this kind of marketing. It then stimulates positive word of mouth. Mahindra as a group can be considered as one the finest examples of a brand that has used experiential marketing in different ways and at different points of its business journey.

It may be recalled that the Mahindra Group announced its new positioning, ‘Rise’, in 2011. The new positioning

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the launch of a multi-media movement, which was aimed at inspiring and empowering people across India to shape their own futures.

‘Spark the Rise’ was another unique online platform initiated for changemakers across India to connect with one another, collaborate and exchange ideas, procure volunteers and donors, and to compete for monthly grants from Mahindra. The company has tried adding entertainment to its experiential marketing

plans in recent times – be it the Mahindra Blues Festival or its association with theatre through META or the Sundance Institute Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards. Mahindra has also been involved with theatre through Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards. The brand has constantly used creative arts to create a compelling connect. At the same time, the lifestyle adventure event – Mahindra Great Escape – is another sports-centric initiative that has gained popularity, including Mahindra Racing with Italian CIV Championship. Mahindra Holidays is another business that was created keeping in mind the experiences that it can give to consumers that bring back to them memories that are worth cherishing for a life time.

Experiential marketing is here to stay and will continue to create the feelgood factor for many consumers, who believe in experiences than any other marketing tool.  -priyanka.nair@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT 2013

When the target is volatile, one has to reinvent Resurgent markets need constant innovation and this was the key strategy of Nivea India, wanting to break the clutter among 400 brands trying to penetrate the market

By Abhinav Trivedi

Brand: Nivea India

Presentation: Making NIVEA Relevant to India

Presented By: SUNIL GADGIL Director-Marketing, Nivea India

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esurgent markets need constant innovation and this was the key strategy of Nivea India, which wanted to break the clutter among 400 brands trying to penetrate in the mind of end consumer. So how was Nivea

made relevant to India?

Stage 1: When Nivea Deos were launched then the USP of the brand at that pertinent time had to be ground breaking and

Nivea wanted to break the perception that deodorants are used by women only. The brand broke it by using just men in the TVCs, while others continued using women

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challenge the status quo or mindset. As Gadgil, explains, this was the initial challenge for Nivea Deo: To hit the nail, right at the spot and certIfy its identification.

Therefore, the focused strategy envisaged studying and analysing the competitor market and their branding strategies. Capitalising on the sentiment, Nivea showcased its deodorant range for men. The TV commercial showed men who displayed their tiredness and boredom with a “yawn�, but after using Nivea Deo, they get

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rejuvenated. The message, therefore, was crystal clear. Nivea wanted to break the perception that deodorants are used and exhibited by the fair gender only.

Stage 2: The next stage was brand differentiation and maintaining the freshness platform. Nivea had already achieved the first step by using only men in the commercial, while other players continued using women. Its next action strategy was tying up with the Indian Premier League (IPL). The reasons were two-fold. One, the property was a hot topic amongst men, and Nivea had an immense opportunity to reach out to them. Two, deodorants are mostly used to curtail body odour, which usually happens when one

Gadgil with Session Chair - Bobby Pawar, Chief Creative Officer, JWT India

The Nivea Ah! Deo Contest Objective To create user engagement and buzz and track how users defined ‘freshness’, in alignment with Nivea Fresh Active Deodorant’s tagline: Get Refreshed Execution The application for the contest looked like a jukebox, allowing contestants to think of themselves as virtual DJs. The challenge was to create a track by choosing and mixing sounds from the various options available, and then making the track ready to be published and shared. Once an individual created the track, it was shared on YouTube.

Twenty five tracks that got the most number of ‘Likes’ were submitted to a jury who selected four tracks. The composers of the final four got to win an iPad! Free deos were also awarded to the composers of the first 4,000 videos with at least 10 views.

The challenge began with the selection of a Theme for the track from options such as Dance, Electronica, Rock etc. Users could then add effects such as Scratching, Crowing, Gargling, Yawning, Truck Horn, and Snorting to name a few.

Result The month long activity in October-November 2012 garnered around 2,500 ‘Likes’ and induced over 7,000 users to create their version of the Deo Track

Pitch | March 2013

plays games or sweats a lot. Therefore, positioning was ideal but was a risky bet as fear of segmenting the brand was a possibility. So how would one sustain the brand?

Stage 3: Nivea tied up with DTH service provider Tata Sky. The deal was that the Nivea’s ad will be aired for 15 minutes per day in the prime time slot for 60 days and reach out to all Tata Sky subscribers. The deal covered 100 entertainment feeds from the DTH player. Nivea also executed a robust digital campaign, wherein using an app called ‘Ah Deo’, one could download music tones and songs. The app ensured the bottom line margin limit was under control by curtailing investments and, therefore, giving a better RoI in terms of brand engagement and entertainment.

