Markathon march 2016

sibilities of your target audience before coming up with a marketing strategy.In the Vartalaap section this month we have Mr Manish Harodia, director at DreamWallets which is a crowd-fund-ing platform created to truly democratize fund-raising and in the process also encouraging early adapters to try the new product. He shared with us his expertise in the field of business development and consulting and his past experiences with entrepreneurial ventures. All those bud-ding startup enthusiasts who are looking for guidance, this just may be your ticket to understand what goes be-hind into building a successful business.Apart from all this we also have some fun activities lined up for you in the fun Corner section of the magazine which will surely test your marketing acumen and brand knowledge.Lastly, we would like to thank all the people who sent in their valuable contributions for the magazine. This is what inspires us to continue to do what we love.With so much exciting stuff lined up, flip through the pages of the March edition of Markathon and do write to us on [email protected] regarding any sugges-tions or feedback.

Happy Reading!!!Team Markathon

We may have stepped into the New Year 3 months ago but for companies and firms around the country the fi-nancial year 2015-16 is just now coming to a close and a new year filled with endless possibilities is about to begin. With this in mind and the aim of keeping you abreast of all that is going on in the exciting field of marketing we are here with a fresh edition of Markathon.Women empowerment has become a buzzword nowa-days and more and more brands are lining up to associate themselves with this just cause. Due to this we are seeing a number of brands coming up with women-centric com-mercials and advertisements, sadly not all of them being successful. This month’s cover story looks at the chang-ing perspective of advertising towards women and how the rise of feminism has affected the advertising industry. It also looks at some of the advertisements, where they may have missed out and what can be the way forward regarding feminism in advertising.We have seen quite a lot of exciting marketing gimmicks this month. In light of the ongoing World T20 and the In-dia vs Pakistan match we saw the re-emergence of the hugely successful “Mauka Mauka” campaign by Star Sports. Apart from this Airtel has come out with a new campaign where they are coming up with a new set of ad-vertisements cashing on the jokes and ridicule that they had to face regarding their earlier campaign with the Air-tel 4G girl. After all everyone likes a brand who does not take itself too seriously. But there have also been some disappointments like the “It’s gonna be a good good Fri-day” campaign by Snapdeal which just teaches us the im-portance of understanding the culture and religious sen-

Markathon

Contents

EditorsHarsha Daga | Piyush Jain |

Daksh Bhagat | Shubham Shukla | Sharad Srinivasan

Creative Designers

Astha Kabra | Akshay Seth

The Markathon Team

IIM ShillongMARKATHON

Markathon march 2016

ContentsPerspectives

PVR Cinemas: How they revolutionised film viewing experience of IndiaSushman Das | IIM Lucknow

Mars Incorporated: Sweating it out in the United KingdomAnmol Sharma & Saransh Shah | SPJIMR, Mumbai

Of Feminism & MarketingHarsha Daga | IIM Shillong

VartalaapMr. Manish HarodiaEntrepreneur & DirectorDream WalletsInterviewed by: Harsha Daga & Piyush Jain | IIM Shillong

Eye 2 EyeWith reference to Freedom 251, is marketing a product majorly on its cost the correct marketing strategy?Ajay Singla | IIM Raipur & Pragya Paromita | XIMB, Bhubaneswar

Silent VoiceVijay Mallya shown the door in his own companyParul Garg | IIM Shillong

Specials

LogoisticShubham Shukla | IIM Shillong

AD-dictedAstha Kabra & Sharad Srinivasan | IIM Shillong

Fun CornerAkshay Seth | IIM Shillong

Jab They FailedDaksh Bhagat | IIM Shillong

UpdatesHarsha Daga | IIM Shillong

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IIM Shillong1MARKATHON

PVR is one of the most fascinating success stories of Indian liberalization and has redefined thefilm-viewing experience in India. From introducing the first multiplex experience in India tointroducing newer properties like PVR bluO, it has gone from strength to strength. With a marketcapitalization of over Rs. 2000 crore, the PVR Group is the largest player in the Indian cinemaexhibition space.The idea took seed when Ajay Bijli, its founder, on a visit to Orlando, Florida had his firstexperience of world-class cinemas and was fascinated by the new-age facilities of multiplexes.Priya cinema,which had been bought by Ajay Bijli’s father and was frequented by Ajay became

BySUSHMAN DASIIM Lucknow

march 2016

PVR Cinemas:

How they Revolutionised film viewing experience

of India

perspective

“PVR Anupam was one of the first cinemas which were jointly renovated”


march 2016perspective

the first in India with a Dolby sound system.The technical transformation at Priya cinema and screening of all big-budget Hindi films andHollywood blockbusters made it acquire a cult sta-tus among then cine-goers. By entering into a60:40 joint venture with Village Roadshow Ltd of Australia, Ajay tried to leverage the technicalexpertise the Australian firm had in setting up mul-tiplexes. PVR Anupam was one of the firstcinemas which were jointly renovated. Transformed into the first multiscreen cinema in 1997,itbecame a runaway success.Though myriad reasons can be attributed to PVR’s success, one of the key factors is that thegroup has looked at the business through the cus-tomer’s prism: what does the customer need andwhat is the market offering it? This took precedence over the typical emphasis on returns oninvestment or net profit margins. This shift in focus, backed by market studies, research andinteractions with market players led to PVR suc-cessfully building a world-class brand.

Location was understoodto be one of the important building blocks of a successful film entertainment andretail business and when it came to establishing multiplexes, PVR chose locations extremelycarefully. Target market segment, socio-economic strata and catchment area are till date examinedin granular detail while expanding to newer cities. The company acknowledges that quality ofexperience is a critical building block and takes minute care right from construction to fittings andstyling— everything is fashioned to provide a plush viewing experience. Rich ambient lighting,ideal temperature controls ensured total comfort and plush common areas characterize the chic andpremium PVR experience.PVR attracted film distributors by bringing in trans-parency into the ticketing system by introducingcomputerized bookings. All this has had tangible results and the brand has been able to garnerhigher seat occupancy levels in cinemas irrespec-tive of average ticket prices.Growth is imperative for any business. PVR, too, has systematically scaled up film-exhibitionactivities through an organic process for nearly sev-enteen years— be it in product, positioning,promotions or pricing. After the 9/ 11 attacks, Vil-lage Roadshow Ltd exited the joint venture andICICI Venture picked up its 40 per cent stake for $ 10 million. In 2007 the company forayed intoproduction with with Taare Zameen Par, made in collaboration with Aamir Khan Productions. The

firm has established key relationships with many Hollywood studios including Miramax, Newline,IEG and Zee MGM. In November 2012, PVR acquired

