SUMMER PROJECT REPORT

ON

Marketing Strategies of ITC Limited.

Submitted for the partial fulfillment towards the award of the degree in Bachelor of Business Administration By Ashraya Shrestha En. Roll No- A3906410239

Under the Guidance of Mrs. Kareena Bhatia

DECLARATION
I, Ashraya Krishana Shrestha, hereby declare that the project on MARKETING STRATEGIES OF ITC LIMITED. is written by me under the guidance of Mrs. Kareena Bhatia. The empirical conclusion & findings in the project are based on the data collected by me and the entire project work is not a reproduction of any other sources.

Signature Name- Ashraya Krishana Shrestha Date- 8th July, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Project Title Marketing Strategies of ITC limited has been conducted by me during 1st May 11 8th July 11 at ITC Ltd. I have completed this project, based on the secondary research, under the guidance of Ms. Kareena Bhatia. I am also thankful to my faculty members for their support and help for completion of the project. I owe enormous intellectual debt towards my guide Kareena Bhatia, who has augmented my knowledge in the field of marketing. She has helped me learn about the process and giving me valuable insight into the process of marketing research. I am obliged to all my family and friends for their unlimited support. My increased spectrum of knowledge in this field is the result of their constant support that has helped me to absorb relevant and high quality information to complete the project Last but not the least, I feel indebted to all those persons and organizations who have provided help directly or indirectly in successful completion of this study. Thank you all for your time and guidance in helping me achieve my goal of completing this project to the best of my ability. Date: 8th July 10 Ashraya Shrestha
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En. Roll No. A3906410239

Index
S.NO
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Topic
Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract Introduction History and Evolution Product portfolio The ITC way Mission and vision ITC Marketing strategies SWOT Analysis of ITC Limited Research methodology Conclusion Bibliography

Page no
1 2 4 5-8 9- 10 11- 27 28 29 30- 54 55-57 58-60 61-62 63

Abstract
The title of the project is Marketing Strategies of ITC Limited This project seeks to understand the key techniques of how ITC limited have used marketing strategies to increase their sales.The project reveals their distribution network like how many product variants do they have in the market. The project provides a clear sight of how the company has used marketing to grab the market segments. The project adopts a qualitative and quantitative methodology. Analysis of ITCs impression and ITCs diversified sectors. By completing this project it helped me to understand how ITC differs from its competitors in its marketing activities.

Introduction
ITC profile
ITC Limited (BSE: 500875) public conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, India. Its turnover is $6 billion and a market capitalization of over $30 Billion. The company has its registered office in Kolkata. It started off as the Imperial Tobacco Company, and shares ancestry with Imperial Tobacco of the United Kingdom, but it is now fully independent, and was rechristened to Indian Tobacco Company in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974 The company is currently headed by Yogesh Chander Deveshwar. It employs over 26,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is listed on Forbes. ITC Limited completed 100 years on 24 August 2010. ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery.
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ITC's aspiration to be an exemplar in sustainability practices is manifest in its status as the only company in the world of its size and diversity to be 'carbon positive', 'water positive' and 'solid waste recycling positive.' In addition, ITC's businesses have created sustainable livelihoods for more than 5 million people, a majority of whom represent the poorest in rural India. ITC is one of India's foremost private sectors. Rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by Business World and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today, ITC ranks third in pre-tax profit among India's private sector corporations. As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived to be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration "a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder value. ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger value chain
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of

which

it

is

part."

ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating multiple drivers of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies: unmatched distribution reach, superior brand-building capabilities, effective supply chain management and acknowledged service skills in hoteliering. Over time, the strategic forays into new businesses are expected to garner a significant share of these emerging high-growth markets in India. ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one of the countrys biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 2.8 billion in the last decade). The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy, which has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School, is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure, significantly enhancing the Company's marketing reach. ITC's wholly owned Information Technology subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Limited, is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities in providing end-to-end IT solutions, including e-enabled services and business process outsourcing. ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating. The Company continuously
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endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalizing environment to consistently reward more than 4,88,000 shareholders, fulfill the aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-arching vision of the company is expressively captured in its corporate positioning statement: "Enduring Value. For the nation, for the shareholder.

History and Evolution

The company was founded as Wills, Watkins & Co. by Henry Overton Wills I and his partner Watkins, who opened a shop in Castle Street, Bristol in 1786. After the retirement of his partner in 1789, it became Wills & Co... In 1826 his two sons, William Day Wills and Henry Overton Wills took over the company. The company pioneered canteens for the workers, free medical care, sports facilities and paid holidays. In 1830, the company was renamed W.D. & H.O. Wills. Their first brand was Bristol, made at the London factory from 1871 to 1974. Three Castles and Gold Flake followed in 1878 and Woodbine ten years later. In 1901 Sir William Henry Wills et al. formed the Imperial Tobacco Company from a merger of W.D. & H.O. Wills with seven other British tobacco companies. Imperial remains one of the world's largest tobacco companies. Embassy was introduced in 1914 and relaunched in 1962 with coupons. The last member of the Wills family to serve the company was Christopher, the great great grandson of H.O. Wills I. He retired as sales 1969.

ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name of 'Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited'. Its beginnings were humble. A leased office on Radha Bazar Lane, Kolkata, was the centre of the Company's existence. The Company celebrated its 16th birthday on August 24, 1926, by purchasing the plot situated of at land 37,

Chowringhee, (now renamed J.L. Nehru Kolkata, Road) for the

sum of Rs 310,000. This decision of the Company was historic in more ways than one. It was to mark the beginning of a long and eventful journey into India's future. The Company's headquarter building, 'Virginia House', which came up on that plot of land two years later, would go on to become one of Kolkata's most venerated landmarks. The Company's ownership progressively indianised, and the name of the Company was changed to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. In recognition of the Company's multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range of businesses Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information Technology, Packaging, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Agri-Exports, Foods, Lifestyle

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Retailing and Greeting Gifting & Stationery - the full stops in the Company's name were removed effective September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened 'ITC Limited'.

