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Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong Volume 4 | Issue 12 June 13 Mr. Al Ries Best Selling Author and Father of Positioning Era
Cover story | Indian Hockey – in a marketing soup? markathon|august 2012
Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong Volume 4 | Issue 12
June
13
Mr. Al Ries
Best Selling Author and Father of Positioning Era
Dear Readers,
As always, this summer was full of activity both inside and
outside the world of marketing. Millions of people who
regarded it as a religion were left disappointed after cricket in
India went through some ugly patches over the last three
weeks. Indian Premier League (IPL) was scarred with
controversies including betting, spot fixing and match-fixing.
Pepsi used the very lucrative platform of IPL to launch its own
brand of a much fizzier drink, Pepsi Atom, with Sushant Singh
Rajput as the brand ambassador. While it is yet to fizz up the
Indian market, Pepsi should hope it carves a fair share for
itself in the pie of Indian soft drink market (worth Rs 50
Billion). Mumbai Indians emerged victors in the sixth edition
of the IPL, Bayern Munich were crowed the kings of Europe
and Rafael Nadal reinforced his supremacy on the red soils of
Paris. The chant and brand of “NaMo” is getting stronger and
stronger even as the old guard in Bharatiya Janata Party
reluctantly gave in to the demand of a greater majority for a
greater good. Narayan Murthy’s arrival in Infosys seemed to
have pleased the share market sentiment about the iconic
Indian IT firm.
We want thank you all for the overwhelming number of
entries that we have received for this month’s edition. This
goes to show how Markathon has developed as a platform to
showcase the best minds of the Marketing domain. For a
team that puts its soul into a magazine month in and month
out, there simply cannot be any greater source of
encouragement.
Though products are manufactured and services are offered
by companies, brands are built only by customers. A
substantial amount of resources are spent by companies in
building their brands. While some companies have been
extremely successful in sculpting positive brand equity,
majority of them have failed more often than not. Though
failures are mostly unanticipated, there are some obvious
mistakes which would lead a brand to its peril. The cover
story of this month is a compilation of seven such “sins”
which brands must stay away from. There is no right way in
marketing, which makes the domain even more challenging.
Even biggies like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Ford have failed
miserably in implementing some of their own marketing
strategies. Any marketing activity must be completely in sync
with the expectations of customers from a brand.
There would be times when you are completely awed by
some people in your lives. Al Ries, the father of positioning
era, can be safely counted as one among such people. This
man coined the term “positioning”, which is almost used
ubiquitously nowadays in marketing. Even though we had
him before on “Vartalaap”, we believe you will indeed benefit
from the wise words of this marketing guru.
Always high on entertainment, this month’s “Fun Corner” will
nudge your grey cells with advertising campaigns. Know more
about Dettol in “Brand Story”.
Team Markathon congratulates the winners and all the
participants.
With a host of exciting stuff lined up for you, waste no time in
taking on this delightful journey as you flip through the pages
of the latest edition of Markathon. As always, do send in your
feedback/suggestions to [email protected].
Drench in the rains, drink coffee and enjoy this issue!
Happy Reading!
Team Markathon
FROM TEAM MARKATHON
THE MARKATHON TEAM
Editors Ashok A
Kamalpreet Singh Saluja Pallavi
Prateek Gaurav Shashank S. Tomar
Swikruti Panda
Creative Designers Sushree L. Tripathy
Vaibhav Annam
THE MARKATHON TEAM
Editors Ashok A
Kamalpreet Singh Saluja Pallavi
Prateek Gaurav Shashank S. Tomar
Swikruti Panda
Creative Designers Sushree L. Tripathy
Vaibhav Annam
markathon |june 2013
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CONTENTS
FEATURED ARTICLES PERSPECTIVES ATOM BOMBED
4
BY SUDHEER GV | IIM KOZHIKODE
UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE 7 VATSAL SETHI | KESHAV MAHAVIDYALAYA, DELHI UNIVERSITY
COVER STORY SEVEN SINS OF BRANDING 11 ERNESTO DHILEEBAN, VAIBHAV ANNAM | IIM SHILLONG
VARTALAAP 18 MR. AL RIES BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND FATHER OF POSITIONING ERA
EYE 2 EYE 21 "PEPSI'S 160 CRORE IPL BET: MARKETING MASTERSTROKE OR MISCALCULATED MAYHEM?”
SOUVIK DHAR | NIT SILCHAR ; SAURABH KUMAR | NIRMA UNIVERSITY
SILENT VOICE 22 SLEEPWELL MATTRESSES
SPECIALS
ADDICTED 23 SWIKRUTI PANDA & SUSHREE TRIPATHY | IIM S
BRAND STORY 24 DETTOL BY SHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S
FUN CORNER 25 KAMALPREET SALUJA | IIM S
UPDATES 27 PRATEEK GAURAV | IIM S
sudheer gv
IIM KOZHIKODE
Positioning Strategy
Positioning it as the second main stream cola after the
flagship brand Pepsi, PepsiCo created enough hype for
the brand “Atom”. Also, claims that it is a stronger,
fizzier drink raised huge expectations in the minds of
people about the beverage. Going head on with Thums
Up, spoofing its ad campaigns, PepsiCo tried
desperately to brand Atom as the second major mover
in the fizzy drink segment. In fact, positioning a second
mover is always a difficult task for the top management.
The brand should be positioned either very close to the
first mover or far away from the first mover.
PepsiCo seems to be a bit unclear regarding this as its
positioning of Atom can be strictly classified into neither
heads. But, it has unnecessarily narrowed down its
target base. Aggressive Positioning of it as a symbol of
masculinity, that too, using the words “Macho ka naya
funda” it has distanced itself from female consumers.
Machismo/Macho has the meaning of a belief in the
supremacy of men over women. During women’s
liberation movement the term machismo was used by
feminists to describe male aggression and violence. It
seems that PepsiCo has either not read the literature or
misread it or it is a deliberate attempt by the PepsiCo to
evoke anger of feminists and thereby get some free
publicity out of law suits and street protests. Or it might
be a calculated move by the top management
considering India to be a male dominated society that
they could get away with a tagline like this.
According to an Economic Times article, 30% of
consumers of Thums Up are women. In “Aaj Kuch
toofani karte hain” ad campaign, the ad featuring four
high energy dudes led by Telugu Superstar Mahesh
Babu, Leo Burnette, the creative agency of Thums Up,
has included a woman also. Thums Up only positioned
itself as being extremely strong like a
thunder with a mild signaling of masculine
inclination. It has never explicitly
mentioned in its promos that it is meant
for sir “machos”. The commercials of
Thums Up often showed daredevilry by
people like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar to
grab a bottle of Thums Up which they feel
is so strong that it deserves an adventure
of that sort. Another filter that PepsiCo has
put to its target base is the age group. The
repeated PR positioning of Atom as the
4
perspective markathon|june 2013
BOMBED!
‘Cola for the Youth’, getting it endorsed by Sushant
Singh Rajput show that PepsiCo is trying to reach out
only to youth. It is not the case with Thums Up which,
most of the times, used people in their forties like
Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, South Indian star
Chiranjeevi for its brand endorsements.
