K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH VOL V | ISSUE X | MAR’15
TWEETS
Vogue Campaign >>Page 17 BRAND MARKIVE
Harley Davidson >>Page 07
FAUX PAS
Groupon>>Page 16 16
MARKSMAN The
Cause Marketing
COVER STORY
MARCH 2015 01
EDITOR’S NOTE
Dear Readers,
With the summers setting in and days getting hotter, we present to you yet another
edition of marksman to feed you with the freezing and latest buzz in the world of
marketing. This issue's Cover Story comes with a cause - with it being title CAUSE
marketing. It unfolds to you all a special type of marketing which is used to sell ideas
for a cause while promoting your normal products. Don’t be fooled by The Special
Story of the month !
Brand Markive takes you on a road trip with one of the most famous and reputed
brand in the world of bikes - Harley Davidson. This month pioneer reflects brand -
Besides this, don't forget to read our most favorite and regular sections - it's all
about Ad-itude, tweets, faux pass, hallmarks and lots more.
We would also like to congratulate this month's CFA winner Simran Pradhan, IIM
Kozhikode and Sanket Jain , NMIMS
We thank you all for your enthusiastic response and hope you enjoy flexing your
reading as well as writing muscles! As always, we welcome all your suggestions and
queries. You can find various ways of connecting with us on our website --
www.interfacesimsr.com/the-marksman
Hope this issue proves soothing enough to your brains in this scorching heat. We
will soon be sharing with you'll our summer issue before we wrap up with this year.
Stay cool and enjoy the sunny days.
Happy Reading
Team – Marksman
The Interface, The Marketing Club at SIMSR
@marksmansimsr
02 THE MARKSMAN
TWEETS
BRAND MARKIVE
BOOKWORM
SPECIAL STORY
COVER STORY
Cause Marketing
MARKETING FAUX PAS
22
BUZZ
IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN
19
16
14
09
07
05
03
34
C O N T E N T S
PIONEER
17
SQUAREHEAD 33
TWEETS
Volkswagen #Three #Old
#Wives #Hashtag Trust Volkwagen to come up with
brilliant marketing ideas to support
their equally brilliant technology. In
this video, of #Three #Old
#Wives #Hashtag, three ladies
are seen driving around in a
Volkswagen car. Two ladies are seen
speaking in hashtags to each other
about the features of the car, its
fuel efficiency, its clean diesel
engines, its German engineering.
Now, what better way to say that
“We’re here to stay” than this. Who
said technology was only for the
young and the restless?
OLX #LetWhatYou LoveLive We all had hopes and aspirations from the
time we could think. Some of them were
fulfilled, while some of them got lost in our
everyday struggle to survive. So how does an
online classifieds marketplace feature in all
this? OLX, with its #LetWhatYouLoveLive
campaign, depicts the story of a man, who, like
so many others in India, gave up on cricket for
reasons that are beyond his control. The
essence of the ad is that even if we aren’t able
to live the life that we may have hoped to live,
we can ensure that our dreams live on
through someone else.
MARCH 2015 03
TWEETS
Vogue #MyChoice Recently, Bollywood actress
Deepika Padukone shared the
story of how she battled
depression. In #MyChoice, Deepika
teams up with director Homi
Adajania and Vogue magazine to
voice the opinions and concerns of
99 women from the city (Mumbai),
telling the world why they should
stop stereotyping women and take
notice of what makes each woman
special.
Maggi #MomsMaggi One of our most favourite snacks of all
times decided to be a part of the
World cup fever by launching its
#MomsMaggi campaign. Participants
had to send in their mom’s maggi
recipe and win Team India’s jerseys.
This campaign was a great blend of
customer engagement and building
customer loyalty by giving each of
them a chance to cheer the Men in
Blue in their own style.
.
04 THE MARKSMAN
“kanna keep calm..” said the last year’s
IPL’s Star Sports campaign and got itself
embedded in the vocabulary of young
India-not as a word, or just a phrase-as a
tone, a rather impactful usage of a string
of words. If you reach that kind of
audience engagement, you know you’ve
made it. And they literally had. Now,
they are back with “watch Pepsi IPL on
Hotstar…”, promoting their latest
mobile app, Hotstar. And it’s a bang
they’re back with.
It’s the eve of the year’s biggest stage,
the World Cup, of the country’s biggest
passion (read: religion), Cricket, and
their broadcasting partner is not only
supposed to come up with a massive
campaign but is obliged to. IPL is known
for its massive marketing by the event
itself as well as the sponsors involved
and Star had to live up to this
expectation.
The ad explains through funny situations
in daily life of how watching the sport
on Mobile can help one with profits in
all spheres of life. The lyrics are chirpy
and includes enough cricketing terms
with frequently-used names and terms
in a perfect mass-appealing blend.
IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
Television Ad
The HOT-Star
MARCH 2015 05
The music is kept the same as last year
only the tempo is slowed down,
perfect Brand Recall technique!
Though the star cast used is fresh but
by now is already making the rounds
and unlike last year, the campaign is
expected to rope in big names as the
countdown progresses. However, for
the moment, it is doing the job-making
people shift the meetings’ note in their
smartphones’ calendar-by syncing it
with the IPL schedule on Hotstar.
The picture shows 10 prints out of the
whole campaign, if you see the rest of
them, you’d be equally intrigued. With
the summer being round the corner
and a new packaging in the offering,
Frooti was due to come up with flying
colors and so they do, flying ‘on’ colors.
New York agency Sagmeister & Walsh
with help from Aaron Duffy's agency
SpecialGuest and animation house
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios have provided
the TVC with the needed impetus
through the print ad.
