The Marksman Mar'15 by The Marksman

The

MARKSMAN

K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH VOL V | ISSUE X | MAR’15

TWEETS

Vogue Campaign >>Page 17 BRAND MARKIVE

COVER STORY

Cause Marketing Harley Davidson >>Page 07

FAUX PAS

Groupon>>Page 16 16

EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, With the summers setting in and days getting hotter, we present to you yet another edition of marksman to feed you with the freezing and latest buzz in the world of marketing. This issue's Cover Story comes with a cause - with it being title CAUSE marketing. It unfolds to you all a special type of marketing which is used to sell ideas for a cause while promoting your normal products. Don’t be fooled by The Special Story of the month ! Brand Markive takes you on a road trip with one of the most famous and reputed brand in the world of bikes - Harley Davidson. This month pioneer reflects brand Besides this, don't forget to read our most favorite and regular sections - it's all about Ad-itude, tweets, faux pass, hallmarks and lots more. We would also like to congratulate this month's CFA winner Simran Pradhan, IIM Kozhikode and Sanket Jain , NMIMS We thank you all for your enthusiastic response and hope you enjoy flexing your reading as well as writing muscles! As always, we welcome all your suggestions and queries.You can find various ways of connecting with us on our website -www.interfacesimsr.com/the-marksman Hope this issue proves soothing enough to your brains in this scorching heat. We will soon be sharing with you'll our summer issue before we wrap up with this year. Stay cool and enjoy the sunny days.

Happy Reading Team – Marksman The Interface, The Marketing Club at SIMSR @marksmansimsr

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CONTENTS

TWEETS

IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE

BRAND MARKIVE

COVER STORY Cause Marketing

SPECIAL STORY

MARKETING FAUX PAS

Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN

PIONEER

BOOKWORM

SQUAREHEAD

BUZZ

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TWEETS OLX #LetWhatYou LoveLive We all had hopes and aspirations from the time we could think. Some of them were fulfilled, while some of them got lost in our everyday struggle to survive. So how does an online classifieds marketplace feature in all this? OLX, with its #LetWhatYouLoveLive campaign, depicts the story of a man, who, like so many others in India, gave up on cricket for reasons that are beyond his control. The essence of the ad is that even if we aren’t able to live the life that we may have hoped to live, we can ensure that our dreams live on through someone else.

Volkswagen #Three #Old #Wives #Hashtag Trust Volkwagen to come up with brilliant marketing ideas to support their equally brilliant technology. In this video, of #Three #Old #Wives #Hashtag, three ladies are seen driving around in a Volkswagen car. Two ladies are seen speaking in hashtags to each other about the features of the car, its fuel efficiency, its clean diesel engines, its German engineering. Now, what better way to say that “We’re here to stay” than this. Who said technology was only for the young and the restless?

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TWEETS Vogue #MyChoice Recently, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone shared the story of how she battled depression. In #MyChoice, Deepika teams up with director Homi Adajania and Vogue magazine to voice the opinions and concerns of 99 women from the city (Mumbai), telling the world why they should stop stereotyping women and take notice of what makes each woman special.

Maggi #MomsMaggi One of our most favourite snacks of all times decided to be a part of the World cup fever by launching its #MomsMaggi campaign. Participants had to send in their momâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maggi recipe and win Team Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jerseys. This campaign was a great blend of customer engagement and building customer loyalty by giving each of them a chance to cheer the Men in Blue in their own style. .

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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE Television Ad “kanna keep calm..” said the last year’s IPL’s Star Sports campaign and got itself embedded in the vocabulary of young India-not as a word, or just a phrase-as a tone, a rather impactful usage of a string of words. If you reach that kind of audience engagement, you know you’ve made it. And they literally had. Now, they are back with “watch Pepsi IPL on Hotstar…”, promoting their latest mobile app, Hotstar. And it’s a bang they’re back with. It’s the eve of the year’s biggest stage, the World Cup, of the country’s biggest passion (read: religion), Cricket, and their broadcasting partner is not only supposed to come up with a massive campaign but is obliged to. IPL is known for its massive marketing by the event itself as well as the sponsors involved and Star had to live up to this expectation. The ad explains through funny situations in daily life of how watching the sport on Mobile can help one with profits in all spheres of life. The lyrics are chirpy and includes enough cricketing terms with frequently-used names and terms in a perfect mass-appealing blend.

