Post on 25-Nov-2014
transcript
INTRODUCTION
Advertising during Recession
With most companies feeling the heat of reducing revenues and eroding net
worth, one of the first things that CEOs decide to “save money” is reduce the
advertising budget. Now this primarily depends on whether the company views
Advertisements as expense or investment.
But to me recession provides a wonderful opportunity for companies. Now
consider the few mindsets that most CEOs have;
Mindset 1 # All the companies are reducing the advertising budgets and
hence the competition doesn’t demand doing so much of advertising. Wrong –
This is just the right time for you to take charge and go one up against your
competition and so if your competition is not doing advertising during recession –
you have an opportunity
Mindset 2 # People don’t buy much during recession and hence advertising
wouldn’t reap in the benefits. Wrong – People don’t buy much during recession
and hence you need to do more aggressive advertising to get people to buy.
Also some of the recent studies show that recessions have only a 2% reduction in
people’s disposable income but despite that people tend to sit back and maintain
liquidity.
Worse is that companies don’t realize that by luring people through
advertising they can get them to buy your product; even during the recession.
“Study done by McGraw-Hill’s showed that a 13 page advertising during
recession increased company’s recognition from 32 to 45%. For 1980-85 recession
all those companies which did not reduce their advertising budgets increased sales
by 16 to 80% & most important was the fact that the increase in sales was not a
temporary thing but permanent.”
So though the question of advertising budgets during recession is
something which has been asked during every recession and studies have shown
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that companies who did reduce suffered more and who maintained or increased
did smart business, not many have gone ahead and gone with the same or more
advertising. “In 1975 GM and Ford used two different strategies and where GM
kept with the same budget and Ford reduced budgets – so while GM increased the
sales and Ford’s sales went down by 14%.”
While these are undoubtedly uncertain times, the fear mongering of
attention seeking headlines would have you believe we are in the depths of another
great depression. While it certainly pays to stay abreast of the marketplace, there is
little evidence to suggest that it pays to shut up shop and weather the tide. On the
contrary, history has shown that with the right strategy, decisive action and a dose
of courage economic uncertainty can provide opportunities not seen under normal
conditions.
Now is the time to re-visit your strategy and adjust accordingly. The current
volatile times will provide incredible opportunity in certain market segments – it’s
a matter of looking for them. A recent Business Week article stated that 70% of
CEO and boards will ask the wrong questions facing economic uncertainty. That
being how to minimize the impact to current earnings forecasts, instead of asking
‘how can we take advantage of these times to grow the business?’ The latter being
a long term strategy- you can’t do both.
Market, Market, Market. Now is the time to step up your marketing efforts.
While the competition knee jerk and begin to pull back, the opportunity exists to
advance by investing in sales and marketing activities. This can be achieved by
cutting the fat not the meat. Reducing the standards of hotels, or traveling
economy makes sense, but eliminating all travel is a recipe for disaster because
customers need assurance now more than ever.
Invest in good advice and getting to know your customers.
Understand the difference between an investment and an expense
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Formulating a decisive long term strategy, investing in marketing, focusing
innovation on customer processes takes guts. It requires leadership to implement.
Strategy rarely fails in the formulation, but in the execution. To quote Warren
Buffet, “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy
only when others are fearful.” The right strategy, business model and flawless
execution are what set the businesses that thrive from those who fail. You need to
adjust your strategy to the conditions, and the current conditions are times of
opportunity.
Now that leaves us with a question – If we continue or increase our
advertising budget during the recession – wouldn’t that lead to controlling of
recession?
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ITC Pvt. Ltd.
Profile:
ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market
capitalization of over US $ 22 billion and a turnover of US $ 6 billion.* ITC is
rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's
Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected
Companies by Business World and among India's Most Valuable Companies by
Business Today. ITC ranks among India's `10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands',
in a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times.
ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business
Week.
ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty
Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information
Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and
other FMCG products. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional
businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is
rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods &
Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery.
As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely
perceived to be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this
source of inspiration "a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC
believes that its aspiration to create enduring value for the nation provides the
motive force to sustain growing shareholder value. ITC practices this philosophy
by not only driving each of its businesses towards international competitiveness
but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger
value chain of which it is a part."
ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating
multiple drivers of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies:
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unmatched distribution reach, superior brand-building capabilities, effective
supply chain management and acknowledged service skills in hoteliering. Over
time, the strategic forays into new businesses are expected to garner a significant
share of these emerging high-growth markets in India.
ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products.
ITC is one of the country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in
the last decade). The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian
agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian
farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy, which
has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School,
is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure,
significantly enhancing the Company's marketing reach.
ITC's wholly owned Information Technology subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Ltd,
provides IT services and solutions to leading global customers. ITC InfoTech has
carved a niche for itself by addressing customer challenges through innovative IT
solutions.
ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and
international awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management
systems. ITC was the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate
governance rating.
ITC employs over 26,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. The
Company continuously endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in
a globalizing environment to consistently reward more than 3,58,000 shareholders,
fulfill the aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-
arching vision of the company is expressively captured in its corporate positioning
statement: "Enduring Value. For the nation. For the Shareholder."
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OBJECTIVES
Values:
ITC’s Vision: Sustain ITC's position as one of India's most valuable corporations
through world class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy
and the Company’s stakeholders.
ITC’s Mission: To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a
globalizing environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value.
Leadership:
Flowing from the concept and principles of Corporate Governance adopted by the
Company, leadership within ITC is exercised at three levels. The Board of
Directors at the apex, as trustee of shareholders, carries the responsibility for
strategic supervision of the Company. The strategic management of the Company
rests with the Corporate Management Committee comprising the whole time
Directors and members drawn from senior management. The executive
management of each business division is vested with the Divisional Management
Committee (DMC), headed by the Chief Executive. Each DMC is responsible for
and totally focused on the management of its assigned business.
This three-tiered interlinked leadership process creates a wholesome balance
between the need for focus and executive freedom, and the need for supervision
and control.
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Corporate Management Committee:
Divisional/ Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Management Committees, each headed
by a divisional/ SBU Chief Executive
Business includes:
FMCG, Hotels, Paperboards, Specialty Papers & Packaging, Agri Business
and Information Technology.
Corporate Functions, each headed by a HOD Corporate Functions include:
Planning and Treasury, Accounting, Taxation, Risk Management, Legal,
Secretarial, EHS, Human Resources, Corporate Communications, Corporate
Affairs, Internal Audit and Research & Development.
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Board Of Directors
Audit Committee
Compensation Committee
Nomination Committee
Investor Service Committee
Sustainability Committee
Corporate Management Committee
FMCG Sector:
The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total
market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is
characterized by a well established distribution network, intense competition
between the organized and unorganized segments and low operational cost.
Availability of key raw materials, cheaper labour costs and presence across the
entire value chain gives India a competitive advantage.
The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4
billion in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most
product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low
indicating the untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population,
particularly the middle class and the rural segments, presents an opportunity to
makers of branded products to convert consumers to branded products.
Growth is also likely to come from consumer 'upgrading' in the matured product
categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed and packaged
food by 2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-
processing industry.
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Automatic investment approval (including foreign technology agreements within
specified norms), up to 100 per cent foreign equity or 100 per cent for NRI and
Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) investment, is allowed for most of the food
processing sector.
Foods:
ITC made its entry into the branded & packaged Foods business in August 2001
with the launch of the Kitchens of India brand. A more broad-based entry has
been made since June 2002 with brand launches in the Confectionery, Staples and
Snack Foods segments.