Gadgil added that for a successful digital strategy, one should invest in content because in the end no matter how good the execution is, “content remains the king”.  -abhinav.trivedi@exchange4media.com

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CMO SUMMIT DELHI | REEL SHOW

R Rajmohan and Deepa Gopinath of Open

Chintamani Rao, Senior Advisor, R K Swamy Hansa Group with Karamjit Dua of Discovery

Sunil Mutreja of Amar Ujala with Sunita Sinha of Hindustan Robert Holdheim of Edelman

44

The Hero MotoCorp team

Pitch | Feb-March 2013

Harrish Bhatia of 94.3 My FM with Bhuwanesh Khanna Rajat Thareja and Rohit Manchanda of IIPM

Sanjay Sharma and Vikram Abrol of TDI Aashish Midha of Hero MotoCorp

Media veteran Ravi Khanna

Pitch | Feb-March 2013

Deepak Mokashi of Hero MoroCorp with Rohit Ohri of Dentsu

45

CMO SUMMIT MUMBAI | REEL SHOW

T Gangadhar of MEC India with Viral Oza of Nokia India and Sanjeev Singhai of Buchanan Group Neville Taraporewala of Microsoft with Manoj Khatri of Complete Well Being

AP Parigi of NEA India with Niloufer Dhund of Ventes Dundh

46 SP Shukla of Mahindra Group with Pratap Bose of DDB Mudra Group

Manisha Lath Gupta of Axis Bank with Karthi Marshan of Kotak Mahindra Group

Suresh Balakrishn a of Brand Progra ming Networ | Feb-March with Sandeep Sh Pitchm 2013 k arma of RK Swam y Media Group

Praveen Kulkarni of Parle Products with Himanka Das of Carat Media

Paulomi Dhawan with Colvyn Harris of JWT

Charulata Ravi Kumar of Product of the Year with Partho Dasgupta

Tapan Pal with Pratap Bose and Subhash Kamath

Roshan Abbas Pitch | Feb-March 2013of Encompass Events and Hemant Arora of Times Television Network

47 Vishal Desai and Rajesh Iyer of Colors

COLUMN

Marketing with a prefix please!

Going beyond entertainment, experiential, evangelism and other marketing

M

arketing does a darned good job of marketing new concepts to marketers. It is a business empire out there that promises to teach marketing to the practitioners of marketing itself.

Shalini Rawla

Managing Consultant, The Key shalini@thekey.co.in @sherryrawla

Each generation of marketers is made to believe that the current context is somehow more complex than before and they must unlearn a lot of what they learnt in management schools to relearn the new hows and whys.

Each generation feels out of depth with the new tools, approaches, philosophies – call them what you may. Each marketer takes upon herself the challenge to understand the changing media context (Oh! It should be called engagement context – in deference to this article) better than her competition so as to wrest a bigger market share.

Be it the humble beginning of direct marketing which moved to email marketing followed by a more sophisticated viral marketing only to be deluged later with 360 degrees and integrated marketing. These noble efforts were suddenly touted as intrusive and the suits moved to the newer and more buzzy social and digital marketing which have now metamorphosed into entertainment and experiential marketing.

I am sure I have left out a lot more of these new approaches or marketing techniques and am dangerously close to hurting the pride of those marketers who

“I love Zara. I have ‘liked’ it online. But does Zara love me back? Does not seem so as it has not reciprocated my gesture” 48

practised an approach not mentioned here.

What is it with these marketing prefixes and terminologies?

A cynic may dismiss them as jargon. But these must be working at some level that they have enjoyed such a long shelf life.

All marketers seem to embrace this phenomenon with an open mind and purse – whether it is in the form of conclaves or living breathing campaign strategies.

Whatever be the outcome, these varied marketing approaches celebrate the process of change, inspire out of the current box thinking and provide a new sharing experience. What is wrong with that? Nothing. So long as they do not become slaves to these practices. A technique can never become more powerful than the objective. The means can never become the end. Unfortunately, most of us fall into this trap. And then blame the rapidly changing context.

It is the consumer or user who we should be obsessing over. Not the correct approach to engage with her. Once we know the user as much as we know ourselves, the correct approach would automatically unfold in front of us.

This may sound like a truism but how many of us are guilty of continuing to put our TVCs on high TRP shows knowing fully well that viewers tend to graze and switch to another channel while the ad break is on? What did we do as a result? Fine tuned our media strategy to figure out eyeballs during breaks.

Instead, we should have been chewing on the new habit of our users who have short attention spans and seek perpetual enter-

tainment – be it from content or communication to arrive at newer ways to address this habit.

Ways that are medium agnostic. A learning from one medium does not mean the new strategy must only be applied to that medium.