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The HOT-Star The music is kept the same as last year only the tempo is slowed down, perfect Brand Recall technique! Though the star cast used is fresh but by now is already making the rounds and unlike last year, the campaign is expected to rope in big names as the countdown progresses. However, for the moment, it is doing the job-making people shift the meetings’ note in their smartphones’ calendar-by syncing it with the IPL schedule on Hotstar.

IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE PRINT AD

Fruitfull colors! The picture shows 10 prints out of the whole campaign, if you see the rest of them, you’d be equally intrigued. With the summer being round the corner and a new packaging in the offering, Frooti was due to come up with flying colors and so they do, flying ‘on’ colors. New York agency Sagmeister & Walsh with help from Aaron Duffy's agency SpecialGuest and animation house Stoopid Buddy Stoodios have provided the TVC with the needed impetus through the print ad. Though the main attraction is still the video, the print thoroughly supports it by doing the intended job- as a trailer does to a movie.

The vibrant and joyful colors are so much a hero to the ad that the brand ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan, does not even appear in the prints. This, says it all. "The goal was to introduce the new packaging in a fresh, bold, and playful way," says Sagmeister & Walsh of the rebranding. "We introduced four bold colors to the brand which complement the yellow colour of Indian mango and add a sense of playfulness across the imagery." As perfect in the words, as in the sight.

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BRAND MARKive When a Harley Davidson revs up… Throughout the American history there have emerged iconic brands like CocaCola, Nike, and McDonalds who have gained such a position through incessant and in-your-face marketing efforts. But, occasionally a brand comes along which makes itself known through its continual deliverance of value. For such brands, recognition comes from its quiet, behindthe-scenes effort of selling its products primarily on merit. Even though its products are loud and their ‘Thudding’ roar can be heard from a long way off, this iconic brand’s path to success has laid down the ground rules for Cult branding. The brand in question here is Harley Davidson; which even though being over a century old is still one of the most relevant labels of modern times. Today it isn’t just another marquee but a way of living for its patrons. Despite coming close to extinction on two different occasions and taking a major hit on its reputation in the 1960s, its intriguing how this motorcycle giant, with close to zilch advertising, has become one of the most recognized names in the world. Birth of a Giant… The company came into being in the first decade of the twentieth century, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when two young men, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson were working on their plans of a motorized bicycle.

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Their very first workshop was a 10X15 feet work shed and it is from here that they sold their very first motorcycle under the Harley Davidson® banner. In consequent years the company took part and won various racing and rally events and by the end of its first decade was exporting to Japan and had a dealer base of over 200. Furthermore, its tie up with the US Army and foreign contracts by Allied powers helped keep the company gain major acceptance through the course of World Wars I and II, and the Korean War. The company also was one of the two motorcycle manufacturers which survived the Great Depression. In 1969 when American Machine and Foundry bought the company the resultant streamlining and slashing of workforce brought the whole company to its knees. On the brink of bankruptcy the company was sold to a group of thirteen investors headed by Vaughn Beals and Willie G. Davidson for $80 million; hence beginning a long track of revival. Today Harley also owns the sports bike manufacturer Buell Motorcycle Company and in 2014 recorded a ground breaking $482 million in income.

