The Marksman March 2018 by The Marksman

Dear Readers, It gives us immense pleasure to present to you yet another interesting issue of our beloved Marksman. We have curated for you a broad spectrum of interesting articles that would enhance your understanding of marketing. Read our Cover Story, "Biomimic Marketing" and discover how nature-inspired designs impact marketing. This exam season our Special Story brings to you the very interesting strategies of 'Board Exam Marketing'. We would like to congratulate Shreya Ganguly of IIM Lucknow and Isha Garg from IIM Rohtak whose articles have been featured in this issue. For the remaining entries, we would like to thank you all for your incredible response and encourage you all to keep writing to us with great enthusiasm. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x;d also like to hear back from our esteemed readers on how you find this issue. Your feedback is valuable for it helps us improve our magazine. Happy Reading! Connect with us on www.interfacesimsr.com/index.php/marksman Follow our Facebook page for more updates.

MARCH EDITION

INDEX Tweets

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s All About Ad-itude

Marketing Faux Pas

Cover Story

Special Story

Pioneer

Hall-Mark Campaign

Brand Markive

Bookworm

Kickstart

Featured Article

Square Head

Buzz

TWEETS -RICHA CHATURVEDI #HateCondomsLoveDurexAir Durex India, to launch their latest product Durex Air came up with a very smartly integrated market foreplay and campaign wherein they asked people about their preferences and also let people speak their heart out on an issue faced by 95% of the Indians i.e. why people hate condoms. This activity made Facebook and Twitter overflow with the responses thus making this entire launch activity rock solid.

This activity made Facebook and Twitter overflow with the responses

#SurpriseTest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cello Cello in their latest campaign #Surprise Test, made an effort to highlight the issue of the constant mental pressure of the parents on the students to get good marks wherein they made the parents write the same exam as the students so that they could also feel the level of stress the students go through. This activity attracted a lot of parents and made them realize that their constant pressure on their child only leads to a mental stress and hence, encouragement works better than this constant pressure. 1 MARKSMAN

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TWEETS

The unbeatable charm of Ranbir Kapoor grooving on a few Bollywood numbers caught a lot of attention and made the campaign a huge success.

#RoamShantiSeRoam â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Yatra.Com Yatra in their new campaign #RoamShantiSeRoam featuring the heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor presented a great combination of new offers, e-cash loyalty program, all elements of brandâ&#x20AC;&#x;s seamless service and a hassle free experience. The unbeatable charm of Ranbir Kapoor grooving on a few Bollywood numbers caught a lot of attention and made the campaign a huge success.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE -SURAJ CHOUDHARY

TELEVISION AD Reebok India

Reebok India tries to break the image of how society relates the image of a woman and bruises by reaffirming its position of a tough fitness brand. In line with the International Women’s Day, Reebok India launched an engaging social experiment. The experiment was conducted in Mumbai with participants ranging from various age groups, across both genders were invited to observe young women, marred with bruises. Out of all people interviewed, 85% believed her bruises were a result of physical abuse. Their reaction showed physical violence is prevalent in our society and how people perceive a woman with bruises. But the bruised girl stood up to perform few martial art moves which changed the perception of the people towards her bruised body.

In line with the International Women’s Day, Reebok India launched an engaging social experiment. The experiment was conducted in Mumbai

Reebok depicted #BruisesCanBeood if they symbolize the true strength of a woman.

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AD-ITUDE

They definitely chose a risky way to highlight the importance of their flame grill method

PRINT AD Burger King Print advertising may be an old-school media, but Burger King nailed it with their ‘Burning Stores’ ad. The ad series shows Burger King Stores on fire and firefighters responding to the scene. It covered all the aspects to strike a chord with an audience- eye-catching image, the lucid headline (‘Flame grilled since 1954’) and an immediate wow moment in the reader. They definitely chose a risky way to highlight the importance of their flame grill method. The actual restaurants shown covered in flames were from- Italy, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It surely was the best print ads in 2017.

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FAUX PAS - ABHA SHAH Snapchat put itself in the way of fire by an erroneously allowing an ad to be posted which has cost it close to 1 billion dollars and a drop of 4% in its shares value in one day. You’d think how an ad can cause such an effect. Well if the ad is insinuating domestic violence then it’s sure to make some noise.

A third party app mobile game app called Would You Rather posted a controversial ad by posting a picture which was along the lines of ‘Would you rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown’. This was in reference to the 2009 case of domestic violence on Rihanna which was inflicted by Chris Brown. In this case Brown had pleaded guilty which resulted in him getting arrested and sentenced to community service.

