Brandi Issue 2

High on marketing...
January 2012, Vol. I, Issue 2
The Year of the Titans
MIB, Delhi University|BRAND.i, Vol. I, Issue 2, Jan 2012
Index
Marketing In The New Era: Shopper Marketing The War of the Noodles! 'Emotional' Marketing Marketing Of Luxury Goods Hero Honda Re-branding To Hero Motocorp Reckitt Benckiser: Becoming Indian healthcare giant Recession: An Opportunity To Build Your Brand 2011: Year of the Titans Demise of a Creative Genius Anna Phenomenon Why this Viral Viral Di ? Cricket Mania Flash Mobbed ! Tourism Marketing Sensory Branding And Its Importance In Marketing Breakthrough or Mismatch? Referral Marketing: Simpler Yet Smarter Positioning: Erstwhile or Still A Relevant Strategy?? Nokia Vs Samsung; Battle royale Brands: It's About You
Kiran Krishnan Ankit Soni Janya Mahesh Menghrajani Jay Padhya Puneet Kapoor Rohit Sah Saurabh Ruhela
Editorial Team, Brand.i Sahil Lohra Himanshu Chauhan Ankit Soni Himanshu Chauhan Ankit Soni Raghu & Praveen Megha Rathod
Shubham Shrivastava Akashdeep Sah jayant desai Sanjay Raturi Vishal Vishy
Marketing In The New Era: Shopper Marketing

Kiran Krishnan IIM Indore
What is shopper marketing? It is a relatively recent marketing discipline which aims at converting shoppers in buyers, through an integrated marketing approach for the mutual benefits of both the marketer as well as the retailer. This concept originated in the West initiated by companies like P&G, Unilver & Coca Cola. The emergence and dependence of Modern Retail is believed to be the driving force resulting in new concepts like shopper marketing to influence shoppers in some of the largest markets like Walmarts, Carrefours, Tescos, Sears etc. Ever since, Shopper Marketing has been working for brands around the world to go beyond conventional merchandising and visibility creation to actually drive purchase. There is a fundamental difference between shoppers and consumers. Shoppers behave differently from consumers. With consumers the focus of the brand is on consumption. With shoppers, the focus is on purchase! Whether digital, e-commerce, m-commerce, traditional media, in-store or direct communications, shopper marketing encourages retailers and manufacturers to communicate more directly with consumers. It should therefore be noted that it is not limited to only in-store marketing activities but is a part of an overall integrated marketing approach that considers the opportunities to d r i v e consumption and identifies the shopper. From an Indian perspective, S h o p p e r marketing is ideal for: Brands which have a high dependence on modern retail Brand which dwell on shopping experience as a the key driver of differentiation New format retailers who are looking at expansion /re-launch of their store / department/category etc The various private labels which are looking at carving out more market share etc Emerging Trends A recent survey by the Grey and G2s Eye on Asia report for bulk of Indian shoppers throws out highly interesting insights. It notes, One-third of final purchase choices are made in-store, more so in hyper or super markets, claims recent. Indians spend an average 36 minutes in supermarkets and about 20 minutes in provision stores. It notes that 50% of consumers decide on the basis of what the information is provided at store level promotions, demonstrations and advice. Also the shopper frequency is increasing. With more visits per week and a slowing interest in the big weekly shop, the right thing for, say the food brands, would be to suggest customers ideas for dinner tonight rather than just ideas for dinner Various other reports also note that, Shoppers are increasingly making, changing or reinforcing their purchase decisions at the store. Worldwide studies by leading FMCG companies put this figure as high as 70%. Hence, marketing for low involvement, impulse purchase products are expected to gather speed. In addition, the store is the second largest source of awareness, after Television, for information on
Brand Trivia
Apple's original logo in 1976 featured Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree.
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brands and products. Not surprising then, that the store is the new moment of truth for brand marketers seeking to go beyond share-of-mind, to capture share-of-pocket. Key Insights The Popularity of Mobile Phones Smart phones provide us with the mobility, convenience and information to reduce the barriers to purchase thereby converting us from shoppers in to buyers. Smart phones/mobile devices provide a search-toshelf service whereby shoppers are using digital communications to inform a buying decision before even setting foot in the store. Even when in store, those shoppers are using the mobile to check on the prices, or mobile coupons or simply googling to double check whether the best product has been purchased at the best possible price. Smart phones thus have become ubiquitous and Google says Mobile Ads is the future of advertising See reference videos There is also this explosion in the mobile application field which are being taken up by brands. These branded applications, which act as tools to help people shop are essentially a highly involving form of direct marketing and improve a shoppers life. And if a brand can improve a shoppers life, then repeat purchase is even more likely and loyalty beyond reason can be built. Future of Shopping? Product catalogues for smart phones is already the new thing for big retailers and billions are being spent on providing a flawless user experience to shoppers. RFID technologies, Location based services, mobile payment gateways; social shopping will truly transform the way we look at shopping in India. We can expect an increased leveraging of technology where in one would be increasingly dependent on the smart phone apps prior to purchase say like Big Bazaar Apps, that still allows consumers get the cheapest deals without the crowd, chaos and long queues. Shopping for dresses would be so interactive that we can try on the various clothes on a virtual mirror and check out the best suiting ones by just a few swipes. Customization would gather more speed and would
be the differentiating factor. Cashless shopping would be an accepted norm. All we have to do would be just flashing our mobile phones in the counter and walk out. M-Commerce would be the ordinary mode of cash transfer. In 2010 brands really started to harness the power of social networks but there is a still a lot to learn. In 2011 emerging technologies will allow users of social networks to buy products directly from sites like Facebook. Geo-marketing (such as Facebook Places and FourSquare) is also taking hold, allowing brands to target shoppers based on their geographic locations. E-commerce would be more of an Everywhere Commerce concept and Social buying would dominate the online buying space. Hence, in tomorrows world, your mobile device would be your digital looking glass! Where are Indian Companies? In India, the Modern Retail is still at the nascent stage but growing at strong double digits. Here, hanging around in malls is increasingly becoming a nation past-time. We have a lot of catching up to do with our western counterparts and hopefully with the recent developments like Wal-Mart entering India and rise of other modern retail formats, shopper marketing is expected to prosper. Some recent news in this field are: In July 20, 2010, Coca-Cola India has appointed OgilvyAction, the activation arm of Ogilvy India for creating shopper marketing programs for the companys brand portfolio. OgilvyAction will work across all key channels where Coca-Cola India operates in the country. In February 2011, Saatchi announced that its global clients, who have a presence in India like Diageo, P&G, Pepsico and LG are expected to extend their shopper marketing business to the agency in India too. Madison Shopper Marketing (MASH) has already started its operations and is currently providing to services to clients like Britannia & Tata- AIG And all you marketers out there, does all this sound like an interesting career option?
Brand Trivia
Apple was the first company to introduce the mouse and the trackpad.
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The War of the Noodles!

