Monday, June 30, 2008

Think Pink (Marketing to Women)

Men may be from Mars, but smart marketers now know that it is the species from Venus that calls the shots in purchase decisions...

The year was 1929. The man was called Edward L. Bernay, considered by many as the father of public relations. The Easter parade was about to be staged on Fifth Avenue. This was also the era when women did not smoke much in public. Before the parade, Bernay alerted the newspaper that women would be smoking in public to promote ‘equality of sexes”. Suddenly, everyone was excited & wanted to cover the event. What Bernay told no one was the simple fact that he had been paid for this effort by American Tobacco, the maker of Lucky Strike in their effort to encourage women to smoke. It was one of the most famous marketing moments of its time.

Recently Dell’s marketing representatives met Oprah and showcased their products on her show. Its Pocket DJ and 30 inch LCD TV featured on Oprah’s Favourite Things 2004 shopping list. About 70% of Dell’s plasma sets were sold in weeks after the list appeared on Oprah’s show. Twenty years ago, probably women were just considered as “add-ons” by marketers, with no major decision making roles. A recent survey in America revealed that women now account for $55 billion of $96 billion consumer electronic market (in 2003). With more and more women joining the workforce their purchasing power and decision making power both are increasing. What’s interesting is 25% of these women make more money than their husbands or boyfriends. So marketers are now being forced to give them a long hard second look and formulate plans and strategies to rapture this fast growing market.

Pretty in Pink
Women today are buying more electronic gizmos than men. What were earlier referred to as “boy’s toys” are no more the sole domain of men. Companies are going back to their design tables; reworking and revamping their products as they get to know the female consumers better. Gone are the days when Gillette wanted to target their razors to women, they just colored them pink. Today, that’s not enough. A woman knows what she wants and if you want the green bucks to keep coming, you gotta give her what she wants. No wonder Camel cigarettes are now available in packages of hot pink fuchsia and minty green. They know their customers would “walk a mile for a Camel” (the famous tag line of Camel cigarettes). They also know many of them would be wearing stilettos!

Women are different & the one who recognizes that faster, benefits the most. As someone said, “When women are depressed they eat or go shopping. Men invade a country. It’s a whole different way of thinking.”

When the Lancer group of Canada wanted to market their luxury condominiums, they included things like a walk in closet, a laundry room, plenty of counter space in the bathroom for make up. What they didn’t include was a giant wide screen television. Their target was single women aged 21-45 years who were bothered about various other details of the house and definitely did not value a giant TV screen. Today marketers are getting into the skin of a women to understand what she actually wants and desires. One of them did what no one had done before. Kevin Burke, father of lucid marketing which specialises in marketing to moms actually wore a thirty three lbs pregnancy suit for nine months just to understand how a woman felt the experience. He sure was very serious about marketing to women! Tetley, Canada, has a created a special online site “Music Lounge” where women can download free songs for their digital music players and computers – basically they get to chill out the ‘Chai’ (Tea).

Diamonds no longer a women’s best friend

With more and more women on the streets, driving their own cars, the hottest selling gadgets seems to be the GPS tracking system. Most of these navigation devices are being bought by women. About 55% of GPS customers are women. Not just this, even car manufacturers are seeing a rise in the women customers. Hyundai Motors India Ltd has announced special loan schemes to lure the women. ‘Santro’ and ‘Getz’ are being portrayed as women friendly cars.

Harley Davidson, long a symbol of male pride launched a web site dedicated to women motorcyclists. They figured out that 10% of all the Harleys sold in 2003 were bought by women, as compared to just 2% in 1985. Back in India too, the two wheeler marketing segment is seeing a lot of action. Hero Honda has launched its ungeared scooter targeting the young women. Not just this, they have even launched a retail initiative called “Just for Her”. These women- only showrooms would be used to distribute its scooter “Pleasure”.

TVS has come out with accessories specially designed for the female rider and even an exclusive website Scootygals.com to sell this new accessory range. For bike manufacturers, the real growth lies in targeting the female users. The customer is the Queen for them! Women are a rapidly growing consumer force. If you are not including them in your marketing plan, you are putting your business at a disadvantage. When Home Depot (one of the largest retail chains of US) realised that most of the people who purchased a home in 2003 were women, they immediately included them in their business plans. Home Depot now regularly organizes classes targeted to women where they learn to use power tools, lay laminate floors and paint their own houses!