BRAND MARKive The cult of Harley… With a minuscule marketing budget of $20 million (out of which $1 million is dedicated for advertising) the brand still manages to hold and engage its patrons and loyalists like no other company can do. The painful decline in quality (mentioned above) did lead to many loyalists migrating in favor of foreign counterparts but it also opened a newer avenue of clean cut, white collared customers who shared the same level of excitement as Harley’s prior hell’s angels. The biggest seller for the label is the emotional connect it creates and that its patrons hold in their minds. Harley owners worldwide have a sub-culture of their own. HOG or Harley Owner’s Group is a ownership club formed in the year 1983 by the company itself. Also, as an initiative to connect with its members, the company gives tours of its museum and production facility. Every five years it also holds an anniversary celebration where riders from all over the world join in at Milwaukee. The top management at Harley strongly believes in creating such a strong loyalty in its consumer base that it proves to be contagious enough to attract thousands of new buyers by itself.

This ideology of making it the centerpiece of a lifestyle has kept the brand going even in its darkest days. The senior executives at Harley are so viscerally connected with the brand that it’s difficult for any other boardroom to match through the world. All senior executives own the bikes and ride alongside their customers when it comes to rallies and celebrations. "We are committed to motorcycling," Richard F. Teerlink, Harley's chairman and former chief executive, said in a recent interview. "It's not hardware; it is a lifestyle, an emotional attachment. That's what we have to keep marketing to." The ‘Literal’ Road Ahead… Following Just-in-time production and keeping inventory in strict check the company has managed to revive the quality it was previously known for. But, on the flip side it has also led to very long lead times and in many situations loss of orders. However, it does not deter the top management as they strongly believe that their quality is the only survival tool that they need. Looking at how brands are going digital, Harley is making no efforts to do the same. With literally minute presence on platforms like twitter, facebook and Instagram, the company is sticking to its roots. Then again, the target group of rugged riders is hardly one which would relentlessly check and update their virtual profiles. Whatever said and done, the ruggedness and pure muscle of a Harley leaves all onlookers drooling for more. It has inspired generations to live the extraordinary and never settle for just so much. Just like its motorcycles and as avid dreamers we continue to wish this brand the smoothest journey ahead.

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COVER STORY Cause Marketing: Making a Difference One Product at a Time Everyone is aware about the problems that people face all around the world, we share pictures, like videos, tweet, re-tweet messages and express strong views and opinions; but what do we do to solve or minimise those problems. We are well aware and we want others to be aware regarding the grave situations faced by many individuals; but how much do we really participate in helping them. Talking about it and actually doing something to solve the problem are very different. Some say they really want to help, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know how. But if we say just buy these shoes and the company will provide a one-time meal to a needy or buy a certain body lotion and one-third of its profit will go towards providing shelter for the homeless, then all you need to do is shop and you are helping the needy through it. This type of strategy is nothing but Cause Marketing or Cause-Related Marketing. Cause marketing is nothing but the cooperative efforts of a for-profit organization along with a non-profit organization to come up with a way to mutually benefit each other. The use of cause marketing has been increasing continuously in the last couple of years.

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It has crossed the $2 billion mark in 2013 itself and still is growing at an exponential phase. A lot of major companies, with the increasing use of internet and consumers preferring online shopping, a lot of the marketing strategies have been designed to penetrate the online platform along with the offline strategies. The shift in trends seen from offline to online has witnessed a lot of cause marketing strategies being implemented to increase revenue. Cause marketing is not a recent phenomenon, it has been existing for a very long time.

One of the greatest campaigns done was in the year 1983 by American Express. The statue was urgent need of restoration and they got associated with it and started the cause marketing trend. They ran a campaign for three months in which they said that with every swipe, i.e. use of the card, they will contribute one cent towards the restoration. If you buy a new card, then they will contribute a dollar for the same. They ran this campaign successfully and raised $1.7 million.