Ankit Soni Master of International Business, Delhi University
Yes, you heard it right! These are times of the Noodles war in India. And if you are sitting with a bowl of your favourite 2minute noodles you have been eating since years, there are high chances that you might be eating a new brand of noodles when you are reading the next issue of this magazine. it. There is almost no prominent communication in India, yet it is good in numbers. It is growing at good rate and the distribution is slowly reaching tier 1 and tier2 cities. This popularity made the company "Chaudhry Group" set up a factory in India too. The instant noodle market is growing steadily at 2025% annually. There has always been a single leader i.e. Maggi by Nestle, the others only take single digit percentages. Maggi has, however, not been sitting quiet like an arrogant leader; it continuously revamps its campaigns and products too. It came up with a new 'Meri Masala Maggi 'recently, bringing out a new spicier version. It already has the classic flavour - Vegetable Atta noodles, Curry, Chicken and the fast growing Cup variant. In fact, Maggi has the highest number of variants in the category. It is being leader in the market that gives Maggi the power to continuously experiment and also get away with failures. If you think Maggi is the king and will be, and that it doesn't need to fear, you may be wrong. It is David vs. Goliath, David being not one but constituting many Indian and foreign brands such as Top Ramen (Nissin), Yippee (ITC, WaiWai (Chaudhry Group), etc. New entrants such as Yippee have aggressively taken the market. Months before the actual communication, Yippee noodles was present in almost every mom and pop shop , which was the result of ITC's efficient distribution network and aggressive margins. This was because this category has a major dependence on the taste and hence this period was seen as a testing and sampling time. When the communication started, they even changed the product and brought round cakes instead of the conventional rectangular ones. Now they are one of the major competitions to Maggi in the urban areas. Let us now talk about our neighbour Nepal's entry to this war WaiWai. WaiWai is a domestic name in the North East and other eastern areas like Uttrakhand, etc. It is quite popular in hostels and boarding schools due to its unique flavour and different ways of making
Maggi has never had a brand ambassador and its recently concluded campaign had the consumer as the ambassadors. Whatever the future holds for this war, one thing is for sure- the consumer will have the last laugh , as the choices will increase , the offers will increase and the taste will be the decider as it has been always.
Brand Trivia
Steve Jobs commonly donned a black long-sleeved mock-turtleneck made by St. Croix, Levi's 501 blue jeans (he owned more than 100), and New Balance 992 sneakers.
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'Emotional' Marketing
Janya Mahesh Menghrajani Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research
Nails should not be cut at night for fear of evil spirits!! Evil spirits are eagerly waiting for the next human who cuts his nails and are all-equipped to attack.. Hiccups indicate someone is thinking of you!! The hiccups must have been taught telepathy at school.. No matter which part of the world you are in, people have their own set of superstitions and beliefs and India is no exception. These superstitions and beliefs have turned into a breeding ground for marketing. Urban consumers were looking out for a stress buster that would enhance productivity and sustain energy levels. A hint of 'demand' and the 'supply' was ready: Art of Living. Sufficient word-of-mouth publicity backed by public figures like Vijay Mallya and Lara Dutta has made Sri Sri Ravi Shankar a household name. Baba Ramdev, a school dropout, has turned millionaire. The eminent yoga guru's empire includes hospitals, wellness centers and colleges worth over Rs. 1,100 crores. Astonishingly, he is just about 45 years of age. Products worth Rs. 3,000 are sold every minute by his companies. How did Baba Ramdev become so big!!! He created customer communities and ensured that the brand became a religion. The significant contribution by Patanjali Yogpeeth, intended to be a rival to the World Health Organization, cannot be forgotten. Most importantly, Swami Ramdev went far beyond medicines, to what we call 'lifestyle'. From soaps to towels, from hats to shoes, there is a spiritual touch in every item up for sale. Humans tend to bribe even GOD. From ancient days, human has been promising charity if he is rewarded. He pays part of his earnings to please the GODS for more. Greed plays its part. Shirdi, a small town in the state of Maharashtra, is renowned for its 'Sai Baba' temple. 'Bhakts' the world over come to seek Sai Baba's blessings. Surprisingly, the rates for hotel rooms and food, fluctuate across seasons. A weekend of 3 or more days, and the prices would go up by about 2 times. The 'Bhakts', not wanting to disappoint Sai Baba, would happily pay even 3 times the price!! Market segmentation, differential pricing schemes e.g. different prices at Shirdi or in queues for darshan at all big temples etc. are exactly the same marketing tools used by soap & shampoo companies. To sell shampoo in a sachet (cheap) or a bottle (expensive), is decided depending on your level of blind faith. We are men and not afraid of anything!! is a clich in the Indian books on men's egos. But ask an Indian to fight a eunuch and he will back out. In India it is believed that the curse by a 'hijra', (as eunuchs are popularly known) if meant wholeheartedly, can have implications ranging from impotency to even death. I foresee a day, when everything from grocery to stationary will be sold by eunuchs at five times the prices, and we would have no choice, but to pay, unless we are ready to bear the burden of an everlasting curse. The issue is not just in India, it is world over. In the USA, there have been several cases of cult suicide. One such group was 'Heaven's Gate'. In Switzerland, 'The Order of the Solar Temple' mass suicide killed around 74 people in two towns. About two thirds of the deaths were murders. This included the murder of a newborn child. Across the world, religious sentiments seem to pour out during Diwali, Christmas and other festivals. Donations pour in at this time. Religious institutions and groups launch their faith marketing campaigns to gamble with people's sentiments and emotions. We fail to understand that a donor should donate based on merit and not merely to satisfy his religious or sentimental quotient e.g. UNICEF's actual contribution to charity is under 15-20% of what they collect. The rest goes to administration costs, overheads, etc. Sentimental Marketing which markets sentiments, religion and beliefs in a commercial way, is becoming a way of life. You and I are being sold our own religion, our own beliefs and our own customs. We ignorantly pay big bucks and happily comply. Religion and beliefs are not bad, blind faith is bad. Payout on sentiments is BAD! It is time we use our intellect and question our beliefs. It is time we ask ourselves, Do we want to nurture the poisonous tree of sentimental marketing?
Brand Trivia
The original Apple 1 computer sold for $666.66.
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Marketing Of Luxury Goods

Jay Padhya Student MBA
Live life, King size is truly todays a mantra of the consumer age never seen before. Today, a distinct and new age of brand-savvy customers has begun where they demand more than just satisfaction. As per the saying from guru of marketing P. Kotler, Satisfying the customer has gone past and Overwhelming the customer is true way to succeed in todays neck-toneck competition. Today, the customer goes beyond the functionalism of a particular product and looks out for the experimentation and an identity behind the usage of the product. When it comes to luxury products, they sell themselves on basis of their identity, brand name and more importantly their marketing. Take an example of Champagne, where earlier there were no correct methods of storing such an item it gained a momentum to be a luxury drink for the affluent. Certainly, now the age has shifted to a segment of consumers willing to sacrifice a small part of savings to but the brand of their choice. Well but what it takes to fit a brand name in a mind of a customer. According to a research1, symbol plays a vital role of a luxury item. It is certain that when you are buying a Gucci or Armani you are looking above the functional aspect of the product. You could do with an ordinary product but you look into these luxury brands as they make you feel a sense of superiority and exclusivity. It is a misconception that flashy, superfluous priced commodities are luxurious. In fact, in most cases what distinguishes a luxury product from non luxury one is the exclusiveness or specialty . The symbol speaks the image and creates a lust of a brand. The other most important factor is brand preference and brand loyalty2 which are prime factors in determining the brand equity. The age of the luxury product also is distinguishing factor-An example of Bontoni3(A shoe brand ) has entered the luxury shoe market since 2004 and has the best designs like their competitors like Gucci or Berluti but hasnt had an upscale in their sales in the American shoe market. The advantage of having a luxury brand name is that the name is unaffected even during the economic downfall. Again, the brand loyalty plays a vital role. During a recent meltdown luxury biggies like the Louis V had a 20% growth but the luxury brand Tiffany faced a decline in sales. It is the advertisements and brand ambassadors that play a vital role in the image-formation of any brand. The worshipped celebs have done promoting and advertising of a brand since quite past years. Be it C.Ronaldo for Bugatti or Federer for Rolex, they create a vision that these products are way beyond ordinary. The Fashion weeks features favorite celebrities endorsed with their respective brand promotions. Glamorous has been on similar terms of being luxurious. The best part is that gender is not a concern because brands are meant to work out for both the sexes, like the Louis V who makes finest design hand bags for females and flamboyant suitings for men. Internet advertising is pulling every user to access the latest trends and launches. Even social networking sites features the names of those well named brands liked by your friends. These brands continuously promote the feeling which is to live beyond just the ordinary and elevate the status to create a legacy in society. But to get that image of being luxurious is beyond short term advertisements. It is all about providing the functionality as well as the extravaganza feeling to the customer that he is unique. It is about to make him / her feel that he / she is above the ordinaire and belongs to a class that is enjoyed only by a few exquisite people.
Brand Trivia
Apple's current logo was designed by Rob Janoff.
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Hero Honda Re-branding To Hero Motocorp

