February at B-schools is usually a month of celebration, fests, events and of course the precursor to Spring and Farewells. Amidst these merrymakings, we bring to you yet another edition which is full of wonderful insights from the world of marketing. The Marketing Club recently completed another edition of its social media competition “War of Brands” under the umbrella of its online conclave, Jingstad – Tantalizing Creatiity. A new event format, Ulta-Pulta, has been added to it. Check out our social media corner for more on it. A lot has happened in the past one month. Be it the upcoming IPO of SnapChat and Whatsapp’s entry in digital commerce, or the Unilever Merger and P&G breakup. The commercialization of ISRO’s successful launch by brands – free pizzas for ISRO employees – will be something we discuss in the upcoming edition, where we shall also talk about the branding strategies adopted in the state elections.
Lucknow for their contributions to the Perspective column. Under the Perspective column we analyze the concept of Hashtag Marketing and how its growing significance can be leveraged under various contexts. We also talk about the different facets of fashion blogging and emerging trends in fashion networking. We congratulate Arpita Nandy from JBIMS and Ritika Bansal from IMI for their Eye2Eye entries on the exploitation of social issues by brands for the purpose of marketing. Under the Brand Story, we cover the history of Tanishq and the path ahead. Discover the story behind the evolution of the MTV logo under the Logoistic section. Apart from these, we have the Catch and Miss, Digitally and Fun Facts corners to engross you.
For this edition’s Vartalaap we get the privilege of speaking to Mr Kanishk who is leading the Business Development at Flock, a Direct-i company. We got some wonderful insights on Coming back to the present edition, we discuss Start-up and technology trends from him in the the evergreen concept of brand identity and its domain of B2B selling. significance on our cover story with some contemporary examples. We congratulate Shivangi Cheers! Singh from Amity University and Subhra Pra- Team Markathon tim Halder and Parth Mistry Harish from IIM
Our very own freak with a marketing streak
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E D I T O R
Of The Month
Raghav Dhanuka
AND HIS TEAM..!!
Aditya
Arnav
Archita
Himanshu
Suman
Ravitej
Markathon
january 2017
Andar Ki Baat Perspective Hashtag Marketing:
01
On the rise Subhra Halder& Parth Harish | IIM Lucknow
05 Cover Story
Building a profitable fashion blog Shivangi Singh | Amity University
Brand Identity Crisis 09 Suman Sourav | IIM Shillong
Eye 2 Eye
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ARE SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE FEMINISM, LGBT RIGHTS ETC. BEING EXPLOITED BY BRANDS FOR MARKETING?
Vartalaap Mr Kanishk Kumar Abhishek
14 Sr. Associate Director Flock.co
Arpita Nanda
Ritika Bansal
JBIMS
IMI, New Delhi
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Interviewed By: Himanshu Chugh & Archita Singh IIM Shillong IIM Shillong
Markathon
january 2017
Andar Ki Baat
Top 5 reads of the month
SpeciaLs
27 Articles which you just
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cannot afford to miss
Logoistic
The Story of MTV’s Logo Raghav Dhanuka | IIM Shillong
AD-dicted
Catch & Miss advertisements of the month Suman Sourav & Ravitej Vadlamani | IIM Shillong
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Digi - Tally Let’s look at our social media marketing
Marketing Gyan
21 Brand Story
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Tanishq
Arnav Khanna
| IIM Shillong
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Fun Corner
To get the brain tickling Aditya Kumar Jain | IIM Shillong
Updates
Fresh from the Marketing World Suman Sourav| IIM Shillong IIM Shillong
february 2017
perspective
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Hashtag Marketing On the rise!
By Subhra Pratim Halder & Parth Mistry Harish iim Lucknow
Paytm has earned a remarkable market share in India with its appealing call-to-action hashtag advertising named as #PaytmKaro ‘Hashtags’ are an effective form of labelling or tagging tool to identify as well as group one’s
content on social network and microblogging services. Hashtags start with a ‘#’ symbol, followed by an un-spaced phrase which archive each post containing that phrase into a single steam of metadata. As they turn people’s posts into clickable links, it begins to group people and focus on a targeted set of audience based on similar taste and preferences of post. Hashtags are becoming a prominent part of social-media culture, having the potential to drive individual psyche and actions for a particular cause. Naturally, it is becoming a worthy exploring area for market research, giving rise to a new cult called ‘hashtag marketing’ to create value out of individual posts on a public platform.
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perspective Hashtag marketing is based on tracking the ongoing trend behind the real-time social media traffic, which improvises consumer awareness, makes the content more searchable and encourages to discuss more about the tagged themes/ topics. Nowadays, social media teams of the tech-savvy firms are coming up with five broad level hashtag marketing strategies to meaningfully engage with their target audiences namely – Brand Hashtags, Trending Hashtags, Chat Hashtags, Content-reflecting Hashtags and Call-to-Action Hashtags.
Chat hashtags are very catchy one-to-many conversation tags, used by celebrities or companies to talk to their followers about a subject matter. As the hashtag collates all the tweets or posts con-
Brand hashtags are effective in letting others know what users feel about the brand: its service and value offered. Not only it denotes a sign of customer retention, but also create awareness among the followers. Companies try to develop a concise and unique hashtag – which captures the essence of their brand and is related to their business, so as to encourage further circulation among the social media users. #Justdoit from Nike was a hit in brand hashtag that engaged users in conversations and stories on a topic. Trending hashtags are a kind of automatic feed on social media platforms that display topics trending for a while. Facebook and Twitter have trending walls on two different sides of the screen and it changes constantly with more outreach through one’s contacts or followers. Trending hashtags are getting more informative & let users know about a particular happening in any part of the world at any point of time. From consumer’s point of view, trending hashtags are becoming widely accepted tool of customer feedback and grievance redressal on a public platform. It brings a sense of urgency to the cause and wider acknowledgement by other users sharing the same concern. Trending hashtags are also acting as a popularity meter with which marketing teams quantitatively measure the penetration of its product/ service on a real time basis. While every upcoming offering tries to create a buzz through consistently trending on social media, it also invokes a fierce competition in order to attain the topmost slot. The most pertinent example of this trending hashtag is found in media industry where news bulletins take reference from the hot topics trending among its users and prefer to telecast news on similar themes to earn maximum television rating point (TRP) and to capture maximum viewership in that particular timeslot.
