Living down a famous dad’s name is never easy in any calling. Advertising is no different. For years, I pasted on a fatuous and moronic smile every time my surname came into play, invariably leading to the inevitable “Oh, so you are Sanat Lahiri/ Sanatda/Sanat Babu’s son? Naturally, advertising is in your blood!” Proud and happy as I was – and a bit embarrassed, awkward and inadequate too! – the truth can now be told since both my dad and the guy who turned me on to mosey across to Adville are up there, bogeying in the biggest Ad Congress of all!

No, advertising was not really in my blood; and no again, I did not come into advertising because of my famous [ex-Lintas, Dunlop, Tata, ICI. First Asian President of the IPRA, past President of PRSI & ABC, moving force behind Kolkata Ad Club, and Communication Consultant to the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia & Far East] dad. It was because of a maverick called Kersey Katrak, and an advertising agency called MCM (Mass Communication and Marketing)!

It all began in college when, accidentally, a couple of ads slammed my retina. It was my first introduction to the supernova and his audacious take on advertising. Sharp, in-your-face and brazenly unapologetic, the ads challenged you to ignore them, as they teasingly went eyeball to eyeball with you! It really shook me up! Instantly – I was in my final year of English Honours at Kolkata’s St. Xavier’s College – I dumped all thoughts of journalism and zeroed in on knowing more about the freako who’d made the ads and his shop. I had discovered my Camelot!

My dad [while not doing a tango as he listened to my breathless whoopee about those advertisements and wild plans for the future] was supportive. I am forever grateful for that. Coming from a different space and conditioned to the politically correct and conventional stuff dished out by the likes of JWT, Ogilvy and Clarion [Bates] of those distant [60s & 70s] times, Katrak’s provocative and way-out stuff could well have freaked him out – but he appeared cool. It was my life and he was there to guide – not monitor – my moves, if and when called upon to do so. In the break that existed between exams and results, I did a quick orientation course at JWT to get an authentic reality-bite into the industry I was dying to join. After completing it – loved it – I immediately left for Mumbai… Operation MCM!

After Kolkata and JWT, Mumbai, MCM at Colaba (Bakhtawar) and the super-hot dude who authored the show blew my young mind! The advertising agencies back home were nice n’ smart in an old fashioned, conventional way [“We’re here to do business, not entertain, deah boy!”] but what was this? The interiors were surreal and psychedelic! A pub, disco or an Adshop? I felt I was suddenly transported to Lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds land! Man, this truly was a life-after-death experience…! Just as I was recovering from this sublime and heady ambience, a tap on the shoulder got me face-to-face with the man himself…
 
Sporting Jeans, a cool Tee and comfy sandals, Kersey Katrak of the trimmed beard and glowing handsome face didn’t look a day older than 30, although he was reported to be in his mid-thirties. After warmly greeting me, ushering me to a small anteroom and ensuring that my Elvis-like trembling cooled off [was this for real?!] he did two things that made me love him – and the profession – for life. First he clicked a button that got the shades of the windows to part… in theatrical slo-mo… offering a spectacular view of the sea. While I stared zombie-like at the impossibly amazing visual, he politely enquired whether I would like to join him in enjoying a Pink Gin or Gin n’ Tonic? Seeing my chloroformed look, he assured me that it wasn’t fatal, my dad would approve and most importantly, a great way to connect with creativity. “Leaning on the juices and wetting the old tonsils does wonders for anyone keen on waking the dead, son!” intoned the great one. [I was to understand the full import of this, with time.]

