JANUARY ’11Vol. II Issue llI

2010 uzz showcases the Best Marketing Camapigns that took the India by storm in 2010

Ad-MaD

Ghar ka Brand, Band Bajaaye!!Private labels are here to stay and to create a stir into the share of the market leaders

Cross-Word

4P’s Quiz

Funeral Services

Churn

All New

All New

For any suggestions please contact us on

Follow us on :

njm@nmims.org

Happy New Year!!

The Path Breaking

of

MarketingCampaigns

JANUARY ’11Vol. II Issue llI

2010 uzz showcases the Best Marketing Camapigns that took the India by storm in 2010

Ad-MaD

Ghar ka Brand, Band Bajaaye!!Private labels are here to stay and to create a stir into the share of the market leaders

Cross-Word

4P’s Quiz

Funeral Services

Churn

All New

All New

For any suggestions please contact us on

Follow us on :

njm@nmims.org

Happy New Year!!

The Path Breaking

of

MarketingCampaigns

Dear Readers

Succession planning! That's the buzz word today in corporate India and should we say, a 'problem-

word' for quite a few! Wipro & Patni are the 2 companies that come to mind and the basic problem

with both of them is the absence of Gen-next to carry forward the legacy. And this buzz word isn't

limited just to Corporate India, its percolated to our BuZZ team as well. One more edition to go and

then the editorship baton would move from us to some talented and passionate 'Buzz-er'! And

considering the sacking of Wipro's joint CEOs, we - (Ronak & Vinay) the joint editors of magazine

are praying that we don't get ousted before our term officially ends! While succession planning

would take its course, it's BuZZ- The Markazine that's on course to become a true blue hit in B-

schools all over India. This January edition is 'never-before-seen' BuZZ as it covers not just articles

but also quizzes, crosswords and an entertaining 'Fun-Zone'! It's always been our endeavour to

dish out something new & insightful in every issue that we publish & we say it with utmost

confidence & pride that this particular edition takes the cake! Hope you'll enjoy reading it as much

as we did while designing it.

Happy BuZZing

Editors,

Ronak Shah

Vinay Jayanthi

Designed by

Nishchai Nevrekar

5

11

19

25

Branding lives and Living BrandsGaurav Gutka (IIFT)

Ad-MaD(IIFT)

The Ultimate Pathbreakers

Kumudini Manda, Krishnakant Jonnalgadda,Rahul Gupta (NMIMS)

Ghar ka Brand, Band Bajaaye!!

Krisnakant Jonnalgadda,Kushal MehtaNandini Kapoor (NMiMS)

Cross-Word

4P’s Quiz

Neelotpal Shukla (NMIMS)26

6

Cult BrandsRachita Behl (NMiMS)

7

Wishing you a Very Happy New Year Ahead!!

Team 2010

Uday jaipuriaNipun PuriMohit GuptaRahul PahwaRonak ShahVinay JayanthiNaman AgrawalPuneet ChopraGovind R.Prateek SinghiApurva NahataHafiz NadirshahTushar Jain

Email : Contact : +919833415606

njm@nmims.org

Dear Readers

Succession planning! That's the buzz word today in corporate India and should we say, a 'problem-

word' for quite a few! Wipro & Patni are the 2 companies that come to mind and the basic problem

with both of them is the absence of Gen-next to carry forward the legacy. And this buzz word isn't

limited just to Corporate India, its percolated to our BuZZ team as well. One more edition to go and

then the editorship baton would move from us to some talented and passionate 'Buzz-er'! And

considering the sacking of Wipro's joint CEOs, we - (Ronak & Vinay) the joint editors of magazine

are praying that we don't get ousted before our term officially ends! While succession planning

would take its course, it's BuZZ- The Markazine that's on course to become a true blue hit in B-

schools all over India. This January edition is 'never-before-seen' BuZZ as it covers not just articles

but also quizzes, crosswords and an entertaining 'Fun-Zone'! It's always been our endeavour to

dish out something new & insightful in every issue that we publish & we say it with utmost

confidence & pride that this particular edition takes the cake! Hope you'll enjoy reading it as much

as we did while designing it.

Happy BuZZing

Editors,

Ronak Shah

Vinay Jayanthi

Designed by

Nishchai Nevrekar

5

11

19

25

Branding lives and Living BrandsGaurav Gutka (IIFT)

Ad-MaD(IIFT)

The Ultimate Pathbreakers

Kumudini Manda, Krishnakant Jonnalgadda,Rahul Gupta (NMIMS)

Ghar ka Brand, Band Bajaaye!!

Krisnakant Jonnalgadda,Kushal MehtaNandini Kapoor (NMiMS)

Cross-Word

4P’s Quiz

Neelotpal Shukla (NMIMS)26

6

Cult BrandsRachita Behl (NMiMS)

7

Wishing you a Very Happy New Year Ahead!!

Team 2010

Uday jaipuriaNipun PuriMohit GuptaRahul PahwaRonak ShahVinay JayanthiNaman AgrawalPuneet ChopraGovind R.Prateek SinghiApurva NahataHafiz NadirshahTushar Jain

Email : Contact : +919833415606

njm@nmims.org

Branding lives and Living Brands

oday Brand is not just an identity of a

product or a service or anything that Tdifferentiates itself from the competitor

and reaps in profit. A Brand has transformed itself

to become the identity of the consumer. Gone are

the days when a Brand used to highlight a

company's offering. Today a Brand focuses on

consumers, their emotions, their status and their self-

esteem.

Customer equity, along with Brand equity is fast gaining

importance. Valuing customers is as important as

valuing brands as both are said to be mutual

beneficiaries. None can work in isolation. Although, the

focus has moved from the product to the customer,

customer is no more the king, with brands growing

bigger and better than ever. Producers are wor

king towards converting a want into a need. Pro

ducts like a photo copy or a chocolate is

known as Xerox and Cadbury in India.

That's the power of a brand.

TATA is one of the most respected and

trusted Brands of our nation and when

someone uses a TATA product or service,

the person feels dignified; (s)he feels valued.

This is the power of Brand 'TATA'. TATAs

have worked very hard to lay a strong

foundation to the customers' dreams. It

symbolises self-esteem when the “one- l a k h

Nano” is driven by an average middle class who could

not afford a car. TATAs have also been a part of Indian

culture. Whenever a marriage takes place in India, one

of the most common things gifted to the groom is Titan

watch. No other brand has been able to take its place.

This goes on to say that a brand like TATA has found its

place in the hearts of the Indians and has become

a part of the

c u l t u r e

wh ich in

tur n gives a

sense of complacency and identity to its

users. This is Culture Branding.

A Brand symbolises the ideology of the company that

relates itself to that of the consumers. It also

symbolises benefits and attributes of the products.

Disney is not just a film company or a theme park.

Disney symbolizes children's entertainment – when

you choose Disney, your mind thinks, “If it's Disney, it's

good, safe and right for my kids.” Disney is very careful

about this image. It will not make films or products,

which are not 100% family oriented.

In this extremely competitive world, for a Brand to

survive and evolve as the consumers' most preferred

choice, it has to fight the cut-throat competition by

creating points of differentiation. A Brand must focus

on something that will provide its

u s e r s a n identity which is

e a s i l y differentiable if

n o t superior to that of

o t h e r s . IKEA, one of the

m o s t i n n ovative companies

of the w o r l d , i s

deliv e r i n g

excellenc e in terms of

i t s f u n c t i o n a l

and well designed furniture line which is absolutely

affordable in order to reach as many customers as

possible rendering a sense of dignity in them. It

symbolises technological superiority with simplicity

so that the users feel more valuable.

Today's consumers use brands to build their own

identities. Some even like to be known by the brands

that they use. If your brand can give

them that, it will survive, and if the

identity takes into account the

cultural aspects of the consumers,

they will love your brand and make

it immortal. Not that it's always a

brand that has to strive. These days customers

eye the most coveted brands like Apple and

Volkswagen to be attached to in order to enjoy a

superior status.

Market Researchers not only gather demographic

information but cultural influences and preferences

are also taken into consideration, so that a Brand

does not remain just a Brand but become a way of life.

Brands need to value the culture, using the

uniqueness of target groups to market themselves

accordingly. Those who have done that have been

very successful like McDonalds. It has proved to be a

truly global brand by adopting the cultural differences

of different regions to merge it into one.

Branding is a dynamic process and everybody is

trying to build an eternal Brand. For one to be

successful it has to learn to be empathetic and make

use of the cultural and emotional aspects and the

values attached with the consumers. Branding,

today, means branding lives (of its users) which in

turn will help a Brand live longer. It's for time to decide

who will rule whom. For the moment Brand and

Customers stand at par.

By

Ga

ura

v G

ud

hka

IIF

T

Trends

39

CAN BE AVAILED WITHIN YOUR LIFETIMEFOR THE REST….

WE'RE THEREXYZ FUNERAL SERVICES

Mad-Ads

Branding lives and Living Brands

oday Brand is not just an identity of a

product or a service or anything that Tdifferentiates itself from the competitor

and reaps in profit. A Brand has transformed itself

to become the identity of the consumer. Gone are

the days when a Brand used to highlight a

company's offering. Today a Brand focuses on

consumers, their emotions, their status and their self-

esteem.

Customer equity, along with Brand equity is fast gaining

importance. Valuing customers is as important as

valuing brands as both are said to be mutual

beneficiaries. None can work in isolation. Although, the

focus has moved from the product to the customer,

customer is no more the king, with brands growing

bigger and better than ever. Producers are wor

king towards converting a want into a need. Pro

ducts like a photo copy or a chocolate is

known as Xerox and Cadbury in India.

That's the power of a brand.

TATA is one of the most respected and

trusted Brands of our nation and when

someone uses a TATA product or service,

the person feels dignified; (s)he feels valued.

This is the power of Brand 'TATA'. TATAs

have worked very hard to lay a strong

foundation to the customers' dreams. It

symbolises self-esteem when the “one- l a k h

Nano” is driven by an average middle class who could

not afford a car. TATAs have also been a part of Indian

culture. Whenever a marriage takes place in India, one

of the most common things gifted to the groom is Titan

watch. No other brand has been able to take its place.

This goes on to say that a brand like TATA has found its

place in the hearts of the Indians and has become

a part of the

c u l t u r e

wh ich in

tur n gives a

sense of complacency and identity to its

users. This is Culture Branding.

A Brand symbolises the ideology of the company that

relates itself to that of the consumers. It also

symbolises benefits and attributes of the products.

Disney is not just a film company or a theme park.

Disney symbolizes children's entertainment – when

you choose Disney, your mind thinks, “If it's Disney, it's

good, safe and right for my kids.” Disney is very careful

about this image. It will not make films or products,

which are not 100% family oriented.

In this extremely competitive world, for a Brand to

survive and evolve as the consumers' most preferred

choice, it has to fight the cut-throat competition by

creating points of differentiation. A Brand must focus

on something that will provide its

u s e r s a n identity which is

e a s i l y differentiable if

n o t superior to that of

o t h e r s . IKEA, one of the

m o s t i n n ovative companies

of the w o r l d , i s

deliv e r i n g

excellenc e in terms of

i t s f u n c t i o n a l

and well designed furniture line which is absolutely

affordable in order to reach as many customers as

possible rendering a sense of dignity in them. It

symbolises technological superiority with simplicity

so that the users feel more valuable.

Today's consumers use brands to build their own

identities. Some even like to be known by the brands

that they use. If your brand can give

them that, it will survive, and if the

identity takes into account the

cultural aspects of the consumers,

they will love your brand and make

it immortal. Not that it's always a

brand that has to strive. These days customers

eye the most coveted brands like Apple and

Volkswagen to be attached to in order to enjoy a

superior status.

Market Researchers not only gather demographic

information but cultural influences and preferences

are also taken into consideration, so that a Brand

does not remain just a Brand but become a way of life.

Brands need to value the culture, using the

uniqueness of target groups to market themselves

accordingly. Those who have done that have been

very successful like McDonalds. It has proved to be a

truly global brand by adopting the cultural differences

of different regions to merge it into one.

