Pitch may 2014

Volume XI | Issue 5 | May 2014

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The ITC Challenger Brand A multi-business conglomerate, ITC has climbed its way to the top posing a challenge to established players pg 30

Facebook

makes business personal again Pitch | May 2014 pg 08

Sandeep Menon

on marketing on

Youtube

pg 36

Sudhin Mathur

reveals Lenovo’s strategy for smart phones pg 38 7

INSIDE PRESENTS

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN Knowledge Partner:

‘CRISIL Real Estate Star Ratings’

RATINGS

After of‘India’s ‘India’s Top 100 Developers’, Realty to release its coffee secondtable coffee table time, our Afteraahuge huge success success of Top 100 Developers’, Realty Plus Plus is set is to set release its second book.

Thisbook. time, This our team team of experts aims to brainstorm and churn out best projects in the country – the path-breaking developments which epitomize of experts aims to brainstorm and churn out best projects in the country – the path-breaking developments which epitomize architectural advancements and sustainability. As thousands of properties are being launched by hundreds of developers across architectural advancements and sustainability. As thousands of properties are being launched by hundreds of developers across India India every year, the exercise of selecting top 100 projects of the past five years will definitely be rigorous and excruciating for every year, the exercise of selecting the team of experts. Therefore, we will have the most eminent names of the real estate sector in the jury panel to do accomplish experts. Therefore, we will have the most eminent names of the real estate sector in the jury panel to do accomplish this this gargantuan mission. To give you a clear idea, here is a brief snapshot of the process and criteria of selection: gargantuan mission. To give you a clear idea, here is a brief snapshot of the process and criteria of selection:

• The ‘India’s Top 100 Real Estate Projects’ Report will identify the top 100 projects delivered across India in the last 3 years • The ‘India’s Top 100 Real Estate Projects’ Report will identify the top 100 projects delivered across India in the last 5 years (including partial delivery). (including partial delivery).

• This report (Coffee Table Book) will highlight the vision and implementation of project, and the developer associated. The • This will report (Coffee Table will highlight the vision and implementation of project, andand the developer report also feature theBook) architect instrumental in spearheading the project design delivery. associated. The report will also feature the architect instrumental in spearheading the project design and delivery.

• This report will also put these landmark projects (across all verticals – residential, commercial & retail) under a spotlight by • This report will also put these (across all verticals – residential, & hospitality) under a superlative drawing attention to their key landmark attributesprojects and USPs, thereby demonstrating thecommercial, prowess ofretail the developer in delivering projects setting attention new benchmarks in attributes Indian real spotlightand by drawing to their key andestate USPs,fraternity. thereby demonstrating the prowess of the developer in delivering superlative projects and setting new benchmarks in Indian real estate fraternity.

First edition of ‘India’s Top 100 Developers’ cofee table book For details, please contact: First edition of NEW DELHI - Atul Sharma 9810349544 | atul@exchange4media.com ‘India’sShikhir Top 100 Developers’ Agarwwal 9818110007 | shikhir@exchange4media.com cofee table book - Tripti Kedia 9820010226 | tripti@exchange4media.com MUMBAI

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www .r e altyplus m ag .co m

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OCT-NOV 2013 VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 9

Navin. V 9975092516 | navin.v@exchange4media.com Pitch | May 2014 For sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please| sneha@exchange4media.com contact: BANGALORE - Sneha Walke 9845541143 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

Pitch | May 2014

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INSIDE

COVER STORY 30 Pitch Volume XI, Issue-5 May, 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)

ITC

The rise of a challenger FMCG Brand

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 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

A multi-business conglomerate, ITC has climbed its way to the top posing a challenge to established FMCG players

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 An exchange4media Publication

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INTERVIEWS Reebok innovates to survive and thrive in the Indian Market Somdeb Basu Marketing Director at Reebok India

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Wills Lifestyle consolidates its position as a Premium Fashion Brand Atul Chand CEO, Wills Lifestyle

Pitch | May 2014

50

FEATURE

17

FEATURE

26

Find Your Voice amid News Television Brands

Is it time for marketers to find an alternate to IPL in order to grow the Indian Sport Marketing Industry

FEATURE

42

Are marketers doing enough to promote India as a tourist destination?

Is Indian distinctiveness being marketed enough globally and are travel marketers doing enough to woo the tourists?

In the times of news channel clutter, strong positioning of a brand is all that matters

COLUMNS

BRAND JOURNEY

54

What went right with “humaara Bajaj”?

FEATURE

08

Facebook helps marketers make business personal again

Apurva Chamaria Head, Global Brand & Digital Front Office at HCLTechnologies 14 Ankur Ashta Marketing professional and Author of ‘Heart, Mind & Wallet’

58

Hamsini Shivakumar Owner, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting

34

Krishnadeep Baruah Senior Director, Marketing, Asia-Pacific, BlackBerry

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Vinish Kathuria Chief Operating Officer, Digital Quotient

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Others How brand Bajaj survived the changing preferences of the Indian consumer for more than 60 years

Bata goes all out to connect with the youth Sumit Kumar VP and Head of Marketing and Customer Service, Bata India

22 Pitch | May 2014

Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform has scripted its own success story

Launch Pad Campaigns Feature: Loyalty Programmes Interview : Sarika Naik, Wipro Column: Annurag Batra

“Mobile needs to be at the core of any marketing plan”

Lenovo phones on a growth trajectory

Sandeep Menon Marketing Director, Google India

Sudhin Mathur Director-Smartphones, Lenovo India

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04 06 45 57 64

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LAUNCHPAD

GADGETS & GIZMOS PHILIPS Laser-Guided Beard Trimmer Product: Laser-Guided Beard Trimmer : Philips India has launch of world’s �irst laser guided trimmer - Philips BeardTrimmer 9000 series.

Designed for ultimate precision, this all new male grooming smart gadget is an iconic innovation from Philips Personal Care to give men ultimate control over their facial look

Speci�ications: The patented laser guided technology is being brought to India for the �irst time and gives the user superb control on facial contours and allows him to create a precise and symmetrical facial style. This state-of-the-art male grooming gadget gives men the freedom to try on different facial styles and express themselves every day.

USP: The unique laser guidance system projects a sharp line of light to pre-align the style before the user trims. It points out where the hair will be cut to make it precise. Skin-friendly, high-performance

blades for the perfect trim, Water-resistant for easy cleaning.

Detail comb for precision, and beard comb for control The LED display clearly shows your chosen length setting .60 minutes cordless use after a 1-hour charge, or plug it in. Set length to 1/64” (0.4mm) for perfect stubble every day. LED display shows the battery level.

Background: Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversi�ied health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2013 sales of EUR 23.3 billion and employs approximately 115,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy ef�icient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare.

TANISHQ

Diamond range -Zyra Product: Diamond range –Zyra: Tanishq, India introduced a new range of diamond jewellery collection - Zyra.

Drawing inspiration from the fresh blossoms of spring and intricate petal and �loral details

Speci�ications: This collection is crafted in white and yellow gold and studded with white diamond and colour stones.

USP: Zyra has �loral patterns. This collection has been tastefully crafted in textured gold with modern and traditional techniques like veni wires, enamale and granulation. Zyra collection has unique

MICROMAX Micromax Canvas Doodle 3

Product: Micromax Canvas Doodle3: – the Canvas Doodle 3 which comes with a massive 6-inch touch screen that lets users’ imagination run wild and limitless.

The phone is available in Pristine White & Blazing Blue colours and comes with a snazzy magnetic �lip cover that adds to its style.

Speci�ications: Canvas Doodle 3 comes with a 6-inch FWVGA display and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). Powered by a 1.3GHz dual core processor, the smartphone promises seamless multi-tasking and an improved application performance. Packed with a 2500 mAh battery, the smartphone offers talk time up to 9 hours. Equipped with a 5.0MP rear

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camera with �lash, users can capture photographs in superior clarity.

With the 0.3MP front camera, one can enjoy video chatting with their family and friends.

USP : Canvas Doodle 3 packs in a lot of interactive features and applications for the users like Kingsoft Of�ice that can help users to create and edit documents on the go; Opera Mini Browser for optimal web browsing.

patterns of �lowers like Sun�lower, Lily, Hydrangea, Gerbera, Chrysanthemum and Rose.

Background: Tanishq, India’s only national jeweller offers gold and gemset jewellery (in 22 and 18 karat gold) in over 5000 traditional, western and fusion looks. The jewellery is manufactured in a fully integrated manufacturing plant with state-of-the-art equipment. The Tanishq retail chain currently includes 166 exclusive boutiques in 86 cities, making it India’s �irst and largest jewellery retail store chain.

Pitch | May 2014

EMAMI Emami 7 Oils Speci�ications: 7 Oils in One is enriched with the power dose proteins, vitamins and minerals derived from the potent combination of almond, coconut, amla, argan, and olive, walnut and jojoba oils. Besides it also has 7 herbal aushad complex, which is an amalgamation of 7 herbs namely Brahmi, Arnica, Henna, Lata Kasturi, Meethi, Bhringraj and Japa.

Since time immemorial, these oils have been recommended for their nourishing and reparative properties

USP: With Emami 7 Oils in One, these oils have been blended and bottled for the �irst time in the form of a single regimen for total damage control—from repairing hair damage to replenishing lost nutrients. The combination of the bene�its of all the 7 oils and 7 herbal

NEROLAC aushad is a breakthrough in hair oils. Light yellow in colour with a pleasant fragrance, the oil can also be used for styling due to its light texture.

Background: Emami: (NSE: Emami Ltd, BSE: 531162), is the �lagship company of the Rs.6000 cr Emami Group. Emami Ltd, founded in 1974, is one of India’s leading FMCG Companies engaged in manufacturing & marketing of personal care & healthcare products. With 250 diverse products, Emami’s portfolio includes trusted power brands like Zandu, BoroPlus, Navratna, Fair & Handsome, Mentho Plus, Fast Relief and SonaChandiChyawanprash.

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd Product: High De�inition (HD) paint technology

Speci�ications: It has enhanced with Micro-Embedded Brightness Boosters (MEBB’s),Nerolac’s Impressions range of interior emulsions. This technology makes the color of your walls look far brighter, richer and cleaner than any other standard emulsion. Nerolac reinforces the concept of HDcoalescing

RAYMOND Summer Wool

Product: Summer Wool- Raymond’s in house design team has crafted a new summer-friendly range of fabrics in pure Merino wool as well as blends of wool with other natural �ibers like cotton and linen.

Speci�ications : Cool Wool: This has been endorsed by the Woolmark Corporation for its summer-friendly qualities. This collection was unveiled

by Woolmark in a glittering fashion show held in Delhi in March- all from the Cool Wool Collection developed by Raymond.

Value for Money Offering: Wool is perceived to be relatively more expensive than some of the alternatives in the market- Raymond feels that there is need to build awareness of the superior features like drape and richness which are unique to wool.

USP: Communication: Raymond will communicate lesser acknowledged attributes of wool like Pitch | May 2014

1) Ability to respond to, an manage, the variations in body temperature 2) Features that resist odor and bacterial formation 3) Natural fabric 4) Breathability 5) All-weather suitability

Background: Raymond offers end-toend solutions for fabrics and garmenting. It has some of the leading brands in its portfolio including Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Park Avenue, Parx, ColorPlus, Makers amongst other.

USP: The HD magic of Nerolac Impressions is due to the ‘Micro Embedded Brightness Boosters (MEBB). The MEBB are the �inest grades of extenders which are achieved from careful processing of the solid constituent and are added to the paint base. On addition of colour pigments, MEBB get locked in with the colour particles and produce visibly brighter and cleaner colours along with high opacity, making the colours on the substrate look a notch above the colours produced by standard paints. This superior technology also enlivens the colours, thus, making it truly High De�inition.

Background: Kansai Nerolac Paints has been at the forefront of paint manufacturing for more than 90 years pioneering a wide spectrum of quality paints.

Compiled by Kanika Mehrotra -kanika.mehrotra@exchange4media.com

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BUZZ

CAMPAIGNS TVC OLX

TVC 7UP

Ab Phone Ko Banao SELLphone’ Creative Agency: Lowe Lintas

Story: The TVC captures a quintessential conversation between a husband and wife, with the wife expressing her desire to buy new household products, and the husband procrastinating and rejecting the idea for lack of money, and space in the house. The wife, who is left a little stumped by his response, decides to take matters in her own hand by downloading the OLX mobile App to sell things the family has no use for. The idea of selling, ridding her home of clutter, and earning money without anyone’s help is so enjoyable that she is seen dancing and skipping around her home, merrily clicking used items from her ‘sellphone’to post Ads for free on OLX. So infectious is her energy that her mother-in-law soon joins the selling frenzy, breaking into a jig to the beats of the Womaniya song. When the husband returns in the evening, he is left puzzled by the uncluttered apartment and his wife and mother dancing with a wad of cash in their hands. When he asks where all the stuff went, the two ladies hold up the cellphone to proudly tell him

TVC TATA SALT

that they sold all the goods they didn’t use for on the‘sellphone’, referring to the OLX mobile App.

I feel UP

Rationale: A new, spirited TVC by OLX.in celebrates the exuberance, individuality, and the con�idence of the women-of-today, highlighting their independence, and freedom to express themselves.

Creative Agency: BBDO India

Story: The new commercial features Irrfan and Raveena Tandon as parents and opens with them watching an old video of Irrfan dancing at his college festival. The viewing is interrupted as a visibly grim and irritable Irrfan enters the house and feels embarrassed on seeing the video, asking it to be turned off. The mood lightens up when he is given a bottle of 7UP, taking a swig from it we see him take

Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya Hai Creative Agency: Rediffusion

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Story:. The ad campaign tells the story of the inspirational icon, Mary Kom – an Indian pugilist who hails from a poor, tribal family from Manipur. Mary Kom’s journey is a humble and powerful human story that the TVC captures. She rose against several hardships to achieve success for herself and the nation in the international arena. Her vision of success however didn’t stop at medals and accolades; it encompassed her community and the nation. She nurtures the dream to create many more “Mary Koms” who will put India on the world sports map.

Today, she works to pass-on her boxing legacy to students at her boxing academy.

Pitch | May 2014

TVC SONY

Sony Alpha 58 Creative Agency: Hakuhodo Percept

center-stage to do the famous moon walk, reliving his college days and leaving his family enthralled and amused.

Rationale: The campaign aims at positioning dance as the ultimate form of expression and reiterates 7UP’s brand philosophy to feel UPtimistic and express freely. The campaign also aims to create a stronger bond for consumers with their families at home and drive in-house consumption.

Rationale: Tata Salt, a pioneer in the Indian branded salt market today launched a new campaign ‘Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya Hai’ featuring the story of �ive-time World Boxing Champion, Olympic winner and mother, MC Mary Kom. For over a decade, Tata Salt has lived upto its image of being ‘Desh ka Namak’ to depicting its faith in the people of the country through every day acts of honesty, loyalty and integrity which are the core values of the brand. The latest campaign carries the brand’s philosophy forward and celebrates contemporary icons that are going beyond their own success and giving back to the country in their own areas of work. One such person is MC Mary Kom. Pitch | May 2014

Story: Priyankar Patra - a young photography enthusiast who recently bought an Alpha and his experience with one of the most renowned photographers in the country, Mr. Santosh Verma. Set in Kolkata, the �ilm begins with Priyankar talking about his excitement at being able to meet Mr. Santosh Verma - a meeting facilitated by Sony. During their interaction, Santosh tells Priyankar not to click pictures, but to “shoot stories”.