After a few sips of the magic brew and lots of help from the Guru, I let fly. I showed him some of my published poems and articles and gave him my expert opinion on advertising and my plans, once I entered the business. He listened with great interest to this greenhorn [whose tongue was loosened by a drop and friendly encouragement to keep going], sometimes inviting me to recite some of my favourite poems. He confessed he loved poetry too and even wrote some “in my lighter moments”. Suddenly, without any reference to context, he said “You’re on, buddy! Join us first of next month. You will have to relocate, struggle, stay away from family and girlfriend. You will receive a stipend but will have to be supported by your old man. Once we see that you are settled and flying, everything will fall in place. Just remember one thing. MCM is not an ad agency. It’s a temple and disco which worships and celebrates ideas that transform lives… good luck!” Exit Kersey Katrak. Enter the incredulous beginning of dream, floating on air all the way to my host’s residence at Bandra… and later, all the way back to Kolkata! For a variety of reasons, alas, MCM didn’t work out for me and I ended up joining JWT, Kolkata, where I was privileged to interact with and learn my craft from another great and towering icon, Subhas Ghosal… but hey, that’s a story for some other time. This one’s about Kersey, who is widely considered the father of creative advertising.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
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There’s more to the indian car market than just hatchbacks. and M&m wants to prove this isn’t just theory. will xylo’s makeover make its task any easier?
 
For as long as anyone can remember, India has been counted as a market where versions of A, B or C car models have a greater chance of being lapped-up by buyers if they come in the sub-4000 mm length. Over last year however, the two-million-a-year selling four-wheeler market has been in flux. What has forced the change in equation is the emergence of Utility Vehicles (UVs) as powerful volume-selling products. Count this. Between April and June 2012, sales of UVs (volume) in India grew 50.85% y-o-y (to 117,711 units). This when the overall passenger vehicles market grew by 9.71% goes to show how the UV segment has outpaced the overall market in recent years. What is most encouraging about this change is the manner in which the segment has started contributing greater volumes to the 4-wheeler market in recent months. Three years back, the UV category was actually declining. Between April-June 2009, its sales shrunk 1.52%. A year back, the category accounted between 11-13% of the total sales in the four-wheeler market in India. Today, this figure has reached 18%. The story of how the Indian automart is battling slowdown is really one where the UV market is playing the oxygen tank.

Call it a coincidence but the growth story of UVs in India began during the time when Mahindra & Mahindra started showing its seriousness beyond the Scorpio and Bolero. Today, after the sensation-of-a-launch of the XUV 500 (whose production schedule is running a delay of 5-6 months due to excess demand), the company is doing its best to market the latest avatar of its other big bet launched two years back – the Xylo (the ‘Stylish new Xylo’ as M&M brands it), that was launched in February this year. Strategically, where M&M scores a full 10 is the choice of category where appears to have neatly settled in. Today, it commands a 52.9% share in the sub-Rs.15 lakh platform, the only sub-segment where it sells. And going by how the company has introduced incremental innovation in the Xylo – enhancing its exteriors, interiors and overall performance with new features like stylish headlamps, sporty rear spoiler, glossy wood interior panels, mHawk turbocharged CRDe engine, a voice command technology to adjusts speaker volumes and unlock doors et al – expect its share in the sub-category to inch closer to the 60% mark in another quarter with ease.

To ‘again’ put this steal of a buy in the public eye [the first TVC of the campaign was launched in February 2012. It showed the original Xylo’s exteriors getting a makeover in a car washing station, and being rolled out as the new Xylo], starting June this year, M&M chose to air the second sequel of its ‘happy legs’. As before, creative agency Interface Communications injects a fresh feel into the 30-second spot that highlights the new stylish Xylo. The challenge this time was to move beyond selling just the proposition of adequate legroom space. The idea of a makeover had to surface – challenging when on the screen, you have three leggy beauties accompanying ace fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar.

Sharing the idea behind the project Robby Mathew, NCD, Interface, tells 4Ps B&M, “The new Xylo TVC picks up exactly where the last one left off. In the last ad, the vehicle wandered into a car wash station, but ended up getting a makeover. Now fresh from the car wash, Atul and the girls continue their journey in the stylish new Xylo. The core proposition of the Xylo has always been its roomy legroom, crystallised as ‘happy legs’. This campaign had to educate people know about the restyled exterior and interiors, but it quickly comes back to the Xylo’s core strength of space, especially the voice command technology system.”
 