Branding is a dynamic process and everybody is

trying to build an eternal Brand. For one to be

successful it has to learn to be empathetic and make

use of the cultural and emotional aspects and the

values attached with the consumers. Branding,

today, means branding lives (of its users) which in

turn will help a Brand live longer. It's for time to decide

who will rule whom. For the moment Brand and

Customers stand at par.

By

Ga

ura

v G

ud

hka

IIF

T

Trends

39

CAN BE AVAILED WITHIN YOUR LIFETIMEFOR THE REST….

WE'RE THEREXYZ FUNERAL SERVICES

Mad-Ads

Cult Branding

“By the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce

you m’bike and rider. You shall, through rough

weather and calm, rain and storm be committed to

each other, till fate do you apart…”

This is a scene enacted

in the

drea

ms of

millio ns of

Harley- Davidson

owners and aspirers, arguably the most acknowledged

global symbol of a cult brand.

Harley Davidson, Volkswagon Beetle, Apple, Starbucks...

what makes some brands transcend all boundaries and

carve a deep-rooted place in the minds and hearts of

people? What makes them a way of life? What makes

them stick out from the mainline ones? How do they

manage to break the rules?

Before we delve into that, let’s reason out why cult

brands exist. For the simple reason that people like to be

different and at the same time, be part of a group that acts

different (read cult). This targeted cult then is willing to

put in extraordinary efforts to acquire and use the brand.

We are talking about unflinching

loyalty over a sustained

period of time. And

no, it does not

stop there. The

cult followers are

willing to publicly

demonstr ate their

passion for the

brand in an extraordin

ary manner.

Now, brilliant brands don't

happen when one fine

morning someone says, "OK, I want

to create a cult brand." So what does it take to create

one? All cult brands began life as products, sometimes

even unique like the iPod, with huge potential. Along the

way they did everything that was in tandem with the

prevailing market needs and trod a path not explored by

others. They created strategies and marketing

communications that nudged people towards the view

that the offering was a fashion statement. The magic

was created here.

They are undoubtedly “wow” products for the

loyal “communities” that they create. The

association starts with these messiahs who

create a buzz around it and it is

the

n

ado

pted

by a larger

group of people

(but not mass). Trust soon transforms into devotion. But

don’t be mistaken, cult brands do not require large

marketing spends. Instead, an incredible

amount of money is spent on maintaining

the brand. It is estimated that 50% of the

business of a cult brand comes

from its community members and

an additional 20% from the buzz

created by the proselytiser. Since

buzz works for a cult brand, the

marketing strategy is shrewdly

aimed at perpetuating the buzz

among community members who, on their

own volition, take on the onus of building the

brand.

A prime example of this is the Harley-Davidson whose

community members have come together to form the

Harley Owners Group (HOG), which boasts of over a

million members. HOG organises training courses, rides,

social events and charity fund-raisers resulting in

stronger loyalty among HOG members besides attracting

newer members to its fold.

What else does Harley do to maintain

its cult status? Harley never

overp

roduces. It keeps the

supply low and the demand

high. After all, not everybody

can buy into the cult. If

everybody did, it wouldn't

be a cult.

Turn the clock back because the

story of the cult that is Harley-

Davidson is worth telling a

million times over. It has

survived nine recessions, the Great

Depression and many wars. It was a symbol

of machismo until the Japanese arrived with

Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda. Harley

faced a setback but soon got back on its

feet, not just learning total quality

management from them but also taking a

giant leap ahead. The strategy of Harley-Davidson was to

sell a complete Harley experience and not just the bike.

And they did this with what can be called the pillars of

their cult-open rebellion, unbridled love for the open

road, individualism and empowerment.

HOG that I spoke of earlier spawned

from this very idea.

Harley-Davidson is ultra-cool. It’s a

bike, duh. But is a cult brand born

only in “cool” categories?

Again, don’t be mistaken. Even

seemingly dull

categories like

furniture can boast

of a cult brand,

such as IKEA.

IKEA has

beco me a

cura tor of

people'

s lifestyles,

if not their lives. It is a trusted one-stop

sanctuary for coolness; an environment people

can enter and immediately be part of a like-

minded cost and design global tribe.

Let’s shift our focus to Indian brands now.

Do we or can we have cult brands that

are Indian?

The truth is we cannot boast of a

single, true cult brand. Rasna came

partially close to being one. It was

immensely popular with kids who

even aped the little girl in the ad,

copying her style of dressing and her

haircut. But even that was not really a

cult brand.

Then, why not? Sure, we have the

managerial expertise and marketing

brilliance to manage and create brands. Indian

brands have the potential, but what

management and marketers

behind that brand lack is

the risk-taking mentality and

understandin

g of the

pote

ntial

pay-

off. Since the first and foremost rule cult branding is

"dare to be different", companies need to shake things up

when everyone at the organisation is feeling most cosy.

In addition, the top management should be emotionally

attached to brand building, not just chase top-line and

by R

achi

ta B

ehl

NM

iMS

TrendsTrends

Cult Branding

“By the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce

you m’bike and rider. You shall, through rough

weather and calm, rain and storm be committed to

each other, till fate do you apart…”

This is a scene enacted

in the

drea

ms of

millio ns of

Harley- Davidson

owners and aspirers, arguably the most acknowledged

global symbol of a cult brand.

Harley Davidson, Volkswagon Beetle, Apple, Starbucks...

what makes some brands transcend all boundaries and

carve a deep-rooted place in the minds and hearts of

people? What makes them a way of life? What makes

them stick out from the mainline ones? How do they

manage to break the rules?

Before we delve into that, let’s reason out why cult

brands exist. For the simple reason that people like to be

different and at the same time, be part of a group that acts

different (read cult). This targeted cult then is willing to

put in extraordinary efforts to acquire and use the brand.

We are talking about unflinching

loyalty over a sustained

period of time. And

no, it does not

stop there. The

cult followers are

willing to publicly

demonstr ate their

passion for the

brand in an extraordin

ary manner.

Now, brilliant brands don't

happen when one fine

morning someone says, "OK, I want

to create a cult brand." So what does it take to create

one? All cult brands began life as products, sometimes

even unique like the iPod, with huge potential. Along the

way they did everything that was in tandem with the

prevailing market needs and trod a path not explored by

others. They created strategies and marketing

communications that nudged people towards the view

that the offering was a fashion statement. The magic

was created here.

They are undoubtedly “wow” products for the

loyal “communities” that they create. The

association starts with these messiahs who

create a buzz around it and it is

the

n

ado

pted

by a larger

group of people

(but not mass). Trust soon transforms into devotion. But

don’t be mistaken, cult brands do not require large

marketing spends. Instead, an incredible

amount of money is spent on maintaining

the brand. It is estimated that 50% of the

business of a cult brand comes

from its community members and

an additional 20% from the buzz

created by the proselytiser. Since

buzz works for a cult brand, the

marketing strategy is shrewdly

aimed at perpetuating the buzz

among community members who, on their

own volition, take on the onus of building the

brand.

A prime example of this is the Harley-Davidson whose

community members have come together to form the

Harley Owners Group (HOG), which boasts of over a

million members. HOG organises training courses, rides,

social events and charity fund-raisers resulting in

stronger loyalty among HOG members besides attracting

newer members to its fold.

What else does Harley do to maintain

its cult status? Harley never

overp

roduces. It keeps the

supply low and the demand

high. After all, not everybody

can buy into the cult. If

everybody did, it wouldn't

be a cult.

Turn the clock back because the

story of the cult that is Harley-

Davidson is worth telling a

million times over. It has

survived nine recessions, the Great

Depression and many wars. It was a symbol

of machismo until the Japanese arrived with

Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda. Harley

faced a setback but soon got back on its

feet, not just learning total quality

management from them but also taking a

giant leap ahead. The strategy of Harley-Davidson was to

sell a complete Harley experience and not just the bike.

And they did this with what can be called the pillars of

their cult-open rebellion, unbridled love for the open

road, individualism and empowerment.

HOG that I spoke of earlier spawned

from this very idea.

Harley-Davidson is ultra-cool. It’s a

bike, duh. But is a cult brand born

only in “cool” categories?

Again, don’t be mistaken. Even

seemingly dull

categories like

furniture can boast

of a cult brand,

such as IKEA.

IKEA has

beco me a

cura tor of

people'

s lifestyles,

if not their lives. It is a trusted one-stop

sanctuary for coolness; an environment people

can enter and immediately be part of a like-

minded cost and design global tribe.

Let’s shift our focus to Indian brands now.

Do we or can we have cult brands that

are Indian?

The truth is we cannot boast of a

single, true cult brand. Rasna came

partially close to being one. It was

immensely popular with kids who

even aped the little girl in the ad,

copying her style of dressing and her

haircut. But even that was not really a

cult brand.

Then, why not? Sure, we have the

managerial expertise and marketing

brilliance to manage and create brands. Indian

brands have the potential, but what

management and marketers

behind that brand lack is

the risk-taking mentality and

understandin

g of the

pote

ntial

pay-

off. Since the first and foremost rule cult branding is

"dare to be different", companies need to shake things up

when everyone at the organisation is feeling most cosy.

In addition, the top management should be emotionally

attached to brand building, not just chase top-line and

by R

achi

ta B

ehl

NM

iMS

TrendsTrends

bottom-line targets.

Can the fact that cult brands are not “in” in India be

attributed to the Indian consumers too? Arguably,

yes. We, as a society, do not encourage

rebels, people who stand out from the crowd

while cult brands draw their

cons umers with just the

opp osite proposition. True,

our soci

al and

cultur al

values are

consta ntly

under goi

ng an overhaul but the basic tenets are

still intact.

Doe s it also have something to do with

Ind ia being a very diverse nation? This

is another interesting line of thought

propounded by many gurus in the field of marketing. Cult

following typically happens when a country has a large

proportion of people following a common lifestyle.

Diversity goes against this notion. In our country, brands

that could qualify for cult status are usually confined to a

specific region where local socio-cultural, linguistic or

religious factors are the fountainhead of the appeal. India

is far too mysterious and varied to let a subculture

revolution gain momentum.

Looking beyond, we may not be aficionados when it

comes to a particular product but we are a personality-

struck race. In almost all walks of life, we find

celebrities that have a cult following. Why, Sachin

Tendulkar is as good as a cult brand can get. Not to

mention Indian Cinema. The one thing in India that cuts

across the barriers of its diversity.

With the momentous cultural and demographic shifts

happening in India and the ever-increasing power of the

Internet, it remains to be seen whether we will get to see

Indian consumers actively forming larger communities

around their brands, elevating the status of the brand to a

cult.

MARKETING

COMMANDMENTS

The single most wasteful thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind.- Al Ries and Jack Trout

"I am one who believes that one of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that

of boring them to death." -Leo Burnett

"Asked about the power of advertising in research surveys, most agree that it works, but not on them." -

Eric Clark

“Any business enterprise has two, and only two basic functions – Marketing and Innovation” – Peter F.

Drucker

“No great marketing decisions have ever been made on qualitative data.” – John Scully (Former CEO of

Apple and former President of PepsiCo

“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in men.”- David Sarnoff

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the problem is I do not know which half

-Lord Leverhulme, British founder of Unilever

“The problem is that once a consumer has bought someone else's story and believes that lie, persuading the

consumer to switch is the same as persuading him to admit he was wrong. And people hate admitting that

they're wrong.” -Seth Godin

Don't overlook the importance of worldwide thinking. A company that keeps its eye on Tom, Dick, and

Harry is going to miss Pierre, Hans, and Yoshio. -Al Ries

39

bottom-line targets.

Can the fact that cult brands are not “in” in India be

attributed to the Indian consumers too? Arguably,

yes. We, as a society, do not encourage

rebels, people who stand out from the crowd

while cult brands draw their

cons umers with just the

opp osite proposition. True,

our soci

al and

cultur al

values are

consta ntly

under goi

ng an overhaul but the basic tenets are

still intact.

