VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur With a commendable contribution from IIT Kharagpur's noted alumnus (1967) Mr. Vinod Gupta, Founder-chairman of InfoUSA, the Vinod Gupta School of Management was established with a mission to develop outstanding management professionals capable of playing leadership roles in their chosen careers in organisations in different sectors of the economy. Some of the areas where VGSoMites have excelled are technology-driven and knowledge-based industries that are characterized by high degrees of globalisation, dynamism, complexity and innovation. The School boasts of highly qualified Faculty with considerable academic and industrial/consultancy experience and strong associated Faculty of sister departments. As a result, the Faculty-to-student ratio is about 1:3.5. Opportunity exists for students to take electives from other departments like Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Industrial engineering and Management, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Being a part of a large and vibrant academic community the management students have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities and develop their managerial and leadership capabilities. A modern and aesthetically designed building, well-equipped computer laboratory, exclusive library with books in all functional areas of management and an atmosphere conducive to learning are some of the specialties of the School.
MAD Club Welcome to MAD, the Marketing & Advertising Club of the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT-Kharagpur! The Club is an embodiment of the zeal and passion that we MADizens have towards the glorious field of Marketing and Advertising. Here, we sail beyond text books and established conventional norms - from Brand Analysis to Case Studies, 4P's and STP to Current Trends, Biz-Quizzes to Brainstorming sessions, we have it all. We believe in simultaneously getting our basics right and letting our imagination fly wild. So, we engage in a host of different activities all round the year. To name a few, MADison Avenue, Venalicium, MADazine, Commercial Break and Helicopter Shot. Visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MAD-Club/302849113950
Hello MADizens,
Team Editor in Chief: Dhiru Rabha
MAD Club brings to you another issue of MADazine! The Spring is in the air, the Indian market abuzz with a frenzy of new innovations in retail, digital and social media, and branding ideas, like augmented reality Marketing. The Marketing & Advertising (MAD) Club of the Vinod Gupta School of Management makes a small little attempt to capture the vigour and splendour of this bright and beautiful season in its annual magazine the MADazine.
---------------------This edition of MADazine contains an excerpt with the ace fashion Sub-Editor: designer Rina Dhaka, the “Goddess of Oomph” with her vibrant Shiva Kumar colours and chic attires dominating the Indian fashion scenario. We also bring to you a wedding planner from Delhi, an Event ---------------------- Management Czar of the Line Communications, talking about the Layout & Design: evolution of the concept of event management in India and the Amanpreet Singh associated industry thrills and future prospects, and the Chief Arora Operating Officer from convenience store retail giant 24*7, who talks about the importance of innovation and convenience for ---------------------- consumer satisfaction. We have two Directors of the Art of Living Foundation who talk about joy not as a goal but a part of the Madazine Team: present, the mundane every day. From promoting Yoga to helping in Abhinav Vohra branding Indians to live up to the image of “Cool Indians, hot global Abhinav Minnala citizens”, they have mastered the Art of Marketing. Akhil Sood Ramya Krishna P The MADazine also contains articles from students, cross-word Kunal Verma puzzles, Marketing trivia and an ad-analysis. The ad-analysis Sumitpal Singh consist of comparisons between the advertisements of a product in Rohit Sharma the past and at present, to check if the variation is simply cosmetic or substantive and how have consumer preferences and Special Thanks: perspectives changed over the years. There is a write-up covering Ms. Angela Cecilia the year-round activities within and associated with VGSoM Mr. Deepak Sharma conducted by the different Clubs and Committees of the School. Mr. Amit Periwal Ms. Ritika Periwal Prof. Biplab Datta Mayank Mohan Kodati Soujanya Sampurna Rakshit Anuradha Chakraborty
We sincerely thank the Dean of our School and our respected Faculty who have always encouraged us to be pragmatic and yet to explore the possibilities beyond the accepted norms and limitations. We thank the students for their enthusiastic participation in the articlewriting competition. We also thank the entire MAD Club for all its support in making this edition of MADazine a possibility. We at the Editorial Team have made our best efforts in bringing out the magazine. However, if we have any shortcomings anywhere, we sincerely apologize for that. Happy reading, everyone! And yes, just keep it a li'l bit MAD! \M/
Contents About VGSOM, MAD Club ..................................................................1 From the Desk of the Editor ..............................................................2 Contents ...........................................................................................3 MAD Club Exclusive - Interviews Rina Dhaka ..................................................................................4 (Ace Fashion Designer)
Chetan Vohra ...............................................................................7 (Managing Director, Line Communications)
Nishant Sinha ............................................................................11 (COO, Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores)
Dinesh Ghodke & Khurshed Batliwala............................................14 (Directors, The Art of Living Foundation)
Kalla Graphia - Article Writing Competition Socio Economic Innovations in the Globalizing Economy.................19 Is your product purpled yet? ........................................................21 Brand VGSoM In Passing - The Year that went by ...................................................23 V-Speak- Student Articles Rise & Fall of Kingfisher Airlines ...................................................29 Social Media Segments ...............................................................32 Cool Funda Ad Analysis - Bajaj & Liril .............................................................35 Crossword .................................................................................40 Quiz ..........................................................................................40
MAD Club Exclusive Branding Fashion
Smart, Contemporary and Intelligent... Very Corporate CHIC !!!
The Fashion statement for Brand IIT By
Rina Dhaka Ace Fashion Designer
MAD Club gets up and close with Fashion Designer Rina Dhaka on branding fashion... The Rina Dhaka Marketing Mantras
Q. How has Indian fashion evolved as a business over the years? A. There is more acceptance and affordability for Indian fashion today both are good for business. Rise of E-com has also helped. Today people in far flung areas are following fashion and ordering fashionable attire - thanks to ecom revolution. Media has played its important role of connecting the sellers and buyers in fashion. Fashion Designing, which was not a very looked-up profession a few years back, has more acceptability in smaller cities today. NIFT has opened multiple centres in all cities, bringing fashion education to every door step.
Q. Do you think controversies are essential for promoting fashion brands? A. No. A sustainable business model is not made on controversies. Only fly-by-night operators believe in cheap gimmicks to promote their brands.
Q. How as a fashion designer, advancements in technology affect your industry in general and your style of working in particular? A. There is a major shift happening in the way we sell thanks to E-commerce. More than that, there are new methods to reach masses. Social media has played an important role too to get the message across to the right audience.
Q. In this world of globalization, can Indian brands actually retain their “Indianness”? A. Fab India is expanding. Foreign investors are investing in Indian brands as well as designers with a view to encash on “Indianess”. So, yes, in totality, Indian brands can retain their core beliefs and style and it is not just about foreign investments in Indian brands but various international designers time and again seeking their inspiration in India for their collections, eg., Chanel's Paris-Bombay collection for Pre-Fall 2011-12.
Q. How and where do fashion designers advertise apart from their shows and stores? Do you think they should advertise just like any other niche market product? A. A lot of media pick-up is already present when we do a show. Sponsors as well as celebs also “up” the style quotient. That gets us the necessary media mileage. More than that, when fashion icons wear your clothes, that is the real advertisement. We do use social media forums to connect with the audience. Facebook and twitter pages have become a medium to directly promote as well as connect with the audience. Q. What is the essence of Brand "Rina Dhaka"? A. The core essence of label “Rina Dhaka” is diffusion feminine designer wear. A designer label that offers every aspiring female wearable outfits for all occasion but not at astronomical prices. Q. What are the new segments of the population you would like to identify and design for? A. I personally feel the new segment is the aspiring young generation in two tier cities who have the ability and desire to set a benchmark in lifestyle and work towards it to live that lifestyle also.
Q. What is the most difficult aspect in launching your own label, i.e., design, production, sales, finance, advertising, branding? A. All of this! It is a hard journey and needs a lot of time, effort and hard work. But above all is the determination that helps these forces come together.
Q. When I say Brand IIT - what is that one idea (in fashion sense) that comes to your mind? If possible, would you like to design it for us? A. Smart, contemporary and intelligent. Very corporate Chic!. Designing for IIT will be an honour.