Rihanna responded to this with a statement on her Instagram stories where she condemned Snapchat for such an oversight

The ad, very crudely, made light of the victims of domestic violence worldwide. Given the seriousness of the issue, it garnered a lot of criticism for Snapchat for allowing such an inconsiderate ad to be posted on its platform. Rihanna responded to this with a statement on her Instagram stories where she condemned Snapchat for such an oversight. She accused Snapchat of intentionally bringing shame to domestic violence victims and making a joke out of all the men, women and kids who have suffered through it or are still suffering through it.

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FAUX PAS

Her scathing response in support of all the DV victims brought even Chelsea Clinton to condemn Snapchat. She called the posting of such an ad ‘awful’. In response to the whole fiasco, Snapchat pulled down the ad and has disallowed the gaming app from posting anything on the social media platform. They said that the ad did not meet their advertising standards. Snapchat is going to investigate how such an ad escaped its review process and was approved erroneously. Seth Godin has said, “Content Marketing is all the marketing that’s left”. Such an example shows the important role of content on social media platforms. We must be careful of what we post but extra aware and alert of what we are allowing to get posted in our name. Snapchat is going to investigate how such an ad escaped its review process and was approved erroneously

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COVER STORY -SHRUTHI S

BIOMIMIC MARKETING Nature has always been a source of inspiration for us humans when it comes to designs, functionalities and processes. Be it the inspiration from insects in flight leading to the development of modern day aircraft or the inspiration from the natural camouflage mechanisms of animals leading to the development of clothes for army personnel. Shining in all its opulence, the age-old wisdom of nature has been shaping our needs and pushing us to invent newer things. Nature has given birth to brilliant inventions like Velcro that has now become an integral part of our lives. Very few people are aware that the spark behind this simple yet genius „touch fastener‟ are the cockleburs stuck to the coat of its Swiss inventor George de Mestral‟s dog during a walk he took through the woodlands in the early 1940s. Gradually, nature has also started to become our muse for how we market our products. The growing preference for “green”, “organic” or “eco-friendly” products has necessitated that the marketing strategies for such products are also aligned with the theme of nature. As a result, we can see various brands increasing their efforts to market their products in manners that appeal to the “Nature Connectedness” of consumers. The jargon for this kind of marketing strategy is Biomimic Marketing. Shining in all its opulence, the age-old wisdom of nature has been shaping our needs and pushing us to invent newer things. 7 MARKSMAN

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COVER STORY

This shift can also be attributed to the global pressure for committing to a more sustainable means of product creation and product consumption. The growing challenges of Climate Change have pushed economies to make space for such sustainability in their product life cycles. However, to be able to achieve this, consumer orientation is very essential. Brands, therefore, donâ&#x20AC;&#x;t just want to sell their products & services but also provide a sense of gratification to the consumer, that such products & services do lesser damage to nature and add on to the efforts of becoming eco-friendlier. This would ensure that this shift in the consumer psychology remains continual. Biomimicry has acted to be conducive to such changes. Organic Coco-cola, packaged in a fully-recyclable plant-based bottle, launched a few years ago was a similar attempt to strike a chord with this growing consumer affinity towards eco-friendlier, healthier and naturally made products. We have seen products like Skele-toes, the four-toed shoes that give you the comfort as close to that of being barefoot while simultaneously providing the protection of a regular shoe. Such products are marketed through a key focus on their feature of being nearly same as the natural state or form thereby providing a nearly undiluted natural experience. Like, in the case of Skele-toes the A sense of problems that come with the use of regular shoes, such as familiarity reduced blood circulation, muscle pain, etc. are claimed to be with the overcome by a design which mimics a naturally barefoot state. A natural form biomimicry of this type may be for aesthetic, functional or also gives the conceptual value addition. It not only makes the product more consumer a marketable to a value conscious consumer base but also projects surety on a more positive brand identity. A sense of familiarity with the ease of natural form also gives the consumer a surety on ease of usage. usage. They would thus prefer such products over the regular ones. 8 MARKSMAN

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COVER STORY

Marketers and designers have very creatively been playing with the minds of consumers when it comes to making use of biomimicry in packaging. Juice peel packaging, an innovation by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, who developed a series of packages for fruit juices which resembled specific fruits in theircolor and texture, is an alluring example of biomimic marketing in the packaging realm. He created containers for banana, strawberry and kiwi fruit juices which become widely popular on media, along with others like green apple, peach and soya milk. These vividly realistic surfaces of beverage containers were designed to recreate the same feeling in the consumer as tasting the real Price

Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, created containers for banana, strawberry and kiwi fruit juices which become widely popular on media, along with others like green apple, peach and soya milk.