Product Portfolio
Cigarettes
Though the first six decades of the Company's existence were primarily devoted to the growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses, the Seventies witnessed the beginnings of a corporate transformation that would usher in momentous changes in the life of the Company.

ITCs Cigarettes Business

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 Market leadership Powerful brands across segments Leadership in all segments - geographic & price Extensive FMCG distribution network Direct servicing of 1,00,000 markets & 2 million retail outlets World-class state-of-the-art technology and products Investment - Rs.10 billion in six years Exciting long term growth potential Cigarettes: Growth potential Cigarettes account for only 15% of tobacco consumed in India unlike world pattern of 85% due to prolonged punitive taxation Cigarettes (15% of tobacco consumption) contribute nearly 85% of Revenue to the Exchequer from tobacco sector Of the 58% of adult Indian males who consume tobacco, barely 15% can afford cigarettes Biri : Cigarettes ratio = 10 : 1 Annual per capita adult cigarette consumption in India is appx. one tenth world average : 141 Future growth depends on relative rates of growth of per capita income and moderation in taxes

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In 1985, ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal as an Indo-Nepal and British joint venture. Since inception, its shares have been held by ITC, British American Tobacco and various independent shareholders in Nepal. In August 2002, Surya Tobacco became a subsidiary of ITC Limited and its name was changed to Surya Nepal Private Limited (Surya Nepal).

Hotels
In 1975 the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai which was rechristened 'ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola'. The objective of ITC's entry into the hotels business was rooted in the concept of creating value for the nation. ITC chose the hotels business for its potential to earn high levels of foreign exchange, create tourism infrastructure and generate large scale direct and indirect employment. Since then ITC's Hotels business has grown to occupy a position of leadership, with over 70 owned and managed properties spread across India. ITCs Hotel Business ITC-Welcomgroup : a leading hotel chain in India Established presence in key business locations Over 6000 rooms under 4 distinct brands
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 Capacity expansion underway at Bangalore and Chennai; plans for other locations also being progressed Fastest growing hotel chain with highest operating efficiency (PBDIT/Net Income @ 45%) amongst the 3 leading chains Leverages unique service proposition and international alliance with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Luxury Collection / Sheraton Manages 24 full service mid-market properties (1700 + rooms ) under the Fortune Hotels brand 100% subsidiary company: Fortune Park Hotels Ltd.

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Packaging
ITC's Packaging & Printing Business Division was set up in 1925 as a strategic backward integration for ITC's Cigarettes business. It is today India's most sophisticated packaging house. In 1979, ITC entered the Paperboards business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited, which today has become the market leader in India. Bhadrachalam Paperboards amalgamated with the Company effective March 13, 2002 and became a Division of

the Company, Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division. In November 2002, this division merged with the Companys Tribeni Tissues Division to form
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the

Paperboards

&

Specialty

Papers

Division.

ITC's

paperboards' technology, productivity, quality and manufacturing

processes are comparable to the best in the world. It has also made an immense contribution to the development of Sarapaka, an economically backward area in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is directly involved in education, environmental protection and community development. In 2004, ITC acquired the paperboard manufacturing facility of BILT Industrial Packaging Co. Ltd (BIPCO), near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Kovai Unit allows ITC to improve customer service with reduced lead time and a wider product range. In 1990, ITC acquired Tribeni Tissues Limited, a Specialty paper manufacturing company and a major supplier of tissue paper to the cigarette industry. The merged entity was named the Tribeni Tissues Division (TTD). To harness strategic and operational synergies, TTD was merged with the Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division to form the Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division in November 2002. ITCs Paperboards Business Market leader in growth segment - value added coated boards World-class contemporary technology Ozone bleached Pulp Mill operations commenced only one of its kind in India meeting world-class environmental standards Internationally competitive quality and cost Social farm forestry in mill command area to improve access to cost effective fiber & to attain self-sufficiency

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 Biotech research based high yielding Clones effectiveness tested in nearly 80,000 hectares Fully integrated operations with in-house pulping capacity at appx. 2.20 lac MT Expansion completed; source of sustainable competitive advantage

Education
FMCG Business Initiatives Education & Stationery Products Business Leverages how. print

and paper knowForward linkages with new paper capacity. An emerging market in India growth driven by increasing crosscultural exposure
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 Robust distribution network in place to scale up the Stationery business significantly Classmate brand already the most widely distributed brand in India Scholastic products launched In 2000, ITC's Packaging & Printing business launched a line of high quality greeting cards under the brand name 'Expressions'. In 2002, the product range was enlarged with the introduction of Gift wrappers, Autograph books and Slam books. In the same year, ITC also launched 'Expressions Matrubhasha', a vernacular range of greeting cards in eight languages and 'Expressions Paperkraft', a range of premium stationery products. In 2003, the company rolled out 'Classmate', a range of notebooks in the school stationery segment.

