Markathon october 2011 by Zigu MBA

VOL 3, ISSUE 4

MARKETING MAGAZINE OF IIM SHILLONG

Cover Story Does CSR really help Build Brands?

Interview: Anand Khurana, Business Head, HUL Interview: Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Gouizeta B-school of Emory University

OCTOBER 11

MARKATHON

FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, Customer engagement has become an integral element of marketing for all companies today. They want to talk to the customer, listen to the customer’s feedback and act on it. The recent course I took on Integrated Marketing Communications only reinforced the fact that, brands today are emphasising a lot more on media that enable a 2 way communication with the customer rather than just broadcast media. These media, help companies reach out directly and get first hand insights from their customers—Companies want to have conversations with their customers and convert these conversations into actual transactions. Being in the customer’s mind is what every company is aiming for and there are various ways they go about it. One Our September 2011 of the ways companies do this is Cover Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is a way of giving back to the society, but it is also about creating a good image for the brand. The line between doing good and doing it for the sake of brand building seems to be getting blurry. “Greenwashing” has now become a common phrase for companies which do green initiatives just for getting a positive image. In this month’s cover story, we’ve tried to ask a simple question ‘Does CSR really help in building brands?’. In the story, we look at different companies and what CSR means to them some of them who have really been successful in leveraging CSR to their brand’s advantage and also some who haven’t been so successful at it. We hope you enjoy the story! In this month’s Vartalaap we have with us Mr. Anand Khurana who is the Business head - Out of Home (F&B Services) & Modern Foods (Bakery) at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Mr. Khurana talks to us about how HUL is focussing on its Out of Home division for increased profitability. We are thankful to Mr.Khurana for taking time out to talk to the Markathon team.

to have a good relationship with the customer. Team Markathon is extremely grateful that Mr.Sheth took out time from his schedule to give us this exclusive interview. Our articles section has an article of how companies are leveraging different media to understand what the consumer wants and then deliver it to the customer in exactly the way he desired. The other article about new Marketing Channels for retailers describes the new delivery mechanisms which are now being tapped by retailers thanks to growing use of technology. We are sure our readers will enjoy both the articles. As always, do send in your feedback and suggestions at markathon.iims@gmail.com Sit back and enjoy this edition!

Jitesh Pradeep Patel

THE MARKATHON TEAM EDITOR Jitesh Pradeep Patel

SUB EDITORS Gaurav Ralhan Kaustubh Rawool Rahul Mantri Ritika Nagar Sria Majumdar

CREATIVE DESIGNERS Yashwanth Reddy Mandipati Sana Parvez Akhtar

In our Vartalaap from the academic world, we have the renowned Dr.Jagdish Sheth who is widely regarded as the Father of Relationship Marketing. Dr.Sheth is currently the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. He gives us a wonderful interview about how important it is

markathon | October 2011

CONTENTS

FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVE Building Brands - Of the Consumers, By the Consumers, For the Consumers

MAYURESH KANVINDE, ROHIL MITRA |NMIMS

New Marketing Channels Driving The Retailers ABHEEK TALUKDAR, ASWINI. R | FMS

COVER STORY Does CSR really build BRANDS? JITESH PATEL, SRIA MAJUMDAR |IIM S

VARTALAAP DR. JAGDISH SHETH CHARLES H. KELLSTADT CHAIR OF MARKETING, GOIZUETA B-SCHOOL OF EMORY UNIVERSITY

ANAND KHURANA BUSINESS HEAD, HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD

WAR ZONE EYE 2 EYE Will customers see Suzlon’s P.A.L campaign as “Greenwashing” or can the campaign actually engage the target segment?

SILENT VOICE Titan's premium Swiss brand Xylys plans to launch a women's line

SPECIALS BRAND STORY SANA AKHTAR

BOOKMARK SRIA MAJUMDAR

UPDATES KAUSTUBH

12 18 20 21 22 23 24 25

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Building Brands - Of the Consumers, By the Consumers, For the Consumers Mayuresh Kanvinde, Rohil Mitra | nMimS In July 2006, HUL (then HLL) launched India’s first community portal exclusively belonging to a brand – The Sunsilk “Gang Of Girls”. The initiative was an instant success with the number of members crossing the half million mark within six months of launching. It was HUL’s attempt to revive the Sunsilk brand. Today with a member base of 7.5 lakh users (a mere 2.5 lakh users in four and a half years), the success of Sunsilk’s brand building exercise is debatable. But, what cannot be denied is HUL’s early recognition of a marketing channel – Conversational Marketing - that is moving towards becoming the trend for marketing and brand building in 2012. The launch of Orkut in 2004 (2006 in India) and the rise of Facebook and its ubiquity, paved the way for a new kind of a marketing channel which we all know as “Social Media”. Today almost each brand has its own Facebook page which is “liked” by fans, where the brand gets promoted each time the target segment logs onto Facebook. But, not all brands have sufficiently leveraged the true value of social media. Social Media have been extensively used for advertising and sales promotion. So much so that the value of communities like Facebook to marketers has been questioned as to whether it is the right place to reach your consumer. The regular argument is the fact that Facebook advertisements have critically low Click-Through-Rates (CTR), implying that people use Facebook solely to socialize and not to find out or know about their brands or products. Compared to this are the high CTRs of search engines ads like in the case of Google Adwords; rightly so because a person visits Google to find something. However true the argument is, what the perpetuators of this argument fail to realise is that

Facebook or other social media can be used as tools to converse with the customer, make friends with the customer, and listen to what the customer has to say rather than to just tell the customer about their products. Surely, people use Facebook to express their views and to be listened to. Unlike traditional media channels like television and print media, social media provides this advantage of being a two-way communication channel - a channel to build brands that are of the consumers, by the consumers and for the consumers.

Starbucks is perhaps the best example of how to leverage everything that social media has to offer. Their online portal “mystarbucksidea.force.com” proudly announced on June 17, 2011 that they had launched 150 ideas from a plethora of ideas submitted by its customers. My Starbucks Idea is a simple community where Starbucks customers can submit their own ideas about how Starbucks can improve in all categories ranging from their coffee to the experience and involvement of the customers. These ideas are voted by other members of the community and / or are selected by Starbucks idea partners for launching. The progress on each idea is updated regularly and most ideas are replied to. Typical ideas from the 150 launched were: 

An iPhone App to check on the balance on the Starbucks Card (loyalty card)



Opening a new store in El Salvador



Reintroducing an old flavour of coffee 4

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

Improvement in a chocolate chunk cookie recipe



Buying a Friend a Beverage Remotely through Facebook

Critics of Starbucks argue that the entire crowdsourcing platform has been a failed project, as of a total of 116100 ideas submitted so far only 150 have been launched. But, the question to be asked is whether Starbucks aimed it to be merely a crowd-sourcing platform. What

Starbucks has achieved through its idea portal is what cannot be achieved through traditional advertising and promotions and that is customer loyalty. Starbucks customers feel that their favourite coffee chain is listening to them, is considering their suggestions. By involving the customers, Starbucks has created a sense of belonging among them and that is enough for the customers to keep visiting Starbucks. A long-term brand loyalty has been established. What’s more? Through the ideas submitted, Starbucks gets a free access to customer insights, what consumers expect from them – a market research at zero cost.