MAD Club Exclusive Branding Events
Chetan Vohra Managing Director, Line Communications The
Wedding CZAR
Of India talks to MAD club about the corporatization of weddings and other events
Q. Event management was an unheard of concept a few years back. How has it grown as an industry in the last couple of years? How do you see the market growing in the future? A. India saw the birth of Event Management in the late 1980's when India as a whole started seeing global brands at its door steps. In the last two decades event management has gone beyond the basic product launches and rock concerts to more consumer centric modern forms of tailor made services. Firms have recognised events as a tool to reach out and engage target audiences and this has led to more and more specialised services being invented and offered. With an industry status being conferred in the late 1990's and with it a certain formality of organisation, the Industry has seen considerable growth year on year and is pegged to achieve 1500 crores by the year 2015. Today, the term event management is very diverse and covers under its gamut anything that is in the “Live Experience” space. It has become a dwelling ground for creative minds, talent and people who love living life on the edge! More and more organisations, governments and social bodies are waking up the potential of this space and today no conference, sporting event or social function is complete without an “Event” and that shows you just how bright the future of the industry is. Q. Your company seems to redefine the term “Intellectual Property”. How? Can you elaborate on some of the tailor made IPs you have delivered in the recent past. A. The year 2000 saw the Government of India place a ban on Liquor and Tobacco companies being able to advertise freely. There would be no more TV and Radio Commercials or Outdoor Hoardings. Marketers were left with a whirlwind of debate and delusion. How to get the product message across to the consumer became the biggest challenge. That year also saw the birth of the potential behind Intellectual Properties. We had a client who had a premium and well respected liquor brand that was under the same dilemma. The new law had left a small window that could be explored that allowed brands to constitute a surrogate for their main product, which however came with its own long list of do's and dare-not’s!! Many brain-drain days later, the key derivatives of the target consumers were drawn up, in this case “Achievement” being a key with the client stating that his product was more consumed by a certain profile who had, in fact, achieved a certain status in life. That became the premise of our surrogate we were trying to arrive at and we went on to suggest the client constitute a recognition programme that would seek to recognise achievers!! Today, 10 years since that first meeting, the Achievement Awards constituted by that client has gone on to become famous, respected by the public and celebrated by the award winners! It has also seen television channels take the core idea and develop a series on the lives of the winners. Today Other brands line up to be a part of this award programme as sponsors, very often putting in large sums of money, just to be seen. That is the power of an Intellectual Property and like a noted Indian leader once said “Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come”!! Q. Elaborate on the services mix, Line Communication offers based on Market Segmentation? A. Line Communications is the flagship brand of The Line Network, which is an integrated network of individuals and organisations from across the globe. The Network has a host of service providers and partners who work in close proximity to offer the most creatively inspiring and cost effective solutions for our clients. In India, The Line Network offers two main services (1) Corporate Events, whose clients are global MNC's and corporate houses that have seminars, conferences, launches and award ceremonies (2) Weddings, which are handled under the aegis of a sub-brand of The Line Network, called Weddingline, and has come to be recognised as India's premier Wedding Consultancy & Management Services. Its is under these two broad heads that the group operates with its diverse client portfolio, stretching from Private Individuals, Corporate Houses and Governments.
The Line Network is a full service network that offers our customers turnkey solutions that involve detailed planning, from concept to execution and long term brand benefits. Q. Can you share with us some radical marketing strategies (or promotional strategies) that you have applied in the recent past to help your clients gain market share? A. At Line, we believe creativity is the name of the game, and any idea that gets you noticed in this cluttered market of consumerism is a winner. Consumers today are no longer interested in the “buy one get one free” model, and thus creative out-of-the-box ideas are needed. Thus, a sampling exercise at night clubs where grapes are injected with a new flavour of a drink, to a car company that decided its first reveal of the brand should be off the vertical front of the building, had the target audiences of each of the brands hooked on the campaign. Though most brands have deep pockets and are able to afford agencies with creative manpower, churning out-of-the-box ideas, the story with NGO's is not quite the same, specially the smaller and nascent ones. We at Line Communications were approached by an NGO from Kolkata, that works with children who have hearing disabilities. They had recently lost a sponsor from the UK, due to a change in the UK Economic Policy, and were desperate to raise funds for their survival. When we heard them out and saw their work, we were very moved and decided to give it our best shot. We would host for them a charity auction, get some people to donate and other to buy, and at the auction show them an AV that was bound to move them! We got the people to Donate - cricketers from the Indian Cricket Team who gave their bats, their jerseys, their gloves and their pads - and people bought them like they were going out of style. But what made the maximum impact was not the 17 cricketers from across the Indian and Sri Lankan Cricket teams sitting there, but an AV we made for the evening. The AV started off with a rather popular song, “We are the World” by the USA for Africa, sung by every leading singing sensation there was in the 80's. But as the music starts to settle into its soothing tone, it starts to distort, slowly at first, and then more and more until the sound of the song is just high decibel screech sounds, enough to have everyone covering their ears. It is at that time the screen has a caption which says “ This is what 90% of the children we work with actually hear”! Needless to say, there was dead silence when the lights came on, and the event saw record collections that evening. I think it was one of the most rewarding and creativily brilliant events the team at Line has done. Q. If you have to choose between a money-churning event and one that gives you creative satisfaction, which would you prefer and why? A. While Money Churning Event keep the home and office fires burning and are vital to our survival, it's the creativily satisfying events that keep us on our toes and addicted to our profession. Having said that, we across the Line Network try and balance the equation for ourselves, doing a mix of financially viable projects and every now and then making an exception for a project that gives us the opportunity to test our creativity or at times for a cause that is meaningful. Q. How does Line Communication stand in the global event management scene? Who are your biggest competitors? A. Indian companies are fast being recognised by global players, and the Line Network has been no exception. There has been considerable interest in forging partnerships and JV's from event companies across the UK and the USA. Weddingline was India's first agency to have been invited to form a JV with Preston Bailey Design of USA, one the leading wedding designers of the world, who approached us on the basis of some of our work they saw, for a tie up to jointly produce a week long wedding in India they had been hired to do. With the success of that, Weddingline is a prominent partner with Preston Bailey Designs INC and is working on international projects across the USA and the Middle East. In the event management trade, with each agency being recognised for its core competency, there really is no competition factor. Agencies score on creativity and finess of planning and execution. But in the short time since its inception, Line Communication has been compared to many big players such as Wizcraft, Encompasse and E-factor (In the wedding space).
Q. With professional organizations, managing weddings, we are seeing corporatization of weddings. Do you think it is a good idea? Do you think other unconventional products / services should also go in for corporatization? A. Corporatization of the wedding space is one of the key areas WeddingLine has been known for. We took great measures to understand the lacuna that existed in the age old wedding market and devised strategies, alliances and services to bridge that gap and provide customers an experience they would cherish. I think there is great potential in this model and it should extend itself to many more unconventional products and services. This is also a window of opportunity for young minds with an entrepreneurial bend of mind. Q. Can you tell us about some of the biggest weddings you have done in the past and how you made them the most memorable for your clients? A. The good thing about India is that everyone with money tries to outdo the other! It is this model which has seen the wedding market grow at the scale it is growing at. We at Weddingline have had the good fortune to be approached by Preston Bailey, who's books on weddings and floral sets is a bible for every event manager and features in every event company's library. Having had the opportunity to work with the master himself, we were amazed at the humility of the man and his open appreciation of our ideas and talent pool. The wedding that saw 2 months of active on-site planning, had elephants made of Florals, a four sides 60 feet Ice-bars made of actual ice and dĂŠcor, seating and entertainment that everyone who attended the functions is still talking of, was an experience that will go down in my biography if we ever get to write one. The high of coming up with a wow idea and, in this case, our commitment to the client of every step being a wow and being able to deliver everything we planned has been the most memorable for the client. Q. What role does social media and technology play in helping you promote your events? A. Social Media is the norm today and no new generation business can do without it. We use the medium extensively to exchange ideas, get feedback and showcase some of our work with interested parties. It is a great way to promote your business. Q. As a marketer, for Brand IIT what is that one marketing tip you would like to give in order to promote this brand? A. Always keep wanting something more, something new and always keep an open mind, never think that you know everything. Like one of the biggest icons of our generation said, “Stay hungry, stay foolishâ€?!
MAD Club Exclusive Branding Convenience
Nishant Sinha COO, Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores India is on the brink of the new retail revolution. MAD Club brings to you the future. Redefining how India shops Twenty Four Seven!!!