Agriculture
ITCs Agri - Commodity Business Farm linkages in 14 states covering Soya, Wheat, Rice, Marine products, Coffee etc. Unique CRM programme in commodity exports Leveraging IT for the etransformational Choupal initiative

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 Rural Indias largest Internet-based intervention Over 38000 villages linked through around 6400 e-Choupals servicing over 5 million farmers Distinctive sourcing capability for ITCs Foods business Also in 1990, leveraging its agri-sourcing competency, ITC set up the International Business Division (IBD) for export of agri-commodities. The Division is today one of India's largest exporters. ITC's unique and now widely acknowledged e-Choupal initiative began in 2000 with soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Now it extends to 9 states covering over 5 million farmers. ITC's first rural mall, christened 'Choupal Saagar' was inaugurated in August 2004 at Sehore. The year 2006 witnessed the ramping up of the Company's rural retailing network with 17 'Choupal Saagars' and being Uttar operational in three states of Madhya Pradesh, Pradesh. Maharashtra

E-choupal: Strategic Thrust Procurement: cost & quality optimization Strategic sourcing support to the Foods business (support creation of verticals in wheat, soya, corn, potato etc.)
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cost-effective sourcing for exports/domestic external business Rural Distribution Last mile connectivity: 100 partnering companies Diverse range of goods/services: FMCG, consumer durables, agriinputs, paid extension services etc.

Financial Services Insurance (focus: weather) Credit (focus: Kisan credit card scheme)

Rural retail 23 Choupal Saagars operational Rapid expansion planned in identified rural markets and Tier 2, 3 & 4 towns

ITC's Agri-Business is India's second largest exporter of agricultural products. ITC is one of the India's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 2 billion in the last decade). The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy, which has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School, is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure, significantly enhancing the Company's marketing reach. The company places computers with Internet access in rural farming villages; the e-Choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi)
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and an e-commerce hub. What began as an effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp, and other cropping systems in rural India has also created a highly profitable distribution and product design channel for the companyan ecommerce platform that is also a low-cost fulfillment system focused on the needs of rural India. The e-Choupal system has also catalyzed rural transformation that is helping to alleviate rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes.

Clothing
FMCG Business Initiatives Lifestyle Retailing Leverages trade mark and services expertise of hotels Relaxed wear market growth > 25% p.a Up market product range available in exclusive Wills Lifestyle stores (> 50) and multi-branded outlets/ large format retail stores across the country State-of-the-art Master Facility aids speed of execution Outsourced JIT plant for quick response manufacturing Product and brand range being expanded Premium segment comprising the Classic range of formal wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear and Wills Clublife evening wear
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 Strong distribution network in place for the mid-market brand John Players

ITC also entered the Lifestyle retailing business with the Wills Sport range of international quality relaxed wear for men and women in 2000. The Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear (2002) and Wills Clublife evening wear (2003). ITC also initiated a foray into the popular segment with its men's wear brand, John Players, in 2002.

Cosmetics
Current market size estimated at over Rs. 29,000 crores (growing at 12%p.a.) Portfolio approach straddling all consumer segments with 4 umbrella brands Essenza Di Wills (Prestige) Fiama Di Wills (Premium)
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Vivel Di Wills and Vivel (Mid) Superia (Popular) Products well received in the market, gaining customer acceptance Supported by investments in brands celebrity endorsements Investments being made in Research & Development and strategic manufacturing sites In December 2005, ITC introduced Essenza Di Wills, an exclusive line of prestige fragrance products, to select 'Wills Lifestyle' stores. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle became title partner of the country's most premier fashion event - Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week - that has gained recognition from buyers and retailers as the single largest B-2-B platform for the Fashion Design industry. To mark the occasion, ITC event forward to consumers. launched a special 'Celebration Series', taking the

Technology
In 2000, ITC spun off its information technology business into a wholly owned subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Limited, to more aggressively pursue emerging opportunities in this area. In a short span of 5 years,
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ITC InfoTech has already crossed over US$ 60 million in revenues. It also has a joint venture with ClientLogic, a top five global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider.

Foods
FMCG Business Initiatives Branded Packaged Foods Leverages: Unique Agri sourcing skills ITC Welcomgroups specialist cuisine & bakery knowledge FMCG distribution synergies ITC R&D Centre, Bangalore 5 chosen categories: Staples Aashirvaad Atta, Salt, Spices Biscuits Sunfeast Salty Snacks Potato chips, Bridge products: Bingo! Confectionery Candyman, Mint-o
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 Ready to Eat Kitchens of India, Aashirvaad ReadyMeals, Aashirvaad Instant Mix, Sunfeast Pasta Aashirvaad Atta: Current market leader amongst national branded players; leverages the e-choupal network for cost-quality optimization and region specific offerings Sunfeast Biscuits: Differentiated & innovative products; continues to build consumer franchise; distributed & outsourced supply chain being ramped up Number of innovative products in the pipeline leveraging the capabilities of the ITC R&D Centre ITC's foray into the Foods business is an outstanding example of successfully blending multiple internal competencies to create a new driver of business growth. It began in August 2001 with the introduction of 'Kitchens of India' ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes. In 2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments with the launch of the brands Mint-O and Candyman confectionery and Aashirvaad atta (wheat flour). 2003 witnessed the introduction of Sunfeast as the Company entered the biscuits segment. ITC's entered the fast growing branded snacks category with Bingo! In 2007. In just six years, the Foods business has grown to a significant size with over 150 differentiated products under six

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distinctive brands, with an enviable distribution reach, a rapidly growing market share and a solid market standing.

Safety Matches
FMCG Business Initiatives Safety Matches Current industry consumer spend estimated at Rs. 1250 crores p.a. for 24 billion match boxes Fragmented supply base arising from policy of reservation for small scale industry ITC markets its brands with value added products across each price point Support SMEs with complementary marketing strengths AIM -Indias largest selling Safety Matches brand Successful acquisition of WIMCO Ltd. by Russell Credit (shareholding as at 31/03/08: 96.82%) Key brands: Homelites, Ship, Cheetah Fight etc In 2002, ITC's philosophy of contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the entire
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value chain found yet another expression in the Safety Matches initiative. ITC now markets popular safety matches brands like iKno, Mangaldeep, VaxLit, Delite and Aim.

