Cover page
PG 05
PG 21
PG 18
PG 12
Entire Team’s pic in hexagons.
Dear Readers,
It gives us immense pleasure to present before you the December 2018 Edition of our glorious magazine The Marksman. We have put together a compendium of interesting articles that would help broaden your perspectives on marketing. We have, in this issue, an interview with Mr. Prabhakar Nori, who is a Chief General Manager, Brand and PR at BPCL. He has had an experience of over 37 years in sales and marketing department of lubricants sector and he also handles branding activities for BPCL. For this edition, our cover story is, “Brand Building”. Brand is the first thing a consumer looks at while selecting a particular product, according to Warren Buffet it is the heart and soul of an organization. Brand identity is not only the tagline, advertising message or logo but it is also the core of a business embodying the values, people's perception of company's customer service, in short it is anything and everything. Our cover story takes you through the nuances of Brand Building and paints a perfect picture for our readers! Hearty congratulations to the winner of this month’s Call for Articles, Geetesh Makkar, whose article has been featured in this issue. We would also like to applaud the work of Ahana Batabyal who is the runner up this month. We are overwhelmed by the response that we have received from all of you and encourage you to write to us with the same enthusiasm. We would also like to hear back from our esteemed readers on how you found our November edition. We value your feedback as it helps us to constantly improve. Enjoy Reading! Stay with us on https://theinterfacesimsr.com/magazine/ Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
DECEMBER EDITION
INDEX Tweets
01
It’s All About Ad-itude
03
Marketing Faux Pas
05
Cover Story
07
Pioneer
12
Special Story
14
Brand Markive
18
Bookworm
20
Hall-Mark Campaign
21
Kickstart
22
Featured Article
24
Square Head
29
Industry Expert
30
Navikaran 2018 Special
33
TWEETS TWEETS - VINAYAK SHARMA MUMBAI POLICE USING SARCASM Time and again, Mumbai police has approached new channels/ mediums to raise awareness amongst people about traffic rules. This time was no different, as this time Mumbai Police used brands popularity and uniqueness to aware people about traffic rules. Mumbai police portrayed Johnnie Walker as Johnnie Walked to make people aware about the dire consequences of drink and drive. This was a sarcastic and unique approach used by them to make people understand the importance of traffic rules and this is not the first time Mumbai police has used sarcasm to promote awareness about different rules and regulations, they do this time and again.
Mumbai police portrayed Jonny Walker as Johnnie Walked to make people aware about the consequences of drink and drive.
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TWEETS
TWEETS RISE OF ALTBalaji ALTBalaji offers 22 original shows, good for about 250 hours of bingewatching, to its 3.5 million paying subscribers.
A little over a year after it was launched in April 2017, ALTBalaji has emerged as an unlikely force in the race for subscribers in the streaming-content wars that have pitched global giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime against local players that include Hotstar, Voot, Zee 5 and Eros Now. ALTBalaji offers 22 original shows, good for about 250 hours of binge-watching, to its 3.5 million paying subscribers, compared to Netflix which has just released its first original series, Sacred Games, and Amazon Prime — which released Inside Edge last year. Netflix and Amazon do not break out their India numbers, but ALTBalaji insiders insist they have a better handle on the tastes of India viewers than their international counterparts.
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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
- AMAN PANDEY TELEVISION AD HUL is considered as one of the best FMCG of our country. Unlike other competitors who always looked for urban customers, HUL has always made efforts to market their product to rural customers and target the Indian middle class.
Ogilvy has created a beautiful thought-provoking masterpiece centred around water conservation. This film for HUL by Ogilvy is an appropriate example of effective rural marketing. It shows what happens when an arid Indian village wakes up to a swanky shower cubical in its midst. HUL makes a very important point about avoiding wastage and proper usage of water, it is something which can drive us to pay more attention to this cause. It seeks to remind us the true value of water and the urgency of saving it to sustain life and also provided a glimpse of needy people who are struggling to even get a drop of water.
“Start a little good” campaign by HUL is the beautiful example of educating the country about some really sensitive issues.
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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
PRINT AD This Print ad launched by Pringles is very attractive and creative. The ad looks pretty simple but it made a very good use of the inventiveness to market their product. It is a beautiful example of “Moment Marketing” They made a very good use of the right opportunity and the buzz created by the newly released movie Aquaman of DC. A beautiful illustration of Aquaman’s hand is shown holding the Pringles pack up high saving it from sinking it in water.
“This ad is a perfect example of How Brands make use of the buzz to perform moment marketing.”
As the movie has been released recently and Aquaman is a newly launched super hero of DC so just a glance of the advertisement can attract millennials towards itself. Such creative ads with the right use of trends and right timing is a beautiful example of pull strategy used by companies to pull customers towards their products.
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DECEMBER EDITION
FAUX PAS -ROHAN MENDON
Heineken Light Ad Humanity definitely has taken strides in a positive direction. Things which created a riot back in the past are now tolerated to an extent, if not completely. Yet, there are underlying issues that still cause a spark amongst people which are Religion and Racism. While people have divided opinions on the former, there is a unanimous intolerance for references that are made against the latter. The recent ad by Heineken caused somewhat of an uproar amongst people.
