Pitch April 2014

Volume XI | Issue 4 | April 2014

` 75

Viral Oza on Nokia Lumia’s association with fashion pg 24

Maruti Suzuki

establishing a bond with the masses pg 20

POWERED BY

Pitch | April 2014

How have CMOs unlocked the magic of their brands by reinventing them? Pitch CMO Summit showcases brands like PepsiCo, HUL in the cover story on pg 27 9

InsIde

THE TOP 30 UNDER 30 ACHIEVERS THIS YEAR!

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APRIL 15, 2014

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Pitch | April 2014

INTRODUCING

Dainik Bhaskar

And newspaper adver tising g e t s i t s o w n j u s t d e s s e r t s.

Great newspaper advertising now has its own

Dainik Bhaskar. The Jury is from among the best in

dedicated awards. The Dainik Bhaskar INK Awards.

the advertising and marketing fraternity. Click

Created purely for the glory of the print advertising.

www.exchange4media.com/ink2014. We are

If you have a newspaper campaign that kills clichĂŠs,

now open for entries, and the closing date is

engineers a new page, elevates writing and craft,

April 14, 2014. Keep the sweet tooth hungr y.

redefines art and design, stretches the rectangle, prods the broadsheet, pushes boundaries, edges, e nve l o p e, a n d e ve r y p a r a m e t e r o f c o l u m n centimetre life in English or any Indian language, then your shelf deser ves an INK. The only awards that celebrate excellence in newspaper advertising.

An exchange4media initiative, brought to you by

For enquiries regarding entries, please contact: Aman Tyagi (Delhi) +91 9582221622 aman.tyagi@exchange4media.com Agnel Dsouza (Mumbai) +91 9870292834 agnel@exchange4media.com For sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Rajat Thareja (Delhi) +91 9810134435 rajat.thareja@exchange4media.com Sohini Ghosh (Mumbai) +91 9930811744 sohini.ghosh@exchange4media.com Sneha Walke (Bengaluru) +91 9845541143 sneha@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

BRANDING PARTNER

95

INSIDE

COVER STORY Pitch

27

Volume XI, Issue-4 April, 2014

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Editor & Director Director President

Annurag Batra Amit Agnihotri Nawal Ahuja Sunil Kumar

EDITORIAL TEAM

Consulting Editor

Vinod Behl

Deputy Editor

Rashi Bisaria

Senior Correspondent

Gunjan Verma

Correspondents

Kanika Mehrotra Ankur Gaurav Devansh Sharma

Senior Art Director

Shamsad Shaikh

Senior Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers

Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai) Suresh Gola (Noida)

AD SALES

Rajat Thareja Abdulla M Mazumder Varnikaa jain Sneha Walke

9810134435 9871609348 9769153087 9845541143

0FFICES

NEW DELHI: Shop No. 32, 33 south Ettn. Part-I, Om vihar, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi 110 059

How have CMOs unlocked the magic of their brands by reinventing them? Pitch CMO Summit showcases brands like PepsiCo, HUL among others

NOIDA: B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Phone: (0120) 4007700 Mumbai: 301, Kakad Bhavan, 3rd Floor, 11th Street, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050 Phone: (022) 2640 3303/09/14/16 Bengaluru: Flat No. 1,062, 1st Floor, 2nd Cross, 6th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 038 CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION

Vinod Sharma (Delhi) - 9999447209 vinod@exchange4media.com Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com On News-stands ` 75 www.pitchonnet.com Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Printed at All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301

INTERVIEWS “What you do is what builds the brand for you” Soumya Menon VP, Brand Strategy, UniverCell

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“The assurance of getting the product of choice has brought customers back to us” Uma Talreja Head of Marketing, Westside

An exchange4media Publication

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Pitch | April 2014

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BRAND JOURNEY

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Consumers are affected by the price and the in-store advice

30

As IDEA, we always want to have a point -of-view

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All we think of, can become a reality

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We want to make Mother Dairy youthful

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Our distribution channels helped us ramp up quickly

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Inculcate permanence and loyalty among customers

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MUMBAI

The job of marketing is to build love for brands Keynote by Hemant Bakshi - HUL Ajit Joshi - Infiniti Retail

Sunita Bangard -Idea Cellular Vasantha V Kumar-IBM

Subhashis Basu- Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Rituraj Bhattacharya - Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Karthi Marshan - Kotak Group

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Marketing is common sense and there is no Science behind it

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Keynote by D Shivakumar - PepsiCo, India

DELHI

The brand potential of Cinthol was tremendous

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Competition made us think out-of-the-box

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Sunil Kataria - Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

Ankur Warikoo - Groupon APAC, Emerging Markets

From local to global in 16 months Shubodip Pal- Micromax

Doing Something unconventional is important

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Amarjit singh Batra-OLX

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Reinventing brands through Unconventional Media

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Photo Feature: Clicked

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Nokia associates with fashion for a bigger market share for Lumia Viral Oza Marketing Director, Nokia India

Pitch | April 2014

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Establishing a bond with the masses

20

Its commitment to consumers, strong distribution network and a multi-segment strategy have endeared Maruti Suzuki to the Indian masses

FEATURE

Brands have promises to keep Nilanjan Mukherjee - ITC

Maruti Suzuki

Is the fairness industry ready for a revamp?

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Is it time marketers repositioned fairness products to leverage features other than the promise of fair skin, regaining the trust of apprehensive consumers?

COLUMNS

Hamsini Shivakumar | Owner, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting Krisnadeep Baruah Senior Director, Marketing, Asia-Pacific, BlackBerry Indranil Gupta Founder-Director & CEO of BrandNEW Associates Pvt. Ltd. Vinish Kathuria Chief Operating Office, Digital Quotient Prof. Smitha Sarma Ranganathan Strategic Branding & Marketing Management Annurag Batra Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Pitch Magazine

“Creating a distinct and individual brand identity for the city of Amsterdam was challenging” Willem Woudenberg Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Brand Dialogue

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19 58 60 66 68 72

“The biggest disadvantage with this medium remains that it can’t be measured” Manohar Bhat 70 Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki

3

LAUNCHPAD

Gadgets & Gizmos KFC

Rockin’ Burgers

The Product: KFC launched the all new Rockin’ Burgers starting at ` 69.

Approach: KFC launched the exciting range of mid-priced burgers to create wider menu options, offering consumers more choices at delightful prices. Specially developed to suit local palates, KFC’s Rockin’ Burgers offers a combination of spicy, tangy sauces, along with KFC’s promise of quality and signature taste.

USP: The three pepper mayo sauce used in the KFC Rockin Burger, an India innovation, has been developed specially for the Indian palate catering to Indian preference for spicy and tangy food.

Made with KFC’s signature crispy, crunchy and juicy chicken fillet, served in a soft sesame bun along with fresh lettuce and the kick of three pepper mayo sauce with tangy lemon and mixed spices, the brand new ’Rockin Burger’ packs in a punch in every bite. The Vegetarian Rockin’ Burger combines a mouth-watering, crunchy Veg patty, topped with fresh Thousand Island sauce and lettuce in a soft, warm bun. The Veg Rockin is available at rupees 69 plus taxes, while the Chicken Rockin is available at rupees 75 plus taxes.

Background: KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is a popular chicken restaurant chain with more than 19,000 KFC outlets in 130 countries and territories around the world. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc, Louisville.

In India, KFC offers this international experience in 272 restaurants across 65+ cities. Some of the KFC favourites in India include Hot & Crispy chicken, Chicken Zinger, Veg Zinger, Rice Bowlz and the Krushers range of beverages, amongst others. 

PANASONIC

QUAD CORE SMART PHONE P31

The Product: This latest phone is developed in-line with the brand’s promise and tag line “Play Life, Ur Way” showcasing its proficiency to innovate and offer its customers with unique software and hardware based features specifically designed for the Indian market.

Specification: Panasonic P31 is the latest addition to “P” series of smartphones dedicated to the Phablet category. P31 is 12.7cm (5), 1.3GHz Quad Core smartphone, running on AndroidTM 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with 8MP Full HD capable Autofocus camera & 2000 mAh battery. The smartphone will be available to consumers in India from the second week of March, 2014, at the best price of Rs.11, 990.

USP: With the launch of the Panasonic P31, the company will be introducing its “Play Life” bouquet of fea-

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tures giving the customers a customizable user experience, where smartphone understands gestures, organizes users music library, let’s multi-task while watching videos, switches the smartphone modes to ensure that one never runs out of battery Background: Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and engineering of electronic technologies and solutions for customers in residential, non-residential, mobility and personal applications. Since its founding in 1918, the company has expanded globally and now operates over 500 consolidated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.30 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2013. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company strives to create a better life and a better world for its customers. 

Pitch | April 2014

ORIFLAME

ZOOMIN.COM

Photo print mobile app!

Shield your Skin

The Product: Zoomin.com launches Photo Prints, an app that lets you print photos directly from your phone and have them delivered anywhere in India.

Photo Prints is a free app available for Android and Windows phones. An iOS version is expected soon. ZoomIn has partnered with Samsung and Nokia.

USP: Users can order photo prints in 4 steps - select photos, choose a size and finish, enter a delivery address and pay using cash on delivery, credit card, debit card or netbanking. The photos are automatically uploaded, printed by ZoomIn and delivered to your doorstep, anywhere in India. Print prices start at a competitive (to a neighbourhood photo studio) ` 6 for the quintessential 4”x6” print, plus a ` 49 shipping fee – for the convenience of home-delivery. Till the end of March, ZoomIn is offering 25 free 4”x6” prints in

The Product: Oriflame has launched its next generation sun care protection – Oriflame Sun Zone range

matte finish – only the shipping fee needs to be paid.

Background: Zoomin.com is about connecting people and their moments of magic. Customers can store, share, and print their digital photos – easily and affordably.

ZoomIn’s creation tools enable customers to express their creativity and play the role of memory keeper with ease. Customer delight is ensured through the highest professional quality products and superfast delivery direct to the customer’s doorstop.

Products created using photos, along with the option of themes and messages, ensure customer’s memories and moments of magic are preserved forever. 

DSK HYOSUNG

‘The Big Boy’ GT250 R The Product: DSK Hyosung has launched its best selling bike in an exciting new look the - New GT250 R. This latest offering from the DSK Hyosung stable embodies the elements of advanced futuristic styling, sporty graphics and aggressive design elements like stylish new headlamps among others.

Specifications: Powered with a V twin-cylinder and an oil-cooled

Pitch | April 2014

4-stroke engine, the New GT250R produces 27.6 Bhp of maximum power at 10000 rpm, and 22.07Nm of maximum torque at 8000 rpm. Add to this will be the three exciting colour options of Red Titanium, White Titanium and Black Titanium each of which will be available in three tone shade.

This superbike has been attractively priced at Rs.2,76,000 (ex-showroom Pune).

Background: Established in 2012, DSK Motowheels, a part of the DSK Group (Diversified business group with a turnover of over ` 5000 crores) forayed into the growing automobile sector by entering the niche segment of powerful and aspirational bikes in association with Hyosung (Part of S&T Motors – Korea.). The company assembles and markets these superbikes under the brand name of DSK Hyosung. 

USP: The Oriflame Sun Zone range is a vigorous mix of UVA filters, UVB filters and Vitamin E and is a potent solution to all sun related problems. Fortified with Cellular Protection Technology, the products extend advance sun defense and protects the skin from free radicals and premature aging. The added benefit of Vitamin E prevents skin aging by cushioning the skin against free radicals. It also moisturizes the skin for a radiant glow.

Specifications: The lightweight texture along with the fast-absorbing and non-greasy formula works wonders for the skin even in humid conditions. Demagogically tested, the products are also water and sweat resistant. Price: Sun Zone UV Protector Face and Exposed Areas SPF 50 High- ` 699, Sun Zone Lotion Face and Body SPF 15 Medium - ` 699, Sun Zone Intensive Balm Face and Body After Sun- ` 399.

Background: Founded in 1967, Oriflame is a beauty company selling direct in more than 60 countries. Its wide portfolio of Swedish, nature-inspired, innovative beauty products is marketed through approximately 3 million independent Oriflame Consultants, generating annual sales of around €1.5 billion.

Respect for people and nature underlies Oriflame’s operating principles and is reflected in its social and environmental policies. Oriflame supports numerous charities worldwide and is a Co-founder of the World Childhood Foundation. Oriflame Cosmetics is listed on the Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange.  Compiled by Gunjan Verma -gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com

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BUZZ

Campaigns tvc

icici loMbarD

Nibhaye Vaade

tv

KelloGG’s special K

Creative Agency: BBDO

wahi mayne rakhte hain jo nibhaye jaaye”.

Rationale: Insurance is all about trust, a commitment to fulfil the promise of settling every genuine claim. The value of the product is realized not at the time of purchase but at the time of an unfortunate event for which the insurance cover was purchased. It is this ‘moment of truth’ that separates one insurance company from the other in terms of whether or not a claim is settled and the customer compensated for the expenses incurred or financial loss. The campaign emphasizes the Company’s focus on efficient and speedy claim processing which enabled it to honour more than 48 lakh claims in FY 2012-13. n

Storyboard: The first TVC begins with an unusual way of bowling, wherein instead of a ball two boys are rolling and aiming to hit the Mirinda bottles kept at the end of the bowling alley. The second film showcases Ping-pong like you have never seen before. The two contestants are seen engaging in an amazing rally but instead of their racquets, they play with a large foam hand attached to their

Kick start the wedding season preparations

Creative Agency: xxxxxxxx Story: As the trend of Selfies catches up, Kellogg’s captures it in the best possible manner by roping in Deepika Padukone and the wedding season. The TVC shows Deepika taking up the Special K challenge to attend a wedding and posts her selfies on the social networking website as every week passes. Finally, she is able to achieve

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MirinDa

Two new takes on Pagalpanti

Creative Agency: RUfilms Pvt. Ltd Story: The TVC reveals the story revolving around a man who takes care of a six year old girl as she trains rigorously towards becoming a successful badminton player.

The storyline showcases his efforts and sacrifices to ensure that he provides her complete support and motivation in her endeavour. It is only at the end of the TVC that it becomes clear that the protagonist is not her father but her uncle. In a true depiction of fulfilling the promise he had made to his brother and sister in law, he ensures that the girl realises her dream. The visual story line is well supported by the voice over “Vaade

tvc

the desired perfect figure she wanted on the wedding day by following the Special K routine.

Rationale: Women want to look their best while preparing for a wedding. Based on this insight, Kellogg’s Special K, along with Deepika, is presenting women with a Special K 2 Week Challenge as a part of a healthy lifestyle to help them kickstart a weight management journey. The challenge aims to prepare women for a bold, beautiful and contemporary look for weddings through a simple challenge that helps them kick-start into a weight management journey. Deepika fits best as she is a sought after celebrity, who not only stands for high fashion but is looked up to for her healthy lifestyle. n

heads. Both the TVCs end with Asin asking consumers to share their own quirky ideas and the best ideas will be made into TVCs. Rationale: Mirinda is all set to thrill the consumers with its new twist on Pagalpanti; kicking off this season with two new TVCs. Mirinda’s brand philosophy revolves around the fact that the best fun is the fun you have when you are left laughing out loud with friends. Taking the legacy forward, Mirinda, with these 2 new TVCs is now inviting the consumers to share their absolute fun moments with the world and cheer for pagalpanti. n

Pitch | April 2014

TVC

Thumbs Up

Creative Agency: Leo Burnett Approach: The TVC shows Salman Khan gliding from a helicopter in a jeep after drinking his Thumbs Up. A man is talking to a small shop owner and both suddenly notice the jeep landing with the help of a parachute right in front of the shop. Salman Khan then asks the owner to give him a bottle of thumbs up as he has to catch the plane.