Incense sticks
FMCG Business Initiatives Incense sticks (Agarbattis) Current industry consumer spends estimated at over Rs. 900 crores p.a. Fragmented supply base arising from policy of reservation for small scale industry ITC markets its brands with value added products across each price point Support cottage sector with complementary marketing strengths Mangaldeep : the only National brand in the country ITC's foray into the marketing agrbattis sticks) marked in of (incense 2003 the

manifestation of its partnership with the

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cottage sector. ITC's popular agarbattis brands include Spriha and Mangaldeep across a range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood, Madhur, Sambrani and Nagchampa.

The ITC way

ITC is a board-managed professional company, committed to creating enduring value for the shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich organizational culture rooted in its core values of respect for people and belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all-round value creation is backed by strong corporate governance policies and systems. Corporate Strategies 1. Sustain multiple drivers of growth, matching internal capabilities with emerging market opportunities 2. Pursue World class competitiveness in all businesses and across the entire value chain 3. Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes 4. Best-in-class in terms of: Internal Vitality Market Standing
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Profitability Strategy of Organization and Governance processes geared to manage multiple businesses Blend core competencies and leverage ITC umbrella strengths to create new avenues of growth

ITC VISION & MISSION

ITC VISION
Sustain ITCs position as one of Indias most valuable corporation through world class performance, creating growing values for the Indian economy and the companies Stakeholders.

ITC MISSION
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To enhance the wealth generating capabilities of the enterprise in a globalizing environment, delivering superior and sustainable stake holder value.

ITC Marketing Strategies

Initially ITC was known as a tobacco company. But due to the growing market and the re-formulation of industry policies in India it has shifted toward other consumer goods and services. ITC has expanded decades. ITC vastly has during the past 30 launched nearly all the products range off very their Non tobacco they are in of Products;

aggressive distribution

such products. The existing network of ITCs Cigarettes distribution is being used extensively for the sales all products of ITC Food division. They are trying to capitalize the market by associating the products with the ITC brand.
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Scope of Marketing: The scope of ITC is ranging all issues including operations, designs, planning, economics and performance analysis of current communication networks and services. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone of a brand or product to reinforce the audiences memory of a product/brand or company.

PRODUCT PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY, VALUE PRICED PRODUCT TO ITS CUSTOMER.

ITC Pricing strategy:

The pricing of the ITC food division depends upon the Customers demand schedule, the cost function and the competitors price. The pricing of the company is such that it caters to the need of all income groups of people but special provision has been kept for Low and middle income group, and their pricing are competitive with respect to other players like Britannia, Parle and Brisk farm. The company follows the Going rate pricing that is the price of

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the product depends upon the competitors price. The firm chooses pricing more or less the same as Market leader.

PRICE OF ITCs FMCG PRODUCT IS TOO AFFORDABLE THAT EACH CLASS CAN HAVE IT

ITC Promotional activities

A particular budget is allocated for the promotion of the products, the local promotion scheme is decided by the Area Sales Manager, it give its suggestion to the District office and that is forwarded to the Head Quarter in Kolkata. In another promotional scheme for Biscuits a particular number of cases is given freely to the distributors according to the amount of sale they make, this was a drop down promotion i.e. of the number of free cases that a particular distributors gets, off them a certain part is reserved for the retailers and customer if they buy a certain level of biscuit quantity.

Social marketing
ITC's businesses generate livelihoods for over 5 million people: - In line with its corporate vision to promote sustainable and inclusive growth, ITC has driven innovation to forge unique business models that synergies long-term shareholder value enhancement with the super ordinate goal of creating greater societal capital. These unique initiatives have contributed towards creating meaningful livelihood
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opportunities for over 5 million people, predominantly from Indias rural poor.

ITC provide information that assist consumers in making a decision to purchase their product or service.

ITC Distribution
Buoyed market by a strong in the distribution cigarettes network ITC is likely to retain its share business; the ban on advertisements is likely to work in favor of ITC thanks to the recall factor. The company's reliable distribution network also ensures superior inventory turnover than its peers.

THE DEALER IS PART OF MARKETING TEAM. ATTRACTIVE INCENTIVE LINKED WITH HIGH VOLUME IS GIVEN TO DEALERS.
Segmentation Geographic: ITCs Products are available all over world) Rural Urban Demographic: ITCs Products are made for every one Age Gender Occupation Psychographic: suits all lifestyle

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Targeting Betting big on the farm sector, ITC is planning to increase its penetration in the rural areas like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra to get a better return for their produce Positioning In 70s ITC have positioned itself by saying: - for the gracious people a touch of gold it is still differentiating itself on the purity & quality of its experience. The brand stands for a celebratory attitude. Celebrate the feeling is the new message. ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable brands, it has a leadership position in every segment of the market. It's highly popular portfolio of brands include, India Kings, Classic, Gold Flake, Silk Cut, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake. The Company has been able to build on its leadership position because of its single minded focus on value creation for the consumer through significant investments in product design, innovation, manufacturing technology, quality, marketing and distribution. All initiatives are therefore worked upon with the intent to fortify market standing in the long term. This in turns aids in designing products which are contemporary and relevant to the changing attitudes and evolving socio economic profile of the country. This strategic focus on the consumer has paid ITC handsome dividends.
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Example
ITC Personal Care
As tobacco became a bad word in the and in and it last two decades, many successive terms of

governments began to put curbs advertising promotions tobaccos, other around became a

