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Transcript of Mark Mantra IIFT August 2011 the New Age Branding Draft
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
Interview with
Mr Krishnan V,
VP-HR,
Dabur India Ltd.
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.
Marketing’s 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
M
Contents
i. Cover Story: The New Age Branding (Brand- A perception or a reality?) 1
ii. International Marketing: Nation Branding- The What & The What Not 4
iii. Branding Paradigm for the Bottom of the Pyramid Market 7
iv. Brand Activation- A breakthrough in the clutter 11
v. Dabur’s Helping Hand: Career Progression 13
vi. Building Indian Brands 15
vii. Branding in the different stages of Brand Life Cycle 17
viii. Brands Head-on- The Noodle Riddle 20
ix. IIFT Special: Corporate Speak featuring Colgate-Palmolive
a. Sales Beat, Mr.Rajiv Rajan and Mr.Ravinder Singh Chauhan 22
b. Talent Acquisition & Development, Shivani Singh, HR Manager 26
c. Rendezvous with Parul Patel, Marketing Manager 27
x. The Indian Service sector: Serving up India’s strongest brands 28
xi. Ambush Marketing 30
xii. Best 100 Global Brands- A Review (Summary of Interbrand report) 33
xiii. Luxury Brand Management 37
xiv. Marketing Lingos 39
xv. Product Launchpad 41
BR
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HP
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CORPORATE SPEAK
LINGOS
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BEST GLOBAL BRANDS- A REVIEW
NATION BRANDING
BUILDING
INDIAN BRANDS SERVICE SECTOR
BRANDS
HOLISTIC MARKETING
Integrated marketing
(Communications, products
& servies, channels
Relationship marketing
(customers, channels partners)
Performance marketing
(sales revenue, brand &
customer equity, ethics)
Internal marketing
(employees and
management)
BRAND- A perception or a reality?
Let‟s 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-à-vis your expectations. It‟s an offering
from a known source.
Branding: Branding is a dynamic process and
entails a gamut of activities holistically
encompassing a business. It‟s 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
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.
THE NEW AGE BRANDING
Holistic marketing
approach as the new
age branding paradigm
1
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.
Intel‟s 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 world‟s largest
semiconductor chip maker has undergone
several modifications in its branding which has
fetched itself 7th place in the Interbrand‟s 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 customer‟s
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-à-
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 activation‟s 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.
2
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 economy‟s 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
3
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 country‟s
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 nation‟s image can be
created or altered, monitored, evaluated and
proactively managed in order to enhance the
country‟s 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 nation‟s „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
NATION BRANDING:
THE WHAT & THE WHAT NOT
4
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 world‟s 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 it‟d 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 country‟s
populations to be special and original, all of
which contribute to the uniqueness of each
country‟s 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,
5
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 disaster-
struck 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
6
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 world‟s 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 don‟t
want to buy creative products and services.
Secondly that they don‟t 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 don‟t have brand-awareness. Let
us crack down these assumptions and the reason
behind them.
BRANDING PARADIGM FOR THE
BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID (BoP) MARKET
Bottom of the pyramid brand management policy 7
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 1970‟s 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 HUL‟s 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.
8
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 India‟s 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 value-
conscious, 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. Lux‟s 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
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
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.
9
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.
Abhilash Bhattacharya
NITIE 2010-12
Ashwin Kumar
SJMSOM, IIT-B 2010-12
10
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. Today‟s 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
BRAND ACTIVATION:
A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE CLUTTER
11
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-Cola‟s
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 people‟s minds,
which doesn‟t 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 company‟s core values.
Ideas like Colgate‟s Smile Campaign, Dr. Rabbit
as a children‟s 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 children‟s 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 doesn‟t live up to the people‟s
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 12
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.
13
DABUR’S HELPING HAND:
CAREER PROGRESSION
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 Kaplan‟s 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
14
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
India‟s 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. It‟s 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 Husain„s
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
BUILDING INDIAN BRANDS
15
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
India‟s 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 world‟s cheapest car was conceptualized
and produced; it is the land where a similar idea
of creating the world‟s 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 ultra-
cheap 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 world‟s
largest democracy, an assimilation of different
religions and cultures beautifully coexisting in
peace and harmony. It‟s 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
16
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 customer‟s
perception of the brand. As explained by Idris
Mootee in his model developed in 1990‟s, over time
as the brands‟ power increases it evolving evolves
from being a product brand to a global brand.
Introduction Stage
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
BRANDING IN THE DIFFERENT
STAGES OF BRAND LIFE CYCLE
17
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 „It’s 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 Group’s 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
18
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.
Nike’s ‘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 company‟s 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 Sahil Saini
MBA (IB) 2011-13
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata
19
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.
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 Group‟s
Tasty treat, Capital Food‟s Ching‟s Secret and
Smith & Jones. All this has led to the dip in 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. It‟s 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.
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.
BRANDS HEAD-ON:
THE NOODLE RIDDLE
20
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 GSK‟s 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 I‟m
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 non-
sticky, 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 Britannia‟s 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
21
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 one‟s 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 there‟s an
innate beauty in anarchy.
MARKING COLGATE PALMOLIVE
22
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:
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 consumer‟s doorstep. So now you know how the tube of Colgate that
you use daily to brush those pearly whites ended up in your home.
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. Rajan‟s, 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-Palmolive‟s 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
company‟s 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 there‟s a space constraint), keeping the
Factory Warehouse Depot Stockist
Hub Satellite
Pictures of one of the Plants, Goa
23
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.
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.