Rationale: In continuation of the Toofani philosophy, Thumbs Up is back with its thunderous campaign.

The campaign builds the Thumbs Up philosophy of inspiring today’s youth to recognize their inner potential and unlock the Thunder within. The new campaign embodies the values of being adventurous and the ability to go

Activation

Ek Toofan khatam to doosra shuru

TVC

Boomer

Phat Li Creative Agency: DDB Mudra Group India

beyond one’s limit. The idea behind the approach conveys that a true Thumbs Up drinker will go to all possible heights to experience the energetic and energizing taste of Thumbs Up. In the TVC, Salman Khan shows the extent to which he can go for his Thumbs Up by achieving the impossible. n

Approach: Boomer has created a new meaning for FUN and MISCHIEF among friends with a brand new marketing campaign led through a TVC and tag line “PHAT LI” - “Phat” being the sound which emanates when the bubble bursts, and Phat Li to denote “pulling a gag”.

Phat Li encourages you to get your groove on and pull a fast one on your friends to spread the spirit of good, clean mischief. Whether it is fooling a colleague or scaring a sibling, Phat Li tries to take the boring out of the ordinary and make every situation a chance to have fun.

Rationale: Taking the age-old tradition of

Mc Donald’s

Player Escort Programme Creative Agency: Leo Burnett Approach: McDonald’s India announced its FIFA World Cup consumer-focused program that will engage football fans around the country. McDonald’s India would give young soccer enthusiasts a

once in a lifetime opportunity to meet soccer heroes competing for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this summer. Children or the guardian can participate in the McDonald’s Player Escort Programme by purchasing a Happy Meal™ at any of the McDonalds restaurants across west and south India. Customers purchasing a Happy Meal™ will receive a contest coupon with a 7 digit unique code. In order to enter the contest, the participant will need to answer a simple question related to FIFA World Cup ™ by giving a missed call on 07878786060.

Rationale: The goal is to connect our customers with the FIFA World Cup. The Player Escort program aims to fuel kids’ passion for the game and inspire active play, while also giving one lucky winner a chance to live their dream and embark on an unforgettable journey. n

camaraderie between friends, the campaign stays true, in a captivating manner, to the core brand promise of – fun. Mischief and Bubble Gum! Recognizing that the category isn’t limited to any one age group and on the back of an industry showing robust year-on-year growth, the brand felt that there was a need to expand the category and include more consumer groups in our communication. n Compiled by Gunjan Verma -gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

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FEATURE: THE PROMISE OF FAIR SKIN TONE

Is the fairness industry ready for a revamp?

Is it time marketers repositioned fairness products to leverage features other than the promise of fair skin, regaining the trust of apprehensive consumers?

By Devansh Sharma

T

he market for fairness or whitening products, currently pegged at Rs 3000 crore, is huge in India, offering great scope both in the urban and rural markets. The industry consists of a surfeit of products that promise a fair and glowing skin in limited time. Tall claims by marketers and advertisers have won over unsuspecting customers, luring them with the depiction of fair-skinned models in glamorous advertisements. So what are the factors really responsible for the demand of these products? It’s a need created by marketers who operate in a highly competitive world and seek a winning edge.

This fascination for fair skin is not limited to women but is equally popular among men, thereby creating a whole new segment of men’s fairness products.

Fair & Lovely, a 1000 crore brand from the house of Unilever launched in 1978 in India, claims to be the world’s first fairness cream and holds a lion’s share of around 50 per cent of the total market of fairness products. With the launch of Fair & Handsome in 2005, Emami created a whole

8

Pitch | April 2014

new market for men’s fairness products and presently holds a market share of around 57 per cent.

With a view to distinguish itself in the cluttered market of fairness products, Nivea, a premium segment brand positions itself as a whitening products company for whitening of dark patches, dark spots, and sun burns, instead of a fairness products company.

“Nivea has products that help ‘Repair’ patchy skin. We are present with ‘Repair’ propositions in ‘Whitening’ body lotions’ for women. Brand Nivea has a clear brand imagery and products are positioned by leveraging the values of the mother brand” said Sunil Gadgil,

Apart from the ethics involved, health risk has also emerged as a key challenge before the fairness industry Marketing Head Nivea.

Cosmetic giants have been promoting the thought that fair is superior by associating it with beauty and success.

The colonial hangover has left us in awe of fair skin, something marketers have used to their own advantage, evident in the campaigns and TVCs of leading fairness brands. Fair & Handsome, a pioneer and market leader in the fairness products for men, roped in Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan. Shah Rukh claims in the ad that fairness is the secret to success in life. The commercial didn’t receive a positive response and was overshadowed by a public interest litigation filed by popular actress Nandita Das asking Emami to withdraw this commercial on the grounds of being discriminatory.

Following the footsteps of Emami, Fair & Lovely roped in a popular cricketer, Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador and launched a TVC with a similar appeal.

The TVC depicts how Virat owes his success story to his fair skin (a kind blessing

by Fair & Lovely) and how it helped him woo his fans, bowlers, media and the scorching heat of sun. Fair skin again became the determinant of success instead

Pitch | April 2014

of grit and hard work.

Harish Bijoor, a brand-strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults explains how it is the combination of need and smart marketing that is responsible for the huge size of the fairness products market. “Indians have a craving to look fair and marketers have leveraged this to sell their products. Men are also getting

“Color is racial and such marketing strategies should not be encouraged” Harish Bijoor Harish Bijoor Consults

oriented towards fair skin.”

Commenting on the Fair & Lovely TVC featuring Virat, Harish noted “The brand is clearly riding on the popularity of Kohli. Cricketers endorse every product and there is no control over endorsements.”

Smart consumers need smart marketers and promoting fair skin tone as the hallmark of beauty can raise eyebrows considering how the consumer has evolved and become more aware.

Apart from the ethics involved, health risk has also emerged as a key challenge before the fairness industry. According to a study conducted by the Centre for

“ The global impetus on racial inclusions has triggered a movement in India where dusky is considered beautiful” Smitha Sarma Ranganathan Strategic Branding & Marketing Management

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FEATURE: THE PROMISE OF FAIR SKIN TONE Science and Environment (CSE) released a few months back, at least 44 per cent of the fairness creams marketed in the country contain high levels of mercury — a toxic heavy metal which may lead to medical complications. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Acts and Rules, the use of mercury is banned in cosmetic products in India.

Blaming the present strategies of leading fairness brands as banal and discriminatory, Bijoor said “Associating fair skin with beauty and success is a clichéd approach. Color is racial, and such marketing strategies should not be encouraged.”

Brand Consultant Vijaybahu Joshi who specializes in brand identity development, believes the market for fairness products did not exist in India before the advent of advertising, “Indians were comfortable being dark until advertising hit the Indian market. In India, if you travel from south to north you see the complexion getting fairer. Fairness is a canvas which advertisers have used” he said. “Considered from the perspective of aspirations, this strategy is fair as long as it is working. Aspirations can be related to marriage, better career or just being accepted in society. But from an ethical perspective it is unfair since it promotes

“Promoting fairness unfair since it promotes feudalism, racism, prejudice and an authoritarian system” Vijaybahu Joshi Brand Consultant

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feudalism, racism, prejudice and an authoritarian system.” Vijaybahu added.

Smitha Sarma Ranganathan, Professor of Marketing , IBS Bangalore threws light on how this fixation is an opportunity for marketers, “The aspiration to look fair continues to exist in the Indian psyche be it among women or men! This aspiration has often taken epic proportions so much so that looking fair has ended up seeming like an obsession among Indians. In this context, the fairness market is an ever vibrant opportunity for marketers of related products”.

“Fairness as an aspirational concept has been highly debated lately, particularly since it did imply dark being inferior and undesirable. However the global impetus on racial inclusions has triggered a movement in India where dusky has begun to be considered beautiful. While

at the bottom and middle of the pyramid the continued obsession with fairness is bound to continue owing to acceptability in the context of marriage, brands should not overtly take ‘the fair is beautiful’ stand point. They should, instead, pitch these products as beauty enhancers that inspire confidence and improve grooming!” she added.

Perhaps, the fairness industry needs to revisit its marketing strategies and leverage other more desirable aspects of the product than the mere promise of fair skin. Smarter and slicker marketing can be used for desired effects. The marketing of fairness products has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The challenge is about how marketers can reposition the products , if they wish to do it at all.  -devansh.sharma@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

| April 2014 | April PitchPitch 2014

115

INTERVIEW: soumya Menon

“What you do is what builds the brand for you”

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Pitch | April 2014

W

i th an increase in demand for mobile phones, organised retail for mobile phones in India has become a necessity. Customers need a space which offers them all options under one roof, professional advice and the chance to experience the brand.

UniverCell, which has a strong presence in the South of India was one of the first few companies to take the retail route for the mobile phone market. It began as a shop that sold post paid mobile connections in 1997, but in 2000 launched the first large-format mobile retail store in Chennai. The founder had understood the need gap in the market and after the launch of the first retail store, there was no looking back. With 450 showrooms in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh , Kerala and Maharashtra, the company is well entrenched in the South and is now increasing its presence in India. While the e-portal is up and running, UniverCell’s focus remains the format store, and the the ins-store experience. Soumya Menon, VP, Brand Strategy, UniverCell spoke to Deepa Balasubramaniam of exchange4media about how UniverCell has carved a niche of its own.

What is your marketing strategy in retail?

Retail as a business is very unique. In retail your biggest tool is your store itself. While in many categories packaging can be one form of communication, in

Pitch | April 2014

In Chennai, within organized retail our share is close to 50 per cent while in the overall Chennai market we have a share of around 25 per cent a large retail store, the first element of the marketing mix is our store because we choose locations which have high visibility. So the store acts as its own communicator. The store itself is a huge advertisement. Our focus is on the ambience of the store and the experience we provide to the customer once he steps in. What you do is what builds the brand for you.

We use print as a tactical medium to give information. We use radio from time to time when we have an interesting story or when we are running a specific activity. For instance if I have opened a new store I will use radio as an advertising medium because it has a local reach.

Digital is very important as because consumers Research Online and Purchase Offline (ROPO). A few years back research would happen in the store.

What is the importance of Digital for UniverCell, apart from just connecting with the consumers?

Digital is important as a medium as some consumers are just available online. We pride ourselves in being multi-channel retailers with a presence both online and offline. For the consumer who wants

to touch and feel the product, we have brick and mortar stores while for the consumer who wants to shop at his convenience we have the web portal.

As a brand we stand for mobile expertise and online is a space which is used to build on that positioning. Besides this, our core values are experienced better online.

Has UniverCell come up with some digital campaigns you would like to share?

There are multiple ways in which we use the digital medium. When we run a mass media campaign, sometimes we use digital as another medium to reach out to the audience. Most of our campaigns have a digital extension.

On our own e-commerce portal we ran a campaign that provided a new offer every hour to the customer. We are also tying up with portals like Flipkart, Amazon. We have strategic alliances with them through which we are operating right now.

What is your current market share?

Our share varies according to the market.

In Chennai, within organized retail our

13

INTERVIEW: uma TaLREJa

share is close to 50 per cent while in the overall Chennai market we have a share of around 25 per cent.

What are the challenges you have faced in the market so far?

Being a retail outlet our business model depends on growth i.e. we have to keep on adding to the number of stores we have . One of the challenges is to find the right location. Sometimes you see a product being sold at different prices in different marketplaces which creates a dissonance. Such practices suggest that we have to try harder to stay in front and continue our leadership. Today competition is not just next door but can be found within the store too. A consumer, who walks in, is also connected online and can easily check out the prices that competitors are offering.

What is the importance of advertising for a company like UniverCell?

Advertising has played different roles at different stages of our growth. When we were expanding, advertising helped us in creating awareness. Today, advertising continues to communicate the brand message. We have crossed the ‘who am I

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Our focus is on the ambience of the store and the experience we provide to the customer once he steps in. What you do is what builds the brand for you stage’ and are in the ‘why buy me’ phase.

The number of options for a customer is increasing and our best practices are being learnt and replicated by other people.

Hence we are under constant pressure to innovate and that’s where advertising continues to play a big role.

In today’s digital world, what is the importance of touching and feeling a product before purchase?

I think it plays the biggest role in our business. For instance, Apple sells more through stores than online, because people want to touch and feel Apple products.

How does your brand make an effort to standout among other players in the market?

We keep coming out with new initiatives regularly. For instance, almost eight years back we were the first company in the country to launch insurance for mobile phones. Recently, we launched an initia-

tive to insure mobile phones, purchased from other stores. We also launched another service texpert which is like your personalized mobile trainer. These are a few post purchase services we have provided our consumers. We have a team to assist you after you buy a phone. We were the first company to launch spot finance for phones under the name UMI- UniverCell Monthly Instalments for people who do not have a credit card or do not have enough credit in their card.

Please share some details about UniverCell’s Sync concept stores.

Sync is a new technology experience store we have created. Smart phones need a new kind of ecosystem in which customers can experience them. In our stores you will find different experience zones. These experience zones are not categorized according to the brands but according to the experiences they offer. It’s a new concept  -deepa@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

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15

INTERVIEW: Uma Talreja

“The assurance of getting the product of choice has brought customers back to us”

W

estside began operations in India in December 1998 in Bangalore. One of the first few retail chains to get a foothold in the country, the group owned by Tata Group’s Trent Ltd started operations at a time when the Indian middle class was waking up to the benefits of multipurpose stores. It was the attractive pricing that attracted shoppers to Westside. It provided them with a convenient retail shopping experience which did not burn a hole in their pockets. But over the years as retail stores picked up pace and e-commerce entered India, Westside lost many loyal customers. But Westside is back in the reckoning with a new expansion plan and a fresh marketing strategy to win them back. Uma Talreja, Head of Marketing, Westside shared some of these plans with Kanika Mehrotra of Pitch.

Edited excerpts: How is Westside planning to woo lost customers? What marketing strategy are you planning to use?

The major challenge for us was to locate the lost customers and Facebook helped us find them. We could locate them on Facebook and then sent personalized messages to them based on their previous shopping habits. With the use of analytics we have been able to reach out to them.

We have also introduced “easy search” facility in our stores by which

16

Pitch | April 2014

customers can be told when and where the product of choice would be available to them. Earlier, we would lose 3-4 per cent of customers due to non-availability of the specific size or colour of a particular garment. The assurance of getting the product of their choice has brought customers back to our stores. The initiative has received a positive feedback.

Once people become aware about the product, we tailor the product offering according to each city absence of response to emails and sms campaigns. We stopped communicating our products and services to that particular segment. The challenge was to come up with a new way to activate

ing effectively reached through other mediums, in a cost effective manner.

Facebook’s Power Editor tool proved very helpful. We extracted the contact details of lapsed members from the loy-

More than 85 per cent of our members can be reached on their phones. Mobile marketing has helped in personalized messaging and targeted communication

alty base and mapped them on Facebook. With the use of Power Editor, we sent the ad communication to these people. During the one month campaign, we reached out to more than 2 lakh seventy thousand people organically and more than 1 lakh ten thousand through social platforms. We reached out to a total of 81.4 per cent of the target database.