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COVER STORY

The soap brand Dove, through its naming after the supple bird, wants to attach the qualities of being benign to its identity.

Another instance of biomimic marketing is one wherein the biomimicry is just used for transferring the qualities of a natural phenomenon to a product or largely to the brand identity itself. For example, the soap brand Dove, through its naming after the supple bird, wants to attach the qualities of being benign to its identity. Such references to the natural phenomena Again induce a feeling of familiarity which is essential for building trust on the brand. Here, the product may not necessarily be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;green/organic/eco-friendlyâ&#x20AC;? one but the use of an element from nature adds a dash of resemblance to it. Even with the use of different imageries from nature in marketing their products, brands attempt to create a more wholesome image of their identity and hence their products. An example for this can be the different images of a variety of fresh and dry fruits that Natural Ice Cream uses in its billboards, the use of a scenery from nature in its logo to the naming of the brand itself. All this portrays and strengthens the quality of their products being wholesome and derived from nature directly. The real estate market also taps on to the use of natural landscape imageries to portray the idea of a home, which is in proximity to nature and thereby more desirable than one amidst a grid of concrete structures. Although you may not 10 MARKSMAN

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COVER STORY

really end up having a tree house in the patch of a jungle, the idea of a space, especially a home surrounded by elements of nature is more appealing on any day. The recreational value that nature offers helps such market segments to use nature as a very effective tool in marketing their products. Natural landscapes attract more people when made to look undisturbed and pristine, or if the constructions on it resemble something natural again. Construction of cell phone antenna masts dressed up to look like pine trees in a natural resort resonates with the public more. Artificially created islands in Dubai are more attractive and have a higher market value when created in the shape of a palm tree. The need to align their products to this wave of fondness for everything â&#x20AC;&#x153;naturalâ&#x20AC;? is felt by many brands. Even if they cannot make their products become completely natural, they try to induce some degree of naturalness to either their content or process. Therefore, we can see companies marketing electronic goods through star ratings for energy efficiency. Although the

Construction of cell phone antenna masts dressed up to look like pine trees in a natural resort resonates with the public more

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COVER STORY An example for this is the Retina Display marketed by Apple for its series of IPS panel and OLED displays that have a higher resolution and pixel density than traditional Apple displays

products would need power to function, their greater ratings ensure consumers of an optimum performance along with savings on energy. Thus, here too, the marketing ads for such products make sure that the consumers get a feeling of eco-friendly gratification through the use of natural imagery in the audio-visual content. Certain electronic products also attempt to mimic biological functionalities for greater performance. An example for this is the Retina Display marketed by Apple for its series of IPS panel and OLED displays that have a higher resolution and pixel density than traditional Apple displays. The pixel density of Retina Displays is so high that human eyes cannot detect individual pixels at a normal viewing distance. This provides the consumers with user interfaces that are as real and immersive as any clear view from the naked eye. Such a biomimicry, in the process of emulating the superior functional & characteristic features of natural elements not just results in products of greater qualities but also creates more opportunities for such nature-inspired inventions.Thereby,

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COVER STORY

COVER STORY There needs to be boundaries drawn for how far the envelope should be pushed in this pursuit

creating a market need for further broadening the gamut of bio mimicked products. However, there needs to be boundaries drawn for how far the envelope should be pushed in this pursuit. Biomimic marketing though portrays a positive future of natureinspired market segments the real possibilities of it being misused are difficult to overlook. A dearth of incidents is already present in front of us where products ranging from food and medicines to electronic gadgets have turned out to be nothing more than a gimmick under the green banner. The markets are filled with fake products, which not just play with the trust of the consumers but also jeopardize their well-being and interest. There is a need to take Biomimic Marketing to a new level of Marketing Ethics to ensure that it continues to benefit mankind.

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SPECIAL STORY -ANJALI VERMA BOARD EXAM MARKETING

In our special story of March, we will analyze and understand the role reversal, as in how Brands lately have started to feature this fear in their Marketing campaign

March is the month which brings with it most soothing weather of the year, Spring. With lovely sunshine and beautiful flowers blooming all around, it creates a sense of positivity and happiness in everyone's heart. Wait!! Everyone's heart? seriously? No! There are some young hearts who almost dread this month of March and the young one‟s identity change every month but their fear from this month is perpetual. Now you must be wondering what is this fear all about? The answer is “BOARD EXAMS”, we all have been through this fear and every year relate to it. In our special story of March, we will analyze and understand the role reversal, as in how Brands lately have started to feature this fear in their Marketing campaign. There was a time when the products talked about increasing concentration, having better nutrition and health with the clichéd content and celebrated exams. From a couple of years, the content has been shifted from being clichéd to being practical. To explore deeper in the topic, let us discuss the two of the most popular and successful Exam Time Campaigns of this year.

