EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, After saying goodbye to the winter, we welcome you to this February’s edition of ‘The Marksman’. This month, we start off with a very interesting topic as our cover story ‘Marketing Warfare’. Although it sound aggressive and somewhat like ambush marketing, with our cover story, we let you know the difference. Next on, we are providing fodder for the sport-inclined when we uncover the secret behind the phenomenon that takes 14 nations by storm every four years, the cricket world cup! We continue with the sports theme to our Hallmark campaign which is about probably the only good ad this world cup; the ‘MaukaMauka’ campaign! With our regular segments such as Tweets, Buzz, Bookworm, Ad-itude, Brand Markive and Hallmark Campaign, we aim to provide to you an all-encompassing view of the world of marketing. With our very own Square head, we have a political flavour this month. The world of marketing is huge and even with the variety that we have this month, it is, but an iota of it. With this edition, we have tried to push the envelope a little with our cover as well as the special story. Let us know your thoughts on them. Connect with us on www.interfacesimsr.com/the-marksman. With this, we leave you to enjoy this month’s edition.
Happy Reading Team – Marksman The Interface, The Marketing Club at SIMSR @marksmansimsr
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CONTENTS TWEETS
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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
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BRAND MARKIVE
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COVER STORY
Marketing Warfare: The Ammunition for today’s Marketers. SPECIAL STORY
World Cup of Brands
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MARKETING FAUX PAS
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TETE-E-TETE
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Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN
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PIONEER
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BOOKWORM
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REWIND
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SQUAREHEAD
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BUZZ
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THE MARKSMAN
TWEETS #AIBKnockout – A Little too Funny?
All India Bakchod fulfilled the most coveted dream of every entity, especially in the Entertainment Industry - To Grab HEADLINES. Moreover, they were very successful in bringing the ‘Roast’ format to India, which to all our anticipation will continue in the country. Ranveer Singh & Arjun Kapoor received a lot of unpopular criticism for the same.
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#NamastePOTUS
President Of The United States (POTUS) visited his Indian Counterpart &dear friend Narendra Modi on the 66th Republic day of India. Never before has a US President been welcomed with so much warmth and eagerness. An Esteemed convoy of Ministers welcomed Mr. Barack Obama, along with the social audience who participated massively as the picture uploaded by our PM garnered over 1 Lakh likes in less than 10 minutes.
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TWEETS #INDvsPAK#CWC2015 India kick started the ICC World Cup 2015 championship with a resounding victory over arch rivals & neighbours Pakistan. As expected, Twitter #BledBlue with tweets cheering the Men in Blue on their victory. Everyone including Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, and Amitabh Bachchan expressed their joy.
Big Boss 8– The best BB season ever
The longest and the most successful season of the Reality Show Big Boss came to an end after extending 30 days of its original schedule. Hosted by renowned Bollywood actor, Salman Khan, and Director Farah Khan, Gautam Gulati was declared this season's winner. Big boss oozed the much hyped media term called ‘In-show Integration’ with every task integrated with a specific and relevant brand. While Title sponsors got the cherry on the cake with everything from Pillows to Walls being branded with the Company’s Logo. This was also the first season, an RJ, Pritam Singh, was roped in as a contestant, much to the liking of the Audience, he finished in the Top Three with estranged TV hottie KarishmaTanna and Gautam Gulati. Another noticeable fact was the exit of OPPO Smartphones as a presenting sponsor in the extended season. The same was taken up by Panasonic Smartphones instantaneously.
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THE MARKSMAN
IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
Television Ad Client: Pidilite Creative Agency: O&M What stole the show apart from the splendid victory of Indian Cricket team over Pakistan team was this masterpiece ad by O&M. Pidilite Industries, launched its new TVC campaign Fevikwik “TodeNahin, Jode”. Pidilite as a company has associated itself with games like kabbadi and cricket which are integral to India. This year Cricket World Cup has been broadcasted in six different languages making it even larger. And an India Pakistan cricket match can be seen as, as big an opportunity as a Super Bowl match is in US for companies to launch their advertisement campaigns. In line with Pidilite’s way of using humour in its TV ads, the new TVC shows a witty angle on human bonding. The brand attribute of bonding from a functional to emotional level has been wonderfully portrayed in this ad. The ad creates the marching scenario at Wagha Border, where one soldier each from both sides is seen parading, and how a slow motion replay reveals that the Indian soldier prevented lossof-face of the Pakistani soldier with the help of Fevikwik.
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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
Print Ad Client: Garnier Creative Agency: Publicis This GarnierFructis campaign was designed by Publicis Switzerland and featured a trio of tough looking rock star dudes with full length healthy beards. Publicis Switzerland creatively positioned a girl, with the same exact hair colour as the man's hair, in front of the man at just the right height. The man's beard is actually the back of the woman's head showing that GarnierFructis' products are suitable for all hair type. Similarly, the ad copy “For Any Hair Type” and the clever images used, promotes that GarnierFructis’ hair care products will work great for both men and women.