Taking social media and technology to further heights is Nike. It has created a harmonious combination the two, by using the runner’s iPod and technology built into the Nike running shoe to measure and track

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workouts. The workout information gets stored automatically on NikePlus.com, where users can create their personal profile, log their workout information and share it with others, chat with other users, share content and build relationships. Through NikePlus, Nike was also able collect user data, without interrupting the user experience of consumers, which was used to send targeted communications to users and recommend newer products based on their individual preferences. The NikePlus platform is now taking the user experience to a further level by providing ‘goals and challenges’ feature where users can set their training goals online. Users can compare their running goals and accomplishments with other users and challenge them for specific milestones. The portal also suggests potential running partners to users based on location and training intensity. The platform thus allows Nike to build a close relationship with its consumers by supporting them to improve themselves. Through NikePlus, Nike has managed to spark a movement that brings together people around the globe united to one another by a shared passion for running. The shared passion always existed. But it is Nike that has leveraged it through its exemplifying use of social media.

Over the past 25 years since its launch, Maggi has emerged as one of the most affectionate brands among Indian consumers. A brand which has probably grown larger than its parent company Nestle and for all the right reasons – the emotional bond built over generations of consumers. But, as Maggi approached its 25th anniversary, it faced newer challenges with the entry of strong FMCG players like HUL (Knorr), ITC (Sunfeast) and Horlicks (Foodles). While the competitors were aggressively advertising their newly 5

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launched products, Maggi resorted to taking its emotional connect to the next level. Through the “Me & Meri Maggi” campaign, Maggi urged its consumers to tell their own story about what Maggi means to them and where does Maggi picture in their life. These stories were included in Maggi’s advertisements and also on the campaign website meandmeri.in and the Meri Maggi Facebook page, which has over 540000 fans. Further, Maggi introduced three flavours which were a direct outcome of the 30000 stories shared by Maggi’s consumers. Though not everyone visited the Maggi website to share their stories, what the campaign achieved was that the role of Maggi in everyone’s life was reinstated in the minds of all consumers. Maggi further went on to launch the “Guess the Taste” of mystery noodles campaign where limited edition packs were sold across the country in packets marked with a distinctive question mark design. More than 45,000 consumers have already contacted Maggi with their suggested name for the taste. And Maggi hasn’t stopped there. The latest campaign of Maggi further strengthens the emotional bond by taking the Meri Maggi campaign further by saying “Kyun Meri Maggi itne saalon se sabke dil me hai?” (Why is My Maggi everyone’s favourite for so many years?)

Successful Facebook Campaigns The Most Popular Facebook Page With over 34 million fans and growing, Coca-Cola’s Facebook page is the most popular Facebook page (ranked 11 by number of fans) among all brands world-wide. With a product that is minimally differentiated from its sole global competitor, Pepsi, Coca-Cola is a brand that needs loyalty like no other. It has successfully achieved it by differentiating itself by associating itself with happiness though its global “Open Happiness” campaign. Coca-Cola’s true commitment to their fans on Facebook is illustrated in the story of how the page came to be. The page was originally created by two fans who just

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loved Coke. When Coca-Cola came to know about the page, rather than creating another official page, they acknowledge the efforts of the creators and worked with them to continue building the page to represent the brand. They were able to leverage on the connections that were already established with fans on Facebook even before they were involved while also demonstrating how much they valued customer involvement and participation. Today, Coca-Cola acts as any other friend that a Facebook user has. The discussions initiated by CocaCola are not just about the brand but about what the brand stands for – Fun and Happiness.

The Most Engaging Facebook Page According to a study released by Visibli, wherein fan engagement on Facebook pages with more than 1 lakh fans was analysed, Audi USA surprisingly emerged as having the most engaged fans on Facebook. With over 3.8 million Likes on the page, Audi had an average of 7,487 Likes and 292 Comments on their posts in April, 2011, which certainly sets an example on how to design a Facebook Page for a brand. So then the question arises -What is Audi doing differently from other brands? For a start, it isn’t just pushing out facts about their latest models, posting videos from auto shows, and giving away free cars on their Facebook page. On March 11th, Audi asked fans, “What’s the best thing that anyone has ever said about your Audi at the pump?” The question triggered engaging conversations amongst car enthusiasts and provided a unique opportunity for Audi owners to share their stories (capturetheconversation.com) bringing out the true potential of social media. When you think of Harley-Davidson, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Well, motorcycles for 6

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sure. But is it just the motorcycle? Or is it a motorcycle on an open desert highway, with a rider with leather boots and gear, and a rumbling exhaust that could make a jet engine seem all too meek. Harley-Davidson symbolizes rebellion, youth, freedom, and open possibilities. It’s an image created by the people (smackinc.com) . Realising the strong cult that was inherently present among its owners, Harley-Davidson initiated the HOG, the Harley Owners Group in 1983. Its membership restricted to owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, along with a hierarchal structure of chapters ensures that only the purest of loyalists have the most say in the community thereby inculcating a strong sense of belonging to the cult which would thrive through future generations. In 2001, the HOG community went online making it easier for newer members to join, for members to stay connected to their brand even when away from their motorcycles and to connect with other members across the world linked through the common thread of the Harley-Davidson culture. Today the community boasts of over 1,100 chapters and over 1 million chapter members. The organisation of chapters allows the members to meet with local riders through events, rallies, support causes and road-trips as well as socialize over the internet with their global counterparts. The HOG site mentions some of the membership benefits as road-side assistance, participation in events sponsored by the company as well as by local dealers and a HOG magazine consisting of HOG Tales of riding.

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spending 2.5% or less of their communications budgets on conversational marketing while 81% of survey respondents said they will spend at least as much on conversational marketing as traditional marketing by 2012. A look at the current marketing strategies of prominent brands in India and abroad suggests the trend is on the rise. Be it Mahindra’s “Spark the Rise” or Airtel’s “Har Friend Zaroori” campaign; the customer has now gained centre-stage. The efficiency as well as effectiveness of conversational marketing in building long-term brand loyalty has been demonstrated successfully. Marketers have to realise the underlying potential that social media and conversational marketing provide. If not, marketers would be tempted to shy away from these channels in lieu of traditional channels. With social media, the sky is the limit. But the question still arises – Do you realise it limitlessness?

