IIFT Markmantra - January 2017 by IIFT MarkMantra

TEAM

MARKMANTRA

ARPIT

GUNJAN SOLANKI

MAHESHWARI Intern at

HT MEDIA

Intern at

VODAFONE

NISHKARSH

AAYUSH

KHOKHAR

SINHA

Intern at

GOLDMAN SACHS

WIPRO

Editor’s Message

As Jonas Sachs said, “Good marketers see consumers as complete human beings with all the dimensions real people have.” So with these thoughts we bring our new edition of MarkMantra which lay emphasis on marketing techniques in present scenario which are unorthodox, off-beat and outlandish. Covering the most integral topics in the marketing world from the trivial to the bizarre that really matter, we have taken the onus of enlightening budding, aspiring marketers. As marketers, we pride ourselves on coming up with fresh ideas. It’s how we stay relevant, and it’s how we grow in our careers. This new edition contains articles from nostalgia to cause marketing. Winning entries and few other articles are carefully crafted for reader’s pleasure. The Edition contains Guru’s Sermon, where our renowned faculty, Dr. Ruppal W Sharma expressed her views on the current hot topics. Also featuring in corporate connect, Mr Harish Goyal, CEO Zee Tv SA and Mauritius expressing his views on “A 4D perspective into the world of Digital Marketing”. We have also added interview experience of summer internship process along with life at IIFT by few of our fellow colleagues. In the end I want to thank our Senior Team for their constant support and feedback. Hope you enjoy reading this edition and come up with great creative ideas as marketers.

Centre Headâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message

I am delighted to welcome you to 2017 along with the New Year issue of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mark Mantraâ&#x20AC;?. The New Year has started with unusual dynamism giving the re-monetised economy which may (May!) trump (Trump!) new challenges. Hence our Brand Wagon also decided to remain unorthodox. This issue of Mark Mantra is also nostalgic. The dynamic concept of marketing has become hyperactive when you find both the general environment and consumers become over enthusiastic. The given turbulent environment and the impatience in consumers have made marketers to think innovatively giving raise to new waves like nostalgic marketing, cause marketing, etc. to address the needs. I hope you will enjoy reading the new Mark Mantra in marketing and our Brand Wagon will continue to strive flooding with new ideas & practices in the marketing arena.

Dr. K. Rangrajan Centre Head- Kolkata Campus

INDEX Marketing in the New Digital Age How Cause Marketing is making its impact in the world of social media? Context Vs. Content Marketing Nostalgia Marketing

Best

Idea:SUV

Marketing

Mr Harish Goyal

Marketing Assistance SchemeEmpowering our MSMEs

CEO, Zee TV- SA & Mauritious

Hous e of Mark mant ra

Ruppal Mam

C o rp o rate C o nnec t: ZEE

Summer Placements Process experience and Life at IIFT

Guruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s Serm on

E x cl u sive : I n sid e I I F T

HOUSE OF MARKMANTRA

NISHKARSH KHOKHAR

AAYUSH SINHA

Over the last decade, India’s trade scenario has undergone a heavy metamorphosis, in the sense that our share in global trade has gone up from 0.8% in 2002 to approximately 2.13% in 2013. However, this increase has been on the account of a significant increase in imports. Moreover, exports have actually declined. Post the slowdown, our trade with Europe, USA and CIS nations went down. However, this has also opened up an opportunity to expand in many African as well as Asian countries where India’s trade penetration was lacking for a long time. The opening up of new markets has given India a golden opportunity to boost its trade as well as its employment levels simultaneously.

Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to create 100 million jobs in India by 2022 under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. It is absolutely essential to understand the importance of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) sector in this regard, since this sector has been accorded prime importance in India’s export promotion strategy. Approximately 48 million MSMEs account for 33% of India’s GDP. Further, the best part is its distribution across various segments in this respect, ranging from textiles to engineering goods to processed food. In fact, sports goods sector is almost 100% oriented towards exports.

Marketing plays a crucial role in the success of any type of enterprise. It is important to understand the underlying role it plays to act as a catalyst for the growth and survival of micro, small & medium enterprises. MSME sector lacks seriously on the marketing front and is in dire need for institutional support for important inputs in the marketing area. Marketing Assistance Scheme has been providing marketing support to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a Public Sector Enterprise of the Ministry. Thus, it is important to address the concerns of the entire range of enterprises â&#x20AC;&#x201C; micro, small and medium sector. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 addresses these issues and also other issues relating to credit, marketing etc. which is of importance to the micro, small and medium enterprises. Some of the main objectives of the scheme are: 1. To increase marketing activities, capabilities & competitiveness of the MSMEs. 2. To highlight the competencies of MSMEs. 3. To keep updated the MSMEs about the prevalent market scenario and its impact on their activities. 4. To facilitate the formation of a group of SMEs for marketing of their products and services. 5. To provide a big platform to MSMEs where they can meet large institutional buyers. 6. To spread and propagate various programs of the Government. 7. To enhance the marketing skills of the micro, small & medium entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, MSMEs suffer from a lot of problems. The sector suffers due to lack of access to technology, complicated government procedures and duty drawback rules, the presence of an unskilled workforce, and poor marketing, branding and packaging. In Figure below it focus on product differentiation in textiles sector via niche marketing is the key to compete The last point is the biggest matter of concern because by 2020, India is touted to have the largest job-ready population. Plus, labour intensive sectors of India, especially textiles sector, are facing stiff competition from other Asian countries, namely the CLMV nations (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam), solely due to their

low pricing. The only way for India to avoid competing with these countries without hurting them is by superior marketing strategy. It follows that brilliant advertising campaigns, word of mouth marketing, exclusive expos for such products, and a symposium of our products in international trade fairs can give us that badly needed competitive

Under the Marketing support scheme to the MSMEs, it is proposed to provide marketing support to MSMEs through National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and enhance marketability of their products, through the following activities: • MSMEs must be encouraged to participate in International Exhibitions and trade fairs. This not only gives these units a very good exposure to the market but also helps them to explore new business opportunities. Such expositions highlight the diverse products, technologies and services offered by the Indian MSMEs and opens up new avenues for partnership with other players. Participation in such events also helps MSMEs to witness international practices and enhances their own business prowess. • Domestic exhibitions can be organized and MSMEs must be encouraged to participate in the domestic exhibitions/trade fairs as well. To provide marketing opportunities to MSMEs within the country, certain theme based exhibitions / technology fairs etc. may be organized by National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), focused on products and services provided by MSMEs. • Buyers-Sellers Meets are currently being organized to bring bulk buyers like the government departments and MSMEs together at one platform. Bulk and departmental buyers such as the Defence, Railways departments and large companies are invited to participate in buyer-seller meets to bring them a step closer to the MSMEs for enhancing their marketing competitiveness.

