The Marksman December 2022 Issue

Hallmark Campaign

MARKSMAN

E D I T O R ' S N O T E

"Above all, you want to create something you’re proud of."

Sreya Biswas

12 is a number of Perfection. December is a month of completeness, marking the end of every year And what better way to put an end to this amazing year than getting an opportunity to present one's thoughts and perspective by igniting the fuel writing within! This is exactly what we have done in this edition

This edition talks not just about the generic style of marketing, but also the elements of marketing we are deeply attached to Be it a fond memory like 'Nutella' or the influence of the influencers or the looking forward to a futuristic element of marketing

Read on to "Looking Beyond" to know more to get a taste of the past, present and future of marketing and about how the world is changing with the evolution and discovery of new trends and techniques by which companies are now targeting their audience

CFA WINNERS:

Your outstanding articles never cease to astound us The winner and runners-up of the December Edition of the Call for Articles deserve our hearty congratulations! 1 2

Winner - Parva Chandarana, K J Somaiya Institute of Management

Runner up - Kristin Borgohain, K J Somaiya Institute of Management

The inspiring pieces of work can be discovered in the "Featured Articles" section We were pleasantly surprised by the response, and we hope the same for the future because we think you will engage with the same zeal as in the past

Prathamesh Jaju

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Kickstart

Flybig is fueling the dreams of millions of Indians living in tier 2 cities. As it started in COVID it is a prime example of "Bad decisions don't always result in bad outcomes"

Cover Story

Digitalization, Digital Marketing These are terms we are all too familiar with the growing world of marketing. But is that the limit or is there something that goes beyond digital marketing

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Brand Markive

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Nutella- A taste we all love and relate to A scoop we all crave in each and every mood A power none can resist But how did Nutella acheive this feat? Let us find out together. 04

Marketing Buzz

#sponsored #ad #promotion are some tags we are all too familiar with on our social media pages of our famous celebrities or influencers. But how did they attain so much power?

More than Marketing

We cannot possibly imagine a household that does not consist of stainless steel, while its grand presence remains invisble to our naked eyes, it has captured a market beyond our imagine and thats what we how they achieved it using Jindal steels

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Hallmark Campaign

Dove a brand that became known to all to treat each and every person qually irrsepctive of their colour, race, size, hair type. A rand that focused on bring out the confidence within

Pioneer

Influencers launching brands is not a new concept, but how a young influencer named Emma Chamberlain at mere 21 years of age started her coffee business erupting from her love for for coffee is something to look forward to for sure.

Marketflix and Chill

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Wednesday’s child is full of woe. While we certainly cannot get rid of the woes of the exam, we cetainly can bring you what some might say 'twisted sense of entertainment'. 09

Humans of Marksman

Devang Joshi, a senior executive at Viral Fission talks about how you can target more people on an online platform He is here to share to share his knowlegeable insights about how to grow your business on an online platform

Marketing Trivia

It's time to check your Brands general knowledge How much do you keep up on your daily trends and tricks of your favorite brand if you cannot finish this fun crossword?

flybig

Taking dreams to destinations

flybig is a regional airline based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. It is promoted by Big Charter Private Limited and started its operations in December 2020. Pilot turned entrepreneur Sanjay Mandavia aimed for an airline that would connect the tier 2 cities in India as it bets on travel demand from smaller cities to grow its business

flybig works in conjunction with the UDAN initiative to bring people comfort to people who until now had no option but to use time consuming and inconvenient modes of transportation flybig ensures that the towns and cities of India that were still disconnected through air are now accessible flybig intends to be the enabler for Tier 2-3 cities in India.

flybig operates on several weekly flights on routes under the Centre's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) which connects small towns and cities and includes government support in the form of viability gap, funding, besides tax concessions.

