MARKATHON

MARCH 11
MARKETING MAGAZINE OF IIM SHILLONG VOL 2, ISSUE 11

Non-Alcoholic Non-Carbonated Beverages

INTERVIEW: PRIYA RAGHUBIR, PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, STERN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, NYU

 FROM THE EDITOR In this month’s Vartalaap section, we have Mrs. Priya
Raghubir, Professor of Marketing at Stern Business School
Dear Readers, New York University. She gives us great insights into
Consumer Psychology, aspects of pricing and her
As I sit down to write my first editorial, there is one thing experiences from being a student at IIM Ahmedabad to a
at the back of my mind and everyone else too, India vs Professor at a premier Business school.
Pakistan at Mohali. The World Cup has grabbed viewers’
eyeballs and the headlines of all the newspapers across I would like to place my gratitude on record for the
the country. If the last WC in 2007 was an advertiser’s outgoing team who have done an outstanding job with
nightmare, this one has been a dream especially since all the magazine. I along with all the members of the
the subcontinent teams are still in the fray. incoming team would endeavour our best to live up to
The viewership has been off the the high standards already set for Markathon. This
charts and just the group matches magazine is a collaborative effort involving all the
had a higher cumulative viewership excellent team members. I thank each and everyone one
than the IPL Season 3. All the of them for the part they play in bringing the issue out.
questions about where to put in
Happy Reading!
advertising money, World Cup or IPL Jitesh
, have been put to rest with such
astounding viewership numbers. Jitesh Pradeep Patel
This coupled with the Official
Our February 2011 Internet viewership is a clear
Cover indicator that the World Cup has a
better appeal than the IPL.
There have been loads of marketing campaigns built
around the world cup. From the downright disastrous to
THE MARKATHON TEAM
some smartly crafted ones. The Vodafone Super ZooZoo
EDITOR
has been a runaway hit. There has been one campaign
Jitesh Pradeep Patel
though which I found to be very well made and has
somehow not made much of an impact, the Sprite
SUB EDITORS
University of Freshology campaign has slowly positioned
Gaurav Ralhan
Sprite as the smart, sassy, young people’s drink from its
Kaustubh Rawool
earlier image of being a thirst quencher (Sprite bujhaaye
Rahul Mantri
pyaas campaign).
Ritika Nagar
The tagline which they have adopted now is ‘First drink, Sria Majumdar
then think, Sprite – University of Freshology. The
campaign should help establish Sprite as a refreshing CREATIVE DESIGNERS
drink and cement its position as the No:2 drink for Coca- Yashwanth Reddy Mandipati
Cola Company in India. We need to see more such Sana Parvez Akhtar
intelligent campaigns in the Indian media.

With the summer round the corner, the market for the
Non Alcoholic Beverages is witnessing a lot of skirmish. In
this month’s Cover Story we look at three such beverages
and how the landscape is evolving with newer players
coming in and lots of newer drinks in the pipeline for
launch.

2
 markathon | march 2011
CONTENTS

FEATURED ARTICLES

PERSPECTIVE
Leveraging location based social networks
SHRUTI GUPTA| NITIE, MUMBAI
4
PRODUCTOLYSIS
Raymond Woman’s Apparel
PRIYADARSHI BHATTACHARYA | DMS, IIT DELHI
6
PERSPECTIVE II
Rural Marketing
PINAK MUKHERJEE, SIDDHARTH P.BIJLANI | MDI GURGAON
10
COVER STORY
Liquid Wars: Non- Alcoholic Non- Carbonated Beverages
GAURAV RALHAN | PAYAL BANGAR | SUNIL MISHRA| IIM S
12
VARTALAAP
Priya Raghubir
PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, STERN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, NEWYORK UNIVERSITY
18
WAR ZONE
EYE 2 EYE
After Starbucks with Tata, Dunkin Donuts is also entering Indian market. Will India be a
success story for these coffee retail chains or is Indian market not big enough for all these
20
players?
LOKESH HAMAL| MDI GURGAON, SRIKKANT R| IIM S

SILENT VOICE
GlaxoSmithKline Healthcare’s launch of toothpaste Brand Sensodyne in the Indian market
21
SPECIALS
BOOK MARK
SRIA MAJUMDAR
22
BRAND STORY
SANA AKHTAR
23
UPDATES
KAUSTUBH 24