24
Pictures of the Branch Office, Chennai
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 Colgate‟s 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 Colgate‟s 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
25
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 Women‟s 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 Colgate-
Palmolive?
It is important for us to understand if the potential employee‟s 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
26
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. It‟s 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.
Head Office, Mumbai
Interviewed by:
Gaurav Gudhka & Prerna Parija
27
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
country‟s 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 India‟s 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.
So what‟s the secret recipe for the success of our
service brands? How did ICICI manage this
honour? With a soaring population and an ever-
expanding 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 country‟s
population. This is one of the major reasons
behind ICICI‟s success story - its high prevalence
in the domestic market.
However, sustaining the brand‟s 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?
Café Coffee Day, India's largest café chain, has
come out unscathed since its birth despite
innumerable challenges it faced from well-
established 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. Café coffee day, in June 2010, acquired
Café Emporio - A café 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 café space in
India”. Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of the IT and
R&D services company Mind Tree Consulting,
THE INDIAN SERVICE SECTOR:
SERVING UP INDIA’S STRONGEST BRANDS
28
and author of the book, The High Performance
Entrepreneur, adds - "Café Coffee Day has
redefined the coffee experience; it has been a
trendsetter in the café space. Siddhartha has
raised the coffee from a brew to an experience."
CCD is also experimenting now with new formats,
such as lounge cafés serving plated meals in
addition to the sandwiches, pastries and
croissants offered in the cafés.
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 Airtel‟s 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
29
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
better than anything else'. The
product was to be unveiled on August
1. However, P&G‟s 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
"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
competitor‟s campaign.
In the ever dynamic sphere of
marketing ambush marketing is
an extremely interesting
concept. Using a competitor‟s
weapon is an intricate art. One
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
AMBUSH MARKETING
30
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 competitor‟s brand
as well. The company has to allude to its
competitor‟s 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 Pepsi‟s 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
Pepsi‟s 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 competitor‟s campaign, a tacit
attack. As an e.g. when Jet Airways came up
with a hoarding saying “We‟ve changed”, their
campaign was ambushed by Kingfisher Airlines
who put up a hoarding vertically above Jet‟s
hoarding, saying “We‟ve 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
31
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. It‟s
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
32
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 customer‟s 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 organization‟s 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
dimensions: from legal protection and proprietary ingredients
to design, scale or geographical spread.
Clarity: Brand‟s values, positioning and proposition must be
shared across the organization, along with a clear view of its
target audiences, customer insights and drivers.
Responsiveness: This looks at brand‟s ability to adapt to
market changes, challenges and opportunities. The brand
should be able to constantly evolve and renew itself.
Authenticity: This asks if a brand has a defined heritage and a
well-grounded value set, as well as if it can deliver against
customers‟ expectations.
Relevance: This estimates how well a brand fits with customer
needs, desires and decision criteria across all appropriate
demographics and geographies.
Understanding: Customers must have an in-depth
understanding of brand‟s distinctive qualities and
characteristics, as well as those of the brand owner.
Consistency: This measures the degree to which a brand is
experienced without fail across all touchpoints and formats.
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.
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:
REVIEW OF THE BEST 100 GLOBAL BRANDS
2010: A Summary of Interbrand’s Report
10 PILLARS OF BRAND
BUILDING
Though the volatility of customer base
is quite common these days for
smaller brands, but what‟s the magic
formula used by some well known
giants to engage their customer.
It‟s simply the 4P‟s of marketing
redefined as a set of 10
characteristics as mentioned below
which a brand needs to imbibe in
order to sustain for a longer time
(Coca-Cola for sustaining 124 years is
a great example).
Commitment
Protection
Clarity
Responsiveness
Authenticity
Relevance
Understanding
Consistency
Presence
Differentiation
33
1. Financial performance: After calculating the net operating profit, charges used to generate a
brand‟s 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
• APPLE +37%
• GOOGLE +36%
•BLACKBERRY +32%
•HARLEY DAVIDSON -24%
•TOYOTA -16%
•NOKIA -15%
TOP 10
BRANDS OF
2010
1.COCA
COLA
2.IBM
3.MICROSOFT
4.GOOGLE
5.GE
6.McDONALDS
7.INTEL
8.NOKIA
9.DISNEY
10.HP
TOP 3 LOSERS 2010
HOW THEY DID IT
TOP 3 GAINERS 2010
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.
Since the onset of recession, Harley-
Davidson, 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 it‟s CEO
is not an ardent loyalist of the brand by
not riding a Harley.
34
Sector-wise Analysis of Brands
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 68th.
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 McDonald’s(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.
4% 2%
15%
1%
-5% 1%
24%
-10%
4%
-9%
3%
1%
1%
-40%
12% 15%
-4%
8%
-4%
8% 6% 8%
26%
-3%
27%
1%
-3%
-50%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
2008
2009
2010
35
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
world‟s 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
36
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.
LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT
37
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 38
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. Alzheimer‟s New Zealand: Created a
Eraser USB Stick wherein the USB‟s cap had
“Alzheimer‟s 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.
MARKETING LINGOS
39
E.g. Nike Swoosh Logo, Shell Graphic, Amul‟s 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. Amway‟s 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-of-
mouth marketing by encouraging customers to spread the word about the company‟s offerings.
E.g. In 2009, Dropbox implemented a referral program, whereby if a person successfully registered on their
website through someone‟s 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
40
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.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRODUCT LAUNCHPAD
41
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
42
“It is no longer enough to satisfy customers.
You must delight them.”
- Philip Kotler
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