One of the most loved beer brands, Heineken, made an indirect but a very obvious dig at dark skinned people. The ad shows a bartender spotting a young, fair woman who is yearning for a good beverage since she isn’t pleased with the glass of wine placed before her. He then slips a Heineken across the table to ease the woman’s dilemma and help her make the best choice. Sounds like simple ad with a direct message, doesn’t it? Well, it had something outrageous. When the bartender slipped the beer across the table, it passed by three dark skinned people. After it reaches the young woman, the tagline “Sometimes, Lighter is Better” appears, which is followed by the details saying it consists of 99 calories without any compromise on the taste.
When the bartender slipped the beer across the table, it passed through three dark skinned people.
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FAUX PAS
They basically wanted to advertise their new low calorie beer, ‘Heineken Light’. We know Heineken was talking about the beer here, but one obviously didn’t miss the nasty joke it came with. The ad took a wicked turn and didn’t go well with the audience. Heineken thought they’d play subtle with their ‘dark humour’ but boy, were they wrong. Personalities like Chance, the rapper tweeted about how terribly racist the ad was and needless to say, thousands agreed.
Heineken who apologized profusely and took down the ad with immediate effect. If they hadn’t, it probably would lose a lot of African American customers.
The tweet obviously alarmed the marketing team of Heineken who apologized profusely and took down the ad with immediate effect. If they hadn’t, it probably would lose a lot of African American customers who account for a good share of USA’s population. Heineken also honestly explained themselves and cleared out that their intention was not to hurt the sentiments of the African population. However, this was a clear example of how the world still isn’t ready for this kind of humour and it’s probably advisable to bury, even the thought of such kind of jokes, in the sack.
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COVER STORY - ALISHA SINGHVI
BUILDING A BRAND : FROM ZERO TO INFINITY
When done with intention and fulfilling a purpose, a reputable brand value can help one to unveil many opportunities.
What is the ultimate weapon to getting that dream job? Is it that perfect score you got in your school or that college you did your graduation from or is it your résumé perhaps. This is all part of one building one’s own brand value. When done with intention and fulfilling a purpose, a reputable brand value can help one to unveil many opportunities. Very wisely quoted by Warren Buffett, “Your premium brand should better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” Let us take a look into the essentials of brand building: Firstly, you really have to know your target client — this may sound common sense but you would be surprised how many times we have seen even pros skip this crucial step. Know whom you are talking to, what is important to them, what problems do they have, what they need and how they think — find out everything you can about your potential customers and their life. Brand is about clarity — so be really clear about “what it’s all about”. Who you are, what you do, why it matters, how it’s different. Brand is about brevity and focus — so sacrifice. Do not be this and that and everything else as well. Focus! Focus wins! Give them one unique and strong reason WHY?
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COVER STORY
COVER STORY
Brand is a promise made and kept — so give a promise of unique value that you are able to deliver and then deliver it systematically and fanatically. Brand is about consistency, coherence and integrity — so always deliver the same experience, be the same personality at all touch-points both internally and externally. Brand is about long term loyalty — so create a personality with whom people can connect emotionally. There can be no loyalty without relationships, and relationships can happen only between two personalities — one of them being your brand. Brand is a personality — so act like one. Act like a person. Be consistent. Define your brands values and live by them. Communicate with your clients. Be witty. Be helpful. Be smart. Be likeable. Branding is so much about emotions — because emotions actually structure memories. We forget what people say but always remember how they make us feel. So always find ways to create positive emotions about your brand. Strong brands are strong because they always stick inside their core competency — One can not stress this enough — always resist the temptation to lose the focus. All communications, all emotions, all jokes, all offerings has to reinforce and affirm that single, unique, focused core competency. That is the only thing that has value. So Stay Focused.
“Brand is a promise made and kept — so give a promise of unique value that you are able to deliver and then deliver it systematically and fanatically.”
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COVER STORY
BRANDING AND COMMUNICATION The value of a brand rises and falls with its communication. Even strong brands have to communicate their values to be perceived by consumers and sell. Successful brand communication has two clinchers: Enthusiastic customers and satisfied employees. As recently as ten years ago, companies created their own realities with advertising and PR today, employees and customers define the reality and reputation of a brand or company. They talk to others about their experience with the company and its products round the clock. Trust is the greatest asset in all this: It only arises when the customer has a consistent, credible brand experience at all brand touch points. Consistent brand touch point management is therefore an important control tool of brand communication. But the best lever for earning the customer's trust are a company's employees, when they act as (trained) brand ambassadors, and credibly live and communicate the brand values and brand positioning. This can be clearly illustrated by using the Apple brand as an example: The term "APPLE" is used internally as an abbreviation for "approach, probe, present, listen, end" – meaning "approaching" the customer, "probing" him about what he wants, "presenting" a solution, "listening " to feedback, and "ending" the conversation with a heartfelt invitation to come back. So-called "context-based" brand communication has increasingly emerged as a key to success in the digital media world: Proving the relevance of brand messages by systematically aligning them with the context. Companies use targeting techniques for approaching target groups to accomplish this.
"The value of a brand rises and falls with its communicatio n. Even strong brands have to communicate their values to be perceived by consumers and sell.”
