Hello Moto... watch your back!

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Nokia rules indisputably; but every other player is trying to snatch the No.2 slot!

Who had thought that voodoo inspiring numbers (1100 or a 6300) would become brands in their own right. But, Finnish handset manufacturer, Nokia, through its irresistible prices and marketing blitzkrieg ensured that it is numbers that matter more in the ‘dialled numbers’ game! And Nokia continues to rule hearts in the Indian terrain, still controlling nearly two thirds of the market. What’s more, this is despite other players – Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG – eroding away some market share from the leader in recent times. Considering that Nokia (still!) corners a large chunk of the market and remains the unbeatable No.1, all other players in the segment are engaged in a similar (agonising?) struggle, to snatch away market share from Nokia. Since the 2nd slot is occupied by Motorola (with a much smaller market share by comparison - 12%), all players in the segment are vying for a larger share to dominate the number two slot, with a respectable margin that is.

Nevertheless, in the past year, Nokia’s position has somewhat weakened, with some of its market pie being sucked up by Motorola and Sony Ericsson. With its range of stylish phones like RAZR, SLVR, KRZR and lately MotoROKRamong others, Motorola has been able to divert some attention from Nokia toward itself. What has helped Motorola sustain and retain its second position has been the aggressive marketing and great positioning that the American major continues to indulge in. With Bachchan Jr. as brand ambassador, Motorola is indeed finding it easy to attract attention. The American major is also consolidating its position in the burgeoning PDA segment, with the latest addition to the portfolio being the MotoQ.

The actual number three slot among handset makers in India is with Sony Ericsson, which despite witnessing bouts of success (both in the country and globally); remains stuck as an also-ran in the Indian market with a mere 9% market share. But Sony Ericsson has the advantage of having brands in its portfolio that are already legends the world over. Aidedwith great campaigns and attractive features, its Walkman and Cyber-shot series have become a huge hit, helping Sony Ericsson to consolidate its No.3 position in India. While it’s Q2 results show an upswing of 59% year-on-year basis on the Indian turf, they have piled up a descent market share vis-à-vis Motorola. “We expect the market to remain competitive, but with products such as Walkman, we aim to grow faster than the market,” says Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson.

Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (India) adds: “We are not bothered about being number 3, but about delivering products that are technologically superior and meet customer demand.” Better watch out Moto, this one’s on track to snatch the No. 2 slot from you, the anguish of Nokia’s lead notwithstanding...

Edit bureau: Karan Mehrishi

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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An insured innings!

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Shot at Madh Island in Mumbai, the ad has been conceptualised by Nima Namchu, Senior Creative Director of Publicis India and has been directed by Soojit Sircar of Red Ice Productions. Namchu recollects the experience of working with Sachin and says, “He was very easy to work with and displayed no airs of being such a big star. We had already sent the scripts to him in advance and he was prepared completely and knew what was expected out of him.” Namchu goes on, “During the shoot, the entire team was in awe of the man. He is Sachin, after all! And there were young boys (many of whom idolize him!) and we had our share of autographs by the maestro during the shoot!”

Just like the message in the ad, Namchu points out that the central concept of the advert was to not be restrained and play the shots ‘Khul Ke’. The group of boys who are seen playing alongside Sachin play an important role in the ad and Namchu says, “Before every commercial, we do the auditioning of the actors. In this one, we wanted to have nice looking kids who could play cricket. I think that was more important.” He adds that the kids were fun to shoot with. “Kids are easy to shoot because they are not conscious about the fact that they have to act alongside a celebrity and in this case it was Sachin Tendulkar,” says Namchu.

Though the ad does not have a very strong story-line, it conveys the message (to enjoy every moment by letting Aviva take care of the future) through an association with cricket. And that’s where the use of Sachin stands out. Unlike most ads, this one does not waste the celebrity and employs him to convey its message simply yet powerfully. The clutter-free background of the ad along with the actors clad in a soothing white and yellow really stand out.

More than three centuries in this business and with Sachin to score runs for them now, Aviva seems set for a longer innings and Sachin needn’t really worry about the pitch, as everything is ‘insured’ this time!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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The maestro bats to provide ‘Kal Par Control’…

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His career graphs boasts of a successful series against the Proteas (South Africans) and a forgetful first test against the Poms (England), but this ad of Aviva Life Insurance has marked a new innings for the Master Blaster – Sachin Tendulkar. While younger colleagues like M.S. Dhoni don the glove for GE Money India and skipper Rahul Dravid bats for Max New York Life Insurance India, Sachin has just made his debut in the insurance domain. Bert Paterson, MD of Aviva India seems ecstatic at the prospect of the ‘Little Master’ endorsing Aviva, “Sachin is the most popular icon in India for all age-groups and his popularity transcends the boundaries of religion, caste and region.”