Because of HOG, Harley-Davidson has reached benchmarking levels in consumer loyalty and brand equity. Today, Harley-Davidson is in full alignment with the dreams and expectations of the Harley-Davidson owner because it was the Harley owner that dictated what the brand stood for - in the true sense, a brand of the consumers, by the consumers, for the consumers. Trends of the future According to a study conducted by TWI Surveys, Inc., spending on social media and “conversational marketing” - albeit still in their nascent stage - will surpass traditional marketing spend by the end of 2012. Currently, 70% of respondents of the survey are 7

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New Marketing Channels Driving The Retailers Abheek Talukdar, Aswini. R | FmS Marketing has transcended a long way from marketing 1.0 to marketing 3.0, from being product centric to people centric to value centric. So have the various means and channels of reaching your customer. Earlier the customer, walked up to buy, now, the retailers reach out to them, and be present at the right time, right place and to the right people. This opens door to new channels of marketing, not disparate from the traditional methods but new parallel ones to support the traditional practices and enhance the brand presence. Consumer Trends Expectation

and

New

Brand

Experience

Gone are the days when one could sell merely with convincing TV ads and celebrity endorsements. The consumers of today present a big challenge to the business. They lead a fast moving on-the-go life and are always Time starved. The science has made everything just a click-away for them, and people are now protechnology unlike yesteryears when the society was resistant to any new technology. The tech-savvy customers now have access to ample information everywhere about everything. The web has now become an interactive platform; people not only get information but also share their experiences. This has increased the customer’s interconnectivity immensely. The retailers can’t hush any bad experiences or flawed products. The awareness about any product/service is so high that they are conscious and expect worthwhile value. Customers now want the special treatment and need to be feel like kings and queens. The need of the hour isn’t mass marketing rather a personalized experience is what is needed. The New Set of Touch Points The new channels powered by digital technology present the retailers with vast array of new touchpoints for engaging with consumers and creating a differentiated brand experience. New channels, such as mobile and social media, present retailers with new ways to connect with and engage the

consumers. These new channels are not necessarily about driving transactions; instead, they enable retailers to transform the customer experience and engage with consumers more directly and in entirely new ways. To successfully navigate these new channels requires retailers to:  Understand their customers and each segment’s cross-channel needs and shopping habits  Achieve brand alignment and consistency across channels to present one view of the retailer while tailoring experiences by channel where appropriate  Understand how to leverage the strengths of each channel to create a better overall brand experience  Drive loyalty and deliver a consistent brand experience by integrating front-end and backend systems, data and services across all points of contact Retailers, who engage with customers to provide a seamless, integrated brand experience across channels and meet customers’ expectations around transparency, personalization and collaboration, stand to reap significant benefits. Not only does the brand exposure of the retailers improve through customer touch-points; it helps retailers in increasing their revenue base due to increased traffic and loyalty of the retailers’ product, in turn improving the employee productivity and satisfaction. The advantages of reaching customers by the use of newer channels are summarized.  Revenue Boost: The quintessential element of any retailer is revenue generation. Through the use of innovative and customer focused channels, the increase in the number of customers will imperatively improve the balance sheets of any retailer.

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 Traffic Opportunity: No retailer can improve their revenue without the increase of the number of customers. By providing ‘everywhere’ access and engaging in a 24/7 conversation with customers, traffic in all the channels in which the retailers performs in will increase boosting the revenue.  Loyalty Increase: Customer loyalty is a tough thing to attain and by providing a seamless, personalized experience across all channels, retailers can maintain that loyalty by providing focused and value products.  Employee Productivity and Customer Satisfaction Rise: Operating in different focused channels will better the employee productivity through increase of visibility in case of inventory, product info, critical tasks, long lines, business performance, etc. Focused products will indefinitely improve the customer service and satisfaction.

Barcode attached. After she is satisfied with the product and reads about the rave reviews on Twitter/Facebook and other social media sites, she goes to the store to buy the product. She scans her digital loyalty card at the retail store, which gives her discount schemes running in the store. The discount available through the advertisement is procured using her mcommerce mobile wallet, she pays the product and recieves a gift coupon from the store. Payment for her groceries by scanning her digital gift card at retail shop

Instantly on using the 2D scan on the net, she is able to view the recipe, watch a cooking video of the chicken biryani, talks to a live expert about the cholesterol & fat level of the product and instantly receives a customer care call informing of the stores it is in. The Changing Retail Experience Example: Mobile Marketing and Sales Support

Deepi scans her digital loyalty “card” at retail shop

The power of reaching the target customer using innovative channels can be seen from the following example. A certain housewife, Deepi on her way to the daily grocery notices a new ready-to-eat chicken biryani advertisement on the street and photographs the 2D

View Streaming Digital Content View Recipe and save to MyRecipe

Receive a delectable offer

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Finally, satisfied with the product, she rates the product on various social media websites. She also joins the facebook page and discusses the various recipes that she had tried. All in all, it is a win-win situation for both the customer and the retailer.

store and advice on cooking, nutrition, green living and food storage.

Whole Foods on Twitter

Addition of the recipe on various social media

Rating Recipes on Twitter

Target Corporation

Unique Examples of Retailers Benefitting from Innovative Channels Whole Foods Market With over 1.8 million followers on its account page and over 3,000 followers on twitter account, Whole Foods engage a 2-way dialogue with consumers about topics that are important to them – the environment, organic products, and product recommendations. Missions App: The Mission App gives consumers an opportunity to explore new products, learn about healthy eating and engage in a conversation in their social networks. Consumers complete steps of varying difficulty and earn badges through their “Missions”. Users can access over 2,000 recipes, store information, store specials and a calendar of events for their local

It was the first retailer to offer the ability to scan a bar code directly from a mobile device at any store nationwide in the US and also initiated mobile coupons which let consumers redeem discount offers by scanning a 2D bar code at the point of sale. Target customers can access their Target Mobile Gift Cards, view online assortments, Target Retail 2D Barcode POS check product availability and store locations, manage their Target gift registry and lists and browse the weekly ad all on their mobile phones. Target also offers mobile payment through a consumer’s mobile device.

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Innovative Channel’s Indian examples

Key Challenges to Retailers

VOLKSWAGEN INDIA

Siloed Metrics: Major problem for all retailers is that customer information is spread across different systems driving a lack of knowledge on customer engagement with the brand across segments. The lack of common customer experience metrics becomes prominent in the view that many retailers need customer behavior information to understand market.

The innovation in marketing channel hasn’t spared anyone, even the big automobile players like Volkswagen are introducing campaigns like ‘Innovations for everyone’ and ‘Think Blue’ to have a long term approach to building loyal community by being present across all major social media platforms. Volkswagen has cashed on the new feature of Linkedin, the company page where they have already received a commendable 2772 recommendations on their 7 listed car models. This could generate sales and bulk orders for them. The Future of Reaching the Customer Best Buy came up with a unique channel to give customers the ultimate experience. Their idea was of providing Mobile Point of Sale and Manager Dashboard on iPod Touch.

New Channels Require New Model: Nowadays, Retailers make the mistake of using every channel alike like Face book or YouTube end up being copies of the website. New channels require connecting with consumers in new ways and understanding how customers want to use each channel. Thus, a lack of channel differentiation demands a new channel model. Platform Integration: Though technology like CRM and SAP has made it much easy for retailers to keep track of all the customer data, companies’ still face issues in integration of existing channels with newer channels. Rapidly Evolving Technology: With advent of changing technology, adoption of marketing channels isn’t sufficient enough to deliver the one-to-one personalized experience which the retailer seeks to achieve.

Employees in nearly 27 Best Buy stores can search for product information and check out customers using a mobile point-of-sale system. Every department has an oversized barcode plastered on the adjacent wall. Customers can scan the barcode by store’s mobile app and download coupons or advertisements on the handset. It helped in eliminating paperwork and cost involved in buying POS hardware.

Cover story

markathon |april 2011 markathon |august markathon |october

Shubhajit Lahiri | Somjeet Behera

JITESH PRADEEP PATEL | SRIA MAJUMDAR

Does

CSR really build BRANDS? 1412

Cover story

“We do not claim to be more unselfish, more generous or more philanthropic than other people. But we think we started on sound and straightforward business principles, considering the interests of the shareholders our own, and the health and welfare of the employees, the sure foundation of our success.”

