Interview with

Mr Krishnan V, VP-HR, Dabur India Ltd.

August 2011 | Marketing Magazine of IIFT

Event: The National Marketing Symposium 2011

Building Indian Brands

Date - August 19, 2011
Venue Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

arkmantra is the brain-child of IIFT, encompassing various dimensions of marketing and exploring horizons of this integral business function. To bring out the best in the marketing domain from the trivial to the bizarre things that really matter which is aimed at enlightening the marketers is the onus of the team. Trend analysis and innovation in the market are two prime focus areas of the magazine. These, we think, will make you ponder upon how a company proactively or reactively markets its offerings. Customer value is of paramount importance to every marketer and we as IIFTians strive to provide maximum value proposition to our customers, that is, you. Marketings significance lies in value exploration, value creation, value communication and value distribution. No matter where your interest lies, be it Finance, HR, IT or Operations, understanding marketing is always important. As they say, Balance Sheet is also a marketing tool and employer branding is also fast gaining importance. So Markmantra will not only help the marketers but also people interested in other streams by understanding the implications of marketing on their decisions and vice versa.

TEAM MARKMANTRA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF :

Gaurav N. Gudhka

MANAGING EDITORS :

Siddharth Girdhar Radhika Ravichandran

Contents

BRAND ACTIVATION

BRANDING PARADIGM IN THE BoP MARKET

SERVICE SECTOR BRANDS

CORPORATE SPEAK
BEST GLOBAL BRANDS- A REVIEW

LINGOS
1

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

Cover Story: The New Age Branding (Brand- A perception or a reality?) International Marketing: Nation Branding- The What & The What Not Branding Paradigm for the Bottom of the Pyramid Market Brand Activation- A breakthrough in the clutter Daburs Helping Hand: Career Progression Building Indian Brands Branding in the different stages of Brand Life Cycle Brands Head-on- The Noodle Riddle IIFT Special: Corporate Speak featuring Colgate-Palmolive a. Sales Beat, Mr.Rajiv Rajan and Mr.Ravinder Singh Chauhan b. Talent Acquisition & Development, Shivani Singh, HR Manager c. Rendezvous with Parul Patel, Marketing Manager The Indian Service sector: Serving up Indias strongest brands Ambush Marketing Best 100 Global Brands- A Review (Summary of Interbrand report) Luxury Brand Management Marketing Lingos Product Launchpad

LAUNCHPAD

BUILDING INDIAN BRANDS

BRAND LIFE CYCLE

x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv.

AMBUSH MARKETING
4 7 11 13 15 17 20 22 26 27 28 30 33 37 39 41

NATION BRANDING
BRANDS HEAD-ON

THE NEW AGE BRANDING

BRAND- A perception or a reality? Lets begin with the universe as a whole. Our galaxy among billions of other galaxies is called the Milky Way. Our planet Earth is one among billion other planets in the Milky Way.There are more than 190 countries in the world, each differently named with a sovereign flag of its own. Billions of people reside in these countries. So what is that differentiates one from the other? Are we all brands? Yes, by virtue of physique, personality, culture, relationship, self-image and reflection which essentially form together the identity of a brand. A brand could be a name like mine and yours, some characteristics, some symbolic logo, some association or a combination of all these. It helps in identifying and differentiating one from the many. A brand is a way of making a complicated world simpler. In this fiercely competitive world where there is a clutter created by the marketing bustle, a brand acts as a symbolic cue that lets you know what you are getting vis--vis your expectations. Its an offering from a known source. Branding: Branding is a dynamic process and entails a gamut of activities holistically encompassing a business. Its not only the chore of the Brand Manager of an organization, but involves each and every individual belonging to the organization. A wide portfolio of activities is performed during the entire life cycle of a brand. Brand creation, Brand development and Brand maintenance are the key three bearings of branding which contemplate the core of marketing which is value exploration, value creation and value delivery. The new age branding is a holistic approach that marketers adopt for sustaining the brand equity. It has four aspects to vouch for. Brand creation starts from market research to Target Group identification, product idea development to channel strategy and identity creation to marketing communication

Holistic marketing approach as the new age branding paradigm

Integrated marketing (Communicati ons, products & servies, channels

Internal marketing (employees and managemen t)

HOLISTIC MARKETING

Relationship marketing (customers, channels partners)

Performance marketing (sales revenue, brand & customer equity, ethics)

plans. So to start with, segmentation of the market plays a major role in brand strategies. If your target audience is well defined then there just needs to be a good communication strategy for the success of the brand, needless to say that the core of a brand, i.e. the product should provide good value proposition. Mass marketing in the times of yore was suitable because the awareness level of the consumers was low. Apparently, marketers look for a niche segment so that the brand realizes its true value. Brand Architecture: For this reason Brand Architecture has evolved over a period of time which effectively shows the optimization of the Brand portfolio of the company. Brand architecture is the structure of the brands within an organization. It defines the different leagues of branding. The imperatives are i. market clarity, ii. Existing equities and iii. Aspiration and growth strategies. A company measures the equity of each brand in terms of market share, brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand perception, brand association and Intellectual property rights.

New ways of branding: In this new era of digitalization and socialization, marketers have found distinct and sophisticated means of creating and developing a brand. Consider Sonic branding. Sonic mnemonics are created with the help of jingles and tunes to convey a memorable message to the target audience. Intels famous D D G D A jingle along with other smart modifications in the brand logo has led to high brand equity in terms of brand awareness and brand loyalty. The worlds largest semiconductor chip maker has undergone several modifications in its branding which has fetched itself 7th place in the Interbrands Best Global Brands report with a total brand valuation of $32,015 million. Some more cases of sonic branding with respect to India are Titan, Britania, Raymonds, etc. which have a high brand recall owing to their powerful memory sense of sound. Sonic branding is a part of Sensory branding which allows the consumers to engage themselves with touch, taste, smell, sight and sound with respect to a brand. Kishor Biyani envisaged a breakthrough in the organized retail trade in India with a vision to satisfy a customers wish to touch, smell and feel products be it fruits and vegetables or grains. The success of such

retail chains in India is also due to the advent of experiential marketing in India. Marketers want to enhance the brand perception by way of attracting potential customers to experience the product. This emphasizes on the fact that User imagery is of utmost importance to develop brand perception. User imagery is the perception of the user which tends to be more realistic vis-vis that of a non-user. Breakthrough in communication: In order to break through the clutter of brands, it becomes important for the marketers to engage customers through various Brand activation activities. More interaction with customers means more involvement which leads to better customer insights. Brand activations ultimate objective is building brand awareness and brand loyalty through publicity, PR and Word of mouth promotion. But what essentially forms the basis of brand activation or for that matter even other promotional activities is Communication; communication of the offerings to the end user. Communication is the magical layer between the company and its consumers which revolves around the positioning of the brand to form a perception of the brand. This layer disappears with the moment of truth as the customer experiences the brand. Today communication is not a tool but a feat in itself.

The new age branding has unveiled many new forms of communicating the message of the brand. Brand Placement is one such activity. When the traditional methods saturate, new methods like brand placement arise. Brand placement is an expensive but effective way of conveying appropriate message to the target audience. Brand placement can be done through sponsoring events like Sports events, award functions and by placing the brand on the 70mm screen through a movie or a TV reality show. Examples of such placements are Mountain Dew in Roadies, Royal Enfield and Hermes in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, etc. On the contrary a much cheaper option in the digitalized world is the social media which also forms a part of the new age era in a big way. Social media has the power of influencing the existing and potential consumers of a brand. Social media provides a platform to have a conversation with the consumers and understanding their needs better. It is an economical way of promotion and with the advent of technology, interactive marketing has a huge role to play to create, develop and sustain brand equity. Personalised marketing and loyalty programs are other ways of building brand loyalty. Brands, like living beings, age. And in a cut-throat dynamic market, only the fittest survive which suggests that brands in the different stages of its brand life cycle need to assume different branding strategies. It is essential to keep abreast of the changes in consumer preferences. Now is the time when brand loyalty is almost a myth. So innovation in the product and innovative communication strategies could help a brand to drive ahead of the competition and enjoy the desired share of market. Focus should be more on making the brand more hedonic rather than conspicuous because affect loyalty is more sustainable than action loyalty.

Brand=Business?: From an economic perspective, consumer spending is very significant for an economys growth. And marketers try to add value by creating brands. Brands fetch more value, a premium than otherwise consumers would have spent. So the task of marketers on a macro level is to create value for the country and on a micro level to create value for the mutual benefit of the company and the consumers. Especially after the economic downturn, there is an increasing need for the brands to establish a strong foothold in their respective segments. A brand is not just the face of the business, perhaps it is the backbone of the business. A strong brand has the ability to survive and defy the adversities of the economic environment. Four characteristics of a strong brand are: Difference, Clarity, Consistency and Leadership which are achieved with the help of proper positioning of the brand, providing superior delivery of desired benefits, maintaining innovation, establishing credibility and brand personality and ultimately integrated marketing communications. In a nut shell, marketing appropriate products and marketing products appropriately. For both company and consumers, a brand reduces the risk in product decisions. The factors that influence the company and the consumers include functional, physical, financial, social, psychological and time. When these factors are best suited the needs of both the parties then the company enjoys high brand equity as well as high customer equity.

A brand is a real perception of the perceived reality.