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SPECIAL STORY

Mirinda: #ReleaseThePressure PepsiCo started We will first discuss the example of Mirinda, PepsiCo India this campaign started a broader initiative, under the campaign “ Release creating an icethe pressure”, under this campaign Mirinda has done various breaking ads and it partnered with Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare conversation to start a helpline number offering counselling support to about the students under fear or stress of exams. As a matter of fact, pressure which PepsiCo started this campaign last year with the focus on students creating an ice-breaking conversation about the pressure undergo for which students undergo for exams. This year they are trying exams. to cover it 360 degrees with renewing the conversation and taking it to the next level by Ads (Radio, Print, Online), online & Offline BTL Activations and partnerships such as the unique helpline initiative to counsel students. This exam season the campaign talks about parental pressure and how the constant comparisons with peers, associating their pride with child‟s results have created a low self-esteem and sense of fear in 15 MARKSMAN

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SPECIAL STORY students. Most of the new ads are inspired by the findings of the focus group discussion carried out by the company, hence it looks more relevant and realistic in its portrayal of students‟ distress.

Kota is country’s hub of coaching centers for entrance exams. Around 1 lakh students go to Kota for entrance exam preparation by joining in the popular coaching classes there

Horlicks: #FearlessKota & #NoFearNewYear Horlicks India new digital Campaign is the other such highintensity campaign which has taken the board exam stress to other concatenated area of competitive exam stress, IIT JEE entrance test. Over the years it has been most sought after exam in India and securing a seat in prestigious IITs has been a matter of pride and achievement. Horlicks targeted this exam stress in a unique campaign as “Fearless Kota” & “Emotional Nutrient”. Kota is country‟s hub of coaching centres for entrance exams. Around 1 lakh students go to Kota for entrance exam preparation by joining in the popular coaching classes there. The students preparing for exams leaving their family behind are bound to get under stress, but over the years the level of stress has increased to an extent that, in last four years 88 students committed suicide in Kota. Keeping the issue as the centre issue as the centre point of the campaign, It talks about “Emotional Nutrient”, one which can not be made in the laboratory, which is “ love and care of Mothers”. The Ad shows the limitless amount of 16

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SPECIAL STORY

The Ad talks about improving concentration and driving away the fear

Joy which the students feel when they see their mother coming to meet them in a surprising way. Needless to say, the ad brought in light the long time ignored mental health of students in India, something which makes only the newspaper when any misfortunate incident like suicide happens, but never in a routine discussion or concern of parents, guardians, well-wishers or intellects. Horlicks campaign highlights the importance of healthy body with a healthy mind for success in exams. It sheds light on the necessity of giving care, love, and understanding the children. This “Emotional Nutrient” will help the child overcome the stress and fear of exams and do well. The Ad became an instant hit and it has been watched more than 11 million times on YouTube and it has millions of views on Facebook. The other campaign of Horlicks revolved around board exams fear as the new year arrives, is “Exam Time Anthem”, as #NoFearNewYear. The idea again is to drive away the fear, “ why should the children fear?”, or “why should parents be Exampsyched?”. It has been given a collaborative angle by inviting Musicians and Lyricists to create and share the exam time anthem with Horlicks. The Ad talks about improving concentration and driving away the fear. Looking at the successful activation and consumer involvements in such campaigns, it is evident that the Brands became more connected to its target audience in an emotional way, even though Mirinda as a product was less connect product compared to Horlicks but it managed to create an activation which was convincing. The practical initiative of helpline support and Ads showing the letter to parents by kids proved to be a hit. However, we will consciously avoid the obvious comparison between Mirinda or Horlicks Exam campaign, since we are trying to focus here on the bigger idea. The idea of role reversal the brands have successfully brought. Success of this role reversal lies in marketing your brand at the right time with the right message to the right target through the right medium.

