SIMSR The Marksman January 2013 by Zigu MBA

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MARKSMAN

K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

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Word of Mouth

VOL. 3| ISSUE VI| JANUARY‘13

SWITCH Page 10

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EDITOR’S DESK Dear Readers, Welcome back to yet another exciting issue of your monthly dose of marketing, ‘The Marksman’! We would like to thank all our readers for the overwhelming response we receive time and again! We promise to keep you all entertained and well read for the whole of 2013! To begin with, reaching out to the consumers in spite of the numerous barriers they put up is the most difficult challenge for a brand. So how do they cross those barriers and market themselves successfully? Find out in our Cover Story on ‘Cross Switch’ marketing. Ever wondered why you instantly tend to use a brand recommended by your friend? It’s called the power of ‘Word-ofMouth’ marketing which is our Special Story for this issue. Did you miss the most exciting marketing conference of the year? Catch a glimpse on what happened in the 8th SIMSR Global Marketing Conference in our rewind section! Go ahead and read some super stories in our regular section Tweets, a super review on ‘All Marketers Tell Stories’ by Seth Godin in our Bookworm section and many more interesting sections to look forward to! Read articles written by our very own readers! We would like to congratulate the winners of our article writing competition Deepa Sastry and Ghanendra Singh.

We look forward to some suggestions from all our readers! Get in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter @marksmansimsr. So don’t wait! Flip this page NOW!

Happy Reading !! Team – Marksman The Interface – The Marketing Club of SIMSR

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CONTENTS TWEETS It’s all about AD-itude! 03 09

Hall-MARK Campaigns Brand MARK ive 07 05

COVER STORY

SPECIAL STORY

CROSS - SWITCH MARKETING 10

WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING 17

TETE-A-TETE 27

FEATURED ARTICLES Tata Group after Ratan Tata

REWIND 25 SquAreheaD 32

THE 05 MARKSMAN

…21

Brand Tendulkar : Will it sustain post his retirement? …23

BOOKWORM 31

BUZZ 33

02 AUGUST 2012

TWEETS Ready for its Corporate Fun Run

In year 2008 Puma started its initiative named ‘ Urban stampede’ which is a running platform where various corporate teams compete against each other. This is a relay format which awards the fastest running corporate team which also acts as a team building exercise. Rajiv Mehta, MD, says “it is the only national running property in India”. He also adds that it is not a cut-throat competition but participants enjoy the race. The registrations for this event have started and PUMA expects some of the best companies on board.

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TWEETS India appoints Ignitee Digital for its social media campaign

Photography equipment maker Fujifilm India has appointed Ignitee Digital for its social media and digital communication. Fujifilm hopes to get connected with the tech-savvy youth of India by providing them with more opportunities to get connected with the brand. Let’s see what value proposition will Fujifilm put forward to its customers with its ideas and Ignitee’s approach.

Life OK dreams to rival against Star plus Life OK recently completed a year in December 2012 and holds around 10 percent share in Hindi GEC market. Life Ok, which tried to have shows which are not only entertaining but also relevant with a social message, is intending to utilise outdoor marketing in year 2013’s strategies. Ajit Thakur, GM of Life OK said 'his biggest ambition is to rival Star Plus‘.

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Brand MARK ive

ThinkGeek is the eponymous reminder of all the brave souls who waged a war against thick, big books and stood out victorious. It is a name that shows the word ‘Geek’ in a completely new light. Let us think back and remember that the modern heroes are not the personalities for whom we brim with adulation as they stand facing the setting sun, their muscular silhouettes giving them the aura of Titans. The real heroes that we admire today are the ‘chaps-next-door’ with killer determination and gritty perseverance; the kind which would make Superman and Batman scurry back in the JLA Tower and start testing themselves for abnormalities. We are talking about the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates et al. ThinkGeek is a brand name that represents that very innovative intellect.

The idea to come up with something like this was hatched by individuals who were at the helm of the internet revolution in the 90s. The objective was to create a shop selling those products which would appeal to individuals whose imagination spawned great ideas and who had the guts to put their ideas to test. In short, it was meant for all those people who have helped create THIS oh-so-convenient technology. (Which includes this unscrupulously detailed program code that makes your screen look like it is showing text in English language!)

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Brand MARK ive ThinkGeek in an online shop serving the needs of people who are passionate about technology. What do you buy there? Well, here goes! Their shop includes Chocolate Flavored envelopes with Note Cards, The Legend of Zelda Mints, Squirming Tentacle USB, Electronic Guitar T-Shirt (Which can actually be strummed!), Assassin Creed’s Tomahawk, Da Vinci Wood Catapult … and the list goes on.

operating system in 1995 transformed into this unique online shop 4 years later after implementing a multitude of ideas and brainstorming sessions.