Q. How has the concept of stores being open 24-7 grown in India over the years? How do you see it growing in the future? A. The concept of a round the clock convenience store is in its nascent stage. The concept is still alien to the country’s law and order system. It is still perceived as a threat by the governing bodies who believe it will bring chaos to the community. Where as we have experienced a phenomenal drop in notorious activities in the areas where TFSCS (Twenty Four Seven Convenience Store) operates. It has helped neighbourhoods change their lifestyles to suite their convenience, having less to worry about all the services we provide. Our services comprise of groceries, ready to eats, snacks, beverages, house hold needs, personal hygiene, health and beauty, cosmetics, stationery, bill payments, recharges, entertainment tickets, courier services, medicines, music & magazines and last but not least - fresh food ranging from Indian to Chinese, Thai, Italian, bakery and confectionary. The future of round the clock convenience is just around the corner. Leading international players are on the brink of entering the world’s second largest growing economy. It is a matter of time, and, of course, the government allowing them to do so. Stringent multi-brand FDI laws prevent the international players from entering India for now. Q. Do you see organised retail as the future of India? Will it not kill the concept of Mom and Pop stores? A. Organised retail, too, is in its nascent stage in India. While in countries such as Japan and US, organised retail is over 80% of the total market, India is still struggling to get to 10%. The lack of understanding of the retail business by the organised players is slowing the growth of the segment. However, the economies of scale are not difficult to master. The future is for the unorganised market moving towards the organised. If we study the history of other countries which have gone through a similar debate and phase in their economies couple of decades ago, we can see that it is only a matter of time for this transformation to gain momentum in India. The secret to gain speed lies in, well, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you. No, the transformation of the market to organised sector will not "kill" the mom-n-pop stores. It will infact help them, you will soon learn how, patience for now. Q. People have varied choices, attitudes and lifestyles. What edge does Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores have in catering to these diverse expectations vis-à -vis your competitors? A. One word - "CONVENIENCE".
Q. What is the USP of the brand “Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores”? A. The uniqueness of TFSCS is in its format and its offering from the customers’ point of view. We analyse each location before we open our store in the area. The analysis leads to the appropriate products, brands and their quantities as per the customers’ demand and part of our basket is standard across all the stores. As compared to the rest of the retailers, we offer a wide variety of international as well as domestic products. The uniqueness is also in the shelf-life of the products. We ensure the consumer gets absolutely fresh stock, that has more than 80% of its shelf life (unlike most retailers who actually liquidate short shelf life products by running major discount schemes). Biggest USP is the range of offerings - groceries, ready to eats, snacks, beverages, house hold needs, personal hygiene, health and beauty, cosmetics, stationery, bill payments, recharges, entertainment tickets, courier services, medicines, music & magazines, flight/train/bus tickets and last but not least. Fresh food ranging from Indian to Chinese, Thai, Italian, bakery and confectionary. Q. Marketing is all about finding new innovative ways to promote your products. Can you give us examples of a new marketing strategy Twenty Four Seven Convenience Stores employed to gain market share and build its brand equity? A. We have an in-house radio station which helps in entertaining our customers and helps in promoting our products from within. Apart from rapid expansion of the model, "franchise" is the word. Our model is extremely franchise friendly and is like a good leader who believes in taking the community along with us to the road of success. Market gain strategies are not to be discussed in an open forum, kills the advantage. For general discussion - think of ideas which capture the attention of the consumer market. The method need not be a new one but must be executed in a way that it has not been done before. Strike a balance on the spend and the return of the exercise. Basic marketing principles haven't really changed in the last couple of decades, only the gurus and tech support have. AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) - process is built on the human behaviour pattern. The key is to tap the sentiment of the Market/consumer - sentiment of the moment. A marketing plan is a plan executed at the right time. Q. The concept of the stores has really picked up in Delhi. Are there any plans of opening the stores Pan India? A. Yes, we do have plans and business expansion strategy in place, which covers pan India and more. We are taking small steps for now, which is a learning process. You will soon see the company grow by leaps and bounds. Q. A major market for this concept can be big residential colleges like IITs, IIMs, NITs because students tend to buy things at that last minute (when the probability is least). Do you plan to enter this market as well, as there is a big void here? A. We are aware of the gaps and have already moved into locations covering such areas but are not limited to them. We are strategically located to cater to them and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Q. What role does social media and technology play in building your brand? A. Social media networking (SMN) and technology are two extremely different tools serving multiple different purposes. SMN helps in increasing awareness and creating a buzz in the limited community, more like a word of mouth. It is a small but important part of brand building exercise. E-commerce is the future of retail, but that does not reduce the importance of brick-n-mortar model in our retail segment.
MAD Club Exclusive Branding Yoga
Be a cool Indian and a Hot global citizen
Dinesh Ghodke & Khurshed Batliwala Directors, The Art of Living Foundation MAD Club brings to you the Art of Marketing, The Art of Living !!!
Q. The “Art of Living Foundation” can be credited with successfully branding Yoga. Why do you think this has happened and how has the organization done it so successfully? A: We have taken yoga in its complete sense - Karma yoga, Gyan yoga, Bhakti yoga and Haat yoga and all of them are very exciting, practical, life transforming knowledge. We have done it successfully by far reaching heart warming service projects, love and devotion for the country & divine, powerful & enjoyable techniques like the Sudarshan Kriya. Q. People have varied choices, attitudes and lifestyles. How do you manage to address a pool of such diverse expectations? A: Human mind is the same everywhere and education in the laws and the rules that govern the mind can effectively bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes. Everyone is looking for happiness, peace and success. And all of this boils down to how you handle your mind! That’s what Art of Living teaches them, and that is why our message is so universal and cuts across all barriers of religion, nationality, age or lifestyle. Q. What is the essence of the brand “Art of Living” ? A: Same as the essence of life which is love, good health, joy, sense of wanting to connect with people, sharing and caring, being at ease with people and situations and, lastly, appreciating and celebrating life’s creativity. Q. Can you identify the 4Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) for the “Art of Living”? A: Product: Fantastic and tailor-made for every age group and section of society. Price: Double of what you are wearing on your body (so that there is a slight pinch and ensuring commitment). It is free in villages & slums around the world. Promotion: Primarily, word of mouth by a contented customer/ client. Place: Wherever there is air (we have not explored under water & outer space yet) Q. With the Art of Living, for the first time we have seen corporatization of Yoga. Do you think it has been a good idea? Do you think other unconventional products / services should also go in for corporatization? A: We are in the business of doing seva. We offer a fantastic product/service and money charged for that in the cities and corporates is used to fund the service projects. That is the sustainable financial model of the Art of Living. Business and spirituality have always gone hand in hand in the Indian culture. The ultimate guru, Narayana, symbol of spirituality is married to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth (they are happily married and there is no point divorcing them under the western influence). Spirituality gives business a big heart and business gives spirituality legs.