The TVC opens with Atul driving around in the new Xylo with three models. They travel through a scenic beach town, down to a pier for a fashion photo shoot. En route, the four play around with the new Voice Command System and even change into costume in the Xylo’s spacious interiors, delighting a few fishermen. Actually, the fishermen shown between the 12th and 15th second of the TVC weren’t in the original cast plan. They made their way into it, while the shoot was in progress. Reveals Alan Rego, writer of the new ad-film (Creative Team – Interface), to 4Ps B&M, “For the sequel TVC, there is a scene where the models had to change clothes in the new Xylo. Even though they weren’t actually doing so, we got a lot of attention from the fishermen out there who were feeling shy. We realised their importance and included them in the script. We captured their natural expressions who weren’t possibly aware of the ad being filmed there.” The signature track ‘Can’t get you off my mind’, which worked well in the previous formats adds life to the sequel. In the last five second of the TVC, the VO says, “Happy legs in a stylish new Xylo”.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

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A lot has been said and written about the facebook ipo since its debut, but investors are still confused. here are five myths about the company and its stock
 
The Facebook IPO didn’t live up to expectations?

The right question to ask would be “whose expectations?” Retail investors bought a piece of Facebook not because it made economic sense but for the satisfaction of ownership of a (very small) piece of a very popular company. The IPO’s initial dynamics are a direct consequence of:

An initial overpricing, very difficult to justify by the underlying economic reality of Facebook.

A game of supply and demand: The underwriters sold to their clients potential scarcity of shares available. In fact, in the days before the IPO they chose to increase the total number of shares to be sold by 25%, maximising the total dollar amount raised but increasing the selling pressure once the IPO is out. Watch out though. The total of 180 million shares sold during the IPO look small in comparison to the flood of over one billion shares that Facebook insiders will put on the market by November this year!

Facebook concealed information pertaining to its growth prospects from investors

No, many issues (for example current slowdown of sales growth, actual use of money raised by the IPO) were in fact disclosed. Many investors didn’t bother to look at the disclosures and then were surprised when they came out in the news.

Facebook has a great business model

What I’m sure about is that just by making cosmetic changes like introducing the Timeline, Facebook won’t be able to reverse its decline. Moreover, the lack of innovation that demonstrates such a change casts doubt on the ability of Facebook to innovate on its business model. A lot of signs seem to prove that Facebook has reached its zenith. Economics, digital or not, follows market rules. Launching a start-up without a strong business model can’t work eternally. Mark Zuckerberg says “Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission – to make the world more open and connected ... Simply put: We don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.” But, today, Facebook’s survival relies on advertising income which makes up for 85% of total revenues.
 
With so much money at its disposal now, Facebook will easily innovate on its business model

One must realise that out of the $16 billion raised from the IPO, only $6.84 billion went to the company directly. The rest of the proceeds were used to allow investors, from earlier financing rounds, to cash out a (substantial) part of their stake. So how will Facebook use these $6.84 billion? Many commentators suggest Facebook will embark on an aggressive acquisition strategy, supported by the company’s cash (around $4 billion) and the existing $5 billion credit lines. This is probably a likely outcome, however, the true financial capacity of Facebook is going to be constrained by an upcoming tax liability linked to the settlement of restricted stocks – part of the 2005 executive compensation plan. The resulting tax liability, estimated to be around $4.6 billion, means that in the end less than $2.3 billion out of the total $16 billion raised by the company will actually benefit Facebook’s operations.

Google and Amazon.com were also downplayed by investors when they debuted at the bourses. Going by that, Facebook will also bounce back

The problem is not to know if Facebook is a great company but if it is a great investment. At current pricing it will have to deliver very strong economic performance over the next few years in order to justify the pricing of its shares. Should Facebook face growth issues or fail to maintain top profitability margins, then its shares will not follow Google’s path. Facebook will have to first establish a solid, sustainable business model (as Amazon did). Until it finds a model that can grow with the company’s aspirations, its shares are likely to remain under pressure.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

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Some international campaigns succeed in creating momentously historic landmarks in the global advertising playfield. 4Ps B&M brings to you a review of one such stellar campaign that was active during the month ending July 15, 2012.
 