• Marketing Promotion Events and Intensive Campaigns are conducted all over the country to propagate more information regarding the various schemes for the benefit of the micro, small & medium enterprises. The MSMEs are also facilitated to enhance their knowledge regarding latest technological developments, quality standards etc. and improve the marketing potential of their products and services. The Benefits of these steps are many, as: 1. The MSMEs would be better equipped to face tough competition 2. They can highlight and display their competency in any area 3. The MSMEs will get more exposure to prevalent market scenario 4. Getting apprised about various programs of the Government. 5. Financial assistance will be provided by the government by way of providing subsidy on space rent, airfare & freight charges. 6. Exposure to international best practices and latest technology and global buyers 7. MSMEs will get export opportunities and a chance to expand their business expansion 8. It will also help the MSMEs to adopt the latest technology and provide them with networking opportunities. _______________________________________

CORPORATE CONNECT Mr. Harish Goyal CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - SA & MAURITIUS, ZEE TV Alumnus of IIFT Batch of 1999

A 4D perspective into the world of Digital Marketing Marketing has taken huge strides in the past few years within the media industry and has grown exponentially to reach its present position. Due to this fact, marketing and advertising has been growing across digital, analogue and traditional platforms - DTH, DTT, OTT and VOD. Being in Media, I have come to realise that since this industry is ever evolving, our marketing strategies follow suit. Globally we have all migrated to a digital way of living in the modern world and thus our strategies to market our brands to the new generation of cyber consumers constantly requires innovative ideas and strategies thereof. Zee has perfected the concept of Indian content present in the living rooms of families all over the world with our innovative marketing strategies. Africa is no exception and has opened its doors to embrace the colour, culture, fashion and music that India has birthed. For the longest time, it was believed that Indian content would only resonate best with South Asians, however, Zee has managed to successfully bridge the gap by tailoring the content to suit the African viewers and thus erasing this myth and we have since realised that Indian content is ‘colour and culture neutral’. The content we bring to the forefront highlights everyday family issues, love stories gone right and wrong as well as reality shows that our African viewership can identify with because of the similarities within this culture and family structures to their own. With this strong content pull, one has managed to execute a successful 360-degree marketing plan that ties up traditional marketing with the current digital space through social media, websites, mass messaging and programming available on multi devices in the form of mobi-sodes, Webi-sodes. Having said that, these strategies have been expertly applied to other industries such as FMCG, Fashion, Information Technology. Having such rich content also opens up the market to attain an indistinguishable synergy with these various industries due to the fact that elements of Indian content have a direct connection and influence to these sectors for example: the food we showcase and the clothing we exhibit. Speaking directly to chefs, designers, retailers.

With the immense amount of digital marketing that has taken place within the past few years, media has still kept the foundation strong with its traditional marketing efforts as well. Magazine adverts, billboards, cinema advertising, have all played a part in marrying the digital and traditional sides of marketing to create a powerhouse of influence within the market to create a need for this content within our target groups. In the beginning of 2017 Zee is launching two new channels into the African market – with tailored content – programming dubbed in English as well as edited to suit the mainstream viewers. The first will be ‘Bollymovies’ which is the first of its kind in the world being an English dubbed 24hr Bollywood movie channel. The second is ‘Bollynova’ which is a 24hr Series channel dubbed in English. With the launch of these two new channels – the first of its kind – making India the pioneers of fresh new content on the continent and a benchmark in the media industry on a Global scale. Having this unique content does play a role in enabling the marketing strategy to become easier due to the already established customer loyalty and demand for the content. With no direct competition, our unique Indian programming has a clear path to capture the hearts and minds of Global viewers. Harish Goyal CEO, SA & Mauritius, ZEE TV Alumnus of IIFT Batch of 1999

Akash Thakkar

Aswasthi Janardhan

Yes, in today’s world, nostalgia is an effective way for brands to connect to people, as they tap into the past with products, ad campaigns and taglines. From fast food and breakfast cereals to apparels and gaming systems, smart brands are engaging customers through retro roots — and it’s called nostalgia marketing. This tactic enables consumers to relive memories, and if executed well, creates positive brand association. Brands from all industries are experimenting with nostalgia marketing — tapping into positive cultural memories from previous decades, designed to drive energy to modern campaigns.

When was the last time you felt nostalgic? Chances are, it was just some hours back! While cleaning your cupboard how often have you stumbled upon an old photo album with an urge to return back to those days? The roaring laughter, handmade crafts, flying kites, running behind rickshaws, playing indoor games are memories that we all treasure and if given an opportunity would want to revisit. The identification of this gap by astute marketers has brought in a new perspective to the way marketing works nowadays. Many of the stalwart brands have tapped into this potential and struck a chord with the audience when they presented the beauty of innocence and memories in the form of a neatly wrapped gift named Nostalgia.

The key reason why brands incorporate nostalgia marketing is to strike a cord with the consumers and ensure consumer loyalty.

Also, research shows that nostalgic thoughts inspire social connections, which make people value money less and therefore part with it more easily. And hence marketers are using nostalgia to tug at consumers’ heartstrings and loosen their purse strings. Another reason why brands opt for nostalgia marketing is because heritage-inspired collections are quick to launch, less expensive and easy to justify. Also redesigning and launching a series of new products is time-consuming and expensive. For e.g. A brand that focusses on aesthetics like Rado, introduced the new Rado HyperChrome 1616 watch which is inspired heavily by the Rado Cape Horn collections of the 1960s and 1970s.

problems don’t matter and the hustling life of modernity just comes to a standstill. Instead of anticipating the next great thing, nostalgia marketing urges us to focus on the things we already know are wonderful. From music and imagery, there are many ways companies can leverage the past in order to elicit an emotional response. Let us have a look at how some key players have used nostalgia marketing to connect with the consumers. (i) Reminiscing about popular things from the past: The concept of nostalgia marketing would be incomplete without the mention of this game! The perfect combination of past and present, ‘Pokémon GO’ links a beloved story with the first real-life example of augmented reality.

So, one might wonder, why this marketing tactic has gone down well with the audience. In a time when most marketing strategies focus heavily on the future, nostalgia marketing transports us back to a simpler place where our current

Instagram has introduced hashtags like #throwbackthursday or #flashbackfriday which are often used when posting old photos or videos. Twitter and Facebook have both offered users a flash to the past – Twitter through its #FirstTweets, and Facebook through its “A Look Back” video offering for user profiles. And on every major social media site, it’s easy to scroll back through old posts and messages.

Team Nintendo has shared a compelling blast from the past with the millennials and hit it off with them on the emotional level. And the result? The holy grail of brand marketing! For many, playing the game satisfies dual criteria — innate happiness and exploration into the unknown. Puraani Yaadein! The idea of a traditional drink coupled with a heart touching advertising campaign. That’s the story of Paperboat! Paper Boat’s marketing strategy moves around nostalgia and simplicity in its storytelling campaign. In the era

(ii) Creating an ad in which an iconic celebrity/ character endorses the product: Spotify: Spotify is diving into ‘80s nostalgia on the back of a furry dragon with its latest ad campaign. Last year the music streaming service reintroduced the Falkor and his boy companion Atreyu who are the characters from the beloved 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story. As per the statistics, in spite of the movie being more than thirty years its title

of disruptive marketing, it has played the game so wisely that not only it has made brand awareness but also an emotional contact with its target audience. It has beautifully utilized social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for sharing stories with its fan following.

(iii) Bringing back by popular demand an old, beloved product: Surge:

The story of revival of this Coca Cola’s citrus flavoured soda is quite unusual. Like crazy fans that stalk celebrities, a millennial-led online fan group raised nearly $4,000 through Indiegogo to buy a billboard near Coca-Cola’s headquarters, creating numerous YouTube videos and bombarding the company’s consumer hotline, among other efforts urging them to reintroduce the drink. Owing to the popular demand, Coca Cola introduced the drink stating that ‘Fans thirsty for a taste of ’90s nostalgia’

on YouTube within a span of five days. Converse: In 1917, Converse launched the first mass-produced basketball sneaker: the All Star. Under new leadership, Converse went in a new direction by embracing their “old-school” style, which had appealed to generations of rebellious rockers over the years. This new, fashion-focused direction for Converse was launched in 2007 as the “Chuck It” campaign, which featured black and white photographs of model Daisy Lowe. The campaign evoked the rich, cultural history of the Chuck Taylor, and helped reinvent Converse as a lifestyle band.