Q. Your critics argue that Spirituality has been revamped and repackaged in glossy paper by the “Art of Living Foundation”. What do you say about this? A: It is like saying “Shakespeare is nothing but revamped and repackaged English dictionary”. Techniques and knowledge of the Art of Living have benefited over 300 millions of people in 152 countries cutting across barriers of religion, nationality and culture. Q. Tell us about the different products or programs, the Art of Living has based on Market Segmentation? A: We offer workshops for different age groups. There is ‘Art Excel’ course for kids between 8-13 years of age, ‘YES’ workshop for teens between 14-18 years of age, ‘YES+’ for college students and young professionals, and the ‘Part 1 Course/Basic Course’ for adults (typically above 32 years). We also offer a program called YLTP (Youth Leadership and Training Program) for village youth, where they are trained on meditation and leadership and given vocational guidance. Then there is the ‘APEX’ course, which is the corporate version of the Art of Living course. This is, just, in a nutshell. There are hundreds of other programs and projects we do, depending on the need of a particular location or a specific group. Q. What role does social media and technology play in helping you promote Art of Living? A: Social media and technology has 3 purposes. 1. Joy of communicating, knowing what your loved ones are up to. 2. Entertainment and fun. 3. For social change Since Art of Living also brings about all the three, social media has fully taken to us. Major chunk of the Art of Living is its youth. The Youth Empowerment & Skills Workshop (Yes!+) is being taught in major universities across 60 countries now. The youth today are really active on social media like Twitter, Facebook etc. and leave out no means to reach out the world. Even you can be in touch with us @ Twitter: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : @SriSriSpeaks Khurshed Batliwala : @khurshed Dinesh Ghodke : @DineshGhodke FaceBook page of H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Http://www.facebook.com/HHSriSriRaviShankar
Q. What is the art of marketing “Art of Living”? How do you do it? A: When you see a wonderful movie or eat delicious food at a happening restaurant, it is, but, human to come out and share it with all those you like and love. When one has such a powerful, effective and exciting product like the Art of Living, marketing happens automatically. Management Gurus find it difficult to accept that an organization could become so big without any great marketing strategies, advertisement campaigns or publicity stunts! Q. What is the concept behind Yogathon? A: People love challenges and having a target or challenge energizes and excites them. Yogathon is an Art of Living initiative to create awareness about Yoga and Surya Namaskars, and create interest in its practice for a healthier living. On the occasion of World Health Day (7th April), this free event was conducted all across India, with lakhs of people participating! We encourage you also to take the ‘Yogathon Challenge’! Check out yogathon.in for more info. Q. The AoL motto states that “Joy is Never tomorrow, It is always now.” Is it analogous to the tag lines different brands have? A: The motto of the Art of Living is “Making life a celebration on this planet”. Different brands promise joy in the future. We empower you to experience joy here, and now, and in whatever you do. Q. Going Global is the mantra all major brands of the world are endorsing. Do you see Art of Living also doing it or will they retain their “Indianness” abroad? A: Art of Living teaches you to be a cool Indian and yet be a hot global citizen. The mantra in Art of Living is “Deepen your roots and broaden your vision”. You can still be Indian and yet be a global citizen. Q. Can you share with us some radical marketing strategies (or promotional strategies) you have applied in the recent past? A: We have applied only one strategy right from the beginning and that is to make a person experience lasting joy and love and they cannot stop talking about us. Each Indian becomes a walking talking advertisement and a brand ambassador.
Q. Art of Living has become an essential part of the student life at IIT Kharagpur. (thanks to Amit Periwal and Ritika Periwal). How have you been able to tap into the minds of the most mercurial consumers i.e., students?
A: Like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said while addressing IIT Kharagpur, in Nov 2011 - “IIT stands for Intense Inner Transformation”. Once you have experienced that transformation, you are prepared for life, the challenges it can throw at you and capacitates you to achieve your fantasized successes. The Youth Empowerment & Skills Workshop, like the other Art of Living courses, is an entertaining and fun workshop and the benefits are beyond one’s imagination, be it any field - sports, art, academics or social entrepreneurs. Q. Is it the celebrities or the common man, that is the quintessential brand ambassador of “Art of Living”? A. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that anyone who celebrates is a celebrity, so when celebrities and common man are taking up Art of Living, they naturally become brand ambassadors.
Socio Economic Innovations In The Globalising Economy: Mechanisms And Institutions
Article Writing Competition - 1st Prize
Ankita Shah Pursuing PGDM in IIM Shillong Likes to read fiction books like Animal Farm, Fountainhead, Frankenstein
Man has survived and thrived on innovation from the time of our ancestors. Innovation created fire by rubbing two stones together, introduced wheels, brought about the movement from barter system to metallic money to paper money and many more such events. But is innovation only technology based? Does innovation imply only improvements in technology? I would say no, innovation actually means 'to renew or change' and it can be nontechnological as well. Neither is Innovation synonymous to technology nor to only Research and Development. They are mere components of Innovation. Today business is like a War and Innovation the most effective weapon to combat it and emerge a winner. Innovation is thus a tool, the effect of which lies completely in the hands of the users. In today's era of globalisation, socio-economic innovation is gaining more and more prominence over technological innovation. We are surrounded by many such socio-economic innovations in our everyday life but often we fail to notice them. Dell, one of the most popular brands, has capitalised on socioeconomic innovations through its unique business model, where, by cutting out the middle men and selling directly to the customers, it saves 3 to 5 % of inventory cost along with catering to the needs of its customers by providing them customised products. Another aspect of non-technological innovation is Marketing Innovation. Marketing Innovation at its best can be seen in the case of Cadbury India Limited with Dairy Milk. Its innovation lies in its ideas to promote the sale of Dairy Milk using media effectively. Using advertisements where family eats Dairy Milk as a dessert after dinner with slogan “Kuch Meetha ho jaye“ and introduction of Dairy Milk Silk, 'Temptations' for couples, 'Celebrations' for happy occasions and festivals like Raksha Bandhan it was able to face competition in the market and emerge successful. Another example which reflects the very essence of marketing innovation is that of the Tata group with its three ranges of watches, Sonata - the low end watch, Titan - the high end watch and Tanishq - the luxury end watch. Although Tata owns all the three ranges of watches its innovation lies in using separate brand names and being able to compete in all three segments of the market where today there are several brands of watches under every price range available for purchase. Other examples include the Pringles potato chips cylinder and Absolut vodka bottle.
Modern Assembly line, Total Quality Management (TQM), quality of work-life and other such aspects are highly prevalent in today's corporate world. They are all examples of Management Innovation. Innovation also takes place when new hiring practices are introduced, ethical work culture is created, talent development and skill management are ensured, and appropriate incentives to improve efficiency are devised and the likes. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a classic example that illustrates the impact management innovation can have on a company. TPS generated a sustained competitive advantage for the company. Using TPS, people throughout Toyota ensured continuous improvement in the process. Regulations were specified as to how activities should be done. Any deviations from them were immediately dealt with to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Other aspects of non-technological innovation include manufacturing innovation, i.e., producing better quality products in bulk to ensure that they are cheaper and better and provide faster delivery of the goods and services; for instance Rolls Royce now rents airplane engines by the hour of flight; creative innovation to identify the desires and wants of the customers, modify the products accordingly and ensure customer satisfaction. Service innovation is another aspect in vogue today. With technological innovation getting more and more complex and expensive, the socioeconomic innovation is gaining both popularity and prominence. It has become one of the major drivers of success in today's competitive world. However, the essence lies in the understanding that although Innovation is used interchangeably with technology and Research and Development they are mere subsets of Innovation and not Innovation itself. Innovation is a process that encompasses a whole lot more and the organizations which realize this are the ones that are going to lead their respective industries in the near future.
Article Writing Competition
In between the buyer and seller there exist other intermediaries like the wholesaler, retailer, stockist, distributors, and therefore the distribution channel also plays a very important role in the marketing process. Distribution channel innovations can attribute immensely to the success of many a company. Talking about innovations cannot be justified without mentioning the name of Walmart. It is a name we are all aware of in some manner or the other, the success of which can be largely attributed to supply-chain innovations. It is able to understand as to what its customers want, when and from where, and cater to their needs along with managing its large number of suppliers. Other common examples include Starbucks and Amazon.
Is Your Product Purpled Yet?
Article Writing Competition - 2nd Prize
Bineet Kumar Chaturvedi Pursuing MBA from VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur. Had worked as an Assistant Manager in Cummins India Limited.
Eshita Jha Pursuing MBA from VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur. Had worked as a Staff Consultant in Oracle India Pvt. Ltd.
The other day while I was driving on my way back home I spotted a rare car; no it wasn't a Ferrari neither a Bentley but a ‘white Fiat Uno! The rare sight forced my thoughts to reason why this car did not work for Fiat. I reached home, googled and was still amazed to see such a nice advertisement for Fiat Uno fail to justify the sales figures. Was there a problem with the product or with the advertisement? Well, the advertisement did not create the buzz it should have. Today's consumers are flooded with a variety of products and advertisements on these look repetitive, mere differentiation on the basis of embellishments such as a Bollywood superstar or a cricketer endorsing the product does not attract wise consumers. This incident made me think about the future of advertisement; would products in future need advertisement in any way at all? My view was further substantiated by Marketing guru Seth Godin's best selling book “Purple Cow”. The book talks about how firms should channel their focus on developing remarkable products which would not be dependent on costly advertisement to be successful. Cafe CoffeeDay (CCD) is one such remarkable Purple Cow service that has achieved stupendous success in India with minimal advertising cost. How many of us visited CCD after viewing its advertisement? I am sure most of us visited it because a friend or family member of ours could not stop talking about this uber-cool coffee shop which served the best cappuccino, chocolate fantasy and amazing ambiance in town. Similarly, big firms like McKinney, Caterpillar, and Infosys have been attractive to the best minds and clients purely on the basis of Word Of Mouth (WOM). According to Neilsen consumer report, 78% of the consumers trust recommendations from other consumers. So, why does WOM always work? According to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), WOM advertising is difficult to fake or invent and is based on customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. When a satisfied or dissatisfied customer talks about your business to someone, it does not cost you a dime. Fig a. illustrates comparison of cost versus reach of different advertising mediums; while TV ads are highest in cost, WOM surpasses other mediums in reach as well as cost. Additionally, Word of Mouth advertising may continue long after a commercial ends. Each time a customer buys or uses your product or service, it presents the potential for him to tell someone he know, who, in turn could benefit from what your business offers. It has been observed that products with high involvement are generally bought after seeking opinion of others. Fig b. Reiterates the significance of WOM.