the entire 69 per cent stake of promotersin Cinemax India Ltd. This acquisition was one of the fastest-paced takeover deals in India’scorporate history. The objective was to create India’s largest movie exhibition chain and also toeffectively utilize the synergy potential and cost ben-efits that would accrue from the larger scale of op-erations of the combined network, thereby creating value for all stakeholders. In 2013, PVR multiplied in



defining the cinema-viewing experience for movie connoisseurs by providing world-class immersive viewing. PVR has capitalized on the totality of ex-perience which today’s young generation seeks. By turning theatres into classy, stylish luxury spaces and quasi-community centres, a PVR cinema as-sures ‘absolute escapism’, in the words of Ajay Bi-jli. By developing and positioning sub-brands like Gold Class cinema, Director’s Cut luxury cinema, IMAX technology theatres and Enhanced Cinema Experience (ECX) to cater to specific customer seg-ments, it has set new benchmarks in the cinema ex-hibition business.PVR Pictures, the company’s flagship motion-pic-tures arm is involved in the distribution of major Hollywood movies in India. In 2013-14, it was in-volved in the distribution of all the major 2013– 14 Oscar-nominated films— The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Her, Lone Survi-vor, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club. PVR became the 1st major multiplex chain to introduce the concept of alternate content to India by launching a brand new platform— PVR LIVE— which showcases live and recorded events. The company supports inde-pendent filmmakers by releasing their films under the PVR Director’s Rare banner and has been a van-guard in bringing about a paradigm shift from star-driven cinema to content-driven in India. Docu-mentary films like Superman of Malegaon and Fire in the Blood have attracted audiences under this

banner.The company’s newest venture is bluO, a one-stop entertainment des-tination which pro-motes bowling. A 51: 49 joint venture between PVR and Major Cineplex Group of Thailand, bluO aims to do for bowling what T20 has done for cricket. The format is a mix of fun and bowling— world cuisine, music, sport— coming together. bluO is a unique concept and elements like

an exceptional rhythmic interior design with a sen-sual play of light and form and a ceiling that ema-nates as a ripple wave makes the place energetic,

size and operations. The company expanded its pres-ence from 27 cities to 41 and its market capitalization was reported to be Rs. 2,204 crore (as on 1 February 2014).The company today owns almost a third of In-dia’s 1,500 odd multiplex screens. The Cinemax acqui-sition gave the company a launching pad in the south in which it was absent till then. The company plans to

add 70 to 80 screens every year and have 1,000 screens across India by 2018 through organic and inorganic growth. In 2016, PVR currently operates a cinema cir-cuit comprising 474 screens spread over 106 properties in 43 cities across India and is the largest cinema exhi-bition company in India. PVR is today amongst the top ten cinema companies in the world with respect to admissions per screen and has entered the World Eco-nomic Forum’s list of fastest-growing ‘Global Growth

Companies’.Despite the advent of online consumption of film en-tertainment, PVR has maintained its relevance by re-


march 2016perspectivestylish and in sync with the lifestyle and ideology of today’s youth. As of 2015, PVR bluO had six centers,

across Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh. By offering services like PlayStation lounges, private karaoke lounges, exclusive platinum lounges, stylish

merchandise, a tattoo studio and well-equipped bars; it aims to rival pubs and nightclubs as spaces

to hang out in.The company has also shaped the growth of cine advertising in the country. By expanding the scope of cinema watching to a rounded entertainment-cum-leisure activity where the audi-ence voluntarily surrenders to the environment, which yield higher receptivity to brand mes-saging as compared to other mediums ,its cinema advertis-ing revenue rose to Rs. 141 crore in 2015 which is equal to the combined sales of all competing players.All this has resulted in PVR be-ing listed as India’s most trust-ed and attractive brand by The Brand Trust Report 2015 in the category of entertainment and cinema display. Ajay Bijli was awarded the Most Admired Multiplex Professional of the Year in CMO Asia’s Multiplex

Excellence Awards.With the advent of ‘smart cities’ and rising dispos-able incomes in urban India, PVR promises to be to be force to reckon with in the Indian entertain-ment space in the years to come.


OverviewMars Incorporated suffered a huge decline in its sales dur-ing the year 2010 in United Kingdom. This event was trig-gered despite a huge investment in marketing campaigns which were centred around 2010 Football World Cup. Many reasons have been identified for the brand’s declining sales; primary reason was the poor performance of England’s football team which impacted the sales negatively as the event was Mars Incorporated primary marketing focus of

the year, secondary reason was the underperforming Mars Delight and Mars Planets – Product line extension. But this was not just limited to the new product launches; rather the star products of the brand Mars Bar and Galaxy were also experiencing declining sales which suggested that Mars was losing its relevance in the context of customer choice and trends in the chocolate confectionary market.Snacking occasions have gained increased popularity in UK. But with increased disposable incomes and frugal mind-sets of the customers, health is also gaining importance as peo-ple become more conscious about the foods that they con-sume. Thus, it becomes extremely important for the choco-

By ANMOL SHARMA & SARANSH SHAH

SPJIMR, MUMBAI


late manufacturers to enhance the perception about their offerings at times like these when the higher cost of raw materials had to be passed onto the consumer. By its very nature, chocolate confectionery consump-tion is inherently indulgent, and the consumer pur-chasing trends shows a shift towards more premium feel giving products which satiate the cravings but are less detrimental to health. Increasingly, shoppers are looking out to enjoy the chocolate confectionary con-

sumption in the company of their loved ones and close friends. According to the data provided by the Data Monitor, 4 trends have been identified which make the consumers pay a premium price to obtain the benefits associated with Chocolate. This article analyses Mars marketing strategy alignment with these trends and what actions it can take to increase its appeal to the targeted au-dience.

The trends explained are as follows:-

• HealthConsumers are shifting their focus onto the products which satisfies self-entitlement and “Better for you” positioning and are not willing to comprise either on health or on sensory appeal. The insight for the choco-late confectionery manufacturers is to alleviate the guilt associated with chocolate consumption. Follow-ing this, Mars has reduced its saturated fat content without a compromise on the flagship taste and has moved towards communicating this to its consumers.

Mars Incorporated:Sweating it out in the

United Kingdom


march 2016 perspective

• Sensory AppealAffordable Indulgence, affordable health and the de-mand for premium products govern the consumer pur-chasing trends. More revolutionary and contemporary product packaging for the chocolate countline (the bars which can be consumed in a single sitting) sector gives product an upscale image and entice the end users. Though Mars packaging is universally recognised with the black-red, but some experts see it as mis-aligned with more modern and stylish offerings.

• Comfort Escapism has been identified as the key driver as the consumers are looking for temporary breaks from the pressures of the everyday life. This has led to nostalgic themed marketing campaigns and product launches. While Mars has successfully tapped into the potential of nostalgic themed campaigns but the 2010 World Cup campaign failed miserably as it relied too much on the ex-ternal factors.