DIGITAL BRANDING Your audience is being bombarded with advertising and marketing messages that inhibit your ability to foster a special connection. The same talent or expertise is offered all over the Internet but what separates you from the competition is your story and how it’s presented in the digital space. A brand is the identity, visibility and credibility among it’s consumers who discover, relate to and then interact with a brand on digital platforms. Digital branding is about establishing your brand’s story and presence in the digital space. It is the key to establishing a meaningful connection with your target audience. It’s about using your unique proposition to differentiate yourself and your offerings from the competition. 9 MARKSMAN
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COVER STORY
Brand is considered to be too ephemeral and somehow linked to the superficial rather than to substance.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA Many hold the view that the term brand is firmly fixed in the sphere of marketing and sales, applies to products and is misplaced in the context of corporate communications. In the public relations community the preferred term is reputation. Brand is considered to be too ephemeral and somehow linked to the superficial rather than to substance. Brand managers and CEOs who have risen through the marketing ranks invariably differ. They recognize brand equity, but struggle to define the real value of reputation. Public relations are increasingly about communicating credibly with key audiences who affect business results, such as media analysts, policymakers and policy influencers, customers and shareholders. It is an important element in supporting the power and value of an organization's brands to all stakeholders. All the elements of corporate brand, from tone and personality, functional and emotional benefits, core message and end goal, to its reputation – if fully leveraged with internal and external audiences – can help raise performance and credibility. Enhancing the awareness, understanding and commitment to a brand through public relations is an essential part of any overall strategy aimed at sustaining and raising standards of performance and credibility. 10
MARKSMAN
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COVER STORY
COVER STORY
A brand exists in the mind of the consumer. It is the intangible sum of thoughts and feelings about a particular company, service or product. A company can steer how a brand is perceived by never has full control. “A brand exists in the mind of the consumer” A brand is represented tangibly by branding, which allows the customer to easily identify a product using an identity which is sometimes formalized in a corporate identity document. This can include the color schemes, logo, slogans, typeface and can go into depth of how these all work together. Successful branding focuses on the company brand values which should be obvious from the promotional materials. “Brands are powerful influencing tools” Brands can be very powerful influencing tools, but only once they have been established – and it can take time to build up the necessary trust. When a customer has made up their mind it’s often very hard to persuade them to think differently.
What is your unique selling proposition? Consider all aspects of the marketing and examine what makes your business unique and attractive to the consumer. If these factors lead to a competitive advantage then, you have determined your Unique Selling Points, or USPs. These USPs are major contributory factor to what makes you or your business successful, so should form the central theme to your brand strategy. Most brands concentrate on several of the most powerful and easily communicated proposition benefits in order to create a clearly understood brand message. Hence, Think .. Strategize.. and finally.. Execute!
Brands can be very powerful influencing tools, but only once they have been established – and it can take time to build up the necessary trust.
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PIONEER - Imran Shaikh
Adam D’Angelo
In our 20’s, when most of us are trying to figure out our life, Adam D’Angelo came up with a site that had the answers to literally everything.
Where do you go when you want to find an answer to a question? Google, of course. Where does google take you next? Yes, it’s Quora. In our 20’s, when most of us are trying to figure out our life, Adam D’Angelo came up with a site that had the answers to literally everything. With a net worth of $600 million, Adam D’Angelo is the CEO and Co-founder of Quora. Adam stared his journey at Facebook where he served as Chief Technical Officer. He founded his question and answer site in 2009 with his Facebook colleague Charlie Cheever. Adam attended the ‘Phillips Exeter Academy’ for his high school in 2000, along with Mark Zuckerberg, and afterwards also went on to complete his Bachelors in Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) between 2002-2006. He has been awarded with a silver medal in the International Olympiad in Informatics in 2002, and is also a runner-up in ‘Smartest people in tech’ article by Fortune Magazine. During his time at the Phillip Exeter Academy, Adam and Mark became friends quickly as their wave length matched with each others. Together, they also developed a music suggestion software (that suggested music according to your taste and preference) known as ‘Synapse Media Player’. Synapse in no time became a huge success and got acquired by Microsoft later.
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PIONEER
One thing he learned from Facebook and Mark was “Execution is far more important than an idea” with this thought in his mind he retired from Facebook as the CTO in 2008, and went on to found Quora.
After this big leap, Adam moved to Caltech to pursue his further studies, where he also created the website ‘BuddyZoo’ which allowed users to compare their AIM buddy list with other users. He wanted to help and work with Mark Zuckerberg therefore he had put his studies on hold, he believed that practical knowledge is far more superior than bookish and therefore after completing his education, Adam decided to join and work with Mark Zuckerberg’s initial team that formed The Facebook. One thing he learned from Facebook and Marks was “Execution is far more important than an idea” with this thought in his mind he retired from Facebook as the CTO in 2008, and went on to found Quora. At first, Quora’s business model was nothing special and everyone said it wouldn’t attract people. It’s just another Q&A site similar to the likes of Yahoo Answers, Aardvark, Answers.com, Reddit, etc but in reality, Quora stood out from the others mainly because of the people who answer these questions on the site. They are not just some regular people but they also have proper knowledge and designation in the field of question that has been asked, Today Quora is valued at 1.8 Billion which has 300 Million monthly users and 4,00,0000 topics being discussed on it.
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DECEMBER EDITION
SPECIALSTORY STORY SPECIAL - ASHWATH RAINA
ESCAPING THE DIGITAL PLANNER
Digital drives our planning, but the goal is to
disconnect.