Gaurav Gudhka MBA (IB) 2010-12 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

NATION BRANDING: THE WHAT & THE WHAT NOT

The Global Village is not just a catchphrase anymore; the change is there for everyone to see. Globalisation today has turned the world into a huge supermarket, where countries are competing against each other to stimulate their exports and attract a limited pool of tourists, FDI and talent, to increase market share and to command price premiums in the global markets. To establish a competitive edge over rival countries, differentiation on a global scale is required, which helps in improving the countrys inbound (FDI, Tourism, etc.) as well as outbound (Exports) prospects. From this backdrop, emerges the concept of Nation Branding, which was first proposed by a British consultant Simon Anholt in the late 1990s, who created waves by suggesting that nations can actually be viewed as brands! Nation brand has been defined as the unique, multidimensional blend of elements that provide the nation with culturally grounded differentiation and relevance for all of its target audience. A newer definition explains nation branding as a process by which a nations image can be created or altered, monitored, evaluated and proactively managed in order to enhance the countrys reputation among a target international audience. The origins of nation branding can be traced back to four different sources the country of origin (COO) studies, place or destination branding, and more recently public diplomacy and national identity. A nation brand is the sum total of all the perceptions of a nation in the minds of international stakeholders, which contains elements like people, place, culture, language, history, food, fashion, celebrities, global brands, etc. The purpose of nation branding is to position the country in the best possible manner, given its strengths and weaknesses, in order to become more competitive in the world market, which would ultimately generate the benefits for the people of the country by providing them with jobs, wealth, and also dignity. A nations brand exists, with or without making any conscious efforts in nation branding, since each country has a certain image to its international audience, be it strong or weak, current or out-dated, clear or vague. A conscious effort becomes imperative for those countries that have undertaken dramatic changes in their political, economic and social systems since the external images almost always lag behind the reality. It is the task of nation branding to narrow that gap between the images and reality. Abundant literature is available on previous efforts in the area, with some very predominant examples. New Zealand, which was one of the first country to take the concept quite seriously, has come a long way from its 100% Pure New Zealand campaign to the latest New Zealand, New Thinking. With investments running

into millions of dollars, the country also reaped benefits in the form of an exponential increase in the number of tourists and a sharp rise in wine exports. Malaysia too, with its Britain in Malaysia

and Malaysia, Truly Asia campaigns has made successful attempts in positioning the country as the most beautiful destination in Asia. Germany

also used the 2006 FIFA World Cup to make attempts to overcome its tarnished image (for the role it played in the World War II), by emphasising a fresh and exciting outlook under the Land of Ideas campaign. China, with its huge $40 bn budget for the 2008 Olympics, made a brilliant attempt at showcasing its uniqueness and changing the worlds impression of hers on issues such as world peace, friendship, democracy and human rights. Quite recently in 2009, Korea brought in an entirely new dimension by establishing the Presidential Council on Nation Branding (PCNB), which is mandated to set strategies and directions to coordinate and lead nation branding activities for each department and ministry. Closer home, case in point is of the Incredible India campaign that kick-started in 2002, mainly to promote tourism in India. The campaign was an integrated marketing communication effort to support the Indian tourism industry's efforts to attract tourists to the country, and projected India as an attractive tourist destination by showcasing various facets of Indian culture and history like yoga, spirituality, etc. The global campaign, with its eye-catching imagery won several awards abroad, as well as helped in increasing the tourist flow into the country. But there are many obstacles in the path of implementing a nation branding strategy that makes it a challenging and a long process. Firstly, the sheer number of stakeholders involved gives rise to conflict of interest as not all perceive an action as beneficial to them as to others. Also, the effort is difficult to be controlled by a central authority, as it requires a lot of participation from the citizenry to achieve the plan. Another obstacle is that the marketers also have little control over branding activities, because the audiences can learn about the country from a

variety of sources like the media, academic institutions, product purchase, trips abroad, and contacts with people from that country. Lastly, the government officials, who are involved in planning for nation branding, have limited knowledge for developing major marketing campaigns, which can lead to wrong approaches. Owing to such challenges, the Incredible India campaign too came in for criticism from some quarters. Some felt that it had failed to capture several aspects of India, which would have been quite attractive to the average tourist. Some others felt itd have been better to build the necessary tourism infrastructure first before actually launching the campaign. Still others felt that what actually was needed was not an extravagant communication campaign but taking care of other grave issues of poor connectivity, exorbitant taxes, visa problems, unsanitary conditions, and shortage of affordable, good quality accommodation, which actually put off a majority of tourists. Nation brands are similar to any other brand as they have unique characteristics of themselves and as no two nations are alike. However, what makes nation brands different from company brands are their diversity of thought, language, geographic landscape, unique histories and experience, unlimited product life cycle, and the desire of the countrys populations to be special and original, all of which contribute to the uniqueness of each countrys nation brand identity and help prevent the brand from being imitated or copied by any other country. The evolution of the concept of nation branding has been steady, and in 2005 Simon Anholt, renowned worldwide as the father of nation branding, developed the Nation Brands Index (NBI), as a way to measure the image and reputation of the world's nations, and to track their profiles as they rise or fall. The Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index measures the power and quality of each country's 'brand image' by combining the six dimensions of Exports, Governance, Culture & Heritage, People, Tourism, and Investment & Immigration. Each country's score across these six dimensions is crisply captured in the Nation Brand Hexagon,

which is a visual rendering of the total Index score.

It provides a consistent framework for country-to-country comparisons against the key factors impacting a nation's reputation, which allows one to see just where does a nation's brand ranks and why. Along with the Index analysis, the Nation Brand Hexagon provides a thorough assessment of a country's standing, making it one of the most effective tools available for managing a country's reputation around the world. Apart from a scientific and focused approach towards the nation branding strategy, a strong and ethical commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability on part of a nation is vital and expected by all the stakeholder groups. In a world that is frequently hit by financial crises and greediness of corporate power, humanitarian aids, donations, sending medical or rescue teams for disasterstruck regions, helping rebuild earthquake-hit countries, can significantly contribute to building positive nation brands, as deeds speak louder than words, as goes the time-tested adage.

Jayant Rana MBA (IB) 2010-2012 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

BRANDING PARADIGM FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID (BoP) MARKET

Searching for space to inflate your captive market in these turbulent economic times - gaze at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Over these years marketers have conventionally besieged upon upper market segments, but now the time has come for a radical change in perception, it is time to start milking the huge prospect that lie in less affluent markets which has been not been yet catered to. 65% percent of the worlds population i.e. around 4 bn people earns less than $US 6 per day. Most of the Brands worldwide cater to only the remaining 35% and the remaining spectrum of the population remains largely untapped. Lately many new emergent brands and even the reputed international brands are trying to explore the so called bottom of the pyramid. This has resulted in a paradigm shift in branding and new marketing trends have emerged. In a country like India with a population of around 1.21 billion, does it make any logic to have marketing strategy or plans that will cater to only 24% (IFC-WRI study) of the that population? Given the current market scenario, it is obvious that there is huge potential and incentives to consider this layer as the target segment. This segment has the purchasing power parity (PPP) rates, signifies a market size of PPP $1.5 trillion in India making up the biggest chunk of the global $5-trillion BOP market excluding China, which is huge. Although there is set market to be explored but still firms are jittery on making a move. The credit for this goes to few misperceptions that are very common. Firstly it is believed that the people who are poor dont want to buy creative products and services. Secondly that they dont use sophisticated products that are consumed by the upper class. Thirdly that they are unable to adopt technology easily and lastly that they are difficult to reach and that they dont have brand-awareness. Let us crack down these assumptions and the reason behind them.

Bottom of the pyramid brand management policy

Gauging the Purchasing power: Although people in this segment have low income, the average spending power of these people cannot be ignored. If we consider the purchasing power parity (PPP), their ability to spend and purchase becomes even more noticeable. However, their patterns of spending fluctuate immensely. Many of these people are day laborers and have variable pay systems. They tend to buy when they can and when they need to. Single-serve packaging or multiple SKU level (sachets) is one of the solutions that is being used right now to handle this hindrance. Companies like P&G, HUL and other FMCG giants have come out with sachets and other smaller SKU levels which are low cost and quality products which enable people with low income levels to use them efficiently.

The companies targeting the BOP market concentrate on the pull factors such as social status, value for money rather than the factors such as brand equity which usually work in the regular market. Due to irregular income BOP customers do not have the habit of storing things hence most of the shopping that they do is on credit basis. Thus price becomes an important criterion for FMCG companies. The low price strategy used by Nirma in 1970s and lately by Ghadi detergents has been extremely successful in taking over the market. HUL has also launched a variant of its largest selling soap brand, Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gms to venture into this market. This is the strategy that Coca Cola used while introducing the Chota coke for 5Rs.

Managing personal brand relationship and responsive marketing are more important in the BOP market where the consumers are well connected with each other. Project Shakti implemented by HUL uses personal brand relationships to draw the BOP consumers, with local institutions being retailers or distributors of global brands in the region. They created a direct distribution network by training and educating village women to distribute products in their village. Cosmetic brand Avon uses the same strategy of personal brand relationship while targeting the BOP market in Brazil. The brands are using the existing rural model of distributing products rather than building new shops or duplicating the existing regular market models. Melas organised by Godrej and Kissan Sansar by Tata have been hugely successful in targeting the BOP market. Infrastructural hindrances: About 78% of the BOP population resides in rural areas. A combo of distribution methods is required to serve the BOP market. Companies have already started to tackle this problem head on and trying out newer models of distribution which will give them maximum benefits. One of the examples can be of HULs strategy. For distributing to the villages and rural parts, they have removed the Star Sellers which used to be one part of the distribution channel.

the look and feel. The needs of the BOP market are different and must be well analyzed and products must be conceptualized to address those needs. For example, SMS-based mobile banking services to the poor would not work because of the wide spread illiteracy levels. Tools such as SMS readers would do wonders in situation like this. Creating trust and credibility: Big firms and BOP consumers have conventionally not trusted each other. Creating that trust is a tough job and prerequisite to address this market. Take an

Only 40% and 45% of the total Indian population has access to TV and Print respectively. Innovative marketing is required to reach these customers whom the traditional media cannot reach out. ITC e-Chaupal is one such example where the company took advantage of Indias superior mobile penetration to its advantage and build brand awareness among customers. E-Chaupal has altogether revolutionized the distribution models. Companies are also using CSR as a tool to improve the brand awareness and penetration among the BOP consumers. Brand Consciousness: Another misconception that requires to be tackled is that the poor is not brand-conscious. On the contrary, the poor are very brand-conscious and also very valueconscious, by necessity. They want best of the quality and maximum value on the least price. This calls for out of the box innovation and reengineering on the producers part. Global brands are targeting the BOP market by positioning themselves differently by including the individual and cultural attributes of consumers in their advertising strategy. The belief that BOP customers are not brand conscious is just a myth, the experience of Casas Bahia in Brazil and Elektra in Mexico suggests the same. Luxs strategy of using audio advertisements in bus stops of Maharashtra has been fairly successful. These examples clearly point to a trend where rather than creating a new brand the companies are positioning their existing global brand differently for the BOP market. Educating the consumer: Innovation and technological developments are strategic drivers to address the BOP market. The same products and services that are sold to rich will not attract the poor. It is not only a matter of price but also

example of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, where the default rate is less than 1.5 percent and is very successful in working with farmers just because it has able to create that trust whereas other banks could not. We can also see initiatives taken by Pantaloons by launching its rural venture called Adhaar which is specifically designed to cater to the rural population which is also on the same lines. Brands are making continuous effects on improving the product quality and packaging innovation to influence the BOP consumers. As most of the BOP customers are illiterate packaging makes a huge difference .Roping in famous film stars and using pictures while packaging will help increase brand awareness. This strategy will also help in nullifying the effect of spurious products such as RC Cola and Hello Chips which are prevalent in the BOP market. Surf Excel Blue is a prime example of continuous product innovation in India. Wonder Brands introduce packaging revolution in Africa when it introduced its brand cowbell for the BOP segment where they introduced the three membrane sachet packaging in 1993.This innovation was imitated by most of the FMCG companies in the coming years while launching sachet packets.