"Bad decisions don't always result in bad outcomes", and flybig proves this as it started in COVID and starting an airline in COVID is the least preferable situation But just like its brand name, it comes with "big" dreams, flybig plans to cap on the idea of being an affiliate airline According to a research report on regional air travel, if small regional airports are connected to a major regional hub, and a cost effective

-Hafsa Mukhtar

airline emerges, there would be an affiliate airline in India At present, flybig with Guwahati as its hub connects Guwahati to eight destinations which includes Tezu, Pasighat, Rupsi, Agartala, Dibrugarh Kolkata, Patna and Imphal.

Although, the airline faced several hurdles initially, it did not give up and recently it's been partnering up with various organizations to further actualize its strategic goals. EaseMyTrip exclusively sells flybig tickets on its platform All the bookings of flybig through any other online portal will also go through EaseMyTrip as both organizations see eye-to-eye on the growth of regional air travel. Through, the partnership flybig aims to grow its customer base and provide a hassle-free booking experience. This will also help flybig earn the trust of people as EaseMyTrip has already attained loyalty and trust.

flybig also became the 1st airline to ever sign a partnership to reduce emissions and transition to a zero-emission aircraft fleet which it did with Monte in November, 2022 Monte will not only lease two de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (DHC-6-400) aircraft to flybig but also assist flybig in exploring the most suitable zero-emission propulsion technology and offer financing for the conversion of flybig's fleet once the technology is approved and certified The initiative will also help reduce the cost of flying with flybig.

Companies like flybig help a country like India to take a few steps towards development and this makes the customer base cheer them on as they overcome their shortcomings to attain success

Recently, flybig has been eyeing acqusition of Otter series planes They see it as a strategic asset to provide competitive thrust and open a niche travel segment as it can also be used over water to promote tourism, opening up access to new commuter as well as coastal and islandhopping routes.

flybig comes with the promise of small things that can make big changes and we await with unmatched enthusiasm

Looking beyond Digital Marketing

What actually lies behind Digital

Marketing

-Soham Sheth

Due to lockdowns and the replacement of closed physical establishments with digital ones, digital marketing experienced a boom in 2020 The value of an online presence is expected to persist beyond the epidemic. However, obtaining consumer trust in data utilization is still an issue, and marketers must come up with more inventive ways to develop relationships through their businesses As life after the pandemic settles in, the consumer journey is reaching more touchpoints than ever, and marketing technologies are expected to play a significant part in the future development of individualized crosschannel experiences

It is estimated that over $600 billion is spent on advertising annually in the entire world. Using data-focused technologies, it is important to move away from relying solely on social media and toward more organic methods to maximize the value of digital marketing The data that marketing teams have at their disposal has changed. The use of third-party data has grown increasingly complicated legally, which has an effect on the use of second-party data.

Marketing teams may handle client data in an ethical, trustworthy manner, as well as make use of the upcoming digital marketing trends

Ethical considerations:

Organizations from all industries need to think more about how they can keep customers' trust in light of the recent data breaches and privacy problems involving major internet companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook. Since the majority of the marketing teams' resources come from behavioral insights rather than proactively asking users for their data, there is still work to be done before most teams can realize the benefit of zero-party data. Use of less data "in certain ways" would be the way ahead to conduct business in the most ethical manner feasible and to be able to acquire and operate from zeroparty assets

In reality, consumers won't be eager to provide you with as much information as they do now unintentionally Marketing teams must know how to use this with the appropriate permissions. First-party data must be used wisely because it is the only source of scalability. Due to the ongoing work on data interlinking and the usage of CDPs (consumer data platforms), it is continuously observed that many organizations lack the infrastructure necessary to comprehend first-party data. When adopting CDP solutions, complexity in larger organizations tends to be higher than in small and medium-sized enterprises, which means that the integration and linkage of data sources take longer to complete.

However, once this is done, it will be simpler to actualize actualize the muchneeded consumer transparency. In most firms, there is data that shows what you're doing and how you're doing it, but some of it is stored in silos, leaving employees across the organization in the dark about what their co-workers are doing with user data.

