The month of October has been the month of festivals with Durga Puja and Diwali being celebrated with high spirit and a lot of energy. We wish all our readers a lot of happiness and warmth in their lives.
the best article. Further, we have with us the COO of Zopnow.com Mr. Sunit Saraswat sharing his experience with us.
We would like to congratulate Ayushi Chugh, MICA Ahmedabad, whose article ‘The Power of Mobile Marketing Automation’ got selected as the cover story for this month. We congratulate the winner of our column Perspective whose article ‘Can USA be the Next Big Market for Cricket?’ got selected as
So, thank you for being a part of Markathon and we hope you will continue to enjoy our magazine.
In this edition of Brand Story, we bring to you the story of Patanjali and how it In the last two months we have seen is has become a force to reckon with. In a lot of new things in the marketing logoistic we bring to you how Microsoft world like the innovative packaging of changes its logo over the years. Bisleri, unique launch by Jeep at the Umaid Bhawan Palace and many more. Lastly, we are extremely thankful to New stories and advertisements that all our readers for the involvement made an impact or couldn’t create the throughout the year. You inspire us to continue to do what we love. kind of impact they wanted to.
Cheers, Team Markathon
“The One who “
is always politically correct
E D I T O R
Of The Month
Piyush Jain AND HIS TEAM..!!
Sharad
Astha
Daksh
Harsha
Akshay
Shubham
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Andar Ki Baat Perspective
Cover Story The Power of Mobile Marketing Automation 06 Ayushi Chugh |
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USA:
The Next Big Market for Cricket? K Sathya Narayanan | IMT Ghaziabad
MICA Ahmedabad
Eye 2 Eye
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Is associating your brand with sports a win-win or too niche a proposition?
Bhawana Aggarwal
Sahil Bhasin
CBSA Landran
NMIMS Mumbai
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Vartalaap Mr. Sunil Saraswat Chief Operating Officer ZopNow.com
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Interviewed By: Harsha Daga & Piyush Jain | IIM Shillong IIM Shillong
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Andar Ki Baat SpeciaLs
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AD-dicted
Catch & Miss advertisements of the month Sharad Srinivasan & Shashank Patel | IIM Shillong
Jab They Failed
Why did ZUNE not work for Microsoft? Daksh Bhagat | IIM Shillong
Logoistic 17 What does the MICROSOFT logo signify? Shubham Shukla | IIM Shillong Marketing Gyan
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Brand Story A look at what PATANJALI has been through Nishiggandha Kerure |
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Fun Corner
To get the brain tickling Akshay Seth | IIM Shillong
Updates
Fresh from the Marketing World Harsha Daga | IIM Shillong
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perspective
I always felt the USA was big market, a lot of subcontinent people stay here, not only Indians
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USA:
he 4Cs which most of the Indians associate themselves with are- Cricket, Cinema, Culture and Community. Is there a link between these Cs? If one closely introspects, Cricket has had a significant impact on the other three Cs. Cricket has been instrumental in connecting India’s culturally diverse community. ‘Cricket is our Religion, Sachin is Our God’, is a mantra which has stuck a chord among millions of die-hard fans in the country. Though Cinema has also had a share in its attempt to unify the nation, its success has been limited because of language and cultural barriers. However, the marriage of Cricket with Cinema in the form of Indian Premier League has led to creation a new wave of entertainment not only in India but across the globe.
The next big market for Cricket?
Thanks to the shortest version of the game or the T20 format, there is a fundamental change in the way the game is being marketed and taken to the fans. Today’s cricket provides viewers with something called as ‘Cricketainment’, where cricket meets entertainment. IPL was copied from the Club This has changed the game from being called ‘A Gentleman’s game’ to a game which is no longer gentle. The classical ‘Englishman’s applause’ in response to a boundary or a
By K Sathya Narayanan IMT GHAZIABAD
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- M S Dhoni Indian Cricket Captain
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perspective
wicket is being replaced with beautiful cheerleaders dancing to entertain the crowd and add more color to the game. Can this new form of cricket make its way into the USA, a market which it has always found difficult to penetrate? What should be the role of the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) and International Cricket Council (ICC)? If one looks into the problem at hand from a marketer’s perspective one can rephrase these questions as, ’How do I market a new product in a relatively untapped (though existing) geography?’ Why have the earlier versions of the product (other formats of Cricket) failed to capture the market share?’ Before attempting to answer these questions, a dive into history is necessary.
History of Cricket in USA Cricket in USA has seen many ups and downs. The history of cricket in the country dates back to 1844 when the first international cricket played between USA and Canada. With the emergence of club cricket in places like Philadelphia, New York, Hartford and Boston, the game had gained huge popularity. But after Civil War and World War I, baseball dominated cricket and become much more popular. Though perceived as a children’s sport in its ester years, baseball capitalized on the need for recreation, especially among the US army. The game did not need pitches to be maintained nor did it take several days for completion of a match. Though the coming years saw international teams like Pakistan and Australia touring the USA to play matches, it was only in the
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perspective year 1961 that the United States of America Cricket Association(USACA), a centralized governing body for cricket in the nation, came into existence. After this the next significant landmark was achieved in 1965 when the nation was admitted into the ICC as an associate member nation. After almost 4 decades in 2004, the USA national team qualified for one top international tournaments, the ICC Cham-
ing Baseball rated as their favorite sport. Over the years, both these sports have been consistently maintaining nearly half of the viewership for sports. College football, NFL, NBA and Ice Hockey are having were similar viewership of about 7% on an average. Though Cricket as a game is more than 2 centuries older when compared to these sports, doesn’t even have 1% viewership.
pions trophy. The team played its first two international ODI matches against Australia and New Zealand.