The life cycle of BOP focused brand is entirely opposite to the premium brands. The BOP brands take time to gain the customer acceptance but once they overcome the initial phase they gain strength in the years ahead; unlike the premium brand which initially are stronger in perceptional values of consumers but turn sluggish over time as new brands penetrate the market. To build the acceptance among the BOP segment the brand strategy needs to focus on intensive advertisements, sales schemes and must have an attacking sales force. The success of Chik shampoo can be attributed to these factors. During the initial phase Chik Shampoo, one of the earliest brands to target BOP customers spent Rs 2 Lacs per year in advertising. They also roped in South Indian cine stars Kushoo and Manorama to promote their brand. These strategies helped them in gaining 20% of the total market share of shampoos in India with their core customers being the BOP segment. Being successful in doing business at the bottom of the pyramid calls for a paradigm shift in the approach towards this market. It requires

successful micro management with low margins, versus smaller number of more profitable transactions. It also requires synchronized focus on revenue and risk management along with innovation and strategies in product conceptualization, and the whole supply chain. Though dealing with the BOP market is difficult, the current economic stance leaves businesses with no option but to look for alternative market segments in which to venture and grow. Being in a country with a huge poor and rural population further compels us to search and take up new techniques to generate profits, while simultaneously alleviating poverty and economic divide. Moreover, it is quite evident that BOP marketing is evolving and companies are creating new strategies which are resulting in new branding paradigms. Marketers must take cue from these changes and must focus on the BOP customers if they want to make their brands the market leaders of future.

Ashwin Kumar SJMSOM, IIT-B 2010-12

Abhilash Bhattacharya
NITIE 2010-12

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BRAND ACTIVATION: A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE CLUTTER

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. -Benjamin Franklin As very well mentioned in the above quote whenever people are involved in any initiative the results are always outstanding and everlasting. This is the new trend in the marketing arena as the enlightened individual has become the focal point in the society. As society moves into post modernism, new companies have evolved and older ones have reformed their businesses to meet the ever-changing needs of people and companies. These companies have listened to their customers, and they have learned that, both as companies and as persons, we perceive ourselves as individuals with specific needs. Why Brand activation? In a market where commoditisation is commonplace and where distinctive brands are difficult to create and expensive to maintain, any company worth its salt is understandably trying to wring every penny from its hard-earned brand equity. Successful brands can no longer afford to be the delicate hothouse flower that they once were, germinated in a well-ventilated ad agency and allowed to bloom only on a couple of commercial TV channels. Companies are realizing that a brand nowadays is not just some cute little picture with a catchy caption (and maybe some added music) to differentiate from the other millions of similar offerings by competitors in the market, but rather, an embodiment of everything that the offering stands for. Todays brands have to be bred to be hardier, to be capable of standing up to close scrutiny by consumers on their own terms. The savvy marketing directors are compelled to awaken their brands through carefully integrated programmes of activity designed to bring brands to the limelight and thereby penetrate further into the daily lives of customers, so much so that they refuse or defer purchase if the brand is not available. Activation shifts the focus to the core of marketing i.e. stimulating the buying process. Brand Activation can be defined as the newly emerging stream in marketing which is a practical and logical form of seamless

integration that enables clients and agencies to focus on delivering activities rooted in the fabric of the brand that engage with customers. Activation means stimulating: 1. Interest: Developing interest among customer. 2. Trial: Compelling the customer to use the product. 3. Loyalty: Developing love mark for the brand. This can comprise of activities ranging from visually-appealing product displays to providing free samples in stores as part of Retail Activation to high-end publicity campaigns, sponsorships or competitions. For example, Red Bull, in accordance with its tagline Red Bull gives you wings, conducts an adventure-oriented event Flugtag in which it invites participants to create their own human powered flying machines that roll down a ramp and launch over water. The event generates an 80,000 strong crowd, along with fans and user-made video

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content for Youtube, thus creating humungous publicity. Methods involve in Brand activation A brand can be activated primarily along four directions: Identity: Any brand needs to carve out its own niche that is different from others, and this usually starts by having its own name, logo, slogan and other things needed for communicating to the customers while also reflecting their mental image of the brand. For example, Coca-Colas red logo, which signifies the reddish-brown colour of cola, fits better into the public mindset than the blue-white-red logo of Pepsi. Or take the popularity of the Nike Swoosh, or the eternally-memorable cute jingle of Nirma washing powder. Besides this, the brand should be positioned rightly in peoples minds, which doesnt always mean being the leader. Avis positioned itself as being second-best to Hertz in the car-rental business, with the statements We Try Harder and The line at our counter is shorter, and this worked wonders! Communications: This is where the most innovative magic happens, and may be achieved not just by showcasing both loud as well as subtle features of the product, but also projecting how the communication reflects your commitment to the companys core values. Ideas like Colgates Smile Campaign, Dr. Rabbit as a childrens mascot and showcasing dentists in their ads towards the oral health campaign help build credibility for their brand. Connecting emotionally with the society by addressing social issues is even better, such as the Save Our Tigers campaign by Aircel, as it portrays that you are not just a profit-hog. On similar lines, Surf excel has organized childrens festivals in tandem with its Daag Achhe Hai campaign, thus penetrating the mother-child bond and projecting itself as a brand that gives importance to relationships. The Companies should not just talk, but also

listen to customers feedback and implement them, thus displaying sincerity towards the public, such as the way Ford did using social networking. Employees: Happy and inspired employees are not just valuable assets, but can also provide great word-of-mouth marketing. Make employees feel they are an essential part of the organisation. Promote healthy competition, celebrations while skipping formalities and avoiding excessive interference. For example, Nordstrom declares that No customer should leave the department store without being satisfied and happy and for that, it tells its employees--Use your good judgement in all situations. There will be no additional rules. Products and Services: However smartly a brand may be projected, it is all useless if the product or service doesnt live up to the peoples expectations. Disneyland must provide a superbly joyful experience in order to call itself The happiest place on Earth. BMW must provide ultimate driving performance and comfort to be The ultimate driving machine.

Similarly Vim must be capable of removing the toughest and greasiest stains as claimed in their advertisement. The proof can be deliver through firsthand experience. In short, the product/service must provide everything promised by the brand. There are no limits on ideas on how to activate your brand. It is much more than just reaching out to people; it involves creating trust among them, so that they try to reach out to the brand. Brand activation not merely a theory; it is logical and inevitable. The era of telling consumers what to think is long gone; consumers now make their minds up by experiencing the brand in any number of mutually conducive settings. And long may that continue, as we will all, marketers and consumers alike, benefit.
Sidharth Nanda & Umesh Jain
MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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DABURS HELPING HAND: CAREER PROGRESSION

As part of our endeavour to connect various marketing aspirants with their dream companies, in this edition, we bring forward an interview with Mr.Krishnan V, VP-HR, Dabur India Ltd. Mr.Krishnan has been kind enough to consent for a small interview to showcase Dabur, its work culture, career progression to all aspiring marketing students wishing to join Dabur India Ltd. We thank Mr.Srijan Srivastava for helping us materialize this interview with Mr.Krishnan. Mr Krishnan V- VP, HR, Dabur India Ltd Mr.Krishnan has been with Dabur since July 2008. An alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University and FMS, Delhi, Mr Krishnan has a varied experience across Industries and across Functions. He started his career as a Manager, Quality at Eicher Motors, and then moved on to handle Quality, HR at Xerox. Subsequently he worked with HR department at Whirlpool and then joined Dabur.

What does it take to be successful at Dabur? An Entrepreneurial and a go getter attitude are very essential to be a personality fit for working with Dabur. Along with a passion for execution/action, one needs to comply with various processes ,which are an integral part of the organization, and also display flexibility to adapt to various situations. People Development is very important at Dabur .Could you throw light on the Training programmes for MTs? The Management Trainees have a rigorous training stint in core functional knowledge and also in cross functional interlinkages through the Young Managers Development Program. For a Sales and Marketing Trainee, exposure to Sales planning, Field force management, Brand Implementation, Cost Control, Consumer and Trade Promotions and Advertising provides a well balanced scope for learning to be a part of the corporate world.

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Along with an action packed training as mentioned earlier, there is a Campus to Corporate Development initiative as well. Through this initiative, behavioural training is imparted by renowned professionals in 3 phases to help the MTs make a smooth transition from college life to corporate world. Could you please explain the Balanced Score Card Concept as used in your organization? It is based on Robert Kaplans Model and requires the organization to be viewed from 4 perspectives Financial, Process, Customer and Learning. How important is gender diversity in the organization? There is a strategic focus on improving the gender diversity in the organization. As Dabur has an evolving Skin care segment, Women being the primary target consumer segment of the Skin Care products, they are becoming increasingly important as Brand Managers as they can better connect with the end consumer. You have worked for organizations in diverse sectors like Eicher Motors, Xerox and Whirlpool. How do you think the HR function is different across these organizations? HR function in any organization is aligned with the resources of the organization. While a high value less volume product organization has direct selling, low value high volume product organization has distributed selling. As a result the Sales professional is different across these organizations and hence different policies to suit their needs and develop their careers. Any other aspect of Dabur that you would like to highlight? Dabur is the perfect example of Domestic MNC with operations in the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, South Asia, EU, the UK and the United States. As Dabur believes in being Glocal, the socio cultural, political and economic environment of the operating region are taken in account in devising business strategies and HR policies for the organization. For e.g. In Middle East the HR policies are so framed that they suit the employees in the month of Ramzan or for performing any other custom.

