Pitch sept oct 2015 issue by Adsert Web Solutions

P itch THE ESSENCE OF MARKETING

Volume XII Issue 3 Sept-Oct 2015

Who made it to the coveted list?

Pitch Madison Media Ad Outlook revises forecast

BRANDS

TOP

50 ` 75

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Volume XII, Issue-3 Sept-Oct 2015

COVER STORY Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra Editor & Director Amit Agnihotri Director Nawal Ahuja

EDITORIAL TEAM

Deputy Editor

Rashi Bisaria

Contributors

Sonali Chowdhury Sahil Raina

DESIGN TEAM

Art Director

Shivaji Sengupta

Senior Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers

Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai) Suresh Gola (Noida)

PITCH TOP 50 BRANDS Decoding the

‘SUCCESS FORMULA’

AD SALES

Rajat Thareja Prashant Kulkarni Sneha Walke

9810134435 9886138249 9845541143

SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

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: # 18, 3rd B Cross, Domlur II Stage, Bangalore 560071

CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION

Vinod Sharma (Delhi) - 9999447209 vinod@exchange4media.com Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com

IMPACTFUL DEBUT

On News-stands ` 75 www.pitchonnet.com

Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Printed at All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301

21 | Uber’s Eventful Journey into India 22 | Reclaiming the Streets of the City 24 | Hotstar becomes a Favourite with TV Viewers

An exchange4media Publication

26 | XIAOMI Finding Opportunity in the Indian Market

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CONTENTS

EVERGREENS

MASTER CONNECTORS

28 | Dettol Changing Mindsets

70 | Redeﬁning Communication in the 21st Century

30 | The Reinvention of Raymond

72 | In Conversation with the Leader of the Nation

32 | AsianPaint Not Nice, But Extraordinary

74 | The Nation likes to relate to the Inimitable

34 | Why Amul remains a Favourite with Indians

76 | Connecting with the Hashtag Generation

36 | Colgate Palmolive Keeping Smiles Intact

DIGITAL STRATEGISTS

GLOBETROTTERS

79 80 | Using Digital Innovation for Customer Satisfaction 82 | Snapdeal’s digital Success Story

40 | Zomato on a Global Prowl

84 | Leading the Digital Leap

42 | Setco’s Global Aspirations take a Leap

86 | OLX Rides the Popularity Wave

44 | India’s day in the ‘Sun’

88 | Hotstar A One - Stop Destination for Content

46 | TCS Growing in the Global Space

DISRUPTORS

48 | Mahindra, The Global Icon 50 | HCL on a World tour

RESURGENTS

89 90 | From Starter to Disruptor 92 | Urban Ladder Making Furniture Easy 94 | Changing The Mindsets of Travellers

52 | AAP Reconnects with the Common Man

96 | Xiaomi’s Lessons in Market Disruption

54 | A Revival of Brand India

98 | Akosha Keeping the Customer at the Heart of Everything

56 | Gaining the Lost Momentum

AFFLUENTS

BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

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PITCH TOP 50 BRANDS Decoding the

‘SUCCESS FORMULA’ Rashi Bisaria

HE PITCH TOP 50 BRANDS list and the planning, effort and organisation that goes into whittling down the brands to just the Top 50, is a rewarding process that has no comparison. This is the reason why we look forward to it year after year, devising the best ways of choosing the year’s best and most deserving. This year has been a memorable one as many new brands have entered the categories and look promising enough to remain there for some years to come. But those will be subjected to yet another rigorous research process next year. This year’s research conducted by Pitch in partnership with Traverse Strategy Consulting consisted of 3 stages, including internal short listing to identify 300 brands, followed by further short listing to a list of 100 and the final stage when the jury took over to choose the list. It’s important to note that the chosen list has 47 brands and not 50 as per the discretion and judgment of the jury, that made the final selection of brands across the 10 categories. The jury was headed by Sunil Alagh, Founder and Chairman, SKA Advisors who has been the Managing Director and CEO,

Britannia Industries Ltd and comes with a wealth of experience. He led the biscuit major to great heights during the nineties. Each of the other jury members was also chosen very carefully. Each came with the requisite experience, knowledge and critical thinking to drive this exhaustive selection process. We deliberately chose experts who were actively involved with brands in various capacities so as to add greater value. It was an eclectic mix of Marketing Heads, academicians, brand strategists, Public Relations professionals, media experts (please refer to jury list). The categories were similar to the ones chosen last year but some of the winners this year have taken all of us by surprise. It’s significant to point out that a few winners are abstract ideas like Brand India, or it’s also a person like Arnab Goswamy.

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These surprise elements in the list make it that much more exciting each year. E-commerce brands have invaded almost all categories but that is hardly surprising considering the influence they exert on consumers today. But each has a unique success story to narrate, which we have tried to capture and showcase as best as we could. While two pages is hardly enough to do justice to any of the worthy brands profiled in this issue, we have tried to highlight the attributes which earned them a place on the list. Strong Brands, as we all know, are difficult to create and those that have made it should be lauded for their value proposition, consistency, distinct identity and purpose. Each brand story has a key takeaway which can help create more such success stories.

Ticking the right Boxes

rands serve several valuable functions. The essence of a brand at the most rudimentary level is to act as an indicator for the offerings of a firm. Successful brands are not merely riding on a specific part of customer experience, they reflect the complete experience that customers have with products. Identification and felicitation of the top brands are an acknowledgment for the wonderful work brands have done; which is not merely exhibited through stock market valuation or profits, but also how the brand has managed to capture the imagination of various stakeholders. There are several brand surveys that happen internationally – all using varied metrics. Our approach right at the outset was to use the strong foundation that has been laid out over the course of numerous brand surveys that happen every year, but address one

gap that we felt resonated across the different surveys, which have mostly remained rigid and unchanged. This gap is there because most of the attention is given to the selection of parameters and analysis, with very little thought for the essence of the survey. Hence, we defined a Top Brand as a brand that does not merely look at financials, or financials coupled with customer feedback, but looks at a more holistic picture of the brand. For us, the definition of a brand included any entity that managed to tick all the right boxes. The brands in the final list were a true testament to the fact that with the right marketing, and by staying true to its core value, any brand can be successful.

The brands in the final list were a true testament to the fact that with the right marketing, and by staying true to its core value, any brand can be successful.

ANUPAM SEN | Founder and Director Traverse Strategy Consultants

The three stage approach

rom a research perspective, it is always exciting to work on brand surveys, due to the relatively unique aspect of brand research i.e. brand intangibles – aspects of the brand image that do not involve physical, tangible, or concrete attributes or benefits. Our approach was to create a brand survey that combined various stakeholders and opinions – customer feedback, financial performance,agencies feedback and jury opinion. Our research had a three – stage approach: 1. Internal Shortlisting 2. First Round Screening 3. Jury Selection The preliminary analysis looked at a Universe of 1600 + brands across 20 + sectors, for the study period of 01 May

2014 – 30 April 2015. There were 10 different categories across which the brands were ranked. Stage 1 shortlisting helped us identify 300 brands. The metrics used for Stage 1 research was a combination of common metrics (Brand Knowledge / Brand Image / Brand Awareness) and category specific metrics. Stage 2 of the research helped cull the 300 brands to 100, which were then presented to the Jury for final selection. For Stage 3 – Jury Selection, we empowered the jury with information pertaining to category specific metrics; brand performance and customer connect; and future prospects of the brand.

Our approach was to create a brand survey that combined various stakeholders and opinions

HAVISH MADHVAPATY |

Senior Consultant and Research Head Traverse Strategy Consultants

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THE JURY FOR 2015 JURY CHAIR The jury, headed by Sunil Alagh, Founder and Chairman of SKA Advisors, sifted through the chosen brands and came up with the most deserving names

JURY MEMBERS

SUNIL ALAGH

Founder and Chairman, SKA Advisors

AMITESH RAO

APURVA CHAMARIA

DR. ATISH CHATTOPADHYAY

AVIK CHATTOPADHYAY

DirectorBrand & Media, MTS India

Head â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Global Brand & Digital Marketing HCL Technologies Ltd.

Dean, MICA

Co Founder, Brand Strategy Firm Expereal

LLOYD MATHIAS

NANDINI DIAS

SHARIF RANGNEKAR

SUNDER HEMRAJANI

Marketing Head, Printing & Personal Systems Hewlett-Packard India

CEO Lodestar UM

Director & CEO Integral PR

Chairman, Greenway Appliances Private Ltd. Former Managing Director, Times Innovative Media Ltd

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JYOTSNA MAKKAR CMO Microsoft India

VIKRAM SAKHUJA Media and Marketing Professional

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SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

GIVING BACK LIKE

TATA STEEL Tata Steel’s community engagement programmes are aimed at driving socioeconomic empowerment in its areas of operation

ATA STEEL’S APPROACH to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility has always been straightforwardGenerating wealth to return to society. In a scenario where organizations are playing more of a provider’s role than a supporter’s role, Tata Steel has emerged as one of the pioneers of sustainable social empowerment. This is reflected in their practice of complementing

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social causes with business impact through carefully devised strategies that aim at elevating existing standards of living. The Tata Steel Tribal Cultural Society is one such example, their focus areas being education, improvement of livelihood opportunities and the preservation of the ethnic identity of the tribal community. We have often heard people saying, how, in our effort to modernize our lives, we have lost connect with our roots.

Through the TCS (Tribal Cultural Society) initiative, Tata Steel has aimed at achieving the goal of integrating tribal heritage and culture with our lives. One of their most significant contributions to preserving and promoting tribal culture was ‘Samvaad’, a four-day tribal conclave in Jamshedpur. Tribal communities were given a platform, a stage where different communities could come together and exchange ideas for better living, construct solutions for problems faced by various communities and showcase the sanctity of the tribal culture. This stage was also shared by various experts and eminent speakers who participated in panel discussions and lectures on issues such as tribal livelihoods, tribal perspective on development, tribal medicine systems and so on.

‘Tejasvini’, an inter-SHG competition can be referred to as one of the most innovative ways of winning over women’s trust across communities Another important initiative has been in the space of women’s empowerment. ‘Tejasvini’, an inter-SHG competition that can be referred to as one of the most innovative ways of winning over women’s trust across communities. The idea is to create ‘local role models’ who have paved their own path in society as well as the industry. The competition is conducted once a week where 800 tribal and non-tribal women participate in this process from 50 villages in the periphery of Kalinganagar.

It is heartening to know that Tata Steel is leading the way for other companies to follow in fulfilling their social responsibility. Tata spent Rs1000 crore on CSR in FY14 in the field of skill development, health and education. On the business front, despite being one of the largest conglomerates in the world, the group has consistently shown an ability to be risk-friendly and never hesitated in taking drastic steps. Having reported a 69 per cent dip in consolidated net profit due to the subdued performance of the Indian unit, it is in talks with Swiss investment firm Klesch Group to sell parts of its assets in an effort to streamline their overseas businesses.

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SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Keeping innovation as the backbone of

SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY ‘Rise’ has been Mahindra’s call to action to drive positive change in society and re-affirms its commitment to a better world

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HILE MANY companies were seen grappling with the ambiguity of the conditions listed under the new CSR policy of the Companies Act, Mahindra Group spent about Rs 150 crore on CSR initiatives in the year 2014, combining their sustainability and corporate governance initiatives under one branding umbrella “Rise for Good”. In an effort to expand their vision, Mahindra Group has partnered with a social venture fund Villgro to fund Sustain Earth, a company which supplies biogas systems in addition to partnering with IIM’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship to fund Sickle Innovations, a company working on improving conventional farming through innovative appliances. Giving a new

meaning to their “Rise for Good” campaign, the association with these start-ups has been a part of their long-term commitment to create meaningful programs under the wide ambit of social responsibility. In addition to funding these start-ups, they have given out 100 grants so far to various social enterprises, regardless of their size. They have enabled these enterprises to benefit from Mahindra’s structured approach to innovation, adopt its management processes and more importantly, flourish under the name of Mahindra. In an example outlining their contribution towards “Rise for Good”, Mahindra Lifespaces has translated this philosophy into concrete action with the launch of their project called “Happinest” focusing on affordable, green housing for the emerging middle class. They will be launching their first two projects in Avadi in Chennai and Boisar in Mumbai. This serves two significant commitments of building a sense of collective responsibility towards the environment amongst the rising middle class and achieving the goal of healthy living and green design. Tech Mahindra Foundation supports vocational training to further the cause of “education to employment”. Through SMART (Skills-formarket Training), their flagship

Giving a new meaning to their “Rise for Good” campaign, the association with start-ups has been a part of their long-term commitment to

create meaningful programmes

program provides training and employment to the youth in the field of IT, accounting, hospitality, BPO, retail and sales and nurse aides. Mahindra Group’s approach to innovation has been a perfect mix of volume-oriented economies of scale and volume-oriented economies of scope. They have achieved tremendous success in the digital space by leveraging their award-winning services through platforms like Twitter, creating

#withyouhamesha to handle customer complaints. Their #GoGustoRides campaign set social media on fire when they asked food lovers across the city of Mumbai to join them for a ride on the Mahindra Gusto to explore some of Mumbai’s most iconic food joints. The campaign reached 7 million people on Twitter and the hashtag trended twice on Twitter nationally. They have even more exciting things in the pipeline with the launch of Usage Based Insurance for auto-insurers. Tech Mahindra acquired Virginia, US-based Lightbridge Communications Corporation for $240 Million, making it the largest overseas acquisition it has ever made. Mahindra and Mahindra have shown an increase of 0.87 per cent in their profits for Q3 up to Rs 942.14 crore.

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SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

A CORPORATE

with a Cause

Since its inception in 1935, caring has been at the core of everything Cipla undertakes

ORPORATE SOCIAL Responsibility still remains one of the major challenges for organisations, with many not being able to make any noticeable impact on society. The underlying problem lies with the fact that CSR has been looked at with only a philanthropic eye. A lot of organizations have failed to see the business potential behind this. It is forward-thinking companies like Cipla who believe caring for the society and environment should not just be an additional responsibility, instead be an integral aspect of their business practices.

To substantiate this, they have built a well-defined environmental strategy that focuses on reducing their carbon footprint by saving energy and following water and waste management procedures. They are one of the not-so-many companies realizing the need to make internal changes first in order to change the external. Their corporate responsibility stretches to areas of HIV, Cancer and other terminal diseases. Ciplaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palliative care center, in Pune has been taking care of Cancer patients since 1997, free of cost. Instead of designing a patient-care model, it has designed a family-care model,

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realizing the need for a patient to be close to his family when they are terminally ill. They give comfort and care to almost 8000 patients, and their focus has been to reach out to more and more Cancer patients who need palliative care. In addition to running their own center, they have also funded a Pune-based organization that is running a home for children with HIV infection. The organizationManavya runs a mobile dispensary on the outskirts of Pune and is completely funded by Cipla. Cipla has a dedicated R&D team that is constantly working

They have built a well-

defined environmental strategy that focuses

on reducing their carbon footprint by saving energy and following water and

waste management procedures

Their corporate responsibility stretches to the areas of HIV, Cancer and other terminal diseases.

towards making breakthroughs in reducing the prices of cancer drugs in an effort to make worldclass medicines easily accessible to ordinary citizens. They are constantly collaborating, sharing R&D with several organizations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Clinton Foundation to make drugs for malaria, HIV/AIDS and several other neglected diseases. Corporate Social Responsibility, coupled with their unique business strategies, is helping Cipla move towards higher growth with strong expectations of a more than modest performance in FY16. Ciplaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s year-on-year growth remains higher than the industry

They have also funded a Pune-based organization that is running a home for children with HIV infection. CIPLA has a dedicated R&D team that is constantly working towards making breakthroughs in reducing the prices of cancer drugs

growth. They have stuck to their traditional approach towards business but have incorporated the tenets of new-age innovation to guide them in their future prospects. Expanding its consumer products business by foraying into nutritional products is an example of this. Their growth strategy remains simple by relying heavily on tie-ups and acquisitions, with an effort to gain a larger market share in the US and European markets. The company achieved a revenue growth of Rs 11,000 crore the last financial year. Its net profit doubled to Rs 651 crore in the first quarter and revenue rose 43 per cent to Rs 3777 crore.

