The Marksman Jul'15

The

MARKSMAN

K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

Brand Markive: Tiffany’s >>pg 06

Special Story: Downstream Market, Up for Grabs! >>pg 12 Marketing Faux Pas: Champions League T20 >>pg 15

Pioneer: Anurabh Kumar >>pg 19

VOL. VI | ISSUE II | JUL’ 15

EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, As the rain drops grace the earth with freshness and beauty, we welcome you all to the much awaited July edition of our magazine ‘The Marksman’.

The title of the cover story for this month is ‘Foreign Branding’ that gives you a glimpse of how the trend rules the market and the lives of people.

A sparkling section of Brand markive on Tiffany & Co, is sure to amuse all female readers dreaming of owning a diamond of their choice. Faux Pas covers the story of the over-hyped Champions league T20 that finally uncovered its reality in the last phase of its promotions that failed miserably.

An interesting read about Skysports in the Hallmark Campaign section is dedicated to all our die-hard football fans. All famous achievers rise beyond rejections and criticism.

Arunabh Kumar, owner of channel TVF is the pioneer of this month, whose success story is worth applauding.

Don’t miss out the Bookworm section, if you are really one amongst those interested in deciphering insights & reading the minds of customers.

We are delighted to announce Rohit V.B, from KJ SIMSR, as the winner of our ‘Call for Articles’ section. We thank all our participants for sending their articles and encourage them to keep writing to us with same fervor.

We would appreciate your feedback and articles in the future as well.

Stay connected with us on http://www.interfacesimsr.com/the-marksman.html Follow our Facebook page for more updates.

JULY 2015

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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: The Highways And Bylanes Of Foreign Branding

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Special Story: Down-stream Market, Up For Grabs!

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Marketing Faux Pas

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Hall-mark Campaign

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Pioneer

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Bookworm

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Buzz

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THE MARKSMAN

TWEETS CreativeLandAsia #Lost&Found

Maxus to sail the Paper Boat

Post the CLA and Parle-Agro mutual clientagency separation in November 2014, the agency has managed to bring under its wings twice the volume of businesses it had lost.

Domino’s, The Indian Express, Godrej No.1, Real estate player Kalpataru and ‘She’ comfort sanitary napkins (from Emami) are some major names it is now associated with.

According to CLA founder and creative chairman Sajan Raj Kurup “Advertising is not going to be the end-game”. Besides the new business wins on the advertising frontBuilding IPs, launching products & brands, TV content (CLA pictures) and new digital identity (CreativeLand technologies) are newfound focus areas for the agency too.

For Domino’s CLA has been entrusted with the digital mandate and would be working alongside its incumbent contract. For Godrej No.1, it will be handling the integrated mandate while for Emami, the re-launch of She comfort brand is on the cards. The agency will also be revamping The Indian Express.

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Following a multi-agency pitch, Maxus- the global communications consultant and rated the “Most Dominant” agency in India

by RECMA for the fourth year in a row (2014), bagged the media mandate for Paper Boat (Hector Beverages). The account will be handled by the agency’s Bengaluru office. Hector Beverages sells packaged beverages in very Indian and localised flavours including Jal Jeera, Aam Panna and Kaanji. Steering the brand’s vision of expansion in more than 50 cities in the current year, the agency proposes a brand positioning of memories through an effective media mix and creative strategies.

A part of Group M, Maxus is also one of Ad Age’s ‘Agencies to watch’.

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TWEETS

Over to you, Mr.Taylor – P & G Procter & Gamble Co. directors, for the second time in six years, are replacing Chief executive A.G. Lafley with an insider he groomed. David Taylor, 35-year company veteran will be taking over as CEO in November this year while Mr. Lafley shifts to the role of executive chairman. The incoming CEO has already served in various senior roles across the business and seems a safe bet for the organization. However, with P&G’s ongoing issues around its product ranges and ‘questionable marketing’- his tenure will not be without its challenges.

Three major challenge that can prove troublesome in the future are a well-publicised streamlining process of its brands over the last year with almost 100 brands being divested in the drive: its decision to continue commanding premium prices which isn’t winning fans in its home market- U.S., overseas growth and addressing ‘Gilette’.