With this cricketing icon as its ambassador, Aviva has come out with a commercial that showcases Sachin Tendulkar enjoying an energetic encounter with a group of boys on a windy day by the shore. Even as he indulges in the enduring game, the batting maestro takes the viewer on an interesting journey that embodies his and Aviva’s beliefs of leading a life that is tension-free and ‘Khul Ke’ by drawing a connection between life and the game of cricket. The commercial’s genesis has been customer insight, which pointed out that ambiguities and concern about the future restrict one from deriving maximum pleasure from the present and living life to the fullest.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Dragon gotta fire right!

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China must direct its economic growth

If statistical jugglery is anything to go by, then China, growing at an extraordinary rate of 11.9%, is poised to overtake Germany this year as the world’s third largest economy. But the key concern is whether the growth is sustainable. Rhetoric in Beijing goes on to suggest it is, and that the government is taking steps to change the patterns of economic growth & deepen reforms; yet 1.3 billion people still have a long way to go before their living standards compare to counterparts in developed economies.

The growth in top three matured economies of the US, Japan & Germany, which have occupied the top three slots for the last three decades, has slowed down; and as a result of foreign investments & trade, economic growth of China has been accelerating. Some analysts are of the view that these statistics signal overheating, which would prompt the government towards top-down measures. OECD feels that the Chinese government has been ineffective n countering negative impacts of its rapid economic development.

Inflation is yet another concern; the CPI has jumped to 4.4%, a 33-month high; which is bound to influence low-income earners. Aveek Barua, Chief Economist, HDFC Bank, commented to 4Ps B&M, “The Chinese economy is definitely not cooling, though there have been signs of interest rate hike...” The economic growth is being fuelled by government-led investments rather than spontaneous improvements in the demand and supply relationship. Economists caution against being too optimistic and argue that more attention should be paid to economic structure rather than growth rate.

Edit bureau: Gyanendra Kashyap

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Can we af‘Ford’ a toast?

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Ford has only made a partial recovery

Rallying from the brink is a rare character trait, which few possess. For a change, ailing American automotive giant Ford Motors seems to have it. Even after analysts had lost all hope on American auto makers, Ford has stunned everyone with its $750 million profits for Q2, 2007.
Amidst the criticism, the profits have acted as a saving grace for thecompany, which was reeling under insurmountable losses of $1.3 billion last year! It is believed that the raison d’etre behind these unexpected profits has been impressive performance of Ford’s overseas markets in Asia Pacific & Latin America. North America continues to bleed though, with losses of $279 million. Effective contributions came from Ford South America ($255 million), Ford Europe ($262 million) & Premiere Auto Group (PAG, $140 million).CEO Alan Mulally said, “Our team is very encouraged by the significant progress we are making.”

Mulally cannot ignore, however, that the biggest boost for Ford has been the Aston Martin sell off, which infused $925 million into Ford’s coffers. Furthermore, the company is apparently looking to sell off all PAG brands. As a further cost-cutting exercise, Ford has reportedly cut close to 6,400 jobs in North America, saving it almost $600 million in second quarter. Of course, with such massive milking of assets, this latest trickle of black stops well short of a rally. And by blindly selling of high value brands, the company only seems to be delaying the inevitable.

Edit bureau: Karan Mehrishi

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Despite many geo-political roadblocks and flaws, America stands undisputed...

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Leaders from countries like Venezuela and Iran, emboldened by the changing geo-political balance of power, feel no compunction whatsoever, denouncing America. Sarkozy’s opponent, Ségolène Royal, made anti- American sentiment, a cornerstone of her campaign, and 47% of the populace apparently thought, she picked the right villain. Even Russia, which held hands with the US while it was in the process of returning to the global economy, has started treating the US Government with the impudence of a teenager toward his dumb blundering dad.

But if America’s political reputation is faltering, its business reputation decidedly is not.

Today, American companies and entrepreneurs operate around the world with unparalleled vitality and access. Europe is still the largest investor in the United States, and the US is the single largest foreign investor in France.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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What can America do to improve its brand in the world?

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Q: What can America do to improve its brand in the world?
– Julie Meyer, London

A: It can start winning. Basically, that’s the only choice for any organisation, be it a company or a country, that wants to repair a damaged reputation.