Coming from the founder of Tata Group, the most socially responsible corporate entity in the country as per Times Foundation survey, this quote helps us put CSR in perspective. In a world where CSR is no longer a choice but a necessity for business; companies seem to forget that the foundations of CSR can be strong only when it is built into the fabric of the organization. Neither is CSR altruism, nor is it a fad- a survey of business leaders in the US found that 8 out of 10 CEOs believe that CSR helps their bottom line and 75% say that people have a right to expect CSR from firms. Even the Economist editors recently admitted that CSR has moved from the domain of ‘do-gooders’ to mainstream. It is accepted today that CSR cannot sustain when it is treated as charity, it requires modifying business models to achieve the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

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While Corporate Social Responsibility is the need of the hour for sustainable development of the environment and societies across the globe, it is even more relevant in our country given the gross inequalities and the fact that development is still in the initial stages. CSR in India is marred by skepticism from intelligentsia and implementation challenges at the grass roots. To top it, there is no authentic data available on the kinds of CSR activities, coverage, policy etc. While evaluating the success of the CSR activities itself could be a whole article, we try to evaluate how CSR is helping organizations in building their corporate brands. The consumer empowerment movement across the globe has made cynics of all customers, and many fear that CSR is just window dressing. Through this article, we have tried to understand what makes CSR a successful brand campaign. When we started writing this cover story, the lines between ethical consumerism, sustainable marketing, green marketing, CSR, Business Ethics & Corporate Citizenship seemed to blur. We were forced to rise above the jargons and focus on what CSR really means to companies and to the stakeholders. We explore definitions of CSR in our next section, but for the purpose of our article we have considered all activities of the company which help society and environment, and in turn affect the company’s image and the corporate brand.

Cover story

Defining CSR The term “social responsibility” was proposed in the U.S. by Frank Abrams, Chairman of the Board of Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1951, in a statement about the duties of executives to society. It gained a following with the publication two years later of the “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” by economist Howard Bowen who, having surveyed the consequences of laissez-faire economics in the 1920s through to the Great Depression, concluded that business had obligations to society over and above creating jobs, paying taxes, and obeying the law. Corporate Social Responsibility started off as charity with roots in ethics. Organizations had surplus profits, and some leaders, who were philanthropists, chose to distribute their wealth among the not so privileged. Then globalization happened, and the world became a smaller place with sourcing, production, consumption of the same product spread across multiple continents. Businesses realized that the only way to grow was to help the consumers grow with them, and a more collaborative development model was employed. On the other hand, rapid environmental degradation led to concerns about sustainability of our planet- leading to greater customer consciousness. Also, various Enrons of the world forced companies to focus on ethics. Suddenly, it was not uncommon to see capitalists invest in social and environmental upliftment and abide to ethical standards, even build business models which led to betterment of society and environment. While CSR started off as some leaders looking at the triple bottom line, today it has become a qualifier. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication ‘Making Good Business Sense’ by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, said ‘Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing

markathon |october markathon |april 2011 commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.’ While there is no universally accepted definition, the key issues in CSR are accepted by all - environmental management, responsible sourcing, stakeholder engagement, labour welfare, community relations, gender equality, good governance and anti-corruption measures. We see companies engaging in Corporate Citizenship for multiple reasons- reputation and brand building, competitiveness, risk management, enhanced access to capital and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings, improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base and enhanced customer loyalty. Undoubtedly the greatest motivator for a company to go in for CSR is reputation and brand building, and surveys corroborate this conclusion. In the context of measurement of CSR, the ISO 26000 by the International Organization for Standardization is interesting. This standard offers guidance on socially responsible behaviour and possible actions. However, in contrast to ISO management system standards, it is not certifiable. CSR rating agencies have sprung up across the globe, and demand for non-financial measures of value creation has increased. Social accounting, auditing and reporting have emerged as disciplines of study. Yet, it would be a mistake to believe that CSR is only about compliance to standards, laws and indices. Some companies have managed to do CSR and build brands. Some have done CSR only to be labeled as window dressers and green washers. And for some, CSR has had no impact on brands. In the next section, we examine some global as well as Indian firms which have managed to walk the talk.

Cover story

Success Stories Reputation Institute, an International Organization, has tracked how CSR ratings affect the company’s reputation and brand. In the ’08 and ’09 studies, they discovered that the CSR index predicted 40% of overall reputation. In the Indian context, the Times Foundation survey found that TATA Group (67 per cent) was the numero uno company with active CSR initiatives, distantly followed by Infosys (13 per cent), ITC (12 per cent), NTPC (11 percent), Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Reliance Group (10 per cent), Ambuja Cement (9 per cent), Microsoft (7 per cent), Wipro, BILT and L&T (6 per cent each). The findings of the survey place education, health and environment as three of the most popular areas of intervention for companies as part of their CSR initiatives. Globally however, environmental issues including climate change are the most popular investment areas for CSR. Organizations like Body Shop, Ben and Jerry’s, Patagonia have been cases studies in Business Schools, highlighting the corporate citizenship initiatives of these firms. These efforts have led to their success, and finally their take over (in many cases) by mainstream companies. The top firms in CSR in US context today include Walt Disney, Microsoft, Google, Honda, Johnson & Johnson and Pepsi. However, in this section we focus more on Indian success stories, as we believe the Indian socio-cultural context is quite different. No discussion on CSR in the Indian scenario can be complete without the Tata Group. A group which has become synonymous with trust and ethics, and doing good for the community- the company has achieved what many firms would kill to get. Consumers trust the brand and anything which has a ‘TATA’ to its name must be honest and true. In this context, it is noteworthy that even the Tata Group which traditionally never advertised its CSR, is now doing the same. The Values Stronger than Steel campaign, highlights how Tata Steel, a Tata Group company has always focused on ethical practices and employee and society development. Then there are brands like Mahindra Group, which have only recently started with massive CSR initiatives globally such as the RISE campaign.

markathon |april 2011 markathon |october This initiative not only aims to tie together all the Mahindra entities, it also shows that the brand is becoming more socially conscious. Overall, the FMCG sector seems to lead CSR initiatives with ITC’s E-Choupal and HUL’s Project Shakti. From being a cigarette mogul,

ITC is now known for building public private partnerships, social and farm forestry, reviving Indian Classical music and the e-Choupal initiative. Needless to say, consumers admire the company for its sustainability efforts. ITC is also one of the few Indian firms to come up with a dedicated Sustainability Report year on year, and they are GRI - G3 Compliant Application Level A+. On the environmental front, the firm is carbon positive for five years in a row, water positive for 8 consecutive years and waste recycling positive for last three years. ITC, unlike the Tata Group has never shied away from broadcasting its CSR initiatives. Be it PR or advertising campaigns such as ‘Responsible Luxury’ for ITC Hotels, the claims are always in your face. In the long run however, we feel that the authenticity of Tata’s CSR cannot be matched by aggressive advertising. HUL’s success in reaching out to women self-help groups across the country, and giving them a sustainable livelihood source has been so successful that the model has been taken to Srilanka and Bangladesh. It’s not surprising then that HUL’s ‘Small Actions, Big Difference’ has been translated to 3 of the top 10 brands in India being HUL brands. Coca Cola (another brand which has a dedicated sustainability report for India) focuses on water stewardship; sustainable packaging, energy management, climate protection, solid waste management etc. and this had led to greater brand recognition and increased brand equity. Coca Cola India has won the Golden Peacock

Cover story Global CSR Award for 2009 for two consecutive years in recognition of the company’s water conservation/management practices and community development initiatives. The facts that such awards have come to exist, again prove the point that brands are being built by CSR. These are some brands that have gained in their mainstream business due to their CSR focus. Brands continue to shift towards CSR and CSR spends have increased. More importantly, CSR discussions are now imperative in the board room. CSR helps build brands, but only when brands live up to their promise. Green washing and window dressing is severely punished in this connected world, and there are other brands which haven’t really been able to cash in on the CSR hype despite having done good work in this field. We explore some of these organizations in our next section.