3
perspective
Leveraging location based social networks
SHRUTI GUPTA | NITIE, MUMBAI
The smartphone usage in India is on an upward trend
with an upsurge of new players, constant reduction in
prices and the rising number of applications and
features. With these advancements in the cellular
technology provided by handset manufactures and the
launch of 3G, India is soon catching on to the latest
trend of social networking using mobile phones -
Location based Social Network.
According to Wikipedia, Location Based Social
Networking is “social networking in which geographic
services and capabilities such as geo-coding and geo-
tagging are used to enable additional social dynamics.”
International giants such as Foursquare, Places by
Facebook have already started their services in India
and the market is bound to increase with time because
socializing is in the human blood. We like to share
things with others, we like to do things together, invite
people to places we are visiting; in short, we want
people in our cohorts to be aware of what we are up to
and with the usage of Location Based Social Networks
we are able to do so in real
time.
Location-targeted advertising
is very promising for
marketers, because by using
Location Based Social
Networks they will be able to
send ads to people, based on
where they are and where
they’ve been, along with
other methods already in use.
In India, the market is still
untapped because of the
scepticism on the small number of users using the
service owing to scanty internet mobile usage
penetration. However, in 2010, around 15 million urban
Indians accessed internet on their mobile phones on a
daily basis. It is estimated that by 2015 there will be 250
million mobile internet subscribers. Therefore it
provides an opportunity to marketers to allocate some
of their budget on using Location Based Social Network
to advertise and
markathon | march 2011
promote their brand especially in India, where the
demographics is such that, the mobile internet usage is
more happening than the typical PC broadband.
The college going students and young men and women
constitute 70% of the mobile internet users. They are
educated, social, open to experiments and extroverts.
Hence advanced tech- friendly people of India will be
easiest to target, convert and retain, thereby being
cynosures for the marketers. However not all of the
young people have same
interests, hence targeting of
the “right” customer is
pertinent for the marketers.
Foursquare, for example,
helps marketers in doing this
by providing the number of
check-ins per business
category, thereby enabling
marketers to realize
consumer preferences and
target the “interested”
costumers. Once targeting of customers has been done,
Location based media network allow all the brands to
leverage the platform for enhancing their brand
recognition and recall. Brands can create their own
pages and use badges to gather followers. As social
status is a major driver among the youths, the badges
can serve a great motivator for them to show-off the
brands they are using. Well established brands in
metros can take advantage of this service to widen their
4

reach in Tier I and Tier II cities like Dehradun, Siliguri
etc.
The firms with physical presence like food outlets,
retails stores, etc. are expected to
benefit most from it, as Location
Based Social Network can help
them to update the users, located
in the vicinity of their stores, with
their latest discounts offerings,
thus bringing in more people to
their outlets. The loyal customers
can be provided with special
coupons and vouchers thereby
increasing their visit to the stores.
Sports Bar by usage of Location
Based Social Network and
capitalizing on youths willingness to
pay and have good time with their
friends while enjoying a game of
soccer, cricket etc. can greatly
increase the number of footfalls in
their bar.
The Location Based Social Network service users are
good advertising targets as they can influence their
friends and family, thus providing huge word- of- mouth
publicity. This provides two- prong benefits for
marketers. Primarily the medium is cheap to advertise
and advertising on it has a bullwhip effect, where the
reach is far greater than the users of mobile internet.
Secondly in the Indian culture peers play a major role in
converting purchase intention to purchase decision,
thus increasing the number of converts and enormously
enhancing the sales. Tourism is one sector in India
which will definitely gain by extensive usage of Location
Based Service Network. A realistic image can be created
among tourists wanting to visit a place based on the
reviews of tourists’ who have already / are currently
visiting the place.
Marketers can also capitalize on the main purpose of
Location Base Social Network which is to provide users
with an opportunity to catch up with their friends. They
can come up with offers wherein buying in large
number leads to additional discounts. Since individually
a person won’t be able to purchase for such a huge
amount, a group of people can together purchase,
proving to be beneficial for both the customer and the
provider. First movers will be welcomed enthusiastically
by the Generation Y of India who is game to experience
anything exciting and of value to them.
There is however a major challenge
about which marketers should be
cautious of. Indians have a way of
finding short cuts and with the
amount of intelligence and
knowledge they have it isn’t easy to
prevent these tech-savvy individuals
from bypassing the checks provided
by the Location Based Social
Network providers. They can come
up with ways of checking into places
they haven’t visited, thus availing
the offers provided by the
marketers. Thus in order to ensure
no forfeiting, marketers should
enable their own checks along with
using appropriate platform for
advertising their products.
5
productolysis markathon | march 2011

Raymond women’s apparel

Priyadarshi bhattacharya | dms, iit delhi

One of India’s biggest apparel companies, Raymond

has been successful in almost every segment that it
has ventured into. With iconic brands like Raymond,
Color Plus, Park Avenue and Parx, the company
commands respect in the industry. However, its
women’s wear brands, launched in 2007 have been
doing very badly. Even in a metro like New Delhi, there
are just two outlets where the company’s women wear
line is sold. In one of them at Select City walk, the shop
owner reveals that even though the women’s wear line
occupies 15 % of shelf space, it contributes to just
around 5 % of sales. This article examines the reasons
for the poor performance of Raymond’s offerings for
women and recommends a possible solution.