• SharingDesire to maximize time spent with family and friends and the need for saving money by visiting bars and res-taurants less has resulted in more socializing at home with affordable indulgence as the social facilitator. Mars lost out in the market as the flagship countline bars have

not been positioned to resonate with shared feelings and do not lead to increased number of shared occasions. Thus the brand extensions have been rendered useless as they failed to capture the heart and mind share of the customers.

AnalysisMars needed to align its marketing strategy so as to en-sure that the brand resonates with the consumer prefer-

ences, attitudes and behavioural traits. During the year 2010-2015F*, UK countline market was stagnant, with market witnessing incremental growth in value during the period 2005-2010. This was mostly contributed to the rise in prices of cocoa and sugar, which was passed on to the customer rather than a shift in consumer’s preferenc-es or change in shopper patterns. Data Monitor analysis states that this trend (product prices being inflated due to

high raw materials costs) is going to continue for a while before a quantum shift occurs in consumer’s needs and demands. However, experts also predict that the market will con-tinue to experience incremental value growth, as the con-sumers move towards uncertain and unpredictable fu-ture (long term implications of austerity measures), they will be moving away from the products which do not add value in comparison to the costs incurred without much innovation. Mars needs to drive a wider wedge between the willingness to pay and costs to show an adequate value addition. Though the market expects that there will be spurt in short burst of indulgence moments in consumer’s life-style and additional pressures from the work, economic

uncertainty will drive the demand for comfort foods of-fering indulgence and escapism. Chocolate countlines remains the largest category followed by boxed choco-lates. During the span of 2005-2015, boxed chocolates


march 2016perspectiveexperienced a double digit growth to become the second largest category, which shows that the consumers are shifting to confectionery offering which are positioned around sharing. Figures by AC Nielson reports, there were mixed gains by most chocolate confectionery manufacturers, with

Cadbury leading the category with gains of about 36.5 million Pounds (achieved by the launch of Cadbury dairy Milk Caramel nibbles in UK) with Galaxy on 2nd position (introduction of newer product formats – Galaxy bubbles and Galaxy Counters). But it was not as rosy for Mars which lost 5.7m pounds in revenue and Cadbury Roses experienced a sales dip of 4.3m pounds.

Mars – Performance ReviewMars suffered a huge dip in its sales of about 17.2m Pounds (Y-O-Y decline 14.2%) while volume sales fell by 13.9%. Mars bar also took a hit of 6% which was quite op-posite as expe-rienced by the competitors. It was attributed to dip in sales of Mars delight and Mars plan-ets while nov-elty and Easter lines also un-derperformed. Mars bar sales dipped even af-ter a huge spend (7.4m Pounds) on advertising:1) Repackaging the bars in St. George’s cross wrapper 2) Getting ex-footballer John Barnes on board to repli-cate his part in1990 New Order music video – World in Motion (official song – England Football team) for the Jun-Jul 2010 WC. Research shows the association with sports can help boost the domestic sales of perishable products, if the national team performs well a positive sentiment is parlayed amongst the consumers which im-proves belongingness and willingness to pay. As more

people try to socialize at homes, chocolate confection-ary manufacturers use ethnocentric related marketing during big occasions.The marketing campaign was heavily reliant on the per-formance of England football team, which had a signifi-cant impact on Mars World Cup promotion. The associa-

tion is a remembrance of poor performance of the team and negative allegations, behind the scenes fights rather than any success of the field. Survey (Magnum) showed that the event was the low point of summer for 60% British men and 53% women. This is hardly the kind of sentiment which makes the customers go for the repeated purchase behaviour even in lim-ited edition packaging. Mars lost out to com-petition just on the marketing forefront heav-ily which transpired into a dip in only its sales across category.It is important that there is a need for constant innovation assisted by relevant marketing to make the customers loyal to a brand. One as-

pect of this is customers will continue to seek out comfort foods like Mars bars for temporary get away from day-to-day stress and experience indulgence. And the other would be, customers trying to save by reducing their consumption of chocolate confectionary, as they view confectionery as an unnecessary cost. Mars can look into its value addition by offering healthy variants, different flavours and leverage traits like indulgence, comfort and silky smooth experience to retain their share of pie.Mars also faces a stiff competition from the unbrand-ed confectionery (locally manufactured, retailers own brand) during the product placement and thus obtain-

ing the necessary attention. Accord-ing to Richard Bu-chanan, Director Branding agency The Clearing, Mars packaging was losing relevance and their much touted “Better for You” position-ing was generally perceived to be

feminine. The trends have gained momentum since then as now newer products are being launched with more health quotient (lower saturated fat content, high qual-ity cocoa bean, dark chocolate as natural anti-oxidant).If chocolate manufacturers can overcome the feeling of guilt related to the ingredients of the products with healthier positioning, they will find themselves in a very sweet spot to capitalise on consumer’s desires for mo-ments of indulgence, socializing with family and friends and comfort which will help drive their sales. The next

MARKATHON

IIM Shillong


IIM ShillongMARKATHON 8

best positioning could be to position Mars as a snack, to cater to snacking occasion which is quite prevalent in UK.In 2010, Mars officially announced that it has reduced its saturated fat content with the help of ATL ad-vertisements targeted towards weight man-agement issues. The company is said to have invested 10m euros and 40000 hours in R&D to ensure that the product tastes the same. Mars counted on this as the product differen-tiation strategy.Over the years there have been many re-launches such as Cadbury Wispa, retro pack-ages like Walkers introducing original “Mon-ster Munch” pack, Cadbury’s reintroducing caramel bunny and Mars relaunching its Milky way - “the red car and the blue car had a race” advertisement. In 2008 Mars revived its “Work, Rest and Play” strapline which was relieved in 2005. The ad featured monks who conducted bell duties before and after having Mars bar working in energetic manner, with song “Jump around” in background. This led to an increase of 5.7% in sales which prompted Mars to relaunch the ad campaign to garner attentionProduct packaging has also taken a quantum shift towards the more premium side. Although, the aim was to estab-lish a brand image as balanced nutrient diet, the stylish packaging of the countline confectionery like Green & Black’s and Cadbury Bournville, intimidated Mars to of-fer attractive packaging to enhance value add like reward and indulgence. Similar views are received for other Mars brands like Snickers and Milky Way bars. Website Ezine-Mark quoted in its article “Chocolate Packaging in HD photo”, packaging is the glue that connects reason and logic with imaginations and feelings and it can stimulate the consumers..Analysing the 2010 Football World Cup campaignMars WC marketing campaign of 2010, had John Barnes re-enacting his vocals from “world in motion” 1990 song by New Order, official song of England’s world cup cam-paign. The 30 second commercial was slighted tweaked to incorporate word “Mars” into its lyrics. It was a part of 7.4m Pounds deal between Mars and Football associa-tion. Official sources reveal that the song was amongst the country’s top 3 WC songs, even after 20 years of its release. Internet blogs were flooded with the excitement around this as this was a part of John Barnes rap. Howev-er far away from lifting the spirits of fans, England’s team poor performance and miserable oust lead Mars to lose out on capturing the ethnocentrism which would have in-creased its presence in European markets. It left an alien-ated impact on the brand ensuring that Mars does not become a permanent part of customer’s shopping cart.Mars recognised the growing trends of “sharing” in cus-tomer’s behaviour to purchase chocolate for spending

quality time with family and friends, and launched Galaxy counters and Mars planets to capitalize. This is similar on

the lines of Cadbury’s product portfolio. But Mars never launched its flagship Mars bar in sharing format except for the Mars fun size bags maybe to preserve its Brand equity and brand image but some experts review this as naïve approach since competition is already reaping the benefits from it.