Travel and tourism are best described as a complete market generated by the demand of travellers wanting to find a range of places and things that translate for them into losing their current state of boredom and monotonous routine. It is widely claimed that his total market is now employed by the world’s largest industry. The beginning of the new millennium showed soaring interest in many countries in and the potential of global travel and tourism grew exponentially as an important contributor to their economic developments. Now the world of tourism has found its audience and has found it far and wide. This new-found audience are generally divided into types: The outgoing International tourist, who are inhabitants of places other than that being visited;
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SPECIAL STORY The Incoming international tourist, who are inhabitants of a place visiting other destinations; Home residents visiting places within their own country’s boundaries who take a journey for tourism. Looking back over a few decades, it is easy to see the requisite economic and social trends that have altered the former industrial economies in the developed world into an urban societies. While it has been the story of a few downturns that changed our society, it is also a story of remarkable economic growth, as new forms of economic activity hand in hand with tourism, have emerged to replace those that have been lost. Developments in Information technology and of transport technology have unleashed powerful global economic forces, which have simultaneously sped up the decline of traditional industries in countries that developed them for over a century and facilitated the emergence of new forms of market. Why do we travel? That was the central question one looks to the answer to when she is ready to embark on a journey. Nobody thinks it aloud, yet we ask that once we choose a place, we need to book hotel or plan our itinerary.
Looking back over a few decades, it is easy to see the requisite economic and social trends that have altered the former industrial economies in the developed world into an urban societies.
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SPECIAL STORY Title of the Article may be something of a spoiler when it comes to my opinion. But as with all journeys, I learned a lot of other substance along the way. For the beginning, the very first tourists were inspired by words rather than pictures. The person who brought globetrotting experience to the toiling masses was the Thomas Cook, who put together the first package tours and enticed them via pamphlets and brochures. His glamorous Advertisement offered a promise of escape and a retreat to Industry Labours. Throw the hammer down ‘cause then came the glossy photos. Nowadays, however, our travels are more likely to be guided by social handles from Instagram. Most brands, either a hotel or a resort, have their own Instagram accounts, and the platform bristles with influencers posting envy-inducing photos from corners of the world. To a certain stretch, travel has always been about gloating. It is always stamped with those bragging rights. Travel brands have bought into the storytelling knack of online blogging in a manner that have desolated the traditional marketing. Whether it’s researching hotels or apartments via Airbnb, or booking flights with unlimited resources of websites, many of us spend almost as much time planning our holidays as we do experiencing them. But selective travellers get someone else to do all that for them. The search for Travel agents have died but now given the rise of new travel planners who curate personalised trips for their well-heeled customers. The success of Airbnb has had a major jolt in the hospitality sector. Hotels are going out of their way to provide rooms that feel more like luxury flats, including topmost business hotels. One of the
reasons that such an apartment seems a little more friendly and homely than a hotel room is that it has, is because of an authentically local feel.
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SPECIAL STORY With such demands, the world of travel gave birth to a new concept called Zoku, the first of which opened its doors in Amsterdam recently. It comprises more than hundred loft-style spaces designed as homes away from home, with the added benefit of services provided, as well as office supplies and, alongside the pubs and community grounds and event spaces. There are even hospitality staff known as “sidekicks” who are a mix of concierge and helpers across the lot. One of the reasons that such an apartment comes to seems a little more friendly and homely than a hotel room is that it has, is because of an authentically local feel. The Tag of an “Tourist” doesn’t sit well with new age of tourism. Hotels are now striving to become more connected with their neighbourhood, hanging work by local artisans on their walls and serving local foods in their hotels. This is momentous even for business travellers, because one of the biggest causes of existential malaise among road soldiers is rising up to yet another four walls of cookie-cutter halls with beds. The localisation shift in tourism is also linked to the precedence of wanting an “experience” than being another tourist. Travellers don’t just want to visit, they want to feel a more close and cherished relation with them. Hence the emergence of sites which enable you to dine or explore with locals. Another idea that has presented in travel marketing is the idea of “openness”: the notion of experiencing various and different cultures. The new tourist are demanding with a sense of inquisitiveness and zealousness, who can roam the four corners of the globe, investing in new friendship and imbibing new learnings and understanding of the people in these other countries and people of different natives.” Ironically, once we are in those places, among the earliest things most of us wants to do is disconnect. Today the internet is full of guidance about how and where to implement your digital detox and “Indeed, BuzzFeed just ran an entire page about the best destinations to fall off the grid”(yes! It is meant with sarcasm), but What does it all amount to? Escape! That is where every new development seems to be driving at, and that is where I rest my case.
Travellers don’t just want to visit, they want to feel a more close and cherished relation with them. Hence the emergence of sites which enable you to dine or explore with locals.
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DECEMBER EDITION
BRAND MARKIVE - ANURADHA IYER
LAMBORGHINI Lamborghini had a major role in serving the Air Force during World War II, later, had taken old military machines and re-purposed them with tractors.
When you say cars, you probably know which ones are the better makes and models. But an average person can't wrap their head around all the enormous variations in the car names. Lamborghini is such a top notch brand, every other person dreams to own one. It is indeed a fascinating story to hear what motivated Ferruccio Lamborghini to come up with a luxury car manufacturing business. It all started with a beef between Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari. Coming from a family of grape farmers, he did not share the farming passion like others; instead, he was more interested in mechanics and automobiles. Lamborghini had a major role in serving the Air Force during World War II, later, had taken old military machines and re-purposed them with tractors.
