SIMSR Marksman - October 2012 by Zigu MBA

The

MARKSMAN

K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

SPECIAL STORY FROM HIGH SPIRITS TO A GHASTLY CRASH- DILUTION OF BRAND MALLYA Page 11

VOL. 3| ISSUE III| OCT ‘12

TGUN

MARKETING .. Page 08

TETE-A-TETE Ambi M G Parameswaran ED and CEO, DraftFCB Ulka Advertising ..Page 15

FEATURED ARTICLE Gangnam Style – viral effect of the video

.. Page 17

Hall-MARK CAMPAIGNS Vodafone goes animated this grand prix...! .. Page 07

EDITOR’S DESK Dear Readers, Welcome to yet another edition of ‘The Marksman’, your favourite marketing periodical which promises to refine your marketing acumen. We thrive to bring you integrated marketing insights that would persevere to cultivate your marketing skills and expertise. Our Cover Story discovers a unique concept for maximum impact – SHOTGUN MARKETING, A UNIQUE CONCEPT FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT, covers an ambit of shotgun approaches that increase the odds of hitting a target. Our Special Story – ‘FROM HIGH SPIRITS TO A GHASTLY CRASH- DILUTION OF BRAND MALLYA’ highlights the dichotomy between Mallya’s brand quotient and the marketing faux pas committed by him. Flex your marketing muscles with ‘BUZZ’ and keep abreast of developments with our ADITUDE, BOOKWORM and TWEETS. Delve into useful insights of brand ‘Amul’ with BRAND MARKIVE. We also take you through events through our REWIND section.

The issue also captures a TETE-A-TETE with Ambi M G Parameswaran, ED and CEO, DraftFCB Ulka advertising, Mumbai. He throws some light and provides us with useful insights on integrated marketing communication, brand building and digital marketing. Our Featured Article of the month talks about Gangnam Style – the viral effect of the video, and how it has become ubiquitous and has been able to transcend global boundaries. We would like to congratulate the winner of the featured article – Debdutta Roy. We hope this issue makes an informative read. Our endeavour continues to be able to add more value to your reading and we are working incessantly towards it. Read on to find out for yourself! Let us know your thoughts and be sure to come visit us at www.interfacesimsr.weebly.com/the-marksman for more of the latest integrative marketing news and stories. Happy Reading! Cheers!! Team – Marksman The Interface – The Marketing Club of SIMSR

OCTOBER 2012

CONTENT

Its all About AD-itude!

TWEETS

.. Page 03

BRAND MARKIVE

.. Page 05

.. Page 04

Hall-MARK CAMPAIGNS

REWIND

.. Page 14

.. Page 07

BOOKWORM

SqAreheaD

.. Page 19

.. Page 20

SPECIAL STORY

TETE-A-TETE

.. Page 15

BUZZ

.. Page 21

COVER STORY

SHOTGUN MARKETING

FROM HIGH SPIRITS TO A GHASTLY CRASH- DILUTION OF BRAND MALLYA

A Unique Concept for Maximum Impact

.. Page 11

.. Page 08

FEATURED ARTICLE Gangnam Style – Viral effect of the video

.. Page 17

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TWEETS

Cafe Coffee Day ventures into print for first time Cafe Coffee Day released its first print ad on Friday, 28 September, as a false cover in The Times of India. With the headline, "You'll never run out of reasons to hang out", the ad showcases the combo deals introduced by the coffee shop chain on the front page, and some fun takeaways from when Cafe Coffee Day first began on the flip side.

Reliance Communications & WhatsApp enter into exclusive partnership Reliance Communications, India's fully integrated telecommunications service provider, today announced their exclusive partnership with WhatsApp in India. Through this partnership Reliance Communications has launched first of its kind prepaid plan ‘WhatsApp Plan’ for all Reliance GSM subscribers and ‘My College Plan’ for students across the country. Reliance GSM customers can now enjoy unlimited usage of WhatsApp and Face book across the country at a nominal fee of Rs. 16 per month only without paying any extra data consumption charges.