Advertiser: Mini
Ad Title: Mini: Store
Category: Ambient

4Ps B&M Take: When the market experienced an unprecedented proliferation of products and services in an increasingly globalised world, it led to a panic attack amongst marketers who found it difficult to get through to consumers. The subsequent advertising bombardment is a result of the above. But now, as more countries join the ‘developed economies’ bandwagon, business dynamics are fast changing. One such change is in the form of escalating real estate prices which makes the cost of acquiring more customer touchpoints a financially excruciating task. We all know Mini is a well established and highly aspired brand by all aspects. However, its competitive edge, in terms of product positioning and placement, doesn’t make it invulnerable to the basic laws of economics. The maker of the legendary Mini Cooper cars wanted to establish more Mini outlets in Paris for driving increased traffic to their stores. But a market analysis revealed that doing so in a city where the price of real estate is sky high was not the best of options. Mini took this dilemma to DDB Paris where the Executive Creative Director Alexandre Hervé came up with a brilliant idea – sell Mini in a Mini! A total of 10 Mini cars were converted into Mini Stores with a signage mounted on top indicating the same. The cars were driven by sales executive who carried brochures along with them and the stores were open from 9AM to 6PM. People on the street could simply get into one of these cars to reach their destination. They had the option of driving a Mini themselves or being driven by the sales executive. Further, whenever a Mini was parked, the spot was converted into a Mini location at a negligible parking ticket cost. The project kicked off in Paris and is now being replicated across France, rapidly multiplying customer access points. The ambient activity not only fulfilled Mini’s goal of having 10 new stores in every city across France at a fraction of the cost, but also significantly increased the chances of a prospective customer opting for a test drive. With the help of DDB Paris, Mini was able to reach out to its target audience without having to spend on convincing them to walk in to a brick & mortar store. Apart from these visible advantages, Mini also ended up creating a completely new business model for the auto industry. Now that’s something out-of-the-box, we would say!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

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An ad is a product of painstaking craftsmanship. Various elements, ranging from positioning of the product, clarity of the idea behind the product to visibility of the brand, its persona and the power of communication have to be intelligently weaved together. But while some ads manage to rewrite preset creative benchmarks, some go the wrong way, fall by the side & fail to excite viewers. In this section, we review three ads that came out tops, for the right and the wrong reasons this fortnight.

Advertiser: Yamuna Expressway
Baseline: Suhana Safar, Salamat Safar
Agency: Clayground Communications

4Ps B&M Take: The 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway connecting Agra and Greater Noida is almost complete and will soon be open to public. So what does the developer Jaypee Group do? It immediately ups the ante, ropes in some TV soap stars and starts advertising its achievement. Star TV couple Sakshi Sinha and Ram Kumar are out for a drive on the highway – and the three part ad series communicates various highway driving etiquettes to viewers. They stress on the need to obey traffic rules, to not drink and drive, wear seat belts and refrain from littering. The creatives have even tried to inject some humour – well, as much humour as an advertisement for Yamuna Expressway can have. One ad has Ram Kapoor singing loudly and totally off-tune while driving. The voiceover says that it’s okay to sing and drive, but not okay to drink and drive. Ahem... okay, so you are not laughing. Neither did we. In other words, the ads are okay but lack creativity and the storyboard leaves a lot to be desired. Their sole purpose seems to be some chest thumping after a project well done. But here’s where the problem is. Apart from some graphically simulated visuals towards the end, there is hardly any talk of the project and its achievements. The storyboard actually dwells more on obeying traffic rules – than on brand positioning. Excuse us, but shouldn’t there also be subtly-woven talk about the number of lanes, consumer convenience, civic amenities, green belt, et al, along the highway? This is not to say that we don’t like all the obeying traffic rules messages. India’s highway accident statistics certainly underline the crying need for Indians to diligently follow all traffic rules. And if the message is a part of Jaypee’s corporate responsibility initiative, rest assured, we are indeed clapping.
 