Recommendations

• Health Maybe the reduction in saturated fat content made the consumers perceive an adulteration in taste which is the key driver of the category. Perhaps to highlight the increased value add (health benefits) be printed on the packaging and making the customers experience similar tastes as before can help Mars retain its loyal customers.

• Sensory Appeal Product packaging can be improved to give a new rich premium feel. Don’t change the basic appeal of the brand design, but basic changes like borderlines, rich cocoa co-lour (Cadbury’s Bournville) can help emphasize the better product.

• Comfort Mars has to count on its own heritage if it were to cap-ture a larger share of market. Maybe packages targeted towards family consumption be promoted to offer more comfort in socializing at home

• Reach Multiple SKU’s across multiple channels will ensure brand presence and increase penetration by increasing the reach to the consumers. Channel differentiation strate-gies like tie-ups with online retailers can also help create exclusivity for its product.


cover story march 2016

Cover StoryBy

Harsha DagaIIM Shillong

MARKETINGBUDGET

“We’re waiting for the day when curvy girls in adver-tisements won’t make headlines anymore.”

-Anonymous

While we ponder over the subject, the latest ads by brands like Biba and Anouk come to our mind that instantly light us up. But well, let me ask you rewind a little. Or rather divert your attention a bit cause hello, we still live in an era where stereotyping gender and races prevail. Quoting a combined analysis of 60+ studies, researchers tried to establish linkag-es between types of roles played by women as against their male counterparts over a series of advertisements and prod-ucts. The results are amusing: • Women were 4 times more likely than men to not have a speaking role• Women were 3 times more likely than men to be presented as a product user rather than an authority• Women were 3.5 times more likely than men to be present-ed at home or in a domestic environment (vis-à-vis at work)• Women were 2 times more likely than men to be associated with domestic products like body care and home goods.So if this is the status quo, what is the harm? The hindrance lies in the quest to look for an answer to the question of whether advertising (and media, so to say) mirrors the so-ciety or molds it. The answer to this varies through the de-cades. In the past, till say 1980s, veterans believed that the media industry thrived due to the societal representation it held and it received its share of popularity owing to its relat-

Of Modern Advertisement

& Feminism

ability with the audience’s daily strides. Howev-er, now the landscape has changed completely. The kind of reach television has earned over the past three decades has completely overhauled

the situation. And this exponential in-crease has resulted into a plethora of op-portunities for mar-keters and advertis-ers. They now have the power to bring about a change in the society, to up their game as progressive

brands, to differentiate themselves as open and new. So now there are Type-A advertisements that simply objectify women and in a way shame the feminist. Then there Type-B are commercials that are very boldly supporting the new age indepen-dent women of today, and do it very well. And then comes the third kind, Type-C advertise-ments that really want to break through the norms of advertising and become one of the ‘Type-B’

but fail in doing so, partly be-cause of the mis-construed m e a n i n g of femi-nism and w o m e n

empowerment. Of course we come across a host of Type-A and Type-B adverts and very easily categorize them as one of the two. However, it is this Type-C cat-egory that needs our kind attention as they work

well only until someone points out flaw in them, which in today’s day and age is as easy as a click of a button. So let us see some advertisements of the Type-C category that I would like to call the Disguised Category.

1. AMAZON.IN#WhenAWomanShops

h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=wJHCRkrWzmI

This ad-ver t i se -ment by Amazon was to highlight the reasons why women shop. They call it a so-cial experiment. The video ran by a few husbands trying to answer what they expect their wives to buy if given a gift voucher worth Rs.5000, and their responses ranged from clothes to make-up. The revelation came when the husbands were in for a shock after their spouses had bought clothes but for their husbands and kids, and oth-er products that would revive their memories. Hence, trying to change the notion that women shop to indulge.

What went wrong?It’s like “why repair what is not broken”. Ama-zon was hinting at changing a notion which was never wrong. Obviously not all women love to shop, but the advertisement is in a way trying to demean the ones that do. It is disrespectful for women who believe in shopping for themselves, and indulging into it. Come on Amazon, you can’t ask the shopaholics to be apologetic about it. That’s where you get your revenues from.

2. SAFFOLA TOTAL

https://youtu.be/vm5y8zMBaIs

So this is not the first time that Saffola depicts a homemaker (always a married woman) pur-chasing their newest product available. The ad-vertisement features these ladies dawning west-ern clothes having a sense of independence as it depicts them taking daily decisions for their


cover story march 2016

household which shape the health of the family as against the earlier researches that concluded that women are rarely shown possessing the ability to take purchase decisions.

What went wrong?This particular advertisement is flawed in so many ways. To begin with, the series of adver-

tisements always show a woman only in the role of a homemaker. Is it because a majority of soci-ety believes that household is a woman’s job or are men inca-pable of taking it

up? Then, is it that problems of the heart, includ-ing high cholesterol and risk of heart attack, are faced by men alone? I ask this because the com-mercial never highlights the need of protecting the women from such cardiac diseases. Accord-ing to them, women are only supposed to care for their husband/family and not think of their own health, which in today’s lifestyle does need a lot of attention. To end with, dear advertiser, you could have at least added a daughter to the family to be realistic.

3. TITAN RAGA

h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=zXRobOjVI9s

Well to begin with, of course this is one of the best femvertisements we have seen so far. Fea-

turing Nimrat Kaur, the com-mercial shows how the women of today set their own priorities and make their own choices. The

protagonist is a successful women who broke her relationship when the man tried to bind her by asking her to quit her job. And we love her for the decision she took

What went wrong?The advertisement indicates that a person (be it a woman or a man) can have only one of the two: a successful career or a functional relation-ship. There is a middle-way which a majority of the people take. And being in a relationship while focusing on your career is not multitask-ing. As much as we love the empowered woman of Titan Raga, we would like you know that had you depicted the lead being single out of choice rather than because of work pressure, we would have celebrated it all the more.