After a huge success with his eponymous tractor-manufacturing company, Lamborghini decided to reward himself by purchasing a Ferrari sports car. But the clutch of his new possessed Ferrari proved troublesome and so, he called for a meeting with Ferrari to offer the technical solution. Ferrari being the top dog of the car business, didn’t appreciate the young tractor mechanic exposing his imperfections, thereby denying to accept his solution. This rivalry between the two created a spark inside Ferruccio that turned his hobby into a passion. He named the company Lamborghini with the logo featuring a bull which represents his zodiac sign,Taurus.
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BRAND MARKIVE
Since 2014, Lamborghini has come up with several versions of The Italy based luxurious sports car models like HURCAN 610-4, Aventador supercar SV roadster, which combines high performance with elegance manufacturer and vanity of a roadster, Hurcan Avio, inspired by aeronautics delivered 3815 with innovative design and perfection which has become the cars to its object of desire for all the collectors. customers It has also been in a drive to rapidly expand its reach to all the worldwide, a countries. In 2015, Lamborghini comprised of 40% market 10% increase share in India by selling 55 cars. from previous 2017 was a record-breaking year where this Italy based year. supercar manufacturer delivered 3815 cars to its customers worldwide. This indicated a 10% increase in the sales from the previous year. This has been possible with the help of extensive dealership network comprising of 145 showrooms in 50 countries. The brand is also increasingly taking initiatives to enhance its brand presence and generate awareness among the youth of the world. Sales of Hurcan and Aventador models contributed for the significant growth in sales for the year 2017. Automobili Lamborghini Asia Pacific CEO Matteo Ortenzi said ,�The company's products, coupled with India's economic growth and rapidly improving infrastructure, gives us the opportunity in three to four years to be in a different level than the one we are in today".
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BOOKWORM - SHAIVEE SHEKHAR
HOOKED : HOW TO BUILD HABIT- FORMING PRODUCTS There is no dearth of books which talk about the applications of behavioural science and cognitive psychology. However, this masterpiece by Nir Eyal is a must read as it answers a simple yet thought provoking question – ‘How do successful companies create products that people simply can’t put down? ‘What makes a product or service so compelling that it becomes hardwired into our daily habits?’ The author answers these simple questions through a simple Hook Model – a four step process that when embedded into products evokes positive user behaviour and customer engagement with the product without the need of ‘shouting-from-therooftops-advertising’. After having drawn useful insights from popular research into consumer and human behaviour, Nir has sought to answer the question about engagement through various practical anecdotes and a simple step by step process for building sticky products. Insightful, actionable and with riveting anecdotes on popular products and services and behind the curtain insights that they use. There are also summary points and questions to make us assimilate what we have learnt. This concise, crisp 200 page read will surely get you ‘hooked’ and is a must read for product managers, consultant , start up founder, designer and marketing enthusiasts alike. Insightful, actionable and with riveting anecdotes on popular products and services and behind the curtain insights that they use.
20 MARKSMAN
DECEMBER EDITION
HALL-MARK CAMPAIGN - MOHAK SHAH
Vicks- Touch of Care
While most companies nowadays strive to cement their position in the market in order to increase their product sales, once in a while do companies like Vicks come along that try to portray contemporary messages that matter a lot in today’s world. Vicks came out with a new heart-warming campaign ‘Touch of Care’. It shows the importance of care while challenging and seeking to redefine what family is in modern society. The definition of family has changed over the years in society, and so has the need to change to mindsets of The people in society. Earlier the population was buttonholed in the realm campaign of two traditional genders and sexual preferences. Gone are the days portrays when it was illegal to be anything outside of these two options. The the idea campaign portrays the idea that ‘Family is where Care is’ showing the that real life story of an orphan and her newfound ‘mother’. ‘Family is For over 50 years, the Vicks Brand has catered to families in India. where However, family today is not always as traditionally defined as it once Care is’ was. With the changing lifestyle across India and an increasing number showing of people living away from their homes–the idea of family now goes far the real life beyond just biological connections or sharing a surname. Vicks has story of an therefore adopted this bold and progressive stance- that above all else, orphan and it is care that is the ultimate definition of what a family is. her The Ad Film shows an orphaned girl narrating a story about her family newfound and how her mother helps her with a lot of different things. The story ‘mother’. is told in the first person by the girl Gayatri herself. The film beautifully captures how Gauri cared for Gayatri as her own, against all odds, with deep passion and love. The story portrays the challenges that Gauri faces from the rest of society, as a transgender woman. This campaign wonderfully shows how society needs to adapt and change its mindset towards others. The ad film empowers the minority groups and questions our conventional understanding of a mother and what constitutes a family. 21 MARKSMAN
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KICKSTART - AISHWARYA JAIN
BIG BASKET BigBasket is India’s largest online supermarket and allows a customer to walk away from the drudgery of grocery shopping and welcome an easy relaxed way of browsing and shopping for groceries. This December, the online grocery startup completed seven years, established in 2011. BigBasket has broken the myth that e-commerce will not work for FMCG. They have grown slowly and steadily, with negligible discounts and a strong business model. With fill rates and on-time delivery over 99%, their performance is the best even among global retailers. They have invested heavily in marketing and creating infrastructure to help maintain the focus on customer experience.