The packaged foods business is an ideal avenue to leverage ITC's proven strengths
in the areas of hospitality and branded cuisine, contemporary packaging and
sourcing of agricultural commodities. ITC's world famous restaurants like the
Bukhara and the Dum Pukht, nurtured by the Company's Hotels business,
demonstrate that ITC has a deep understanding of the Indian palate and the
expertise required to translate this knowledge into delightful dining experiences
for the consumer. ITC has stood for quality products for over 98 years to the
Indian consumer and several of its brands are today internationally benchmarked
for quality.
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The Foods business carries forward this proud tradition to deliver quality food
products to the consumer. All products of ITC's Foods business available in the
market today have been crafted based on consumer insights developed through
extensive market research. Apart from the current portfolio of products, several
new and innovative products are under development in ITC's state-of-the-art
Product Development facility located at Bengaluru.
Leadership in the Foods business requires a keen understanding of the supply
chain for agricultural produce. ITC has over the last 99 years established a very
close business relationship with the farming community in India and is currently in
the process of enhancing the Indian farmer's ability to link to global markets,
through the e-Choupal initiative, and produce the quality demanded by its
customers. This long-standing relationship is being leveraged in sourcing best
quality agricultural produce for ITC's Foods business.
The Foods business is today represented in 4 categories in the market. These are:
Ready To Eat Foods
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Staples
Confectionery
Snack Foods
In order to assure consumers of the highest standards of food safety and hygiene,
ITC is engaged in assisting outsourced manufacturers in implementing world-class
hygiene standards through HACCP certification. The unwavering commitment to
internationally benchmarked quality standards enabled ITC to rapidly gain market
standing in all its 6 brands:
Kitchens of India
Aashirvaad
Sunfeast
Mint-o
Candyman
Bingo
Personal care:
In line with ITC's aspiration to be India's premier FMCG Company, recognized for
its world-class quality and enduring consumer trust, ITC forayed into the Personal
Care business in July 2005. In the short period since its entry, ITC has already
launched an array of brands, each of which offers a unique and superior value
proposition to discerning consumers. Anchored on extensive consumer research
and product development, ITC's personal care portfolio brings world-class
products with clearly differentiated benefits to quality-seeking consumers.
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ITC's Personal Care portfolio under the 'Essenza Di Wills', 'Fiama Di Wills',
'Vivel Di Wills' 'Vivel UltraPro', 'Vivel' and 'Superia' brands has received
encouraging consumer response and is being progressively extended nationally.
Education & stationery:
ITC made its entry into the stationery business in the year 2002 with its premium
range of notebooks, followed in the year 2003 with the more popular range to
augment its offering.
Today, ITC continues to blend its core capabilities to market a growing range of
education and stationery products. These capabilities include,
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a. Manufacturer of India's first Ozone treated environment friendly Elemental
Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, paper and paperboard.
b. Knowledge of image processing, printing & conversion garnered from its
Packaging & Printing Business.
c. Brand Building & Trade Marketing & Distribution strengths resident in its
FMCG Business.
ITC's Education and Stationery Products are marketed under the brands
"Classmate" and "Paperkraft".
Cigarettes:
ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable
brands, it has a leadership position in every segment of the market. It's highly
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popular portfolio of brands includes Insignia, India Kings, Classic, Gold
Flake, Silk Cut, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake.
The Company has been able to build on its leadership position because of its
single minded focus on value creation for the consumer through significant
investments in product design, innovation, manufacturing technology, quality,
marketing and distribution.
All initiatives are therefore worked upon with the intent to fortify market standing
in the long term. This in turns aids in designing products which are contemporary
and relevant to the changing attitudes and evolving socio economic profile of the
country. This strategic focus on the consumer has paid ITC handsome dividends.
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ITC's pursuit of international competitiveness is reflected in its initiatives in the
overseas markets. In the extremely competitive US market, ITC offers high-
quality, value-priced cigarettes and Roll-your-own solutions. In West Asia, ITC
has become a key player in the GCC markets through growing volumes of its
brands.
ITC's cigarettes are produced in its state-of-the-art factories at Bengaluru, Munger,
Saharanpur and Kolkata. These factories are known for their high levels of quality,
contemporary technology and work environment.
Tourism:
Sector which long lives even in recession. Even though there is a slowdown
in number of travellers, we can feel a considerable amount of growth year on year.
From the Advertising point of view, we all have overcome humpty number of
advertisements in newspapers and in Media. Ex: Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings etc
advertise very aggressively and they feel Advertising as a prime medium for
providing information and to pull the audience. They always believe in Pull
strategy.
People tend to do view leisure and Hang out as the way to overcome their
worries which leads to increase in local tourism destination. You may have not
gone through daily newspapers and magazines without a print advertisement
relating to some tour packages and Offers provided by tourism Brands. They
promote their brands with the strategy as “Why rest at home and keep worrying,
Join us and let’s forget Bad days”.
International Travel House is one of the largest total travel management
companies in India with a presence in 13 cities. It offers a range of services which
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include corporate travel, car rental, destination management services, world class
holidays, incentive group travel, conference management and foreign exchange.
It is recognized and approved as a travel agent and tour operator by the IATA and
the Department of Tourism, Government of India. It is affiliated with key
professional bodies including the World Tourism Organization, Universal
Federation of Travel Agents Associations, American Society of Travel Agents,
International Congresses & Conventions Associations and the Travel Agents
Association of India.
The company is driven by its philosophy of excellence in operations. Towards this
end, it is currently setting up a web-based infrastructure to develop B2B e-
commerce solutions. The portal will offer clients the benefit of on-line reservation,
programmed planning, and management tools for MIS reporting.
In recognition of its commitment to excellence, Travel House has been the
recipient of several awards from industry associations and the Government of
India. It remains the only company to have been awarded three national tourism
awards in a year (1998-99) for outstanding performance as Travel Agent and Tour
Operator, Conference Organizer and Tourist Transporter in India It has also been
voted the "Best Travel Agency -India" by TTG Asia for the year 2005.
Lifestyle Sector:
Having built a powerful brand portfolio that is making waves across the
country, ITC's Lifestyle Retailing is poised to grow and build a dominant
presence in the country's fashion industry.
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ITC’s Lifestyle Retailing Business Division has established a nationwide retailing
presence through its Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive specialty stores. Wills
Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Wills Classic work
wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear, fashion accessories
and Essenza Di Wills – an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body
care products and Fiama Di Wills - a range of premium shampoos and shower
gels. Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed
by the leading designers of the country.
With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also
established John Players as a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to the
male youth of today. With its brands, ITC is committed to build a dominant
presence in the apparel market through a robust portfolio of offerings.
The brand is available across the country through a nation-wide network of over
225 exclusive stores and 1200 multi-brand outlets.
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Hotels
ITC Welcomgroup, India’s premier chain of luxury hotels was launched on
October 18, 1975, with the opening of its first hotel - Chola Sheraton in Chennai.
Since then the ITC-Welcomgroup brand has become synonymous with Indian
hospitality. With over 100 hotels in more than 80 destinations, ITC-
Welcomgroup has set new standards of excellence in the hotel industry in
Accommodation, Cuisine, Environment and Guest Safety.
A leader in the premium hospitality segment, ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels have had
the privilege of hosting world leaders, Heads of State and discerning guests from
across the world and within.
As one of India’s most dynamic hospitality chains, ITC-Welcomgroup has set
standards for excellence in the hotel industry by pioneering the concept of branded
accommodation. The chain has developed three brands of accommodation ITC
One', 'Towers' and the 'Executive Club' to differentiate between the needs of
various travellers and provide high levels of service.
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First to introduce branded cuisine, its restaurants Bukhara, Dakshin and
DumPukht are renowned for their delicious and authentic Indian cuisines from
the different regions of India. ITC-Welcomgroup also showcases international
cuisine in its specialty restaurants West View and Pan Asian.
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ITC-Welcomgroup has strategically customized its hotels and appropriately
categorized them to fulfill the service and budgetary needs of travellers. With its
exclusive strategic tie up with Starwood for its top of the line premium brand the
'Luxury Collection', the group is strengthening its international marketing stance.
ITC-Welcomgroup was also instrumental in bringing the 'Sheraton' brand to India,
with which it enjoyed a three-decade exclusive partnership.
ITC-Welcomgroup's properties are classified under four distinct brands:
ITC Hotels – Luxury Collection
In 2007, ITC-Welcomgroup entered a new phase in its collaboration with
Starwood Hotels & Resorts. ITC-Welcomgroup now has an exclusive tie-up with
Starwood in bringing its premium brand, the 'Luxury Collection', to India. These
are super deluxe and premium hotels located at strategic business and leisure
locations. The seven hotels which are part of this collection are: ITC Maurya in
Delhi, ITC Maratha in Mumbai, ITC Sonar in Kolkata, ITC Grand Central in
Mumbai, ITC Windsor & ITC Royal Gardenia in Bengaluru, ITC Kakatiya in
Hyderabad and ITC Mughal in Agra.
WelcomHotels offer five-star hospitality for the discerning business and leisure
traveller. Currently there are three hotels under this brand namely, Welcom Hotel
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Rama International Aurangabad, Welcom Hotel Vadodara and Welcom Hotel
Grand Bay Vishakhapatnam. Four other ITC-Welcomgroup Sheraton Hotels –
Sheraton Rajputana Hotel Jaipur, Sheraton Chola Hotel Chennai and
Sheraton New Delhi offer warm, comforting services to the global traveller and a
chance to connect.
Fortune Hotels offer full service properties all over India, including smaller
towns and cities, ideal for the budget traveller. Fortune Hotels have a strong
presence in Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Darjeeling, Jamshedpur,
Vapi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Indore, Ootacamund, Madurai, Jodhpur, Vijaywada,
Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Mahabalipuram, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Navi Mumbai,
Tirupati and Port Blair, while several more hotels are expected to be
commissioned soon in other key locations in India.
WelcomHeritage brings together a chain of palaces, forts, havelis and resorts that
offer a unique experience. WelcomHeritage endeavours to preserve ancient royal
homes and the historical Indian grandeur and opulence for the future Indian
generations. WelcomHeritage provides a fine range of hotel services inside these
architectural legacies present in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharastra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry
WelcomEnviron is ITC-Welcomgroup's vision for a green world. It's a multi-
faceted programme started in order to propagate environmental causes in the cities
where ITC-Welcomgroup's hotels are located. With the guiding principle of
'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle', each hotel has its own programme, encompassing
local participation, creating awareness among employees and internal
conservation.
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ITC Green Centre
The ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon, the headquarters of ITC's Hotels Business is
the physical expression of this commitment to sustainability - Ecological, Social
and Economic. This building is one of the world's largest green buildings with
space of over 170,000 square feet and the first non-commercial complex in the
country to be awarded the United States Green Building Council-Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design's (USGBC-LEED) platinum rating - the highest
in the order.
At ITC Green Centre, energy consumption has been reduced significantly through
design integration. The building has been designed to maximize the effect of
natural light during daytime, largely eliminating the need for artificial ones. At the
same time, the window glass, while allowing light inside, does not allow heat.
This not only keeps the office cool from inside during the day, but also decreases
the load on air-conditioners. Again, there is minimum exterior lighting to limit
night sky pollution. The water consumption has dropped by 40 per cent and, with a
water re-cycling plant, the building is now a zero water discharge building.
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SHIFT IN ADVERTISING MEDIUM
BROADCAST
MEDIA
a)Television
b) Radio
INTERACTIVE
MEDIA
a)Online Advertising
b)Entertainment
Programmes
c)Mobile Advertising
d)KIOSKS
PRINT MEDIA
a)Magazines
b)Direct Mail
- Brouchers
- Catalogs
c) Newspapers
SUPPORTIVE
MEDIA
a)Trolley Advertising
b) Billboards & Posters
c) Directories
d) POP Displays
e) Event Sponsorships
1.Television
2.Radio
3.Online Advertising
4.Mobile Advertising
5.Newspapers
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The above figure depicts the change in advertising medium from the healthier
times to recession times. The derived list of the mediums where highly used to
showcase the advertisements. Reason behind choosing the 5 mediums were,
1. Cost less
2. Reach and Frequency
3. Address mass number of people
4. Seasonal Ads
Newspaper Advertising had become a largest revenue generator compared to all
mediums. Thanks to all Realty, Telecom, Tourism, Automobile companies. With
respect to newspaper advertising, a smaller advertisement run repeatedly will do
better than a larger ad run less often. Familiarity = trust.
Rather tourism advertisements are termed as Seasonal. Because they do
advertise aggressively only in the month of March, April and May. You can’t
finish reading the paper skipping the ads relating to Tourism and Airlines. Look at
the samples below,
In contrast Shoppers read the Friday, Saturday and Sunday papers to plan
their weekend shopping. Saturday is the most important of the three, but Sunday is
the most widely read. For Example: Retail store, probably want newspaper
advertising to run on these days.Lastly, The public knows to read the paper on
certain days of the week to get certain information. If your competitors are all
running their newspaper advertising on Wednesday in the same section, there is a
reason. Shoppers know to look there for information about your type of business.
If you change your ad and your customers don’t recognize it, you will have
wasted all of the trust you have built up over time. Many companies never change
their basic newspaper advertising design. This is a good strategy as long as the ads
are working.
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Attention is everything in newspaper advertising. The particular ad must
stand out from [contrast with] all of the others on the page. Conservative ads
won’t even get noticed. Before taking newspaper advertising as a medium in
turbulent times you should think a lot about it.
Television Advertising is used comparatively less in turbulent times. Most
companies look at television commercials as an advertising medium for big
companies alone. In fact, TV is a very affordable medium that can increase a
company's profits greatly. Effective TV commercials merge video and audio into a
powerful sales tool. But don't think one is more important than the other. Audio
and video go hand-in-hand.
For example, turn down the volume on any commercial. You should be
able to identify the benefits of purchasing a product just from the video. Example:
Airtel which rely on emotions. The same holds true for audio. Close your eyes and
listen to the announcer. If the audio doesn't explain the product in detail, then the
commercial isn't effective. Potential customers should be able to hear your
message even if they're not in the room to see it.
For example let’s consider we are going to advertise for a multimedia
headset. Your video could actually explain the product clarity, No noise
disturbance. You'd also use video to show someone struggling with a regular,
headphone - fussing with cords and which has heavy noise influence while you are
on music.
Use your audio to explain the advantages of owning your product. You'd
use words like "convenient, good fit to ears, and lightweight." Later display a
message asking your target customer to call a particular number to know the
details. Order now and Visit your local dealer. Your video must match your audio
to drive home your selling points. Your message gets distorted. The viewer gets
confused. And you lose the sale.
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Take an example of KFC restaurant ad. They don’t stop showing the
restaurant location alone. They go one step ahead and show the product in screen
makes the people say a word “WOW that’s crispy”
Mobile Advertising is the new buzz word which companies across all sectors
looking out for. It provides a new way to explore the world. Mobile Advertising
can be done through SMS service, launching applications etc. We all get
advertisements relating to Job Offers, Real estate Offers day in and day out. But
still there are segment of people who treat these type of services as
DISTURBANCE factor.
Advantages are,
1. You can cater the message to particular segment
2. Low Cost
3. Reach and Frequency will be more
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE vs. ADVERTISEMENT STRATEGIES:
Advertising strategies change with the change in stages of a product life. As
we all know every product goes through a series of stages, namely the
introduction, growth, maturity, decline.
After the production stage gets over, it is introduced or launched into the
market thereby it gains more and more customers as it grow. Later eventually the
market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the
product is overtaken by development and the introduction of competitors, it goes
into decline and is eventually withdrawn. However, most products fail in the
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introduction phase. Others have very cyclical maturity phases where declines see
the product promoted to regain customers.
Introduction Stage of PLC
In this stage we offer and provide information to the customers about the
new launch of the product. Advertisers like to position the product by explaining
the new features and benefits we get out of it. Here need of immediate profit is not
the measure. Advertising will be focused mainly on differentiating products.
Growth stage of PLC
In this stage a product overcome too much of Competitors thereby it will be
attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Here Advertising spend is
high and focuses upon building brand image.
Maturity stage of PLC
This is the stage where a product manages to live for a long time and
thereby everyone will be aware of the product and its respective Brand name. Now
companies will use push strategy and make Advertisements showing their
offerings at lower prices compared to others. This will help the organizations to
clear out the stocks and plan for next extension.
Decline stage of PLC
At this point there is a downturn in the market. For example more
innovative products are introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is
intense price-cutting and many more products are withdrawn from the market.
Here it will be of Defensive Advertising strategy to maintain the Brand Image they
have created.The Below listed are various types of messages which depict from
type of advertising we overcome day by day. Various concepts are,
1. Beliefs and Traditions - Pothys
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2. Fun and Cartoons - Vodafone
3. Love and Emotions – Airtel, Nokia, Coca cola
4. Pricing and Benefits – Head & shoulders, Maruti Suzuki, Chevrolet, Sugar
Free, Kellogs, India Infoline etc
5. Social Attraction – Fair & lovely, Axe, Slice
6. Awareness concentrated – CNN, Times now
7. Fear & Anxiety – Mc afee Antivirus,
Among all these we can clearly see the advertisements which we overcome during
turbulent times are of “Pricing and Benefits concentrated”. The simple strategy
beside this concept is that, people have less money to spend in this recession and
they need the best brand to be consumed always. No one will go to retailer and
admit “Sir I have only Rs.3 so please tell me a shampoo sachet of that price?
Instead they will sit back and decide based on the commercials. This way there are
many brands which are benefited from providing Pricing and benefits as their ad
developing strategy.
Brands which advertised more in this slowdown are ,
1. Airtel
2. Aircel
3. Vodafone
4. DLF
5. Reliance
6. Herohonda
7. Kingfisher
8. magicbricks.com
9. Tourism and Airline Brands
28
Brands which are benefited by maintaining their Frequencies are ,
1. Airtel
2. Vodafone
3. Purvankara
4. www.magicbricks.com
5. MARG
6. Diaper and Detergent brands
7. Tea and Coffee Brands
8. Candies and Gum
9. AVIVA
29
LITERATURE REVIEW
Even as the economy settled into a grim picture of a slowdown-turning-
into-a-recession, the smartest of the spenders of the Rs 6,000 crore that corporate
India poured into advertising in 1997 stood out for their ability to leave the deepest
impression on the unresponsive consciousness of the customer. While the majority
responded to their drooping top- and bottom-lines by attacking their advertising
budgets-and substituting luxurious lavishness with stark realism in their
commercials-the champions of recession advertising showed that a slowdown is
not a threat, but an opportunity.
“When The Times Are Good, You Need To Advertise To Stand Apart. When The
Times Are Bad, You Need To Advertise To Gain An Unbeatable Advantage.”
Good Strategy for Bad Times
During difficult times it's more important than ever to be practical and
realistic about what you're trying to achieve by spending money on advertising.
We have certain principles we guide our company by (you can find them in Bob's
book, The Ad Contrarian.) Two are particularly relevant in times like these:
First, create advertising that is focused on changing behavior, not attitudes.
Trying to change attitudes is a difficult and expensive proposition under
the best of circumstances, and this ain't them. For the time being, ignore your
agency’s brand babble and focus on giving your customer a practical reason to try
you now. (By the way, getting them to try your product is the best way to build
your brand, but that's another story.) Give her a good reason to change her
behavior. She will respond to a good deal; a service enhancement; a special offer;
meaningful product differentiation; innovations; new benefits, etc.
Second, target the heavy user (high-yield customer) in your category.
30
For example, in the fast food category, one-third of the customers account
for between 70 and 80% of sales volume. In many categories the same is true.
Now is the time to go after this heavy-using, high-yield customer. Economic
conditions are causing them to re-think their habits. They are willing to reconsider
entrenched brand loyalties. You have a unique opportunity to get them to give you
a try. Find out who they are, and design your advertising to appeal to them.
Advertising during tough economic times is not for the timid. You’re going
to be asked a lot of difficult questions by those in your company. However, if you
have a good reason to advertise, and a clear, sensible and practical strategy,
advertising can be a major asset in seeing you through these times.
Change in Advertising Trend
Advertising trends are changing every day. Marketers are always in search
for new and effective ways to reach the target market before the competitors.
However, if you monitor the changes in advertising and marketing trends for a few
years, you will be able to see some regular changes. For example, online
advertising is an unavoidable element in any marketing mix. Just to add, these
developments do not occur all of a sudden. These are often a continuous growth or
development over a long period.
So what are the advertising trends in 2010?
If you look at the advertising trends of 2009, you would see that many
companies are investing on green marketing. In addition, we can see the same
trend growing in bigger number in 2010. Especially if you look at the car
branding, many companies are coming up with environment friendly cars that run
on alternative fuels. Many experienced marketers think that this Going Green is
not just a fancy trend any more. People have already started believing in this
concept and the immediate need of taking some action. However, we would some
changes as the Go Green concept runs. Today it is not enough that you advertise
31
the Go Green concept. You must add a comprehensive story and show that your
business or organization is actually supporting the cause.
As far as market segment is concerned, baby boomers are still the most
important marketing demographics. More than 80% marketing professionals rank
the boomers in top as an important or the most important demographics to target.
However, generation X and Y are following them very closely. In addition, in
2010, the same trend will continue without much change.
These are some trends that we may see in marketing and advertising
industries in 2010. However, irrespective of your advertising strategy, we would
recommend you to develop a comprehensive and believable story around your
brand. These stories will set you apart from your competitors.
If you are interested in advertising then you must have noticed that the
trends in advertising are changing over time. The competition is going tough day
by day. So marketers are trying to find out more effective ways to reach the target
audience. But if you notice carefully you will understand that the changes have not
occurred suddenly. There is a continuous growth in advertising trends with the
passing time. While some old trends have been modified some new trends have
evolved.
So let's take a look at the advertising trends of this year.
The old advertising trends indicate a very simple equation i.e. more
people=more sale. In the previous years the marketers were concerned about
reaching more target audience. According to the market trend of the earlier days
the marketers equate more customers with more business. But this had been an
outdated policy for 2010.
As the advertising trend reports of 2010 show marketers are concentrating
on customer satisfaction these days. Instead of attracting more customers they
are interested in retaining their existing customers. This differs from the earlier
32
market trends. The marketers are working hard to offer better customer
satisfaction. They are focusing on the niche because being focused can earn them
better return on investment.
Marketers are no more concentrating on a single medium. They are
exploring various avenues to reach their target market. Online advertising is
gaining more popularity day by day. Social networks as well as social media
promotion are getting more prominence. In fact the marketers are looking for more
personalized ways to reach the consumers. They have started preferring one to one
solution instead of the same solution for all.
In addition to this the advertising trends of 2010 you will see more
emphasis on quality than on quantity. Rather than mass production the
salespersons will focus on quality production because people are becoming more
conscious about what they buy. If the quality is not good they will never buy it
again.
This is the reason that even the smallest company is trying to develop brand
loyalty. Brand loyalty is not only indicated through repeat purchase. If a marketer
can successfully develop brand loyalty the customers are sure to do word-of-
mouth promotion for that company. They will even be less sensitive towards price
change if they know that the money is worth the product. So marketers are putting
a lot of effort to reduce the cost per customer.
Also, the research indicates that during recessions, advances in sales can be
made by shifting emphasis within advertising executions. Advertisements during a
recession tend to stress quality and value, as well as new uses for old brands. This
is primarily driven by the fact that commercials and advertising in general need to
reflect the current consumer mentality, regardless of the status of current means.
With these introductory comments, let us look at the data available on advertising
during a recession.
The Issues And The Opportunities
33
The question of advertising during a recession is one that has been asked
many times over many years. Interestingly, the answer still does not seem clear to
enough marketers.
The answer to the question is that advertising during a recession provides a
unique window of opportunity for investment purposes to:
1) Build equity
2) Solidify your customer base;
3) Gain new customers; and
4) Make inroads on your competitors who have cut their advertising during the
recession period.
This window of opportunity is created by the understanding that advertising
is an investment, not an expense. However, it is easily understood why many
people do not view advertising as an investment, but treat it as an expense. It is
because advertising frequently does not represent a fixed cost, like capital
expenditures, which are investments. Given the above stated opportunities, one
would logically ask: Why do advertiser’s cut their budgets during recessions.
Excuses For Not Advertising
The three most commonly mentioned excuses for not advertising during a
recession are:
"People do not have money, so our advertising would be wasted";
"We can afford to slash, since competitors are doing the same"; and
"The money saved on advertising helps us to pay dividends to stockholders."
The following are three discussions that refute the above excuses:
34
Rebuttal# 1:
People do not have the money, so our advertising would be wasted."
Studies of every recession since 1940 indicate that recessions have little adverse
impact on total employment (the size of the employed labor force has never
declined by more than 2 percent) and, similarly, little adverse impact on
disposable income. (Real disposable personal income per capita has never declined
by more than 2 percent.)
The pessimism among advertisers is mainly myth, hardly warranted by
facts. Because families start curtailing their purchases during a recession, not less
but more advertising is required to prevent consumption from eroding-particularly
since both employment and income are holding up reasonably well.
Rebuttal #2:
"We can afford to slash, since competitors are doing the same." Equally
fallacious is the rationale that a company can afford reducing its advertising
spending because everybody else is cutting back. Rather than waiting for business
to return to normal, top executives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival
companies are creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in and
fight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramatic improvement
in market position.
Some progressive companies have recognized this. Instead of withdrawing
"into their shells" and waiting for something to happen, they expand their
programs during slowdowns. As a result, they better position themselves to benefit
when the eventual upturn occurs.
Rebuttal #3:
"The money saved on advertising helps us to pay dividends to
stockholders." Even more tenuous is the third argument-that advertising should be
cut in order to release funds for dividends. Attempting to regain a favorable 35
position lost during a recession costs more in the long run than to retain it by
continuing to advertise. There is likely to be a fast erosion of the consumer
franchise that the advertiser has taken years, even decades, to build. It is near
impossible to regain the old customers once they have adopted competitive brands.
And, of course, firms can more readily explain a drop in dividends if the money
was used as an investment to protect market share.
36
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Types of Research Design used:
1. Conclusive Research Design (Descriptive Research)
2. Construction and Completion Techniques (Qualitative Research – Indirect
Approach)
3. Primary Data collection through Questionnaires
4. Secondary Data collection through Published Materials
SCOPE:
This report explains the current scenario of few industries in India and
tracks their advertising strategies in the period of Global slowdown.
- Tourism Sector
- Realty Sector
- Key challenges and Hurdles today
- Future Potential and challenges ahead in India
Scaling Techniques Used
1. Rank Order Scaling
2. Likert Scaling
3. Open Ended Questions
4. Closed Ended Questions
5. Multiple Choice Questions
37
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
QUESTIONNAIRE TO CONSUMERS – ANALYSIS
1. First we would like to start with liking of consumers towards seeing an
advertisement based on FMCG products and the Hospitality Sector. So first
question had been framed like, Do you like to watch advertisements relating to
FMCG products and the Hospitality? The responses were surprising. Out of 70
respondents, 52 people have recorded their choice as YES and rest 18 people
have made their option as NO.
YES NO
52 18
Response Sheet 1
38
52
18
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Yes No
2. Coming next to advertising medium, we have more mediums emerging today
which brands use to reach their target audience. Starting from Radio to over
Internet we can list many but to understand the people ease in viewing an
advertisement relating to FMCG products and the Hospitality sector. So the next
question framed as, what medium of advertising which you think makes more
influence for a Buyer to make decision?
Response Graph 2
18
8
24
8
12
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
New spapers andMagazines
Online Advertising
Television Commercials
Radio Jingles
SMS Ads
The responses gives a startling reading. The above graph depicts that SMS alerts
stand second to TV Commercials, in which Mobile Advertising made entry into
expedition with FMCG brand promotions and now it is really making a bang with
Hospitality sector too.
39
3. As of now I am done with general analysis with Advertisements and Consumers. So
let’s move into Recession and its blow into advertising lying on which whole thesis relies
into. This question stands as an eye opener between consumers view and a marketer
view. How much you rate the relevance between Advertising and Recession? The given
options run to 0% to 90% above at regular intervals.
OPTION RESPONSES
0 to 30% 12
30 to 60% 43
60-90% 11
90% and above 4
Response Graph 3
12
43
11
4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 to 30% 30 to 60% 60-90% 90% and above
Out of 70 respondents above graph describe 43 people have chosen the relevancy
between advertisements and recession as 30 to 60% which includes possibility of
more than 50%.
40
4. With this question just tried to trigger the consumers more towards the marketer
view in their mindset. It made me to ask, do you agree advertising in recession
period makes Brand popular? But the results shocked me during the tabulation. It
shows 46 people have said YES and rest stayed with NO. From this we can
comprehend even consumers have a preference watching advertisements in
recession period which in turn makes the brand popular. When they were used
with loads of commercials daily and if brands stopped their relay suddenly,
obviously people may thing brands which advertise has more stability.
YES NO
46 24
Response Graph 4
5. Well we have understood the importance of advertising in recession and extras.
Now we move on into brands and their frequency of their advertisements. In spite
of medium any advertisement needs a reach and frequency to make an impact in 41
YES, 46
NO, 24
decision making. On this point of view the following question has been framed
with the options as brands from FMCG products and the Hospitality sector
running to ten popular brands. Brands listed as options are Wills Lifestyle,
Aashirvaad, Bingo, Sunfeast, Vivel, Fiama Di Wills, ITC Welcomgroup, John
Players, Classmate, AIM.
Response Graph 5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Bingo Vivel FiamaDi Wills
WillsLifestyle
Aashirvaad Classmate Sunfeast JohnPlayers
ITCWelcomgroup
AIM
42
6. From now on the questions were focused on our two scope sectors, FMCG
products and Hospitality. To start with, FMCG consumers were asked the
question, how often you overcome an advertisement related to FMCG
products? To refine the result we got from the before question, this particular
question was framed to measure frequency with respect to FMCG
advertisements.
OPTIONS RESPONSES
Frequently 24
Less Frequently
7
More Frequently 36
Cant Answer 3
Response Graph 6
7. In which medium you came across advertisements relating to FMCG?
OPTIONS RESPONSES
43
24, 34%
7, 10%
36, 52%
3, 4%
Frequently
Less Frequently
More Frequently
Can't Say
Newspapers 38
Magazines 8
Television 24
Internet 0
Response Graph 7
The above graph depicts 55% respondents recorded the option as newspapers,
34% respondents opted for Television, 11% respondents opted for Magazines.
May be this medium is preferred because it costs less than other medium available.
44
38, 55%
8, 11%
24, 34%
0, 0%
Newspapers
Magazines
Television
Internet
8. With this question we try to measure and know the impact the FMCG
advertisements made during the recession. Do you feel FMCG ads benefited the
Brand and People? From these responses we can depict that most of the
respondents agree that advertisements made brand popular and also it made an
impact in the minds of consumers. So advertisements made by FMCG brands in
the recession have helped both people and brand themselves.
37, 53%28, 40%
5, 7%
Yes
No
Can't Say
YES NO CAN’T SAY
37 28 5
45
9. To continue with Hospitality sector we made a question, how often you
overcome an advertisement related to Hotels? To refine the result we got from the
before questions in general, this particular question was framed to measure frequency
with respect to real estate advertisements.
OPTIONS RESPONSES
Frequently 38
Less Frequently 9
More Frequently 21
Cant Answer 2
Response Graph 9
38
9
21
2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Frequently
Less Frequently
More Frequently
Can't Say
46
10. In which medium of advertisement did you come across ads relating to Hotels?
OPTIONS RESPONSES
Newspapers 33
Magazines 6
Television 16
Internet 15
Response Graph 10
The above table and graph depicts that more than 30% of target audience
overcome hotel advertisements in newspapers. May be these companies prefer
newspaper as a medium because it costs less compared to other mediums also this
medium possess more reach.
47
33
6
16
15
Newspapers
Magazines
Television
Internet
11. With this question we try to measure and know level of impact the hotel
advertisements made during the recession. Do you feel hotel advertisements
benefited the Brand and People? From these responses we can depict that most of
the respondents agree that advertisements made brand popular and also it made an
impact in the minds of consumers. So advertisements made by FMCG brands in the
recession have helped both people and brand themselves.
YES NO CAN’T SAY
31 22 17
31, 45%
22, 31%
17, 24%
Yes
No
Can't Say
48
12. Through the earlier questions we have done with understanding their responses
towards FMCG and hotel advertisements in specific. So with this question we try to
figure out the consumers taste in message strategy followed by advertisements in
recession. With that in mind the options have been included with Beliefs and Traditions
based advertisements, Fun and Cartoon based advertisements , Love and Emotions based
advertisements, Pricing and Benefits based Advertisements. Day in and day out we
overcome commercials based on these strategies and the respondents say they prefer
watching advertisements based on pricing and Benefits. This clearly depicts the
importance they give on each penny they spend during the recession.
OPTIONS RESPONSES
Beliefs and Tradition 4
Fun and Cartoons 12
Love and Emotions 25
Pricing and Benefits 28
Others 1
Response Graph 12
49
4
12
25
28
1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Beliefs and Tradition Fun and Cartoons Love and Emotions Pricing and Benefits Others
13. Few questions before, we had asked consumers to rank the advertisements for
their reach and its impact. But with this question we put forth ten brands which
include FMCG brands and hotels, and understand consumers view on brands being
popular. The options are running between Advertisement, Quality and Price.
OPTIONS RESPONSES
Advertisement Quality Price
Aashiravaad 27 32 11
Welcom Group 10 38 22
Fiama Di Wills 35 10 25
John Players 16 30 24
Wills Lifestyle 32 22 16
Bingo 42 20 8
AIM 22 20 28
50
Sunfeast 36 8 26
Classmate 32 14 24
Vivel 30 34 6
Response Graph 13
14. With regards to thesis scope we covered each and every aspect relating three
factors, Consumers, advertisements and recession. Coming to the last question we
tried to dig more information from consumer mind by asking him the question, Do
you think this recession affected any brands listed above? If so mention the brand
names. The answers we recorded with before question portray many brands which
satisfied consumer well did not advertise more. So this question responds us the
brands in particular which realized a slowdown with economy.
OPTIONS RESPONSES
No Answer 14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Advertisement 27 10 35 16 32 42 22 36 32 30
Quality 32 38 10 30 22 20 20 8 14 34
Price 11 22 25 24 16 8 28 26 24 6
Aashirvaad Welcom Group
Fiama Di Wills
John Players
Wills Lifestyle
BingoAIM
Sunfeast Classmate Vivel l
51
Aashirvaad 9
Welcom Group 16
Wills Lifestyle 12
Sunfeast 9
Fiama Di Wills 10
Response Graph 14
QUESTIONNAIRE ON BRANDS – ANALYSIS
The brands to which we made research are only from FMCG & Hospitality
sectors. Totally Reponses have been collected from 20 brands and the result is
tabulated.
The 20 brands are as follows,
1. Aashirvaad
2. Bingo
14
9
16
12
9
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
No Answer
Aashirvaad
Welcom Group
Wills Lifestyle
Sunfeast
Fiama Di Wills
52
3. Mint-O
4. Candyman
5. Essenza Di Wills
6. Fiama Di Wills
7. Vivel
8. John Players
9. Wills Lifestyle
10. AIM
11. Classmate
12. Mangaldeep
13. Paperkraft
14. Kitchens of India
15. Superia
16. Welcom Group
17. India Kings
18. Navy Cut
19. Classic
20. Sunfeast
53
1. Does your company view advertising as an expense or an investment?
Out of 20 brands, 18 have said they consider it as an investment and rest 2 brands
feel it as an expense.
INVESTMENT EXPENSE
18 2
Response Graph 15
18
2
INVESTMENT
EXPENSE
54
2. What type of media you use to reach most effectively your target audience?
a. Newspapers (7)
b. Internet Advertising (3)
c. Radio Jingles (2)
d. TV Commercials (8)
e. Others (0)
Response Graph 16
The above graph depicts most of the brands prefer Internet advertising as a cost
effective medium in promotion their product rather than relying on other mediums.
They also portray that television stands next to Internet advertising wherein they
reach large segment of people to explore their promotions.