For instance, imagine if US policy and military action finally managed to install a peaceful democracy in Iraq. Such a victory would no doubt change a lot of minds about America’s “brand”. We would go from incompetent, arrogant bullies to brave, persevering heroes in about the time it took to report the news. But before we go too far down this path, let’s get clear about the kind of trouble the American brand is really in.

Yes, a boldly pro-American President, Nicolas Sarkozy, was recently elected in France, and leaders of Britain & Germany are also supporters of the US. And, yes, the number of people trying to get into America has never been higher. But broadly speaking, the US has undoubtedly lost respect on the world’s political stage.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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London is the new face of Facebook

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Facebook, one of the hippest social networking sites in cyber world, has a ‘hot spot’! Guess what? London! Recently, it was revealed that London recently eclipsed Toronto as having the biggest network on Facebook. com. In all, 790,615 members are listed from London; and whereas the site’s user base has been growing at 3% every week on an average, in London, the base is growing by 6%. Even Matt Hicks, Senior Communications Manager of Facebook, admits, he can’t give a specific reason to why London shot past Toronto, but said that both cities’ growth rates are in line with the company’s worldwide user base. With close to 30 million users, Facebook is signing up 150,000 new users everyday. If you look at country statistics, then Canada leads the Facebook race, followed by the US; the UK has the third largest number of users. Little wonder that thousands of workers across the UK have been banned from using the popular social networking site to cut down the wastage of man-hours.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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‘Mac’king coffee...

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After the phenomenal success in the fast-food market, McDonald’s is ready to replicate this success elsewhere. Reportedly, McDonald’s is all set to enter the estimated $60 billion global coffee market in a big way and will earmark certain percentage towards its expansion funds. It is believed that the legendary American fast-food giant has been enticed by the growth prospects in the global coffee market and will go all the way in establishing itself as a dominant coffee vendor. McDonald’s will enter in both hot and cold market segments for maximum reach. As per certain surveys, McDonald’s high-end coffee even beats the quality of Starbucks and that is truly a way forward! Sitting on the back of this chutzpah, McDonald’s will try to win the coffee race from Starbucks, which is planning to increase prices owing to high input costs.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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In our view, this credit crisis is just a financial sector crunch, not an economic Armageddon

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All of those dislocations came, wrecked havoc and eventually got cleaned up by market forces with some form of government intervention. Without question, that will happen this time around too, most assuredly because the underlying global economy is so fundamentally strong. Yes, it may be entering a period of slower growth, but thanks to record levels of economic interdependence and activity, it is more resilient than ever. Which is why now is the perfect time to take the big swings. The rewards can be huge, even disruptive – in the best sense of the term. Case in point is Bank of America’s recent $2 billion investment in Countrywide Financial Corp., a leading mortgage banker that was facing a liquidity and credibility crisis. The deal not only delivered short-term paper profits to Bank of America, it allowed BofA to leapfrog its way into the mortgage business and opened the gateway to a flood of new deposits. In one fell swoop, Bank of America expanded its market share and enhanced its industry profile, basically changing its competitive position.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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It happens only in India

Guess what the famed ruthless MNCs fear in India? 500 bhelpuri hawkers, 5,000 dabbawalas, 40,000 illiterate papad makers, and of course, 1 ubiquitous brand called Banta! Rest assured...

There are two stunningly successful businesses in Mumbai. One is run by 5,000 people and makes roughly Rs.25 crore a month. The other provides employment to some 500 people and has net sales of more than Rs.5 lakh everyday. The first one has been ranked by Forbes magazine at par with Motorola and General Electric on the basis of the highly prized Six Sigma rating for quality assurance. It is a business that is probably as complex as FedEx. The only difference being, this one is run with uneducated staff, without telephones, computers or even delivery trucks. Both the above-mentioned businesses are run by simple, almost illiterate people, yet they have made many multinationals gasp at their efficiency. If you haven’t yet grasped it; I’m talking about the ‘dabbawalas’ and the hawkers who sell ‘bhelpuri’ on the streets of Mumbai.

More than one lakh meals in aluminium tiffin boxes are carried from homes and delivered to people at their workplaces – just in time for lunch! These 5,000 odd dabbawalas have no computerised database records. They simply memorize the 30-35 addresses from where they need to pick up and drop the lunch boxes. They have been around for almost a century and the organisation is still going strong, so much so that when Prince Charles visited India, he singled them out and met them – these simple men dressed in white shirts and pants and Gandhi caps, bound and committed so strongly to each other, have shown that if you are motivated and committed, even huge MNCs with very large marketing budgets cannot beat you. They have helped Mumbai retain its passion for home-cooked food, by making sure it’s delivered on their work-desks, right on time!