Doe s it also have something to do with

Ind ia being a very diverse nation? This

is another interesting line of thought

propounded by many gurus in the field of marketing. Cult

following typically happens when a country has a large

proportion of people following a common lifestyle.

Diversity goes against this notion. In our country, brands

that could qualify for cult status are usually confined to a

specific region where local socio-cultural, linguistic or

religious factors are the fountainhead of the appeal. India

is far too mysterious and varied to let a subculture

revolution gain momentum.

Looking beyond, we may not be aficionados when it

comes to a particular product but we are a personality-

struck race. In almost all walks of life, we find

celebrities that have a cult following. Why, Sachin

Tendulkar is as good as a cult brand can get. Not to

mention Indian Cinema. The one thing in India that cuts

across the barriers of its diversity.

With the momentous cultural and demographic shifts

happening in India and the ever-increasing power of the

Internet, it remains to be seen whether we will get to see

Indian consumers actively forming larger communities

around their brands, elevating the status of the brand to a

cult.

MARKETING

COMMANDMENTS

The single most wasteful thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind.- Al Ries and Jack Trout

"I am one who believes that one of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that

of boring them to death." -Leo Burnett

"Asked about the power of advertising in research surveys, most agree that it works, but not on them." -

Eric Clark

“Any business enterprise has two, and only two basic functions – Marketing and Innovation” – Peter F.

Drucker

“No great marketing decisions have ever been made on qualitative data.” – John Scully (Former CEO of

Apple and former President of PepsiCo

“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in men.”- David Sarnoff

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the problem is I do not know which half

-Lord Leverhulme, British founder of Unilever

“The problem is that once a consumer has bought someone else's story and believes that lie, persuading the

consumer to switch is the same as persuading him to admit he was wrong. And people hate admitting that

they're wrong.” -Seth Godin

Don't overlook the importance of worldwide thinking. A company that keeps its eye on Tom, Dick, and

Harry is going to miss Pierre, Hans, and Yoshio. -Al Ries

39

The Ultimate Pathbreakers

There come days when you wake up to absorb

your daily dosage of morning news, and while

you sip your tea intermittently, the cup stops right

before it can pour the tea in because suddenly a

dyna- has exploded in the –mite. It is something

either too good and catchy or something too slip

and shoddy which catches your attention. You

either have the first (and usually the last) smile on

your face, or you sneer (definitely not your last)

and flip the channel to some other. We give 9 you of those

'smiles' all together, from the 'A' to the 'Z'!

First name - ZOO Last name – ZOO!What is white, is all about being round, is one of the

most popular 'creatures' in the country, has the

same first and last name, brings a smile on

your weather(read: assignments/work)

beaten faces every time it barges into the

now multi-million pixels filling your

television sets?

Mr. & Ms. Zoo Zoo !

One of the most phenomenal

success stories in the advertising

industry (courtesy Ogilvy),

ZooZoos are almost a rage and

has helped Vodafone strengthen

its position in the industry from

the time they were born during

IPL2. The ZooZoos were

'Happy to Help' Vodafone and

now such is their presence that they have made their way

out of the idiot box and into little arms and cradles and as

papers on digital and real walls. Because of this cross-

industry presence, ZooZoos have contributed to

Vodafone's revenues from multiple angles. Revenue in the

three months ended June 30, 2009 rose to 10.7 billion

pounds ($17.7 billion), in line with analyst estimates,

clearly proving that the ad has contributed to this.

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said that its total

communications strategy was delivering well, with group

data revenue up 19 per cent and fixed line revenue 7 per

cent higher than last year's comparative period. The

Vodafone CEO further stated that free cash flow generation

was strong at £1.9 billion, up 21 per cent.

Harit Nagpal, chief m a r ke t i n g o f f i

cer for Vodafone India, said that Vodafone has been acquiring customers at a very fast pace, but a large number of them had been unaware of the range of services it offered. Since media spends and visibility for brands peaked during the IPL, Vodafone wanted to take advantage of it. The brand was in need of an idea that would work doubly hard, as it was planning to spend some four months' worth of marketing monies in one month. Vodafone had briefed its agency, Ogilvy India, to create uncommon characters – a common thread to link the ads in the campaign together. And thus, the Zoozoo was born. The oligopolistic market Vodafone was in, was stirred and shaken, and the Martini was sweet indeed.

All of a sudden, beauty alerts were made by ZooZoos with

red polka dotted scarfs on the head, love tips were creeping

into inboxes thanks to the

appeal generated by the

'cutest couple on the planet'

30 second ads, and even your

grandmothers were reading

bhajans out of inboxes from

smses sent by ZooZoo baba,

via the bhakti alert VAS.

Life went beyond the 5_ _ _

_ numbers now!

S E L L - U L A R SORCERY

There was this job interview which was about to take place

in one of the million educational hubs in the country. As

always, somehow, an 'idiot' was shortlisted for the final

round, and surprised himself, sat down in front of the 3

By

Krisn

aka

nt Jo

nnalg

adda,

Kush

al M

ehta

,Nandin

i Kapoor

from

NM

iMS

The Ultimate Pathbreakers

There come days when you wake up to absorb

your daily dosage of morning news, and while

you sip your tea intermittently, the cup stops right

before it can pour the tea in because suddenly a

dyna- has exploded in the –mite. It is something

either too good and catchy or something too slip

and shoddy which catches your attention. You

either have the first (and usually the last) smile on

your face, or you sneer (definitely not your last)

and flip the channel to some other. We give 9 you of those

'smiles' all together, from the 'A' to the 'Z'!

First name - ZOO Last name – ZOO!What is white, is all about being round, is one of the

most popular 'creatures' in the country, has the

same first and last name, brings a smile on

your weather(read: assignments/work)

beaten faces every time it barges into the

now multi-million pixels filling your

television sets?

Mr. & Ms. Zoo Zoo !

One of the most phenomenal

success stories in the advertising

industry (courtesy Ogilvy),

ZooZoos are almost a rage and

has helped Vodafone strengthen

its position in the industry from

the time they were born during

IPL2. The ZooZoos were

'Happy to Help' Vodafone and

now such is their presence that they have made their way

out of the idiot box and into little arms and cradles and as

papers on digital and real walls. Because of this cross-

industry presence, ZooZoos have contributed to

Vodafone's revenues from multiple angles. Revenue in the

three months ended June 30, 2009 rose to 10.7 billion

pounds ($17.7 billion), in line with analyst estimates,

clearly proving that the ad has contributed to this.

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said that its total

communications strategy was delivering well, with group

data revenue up 19 per cent and fixed line revenue 7 per

cent higher than last year's comparative period. The

Vodafone CEO further stated that free cash flow generation

was strong at £1.9 billion, up 21 per cent.

Harit Nagpal, chief m a r ke t i n g o f f i

cer for Vodafone India, said that Vodafone has been acquiring customers at a very fast pace, but a large number of them had been unaware of the range of services it offered. Since media spends and visibility for brands peaked during the IPL, Vodafone wanted to take advantage of it. The brand was in need of an idea that would work doubly hard, as it was planning to spend some four months' worth of marketing monies in one month. Vodafone had briefed its agency, Ogilvy India, to create uncommon characters – a common thread to link the ads in the campaign together. And thus, the Zoozoo was born. The oligopolistic market Vodafone was in, was stirred and shaken, and the Martini was sweet indeed.

All of a sudden, beauty alerts were made by ZooZoos with

red polka dotted scarfs on the head, love tips were creeping

into inboxes thanks to the

appeal generated by the

'cutest couple on the planet'

30 second ads, and even your

grandmothers were reading

bhajans out of inboxes from

smses sent by ZooZoo baba,

via the bhakti alert VAS.

Life went beyond the 5_ _ _

_ numbers now!

S E L L - U L A R SORCERY

There was this job interview which was about to take place

in one of the million educational hubs in the country. As

always, somehow, an 'idiot' was shortlisted for the final

round, and surprised himself, sat down in front of the 3

By

Krisn

aka

nt Jo

nnalg

adda,

Kush

al M

ehta

,Nandin

i Kapoor

from

NM

iMS

14member panel, both sides of the table bemused.

The first (and last) question – 'And your name is?'

The answer – '9923123149'

The job was his!

What an IDEA sirjee!

T h e ' s i r j e e ' s e r i e s o f

advertisements t o o k t h e

industry with a different kind

o f t e m p e s t . Almost all its

ads had some k i n d o f

m e s s a g e i m b i b e d i n

them, and with the kind of delivery

it was put forth, the phenomenon was

taken to a different floor altogether. Riots were quelled by

sarpanchs by prohibiting addressing others by names and

instead had to do so by their phone numbers. The message,

both social and corporate, was loud and clear. IDEA was

here to stay.

IDEA continued on this path with advertisements

emphasizing rural education, greater network coverage

(poor monkey!), and focused even on its women's card

options (women could receive beauty alerts, safety advices

and even the option to call with zero balance in cases of

emergency).

The concep t

w a s t a k e n

beyond cellular

services and

' O o n g l e e

Cricket' was the

frontrunner in this, being a rampage among various

brackets of the masses. Advertisements of a cellular

provider went beyond the ever so stagnant and ever so stale

son-going-away-parents-calling-late-at-night-son's-on-a-

train-son's-happy-parents-happy 'soap'y boredoms. The

messages were lucid and straight. They had a much wider

outlook than before, and had attained immunity against ads

leveraging on the 'soft serve'. IDEA had de-faced the

stagnancy and re-faced the future.

What an IDEA sirjee

!

The time Aircel kept the city 'floating': The growth of the Telecom sector in India has been

phenomenal and so has the communication strategy used

by its major players. We owe some of the best and clutter

breaking advertisements to this sector. Airtel with

“Express Yourself”, Idea with “an idea can change your

life” has created exceptional brand recall and loyalty.

Virgin's “think hatke” is really hatke.

Be it television, radio or print media, every medium is

flooded with their ads. Cricket matches, reality shows,

cultural fests at colleges, they are EVERYWHERE!

So what could a new player like Aircel do to get a bite of the

apple that these players are so happily munching on? Well

for starters, they could grab on to any media that is not

c u r r e n t l y

ruled by the

kings. And

t h i s i s

exactly what

Aircel did.

Aircel was

launched in Maharashtra in 2009 and came to be known for

its variety of innovations and attractive outdoor

promotions. Be it the live IPL neon scoreboard, or the

projection of logo on Gateway of India, they managed to

get their share of visibility.

Before Aircel, outdoor advertising was known to comprise

of billboards, posters, neon signs and even sky writing, for

those extravagant types! But the 'Out-Of-Home' (OOH)

innovation executed by Aircel in the Mumbai monsoons

2009 surely ranks among the very best innovations. In a 'one

of its kind' campaign, a raft was put up on one of the

billboards which could be used in case of flooding. The

caption read “In case of emergency, CUT ROPE”. When the

raft was put up before the monsoons, it did not make much

sense. But once the 'rope was cut', on July 13, 2009 and the

raft came in handy, the message was clear: Aircel's customer

support had gone beyond cell phone reception. Rather than

selling just a service, Aircel's marketing provided real value

when it mattered the most.

Beyond being an excellent example of using cause

marketing to build customer loyalty, Aircel's novel OOH

marketing idea earned for them viewership (in local and

national dailies) worth millions, all for the price of just one

billboard and a rudimentary raft! The publicity was

spellbinding! For the innovation being functional, well

when have a few extra Brownie points hurt anyone!

Tornado in a teacup – Time to wake up!

th9 December - Your first sip in the morning out of a cup

containing a hot concoction of fermented leaves and milk

and sugar. It's all that took up to wake up. You go to work,

settle down in your chair, order another one of those hot

concoctions, turn on the news on a dusty radio at one corner

of the table, and listen to the latest about the local elections.

Your concoction arrives, so does your first client for the day.