CSR: Not always building brands! Today, CSR has become the mantra for every organization in the world. It is next to impossible to find a company which doesn’t do CSR as part of their activities. Everyone has a Sustainability & CSR tab on their website, everyone talks about it yet there are companies which are unable to connect with the consumers based on their CSR work. These are companies which have done quite a bit of CSR but it hasn’t contributed in building their brand. These are companies which customers don’t associate with CSR, but are yet strong and powerful brands in themselves. PepsiCo India is one such company. Their emphasis on sustainability is evident from the vast amount of work they have done in India ranging from community development, water replenishment, and waste management and partnering with farmers. PepsiCo India has spent over $11 Mn in the years 200810 for their CSR activities in India. Despite this, the Pepsi brand in India is not viewed as one which is socially responsible. There are instances where PepsiCo has suffered because of being depicted as a MultiNational Corporation which is exploiting the resources in India – especially water. PepsiCo has come with labels on their packaging to dispel the myth but to no

markathon |april 2011 markathon |october avail. It also has an exclusive website which details out the various steps PepsiCo has taken for water conservation and how it has emerged a water positive organization. The Pepsi brand is seen as a youth oriented one signifying freedom and a slight streak of rebellion among the younger generation. Over the years, its communications have been consistent to this theme and it has therefore emerged as one of the strongest brands for the 18-25 segments. This could be one reason that the social responsibility aspect is never really connected with Pepsi. Their positioning for the brand doesn’t gel with initiatives like water conservation and it is in cases like these that CSR fails to propel the brand’s success. There is one more way of looking at this; it might turn out i.e. the “true CSR” which the company continues to do despite gaining no obvious brand benefits out of it. The case of Reliance Industries as an organization is something similar. Their websites lists out a myriad number of programs through which it has contributed to different spheres of health, infrastructure, education development and also environment protection. The public perception of Reliance though is that of a ruthless corporate entity which doesn’t give back enough to the society. The question then becomes, is Reliance not doing enough CSR? Or is it not marketing its CSR as well as other companies is? This is a pretty dicey question and the answer probably lies somewhere in between. The judging of CSR as already been discussed before has become a matter of great debate. Reliance Industries has won a lot of awards at the corporate level for their social work but the general public is more or less unaware of these developmental actions. Reliance Industries majorly operates in the Oil and Gas segment which is itself viewed as a great threat to the environment and ecosystems. The CSR reports and work take more prominence in this industry because companies are desperate to break the mould of being called a ‘polluting organization’ and want to be seen as a green, socially conscious entity. British Petroleum was ranked in top 3 in the Sustainability index on Dow before the oil spill happened and all its work came to nought. These are problems companies have to deal with because they work in an inherently risky industry which makes humungous amounts of money. 16

Cover story

markathon |april 2011 markathon |october

Challenges

Disparate Brand Identities:

CSR has evolved to become more of a necessity than an option. We’ve seen how it is being used to build the brand value for an organization. There are still many challenges to overcome before it becomes a two way process. The two way process; actual CSR work being done rather than just reports and window dressing and this work benefitting the organisation’s image in the long run.

In some cases, though the companies indulge in CSR, their brand is such that it is disparate with the whole concept. The whole idea of socially conscious might not fit in with how strongly the brand conveys its other personality traits and CSR doesn’t become a significant contributor. This is more of a marketing problem, for the company to figure out which activity will fit in with the brand image and bank on this to propel CSR to prominence.

Government Policy: The Government Policy in India with regards to CSR is pretty lax. The policy could empower private organizations to work more closely in conjunction with public ones to reach the grassroots of the rural communities. For this, the policy first has to address the working of the public bodies. The Government’s policies have to move away from the myopic view of CSR being a donation driven activity and use it more as a participative tool. The encouraging point to note is that the policy has ensured that there is enough number of Public Sector organizations which have come up trumps in implementing CSR initiatives. CSR in Small and Medium enterprises: SMEs have typically not been involved in CSR activities. This has been seen as the responsibility of the big corporate houses. The Government can try and incentivize CSR for the SMEs to set the ball rolling and this in turn will have a major impact on India’s development since the number of SMEs and their potential impact would be significantly high in India.

CSR Metrics: The fact that CSR is part of every company’s corporate agenda has made sceptics out of the normal consumer. When all companies come out with Sustainability reports which look more and more similar each year, it is difficult to pinpoint the ones which are doing the actual work and other who are just talking about it. The need to identify metrics which make it easier to pick out the genuine work is essential but remains an unsolved issue

 The examples conclusively establish the fact that CSR does have a significant impact on brand value of the organization in most of the cases. The dilemma is that, whether it was success of the CSR activities themselves or the marketing of these CSR activities. It won’t be long before the consumer realizes the difference between CSR and window dressing, and that will be when the true impact of CSR on brands will be realized.

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vartalaap

markathon |february |october 2011 markathon 2010

An Interview with Dr. Jagdish SHeth Charles H. Kellstadt Chair of Marketing, GoiZueta B-school of emory university

Dr. Jagdish Sheth is a renowned scholar and world authority in the field of marketing. His insights on global competition, strategic thinking and customer relationship management are considered revolutionary. He is the Charles H. Kellstadt Chair of Marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Professor Sheth has published more than 200 books and research papers in different areas of marketing and business strategy.