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THE MARKSMAN
BRAND MARKive Nivea
NIVEA is one of the world’s most trusted skincare brands, but it took three minds with one shared vision to make it happen. It all began in 1911, when the pharmacist and visionary entrepreneur Dr. Oscar Troplowitz recognised the potential in Eucerit, an emulsifier developed by the chemist Dr. Isaac Lifschütz. Eucerit made it possible to bind water and oil into a stable cream, and was first intended for use in the medical field. Dermatologist Prof. Paul Gerson Unna appreciated Dr.Lifschütz’s expertise in his field and introduced him to Dr.Troplowitz, who immediately recognized that the water-inoil emulsion would make the perfect basis for a cosmetic skin cream. All it needed now was a name. To find it, Dr.Troplowitz didn’t need to look any further than the cream itself. Inspired by its snow-white
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colour, he called it NIVEA – a name derived from the Latin words nix (snow) and nivis (of snow). Finally, the years of research and creativity had paid off. In December of 1911, NIVEA was launched. The legacy of one of the first skincare cream was born. From the very start, it was Dr.Troplowitz’s goal to develop high quality products that were affordable to all. With NIVEA’s vast product range, which provides expert care no matter what your skin needs, Dr. Troplowitz’s vision has lived on.
During the 1930s, the parent company Beiersdorf began producing such products as tanning oils, shaving creams, shampoo and facial toners. The trademark "Nivea" was expropriated in many countries following World War II. Beiersdorf completed buying back the confiscated trademark rights in 1997. During the 1980s, the Nivea brand expanded into a wider global market. Before the beach ball, there was the
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BRAND MARKIVE NIVEA ball. And it took the world by storm. Originally created in the 1930s as a 3D version of the NIVEA Creme tin, the inflatable NIVEA Ball was designed to help people make the most of their leisure time outdoors. While it was initially popular in Germany, the NIVEA Ball really took off in the 1950s, when post-war prosperity gave people money to spend on holidays and having fun. As cars became increasingly affordable, people began flocking to beaches and the great outdoors – and the NIVEA ball became the perfect holiday accessory.
It was easy to pack and even easier to inflate. And it was fun for the whole family. By the 1960s, the NIVEA ball had become a huge hit, and it remains popular to this day. Nivea has produced more than 20 million balls over the last 40 years alone, and people around the world know it and love it.
understated brand ambassadors for decades. When NIVEA Creme was first introduced to the world in December of 1911, the goal was one thing: better skincare for everyone. A 100 years later, the goal hasn’t changed. The product range, however, has dramatically expanded to give people more options for the way they care for their skin. As the demand for NIVEA Creme has grown over the years, the company has grown with it. Early on, new products were developed and added to the product range to meet the variety of skincare needs, including NIVEA Soap in 1919 and a selection of hair care products called NIVEA Hair Milk in 1920. The company has increased the product range according to the needs of the customer in the last 100 years.
And just like our skincare products, the NIVEA ball brings people closer to the ones they love. That’s why this simple, inflatable rubber toy has been one of their most active and
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THE MARKSMAN
COVER STORY Marketing Warfare: The Ammunition for today’s Marketers The term “War-fare� is synonymous with artillery and forces primarily used to wage a war against the opposition. It comprises of various methods/techniques incorporated in the strategy to overpower the enemy. The usage of war-fare in war differs based on circumstances. The warfare strategy can be of two kinds 1) Offensive 2) Defensive. Each war that we have heard of or read about in the past involves a different approach. The War-fare strategy in marketing is primarily a tactic used to generate short- term influx at crucial moments in a war. This is true incase of situations wherein any of the two parties see themselves on a slippery slope with regards to a previous strategy that was put in use. Marketing as a source of enhancing, influencing and informing a target audience has evolved over the years. Brands are now looking at connecting with the audiences at different levels and for this they are making use of multiple mediums. There are certain questions which are continuously plaguing the minds of Marketers.