You push him around a bit because he's just not getting your

'message'. You feel it's the time to tell him directly. You say

you need some 'chai pani'. A green cup with 'Tata Tea'

written on it is banged on your table, and you realize you're

screwed. 'Jaago re'!

Wrapped in lapels of dark humour a n d p i n - p o i n t e d delivery, the Jaago Re camp

aign was one which stirred all and sundry in this corruption bitten country of ours. Politicians and babus were open targets and the directness was the most crucial tool in the armour for the campaign. All of a sudden the country was aware of its responsibilities (wonder what it was upto till then. Had not thou drunk thy tea?). Having secured a steady and infallible popular support, Tata Tea Limited re-launched its website with a new project to tackle societal reform, starting with corruption. 'Jaago Re' launched a drive against corruption by declaring December 9th as Anti- Corruption Day. This move aimed to make the elimination of corruption a national reality. As seen before, the advertisements were unerringly precise and wholly identifiable and livened up with quirky slogans that tickled t h e s enses and made room for itself in the viewer's psyche.

And the campaign was not alone. With the support of sponsors who strongly believed in the power of participatory democracy and various outreach partners, under the aegis of a stellar advisory body consisting of Mr. N. R . Narayan a Mur

13

14member panel, both sides of the table bemused.

The first (and last) question – 'And your name is?'

The answer – '9923123149'

The job was his!

What an IDEA sirjee!

T h e ' s i r j e e ' s e r i e s o f

advertisements t o o k t h e

industry with a different kind

o f t e m p e s t . Almost all its

ads had some k i n d o f

m e s s a g e i m b i b e d i n

them, and with the kind of delivery

it was put forth, the phenomenon was

taken to a different floor altogether. Riots were quelled by

sarpanchs by prohibiting addressing others by names and

instead had to do so by their phone numbers. The message,

both social and corporate, was loud and clear. IDEA was

here to stay.

IDEA continued on this path with advertisements

emphasizing rural education, greater network coverage

(poor monkey!), and focused even on its women's card

options (women could receive beauty alerts, safety advices

and even the option to call with zero balance in cases of

emergency).

The concep t

w a s t a k e n

beyond cellular

services and

' O o n g l e e

Cricket' was the

frontrunner in this, being a rampage among various

brackets of the masses. Advertisements of a cellular

provider went beyond the ever so stagnant and ever so stale

son-going-away-parents-calling-late-at-night-son's-on-a-

train-son's-happy-parents-happy 'soap'y boredoms. The

messages were lucid and straight. They had a much wider

outlook than before, and had attained immunity against ads

leveraging on the 'soft serve'. IDEA had de-faced the

stagnancy and re-faced the future.

What an IDEA sirjee

!

The time Aircel kept the city 'floating': The growth of the Telecom sector in India has been

phenomenal and so has the communication strategy used

by its major players. We owe some of the best and clutter

breaking advertisements to this sector. Airtel with

“Express Yourself”, Idea with “an idea can change your

life” has created exceptional brand recall and loyalty.

Virgin's “think hatke” is really hatke.

Be it television, radio or print media, every medium is

flooded with their ads. Cricket matches, reality shows,

cultural fests at colleges, they are EVERYWHERE!

So what could a new player like Aircel do to get a bite of the

apple that these players are so happily munching on? Well

for starters, they could grab on to any media that is not

c u r r e n t l y

ruled by the

kings. And

t h i s i s

exactly what

Aircel did.

Aircel was

launched in Maharashtra in 2009 and came to be known for

its variety of innovations and attractive outdoor

promotions. Be it the live IPL neon scoreboard, or the

projection of logo on Gateway of India, they managed to

get their share of visibility.

Before Aircel, outdoor advertising was known to comprise

of billboards, posters, neon signs and even sky writing, for

those extravagant types! But the 'Out-Of-Home' (OOH)

innovation executed by Aircel in the Mumbai monsoons

2009 surely ranks among the very best innovations. In a 'one

of its kind' campaign, a raft was put up on one of the

billboards which could be used in case of flooding. The

caption read “In case of emergency, CUT ROPE”. When the

raft was put up before the monsoons, it did not make much

sense. But once the 'rope was cut', on July 13, 2009 and the

raft came in handy, the message was clear: Aircel's customer

support had gone beyond cell phone reception. Rather than

selling just a service, Aircel's marketing provided real value

when it mattered the most.

Beyond being an excellent example of using cause

marketing to build customer loyalty, Aircel's novel OOH

marketing idea earned for them viewership (in local and

national dailies) worth millions, all for the price of just one

billboard and a rudimentary raft! The publicity was

spellbinding! For the innovation being functional, well

when have a few extra Brownie points hurt anyone!

Tornado in a teacup – Time to wake up!

th9 December - Your first sip in the morning out of a cup

containing a hot concoction of fermented leaves and milk

and sugar. It's all that took up to wake up. You go to work,

settle down in your chair, order another one of those hot

concoctions, turn on the news on a dusty radio at one corner

of the table, and listen to the latest about the local elections.

Your concoction arrives, so does your first client for the day.

You push him around a bit because he's just not getting your

'message'. You feel it's the time to tell him directly. You say

you need some 'chai pani'. A green cup with 'Tata Tea'

written on it is banged on your table, and you realize you're

screwed. 'Jaago re'!

Wrapped in lapels of dark humour a n d p i n - p o i n t e d delivery, the Jaago Re camp

aign was one which stirred all and sundry in this corruption bitten country of ours. Politicians and babus were open targets and the directness was the most crucial tool in the armour for the campaign. All of a sudden the country was aware of its responsibilities (wonder what it was upto till then. Had not thou drunk thy tea?). Having secured a steady and infallible popular support, Tata Tea Limited re-launched its website with a new project to tackle societal reform, starting with corruption. 'Jaago Re' launched a drive against corruption by declaring December 9th as Anti- Corruption Day. This move aimed to make the elimination of corruption a national reality. As seen before, the advertisements were unerringly precise and wholly identifiable and livened up with quirky slogans that tickled t h e s enses and made room for itself in the viewer's psyche.

And the campaign was not alone. With the support of sponsors who strongly believed in the power of participatory democracy and various outreach partners, under the aegis of a stellar advisory body consisting of Mr. N. R . Narayan a Mur

13

thy (Chief Mentor, Infosys), Mr. T S Krishnamurthy (Ex Chief Election Commissioner), Mr. Tariq Ansari (Midday Group) and Mr. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Filmmaker and Director, Rang De Basanti), 'Jaago Re' as a wind of change was here to stay, permanently rustling away dead leaves from branches to make way for the new.

The question was very much there in the face. Why tea? The answer is right there too. Tea is what almost every Indian laughs, argues, discusses cricket, politics, movies over. With that kind of an impregnable platform at hand, the campaign penetrated the lackadaisical attitude of the average Indian and now has over 22700 people awakened

on its website. For once, this was not an advertisement whose prime aim was to boost sales. It was a campaign which was hell bent on fighting corruption and ignorance head on and that too, in public and with the public. From various ways people can accept bribes ('koi sharma ke khaata hai to koi chup ke') to sleeping away watching movies on election day, ' Jaago re' is a campaign determined to make a difference.

Hope you've had your cup of tea.

B i n g o - 'BOING' !B a s i c a l l y t h e s a m e

product

Almost the same packaging

Catering to the same customer segment

Almost similar prices

Any promotional strategy you employ can be easily

emulated

Then HOW are you different from your competitor?

The secret lies in the way the ever evasive HOW

communicates with the WHERE, and WHEN!

About 40% of the Indian Population constitutes the middle

class -that is about 40% of a billion people! This is the

segment that invariably, and understandably, wants more

and more value for money.

The task - To tell this segment that Bingo premium salted

potato chips was offering 25% extra chips in every Rs.5

pack, and tell them in a manner that they sit up,

take notice, get that knock on the head, and

say-Bingo, that's the

one!

Amidst all the massive

promotional advertising,

the task wasn't easy. There

was everyone and anyone

advertising everywhere and

a n y w h e r e . F r o m

departmental stores to the nukkad tea-

stall, 'Uncles' were everywhere, getting 'Laid'

left, right and centre. Not just the whereabouts, but the

how-abouts had to be some example never set. The train of

thought wandered around aimlessly till it made its stop- The

Indian Railways.

On the Public Address System of the Indian Railways, the

following announcement was heard "Yaatrigan kripya

dhyaan de, Mysore se Tirupati jaane waali 116 Temple

Express apne nirdharit samay se 7 ghante ki deri se chal rahi

hai, aur jaise hi gaadi ke engine driver bingo premium salted

ka pack khana khatam karenge waise hi gadi platform

number 8 se rawana hogi. Is asuvidha ke liye hume khed hai

lekin kya karen, bingo p s mein poore 25% zada chips hain

jisko khane mein zada waqt lagta hai. dhanya waad.

BOING!

Bingo premium salted potato chips - No Confusion. Great

Combination."

The announcement seemed to be a regular one till the

signature 'BOING' came up. Along with a r o

using over a million hearty laughs, this

also led to a 32% increase in their volume

sales.

Their logic was simple. Around 11

million people travel in the railways

every day and a majority of the trains

are inevitably running late. The p e o

ple, inevitably, wait for long hours at the railway

station and the occasional munch is inevitable. The

pakodas and chai have long stopped being favourites

and the impatiently waiting

travelers needed something

new. The 'BOING' was exactly what they needed.

The job was done. The train had left the station. BINGO!

We're the BlackBerry boys... and there are a lot of us !First there's a blue ocean, then there's a red ocean. Maybe

sometime in the future there will other oceans with all

different colours you can find. Even then, the marketing

strategy to expand will still be the same. Get new

customers and get every commoner to feel exclusive!

That is the difference between Blackberry and Nokia.

Everyone from your parents, your teachers, your boss, to

your chauffeur, even your house help, has Nokia. But

'BlackBerry'- the name was synonymous to 'exclusivity', it

was for a privileged class, not everyone can afford it and it

always had its share of corner-of-the-eye glances on the

bus stop and the 'oohs' and 'aahs' amongst your pals.

As is natural, when a brand is successful, there is

always that temptation to make more

and more by repositioning and

targeting unconventional prospects.

Vodafone's new plan for its Blackberry

users seems to do just that. The campaign

u s e d is as unique as BB, and as simple, and

as smart as Vodafone's ads have always

been.

The advertisement starts with 5 professionally dressed-up

guys singing (big deal!).

Slowly people of all classes

1615

thy (Chief Mentor, Infosys), Mr. T S Krishnamurthy (Ex Chief Election Commissioner), Mr. Tariq Ansari (Midday Group) and Mr. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Filmmaker and Director, Rang De Basanti), 'Jaago Re' as a wind of change was here to stay, permanently rustling away dead leaves from branches to make way for the new.

The question was very much there in the face. Why tea? The answer is right there too. Tea is what almost every Indian laughs, argues, discusses cricket, politics, movies over. With that kind of an impregnable platform at hand, the campaign penetrated the lackadaisical attitude of the average Indian and now has over 22700 people awakened

on its website. For once, this was not an advertisement whose prime aim was to boost sales. It was a campaign which was hell bent on fighting corruption and ignorance head on and that too, in public and with the public. From various ways people can accept bribes ('koi sharma ke khaata hai to koi chup ke') to sleeping away watching movies on election day, ' Jaago re' is a campaign determined to make a difference.

Hope you've had your cup of tea.

B i n g o - 'BOING' !B a s i c a l l y t h e s a m e

product

Almost the same packaging

Catering to the same customer segment

Almost similar prices

Any promotional strategy you employ can be easily

emulated

Then HOW are you different from your competitor?

The secret lies in the way the ever evasive HOW

communicates with the WHERE, and WHEN!

About 40% of the Indian Population constitutes the middle

class -that is about 40% of a billion people! This is the

segment that invariably, and understandably, wants more

and more value for money.

The task - To tell this segment that Bingo premium salted

potato chips was offering 25% extra chips in every Rs.5

pack, and tell them in a manner that they sit up,

take notice, get that knock on the head, and

say-Bingo, that's the

one!