Sony Mobile launches Photo Hopping Instagram app Sony Mobile has launched the PhotoHopping Instagram app for its Xperia devices, which enables users to create a personalised photo tour, based on their interests. The app, created by LBi, is built on to Instragram’s API and allows its users to create music videos using photographs from the app from different cities around the world. The app is free to download

Jabong awards creative duties to Draftfcb Ulka Jabong has chosen Draftfcb Ulka as its new creative agency, following a multi-agency pitch that saw participation from about fivesix agencies. The e-commerce site had recently awarded its media mandate to Zenith Optimedia.

ZEE to invest Rs 100 cr. in edutainment venture ZEE recently announced the launch of ZeeQ, an edutainment channel, making it the 32nd channel to join the Network’s already existing bouquet of 31 channels. The 24-hour channel is slated to go on air from November 5, 2012.

OCTOBER 2012

Its all about AD-itude! These print ads were designed during Ganeshotsav 2012. ‘The Times of India’ every year runs ‘Utsav Moorti Sanman’ a competition to adjudge the best Ganesh Idol in the following categories, ‘Best Idol’ and ‘Best Eco-Friendly Idol’. TOI’s ads are an invitation for participation in the competition in the ‘Best Eco-Friendly Idol’ Category. Every year during Ganeshotsav a lot of Ganesh Idols are made and immersed into the water bodies in and around Maharashtra. Most of these Ganesh Idols are not ecofriendly and cause water pollution. TOI’s ads encourage using eco-friendly idols or idols made from recycled material. Their tagline of recycling faith, hope, devotion and prayers reiterates this.

Media: Print Client: Bennett, Coleman & Co Corporation: Umbrella Design

Media: TVC Client: Cadbury Corporation: Ogilvy & Mather In keeping with their tradition to advertise Cadbury Celebrations before Diwali, Cadbury has come up with a new ad this year too. With tag line reading “Toh iss Diwali aap kise khush karenge”, it is sure to melt your hearts just like the chocolate does. The ad starts with, Steve, an American coming to work for an Indian firm. He meets Nitin in the lift on his first day of work. Steve has difficulty eating the Indian food as he is used to eating with fork and spoon and does not understand how to eat roti. He tries to understand cricket by relating it with baseball only to be discouraged by his colleagues. He also feels left out of conversations with his colleagues as most of conversation is done in Hindi. Steve’s struggle to fit in is seen by Nitin, who along with his colleagues decides to decorate his cubicle on Diwali and give him a ‘Cadbury Celebration’ as a gift. Steve is touched by the gesture. The TVC ad address issues of feeling out of place in a foreign country and what one can do to make sure that people feel welcomed in a new environment apart from strategically placing Cadbury Celebration as a gift that can be given during Diwali.

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BRAND MARKIVE

AMUL is a company that we have come to know for its dairy products and timely advertisements. Little do we know that its conception is steeped in rich history. Let’s take a look at it. The Birth: It all started in 1946, in Anand-a village in Gujarat, due to the exploitative trade practices followed by local trade cartel. Angered by the unfair practices, and under the advice of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, they got rid of the middlemen and formed their own co-operation which was involved in procurement, processing and marketing of milk. Initially known as Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union, it started with two villages and 247 litres of milk and grew from strength to strength under leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel, the founder Chairman and later from 1950 under the committed professionalism of late Dr. Verghese Kurien. GCMMF: Witnessing AMUL’s growth, other unions in other districts started to crop up. In order to save on advertising costs and avoid competing against each other, they combined forces to form Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) - an apex marketing body. The Kaira union transferred the brand name AMUL to GCMMF Today GCMMF is India’s largest food product marketing organisation with a daily