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1) Are the mediums used sufficient? 2) Should they make use of other mediums? 3) Should there be an integration of mediums? 4) What should be the frequency of marketing? 5) Are the target audience being tapped appropriately? 6) How should the marketing effort be fragmented? Answers to the above questions and many more have been made possible by the art of Marketing Warfare. The Art of war is a tactic used to either overcome the competition or pre-empt the market and take appropriate actions. The concept portrays the shift in focus of firms from a customeroriented philosophy to a competitor oriented philosophy. Marketing is phenomenon which strives to build value for brands and in turn enhance their foothold in the market. The commonly used practices which are a part of marketing war-fare are as follows. Defensive Warfare Offensive Warfare Flanking Warfare Guerrilla Warfare
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COVER STORY
COVER STORY
To understand this concept better let us take an example of a Football game. The Brands are the two teams and the players are the various obstacles that are posed to the firms. The Focus of the firm is score a goal and only way they can do that is by overcoming the obstacles. The market is the playing field with the defined boundaries. The strategy that firm can use is any of the above four. The teams comprise of 11 players and from these players, various formations are created inorder to fulfil and execute an appropriate strategy. For example, the defence (Large Firm) will be bolstered when the current line of products/marketing campaign of a firm needs to be safeguarded against the overpowering competition. Similarly, the attack (Small Firm) will be enhanced when a firm would want to overwhelm another to gain market-share. One of the commonly used methods in Attack or Defence is to use the path of the Flanks. In this method, the firm will focus more on the gaps left by the large firm. The attacker will attack the markets that have not yet been targeted by the firm/ brand. A defender, on the other hand, will focus on sealing the gaps in-order to avoid leakage of business if any. This phenomenon is mainly the approach involved in the Flanking warfare strategy. This
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strategy is primarily used by brands which are trying to enter the market and the barriers to entry are very high (Subject to product category and Target audience). Flanking is the medium used to surprise the competition by suddenly encroaching upon their market share or dominating a new market. For ex. Absolute v/s Smirnoff is a prime example of the attack minded Flanking warfare. Absolute realised a gap left by Smirnoff in the premium segment and attacked it by pricing its products 50% higher, thus flanking the competition.
Attack is the medium used by most of the new firms that a re trying to grab a piece of the large pie. Guerrilla warfare technique is widely used by such firms as it involves low investments and various new forms of marketing
THE MARKSMAN
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
techniques that can be leveraged upon such as the means of social media. This method uses non-traditional means of marketing which can reach the desired target as well as communicate and inform the audiences about the product offerings. Marketing is a medium by which the firm/brand plans to create space in the minds of the consumer. Guerrilla warfare focuses on creating buzz about a product/brand by using unconventional marketing methods. For ex. Coca Cola is a known for its guerrilla marketing efforts. The concept of setting up kiosk and vending machines in various locations and communicating its message of “spreading happiness� and connecting with audiences via mediums of RFID, Augmented reality etc.
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This is a very popular method followed by several brands. Ambush Marketing is also a Guerrilla marketing strategy which is widely used. New mobilephone manufacturers Xiaomi and One Plus have used the method of guerrilla warfare very well to create space for themselves in the minds of the consumer and have also made use of unique selling techniques. This is also now possible due to the ever growing influence of social media and growth of mobile technology. Sun Tzu (The Art of War)
The concept of Marketing Warfare can be understood on the basis of the 6 principles of Sun Tzu (Chinese Military General and Strategist). Brands make use of such warfare strategies (Art of War) integrated with the business practices of today to enhance foothold in the market. Below mentioned are the 6 principles.
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COVER STORY Capture your destroying it.
COVER STORY market
without
Avoid your competitors strength and attack their weakness Use foreknowledge and deception to maximize the power of business Intelligence. Use speed and preparation to swiftly overcome the competition. Use alliance and strategic control points in Industry to “shape” your opponents and make them conform to your will. Develop your character as leader to maximize the potential of your employees. In today’s world the pressure from competition is increasing every second. Countering such pressures is a task that involves multiple approaches. Marketing warfare has made it possible for brands/firms to withstand competition by adopting various strategies and tactics. These strategies are only going to evolve as time passes by as the means of responding to competition is going to become more complex. These complexities are similar to those encountered in War of the modern era.
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THE MARKSMAN
SPECIAL STORY WORLD CUP 2015: WC OF BRANDS The third biggest spectacle in the world is ongoing in the lands of kangaroos and kiwis. Yes, it’s the cricket world cup 2015. India so dominantly lifted the 2011 edition and along with South Africa and Australia is in the race to glory once again. Wooo woooo wooo wooo. Hold on. Hold on. Is the WC only about establishing cricket supremacy? Is it just about diving into the patriotic sentiments?? Absolutely not. To begin with, let me shed some light on statistics related to this grand saga. Give some food for thought. 1. The India Pakistan match which happened in Adelaide on February 15th, is hailed as the most watched cricket match ever with more than 1 billion viewers. 2. Facebook said that globally, 9 million people had 25 million Facebook interactions related to the cricket match. 3. Twitter commissioned a survey that found that 74 percent of cricket fans
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on the platform are under 35. So, what does this all lead to? With such a humongous viewership, the event presents a perfect platform for brands to establish their customer based brand equity among the demographic audience. STAR India which is the official broadcaster of the ICC World Cup will broadcast the tournament in six languages, making it far more inclusive than any other sporting tournament on television: Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, apart from English and Hindi and this opens the possibility for brands to engage with a very wide and diverse audience. Sanjay Gupta, COO, STAR India said, “The World Cup is the biggest event for Indian consumers. The last edition was watched by 90 per cent of TV viewers in the country, making it the largest aggregation of consumers possible.”