Though the main attraction is still the
video, the print thoroughly supports it
by doing the intended job- as a trailer
does to a movie.
The vibrant and joyful colors are so
much a hero to the ad that the brand
ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan, does not
even appear in the prints. This, says it
all.
"The goal was to introduce the new
packaging in a fresh, bold, and playful
way," says Sagmeister & Walsh of the
rebranding. "We introduced four bold
colors to the brand which complement
the yellow colour of Indian mango and
add a sense of playfulness across the
imagery."
As perfect in the words, as in the sight.
PRINT AD
IT’S ALL ABOUT AD-ITUDE
06 THE MARKSMAN
Fruitfull colors!
Their very first workshop was a 10X15
feet work shed and it is from here that
they sold their very first motorcycle
under the Harley Davidson® banner.
In consequent years the company took
part and won various racing and rally
events and by the end of its first decade
was exporting to Japan and had a dealer
base of over 200. Furthermore, its tie up
with the US Army and foreign contracts
by Allied powers helped keep the
company gain major acceptance through
the course of World Wars I and II, and the
Korean War. The company also was one of
the two motorcycle manufacturers which
survived the Great Depression.
In 1969 when American Machine and
Foundry bought the company the
resultant streamlining and slashing of
workforce brought the whole company to
its knees. On the brink of bankruptcy the
company was sold to a group of thirteen
investors headed by Vaughn Beals and
Willie G. Davidson for $80 million; hence
beginning a long track of revival. Today
Harley also owns the sports bike
manufacturer Buell Motorcycle Company
and in 2014 recorded a ground breaking
$482 million in income.
BRAND MARKive When a Harley Davidson revs up…
Throughout the American history there
have emerged iconic brands like Coca-
Cola, Nike, and McDonalds who have
gained such a position through incessant
and in-your-face marketing efforts. But,
occasionally a brand comes along which
makes itself known through its continual
deliverance of value. For such brands,
recognition comes from its quiet, behind-
the-scenes effort of selling its products
primarily on merit.
Even though its products are loud and
their ‘Thudding’ roar can be heard from a
long way off, this iconic brand’s path to
success has laid down the ground rules
for Cult branding. The brand in question
here is Harley Davidson; which even
though being over a century old is still
one of the most relevant labels of
modern times. Today it isn’t just another
marquee but a way of living for its
patrons. Despite coming close to
extinction on two different occasions and
taking a major hit on its reputation in the
1960s, its intriguing how this motorcycle
giant, with close to zilch advertising, has
become one of the most recognized
names in the world.
Birth of a Giant…
The company came into being in the first
decade of the twentieth century, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin when two young
men, William S. Harley and Arthur
Davidson were working on their plans of
a motorized bicycle.
MARCH 2015 07
BRAND MARKive
This ideology of making it the centerpiece of a
lifestyle has kept the brand going even in its
darkest days. The senior executives at Harley
are so viscerally connected with the brand that
it’s difficult for any other boardroom to match
through the world. All senior executives own
the bikes and ride alongside their customers
when it comes to rallies and celebrations. "We
are committed to motorcycling," Richard F.
Teerlink, Harley's chairman and former chief
executive, said in a recent interview. "It's not
hardware; it is a lifestyle, an emotional attachment.
That's what we have to keep marketing to."
The ‘Literal’ Road Ahead…
Following Just-in-time production and keeping
inventory in strict check the company has
managed to revive the quality it was previously
known for. But, on the flip side it has also led
to very long lead times and in many situations
loss of orders. However, it does not deter the
top management as they strongly believe that
their quality is the only survival tool that they
need.
Looking at how brands are going digital, Harley
is making no efforts to do the same. With
literally minute presence on platforms like
twitter, facebook and Instagram, the company
is sticking to its roots. Then again, the target
group of rugged riders is hardly one which
would relentlessly check and update their
virtual profiles.
Whatever said and done, the ruggedness and
pure muscle of a Harley leaves all onlookers
drooling for more. It has inspired generations
to live the extraordinary and never settle for
just so much. Just like its motorcycles and as
avid dreamers we continue to wish this brand
the smoothest journey ahead.
The cult of Harley…
With a minuscule marketing budget of
$20 million (out of which $1 million is
dedicated for advertising) the brand
still manages to hold and engage its
patrons and loyalists like no other
company can do. The painful decline in
quality (mentioned above) did lead to
many loyalists migrating in favor of
foreign counterparts but it also
opened a newer avenue of clean cut,
white collared customers who shared
the same level of excitement as
Harley’s prior hell’s angels.
The biggest seller for the label is the
emotional connect it creates and that
its patrons hold in their minds. Harley
owners worldwide have a sub-culture
of their own. HOG or Harley Owner’s
Group is a ownership club formed in
the year 1983 by the company itself.
Also, as an initiative to connect with
its members, the company gives tours
of its museum and production facility.
Every five years it also holds an
anniversary celebration where riders
from all over the world join in at
Milwaukee. The top management at
Harley strongly believes in creating
such a strong loyalty in its consumer
base that it proves to be contagious
enough to attract thousands of new
buyers by itself.
08 THE MARKSMAN
COVER STORY Cause Marketing: Making a Difference One
Product at a Time
Everyone is aware about
the problems that people
face all around the world,
we share pictures, like
videos, tweet, re-tweet
messages and express
strong views and
opinions; but what do we
do to solve or minimise
MARCH 2015 09
It has crossed the $2 billion mark in 2013
itself and still is growing at an exponential
phase. A lot of major companies, with the
increasing use of internet and consumers
preferring online shopping, a lot of the
marketing strategies have been designed
to penetrate the online platform along
with the offline strategies. The shift in
trends seen from offline to online has
witnessed a lot of cause marketing
strategies being implemented to increase
revenue.