If men in Gandhi caps have created a stir in Mumbai, then those are Gandhi’s philosophies that have changed the lives of more than forty thousand illiterate women. Started by a bored housewife and her six friends, this organisation took off with no huge initial investment and no super qualified staff to run it. Just sheer common sense and Gandhi homilies have made it today into a $65 million company. Mrs. Popat started Lijjat Papad in a chawl in central Bombay. Today, it has its headquarters in the swish Bombay suburb – Bandra. All that the housewives did was to make papad from the raw material given to them during their free time. Today, the papads are sold in the US, UK and Middle East. A few dedicated women, a sunny rooftop and an idea became the foundation of this organisation, which today fears no competition ‘Yeh Hai India!’McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and many more, with their smart packaging and snappy advertising, have not been able to take away the charm of a ‘bhelpuri’ made in 5 minutes and delivered in simple plates made out of leaves on a street corner under the blazing sun, sans any air-conditioning or hip-hop music and modern lighting. So much so that now these very MNC food chains have included dishes in their menu which no one ever thought existed. It’s only in India that one could find a ‘Do Pyaza Tandoori Masala Pizza’ or a ‘McAloo Tikki’ burger. If you need to succeed here, you need to take care of not just their taste buds, but also their religious beliefs. No wonder so many big food joints have ‘Navratra’ meals. Some even have a Jain menu. Guess it wouldn’t be long before a McJain burger would find a place in the McDonald’s outlets here! Necessity is the mother of all invention.

If our taste buds are unique, then so are our TV viewing habits. Nowhere else, could a whole nation come to a stand still when a mythological serial was aired on TV. That is exactly what happened when Ramayana and Mahabharata were aired on Doordarshan. People sat glued to the television sets on Sunday mornings. Till date, no other channel has been able to create such hysteria. However, there is someone who is making a lot of money with her serials. No where else, but in India could bickering of saas-bahus have made so much moolah as in India. ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ brought back TV to life. It turned Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Productions into a Rs.200 crore organisation in a couple of years. In fact, Ekta Kapoor’s serials generate TRP ratings, which are much higher than that of the live Indo-Pak cricket matches!

Nevertheless, cricket is one sport, which can drive a whole nation into a frenzy. In fact, it’s the Indian cricket team that can drive any nation into a frenzy. Whenever our team plays and wherever it plays, the TRP ratings shoot up. No one else worships the game as we do! Coke and Pepsi may fight their guts out trying to prove which tastes better, but on the Indian turf stands a drink that does not advertise, is made in not-so-hygienic conditions, yet has a large market share. ‘Banta’, the lemon flavoured drink, still remains a popular thirst-quencher of Indians. It has survived and thrived in a way that Coke and Pepsi’s marketing analysts can never imagine.

Lay’s potato chips is finding tough competition from our home-grown entrepreneurs – Haldiram’s. Lay’s just sell potato chips, Haldiram’s, with its collection of bhujias and mixtures etc sells a whole lifestyle. The whole country’s culture and its snacking habits are what Haldiram’s is all about. Someone rightly said: The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Haldiram’s has found a permanent place in the heart of Indians forever. Come what may – Akhir Dil Hai Hindustani! We are different, our culture, climate, language makes us so. We have some good and some bad. A population of one billion and yet we cannot win a gold medal in the Olympics. Cameroon, Mozambique, Bahamas, all much smaller than us, yet they each have taken home a ‘Gold’, not us!

We pray to female deities, and yet, there are fewer people hunting down tigers and lions, compared to the number hunting down female children. India has killed 10 million girls in last 20 years.Snake charmers still remain a very important part of our tourist promotions. Snake charmers, like royalty, attract foreign tourists still. These snake charmers are the ones who don the role of doctors in rural India providing cures for diseases like asthma, skin infection, gastric problems etc. They also provide themes for Bollywood movies. A snake woman got the cash registers jingling never before. ‘Nagina’ could have been a box-office hit only in this land.

Bollywood too, with its unique way of movie-making, is something Hollywood has never seen before. We take their movies and remake them, almost scene by scene, and they turn out to be bigger and better hits. This Republic Day, let’s take a few minutes to ponder on our uniqueness and find a way to minimize the negatives. We are a very special nation. A nation, which still values families, love and all things wonderful. When anyone – MNCs, tourists, etc – comes to India, they need to understand our uniqueness to really be able to succeed and enjoy here... After all, certain things happen in India only!