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THE MARKSMAN

IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE Print Ad Client: Dabur Gastrina Digestive Pills Agency: McCann World group, India

We know that Prasoon Joshi has a way with words, but his agency McCann India didn’t need any for this print campaign for Dabur’s Gastrina Digestive Pills. The three print ads feature no copy, but have simple & effective art. It has silhouettes of people with wind instruments representing their digestive tract.

Musicians are cool and get the girls to drool over them, but we surely don't want to play these instruments in a room full of people. Stop the music with Dabur Gastrina Digestive Pills.

Television Ad Client: Pepsi Agency: Walter Pakistan (JWT) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5RP6NMeSs8 Its Coca-Cola's USP to arouse emotions with their heart-warming experiential campaigns, but this time Pepsico gets one over on them with the #LightingUpLives campaign in Pakistan.

Through this Campaign, Pepsi will donate Re. 1 for every 1.75L bottle of Pepsi purchased during the month of Ramadan.

This Campaign was driven by Walter Pakistan (a part of J. Walter Thompson) and had an ad film which went viral on Social media & featured Pakistani actors Hamza Ali Abbasi, Sanam Saeed, Syra Shahroz and Azzfar Rehman. It had the actors stop Pepsi drinkers from throwing away the empty bottles. They collect these bottles and use them to light up & illuminate an entire village.

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BRAND MARKive

“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” Tiffany’s – Selling Dreams One Sparkle at a Time

Some brands in the world have become so famous that when you think of that product category, it is usually associated with that brand, for eg., all photocopiers are called Xerox and all mineral bottles are Bisleri. So when it comes to jewellery, and more specifically diamonds, Tiffany’s is the name for you.

Tiffany & Co, popularly known as Tiffany’s, is synonymous with diamond jewellery and has been the world leader in the industry for more than a century. Since its inception in 1837, Tiffany has become a pioneer when it comes to diamonds. It has expanded into various segments including crystals, china, perfumes, watches, sterling silver, bottles, stationary, leather goods and personal accessories. In spite of the diversifications, Tiffany’s still basks in the luxurious position as the market leader when it comes to diamonds.

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Originally founded as a stationary and antiques emporium by its co-founders Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young, its named was adopted to Tiffany & Co. in 1853 when the company was solely owned by Mr. Charles Tiffany. This was when the focus of the company shifted to diamonds as their main product line for the company. Little did they know that Tiffany’s would become the epitome of the diamond industry.

Tiffany’s is in the business of not just selling diamonds but hopes and dreams. They sell happiness in the little blue box, which has become the trademark of the company. Every girl aspires to receive that perfect Tiffany’s engagement ring that would shine on forever.

THE MARKSMAN

BRAND MARKive

The first marketing strategy adopted by Tiffany’s was the introduction of the “Blue Book”, which is a product catalogue and has been used for showcasing their products for the customers from where they can order and register. The book is still published and is adored by customers’ world over.

Tiffany’s has used radio, television, print ads, jewellery exhibitions, etc. as a part of their regular strategy. It has launched its own apps in the IOS and Android market which are freely available for its customers. They launched the same-sex campaign in 2015 making it the first ever company advertising for same-sex marriages.

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Other than the marketing strategies that have been devised by Tiffany’s themselves, a lot of the publicity for the brand has come from Hollywood movies, songs, novels, celebrities, etc. Hollywood celebrities have often flaunted Tiffany’s designs on the red carpet and in parties, weddings, etc. There have been mentions of Tiffany’s in songs by Marilyn Monroe, including the very famous “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. In the James Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever”, Bond’s love interest is named Tiffany and she mentions her name came from Tiffany & Co. She has been distinguished to be the first ever Bond girl.

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BRAND MARKive There have been novels like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Summer at Tiffany’s and Something from Tiffany’s, which have all revolved around the diamond showroom. Out of the three, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Summer at Tiffany’s have both been adopted into movies. Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn has been an iconic classic and many of the scenes were actually shot in the New York 5th Avenue showroom of Tiffany’s. Other movies like Sleepless in Seattle and Sweet Home Alabama have also featured the showroom.