There are examples enough in the way we seek to be present where our user is. Facebook, Twitter etc are the new contact opportunities. Try not to find interesting ways to be present on Facebook.

Instead, ask yourself if you know what the user finds as the most exciting part of the Facebook experience? When is she the most eager to socialise with a brand online? And when she does meet it, what are her expectations from it? A young college girl put it very aptly when she said, “I love Zara. I have ‘liked’ it online. But does Zara love me back? Does not seem so as it has not reciprocated my gesture.” Should we be happy to get enough likes on our brand pages from enough fans? How about becoming a fan of your user?

The new marketing approaches are emerging because of the changing consumer habits, attitudes and expectations. Even marketing research in all these years has been responding to the changing marketing approaches and research briefs. Offline focus groups became online groups but is the user not using the mobile and internet differently? Obsess over the user and not the changing marketing techniques. Otherwise, we shall always be guilty of living in an era of Consumer 2.1 and Marketing 1.9. 

The views expressed here are of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

Pitch | March 2013

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INTERVIEW Steve MacPherson

“We are moving on from sports to fitness” Steve MacPherson | Brand Director, Reebok Asia Pacific and Reebok India

M

ired in controversies, following an unearthing of alleged scams at the top-management level, Reebok India has had a stressful year. Trying to regroup itself, the apparel and lifestyle company has come up with a new positioning and a comprehensive advertising campaign. In an interview with Neha Pal, Steve MacPherson, Brand Director, Reebok Asia Pacific and Reebok India, delves more into the plans and how the company is looking at growth. Excerpts: What does the new ‘Live with Fire’ campaign translate into?

With fitness consciousness on the rise, we are addressing our consumer needs by sharpening our focus towards fitness. The ‘Live with Fire’ campaign is a rallying cry to our consumers to live life to the fullest. The campaign urges people to move and be active as we believe that movement is the path towards becoming mentally and socially stronger.

Keeping this in mind, Reebok has created a special line of apparel and footwear for training, walking, running and in-studio activities like yoga, dance and aerobics, coupled with the appropriate accessories for each activity. Our objective is to provide all avenues to a consumer to fulfil their fitness needs. No other brand is a one stop shop for all things fitness.

After losing steam, following a major scam last year, what is the immediate priority of Reebok?

The immediate priority is to pave the way for a healthy future in the business and provide the best to our

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Pitch | March 2013

consumers in terms of product and engagement. The year 2013 is a brand new start for Reebok and we are moving towards a positive future. Our objective is to excite our consumers through innovative products, clutterbreaking marketing and by injecting new life into our retail environment. We are introducing a new retail concept ‘Fit Hub’, wherein the stores take inspiration from CrossFit boxes and gyms and are staffed with fitness and product experts that will help you find the right gear for your workout.

How are you engaging the consumers?

Our engagement activities predominantly revolve around the social media space. For example, to promote our Toning product – EasyTone, we created a unique virtual meets real application called the TMA (Tone My Avatar) on Facebook. TMA allowed the users to create their own fitness partner and follow a set of exercises done by their virtual avatar to burn calories and tone their body. Another example would be the creation of the First Ever Online Flash Mob, ‘Flex a Move’. Through this application, Reebok has merged the need to usher in fitness in consumer’s lives along with the products’ key attribute of flexibility.

Apart from our on-going social media push, we are also launching a brand new application ‘Ignite the Fitness Fire’ available on Android and Apple devices.

The application will urge users to step out of their comfort zones and embrace the fitness passion with Reebok. By downloading the app from Google Play or Apple Store, a person will be able to catch the fire (symbolically) on his/her phone if they are in any fitness zone.

We have activated 10,000 such fitness zones across India to widen the reach and use of the app and take the fitness

message across towns.

Reebok is planning to start a comprehensive advertising campaign in the month of April during the IPL T-20 cricket tournament? What is the campaign going to be all about?

Tell us about the new range of shoes which has been launched recently –

IPL will be driven by a strong BTL and digital campaign. Firstly, we will be tying up with top malls in key IPL cities to promote the merchandise IPL will be driven by a strong BTL and digital campaign. Firstly, we will be tying up with top malls in key IPL cities to promote the merchandise. Secondly, we will be taking our athletes like Gautam Gambir to Reebok stores in Kolkata and doing similar asset activation programmes across other cities as well and thirdly, we will create a lot of excitement amongst our two million strong Facebook community with new engagement tools and contests.

In the OOH space, we are cutting through the clutter with larger than life Real Flex 2.0 moving cut outs. MS Dhoni, undoubtedly, one of the greatest cricketers ever to grace the field will be an integral part of our campaign, a big part of our print, digital and OOH push.

How has the brand evolved over the years and how has been the last one year for Reebok amidst controversy?

Reebok is focused on growing in the business in the coming years. We would like to move on from whatever happened in the past.