Amidst all the massive

promotional advertising,

the task wasn't easy. There

was everyone and anyone

advertising everywhere and

a n y w h e r e . F r o m

departmental stores to the nukkad tea-

stall, 'Uncles' were everywhere, getting 'Laid'

left, right and centre. Not just the whereabouts, but the

how-abouts had to be some example never set. The train of

thought wandered around aimlessly till it made its stop- The

Indian Railways.

On the Public Address System of the Indian Railways, the

following announcement was heard "Yaatrigan kripya

dhyaan de, Mysore se Tirupati jaane waali 116 Temple

Express apne nirdharit samay se 7 ghante ki deri se chal rahi

hai, aur jaise hi gaadi ke engine driver bingo premium salted

ka pack khana khatam karenge waise hi gadi platform

number 8 se rawana hogi. Is asuvidha ke liye hume khed hai

lekin kya karen, bingo p s mein poore 25% zada chips hain

jisko khane mein zada waqt lagta hai. dhanya waad.

BOING!

Bingo premium salted potato chips - No Confusion. Great

Combination."

The announcement seemed to be a regular one till the

signature 'BOING' came up. Along with a r o

using over a million hearty laughs, this

also led to a 32% increase in their volume

sales.

Their logic was simple. Around 11

million people travel in the railways

every day and a majority of the trains

are inevitably running late. The p e o

ple, inevitably, wait for long hours at the railway

station and the occasional munch is inevitable. The

pakodas and chai have long stopped being favourites

and the impatiently waiting

travelers needed something

new. The 'BOING' was exactly what they needed.

The job was done. The train had left the station. BINGO!

We're the BlackBerry boys... and there are a lot of us !First there's a blue ocean, then there's a red ocean. Maybe

sometime in the future there will other oceans with all

different colours you can find. Even then, the marketing

strategy to expand will still be the same. Get new

customers and get every commoner to feel exclusive!

That is the difference between Blackberry and Nokia.

Everyone from your parents, your teachers, your boss, to

your chauffeur, even your house help, has Nokia. But

'BlackBerry'- the name was synonymous to 'exclusivity', it

was for a privileged class, not everyone can afford it and it

always had its share of corner-of-the-eye glances on the

bus stop and the 'oohs' and 'aahs' amongst your pals.

As is natural, when a brand is successful, there is

always that temptation to make more

and more by repositioning and

targeting unconventional prospects.

Vodafone's new plan for its Blackberry

users seems to do just that. The campaign

u s e d is as unique as BB, and as simple, and

as smart as Vodafone's ads have always

been.

The advertisement starts with 5 professionally dressed-up

guys singing (big deal!).

Slowly people of all classes

1615

begin to join in, celebrating BlackBerry with the jingle. The

professionals realize that they are no more exclusive in

ownership and that more and more people can now sing the

same song! The message: RIM services aren't just for the

suits and suitors! But, this new positioning - was it a clearly

thought strategy or was it just an inevitable phenomenon?

Was it a strategy to avoid the conundrum of the ban that

could have been imposed on RIM services- so what if

everyone is crying about banning BB services in India, let's

increase our reach, and then let the people speak for us.

Or was it plain inevitable? Blackberry used to be exclusive!

Today, not just the executives, but a lot of youngsters are

using it too, and cherishing it. A few year

s ago, owning a Blackberry was a

matter of pride, but its fission

from being elite to mass has

already begun. It has already

lost its 'for the elite' status in

the West, and in India, there

are innumerable clones and

look-alikes available.

Blackberry needs to climb

out of its chesterfield, and

looks at 'furniture' beyond

the old oaks and mahogany

trunks. The move is on and it

needs to keep moving. The

Blackberry boys are increasing

in number thick and fast, and the

executives won't be exclusive

anymore. Blackberry is here, and so are the 'not so

exclusive' takers!

Volkswagen Vento - A Vent for New Age advertising

st21 September 2010 wasn't just any other day. It was

special. It was the day that cats learned to bark,

trees learnt to walk, boys learnt to listen and

girls learnt to stay silent. That was taking

it a bit too far it seems. After all we

can't think of getting our hands into

something that even the Almighty

has given up on.st

But 21 September,2010 was

certainly a special day because it

marked a new beginning in the

way advertising was ever done in

our country. For the first time, we

had a talking print ad of Volkswagen

Vento .This ingenious attempt was

path breaking in many ways as it was the

first of its kind in the entire world.

For those who believe that Ignorance is bliss and missed

seeing the ad, here's a brief recap of it-

Around 2.2 million copies of the national daily The Times

of India carried with them a weapon- not of destruction, but

of advertising revolution. A small light sensitive audio

device that read out the ad of Volkswagen Vento to the

readers. Some were shocked, some amused, some simply

amazed. But one thing was common- it became the topic of

all discussions and got Volkswagen exactly the attention it

was looking out for.

Volkswagen got its share of accolades and brickbats for

this endeavor that took them six months to execute.

Volkswagen who already enjoys the legacy of being an

innovative marketer, took things to a completely new level,

setting a new benchmark for the industry.

They carried forth the movement with some really

interesting advertising of the Vento campaign by exploring

Out of Home Advertising effectively.

Cadbury: sweating it out for the Sweet Tooth

Picture this- a boy sneaks out of his room to

hide the chocolate so that his father doesn't

finish it up. A grandpa pouncing on the

packet of chocolates once the daughter-

in-law gets it from the kirana store,

two grown up brothers still fighting

over a bar of chocolate in front of their

kids. These pictures were very

difficult to fathom in the salad days

when chocolate was promoted in our

country. The golden rule was-

Chocolate is meant for kids! Well

Ogilvy begged to differ and so did their

esteemed clients Cadbury India who over the

years have positioned chocolates as a product that can be

tempting across all age segments and the craving for it isn't

incarcerated to a particular segment.

They chose a highly popular yet an absolutely

unconventional brand ambassador in the form of Mr.

Amitabh Bachchan. In retrospect one thinks, there couldn't

have been a better person for this mission. With his

charismatic personality and phenomenal acting, he could

mould himself into any character and make people believe

that it's not a cardinal sin to crave for a chocolate. So shed all

guilt.

With themes that ranged from passing of exams to

celebration of festivals, importance of the first day of the

month which brings salary at home to the simple idea of

starting a good work with sweets, Cadbury ensured they

cater to small moments of happiness that form an integral

form of the Indian way of life. They did it with a subtle

undertone of humour and entertainment. This got them

whopping success. After all who can forget classic captions

like “Pappu Paas Ho gaya”, “Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye”,

“Meetha Hai khaana, aaj pehli taarekh hai” and the recent

“Shubh Aarambh”.

Cadbury is slowly but strongly moving towards a space that

has been enjoyed for ages by the traditional sweets. With

constant reports of adulteration of sweets, one wonders if

the day is far enough.

Surf Excel- Blessed to have the blemishes.It is highly improbable to have thought that Surf, who

made us believe for decades that it is our weapon against

spots or stains, would change its course and tell us right on

our face - “Daag Acche hai”. What a slap on the face. What

a terrible setback for Lalitaji whose credibility had been

put on the burner by her own people. How much her poor

soul would be struggling when she came to know that

people whom she represented themselves did a volte face.

We wonder if she might sue them now.

Well before the anxious few lose out on the humour, let us

categorically state how beautifully has Surf changed the

entire perception of spots and stains. They used to be on the

other end of the spectrum when they used to show

themselves as the nemesis of stains and showed this entire

altercation as nothing less than a war. Things haven't

changed much, except the tone. Now, they simply say that

even the stains are good on occasions and cleaning them

should not be an issue at all as Surf will take care of it.

This simple yet powerful positioning has caught on

tremendous popularity with people. The campaign showed

kids playing freely without any concern of the stains. They

also struck an emotional chord by showing children

helping others without being deterred by the worry of spots

and stains.

They gave a new found image to the perception and gave it

a feel good factor to this product which was otherwise

promoted on similar lines. It is because of this reason that it

won millions of hearts and millions of smiles.

1817

begin to join in, celebrating BlackBerry with the jingle. The

professionals realize that they are no more exclusive in

ownership and that more and more people can now sing the

same song! The message: RIM services aren't just for the

suits and suitors! But, this new positioning - was it a clearly

thought strategy or was it just an inevitable phenomenon?

Was it a strategy to avoid the conundrum of the ban that

could have been imposed on RIM services- so what if

everyone is crying about banning BB services in India, let's

increase our reach, and then let the people speak for us.

Or was it plain inevitable? Blackberry used to be exclusive!

Today, not just the executives, but a lot of youngsters are

using it too, and cherishing it. A few year

s ago, owning a Blackberry was a

matter of pride, but its fission

from being elite to mass has

already begun. It has already

lost its 'for the elite' status in

the West, and in India, there

are innumerable clones and

look-alikes available.

Blackberry needs to climb

out of its chesterfield, and

looks at 'furniture' beyond

the old oaks and mahogany

trunks. The move is on and it

needs to keep moving. The

Blackberry boys are increasing

in number thick and fast, and the

executives won't be exclusive

anymore. Blackberry is here, and so are the 'not so

exclusive' takers!

Volkswagen Vento - A Vent for New Age advertising

st21 September 2010 wasn't just any other day. It was

special. It was the day that cats learned to bark,

trees learnt to walk, boys learnt to listen and

girls learnt to stay silent. That was taking

it a bit too far it seems. After all we

can't think of getting our hands into

something that even the Almighty

has given up on.st

But 21 September,2010 was

certainly a special day because it

marked a new beginning in the

way advertising was ever done in

our country. For the first time, we

had a talking print ad of Volkswagen

Vento .This ingenious attempt was

path breaking in many ways as it was the

first of its kind in the entire world.

For those who believe that Ignorance is bliss and missed

seeing the ad, here's a brief recap of it-

Around 2.2 million copies of the national daily The Times

of India carried with them a weapon- not of destruction, but

of advertising revolution. A small light sensitive audio

device that read out the ad of Volkswagen Vento to the

readers. Some were shocked, some amused, some simply

amazed. But one thing was common- it became the topic of

all discussions and got Volkswagen exactly the attention it

was looking out for.

Volkswagen got its share of accolades and brickbats for

this endeavor that took them six months to execute.

Volkswagen who already enjoys the legacy of being an

innovative marketer, took things to a completely new level,

setting a new benchmark for the industry.

They carried forth the movement with some really

interesting advertising of the Vento campaign by exploring

Out of Home Advertising effectively.

Cadbury: sweating it out for the Sweet Tooth

Picture this- a boy sneaks out of his room to

hide the chocolate so that his father doesn't

finish it up. A grandpa pouncing on the

packet of chocolates once the daughter-

in-law gets it from the kirana store,

two grown up brothers still fighting

over a bar of chocolate in front of their

kids. These pictures were very

difficult to fathom in the salad days

when chocolate was promoted in our

country. The golden rule was-

Chocolate is meant for kids! Well

Ogilvy begged to differ and so did their

esteemed clients Cadbury India who over the

years have positioned chocolates as a product that can be

tempting across all age segments and the craving for it isn't

incarcerated to a particular segment.

They chose a highly popular yet an absolutely

unconventional brand ambassador in the form of Mr.

Amitabh Bachchan. In retrospect one thinks, there couldn't

have been a better person for this mission. With his

charismatic personality and phenomenal acting, he could

mould himself into any character and make people believe

that it's not a cardinal sin to crave for a chocolate. So shed all

guilt.

With themes that ranged from passing of exams to

celebration of festivals, importance of the first day of the

month which brings salary at home to the simple idea of

starting a good work with sweets, Cadbury ensured they

cater to small moments of happiness that form an integral

form of the Indian way of life. They did it with a subtle

undertone of humour and entertainment. This got them

whopping success. After all who can forget classic captions

like “Pappu Paas Ho gaya”, “Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye”,

“Meetha Hai khaana, aaj pehli taarekh hai” and the recent

“Shubh Aarambh”.