OCTOBER 2012

BRAND MARKIVE procurement of approximately 13 million litres per day from 16,117 village milk cooperative societies. Some other facts about GCMMF: •It is India’s largest exporter with many products available in USA, Gulf Countries, and Asian Countries. •It has been awarded “Trading House” status. •Has been receiving the APEDA award for Excellence in Dairy Product Exports for the last 13 years from Indian Government. •It is also the only company from India to win International Dairy Federation Marketing Award for pro-biotic ice-cream launch. Advertising: Today, when we think of AMUL, the one thing that comes foremost to our mind is the AMUL butter advertisements. The ads began in 1966 when Sylvester DaCunha, was hired to design a new ad campaign for AMUL butter. He came up with the AMUL mascot, a cute and chubby girl usually dressed in a polka dot dress which today has become universally recognisable in India.

And the tagline, ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul’ is just as catchy. The brand recall for the Amul girl is phenomenal across India today. And the biggest reason for this is the topical nature of the ads.

These ads cover day-to-day issues. The humour in the ads is incisive and funny. Over the years Amul ads have come under criticism for making ads on certain controversial issues like the Naxalite movement in West Bengal and Indian Airlines pilot strike. The Amul ad campaign has completed 50 years and has entered the Guinness book of world records for the longest running campaign in the world.

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Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN

Vodafone goes animated this grand prix...!

As 2012 Grand prix is going to be held on the soil of India on 28th Oct 2012, the high speed action and ear-splitting roar of engines will be experienced one more time by “Buddh International circuit”. Vodafone being associated with this event and taking it to be the best opportunity to connect with the customers is pitching in with its new animated advertisement which at the end of it asks customers to take part in its campaign. It is a 35 second advertisement which invites enthusiastic crowd to become a part of the Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes team in Airtel Indian Grand Prix, 2012. This ad features two animated caterpillars walk into the cars to compete in a race, but as cars start off with high speed they are left breathless and astonished. Towards the end, the ad asks “Love Racing?” and urges the people to log on to Vodafone’s site so that they can have a chance to join their team at the 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix. By this campaign Vodafone gives viewers a chance to be the lucky ones to stay with the team, travel with the team and participate in various events with them. Through this campaign, the viewers won’t only be close to the event but actually be a part of it. They also have a chance to meet the driver and share the pit with the team. The TV along with the digital, radio, outdoor and print will be the most important medium for this campaign. Airtel being the title sponsor for the Airtel Grand Prix, there is going to be a tough competition and looking at the way Vodafone has been carrying this campaign it has not left any stone unturned to be one of the most important sponsors of this speed loving sport and at the same time, be in the eyes of those enthusiastic speed lovers.

OCTOBER 2012

Shotgun Marketing A Unique Concept for Maximum Impact

C O V E R S T O R Y

The marketing universe came into existence in the 19th century and the first prominent entities were the 4 Ps. They then paved way for 4Cs which in turn yielded 4Vs. There were also 7 Ps which were introduced sometime in between. Today, there are so many concepts that there are virtually no restrictions for the business communities to perform at a global level. Today, there is no “Silk Route” which allows a trader to walk down the trodden path and be as successful as his/her predecessor. It is an all out competition (WWE Royal Rumble style!). Stalwarts of the industry try to oust competition from the single arena. There are collusions, divisions (Cartelizations, Acquisitions, Divestments etc.) to help strengthen one’s position and weaken the competitors. Today’s marketing world requires newer and more specific strategies instead of the ones which can clearly be applied to all forms of businesses, whether the product is bread or armored personnel carrier. This highlights the fact that more the marketing budget is, more diversified the marketing campaigns could be. However, how do smaller companies make an impact to grab a chunk of market share? There are a number of innovative marketing techniques that have been seen utilized successfully in the recent past. Such attempts have not been made at a grand scale (utilizing television/radio for promotion, or sponsoring events on national or international levels). Yet they have been cost effective and quite emphatic. For example, the Flash Mobs have caught the public attention quite successfully. The concept of Flash Mob- it must be pointed out- allegedly has originated from Hindi movies/musicals where the moment an actor starts to sing or dance out in the streets, suddenly every complacent passerby erupts in a dance frenzy as though his/her survival depended on it! It just cannot happen in reality. It is precisely why a flash mob performance stands out. Imagine that on a fine day, you are normally walking to work and suddenly- to your great surprise-all individuals around you pull out pillows and start hitting each other with it in a light hearted brawl! This is exactly what happened in Toronto in 2005. Thanks to the phenomenon, we now have an International Pillow Fight Day! Such a marketing technique has been categorized in various domains including guerilla marketing. However, this article highlights the impact aspect of this and similar strategies. A flash mob can be explained under another form of marketing which is called Shotgun Marke-