Fig b.(Source: Yankleovich)
So how does WOM influence Purple Cow products? Research indicates that a consumer is encouraged to talk about novel products. Products such as Wrigley's Extra Professional, Opel Astra, Nivea Gel Crème, Nintendo Wii, and SONY PS3 have all been remarkable products that gained success through WOM marketing strategy. Consider Toyota Etios, which comes from the stable of quality pioneers Toyota. If one has seen the ad, one can say it is very appealing to the eye and should have boosted Toyota's sales figures. But unfortunately that was not the case. Toyota just came out from its product recall mire when it launched this product and what it needed was the buzz by the car owner, the real buyers, that the product is indeed what Toyota promises - “Quality”. Consumers have shifted from the conventional store based shopping to a more virtual online shopping experience. Marketing strategies have not been able to keep up with these changing trends. Consumers continuously seek advice from social media forums, online ratings and peer reviews, which are all various forms of WOM. WOM is not just marketing about the product but whether the consumer has an amazing story to tell of something new, cool or outrageous. The future lies with products sold through WOM, and these products can be recommended only when they deliver innovation, value and quality day in and day out. This only leads me to ask today's marketers: “Are your products purpled yet?”
Article Writing Competition
Fig a.(Source:Mary Meeker presentation Universal McCann, TVB, Nielsen Media Research Survey)
In Passing - The Year That Went By... “Authentic Marketing is not the art of selling what you make but knowing what to make.” ~ Prof. Philip Kotler The Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur, over the years, has been busy doing just that - knowing what to make and making what is needed. The academic year 2011-12 was filled with three fests, namely, Saamanjasya, MADison Avenue'11 and Vinculum, and a surfeit of other events with all the Clubs and Dhiru Rabha Committees working full storm. The Alumni Committee organized its Pursuing MBA in VGSoM chapter of Connect, the annual Alumni Meet of the School, for the MAD Club Coordinator first time in Hyderabad. It also conducted Flashback with a few eminent alumni of VGSoM from the first batch. Olympia, the Sports Committee, has been busy with Badminton, Table Tennis and Cricket tournaments for the students while Quiz Club has been busy conducting Quiz shows both within the School as well as outside. The Corporate & Media Interaction body of VGSoM organized approximately about 30 Guest Lectures throughout the last two semesters, which included top Industry and Academic experts like Prof. Abraham Koshy of IIM-Ahmedabad, Mr Saugata Gupta, CEO of Marico, and Six-Sigma acclaimed, the Mumbai Dabbawallas, to name a few.
Alumni Committee - you can take us out of VGSoM but not the VGSoM out of us “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” ~Victor Hugo The Alumni Committee of VGSoM organised a conclave of a few distinguished alumni from the first batch of VGSoM for Flashback. Mr Biswarup Ghosh of Steris, Mr Soumitra Poddar of IBM and Mr Subrata Kundu of Coal India, all based in Kolkata, took us down memory lane and told us about their antics and experiences in the campus back in the early 90's. Their classmates, Mr Krishendu Dasgupta from Havells Sylvania, China joined VGSoMites on video-conference while Mr Santayan Roy, IT Infra Manager, Gulf Air, Bahrain joined in on tele-conference. Alumni Meet Connect was held in Hyderabad for the first time on the 23rd of October, 2011. The Committee also released the 1st of their bi-annual newsletter Scuzzy in September.
Samanjasya and MADison Avenue 2011, helping brand VGSoM “If you don't get noticed, you don't have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.” ~Leo Burnett The two mega events of VGSoM, namely, the third chapter of Saamanjasya, and Marketing & Advertising Club's MADison Avenue, were held in October, 2011 on two consecutive weekends. And no, there was no shouting from the rooftops. But noticed VGSoM definitely was. Rightly so too.
On 22nd and 23rd of October, the third chapter of Saamanjasya, a Corporate Social Responsibility based annual extravaganza unique to VGSoM, was held in a grand scale. Kalakaar Vikas, an initiative to promote the arts and crafts of artisans from eastern India, saw a huge turn-out. The whole of Kgp went to the Puja Grounds near the Tech. Market to see and buy the wares of the artisans from across Bengal. Later, a workshop was also held for the artisans. Apart from this, Saamanjasya organized Vikriiniite - a financial consulting competition for developing a new microinsurance product for the rural segment, Vichaar - a summit on Organized Retail and its contribution to Inclusive growth, Shikshan - a workshop by Jaipur Rugs, a live NGO case study called Parishram, a Parliamentary debate called Shashtraarth, and a few other online events. Big corporates like Life Insurance Corporation of India - the title sponsor, and others like Birla Coperation Limited, PowerGrid, Allahabad Bank, Steris, 92.7 Big FM, the Telegraph, Dare2Compete, Mani Square, Freshers' World and Classic Polo were associated with Saamanjasya'11. A week later, on the 29th and 30th of October, MADison Avenue'11, the Marketing fest of VGSoM was also held in equal grandeur. There were three major B-school events, namely, Leaders' Challenge, ElVigor and Ad-Mire. Apart from this, there was a workshop held by Mr. Sujoy Roy, Senior Creative Director with Ogilvy & Mather and a panel-discussion Inception on “What next in Social Media Marketing?�. A few on-campus events were held for the IIT Kharagpur juntaa. These included Ad-zap - an advertisement based event, Quizzical a Quiz show conducted by the Quiz Club of VGSoM and sponsored by the Business Standard, and Mobile Turns Social - an event that tested the Marketing flair of participants. There were also a couple of online events like Wiral Marketing and Quizzard. MADison Avenue's title sponsors were auto-giant Toyota with other associates and partners like Steris, MTS, BPCL, Coca Cola, O&M, XXX drinks, Business Standard and Chronon Technology. The scale and scope of both Saamanjasya and MADison Avenue were much bigger than before.
What helped increase the visibility and presence of the Vinod Gupta School of Management were the promotion and publicity for both the events. Banners of 6*3 feet were displayed in malls, event promotion slides were displayed in Netaji Auditorium during the screening of movies, and a lot of buzz was created on the respective Facebook pages of both the events. Newspapers and radio stations also helped promote the two mega-events of VGSoM. Technology Students' Gymkhana and Scholars' Avenue, the bi-monthly campus newsletter of Kgp, helped promote Saamanjasya and MADison Avenue within campus with the help of their Facebook pages. So, for three whole weeks, since the start of the online events, VGSoM was abuzz with activity and prominently featured in campus BSchool event sites like D2C. These events saw participation from B-schools across the country, like IIM Calcutta, IIM Shillong, ISB Hyderabad, FORE School of Management, amongst others.
Vinculum - a bond beyond words, beyond time “Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself� ~John Dewey Vinculum is a day in honour of our Alma Mater, to celebrate being a part of the first ever BSchool within the IIT system and also to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first of the legendary legacies known as the Indian Institutes of Technology. VGSoM is not just another B-School; it is a platform for young minds to explore and challenge the existing paradigms and broaden their perspectives. Vinculum is a unique initiative in which everyone associated with VGSoM - the I and II year MBA students, the Research Scholars, the Executive-MBA (E-MBA) students and the esteemed faculty, come together to celebrate the spirit of belongingness to the 'Largest Post Graduate Department of IIT Kharagpur' and the essence of being a VGSoMite. The event calendar comprised of a cultural programme, an IIT wide Marathon, an Inter - departmental Quiz, a Treasure hunt, Interaction with a prominent guest followed by a dinner. Vinculum was sponsored by Tata Motors and Pennar Industries.