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Tiffany has a legacy and heritage that is beyond imaginable.

They were the first ones who came up with the carat metric system which was adopted worldwide. Tiffany’s standards for sterling and platinum have been adopted by the US. They designed the gallantry awards for the US marines which was later adopted as the logo for the New York Yankees.

They have designed all the china present in the White House, which was ordered by the then first lady Bird Johnson in 1968. Tiffany also designs the Super Bowl trophy, NASCAR trophy and many others prestigious awards and trophies all over the globe.

Tiffany’s yellow diamond, which is a 128-carat stone found in 1878, has been its most prized possession and has never been sold, but is always on display in many of their showrooms.

The iconic designs and the varied coloured stones make Tiffany a distinguished brand when it comes to diamonds. The showroom mesmerizes you with the glitter and sparkle and entices you by making you feel very special. As Audrey Hepburn puts it in Breakfast at Tiffany’s “It is the best place in the world, where nothing bad can take place.”

THE MARKSMAN

COVER STORY Parlez-vous Francisé ?

The Highways and Bylanes of Foreign Branding From the high praise of Chinese silk through the ages – the great Sītā herself is said to have received it as gift on the occasion of her wedding – to the dubious subtext that “Made in China” today calls to mind, products and qualities have been associated with geographies of origin long before Friedman announced that the world had become flat.

Not least of all in today’s hour of globalisation, Shakespeare’s dismissive quip of naming can only nominally be taken seriously – for some corporations, the game revolves around the name. Many prominent brands owe their success a good deal to the value signalled by their name. French is the standard choice for conveying hedonic quality – Chocolat Pavot is owned by a German manufacturer, while L’Eau Bleu is the work of a Japanese fashion designer.

In the case of some, the history of the brand is much more complex than stumbling upon the right exotic name.

JULY 2015

Häagen-Dazs, hinting Danish origins, was founded in 1961 in the Bronx. The greater irony is that even the name isn’t properly Scandinavian – it was made up by cofounder Rose Mattus, ostensibly in memory of the less cruel treatment of Jews in Denmark. Not that behind the successful brand that yielded over $488m in sales in 2014 there isn’t ice-cream that consumers derive pleasure from, but its history reveals a different source of strength – HäagenDazs was founded when the ice-cream shop run by the uncle of Reuben Mattus (Rose’s husband) was facing price-cutting competition from bigger ice-brands brands, when Reuben figured that there was a way to charge much higher and gain volume too, namely, by adopting the right name. In 1980, when another American ice-cream maker founded itself as Frusen Glädjé (which does actually mean “Frozen Delight” in Swedish), Häagen-Dazs filed a suit for jumping the bandwagon – the court ruled against Häagen-Dazs for having unclean hands itself.

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COVER STORY

COVER STORY

Back in China, many homegrown brands are eager to project an image of internationalistic (read developed nations, read first world, read European) sophistication. Instead of the predictable Mandarin name – even if as the translation of a major Western brand -- some of the major clothing brands are named Hotwind, Orgee and Marisfrolg. Some foreign brands like Coca Cola have adopted Chinese names that have appropriate meanings. Some, like McDonalds, seem not to really need bother with naming much, and resort to just a transliteration. Some others like Cadillac “Promise, large promise, have crafted meaningless stringsisofthe syllables. solhas of an advertisement.

This aspect transferred such “that some Johnson.

Chinese firms- Samuel adopt the latter method to signal foreign cachet despite having fully local origins. The Chinese have successfully plied such strategies even on foreign territory – brands like Haier and Galanz capitalise on names carrying a German undertone that lends credibility of technological excellence even though they are actually Chinese companies.

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Of course, customers do read “Made In …” labels much more frequently than such companies would prefer. Some firms get around this difficulty by actually manufacturing it in the country-of-origin they are trying to suggest – e.g. in Florence, the center of Italian fashion, over three thousand Chinese businesses manufacturing low-end clothing and accessory employ Chinese workers and market their products worldwide as “Made in Italy”. In fact, consumers are increasingly looking up the country of origin rather than settle for the one implied by the sound.