In 2013 you entered smaller cities like Allahabad, Bilaspur, Surat, Trichy and many more. How different is Westside’s marketing strategy for these cities?

The focus in smaller cities is to first spread awareness about the brand and for this purpose outdoor advertising has proved very successful. Through outdoor advertising the target group becomes aware about the brand and the news about its entry in the city also spreads faster. Social networking sites have also proved very useful to reach out to the youth. In small towns, community events and gatherings have also proved useful in reaching out to potential customers. Direct marketing is another important tool. Once people become aware about the product we tailor the product offering according to each city. For example, in Bilaspur most potential customers are businessmen and hence we focus on casual wear instead of office wear. In Allahabad, we focus on traditional wear for women

instead of western outfits. Once we have managed to spread awareness, we promote loyalty programmes too.

How successful has your loyalty programme been? What are the particular features you have introduced in your loyalty programme?

The lost customer base had led to an

Pitch | April 2014

this customer base and get them back to Westside.

Also, the brand had reduced expenses on total ad spends for “sale” communication last year as the sale season is intended to clear last season’s stock and hence does not account for much profit.

Therefore, the challenge was to target the right audience which was not be-

Westside plans to coming designers months. Who are and what activities

tie up with upin the coming these designers are you planning

17

INTERVIEW: Uma Talreja

In small towns, community events and gatherings have also proved useful in reaching out to potential customers with them? How are you associating with Vogue Fashion Fund?

We have tied up with designers in the past too, to provide customers with quality products. The problem we faced earlier was that the designers could not provide the volumes that customers demanded.

Now we have tied up with designers for their designs but the production unit is at our end and hence we are able to match the requirements of customers. We have some well known names from the fashion fraternity as well as some upcoming designers. Due to this association, we are

18

able to provide designer quality at an affordable price which becomes a selling point for us. We have given opportunities to participants of Vogue Fashion Fund.

The fund, in collaboration with Fashion Design Council of India, brings together a panel of industry experts to identify fashion designers and we have given them a platform to showcase their work. We tied up with the winner Payal Pratap Singh.

Some other names we have collaborated with are Krishna Mehta, Richa Agge, Masaba among others. It’s a win-win situation for both customers and designers.

Of late, retail chains have been focusing on mobile marketing to reach consumers. How successful has mobile marketing been for you?

We have managed to reach our customers through mobiles. In fact, more than 85 per cent of our members can be reached on their phones. Mobile marketing has helped in personalized messaging and targeted communication.

Do you also have a mobile application for your customers?

We already have a mobile application for Apple users and in the next six months would also come up with an Android Application. It just provides easy access to consumers.n -kanika.mehrotra@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

COLUMN What works better for building categories? A comparison of literal claims vs. metaphoric claims Hamsini Shivakumar

Owner, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting

hamsini6@googlemail.com

Pitch | April 2014

T

ea is a very old category in India, having been introduced by the British in colonial times. “Chai” is the most popular version of tea that is known and drunk in India. Crosscountry studies of beverage consumption in India done by American giants Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola show that water and hot tea still account for maximum share-of-throat or the maximum share of per capita consumption of any beverage consumed daily by any person in India. The ‘chai’ version of tea has many popular brands nationally and regionally, it also has many varieties or blends of tea leaves that cater to regional tastes and preferences. It has seen several types of innovations – from tea bags to flavor variants.

A recent and very new sub-category of hot teas that has been launched is green tea. Two brands are leading the category building effort, Lipton and Tetley. Both present green tea as the healthier alternative to ‘chai’. Both target health conscious, weight conscious, upper class women, 30+ to build the category. Clearly green tea is a drink meant for them vis-à-vis the rest of the population. And both feature celebrities (Lipton features Anushka Sharma and Tetley features Kareena Kapoor) in their advertising to bring in the glamour quotient into this ‘premium’ category, which is priced far-far higher than regular black tea. So far, so similar, there is very little to choose from between the two brands.

When we look at the functionality of green tea, we find differences. Lipton’s version of green tea proposes that drinking green tea will make the drinker feel lighter and more active.

The Tetley version of green tea proposes that green tea cleanses the system from within (‘andar-wala’ snaan).

Lipton takes the linear, logical, straight line

benefit claim approach in its communication.

Zero calories in the green tea, means that green tea is lighter than chai and hence keeps the person active. Heavy, calorific tea is heavy and dull, zero calorie tea is light and active. Or tea makes one active and energetic, this is a lighter way to get the same level of active energy that tea gives.

Tetley takes a metaphorical route in its functional claim. It proposes that because green tea has 5 times the level of anti-oxidants than chai, it cleanses the system from within to keep the person fit and the waist line slim. The narrative sets up the contrast between the care people take with external body hygiene via showering vs, neglect of internal cleansing of the system despite filling it with junk food.

Which of the two routes might work better in category building? The simple, linear benefit presentation or the metaphorical one? The first is a straight benefit sell. The viewer is either persuaded to try a lighter tea or not. The second is cleverer, it tries to define a differentiated perceptual space for green tea within the larger realm of healthy foods and drinks. This differentiated perceptual space is anchored on anti-oxidant properties of green tea along with the cleansing metaphor. The catchy jingle also gets past rational thought processes into the viewer’s memory to place the brand and category there.

This ‘semiotic sell’ of green tea thus makes a stronger impact than the ‘straightforward’ sell of green tea. My verdict, the Tetley version of green tea would work harder to build a role for the category in consumers’ lives.

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

19

BRAND JOURNEY MARUTI SUZUKI

Maruti Suzuki Establishing a bond with the masses Its commitment to consumers, strong distribution network and a multisegment strategy have endeared Maruti Suzuki to the Indian masses

T

he journey of Maruti Suzuki India limited (formerly known as Maruti Udyog Ltd), a household automobile brand, popular for making fuel efficient and low maintenance cars, dates back to 1982, when the first lot of Maruti cars were assembled in Gurgaon, Haryana. During those days, the Indian automobile industry had a capacity to produce 40 thousand cars every year, but today Maruti Suzuki has a capacity of producing around 1.5 Million cars every year.

Over these three decades, Maruti has emerged as a leader in the automobile industry and claims a market share close to 50 per cent.

Maruti 800, the company’s first car was witnessed on the roads in December 1983 followed by the iconic Omni in November 1984.

Maruti 800 targeted middle income group of

20

Pitch | April 2014

the society and turned out to be a very successful hatchback. Its production was discontinued a few years back by the introduction of Maruti Suzuki Alto 800.

In December 1985, Maruti launched its off-roader the invincible Gypsy.

Even today Gypsy is popular in motorsports and is used by the Indian Defense forces.

Maruti 1000, India’s first luxury sedan was launched in 1991 while its upgraded version Esteem was launched in 1994. The first premium hatchback, Maruti Suzuki Zen was rolled out in 1993 and still dominates Indian roads.

In an effort to show its commitment towards consumers, Maruti Suzuki launched India’s first 24 hour on- road

Pitch | April 2014

As a part of the campaign, the company appointed village residents as sales executives with a view to reach out to every prospective buyer in the rural market service assistance in May 1996.

Today it’s much sought after line-up includes as many as 17 models with over 150 variants including Grand Vitara, a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Kizashi, a luxury sedan.

Maruti targets the mass market and its top selling models include Alto, Swift and DZire (the sedan version of Swift).

Maruti Suzuki Alto, the entry level car was launched in the year 2000 and was available under two categories- Alto 800 and K10. Alto 800 is available in as

many as ten variants while K10 is available in two variants.

In 2005, there were only a few players in mid-segment hatchback segment like Tata Indica, Hyundai Getz and this segment was ignored. In an effort to capture this market Maruti Swift was launched. The car is popular for its premium sporty style and fuel efficiency which is reflected in its tagline ‘You are the fuel’. In the year 2009 Maruti launched an improved version of Swift. Auto Expert, Tutu Dhawan

21

BRAND JOURNEY MARUTI SUZUKI praises the Swift saying, “Swift, one of the most successful hatchbacks has been a trend setter in its category. Back in mid 2000s the concept of hatch was not popular, when Swift was launched. After it was launched other players like Volkswagen Polo, Hyundai i20, Fiat Punto also followed.”

In the year 2008, Maruti launched the sedan version of Swift by the name Swift DZire. Back in 2007, the production of Esteem was discontinued and so with the launch of DZire this gap was filled.

Swift is a perfect blend of European styling and rally based suspension system armed with a powerful engine. These attributes have made Swift a preferred choice among the consumers looking for a mid-segment hatchback.

Despite being an economic brand Maruti Suzuki positioned itself as a stylish, comfortable and fuel efficient car maker under the tag line ‘count on us’ highlighting reliability and affordability. In 2003, Maruti Suzuki came up with an institutional ad campaign that communicated this message clearly. In the ad a child continuously plays with his toy car

22

PRICE The pricing strategy of Maruti cars targets both middle income group and the premium segment audience with a wide range of products and their variants.

PLACE Maruti has a dominating presence with over 3013 service outlets across 1463 cities throughout India. The brand also has a strong presence in the rural market.

POSITIONING Despite highlighting fuel efficiency and comfort, Maruti has positioned itself as a stylish, affordable and aspirational brand. The taglines like ‘Men are Back’ for SX4 or ‘You are the fuel’ for Swift have communicated this message effectively.

PROMOTION The brand exploits various media vehicles for strategic promotion.

Besides company also initiates CSR activities to promote its image.

Pitch | April 2014

and when his father questions him, he promptly replies, ‘Kya karoon papa petrol khatam hi nahi hota’.

The brand has been paying considerable attention to the rural market since the last few years. Back in 2008, Maruti rolled out its ‘Ghar ghar mein Maruti’ campaign. The company is striking the rural market with its entry level models and offering some discounts to woo the rural consumers. As a part of the campaign, the company appointed village residents as sales executives with a view to reach out to every prospective buyer in the rural market. Influential people of the village including Teachers, Doctors, or opinion leaders in general were nominated to spread the word.

Another iconic corporate ad campaign launched by Maruti was ‘India Comes Home in a Maruti Suzuki’ in the year 2008.

The ad film was shot across the length and breadth of the country highlighting the emotional bond the brand shares with its consumers. The brand was 25 years old now and had its own loyalists.

The film focused on the intangible quotient i.e. the brand experience and the joy that Maruti drives home.

In the year 2012, Maruti changed its corporate tagline from ‘Count on us’ to ‘Way of Life’ as its global tagline. Maruti has a very powerful equity in the consumer’s mind. The tagline celebrates the leadership of the brand and also highlights the deep relation it has established with the consumers.

‘Hum Rishton mein jeete hain’ is one of the popular corporate ad campaigns launched under the global tagline ‘Way of Life’. The film celebrates the joy of

Pitch | April 2014

Over these three decades, Maruti has emerged as a leader in the automobile industry and claims a market share close to 50 per cent festivals in India and suggests the idea of Celebrating a Festival of Life with Maruti Suzuki.

Distribution is an important marketing mix. The strong distribution network acts as the spine for the brand. Maruti has its reach even in the remotest and smallest of towns in India.

Maruti Suzuki follows a multi-segmentation strategy to tap different consumer segments for different product categories.

Maruti Suzuki has been actively involved in motorsports and the brand

“Swift, one of the most successful hatchbacks and has been a trend setter in its category” Tutu Dhawan Auto Expert

reflects its commitment in the three signature rallies- Raid-de-Himalaya, the Desert Storm and the Dakshin Dare.

Maruti has not been much active in premium segment cars, which makes his Market is still unexplored.

Maruti targets mass market and less active in premium segment cars. Maruti has an undisputed leader in the automobile utility-car segment sector, controlling about 84 per cent of the market till 1998. But presently with the advent of new brands like Fiat, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and other auto manufacturers, the competition has become stiff. To sustain its leading position the brand will have to keep on innovating itself.

Following the footsteps of innovation Maruti Suzuki recently unveiled its new A2 car, Celerio that comes in two variants; with Automatic Gear Shift (AGS) and manual transmission. In 1990’s people switched to AC cars as it became a hygine factor, in 2000’s power steering became a fashion. Celerio’s AGS is expected to bring similar revolution in the industry. Celerio has linked three major failures in this segment. The AGS equipped cars used to be highly priced less fuel efficient and maintenance cost was also very high.n -devansh.sharma@exchange4media.com

23

INTERVIEW: Viral Oza

Nokia associates with fashion for a bigger market share for Lumia A fter Nokia revealed its disappointing Q4 results, it wants to grab Indian fashionistas as a potential customer base. The fashion fraternity has become a lucrative target group today and Nokia is now tapping into its potential in a bid to regain its position. After rocking the London Fashion Week with Nokia Lumia 1520 skirt, in association with the renowned fashion designer Rina Dhaka, Nokia Lumia set the ramp ablaze with a brand new image this year at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Gunjan Verma spoke to Viral Oza, Marketing Director, Nokia India to decipher what this association means for the brand.

Is the association with WLIFW a kind of re- launch for Nokia Lumia after a dip in sales of Lumia in 2013?

As far as the sales are concerned, Lumia is one of the fastest selling phones in

its category, globally. It has the fastest growing ecosystem. Lumia 520 owns 33 per cent of the Windows Phone in the global market and Nokia inches closer to 90 per cent dominance. So, despite the slower growth last year, Nokia is growing and we are focusing more on brand building than instant sales. After Nokia’s association with Microsoft, the sales have doubled – globally.

Our association with fashion has been there for long – nationally as well as globally. Mobile phones are not just utility handsets these days, they are status symbols and thus, with Lumia we are focusing on the design, aesthetics, bright colours and designs that make an individual stand out in the crowd. That

makes a statement!

As a Windows based phone, Nokia does have a differentiating factor, but how much do you think this will help Nokia to consolidate its position in India?

Gaining back market position is something that happens as a part of the strategy after some time. A brand needs time to do that. Firstly, our partnership with Microsoft was something that brought back demand for Nokia phones globally.

Secondly, our aim has been to connect the next billion to the internet and we did that beautifully with Nokia Asha in India. Asha is a leader in the basic phone category and the mid-level market is

Gaining back market position is something that happens as a part of the strategy after some time. A brand needs time to do that captured by Lumia, which is nearing the top position in India.

The Lumia dress at the London Fashion Week was definitely an eye catcher. But how do you plan to attract the attention of the potential Indian buyers through WLIFW? We have associated with Rina Dhaka.

She is one the most celebrated designers in India. She has designed an entire collection inspired by Lumia phones – the tiles, colours and aesthetics are a true inspiration from the phone. We are looking at creating an image for Lumia phones – which is characterized by bold

Pitch | April 2014

and punk colours, aimed at making the owner stand apart. Through the fashion week, we are trying to reach the audience that is fashion conscious and is always hunting for something that will make them look different.

Lumia phones have been positioned in the same way as a fashion accessory would be.

Why did you choose RIna Dhaka or Shantanu & Nikhil?

I feel they are a true personification of what Nokia Lumia is – they are young, bold and known for their outstanding collections. A lot of youngsters follow their collection and the launch of the Lumia collection this year is the statement that Nokia Lumia phones want to make. This is not the first time that Nokia has associated itself with fashion.

We did something at the beginning of the millennium and have been associating with as many as almost 200 such events globally. It is a part of the brand building campaign. Around the image that we create for a brand, events become a part of it. Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week will showcase the brand Lumia in its true proposition to the right target audience.

Launched 2 years back, why do you think Lumia is taking time to capture the market?