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taining it on a single page, the users find it very easy to locate and access other users sharing the same notion on that page. This is going to be the most prominent advantage of hashtag marketing that – It connects like-minded people and drive their consumer perception based on the stream of posts that arrive with the tag. There has been a significant rise in the use of chat hashtag for promotional purposes by celebrities, politicians and many more personalities in public life. Be it a film promotion or an electoral campaign or simply a Q&A session, followers are kept engaged regularly to strengthen the support base for the cause. As a healthy practice for more public involve
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ment, ministers and celebrities have started interacting more often on social media and sense the mood of the public before the release of their product e.g. – Budget document or film release. In this way, followers are getting updated and meaningfully involved as a support base for the product or person. The core philosophy behind the chat hashtag marketing is that followers are passionate and providing them an open interactive forum to network with each other and have chat with the person himself is nothing less than adding value in the marketing process.
So, in order to sell company’s products or encourage events that don’t have brand recognition, marketers apply content-reflecting hashtags to boost its online presence. Users searching for similar kinds of hashtag to define their moments, gets the relevant hashtag in a short time. Companies strive to have their own content-reflecting hashtags for its niche line of products on social media. For example, a café by the name Moonshine Café and Bar in Delhi has leveraged its social media presence by using the hashtag #partyhard in its Facebook posts. People searching for posts with this tag, are taken to a page where Moonshine Café and Bar has its presence; thereby increasing the number of views on its Facebook page. Content-reflecting hashtags become more valuable as more and more users start to post it online and it becomes an early result for any hashtag search. An early result not only provides an advantage of determining the positive consumer behavior but also a possibility of becoming a sensational trend on the social media. And the last but not the least is the most traditional form of hashtag i.e. – Call-to-action hashtags.
Content-reflecting hashtags are neither brand specific nor appear to be trending much, but come handy in optimizing contents while searching a particular place, person or event as such. They simply relate to your post content and act as the nearest associated meanings to it. For example, #partyhard, #partytime are two contentreflecting hashtags which denote the jovial state of the person and denotes a particular timeframe i.e. party time. As these hashtags relate with all kinds of party, the generalization is more and brand identity gets missing in them.
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perspective They are meant to promote any specific action among the online community. Higher the number of target audience performing that action, the more it gets visible on the digital media. Marketers generally use this as a very effective tool to build the image of a brand by linking it with a campaign of doing a specific activity and asking users to perform that activity. These users then post the same hashtag and may ask other users to perform that action and re-post it. Hence, the chain continues like a pyramid. And voila! Who is benefitted? Of course the purpose for which it was done. Call-to-action hashtags generally start with a verb and followed by a few words as additional information. Some of the most successful callto-action hashtags circulated on Indian social media are – #NoShaveNovember, #SelfieWithDaughter, #IceBucketChallenge, #PaytmKaro and many more. The core philosophy behind these hashtags is to transform tweets or posts into action and motivate others to follow the same. When these hashtags are implemented in reality, it becomes a word of mouth and spreads a virtual-space movement for a cause.
The recent post on Demonetization by Paytm asks the audience to use its payment app for transacting at petrol-pumps and promotes the same with its famous hashtag #PaytmKaro used for its entire stream of products. The advertisements telecasted on TV and digital media assure commoners not to worry about any excess fee and encourage them to use Paytm for transport, grocery, consumer goods & service center transactions. In the wake of demonetization, Paytm has earned a remarkable market share in India with its appealing call-to-action hashtag advertising named as #PaytmKaro.
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The hashtag #NoShaveNovember is promoted with a view to donate to Matthew Hill Foundation by embracing the beard and moustache and letting it grow unhindered for the entire month of November. The donation raised as an opportunity cost for shaving in the entire month is utilized in educate people, saving lives & aid patients fighting cancer. The campaign gained a lot of momentum on social me-
dia due to the effective call-for-action hashtag, which touched the nerve of youngsters and spread awareness. Call-to-action hashtags ensure a sense of participation and the users feel that they are getting associated to an important cause. When a conducive consumer perception prevails, marketers harness the power of mass public participation to experience a huge surge in their campaign – be it a product promotion, or sales drive or simply an awareness campaign.
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BUILDING A PROFITABLE FASHION BLOG: TRENDS IN DIGITAL MARKETING
By Shivangi Singh Amity Institute of Behavioural and Allied Sciences, Amity University Uttar Pradesh
Venus devotees have much to cheer about. It pays
to have a keen eye for beauty and putting your most fashionable foot forward and how! As the doors for many avenues have opened up all at once by the mere virtue of a click, world has shrunk considerably and the fashion world has wisely taken a cue. Added to it is the portable convenience of smart phones and similar devices, handing in a winning strategy for a business to not just earn money and sell products but to get the customers hooked-on for a 24*7 complete digital entertainment in the form of retail therapy, where they feel free to window shop without guilt or judgement getting in the way. And it all begins with a simple Blog. Web-log or ‘Blog’ can arguably be cited as the best example of ‘Freedom of Expression’, being the platform where anyone can talk about anything; the require-
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ments merely include access to the internet and a supporting device. It came as no surprise, hence, that creative, business-minded and tech-savvy ‘fashionistas’ took to blogging for channelling their passion and brought forth the unique and dynamic field of fashion blogging in all its glory. Today, fashion blogs form the community of most-viewed blogs in the country. Their return-oninvestment, in terms of time, energy and money, is exponential compared to that of a traditional textcentric blog. Soon after these blogs are converted into web domains with URLs and eventually, extended into an online fashion brand or an apparel-accessory store in collaboration with existing online retail chains. Money starts pouring in as the social media following expands and the bloggers are catapulted to fame within
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ion blog, determination towards it and the ability to stick with it through a rocky start and tough times is called for. Maximize Visual Content and SEO: Successful bloggers understand that the web audience has an acute attention span and strategize effectively around this phenomenon. Fashion bloggers typically opt for posting maximum visual content in proportion to text with large font. Basic digital marketing techniques of ‘Search Engine Optimization’ are made use of and so are features like tagging and labelling.