Calvin Klein: Calvin Klein has also brought back the ’90s hits. In 2014, the brand collaborated with luxury fashion store MyTheresa.com to reissue items like denims and sweats from the collection that launched Kate Moss’ modelling career in 1994. Five of the 12 reissued styles sold out within roughly two months like hot cakes!

Nostalgia-centric marketing succeeds when brands keep a finger on the pulse of modern culture listen to what people are talking about, and plug into those ideas to create new marketing campaigns. But, seeing those shiny, colourful stars and green clovers from your childhood in living colour may be enough to compel you to grab the product off the shelf — and that’s brilliant nostalgia marketing at work. ____________________________________________

(iv)Invite customers to reconnect with a product: Microsoft: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer video, dubbed “Child of the 90s.” depicts how they have evolved. It begins, “You might not remember us, but we met in the ’90s,” then reminds, millennial view

Ruppal Walai Sharma Associate Professor (Marketing)

Currrently working as an associate professor at IIFT, Delhi PhD (Brand Management) from BITS Pilani Maters Programme in International Business (MBA) from IIFT Delhi BA (Hons) in Economics from LSR, Delhi University Worked from 1995-2002 in the Corporate Sector and from 2003 till date in Academics. Besides teaching in the different programmes, have designed and conducted various Management Development Programmes for middle to senior level managers in organisations like Indian Oil Corporation, Tata Chemicals, Glaxo Smithkline, Castrol and Pfizer among others.

Question 1: Recently the Indian Government has shown aggression in its efforts to promote a cashless economy and increase smartphone penetration across the country. In what ways do you think digital marketers can seize this opportunity? Will it be sustainable in the long run?

Ruppal Mam: First yes the government has

focused strongly on promoting a cashless economy. Second, though increasing smartphone usage may be a by product of this process but I do not see any direct push or policy from the government to increase smartphone usage. While most payment apps and interfaces require a smartphone, I have seen awareness campaigns where customer are being educated on how they can leverage their feature phone for simple financial activities. The National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP), set up by the NPCI, provides users access to their bank accounts and facilitates simple tasks like checking account balance, generating a mini-statement and, transferring money to other accounts. In any case even without the promotion of cashless transactions, penetration of

smartphones has been on the rise. So though there will be some boost I do not foresee a quantum leap due to cashless promotion. After all cashless transactions are also being promoted as the new normal in offline stores as well.

through introduction of new options

would be welcome to the consumer. So if these kind of initiatives add to her customer experience these are good . If the customer feels it takes away something and that other options are preferable it will die out. The moot point is -Let the consumer decide.

Having said that, I would still expect a positive effect overall due to greater comfort, acceptability and ease of digital payments. I am assuming that by Digital marketers you mean marketers of digital products and not marketers who use the digital medium to promote their products. If it is the former they can in the short run highlight convenience and give incentives to new consumers to come on to their platform or try their products and services. However though digital marketing is definitely sustainable the boost due to cashless promotion will be short term.

Question 3: We are in the era of Influencermarketing gold rush. Social media has made influencers as the most effective channels to reach out to customers and clients. Can brands be more effective in leveraging the power of influencer marketing using means other than social media? Ruppal Mam: Influencer marketing is not new. Social media is. In the past as well there have been several very successful cases of influencer marketing without using social media. For instance Mechanic Meets by lubricant companies, Painter programmes by paint companies and seminars by Key Opinion Leaders in the Pharmaceutical and IT industries, to name just a few. There is no reason why such programmes would not continue to work effectively. Whether these would be more effective than using social media or using a mix of both, will depend on what is objective the marketer has and who is the target audience. There can never be a one shoe fits all approach to marketing strategy. In any case in this day of fragmented media and short attention spans a 360 degree integrated approach suing a mix of tools would be most effective.

Question 2: From Coco Colaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Virtual Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sleigh ride to McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happy meal VR headset, every major company is launching their Virtual/Augmented reality experience to increase engagement with consumers. Is the modern marketer killing the joy of discovering unknown places by putting everything under the smartphone screen?

Ruppal Mam: Why would you assume that there is no joy in discovering things on the smartphone? To some it may be only the discovery which matters not the medium of the discovery. More importantly it is always good to give more choices to the consumer. Let her decide which one she prefers. Any increase in convenience, or customer experience

Question 4: Daily dose of overwhelming information is making people resistant to advertising. Today’s consumers are smart enough to spot a sales pitch or marketing come-one, and they get discouraged by anything they find as clamour. What should the modern marketer do so that the consumer doesn’t get annoyed with repetitive advertisements and absolutely reject seeing ads of any kind in the future?

Question 5: 2016 had been the year of Chatbots. Companies like Uber, Apple, Pizza hut, H&M, American Express, GE etc. are employing Chatbots to solve consumer grievances economically. But then there are incidents like Microsoft’s chatbot “Tay”, where it tweeted racist and lewd comments. Are companies trying too hard by employing chatbots in their marketing strategy? For something like marketing which has historically relied on building human relationships, shouldn’t consumer grievances be addressed more by humans rather than chatbots?

Ruppal Mam: There is only so far you can go with a ‘Push” approach. Permission marketing is here to stay and marketers can ignore customers wishes at their peril. The way to get noticed is to get the right customer insights and leverage these to provide content that they will add value or content that they can relate to. Content marketing is also a very relevant tool to deliver your message along with adding value to consumers. Marketers job is to design their communication which can connect to a customers needs and desires in a manner which helps them bring out their brands association. If you know who your customer is and what she is looking for or what she feels, and you are able to bring this out in your communication, the customer will not reject you. Some brilliant campaigns which have been very successful based on consumer insight have been the Ariel share the load campaign by P&G and the Kaan Khajura project by HUL. The marketer has to see beyond his/her product and integrate their communication with the customer’s life. What she wants to see or hear is most important and not necessarily what you want to say!

Ruppal Mam: A related question would also be sho uld marketers depend too much on analytics? What about qualitative insights and softer aspects? The answer to both these questions about the chatbots or the analytics is that on their own these are tools can be a valuable aid to marketers. But at all times it should be remembered that these are aids and not replacements for the human touch or the softer insights. Chatbots are still in the early stages and sure there will be teething problems like that which happened with Tay but these will evolve and can play a useful role for marketers in the future. But like I said you can have all chatbots and data mining and analytics but you need someone to manage these to follow up on the conversations and to step in when there is a human touch required. A very strong organizational set up and back end marketing team is required to ensure that the customer interactions and insights generated are directed to the relevant people in the organization for the better leverage in the branding and marketing strategy.

marketing in the new digital age Author: Swapnesh Sawant Campus: SIMSREE ‘In the world of Internet Customer Service, it’s important to remember that your competitor is only one mouse click away’ – Doug Warner Above mentioned quote exemplifies the significance and power that these digital mediums hold in today’s world. Gone are the days when you used to purchase a product just because your mother always used it and she might feel offended if she found out that you switched. Today’s marketers know that nothing can be taken for granted. Internet has changed the way the consumers engage themselves with brands. It is transforming the definition of marketing and overrunning many of the traditional strategies and structures. In the digital era, strategies must comprise of new touch points and embrace disruptive technologies. Consumers have become more open to influence and they connect with brands through new mediums beyond anyone’s control or knowledge and evaluate products. These consumers may remain aggressively engaged; promote the products they’ve bought, supporting the development process of a brand. They are happy to share their views and experiences of a brand which helps in shaping and influencing

the actions and attitudes towards the brand, thus opening up valuable customer feedback channels. The digital space now offers several advantages to marketers: • Increased Brand Recognition and Reach • More Lead Generation with Decreased Marketing costs • Improved Customer Insights and thus more data available for analysis

Product

Historically, products could be touched, looked at and even smelled to determine their real quality and value. As more and more purchases are happening online, it’s getting harder for consumers to understand and feel confident while making the right purchase decision without having physically seen or touched the product. Marketers should understand that selling online does not mean that quality can be compromised or that it doesn’t matter to the consumer.