Puneet Kapoor Goa Institute of Management
The year 2010 marked the end of one of the worlds most successful corporate marriages Hero Honda and a new beginning for The Munjals of the Hero Cycles Ltd. Back in 1984, the two firms shared a common belief that India with its burgeoning population, low per capita income and unorganized public transport system, would be in need of frugal means of personal transportation. Hero with its inherent knowledge of selling products in India was the champion in Sales & Marketing and Honda was the undisputed leader in two wheeler technologies worldwide. After 26 years of sharing technology to make the most economical and fuel efficient motorcycles for the Indian consumers, Honda Motors decided to move out of the joint venture. This divorce enables the Hero Group to export its motorcycles to other nations which was not possible earlier and brings us to an exciting birth of a new brand Hero MotoCorp. The worlds largest manufacturer of twowheelers by volume sales for nine consecutive years since 2001 and one of The Forbes 200 Most Respected Companies in the world Hero Honda has come a long way. With a massive 5 million strong consumer base and more than 20 million twowheelers on Indian roads, Hero Honda truly became Desh Ki Dhadkan with Dhak Dhak image touching the hearts and strings of everyone across the nation. Rebranding this big a brand would be a mammoth task in order to move out of the mould of Hero Honda and ride into newer and different horizons. The Hero Group roped in London-based Wolff Olins - a global brand and innovation specialist, to work on its new identity including the brand architecture, brand name, brand logo and brand positioning with an underlying theme of Creation, Renewal and Reenergizing the brand. The entire re-branding exercise would involve a gradual shrinkage of brand Honda and place Brand Hero on all its products by 2014. The new logo shows the letter H in capital with a clear white background along with Hero written beneath in Red. The black color in the logo stands for solidity and premium-ness while the Red gives a feeling of energy, passion, and confidence. To represent Hero in 3D, the logo even has a triangle, trapezoid and a parallelogram in the first letter of its name. The sharp edges depict style, engineering and innovation. The new logo is designed to relate to the youth and their 'can do' spirit. The company has rolled out a new anthem Hum Mein Hai HERO (Theres a Winner in All of us), composed by A.R Rahman with the campaign launch on 15th August to capture the maximum eyeballs and was received with a lot of excitement and applause by the masses that could connect the HERO-ism of the brand with their daily challenges and a true winning spirit. I agree with Mr. Pawan Munjal, the CEO of Hero MotoCorp, who explains this campaign as a true sense of Indian Catapult which signals that although its roots are very Indian, it is ready for global expansion. I like the way the Hero Group has re-positioned itself for the emerging Brand India. But the real test begins for the Munjals who will now have to look at building very crucial R&D facilities required to operate in a tough market like India. As a consumer, Ive always felt that the real Hero in the new-age Hero Honda bikes was the Honda engine viz. CBZ, Hunk and Karizma. Hero MotoCorp needs to make its consumers aware of the technology advancements and progress they make in their motorcycles to maintain their leadership position in the market. With players like Bajaj, TVS and Honda rolling out exciting models every year, we just need to wait and watch if the new HERO becomes India Ki Nayi Dhadkan or not.
Brand Trivia
After being kicked out of Apple, Steve Jobs started an unsuccessful company called NeXT.
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Reckitt Benckiser: Becoming Indian healthcare giant

Rohit Sah IIM Ranchi
The only thing that perhaps found in each and every first aid kit is Dettol. Off the decade the Dettol has become synonym of antiseptic liquid. The matter of the fact is that many such antiseptics, like Savlon, tried to enter in the market, but could not survive the place where people rely on their faith in brand as major criteria for their choices. One important reason for maintaining its position in top ten constantly is its marketing strategy which involves innovative advertisement shown on the Television regularly. Remember the punch line; aapka Dettol kya kya karta hai. Reckitt Bensicker seems to be very much focussed about its plan to become, or perhaps maintain, its numero uno position when it comes to producing household products and consumer healthcare /personal products. It is clearly visible that their strategy depends on acquiring the already stabilised brands while drive and flooded modern retail shelves with its brands Lifebuoy and Domex to take on RB's top brands like Dettol and Herpic toilet. However, it barely affected the people's choices when it comes to personal hygiene. The man behind the success of RB in Indian market and of course worldwide too is Mr Rakesh kapoor, executive vice president, global category development and an executive committee member. Mr Kapoor is designated to become global CEO on 1st September 2011 after the retirement of Bart Betcher as the current CEO. He, XLRI alumni, is joining the Indian originated global CEO club following Indira Nooyi and Vikram Pandit. The success of RB is majorly due to its innovative marketing ideas, a couple of years back the company launched 'surakshit pariwar', an awareness campaign on hygiene. With a budget of just 5 crore,which primarily meant to spread awareness on hygiene in family and school environment. As per Mr Chander
maintaining the brand value of their existing products. RB could easily produce the analgesic balm and effective face wash but it acquired SSL (producing and marketing ultrasil) and Indian Paras pharmaceutical (MOOV). Marginal benefit seems to be far good than marginal cost involved in this deal. Paras pharmaceuticals had already occupied Indian OTC drug market through the vast variety of products like MOOV, D'COLD, DERMICOOL, KRACK CREAM and ITCH GUARD. RB bought Paras for INR 32.6 Billion which seems to be reasonable as Paras has a strong hold in Indian market. Though in February this year, when RB slashed the margin of the retailers, HUL launched a special market
Mohan sethi, MD of RB India Ltd. He planned to reach about 12 lakhs new mother and 3 lakhs student under its hand wash programme in school. A major segment where RB, more likely Dettol can make its presence felt is making and marketing antiseptic self-adhesive bandages. There was a time when Band-Aid by Johnson and Johnson ruled the market. But at this point of time RB can encash upon its Dettol brand by making this product as no other major player is visible in the market Thus with the kind of power it enjoys in Indian healthcare/personal care market. The day is not far away when it will start manufacturing even the prescribed/scheduled drugs and will become the king of market replacing Ranbaxy and cipla.
Brand Trivia
Back in 1994, Apple actually launched the first mass-market color digital camera in the U.S.
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Recession: An Opportunity To Build Your Brand

Saurabh Ruhela PGDM, T. A. Pai Management Institute
During Recession, Almost each and every company tries to trim all the business activities and the first thing they do is, reduction in the prices. This strategy may prove fruitful to minify the impact of Recession, but this strategy can eventually be detrimental not only to brand but to company also. The time of recession is in-fact the best time for a company and a brand to attract new consumers and make them loyal to gain in the long run. Recession is the time when every -body tries to minimise risk in each and every aspect of his/her life. Its the time when consumers have less disposable income and he/she becomes more selective and prudent in his/her approach. It is the time when consumer becomes more price- conscious and to minimise the risk they tend to go for brand which provides clear and pertinent value. During Bull Economy, every company spends a large amount of money on branding and marketing of their product. During recession they go for cost cutting and do not invest much in marketing activities and this is the time where competitor brand has the highest probability to attract new consumers and the loyal consumers of the competitors product. It is like Running with your neighbours wife when he is in deep slumber. Branding is an exercise which requires regular commitment to ensure the good health of the company and its brand. In times of crisis one needs to extra careful for the maintenance of its brand. There is a one famous quote which says Take care of your brand and your brand will take care of you . This is the time when company needs to invest more in its brand to occupy large market share along with the heart and mind of consumer. History says that hard times are best times to move forward. This is the time when one can work hard to steal the market share and build the value for its brand. This is the time when weaker brand doze off and the other brands could stand higher in the crowd. The brand-value posses the power to alter the buying behaviour of consumer and definitely has the power to gain the customer brand based equity. And when value looks pertinent to consumer he/she usually are willing to pay premium to minimise the risk of a bad decision, so they tend to go for a brand. Recession helps in eradicating the smaller brands and gives the stronger brands a good chance to be leader in the product category. When the economy is bearish, discounting the brand would make it even worse for the company. Historically companies who had taken care of their brands during tough times gained higher share and loyalty in comparison with lower price alternatives. Recession is a tough time for both the companies and consumer as both feels the pressure to restrict them-selves in terms of cash flows. Instead of looking recession as a bane it should be looked as an opportunity to reassess the strategies that the company is following to earn the equity for brand. Decision should be focussed on spending smartly rather than hardly. Customarily in the times of recession, companies try to tighten their belt but eventually they land up loosening their bonds with the consumer. But they forget the point that at the time when other companies are cutting back, currency and message go deeper and farther. Recession may look like the worst time to be in the field of marketing; however it may be the golden opportunity to build or strengthen your brand. Companies who act diligently and play strategically will come out of the recession strongly and weaker brands may not even exist by the time economy bounce back. There is a golden saying that To be success full, one needs to be optimistic. Look for opportunities and capitalise on the situation which is superficially a hopeless one for others and try to grab the low hanging fruit. When the market weakens, management too often changes its approach from brand centric to price centric. This leads to the beginning of vicious downward spiral where the value of brand takes a swift ride towards a deep abyss. Proactive response is supposedly the only feasible and effective answer to recession which would help a brand to move upwards in the spiral ring and thus help in creating a better brand equity.
Brand Trivia
Macintosh was named after a variety of apples which was Steve Jobs' favourite
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2011: Year of the Titans