Ipod decided it was time to time to introduce iboxes for women too! Bharti Cellular has now a “Ladies Special Plan” which allows them to receive special beauty and lifestyle tips & also gives them special discounts on subscriptions of magazines like Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping, among others.


The new single woman

Today many women are choosing to stay single and are loving their independence, both emotional & financial. Marketers everywhere are doing whatever they can to attract this segment. New products & services are springing up to cater to this solo-lifestyle, like ready-made foods, investment services etc.

UTI has launched a Mahila Unit Scheme exclusively for women investors above 18 years of age. Indian Bank has introduced a loan scheme called “Swarna Abharna” to help women buy gold ornaments. Women live longer than men & insurance companies are leveraging it. They are coming out with policies to target this new independent woman. Working women need a smart wardrobe. They no longer want to wear pants designed for men. So brands like Allen Solly, Wills Lifestyle etc. have come out with a range of clothes to suit the tastes of this woman.

TV channels too have realised that it’s the woman who controls the remote. So she is the target for most of their programming. Women are from Venus About 80% of all household purchases are done by women. She is the “family’s purchasing officer”; she is shaping up the new retail trends. Thanks to their expanding purse-strings, they are changing trends. Women spend differently from men. They spend more on “home-improvement” goods and luxury, designer goods. Today’s woman is ready to spend more on a product if it makes her life more convenient. She doesn’t mind spending on a Jacuzzi for those few moments when she can actually relax. She doesn’t mind paying a premium price for an oven if it cooks meals faster & gives her more time with her family.

ily live a more affluent lifestyle. She knows it. Her power has increased. She controls what she earns. Its “her” money. Almost all the 100% growth in family incomes from 1970 to 2003 has come from woman’s income according to BusinessWeek Online. So if you are looking for expanding your market share, keep a watch on this new market of women which is growing fast & developing deep-pockets too. You want to increase sales – look at Venus – and think pink.

If you use a BPL mobile in Mumbai, the all working women get a special ‘concierge service” where you can get someone to run errands for you by simply making a call. Philips has now started jointly designing with Swarovski a unique range of products by making them not just functional but fashionable too- something that women are always looking for. Designers world over are coming up with designs to lure this creature from Venus. Some of them seem to be having great fun with it too. LG has come out with a no-water – no – detergent washing machine. A company has come out with a TV that you can watch while taking a shower. So you have to never choose between Oprah and Shower, for the TV is splash-proof. Hitachi now has a hair dryer which dries your hair and fights the germs in the air too. More power to Pink!

Copyright © :-Rajita chaudhuri and Planman Media

An Initiative of
IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Dress ed to Kill

He is 25 years old. He dropped out of Princeton University and now he is turning “worm-poop” into green bucks! Tom Szaky and his friend Jon Beyer started a company called TerraCycle Inc. The company uses worm waste to create plant food and the best part is it sells it in recycled soda bottles. Most of these plastic bottles are collected through a nation-wide recycling programme organised by the company itself. It’s got schools and churches to collect empty plastic bottles and milk cartons, which are used to package its products. They now even have neck-tags on these recycled bottles where you can put your first name and the state from where you collected your bottle. It’s this idea of such an innovative packaging that generated copious publicity for this company that it has hardly spent on advertising. It even showed what the company believed in and stood for. Body Shop had done a similar thing years ago. They encouraged customers to bring their old packaging back into the shop to be refilled and re-used or recycled. They did it at a time when no one else was doing it – and it spread a good word about the company, which is more powerful than any advertisement.

Packaging is the first tangible interaction a consumer has with your brand. If it’s powerful and creates an impact, then it’s the best way to differentiate your product from competition and even beat it. No wonder Coors Brewing Co. is relying on packaging to help boost its sales. The have introduced “Cold Wrap” bottles. A wraparound label on the beer bottle keeps the brew cold longer by reflecting heat from the consumer’s hand. Not just this, they even have an agreement with the packers, whereby, the Cold Wrap bottle will remain exclusive to Coors for “at least one year”. What a way to beat the heat and the competition!