miniscule amount of time. All a fashion blogger essentially requires in order to create a successful fashion website is a clear-cut, well thought out digital marketing strategy. A quick Google search about the ‘top fashion blogs of India’ illuminates the success quotient of blogs by the names, “Stylish By Nature” and “Looking Good Feeling Fab” and a visit to the websites is sure to leave one impressed by the amount of hard work and smart work that goes into carving their niche as top fashion blogs and in the process, attaining several blogging awards, which are listed and elaborated upon in a strategically placed section on the website. Learning from example, it is fairly easy to examine the basic skeleton of a winning digital marketing strategy for a fashion blog. Focus on Regular Delivery of Content and Originality:
Strategic Social Media Marketing: Once the domain name is successfully integrated with the blog portal, it is pivotal for the blogger to increase the web presence of the blog as well as its creator. This is performed by strategic and selective socializing. Social media marketing is the best marketing tool as it is personalized and binds together the best workings of traditional and modern day marketing techniques. Fashion bloggers then create the blog’s Facebook page and Twitter handle and integrate the blog with their Google Plus account. Images are posted by the dozen on Instagram and Pinterest and videos about photo-shoots and upcoming blog posts are uploaded to the blogger’s YouTube channel. The blogger’s LinkedIn account can be used as a onestop space for all these web links, apart from the blog itself.
The foremost step is to pay attention to your brainchild. Best blogs are made by the most committed bloggers, who leave no stone unturned to nurture what they have created and take up the responsibility with all the seriousness. Being regular with posts is a pre-requisite followed by a thorough understanding of all the features of the blog portal being used and by large, maximizing its best usage. Being original is another high criterion for efficient fashion blogging as copy-pasting content or fashion styles are not only unethical but also self depreciating. Before starting with a marketing strategy, it is crucial to create a product worth being marketed and for creating a highly read fash-
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Guest Blogging and Networking within the Blogging Community: Once the social media accounts are set in motion, the blogger can interact with fellow fashion bloggers via various online communities and ensure greater visibility for his/her website. A common digital marketing strategy is to comment on fellow fashion bloggers’ posts in exchange for their ‘Likes’, views and comments.
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the blog with Google Ad Sense ensuring money per click in exchange of giving up a small space on the website to advertisements which match the content of the blog. On most fashion blogs, Google displays advertisements of successful fashion retail chains such as, YepMe.com, Jabong. com, Myntra.com, et.al. On completion of this stage, the website works as a commercial one with its URL, bringing in monetary benefits for the creator. Naturally, the fashion blogger’s subsequent concern is getting maximum clicks, views and followers. Branding:
Guest blogging is another lucrative marketing option in which one blogger invites the other to make a post and promote one’s blog on the other’s website and vice versa. These blogs, categorized as ‘Special Posts’, are then promoted highly on all social networking websites and consequently, garner an increased amount of views being fetched from both the bloggers’ followers. The fashion bloggers’ ecosystem thus creates a co-operative atmosphere which works with the motto, “I succeed, and you succeed”.
The tool which comes in handy now is every marketing enthusiast’s favourite. Branding plays a path-breaking role in the success of a fashion blog functioning on a make or break oscillation. As most content on a fashion blog is visual, fashion bloggers achieve largely by getting a firm grip on Graphic Designing and user-friendly software like, Corel Draw, work well in this situation. Careful branding includes developing a unique style and this is done by making sure all the images carry the website’s name and logo. The header section of the blog is a graphic-design software generated image displaying the name of the blog, its logo and the name of the fashion blogger- content designed strategically for the website’s promotion and enhanced web presence. Strategic branding of a fashion blog also includes writing with a unique style. While some prefer to start the post with a salutation, others prefer to begin with a quote on fashion. It is important to stick to the unique style of writing in order to let the followers imbibe the brand. Maintaining a unique style of the blog, as in its look and feel, basically how it is presented to the viewers, holds a place of importance. While most blog portals offer myriad of templates to choose from, the crème-de-lacrème of fashion blogging develop their own style: a look which appeals to their creative minds. Finalization of exclusive look and feel gives birth to a
Monetizing the Blog: Established web presence guarantees followers and high viewership. Next step in the basic yet elaborate marketing strategy, and one which fetches maximum profits for the blogger, is to connect
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brand. In turn, establishment of a brand paves the way for a triumphant e-commerce store.
ery 10,000 followers on Instagram, they put up a thank you note or a creative graphic image; same goes for increased number of followers of the website, a certain number of views, likes or any other landmark. Success of the blog acts like a glue, bringing more followers and creating a chain of happiness-induced whirl. It has been clearly demonstrated by statistics that celebrating milestones increases viewership be it a blog, television channel or any other digital media. More than anything else, it helps boost up the blogger’s morale as they get ready to set foot into the highly competitive universe of online retailing.
Profitable Product Reviews: A major part of any fashion blog is product reviews. Fashion bloggers often indulge in self promotional activities, online door-to-door campaigning, in a manner of speaking, and ask established fashion retail chains to send them hand-picked bits and pieces from their collection with the purpose of reviewing them, which basically includes posting pictures wherein they have styled those products and making a blog post about the same. This works as a double-edged marketing sword as both the blogger and the retailer get their share of fame through double promotion. It is an intelligent marketing strategy as it covers all social networking websites at once- the blogger gets featured on the retailers much followed website, Facebook page, et.al. while the retail chain gets free promotion and eagerly advances to seek the next opportunity of the same type of marketing through the bloggers’ network.
Sponsored Posts and Tie-Ups: Setting up an online fashion retail store includes high amount of interpersonal networking and tie-ups with major brands. At first, it begins with requesting the followers to place orders with the fashion blog as it provides its brand’s unique apparel, accessory or make-up products and/or services. Once this initiative takes flight, tie-ups come into action. Requests are sent to major retail chains and fellow bloggers to give space to their products and services on different websites. The marketing strategy being whole-heartedly implemented, the collaboration works wonders and establishing own brand is no longer a dream.As with all things fine, the vibrant trend of fashion blogging comes with a flipside. “A finger is cut to save the hand”; literary beauty is cast aside in awe of graphic imagery, words are sparse and often written with poor taste in faulty grammar while images are shot with a DSLR camera and photoshop-ed to perfection. It is a fine example of online guerrilla marketing in which no expense is spared and no social networking website is left behind in order to create a visual fashion experience.