Why has Cricket failed to capture the mindshare of the US audience? The reason behind this is that Americans do not like things to be forced upon them. Be it driving or electrical systems, the Americans have always developed unique conventions for even most basic day to day applications. While UK and many other Commonwealth economies followed the concept of left side driving, USA pioneered right side driving.
The USACA has been facing multiple suspensions from ICC right from 2005 due to a number of issues which has created a major roadblock in promoting the game in the country. The previous Chairman of ICC, Mr. N Srinivasan remarked,” The country has tremendous potential but because of governance, financial and cricketing challenges, the opportunity to grow the game is not being properly nurtured”. Can the T20 cricket packaged and marketed to suit consumer preferences a solution to nurture and grow the game? How to gain the viewership share from already established games in the country? What are the exiting consumer preferences?
The nature of switch position is another example where of opposite effects are observed in UK (up means off and down means on) and USA (down means off and up means on). In the context of sports also, Americans have always taken pride in viewing and participating in sports such as American Football and Baseball, which they have birthed and groomed. This attitude has made them averse to other internationally acclaimed sports such as Cricket and Soccer which have originated in other parts of the world. Does it mean Cricket can never penetrate the US market?
Existing Consumer Preferences According to Harris Poll study in 2014, 32% of the respondents rated American Football as their most favorite sport followed by 16% of respondents rat-
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perspective 20-20 Cricket: A new offering
was conducted with an objective to popularize the sport among the Americans. Recently, six matches in Americans have always found it difficult to embrace the Caribbean Premier League(CPL) and two 20-20 the concept of a tie. Playing for 5 days (Test cricket) internationals between India and West Indies have been played in Florida at the Central Broward Park, a stadium constructed primarily to host international cricket matches. The Indian Cricket captain MS Dhoni, in a press release remarked,” As far as effort is concerned, I always felt the USA was big market, a lot of sub-continent people stay here, not only Indians”. Though the statement may be true in a sense that USA does have a sizable number of people from sub-continents and international teams playing cricket in or 6-7 hours (ODI cricket) and ending sometimes with the US does attract people from cricket watching dino outcome has been a chief reason that has made aspora, the existing strategies do not have a great pothem averse towards the game. As a matter of fact, tential to attract a US national, who may be an alien the American psyche cannot stand long attention spans. None of the top viewed games by the US nationals last for more than three hours. T20 cricket overcomes the problems faced by the older formats, both in terms of time and outcome. Marketing the newer format and its value proposition will play a vital role in determining the success of acceptance and penetration of cricket in the country. Mr. Tom Geoghegan, a reputed journalist, in an article in the BBC magazine explains,” If Twenty20 cricket is marketed properly and fans, television and sponsors embrace it, we could see the sport of cricket becoming the next great sport in the US.”
to this new concept of cricket. In other words, for cricket to fully tap into the US market, efforts should be made to attract the nationals of that market. The following may be some marketing strategies for ICC and USACA:
ICC’s existing marketing strategies
1. Promoting Cricket in Schools and Universities
ICC, in coordination with the other cricketing boards, has been making efforts to tap into the US market. In November 2015, an All- Star Cricket Series was conducted in iconic baseball stadiums of New York, Los Angeles and Houston. The series featured legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne and
Games like American Football, Basketball and Baseball have established their prominence through many School and University level leagues and tournaments. Youngsters were the prime targets for these sports and they played a significant role as INFLUENCERS for the adults. Unless the game of cricket
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perspective is promoted among youngsters, the game cannot find a success. Traditionally, American national cricket side has always has always constituted of expatriates from the Asian economies. Thus, the kids have a never had a local star to idolize and look up to. 2. Creating 20-20 Leagues One way to create local stars is to create league tournaments. What Club cricket does is that it will create a platform to learn the nuances of the game. A model in the similar lines of other cricketing leagues across the world has to be emulated which involves the participation internationally acclaimed cricketers along with youngsters from the country. Once this is done,
et can leverage on the popularity of baseball. Exhibition matches between an All-star Baseball team and national cricket team is bound to get people excited. The ease in the rules of cricket compared to baseball will give the top batsmen an opportunity to demonstrate their run-making prowess and impress the fans. 5. Check on pricing Price of the tickets for the matches is one factor where the USACA or the ICC has to be cautious on while planning Exhibition, Club or International matches. In the All-Star Cricket matches held in November 2015, the minimum ticket price was as high as USD 50. As a result, the tickets sold for the series did not reach even near a sellout, despite marketing for the event was done on the lines of ‘Featuring Cricket’s All Time Legends’. With popular sports like baseball charging not more than USD 55 on an average (highest average ticket price USD 52.34 for Red Sox team for 2015 season), pricing the lowest ticket at USD 50 for a far less popular game is a grave mistake to commit!