Pricing
Pricing strategy is one of the flaws that need to be
discussed. On one hand, blaming coke for its predatory
pricing strategy, PepsiCo has done nothing inventive in
the pricing of Atom. It has set an unwarranted
precedent which might have triggered a price war but
fortunately has not.
PR Strategy
The biggest blunder that PR Agency of Pepsi has
committed is the repeated claim that Atom is the
biggest beverage innovation in the history of PepsiCo. It
sends out a signal into the minds of laymen that
PepsiCo could not come up with a suitable innovation
that could challenge Thums Up’s supremacy for the past
36 years. Using the term “indovation (India specific
innovation as they put it)” just for the sake of short
term gains may damage the reputation of the company
in the long run.
Advertising Strategy
Equally bad is its advertising strategy. Critics have
already started pointing out their fingers at the images
of mushroom cloud appearing at the end of the
advertisement. Historically this mushroom cloud is seen
as a cloud of gas associated with the Atom bomb
explosion that happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The message of this image being shown at the end of
the promo is that Atom generates so much of energy
that is ideally released by a nuclear explosion. In fact
the drink is christened Atom just to drive home the
point that it is as powerful and energetic as an atom
bomb. Bringing this sensitive issue for promoting what
they call a “Josh Cola” is seen to be insensitive by many.
Only once in history was this mushroom cloud concept
used for commercial / political advertising purpose by
former president of US Mr. Lyndon Johnson and his
Democratic party. Even then after
airing it for the first time the
advertisement was withdrawn
because of its controversial
nature. Now, PepsiCo bringing
the same concept to the fore
front just for the sake of
promoting Atom is really
unfortunate.
As one of the followers on Pepsi
Atom official facebook page
mentioned that it is atrocious on
the part of Pepsi to show “A un
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5
cool guy trying to save a damsel in distress being fooled
in the end.” It’s a subtle encouragement of people to
mind their own business and not to respond to women
who are seemingly in danger. Also where is the josh or
energy of Sushant Singh Rajput shown in this ad? Isn’t it
contradicting its own core values “fizzy”, “strong” when
the protagonist in the ad is cool and in a sense is
indifferent to an apparent attack on a woman?
It seems that in a bid to mock the promos of Thums Up,
PepsiCo has deviated from its intended
corporate communication. In an era of
every day crime happening against women,
a responsible company like PepsiCo coming
up with such an ad is really unwarranted.
Digital Marketing Strategy
Coming to its digital marketing strategies,
Atom could get just a little more than 1000
likes for its official page till date. And the
kind of activity that is going on on the page
is miserable. Rather than promoting the
beverage through some innovative ideas
like hosting contests etc, PepsiCo is just
making use of a promo tab that encourages
current fans to invite thirty(or more) of
their friends, to like the page, which makes
them eligible to get a chance of winning a
Lee T-shirt. Most of the netizens are
expressing their displeasure over “Atom” on
this page, benchmarking Atom against
Thums Up and belittling the former. By and large, it is
appearing that Thums Up is being promoted on this
page more than Atom.
Sales and Distribution Strategy
It is surprising to note that Atom has not yet hit many of
the retail outlets. Even in metros like Mumbai, it is not
uncommon to find many retailers saying unavailable
and some of them even going on to the extent of saying
that Atom is not worth buying. With summer about to
end, it is high time for PepsiCo to effectively manage its
supply chains to ensure the omnipresence of
Atom
Bottom line
Despite its aggressive advertising and
marketing strategies, underpricing, favorable
conditions like the summer season, PepsiCo
by and large has failed to push Atom as of
now. Keep aside its ambition of dethroning
Thums Up, the prospects of its very survival
are being questioned by consumers many of
whom are mocking Atom as a “liquid version
of Chyavanprash”. This reiterates the fact that
marketing can only be a support function,
which helps in pushing the product to the
people, while the core function is coming up
with a qualitative product.
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Vatsal sethi
Keshav mahavidyalaya | delhi university
We all know about Godrej’s steel cupboards, which
were present in almost everyone’s homes. The
cupboards which refused to break down and were
passed from one generation to the other. Well, they
have vanished like those old times!
Wikipedia defines ‘Planned Obsolescence’ as: ‘’a policy
of planning or designing a product with limited useful
life, so it will become obsolete, i.e., unfashionable or no
longer functional after a certain period of time.’’
Modern consumer often faces the dilemma of keeping
up with trends or using the product to its complete
lifecycle. Very often, the life of the product is just equal
to its warranty period, after which the consumer is
forced to restart the buying process and replace it.
Other times, he finds himself at crossroads, when the
product he has is functionally competent but
aesthetically obsolete.
The reason why he often finds himself in this difficult
situation is because of planned obsolescence.
On the face of it, it looks like a clever ploy of
profiteering companies to further exploit innocuous and
unassuming customers by using them as pawns in their
strategy towards amassing greater wealth. But, let us
look at few valid rationales before reaching a
conclusion.
Are Producers the real conspirators or mere
scapegoats?
Though technologically possible, it is economically
unviable to manufacture products which last very long.
Consumers or society at large desire products which last
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Understanding the concept of
Planned Obsolescence
5 7
for many years, in contrast to producers who want to
maximise their profits. By producing products that last
for an extended time period, they will simply be
jeopardizing the economic lives of their ventures.
Hence, they produce goods which develop equilibrium
in the market; the consumers find sufficient utility in
them while the producers also earn enough profits.
For firms in the Fashion or Apparels industry, this
phenomenon is just unavoidable. Trends and fads are to
be incorporated in the product lines which make
present products obsolete in the nest season simply
inevitable.
Yet there are a few Exceptions:
Companies like Phillips have always taken initiatives
to enhance the durability of their products. Their
innovation of energy efficient CFL in the lighting
market lead to the ouster of halogen bulbs and up
to 30% reduction in electricity consumption, apart
from longer life.
Amaron, the car battery manufacturer which claims
that its batteries work for the longest time as
compared to others. This claim is sharply expressed
in its advertising campaigns with slogans like- ‘last
long, really long’.
Firms like Century Plywood, whose T.V
advertisement shows passing of generations
without its wood products getting ruined.
Luxury brands like Rolls Royce, Rolex, etc. swear by
the quality of their products and can’t afford them
to get obsolete quickly. Instead, they form the
benchmarks in product design, quality and
manufacturing which are to be adhered to for many
years to come.
Competition is the force that drives them towards
‘planning’ their products’ obsolescence.
Competition forces producers to continuously bring out
new products or upgrade existing ones to outperform
each other in their quest for attaining market
leadership. Thus, they have to think one step ahead of
themselves and two steps ahead of their rivals. By not
doing this, they are just like sitting ducks, waiting to be
attacked by the hunter (read competitor).
Thus, when Samsung launches Galaxy S III to take on
Apple’s IPhone 5, it has to start working on Galaxy S IV
right away, even before gauging the market response.
By not doing it, it gives Apple the chance to circumvent
it with the next IPhone.
This fast world has forced to companies to always be on
their toes. Neither can they afford to be lax in
competing with their rivals, nor leaving the customer
unsatisfied. If they don’t do it, the competitor will
definitely do it.