After spending an entire day taking pictures together, when Priyankar still couldn’t fully comprehend his advice, Santosh tells him to go home and shoot his mother’s hand.

In a very moving moment, the �ilm

TVC REEBOK

then follows Priyankar who discovers how to see the world and his mother in a completely different light, through his Alpha and with Santosh’s advice. Staying true to the story, Q, the director hasn’t shot this like a regular ad �ilm, but documented the events in real time.

Rationale: In keeping with the idea that bring out the real emotions behind a great picture and inspired by a true story. Overall, the new Alpha campaign is born out of human insight – how a picture can make us realize what we could never see with the naked eye.

Live With Fire

Creative Agency: McGarryBowen

Story: M.S. Dhoni takes the technologically advanced Reebok ZQuick running shoes for a spin amidst traf�ic on a busy road in the city and also undertakes the challenging and

adventurous Spartan race while shooting for the campaign. John Abraham adds a wow factor to regular ab crunches by doing them while hanging from the edge of a building and Nargis Fakhri amazes viewers with her sassy and spunky Zumba moves atop a towering building.

Rationale: Continuing its global mission to change how people perceive and experience �itness, Reebok India today announced the launch of its new, fully-integrated marketing campaign – “Live with Fire”. Featuring the �itness trio – M.S.Dhoni, Nargis Fakhri and John Abraham, the campaign encourages people to stay ‘�it for life’ through a series of cult activities.

Compiled by Kanika Mehrotra -kanika.mehrotra@exchange4media.com

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FEATURE

Facebook helps marketers

make business personal again By rashi bisaria

F

rom early adopters to marketers who are only just waking up to the potential of Facebook, this is a platform waiting to be

tapped.

Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform has scripted its own success story in India. From its beginnings as a Harvard student’s hobby project to conquering a major chunk of the world, Facebook has come a long way. On March 31, 2014 it reached a mammoth milestone of winning over, a 100 million users in India. But Facebook’s phenomenal growth has led to a variety of unique opportunities for brands that have found a platform to connect with the user base. As Kirthiga Reddy, Head, Facebook India, explains, “Facebook has brought about a mindset change and is helping marketers make business personal again.”

There was a time when businesses thrived due to the personal touch. Your corner store knew which brands you liked and helped in delivering the same to you. But with the onslaught of mass advertising and marketing, the personal touch was lost. But with digital

Brands like HUL, Nokia, Kaya , Samsung have already integrated Facebook into their marketing strategy 8

platforms being used successfully for marketing, business is becoming personal again. It is a win-win for both the consumer and the brand. Facebook is one such platform that has been helping brands reach the right audience with the right message at scale but not at the cost of the user experience.

Speaking about the user experience Facebook is trying to create, Kirthiga explains, “Brand messages in the news feed are competing with messages from friends and that’s the creative bar the brand needs to have. We take great care of the user experience . We closely monitor how users are reacting to the brand messages.”

It was only nine months ago that

Kirthiga moved to Mumbai and shifted her focus from operations to marketing. The team started focusing on vertical specific needs of marketers for different sectors and there has been no looking back. Marketers have started using the platform for targeted messaging. “We are now being thought of as a marketing platform which can be used to drive brand and business objectives,” she says. According to her, the phrase “social media marketing” will be used less and less in the future.

Facebook is focused on giving brands the necessary tools and environment to connect with the target consumers. The Facebook for Business page that was launched a few months back is an effort

Kirthiga Reddy | Head, Facebook India Pitch | May 2014

in this direction. “It came from the need to educate people and how we could allow people to access our case studies and help them achieve their business objectives. It’s a portal that we launched 6 or 9 months ago. It’s a significant step for us to help with education,” says Kirthiga.

Brands like HUL, Nokia, Kaya , Samsung have already integrated Facebook into their marketing strategy. When Nokia used Facebook Ads to promote its Lumia range in India, there was a 15% rise in the adoption rate among those exposed to the ads compared to those who were not. The goal in this case was to generate awareness about the Lumia range. As a result, 31 million people were reached through this initiative. “With Nokia we have had a long standing engagement.

They wanted to launch the 205 device.

They wanted to sell more phones. We looked at the right target audience. We identified them to be people who were currently using feature phones. We considered this to be the right upgrade for them. So we crafted the message that directly resonated with this target audience. It drove tremendous results for them,” elaborates Kirthiga.

Each brand has a different and very specific objective which Facebook tries to understand and meet. It is the combined effort of the brand, creative, digital teams and the agency. But have Media Planners understood the potential of this platform or is it still early days? “ CEOs and CMOs wish to be educated and want to learn how to best leverage the platform to their advantage. Its a new platform which is evolving very rapidly and they want to know about the best practices and case studies. It’s all about building that eco system for both the brands and the consumers,” answers Kirthiga. According to her, there is a mindset shift which needs to take place. For some brands it is already happening. “Nokia has gone from maturity to maturity. They started by using very precise targeting to using the fig-

Pitch | May 2014

ure of sales and wanting to grow further. It’s been great to see the journey from 4 years ago to now when the platform is being used in the largest plans of big brands to those of SMEs. What has also contributed to the growth in the user base of Facebook is the phenomenal growth of mobile users in India. More Indians are logging on to Facebook via the mobile phones. Within digital, mobile is the fastest growing medium. This drives the need for marketers to be on platforms like Facebook and they are adopting a more holistic approach towards division of media spends. “Earlier , if you had to reach out to a million people you had to wait for the prime time ad slot on TV. Today, with mobile, prime time has become ‘all the time’. At a 100 million users we are comparable to the top GECs. Our daily reach, 45 million monthly active people is 7 times larger than the English newspaper,” says Kirthiga.

It is an exciting time for Facebook in the country. With brands like Coca Cola, HUL integrating Facebook in their marketing strategy among many others, an interesting shift seems to be taking

Each brand has a different and very specific objective which Facebook tries to understand and meet place. People’s perception about Facebook simply being a social networking site is undergoing a change. Facebook’s ability to reach out to unique user bases for different kinds of targeting has pulled in brands from almost all sectors. How Facebook tackles all the brands with their unique needs will be worth a watch.  - rashi.bisaria@exchange4media.com

9

INTERVIEW

Somdeb baSu

I

Reebok innovates to survive and thrive in the Indian Market 10

India is one of the fastest growing markets for fitness brand Reebok globally, with the brand having a positive impact on consumers ever since the restructuring began. After seeing a turbulent period of controversy which led to closing of stores, Reebok has emerged with a fresh focus on fitness, association with non-cricketing sports and a new retail format.

It has earned a new lease of life. Gunjan Verma of Pitch, met up with Somdeb Basu, Marketing Director at Reebok India to hear about the brand’s journey and its formula for success. Edited excerpts:

Pitch | May 2014

Reebok is not only partnering with unique platforms such as marathons and fitness events, but are also introducing concepts such as CrossFit to the fitness enthusiasts of the country

?

Tell us about your brand’s fitness focus and association with platforms like the first-ever half marathon on the F1 Track.

We are committed to the Indian market and see great growth potential for our brand in this region. Over the past few months we have received an overwhelming response from consumers for our innovative concepts and premium products. Reebok is a premium global fitness brand helping consumers to be ‘Fit for Life’ and offering products & concepts for all fitness activities, whether it be running, training, walking, yoga or dance.

Towards this endeavor, we are not only partnering with unique platforms such as marathons and fitness events, but are also introducing popular concepts such as CrossFit to the fitness enthusiasts of the country, through our affiliated CrossFit boxes across India. Our new retail format – the Fit Hub stores, also aims to guide customers on their fitness journey and provide a flexible and appealing retail space that helps people discover

Pitch | May 2014

the right exercise apparel, footwear and equipment to meet their fitness goals.

Our association with platforms such as the first-ever half marathon on the F1 track is a reinforcement of our fitness focus, and strengthens our legacy of fitness. With fitness consciousness on the rise, we are addressing consumer needs by sharpening our focus towards fitness.

It is our vision to be the most desirable premium fitness brand in the country.

We have moved into the fitness zone in a bigger and more exciting way, globally and also specifically in the Indian market. We are committed to making fitness aspirational and fun again – by providing consumers with superior experiences and products.

Our recent as well as future campaigns will focus on strengthening our fitness proposition with consumers in India. It is our clear intention to grow the business of Reebok in India, and focus on profitability.

?

Reebok also takes care of a Ree-

bok Running Squad – professional training for consumers to train themselves for long distance and marathon running. Why has the focus shifted to running?

Reebok as a brand is dedicated to the cause of promoting fitness, and aims to encourage consumers to embrace fitness as an important part of their everyday lives, and adopt the philosophy of being ‘Fit for Life’. Running is an activity that has gained importance across the world in recent years, and is a simple yet very effective form of fitness. It is a core category for Reebok. Through our associations with initiatives such as the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, the first-ever half marathon at the F1 track, and the multicity Pinkathon, we hope to inspire more people to take up running.

Reebok instituted the Reebok Running Squad in 2011, recognizing the need to provide professional training for longdistance running to fitness enthusiasts and amateur runners. Most people do not feel the need for formal training for

11

INTERVIEW

Somdeb Basu an activity like running, but it is essential that they avail of such expert guidance for long-distance and rigorous running to avoid serious injury, and to build stamina, strength and endurance.

?

What benefits do you seek from your partnership with half marathon on F1 track?

We have partnered with Running and Living, a popular running community in Delhi, for the first-ever half marathon on the F1 track, which took place at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

It saw over 1400 runners from all age groups from over 15 states in the country. These runners and fitness enthusiasts represent a very important part of our target audience, and are essentially existing or potential Reebok consum-

What is the reason for this sudden emphasis ?

With the growing women’s fitness market in the country, our aim is to inspire more and more women to adopt fitness as an integral part of their lifestyle.

We have appointed Nargis Fakhri as our women’s fitness ambassador for our studio range, a line of products focused on dance, aerobics and yoga designed especially for women. Nargis connected with young women across the country with Reebok’s ‘Best Fitness Friend’ campaign, a social media initiative aimed to encourage more women to join the fitness band wagon.

?

Can you elaborate on your market strategy for India?

ing them in the language that they understand the best: social media.

The onus is now on us to grow the pie in the fitness business and we have rolled out a sound product/marketing/retail excellence program for the same.

Why do you think Reebok could not be in India be what it is in the international markets?

India is one of the fastest growing markets for Reebok globally and has seen tremendous success in a short period of six months – since the restructuring took place. Even the investigation had no impact on our consumers. In a recent consumer research study conducted by Reebok, we got some interesting results on the impact the investigation had on Reebok consumers.

• It was perceived as a brand v/s business issue • Brand is considered highly trustworthy in terms of quality of footwear and apparel • Brand Health Report conducted in Nov 2012 shows that Reebok Loyalty is still high. n -gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com

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ers. Our aim was not only to establish a fitness connect for Reebok in the minds of these participants but to also inculcate fitness as an important part of their everyday regime.

The event also served as a perfect opportunity for us to showcase our latest running innovation – the Reebok ZQuick shoes, which many participants wore while running the marathon. Inspired by the design on ZRatedtyres used in high-end sports cars, the Reebok ZQUICK shoes are engineered to provide ultimate ground contact allowing users to deliver high speed performance by rapidly moving in and out of turns.

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Of late, there has been a focus on women consumers by Reebok.

For the Indian market, we have followed the strategy of ‘Think Global. Act local’ very effectively. We have based our consumer engagement on 3 hot buttons which we feel are very relevant in the Indian context. All this has helped us to gain favor with the Indian audiences 1. We reach out to our target audience with the right kind of fitness enthusiasts such as MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan John Abraham, and Nargis Fakhri 2. With a large number of youngsters heading to gyms, partnerships with gyms such as Fitness First and Sport Fit as well as setting up of our own Reebok CrossFit gyms is another strategy 3. Lastly, talking to the youth and engag-

Pitch | May 2014

Is Indian e-commerce transitioning to a hybrid marketplace?

By gunjan verma

T

he e-commerce stores that have made shopping extremely easy have a serious business of stocking up behind the e-gateways.

The juggle between marketplace and inventory-led business models has been going on for a long time now. E-commerce in India is gradually shifting to the marketplace-led model from the inventory-led business model. How feasible is the hybrid marketplace in India?

“The future lies in the hybrid marketplace-led model where the seller is also selling his own labels as well as provides a platform for merchants and sellers to sell their products. If a seller has to make available large merchandise to his buyers, it has to adopt a marketplace-led model. The real use of internet would be if the small merchandisers get a chance to sell their products to a wider range of audience,” said Vivek Gaur, CEO, Yepme.com Myntra recently announced its own soon-to-be-launched marketplace within the next few months, thus converting into the hybrid marketplace model. It will provide a platform for merchants and sellers to sell their products through the Myntra website. This strategic move aims at increasing the profit margins and expanding its reach to smaller Indian cities and towns. But in contrast to the shift, a Myntra spokesperson said, “For a market like India where customers have very low faith in shopping online, the first thing to be Pitch | May 2014

ensured is customer satisfaction. With inventory-led model we can ensure speedier delivers, quality checks, and an overall better customer experience especially in the fashion and lifestyle segment.” Currently, Myntra operates on an inventory model.

There have been enough reasons for inventory-led model to lose the battle to the new hybrid marketplace. The inventory led e-commerce models have almost the same economic characteristics as the traditional brick-and-mortar model when it comes to inventory risk exposure, warehousing, and sourcing. It is highly unlikely to achieve profitability and extremely large scale merchandise. For a 30 per cent gross margin business, they spend about 45-50 per cent on operating expenses.

“Almost all e-commerce companies operating in India are theoretically based on an inventory-led business model. But, four distinct things that set apart an inventory led e-commerce model from a marketplace model are: the value proposition to a customer for the inventory-led e-commerce models is that whatever a customer is buying from them, they have those items in their inventory stock. Second, there is only one seller for each product sold by these companies and that would be these companies themselves. Third, these companies are merchants of record for the products sold by them. And finally, these companies issue invoices to the customers in their names. On the other hand, all

the four distinctions are not applicable on a marketplace model,”said Kiran Khalap, Co-Founder, Chlorophyll Brand &Communications Consultancy.

The size of India’s e-commerce market in 2013 was around $13 billion, according to a joint report of KPMG and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Market leaders like Amazon, Snapdeal, Myntra and Flipkart are now operating in the marketplace space. The shift is majorly to increase profits and reduce inventory-based glitches. But moving from an inventory-led model to marketplace is not an easy transition. It is as good as building from scratch.

The biggest challenge faced in adopting this model is customer experience. Companies would need a lot of support from merchants to provide the same customer experience in terms of delivery time, packaging, delivery personnel behaviour, etc.

“The major disadvantage of this model is that the shipping cost is higher because multi-product orders are fragmented across vendors and shipped separately.

And this in turn may lead to customer dissonance because a customer won’t receive their entire order at one time. This may also lead to non-compliance of delivery timelines promised; reasons being cross state barriers and non-availability of stock with the vendor, order cancellation, and loss of consumer trust,” says Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India. n - gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com

13

COLUMN

WhatsMore with

WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a platform for instant messaging using the Internet Apurva Chamaria

Head, Global Brand & Digital Front Office at HCLTechnologies

apurva.chamaria@gmail.com @a1purva

I

t is as simple as that but worth $19billion. Facebook paid $16billion combined in cash and stock plus $3billion in restricted shares to WhatsApp employees over a 4-year period.