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SPECIAL STORY Advertisement arena STAR India is offering varied advertising options for advertisers. It has created multiple sponsorship and spot buying options tailor-made for different feeds allowing advertisers for the first time ever to buy different cuts and air creative in different languages to target their audiences more sharply. It is estimated that close to 1400 Indian advertisers will be investing money on every possible medium: TV, Radio and Digital. The overall Indian advertising market is expected to witness a growth of 10% in 2015, solely due to the Cricket World Cup. In totality, advertisers are expected to spend anywhere between Rs. 1200 and Rs. 1500 crore on advertisements, which constitutes stadium ads and merchandising rights sold by the ICC. The normal TV ad rates for this world cup is between Rs. 4.5-6 lakh for 10 seconds.
include as LG, Pepsi, Reebok, Hyundai, Reliance Communication, MRF Tyres, Emirates, Moneygram, Castrol and SAP. Recently there were also a few other brands that joined in as global partners which included Hublot, ANZ, Victoria Bitter, Matua, Wolf Blass Wines and Tui.
Uniform sponsorship: Here’s a glimpse of the various team’s kit and jersey sponsors.
Brand-scape
Most notably among these, Nike has continued its association since 2005 with Team India. Nike held off a competing Adidas bid and re-upped with Team India at more than $12 million per year till 2016. This was a great strategic win for Nike as there is no nation more cricketfanatic than India, making the national team a veritable goldmine of publicity for any brand.
In light of the immense scope of brand visibility, companies are leaving no stone unturned to tap into the consumers mind space. The on-ground brands of the WC
Several first-time advertisers like Nestle, Marico, Yepme.com, Paytm, Raymonds, Pidilite, Lloyd and others signing on along with the usual cricket partners.
But after India’s wins against Pakistan and South Africa, the ad prices are shoring up, and by the time semi-finals starts, it is expected to reach a whooping Rs. 30-35 lakh.
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THE MARKSMAN
SPECIAL STORY Ecommerce: Ecommerce is the next big thing in India. And this proposition is being capitalized well by the companies. PayTm, a mobile ecommerce company have bought the Super 4’s property: so whenever a boundary is hit, their logo appears on the side screen and on TV. Other ecommerce brands like Yepme, Snapdeal, Flipkart, and Amazon are already spending aggressively on TV ads. FMCG: Existing advertisers such as Lay’s have initiated a special campaign, aimed at their new product. PepsiCo, which owns Lay’s is the official snacks partner of World Cup. Nestle and Marico have made their debut and are banking heavily to promote their offerings in this WC. Consumer electronic: LG Electronics has been a primary partner of ICC for a long time now and is promoting the popular sport of cricket among its scores of passionate followers. Panasonic India has said that they have increased their overall advertisement spent by 15-20%, due to the cricket world cup. Others include Sony, Philips. Automobile and related brands: Hyundai, which is an aggressive advertiser, started their ‘Fans of Brilliance’ campaign, wherein they toured India with the World Cup trophy. Maruti has signed as an on-air sponsor for the WC and this certainly sows seed for a huge competition.
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Hero MotoCorp, MRF tires are other notable brands. What we are witnessing in the WC is not just cricketing teams competing against each other, but also brands striving to connect and engage with their TGs more effectively than their competitors. As India progresses ahead in the tournament, the fever and competition among the advertisers will reach a new pinnacle. This edition has already seen a quantum jump not only in the investment space but also in the innovation and creativity domain. We wish India “All the very best”
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MARKETING FAUX PAS FORD by JWT We all remember this disaster made by JWT around March in 2013. This was around the same time that the national capital was hit by the cases of rape that moved the entire nation. Coming out with such a campaign, although in an international context, was very inappropriate at the time. This not only led to a severe backlash for both Ford and JWT within and outside the country, it lead to a few top level managers at JWT to lose their jobs. The advert, showing three women bound and gagged in the boot of a Ford Figo, appeared on a website. Mr Berlusconi was shown in the driver's seat with a slogan: "Leave your worries behind with Figo's extra-large boot.." Ford came out clean in this faux pas when it was later revealed that the advert had been posted online without prior approval from Ford. However, campaigns that may make sense in a certain environment, may not necessarily work in other places.
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The Indian market is lucrative for any company now. So, it is perennial for a company to choose its campaigns carefully so as to not alienate anyone from this booming economy. JWT India released the statement: "After an internal review, we have taken appropriate disciplinary action with those involved, which included the exit of employees at JWT. These were necessary steps owing to the direct accountability of the individuals as we work to ensure that both the right oversight and processes are strictly enforced so that this never happens again." Ford is one of JWT’S biggest client across the globe and luckily for JWT, they still remain one. For an increasingly competitive market like India, both Ford and JWT needs to gather their wits and ensure a similar faux pas in the future does not lead to them losing some hallowed ground.
THE MARKSMAN
Tete-a-Tete Mr. Rohit Onkar Interview with Rohit Onkar, Project Manager-Social Media, SMG Convonix, the speaker at the Google Analytics Workshop, Navikaran ‘14-’15, SIMSR.