Editorial Team Brand.i, Master of International Business, Delhi University
The year 2011 witnessed the nascence of several trends and the obsolescence of others. Some met success. Others bit dust. To add to this, something distinctly curious happened. The rise and demise of many bigwigs from various walks of life -Steve Jobs, Sachin Tendulkar or Anna Hazare, to name a few. Such people (who are, themselves, lessons in Business, Marketing and Inspiration on multiple levels) claimed 2011 as their very own. 'They Came, They Saw and They Conquered' - and a potpourri of these individuals, happenings, brands and fads distinguished 2011 as their year. Together, let us go on an exploratory journey. Let's find out what made 2011- The Year of The Titans.
Demise of a Creative Genius

Sahil Lohra
Think of the words creativity, innovation and passion, personify them to form a visual of a humanly figure and you have Steve Jobs springing up in your mind. The year 2011 witnessed the expiration of one of the most beautiful minds of the 20th Century. The visionary co-founder of Apple, Inc. died on October 5,2011 of Pancreatic cancer. Let's take a look at some of the key milestones of his life in chronological order: 1974- Having dropped out of college, Steve Jobs works at Atari Inc. as a video game designer. In 1974, he reconnects with Stephen Wozkiak. The logic board, Apple-1, is built in a garage. To get enough startup capital, Jobs sells his Volkswagen minibus. 1976- Together with Wozniak, Jobs starts the company- Apple Computers, Inc. The next year, Apple-II, A computer with a fully functional keyboard is launched. This becomes very popular in schools. 1985- It is a period of disappointing sales and in an unexpected turn of events, the board of directors at Apple remove Jobs from his position as the head of the Macintosh division. Five months later, Jobs resigns from Apple. The same year, he starts another company with the aim of designing computers for educational purposes, called the NeXT corporation. 1986- Launched in 1979, Pixar- the Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilms, is purchased by Steve Jobs after paying a hefty amount to George Lucas. It is then renamed as Pixar Animation Studios. 1996- Apple buys Jobs's NeXT, bringing him back to Apple. 1997- In a period of slumping sales, the then CEO at Apple, Gilbert Amelio, is ousted by the board of directors and Steve Jobs replaces him. 1998- Jobs introduced the iMac, a curvy one-piece simply designed computer. The period witnesses Apple's return to profitability. 2001- Jobs introduces Apple's iPod- a series of portable media players which are essentially used to play music files or watch videos whilst offering an advantage of portability, and iTunes- a software that enables a user to integrate the functions of media playing, downloading songs over the internet, organizing music files and videos with ease. He persuades major recording companies to sell their music online via Apple's iTunes Music Store. 2003- Jobs is diagnosed with a rare form of Pancreatic Cancer. 2006- Pixar merges with The Walt Disney Co. making
Brand Trivia
Before co-founding Apple, Steve Jobs worked for Atari.
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Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney and serve as a member of its board of directors. 2007- Jobs changes the name of the company to Apple, Inc. Apple, Inc. releases its first smartphone, the iPhone which is welcomed in the market with arms wide open. People wait in anticipation for its release and flock in stores to be the first to own one. 2008- Jobs loses significant weight, raising the rumours that his cancer has returned. Investors demand full disclosure of his health status since the share prices were somewhat related to Jobs's wellness. 2009- Jobs attributes his weight loss to a hormonal imbalance. It is later learned that he had a liver transplant. 2010- The first model of the iPad- a series of tablet computers, is launched. It becomes a huge hit for Apple, Inc, selling about 15 million units in nine months. 2011- In January, Jobs writes a memo to the Apple employees stating that he would be taking a leave of absence due to an unspecified medical condition. To
take care of the day-to-day operations, Jobs appoints COO, Tim Cook to be responsible until Jobs's return. On 24th August, Jobs resigns from his position of Apple's CEO leaving Cook to the title. He retains the position of Chairman, however. On 5th October, a day after the news of the release of the iPhone 4S, Steve Jobs passes away. At the Stanford University commencement address in 2005, he urged the students to" Stay hungry, stay foolish". i.e. One should always be driven and hungry for knowledge and continuously work towards its attainment. Also, it would be imprudent to consider himself to have had a sufficient amount of knowledge and be blinded by the illusion of being wise enough, since the attainment of knowledge is an undying pursuit. Humility and hunger, and not conceitedness and contentment, pay in the long run. Steve Jobs indeed lived a productive and beautifully eventful life, becoming a source of inspiration for his contemporaries and the generations to come.
Anna Phenomenon
Himanshu Chauhan
During the August of 2011, more than a billion tongues in India swore by Anna Hazare. The 75 year old Gandhian, whose ideas of retaliating against corruption were accepted and welcomed with open arms by the Indian populace, not only instigated a nationwide anti-corruption movement but also became a brand in himself . The T-shirts, Gandhi caps and other merchandise which sold like hot cakes were apparently inconsequential in front of the phenomenal amount of media attention he received. During the first two weeks, almost 80% of the top 10 national news channels devoted most of their air time to his campaign. Many brands tried to cash in on the Anna-fever that had gripped the entire nation. Amul even released an Amul Hit on Anna Hazares fast. In the advertisements of the other brand as well, direct or indirect allusions to Anna or the anti-corruption movement were widespread. However, the biggest brand Anna turned out to be was for the Civil Society itself. A bill, which was rotting in some government offices file cabinet for more than 40 years came into lime light within 2 weeks and got support from more than a billion people. Brand Anna turned out to be a hit overseas as well, when nonviolence protest like occupy Wall Street and a similar protest in Pakistan were seemingly inspired by the Anna Hazare campaign.
Brand Trivia
Google started as a project called 'Backrub'
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Why this Viral Viral Di ?