The instant messaging company has only 55 employees, which approximately amounts to $344million per employee worth of bene�its that is the value of the entire Washington Post in 137 years of existence. The WhatsApp deal is worth more than what facebook raised in its own IPO in 2012. Its more than NASA’s budget for 2014; $17billion. India born, IIT graduate Neeraj Arora is responsible for all things business at the App corporate. He convinced Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications to allow unlimited use of WhatsApp for a Rs.16/mth data plan, which was an instant success. This was instantly followed by Tata Docomo .

WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and

Brian Acton are former Yahoo employees and were denied jobs at Twitter and Facebook in 2009. They derived the name from a play on the phrase “Whats Up” most commonly used in the US and now all over the world. WhatsApp gathers no information about its users and this is rooted to Koum’s aversion to tactics of secret police in communist countries where he was born. He remembers his mother often saying on the phone, “This is not a phone conversastion..” for they were always listening in.

WhatsApp has become ubiquitous with half a billion users delivering 50 billion messages daily. Its monthly user base exceeds that of Facebook (145 million), Gmail (123 million), Twitter (54 million0 and Skype (52 million). The volume of messaging is approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume.

It is as elementary as that and still

WhatsApp changed the way people looked at Short Message Service 14

Pitch | May 2014

when a marketer is to design the digital strategy for the brand, Whatsapp is the last to feature. It should not be so. Below are some rules of the platform to get you started:

• You allow access to your mobile phone number • You can send text, photos, files- audio and video • No robots/spiders/offline readers/ load testers allowed • No ads/games/gimmicks.

WhatsApp changed the way people looked at Short Message Service or SMS. SMS is either inaccessible or too expensive in many countries. WhatsApp is free or chargeable after a year’s service.

Businesses can use this to get in instant touch, get immediate response and even know the intention of the prospective customers’ by looking at when the concerned person saw the message last or has he read it or not.

Lets’ look at how some brands are ingeniously, using Whatsapp to increase “contacts”, broadcast images, videos and audios and in-turn use the “virality friendliness” of the platform to create a strong brand recall and interact closely with the customer.

One of my favorite examples is the Absolut Limited Edition Campaign . Through the campaign, they launched their limited edition bottles, befriended 600 people, created the biggest buzz in Argentina and had a party at the end of it.

When Google was built, a million businesses mushroomed around it and so is the case with WhatsApp. Closer home in India, small business owners (think boutiques in Shahpur Jat in Delhi, India or Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, India) are already on it leveraging bulk messaging, increasing conversion rates and enjoying a very high ROI, which are unthinkable in most other

Pitch | May 2014

digital media platforms. SMEs use it all the time to send pictures of customized goods, have direct conversations with the customer and actually reduce time and money which would have been involved otherwise. Every one of the half billion users has used the application atleast once to help select and buy something for the loved one.

It’s a common feature to hear a retailer in India tell his customer to “WhatsApp the picture” to a friend/family for a second opinion. That’s how commonly essential it can be to any business looking at a scalable near free engagement platform.

Singapore is effectively using the application for marketing. With its 78 per cent smartphone penetration, lowcost or free wi-�i options, it is the ideal media. Home Improvement companies are using the platform to verify corrections in the house without having the owners actually having to sit through the dusty renovations.

Israel based chocolate company, Klik targeted their teen audience via WhatsApp. They added their phone number to their Facebook pro�ile and started a game of ‘Simon Says’ and the response was astonishing.

Don’t miss out the Talking Tom Indian version advertising WhatsApp. As on April 2014, BBC News India shared news related to the elections in English and Hindi. Users were required to add a phone number, send a test message and they would receive a broadcast limited to thrice in a day.

Many companies now put their WhatsApp phone numbers on hoardings and Facebook status so that their customer knows that they are totally approachable. Targeting Gen Y is more ef�icient with this platform rather than Facebook or Linkedin where more and more teenagers are becoming reluctant to connect in fear of catching up with their employers or parents.

Businesses can enhance

client relationship management, serve their customer better, crowd-source ideas directly from the prospective and existing customers, conveniently share and receive opinions, embed hyperlinks, seek customer referrals and creatively let the customer market their products by creating a viral effect.

Omni-channel marketers advertise through TV/Radio and drive conversions leveraging Pay Per Click but use WhatsApp to close orders or get repeat orders.

Effectively, all internal communications of smaller companies could be made easy, speci�ic, personalized, fast, language speci�ic, relevant and sure shot read by each employee with WhatsApp. Employees could easily involve cross border colleagues to conversations at realtime.

So there’s a lot more with WhatsApp. If Facebook were to integrate data with WhatsApp, the opportunities would be endless. Mobile marketing with video promotions, brand offerings, targeted ads, location based ads, viral celebrity endorsements, gami�ication, tie-up with telecommunication companies for billing services and the endless data to analyse and make smarter business decisions.

Facebook could also use money transfers to extend WhatsApp and it’s non-Ad revenue.

The opportunities are endless so every business should be ride the next big wave called WhatsApp. If you have only thought of Facebook giveaways, Twitter chats and Instagram hashtags, think again, WhatsApp can be your best social media marketing campaign. 

The views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily re�lect the views of Pitch

15

F E AT U R E

By Ankur Gaurav

T

he growth story of the sports industry in India is directly linked with the advent of the Indian Premier League in 2008.Although, sport as a form of entertainment had been recognized since 1982, it was not until IPL launched with great fanfare that marketers awakened to the great potential for advertisers that could be tapped. Driven by brands and marketing, this unique annual event had turned out to be a cash cow till controversy struck the franchise this time. This has been a tough year as far as the sponsorships and revenue of the teams are concerned. Is it time marketers looked beyond the IPL? IPL, with its massive reach to more than 10 billion Indians has been a favourite with marketers till date. Marketers found a platform to promote

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their brand through on ground activities, team sponsorships, media and television coverage and player sponsorships. PepsiCo is the title sponsor for the event for the past two years. An IPL report card from PepsiCo’s spokesperson says, “In 2013, we derived tremendous value from IPL through our threepronged approach aimed at ‘Winning

This has been a tough year as far as the sponsorships and revenue of the teams are concerned.

Is it time marketers looked beyond the IPL?

the Consumer’, ‘Owning the stadium’ and ‘owning the Buzz Online’. Repucom estimates that we got a 10 times derived media value for our investment in 2013 and expect to get a similar multiplier in 2014 as well, irrespective of where the tournament is held. By ways of activating the tournament, Pepsi significantly gained share in terms of unaided top of mind recall with consumers (as ratified by syndicated studies such as Ormax and DOMOR), developing strong engagement pivots across all mediums, generating exposure significantly higher than other sponsors of the tournament and creating buzz in the online space.”

In the past five years, brands and sponsorships pumped in funds in this business. Indian Sport’s business has risen by Rs. 20 billion, in the last 5 years.

Pitch | May 2014

Despite IPL being the most sought-after advertising franchise in the country and the best sports entertainment extravaganza, it’s time marketers focused on other sports like Football, the Marathon, and maybe other Cricket franchises

It was worth 41.1 billion in 2013 up from 21.39 billion in 2008. It is important to note that more than two thirds

of the entire budget has been dedicated to the gentleman’s game but according to the data, the sports marketing indus-

The consumer cannot take so many heroes from the same sport. The growth chart needs a push which cricket as a sport cannot provide anymore try is not projected to grow due to just cricket.

It’s time other sports franchises also received their due. Indian Cricket League, the league owned by Zee, which was started before IPL, has failed miserably to come close to IPL. This only suggests that the consumer cannot take so many heroes from the same sport. The growth chart needs a push which cricket as a sport cannot provide anymore. The image below shows how the curve has dipped in the last few years.

The failure of ICL, another domestic cricket league is another factor that points in the same direction. The increasing interest in other sports points towards serious possibilities of the rise in other engaging sporting activities in the nation which can become a platform for brands.

Although the IPL retains its glory, the fervor lasts for only two months, but

Figures mentioned are in Crores (1 Crore = 10 million)

Pitch | May 2014

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F E AT U R E

IPL’s viewership in the last six years has reached a set of audience and is stagnant now

advertisers lap it up as there is no other format available to them at this scale.

Pepsico’s spokesperson admits that there is no other format in the media which delivers the cumulative viewership of this kind, “In media, there is no single format which delivers the cumulative viewership and reach like the Pepsi IPL in the peak months of April and May and the format is evolving much beyond traditional TV into the online and mobile space, reaching deeper consumer touch points and

fan engagement.”

But India’s richest League has seen better days. This year the IPL was shifted to Abu Dhabi and controversy has hounded it much to the dismay of fans and sponsors. Investigation continues into the betting and spot fixing scandal in which some big names have been involved.

IPL’s viewership in the last six years has reached a set of audience and is stagnant now. Indian electrical appliances brand Arise India is another active sports marketer in the Industry. This year they chose to be the title sponsor for Asia Cup which was held from February – March, 2014.

Out of Rs 65 crore allocated for annual marketing spends, Arise India spent 25 crore for the international event rather than spending it for the IPL. According to Manish Jain, Managing Director of Arise India, “This move is expected to create huge brand awareness and garner maximum audience eyeballs for the brand.

This association is a part of Arise’s ambitious advertising and media campaigns for which it has earmarked a budget-

Pitch | May 2014

18 Figures mentioned are in Crores (1 Crore = 10 million)

Pepsi’s campaign ‘change the game’ was a campaign which switched the focus to football ary allocation of Rs. 60 crores in the financial year 2013-14, of which Rs. 25 crores is exclusively assigned for the Arise Asia Cup 2014.”

Other brands too are taking the same route and are exploring other opportunities.

Alternatives to IPL

Although it seems India is a cricket crazy nation, Indians can look beyond cricket. Hockey has been a much loved sport from the days of Dhyan Chand and now with the establishment of Hockey India League, Hockey is attracting eyeballs once again.

Marketers need to be on the lookout for sports other than cricket, to use as platforms for advertising. Pepsi’s campaign ‘change the game’ was a campaign which switched the focus to football. It was refreshing to see actor Ranbir Kapoor playing with a football to “change the game”.

Football has been the problem child of Indian Sport. But the kind of

Pitch | May 2014

response garnered at Argentina Vs Venezuela friendly in 2011 was just a glimpse of that hunger among the Indian audience. Brands have been on the lookout for this spark of interest.

Bharti Airtel became the title sponsor of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Noida and the Delhi Half Marathon in 2011.

ING Vysya is not promoting cricket in

India but only soccer and basketball and Hero MotoCorp promoted the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. The company was also the title sponsor of the men’s Hockey World Cup that year.

Hero spends nearly $3 million a year on the Indian Open golf tournament while cell phone operator Aircel’s yearly sponsorship budget for the Chennai

19

F E AT U R E

Open is around $0.7 million. DLF was the first sponsor of the tournament in 2008. When asked about its lack of interest in the IPL this year, DLF’s Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi, Excecutive Director Sales and Marketing, DLF Universal explained, “In 2008, it was our need of the hour to reach out on a national level, and I think our job got well done. Now we are well established and do not feel the need to sponsor IPL .”

So does this mean IPL has lost some of its glamour for brands? Hyundai Motor Company, the official automotive partner of FIFA until 2022 is also dabbling in sports other than cricket.

Rakesh Srivastava, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing said, “Despite India being predominantly a cricket loving nation, Hyundai knows the importance of entering the horizon of niche sports in terms of the Indian audience, like

20

Hyundai sees its football sponsorship as a core element of its marketing strategy and as a key way of connecting with global customers Football (FIFA WC) and Motor Sports (World rally championship).”

Hyundai sees its football sponsorship as a core element of its marketing strategy and as a key way of connecting with global customers. Whilst cricket is still the top favourite, the absolute clutter in cricket has led marketers to turn to other sports as a cost-effective option. ” At the Audi Football Summit held at

the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi, though the Indian team lost to Bayern Munich, Indian football’s potential was established with this show in the capital. In the last five years, on ground sponsorship in football has gone up from Rs 85 million in 2008 to Rs 142 million in 2013.

Marathons are surprisingly one of the most engaging sporting platforms; TCS and Standard Chartered sponsored Mumbai Marathon. More than 50,000 people participate in the run on one single day. The number of brands sponsoring this title rose up to 19 in 2013.In five years, the total sponsorships rose from Rs 285 million to Rs 420 million in 2013, for running events.

Tata’s Truck Racing championship is the latest sporting platform, albeit small, to join the fray of sporting events.n -ankur.gaurav@exchange4media.com

Pitch | May 2014

Pitch | May 2014

21

INTERVIEW

Sumit Kumar

Bata goes all out to connect with the youth

F

rom simple flipflops, and staid school shoes to a wide range of youthful footwear with an aspirational appeal, Bata India has come a long way. The stores are smarter and the shoes are in sync with the times. By gradually moving into the aspirational category, Bata has been able to bridge the gap between fashion and comfort. While critics feel Bata may still not have achieved what it set out to do, its evolution has been remarkable. Devansh Sharma of Pitch spoke to Sumit Kumar, Vice President and Head of Marketing and Customer Service, Bata India to find out more about the new campaign, the vision and its fresh connect with the youth. Edited excerpts:

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How has Bata’s marketing strategy evolved over the years?

We are now adding a layer to our brand proposition – the aspirational layer, while continuing to retain our core competencies of comfort and durability. A whole generation of Indians have grown up with Bata and it’s an inseparable part of everyone’s childhood memories. The strategy is to build on this equity and to also help the brand make a fresh connect with the youth and our evolving customer base. The newly launched TV c ommercial, radio, outdoor, print, social media and digital are key elements in bringing about this change in our marketing strategy. Further to that, the new global concept store format has been incorporated to create an enhanced shopping experience for the customers.

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What is the idea behind your new campaign? For long, Bata has been known for school shoes or Hawaiian flip-flops. Is it a conscious effort towards repositioning the brand or making it aspirational for youngsters under the tagline ‘Where life meets style’?

Drawing on our vast experience and understanding of the Indian consumer, we have designed our latest 360-degree marketing campaign to appeal to the sensibilities of the Indian consumer across age groups and profiles. The campaign was designed to emphasize on fashion and comfort, the two most appealing characteristics of Bata shoes. There was a clear indication to highlight the free spiritedness, spontaneity and vibrancy of youth.

The attempt was to capture real life, dayto-day moments where our consumer can

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relate to our products in their everyday lives. We have tried to tell a story with our new range of shoes which are vibrant and colourful highlighting our campaign tagline “Where Life meets style!” The product is the hero. The stylish, contemporary and on-trend range of products caters to the needs of our loyal customers while appealing to a new set of evolved consumers.

What took you so long to come up with a new campaign?

Bata continuously undertakes marketing initiatives, in sync with the market priorities. Prior to the launch of the current campaign too, we were focussed on opening of our new Global concept stores and expansion of product portfolio. With key initiatives in place, we believe that the launch of the new marketing strategy and TVC will be a boon to the brand.

It is the perfect time to get our customers to the stores with a mass amplification of the campaign that has been launched with the intent to communicate the brand as aspirational, yet comfortable.

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Bata’s product range caters to all age groups and all income groups in the market. What then is the real brand positioning of Bata?