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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

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Why Pepsi went BLUE!

Give me a red, and a blue, and yes a green, maybe a white too, and let’s not leave black behind! Because the rules of competition are very clear; and there’s no space for shades of grey... Presenting, a thoroughly ‘coloured’ perspective on market leadership!

Colour my world
Whenever you think of a colour, do you feel something?
Or whenever you feel something, do you think of a colour?
Confused? Let’s put it this way... When you think of ‘purity’, which colour do you think of? Probably
white.When you think of ‘passion’, which colour do you think of? Probably red.
When you think of ‘peace’, which colour do you think of? Probably white.
When you think of ‘cool’, which colour do you think of? Probably blue.
When you think of ‘freshness’, which colour do you think of? Probably green.
Not just feelings, our association with colours has extended to products too.Try this...
If it has to be a detergent, which colour should it be? Blue!
If it has to be a lemon soap, which colour should it be? Green!
If it has to be a beauty soap, which colour should it be? White or Pink!
If it has to be an environment-friendly product, which colour should it be? Green!
It doesn’t stop here. Think of this...

COKE is RED
LIRIL is GREEN
NIVEA is BLUE
MAGGI is YELLOW

Opposite sides of the spectrum

What colour do you associate Coke with? Red?

Yes! It’s the red colour that makes it distinct and gives it a unique identity, apart from other factors like the brand name, flavour, shape of the bottle etc. After all, if Coke is evaluated as a brand, the colour red would be contributing 40% to its equity.

A question that comes to mind is – if Coke is red, then what colour is Pepsi associated with? Blue??Pepsi tried to go blue.

It wanted to associate itself with the colour blue. It was ready to shell out a neat $500 million (Rs.17.50 billion, approximately) to go blue. For 40 years, it has used the colour mix of red and white and blue so as to give it a distinct colour identity. Pepsi went to the extent of painting blue a concord supersonic jet to carry the colour message to bottlers around the world. This colour differentiation would help in giving Pepsi an identity distinct and different from Coke. To increase the association of the colour with the brand, Pepsi highlighted the colour blue in all its advertisements. What I’m trying to say here is that colours compete as much as brand names do. Close your mind’s eye and try to think of Coke – you will see a splash of red. Then think of Pepsi and you will, probably now, think of blue. If this exercise had been done a few years back, you would have been unable to decide whether Pepsi was blue or red.

What is it that made Pepsi turn electric blue? Is it then true that Pepsi’s erstwhile red and blue combination served just as a reminder of Coke? To cut a long story short, the bottom line is, when it comes to colours, be opposites if you are competitors. Many brands, consciously or otherwise, have followed this.

• Perk is blue while its competitor, Kit-Kat, is red.
• Kodak is yellow while the counterpart, Fuji, is green.
• Polo is green and blue while Minto is now red and yellow.
• Hertz picked up yellow, so Avis picked red.

There’s a powerful logic in selecting a colour that is opposite to that of your major competitor. It is more important to create a separate brand identity with the help of colour than it is to use the right symbolic colour. To put it simply, consider this example. For an eco-friendly product the right symbolic colour is probably green, but if your competitor has chosen it first, it’s best to avoid green and choose a contrasting colour. This way, you shall be saved the pain of being a ‘me-too’ product, and would have a distinct identity. Remember, Pepsi learnt it the hard way... after 40 years!

What is brand recall? It’s finally your ability to stand out in a crowd of similar sounding, similar looking products. To be successful, a brand needs to stick out like a sore thumb in the market place. This immediately makes it more noticeable and memorable. Think of the corporate world where everybody is dressed in blue or black suits. An orange suit would immediately be noticed and remembered. Similarly, in the market place, a colour strikingly different from your competitor’s will make you stick out, get you noticed and remembered. With the help of advertising, you could strengthen this association of the desired colour with your brand and help it build strong colour equity.

If you are the first to enter the market, you have a choice of which colour to associate your brand with. When you are second, it has to be a colour strikingly different from your competitor’s. When you have the freedom to choose, a colour should be chosen with great care. Colours influence us in a variety of ways. They seem to have a direct physical impact on us. Donald Kaufman conducted experiments to show how colour influenced our daily lives. He found that when we are placed in a room with red light and all of a sudden the light is switched to blue, instantaneously, our body temperature falls.

Moody blues and the flashing reds

Colours don’t just have a physical impact; they also have a deep psychological impact. Our association with colours is natural. The reds and yellows will always be associated with warmth and passion. The coolness of the blues and greens will also remain. Moreover, due to our desire for warmth, we would always prefer warm colours, red being the quintessential colour of warmth.