Cadbury is slowly but strongly moving towards a space that

has been enjoyed for ages by the traditional sweets. With

constant reports of adulteration of sweets, one wonders if

the day is far enough.

Surf Excel- Blessed to have the blemishes.It is highly improbable to have thought that Surf, who

made us believe for decades that it is our weapon against

spots or stains, would change its course and tell us right on

our face - “Daag Acche hai”. What a slap on the face. What

a terrible setback for Lalitaji whose credibility had been

put on the burner by her own people. How much her poor

soul would be struggling when she came to know that

people whom she represented themselves did a volte face.

We wonder if she might sue them now.

Well before the anxious few lose out on the humour, let us

categorically state how beautifully has Surf changed the

entire perception of spots and stains. They used to be on the

other end of the spectrum when they used to show

themselves as the nemesis of stains and showed this entire

altercation as nothing less than a war. Things haven't

changed much, except the tone. Now, they simply say that

even the stains are good on occasions and cleaning them

should not be an issue at all as Surf will take care of it.

This simple yet powerful positioning has caught on

tremendous popularity with people. The campaign showed

kids playing freely without any concern of the stains. They

also struck an emotional chord by showing children

helping others without being deterred by the worry of spots

and stains.

They gave a new found image to the perception and gave it

a feel good factor to this product which was otherwise

promoted on similar lines. It is because of this reason that it

won millions of hearts and millions of smiles.

1817

20

GHAR KA BRAND, BAND BAJAAYE!!

he advent of Foreign Direct

Investment (if approved by the Tcommerce ministry) in multi brand

retail would certainly be a game changer of

how the retail industry operates in India. The

industry has already seen a major transition

in India from the ‘mom and pop’ stores to the

big retail outlets. The products which are

being retailed are in themselves changing

from commodity products to luxury products.

But the change which even the manufacturers

did not see coming was the boom of brands

which are manufactured (or outsourced) and

sold by the retailers themselves. To sell these

products they come with various brands and

these are called In House brands.

If you look at the FMCG industry and the

monthly spend on advertisements, you would realize the

importance of brand recall in the minds of customers

while shopping. And before visiting your favorite retail

outlet you already have few names in your mind and

sometimes one can be sacrificed for other. But just

imagine if you see products which you never heard of but

are of a similar type, kept at a place closer to your

favorite brands, and most of the times priced

below the product you want. Isn’t that an

enticing proposition??

You step into any major multi brand retail

outlet and you definitely

cannot avoid the

existence of such

products. Let’s explain

this with the help of a

few examples and then it

would make more sense.

Battle Royale and its Spartans-The Stage-Every great fighter pilot

needs an equally able wingman to watch his back during

a combat mission. While the pilot may go for the kill to

obliterate the enemy, it’s the wingman who ensures that

the tables aren’t turned. Imagine if the wingman himself

decides to don the role of a parallel pilot and both focus

on the offensive. Retail sector undergoes a similar kind

of situation when the retailers(Wingmen) decide to go n

the battle on their own and refuse to play the role of just

watching the back of established brands.

This surely is turning into a Battle Royale and the Indian

Retail Sector is witnessing this great battle for power,

authority and of course market share. With armours of

pricing, quality, distribution and brand recall, these

Spartans are certainly leaving no stones unturned to get

their space- right from the proper shelf to the consumer’s

mind and through that to his/her home. With redefinition

of the rules, this Battle Royale seems to be in no mood of

a truce in the near future.

This quest is getting tighter and more exciting than the

one for the Holy Grail.

The marketers who are

coming up with

innovative ways to

position themselves and

carve a niche in their

respective segment.

Being pupils of this

exciting world, let’s put

out pupils to some work

by focusing on who are

the major players across segments shaping the Private

Labels phenomenon in the Indian Retail Story.

The Warriors-There is certainly the fundamental question as

to

why do retail majors get into setting up their own

brands. The answer to this question lies in the fact that the

margins in private labels are really high. The margins

range between 10-15% in the FMCG segment and as high

as 40-60% in the apparel segment. This fact has clearly

allured the entry of more and more retailers into breaking

the mould of just being the organizers of the show; they

now want to be the distributors of the show “The Great

Indian Retail Saga”.

Future Group- “Thou lay the path that the world shall follow, thou

unearth the pot of Gold that others shall try to swallow”.

The flag-bearers of the Indian Retail Story, the Future

Group with Pantaloon Retail and the Big Bazaar chain

revolutionized the way organized retail spread its roots in

the country. They worked on very effective pricing

models and an effective back end distribution to come up

with the best offers for the customers. This gave them

instant attention in the retail space. The stores were

astutely designed, without sprinkling drops of

opulence. This facilitated a wider target group and

especially a new one stop junction for the growing Indian

Middle Class. They were in fact the first one to get into

the bandwagon of Private Labels by introduction of

brands like John Miller, Tasty Treat, Fresh n Pure,

Koryo, Clean mate etc. They tapped onto the ongoing

change in the perception of the customers. Studies kept

showing that most of them did not mind purchasing the

private labels as it brought their monthly consumption

bill down by 8-10% depending on the product category.

Another smart ploy that they adopted was to ensure that

the product mix was determined as per the local flavors

and demand scenario. This customization gave a better

purview of the target groups in specific regions and

hence created a better reception.

Thus ,with 55 private labels in their kitty and possibly

many more additions in the time to come, Future Group

looks all set to heat up this battle and not bow down to

the other warriors.

Reliance Retail-They had a rough start in the retail space. Everyone

around seemed to be opposing them. They

were looked at as the capitalist major

sharks who would

swallow all the small

fish of the ocean and

establish their rule. The

outcry raised doubts over their

future and expert pundits had

predicted that Mukesh Ambani

and his team have burnt their fingers. But, they weren’t

bogged down. They fought and fought gallantly.

Today Reliance Retail, with major arms like Reliance

Fresh( Reliance Food and

Dair y Life) and

Reliance

Trends,

has

shaped

into a

major

payer in

the

Indian

Retail

space. They

own around 50

private labels across product categories which have

improved customer loyalty towards their stores. With the

19B

y -

Ku

mu

din

i Man

da,

Kri

shn

akan

t Jo

nn

alga

dd

a,R

ahu

l Gu

pta

NM

IMS,

Mu

mb

ai

GyanGyan

20

GHAR KA BRAND, BAND BAJAAYE!!

he advent of Foreign Direct

Investment (if approved by the Tcommerce ministry) in multi brand

retail would certainly be a game changer of

how the retail industry operates in India. The

industry has already seen a major transition

in India from the ‘mom and pop’ stores to the

big retail outlets. The products which are

being retailed are in themselves changing

from commodity products to luxury products.

But the change which even the manufacturers

did not see coming was the boom of brands

which are manufactured (or outsourced) and

sold by the retailers themselves. To sell these

products they come with various brands and

these are called In House brands.

If you look at the FMCG industry and the

monthly spend on advertisements, you would realize the

importance of brand recall in the minds of customers

while shopping. And before visiting your favorite retail

outlet you already have few names in your mind and

sometimes one can be sacrificed for other. But just

imagine if you see products which you never heard of but

are of a similar type, kept at a place closer to your

favorite brands, and most of the times priced

below the product you want. Isn’t that an

enticing proposition??

You step into any major multi brand retail

outlet and you definitely

cannot avoid the

existence of such

products. Let’s explain

this with the help of a

few examples and then it

would make more sense.

Battle Royale and its Spartans-The Stage-Every great fighter pilot

needs an equally able wingman to watch his back during

a combat mission. While the pilot may go for the kill to

obliterate the enemy, it’s the wingman who ensures that

the tables aren’t turned. Imagine if the wingman himself

decides to don the role of a parallel pilot and both focus

on the offensive. Retail sector undergoes a similar kind

of situation when the retailers(Wingmen) decide to go n

the battle on their own and refuse to play the role of just

watching the back of established brands.

This surely is turning into a Battle Royale and the Indian

Retail Sector is witnessing this great battle for power,

authority and of course market share. With armours of

pricing, quality, distribution and brand recall, these

Spartans are certainly leaving no stones unturned to get

their space- right from the proper shelf to the consumer’s

mind and through that to his/her home. With redefinition

of the rules, this Battle Royale seems to be in no mood of

a truce in the near future.

This quest is getting tighter and more exciting than the

one for the Holy Grail.

The marketers who are

coming up with

innovative ways to

position themselves and

carve a niche in their

respective segment.

Being pupils of this

exciting world, let’s put

out pupils to some work

by focusing on who are

the major players across segments shaping the Private

Labels phenomenon in the Indian Retail Story.

The Warriors-There is certainly the fundamental question as

to

why do retail majors get into setting up their own

brands. The answer to this question lies in the fact that the

margins in private labels are really high. The margins

range between 10-15% in the FMCG segment and as high

as 40-60% in the apparel segment. This fact has clearly

allured the entry of more and more retailers into breaking

the mould of just being the organizers of the show; they

now want to be the distributors of the show “The Great

Indian Retail Saga”.

Future Group- “Thou lay the path that the world shall follow, thou

unearth the pot of Gold that others shall try to swallow”.

The flag-bearers of the Indian Retail Story, the Future

Group with Pantaloon Retail and the Big Bazaar chain

revolutionized the way organized retail spread its roots in

the country. They worked on very effective pricing

models and an effective back end distribution to come up

with the best offers for the customers. This gave them

instant attention in the retail space. The stores were

astutely designed, without sprinkling drops of

opulence. This facilitated a wider target group and

especially a new one stop junction for the growing Indian

Middle Class. They were in fact the first one to get into

the bandwagon of Private Labels by introduction of

brands like John Miller, Tasty Treat, Fresh n Pure,

Koryo, Clean mate etc. They tapped onto the ongoing

change in the perception of the customers. Studies kept

showing that most of them did not mind purchasing the

private labels as it brought their monthly consumption

bill down by 8-10% depending on the product category.

Another smart ploy that they adopted was to ensure that

the product mix was determined as per the local flavors

and demand scenario. This customization gave a better

purview of the target groups in specific regions and

hence created a better reception.

Thus ,with 55 private labels in their kitty and possibly

many more additions in the time to come, Future Group

looks all set to heat up this battle and not bow down to

the other warriors.

Reliance Retail-They had a rough start in the retail space. Everyone

around seemed to be opposing them. They

were looked at as the capitalist major

sharks who would

swallow all the small

fish of the ocean and

establish their rule. The

outcry raised doubts over their

future and expert pundits had

predicted that Mukesh Ambani

and his team have burnt their fingers. But, they weren’t

bogged down. They fought and fought gallantly.

Today Reliance Retail, with major arms like Reliance

Fresh( Reliance Food and

Dair y Life) and

Reliance

Trends,

has

shaped

into a

major

payer in

the

Indian

Retail

space. They

own around 50

private labels across product categories which have

improved customer loyalty towards their stores. With the

19

By

-

Ku

mu

din

i Man

da,

Kri

shn

akan

t Jo

nn

alga

dd

a,R

ahu

l Gu

pta

NM

IMS,

Mu

mb

ai

GyanGyan

solid backing of the Reliance group, they are certainly a

force to reckon with for both the established players as

well as other retail majors.

Shopper’s StopStyle never goes out of style and one of the first players

to educate Indians about this was a strong retail chain-

Shopper’s Stop. They housed the best of brands in their

outlets and created a solid positioning among the

increasing fashion conscious population of youngsters.

They joined the momentum themselves when they

launched their in-house brands like STOP, Acropolis,

Kashish , Life, Vettorio Fratini and Elliza Donatein. This

wide range in the apparel segment, not only gave the

customers more options to choose from, but gave

Shoppers’ Stop a major boost in their record books as

well.

There are many other major players such as Aditya Birla

Retail, Koutons, Croma, Spencer’s etc who are leaving no

stones unturned to mark their strong presence in this

segment of private labels. In fact, a study has shown that

the retail majors are planning to use as much as 40-50%

of their store space in positioning their in-house brands.