Cause marketing is not a recent
phenomenon, it has been existing for a
very long time.
One of the greatest campaigns done was
in the year 1983 by American Express.
The statue was urgent need of
restoration and they got associated with
it and started the cause marketing trend.
They ran a campaign for three months in
which they said that with every swipe, i.e.
use of the card, they will contribute one
cent towards the restoration. If you buy a
new card, then they will contribute a
dollar for the same. They ran this
campaign successfully and raised $1.7
million.
those problems. We are well aware and
we want others to be aware regarding the
grave situations faced by many individuals;
but how much do we really participate in
helping them. Talking about it and actually
doing something to solve the problem are
very different. Some say they really want
to help, but don’t really know how. But if
we say just buy these shoes and the
company will provide a one-time meal to a
needy or buy a certain body lotion and
one-third of its profit will go towards
providing shelter for the homeless, then all
you need to do is shop and you are
helping the needy through it. This type of
strategy is nothing but Cause Marketing
or Cause-Related Marketing.
Cause marketing is nothing but the
cooperative efforts of a for-profit
organization along with a non-profit
organization to come up with a way to
mutually benefit each other. The use of
cause marketing has been increasing
continuously in the last couple of years.
COVER STORY COVER STORY
“Promise, large promise, is the sol of an advertisement. “
- Samuel Johnson.
10 THE MARKSMAN
If you buy a new card,
then they will
contribute a dollar for
the same. They ran this
campaign successfully
and raised $1.7 million.
The percentage
increase in the use of
the card and new cards
being brought was 28%.
Hence, this campaign not only benefitted
American Express to increase revenue but
also helped a cause on the way. This success
resulted in a series of cause marketing
campaigns in the future by American Express.
One of the biggest cause marketing
campaigns that spread all over the globe was
the Live Strong Bands. This campaign was
started by Nike along with the Livestrong
Foundation which was previously known as
the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Lance
Armstrong is a cyclist who has been world
famous for his dominance in the sport for
quite a long time. He is a cancer survivor and
started the foundation to help and provide
for the treated of cancer patients. His
association with Nike stated in 2003 and in
2004 they came up with the Live Strong
Wristbands. You buy the wristband and the
money goes to charity. Nobody knew that
this small band would become the fashion
statement of the decade. People from all
walks of life were seen sporting the yellow
band. Celebrities, athletes, presidential
candidates, everyone was seen wearing them.
In the 2004 Tour de France saw a lot of the
contenders wearing the yellow band to
honour Lance Armstrong. The campaign has
been running from 2004 to present and the
production of the bands was stopped in
2014. More than 80 million bands have
been sold worldwide and more than $500
million has been raised for the foundation.
This is one of the most successful
campaigns in the history of cause
marketing and gave rise to the production
of other bands for different causes from
different non-profit organizations.
COVER STORY
MARCH 2015 11
Yoplait is an international brand of frozen
yogurt. They have franchisees all over the
world and dozens of yogurt flavours to offer.
In 1999, Yoplait decided to form a
cooperative cause marketing strategy with
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
What it did was, ask the consumers to mail
back the lids of the Yoplait yogurt cartons to
the company. The company would donate 10
cents for every pink foil lid that they
received. Initially people were not sure
whether the consumers would take part in
such an offer. But the response was
overwhelming, as the , customers were ready
to mail the sticky lids to the company to
help support the fight against breast cancer.
The company then had to limit that in a year
it would only donate a maximum of $2
million.
The campaign has been successfully
implemented from 1999 to present. A
total of $26 million has been donated till
date to the foundation. This has been the
longest running cause marketing
campaign till date. Cause marketing has
spread all over the world. India has been
no exception. There are many cause
marketing campaign carried out in India.
P&G’s “Padhega India Tabhie Toh Badhega
India” campaign is one of the biggest
cause marketing campaigns. They started
the Shiksha campaign along with CRY
where when a consumer buys any of
their products like Tide, Ariel, Pantene,
Pampers, Duracell, etc. a part of the
money will go towards the education of
children. This campaign was quite
successful and a lot of other companies
followed the same strategy. Nihar Shanti
Amla under Marico also followed the
same strategy and got associated with
CRY to help raise money for education.
Classmate notebooks under ITC also
followed the same trend. For every
Classmates notebook purchased they
would donate a rupee for the education
of children. There are many more
campaign that support the same cause
and have been going on for a long period
of time. Education is something that India
can easily relate to and therefore is
something that most companies want to
highlight.
COVER STORY COVER STORY
The newest cause-related campaigns are
revolving around hygiene and cleanliness.
The Sani Fresh ads regarding the lack of
toilets has highlighted a major problem in
many parts of India. Dabur, the parent
company of Sani Fresh, came up with this
campaign on World Toilet Day. They aim
was to tackle the problem by contributing
a rupee for every bottle of Sani Fresh
brought. This would reduce the travel of
people in the rural areas for toilets from
700 to just 7 steps and therefore they
have aptly named this campaign “700 se 7
kadam.” This lack of toilets has been
highlighted in other campaigns as well. The
Domex ad campaign regarding the lack of
toilets focused more on the health
problems that are faced because of it.
Children without proper toilet facilities
are easily susceptible to diseases like
diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is a major cause for
death of a lot of children in India.
Therefore, the requirement for proper
toilet facilities is a must. They also pledged
to contribute a rupee for every bottle of
Domex sold. These campaign are working
towards a cleaner and better India and
are seeing a lot of support from the
general public.