Background to Entry into Women’s Apparel

Park Avenue: Park Avenue marked Raymond’s entry
into the men’s Ready to Wear segment in 1986.A
premium contemporary formal wear brand, Park
Avenue targets men in the age group of 30-40 years.
Women in the work force in 2009
From the 2 pyramids shown above it can clearly be seen
that there has been a significant increase in the female
work force size in India in the last decade.

ColorPlus: ColorPlus was launched in 1993 by ColorPlus Wooing Women

Fashions, then a unit of Coimbatore-based Ambattur
Clothing Limited and was acquired by Raymond in 2002.
The Raymond group initially made an entry into
women’s apparel through the Be: brand line of designer
clothing launched in 2001. However, the brand failed to
capture a sizeable market share and was withdrawn in
2007. In September 2007, Raymond made another
effort to enter this category at two different points.
Instead of launching a separate brand for women, the
company decided to extend both the existing Park
Avenue and Color Plus brands into women’s clothing.
Thus, Park Avenue Woman and ColorPlus Woman were
launched. The marketing strategies of the two sub-
brands are analysed below.

Women in the work force in 2001

Source: Census of India, 2001 and Technopak analysis

6
productolysis
Park Avenue Woman ColorPlus Woman
•The target segment was clearly the working
woman professional.
Targeting
•The sub-brand was positioned at the premium
end of the women’s formal wear market. It
sought to be the working wear of choice for
the upmarket woman of today.
Positioning
•Rs. 700 – 5500.
Price
•Park Avenue outlets as well as multi-brand
outlets. Exclusive Park Avenue Woman stores
were launched or planned in Delhi, Mumbai
Place and Bangalore.
•The company promoted the sub-brand mainly
through the print medium. Again, in keeping
with the men’s brand practice, foreign models
were used for the advertisements, in order to
Promotion emphasize the upmarket tag.
•The sub-brand segmented the market on the
basis of function (corporate western wear)
and age (30-40) years. The size of the target
Segmentation segment can be estimated from
Marketing Plan: Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix Product – 5 different product lines –
Product – 3 distinct lines –
 Modern Classic Range – For business formal
wear.
 Urban Chic – For business leisure wear.
 Opium Delight – For business evening wear.
markathon | march 2011
•The sub-brand aimed at providing the
upmarket modern woman with an
experimental yet classy range of choices
Targeting whenever she needed casual wear.
•The sub-brand promise was built around
offering innovative, differentiated and
colourful choices for the independent, multi-
Positioning faceted, empowered woman of today.
•Rs. 900-1900.
Price
•175 points of sale, including multibrand
outlets, ColorPlus stores and 5 exclusive
ColorPlus Woman stores in major cities. 12
lifestyle stores showcasing this range were
Place also planned.
•A True to Your Nature theme was used to
promote the subbrand. Print was the major
medium used to promote the range.
Promotion
•The market was segmented by function
(smart western casuals) and by price
(premium end). The launch of the women’s
sub-brand was aimed at the Rs 800 crore (in
Segmentation 2007) premium western casual wear market.
1. Day wear range
2. Sporty casual wear range
3. Outdoor range
4. Business casuals range
5. Evening wear range
7
productolysis markathon | march 2011

Competition men’s brands has been successfully changed to a great

degree. None of the other brands had ‘maleness’ as
Madura Garments was the first to extend the Allen Solly such a major component of their core identity as the
brand to the women’s line in 2002. The company ones from the Raymond group. The company erred by
subsequently did the same with the Van Heusen range. not highlighting the extension into women’s market
Other players followed suit, including Blackberrys, ITC’s sufficiently through the right media. By sticking to print
Miss Player and advertisements, where a high
Raymond’s Park Avenue degree of communication is
and ColorPlus brands. sometimes not possible, women’s
However, using its first awareness about these sub
mover advantage, brands remains low.
Madura Garments saw
sales of the Allen Solly An additional mistake was to
women’s wear sub- enter two different parts of the
brand go up to 15 % of woman’s apparel sector at the
the total Allen Solly sales same time. This meant that the
by 2004. Many other company could not focus on
players are also building the core non-male
positioning themselves identity necessary to make either
to take advantage of this growing market. Potential extension successful. Some of the choices about sales
entrants include Arvind Mills, which plans to launch outlets location may also have hurt the sub brands. For
women’s clothing under the licensed Arrow and US Polo instance, in New Delhi, while Select Citywalk is a prime
brands, and foreign entrants like the innovative Spanish location, the shop is located on the same floor as the
designer fashion brand Allen Solly and Van Heusen outlets. Any female
Zara from Inditex. consumers looking for
western wear would head to
Problems one of these shops, rather
than to one with a male-
The biggest hurdle to the centric image.
success of the company’s
women’s wear lines has The Way Ahead
been the image of the
Raymond brands. Given the lack of success of
Raymond and Park the women’s wear
Avenue have always extensions over the past few
been positioned to years, company would be
maximize their exclusivity better off creating a
for men of class (with completely separate brand
taglines like ‘The for women’s wear. This
Complete Man’). Once that kind of image is created for would allow it to define a
a premium brand (for which a more comprehensive core identity and values that women can relate to.
identity is needed), it is very difficult to change it in the Trying to change the present subbrand(s) to give them
short-to-medium term. Apparel is one of the key areas such a makeover would risk diluting the parent brand.
where men and women have traditionally had different In this regard, the example of Zapp – the kidswear
needs. Also, brands like brand from Raymond is noteworthy. A possible
marketing strategy for the new brand is outlined below.
Allen Solly have been in the women’s market for eight
years now, in which time, the perception of them as