They work solely on the principle of retail visibility and

thus, would try and gain as much attention as possible of

the customer.

Dissection point-It is time to take out our scalpels and dissect the entire

concept of private labels in the country and why is the

phenomenon picking up compared to the established

national brands. Let us try by doing a small SWOT on

one of the better performing inhouse brand- Tasty Treat of

the Future Group.

Strengths- It comes with the strong credibility of the Future

Group who has donned the role of a common man’s

shopping junction very effectively.

- The Group has been using innovative marketing

and promotional techniques to lure people to try out Tasty

Treat. This helped them a lot in the initial positioning

days.

- High retail visibility- Right from the entry point

of the store to the entry point of a particular segment, the

customer is bombarded with the idea of the private labels.

This does have an implication on the purchasing decision.

- Maintenance of quality standards has ensured that

they do not sway on the side of the unorganized retail.

They have been very clear on their positioning of having

a quality which is at par with the national brands.

- Competitive Pricing- Since they do not have to

spend much on their advertising and other Above the

Line promotion, they save a lot of capital which is

reinvested in setting highly competitive prices.

- Highly customized product mix is an avenue that

has led to creation of a product basket tailor-made for

specific regions according to local tastes.

Weaknesses- They do not enjoy the instant “Top of the Mind

Recall” in a consumer’s mind which can be a deterrent to

compete against the market leader.

- The distribution is limited to the retail stores

which led to their inception. Thus, they are yet to cover a

major segment of the target groups.

- They are often perceived as imitations of

national brands which is corroborated with their

packaging style and names( Compare Honey Circles and

Honey Rings, Masti Angles with Mad Angles)

Opportunities-

- The initial signs look highly encouraging and the

future does beckon exciting time for expansion.

- An opportunity to Co—Brand with a national

player can be a strategy that can be forayed into the

future. This could provide the perfect launchpad for them

to mark their presence.

- The higher margins obtained can be reinvested

in coming up with better variants for product mixes and

thus improve on the overall basket that the company

provides.

Threats- It is difficult to keep up pace with the multiple

variants that the national players come up with. If the

retail majors decide to go ahead with so many variants,

the branding of multitudinous products becomes an

onerous task.

- With the entrant of more and more retail players

and the entry of international players like Wal-Mart, the

battle of private labels is going to become more fierce.

- Any bad instance with the brand can lead to a bad

name for the retail store as well. This co-branding which

works as a strength to establish the brand can lead to a

cascading damage in case of a problem arriving.

- A strong pull advertising strategy by national

players can hamper the growth of the private labels.

Only those who play the game, can frame the rules-

A kid understands the importance of balance only when

he falls down, learns the importance of people only when

he is alone, learns the power of knowledge only when he

experiences it in real life. A marketing student can

certainly understand the concepts and brilliant ideas that

have taken the world by storm by sitting in the class and

googling, but the appreciation of this acumen comes only

when he steps into the field and observes the situation by

himself.

We want to be kings of the jungle in the future, for that

we decided to step into the lion’s den itself to learn the

tricks of the trade. A trip to one of the successful Food

Bazaar outlets in Mumbai gave us insights about why

private labels have been doing really well and how

various strategies are applied to influence the buying

behavior of the customers.

Food Bazaar has three major private labels- ‘Tasty Treat’

and ‘Fresh n Pure’ in the dairy, food and beverages

segment and ‘Clean Mate’ in the household division.

Their main line of focus currently is on gaining more on

the food and beverages segment. A visit to the store

corroborates this hypothesis. The entry point of the store

is adorned with a cutout of the latest offer that the in-

house brands have to offer. This catches instant attention

of the customer as it has been strategically placed near

the bag submission counter. Thus, a small halt or wait

here is sufficient to look at the cutout. Strike One!

2221

GyanGyan

solid backing of the Reliance group, they are certainly a

force to reckon with for both the established players as

well as other retail majors.

Shopper’s StopStyle never goes out of style and one of the first players

to educate Indians about this was a strong retail chain-

Shopper’s Stop. They housed the best of brands in their

outlets and created a solid positioning among the

increasing fashion conscious population of youngsters.

They joined the momentum themselves when they

launched their in-house brands like STOP, Acropolis,

Kashish , Life, Vettorio Fratini and Elliza Donatein. This

wide range in the apparel segment, not only gave the

customers more options to choose from, but gave

Shoppers’ Stop a major boost in their record books as

well.

There are many other major players such as Aditya Birla

Retail, Koutons, Croma, Spencer’s etc who are leaving no

stones unturned to mark their strong presence in this

segment of private labels. In fact, a study has shown that

the retail majors are planning to use as much as 40-50%

of their store space in positioning their in-house brands.

They work solely on the principle of retail visibility and

thus, would try and gain as much attention as possible of

the customer.

Dissection point-It is time to take out our scalpels and dissect the entire

concept of private labels in the country and why is the

phenomenon picking up compared to the established

national brands. Let us try by doing a small SWOT on

one of the better performing inhouse brand- Tasty Treat of

the Future Group.

Strengths- It comes with the strong credibility of the Future

Group who has donned the role of a common man’s

shopping junction very effectively.

- The Group has been using innovative marketing

and promotional techniques to lure people to try out Tasty

Treat. This helped them a lot in the initial positioning

days.

- High retail visibility- Right from the entry point

of the store to the entry point of a particular segment, the

customer is bombarded with the idea of the private labels.

This does have an implication on the purchasing decision.

- Maintenance of quality standards has ensured that

they do not sway on the side of the unorganized retail.

They have been very clear on their positioning of having

a quality which is at par with the national brands.

- Competitive Pricing- Since they do not have to

spend much on their advertising and other Above the

Line promotion, they save a lot of capital which is

reinvested in setting highly competitive prices.

- Highly customized product mix is an avenue that

has led to creation of a product basket tailor-made for

specific regions according to local tastes.

Weaknesses- They do not enjoy the instant “Top of the Mind

Recall” in a consumer’s mind which can be a deterrent to

compete against the market leader.

- The distribution is limited to the retail stores

which led to their inception. Thus, they are yet to cover a

major segment of the target groups.

- They are often perceived as imitations of

national brands which is corroborated with their

packaging style and names( Compare Honey Circles and

Honey Rings, Masti Angles with Mad Angles)

Opportunities-

- The initial signs look highly encouraging and the

future does beckon exciting time for expansion.

- An opportunity to Co—Brand with a national

player can be a strategy that can be forayed into the

future. This could provide the perfect launchpad for them

to mark their presence.

- The higher margins obtained can be reinvested

in coming up with better variants for product mixes and

thus improve on the overall basket that the company

provides.

Threats- It is difficult to keep up pace with the multiple

variants that the national players come up with. If the

retail majors decide to go ahead with so many variants,

the branding of multitudinous products becomes an

onerous task.

- With the entrant of more and more retail players

and the entry of international players like Wal-Mart, the

battle of private labels is going to become more fierce.

- Any bad instance with the brand can lead to a bad

name for the retail store as well. This co-branding which

works as a strength to establish the brand can lead to a

cascading damage in case of a problem arriving.

- A strong pull advertising strategy by national

players can hamper the growth of the private labels.

Only those who play the game, can frame the rules-

A kid understands the importance of balance only when

he falls down, learns the importance of people only when

he is alone, learns the power of knowledge only when he

experiences it in real life. A marketing student can

certainly understand the concepts and brilliant ideas that

have taken the world by storm by sitting in the class and

googling, but the appreciation of this acumen comes only

when he steps into the field and observes the situation by

himself.

We want to be kings of the jungle in the future, for that

we decided to step into the lion’s den itself to learn the

tricks of the trade. A trip to one of the successful Food

Bazaar outlets in Mumbai gave us insights about why

private labels have been doing really well and how

various strategies are applied to influence the buying

behavior of the customers.

Food Bazaar has three major private labels- ‘Tasty Treat’

and ‘Fresh n Pure’ in the dairy, food and beverages

segment and ‘Clean Mate’ in the household division.

Their main line of focus currently is on gaining more on

the food and beverages segment. A visit to the store

corroborates this hypothesis. The entry point of the store

is adorned with a cutout of the latest offer that the in-

house brands have to offer. This catches instant attention

of the customer as it has been strategically placed near

the bag submission counter. Thus, a small halt or wait

here is sufficient to look at the cutout. Strike One!

2221

GyanGyan

The floor of the store has labels attached to it which serve

the same purpose of informing the customer about tasty

treat and its range of products. This is supplemented by a

banner of Tasty Treat clearly elucidating on the discount

options. So within an area of 100 sq. meters around the

entry point only, the store bombards you with its in-house

brands. Strike two!

The retail story has seen tremendous growth for two

primary reasons-one is the customer gets an option to

weigh all the options in hand and then make a decision

accordingly. Second, due to this growing competition,

prices have become highly competitive and even the retail

stores keep coming up with special prices to keep their

own competitive advantage. This has led to great

competition in the aspect of gaining the shelf space in a

retail store. This competition has become more intense

with the entry of private labels on the shelves. Thus, the

retail store has to strategically place their own brands

without disrupting the relations with the behemoths of the

industry.

In case of Tasty Treat, it is highly evident that they work a

lot on their retail visibility by gaining shelf spaces which

are very close to the entry point in a particular segment

and which are placed at the eye level. The picture clearly

shows how the Tasty Treat products are stacked at the

entry point of the segment and at the eye level, whereas

the Kellog’s products are kept below the eye level. The

proposition of Tasty Treat is further strengthened by the

price offer display just below it, which is an alluring

factor for bargain hunters and may even lead to switch of

value seekers.

This is further enhanced by the packaging of the brands,

which is on similar lines with the established players.

Fancy this, Tasty Treat has a brand Honey Circles which

comes in a bright yellow package(with a Disney

character’s picture) and is placed at the entry point of

this segment. This is followed by Kellog’s Honey Loops

which has the exact yellow packaging (with a bee’s

animated character’s picture). Different schools of

thought would have different contentions over this move,

but it certainly can’t be a mere coincidence. Strike three!

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. His specs, in the

hands of the marketer.” The phenomenon explained

above couldn’t have been summarized in better words.

A common perception about inhouse brands is the fact

that they are not priced as much as the established

brands. This perception was not entirely contradicted,

but got a new dimension on the visit to the store. They

were priced strategically similar to the major brands, and

even more on certain occasions. Fancy the example of

Kellog’s Cornflakes 475 grams packet being priced at

Rs.125 and Tasty Treat (similar flavor) is priced at

Rs.130. This does come across as a big surprise, but the

answer to this unusual scenario was found in the store

itself. They usually have special pricing offers for their

private labels, which is promoted in the shelves. Thus,

the final price of Rs. 111 catches immediate attention of

the customers and hence certainly improves the chances

of getting purchased.

Our team compared the price of three major commodities

and the results were as follows-

This was a revelation for us in many ways as there were

many products like this where the inhouse brands we

priced higher than the national brands, but the discounting

was astutely done with special prices and promotional

offers.

Our chat with the store manager had a lot of interesting

insights. Few of the excerpts from the interview are given

below-

He very categorically stated that the main intention of the

private labels of Food Bazaar(Tasty Treat, Fresh n Pure

and Clean Mate) was not to dethrone the behemoths who

are ruling the sector, but the intent is to fill the void of a

more cost effective and good quality product. They save a

lot on their advertising costs and hence can invest that

capital into in-store promotion activities. Thus ,Food

Bazaar does get into endeavors like Free Sampling and

Tasting on Wednesdays which gives them the double

benefit of crowd pulling in stores as well as more

exposure for the private labels.

On the choice of manufacturers, he said that they do not

compromise on the quality and go on partnering with the

manufacturers who are working with the market leaders.

Without giving away the obvious fact, he did say that a

similar line of packaging does help in the initial ambush

but over a period of time, people do start taking notice of

their inhouse brands and do ask for it.

As far as managing the shelf space is concerned, they

have been given the decentralized power of installing

additional shelves to accommodate the private brands,

mostly determined by demand of the particular location.