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COVER STORY -ting. In most instances of it being used, Shotgun Marketing has been perceived as a negative form of marketing. Experts say that it is an ineffective mode of communication. Before we delve into the analysis, let us first dissect the Shotgun marketing phenomenon. The nomenclature comes from the weapon of the same name and the way it works. To understand how a shotgun works, there is no need to look for a weapons’ expert. Just ask fans of games like Gears of War, Doom, Call of Duty or Bulletstorm and they would gladly give you details with lucidity unlike anyone else! A Shotgun is used for close quarter combats. Instead of standard aim-and-shoot, one simply has to point it in the general direction of the target and squeeze the trigger. The impact area is huge. A typical Shotgun campaign is aimed either at a select geographical area or a targeted segment of the market, as the following example will elucidate. A coffee shop newly established in your neighborhood would most likely deal in the Shotgun form of marketing. It would use its limited budget to create awareness amongst individuals who live close by. This quite possible would be done easily in the form of pamphlets or offers being dropped in all homes in the immediate vicinity. A well made pamphlet with appropriate visual appeal is sure to attract the attention of some (if not all). If a parallel is to be drawn, imagine throwing a bunch of magnetized stickers at the refrigerator in one go, and expecting some of them to stick. Shotgun marketing is a considered as a wild strategy by many because it does not have a way to quantify the impact till the ‘shot’ has been taken. Let us revisit the example of the new coffee shop in your neighborhood. The owner can count the number of houses but how many members residing in those houses would actually fall into their customer category is unknown. Therefore, there is a distinct possibility that the right audience is not reached despite huge quanta of resources being utilized. Just because all stickers are magnetized does not mean all of them would stick to the refrigerator. There is always a certain level of targeting needed for successful application of shot gun strategy. This is what the critics forget while giving their judgment. The gamers that we asked you to talk to earlier would vouch for the fact that this weapon is used best against a number of opponents in close spaces (“With immense pleasure”- they add!). Hence after one identifies a target market, it is important to get close (understand the market a bit better!) and then utilize the shotgun marketing techniques. (For maximum impact, gamers love sneaking up on enemies and surprising them with shotgun shots!) For a more complex use of the technique, let us consider the example of the following franchisee marketing cases.

OCTOBER 2012

COVER STORY Consider two book titles which made it big riding on the franchisee waves. It is a relatively unsuccessful practice in writing circuits but these 2 have been exceptions. The objective here is to illustrate the kind of marketing tactics (including shotgun marketing) that have been utilized to juice out every ounce of potential in a successful brand and how the target market was acquired. Remember the successful Bourne series by Robert Ludlum? The gritty ‘Jason Bourne’ today has become the role model for spy character lovers who have now become divided over their loyalty towards Mr. James Bond. Some say that, because of Jason Bourne, the Bond loyalists have been left ‘shaken, not stirred’! The world fell in love with Mr. Bourne (whose “bad memory” made things all the more interesting), thanks to the quality inputs by Robert Ludlum. After ‘The Bourne Identity’, ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’, there came to light a book titled ‘Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Legacy’ written by Eric Van Lustbader. This gentleman has been credited for adding seven more novels to the Bourne series picking up from the point where Robert Ludlum left off in ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’. Moreover, the first one out of these seven has already been made into a movie which has yielded the latest chapter in the Bourne universe in the form of the gritty Jeremy Renner reprising the role of the super spy. Before the book was written, its target market was identified as all spy book readers including Ludlum’s fans. The Bourne Identity was written in 1980 and the movie was released in 2002. Its stupendous success was perceived correctly by Eric Van Lustbader. He identified the opportunity and wrote the next chapter of the book by the name of ‘The Bourne Legacy’. This book was written with permission from Robert Ludlum’s estate and was released bearing Ludlum’s name. The shot paid off. Even though hardcore Ludlum fans rejected it, it managed to revive the Ludlum brand and capture new market of spy novel enthusiasts. Another such attempt is a relatively lesser known Douglas Adams’, ‘And Another Thing?’ written by Eoin Coifer. The new ‘Bona fide’ artists have juiced out legacies to the last drop and marketed a brand to its last bit. They have utilized the Shotgun Strategy to increase awareness amongst a not-so-discreetly-segmented target markets and captured a bulk of the same. Most importantly, Shotgun strategies are memorable and can be used for brand promotions if done correctly.