In The Double-Edged Sword of Foreign Brand Names for Companies from Emerging Countries (Journal of Marketing, November 2012), Melnyk et al. reported a “consistent pattern with an asymmetric effect of incongruence between implied and actual country-of-origin on purchase likelihood for hedonic and utilitarian products”. This makes using foreign sounding names a high-return high-risk proposition. They point out that a prestige brand extension can turn out to be successful for just this reason. In an interesting aside, they also show that including a rhetorical question through ad copy is effective at reducing negative impact of incongruence and also bringing purchase likelihood levels to those of cases in which the cues/signalling is congruent with the actual country-oforigin.

THE MARKSMAN

COVER STORY

In 2012, the Italian Trade Commission moved court against 30 odd Chinese companies for claiming links with Italy to signal product quality or origin – actually having neither, but still having asking prices of Italian import items. The scene is fortunately improving in favour of developing nations as they are seeing a greater number of homegrown brands asserting their origins and their competence. Large corporations in these countries are also buying major foreign brands, be it Tata Motors taking over Jaguar or Wipro buying out Yardley. So rapid are the changes that there also exist confusing multiple-level ironies like Indian men buying Peter England.

Corporations must keep in mind that as the borrowed cachet of a foreign language name becomes an asset, a corresponding liability is also simultaneously created – no other way to keep the balance sheet in order.

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Special Story Down-stream market, Up for grabs!

Imagine the scenario two decades ago, there were no supermarkets, hypermarkets or malls. The retail business landscape then comprised of departmental stores and the mom and pop shops (the famous kirana shops). This has to be brought to notice to introduce the evolution brought in a sector which today contributes to 22% of India’s GDP. Now let us look at another sector all together. Just a fact for a mere comparison, Petroleum products relate to 15% of the country’s GDP. And what has changed in the providing of common people these valuables in the last twenty years or so? Almost NOTHING. What does that call for?

A revolution in this marketplace.

When is it going to happen?

Well, it has started already.

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The analogy may not deem fit for every reasonable person, for the change in the business environment may not be directly related to the contribution an entity provides in a nation’s stature. But for a country whose global proposition lies in being one of the fastest growing economy, the development in an eminent market, which is also directly proportional to the global relations a country serves and indirectly related to the prices of almost every other commodity, this is only reasonable to grow and thus, evolve.

It is to be noted again that the prices of almost every other commodity are driven heavily by the transportation cost incurred. That in a country where the gap between the demand and supply is hundreds of kilometers and roads being the favourable mean of commute outweigh any other possible mean by a big-big margin.

Thus, the prices of these products which directly impact the transportation cost, if argued, may be the driving factor for the inflation rate, and superficially, the PESTELfactors for India’s current positioning.

The scale of this can only urge any budding marketer to be ready for the reformation that is going to happen post the deregulation of Diesel. The reason why deregulation of Diesel, and not Petrol, has awakened the starving private players’ activeness is because it contributes to around 70-80% of the total petroleum products.

THE MARKSMAN

SPECIAL STORY Just to give a heads-up, deregulating the oil prices by the government means it has waived off the subsidiaries provided, hence taking off the edge with the state-owned OMCs and providing the private players a chance to price their products competitively. The last time Government had a mini stint with deregulating Diesel resulted in Reliance capturing about 15% of the market dominated by over 95% captured by three-biggies, IOCL, BPCL and HPCL. However, this time the opportunity is not only hard to capture but also bigger to cash-in. Reason? The global crude prices are not only at their apt best, but also towards stabilizing.

The upstream and midstream markets include the extraction and transportation part are lesser likely to be affected unless there occurs a major technological advancement.

Therefore, what is to govern the difference in the revenues of one company from the other is the downstream market, which includes the marketing and distribution of such products.