Finterest - in the best yield and interest "Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears." ~ Robert W. Sarnoff Finterest, the Finance Club of VGSoM, has come up with their quarterly Finance magazine known as Mark2Market. It contains articles from VGSoM students and guest-writers from other B-schools as well as interactions and expert articles from eminent Faculty and Industry stalwarts. The magazine reflects the passion and enthusiasm of the students towards Finance and the eternal quest not just to stumble into but to discover. The latest edition of Mark2Market can be found in the link below. http://issuu.com/mark2market_finterest/docs/mark2market_spring_edition_volume_ii Weak economic recovery, changing consumer behaviour, stricter regulations, increasing competition, amongst others, in the past few years have had a tectonic shift in the dynamics of the financial markets worldwide. FinCon'2012 was an effort to bring together the industry stalwarts and management students on a common platform in order
to understand the challenges and opportunities available. The speakers were Industry experts from Dolat Capital Markets, United Stock Exchange and HDFC AMC who spoke about topics ranging from Indian equity valuations from the perspectives of an institutional investor to Portfolio Management in turbulent times and exchange traded currency markets. Recently, on 30th March, 2012 Finterest organized a regional meet - “Capital Market & the Investor”. The Securities and Exchange Board of India and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited gave budding investors tips on where to invest, and discussed different areas on capital market which helped the students to understand how the retail investors work. Finterest also organized Fin'QMen, an inter-IIT Financial Quiz. The basic objective of the quiz was to promote interdisciplinary interaction and promote peer learning. Apart from this, there are regular Knowledge Sharing Sessions conducted weekly. Finterest likes to call these the weekly Brown Bag sessions where students come together to discuss the goings-on in the world of Finance. Sometimes, Faculty conduct these Knowledge Sharing Sessions, known as Gurukool. They are sometimes joined by industry experts as well.
ScOpe - our jugaad, our J-I-T “Everybody doing his best is not the answer. It is first necessary that people know what to do.” ~William Edwards Deming ScOpe, the Supply Chain & Operations Club of VGSoM, a new Club in the School, regularly conducts knowledge sharing sessions in different areas like Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), lean production, process capability and flexibility and the critical factors necessary to develop an efficient distribution system, all of which majorly impact cost-cutting and help in creating high-value products. ScOpe also came up with an annual magazine called Srrnkhala and recently organized an industrial visit to the nearby Haldia port for interested students to get a grass-root level exposure to India’s Supply Chain and Logistics Infrastructure.
Induction of new VGSoMites - the legacy continues, year after year “Yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.” ~Kahlil Gibran VGSoM inducted its new flag-bearers, the Class of 2011-13, on the 23rd of July, 2011. The official Induction consisted of events like the Blue Ocean Strategy, Turn Coat, Business and campus Quiz, Spin-a-yarn and Press Conference. This helped the new VGSomites interact with each other and the seniors for the first time and shed the initial inhibitions. By the first week of August, the new students were also inducted into the various Clubs and Committees of VGSoM.
Olympia - games we play “Sports is a way of life which brings out the innate characteristics of a person.” ~ Wizard of Westwood Olympia - the Sports Committee of VGSoM, believes in creating a culture that enhances the spirit of competition and helps in inculcating the true virtues of leadership and team-work. They organised Racquets - an intra-VGSoM Badminton and Table Tennis tournament, from 14th to 16th of October at Technology Gymkhana, IIT Kharagpur. Olympia then organized an Intra-Section Cricket tournament for the MBA first years. After this, an Intra-IIT Kgp marathon wa s o r g a n i s e d d u r i n g Vinculum, on the 3rd of March, 2012. There was a high turn-out of more than 120 runners from all the departments at as early as 6 am. Next, Olympia came up with the concept of the VGSoM Premiere League - VPL. It consisted of two phases, the auctioning process to bid and buy players within a budget, and the actual matches on the pitch. The matches were played between four teams at the Prem Bazaar ground inside the campus.
Quiz Club - any questions? “Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” ~ Arnold Edinborough The Quiz Club of VGSoM has been very busy in its quest for more throughout the academic year. It started with the Induction Quiz for the Class of 2013 in August, 2011. Then it conducted a Quiz for the Finance Club, called Fin'QMen. Since then Quiz Club has kept itself busy in conducting online quizzes for VGSoMites during the weekends. Recently, Quiz Club designed questions for a Quiz at iMaritime, Mumbai. It also helped MAD Club design and conduct Quizzard during MADison Avenue'11. Did You Know: Charles Royce, The founder of this British auto company was the first to be killed in a plane accident. In 1999, Jack Welch was named the manager of the century by Fortune Magazine?
Spring Fest - the true spirit of youth, the true spirit of a Kgpian “The Spring is already at the gate With looks my care beguiling; The country round appeareth straight A flower-garden smiling”
~ Heinrich Heine
SF is the annual socio-cultural fest of IIT Kharagpur. It first began as an inter-hostel cultural fest in the 60's and is today the single biggest campus youth fest in the whole of Asia. It is a four day extravaganza held every year in the Spring semester in January and involves competitions in quizzes, literary events, dramatis, music and dance and fine-arts. The judges of these competitions are eminent personalities from different fields. Like every year, this year also the literary events were organized by the students of VGSoM from the 21st to the 23rd of January. These events included - JAM, Jumble the Good Word, Dumb Charades, Penathlon, Statement of Purpose, Impromptu and Ad Zap.
Shraddha - the VGSoM tradition, our way “Compassion is not religious business, it is human business. It is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability; it is essential for human survival.” ~ His Holiness, the Dalai Lama It is a VGSoM tradition to paint Tshirts with the students of DishaSeema, a school for the underprivileged children around the IIT Kharagpur campus, and sell them during the Spring Fest. Every year, VGSoMites go to Disha-Seema with brushes, paints, stencils and T-shirts, spend time with the children and paint T-shirts. These T-shirts are then sold during the Spring Fest and the proceeds go to a small attempt from our side in improving the lives of these children. This year, VGSoMites and the Disha-Seema children painted on 250 plain black and white T-shirts and the themes varied from Che Guevera's face to Angry Birds to colourful guitars to pretty little girls. During the SF, students from Kgp, faculty and their families, and participants from across the country visited the Shraddha stall and helped VGSoM make a small profit for the children of Disha-Seema. As another academic year goes by, a batch prepares to leave the School empowered while a different one awaits to be ushered in. As the faces sitting in the classrooms change, there is just a hope that the legacy will continue to pass on, from one to the other.
V Speak... The Rise and Fall of Kingfisher Airlines
Sahil Bansal Pursuing MBA in VGSoM MAD Club Coordinator
Kingfisher Airlines started its operation in India on 9th May, 2005 and its international operations on 3 September 2008 by connecting Bengaluru with London. Its head office is in Andheri(East), Mumbai and the registered office is in UB city, Bangalore. It covers more than 80 destinations including 8 international ones. The rise: Soon after its start, it became the favourite airline of most frequent fliers, owing to its unique service facilities, hospitality, specially designed gourmet cuisine and the in-flight entertainment it provides to its “guests�, as Dr. Vijay Mallaya, Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, prefers to call Kingfisher passengers. The differentiated facilities included: 1. Minimized waiting time in the queue before checking in 2. LCD screens behind every seat to offer personalized entertainment to every passenger 3. Specially designed cuisine 4. Smart and courteous in-flight crew 5. Convenient and punctual flight schedules 6. Its fleet consisted of airbus A320s, which have wider bodies compared to Boeing 737s, which gives more space for leg and elbow space, adding to passengers’ comfort Kingfisher aimed to delight its 'guests' in terms of everything - entertainment, hospitality, service, and promises to offer world class experience to them by training every individual of its crew with proper procedures to serve customers. The result was evident in May 2009 when the airline was carrying more than 1 million passengers, giving it the highest market share among all the airlines in India. Kingfisher Airlines is one of the only seven airlines to be awarded a 5-star rating by Skytrax. It was also awarded the Skytrax award for India's best airline in 2011. It won several other awards including the Freddie award in 2008 for Best customer service and was nominated as India's no. 1 Airline in customer satisfaction by Business world. Despite these factors, the airline is currently going through some financial problems, forcing the airline to stop operations to several destinations. Until December 2011, Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market.