Bata shoes appeal to the sensibilities of the Indian consumer across all age groups and profiles. Bata sells its products starting at a price point of Rs 350 to Rs 10,000. The brand has always stood for comfort, durability and a strong heritage.

While the core brand proposition continues, in sync with the change in the market environment, we decided to add an

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Pitch | May 2014

Pitch | May 2014

23

INTERVIEW

Sumit Kumar aspirational layer to the brand and create an experience for the consumer. The current campaign has also been designed to emphasize on fashion and comfort, the two most appealing characteristics of the brand.

For any brand, consumer experience is very important and digital media is a favourite with marketers. People browse a product online but go to a physical store to buy it. There is no end to the innovations that can be introduced on the digital medium. How do you plan to leverage digital technology to enhance the consumer experience?

The new 360 degree marketing strategy is a mix of TV commercial, radio, print, outdoor and digital. Bata has amplified the campaign on digital by creating a presence on Facebook. Online music sites and Flash ads have also been incorporated to complement mainline advertising.

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What are your initiatives towards experiential marketing?

The entire campaign has been designed to create an experience for the consumer. The television commercial aims to capture slice-of-life situations in the lives of people through a literal focus on the footwear. The film uses a unique technique of following those real life moments by showing the action only from knee down. The situations captured range from the nervous to the dramatic to the adventurous, including a group of students eagerly looking at their exam re-

It is the perfect time to get our customers to the stores with a mass amplification of the campaign that has been launched with the intent to communicate the brand as aspirational, yet comfortable

sults, colleagues watching a cricket match in office and a group of young girls enjoying their ‘day out.’ So, in relation to that, there is definitely a leg of experiential marketing involved in our new TVC too.

Recently, we also inaugurated our first ever global concept store in India in Delhi, which makes for a differentiated experience for the consumer. Additionally, all our new stores are now constructed as per our global guidelines making it easier to navigate and therefore easier to shop.

How significant is the contribution of sub brands like Hush Puppies or Scholl to the parent brand?

Bata has different collections in its offerings targeting different segments of consumers. Through our different ranges we have something for everyone and now the store’s layout and design reflects this. Each brand is now very clearly segmented, with distinct brand identities that allow customers to see which brand best meets their personal style preferences. Each brand in the portfolio plays an important role.

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The traditional Bata Store has undergone a makeover. What led to this move?

The new Bata store has been designed with customers specifically in mind offering a wide range of men’s, women’s and kid’s shoes and accessories. The makeover has made the store more inviting, inspiring and easier to shop. The new store is made as per the brand’s global store format, designed by experienced designers and architects, using the latest retail techniques and the best quality furniture to enhance the store’s layout and provide an attractive product display. With the evolving needs of a well-travelled customer, we have identified the need to highlight aspirational, trendy and stylish products from the brand in an ambience which is more positive and gives the consumers a holistic experience.

Additionally, all our new stores are now constructed as per our global guidelines making it a more positive shopping experience for the customer.  - devansh.sharma@exchange4media.com

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Pitch | May 2014

Pitch | May 2014

25

FEATURE

Find Your Voice amid

News Television Brands In the times of news channel clutter, strong positioning of a brand is all that matters

By Rashi Bisaria

I

n the cluttered space of Television news, what the audience wishes to watch is lost in the noise. News channels have created a cacophony leaving no scope for unique voices to be heard. But the irony is, there are no unique voices anymore. Every new channel that joins the game claims to be faster and smarter, than the others.

In their quest for the numero uno position they have forgotten the importance of the viewer’s expectations and needs. Once in a while comes a brand that offers some differentiation, that tries to break through the noise with a voice and personality, filling in a need gap for viewers that nobody ever knew existed.

News 24, the 24 hour news channel from BAG Films is one such brand that entered the channel game 21 years back and has been growing steadily ever since. Not an easy feat for a channel when 786 channels are vying for the viewer’s attention. But it does prove that if you offer just what the viewer needs, you do get noticed and if you build a credible brand image through those offerings, you do earn loyalty.

According to India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the number of licensed commercial television channels in the country is now 786 out of which news and current affairs channels are 389, as of January 31, 2014.

The number is by no means less, mak-

26

It’s no longer the survival of the quickest in News television, but now survival is dependent on differentiated content to keep the viewer engaged

ing it that much more challenging for individual channels to make a mark.

News 24, a part of the umbrella brand Broadcast 24 has now become the fastest growing Hindi News channel according to TAM, in the melee of Hindi news channels hogging th e air waves.

The major market of news genre is Delhi and News 24 has increased by 151 per cent in this market. Anurradha Pitch | May 2014

Prasad, the Chairperson and Managing Director of BAG Network 24 who has been the force behind the brand attributes the success to constant reinvention, “A media brand remains relevant only if you keep reinventing it every day, every hour. You have to add something to the brand and keep creating new brands, new products, new situations. That’s the most difficult aspect.

Keeping track of competition and its existence really help.”

“Distribution is very important. People say content is king but I feel distribution is God. Distribution has been the most challenging aspect of Indian broadcasting” Anurradha Prasad | Chairperson & MD, BAG Network 24 So what according to Anurradha sets Network 24 apart? “Any media product has to be inclusive in its whole approach. We are the voice of every Indian. That’s very important for us. We look at India as a whole. If you look at all our brands, each has a distinct personality and a distinct thought behind it,” she explains.

Viewers today are looking for credibility and any brand that positions

News 24 has risen as a challenger news brand which has built its differentiated positioning and is in the process of building loyalties

Pitch | May 2014

itself as a people’s brand has strong chances to make it to the viewer’s list of favourites. So appropriate positioning of a brand in the minds of the audience is of paramount importance, something that Network 24 has managed to do successfully, where many others have failed.

Since the launch of twenty four hour television in India in the early 2000s, mindsets have changed again. It’s no longer the survival of the quickest in News television, but now survival is dependent on differentiated content to keep the viewer engaged. Appointment viewing is making a comeback.

According to Ravina Raj Kohli, who once spearheaded Star News as President and is now Advisor to Network 24 says, “Over the last decade television has been able to create habits but has not developed loyalties. What news has not done in the last few years is thrown up any news icons or any names or any loyalties.” But was there any need for another Hindi news channel when the mind space of the audience was occupied by the numerous channels showing almost similar content? “How do you surpass the others was the big question. We studied the gaps and found that the biggest gap was the complete lack of inclusiveness.

Hindi media is the most mainstream media and it has to understand that society builds politics and not the other way round. This is why we came up with the strategy of being inclusive and relevant,” adds Ravina.

Relevance is what really matters to the viewer today. In the rush of everyday life, a deluge of information all

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FEATURE

Appropriate positioning of a brand in the minds of the audience is of paramount importance, something that Network 24 has managed to do successfully around, people have limited time which they want to spend viewing only what is of specific interest to them. The viewer should be able to identify with the host and the content of the show. This strategy can lead to brand building, a fact News 24 has understood well. Most of its shows like “Itihaas Gavaah hai”, “Sadda Haq” have connected well with the viewers, making them feel a part of the action. “Itihaas gavah hai” delves into the 40 year old political history of the country and narrates untold stories associated with past events. There is also a conscious effort to include the viewer. As Ravina says, “We want a pro-people and not a pro-party channel. News is about how much depth you can go into for a news story. Does that story remain with the family at the dinner table? Are they interested in what happened to the subject of that story? There’s a need to create brands like that.”

Today, news media has more fragmen-

tation and less differentiation. News 24 has risen as a challenger news brand which has built its differentiated positioning and is in the process of building loyalties. As Ravina says, “Big ships take time to turn” and it will take some time before the viewer is totally won over by the novelty of programming News 24 has to offer.

Novelty has become Network 24’s trademark offering. E24, is a non-fiction news GEC from the bouquet of channels from Network 24. It boasts of a widespread target audience that includes both men and women across board. Its programming mix ensures that there’s some content for everyone and in that sense it stays highly inclusive. “We need to be taken seriously by the television, music and cinema industries. As the channel grows, it will hopefully become a ticket to Bollywood. That’s the ultimate aim,” reveals Ravina.

But it is not an easy task for the chan-

“We studied the gaps and found that the biggest gap was the complete lack of inclusiveness” Ravina Raj Kohli | Advisor, Network 24

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nels to capture the mind of the viewer considering that even distribution has become a challenge with the ongoing changes in the distribution ecosystem.

The streamlining of distribution of TV channels from broadcasters to Distribution Platform operators, and the digitisation of the Cable TV sector in phases, have resulted in inconsistencies in the system. The system is in a state of flux and is only adding to the complexity of a cluttered environment.

Anurradha, emphasising the value of distribution, says, “Distribution is very important. People say content is king but I feel distribution is God. Distribution has been the most challenging aspect of the Indian broadcasting era that began in 2002. The systems have started coming in place from 2012. There‘s still some time for the entire distribution to settle down as there are still some areas that are not digitised.”

For Network 24, the road ahead is not easy. It’s an uphill task to thrive in an environment with a variety of challenges.

But it has the people on its side, it has understood the minds of the viewers and is offering a fresh perspective. It has emerged as a challenger brand.

-rashi.bisaria@exchange4media.com

Pitch | May 2014

Pitch Chooses Top 50 Brands Flipkart named Brand of the Year

T

he much-awaited Pitch Top 50 Brands 2014 list, an annual property from the exchange4media group, that honours brands in 10 categories for excellence in marketing was unveiled. The jury meet concluded on May 10.

The panel of esteemed jury, chaired by Santosh Desai , MD Future Brandsdeliberated on the final list. Flipkart was chosen as the brand of the year. The 51 chosen brands will be honoured (L-R) Rahul Saighal, Hamsini Shivakumar, Vibhuti Channa, Moneka Khurana, Santosh Desai, on June 4, 2014 and will Chintamani Rao, Jaydeep Mukherjee, Shefali Chhachhi, Vineet Trakroo be profiled in June’s exclusive issue of Pitch magazine.

Flipkart and Samsung were close in the race to make it to the ous sectors.” category to choose from, as brands oftop of the list. Flipkart has been on top Fogg, Ola Cabs, Paper Boat, Tata Sky ten come into the limelight for wrong of the consumer’s mind in the booming and Levi’s made it to list of The Inno- reasons, while the newness of brands age e-commerce.Talking about Flipkart, vators. Vineet Trakroo, CEO, Evolution comes from the fact that they either inJury Chairperson, Santosh Desai, MD& Strategy Advisors felt The Innovators novate or keep buzzing with their marCEO, Future Brands said,”Flipkart was as a category was difficult for brands as keting dollars.” the strongest contender due to their there are not many innovations happenRahul Saighal, former Group CMO, wonderful marketing innovations. They ing on Indian soil or impacting Indian Samsung India ;Vibhuti Channa, Marhave been on top of the mind with their economy. keting Director, Advent Brand House; ads, and constant innovations in their In the Newsmakers category, after Chintamani Rao, Strategic Marketing services. All these initiatives have made extensive discussions and debate Sam- and Media Advisor; Shefali Chhachhi, Flipkart one of the best e-retailers.” sung, Flipkart, Twitter, Google made Independent Business Development Hamsini Shivakumar, Owner , Leap- it to the top five but the surprise addi- Professional and Jaydeep Mukherjee, frog Strategy Consulting said, “The con- tion to this category was Tanishq for its Associate Professor, Marketing, MDI , cept of Pitch Top 50 Brands is different pathbreaking television advertising.

Chairperson – Marketing Area were also from others as we do not classify brands Moneka Khurana, Strategic Consult- part of the eminent jury. according to sectors but ten different ant and Trainer – Digital Services and Watch out for the June 2014 issue for categories and the best five in that cat- Independent Consultantsaid, “The more details on Pitch Top 50 Brands. n egory come out to be brands from vari- Newsmakers was the most difficult -feedback@pitchonnet.com

Pitch | May 2014

29

COVER STORY

ITC

The rise of a challenger FMCG Brand

A multi-business conglomerate, ITC has climbed its way to the top posing a challenge to established FMCG players 30

Pitch | May 2014

By rashi bisaria

I

t has been a trailblazer which has achieved significant milestones in its long journey. Today it prides itself on creating 5 million sustainable livelihoods, having created brands that are posing a serious challenge to world class brands in every category. ITC, the Kolkata based conglomerate is a force to reckon with especially in the FMCG sector. Its new FMCG businesses have crossed Rs 7,000 crore. This growth has been rated by a Nielsen Report to be the fastest among the consumer goods companies operating in India.

How did a company that began as a Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco business , become a juggernaut in the Foods and personal care category? How did it establish its dominance in the hospitality sector and how did it develop the paperboards business? What led it to enter the apparel retail category? To add to this list and to establish itself as one of the largest food companies in the country, it has also decided to enter into the carbonated beverages and dairy businesses.

ITC saw its other Fast Moving Consumer Goods which includes personal care and Foods, grow 16.6 per cent in turnover to Rs 2078 crore at the start of the year. ITC’s other FMCG business has grown to become a behemoth in this category and if numbers are to be believed , it has stolen a clear march over mid-tier peers such as Dabur Emami, Colgate, Marico and Godrej Consumer.

It’s a case of a company delivering exactly what the consumer wants, at the right time with the help of its inhouse R&D capabilities and relevant consumer insights. As a brand that is more than a 100 years old in the Indian market, ITC’s biggest strength lies in its insight into the Indian consumer.

The ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre in Bangalore, operational since Pitch | May 2014

1983 not only supports and improves existing products but also creates innovations and anticipates consumer needs. Path-breaking solutions that blend science, research and technology offer consumers the best solutions to improve the quality of their lives.

When ITC overtook the FMCG giant HUL in the branded food and beverage category in the last fiscal, it was an eye-opener for analysts, marketers and consumers. As Abraham Koshy, Professor of Marketing at IIM Ahmedabad says, “ITC has emerged as a very stable and intelligent player even in categories with difficult competitors. Its timing to foray into the food and packaged food categories has been perfect and is

as reflected in the list. Brand Consultant Harish Bijoor, of Harish Bijoor Consults compares Reliance and ITC when he says, “Today ITC’s market share is as much as that of Reliance.

It’s also as valuable as Reliance. They are the biggest market share holders in tobacco. Hence, they could easily leverage on their brand strength to make an impact globally.”

But can ITC’s growth wave in different sectors be attributed to its brand strength built through the tobacco business? ITC’s Branded Packaged Foods business comprises seven popular brands –Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo, Kitchens of India, mint-o, Candyman and Yippee. The focus is health

“The flavours have created excitement among consumers and significantly enhanced the consumer franchise of the ‘Sunfeast’ brand”

Chitranjan Dar | Divisional Chief Executive, Foods Division, ITC working well for it.”

ITC is among the 50 fastest growing consumer products companies globally. This is according to the seventh annual Global Powers of Consumer Products report issued by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTTL). In fact, ITC improved its ranking to 134 from 150 last year in the Top 250 Consumer Products Companies. The company has been able to make an impact globally

When ITC overtook the FMCG giant HUL in the branded food and beverage category in the last fiscal, it was an eye-opener for analysts, marketers and consumers

and building trust among consumers.

In the biscuit category ITC’s Sunfeast has inched up by capturing market share from both Britannia and Parle in cream biscuits. The Sunfeast range was launched in July 2003, offering wholesome and innovative biscuits to the Indian consumers. Twelve years down the line, Sunfeast offers not just biscuits but has spawned instant noodles and Pasta too. ITC blended multiple internal competencies to take over the foods market by storm. Its distribution reach is phenomenal and the foods business boasts of a solid market position.