tough business environment to operate in, besides it has started taking a toll on the company's image. Hence, ITC had to change its track and that too quickly. And like a skin shedding snake, ITC started an earnest exercise in creating a new brand image and corporate philosophy by investing in new business categories like personal care, premium apparel, rural business (e- Choupal) and foods. All along using its famed distribution strengths built through its successful past businesses like cigarettes,
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paperboards and packaging, hotels and agri business, to create synergies across its verticals and help prop up its new businesses, like personal care and foods. ITC had a well thought-out strategic approach. Rather than acquiring weaker brands to get into these new segments inorganically, it created a range of new personal care and branded apparel brands. The decisive element for its new brands was having a product that's differentiated and superior in value proposition than what the competition has to offer. The first step in this well-planned strategy was the launch of Wills Lifestyle, the premium branded apparel business in 2002. This business is being spearheaded by CEO Atul Chand from New Delhi. That ITC was very serious about this new foray was clear from the fact that it hit the market with four Brands Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills Club Life and Wills Signatureto cater to the specific apparel needs of men and women of upper and mid-income levels. Besides, it has also launched exclusive men's and women's wear brandsJohn Players and Miss Players. Not stopping at apparel, ITC then moved on to take the competition head on in the FMCG domain, through ITC Foods in August 2001, and personal care business, which is the focal point of this story, in 2005. It has created good impact with its well etched-out Personal Care Brands, headed by Sandeep Kaul. Under this category, brands like Essenza Di Wills, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel Di Wills, Vivel and the Superia were designed to take care of various sets of consumer segments. This feature tries to unravel the behind the- brand thoughts and strategy of its personal care and branded apparel retail ventures.
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Using a six-pillar strategy that straddles consumer in sighting to product development and packaging, ITC has created a powerful personal care portfolio with five brands across multiple categories and pricepoints Though, the plans for personal care foray were high on chairman YC Deveshwar's agenda as one of the next growth drivers for long, it got fructified only in July 2005, after its successful foray into foods Business with brands like Sunfeast, Ashirwaad Atta and Bingo. But behind this launch was five years of intensive on ground research of market conditions and consumer expectations. Over one lakh consumers were surveyed across the country to test various prototypes. Acceptance benchmark was kept as high as 90 percent for the final products. ITC called this exercise as '3E approach explore, establish and execute. ITC personal care division chief executive Sandeep Kaul said, "We, at ITC, wanted to create a portfolio on our own unlike many others who have a long and varied
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history of inorganic growth, which had its own merits. We had the flexibility to create the portfolio to meet the needs of today's consumers without being bogged down by the past heritage or the varied history of an acquired business. We could develop strategies to utilize the innate strength of our organization. Kaul adds that the unique challenges they faced while developing the business from scratch were upfront investment of time and resources to understand consumers and develop consumer insights. We had to have patience for converting these consumer insights to winning consumer value proposition," concurs Kaul. As an adage goes 'if you have to win a race, you have to clearly target the No 1', ITC too aimed the No 1 which happened to be the formidable HUL (which still reigns over 50 percent of the FMCG market). And ITC's target was HUL and P&G only. After all, you get a kick in gunning for the best. Hence, it went about its business with a lot of strategy, experience, innovation, correct marketing mix and better products. It modeled itself after P&G's proposition of superior products in every segment it has entered. ITC roped in its tobacco business veteran Sandeep Kaul to spearhead the personal care launch. It also poached some key talents not only from across the industry but also a senior scientist from the HUL stable to spearhead the technology function. That apart, it also sought help from product formulation and branding experts in Europe and America to formulate the fragrance, aesthetics and packaging. Many of the brands have also been developed at its R&D centre.
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The results are there for everyone to see. In less than four years, ITC has been able to create brand awareness and consumer acceptance for its five product lines Essenza Di Wills, FiamaDi Wills, Vivel Di Wills, Vivel and the Superia each targeted at the needs, aspirations and usage behavior of different consumer segments. Kaul informs that the strategy for designing personal care is that everyone is a potential consumer. Now let's dig deeper into the product development side. Each of these brands has been created around six key strategic pillars. The first of which is 'clear segmentation' across brands and product lines. The second pillar is making these products reach far and wide. ITC cleverly leverages its 'distribution and group synergy' strengths to deliver the products right at the doors of consumers. Though, ITC has a highly successful distribution network for its tobacco products, it had to quickly devise a different distribution plan for its personal care brands, as these are positioned in the premium category. This was answered by rolling out a wide distribution infrastructure for ITC Foods brands like Bingo, Ashirwad Atta and Sunfeast. This helped in quickly rolling out the personal care business across the country, with further support from its universally acclaimed e-Choupal network. And today, ITC's distribution reach is almost at par
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with

market leader

HUL's

reach. The

third

pillar is

clear

communication for these brands, according to the target consumer sets. The fourth pillar is the relevant brand extensions around which it has created the five product lines. So far, the effort has been to keep the focus on the main brands through brand extensions rather than confusing consumers with many sub-brands with different names. But, the same doesn't apply to its luxury Essenza Di Wills range, which has sub-brands like Inizio, Aqua and Mikkel to cater to exclusive and individualistic desires of its rich target audience. Since brand ambassadors play a key role in creating the topof-mind recall, the fifth pillar of its strategy rests on associating itself with strategic brand ambassadors whenever required. For example, only the Fiama Di Wills and Vivel ranges have brand ambassadors while the rest two brands are TG-driven. Lastly, its sixth strategic pillar is visible on the packaging side. Explaining the rationale for innovative packaging, Kaul says that the packaging for Fiama Di Wills was developed by international design houses to ensure high-quality standards. The personal care business is considered recession-proof as these products are of regular demand and hence a lucrative area. And ITC has botha deep pocket to
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sustain through the initial years and the ambition and will power to grow large. According to Nielsen data, the personal care space, comprising of skin care, soaps, shampoos, conditioners and hair oils touched Rs 16,612 crore in 2008-09, growing at a healthy rate of over 20 percent in terms of value and 14 percent in terms of volume. Soaps alone account for over 40 percent of the personal care market and along with the shampoos, control well over 50 percent of the overall FMCG market. These two are also the categories of prime focus for ITC. Its in no hurry to get into every conceivable FMCG segment. The 2008 ITC annual report underlines, "We'll continue investing in building a robust personal care business in line with our strategy of creating multiple growth drivers." Using a six-pillar strategy that straddles consumer in sighting to product development and packaging, ITC has created a powerful personal care portfolio with five brands across multiple categories and pricepoints

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SEGMENTATION
Creating brands from scratch with no history and lineage, ITC used clear segmentation across its five product lines and the target audience, each brand was meant for

GROUP SYNERGY
Once the five products were created and communication strategies set, ITC leveraged its properties like hotels, foods and apparel store network to retail these brands

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Like HUL, these brands sport Western names, and different communication. Essenza & Fiama, meant for the elite, have English communication, while Vivel & Superia use Hindi.