What this gives to any person related to the industry (or willing to be a part of it) is a vast opportunity to play an integral part of the change which is going to change the whole picture upside-down. The private players including Reliance, Shell, Total and the state-owned MRPL will be looking to grab a share as big as possible through one and only one route: Differentiation.

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The end-consumer is more or less unaware of the back-end process included, it’s the brand positioning that drives him to a forecourt. While Reliance enjoys ability of vast horizontal-integration, Shell assures the customer’s security while MRPL possesses logistic superiority in select areas. Each of them have their own abilities to conquer and their own audience at stake.

While loyalty programs are the sure-shot lucrative factors, direct marketing may allow these companies a fresh chance and the impact of digital cannot be ignored in the youth-driven population, let the business being conservative. Thus, each and every marketing tool can be utilized in a field like this, just that, in a smart and subtle way.

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SPECIAL STORY

On one side they would be eager to solve the logistics issue in the best way possible, on the other, they would be looking to run that extra mile to create a strong impression not only on the end-consumer but also their dealers and other stakeholders in the whole supply chain.

Today is not only the point where one gets to fill the colours but also to decide what is to be drawn, and in a step-by-step trend repeating corporate world, this can be a big opportunity. Think of what all can be done by putting all the marketing acumen with the names featuring most frequently in Forbes’ lists, in a commodity brought by every other individual and business, at the time which decides the future of the country’s economic fate.

One thing is for sure, this Down-streaming Market, is Up for grabs.

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THE MARKSMAN

MARKETING FAUX PAS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE T20 There are disappointments and there are mistakes; but it is very seldom that we see a disappointing mistake of such epic proportions. The fairly recent news about the annual Champions League T20 being scrapped didn’t come as a surprise to many and truth be told, it was quite high time that this six season long debacle was shown the door.

Following the huge success and wide acceptance of the T20 Cricket World Cup and The Indian Premier League, Champions League T20 was designed on the lines of European Club Football and it aimed at replicating the format’s international glitz and glamour in the cricketing domain. However the event failed miserably at getting crowds into the stands or in front of the television.

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Despite it being termed as a marquee event, the reasons of this mega brand’s failure are many. One of the major reasons for it is the over representation of Indian teams and a lack of representation from other major test playing nations, giving it the feel of a second IPL. Furthermore, the lack of big names in clubs of other nations further reduced the charisma of the event and therefore, the tournament could not pull the numbers that were expected of it. On the flip side it was also seen as an overdose of cricket. The calendar of International Test Playing nations is more often than not, jam packed and another such format was viewed as an unnecessary overkill.

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MARKETING FAUX PAS

Coupled with the aforementioned points the frequent change of sponsors did little to enhance the image, on the contrary it further ruined the chances of any concrete brand image setting in. Companies like Airtel, Nokia, Karbonn and Oppo all threw in their support but shunned the tournament equally quick. Even the official broadcasters, Star Network were losing close to $100 million every edition.

The last straw perhaps, was the verdict which suspended ex champions Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings for two years. Immediately following this decision the BCCI announced that Champions League would be no more.

Marred by controversies, starved of viewership, begging for sponsorship, it was a wonder how the tournament lasted six editions. The lopsided Indian centric approach of the tournament and virtually nil acceptance in the rest of the world gave the impression that the tournament was only an extension of the IPL and made it into a recipe for disaster. When the makers started the tournament, they had forecasted that it would be the biggest and most successful format for T20; but it’s a shame the brand’s viewers never shared the sentiment.

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THE MARKSMAN

Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN Sky Sports #PLmoments Over the past few months we have witnessed a lot of successful campaigns that range from consumer products such as Coke’s #ShareaCoke or Oreo Cookie’s #DunkSwag to financial products such as HDFC Life Insurance’s #YoungStar or Bajaj Allianz’s #LittleThings.

The previous editions of “The Marksman” have covered a variety of them. A recent example is the Government of India’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” campaign.

Needless to say, it garnered a lot of fame as people began to post selfies with their daughter on Facebook and the message of the importance of female foeticide eradication and safety for women was delivered loud and clear to everyone.