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FROM HIGH SPIRITS TO A GHASTLY CRASH- DILUTION OF BRAND MALLYA

S P E C I A L S T O R Y

Once a businessman accosted a New York City bank to avail a loan of $5000 for business in India, for a period of two weeks. The loan officer enunciated the need for a loan guarantee. The businessman offered his Ferrari, parked in the lane, as security against the loan. The loan officer and the bank President mocked at the businessman’s inanity. After a fortnight the businessman returned and repaid the mon-ey with interest. The flummoxed loan officer, now sentient of the businessman’s identity was inquisitive to know the reason for his action. To which the businessman riposted“where else would I get to safely park my car for a lowly sum of $15.41 for two weeks?” This man was none other than Vijay Mallya. The name conjures an image of a charismatic, larger than life person, thronged by bikini clad models on a yacht ‘Indian Empress’, quaffing on ‘Kingfisher’ and authenticating himself as the ‘King of good times’. Is today’s Vijay Vittal Mallya the same thrifty businessman or has he been consumed by his own image?

MALLYA’S BRAND QUOTIENT A brand is something that creates a perception in the mind of the consumer so that he is ready to pay a premium for it. When you think of ‘Kingfisher’ or ‘United Breweries’, the first thing that comes to your mind is their owner- Dr. Vijay Mallya. Such is his ‘brand recall’. He has embodied all that his brand stands for- fun, high life, breaking away from shackles and celebration.

OCTOBER 2012

SPECIAL STORY Even at 56 he betrays his age and exudes vibes of youthfulness and an intoxicating vigour. He ‘differentiates’ himself not only from his age group but also from his business rivals. All big businessman and successful people exemplify hard work, dedication and a sombre image but this man exemplifies gusto. This not only demonstrates his risk taking appetite but also confers on him a unique identity. He is synonymous with his products and services. He is the brand mascot. He is the brand’s knight in shining armour. Other brands shell out handsome sums to associate themselves with a celebrity, but in case of brand Mallya he himself is the celebrity. Can anyone better personify a brand that says ‘King of good times’, than a person with 25 abodes across the globe, 250 vintage cars and married twice but enjoying a bachelor’s life and doling his wealth on Tipu Sultan’s sword or Mahatma Gandhi’s belongings. He is the brands ‘value proposition’ and ‘Kingfisher’ is the ‘offering’.

BRAND LIFE CYCLE Introduction- Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, when Mallya inherited from his father at 27 years of age, people thought he would fritter away all, but he wanted to prove everybody wrong. Growth and Maturity- Riding high on spirits, he set out to pilot a humungous mechanical bird ‘Kingfisher’ which guzzled all his riches. Decline- And today he runs the risk of forfeiting his recession proof liquor business to buoy his sinking aircraft

SWOT ANALYSIS StrengthsAn amazing marketer who made himself the prosopopeia of his products. He once said “I am always claiming that 24x7 is not enough……I love challenges.” He is an achiever, winner of many sporting events and is flamboyance personified- showed restrained Indians that indulgence could also be a way of life. WeaknessesHe probably forgot to draw a line between business and hobby and took reckless steps. ‘Kingfisher airlines’, ‘Force India’, ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’ stand testimony to this fact. His callous attitude towards his employees is nearing inhumane. He carouses while they commit suicide, take pay cuts and stage protests. OpportunitiesHis clout with the bureaucratic class got FDI in aviation, which is the silver lining on his black cloud.