BRAND EXTENSIONS
Selective extensions as it dont want to confuse consumers with too many irrelevant brand extension & sub-brands. The Essenza range is the only exception.

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BRAND AMBASSADORS
ITC uses brand ambassadors strategically. While for the Fiama and Vivel ranges it has roped in brand ambassadors, for the Superia & Essenza ranges the key TG is the real king.

PACKAGING
Since packaging plays a key role in product differentiation, ITC uses it to the hilt. It has taken foreign experts help to make its products stand out from competition. Unlike many other consumer goods players which have too many rends, but not all which are not very clearly defined. ITC has kept the focus on its five main brands with each of them having a unique brand proposition. Now, with high brand awareness in place, the focus is on driving sales by creating multiple touch-points through various channels of communication, promotions, different price-points and leveraging the group synergies.

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ESSENZA DI WILLS
The first of the four brands to be launched in mid-05, Essenza Di Wills, an exclusive range of fragrances, body and bath care products, is targeted at the high and snazzy consumers. Essenza is a gender-neutral hence offers products for the well-heeled men and women. Inizio, the signature range of the Essenza brand, has two sub-brands Inizio Femme and Inizio Hommeand offers an exclusive range for women and men. The fragrances offered in this range were designed by leading French fragrance houses. The brands across the Essenza line share the same olfactory signature creating a harmonious experience, and hence the brand recall for consumers. Since, men constitute a high percentage of luxury consumers, a new line Aqua Homme has been created. It offers a range of grooming products like after-shave lotion, deos, hair and body shampoos and soaps for discerning men. Mikkel, an evening fragrance, is the latest addition to the Essenza portfolio, which again is targeted at the high-end men. The strategy here is around sophistication and enigma rather than brand recall, hence we see sub-brands with western titles like Inizio, Aqua and Mikkel than simple brand extensions, as the target
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brand, a range

and of

consumers in this segment are drawn by exclusivity and enigma and not by popular brand names. An entry level Essenza range of fragrance comes for a cool Rs 2,000! The Essenza caters to the market segment where established names like Lancme, Olay, Body Shop, Oriflame and Avon are present. It's a niche segment, which is growing fast, and where there's no competition from dominant players like HUL and P&G. ITC feels that with its packaging, sales and distribution strength, it has a fair chance of getting a head start in this high-margin space the over present players. The premium brand is also retailed across more than 50 Wills Lifestyle stores, its premium branded apparel retail offering, across 30 cities, and provides (as these stores offer) an ideal environment for sampling by elite consumers who regularly visit these stores. The Essenza range is also available across the ITC Welcome group hotels. The communication strategy is well defined too. There are no brand ambassadors for this segment, it's the product which is the hero; a brand imagery of allure and enigmatic grandeur has been created around the Essenza line. Even the brand website communicates in English and French, the language of the uber-sophisticated.

SEGMENTATION
Essenza, as the Western name suggests, targets the luxury seeking elite

GROUP SYNERGY
Also being distributed through ITC hotels and Wills Lifestyle stores
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COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Gender-neutral, mostly in English, and a bit of French the language of the super elite

BRAND EXTENSIONS
Instead of brand extensions, it has sub-brands like Inizio, Aqua and Mikkle

BRAND AMBASSADORS
No brand ambassadors; the TG do the role as they are very individualistic and are super achievers

PACKAGING
Manufactured in France, the Essenza packaging has an international appeal

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FIAMA DI WILLS
If Essenza is about luxury, Fiama is about premiumness. This second product line, launched in September 2007, caters to the premium segment with the mid and upper middle-class as its prime TG, and it is pitched against HUL's Dove and Vaseline, Nivea, L'Oreal and Garnier shampoos fragrance, packaging is and conditioners. developed Its and in aesthetics

consultation with European experts. Fiama is exclusively targeted at the young, working and modern women who want indulgence. Fiama offerings include shampoos, conditioners, shower gels and soaps. The USP of this range is a combination of science and natural extracts for shampoos. Developed in collaboration with the US-based Cosmetic Laboratories, these shampoos come in five variants, while the shower gel comes in three. It has a soap sub-brand called Skin Sense which is priced on par with Dove at Rs 40. The Bollywood sensation Deepika Padukone has been strategically used as the brand ambassador for the Fiama range, thanks to her sophisticated, youthful look and urbane appeal. Using group synergies, ITC retails the Fiama range across Wills Lifestyle stores and modern retailers like Spencer's Hyper, Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh among others, besides group hotels. The brand imagery has been created using different shades of natural colors like green, yellow,
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blue and orange, conveying gentle and effective care through its tagline 'Beautiful you today, tomorrow'. A special fan club 'Friends of Fiama' has been created to increase two-way communication with consumers, where they get a chance to interact with the brand face Deepika. To increase brand salience and position Fiama as a lifestyle product, ITC positions it as one of the partners of the Wills Fashion Week, held twice annually, besides an exclusive luxury lounge called Salon Di Wills is created at the Wills fashion weeks to experience the effectiveness of Fiama Di Wills products. At the 2008 Wills Lifestyle pageant, it has an exclusive Fiama Di Wills fashion line created by two leading fashion designers titled 'Lost in an Urban Maze' to showcase a premium imagery.