Celebrating Milestones on Social Media: “Nothing succeeds like success” and nothing creates more ripples than happiness. A clever marketing strategy often adopted by the fashion blogging community is to celebrate every milestone. For ev-
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cover story
february 2017
Brand Identity Crisis
Cover Story
During a time of increasing item commoditization and
decision, branding is a simple route for individuals to get through the clutter. Brands are progressively satisfying inMARKETING dividuals’ requirements for connection and identification – BUDGET needs that customary organizations are attempting to meet. As branding can form the deciding factor for purchasing of an item, the marketer should deal with it in the same manner followed by the artisans in their craft. Each brand conveys a picture and has an identity, which ought to be imparted viably to the target group. A brand is a guarantee that the organization can keep. A brand that buyers trust will likewise serve to diminish perceived risk and post-buy cognitive dissonance. It is because of the formation of brand identity and image in the customer’s brain. An association, in this way, through advancement looks to pass on certain identity and image for a brand. Brand identity is the novel arrangement of brand affiliations that the brand strategist tries to make or keep up. These affiliations speak of what the brand stands for and imply an implicit guarantee to the customers. The communication between the company and the consumer regarding brand identity and brand image has often been used interchangeably. Brand identity begins from the
By Suman Sourav
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organization as an organization is in charge of making a differentiated offering. With unique elements the organization tries to distinguish itself by differentiation. Accordingly, the brand strategist has a tendency to make the brand position its identity and image through the communication process. Brand strategists endeavor to guarantee that the brand image of their item is the same as the brand identity. In a sense, the consumers’ discernment about the brand image is exactly what the strategists need the brand to be seen as. Marketing mix strategy assumes an imperative part in building up a brand identity. Through brand identity, an organization tries to pass on its uniqueness and peculiarity to all. Brand identity is made of brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationship, and introduction. But, brand image is the aggregate of the impression that consumer sees from many sources all of which consolidate to shape brand identity. It is the aggregate impression of an item in consumer’s brain. Brand image is an arrangement of affiliation typically sorted out somehow to like it. Brand identity and brand image are fundamental for a solid brand. Brand identity is the creation of managerial activity and brand image is a manifestation of the view of the consumer. In any case, not many brands prevail to strike that balance. There are common traps that frequently happen within
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a brand’s identity as it develops or changes after some time. These traps can frame a kind of identity crisis and if not recognized and tended to can start to have a detrimental affect on how a brand is seen. Many brands and especially youthful brands attempting to set up themselves in their market may at first have a decent or infectious name, or story behind their brand. In any case, for the most part, they have a genuinely little or specific offering. As they do well and develop, they hope to extend or stretch out their products or services, and this is the point at which the inconvenience can begin. The warning signs of brand identity crisis is when people are confused about what a particular brand stands for. Marketers can’t see how their brand is different from the competition – or, worse still, they feel their only option is to copy it. When a brand isn’t sure for whom or what it stands, it’s likely its customers won’t either. The factor that pushes brands towards identity crisis include: Inconsistency: Brand identity crisis arises from not being consistent at every touch point, which confuses consumers and they don’t know what to expect and where to expect from. Not ensuring that the brand has a single “personality” across all the channels used is one of the major force towards brand identity crisis. Doing a BlackBerry: Brand Identity crisis also arises from playing catch-up game in competing markets. BlackBerry played this game in the tablet and mobile market and hired singer Alicia Keys as a creative figure-
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head, then parted ways with her after just one year, “woman-about-town,” resulting in a confused brand which had done little to make BlackBerry’s brand identity of the soap. identity stand out. VIP VIP started selling Carlton and VIP at the same stores. Not conIt was imsidering portant for the impact Carlton of each to have a change: separate Without identity looking at so that what matconsumters the ers undermost to the stand what brand and it stood its customfor. VIP ers, one confused cannot deconsumers cide what by selling needs to be done first, which complicates matters un- VIP, Carlton, and Aristocrat, which was their mass necessarily, and loyal consumers will not know what brand,in the same stores. Also, this leads to the deto expect. crease in sales for the VIP as it was suffering from Not getting the timing right: Consumers want to identity crisis. Moving to handbags didn’t help eiknow when brands are ready, so marketers not get- ther, as it needed to create a distinct identity to beting the timing right when launching anything new come successful. or different results in falling into the trap of overdelivering. GAP In making spinCompanies that off brands like faced Brand Banana Republic Identity crisis and Old Navy, Cinthol GAP made an exCinthol is a traordinary showcontemporary ing with regards brand and was to differentiatlaunched by poing out-of-office sitioning itself wear and minimal as a masculine effort clothing. soap with USP of Be that as it may, protection from the accomplishbody odor. But ment of these soon it realized that it had to experiment by trying out brands appears to have come to the detriment of the new things and coming out with different variants to core GAP offering. GAP was known for innovation be in tune with the changing consumer trends. With in its products, but with a campaign like “Dress Northe fast changing times and the growing power of to- mal” and unrelated offering against its core compeday’s women, Cinthol was repositioned to appeal to tency, it faced a classical example of an identity crisis the women. Cinthol has flip-flopped between the ma- as target consumers were not able to decide what the cho male, the bubbly fresh family, and the confident brand stood for.
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JC Penney The JCPenney brand has suffered mightily in the last couple of decades. A key culprit in this decline is its decidedly mixed marketing messages, from multiple taglines suggesting different positioning to introducing private labels like Martha Stewart Living wares and Walt Disney products. Also, the “Everyday” pricing structure didn’t help much either. JC Penney faced a brand identity crisis: was it reasonably priced, offbrand clothing for the family, or was it the Walmart of department stores, with something like “every day low prices” on pretty much everything? RadioShack RadioShack has tried its hand in just about every possible combination of consumer electronics one can imagine. From PCs to walkie-talkies and electronic MARKETING repairs to remote telephones, RadioShack has dunked BUDGET its toe into a wide range of waters. The issue was that consumers were just confounded by this rotating entryway of business identities.