BigBasket is today present in over 25 cities, and is shifting focus from further expansion to deeper penetration. Online food and grocery penetration is less than 1%, suggesting that the category is still in its infancy in India and underscoring the potential opportunity in the Rs 2.6-lakh-crore market. BigBasket today boasts of over four million registered customers, 2.5 million transacting customers and sales of Rs 150 crore per month. The service quality serves as the reason of such huge numbers being achieved. BigBasket compensates a customer every time it is not able to deliver on its promise thus ensuring that there is consistent focus on raising the bar higher. BigBasket has further innovated by introducing android and iOS mobile apps which allow customers to order groceries on the go. Features such as “Smartbasket” predicts what a customer needs more often and reduces the time-toorder to “within 5 minutes”. 22 MARKSMAN
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KICKSTART
The highest churn is from trials one, two and three, and the retention rate at platinum is at 95 percent. The BigBasket team was concerned that people weren’t buying from them every time, but only once or twice a month. This can be attributed to high inertia, people being unwilling to shift from their normal buying patterns simply out of habit. The team, to ensure stickiness, built a ‘Cocaine’ model. The customers are classified under trial one, two and three, and silver, gold and platinum. Trial one refers to the first order, the second order moves to trial two and trial three is the third order. On the fourth order, the customer moves to silver, and this is when the team knows they have got a customer. The highest churn is from trials one, two and three, and the retention rate at platinum is at 95 percent. So the team focuses on getting the customer to move higher up the chain by incentivizing them. They came out with a series of offers and discounts that could motivate people to order online.
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DECEMBER EDITION
FEATURED ARTICLE - GEETESH MAKKAR SIBM PUNE
Pursuit of Phygital Business: Rise of Click & Brick
Just a few years ago, ecommerce was booming in India all across and every other business seemed to join the .com bandwagon.
Businesses today have become smarter and pro-active with time. They understand their customers’ pain points and convenience before they could switch allegiances to their competitors. This is rather a very interesting time to be in retail sector where the lines across distribution channels are blurring. Just a few years ago, e-commerce was booming in India all across and every other business seemed to join the .com bandwagon. But given the complexity of Indian market(s) and diaspora of endconsumers, even businesses that started totally online are now expanding their offline presence continually.
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FEATURED ARTICLE
FEATURED ARTICLE
The hybrid business model of newer businesses aims to maximize its profitability by leveraging the pro’s of both models. This can be seen across the service or product based industry. As a customer, anyone is smart enough to buy goods from both offline and online channel. A consumer’s buying decision is based on product type, availability, sense of urgency and market competition. Some of the examples of click & brick businesses are illustrated below: Brands have realized that customers especially millennials do expect variety of products required infused with an immersive and intuitive experience while they are on a shopping spree. It was ironic to see Amazon opening up a physical retail book store in New York City and a dozen more stores as a part of its expansion across US. Such stores are also aimed to demonstrate its in-house product range - gadgets like Kindle, Echo, Alexa or a TV Fire Sticks. A brick & mortar book store works as a perfect bait for Amazon to acquire consumers without them realizing that they came looking primarily for books. But they return with a memory and possibly a successful product demo.
Brands have realized that customers especially millennials do expect variety of products required infused with an immersive and intuitive experience while they are on a shopping spree.
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FEATURED ARTICLE
FEATURED ARTICLE
Many such ‘Digital-First’ brands have expanded or planning to expand in the offline space (O2O – Online to Offline) to capture customer-base who prefers to gain the best of both the worlds: The objective is to create a flawless Phygital (Physical + Digital) experience for them. Eventually, customer emerges as the biggest winner. •
Lenskart – Omni-channel business model to maximize profitability and enhance customer experience by adding 250 franchisee stores every year
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Xiaomi – Diversified from a niche & exclusively online electronics brand to a lifestyle brand by entering into multiple categories of products (luggage, air purifier, e-vehicle) sold at their offline stores called MI Home Store
Many such ‘Digital-First’ brands have expanded or planning to expand in the offline space to capture customerbase who prefers to gain the best of both the worlds.
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Amazon Go – Aims to open fully automated 3,000 hi-tech brick & mortar stores in next three years
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Pepperfry – High engagement with the customer by being platform agnostic
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YepMe, Myntra, Nyka – Fashion and accessory brands are rapidly growing their physical footprint in top metro cities 26
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FEATURED ARTICLE
FEATURED ARTICLE
The future of retail in India is not limited to any one channel to sell. Brands are hungrier than ever to take on untapped or underpenetrated markets such that they’re making their products available across online channels as well. The transition of O2O is not limited to online-tooffline but various offline brands have also expanded their operations online: • Walmart – Acquired 77% stake in leading e-commerce company -Flipkart for $16 Billion to compete with Amazon head-to-head in the most promising market across the globe • Future group – India’s largest listed retailer is soon launching a website for Brand Factory in 2019 and is also in talks with strategic alliance with Amazon as a countermeasure to Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart • Future group has also acquired 29.9% stake in Koovs to sell 30 of its leading fashion brands online by leveraging this e-commerce platform • Amazon – Bought 5% stake in Shoppers Stop to ensure exclusive Amazon Experience Centres across its 80 stores in India. • Alibaba – Partnered with Reliance Retail and with its significant stake in PayTM Mall, it stays strong in the pursuit to capture a pie of Indian retail market
The future of retail in India is not limited to any one channel to sell. Brands are hungrier than ever to take on untapped or underpenetrated markets such that they’re making their products available across online channels as well.