Come August 8th! The war for the world’s most famous premier league title commences. The Blues will fight to defend the title and the Gunners will unleash the fire. While the Red Devils will look for revenge, their Noisy Neighbours will try to leapfrog all. And in the midst of all, the Reds will try to fit in the top four. By the time football fans read the above lines, emotions will be soaring high taking them back to their favourite club’s unforgettable moments.

The derby fights, the historic last minute goals, the penalty shots and what not. Click the below link for the ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCnfnZ Xazzg

It is a no brainer that to have customer engagements, such campaigns are very vital.

And if the campaign resonates with the emotions of people, then it is guaranteed that the purpose will be met. And that is exactly what Sky Sports came up with in their new Ad and Social Media Campaign #PLmoments.

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HALL-MARK CAMPAIGN Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend is the protagonist who goes back in time to visit the iconic moments in the history of Premier League. He celebrates with Sir Alex Fergusson and says its Fergie time.

He casually wanders on the pitch and witnesses The King’s (Eric Cantona) famous goal against Sunderland in 1996. Several other nostalgic moments such as Wayne Rooney’s bicycle kick, Sergio Aguero ‘s last minute winner to handle Manchester City the title is also being shown. The highlight of the Ad is the Gunners’ celebration at White Hart Lane where in Thierry Henry is seen alongside himself saying “The Invincibles”.

And to top it off, Henry hides near the tunnel witnessing the infamous fight between Keane and Vieira. All these iconic moments trigger passion and emotion in the fans and Sky Sports have capitalized on the same.

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The ad soon became viral and it has been shared approximately four lakh times in the past week. The Twitter campaign #PLmoments saw people posting photos of various iconic moments. In the UK, Premier League is broadcasted in BT Sports, Sky Sports and ESPN. With the advent of this ad, the TRP rating for Sky Sports has increased tremendously as compared to others resulting in more lucrative sponsorships and advertisements thus generating considerable revenue for the channel.

In short, the exposure and engagement generated by this ad and #PLmoments campaign makes Sky Sports a perfect entrant for this edition’s Hallmark campaign.

THE MARKSMAN

PIONEER ARUNABH KUMAR

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First YouTube based channel to reach a million subscribers for online content within the shortest time

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The first company in India in the realm of entertainment network to blend reality and parody in their creation ushering in a new genre of entertainment

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First online network to extract content contribution from A grade Bollywood celebrities (Shah Rukh Khan, Ayushmann Khurana, Anurag Kashyap, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra, Ranveer Singh, and more recently The Chief Minister of Delhi Mr. Arvind Kejriwal)

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Creator and distributor of 12 online entertainment hits such as Qtiyapa, Barely Speaking with Arnub, Permanent Roommates, Chai Sutta Chronicles, PITCHERS etc

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India’s sole representative at the International YouTube Fan Fest 2013

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With 2 million subscribers, 118 videos and more than a hundred million views The Viral Fever has become a household name but the real credit goes to the mind behind it – Arunabh Kumar, Founder & Creative Experiment Officer.

Kumar, who holds a masters in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur quit his job of a Research Consultant for the US Air Force and joined Red Chillies Entertainment as an Assistant Director on Om Shanti Om. Slowly and steadily he made his way into the entertainment industry making short films, music videos and freelancing for various advertising agencies.

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PIONEER Turning point of his career was the rejection of a youth-centric television show, Engineer’s Diary by MTV and other channels on the grounds that the youth wouldn’t want to watch it. In a bid to prove them wrong, Arunabh along with a few of his friends started the YouTube channel The Viral Fever.

Diversifying from pure comedy to drama, TVF recently launched two original web series – Permanent Roommates & Pitchers.

While Permanent Roommates is a live-in rom com which became the most watched web series in the world, Pitchers is a take on the booming entrepreneurial wave.

TVF started its journey with Inglorious Seniors, a spoof of Quentin Tarantino’s war saga set against the backdrop of college ragging that instantly struck a chord with the youth. They followed it up with one of their most popular outings Rowdies.