Interviewed by: Rajesh N, MBA (IB) 20120-12 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

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BUILDING INDIAN BRANDS

Unleashing the potential of brand India The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Paris is high couture, wines and fashion. On thinking about Italy, one thinks of good food, high fashion and beautiful people. Similarly, Switzerland evokes the idea of precision timing and dairy products. The aforementioned examples go on to show how these particular countries have branded themselves to elicit a particular image in the minds of people. Whenever a particular country is looked at as a brand, every offering/product/service from that country can be seen as a brand extension of the particular country. Building an effective brand is like a cocktail of a clear vision and commitment, dashed with lots of patience and conviction. A strong brand succeeds in evoking an emotional response from the target audience. Take for example Jaipur. Whenever one thinks of Jaipur the image of a rustic pink city of forts, palaces and camels comes to mind. It is this image that lures foreigners and celebrities of the likes of Madonna to this city and its hotels. In the 2008 Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Survey, Jaipur ranked as the 7th best place to visit in Asia. The success of states like Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa etc. in luring tourists from both home and abroad can be attributed to the way these states have embarked on branding themselves and marketing their tourism related offerings. The success of this branding activity can be corroborated by the following figures; The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during December 2010 and January 2011 were 6.55 lakhs and 5.38 lakhs respectively. The total contribution of Travel &Tourism to GDP, including its wider economic impacts has been valued at INR 3,680.4bn in 2011. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, is 37,655,000 jobs (7.5% of total employment) in 2011. We could capitalize on the infinite variety of cultures, traditions and geographies and promote India as the ultimate tourist destination for the adventurous soul. The Incredible India campaign went a long way to portray India as the perfect blend of beauty, adventure, and intriguing customs. The campaign promoted India as a colorful land and was so effective that other countries created their tourism campaigns along similar lines. A well strategized and sustained branding effort along similar lines would go a long way in milking this lucrative industry to Indias advantage. The process of building India into a strong brand has gathered momentum in the recent years. At present India stands at the threshold of modernity and tradition. While one part of India continues to make giant leaps in the domain of science and technology, business and academia, another part is busy trying to break free from the clutches of poverty. Time has come to brand India in a way that makes the world sit up and take notice of the infinite potential of the largest democracy on the face of this planet. Its time India worked hard to conscientiously to be perceived as a powerhouse on various fronts - be it economic, military, technological or cultural. Building a strong brand India will have many positive implications for our country of millions. It will propel more trade, greater employment and increased investments in sectors such as infrastructure and make the world sit up and take notice of the unrestrained potential of India across various sectors. Shahnaz Hussian has ingeniously capitalized on the image of India as the land of ancient wisdom and ayurveda. Shahnaz Husains line of cosmetics broke free from the clutter of chemical offerings and delved into the realms of ayurveda. She embraced the world of nature with its healing powers, taking the Indian herbal heritage of Ayurveda to every corner of the globe. Her ayurvedic formulations are sold in various countries. Her products have acquired a tremendous global presence and are retailed at celebrated stores like Galeries Lafayette (Paris), Harrods and Selfridges (London), the Seibu chain in Japan, Bloomingdales (New York), La Rinascente in Milan (Italy), as well as exclusive outlets and clinics all over the world. The Shahnaz Husain Forever Beautiful lifestyle shops, Beauty

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Training Institutes, Ayurvedic centers and Shahnaz Husain Ayurvedic Spas, can be spotted in various cities across the globe. Such is the strength of the brand created by Ms Husain that TESCO; the largest retailer of UK has joined hands with her to sell Shahnaz Husain herbal products across all its stores. Ms Husain runs a chain of over 400 global franchises and 600-odd distributors. The company, according to an FMCG analyst, has a turnover of Rs 650 crore. Shahnaz Husain has become the ambassador of Indias beauty industry abroad and effective branding has been one of the facilitators for her resounding success. Many entrepreneurs and companies have used this particular image of India to their advantage. Brands like Dabur, Biotique, Lotus herbals are some of the brands that are reaping great benefits by positioning themselves as brands that have encompassed the ancient, priceless knowledge of ayurvedic formulations in their products. In the arena of science and technology, India must leverage on its strength in the IT domain. Companies like TCS and Infosys are providing the backbone to numerous industries the world over. These companies are enabling industries and sectors ranging from manufacturing, medicine, space technology, IT services, aviation ,consulting services, communication etc the world over. IT mammoth TCS has offices in 42 countries and operates across 142 nations. It operates the first and largest software R&D facility in Asia. Its client list includes names such as Scuderia Ferrari, British Airways, Chrysler, Cisco, Microsoft, Motorola etc. The presence of such strong names in its client list shows the high levels of competency and the credibility TCS enjoys the world over. The sales turnover of TCS in March 2011 was Rs 29,275.41 crore. Such is the credibility of this organization that it added 36 new clients to its client list last year. The success of organizations like TCS shows the giant leaps India has taken in the field of IT. It shows how the world depends on India for meeting its IT needs in a cost effective and efficient manner. India can easily capitalize on

this particular image as the enabler of processes across the western world. India can also promote itself as the land of innovation for the masses. It is the land where the worlds cheapest car was conceptualized and produced; it is the land where a similar idea of creating the worlds cheapest computer originated. The idea of the 500 rupee (7.25) laptop took seed and germinated in India. The idea was to bridge the "digital divide" in the country between rich and poor, the laptop was developed to link 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across the length and width of India. India has a reputation for creating ultracheap technologies, a trend sparked last year by the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car at Rs. 100,000 (1,450). It is time India gets known for the giant strides it has taken in the fields of information technology, in other domains of science; in the services industry. We have the best test cricket team in the world. Mammoth multinationals like Pepsi co are headed by Indians. Not just that, the Mecca of management education i.e. Harvard Business School has an Indian dean. Indian companies like the Tata Group and Bharti Airtel are making their mighty presence felt throughout the world. We are going great guns in sports, academia, and arts etc.We are the worlds largest democracy, an assimilation of different religions and cultures beautifully coexisting in peace and harmony. Its time India capitalized on its numerous achievements and capabilities and gets reckoned for the same.

Ms. Apurva Joshi MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi

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BRANDING IN THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF BRAND LIFE CYCLE

The Brand Lifecycle Brand life cycle defines the stages through which a product passes after its development till it is in the market. The stages in branding life cycle include introduction stage when the new product is introduced in the market, growth stage when the product seeks to increase revenues and its preference, maturity stage the sales growth saturates, decline stage the sales decline. Different stages entail strategies to extend the existence of a product in the market especially in the growth and maturity stage. Branding strategies in various stages of brand lifecycle Each stage of the brand lifecycle requires a different strategy with an objective of creating a

brand identity and shaping the customers perception of the brand. As explained by Idris Mootee in his model developed in 1990s, over time Introduction Stage

as the brands power increases it evolving evolves from being a product brand to a global brand.

During this stage, the primary objective is to create awareness about the product and to attract some early adopters. Initially a major chunk of expenditures is advertising and promotion of the product. Some companies announce the products and run ad campaigns before the actual launch. This

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creates awareness in the market and allows brands to tap in early experiencers. Optimal time gap between the launch of the ad campaign and the product launch is kept, so that the demand can be readily tapped and does not start to die out in wait of the actual launch. The marketing campaigns focus on the descriptor attributes of the brand like taglines. It is necessary to clearly convey the message through the tagline as ambiguity can lead to the brand not falling into any competitive frame of reference. Fever 104.0 FM station attempts to promote an important concept of straightforward and precise marketing through their tagline of Its all about the music. It directly pitches the station as a pure music station in a simplest possible manner. Growth Stage The market share begins to increase as the awareness has been created in the market through various campaigns. The brand tries to create a loyalty amongst its existing customers and tries to project itself as a preferred choice between competitors. Companies try to improve product quality, styling and tries to enter new sectors. Yahoo evolved from just a search engine into a full package of web services from search to shopping and gaming. It entered into sectors like mobile services, analytics services, advertising etc. Companies also tend to promote a selling proposition that should be associated with the brand. Future Groups Big Bazaar came up with a fairly unpretentious but extremely effective proposition of Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahin which has shaped the brands image as a low cost store. Various companies like BMW prefer to keep their brands in growth stage by logically planned out introductions over time and thus not changing a whole model range at the same time. For instance, with the 3 series, BMW introduces the new sedan model one year, the new coupe the next year, then the convertible, then the station wagon, and then the sport. BMW often sees its best sales numbers in either the sixth or seventh year after the introduction.

Maturity Stage Maturity stage is the most profitable stage in the product life cycle. The brand reaches its peak sales and acquires a considerable market share. The sales continue to increase but at a decreasing rate and tend to approach the point of inflexion. The primary objective is to extend the lifecycle and continue to stay at this stage for as long as possible by defending the market share from the potential

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competitors. As the brand is all grown up, and well established in the marketplace, associating an aspirational aspect to it can improve the brand loyalty even to the extent of becoming a lovemark. Nikes Just do it is perhaps best example of taking a brand to the next higher level. Decline Stage The sales eventually begin to decline as the market saturates. This stage is characterized by falling prices, weakening competitiveness and emergence of new products. The product has an established brand loyalty but begins to lose profitability. The brands undergo a rejuvenation phase by launching a new variant or by adding another set of features into the existing variant. Toyota followed this concept by launching Innova as a replacement for its brand Qualis as soon as it hit the decline stage. Maruti Suzuki on the other hand decided to reengineer Zen and came up with Zen Estilo to boost up the sales. In a nut shell A companys branding strategies must change as the product and market change over the product life cycle. Products have a limited life and pass through different stages, each posing different challenges and opportunities. The goal is to increase the brand life and market share by creating an optimal business plan encapsulating the marketing, financial, manufacturing and human resource management strategies.

Co-authored by:

Piyush Marwaha MBA (IB) 2011-13

Sahil Saini

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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BRANDS HEAD-ON: THE NOODLE RIDDLE

Nothing is fascinating as the war of brands. Even more when you have a market leader with very little competition for the past three decades which enjoys a market share of 86% and after all these years has stiff competition from the new entrants. This is the scenario of the rapidly growing instant noodles market. share of Maggi from 90% in December 2009 to around 80% in August 2011. The Core of any brand- The Product The basic feature of noodles is taste and Maggi has spent years in innovation for a taste that caters to the entire country. Its the taste of Maggi that the Indian population is used to and there are two possibilities in the future. The consumer may want a change of taste and would love to switch on to other brands or he would stay with Maggi because it has created a love mark in the consumers mind. Maggi focusing on the former and sensing the threat of losing consumer loyalty has come with 6 different varieties of Maggi 2 minute noodles i.e. Masala, Chicken, Tricky Tomato, Thrillin Curry, Romantic capsica and now recently Guess the taste noodles wherein the consumer has to taste the product and name it. Also focusing on the health aspect, it has come with Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles and the Maggi Vegetable Multigrainz noodles.