8
productolysis
Marketing Plan
Segmentation: Segment the women’s market by
occupation (working woman vs. homemaker) and age
(25-35 years and above 35 years). The opportunity in
the working women segment is enormous.
Targeting: Focusing on the older segment (above 35
years) would be ideal as this segment would be better
suited for building a premium brand with a deep-seated
identity. This brand can be made an aspirational one
and extended downwards in terms of age in the future.
Only one brand should be created so that the company
can focus its resources in this segment. The brand can
be targeted at the modern corporate woman in at a
middle management or higher level initially. Once
established, the brand can be extended to target young
women starting their careers. Depending on the brand’s
success, a new/related one can be introduced later on
as a smart casuals brand for women.
Positioning: In the first phase (targeting of older
professionals), the brand can be positioned as one
which appreciates the unique nature of women who
rise to high level positions while juggling family
responsibilities. The brand shares the journey with
them and when they get there, the brand is the
woman’s way of making a distinctive feminine
statement. ‘Women have arrived – at the very top’ is
the message the brand would send out. Later on, a line
under the brand can be extended to young women just
stepping into their first jobs as a reassuring, comforting
friend who is with them from the very beginning as they
start their careers.
Marketing Mix
Product: The product range can be similar to that of the
present Park Avenue Woman brand. Some of the
features from the Raymond apparel brand can also be
incorporated for class, with changes to emphasise the
feminine nature of the clothing.
Price: Here, the price range can either be similar to the
Park Avenue Woman range or, given that the target
segment consists of successful executives, a somewhat
higher price can be charged.
markathon | march 2011
Place: Given the profile of the target segment, exclusive
brand stores can be opened in cities with a large
number of big companies (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore,
Hyderabad). It also can be sold through premium multi-
brand retail stores.
Promotion: As a new brand, an aggressive campaign
would be required in the initial phases. This would
mainly focus on business channels and upmarket
publications. The brand name needs to have a strong
feminine component. Some of the suggestions for the
taglines would be - ‘An idea whose time has come.’ and
‘I know no ceilings.’ In addition to the media campaigns,
to position itself as the working woman’s brand,
involvement with supporting women-specific initiatives
launched by companies (like Infosys’ Women’s
Inclusivity Network) can further strengthen the brand.
For example, this could take the form of sponsoring a
conference to share best practices for supporting
women at work. Social media is another medium which
can be used for this purpose, for instance, hosting
Facebook groups for women to share their experiences
and success stories.
Conclusion
All in all, the women’s western wear market in India is
an extremely promising opportunity. No leading apparel
company can afford to be left behind in this area.
Raymond’s foray into this market has not given good
returns so far, due mainly to the lack of a distinctive
female brand identity, distributed focus and intensity of
competition. While the competition will only get
tougher over time, the company can reap major
benefits with a course correction – launching a new
exclusive women’s brand supported by a strong
marketing campaign to emphasise its feminine identity
and focussing on one segment at a time. Given the
company’s proud record of leadership in many
segments of the apparel sector, a day may soon be at
hand when it leaves competitors behind in this
burgeoning sector as well.
An idea whose time has come
9
perspective
Rural marketing
Pinak mukherjee, Siddharth p. bijlani | mdi gurgaon
The In a diverse market like India, having second
largest population in the world, the urban-rural divide
is quite significant. According to various studies,
around 12.2 per cent of the world’s population lives in
rural India. Considering this as an untapped potential,
a special marketing strategy, namely, rural marketing
has emerged. It involves delivering manufactured or
processed inputs or services to rural producers or
consumers.
“The future lies with those companies who see
the poor as their customers."
- C. K. Prahalad
Another reason that rural market is gaining importance
is due to competition in the urban market, the market is
reaching towards saturation level as higher capacity of
the purchasers have been targeted by the marketers. So
the marketers are looking for extending their product
offerings to an unexplored market i.e. the rural market.
This has also led to the CSR activities being done by the
corporate to help the poor people attain some wealth
to spend on their product categories. Here we can think
of HUL initiatives in rural
India. One of such project is
the Project Shakti, which is
not only helping their
company earn revenues but
also helping the poor women
of the village to earn money
which is increases their
purchasing power. Also this
will increase their brand
loyalty as well as recognition
in that area.
Rural market can be segmented using the concept of
“urban orientation”. Urban orientation is defined as the
degree to which a rural consumer would like to
replicate the urban lifestyle. The higher the urban
orientation, the higher will be the requirements for
goods and services consumed in urban India and vice-
markathon | march 2011
versa. Broadly, the market can be segmented into three
segments.
Premium Niche
Segment
Premium and Value-
for-money Segment
Value-for-segment
Also an interesting fact, most of the Indian villages have
a population of less than 1,000, while there are only a
few villages where more than 10,000 people live. With
such a widespread market, marketers have been finding
it difficult to penetrate this vast audience. For a rural
marketer, it may not be commercially viable to reach
out to villages that have a population of less than 2,000
people which constitutes 87% of the villages in India.
Most of the rural audience in the
smaller villages come to shop at
a nearby ‘haat’ or travel to a
nearby bigger village. Hence, if
the marketer is focussing on
those 13% (75000) villages, it is
possible to cover almost all of
the Indian rural audience.
In spite of attraction, it is not
easy to enter the market and
grab a sizeable share of the
market, in the short time. Some of the reasons could
be:
 Low Literacy and Communication: There are
not enough opportunities for education in rural
areas. The literacy level is as low (36%) when
compared to all- India average of 52%. Due to
this, the consumers cannot understand the
10
perspective markathon | march 2011