Advertiser: Amul Macho
Baseline: Bade Aaram Se
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather

4Ps B&M Take: What a perfect waste of a super celebrity endorser in a totally out-of-place concept. Saif is hot property these days and Amul Macho has hired him as their brand endorser for more than a year now. The bid was to get rid of their raunchy image reinforced by the ‘Yeh Toh Bada Toing Hai’ series of ads. They even re-positioned themselves with the concept of effortlessness using the tagline ‘Bade Aaram Se’. But if the idea was to endear themselves to the urban, sophisticated target audience by implying that the brand user is one who gets things done effortlessly, the brand has been unable to cut much ice. Perhaps the creative team is trying too hard to milk Saif’s stardom for all it’s worth with storyboards laced with oodles of forced humour. Why else would ad after ad from Macho’s stable still continue to suffer from tackiness? In this ad, a damsel in distress runs to the lifeguard on the beach asking him to rescue her drowning baby. The bored lifeguard looks through his binoculars to discover that the drowning baby is in fact a fully grown ‘baba’. So he half-heartedly barks out some terse orders through his loudspeaker to help the struggling guy. Suddenly a shark begins circling the petrified ‘baba’. Really? Anyway, Saif nonchalantly orders the shark to leave him alone, and the big fish meekly swims away. All this, while Saif remains perched disinterestedly on the lifeguard’s seat. A piece of advice for O&M. If the idea is to own ‘effortlessness’ as a brand image, then please try harder. After all, disinterested is certainly not the same as effortless.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

--------------------------------------------------------------
 
There are ads, and then there are those 10 that have personified the concept of how branding can be made to work for the product most efficiently and effectively. From creativity to brand recall, from concept to execution, these 10 advertisements have gotten our attention; thanks to the commitment of the teams that created them. We present you with our review of the top three ads.
 
Advertiser: Honda
Baseline: Sach kar denge sapne
Agency: Dentsu Marcom

4Ps B&M Take: Once in a while, there comes an ad that just leaves you with a warm, good, tingly feeling and the latest ad from Honda India’s stable does just that. Emotive lyrics, superb cinematography, hand picked visuals from real life moments of middle class, urban Indians that leave you fondly nostalgic. This ad effectively captures the desire and ambition of the audiences to make their dreams come true. Of course, the Honda motorcycle is presented as the solution to ride the race of life faster. And the line “Bas zaroorat hai in sapno ko thodi si raftaar ki” (our dreams only need a little acceleration) poetically encapsulates the message. Honda has broken into the 6 million units a year executive commuter segment with this bike. Till recently, a joint venture with Hero had prevented Honda from directly tapping into this mass segment of the two-wheeler industry. The television commercial is likewise geared to position Honda as a heavyweight in this segment from day one. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who has recently been roped in as the Japanese two-wheeler major’s brand ambassador, is the narrator who ties up the entire TVC together. Poetic lyrics like ‘’Hamare paas sapne hai kilo ke hisaab se, aur samay atthanni bhar’’ are spot-on. Sure, it’s a hundred seconds long film and may have even been a tad monotonous had the visuals and lyrics not been so compelling. But overall, positive vibes all around on this one. Our #2!
 
Advertiser: Monster.com
Baseline: Find better
Agency: Dentsu Marcom

4Ps B&M Take: Funny, ingenious and culturally attuned to the taste of Indian audiences. The line just about sums up the Monster.com creative that is keeping the target audience amused these days. The ad showcases two job hunters waiting for their turn with the interviewer. Both have a slew of good luck charms with them to enable them to land this job. In a bid to make the other nervous about his chances, they begin indulging in a bit of a one-upmanship as far as the lucky charms are concerned. One guy shows the horse-shoe ring that he is carrying with himself, while the other one makes his comeback with a Nimbu-Mirchi charm. Next, the bracelets and evil-eyes come out. But the funniest is when one of them brings out his mom – who dutifully gives best wishes to her son no sooner than she is fished out from the bag. Well, Monster.com agrees. They specifically asked their agency to weave an ad around this mindset after a recent study they conducted which gave Monster the insight that most Indians carry a good luck charm on big occasions such as a job interview. Incidentally, the research, which surveyed over 4,000 people, indicates that almost seventy percent of India believes that ‘luck’ plays an important role in finding a job. So, while the two job seekers are still fighting their ‘charm’ battle, the interviewer walks out with a completely new third chap who apparently has already landed the job. The selected candidate pulls out his smartphone, which has a Monster application for job seekers. The final message from the advertiser? ‘Get lucky, get active on Monster.com’. Now that’s what we call clever weaving of consumer insight into your brand promise. Quite a monstrous effort surely!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