In fact, in today’s digital world, consumers have the power to seek out and find reviews for the product they are interested in. A lower quality product will quickly be sniffed out and may cause a loss of sale. Features and benefits must be real and differentiated from the competition even more nowadays. Your product’s performance, quality and price will always be amongst the top criteria consumers consider while buying.

Price

At any given time, price is probably the most important factor in making a buying decision. While price and budget are two large contributors, it’s unquestionable that if you don’t consider it in reference to the product quality and features, sales are bound to fall short. So a right price-value equation is the key to success. Customers want a superior-quality, differentiated product at a competitive price.

Marketing Mix

Lastly, a prestigious name brand, that can deliver on quality as well, can fetch a higher price. For example, think of a product from HUL and a similar product from a local brand. While the product might be very much the same, the brand name carries a very different price and value perception. So HUL product will always have a much higher price tag on their products than the local brand could ever charge.

Place and Promotion are the two Ps that have demanded the most adjustment for marketers today in comparison to those working as brand manager a decade ago. It’s very important to have a look at the other side of the coin. Digital adaptation is much more than mere technology. It is about forming a close relationship with the customer. It intends to build a connection that requires brands to re-assess how their strengths relate to the wants and needs of customers. The basic rules of building customer relationships are still relevant; though there is a need to reapply them in the digital context.

Promotion Promotion encompasses the different ways in which you market the product to a consumer and makes up the biggest difference between the traditional marketing and digital marketing. Historically, products have been promoted primarily using radio, print, TV, and outdoor advertising. FSIs i.e. Free Standing Inserts were also extensively used in consumer package goods to introduce new products through coupons in newspapers. While coupons can be tracked at the point-of-purchase, other advertising such as TV and radio is more about creating impressions and increasing brand awareness and driving sales and consumer action. Majority of digital marketing today is measurable and analytics-driven, behaviour tracking and other ROI measures. Digital marketing tactics include email marketing, web sponsorships, search marketing, targeted banner ads, social media, content marketing etc. These tactics put the marketer in control of testing and optimizing marketing mix without making a huge one-time investment on television advertising that may or may not work effectively.

The basic principles those are crucial even in today’s digital world are: • Customer Orientation - Genuine customer orientation requires careful listening and empathy. Marketers should be aware of what customers want the product they buy to make them feel to build a strong brand. • Customer Segmentation – A New technology may help companies reach lakhs of people at the click of a mouse, but it’s always better to beat your competitors on the attributes and qualities your customers really want. It is easy to be amazed by the digital technologies available for marketers that companies often forget saying the “NO” word to customers. Segmentation has become more important as well as complex in today’s digital era. • Integrated Marketing at every possible consumer touch point – Investing loads of money into digital media isn’t enough, if the message you are trying to convey across the traditional media isn’t uniformly aligned. Customers interact with different media categories differently and thus, successful digital branding needs to combine consistency with agility. Increasing dynamism of the internet needs brands to be very clear about what they stand for in order to translate their identity across various mediums, communities and technologies.

Place Place is all about where your product is sold and is referred to as distribution. Whether a product is sold at a retail store, on Amazon, on Etsy, or even at the local farmer’s market, each of these locations brings up its own set of rewards and challenges to consider. Today’s market is much more global than it was a few years ago. Then, local or regional brickand-mortar retail was the only place to consider while selling the product but with so many options available today, a much bigger rolodex is available to contact the right people to sell the products.

Thus, to be successful, marketers need to listen, engage and adapt themselves. Staying in constant touch with the customers through proved marketing gimmicks as well as embracing Digital mediums is the need of the hour. ________________________________________

Taking into consideration all these factors, Marketers need to ensure that they follow one principle which cannot be compromised with. In the digital world, underperforming brands vanish in no time. Today, the gap between reality and perception is getting narrower, as consumer trust gravitates away from paid messages such as advertising and directed towards peer reviews and recommendations. A single tweet from a frustrated customer can trigger a social media avalanche and carries the potential to destroy a million dollar Brand value. On the other side, a brand whose transparency earns trust online stands to benefit from the loyalty and advocacy of digital natives.

The Final Call

According to the ever-increasing hype about digitisation, new technologies will reshape businesses and old assumptions are bound to be dumped. The digital revolution has transformed Marketing and is making many of the traditional strategies and structures of marketing obsolete. However, Customer centricity has been and will continue to be the key. Investing heavily in digitisation is inevitable but not without getting back to basics with the three principles explained above could lead to failure of the costliest and most digitised marketing campaigns.

How “CAUSE MARKETING” making its impact

on the world of social media?

Arundhuti Pal SP Jain

According to the recent 2015 Cone Community Global CSR study, 91% global consumers believe that it is the responsibility of companies to address social and environmental issues and 86% among them expects organizations to communicate them back the results of their commitments and initiatives. With growing parameters of competitions among corporate and increasing pressure from consumers to support social causes and environmental concerns, engaging in CSR activities it not enough for organizations. It has become equally important for companies to support an issue or a non-profit organization and spread public awareness about their initiatives through various social media. The advantage of cause marketing through social media is three fold. For the organization it helps it to build its brand image and public relation and thereby increase sales. For Non-profit organization it becomes easier to get more funding by increased public awareness and support and for the consumers a sense of selffulfillment by being a part of a noble cause.

The concept of cause marketing dates back to 1976 when Marriot Corporation collaborated with March of Dimes and helped the later to raise $2.5 Million. However the communication model of this strategy of cause marketing has changed over the year. From an “Era of Deference” when “leaders/celebrities” were treated as the most trusted source of information, the world has moved to an “Era of Reference” where nowadays “a common man on the street” is perceived as the most trusted source. So earlier while corporate had to rely on media, PR partner and endorsing celebrities to spread awareness of the CSR initiatives taken by them, now word of mouth spread through social media is seen as most trustworthy among the consumers. The approach towards Cause Marketing however has taken a paradigm shift after its integration with social media. According to the 2014 Digital Activism Study conducted by Cone Communications more than 64% of

According to the 2014 Millennial Survey conducted by Deloitte across 28 countries spread across Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and BRICS, 43% of the millennial actively volunteered for a social cause or were part of a organization and 52% had already signed a petition. Social media is increasingly seen as a platform to raise concerns, spread awareness and fight for causes. With internet penetration of 3.17 users and 2.3 billion active social media users, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc are now viewed as powerful medium of social interaction. What keeps the soup constantly simmering or boiling is the changing mindset of the users. Millenials are constantly influenced by their peers and they want themselves to viewed as associated with something good, something that is dynamic and trendy. This being leveraged by companies like Colgate (‘Smiles’ campaign), Chase ( to allow public for vote for the charitable organization where it will make its donation), Kellogs (‘Share a Breakfast’ campaign), Paperboat (‘FloatABoat campaign) and many more organizations to increase its own share of public trust and relations. The recent campaign “Help a Child Reach 5” by HUL to instill the hygienic habit of hand washing won award for its outstanding idea and creativity. The 5.3 minutes video featuring Gondappa and his son Muthu reached more than 1 million viewers in first two weeks and now has crossed more that 20 million viewers. The recent ice bucket challenge which went viral on face book was able to raise awareness about ALS (amyotropic lateral sclerosis) and managed to raise awareness about the disease among more than 100 million people. Every other day social media buzzes with trending posts and about 65% of it consists of marketing strategy by different companies. The impact can be further understood from some of the fact that was revealed from the Digital Activism Study of 2014. Of those who made donations in charitable institutions in the last 12 months four out of ten people did it via digital media like online transfer. Within this past 12 months it has been seen that in America about 35% of people have made a donation, 32% have watched a video about a social or environmental