Earlier, we were predominantly a sports brand, sporting a fun with fitness attitude.

Now, we have sharpened our positioning and moved into the fitness zone in a bigger and more exciting way. However, our sports heritage still remains through

Earlier, we were predominantly a sports brand, sporting a fun with fitness attitude. Now, we have sharpened our positioning and moved into the fitness zone Pitch | March 2013

extremely strong tie-ups with three IPL teams, ICC, ambassadors like MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and more.

Real Flex transition 2.0?

Real Flex transition 2.0 is a technology driven shoe complimenting the movements of an athlete. These shoes are fitted with 53 flex nodes on the bottom of the shoe that respond to an athlete’s movement and help your feet flex naturally. The minimalistic upper creates a sock like feel allowing the foot to breathe during a workout. The nodes at the bottom of the shoe provide the athlete with stability and protection required during training. It is undoubtedly the next big thing for fitness buffs.

After pruning many of your stores in India, two third of your 800-odd franchisees have agreed to switch to a new arrangement with the company? What is it like?

The change was one that was necessary and was made keeping in mind a long term growth strategy for Reebok. At this juncture, I am glad to say that we are on track with our targets for the Spring Summer season for 2013 and I am hopeful that we will continue to grow and expand in India.

How many outlets do you have in India and how many would you like to add in 2013?

We currently have close to 500 stores.

The objective is not to add more stores to Reebok but to make the existing store profitable and successful. With that in mind, we are moving towards an exciting and strong 2013. n -neha@pitchonnet.com

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INTERVIEW sushant dash

I

t has been more than five months since the first Starbucks store was launched in Mumbai but the hype around the brand refuses to subside. A month later, long queues continue to greet you at the Starbucks Café at Connaught Place, New Delhi. Sushant Dash – Senior Director, Marketing & Category, Tata Starbucks, speaks to Arshiya Khullar on the overall strategy that the brand is pursuing in India and how different yet similar the ‘Starbucks’ experience in India is from the rest of the world.

Did you anticipate the overwhelming welcome that Starbucks has received in India?

It has been a real humbling experience seeing the kind of demand we are seeing. We knew that we will get a good response because Starbucks as a brand has a lot of awareness and people are passionate about it. But the response has been overwhelming.

The look and feel of the Starbucks stores in India, and their overall design and size of is significantly different from what exists abroad. What was the strategy?

Customisation does happen across the world. It is the philosophy that varies from country to country. In India, what we are holding on to is marrying the Starbucks modernity with traditional Indian design.

For our signature Starbucks store in Delhi and Mumbai, we have tried to pay respect to the Indian tradition and sensibilities while being true to the core of what the Starbucks brand is. If you see the food case, the bar area, the way the partners interact with customers – that is all part of our design philosophy.

In the store in Connaught Place in Delhi, we have used rope work, Chattai work and married that with modernity using bare walls and the unfinished cement look. If you look at our signature store in Mumbai, it has a lot of woodwork and Jaali work.

At the same time, we have a store in a mall, which is 1,800 square feet and a 50-seater. We also have a store format in an office complex in Mumbai and are experimenting with one in a residential area. We will do the same in Delhi as we move along.

The idea is to give variety to consumers

52

and at the same time, it is also a good learning for us in terms of what format works best.

Who is your core target audience in India? Is it any different from the kind of audience Starbucks attracts in other parts of the world?

We do not have a core TG. That is a conscious decision. For us, it is about providing an experience. We have a mix of people coming in- youngsters, office goers and families, and this is a trend across countries. The Starbucks is the place between your office and home; we call it the third place. We do not have a demographic target in mind.

Starbucks has localised its food menu to suit the Indian taste palette while also maintaining certain items from the global line-up. Tell us more about this.

Across all Starbucks stores, we try to have some signature items of Starbucks in the menu which include the blueberry muffin, chocolate chip muffin, cookies and croissants. As a conscious call, we also decided to pay homage to Indian culture and add an Indian twist to specific items though they still look western like the Chicken Makhani pie.

Another interesting thing that we have done is that we have kept a few signature items for a particular city.

So the Lal Achari Mirch Turnover is a Delhi specific item, and in Mumbai, we have an Elaichi Mawa croissant.

In a first of sorts for the company, Starbucks has entered into a local sourcing arrangement with Tata Coffee. What was the rationale behind taking the decision of integrating within the local supply chain?

Yes, this is the first time that we have a local supply. It is a big advantage of having Tata Coffee as a partner, well known for their coffee.

There has been no compromise; it is actually the confidence that Starbucks had in the Indian beans and capability of the partners. All the feedback that we have got from consumers clearly establishes that the standards we have maintained in the store in terms of the beverage is very similar to what they’ve had abroad. The first thing that anyone did was judge. But in general, the feedback for the espresso coffee has been good. It did take us time to get to the right quality standards and the roast curve we wanted.