Chitranjan Dar, Divisional Chief Executive, Foods Division, ITC, attributed the company’s gains in cream biscuits to its relentless focus on portfolio enrichment through innovations like Sunfeast Dark Fantasy Choco Fills and

31

COVER STORY

ITC

ITC is among the 50 fastest growing consumer products companies globally ITC’s cream biscuit market share stands at around 25 per cent in value In March 2014, ITC’s stationary business had earned a revenue of Rs 1000 crore in consumer spends.

Choco Meltz and Sunfeast Dream Cream range. “These flavours have created excitement among consumers and significantly enhanced the consumer franchise of the ‘Sunfeast’ brand,” said Dar. What’s helped in the process is ITC Hotels’ marketing and distribution infrastructure, which Sunfeast has leveraged to stay ahead of the curve. Sunfeast was launched at the right time when the organised market was expanding. This helped the brand to expand rapidly in a market , which was for years dominated

by Britannia and Parle.

For the year ended October 31, 2013, ITC’s cream biscuit market share stands at around 25 per cent in value, according to industry sources

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who quoted all-India Nielsen numbers. The market share numbers for Parle Products and Britannia for the same period were under 20 per cent.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2013, ITC’s new FMCG businesses registered a healthy revenue growth of 16.4 per cent. ITC is also the only Indian company to be rated among the Top 10 global FMCG companies

in terms of value creation during the period 2008-2012 by Boston Consulting Group. ITC Foods has drawn on its internal resources like the agri-sourcing strength of echoupals, its knowledge of Indian cuisine, capabilities in product development, sales and distribution to scale up volumes. Superior consumer insights and smart sourcing have helped ITC maintain the edge.

The personal care industry in India is on a growth curve. It is driven by rising consumer incomes and the rising awareness about grooming and personal care among them. ITC has risen to this opportunity too, resulting in an expanding Personal Care products range that has made

“Classmate is india’s largest, fastest growing stationery brand backed by consumer insight, product innovation, brand & trade marketing” Chand Das | Chief Executive, ITC’s Education

and Stationery Products Business

Pitch | May 2014

its presence felt in the market. In July 2005, ITC embarked on the Personal Care business. “Essenza Di Wills”, “Fiama Di Wills”, “Vivel”, “Engage” and “Superia” are some of the brands in this category which have received a positive response in the market. The personal care business continues to grow especially in the Deodorants category where the “Engage” range continues to receive good response from consumers.

Sandeep Kaul, Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC Ltd explained how ITC was moving forward in the personal care category, “Research and product development expertise focused on addressing the needs of various consumer benefit segments are being leveraged to launch innovative and differentiated product offerings in the Soaps, Shower Gel, Skin Care, Face Wash and Deodorant categories under the ‘Fiama Di Wills’, ‘Vivel’, ’Engage’ and ‘Superia’ brands”.

ITC has extended its distribution reach to the tier 2 and tier 3 cities, with these cities also driving the growth of the company. These markets contribute to 30 per cent of the turnover of the FMCG industry. ITC has been quick to adapt to these markets providing products at affordable pricing. The contribution of these markets has been increasing for ITC and account for 1/3rd of the business in the FMCG category for ITC. ITC entered the education and stationery business in the premium segment in 2002 and in the popular segment in 2003. Classmate became the largest Notebook brand in the country in 2007. The products were a result of ITC’s insights into the Indian consumer. It provided great value in terms of product and pricing for the Indian consumer. In March 2014, ITC’s stationary business had earned a revenue of Rs 1000 crore in consumer spends. ITC has managed to provide unique and differentiated products in the Paperkraft and Classmate ranges. In January this year, ITC’s Paperkraft launched “Glow Pitch | May 2014

in the Dark” and “Twin Ruling” notebooks that boasted of cutting edge design. Till a decade back the stationery industry in India was highly unorganised but with the entry of international players like Office Depot, Staples the competition has gone up. The organised market for notebooks is Rs 4000 crore and ITC’s Classmate has managed

the remaining 15 per cent is from other stationery products.

Speaking about ITC’s differentiated product offerings, Chand Das, Chief Executive, ITC’s Education and Stationery Products Business says, “Classmate is today India’s largest and fastest growing stationery brand backed by superior consumer insight, product innova-

to become the market leader with a 20 per cent share. It is way ahead of the other national brand Navneet and other regional players. ITC is set to expand further in this segment. Brand Saathi is another soon-to-be-launched brand which would cater to the less prosperous markets. Yet another premium offering on the anvil is Classmate Pulse.

Notebooks comprise almost 85 per cent of the company’s revenue while

tion, brand & trade marketing & supply chain collaboration. ITC’s education and stationery product brands - ‘Paperkraft’, ‘Classmate Pulse’, ‘Classmate’ & ‘Saathi’- offer consumers a wide range of differentiated products addressing the specific needs of each segment.”

Today, ITC is firmly established as a fast growing FMCG brand that has a significant market share which is on a growth path.

It is able to come up with game-changing innovation, and has the distribution capabilities to reach out to its target group of consumers. It is able to match the evolving tastes of consumers and has stood the test of time. It has remained competitive through the years and is not just surviving but thriving among competitors. It has accepted that innovation is an imperative to beat them all and is focused on it. n - rashi.bisaria@exchange4media.com

ITC is the only Indian company to be rated among the Top 10 global FMCG companies in terms of value creation

33

COLUMN The Brand as a Sign System in India’s consumer culture Hamsini Shivakumar

Owner, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting

hamsini6@googlemail.com

When Indian consumers think of a brand, they think of someone or something that is famous, popular, reputed and well-regarded 34

T

he old line used to be that products are made in the factory, brands are made in consumers’ minds. It is generally accepted that brands are symbolic entities that exist in collective or shared perception. In a more technical de�inition, brands can be de�ined as symbolic entities existing in inter-subjective space. Human experience is subjective, varying from individual to individual. No two people experience the same thing in an identical way. However, that does not mean that human experience is completely and totally idiosyncratic. Through sharing and story-telling, groups of individuals arrive at a shared understanding of what that experience means. The interpretive concepts, language and ideas draw not only from their immediate environment but also from a stock of socio-cultural interpretations that form shared beliefs, ideologies and myths.

This shared understanding is the intersubjective space. Hence, the signi�iers and signi�icance of a brand exist in the inter-subjective space of shared perception.

Hence, what a brand means and its function / purpose arising from that meaning varies from country to country and culture to culture.

When Indian consumers think of a brand, they think of someone or something that is famous, popular, reputed and well-regarded. That’s the difference between someone or something that is

a brand vs. something that has a name, but is unknown and hence not a brand.

Thus a brand is itself a signi�ier of ideas around fame and reputation. But is a brand only a signi�ier of celebrity status or something more? Does it have other connotations and meanings?

From a deeper understanding of urban Indian consumption and material culture, we can identify the various ways in which brands act as signi�iers and thus become a multiple sign system.

By a multiple sign system, we mean that brands signify multiple meanings functioning either as icons, symbols or indices.

Consumption and material culture are built on several binaries. The �irst is the binary of pain / pleasure. Shopping, buying and exchange can be a source of pain or pleasure. Buying or exchange is a necessary pre-condition for consumption. There is pain in buying when there is risk of being cheated and losing money as well as losing face.

There is also pain in buying when there is confusion and doubt and fear of making the wrong choice. The pleasure of consumption arises from choice, from variety, from having a huge range of high quality products, services and solutions to choose from, to ful�ill all desires within one’s budget. The satisfaction in consumption arises from buying smart, buying well and having one’s expectations met without de�icits or gaps.

Brands as trust marks, signifying the Pitch | May 2014

trustworthiness of products, services and solutions help resolve this binary of pain vs. pleasure. When Indians go shopping, they look to buy from a “trusted” source. In the Indian market place, there is the ever-present suspicion of being ‘cheated’ either on quality or on price due to information and power asymmetry between buyer and seller.

The implicit assumption in the culture is that every seller is subject to the temptation of corruption – viz to manipulate his or her extra knowledge for personal gain at the cost of the customer or to over-promise and under-deliver or even to dilute quality standards surreptitiously. The ordinary Indian’s experience of law or rule enforcement is not positive. Law enforcement is seen as being loaded in favor of the rich and powerful and against the aam aadmi, the ordinary consumer or shopper. Hence

In India there is the everpresent suspicion of being ‘cheated’ due to information and power asymmetry between buyer and seller social regulation via the consensus of public or group opinion carries as much if not more weight than the stamp of a formally constituted authority. This is how a “well-known” and “popular” brand becomes a symbolic signi�ier of “trust”. Some attributes that support the perception of a brand’s trustworthiness are heritage, performance, integrity and

Pitch | March 2014

Social regulation via the consensus of public or group opinion carries as much if not more weight than the stamp of a formally constituted authority ingenuity in solving customer problems.

The second binary could be labeled as progress / stagnation. Within the broad umbrella idea of progress are notions of aspiration, social progress, upward status mobility, material prosperity, wealth accumulation and going from rags to riches in one generation. Even striving for personal growth can be seen as a form of progress vs. staying static / stagnating. All these ideas carry an essence of dynamic energy embedded within them. Market position as well as competitive intent are signi�iers of progress.

The status of a brand within its competitive set makes it a signi�ier of stature and prestige for the consumer to �launt. The last thirty years of opening up the Indian economy and partially adopting market based economic models has provided opportunity to progress and for the consuming middle class to aspire for social progress, as also to display their upward social mobility through using and �launting branded products.

The third binary is that of charisma / ordinariness. Consumption culture relies on individual and social attractiveness as the underlying pull factor to convert people into shoppers and consumers.

The mall as the modern pleasure palace of consumption is the best exempli�ier of

this binary. Malls present a huge variety of products, beautifully merchandized and attractively packaged to tempt people to buy. As anyone who has walked through a mall, especially in Sale season knows, it is impossible to exit without buying something or another – all because everything is so attractive and tempting. Brands thus are indices of charisma and legendary brands have maximum charisma. When companies hire celebrities to promote their brands, they are trying to inject an extra dose of charisma to their offerings in order to attract and tempt the buying public towards their products and services.

A fourth binary is that of individual uniqueness / similarity to the group.

Consumption culture encourages shopping and consuming as an easy form of self-expression and personality development. Thus products, services and experiences are a tool for cultivating individual identity and expressing uniqueness. Becoming a trendsetter and using the brands favored by the fashionable set/ the ‘in-crowd’ are the means of escaping the anonymity of the crowd and standing apart. Brands thus are indices of ‘stand-apart-ness”.

In conclusion, in Indian consumption and material culture, brands are signi�iers of trust, progress, charisma and ‘stand-apart-ness’. Thus an Indian brand in the minds of its consumers and audiences has not just one meaning but several types of meanings attached to the name and logo. 

The views expressed here are of the author alone, and do not necessarily re�lect the views of Pitch

35

INTERVIEW

SANDEEP MENON

“Mobile needs to be at the core of any marketing plan”

C

reating Video content for Youtube which people love and want to share is just one of the challenges that content creators for brands face.

Optimising the content and promoting it through cost-effective strategies are an essential part of your content plan. A well thought-through content strategy for your brand on Youtube is a must if you want it to be successful at it.While some brands are still struggling to use Youtube effectively to meet their marketing objectives, some others have mastered content marketing on Google’s video platform.

Brands have created their own channels to advertise their products on it.

Ankur Gaurav of Pitch caught up with Sandeep Menon, Marketing Director, Google India to know more about how brands are leveraging the medium to engage audiences. Some excerpts: 36

Looking back at the year 2013, what were the ‘highs’ for Google India?

2013 was a year of multiple highs for Google in India. From launching our initiative to help get 50 million Indian women online in 12 months to the Google Reunion campaign which went viral. Initiatives that I am especially proud of are the YouTube initiatives around Comedy Week, Google Impact Challenge India where we supported 10 Indian

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NGOs that helped make India a better place faster, using technology and the Great Online Shopping festival.

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Youtube’s Comedy Week was a big success. Will it come back again in 2014? Is Youtube planning more such initiatives?

Indians continue to consume YouTube across devices and comedy is de�initely one of the top genres in terms of consumption. We will be

Pitch | May 2014

doing many exciting programmes for YouTube users in India this year. The Youtube Fan fest has begun.

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Marketers are inclined towards advertising on digital platforms.

How have they taken to marketing on Youtube?

Brand marketers across India are embracing the power of video online with YouTube being the leading destination for video on the web. Almost all leading brands are now active on YouTube and last year saw some really innovative campaigns on YouTube. In fact, some of them were made-for web campaigns like the Tata Nano campaign, Aircel Dhoni commercial and the innovative campaign for Old Spice with Milind Soman.

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How is advertising on Youtube different compared to other social media channels?

There are three aspects to it: Reach, Content and Effective targeting.

Globally, every month 1 billion unique users visit YouTube searching for entertaining, interesting and compelling video content. From the advertising perspective Video is the most impactful, engaging and brand de�ining ad format.

YouTube content is shared across all social platforms (G+/Twitter/FB/Chat apps) and is home to some of the most successful advertising campaigns in the industry. Brands are now able to reach millions of customers faster than ever before. Some examples are the Old Spice campaign, Red Bull Stratos - jump from space campaign, Volvo Splits campaign.

Measurability is another aspect which was traditionally lacking in video ad-

Pitch | May 2014

Globally, every month 1 billion unique users visit YouTube searching for entertaining, interesting and compelling video content vertising but with YouTube ad formats like Trueview advertisers are in control of what their consumers are watching.

This helps the advertisers to reach the target audience they want, where they want while monitoring precisely how much they want to spend and paying only when the consumers are watching!

Youtube is also a great source of conversational data (the conversation among consumers about brands). Is this data relevant for marketers to get consumer insights from?

The majority of leading advertisers have built their own channel on YouTube and made it a pillar of their digital strategy.

They use them to talk directly to their consumers and create exclusive and original content. The engagement we

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are witnessing here, between the brands and their clients/prospects, is unprecedented.

An India speci�ic example is Unilever and the Beauty Channel Most of Red Bull’s ads are YouTube �irst and they build them with their community of fans.

What are the digital trends for 2014?

2014 will see a very rapid sale of smartphones in India. The speed at which Indians will switch to smartphones will be much faster than what most of us expect.

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Mobile marketing is the next big revolution which has begun to happen. What are Google India’s plans for mobile marketing in India?

The next 100 million Indians coming online will be primarily mobile based. Mobile needs to be at the core of any marketing plan! Google has always adhered to the Mobile �irst philosophy.  - ankur.gaurav@exchange4media.com

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37

INTERVIEW

SUDHIN MATHUR

Lenovo phones on a growth trajectory

A

fter having dominated the PC business for a long time, Lenovo India entered the smartphone space and has managed to create an impact in the competitive smartphone market. Having studied the consumers and the need gaps in the market, Lenovo was in a comfortable position to innovate and the wait-and-watch approach seems to have paid off for the brand. With a wide range of products ranging from Rs 4000 to Rs 40,000 and a 100 per cent growth every quarter, it seems to be basking in this newfound success. Rashi Bisaria of Pitch spoke to Sudhin Mathur, Director-Smartphones, Lenovo India to understand Lenovo’s strategy in the smartphone market

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What were the sales like for Lenovo smart phones in 2013?