Staying true to its name, TVF delivered viral videos one after another that garnered millions of views and subscriptions for the channel. Some of its most popular videos include Gangs of Social Media, Barely Speaking with Arnub and Gana Wala Song.

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The success of TVF has further contributed to the development of web-based entertainment with channels such as AIB, Scoop Whoop and Shudh Desi Endings following suit.

THE MARKSMAN

Bookworm How to Mind-Read Your Customers?

- David P. Snyder It is a marketer’s biggest quandary, one of his biggest fears, but if understood, it can also be his biggest strength, the source of his biggest successes. For a marketer, understanding the customers is imperative.

It is only if a marketer can create a lasting impact on a customer’s mind then can ever be a possibility of a long-term relationship, one of trust, admiration and mutual respect.

This book is a passage that opens to this secret world of the minds of our customers. Marketing is, in essence the ability to sell, the ability to create a fascination that is engrained in our customers’ minds. It discusses and describes salesmanship from the perspective of a scientist and an artist, supported by empirical studies as well as studies that are aimed at stirring the creative side.

The mind is a complex entity and this book dives into this complexity to disintegrate several of its myths and beliefs. Consumer psychology has been used extensively in this book through its studies and interviews. The book gives instances of what differentiates a remarkable salesman from a mediocre one.

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PIONEER The trick, lies in the ability of the salesman to maintain a state of modest selfconfidence. It is seen that when customers encounter a salesman who believes in what is to be sold, they are more likely to be attracted or interested.

The book is full of instances of some of the best salespeople the world has seen. The introductory chapter paints a picture of how Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group of companies, is a master salesman.

There are several commonalities that can be drawn between all these master salespeople: their demeanour, their confident humility and their ability to be absolutely comfortable in their own skin.

Two key themes of the book are; salesmanship and psychology. The author himself has been a student of psychology and puts forth several of his key learnings in the book. The most striking feature of this book is its simplicity. It is a guide to the understanding of personalities of every type and how to sell to them. It continuously reiterates how each human personality is unique and that is what necessitates an open and rational mind.

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The ultimate aim of the book is to make the reader an integrated thinker, a judicious mix of a salesperson, a marketer and a customer service executive. This book is highly recommended to anyone who wishes to understand the nuances of salesmanship intermingled with psychology.

At the end of the day, aren’t we all salespeople in different walks of life?

THE MARKSMAN

FEATURED ARTICLES Face the Music: Marketing opportunities for Music Apps

Rohit V.B - K J SIMSR You know that you had heard in a Youtube video playing in the backdrop of a ….. cat video? And you HAD to have it”, so you commented - “PLZ PLZ SOMEONE TELL ME THE SONG’s NAME!!” Calm Down son!

“Darude-Sandstorm” is probably the only reply you got, causing an inception of very bad thoughts for that person in your mind. I was in this quandary where there was no way I could hit that song anywhere on the web.

Then…Bam! Android! Wait, what? SHAZAM!!

Huh…….?

Yes, Android we know. Shazam, an Android app, only wants you to hold your phone near the music that you desperately want to download, and voila! You get the track & artist name. That’s it. Just open the app, hold your phone near the music source, the microphone will catch the sound, and through the wizardry of Android code (Yes Android Is life), you have the song you were swimming for in the depths of Google, in a second.

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When you think digital, there’s just no ceiling to innovation.

There is an answer to everything. And music, you don’t need to sell as a product, you only need to market around it. Which unique Equalizer do you have? Does your App suggest results adaptive to your preference? What’s that, you have every Indian classical song ever made? You give buffer less audio streaming? Pff! You get the picture.

According to Midem Blog, the mobile music industry was worth $23.2 billion in 2014 last year with revenue from ringtones, full track, and streaming-music purchases, with the maximum revenue accumulated from full track downloads. In two years, iTunes increased by around 200% in the number of music apps in October 2014.

And it’s not just the number of music apps that has been increasing but the number of music app downloaders is rising as well.

With such increased accessibility and freedom offered by music hosting sites like Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube et al, there is huge space for free advertising. Justin Bieber, Sungha Jung are some of the “Youtube Stars” that the digital market has “blessed” us with. Conception is just waiting to happen.