It takes time for brands to create a market share for themselves in the category and Lumia is just 2 years old. But there is also another fact that in the first nine months, Lumia sold more than any other mobile phone in their first nine months. The sales improved up to 19 per cent. Lumia has been selling the largest and fastest in the Nokia smartphone category.n -gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

25

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Navin. V 9975092516 | navin.v@exchange4media.com For sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please| sneha@exchange4media.com contact: BANGALORE - Sneha Walke 9845541143 Pitch | March 2014 Daphisha Khapiah 9810349544 9986084742| |atul@exchange4media.com daphisha@exchange4media.com New Delhi - Atul Sharma - Tripti Kedia| 9820010226 | tripti@exchange4media.com Shikhir KOLKATA Agarwwal 9818110007 shikhir@exchange4media.com Mumbai - Tripti Kedia 9820010226 | tripti@exchange4media.com Navin. V 9975092516 | navin.v@exchange4media.com

COVER STORY

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wo days of intensive discussions around the theme of reinvention brought together the best minds in the field of marketing at the Pitch CMO Summit, held in Mumbai and Delhi. Beating hectic work schedules, tiresome distances and other pressing engagements, marketers gathered on a single platform to share their brand sagas, their journeys and life lessons with the audience. The role of the marketer has expanded and evolved over the years and the environment forces him to reinvent his thinking, his reactions, his ideas, and his style of working. But most importantly, he has been guided by market forces to reinvent the brand he represents. Time and again, he has tried to experiment, meeting with success and failure in equal measure. It seems, reinventing the brand is the biggest challenge the marketer faces today.

As the czars of marketing descended on the two cities, the audience waited to hear them provide solutions to this challenge.

Discussions ranged from topics like “The Art of Brand Activation” to “Building brand loyalty and reading the consumer’s mind” and focussed on finding ways to step up to the challenge of reinvention. PepsiCo, HUL, Godrej, ITC were just some of the brands that shared their stories.

The speeches were as varied as the brands themselves. But the one common thread that emerged linking all the experiences was the need for change. Brands must reinvent in these testing times or face the consequences. The event takes place each year but what changes each time are brand experiences and the key takeaways from them.

For those of you who missed the real action, we have compiled the best moments and excerpts from speeches from the Pitch CMO Summit, held in Mumbai and Delhi on March 24 and 27 respectively.

COVER STORY

BAI M U M | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

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B A K S H IL HEMANTire ctor, HU

Executive D

The job of s i g n i t e k r a m to build s d n a r b r o f e v lo 28

Keynote Address

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ore than reinventing brands, our job in marketing is about crafting brands for life. Three out of the top five trusted brands in India from 15 years back are still on the list. Globally, six out of the ten brands have maintained their position. Even with the changes in marketing and development of new ways of marketing, these brands have still managed to remain on the list which proves that they were successful in creating brands for life.

The brands we create change and evolve over time but the thought behind them does not.

Unilever’s marketing philosophy follows three key principles. One of the key things is to put people first. We deliberately call them ‘people’ and not ‘consumers’ because

Pitch | April 2014

POWERED BY

“

As a big and well-loved brand, it is our duty to take responsibility and highlight some of the less desirable facets of our society

“

when you understand people holistically, you can determine the pivotal role you can play in their lives. The second thing is to build ‘Brand Love’.

There are brands that are respected and some that are very popular but there are very few brands that are loved by people. The job of marketing is to build love for brands so that the memories people associate with them stay on for years. The third thing is to unlock the magic in the product. A combination of all these things helps in creating a brand that lasts longer than people themselves.

Brand films that catch a movement and issues that are important to the society, which are truly bigger than the brand, take the brand to the next level. They touch upon an emotion that was significant to people back then. None of the ads of HUL have any of the formulas usually seen in advertisements but they highlight the three pillars that I spoke about earlier.

The Dove Digital Ad campaign showed a forensic artist creating portraits of women based on their descriptions and those given by strangers. The ad has so far received 150 million views and over 4.5 billion global media impressions. More than one-third of the original views had come because Unilever employees shared the film with their friends on social media, not because it was their company’s ad, but because they felt it was worth sharing.

HEMANT BAKSHI & SAM BALSARA Chairman and MD, Madison World Pitch | April 2014

Our consumers are changing because of mobile evolution and it will change marketing too. There are 800 million mobiles in the country, with 200 million of them belonging to people who cannot be reached via anything other than their mobile phone. As a company, our focus is to double the size of our business, while reducing our environmental footprint and making a positive social impact on the life of people. Our brands can play a big role in creating a big, positive impact on society. There are some things that we sweep under the carpet, we are not comfortable speaking about them. But as a big and well-loved brand, it is our duty to take responsibility and highlight some of the less desirable facets of our society. 

SESSION CHAIR Sam Balsara serves as Chairman and Managing Director of Madison World at Madison Media Group. He is also a Treasurer of the Sam Balsara Audit Bureau of Circulations. Sam Balsara is a prominent figure in the Indian advertising industry, with over 30 years of experience in the field of marketing and advertising. He has worked with companies like Sarabhai, Cadbury, Contract Advertising and Mudra Communications before starting Madison in the year 1988.

He serves as Director of Digital Signage Networks India Pvt. Ltd.

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COVER STORY

BAI M U M | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

C

AJIT JOSHRI etail

finiti CEO, MD, In

s r e m u s n o C y b d e t c e ff a are d n a e c i r p e h t the in-store advice 30

Topic

Brand loyalty and reading the consumer’s mind

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e can proudly say that Croma is omnipresent on today’s date. We are not an all India team but we have a presence in 16 cities and cater to 250 cities through our website croma.com. Success lies in the right brand pushing the right kind of cause. You need to manage the product and the offer that you have for the customer.

It is important to understand the purchase behavior of consumers. They buy only those consumer durables which they have already decided upon. Very rarely does the retailer have the power to change that decision. With our experience we have understood that there is only one

Pitch | April 2014

POWERED BY

category where the consumer can be influenced and that is computers. When parents are about to buy the first desktop or laptop for their kids they seek the advice of the retailer. We also know that when purchasing a refrigerator or a washing machine, the lady of the house takes the decision.

We studied the consumers to find out that people seldom change their budget, but again in the computer category you are able to influence the decision and even change the budget. Another noticeable trend is that most consumers today browse the prices online and shop for the consumer durable goods in store. Many offline retailers are going online, but the “touch and feel” factor plays an important role. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly. Today, people browse online before taking a decision about which product to buy.

Another observation can be made with regard to national chains and regional players. Consumers are affected by the price and the in-store advice they receive. We need to think of all these aspects before we launch a new store.

At Croma, consumer tracking has been made mandatory. We have a database of more than 3 Million consumers and we

have divided the personalities of our consumers into groups. If a consumer has not visited our store in the last 3 months we are in a position to trigger and reactivate that customer. It is important for consumer durable retailers to reactivate the consumer and get him back to the store.

We also gather feedback from consumers through various channels. We get the feedback in the store, on the website, through SMSs, and blogs. This has helped us in not just designing our Croma labeled products but also in tracking and studying our consumers better.

The three propositions of the Croma Store which have been followed by our competitors are the store ambience, the staff and the range. Today, Croma qualifies to be a platinum partner with Apple, Nokia and others which indicates that consumers are willing to buy from where they can get an official receipt and they are willing to pay the right price as soon as the product is made available to them..

These are the key differentiators of Croma. Apart from these, Croma has embarked on Omni-Channel marketing.

We don’t just depend on the website but have used QR Codes too. With the help of

TCS, we have designed a digital wall, which can be used by consumers at the airport or railway stations. Consumers can use their mobile phones for the internet transactions.

The walls can be placed inside train compartments too.

We have 100 stores on ground present in 16 cities. We are planning to launch a service soon by which we will deliver a product within 24 hours and this will be difficult for any of the e-commerce players to replicate.

Our website also allows you to personalize messages. if you are in the USA, and wish to send a gift, we can facilitate the gift along with a personalized message. In a country, like India brick and mortar and ecommerce players can both coexist. We are actively using Twitter, Facebook to market our products, and our price points to various consumers.

SESSION CHAIR Subhash Kamath serves as the CEO and Managing Partner of BBH. He has extensive experience of Subhash Kamath more than 25 years in advertising. His successful career began with Ogilvy before moving on to Trikaya Grey, Ambience Publicis, and eventually as the Group CEO of Bates 141.

Subhash joined BBH INDIA as Managing Partner in January 2009 .Over the years, he has been associated with many famous brands and has been an integral part of their success stories.

These include Nokia, Lakme, Saffola, Parachute, Britannia, Arrow and Lee jeans, among others.

AJIT JOSHI & SUBHASH KAMATH, CEO and Managing Partner, BBH 31

COVER STORY

CMO

I A B M U M | 4 1 SUMMIT 20

Topic

SUN

ITA BANGARD

President Marke

As IDEA, we always want to have a point -of-view 32

ting, Idea Cellu

lar

Reinventing the brand as a mantra of growth

W

e live in the world of ‘Sameness’ and brands not only have to stay on top but also keep changing according to the ever changing face of the consumer to stay relevant. Thus, brands should aim at reinventing to stay relevant.

We have a brand that is very young and in a brief period of 14 years, this Indian company has a turnover of US $ 4.4 billion. Not just that, idea has been recognized for all the work we do across the nation. We are the 7th largest globally (with a subscriber base of 130 million) and while we may be number 3 on the basis of our market share, we call ourselves amongst the top 3 brands because we are growing at three times the industry. But how did we get there? The story of Idea is that it runs on an idea. Idea is all about innovation

Pitch | April 2014

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and vitality. The 3 big milestones in the journey of Idea that have helped in growing the brand took place in the years: 2004 – 2005, 2006-2011 and 2012 – 2014.

When Birla-AT&T brought Maharashtra and Gujarat to the table, the merger of these two entities was a reality. Thus BirlaTata-AT&T, popularly known as Batata, was born and was later rebranded as IDEA. We started in 1997, with 2 circles and moved to 8 circles in 2005, had a pan India presence in 2011 and now we have 3G license across all circles. We chose IDEA as the name of the brand because it is one of those unique words that is widely used across 16 languages - it is profound, powerful and has immense potential! The exclamation in IDEA is about innovation. We chose the colour ‘yellow’ as it is the color of the sun, which is about warmth and power and in India it is also considered auspicious.

Our products have always been ahead of time. We had a woman’s card, introduced lifetime validity, dialer tones and we were the first ones to launch these . The competition grew between 2006 to 2011 as everyone was bidding for the easily achievable urban fruit. But we had put our thoughts to

SUNITA BAN

GARD & MAL

do something different and decided to tap 70 per cent of India’s population living in the rural areas. Today, Idea’s 55 per cent subscriber base is from tier 2, tier 3 cities.

Big brands like Airtel and BSNL have 45 per cent and 33 per cent share in these markets respectively. We believe this is the market set for a boom.

Later, we decided that our attitude would be to stand out and do something that differentiated us. We decided to have a point-of-view. When a brand has a relevant point-of-view, people connect with them and make such brands more successful. So, IDEA’s point-of-view was – “it can change your life” and the promise being we would demonstrate the power of mobile telephony that could make a huge difference to people’s lives. We elevated our levels of communication and that gave birth to ‘What an Idea Sirjee’ campaign.

Our numbers speak the reality of our popularity. We were 5th in 2008 and in 2011, we were the 3rd largest brand in the category. But after tasting success, in 2012, we took a pause and introspected about the next steps. We needed to start acting like leaders both universally and internally.

COM MISTRY

CEO, DNA

SESSION CHAIR Malcom Mistry serves as the CEO of DNA .Mistry has over two decades of experience Malcom Mistry across the India Today and Indian Express groups. As Publishing Director at the former, he was responsible for the flagship India Today magazine and all its language avatars, Business Today and Readers Digest amongst others. Mistry was also the chief architect of the sales synergy process and created a unified sales team across the various brands.

After doing the ground work, we realized we had to now keep pace with the ever evolving customers. Focusing on ground activation, we decided to relaunch ‘Idea Rocks’ and engage the audience by giving them a chance to sing along with their favorite singers.

The single approach we took, that reinvented the brand for us, was to go digital. While we continued to invest in ‘Bharat’ we tried to stay relevant to the new ‘Bharat’ that is going digital as well as mobile.

We concentrate on creating advertising especially for the digital medium and in the way it is consumed in that medium. So what’s next? We need to outdo ourselves in every way because that is the only way we know how to do it.

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COVER STORY

CMO

I A B M U M | 4 1 SUMMIT 20

Topic

Stepping up to the Challenge: Reinventing Ourselves

KUMAR VASANTHanAd VCommunication, IBM

Director, Marke

ting

All we think e m o c e b n a c , of a reality 34

I

like the fact how digital influences more offline spends than online spends. An interesting fact I came across is that 80 per cent of the mobile apps are used once and then deleted. Thought data is going to be the natural and limitless resource and we should think about using it well.

We, at our organization, asked a question to ourselves for ‘The 2013 CMO Study’ that we conducted with 524 fellow members of my profession – Are we moving fast enough? We did a similar study 3 years ago.

I want to compare both the studies to answer the question – Are we doing enough to reinvent? Brands should try and reinvent as the time demands, or the world would force them to reinvent.

The first interesting result showed that in

Pitch | April 2014

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“

Big data and social media, have increased the rate of changing things, more than the ability to cope with them

“

the last three years, two of the biggest technology shifts – the big data and social media, have increased the rate of changing things more than the ability to cope with them.

On data explosion, we believe that in 2011 we were 71 per cent unprepared whereas at the end of 2013, we were unprepared to the extent of 81 per cent. But we remained optimistic!

‘The 2013 CMO Study’ clearly defined 3 clear profiles of marketers.

We looked at brands that were traditionalist, brands that were social strategists and those who were digital space trendsetters. Traditionalists are people who are just starting their digital journey and are yet to look at digital in any significant manner.

Social strategists are a huge portion of Indian organizations; it is a great way to engage the audience, amplify the message and these marketers are just beginning to use social as a service channel.

So how do we reinvent? We make use of analytics to gain customer insight, design customer experiences and finally, keep up the promises made through execution. Jaguar is creating a virtual showroom display where one can customize the car by putting down their preferences and the virtual customized car comes on the screen. This gives the customer a far better experience than looking at brochures. This forms valuable customer feedback in terms of what customers look for and spend their time

on, while thinking about a car.

There is a lot of interesting work happening in the area of using big data analytics to work in favor of the brands. One such feature is psycholinguistic analytics which is using analytics to actually understand the emotions behind what people do on social channels. I meet a lot of people who say this was what they predicted several years back and now it is a reality. So, all that we think of can become a reality and this is what reinvention is about! 

SESSION CHAIR Nandini Dias serves as CEO, Lodestar UM. In more than twenty years of experience she has worked Nandini Dias across national and multinational brands like L’Oréal, Johnson and Johnson, Henkel, Renault, SC Johnson, Bayer, Sony Pictures, Samsung, and many more prestigious and big brands. She has led Lodestar UM India to the Media Agency of the Year title several times at the biggest Indian award shows like Goafest and Emvies. She also ranks consistently among the leading Media Heads in all the prestigious industry rankings.

VASANTHA V KUMAR & NANDINI DIAS CEO, Lodestar UM

Pitch | April 2014

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COVER STORY

CMO

I A B M U M | 4 1 SUMMIT 20

Business Head

ASU SUBHASMHotISheBr Dairy Fruits and Vegetables

(Dairy Products)

Topic

We want to make y r i a D r e h t o M youthful 36

Reinventing the Mother Diary brand

W

e felt there was a need to reinvent to fill the gap between what we were and what we wanted to be.