Does one go to RadioShack for MP3 players and TVs or for cell phones and stereo wire or radios? When someone thinks of buying something at RadioShack, the answer doesn’t strike immediately, and when it does, it’s a gray area at best. Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble, is a large retail bookseller in the United States. It evidently let its eyes drop from the opposition sufficiently long to totally miss the coming of quick-fire online orders and digital reading devices. Playing catch-up was difficult, so they started operating in board games, toys, and home decor items. But, Barnes & Noble, attempting to dilute its core offering with the bevy of other products, is now confusing the much pursued consumers in a hyper-competitive marketplace.
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vartalaap
february 2017
VARTALAAP An Interview with Mr. Kanishk Kumar Abhishek Kanishk is an entrepreneurship & strategy evangelist with a diverse executive experience across businesses and cultures. Currently, Kanishk is leading the Business Development initiative for Flock– a Direct-I Company in the North India, as Senior Associate Director, Enterprise Sales. Kanishk has been closely associated with the Product firms throughout his professional assisting both International & National clients with their Business Requirements. He started his journey with Zycus, and subsequently forayed into the Start-Up ecosystem with his stint with Zostel & Zo Rooms A thought leader, he speaks at various industry forums, and contributes to editorials for his views on Start-Ups & Technology trends. Gifted with a big-picture vision and a can-do attitude, he enjoys translating an idea into achievement and a powerful entity.
Flock by Direct-I
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Senior Associate Director
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vartalaap
february 2017
“ It’s never an individual who is
“
successful, but the team.
Ability to Build Lasting Relationships Markathon:What does it take to be a suc- - - Social Influencing Capability with a cessful sales executive? Vision Accurate Forecasting Success is a very relative term, I see an Effi- - cient sales executive to have a constant zeal to learn & update their knowledge arsenal with respect to their potential clients and not just with news.
Lastly, it’s never an individual who is successful but the team. A successful sales executive wins as a Team and not as an individual. It’s never a client you acquire but a We must change the perception of tradition- friend you win for life. al sales executive trying to sell a product/ commodity to an Informed Business Advi- Markathon: What are the challenges faced sor who understands the needs of his/her when it comes to B2B selling? consumers. A productive sales consultant achieving/over-achieving his targets in to- B2B Sales ecosystem has a completely difday’s times will be the one who is a social ferent set of requirements, deliverables & influencer, using technology to its best to challenges viz-a-viz a traditional B2C Sales connect the missing dots. Thanks to the Cycle. The consumer is the organization penetration of the social media and multi- which have sophisticated & detailed protude of digital channels, we have educated cesses in place to execute the needs. The consumers today. These consumers at times Sales Cycle tends to be longer & complex in are much more aware of the product/com- a B2B scenario owing to multiple stakeholdmodity & the peers in the space being intro- ers and their understanding of the products duced to them, even before you make your being offered. Understanding the right set first connect with them. The connect can be of stakeholders and then working your way furthered by analyzing & understanding the to understand the potential mental blocks they might have during the sales cycle is the data that resides within the CRM tools. need of the hour. The marketing channels The ABC (Always Be Closing) approach must are limited and making connect with the give way to ABH (Always Be Helping) in 2017 stakeholders without trespassing their perand beyond. A successful sale cum busi- sonal space is one of the biggest restrictions ness advisor must work diligently to bring one could come across. I believe one also a smile to their clients and transform their needs to make perfect sense of the abunbusiness challenges. An awesome mentor is dant data to make a possible human conthe cherry on the cake to guide one through nect with the potential consumers. the journey. Few of the traits displayed by We need to subscribe to just one golden rule, No One Wants to Be Sold Anything. An an effective sales advisor: effective Business Development team is the one which ensures the solutions/sugges- Constant zeal to Learn - Holistic Understanding of the Market tions they provide to the consumers should
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vartalaap
february 2017
impact the efficiency & topline of the orga- While we have our peers like Slack working in nization. similar domains, we at Flock are solving an imperative business challenge of teams “to Markathon:What are the key competencies Communicate Efficiently” in a unique way. of Directi, how does a customer relates to Di- With Technology at the Heart of Business recti when he purchases “Flock”, what is the for Direct-I, we understand the consumer cross connection? expectations from a product like Flock. It must be intuitive enough to be used by all Direct-I has had a beautiful and an event- and one. I personally have witnessed some ful journey which the audience connect of our respected peers shut shop and alter with. All Direct-I Businesses are bootstrapped, with none of the portfolio companies having any external debts/ investments. We have had phenomenal success with BigRock & Media. Net which put us on top of the Indian Startup ecosystem. Bhavin & Divyank Truakhia serve as the poster boys for the Startup community, not raising a single dollar in VC fund and creating $1.4 Bn Cash Rich enterprise. We at Direct-I are employing over 1500 employees their course in their journey. across 8 cities. The company has invested in multiple category leading global brands We are Nimble, Agile & Responsive to Our across business areas as diverse as web Customer’s Needs. We work with our clients presence (domains, hosting, cloud-infra- and understand their business needs as we structure), online advertising, communica- suggest some hacks to ease their day to day tion & collaboration (voice and messaging) tasks. Flock has been designed beautifully and payments (benefits and compensation). to be a smart messaging application for the “Intelligent People, Uncommon Ideas” the masses, with a very Slick Interface and yet tagline says it all. packed with a lot of functionalities to facilitate a usual day’s task. We have a simple yet Positioning Flock as a part of the Direct-I robust Flock Development platform which Group companies brings a lot of credibility can be used to Create & Configure Integra& trust with it, the 2 most important attri- tions with some of the applications you use butes needed to build a strong foundation very often. for a lasting relationship. Having silently served the industry for over 18 years, we When it comes to the True Value that needs understand the pulse of the industry which to be drawn out of the implementation of enabled us to bring Flock closer to the con- such an application, we ensure we work sumer needs & expectations. We are one of with our clients and their teams educating the most innovative companies in the world them on how Flock could be best used to asworking on challenging ideas and bringing sist them in their day-to-day transactions. them to life. Thereby, eliminating the dependency of the end users to switch on multiple platforms to Markathon:Who you see as the closest com- communicate. petitor to your product “Flock”, what strategies do you follow to gain a higher market Markathon: How is the pricing of a product share in such competitive scenario? like “Flock” done, how do you convert customers who use the free platform to buy the paid
More than 80% of the buying process is expected to occur without any direct human-to-human interaction by the year 2020.
