IIPM ARTICLE AND PUBLICATION: August 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

IIPM Organized Events - IIPM Ahmedabad - MOONWALK party for Spring Summer batch of 2010-2012

IIPM Ahmedabad organized the MOONWALK party for Spring Summer batch of 2010-2012 at Fire & Flames on 19th June 2010. One thing is certain at IIPM, students never have dull moments. At the start of their academic year comes the fun filled MOONWALK Party, which blends all the students to common rhythm. All in all, its a great get away from the academic grip, a chance to rejuvenate and replenish their youthful vigor.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Pradeep Shrivastava

CMO, Idea Cellular Ltd.

In a highly commoditised telecom market, the challenge was to break away from the clutter and resonate with a diverse target audience. Based on the insight that mobile is a life-transforming tool, our first campaign in the What an Idea Sirji series ‘World Sans Division’ was created. All our campaigns - Education for all, Walk when you talk and the recent campaign Use Mobile, Save Paper - reinforce the core philosophy of our brand “An idea can change your life”. Idea brand today commands respect and admiration for its ability to look at mobile telephony as a tool of transformation, as a weapon of change. Since advertising is always a reflection of and a response to socio-cultural change, the thought resonates with the audience.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Amit Tiwari

Country Manager – Media, Phillips Electronics India Ltd.

My past experience in media complemented my move to lead the Phillips brand. As part of my first mandate to build the brand, I took a key step with Phillips to bet on Cricket, India’s second religion. Knowing that in highly cluttered space and in the face of a rapid increase in the cost of sponsorships, we would not be able to take make visible impact on the live shows, I decided to place our wager on the pre and post live in-studio shows. These shows, with a significantly lower budget, enabled huge brand visibility for Phillips and helped us over-achieve on visibility with significantly lower investments.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Debashish Mitra

Director – Marketing, Mercedes Benz India

It was at the 10th Auto expo which took place in the Capital in January this year that our stall wasn’t only the biggest, air-conditioned and with a bar but also the cars on display were taking people by surprise. The SLS-AMG launched at the Expo price at over Rs.2 crore has already got seven bookings which clearly testifies the amount of trust that the Indian consumer has on the Mercedes brand. In fact, the other cars on display at the expoalso gained a lot of acclaim as we got many enquiries about their India launch.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Thematic Houses?

You might love to go to theme based amusement park. Even theme based restaurants could be up there on your preference chart. Better still, you could be the one who could freak out on theme parties. But theme based housing? Well, they’re better known for there malls. So when TDI (Taneja Developers & Infrastructure Ltd) recently announced the launch of a Rs.1200 crore thematic housing project near the national capital (apparently the first of its kind in India), it was sure to raise eyebrows and even interest. Kamal Taneja, MD, TDI Group, says, “The project offers international ambience to residents at economical rates. A judicial mix of mid rise/low rise units offered at such competitive rates would induce customers to own houses in Tuscan City.” By Tuscan, he is referring to the classic Italian theme (known for its architectural grandeur) that the housing project would use. TDI says Tuscan City falls in the category of ‘affordable homes’ with prices starting from Rs.21.5 lakhs and going upto Rs.36 lakhs. Vivek Mittal, CEO, Realty Stocks, commented, “Such a thematic residential project indicates that developers are willing to experiment with new themes and concepts.” The project, spread over 53 acres, is expected to be ready for possession by 2012.

Savreen Gadhoke

Thursday, August 19, 2010

HOW DOES THUMS UP KEEP STEALING THE THUNDER!...

In 1993, when Parle sold off a typically domestic brand to Coca Cola for $60 million, industry watchers thought that the Chauhans had hit an unanticipated jackpot – many had even believed then that the precocious brand would die in the short run... 17 years – and some portentous stymieing attempts – later, the brand Thums Up has not only become prodigiously iconic, but has spawned a staggering legacy that is spoken of with unanticipated awe. In a first of its kind series, 4Ps B&M maps the legacy of the brand Thums Up, with live inputs from the top honchos of Coca Cola and Parle

The year was 1977. Eight years had passed since Parle had purchased brand Bisleri from Italy’s Felice Bisleri and just one year since the launch of an unknown lemony drink called Limca. Ramesh Chauhan, along with brother Prakash and CEO Bhanu Vakil, were counting the days for the launch of their flagship soft drink – a carbonated cola drink. The brothers knew their job was tough. Per capita consumption of cold drinks (then) was worse than expected for an anyway below average market. But Ramesh Chauhan wasn’t that worried. He’d seen tougher times since the day he had started his career as an employee in an Indian post office. He knew he could work it out...