2013 has been a great year for Lenovo smartphones and we have certainly created a significant impact in this competitive market. Our focus on constant innovation and improved design that meets the consumeraspirations has helped us achieve 100 per cent growth quarter on quarter. We expect our growth trajectory to continue because of our extended product portfolio.

What is the gap in the smartphone market that Lenovo is looking to �ill, considering it’s a late entrant in this category?

Being a global leader in PC business, we have certainly used our experience in gauging the changing consumer smartphone preferences.

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38

Today, consumers are looking for smartphones with a good battery life and innovative design at an affordable price point. We have paid a great deal of attention to these factors and that has helped us reach out to wide customer base.

Globally, we achieved number 4 position in a short time span of 2 years and hence being a new entrant hasn’t been a hindrance for our growth. In fact, we are at the right time as developing countries like India are just in the inflexion point. We are confident of creating a niche for ourselves as we have a wide range of product portfolio and a robust distribution channel covering the lengths and breaths of the country.

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Which has been the highest selling Lenovo smartphone and what makes it special?

Pitch | May 2014

TheLenovo P780 is one our highest selling smartphone and it stands out strongly against its competitors. It is equipped with a 4000mAh battery that provides talktime of up to 43 hours and Lenovo Power Manager app that lets users use their phones for a longer time and run more applications side by side. The P780 also features a smart and innovative USB On-The-Go technique that lets you charge other phones by connecting it to the P780.

Lenovo dominated the market in the PC segment. Why did it decide to enter the smartphone space?

Being a global leader in the PCs market, we know the device manufacturing space better than anyone. Today, we are number 1 in PCs, number 2 in the PC + tablet category, number 3 in Smart Connected Devices (PCs, tablets and smartphones) globally. Our consistent performance in the core PC business and the vast experience dealing with electronic manufacturing has given us the foundation to invest and grow in new areas.

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How is Lenovo positioning itself in the smartphone market to break through the clutter of phones available?

We entered the Indian market with a wide range of affordable smartphones after analysing the changing dynamics of the smartphone market and the consumer mindset. Today, we have a wide range of products from Rs 4000 to Rs 40,000 addressing the different aspirations of the consumers across urban and rural markets.

Our phone offerings go beyond different hardware configurations to innovative applications as well. Our proprietary ‘DOit app suite’ has seen notable acceptance from consumers. The DOit suite helps consumers move data

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Pitch | May 2014

39

INTERVIEW

SUDHIN MATHUR between 2 Lenovo phones without any network requirements, provides complete security solution including anti-theft as well as ability to backup phone contacts, messages and call logs on the cloud.

From a brand perspective, we have recently signed on Ranbir Kapoor as the brand ambassador. Ranbir will endorse Lenovo’s range of smartphones and will feature in various television and online commercials for the brand in India.

Lenovo has seen significant success in the Indian market due to constant product innovation, providing greater choices and enhanced value.

With smartphones, we will continue to focus on these basics. Our ultimate goal here is to differentiate ourselves and strengthen our position in the Indian smartphone market through our innovative products. Also, from the reach perspective, our focus is to ensure that the products

We achieved number 4 position in a short time span of 2 years and hence being a new entrant hasn’t been a hindrance in our growth

are easily available pan-India through large and small retail format outlets, operator channels, IT channel partners and online channel partners.

Can you elaborate on the aggressive growth strategy being adopted by Lenovo for smartphones in India?

In the past couple of years we have invested aggressively in the smartphone segment. A strong portfolio of 14 smartphones to meet the specific requirement of our varied consumers, brand ambassador to enhance brand visibility, distribution tie-ups with two national distributors and local channel partners and presence in over 5000 outlets in over 120 towns has helped us reach out to a wider audience. Going forward we will continue to enhance our marketing initiatives to ensure that we have stronger brand recall among the Indian consumers.

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40

Lenovo Vibe Z

What was the idea behind acquiring Motorola? How will it help Lenovo?

Our recent acquisition of the Motorola Mobility is a logical step towards extending the company’s successful “PC Plus” strategy.

We have identified many synergies between Motorola’s business and Lenovo’s existing business, and we are confident that we will be able to quickly consolidate. Also, Lenovo is not only acquiring scale and access to important markets, but also incredible talents, experience and expertise that will help us drive innovation, build strong relationships with customers and partners, and significantly grow both of these crucial businesses.  -rashi.bisaria@exchange4media.com

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Pitch | May 2014

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9

FEATURE

TRAVEL

Are marketers doing enough to promote India as a tourist destination?

By DEVANSH SHARMA & ANKUR GAURAV

L

o and behold India! A multi-lingual, multicultural and multi-religious country thatoffers numerousopportunities for exploration and adventure. The splendid beauty of mystic Himalayas, unexplored depthsof the Indian Ocean, and the richcultural heritage with which India is bestowed, translate intoenormouspotential for travel and tourism.

Among international tourists, India is largely popular for the Taj Mahal, the Ganga, KashmirandGoa. But is India known for Taj-ul-Masajid, the largest Mosque of Asia or ChitrakootFalls,located in the middle of Vindhya Range often regarded as Niagara Falls of India? Have travellers heard of the breathtaking Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh or Majuli near the banks of BrahmaputraRiver in Assam? Is Indian distinctiveness being marketed enough globally andare travel marketers doing enough to woo the tourists?

Highlighting the lack of infrastructure and inactive marketing, Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com said “On-ground improvements are required. Travelling in India by road is time-consuming and uncomfortable. For instance, if someone from South India wants to visit a north-eastern destination, it will take more than a day to reach there unless theyare traveling by air, which is an expensive affair. So infrastructure and connectivityare major challenges.While on the other hand places like Hampi, in Karnataka (a developed state with good infrastructure)are not being marketed properly. A foreigner knows India only for Taj Mahal or perhaps Goa.” In World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2013, India has been given the 65th rank from among 140 countries cov-

42

Is Indian distinctiveness being marketed enough globally and are travel marketers doing enough to woo the tourists?

ered in the study. While in the AsiaPacific region India stands at the 11th position, countries including China, Thailand, Malaysia, and HongKong remain ahead of India in terms of ranking.

“Countries from Southeast Asia which lie ahead of India in ranking have a tremendous service mindset.

Hospitality and infrastructure are good, while in India everything takes twice the effort.There is much to be done in Indian tourism.” Dhall added.

Sharing her insights, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South Africa Tourism noted, “Any tourist location should be known for its destinations and not for the services offered at Pitch | May 2014

The onus of inefficient marketing of Indian destinations also lies on travel agents. The aspiration to travel overseas is tremendous amongst Indians excellent job.Kerala is one of the greatest drivers of domestic tourism. Case study showsKeralahasdisplayed and marketed its natural beauty well. The state also has very good infrastructure.

Goa was always popular and ithas retained its popularity.”

Gujarat Tourism’s famous brand campaign ‘Khushboo Gujarat ki’ featuring the icon of Indian Cinema, Amitabh

Pitch | May 2014

Bachchan, was decorated with Nation Tourism Award 2011-12, in the category of best tourism film. Gujarat Tourism has been effectively utilising various social media platforms including Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube for effective marketing.

“Another trend that we have observed is picking up is a spurt in inbound tourism. Indian people are willing to spend same amount of money for exploring an Indian destination with which they can easily visit a foreign country.Tourism is a crucial economic driver in GDP and it has many stakeholders like hospitality and so on. Tourism in India is clearly lacking in what ‘could be’ versus ‘what is’;we are growing but not at the rate we could have.” Abraham added.

New Zealand, which stands at the

12th position globally and 3rd position in APAC has included India in its 3-year marketing plan and is also looking forward to ICC World Cup being hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 2015.

“We have increased our investment in the India market significantly to position New Zealand as a compelling visitor destination for Indian travellers. We have also increased our staffin India to

43

FEATURE

TRAVEL

develop our travel trade partnerships, public relations and marketing communications. Tourism New Zealand runs its‘100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign in India to specially focus on families and young adventurers’ market. We also look forward to events such as the Indian Cricket Team tour during January and February this year and also the ICC Cricket World Cup,”Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager - South & South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, noted.

Hong Kong tourism, which stands at the 15thposition in the world tourism ranking and 5th in APAC, has been strategically targeting Indian market.

Speaking about Hong Kong Tourism’s marketing strategy in India, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) spokesperson stated, “We adopt ‘Hong Kong - Asia’s World City’ as the tourism brand of Hong Kong, promoting the city as a world-class travel destination with a distinctive eastmeets-west culture. For the India market, HKTB’s primary target cities are Mumbai and New Delhi, though resources will also be deployed in such secondary cites as Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.”

“To entice the price-conscious Indian visitors, the HKTB will roll outmarketing

44

HKTB is the first in the industry to launch a cross-platform digital travel guide, the ‘3-in-1 My Hong Kong Guide’

activities under the theme ‘Hong Kong – You DeserveIt’ to highlight the excellent value of a Hong Kong vacation. HKTB will continue to capitalise on the trend of travellers using internet and social media to plan and share their trips. HKTB is the first in the industry to launch a cross-

platform digital travel guide, the ‘3-in-1 My Hong Kong Guide’ which seamlessly integrates web portals, mobile applications and social media,” HKTB spokesperson added.

The onus of inefficient marketing of Indian destinations also lies on travel agents. The aspiration of traveling overseas is tremendous amongst Indians.

Therefore, they tend to entice Indian travelers to visit foreign destinations at competitive prices.

Speaking onthe challenges faced by Indian tourism Industry,Jaideep Ghosh Partner, Management Consulting, KPMG India, said, “The sector is facing challenges such as lack of good quality tourism infrastructure, global concerns regarding health and safety of tourists, disparate passenger/road tax structures across various states and shortfall of adequately trained and skilled manpower. While several plans and programmes have already been devised for tackling these challenges, successful implementation would be critical to accelerate growth.”

The iconic Incredible India campaign is a successful example. Its latest campaign launched last year bears the tag line ‘Find What You Seek’ and is designed especially for print and outdoor. The campaign has around 17 creatives that showcase the rich culture of India. Incredible India campaign was conceptualized back in 2002 and is still fresh in the minds of tourists. To a good extent the campaign hasbeen successful in branding Indian tourism as an aspirational brand for people and has arguably increased the footfall of tourists by 16 per cent in its first year.Considering the natural resources, adventure opportunities, flora, fauna, bio-diversity, art and exhibitions, cultural fairs and festivals, historical monuments and world heritage sites, India has countless attractions andassortments to offer.

Along with the on- ground improvements, desirable branding and marketing of Indian destinations is also the need of the hour. n - devansh.sharma@exchange4media.com Pitch | May 2014

Tapping the data gold mine through loyalty programmes

By KANIKA MEHROTRA

A

loyalty programme is a method for the retailer to enhance the chances of continued patronage of customers. They allow marketers to gather data on customer behavior in order to understand the trends, appropriately reward loyalty, and understand what in�luences shopping behaviour. Loyalty programmes run by apparel retailers have a large reach. The customer service and loyalty programmes are the key touch points that the retailer has with the customer. They also offer competitive price, retailers introduce customer friendly returns or exchange policies, customer appreciation days, etc.

One of the major bene�its of loyalty programmes has been that companies get large data base of customers. How useful is the data? Jagdeep Kapoor, MD, Samsika Marketing Consultants, said, “Data gathered through running loyalty schemes gives a very clear idea of the shopping pattern of consumers and allows more in-depth understanding of the customer’s behavior.”

When loyalty cards are scanned at the counter, the data about the time

Pitch | April 2014

and day of purchase, products bought, prices paid and a variety of such information is made available to the marketer for analysis.

Uma Talreja, Head of Marketing, Westside said “Analyses of this data is very valuable and provides insights into consumer shopping patterns. We also get to learn about consumer reac-

tions to marketing initiative for some speci�ic clothes range and the data de�initely is very important for us to understand the long term patterns of behaviour.”

This product-buyer pro�ile can be built up by re�lection on customer’s life cycles, age, and occupation. This can also help in evaluating promotion

45

FEATURE

analysis & effectiveness.

Loyalty programmes have also been successful for Westside to reach customers they have lost. Talreja said, “Facebook’s Power Editor Tool proved very helpful. We extracted the contact details of lapsed members from the loyalty 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 2.75 lakh people organically and more than 1.10 lakh through social platforms. We reached out to a total of 81.4 per cent of the target database.”

Srinivas Rao, Assistant Vice President, Marketing- Lifestyle International said, “Connecting with loyal customers and rewarding them is a good customer relationship management practice and The Inner Circle loyalty programme has provided us a well-de�ined mecha-

nism to do so. By rewarding customers, we have been able to strengthen our relationship and our brand preference. These customers are also most receptive to any offers or communications we send out and are more likely to favorably react to these. Therefore, the importance of such a loyalty programme is immense for us.”

Talking about the relevance of the data, he added, “Our loyalty programme the Inner Circle has over �ive million members and growing. We have been mining this data to gather further insights on shopper behavior. This has helped us to create customized offers, accurately assess impact of our promotions and even create opportunities to cross sell our product categories looking at shopper history. This has further improved relevance of offers and shopping experience of our customers resulting in increase in the basket

“We reached out to more than 2.75 lakh people organically and more than 1.10 lakh through social platforms” Uma Talreja | Marketing Head, Westside

46

size, cross merchandise purchases and number of visits of the customers.” The data is what has led to precision where the emails received by consumers are almost close to what the consumers want. Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults said, “The good loyalty programs connect with customers. The �irst is when they introduce to the customer and give them points. Secondly when after understanding the customer behavior send mails, offers tailored solutions to the customer’s wants and needs. Third is when the customer starts reacting in the same way. Talk to the customer, listen, �ind out what they want, and get it for them.”

Retailers can reach smaller towns also.

What’s the relevance of the loyalty plans in tier three cities “The craze for loyalty cards is de�initely little more in tier three cities as compared to tier one or tier two cities,” said Talreja.“In smaller cities often the retailer is the �irst or second to open shop. The younger generation is tapped by social media in these towns and is informed about the new store and also the loyalty programmes. The buzz created about the loyalty program really helps,” she added.

Kapoor further added, “In the smaller towns, the news spreads faster and

Pitch | April 2014

hence the charm for such loyalty programmes spreads faster. In smaller towns de�initely the loyalty programme features should be simple and should come across as very useful and pro�itable.”

During the sale season, features like sale preview attracted customers but do these programs have direct effect on sales? Pratap T P, Chief Marketing Of�icer, QwikCilver said that there have been more than 14 million transactions in top 40 brands handled by QwikCilver. One of the effects is that due to successful loyalty programmes it’s easy for customers. One of the key factors that measure the effectiveness of the loyalty programme is the ‘Loyalty Customer Sales vs. Total Sales’. This is how a retailer can calculate how much of total sales come from loyalty programme user customers. At the same time it’s also very important to analyze how many loyalty customers are redeeming the points earned as it re�lects the interest of the customer in the programme.

He said “The loyalty programme gives brands a chance to shake hands with the customer. With the data collected the brands get a chance for direct marketing. This effective direct marketing also reduces the cost of larger and big-

ger marketing initiatives.”