Pitch | March 2013

Starbucks stores are married with Indian design

It is an ongoing decision and will depend on the value perception and the value that customers perceive it be.

Starbucks hasn’t started advertising in India yet. What are the marketing activities that you will be taking?

As a policy, we believe that our strongest advertisers are our partners; their passion for coffee, their knowledge and the personalised connection they forge with customers. It is about the Starbucks experience. One of the biggest advantages

set up a giant LED screen outside the Starbucks store that is being launched at Select City Walk Mall in Delhi. People can tweet using the hashtag #passionforcoffee and the tweet message flashes on the LED screen from your handle and then that gets pixilated. After three days, the siren will get unveiled. We are actually incorporating Twitter into the outdoor, which is happening for the first time in the country.

I’m sure other countries use ATL, but we will use it very minimally, and at the start-

Sushant Dash | Senior Director, Marketing & Category, Tata Starbucks I would like to clarify that decision to opt for local sourcing hasn’t got anything to do with cost or pricing. It is because we actually believe that it is the best option and it doesn’t compromise in terms of the quality of Starbucks beverage. We would have done the same pricing even if we had imported the beans. The two are not linked.

We wanted to highlight Indian coffee.

Contrary to the premium pricing model of Starbucks in the US, the prices in India are significantly lower and as low as ` 80 for a cup of coffee. Why so?

We are a premium offering. The pricing decision across all markets is taken basis what we believe is the value we are giving to the customer. It is not based on benchmarking against different countries or players. We believe it is about the Starbucks experience- the right product, place, ambience and the connection that our partners make when they are serving the drink. We believe all of that has a value.

Other than the quality of the beverage, it is the pricing has been a positive for us.

Do you have plans of increasing the price going forward?

Pitch | March 2013

In Delhi, we have used rope work, Chattai work and married that with modernity using bare walls,. In Mumbai, it has a lot of woodwork and Jaali work for us is that there is already a lot of momentum and awareness about the brand.

And once people come in, the repeat happens because of the Starbucks experience. Right now, the idea is to give consumers the best experience, and the store is the best form of advertising. Digital is also important to us. It has become like a fourth place- that is where we interact with customers.

Please share some of Starbucks’ recent digital initiatives.

When we opened the Starbucks store in Delhi, we developed a Facebook application. You could share the app and it helped you to upload your message and your photograph, which then got highlighted in your page and it also got pixilated and helped to unveil the siren. It was a four day activity and each time you or your friends populated it, the siren kept unveiling.

We are now taking it outdoor. We have

ing point, we believe that it is our store and partners who are our best advertisement.

Starbucks had announced a target of opening 50 stores last year but that did not happen. Will you be meeting this target in 2013?

We are looking at all options. The opportunities are huge with growing economy and growth in the café culture. I would not like to talk numbers. There is a huge opportunity that exists here. We are clear that we would like to expand but we will like to do it in a manner that is meaningful and makes sense for us.

We haven’t done any formal research right now but a lot of competition exists in Tier 2 cities. We do get a lot of feedback on social media from non-metros like Chandigarh and Jaipur. We will examine that and see where the demand is and where it makes sense for us. n -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com

53

FEATURE

Nokia playing pricing game?

With two new devices in the Lumia series, Nokia is trying to get aggressive in the smartphone segment. Will the strategy work?

By Abhinav Mohapatra

A

dding two new devices – Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 – to its Windows 8 powered smartphone series, Lumia, Nokia has taken the family to five. The existing members included, 620, 820 and 920.

520 is pegged at ` 10,500. Meanwhile, 720 is yet to receive its official or approximate Indian currency evaluation, awaiting its mid-April launch. Abroad, it is selling at 249 Euros (Rs 17,500 approximately).

Are these two devices just cosmetic additions or value additions to hold the fort for Nokia’s historic brand equity among the mid-level price point consumers?

“For Nokia it is always going to be an experience game rather than a price game.

There is an entry level experience, mid level experience and high-end level experience,” says Vipul Mehrotra, Director Smart Devices, India, Middle East, Africa, Nokia. The prices of smartphones have come down to ` 10,000 from as high as Rs. 45,000. While Lumia has been always projected as a highend smartphone, Nokia with its Aasha series is fighting in the ‘feaure phone’ market.

Tarun Pathak, Analysit, Cyber Media Research, feels that “the charm of Nokia is slowly fading away” as consumers get flooded by a number of choices in the entry level segment ranging from branded phones from Micromax or feature-phones from Chinese vendors.

“Today, a person has a choice of a fiveinch phablet device in the price range of ` 10,000. The consumer will go in for that

five-inch phablet rather than a Nokia device with the same price point since the consumer perception has changed about local brands. Even in the smartphone sector, Nokia isn’t in the top five” Pathak adds.