message that has been communicated through continue to expand rural penetration (Tata Tea's Gaon
advertisement of the products and services. Chalo). Coca-Cola's Parivartan program has trained
 Seasonal Demand: Demand for goods in rural more than 6,000 retailers to display and stock products.
markets depends upon agricultural situation, as Dabur has created a training module ASTRA (advanced
agriculture is the main source of income. sales training for retail
Agriculture to a large extent depends upon ascendance) in several
monsoon and, therefore, the demand or buying regional languages. A
capacity is not stable or regular. number of auto
 Transportation: Many rural areas are not companies have
connected by rail transport. Kacha roads launched rural-specific
become unserviceable during monsoons and campaigns.
interior villages get isolated.
 Distribution: An effective distribution system Definitely there is huge untapped potential in rural
requires village-level shopkeeper, Mandal/ India. But there are hindrances at the same time. The
Taluka- level wholesaler or preferred dealer,
distributor or stockiest at district level and
company-owned depot or consignment
distribution at state level. The presence of too
many tiers in the distribution system increases
the cost of distribution.

Affordability

Awareness
4 A's Acceptability

greatest hindrance is that the rural market is still

evolving and there is no set format to understand
consumer behaviour. Lot of study is still to be
conducted in order to understand the rural consumer.
Availability Only FMCGs with deeper pockets, unwavering rural
commitment and staying power will be able to stay
longer on this rural race and hence should venture into
this territory.
Keeping these difficulties in mind and to meet the
objectives of Rural Marketing, the traditional four P's of
marketing - Product, Price, Place and Promotion have
been replaced by a different framework for analysis. A
number of companies have worked on various elements
of the marketing mix to improve the four A's -
Affordability, Awareness, Availability and Acceptability
for rural markets. FMCG companies innovated on
package sizes to introduce low price points. They have
customized promotional strategies for rural markets
using local language and talent. Some FMCG players

11
Cover story markathon |march 2011

The Non-Alcoholic Non-Carbonated beverages industry in

India exploring the road less travelled…

Gaurav Ralhan | Payal Bangar | Sunil Mishra

12
Cover story markathon |march 2011

FEEL THE SQUEEZE

'Indian summer' is colloquially
used to describe the hottest
times of the year but the
summer is going to get even
hotter with the raging brand war
in the non-alcoholic beverages
sector. With the trend shifting
towards healthier thirst
quenchers the non-alcoholic
non-carbonated beverages
segment is flourishing in India.
The global leaders in the
carbonated drinks sector are
losing the “share of stomach” to
the bottled water, juices, energy
drinks and Ready to drink teas
and coffee. Brands like PepsiCo
and Coca Cola look to expand
their presence in the non-
carbonated beverages segment,
which has been growing in the
face of lacklustre carbonated
drinks sales. The companies are
constantly working on widening
its product offering to
consumers to satisfy their
diverse lifestyles and desires. In
this cover story we’ll be
analysing the non-carbonated
packaged beverages
beverages sector
sectorof of
India including the juices, packaged milk and mineral
water sector. The new health conscious customers are ready to buy premium quality
products and thereby providing an oppurtunity to various Indian and foreign brands to
enter the attractive Indian beverages market. So in this cover story we will explore the
3 non-alcholic non-carbonated beverages, Milk products, Mineral water and the Juice
industry in detail….