SEGMENTATION
Targeted at the young, urban, aspirational women. Its core TG is the upper and mid-segment urban consumers.

GROUP SYNERGY
Besides, being retailed at departmental stores, it is also present at Wills Lifestyle stores, & ITC hotels

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Mostly in the language of the young urban woman professionals English. Its aspirational in nature.
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BRAND EXTENSIONS
It has been cleverly leveraged in the shampoos, shower gels, soap and conditioner categories

BRAND AMBASSADORS
Sophisticated, young, having arrived & beautiful Deepika Padukone is used to further the brand recall

PACKAGING
Premium packaging likes help American packaging experts. of to Dove. with from compete with the Designed

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VIVEL DI WILLS & VIVEL

Easily, the most important of all the brands, Vivel Di Wills and Vivel compete in the most competitive, the popular market segment, dominated by well -entrenched players like HUL and P&G, besides smaller players like Marico, CavinCare, Godrej, Dabur etc. Launched in the first half of 2008, Vivel Di Wills offers two soap variants. Vivel has both soaps and shampoos, catering to a wide range of consumers in the mid and upper-middle class segments. The USP of Vivel range is nourishment, protection and hydrating ingredients for complete skincare. Vivel, unlike Fiama, is a gender-neutral brand. Vivel Di Wills soaps come in two variants and cater specifically to upper middle class consumers, and is priced at Rs 30. While Vivel offers five variants, all priced between Rs 16 and Rs 17, while the Vivel shampoos come in three variants. This space is dominated by HUL, whose brands like Lux, Rexona, Liril, Sunsilk and ClinicPlus command over 50 percent market share in soaps and over 45 percent in the Rs 2,600-crore shampoos market, while ITC has only around 2 percent of the personal care market. Kareena Kapoor is the brand face for Vivel brands and its communication is both in Hindi and English unlike Essenza and Fiama which is only in English and French. Towards the end of 2008, ITC has launched a new anti-dandruff shampoo UltraPro under the Vivel umbrella, pitched against HUL's Clinic AllClear and P&G's Head & Shoulders in the rapidly expanding
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Rs 600-crore dandruff control segment. Targeted at men, UltraPro is endorsed by Hrithik Roshan. Besides being available across leading departmental stores and modern retail outlets, Vivel is also retailed through the John Players showrooms ITCs mens wear stores.

SEGMENTATION
Clever targeting: Vivel Di Wills for the upper-middle class and Vivel for the popular mid-segment

GROUP SYNERGY
Retailed at John Players stores, besides ITCs traditional distribution channels

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Communication in Hindi & English to cater to both upper-middle & popular mid-seg.

PACKAGING
Vivel Di Wills has a more premium packaging, but Vivel has a different packaging

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BRAND EXTENSIONS
Vivel & Vivel Di Wills a clever way to target the Lux consumers of yore

BRAND AMBASSADORS
Kareena Kapoor is the brand face thanks to her popular mass and class appeal

SUPERIA
To cater to the popular mass segment, especially in the hinterlands, where HUL's Lifebouy, Hamam and Breeze and Godrej No1 etc compete, ITC has launched the Superia range of soaps and

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shampoos. Superia soap range is available in four variants, the shampoos come in two variants, besides an antidandruff variant. This segment again doesn't have a brand ambassador as the company projects its target consumers as its endorsers. The brand communication, mostly in Hindi, is weaved around a happy family and its various members. This is also the only segment where ITC has launched its products in sachets, considering the pricesensitivity of its TG. On the distribution side, it cleverly uses its e-choupal network to create deep entrenchment for the Superia range among the hinterland consumers.

SEGMENTATION
Superia is the mass brand from the ITC stable, catering to lower income and rural segments like a Lifebouy does

GROUP SYNERGY
Retailed through ITCs distribution channels across the hinterlands, especially the E-Choupal for rural reach

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Being a mass brand, it caters to segments where aspirations are low, and family is very close-nit. The brand has a family-oriented communication strategy too
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BRAND EXTENSIONS
Superia has four soap variants and three shampoo variants which take on the likes of Clinic AllClear, Lifebouy, Breeze, Godrej No1 etc

BRAND AMBASSADORS
No popular brand ambassador; the focus is on the target audience, which is the low-income families

PACKAGING
The only brand which is available in sachets, Superia has colorful packaging, which is common among mass brands?

SWOT Analysis ITC

ITC is one of India's biggest and bestknown private sector companies. In fact it is one of the World's most high profile almost consumer entirely operations. on the Its businesses and brands are focused Indian markets, and despite being most
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well-known for its tobacco brands such as Gold Flake, the business is now diversifying into new FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brands in a number of market sectors including cigarettes, hotels, paper, agriculture, packaged foods and confectionary, branded apparel, personal care, greetings cards, Information Technology, safety matches, incense sticks and stationery. Examples of its successful new FMCG products include:

Aashirvaad - India's most popular atta brand with over 50% market share. It is also present in spices and instant mixes.

Mint-o - Mint-0 Fresh is the largest cough lozenge brand in India. Bingo! - a new introduction of finger snacks. Kitchens of India - pre-prepared foods designed by ITC's master chefs. Sunfeast - is ITC's biscuit brand (and the sub-brand is also used on some pasta products).