Bringing to the table, both 520 and 720 have been touted to be packed with features – Cinemagraph, Smart Shoot, Removal of objects from the picture and Panorama view – Nokia claims to be present in its high end offerings too. The mapping app, which has been a part of Nokia’s communication for 920, will be present in these two models too. Burton (developed for snowboarders) that can allow frame by frame video editing, Photobeamer to showcase media by connecting a device to the phone through QR codes, Live sight augmented reality, Place Tag Photo to Post card converter, smart Pillow wireless charge and various other lifestyle applications are some other applications that Nokia’s new babies boast about.

Nokia claims that it has over 1,30,000 applications made available to the consumers through its OVi Store and uses augmented reality in a lot of its applications

54

But was Windows the best option?

Mehrotra beleives that Nokia is working with the No 1 player in the Enterprise world.

“Today, the fastest virtual keyboard is on Lumia, free office softwares available on our devices, with immediate sync with Outlook and Office softwares, Office 365 and Office Share Point, which makes the series the most consumer savvy Enterprise device if you put all of this together,” he adds.

Pathak tends to agree at least on this.

“What Nokia has to do is develop some fine applications in terms of smartphones which are not available in other Operating Systems. If Nokia is giving an application, which is only for Windows and is not on Android or iOS or RIM, then it is a tempting proposition for a consumer. As of now from the features point of view, we don’t see anything different that is playing in that category that makes it stand differently from the other phablet devices,” he says.

Nokia also claims that as a part of its benchmark, it is the largest mapping company in the world covering more than 200 countries. The brand also claims that it has over 1,30,000 applications made available to the consumers through its OVi Store and uses augmented reality in a lot of its applications.

Pitch | March 2013

ings in the high end as well and they have multiple offerings such as HTC Buttetrfly, Smasung SIII, Blackberry Z10 and Sony Xperia Z etc,” he adds.

Pathak opines that when maps are taken into consideration, Andriod maps are pretty well played compared with other devices, “Android has been there much before anyone entered the map space in the category.

If we see the aspect of augmented reality, we must ask how many people are actually aware of the services in this price point and how many will actually use them?” he asks.

Stronghold or not?

Will Nokia up the ante to achieve its old market share with the launch of the entire range of Lumia series? Pathak, feels, “No”. “If we talk of competitors like Samsung or local brands like Micromax, then there are three to four offers at a particular price point.

What Nokia is trying to do is to put a smartphone in a particular price point, which might not be stable enough to hold a particular market share.” According to Pathak, there is a lot of competition in the price point of ` 10-15,000. He gives an example saying that if a consumer has a Micromax Canvas HD which is a ‘quad core’ processor in the price range of Rs. 13,000 and a Lumia 620 which has a smaller screen in the same range, then the consumer will be tempted to buy the Canvas. “Gone are those days where there was a brand connect and since then, Nokia’s brand equity has diluted,” adds Pathak.

Mehrotra, in reference to the above question, without revealing any numbers, claims that Lumia as a brand and platform has seen tremendous growth around the world. “We have got a proxy for numbers with consumer experience and views. It stands at the top of the AT&T network and we are seeing similar trends and feedback all across the world,” he adds.

Design Matters Delving into the design aspects of the two new Lumia additions, Nikki Barton, VP, Smart Devices, UX Design, says that the brand looks at the aspects of ‘pure’, as it strips away all the adulterations and noise as well as ‘human’ as it designs devices around humans to make what they do everyday easier.

Pathak counters the argument by saying, “From the design point of view, the

Pitch | March 2013

“The fastest virtual keyboard is on Lumia, free office softwares available on our devices, with immediate sync with Outlook” Vipul Mehrotra Director Smart Devices, India Middle Ease Africa, Nokia

“Today, a person has a choice of a 5-inch phablet in the price range of ` 10,000. The consumer will go in for that” Tarun Pathak Analyst, Cyber Media Research youth do go for bold colours, the look and feel of the product, but competition too has similar products, for example the Beyond phablets, they have the same colours in that category.” Irrespective of the designs, Pathak feels that it are the phablets that will be the game-changer.

“If this category had not emerged, then Nokia would have been enjoying a good position. “Now Nokia has to fight with competitors like Samsung Galaxy Series as well as Xperia Series, HTC along with local players. And let’s not forget that these players have strong product offer-

Reaching the Audience About the communication and media mix, Mehrotra says that Nokia will be launching campaigns soon. “The campaigns are going to be lead by digital, depending upon the products and the time. ATL will be TV and we are going to have on ground as well. From the experience point of view, we have got testimonial kind of ads that have been playing for Lumia 920, cinemagraphs, smart shoots etc. In terms of on ground the same experiences will play, if you walk in to a Nokia priority store you will see a low light pyramid there with an image inside, so you can only click that picture with a Nokia Lumia phone that can click pictures with low light. Hence showcasing the capabilities of the smartphone,” adds Mehrotra.