13
Cover story
Mineral Water
With the increasing amount of population in the urban
areas, more health conscious people, water scarcity and
lack of time, bottled water industry is one of the most
booming sectors of the country. India is ranked in the
top 10 among the largest bottled water consumers of
the world. The per capita consumption of bottled water
is around 5 litres comparatively lower
than the global average of 24 litres.
Bottled water industry in India is one
of the fastest growing sectors in the
food and beverages industry. It is
currently worth around Rs. 4000 to
Rs. 5000 crore and is growing at an
astounding rate of around 40%
annually.
According to Cygnus business
research of Febuary 2011 there are
around 200 bottled water brands in
India among which almost 80% are
local or regional. At the national level,
Bisleri, Parle Agro, Coca Cola and
PepsiCo are the major players with
players like Tata’s Himalayan Water
and Kingfisher are making their
presence felt recently. With Rail Neer,
Indian Railways is also increasingly becoming a national
level competitor.
Bisleri is the market leader in this sector with almost
60% market share. It was one of the first Indian
companies to introduce bottled water and thus has
gained the first mover’s advantage. It tried to venture
into the premium water product “Natural Mountain
water” whose plants were set up in states of
Uttaranchal and the product was said to be emanated
from natural springs of Uttaranchal. But Bisleri has since
then discontinued the product and has launched a new
product named Vedica Natural Mountain Water. Vedica
markets itself as the purest water and compares the
chemical properties of various other water sources with
it to prove its worthiness. Bisleri has also launched a 12
hour call centre and water helpline to reach customers
who want to order water from homes and offices. It
also relies upon providing many sized bottles to the
consumers so that there is variety in the product. For
example, it has specially sized bottles (250 ml) to be
used at social and professional meetings and products
markathon |march 2011
with special cricket labels trying to cater to the cricket
and IPL crazy Indian population.
PepsiCo with its flagship brand Aquafina has the second
largest market share at 15 %.It has introduced newer
brands like Flavor Splash and Sparkling to catch up to
Bisleri though it is still the leader in the southern and
eastern section of the country. It has also invested in
capacity enhancement, packaging
initiatives and below-the-line
activities to compete in the market. It
is targeting the rural segment of the
population with smaller packets
priced at Rs. 5.
Coca Cola’s Kinley has recently
strengthened their distribution
network in order to cater to a larger
population as distribution costs is one
of the major concerns in the bottled
water industry and it consumes most
of the bottom line of each of the
companies. They repackaged their
primary product Kinley and are
currently offering the product in easy
to hold shape and transparent label.
But considering the fact that Bisleri is
already available in a large number of
packages, it will be difficult for Kinley to market their
product through these measures. Parle Agro’s Bailey,
another major product in the category has also in for
increasing their distribution chain by around 30%. They
have also started small packages at Rs. 5 and have
increased their number of plants by 35 in the past year
alone.
14
Cover story
Packaged Milk Products
With so many years after the Operation Flood which
saw the country awash in milk, this industry is seeing
another revolution in making - the marketing and
distribution of packaged plain and flavoured milk. This is
one sector which is ready to boil over with the
entry of so many players. With so many players in
this segment the war is slowly starting to hot up
as all in conquest for the bigger share of the same
pie. India boasts of the status of being the
highest milk producer in the world. With such a
strong supply of milk, the surge in the entry by
so many players is a pragmatic decision as
the supply is backed by the increase in the
demand. The demand is substantiated with
the rising number of working couples,
increase in the number of nuclear families,
need for longer shelf life and changing
lifestyles. All these factors make the
packaged milk segment attractive to the
companies.
The dairy products market is estimated at
over 1179 billion tons. With so much
untapped potential this is one big fat cow
waiting to be milked. All the Indian big
players like Amul and Gowardhan and even
foreign brands from Nestle to Danone are
aggressively looking for new strategies to break into the
new market that was till now the comfortable stable of
regional players.
The ordinary plastic bags started the trend for packaged
milk but companies are now shifting
to ultra-high temperature packs as
they have longer self-life thereby
helping the distribution channel in
providing the product to far off
places hence providing higher profits
to the company. The sales of ultra-
high temperature pack are increasing
in double digits. The positioning of
most of the companies is based on
promoting the product as a lifestyle
product as the trend for health
conscious products is increasing. The
success mantra for the companies is
to give this perishable product a
longer shelf life, introduce variety of
markathon |march 2011
flavours to make it an anytime drink, generate buzz
with creative advertising and increase sales through
competitive pricing.
The milk business, which was once considered
insignificant, has now become an important source of
revenue for many companies in this sector. Nestle
has many varieties of packaged milk ranging from
plain toned milk to Slim milk for the health
conscious people. Nestle also has premium priced
Pro-Heart milk with almost zero cholesterol for
people trying to keep cholesterol under control.
On the other hand Amul has more to it
strategy then just plain milk. With its strong
distribution channel and presence across
different segments it is using flavours to add
muscle to its packaged milk strategy,
leveraging the strong brand it has created in
the Indian dairy product market. They have
unique positioning as the strategy is to
promote the product as a thirst quencher, a
drink for all times of day. So, Amul Kool was
launched in variety of flavours chocolate,
coffee and strawberry
With other big players like Verka and Mother
Dairy in northern Indian and Gowardhan in
western and southern India increasing their
presence the tussle between various brands in the
packaged milk sector is going to get more aggressive in
the days to come.
Milk, a sector which was once an ordinary product
dominated by regional players has suddenly developed
into a full-fledged brand war with
so many players in the market. But
the war is not that easy to win. To
win the battle for market share in
this segment each company has to
focus on competitive pricing,
health, a longer shelf life and
packaging. The packaged milk
industry is not matured enough
and the transition from ordinary
milkman to packaged milk is slowly
but steadily taking place. Who will
emerge as a leader in this brand
war is still a mystery which the
time will unfold.
15
Cover story markathon |march 2011

The Juice Market This battle was also joined by Del Monte, a Phillipines
based food and beverage brand. FieldFresh Foods Ltd.
In this rush hour and growing cocktail culture, when
sells Del Monte’s canned juices which started in mango
people don’t have enough time to have breakfasts or flavour and extended with pineapple, apple and mixed
take care of their health but are still health conscious, fruit flavours. Flavour being the same, the differentiator
non-carbonated beverages like juice come to our
they use is aluminium cans instead of tetra packs.
rescue. Manufacturers have been experimenting with
our taste buds by adding flavours and a tinge Fruit juices, due to intense competition have been
of herbs and concentrating a lot on packaging. It is this catchy
vitamins to it. This packing which actually differentiates some similar juice
segment of brands. Real and Tropicana both lay emphasis on their
beverage industry packaging to make the consumers feel the freshness of
has been directed the juice packs. Tropicana is more of a youth drink
towards the light, though whereas Real, with natural herbal products,
healthy and low makes sure it gets the health conscious mums have its
calorie drinks. The tetra packs in their refrigerators for their growing
500 crore fruit children.
juice category is
growing at 35%. In Fruit drink category has Parle’s Frooti, Godrej’s Jumpin,
this we have a Coca-Cola’s Maaza and Pepsi’s Slice as the major
clear demarcation brands, though, Frooti is the clear market leader with
with fruit juices, 85% share. It started the trendy convention of tetra
fruit drinks and packs in India. The launching strategy of tetra pack has
nectars.

To begin with Parle

Agro expanded its target segment to teenagers, youth
and all members in the family extending from the
children consumer base of Frooti by introducing nectar
drink, Appy. This created multiple occasions for
consumption. With Appy the PET stock keeping was
introduced and it enjoys the first mover’s advantage in
this regard. It also launched an unbranded nimboo
paani with the name of LMN to make it catchy sounding
like SMS. Close on the heels, tough fight given was by
Pepsico’s new entrant Nimbooz. Both had price wars at
Rs. 10 for 200 ml. But Parle Agro made it more
affordable to consumers by introducing Rs. 5 for 110 ml.
Plans of tying up with airline industry still is up on both
the companies line up. Saint juice was their third
category added with orange, grape and mixed fruit
variants by importing the fruits from the finest orchards
of the world. There was stiff competition from Pepsico’s
Tropicana and Dabur’s Real fruit juice. PepsiCo India
and Coca-Cola India both are becoming aggressive in
the non-cola drinks with Dabur India Ltd. and Parle Agro
fiercely scavenging the multinational competition in
fruit juice industry.

16
Cover story markathon |march 2011

been one of the most attractive ones with a girl called has captured the young minds well by making this
Froo who is good at studies and a guy called Ti who is move.
very naughty who keeps running after Froo to get his
homework done. It came out with “5 ka 2” offer(2 packs This juice industry which is growing at a rapid pace is
for Rs. 5). Inspite of being the market leader, the brand expected to reach sales of around US$ 1150 million by
has kind of become stagnant, to combat which PET 2015. With such a tremendous rise, the markets
bottles were introduced. Maaza just used the growing, the future seems green but the competitors
comfortable bottles need to play their
and its name to draw moves well ahead and
customers but keep mixing matching
eventually this strategy consumers flavours to
could not retain them. add colour to the
Jumpin always growing industry.
struggled for a small This battle is going to
share of the pie. pan out right in front of
Snapple has been a us and we are sure it
popular US juice brand will be a closely
since 1972. It changed contested one. Surely,
several brands over the the winners are the
years but managed to customers who are
maintain its popularity going to be treated
over the years. Despite with a diverse range of
its strong fan following, beverages of their
Snapple was unable to choice. There will be
become a leading some drinks who will
beverage brand. It had make a mark and some
orangeade, raspberry peach, apple, mango and who will fade away. The summer is upon us. Let the
lemonade flavours covered under its brand. It has an games begin….
alliance with CCD and