The American soft drink giant Coca Cola’s headquarters had just left India following the introduction of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) whereby it was asked to reduce its equity stake to 40% even in their technical and administrative units (Coca Cola refused, and exited). And as the black cola market was bereaved by the sudden absence of Coca Cola, the Chauhan brothers, taking advantage of this void, launched Thums Up, which was an instant hit in metros (It was later launched on a pan-India basis in 1981). Since then, in 33 years, the brand has dethroned the leaders, outpaced the laggards, walloped the upstarts, horsewhipped the substitutes, and even changed hands (as is perhaps too well known, Ramesh Chauhan sold brand Thums Up to arch rival Coca Cola in 1993 for $60 million – a decision he doesn’t regret till date).

Circa 2010: Thums Up is India’s largest selling carbonated cola drink with a market share of 16.4%. Much has changed in the years that have gone by, but what has remained unchanged is the fiercely competitive battle between the major soft drinks makers. If today the warring factions include PepsiCo and Coca Cola, the late 1970s and early 1980s era saw the combatting battalions of Campa Cola (from the stable of Pure Drinks Ltd., which later also introduced Campa Orange) and Double Cola (a US-based soft drink). Despite that, the brand Thums Up still remains the market leader with Pepsi commanding 13% share and Coke 8.2%. Thus, from 1977 to 2010; from Parle to Coca Cola; from Sunil Gavaskar to Salman Khan to Akshay Kumar – ‘thunder’ has remained a durable proposition, outbeating many product life cycle theories by decades. And that’s the crux of this cover story – how in heavens does Thums Up keep stealing the thunder?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

MAY THE BEST ‘CAR’ WIN

For the first time ever, BMW India raced ahead of Mercedes India in sales in the luxury cars segment in 2009 – a fact that Wilfried Aulbur, CEO, Mercedes India has ever since denied. However, BMW India is in no mood to remain complacent about its leadership position in the Indian market. Riding high on its success, BMW India has decided to start the leasing programme for individual consumers as one of its strategies in 2010 to stay ahead of its counterparts. As the competition is getting intense by the day in the luxury car segment, the company has decided to lease BMW products to individual consumers for a specified period of time. The company plans to then use the same products to be sold under its used car programme – BMW Selection with the complete warranty and service backup after the consumers return the same to the company after a year or so.

Peter Kronschabl, President, BMW India, who, for most people, is the reason behind BMW’s success in the Indian market explains, “In the last three years of operations (in India), we have realised that a large number of Indian consumers want to own a BMW, but are not willing to buy it at the ex-showroom price. We were already leasing to companies, but this is the first time we have decided to tap individual customers as well.”

Not only will this strategy help the company in building its leasing and used car programme, but will also help this German car marker to establish its brand in the country. However, with Mercedes-Benz now gearing up to get its top slot back, BMW will surely have to think out of the conventional drawing boards to keep its leadership position in the Indian market intact. Moreover, with the third German rival Audi also catching up, the Indian consumer will surely witness cut-throat competition in the Indian luxury car market in the next couple of years to come.