4. MICROMAX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHQMJ-1KV00

The Superfone Ninja with AishaThe video beautifully shows Aisha as a progres-sive modern woman who is past the insecurities of her boyfriend leaving her. She is not only at-tractive but an extremely smart girl who very well knows how to respond to sexual innuendos gracefully.

What went wrong?One would think where Micromax went wrong. Well, the hit came when the marketers tried to project Aisha, the voice app on Superfone Ninja, as the ideal girlfriend that any guy would wish for. The advert not only tries to stereotype wom-en as being the ‘jealous’ one but also attempts at strengthening the notion that ‘men only think of sex’.

5. FAIR & LOVELY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDMT9e5Wb2Y Now how can a talk on feminism and modern advertising be complete without the mention


cover story january 2016

So in the era of feminism and change, here is the mantra for successful branding and marketing:

Be consistent, clear and genuineWhile you try to shift your brand from an an-ti-feminism or a neutral one to a pro-feminism

one, of course the consis-tency is bound to break. But remember, once you have reached the desired spot, you not only need to be true to your words but also need to stay clear of any confusion that your

target customer may have in perceiving you.

Promote self-worth and internal empowermentMore than anything, to strike the right chord with your target and eventually convert their attraction and appreciation towards your brand into purchases, the brand must focus of empow-erment of the mind and soul and not of the body. And when I say empowerment, not only by way of advertisement of promotions. All the four/seven Ps of the m a r k e t i n g strategy need to be altered to be inclusive not only of the sexes but of races, religion and distinguished hu-man behavior.

Build an emotional connectTell your consumers that you not only under-stand their struggle but stand with them while they face those hurdles. No this is not sympa-thizing, but empathizing with the target market to induce a pull effect towards brand connect and loyalty.

So all you marketers out there; buck-up, because the audience is waiting for revamped, renewed and real Modern Advertisement which breaks the barriers not only for creativity but for the community, society and world at large.


cover story january 2016of Fair & Lovely. However, if you carefully analyze, this commercial has all the elements needed in a successful Indian advertisement. A father-daughter relationship with a healthy dis-cussion between them. The protagonist desiring a nice job and an own house. A trusted friend who is ready with a solution to all the problems in this world.

What went wrong?The answer is EVERYTHING. Well yeas it was a healthy discussion but surrounding the topic of marriage. The fathers of today think beyond the

wedding bells and guide their daughters through the difficulties they face. The fail happened when the protagonist became ambitious after she became fair. The marketers would not have even realized how easily they projected that

women who have darker skin colors are not wor-thy of self-enlightenment and can be enthusias-tic about their careers only after applying their master product. Here I also pity the advertisers because come on, no amount of marketing can ever make a fairness cream an inclusive product.

And the list can go on. However, with 2014 being established as the year of feminist advertising, or femvertising, we have seen some great work emerging in 2015 and 2016 so far. With cam-paigns like ‘Share The Load’ by Ariel, ‘You Can Be Anything’ by Barbie, and Microsoft’s Interna-tional Women’s Day special ‘Make Whats Next’, the landscape has never been better. Throughout the past decade, marketers have raised quite a lot of questions such as what is the position of women in decision making, are men incapable of being emotional, is it only the women who are objectified by the media and so on. Whereas, now it’s time we start providing for solutions. It’s time that the advertisements become more proactive and encourage the audience to take things in their control.


vartalaap march 2016

VARTALAAPAn Interview with

Mr. Manish Harodia

An alumnus of IIM Kozhikode, he has over 10 years of experience into multiple areas viz Ed-ucation, Training, Project management, and Business Consulting. He has created two suc-cessful ventures in education & is now onto his third project Dream Wallets, which is a crowd-funding platform that they have creat-ed to truly democratize the fund-raising and getting the early adapters for the product.

Entrepreneur& Director

DreamWallets


vartalaap march 2016

Promotion is another massive challenge that start-ups and ideas face at the initial stage. The ideas that come to Dream Wallets receive tremendous support from our digital reach inturn helping the projects gain wider audience. Talking about Dream Wallets, we have been using innovative ways to enhance the brand identity. We helped various national level in-novation initiatives led by the respective state gov-ernments helping us gain tremendous visibility. We have also managed to create an eco system wherein we collaborate with potential multi-baggers.

Markathon: E-commerce in India is in the growth phase while being the most active space for start-ups. What do you think will be the next big idea to come out of this mix?

We are lucky to witness the E-commerce concepts taking shape across India. With widespread penetra-tion of internet & access to affordable technology they are transforming into mid to large sized organi-zation. However, I would like to caution the readers and start-up enthusiasts against focusing too much on the ‘We want to become the UBER for X’ or ‘ We want to become the Flipkart for Y’. It looks like a low hanging fruit but may not be the most nutritious or tasty one.

Markathon: People have these misconception about crowd funding/crowd sourcing that it is only for money and it’s a last resort for them, what is your view on this?

Crowd-funding is a disruptive funding model as it works on the ‘wisdom of the crowd’. What you have mentioned here is the most misplaced perception about the wonderful vehicle of crowd-funding. In In-dia, the markets are majorly dominated by Reward based crowd-funding, wherein contributors are pro-vided value based Rewards. Rules and regulations around the other channels viz. equity based crowd-funding and peer to peer lending are not very clear and water-tight. An effective crowd-funding cam-paign not only raises the required funds needed by the project creator but also generates validation of their ideas. It has also been proven time and again that success-ful campaigns improve the prospects for ideas and start-ups when they pitch for external rounds of funding.

Markathon: How difficult is it to promote your start-up given the budget constraints one has to face at this level?

“It looks like the a low hanging fruit but may

not be the most nutritious or

tasty one”

The ideas that come to Dream Wallets recieve tremendous

support from our digital reach

“ “

Markathon: Big data is changing the way we do marketing. Where do you think conventional mar-keting is headed and what is the scope of big data analytics in the near-future?

Consumer behavior has gained a new and enviable dimension. Transformation of consumption habits, preferences, and aspirations are making the data analysis extremely exciting. 50% of marketing cost is always a waste. The irony is no one knows which 50% is the goes gown the drain. Hopefully, putting more numbers around predicting consumer behav-ior would bring more rationality and less of hitting in the dark mindset for marketing professionals. As the professionals say, one can’t manage what one can’t measure!

Markathon: Analysis shows that 9 out of 10 start-ups fail to scale up. What is that one successful start-up doing differently?