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PIONEER -SOHIT SURESH

Mo Abudu – Africa’s Oprah Winfrey Mosunmola Abudu, more commonly known as Mo Abudu, is a Nigerian media personality, media mogul, media personality, philanthropist and a former HR consultant. Forbes has described her as “Africa‟s Most Successful Woman”. Abudu was born in the UK. At the age of seven, her family relocated to Lagos. She stayed with her grandparents at their arm in Ondo to learn about Nigerian culture. At the tender age of 12, shortly after her father died, Abudu returned to the UK, where she lived with her guardian in Tunbridge Wells. Abudu started her career in the UK as a recruitment consultant in 1987, becoming a branch manager. In 1993 she left for Arthur Andersen for Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Limited (now ExxonMobil) to head their Human Resources and Training unit. Abudu created Ebony Life TV in April 2006. It is a network airing in more than 49 countries across Africa, as well as in the Caribbean and the UK. Moments with Mo, which is the first daily talk show on African regional television is hosted by Abudu. More than 200 episodes had been aired with topics ranging from politics to culture to tradition to interracial marriages by the end of MARCH 2009. Guests ranged from the 67th US Secretary-of-State Hillary Clinton to Christine Lagarde, MD of IMF, to Presidents and Nobel Laureates. Abudu says the show "highlights the life and accomplishments of a usually well known, but sometimes an undiscovered African individual who by his or her own tenacity and More than 200 episodes had been aired with topics ranging from politics to culture to tradition to interracial marriages by the end of MARCH 2009.

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PIONEER

The Inspire Africa Foundation is a human investment arm of Inspire Africa Ltd. Abudu founded this NGO which focused on charitable deeds to implement initiatives which can transform society

determination has accomplished something, overcome something or been a catalyst for something that makes her or him a role model to others.” Comparisons to Oprah Winfrey was inevitable as the show‟s intention to change the world‟s perception of the African Continent. The Independent and Slate Afrique called her "Africa's Oprah” or "Nigerian Winfrey", respectively. The Inspire Africa Foundation is a human investment arm of Inspire Africa Ltd. Abudu founded this NGO which focused on charitable deeds to implement initiatives which can transform society. A telethon and charity benefit concert with a “Rock with a Conscience” theme was held in January 2009 by the Inspire Africa Foundation alongside Moments with Mo, the Lagos State Government and UNICEF.The proceeds from the concert went towards protection of school children. Abudu was recognised Forbes Media as the first African woman to own a Pan-Africa TV channel 2013. Listed as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV by The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, she received the Entrepreneur of the Year award for Women Work in New York in 2014. She was honoured with an honorary doctorate from Babcock University.

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Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN -VIDITI JAJODIA

Not only is it a universally recognized symbol, but in the years, it has proven to be remarkably adaptable as can be seen in this unique campaign

In this world of digital maps, asking for directions is a remanence. And yet, giving directions is still in fashion. This was noticed in Toronto by the media company Cossette. Especially for the fast-food giant McDonald’s. When they saw signs to the nearest McDonald’s through different towns and cities, the campaign – “Follow the Arches” – was born. The adaptable Golden Arches were born in 1962 with one aim – to be noticed. To say that they managed it is an understatement of the highest degree. Not only is it a universally recognized symbol, but in the years, it has proven to be remarkably adaptable as can be seen in this unique campaign. This OOH campaign involves three static billboards and one digital board with a single aim. To give directions to your nearest McDonald’s. They had all possible paths in the curve of their logo, and they used a minimalist approach in their gold and red to show the turns that the vehicles need to take to reach their closed McDonald’s and enjoy a Big Mac with Coke and Fries (With Peri-Peri, of course).

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Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN

The best part about the campaign, apart from the sheer creativity found in Peter Ignazi and team, is the fact that like the logo, it is adaptable. It can be turned into a global campaign with little to no fanfare. These directional posters emphasize the global recognition of the brand and how the logo is recognizable even when shown in parts. It highlights the best features of the brand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its global presence, universality and ubiquitousness. This is a brand that has seeped into our hearts and is a fun and informative addition to our streets. The best part about the campaign, apart from the sheer creativity found in Peter Ignazi and team, is the fact that like the logo, it is adaptable

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BRAND MARKIVE -TEJAS RANE Duracell is an American company founded by Philip Rogers Malory and Samuel Ruben in the year 1924. It produces alkaline batteries and smart power systems. The rabbit is the mascot of the brand which can be seen in the ads. It was bought by Berkshire Hathaway from Procter & Gamble in the year 2014 and is the market leader in this product category but faces stiff competition from other players like Eveready, Sony and Panasonic. Headquartered in Bethel, United States the company has around 3000 employees and showed a net revenue of 2 billion USD as of year 2017. Duracell manufactures a wide range of batteries which includes alkaline batteries used in toys, remote controls, clocks, flashlights, calculators and other portable electronics. They also make lithium batteries which are used in high tech devices like digital cameras, car alarm, GPS trackers, child locators and other electronics. Rechargeable and coin batteries are some of their other products. The batteries are available in 4 sizes namely AAA, C, D, 9V and A. There is a lot of competition in this market where consumers need to connect with the brand on a more personal level. Therefore, Duracell promotes the products majorly through campaigns. It has its Duracell catalog which has the information about the products in innovative ways. These catalog pictures also feature on Instagram. The powerforward program has been a massive success. In that the Power-forward team helps the people in natural calamity affected regions which have been affected by floods, earthquakes, hurricanes etc. by providing them batteries for use in life saver devices. Duracell manufactures a wide range of batteries which includes alkaline batteries used in toys, remote controls, clocks, flashlights, calculators and other portable electronics 22 MARKSMAN