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FEATURED ARTICLE
FEATURED ARTICLE
Impact on Indian retail The amalgamation of established players going digital via alliances or acquisitions or digital start-ups expanding their physical footprint will disrupt businesses with traditional or myopic approach. It will result into an enhanced consumer experience and indicates bright future prospects for the retail industry. The hybrid business model can lead to reduction in showrooming & web rooming (or cart abandonment), higher brand awareness and recall and better product marketing. Brands which prove better at leveraging technology like in-store pick-up or check-sizes arrangement, geolocation-based promotions etc. will gain a competitive edge in today’s fiercely competitive Indian retail market.
Due to deeper penetration of smart-phones, enhanced internet connectivity along with an evolution of consumer behaviour and their overall preferences; both foreign players and Indian retail giants are at the top of their game.
Final Thoughts The offline v/s online debate may have settled but businesses have also understood that brick & mortar stores will co-exist in harmony with their e-commerce counterparts. Due to deeper penetration of smart-phones, enhanced internet connectivity along with an evolution of consumer behaviour and their overall preferences; both foreign players and Indian retail giants are at the top of their game. Indian retail market continues to attract newer consumers – ones who are clear on what he/she wants. Brands also look forward to leverage technology, analytics and market insights to its best advantage to create loyal consumer ecosystems where consumer shopping experience is valued across the platforms.
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SQUARE HEAD SQUARE HEAD - AMIRTHAVARSHINI P
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INDUSTRY EXPERT - YASH WAGH MR. PRABHAKAR NORI Q. What are the roles that you perform in BPCL? The oil and gas industry is amongst the six core industries in India.This industry is a major factor for the growth being witnessed in the Indian economy today.The natural gas and petroleum sector, which is inclusive of refining, transportation, and marketing of these products, contributes about 15% to India's GDP.
As in charge of Brand & Public Relations of BPCL (2nd largest oil company in India), my main responsibility is to ensure the enhancement of Brand Equity and Reputation Management of the organisation. Besides, I serve as one of the main links of the organisation with ministry in various nation building activities like Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana, Naya Bharat, Swatchata Hi Sewa etc. Q. What are some of the opportunities for an MBA student in this sector? The oil and gas industry is amongst the six core industries in India. This industry is a major factor for the growth being witnessed in the Indian economy today. The natural gas and petroleum sector, which is inclusive of refining, transportation, and marketing of these products, contributes about 15% to India's GDP. India is the 6th largest consumer of petroleum and has huge investments in oil fields located abroad such as Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Ivory Coast, Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia, Iraq, Qatar, and Australia etc‌Consumption of petroleum products is growing at a rapid pace. As compared to 148 MMT of product consumed in the country in the year 2012, it is estimated to touch 210MMT in the fiscal year 2018-19. In view of this, there would be a huge demand for MBA students in various public sector and Private sector organisations in down stream ,mid stream and upstream fields of oil industry. 30
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Q. What according to you are some common marketing mistakes that brands commit in haste? Many brands did not get the response they were expecting from their promotional campaigns due to certain aberrations in their campaigns: •
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Being Too Universal In Your Approach : While the product/service might have a universal appeal, it does not cater to every local market you want to target. The message can be lost sometimes because of translation. Not defining unique selling proposition. Failing to evolve Running after new customers rather than generating loyalty among their existing customers
The biggest mistake is not understanding the racial, cultural implications in their ad campaigns : For ex in the ads of Heineken beer, Dominos, H&M fashion wear etc. they had to abruptly call of the campaign. Q. Since you have invaluable experience in the field of marketing, what advice would you like to give to an aspiring MBA student? • • • •
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Become a leader not a manager. Inculcate the quality of leading people with trustworthiness. Trust in the abilities of the people working for you, and provide the independence warranted by that trust. Confidence and effective communication skills are hallmarks of a good leader. Habitual reading, including of biographies and history, is one of the best ways to continually improve a businessperson’s knowledge, skills, and effectiveness. Writing, speaking, and presentation skills are very important for a successful leader.
Habitual reading, including of biographies and history, is one of the best ways to continually improve a businessperso n’s knowledge, skills, and effectiveness
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INDUSTRY EXPERT
INDUSTRY EXPERT Q. If you have to describe yourself and your organization in one word each, what would those words be and why? Organisation : Innovative:BPCL is always differentiates itself form other organisations for bringing path breaking initiatives in the oil sector. For ex :- Speed/PFs/Smartfleet/IN&OUT stores/Various offerings as per customer segmentation in Urban/Rural/Highway outlets. Self : Trust worthiness:Being a part of the organisation for the last 37 years, the culture of the organisation has rubbed on to me and displays in various activities/roles have been offered so far in the organisation. For ex :- Addressing various customer redressal issues, Revamping offerings at Retail outlets, Premium product SPEED and HI Speed revivals.
BPCL is always differentiates itself form other organisations for bringing path breaking initiatives in the oil sector
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Navikaran 2018
- Dhruv Paliwal
Navikaran 2018: An Embodiment of Marketing 4.0 Year after year, Navikaran is a great success story. The annual marketing fest of KJ Somaiya Institute of Management & Research has always been an epitome of current trends in the ever-changing world of marketing. So was this year’s theme - Marketing 4.0. The two-day fest took place on 20th and 21st of December and it was an action packed affair with Ranniti, the flagship case study competition, on day one, followed by Markathon, Marketing Maze & Panel Discussion by Industry leaders on the day two.