On the positive side, these competitive pressures often
result in innovation and efficient redesigning of
business practices. With an aim to catch the
competition, firms look ‘out of the box’ for solutions.
perspective markathon|june 2013
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Old Ford Figo New ‘Improved’ Ford Figo
Business Process Innovations:
To reduce the errors in production
process and check its costs,
Motorola invented the
Six Sigma process,
which enabled it to
win the Malcolm
Balridge National
Quality Award given
by the United States
Congress in 1988.
Popularized by Toyota, Kaizen is the process of
continuous improvement of business processes by the
formation of quality groups. Google offers benefits like
free gourmet chefs, giant lap pools, ping-pong and
foosball tables, etc. to extract the most from its
employees and secure loyalty. Some other common
changes in today’s organisations are: shorter production
cycles, flatter organization structures and beefed up R &
D budgets.
Product Innovations:
Seeing an opportunity between the phone and tablet
segment, Samsung Electronics created a new category
of ‘Phablets’ or ‘phone + tablets’ with launch Galaxy
Note, a 5 inch Smartphone. Even after being panned by
critics initially, it went out to become such a success,
that its next model, Galaxy Note II was able to sell more
than 2 million units in its first month of launch.
Remember, there are always two sides to a coin.
Take a look at the Apple IPhone 5. What is the
difference between IPhone 4S and IPhone 5? Half an
inch! Or for that matter between IPad 3 and IPad 4?
Retina display. That’s it.
Agreed that Apple is the leader in a market with cut-
throat competition and companies like Samsung
Electronics inching closer to its throne, but these
incremental improvements just cannot be termed as
‘’innovations’’ or strategies to keep competitors at bay.
These are mere tactics to mislead the consumers into
thinking that the product they possess has become
outdates and lost its ability to offer utility to them.
Rather, through heavy advertising and much hyped
Apple IPhone 4S & IPhone 5
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press conferences, consumers are brainwashed into
believing that by not upgrading to the new version, they
would be left behind, as the rest of the world moves on
to the ‘Next Big Thing’.
In the automobile sector this phenomenon goes
by the name of a ‘facelift’. Some tweaks in
the headlamps, new bumpers or use of a
little chrome leads to the rebranding of
the old car as a ‘new and improved’
one. Car buyers are made to
believe that by incorporating
the changes, the car has
become a new one which
justifies the rise in price,
whereas from inside it is just
like an old wine presented in a
new bottle.
Effects on the Environment
The environmental impacts of such practices
can easily be inferred:
More utilization of resources than is required by the
society leading to faster resource depletion.
Rising levels of pollution which adversely affect the
climate and crop cycles.
Increased wastage causing ecological imbalances
and over use of energy.
Conclusion
We can conclude that planned
obsolescence is strategy
followed by manufactures to
shorten consumption cycles and
augment consumer spending.
This is a zero sum game, where
one party wins (producers) at
the expense of the other
(consumers). Consumers are
misled into believing what they
are consuming is not worth
consumption and must be
replaced by the new version, whereas it is nothing but a
clever ploy on the part of marketers to fatten up their
bottom lines.
But, this phenomenon is not present in all the sectors.
Sectors which involve design, aesthetics and
fashion are the ones impacted by it. This is
because these thrive on the consumer
interests based on psychological needs
and trends in the world and are
extremely difficult to predict. As a
result, instead of relying on
consumers to identify their
needs, the manufacturers
themselves provide the
consumers with new needs
which can be fulfilled by their
products. Along with the presence
of competitors, planned obsolescence
becomes a more important strategy for
survival than for profits or growth.
On the flipside, in sectors where functionality
matters more than aesthetics or fashion, the
ideologies of durability are followed. As the consumer is
more interested in the functioning of the product than
its appearance, the manufacturers have no choice but
to provide long lasting and well-functioning products.
The competition is played out on the basis of offering
maximum utility to the customer at the lowest price.
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cover story | markathon|month 2013
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cover story | Seven Sins of Branding markathon|june 2013
Ernesto | Vaibhav | IIM Shillong
Cover Story
Seven Sins
Of
Branding
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“It's smoother, uh, uh, rounder yet, uh, yet bolder... A
more harmonious flavour”, said the company’s CEO.
The day was April 23, 1985. After a thorough market
research which included surveying around 2,00,000
people, a new product was planned to be launched on
this day. The company was hopeful of regaining the
lost market share from its competitor. Research
suggested that people
preferred the taste of this
new product much more
than the company’s own
flagship product.
Management Team decided
that change was the way to go
and introduced New Coke to the
world. The product bombed. Public
outrage and sentiment against New
Coke was so strong that mere 3 months
later, Coca Cola announced it would switch
back to the original formula and call it Classic
Coke. What had gone wrong? How could a
brand as big as Coca Cola, which sells roughly
around a billion drinks everyday go wrong? Well, the
answer lies in the very sentence: BRAND
Welcome to the elusive world of branding, where
even some the biggest names have had to miserably
bite the dust while trying to brand and rebrand.
Brand, in its simplest definition, is the identity of a
product in the mind of the customer. This identity is
influenced, obviously, by a lot of factors. And more
often than not, these factors are quite unpredictable.
Perhaps the single most important attribute of a
brand is the emotional connection which the
consumer feels while using the brand. It’s a common
phenomenon that consumers make buying
decisions based around the perception of the
brand rather than the reality of the product. Trust
in a brand far overweighs any of the 4 Ps which
marketing gurus have been gleefully preaching
over and over again. While most of the global
companies established of yore might not have had
to give significant importance to their brand during
the growth face, now that they are successful only
means they have to live up to delivering their
brand proposition. While building up a brand is
comparatively easy, maintaining the same is quite
a challenge. How well you understand your
customer is quintessential in shaping/preserving your
brand. Bigger companies can still afford to get a
branding activity or two wrong. But this can often be
fatal in case of smaller companies where one mistake
can very well wipe their names off the market.
There are plentiful examples of firms which have gone
wrong in their way of branding. Though there
could be different reasons for failure, one
striking similarity in all these examples is that
brands had neglected one crucial aspect of
branding: “focus on customer”. “Customer is
the king”. Clichéd it may sound but why is it
a cliché if not true. The following
sections present to you our
take on what brands have to
be wary of in order not
collapse and lose their own
value. Presenting to you,
the seven deadly sins of
branding.
Brand Amnesia
Amnesia, in true sense, means a deficit in memory
caused by damage to brain. Well, in the context of
branding, the damage caused because of brand
amnesia could be much more fatal. Of late, brands
have assumed a humanitarian touch among
consumers. The feeling of comfort and trust in a
brand is something you would generally associate only
with another human being. So, what happens when
brands forget what they stand for and start delivering
something else to the consumer altogether? Simple,
they learn it the hard way. Let’s see what global food
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giant McDonald’s did when they introduced Arch
Deluxe.
McDonald’s felt that it was perceived as children-
centered brand (having Roland McDonald as their
mascot helped fuel this perception). It wanted to
move away from this image and cater to adult
audience. Thus it introduced Arch Deluxe in the year
1996. The new burger was promoted as “the burger
with grown-up taste”.