--------------------------------------------------------------
 
Marketers in india are resorting to tighter ad budgets and far more stingy negotiations with advertising agencies. however, compromising on advertising effectiveness is myopic, more so during a difficult period
 
Call it the effect of a macroeconomic slowdown, a visibly negative consumer sentiment or apprehensions of a poor return on investments, growing advertising spends in the current scenario does appear daunting to businesses in general, especially the smaller ones with relatively shallow pockets.

The advertising industry is, therefore, seeing an impact in even the BRIC economies where long term domestic market potential remains robust. In a recently conducted interview with DJ FX Trader and The Wall Street Journal, Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and Chief Executive of British advertising giant WPP Group, admitted, “We see no significant change in the fast-growth markets in 2012, but it's a lower overall growth rate.” He further added however, on a positive note, that “advertisers in the so-called BRIC countries haven't pulled back on spending in the first five months of 2012”.

If we trace the patterns from the past, ad spends in the developing world have always shown a very strong correlation with GDP growth numbers. The Indian economy, which was looking set for an 8% plus growth in FY 2010-11 is now trailing well behind expectations at around 6.9% by the end of Q1, FY 2012-13. The impact is quite visible in ad spends by Indian marketers. In fact, growth trends for Indian adville are relatively modest compared to other BRIC economies. According to the latest forecasts by Warc, a globally acclaimed marketing intelligence service provider, ad spends in India in the year 2012 are expected to make a 9.3% growth on a yoy basis. This is only slightly better than the 8.9% growth expected in Brazil while it's nowhere near the expected growth in China (15.5%) and Russia (14%). To make things worse, inflation has played its role. After considering the inflationary effect, the same 9.3% yoy growth projection in terms of ad budgets comes down to a mere 1.1%. According to a FICCI-KPMG joint report, the Indian advertising industry clocked Rs.30 billion in revenues in FY 2011-12. It was earlier expecting a decent 12% yoy growth in FY 2012-13, but looking at trends, it had to significantly cut down its growth forecast to around 9.5%.

Jehil Thakkar, Partner and Head, Media & Entertainment practice, KPMG India, puts it thus, “Continuously rising production and distribution costs have narrowed down margins for companies. Hence, they are forced to cut down their expenditure on advertisements and will also look for alternative ways to reach out to their customers.” It's a given that if the current sentiment is turned on its head through improved economic conditions and a more liberalised policy environment sets in, marketers in India will step on the gas with ad spends once again. But in the current scenario, social media and mobile advertising are receiving relatively greater attention as low cost and high impact mediums. Rahul Lamba, MD, Prudential Advertisers and Media Planners, says, “Social media has emerged as a cost effective medium for advertisers. It aims at a highly targeted set of audiences. Hence, your chances to hit the bull's eye are much higher.” If we talk about overall media preferences, digital ad spends in India have grown by 54% yoy in 2011 to touch Rs.15.4 billion. While the base figure may be small compared to Rs.116 billion spend on TV advertisements last year, the impressive growth rate for digital media does indicate its growing relevance to the CMO. As per the KPMG-FICCI report, digital media is expected to register a 30% CAGR from 2011 to 2016.
 
Apart from this, marketers are now actively exploring new avenues to compensate agencies. The major change is a shift from a labor-based to a performance-based compensation approach. In simple terms, it means linking fees of agencies to product sales while cutting down on base compensation and margins. V. Subramaniam, General Manager, Adfactors Advertising, laments, “Due to a tough market situation, the 12-15% commission, which advertising agencies used to enjoy earlier, is now depleting very fast. Nowadays, clients negotiate very hard for every single penny they spend.” Performance-based compensation exposes agencies to greater financial risks if client goals are not met, but conversely, it also gives them the potential for a significant upside.