This amazing online store is a subsidiary of VA Research, a company found in 1993 by 2 Stanford Graduates Larry Augustin and James Vera. The ThinkGeek site however became public way later in 1999. VA Research today is called Geeknet and is based in Fairfax, Virginia. What started as an experiment in an Open source UNIX like

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Today ThinkGeek remains a niche organization which employs 26 people andbelieve it or not- 2 dogs named Cisco and Rangely. The makers of ThinkGeek assert that these 2 “employees” are a backup plan to ward off solicitors and also provide emotional release during “puppy play sessions”.

Hall-MARK Campaigns

A promotional campaign done by WALMART and MARS has come to highlight because of its innovative style. This campaign put together a good cause with promotional campaign and managed to connect with consumers effectively. The interesting fact was that the target consumers influence the buyers only by wagging their tails.

Yes, this campaign focused on dogs!

It served as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;edutainmentâ&#x20AC;? opportunity for pet owners and brought to light the plight of stray dogs. The idea for the campaign was generated after an analysis revealed that there were 90 million pet owners who shopped in Walmart but only 60% purchased pet food and 40% purchased pet supplies there. This presented as a huge opportunity for both Walmart and Mars. Mars Pet care is a Brussels based conglomerate which is most popular for its dog food Pedigree. In fact Mars is the biggest pet care provider in the world with presence in 50 countries and employing 33000 employees worldwide.

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Hall-MARK Campaigns

Walmart decided to come up with a campaign that not only highlighted Mars’ pet care business but also promoted both the brands as ‘Caring’. As a result, a shopper marketing campaign called ‘Pets Love Walmart’ was initiated whose core objective was to raise money to create shelters for stray pets. The campaign utilized print as well as digital media to reach out to consumers.

In the first leg of the campaign, Walmart hosted a weekly event that educated shoppers about proper health care. In addition, all Pedigree packages comprised of a QR code that directly donated a bowl of food to a shelter. The code allowed shoppers to find ways of donating food to different pet shelters. This promotion enhanced Mars pet care sales by 25% and a survey also revealed that Walmart was indeed adjudged as a ‘caring brand’ and created a recall value when it came to pet care food.

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It’s all about AD-itude MEDIA: TVC CLIENT: KURKURE CREATIVE AGENCY: JWT

Kurkure, known to be the perfect Indian namkeen snack was launched in 1999, and is today identified as a new age crunchy snack, with the very well known and funny tag line “Tedha hai par mera hai”. Its brand ambassadors so far have been Juhi Chawla as well as Kareena Kapoor who are full of beans and they, in the true sense, embody the vibrant and electrifying essence of Kurkure. The journey now continues with Kurkure launching a brand new TV Commercial introducing the new age Kurkure family that is dynamic, alive and energetic and would connect with the youth of today. Parineeti Chopra, Kunal Kapoor, Farida Jalal, Boman Irani, Ramya Krishnan, and Shivansh have been introduced individually in teaser ad commercials which are currently on air. This all new family kurkure ad commercial is considered to be its biggest ad campaign till date. The advertisement hopes to break new ground by targeting multiple age segments simultaneously; cementing Kurkure’s standing as the “universal snack”.

MEDIA: PRINT CLIENT: FEVER 104 FM CREATIVE AGENCY: BRANDS ON E

Fever 104 FM has come up with this vibrant and colourful print ad which sends across a very useful message, “wherever you go, reach happy”. It has come up with three print ads which aim to target the college going teen, the home maker and the office going executive. The print ad is full of colours which makes it extremely catchy. The message is that the 40 minutes of non-stop music help you reach college, make breakfast or reach office taking the monotony away, replacing it with a sense of refreshing vivacity and making the journey more interesting.

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CROSS

SWITCH

DECIPHERING THE CODE

C O V E R

“Cross-switch” is an approach- including strategies, tactics and tools to get through the barriers put up by the consumers and maximize the results of a marketing campaign.

FLIPPING THE SWITCH In this day and age, businesses are struggling to get consumers to pay attention to their brands. It’s no longer enough to simply use multiple forms of media to deliver the same message or campaign over and over. It’s easy for consumers to sift that out and likewise it fails to take advantage of the power of some other forms of media especially digital media.

THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF CROSS COMMUNICATION

S T O R Y

In this era of over flowing information consumers detach themselves from information if they feel it has nothing to do with them. Then , they put up what we call an INFORMATION BARRIER. And to ensure that the message reaches the consumers “The Drawing Out Approach” is used by presenting information that is intriguing, with which the consumer wants to become involved, unlike the traditional breaking in approach

The consumer who has put up Information barrier

The “Drawing out” approach

which forces consumers to pay attention to their marketing messages. Cross switch approach is a way to provide added value and create engagement with consumers and that’s a big part of where cross switch communication fits into today’s and tomorrow’s environment. It gives marketers powerful new ways to draw consumers out and make the more involved.

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WHAT MAKES IT WORK

C O V E R

The key to drawing consumers out from within their barriers is to create SCENARIOS that move the target. In this way the consumers take interest and actively seek out for information, and before they know it they are fans of the brand enjoying an active brand experience leading to a purchase.

S T O R Y PUTTING CROSS SWITCH INTO PLAY: Real Cases Nissin Food Products Ltd: CUP NOODLES ‘FREEDOM PROJECT’ PRODUCT PLACEMENT In 2006, Nissin, which sells a staggering 25 billion packs of noodles a year, had something special to do to celebrate Cup Noodles’ 35th Anniversary. Hence, the Freedom Project where Nissin tried to position the humble Cup as a symbol of freedom, since the pour-and-eat meal had "brought about a worldwide revolution in food culture."

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Using campaigns which included a series of commercials and longer films, as well as posters and a range of multimedia elements, all based on an animated tale created by Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary manga artist and anime director. The project was able to fulfill its objective of changing impression of young people about CUP NOODLES.

C O V E R S T O R Y

Their image of actual ‘CUP NOODLES’ product became both active and empathetic which was indicated by consumers comments such as “feels lively”, “energetic” and “always new”. TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION: “HARMONY FOR TOMORROW” CAMPAIGN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Cross switch approach is not just a sales promotion method to build short-term sales. It can also be used for brand communication when the theme at first glance may be difficult to follow. This strategy was used by Toyota’s CSR campaign to achieve greater proliferation of their activities. An integration of television commercials, the web magazine & advertisements, train station advertisements was incorporated to form paths along with distribution of digest versions of web magazines which led to the company establishing its goodwill and empathy with broader range of consumers. Cross switch goes to America The scion XD “Little Deviant” campaign Cross communication tactics were deployed for “Little Deviant” campaign where an array of innovative elements conveyed a sensational narrative to underscore the xD’s non-conformist personality.

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xD was the aggressive five-door urban vehicle, the newest model from Scion. Through a series of outdoor spectaculars, print ads and TV spots the xD was personified using little deviants monsters. The story brought the audiences along for the ride on their website where they could navigate old school style games.

C O V E R S T O R Y

Manga Magazines “Don’t Search !” – Jump Square Inaugural Issue campaign For many years, sales of Manga magazines had been driven by the strength of their stories. This example of jump square however demonstrates that even in the case of a magazine that always had particularly strong content, sales volume could still be increased drastically by creating an advertising device to attract readers’ attention and draw them out. Challenging Environment In recent years the sales of Magazines have faded somewhat probably in part due to the growth of internet, mobile phones and electronic gaming. This case is about a comic style magazine, which succeeded in gaining extremely high sales in this age where magazines don’t sell as they used to. A totally innovative plan was sought for the advertising of Jump Square’s Inaugural Issue. The ‘Stay Away’ Message About three weeks before the release of the magazine, a rather dramatic and startling TVC was broadcasted where the words “Jump Square” appeared in an Internet Screen window, crossed out by an “X”, with an accompanying voice-over as follows: “This is a request. The inaugural issue of Jump Square will be released shortly , but please don’t search for “Jump Square” over the internet.

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C O V E R S T O R Y

It is human nature to want to do what you are told not to do. Right? The commercial caught interest of people and they began searching for the words “Jump Square”. At first, all they saw was a text page with a “Request from the Editorial Division”. Seeing this the reaction of non-core members was predictable, however the core readers , their reactions were opposite. When they saw the message they became even more convinced that there is something wrong. They searched for the same words not once, twice but three times in a row. Finally, those readers were led to a hidden site that began with the message – “We give Up”. We are just no match to your determination and enthusiasm. Building the Buzz Core readers quickly posted comments on blogs and other sites describing how they discovered the “hidden information”. In no time the discussions of the hidden site spread like wildfire by the WOM on internet! Further WOM Tie-ins were created using mobiles phone sites and advertisements in Tokyo train stations. It didn’t stop there. The hidden site provided open access to mobile site, where the readers could view the entire manga story before the publication date, which said “Read one story from the Inaugural issue for free and pass it on to your friends ”Connecting all the pieces of promotions with their very unique TRAIN CAMPAIGN created a buzz which was irresistible. The readers could participate in the Manga Relay, where they could read every segment of the serial only by getting off the train at each station.