When the survey was conducted 65% of the same people expressed their wish to make a donation provided the information available on social media was transparent, 65% expressed the desire to watch videos and spread awareness about a cause, 62% expressed desire to buy product from companies which were socially sensitive, about 60% expressed to follow or like the pages of organizations which supported a social cause and 70% agreed to sign petition. With growing economic prosperity millennials are keener to participate in charitable causes. However they are influenced by what their peers are doing. Thus they are more interested to let the whole world know about their good deeds through social media. They are equally interested to verify the authenticity of any such initiative before investing their time and money in it. Social Media thus helps the organization to build the cornerstone of trust by giving the platform to successfully depict the story, garner public support and set the wheel rolling by creating user generated publicity. Social Media ensures the benefit to capture real honest and live behavior of the consumers at the moment and makes the entire experience of participating an all together different experience.

was one of the main reason why P&G did not market for its initiative “Loads of Hope” which donated clothes to disaster struck area. customer loyalty. This was one of the main reason why P&G did not market for its initiative “Loads of Hope” which donated clothes to disaster struck area.

Cause Marketing has thus undoubtedly created a new trend and uproar in social media. However there are critics who beg to differ. Many of them believe that “Cause Marketing” has impacted the social media in such a way that actual charitable contribution by people has decreased over time. This is because such online engagement in social activities through social media promotes a sense of illusion among users and makes them believe that something is being really done by the company if they actually view or share or like their page. At a deeper lever this culture indirectly supports token efforts such as liking/following a online company page instead of meaningful donation or contribution and promotes a culture of slacktivism. Also many times, though companies promise to donate a certain amount to an organization for every like/share, generally the upper limit is fixed. Thus once that target is reached, there is no extra benefit for the non-profit institution and thus the entire strategy only promotes the profit making company’s brand. These critics believe that most of the time “Cause Marketing” through social media masks conflict of interest, such as companies trying to spread awareness about cancer itself produces carcinogenic products. Thus it is believed that when the initial intention is not right the desired target is actually not achieved. Sometimes efforts taken towards “Cause Marketing” backfire in social media when it is perceived as unnecessary and social media spamming. It is then viewed as a tactical strategy by the company to just create a buzz but not to actually solve the problem its stands for. This

vSocial Media has become a inherent part of everyday life. Companies are leveraging this fact to promote brand awareness and customer loyalty. But there is a fine line between being the trending post and spamming and thus this is what companies should keep in mind while devising their strategies. ______________________________________

Content Vs. Context Marketing

Author: Vismay Harani Campus: S.P. Jain

Two kids are coming back from school. A little girl falls in a ditch and starts crying. Her protective, older brother “fights” with the ditch, and it the process manages to get himself pretty dirty. A female voiceover then proclaims: “Agar daag lagne se kuch achha hota hai, to daag ache hain.” This was one of those iconic, clutter-breaking ads conceived by Lowe Lintas in a category as staid as detergents, where talking just about the product has been the norm. Surf Excel decided to move away from ‘product benefits’ altogether – they don’t talk about ‘whiteness’ or ‘removing stains’. In fact, till the last shot we don’t even know that it is an advertisement for Surf Excel.

In this advertisement, HUL focuses more on the ‘context’ of a brother who is emulating adult behavior to pacify his little sister, and not on the ‘content’ that Surf Excel fights stains. This is a far cry from the its campaign in 1970s, where in order to compete against the increasingly popular ‘Nirma’, a “massy” detergent, Surf came up with a campaign featuring Lalitaji, a prudent homemaker who knows the difference between ‘Sasti cheez aur acchi cheez’ – highlighting product features as to why Surf was better than its competitors. This in turn lead to a detergent war with many contenders in fray – HUL, P&G, Nirma and various others. In this category the focus has always been on ‘functional benefits’. But with ‘Daag Ache Hain’, in terms of Brand Laddering, Surf Excel has moved up from ‘functional benefits’ to ‘emotional benefits’. As we go up the ladder, stronger is the ‘connect’ we build with the customers. Competitors can no longer one-up our claims for product superiority, as we are talking about something different altogether.

For Surf Excel, it has lead to an increase in brand recall and sales. And like any well thought out campaign, this one has extendibility. All the campaigns since 2005 for Surf Excel has ‘Daag ache hain’ at its core. Another marketing campaign worth mentioning is Cadbury Bournvita’s ‘Tayyari Jeet ki’. This campaign too, doesn’t focus on the product/ functional benefits, but the idea of inculcating good habits (which are difficult to form) in kids to prepare them to win at life. It focuses on a mother’s role in progressive parenting, taking sports as a hook for the aspiration of winning.

A brilliant piece of communication by Ogilvy & Mather, the series of campaigns under ‘Tayyari Jeet ki’ create a strong association effect, as drinking milk with Bournvita in it, also becomes a good habit. Here too is a category which first talked about product attributes like having ‘Vitamin D and other minerals’ to functional benefits like making kids ‘taller’ and ‘stronger’, and finally to this brilliant communication by Bournvita. As with the previous example, this one clearly shows that one has to adhere to the basic principles of marketing. You cannot skip the rungs of the Brand Ladder. If you are introducing a product in entirely new category or even in the existing category, you have to talk about your product first. You cannot create “contextual” marketing campaigns for new products.

You have to go for “content” marketing; you have to speak about product attributes and functional benefits. You have to first educate your customers. Over the period of time, once the customer is aware about your brand and what it stands for, can you think of going for “contextual” marketing.

Then HDFC came up with a brilliant piece of communication campaign ‘Sar Utha ke Jiyo’ – focusing on ‘Dignity’ & ‘Self respect’, yet it was primarily all about functional benefits and hence was ‘content-driven’. What can truly be considered as contextual advertising is the piece by ICICI Prudential ‘Bande Achhe hai’ – a tribute to men in various stages of family life performing ‘caring’ acts for his loved ones, though he hardly speaks about it: ‘Jo zimmedari nibhate hai, jataate nahi’. But it has to be said that while this advertisement struck an emotional chord with the customers, it didn’t lead them to buy insurance from ICICI. Hence for certain categories ‘Contextual’ marketing doesn’t work.

Interestingly, more & more brands are focusing on the ‘context’ rather than the ‘content’ – be it Gaay Chaap Besan or Rajnigandha Pan Masala. Across categories, brands are trying to build an emotional connect with their TGs. But in their eagerness to strike an emotional chord with the customers, they shouldn’t forget that certain categories don’t respond well to “contextual” marketing. For example, in case of capital goods, which are a high stakes purchase for the customers – they are looking more for “product information” which would help them make the right decision. Also in technical categories like lubricants and mutual funds, it becomes important to talk about attribute and functional benefits – as buying process is highly rational.

The life insurance category has tried a number of things – both “content driven” as well as “contextual”. LIC came up with “content-driven” hard-hitting messages, evoking fear in order to communicate the importance of life insurance. It focused on safety and security of the family, in case of the death of the prime earner.

Also for any form of ‘Contextual Marketing’ to be truly effective, it is important to consider the ‘Primacy’ & ‘Recency’ effects. According to psychology, people only remember things which are mentioned at the beginning or the end of the communication – hence ‘Primacy’ & ‘Recency’. So you have to ensure that your brand features at the ‘beginning’ or/and the ‘end’ of the communication – otherwise, while your communication might strike an emotional chord with the customers, they won’t necessarily remember the brand unless you tell them. In case of Surf Excel, Bournvita, & ICICI Prudential – the brand appears only at the end. Hence they are taking care of the ‘Recency effect’, but it works only in case of Surf Excel & Bournvita and not for ICICI Prudential. The reason for this is that ICICI doesn’t have consistent communication with its TG. It keeps on changing its message – whereas FMCG brands normally stick to their “core message” for years to come. Hence they have carved out a unique position for themselves in the customers’ minds, whereas ICICI Prudential is not able to distinguish itself from its competitors.