COVER STORY

If you buy a new card, then they will contribute a dollar for the same. They ran this campaign successfully and raised $1.7 million. The percentage increase in the use of the card and new cards being brought was 28%. Hence, this campaign not only benefitted American Express to increase revenue but also helped a cause on the way. This success resulted in a series of cause marketing campaigns in the future by American Express. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Promise, large promise, is the One of sol the cause â&#x20AC;&#x153;marketing of anbiggest advertisement. campaigns that- Samuel spread all over the globe was Johnson. the Live Strong Bands. This campaign was started by Nike along with the Livestrong Foundation which was previously known as the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Lance Armstrong is a cyclist who has been world famous for his dominance in the sport for quite a long time. He is a cancer survivor and started the foundation to help and provide for the treated of cancer patients. His association with Nike stated in 2003 and in 2004 they came up with the Live Strong Wristbands. You buy the wristband and the money goes to charity. Nobody knew that this small band would become the fashion statement of the decade. People from all walks of life were seen sporting the yellow band. Celebrities, athletes, presidential candidates, everyone was seen wearing them.

In the 2004 Tour de France saw a lot of the contenders wearing the yellow band to honour Lance Armstrong. The campaign has been running from 2004 to present and the production of the bands was stopped in 2014. More than 80 million bands have been sold worldwide and more than $500 million has been raised for the foundation. This is one of the most successful campaigns in the history of cause marketing and gave rise to the production of other bands for different causes from different non-profit organizations.

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COVER STORY Yoplait is an international brand of frozen yogurt. They have franchisees all over the world and dozens of yogurt flavours to offer. In 1999, Yoplait decided to form a cooperative cause marketing strategy with Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. What it did was, ask the consumers to mail back the lids of the Yoplait yogurt cartons to the company. The company would donate 10 cents for every pink foil lid that they received. Initially people were not sure whether the consumers would take part in such an offer. But the response was overwhelming, as the , customers were ready to mail the sticky lids to the company to help support the fight against breast cancer. The company then had to limit that in a year it would only donate a maximum of $2 million.

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The campaign has been successfully implemented from 1999 to present. A total of $26 million has been donated till date to the foundation. This has been the longest running cause marketing campaign till date. Cause marketing has spread all over the world. India has been no exception. There are many cause marketing campaign carried out in India. P&Gâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Padhega India Tabhie Toh Badhega Indiaâ&#x20AC;? campaign is one of the biggest cause marketing campaigns. They started the Shiksha campaign along with CRY where when a consumer buys any of their products like Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Pampers, Duracell, etc. a part of the money will go towards the education of children. This campaign was quite successful and a lot of other companies followed the same strategy. Nihar Shanti Amla under Marico also followed the same strategy and got associated with CRY to help raise money for education. Classmate notebooks under ITC also followed the same trend. For every Classmates notebook purchased they would donate a rupee for the education of children. There are many more campaign that support the same cause and have been going on for a long period of time. Education is something that India can easily relate to and therefore is something that most companies want to highlight.

COVER STORY

COVER STORY The newest cause-related campaigns are revolving around hygiene and cleanliness. The Sani Fresh ads regarding the lack of toilets has highlighted a major problem in many parts of India. Dabur, the parent company of Sani Fresh, came up with this campaign on World Toilet Day. They aim was to tackle the problem by contributing a rupee for every bottle of Sani Fresh brought. This would reduce the travel of people in the rural areas for toilets from 700 to just 7 steps and therefore they have aptly named this campaign â&#x20AC;&#x153;700 se 7 kadam.â&#x20AC;? This lack of toilets has been highlighted in other campaigns as well. The Domex ad campaign regarding the lack of toilets focused more on the health problems that are faced because of it. Children without proper toilet facilities are easily susceptible to diseases like diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is a major cause for death of a lot of children in India. Therefore, the requirement for proper toilet facilities is a must. They also pledged to contribute a rupee for every bottle of Domex sold. These campaign are working towards a cleaner and better India and are seeing a lot of support from the general public.