the Leagues can be broadcasted on Television. Gain- 6. Shorter Formats: 5 or 10 Over games ing viewership will take its time, more the people are exposed to the new format more is the probability for If we take a look at Ansoff’s matrix, for an existing market and a new product, Product development gaining a larger viewership. is the right strategy to adopt. Since Americans have always been inclined towards low-scoring games, 3. Attracting Sponsors new versions of the game (product in this case) in a Americans have always loved statistics and advertise- shorter format for 10 or 5 overs will make it similar ments. A game like cricket has a better scope for ad- to baseball, which has traditionally been a game favertising commercials when compared to other sports vorable to bowlers and low-scoring in nature. like Basketball or American Soccer as the frequency of advertisements is high because of the game’s format Conclusion (as commercials can be aired in between every over). This idea can be used while pitching in for the spon- Sustained efforts are required in areas mentioned sors. Attracting sponsors is crucial for the game for above for making the game popular in the USA. getting required finances for player fee and develop- Small milestones need to be set up before attempting infrastructure. The more the number of sponsors ing to penetrate into the entire market. Can USA be entering the game will increase the number of people the next big market for cricket? The outlook for the game in USA has never been so promising but it is taking up cricket both as a passion and profession. too early to comment! 4. Leveraging Popularity of Baseball Since game of baseball is immensely popular and is similar to the manner in which Cricket is played, crick-
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cover story
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The Power of Mobile Marketing Automation
Cover Story
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here are 2.6 billion smartphone users on the planet toMARKETING day, and in less than five years there will be 5.1 billion. And BUDGET that means mobile phone is one of the most powerful chan-
nels which brands have got in their marketing tool box. With this exponential growth projections for next 5 years, it will be a cardinal sin for any new age marketer to ignore the power and reach of Mobile Marketing Automation. To most people, it sounds like three of the most unlikely words combined together to make a phrase of sorts. However, it is much more than just that!
Mobile Marketing Automation Mobile Marketing Automation (MMA) can be defined as an amalgamation of modern app analytics solutions, old-school CRM, and web-based marketing automation solutions. Just as traditional Marketing Automation Platforms (MAPs) streamline and organize different aspects of brand messaging, lead generation and lead nurturing; MMA delivers on making the mobile focused campaign management easier for today’s marketers. MMA platforms work within the mobile app ecosystem for delivering actionable insights about users, automated messaging service and user behaviour analytics. Some of the leading MMA platforms providing solution across mobiles, tablets and wearable devices are Urban Airship, Kahuna, Tapjoy, Swrve and Leanplum.
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when it comes to using MMA to boost monetization and increase engagement for achieving seamless omni-channel marketing.
Key Functionalities of MMA Platforms: Leading MMA solutions provide the levers and controls to change the mobile app’s user experience on the fly depending upon who is using it, and update it without going through the app-store police. Big apps like Subway Surfer and Plants vs. Zombies along with leading consumer brands such as Starbucks, ESPN and McDonalds have been the flag bearers
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Is Mobile Marketing Automation really worth it? Marketing automation as a domain is still vastly underutilized. With the propagation of smartphones and
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sept - oct 2016 Deadly and Avoidable Pitfalls of MMA Though mobile marketing automation can build trust, increase customer satisfaction, create new customers and boost existing customers’ number of purchases, but it comes with its own set of pitfalls which are best if avoided. Let’s have a look at some common MMA errors! 1. Blasting (Marketing without personalization) Irrelevant messages are one of the quickest ways to annoy customers and increase unsubscribes and opt-outs. 2. Not optimizing marketing for mobile devices
tablets, mobile marketing has increasingly become the most impactful and efficient way to reach custom- Not everything that looks good on a desktop monitor ers at exactly the right moment. MMA has the poten- renders perfectly on a mobile device. Brands which tial to save time and increase the bottom line by providing compelling offers and valuable engagements right when the consumers need them. However, marketers need to address a few questions before misinterpreting MMA as one size fit all strategy. 1. Does your TG engage in heavy mobile usage? For example, do you market to traveling management consultants, multi-regional companies, or smaller and very young organizations whose ecosystem almost completely runs on mobile platforms? If so, MMA might be a natural fit.
don’t optimize marketing campaigns for the small screen are losing revenue opportunities with each passing day.
2. How mobile-ready is your sales funnel?
Do you have mobile-optimized versions of each whitepaper, case study and in-depth report that your 3. Sending too frequently leads download as they move closer to buying decisions? For most people, the only thing worse than getting irrelevant emails and push notifications is getting them 3. What is the nature of your customer touchpoints? too often. Marketer should take the time to evaluate each customer’s click-through rates, visits, browsing Do touchpoints tend to happen almost immediately and purchase history, shares and other relevant data after encountering some of your marketing messages, that’s been collected to create a customized automaor do they take days or weeks to unfold? tion schedule.