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SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

WINNING LIKE

WIPRO

WIPRO recognises that the world requires a balance in growth and development for the benefit of all

IPRO HAS BEEN a leader in many respects and this has slowly extended to their CSR policies. It stems from the simple belief that corporations are represented

by ordinary citizens and that their organizational objectives have to be in line with larger societal goals. WIPRO is in the process of debunking myths that CSR is synonymous with charity and believes that it needs to be tackled with the same passion

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and strategic thinking that business initiatives require. They have launched numerous initiatives in the areas of education, healthcare, disaster management and social forestry. WIPRO Cares is their community initiative that aims at key developmental issues concerning under-privileged and underserved communities. This initiative works in close proximity to WIPROâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s center of operations and includes 16

WIPRO Cares is their community initiative that aims at key developmental issues concerning

under-privileged and underserved communities major projects spread across India. They have seven healthcare projects in four states of India successfully providing 75000 people access to primary health care. WIPRO Applying Thought in Schools is another initiative that uses a unique method towards building the credibility of education in India. Realizing the dire need for education reform, WIPRO works with several civil society organizations using a three-pronged approach of working on the ground to improve the quality of education provided by mainstream schools, building the capacity of organizations working towards education reform and sharing their experience in order to proactively influence public opinion. This has gradually but steadily

materialized into a partner network of over 30 of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading educational organizations working with around 2000 schools and 10,500 educators across 17 states actively reaching out to more than 800,000 students. In the field of education, the WIPRO Fellowship Program can be called as a ground-breaking achievement. The WIPRO Science Fellowship programs, launched in March 2013, aim at improving Science and Math education in schools serving disadvantaged communities in the US, partnering with the well-reputed University of Massachusetts, Boston and Michigan State University. This program has a larger objective of fundamentally changing the way education is imparted in schools and training

teachers to be facilitators of such change. It can be called as one of the most adaptable companies functioning in the IT age and has leveraged their expertise in technology to innovate in various sectors. An example of this would be WIPRO Digital partnering with the football club Chelsea FC, to represent them digitally by bringing strategy, design and technology. Together, they are working to create memorable experiences for their fans, not limiting to just game-day experience. On the business front, during 2014-15, the company added 65 new clients and reported a 2 per cent growth in net profit for the March quarter. Revenue stood at Rs 12,142 crore, up by 4 per cent annually.

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SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Creating Value for all STAKEHOLDERS Creating value on a long-term and sustainable basis for all key stakeholders is a key focus area for ITC

TC, THE MULTI-BUSINESS Indian conglomerate, has made a mark with its multidimensional sustainability initiatives over the years. The company believes that a brand like itself can create significant societal value for the country. ITC boasts of a Triple Bottomline Agenda that builds and enriches the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic, environmental and societal capital. Keeping in line with this agenda, ITC has successfully integrated CSR beneficiaries into its supply chain. Its pulpwood

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ITCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewable energy portfolio ensures that over 43 per cent of its total energy requirements are met from renewable energy sources plantation has adopted tribal communities and poor farmers. In the agarbatti business women are being trained to produce the incense sticks thus linking them to their business. ITC has been able to develop value chains that have benefitted the poorest regions of the country and is responsible for coming up with initiatives to create sustainable livelihoods. It can be credited with empowerment of employees at the grass root levels. The group directly employs more than 32000 people and its businesses and value chains generate around six million sustainable livelihoods. This fiscal, ITC is preparing to spend Rs 250 crore under its mission Sunehra Kal in order to strengthen rural livelihoods through rural retail initiatives like e-choupal, wasteland development through conservation programmes, building skills and social infrastructure. The aim is to empower the rural communities and increase their purchasing power. At present, this project covers a total area of 500000 acres in 12 states in the watershed development programme. ITCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social initiatives have had a huge impact. It is the only company in the world of comparable dimensions

to have achieved the global environmental distinction of being carbon-positive for 10 consecutive years and waterpositive for 13 years in a row and solid waste recycling-positive for eight years in succession. Its renewable energy portfolio ensures that over 43 per cent of its total energy requirements are met from renewable energy sources. These initiatives form the backbone of the brand products and services and are the representations of what ITC stands for as a business conglomerate.

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21 | Uberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eventful journey into India 22 | Reclaiming the streets of the city 24 | Hotstar becomes a favourite with TV Viewers 26 | XIAOMI Finding opportunity in the Indian market

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impactful debuts

Uber’s

eventful journey into India

Uber has been expanding globally and in India too, it has been deepening its roots at a dizzying pace

he cab aggregator service Uber debuted in India in 2013 and today India is the third largest market for the service after the US and China. Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber is hopeful that India might soon surpass one of the two countries very soon. Travis believes that every problem has a solution and one just needs to be creative enough to find it. Uber is another creative solution to the commuting needs of people, bringing cities and people closer. Uber is now present in 22 cities, India having opened up easily to its innovative concept and technology. Uber has been expanding globally and in India too, it has been deepening its roots at a dizzying pace. 13 months after its debut in the country it had expanded to 11 cities and offers a range of fleets targeted at different price segments. India has , in fact, become a learning ground for Uber where many of its innovations have been successfully tested and are now being used in other countries. Uber has been accepting cash, using mobile wallets, has introduced the safety SOS feature and also has Wi-Fi in cabs. It also introduced UberGo, which used hatchback cars and catered to the mass market in India. Uber has understood

that for it to scale successfully in India, it has to adapt to local market conditions. It is now using these innovations in other emerging markets too. The most recent innovation has been the Disguised Phone Number technology which connects drivers and riders without revealing personal phone numbers to each other. Safety seems to have become a priority for Uber especially after the unfortunate incident of the rape of a passenger in December 2014 by a driver . Since then Uber has run into issues related to security and cab-booking service along with similar booking services were even banned in New Delhi . The cab aggregators have also ruffled the feathers of the traditional taxis and auto rickshaws which have been protesting against these upstarts. In July, 2015, a Delhi Court revoked the ban on the US based company allowing it to reapply for a license.

Uber has never spent heavily on traditional marketing but relied on building a connect with consumers through alternate means. The product itself has always been the best form of marketing for them. Despite rivals Ola, Taxiforsure and Meru boasting of TV campaigns and huge billboards, Uber has never felt insecure. It has used smart influencer marketing strategies and referral marketing tactics. They also undertake quirky campaigns like delivering kites on ‘Makar Sankranti’, discounted rides to IPL matches, tying up with Zomato, Bookmyshow. It has also committed to creating 50,000 jobs for women in India by 2020. All in all, Uber’s entry into India has been welcomed with open arms. It did run into trouble with security issues and has been reeling under controversy, but has managed to get noticed and gradually accepted by Indian passengers.

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impactful debuts

RECLAIMING

the sTreeTs of the CITY

LL OF US WISH for a traffic free city where roads are free for pedestrians and there is no pollution. Born out of this basic human requirement was Raahgiri, the first sustained car-free initiative that began in Gurgaon on November 17, 2013. The

movement was conceived and executed by the Raahgiri Foundation consisting of Embarq India, I am Gurgaon, Pedalyatri, Heritage School, Duplays Gurgaon. Every Sunday, citizens of the chosen area take to the streets in a show of support for sustainable and active transport. The weekly event closes the

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The movement has caught on, spreading to different areas of the National Capital Region

streets to cars every Sunday, reviving the love for streets and encouraging a car free lifestyle. After Gurgaon, the movement spread to Delhi where Connaught Place is earmarked for this drive every Sunday. The movement has now spread to Dwarka, Rohini and East Delhi areas. Public health is the main

concern behind this initiative, the aim being to make the city environment friendly. The concept was inspired by Ciclovia in Colombia which celebrates cycling closing the city to automobiles. Raahgiri in India has also been fashioned after the same concept where children and adults are invited to bike, skate, run and walk and take ownership of the streets. They are encouraged to participate in community leisure activities in the cordoned off areas. The key objectives of Raahgiri day include promotion of cycling, walking and use of public

transport. It reminds citizens that the streets belong to the people and not to cars. It encourages an active and healthy lifestyle, promotes social integration and awareness for the environment. The concept is now being taken to other cities too where it is attracting health conscious citizens and changing mindsets of those who had no awareness about public health issues. It is a movement that made an impactful debut in 2013 and is spreading at a rapid pace. The movement is well on its way to achieving what it set out to do, creating awareness.

The concept is now being taken to other cities too where it is attracting health conscious citizens

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impactful debuts

Hotstar

becomes a favourite with TV Viewers

Indian Television viewers got a boon in the form of the Hotstar App, allowing them to savour TV content on their mobile phones

HEN THE Hotstar App was launched by Star India on February 1st this year, little did people expect that it would become one of the hottest digital properties in India within such a short span of time. It was a smashing debut for the app in the Indian market. The Hotstar App lets you watch the latest movies, TV shows and live sports free of charge, and is available on Android and iOS. It offers the most compelling catalogue ever offered on mobile and the web, making it a complete video destination for consumers. The platform has been designed and purpose-built for

one reason â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to provide the best video experience for TV Shows, Movies and Sports, all in a single package. Customers can access full-length episodes of their favourite TV Shows, full-length Bollywood, English, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali Movies, in addition to live free streaming of some of

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the major sports events in India on this app. It made history by achieving 10 million downloads in the first 40 days since its launch, making its debut historical. It outdid apps such as Facebook (10 months), Instagram (2.5 months) and

Twitter(one year), to become the fastest to cross the million download mark in six days. And thanks to the ICC Cricket World Cup which was taking place during that period of time, the app managed to clock an average TSV (time spent per viewer) of 24 minutes a day. What really made this app so successful in such a short time was the cost-free content and technology solutions for bandwidth and content discovery. Along with this, the app allows users to create their own playlists with content they curate for leisure viewing. Individual episodes, movies, full collections of even movies can be curated. Their Hindi movie collection is worth checking out, while in the English genre, they have Koffee With Karan and ongoing cricket matches. In the regional space,

they have movies in respective regional languages. Hotstar not only offers TV shows and movies across six languages on web, but also offers the same through the iOS and Android Apps. It offers the same content on both the web and the apps. Talking about the brand performance, Hotstar has recorded more than 110 million views for the Indian Premier League 8 (IPL 8) till date. In comparison, the entire 2014 edition of the tournament registered 62 million views on starsports.com last year. With 13 million views for Pepsi IPL 2014 at a similar point in the tournament last year, Hotstar has registered an 8.5x growth in viewership. In February, Hotstar, along with starsports.com, its digital

It made history by achieving 10 million downloads in the first 40 days since its launch

Hotstar not only offers

TV shows and movies

across six languages on web, but also offers the same through the iOS

and Android Apps

platform counterpart, served more than 25 million video views during an India-Pakistan cricket match to make it the most watched sports event online of all time. Along with this, a series of digital initiatives in partnership with the movie Bombay Velvet have been launched by the app to engage with its customers. Star India is also looking to acquire the Screen brand from the Indian Express group. The acquisition of Screen will allow Hotstar to strengthen and expand the content brand online while taking the awards platform to the next level. The future looks very promising for Hotstar. It is expected to contribute 20-25 percent of Star Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue in the next 4-5 years. The scope for advertising is more on digital, and it has the first mover advantage. Star India has also roped in Accenture to help develop, launch and deliver its overthe-air programming through Hotstar. Hotstar is a great app to have if you are interested in Indian TV content. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s completely free (with video ads), which is a plus. However, this app would become more appealing and more attractive with time and more developments.

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impactful debuts

With its entry into India, Xiaomi has become a threat to market leaders like Samsung

XIAOMI Finding OPPORTUNITY

in the INDIAN MARKET

HINESE SMARTPHONE brand Xiaomi entered India via the ecommerce route. It launched its flagship Mi3 exclusively on Flipkart in 2014. The Mi3 competed with the likes of the Nexus 5 and the HTC One M7 and was competitively priced which happens to be

Xiaomi’s USP . Popularly known as the ‘Apple of China’, Xiaomi’s entry into India made headlines with other smartphone brands threatened by the Chinese phonemaker’s business strategy in India. Providing top notch devices at competitive prices has worked well for the brand. The company sold

Xiaomi has made it amply clear

that India is a focus market, with the brand planning to build India-specific features for its phones

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1 million handsets in India in the first 6 months. Xiaomi has made it amply clear that India is a focus market , with the brand planning to build Indiaspecific features for its phones. It is also coming up with local teams to cater to the local needs. India ranks behind China and the United States in smart phone sales and is hence, a key market for a Chinese entrant such as Xiaomi. Xiaomi launched Mi 4i in the Indian capital some months back before more than 1500 fans who packed the auditorium to witness the brand’s first physical launch outside its home country. It has also partnered with The Mobile Store, a brick and mortar outlet to sell handsets in 300 stores across India. It is also partnering with Indian distributors and treading surely but steadily in the Indian market.

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EVERGREENS

Dettol

Changing Mindsets For more than 75 years Dettol has been a trusted name for killing germs and protecting the health of the whole family

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ore than 75 years ago, a chemical compound by the name of parachlorometaxylenol or PCMX could have been the brand name created by Reckitt Benckiser (now RB). However, history would not have been as kind to PCMX as it has been to Dettol. Even though Dettol gives no indication of the formulation used, it has brought about a direct medical association with its name through its packaging. Their packaging with their green and white colors and the sword has slowly become a symbol for fighting germs and infections. It is this specific identity attached to their brand that has most favored their growth. Circumstances also favored the company. Being rolled out of its factory in England, it wanted to reach out to as many markets as possible and India being a British

colony was convenient. Their strategy was straightforward in targeting hospitals and medical associations, making their antiseptic liquid a must for all the doctors and nurses around. Successfully creating brand value amongst the doctor community, it automatically trickled down to their patients, being recommended for home usage. Dettol brought about a change in mindset. It found a loyal

partner in allopathy, as it was being propagated that diseases were caused by germs. This continued over the decades and jumping ahead to the 1990s, they began to foray into other segments such as liquid soap, kitchen gel, hygiene liquids, soaps and most recently, wet wipes. Their message remained constant and built a permanent impression in the consumer’s mind- an easy, inexpensive germ-fighting solution. Dettol can be called an old company

but definitely not ageing as they have successfully adapted to the changing times, maintaining their core quality of hygiene and applying it to all their product extensions making it simple for the consumer to continue associating a specific image with the brand The management has understood the dire need to stay relevant to the times and have introduced product extensions over the years modifying its

image as a premium product to address the mass segment. For instance, Dettol liquid hand wash is being rolled out in 135-ml packs priced at Rs. 38 across all variants. Dettol Soap too, has been introduced in a smaller SKU of 35 gm. priced at Rs. 6. In addition to this, they have aimed at looking at sustainability with a broader lens. Their campaigns such as “Banega Swachh India” are an example of this. They have also promised to extend the benefits of hygienic products to the less fortunate. Their 5 year plan aims to create awareness about the importance of hygiene in almost 2000 villages spread across the country supported with a budget of about Rs 100 crore. Despite numerous battles with their competitors such as HUL, Dettol has consistently maintained its image and refused

to cower to the pressure from increasing competition. Boasting of an 85 per cent market share in antiseptic liquids and a 50 per cent share in the soaps category, they are far ahead of their rivals. Numerous surveys have shown that consumers have appreciated their effort in keeping their old and new customers constantly engaged, tackling old-age problems with new age solutions and keeping the consumer’s interests foremost in their mind.