7
2
8
3
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Newspapers
Radio Jingles
Internet Advertising
TV Commercials
Others
55
3. What is the type of advertising campaign you will run?
a) To promote a new product? (4)
b) To place a familiar product in front of your target audience? (12)
c) To promote a special service or activity? (2)
d) Others (2)
It was really shocking to know brands thrive to place a familiar product in front of
their target audience rather than promoting a special service or activity. Who cares
about activity in recession? We cannot neglect this option so, because two brands
have responded as they promote special service or activity through their
advertising.
Response Graph 16
56
4
12
2
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Promote a new product
Place a Familiar Product
Promote a Special service
Others
4. What is the advertising style that best suits your products and/or services? Yet
the question is of open type the responses were listed out in points and grouped
generically rather than making a tabulation or graph.
Visual Ads -> As it gives more recall of the brand (1)
Print Media (1)
Pictorial Representation (1)
Through Online and Social Media (1)
TV Commercials , Newspapers and Road shows (7)
TV Commercials Alone (5)
Left Blank (4)
5. How do you reach the most people (within your defined market) for your
advertising (Every Rupee Spent?)
Cost per campaign with sales revenue (1)
Through brand recall (4)
Right Approach to Right people at Right Time (1)
By choosing the proper channel (1)
Through Newspapers (6)
Through Online Advertisements (5)
Left Blank (2)
6. What you think are the major risks that the advertisements will not generate
enough sales to justify the costs of the campaign?
Competition Counter attack (1)
Durability of the campaign vs. The product (1)
Competitors attach via advertisements with more features (1)
Not Defining the target audience and Improper positioning (6)
Cost revenue mismatch (6)
More Cost less benefit (1)
57
Right medium and proper advertising to the target customers will not
create the risk (1)
Not True (3)
7. How have you as a company succeeded during the current recessionary trend?
Through our advertising partner (1)
We were able to maintain as it was before. But no increase in sales (1)
By running on many online events (1)
Came out with new product suiting market needs (2)
Doing Business as usual (3)
Yes, we have succeeded (7)
No Answer (5)
8. Did the advertising make a difference during this phase & how?
Yes we got increase in our sales volume (8)
No considerable improvement (4)
Yes, without that we might have lost a part of our market share (1)
Yes, we got 20% increase in sales volume, but of course we reduced the
price a bit. But advertisement made it to increase sales volume. (1)
Yes, it does make a difference, since we can target market which really is
not affected due to recession (1)
No, According to market trend and traffic we advertised (1)
No Answer (4)
QUESTIONNAIRE ON AD AGENCIES-ANALYSIS
The research has been made on ten advertising agencies in Chennai. They are,
1) One point Size
58
2) Crewind Communications
3) SEOEDGE
4) Redifussion advertising Ltd.
5) Kannan Ads
6) Finger prints advertising
7) WOC Advertising Enterprize
8) Ogilvy and Mather India
9) JWT
10)Gold wire Communications
1. How do you demonstrate your value as an Ad agency during slow economies,
when your clients pay more attention on the advertising spend?
Its value for money. The ad that we will be doing for them need to be
more profitable for them. (1)
Spend more to get more attention with proper channel and message which
will bring more prospects. (1)
It is irrelevant of saying so, because when the economy is slow we need to
spend more on advertising. (1)
Our Clients keep forcing us for more creative ads. (1)
We promote creativity in all ads and so client stay with us (3)
Our value is increased during slowdown because we deliver good quality
advertisements. (1)
No answer (2)
2. What kind of customer benefits do you talk about to your clients?
It is entirely based on the client business and season of advertising (5)
59
Mutual co-ordination, More penetration results in more sale (1)
Proper statistical analysis of the campaign to find out where and all to
improve
Assured sales increase with online tracking system. (1)
Majority of our clients are from FMCG and we advice to go for pricing
strategy to be in advertisements (1)
Its completely rely on mutual views. (1)
No answer (1)
3. What kind of comprehensive plans you showcase to your clients?
By working with the client at their place for easy understanding (1)
Our project management system that can be accessed by our clients
throughout out project. (1)
Our past goals and achievement. (4)
Obviously to spend more on advertising (3)
Will portray the flipside in absence of advertising. (1)
4. How do you help clients in retooling their message to reach-out to their
customers?
By conducting the research among the audience. (1)
Initially with a pilot survey, then by putting control mechanism at regular
interval. (1)
By putting the experts in the analysis (1)
Depends on the problem they face (4)
No answer (3)
5. How well as an agency you understand competitive positioning and present
creative solutions for client advertising needs?
Both are same as now everyone needs to be competitive to sustain. (1)
To become competitive you need to have the best creative solutions for
your clients. (1)
60
Both play the vital role, but creative solutions given more priority. (2)
As for as we being creative there is no word of competition (1)
As our clients even we face competition in our field but we define
statement in more creative manner. (1)
No answer (2)
We understood well about the positioning and working towards our best
to provide creative solutions to our clients. (1)
Our business is renowned to be creative and positioning is done on that
basis (1)
RECOMMENDATIONS
When times get tough, as they are today, many companies begin cutting back.
Sometimes they let employees go and stop there. Other times, they eliminate their
marketing is a bad move says the research & customer feedback.“The public has
to be reminded about who you are and what you're selling . . . Instead of cutting
back on marketing, be more aggressive.”
61
Also it’s a researched fact that, “When companies cease touting themselves via the
media, opportunities are created for their competitors to step into the spotlight . . .”
Staying in front of your customers and prospects is vital - even in a recession.
During uncertain times, when people are not spending, marketers should consider
investing further in their marketing instead of waiting for a change in market
conditions.
“It might even be tempting to “ride it out” - to do nothing until things turn around.
This passive approach yields passive results. Nothing will happen while you're
waiting and when things do turn around, the business will go to the people who've
been doing something all along. The people who will get the lion's share of the
business - both now and in the future - are the ones who work to build
relationships,”
Don't let people forget who you are . . . where you are . . . how you can be
reached. Do what you can to maintain a presence. Stay in touch with your
customers, be it via phone, “snail,” or e-mail. Ask them what they want and need
during this time. And remember, if potential customers are out there looking for
your product or service and your name is visible, when your competition's is not,
your marketing efforts will invite them to call you.
While it may be smart business to cut back during tough economic times the first
area most companies reduce is their marketing budget in order to save money and
try to keep a normal level of profitability. A common assumption is because
money is tight everywhere, customers will be spending less; and therefore, money
spent on advertising will be wasted. The fact is families will continue to eat,
entertain themselves and buy other goods and services.
But it’s more than simply maintaining or increasing advertising investments, you
must have a sound strategy.
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Examine Your Competition
It is times like these that you must keep a watchful eye on your competition.
Follow the changes they make to their advertising plans. If they start to cu t back
or make their message more conservative, this could be a great opportunity for
your company to capture a stronger market share.The bold and savvy advertisers
are the ones that look at a recession as an opportunity to increase their market
share because their competition makes cut-backs.
Wisely Expand Your Reach
As many advertisers cut back on placements, this can be a great time to become
more visible in a dwindling advertising landscape. Another advantage is that
businesses might get better deals for premium placements where there is less of a
demand.
Regardless of the approach used to take advantage of this time to expand a
business’s reach, advertisers must keep a watchful eye on the progress and ROI for
their advertising strategies.
It’s vital that advertisers measure the impact their campaigns are having and
optimize according to what they find. These findings may conclude that using
advertising efforts such as TV, radio, online, etc will have a clear and proven
return on investment and are critical in expanding reach. Other venues such as
trade shows have a hard time proving any measurable success.