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vartalaap
february 2017
ing Flock get the best tech & product support to identify areas to better structure & Unlike yesteryears, we are staring at the streamline the communication channels. Freemium SaaS economy wherein more and more software products are being offered at Markathon: Young MBA graduates in India aspire for roles a Freemium level. A dein marketing cade ago, there were over sales, limited options to exwhat is your plore when it came to view on this technology solutions segmentaand the time investtion? ed in the implementation of the softMore than ware products. Just 80% of the buya couple of years ago, a lot of emphasis was given to the behind ing process is expected to occur without any the firewall implementation of the software direct human-to-human interaction by the solutions. When we fast forward to present year 2020. day scenario, I witness an openness and ac- There has been a great divide between the ceptance of the industry to the SaaS model marketing & sales teams on the said segof software deployment. We are in the era mentation of roles. Having said that, I believe where we are witnessing a lateral shift of the in the true impact technology will create to typical service engagement of One-Time Im- enhance the connect with the audience. It is plementation & Annual Maintenance Con- but imperative for both the teams to work in tracts give way to a more flexible monthly conjunction to achieve the desired results. subscription fees. The consumer today is Long gone is the era, where the two teams in complete control of the scenario and de- used to work in silos. The organization that mands the best service from the provider, will lead the revenue curve will have a team unlike the yester-days of sticking around which shares the KPI’s. In fact, in Direct-I with a poor service provider because of the we are setting the perfect example wherein the Marketing teams come together to conhuge costs incurred already. nect with the clients and the Sales teams Flock is a simple, intuitive, effortless to im- work in tandem with the Marketing team, plement, communication platform and Free to leverage the Social Media channels and to use! We are the flag-bearers of the Free- instantly connect with the potential conmium model with little/no cost of consumer sumers. In today’s times, we need more of acquisition. The product has a natural con- Business Advisors who can connect with nect and stickiness with its audience. We the larger audience and influence the same want our customers to first understand the with their thoughts. These influencers need value Flock brings on the table even before to have a sound understanding of technolthey think of any underlying cost with the ogy channels to best leverage the same to product. We have come up with some nomi- drive revenue for the organization. nal subscription plans for the Enterprise feature requests which are placed at the As per the conflict of Marketing over Sales, my two cents for the MBA candidates would comfort of the end user. be to take a holistic approach and work As we bring to life a Freemium model, we with just one goal “Drive Growth, and just are constantly engaged with our clients and do whatever it takes to sell the product.” chalk out a 120-day success journey. Dur- The teams must work as one to achieve the ing the course, we ensure all the teams us- Best results. services?
Technology is best only when.. it brings PEOPLE together!
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eye2eye
february 2017
ARE SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE FEMINISM, LGBT RIGHTS ETC. BEING EXPLOITED BY BRANDS FOR MARKETING? Arpita Nandy JBIMS
Ritika Bansal IMI,New Delhi
Today, the only way to create differentiation is when brands target peoples’ mindsets emotionally along with the functional proposition. Unlike the advertisements of 90s and early 2000s, where only men in media were portrayed as active and having leadership skills, adventurous and independent leading to gender stereotyping; today’s advertisements challenge traditional thinking in order to eradicate narrow-minded thought processes. Myntra’s Bold is Beautiful series for its in-house brand Anouk highlights the issues of single parenting, eveteasing, partner selection and gender discrimination at workplace. Dabur Vatika’s Brave and Beautiful demolishes the stereotypical idea of beauty; Havells’ Respect Women series focusses on the idea that women’s space is not restricted to the kitchen; Tanishq’s “Nilofer” highlights female entrepreneurship and Hyundai’s Life is Brilliant and Ariel’s Share the Load advertisements aim to highlight the perfect work-life balance that the present generation couple needs to maintain. Importance of Anouk’s advertisement of partner selection cannot be overplayed especially in a country where homosexuality remains illegal as per Section 377 of Indian Penal Code. LGBTs face ample problems in India which are not faced by non-LGBTs. Whenever brands are marketed around the issues of equality in every field irrespective of gender, the advertisement ensures that the issue is not lost behind the brand advertised. Some outliers like Fair and Lovely focus on facial beauty exploiting “feminism” concept but most brands do not. They utilize “feminism and LGBT rights” concept but don’t exploit it, as the social impact created; indicated by the viral reach and shares of these advertisements cannot be measured by amount of revenues that the brands generate for themselves.
When Airtel launched its Boss TVC The Smartphone Network Ad in 2014, leveraging its data plans, smartphone usage as well as women empowerment it received both flak and appreciation. Though it correctly displayed its fundamental theme of valuing relationships, it ended up showing the female protagonist working in the kitchen even after a long day at office AND it still was able to influence Indian customers. What if the advertisement had been vice-versa i.e. the husband had been the boss and the wife sub-ordinate? This advertisement is an example of the fact that with time brands continuously try to leverage the issue in hand, may make an impact but are just not always right in portraying the issue correctly. Today, with over 460 million internet users alone in India, we witness heightened awareness of social issues owing to social media’s unfailing strong presence. Social Media gave the common people a medium to be heard on, to speak out their minds, and share content and views just with the click of a button. As marketers, the opportunity was in utilizing the new channel of digital media along with the focus on content creation for the youngsters. Since the youth resonated with LGBT rights, feminism, abolishing child labor, marketers in an attempt to leverage the channel, sensitive awareness of people have ended up exploiting the social issues. Be it Dabur Honey’s Jealous Husband ad, Kellogg’s shut down fat talk ad, Airtel’s Boss TVC all in an attempt to address the social issue have bruised it instead.
Topic for the next issue: “Are luxury brands striking the right chord in India?” Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 15th March 2017. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry. Winners will receive a prize money of Rs. 500 each!
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eye2eye
july 2015
By RAGHAV DHANUKA IIM Shillong The most popular TV network across the globe, Music Television or MTV was first officially broadcasted on 1st August, 1981 in the United States of America. It has a presence in more than 166 countries across 400 million households. The MTV logo symbolized one of the initial or potential impacts of shifting from print media to visual media because of the animated identity that it provided. The reason behind the logo change is usually rebranding or modernization to adapt to the changing culture and we shall see how the MTV logo has successfully modernized its avatar and how the previous logos reflected the ethos of those eras.
ality shows. This is not just true of USA but also for India where a number of reality shows are being broadcasted on MTV although all are targeted towards the youth.