Ankit Soni
Yes you know what I am talking about. One of the biggest phenomenon of twenty eleven, the pre-release leaked version of the 'soup song', sung by the son in law of Rajnikanth, took everyone by storm. In no time, it became one of the most watched videos on Youtube. And the meter has touched 36 Mn ! But 'Why this Viral Viral di ?' Many experts like Javed Akhtar criticized it while many have welcomed it . But most give credit to the catchy tune by debutante Anirudh who, some say, is the "next Rahman in making", to the hip and funny lyrics by Dhanush who touched not only the regional audience but also the universal audience with his rhythm correct English and Tamil lyrics, and most importantly to the power of social media. Every other day we see a new version of the song, with Sonu Niigaam also making his son sing the song, (which again became viral and a hit on the web), a video showing Japanese dancers performing on the song, some regional versions and also a version which mocked the incident of Sharad Pawar getting attacked. CNN International termed it as the 'song of the year' and Chennai Traffic Police released ads using the Kolaveri fever asking people to drive safely.[pic] But why are we talking about it in a marketing magazine? This is just an example to prove wrong those who think Social Media is just a secondary or supporting medium, which,in fact, is the medium where all brands should concentrate. This is an example how powerful social media has become and what its reach is. The return on investment is infinity ! Apparently Aishwarya Dhanush the director of '3' , doesn't need to spend too much on the marketing of the film. Give it a thought .
Cricket Mania
Himanshu Chauhan
While other sports are still struggling to make it to the advertising pie- which rose from 13% in 2010 to 20% big stage, in 2011, Cricket almost effortlessly outdid in 2011 of a Rs. 12,000 Crore plus market, which is each and every one of those. Be it the maiden Formula much bigger than media like radio, internet and 1 race at the Gautam Buddha outdoors. The rise in share from International Circuit or the FIFA 13% to 20% itself shows more than Impact of Cricket World Cup 2011 on TV channels world cup, the ICC Cricket World GRPs 50% growth in advertising. Pre World World Cup Difference Cup 2011 alone raked in more Genre Cup Season '11 Corporations like Maruti Suzuki moolah from just the advertisers. English 35 32 -7% spent around 90% of their overall And then to top it off, when we business news sports advertising budget only on 44 37 -15% account for the figures from IPL 4 English GEC English 181 191 6% cricket while Hyundai went a step and other Cricket Tours & Series- movies ahead and spent its entire English news 68 74 9% the figure is unimaginable. advertising budget on cricket ESPN 39 177 349% 33 31 -4% Cricket has always been the Hindi business advertising and related events; be it news favourite son of the Indian Hindi GEC ATL or BTL. This kind of 6594 6174 -6% advertisers and 2011 can indeed be Hindi movies advertiser-mania actually makes 2397 2271 -5% 784 918 17% termed as the 'Year of Cricket'. The Hindi news genre sense when we see it in light of the 267 254 -5% inordinate amount of money that Infotainment fact that 92% of the male Kids 1351 1371 1% advertisers spent on various Music genre population of the country is 493 509 3% cricketing series and events is quite Star Cricket involved in cricket in some form or 122 1464 1099% 35 898 2496% evident by a comparison of the Star Sports the other and it's a favourite past share of cricket in the TV Source : TAM, CS$+
Brand Trivia
Nike started as Blue Ribbon Sports.
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time of 48% of the Indian population. Upon comparison with the other sports events, the mammoth-like magnitude of cricketing events can be ascertained from the fact that while the opening ceremony of Common Wealth Games 2010 was watched by 11.6 million viewers in the metros via DD National and DD Sports, and FIFA World Cup Final garnered a viewership of 1.5 million viewers, the ICC Cricket world cup reaped in a viewership of more than 150 million viewers with TVRs going as high as 23.21 for the IndiaPakistan match. Apart from sky touching TVRs, sports channels-mainly the ones associated solely with cricket, ate up the GRPs of the other channels. The GRPs took a gigantic leap for
sports channels during the ICC Cricket World Cup. However, the recent failures of the Indian Cricket team on tours of England and Australia have had a negative impact on the viewership of cricket. Meanwhile other sports like boxing, F1 and hockey are swiftly catching up. But the fact is, cricket still remains the king when it comes to getting a share from the advertising revenue's pie and it's a long way before any other sport shall be in a position to threaten to dethrone cricket or even appear to be anywhere close. Until then, other sports will have to kneel before the hitherto undisputed dominion of cricket in the advertisement world with bowed heads and folded hands!
Flash Mobbed !
Ankit Soni
Little did 23 year old Shonan Kothari know about the future of Flash Mobs before organizing one at the CST station on the occasion of the anniversary of the is another example of Buzz Marketing, since it has the longest retention. Other companies like Nokia, Zee TV for their show 'Dance India Dance' and others, also followed suit and organized some 'successful' Flash Mobs. But the question is: "Will this golden egg laying hen be butchered too soon?" There have been instances of 'Failed' Flash Mobs in 2011, like the one in Janpath Market in Delhi where Police played the spoil sport. We just want to wish Good Luck and hope that it does not turn out like a 'Himesh Reshammiya' in the making. (No Pun Intended! )
terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The video went viral immediately and became a hit online. People were amused to see a group jiving on the 'Rang de Basanti' song. Since then Flash Mob has taken the marketing world by storm. Or has it? Exhibit A : Some people pick a fight in the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, asking each other about 'The Don' and suddenly , start performing on a song from Shahrukh Khan starrer 'Don'. Experts suggest that this
Brand Trivia
Adidas and Puma were started by the Dassler Brothers Adolf and Rudolf respectively.
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Sensory Branding And Its Importance In Marketing