Q: What is the scenario for Google Analytics in India? What portion of their revenues is a company willing to spend in it? A: Not only from an Indian perspective but also from a global perspective, marketers are willing to spend a lot of money on measuring their marketing investments (through Google analytics). If you spend 100 rupees on your digital marketing initiative, you will spend 20 rupees on measuring your performance because without measuring, there is no point of doing it. Comparing it from an offline perspective as well, you can never make out the return on your investment on a TVC or any other thing but in the digital world, you can get records for every penny spent because you can track to the deepest level and it (digital) is still cheaper as so as to measure the success of your TVC’s return, you have to engage an outside agency and come up with figures and back study but in digital, you can directly measure it correctly.
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Q…And are interested in it?
the
Indians
equally
A: Absolutely. In fact, Indians are more stingy and interested in numbers and rather than focusing on a new concept or technology, we are more concerned about returns on our investments as it’s a part of our baniya mentality. In US, it’s like they think of it as an investment and that they will get a return in 5-6 years and that’s more the kind of horizon they have, Indians believe in quick ROIs and are measurement in real-time basis. Q: As a part of online analytics, how much of other tools do you use (other than Google analytics)? A: It depends on the kind of structure you have at your workplace as, we are a 400-member team out of which 60% work on Search Engine Optimization, which is our main offering and a 10member standalone Analytics team. Having said that, there are other people too who work on other domains like Social Media or SEOs or PPCs who use analytics on a daily basis, so it’s not a separate function per se but analytics is used in each and every vertical of the whole process.
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Tete-a-Tete Q: And that is only Google Analytics or all the other tools? A: 90% of the people will use Google Analytics because it’s free and less complicated and there is not much significant difference in using a paid tool, there is as much of a 10% difference in between Google Analytics and other paid tools and the amount you end up paying on a paid tool is far greater. Q: While using Google Analytics, do you get the data from your competitor as well? A: No. The only constraint with using Google Analytics is that you need to be the admin of your website or the master of your website. Q: How can one get competitor’s data? A: There are other tools you can use. Apart from that, from time to time, Google will also come up with a study. So let us say, if you are Flipkart you cannot get Amazon’s data but you will get ecommerce’s data as a category.
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Q: Do you have a standalone server for this data? How do you work on the back-end of this? A: This is all Google’s data and you do need to have that on your machine. Q If one is asked to think of making a digital plan for a company or a product the first thing that one comes up with is using a hashtag and related stuff, so how much of a part does that play in the whole campaign? A: It’s a very simple thing to do but the concept is more important and if you can get a conversation based on that (then it may work). As I can think of the example of Tata Tea and their Jaago Re campaign. Their ads barely talk about the tea, which I personally think is far better than any other tea and they can talk about sourcing the best of Darjeeling tea leaves but they never do that and talk about Jaago Re instead, which is their hashtag and if somebody comes to me talking about this, I do not have to think twice about what it is related to. So, that’s more important.
THE MARKSMAN
Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN Making every Mauka count! The World Cup season is on and it would be a crime to not talk about brands, especially being a marketing magazine. Most brands are doing one (lame) campaign or another, desperately trying to gain visibility. But one campaign has conspicuously caught everyone’s attention and it is not by a car, chocolate, biscuit or a telecom service provider. I’ll give you a mauka to guess. Got it? (Sad attempt, apologies for that one.) Star Sports has achieved every brand’s and advertising agency’s dream! The Mauka campaign has gone viral. Everyone is talking about it. It has trended on Twitter a couple of times (campaign is getting measured digitally now!). And it has also managed to create UGC (User generated content = The best thing a brand can achieve digitally). Wait till you see the shortlisted entries for GoaFest. The campaign started with the most coveted cricket match for every Indian, more important than winning the World Cup, the India v/s Pakistan match. And how it has picked up from there! What made the campaign a hit, apart from very cleverly (read: conveniently) picking up the streak where India won, was give the masses a very relatable, easy to remember line, Mauka…Mauka… It struck a chord with the infamous Indo-Pak rivalry and gave an opportunity to Indians to have a good laugh.
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It has a catchy ring to it. And the word Mauka is as situational as it gets. At this point, the campaign seems to be pretty obvious, people-pleasing, mass-appealing. The India v/s South Africa match was when things got interesting. Star Sports 1 toyed with our emotions, mocking us that India has never won against the Proteas in the World Cup. But a very smart or jobless cricket fan took it upon himself to retaliate. The campaign has now turned into a contest between Star Sports 1 and the viewers. So far, with India winning all the World Cup matches, everyone is happy and sporty about the ads. The UAE one should give us a few more laughs. The campaign has continuity to it and can be extended. But what happens when India starts to lose? Will Star Sports venture to tease fans with the loss? Or would it end with a cliché of still cheering the team? The campaign so far gets a clear thumbs up for being refreshing and could possibly be as successful as the Britannia World Cup campaign: Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao! But to make it truly memorable, the brand will have to handle the losses with the same wit. Ignoring them could fizzle out the buzz created. What do you think about this campaign? Tweet us your thoughts @Interface_SIMSR!