Emerging marketing trends

Data-driven marketing strategies are expected to keep developing and improving in the coming five years in terms of their understanding of consumer behavior. However, marketing teams will

need to establish a balance between intuition and user experience

Improved use of AI and machine learning can be a likely area of growth when considering the largest marketing trends that may appear in the near future This might be used to observe how companies and campaigns are managed and determine how they could be more successful on a global scale. This is a trend that can be seen extending beyond marketing to the entire company.

It will be necessary to address growing concerns about data platforms run by major businesses like Amazon and Google. These platforms are becoming more common They look at your searches and purchases, and now that Google Home,

Alexa, and Google Nest are available in homes, they also look into those What we'll more frequently observe is that these businesses will want to bring the point of sale near the platform so that customers can make a straight purchase from a Google shopping ad. While directto-ad testing is already taking place on Instagram in the US, which may reduce friction, businesses will essentially become distributors as many branding responsibilities vanish.

The adoption of optimized data architecture is a prerequisite because it's the only way for scaled businesses to succeed in this new reality

The future though looks bright for digital marketing. Constant evolutions in technology and its integration with marketing will certainly make digital marketing, the most popular marketing strategy in the coming years Ease of digital promotions, growth of influencer marketing, the rise of shorter video content, the rapid growth of web networking, the use of chatbots in communication, the rise of AI, voice optimization and preference for personalization and customization, growth towards metaverse and meta marketing, etc are the popular trends to be looked for in coming years for digital marketing.

Nutella, a jar full of joy!

-Kaizeen Munshi The sweet solution to a tough problem

No right. It is no more just a spread but the star ingredient of waffles, sandwiches and even dosas! The spread is part of the chocolate world’s most famous brand, Ferrero

In 1946, the doom of World War 2 had caused a deep economic downfall globally And this evoked Pietro Ferrero of Italy to do something about the shortage of cocoa What he made was then simply loved by the children and locals! Blocks of chocolate mixed with loads of hazelnut It was called, “Supercremia Gianduja”, and was used between slices of bread. The word, “Gianduia” is the Italian name for a

dessert made of cocoa and sugar

The recipe had become a delight for so many and continuous improvements finally gave it the shape of a paste with a creamier texture. This churned into something so irresistible, Nutella! The brand then started with expansion, catering to the markets of Germany, France and Italy With some great advertising campaigns, it could even crack the market of Britain which was indeed a tough nut to crack

Rapid expansion led to supply issues of hazelnuts but Nutella was never a quitter

In fact, it went on as far as planting its trees. This also helped customers create trust about its purity and genuineness

Can you resist a jar of Nutella!

solution to get children out of bed early morning

Globally the company has a strong digital presence through its various forms of community engagements on social media This has helped it achieve a cult-like status as the go to delicious spread for satiating the sweet craving And that helps us believe in the fact that one jar of the chocolate hazelnut spread is sold every 2.5 seconds!

All in all, a great taste, strategic planning, adapting its promotion as per the region and adding an emotional flavour to its marketing has helped the brand captivate millions of hearts

Nutella has a different ingredient mix formula as per different countries. In India, the taste of Nutella has been completely Indianised Don’t be surprised to find Nutella in chapattis, spread over dosas, and stuffed inside samosas! Nutella in lassis and barfis also makes for an irresistible combination. Brand collaborations with chefs such as Vikas Khanna, especially during the festive duration, have enabled it to come up with specialty dishes, captivating the attention of so many Indian mothers. Its promotional strategy focuses on creating happy moments and inspiring consumers to celebrate breakfast with their loved ones One such TVC of the brand launched in India, "Happy start to the morning," attempts to show Nutella as a sure shot.