After so many years in the dairy industry we realized that in this industry value-added products played a big role. We wanted to tap the opportunity of providing valueadded products in order to sustain the business of milk. At the same time wanted to give great results to the farmers and delight the customers.

We are trying to make Mother Dairy the

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“

Sticking to core values continues to be a selling point for us, while word-of-mouth promotion is a major factor too

“

most preferred company in the dairy and food business. We are working on 3 major product portfolios with guilt free indulgence. We are focusing on consumer reach, which means that we have to move beyond milk booths and play the FMCG games; We want to make an impact nationally.

At present, social media plays a small role in the brand’s strategy, with TVCs playing a larger role to connect with the consumers. Mother Dairy is currently running its ‘Happy Food, Happy People’ campaign in Delhi. Social media will be used on a larger-scale over the next two years for promoting Mother Dairy.

Sticking to core values continues to be a selling point for us, while word-of-mouth is a major factor in promoting Mother Dairy products.

Mother Dairy is also focusing on peripheral values and has launched campaigns and concepts, evolved milk booths in Delhi-NCR, which are

serving a large consumer base in the FMCG segment. The brand’s strategy is to strengthen its position in the FMCG segment by ensuring availability of its products at points of sale round-the-clock.

The brand’s mobile tanker unit concept in Mumbai is working well. Mother Dairy is planning to extend its reach in various other locations across the country shortly.

The focus is to take the brand ahead on both macro and micro levels and to give it a ‘youthful

and energetic’ image by exploring the spaces beyond the mother-child bond. Also, the strategy to employ ex-servicemen ensures disciplined operations of its booth network in Delhi, which is working well in the brand’s favor. The complexities of each market are being explored, and Mother Dairy has created a successful market for its Mishti Doi in Kolkata.

Its products are also being flown to Bangalore and Hyderabad as well, on an experimental basis, to see which products do well in these regions.

SESSION CHAIR Sandeep Sharma serves as the President at R K Swamy Media Group.

Currently, he Sandeep Sharma handles the P&L responsibility for the media companies comprising of media planning & buying, outdoor and digital, managing more than 100 employees and more than 100 clients across 6 offices pan India. Sharma was Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Sales at Times Global Broadcasting, where he was part of the start-up team of Times Now and ET Now

SUBHASHIS BASU & SANDEEP SHARMA, President RK Swamy Media Group Pitch | April 2014

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COVER STORY

CMO

I A B M U M | 4 1 SUMMIT 20

Topic

TTACHARYA e z Life Insuranc RITURAJ BHA t, Bajaj Allian

Art of Brand Activation

t Managemen Head, Marke

n o i t u b i r t s i Our d channels p m a r s u d e p hel up quickly 38

L

ife insurance has always been product driven where you use the resonance of the family to create preferences for the brand through ATL activities. We started our campaigns on the ATL platform. But we always felt the need for on- ground activations to create familiarity with the brand. This is where we felt we should involve kids.

It’s interesting as children do not make decisions and do not ask parents to buy life insurance. But the child is certainly the centre of attraction for the family and it is his dreams, aspirations that his parents try to fulfil. Activation therefore has two important dictats: you really

Pitch | April 2014

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“

Any interaction for activation has to be meaningful. We took an unusual path of choosing sports rather than education for our project

“

need to activate on a large scale covering a significant geographical area in the country. Secondly, you need to get the significant involvement of retail distribution for the entire activation.

Any interaction for activation has to be meaningful. We took an unusual path of choosing sports rather than education for our project. Unfortunately, in India sports is not considered to be an integral part of the school curriculum.

However in a child’s life serious sporting activities play a critical role in their development. That’s where the brand intends to focus. We chose football in a country of cricket fanatics simply because we understand the country’s aspiration of nurturing a world class team which could take us to the global level.

We also know that we need to harness the potential of children at an early age to achieve this. Fourteen to sixteen years is the right age to target for football. We decided to create a platform through which parents realized how excellence in sports could benefit their children.

What emerged as a result was the creation of an engagement platform for both parents and children. We reached

out to all football fanatics and activated our distribution reaching out to colleges, academies and institutions, spreading the word about the camp.

The format of the camp is very interesting. From school contact programmes we escalate it to academy contact programmes, thereby identifying children at local, regional and national levels.

We shortlist five to six children and take them to Germany to be a part of the FC Club.

As a result, we have been able to garner a huge volume of user generated content. Credible content created both on online and offline platforms has helped us in touching one lakh children in the country by now. Most of the

RITURAJ BHATTACHARYA & MONICA TATA, Managing Director, HBO Asia Pitch | April 2014

children who were a part of this initiative came back having tasted a slice of international football.

Our distribution channels helped us ramp up quickly. This is the platform where we have football partners, we have media tie ups, we use outdoor, print, radio, and cinema. We have a micro site which was created last year which attracted around forty two thousand children within the period of April to August and achieved a lot of engagement. We got good engagement on Facebook, Youtube and also used blogs to great effect.

To sum it up, we don’t just activate, but also follow the successful child, support him in achieving their dream.

A few of them have done well and we hope they shine in the future.

SESSION CHAIR Monica Tata serves as Managing Director of HBO Asia since April 25, 2013.

She has also held the position Monica Tata of Vice President and Deputy General Manager of Entertainment Networks-South Asia at Turner International India Private Limited. Her illustrious career started with Sunday Mail as marketing executive in 1991. She moved on to join STAR India.

She stayed with STAR India for about 12 years and joined Turner International as Vice-President, Advertising Sales, in 2004. She has been an Hon. Secretary of The International Advertising Association since November 2012.

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COVER STORY

CMO

I A B M U M | 4 1 SUMMIT 20

SHAN KARTHI MARotak Group

ting, K Head, Marke

Inculcate e c n e n a m r e p y t l a y o l d n a among customers 40

Topic

Brands are just sticker tattoos

P

ermanence and loyalty are the two key attributes which a marketer needs to inculcate within his customers. In the process of reinventing your brand you might prove everything that you have done in your entire career, wrong. We say we love our customers but we actually love their money.

The idea of permanence is to position a brand in such a way that we need not worry about it for the next five or ten years to come. The next big thing is loyalty. The best ones who can be loyal to a brand are its own employ-

Pitch | April 2014

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ees. We saw this happening in the US during the recession. When employers were firing, all of a sudden employees became loyal to their brand. Loyalty is more or less related to the number of choices provided. Most of the marketing lessons are learnt from the lessons of life. A lot of choices are leading to more number of separated couples in the US. Using these life experiences in marketing, I raise a question for myselfhow can I expect customers to remain loyal in a surrounding which is full of choices?

Most brands, offer different attributes not similar to what their counterparts have to offer. For example Volvo as we all know, is about safety. But my question is, can a brand like Volvo stand only on a leg called ‘safety’? The idea of permanence is slowly being replaced by the idea called transience as consumers want all in one features in everything they seek. In the beginning at

Kotak, we focused on investment services as our strength but we realized that consumers were not participating with us for their daily transactional needs. Just when we had finished 25 years, we started making consumers speak for us. This happened in 2010 and later in 2011, we came up with savings bank services which offered consumers 6 per cent interest rates challenging the interest rate of 4 per cent offered by other banks. In 2013, we opened junior accounts which allowed mothers to have a partnership account with their kids. This initiative gave us a good chunk of business as mothers tend to manage both the accounts at the same time. So in order to earn loyalty of your consumers, you need to make them engage with your brand services and let them be loyal to your efforts and eventually they become loyal to your brand.

SESSION CHAIR Rajiv Dhingra is the Founder and CEO of WATConsult, a full service digital and social media agency founded Rajiv Dhingra in the year 2007.

An entrepreneur and a thought leader in the digital space, he currently leads a team of 140 people at WATConsult. WATConsult is headquartered in Mumbai and has offices across Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata In a span of 7 years, he has worked with more than 100 clients across India. Some of the brands include Warner Bros, PVR, SAP, Nikon, Tata Salt, Godrej, Bajaj Allianz.

KARTHI MARSHAN & RAJIV DHINGRA CEO, WATConsult

Pitch | April 2014

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COVER STORY

LHI E D | 4 1 0 2 IT CMO SUMM

MAR D SHIVAOK, UPep sico India

Keynote Address

Chairman & CE

Brands have promises to keep 42

W

hy do brands need to reinvent? One reason is when they fail to keep the promises they made. If the brand doesn’t reinvent, it’s cheating on the faith of the consumers. Brands are fundamentally about emotions and strong brands evoke emotions. When a brand has to reinvent itself it has to decide what set of emotions it wants to go for. The brand has to reinvent the emotion to reinvent the brand.

Everybody knows that the world of consumers is changing, but they are changing to become hybrid consumers. Someone who drives a BMW also eats at McDonald’s. There is no segmentation now. There are hybrid consumers, hybrid products, hybrid distribution channels and hybrid channels of communication.

This is yet another reason why brands need to reinvent themselves. The target groups are not so categorically divided anymore. Tweens is one set of such hybrid consumers. This set can include a 13 year old girl who talks like a 30 year old woman. These children have immense pester power on parents. The new hip aunty is no longer the auntie whom the media has ridiculed so

Pitch | April 2014

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far, instead she is sharp and smart. Marketers have to change their paradigms of old dumb aunt to a smart aunt.

There are various ways in which a brand can reinvent itself. Relevance is earned by creating an impact on society. Every brand is expected to earn its trust and put it back in the society in which it operates. Profit is no longer the only agenda on a CMO’s table. Each brand in the world has been started by an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur had passion not only for the brand but also for the society. A brilliant example of this is Tata’s commitment to Jamshedpur.

The concept of a master brand now is a paradox. Had Vaseline just been a petroleum jelly in those blue jars, consumers would have forgotten about it. But the reinvention led to a Vaseline brand which has full women & men’s range of products.

Nivea in 132 years of its life spent, 107 years being just a blue tin with white crème in it.

In the last 25 years, Nivea has a full range of skincare products. Apple in its 38 years started with personal computers and is now what is visible to the entire world.

The marketing teams often work as security guards. They will either curb the reinvention steps thinking about safeguarding the brand’s image or the marketing team can function as an architect. If a marketing team works as an architect then they

reinvent the brand and expand its vision.

But marketers need to be careful about reinvention. Colgate’s ready to eat meals, Harley’s cake mix and Levis’ suits are three disasters marketers have committed while reinventing their brand. Brand ego can make you think that your brand is so big that people are waiting for the next cake mix you make. The marketing team for any brand needs to have humility.

The time when brands talked to consumers has gone. Today consumer talks to consumer on social media. If the marketing team is not a part of this conversation then they would lose their trust. The response has to be intelligent and quick. People usually expect brands to respond in 15 minutes and on facebook within 59 minutes. In today’s world, brands have just 60 minutes.

Brands need to think how they would reinvent themselves in the social world.

Innovation is very important for any brand. Innovation is what can beat inflation. The brands that were successful with innovation had 20-22 per cent more investment as compared to the industry standards of investment.

No brand can do all on its own .Reinventing brands through brand partnerships is required. I call this an era of dependent growth. We can all grow together.Brands have to think with whom they can partner

D SHIVAKUMAR & CVL SRINIVAS CEO, Group M

to grow. One example of this is when Nokia, Airtel and a microfinance company partnered to sell more than a million phones within a specific territory and it was beneficial for all. The brands today need to ask how they can grow together. This requires brands to submerge their ego at the negotiation tables. Brands have to reinvent their business model in today’s world where modern trade as well as e-commerce is growing.

Every industry in which the middle man is not adding value is dying at the hands of mobile and internet. The digital world is very important for reinventing a brand.

If brands want to reinvent themselves then they have to reinvent their marketing teams. They need to reinvent the way they work. Brands have promises to keep. 

SESSION CHAIR C. V. L. Srinivas has been Chief Executive Officer Group M, South Asia since since early 2013.

He has been C. V. L. Srinivas responsible for all GroupM operations in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He has almost 20 years of experience in the media and advertising industry in India, spanning local and multinational media agencies, a digital media start-up and The Times of India’s Private Treaties function. He has held senior management positions in leading media agencies Fulcrum, Madison Media and Maxus (GroupM) in India/AsiaPacific. He has worked closely with several leading advertisers including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Nokia and Vodafone.

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COVER STORY

LHI E D | 4 1 0 2 IT CMO SUMM

KHERJEE, ITC NILANJAN MU l Care)

Head, Marketin

g (Persona

Marketing is e s n e s n o m m co and there e c n e i c S o n is behind it 44

Topic

Reading the Consumer’s Mind

M

arketing is business and Business is marketing. The function of marketing or creating brands is transformational to business development. If a brand gets its bearings right or the consumer understanding in place then the consumers will automatically ask for the product in the store at a price that you want them to pay.

With rising media costs, every brand wants to communicate effectively to the target audience. They want to concentrate on sharper messaging to reduce the impact of the rising costs. But the intriguing question is how can a brand afford a 30-second commercial amidst increasing costs. Marketing is common

Pitch | April 2014

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sense and there is no Science behind it.

I don’t see costs going down. The proliferation of media makes the job even tougher. So the big question iscan the message be delivered in half the time? Can we cut through the clutter? Indians are socially trained to respond positively. The consumers don’t articulate what they feel.

If you want advertising to work you need to understand the high points in the advertising. Effective communication captures key messages and when you capture key messages then you can actually compress advertising to make it shorter and yet much more effective The three letters that need to be remembered for effective advertising are ABC – A stands for attention. Your advertisement, be it in any medium, print, commercial or outdoor, has to gain the attention of the consumer. B stands for branded memorability. It’s very important that consumers should memorize the advertisement with your brand rather than some other brand. The advertisement should create a memory of your brand. C

stands for comprehension. The message needs to be clear, and understandable.

Keeping these three letters in mind one needs to create good advertisements and then compress them .

We use a tool called ‘neurofocus’ to understand the consumer pulse. We invite consumers and we play our ads along with the other ads in front of a consumer without asking any questions.

There is a cap put on the consumer’s mind and it is wired to record the brain pulse as the ad is played. We also track the consumer’s pupil as it dilates. It is a fool-proof way of gathering information about the advertisement even without talking to the consumer”. This tool captures attention, the high points of emotional engagement and the pulses which trigger memory retention.

Something which has emotional engagement and stays in the memory of the consumer will drive action intent.

When it’s a large brand that wants to do something new then there should be a mix of attention and memory activation leading to novelty. Comprehension

NILANJAN MUKHERJEE & RAJIV DHINGRA, CEO, WATConsult

Pitch | April 2014

comes from the blend of attention and emotional engagement.

‘Engage’ is a brand that we have created in ten months. Engage is a deodorant brand in the highly cluttered deodorant market, which is growing rapidly.

Every brand in this category rides on a one-way street that is unabashed attraction. Engage has created a space of playful chemistry and equality between a man and woman There is equality in the relationship.

The music of the ad became very popular and it played a key role in branded memorability. The shorter edit of the ad almost had the same impact but the investments were reduced by almost 50 per cent. The shorter advertisement also created the same spontaneous awareness and strong awareness. As a brand, you need to effectively retain the high points of your proposition and yet create a successful business proposition. 

SESSION CHAIR Rajiv Dhingra is the Founder and CEO of WATConsult, a full service digital and social media Rajiv Dhingra agency founded in the year 2007.