I would put this number to 99 out of 100. I always believe in a famous Gujarati saying. If your business can survive for 1000 days from its launch, it will survive for a very long time. I meet a lot of start-ups on a regular basis. What I have realized as checkpoints for most of them are:- An A grade team will be able to execute a B grade plan as well. The converse is not true. If the team is a B grade one, they definitely have the potential to screw up even an A grade plan.- Relentless efforts to avoid being stale and being ahead of the curve. All the start-ups that have been agile have a higher propensity of being successful. There is no golden rule of being successful. But avoid-ing basics such as the above one is definitely a recipe for disaster.

Markathon: Is the idea the most integral component of a start-up? How important is its implementation in today’s world?

Sam Altaman of www.ycombinator.com has men-tioned about four aspects of creating a successful start-up. A start-up success is a function of four areas viz. Idea, Product, Team, and Execution. As you ob-served Idea is just one of them. Infact, these factors work on multiplier of concepts & not as simply addi-tive. Hence, if there is negligence on only one aspect, it may make the whole equation insignificant. In the


vartalaap march 2016current scenario, there is also the fifth parameter to these four above. “Luck” – or as we commonly know it, “Funding”. To answer the second part of the ques-tion, Execution or implementation is surely one of the most important aspect and this is an area that we tend to ignore the most. An idea can get you just this far. Relentless pursuit is the way to go for a success in any field.

Markathon: What is your take on Start-up India and other similar initiatives being taken by the govern-ment?

The present government is boosting the spirit of

entrepreneurship by way small booster packages. Consider for example releasing a corpse of Rs. 1000 crore managed by the Industrial proffesionals. The validation of ideas and guarantee against risks, these are the two major themes on which the authorities are framing regulations. We are hopeful that more and more startups will har-ness these supportive policies.

Markathon: What advice would you like to give to our readers especially those who want to start their own venture but are apprehensive in taking the first step?

Go for a market that might be small presently but is grow-ing at a better pace, rather than investing in a market that is relatively big but is growing slowly. For example, Restaurant or In-dining industry is over a Tril-lion Dollar Industry but is saturating faster viz-a-viz Food Delivery aggregator has started gaining market share with more and more service oriented families.You can make a mark moving from 0 to 1, but not from 1 to 1.5

Interviewed by:Harsha Daga & Piyush Jain | IIM Shillong

Transformation of consumption habits, preferences, and

aspirations are making the data analysis extremely exciting

eye2eye

AJAY SINGLAIIM RAIPUR

The choice of marketing strategy de-pends on the target market. India is a low middle income country where

around 32.7% of the total population lies below the prop-erty line. A lot of mobile phone brands like Apple, Sam-sung, Micromax, Lenovo etc. hold majority of share in the market. There is huge competition in the market. These compa-nies are competing using price cuts and new features in the mobile phones. For a new player to enter the market and survive is a very difficult task. In such a scenario, mar-keting a product on its cost seems logical. Ringing bells is going to launch Freedom 251 mobile phones for the Indian customers with a price of just Rs.251. The significant share of population who could not afford mobile phones earlier is the main target market for this product. The company has already received millions of rupees in lieu of advance orders placed for buying the mobile phone. The marketing of product on the basis of low cost will definitely help the company grab significant market share from the already existing market players.However, it is not ultimately the revenue which defines the health of a business but the profits left after reduc-tion of the costs. It looks practically impossible to provide a mobile phone at Rs, 251 with dual camera, GPS and other facilities. If the company is not able to recover the costs from the price at which the products are offered for sale, the com-pany will fail miserably albeit high revenues.Overall, we can deduce that marketing a product majorly on its cost can be the correct marketing strategy depend-ing on the type of target market and also the marginal profits obtained by using the strategy.


With reference to Freedom 251, Is marketing a product majorly on its cost the

correct marketing strategy?

Topic for the next issue: “Is Apple’s move of entering the middle income segment of India with Iphone SE a strategic fit for the company?” Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 10th April 2016. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry. Winners will receive a prize money of Rs. 500 each!

PRAGYA PAROMITA XIMB BHUBANESWAR

At the first look a marketing strategy based on price, may seem very catchy and attractive from a customer’s view-point; and disastrous from the seller’s. A case in recent times, “Freedom 251” a mobile gadget that promises all essential features priced at an unheard of figure –Rs 251. The sheer incredulity of the price garnered much needed hype and publicity. However, getting back to the basics – Was adopting a price point based marketing strategy cor-rect? There can be a lot of debate either for or against such a policy. But the essential point here is to have a look at the industry.Governed by the Moore’s Law, the industry poses in itself a lot of challenges – rapid rate of technological innova-tion, shifting tastes of customers and short product life span. The Indian Smartphone industry is marked by stiff competition, highly attractive growth potential (36% com-pounded annual growth rate in the upcoming 5 years) and ever increasing Internet enabled services on Smartphone. In an industry such as this, being the lowest priced prod-uct may seem an attractive proposition for short-term; however for long term sustainability it’s the product qual-ity, innovation in features and customer experience that will be the front-runners in keeping the product alive in the market.Now, from the customer’s viewpoint, a cheap product equates for two things – perception of lacuna in terms of quality of the product, and no loyalty for the brand. This would be the case even when the product suppos-edly functions well enough and meets all the minimum specifications. According to a research conducted by Ac-centure (Feb 9th, 2016), Indian Smartphone users are giv-ing more importance to services offered as compared to owning newer gadgets. And thus, attempting to woo the customer based on price alone would be like selling a hot dog without the sausage. ilever was founded in 1930 by the merger of Dutch Mar-garine producer Margarine Unie and British soap maker

eye2eye march 2016

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eye2eye july 2015

14

By Shubham Shukla IIM Shillong

Apple Inc. is one of the most widely recognized and admired company in the world. With its com-mitment to design and aesthetics its logo has also changed over the years to describe the company’s thinking and its objectives for the future. The his-tory of the bitten apple on the logo has also been in doubt for some time. There was even a theory float-ing around the apple was a tribute to Alan Turing who allegedly committed suicide by consuming an apple laced with cyanide. Let us now see how the famous logo has evolved over the years to turn into the familiar logo that we see today.

The Newton Crest:1976

The first Apple logo was designed in 1976 by Ron-ald Wayne, sometimes referred to as the third co-founder of Apple. The logo depicts Isaac New-ton sitting under a tree, an apple dangling pre-cipitously above his head. The phrase on the outside border reads, “Newton… A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone.”

The Rainbow Logo:1976-1998

The Newton Crest logo only lasted a year before Steve Jobs com-missioned graph-ic designer Rob Janoff to come up with something a little bit more modern. Jobs believed that in order to connect better with the youth the logo would have to be more modern and sleek.