Colours conjour up certain images. The reds and yellows give the image of youth, as they are considered to be young colours. Black is a very interesting colour. It can draw up numerous images almost at the same time! It can be perceived as sinister, sensual, mysterious or even inauspicious. The way you use it in your advertisement makes all the difference. Purple is a colour symbolising luxury.

Things become more interesting when we combine colours. It is said, putting two colours together causes them to vibrate! Thus, it produces a dramatically different effect. Think of a restaurant done up in shades of red and burgundy. It would have a very rich and sophisticated ambience about it. The colours would decide what kind of people, what kind of menu, what pricing this kind of place would have and hence, what kind of advertising would go with it. Now let’s combine red with yellow and see how dramatically different the effect would be. The same place would have a different ambience, a different menu, different pricing and a different clientele. It would be a funky place, average priced for the youth, probably serving fast food! It was the same red both times, but different combinations produced different effects.

An advertisement, which just tells us what the product is all about and what it does, is not a good ad. Believe it or not, but most of the time, when we buy things, it’s on the basis of emotions. As an advertising man, one must always remember ‘people don’t buy things or products or even brands – they buy solutions’. Those are our emotions that help us in finding these solutions. When an advertisement is created, it should evoke the right kind of emotions. Using the right colours or the right colour combinations holds the key to trigger the right emotional response... after all, as I asked in the beginning, when you think of a colour, do you feel something?

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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

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The Marketing of Love

“I feel it in my fingers I feel it in my toes, The love is all around me, And so the feeling grows”...

I have been humming this song for days, and wondering why! It’s one of my favourites, but not one to be sung for days. I tried to figure out why, and then realized that everywhere I looked, every shop I went to, every website I visited, every dinner I attended, there was one thing that was always present; and that too in large doses – love! Yes, I realized it’s that time of the year when love is on sale, everybody, everything, is drenched in “red,” the colour of love. The red hearts, the red roses are just ‘unmissable’.

If Saint Valentine were here, he would have been a very happy saint, for what he did in secret and under great fear, is today being done so openly and with so much gusto that even those remotely aware of him cannot miss this day.

Of Chocolates and Teddy Bears

If legend were to be believed, then Saint Valentine was a priest during the third century in Rome. At that time, Emperor Claudius II wanted more and more men to join his army; and figured out that single men made better soldiers. So he outlawed marriage. Valentine decided to help these young souls and began performing marriages for young lovers in secret. Valentine was caught and put in jail by the king. It was in the jail that the first ‘Valentine’ message was sent by him to the jailor’s daughter, with whom he fell in love. Before his death, he wrote her a letter and signed as “from your Valentine.”

That one letter has today turned into an avalanche of letters. If statistics are to be believed, then half of the US population celebrates Valentine’s Day by purchasing at least one greeting card. Who knew V’day would become the second largest holiday (after Christmas) for giving greeting cards; after all, giving a card is so much easier than writing letters, since there is now a card for every feeling and emotion... Some cynics say, Valentine’s Day was created by card companies to fill their coffers. I must say the strategy has paid off. Americans are spending to the tune of $13 billion on Valentine’s Day. Now that’s something to cheer about, not just for the card companies, but for the candy makers, the chocolate companies & teddy bear companies too. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company sells 100,000 teddy bears on this day. As much as 30% of its yearly sales come from Valentine’s Day sales itself. According to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold on Valentine’s Day itself!

The amount that is being spent on Valentine’s Day is increasing every year, making it a very special day for retailers the world over. Almost everyone has something unique to offer to their customers on this day.

A couple of years back, Pepsi launched ‘Pepsi, Love Wrap’, where consumers could get their messages printed on customized labels. These labels would then be stuck on 500 ml Pepsi bottles and delivered by hand to their Valentines! McDonald’s too had come out with an offer called ‘All for my love’, which was a special Valentine meal combination, and it came with a special ‘scratch-and-win’ coupon. You could win shoes, chocolates, cosmetics, music and even jewellery.

Look what’s happened to those roses!

There was a time when the demand for roses used to shoot-up because a large event was coming up. Indian roses were in huge demand when UK was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Queen ascending the throne. The Chinese New Year also gave a boost to the export market of roses sometimes. Now, every year, the demand for roses shoots-up, thanks to Valentine’s Day. Around 13 million rose stems were exported from Bangalore and Pune in 2002. For those who believed in “Love lasts forever, roses don’t,” a company called I. K. Silver has come out with roses that stay in bloom forever. Skilled artisans coat each rose with 24 carat gold, thus preserving the bloom’s loveliness. At Rs.1,000 a stem, this rose is for the not-so-thrifty lovers. If this sounds steep, then consider this – in Singapore, cupid has struck so hard that people are paying $30 for roses with the name of their loved ones printed on the petals.