New and innovative packaging always helps to create a buzz. Last year, Pepsi Co’s soft drink 7UP decided to get the excitement going high by introducing its drink in a new packaging and using Mallika Sherawat’s curves to up the enticement quotient. It suddenly made the brand both hot and cool. Coca-Cola too had to change the shape of its soft drink Limca if it wanted to remain in the race. This year it made its bottle curvier and called it the Limca splash bottle. They said, it gave consumers a better grip. It might even help Coca-Cola to retain its grip over the market!


It’s a new world

Today it’s a whole new generation that we are marketing our products to. This “millennium generation” or “generation why” is very different. Generation Y, according to Crispin Reed of Sterling Brands, is “...arguably the most savvy generation ever to walk the planet. It’s never felt the chill of the Cold War, never knew life without AIDS, learnt about the birds and bees from President Clinton, never went to library, wore designer kids’ clothes & can’t imagine a life without DVDs, AIMs, Internet & SUVs.” If you have to attract their attention, you need to make the right moves. Amul re-designed its packaging of ice-creams, cheese and shrikhand. Nestlé has changed its “Fruit n Dahi” to “Milkmaid Fruit Yoghurt” and packed it in a cup.

Great packaging changes a brand’s image instantly. No wonder, companies are spending more and more on packaging, year after year. The packaging industry itself is growing at an annual rate of 4-6%. The range of products being packaged is growing and getting more and more diverse. After all, everything is getting packed and ready-to-eat-off-the-racks.

Intelligent packaging has made life easier. Think of life without resealable bhujiya packets, wet wipes, travel kits of the various cosmetic brands, juices in tetra packs, Coke cans, salt & pepper dispensers of Catch and many more.

On the shelf...
There are so many developments in packaging which are now helping in increasing the shelf-life of the products. Processes like vacuum packaging or gas packaging are being used extensively. The shelf is also the place where your brand competes directly with the rival’s brand. Marketers are using packaging to make a statement on the shelf. Some years back Coca-Cola unveiled a 30-litre plastic bottle of Coke. It was 4 feet tall, weighed 274 pounds and required, on an average, three men to lift it! The logic? They said Americans like big things – big car, big stereo, big TV. So why not a big Coke! They did try to make the brand look larger-than-life!

Windows Vista and 2007 Office systems not only redesigned the software package, but also the outer packaging to make it look more attractive on the shelf – displays; apart from protecting the software inside for life-long use.

DVDs and CDs have seen so much of experimenting when it comes to packaging. Limited editions and collector’s editions are just ways of innovatively packaging the old discs to make them look attractive and encourage impulse buying.

Thanks to the “Wal-Mart culture” of retail chains and department stores, most of the purchases nowadays are impulse-driven and many-a-times it is attractive packaging that makes you reach out for the product. Not just this, packaging also increases the brand recall. So it’s imperative your product look good on the shelves.

Save our planet
With the effect of global warming already being felt, consumers are becoming more conscious and making more ecologically friendly choices. Wal-mart has even announced a rollout of a “green” rating system of the packaging used by its suppliers – in a bid to become more environment-friendly. All suppliers would be required to lower the amount of packaging that they use, by 5% and use more eco-friendly & recyclable products. Those who don’t, might lose their business with Wal-Mart!

In today’s world, packaging even makes a statement about your commitment to the planet. Today it is no more packaging... it’s the era of green packaging.

Starbucks invented the disposable coffee cups and has shown that it is environmentally responsible too. Today, it is changing that and trying to rework a system, whereby, it would encourage consumers to drink inside the stores. America started the “take-away” culture and gave birth to a whole new style of packaging, while Europe still believes in the “consumer-in-store” culture. Consumers are demanding that companies show their responsibility towards the environment. No wonder Starbucks now serves in non-disposable re-usable containers.

So packaging is a powerful medium. It’s a statement! It gives a brand its identity. Use it with caution and you could reap rich dividends. If you have to win, make sure your products are dressed to kill.
Copyright © :-Rajita chaudhuri and Planman Media

An Initiative of
IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Go Green

If you thought that the colour of success was red, blue or pink; think again, my friend! It’s positively Green...

Madonna will “speak to the planet” at Wembley stadium in London. She would call for mass global change to reduce carbon emissions and to tackle the “climate crisis.” Former US Vice President, Al Gore, has turned into an environmental campaigner and has started a spectacular series of concerts across the world called “Live Earth” to raise awareness about global warming. The world’s biggest stars would perform across all the seven continents (even Antarctica!) to appeal to the world to reduce its “carbon footprints”.

In fact, Carbon footprinting is the latest buzz among environmentalists. It is a way of measuring how much impact you, as an individual or a corporate, have on the earth in terms of units of carbon dioxide produced. You can now calculate your carbon footprint (how much you have contributed to polluting the earth); you can even offset your carbon footprint. You could plant a tree in Kenya to help reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, your wedding too can now be customised to become “carbon-neutral”. Instead of receiving 10 juicers or 5 toasters you could ask your guests to donate trees to organisations like carbon footprints.com at the cost of £10 per green tree.

The world is getting more and more carbon literate, especially with the scare of global warming looming closer and everyone wanting to leave a greener earth for their children. Many are busy calculating their carbon footprints by measuring the amount of CO2 they are producing through consumption of gas, heating and electricity. Even the means of transport – not just cars, but lights too emit CO2 and cause environmental damage – and people across the world are doing their best to cut it down as much as possible.

Superstars like Madonna and Kate Moss, thanks to their private jets, their super luxury cars and their ultra lavish lifestyle are among the worst polluters and have the largest carbon footprints. This is no small matter and companies are now under pressure to reduce their green house gas emissions, and come out with more carbon-neutral products, services and even events. No wonder even “Live Earth” concerts are being lambasted for causing immense emissions. With stars jetting in from around the world, fans arriving in gas guzzling cars, thousand of tonnes of rubbish, and sound equipment using so much power, these events are slated to become big polluters. Ironical?!


Green Marketing is Smart Marketing

Companies are now developing products keeping the environment in mind and marketers are using “environmental-friendly” as the new trick to sell their products and make them look more attractive. Running short of ideas? Well, you could get great ones by just brainstorming with an environmentalist. The Arm and Hammer brand of baking soda for 7 years had no growth in sales. Then they decided to market their products as an environmentally preferable cleaning agent. Sales rose by 30% in 35 months!

Toyota and British Petroleum too are big organisations that have realised the power of eco-innovation and green marketing. Toyota has beaten its domestic competitors, hands down, by introducing new automotive eco-innovations. Its eco-friendly cars like Prius are slowly eating away into the competitors’ market share. British Petroleum’s advertising campaign “Beyond Petroleum” highlighted the company’s support of renewable energy recourses. It is one of the very few companies that mention climate change in their annual reports.

Shareholders are today demanding that companies reveal more about the environmental impact of their products and explain what they are doing to make them more environmentally compatible. Ireland’s largest insurer “Irish life and Permanent” has launched “green loans scheme,” designed to reward borrowers, who wish to borrow money for environment-friendly improvements to their homes by offering them a 1% discount on the normal lending rate for its personal loans. Similarly, HSBC had started a “green sale” that reinforces the bank’s commitment to environmental issues. It would donate £0.50 to WWF for every customer who signs up for internet banking during the period of sale. It expects to raise £1 million this way. Such schemes have helped HSBC to become the world’s first carbon neutral financial service provider.

Wal-Mart too is testing an energy-saving retail store design. Philips has introduced energy saving bulbs. P&G’s new laundry detergent – Tide Coldwater is designed to clean clothes effectively in cold water, & hence help the consumers save energy. Steelcase, the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer has come out with a “Think Chair”, which is 99% recyclable – its presence symbolises a smart socially responsible office! Xerox promotes its solid ink printer as being non-toxic and producing 90% less waste than laser printers. McDonald’s is doing all it can, to show to the world that it cares by incorporating a series of environmental and social initiatives. Early this month, it announced that it would turn its spent cooking oil into bio-diesel fuel to power vans in the UK. Its menu now has coffee, soya, et al, that is sourced from companies, which do not destroy rainforests. Its décor of bright red & yellow is slowly being changed to dark green to reinforce its environmental faith and have a positive influence on consumers.

Pret-a-manger, a sandwich chain in the UK today has 1.3% of the sandwich market eating out of its hand. It snatched the share from Marks & Spencer (the original inventors of the sandwich for lunch concept). They did this by using only natural ingredients and minimum preservatives and making sure everything in their shop was recyclable, as also caused minimum waste (of paper) & damage to the environment. GM too launched a campaign “Live green, go yellow” to promote its flexible – fuel vehicles & its support of ethanol-based gasoline.

Green: Colour of money

It’s the youth that are turning more “green-conscious” today. According to a poll done in America, 50% of the respondents from the age group of 18-29 years, said that they were ready to spend more on products that were organic/environmentally-friendly or fair trade. It shows that Generation Y is obviously more environmental savvy than its seniors.

No wonder, the very popular website among the youth called “Second Life” where people create virtual doubles of themselves, has launched a competition for the best idea to redevelop an area in the city and make it more environmental-friendly. People from everywhere participated, which shows that people want to do something for their surroundings, if given an opportunity. Countries that have suffered environmental disasters like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (India), the Exxon oil spill, the Chernobyl disaster (Ukraine) that caused radioactive contamination are today demanding their pound of flesh. They want better, safer products & don’t mind paying more, but they want to put an end to these man-made disasters.

Green is the new mantra. Anything “green” sells, even the green Ogre “Shrek”! It raked in more than $600 million and created history as the largest domestic debut ever for an animated film in the USA. Remember how Popeye, the cartoon character, solved all his problems by gulping down a jar of green spinach – well, if you want to win and watch your competitors turn green with envy – go green!
Copyright © :-Rajita chaudhuri and Planman Media

An Initiative of
IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Indian market


IIPM - Admission Procedure

However, it was certainly no mean feat to popularise a concept like Easy Bill in the Indian market, especially with the habitual Indian consumer unwilling to let go off traditional payments options. Besides, the additional challenge of establishing a vast distribution network was also there. “We were fortunate to have come from a business that had a strong distribution set up. But of course, to get the first 10-15 contracts was like a nightmare. There was a time when a chairman of the electricity board of a neighbouring state refused to meet me when I told him about this concept. I stood in front of his office for hours for 4-5 days before he met but still didn’t buy my idea. After I had 30 clients in my kitty, I asked him if he trusted me now. He is my client today,” explains Rahul. Today the Easy Bill network spans Delhi, Maharashtra, Bengalooru, Punjab, Haryana & Gujarat, with more than 3,500 outlets in 25 major cities across the country. “If a customer knows where to find us if his bills don’t get paid, that adds my credibility,” emphases Rahul. .

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An
IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM, GURGAON




Paying bills for a living….


When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Explains Rahul, “Every big group expands as the economy demands. We wanted a strong footing in the service industry. I personally, always wanted to start something service based. And having studied abroad, I had a fairly good idea about the service industry outside.” So he took up the task to replicate the global concept of convenient payment of bills for the India’s a billion plus. He blended a vast and efficient retail network with state-ofthe- art technology and created Easy Bill in 2003. “With the economy booming, it was the best time to get into this service industry. When we launched Easy Bill, we required a huge network of dealers & retailers. The requisite skill sets were very similar to what Hero Group was already into–low value cash movement,” reminisces Rahul. To make the consumer better understand his offerings, Rahul avoided marketing jargons in the nomenclature of his new venture and christened it Easy Bill. From the onset of the journey, Rahul, who spearheads Easy Bill as CEO, took special care to create trust and goodwill for his brand among consumers, which he describes as the backbone of any service company. “The customer’s trust is reinforced every time he looks at our logo on his telecom company’s bill. We give an authorised receipt for every payment with an Airtel or Tata logo so that customers don’t have any apprehensions,” he says. And what with the number of electricity, telecom and other paid services in the country growing by leaps and bounds, Rahul has surely secured his eggs in the golden basket.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An
IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


With an ‘easy’ way of minting money up his sleeve, this deft leader is working hard and working fast to carve his own ‘service’ niche...


IIPM, ADMISSIONS FOR NEW DELHI & GURGAON BRANCHES

Indian Inc. has always had a galaxy of business families who have shaped the economy since Independence. The Ludhiana-based Munjal family (of Hero fame) would forever be considered, as being among the crème of India’s old business families, and one that has contributed significantly to the economic development of the nation. Be it giving the nation its first indigenously made bicycle or moped, the Munjals, to their credit, have been pioneering movers & shakers of India Inc., with innovation and forward thinking ingrained in their very thought process. Coming from such prestigious lineage, the task was at once, both difficult and easy for Rahul Munjal. Son of the founder of Hero Honda Motors – Raman Kant Munjal and a holder of degree in Economics, from the University of Rochester, Rahul Munjal wanted to live up to the family legacy of creating something new, away from the shadow of grandfather Brij Mohan Lal Munjal, the patriarch of Hero Group.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An
IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
The Sunday Indian - India's Greatest News weekly
IIPM, GURGAON
ARINDAM CHAUDHURI’S 4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE IIPM...
IIPM Economy Review



Friday, June 27, 2008

Twice as sharp?