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PIONEER Shah Rukh Khan: Hail the Brand Badshah He has got the charm. He has got the looks. He is witty and smart. He is an actor, a producer, a sports team owner, a businessman and most importantly an entertainer. Loved and praised by millions of fans worldwide, he is surely the heartthrob of the generation Y.
You may love him or you may hate him, but you simply can’t ignore him. The man with a midas touch and a lot more than that, Shah Rukh Khan needs no introduction especially to the well charmed people of the yore or the crazy fan following that he has. Be it the Flirty Rahul from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or be it the serious Raj from Mohabbatein or be it the Fun-loving Aman from Kal Ho Na Ho, SRK has always done justice to every character that he has played.
From cars to colas, from reality shows to anchoring award shows and from toothpaste to pens, computers to even apparels, the man can endorse and sell it all! The most vital question is what makes Shah Rukh so convincing? Is it just about the looks, about his personality, about his public image or the way he carries himself on and off screen?
Shah Rukh Khan is often referred to as “King Khan” or “Badshah” by his loved ones. With a fan-following going beyond the country or continent for that matter, Shah Rukh Khan is not only one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars but also one of the biggest and pioneering brand across the globe.
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THE MARKSMAN
PIONEER Or maybe it’s an ideal combination of all this that brings up a perfect formula that have helped SRK build an aura of strength around himself a persona of inspiration to become the most popular icon of the country. It’s been a long journey and people have stayed glued to SRK on the big screen, battling the most feared villains, being the perfect son, affectionate son-in-law, impeccable big brother not to mention a lover to die for! Fans hate it when he is down and out and they love it when he conveys those romantic lines. Such is the charm of SRK — a man without a Bollywood connection with no godfather to pull the strings and yet someone whose fame and charm go way beyond region, nation, age and gender.
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While it’s certainly uncertain to replicate the lover boy he plays on screen, it’s also equally difficult to put on his marketing ways and wits that he displays while interacting with the media and fans. Ask a Bollywood fan to make a choice between the Khans of Bollywood, there’ll always be a foregone predicament that SRK is a bigger brand than every other element in our film industry. He may be advertising brands, pushing his cricket team or representing his production house. He may be on a media junket for his latest release or doing voice-overs for a NFP organisation. Whatever he puts his heart and efforts in - Shah Rukh Khan is the Badshah of Brands.
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BOOK WORM Buyology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy -Martin Lindstorm In other words, the craving for a smoke increases, not curbed which was intended. Scary isn’t it? Written in a very engaging narrative, Buyology provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of neuro-marketing, fusing the disparate disciplines of neurological science with marketing and consumer behaviour. This book is testimony to the hypothesis that marketing as a field is more rooted in psychology than in artistic creativity.
Imagine that you are a smoker. On the front of a pack of cigarettes are gory images – a haemorrhaged brain, deformed baby, blackened lungs, and ugly cancerous growth – coupled with stern admonitions like “SMOKING KILLS”. How then would you react to these gruesome warnings? According to renowned marketer & author, Martin Lindstrom in his bestselling book Buyology, the so called “craving spot” of the brain would actually be stimulated by those visceral warnings, not deterred.
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Consumer buying behaviour, impulse purchases, brand perception and other such marketing concepts are well explained with psychology and neuroscience as the foundation. That is what makes this book one of the mustreads for marketers who have taken a liking to the newly emerging field of neuro-marketing. In Buyology, Lindstrom, who incidentally was voted one of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2009, presents the astonishing findings from his ground-breaking, three year & seven million dollar neuro-marketing study, a cutting edge experiment that peered inside the brains of over 2,000 volunteers from all corners of the globe as they were subjected to various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter to pieces much of
THE MARKSMAN
BOOKWORM the status quo as to what we have believed and about what seduces our interest and drives us to buy. The focus point of the book is that we are irrational creatures when it comes to shopping (insert sexist remark here). Emotions triggered in the subconscious mind make up 90% of our “buy” decisions compared to the 10% associated with our conscious rational brain. Thus, we often can’t explain why we prefer a particular brand of lipstick, a sports shoe, or an electronic device, beyond stating its obvious attributes. Do you want to know the answers to questions like: Does sex actually sell? To what extent do models in skimpy clothing and suggestive poses persuade us to buy products? Despite government bans, does subliminal advertising still surround us? Can "cool" brands, like Apple with their iPods, trigger our mating instincts? Can other senses – smell, touch, sound & taste - be so powerful as to associate them with a particular brand or product? Do companies copy from the world of religion and create rituals – like drinking a Corona with a lime or dipping an Oreo cookie in milk – to capture our hard-earned dollars?
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If so, then Buyology is the book you most definitely want to read. Filled with entertaining inside stories about how we respond to such well-known brands as Nokia, Calvin Klein, Ford, and WalMart, Buyology is a fascinating and shocking journey into the mind of today's consumer that will captivate anyone who's been seduced – or turned off – by marketers' relentless attempts to win our loyalty, our wallet, and our minds. In summary, Buyology offers a compelling look – or relook rather – at what truly makes us buy. By marrying medical science with marketing, it provides a fresh twist to our understanding of consumer behaviour. Fans of Martin Lindstrom who love his other books like Brandwashed (covered in the October 2013 issue of Marksman), Brand Child and Brand Sense will find this volume a compelling addition to their bookshelves.