The business of loving

For those who think cola and roses are cheap options, there are bigger brands that have also planned ways to help you profess your love. From Titan watches with their ‘Big Heart’ limited edition watches, to Corum and its Rs.500,000 watch, you could express your love and your bank balance on this day!

Brands are doing a whole lot of things to increase their sales. In fact, Valentine’s Day has become the perfect time to launch new products. From coffee to cola, from scooty to suitcases, from special dinners to diamonds, everything is being customized for the V’day!

La Salle decided to introduce its “Panache” range of soft luggage on this day. Christian Dior made a splash into women’s watch segment on this day. So much so that a no-fuss bank with a serious image – SBI – decided to roll out a host of direct marketing activities on this day. They sent around 30,000 direct mailers. Each mailer had a card that read, “From Your Loving Husband.” The card, however, was dated Feb 14th, 2032. The mailers went on to explain that their lifelong pensions could give you financial independence forever. Even when you are sixty and not earning a regular salary, you can still keep showering your wife with gifts on special occasions like this. How sweet!

Not just this, the company decided to follow it up with an event at multiplexes, where visitors would be asked what they would give their wife when they would be sixty, and the best answer would win a prize of course. Pension policies never sounded more romantic.

So while you thought Valentine’s Day was only for the oh-so-much-in-love couples, a lot of firms are finding it the right day to express their love for – who else – their customers. The CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi came out with a book titled, Love Marks, the Future Beyond Brands. He proved how loving your customers generates a following for your brand, which he termed “loyalty beyond reason.” Al Ries (the famous ‘marketing warfare’ guru) too believed that tender-loving-care always helped in building loyalty for your brand; and what better a day to show it than Valentine’s Day.

Love in movies, malls and MTV

From Google changing its logo to suit the occasion, to TV channels customizing their programmes for the V’day, everyone is using love to promote themselves. Story lines of serials are changed to fit the event, so Jassi of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin receives a Valentine gift from her boss Armaan on this day. Not to be left behind, Star Plus started a contest where you could mail Valentine messages to the characters of its popular serial Kahiin To Hoga. The best message would have won a dinner date with the stars of the serial. Zee Cinema came out with a whole movie festival around the love theme called Dil Deke Dekho.

This day of love is loved by the retailers, and where else is this more evident than in the malls. They are designing promotions in such a way that one can spend the whole day there. Keep spending, and let love keep flowing. Not surprising then, Fun Republic in Chandigarh created a record of sorts when 40,000 footfalls were clocked on 14th February (in 2005); and the McDonald’s outlet in their mall achieved its highest per day sales in the nation, at this very mall. Not just the mall, a whole lot of other brands have begun earmarking this day. MTV hosts its MTV Asia Awards bash on this day. Cashing in on love, the theme for the bash naturally is ‘Love’. Not just this, the Chicago based Wrigley decided to venture into chocolates just days before the nation, or rather the world, got into a love-frenzy. It bought a premium chocolate company in Russia just in time for Valentine’s Day! Even anti-love sells!

All those who don’t believe “love is a wonderful thing,” there are savvy marketers who have designed things to help you express your feelings. So while brands like GAP, DKNY are designing t-shirts with “I love you’s” and kisses planted on them, you could visit spreadshirt.com and design your own anti-Valentine t-shirt (and you thought only Shiv-Sena was anti-Valentine). You could get one that reads, “Love is for losers,” which, incidentally, also is also their official anti-Valentine’s day motto; or you could go in for stronger messages like “Love makes me puke.” So whether there is love in your life, or lack of it, marketers have found a way to spin money out of it. If there is something for couples, then there are a whole lot of offerings for singles too. The Taj Group has a vacation scheme for singles. The TVS Scooty invites single yuppies to answer questions like, “A Scooty Pep is preferable to a date because...”

The power of love

The business houses are loving this business of love. The V’day has cut across all barriers of caste language, religion and even age. Everybody, everywhere is celebrating it. If in 2001 people were spending on an average $82 on this day, then till last year the average spend had gone up to $100. What’s even more interesting – than the fact that the day is snowballing into a big event – is, the people in the age group of 45-54 are spending more and more each year on this day. While the 18-24 year olds actually are decreasing their spends! No wonder marketers whose target audience falls in the 40+ age group are promoting their goods like never before. In 2006, for the first time, De Beers launched its Valentine’s Day marketing campaign. The campaign was inspired from classic romance novels and ran during the two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.