Influencer Marketing

marketing mix

D2C brands have surfaced as one of India's most popular shopping platforms for GenZ consumers This space has revolutionized the online shopping platform and changed the consumer dynamics as they're shifting towards online purchases and anticipate a flawless and innovative user experience

Smartphone and social media penetration has normalized information to the point where anyone can produce and partake information It has also enabled access to the active consumption of content across the multiple platforms in social media. India’s influencer request is on the rise Influencer marketing has been necessary in driving the growth of D2C brands in the

-Akash Verma

country. The brands practise brand mindfulness and drive engagement by uniting with the right influencers The rise of influencer marketing can also be attributed to the increase in the number of generators and brand hookups for creating authentic and compelling content to reach their target cult

Influencer marketing is the trend in which numerous D2C brands and eCommerce companies are investing heavily. A whole band of influencers is increasingly being sought after by brands to impact their followers' purchasing opinions. The brands are loyal in their sweats to make communities of people to increase deals and reach and increase client retention.

A must have in the

A brand may establish its identity on any platform it chooses with traditional social media marketing, and as time goes on and its following bases expand, it can identify its brand champions These are the customers who comment on posts mentioning the brand or enjoy and shared material These types of followers can be developed further by individualised care and inclusion in a finely segmented group of all the brand advocates Marketing initiatives aimed at this demographic concentrate on keeping them from spreading the word positively about the brand

This haphazard method of social media marketing produces unpredictable outcomes Influencer marketing advises us that it is best to sell directly to influential people whose likes and dislikes are similar to our own rather than haphazardly attempting to gain likes and followers or scattering various pieces of information to see what sticks. This entails interacting with them on all of their social media platforms not just liking and following them, but also leaving comments, showcasing your personality and knowledge It may also refer to hand-selected content curation or creation in order to attract influencers' attention. Therefore, while the goal market for brands is the influencers themselves, the ultimate prize is their audience.

Influencer marketing involves more than just tracking down people who have an audience and paying them to promote your brand. That is the purpose of internet celebrity Influencers are people who have invested effort in developing their following and growing their brand; as a result, they will innately be protective of both They're the kind of people who can build their social media following organically, one organic follower at a time and don't just conduct influencer marketing for the money.

Influencer marketing does not focus on immediate outcomes either. It's the same kind of methodical strategy used in Social -media and Content Marketing, where the goal of your campaign isn't to promote your products directly. It's about asserting your authority instead

Switch To Stainless

-Vedang Upasani Jindal Stainless

A man coming from the small village of Hisar and having ambitions to change the world decided to enter the business of steel production His passion and entrepreneurial spirit helped him achieve the mammoth task of establishing India’s first-ever stainless steel manufacturing unit.

The person was none other than Shri O P Jindal and his company, Jindal Stainless, which is now a pioneer in making steel slabs, coils, and plates From a small village in Haryana to having a welldeveloped global market with a wellnetworked supply chain has truly been a story of grit, determination, and tenacity These efforts were justified by planting around 10 lakh trees around the plant

Jindal Stainless has always encouraged CSR activities and various marketing campaigns revolving around the same. The headline that grabbed the news was its social media campaign, "SWITCH TO STAINLESS," which talked about reducing carbon footprints and carbon emissions Recent campaigns have made Jindal one of the most environmentally friendly companies owing to its involvement in environment-friendly activities. The plastic collection drive was one such example where they targeted the problem of plastic pollution. These campaigns have made sure that Jindal Stainless Steel maintains its top position in the industry and continues to thrive for its number one spot in the stainless steel business

In the campaign, the company displayed the activities that Jindal Stainless had taken to protect the environment and showed its prospects. The company switched to renewable energy, deployed efficient power and fuel-saving technologies, reduced oil treatments, increased tree plantation drives, and also promised newer green initiatives and ESG goals. It also prohibited the use of plastics and ran a campaign for the same Jindal successfully reduced its carbon emissions by approximately 3,100 metric tonnes and created awareness

The target audience of the campaign was the younger audience and millennials, who are the actual pioneers of this change The campaign was not just focused on its plans but also on building awareness of the issue among the youth.