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EVERGREENS

The of

REINVENTION

RAYMOND Raymondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique ability to constantly innovate makes it a timeless and unforgettable brand

aYMonD entereD the list of Evergreen Brands because of the way it has been able to diversify, adapt, innovate and evolve over the 80 years it’s been around. If there was ever a brand that stood for quality, assurance, style, elegance and trust, it had to be Raymond and even after many years, the name evokes the same emotions it did many moons ago. The textiles and branded apparel major is aiming to double the sales revenue this financial year. The Gautam Singhania led company is one of the leading fabric and fashion retailers in the world today and owns apparel brands like Raymond Premium Apparel, Park Avenue, Park Avenue Women, ColorPlus and Parx. In order to remain relevant and timeless, Raymond has been adding to its portfolio to enhance its already widespread appeal. It launched its line of lightweight linen this year which includes

fabrics that are lightweight and natural and can be worn in tropical climates too. Raymond has also been making ramp appearances through exclusive Raymond fashion shows, the latest being the prolific collection of 200 jacket designs by Varun Bahl and Sahil Aneja. The reasons why Raymond has managed to remain relevant for the digital age are several. The company has reorganised itself for the new age. It has a new CEO in Sanjay Behl who is changing the leadership and designing new roles. Structural changes have been made with Strategic Business Unit Heads reporting to him. The brand has a new Chief Marketing Officer in Ritesh Ghosal who knows the marketing requirements of an evolving organisation. The company has hired Vijay Basrur as the e-commerce Head in 2014 to keep up with the ecommerce wave. It has created its own etailing website called

The marketing has changed too and the advertisements now show very different characteristics of the ‘Complete Man’

RaymondNext.com while also making itself available on other ecommerce websites. The marketing has changed too and the advertisements now show very different characteristics of the ‘Complete Man’. It’s a brand that has reinvented itself successfully and is galloping with the times.

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EVERGREENS

The brand that took a low involvement category to the masses, and kept itself relevant over the years, has shown how important it is to adapt to change

NOT NICE, But EXTRAORDINARY

hen aSIan Paints was established in February 1942 by Champaklal H. Choksey, Chimanlal N. Choksi, Suryakant C. Dani and Arvind R. Vakil little did they know how big this company would become in a span of a few years. They named their company ‘The Asian Oil & Paint Company’, a name randomly picked from a telephone directory. Currently, it is India’s largest paint company and Asia’s third largest paint company, with

a turnover of Rs 140 billion. Besides Asian Paints, the group operates around the world through its subsidiaries Berger International Limited, Apco Coatings Limited, SCIB Paints and Taubmans. What really helped the brand reach this level is its successful brand positioning, making it a household name. It has repositioned itself recently by stepping out of its comfort zone to speed up growth. The paint maker has identified the home improvement and décor segment as an avenue for

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future growth. According to a study by consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers and equity research firm Edelweiss, about 70 per cent of modular kitchen market in India is unorganised. The market was estimated at around Rs 2,000 crore in 2012 and is projected to cross Rs 6,000 crore by 2016. Most of this market is unorganised in India barring a few premier foreign players. Asian Paints would indeed make a massive move, if they are able to tap into this market successfully.

of high inﬂationary pressure indicating the pricing power it enjoys. Its market share has also improved by 4 per cent in terms of brand value, supported by a strong dealer network, an efficient supply chain, effective brand building and the launch of premium products. With a rich history and a pleasant present, the brand wants to ensure a bright future for itself in the country. It is now Asia’s third-largest paint company, behind Japan’s Kansai and Nippon and the world’s 13th largest. Keeping in sync with the changing times, Asian Paints has

The brand has undergone quite a makeover. The logo has been shortened to AP from Asian Paints making it easier for the customers to connect with the brand. But the concepts of their ads and the brand as a whole, have not changed over the years. This is why people have so much respect for it and identify with it immediately. Today, the brand has over 50 per cent share of decorative paints, the largest segment in paints. The gross margin for Asian Paints expanded by 3.4 per cent during this period

It has repositioned itself recently by stepping out of its comfort zone to

speed up growth

repositioned itself. It wanted to leverage the mobile medium to communicate the re-positioning as well as increase engagement with users. The mobile presence would enable anywhere-anytime access to the various newly launched services and tools. According to a survey undertaken for the Pitch Top 50 list, most people associated the words ‘timeless’ and ‘classic’ with the brand Asian Paints. They also felt the brand had maintained a strong image over the years along with a large customer base.

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EVERGREENS

Why hy

Amul remains a

favourite with

MUL Can Be defined in a few words, as “the Taste of India”. Formed in 1946, it is a brand managed by a cooperative body, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. Amul spurred India’s White Revolution, which made the country the world’s largest producer of milk and milk products. In the process, Amul became the largest food brand in India and has ventured into markets overseas. Dr. Verghese Kurien, was the founderchairman of the GCMMF who is credited with ushering in the White Revolution. In terms of revenue, milk comes first for Amul. Second is the infant milk food category. Amul Spray infant milk food is a Rs 4,200 crore brand. Other

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Indians

Amul’s versatility is its biggest strength as it caters to all age groups and segments of society through its varied product categories

With respect to

customer connect, the

dairy giant, with its 1.2 million Facebook fans and about 27,700 Twitter followers has been fairly active on

important product categories include butter, ghee, ice-creams and cream. New categories include cool beverages, tetrapack milk and chocolates. Amul has remained in the Indian consciousness through its products and innovative marketing. In 2014, it announced its decision to sponsor the Indian contingents to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Incheon, South Korea by signing a MoU with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The brand positioning has been very clean and clear. The utterly butterly girl, gracing Amul butter packs since the 1960s, remains strong and healthy and the Amul memes and hoardings that comment on the most current happenings in the country remain as popular as ever. But what sets it apart as a brand is the way it runs the cooperative organization. Out of every rupee spent by consumers

on the product, 80 paise goes back to the milk producer. This has inďŹ&#x201A;uenced the sales and the brand performance of the company as well. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets its products under the popular brand â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Amulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, has risen to 15th position among top dairy organizations of the world in 2014 from the 20th rank within two years. Its revenues have grown by over 50 per cent in the last two financial years. GCMMF paid 8-10 per cent higher price to farmers during 2014-15 as compared to the previous year. In contrast to this, the milk procurement prices dropped by 15-20 per cent, in the domestic market. With respect to customer connect, the dairy giant, with its 1.2 million Facebook fans and about 27,700 twitter followers has been fairly active on social media. It has been ranked among

social media

the top brands in the Brand Trust Report for the year 2015. It has partnered with films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag to get close to the masses. Amul has been known for its innovative and interesting customer initiatives. In collaboration with the State Bank of India (SBI) it launched the Amul Milk Card, a prepaid smart Card, at Mother Dairy in Gandhinagar this year. The card can be used to purchase products from Amul parlours making it easier for the customers to purchase products. For the future, the company plans to achieve a turnover of Rs. 21,600 crore in the financial year 2015. They have also drawn up a plan to invest at least Rs 5,000 crore to expand production capacities by more than a third over the next 2-3 years.

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EVERGREENS

COLGATE PALMOLIVE KEEPING SMILES INTACT Colgate Palmolive’s timeless appeal lies in its ability to innovate and keep adapting to changing times

n 1806, WILLIaM Colgate, an English soap and candle maker, established a starch, soap and candle factory on Dutch Street in New York City under the name of “William Colgate & Company”. Today, Colgate Palmolive has become a multinational consumer staples firm, focused on the production, distribution, and provision of household, healthcare and personal products which are sold in over 200 countries and territories throughout the world. With a vast history behind it, its journey as the global leader in oral care products can be credited to its successful brand image among consumers across the world. The brand has believed in constant development and up gradation of technology and products to cater to the evolving preferences of customers.

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For instance, after almost three years in development, Colgate-Palmolive hoped to gain appeal amongst consumers concerned with oral hygiene, with the introduction of its technologically superior, Precision toothbrush. Other than this, the brand has been able to roll out a wide variety of products at regular intervals. The iconic hand on the Palmolive dishwashing soap label belongs to Elizabeth Barbour. The image is an illustration of a photograph taken in 1985 when the ColgatePalmolive Company updated the image, hiring Barbour, then a hand model with the Ford Agency in New York City. Colgate’s first advertisement appeared in a New York newspaper in 1817. Initially, Colgate introduced toothpaste in jars. After 1896, it introduced toothpaste in collapsible tubes,

The company operates approximately

280 properties

of which 80 are present in over 70

countries

which proved to be a great move to innovate and enhance its brand proposition. In 1911, Colgate introduced its first health promotional campaign by distributing 2 million tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes to schools for oral health education. Colgate-Palmolive, along with Apple (APPL), developed an interesting application for iPhone users called the Colgate MaxWhite Photo. This application is used to whiten smiles in photographs. According to the Kantar World Panel’s Global Footprint report, Colgate has a brand penetration of over 80 per cent in India. Colgate is currently a global leader in oral care with the leading toothpaste and manual toothbrush brands in its kitty. The global market share of Colgate’s toothpaste was

estimated at 44.4 per cent, and its share for manual toothbrushes was estimated at 33.4 per cent for fiscal 2014. Colgate’s oral care business also includes pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals. The company operates approximately 280 properties of which 80 are present in over 70 countries. Consumer packaged goods engulf a wide variety of products. As a result, Colgate faces stiff competition from several local and international players worldwide. For example, Colgate faces competition from Dabur Red toothpaste in India, which is a local brand. Due to Colgate’s large product portfolio and its dominance in oral care, it’s very difficult for a new company to enter the market with a similar range of products. However, the relatively

lower capital cost required for this business has given rise to a number of smaller local players worldwide. According to Kantar World panel, Colgate is adding the greatest number of new shoppers among fast-moving consumer goods (or FMCG) companies. Most of these are in India. Colgate added 19 million new shoppers worldwide in 2014. By targeting the more mature markets in the future, ColgatePalmolive aims to reach more and more households within a few years. India has evolved to be a major market for the brand in recent years and the company is coming up with product innovations at breakneck speed. It’s an evergreen brand in all respects and is ready to dominate the market for many more years to come.

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globetrotters

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DID YOU

KNOW?

90 % Of Our Readers Get To Know About New

Products From Us

67% Of Our Readers Believe We Refer Only

The Best Products

60% Of Our Readers

Purchase The Brands

We Feature

Since 1885, Good Housekeeping has been serving as best friend and bible for millions of women around the world. From what appliance to buy for her kitchen to which brand to buy for her dresser, intelligent and independent women trust our word.

You should too.

Source: TNS research 2015

FEATURE IN GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

MAKE PLACE IN HER LIFE www.pitchonnet.com | Sept - Oct 201 5 | Pitch | 39

globetrotters

ZoMaTo on a

global prowl

With presence in 22 countries and plans to expand further, there is no looking back for this food delivery business

eePInder goYaL and pankaj Chaddah, started the most popular online restaurant search service, Zomato, from an apartment and today it has become one of the most wellknown Internet brands from India. The brand, which expanded globally under their astute leadership, has seen a spurt of expansion and growth in its mere seven years of existence. Zomato started out as Foodiebay in 2008 when each letter in its brand logo

represented an element related to food. Since then it has undergone rebranding to Zomato in 2010 to mark its foray into adjacent business verticals, and by the third quarter of 2014, Zomato has evolved to become the most sought-after

The company started to spread

its wings offshore

either by building

its presence from scratch or following the

acquisition route

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Zomato’s website

and mobile apps

are known for their clean and simple user interface with in-depth information of restaurants across

different countries

search service with a presence in 19 countries.The company started to spread its wings offshore either by building its presence from scratch or following the acquisition route. In a six-month binge, the company has acquired seven companies and expanded to 22 countries. Some of its global acquisitions include MenuMania in New Zealand, Lunchtime in Czech republich, obedovat in Slovakia, Gastronauci in poland, Cibando in Italy and UrbanSpoon, mainly for the US and Australia. However, the company’s ambitious acquisition remains UrbanSpoon providing the Gurgaon-based company a foothold in the competitive US market.With the acquisition of the Seattle-based bar and restaurant guide, Zomato is in direct competition with market leader Yelp Inc. With this, Zomato has expanded its presence to 500-plus cities in 22 countries and its restaurant coverage has gone up from about 300,000 to more than 1 million. The company didn’t relent after acquiring UrbanSpoon, but continued with

its acquisition spree and bought Turkish rival Mekanistsoon. No doubt these deals have only strengthened its position as India’s first truly global app, with a valuation of $660 million. Its global ambitions did not just stop here. After plunging into the food-ordering business in India, it now plans to enter the global markets, such as the United Arab Emirates, the philippines, Australia and South Africa within the next month, Zomato also plans to launch cashless payment service in Dubai. Zomato’s website and mobile apps are known for their clean and simple user interface with in-depth information of restaurants across different countries. The social aspects on the website make it highly engaging for the users and the quality and depth of content ensure user loyalty. It forms the perfect platform for restaurant owners to advertise to a highly targeted audience where they can track their return on investment. The company’s growth mantra is adapting content to local markets. It has

been able to garner attention across the globe with its content. At present, the online ordering services are available for around 12,000 restaurant partners, and it expects to take that to over 20,000 by the end of this year. It currently has 70,000 restaurants listed on the India platform. Zomato has been backed by investors such as Info Edge (India) Ltd, Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital and aims to raise a large investment round soon. In its bid to adopt innovation to create a splash in digital and other new media, Zomato has also teamed up with Uber to bring more users to each product and improve the users overall experience.The partnership makes it easier for Zomato users to utilize Uber to book a car to the eatery of their choice.

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globetrotters

SETCO’S

GLOBAL aspirations take a leap

The largest clutch supplier is now eyeing the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and farm equipment space

eTCo , The LargeST manufacturer of premium Quality Lipe brand clutches for commercial vehicles in India, was incorporated in 1982 and boasts of all the required global quality certifications. With a global footprint of four manufacturing facilities, two

in India and one each in the UK and USA, the company has a strong global presence. It also has a research and development centre in the UK. The company is poised to double its revenue to rs 1000 crore by 2016-17 by strengthening in both domestic and international markets. The focus markets for this brand are Africa, the Middle East and America. Boosting of exports is also on the agenda. It is also strengthening its business in the UK and US markets. With its business spread in 64 countries, SETCo already has a strong global footprint, but now it is planning to further expand its

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product portfolio. The company has introduced clutches for farm tractors and LCVs. What is working in SETCo’s favour is also that India is now on its way to becoming a manufacturing hub. SETCo is also looking to set up an assembly plant in russia and is working with original Equipment Manufacturers to be able to accomplish this. SETCo fulfils almost 100 per cent requirement of major players like Tata Motors, AMW, Volvo Eicher and almost 65 per cent of Ashok Leyland’s requirements. The brand has been investing in product development and plant upgradation. SETCo aims to become one of the global integrated suppliers who supply across geographies and locations. It has also entered into the aftermarket business. The last few years have been very positive for the company and it has huge plans to strengthen its positioning in both the Indian and international markets.