Moreover, as marketers go hyperactive, they are deploying multiple agencies for increased effectiveness, cost saving as well as for getting the best possible results. One recent and significant example has been Coca-Cola India appointing Lowe Lintas and Weiden + Kennedy along with their age old advertising agency McCann Erickson for their campaign. Coke's arch rival PepsiCo India proceeded on similar lines last year by appointing Taproot as its second ad agency apart from JWT, with which they share a partnership since over a decade. The move led to the highly successful “Change the game” campaign for the company.

Furthermore, some companies are now making another major strategic shifts in their approach due to tighter budgets. Giving up on multiple and regional brand ambassadors and appointing a single brand ambassador for pan-India campaigns is a case in point. South Indian actors are being increasingly used. It not just saves on the hefty fees given to different ambassadors (especially national celebrities) but also cuts down on production costs of multiple regional advertisements. So we have Telugu Superstar Mahesh Babu replacing Bollywood action star Akshay Kumar in the latest TVCs of Thums up, Parle Agro appointing Tamil-Telugu actor Siddharth as the first brand ambassador for Frooti and Tamil actor Karan sharing moments onscreen with Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor for the TVC of Mahindra's two-wheeler Duro.

These tactical initiatives are a clear indication of a sense of urgency among these marketers to make every penny count for more than ever before. V. Subramaniam, General Manager, Adfactors Advertising explains the impact of this on the advertising industry thus, “Client retention has become a very challenging job for agencies. Now they need to do every bit including special discounts, schemes, et al to keep old accounts going and also to get hold of new accounts.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Coca Cola is steadily being converted to a corporate brand, but health concerns due to the 'cola' association still haunt the company
 
Its legendary cola rivalry with PepsiCo is now over two decades old in India, but Coca Cola India as a company seems to have realised that there are many more brand battles to be fought and won in India’s Rs.190 billion soft-drink market. You would have had a feeler of this on the idiot box of late. Coke’s supposedly unpretentious brand – Limca – roped in Kareena Kapoor as brand ambassador and unleashed for the first time (ever since its acquisition from Parle Group) an exclusive commercial for a big-ticket event like IPL. Moreover, Coca Cola is not only eying the soft-drink market. The group recently announced that they will pump nearly $3 billion into India over the next eight years.

Yes, it’s Coca Cola’s Limca vs PepsiCo’s Mirinda – the latest battle to watch out for. Earlier, Coke resorted to the oomph of Bollywood divas like Riya Sen, but it never had an exclusive star brand ambassador. To increase it’s market share from 12%, the group has changed it’s punchline to appeal to the achievement-oriented youth. Anupama Ahluwalia, Vice President - Marketing, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, affirms, “Limca stands for great thirst-quenching and rejuvenation. Our new campaign for 2012, ‘Pyaas Badhao’, takes it to the next level - first increase your thirst and then quench it with Limca!”

Atul Singh, who heads India and the southwest part of Asia for Coca Cola, took over the reins around seven years ago and under his leadership, the Indian arm’s share in Coca Cola’s global sales has grown from 1% to around 2.5%. With the latest FDI announcement, the agenda is to catapult India to the league of Coca Cola’s top five markets globally from its current rank at 10. He has announced that in the coming years, Coke would be paying more attention to other brands and creating new brands. The future lies in healthy beverages and juices, and Coca Cola India is certainly upping the ante on that front.