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tions showing up in their inbox or their phone’s home screen. ‘Paradise Pizza & Grill’ gives its customers a What’s the point of sending an in-app message about free piece of cake on their birthday. a new feature without telling customers where to click 7. Relying solely on one channel to get a tour! 4. Not including a Call To Action
Combination of in-app messaging, emails, push notifications and social media is far stronger than the individual components, and brands that don’t use MMA with at least three or four channels are doing themselves a disservice. 8. Not using A/B Testing How does a business know which mobile marketing tactics are working and which aren’t? A/B testing enables marketers to compare the effects of two or more MARKETING BUDGET 5. Not capturing important data There are touch points to capture data from the very second a customer learns about a brand to long after they’ve made a purchase. Businesses are missing the boat if they’re not collecting this marketing goldmine. 6. Over selling Customers are inundated with people trying to get them to buy something. Sometimes, the best way of selling is to not sell! Sharing information, giving
versions to determine the best options. This process will almost always produce results that far exceed the time and money spent on analysis.
Conclusion
away something of perceived value, sending reminders or even just making consumers laugh can be a refreshing break from the constant onslaught of promo-
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Mobile marketing automation has emerged to address the disconnect between what consumers want and the tools that are available to brands. When implemented correctly, it results in higher retention, greater revenues, more engagement, and customer delight. Despite the clear advantages, penetration of MMA is low at this point. Even the largest players, like Starbucks, Virgin Airlines, Amazon, Ebay, Macy’s etc. have only gotten into the space recently. This means the best tips and tactics are being rewritten every day.
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vartalaap
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VARTALAAP An Interview with Mr. Sunil Saraswat
Mr. Saraswat has more than 20 years of experience in diverse fields ranging from FMCG, Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Durables. An alumnus of IIM, Calcutta he has an interest and expertise in sales, channel management, P&L management and go-to-market strategy. He is currently the CEO of Zopnow.com, an ecommerce business which aims to improve the grocery buying experience for its customers.
ZopNow. com
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Chief Operating Officer IIM Shillong
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“ Earlier you had only a bunch of com-
panies in specific segments and then the economy really opened up
“
Markathon: Sir, you have been into this do- began, because the HULs and the P&Gs are main for quite some years now. How do you great product makers, but they will never unthink marketing has changed over the years? derstand the cracked heels like Paras did. So I think the change is here to stay, with newer I would say that the change has been gradual trends coming up. and has come into effect due to many factors. One such factor I see is the change of Markathon: What is your take on social the entire Indian business landscape. Earlier marketing? Do you think the social message you had only a bunch of companies in spe- based ads work well for the brands that encific segments and then the economy really gage in them? opened up and people like Karsanbhai Patel started the wave of change. Honestly speaking, I don’t know the answer. But the way I look at it is that an advertiseSo earlier the marketing space was dominat- ment has to speak to the consumer, i.e. your ed by the monopolies of MNCs and then the target group, and not broad amorphous conIndian companies and products like Nirma, sumer group. In our days what we used to call Paras, and Dabur started coming to the fore- the USP-unique selling proposition- of a prodfront and identified the gaps that these MNCs uct is what was used for advertisements so were not catering to. That is when the change I’m not very convinced with the whole social
The HULs and the P&Gs are great product makers, but they will never understand the cracked heels like Paras did. MARKATHON
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sept - oct 2016 ucts. So what is it that they can do to become successful, beyond playing at the price point?
only angle.
Advertisement for commercial products should be done in a way that connects your What I understand is that most companies do offering with the target consumer, whereas not create products for that segment. What giving social messages should be left for social causes.
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Another major issue, according to me, that makes me think this doesn’t work well is that at a micro level where there is constant conflict between the marketing team and the sales team leading to little or no interaction between the two. It is the classic debate between ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ and this is where the marketers, and any person working in an organization for that matter, must ensure that values like empathy are
“
Otherwise, I think you are trying to make a fool out of your customer and I think consumers figure out these days what the brand is saying and what is it that they truly mean.
I think consumers figure out these days what the brand is saying and what is it that they truly mean
they do is make products for the middle class or the upper middle class and then they simply take this so called premium product created for the premium customer, take away a thing or two from it to lower the cost and then sell it to the rural consumer. That is somehow not the correct thing to do. So to truly capture the masses of the country, you should probably work on identifying the needs of the rural consumers, develop insights based on that and then go on to create a product for them rather than simply pushing a product created for another segment.
Work on identifying the needs of the rural consumers, develop insights based on that and then go on from there
This is the whole product part of it, whereas the entire gamut of sales and marketing is different. So if you go to any urban area, say Bengaluru worked upon and used for the benefit of the for example, the salesman can just park his organization as a whole. bike and do his 40 calls, whereas in rural markets he will have to drive around for 40 kms to Markathon: In the context of the rural mar- maybe do just 20 calls and hence the cost of kets, many products are just me-too prod- distribution is higher, and therefore the distri-
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sept - oct 2016 Markathon: What according to you is the biggest mistake marketers across industries tend to make? Well, at times the message that they are trying to convey is just simply ‘too good’ and doesn’t really connect very well with their audience. Now how can you talk philosophy when you don’t know the ground realities of the consumer? And this is one of the biggest issues that marketers today face. Because they come from very privileged environments whereas their target segment does not.