Markathon: You went to the US for an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. How did you get interested in consumer psychology? Could you share some key insights in this field with our readers? Mr. Jagdish: In my MBA class, I learned several theories of motivation, including Maslow's theory of need hierarchy. This led me to studying what motivates consumers and why consumers become loyal to a brand. What I discovered is that consumers, over time, reduce choices through learning and feedback from the purchase and usage experience; and eventually become loyal to a given brand. They buy based on habit often learned at a very young age for products such as toothpaste and cereals. Also, they do not consider more than three brands in any given product category. This was contrary to prevailing belief in economics that

consumer choose logically and not psychologically by evaluating difficult choices in a rational manner. Markathon: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Emerging Markets to Define Marketingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; read one of your recent interviews. It has been said that India is a country where value conscious thriftiness coexists with experiential indulgence. What is your take on this in the light of your statement? How can companies better understand consumer India and in turn bring forth a new definition of Marketing? Mr. Jagdish: You are very right that Indian consumers are very value conscious. However, there are three reasons why the same consumers are also engaging in experiential indulgence. First, they are more aware of new experiences such as visiting the seven wonders of the world including Taj Mahal, going on safari and cruises as well as attending meditation camps. Social 18

vartalaap media and cable channels such as Discovery and Animal Planet have increased public awareness. Also, many of their friends, classmates and family members who have settled abroad and their children are in touch with one another. Second, consumer aspirations are rising to be more contemporary and they experience foreign cuisines such as Italian, Chinese and Thai, as well as Domino's Pizza and McDonald's. This is also true about fashion, cell phones and consumer electronics. Finally, there is new affordability. The wages of service workers and professionals have risen sharply. This enables them to experience small luxuries in life. Therefore, the new definition of marketing is "Luxury for the Masses". Markathon: In the current scenario where loyalty programs are a dime a dozen, how can companies ensure customer loyalty and in turn customer retention? What are the new trends emerging in this area? Mr. Jagdish: Loyalty programs work well only if the product or service experience is exceptional. This is true across all services ranging from airlines to cell phones. It is also true for retails stores, hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. Therefore, the best way to retain customers is consistent and superior customer experience. The new trends in loyalty programs are to use social media and product experience to generate customer cult. The best examples today are iPhone and iPad and stores like Apple stores. Markathon: In your book â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chindia Risingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, you speak about the shift of the pivot of businesses from the Western world to India/ China. How do you think Indian Managers can train themselves to become global leaders? Where is the Indian Education System lacking in this aspect? Mr. Jagdish: The necessary foundation for Indian managers to become global leaders is to have a global mind set. Most managers, all over the world, are usually ethnocentric. Indian managers are no exception. The best way to increase global mind set is to encourage them to manage businesses abroad especially in non-English speaking countries and cultures. It is not enough just to visit. You must have deep immersion in other cultures and customs.

markathon markathon |february |october 2010 2011 almost universal in all Executive MBA Programs which include one to two weeks of overseas education and learning. Second, invite foreign students to be part of a cohort. The ideal proportion is one third of the total student population; and they must come from different cultures and countries. However, I believe the most transformative option is to insist on Indian faculty to teach and research in foreign countries. In other words, what we need is a Faculty Abroad program in addition to student abroad programs. Markathon: In your illustrious career as an academician, professor and consultant; what has been your greatest learning? What continues to drive you in the field of marketing? Mr. Jagdish: The greatest learning I have experienced over five decades as an academician, professor and consultant is that the best way to learn is to teach. What continues to drive me after 50 years is passion to learn about new areas. This has ranged from consumer behaviour to multivariate statistics to competitive strategy to relationship marketing. My latest passion is impact of emerging markets on marketing. Markathon: What would be your advice to students in business schools, looking to make a career in marketing? Mr. Jagdish: I have three pieces of advice. First, learning is a lifelong journey. It does not stop with graduation. Therefore, make sure you are learning new knowledge while you are working. This will be more and more critical as the half-life of knowledge declines sharply. Second, the best way to learn is to teach. Therefore, find ways to teach at a nearby college or school. If nothing else, get invited to make presentations in your organization's training centres. Finally, learn to give back to the society. Please remember how fortunate you are to be blessed by your parents, your teachers and your mentors. They made a difference in your life. Think of what you can do to make a difference in the lives of others.

With respect to the education system, there are several options. First, make study abroad mandatory. This is 19

vartalaap

markathon |february |october 2011 markathon 2010

An Interview with Anand Khurana Business Head, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Mr. Anand Khurana is currently the Business Head of Out of Home (Food & Beverage Services) and Modern Foods (Bakery) at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. He has a rich experience of 14 years with HUL and has worked in Modern Trade Channel, New Business Development, Key account management etc. He has also been the senior brand manager for hair care, responsible for brands of Clinic All Clear and Nihar. Markathon: You have had a long and illustrious career in marketing in the FMCG industry, with stints both in India and abroad while working for HUL. What are the key differences in the competitive scenario in the industry in India and abroad? What are the differences in terms of marketing? Mr. Anand: Marketing quite simply is about understanding the consumer, his/her stated & unstated needs & developing & deploying a marketing mix (Brand Proposition, Product, Communication & Go-toMarket strategy) to fulfil that need. This basic premise remains the same everywhere in the world. However, the nuances of consumer tastes & preferences demand fulfilment options with respect to the retail store landscape, media evolution & consumption habits could differ by region/ country as much as they do between Mumbai & Muzzafarnagar. Markathon: You have worked in many diverse roles in HUL. What has been the most challenging task in your career till date? Mr. Anand: HUL has so many different categories & a culture of moving people from marketing, sales to business operations which makes the experience very broad based & large. It’s almost like having worked in 56 different companies. I have been lucky to have moved across sales, marketing, business operations in both the India business & International operations. Each stint has been very rewarding with different challenges across my tints in brands, exports & key accounts and business leadership.

Markathon: HUL has recently opened Bru World Cafés in Mumbai. What spurred the company to enter direct retail for coffee? When can we expect the pilot cafes to spread to other cities? Mr. Anand: A Café a logical extension for our coffee brand as the segment presents a great opportunity for not just consumption but also building brand experience & premiumization. It helps us move up the value chain from product to experience delivery. This is being done currently on a pilot basis Markathon: Can you tell us about HUL’s plans in the OOH (Out of Home) segment in the next 5 years? What is the strategy that you are looking at for Modern Foods? Mr. Anand: More & more consumers are spending more & more time out of home, at Work (offices, colleges) Wait (at airports, railways) & Play (Malls, Multiplex, Leisure). This creates a large consumption and Brand experience opportunity. We have built a robust Beverages Out-ofHome business in the B2B space with our Lipton & Bru Tea/Coffee vending services, since 2002 & are look to continuing to scale that up rapidly. In addition we have entered the consumer OOH space with the Bru café and Swirls ice cream parlours. Modern Foods is a very large player in the Bakery Category which is very large. Unlike other FMCG, Bread is a perishable product & requires decentralized manufacturing & a daily distribution system. Modern as a brand has a lot of equity & we have driven aggressive growth by rejuvenating the Brand by making the packing more contemporary, introducing a lot of new products like kream rolls, chappatis, cookies etc. Our strategy is to continue to leverage our strengths in Daily distribution & Bakery technology to grow the business. 20

markathon | october 2011

war zone | eye 2 eye

The recent “P.A.L.S.” (Pure Air Lovers Society) campaign launched by Suzlon, a leading wind power company, is one among a long list of Corporate Social Responsibility campaigns initiated by various organizations. Having such a long list would normally be a silver lining to the

Apoorv Vaidya IIM S dark cloud created by the industry. It indicates the increased awareness among the corporate top honchos about the rapid environment degradation and their changed focus towards achieving a strong triple bottom line performance by targeted efforts to promote business growth in a sustainable manner.