The Battle is on Indian instant noodle market is currently valued at Rs.1300 crore and is growing at a rate of 25-30 % estimated per year. The total noodles penetration is increasing and the market has been lucrative because of its high profit margins. With the taste of the people changing from what it used to be in the past and noodles being considered not only as tiffin for children but also for lunch and dinner of adults the market is a great future prospect Maggi is to noodles as Xerox is to photocopy. The name itself has become generic and has ruled the market from 1984, when instant noodles were first introduced in the Indian market by Nestle India Ltd. It was challenged by Top Ramen, an Indo Nissin product in 1990 but Top Ramen failed to make an impact because of its distribution failure even though it enjoyed good brand loyalty. Currently, it has a market share of slightly more than 80%. Taking cue of the enormous growth potential of the noodles market, FMCG majors have entered into this market to challenge the supremacy of Maggi. HUL has introduced the Knorr soupy noodles, ITC has come with the Sunfeast Yippee which has rapidly gained a share of 10% and GSK has let out the Horlicks Foodles. Apart from these, we also have private labels such as Future Groups Tasty treat, Capital Foods Chings Secret and Smith & Jones. All this has led to the dip in market

Yippee on the other hand has only two flavors: Magic masala and Classic masala. Though the flavors are minimal, Yippee has an added advantage of being round stacks, as opposed to the usual rectangular ones which ensure longer noodles strands. Also, it resists clumping when served. Both the above mentioned attributes stand as a differentiator from Maggi which would be a big positive for the ITC brand.

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Foodles has come up with two flavors: Crazy Curry and Ala Masala. The main point of differentiation of Foodles is the health conscious factor being added on their noodles and the same has been illustrated in their publicity campaigns. Primarily focusing on health they have also introduced a health maker sachet which contains the essentials of 5 vitamins with the noodles. The Moolah factor The price of Maggi is Rs.10 for 85 gm. and this induced the rivals to launch the product in the similar price line, adopting the going rate approach. Yippee was launched at an equal price of Rs.10 for 90 gm. and Foodles entered the market at Rs.10 for one flavor and Rs.15 for another, both being packs of 80 gm. each. The recent entries made sure that the cost is no more expensive than the competition. Dense and Long Noodles reaching the masses The major factor in the success of these brands is their distribution network. Currently, Maggi through Nestle has a reach of around 3 million outlets. ITC has a reach of 2.5 million and is currently targeting 5 lakh outlets. ITC with the best distribution network and with the success of its chips brand Bingo against Lays has started large scale sampling of cooked noodles in large super markets such as Big Bazaar. Foodles has a reach of 2 lakh outlets out of GSKs total reach of 1 million. In the future, it all depends on how well these companies make use of their distribution network. What each noodle says Maggi initially targeted working women and later on added kids into this list. By the help of various ads and punch lines which included mother and children. Punch lines such as Mummy Im hungry, Taste bhi health bhi, Good Food Good Life and Me n Meri Maggi targeted the specific segments. Foodles mainly stressed on health and nutrition and positioned itself as Snacks with nutrition. This happened mainly because of growing health consciousness in Indians besides the growing penetration of noodles in our country.

Yippee positioned itself as happy, vibrant and fun loving that would appeal to the children. The ads were designed with this aspect in mind. It is also being promoted based on its key differentiating attributes of being round and nonsticky, which Maggi lacks. Besides this the point of sales marketing strategy used by ITC will also play a major role in deciding its share of the market. The noodle wrap Maggi comes in a yellow pack and Yippee has introduced the pack with yellow and red. Yellow will directly connect the pack with Maggi and the red colour will provide an added sense of vibrancy to the pack. This clearly shows that Yippee wants to eat up the share of Maggi and this in fact will have a direct impact on Maggi. This is the same strategy that ITC followed while introducing the Sunfeast Dark Fantasy. The packaging was in a similar base colour but more appetizing and rich than Britannias Pure Magic. This has led to the growth in its sales and a similar growth in Yippee at the cost of Maggi can also be expected. Foodles on the other hand comes in green packet which symbolizes health and which supports its positioning as a healthy noodle. Foodles has also come up with the family pack more or less similar to Maggi. The road ahead Though the fight between the brands seems to be unequal with Maggi being market leaders there is no guarantee that they will stay as leaders forever. The global markets have seen many pioneers falling to new entrants and eventually leaving space to new leaders. This can also be the case in the noodles segment. Maggi has to make sure that it stays in the top by retaining and also acquiring new customers through innovation, effective distribution and marketing. ITC which relies heavily on its distribution should focus more on the taste aspect which suits the Indians if it wants to make inroads into the existing market. Foodles on the other hand has to improve its distribution network and step its marketing initiative. Future will tell whether the leader stays at the top or is toppled by the other FMCG giants.
Jayanth Raj Prashant Sishodia

MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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MARKING COLGATE PALMOLIVE

From the conveyer belt to your hands

What can be better for a sales and marketing enthusiast than to accompany the area sales manager of one of the most successful FMCG companies on his sales beat? The exhilaration of being out there and seeing things transpire in front of ones eyes is incomparable and difficult to sum up in a few pages. The wisdom dished out in the real world far surpasses the theoretical knowledge contained in the pages of any marketing textbook. The day we spent with the Colgate Palmolive Sales team gave us invaluable insights into the world of urban retailing. We learnt that in the world of retailing, the product is the muse that must appeal to the discerning eye of the consumer, luring him into its ambit, casting its sweetly seductive spell around him. The Indian retail sector is a medley of stores of different formats. It embodies the diversity that India aptly personifies. Just like India is an amalgamation of people of different castes, creeds and religions, the retail sector is a patchwork of modern retail stores, general stores, kirana shops, mini marts, paan shops etc. Each catering to its unique clientele, each store is indispensable to its dedicated set of customers. The various kinds of formats where Colgate Palmolive operates in general trade are as follows: Kirana Stores- Nestled quietly in residential areas, these stores enjoy the patronage of the inhabitants of the localities where they are found. Unassuming, convenient, stocking the essentials, and with personalized service, this is where the customer heads for his usual top-ups. Or to put it simply, this is where you would go when you wake up one morning to realize that you have run out of toothpaste. General Store- Larger than the kirana store and strategically located, the general store caters to a wider customer base and offers a larger assortment of products. This is the place where the meticulous shopper heads out with his list of all that must be replenished during the course of the month/fortnight. Medicine Store- The store offering the panacea to the ills hounding humanity, this is where people come looking for solutions to their problems. The purchases made from these stores are usually planned and the people coming here are not impulsive shoppers but those with specific purchase needs. Wholesale stores- These mammoth stores are the one stop refilling shops for all the small kirana stores, pan shops etc. These bulk sellers are the channels that replenish the small stores when they run dry. Minimarts- The minimart is a hybrid of a mall and the general store. These stores provide ample opportunity to the customer to interact with the product. Located in posh areas, these cater to customers looking for a wider range of products and boast of many facilities like air-conditioning, aisle displays etc. So although the retail sector might seem cluttered, there is order in this chaos, just like theres an innate beauty in anarchy.

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While purchasing a tube of toothpaste, who would have actually thought of the intricacies of the supply chain, or the diligent planning that actually goes into getting the finished product from the factory to the nearby kirana shop. A brief snapshot of the Colgate Palmolive distribution model would look like this:

Factory

Warehouse

Depot

Stockist

Hub

Satellite

The manufacturing of the products takes place in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, after which they are moved to the company warehouses. From here the goods are dispatched to the depots, after which the next stop for the finished goods is the stockist. The stockists dispatch the goods to the different retail stores, classified under the different formats based on how the consumer perceives them, as mentioned above. This long chain finally ends at the consumers doorstep. So now you know how the tube of Colgate that you use daily to brush those pearly whites ended up in your home.

Pictures of one of the Plants, Goa

After Mr. Rajiv Rajan had explained the process of how the products of Colgate-Palmolive move from the factory to the retailers, we had the opportunity of benefiting from a tour of the different kind of retail shops in Malviya Nagar from where their products are sold. We were accompanied on the tour by Mr.Ravinder Singh Chauhan, a colleague of Mr. Rajans, who took the pains of elaborating upon the nuances of the ways in which Colgate-Palmolive and indeed most FMCGs attempt to attract consumers towards their products and away from that of their rivals in these shops. All of us must have seen Colgate-Palmolives products in possibly every retail shop that we have visited in our lives. However, the way in which Mr. Rajan and Mr.Chauhan explained the strategy that goes behind the placement of their products in a certain way and in certain locations of these shops helped us view things in a different light altogether. For example, we understood the importance of keeping a companys products at the eye-level of consumers, using as many product facings as possible (face on in case of larger stores and end on in case of smaller ones where theres a space constraint), keeping the

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brands the company is trying to push and the ones with special offers in front of the others, and positioning the special focus brand in strategic locations in the store.

In the case of Colgate, the focus brand was the recently launched Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief (CSPR), we could therefore clearly understand the thinking behind placing the brand in an FSU in a relatively big departmental store like Om Daily Needs and in strategic locations such as aisle interrupters in smaller stores such as Chaudhary Ram & Sons and Harmilapi Stores. We also understood that the toothpaste, mouthwash and toothbrush brands are usually located close to each other as they serve similar purposes. We also observed how Colgate brands often enjoy the space of a full shelf in most stores, which is not the case with its competitors. This is a clear reflection of their high market share in the toothpaste category. Of these, apart from CSPR, we also observed the Colgate Total and Colgate Max Fresh brands being the ones with the most product facings while a brand like Colgate Dental Cream (CDC) was generally placed behind them. This was explained by the fact that although all three brands enjoy immense popularity, CDC enjoys a greater market share in the rural market while the others generally enjoy a higher demand in urban markets and are therefore placed within easy reach of consumers. Toothbrushes such as the Colgate Super Flexi, Colgate Zigzag and Colgate Cibaca also occupied pride of position in most of these stores.

Pictures of the Branch Office, Chennai

However, the fact that the Palmolive arm of Colgate-Palmolive contributes a low percentage to their sales was evident from the lack of visibility of Palmolive products. The only brands we saw were Palmolive shaving cream, Halo shampoo and Palmolive Thermal Spa Facewash. However this may also be explained by the fact that according to Mr.Chauhan, the products are currently out of stock at the warehouses. Also low in visibility was the Colgate Plax mouthwash which again may be explained by the fact that the mouthwash category is possibly yet to substantially penetrate the oral care products market in India.