According to an interview given by Rob Janoff, the “bite” in the Apple logo was originally im-plemented so that people would know that it represented an apple, and not a tomato. The bite is also a play on the word byte which is a unit of computer memory measurement which was befitting a company dealing in computing technology.As for the rainbow stripes of the logo, Steve Jobs is rumored to have insisted on using a colorful logo as a means to “humanize” the company. Janoff has said that “there was no rhyme or rea-son behind the placement of the colors them-selves”, noting that he wanted to have green at the top “because that’s where the leaf was.”The multi-colored Apple logo was in use for 22 years before it was axed by Steve Jobs after his return to Apple in 1997.

The Monochrome Logo:1998-Present

When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the com-pany was bleeding money, and Jobs and Co. re-alized that the Apple logo could be leveraged to their advan-tage. The com-pany needed to transform Apple’s image from that of a failing company into one capable of churning out sleek and cut-ting edge prod-ucts, and hence needed a new logo to match this approach.In place of the earlier Rainbow Stripes logo was a new logo that did away with the color-ful stripes and replaced it with a more modern monochromatic look that has taken on a variety of sizes and colors over the past few years. The overall shape of the logo, however, remained unchanged from its original inception 22 years ago.

Over the years Apple has continued with the same logo albeit in different sizes.

IIM Shillong IIM Shillong18MARKATHON

Congratulations!!! Vivek receives a cash prize of Rs 1000!

silent voice december 2013 silent voice march 2016

Theme: Vijay

Mallya

show

n the

door

in his

ow

n com

panyLast Month’s Results

WINNERPARUL GARG | IIM SHILLONG

THEME FOR NEXT SILENT VOICE: Good Friday Advertising Debacle of E-Commerce Websites in India

LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 10th April 2016EMAIL ID: [email protected]

Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.

CATCHRMISS

AD-dicted december 2013


By ASTHA KABRAIIM Shillong

PRODUCT: Frooti : The Frooti Life

POSITIONING: Chase the Mango, ‘ Choos ’ the Mango

CREATIVE AGENCY: Sagmeister & Walsh

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uURIwqizmnE

CONCEPT: The recently aired TVC featuring Bollywood King

Mr. Sharukh Khan opens with him climibing the stairs of a huge empty room and push-es open a grey marked door

called ‘Life’. Inside the room, drones keep chanting “chase the mango, choos the mango”. Suddenly a boy dressed as a monk arrives and gives SRK a small bottle labelled The Frooti Life. Now the title on the door myseriously changes to ‘the Frooti Life’ and SRK goes ape trying to open the door. What follows next is a frooti song and dance, while SRK tries to chase the young monk. The TVC ends with SRK dancing all alone in the room and the entire crew is confused about his actions. Turns out all of this was hap-pening in his mind after he took a sip of Frooti and lived The Frooti Life.

VERDICT: Miss

Markathon believes that even though the TVC managed to create a lot of buzz amongst the viewers because Frooti released its ad in two parts maintaining the element of surprise, the advertsiement failed to convey the feeling of drinking a refreshing mango drink. The advertisement leaves the audience as confused as the shooting crew shown at the end of the TVC. Considering the success Frooti has enjoyed over the years with their advertise-ments, this advertisement failed to create the memora-ble bond with the audience. All in all, Markathon believes that Frooti ad this summer was a miss by the company.

By SHARAD SRINIVASANIIM Shillong

PRODUCT: Fevicol – The Ultimate Adhesive

POSITIONING: Ensure Successful Completion of Your Job.

CREATIVE AGECY: Ogilvy & Mather

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=6kaIEc1iNKQ

CONCEPT: Pidilite Industries Ltd has rolled out a new TVC titled Govinda Ek, Dahi Handi Anek. The ad showcases the highlights of Dahi-Handi celebrations during the festival of Janamashtami. Young men are shown forming a hu-man pyramid by standing on one another’s shoulder in an attempt to break the earthen pot containing butter-milk. The brand’s signature humor is brought in when after breaking the first handi, instead of tumbling down and racing to the next handi, the group of young men re-tain the human pyramid and effortlessly move through the narrow lanes to break the next dahi-handi. The ad-vertisement closes with people splashing water on the men forming the pyramid. Water washes off the color on one the men’s t-shirt and the Fevicol logo printed on the back of it becomes visible. The scene ends with the tagline, “The Ultimate Adhesive”, flashing on the screen.

VERDICT: Catch Markathon believes the new ad campaign by Fevicol is a hit. The advertisement has captured the essence and the energy of the ‘Dahi-Handi’ festival and has beautifully used it to ingrain the desired image of Fevicol in the minds of the viewers. Also as the festival is celebrated with much pomp across India, the recall value of the ad is pretty high. As far as more technical aspects are concerned, the story woven around the brand & the flow of the advertisement are simple & smooth, which make it interesting to watch. All in all, the typical humor-filled, attribute-based adver-tising of Fevicol can once again be expected to be a suc-cess.

AD-dicted march 2016

IIM Shillong IIM Shillong20MARKATHON

fun corner march 2016

AKSHAY SETHIIM Shillong

Tata Nano


jab they failed march 2016

Jab They FailedDAKSH BHAGATIIM Shillong

“I observed families riding on two-wheelers — the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, afford-able, all-weather form of transport for such a family” – Ratan Tata, while introducing his brain child, the Tata Nano, to the worldA large section of the Indian society belongs to the lower middle class segment where purchasing a car is still con-sidered a luxury. The bewildering fact was that not only the likes of Maruti, Volkswagen and Hyundai were per-turbed after the launch so much so that Maruti publicly accepted that its engineers have been unable to make a car that would cost Rs 1 Lakh; but the launch also created dis-turbances in the two wheeler market. The egg shaped Tata Nano was tagged as the modern day people’s car, an ultra-cheap vehicle that was supposed to bring greater mobility to the In-dian masses. When Ferdinand Porsche was asked to develop Volkswagen which was designed to accommodate three adults and two children, and could be afforded at the price of a small motorcycle, what he came up with was the Volkswagen Beetle. It has become the largest selling car for more than 50 years and its suc-cess story has become folklore in this period. Hence the curious mind often begs the question, why Nano which was launched with a similar positioning was never able to win the hearts of the Indian costumers.The company started facing troubles as soon as the car was launched. The car had many pros such as an intel-ligently mixed fuel, space and cost efficiencies, all this packed up in a sleek design with world class features with a set of its own little cons like low quality paint job, no air jobs, small boot and fuel tank and undersized engine. But the company thought that all of this will get compensated with the Rs 1 lakh price tag. However, the price tag itself became the problem when it turned out to be responsible for driving away the potential customers of the car. Buy-ing a car in India is associated with the social status and prestige. Some families give cars to their daughters as a wedding gift as a symbol of their affluence. The idea dif-fers from the western world in its entirety where owning a car is considered a necessity rather than a luxury. No one gives a damn if someone buys a car in the US, unless it’s a Ferrari or a Lamborghini!