The company has taken huge steps in the field of decarbonization and reducing the level of gases emitted from its plants Jindal Stainless has been active in implementing the ESG paradigm, showcasing the importance of the environment and nature. The company has also committed to becoming net zero by 2050 All these statements have been backed by its recent work in setting up a green hydrogen plant and reducing its carbon emissions by 2700 MT per year This transition from thermal to clean energy in the manufacturing space has gained trust and love throughout the company, resulting in positive sales. They also got felicitated with the CII National Energy Management Award for their remarkable changes in the process

These huge steps have preserved nature and impacted the company's brand image

Dove

Defining Actual Beauty

-Hitakshi Garg

How often have you been told to focus on your looks as a woman, to have the perfect clear fair skin, a thin body, and straight and shiny hair? We all have been guilty of and victims of unhealthy beauty norms which are shallow and are reflective of typical unrealistic standards These standards lack diversity of all sizes, ages, skin shades, hair types, and body types 6 out of 10 women in the world are much concerned about the way they look, which leads to anxiety about appearance at a young age Dove is one of the very few brands to address this toxicity.

Dove is a multiple-consumer brand owned by Unilever, launched in 1957, available in about 150 countries In 2004 Dove began

its campaign for Real Beauty, celebrating women of different ethnicities. The company ’ s vision is that beauty should be a source of confidence

The brand stood tall on its tagline “Beauty is for everyone ” through its campaign #StopTheBeautyTest. The campaign highlights how the quest for a beautiful bride in the Indian arrange marriage process can be really ugly. Dove requested women to share their rejection stories through this campaign in the shallow matrimonial process. In the advertisement we see different women being rejected by their respective prospects on the basis of weight, color, height, hair type, and skin blemish

The women in this advertisement were real women with actual stories to challenge society’s beauty standards

In another advertisement under this campaign, we see how teenage girls are expected to look a certain way as they grow up in India In the examples, we are seeing that young girls are even deflected from their schoolwork to focus on some unrealistic appearance The advertisement ends with the note that the beauty report card should be buried in the history books.

Another recent campaign by Dove on similar lines is the “The Selfie Talk” campaign

The campaign talks about how digital distortion which is a popular trend these days can damage a person ’ s self-esteem. The ad starts with an already posted selfie, then reversing various tweaks to finally reveal the young girl behind the picture As more screen time during the pandemic has made things worse, it’s even more important to stay true to yourself and acknowledge the harmful effects of heavily edited posts The motive of the advertisement is to reverse the negative effects of social media and build resilience. Women should be celebrated for their personality, intelligence, and their aptitude

Grooming them on the basis of societal perceptions scars their self-confidence 80% of Indian school girls have to go through the beauty test starting at a very young age in their own homes leading throughout their life and then marriage Women should admire their natural appearance more than how any filter makes them look Dove’s self-esteem project has reached 82 million young people since it started in 2004 One must look beyond outer appearance before stereotyping an individual. Such misconceptions about what a person must look like are needed to be left behind. Dove believes as should we that if we look beyond tall, slim, and fair color, we will discover a whole new world of beauty.

Emma Chamberlain

-Saarah Mukaddam Chamberlain Coffee

Life took a 180-degree turn for Emma one unexpected day in the summer of 2017, roughly 3 months after she started her YouTube channel, where she posted an array of videos ranging from cooking videos to fashion hauls to vlogs. It all started during her sophomore year of high school when Emma was dissatisfied with her current life Her father encouraged her to find a passion outside of her school life. Shortly after this conversation, Emma made a rather lifechanging decision She had no idea her YouTube channel would go viral.

Chamberlain is known for her "unconventional" and "quirky" editing style and self-deprecating humour in her videos

These elements made her stand out from the pool of many other YouTubers making similar kinds of videos as her.

Additionally, her style of editing became her signature "brand" with many others emulating her editing technique.