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In the kirana stores such as R.K. Confectioner & General Store and Kishan Lal Store, we finessed a different setup altogether. Products were not classified according to type as in the departmental stores and the same product could therefore be found in different areas of the same shop. However, one could find both low end as well as high end products in these shops, mainly due to the varied economic classes of their clientele. Again, in medical stores such as Prakash Chemist, Narang Brothers, Batra Medico, Raman Medicos and Genuine Medicines we observed that while Colgate toothpastes and toothbrushes were present here as well, with usually entire shelves being devoted to them, as a testament to Colgates product extension, pharmaceutical products like Gel Kam and Perio Gard were also present, albeit in lesser numbers. Finally, Mr.Chauhan was kind enough to drive us over to Madangiri, an area which is home to large wholesalers who sell their products to smaller retailers who come from as far as 5 or even 10 kms around. They usually stock up on almost all products of particular sectors, although they obviously prefer those with a higher demand such as Max Fresh and Total toothpaste, in case of Colgates products. Even here, in stores such as Gupta General Stores and Jindal Stores, we saw how Colgate is pushing CSPR by providing them with table-top showcases devoted only to this brand. This entire process gave us an overview of the entire gamut of retailers involved in the sale of Colgate-Palmolive products to their consumers. So, in the course of a few hours, from being utter novices in the field of sales and marketing we became attuned to the flavor of the workings of this highly intricate world, albeit to a limited extent.

Abhimanyu Das & Apurva Joshi MBA (IB) 2011-13, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi Special thanks to Mr.Rajiv Rajan and Mr. Ravinder Singh Chauhan of Colgate-Palmolive and Ms. Prerna Parija of IIFT 2010-12

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Talent Acquisition & Development

Shivani Singh (HR Manager, Colgate-Palmolive)
What are the activities designed for a conducive work environment at Colgate Palmolive? Colgate is proud of its healthy work culture. Our flexi time policy promotes work life balance. We are focused on having a diverse workforce. Activities like Annual Day are great opportunities to interact with one another. Employees get to hone their competencies by participating in global training modules. Some new initiatives include the Colgate Womens Network and Health and Wellness activities. Employer branding is fast gaining importance and more corporates are working towards it. Are there any conscious efforts put in by the company or any integrated approach towards enhancing the employer brand? We manage our Brand on campuses by engaging effectively with students. Synergy as a concept is very popular. How do you design a job in order to get the best out of the employee? We focus on the person job fit at the time of recruitment itself. The aim is to hire people whose functional and behavioral competencies match the requirements of the job / role. Is there any Career Development Path followed or any framework for the same? How about interdisciplinary switch? Career Development Paths are shared on campuses at the time of hiring. These are indicative plans and depend on business situations, position availability and individual performance. Employees maintain Individual Development Plans where they capture their strengths, areas of improvement, career aspirations and development plans. These are constantly reviewed and updated. What are the essentials you look for in a potential employee to be a proper fit in ColgatePalmolive? It is important for us to understand if the potential employees value system matches our ethics and beliefs. Assessing the cultural fit of the individual is an integral part of our hiring process. Along with these traits, our focus is on understanding the competencies that the individual exhibits. Your fondest memory at Colgate-Palmolive Colgate is a company with a strong culture of teamwork. Working with my colleagues in HR as well as the Business has been a great experience. Most of the cherished memories revolve around working in these teams. Interviewed by: Gaurav Gudhka & Prerna Parija

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Rendevous with Parul Patel, Marketing

Manager, Colgate-Palmolive
How has been your journey with Colgate-Palmolive? I have been fortunate to have different experiences at Colgate over the last few years. I have worked on 8 assignments in 10 years. Launching 2 brands Colgate Max Fresh and Colgate Active Salt was a highlight in my career. I also had an opportunity to work with the Global Marketing Team which was a great learning. What kind of integration do you witness between Business strategy and Marketing strategy? The Business and Marketing strategies are very much linked with each other. A robust marketing strategy is imperative to deliver the business. Thus, they are intertwined. What kind of challenges and opportunities do you face in the Indian market? The market is rapidly changing and consumers are constantly evolving. The needs of the rural market need to be kept in mind. Thus, it is important to adapt to changes at a fast pace. Any specific strategy employed by Colgate-Palmolive to overcome such a challenge in Indian market that you would like to share? The company is evolving and innovating! We are reaching out to our consumers with specific product solutions like Colgate Plax Mouthwash and Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief. Products like these represent the science behind the smile. Are there any products planned for the future targeted only at the Bottom of the Pyramid market? The potential is always being worked upon. Its important to see how we can make our existing products available in a manner that is profitable to the organization. Your fondest memory at Colgate-Palmolive The Marketing team is like a college campus. The people I work with are not just colleagues but my friends. We look forward to our parties in order to create great memories and celebrate success together.
Interviewed by:

Head Office, Mumbai

Gaurav Gudhka & Prerna Parija

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THE INDIAN SERVICE SECTOR: SERVING UP INDIAS STRONGEST BRANDS

The other day, during the course of my aimless web-wanderings I came across a very interesting blog post on India. Authored by a Westerner, it speaks of how his perception about India has undergone a sea change over the last three decades What was once the land of mysticism and magic is today the land of software boom outsourcers, bankers and Bollywood films. Now, the reason I quote his fairly commonplace statement in this article is to underline the contribution of our service brands in raising the countrys standing around the world, so much so that India has become synonymous with a strong service industry. It comes as no surprise then to know that Indian Hotels and Oberoi Hotels are ranked among some of the best hotels in the world (Source T+L) further enhancing Indias reputation for hospitality. In fact, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) is the largest hotel operator in South Asia with an inventory of 12,200 rooms (103 hotels) across India and international markets (USA, Australia, Maldives, Malaysia, UK, and Sri Lanka). Also, the only Indian brand that figures among the top 100 brands in the Millward Brown BrandZ 2011 list ICICI belongs to the services industry. However, sustaining the brands success story in the domestic market is easier said than done as even well-established homespun service brands will have to contend with the entry of highly reputed international service majors. Cases in point - Riding on a growing propensity of eating out and growing disposable income, several businesses have either raised funds or are planning to do so to invest in Food and Beverages retail. How have Indian brands been reacting to such competition? Caf Coffee Day, India's largest caf chain, has come out unscathed since its birth despite innumerable challenges it faced from wellestablished and highly-experienced competitors. CCD crossed over 1000 cafes throughout the nation by 2011 and made its foray into the international market of Coffee cafes by opening outlets at Karachi, Vienna and most recently in Prague. Caf coffee day, in June 2010, acquired Caf Emporio - A caf chain from Czech Republic. Cafe Emporio has 11 cafes in Czech Republic - 7 of them in Prague and 1 each in Brno and Olomouc and 2 at Freeport-Hate. The CCD story is not just in its numbers, though. Harish Bijoor, a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) at Hyderabad and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults opines - "Coffee Day has brought about a paradigm shift in the caf space in India. Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of the IT and R&D services company Mind Tree Consulting,

So whats the secret recipe for the success of our service brands? How did ICICI manage this honour? With a soaring population and an everexpanding middle class base, consumer spending and demand for goods and services in India has been increasing exponentially. A brand which is able to capitalize on the same by building strong equity and capture a significant portion of the market share in India is bound to go big because of the sheer size of the countrys population. This is one of the major reasons behind ICICIs success story - its high prevalence in the domestic market.

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and author of the book, The High Performance Entrepreneur, adds - "Caf Coffee Day has redefined the coffee experience; it has been a trendsetter in the caf space. Siddhartha has raised the coffee from a brew to an experience." CCD is also experimenting now with new formats, such as lounge cafs serving plated meals in addition to the sandwiches, pastries and croissants offered in the cafs. What emerges from the CCD example is the importance of relentless innovation and continuous brand building, something which many Indian service brands have adopted quite well Bharti Airtels logo communicating its global presence and synergy of worldwide operations, IHCL planning to add eight hotels

across various geographies between 2011 and 2014 to cater to its growing set of consumers. Indian services brands thus have done themselves some good by understanding the timely importance of occupying space in the minds of consumers in addition to occupying space in the market. This has helped many services brands leave a global impact while brands of several other categories have a long way to go.

Bhavna Verma MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi

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AMBUSH MARKETING
Last year on July 23, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) launched the brand campaign for the new Pantene by putting up hoardings across Mumbai, saying A Mystery Shampoo!! 80% women say is "ambush marketing" was coined by the famous marketing strategist Jerry Welsh, while he was working as the manager of global marketing efforts for the American Express Company in the 1980s. It has been traditionally associated with major sporting events such as Olympics, where big corporations try to fuel their brand value by creating an association with an event without being authorized to do so. However, the concept of ambush marketing is no longer limited to sporting events. The example presented above is a classic case of ambush marketing. So to put it quite simply, ambush marketing is a company feeding off its competitors campaign. In the ever dynamic sphere of marketing ambush marketing is an extremely interesting concept. Using a competitors weapon is an intricate art. One better than anything else'. The product was to be unveiled on August 1. However, P&Gs arch rivals, HUL figured out that the shampoo brand was Pantene. HUL along with their advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather decided to take the fight to P&G by using their ad-campaign strategy against them. On July 28, HUL put up hoardings which said: 'There is no mystery. Dove is the No.1 shampoo'. By killing the mystery, HUL ambushed P&G. HUL is the market leader with a market share of 44% while P&G is a distant second with 24% of market share. As per Nielsen Dove is way ahead of Pantene, Dove has a value share of 18.6% as compared to 10.1% of Pantene. Ambush marketing has been defined as a marketing strategy in which a competitor seeks to steal the steam of marketing campaign of an official sponsor of a particular event. The term

has to be extremely cautious of designing the strategy in such a way so as to not only generate maximum steam for the brand but to also avoid getting entangled in legal hassles. The Ambushers need to refer to themselves and to