However, due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it now has only the fifth largest market share. The fall: Despite its market share and brand equity, ever since the airline started its operations, it has been reporting losses. By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over Rs. 7000 crore. Tax authorities have frozen most of its bank accounts. The Income Tax Department has sent 18 show cause notices to the entire top management, including the one for not paying TDS for three years. International Air Transport Association (IATA) suspended the airline from its clearing house for failure to pay its dues. Most of its fleet is grounded and the staff has not been paid since December, and aviation minister Ajit Singh has warned to shut it down if it cannot meet safety and financial viability standards. Why it happened: Microenvironment factors: · More focus on premium segment losing market share of economy traveler, which is the major chunk of domestic travel in India. · Non competitive pricing model as compared to Low Cost Carriers like Indigo and Spice Jet. · Break-even was a mirage, which can be related to its failed business model, as a result of which the business tried to grow too fast, burning precious liquidity in the process. · As losses increased spirally, it kept on cancelling flights, hence losing passengers to other airlines. Fewer passengers meant less cash which was already a problem, resulting in a vicious circle. · Brand Extension failure: Kingfisher Airlines also failed in terms of brand extension from its parent brand i.e., Kingfisher (liquor brand) because of inconsistent product category and incongruent value perception. As seen in the past, this failed brand extensions happened as a result of unrelated brand beliefs and base attributes. · Through Kingfisher Red ventured into the Low Cost Carrier segment by acquiring Air Deccan, but could not leverage on the opportunity and the management had to finally decide to stop its operation on 28th September,2011. Macro environment factors: · Rising Fuel Costs: fuel which comprises of 40% of the operational costs of an airline has nearly increased by 45% in 2011-12. · High state tax on jet fuels which ranges from 0% in Andaman and Nicobar to 28-30% in states like Karnataka, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu, making it one of the costliest in the world. · Few repair facilities: currently Indian Aviation industry is facing a deficit of maintenance, repair and overhaul units which accounts for 13% of total costs of an airline. Even the existing facilities are expensive due to high taxes. · Nascent hedging market - the under developed commodity hedging market makes it hard to hedge against fluctuating air fuel · Cut throat competition from state owned Air India which is prices below costs. · Weakening of Rupee against $ has also contributed to the woes sector as 70% of their costs are in $.
prices. cutting its of the aviation
Due to these factors, at present Kingfisher needs an immediate USD 500600 million to cover its remaining taxes, unpaid salaries and other deliverables. At the present moment company is not able to attract any investors and it seems it has reached to a point of no return.
What should be done now? Kingfisher's bankers have restructured the loans already issued, transforming Rs 1,200 crore worth of debts into equity at a ridiculously high price of Rs 65 per share against the market price of Rs 40. This price is now down at Rs 17. Kingfisher's borrowings stand at over Rs 7,000 crore with annual losses exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. So, no short-term solution can revive it unless promoters bring in huge funds of their own or the company is able to attract a White Knight to bail it out. The owner, Dr. Vijay Mallaya, should focus more on the current opportunities available. He can rope in a foreign airline to invest for Kingfisher or may be a strategic partner that can help the airline coming out this situation. A proper restart of the entire system can be done by acting as a lean carrier with lesser flights, aircrafts, routes and flight schedules but gaining the customer confidence back by regularly operating these reduced flight schedules. Lowering the fares can also help by attracting the frequently flying customers. Apart from these changes, management should maintain a certain level of consistency with its core brand values, as was in the past, and then gradually expand from there. We only hope Dr. Mallaya's airlines returns back as the “king of good times� to rule the skies once again.
Did You Know: The event WWE Royal rumble, was first held in 1988.It is one of the biggest events conducted by the company. The company has included WWE Royal rumble in its big four events. WWE Royal rumble celebrated its 25th Anniversary this year. This year, it was held at the Scottrade Cneter at St.Louis , Missouri , USA
V Speak... Social Media Segments
Sagar Naveen Zalavadia Pursuing MBA in VGSoM MAD Club Member
We wake up. We Post. We eat. We Post. We travel. We Post. We meet our friends. We Post. We chat. We Post. We shop. We Post. We watch movies. We Post. We watch cricket. We Post. We Post. We Post. We Post. The list is indeed endless. It is like some power taking control of our lives and managing us. It is as if we are being driven around by a hand we cannot see. What is this power? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, quite literally. The answer is simple. It is “Social Media”. Social media involves a natural, genuine conversation between people about something of mutual interest. It is a conversation build on the thoughts and experiences of the participants. It is about sharing and arriving at a collective point, often for the purpose of making a better or more-informed choice. It is combination of people, message and the Internet; a collaboration of people, process and technology. Social media has posed a new challenge for the marketers, to understand and utilize it. Based on membership and the outcomes, let us segment the social media into a 2*2 matrix. The membership here stands for the employees, customers, stakeholders, communities and suppliers. A proposed Social Media Segmentation by Gartner The first block is the “Connect”; the marketer must at all times connect with the consumers. On an average a consumer spends 2-3 hours daily on the Internet. It is here where the conversations take place and users share their experiences. Talking in Marketing terms, it is here that the need actually changes into a want. So a marketer needs to listen to the conversation, understand it and know what the consumer wants or likes. Online forums, twitter feeds, social media and blogs are all places for listening and joining the conversation.
The second segment is the “Engage”. In a competitive world where the number of choices a consumer has is huge, the marketer needs to interact with the consumer. Once they have the customers’ attention, loyal customers need to be constantly wooed so that they keep visiting your stores and the online world. The outcomes are defined in terms of brand awareness, imaging and positioning of the company. Companies, through various mediums like Facebook pages, posts, apps and games, are interacting with the customers. A new concept in marketing has to develop avatars for the campaign and propagate the message through them.
These two segments we see have open membership and there is no restriction on the membership of the audience. Anyone willing may participate in the conversation. The next two segments “Achieve and Explore” are closed membership segments. Here we define the various roles and the members in the interaction like the suppliers, employees and potential customers. There is a clear administrative role played by the company and messages are monitored. The “Achieve” segment is all about definite plan and actions that a company has outlined to meet its requirements. ERP systems do not capture all the information required and needed in a two way conversation. There is a gap between the expected and the delivered value by the firms. The gap needs to be bridged and, in some way, can be provided by the social media. Companies have integrated social media in their ERP systems to capture consumer feedback, monitor conversation and talks with suppliers and contractors on a daily basis. This backward integration has led to better collaboration and helped achieve customer centric focus.
The last segment is the Explore segment. Since social media is still in its early stages, there is opportunity for new scopes and varied applications for the same. Financial institutions are planning to build APIs so that customers can make t ra n s a c t i o n s a n d p a y through social media channels. Security, identity issues and other problems are areas in which technology will break the barriers. The benefits of the social media are unparsed by the efforts to make it a success. Some of the benefits are increase in customer equity and increase in market share. The lifetime value of the customers stands to increase. These are the main segments of Social Media. The Marketer must tap the right segment at the right time to gain success. Sean Parker says, “We lived on farms, then we lived in cities, and now we're going to live on the Internet� (movie - The Social Network). Yes indeed! We are living on the Internet. It is a revolution that is happening. Hey wait. Why write all this? Let me just post it and see what people in my circle think of the revolution. Let me just Post it. Let me just Post it. Let me just Post it.
Did You Know: Johnny Carson was commissioned to wear Nehru Jacket on his show during the mid-1970s in the hopes of making them popular again. His wearing one in 1966 launched the Johnny Carson brand of men's apparel manufactured by Hart Schaffner & Marx. Fortune was founded by Henry Luce in February 1930, 4 months after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that lead to the Great Depression.He wanted to name the magazine Power initially.
Ad-Analysis Retro Advertisement Old Adv: http://bit.ly/bajaj_old
Modern Advertisement New Adv: http://bit.ly/bajaj_new
Q. What is the item being advertised and how was it positioned?
The classic Bajaj Super Scooters
New stylish Bajaj Pulsar Bike
It was positioned as a two wheeler (scooter) that celebrates India and also as a transport vehicle (multipurpose) for office going/ working class people. From waking up in the morning, praying, dropping school children, Office going, travelling to the native village, shopping just about anything that is typical of India of the 1990's.
It was positioned as a bike that should become the symbol of the Young India that is macho, adventurous and high on adrenaline. Bajaj placed this ad as Pulsar Mania that spread among the young. The commercial was shot in Cape Town and the stunt team comprised of a few of the best stunt riders in world, including AC Farias (European stunt riding champion) and Matte Griffin.