Pawan Chabra

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

ROADBLOCK IS THE NEW WEAPON

What is the jargon used to describe the manner in which your favourite channel on the idiot box is bombarded with ads after ads of the same brand? What is the term used to explain the ads of the same auto brand plastered all across the first few pages of your daily newspaper? 4Ps B&M adds a word to your marketing dictionary. Call it ROADBLOCK! PRONUNCIATION –ROHD-BLOK NOUN – ACTION USING A MEDIA VEHICLE TO OBSTRUCT EXPOSURE TO RIVAL BRANDS

It was one of those usually pleasant mornings; the date by the calendar – November 11, 2009. Abhinav Batra, a 32 year-old Mumbai-based software engineer, welcomes the morning at 7 am, with a hot mug of coffee and the daily newspaper, like he does any other day. But something in a rather abrupt fashion catches his half-drowsy eyes – the main page of the morning paper, featuring a Volkswagen advertisement. The first page is immediately followed by eight pages that have the same auto giant basking on the 55cm x 35 cm platform... In short, it was a 17,325 cm2 morning treat for Abhinav’s eyes, with sedans of the German auto-maker plastered all over the first nine pages of the daily. ‘Madness’ is what you could term it; ‘Roadblock’ is what we call it!

A rather common occurence in recent times, such unforseen advertising whammies have time and again thrown the consumer into a state of disbelief! So what’s this bombshell of an act called ‘Roadblock advertising’ all about? Well, the intention behind the act is quite simple – to ensure that the brand gains a unique registration status in the minds of consumers, like in the case of this young reader, who could not help but appreciate the fact that Volkswagen has arrived in India, all on a fine (though a usual one) November morning!

But before dwelling on the finer details of the act and its effectiveness, it becomes important to define this marketing jargon. To put it simply, Roadblock advertising implies blocking a particular media vehicle (it could be a Television Network, a particular newspaper or magazine, a radio station or even a particular Internet site) for a particular period of time to maximise the outreach and frequency of the communication message. Historical data however suggests that Roadblock advertising is mostly used on TV.

So why does a marketer need Roadblock advertising? “It’s a simple but expensive way of aggregating eyeballs and creating a buzz. In principle they want consumers to talk more about it... even after the roadblock is over,” explains Naresh Gupta, National Planning Head, Dentsu Marcom. To this, Aditya Swamy, Senior VP – Sales & Marketing, MTV India, adds, “Roadblocks do a brilliant job in breaking the clutter as they make your product stand out in the crowd.” Another opinion expressed was that by Times of India’s CMO Rahul Kansal, who strongly feels that the whole concept behind Roadblock advertising (irrespective of which channel of communication is chosen) is to ‘dominate’. The idea is to create high-impact communication, so that repetition can be done away with.

Monday, August 16, 2010

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS RE-VISITED!

Are celebs paid monster-bucks for their glamour, star attraction and red-hot performance curve in their area of showbiz, or snow-white morality and politically correct image in the public space?

Suddenly, ‘High Performance: Delivered’ – the signature line of the globally renowned Accenture – has taken on weird dimensions, crazy spins and is providing spicy material for a blitz of wisecracks across the Chat Show domain in the US! Tiger Woods’ alleged colourful and action-packed whammo with a slew of attractive young ladies has landed him in the dog-house and ruined his erstwhile blissful family life. Enough has been written and lots more will be pounded out by the by the paparazzi, but the point of the debate is – why this madness, insanity and hi-decibel hue n’ cry about a hi-profile celebs’ infidelity? Does it make sense for Tiger’s sponsors to immediately dump him because of this recent scandal? Was he (in the first place) hired for his morality and pristine goody-two shoes image or spectacular performance on the golf-course and killer charisma as a sporting icon?

Vinita Nangia, Editor, Timelife, believes that this vicious, all-pervasive tirade and frenzied reaction to the ‘lovecheat’ is totally unwarranted. She appears convinced that this hysterical outburst is tinged with the ‘envy’ factor and is of the opinion that entertainers and sports people have a responsibility and commitment to only one area – their performance. Unlike politicians and public servants, they are not beholden to the masses to demonstrate moral fortitude! “Wouldn’t every man who is drunk on success and surrounded by swooning women begging to be propositioned, slip once in a while? Moral policing and witch-hunting can destroy his game forever and the loss will be entirely ours.” Theatre and adman Bharat Dabolkar agrees, “Brands signed Woods because of his prowess on the golf course. Sex scandals are not going to overnight screw his game or make him a bad sportsman for Chrissake! In the past, sports persons were dumped because of criminal and not moral lapses.”

Friday, August 13, 2010

“Our concern was – How do we manage our rate of debt?”