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There have been 463,023 batteries distributed so far. They have their Rapid-Responder, Rugged-Responder and Community Center cars which carry electric systems, chargers and batteries to areas which are difficult to access when hit by a disaster for family members to connect with their family. The community center trucks have been designed in such a way that the families can stay inside it during rough climates. On Twitter Duracell is active in terms of spreading awareness regarding storms and hurricanes and advising people what they need to do and have for such instances. The television advertisements stress on long lasting durability of the batteries. The ads can also be seen on billboards, newspapers and magazines with the famous tagline â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Lasts Longer Much Longerâ&#x20AC;&#x;. All in all, Duracell has come a long way and is one of the most trusted brands. As battery technology develops there is an increasing need for Duracell to adopt so as to sustain in the market. The company continues to do so with its products which also make sure that they add value in a environmentally responsible way.

On Twitter Duracell is active in terms of spreading awareness regarding storms and hurricanes and advising people what they need to do and have for such instances

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BOOKWORM -JENNIFER RAYAN

BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY By Steve Krug

As a marketer this book would definitely irk some curiosity and may seem as insensate as it seems by just looking at the title. Seth Godin calls us marketers as liars, how could it be true? Are we marketers trained to lie? With this intense feeling, dive into the book written by one of the maestros in marketing, who tells the biggest lie with the title for his book. He expresses that marketers are not liars; in fact they are mere story tellers. The liars as he calls them are consumers who lie to themselves daily about what they wear, where they reside and what they do for work. “Make your story bigger and bigger until it’s important to to believe” says Godin. He explains that successful marketers are just the providers of tales that consumers choose to believe. All Marketers Are Liars is organized around a five-step process that people go through when they confront triumphant marketing. The books helps understand why some firms succeed and others fail at convincing customers, the With this difficulty lies in the intense making of great feeling, dive stories which is into the the imperative of book today. written by With a distinct one of the voice, Godin maestros in creates a clear marketing, case which who tells spotlights the the biggest psychology to lie with the title for his Improve marketing. book.

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KICKSTART -JHALAK JAIN

Urban Ladder The online furniture and home decor giant Urban Ladder started off its journey six years in 2012 when two friends Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa(IIM batch mates) found it hard to do their homes because of the inferior quality furniture and dĂŠcor. The hard-nosed entrepreneurs sniffed a business opportunity in their personal pain and came up with the idea of selling attractive furniture at affordable prices, without letting people step out of their homes. Starting from Bengaluru, this little start-up grew its operations in 18 cities with a varied portfolio of 4000 products across 35 furniture categories. Initially, Urban Ladder got a huge funding of $77 million from various venture capitalists including Ratan Tata. In a fresh round of funding, the company managed to raise $12 million and invested in omnichannel expansion, which was the need of the hour. Moving along, with the pace of changing requirements, urban Ladder nailed perfectly from its first tryst of an offline retail store in Domlur, Bengaluru, which alone has a monthly footfall of around 3500 families. The company also aims to open 15-20 stores across India by March 2019.

Starting from Bengaluru, this little start-up grew its operations in 18 cities with a varied portfolio of 4000 products across 35 furniture categories.

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Urban Ladder came up with offline stores which are there to provide customers with experience rather than having a mere aim of selling

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Customer Obsessionâ&#x20AC;? being one of their core values, Urban Ladder has been striving to give differentiated furniture shopping experience by putting up modern/contemporary and classic designs. And to connect with the customers at a deeper level, Urban Ladder came up with offline stores which are there to provide customers with experience rather than having a mere aim of selling. Despite having competitors like Pepperfry, IKEA etc., using omnichannel sales for growth augmentation, Urban Ladder ambitiously plans to move to number one position from number three in furniture retail category.

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FEATURED ARTICLE -Shreya Ganguly IIM Lucknow The Art of Feminist Marketing In today‟s world of innovative marketing and global trend following, there is no dearth of feminist-oriented marketing initiatives. Billiondollar-valued companies are urging to help the “women break the glass ceiling” with sentimental and emotional campaigns that play rampant with the heartstrings. With feminism being the talk of the town, pro-women advertisements and taglines are the flavours of the season. Hashtag „empowerment to women‟, hashtag „Metoo‟, hashtag „feminism‟ all have broken the bar and gone viral, with every firm starting from soap, to shampoo to oil and gas to automobiles launching digital campaigns marketing feminism. The real question therefore comes, "is there a worth behind all this propaganda or are these simply a go-to publicity stunt for the companies involved?"