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their goods and services in a crafty manner so as to not infringe upon Intellectual Property (IP) protection of the target. The Ambusher might also end up popularizing the competitors brand as well. The company has to allude to its competitors campaign in a subtle yet profound manner, a thin line to tread on surely. There are various types of ambush marketing, some of which are: "Predatory" ambushing: The Ambusher intentionally associates itself with an event being officially sponsored by a competitor in order to confuse consumers & steal market share. An e.g. is when in 1984 Olympics Kodak sponsored TV broadcasts of the Games as well as the US track team despite Fujifilm being the official sponsor. "Coattail" ambushing: As per this strategy, the Ambusher plays up a legitimate connection with an entity which does not involve any financial sponsorship. In 1998 FIFA World Cup Nike sponsored a number of teams competing in the Cup despite Adidas being the official sponsor. Ambushing via trademark/likeness infringement: This is a more audacious form of ambushing wherein the Ambusher makes a reference to tournaments, teams or athletes, words and symbols. Before the 2002 football World Cup, for instance, Pepsi ran ads featuring prominent footballers like Roberto Carlos. An Argentine court ordered Pepsis ads off the air for showing Tokyo 2002 in shots featuring soccer stars, though the soft drink giant had nothing to do with the event. Ambushing "by association": In this form, there is usage of images or words in a manner so as to create an illusion of an association to an event which in reality does not exist. A classic e.g. is Pepsis series of advertisements titled "nothing official about it" targeting the official sponsor, Coca-Cola during 1996 Cricket World Cup. Ambushing "by distraction": This requires setting up of a promotional hoarding or event in close proximity to a competitors campaign, a tacit attack. As an e.g. when Jet Airways came up with a hoarding saying Weve changed, their campaign was ambushed by Kingfisher Airlines who put up a hoarding vertically above Jets hoarding, saying Weve made them change. Talking about the Kingfisher Airlines-Jet Airways war, it is interesting to note that Go Air also joined

the war of words by placing its hoarding vertically higher than the other two, stating We have not changed we are still the smartest way to fly. After having acquired Sahara Airlines, Jet renamed it JetLite. Many changes were introduced which were being promoted through this campaign. The uniform of the crew was changed so as to align it with rest of the Jet crew. Improvements were made in the quality of food and booking engine behind the JetLite website. In order to make the seats more comfortable, most of the seats of JetLite were also changed. However Kingfisher totally hijacked the campaign of Jet in a classic exhibition of ambush marketing. The Jet Airways group, comprising of Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect and Jet Lite, leads the industry with a market share of 27% followed by Kingfisher airline with a share of 20%. One also needs to acknowledge the negative impact ambush marketing has on business in general. A sponsor pays heft amount of money to associate itself officially with an event and expects exclusivity in return. Ambush marketing not only infringes on its exclusivity but also takes

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away a major chunk of market share. In such a scenario a company may become apprehensive of going for official association and instead prefer ambushing. Given that a major chunk of any sporting event comes from corporate marketing sponsors, broadcast rights fees, and royalties from official merchandise licensees, such a case is highly undesirable. Regardless of the high wit and in some cases, humor; it is imperative to either create a new law or update existing laws on IPR so as to bring

ambush marketing under the ambit of judiciary in order to safe-guard the interest of official sponsors. However, drafting such a legislation would be extremely tricky given the indirect nature and tactics of ambush marketing. As far as the ethics dimension is concerned, marketing is a field where the line is extremely fine and majority of decisions fall in a grey zone. Its unavoidable given the nature of the work. When you have to kill the competition to promote your brand one tends to perceive these things as occupational hazards.

Lalit Gupta MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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REVIEW OF THE BEST 100 GLOBAL BRANDS 2010: A Summary of Interbrands Report
Change is inevitable and this has been substantiated by the changing customer and brand relation round the world in 2010 after the change in spending patterns post 2008 recession. But this time the customers came back well informed and were aware of what they were buying, thanks to social media, technology and other vehicles aimed at customer awakening. So, the task for the brands was not only to retain their customers but also to keep the processes to be as transparent as possible in order to develop a deeper relationship with them. As expected, the so called stereotyped organizations faced some difficulties. Still brand plays a major role in the lives of customers as it brings trust in addition to choices in their lives. Be it Coca-cola or Ford, these names still hold their customers trust. It was made possible only because of the better integration of these brands with their customers, be it through a social media campaign or through utilizing their feedback in creating a better product. Commitment: A measure of organizations internal commitment to or belief in its brand. It is the extent to which the brand receives support in terms of time, influence and investment. Protection: This examines a secure a brand is across Though the volatility of customer base is quite common these days for dimensions: from legal protection and proprietary ingredients smaller brands, but whats the magic to design, scale or geographical spread. formula used by some well known Clarity: Brands values, positioning and proposition must be giants to engage their customer. shared across the organization, along with a clear view of its target audiences, customer insights and drivers. Its simply the 4Ps of marketing Responsiveness: This looks at brands ability to adapt to redefined as a set of 10 market changes, challenges and opportunities. The brand characteristics as mentioned below which a brand needs to imbibe in should be able to constantly evolve and renew itself. order to sustain for a longer time Authenticity: This asks if a brand has a defined heritage and a (Coca-Cola for sustaining 124 years is well-grounded value set, as well as if it can deliver against a great example). customers expectations. Relevance: This estimates how well a brand fits with customer Commitment needs, desires and decision criteria across all appropriate Protection Clarity demographics and geographies. Responsiveness Understanding: Customers must have an in-depth Authenticity understanding of brands distinctive qualities and Relevance Understanding characteristics, as well as those of the brand owner. Consistency Consistency: This measures the degree to which a brand is Presence experienced without fail across all touchpoints and formats. Differentiation Presence: This measures the degree to which a brand feels omnipresent and how positively consumers, customers and opinion formers discuss it in both traditional and social media. Differentiation: This is the degree to which customers perceive the brand to have a positioning that is distinct from the competition.

10 PILLARS OF BRAND BUILDING

Criteria for inclusion and the methodology used

Naturally, choosing the top 100 brands cannot be a stroll in the park, and so the criteria and the methodology chosen are vital. The brands eligible to be a part of this analysis had to fulfill certain requirements: the brand should be global, visible and relatively transparent in financial results with a public profile and awareness beyond its own marketplace. The following three criteria were adopted to determine the best brands:

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1.

2. 3.

Financial performance: After calculating the net operating profit, charges used to generate a brands revenues are deducted, which is then multiplied with the weighted average cost of capital. The financial performances are analysed over a five year period, and also expected returns after the forecast period. Role of brands: It is the excess of demand which comes because of a product or service being branded over a product or service which was unbranded. Brand strength: It is a 100 point scale measured over the ten parameters mentioned above, relative to other brands, and in case of special brands, to other world class brands.

TOP 3 GAINERS 2010

+37% APPLE +36% GOOGLE +32% BLACKBERRY

TOP 10 BRANDS OF 2010 1.COCA

COLA

TOP 3 LOSERS 2010

-24%
HARLEY DAVIDSON

-16% TOYOTA -15%

NOKIA

HOW THEY DID IT

2.IBM
3.MICROSOFT 4.GOOGLE 5.GE 6.McDONALDS

HOW THEY LOST IT

The fact that Coca Cola retained its numero uno status just shows how seriously and judiciously it handles its brand image, and the astonishing statistic of it being a 124-year old company has not stopped it from reinventing itself. Through its catchy ad campaigns, and most of all its embrace of the social networking space like Facebook, Twitter (it has immense fan following on both), it has stayed in the public consciousness. Also, with its corporate social responsibilities in which, too, it is a leader, Coca Cola has etched an indelible mark in the hearts and the psyche of the global, ubiquitous citizen.

7.INTEL 8.NOKIA 9.DISNEY 10.HP

Since the onset of recession, HarleyDavidson, like most auto companies in the world, suffered many reverses. That it managed to hold on to a place in this list suggests its resilience as a brand, and its brand image. The recession has also led to the restructuring of the brand as a whole, which saw discontinuation of products such as Buell. But therein lies the catch. The longer H-D postpones innovation, the sooner will it sound its death knell, and it is also very suggestive that while it survived on this list, it has barely managed to hold on, and matters are compounded by the fact that its CEO is not an ardent loyalist of the brand by not riding a Harley.

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Sector-wise Analysis of Brands

40% 30% 20% 10% 4% -9% -4% 8% 2% 3% 15% 6% 1% 1% 8% 1% -5% 26% 12% 1% -3% 27% 24% 15% 1% -10% -4% 8% 4% 2008 -3% 2009

0%
-10% -20% -30% -40%

2010

-40% -50%
The above figure is very suggestive of the changes that have occurred over the last fiscal, and something which bodes well for the future too. It is basically a representation of the annual growth in combined brand value of some sectors of the Best Global Brands for 2008, 2009, and 2010. These values may be affected by entry or exit of a brand. For instance, the financial services sector, which got a solid thrashing in 2009, bounced back to post a very respectable rate of growth, thanks to aggressive entrants and stable banking practitioners. Most notable among them is Santander, which debuted on the list at a respectable 68 th. Other companies in this sector include JP Morgan(29), HSBC(32), Citi(40). As for internet services sector, Google(4) rules the roost, with its aggressive marketing tactics, and its innovation which is unmatched. Other brands in this sector include Yahoo!(66), which has tied up with Microsoft. Regarding the food sector, convenience is still the mantra to be adhered to for brands. Established brands like McDonalds(6) and KFC(60) are following the mantra of smart packaging, and creating new occasions for customers to visit them. KFC is also expanding in markets like India, in keeping with its global strategy. Nowadays, all brands have to master the invasive and pervasive technology, through which they can reach everybody under the sun. Be it luxury brands like Tiffany(76), retail brands like H&M(21) and Zara(48), embracing the digital and social media is the way to a successful future for every brand which has made its presence in this list. It is equally true for fashion brands like Gucci(44), Louis Vuitton(16), or Burberry(100) as well, any brand which masters technology masters the market and the minds of the customers.

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A break up of the brands which made it to the top 100 from various countries and their total worth is given below:

Some new brands which made their entry this year were: Burberry (100), Zurich (94), Heineken (93), Johnnie Walker (92), 3M (90), Corona (85), Credit Suisse (80), Jack Daniels (78), Barclays (74), Santander (68)and Sprite (61).

The Final Word

According to the International Monetary Fund, emerging markets now represent about one third of the worlds GDP and are growing much faster than mature economies. These markets are also fertile ground for creativity and innovation: an ideal environment for dynamic, value-creating brand growth. A changing environment is business as usual in fast-developing markets. To take full advantage of the many opportunities available, brands must learn how to read, react and go with the flow.

Summarised by: Harshit Didwania, J. Rahul & Prashant Sishodia MBA (IB) 2011-2013 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT

A Visit to Vasant Kunj area of Delhi has become a pilgrimage (a topic of keen interest) for people who worship high end luxury brands, reason being the opening of new mall DLF Emporio consisting of 3 floors of only high end luxury brands. But keen topic of interest to the marketers is the management of these luxury brands and their management in the Indian context.