Megha Rathod School of Management, SRM University
You cant bore people into buying your product you can only interest them. Jim Stengel, Global Marketing Officer P&G It is estimated that 75% of new products fail within their first year on the supermarket shelf (BUISSON 1995). Consequently, considerable resources invested in marketing are squandered. just as marketing is often used to mean sales or advertising. A brand is always a complex rnixture of attributes: packaging, visual identity and so on and advertising create its voice, but the actual personality of a brand only exists in the mind of the consumer.
Brands differentiate products and represent a promise of value; they provoke beliefs, evoke emotions and prompt behaviours. Assessing a brands Branding has been one of the most overused and image and how it compares to its competitors images misused terms in marketing communications today. is a necessary step in designing the marketing strategy. Just as marketing is often used to mean sales or Aaker (1991, 1996) proposed that brand advertising, branding seems to have a associations are anything linked in different definition to almost every memory to a brand. A distinctive person who utters it. Our senses brand personality can help create are our most intimate link with a set of unique and favourable TOUCH the living land, the primary associations in consumer way the earth has of memory and thus build influencing our moods and enhance brand and guiding our actions equity (Keller, 1993; (Abram: 2001). Sensory al., 2000; SMELL SOUND Johnson etLau, 2000). branding comes in Phau and favor to save marketers Sensory branding also from the troubled called Multisensory waters. Sensory marketing is becoming branding is said to be a an important method powerful tool to of marketing, engage customers by according to Kristin the integration of our Nauth, author of a study, senses which is used to Multisensory TASTE evoke, measure, analyze SIGHT Marketing. "Many and interpret reactions to companies are finding that those characteristics of when they engage consumers products. with multiple sensory touch-points not just the traditional sensory The usage of our five senses to evaluate channels of sight or hearing they can enhance brands are being used widely in the fields of consumers' emotional connection with their cosmetic industry, textile industry, chemical products and brands," Nauth explains. Sensory industry, packaging industry, sportive product design evaluation is a scientific discipline used to evoke and automobile industry. measure, analyse and interpret reactions to those characteristics of products or materials as they are Key words: Multi - Sensory branding, Memory perceived by the sense of sight, smell, taste and based branding, Our 5 senses. hearing. In turn, Sensory marketing is a very powerful Introduction because it offers instant gratification.
Sensory Branding
Branding has to be one of the most overused and misused terms in marketing communications today,
Today few companies have realised that they need to use sensory mediums for building a distinctive brand
Brand Trivia
Vimal Suitings was named after Dhirubhai Ambani's elder brother's son.
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personality. The usage of our five senses: vision, gustation, olfaction, touch and audition to evaluate brands are being used widely in the fields of cosmetic industry, textile industry, chemical industry, packaging industry, sportive product design and automobile industry. In all these industry sectors, automobile industry plays some leading role in the development of sensory techniques in product evaluation. So what are the senses exactly? The world is a construct; the brain builds based on the sensory information its given, and the information is only a small part of all thats available. (Ackerman, 1995: 304) Our senses are our most intimate link with the living land, the primary way the earth has of influencing our moods and guiding our actions (Abram: 2001). Interestingly, Rivlin and Gravelle go as far as saying that we have up to seventeen senses! Multisensory marketing the new era Every brand strives to impress its audience. Companies spend inordinate amounts of money to create or alter two things: Recognition and Perception. This, in turn, can only be perceived through one of our five senses. All knowledge, in fact, is taken in through the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and nervous system. That information is stored differently in the mind: some of it is sent straight to long-term memory, while other units of information attach themselves to nodes along pathways of constructed associations leading to other memories, emotions, feelings, etc. There are powerful brands like Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, Apple Computers, Singapore Airlines, BMW, who have learned how to make their brands live in the minds of the customers. The brand must least deliver their benefits because no amount of dressing up will make up for the lack. But distinctive brands deliver full sensory and emotional experience. SMELL: Martin Lindstrom puts forth that that only 3% of Fortune 1000 companies have given thought to using smell in their marketing or branding, despite the claim that 75% of our emotions are generated by what we smell. A human being can remember more than 10,000 different scents and the perception of a scent experienced earlier is enough for us to associate it with earlier memories.
Case 1: One of the finest and oldest examples experienced was created by Singapore Airlines in
1990s as part of their sensory branding experience. Singapore Airlines introduced an aroma by the name of Stefan Florida Waters, which was specifically formulated to be used as the scent in the flight attendants perfume; which was blended into the hot towels served before takeoff and generally suffused onto the interiors of every Singapore Airlines aircraft to create a distinct brand experience, which was instantly identified by passengers every time they boarded a Singapore Airlines flight. The patented aroma has become unique and very distinct trademark of Singapore Airlines ever since. SOUND: Sound affects our mood and psychological state, alerts us to danger and promotes peace of mind. Studies revealed that consumers eat faster and consume less with a loud volume and fast tempo music. Another research from Smith & Curnow (1966) revealed that in a point of sales, customer adopts his walking speed according to the tempo of the music.. Case 2: In the 1970s, IBM launched a silent typewriter that was rejected by users who felt uncomfortable with the new quiet machine. As a result, IBM added electronic sounds to replace the natural noise it had worked to eliminate.When sound is used consciously a firm has great opportunities to create a signature sound that characterises its brand. It is possible to use and register a legal sound brand. Case 3: It took computer giant Microsoft eighteen months to develop the Windows Vista starts up
Brand Trivia
ITC was founded as the Imperial Tobacco Company.
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sound. Microsoft looked for a clear, simple sound that would reflect the rhythm of the words Windows Vista with duration of four seconds. Four is also the number of colours in the visual logotype and Windows Vista. Bearing in mind that the sound would be played on millions of computer every day, it
Case 6: Tesco had launched a singing sandwich. It was a limited edition item for the World Cup - a jalapeno chicken sandwich in a wrapper that sang Ole Ole Ole to the consumer when they unwrap the cover. TOUCH: Studies have shown that compared to unmassaged babies, massaged babies gain weight as much as 50 percent faster! Touch creates familiarity with the store or the product. Case 7: At one point Rolls Royce started getting complaints about their new models not quite living up to their illustrious predecessors. On research they identified the only difference between the old and new models was the smell and feel. The interiors of older Rollers smelt of natural substances like wood, leather, Hessian and wool. Modern safety regulations forced the company to replace natural substances by foams and plastics. The only way that they could recapture that essence was to artificially mimic it and they did it. The everlasting experience every marketer must use Martin Lindstrom says If you use one sense, you activate one part of your brain. The more senses we use, the more we engage the brain. Sensory
was essential to create a pleasant sound experience. Case 4: Kelloggs, the breakfast cereal believed that taste is affected by the textures and flavour of the food. Hence their research team created a highly distinctive crunchy sensation for their breakfast cereals. They related their success with the crunchiness consumers felt in their mouth on consumption of their product. SIGHT: Most of our decisions in daily life are based upon sight impressions. Design, aesthetics, lighting, and beauty are crucial to creating our fellow-feeling with brand. Case 5: Steve Jobs of Apple stressed the importance of design as a competitive advantage as early as 198. Design was seen as a way to differentiate the Macintosh as a computer from the competitors PCs. Now a days Apple is seen as one of the most innovative and forward looking companies in the world and is well known for the novel, bold design of its products such as iPhone, iPod and iMac. TASTE: The taste sense is one of our most distinct emotional senses. A taste strategy differentiates a brand and offers surplus value to customers. Taste can impress, and express itself and leave imprints in being attractive to the customer. Bookstores sell coffee, clothing stores sell food, and petroleum companies sell candies.
marketing aims at creating an experience and forcing yourself to excogitate the experience resulted out of the product usage by catering to the five senses. Ultimately it is only through the sensory experience that customers finally decide which product or brand to choose, whether it will be just another transaction or a lifelong relationship. The role of sensory evaluation has changed considerably over the years. From product conception to post launch monitoring, sensory professionals can be called upon to inform decision making during the stages of products life cycle. From a marketing perspective, sensory and consumer testing ensures that sensory properties work in synergy with brand communication and advertising.
Brand Trivia
The 'T' in T -Series stands for 'Trishul'
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Tourism Marketing
Raghu & Praveen IIM Lucknow
The contribution of tourism to foreign exchange earnings of a country is well-known to all. But, there are a myriad of other important benefits this industry can provide such as employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development. It promotes national integration and international understanding and boosts local handicrafts and cultural activities. It was Anu Malhotra, a documentary film maker, whose work in the 90s put India firmly on the world tourism map. Anu Malhotra had launched the experiential television reality show on travel for the first time in India called Namaste India. She followed it up with similar works and some award-winning documentaries on India that became popular both in India and abroad. Gradually, several states and the central government started to realise the importance of branding in tourism and the use of TV as a superior media channel for promotion. With this backdrop, let us look at some findings from literature. It has been found that visitors choices of destinations are based on the degree to which they generate favourable images (Gartner, 1989). According to Morgan and Pritchard (2000), the battle for customers in the tourism industry will be fought, not over price but over the hearts and minds in essence branding will be the key to success. Such research findings have made destination branding all the more important. Lot of B-schools have begun to offer courses on tourism marketing in the recent times. The basic marketing principle of communicating value to the customer in such a way that the perceived benefits are more than the perceived costs still holds good. The key lies in the subtle but crucial brand elements like a catchy tagline, an attractive logo etc. and the art of optimally using the media-mix for promotion. Kerala, for instance, has successfully used tourism marketing to create an international brand for itself. What is note-worthy is its use of social media channels like Facebook to augment its promotional efforts. Besides establishing itself as a hot international tourist destination it has also developed the unique value proposition of Kerala therapy and the famous backwaters with a popular branding Gods own country. In order to better understand the tourism market, let us look at one of a fundamental models developed by
Butler in 1980 called the Tourism Life Cycle model. Similar on the lines of product life cycle concept that we all know, the number of visitors grow in the initial stages following the curve shown in the figure. India, as an emerging economy, is still believed to be in its development phase. Yet, care must be taken with areas that might become commonplace over a period of time. The challenge for tourism marketers is to keep the novelty factor intact by way of devising newer promotional strategies like highlighting the cultural myths, fantasies and legends associated with places. The idea is to remain growing or enter into the rejuvenation phase if consolidation takes place and avoid the decline. In conclusion, Indias tourism industry is set to grow rapidly both in terms of domestic and International visitors. Rising income levels coupled with investments in infrastructure and hospitality sectors would further give a fillip to the tourism sector. According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Accenture, India's travel and tourism industry is expected to generate approximately US$ 275.5 billion by 2018. With other nations doing intensive work in tourism area its high time that we streamline our efforts towards further boosting this rewarding sector. With a country as diverse in its culture and as rich in its values, it would not be too difficult for us to become a top international tourist destination spot in the near future.
Brand Trivia
Hindustan Motors' Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford Car's model.
16
Breakthrough or Mismatch?
Shubham Shrivastava Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
Review : Vodafone blue Advertisement Product: Vodafone has launched a new mobile phone especially facebook devotees who perhaps literally live their lives on the social networking site. The QWERTY pad phone is enabled with facebook button for easier access. It is priced at Rs. 4950, targeted at young facebook users. Campaign: which arises in my mind: Is the product worth the effort? Is this advertisement a right one for the target audience? With highly competitive mobile phone market with the likes of Nokia, Samsung, LG, Micromax, etc. Vodafone has moved in with a value for money phone positioned as the Facebook phone. But with competition fierce in the market, are there enough buyers for a phone positioned as facebook enabled phone? With pricing of around Rs. 5000, it will face stiff competition from major players having phones with more features in the price range. Also these manufacturers are tried and tested known for quality and performance. Moreover, the phone is manufactured by Alcatel, a little known company and
So with their target audience of youth in mind Vodafone has gone for a Broadway theme. Advertisement is made by ad agency - O&M. The 130 second ad shows a young boy describing various activities on facebook with Broadway backdrop. Analysis: Advertisement is refreshing. It stands out of current ads running on television. Even after its unusual long duration of 130 second it has been able to capture audiences imagination and successfully brings alive facebook and its features. The ad shows a protagonist (young boy), who is always online on the social networking site. It manages to depict various facebook activities such as notifications, friend requests, photo updates, gaming etc. It manages to bind audience with ever changing scenes and sequences and a very engaging and cheerful background beats. The Last word The advertisement is nothing short of awesome which may revolutionize ad making in India. But questions without much credibility in India. The question arises that Would Indian consumer which goes for high credible and high performance brands such as Nokia or Samsung would purchase the Vodafone Blue? Also other aspect that catches my attention is that it is also positioned as value for money product. The advertisement made gives more elite feel which may be a mismatch with what the product stands for value for money.
Brand Trivia
ESPN stands for Entertainment Sports Programming Network.
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Referral Marketing: Simpler Yet Smarter