Reassure the Consumer
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Advertisers must gain an understanding of what impact the economy is having on
their target audience, and use that information to evaluate their advertising plan
from creative to the very last placement. Consumers are looking for safe, strong
companies to invest in, shop with, and do business with. Tailor your message
around what consumers are dealing with, but do it in a way to not remind them of
the difficulties they are facing.
Creative that builds trust in consumers and makes them feel more positive about a
company’s commitment to its product and services will have much greater
success. Also, portray strength and success during time of cutbacks.
Scrutinize your marketing budget to make sure you're not wasting money, but
don't stop marketing or advertising completely. While weathering the recession is
priority one for businesses, it is important to understand how not cutting back on
your advertising will multiply your return when the recession ends. It will afford
you to have an upper hand on your competitors that drastically cut their marketing
dollars back during the tough economic times.
"The best strategy for coping with a recession is balanced exploitation of ad
spending for long-term consumer motivation, plus promotion for short term sales
boosts."
In difficult economic times, businesses and consumers don't stop spending money
altogether. They do, however, spend less and tend to want to spend it on brands
with which they are familiar and comfortable. By aggressively advertising during
an economic downturn, you can remain visible and legitimate to your customers,
especially as your competitors pull back. This is what this study has enforced by
way of the responses that were drawn during the research.
As Henry Ford said, “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man
who stops a clock to save time
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CONCLUSION
Many clients, like consumers are nervous over our economic condition, and
rightfully so. But now is not the time to cut back advertising, promotion, and
marketing. In fact research has shown that companies that take advantage of these
times can dominate market share and here are a few reasons why.
Your competition is probably scaling back. This creates less clutter for attention.
Your message can stand out and create more awareness.
Deals are to be had. Media outlets are more likely to negotiate right now for
advertising rates.
If you are advertising, brand identity begins to drop off immediately when you cut
back.
It costs more to re-build brand identity than to continue it during tough times
If others are cutting back and you are maintaining or increasing advertising,
promotions, your position as a market leader is enhanced. It sends a message your
company is strong, confident, and is maintaining its course of success and market
domination.
Now, having said that, it may also be a good time to look at media that gets the
most bang for your buck. Here’s a list of things you may want to consider during
economic stress:
What marketers can do during a recession?
Focus on advertising with clear and proven return on investment, such as Internet
and promotional advertising.
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Be prepared to cut budget bloaters like trade shows, which have a harder time
proving ROI.
Focus on a brand’s core base, instead of going after more expensive new
customers
If a brand has made its bones on humor, don’t be quick to change that.
“Acknowledging bad times might feel right, particularly if a recession is
protracted, but consumers may not want to be reminded of that fact. And a little
entertainment can go a long way, ‘If humor was right for your brand in good
times, it’s even more right for your brand in bad,’
Market position is hard to get, and maintain, don’t lose it. And if you haven’t yet
established a market position, now may be the best time to get started. Remember,
as I’ve posted many times here, market position is one of the single most
important marketing activities you can do. Establish it now, while your
competition is laying low. Do it smart, do it effectively, and do it with
confidence. Recessions do not last forever, and the companies that come out with
a head start will be positioned to gain more market share than those that have been
on the sidelines.
Remember, nothing happens until a sale takes place, and supporting your sales
force with effective marketing has never been more important than it is right now.
These survey results, as well as the recommendations offered with it will,
encourage one to stop thinking of the recession as merely a time of slower sales
and start thinking of it as a unique and temporary window of opportunity. Instead
of viewing the recession as just a sales problem, see it as a time of strategic
opportunity, when investments of time and energy can result in significant long-
term gains.
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BIBILOGRAPHY
Website Sources:
1. http://www.itc.com
2. http://google.com
3. http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom
Book Source:
1. Advertising and integrated brand promotion by O’Guinn.Allen.Semenik.4E
2. Advertising Express Magazine
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ANNEXURE
Questionnaire on Consumers
1. Do you like watching advertisements relating to FMCG & hospitality?
a. Yes
b. No
2. What media of advertising which you think makes more influence for a
Buyer to make decision?
a. Newspapers & Magazines
b. Online Advertising
c. Television Commercials
d. Radio Jingles
e. Mobile SMS Ads
3. How much you rate the relevance between Advertising and Recession?
a. 0%
b. 0-30%
c. 30-60%
d. 60-90%
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e. 90% above
4. Do you agree advertising in recession period makes Brand popular?
a. Yes
b. No
5. How do your rank the advertisements frequency for the following brands?
a. Aashirvaad _______________
b. Wills Lifestyle _______________
c. John Players _______________
d. Vivel _______________
e. Fiama Di Wills _______________
f. Sunfeast _______________
g. AIM _______________
h. Classmate _______________
i. Welcom Group _______________
j. Bingo _______________
6. How often you overcome an advertisement related to FMCG products?
a. Frequently
b. Less Frequently
c. More Frequently
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d. Can’t say
7. In which medium you came across advertisements relating to FMCG
products?
a. Newspapers
b. Magazines
c. Television
d. Internet
8. Do you feel FMCG ads benefited the Brand and People?
a. Yes B. No C. Can’t say
9. 10. How often you overcome a advertisement relate to Hotels?
a. Frequently
b. Less Frequently
c. More Frequently
d. Can’t say
10.In which medium of advertisement you came across ads relating to Hotels?
a. Newspapers
b. Magazines
c. Television
d. Internet
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11.DO you feel Hotel ads benefited the Brand and People?
a. Yes B. No C. Can’t say
12.What type of advertisements you like to see often?
a. Beliefs and Traditions
b. Fun and Cartoons
c. Love and Emotions
d. Pricing and Benefits
e. Others,___________________
13.What made the following Brands popular?
Advertisement Quality
Price
a. Aashirvaad
b. Wills Lifestyle
c. John Players
d. Vivel
e. Fiama Di Wills
f. Sunfeast
g. AIM
h. Classmate
i. Welcom Group
j. Bingo
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14. Do you think recession affected any of the brands listed above? If so
mention the brand names,
____________________________________________________________
Name:
Age:
Thank you for filling up this Questionnaire. We value your opinions.
Questionnaire to the Brands
1. Does your company view advertising as an expense or an investment?
________________________________________________________
2. What type of media you use to reach most effectively your target
audience?
a. Newspapers
b. TV Commercials
c. Radio Jingles
d. Internet Advertising
e. Others______________
3. What is the type of advertising campaign you will run?
e) To promote a new product?
f) To place a familiar product in front of your target audience?
g) To promote a special service or activity?
h) Others,__________________________
4. What is the advertising style that best suits your products and/or services?
____________________________________________________________
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5. How do you reach the most people (within your defined market) for your
advertising (Every Rupee spent)
_____________________________________________________________
6. What you think are the major risks that the advertisements will not
generate enough sales to justify the costs of the campaign?
_____________________________________________________________
7. How have you as a company succeeded during the current recessionary
trend?
__________________________________________________________
8. Did the advertising make a difference during this phase & how?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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Questionnaire to the Ad Agencies
1) How do u demonstrate your value as an Ad agency during slow
economies, when your clients pay more attention on the advertising
spend?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2) What kind of customer benefits do you talk about to your clients?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3) What kind of comprehensive plans you showcase to your clients?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4) How do you help clients in retooling their message to reach-out to their
customers?
___________________________________________________________
5) How well as an agency you understand competitive positioning and
present creative solutions for client advertising needs?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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