Advertising activities were
outsourced to
an agency
called Fallon
McElligott
for a
whopping $ 100
million. In fact the
whole
research undertaken before Arch Deluxe was
launched costed McDonalds an eye-popping $ 300
million dollars. In the TV Commercials which
appeared, Roland McDonald was seen playing golf
and dancing at a night club, only to drive home the
fact that “McD is growing up”. But the product failed.
It’s not rocket science to guess the reason why Arch
Deluxe failed. The customers going to McDonalds
know they are not going in for the tastiest food in the
world. If McDonald’s has a sustainable competitive
advantage in something, it is convenience and
simplicity. Period. If you take that away from a McD
burger, it is bound to fail.
It is thus quintessential for a brand to understand
what it means to its customers. A product might be
built by a company; but a brand is always built by the
customer. Any organization which is of the feeling
that brands can be tampered with according to its
own whims and fantasies, is doomed to failure.
Brand Deception
Time and again, one point we have been stressing
heavily on is the trust between a customer and a
brand. Once this trust factor is gone, the reputation of
a brand can take a severe beating. It’s a general
prevailing tendency among many firms that branding
activities are simply a way to cover up the
shortcomings in a brand. Some companies feel that
what the product lacks in can be covered up
intelligently by deceiving customer into something
else. While others have adopted unethical means
merely to increase reputation among customers. Let’s
see what Sony did.
Columbia Pictures, as you all know, is owned by Sony
Pictures Entertainment. In the year 2001, two movies
by the film-house hit the silver screen. The first one
was “A Knight’s Tale”, which starred Heath Ledger.
The second was “The Animal”, in which Rob Schneider
played the lead role. The movies were given excellent
reviews by the film critic David Manning. Heath
Ledger was called as “the year’s hottest new star” and
The Animal was “Another Winner!” according to Mr
Manning. Things went fine and both the movies
attracted quite an audience. But the trouble started
when Newsweek magazine revealed that David
Manning does not exist. In fact it was discovered that
David Manning was the pen name of an executive
who worked for Sony. A fraud of such scale was not
expected of the studio, which had delivered famous
movies like “A Few Good Men”, “Sawshank
Redemption”, “Men in Black” among many others. It
was an incredibly foolish move by Sony and they
ended up paying a refund of $ 5 to every unsatisfied
customer who went to watch the movies based on
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Manning’s reviews.
A learning indeed for brands which
believe they can cheat the customer and
get away with it. Brands must remember
that in this age of technology, people are
connected. Views and thoughts get easily
exchanged. Deceiving customers is
definitely not the way to take. Customers
respect only those brands which are
completely honest in their approach.
Brand ego:
Do you know stretching your muscles too
much can actually make it less
functional? It’s not very different from a brand even.
When a brand gets too big for its boots and over-
stretches, it finally ends up paying a hefty price. It is
evident from the past, when brands tried to conquer a
market single-handedly and failed miserably. Even the
most successful ones, sometimes fall into the trap of
overestimating their own importance and their own
capability. Let us now walk through the Tesco’s billion
pounds “brand ego trip” to the US market.
On April 17th, 2013, supermarket giant Tesco has
announced their first drop in annual profits in 20
years with Fresh & Easy’s failure costing a hefty billion
pounds. In this case the stretch was from its core
market in the UK to the notoriously difficult US
market. Even though Tesco spent a fortune on pre-
launch consumer research, including doing extensive
in-home studies, the real problems of Fresh & Easy
came into light only
after launching the
chain. The victory of
Tesco in other foreign
markets made them
complacent as they
underestimated the US
counterparts. It didn't
fully respect the
competitive retailers
who already had a
foothold in the US cities
where Fresh & Easy
launched, and failed to
add enough value
versus the existing offer in the market. The US
customers didn't like having self-checkouts and having
to pack their own bags, and the smaller store format
didn't fit well with the habit of doing big shops. After
trying out different things, finally Tesco admits its
mistake and exits from the US market.
One of the problems with brand ego trips is that they
divert time and talent from the core business, in this
case Tesco's UK supermarket business. In conclusion,
Tesco's US troubles are a stark reminder of how hard
it is to stretch from the core into a new market, with a
need to add genuine value versus established
competition.
Brand Megalomania:
Egotism often leads to Megalomania. When this
happens, brands want to take over the world by
expanding into every
product category
imaginable. Some, such
as Virgin, get away with
it. Lesser brands,
however, do not.
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While motorbike apparel (Motor-clothes
merchandise) and ornaments probably matched
the Harley Davidson cult heritage brand, the
company had lost focus. In the 1990s, it extended
the brand too far. It introduced products like wine
coolers, aftershave and perfumes. Even the loyal
fans did not like the idea, as it did not resonate
with the tough brand identity. The company was
clearly not focusing on what it knew best – building
strong bikes. Customers wanted strong bikes and
accessories that complimented the brand, but ties
and infant clothes went too far. Activities like
cruise biking were good initiatives by the company
to involve the customer and enhance brand loyalty.
However, Perfumes and wine coolers were eroding
the mystery of the Harley Davidson brand. After
strong criticism from the loyal customers, the
company pulled of many inappropriate products.
Harley Davidson had learnt a branding lesson. More
products did not mean more revenue and
overextending the brand meant a short-term focus.
Brand Irrelevance:
Could General Motors have managed once-great
brands much worse? With or without a bailout,
nearly all of GM’s brands are classic examples of
brands that lost their relevance with consumers. How
did the market share leader, with a portfolio of brands
that delivered exceptional performance (Pontiac) and
aspirational image (Cadillac) fall so far? As always,
consumers’ lifestyles and preferences changed over
time; General Motors did very little to respond.
Among the major marketing mistakes that ‘led to this
fine mess’:
They lost touch with the consumer. Since their
peak market share days, when the brands’
product lines and marketing messages
captured consumer desires, GM listened
lesser and lesser. Their focus, tragically, was
on ‘what they could make,’ rather than what
the consumer wanted to buy. For example,
Toyota, Honda and others did a far better job
anticipating and responding to consumers’
interests in smaller cars, better fuel-efficiency,
and SUVs.
Their innovation lagged competition. Once leaders
in innovative product design, they became
followers, at best. And when they actually could
innovate, they were late. Their manufacturing
process became so complex and unyielding that it
took them at least 2 years longer to introduce a
new model, than competition. That dooms any
innovation program.
The brands’ positioning became unclear. Just a
few decades ago, Pontiac was the ultimate sports
car and Cadillac was the American dream for
luxury. And now? A virtually indistinguishable
array of ill-defined, overlapping brands. And GM
vacillated on managing the portfolio – sometimes
focusing on nameplate brands (e.g. Buick or
GMC), sometimes on the model brands (e.g.
Sunfire or Escalade). Meanwhile competitors did
cover story | Seven Sins of Branding markathon|june 2013
15
cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
an infinitely better job at building compelling
nameplate brands (e.g. Lexus, Toyota)
Underestimating competition. Despite years of
declining market share and getting pummelled by
global
competitors,
GM
management
remained
steadfast in
their insular
assumption
that the GM
way was the
best way.
Wake up. The
moment you
lose market
share your
consumer is
telling you; “I don’t prefer you anymore.” That’s
the warning sign to adapt and respond.