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globetrotters

India’s day in the

oUnded aLmoST 30 years ago as a maker of psychiatric drugs, Dilip Shanghvi had built Sun pharma with focus on generic drugs for chronic diseases. He succeeded in taking it to newer heights. The drugmaker began operations by making five generic drugs including psychiatric drug Lithosun from its first factory set up in Gujarat. Since then the company has grown by leaps and bounds to become the largest pharma company in India. Even as the pace in India was picking up, Shanghvi had tried to grab the

‘sun’

opportunity for expansion in the US. Starting with exports, the growth story sustained with its acquisition of Detroit-based generics maker Caraco pharma in 1997. It took Shanghvi about a decade to turn around the company even as the compliance problems continued. The plant ran afoul of the USFDA in 2008, and he had to shut it down and work on fixing the problems. But this didn’t deter him from making another bet on NYSElisted Taro pharmaceuticals, taking control in 2010 after a bitter three-year battle with its key shareholders. It now accounts for nearly half of Sun

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pharma’s US revenues of $1.6 billion. With its latest acquisition of ranbaxy Laboratories from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo last year, Sun pharma has emerged as the world’s fifth largest generics company. The ranbaxy deal is one of the biggest in its history and was the largest acquisition, in the pharmaceutical industry in Asia in 2014.The merger did not only take the company’s total revenue close to $4.5 billion, but put the drugmaker in the league of giants such as Teva, Sandoz, Mylan and Abbott. Sun pharma, with 45 manufacturing sites across the globe, has been ranked 71 on

The Ranbaxy deal is one of the biggest in its history Sun Pharma, with 45 manufacturing sites across the globe, has been ranked 71 on Forbes’ annual list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies The firm got a shot in the arm with its acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline’s Opiates business in Australia

Forbes’ annual list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies for the fourth consecutive time. The company has succeeded in turning around acquired assets in the past and with this acquisition the company aims to leverage the experience of ranbaxy Laboratories in geographies in which it had little or no presence. Currently, Sun pharma and ranbaxy invest around $250 million combined in research and development. on the back of these strategic acquisitions Sun pharma, which gets 70 per cent of its revenues from overseas, has been rising at a scorching pace. With ranbaxy in its fold, Sun pharma’s market share in India alone is at nearly 10 percent. About 40 per cent of the turnover of the combined company comes from India and other emerging markets. The combined entity’s manufacturing footprint covers five continents with products sold in over 150 nations with a stronger presence in the US, India, Asia, Europe, South Africa,

With its latest acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo last year, Sun Pharma has emerged as one of the world’s

fifth largest generics company

CIS & russia and Latin America. The company now offers a large basket of specialty and generic products encompassing a broad range of chronic and acute prescription drugs as well as a ready foray into the global consumer healthcare market. The firm got a shot in the arm with its acquisition of

GlaxoSmithKline’s opiates business in Australia through which it wants to build its presence in the niche segment of controlled substances. The acquisition will also enhance the opiate alkaloids portfolio of the company and depth in global opiates market. The firm is aiming to invest around 6-7 per cent of its turnover on r&D, which would allow it to invest close to $500 million a year on r&D. Under the acquisition,GSK will transfer manufacturing sites in Latrobe (Tasmania) and port Fairy (Victoria) and its portfolio of opiates products along with inventory, to a subsidiary of Sun pharma. The growth story doesn’t end here for the company as it remains open for big ticket acquisitions in the future.

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globetrotters

Tata consultancy services

Growing in the The Indian multinational operates in 46 countries and is now placed among the ‘Big 4’ most valuable IT services brands worldwide

Global

ndian homegrown outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services has carved its own niche in the international market to become one of the most valuable IT services companies in the world. The IT major has been acknowledged for its innovation, quality, customer focus and culture. One of the recent milestones for the company was crossing the Rs 5 lakh crore mark in market capitalisation last year to become the second most valuable IT services company in the world, surpassing Ireland’s Accenture. The achievement translates into TCS’s market cap being greater than the combined

market capitalization of the next four biggest Indian information technology companies—Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra. In a bid to expand its international presence, the company has made several acquisitions in the past and the largest being its purchase of Citigroup Global Services Ltd for $512 million in December 2008 to strengthen its business in the banking and financial services sector. The company’s recent acquisition had been French information technology services firm Alti SA for €75 million. Besides its growing influence in the global IT industry, TCS has been named as the top

The company’s recent acquisition had been French information technology services firm Alti SA for €75 million

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Some of the prominent digital business that it won recently in mobility includes the deal with North American Bank to deploy a mobile-based event management system

Space One of the recent milestones for the company was crossing the Rs 5 lakh crore mark in market capitalisation last year to become the second most valuable IT services company in the world employer in Europe for the third consecutive year by a top employers’ certification agency, citing the Indian IT major as an ‘exceptional performer’ in nine core human resources areas. It was named as the best employer for the third consecutive year after the agency assessed 688 organisations across Europe. TCS was certified in eight separate markets in 2015. In UK, the company secured the certification for the fifth year in a row. The $13-billion TCS, established in 1948 and which counts Cisco and HewlettPackard among its clients, won seven large deals in the first quarter of FY15. The company went on to add 10 clients in over

$20 million bracket and one over $100 million bracket in the retail, life sciences and BFSI segments. Some of the prominent digital business that it won recently in mobility includes the deal with North American Bank to deploy a mobile-based event management system by using the TCS Event Maestro product. Besides this, a leading European life sciences company selected TCS to enable clinical test workflow documentation on mobile devices. In the field of big data, a leading UK bank signed on TCS to provide consulting and technology services for their big data initiative. Similarly, a leading European telecom company selected TCS to develop a process to compute

key performance indicators using big data technologies to drive customer satisfaction. It had also won other deals in social media and analytics, cloud and digital. A North American multinational chemicals company selected TCS to pen its digital marketing strategy for its agro sciences businesses across APAC. Above all the global businesses, it has attracted, the company’s most ambitious project includes testing the use of robots to fast-track chunks of the software development process and automate some support functions. With its continuous efforts to make its presence stronger in the global arena, the company is definitely making India proud.

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globetrotter globetrotters

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MAHINDRA

The Global ICON With operations in more than 100 countries worldwide and its diverse interests in various industries, Mahindra has become a truly global organisation

Mahindra enjoys a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation

ownership

he mahIndra Brand epitomises how an Indian brand can evolve to become a global powerhouse, reinventing itself time and again to renew its presence in the Indian consciousness. Its overriding principal has been to enable stakeholders and communities to rise. Today, Mahindra is a US $ 16.9 billion global federation of companies. Best known for their reliable and sturdy automobiles, they also provide innovative IT solutions and commitment to rural prosperity. Mahindra is empowering enterprises globally today. It has an operational presence in more

than 100 countries and employs more than 200000 people. The governing spirit of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;riseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dictates the actions of the brand across geographies keeping the brand value intact. Mahindra enjoys a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership. Sustainability as a culture has been woven into the cultural fabric of the group. Its competitive and future ready business models have been adopted globally. In keeping with the current digital environment, the group has introduced innovation in digital and other new media.

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globetrotters

on a

world tour With facilities in over 35 countries, HCL has managed to construct a global brand image second to none

LoBaL IT SerVICeS company, HCL Technologies, was founded in 1976 and has today diversified into four companies in India itself, while also making inroads into the global market. With its presence in 31 countries it has truly made India proud globally. HCL has worked on ensuring the last mile connect for consumers across geographies, servicing them seamlessly,

marrying the global service delivery framework to the local interface. Its revenue distribution across countries is also fairly balanced, with locally incorporated offices taking over in each country. It has built a distributed delivery presence with development capabilities in New Jersey, Texas, Illinois and California in United States. In Europe it is present in Frankfurt with near shore options in Northern Ireland and Germany.

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It is also present in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. In a bid to accelerate adoption of the Internet of Things within and across all industries, HCL has partnered with global technology company IBM to develop solutions for the Internet of Things. This would provide unparalleled connectivity globally. Keeping up with its global brand image, HCL has signed contracts with some of the biggest names among global sporting brands. HCLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ManU tieup is one such example.

52 | AAP Reconnects with the Common Man 54 | A Revival of Brand India 56 | Gaining the Lost Momentum

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RESURGENTS

AAP

reconnects with the

common man When AAP was launched as a national brand in early 2014, it gained massive media attention across national television and print.

N THE THEATRICS OF INDIAN politics, if any party has been able to capture the imagination of the common man in such a short span of time and risen to prominence like never before then it is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The emergence of AAP as a brand and its resonance among the masses today provides ample assurance that the party Chief Arvind Kejriwal is here to stay. The party that came into existence after igniting the

anti-corruption movement and demand for Jan Lokpal Bill has moved onto showcase its strength from being a regional party to a national party. After its formation in 2012 the party went to make its electoral debut in the 2013 Delhi legislative assembly election. The ďŹ&#x201A;edgling party that gained its momentum from the crucible of the anti-corruption movement has created a new kind of energy and hope in the country.It is no mean feat for a brand to emerge as the second-largest party, winning 28

the party tried to focus on inflation, power issues among others which led to the ouster of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit after three consecutive terms 52 | Pitch | Sept - Oct 201 5 | www.pitchonnet.com

of the 70 seats. Armed with the anti-corruption poll plank, the party tried to focus on inďŹ&#x201A;ation, power issues among others which led to the ouster of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit after three consecutive terms. In the pre-election period, the party managed to connect with the common man through mohallasabhas and Delhi Dialogues to understand their key issues and problems. After the sweeping victory in the

For the first time in the history of India a political party had been able to win

more than 95 per cent of the seats in

a state assembly

Delhi elections when it came to power, the party could not garner support for the passage of Jan Lokpal bill and decided to resign after being in power for 49 days. But this did not deter Kejriwal, who is popularly known as AK47, to stand up again and fight for the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cause. This time it was at the national level and the party left no stone unturned to gain popularity with the masses at all levels. Nobody could expect the resurgence of the party in such a way that it became a threat for the established parties. When the AAP was launched as a national brand in early 2014, the brand gained massive media attention across national television and print. Despite the dismal performance in the national elections, once again the party rose to popularity when Delhi gave its mandate for

the second time and it won the 2015 State Assembly elections bagging 67 out of 70 seats. It made a remarkable comeback and promised to provide free water to every citizen of Delhi, reducing the electricity bill to half besides improving the security situation. For the first time in the history of India a political party had been able to win more than 95 per cent of the seats in a state assembly, that has representation from more than 60 constituencies. Buoyed by its victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, now the party has big plans going ahead and aims to create a political force in at least four major states in the next five years on its own, without forming any regional alliances. However, it is too soon to predict how long this resurgence will last.

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RESURGENTS

A REVIVAL OF BRAND INDIA The new government is going all out to showcase brand India in a way that attracts foreign investment

ITH A LANDSLIDE win in the 14th Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi emerged as the new icon of India. He redefined Indian politics, capturing popular imagination in a way that no leader in the recent past had. But what also happened as a result of his emergence as a strong leader of a country hungry for stability and leadership, was a resurgence of brand India. From the time he rose to power Modi has ensured that brand India came across as a promising

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The perception

of the country

is what Modi has been able to change to a large extent both within and

outside India

fertile ground of opportunities for foreign super powers and businesses. India had not looked this alluring in the last many years. The BJP defines Brand India on its website in no uncertain terms, through the 5Ts- Talent, Trade, Tradition, Tourism and Technology. These five if harnessed well can push India into the limelight and make the nation a leader to reckon with. With his public display of pride in the nation and its many talents, he has been able to restore lost confidence in the nation’s abilities and vast potential. By instilling a sense of confidence in citizens, Modi has been able to revive lost hope. By trying to establish a ‘participatory democracy’ he has made sure that every Indian gets a chance to voice his opinion. The initiatives of the government have revived investor confidence in the country, which is now being seen as an action-oriented

economy. A belief seems to have set in that there is hope and change is round the corner. The perception of the country is what Modi has been able to change to a large extent both within and outside India.The Prime Minister has made twenty seven foreign trips till September 2015 and is busy hard selling his ‘Make In India’ campaign. Each visit is an effort at showcasing the best of India, endowing it with a positive

image, improving bilateral ties and increasing people to people dialogue between nations. The country with the largest youth population in the world has become the cynosure of all eyes and the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative seems to be focused on attracting investments. India seems to hold promise and this may be just a new beginning, the dawn of a new era.

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RESURGENTS

Gaining the

LOST

MOMENTUM

N 1989, THE TVC jingle with the most iconic tagline of “Hamara Bajaj” was a sensation in every Indian household reﬂecting the ethos of the middle class who took pride in owning Bajaj scooters. The brand that became a liberating symbol had captured the aspirations of Indians who could not afford a four wheeler in those times. The

campaign, at the same time, tried to showcase the spirit of India with the tagline ‘Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer’. Years later, when Bajaj announced its decision to shut down its scooter business in 2009, it did not go down well with the older generation that had a deep emotional connect with the brand.. It truly marked the end of an era. However, Bajaj Auto has successfully trodden the path of

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Bajaj has successfully devised a strategy by creating new categories for its brands to dominate

The brand which had focused on functional

and technical aspects

of a motorcycle, adopted a new and more

emotional avatar

change, ushering in liberalization and managed to keep its stake safe in the automobile segment. From a scooter manufacturer it became a motorcycle manufacturer and then tapped the 100 cc (Higher CC) premium market. The campaigns that followed later made a transition from umbrella branding to individual brands within the brand’s portfolio. The company has successfully devised a strategy by creating new categories for its brands to dominate. In the face of competition from foreign players, the company went on to launch brands like Pulsar, Avenger, Discover and Platina. But the company’s efforts to reposition Discover as a youthful brand didn’t work as expected and pulled down its market share

in the last three years. However, it undertook a major positioning overhaul for its Discover brand. The brand which has so far been focused on functional and technical aspects of a motorcycle, adopted a new avatar which was more emotional. As a part of the new positioning it adopted a 360 degree campaign with the launch of a new ad (Life Banaye Zing Zong) Campaign, a nationwide survey, digital and onground activations. The re-launch of the CT100 model and introduction of Platina electric start variant ignited the firm’s lost momentum. The firm’s market share in the economy segment has nearly doubled from 21 per cent in January to 40 per cent in April, while the CT100 model, which saw its relaunch in March did well in the lower

the d del an

ch of

aun e re-l

0 mo atina CT10uction of Plt introd ric star the electant ignitedntum vari t mome

ﬁrm’s

los

end of the commuter motorcycle market. Bajaj commuter bike CT 100 crossed 1.5 Lakh sales in three months. The company currently has a market share of 18 per cent in the domestic market. In the premium segment, the company has launched four variants of the Pulsar recently and more launches are planned in 2015-16. The growth is likely to continue on the back of new launches in sports as well as mid-segment bikes. It is eyeing 5 per cent increase in its domestic market share to around 23 per cent by the end of the current fiscal. Today it is among the five most innovative Indian companies and the only automotive company featuring in the coveted list of Forbes World’sTop100 Most Innovative Companies of 2014. The lost jingle may once again make an entry in the Indian households if the automaker re-enters the scooter segment. And if the company enters the segment, then Chetak could be one of the potential brands, because of its iconic status. Till then, it will be wait and watch for ‘Hamara Bajaj’.

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Bottom of the Pyramid

Jan Dhan Yojana

eMPOWeRING the

POOR

The Government, banks and regulators have all played a key role in achieving the targets of this ambitious project

DDressING The nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 69th Independence Day , Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the importance of financial inclusion and the need for integrating the poor into the financial system. 17 crore people opened accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana, contributing more than Rs 20,000 crore for the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital. The Jan Dhan Yojana became the talking point among critics and commentators when it was launched last year. It was an ambitious project and one of the key initiatives by the new government. As a concept, the plan was a National Mission on Financial Inclusion which sought to provide universal access to

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Standardised financial literacy material was prepared in vernacular languages and the implementation of the

scheme was closely monitored

banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for one household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility. The beneficiaries would get RuPay Debt cards having inbuilt life and accident insurance covers. The plan also envisaged channelling all government benefits to the beneficiaries accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits Transfer scheme

of the Union Government. The yojana was launched on August 28, 2014 and implemented in 2 phases. Through the yojana, both urban and rural households got access to banking. Standardised financial literacy material was prepared in vernacular languages and the implementation of the scheme was closely monitored. Intermediaries are being used to cover the last mile and the second phase of the yojana will get over in 2018. Technology has been a critical enabler of the success of this programme. The Government, banks and regulators have all played a key role in achieving the targets of this ambitious project thus far. The yojana stands out for its strategic planning and implementation.

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Bottom of the Pyramid

PaRLe Riding the

popularity wave

The market for biscuits clearly belongs to Parle with a 29 per cent share of the biscuit space

s PArT oF The selecTIoN process for the Pitch Top 50 brands list, a survey was conducted across 6 cities to understand the brand’s relations with the consumers and its engagement levels with them. For the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ category, consumers were asked questions related to the ‘value for money’ proposition of the brand. One brand that really stood out for its sweeping popularity among the masses was Parle Products. For the last 86 years, this ubiquitous brand has made its presence felt, adapted, evolved and grown with the country. Speaking about the brand, Mayank Shah, Deputy Marketing Manager, Parle said, “We have been in the market since the last 75 to 80

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The mass category remains the largest contributor to sales but Parle has been quick to adapt to changing lifestyle choices

years and this is one brand you will find across the length and breadth of the country.” Whether it is the easily available and widely popular Parle G Biscuit or the newly launched cookies by Parle, the brand has been innovating, experimenting in this category which has other challenger brands like Britannia, and ITC. But the market for biscuits clearly belongs to Parle with a share of 29 per cent of the biscuit space. Last year, Parle took a price cut on Parle G, making it 10 per cent cheaper to its competitor Tiger Biscuits from Britannia. Its strategy on price change has been deliberate and well planned, in order to woo the consumers in the glucose biscuit market. The discount card clearly worked for the brand.

Parle has turned out to be the most chosen consumer brand and knows the pulse of the consumer. Its local insights and knowledge about the consumer’s changing preferences are second to none. Last year Parle launched a variety of cookies, to compete in the cookie war with Britannia. Happy Happy, Milano Minis and 20-20 were the new launches in its portfolio. It has 5-6 cookie launches planned for the next couple of years. While the focus has always been on the mass biscuit segment for which Parle is widely known and loved, the brand realises that consumers want more choices and are also inclined towards the premium biscuit variants. The mass category remains the largest contributor to sales but Parle has

been quick to adapt to changing lifestyle choices. Its value-formoney proposition has made it hugely successful. The survey in the 6 cities proved beyond doubt that Parle is perceived by people as a common man’s brand. Consumers also feel it has a higher recall and favourability compared to competition. An overwhelming number vouched for its ‘value-formoney’ offerings. They also felt that it catered to different segments of society with campaigns targeted at different strata of society according to the product offerings. The cookie wars between the largest biscuit brands in the country are likely to continue but it would be fascinating to watch how Parle, the people’s brand, navigates through competition in the coming years.

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Bottom of the Pyramid

Ghari gains ground in the Detergent Category

Over the last few decades Ghari has been gaining ground through its innovative product line-up and its strong advertising

A A

ccorDING To A Goldman Sachs report, Ghari is now the second largest detergent company in India. Made by the Kanpur based RSPL group, the brand is inching closer to the number one spot. Ghari is now a force to reckon with in the Rs 15000 crore organised detergent market in India. It is posing stiff competition to brands like Nirma that are considered ‘value for money’ brands catering to the margins.

deliberately kept prices low , earning a lower net profit margin and have focused on increasing market share. It also keeps its advertising and marketing budgets extremely low and does not believe in hiring high profile marketers thus keeping a tight control over its budgets. The tight-fisted approach has led to several innovations in marketing. The brand has been marketed on trains and can be seen on railway crossings. Visibility in tier 2 and 3 towns has become a priority

The RSPL (Rohit Surfactants Private Ltd) is best known for the Ghari Detergent cake with the famous tagline, “Pehle Istemal Karen phir vishwas karein’. Over the last few decades Ghari has been gaining ground through its innovative product line-up and its strong advertising. Its market share has been on the rise. It is a homegrown brand that has managed to take on multinational corporations. The reason for Ghari’s success, lies in its strategic positioning as everybody’s brand. It has

for the brand. It focused on Uttar Pradesh Ghari dealers first before going national. The brand has recognised that Indian consumers are discerning buyers and need value for their money. It has woven its businesses around the needs of the customers. The company has established detergent manufacturing units in various locations across India for a wider distribution of its products. While the company has a strong footing in the North and West of India, it is setting up units in the South

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and expanding to the southern regions. The brand is living up to its core ideology of being a part of the consumer’s daily life by giving them the best value for money.

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www.pitchonnet.com | Sept - Oct 201 5 | Pitch | 65 www.digitalmarket.asia

Bottom of the Pyramid

What an

Idea, SirJi!

Idea has maintained its position at the intersection of social cause and business impact

he telecom sector has always been one filled with innovation which has translated into new ways to keep the customer constantly delighted, unique ways of tapping into the far-flung population. In an era of scarcity, customers are looking for the highest-quality products at the cheapest price, whether it is consumer goods, services or even their mobile phone service providers. In this period of volatility, it is the

forward thinking companies who are devising ways to convert this scarcity of money into opportunity bringing the highest value for money to their customers. Idea is one such company that has maintained its position at the intersection of social cause and business impact. Their advertising strategy reflects a clear shift from just selling low tariff rates, discount offers to more meaningful campaigns which have an ability to connect

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to a much larger audience. The promise of â&#x20AC;&#x153;An Idea can change your lifeâ&#x20AC;? brought with it a certain responsibility towards the larger section of society, a need to identify deeplyingrained issues like caste war and through mobile telephony, provide solutions. Since then, Idea has been a champion of social issues and has included story-telling as a key component of their advertising strategy. Using an interesting take on population rise in India,

Idea Cellular campaigned that the lack of a major source of entertainment was the reason people were giving in to unplanned family extensions which was in turn, disturbing the population balance in the country. Their ad positioned itself around this issue showing Abhishek Bachchan attributing population rise to lack of entertainment, introducing Idea 3G entertainment packs and its innovative applications such as Mobile TV, Gaming, and Video Calling. This was complemented by their decision to introduce internet packs at just Rs. 5 per day. This has struck a chord with the rural population, as they are denied their only source of entertainment, the TV, because

Ideaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advertising strategy reflects a clear shift from just selling low tariff rates, discount offers to more meaningful

campaigns

of regular power cuts. For people who cannot afford a TV, this is a blessing. Another major contribution has been their launch of a unique WAP portal for job seekers in the informal sector. About 140 million people change their jobs every year and many of these job changes do not happen on the internet, especially when it is for semi-skilled or unskilled workers such as home cleaners, drivers and those who work in household segments. This is a revolutionary service which has been designed specifically for the people at the bottom of the pyramid to access and view jobs and post their availability from their IDEA mobile phones and most importantly, in the language of their choice. IDEA today remains the 3rd largest telecom operator with a market share of almost 17 pre cent and a subscriber base of about 160 million people, as of April 2015.

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Bottom of the Pyramid

Lifebuoy’s vision for the whole of India Bringing health and hygiene to people is the impetus behind its vision for India

rom BeING A chunky red bar of soap to an evolved range of general and specified products , offering solutions in the health and hygiene space, Lifebuoy has covered a long journey. Lifebuoy has taken its mission of promoting hand washing in the country quite seriously, having launched several programmes like ‘Khushiyon ki doli’, the ‘superfast handwash’ programme and the famous ‘Help a child reach five’ initiative among many others. It’s an undisputed market leader for the last 117 years and has a compelling vision for the masses. Its widespread appeal has withstood the test of time and caters to the masses, earning it a place in the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ category.

Lifebuoy has touched all strata of society with its varied product offerings. One of the outstanding examples of a brand touching the rural masses was the innovative roti reminder campaign during the Kumbh mela. Lifebuoy partnered with more than 100 restaurants and cafes at the festival. For every food order placed, the first roti carried the message ‘Lifebuoy se haath dhoya kya’. The sheer scale of the campaign and the awareness it generated, amply

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displayed Lifebuoy’s commitment to the masses. It addressed a predominantly small town and rural population through this campaign. More than 2.5 million branded rotis were eaten by the end of the month long campaign. Today Lifebuoy is available as bar soaps,liquid handwash, hand santiser and talc. It is distributed across more than 50 lakh stores across the country. It has become the world’s number one germ protection soap. Through its product innovations, differentiated offerings and understanding of the consumer, Lifebuoy has remained a trusted and useful brand for the entire country. it is setting up units in the South and expanding to the southern regions. The brand is living up to its core ideology of being a part of the consumer’s daily life by giving him the best value for money.

70 | Redefining Communication in the 21st Century 72 | In Conversation with the Leader of the Nation 74 | The Nation likes to relate to the inimitable 76 | Connecting with the Hashtag Generation

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MASTER CONNECTORS

Redefining

COMMUNICATION in the

21st century

It is the best and easiest way of keeping in touch without ad interruptions

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OUNDeD iN 2009 by two former employees of Yahoo, the instant messenger App WhatsApp for smartphones has become a part and parcel of our daily socialising and communication. For the average smartphone user, life is incomplete without this messaging App. Its easyto-use interface helps users stay in touch with loved ones. Its popularity has skyrocketed to the extent that today its unthinkable to be without it. Last year, WhatsApp made big news when it was bought over by Facebook for $19 billion. Today the messaging App has 900 million monthly active users worldwide, speaking volumes about the success of this piece of innovation. The App has been innovating constantly and updating its features for a better user experience. Some months ago it released an updated version to improve its free call service globally. Reports have suggested that developers are testing a new ‘Like’ button to help users ‘like’ photos sent by their friends and family. The Blue ticks indicating that a message has been read, is also a relatively new feature. In December 2013, the service introduced Voice Messages on all platforms simulataneously. WhatsApp has truly redefined communication in today’s times, when time is limited and technology is at our fingertips. Emojis are at hand to help users express a variety of emotions. 30 members can be added to a group chat which can facilitate communication even further. Pop up ads are still not allowed and

The core principles of WhatsApp have remained unchanged even after the takeover by Facebook the simple user interface makes it easy-to-use. Apart from being an informal alternative to text messaging, Whatsapp is increasingly being used by professionals. A British woman running a charity in Uganda is using Whatsapp to build support for her organisation worldwide. Her team on the ground, uses WhatsApp to send daily reports and photos of children they are helping which she is able to share through this medium. Doctors in India have been using WhatsApp to instantly send electrocardiogram pictures of patients who have suffered heart attacks. People have found their life partners through this medium and there are numerous other stories through which it’s evident that WhatsApp has completely taken over our lives.

Even after it announced a partnership with Facebook, WhatsApp has chosen to remain autonomous and operate independently. Users continue to enjoy the services at a nominal fee. The core principles of WhatsApp have remained unchanged even after the takeover by Facebook. With just 50 employees, WhatsApp is still able to innovate and is ahead of other messenger services like Viber by a wide margin. It is still the best and easiest way of keeping in touch without ad interruptions. The engineers at WhatsApp spend their time fixing niggling problems, bugs and ironing out any problems that could spoil the smooth, reliable and fast messaging experience. Innovations at WhatsApp are in tune with the expectations of users. WhatsApp founders and employees know the pulse of the users and their needs and inclinations. Each innovation is timed strategically keeping in mind user feedback and expectations. At WhatsApp, quality of experience is always a priority.

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MASTER CONNECTORS

In conversation with the

LEADER of the NATION By kick starting ‘Mann Ki Baat’, a radio programme for reaching out to the common man, Prime Minister Modi proved that he was in tune with the nation

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here is always a special appeal attached to an address by the leader of a nation, which is why the Indian Prime Minister’s annual address from the ramparts of the Red Fort every Independence Day has assumed a ritualistic character. When the Prime Minister speaks to the nation about the people’s concerns and issues, it forms a unique connect incomparable to any other means of communication. As far back as 1947, Nehru addressed the nation on radio, at significant moments in history. His contemporary Winston Churchill’s broadcast to the world about his meeting with President Roosevelt in 1941 is remembered till today. There have been many leaders in history who have formed an instant connect with the populace by directly addressing them. By kick starting ‘Mann Ki Baat’, a radio programme for reaching out to the common man, Prime Minister Modi proved that he was in tune with the nation. It was a masterstroke which garnered a huge following connecting Modi with the masses in ways never imagined before. Owing to its wider reach, radio was chosen as the medium of communication with the whole of India. It was positioned not as a formal address but as an informal chat with the people at large. The first programme was broadcast on October 3, 2014 and was followed by the second one on November 2. He chose the National public radio broadcaster AIR. Several advertisers and

He has shared his views and advice on topics ranging from the need to save rainwater, the ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’ initiative and other social

security schemes

brands became interested in this innovative concept and it started commanding high advertising rates. The show is broadcast on 240 channels and is also translated in more than 14 regional languages. Modi has kept the tone chatty, the mood informal and the content topical. He deliberately

steers clear of controversial topics and repeats positive messages of change, the success of newly launched initiatives. He has shared his views and advice on topics ranging from the need to save rainwater, the ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’ initiative and other social security schemes launched by his government. The latest broadcast had a touch of spirituality especially when Modi applauded Sufism and mentioned his meeting with a delegation of 40 Sufi saints and scholars. He spoke about the latest social security scheme launched by his government called the ‘Suraksha Yojana’ and reiterated the need for financial inclusion of the poor. Each broadcast has established the show as an endeavour to get close to the minds of the people. A survey conducted in 6 Indian cities in October last year, has shown that 66.7 per cent of the population had tuned in to listen to the Prime Minister. The aim has been to reach out to the people who have no access to television. The feed of the 20 minute show is also available on Doordarshan’s DTH service. This one definitely tops Modi’s slew of outreach initiatives.

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MASTER CONNECTORS

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The Nation likes to relate to the inimitable ARNAB GOSWAMY

DDressiNG a gathering of eminent advertising and media professionals earlier this year, Arnab defined his brand of journalism as follows, “The journalism I follow is a journalism of opinion, taking a stand and not of political correctness and does not advocate fence-sitting. It is certainly not a journalism that believes in the fake philosophy that stating opinion violates journalistic norms of neutrality.” Interestingly, that not just defines his journalistic inclinations but is also a true reﬂection of his personality. He’s opinionated but frank, blunt but courageous, scathing and sharp in his verbal attacks but remains true to what he believes in. And he is entertaining. The Newshour on Times Now is watched by the nation not simply because it may have superior news value but more so because it has an anchor whose heightened emotions and theatrics provide entertainment. Arnab’s debates provide fodder for animated dinner conversations and can be watched more for their dramatic appeal than news content. Arnab’s aura as a news anchor is such that anything he says or does has the potential to go viral on social media. The Twitterati love

him or love to hate him. He has redefined the language of news media, with the ‘Nation wants to know’ becoming a catchphrase for news audiences as well as parody artistes. He is perhaps the most parodied and laughed at anchor. He’s also the most hated and yet the most watched. At a professional level, he has managed some rare feats. He was the only journalist who interviewed both contenders in the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi on his chat show ‘Frankly Speaking with Arnab’. Even those who love to hate him cannot ignore him. Whatever he says or does, becomes news in itself. Reams of newsprint have been used to describe Arnab and his histrionics and critics have been trying their hardest to slot him, typecast him. But one thing Arnab is definitely not and that is a hypocrite. He is in-your-face in his verbal attacks and wears his public persona with pride. Perhaps, this is the reason why he has managed to keep the Indian population riveted every evening as he engages in verbal duels with guests on the show. No matter what his motivations, methods and mannerisms are, Arnab has successfully related to his audiences.

Arnab has risen to be a news icon who has as many loyalists as critics both within the media and outside it

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MASTER CONNECTORS

Connecting with the

HASHTAG GENERATION Companies have been using the platform for engagement and community building as well as to create thought leadership

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iTh a continuous onslaught of content and news from all sides, people are constantly on the lookout for simpler and faster sources of information to keep themselves updated. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where Twitter, the social media platform which allows for news and views in 140 characters, comes in. An online survey of more than 4700 social media users has proved that the microblogging site is the top source for breaking news for users. The

survey was conducted by the American Press Institute and Twitter in collaboration with research firm DB5. Twitter has become a platform where news breaks for most users, especially the younger generation which is crunched for time. Twitter users become the most active when news is unfolding and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the platform comes very handy. The survey revealed that nearly 94 per cent of Twitter news users get news through scrolling the timelines or browsing the tweets of those they follow. Twitter has

Twitter users become the most active when news is unfolding and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the platform comes very handy. Twitter has become a platform where news

breaks for most users

Twitter is projected to reach 23.2 million monthly active users in India in 2016.

Nearly 94 per cent of Twitter news users get news through scrolling the timelines or browsing the tweets

been increasing its emphasis on news to keep up with the demands of users. Twitter is projected to reach 23.2 million monthly active users in India in 2016. It was launched in 2006 and since then has been able to carve a niche for itself. In 2013 Twitter was declared one of the 10 most visited websites in the world. Brands have also been increasing their marketing spends on social media year-onyear. The past couple of years have seen brands getting more active on Twitter. Companies have been using the platform

During the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the nation saw the best usage of Twitter

for engagement and community building as well as to create thought leadership. Hashtag campaigns became quite a hit with young consumers last year. Some outstanding examples are Starbucks’ Tweet a Coffee campaign, Gillette India’s #Myrolemodel contest triggered conversations around the campaign hashtag. TrulyMadly, a match making service that makes matches using technology helped spread its message through Twitter contests. The Cadbury Dairy Milk campaign #MyFavDairyMilk became a part of the brand revamp exercise during the Lok Sabha elections, taking advantage of the election

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fever in the country. Vespa India’s ‘Do You Vespa?’ campaign was also given a thrust on Twitter. A report released by Ernst & Young in 2014 called ‘Social Media Marketing- India Trends Study’ has revealed that 48 per cent brands considered Twitter the second most important social media platform. Twitter has kept the nation connected in more ways than one. During the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the nation saw the best usage of Twitter. The elections turned out to be the nation’s first Twitter elections. With more than 58 million tweets on the Indian election, Twitter had truly arrived in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own enthusiasm for the social media platform proved to be infectious and users were seen expressing their support, and opinions on the site like never before. Twitter aimed to expand its reach to as many Indians as possible during that time. Twitter had been established as the source of personal communication through mobile. The Twitter mania in India continues even after the election euphoria has faded, and today Twitter is firmly entrenched in the culture of communication in the country.

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DIGITAL STRATEGISTS

Flipkart’s success lies in the way they communicate with customers and their promptness in taking action

Using

DIGITAL Innovation for

F F

CUSTOMER

LIPKART HAS BEEN a major player in the e-commerce space in India for the last few years, having become a major market leader in India. It has set an example for the other e-commerce brands operating currently and for upcoming ones. Figures will not be enough to explain the reach of Flipkart in the country over the last few years. There has been a mix of strategies that have helped Flipkart attain this position. The brand has employed some of the smartest ways to harness digital. In fact, innovation has become Flipkart’s second name. It has created a USP based on customer satisfaction and innovation. This is what differentiates Flipkart from any other company. Flipkart’s USP is customer

Satisfaction satisfaction by providing roundthe-clock customer services. Connecting with customers has become extremely essential for the company and they consider it their main point of advantage over any other brand. In a move to strengthen the last-mile delivery of goods to consumers, Flipkart recently partnered with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai. According to them, they will partner with the company’s delivery network, eKart Logistics. As of now, one union of the Dabbawalas will collect Flipkart shipments from the delivery hubs and deliver it to customers while picking up their dabbas. Along with this, they also announced that it would create over 2 million jobs through its marketplace and ancillary services in the year 2015. 60 per cent of these jobs will be in the

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logistics and warehouse sector. Flipkart aims to scale up their training presence across 40 cities within the next 6 months. They have also been very efficient in using the available technology to their advantage. With a registered user count north of 26 million, Flipkart is an undisputed juggernaut in its space. Ostensibly, over 75 percent of their sales initiate from mobile devices currently. Their app--often among the top 5 most popular apps in Indiahas witnessed about 11 million downloads. Flipkart’s revenue figures are close to Rs 2,846 crore FY2014,(US$ 1 billion in gross merchandise value 2013-14). Along with this, Flipkart is experimenting with sales on single categories. The category specific sale elicited a betterthan-expected response from

Flipkart’s USP is customer satisfaction by providing roundthe-clock customer services

shoppers across the country with a record 3X growth in traffic and 7X growth in sales during the period. The sale attracted more mobile app traffic compared to the website—60 per cent of the traffic and 50 per cent of the merchandise sales were via the Flipkart mobile app. The Singapore-registered company, with operations only in the Indian market, is also eyeing US bourses to raise around $5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) over the next 1218 months. They appointed Hari Vasudev, ex-head Yahoo India R&D, as Senior VP- Engineering, IT & Analytics for Flipkart’s Supply Chain. Vasudev will lead efforts in building supply chain products and services under technology with a focus on robotics, mobile, IoT& data sciences.

It is close to its third acquisition this year. Flipkart is close to buying mobile app marketing start-up DSYN Technologies. The latest trend in the ecommerce space has been the focus on single platforms. Flipkart and Myntra have disabled their mobile websites, forcing users to install their mobile apps. Flipkart acquired Bangalorebased global mobile network AdIQuity for an undisclosed amount. It’s a mobile ad network enabling app developers and mobile publishers earn revenue from their mobile inventory. AdIQuity also facilitates ad agencies, ad networks, DSPs and other media buyers to acquire global quality mobile traffic and to leverage the opportunities presented in the rapidly growing mobile ads space.

Flipkart, which had an inventory-led format, recently announced a shift to the marketplace model, which is about hosting many retailers on a single online platform. However, industry sources reason that Flipkart may still not have left the inventorybased format and, therefore, it requires significant investments. Major players like Amazon, Ebay and Snapdeal opted for the marketplace route in India as foreign investment is permitted in that format, unlike the inventory-led model. Flipkart, which started off as an online book store six years ago, has widened its product offerings since then, and is building technology that can handle ten times more traffic than it does right now. This requires change in everything from the website to the delivery mechanisms.

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DIGITAL STRATEGISTS

SNAPDEALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

DIGITAL success story One of the largest online marketplaces in India offering 10 million products across categories, Snapdeal has acquired an incomparable stature in the ecommerce space

E E

-COMMERCE MAJOR Snapdeal has been doing everything right in the past couple of years. It has made news for all the right reasons, and is now considered one of the top 3 ecommerce sites in the country. It is hoping to be operationally profitable in the coming three years and is scaling up the business at a rapid pace. There is a lot that can be learnt from this ecommerce behemoth. Snapdeal has harnessed the digital business and is exploiting its full potential. The growth of mobile has played a huge part in its success story. Today, 75 per cent of Snapdeal orders

are made from mobile phones. Snapdeal has also gone in for strategic partnerships which have worked out well for it in the internet space. In April this year, it acquired online recharge platform FreeCharge for an estimated Rs 2400 crore. It was slated to be the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest mobile commerce platform

KUNAL BAHL Co-Founder and CEO, Snapdeal

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with over 40 million customers. This acquisition gave Snapdeal access to a younger audience. Cross-selling of services on each other’s platforms was what both players were excited about. Snapdeal has been acquiring platforms in various spheres to add to its core value proposition. Last year, it had acquired a gift recommendation site, a luxury e-commerce site, a social fashion discovery site and an online financial services site. Snapdeal has fashioned its business on the lines of Alibaba’s business platform. A seamless shopping experience is what Snapdeal has been aiming for and today, with so many platforms under its belt, it has managed to accomplish what it set out to do. It has become a strong online shopping platform that the Indian consumer has been flocking to for great deals and also for a superior experience. Snapdeal has also given the required push to upcoming entrepreneurs who have made it big, selling their businesses online on Snapdeal. It has provided a web presence and a large customer base to entrepreneurs who have just started out. Team members at Snapdeal help the seller analyse and solve his problems, enabling his business to become profitable. They help

sellers adopt latest ecommerce practices in order to be successful. Snapdeal partnered with Globallogic to develop and implement ‘Snapdeal Seller Zone’ solutions for the sellers. In September, Snapdeal launched the Freecharge Wallet, openly challenging PayTM. The Freecharge wallet integrates the Freecharge and Snapdeal accounts to make it a

Snapdeal has been

acquiring platforms

in various spheres to add to its core value

proposition

single account with 87 million registered users. Snapdeal is geared towards building India’s most impactful digital ecosystem and with global leaders like Foxconn, Softbank and Alibaba supporting the company, Snapdeal is assured of its place among the top 3 ecommerce companies in India.

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DIGITAL STRATEGISTS

Paytm is known and trusted by millions of users for its simple interface, ease of use and a secure environment that never falters

LEADING the

Digital leap

IJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA created One97 in 2000 and has steered it through a decade of change and growth which has seen the company become one of the market leaders in online commerce transactions. The brand created by him, Paytm is known and trusted by millions of users for its simple interface, ease of use and a secure environment that never falters.The company which started by offering mobile recharge and utility bill payments went on to become a marketplace for consumers on its mobile application. One97 put much of its weight behind its commerce business, fronted by the Paytm brand. Consumer interest in the digital brand has picked up phenomenally in the recent years and Sharma has ensured that the Paytm logo becomes the company’s brand name for all consumer facing product offerings, looking to further extend the brand loyalty it has

successfully cultivated. It had recently launched Immediate Mobile Payment Service which is seen as an innovation in the country’s currently-outdated digital banking scenario. The platform authorises inter-wallet or person-to-person money transfers and wallet-to-bank transfers who have Paytm’s mobile wallet. With the growing digital prowess in the payment business, Paytm is disrupting money transfer and remittance businesses. The digital payments and e-commerce company added yet another feather in its cap by crossing 100 millionPaytm wallet users who carry out over 75 million transactions every month. With this achievement, the company’s effort to strengthen its digital initiative towards transforming India into a “cash-free” economy has gained momentum. The company that is aggressively expanding its digital offerings has recently launched a travel marketplace starting with bus tickets after clinching a deal

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with Uber and IRCTC for railway ticket booking via its wallet. Further, to increase the currency of its digital money, Paytm is planning to launch a virtual card in partnership with RuPay and a bunch of national banks. Striving to continuously innovate and offer more to users, it had collaborated with the world’s powerful mobile advertising platform where the merchants will now have the reach to an extended universe of 120 million mobile internet users on InMobi’s Miip dicoverycommerce platform. Paytm has gained approval from Reserve Bank of India for a payment bank. As a part of its terms of licence, Paytm had to surrender its licence as a mobile wallet. With Alibaba expected to invest around $600 million for a share in Paytm that could take the Chinese group’s total holding to around 40 per cent of the Indian payments firm, the company is definitely upping its ante against any competition in the digital space.

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DIGITAL DIGITAL STRATEGISTS STRATEGISTS

Rides the

Popularity Wave OLX has built the market for consumer-to-consumer (C2C) classifieds in India, and it continues to expand the market every day

W W

ITH THE HELP of its well thought- through marketing communication it has managed to make a success of the classifieds business. Its positioning has been simple, to make people sell their unwanted household items ranging from cars to furniture to the unlikeliest of products. The market has several other players now, but the top 2-3 players include Olx.in, Quikr. com and Sulekha.com. Since Sulekha pivoted from a pureplay classifieds site to a full-fledged

online marketplace last year, it leaves Quikr and Olx to battle it out in the online classifieds segment. There are several ways by which Olx firmly claims to differentiate itself from Quikr. The first being 100 per cent user generated ads. All the ads on their site are listed by the users themselves. On Quikr, a dedicated sales team is available to assist any user who wants to upload an ad. Olx claims to have one of the leanest teams among most online businesses in India. Going forward, the company is prepared to focus a lot on

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the mobile platform. It has, most importantly, tried to use technology to the fullest. Among the most used online platforms in the world, Olx has partnered with Facebook to offer access to online classifieds through the Internet.org mobile application, free of data charges, in emerging markets around the world, beginning with Tanzania and Kenya. This initiative follows OLXâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s October 2014 announcement that it surpassed 200 million active monthly users worldwide. Earlier this year, OLX also announced significant expansion into 11 new countries

The company has become very popular for its slew of advertisements, involving stand-

up comedian Kapil Sharma

which have connected very well with the Indian audiences across Southeast Asia and Europe. OLX India has grown about 150 times in three years and gets about 1.5 billion page views a month. It has listed close to 1.5 billion ads till December and currently has close to 2.6 million live commercials for mobile phones and computer tablets. The online sales of secondhand goods has picked up dramatically in the country. Since the launch of its first television ad 3.5 years ago, its traffic has grown 150 times, the company claims. The company has become very popular for its slew of advertisements, mainly involving stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma which have connected very well with the Indian audiences. OLX has released two new ads to depict buyers urging sellers to post their items on OLX, emphasizing their own urgent need for specific used products. The two TVCs – ‘ Sushil Bachcha’ and ‘Pati Parmeshwar Not’ – conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, give persuasive yet

intriguing reasons to people for selling more actively, thus highlighting that there are a plethora of buyers out there for everything. OLX has built the market for consumer-to-consumer (C2C) classifieds in India, and it continues to expand the market for it every day, by bringing people together for win-win exchanges. They are among the top 10 apps on Google Play Store India, and the only classifieds player to be among the top 10 searched terms in India for 2013 and 2014, consecutively. Olx has tried to put equal focus on offline and online. OLX has tried to maintain a 50-50 ratio between offline and digital spends. There is an attempt to reduce advertising in itself only. Since scale has been achieved and the company has made a unique place in the whole C2C space, it can go slow on advertising. The company is also planning to start offering priority space for premium listings at a cost in the near future. So far, OLX is a free website for local classifieds

in India. Paid classified postings and premium listings are two proven routes they have availed in some countries, among other avenues. These will be started in India early next year. With balance being the main ‘Mantra’ of Olx, it does seem to walk on the right path with a balanced and well maintained digital strategy. This can indeed pave a bright future for the brand in the country for days to come.

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DIGITAL STRATEGISTS

A ONE-STOP

Destination for Content

Hotstarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success story stems from its impeccable timing and a clever digital strategy

B B

IG BROADCAST networks like Star India and Multi Screen Media (MSM) have taken to the multi-platform strategy and have launched their digital platforms. Star India has been taking cautious steps to build its platform Hotstar. When it launched earlier this year, it was the right product that had arrived at the right time with the appropriate strategy. It created a benchmark with 10 million downloads within 40 days of its launch. This popular app offers more than 35000 hours of content in 7 different languages

including movies, television shows and live sports events. What made Hotstar such a big success story was its carefully thought through digital strategy. It provided free of cost content and superior technology to address bandwidth problems. It can operate at 50 kbps of speed. With mobile being the

Hotstar has been

made available on

both Android and ios platforms and is set on improving content

consumption

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second screen for most Indian households, Hotstar was poised to become a household favourite. Hotstar was pushed into the market backed by heavy advertising. M SÂ Dhoni was chosen as the brand ambassador. Hotstar has been made available on both Android and ios platforms and is set on improving content consumption for entertainment-hungry Indians. The App has been able to reach the masses in a short span of time. Viewers can also access the content from the Hotstar website. Through this property, Star India has targeted the younger generation which is consuming content mostly on their mobile screens. Hotstar is also available on all Nokia Asha devices thus being made accessible to people beyond the big cities. Star India is hopeful about the scope for advertising too. With an estimated 500,000 advertisers on digital, there is no limit to what a digital property like Hotstar can achieve.

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DISRUPTORS

From Starter to

DISRUPTOR The company empowers unbranded hotels to increase revenues by providing access to technology and operational best practices

T IS NO MEAN FEAT FOR a 19 year old to start a venture providing affordable stay with 11 rooms in a property in Gurgaon and grow the fledgling business to become one of the largest budget hotel chains with a presence in more than 70 cities with 12,000 rooms. For Ritesh Agarwal, it was a humble beginning in 2011 when he started Oravel Stays, the precursor to OYO Rooms, as an aggregator of primarily

non-commercial short stay accommodation. But soon after he founded the company, Agarwal was chosen for the twoyear Thiel fellowship program in 2013. After his induction into the fellowship, Agarwal found an alternative approach to address the huge market gap in trustworthy budget accommodation, and pivoted Oravel to focus on standardizing existing budget hotel inventory, branding it and selling it centrally at attractive price points. OYO

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Rooms has been able to create a new paradigm in the hospitality sector through its asset-light, managed marketplace model. Recently, the company has raised $100 million, led by the SoftBank Group, with participation from existing investors - Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed India. The company empowers unbranded hotels to increase revenues by providing access to technology and operational best practices.The latest round

of funding will be used for new customer experience initiatives, build innovative technology products. It is today increasingly referred to as a disruptor owing to its technological innovation in the space. For instance, the company had launched OYO Rooms App for booking rooms as well as order beverages and request room service. The mobile app is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app takes away the need to pre-book a hotel by making bookings fast and easy. Aiming to become an app-first company, it claims to be the world’s first personal room service app allowing guests staying at an OYO to order room service directly from their smartphones. The users get first three-tap room booking experience taking the pain out of the hotel booking process. Additionally, the guests won’t need to pay online or through the app as she can settle bills directly at the hotel. Once the room is booked, guests can navigate to the hotel by using the app’s ‘get directions’ feature. Other app features include Search Smart where a user can search for a specific location in a city and explore available rooms

on a map. The app also provides details of all available amenities as well as pictures of the room interiors to provide a completely predictable experience to users. A guest can further use the app to request services such as ordering tea or coffee from the app. It is in the process of adding more guest-controlled services to the app. The firm is eyeing an inventory of 50,000 rooms across 5,000 properties in 150 cities by end of 2015.

Aiming to become an appfirst company, it claims to be the world’s first personal room service app allowing guests staying at an OYO to order room service directly from their smartphones

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DISRUPTORS

MAKING FURNITURE EASY From the design of the furniture to the last mile delivery, this young, dynamic brand takes ownership of the entire experience

T ALL STARTED WHEN the founders Ashish and Rajiv were trying to set up their homes in Bangalore and struggled to get quality furniture. Good quality furniture that was well designed and competitively priced emerged as a great personal need and led to the two researching on the furniture industry which was largely unorganised, poor on quality and service. Today, Urban Ladder, the online furniture retail store they founded, is one of the fastest growing online furniture retailers. They started in 2012 and gave new meaning to the process of selecting and

buying furniture and doing up the home. Turning the tide in their favour has not been easy for the duo amid the carpenter driven industry where people have been wary of quality especially in online purchases. But today, Urban Ladder is known for the entire customer experience they offer along with the quality of furniture. They have started to change consumer mindsets. Urban Ladder prides itself on the entire customer purchase experience it offers. In order to maintain quality and a superior service, it made certain rules which have stood the company in good stead. It owns the entire

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They started in 2012 and gave new meaning to the process of selecting and buying furniture They have a 1000 member strong team of which 700 take care of logistics In its last round of funding in April 2015, the company raised $ 50 million and is now expanding into providing home furnishings as well

customer journey and has done away with outside logistics teams. From the design of the furniture to the last mile delivery, this young, dynamic brand takes ownership of the experience. This has raised their costs considerably but a superior service has also earned them numerous loyalists. They also pride themselves on the different kind of data that they have about their customers which gives them an upper hand and serves as a key differentiator. Doing less but doing it well, has been a core strategy. They have a sharply curated range and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in working on too many designs. They have scaled back many operations simply because it was proving to be detrimental to quality. Urban Ladder has been able to reduce error rates in delivery, is particular about time of delivery and has brought about a cultural

change. They have a 1000 member strong team of which 700 take care of logistics. In its last round of funding in April 2015, the company raised $ 50 million and is now expanding into providing home furnishings as well, by strengthen its decor

They have a sharply curated range and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in working on too many designs, having scaled back

many operations

simply because it was proving to be detrimental to quality

portfolio. It is also making inroads into modular kitchens and wardrobes. By December it will roll out floor and wall categories and bathroom fittings by March. They understand the needs of the modern buyer and is also putting together a team of design consultants to advise customers on furniture purchases. All that Urban Ladder has achieved till date is a result of learning from past mistakes and treading cautiously. The company is expanding at a steady pace. It launched its TV commercials this year and has just partnered with big data marketing firm Vizury to measure the efficacy of its television advertisements. Every move is well thought through and the brand is diligent in its efforts to execute well. This Bangalore based start up has become a force to reckon with in the online furniture industry.

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DISRUPTORS DISRUPTORS

CHANGING The MINDSETS

of TRAVELLERS

D D

ISRUPTING THE status quo seems to come easy to this brand which now covers 70 countries in the world, including 14 in Asia Pacific. Uber is aiming to be present in 500 cities by 2017. When this San Francisco based brand first burst on the scene in India, cab hailing Apps were not popular here. It is now present in 22 cities in the country and is working on expanding further.

The Uber App simply facilitates the meeting of the driver and the customer. It does not own cars nor employs drivers. It only builds the technology that bring the two together. Uber has been extremely competitive in all markets it has entered in the world and caters to each place’s unique local demands. It is known to have slashed prices where required, has delivered products and services when required and made each market

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Uber has disrupted the way the country would travel by cabs, introducing a concept that was both new and convenient

its very own. A key part of Uber’s operational strategy is to understand the local needs and environment. India has fast become Uber’s largest market after the United States .That is also because Uber manages to stay in the news and has launched several Indiaspecific measures, innovative marketing campaigns also adding new payment options for consumers. It has already gained more than 35 per cent market

A key part of Uberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

operational strategy is to

It is now present in 22 cities in the country and is working on expanding further It has already gained more than 35 per cent market share in India

share in India. Its services are now present in 22 cities in India. But Uberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful spree in India has hit a roadblock as the Delhi Government has rejected the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s application for license to run in Delhi. All Appbased cab services were banned in the capital after a driver of Uber was accused of having raped a woman passenger last December. But the cab services were not complying with the ban leading to more trouble for them.

But controversies apart, Uber has disrupted the way the country would travel by cabs by introducing a concept that is both new and convenient. It has tied up with Bharti Airtel to launch in-ride wi-fi for customers. It is investing heavily to develop new products for the country. It has also been innovative in the way it builds the brand in the country without spending heavily on mass media. They have depended heavily on influencer marketing especially at the time of launch, referral marketing, offering rides at discounted rates, delivering products for customers on festivals. It also partnered

understand the local needs and

environment

with key players and brands to engage more customers. It tied up with Zomato and provided the option of booking an Uber on the Zomato App. Similarly, it tied up with PayTM, BookMyShow, and the Mini Cooper. It has become a trailblazer of sorts for the other brands and changed the mindsets of customers in India, by introducing a change in their lifestyle.

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DISRUPTORS

Xiaomi’s lessons in market disruption

Xiaomi’s innovative business model of selling phones at low prices in new markets around the world has made it a success story

IAOMI’S COMBINATION of high-end quality phones and low price tags drove the company to over 60 million sales last year. That progress saw it replace Samsung as China’s top-selling smartphone company and become the world’s third top selling phone maker in the process. The brand has turned out to be the perfect market disruptor. It entered the Indian market and sold thousands of phones

through its trademark fl ash sales. Xiaomi’s success with the fl ash sales in India can be attributed to its business model of selling hardware at thin margins. Along with this, the fact that Xiaomi is able to make price concessions is due to the combination of a small portfolio and longer average selling time per device. Importantly, Xiaomi continues to sell older devices (and modified versions of them) at reduced prices even after it releases newer models. This

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has stood the internet company in good stead. It seems clear that Xiaomi is looking for ways to expand its retail footprint. It sold one million devices in its first five months in India using its fl ash sales model. If it can move beyond that and meet demand for its phones in India and other emerging markets, it could vastly increase its sales figures in 2015. Xiaomi plans to launch its own e-commerce website in India and likes to be known as

Providing high quality at affordable prices coupled with an innovative digital approach has set this brand apart a ‘mobile internet company’. Following its trend of selling smartphones exclusively via online retail stores, Xiaomi has now expressed plans to launch its own retail website in India. The brand’s performance has also been disruptive for its competitors in the market. Last year, Xiaomi projected that it would sell 100 million devices this year. It increased its target for 2014 mid-way through the year. The brand has been making a lot of right moves in recent

times. The company that started selling only via fl ash sales on Flipkart has now added other ecommerce sites, namely Amazon and Snapdeal to its kitty to connect more with the customers. They have also started selling their smartphones through select retail outlets and we have been told that this is just the start. Days After Mi 4i Launch in India, Xiaomi announced Ratan Tata’s investment. Three days after the global launch

of XiaomiMi 4i in New Delhi - its first big launch outside of homeland China - Xiaomi revealed that India’s well known industrialist, Ratan Tata, had made an investment in the company. Many Chinese phones have forayed into India before, but none of them has been able to create the kind of hype that Xiaomi has. Providing high quality at affordable prices coupled with an innovative digital approach has set this brand apart from the others.

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DISRUPTORS

Akosha

Keeping the Customer at the heart of everything

T BURST ON TO THE scene as the go-to portal for consumers who wished to connect with brands regarding their queries. It began in 2011, started by Ankur Singla, who left his job as a Corporate legal Advisor at Linklaters LLP London to embark on this innovative concept. Akosha’s concept was simple. Take up the consumer’s complaints and queries with the organisation and resolve them. It was a great business opportunity

waiting to be tapped. The basic services were free but it charged for legal assistance from customers. Singla has been clued into the changing times and requirements, and knows how the mobile wave is taking over. In May Akosha received a third round of funding from Sequioa Capital and decided to take on the role of a personal assistance platform HelpChat. It is an App that resolves customer queries and is hoping to become a problem solver go-to App for customers. It is getting work done through curated partners and more than 25 businesses are waiting to be integrated into the system. Once the entire integration takes place, customers would be able to call Ankur Singla Founder And CEO, Helpchat

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a cab, order laundry and get all kinds of chores completed. Akosha has discontinued its complaints redressal platform and is now concentrating on its virtual messaging App. It went in for a massive rebranding exercise in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather and Open Design. Akosha’s parent company Coraza would continue the B2B helpdesk platform OneDirect, but HelpChat does not have a website. HelpChat’s backbone is a team of more than 600 experts who help customers in their tasks.At present, more than 25 per cent of the 30,000 daily requests and queries are handled by a Chatbot. It has been a remarkable journey for the complaints redressal platform. It tried out something revolutionary at the outset and took another leap of faith to become a chat based information provider. Providing solutions to customers by keeping the customer at the heart of everything they do, has worked well for Singla and his team.

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affluents

Swarovski tweaks its

BRand

StRateGY

The brand has tweaked its strategy to become more accessible to the Indian consumer and relatable in terms of style, design and accessories

here was a tIMe when Austrian luxury crystals and jewellery maker Swarovski was only sought after by elite clientele such as Maharajas in India who used to approach them with specific designs. But now the game has changed, thanks to the growth in urbanisation led by higher disposable incomes that have propelled the demand for luxury brands. Today Swarovski has grown beyond its original crystal

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business and has been offering a unique and balanced selection of genuine gemstones and created stones. The company, which started out in Watten, Austria, was founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski after he had invented a crystal-cutting machine three years earlier. The crystal giant entered India more than 12 years ago but realised that it needed to shift focus and move into a more premium category to target a wider range of affluent customers. In its attempt the company has tried to change its store location from being in five-star hotels to premium spaces like mall properties. It has seen a consistent growth since its entry into the market primarily for the consumer goods business division. The brand has been selling jewellery, pens and accessories through franchise stores operated by

With Swarovski

launching products specifically made for the Indian consumer, the positioning

of the brand

has undergone a change

various partners across the country. On the B2B business side it has been collaborating with designers of jewellery and watches to unlock their creativity and passion to bring out visions in beautiful gems. The brand had tweaked its strategy to become more accessible to the regular Indian consumer and relatable in terms of style, design and accessories. With Swarovski launching products specifically made for the Indian consumer, the positioning of the brand has undergone a change to find acceptance among the Indian affluent consumers. Separate from the retail arm that sells jewellery and other Austrian crystals studded items directly to consumers through physical stores, the professional arm of the company works with partners and designers to co-create Swarovski branded products. Swarovski became more active on the fashion scene to become

visible and seen at most fashion events. Many well-known Indian designers have collaborated with the brand over several collections now. Not just this, Swarovski has entered into partnerships with e-commerce platforms such as Jabong, Myntra to become more accessible and tap the segment of Indian consumers who have taken to online shopping. As more luxury brands are taking the online route to overcome their poor physical presence because of the lack of high streets in Indian cities, and reach a wide range of consumers, the company targets 8-10 per cent sale through online in the next two years. Online sales currently make 3 per cent of the professional business that comes from the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online presence. Going forward, it aims to launch its global e-commerce site by 2016 as it does not believe in selling through a third party in any market.

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affluents

Providing Style and Opulence to the

affluent Indian TAG Heuer has been eyeing a larger slice of the luxury watch market as more consumers aspire to own the brand

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or years now in India, Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer has been associated with elegance, style and opulence. Sporting one of the watches from the brand definitely puts the spotlight on you. The brand has tried to win Indian consumers since its debut in 2002. Today, one luxury watch out of 10 is a TAG Heuer. There is no denying its pull among affluent Indians. From expanding boutiques in India to increasing the marketing budget the company’s brand positioning has undergone a change from the image of a sporty brand globally to accommodate lifestyle in its range for Indian consumers. TAG Heuer has been eyeing a larger slice of the luxury watch market as more consumers aspire to own the brand while the number of new consumers with high disposable incomes grows. In the world distribution of Tag Heuer exports, India is at the 18th position even as it strives to be in the top 10 in the coming years. Today, the brand has expanded its presence to small cities and sells a decent number of watches. The recent campaign ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’ reflects the mental strength of the Dream Team, athletes and partners, who reflect the values of the brand. Each builds on the legend in their particular field, reinventing the rules as they go: be it ace footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Tennis star Maria Sharapova, electronic Music icon David Guetta, It Girl Cara Delevingne, Formula1 McLaren Team or Superstar Shah Rukh Khan. It has recently roped in Ranbir Kapoor as another brand ambassador for the Indian market.

Founded in Saint-Imier, Switzerland in 1860 by Edouard Heuer, the iconic watchmaker has several milestones to its credit. Indeed, TAG Heuer has been the undisputed pioneer of modern chronographs, from the invention of the oscillating pinion to the invention of the first automatic one in 1969. The high-end watchmaker now aims to launch a smart watch during Christmas using Google’s Android operating system to compete head-on with the Apple Watch. For the luxury watchmaker India is still a small market. It was the 26th market as per Swiss watch exports in 2013. But it is prepared to ride on the wave as the market grows and aims to reap dividends of steady investments and the high appeal it enjoys among Indian customers. Even as the firm’s core business remains watches, venturing into eyewear has come as a brand extension because

In the world distribution of Tag Heuer exports, India is at the 18th position even as it strives to be in the top 10 in the coming years of its ability to manage micro precision technologies. Red Avant-Garde eyewear has fared well in the Indian market after being endorsed by Shah Rukh Khan. Being experimental, it decided to expand to mobile phones and has climbed to one of the top two positions among luxury phones. For watches, it goes on to expand the range responding to the demand of customers and believes in building the brand to keep growing the tremendous goodwill it enjoys in the market.

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affluents

ROARING

AHEAD For passionate bikers, owning a machine belonging to the cult classic, heavyweight motorcycle brand is more than just a matter of pride

NDIaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PeNChaNt fOr luxury bikes has become profound in the last few years making way for luxury bike companies in the market. The two-wheeler motorcycle market in India has developed new tastes where customers are gearing up to experiment with new models from the premium and luxury segments. In this growing luxury market, one brand that has captured the heart of bike lovers is the

American cult heavyweight motorcycle brand HarleyDavidson. It is one of the first companies to anchor here in 2009 and has sold around 8,000 motorcycles on Indian roads today.The success of Harley Davidson established that the market was ready and

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this made way for other premium bike makers in India. According to data by SIAM, during 2011-12, around 773 luxury bikes were on Indian roads. This has now steadily grown to around 9,120 bikes in 2014-15. The luxury motorcycle industry in India is growing

It is one of the first companies to anchor here in 2009 and has sold around 8,000 motorcycles on Indian roads today

phenomenally at around 80-100 per cent year-on-year. For passionate bikers owning a machine belonging to the cult classic heavyweight motorcycle brand is more than just a matter of pride. Today, the US-headquartered Harley-Davidson which sells bikes in above-500 cc categories, account for 44 per cent of volumes in the 500cc plus segment with sales of 2,307 bikes during April-September

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Last year, Harley-Davidson India completed five successful years in the country since its retail operations started in 2010

2014 (it sold 902 units a yearago). The company was the first one to start manufacturing in India which gives it the firstmover advantage. Last year, Harley-Davidson India completed five successful years in the country since its retail operations started in 2010. With 17 dealerships across 14 cities, the company continues to extend its reach and influence

among young adults and core riders. In its effort to promote leisure motorcycling as an activity and a great investment of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time and money, the company has started sponsoring India Bike Week and concluded the tradition for a third year in a row in 2015. The partnership with India Bike Week takes its brand communication a step

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ahead by building a strong leisure motorcycling culture and bringing motorcyclists and enthusiasts from across India together, to celebrate and share their experiences. The company introduced four new motorcycles to the India market in 2014 including the Harley-Davidson Street 750, Breakout, Street Glide Special and CVOLtd. Now with the launch of the Street motorcycle, the company is aiming to grab a significant portion of the sub-800 cc motorcycle market in India. The company also expanded its presence in the country with second dealership facilities in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore and opened its first dealership in Surat. Even for the luxury bike maker, India is a very crucial market, as it is striving to cater to the expectations of new generation bikers.

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affluents

BuKHaRa

redeﬁnes FINE DINING in the capital Attention to detail and impeccable quality of service, make this 35 year old iconic Delhi eatery a brand in its own right

ILL CLINtON has reportedly dined here every time he has been to New Delhi. It put the Indian capital on the world gastronomy map. And much to the surprise of naysayers, a traditional restaurant with rustic settings appealed to the finest palates from across the world. On its way to becoming one of the most famous Indian restaurants in the world, Bukhara at ITC Maurya

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redefined North-West Frontier cuisine, ubiquitously known as ‘Mughlai’ food. Regular patrons are used to the not-so-fancy decor, no cutlery to eat with, mostly stools to sit on and aprons, if you made a mess of your dinner while

On its way to becoming one of the most famous

Indian restaurants

eating with your hands. More than 35-years after it opened its doors, this Delhi culinary landmark serves much the same menu as it did on day one, after all, why fix what’s not broken. Going by the popularity of the restaurant, it seems that over these many years Bukhara has acquired its own character and soul. The food at Bukhara is cooked in tandoors (clay ovens) and the sight of a chef flipping your naan -- through the large glass partitions between the

in the world, Bukhara at ITC Maurya redefined North-

West Frontier cuisine

kitchen and the eatery -- add to the drama. The world renowned Dal Bukhara, a combination of black lentils (urad dal), tomatoes, ginger and garlic, is cooked and simmered over slow coal fires of the tandoor overnight for 18 hours at a stretch. Little wonder then that it has become the signature dish of the restaurant and gone on to sell more than 2.5 million portions. The speed by which the food is cooked and delivered to the tables justifies Bukhara’s claim of having one of the most efficient services. Bukhara is a 7-time winner of the ‘Restaurant Magazine Award’ for being amongst the Best 50 Restaurants in the World & Best in Asia. It has also been a 6-time winner of the ‘Miele Asia Award’ for being amongst the Top 20 Restaurants in Asia. Besides, it also features in ‘Thousand Places To See Before You Die’ by Patricia Schultz. But awards aside, what makes this 35-year-old iconic Delhi eatery a brand in its own right, is its attention to detail and impeccable quality of service and consistency of cuisine that has come to redefine fine dining in the capital. No wonder then that the chefs at Bukhara ensure that each jumbo prawn that makes up the Tandoori Jhinga weighs between 80-120 g and each leg of mutton (for the Raan) weighs between 1.2 and 1.5 kg.

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affluents

DOING THINGS

‘THE ROLEX WAY’

f ever there was a watch brand that revelled in not being confined to a definition, it was Rolex. Everything that the brand is or is not, is due to the fact that it’s a Rolex. The company thrives on ‘The Rolex way’ of accomplishing things and does not want to be restricted by a definition. The watch brand has more than 400 patents to its credit in its history of watch making and prides itself on manufacturing all parts of the watch in-house. As India becomes a fast growing luxury market, the luxury watch makers like Rolex could never have it better. With more and more people craving for quiet symbols of luxury, wrist watches being one of them, this seems to be the best time for a brand like Rolex in India. So what sets Rolex apart from the others? For one, it has acquired the status of

an heirloom. In India, it can be traced back to the time when India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad owned it. It is the single largest luxury watch brand that produces about 2000 watches every day. The brand stands for innovation in every feature of the watch. It was the first company to come up with a water resistant wrist watch. It

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has many such firsts to its credit. Over the years it has produced some iconic models which have become collectibles. The brand has made it amply clear that profit is not the only motive. There is great trust in the brand in India and Rolex does not want to fall short of expectations in quality and service in its quest for profits. It has gone to the extent of setting up a watch making school in India, to promote the art of watch making. Rolex wants to keep the trust

The luxury watch business has been growing at the rate of 20 per cent every year and

competition between the top players has been intense

The luxury time wear has stood the test of time and stands for individual excellence and perfection alive in customers and hence the Rolex dealers are chosen very carefully as they represent the face of the brand. Each dealer and custodian of the brand has a duty towards maintaining the brand ethos. The luxury watch business has been growing at the rate of 20 per cent every year and competition between the top players has been intense.They are also pushing themselves in the tier 2 cities of late. But Rolex is in a comfortable situation and likes to protect its positioning. It does keep track of customer feedback, adapting slowly but carefully to changing times. It sticks to what it calls â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Rolex Wayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and prepares the watches for real-world conditions. It is known to constantly invent, improve and innovate.

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Ad spend on

TVGROWS BY Pitch-Madison Media Advertising Outlook revises its 2015 forecast upwards

ITCH-MADISON MEDIA Advertising Outlook, the benchmark study that the industry looks up to for understanding and analyzing trends in growth of the advertising industry has revised its forecast for 2015 from 9.6% growth, projected in February 2015, to 13.8% for the total advertising market. The study was published

This upward revision is because of a steep increase in spends on TV during the January-June 2015 period, of

20.6%.

in the March 2015 issue of Pitch. This upward revision is because of a steep increase in spends on TV during the January-June 2015 period, of 20.6%. This growth rate is likely to extend to the second half of the year too, resulting in a sharp growth in the TV advertising market of as high as 21%. Such a high growth rate is unprecedented and has not been achieved in the last 5 years. Madison Media has not revised its forecast for Print, Radio, Cinema, Outdoor or Digital, which were earlier projected to grow as per the table below, since it does not anticipate any major change in the growth rate projected, although actual growth rates for these media too may be marginally higher than the originally projected growth rates. The increase in the advertising market from the earlier projection of 9.6% to 13.8% for the full year and for TV advertising from the earlier 10% to 21% for the full year, will result in the total market reaching Rs. 42,234 crore in 2015.

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If BJP promised Achhe din to all Indians, they have certainly arrived for the Indian Television Industry. A 21% growth coming on the back of a 14% growth in 2014 and without the Elections is quite unprecedented and shows the optimistic outlook of the industry in Indian markets and the aggressive stance they are willing to take to protect and grow their market share. The growth is also significant in the light of growing conversations around Digital. SAM BALSARA Chairman Madison World

30 25

25 20

20 Madison Media Advertising Outlook – 2015 (Revised) Pitch 15

15 30 25 20

10 5

Total Market Value

Original Growth Forecast 2015

Revised Growth Forecast 2015

40,658

crore

15 10

5 0

Television

42,234 Radio

Cinema

Outdoor

Digital

Total

crore

Highlights of advertising spending on TV in the period between January-June 2015: TV spends have increased by 21% in H1’15 with total revenue of Rs. 8200 crore as against Rs. 6800 crore in H1’14. a. The main categories that have fuelled the overall growth in H1’15 are E-commerce (+70%), Automobiles (+55%) and FMCG (13%). HH Durables and BFSI categories also increased their ad spends by more than 45%. FMCG has been the largest contributor in absolute terms contributing as much as Rs. 4,200 crore and accounts for 51% of the total TV spend. E-Commerce players grew by 70% and now account for 6% of the market. b. Total FCT volume across all genres/channels has increased by 14%. FCT of SD channels increased by 11% and HD channels by 224%. c. Overall FCT of SD feed on Hindi Mass Genres (GEC + Movies) has increased by 8% when compared to similar channels.

d. Many channels have telecast more than 12 mins/ hr of FCT across all leading channels resulting in increase in ad revenue. e. New channel launches in Hindi Mass Genres (Sony Max2, Epic & TV, Sony Pal, Zindagi) from existing bouquets and spends on HD channels also resulted in a hike in advertising revenues. f. The ICC Cricket world Cup, IPL, Delhi State Elections also contributed to the overall growth in H1’15. g. Finally, in H1’15 TV is the largest contributor to the total advertising pie with a share of 40% as compared to 38% in 2014.

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COLUMN

Creating Brands that last

Annurag Batra

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

Strong brands cannot be built without strong products. Everything else is secondary

T HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME HOW brands build their unique identity and how companies build strong brands that last for a century if not more. Since this issue is all about the Top 50 brands that Pitch chooses every year , it is appropriate to dwell on the subject of strong brands and how they are created to last for lifetimes. Some of the winners in this list have created strong brand identities which have become synonymous for the company name itself. A few others have become so adaptable that they change according to the changing tastes of the consumers without losing their essence. Yet others have been able to reposition themselves and still maintained their core identity. Some brands have faced obscurity but have re-emerged stronger than before. But ultimately they have come out winners because they have built superior products that have the capacity to stand the test of time. Strong brands cannot be built without strong products. Everything else is secondary. Lifebuoy , the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading health soap has been an undisputed leader for the last 117 years and has made it to our list yet again. The reason for its dominance in the market is the product itself which has always stuck to standards positioning itself successfully as the germ protection soap. It has stayed true to its core values over the years even while diversifying into a variety of product categories. What also makes the brand stand out is its social mission of promoting global health and

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hygiene. It has undertaken work in the field of hygiene education and awareness like community health projects. All these aspects have contributed to strengthen its core proposition. On the one hand there are iconic brands like Lifebuoy in the list and on the other, there are some new age brands that have entered in other categories. For instance, Akosha which is now Helpchat has burst upon the scene changing the way we live our lives. The chat-based personal assistant app looks set to make lives easier. The busy consumer needs a personal assistant today for help services, and Helpchat is filling in that gap. Some abstract concepts have also made it to the list simply because they have assumed a brand identity and represent a strong value proposition. Brand India is one such example. The idea of India is itself a brand and since the Lok Sabha elections this idea has been promoted in a way so as to strengthen our perception about India. Brand India now stands for change, positivity and promise and all countries perceive it as such today. Among the abstract concepts is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Raahgiriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which has also entered as a brand, debuting as a movement which has amassed a strong following. It stands for an idea, a way of thinking, and a lifestyle change. It gives importance to the streets of India, promoting a different culture and way of life. Each brand on the list has been chosen after thorough research and scrutiny, making it to the list for a specific reason in a specific category.

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