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COVER STORY

COVER STORY Consumers feel better to know that they contributed in some way or the other to an important cause. This is the sole reason for the success of these campaigns. The trend of cause marketing is on its upward trajectory and is most probably going to grow exponentially and the companies who can leverage on it will benefit the most and the cause will also be given some contribution to fulfil the needs of the people. So it is somewhere a win-win situation for all and therefore is a great marketing strategy. Every product sold will make a difference in someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life somewhere.

Cause marketing has a lot of potential and can be implemented for all kinds of products. Some say that this Robin Hood kind of philosophy is not really a philanthropic gesture but just another way for big companies to increase their sales. They say that the amount actually contributed is negligible in front of the profits they earn through these campaigns. Therefore, they are not really supporting a cause, they are just using it to project a better and caring brand and manipulate people to spend more on their products. Whatever the reason maybe, people who support it or who are against it, both have to agree that these campaigns work really well and are some of the best campaigns that these brands come up with.

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Special Story APRIL FOOL HOAXES “In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country’s most historic treasures.” Thus went an ad in six major American newspapers on the 1st of April, 1996. By noon, Taco Bell ‘confessed’ in a press release and called it “The Best Joke of the Day”. It also pledged $50,000 for the Bell’s upkeep. Clever marketing? Light-hearted way to connect with consumers?

Thousands of Americans called up the National Park Service in Philadelphia to register complaints. Many hundreds took to its outlets to protest. If the PR agency, Paine and Associates, is to be believed, the publicity helped Taco Bell generate the equivalent of $25m in advertising expenses, while its actual expenses were only about $300k. Almost exactly ten years later, the National Park Service was once again in the spotlight, after ProShade proposed to give $4m to Mount Rushmore in exchange for being able to put its logo visor on each of the president’s heads.

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SPECIAL STORY The history of April Fools’ Day Hoaxes even in corporate and business contexts is long and colourful. Some of them – such as Burger King presenting the hoax “Left Handed Whopper” burger – have even managed to significantly increase sales. Others – such as Google’s famous Pacman in Google Maps this year or Google Translate for Animals a few years ago – have even succeeded at endearing consumers. But this does not mean everyone has been following suit – Amazon’s home page has since a few days featured Dash Buttons, brand label carrying Wi-Fi enabled buttons that one can keep in cupboards, drawers, racks or shelves and press when one is nearing end of supplies. It has garnered curiosity because of its fortuitous timing. Amazon has responding to April Fool suspicions by curtly admitting that “indeed it is real”. The confusion generated has proved of great advantage to Amazon, not only because it got a wide range of people talking about it but also because it impressed the point that the fact that it was suspected an April Fools’ Day hoax makes a strong case for its success.

Central to success on every year’s other 1st of April challenge is to have all the ingredients of folly in the right amounts -just the right mix of funny, smart and sensible.

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MARKETING FAUX PAS Struck the wrong chord-(think ‘cause’): Groupon Super Bowl XLV Tugging on your audiences’ emotions is not a taboo in the marketing & advertising arena. But, this risk should be taken with much afterthought before the actual plunge in the market. The repercussions? – Offended customers and a tidal wave of negative social media backlash. An estimated 100 million people were witness to Groupon.coms’ Super Bowl XLV debacle. Their 30 second spot which was an attempt at humour, fell flat and blew their Chinese dream to smithereens. So, if you are wondering what possibly could go wrong in 30 seconds then here is how it went- the ad opened with a picturesque coverage of Tibetan landscape while a voiceover gravely announced, “Mountainous Tibet, one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is Timothy Hutton. The people of Tibet are in trouble. Their very culture is in jeopardy.” And abruptly the next moment the scene shifts to him seated in a lively Chicago restaurant, relishing Tibetan food & announcing happily, “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry,” and boasting of the 50% discount he got on the meal thanks to Groupon. Tibet is one of the most sensitive issues in China, plagued by tensions related to religious freedom, human rights, development and political sovereignty. The ad not only came across as insensitive but also as seeming to trivialize the plight of Tibetan people.