1981-2010
1980 Before the official launch on 1981, MTV was supposed to be called The Music Channel and the above logo was created by Manhattan Design in 1980 in collaboration with the creative director of the company, Fred Seibert. But finally the name was shortened to MTV. After brainstorming on a variety of music notes and symbols for the logo they started fiddling with the lette rs M, T and V creating graffiti out of their combinations.
Although it may look refreshing, a strategic change in the 2010 logo is that the size has become wider and fatter. Perhaps a symbol of the wider network, the main reason behind this is to accommodate better imagery by widening the aspect ratio so that more images can be displayed in its output.
During the 1990s the content broadcasted started including music shows and award ceremonies and also commemorating major days, events and festivities. The design of the logo was such that it could easily depict such emotions and symbols. Who said that logos were nothing but static objects made to stand for a corporate identity. MTV showed that logos could speak and act, break and hark, get decorated and shattered and but still revive. The MTV logo was a mascot, an animated character, a joker and a spokesperson, a kid and an adult. It tried to keep pace with the content being aired, subtly complementing the content. It shattered the very notion of logos and became a cult in itself. After 29 years, the logo finally underwent a change in its design. The caption Music Television was removed Another reason for this widening was to adjust after 2010 from the logo because the brand had to the HDTV format so the trailing end of the ‘V’ eventually expanded into other genres to include re- letter was chopped and the bottom end of the entire logo was tailored.
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AD-dicted AD-dicted
december february 2013 2017
By SUMAN SOURAV IIM Shillong PRODUCT: Cadbury Choclairs Gold PRODUCT: Coca Cola
POSITIONING:Double chocolate blast with just two rupees CREATIVE AGECY: L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi
POSITIONING: Taste The Feeling
CATCH
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube. watch?v=AlFNsjVKVQ4
CREATIVE AGENCY: Taproot Dentsu
R
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=6Mip2i22Csw
com/
CONCEPT: The TVC features two central characters, the younger brother – the protagonist and his elder brother, who share a fun-filled, mischievous relationship with each other. The younger brother is always on the lookout for chances to get his elder brother into trouble. But the elder brother always has that one effective counter attack in his pocket - the double chocolatey Cadbury Choclairs Gold. Each time the younger brother opens his mouth to complain, the elder brother tosses an irresistible Cadbury Choclairs Gold to shut him up. With rich visuals of a double chocolatey blast, the entire film will leave your taste buds craving for a Cadbury Choclairs Gold.
CONCEPT: Entering a supermarket, Siddharth Malhotra romances the feeling of drinking Coca-Cola which catches the attention of the female cashier. Watching him enjoying his ice cold Coca-Cola, the cashier gets lost in her thoughts and gets caught off guard when Malhotra comes in front of her. To cover up she spontaneously tells him that he is their lucky customer and has won a Coca-Cola with the condition that he has to drink it there itself. As he gulps his Coca-Cola, the cashier continues to watch him in awe.
MISS VERDICT: Miss
VERDICT: Catch Markathon believes that the advertisement is enriched by deep consumer insights “Mooh bandh rakhne ka double lagega”, which celebrates the power of the delicious double chocolate blast inside Cadbury Choclairs Gold. The relationship between two brothers shown in the ad is so rich, it gives a pleasure to watch Chugli-khor little brother who believes that he has the upper hand, when in fact older brother had the perfect “mooh bandh” solution in the palm of his! With the brand proposition of ‘Mooh Bandh Rakhne Ka Double Lagega,’ the whole idea of the campaign is to bring out the richness of the double chocolatey Cadbury Choclairs Gold emphasizing on more value at the price point of just two rupees. This versatile mix of emotions makes the commercial engaging, endearing and a pleasure to watch.
MARKATHON
By RAVITEJ VADLAMANI IIM Shillong
Team Markathon feels that the concept of getting attracted to someone purely on basis of what they are drinking is a little far fetched. The idea of the advertisement to showcase coca cola as an aspirational product has failed in our opinion. Although the positioning statement of “ Taste the feeling “ is creative, we don’t believe it connects with what the brand has stood for over the years which is to open happiness. Overall, the advertisement was mediocre in comparison to some of its more illustrious predecessors.
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fun corner
february 2017
AKSHAY SETH IIM Shillong
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brand story
february 2017
Brand Story Arnav khanna IIM Shillong
Tanishq
When Titan Industries came out with their Tanishq range of gold watches and jewellery in 1995, they did not imagine the scale this brand would expand to. Today, Tanishq has a very stronghold in the Indian Jewellery market. It created the trend of branded jewellery, which almost a decade ago was nowhere to be found. Although it stumbled in its initial years, Tanishq cleared all the hurdles that came its way to become number one in branded jewellery segment. Now, after 11 years since its inception Tanishq knows the pulse of its customers and has a huge portfolio of jewellery collections for every occasion. In fact in 2011, keeping up with the rapid urbanisation and the changing lifestyles of youth Tanishq came up with its own sub-brand workwear jewellery named Mia. Let’s look what the journey has actually been for Tanishq
Initial Downturns
When Tanishq entered the market, jewellery was perceived as an asset rather than a fashion accessory. Most Indians at that time purchased gold from their local retailers. These retailers played the role of family jewellers whom they trusted implicitly for generations. This perception and trust was very deep rooted and required huge efforts in terms of product proposition and retailing. Also, Tanishq found it hard to catch the pulse of the market with its western designs with focus on the western market. Indians preferred heavy and traditional designs over sleek and contemporary designs. Being branded as western and elitist, Tanishq faced a lean patch for the first three years.