She was one of the very few to post a 'Dollar Store Haul' rather than the usual 'Luxury Haul,' making her subscribers feel more connected to her content

She has also been extremely open about her life through her vlogs by talking about her struggles with anxiety and depression Emma soon became every Gen Z's bestie next door because they felt like they could relate to her in a lot of ways Emma, with her knack for entrepreneurship, decided to venture

beyond content creation to launch her own brand based on her eternal love for coffee, She started Chamberlain Coffee in 2019, diving into unfamiliar grounds where she didn't even know if it would pay off or not Hold and behold, her coffee brand became a raging success. One of the major reasons is her preexisting personal brand being already created mainly via Youtube, and other social media platforms. Her loyal followers were the first to jump to purchase her coffee soon after it was launched and avid coffee connoisseurs and experts joined soon after Chamberlain Coffee doesn't just sell any basic coffee, it sustainably sources highgrade coffee beans from South American countries, namely Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Sumatra, and Mexico

Chamberlain ensures that her coffee is not only delicious and organic but that her company also pays farms a fair and consistent rate that covers the average cost of sustainable production. Chamberlain Coffee positions itself as "super-premium" while also collaborating with a non-profit organization, Food 4 Farmers, to help increase farmers’ income and food security across these coffee plantation regions.

Along with various coffee blends on the website, Emma also shares her recipes as inspiration, which include coconut lattes, cold brew shakes, Nutella hot coffee, and pumpkin lattes. These recipes are accompanied by videos of Emma making the recipes herself, in keeping with her inner content creator spirit.

Wednesday

Honk, If you are dead inside!

-Shireen Khan

Wednesday, the Netflix Addams Family reboot is officially the new viral Netflix thing that's on everyone's tip of tongue, mind, and feeds. As a delightful consequence, our social media feeds have been clogged with various celebrities cosplaying Wednesday Adams The army of TikTok has been vigorously creating Jenna Ortega's Viral Performance in the show. This can be said to be a revival of the Gothic culture for the GenZ

For its promotion, Netflix had gone all out to promote the series, making 'Thing' a disembodied hand that serves the Adams family as a hand servant, the next big thing. Its most recent commercial event emphasizes the frightening sense of witnessing the thing come to life

In a YouTube video, the streaming service unleashed 'Thing' onto the streets of New York City and captured people's responses in real time. This campaign was carried out by the agency whoisthebaldguy Some found it frightening, while true fans found it amusing The video has received much attention, with over 10 million views

If that isn't enough, Netflix has used the chance to promote the show's essence Wednesday's marketing campaigns featured some of her most famous comments in appropriate social contexts This was accomplished through the use of clever Ad placements such as "This elevator is the only thing that will lift you up today"

or "Congratulations, you glanced up from your soul-sucking electronic device " as well as putting "Wednesday Adams axed all our ideas for this billboard" on billboards Also, in a clever piece of outof-home promotion, Netflix got Wednesday Addams to appear on airport security trays in the United States She expressed her dismay at not being able to locate pointy items.

Every ad placement has played a significant role in portraying Wednesday Adam's icy nature and grim humor Netflix even set up a Twitter account, which is run by Wednesday Addams. She is preparing for a blood bath as the weekend approaches

Given the enormous amount of time fans have obsessed over Wednesday's outfits, dance moves, and makeup The entertainment executives questioned themselves about the viral magic of the show. Wednesday is a mixed bag of storylines with something tasteful for everyone This is a coming-of-age, supernatural, murder-mystery young adult comedy in which Ortega, the It Girl of the moment, portrays the daughter of a wellknown and popular TV family. Wednesday is the hottest misfit in school

The show merges many popular themes and genres and ends up with a new story that resonates with a broad audience