Pratap spoke about the signi�icant changes that the brands have brought

“The loyalty programme gives brands a chance to shake hands with the customer. With the data collected the brands get a chance for direct marketing” Pratap T P | Chief Marketing Officer, QwikCilver

Pitch | April 2014

about in loyalty programmes. He said, “The brands now have made it easier for the customers to redeem their points, so even we try and design the programmes accordingly and make the redemption process much easier for the customer. The customers are now �ine with paying fees for loyalty programmes so the quality and facilities that can be provided are higher.” - kanika.mehrotra@exchange4media.com

47

COLUMN

INSTANT MARKETING: A Click Away while on-the-go Krishnadeep Baruah Senior Director, Marketing, Asia-Pacific, BlackBerry

It depends on the marketer to approach the right consumer with the right content to gain his attention and make the campaign a success

48

A

cross India there are millions of smartphone users who are at present exchanging notes with their friends, families and colleagues over the latest developments on their lives, shopping lists, day’s plan, professional conversations ranging from meetings, developments within the organization etc. As smartphones become smarter and affordable, instant messengers (IM) are now becoming ‘must have’ applications driving conversations across the globe. Today, IM is a common rope that binds together all aspects of an individual’s life- personal, professional and social.

According to a news report by Juniper Research, instant messaging apps will account for three-quarters of all mobile messaging traf�ic in 2018. Thus, recognizing this phenomenon marketers across the globe are working towards

is the

tapping into their consumers via instant messengers. Over the next 12 to 18 months, you’re going to see the metamorphosis of IM into something more than just a communication tool wherein people to talk with their friends to a rising marketing tool.

Getting it ‘Right’!

According to a report by Radicati, the instant messaging accounts worldwide are expected to grow from 3.4 billion in 2013, to over 4.4 billion by the end of 2017. As the IM uptake increases, it is extremely important for the marketer to work on the RIGHT strategy to reach out to the consumer for a successful campaign. Marketers’ today need to understand that Instant Messengers are still perceived as a user’s personal space and have to be approached cautiously.

There is often a very thin line between

Fastest Growing Hindi Daily in Pitch | March 2014

‘Spamming’ and ‘relevance’.

Keeping in mind factors, such as demographics, gender, habits, location, preferences play an important role in reaching out to the Right audience, at the Right time, with the Right messaging.

Right Audience:Key imperative for any marketing campaign is identifying the right audience as per the brand’s requirement and image. Each brand has certain target audience basis geographies, gender, habits which need to be mapped out before the before reaching out to them.

Right Messaging: Post identifying the right audience, it is important to reach out to them with relevant and useful content. It is the content of the message that helps build a connect with the audience Right Time: As we identify the right audience and reach out with them with a relevant message, the timing of the contact plays an important role in a successful roll out. Today, technologies such as geo tagging enable marketers to reach out to consumers tracking their location with relevant content.

Today, various instant messaging apps are coming equipped with innovative features enabling the marketer to create the right strategy. For example, BlackBerry’s latest social networking tool,

most popular mode of communication across generations, it is imperative for brands to build trust with the consumers on this important platform. Marketers should utilize IMs as a tool to drive conversations; however they should not be seen as encroaching the personal space of consumers.

The thin line between being intrusive and being informative, will be a key differentiator for a successful marketing campaign on IMs.

Conclusion

Preferences play an important role in reaching out to the Right audience, at the Right time, with the Right messaging BBM Channels enable the marketers to segment their audience on the basis of demographics, age, gender habits, location and much more.

Consumers are the king!

As instant messengers emerge as the

With the rapid adoption of smartphones and burgeoning demand for mobile data, instant messengers are here to stay. This opens a new avenue for brands to tap their consumers “even on the go” with an instant click making instant messengers, invaluable business & marketing communications tool. According to the three famous words of Bill Gates- “Content is the King!”- it depends on the marketer to approach the right consumer with the right content to gain his/her attention and make the brandcampaign a success.

Instant marketing is a trend here to stay, a click away! 

The views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily re�lect the views of Pitch

17 Rounds in a row

Pitch | March 2014

*Source : IRS Q4 2012

Uttar Pradesh for

49

INTERVIEW

Wills Lifestyle consolidates its position as a Premium Fashion Brand

F

ourteen years after it launched in India , the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week continues to garner attention of fashion experts, the business fraternity and the fashion conscious. Its association with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has given ITC’s Wills Lifestyle a premium image. Wills Lifestyle is considered as a brand that is at the forefront of fashion. It has become the first fashion retail brand in India to introduce real time online marketing using the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. In the age of online shopping sprees, Wills continues to focus on its brick and mortar stores, optimizing the in-store shopping experience with its premium range and superior engagement for the customer. Gunjan Verma of Pitch, spoke to Atul Chand, CEO, Wills Lifestyle about the brand’s image, the new trends in shopping and its association with the fashion industry. Some excerpts: 50 Pitch | May 2014

Wills has tied up with the Fashion Week for many years now.

How has the journey been?

There is a great amount of synergy between the two properties. The association is a beautiful fit for new benchmarks and fashion statements.

Wills and FDCI are both committed to promoting the business of fashion in the country. Wills has a widespread footprint in the country boasting of 100 stores across 40 cities. It has a diverse portfolio and a premium image and our association with this event has supplemented the entire brand effort.

With every passing year, this kind of association becomes stronger and better and success adds to more success.

It plays a significant role in crafting a more vibrant and fashionable image of the brand.

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engaging and interactive experience.

The online stores have speed, and information on their side. But the consumer today wants an omnichannel brand experience; for him it is not a choice between online stores and physical stores. He wants the benefit of both. Consumers cannot be segregated

anymore. They engage with both channels to attain the experience they want.

As a brand, it becomes our responsibility to cater to both needs of the consumers today. As a physical store, we would never have gone online but if our customer is present there and has found it beneficial, it becomes impor-

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Wills has positioned itself in the premium category and the prices have shot up. Is the consumer happy?

I think consumers are no more focused only on price but they are looking for value too, making value more important than price. Our aim is to provide value that is more than the price the customer pays for it. Over time, Indian consumers’ appreciation of design and creativity has grown stronger. Today, the approach is not so much led by price as it is by design and value. A premiumization of products has begun to take place across categories.

The premium-end of the market which was earlier only 5 per cent has grown to about 10-15 per cent of the whole market share.

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Wills has forayed into online sale even while it has expanded its physical presence in cities. Which strategy works better for you?

Brick and mortar stores have several advantages. They can provide a more

Pitch | May 2014

The premium end of the market which was earlier only 5 per cent has grown to about 10-15 per cent of the whole market share

tant for us as a brand to be present there. Hence, a brand should always be consumer centric.

The chunk of our online customers is very small, maybe only 5 per cent of the whole. With about 100 outlets in the country, we offer a great in-store experience - facilitation, engagement of the store staff, trials, advice on fashion trends. We take good care of our customers. Visual merchandise plays an important part in providing aspi-

51

INTERVIEW

Atul Chand

Fashion is not driven by price anymore.

Design and style have become more important

ration to the customer tempting him to buy the product; we try to build a story through this experience. We have a very strong loyalty program called ITC Club where we partner with a number of hotels to provide several benefits and memorable experiences. These are the advantages of a physical store. Fashion is going online because the consumer is present there and finds it more convenient to shop online. In the future, the online luxury market is only going to evolve further. The choice is with the marketers as to whether they wish to adapt to this trend or not.

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Can you define the personality of Wills Lifestyle as a brand?

The brand is about elegant and sophisticated fashion; it’s about effortless fashion, about not trying too hard. It is also contemporary with less glamour and allows you to add your personal touch to the style. It aims at cleaner design, fine fabrics, detailing, craftsmanship, cleaner cuts that are no-nonsense and fuss-free.

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How has the Indian consumer’s wardrobe changed over time?

It is evident that fashion is certainly not driven by price anymore. Design

52

and style have become more important. Indian consumers have become more fashion conscious and aware.

The wardrobes of the consumers have grown by 25-30 per cent. People have

Organized retail has assumed significance and consumers have a variety of brands to choose from.

People want change all the time and fashion is all about change

more things to wear now, they have more choices too. Wardrobes have also got segmented. Today people have clothes for all occasions and new segments have been created. Organized retail has assumed significance and consumers have a variety of brands to choose from. People want change all the time and fashion is all about change. Hence the consumption of fashion is increasing by the day. The tier 2 market consumption has also surged. People have the confidence and willingness to buy premium fashion clothing in these cities. Due to affluence, their aspirations have also increased. The media is also fueling this growth. n -gunjan.verma@exchange4media.com Pitch | May 2014

Brands that thrive without TVCs

By Ankur Gaurav

T

elevision might be the most sought after medium in advertising space and rightly so. It reaches more than 80 per cent of Indian population. It is indeed the most effective mass communication channel in the advertising industry as of now. Usually, brands spend most of their marketing spends on television and rest is being distributed among outdoor, digital, radio and print medium. But, for a few brands this medium is not on the priority list, in fact there are certain brands which shy away from appearing on television for their own reasons.

And then, these have become benchmarks in the area of marketing without using the most popular advertising medium in the country.

Harley Davidson Ever since this premium motor bike company entered India in 2009, they have never planned a TVC as a part of their marketing plan. In fact, Harley Davidson India has been aggressive with their marketing strategy as any ambitious newbie in the Indian market would do. Speaking about it, Anoop Prakash, MD, Harley Davidson India said, “In India, we have never really played a commercial on Indian television network as it never suits our approach towards reaching out to our customers.

We are very bullish on creating a brotherhood and to suffice that bike rallies, India Bike Week, music festivals, events, contests serve the purpose well. Harley’s rock rider festival which went to six cities this year was a fruitful event for us which brought together HOG (Harley Owners Group) at one place.”

Hidesign The premium leather goods and accessories brand has spread out to as many as 28 Pitch | May 2014

countries and yet to launch a TVC. Catering to the masses is not in their philosophy, Dilip Kapur, President and Founder,Hidesign started making leather goods as a hobby and later his unusual marketing strategies allowed the brand to get popular not only among the elite Indians but also into other countries amidst some very popular and established brands. Kapur said, “Hidesign is born out of a cultural revolution, and when you talk about revolution, it can’t go hand in hand with the popular trends and philosophy. For the same reason it can’t showcase itself on television which is being seen by the masses.”

While the reason is quite surprising, Television is considered to be a cheap medium, cheap in the sense, it goes to the popu-

lation at large and any brand which wants to make their consumers feel special or exclusive; reaching out on such a common platform might be undesirable. Abraham Koshy, Professor of Marketing, IIM-A said, “TV is a very common medium, a common platform for common brands and common people. How will an elite brand fit into it?

Do they want to reach out to billions and create a spillover which is of no use? More than the expense, for brands like Hidesign, this medium is a strict No-No unless they

want to become a brand for the masses.”

Cocoberry Cocoberry, the flavoured frozen yogurt chain in India, has completed five years of its operations in India and has been bullish on expanding. For Cocoberry, its marketing is engrained in expansion, into creating more physical presence and the format of chain developed by its founder and CEO G S Bhalla, the amount which one would spend onto creating and broadcasting TVCs was more what would be required to open up new yogurt stores. Cocoberry has more than 30 owned-stores across the country and is eyeing smaller cities through the franchise model. Along with that they plan to spread aggressively as without a TVC they have managed to enjoy a fan following of more than two million people.

Alberto Torresi Another high end emerging brand in India Alberto Torresi has proved that TVCs are not the ultimate marketing medium and brands can survive and become successful even without appearing on television. The luxury footwear brand participates in forums, events and other exhibitions where brands get exposed to channel partners, exhibitors and also consumers. They let their product speak and a physical presence, look and feel is a much desired marketing strategy than connecting with masses through television.

Ishaan Sachdeva, Director, Alberto Torresi explained the strategy and said, “Print, Trade journals is our first preference and with more and more point of sale, we have chances to do a magnified branding at POS. We have 70 POS as of now and with time to come we aim to have 600 POS which will not just help our sales but also marketing at such critical consumer points.”n - ankur.gaurav@exchange4media.com

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BRAND JOURNEY

BAJAJ

What went right with “humaara Bajaj”?

54

Pitch | May 2014

By devansh sharma

B How brand Bajaj survived the changing preferences of the Indian consumer for more than 60 years

Pitch | April 2014

ajaj Auto Limited, is not present only in India, but is well known across Latin America, Africa, Middle East, South and South East Asia as well. Today Bajaj is India’s second largest and world’s fourth largest two wheeler manufacturer. Over these 60 years the brand has innovated and emerged as a dominant player in the two wheeler segment in the Indian market, touching the hearts of Indian masses.

The journey of the auto giant began back in November 1945 as M/S Bachraj Trading Corporation Private Limited began the sale of two wheelers and three wheelers by importing them. It was only post 1959 that Bajaj obtained the license to manufacture in India. In 1960 Vespa was launched in India under the name of Italian Brand Paiggio but after a short stint its production discontinued in the year 1977 when their license expired, while Bajaj continued to grow.

The turning point for Bajaj came in 1972 with the launch of iconic Bajaj Chetak. The scooter borrowed its name from the legendary stallion of Indian Warrior Maharana Pratap Singh. The brand had a monopoly in the two wheeler segment in those days. Its manufacturing stopped in 2005,but the scooter is still visible on the roads.

Promoted under the tagline ‘Humara Bajaj’ the scooter was positioned as the ideal family vehicle.

The campaign not only talked about the inspiration and promise but also spoke volumes about national pride.

Later, Bajaj came up with many models including Stride, Priya and Bajaj

150, but Chetak remained most popular.

In the 1980s Bajaj, in a joint venture with Kawasaki introduced two products- KB 100 and KB 125 with a view to bring KB series in India.

Due to a shift in consumer preference towards Motorcycles, Bajaj also forayed into the performance bike category with the launch of Bajaj Pulsar in 2001. Although Pulsar was not a pioneer in this category, Hero Honda (now Hero Motocorp) having launched CBZ in the same category back in 1999, but with the launch of Pulsar, the category received a fresh boost. It was also Bajaj’s first bike

The turning point for Bajaj came in 1972 with the launch of iconic Bajaj Chetak. The scooter borrowed its name from the legendary stallion of Indian Warrior Maharana Pratap

55

BRAND JOURNEY

BAJAJ The evergreen “Buland Bharat Ki Buland Tasveer’ campaign reflected the feeling of Indianness. In 2001 “Hamara Bajaj- Naya Hain Kal” reflected its strategic shift to motorcycles without the Kawasaki label.

The new millennium witnessed the launch of other motorcycles including Kawasaki Bajaj Eliminator, Caliber, Bajaj Wind and a few others, which suggested the increasing focus of the company on motorcycles.

Bajaj Auto Limited unveiled its new identity at the Auto Expo 2004. Its White and Blue hexagonal logo which had withstood the test of time, was replaced by a new symbol with the tagline ‘inspiring confidence’ and under the new brand identity, Discover.. The new brand identity of Bajaj also highlighted its successful transition into a motorcycle major in the country.

With the launch of Pulsar, Bajaj had already created a whole new category in the market. It was the first bike in the Indian market with a provocative tagline ‘Definitely Male’. Pulsar became a huge success and is available in as many as 5 variants at present. Bajaj Pulsar clearly targeted the Indian youth and had a muscular design with sporty looks.

Bajaj, in association with MTV, launched MTV Pulsar Stuntmania in 2009, where young bikers were seen flaunting stunts on Bajaj Pulsar, making the brand even more appealing to the youth. Hero Honda had already used the same placement ploy in the year 2003 with MTV Roadies but Stuntmania, repositioned Pulsar completely. The elements of passion, aspiration and style came together to position Pulsar as the vehicle of choice for the youth.