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FEATURED ARTICLES Or say you have a band.

And you are in the “struggling phase” lying face down at the feet of many a record label, or a concert producer, while he wipes his buttocks with your demo CD. Yes this is a true story. But you get through eventually. While that’s going on, hey, why not make an App for your music and upload it to the Play Store.

(Once Again, Android Zindabad) You can do this through appmakr4bands.com. This app lets you market your music and band by updating your band info, demo releases, concert dates etc. on your own custom app.

Last.fm is already an established “intelligent” platform, in that it modifies search results based on your listening penchant. It suggests similar bands/songs that connate to your answers to questions like predilection, taste etc.

The Last.fm mobile App is your one-stop shop for music search needs. So you really like that Melodic Death Metal riff style?

Want to uncover similar obscure bands that are out there? Just ask Last.fm.

Online music marketing does not say “This is a blah blah blah music/genre/song. If you want blah blah bliss and serenity in your life, search no more.” It only says “You like music, well here’s a cushion, lie down and relax while I make your listening experience more comfortable and lasting.” Even online radios available are high-octane. Apps like Pandora allows you to create dynamic stations based on your favorite artists. You wake up in the morning listening to inspiring songs of your choice.

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But. No flower contrasts without its thorns.

Streaming platforms like Beatport, Spotify, Pandora, Rdio et al, are subscription based services. These sites have to pay ~60% of their revenue as royalty to the record labels, artists and other related parties.

Not so Much Now..!

India’s own Dhingana received a fatal blow in March ’14 with the hike in record labels’ hiked licensing costs. Earlier in ’13, the plug was pulled on Nokia Music India, just days after Microsoft acquired it. The survivors of today are such names as Saavn, Gaana etc.

Though the subscription system can’t be completely abandoned, selective incentives can be given. Saavn’s tie up with Snapdeal allows customers many offers and discounts. Saavn has also gone the Twitter way with an online tweet based online radio.

Hungama CEO Neeraj Roy says that with the availability of low-end smartphones, the aggressive data pack marketing by Telecom Service providers and most importantly, customers on the internet consume entertainment the most in a time spent, he’s confident to see an increase in the music streaming market in 2015.

THE MARKSMAN

SquareHead

JULY 2015

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BUZZ ACROSS

PUZZLE

1. Digjam is a product of which enterprise? (5) 3. _________ has the punch line Breath easy. (4,4) 5. Wills Lifestyle belongs to which corporate group? (3) DOWN 2. Close – up belongs to which brand.

(3)

CLUES

4. The Power of Dreams is the punch line for which brand? (5) 6. The World’s local bank is ___. (4) 7. The cookies ‘Hide & Seek’ is manufactured by which company? (5)

Which jewellery brand has Jaya 8. Bachhan endorsed?

Answers: Across: 1.Oswal 3.Blue Star 5.ITC Down: 2.HUL 4.HONDA 6.HSBC

7.Parle

8. Tanishq

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THE MARKSMAN

Call for ARTICLES CALL FOR ARTICLES AUGUST 2015 Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:

1. BCCI and Paytm: Will the troubled waters of the cricketing world prove troublesome for Paytm?

2. Movies as brands: An idea that is one in a minion?

3. E-commerce platforms becoming app-only: killer move or a fatal error?

a

*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 August, 2015

JULY 2015

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The TEAM THE TEAM TWEETS by Kavya Dubey It’s all about AD-itude by Siddharth Bhandarkar Brand MARKive by Palak Thakkar COVER STORY by Akshay Peshwe SPECIAL STORY by Abhijit Sharma FAUX PAS by Dhruv Maheshwari HALLMARK CAMPAIGN by Dilip Anantharaman PIONEER by Sankalp Thakur BOOKWORM by Sukanya Remesh SquAreheaD by Vasundhara Tewari BUZZ by Minoli Sheth PROOF READ by Disha Shah DESIGNING by Palak Thakkar Sankalp Thakur PROMOTIONS by Palak Thakkar Sukanya Remesh

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THE MARKSMAN