With feminism being the talk of the town, prowomen advertisem ents and taglines are the flavours of the season

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FEATURED ARTICLE It all started in the social media, mainly with a hashtag. In MARCH 2015, utility company named EDF launched a campaign to encourage the young women to explore careers in Science-Technology- Engineering-Maths, recognizing the gloomy fact that “only one in seven” of these roles are held by women in the UK. UK‟s second largest energy provider chose to help the women to “sparkle the imagination of young girls [and] inspire them to stay curious about the world” by launching #prettycurious campaign. This, for the first time, made the „femvertising‟ divert from the niche internet neologism to a sincerely queasy chapter in the fourth wave of feminism. Pantene raised the bar with the real hashtag of feminism: “#ShineStron g launched in June 2014 with a short film titled Sorry, Not Sorry”

The first in this trend was Virginia Slims, the alleged godmother of feminist brands, which sold women empowerment to all and sundry as far back as 1968. Dove‟s decade-old real beauty campaign took the reins perfectly, considered revolutionary for selling body moisturizer to women of every kind. Cosmetic brand CoverGirl with #GirlsCan, in February 2014, through their campaign advertised that the company was all about ascertaining and reassuring whatever it needs to inspire a girl take up the risks and challenges by breaking the barriers and revolving „can‟t‟ to „can‟. Later that year, Pantene raised the bar with the real hashtag of feminism: “#ShineStrong launched in June 2014 with a short film titled Sorry, Not Sorry” directed at highlighting how women constantly apologize at home, work, to strangers and friends without paying much heed to the reason. Amidst all these, the huge success of femvertising and the glamorous award-winning remains with #LikeAGirl from Always, makers of maxi-mads and the similar. Originally displayed during the SuperBowl 2014, the video, presented and edited by renowned filmmaker Lauren Greenfield recruited men, women, girls, and boys and manifested what it really meant to physically be a girl: run like a girl and throw like a girl. The viewers were compelled to consider that doing things „like a girl‟ should be 28 MARKSMAN

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seen a sturdy and robust and not as pathetic. Despite a humongous number of brands utilizing inspirational pro-women advertising, replete with appealing hashtags and bold campaigns, only a minuscule percentage of women are sitting on boards and holding executive roles. This raises the basic query of how deep the messages are truly penetrating. Female scholars have extensively researched on this and found that this disparity is caused surprisingly by the increased spending power that women hold as well as the anti-Trump bandwagon message that the brands are pressurized to adopt and apply. Furthermore, since all the country‟s creative directors are nearly all men, Barbara Annis, the founding partner of Gender Intelligence Group and the author of Results at the top: Using Gender Intelligence to Create Breakthrough Growth warns that many “feminist” commercials fall short of reaching real profundity. According to Annis, the companies are using their pro-female bent in branding. advertising and even recruiting no doubt but on the other hand, firms are losing women five to one, sometimes just a few months after being inducted into the company. The foremost reason for this drop-off is the

Barbara Annis, the founding partner of Gender Intelligence Group and the author of Results at the top: Using Gender Intelligence to Create Breakthrough Growth warns that many “feminist” commercials fall short of reaching real profundity.

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absence of an all-encompassing corporation philosophy, where the women feel left out. Men have always been taught that they are more than just looks. But women are their own worst critics, with their self-worth bound to their appearances. They need to understand that they have a lot going for them other than their countenances, they are just not a bunch of looks. Thus feminism can be used as a great marketing tool but it depends on several factors as follows: 1. It is heavily dependent on the product. Shampoos, make-up and other beauty products using feminism to market to women contribute to double standards and inequality, while tampons or pads and similar products really benefit from the pros of feminist marketing. 2. It depends on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x;s commitment to feminism in general. Unilever, the parent company for both Dove and Axe, advertises all about real women in the former while using sexist images in the latter. Companies should have a unified agenda to deliver the right message to the public in general. Thus, feminism is a unique and powerful tool to advertise the apparently marginalized community of women, but in reality, sexist or gendered ads are not needed at all. They in fact distance the genders specifically and the products will make much more sense if they are appealing to all and sundry, like the companies of Honey-Maid and Cheerios. The art of feminist marketing needs to evolve- only then it can achieve the zenith of success. Men have always been taught that they are more than just looks. But women are their own worst critics, with their selfworth bound to their appearances 30 MARKSMAN