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SPECIAL STORY ThreatsIn spite of getting a lot of time on lease due to his political connect, he failed to capitalize on the opportunity and revive ‘Kingfisher airlines’, jeopardising UB in the process. He now runs the risk of being reduced to a nominal head at UB by Diego.

MARKETING FAUX PAS Overconfidence and complacence- When it dawned on ‘Air Deccan’ that it could no longer keep afloat, it gracefully exited. But Mallya was overconfident that ‘Kingfisher’ will stay aflight and never nose-dive. He also did not have the foresight and the heart to pull the shutters down on a loss making entity. There was no strong reason for retention, on the flipside the airline was gulping down a lot of money which would have fructified more had it been used on a flourishing brand. This not only blew a financial blow to the brand but also cast a shadow on its image. Lack of response to feedback and lack of controlGandhiji once said, “Alcohol is not the answer to all questions”. Vijay Mallya once said “Alcohol is not the answer to all questions, but if you don’t get the answer, it helps you forget the question”. He followed exactly this in case of ‘Kingfisher airlines’. In spite of feedbacks in the form of financial statements he did little to veer ‘Kingfisher airlines’ back on the path to success.

Wrong marketing strategies in the decline stage and faltering on social responsibility marketingwhen ‘Kingfisher airlines’ was at the ‘helm of bad times’ its owner, who personified the brand, continued to ‘have a good time’ creating a conflicting image. Marketing strategies should mutate to accommodate mutations in the ‘task environment’ as well as the ‘broad environment’. In an industry such as aviation which impacts the investors and society, this attitude only fuelled anger and negativity against the brand. The takeoff was smooth but the landing is rough. To survive the inclement weather Mallya has to schmooze with junior bureaucrats for favours and face flak from the media. A non bail able warrant has been issued against him. He recently said, “The media are having a great time slamming me. Let them continue their wild and inaccurate speculation. I will prove all of them wrong.” Whether brand Mallya will resurrect or not only time will tell.

OCTOBER 2012

REWIND ‘Brand Building Advertising’ workshop with Dr. Ambi M. G. Parmeswaran and Kinjal Medh Two of the biggest names in the world of Advertising and Branding, graced K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research with their presence and gave us their useful insights into this Mad Ad world! Dr. M.G. Parmeswaran – Executive director at one of the leading advertising agencies DraftFCB Ulka along with Kinjal Medh, COO at Cogito Consulting conducted a workshop on Brand Building and Advertising. They have coauthored a book by the name ‘Brand Building Advertising’. The book discusses various real life cases of top notch brands such as Amul, Tata Indica, Whirlpool, Naukri.com and many more handled by DraftFCB Ulka.The workshop began with Mr. Kinjal Medh discussing various cases from their book such as a case on Tata Indica. The interactive session helped the students to understand what went behind the car Tata Indica from its launch to its positioning to what effect the whole branding activity had on the brand Tata Indica. The daylong session was then taken over by the maestro himself, Dr. Parmeswaran, who gave us some very important facts and secrets about successful branding and about how advertising can take any brand to a whole new level. He also spoke about the various loopholes in brand -ing activities of famous brands that led to their decline. He discussed the case of Santoor soaps at length. He also spoke about the future of advertising and branding and the big opportunity that faces us. The session ended with Dr. Parmeswaran signing copies of his book for the students. A day filled with power packed discussions and some very useful insights left the students pondering about how branding and advertising plays such an important role for any brand these days. The students appreciated this initiative taken up by Interface which added yet another feather in its cap.