In 2008, when there were allegations against the compa-ny for acquiring land in West Bengal at cheap prices to set up its plants, the entire set up had to be shifted in Gujarat. This costed the company a lot, both in terms of its image and otherwise. In yet another case in 2010, when a newly bought Nano in Mumbai caught fire on road, the image was again tarnished to a great extent. The company said it investigated and that the blazes weren’t the result of any manufacturing defect. Another issue was mishandling the PR. The entire world talked about the Nano catching fire. But no one cared to notice the number of Nano beautifully running on roads. The targeted segment, which was the first time buyers of

car, were surely thwart-ed by the news and were taken aback. Tata has traditionally been an SUV and HCV manufac-turer, products with low volume and high margin. The team wasn’t aligned towards an attitude for mass production, to push for a desired sales

that would help generate profits for a low margin product like Nano. Nano also failed on the pricing aspect wherein a random figure of Rs 1 lakh was quoted and no specif-ic mechanism was followed. The price mechanism was flawed because it never sold at the price it was promised at but was sold at a price which was 20-50% greater than the original.The base model of the Tata Nano provided for no air con-ditioning, no stereo and a single windshield wiper. The Spartan interior had no glove box and thinly padded seats that didn’t adjust. People shunned the car because of the cheap tag and started moving towards slightly high-er priced variants such as the Maruti 800. It begun to be considered as the real people’s car in India. When it was launched, it was definitely priced higher than the Fiats and the Ambassadors. Yet, a generation that was sick of the poor quality of the existing cars, were impressed by the features of 800 which was durable, reliable and way more comfortable. With a proper application of the 4P’s of marketing, the car would have actually covered milestones for the company and would have achieved a great success.


updates december 2013 updates march 2016

New Product Launch

iPad Pro and iPhone SE The new 9.7 inch variant of iPad Pro that was launched last year along with the newest edition of iPhone was unveiled this March. With iPhone SE being priced at $399 (as against $649 for iPhone 6s), Apple tries to pull its lovers belonging to the middle and upper middle class. This is not the first time they have done this. Hence, it is very evident that the manufacturer no longer wants to remain niche or exclusive and is desirous of penetrating through the second tier of cell phones to reach a vast target audience.

By HARSHA DAGAIIM Shillong

Market Development

The Vitara Brezza spells magic for Maruti

With the launch of this SUV, Maruti Suzuki reins in into a new seg-ment and does it with a bang. The launch of Vitara helped Maruti’s stock price surge 4%. The car is not only a breather for the company but for buyers too as the price point is attractive to say the least. Also, against popular positioninh strategies of macho and tough that go with SUVs, Vitara Brezza differentiates itself by being the glamorous one.

Neil Barrett set to up your style quotient

The Italian brand enters into the Indian fashion market with a strategic part-nership with Fervour, a multi-brand designer for including Marc Jacobs, Mis-soni and Dsquared2. Celebrities have usually donned the label since its birth in 1999, including Mark Ruffalo and Justin Timberlake in the recent past. The brand plans to continue with its exclusive and luxury positioning in India and is hopeful of creating a niche just like Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

Updat e s

New Balance found its way in the country The American Sportswear brand is now available in the capital re-gion with its first store operating in Noida’s DLF Mall. The compa-ny plans to open up 50 stores over a period of 5 years on the lines of other premier international brands like Aldo, Charles & Keith and Guess. Thanks to the availability of such newer brands every month, the retail landscape is becoming exiting and rejuvenating by the day.


updates december 2013 updates march 2016

Brand Watch

Ad Watch

Alia and Ranveer rock in latest Make My Trip Ad

The two ads use humor to reach out to its consumers pushed by the refresh-ing chemistry between the two talented young bones. The ad helps Make My Trip to establish itself as one of the easiest to use and convenient ap-plication with the aim of bringing the world of hotels closer with enchanting discounts. Make My Trip enjoys a decent share in the ticketing business and hence a focused advertising to push its hotel tie-ups is the most appropriate step for them currently.

Apple TV unveils the future of television

Somehow, Apple and Goofy don’t go together but aren’t all of us here trying to challenge the notions and beliefs. Yes the advertisement is popular TV actors are preparing for their kissing scene to be perfect and Nikolaj starts grooving to a song instead, you know to lighten up the mood. The advertise-ment subtly introduces Siri for the Apple TV in a quirky environment but stunningly gets the point across.

Snapdeal and JLL India partners

International property consultant has partnered with Snapdeal to market residential properties in India. The new category offering will enable Snap-deal to foray and establish itself in a new market segment, though the same is being currently catered to by a number of websites like 99 acres and Com-mon Floor. However, Snapdeal has by itself come a long way from an online coupon platform to a full-fledged online marketplace. Watching Snapdeal take on this new challenge will be exciting to say the least.

updates

Brother International creates brand awareness

The company has been in India for five years now, however, it does not enjoy the brand cognizance like its competitors HP and Lenovo. This Japanese com-pany has set up Experience Zones which are exclusive Brother showrooms. However, the catch is that these showrooms do not act as points of sale but are meant only for consumers to see and feel the brand and have a look at their entire product range. Though the company has seen healthy growth in the Indian market since it entered here, the war for market share in the print-ing solutions space is intense.


Flipkart launches own ad platform

Flipkart calls the launch of Brand Story Ads, its new advertising platform, as a revo-lutionary new kind of advertising: Commerce advertising. With already 50 brands inclusing Sony, Datsun Yes Bank and L’Oréal partnering with Flipkart, the platform is enabling players to reach out to target customers with the help of intelligent data insights it has gained from transactions and user profiles on its domain. The platform is not only restrictive to online sellers but is also a platform for various industries that are not moving the online way.

New Channel

Articles Are invited“Best Article”: SUSHMAN DAS | IIM LUCKNOW

He receives a cash prize of Rs.1000 & a letter of appreciation

We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be absolutely any-thing related to the world of marketing but it should be an original work that is not pub-lished elsewhere. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which

includes: •Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena.•Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing.•Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of marketing strategy of any company or an event.Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best en-try will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file

should be MS Word doc/docx.

The last date of receiving all entries is 10th April 2016. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAME(S)>_<INSTITUTE> to [email protected].

updates march 2016

Brand Extenssion

Mother Dairy set to localize its products

The dairy giant is ready to launch ‘Nolen Gur’, or palm jiggery flavor in its ice-cream segments. The distribution would begin in Kolkatta and later will be expanded to the entire Eastern region where Nolen Gur is a hot seller. To increase its reach, Mother Dairy is working towards local customization by adding flavors like Kesariya Mastani and Matka Kulfi for the North Indian folks.

Our Facebook page has been buzzing all month. Check out some of our posts here!

digi-tally march 2016


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march 2016


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Documents

Markathon march 2016