It is true that today, ‘Context’ matters more than ‘Content’ - as the customer feels that we aren’t just talking about products, but are interested in building connection and relationship. Effectively executed contextual advertising builds brand loyalty and induces sales. The marketing manager has to think very carefully before joining the bandwagon. ________________________________________

Influence Marketing through Celebrities & Opinion Leaders in the metamorphosed Digital economy

Rahine Bose Sankha Mondal

“Del Pierrooooooooo …. Whattttta Goallllllll”, the voice of a young lad, Soumik, resonates from the stands of Yubha Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata. His shout blends with that of a hundred thousand of football fanatics who are mesmerized with the Indian Super League. On the other side ,Sourav Ganguly , one of the star owners of Atletico De Kolkata sips away a cup of coffee quite happily when he sees the fan following for his team and the cheers for his marquee players like Helder Postiga skyrocketing . How on earth Soumik or any other football fan in India would have imagined watching Piero or Postiga live on an Indian play turf. Complements for this buzz and enthusiasm across the football fans of the subcontinent should go to the organizers and some of the star owners to have used Influence Marketing to the best. How they captured the emotions of so many fans by projecting the stars of this competition which has put India on the international football league circuit. Using influence of stars or leaders while marketing any concept or product is a well-crafted move that is being used by the marketers

Why only football or cricket or any such sport, move a bit away into the world of politics. Remember, Anna Hazare! Remember the way Lokpal Bill got marketed under his aegis. He was able to influence millions and created a rage never seen before. How about “Abki Baar Modi Sarkaar “campaign run by BJP when it projected our charismatic leader Mr. Narendra Modi. The way this was strategized was a superb example of how influence marketing in Indian politics can result not only in just a majority but a thumping majority. Moving a shade away from politics, in recent times we can see influence marketing being used by On demand cab services like Uber. With its “Chak De Dilli“ campaign where it used celebrities like Zaheer Khan , Ranvijay , Neha Dhupia , it was successful in creating a lot of buzz and used the twitter platform to attract the fans of such stars . Why do we leave TV shows behind Sagarika Mukherjee, living in Chittaranjan Park in Delhi, will never forget to catch up on the popular regional Zee TV show Dadagiri at 9.30 pm.?

But why in Delhi she is looking for this particular Kolkata based show. The answer is Ganguly, fondly known as the Dada of Indian cricket team, who leads the show and still mesmerizes his fans across India and abroad. It’s amazing to see how Zee TV marketed this show. I would be doing an injustice to the millions of Salman Khan fans if I forget to mention about his association with Big Boss. He is synonymous with this show. He is like the soul for this reality show which boasts of some of the chart breaking TRPs. Colors, has played its cards just right. And in 2016, he will be in a new Avatar. Let’s look at the Social campaigns by the government like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao or Swacchha Bharat Abhiyan. Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Sangram Singh, Vidya Balan have been successfully featured to create a buzz and the necessary appeal. Two weeks back the Indian Cricket Team was involved in Swacchh Bharat Promotion at Eden Gardens. Recently Sakshi Malik, has been made the brand ambassador of Beti Bachao campaign and it is because she won India the Bronze at the Olympics and has amassed a large fan following in the country.

Cricketing hero Rahul Dravid drives the cause of elimination of tobacco use in the society. He promotes a long innings in life quite similar to his long stints at the crease. “The National No Tobacco Campaign” connects his unique attributes of dedication and stamina to weather through a long innings ,to an extended life span resulting from quitting of tobacco. But not all such campaigns meet with success. Did you forget the recent comment on Tolerance in India by revered actor Amir Khan and brand ambassador of Indian Tourism department and Snapdeal? Well that afternoon when he made the comment it sent shivers across the Snapdeal branding team office. Later they decided not to renew contract with him. When a celebrity whose influence you want to use makes a controversial statement, it can backfire on your brand too, you can hardly judge reactions and comments in this uncertain world. That’s the risk but that’s the call whether you use influence marketing or play safe. Away from the subcontinent let’s go overseas and track some of the interesting events.

Sharon Stone, in 2008, made an insensitive comment on an earthquake in China where she connected it to Karma, and what followed was Christian Dior dropping her off its celebrity brand ambassador list. Michael Phelps, was also dropped by some of the brands like AT&T and Kellogg that he endorsed, after he was caught drugging. In a recent event in 2014 we saw superstar basketball player, Le Bron James, commenting on twitter on some problem issues with his Galaxy Samsung phone, which got streamed across to millions of his fans. Not to mention this met with stern remarks from Samsung, a brand that he endorsed.

The importance of celebrity based marketing campaigns have seen a rise across the globe and countries like South Korea and Japan have registered around 70% of the advertisements featuring top celebrities . According to a recent study by the University of Arkansas research study , the reason so many celebrities in product advertisements are being used may be because the marketers are very well aware that the consumercelebrity connect conspires to allow consumers to form a personal identity that matches who they want to be. A well-known example of successful celebrity endorsement is the collaboration between Nike and golf star Tiger Woods which brought in additional profit of $103 million for Nike. Use of celebrities in influencing consumers which in turn transmits into increased sales often occurs because of the following reasons

In India we can see a unique trend wherein celebrities are being used to pull up on teaser campaigns with regards to big banner movies .The producers of “Raees” have tried to create a mass media pull by giving a live feel to the audience wherein Shahrukh Khan will try to connect with his fans at a particular time slot at theatres on the release date . In the teaser Mr. Khan says that he will have answers to all the queries of his audiences7 . This is aimed at creating an excitement by using the celeb power in influencing the mind set and perception of the future audiences towards the movie . We have also seen how the Big Boss platform has been used by various producers to promote their films through the star power of Salman Khan . Various films which have had a relatively young star cast have been prompt to encash on Salman’s popularity index 8. Even some of the TV shows are getting promoted by top celebs. Sonakshi Sinha was recently found promoting Indian Idol Junior through her Twitter post and also used the same medium to vouch for Asus phones.

Awareness – The awareness quotient zooms up as a celebrity pushes for the use of a product .The “Share of Mind “ which is a very important factor in gaining market share sees a meteoric rise due to word of mouth and spread of the news . Credibility - A celebrity who appears sincere can lend credibility to a product. Consumers are more likely to believe the statements the personality makes and pay heed to the various features of the brand. Reputation - A celebrity’s reputation is tied to that of the company after appearing in the company’s advertising. Thus celebrities who are highly respected in the market will mostly see a positive impact on the brand they endorse.