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Results were evident with the comments“I read them all” “I read it on Platform 4 at Shibuya Station” Once the campaign was underway, the information about the new Jump Square traveled by WOM from non core readers to prospective readers and further to friends and acquaintances.

C O V E R S T O R Y

“Sold Out” The inaugural issue of Jump Square was released in November 2007. The original printing was set at 500,000 copies but the analogy was sold out and a second printing of 100,000 copies was released later. As a result of this campaign, we can say that it is safe to say that consumers actively and independently access information about advertisements that catch their interest. Cross communication in this case was very innovatively deployed, The consumers were drawn out from their information barriers by making special tips and “ insider information” available person-to-person from core to manga fans, first by concealing the information and later rigging up its demand which corroborated the belief that there's nothing better than searching hidden information. Another idea was also confirmed that the “information gap” between core and non core readers would lead to ripples and the information would pass from core to less interested readers.

The CROSS in Cross Switching- Is what makes it different On the basis of four elements, it is easy to solidify the contrast between the traditional media mix and Cross switching namely; Contact Point planning, breadth and depth , scenarios and Media insight. The Crucial difference between the two approaches of Integrated Marketing Communication and Cross Switching is that in cross switching the entire idea or the message is essentially a jigsaw which has to be pieced from different sources to complete the communication which the brand is trying to do.

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IMC purely aims at using different media to communicate the same message in order to drive reinforcement of the key message in the minds of the consumer. Thus by using the same media , we can have a standard Push based communication plan which is the IMC or we can have the Cross Switch which will aim purely at creating a pull based impact .

C O V E R S T O R Y

It’s effective when level of involvement is high as compared to low involvement , as then, the consumer would be straight away put to point of purchase.

WHEN SHOULD IT BE PUT TO USE This approach works for brands with little news, for instance Brands that have undergone minor renovations, Brands in categories where differentiation is difficult. When it’s difficult to attract consumers interest in the brand, it becomes important to draw out a clear path that draws consumers out and this strategy is apt to achieve that goal which uses Core Idea as a key to create a scenario for effectively moving the target to action.

This core idea is a campaign’s Central Theme, designed to capture consumer’s hearts, which expresses the allure, novelty and the power of the campaign in simple terms.

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S P E C I A L S T O R Y

Why Brands love those “Big Mouths” Lalitha, a 27 year old recently got recruited in one of the biggest MNCs as the HR Head in the financial capital of India, Mumbai. Born and brought up in Darjeeling, Lalitha was going through a bit of a culture shock when she came to live in Mumbai. The extremely fast paced life of this city was beginning to give Lalitha the Heebie - jeebies. Being an introvert and it being her first time in a big city like Mumbai, Lalitha started feeling a little left out.

Her friend Anita from work came up to her one day and asked her, “Why do you look so stressed Lalitha. What’s the matter?” She explained the anxiety she was feeling because of moving away from home and her family and living in such a big city all by herself. Anita told her, “Hey, it’s alright! This city can make anyone feel lonely. I and a couple of friends are going to spend our day off tomorrow at the Sva Spa and Salon. It’s the best spa in this city and a day spent there will get you all relaxed. You should join us.” Lalitha instantly agreed since she needed some time off to pamper herself. The day after the visit to the Salon, Lalitha felt like a new person. She thanked Anita for this wonderful recommendation. + 5 Points for Sva Spa and Salon

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SPECIAL STORY Months passed by and Lalitha was now getting in tune with the hustle and bustle of this city. Over the months, she had become good friends with her neighbours, all of them within the same age group. Preeti, one of her neighbours, once came over to her house and told Lalitha, “I went to see the movie Life of Pi yesterday. It was a brilliantly made film and you should definitely not miss this one. But don’t go to Cinemax in Wadala. The sound and the 3D effects of the theatre spoiled my movie experience completely.” + 5 Points for Life of Pi

-5 Points for CineMax

Being relatively new to this city, every time Lalitha was confused about something like a good restaurant to eat at or a good place to shop from or a good coffee place to go to and spend time alone at, she would turn to her friends, colleagues or neighbours for a recommendation since she knew they would tell her the right place to be at and the places to avoid. +5’s for all those good recommendations and -5’s to all the bad ones! So why exactly are we rating these places and giving them these points? It’s nothing but what the marketers proudly call ‘Word-of-Mouth marketing’. The oldest and the most precious form of marketing for any company, Wordof-Mouth (WOM) marketing has grown to become an important part of the marketing plan of a brand. Since its inception in the form of Storytelling, WOM marketing has become more than just that. With the digital platform becoming the ‘next big thing’, consumers now have the power to voice their opinions about the brands that they use on various social networking websites, over the telephone, via emails and various other ways. Brands are becoming increasingly aware of this Empowered Consumer and have therefore become very cautious in every marketing move they make. One bad thing said about

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their brand in any part of the country could hamper their brand and affect their sales.

SPECIAL STORY So why is Word of Mouth marketing becoming so important especially in a country like India? Indians are known to live in a very closely knit society. All the people living in one locality may belong to different cultures yet when it comes to choosing a product or a particular brand they listen closely to what the others living around them have to say about those brands. Trust plays a very important role while choosing any particular brand. A ‘Brand’ for an Indian consumer represents a trust mark and guarantee for value for money. Hence if recommended by a close friend, peer, colleague (word of mouth), the consumer is more likely to choose that brand over others. A recent survey showed that more than 70% of the consumers in India tend to consider recommendations from their friends and colleagues before buying any brand.

Brands recognise the importance of the use of Social Media as a tool for Word-of-Mouth marketing We have come into a great era where a brand has moved from an intangible thing to a tangible and measurable entity as we enter into the digital age and the smart phones age. Increase in the use of the digital platforms and the use of smart phones has literally given the future of all the brands in the hands of the consumer. Hence, every brand recognises the importance of keeping their consumers happy and satisfied. Getting the feedback from their consumers has become as important as planning the right market strategy. And this is where social media plays a very important role. As rightly quoted by the famous Author Andy Sernovitz,

‘A happy customer is the greatest advertisement’

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SPECIAL STORY Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how Word-of-mouth marketing has evolved over the years Word of mouth 1.0 Word of mouth used to revolve around the idea that one satisfied customer goes and tells friends and family about the service that he has received. Word of mouth 2.0 Brands then capitalised on the potential of word of mouth marketing by developing strategies to actively gain brand advocates and set up affiliate models of selling, rather than simply using paid-for advertising. The rise of online shopping, comparison and review sites, social media, and experiential marketing all helped the spread of word of mouth.

So what is the future of Word-of-Mouth marketing in India? As long as the Indian consumers continue to trust the opinions of their friends and family for making their purchase decisions, brands will have to ensure that they keep working hard towards gaining all those +5 points from every single consumer that they come across.

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Word of mouth 3.0 More recently, brands have started to put their business in the hands of the consumer. Affiliate selling has moved from agencies pushing out links to drive sales to consumers becoming the curators of their own websites. They recommend and share products on a variety of platforms, whether that is through virtual stores, apps or online store fronts, and earn rewards, points and cash.

Also making use of the full potential of Social media, a brand can become a consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite in a matter of a few months. Even though newer and better ways of marketing have been found a marketer should not forget the effectiveness of something as basic as Word-of-Mouth marketing. After all life is all about going back to your roots and this form of marketing is nothing but the roots or as we like to call it the beginning of marketing.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Brand Tendulkar: Will it sustain post his retirement

- Ghanendra Singh, IIM Indore

Sachin Tendulkar the name which does not require any further introduction and that has gone beyond cricket to such a level that cricket has become religion in India and Sachin is the only god of that religion. His iconic personality and splendid performances took cricket to a whole new level and he was one of the reasons for a huge follower base for cricket in India. To be like him is the aspiration of many players and dream of many youngsters. Every brand has its own core identity and in Brand Tendulkar determination, perseverance, durability, confidence, maturity, excellence are the

attributes which have made this brand one of the most trusted brand in the country and all over the world. His unquestionable ability and remarkable longevity has made him the face of more than 25 brands in his 23 years career. He charges between 9-10 crores for one endorsement, is currently earning around Rs. 200 crores annually through these endorsements and is holding around 17 endorsements products

So what will happen to Brand Tendulkar, after his retirement? In short term, definitely there will be some impact on the brand Tendulkar as brand will pass through the repositioning phase. Earlier, brands which targeted youth and used attributes like energy and agility to attract the target group will lose their interest in brand Tendulkar and will go away but brands which stand for

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FEATURED ARTICLES durability, tradition, excellence and are required to be trusted by consumers will rope in Tendulkar as their endorser. To associate with Brand Tendulkar, Companies will focus more on his personal attributes and interests and his past performances will no longer attract the marketers. For example, Sachinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fondness for trendy cars, stylish watches and apparels is well known and companies based on these kind of products will try to cash in on the opportunity.

In long term the brand will pass through the transition phase from young, energetic brand to credible, reliable and classy brand. As his fans and followers will not be able to see him regularly as he would not be accessible to the public as he was earlier, the only way people can consume this brand will be through interviews, guest appearances in cricket matches and brand endorsements. This will create a huge opportunity for different brands to use this iconic brand. With time Tendulkar as a brand will stand out from rest of the sportsman

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endorsed brands and will get converted into a niche brand. It will develop the attributes of elegance, style, sophistication and great trust. It will be the perfect choice for companies which are perceived as premium and enjoy a high brand value and strong brand equity in market. Although the number of endorsement per year will surely decrease but Tendulkar as a brand will strengthen its place in the market. One more dimension which is also interesting and will impact the Brand Tendulkar in the long run is the stance he will take, after retiring from all formats of cricket. Will he remain attached to cricket by way of other roles like commentator, umpire or coach or will we see him in the parliament as our leader or will we see him as a social worker or does he have other plans. So Brand Tendulkar still depends on him and his future steps will decide his brand position in a better way. Definitely with time Brand Tendulkar will sustain and will maintain the aura around it. And with time it will be able to convert itself into a premium personality brand.

REWIND 8TH SIMSR Global Marketing Conference The 8th SIMSR Global Marketing Conference was conducted by SIMSR, in collaboration with its academic partners- College Of Business & Public Administration California State University San Bernardino, USA; Xiamen University China; The Management University of Africa. It was a two day marketing fiesta held on the 4th and 5th of January 2013.This marketing conclave played host to industry czars and academicians and research scholars who shared their papers on diverse subjects. The theme this year was “Marketing Metamorphosis Transforming Lives … Nurturing Lifestyles”, equating marketing to the butterfly effect, where an insignificant action may actually snowball into great extraordinary results.

A dance video from Korea reached millions of viewers and turn into an incomprehensible hit, social networking media emerged from just being networking sites. All these changes were what we need to adapt to with an evolving change in the dynamic marketing arena. DAY I – Day one began with the Keynote Speaker Shri Sameer Satpathy, Vice President, Marketing, Marico India and Shri Tarun Chauhan, Managing Partner, JWT, Mumbai, who shared inaugurated the events and their worldly insights. Soon we moved onto our tracks which consisted of various themes like Social Media, ECommerce, Retail Management, Consumer Behavior, Integrated Marketing Communications and many more. The researcher presenters ranged from professors, to students to academicians.

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REWIND

DAY II - The second day was abuzz with a few more tracks to go and the much awaited panel discussion. The panel discussion was graced by revered panelist from across diverse fields like  Mr Sanjay Arun Kawale - Marketing Group,  Senior Expert, Director of ZTE India Wire line  Mrs. Feng Yuan - ICBC Bank, Mumbai Branch  Mr Shui Bo - China Shipping India Pvt Ltd  Dr Satyendra Upadhyay - Consultant ( India China Trade Relations ) & Professor of Chinese Language  Mr Sanjiv Sarin : Regional President of South Asia, Tata Global Beverages Limited, Bengaluru, India  Mr Sudhakar Desai : Vice President – Risk Management & Director Bunge International. The main theme for the Panel Discussion was Doing Business in Asia, where our respected guests shared their opinions on the future of marketing the contrast and as well the similarities between the Asian markets. It highlighted various changes that marketing will witness and how we need to adapt ourselves to it.

These two days were packed with learning’s and wisdom shared by all a part of this event. There was never a dull moment with panel discussions, presentations, lectures and think tanks help our gain meaningful vision.

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TETE-A-TETE

Corporate Interaction With Mr. Ajay Rawal National Marketing Head, JK Ansell , a Raymonds Group Venture Mr. Ajay Rawal has a unique combination of Rx, OTC and FMCG experience helpful in fostering implementation of customer-centric and growth-driven brand development initiatives to fortify business He is recognized for boosting sales and bottom-lines. He has been awarded several times for creative thinking and superior results. He has launched well known brands with FMCG orientation. His prior experience includes working with companies like Paras Pharma, Novartis, IPCA Laboratories, Lupin Laboratories etc. He is currently the national marketing head with J K Ansell, a Raymonds Group Venture. He recently visited K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research and gave us his useful insights into the world of Marketing. Here are a few excerpts from his interview:

How has your professional journey been so far?

That is a very interesting question to answer from where I am today. I started my career in sales in 90s. It was by sheer serendipity that I landed into a sales assignment at Lupin Laboratories

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TETE-A-TETE It was then, when I happened to see the brand managers coming in for meetings, that I realized that I could do something more than mere sales and I inquired my chances of enteringinto a marketing assignment as it looked very glamorous to me then; which it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t now. Today I would say that it is extremely essential for each one of us to realize what one is passionate about, it is important to understand your SWOT analysis before venturing into a new arena. Perhaps this one thing is not really taught in the institutes. Following my passion, I pursued my MBA and then my 1st assignment was with IPCA Laboratories in prescription marketing. Marketing after sales helped me appreciate better, while making strategies how would you actually implement it in the market through the sales force. You need to have a proper understanding about how all the partners in the channel work. I then delved into consumer marketing (OTC). Then a major tenure of my career was at Novartis wherein I had an opportunity to launch Calcium Sandoz woman right from the scratch, right from the idea of the brand to the packaging. After which I launched Calcium Sandoz soft chew, wherein the challenge was to enable kids to consume the tablets. For all practical purposes there are two factors which work, how do you enhance the penetration and the number of people who consume your brand multiplied by consumption. I then had an interesting stint with PARAS pharmaceuticals which has brands like moov, itchguard, setwet, livon, krack etc. And in just three years and a half we really enhanced the business value by almost 200% returns in 30 months wherein moov was one of the brands to touch a value of 100 crores in 2 years from a value of 68 crores which I had taken up as a personal objective. According to me, this would be an interesting case study. I then moved to Mumbai with J K Ansellwhich is into the medical as well as consumer business, the entity being a 50-50 JV between Raymonds and Ansell of Australia, a leader in barrier protection globally. The major brand that we have is Kamasutra Condom and KS Deodorants. What is surprising to note is that our business of deodorants is actually larger than the condom business, the way the line has grown. We have grown our products with a belief â&#x20AC;&#x153;experiencing is believingâ&#x20AC;?. Apart from this, I teach courses like Brand Management, OTC, CRM in various Bschools. Well, that is about my journey.

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TETE-A-TETE What are the factors that you look into before diversifying into a totally new arena? The 1st and most important research perspective is whether the category would be received well by the consumers or not. However the other perspective is that research is always under test conditions. So, many a times research might not be the perfect solution. For instance, when the concept of ATM machine was checked with consumers, it was an outright failure! So, research is not the only solution, customer understanding is paramount. I would say that there are five basic pillars herein. The 1st being product formulation, you should be able to give the consumer what they really desire. 2nd would be understanding the consumer psychology, whether the brand of the product would be received well by them. 3rd and the most critical pillar would be distribution ability. For instance, India has 85 lac FMCG outlets out of which there are 42 lac grocers, 19 lac pan plus outlets and 5 lac chemists. So, the challenge is how far can you effectively reach and distribute. The 4th pillar is the sales force as there is a cost for everything. And last but not the least is the level of advertisement as everything starts with awareness. Keeping the mentioned points in mind and given the differences between Raymonds and K S Energy Drinks, what unites us are our core values. We believe that anything that encompasses our core values can be launched. Keeping this in mind we have recently launched K S Energy Drinks currently available in four cities i.e. Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. I would say that it is not a competition to Red Bull and the others but is instead creating a niche segment. We have got a good understanding and have developed a very good product. According to me it is the best packaging available as far as any energy drink is concerned globally. According to you, is sales a pre requisite to marketing?

In marketing you have to devise a strategy and then implement the strategy. An interesting analogy that I would like to quote is that you read a book and jump into the swimming pool.

JANUARY 2013

TETE-A-TETE Or, you go through a process of learning how to float, moving your legs and learning over a couple of days. So, getting into marketing right away is the 1st one and getting into marketing after sales is the 2nd one. The reason is simple. You 1st need to understand how the sales force works, what is the type of market, what are the retailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s norms and demands and what is the manner in which the distributor works. Without this basic information the chances of success are bleak.

How much of the marketing concepts that we are taught in the class room actually used in the industry?

They are definitely used however it depends on the endeavour of the people in the industry to use those concepts. For instance the BDI / CDI analysis, PLC, BCG Matrix etc. enable you to appreciate various marketing parameters. So, there is definitely some relevance. However what is unfortunate is that a lot of people do not really devote their time and effort as they take these concepts for granted. Though the executive judgement method would still be the sole determinant but the concepts always play a vital role in any organization.

What is the message that you would like to convey to the marketing aspirants in college?

There are two basic factors I would like to stress on. 1st and foremost being what is it that you really want to do. What is the nature of work that you would be very keen to do? As glamorous as marketing seems to be, actually it might not be so. Secondly, marketing is actually a left brain and right brain opportunity. Hence you need to be both, analytical as well as creative. It is important that you do a SWOT analysis of yourself that would help you appreciate your strengths and weaknesses.

THE MARKSMAN

BOOKWORM TWEETS All Marketers Tell Stories By Seth Godin

This book which comes from the marketing guru and entrepreneur, Seth Godin,was a 2005 release, in which he says how all marketers lie and the more believable ones are those who actually sell their product. The author has been a regular blogger and has popular insights about marketing. The idea for this book came to him during the 2004 US presidential elections. He states that both the sides spun lies, however, the more believable ones won. His holistic view on marketing is that if you want to promote your product or service in this environment where television marketing radio marketing if there are not working since it’s a amass media marketing tools. Seth talks about the idea that in order to differentiate your product, you need to weave a great story to sell your product. Here you don’t need to focus on the product features and benefits. Some of the examples that he uses are 80,000 Porsche, it’s the same exact car as a 30000 Volkswagen , but the reason people buy it is because of the story frame surrounding it. Great stories and not ideas, features and benefits are what spread from person to person, people like to tell stories and not product and features. The next idea is of a world view. When you think of mass marketing they are not focusing on individual world view, and that’s why today in this environment when we have so many choices, we need to focus on individuals. Then ironically he talks about authenticity, where he says that if you are going to tell a great story marketers need to stick to it, thereby moving from a fib to fraud. This book will help you and will impart a lot of information. This 210 pages book is a quick read to impact a business and will help in this eclectic marketing environment. It has a persuasive story with vivid examples .This is for a marketer looking to differentiate his story and understand his customers better.

JANUARY 2013

SquAreheaD

THE MARKSMAN

BUZZ THE CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. What is the name of the travel guide, anyone can edit, started by Wikipedia ? 3. Which brand has become the world’s largest selling PC brand by beating HP ? 4. Name this legendary music retail brand which was opened on London’s Oxford Street by Edward Elgar in 1921. It is about to be closed down. 7. Dialogues from which Tarantino movie have inspired the words of the Idea jingle “u r my pumpkin, pumpkin, hunny bunny” ?

THE CLUES

DOWN

1A. Wikivoyage 1D. Wegelin 3. Lenovo 4. HMV 6. EIDParry 7.PulpFiction

2. Edelman 5. CoalIndia 8. Colgate

1. Name the oldest Swiss bank shut down recently. 2. Which is the worlds largest PR firm, headquartered in London ? 5. Which Indian company has been nominated for the notorious Public Eye Awards for worst company worldwide for protection of human rights and environment ? 6. India’s first sugar plant was set up in 1842 in Nellikuppam, Tamil Nadu. Which company owns this plant now ? 8. From which company has Soft and Gentle brand been acquired by Godrej in UK ?

JANUARY 2013

CALL FOR ARTICLES February 2013 Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:

1. RIM rebrands to BlackBerry with launch of BlackBerry 10 : How does the future look? 2. The Graph search - Facebook's intelligent step 3. Is creativity losing its edge on the data driven marketing today? *Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are clearly mentioned 1. One article can have only one author. 2. Your article should be from 500-600 words and MUST be replete with relevant pictures that can be used to enhance your article. 3. Send in your articles in .doc/.docxformat with font size 11 (Arial) to: interface.newsletter@gmail.com 4. Subject Line: Your Name_InstituteName_CourseYear. 5. Kindly name your file as: Your Name_Topic The best adjudged article will be given a winner's certificate. Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59 PM , 20 January 2013.

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To subscribe to "The Marksman", Follow the link:-http://interfacesimsr.com/themarksman.html OR drop in a mail/contact us at : interface.newsletter@gmail.com Subject line: Subscribe: Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year

THE TEAM COVER STORY

SPECIAL STORY

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about AD-itude

Richa Garg

Meeta Khatri

Priyam Prasad

SquAreheaD Tavishi Agrawal

Brand MARK ive Vivek Misra

BOOKWORM Smriti Sudish

TWEETS

BUZZ

PROMOTIONS

Mandar Dongre

Nishant Singla

Nishant Singla Mandar Dongre

Hall-MARK Campaigns Vivek Misra

PROOF READ

DESIGNING

Roma Sehgal

Richa Garg Divya Damera Nishant Singla

REWIND Smriti Sudish

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TETE-a-TETE Priyam Prasad

Website: http://interfacesimsr.com/themarksman.html

JANUARY 2013