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REwind Navikaran ‘14-’15 With great enthusiasm and hopes, began the preparations for Navikaran’14-15, the marketing fest of SIMSR, organized by Team Interface. It was indeed a pleasure to get associated with very innovative brands namely WhereIsMyPandit and Choice equity, on board as our primary sponsors with associate sponsorships from Line, Ebay, SaveMyPocketMoney and Kebabs Grill.
Case Study event of Navikaran, in association with Choice (Investment Banking and Management Consultancy firm).
The build-up towards Navikaran’1415 began way before D-Day with a series of online competitions and fun activities. To celebrate Halloween with the beginning of a new trimester, ‘Trick-o-Treat”, a photography booth was organized. Diwali was made more colourful and bright with the MeraDiyaWalaSelfie contestA Photography competition using Instagram, facebook and other social media platforms.
The participants had to suggest a marketing plan to capture market & expand considerably while giving cost effective solutions. The event was a 3 stage event wherein the participants had to send a write up for initial selection, based on which teams from B-schools across India were shortlisted. These teams then had to submit a presentation with the marketing plan. For the final round (on-campus), the top 6 teams were shortlisted and these teams had to deliver their strategies which would help Choice in their endeavour to capture a larger market.
Continuing the last year’s trend, the event this time also was a two-day affair. A week prior to the main event large number of diversified competitions were organised in the campus with marketing being the buzz word all over SIMSR. 30th and 31st of January 2015 were the days that filled the SIMSR with joy and spirit of Navikaran.
Our esteemed panel of judges comprised of Mr. Amit Singh (VP- Institutional Sales of Choice), Mr. Arjun Gill (The Marketing Manager) and Mr.Sunil Kapoor (The HR head of WhereIsMyPandit). While Christ University took the runners-up award, SIMSR was adjudged the winners of MarkYudh’14-15.
The first day of Navikaran was marked with the final round of MarkYudh- the Flagship
The second day of Navikaran saw the final round of RanNiti- the Flagship Case Study event of Navikaran, in association
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THE MARKSMAN
REwind with WhereIsMyPandit, one stop window to access Panditji for Pooja, to Pooja Samgri for Pooja. The participants had to suggest a marketing plan to create brand awareness and recommend cost effective solutions for promotions and backend operations. The event was again a 3 phase event wherein the participants had to send a write up for initial selection, based on which teams from B-schools across India were shortlisted. These teams then had to submit a presentation with the marketing plan. The event witnessed a new level of ideation and entries were received from most of the top B-schools across the country out which the top 9 teams battled it out for the ultimate prize in the final (on-campus) round. Our esteemed panel of judges comprised of Mr. Arun Poddar, CEO, WhereIsMyPandit, Ronak Agarwal, Director, WIP and Shivani Bansal, VP, WIP. While SIMSR took the runners-up award, Goa Institute of Management was adjudged the winners of RanNiti’14-15 An exclusive workshop on Google Analytics by Mr. Rohit Onkar, Project Manager- Social Media at SMG Convonix was appreciated by all, the student and faculty and attracted participation from various colleges across Mumbai. The workshop was a first of its kind and received a fabulous reception from all the participants. The Analytics Workshop was highly interactive and informative.
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Navikaran 2014-15, also witnessed the launch of 2 new events– fresh and new that was sure to enthral all marketing enthusiasts: InfoGraphica and Elevator Pitch. InfoGraphica - The Infographics Design Competition, tested the designing ability and creative thinking to convey information in a manner that leaves the viewer more informed, while making sure that they are always engrossed. It was an online event where winners were judged based on their creativity and innovative ideas. Elevator Pitch- A twitter event, to test the negotiation skills and art of selling of the participants. The participants were given a problem statement wherein the participants had to give their proposal to CEO of the company. Brand Treasure Hunt - An on campus event based on QR codes and clues attracted a huge participation from the SIMSR students. The teams enjoyed the fun-filled and intellectual clues while searching for Treasure all around the campus. The Valedictory Function witnessed all the winners cherishing their awards which concluded the fun filled journey of Navikaran’14-15. It thus was a thumping success in providing marketing enthusiasts with a plethora of opportunities to display their marketing skills and we hope that next year it can be made even bigger and grander.