Talking about the future, he said that even though we

have limited distribution network and we don’t outsource

to other stores, it is a proposition that may be looked into

in the future based on the changing trends. Right now, the

idea is to bridge in the gap between the unorganized

sector and the established bellwethers, plus the margins

always keep the smiles flowing.

He elaborated further saying that it is easier to penetrate

in the segments which evokes impulsive buy. Thus, if a

customer is not getting a Lays’ in the store, he wouldn’t

mind picking up Tasty Treat instead. This is how they

choose the product categories across which they are

spreading the roots of private labels.

Segment Tasty Treat

Brand Price

Competitor name and

Price

Corn Flakes 475

gms

Rs 130/- cut

down to Rs

111/-

Kellog’s cornflakes Rs

125/-

Chips (65 gms) Masti Angles Rs

10/-

Bingo Mad Angles Rs

10/-(85 gms)

Bhujia Sev(350

gms)

Rs 68/- Haldiram’s Rs 65/-

2423

Conclusion and Verdict-

There is no second thought over the fact that private

labels are here to stay and to create a stir into the share

of the market leaders. This hole in their pocket would

certainly ease out the pockets of the customers and we

are sure with the kind of competitive pricing that has

been introduced, the customers have reasons to

celebrate.

As a marketer of an FMCG company who has found this

new competitor who is spreading roots quickly, the pull

strategy needs to get a bit more stronger because their

unstoppable force is certainly meeting more and more

immovable objects. The collision may certainly lead to a

BIG BANG!! If Ghar Ka Bhedi led to the demolition of

Lanka, here the Ghar ka brand of the retailers is certainly

moving in the same direction to spell trouble for the

national players.

GyanGyan

The floor of the store has labels attached to it which serve

the same purpose of informing the customer about tasty

treat and its range of products. This is supplemented by a

banner of Tasty Treat clearly elucidating on the discount

options. So within an area of 100 sq. meters around the

entry point only, the store bombards you with its in-house

brands. Strike two!

The retail story has seen tremendous growth for two

primary reasons-one is the customer gets an option to

weigh all the options in hand and then make a decision

accordingly. Second, due to this growing competition,

prices have become highly competitive and even the retail

stores keep coming up with special prices to keep their

own competitive advantage. This has led to great

competition in the aspect of gaining the shelf space in a

retail store. This competition has become more intense

with the entry of private labels on the shelves. Thus, the

retail store has to strategically place their own brands

without disrupting the relations with the behemoths of the

industry.

In case of Tasty Treat, it is highly evident that they work a

lot on their retail visibility by gaining shelf spaces which

are very close to the entry point in a particular segment

and which are placed at the eye level. The picture clearly

shows how the Tasty Treat products are stacked at the

entry point of the segment and at the eye level, whereas

the Kellog’s products are kept below the eye level. The

proposition of Tasty Treat is further strengthened by the

price offer display just below it, which is an alluring

factor for bargain hunters and may even lead to switch of

value seekers.

This is further enhanced by the packaging of the brands,

which is on similar lines with the established players.

Fancy this, Tasty Treat has a brand Honey Circles which

comes in a bright yellow package(with a Disney

character’s picture) and is placed at the entry point of

this segment. This is followed by Kellog’s Honey Loops

which has the exact yellow packaging (with a bee’s

animated character’s picture). Different schools of

thought would have different contentions over this move,

but it certainly can’t be a mere coincidence. Strike three!

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. His specs, in the

hands of the marketer.” The phenomenon explained

above couldn’t have been summarized in better words.

A common perception about inhouse brands is the fact

that they are not priced as much as the established

brands. This perception was not entirely contradicted,

but got a new dimension on the visit to the store. They

were priced strategically similar to the major brands, and

even more on certain occasions. Fancy the example of

Kellog’s Cornflakes 475 grams packet being priced at

Rs.125 and Tasty Treat (similar flavor) is priced at

Rs.130. This does come across as a big surprise, but the

answer to this unusual scenario was found in the store

itself. They usually have special pricing offers for their

private labels, which is promoted in the shelves. Thus,

the final price of Rs. 111 catches immediate attention of

the customers and hence certainly improves the chances

of getting purchased.

Our team compared the price of three major commodities

and the results were as follows-

This was a revelation for us in many ways as there were

many products like this where the inhouse brands we

priced higher than the national brands, but the discounting

was astutely done with special prices and promotional

offers.

Our chat with the store manager had a lot of interesting

insights. Few of the excerpts from the interview are given

below-

He very categorically stated that the main intention of the

private labels of Food Bazaar(Tasty Treat, Fresh n Pure

and Clean Mate) was not to dethrone the behemoths who

are ruling the sector, but the intent is to fill the void of a

more cost effective and good quality product. They save a

lot on their advertising costs and hence can invest that

capital into in-store promotion activities. Thus ,Food

Bazaar does get into endeavors like Free Sampling and

Tasting on Wednesdays which gives them the double

benefit of crowd pulling in stores as well as more

exposure for the private labels.

On the choice of manufacturers, he said that they do not

compromise on the quality and go on partnering with the

manufacturers who are working with the market leaders.

Without giving away the obvious fact, he did say that a

similar line of packaging does help in the initial ambush

but over a period of time, people do start taking notice of

their inhouse brands and do ask for it.

As far as managing the shelf space is concerned, they

have been given the decentralized power of installing

additional shelves to accommodate the private brands,

mostly determined by demand of the particular location.

Talking about the future, he said that even though we

have limited distribution network and we don’t outsource

to other stores, it is a proposition that may be looked into

in the future based on the changing trends. Right now, the

idea is to bridge in the gap between the unorganized

sector and the established bellwethers, plus the margins

always keep the smiles flowing.

He elaborated further saying that it is easier to penetrate

in the segments which evokes impulsive buy. Thus, if a

customer is not getting a Lays’ in the store, he wouldn’t

mind picking up Tasty Treat instead. This is how they

choose the product categories across which they are

spreading the roots of private labels.

Segment Tasty Treat

Brand Price

Competitor name and

Price

Corn Flakes 475

gms

Rs 130/- cut

down to Rs

111/-

Kellog’s cornflakes Rs

125/-

Chips (65 gms) Masti Angles Rs

10/-

Bingo Mad Angles Rs

10/-(85 gms)

Bhujia Sev(350

gms)

Rs 68/- Haldiram’s Rs 65/-

2423

Conclusion and Verdict-

There is no second thought over the fact that private

labels are here to stay and to create a stir into the share

of the market leaders. This hole in their pocket would

certainly ease out the pockets of the customers and we

are sure with the kind of competitive pricing that has

been introduced, the customers have reasons to

celebrate.

As a marketer of an FMCG company who has found this

new competitor who is spreading roots quickly, the pull

strategy needs to get a bit more stronger because their

unstoppable force is certainly meeting more and more

immovable objects. The collision may certainly lead to a

BIG BANG!! If Ghar Ka Bhedi led to the demolition of

Lanka, here the Ghar ka brand of the retailers is certainly

moving in the same direction to spell trouble for the

national players.

GyanGyan

ACROSS3 4Ps

5 Build,Hold,Harvest,Divest

6 Introduction,Growth,Maturity,Decline

7 Mass production, mass distribution and mass

promotion of one product for all buyers

8 Describe a cluster of complementary products

and services that are closely related in the minds

of

9 Task of creating strong customer loyalty is

______ marketing

11 Similar products or services to the same

customers at similar prices is ___________

competition

12 Geographic, Demographic, Psychographics,

Behavioural

15 Target consumers may be unaware of or

uninterested in the product

392625

Churn CrossWord

DOWN1Small no. of large firms provide a range ofproducts or services2 Difference between Total Customer Value and Total Customer Cost4 Railroad overlooking the growing competition from airlines, busses, trucksand automobiles7 Identifying and meeting human and social needs10 ____ correspond to 4Ps13 Walmart is an example for this14 VLCC is an example of _____ market

launched by which famous pizza chain?

Pizza Hut Smoking Joe’s

Famous Famiglia Dominos.

10) Which of the following companies owns the

brand SAFAL?

Mother Dairy ITC

HUL GCMMF(Amul)

Answers-

1)Agrotech

2)Pepsi Dark

3)Fresh Plus

4)British Physical Laboratories

5)Happinezz

6)RDA Balanced Formula

7)Meru Cabs

8)Reckitt Benckiser

9)Dominos

10)Mother Dairy

The 4P’s Quiz

1) Sundrop is a brand of?

Marico HUL Agrotech P&G

2) Which of the following was not a Pepsi

flavour?

Pepsi Blue Pepsi Cappuccino Pepsi Dark

Pepsi Gold

3) Which of the following is not an Inhouse brand

of Food Bazaar?

Fresh and Pure Tasty Treat

Clean mate Fresh Plus

4) What is the full form of the company BPL?

British Physical Laboratories

Bharat Physical Laboratories

Bharat Provision laboratories

British Polarized Laboratories

5) Which of the following is an exclusive

icecream(no other products sold) parlour?

Havmor Happinezz

Amul Mothers’ Dairy

6) Which component did Bournvita extensively

promote as one of its USP?

RDA Balanced Formula

RAD Formula

RD Defence Formula

RAD Protection

7) ‘Rely on us’ is which company’s caption?

Reliance Industries Limited TATA Photon

Meru Cabs Videocon DTH

8) Who recently purchased Paras

Pharmaceuticals?

HUL Reckitt Benckiser

ITC Emami

9) ‘Double Burst’ is a new style of pizza crust

Churn Churn

ACROSS3 4Ps

5 Build,Hold,Harvest,Divest

6 Introduction,Growth,Maturity,Decline

7 Mass production, mass distribution and mass

promotion of one product for all buyers

8 Describe a cluster of complementary products

and services that are closely related in the minds

of

9 Task of creating strong customer loyalty is

______ marketing

11 Similar products or services to the same

customers at similar prices is ___________

competition

12 Geographic, Demographic, Psychographics,

Behavioural

15 Target consumers may be unaware of or

uninterested in the product

392625

Churn CrossWord

DOWN1Small no. of large firms provide a range ofproducts or services2 Difference between Total Customer Value and Total Customer Cost4 Railroad overlooking the growing competition from airlines, busses, trucksand automobiles7 Identifying and meeting human and social needs10 ____ correspond to 4Ps13 Walmart is an example for this14 VLCC is an example of _____ market

launched by which famous pizza chain?

Pizza Hut Smoking Joe’s

Famous Famiglia Dominos.

10) Which of the following companies owns the

brand SAFAL?

Mother Dairy ITC

HUL GCMMF(Amul)

Answers-

1)Agrotech

2)Pepsi Dark

3)Fresh Plus

4)British Physical Laboratories

5)Happinezz

6)RDA Balanced Formula

7)Meru Cabs

8)Reckitt Benckiser

9)Dominos

10)Mother Dairy

The 4P’s Quiz

1) Sundrop is a brand of?

Marico HUL Agrotech P&G

2) Which of the following was not a Pepsi

flavour?

Pepsi Blue Pepsi Cappuccino Pepsi Dark

Pepsi Gold

3) Which of the following is not an Inhouse brand

of Food Bazaar?

Fresh and Pure Tasty Treat

Clean mate Fresh Plus

4) What is the full form of the company BPL?

British Physical Laboratories

Bharat Physical Laboratories

Bharat Provision laboratories

British Polarized Laboratories

5) Which of the following is an exclusive

icecream(no other products sold) parlour?

Havmor Happinezz

Amul Mothers’ Dairy

6) Which component did Bournvita extensively

promote as one of its USP?

RDA Balanced Formula

RAD Formula

RD Defence Formula

RAD Protection

7) ‘Rely on us’ is which company’s caption?

Reliance Industries Limited TATA Photon

Meru Cabs Videocon DTH

8) Who recently purchased Paras

Pharmaceuticals?

HUL Reckitt Benckiser

ITC Emami

9) ‘Double Burst’ is a new style of pizza crust

Churn Churn