While Star Plus may still be wondering if it was a good idea to run Kaun Banega Crorepati with King Khan, the department store ‘Lifestyle’ is sure its Valentine’s Day contest Kaun Banega Pati will generate a greater audience participation than KBC’s TRP. So be it Papa Murphy’s heart shaped pizzas in Vancouver (Canada) or the British Heart Foundation launching its online campaign of Valentine’s Day to encourage donation, when it comes to matters of the heart, savvy marketers know there is a lot of room for creativity and profits. After all, this is one day when you can shop to your heart’s content! “That’s the magic of the marketing of love.”

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Capital issues..

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Wake up call for Delhi administration
The Delhi Human Development Report 2006 published by United Nations Development Program in collaboration with the Delhi Government puts up some startling facts. The state having a per capita income that is around 2.5 times the national average is also the state which has a housing shortage of 300,000 units. Around 38% of these households (barring the slums) consist of single room units! The report states that about 100,000 people are homeless in the city and the visible cornucopias of Delhi are only hiding the true picture.

The other disquieting trend that the report reveals is that Delhi contributes 24.4% of all crimes, 24.4% of rapes and 17.6% of dowry deaths in the country. According to the Public Perception Survey 2005, only 19% of the residents feel safe in the state and 90% feel public transport isn’t safe for women. That’s surprising for a state which gloats over a 55,000 strong police force. The report states that discrimination against women is rampant and Delhi with a sex ratio of 821 is lowest in the ranks. Furthermore, it reveals that inspite of having one of the best hospital networks in India (646 hospitals, 993 dispensaries, & 250 maternity homes), ‘health for all’ remains a distant dream. As the capital, Delhi significantly represents everything that’s wrong with India. One can only wish the authorities would wake up and take action.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006, Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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Movements

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Rajeev Karwal (President and CEO of consumer durables, IT and telecom divisions of Reliance Retail) was one of the first high-profile hires of the Mukesh Ambani’s ambitious retail plans and he, interestingly, is also the first to put in his papers. The place of the ex-CEO of Electrolux India will be taken by Ajay Baijal, who was heading the channel business (wireless) at Anil-controlled Reliance Infocomm. The movement also marks the first top-level poaching between the businesses of two brothers.

• In the ad world, Sanjeev Gauba has joined Bates Enterprise as its Vice President after he quit Dentsu Communications seven months back. At Dentsu India, after the recent resignation of its two Executive Creative Directors, Sudip Bhattacharya (Creative Consultant, Dentsu Communications) and Rajat Basra (Associate Vice-President, Dentsu Media Palette) have also called it quits. While Bhattacharya is moving to M&C Saatchi as Creative Director, Basra is tight-lipped for the time being.

• Also, Aiyana Gunjan is joining Dentsu Marcom as Director, Strategic Planning. Arjun Mukherjee, who had resigned from Rediffusion DY&R, has joined Capital Advertising as its VP. Also, V. S. Rao has been elevated to the position of GM of R. K. Swamy, Hyderabad from the post of Associate Branch Director in Bangalore.

• While Vishal Chinchankar, who was earlier placed at Mindshare Interaction (India) as the Business Director has moved to MindShare Interaction, Singapore. Its CEO, Manpreet Singh, has decided to call it quits.

• As Neville Taraporewalla, ex-Yahoo! India Chief, takes over Connecturf as its MD, Yahoo! India has a new addition. Pete Deemer will join as the Chief Product Officer (R&D), Yahoo! India.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006, Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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Work and life: A Hobson’s choice?

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In fact, we would even vote to retire the term “work-life balance” and replace it with “worklife choices.” The problem is that “work-life balance” suggests there is one right ratio for how much time you spend working and not working, and with that we disagree. Sure, there’s a lot of politically correct advocacy for a kind of perfect equilibrium and it may very well be that many people wanting a 50:50 split between work and life. But some people love work so much and find it so gratifying that they want to live a different equation, say, something like 70:30.

Still others want to work just enough to support a life of avocation. For instance, we have a friend who writes and consults about two months a year to pay for travel the other 10. He thinks his life is perfectly balanced. Balance, we’re saying, is a personal choice based on what feels right to you, given what you want from life, both personally and professionally. With that choice, comes consequences.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006, Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative