The Marksman - February 2012 Issue

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MARKSMAN T h eSOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH VOL. 2 | ISSUE IX| FEB ‘12

S BRANDING THE WAY TOENTER RURAL MARKETS?

MARKETING

DEATH!

NEW SECTION

ete-A-Tete with Mr. K Ramakrishnan-VP of L&T



EDITOR’S DESK

FEBRUARY 2012 01

Cheers !!

Team – Marksman

The Interface – The Marketing Club of SIMSR

Dear Readers,

Welcome back to a brand new edition of your favourite marketing magazine and guide

– THE MARKSMAN!

In our endeavour to incessantly add more value to your reading, we now launch afresh, informative yet entertaining section called “ brand-Mark-ive” showcasing some

never-before-heard facts and trivia about a brand. We kick-start this section with every

marketers favourite brand – CocaCola.

The cover story for the issue is Reverse Marketing, a concept which sees marketers

move away from traditional forms of marketing which lure customers with a direct

selling message in its communication. Instead, the focus is to let the customer find you.

Our special story is on Marketing That Goes Beyond Death. Should you seriously

contemplate killing your brand? Read on to find out more.

Our featured articles of the month delve into the Nokia Lumia’s contemporary

marketing strategy in the smartphone segment. Also question if Branding is the ideal

way to enter rural markets. And who’s to forget, the trendy Newspaper war playing out

in our own backyards. Flip those pages to read on!

We would like to congratulate Sourabh Sahu (IIM - Indore) for being adjudged the Best

Article of the Month.

Our team caught up with Mr. K Ramakrishnan, Vice President, of L & T Limited, Hazira

Central Services for a short tete-a-tete after his discourse on “The skills for being a

manager and the need to be able to adjust to the changing paradigm” .

Unwind with our regulars- SquAreHead , Bookworm, Tweets and its all about AD-itude! .

Get inquisitive with Buzz and do not forget to write in with articles (check the last page

for topics), your thoughts or suggestions.

¡Buena lectura! (Spanish for Happy reading)



CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 2012 02

CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 2012 02

TWEETS

03

FEATURED ARTICLESIS BRANDING THE WAY TO ENTER RURAL MARKETS? …12

MARKETING STRATEGY ADOPTED BY NOKIA FOR

ITS NEW NOKIA LUMIA TO BREAK THE CLUTTER IN THE

SMARTPHONES SEGMENT …14

NEWSPAPER BRANDS WAR! …16

BOOKWORM

18

SqAreheaD

19

REWIND

20

BUZZ

21

TWEETS

03

It’s all about

AD-itude!

04

Tete-A-Tete

06

brand

MARK-ive

05

COVER STORY

REVERSE

MARKETING

07

SPECIAL STORY

MARKETING

THAT GOES

BEYOND DEATH

10

NEW

SECTION



Shahrukh Khan roped in as ambassador for Royal Stag

Pernod Ricard India has signed Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan as the brand

ambassador for its brand, Royal Stag. Shahrukh will work in tandem with his

fellow Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, who has been its brand ambassador for the

last several years.

TWEETS

FEBRUARY 2012 03

Google Removes Search, YouTube Content on Indian Court Order

Google Inc. removed content from its India domains that was deemed

objectionable by a New Delhi district court after a civil lawsuit against

the owner of the world’s largest search engine. The content was

deleted from domains .in and .co.in, while remaining accessible from

other countries.

Flipkart acquires LetsbuyFlipkart, one the country's biggest online retailers, said it has acquired

smaller rival Letsbuy in a cash and stock deal without specifying the

value of the transaction. But people familiar with the matter said it

was worth around $20 million.

Amazon enters India with junglee.com

US online retail giant Amazon has made its first foray into India with launch

of a shopping website, Junglee.com, as it tests the waters for a possible full

entry into the nation's e-commerce market.

Microsoft warns users against Google's privacy policy changes

Microsoft Corp slammed search rival Google Inc with full-page

newspaper ads in the US, saying that recent changes at Google that

allow it to internally merge the data it collects on user activity

across services such as YouTube and Gmail are meant to allow

advertisers to better target customers. Google has touted the

overhaul it announced last week as a simplification of detailed butobtuse policies and a way to provide a better user experience.

Microsoft India ties up with Ybrant Digital

Microsoft Corporation India has appointed digital marketing solutions and

services company Ybrant Digital as its advertising sales house as it expands

activity to non-metro cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad

Pune, and Goa.



It’s all about AD-itude!

FEBRUARY 2012 04

those who voted in these elections. Show the voting sign and get a coke free!

It is not only an image booster but also a marketing master-stroke. This is a good

initiative to make sure that the youth become socially responsible. The young

generation is conceived apolitical, so this ad makes them more responsible.

Resonating the core idea of anti corruption movement this ad aims at galvanizing the

young against corrupt politicians.

P

R

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T

TV

C

Unlike most countries cigarettes are sold loose in India and so all cigarette shops have

electric lighters fitted for smokers. The ad shows how the lighter itself can be used asthe medium to ask smokers to quit smoking. So the regular lighter was changed with

the chanting lighter. The music it played was a chant which is sung when someone

dies in India. “Ram naam satya hai !”

The ad shows the recording of smokers’ reaction when they light the cigarette. The

purpose of the ad is to show these people that each time they light a cigarette they

are actually taking a step towards death.

Ad seems Very Effective!

Advertiser: CPAA india

Advert title: Chanting

Lighter

Creative Agency: Ogilvy

India

Cancer Patients Aid

Association this time

tried something new and

instigating to spread the

awareness against

cigarettes amongst

smokers.

This is an innovative print

ad campaign by

McDonald’s in Mumbai,

Thane & Navi Mumbai. This

is very apt for this voting

season.

McDonald’s came up with

this ingenious idea of

giving free cokes to all

http://www.afaqs.com/advertising/creative_showcase/search.html?skeyword=Ogilvy%20India






brand-MARK-ive

FEBRUARY 2012 05

Coca Cola was first formulated by John

Pemberton at the Eagle drug and Chemical

Company and called it Pemberton's French

Wine Coca after getting inspired by Vin

Mariani. It was sold as a patent medicine that

was believed to cure many diseases, morphine

addiction, impotency and headache.

The non-alcoholic version of the French Wine

Coca was sold for the first time in 1886 at the

Jacob’s Pharmacy.

Coca-Cola which means “to make mouthhappy” in Chinese is called “Coca-Cola”

because of the original ingredients used in the

medicine, Coca leaves and Kola seeds.

The Coca Cola logo was created by John

Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Mason

Robinson, in 1885 who came up with the name

and chose the logo’s distinctive cursive scripts.

The typeface used, known as Spencerian script

was the dominant form of formal hand writingin US.

The Coca Cola bottles are often referred to as

“Hobble-skirt Bottles” because of its

resemblance the bottle contours resembled to

a dress from the early 1900s.

Coca Cola is credited with inventing the

modern image of Santa Claus as an old man in

a red-and-white suit.

NEW

SECTION

This new section is

dedicated to a

particular brand stating

some mind boggling

facts and other trivial

information about thecompany and aims at

increasing one’s

knowledge quotient.

The name of the flavour base included in the

secret formula for 'Coca-Cola' is referred to as

7X which only a few people know. Concentrate

for 'Coca-Cola' is made in a number of

centralized production facilities, and is

exported to all countries in the world that

bottle 'Coca-Cola'.

Although 'Coca-Cola' is enjoyed ice-cold

around the world, in Hong Kong it is also

served hot as a remedy for colds.

Some unusual uses of Coca Cola include as agrease stain remover, rusty bolt loosener, toilet

cleaner, spermicide, odor remover, medicine,

and many more.

The company champions various CSR

initiatives such as rainwater harvesting,

restoring groundwater resources, going in for

sustainable packaging and recycling, and

serving the communities where it operated.

The Coca Cola Company presently offers aportfolio of more than 3500 products in over

200 countries.

Last year on May 4th 2011, Coca Cola

celebrated 125th anniversary by creating the

World’s Largest Single Building Illumination in

their headquarters at Atlanta, thanking people

around the world.



TETE-A-TETE

FEBRUARY 2012 06

Mr. Ramakrishnan is currently the V.P of Larsen &

Toubro Limited, Hazira Central Services, Surat. He

poke to students on “The skills for being a

manager and the need to be able to adjust to the

changing paradigm” . He had the audience excited

about future avenues that await them. He spokeat length on the importance of communication,

active listening, risk mitigation and sustainable

efforts. The talk was extremely engaging and

nspiring. Mr. Ramakrishnan shared his

experiences and learning and left us with some

ood for thought. Our voracious team Marksman

aught up with him after the lecture for additional

nsights.

Sir you graduated as a B.E. from VJTI and joined

&T. To that regard, does a good manager really

need to be an MBA?

n today’s context MBA is important because it

helps learn all the facets of management which

would be missed out otherwise. But I would

ather prefer a person who has worked in the

ndustry and then undertakes MBA because it

helps them hone their skills and experience.

n order to sustain oneself, they say it is

mportant to unlearn one’s b-school learningwhile entering the corporate world. What is your

ake on this?

think that most things you have learnt at college

or school stand you in good stead while working

also. I don’t think there is any unlearning as such.

t is just that you learn a lot with experience and

maybe something very theoretical may have to be

unlearnt.

What should SIMSR do to ensure students adapt easily to corporate life that awaits

Mr.

K Ramakrishnan,

VP of L&T

them?

Primarily, interaction with people who can share

their experience about corporate world with

students. Their exposure needs to be increased

while there should also be soft skill training given

to students to meet the expectations of the

industry. We need people who can communicate

clearly and effectively. As far as theory goes I thinkb-schools are doing a decent job but I reckon soft

skills do not receive their due importance.

How different is the work environment in India

as compared to the European countries you have

worked in?

There are quite a few things we can learn from

other country nationals:

1. Value of time is very high

2. Interactions had to be specific and to the point3. Commitment had to be very specific

4. Discipline not just in terms of time but, walking

on the road, or driving.

Do work ethics get compromised when it comes

to sales and marketing department?

Yes. I am being very upfront while saying this

There may be customers who give you some

indication in some way to help their business. So

there is a very thin line or shall I say there is a grey

area where I don’t think any company can

confidently say that they haven’t strayed into. So

there yes there is a bit of aberration or a deviation

but generally it is ethical.

Marketing is a very dynamic field with change

being the only constant. How to you keep

yourself updated and stay in the thick of things?

Well in many ways! Reading up and interaction

with people are very informative means

Especially in the Business Development field, youneed to spend more time in person with the

customer. Meet, see the site and understand the

client’s requirements. It is imperative to

understand the change by being in it. No

substitute for that! Also you need to be at the

right place at the right time. Prove yourself, prove

your worth, accept challenges and turn them into

successes. It’s a demanding result driven world

we need to be prepared for it!



should be and the only way they could reachtheir full potential was to purchase a certain

product or service.

Companies did not worry that this technique

was turning many consumers off since therewere plenty of marketing dollars going

around and they knew that they would

convince at least a small group of consumers

to try their product by these hard-sale

tactics. However, when more became

scarcer and consumers started shopping

more carefully, these companies found the

hard sales tactics simply no longer worked.

Reverse marketing works by not using hard

sale tactics. In some cases, reverse

marketing means no salesmanship at all.

Instead, reverse marketing allows

consumers needing your product to come to

you by showing them that you are

concerned about what they need and that

you are savvy enough to help them meet

their needs.

C

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FEBRUARY 2012 07

It is a marketing concept which companiesuse to create such an image of the company

that the potential customers will seek the

company, rather than the marketers of the

company seeking the customers. This is

done mostly by using traditional

advertisements, print advertisements and

online media but the main difference lies in

the fact that here companies put out their

content at a location where people will find

it while searching for the product instead of

directly advertising to sell the product.

The ‘Law of Attraction’ as people say is the

basis of Reverse Marketing. In words of

Leenders and Blenkhorn, Reverse Marketing

is “an aggressive and imaginative approach

to achieving supply objectives” . The

purchaser makes the initiative in making the

proposal. Reverse marketing is a technique

that when used properly can build yourclient base simply and easily. However, in

order to use reverse marketing effectively

you have to have a clear understanding of

the concepts behind it.

The Traditional Way of Advertising

The old way of advertising was based on

companies actively trying to convince

people that they needed their product. Todo this companies would use what is known

as the hard sale method which simply

means they would go out of their way to tell

people that their product or service would in

some way improve or enrich their lives.

Many times in order to sell their product the

hidden message in these advertisements

were that somehow the consumer was less

attractive, less successful, or they were

enjoying life less than they

How Reverse Marketing Works



quality customers who are ready to buy, especially

after seeing that a company is knowledgeable and

helpful about a product they wish to buy. A similar

example of reverse marketing would be to put up

an unbiased review site, with links to your web

page for more information or a similar product to

those you are reviewing. Strength of this type ofreverse marketing is that customers searching the

topic can find someone who first demonstrates

their knowledge on a topic with helpfu

information and links at the bottom to check out

their online store. Companies can also use search

engines to advertise their products when the

customers are looking for that kind of product on

the internet but here is a word of caution; paid

links on search engine does not serve the samepurpose as reverse marketing because people

often don’t like to open them as they are

displayed separately. People respond much better

to content when the main purpose of it is not an

actual advertisement.

The success of the Reverse Marketing Campaign

usually depends upon the ability of the seller toshowcase the benefits of their products in most

unbiased way. The company can project the

unbiased views by either writing it themselves or

they can take help of professional websites to

write unbiased reviews for them. This will not only

create a positive image in the mind of the

customer about the product but also induce them

to put the product in their consideration set. A

good example of this will be reviews ofautomobiles present on the websites. In this ever

changing world of information technology where

people have easy access to information on

internet, will you prefer to search reviews about

product on internet before making a purchase

decision? If the answer is yes then you can surely

understand the importance of an unbiased good

review of the product and the extent to which it

can affect your purchase decision.

nstead of advertising your business and trying to

onvince people that your product or service is

better than the competitors, you offer them

helpful information in solving their problem or

need. This way you are giving the consumer

practical advice they are looking for at no price.

Then at the end of your advice you include a littlenformation about yourself including your website.

Since you have talked about their specific issue

and using an answer to their query, the consumer

does not feel as though you are trying to sell them

anything. Those that decide that your product or

ervice is for them will then click on your link to

ee what you have to offer. And since you were

he one that offered them helpful advice they will

be more tempted to buy from you.Reverse marketing works simply because you are

helping the consumer achieve a goal they

hemselves have without trying to force them to

buy anything. The consumer comes to you, not

you to them.

An example of reverse marketing would be a

ompany that sells health related product such as

water purifiers, adds to their web site a long E-

book or essay about subjects that potential

ustomers are searching for on search engines.

Compared to just putting a banner ad up on a web

ite, reverse marketing can attract very high

COVER STORY

FEBRUARY 2012 08

Using the Unbiased Approach



towards using the products of Dove. This

approach did wonders for them and it was very

successful.

The concept of Reverse Marketing considerably

changes the traditional buyer-seller relationship.

The traditional relationship, where the seller takes

the initiative by offering a product, is increasinglybeing replaced by one where the buyer actively

searches for a supplier who is able to fulfil its

exact needs. This again emphasises the fact the

market is greatly moving towards customer

centric orientation. Reverse Marketing can be a

very useful tool for companies to succeed in such

changing environment. But there are some

important points that should be considered before

using the reverse marketing tips. First, a new

entrant should be very careful in trying thisbecause customers pay attention to those

products which are there in their awareness set

Dove and other reverse marketers have been

successful because they are already established

brands and people know how good they are.

Secondly, the most important point, the products

should be good enough to speak for themselves.

COVER STORY

FEBRUARY 2012 09

A wonderful example of Reverse Marketing is

uccess of ‘Dove’. Usually, cosmetic companies

advertise their products by convincing the

ustomer about how their products will improve

heir flawed looks. If you're dark, they'll make you

air. If you're pimply, they'll clear it up. If your skins dry, they'll moisten it. And the list goes on and

on. Basically cosmetic companies tempt you to

ind the flaws in you, criticize your looks and

reate this impression that you're quite ugly

overall, and the only way to make yourself more

desirable is to use their products.

But Dove chose a different approach, though they

might not be willingly doing Reverse Marketing

but effect was nonetheless same. Instead of

pointing at the flaws the skin, Dove asked women

o come together and celebrate their beauty. You

will now notice, how very less coercive Dove ads

eem as compared to the ads of other cosmetics

brands. It's a completely different, novel approach

o marketing altogether. Dove rarely uses models,

which are viewed as plastic and artificial. Dove

uses 'real women', beautiful, but not extremely

For those who think that despite reverse

marketing, customer may buy another product

and all these efforts go in vain. Yes, it is possible

but then companies spend big bucks on direct

marketing schemes, which determine their

uccess rate. Reverse Marketing will still be an

easier way to win customers and create a goodmage in market.

Success Story of Dove

o, to add a touch of

ealism to the ad. And it

s this appeal, the

eeming genuineness of

women, the lack of

oercion, and the lack of

his artificially created

ense of inferiority of

women to the models in

erms of looks, that drew

more and more women



S

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FEBRUARY 2012 10

Vampires are all the rage right now from books to

movies to sitcoms; everyone seems to be hooked

onto these resurrected creatures. Fictional

although they might be, but their popularity after

death is something to take note of. Although it

takes a lot of imagination to understand the worldof vampires, we can see something a bit more

realistic in the world of marketing going on. It is

marketing after death.

What is it?

Two words to sum it allup are “Michael

Jackson”. He might

have been the greatest

performer of all times

and a pop revelation

and always surrounded

by controversy (which

isn’t always a bad

thing!) the fact of the

matter is that his music

sales had been on a

downward spiral since

long and he was in a lot

of debt. But post his

untimely death on June

25, 2009, a lot

changed. Along with

the shock, mysterybehind the death and

condolences, another

thing that came was a

sudden spurt in music

sales. Everybody

suddenly remembered

him only for the great

artist he was which

resulted in a huge

increase in sales of his

music. All radio stations

started playing his

songs and other artists

who wanted to be a

part of this surge gave

tributes to him further

adding to it all.



SPECIAL STORY

FEBRUARY 2012 11

Well it is pretty evident that dying to market your product is not a very viable option, but

yes, it still can be utilized, and it is something that is being done well. “Limited Edition”, these words mean exclusivity to the customer and a license to overcharge. Luxury car

makers are doing this since long, making a few hundred cars of a type which are slightly

different than the standard car and charging huge amounts for it and then discontinuing

with it. The Rs 14Cr Lamborghini Raventon is a perfect case in point with just 20 cars having

being made. As people know it will no longer be available, it justifies the premium. Similar is

the case with vintage cars and even antiques in general. The fact that a particular thing will

no longer be available generates a push in people to lap it up while the existing stock lasts.

So in conclusion one can say, killing a brand or rather making something new to prematurelykill it is a highly effective way to make people buy the product. May it be its snob value or

the exclusivity or the collectability, all we can say is “Offer valid till stocks last”.

Can it be

milked?



FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 12

IS BRANDING THE WAY TO ENTER

RURAL MARKETS? -Sourabh Sahu, IIM-Indore

Well, before I come to the specific issue of getting a good sales-figure in rural India for any

business, let’s look at some strategic pitfalls that these companies go through in rural India.

Most marketing men adopt a few ‘quick-fix’ strategies before venturing into the Rural

markets with their brands. They merely strip down all the ‘so-called’ frills from the product

currently being sold in urban and believe that the product is ready to go rural. Just extend

their brand to low cost packs, or merely modify the packaging marginally. Also, use cheaper

packing material, adapt the urban advertising or offer meaningless sales promotion

giveaways. All these and more are just short-term measures to enter the rural markets. Andif one believes that these will ensure success in the rural markets, it can but remain only as

wishful thinking.

What then is the route to building a Brand

In rural?

The answer to the above question is what

our marketers today call ‘Rural Branding’.

A route that is sensitive and appropriateto the needs of the rural consumer. The

Next obvious question is how it is done. I

Believe, that you can Build your Brand in

Rural only if you build the following five

attributes Into your product:

Build Customization

Customizing or reverse-engineering your product to suit the needs of the rural consumers is

the key to success in the rural market place.

One needs to first go into the rural markets to find out the wants, needs, aspirations and

dreams of the rural consumer, meet up with the villagers and create a product that is

relevant to their needs. It also means we not only need to ‘engineer’ a product that appeals

to him but also need to go back to him for ‘ratification’ of its relevance.

Build Empathy / Relevance

Building empathy for your brand begins with the Brand name. It is important to seek out a

Brand name that is preferably vernacular, that is in tune with the ethos of the market



FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 13

and the social milieu it will sell in. And the same logic applies for the color, the sloganand every aspect of communication. They must strike the right chord with the rural

consumer!

Build Recognition

There are two issues that need to be addressed while Building Recognition into a Brand

targeting the Rural Market.

The need for protection against the rampant prevalence of duplicate or parasite brands.

The need to physically demonstrate the use of a product in view of the high involvement

of a rural consumer in the purchase process.

Build ‘Word-of-mouth’

Strong word-of-mouth for a brand can be built through executing customized events

within the village revolving around the core message of a Brand, appealing to the core

target group.

Build Access

Reaching the rural consumer with their products and services remains the biggest

challenge to an average marketer. I am sure as the days go by, the compulsive need to

enter far flung rural homes will provoke marketing men to come up with more creative

solutions for cracking this problem of Building Access.

To conclude, Building a Brand in Rural India will continue to pose the biggest challenge

to the marketing fraternity in the years to come. Hence, the Art and Science of Brand

Building in rural needs to become an integral part of the learning process in the

innumerable Management Institutions across the nation.



FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 14

MARKETING STRATEGY ADOPTED BY NOKIA FOR

ITS NEW NOKIA LUMIA TO BREAK THE CLUTTER IN THE

SMARTPHONES SEGMENT

Bring it on - All or Nothing:

Virendra Sehwag goes for it all. If the leather lands in his territory, he swings his willow like a

swaggering blade. If he connects, he is considered to be a game changer but if he fails he is

murdered for not playing by the books. By planning the largest marketing budget on a single

phone than it has ever done before, Finland based and world’s largest phone manufacturer,

Nokia has gone for a zero sum strategy.

Jet Airways flying with Nokia Lumia colors

The Amazing Everyday:

Be it a smile or the tears, moments are amazing. ‘The Amazing Everyday’ campaign aims at

capturing those precious moments that happen in our lives every day. Nokia held events across 5

major Indian cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The campaign in financial

hub included a dance performance by a foreign troupe. In the political capital, Nokia organized a

mega musical event. Gurgaon was also up for the treat when Lumia pre-orders were distributed by

tennis sensation Sania Mirza. Few lucky Gurgaon locals also received free XBOX 360 to mark the

The Game Changer:

Apple, Samsung, Sony, HTC all claim topossess unique brand names in the

Smart phone category. Since Nokia

already missed the Smart phone

wagon, it had to take bold measures to

ensure it stays in the race. Nokia started

off in style. The marketing extravaganza

began with glittering Lumia phone

displays across Delhi Metro stations.

After covering railways, it was the turnof aviation with Jet Airways Boeing 737-

800 bearing the colors of Nokia Lumia.

It also featured the names of the

employees who came up with the

marketing idea.

Bollywood came calling with Shahrukh Khan tweeting that Lumia is an awesome phone. This

marketing strategy seems reasonable given that King Khan’s opinion might influence his 1.5million twitter followers.

Shahrukh Khan’s tweet praising Nokia Lumia

Abhishek Shukla, NMIMS



FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 15

Fun Week:

All thanks to Lumia launch, it was a fun filled candid week for the Nokia employees. It began with

‘Wow Monday’ when a life size Lumia was kept in the office and people had to tap on it to receive

gifts such as chocolates, Rubik’s cube and laptop stickers. Then came ‘Kinetic Tuesday’ where scooties

were placed around Nokia office for employees to experience the ride. ‘Surprise Wednesday’ was a

treasure hunt when employees ran around the premises searching for magic boxes. It was time to

turn on the dancing shoes with ‘Foot Tapping Thursday’ where employees showed their dancing

moves. It all ended on a delightful note when the office was closed on Friday so that employees canattend the launch events.

Will it work?

Is it desperation on Nokia’s part which made it market Lumia on such a grand scale? Will the

marketing strategy be enough for Nokia to regain the telecom throne? Let the clock turn and these

questions will be answered. But one thing is for sure. Nokia has turned the marketing notions on its

head. With it’s out of the book play, Lumia has grabbed the eyeballs. Nokia did lose the Smart phone

battle but it has surely won the Marketing war.

occasion. Keeping with Lumia’s blue color, Nokia came up with ‘Blue Santa’ who distributed

hocolates and coupons in malls.

Another innovative marketing mantra was at display when toll was exempted for more than 15,000

ars at DND Freeway connecting Delhi and Noida. Then came in a chance for the social networking

geeks to shine in the prize glory. Nokia organized a ‘Lumia Sky Party’ where winners from a contest

held on Facebook were taken for a 45 minute ride in the Nokia Lumia brand Jet Airways plane.

Nokia Lumia taxi offering

free ride to early

adopters

Sania Mirza promoting

Nokia Lumia in a launch

in Gurgaon



I dare you to compete…the latest move of Indian Advertisement industry

Over the years the Indian advertisement industry has remained apprehensive about its

perception towards comparative advertising. That is the reason the number of comparative

advertisements has remained in few hundred among millions of ads that has been made till

date.

However, among the plethora of varieties of ads techniques available, the comparative

technique has been found to be highly effective (subject to few regulations); reason being

multi-fold:Establishes value proposition of the brand

Positions the brand as being better than its competitor(s)

Get eyes rolling (maximizing target audience exposure and customer recall value)

Competing through comparison works in interest of quality and price sensitive customers

Market grows more mature and transparent

FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 16

Newspaper Brands on War!Trisha Pandey, Shailesh J.Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay

The recent addition being The Times of India

(TOI) vs The Hindu ad wars. On one hand “The

TOI ad” screams its value quotient of how it

keeps its readers engaged and not bored unlike

its rival newspapers and on the other “The

Hindu ad” positions its readers as informed

individuals (Stay ahead with Hindu) compared to

readers of other newspapers.

The Times of India vs The Hindu



FEATURED ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 2012 17

The concept of comparative ads can be explained through game theory –

Zero sum game -when one brand’s gain is equivalent to rival brand’s loss; Win-Lose- when one

brand’s gain is more (or less) than rival brand’s loss and Lose-Win-when comparative strategy

misfires hampering the brand repute. Misfiring happens when either the regulations are not met

or the exaggeration to prove superiority is beyond limits of being truthful or justifiable. Thus

return-risk tradeoff needs to be handled carefully while implementing comparative techniques;

especially in an environment where customers have grown more awakened and empowered.

Ads which earlier seemed to be highly offensive to Indian market is the reality of advertising

today. The present day Indian advertising houses are gradually developing their knack to conquerthis new territory of advertisement stage.

The truth of Marketing is that the war should go on….and to win this war it is imperative to be

open to change

The comparative ads can be direct if it directly names and attacks its competitors as had been

the popular Rin vs Tide case or it can be indirect like the above mentioned TOI vs Hindu ad. Also

a comparative ad can be targeted against a single rival , who is generally either the market

leader or the nearest competitor in the market for instance the BMW vs Audi print ad or it can

be an ad that targets multiple rivals at the same time-the Colgate Precision print ad .



BOOKWORM

FEBRUARY 2012 18

Ten Deadly Marketing

Sins- Signs and Solutions

Philip Kotler

About the author: Philip Kotler (Chicago, IL) is

the S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of

International Marketing at North-western

University's Kellogg Graduate School of

Management and the author of 15 books,

including Marketing Insights from A to Z and

Lateral Marketing , both published by Wiley.

About the book:

In this book Philip Kotler recognizes ten most

common mistakes that marketers make. Kotler

covers each sin in depth as a chapter and

provides signs to identify such mistakes and

solutions to reverse them.

These sins are explained in ten chapters and

covers all the downsides that a company facesin the marketing domain. Each sin mentioned

seems very simple but even the best companies

have failed to practice these ideas and

concepts.

After having explained the sins, Kotler went on

to prescribe Ten Commandments to all

marketers. With these commandments

marketers will learn how to stay market-focused

and customer-driven, fully understand theircustomers, keep track of the competition,

manage relationships with stakeholders, find

new opportunities, develop effective marketing

plans, strengthen product and service policies,

build brands, get organized, and use technology

to the fullest.

The book is written in simple words and raises

thoughts. Ten Deadly Marketing Sins is a best

and valuable resource to all the marketers from

the respectable thinker of the modern

marketing age. However the author has been

quite repetitive and the concepts are well

known to a marketing practitioner. Nevertheless

it would be good information for a beginner to

get hold of the key theories and also for

companies as even the big companies have

failed at these concepts.

Favourite Quotes:

“Marketing's work should not

be so much about selling but

about creating products that

don't need selling"

“Marketing is easy to

understand but difficult to

practice".

“Most of marketing is reduced

to a one-P function —

Promotion — not a four-P job.”



SqAreheaD

FEBRUARY 2012 19



REWIND

FEBRUARY 2012 20

We at SIMSR recently conducted our annual festival

Melange- “where Ideas converge” on the 17th and 18th of February where more than 50 business colleges and 1,200

tudents participated enthusiastically in various

management and cultural events. ‘Melange’ meaning a mix

of culture, aimed at creating platform where ideas

onverged and gave rise to a novel experiences.

The management events saw students drafting solutions to

ase studies, business plans and exploring their potential.

Samridhi Social B plan competition with 10 teams in the

inals was about making a business plan answering the

problems of society as well as practicing course skills and

developing awareness of social issues.

The event, running for more than 10 years now, was

planned over three months by a team of 30 senior

tudents. Among the most important workshop, the IMC

olloquium was held by Prof. Isaac Jacob. It consisted of a

ound table of 45 minutes and a presentation of an

advertisement project of 15 minutes for each of the 10

eams. Other workshop by MBA Skool and Scorpio King,which was about selling a Scorpio to the audience, were

also a hit with students!

Each competition was judged by noted professionals such

as the brand manager of Scorpio. A total of Rs.3.85 lakh in

ash and 10 lakh in goodies were distributed during the

est. Through the day, students could visit the stalls and

have fun with informal events while in the evening they

danced and performed on the stage. The college band Maujalso put in an enticing performance. Melange was enjoyed

by one and all alike!

A Grandeur which will live in

our memories forever!



BUZZ

FEBRUARY 2012 21

DOWN

2. The logo is that of Mumbai Mantr

which company owns th

production house?

3. “IHealthU” comes under th

banner of which famous company

6. The hood ornament shown is on

of its kind for which famous c

company? The picture shows Sai

George slaying a dragon.8. Which company owns this reta

chain?

9. This Imperial Eagle used to the o

logo of which bank?

ACROSS

1. The radio station shown in th

pictures is owned by whic

company? “The Week” magazin

is also owned by this company.4. The logo belongs to a compan

called XY. XY is also referred a

Golden Y, Rainbow Y, Town Y, Silve

Y and the official internet addres

exist in 75 countries. Identify th

company XY.

5. This security company service

stars like Mithun Chakraborty, SRKAamir Khan, Lalit Modi, etc

Identify the company?

7. This Indian company is the larges

exporter of Roses in the World.

1 . M a l a y a l a M a n o r a m a 2 . M a h i n d r a 3 . B r i t a n n i a 4 . Y e l l o w P a g e s 5 . A c e , o w n e d b y R o n i t R o y .

6 . R o l l s R o y c e 7 . K a r u t u r i G l o b a l 8 . B h a r t i 9 . D e u t s c h e B a n k

THE CROSSWORD

THE CLUES


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-marksman-february-2012-issue 23/24FEBRUARY 2012 22

Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:

*Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are

clearly mentioned

The best adjudged article will be given a winner's certificate.

Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59 PM , 16 March

2012.

1. One article can have only one author.2. Your article should be from 500-600 words and MUST

be replete with relevant pictures that can be used to

enhance your article.

3. Send in your articles in .doc/.docx format with font

size 11 (Arial) to: [email protected]

4. Subject Line: Your Name_InstituteName_CourseYear.

5. Kindly name your file as: Your Name_Topic

1. How digital marketing is changing the face o

conventional marketing ?

2. When fans attack – How companies Handle crises on

Facebook

3. Innovations in promotion and marketing of Movies.



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COVER STORYVibhav Shukla

SPECIAL STORYUpveen Tameri

It’s all about AD-itudePallavi Srivastava

SquAreheaDPallavi Srivastava

Tete-A-Tete & REWINDNiyati Chamyal

COVER PAGEYash Chamaria

Tilottama Sanyal

TWEETS

Upveen Tameri

BUZZ

Sujit Mishra

DESIGN

Tilottama Sanyal

BOOKWORMHinal Shah

Brand-MARK-ive

Sujit MishraPROMOTIONS

Keith Mascarenhas

THE TEAM

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The Marksman - February 2012 Issue

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