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TETE-A-TETE In a career spanning three decades Ambi has handled assignments in marketing, sales and advertising with companies like Rediffusion DY&R, Boots Company and UDI Yellow Pages before dropping anchor at Draftfcb-Ulka Advertising over two decades ago. He has had an important role in the transformation of Ulka Advertising into Draftfcb Ulka Group with interests in media, consulting, digital, advertising and healthcare. He has helped build numerous brands including Digene, Brufen, Santoor Soap, Sundrop Cooking Oil, TCS, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Indica Cars, Zee TV among others, covering diverse categories such as automotives, healthcare, telecom, FMCG, corporate etc. He recently visited K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research and gave us his useful insights into the world of Branding and Advertising. He also spoke about various cases from his recent book â&#x20AC;&#x153;FCB-Ulka Brand Building Advertising â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Concepts and Cases. Here are a few excerpts from his interview:

Ambi M G Parameswaran ED and CEO, DraftFCB Ulka Advertising, Mumbai.

Q1. What is the single most challenging factor or area in integrated marketing communication? What has been the pain point for you? Answer: Finding the right idea and then finding the right interpretation in different media. It is very easy to do something different in social media and something different in digital media and then the whole thing all over the place. The big thing is to find the right button and the right big idea and take it across all media. That is the biggest challenge and we are still learning how to do it. Q2. You have worked in a number of brands; tell us which one has been the most challenging in terms of brand building. Answer: Every brand is challenging, as it faces its own set of competitions and issues. Also the market shifts very rapidly; just when you thought you have beaten your competition and you are on a roll, you find a new competition coming in and so you have to go back and relearn everything again. So according to me every brand is a challenge.

Q3.When do you take a decision to kill a brand or reposition it and how? Answer: Brands I believe are eternal. Every brand if it is nurtured and cared for can live forever. If you are a marketer, you should never ever kill a brand. But of course every brand needs to be revamped and re-energised and that is marketing.

OCTOBER 2012

TETE-A-TETE Q4. Recently have you had clients who have been more receptive to the idea of you embracing social media much more than the world? Answer: Well social media is a very narrow term, so let’s look at digital media. I think in the past, digital and social used to be an afterthought. Today a lot of clients are asking, if you are doing this on TV and this on print, what are you planning to do on digital? Therefore we can say that it has become an integral part of the full 360 degree campaign planning, which it wasn’t five years ago. Even for a soap or a toothpaste brand, you are looking at 360 degrees on day one compared to not doing it at all 5 years ago.

Q5. How do you see the advertising climate currently? Do you see a palpable shift from traditional media to social media? Answer: We have looked at these numbers over the next 5-10 years. We believe that the traditional media will still be pretty big. Today let’s say digital media is about 3% of the total ad spend of about 35,000 crores, we expect that this 3% may go up to 5% in the next 5 years. Ten years down the line when all bets are off, we don’t know what will happen, but India is one of the few countries where newspaper readership is still growing, newspaper circulation is growing, Indian language newspapers are growing, television is growing, so I don’t think newspapers or magazines are going to die very soon.

Q6. What is your perspective on the FDI hike? How is it for the Media industry-the broadcast Industry, considering that nine out of ten broadcast players are bleeding to death, the advertisers are seeing a bit of a muted growth, so do you see the scenario changing and also how is it going to pan out for the advertising industry? Answer: In liberalization it got stuck, in the last 5-6 years no major impetus has been taken. So I think it is a good sign that the government has woken up and taken some bold steps in terms of opening up of multi-brand retail and aviation for India. News media is still highly regulated whereas entertainment media is completely liberalized. For news media I think there is probably some logic in keeping some control in terms of majority share holdings, etc. I think this is the sign of things to come and the government has moved in the right direction, therefore we should be expecting a lot of opening up of different sectors of economy and probably taming a lot of bleeding sectors in the country.

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