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Where on one side, the above examples show how lack of secondary thinking led to disastrous results for companies, there are cases on another side where such steps led to incentives for investors

it while launching new packaging to celebrate body diversity(which actually humiliated many people rather than honouring them) or launch of ad campaigns showing magical transformations from a dark skin to white skin( which led to boycott of Dove in many countries). Where on one side, the above examples show how lack of secondary thinking led to disastrous results for companies, there are cases on another side where such steps led to incentives for investors. Such instances remind me of an effect which is known as "Cobra Effect." An anecdote from British Colonial time in Delhi states that once, the British officials announced money rewards to anyone who brought them dead cobras, to eliminate the venomous population from the city. But can you guess what happened next? The cunning Indians started breeding cobras at t heir homes! It did not stop there. When the government came to know about the shrewd plan, they withdrew the scheme, which in turn led all the cobra breeders to set those cobras free. This led to an increase in cobra population to even a greater extent than before. This â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cobra Effectâ&#x20AC;? is what modern marketers call as the "Backfire Effect."

An article in Economic Times reminds me of a famous investor Jim Rogers, who stated that you could either control the supply of a product or service, or its price, but never both of them. The simplest of explanation being that a

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Hasty decisions lead to more than just monetary losses. It can jeopardize brand credibility and lead to irreparable PR losses. All it takes to avoid this is, “relax, pause and reflect” limited production below actual demand will directly lead to a black market and lucky allottees will sell their allotment letters several times at much higher prices than the set maximum price (as happened in case of Bajaj Auto scooters). A similar phenomenon is bound to occur due to a recent cap put by the government on the cost of stents used in heart surgery. The announcement immediately led to a withdrawal of stocks of stents from the market, leading to an immediate shortage. Isn't it like creating a pathway for black markets with our own hands? It is the lack of efforts put in thinking about second and third order effects of such decisions and campaigns. Backfire effect is something that has been happening for years, and still, the marketers fail to foresee the long-term consequences of their strategic campaigns correctly. Hasty decisions lead to more than just monetary losses. It can jeopardize brand credibility and lead to irreparable PR losses. All it takes to avoid this is, “relax, pause and reflect” and ask yourself all the possible questions which a viewer could generate in his mind after watching your advertising campaign. Ponder if someone out there can incentivize at your cost with your current strategy. As Mr. Arun Jaitley pointed out in an interview, “One of the key elements of good system design, therefore, is to avoid creating incentives to game as much as possible." An inquisitive mind would ask, “didn't he think on the same lines before implementing demonetization and GST?" But anyway, that's a debate for another time!

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SQUARE HEAD SQUARE HEAD -VIDHI MEHTA

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BUZZ - ASHIK KURIAN

DOWN 1 Googles old name 2 The new name of the company Philip Lights 4 Ashutosh Sawhney has been appointed as the CEO of which communication company? 5 Indian car that logged 100,000 bookings in the shortest time 7 Jacqueline Fernandez has been appointed as brand ambassador of which textile product company 8 Salman Khan has been appointed as the brand ambassador of which Parle Agro Brand 10 Netflix of magazines Down: 1. Ascential, 2.Carlsberg, 4.Albert Einstein Answers Across: 3. Infosys, 5. Berlin, 6.Harry Potter, 7.Indigo, 8.One8, 9.PV Sindhu

ACROSS 3 Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the global brand ambassador of which company? 6 Aparna Mahesh is the CMO of this digital service company. 9 Daniel EK is associated with which company? 11 Trevor Edwards is the former CEO of which company? 12 Mister Softee is the nickname of which company 13 Viswanathan Anand is the brand ambassador of this analytics firm based on Sports 14 Peter Betzel is the CEO for this brand in India 15 Virat Kohli has been selected as the brand ambassador of which Swiss Company?

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CALL FOR ARTICLES APRIL 2018 Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:

1. Meme Marketing 2. Real Time Marketing v/s Right Time Marketing *Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are clearly mentioned. 1. One article can have only one author. 2. Your article should be approximately 800-850 words and MUST be replete with relevant pictures that can be used to enhance the article. 3. Font Type: Gill Sans MT 4. Font Size: 14. 5. Send your article in .doc/.docx format to marksman.simsr@somaiya.edu 6. Subtitle line:Your name_Institute Name_Course Year 7. Kindly name your file as : Your name_Topic The best adjudged article will be given a Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Certificate. The First Prize Winners will be awarded INR 500 Cash Prize. Deadline for the submission of article : 20th April, 2018

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