The lesson? - Whatever you think about its political & social situation, you should not touch it as a foreign company if you want to run a business there. Groupon sure did learn it the hard way and the only thing that was funny about the ad was that they did so at a whopping cost of $3 million! The catastrophic ad was conceived by ad firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky, known for their viral marketing. The site's founder Andrew Mason, further fanned the fire by defending the ad as a parody of celebrity narrated PSA style commercials that have a social cause attached to them. Groupon itself being associated with fundraising for the Tibet Fund and plans to match up to $100,000 in donation for it. But sadly their televised ads made no mention of the website or the charity drive. Whether Groupon hurt itself bad enough or did this bad publicity too did them good, can be debated. As there is no denying that the publicity generated by the reaction to the ads, made it known to many more people than it had before the Super Bowl.

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Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN Gone Girls - #NotThere

What would be a world without women? This International Women’s Day saw a glimpse, or rather didn’t. On the 8th of March, New York City woke up to empty billboards, magazine covers and ads. The women on all these promotional materials were replaced with white space carrying a URL reading Not-there.org. The campaign, a collaboration between the Clinton Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the ad agency Droga5, essentially meant to draw our attention to a new report from No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project. The initiative seeks to raise awareness that though progress has been made when it comes to full participation of girls and women, but when it Major marketers and media companies viz. comes to gender equality, women are ‘not Unilever, Condé Nast, H&M, Vogue, there’ yet. HarperCollins, Under Armour, Diane von Furstenberg, Refinery29, iHeartRadio and Snapchat, came out in full strength to support the cause.

The campaign also released a 90-second video on the social media with celebrities like Amy Poehler, Cameron Diaz, Jenny Slate and Sienna Miller talking about the need to continue fighting for gender equality. In keeping with the theme of ‘not there’, the women were just audible, not visible. The video showcased their voiceovers in the background of empty rooms and chairs.

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HALL-MARK CAMPAIGN This media stunt has surely lifted the veil and made the gap visible. Citing the report, here are some of the areas where women still need to catch up: • Though there are a plethora of laws to protect women, but they are not properly enforced. •

The gender workforce gap has remained constant since the past twenty years, and women are underrepresented in political office and management ranks.

•

U.S. is one of nine countries in the world that does not guarantee paid maternity leave.

•

And women spend up to 5 more hours on unpaid domestic work than men. It seems we have a long way to go till we actually reach “there.”

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PIONEER WARREN BUFFET

Warren Edward Buffett, an American business magnate, investor and a philanthropist Warren Buffet, probably the name is enough to make any readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes pop! Always among the world's wealthiest people, he has been a pioneer in the investing industry. He is the CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway,an American multinational conglome -rate holding company and has also been considered as one of the world's most influential people in the world. He is our Pioneer for this months issue.

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Warren Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha. As a child itself, Buffett was keen on making and saving money. He sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola and weekly magazines door to door. He worked in his grandfather's grocery store. While he was still in high school, he made money by means of delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps and detailing cars, among other means. This mans interest in the stock market and investing activities started during his schoolboy days where he spent time in the customers' lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father's own brokerage office. An amazing fact is that at the age of 11, he bought shares for himself, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right ELEVEN!

PIONEER Buffets professional career has mainly revolved around the investing and the finance industry where between the 1950s and 1970s, he worked in various roles like investment salesman, as a securities analyst etc. Also, he had a lot of partnerships in his journey and eventually became a millionaire because of his partnerships. And being associated with Berkshire Hathaway he became a billionaire. In 2008 he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of approximately US $62 billion.

Something that Buffet is also well known for is the amount of charity that he makes! Recently he donated $2.8 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and several other charities as part of his annual giving pledge, breaking his own personal record of $2.6 billion, isn't that a huge amount for charity? He also plans to donate all his wealth when he and his wife die. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how humble he is. We have a very good collection of some of his truly inspirational quotes and some of his amazing facts, for you on the next page!