Have off beat marketing campaigns with user reviews helped Nokia? Pathak agrees and says that in the high-end market, especially for Lumia 920, the ads have helped to some extent, but considering that it competes Samsung Galaxy SIII or iPhone 5, it is not going to get ample market share. “You cannot ignore the fact that there is an equal set of devices being sold and marketed by the competitors,” he adds. And all are getting aggressive with their campaigns to get a larger share of voice.

While. Sony has roped in Katrina Kaif to blow the trumpet for Xperia Z, Apple is offering both the iPhone 5 and 4 on attractive EMI schemes. But to Nokia’s credit, despite falling market share, it does have some loyalists, who swear by its brand connect.

Also what can go against Nokia is the diminishing gap in the pricing of Aasha and the Lumia series. The latter could eat into the Aasha’s share, but what could turn things in favour of the former is the learning curve required to understand the Windows platform, which the segment (Aasha is targeted at), may not be really enthusiastic about. Rest assured, Lumia seems to be catching a lot of eyeballs with its vibrancy. n -abhinav@pitchonnet.com

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Pitch | March 2013

5,00,000 Jobs 50,000 Recruiters 7

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INTERVIEW VINAY PIPARSANIA

W

ith the Urban Discoveries campaign, Ford India will be handing over the keys of its much awaited compact SUV, EcoSport to people before its market launch. Termed as the first of its kind 100-consumer experiential drive campaign, ‘Urban Discoveries’ is being flagged as a game-changer for the auto brand in India. Pitch speaks to Vinay Piparsania, Executive Director Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford India, on this new customer-centric communication strategy and why EcoSport is so important to Ford, especially at a time when car sales are sluggish amidst a gloomy economic environment.

Ford EcoSport has been touted as a game-changer for Ford India and one of its most important products. Why is that so?

As we are studying trends in the Indian consumer segment, we are finding that the SUV segment is a high growth

nologies that will enable engagement with the smartphone. That is what the Ford EcoSport has really combined into developing into the product offering that we have.

How is EcoSport different from other compact SUVs like Mahindra Quanto and Renault Duster?

In case of an SUV, it is the overall package that is important. The vehicle is an enabler to the kind of lifestyle requirements that you have. What we have, is a vehicle that is actually designed for the first time – with the right height, safety, smart technologies and fuel efficiencies.

EcoSport offers all these attributes together and that is where it will make its own positioning and segment.

Who is the target audience for Ford EcoSport?

When we look at our target group, Sameer is our personification and that is

they have always wanted to do. What we are asking them to do is register and tell us what that activity is and share it with your community. If it gets the appeal, we will give you the opportunity to have EcoSport for a few weeks and live that dream. We are going to test out all of this to the TG that we have through the Urban Discovery Hubs that we have in 12 cities.

How did the idea of putting the consumer at the centre of the communication come about? Does this mark a change in the company’s communication strategy?

Yes. This is a first. We are empowering our customers to lead the launch. We are handing over the keys of the car to them before anybody else for them to tell us what the real-world experience is like. That is something that is going to have a far more effectiveness than any other communication that we could

“We want customers to be segment. There are urban driving challenges in India; there are challenges in terms of obtaining high ground clearance, manoeuvrability, parking, size.

At the same time, you want to have a vehicle that gives you a feel of control when you drive. Having realised that we have taken consumer insights and have brought those back into our product development with the idea of having a SUV vehicle with a high ground clearance, a high safety requirement with manoeuvrability as well as offering lifestyle tech-

our reference point. We have identified Sameer as a young family oriented guy who is very engaged and participative with his family and ensures that he has a vehicle that meets his work, family requirements in a cost-effective way. He is also conscious about the environment With the Urban Discovery Campaign, we are going to take this a step further.

We want to invite these customers and take this into a real world experience.

We are encouraging them to use this opportunity to realise an activity that

We are handing over the keys of the car to customers before anybody else for them to tell us what the real-world experience is like 58

take out could have. The insight here is word of mouth. That is the strategy.

Earlier, we would do a launch the same day and get started. Not anymore.

We want customers to be the launch as we move forward.

What are the media vehicles that will be used for ‘Urban Discoveries’?

The whole journey that these customers undertake would be videotaped and conveyed out live so that the rest of the world can be part of their journey. I think this is a very bold move by an auto company. To give customers the car and in real-time like a reality show go with them on that journey. Right now, the power of digital and social media is a vehicle, which in India has a huge

Pitch | March 2013

potential. When we opened the Hub on the internet for the drive, we have got till today, 10,000 registrations. As we move towards the launch, we will approach traditional media too.