Quite often, however, these campaigns are just a marketing gimmick of firms having more important hidden agendas such as gaining more recognition, increasing the recall value of the brand. Addressing social issues remains merely a by-product of these campaigns. Consider Suzlon’s latest campaign for example; although the company is trying to project itself as a firm committed to ensuring clean air and thereby protecting the environment and the eco-system, it has recently been accused of causing potential hazards to environment and natural resources in Saurashtra. It was also accused of seizing lands of tribals in Maharashtra at throwaway prices and subsequently selling it to celebrities. Even the FMCG giant HUL, whose Surf Excel ‘Do bucket paani bachana hai’ campaign is creating buzz in the country, has been charged with accusation of causing mercury pollution in South India. Sadly, there are many more such examples. Today, customers are becoming increasingly aware about these deceptive “greenwashing” campaigns and hence are unlikely to yield to accept Suzlon’s claims unless the firm starts ‘walking’ their talk.

Suzlon, one of the world’s leaders in the wind energy sector has come up with a new brand campaign called P.A.L.S (Pure Air Lovers Society). For the first time, this campaign is targeted at the youth, especially the Sarat Gopinath urban youth, although youth GIM is just a term to define the mindset of an individual and not the age. Identifying India as one of the emerging markets for wind power, Suzlon is trying to position itself as a company providing renewable energy rather than a manufacturer of turbines. Following the trends of other companies (Idea, Nokia etc.), Suzlon is launching this campaign for the betterment of the society but at the same time, this has a hidden objective which is purely business in nature. For an average consumer who had been riddled with so many of these similar campaigns ( Idea’s use mobile save paper campaign, Nokia’s “Planet ke rakhwaale” to name a few) this move would come across as just another multinational trying to project themselves as an environment friendly firm. Although it would not be possible to identify Suzlon’s motives behind this campaign, one conclusion would be that all they require is recognition. Tomorrow when they move into the fast growing Indian wind energy market, they should be recognized by the consumers. Calling this effort a “greenwashing” marketing strategy would be going a bit too far as their facilities at One Earth have been certified with the highest levels of green building certifications and their methods of generating power from wind actually makes the air a bit cleaner. But at the same time, trying to generate buzz about the company using the “green” angle would come across to the consumers as unappealing due to the clutter of companies taking this route.

“Though Suzlon actually employs “green” methods, the campaign is an attempt to gain recognition”

“Greenwashing campaigns of companies are nothing more than marketing gimmicks”

Will customers see Suzlon's PALS campaign as greenwashing, or can the campaign actually engage the target segment?

Topic for the next issue’s Eye to Eye: “Is Tata Indicom’s being merged into Tata Docomo right for Tata Teleservices?” Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 15th November 2011. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.

markathon | october 2011

war zone | silent voice

Silent Voice

LAST MONTH’S RESULTS

Theme: “Titan's premium Swiss brand Xylys plans to launch a women's line”

WINNER: Ritika & Imtiyaz | Welingkar, MUMBAI Congratulations!!!They receive a cash prize of Rs 500!

Articles are invited “Best Article”: Abheek Talukdar, Aswini. R | FMS They receive a cash prize of Rs. 1000 & a letter of appreciation. We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes:  Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena.  Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing.  Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of the marketing strategy of any company or an event.  International Column: Articles covering latest marketing trends, innovative practices, branding strategies etc. in the global perspective. Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx. We’re inviting photographs of interesting promotional events/advertisements/hoardings/banners etc. you might have come across in your daily life for our new section “The 4th P”. Send your self-clicked photographs in JPEG format only. NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “Wipro's re-launch of the newly acquired soap Aramusk” The last date of receiving all entries is 15th November 2011. Please send your entries marked 22

markathon | october 2011

specials | brand story

Brand Story: Lay’s Sana akhtar | IIM S When salesman Herman W. Lay opened a snack food operation in Nashville, Tennessee way back in 1938 and started making potato chips, little had he imagined it would go on to become the world’s largest and favourite snack food brand. The “Lay’s Lay Lingo Company” later merged with the Frito Company to form Frito-Lay Inc. In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the PepsiCola Company to form PepsiCo, Inc. Lay’s came to India in 1995 and has since become an indispensable part of India’s snacking culture. The international taste blended with Indian flavours appeals to the Indian youth which Lay’s primarily targets. Its first campaign “No one can eat just one” was a huge success and the brand used it for a long time. Saif Ali Khan as the face of Lay’s in India helped in reinforcing the youth-centric imagery that the brand tried to build through its campaigns. Its next campaign “What’s the programme” shifted the focus of the positioning from taste to usage occasion making Lay’s the ‘the main food of every programme‘. The brand then roped in another youth icon, the captain of the Indian Cricket team, M. S. Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Lay’s decided to give a voice to its consumers’ opinion and started the ‘Fight for Your Flavour’ campaign where the consumers could vote for their favourite flavour. The TVCs for the campaign ran as a face-off between Saif Ali Khan and M. S. Dhoni portrayed as ‘netas’ urging the consumers to vote for their respective flavours. Later, with the increased competition and growing health concerns of the consumer, Lay’s launched a TVC claiming that it had 40% less fat.

up with the tagline "Be a little Dillogical". The concept clearly aimed at making a strong connect with the youth - talking about what one wishes to do versus what one has to do. The campaign was launched with a series of ads built around the

universal consumer struggle between what the mind asks one to do and what the heart desires. The idea was take n a bit further to launch the 'Give Us Your Dillicious Flavour' campaign encouraging consumers to send in their recipes. During the Cricket World Cup 2011, Lay’s launched a new campaign ‘Kaun Jeetega World Cup’ and came out with six new flavours. It called the consumers to vote for the team that would win the World Cup and get a chance to meet the Indian captain. Lay’s has so far managed to get it right with its Indian consumers. Be it the Indian flavours or the youthcentric imagery and appeal of the brand, Lay’s has always struck the right chord. As the youth brand that it has carved itself as, it continues to grow in the hearts and minds of its consumers.

In 2009, the brand again went in for a major repositioning and came

markathon | october 2011

specials | bookmark

Brand relevance Making Competitors Irrelevant: David A. Aaker Review by sria majumdar Jossey - Bass | Hardcover Edition, Price Rs.1654

This book is David Aaker’s ninth on branding, and that itself should be a crowd puller. The essence of the book is beautifully summed up in the quote David starts his book with ‘You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.’- Jerry Garcia If the author’s branding expertise, position as Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business and being the Vice Chairman of Prophet, a global brand and marketing consultancy firm are not reason enough for you to pick up the book, read on to know why the book is ‘relevant’ for you.

Summary The ground breaking book explains the difference between brand relevance and brand preference. In the battle for being relevant, it’s important that when a consumer considers a category/subcategory- your brand is in the consideration set. Brand preference battle comes in the later stages when one selects a brand from the consideration set and here differentiation, loyalty and experience come into play. The book describes how various brands have won and failed in the brand preference battle, and in the later chapters, talks of finding new concepts, evaluating them and defining and managing a category/subcategory. Also, the book deals with sustaining the differentiation, and gaining and maintaining relevance in the face of market dynamics.

Organization The book begins with the Japanese Beer Industry, and illustrates how Asahi became a market leader by defining a new subcategory and becoming the only relevant brand in that subcategory. The brand relevance

model is explained, and thereafter the categorization, framing, consideration and measurement of brand relevance are dealt with. There are three chapters completely dedicated to retail, automobile and the food industry- wherein multiple cases prove the point David makes about brand relevance. The book doesn’t stop there. The author proceeds to explain to the reader how the brand relevance battle can be won, and once again illustrates his theories with brilliant examples- ranging from Apple to Salesforce.com to GE.