Q. Who is the target audience for this product? The target audience was the working men/women in middle and the upper class families in Rural and Urban India. The ad appealed to the working class of the society.
Young Indian males for whom bike is not just a means to travel but more of a style statement.
Q. How does the advertisement attempt to get your attention? The ad has an emotional content attached to it. It shows Indian living on a daily basis. We have the sunrise. We have a man praying. We have a man jogging. We have an old man proudly cleaning his Bajaj scooter. We have the children being dropped to school. In true sense, Buland Bharat ki Buland Tasweer - meaning the rising India's rising picture. The sun, the children reflect the new rising India. The idea was to make life simple and easier for people.
The ad features bikers doing stunts on their Pulsar bikes. The stunts grab your attention, portrays Pulsar as the ultimate macho symbol. It shows the excessive enthusiasm that people who possess Pulsar have towards their bike, so much so that they are willing to play around with the bike so dangerously. The bike is the epitome of style, stability and aggression or if I may say, the new ruthless India.
Summary On seeing both the ads we clearly see that Bajaj is shifting its target segment from earlier middle aged office going population to the new young and energetic bikers who like to ride on super bikes. Bajaj has completely stopped its scooter division and is now concentrated solely on bikes. It is not that it is only catering to young generation as it has a range of bikes in the market probably for all the segments. But the prime target is young India. As more and more foreign competitors are coming into the country, the competition is getting tougher but Bajaj has still managed to remain ahead in the race by introducing new versions of Pulsar from time to time. In 2007 Bajaj announced its decision to stop manufacturing scooters and decided to only manufacture bikes. This clearly showed a turning point in the strategy of the company that Bajaj has redefined its target customers in the two-wheeler market. In 2011 Bajaj decided to remove its Brand name from all other vehicles including threewheelers. This is another move that suggests that the company is trying to reposition itself as a brand associated with young, high segment and not the middle aged-middle class people. Overall, both the ads were able to deliver the message of their times to the target audience and are still remembered by many.
Ad-Analysis Retro Advertisement Old Adv: http://bit.ly/liril_old
Modern Advertisement New Adv: http://bit.ly/liril_new
Q. What is the item being advertised?
Liril Soap by HLL
New Liril soap - The “Liril 2000”
The Liril Soap of the HLL company (now HUL). The soap was launched as a new brand for the premium segment.
The item is the New Liril soap, the “Liril 2000”. The soap was repositioned in the market after it lost a huge chunk of its market share. It had fallen from being the market leader in the premium segment to nowhere.
Q. How was/is the product positioned?? As a Freshness soap
As a Health-category soap
Q. Who is the target audience for this product? The target audience was the women in the middle and upper class families. But the ad, with its ambience and the model, also helped the brand capture the men’s segment.
The target audience is the Indian Household. The ad targets the upper middle class and the upper class families. It is a premium brand. This time the ad does not restrict itself in targeting the women, instead targets the entire family.
Q. What is the notion behind the ad? The notion of the ad was to make the household woman enjoy her time in the bathroom, the only time she gets to think of herself, and help her at least think about her dreams. It helped the women discover themselves beyond the closed walls of the bathroom. Q. What is the theme of the Ad? The ad deftly shows that bathing under the shower using a Liril soap is just the same as bathing under the fresh and hygienic waters of a hilly & riverine waterfall.
The notion of the ad was to create the urge in the hearts of the family members to express their love upon each other and not hesitate to ‘Touch’ and ‘Kiss’.
The basic theme of the ad is ‘Touch’. It shows that the sense of closeness in the family lies with the touch. And for that to happen, one should have a healthy skin from which the others do not cringe away. For a healthy skin, one must concentrate on the aspects of Fresh, Clean, Itch-free, Odour free, Non oily and Pimple free skin.
Q. How does the ad convey the message? The ad features a model, Karen Lunil, in a lime green bikini frolicking in the waterfalls. The model is enjoying the coolness and the fresh water pouring down the falls. The ad then shows the same model bathing under the shower using the Liril soap. These two scenarios makes the audience compare and relate the ‘Shower +Liril’ to the ‘Waterfall’. The music of ‘la lala lala’ just stresses on the fact that the person is enjoying her time and is very happy.
The ad portrays a stylish ambience. Though, it was targeting the Indian household, there was a sense of westernization in the ad. The ad features the family in white clothing cuddling and jumping over each other. Also, the woman is then portrayed lying in a pool of water, with the soap in her hand, which creates a sense of tranquility. The background is a stylish setting. This setting might suggest the viewer that Liril is a western soap, and its use may be linked to an increase in the status or to a more intimate setting of the western world.
Q. Snippets The Liril ad changed the way models were portrayed in the ads. A few critics had said that the ad was quite vulgar for the Indian culture. It was much ahead of its time in advertising. The ad was shot at a water-fall near Guna caves at Kodaikanal, Tamil nadu. The falls is now named “Liril Falls”
The ad also stresses on the 2000 important aspects of the body. The word 2000, indicates the 2000 sensitive points in the body or the 2000 ways in being intimate with one’s family. It has nothing to do with the year 2000.
Summary On seeing the two ads one can deduce that Liril has repositioned itself as a Family centric soap from a Individualistic soap. But was the repositioning necessary? Liril had a huge success with its 1985 ad, which catapulted it into a market leader in the premium segment, the position it had for 25 - 30 years. Now it has moved from the theme of ‘Freshness’ to the ‘Healthiness’. Liril had seen a great slump in sales, but it could have still positioned itself as a Freshness soap and, with a bit of investment in Creative ads (reinforcing the freshness concept), it could have regained its share. Maybe Liril wanted to increase sales by making it a family soap, thereby targeting everyone in the family instead of only the women. Also, it could have been that they wanted to make use of the opening of the Indians to the western culture and capitalize on the present trend of many Indians wanting to move abroad. But still, the Liril soap, could not regain its share to a great extent. One cannot term the ad as a failure; maybe with further stress on its present concept it can improve sales. But the best option would be to bring back the freshness concept and merge it with the family one, thereby, making advantage of both the themes.
Did You Know: Casio's first major product was the yubiwa pipe, a finger ring that would hold a cigarette, allowing the wearer to smoke the cigarette down to its nub while also leaving the wearer's hands free ? The Bulova commercial was the world's first legal television commercial and cost the Bulova Watch Company a whopping $9.00 USD Consumers Distributing, the first of it's kind was opened in 1957 by Jack Stupp in Toronto. The company was bought by Provigo, a Quebec-based grocery retailer in 1989 and in 1993 was again sold to a group controlled by Ackerman Van Haaren, a Belgian holding company. Actress Shirley Jones once represented it in television commercials based on the theme "Consumers, we wrote the book on savings!".
Cool Funda Crossword Across: 1. Pupil Dilation (13 letters) 4.Pierced (10) 6.Motion of an object (9) 8.Devotion (7) 9.A long communication (11) 12.The world of posts (11) 15.A caretaker (6) 18.A type of logistics/coming in (7) 20.Earning money through online content (7) 21.Scope (5) 22.Flowing in a circle (11)
Level of Difficulty Down: 2.Imagination (8) 3.Subtitle (7) 5.Hang out with (9) 7.Study of people according to their tastes (14) 10.Premium and free (8) 11.Relative (11) 13.Situational Settings (10) 14.Split up (7) 16.Irregular Warfare (8) 17.Misleading Marketing (9) 19. A recognizable kind (5)
Solve the Crossword Online: http://bit.ly/IaC5lj
Quiz 1. Which mobile company is the wholly-owned subsidiary of France Telcom? Its tagline is “The Future's bright, the Future's _________�. (Think of a fruit.) 2. Which retail chain's tagline is "Start Something New"? Clue: a. It is an Indian department store chain promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group. b. Has a loyalty program called First Citizen.
5. Identify the advertiser
6. "It really sucks." was the tagline for their tvc. What are we talking about?
3. Who markets the phone in picture? 8. Who introduced a marketing campaign named Look Behind the Label in 2006? 9. Identify the product being advertised in this print ad.
4. X is a weekly magazine in India.It was started by KM Mathew.The current owner is Jacob Mathew.It is published in Kochi and is printed in 4 cities of India. Identify X. 7. Lunaracer is a series of shoes by X in the honour of Y. Name X and Y.
10. With which Indian sporting legend you can associate the book, 'Forgive me Amma' ?
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Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India - 721302.
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