12 THE MARKSMAN
COVER STORY COVER STORY
Cause marketing has a lot of potential and
can be implemented for all kinds of
products. Some say that this Robin Hood
kind of philosophy is not really a
philanthropic gesture but just another way
for big companies to increase their sales.
They say that the amount actually
contributed is negligible in front of the
profits they earn through these campaigns.
Therefore, they are not really supporting a
cause, they are just using it to project a
better and caring brand and manipulate
people to spend more on their products.
Whatever the reason maybe, people who
support it or who are against it, both have
to agree that these campaigns work really
well and are some of the best campaigns
that these brands come up with.
Consumers feel better to know that they
contributed in some way or the other to
an important cause. This is the sole
reason for the success of these
campaigns.
The trend of cause marketing is on its
upward trajectory and is most probably
going to grow exponentially and the
companies who can leverage on it will
benefit the most and the cause will also
be given some contribution to fulfil the
needs of the people.
So it is somewhere a win-win situation
for all and therefore is a great marketing
strategy. Every product sold will make a
difference in someone’s life somewhere.
MARCH 2015 13
Special Story
APRIL FOOL HOAXES
“In an effort to help the national debt, Taco
Bell is pleased to announce that we have
agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of
our country’s most historic treasures.” Thus
went an ad in six major American
newspapers on the 1st of April, 1996.
By noon, Taco Bell ‘confessed’ in a press
release and called it “The Best Joke of the
Day”. It also pledged $50,000 for the Bell’s
upkeep.
Clever marketing? Light-hearted way to
connect with consumers?
Thousands of Americans called up the
National Park Service in Philadelphia to
register complaints. Many hundreds took to
its outlets to protest.
If the PR agency, Paine and Associates, is to
be believed, the publicity helped Taco Bell
generate the equivalent of $25m in
advertising expenses, while its actual
expenses were only about $300k.
Almost exactly ten years later, the National
Park Service was once again in the spotlight,
after ProShade proposed to give $4m to
Mount Rushmore in exchange for being able
to put its logo visor on each of the
president’s heads.
14 THE MARKSMAN
The history of April Fools’ Day Hoaxes
even in corporate and business contexts is
long and colourful. Some of them – such
as Burger King presenting the hoax “Left
Handed Whopper” burger – have even
managed to significantly increase sales.
Others – such as Google’s famous Pacman
in Google Maps this year or Google
Translate for Animals a few years ago –
have even succeeded at endearing
consumers.
But this does not mean everyone has
been following suit – Amazon’s home page
has since a few days featured Dash
Buttons, brand label carrying Wi-Fi
enabled buttons that one can keep in
cupboards, drawers, racks or shelves and
press when one is nearing end of supplies.
It has garnered curiosity because of its
fortuitous timing. Amazon has responding
to April Fool suspicions by curtly
admitting that “indeed it is real”. The
confusion generated has proved of great
advantage to Amazon, not only because it
got a wide range of people talking about it
but also because it impressed the point
that the fact that it was suspected an April
Fools’ Day hoax makes a strong case for
its success.
Central to success on every year’s other
1st of April challenge is to have all the
ingredients of folly in the right amounts --
just the right mix of funny, smart and
sensible.
MARCH 2015 15
SPECIAL STORY
16 THE MARKSMAN
MARKETING FAUX PAS Struck the wrong chord-(think ‘cause’): Groupon
Super Bowl XLV
Tugging on your audiences’ emotions is not a
taboo in the marketing & advertising arena.
But, this risk should be taken with much
afterthought before the actual plunge in the
market. The repercussions? – Offended
customers and a tidal wave of negative social
media backlash.
An estimated 100 million people were
witness to Groupon.coms’ Super Bowl XLV
debacle. Their 30 second spot which was an
attempt at humour, fell flat and blew their
Chinese dream to smithereens.
So, if you are wondering what possibly could
go wrong in 30 seconds then here is how it
went- the ad opened with a picturesque
coverage of Tibetan landscape while a
voiceover gravely announced, “Mountainous
Tibet, one of the most beautiful places in the
world. This is Timothy Hutton. The people of
Tibet are in trouble. Their very culture is in
jeopardy.”
And abruptly the next moment the scene
shifts to him seated in a lively Chicago
restaurant, relishing Tibetan food &
announcing happily, “But they still whip up an
amazing fish curry,” and boasting of the 50%
discount he got on the meal thanks to
Groupon.
Tibet is one of the most sensitive issues in
China, plagued by tensions related to religious
freedom, human rights, development and
political sovereignty. The ad not only came
across as insensitive but also as seeming to
trivialize the plight of Tibetan people.
The lesson? - Whatever you think about its
political & social situation, you should not
touch it as a foreign company if you want
to run a business there. Groupon sure did
learn it the hard way and the only thing
that was funny about the ad was that they
did so at a whopping cost of $3 million!
The catastrophic ad was conceived by ad
firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky, known for
their viral marketing.
The site's founder Andrew Mason, further
fanned the fire by defending the ad as a
parody of celebrity narrated PSA style
commercials that have a social cause
attached to them. Groupon itself being
associated with fundraising for the Tibet
Fund and plans to match up to $100,000 in
donation for it. But sadly their televised
ads made no mention of the website or
the charity drive.
Whether Groupon hurt itself bad enough
or did this bad publicity too did them
good, can be debated. As there is no
denying that the publicity generated by the
reaction to the ads, made it known to
many more people than it had before the
Super Bowl.
Hall-MARK CAMPAIGN Gone Girls - #NotThere
What would be a world without women?