In the midst of the general concern and uncertainty in the market regarding the realty sector and companies like DLF, the company’s Group Executive Director Rajeev Talwar is optimistic of a more evolved market & consistent supply in the coming years. In this exclusive with virat bahri of B&E, Talwar talks about DLF’s downturn adjustments and future vision. Some excerpts

B&E: Market reports are highlighting the fact that DLF missed its targets for FY 2009-10. What is your view of the company’s performance?
Rajeev Talwar (RT): This question (by analysts) is unreasonable on two grounds. Firstly, is it due to lack of knowledge about the recession in the developed economies, including Japan, and downturn and meltdown in the other economies? That should answer one half of your question – why the targets were missed. Secondly, real estate is a hugely complex and intricate business. People talk at times of a price bubble in booming economies. There was no price bubble (in India) at all. There was a mere gap between demand and supply. It may take a gestation period of less than an year for a particular processed product in the manufacturing sector; in this sector it takes very often 4-5 years between conception to delivery. Whenever economies boom and there is no regular supply chain, there is bound to be a price rise due to shortage of housing or office space. If the economy grows at 8%, then the CAGR of real estate sector should be around 20%. That is the reason for demand-supply gap and increase in prices and speculators coming in. On the other side, in a downturn, people’s jobs are affected, emotional security is affected; there is an immediate drop in interest to acquire. Downturn and slide is much greater in the real estate sector. We were certain that there is bound to be a tight leash on targets of sales and revenues in downturn. But expenditure targets have to be exceeded, since that is the time when you have to concentrate and focus on execution and delivery. Construction in the last 1 year, which had dropped down from peak levels of 65-70 million sq. ft. (msf), a large percentage of construction in the private sector to 40-41 msf has picked up again to around 56 msf. So we are focusing on execution and in better times to come they would reflect better deliveries and constant supply.

B&E: How do you see the demand scenario picking up now?
RT: A good economy which is coasting along, hopefully a good monsoon, better crops, lower inflation and pressure on RBI reduced to hike up rates and possibly to go back to a low interest economy regime – if that happens, one sees a growing confidence from consumers and strongest demand from the residential sector. A good economy will also reflect that the corporate sector is getting stronger, which will reflect itself in increased demand for office space. In retail segment, while last year’s festive season was good, a good period of economic growth will shore up confidence among people and if there is a good festive season this year, the next fiscal should see some growth signs back in the retail segment.

B&E: What potential does DLF see in middle income/affordable housing?
RT: Due to our legacy, it is high income, because our locations and plots are extremely valuable. We are taking projects and seeing to it that we launch at the most competitive levels in order to make them value for money housing. Revenue growth should come. Government talks about Rs.10 lakh and above as mid-income. In tier 1 and super metro cities, it should be probably above Rs.50 lakh. Land here is usually controlled by government or it becomes very valuable if it is in private hands too.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Dads in distress pick up a fight!

A hundred years after Father’s Day was commemorated, fathers in India are still pitted against rigid ancient laws and struggling for equal right over their children...

Some believe that greeting-card companies are responsible for bestowing random days with the titles of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day to boost sales. Nevertheless, people these days do play along and give an extra-tight hug to the person being honoured on the particular day. This month, fathers are enjoying their time under the spotlight, and they’ve come a long way since this day was actually established in 1910. June 20th marks the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day! A 100 years ago, listening to a pastor sermonise about mothers and the then newly-established Mother’s Day, Sonora Smart Dodd, who had been raised by her father – a Civil War veteran – after her mother expired, decided to institute a day to honour fathers too. Fathers then were mostly perceived as ‘lazy, sleazy and drunk’, and Sonora hoped to give a leg-up to their image. A hundred years later, Father’s Day does get much hype, though still not as much as Mother’s Day, and there are still several struggling to be acknowledged at par with the women of the families, and be given the same rights as the mothers when it comes to their children…