In today’s world of social media marketing, the celebrities and opinion leaders stand to gain a lot. They are getting paid on the basis of each Twitter or Facebook post that they make for a particular brand or a particular opinion they transmit on the social platforms. Take the example of the US Diva who is always on Page 3. Yes, we are talking about Kim Kardashian. She endorses for EOS lip balm and for each tweet she is paid around $20,000!! Whoa... that’s a whopping amount, but why so much moolah? Because she can influence her fans and millions of followers on her Twitter page through that one single tweet, to put the EOS lip balm in their consideration set of future purchases. Back home in India Priyanka Chopra, the leading Bollywood star charges 12 lakhs for a single tweet. This is directly proportional to her follower count which stands at 4.2 million 11. Coca Cola tied up with Salman to cash in on his FB and Twitter account following pegged at 7.7 million, and 3.45 million respectively. Social media platforms have exploded and have provided

Opportunities to corporates to woo the millions of fans of the celebs towards their products. Not only celebs from movies or sports even fashion designers, medical practitioners are paid to recommend various brands through their tweets. The average spends across these platforms have sky rocketed over the years and is directly proportional to the follower base of the celebrities .For example a celebrity having more than 7 million follower in Twitter makes on an average $150000 per post . The sponsored Instagram posts for example have zoomed up over the years. Use of opinion makers and celebrities in marketing thus has a galaxy of possibilities. It has evolved over the years and is a vital component of any marketing mix for any corporate. Today companies are spending billions of dollars in getting the right influencers on board and selecting the apt digital channels. And why not? There is obviously a risk – reward ratio to look at. It’s like the Lion in the ring…. and you” the marketer” as the Ringmaster.Train the moves of the beautiful beast and the circus will be running to its full capacity _______________________________________

Best Marketing IDEA

Concept: SUV Marketing in India By: Akshay Sharma Campus: Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers (SIAM) report stated that the Indian SUV market grew at a massive rate of 32% in the last fiscal year. A spur in SUV sales have caused a decline in the sales of cars like Alto, i10 etc. When it comes to launching an SUV for the Indian consumer, price is the most important thing. The price-sensitive Indian consumer will compare all the features of the SUV with its competitors, and a proper cost of the SUV can tip the scales in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favor. Analyzing the market trends, evaluating all the competitors and at the same time accentuating its USP are the things which any marketer always does. Today, touching the pulse of the target segment is an important aspect. It is vital to understand what the market lacks and what the customer needs. Getting reviews, feedbacks from the target segment prior to launching of the SUV can help the company a great deal. Again, advertisements should be able to strike a chord with the target segment. Though not â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;theâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strategy, it is something that will help the SUV to form a bond with the customer. Interacting with your prospective customers through interactive games/competitions should be an ideal strategy. Lastly, when it comes to launching an SUV, details like the colors of the SUV, logo design (e.g. Auto Expo) can prove to be a crucial decisions.

SUV Audi Q2 Hyundai Sub-Compact SUV (Carlino) Maruti Suzuki Jimny Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza Petrol Maruti Suzuki Vitara Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2016 Nissan Kicks Skoda Kodiaq Tata Hexa Tata Nexon Volkswagen Tiguan

EXPECTED PRICE EXPECTED BY 18-25 Lakh March-April 2017 7-10 Lakh 2018 Early 2018 5-7 Lakh 7-10 Lakh Apr-17 Mar-17 10-15 Lakh 22-25 Lakh 2017 8-11 Lakh 2017 Late 2017 28-35 Lakh 11-16 Lakh Jan-17 Apr-17 7-10 Lakh 25-35 Lakh March-April 2017

A peek at some of the SUV’s to be launched in the coming months:

This simply shows that M&M went all guns blazing just to attract the right segment. They targeted various e-commerce platforms in order to sell their car. To connect with customers, M&M announced a Dubsmash contest before the launch.

Let us have a look into the launching strategy adopted by Mahindra & Mahindra for its SUV – ‘KUV 100’. M&M employed perfect pre and post launching strategies which paved the way for the success of its SUV. KUV which stands for ‘Kool Utility Vehicle for Kool and Young Generation’ gives a clear indication on who M&M wanted to target.

Based on what a participant feels after viewing the SUV, he/she had to upload a dubsmash video. The prize included a KUV100 and many other types of merchandise. What followed was more than 7 lakhs views of the dubsmash videos which ensured a thorough engagement with the prospective customers.

• Price Range – Rs. 4.5-6.5 Lakhs • Colors - flamboyant red, fiery orange, aquamarine, dazzling silver, designer grey, midnight black and pearl white Mahindra & Mahindra held a pre launch event on the 15th of December, which helped the car to attain massive publicity. Mahindra received 1.5 million views on its microsite and 50,000 inquiries in just 2 days.

On the 28th of January 2016, the waiting time for some variants increased from 2 to 6 weeks post which the management decided to upscale its production by 50% which shows the success this SUV was able to attain.

The company roped in Varun Dhawan as the brand ambassador. The ad featured him driving off to Goa with Lucky Ali’s famous song – ‘Tere Mere Sath jo hai’ playing in the background.

The Power of Brand Ambassadors, Brand Messaging and Advertisements:

1. Amitabh Bachchan – Force Motors’ - Force One SUV 2. Prabhas – Mahindra SUV 5000 3. John Abraham – Nissan- SUV X-Trail

• Brand messaging is an aspect with which buyers can relate to. It is vital to project a brand in a manner which inspires people to buy your SUV. The brand messaging should always be aligned with the personality of the brand ambassador • The choice of a brand ambassador goes a long way in the fate of the SUV. Companies always look out for ambassadors who are bold and/or reliable and have a huge fan-following. The personality and the values that the brand ambassador possesses in the minds of the Indian public should complement the personality of the SUV. Further, the advertisements should reflect the personality of both the brand ambassador and the SUV • Just having a look at the brand ambassadors can give us a crystal-clear idea about what the SUV wants to communicate. Some brand ambassadors are listed below

No doubt, choosing a brand ambassador like say for instance, Mahendra Singh Dhoni – World Cup winning captain, bold, reliable, cool etc. will help a brand to attain maximum publicity. And this can play a massive role in the success of a SUV!

inside

IIFT

DELHI & KOLKATA

TEDxIIFTDelhi is an independently organised TED event operated under our licence from TED. This is an initiative by the Media Committee of the Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council on behalf of all the students at IIFT Delhi, to spread the message of taking the first step forward

TEDx Being a catalyst for new ideas and concepts, IIFT undertook an academic initiative in 2008 to organise a Research Conference with an aim to provide a platform for academic debate and discourse on Empirical Issues in International Trade and Finance (EIITF). Since inception, four EIITF conferences have been held so far. The fifth Conference held at Kolkata Campus during 16th and 17th December, 2016

EIITF conference Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi will host underprivileged students from various NGOs across Delhi-NCR with the endeavour of imparting Personality Development Skills and underscoring the theme of Youth Empowerment. This year Mohit Chauhan live concert, Biswa Kalyanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show etc. were the major attractons

Quo Vadis 2017

From the

Horse's Mouth

Summer Internship experience of IIFTians!

Vaibhav Baid

Vabhaiv Baid Intern at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

Interview: Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

7)Are you creative or are you organized? - Both. Caricatures + hard working

1) Tell me something about yourself? - I told them about my undergrad, work experience etc. They did not interrupt (CV)You have authored an article on Brand failures. Tell me about it. - Told them about Kodak, Walmart and Grofers. Tell me about some brands which succeeded. - Amazon - Also talked about their recent ad campaign â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aur dikhaoâ&#x20AC;?

8)Which domain you want to go in? -Told about S&M and why I am interested (Personal Background) 9)What is the future of electric cars? -Inclined as Elon Musk - It is the future, but will take time Price and infrastructure (Charging stations) 10)Engineers are becoming MBAs. Is it bad for the Country? -Gave a funny answer. They started laughing. You are being politically correct. Laughed again

2) Why is Flipkart not doing well despite being Indian? - Capital and experience One more brand. - Jockey and said its premium; compared it to lux cozi

11)Any questions from your side? -Is there any facility for sports?

3)What can Lux Cozi do to improve its standing? -Lux needs to go the basics of STP. It should identify the needs of and then target the premium segment.

12)Yes, there is our cricket team and a Gym. Any more questions? -No, Thank You.