Verdict: 4/5 The book is a must read for anyone interested in branding and marketing strategy. The only negative for an Indian reader would be that most of the examples are from a US context, and there are times that the brand examples are unknown. Having said that, the examples only enrich one’s knowledge of brands and makes the reader appreciate the risky world of brands even more.

Bottom-line David Aaker’s latest book, is a bibliophile’s reading pleasure for a plethora of reasons. First and foremost, any advice from the branding strategy guru comes wrapped in simplicity and is almost always backed by examples. Secondly, the book provides an insight into various brands- Zara, Subway, Toyota’s Prius Hybrid, P&G’s Olestra and many more. Finally, the book grips you from beginning to endbecause Aaker is an author who knows how to entertain the reader and yet, impart invaluable branding lessons.

markathon | october 2011

specials | updates

BRAND ADVERTISEMENTS TVS Apache claims to be scarily fast with a new TVC TVS Apache has unveiled a new commercial to highlight the speed factor of the bike which makes it 'scarily fast'. The TVC has been created by McCann Erickson. The objective behind the TVC was to differentiate Apache RTR 160 from all other bikes – especially in the area of performance emphasizing that Apache RTR is meant for true bike enthusiasts. The positioning of TVS Apache was considered while bringing out the TVC and was effectively amplified through the communication route taken. The TVC was positioned at bringing out the aspect of super speed in a unique and entertaining manner.

Vodafone communicates a multitude of offerings with new campaign Vodafone India has launched a new campaign to indulge their consumers in a volley of voice based services their toll free number 123 claims to offer. The campaign created by Ogilvy works on the thought that your phone is not just meant for talking. The campaign stars Irrfan Khan and for the Southern market, the campaign features actor Prakash Raj. The TVC was based on the idea that there is a huge segment of consumers with basic phones and a lot of hesitancy in exploring other services or even data. So the main idea was to involve and evolve this audience by giving them information they want without the complications through voice based 123 service.

TOI asks Chennai readers to wake up to The Times of India The Times of India has launched a new campaign for its Chennai edition. The campaign titled, 'Wake up to The Times of India' has been created by Taproot India. The TVC blends in a Tamil lullaby with different scenes in a satirical way so as to project that the readers of Chennai have been reading boring papers for a long time and it's time they switched to TOI's Chennai edition for their daily dose of news. The idea was to

underline to the consumer that if he's stuck with boring news, he should switch to TOI Chennai.

Draftfcb Ulka recreates the magic of Manthan for Amul’s new TVC Nearly a decade after Amul released its 'Mero gaam kathaparey’ advertisement, Draftfcb Ulka has recreated the magic of ‘Manthan’ for a new TVC. The new film emphasises on a woman's contribution towards creating a healthier lifestyle for the society in general and aims at establishing the bond between the milk producer and consumer. The idea behind the TVC is about connecting rural India with urban India. The new TVC is more about how this independent rural woman's life has enriched further and now she is walking shoulder to shoulder with her urban counterpart.

Second TVC out for Myntra.com Myntra.com has announced its Autumn/Winter 20011 collection with the help of a new TVC created by Happy Creative Services. The second TVC aims to drive home the fact that Myntra retails only the most popular inseason merchandise. The ad features young people, dressed in apparel and accessories from Myntra, who treat everyday places like the supermarket, the college corridor as fashion ramps, and hence, walk like models down it. The TVC will be supported by print, cinema and digital campaigns.

BRAND LAUNCH Lenovo launches tablets with the 'Do' mindset Lenovo has launched a host of tablets that will be available in different markets of India. The launch involves three types of tablets, IdeaPad K1 and A1 for consumers, and ThinkPad tablet for business professionals. For the launch of their first family of tablets, Lenovo is propagating the 'Do' mind-set communicating that theirs will be 'The do anything, anywhere, anytime tablets'. The core proposition behind the TVC would be to highlight that these are the 'Do' machines that can help do all the amazing things

specials | updates

that consumers thought weren't feasible so far. The creative agency at the helm for this launch is Ogilvy & Mather.

BBC.com launches India edition BBC.com, the international news website, has unveiled three new editions for, Asian, Indian and Australia/New Zealand consumers. All three sites will be tailored to provide more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business bulletins for each of the markets as well as a host of specially commissioned features and reports. These editions will be supported by BBC.com’s commercial launch partners Finnair, UPS and Prudential Corporation Asia. According to BBC, these three new editions across Asia reflect the BBC’s commitment to accurate, high-quality and independent news across digital platforms.

BMW Group to Launch MINI Brand in India in Early 2012 BMW Group, the Bavarian automaker, announced on Monday that it will launch the firm's small premium models in India starting from 2012. The company plans to create standalone dealerships for the MINI brand beginning with two showrooms in Delhi and one in Mumbai. Over the next few years, the British automaker will boast a total of 12 dealerships throughout the country. The company have not yet finalised the price of the car yet, but the entry price will be more than Rs 25 lakh. Interestingly, India has been the only country where Mini has not been introduced.

BRAND NEWS Unilever outlines 'more magic, less logic' marketing philosophy Unilever is to undertake a fundamental change in approach to its marketing through the implementation of a fresh 'More magic, less logic' company philosophy. The FMCG brand-owner wants to shake up its numbersled marketing strategy to reward marketers who are prepared to take risks and back creative ideas. The company believes this new philosophy would ‘enable marketers to fail’, where previously they have been ‘scared’ to take risks. It is understood that Unilever

markathon | october 2011

hopes the change will help move it away from the type of model used by rival Procter & Gamble.

Star Plus launches iPhone, iPad apps Star Plus has launched apps for the iPhone and iPad, a move that the channel says has made it the first GEC in India to do so. The apps are available in India and over 120 countries around the world. The initiative aims to make entertainment content available on-the-go. The App store will enable upwardly mobile viewers to watch their best loved programs on iPhone and iPad wherever they are and whenever they want to. The app allows users not just a great video experience, but also gives details on show schedules, news and updates on their favorite show characters through daily audio blogs.

CNBC-TV18 launches CNBC-TV18 Prime HD CNBC-TV18 has launched a new premium business news service called ‘CNBC-TV18 Prime HD’. The new business channel will be focused on the needs of India’s rapidly expanding investor and financial services community. To be available in addition to the existing CNBC-TV18 channel, ‘CNBC-TV18 PRIME HD’ will be broadcast on India’s leading DTH platforms in HD quality. CNBC-TV18 Prime HD will operate on a seamless and unique ‘2 window’ screen architecture, that will offer rich and in-depth live video and data content to viewers simultaneously.

BRAND RELAUNCH PepsiCo to relaunch Duke's in Mumbai PepsiCo is all set to re-launch the Duke's range of beverages in Mumbai. Duke’s will now be available in four flavours – raspberry, masala soda, gingerade and ice cream soda. The marketing promotion will mainly be through below the line activities, and start-up design agency Delta Leonis has been appointed for the same. According to PepsiCo, the new Duke’s range represents Mumbai’s spirit, which is a strong mix of tradition and modernity. It celebrates the heritage of Mumbai and echoes the same values of energy, strength and effervescence.

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