Motorola RAZR2 V8, ups competition
It took a ‘RAZR’ sharp swipe on the competitor’s market share on arrival. And while competitors still struggle to match its impact, Motorola is set for a sequel in the form of the RAZR2 V8! RAZR had been the hottest selling phone for Motorola with over 100 million units being sold till date. Of late, however, there was a decline in the cult following of RAZR. The report for the second quarter of 2007 by Gartner also reveals that Motorola’s global market share has fallen by a cataclysmic 7.3% to reach 14.6%, though it has retained the number two slot. Thus damage control is long overdue. In its second inning, RAZR2 V8 is slimmer, sleeker, and more stylish than RAZR and claimed to be ten times faster than the original RAZR. Proclaimed Malcolm Dawe, Vice President & General Manager, Motorola, “It comes with an ARM 11 processor that makes it the fastest mobile phone in the world at the moment.” The major disappointment for RAZR2 V8 is its camera – only 2 megapixel. But history reminds us that RAZR was able to emerge a winner without a megapixel camera. Motorola has launched RAZR2 V8 in India before anywhere else. It will certainly be looking at making a killing in the Indian market, especially after Nokia has confirmed India to be its second largest market. At its initial price of Rs .18,999, this phone obviously would not give returns in terms of market share to Motorola unless it manages to bring down prices quickly & maintain the wow factor. A lot will also depend on how competition retaliates to blunt its RAZR edge...

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

Mind your language!

IBM launches Hindi speech recognition
With proposed investments of $6 billion in India, IBM would surely want to have more associations with the country other than the colour blue. No wonder that it has partnered with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), to come out with a Desktop Hindi Speech Recognition Technology. This technology, also called Shrutlekhan- Rajbhasha has been developed in association with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. This technology transcribes spoken Hindi language with little assistance from the user through keyboards. It would therefore help people with limited computer literacy & also the physically challenged. Needless to add, this technology would also find many suitors in the domain of domestic call centres of various banks, telecom companies, airlines and even Indian Railways to assist them in performing better. Dr. Daniel Dias, Director, IBM India Research Laboratory, said, “The system can recognise more than 75,000 Hindi words with dialectical variations, providing an accuracy level of 90-95%.” IBM also claims it has tested this technology on people across states without a significant effect on accuracy. It also comes in with spell check function to help correct spoken errors. IBM’s transcription technology would certainly prove a catalyst in the mass penetration of PCs in India, already in the acceleration mode. And to top it all, it would also help Big Blue develop a formidable association with the Hindi speaking hinterland.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

BRAND: Airtel - Jai Hai Campaign

CREATOR: A.R. Rahman
BASELINE: A salute to the nation
DESCRIPTION: A banner of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and we see Lata Mangeshkar (aptly tagged as the Nightingale of India) singing the first two lines of India’s national anthem. Next, India’s tricolour is shown flying high and then Asha Bhonsle joins sister Lata and sings the next two lines of the anthem. Finally, both melody queens sing the rest of the anthem together, in perfect harmony. The caption reads, ‘One billion hearts. One voice.’ In the end, Airtel’s logo appears on the screen with the tagline:A salute to the nation.
4Ps TAKE: With Airtel communications, the one thing that always comes naturally is the desi connect. In this ad, for instance, there is not a sign of the services that the brand offers (other than the company logo that is!) – but what great mass connect and what amazing branding! Earlier, the brand had a campaign that featured grabs of highly emotional historic moments from across the globe but this time – keeping India’s 60th Independence anniversary in mind – the brand has gone for a nationalistic fervour. The USP is clear: feel proud of your country, and, by, extension, Brand Airtel. The single-minded focus is to cash in on the I-Day fever. By featuring Lata and Asha, the brand makes a statement about true mettle. The reward to the prospect is the big picture from which Airtel draws: India at the age of 60, and a power to be reckoned with. Talking about basking in reflected glory – that’s what Airtel does in this ad, and with great aplomb!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