4)How can lux do it? -Improve product, a diff brand name, sell in lifestyle, SS and exclusive stores and a new positioning

Key Pointers and Tips: 1. They looked for candidates who would be a good cultural fit. GCPL has a warm working environment and you need to show that you would fit well in a team. 2. Being accustomed with basics of Marketing came in handy for me to answer initial questions. A structured approach is what interviewers look for. 3. My high point during the interview was when the interviewers found my answer to be witty (Engineering vs MBA) and laughed. Always try to make the conversation enjoyable.

5)What tagline? -Asked to give me 20 seconds to think - Like Oldspice and Raymond - The man you have always admired 6) One prominent project that have you done? -Told them about one experience from my job and told them about the difficulties in implementing. In the end, I told them how I convinced everyone on board to be on the same page.

SUKHMANI KAUR Intern at L’Oreal GD: PRODUCT BASED We were given a Garnier Ultra Blends Shampoo as the product. Before the GD, the problem at hand was explained which was that the shampoo was doing well at in the modern trade but not in the general trade. As board members, we were required to given reasons for the same and devise strategy for L’Oréal as what it should do to push sales in the general trade. INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE I was the first candidate to be interviewed after the GD of the last group. The interview was 45-50 minutes long and questions were both technical and HR based. To start with, they again asked me to conclude the GD and before I could answer completely, they would shoot the next question. This was the trend in most of the questions the panel asked me. The questions related to GD and the solutions I proposed comprised of the major part of the interview Q 1. Conclude the GD and why do you not agree with other group members? Ans: While most called it a marketing problem, I firmly told them that was a problem of sales and L’Oréal needs to incentive its distributors at grass root level to gain more visibility at retail stores. Q 2. How were others wrong according to you? Ans: Primarily, I had to explain the difference between sales and marketing which I did. Q 3. Walk us through your CV. Ans 3: Being a fresher, I could mostly talk about my undergrad interests and achievements. I spoke a bit about IIFT and a few studies and projects I was a part of that ignited my interest in marketing. Q4. Sales or marketing? Ans 4. I told them that I would want to experience sales before jumping to marketing. Q5. Further interrogation on the above question. Ans 5. I elaborated further about the reasoning behind progressing from sales to marketing. Q6. We would like you to pitch a product, are you comfortable? Ans 6. Yes Q7. Consider the two of us as distributors and we don’t want the Garnier products in our stores because of bad experiences in the past with Garnier Fructis Shampoo, Convince us. Ans 7. I tried convincing and they kept denying every proposal. (They asked me to talk in Hindi while pitching to them) Q 8 Why L’Oréal? Ans 8: Because it believes in science and innovation contrary to what a cosmetics company would project. As a student of science, Chemistry was my favorite subject. Told them about some of the breakthrough technologies L’Oréal used in its products and also the chemicals that it uses its products. they did test my knowledge in chemistry (I had made a project on cosmetics and perfumes in the last so I had that to back it up with) Q9 Are you comfortable working in tier two cities and would you able to talk to the localities? (they hinted that I look too delicate and would not be able to assert) Ans 9 Gave an answer about past experiences and convinced them that I’m extremely assertive. Q10 Will family and marriage be a hindrance to professional commitments? Ans 10. No, a) I am too young for it and b) as an educated woman my career holds priority and no one can force me to do anything against my will. Q 11. If not L’Oréal, then what? Ans. Can I ask you which company you worked for? He said something. To which I replied, “if that takes me to L’Oréal I’d choose that company” Bye Sukhmani Thank you sir, have a nice day.

Pratyush Chakraborty Intern at Nestle 6 months in IIFT Looking back now, it seems like such a long ago that I entered the gates of IIFT. In reality, it has been only six months. This feeling is probably because I, like others, had less time to think about what was going on and was trying to just complete the task at hand. Having been through the rites of passage of an engineering college, it did seem to me initially that PDP as it is known, would be a cake walk. But engineers beware- this is an entirely different ball game altogether; the sleepless ordeal is something that is unique to b-schools. Most of the time, I fell asleep wherever I could: classes, auditorium and even during breaks. But whatever little time I stayed awake it was spent on completing assignments and correcting PPTs although the best part was getting to know my batchmates. Though the sessions were gruelling, PDP did teach us that we could make it through if we wanted to. Classes were an entirely different ball game- some teachers would expel us if we so much as nodded off in class while others were more lenient. The biggest fear when it came to classes was the fear of getting a grade cut due to a shortfall in attendance. My roommate and I could not get up early enough for the morning classes (despite multiple alarms being set) and we made it through the first trimester with just the mandatory amount of attendance. Classes did turn out to be quite eventful, with me and my friends staring at a roughly assembled ppt and wondering how to present it to the teacher and the rest of the students. The first trimester did not go as planned, as I got thrown out multiple times; once even during a presentation but looking back, I’m glad it happened because the rest of it was a blur. Once the classes got over there would be either yoga or Guest lectures lined up. The prevailing belief in the establishment was that yoga was a good way to reduce stress- in fact we did make the most of it by falling asleep on our mats. Guest lectures were the most predictable part of any student’s MBA journey during the first trimester, with speakers speaking about their corporate journey and students repeatedly asking questions on ‘Big data’. After all this, there were also the sessions organised by the various clubs and cells where our seniors shared their summer experiences with us. Before we knew it, summers had come and so did shortlists and their analysis. To begin with, one had to be lucky to land a shortlist (except some fortunate souls, who were in much demand), then one had to make it through the most dreaded part of the selection process: The Group discussion. And, if you did make it through, you had the interviews to look forward to. One such afternoon, everything fell into place and I was through with my summers.

Sambit Panigrahi Intern at ITC 6 months in IIFT I walked into the gates of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade for the second time in six months, only this time I walked in as a student going to submit his educational documents and take admission into this prestigious college to pursue MBA. There had been many instances during college days wherein we would visit the nearby dhabas and I would think of pursuing MBA here- talk about fulfilling dreams. Having set my room, met my roommate and bidding adieu to my parents, I walked into an auditorium full of my tobe batchmates. The next two weeks (or so) passed with a lot of activities and coming to terms of pursuing MBA- so we endured PDP. A non-engineer fresher, who are a complete minority in such places, I was befuddled at the activities that we were put through and how we had to push our limits. While, it was an experience of working in teams, getting familiar with batchmates, learning to think in different ways; but the most important thing everyone was guilty of doing was catching on some sleep as soon as they had some free time on their hands. But as all good things come to an end, so did our PDP and started our classes- which meant all sleep lovers now started carefully keeping note of when they missed classes to avoid grade-cuts. Initially, there were cold vibes and strangeness in sessions, but soon we all opened up as our camaraderie grew and we started working in groups. Classes were fun, informative and full of laughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s; projects came and went but they were finished only on the eleventh hour- everyone did just enough to score in the peak area of the bell curve. But classes were not the only things we had to attend, we had Guest lectures and PPTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to look forward to after long hours of toiling in bookish knowledge. Out came the suits and ties, students running from hostels in order to reach in time and hoping to grab best seats in the house. While, the talks usually were about corporate journeys and learnings, we were busy taking notes and at times dozing off during the process. While pursuing this, we also had our seniors sharing their valuable experiences and knowledge with the summers fast approaching. Before we knew, the summers were on our heels and the first trimester was over- we were less worried about writing exams and more concerned about making it into shortlists. Months of preparations, reading newspapers, slugging it out in GDs, doing focus groups was finally going to pay off. The importance of summer placement cannot be overstated and I realized it when I was fortunate to convert my first shortlist with ITC. I may have been saved from the struggle, but I helped my batchmates see through the process. It all finally came together when the batch was placed in a record time and we embarked on yet another journey of academic trimester, however this time we focused on competitions, sports, lots of parties, trips and celebrations.

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