HUMANS OF MARKSMAN

Devang

Joshi Senior Executive, Viral Fission -Muskan Aggarwal

From your experience, what can be the suggestions to increase web traffic on a community brand page? Online presence plays a crucial role in building a brand image and other business activities Having a critically wellmaintained brand profile can do wonders for the brands in future Proper knowledge of SEO and SCM these days plays a crucial role in building a brand page Each and every company spends a lot on their brand page. Knowing what your customers need at the right place and at the right time can make your brand stand apart. . SEO might seem a cakewalk to people but it gives multifold results when done rightly

These days because of the vast options available in the market, keeping community alive and engaging is a task in itself. What’s your take on the same? Understanding company ’ s vision and correlating the same with the community is imperative to keep the community alive. A brand offering is useful only when it appropriately addresses the needs of the customers. For instance, at Viral Fission, the entire team tries to understand the youth grievances from time to time and address the same accordingly. In a similar fashion, understanding pain points helps a lot. Ground reality is always different from the surface one. Having ways to understand the ground reality can work in a better way

What are your suggestions to all marketing enthusiasts who are looking forward to shape up their career in this field?

Practical knowledge always goes far in the long run. Live projects with companies or brands who are doing good marketing can help a lot in understanding the practicality of various gimmicks such as Gorilla marketing Never hesitate from looking out for opportunities. Always try to execute your ideas. Never run away from Sales It can give life-long lessons

Across:

1. A cloud kitchen application with the tagline, #Aajkhaanemekyahai?

4. A coffee start-up whose name means a peacock's tail in the ancient Malabar language

6. A commodity pick-up and drop service as a part of this one-stop food delivery application

Down:

2. Licious, the meat delivery platform, recently ventured into this category

3. A grand sale exclusively on Fridays launched as a marketing tactic by this beauty and clothing start up

5. A neo-bank start-up that is transforming into a Maas platform (Metaverse as a service)

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Cause Related Marketing

One step in the right direction

--Parva Chandarana

Currently, the marketing landscape right now is revolving around one phenomenonCause Marketing Traditionally, activist strategies were something synonymous with non-profit or political organisations But, in recent years, brands are also getting on board and taking cues from grassroots activism. Some brands have always taken a stance on matters of principle, but increasingly it’s becoming the rule rather than the exception.

Time and again, you will see it in various magazines and reports about how a particular activist campaign performed. But there is much more to it than just reach, impressions and clicks. It is in the very nature of cause-related marketing campaigns to generate social chatter But managing to drive that buzz to profitability is something that very few brands have managed to ace. So, what is it that they are doing right?

Case Study - Nike

It is August 2016, and NFL fans across the globe are ready for an action-packedmatch But then, one of the quarterbacks does something, he protests The 49ers star quarterback Colin Kaepernick decides to take a knee during the national anthem to bring attention to the various injustices faced by the Afro-Americans. 2 years later, Nike makes him the poster boy for their latest campaign - Dream Crazy The advertisement features the likes of LeBron James, Serena Williams and Odell Beckham Jr The message is clear and is reminiscent of the backlash Kaepernick faced after his controversial move in 2016.Now, Nike is no stranger to controversies. Be it featuring Lance Armstrong after a doping scandal or bringing Maria Sharapova to screen after a failed drug test, Nike has seen it all. This time too, it was no different The campaign got people talking - 4 million a day to be precise

The brand received severe backlash from people across the globe Images of people burning their Nikes became common Even the then President Of the US, Donald Trump took it to Twitter to say -“What was Nike thinking?”. Surely, this would be a disaster for Nike’s balance sheet, right? Well, no In fact, it did quite the opposite A report by Vox suggested that Nike clocked in over 6 Billion USD in sales post the launch of the campaign. Analysts at Kantar confirmed that just within a month of the divisive campaign, Nike saw an uptick of 31% in their online sales So, what is the caveat here?