Brand Fatigue
What happens when you keep wearing the same T-
Shirt over and over again? You eventually lose interest
in it. The next sin we will talk about is a similar
concept. Brands which have been in existence for a
very long time often undergo what is called as Brand
Fatigue. Creativity takes a beating and the urge to
continuously re-innovate leads to the demise of the
particular brand. At this point, we want to stress on
the following statement: “What takes birth, eventually
will die”. Brands are no exception to this fact. As it
stands, all big brands be it Pepsi, Nike, Mercedes Benz
or Proctor and Gamble will eventually cease to exist
(this might not happen immediately or in near future
but given some time yes). Well that’s the law of
nature. But what can be done is delay the demise by
adopting proper strategies. Pears, the very famous
transparent soap of Unilever, is a classic example of
Brand fatigue.
Pears was introduced in the late 18th Century. The
product became an instant hit in the market.
Marketing campaign surrounding Pears helped boost
its visibility. Notable among advertising efforts would
be the “Bubbles campaign”, which featured a baby
boy bathing in a tub of bubbles. Till the first half of
20th century, Pears remained market leader in the UK.
We are talking about a product that has been in
existence for over 150 years. That’s a long time for
any brand. And for all obvious reasons not a lot of
marketing was observed towards the end of 20th
century for the legendary soap brand. Market share
fell and Pears was no longer a priority for Unilever.
Brand fatigue seems to contradict what we have
been saying so far. On one hand, we said brands
must not fall trap to brand amnesia and on the
other, we are warning brands to be wary of brand
fatigue. Dicey, isn’t it? Where do we draw the line
now? Well, brands can keep reinventing
themselves as long as what they deliver is in sync
with the perception of the brand among
consumers.
cover story | Seven Sins of Branding markathon|june 2013
16
cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
Brand Paranoia
Sometimes, even the best crumble under the pressure
of delivering. Diminishing market share leads
companies to take drastic and at times vague
measures. More often than not, brands often cave in
to the longing propensity of imitating the competition.
But what brands forget is that what works for one
brand might not work for them. No two brands are
same. Copying competition will only result in the loss
of competitive advantage. Sometimes, brands have
this constant urge of reinventing themselves
continuously within very short periods of time. This
results not only in large advertising cost, but also a
great deal of confusion among consumers about the
brand proposition. Another form of
paranoia is tendency to file lawsuits
against rival companies. This puts the
brand at risk of eroding its own goodwill
among consumers. Apple-Samsung patent
wars are a classic example of companies
trying to hurt each other in order to gain
more market share.
The important take home for brands is
that wise decisions are taken only when
they are completely composed. Paranoia
about competition will result in obsession
of wanting to defeat them rather than
increasing focus on the customer.
So Finally
It is a common knowledge that there is a
lot more knowledge in a failure than a success. Post
mortem of those branding activities which failed have
revealed a lot of things. Take focus off your customer
and you are over. It is important to understand what
your brand means to the customer. While there is
nothing wrong in experimenting and ideating, any
kind of branding activity must completely comply with
what the brand stands for. Market leaders are
consistently the best and most prolific innovators.
Brands, like people, maintain their vitality by
evolving positively over time.
Three months after the launch of New Coke, the
CEO Mr Roberto Goizueta said in a press
conference, “We have heard you”. And Coke
announced that it would be returning back to its
original product. Coke Classic was received by
customers gleefully and its market share was even
better than before. Coca Cola had failed to
understand what people expected out of it. Being
the pioneer in Cola-drinks industry, last thing
people wanted from coke was a makeover which
came in the form of New Coke. Coke understood
this post launch of New Coke, retracted and gave
people what they really wanted.
Brands must always try and stay away from the seven
deadly sins. Some could be lucky and big enough to
make a comeback after a failure. Others would simple
get washed away.
cover story | Seven Sins of Branding markathon|june 2013
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cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
vartalaap markathon|january 2013
Al Ries is the cofounder and chairman of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Ries & Ries with his partner and
daughter, Laura Ries. Along with Jack Trout, Ries coined the term "positioning", as related to the field of
marketing, and authored Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind, an industry standard on the subject. Ries
graduated from DePauw University in 1950 with a degree in liberal arts and accepted a position with the
advertising department of General Electric before founding his own advertising agency in New York City, Ries
Cappiello Colwell, in 1963. The agency later changed to a marketing strategy firm, Trout & Ries. Ries was
selected as one of the most influential people in the field of public relations in the 20th century by PR Week
magazine in 1999. Ries has also written a number of books on Marketing and Branding that have made the
BusinessWeek best seller list on a number of occasions.
An Interview with Al Ries
Best Selling Author and Father of Positioning Era
vartalaap markathon|june 2013
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cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
vartalaap markathon|january 2013
Markathon: You’ve had an illustrious career spanning
from Liberal arts, to advertising, to marketing strategy
and now a Consulting firm. How has been your
journey through all these diverse assignments?
Mr. Ries: It's like a journey through an enormous
country. Every stop has taught me something new and
different. I don't think I could have ever worked at a
traditional job for a traditional company. Doing the
same thing over and over again would have become
extremely monotonous.
Markathon: You came with the “Postioning” era in
1972 and Marketing has never been the same, How
do you see the companies’ in today’s fierce
competitive environment taking the concept of
“Positioning” forward? Will it be tweaked?
Mr. Ries: Positioning has become famous, but many
of our positioning principles are still violated every
day of the week. Therefore we have a big job to do to
convince companies that there is a different approach
to what they are doing. Take the "line-extension trap,"
which was one of our basic positioning principles. As
we wrote in our first article on the subject, “Just
because a company is well-known in one field, doesn’t
mean it can transfer that recognition to another. In
other words, your brand can be on top of one ladder
and nowhere on another. And the further apart the
products are conceptually, the greater the difficulty of
making the jump.” That was 39 years ago. Regretfully,
line extension is still the preferred marketing strategy
for many companies.
Markathon: You’ve written many
Bestselling books, which one of them
is the closest to your heart and why
so?
Mr. Ries: You always favor your last
book. My last book was "War in the
Boardroom," written with my
daughter and partner Laura. Some
people are left brainers and some
people are right brainers. I'm
convinced that top management of
most companies today are left brainers: verbal, logical
and analytic. On the other hand, most marketing
people are right brainers: visual, intuitive and holistic.
The two sides are destined to clash. (And in my
career, I've witnessed hundreds of those clashes.)
Actually, we believe that companies need both types
of people to be truly successful. But both sides need
to understand each other. That's the objective of the
book.
Markathon: You’ve had consulting experiences with
some of the biggest brands in the world; can you
share with us one of these assignments which you’d
call the ‘most challenging’ one or a memorable one?
Mr. Ries: We can't talk about any recent assignments
for confidentiality reasons. But a constant theme of
many of our assignments was to keep the company's
core brand focused and expand the company's
product line by introducing new brands. And
naturally, company management wanted to expand
its existing brand. That's what we call the line
extension trap. We argued with IBM about the need
for a new brand for its line of personal computers.
Instead, IBM line-extended its brand. After 23 years
and a reported $15 billion in losses, IBM sold its
personal computer operations to Lenovo. We fought
with Xerox about the need to launch a desktop laser
printer line to compete with Hewlett-Packard. Xerox
had invented the laser printer (the first one was
driven by a mainframe computer) but didn't think the
market was ready for a desktop version. They waited
too long and got shut out of the market.