The gap that is there can be filled by accurate market research, however, marketers do not spend enough time in the field and outsource these tasks to specialists, not understanding that there is a limit to which these specialists bution model has to be very different than it can help, If they do more of the job themis in the urban setting. selves, the product and the communication would be far better as it would be built on the So some companies give out separate marbrand manager’s insights rather than that of gins to distributors for what they sell in the the Agency. rural area vis-à-vis for what they sell in the urban settings. At the same time, the tracking Markathon: Many big companies today are of these sales is equally important. trying to involve the customer in the product designing phase to ensure they perfectly After ensuring a stable distribution system, deliver to the consumer’s requirements. Acyou also need to create awareness amongst cording to you how feasible is something like the target group. Apart from TV and maybe this for local/regional players? SMSs, Haats prove to be a strong congregation point where below the line marketing acMaybe not possible for most players but tivities can be undertaken.. sometimes this might just become the game changer for you. So as per whatever I have
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read about it, Dainik Bhaskar is apparently a player that does it very well. Whenever they decide to enter a market, they first fix the goal that they have to be amongst the top two newspapers in the market.
dependency on a research company to do the work. The max support that the marketing guy should look for is gathering the required sample, while he himself conducts the interviews and carries out the research.
They then go to close to 200,000 consumers
Markathon: Sir as you are also working with a startup, what is your take on these big discount days that are being offered by Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.? I personally don’t gel that well with this idea of discounting. It is very easy to get customers through discounts but the question that has to be thought about is “Are they the right customers?”. I don’t think that they are the right customers, you should not be targeting them. You are just burning investors’ money through this.
with their initial set of papers, then take feedback, incorporate the changes and go back to them to further understand the needs and requirements of the consumer. This way they coevolve the product with the customers. Here maybe 200,000 is a very big number and if you clearly have your target segment in mind there can be ways to derive the same results with a smaller sample. But what is important is the company’s intent to cater to the exact needs rather than just do what it knows and then push the products. Here again I would like to highlight the MARKATHON
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One should have proof of concept, better business models. The intent is very important. Some entrepreneurs have the right intent initially but they after some time seem to be running after money rather than at building a great business. Let me stress this point a bit further, if you are a teacher then why do you teach and how do you teach? if you are a marketing guy then what is your intent, why are you doing this? Are you doing this to please your boss or are you really focused on your consumers? So whatever you do I think your intent or Niyat is the most important. IIM Shillong
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With the spate of advertisements leveraging the recently concluded Olympics, Is associating your brand with sports a win-win or too niche a proposition? BHAWANA AGGARWAL CBSA LANDRAN
SAHIL BHASIN NMIMS MUMBAI
Though event advertising is one of the ways to advertise the product, but the people who become a witness of the Olympics are from different walks of life. About 7.5 million tickets for Olympic Games,2016 were sold, around 10,500 athletes participated, 500,000 foreigners travelled to Brazil to experience Rio 2016 live, 85,000 security personnel ensured safety and security and about 3.6 billion people from all over the world glued their eyes to led screens to experience the gala event. Further according to Human Rights Campaign, at least 41 were LGBT Olympians against 23 LGBT in 2012. With such diversity in the viewership, how could associating one’s brand with sports be a niche proposition? As per the statistics and the media reports, a leap year event like Olympics attracts people from different strata for different reasons. Some watch Olympics as they are sports lovers, some watch because they want to romance their senses with extravagant ceremonies at the event, some become part of it because they want to cheer up the athletes who are representing their own country and others for varied reasons. If an event has the capacity to bring together people with varying demographics, then it acts as a Golden platform to address a huge diversified potential market segment at one place. The cost of “reach per person” gets reduced drastically as through a single media a huge market segment gets targeted. Hence, the companies leveraging on the Gala sports event like Olympics, through advertising, carve a win-win situation for themselves as the viewership of their content gets assured due to the fan following of such an “Influential event”.
Sports isn’t a game, it is an emotion. People don’t just play or watch it, they feel it. Brands have been capturing this emotion since decades. Looking at India, in the last decade a lot of new domestic leagues have emerged. The viewership patterns are changing and sports are no longer watched by young males only. Technology has been an enabler for brands with live streaming and ads which can’t be skipped. Thus, the choice of a particular sport or a sporting event doesn’t happen overnight. Before associating, a brand needs to ponder over certain factors. The scale of the sports event, relevance of their product or message with the event, telecast timings in their target market and the popularity of the sport in the eyes of the customer are the key factors. Advertising in sports has its benefits. Firstly, the audience sits for long hours having repeated exposure to the advertisements. Secondly, for a passionate audience any advertisement which enhances the emotion or relieves the pressure is appreciated. Finally, good content creates a long-term brand recall. Some experts argue that the reach becomes specific and the cost per exposure is high due to sky-rocketing prices of big events. Sports associations should be a part of the overall marketing strategy and not be standalone events. Brands need to figure out ways of activation and engagement in the associated event, advertising alone may not be always enough. Sports associations if done in an effective manner is a win-win for brands in the age where people not just watch but also stream , share and tweet good content leading to organic branding.
Topic for the next issue: “Can Big Discount Sales by E-tailers result in Long Term Customer Retention?” Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 10th November 2016. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry. Winners will receive a prize money of Rs. 500 each!
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By shubham shukla IIM Shillong
icrosoft is a company with which all of us our familiar. In fact for most of us, the earliest memory of a computer would be hearing the Windows tune on booting the system. Microsoft was founded in the year 1975 by Mr. Bill Gates and Mr. Paul Allen and in its tenure of 41 years it has seen a few changes in the design of its logo in order to stay relevant according to both customer needs as well as the direction in which the company wants and needs to move.
porate logo of the company from 1987 to August, 2012. This was the time when Microsoft took huge strides in its business to become one of the most successful enterprises all over the world. It is called as the “Pacman” Logo because the first O in the name
1975 - 80
is shaped like the popular video game character “Pac-man”. The logo was designed by American graphic designer Mr. Scott Baker. The logo uses a Helvetica Italic typeface and the real reason for the slash between the first O and the succeeding S is that the company wanted to cultivate an image that it also had a soft side. In the 1980’s Microsoft was gaining the reputation of a company which was hard-nosed and which would do anything for profits and for which customers and their needs were not of prime importance. This logo was in fact a response to that. The bold lettering was done away with in favor of a more fluid font in order to symbolize speed and motion in an era in which technological prowess grew by leaps and bounds.
Microsoft started out with a groovy looking logo which was symbolic of the 70’s-80’s culture of disco in the United States. The 2 ‘o’s actually represented glowing disco lights. This logo was just a makeshift one arrived at by the founders and as the business started flourishing and became more serious, it was replaced by another logo. 1980 - 87 This logo is popularly referred to as the blibbet logo. This logo still holds a special place in the hearts of people who have been working with Microsoft from the very beginning so much so that there is still a Blibbet burger served in the Microsoft campus as a tribute to this logo. Blibbet sig-
nifies the first O in the logo which has horizontal lines and a hole in the center. Another significant aspect of the logo is that the company name is featured in all uppercase characters which signifies a boldness and aggressive stance by the company. 1987 - 2011
2012 - Present The current logo by Microsoft tries to leverage the power of the Windows OS symbol. The company realized that the Windows symbol is much more popular around the
world compared to its corporate logo and so including the same in the logo was a smart choice on the part of the company. The company retained the simple font of its name in order to showcase that it was a simple company focused on serving customer needs to the best of its abilities.
Hence we can see that even the mightiest of firms need to evolve and rebrand This logo has been associated with Microsoft for themselves in order to remain relevant the longest amount of time, serving as the cor- in the eyes of the customers.
AD-dicted AD-dicted
december sept - oct 2013 2016 By SHARAD SRINIVASAN IIM Shillong
By SHASHANK PATEL IIM Shillong PRODUCT: Paper Boat - Chilli Guava
PRODUCT: Bajaj Platina ComforTec – Jhatka Mana Hai
POSITIONING: Teachers’ Day & it’s nostalgia
POSITIONING: The new Platina gives the most comfortable ride in its category
CREATIVE AGECY: Karishma Lintas
CATCH
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= YKnDxscNgPg
CREATIVE AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather
R
YouTube Link:: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=j58DNZUk0kw
CONCEPT: The advertisement attempts to differentiate CONCEPT: the new Platina ComforTec by highlighting The ad starts with the ubiquitous sound of the bell ringits superior ride quality. ing and the sound of children talking. Then a voice over To demonstrate this, two starts by addressing Hitesh sir, a teacher who has a repuTanjore dolls, Gulabo & Paro tation of being strict. In the entire TVC we see visuals are placed on a Platina Comof students, teachers and various classrooms with the voice over reminiscing what Hitler Hitesh sir used to do. forTec and a competitor’s bike respectively. A bumpy But after so many years his teachers’ day card is still due. ride follows, with a catchy background score, after which Then the voice over mentions that they have started Gulabo is unmoved. Paro fails to survive the ordeal
MISS
working hard but not as hard as him. The ad ends by VERDICT: Miss wishing Happy Teachers’ day and a visual of the paper Bajaj’s attempt to capture the functional benefit of ‘20% lesser jerks’ is evident but we are unsure if they have boat flavour chilli guava. achieved it with this TVC. Markathon believes Platina being a mass market product needed a creative & convincVERDICT: Catch Occasionally, one tends to reminisce about one’s child- ing line of advertising if one were to move away from the hood, memories of homework, pranks, the friends, teach- usual ‘Mileage Warfare.’ Although the TVC is creative, ers and the joyful life. In this one and half minute ad by there are multiple logical fallacies in it which we believe Paper boat the old school days comes to life. It is about an could work against it. The ad, with its quirky idea & catchy annoying teacher whose teachers’ day card is overdue. It background score is sure to remain in the minds of the shows how teachers are hardworking and perform their audience but whether it will convince people is a question we feel is answered. tasks diligently without expecting anything in return.
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brand story
sept - oct 2016
Brand Story nishiggandha Kerure | IIM Shillong
I
n the year 2005, a renowned yoga guru and his childhood friend established an FMCG company to provide its consumers with the benefits of Ayurvedic medicines through a product portfolio of pure food and natural beverages. As of October 2016, the business had earned revenues to the tune of USD 769.23 million in FY 2015-16. Since it is not a publicly listed company, Patanjali’s finances are mostly closely held. Yet, the growth of Patanjali Ayurved Limited or PAL (estimated at a staggering 146.31% in terms of Y-oY revenues) is something that cannot be ignored by the brand-conscious Indian customers who have so far relied on the HULs and P&Gs of the industry. Nor can it be ignored by the buyers of unbranded products who now have an incentive to turn to Patanjali’s offerings, thanks to the promised health benefits at a discounted price when it comes to comparable brands. Though Patanjali offers products ranging from dal and pulses to herbal gulal, across categories of grocery and staples, ready food, beverages, personal care, health care and households; its primary source of income are Cow’s Ghee, Dant Kanti and Kesh Kanti. Even though many of its other products have low volume of sales or profitability, the company continues to operate in those category for its objective of
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‘becoming part of every SKU in an Indian kitchen’. Its manufacturing facility at Haridwar (Patanjali Food and Herbal Park) houses a dedicated R&D centre to generate a consistent pipeline of new products. When the Maggi fiasco took place, it took the organization barely three months to create its own instant noodles which now pose a threat to Nestle and ITC amongst others. Patanjali is working towards launching powdered hair dye, butter milk in powder form, caffeinefree chicory coffee etc. innovative products as well. Recently, the DRDO also sought out Patanjali’s help for herbal supplements and food products that are to be distributed in both domestic as well as foreign markets. The company follows information-based advertising approach where health benefits of a particular product are
highlighted instead of promoting Patanjali’s own offering in the same.
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brand story
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Though Baba Ramdev himself holds no shares in PAL, he has become a brand-ambassador for all its products, having reached about 70 million individuals so far and estimated to reach 200 million more. The beginning of the Aastha TV channel with his yoga telecast in the mornings earned him a huge following, now benefitting Patanjali. This cost-effective method of marketing also saves Patanjali approximately 12-18% of the net sales value that other FMCGs are known to spend on advertising and promotions. In turn, Patanjali is able to provide an attractive discount on its products and pass on the savings to its customers. When it comes to distribution network, Patanjali already boasts of 0.2 million outlets and the 10,000 franchisees that are Chikitshalyas and Arogya Kendras. Earlier, a single distributor managed both the food and cosmetics categories which now have been separated. The distributorship is given at district, tehsil and even at mandi levels, proving the growing penetration of the brand Patanjali. To take advantage the e-commerce wave, it has also made its products available online where free delivery is provided
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beyond purchase of INR 499. Though it is not completely like other corporate organizations, Patanjali has been quick to implement ERP for better mapping of inventory, SAP, a mobile app to locate the nearest outlets to buy
the company products and KRA-based internal system. Hiring from renowned firms such as Dabur, Alkem Laboratories etc. and tying up with online recruiting portals such as naukri.com, Patanjali is ensuring its access to professional management and some of the best talent in the industry while it incorporates the science of Ayurved in household items. Going forward, the company has leased warehousing space of 1.2 million sq. feet across 20 cities in the country with the objective of increasing the same to 2 million in the near future. With differentiated products such as seabuck thorn dietary supplement and sugar free Chyawanprash, Patanjali is aiming to double its revenues to reach the figure of INR 10,000 Crores by March 2017. With the growing trend of health-consciousness in urban, semi-urban areas and a large, untapped market of unbranded product consumers mainly in the rural region, the business has a huge potential to continue its upward trajectory. And it is no wonder that CLSA recently wrote a research note that was titled ‘Wish you were listed Patanjali’!
IIM Shillong
fun corner
sept - oct 2016 AKSHAY SETH IIM Shillong
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jab they failed
DAKSH BHAGAT IIM Shillong
sept - oct 2016
Jab They Failed Microsoft Zune
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opularly referred to as Microsoft’s failed attempt to take on the iPod, Zune which was first released in November 2006 always remained a “me too” answer to the iPod. The features offered by Microsoft were way ahead of time than any other device of a similar kind in the industry during that time period. Even though Zune wasn’t Microsoft’s core product, still a lot went both in terms of expense and efforts in order that it reaches the hands of the segment, already obsessed with Apple. Then what went wrong? Let’s try and find out. Before looking at the plausible reasons for its failure, let us look at a few numbers that reflect the trend. The world’s largest software company believed that it would be able to compete with the Apple iPod, which had been in the market since 2001 and dominated the multimedia player and music download business around the world. Bloomberg Television said that between the launch date and mid-2007 only 1.2 million Zune players were sold. In May 2008, Microsoft said that it had sold two million players since its launch. The Wall Street Journal reported that revenue from the Zune player was $85 million during the 2008 holiday season compared to $185 million in the same period in 2007. On a Design level, the Zune lacked style and the simplicity of Apple’s interface. Perhaps more importantly, though, the Zune could not be used with Apple’s iTunes program, an even more dominant product in its market than the iPod. By integrating the music experience (from cradle to grave), Apple created strong disincentives to any competitor that just could not be overcome. Everything that was unique and innovative about the product never worked for it such as the Zune-to-Zune “squirting” feature, which lets you send a song wirelessly from one Zune to the next. That feature was way ahead of its time in 2006, but was ruined by record company restrictions that let users listen to shared songs only three times within three days before erasing them.