Recipe For Profitable Activist Campaigns - Walk The Talk: If you leave the controversies aside, the ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign was pretty much in lines with the Mantra of Nike - ‘Just Do It’. Nike has always been a vocal supporter of social causes and diverse communities So, when they feature an AIDS ridden marathon runner for their sneakers or a football player who was ousted from the NFL for taking a stance, it is resonant with their brand And hence, these campaigns don't come across as a means to appease consumers with shallow rhetorics A good example of getting this wrong is Gillette. In the same year the Nike ad was launched, Gillette came up with a campaign addressing casual toxic masculinity

But unlike Nike, Gillette didn’t really succeed This is because there was a grave mismatch between what Gillette is perceived as and the message is trying to convey here Is Gillette really what you think of when you think of solving toxic masculinity? Have they historically tried to alleviate this concern? Not really Conclusion

As is always the case with marketing and advertising, there is no single prescription for what works.In deciding which route to take, you should look at your brand’s historical actions, company values, and existing audience. It’s crucial that you are true to what you are and what you stand for as a brand; people will see through you if you try to be something that you ’ re not.

Leveraging health

FMCG's way to evolve

-Kristin Borgohain

How many of you feel cushty consuming foods rich in chemical compounds emanating from use of insecticides in food production? Would you still continue to consume it in the identical way in case you had information on chronic illnesses killing populations due to the consumption of unhealthy and inorganic food? Today's issues aren't constrained to infant milk feeding; we're regularly faced with problems which includes weight problems, diabetes, coronary heart sickness, and so on Because more people are looking for superior ingredients, organic products are the wave of the future for packaged food products

The FMCG business today has gone farther in supplying products that are not laden with excessive salt, sugar, or chemical ingredients to prevent the unpleasant results, realizing that healthy choices are not a trade-off. FMCG manufacturers are creating products that satisfy customers' needs after learning that consumers behave more positively towards organic and healthier food components For many well-known FMCG brands, making claims like "non-toxic," "safe," or "paraben-free" has been a successful marketing strategy According to a Boston Consulting Group report, U S natural product revenue increased by 25%, from $51 billion to $64

billion, between the middle of 2015 and the middle of 2019 The Indian organic food market is also anticipated to expand over the next few years at a compound annual growth rate of 20%, surpassing $2 billion by 2024 Although organic food is more expensive than conventional food, the industry has grown significantly since the late 20th century. People frequently overlook the greater cost of organic foods in favor of their superior nutritional value

Since they don't use hazardous pesticides and fertilizers to boost yield, organic foods are also better for the environment Another significant trend revealed by the sales numbers over the previous ten years is that consumers are moving towards more sustainability Similar standards are also becoming more and more crucial for cleaning supplies, hygiene products, home care and personal products The market is responding to this by expanding the variety of substitute items in addition to the rise in organic products Market dominance is being achieved by an expanding number of brands that use sustainable and ecologically friendly products Eight out of ten people (80%) are concerned about sustainability,

and similar percentages (79%) are concerned about sustainability when purchasing personal care and hygiene items Customers are especially concerned with whether a product was produced without using any animal products and in an environmentally and resource-friendly way. The usage of organic ingredients and the source of recyclable packaging materials are both in demand. As a result, traditional goods are gradually being eliminated off store shelves

Thus FMCG brands have the chance to create sustainable products that will have a beneficial impact and market them profitably in the long run

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January 2023 Edition

The Marksman provides one and all the opportunity to discover their hidden talents in the literary field through our "Call for Articles" . For the upcoming month, the articles can be sent on any of the following topics:

Application of augmented reality for marketing initiatives

Unethical company behaviour and its effect on Brand Attachment

Role of AI in content marketing - The future

Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all the references are clearly mentioned.

Kindly follow the guidelines given below:

One article can have only one author. Your article should be approximately 550-600 words (strictly adhere to the word limit)

The article must have relevant pictures that can be used to enhance the article. Send in your articles in .doc/.docx format to marksman simsr@somaiya edu

Subject Line: Your Name Institute Name Course Year. 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: 22nd January , 2023

Passion is an unmatched fuel. Add being happy to that and you have a wonderful formula for good health.

Gary Vaynerchuk

CEO, Vaynermedia

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