Turning point:
Realising its gaps in product positioning and retailing, Tanishq decided to shift its focus towards the domestic market. It changed its design and added 22 and 24 carat jewellery from its initial offering of only 18 carat. Also, Tanishq recognised the ethnicity of the Indian market where every region had its own culture and traditions. The festivals were targeted according to regions - Durga Puja in West Bengal, Onam in Kerala and Diwali in the North. Also, Tanishq started stocking typical designs from different parts of India. After testing the design in the market Tanishq kept only the popular ones and supplied it to different markets. To gain an edge over tradi-
MARKATHON
tional jewellers, Tanishq introduced novel methods of testing gold purity such as X-ray Karatmeters instead of traditional methods such as touchstone. Another point that worked in favour of Tanishq was the standardisation in gold rates throughout India in its showrooms due to its single manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
Advertising
Tanishq has been really creative with its advertisements. Initially, Tanishq also approached the market with the rationale of affordable jewellery and to attract customers give discounts on special occasions. Wedding is an occasion of equivalent importance of any major festival in India, especially the role that jewellery plays in the life of the bride. Overall, the ads portray the relation a woman has with her jewellery. It captures the sparkle in the eye of every Indian woman when she sees a beautiful gold necklace or a diamond ring. Be it a gift from a brother on Raksha Bandhan or a special anniversary present for the wife.
Tanishq Now
With changing times Tanishq has transformed itself with its customer centric approaches. Now, that Tanishq has a substantial market base in India, it is trying to diversify its offering by creating various collection of designs for every occasion and purpose. They have Mia for working women looking for office wear jewellery, Queen of Hearts, diamonds inspired by royalty, Niloufer for women wanting the classic beauty for everyday use. Other important collections are Shibham, Zuhur, Inara and the latest being Rivah. Being one of the brands from the house of TATA, Tanishq has also been working towards social responsibility and has gone one step further to break stereotypes. Be it a mother getting ready for her marriage or an office going woman facing the world boldly and at the same time being #bestAtWork. Tanishq, as a brand has evolved with time. But in this ever changing world, consumer preferences changing with time and regions.
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By Suman Sourav | IIM Shillong Mea ame launches Organic smokes Conceptualized and launched by three brothers – Piyush, Gaurav, and Nitin Chhabra – Organic Smokes takes Ayurveda one level up, making Ayurvedic cigarettes. It is an Ayurvedic organic therapy for smokers. The product is available in online mode only, and it is the first time the company is going ahead in the Indian market. It is a very innovative product with a unique positioning of solving a major problem of youngsters who are working, smoking and stressed. The company wants to compete with ITC having an ultimate aim to help people get rid of smoking tobacco.
Dove launches baby personal care products After Dabur and Patanjali Ayurved, it’s the remarkable entry of HUL’s Dove brand into baby personal care products. HUL feels that despite the huge number of children born in the India every year, the baby care segment has not been tapped to its potential yet, that’s why HUL aims to challenge the dominance of existing top players like Johnson&Johnson (J&J) in the Rs. 4,000 crore market. Baby Dove is available on Modern Trade, General Trade and Chemist channels apart from E-commerce portals and all the products are moderately priced between Rs.27 to Rs.210.
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Uber launches UberHIRE in 9 Indian cities After Ola, US-based cab aggregator Uber has now launched ‘UberHIRE’ in nine Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune that will allow users to hire a cab for up to 12 hours. UberHIRE is a timebased offering that allows users to make trips punctuated with multiple stop overs. Uber’s local rival Ola had launched a similar service ‘Rentals’ last year, which is available in 85 Indian cities. With the Positioning of addressing the unique commuting needs of riders in India, especially that of tourists, business travelers, senior
HP launches ‘Omen’ range of notebooks, desktop for gaming enthusiasts. PC maker HP launched its ’Omen’ range of notebooks and a desktop to tap the growing community of gaming enthusiasts in the country. Priced at Rs. 79,990 and Rs. 1.40,000 lakh, HP’s range will compete with the likes of Asus and BenQ, who have a strong lineup of gaming devices. HP is looking to leverage the Indian gaming market which has been expanding and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 percent in next five years. The positioning of the product is unique as it offers the features gamers rely on — power for battling
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digi-tally
february 2017
Our Social Media Pages have been buzzing all month. Check out some of our posts here!
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digi-tally
MARKATHON
february 2017
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1)How a 9 year old girl forced Dabur to change juice
packaging over gender discrimination
Women all over the world are demanding equality, they are protesting and resisting hoping that someday men and women would get equal opportunities. But this story of a Guwahati school girl is perhaps an indication that change is actually happening Link: : http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/02/16/how-a-9-year-old-girl-forced-dabur-to-change-juice-packaging-ove/
1)
2)
Snapchat thinks its ad are better than TV,here's why
Snap looked around at its digital video competitors and concluded that the existing video ad options were horrible. So, they wanted to figure out how to capture the entertainment and creativity of television advertisements and the article talks about how they did it. Link:http://www.businessinsider.in/snapchat-thinks-its-ads-are-better-than-tv-heres-why/articleshow/57009516.cms
3)
6 lessons from Donal Trump’s winning marketing manual
Six important lessons from Trump's brand marketing playbook to beat the odds and overcome powerful competitors including giving consumer a job to pursue forgotten consumer. All the lesson that a today’s marketer needs to know. Link: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/donald-trump-s-winning-marketing-manu-
4) Customer loyalty is overrated Marketers spend a lot of time—and money—trying to delight consumers with ever-fresher, ever-more-appealing products. But their customers, it turns out, make most purchase decisions almost automatically. They look for what’s familiar and easy to buy. The article deciphers science behind Consumer decision. Link: https://hbr.org/2017/01/customer-loyalty-is-overrated
5) Internet economy: Reality check at start-ups While the number of Internet users is growing rapidly, the number transacting online isn’t increasing at the same rate, raising concerns whether Internet firms can attract enough new paying users to back investors’ rosy projections. The article gives a reality check. Link: http://www.livemint.com/Companies/zIAQXIug7KISsp7O4vc9KP/Internet-economy-Reality-check-at-startups.html
february 2017
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Articles are invited
“Best Article”: Subhra Halder& Parth Harish | IIM Lucknow They receive a cash prize of Rs.1000 & a letter of appreciation We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be absolutely anything related to the world of marketing but it should be an original work that is not published elsewhere. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes: •Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena. •Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing. •Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of marketing strategy of any company or an event. Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx. The last date of receiving all entries is 15th March, 2017. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAME(S)>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.
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