Luxury as a concept is defined within the scope of socio-psychology as a result of its connection to a culture, state of being and lifestyle, whether it is personal or collective. When linked to brands, it is characterised by a recognisable style, strong identity, high awareness, and enhanced emotional and symbolic associations. A luxury brand is one which is known to everyone, desired by everyone but consumed by only a privileged few. In order to become a consumer for such luxury brands you need to cross a few walls called by economist as entry barriers. These walls or entry barriers are created through pricing, exclusive distribution and aesthetics. Any luxury-goods marketer needs to start with the knowledge that no one needs your stuff, anyway. You have to transform your goods into an experience to make a difference to the consumer.

Exclusivity in luxury products is changing from price-driven to scarcity-driven. Limited editions of some high end luxury cars like Porsche and Rolls Royce are few such instances. For others, the desire for scarcity translates into events. For example there is a restaurant in Australia which takes bookings only through internet; no one knows its location. On the day of invitation 50 guests are invited to a secret location which they are told not to disclose to anyone and they do so as they feel exclusive about the fact that they are among the selected few who have been invited to such a unique experience. The restaurant charges premium for this exclusivity.

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One more important aspect of a luxury brand should be in terms of the luxury in after sales service and great perks which come along with the luxury products. The often quoted example, Harley Davidson has exclusive bike clubs for the owners of the bike. Members of this club get invitation to various bike trips organized by Harley Davidson and get an invitation to exclusive parties organized by Harley Davidson. The size of the luxury market in India is expected to reach USD 30 Bn by 2015, up from USD 3.5 Bn in 2007.For a luxury Brand to succeed in India localization of marketing strategies is of prime importance. This does not mean promoting the product through a local celebrity or putting Indian print on the product. This goes as deep as understanding the cultural differences between various groups in India. India with its vast number of languages, religions, festivals etc is a perfect example of unity in diversity. So it is about understanding the difference between the outgoing and outspoken nature of a Punjabi and a soft approach of a Bengali. Brands like Harley Davidson have also localised their approaches, identifying important events and celebrations amongst potential clients. These events include road shows and rock concerts. Getting foothold in the Indian sub-continent is a challenge for every Western luxury brand that has tried to penetrate this complex new market. The brands who are willing to better understand and connect with the local Indian consumer will be the ones who will be successful. Role of a Luxury Brand manager The primary role of a luxury brand manager is to understand the heritage and history of the brand and to make sure that the brand becomes popular and still retains its exclusivity. He should make sure that brand becomes popular among the masses in terms of desire and at same time induce high end customers for purchase. Networking with the clients by attending dinner parties and throwing promotional event parties is one of the most important aspects of the job of a Luxury Brand Manager. It is essential for luxury brand managers to be in love with their product and believe that the company offers a value addition in terms of status and elegance to its client. A luxury brand manager needs to constantly question and redefine the contours of luxury keeping in mind changing perceptions and tastes of people. To conclude it can be said that the luxury Market around the world is changing with the emergence of newer market in India, China, Middle East, Mexico and Brazil. There is a shifting of purchasing power from the western world to these markets. It is believed that in the next decade the combined revenue of these regions would surpass those of Europe, U.S.A or Japan. These market dynamics are changing the luxury landscape, and therefore luxury management practices require revisiting and refining the current practices to adapt to the local regions of these countries.

Siddharth Girdhar & Rajat Sabharwal MBA (IB) 2010-12 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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MARKETING LINGOS
Guerilla Marketing | It refers to unconventional, innovative, flexible, simple, fun, highly targeted marketing strategies intended to get maximum results using minimal resources (time, money, energy). It involves unusual approaches such as intercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, or any unconventional marketing. E.g.1. Duracell: Placed a Torch with Duracell written on it at the headlight of the bus in such a way that it seemed the headlights are operated through the Duracell batteries. Similarly on a advertising post with continuous light. E.g.2. Alzheimers New Zealand: Created a Eraser USB Stick wherein the USBs cap had Alzheimers Eraser written on them, and Your Memories, Save them written on the USB Stick Meme | A meme is a self-explanatory symbol, word or a combination that immediately communicates an entire idea. It is capable of breaking through today's sensory overload. It can be used as a shortcut to communicating value in an increasingly overcrowded marketing environment. It can immediately communicate to prospective clients who you are and why they should do business with you. E.g.1. Sprint: Pin Dropping. Often people characterize a quiet environment as being so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Using that single thought, a graphic representation of a pin dropping marketing was created. When people see this meme, the pin drop, they know it means clear communication. E.g.2. Malboro Cowboy: Became a symbol for rugged individualism and freedom. Europeans immediately understood its meaning because it represented so many things that they had seen only in movies before and it became hugely successful. Reverse Graffiti | Also known as clean advertising, it is a method of creating temporary images on walls or other surfaces by removing dirt from a surface. Because it is temporary, biodegradable, and no hard materials such as ink, paper, or chemicals are used in its production, it is considered an environmentally friendly way of advertising. It is a simple but effective media for getting your advertising message onto the streets, contrasting sharply with the dirty surface and thus standing out.

E.g. Mnemonic Branding | It is a brand retention tools that help customers recall larger pieces of information through short verbal and non-verbal connections like a short poem, word, music, image, logos, and punch line, etc. It helps in increasing brand recall and brand perception, generates an emotional attachment with the brand, thereby, increasing the brand loyalty.

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E.g. Nike Swoosh Logo, Shell Graphic, Amuls utterly butterly girl, Zoozoos of Vodafone, Intel Inside Sound and punch lines like Kuch Meetha ho jaaye by Cadbury, Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola etc Multi Level Marketing | MLM is a technique some companies employ to market, sell and distribute their products (or services). They do so through independent sales people, often referred to as (independent) consultants or representatives. Independent means they are neither employed nor subcontracted. The sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Lot of companies use this hierarchical setup for marketing like Mary Kay, Oriflame, Amway, Shaklee etc. E.g. Amway features over 450 exclusive products and services, and an extremely advanced global ordering and distribution network. Amways compensation plan is a traditional stair-step-breakaway which is characterized by distributors who must have both personal and group sales volumes. Once the established personal and/or group goals are achieved, the distributor breaks away from their upline. Crowdsourcing | Using collective intelligence and information gathered from the public to complete business-related tasks. Companies are often attracted to it because it expands their talent pool and is often free. E.g. The Oxford English Dictionary made an open call for volunteers to index words in the English language and provide example quotations for their usage. They got 6 million entries for the project. Bait-and-switch advertising | It is a form of deceptive advertising where the customers are baited or lured by advertising a low-priced product (with the advertiser having no intention of selling it), and when customers arrive, switching them to a costlier product by saying that the advertised product is unavailable or is of inferior quality Psychological pricing | A pricing strategy designed to have a certain psychological impact, such as when a product is priced at $9.95 or $9.99 rather than $10.00. It has been proved that people view the odd price of .99 more favourably than the rounded value as they pay more attention to the left digits. Banks providing interest rates of 7.95% rather than 8% is another example. Referral premium | A premium offered to customers for helping to sell a product or service to a friend or acquaintance. It is a structured process used by companies to maximise the potential use of word-ofmouth marketing by encouraging customers to spread the word about the companys offerings. E.g. In 2009, Dropbox implemented a referral program, whereby if a person successfully registered on their website through someones referral, both he and the one who sent the referral would get extra storage space for free. Freebie marketing | Here, one product is sold at a low price or given away free to increase the sales of a complementary item and thus derive a net profit. Also known as the razor and blades business model due to its massive use by Gillette when it gave away free razor handles but sold razor blades at a higher margin to gain a long-term net profit. Also used by printer companies selling low-priced printers but costly ink cartridges.

Harshit Didwania & Sidharth Nanda MBA (IB) 2011-13 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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PRODUCT LAUNCHPAD
Company: TVS Sector: Automobiles New Product: TVS

Wego

With the battle for the third spot fought hard between TVS Motors and HMSI, both the companies have pushed the Launch button. After aggressive launches from Honda, TVS has ensured that they are not left behind. With the clutchless wonder Jive, TVS has launched the 110cc unisex scooter Wego in Pune in a bid to make sure that the product reaches all major potential parts of the country. HMSI leads the scooter market with their omnipresent Activa followed by other similar models. Wego is a direct attempt at the largest selling Activa in a bid to regain the lost ground. Wego is powered by a 109.7cc air cooled 4 stroke engine which is capable of producing 8PS at 7500 rpm and an equal amount of torque which peaks at 5500 rpm. These figures seem comparable to the competition, a lot will demystify once you thoroughly test ride this machine. That seems a lot of innovation and a very worthy attempt at the competition. TVS has kept the pricing of the scooter very competitive at 42,361 ex showroom Pune which is on the similar lines of Activa. TVS plans to sell 20,000 units for this scooter per month once the scooter has been made available all around the country. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Company: Johnson & Johnson Ltd. Sector: Pharmaceutical and Healthcare New Product: Nicorette Leading pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson Ltd. launched its nicotine gum brand Nicorette in India. The sugar-free gum helps reduce nicotine craving. Nicorette is available in packs of 4mg (10 gums) for heavy smokers through a doctor's prescription. Also available is an over-the-counter product of 2mg (4 & 10 gums)for light smokers. A nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product, Nicorette provides therapeutic and clean nicotine, slowly and in lesser quantities as compared to a cigarette. It is just enough to satisfy the smoker's nicotine craving. ________________________________________________________________________________________________

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International Product: Lovoka Caramel And Chocolate Liqueur in a distinctive aluminium bottle. Lovoka, a new entrant to the premium liqueur category in South Africa has shown that innovation in this area by South African brands is alive and well. Lovoka, available in Caramel and Chocolate variants was quietly launched. The product has proven to be extremely successful with sales growing exponentially. The entrepreneurial team behind Lovoka noticed a gap for a premium liqueur that would appeal to both the shooter market and the cocktail shakers. What was clear however was that in order to ensure success, the new product had to provide excitement and quality, not only the product itself, but the packaging too. In order to ensure that the packaging personified the brand and the product, a brief was put out for a bottle that would reflect the uniqueness and innovative nature of the new drink. A worldwide search resulted in the now distinctive aluminium bottles being sourced from Europe. The innovative offering, bottled in a 750ml aluminium bottle is fast becoming a South African favourite. Lovoka Caramel and Lovoka Chocolate not only provide a fresh alternative to the shooter market, but the product lends itself to being blended in cocktails enjoyed with coffee and is perfect poured over ice and enjoyed slowly. Lovoka has proven its popularity with the consumers across all ages and is also seen as the perfect dinner party gift.

Karun Bharati MBA (IB) 2010-12 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata

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It is no longer enough to satisfy customers. You must delight them.

- Philip Kotler

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