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REwind 10th SIMSR Global Marketing Conference The countdown had begun from 19th September only, when the Professor of marketing at ‘The Smeal College at Penn State’, Dr. Arvind Rangaswamy conducted a workshop on Marketing Analytics for Developing Effective Marketing Strategies, for the second leg of the SIMSR Global Marketing Conference. Finally the wait got over on 24th and 25th of February, 2015 when researchers not only from the country but from the globe were invited to present their research papers on Engagement Marketing. The proceedings began on 9th February 2015 when Prof Venkatesh Shankar, Professor of Marketing, Coleman Chair in Marketing and Director of Research at the Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School, Texas A&M University was invited over for a half-day workshop on e-retailing. Invites to delegates to present their paper were sent weeks ago and so high was the intensity of the attractiveness of the event that entries flooded in almost instantaneously. So as to ensure a certain quality level, some of the entries were even rejected. To create awareness among the students a quiz and an online social media competition were held on the 8th of February. The quiz had questions related to the past and current associations of the esteemed guests invited to inaugurate the event: Mr. Tarun Chauhan, TCS Consulting, Mr. Vivek Krishnani, Head
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of Revenue and Marketing for motion pictures at Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. And Mr. Madhukar Sabnavis, Vice Chairman and Country Head, Discovery and Planning, Ogilvy and Mather. They spoke about their experiences in the industry to a massive crowd, each of whom wanted to make the most out of this opportunity to interact with these pioneers. Finally the big day arrived and the SIMSR campus was filled with the then unknown faces carrying papers having the trends of tomorrow written over them. The fresh morning air was filled with the zeal of showcasing acquired knowledge as well as the zeal of acquiring the showcased knowledge. Presentations smoothly ran through seven sessions of the next two days with the fourteen track-chairs questioning the researchers at every turn leaving the audience asking for more. Mr. Hitesh Gossain, CEO, Onspon.com, was invited as the keynote speaker for kicking off the proceedings of the second day and so he did with a session as interactive and interesting as possible. The top three research papers, evaluated on three different parameters, were recognized and awarded with respect and a small amount of money, as a token of appreciation. All the other delegates were also appreciated and certified for their participation.
THE MARKSMAN
SquAreheaD
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BUZZ PUZZLE
ACROSS 1. Which club began as Newton Keath LYR in 1878 and became what its is known as today only in 1902? 3. In Latin it means ‘I Roll’. Which famous car brand are we talking about? 5. Which brand got its name from the founder, Harry Pickup? 7. Identify the logo of this homegrown Pharmaceutical brand 8. Who claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Egypt that killed atleast 27 people? DOWN
CLUES
3
4
5
6
7
8 8. ISIS
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1D. Mexico City 3. Volvo 5. Harpic 7. Piramal
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Answers: 1A. Manchester United 2. Don Thompson 4. Virat Kohli 6. Lijjat
1A
1D
1. Where did a gas truck explode outside a maternity hospital? 2. Who was the CEO of Mc Donald’s Corp who just resigned? 4. Which celebrity endorses Fastrack, Flying machine jeans and Fair & Handsome for men? 6. Name this women’s co-operative that has 650 crores worth of sales and 29 crores worth exports.
THE MARKSMAN
Call for ARTICLES CALL FOR ARTICLES MARCH 2015 Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:
1. Brand Kejriwal takes Delhi by storm to win the elections. 2. Minimalistic designs: The new trend in advertising. 3. Persuasive techniques in advertising.
*Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are clearly mentioned. 1. One article can have only one author. 2. Your article should be approximately 800-850 words and MUST be replete with relevant pictures that can be used to enhance the article. 3. Font Type: Gill Sans MT 4. Font Size: 14. 5. Send your article in .doc/.docx format to marksman.simsr@somaiya.edu 6. Subtitle line: Your name_Institute Name_Course Year 7. Kindly name your file as : Your name_Topic The best adjudged article will be given a Winner’s Certificate. Deadline for the submission of article will be : 20th March 2015
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The TEAM THE TEAM TWEETS by Parth Shah
It’s all about AD-itude by Kapil Maggo
Brand MARK ive by Alakh Krishnani
COVER STORY by
To subscribe to "The Marksman", Follow the link:http://interfacesimsr.com/ the-marksman.html OR drop in a mail/contact us at : interface.newsletter@gmail.com
Aditya Basrur
SPECIAL STORY by Amit Kumar Prasad
HALLMARK CAMPAIGN by Jaspreet Sandhu
FAUX PAS by Asheeb Singh Raina
PIONEER by Aman Dua
REWIND by Rishika Saxena Abhijit Sharma
TETE-A-TETE by Abhijit Sharma
BOOKWORM by Dylan Menezes
SquAreheaD by Prashanti Kasinathan
BUZZ by Shweta Panikker
PROOF READ by Dylan Menezes Asheeb Singh Raina
DESIGNING by Ritika Bramhe Aman Dua Niharika Srivastava
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Subject line: Subscribe:Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year Follow us at: http://www.facebook.com/simsr.in terface http://interfacesimsr.com/ the-marksman.htm
Website: http://interfacesimsr.com/themarksman.html The MARKSMAN is the newsletter of INTERFACE, the Marketing Club at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai. Images used in THE MARKSMAN are subject to copyright. THE MARKSMAN does not take any responsibility of any kind of plagiarism in the articles received from students of other colleges.
THE MARKSMAN