Strengths
ITC leveraged it traditional businesses to develop new brands for new segments. For example, ITC used its experience of transporting and distributing tobacco products to remote and distant parts of India to the advantage of its FMCG products. ITC master chefs from its hotel chain are often asked to develop new food concepts for its FMCG business.
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ITC is a diversified company trading in a number of business sectors including cigarettes, hotels, paper, agriculture, packaged foods and confectionary, personal matches, stationery. care, Information branded greetings sticks Technology, incense apparel, cards, safety and

Weaknesses
The company's original business was traded in tobacco. ITC stands for Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. It is interesting that a business that is now so involved in branding continues to use its original name, despite the negative connection of tobacco with poor health and premature death. To fund its cash guzzling FMCG start-up, the company is still dependent upon its tobacco revenues. Cigarettes account for 47 per cent of the company's turnover, and that in itself is responsible for 80% of its profits. So there is an argument that ITC's move into FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) is being subsidized by its tobacco operations. Its Gold Flake tobacco brand is the largest FMCG brand in India - and this single brand alone holds 70% of the tobacco market.

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Opportunities
Core brands such as Aashirvaad, Mint-o, and Bingo! And Sun Feast (and others) can be developed using strategies of market development, product development and marketing penetration. ITC is moving into new and emerging sectors including Information Technology, supporting business solutions. E-Choupal community rural is a of Indian

practice that links farmers using the Internet. This is an original and well thought initiative of that

could be used in other sectors in many other parts of the world. It is also an ambitious project that has a goal of reaching 10 million farmers in 100,000 villages. ITC leverages e-Choupal in a novel way. The company researched the tastes of consumers in the North, West and East of India of atta (a
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popular type of wheat flour), then used the network to source and create the raw materials from farmers and then blend them for consumers under purposeful brand names such as Aashirvaad Select in the Northern market, Aashirvaad MP Chaka in the Western market and Aashirvaad in the Eastern market. This concept is tremendously difficult for competitors to emulate. Chairman Yogi Deveshwar's strategic vision is to turn his Indian conglomerate into the country's premier FMCG business. Per capita consumption of personal care products in India is the lowest in the world offering an opportunity for ITC's soaps, shampoos and fragrances under their Wills brand.

Threats
The obvious threat is from competition, both domestic and international. The laws of economics dictate that if competitors see that there is a solid profit to be made in an emerging consumer society that ultimately new products and services will be made available. Western companies will see India as an exciting opportunity for themselves to find new market segments for their own offerings. ITC's opportunities are likely to be opportunities for other companies as well. Therefore the dynamic of competition will alter in the mediumterm. Then ITC will need to decide whether being a diversified conglomerate is the most competitive strategic formation for a secure future.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1. Secondary Data Internal Reports of ITC. Reports on marketing strategies Internet

PROJECT OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the project was to do an extensive study about the marketing strategies of ITC Limited. In this project I had to visit various websites as well as various books were consulted. I had to also study the various schemes that ITC has put up in the market to attract customers. The study had to be compiled in such a way that the various pricing strategies, product differentiation, target marketing and segmentation are not missed
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It describes the ways that the marketing department has put up a very strong distribution channel as well as an efficient supply chain management. Ordering, delivering and cash collection modelspeople& processes. Secondly I had to understand the infrastructure that the distributors are using like mechanized and non mechanized units which includes three wheelers, rickshaw, mopeds, cycles etc. The project has made me more aware about the various strategies which have been used in the field of marketing. Marketing is not only promotion. It is very diverse and dynamic as it contains components such as place, product, promotion and price. ITC has been a big player in FMGC goods which have been marketed excellently, products like Sunfeast, Bingo, Cigarettes, and Classmate. ITC is a major competitor towards a lot of companies in various sectors. Due to ITCs good relationship and distribution channels it has been easy for them to bring new products to the market. From these facts I have learned some of the essentials of marketing

LIMITATIONS
Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of following limitations Respondents unavailability. Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer. Courtesy bias.
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Conclusion
The primary goal of this project is to describe the various Marketing Strategies adopted by ITC limited. The project has signified the importance of marketing in todays context. The strategy used by ITC is the result of immense data collection of the market and the planned execution which has led them to be good competitors in a short time. Through the distribution links of their primary business (cigarettes, hotels and packaging) they have been able to supply their products easily to the market. ITC products, due to their variance and their ability to provide able to products to all segments of the market, have been capture reasonable amount of the market. Their innovative attitude has been well received in the market. Their ability to do so is also astonishing as right products were launched at the right time. Marketing of products were aggressive such as for Sunfeast , Bingo, Vivel, Classmate while other brands such as Aim match sticks or Essanze de wills were not. The various strategy used by the company for each product is unique. Even though the market scenario is developing and is prone to external variances ITC and its marketing
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have impacted the masses effectively. ITC products today are used in every house hold. By maintaining market in the segments such as cigarettes it has a steady flow of cash and in turn helps it in innovating newer and competitive product in the market. ITC has links with the Future Group which owns the Big Bazzar Franchise and are using such distribution channels to develop product cartels. ITC has focused majorly into the FMGC market as it provides a large audience. The few new marketing strategy which has been adopted by the company is of group synergy. ITC like various companies have the right mix and is entering each n every domain of the market but ITC has not proven big in the sector such as IT and communication. It may be well due to the fact that its benefits were not properly grasped earlier by the company and therefore hasnt been able to garner public appreciation. Marketing strategies of Ashirvad atta are also not as par even though it constitutes 50% of market share. The major disadvantage that I feel that ITC will face is that of control and accountability in the years to come. As their brand diversification grows the management will not be able to handle the costs. The best way for ITC for now is to engage in the existing business and create better customer satisfaction. Latter after it has a strong hold in the FMGC market it should look towards working as a MNC.

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Bibliography
www.google.com www.itcportal.com www.wikipedia.com onkar@pitchonnet.com www.scribd.com www.marketingteacher.com/swot/itc-swot.html

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