However, the company’s basic strategy to attract ‘consumer recall’ for its flagship brand Coca Cola remains intact. In fact, the company seems to be giving brand Coca Cola a much more larger than life sheen beyond soft drinks in India through corporate identity branding. This is visible with their ‘Umeedon waali dhoop...” campaign. With McCann Erickson, Coca Cola has intelligently used children in the advertisement and talked about the positive impact that Coca Cola, the company, has on the world at large. As is known, Coca Cola roped in R. Balki’s Lowe Lintas and V. Sunil’s Weiden + Kennedy. With Lowe Lintas, the company came out with its latest ‘Cricket ki Khushi’ campaign with ‘Happiness Ambassador’ Sachin Tendulkar at the onset of this summer. The campaign commemorated the exhilarating spirit of the game that binds people together irrespective of their locales or their circumstances. The company has also launched a ‘Support my school’ initiative with Sachin Tendulkar and a few campaign partners (NDTV, UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation, Tata Teleservices, Pearson Foundation & Sulabh International), which provides amenities to schools in backward regions from basic sanitation to infrastructure facilities like computer labs and libraries.
 
As a part of their Integrated Marketing Communication strategy, the group sustained it’s marketing platform of Coke Studio like last year. The aim is to beckon generation next through the platform of music and create a strong brand association with Coca Cola. In this second season, the programme involves over 200 artistes collaborating to create new musical content and is also being featured on Doordarshan for better reach. Senior officials at Coca Cola India affirm that it’s a productive effort targeted towards the long term growth of their resilient business. “The brand continues to strengthen its position as an Iconic Brand for the Indian consumer through consistent positioning,” Wasim Basir, Director, Integrated Marketing Communication, Coca-Cola India.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
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Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
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L. K. Gupta conveys that lg will focus more on conversions in the short term
 
The last one year has seen LG going premium in its imagery in a big way. How has it impacted the business?
LG has grown by 15% in its core business of home entertainment and home appliances. There is a growth of 30% in home appliances business and 25% in flat panels. We estimate that the total industry for these categories has grown by 7-8%. Therefore, in a tough year, our growth is very satisfactory. In fact, last year, we launched flagship products across categories, like Cinema 3D Smart TVs with the world’s slimmest bezel , the world’s first wonder door refrigerator, the world’s first six motion inverter direct drive washing machine, et al.

What are your expectations from the current fiscal?
The business environment is challenging, but we are looking at healthy growth with a focus on premium products across categories. Obviously, flat panel TVs continue to be a growth engine, though categories like refrigerators and washers are also rapidly growing due to low penetration. A slowdown scenario indicates that fewer consumers are willing to buy. So marketing has to focus on converting customers willing to buy. Marketing spends will focus in the short term on in-store excellence via display, demonstration and branding visibility for flagship products. At the same time, advertising will be more streamlined to be able to deliver higher efficiency within the same budget. This will impact media choices in print and TV media. Digital media, which plays a very important role in the consumer decision journey of searching and evaluating products, will be given a bigger share to have an early influence on potential customers.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
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Ranjit Yadav asserts that Samsung smartphones sell across the country
 
Will Samsung focus largely on smartphones going forward?
Samsung in India is a full range player; we have products starting from Rs.1200 to products well over Rs.30,000 like the S3. We are committed to the Indian market and have service centres in over 2500 locations. We want to sell the entire range to the Indian market. All our products have the key DNA of innovation, differentiation and quality. Design is also a key differentiation along with ergonomics, like nature being the inspiration for our S3 range.

How has slowdown impacted sales, and what is your outlook for 2012?
Slowdown is a significant risk that we all have to face. Many industries are already showing signs of slowdown. The mobile industry is flat, not necessarily growing anymore; and going forward, there’s a risk of growth dropping off. When times are difficult, the key is how to differentiate and we are good with that. We see this as an opportunity for us. I can’t give you an exact number, but we are already over 40% of the market in both value and volume terms.

How do you plan to expand your share with rising competition?
Our marketing strategy is based on creating the right consumer experience. We will be very strong in digital and experience-based marketing. Like for our S3 range, you can experience a lot of the products in-store and outside as well. We believe that consumers are available across the country for our higher range phones. So we will take our campaign across the country, rather than limit only to top cities. Even rural markets contribute to the sales of our smartphones.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012

An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned Links

SC slams AICTE's illicit control on MBA courses
MBA, MCA courses no longer under AICTE
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

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