The Xerox situation illustrates a common
problem of many companies.
Management tends to try to predict the
future and make decisions on what is
likely to happen. Xerox management was
convinced that the desktop laser printer
had no future, so decided not to waste
money getting into the market. Our
position is that companies should invest
in potential new categories and treat
their investments as "insurance." If a
company gets in early and the category
does take off, then the company will be in
a good position. Xerox used to be a much
Always check your
theories against what
is working and what
is not working. And
the only way to do
that is to constantly
read the business
media.
vartalaap markathon|june 2013
19
cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
vartalaap markathon|january 2013
bigger and more profitable company than Hewlett-
Packard. But they lost the desktop laser printer
market to Hewlett-Packard. Today, Hewlett-Packard is
six times the size of Xerox. Sometimes one key
decision can mean the difference between enormous
success and mediocrity.
Markathon: You’ve emphasised the need to build
Brands by Publicity and not advertising in your books.
What would you term as the essential differentiating
factor between Publicity and Advertising?
Mr. Ries: Credibility: Advertising is not nearly as
believable as publicity. But we're not opposed to
advertising. After a while, a company runs out of PR
potential. No publication today, for example would
run a story about a wonderful new drink called Coca-
Cola. The only stories they run about Coke are
negative. That's why after a certain amount of time
has passed, a company needs to shift its marketing
programs to advertising. Our philosophy: PR first,
advertising second.
Markathon: Can you
share with us a couple
of trends which you
think will impact the
world of Marketing in
a big way in the
coming decade?
Mr. Ries: Marketing
can be roughly divided into strategy and tactics.
Strategy is more important, but it's almost impossible
to predict a trend in strategy. Tactics are easier to see.
There' s no question that marketing is moving into the
digital era, an era that has spawned social media and
many other digital techniques. There's bound to be
many, many developments in the digital era that will
affect how marketing is practiced. Keep in mind,
however, that tactics are not a substitute for a good
strategy. Without a good strategy, a company cannot
win, even though it might have good tactics.
Markathon: Would you like to give any advice to our
readers who are looking to make a career in the field
of marketing and brand management?
Mr. Ries: Read especially the newspapers and
magazines that cover global businesses. In America,
that would include publications like The Wall Street
Journal, Business Week, Fortune and many others. If
you want a long-lasting career in marketing, you need
to know what is working and what is not. Take Apple,
for example. Apple has become the most valuable
high-tech company in the world. What is Apple's
strategy? Create a new category you can be first in
and then dominate that category by launching new
brands, the iPod, the first high capacity MP3 player,
the iPhone, the first touchscreen smartphone, the
iPad, the first tablet computer. Apple is not a brand
name. Apple is a company name. Nobody says "I
bought an Apple." They say "I bought an iPod." Or "I
bought an iPhone." Or "I bought an iPad." This is just
the opposite of the line-extension strategy of Apple's
competitors. Now do you suppose that would change
the minds of the millions of people who believe that
line extension is the
best strategy for a
company? Of course,
not. They don't read;
they don't think. They
just cling to an idea
that might make sense,
but doesn't work.
Always check your
theories against what is
working and what is
not working. And the only way to do that is to
constantly read the business media.
Markathon: One last question, what keeps Al Ries
ticking? And are there any other books you are
currently working on?
Mr. Ries: My daughter and I keep finding new ideas to
think about and to write about. Laura is working on a
new book that I believe will be exceptionally well
received. What it is about we want to keep secret for
the moment.
Marketing can be roughly divided
into strategy and tactics. Strategy
is more important, but it's almost
impossible to predict a trend in
strategy. Tactics are easier to see
vartalaap markathon|june 2013
20
Saurabh Kumar
NIRMA University
Topic for the next issue Eye to Eye: “IPhone Mini: Market Penetration or Brand Dilution?”
Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 20th
June, 2013. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.
Sometimes it’s really hard to predict the outcome of
any bold strategic decision as it might either bring
laurels or even might be a trigger to
a disaster. PepsiCo betting 160
crore on the million dollar cricket
league of India is surely a great risk
taking gamble in context to the
current scenario and may end up
as a miscalculated mayhem for
them.
The aggressive marketing strategies of Pepsi in IPL
have brought down the old tussle of the cola players
back down from the memory lane. During the 1996
Cricket World Cup, although Coca Cola was the official
sponsor of the tournament, Pepsi ambushed the
whole campaign by coming up with the tagline
“Nothing Official About It”. So this time when Pepsi
has invested such a huge amount it might not be a
great shock for PepsiCo if Coke comes back with such
a good similar strategy which would definitely hurt
the prospect of Pepsi
PepsiCo has left no stone unturned as it bagged the
crucial title sponsorship of the IPL, associate
sponsorship of SET MAX , marketing rights of eight out
of nine participating teams. But Coke is not sitting idle
and is using its earlier alliances with Mumbai Indians
to counter these strategic moves of PepsiCo. As if we
go little back down the memory lane in IPL - 2 Coke
had hijacked the “Youngistan” campaign of Pepsi by
getting their brand ambassadors like Sehwag and
Ishant in their promotional activities.
In response to Pepsi aggressive advertising strategies
Coke used its pricing strategy to counter their
opponents by offering their 200 ml at a mere price of
Rs 8 thus sending a clear message to its competitors’
that advertisement alone won’t be enough to grab the
market and gain huge profit. Thus under these
scenario it would be not a great marketing moves on
part of Pepsi to take such a huge bet on IPL.
Miscalculated Mayhem, this is what most of us must
be conceiving regarding Pepsi’s 160 crore IPL bet. But
in-spite of thinking short term,
we must look into its long
term benefits. Then only we
can call it a Sachin’s stroke, i.e.
a ‘Masterstroke’ in the field of
marketing. PepsiCo is building
360 degree fan salience by
taking it to the next level.
There’s a strong correlation between salience and
consumption. Numbers suggest that there are around
200 million people who engage with the IPL.
Moreover, India is a country with huge growth
opportunity, as currently it is a very low per-capita
consumption market for beverages. It can be said that
the plan is to go beyond advertising. Smartening up
the pitch, creating 500-ml 'fan' cans, Pepsi Tweet20
tournament on Twitter, Can-shaped player dug-outs,
3D pitch mats, a remixed horn, a count-down timer, a
new beverage, and much more are implemented.
“I know there are critics talking about our acquisition,
but PepsiCo is a sports marketer, we've always been
sports marketers. The expertise is built into the
system, and we do know how to leverage sports.”
~DeepikaWarrier, VP — beverage marketing, PepsiCo
If we talk about the numbers, then as compared to
last year, PepsiCo is spending 25% more this summer
across brands. This is because of the reason that a
good 50% of volumes come in the April to June
months itself. Besides Pepsi, other products like 7Up,
Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Lays are also being
activated. Pouring rights has given immense
opportunity to do regional marketing. 7Up is a very
strong brand in the South. Hence, the company is
activating it with the Chennai, Hyderabad and
Bangalore teams. For Mountain Dew, which is very big
brand in the North, alignment with the Rajasthan,
Punjab and Delhi teams is done.
war zone | eye 2 eye markathon | june 2013
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Souvik Dhar
NIT Silchar
21
Sakshi Goyal | NIRMA University
NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “NJOY e-cigarette” LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 20th June, 2013
EMAIL ID: [email protected]
Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.