This International Women’s Day saw a
glimpse, or rather didn’t. On the 8th of
March, New York City woke up to empty
billboards, magazine covers and ads. The
women on all these promotional materials
were replaced with white space carrying a
URL reading Not-there.org.
The campaign, a collaboration between the
Clinton Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and the ad agency Droga5,
essentially meant to draw our attention to a
new report from No Ceilings: The Full
Participation Project. The initiative seeks to
raise awareness that though progress has
been made when it comes to full
participation of girls and women, but when it
comes to gender equality, women are ‘not
there’ yet.
Major marketers and media companies viz.
Unilever, Condé Nast, H&M, Vogue,
HarperCollins, Under Armour, Diane von
Furstenberg, Refinery29, iHeartRadio and
Snapchat, came out in full strength to
support the cause.
The campaign also released a 90-second
video on the social media with celebrities
like Amy Poehler, Cameron Diaz, Jenny Slate
and Sienna Miller talking about the need to
continue fighting for gender equality. In
keeping with the theme of ‘not there’, the
women were just audible, not visible. The
video showcased their voiceovers in the
background of empty rooms and chairs.
MARCH 2015 17
HALL-MARK CAMPAIGN
This media stunt has surely lifted the veil and made the gap visible. Citing the report, here
are some of the areas where women still need to catch up:
• Though there are a plethora of laws to protect women, but they are not properly
enforced.
• The gender workforce gap has remained constant since the past twenty years, and
women are underrepresented in political office and management ranks.
• U.S. is one of nine countries in the world that does not guarantee paid maternity
leave.
• And women spend up to 5 more hours on unpaid domestic work than men.
It seems we have a long way to go till we actually reach “there.”
18 THE MARKSMAN
PIONEER
Warren Edward Buffett, an
American business magnate, investor and a
philanthropist
Warren Buffet, probably the name is
enough to make any reader’s eyes pop! Always
among the world's wealthiest people, he has
been a pioneer in the investing industry. He is
the CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire
Hathaway,an American multinational conglome
-rate holding company and has also been
considered as one of the world's most
influential people in the world. He is our
Pioneer for this months issue.
Warren Buffett was born in 1930
in Omaha. As a child itself, Buffett was
keen on making and saving money. He
sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola and
weekly magazines door to door. He
worked in his grandfather's grocery
store. While he was still in high school,
he made money by means of delivering
newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps
and detailing cars, among other means.
This mans interest in the stock
market and investing activities started
during his schoolboy days where he
spent time in the customers' lounge of
a regional stock brokerage near his
father's own brokerage office. An
amazing fact is that at the age of 11, he
bought shares for himself, that’s right
ELEVEN!
WARREN BUFFET
MARCH 2015 19
PIONEER
Buffets professional career has
mainly revolved around the investing and
the finance industry where between the
1950s and 1970s, he worked in various
roles like investment salesman, as a
securities analyst etc. Also, he had a lot of
partnerships in his journey and eventually
became a millionaire because of his
partnerships.
And being associated with
Berkshire Hathaway he became a
billionaire. In 2008 he was ranked
by Forbes as the richest person in the
world with an estimated net worth of
approximately US $62 billion.
Something that Buffet is also well known for
is the amount of charity that he makes!
Recently he donated $2.8 billion to the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation and several
other charities as part of his annual giving
pledge, breaking his own personal record of
$2.6 billion, isn't that a huge amount for
charity? He also plans to donate all his
wealth when he and his wife die. That’s how
humble he is.
We have a very good collection of some of
his truly inspirational quotes and some of his
amazing facts, for you on the next page!
20 THE MARKSMAN
PIONEER
Amazing facts about Warren Buffet:
99 percent of Warren Buffett's wealth
was earned after his 50th birthday
Gold is a bad investment with no real
value, according to Buffett
Warren Buffett carries an ancient
Nokia flip phone, not into
smartphones.
He has donated a total of $25 billion
to charities
Buffett actually bought Berkshire
Hathaway so he could fire its CEO
MARCH 2015 21
Bookworm Building Brand Value
Ambi Parameswaran
The book begins by disclaiming promise of
‘revolutionary’ breakthrough in brand
building – it is consciously an attempt to
synthesise previous work in branding and
marketing. It is aimed at the young marketer
as well as the middle manager, belonging
specifically to the Indian context, poised to
make a mark in the field – both in terms of
creating brand value as well as
nurturing/developing it.
Parameswaran begins by providing a
multifaceted description of what exactly
brand (the noun) and branding (the verb)
imply. He calls the synthetic model he’s
developing the Brand Building Pentagon,
after the five stages it comprises. The first
step, Appraisal, is about fishing around –
recognising opportunities and identifying
potential. The second, Definition, involves
analytically elaborating on the product and
pricing. The third, Articulation, is all about
implementation – enabling visibility and
interaction with potential consumers. It also
features a discussion on gestation periods
and the inherent uncertainty. The fourth,
Measurement, is about calibration, control
and correction. Any brand has to deliver on
the investment and has its own metrics that
cannot be captured merely through financial
ratios.
The last step is that of Expansion – not mere
growth but the ability to expand by buying
or by selling, thus in a way becoming larger
than the organisation and yet remaining tied
to the organisation’s interests.
The final chapter provides practical insight
by expounding on Execution – the arduous
struggle to not just create a brand that
connects with consumers but also
maximises shareholder wealth.
The book features valuable detours into
areas such as positioning and brand audit
and also contains four appendices containing
everything from quick checklists to sector-
specific data sources, although a
consolidated and specific bibliography (as
opposed to the generic one) would add even
more value.
Although the synthesis is well explicated –
with decent explanations of all the models
he brings under consideration – there are a
few errors of historical accuracy that need
to be ironed out (such as referring to Kotler
as having introduced the 4Ps). On the whole,
however, Parameswaran brings multiple
innovations to the table that are otherwise
not to be found in the traditional works on
branding he builds upon.
22 THE MARKSMAN
Brand Kejriwal takes Delhi by storm to win the elections
FEATURED ARTICLES
Simran Pradhan
IIM Kozhikode
“A Revolutionist is not the kind of man
who becomes a Pope, and that man who
becomes the Pope has no wish to be a
revolutionist”
-AV Dicey
How one man could mold the mindset of
a collective to ring in “change”. How one
man, despite obstacles both internal and
external, was able to defend his position
and defeat the more experienced and well-
oiled political machinations. This is the
story of Arvind Kejriwal- The Brand that India
has loved to consume.
To deconstruct Brand Kejriwal, let’s get into
the first principles. STP analysis is one of
the first exercises a company performs
before launching a product. That the Aam
Aadmi party is the medium of politics for
the brand Kejriwal must be set in place.
Kejriwal segmented the masses into well-
defined voter groups such as women,
rickshaw drivers, conservancy workers,
etc. The common thread uniting these
groups was the attribute of them being the
“Aam Aadmi” and more importantly the
“dukhi aadmi”. He carefully crafted a
targeting strategy for each of these
segments. While housewives were
troubled by rising food and commodity
prices, women in Delhi were harassed by
safety issues and the middle and lower
income groups were facing the wrath of
electricity politics and water shortage.
Arvind Kejriwal is
neither a revolutionary
nor is a he a Pope. Yet
his influence is as
mesmerizing as either
of the two. Kejriwal
rode to a sweeping
victory in the Delhi
elections with a record
margin of 67/70
assembly seats.
No mean feat for a party in just its fourth
year of existence. Actually, if viewed in the
prevailing context, it’s a remarkable feat
considering that the party was facing major
crises post it’s previous government debacle
and the massive infighting threatening to
derail its election chances. So, how then did
the AAP win so handsomely? The answer is a
no-brainer but the interesting part is how it
was achieved.
MARCH 2015 23
FEATURED ARTICLES
Kejriwal championed all these causes deftly
under the umbrella slogan of Anti-Corruption
and thus focused on a single themed
positioning strategy to market corruption as
the panacea of all ills facing Delhiites and the
country at large.
The STP done, it was time for him to define
his marketing strategy. “Change” was the
single word that resonated throughout. But
unlike the obamanesque histrionics of “Yes
we Can” , Kejriwal adopted to follow the age-
old Indian marketing adage-“Jo Dikhta hai
who Bikta hai” and to resounding effect. TV
exposes, public dharnas and regular public
interactions signaled commitment to the
cause. Additionally, in this second election, he
was more accepting of his own flaws and
apologized for the previous election debacle
to the citizens of Delhi. This projected a
more human side to the leader in him, a
refreshing change from his political peers for
whom saying sorry was an anathema.
For top of the mind brand recall, he created
his own identity with the muffler and
Gandhi cap which was accentuated by the
muffler during the winters. Products like
wall clocks with this image of Kejriwal
served well. This gave a much identifiable
symbol to the masses as he looked like one
of them.
24 THE MARKSMAN
FEATURED ARTICLES
Much of a brand’s success depends on how it competes with its rivals. For Kejriwal 2.0,
the biggest rival brand was NaMo. Unfazed by Narendra Modi’s nationwide wave of
support and the heavy drubbing that he received at Modi’s hands in the 2014 Lok Sabha
polls, Kejriwal took on brand Modi with a vengeance. He was successful to draw out the
fallacies of Modi’s much touted Gujarat Model of success. He was both critical and co-
operative with the Centre. But what Kejriwal accomplished superbly was to nullify
Modi’s representatives fighting against him. From Amit Shah’s tactics of trying to
discredit him to Kiran Bedi’s hyperventilating antics, Kejriwal’s long term marketing
strategy was sound and swift.
MARCH 2015 25
FEATURED ARTICLES
He had already destroyed the old market
rival; the Congress and decimated the brand
legacy of Sheila Dikshit ,Delhi’s longest
serving Chief Minister. Competitive rivalry
existed within the AAP as well with several
leaders breaking off just before the elections.
Undeterred by this and also unhindered by
his irksome health, Kejriwal stood it out in
the sun to campaign for change. He is also as
astute as he is firebrand. Today’s marketing
strategy cannot be devoid of a digital media
plan. Instead of the going just for the regular
communication platforms like Facebook and
Twitter, Kejriwal and Co. employed good use
of Quora to mobilize public discussion and
LinkedIn to garner donations for the party.
Kejriwal was active on Twitter continuously
updating the masses on his actions and
agendas.
Summarily, it is said. “ There are Brands and
there are more Brands”. But a few brands
transcend boundaries to emerge as
Leaders. Just like in a product brand, its
functional attributes, its customer promise
and quality of delivery define the
cornerstones of its success, likewise Brand
Kejriwal roared to success based on
intellectual honesty, socio-cultural amity,
personal integrity and above all the
differentiating factor of being a soldier of
the Aam Aadmi always and every time.
26 THE MARKSMAN
Minimalistic designs: The new trend in advertising
FEATURED ARTICLES
Sanket Jain
NMIMS
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is
nothing more to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupe
Minimalism, a philosophy of life, finds its
origin in the Japanese traditional design. It
emphasises on living life only with things
that add value and keep the rest away.
Minimalism peeps through various aspects
of life in Japanese culture be it way of
living, architectural design and music. As
the minimalistic culture continues to
fascinate people around the world with its
simplicity and uncluttered form, the trend
has been picked up by various marketers
to market their product and brands.
Every brand wants to improve its good
brand recall. They want to be remembered
and recognized. For years marketers and
advertising agencies are trying to come up
with innovative ideas to communicate the
offerings of their product or service.
This brings us to discuss about Minimalistic
designs which relies on the concept of ‘Less
is More’. It’s a combination of Arts and
Science. Arts to use the visuals and
language and communicate a message
effectively whereas science to understand
the ability of a viewer to consume the right
quantity of information. Minimalism is
gaining steam in the current market
environment as the new generation
customer are moving away from the heavy
ornamentation of product towards a more
simple, clean and uncluttered product. This
rapid transition is because of the
generation change of the customer, their
lifestyle and time management. Moreover,
more simple a design, more matured
product is thought to be basic Ingredients
of a Minimalistic design?
• Clutter free graphics
• Solid colours
• Few words(with large fonts)
• Powerful message
MARCH 2015 27
FEATURED ARTICLES
28 THE MARKSMAN
Minimalistic advertisements often prove
memorable because the viewer has limited
information to concentrate upon. Many
iconic brands including Nestle, FedEx,
McDonalds and Lego have realised the need
to shift their digital and print media
marketing campaigns to a minimalistic
platform. Let’s us look at some of the
brands that managed to create a buzz with
their minimalistic campaigns.
Volkswagen, a German multinational
automotive giant, has mastered the art of
minimalism and it often comes up with eye
catching and more importantly heart
winning campaigns. The first image conveys
the exceptional mileage whereas the second
one signifying the swift electronic gearbox.
Steve Jobs was inspired by Zen philosophy, a
minimalistic way of living and then it was
later ingrained in the company, work culture
and the products. It was so embedded in the
design and functioning of the product that
Apple didn’t provide with a user manual with
iPhone. Later, all the products of Apple had a
common underlying feature - simplistic
design and ease of use. The minimal white
and black logo of Apple today is popular and
gathers instant recognition.
Durex, an iconic brand of Reckitt Benckiser,
is well known for its cheeky campaigns.
Durex managed to take its campaigns to a
whole new level with the use of minimalistic
ads.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Applications of minimalism are more than
just in advertising. Recently, their use has
been extended to product packaging and
design. Look at the below examples to
understand how the visuals on packaging
have evolved over time. In both the
examples, the focus is more on highlighting
the brand rather than anything else.
In order to keep pace with the changing
times, Nike entered into minimalistic design
in footwear range by introducing Nike Free
to attract new age customers. With the Nike
Free, Nike was a leader in the minimalist
running category. Minimalist sales increased
30% in 2013. Adidas also entered the fray by
launching ADIpure. However, the Five
fingered design shoe was didn’t connect with
the masses and as the design didn’t fit into
the ‘traditional’ shoe concept that people
had in their minds.
Recent trends have shown use of
minimalism in variety of fields. Minimalism is
a big hit in web and mobile app designing.
Developers are using minimalistic route to
create a user friendly interface and provide
a worthwhile experience to their users.
Minimalistic branding does come with its
set of limitations. Creating a minimalistic
message isn’t easy! It’s challenging to
communicate the message with limited
resources. New brands which are not so
popular may find it difficult to use brand
minimalism. Established brands will also
have to check that minimalism is not
making them lose their brand recognition.
Even before entering into this classy field of
minimalistic domain, companies need to be
dead sure of their product and its ability to
meet the set expectations. Companies
should meticulously listen to the talks and
predict a trend that will resonate with the
masses only then the minimalistic
advertising would prove a boon.
MARCH 2015 29
Persuasive techniques in advertising
FEATURED ARTICLES
PushKar Ralegankar
KJ SIMSR The desire, hope, dream, attraction are
some words which relate to advertising.
Henry Ford has quoted “Stopping
advertising to save money is like stopping
your watch to save time.” Advertising is an
art which elevates taste, vision, trends,
ambience, smell to level which someone
imagines and creates an urge to experience
the same.
“Necessity is mother of invention” was
known to everyone but now the days are
invention is mother of necessity. Never
heard before??… But yes, truly felt by
everyone credit goes to advertisements. It
is the capability of advertisements to
create that need in person which was
never present before. Credit goes to the
advertisement writer.
Today we will see how did these advertises
evolved and which are the kind of
advertises and how persuasive advertise is
becoming charm of every product and
service provider. The persuasive strategies
can be divided in three categories as given
by Aristotle in philosophy, they are Pathos,
Logos and Ethos.
The classic ads of Hamara Bajaj, Dettol,
Thanda matlab Coca Cola represent
Pathos, Logos and Ethos respectively. So
to say, these ad try to make connect with
consumer by an appeal to emotion, appeal
to reason and appeal to character. The
consumer is being asked to believe that
these are the products that he should
consumer by tantalizing his different
senses or emotions.
Some brands have started their journeys
by persuasive advertising, some have
moved from informative to persuasive and
some have stayed firm on informative.
30 THE MARKSMAN
FEATURED ARTICLES
For example Lux, Axe, Zatak are into
persuasive; Dettol, Castrol, Servo oil
informative and Bajaj, Colgate, laptops
shifted from informative to persuasive. Bajaj
appealed the customers by stating that their
scooter is Pride of India, and then there was
slump in sales of scooters when they
introduced bikes and the USP was mileage.
Now with new generation considering
power as most important feature Pulsar is
being sold as a desire. So Bajaj moved from
Pathos to informative and then again to
persuasive (attracting some senses).