Akashdeep Sah IIM Ranchi
I had a new Altec Lansing 2.1 speaker system installed today. Though it was priced at Rs.1047 on Flipkart.com I had to pay only Rs.47. The reason was because I had a voucher worth Rs.1000. How I acquired it was of more importance- I was among the top referrers of the annual online trading event Trade Mogul organized by Futures First. Now if you take a look at the number of participants of the event it comes to around 10000 or perhaps even more (P.S. My own rank is around 7000 currently and this is an approximate guess). Futures First does not use the conventional print or electronic media for its advertising. Then how did it reach out to so many participants around the country? Futures First has been operational in India since the last six years and has created a brand image for itself amongst young and aggressive traders. However this years Trade Mogul is only in its second season in India. The first season in itself was a huge success. In its second edition, it has grown bigger. Some of the significant methods/reasons which helped it to reach out to its prospective employees are: The opportunity of getting a Pre-Placement Interview and the lucrative rewards. The brand image of Futures First which it has successfully leveraged. The ultimate utilization of social networking media e.g. Facebook, Twitter. The most significant one which helped it to reach the masses: Its Referral marketing strategy. Now, I would like to substantiate the reason for the Referral Marketing Strategy being the most significant factor. Once any one comes to know about Trade Mogul, the first thing he would do is to register. As soon as he has registered, he will be given a referral link and provided with an incentive of a gift hamper in case he finishes as the top referrer. He would then post the link on his wall or tweet or send an e-mail to his entire list of contacts. It was only at this point of time that the referee (aware or unaware of the event) would follow the link and the circle goes on. The rest of the methods/reasons followed next. That was the story of Trade Mogul, and now moving on to a more general perspective, almost everyone has been a referrer or a referee on a daily basis. Noticed or unnoticed, as it goes, everyone at some point of having a discussion has recommended something or the other to someone. Be it a movie which someone adored or a book which someone liked, a restaurant where someone has been served nicely or a glitzy mall or a golgappa walah at the corner of a street - it has already been done. The grapevine is considered to be one of the most reliable and trusted sources of gathering information about anything and everything. People experience something and whatever the experience turns out to be- good or bad- they share it with the next person. This is the simplest way of Referral Marketing (which might turn out to be negative as well). The next type of Referral Marketing is the one which I had described through the Trade Mogul example- referral through online or social media. This type is a more formal way of Referral Marketing where the referrer gets some incentive for referring. The Referral Marketing System has become all the more important in todays business world because of the benefits it carries along with itself: Referrals do not involve direct selling. Instead a
Brand Trivia
In order to raise enough money to buy parts and build the first few orders of the Apple I, Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen van and Wozniak, then an HP employee, sold his Hewlett-Packard 65 scientific calculator for $500.
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satisfied customer "sells" the product and services. If a satisfied customer tells a close friend about a certain business, then their trust is immediately transferred to the company, irrespective of whether he has earlier heard about it or not. Referral Marketing costs next to nothing. Generating prospects from targeted advertising, direct mails, telephone calls, and other methods have their own level of effectiveness. But the cost of getting new
As of Apr 2010, the Referral Program of Dropbox with 2 sided incentives permanently increased signups by 60%. This Data was provided by Drew Houston in his Talk at the Startup Lessons Learned conference in 2010. Similarly, Okabashi started their campaign with ReferralCandy (a provider of Customer Referral Program application to help online stores increase sales) in March 2011 and started to see increase in sales within a week. We have been really impressed with the success and growth that we have experienced says Hadi Irvani, Director of eCommerce at Okabashi. These success stories showcase that if one does not harness the simple but cost-effective method of Referral Marketing for his business, then he is leaving tons of money on the table. A referred customer is 400% more likely to buy your product and service than someone who lands on your page cold.- Nielsen Media. A recent survey found that more than half (53%) of Internet users had visited websites referred by friends or family members in the previous 30 days.eMarketer.com
clients from referrals (in terms of both time and money) is far less expensive. A good Referral Marketing system can multiply quickly. Studies suggest that referred customers are both more profitable and loyal than normal customers. Some examples of successful Referral Marketing Programs are the Dropbox Referral Program in 2009 and the Okabashi Referral Program in March 2011:
The recommendation of someone else remains the most trusted source of information when consumers decide which product or services to buy.- Nielsen Media. The most powerful form of business marketing, by far, is direct personal contact and referrals from others. In fact, 80% of business transaction can be traced to one or both of these networking methods.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Brand Trivia
The brand name Dabur is derived from the words 'Da' for Daktar or Doctor and 'bur' from Burman after the founder Dr. S K Burman
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Positioning: Erstwhile or Still A Relevant Strategy??

jayant desai Student MBA
Rewinding the clock some 10 months; I recall my marketing classes taught by Mr. Ramasastry. Positioning, segmenting, target market segment. It was all fun to learn ,except one thing which repeatedly kept my inquiring mind busy: how in a span of around 3 years of work, I never heard all this things, why sometimes Im not able to relate this with my previous jobs, Why the whole thing is not a gospel truth as projected by professors. Talking about positioning I didnt understand how a concept developed almost 45 years ago is coping with the digital age. What did it have to do with the digital world in which we work in today? How does a company position a product in a small, flat, multi-cultural, dynamic, technology driven world like the one we live in today? I then thought about awareness and realized that I am aware of numerous brands, many of which I never engage with. I reasoned that many of those brands were spending a fortune making me aware of them and hoping that I would buy something from them. But things are different now. I realized that we are now in the Customer Economy. Now, companies no longer have the exclusivity to make the rules and control information by positioning products or promoting brand equity through advertising and PR like they did in the mass economy. I realized that the balance of power has shifted from the seller to the buyer. Now when the ads come on (assuming the consumer is watching TV), he reaches for the remote and changes channel. Indeed with up to umpteen messages being received every day, and many of those messages making absurd promises, customers have learnt to tune out and actually ignore many of the messages they receive. I also noticed that customers are having more and more influence over the design and manufacture of products and the ultimate success of products and failure of others. I noticed that if products did not meet individual customer requirements, customers would shun those products, irrespective of what the ads claimed. I felt that in this new customer economy, companies playing by mass-economy rules are going to do more than lose the game. They are not even going to be given the chance to compete. Dont get me wrong, I do think that positioning is a tool that was, in its time and for many products, a very good tool. But I dont think it has a role to play in todays customer driven economy. There may be some exceptions such as in the destination branding sector and some soft drinks may benefit but these are the exceptions not the rule. There is no silver bullet to building strong, profitable brands. Every brand is different as are its customers. Some brands are B2B, some B2C. But there is a process to building a strong profitable brand. It requires a focus on research, organizational excellence, planning, personalization, retention and doing business on customer terms. Its not particularly sexy and wont see many brands staring down from billboards, much to the delight of brand owners and ad agencies, but it will go a long way to building strong, profitable brands. Because without profitability, a brand is irrelevant. Let me give you some data to look uponAccording to Industry week magazine, 70% of todays manufactured goods will be obsolete in six years. There are estimated to be more than 30,000 new product introductions in the US alone every year, just in the packaged goods market. According to A C Nielsen, up to 90% of products fail. This means that as many as 27,000 of those new products will fail. Despite approximately US$1.5 trillion spent on marketing annually and over US$500 million spent on advertising alone in the US, the annual US based Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey 2007, found that unaided, 77% of respondents could not name one of the top 50 new products of 2007, even if it was a strong well recognized brand. The development of a positioning strategy takes time and the communication of that position will be the responsibility of an advertising agency and that agency will, generally speaking use mass media to communicate the position. With such short life times and high failure rates, isnt it time companies reviewed the tools/tactics/strategies/channels etc that they are using to build brands? Dont they owe it to their shareholders, investors, customers, the environment to do something about this? I know it is hard to let go and there will be a lot of resistance to what I have written. After all, so much effort by so many people has gone into learning about positioning. But the world has changed. More importantly, consumers have changed. And marketers should acknowledge this and change with it. Communications and the way consumers live have changed a lot over the last 40 years. Isnt it time Branding and the way brands are built and the tools used to build those brands changed too?
Brand Trivia
Apple's first slogan: Byte into an Apple.
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Nokia Vs Samsung; Battle royale