Silent Voice
LAST MONTH’S RESULTS
Theme: “Sleepwell Mattresses”
WINNER: Pulkit Kohli and Ankur Baj
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai Congratulations!!! Pulkit and Ankur receive a cash prize of Rs 500!
war zone | silent voice markathon | june 2013
22
PRODUCT: Mc-Donald's McEgg
POSITIONING: “An all steamed wholesome meal”
CREATIVE AGENCY: Leo Burnett, India
YouTube Link:
Ad-dicted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embe
dded&v=LLWNIqTBF5U
PRODUCT: Coca Cola
POSITIONING: “Coca Cola Small World Machines-
Bringing India & Pakistan Together”
specials | ADdicted markathon | june 2013
Sushree tripathy | IIM S Swikruti panda | iim s
CONCEPT:
The ad has been designed to launch a new product
McEgg Burger targeting a major segment of Indians who
are not non-vegetarians but do not mind egg i.e.
Eggitarians. The ad shows the after-effects of eating a
McEgg burger. People in different settings take a bite of
the McEgg burger and then start squawking like a
chicken to their astonishment. In a shot a girl starts
clucking all of a sudden sitting in a McDonald's outlet. In
following shots a sleeping girl wakes up to a fellow
passenger's squawking; pak-paka noise keeps arising in
various settings likewise. Then in a luscious manner the
steamed egg is shown going in with mayo and spices to
make the McEgg.
VERDICT:
Catch/Miss- Miss
No doubt that the sound effects of the squawking
chicken register well in the minds of the target audience.
But too much of it in the ad makes it look like the launch
of just another variant in the menu as typical variants of
fries were launched making a lot of noise as there was
little new to show about the product. McEgg is a new
complete product in itself that can capture the huge
eggitarian sect of Indian population. There is more to
the product that just egg, i.e it is a steamed healthy
wholesome meal. In the rising health conscious nation
missing out on this factor may cost merry. The new
supply chain established which is very picky in selecting
only one in every three eggs should also have been high-
lighted in the ad. Overall I give it a "not half bad".
CREATIVE AGENCY: Leo Burnett, India
YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_4vOUDImE
CONCEPT:
Addressing one of the most infamous political hostilities
in the world, Coca Cola came out with a 3 minute ad on
YouTube, embracing the digital medium. The video
shows the events that followed when the brand put up a
live communications portal equipped with webcams &
touchscreen, which also served as vending machines, in
different cities of India & Pakistan. Passers-by were
encouraged to interact with strangers across the
national border by simply joining hands, waving,
dancing, and making peace signs through the screens, at
the end of which the vending machine dispensed cans of
Coke. The machines named ‘Coca Cola Small World
Machines’ were meant to bring Pakistan & India
together saying “what unites us is stronger than what
sets us apart”.
VERDICT:
Catch/Miss- Catch
Yet another novel initiative from Coca Cola, the video
evokes heartwarming and emotional reactions in the
viewer implying how people can overcome differences
and come together in a simple act of joy. It scores high
on execution as the Small World Machines are a
technological marvel to watch as well as the production
induces a warm & fuzzy feel. The result is extremely
moving and has a high entertainment value which makes
it much more effective than a hard-sell product spot.
Besides, Coca Cola’s intention of changing some hearts
in Pakistan, where Pepsi is the leading player, is subtly
and smartly weaved into the ad. Here’s hoping the ad
does ‘open happiness’ for the two countries as well as
the brand alike.
23
cover story | markathon|month 2013
10
BRAND STORY: DETTOL SHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S
A near Rs. 1000 Crore brand, available in over 20 Lac
outlets across India, Dettol is the brand synonymous
with Antiseptic Liquid for the Indian consumer. The
rich heritage of the brand is apparent by the fact that
it has featured consistently in ET Brand Equity’s list of
Most Trusted Brands since the year 2000.
Dettol was launched in 1933 in India as an antiseptic
liquid to be used for disinfecting purposes in hospitals.
However, the brand began to be used by the common
masses for variety of hygiene related purposes. The
positioning of the brand has mainly been functional-
as a brand used to eliminate germs and bacteria, with
less stress on sensory benefits. It’s
characteristic smell, the symbol of Sword on
the white and green pack and the
clouding action of mixing Dettol
with water have been deeply
embedded in the consumer’s
cognitive system.
The brand capitalized on
heightened personal hygiene
concerns of its TG (urban
affluent consumers) and
successfully transitioned from a
‘cuts and wounds’ brand to a
‘germ protector’ by entering several
other categories of personal hygiene such
as soaps, shower gels, shaving creams, hand
wash, sanitizers and prickly heat powders.
Dettol forayed into the soap category, which
commands 88% share of Indian Personal Care market,
with Dettol Original Soap offering a value proposition
of ‘mild and gentle skincare’. Successively, Dettol
Skincare (moisturising) and Dettol Total Protection
(refreshing) were launched to target consumers
seeking sensorial benefits. The usage of Dettol soaps
was found to be highly seasonal with consumers using
it only during summer and monsoon seasons. Thus, an
educative nation-wide campaign was launched,
showing instances of germ pick-up in every season,
which helped in giving a huge push to sales in 2007.
Dettol Liquid Hand Wash was launched in 1994. One
of the biggest innovations by Dettol has taken place in
this category in the form of Dettol No-Touch Hand
Wash, which had a soap dispenser automatically
pumping out soap without making contact with the
pump.
The Dettol brand was extended into home-care
category with the latest launch of Dettol Healthy
Kitchen Gel, a multi-purpose gel to clean utensils as
well as kitchen surfaces to ensure a safe and germ-
free kitchen. The product has been under fire from
the category leader Vim, which took up the ante by
directly taking pot-shots at Dettol for
being a harsh anti-septic unfit for usage
in the kitchen.
Dettol’s communication
strategy has always centred
on being the mother’s best
friend in helping her keep
the family secure and safe,
by evoking positive
imageries of health and
protection. ‘Aapka Dettol
Kya-Kya Karta Hai’ campaign
was launched in 2008,
showcasing Dettol as being the
first product to be used by the
consumer wherever and whenever
disinfection was required. Another major
campaign ‘Dettol Surakshit Parivar’ was launched
for on-ground consumer contact program to educate
mothers and school-children about best hygiene
practices. Though Dettol has been reasonably good in
broadcast media, it is yet to do anything prominent in
the social media.
It will be worthwhile watching Dettol, a brand that
stood firm in the face of competition from the likes of
Savlon, take on the biggies like Vim and Lifebuoy.
Time will test if the Indian consumer will ‘Be 100%
sure’ of Dettol as a home-care brand.
specials | brand story markathon|june 2013
24
specials | Fun Corner
markathon|february 2013
17
Fun corner
KAMAL SALUJA | IIM S
.