56

In the same year, Bajaj formally announced to bring the curtains down on its existing line-up of scooters and focus on motorcycles.

Bajaj has celebrated the pride of being Indian in its campaigns. The evergreen “Buland Bharat Ki Buland Tasveer’ campaign reflected the feeling of Indianness, but it was in 2001 that “Hamara Bajaj- Naya Hain Kal” reflected its strategic shift to motorcycles. Consumer

Pulsar was the first bike in the Indian market with a provocative tagline ‘Definitely Male’. It became a huge success and is available in as many as 5 variants at present

preference was shifting towards bikes and so was the advertising and product portfolio.

Though Bajaj is India’s second largest two wheeler manufacturer, it is a challenging task to retain this position.

Hero Motocorp (formerly known as Hero Honda) which started its operations in the mid 80s in India, and is the world’s largest two wheeler manufacturing company, has always posed as competition to Bajaj. Of late TVS motors has been marketing its products aggressively, having roped in popular cricketer Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador for TVS star.

The Two wheeler industry in India is huge and is expected to touch 22-23 Million units (including domestic and exports) by 2016-17. The challenge for Bajaj is not only to survive but to also innovate and retain its position. n - devansh.sharma@exchange4media.com Pitch | May 2014

INTERVIEW

“We have consciously adopted an outside-in approach”

I

ndian IT services has positioned India on the global map. The IT industry contributes around 10 per cent to India’s GDP while more than three fourth of the revenue comes from global companies.

To accelerate the growth even further, IT giants are looking out for more clients outside India. Ankur Gaurav of Pitch spoke to Sarika Naik , General Manager and Global Head Marketing at Wipro to learn about the latest practices in the B2B marketing space. Edited excerpts: As a marketing head in a leading IT company, how do you see marketing evolving in this sector?

Traditionally, marketing in the IT sector was seen as a dormant function, even as sales took a frontal position. In recent times, a combination of aggressive strategies and tactics has ensured that marketing is being noticed not just internally, but by customers as well. Compared to B2C, the approach adopted by marketing in IT services is more subtle. In IT services, there is a concerted effort to deepen relationships with the influencer community and leveraging thought leadership to win global transformational deals. A key objective is to position organizations like ours as a go- to partner for CXOs (Chief Experience Officers)

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How do you ensure that marketing in a B2B Company like Wipro, is relevant to the demands of the customer?

In a B2B company like ours, marketing has to align itself with sales objectives by providing customer inputs. At Wipro, we have consciously adopted an “outside-in approach”. A key focus here is to better understand the customer’s challenges

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Pitch | May 2014

and work together to address these issues that could include helping the client enter the market in record time or improving their operational efficiency. We have put in place a rigorous exercise to monitor customer satisfaction metrics with quarterly and annual pulse surveys. This feedback is vital for us to develop appropriate strategies to remain ahead in the market.

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What are the most effective marketing practices in the B2B sector in India? What works best for B2B companies- TVC, Events, Print, digital?

We have put in place a series of high impact business relevant initiatives. Our Thought Leadership reports give the go-to-market teams a distinct edge over competition. These well researched industry-specific reports backed by insights from reputed third-party analysts provide a long term vision platform on which a holistic sales pitch can be built.

We actively participate in leading industry events and reports to showcase our offerings that demonstrate our leadership position. The use of advanced ana-

lytics for personal marketing across relevant social platforms is another initiative that we have undertaken. Marketing also plays an important role at the deal intervention stage by empowering the sales team with high-impact multi-media communications that demonstrate the company’s domain expertise. In the coming year, newer marketing initiatives, both strategic and tactical are on the anvil, to be deployed across geographies and industries with the aim to help drive industry leading growth.

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What is the nature of your longterm relationships with your stakeholders?

At Wipro, our aim is to develop long lasting relationships with our customers that see us as a partner or a stakeholder in their journey. Our solutions are aligned to the customer’s business goals. Our outcome based and gain-sharing models ensure a mutually fulfilling engagement with our customers built on a strong foundation of trust and respect. n -ankur.gaurav@exchange4media.com

57

COLUMN Are we taking the consumer a little too seriously?

Ankur Ashta

Marketing professional and Author of ‘Heart, Mind & Wallet’

paget@adforum.com

It is ironic, when something that is meant to influence gets influenced by the trends in the market 58

S

earch for ‘Target Consumer’ on your favourite search engine and you would be overrun by the �lood of images it would unleash at you.

That’s the boring part – Search engines, after all, are meant to do that.

What is interesting – in this, otherwise, mundane piece - is that in 90% of these images, you would see a childlike consumer surrounded by dart rings (mostly red in colour), as if the poor fellow has committed a crime and is being readied for retribution.

It has been over 12 years that I �irst heard the term ‘Target Audience’ and it is amusing (and disgusting, at the same time) to realize the profundity we have hand-delivered to ‘targeting’ as a subject of attention.

“Ah… consumer,” we announce like a beast who drools in the mere anticipation of food when he sees his prey, “what does he do �irst thing in the morning? How does a typical day look like? And what does he do on weekends?” Weekends! For God sake, I am a consumer for 1000 brands and trust me when I say that I, myself, don’t know what I do on weekends.

Marketing, if seen from the school of thought that my generation comes from, is meant to extract actions (click/ read/compare/buy/recommend) out of consumers. It is only ironic, when something that is meant to in�luence

Pitch | May 2014

(read extract actions) gets in�luenced by the trends in the market. And if you observe keenly – today - there is a growing trend, of adding layers to information that would suf�ice even in its nudity. If we could be rude; there is a trend of adding complexity to simple things.

When observed from a ‘modern’ marketer’s standpoint, a consumer is a coalescence of demographic and psychographic circumstantialities. If we remove our marketer’s hat and step back… just a little bit, we would observe that consumer – primarily – is a human being and that he, like you and me, deserves more than being plotted on a Microsoft PowerPoint or being mapped

Pitch | May 2014

The consumer is a human being who deserves more than being plotted on a Microsoft PowerPoint or being mapped on Microsoft Excel on a Microsoft Excel Sheet.

So, it is not the consumer who needs a ‘deep’ dive classi�ication; on the contrary, we need to classify our products/campaigns. This classi�ication, too, should be based on a simple principle: whether the product/campaign has the capability of enhancing the pleasure/reducing the pain of the consumer.

That said, there is also a growing need to understand that pleasure doesn’t necessarily correspond with more. On the contrary, offering less – today, when life is deluged with confusing choices – is more likely to be appreciated and so much so that it could end up being perceived as luxury. Barrack Obama, whose lifestyle would be an epitome of luxury for many, for example, wears only gray or blue suits in his endeavour to pare down decisions, he needs to make.

If that be the case, wouldn’t it be just on our part, as marketing professionals, to let the consumer be and instead work on our culture and build one that thrives on simplicity?

In the book Simple, Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn talk at length about how we are taking the consumer a little too seriously and how products, today, are being designed with the perception of the consumer being a super human. A typical credit card contract in America, today, for example, is thirty one pages long. It used to be around one and half pages in 1980.

The book is loaded with such examples, but it shouldn’t take us the perusal of such books to decipher that we are heading to a horizon where the consumer appears to be an unearthly, unfathomable giant, who needs to be biopsied before we could come up with solutions to handle him.

In the satirical comedy, Oh My God! Paresh Rawal represents an atheist who introduces us to the difference between being God-fearing and God-loving. While the difference is conspicuous, the metamorphosis is far from easy to achieve.

Quite similarly, it shouldn’t be any easy if we embark on the journey from being an overly-obsessive-data-torturer to oneplus-one-is-two-warrior. But I encourage you to take the plunge!

The consumer is out there… in you, in me. Then, why so serious? 

The views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily re�lect the views of Pitch

59

COLUMN

Rise of Social Media for ecommerce Vinish Kathuria

Chief Operating Officer, Digital Quotient

vinishk@live.com

80 per cent of Indian women who shop online share their experience on social media 60

D

id you know that 80 per cent of Indian women who shop online share their experience on social media? With the social media revolution the importance of word of mouth has grown signi�icantly. It is now considered a key factor behind most of the purchasing decisions online. Its in�luence is greatest when consumers are buying a product for the �irst time or when products are relatively expensive, factors that tend to make people conduct more research, seek more opinions, and deliberate longer than they otherwise would. In the digital ecosystem, word-of-mouth is no longer a one-to-one communication but rather a one-to-masses communication via product reviews posted on FB pages, twitter and individual blogs followed by many.

The E-commerce business is witnessing an exponential growth and is expected to

increase by leaps and bounds in the not too far future. The e-commerce market is growing at an average annual rate of 34% since 2009 and was expected to touch $13 billion by end 2013, according to a 2013 report on e-commerce by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and audit �irm KPMG. This combined with the 100 million plus social media users in India is a huge landscape with opportunities.

Social media websites give E-commerce players diverse opportunities for attracting audiences and turning them into friends of brands/loyal customers. Social media today is not just about getting maximum number of likes but is now more inclined towards audience engagement and positive dialogue.

Some ways in which e-commerce players can leverage social media are:

1. Brand awareness – Social media is all about connectedness and building relationships. A dialogue on social media between brand and consumers, creates stronger and direct ties earning loyalty.

It’s all about humanizing the brand, solving customer queries and telling them what unique through various tools like interesting illustrations and videos.

2. Credible Word-of-Mouth – Social media is an interrelated tool between audiPitch | May 2014

ences and cross platforms. E-commerce portals/ brands that already have a brand ambassador or even a celebrity who is a friend of brand - can leverage it via getting them to mention their brand on social media like Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs to reach to their followers base which has tangible value.

3. New customer acquisition through better behavioral targeting – Social media users have strong behavioural footprints via – travellers, book lovers, fashion enthusiasts, digital experts, etc. which helps E-commerce through better targeting. Behavioural target-

ing helps marketers and advertisers reach the target audience with the right message and increase their brand awareness thereby impacting return on investment (ROI). Marketers must track personal identi�iable information streaming in the digital ecosystem to get a deeper perceptive of the customers.

4. Drive user engagement by building a story – Social media is not a monologue it’s about creating a dialogue by telling stories which customers/ audiences can relate to. Social is media is more social and connected as compared to traditional media which is more of a medium. TV has ads of 30 sec, radio ads are 15-30 sec, print impression based – these all mediums tell things but lack in engagement. The ability to drive engagement on a daily basis and make a brand part of everyday life requires effective use of social media tools like

Pitch | May 2014

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

5. Sampling – Social media’s impact is far & wide, thereby sampling on social media can fetch you much better results than simply handing out free samples and collecting feedback. The virality social media created through word-ofmouth is very favourbale for advertisers and marketers. By giving consumers a chance to share their experience on the digital platform, marketers broaden their zone of product research beyond people attending the product trial. Also, it helps in intensifying the message by providing genuine content to stimulate

discussions on social media.

6. Target promotional discounts – Targeting promotional discount on social media is an extension of behavioural targeting. Marketers need to understand that digital audiences are always in a research mode when they use social media and like to be enticed to purchase via promotional discounts or coupons. Promotions need to be specially designed for a social platform as one can appear pushy or annoying.

Further don’t let audiences assume your brand is all about discounts so that they develop a habit for it or else ignore.

7. Linkage between videos, social media and e-commerce website/ mobile-app – Recently we have witnessed how quirky videos are very effective in engaging audiences on social media.

Marketers need to adopt these tools

and use videos to introduce new products, social media to promote, reach to target audience, link to relevant sections in website/ mobile app and create synchronization across platforms.

8. Better customer service – There is no second thought about this one. Never before now there existed such a one-toone communication between a brand and a consumer. Social media has made this possible it has given an identity to the brand itself where a consumer or audience engages with that identity and not through any other individual. This whole phenomenon is very impactful and in�luential in building or breaking perceptions.

9. Recruitment – Recruitment through social media has recently gone very popular and the most preferable way.

We often come across posts or links saying – We are hiring! And then there is chain of communications that takes place through word-of-mouth and most of the times the references are very useful.

10. Cost effective – The most signi�icant reason for any marketer to opt for social media as compared to traditional media is that it is saves a big chunk of your marketing budget and at the same time the reach and effectives is also higher.

There is no surprise that E-commerce boom and social media revolution are going hand-in-hand. Social, mobile, videos, audience targeting and analytics – are catalysts for E-commerce’s growth and success. In today’s competitive scenario, if E-commerce players want to succeed they need to align their business with their digital presence to drive traf�ic. This will help them not just increase sales but create a direct bond with customers/ audiences thereby building credibility. 

The views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily re�lect the views of Pitch

61

COLUMN ANNURAG BATRA

Lessons from ITC Annurag Batra

Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Pitch Magazine abatra@exchange4media.com @anuragbatrayo www.facebook.com/anuragbatrayo

I

ndia’s 2 lakh crore FMCG sector has seen a slowdown in 2013 due to high in�lation and muted or no salary hikes.

Most companies like HUL, Marico, Emami saw lower volume growth. But before the disappointment turns into dejection, here are some factors which can spark new hope: FMCG, the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy has grown at an annual average of 11 per cent over the last decade. The rising number of middle class and the rich has accelerated the purchase of premium products. As income levels rise, the share of non-food expenditure is set to rise. Consumers have become more brand conscious and aspire towards a premium lifestyle. They want to experiment with brands and new products as consumer lifestyles evolve. Consumers are spending in modern retail stores and also online. They now have easier access to such products. These are signs that the FMCG sector is only on the brink of a revival of sorts and that there is no reason for dejection.

The growth opportunities in the sector are plenty and companies like HUL, Dabur, P&G, Marico, Emami and ITC are leveraging these opportunities by innovating, entering lower penetrated product categories, increasing their share in modern retail.

One company has emerged as a challenge to all the leading brands in this category and has made it to our cover story this month. More than a hundred years old and running strong, ITC has

More than a hundred years old and running strong, ITC has proved how a brand can be a late entrant but can still become a frontrunner

64

proved how a brand can be a late entrant but can still become a frontrunner. The story of ITC is not only fascinating but is a study in perseverance and consistent delivery. From its humble beginnings, ITC’s new FMCG businesses has now crossed Rs 7000 crore and has given the other dominant players in the sector sleepless nights. Its homegrown world class and vibrant brands in the foods and personal care category have created an impact in the market. This age old Indian cigarette maker has been able to divert pro�its from its cigarettes business, to fund growth of its other segments.

Besides this, ITC’s success can also be attributed to its healthy relationships with distributors and retailers who never complain with the margins they get from ITC products. ITC has rapidly scaled up presence in its newer FMCG businesses comprising branded packaged foods, lifestyle retailing, education & stationery products and personal care products.

ITC’s entry into the foods business is an outstanding example of using internal competencies to create a new driver of business growth. Aashirvaad, Candyman confectionery, “Kitchens of India” readyto-eat Indian gourmet dishes, Sunfeast are some of the brands in this category which have created a stir in the market.

They boast of an enviable distribution, and a rapidly growing market share.

Its particularly impressive to see how ITC enhances the competitiveness of the entire value chain through its innovations. It also has its �inger on the pulse of the consumer and has come out with innovative products according to the needs of the market. These are important and timeless lessons for FMCG players if they want to learn how to break the clutter and emerge successful.  Pitch | May 2014

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