The powerful keynote speech by Mr. Prabhakar Nori, the Chief General Manager Branding and Public Relations at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, heralded the final round of Ranniti, where all the participants from various top notch B-Schools benevolently benefitted from Mr. Nori’s talk based on 34 years of experience. Mr. Nori shared how BPCL, the title sponsor of the event, evolved as brand ‘Energising Lives’ right from Marketing 1.0 to the era of Marketing 4.0. Not just that, this eventful day fortuitously coincided with the birthday of our beloved faculty guide Prof. Isaac Jacob Sir, and was celebrated with pomp and fervour. 33 MARKSMAN
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Post lunch, the final 14 teams, that battled it out with other 330+ teams across India, made it to campus round, started showcasing their out of the box ideas to the judges, to win the highly coveted prize of INR 1 lakh. As presentations approached from team 1 to team 14, boiling them down to the top 3 teams was becoming ridiculously difficult for the judges. After 6 hours of the comprehensive presentations followed by intense discussion among the judges, the final 5 teams emerged, who were further asked one question; one decisive question. The final five then brainstormed their ideas on the runtime. Everyone waited with bated breath, their sights were on the coveted cash prizes worth 50K, 30K and 20K respectively for the top 3 teams. The Knights led their army to the battleground. Finally, champions emerged, the battle was incredibly close- The Incredibles stood third, the second position was secured by Parmanu while the throne welcomed SanVibes with open arms.
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Navikaran 2018
After the dramatic but smooth end of day-1, day 2 was bigger and busier, encapsulating Markathon, Marketing Maze and Panel Discussion. Markathon challenged its participants to showcase their branding acumen while going through an array of multiple steps that’ll revolve around bidding and branding. Esteemed judges, Karan Shah – Brand Manager at Unilever, Amit Vishwakarma – Senior Brand Manager at DBS and Ami Salva Hemani – Social Media Trainer and Speaker, judged the participating teams in the final round. The participating teams were allocated a budget to purchase brand elements and present their branding plans to the jury. Team CID and Jedi Masters grabbed the first and second positions respectively. While Markathon was ascending to the final level at its pace, Marketing Maze was meandering to find its winner at the same time.
This was a snakes and ladders game with a marketing twist to it. On every block, the team was asked questions and given a task to move forward in the game. Every ladder presented an opportunity, but obviously, it was not that easy, because the bigger the jump the tougher the task, to access it. But participants donned their thinking hats to escape the maze to grab the glorious prize of INR 15K. Finally,Team Amigos emerged victorious.
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Eventually, the end was near, what better way to conclude the fest than having a thought-provoking discussion with a panel of thought leaders in the arena of marketing. Esteemed panellists, Mr. Brijesh Munyal – Joint Managing Director at Ethinos; Mr. Hitesh Gossain – Founder & MD at Onspon; Mr. Upendra Namburi Ex. Chief Innovation Officer at Bharti AXA General Insurance and Mr. Krishna Gopal – Global Head, Enterprise Business Solutions at Tech Mahindra, presented profound insights and helped students to delve deeper in the new age marketing ideas. Like marketing wizard Philp Kotler’s brainchild, 4 A’s of Marketing 4.0, Mr. Munyal introduced students with 3V’s of Marketing in Indian Context – Voice, Vernacular & Video. He asserted how non-English interactive content is driving behaviour of the ‘fast & curious’ Indian consumer. Appending to this idea, Mr. Upendra presented how understanding and studying our own natural biases could help new age budding marketers to understand new age consumers. Agreeing to this, Mr. Gopal introduced the term ‘Data Arbitrage’ in B2B marketing, which means knowledge void between Seniors and Subordinate of an organization, has always affected machinery to work at its full efficacy and how the digital intervention is decreasing the data arbitrage to the next level. Apropos was the word of the evening, eliciting the piquant flavor Marketing 4.0 at the conclusion.
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Navikaran 2018
Team Interface of KJ SIMSR, expressed heartfelt gratitude to event’s title sponsor BPCL, Food Sponsors Wow Momos, and associate sponsors Kaya Skin Clinic and Topline Consulting Group, for their tremendous support. Team also thanked Dr. Monica Khanna Ma’am for gracing this event with her presence, Prof. Isaac Jacob sir, for his support and guidance to Team Interface and esteemed marketing faculty for taking out time from their hectic schedules and joining us. Special gratitude to Prof. Vibha Bhilawadikar ma’am for showing her tremendous support and assisting tirelessly for Ranniti 2018.
Another grand occasion. Another feather in the account’s hat!With this zeal, Team Interface is already counting down to Navikaran 2019.
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CALL FOR ARTICLES FOR MARKSMAN JANUARY 2018 “Writers are always selling somebody out" --Joan Didion The Marksman provides one and all the opportunity to discover their hidden talents in the literary field through the call for articles. For the upcoming month, the articles can be sent on any of the following topics:
• Sports Marketing • Word Of Mouth Marketing – Pros & Cons • Martech – Changing Digital Marketing * Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all the references are clearly mentioned. Kindly follow the guidelines given below: 1. One article can have only one author. 2. Your article should be approximately 800 – 850 (strictly adhere to the word limit). 3. The article must have relevant pictures that can be used to enhance the article. 4. Font Type: Gill Sans MT 5. Font Size: 14 6. Send in your articles in .doc/.docx format to marksman.simsr@somaiya.edu 7. Subject Line: Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year. 8. Kindly name your file as: Your Name_ Topic. The best adjudged article will be given a Winner’s certificate. The First Prize Winners will be awarded Rs. 500 Cash Prize. Deadline For Submission Of Article: 25th January , 2018
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