An entrepreneur and a thought leader in the digital space, he currently leads a team of 140 people at WATConsult. WATConsult is headquartered in Mumbai and has offices across Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata In a span of 7 years, he has worked with more than 100 clients across India. Some of the brands include Warner Bros, PVR, SAP, Nikon, Tata Salt, Godrej, Bajaj Allianz

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COVER STORY

HI L E D | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

C

Topic ATARIA rej Consumer SUNIL KSA ARC, God

arketing & COO - Sales, M Products Pvt. Ltd.

The brand f o l a i t n e t o p s a w l o h t n i C tremendous 46

The journey of the iconic brand - Cinthol

I

am going to take you through a journey by telling you a story. It’s about how the iconic brand Cinthol reinvented itself over the last few years.

It’s a brand which is 62 years young brand. Cinthol was born on Independence Day, August 15 in the year 1952. It was launched as India’s first deodorant and complexion soap. It was a unique soap with a green bar, red wrapper and unique fragrance. With just a small change in its wrapper, till today, this soap is the number one player in south India and has earned great loyalty for a soap which is untouched in terms of formulation, quality and fragrance. That’s how 62 years have passed for this soap and it remains the most premium of all soaps.

From 1952 to 1982, was the period when the media had not evolved. Print was the main player when this brand established itself and today too, it can be seen in that form. The second phase of Cinthol was from 1985 to 1995, and this is the decade of the new Cinthol as we see it now. This was

Pitch | April 2014

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when the brand Cinthol was re-positioned as a young, active brand aimed at enhancing the confidence of a young male. The new packaging happened at this time and the first repositioning took place. From 1952, the first reinvention of Cinthol happened after 30 years. This was the time when India had just been introduced to television and advertising. The brand was given the premium positioning of freshness. It used alpha male celebrities like Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan to build an image of young machismo.

The next decade came with a broader appeal for the soap. At this time India’s premium segment was still small. During this time a new extension happened, which is Cinthol Fresh. The fresh lime variant was the new extension of Cinthol taking the brand appeal to the family and not just to the youth. The freshness and the fragrance equity of the brand which were there with it since 1952 got carried forward. We moved away from youth and stopped at the family, because masses were more about family.

The premium advertising of Cinthol continued at its top end. There was huge growth, and the popular imagery overshadowed the premium imagery.

2007 is the year of the third phase of Cinthol. I still do not call it reinvention.

Cinthol was all about being fresh, active and confident and it was decided that the brand would go with that appeal. So we decided to invest our marketing spend on the premium

category. That’s when a new campaign took shape around its core proposition. While in the middle, it had deviated from the youth and male appeal, it finally went back to it.

There was still no reinvention. In 2012, we finally decided to reinvent Cinthol. We looked ahead at the future of Cinthol till 2020. That’s when we had to ponder on why there was a need to reinvent.

India changed the maximum between 2004 to 2014. The brand potential of Cinthol was tremendous. The youth of today is very different from the youth 6 or 7 years back.

This generation is all about experience. People today want to explore different aspects of their personality. They are not happy being just one-dimensional. By the end of 2011, we felt the need to take these changes into account with respect to the brand.

The challenge that we have built for ourselves in 2011 is the challenge of ‘Being Cinthol’. We have decided to build Cinthol as a personal grooming premium brand over the coming 7 to 8 years. That’s why we decided to reinvent Cinthol. We wanted an idea which actually reflected the cultural context of our times.

Alive is about freshness, confidence and Awesome is about today’s generation. So the big idea was ‘Alive is Awesome’. The brand went through a complete makeover for the future. Huge clean premium design architecture emerged. Classic rectangular form, bold color (which reflects the vibrancy

SUNIL KATARIA & ANUPRIYA ACHARYA, Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia

of today’s youth), and improved formulation emerged. The feeling of awesomeness has to come out in whatever we do. The thematic campaign used unconventional bathing as a metaphor and we repositioned bathing itself. We decided to make digital not just a part of the strategy but a core of the strategy. We launched the product on Digital under the project Alive bathing and told people to upload user generated content and tell how they were indulging in unconventional bathing. This made ‘Alive is Awesome’ alive on digital to connect with the youth.

The second change was incorporated in the deodorants’ category. We play only in the male category till now. We roped in Virat Kohli because he is the most ‘Alive is Awesome’ personality in the country today and not because he is Virat Kohli. We decided not to use him as the cricketer Virat Kohli, and wanted people to see his real side. We generated a teaser campaign on digital. This is what took our brand imagery forward. The challenge Virat handled trended for 7 continuous days. Two years after repositioning Cinthol is growing by leaps and bounds. 

SESSION CHAIR Anupriya Acharya serves as Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia Group. Anupriya has worked with Mindshare where Anupriya Acharya she was Leader, Team Unilever South Asia, with the responsibility of leading the business across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Prior to working at Mindshare, Anupriya was CEO, Aegis Media, Singapore and before that was the President, The Media Edge, India. She has extensive experience of clients including HUL, Nokia, Colgate Palmolive, and many more. She has also been on the Jury for several key media industry awards in India and Singapore.

COVER STORY

HI L E D | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

C

RIKOO kets ANKUR AWCA , Emerging Mar

CEO, Groupon

Competition made us think out-ofthe-box 48

Topic

AP

Managing your Brand through Out-Of-The-Box Thinking

A

s an online brand, to connect to the consumers was the hardest thing for Groupon; the company had no choice but to think out- of- thebox to connect with the consumers given the large number of dotcom competitors.

Groupon realised that being in the deal space, there were very few chances that the consumer would remember the brand against the end brand that rendered its services. So, Groupon made a few movements towards its customers in terms of service, which elevated the brand to another level.

The ďŹ ve out-of-the-box marketing initiatives or rather deals that made Groupon

Pitch | April 2014

POWERED BY

ANKUR WARIKOO & RA JUL

“

No matter how digital he gets, the Indian consumer likes the attention and handholding he gets from the brands

“

what it stands for today in the daily deals space are as follows: 1. With the global success of Hollywood flick ‘Dark Knight’, Groupon (Crazeal at that time) realised that it was the perfect movie their target audience would like to go and watch. They bought an evening show of the first weekend across the country – owning about 4,800+ seats at 50 per cent off on the tickets. But what was significant was that representatives were present at all the places to interact with the users and take feedback from them. They were able to speak to the customers directly even though it was an online brand.

2. As Groupon found its customers hanging around at coffee shops, it wanted to be present there. It tied up with India’s largest coffee chain and the offer was that as the customer entered, he had to sign up for the Groupon newsletter and was offered a cappuccino free of cost. But the extra effort that it made to touch the customers’ hearts was that the coffee was stenciled with coffee powder displaying the Groupon logo instead of the regular heart or smileys. So they saw the brand upfront

3. Delhi Gourmet Club, owned by Rocky Mohan – the owner of Old Monk, partnered with Groupon to create a special menu for the customers of some restaurants in Delhi and called it the ‘DelhiciousWeek’. It was no longer about a deal, it was something about what money can’t buy. It was curation at the highest level. People would look at the menu and could not buy from that special menu if they had not bought the deal with Groupon. About 656 deals were bought which further transformed into a lot of buzz.

4. The brand wanted to check how much excitement it could create without making people buy a particular deal. So, people had to buy something on Groupon and ran a lucky draw, which was

KULSHRESHTHA, Foun der, Xposure

an all- expenses paid deal to Las Vegas.

They tied up with Virgin Atlantic and The Bellagio – the two names synonymous with right quality and gave US $ 500 to spend also. About 28,000 customers took a chance on this.

5. The onion @ Rs. 9 deal bought absolute virality to Groupon like never before. In seven days about 22,084 kgs of onions were sold. It was not about stalking up the house with onions but the deal was to make people feel the joy of buying onions at the rate of rupees 9 when they were available for almost about Rs. 100 in the market. It made news all over the world. On Day 2 of the deal, the site crashed with the insane traffic on the site.

No matter how digital he gets, the Indian consumer likes the attention and handholding he gets from the brands.

SESSION CHAIR Rajul Kulshreshtha co-founded Xposure in March 2013.

Xposure is a Delhi based Rajul Kulshreshtha agency focused on media solutions for brands. Prior to this, Kulshreshtha had taken on the role of Managing Director at Kinetic Worldwide in 2010. Kulshreshtha has been with WPP and GroupM since 1994. In June 2006, he was elevated to the Managing Director’s post for Motivator. He spearheaded Motivator’s pan India role for five years. Prior to that, in May 2004, he was General Manager, GroupM, Team LG.

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COVER STORY

HI L E D | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

C

PAL SHUBODicIP romax CMO, M

Topic

Repositioning to take your image to the next level

From local to global in 16 months 50

T

he challenge that got me motivated when I joined Micromax in October 2012 was the clear vision of the founders - to be the ďŹ rst Indian hardware brand to go global.

That was good enough to make me jump out of my bed every day and get to Micromax. This changed the attitude of everyone associated with Micromax.

We had a challenge and that was to completely metamorphose the brand.

Before marketing a product I know I should be proud to carry it myself.

Rahul Mishra and I started working on

Pitch | April 2014

POWERED BY

SHUBODIP PAL & T GANG ADHAR,

“

The target group’s tastes are well defined, hence we had to be very careful about the brand associations

“

a product in January 2013 and it took us exactly sixty six days and then on his birthday in May, he presented to me the newest Canvas 4, which is the largest selling samrtphone around. We got to believe in the brand first and then started moving.

Some of the challenges Micromax had to face were related to its image.

It was known to be Chinese, cheap, Indian, massy and we had to change all that and the tonality of the brand as well. To do that, we waged a war on all fronts from the product categories to the brand spaces. We slashed the 43 sub brands and got them down to 5 simple verticals.

We have a research and development lab in India where we design products and then use China to scale it up . With China, the advantage is that you can actually touch and feel the product even before it gets out in express hours. We focused word-ofmouth campaigns and emerged as the “buzziest brand of the year.”

Today, the target group’s tastes are well defined, hence we had to be very

careful about the brand associations.

We were sure that we only wanted to be a part of the stories where people spoke about Samsung and Nokia and no other Indian brands. We are the number two brand in the country and managed to throw that weight around. MMS – Music, Movies & Sports has worked brilliantly with our brand.

We were also specific in choosing the sort of music, movies and sports we were associating with – music for us was Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Rock, and was leveraged both on-ground as well as through on- air activities. We also associated with Vogue at the Fashion Week. So, we

MD, MEC India

started being there at the right places and at the right time. We then had to do something that Indian brands do not do and that is how, Hugh Jackman happened! Sheer magnanimity of the actor worked well with the brand in taking it to the next level altogether.

Hugh Jackman had affected and influenced everyone which was the whole point of getting him on board.

Sixteen months ago among feature phones we were at 8 per cent, today we are at thirteen per cent market share; in smart phones, it is a rise from thirteen per cent to twenty one per cent.

SESSION CHAIR T .Gangadhar serves as the Managing Director of MEC. Before this, he has served as Vice President T Gangadhar and Head of Marketing, Sony.

Before his successful stint at Sony, Gangadhar was Vice President, Strategic Planning, Lowe Lintas. The successful career of T Gangadhar began as a management trainee with Mudra Communications in 1994. He quit the agency as an Account Supervisor in 1997.

He then moved to Lowe (then Ammirati Puri Lintas) in Bangalore where he was working on the Kwality Walls business.

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COVER STORY

HI L E D | 4 1 0 2 MO SUMMIT

C

SINGH BAAsiTaRA AMARJITOLX , South

Topic

CEO,

Doing Something l a n o i t n e v n unco t n a t r o p m i s i 52

Reinvention of the classifieds category: OLX Brand Story

R

einvention of brands with respect to OLX would be difficult to talk about as we started only three years back in India. A lot of people think OLX is an Indian company but that is a myth. OLX started in 2006 in Argentina with a vision to run classifieds across the globe and all the major emerging economies. Today, Brazil and Argentina have OLX as the main brand.

If you go to African countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, you will find OLX again as the main player.

Classifieds were there in India but we played differently. There was no

Pitch | April 2014

POWERED BY

by- consumer- to- consumer market, for people who are not into the business of buying or selling. Such markets never existed and that is the reason why some of the companies, who tried this earlier, failed. A consumer selling off old goods happened only with the “kabadi walas” picking up the discarded goods at whatever resale value they thought was appropriate.

Just when we had started our operations in India, there was no such market online, there was no business linking consumers directly with consumers. Selling second hand goods in India was never considered cool. The biggest challenge for us was to change the mindset of people and the way they looked at the second hand goods’ market. We were the best ones to do it. We did a lot of research about how people thought, their buying behavior and what value could be added to a normal household by offering a platform where they could sell or buy second hand products. As a leader, marketer and also a consumer, I believe, doing something unconventional is very important. It is when you think out of the box, con-

sumers tend to identify with you. Most of the businesses in the west have a very unique model, and they constantly reinvent their brand as the competitors are always there to follow every new thing you try out. As a result, there is no difference left between an innovator and a follower. What do you do now?

You reinvent again!

The first important step in reinventing any brand is to eliminate anything and everything that is happening in the industry that is not producing any results.

Second is to reduce the redundant effort you are putting in without fetching returns. Third is to do something which no one else has ever done before. Following these steps, we changed the method of getting second hand goods or copying and pasting information from other websites. What we ended up doing is digital marketing. In India, 90 per cent people are not online so digital marketing in itself is not enough here.

We also focused on being a horizontal company and restricted ourselves from doing only jobs and real estate classifieds. We knew mobile is poised to become big and that is why five years

AMARJIT SINGH BATRA & RAVINA RAJ KOHLI, Sr. Ad visor, BAG Network and Former President, Star

back, we launched our mobile app which is now giving us the largest business.

In our approach to cater to the market horizontally, we kept on exploring new ways to teach people how to sell, and explored and demonstrated the kind of diverse things one can sell through OLX. As a result, all our campaigns were successful, including the ‘Bech De’ campaign which made people believe that they could sell their unused products within minutes. Our latest campaign, ‘Cell ko banao Sell Phone’ is again focused to promote mobiles as a tool to sell your products online. 

SESSION CHAIR Ravina Raj Kohli has rich experience of more than 24 years in television and radio broadcasting, advertising, filming Ravina Raj Kohli and journalism.

Kohli was earlier President of Star News. Before this, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Channel Nine. She has also worked as Head of Content and Communication for Sony Television. Her ventures include an alliance with WPP’s GroupM to create and execute strategic multimedia content assets for mass reach brands. Kohli is also Co-Founder and Executive Director of NSDC-funded institution JobCorp.

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COVER STORY

Reinventing brands

Through Unconventional Media T

he powerful stories of brands at the Pitch CMO Summit in Delhi were followed by a discussion on how unconventional media can be used to reinvent brands. Joining in the discussions were some brands that had used unconventional media in the past to reinvent themselves and their strategies.

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“A brand language is required to have conversation with consumers. While using new media is about doing different things,” said Abhish Chandhok, Head-Activation, Media and Consumer Intelligence, Nokia. But having said that, he also emphasized on the fact that there should be a balanced mix of traditional and new media and that no brand

can be entirely built on just new media.

It is not always about using unconventional media but also about using an unconventional approach. Naveen Kukreja, CMO, PolicyBazaar shared, “Political parties are surprising us by using the unconventional approach. It’s becoming a reality!” He added, “Unconventional becomes important because

Pitch | April 2014

Abhish Chandhok Head-Activation, Media & Consumer Inteligence, Nokia

the conventional media is too crowded and the message would not be clear and also because conventional media is very expensive.”

What really is unconventional media?

Is it the media or the unconventional approach that the brands opt for in their communication? Amit Tiwari, Country Head, Media, Philips elaborated on the same, “Even if you manage to do uncon-

“

Naveen Kukreja CMO, PolicyBazaar

Amit Tiwari Country Head-Media, Philips

Successful brands need to generate Brand Velocity. They should become brands that move with greater purpose and speed

“

Salil Kapoor COO, Dish TV

ventional things on conventional media, you can have the desired impact. A consumer will not judge your strategy on the basis of conventional media or unconventional media; it is only a jargon for marketers. What is important is how much you can disrupt the daily life of a consumer.”

Consumers today are changing and so are their consumption patterns. Today consumers are looking for interaction with a brand; a brand that can be a part of their culture, social circle, and pride is the one that will win over several other brands. Thus, a war of creative juices is taking place between brands. They are always on the lookout for unconventional ideas. Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV said, “It’s about the unconventional approach. Anything new and different that comes up is always rubbished in the beginning and slowly it gets accepted and enhanced.”

Successful brands need to generate Brand Velocity. They should become brands that move with greater purpose and speed. The times are rolling so fast that what was considered to be uncon-

Pitch | April 2014

Vivek Gaur CEO & Co-Founder, Yepme

ventional media, is today counted as conventional. “We tapped our target audience on Facebook, which was at that time considered unconventional.

But it all depends on how effectively one can reach the customer,” said Vivek Gaur, CEO & Co-Founder, Yepme. com The panel was moderated by Kartik Iyer, the Managing Director of Carat India who has a vast experience in running large media companies.

SESSION CHAIR Kartik Iyer serves as the MD , Carat Media Services. Before joining Carat, Kartik was with Kartik Iyer Active International, the corporate trading company which he helped launch in India around a year and a half ago. He served as the Director, media services, and was in charge of the entire media product .Kartik has more than 20 years of industry experience, including a long stint at Lintas India, where he served as the President of Initiative Media, handling several large brands and managing Initiative Media nationally.

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COVER STORY

CLICKED

CMO SUMMIT 2014 | MUMBAI

(L-R) Paulomi Dhawan, ISA Landmarc Leisure, Hemant Bakshi & Sam Balsara

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(L-R) Himani Kapadia, Digitas LBi & Anupriya Acharya, (Zenith Optimedia)

(L-R) Karthi Marshan, Vasantha Kumar & Nitish Tipnis, Nissan

(L-R) NP Sathyamurthy (DDB Mudra), Sandipan Ghosh, (Ruchi Soya) & Sam Balsara

(L-R) Bobby Pawar, Nakul Chopra & Partha Sinha, (Publicis)

(L-R) Hemant Bakshi, Sunita Bangard & Anindita Chatterjee (Ruchi Soya)

(L-R) Kirthiga Reddy (Facebook), Sunita Bangard & Malcolm Mistry

(L-R) Mandeep Malhotra (DDB MudraMax), Partha Sinha (Publicis)

Pitch | April 2014

(L-R) Gurbir Singh (BW) & Amarjit Singh Batra

Ankur Warikoo

(L-R) D Rajappa (Entrepreneur) & Anupriya Acharya

Pitch | April 2014

(L-R) D Shivakumar, C.V.L. Srinivas & Salil Kapoor (Dish TV)

Papa CJ, International Stand-up Comedian

CMO SUMMIT 2014 | DELHI

(L-R) Rajiv Dingra (WATConsult), Alok Bharadwaj (Canon)

(L-R) Salil Kapoor & Kartik Iyer

(L-R) Alok Bharadwaj & Sunil Kataria

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COLUMN

From smart phones to smart lifestyles In a competitive and fast growing fragmented market, smartphone brands must reinvent their marketing ball game to stay relevant

Krisnadeep Baruah

Senior Director, Marketing, Asia-PaciďŹ c, BlackBerry

W

hether you are traveling to work, at the park with your kids or simply relaxing at home, people around you are immersed in their phones.

Someone’s trying to save their lives on Candy crush; some are chatting with their friends over an instant messenger, while others might be making last minute changes to a presentation. Chances are that you are reading this article on your smartphone, sitting in the boardroom, while waiting for a meeting to begin! The way smartphones have pervaded our lives and rendered us handicapped in their absence, is nothing short of enthralling.

Industry pundits and statistics further corroborate the same. According to 91mobiles. com, a research and comparison website on mobiles in India, as of last year (2013), the total mobile phone (devices) launches in India stood at 957, an 85 per cent upward growth from just 515 mobile phone (devices)

launches in 2012. The report further states that a total of 68 brands launched their devices, out of which 49 per cent constituted of smart phones. Increased literacy rates, rapid pace of innovation, higher disposable income, need to be always connected; improved telecom networks and reduced tariff rates are the major drivers of smartphone adoption in India. Add to it, the influx of Indian domestic smartphone brands have further simplified things for consumers, delivering cheaper and affordable smartphone devices. While consumers can sit back and rejoice, there’s a nail biting contest being played out between various smartphone brands.

Consumers are no more concerned with the hardware specifications alone. A variety of applications, features that enable them to stay connected, communicate on the go or just stay entertained are key aspects that determine a handset purchase decision. With

The total smart phone launches in India stood at 957, an 85 % upward growth from just 515 smart phone launches in 2012

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Pitch | April 2014

so much choice and power, consumers are now looking at their smartphone device as a single touch point, sitting at the centre of their lives, almost making it the remote control of their lives. Consumers now want to control switches remotely, even as they are miles away from home. Thanks to technology innovation, we can now use smartphones to remotely adjust our thermostats to higher temperatures so our houses are warmer when we get home. If a burglar trips a motion sensor, a person can be instantly alerted of the break-in and immediately call the police. Smartphones can now enable you to see live images of your home on your smartphone, while sitting in a restaurant, your office or anywhere. Only caveat, your device needs to have connectivity.

It is therefore obvious that the recipe for success in the smartphone market has changed. A great experience is now a norm, an obvious expectation of the

Pitch | April 2014

consumer. Focusing on specific features like camera quality, free apps or location based services will make it even more difficult, with the consumers expecting top notch experiences across all these areas. To be fair, there are brands that have been innovating. But often they are so tangled in driving productattribute driven marketing that these innovations can get lost in transit. If innovation can stay focused on changing lifestyles, OEMs will gain affinity and market share among consumers.

The battle turf for smartphone brands is therefore set! If brands want to stay relevant in a cluttered market, they will have to break the mould, evolve and shape their marketing strategies to differentiate and command a premium price for their device.

Smartphones are literally the one single device we always have with us at any given point in time. Given its increasing power and capabilities, smartphones could truly emerge as the command centre of our digital activities, becoming even more indispensible than

it is today. Even content developers realize that smartphones are the only means to deliver relevant content, to the right audience at the right time and at the right location. The unique ability to deliver relevant content real time on mobile, could be the biggest game changer in the near future.

For example, if you were heading out of a gym, content around healthy lifestyle habits, appropriate diet, etc could be pushed to your device real time. Or if you were stepping into a bank, investment options from that bank branch could be pushed to your device.

The story for original equipment manufacturers or OEMs is therefore, not just product or features. The only way for companies to stay ahead is to realize that it’s time to ‘stop selling devices and start selling lifestyles.’ 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

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COLUMN

The less said, The Better!

Indranil Gupta

Founder-Director & CEO of BrandNEW Associates which partners clients to co-create distinctive and valuable brands

I

n these days of verbal diarrhea evidenced in media channels such as Times NOW, isn’t it surprising that when it comes to the written word, readers allegedly lose patience, and writers are urged to stick to extreme brevity? Why do people want to read less and talk more, or is that a figment of my imagination? Is novel-reading gradually becoming an extinct pastime? Are the days of the long copy ad over and done with? Does man’s increasingly frenetic lifestyle these days only have time to accommodate 140 characters of Twitter messages at a time?

Most of us know that oft-quoted saying, “If I had more time, I would

have written a shorter letter.” Woodrow Wilson in the early 1920’s, asked how long he took to prepare his speeches, said, “It depends. If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.” All of that underlines the universal importance of preparation to craft communication which is relevant, concise and effective.

However, my gripe revolves around the shocking lethargy and casualness that has crept into formulating written communication these days, whether it be in letter-writing, email exchanges, text messaging, or business communication in general. The state of affairs

“If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now”

- Woodrow Wilson

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Pitch | April 2014

of websites that are displayed from SME businesses in our country leaves a great deal to be desired, and one only needs to glance at the standard of blogs to see the degree of felicity with which the average Indian expresses himself in writing. Writing good notes and persuasive pieces, correct use of spelling and grammar, sensible structuring and context-building to deliver a cogent argument are becoming increasingly rare.

While in some cases, these are the result of sloppiness, naiveté, ignorance, or a lack of education or corporate manners, there is also a high profile segment that wears an aura of casual arrogance intended to convey that they are too busy to provide a complete and well-structured response in communicating. This animal revels in punching in terse half-answers over

Writing good notes and persuasive pieces, correct use of spelling and grammar, sensible structuring and contextbuilding to deliver a cogent argument are becoming increasingly rare email to elaborate queries, choosing to dispense with the slightest professional courtesies associated with email etiquette. It is this segment that voices its impatience about a full-course diet in communication, content to snack on morsels of disjointed phrases instead.

It is this animal that cries hoarse when they have to read anything longer than 150 words, and who is also unwilling (or unable?) to frame two well-crafted error-free paragraphs. However, the paradox is that such half measures actually result in the need for greater

Pitch | April 2014

interaction and more clarity, which means that the comprehension which could have been achieved in one go, by being more conscientious and caring in transmission, had to be done over multiple staccato exchanges!

In the competitive world of business, a casual attitude towards writing speaks ill about companies and executives who display such blatant disregard for the recipient. Good communication makes good business sense. When Mr Proposal arrives at the client’s door looking and reading like it just got out of bed, from the wrong side, and not saying much because it hadn’t brushed its teeth, there are bound to be doubts about credentials and the professionalism with which future business may be conducted

by such a vendor. The KISS principle (in this case KEEP IT SHORT, STUPID) wouldn’t quite work, would it?

In the overall marketing communication arena, the drive to keep it short often results in the scanty and unfulfilling, unless crafted well to reveal the real core message in layers that help unpeel the onion. I do not dispute the power and sanctity of ‘the elevator pitch’ – and there is surely a time and place for that – but in the practice of good communication in an era where Content is meant to be King, let’s not make it end up as a Pauper! 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

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INTERVIEW: WIllEm WoudENbERg

“Creating a distinct and individual brand identity for the city of Amsterdam was challenging” W

hether it’s an obscure small town or a large metropolis, the branding of a location can give it a competitive edge. Positioning is important to attract business opportunities, and visitors. Location branding as a discipline has a long way to go in India where destination marketing is still finding its feet. Willem Woudenberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brand Dialogue spoke to Rashi Bisaria of Pitch about location branding and its future in India.

How important is it for a place to create and sustain an identity of its own?

Places have long felt a need to differenti-

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Pitch | April March2014 2014

Research is being conducted and it will lead to the adoption of interesting techniques, where an entire city or area is treated like an individual brand

ate themselves from each other, to assert their individuality and signify their unique existence. How would a city be able to convince the world that it exists and tad too ‘differently’, if it is not able to convince the others of its identity? Areas are not only divided by geographies, there is a lot more to them in terms of language, rituals, beliefs, culture and tradition.

Formulation or development of an identity creates awareness of the city’s essence and builds a sense of pride. It’s important for the cohesion in the place and a condition to build a strong image for the outside world. An effective assertion of identity for a city makes its characteristics stand out and ultimately attracts several tourists towards it. It is a powerful method for ‘city tourism’ and attracting industries. It sure goes a long way in building recall value in the minds of people.

How popular is Place or Location branding as a discipline?

Places are increasingly facing global competition in both their external and domestic markets; thereby the necessity of a distinct identity and strong marketing is gaining space. A holistic approach

of location or destination branding is now gaining frequency and is becoming more relevant and popular. Cities and governments have begun using more marketing and communication efforts to attract tourists and industries.

Examples of this development are New York, Bilbao, Melbourne and Amsterdam which have shown positive outcomes of ‘city branding’. A lot of research is being conducted in this space and I think it eventually will lead to the adoption of this interesting technique, where an entire city or area is treated like an individual brand.

How much has place branding evolved over the years?

Place branding has gone ahead from its initial stage but there is still a long way to go. It has evolved from developing a visual style for a region or city, to an organised branding and marketing effort focusing at defined target audiences like tourists and desired kind of companies.

Cities have developed a stronger realisation that it is not only a marketing slo-

City branding is not only a city government activity but it is relevant for the whole city, including all the companies Pitch | April 2014

gan but also increasing the number of shops or hotels and improving the level of services for tourists that contribute.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam profits from the Amsterdam-brand, but at the same time the Rijksmuseum plays a crucial role in creating an attractive city for visitors, a city that has something special to offer to visitors. City branding is not only a city government activity but it is relevant for the whole city, including all the companies.

How much of a role do consumers play in the marketing and branding of destinations?

Consumers are an essential medium of conviction for city branding. The ones who live in a city contribute to its traditions, ideologies and cultures; they are the ones who make the city distinct.

Also, when citizens of a place are proud, visitors are encouraged to find out the reason. On the other hand, there are tourists and travellers who spread the goodwill of the city, which further entices other consumers to visit the city.

Have cities and governments today recognised the power and importance of destination marketing?

City branding is a recognised concept in the western world but it is developing in

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INTERVIEW: Willem Woudenberg India, you can call it a fairly ‘new concept here. In several states of India though, branding and marketing is being used to attract tourists like Kerala, which took up the subject of state branding and successfully culled out a niche of ‘God’s own country’. India is a prosperous nation in every aspect, many elements of India’s diverse cultures, such as festivities, mythology, yoga, architecture and the cuisines have had a profound impact globally but the world does not know clearly what Mumbai or Delhi or Chennai can be best at. This needs to be

“I Amsterdam” is another interesting example which extends as “I am Amsterdam”, bringing together the entire city as one managed to successfully create an identity and image?

New York and Amsterdam both have created the desired image of a creative city and have converted many of their locations into creative destinations. New York city’s “I love New York” logo has done wonders for the city, it

Developing a city brand is more complex than developing a product brand.

It is a deeply evolved process worked upon, and then of course there is “Incredible India” but that’s a marketing slogan and not a branding exercise, which in my view is not as successful as it can be.

Which cities according to you have

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is seen as an inspiration for destination branding. It did not only unify the city but also gained recognition for the city across the globe. Even in India T-shirts with “I love NY” are commonly sold and bought.

“I Amsterdam” is another interesting

example which extends as “I am Amsterdam”, it brings together the entire city as one. The position of Amsterdam as the national cultural capital and major international cultural centre has been refined by this slogan.

Both the above mentioned slogans are clear, short, powerful and memorable as they identify with the atmosphere of the cities.

How challenging was it to create the branding for Amsterdam?

Creating a distinct and individual brand identity for the city of Amsterdam was very challenging because the city was further divided into several autonomous parts that behaved like brands themselves. The center of the city was not capable of forcing them, so it was a real bottom up process in which all departments, institutes had to agree and participate. Another challenge was that many parties were involved with the Amsterdam branding like several companies including the city government.

Several creative agencies worked on it together, taking care of marketing, advertising, visual identity, identification of target customers and the reach of internet. The Amsterdam branding as you see today is very much the result of this joint effort which required immense collaboration.

Developing a city brand is more complex than developing a product brand.

It is a deeply evolved process and takes some years of implementation. In the case of Amsterdam, five to six different agencies contributed their best towards the effort. Eventually, it turned out to be a successful project and contributed to the image makeover of the city. It covered a span of three years when Amsterdam developed and implemented its brand identity on all channels.n -rashi.bisaria@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April 2014

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COLUMN Why should Marketers Crowdsource and Visualize Data?

Vinish Kathuria

Chief Operating Office, Digital Quotient

vinishk@live.com

Wherever the two most important sensory organs are involved, i.e., ‘eyes and ears’ the impact is bound to be deeper 66

T

here is no doubt that marketers today are thriving using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp etc., which transformed from means of exchanging text information to now dynamic multi-media tools with intelligent use of crowdsourcing and visualization for content creation. Why the need? Even the buzzing social media ecosystem is dealing with a lot of challenges reason being the tsunami of data and demand for constant innovation. Now, it is not good enough to have strategies which will create more fans for a brand but true marketer’s potential is put to test based on their power to convert these fans into customers.

In a flooded digital ecosystem where

people are increasingly on the look-out for good content and sharing good content (video for reference ), the sole mantra is the quality of content and its engagement power. In a traditional media, content is created by experts and edited by super-experts. However, in the newer digital world, brands have awakened to the power of crowd. Today, content is created and developed by the crowd. For instance in a typical TV ad, the content is created by a team of experts and the crowd is only downloading and decoding that data whereas in a social media platform all the data floating is provided by the crowd whether it’s in terms of status updates or tweets or visuals. And who can be better to tell your story than

The power of crowdsourcing

Pitch | April 2014

consumers?

While reading the newspapers about the recent tragic mishap of the sudden disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, we saw how more and more people joined the search aid through crowdsourcing. That’s a phenomenal display of the power of crowd!

If we take the case of any brand’s campaign on Twitter, we will witness how effectively tweets are becoming great content, crowd becoming the author, and the role of a brand is that of a gatekeeper. Most remarkably, in instances, where mass opinions are critical such as elections, crowdsourcing plays a huge role. In elections, while traditional media (Print & TV) continues to promote and showcase work done by political parties. The more interesting and important dialogue is happening on the social platform where the crowd voices out its opinions. In a democracy like ours, such digital surveys & dialogues provided by the crowd are very influential.

As it is often said seeing is believing, if we talk about innovation of content then visualization holds the key. To understand this it is important to go back to evolution of mankind and the role of our sensory organs. Wherever the two most important sensory organs are involved, i.e., ‘eyes and ears’ the impact is bound to be deeper. In the recent past,

we witnessed the how the ecosystem relied on typing and texting evolving from Typewriters to Qwerty keypads. In today’s scenario, it’s all about what you see. Technology which better presents data by use of infographics and visuals, entices the audience. It’s the era of touchscreens, LED, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, etc.

If you look at Facebook evolution, it started in college dorm as a vehicle for comparing one picture to another - so the concept of visualization has been at the forefront of social media evolution.

Gradually, there has been shift from text & pictures to videos. Videos are gen-

erating virality, facilitating sharing, and leaving the audience hungrier for more.

Best examples would be - the recent hit among audiences the ‘Facebook movie’ and the success of Instagram.

In the digital ecosystem, while working with data and big data sometimes even a slight misinterpretation or representation can prove fatal. Thus the pressing need is on discovering newer ways to simplify the message and be able to differentiate it in a cluttered web space. By visualizing the same data and use of infographics one can be confident of having a clearer impact and possible word-of-mouth.

In a challenging and complex environment, the crowd doesn’t want to merely receive tons of messages or as buyers of products being sold to them. But they are here to establish a connection, to be a part of the larger process. Crowdsourcing and Visualization gives marketers the power to create relationships and make campaigns a voice for consumers. When marketers involve crowd and give them a sense of ownership and connectedness, they will undoubtedly make them friends of brands. 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

Pitch | April 2014

67

COLUMN

IN THEIR SHOES! Prof. Smitha Sarma Ranganathan

Strategic Branding & Marketing Management

sarma.smitha@gmail.com

T

he last decade has seen many a footwear brands making a bee-line to woo the Indian youth. The result, a dozen brands vying for the consumers’ consideration and share of the wallet. However the appalling aspect is that two of the biggest brands – Bata and Adidas despite being early movers in the Indian market lost out to competition owing to their stoic silence. Interestingly, this season both these brands are leaving no stone unturned for a strong comeback. This piece reviews their respective approaches to regain their lost throne!

Spring- in- your- Step with Bata’s Spring-Summer Collection

Over the last decade or so, Bata has been slowly yet surely losing traction in the school shoe market 68

For Gen X and the Millenial generation Bata shoes has been synonymous with School shoes and an eponym for footwear in general.

The only grudge bored children bore against Bata was that the shoes rarely ever wear out, diminishing their chances to demand a fresh pair of shoes, unless they really grew out of them. Furthermore, Bata shoes were available in almost every city and town across the length and breadth of the country. Thus, Brand Bata evokes a deep sense of trust with values that can be best captured as 3As – Affable, Affordable and Accessible. While Bata continues to be the brand the masses continue to connect to, the middle class junta of the 70s and 80s has long graduated to the next-tier of brands and now seek footwear that spells finesse and taste! Offerings such as Marie Clarie and Hush Puppies have been an attempt to up stretch the Bata brand to appeal to this segment, with limited success though. To add to this Bata has not been able to connect with Gen Z. Over the

Bata Now Bata Then

last decade or so, it has been slowly yet surely losing traction in the school shoe market, with the kinds of Puma and Nike gaining ground by offering all-weather, all-purpose ‘cool-looking’ shoes. besides, Bata is perceived by this generation as the uncle-wala boring ‘Indian chappal’ brand sans the sleek and the style!

POWER the flagship sports brand from Bata lost the opportunity to achieve cult brand status for absolute lack of connect with the youth.

To the success-hungry youth, power is about

Pitch | April 2014

aspiration, achievement and a sense of graduating to the next tier. Bata in its spree to remain celibate and pristine busted itself missing glorious opportunities in achieving youth connect. In a competitive battlefield, brand celibacy often gets equated to impotency, needing desperate revitalising measures to well even sustain!

In this context, the new spring summer campaign of Bata seems an obvious attempt to revitalize the brand and make it relevant to the youth. The peppy jingle coupled with youthful imagery of flirtatious footsies to spring-in-your-step visuals full of colour and life does craft an image of Bata as being youthful and trendy. Particularly of interest is the TVC showcasing smart ethnic as well as chic casual offerings from Bata in a setting that is quite relevant to the young-things around. Thus, new spring-summer promotional campaign is sure to fire the youth to make a trip to the store at least out of curiosity. However, the last mile in the true test of relevancy is the shopping experience the youth would have at ground zero – the retail premise! This to a great extent depends on Bata adopting a more youthful merchandising approach both in terms of product designs and store displays!

Feel the FIFA Fever with Adidas Adidas plagued with the Reebok book fraud controversy coupled with the retiring of the cricketing legend and marquee celebrity endorser, Sachin Tendulkar, presents itself as a ‘brand in exile’ with a dwindling consumer connect in the Indian subcontinent.

Despite being a brand that garnered epic admiration among consumers, the time in exile did cost Adidas and Reebok a significant slack, allowing Nike to be perceived as ‘inventors of technological sophistication in their products’ and Puma as the ‘brand that got the pulse of the generation right’!

However, the good news is that not many consumers identify Adidas and Nike to be from the same stable!

The last decade has seen almost every Sporting Brand largely riding the cricket wave in India – be it about celebrity endorsements or about narratives to etch

Pitch | April 2014

their positioning. Despite being the most popular sport in the nation, Cricket as the solitary canvas for storytelling seems to have lost its sheen! Hence, it was indeed the need of the hour to develop and patronize an alternate gaming turf that Adidas was strong in and Football is the obvious choice! Retrospectively it does seem that Adidas during its ‘time in exile’ was quietly working towards connecting with key influencers at the grass root level – the football clubs and the football fanatics. Thus, for

endorser is again a smart tactic, for it brings to the brand unmistakable attributes such as power, channeled - aggression and achievement. While Virat Kohli would epitomise the cricketing passion of the country, Adidas should not just limit Kohli’s cricketing expertise to speak at its brand touch points. How about the Young Turk spelling his pure passion for action and inducting an average Indian cricket fan to following FIFA as well! This would indeed set an unprecedented trend that would begin

Adidas FIFA seems the fertile field to bugle its come back among sport- enthusiasts in India.

The audience that a sporting footwear brand needs to connect with is typically two fold – The sportsmen and the Sports enthusiasts/fans. Arguably Sport enthusiasts/fans form the largest base for the brand and this audience represent an interesting concoction –those with global exposure connecting with global sporting events such as FIFA, Super Bowl; the testosterone driven F1 racing fans, the raging number of fitness freaks, besides the average consumer who looks at sporting brands to just appear trendy and sporty. If Adidas gets its script right, it could weave a magical connect with this uber attractive consumer clan that could put the brand as a frontrunner in the race all over again.

Signing up Virat Kohli as the celebrity

the crosspollination of the now compartmentalized gaming turfs, something that sporting brands will benefit from a great deal! This way, Adidas given its standing in FIFA might just garner eyeballs with almost every goal coming its way!

Regaining the Lost Power Indians are only too familiar with almost every mythological exile culminating in a Regal Pattabhishek (winning the throne)!

Thus, Bata with its fresh Spring-Summer Campaign and Adidas with the FIFA world campaign are bracing themselves for a grand comeback. It’s only time before their sustained yet silent efforts during the assumed exile to culminate into its Cries of Victory! 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pitch

69

INTERVIEW: Manohar Bhat

“The biggest disadvantage with this medium remains that it can’t be measured”

O

ver the years, the Out of Home (OOH) medium of advertising has been losing out on the confidence of advertisers. There are many more lucrative options available to the marketers which is nudging out this traditional mode of advertising. According to the Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook for 2014, the outdoor medium is expected to grow by 8.2 per cent and bring in a total ad spends of about 2138 crore rupees. Ankur Gaurav of Pitch, spoke to Manohar Bhat, Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd ,about the significance of the medium for the brand and how it has been used effectively in the interiors of the country.

ern countries have done.

What are the other challenges being faced by this medium?

In India, the other major problem with this medium is a lack of proper institutions catering to OOH advertising. There are numerous fragmented players. The agencies have a few billboards to offer but that does not fulfil the requirements of a larger campaign. In such situations most of the companies have to go to numerous agencies which is a very Herculean task for the campaign managers.

How significant is OOH as a marketing medium in the present age of multichannel marketing?

OOH is the oldest medium and is significant for businesses especially consumer brands.

OOH has evolved in the recent years and unlike a decade back, when OOH consisted of only billboards, marketers and agencies have started incorporating consumer experiences in their OOH plans. Airports and other high traffic stations are locations where a brand gets enough opportunity to interact or convey its message to the consumers.

How is Maruti using this medium and how beneficial is it for the brand?

We have benefitted from outdoor advertising, especially in the rural and suburban areas. The main reason behind that is the costs at such locations . In cities like Mumbai, the rental for one billboard at a desired location is more than the cost of establishing a showroom. In such cities we tend to focus more on in-store promotional activities which are equally beneficial for the brand.

Measurability is one of the disadvantages as far as OOH medium is concerned.

What is your take on that?

That is true. The biggest disadvantage with this medium remains that it can’t be measured. Cost parameters need to be measured. The outcome is very ambiguous.

The medium needs to reinvent itself just the way a few of the agencies in the west-

How do you envisage the future of billboards?

Digitization is the future of billboards. In the coming years we will see more of digital billboards which will allow the creative agencies to use the space in a more optimized way. Digital billboards can change the message according to the time, location and can differentiate their message from the

70

neighbouring billboards.

As you mentioned, what is the impact of neighboring billboards on your OOH campaign?

It’s all about grabbing attention. At times there are ten different billboards saying ten different things to the same customer.

The attention span and time one spends on looking at a billboard is considerably reduced due to the presence of other billboards. We generally look at locations where billboards are not crowded and there is an exclusivity for our message.

How helpful are the outdoor consumer surveys in selecting the right spot to put up your billboard?

Outdoor consumer surveys are not always very authentic as they can only tell you the number of people passing by a billboard.

This does not help as we never know who is looking at our billboard. Research can definitely help this medium and marketers, but there still is a long way to go. n -ankur.gaurav@exchange4media.com

Pitch | April February 2014 2014

Pitch | February 2013

71

COLUMN ANNURAG BATRA

Can “Reinvention” prove to be the magic wand CMOs need for their brands?

W

Annurag Batra

Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Pitch Magazine

abatra@exchange4media.com @anuragbatrayo www.facebook.com/anuragbatrayo

hen top decision makers from some of the most powerful brands in the country get together on one platform, the best learning and exchange of views takes place. Pitch CMO Summit, our annual event, held in Mumbai and Delhi this time, saw some of the biggest names in marketing share their views about the need to reinvent brands. Brand makeovers are a necessary part of a brand’s evolution.

Marketers dwelt on the various reasons for reinvention. The term “reinvention” sparks hope and holds promise and can do wonders for the brand. The positive theme of the Summit ushered in fresh hope in these complex times.

Each year, the event has a different and very distinct flavour. Last year, the theme “Entertainment: All the world is a stage in Marketing” focused on how marketers were resorting to entertainment to get the desired results. In the year of a slowdown, brand custodians had a tough task ahead of them. This year too, marketers have huge challenges ahead of them and reinvention might just prove to be the magic wand they were looking for. Whether it was Cinthol that shared the brand’s journey through various stages of its lifecycle or it was Groupon which explained how it achieved its goals through out-of-the-box thinking, the Summit was an ideal platform for such exchanges.

But several factors go into a successful reinvention and many of the key points raised by marketers were about how a

Several factors go into a successful reinvention and many of the key points raised by marketers were about how a brand adapted to the changing environment 72

brand adapted to the changing environment, what risks the marketer was ready to take to bring about the turnaround, what was the long term vision for the brand and so on. So while Sunil Kataria of Godrej spoke about the need to have an insight into the minds of today’s generation, Amarjit Batra of Olx spoke about the need for doing something unconventional. D Shivakumar of PepsiCo and a thought leader in his own right, stated that brands had promises to keep and if they did not reinvent they were not being true to the faith of consumers. Hemant Bakshi of HUL shared Unilever’s marketing philosophy of putting people first and the importance of creating brands for life. He also spoke about unlocking the magic in a product and creating love for brands.

Shubhodip Pal of Micromax shared the magical journey of Micromax and how it went from local to global in a short span of time. Ajit Joshi of Infiniti Retail took the audience on a journey of success with Croma and shared how Croma became what it is today. Ajit ‘s speech was a lesson in building brand loyalty and reading the consumer’s mind.

New media and customer engagement were an integral part of every speech underscoring the fact that the new age medium is growing in relevance and stature. Subhashis Basu of Mother Dairy expressed the intention to scale up social media marketing for the brand in the coming years. Marketers know they cannot ignore digital and have to be in step with the times. All in all, the Summit served as the platform for marketers to showcase not just their brands but also the gradual changes in the perspectives of marketers. 

Pitch | April 2014

Pitch | April 2014

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