James Farley, Global CMO, Ford recently said in an interview that India is a special market but at the same time, it is also a difficult one to crack because Indian consumers are very informed. What has your strategy been to tackle such a market?

We are trying to empower the customers with all the information that they require and we don’t want them just to take our words for it. We want them to experience it. Today, if there is something that has come out into a marketing campaign from this insight is that real experience is what is going to convince the customer. It is not me talking about it but them talking about it in their environment and in their situation.

the launch�

Vinay Piparsania |

Executive Director Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford India

How do you perceive the compact SUV market to be in 2013? With the slowdown, do you see this year being any better in terms of growth?

It is a new segment that we are going to enter. EcoSport will be a game changer in this segment. We are offering a product, an experience that is completely aligned with what their expectations are with regards to manoeuvrability, design, space and practicality.

The segment has an opportunity to grow. As we go through this launch, we will have an idea of the volume. In the Indian growth story, while there are ups and downs, the overall growth story in the long term is consistently very strong. ď Ž -arshiya.khullar@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | March 2013

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COLUMN ANNURAG BATRA

Marketers will need to unlearn

Perhaps the CMO brand too, will need to redefine itself

I

Annurag Batra Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Pitch Magazine abatra@exchange4media.com @anuragbatrayo www.facebook.com/anuragbatrayo

n an atmosphere of economic and political uncertainty and low investor confidence, and when people have become cautious buyers, what are the toughest challenges that marketers are facing today? For most of my marketer friends, maintaining a profitable and sustained growth and managing operational costs amidst high inflation remain the biggest worries. Many feel that with budgets being a rationed commodity, the focus will be to make every Rupee spent count and to help acquire, retain and enhance customer relationships.

In my opinion, however, countering these challenges requires all of us to debunk certain myths about marketing. Here are the top five in my list.

No first-mover advantage ‘Game Theory’ in Economics shows that being the first to enter a market or introduce an innovation can result in significant advantages for any firm. In the traditional marketplace, these advantages would translate into the brand establishing a competitive edge over subsequent entrants by creating a loyal consumer base and controlling the pricing strategy.

However, in my opinion, in today’s cluttered market, brands with a last-mover advantage will thrive, especially at a time when the market is evolving at a fast pace owing to technological advancements. Brands which will base their strategy according to

To keep pace with the changing landscape, marketers need to move beyond conventional wisdom and embrace change 60

what the early adopters have done right or wrong, will survive.

Whether it’s real estate, entertainment technology or e-commerce, examples are rife of brands who have successfully created better quality and lower priced products by coming in late.

Persuasion doesn’t exist Marketing is no longer a one-way street with companies feeding information to customers. We as consumers now truly live in an attention deficit zone and are constantly being bombarded by messages. Rather than use persuasion, brands need to forge a relationship with their customers and create an effective dialogue.

4 Ps of Marketing are Passé It is time to move beyond Mc Carthy’s 4 Ps of Marketing. Product is no longer the king, it is the consumer. Don Tapscott, a renowned Canadian author and consultant spoke at the Pitch CMO League earlier this year, and according to him ABCDE should be the new mantra for marketers. In his view, and rightly so, the product has transformed to consumer experience that drives engagement. The place has changed to ‘any place’ because the new age consumer has started making buying decisions from any place comfortable and convenient for him. The pricing element has converted to discovery mechanism of price and promotion has moulded to engagement. And another element that has been added to marketing is the brand itself. The brand comes in many ways as a relationship integrates better values and experiences.

Chief Business Officer not Chief Marketing Officer At a time when marketing plans are becoming tied to business operations, when ROI considerations have taken a dominant role in a company’s marketing strategy - a CMO needs to display strong business acumen as marketing expands its role over sales.

While many have signalled that CMOs will soon face extinction, I believe that marketers at the helm of affairs will need to evolve and broaden their role to stay afloat.

With the short shelf-life that they have, CMOs will need to unlearn and relearn many established practices and trends and perhaps the CMO brand too, will need to redefine itself. Probably time to refer to them not as CMOs but as CIOs, CTOs? Or even a CEO? ROI- Return on Insight The era of Big Data has revolutionised the way brands connect, communicate and engage. With the level of informed insight that is now available, brands can successfully create that ‘relationship’ with customers based on real experience. By putting greater emphasis on consumer insights rather than obsessing over measurement metrics to gauge the financial effectiveness of a campaign, brands will become more attuned to customer’s preferences and in the process achieve the desired revenue goals.

Marketing isn’t just science but also an art. It is a dynamic discipline and to keep pace with the perennially changing landscape, marketers need to move beyond conventional wisdom and embrace change. 

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