Sanjay Raturi Master of International Business, Delhi University
Let me start by asking a rhetorical question:"What was the name of the phone that you heard of, first in your life?" I know that the majority of respondents will answer with "some, or the other model of Nokia". What does this prove? Practically everything you are going to read in the following paragraphs. Now it will be boring and pointless to really dig into the history of Nokia and tell you how revolutionary Nokia's products were and how effectively they took the biggest pie of Indian handset market as early as they entered India. That will indeed be pointless, it's so obvious. What would really be interesting is to know how a giant like Nokia lost its grasp in a matter of years or how Samsung did what was unimaginable as recently as 2008 - challenge the monopoly of Nokia. Look at these figures for handset market share in year 2008. Nokia stood at top with a market share of 59.5%, followed by Sony(8.1%), Samsung(7%) and Motorola(5.9%). Nokia simply lead with simplicity. Its designs were elegant, simple to use, durable and available for every price point(just to be fair, they still are). Now let's look at the market figures for handset market share in year 2011. Nokia still stood at the top with market share of 39% followed by Samsung(17.2%), Micromax(6.9%), Blackberry (5.9%), LG(5.5%) and Sony(2.1%). Just a simple glance on this data gives you a clear picture. What changed between 2008 and 2011 that made Nokia lose its monopoly? What made Micromax the third largest handset maker in India? Why a player like Sony not only failed to increase its share but instead became the biggest loser in the game? Firstly, I think, the biggest enemy of Nokia is Nokia itself. Its Resistance to change and to look for new avenues stopped it from reacting to a change called ANDROID. It virtually turned a blind eye to the possibilities of android and stuck to its patent Symbian OS. It has come up with LUMIA-a windows based phone, when it's a little too late. At the same time, while Nokia was busy being overconfident, Samsung and other players grabbed the opportunity and realized the potential of Android phones in the Smart Phone market. Samsung proved its eminence in the Smartphone market by manufacturing a record number of Smartphones in 2011, but lagged in overall production of complete mobile range than Nokia. Samsung gave a blow to their own sales record of 2010 by selling 300 million phones in 2011. Samsung marked an
astounding increase (21.7) in their revenue from Indian market which counts around 5,720 crore in the fiscal year 2010-2011. One of the biggest reasons for Samsung's success was to make quality touch phones available for everyone, which Nokia failed to do. What really caught Nokia by surprise was the popularity of Apps in android. This really shook the core of Nokia strategies. Nokia never imagined in its wildest dreams that they would be rejected in the market just because they did not support Angry Birds. Nokia phones were never bad but with android on role they became boring. Nokia also failed to see the potential of facebook and other social media in time. The unprecedented rise in feature phones from small players like Micromax, Karbonn, Spice, LAVA etc. ate what was left of Nokia's share after the Android attack. They literally flooded the markets with authentic feature packed cheap phones. Nokia was a leader, probably that's why it survived the first wave of Android attack. Sony, Motorola- which were once sharks, are now nothing more than mere fish in the sea. What will happen to the leadership of Nokia? Will it survive the fresh waves of attacks from Android? Would LUMIA make a difference or is it really too late? Only time will tell. However one thing is for sure. It's a long road to home for Nokia.
Brand Trivia
Apple was established on April Fools Day.
21
Brands: It's About You

Vishal Vishy PGDM, T. A. Pai Management Institute
TThere are two phenomena things driving the curiosity of every MBA candidate the first have always been about strategy making, be it finances, marketing, operation or the general corporate strategy making. The other thing that has been the essence of all products and every marketing campaign is brand, the ultimate perception amongst all consumers and marketers. So what makes a brand such a powerful tool, what makes it such a glamorous magnet, that even the cautious minds just let the
quote indicating the belief that you are working for yourself, it's not a competition. Take it easy and enjoy the pleasure of it. Again showing the emphasis on I and my pleasure
shield of logic, the brand owns you playing small beautiful games with your mind showing a new world a place very close to you and yet just above the line of impossibility. It thrives on those desires, that you cannot fulfill and yet you treasure them deep in the hearts with a hope that someday you might. It makes you believe in the cause that seems very close to achieve and yet when you go after them they grow farther and farther away. The fact is the success of any cult brand or power brand is in the emotion it targets, it's in the brands' ability to generate an involvement within you. Strong brands target the meta-needs that cannot be satisfied, where a person would always have that urge to go a little further. Consider the example of Reebok, a brand well known to all of us. What makes it so special? It's not the shoes it markets, one can get those shoes from a number of other manufacturers. It's about the aspect of I that it projects. Reebok as a brand doesn't make you contest with others, but with yourself. It caters to your need of being better than before, doing for your own reasons and not for others. This is the reason why you would never find an advertisement of Reebok showing individual competition, but most would be about running, jogging and weight lifting each representing the belief I do it for me, I am Reebok. And needless to say, everyone is well aware of the most popular Reebok caption saying the same I am what I am. Now it feeds on your need of your desire for self betterment and it knows that no matter how much you work your perception of yourself can never be perfect, there would always be a need to perfect oneself and it is this feeling that makes people relate to Reebok making it an everlasting brand. The truth is that brand's influence is nothing but an imagery of how a person perceives himself, his desires and his fears are what fuel the belief and the relation with the brand. Brands are all about the human psychology and how to capitalize on it while embedding a distinct yet powerful image on to the minds of the public forming the essence that he carries along forever. Brands are all about you and meant for you, it's nothing a powerful play of mind.
fascination of the brand flow through them if not consciously then sub consciously? Brands control the power of dreams and fascination. It targets your innermost desires and shows you a window to the world of such fascination. It appeals to your heart more than to your brain, it appeals to your emotions right to the heart and talks to you. It says I am the brand, I am the desire you always dreamed, I am the desire that you never fulfilled, think and think because I am the one that you always wanted to be, I am the brand that defines your thoughts, I am the brand that is made for you. And once the brand penetrates your mind and implants these lines into you, you are no longer the same rational person. At this juncture all the logic of the world takes a sideline and you go deep into that vicarious pleasure that the brand strongly projects. Once it penetrates your outer
Brand Trivia
First ATM in India was established by the HSBC bank.
22
About Us
MARCOM the Marketing Cell of MIB(Master of International Business), Faculty of Commerce & Business, Delhi School of Economics is a completely student run cell incorporated to conduct marketing/advertising activities, Guest lectures and publish its monthly magazine- BRAND.i. The Faculty of Commerce & Business, Delhi School of Economics is situated in the picturesque campus of Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and was set up in 1967. As a response of Market imperatives, two new programmes, MIB and MHROD apart from M.Com were set up in 1995. In a short period of thirteen years these courses have made a huge mark in contemporary management education.
MARCOM - The Marketing Cell of MIB, Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics University of Delhi, New Delhi - 110007 To Subscribe to a free online copy, write to : marcom@mibdu.org Like us at facebook.com/marcom.mib

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High on marketing...

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