“My wife Anubha Deveshwar had filed for divorce and child custody case simultaneously in Bangalore Family Court on 12th Jun 2009. She was granted custody of my daughter Shreya, who was 4.5 years old at the time, solely on the basis of her allegations. The judge’s order said: ‘Considering the facts and circumstances of the case..’.; however, the order was granted ex-parte without giving me a hearing. So, the right words in judge’s order should have been ‘Considering only the allegations made by petitioner…’” laments Vivek Deveshwar, a 38-year-old father from Bangalore. Vivek is one of the several people who joined the nation-wide protest organised by the All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA) on 18th June and boycotted the Family Courts. Their grouse against the Family Courts is that it ‘blatantly discriminates against fathers, heartlessly separates them from and prevents their access to their own biological children.’ “So many fathers will be pining for their children on this day. They’re unable get over the fact that they cannot communicate with their children and convey to them that they haven’t abandoned them; that it is because of circumstances that they’ve been separated,” shared Uma Challa, President of AIMWA.

“It is almost impossible for Indian fathers to get custody of their children,” said Satya Kumar, Founder of 498a.org. “The Hindu Marriage Act is of 1955. The laws are very ancient. When the laws were written, only 1% of the women worked while now about 25% work. Kids in the custody of working mothers are no better taken care of than kids living with fathers. The mindset of people needs to change. There should not be women’s right and men’s right but the government should implement common family rights,” suggests Kumar.

“Father’s day, Mother’s day or any other such day is just another opportunity to show your love for each other. At times, the occasion can present a chance to patch-up things, to clear the muck and start things afresh,” says Dr. Sanjay Chugh, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist. Perhaps that’s why one of the demands being made by AIMWA is that ‘when a person or couple approaches court for divorce, counselling of the parents by professional counsellors should be given first priority.’

This Father’s Day, let’s hope that it doesn’t take another hundred years for fathers to get their due.

Anu Gulmohar

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

In last one year your living standard

The urban middle class and higher income group people thought their living standard has improved. This can, of course, be attributed to higher consumer spending and a good growth rate rather than generation of jobs or rise in salaries.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

New pills for your technology ills

While its utility is still questionable, Apple’s iPad has unleashed a new, internecine battle on the tablet front, which will involve both device manufacturers and OS providers

Starting off with Sony, it’s planning to develop a device that would primarily be an e-book reader and is expected to debut the same by the end of the year. Microsoft too is rumoured to be giving shape to a tablet called Courier, which is expected to be a dual 7-inch (or so) screen with multi-touch feature, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. Google is also expected to be playing a formidable role in the tablet wars with Android at the fore front. The open source software that is getting regular updates has already made waves (NPD claims it to be the second most used operating system, even ahead of the iPhone OS) with plenty of applications to cater to the emerging needs of the consumers. It’s expected to be the first choice for tablet computing, given its love for Flash and multitasking abilities. As a matter of fact, MSI and Asus had showcased tablet powered by Android earlier at the CES and are open to the idea of having an Android-based offering in the near future. Google is also rumoured to be working on its own tablet. Given the kind of success Google Nexus One has got, this one could surely get iPad panting! Similarly, HP’s White-hot Slate arriving with WebOS on “Smartphones and Tablets” will be only used in touch kind of devices. Michael Souers, S&P Equity Research, comments to B&E, “Apple is competing against itself. As I-pad is proving to be a great success, it could take away the major market share from its competitors, especially in the E-book segment.”

These may be distant dreams, but there are a few products that are already trying to make the most of the iPad frenzy by offering more packed devices at more enticing price tag. One of these is being offered by a German company Neofonie and it was been innovatively called WePad. The spec sheet for the same reads out to be 11.6-inch screen, 1.66GHz processor, front-facing camera, 2 USB ports, SIM slot, MicroSD slot, Flash, Adobe AIR, and ability to use all open eBook standards; in short all the things that the Apple iPad was criticised for not providing. It’s also noteworthy that this Android-based tablet is priced at €449, while iPhone is priced at €499. This indicates that the war is already on and with newer options being added in the market, and there is going to be some form of price correction. Interestingly, all this competition would also heat up the OS space with a brawl between iPhone, Android & Windows. For us, that means more innovation, better, sleeker gadgets and the price tags getting sweeter.