BRAND: Electrolux

HEADLINE: We are thinking...
BASELINE : Thinking of you
AGENCY : Percept H
4Ps TAKE : These days, everyone – from the UN to the Indian government – is talking about saving water. Electrolux too has decided to be a brand with a conscience – telling consumers that it cares. Good positioning that. The USP of this ad is the holes-less drums in the latest range of Electrolux fully automatic top-loading washing machines. The power idea is that no holes equals to no wastage of water – which gives Electrolux a clear cut above the rest in the same league. The visual is attractive and functional, clearing showing the range of machines (with a pile of clothes beside them, depicting how much of clothes one can wash – yet not waste water). The tagline, ‘Thinking of you’ has the potential to strike an immediate chord with consumers: this is one brand that seems to understand basic needs. So, has your conscience been spurred on yet?

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

BRAND: Indiatimes mail

HEADLINE: No spam mail.
BASELINE : Live out of the inbox
AGENCY : Bates David Enterprise
4Ps TAKE : In this age of quick e-mailing service and increasing Internet users, when competition between various web-mailing portals is getting intense every minute, Indiatimes.com has come out with the guarantee of no bugging spam mails. An innovative way to lure the target audience – given that spams and unwanted mails have become quite a pain for most users! The visual is eye-catching with a yellow backdrop and a man (dressed as a life-saviour, complete with an oxygen mask) holding a bright yellow envelope proudly in sync with the theme of no spam mails. The clinching benefits to the brand are the free and unlimited space and advanced spam filters that prevent unwanted mail from clogging your inbox. ‘Live out of the inbox’ is a good reward to the prospect and should appeal to all those net junkies who believe in just that: living out of the inbox! Free from clog, are you ready to now log?

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Monday, June 23, 2008

Cigarette sales get puffed down in Britain

Smoking kills – that we all know. Now cigarette sales are getting killed in Britain, after a total ban on smoking was introduced in England (virtually every enclosed public place and workplace) from 1 July this year. Cigarette sales figures are out – and they say that in the one month after the ban, sales have dropped by 6.9%. This was reported in the British newspaper The Guardian’s website that quoted a London Times story, which, in turn, cited the figures from consumer research group AC Nielsen. “Sales had already been falling by about 2% annually,” The Guardian also noted. It does help, of course, that prior to England, smoking had been banned in Scotland, Ireland and Wales earlier. “The fall in July mirrors similar declines in cigarette consumption after smoking was banned in Ireland in 2004 and in Scotland last spring. In addition, the wet weather in July may have deterred smokers from using the outdoor smoking facilities,” the report added, while talking about how fall in cigarette sales has seen an unlikely reverse story: book stores are witnessing a whopping rise in the sales of books that pertain to help people quit smoking – sales have gone up by almost 260%!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Friday, June 20, 2008

Made in China gets even more toxic

Remember what happened to the toys ‘outsourced’ to China by US toy giant Mattel? They were recalled – as they contained toxic chemicals. Now, after Mattel, it’s the turn of Hamleys, Britain’s biggest toy store, to withdraw children’s jewellery imported from China. Reason? The jewellery contained alarmingly high levels of lead – that could damage the brain, and even become fatal. London’s The Sunday Times claimed that out of 24 units of children’s jewellery bought (in London and Birmingham) as many as eight tested positive for high levels of lead. Of these eight, six had one or more components with more than 80% lead; the recommended international safety limit is 0.06%. In media reports, Paul Currie, trading director at Hamleys, was quoted as saying: “High levels of lead in children’s jewellery are totally unacceptable because this is a product that comes into contact with children.” What’s going on guys? After all, this is no kids’ stuff at all.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Pool side pharmacy

Drown the heat, not yourself
Diving into the swimming pool may provide you more than just temporary respite from the summer heat. Although swimming is one of the healthiest exercises you can opt for, it does expose you to many health hazards as well. Diarrhoea is one of the most common illnesses, which spreads by swallowing contaminated water. Eyes, ears, nose and cuts are easy prey for infections. At the same time, if you think you can escape the ultra violet rays by hiding underwater, think again as they can still catch up to you and fry your skin till it turns red with blisters! Accidents happen and in pools, fecal ones too, so expect anything and everything! Considered among the best prevention and cures for asthma, swimming in chlorinated pools is now also another means of acquiring asthma! Go ahead and dive, but don’t say we didn’t warn ya!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008