IDENTIFY THE BRAND The past few years have seen top brands coming out with powerful digital marketing campaigns. Although most top Indian brands are still banking on conventional television marketing campaigns, it will be interesting to see when and how Indian brands come up with new digital marketing ideas. Below are some of the most innovative and successful digital marketing campaigns seen in recent years. Identify the brands behind these campaigns. After you have answered the questions, watch the YouTube links and have fun.
specials | Fun Corner
markathon|june 2013
specials | Fun Corner
markathon|february 2013
1. This automobile brand targeted women in the UK for doing their makeup while driving. The campaign was used for an important cause and the video’s shock value caught people’ attention and incited them to share the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMFqSjjnte0
2. This brand gave people the possibility to offer its product to anyone in the world via its mobile app. Then, it filmed the effect and positive associations created with the brand. Even though this campaign could have been carried out using a classical website, the mobile app was a smart use of technology that reinforced the brand’s sense of purpose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-GevoYB8
3. This brand created a new interactive YouTube channel where people could ask anything and get a response in video form. This transparent position for the global brand piqued people’s curiosity and reassured people who were wary of the brand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
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specials | Fun Corner
markathon|february 2013
17
1) Volkswagen 2) Coca Cola 3) McDonalds 4) Nike
5) TNT 6) Proctor and Gamble 7) Dove
Answers
4. This sports-centric brand combined a digital campaign with the launch of an entirely new category of products. In doing so, it broadened its value proposition by becoming a health partner and devised a manner to access data that will allow the brand to better address its customers in the future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG0vLFFtZDs
5. This American cable television channel in its digital campaign to enter the European market created a real-life action scene and filmed it. The element of surprise made viewers share the video, which became the third most shared ad in the digital advertising world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw
6. Through its sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics, this brand was able to push an emotional tribute to mothers worldwide in its powerful digital campaign. The campaign was launched on Mother’s Day and subtitled in various languages to extend its reach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVGlrs2K2ow
7. This brand in its digital campaign used an FBI-trained sketch artist to draw women first based on their own self-perception and then based on that of a stranger. The campaign elicited a strong emotional response from viewers, making it the most viral ad video of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk
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specials | Fun Corner
markathon|june 2013
By Prateek | IIM-S
BRAND LAUNCH
Luxury has a new address: Vertu TI
The super-premium segment of phones got a new
member with Vertu, founded by Nokia, introducing the
TI segment phones to its arsenal. The phone boast of
fine titanium craftsmanship and has a ruby key for
concierge services. The phone which is flaunted by
celebrities like Madonna and David Bekham is bound to
leave of poorer by more than Rs. 600000.
Enjoy the ride with Chevrolet Enjoy
The MPV auto segment is bound to witness another
price war with competition heating up after the launch
of GM’s latest avatar, the Chevrolet Enjoy. With this,
GM plans to go head on with Toyota’s Innova and
Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga. The MPV which is offered in 7
seater and 8 seater variants is launched in the price
range of Rs. 5.49 lakhs and Rs. 6.69 lakhs for the petrol
and diesel variant respectively.
Battle the heat with Rasna Ju-C
It’s time to juice up the ready to drink beverage
segment with fruit drink concentrate maker Rasna
entering the juice bandwagon. The company launched
its juices in four flavors namely Mango, Apple, Orange
and Mixed to spice up the Rs. 5000 crore juice segment
in the country and pose tougher challenge to the
established organized brands like Real and Tropicana.
BRAND WATCH
Merc moves on from ‘classy’ to ‘youthful’
In a bid to diversify from being a status symbol to being
the fantasy of the youth, the German luxury car maker
has come up with its new SUV series- the GL Class. The
car bears a sporty look which is typical for an SUV and
plans to become a hot favorite with the youth. With all
of its 100 launch units being pre-booked, it might be on
its road to glory.
Empower the youth with MPower says Philips
Product Portfolio and consumer base expansion were
the pivotal goal for Philips in its bid to launch the
MPower series of grooming tools for men. The series
features ’Play’- a trimmer which is targeted at 15 year
old plus. The company has tied up with MTV to come up
with MPower pack to attract the young audience and
establish itself as a youthful brand.
Tata Home Loans paints ‘Dream City’
Consumer engagement saw a new high with Tata Home
loans encouraging artists from Mumbai to paint the city
walls with their sublime creations. Apart from being a
strong branding exercise, the themes on display
presented an array of strong social messages like anti-
corruption and eco awareness and were the talking
point on social networking sites.
MEDIA
Mentos Batti Jalao riddle 2.0
After the success of ‘Batti Jalao Murder Mystery’,
Perfetti Van Melle is all set to launch the second avatar.
The first version creatively engaged consumers giving
away weekly prizes of Rs. 1 lakh and encouraging them
to come up with innovative solutions. The successor
aims to take the mystery one notch above keeping the
consumers glued to the brand.
Drive home a Nano via MTV
The Nano Drive with MTV is back and promises
unlimited fun on the run. The campaign started by
Nano to connect with the youth via facebook, twitter
and other social media platforms like pinterest and
instagram in its second avatar promises unlimited fun
and travel across the country. Nano with this initiative
hopes to ail its falling brand image and lift its consumer
base by associating itself with a youthful brand like
MTV.
specials | updates markathon | june 2013
27
Articles are invited
“Best Article”: Sudheer GV | IIM Kozhikode
They receive a cash prize of Rs.1000 & a letter of appreciation
We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes:
Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena.
Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing.
Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of the marketing strategy of any company or an event.
Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx.
We’re inviting photographs of interesting promotional events/advertisements/hoardings/banners etc. you might have come across in your daily life
for our new section “The 4th P”. Send your self-clicked photographs in JPEG format only.
The last date of receiving all entries is 20th June, 2013. Please send your entries marked as <ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to [email protected].
AD Watch
Pepsi Atom-The Josh Cola
With mercury soaring and demand for cola drinks being
at an all-time high, it’s time to bring back the Cola Wars.
Pepsi launched its competitor to Thumbs Up in form of
Pepsi Atom with the positioning “Kuch Akalmand Karte
hain” taking a dig at the number one selling cola brand
in the country. Though the ad could have been made
interesting, focusing on ridiculing the competitor does
not seem to impress a lot of crowd and the ad has
received a pale response.
Youtube Link-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0aOGRJjmi8
Coca Cola- Small World Machine
Coke does it again. Every time you think this is the best
campaign ever, they prove you wrong and come out
with another masterstroke. Their latest ad trying to
strike a bond between the common people of India and
Pakistan is a beautiful initiative to strengthen the
relationships between the people of arch rivals and the
moment is celebrated with a coca cola. Hats off Coke!!!!
Youtube Link-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_4vOUDImE
Shaadi.com
The marriage season is in its full swing. And to cash in
on the trend, Shaadi.com has come up with its new ad.
The ad conveys the emotion of love and captures the
understanding gained by the couple over the years of
marriage. The ad ends with the tagline “Come find love,
arranged by Shaadi.com” which conveys the meaning
effectively. Overall, a nice take by JWT.
Youtube Link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9rQWFVF00
specials | updates markathon | jun 2013
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specials | updates markathon | june 2013
picturepage markathon | june 2013
Main building of IIM Shillong
Abode of Clouds, Meghalaya
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Tar
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