Lux and Axe were born with persuasiveness,
meant to be sold with help of some
celebrity of sexual attractions respectively. Changing the celebrities and models was the
success formula of these two brands.
But Castrol, Servo oil which are used and
given attention by peculiar vehicle enthusiast
are always being told about facts and how by
the use of this oil the engines will run
smooth and remain cool for longer time.
Here the consumer was never targeted by
persuasion as the consumer base didn’t
believe in the same for these products.
Some of the techniques of pervasive
advertising are Avante Garde, Weasel words,
Magic ingredients, Bribery, Bandwagon etc.
Important point in these is that the product
is never sold as in for its qualities but aura
which it creates by its use.
MARCH 2015 31
FEATURED ARTICLES
Avante Garde:
Moving away from status quo and asking the
consumer to try the new innovation which
will push your limits. We have many ads, one
of them is Rupa Frontline where the
innerwear is never talked about but how by
its use the person will always remain out of
trouble and feel courageous.
Rupa Frontline – “Raho duniya se ek kadam
aage”
Weasel words:
Equivocal words which refrain from any
direct commitment. These are similar to that
used by politicians to woo their voters. Eg:
All healthcare ads which they will give to
health cover of more than 99%.
Vicks says it helps in fighting cough, cold and
headache but doesn’t say it will be able to
bring it to complete stop. But this is what
the impression from the advertisment
Magic ingredients:
As we all can remember product connecting
to this word “magic”. Maggie Masala, same
noodle with basic masala ingredients but
described in a way which will stop us from
thinking that it is some ordinary masala.
Creating image of positivity which may or
may not be present in the product.
Bribery:
The simple appeal of for purchase of 4
pizzas you get 5th free. This creates an
illusion that we will get 1 free, but very
few calculate the price they pay for that
extra unnecessary pizza.
Bandwagon:
The latest of all ads “Mauka mauka”, here
the ad suggests that if you miss any match
you miss something which is of prime
importance to whole world. And you don’t
want to miss this action, which will make
you regret.
Persuasive advertising is need of today as
people have very less time to even know
their own needs. Creating that desire and
converting that into need is the prime task
of advertiser and making space for the
product n the minds of consumer. Old ads
were very concentrated on the basic
premise of the qualities of product
because luxury was not even thought of.
Not setting oneself apart from others is
what every individual seeks. It is like
sparkling teeth’s shown in toothpaste ads.
Nothing can be said against persuasion
which is forceful consumption of product
but it is the need of time.
32 THE MARKSMAN
SquAreheaD
MARCH 2015 33
BUZZ
CLUES
PUZZLE ACROSS
For TV commercial of which brand
has Dhanush sung and written a
jingle for Sachin Tendulkar? (5)
Name the celebrity who endorses
Fast track, Flying Machine jeans,
Herbalife, Fair and Lovely for men,
Sangam suitings etc. (5,5)
About what has Ratan Tata said that
it is not a flop but it was a lost
opportunity? (8)
Who is the new owner of men’s
hair cream brand Brylcreem? (3)
DOWN
Which insurance co appears to be
opportunistic and show Yuvraj Singh
talking about his health often in the
TVC? (5,3,4)
Name this women’s cooperative that
has 650 cr sales and exports of 29 cr.
(6)
Who is the celebrity endorsing the
bike Suzuki Hayate? (6,4)
Who had launched a special
Tendulkar edition of a drink to
honour Tendulkar 100th century? (8)
1.
3.
7.
2.
4.
5.
Answers:
Across:
1.Boost 3.Virat Kohli 7.TATANANO 8.HUL
Down:
2.Birla Sun Life 4.Lijjat 5.Salman Khan 6.Cocacola
34 THE MARKSMAN
8.
6.
Call for ARTICLES
CALL FOR ARTICLES SUMMER EDITION 2015
Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:
*Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are
clearly mentioned.
The best adjudged article will be given a Winner’s Certificate.
Deadline for the submission of article will be : 20th June 2015
1. One article can have only one author.
2. Your article should be approximately 800-850
words and MUST be replete with relevant
pictures that can be used to enhance the
article.
3. Font Type: Gill Sans MT
4. Font Size: 14.
5. Send your article in .doc/.docx format to
6. Subtitle line: Your name_Institute
Name_Course Year
7. Kindly name your file as : Your name_Topic
MARCH 2015 35
1. Vogue Empower : a harbinger of change or just
another passing phase?
2. Augmented Reality v/s Virtual reality
3. Is email marketing still alive ?
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THE TEAM
TWEETS by
Sukanya Remesh
It’s all about AD-itude by
Abhijit Sharma
Brand MARK ive by
Dhruv maheshwari
COVER STORY by
Palak Thakkar
SPECIAL STORY by
Akshay Peshave
HALLMARK CAMPAIGN by
Sankalp Thakur
FAUX PAS by
Kavya Dubey
PIONEER by
Rahul Vanghani
BOOKWORM by
Akshay Peshave
SquAreheaD by
Kavya Dubey
BUZZ by
Palak Thakkar
PROOF READ by
Minoli Sheth
Palak Thakkar
DESIGNING by
Minoli Sheth
Vasundhara Tewari
Palak Thakkar
PROMOTIONS by Kavya Dubey
The MARKSMAN is the
newsletter of INTERFACE, the
Marketing Club at K.J. Somaiya
Institute of Management Studies
and Research, Mumbai.
Images used in THE
MARKSMAN are subject to
copyright. THE MARKSMAN
does not take any responsibility
of any kind of plagiarism in the
articles received from students
of other colleges.
The TEAM
36 THE MARKSMAN