THE MARKSMAN

PIONEER Amazing facts about Warren Buffet:

99 percent of Warren Buffett's wealth was earned after his 50th birthday Gold is a bad investment with no real value, according to Buffett Warren Buffett carries an ancient Nokia flip phone, not into smartphones. He has donated a total of $25 billion to charities Buffett actually bought Berkshire Hathaway so he could fire its CEO

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Bookworm Building Brand Value Ambi Parameswaran The book begins by disclaiming promise of ‘revolutionary’ breakthrough in brand building – it is consciously an attempt to synthesise previous work in branding and marketing. It is aimed at the young marketer as well as the middle manager, belonging specifically to the Indian context, poised to make a mark in the field – both in terms of creating brand value as well as nurturing/developing it. Parameswaran begins by providing a multifaceted description of what exactly brand (the noun) and branding (the verb) imply. He calls the synthetic model he’s developing the Brand Building Pentagon, after the five stages it comprises. The first step, Appraisal, is about fishing around – recognising opportunities and identifying potential. The second, Definition, involves analytically elaborating on the product and pricing. The third, Articulation, is all about implementation – enabling visibility and interaction with potential consumers. It also features a discussion on gestation periods and the inherent uncertainty. The fourth, Measurement, is about calibration, control and correction. Any brand has to deliver on the investment and has its own metrics that cannot be captured merely through financial ratios.

The last step is that of Expansion – not mere growth but the ability to expand by buying or by selling, thus in a way becoming larger than the organisation and yet remaining tied to the organisation’s interests. The final chapter provides practical insight by expounding on Execution – the arduous struggle to not just create a brand that connects with consumers but also maximises shareholder wealth. The book features valuable detours into areas such as positioning and brand audit and also contains four appendices containing everything from quick checklists to sectorspecific data sources, although a consolidated and specific bibliography (as opposed to the generic one) would add even more value. Although the synthesis is well explicated – with decent explanations of all the models he brings under consideration – there are a few errors of historical accuracy that need to be ironed out (such as referring to Kotler as having introduced the 4Ps). On the whole, however, Parameswaran brings multiple innovations to the table that are otherwise not to be found in the traditional works on branding he builds upon.

THE MARKSMAN

FEATURED ARTICLES Brand Kejriwal takes Delhi by storm to win the elections

Simran Pradhan IIM Kozhikode “A Revolutionist is not the kind of man who becomes a Pope, and that man who becomes the Pope has no wish to be a revolutionist”

-AV Dicey Arvind Kejriwal is neither a revolutionary nor is a he a Pope. Yet his influence is as mesmerizing as either of the two. Kejriwal rode to a sweeping victory in the Delhi elections with a record margin of 67/70 assembly seats. No mean feat for a party in just its fourth year of existence. Actually, if viewed in the prevailing context, it’s a remarkable feat considering that the party was facing major crises post it’s previous government debacle and the massive infighting threatening to derail its election chances. So, how then did the AAP win so handsomely? The answer is a no-brainer but the interesting part is how it was achieved.

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How one man could mold the mindset of a collective to ring in “change”. How one man, despite obstacles both internal and external, was able to defend his position and defeat the more experienced and welloiled political machinations. This is the story of Arvind Kejriwal- The Brand that India has loved to consume. To deconstruct Brand Kejriwal, let’s get into the first principles. STP analysis is one of the first exercises a company performs before launching a product. That the Aam Aadmi party is the medium of politics for the brand Kejriwal must be set in place. Kejriwal segmented the masses into welldefined voter groups such as women, rickshaw drivers, conservancy workers, etc. The common thread uniting these groups was the attribute of them being the “Aam Aadmi” and more importantly the “dukhi aadmi”. He carefully crafted a targeting strategy for each of these segments. While housewives were troubled by rising food and commodity prices, women in Delhi were harassed by safety issues and the middle and lower income groups were facing the wrath of electricity politics and water shortage.