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On the Demand side, Microsoft never gave a reason to its consumers to buy Zune or to drift away from iPod. On the Marketing front, Microsoft aimed at the Social hipsters versus the Pod people. But, it seemed that it was designed to pacify only the major label executives and didn’t focus nearly enough on pleasing the consumer. Zune also never got the marketing support needed to establish the brand as a viable alternative to iPod/ iTunes. When you’re running up against a product as popular and solidly entrenched as the iPod, you need to undercut it significantly on price if you expect anyone to even look at your version. The 8GB Zune only costs $10 less than its much sexier Apple equivalent, and if you step up to a 120GB Zune, that gap not only diminishes, it reverses. The Zune 120 actually costs a dollar more than the Apple iPod Classic 120GB. What incentive is there for a buyer to even consider deviating from the safe status quo when there’s little or no discount for it? Hence, in 2012 it officially pivoted from the “Zune” branding and launched Xbox Music. And that has since become Groove. Conclusively, the Zune wasn’t as complete a failure as you may believe. But what many people don’t know is that Zune sparked much-needed reforms at Microsoft. Along with the Xbox, the Zune project marked one of the company’s first attempts to create innovative hardware and software, not just stuff that looked like it had been ripped off from Apple.
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By Harsha Daga | IIM Shillong Bisleri launches its Rockstar to sway you At a price point of just Rs.8, Bisleri aims to capture the ‘convenience and affordable’ section of the market. The packaging is innovative to give it an aesthetic appeal to pull the consumers and at the same time, increase the visibility off the shelf by ensuring that a 300ml bottle doesn’t look too small to quench your thirst.
Now snap in style with Spectacles! The company is introducing its first hardware as a cool range of glasses which can take videos and directly upload to your Memories on Snapchat using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. And to ensure that the audience connects with the company beyond just an image based social media platform, the company is rebranding itself by changing its name to Snap Inc. Well, if this is not an example of the brand being relevant, then what is?
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Nestle to expand its Indian portfolio The Swiss company is all set to enter the Indian market for premium chocolate variants and pose a challenge Mondelez and Ferrero, which are currently the leaders in the country. Along with an exotic line of European chocolates under its brand Alpino, which is set for relaunch, Nestle is also bringing newer variants of its existing offerings like Munch and Bar One. By doing this the company is not only widening its product portfolio but also reducing the dependence on Maggi, after the fiasco.
Yuvraj Singh gets into apparels, for a cause! The entire nation went through the peak of their emotions when Yuvi went through countless sessions of chemo. And four years ago, Yuvraj Singh established a foundation to help the betterment of cancer patients, which will now be supported by the profits made out of the clothing line of YouWeCan (YWC). We believe this is one of the best concoctions of sport, business, and humanity resulting into a rooted brand. PS: Did you notice that when we read the brand name with its tagline, it actually says ‘Yuvi can fight cancer’?
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updates Ducati unviels its cruiser
march 2016
bike range in India
For the first time, legendary bike maker-Ducati launched its cruiser bike segment. In India, currently cruiser bikes are seen as an aspirational segment, resulting into a high growth experienced by brands such as Harley Davidson. With the trend being so peculiar, Ducati has given the Indian audience the best mix of a cruiser experience and a high performance thrill.
Cole Haan arrives in India
Iconic American footwear and accessories brand Cole Haan, which specializes in dress leather and casual shoes, is now available in India. The brand seamlessly fills the gap between affordable and luxury where it is above fast fashion but below the LVs. The growth experienced in the last year coupled with a high expected progress path of luxury footwear in India, it seems like the right time for Cole Haan to hit the nail.
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Jeep saw a legendary launch at the Umaid Bhawan Palace A flawless blend of ruggedness and luxury, Jeep makes for one of the most difficult combinations to exist. So with a car so magnificent, a brand so legendary and a story so unique, the launch of its new variants had to be regal and off-beat. The event didn’t just show its audience the capabilities of the vehicle or its luxury status, but allowed them to actually feel it by being a part of the launch hosted by the Maharaj Raghav Raj Singh of Udaipur, at the picturesque royal palace.
Apple launched the latest MacBook Pro Apple has unveiled a new generation of MacBook Pro with better features and striking innovations, as usual. Apple products are always seen as the future of the Industry, be it the iPod, iPhone, or the all new Mac. By doing away with standard USB ports and the function keys being replaced by a fancy Touch Bar screen, the laptop is up to set a trend which the other players in the Industry ought to follow. It’s the ‘Product’ of the 4 Ps that makes Apple what it is today.
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digi-tally
sept - oct 2016
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Articles are invited
“Best Article”: K Sathya Narayanan | IMT Ghaziabad He receives a cash prize & 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 November, 2016. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAME(S)>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.
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