17
vartalaap markathon
markathon |march 2011
|february 2010

An Interview with Priya raghubir

Professor of Marketing, STERN School of Business,
NewYORK UNIVERSITY

Priya Raghubir is the Professor of Marketing at New York University , Stern School of Business. She was
previously a Professor at Haas School of Business. She has taught undergraduate, M.B.A, Ph.D. and
executive education courses in China, France, India and the U.S. Professor Raghubir received her
undergraduate degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University; her M.B.A from the
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; and her Ph.D. in Marketing from New York University.
Professor Raghubir’s teaching interests are in the areas of marketing research, consumer behavior and
marketing strategy, and her research interests are in the areas of consumer psychology, including survey
methods, psychological aspects of prices and money; risk perceptions; and visual information processing.
18
vartalaap
Markathon: How has the psychology of the Indian
consumer changed over the decade? What are the key
considerations for a marketer in the Indian context?
Ms. Priya: India is becoming increasingly like other
consumer economies, such as the US and HK. The brand
proliferation and high quality of products and other
service options, along with the increase in disposable
income have led to the Indian consumer having more
choices than ever before, and being able to exercise
them more discriminately.
Markathon: What according to you is the most
effective survey method? What key factors does a
marketing research survey depend on?
Ms. Priya: Good research needs to be valid, reliable,
and generalizable. That means, you need to ask the
right question, get the right answer, from the right
people. All methods of data collection: exploratory
(such as focus groups and in-depth interviews),
descriptive (such as surveys and observations), and
causal (such as conjoint experiments) have different
strengths and weaknesses. While the first method can
give you depth of understanding, the second may
better allow you to generalize, and the last is the best
for determining causality of the if-then type. Thus, it
depends on the state of knowledge of the researcher
and the business problem which method would be most
appropriate.
Markathon: Do you feel that the 4P approach to
marketing is out-dated in the world today?
Ms. Priya: I believe that there is time for the 5th P –
Planet, to add to our four Ps!
Markathon: What according to you creates a
successful marketing strategy?
Ms. Priya: The four C’s: Three of which one knows –
Company, Competition, and Customer, but increasingly,
the 4th C of Community will allow for a sustainable
strategic competitive advantage.
Markathon: What, in your opinion, is the ideal career
path for a marketing professional?
Ms. Priya: I think each individual must determine their
own path. One size cannot (and should not) fit all.
markathon
markathon |march 2011
|february 2010
Markathon: Pricing is always one of the most
important decisions to be taken, be it for a first mover
or a follower in the market. What would you say are
the key aspects to be considered in pricing?
Ms. Priya: I believe the psychological considerations of
pricing are under-looked in price setting. These include
the perceptions of prices, the inferences drawn from
them, the affect (feelings and emotions they induce),
and the manner in which they are integrated with other
information to make a judgment.
Markathon: With expertise in the field of marketing
research and consumer psychology, what according to
you are some of the psychological biases in pricing and
packaging?
Ms. Priya: That is a really difficult question because
you are asking me to summarize two decades of two
streams of my research into a few sentences! But if I
had to, here is what I would say: I believe the
underlying reason for most biases is due to effort-
accuracy trade-offs. Said differently, most of the time a
simple heuristic does work just fine for a consumer who
really does not wish to maximize accuracy, just satisfice
it. One of the heuristics, though that are seemingly so
simple to use, and can lead to big biases in behaviour
without a consumer realising their biasing effects is the
“Anchor-and-Adjust” heuristic. As per this heuristic, you
would anchor on one aspect of a stimuli due to its
perceptual salience (e.g., height of a container in a
packaging context, or foreign currency price), and
inadequately adjust for the remaining dimensions
required to make a judgment (e.g., width or breadth of
the package, exchange rate of the currency in which the
price was specified), and therefore make biased
judgments.
Markathon: From a student of marketing to the Mary
C. Jacoby Faculty Fellow at New York University, what
has been the most important learning for you?
Ms. Priya: Despite three masters degrees (the first of
which is from your sister institute IIMA), I believe that
my most important learning is to never ever
compromise on my sleep. When I do I produce shoddy,
second hand work! So: sleep well, eat well, and work
will take care of itself.
19
 war zone | eye 2 eye markathon | march 2011

After Starbucks with Tata, Dunkin Donuts is also

entering Indian market. Will India be a success story for
these coffee retail chains or is Indian market not big
enough for all these players.
With over 170,000 coffee farms The coffee retail industry seems to
“The demography, economy and increasing disposable income are in favour of the organized coffee industry

in India, cultivating nearly have attracted a lot of interest over

900,000 acres of coffee trees, the last few years. The FDI inflow in

India is the 5th largest producer
of coffee in the world, out of
which 75% is exported. The
current market for coffee in
India is $ 160 million, making it
Lokesh Harnal the second most popular
MDI Gurgaon beverage, growing at an
astronomical rate of 40% year-on-year. A favorable
demography, growing economy, and increasing
disposable income, the whopping 68% growth rate of
Café Coffee Day and 36% growth rate of Barista,
reinforce the success story India could and should
witness in the industry of Organized Coffee chains.
The present Government policy permits a 51%
investment in single-brand products, allowing for a
congenial platform for leveraging of the synergies by
both the International players with experience of
retailing and the domestic players providing the
premium arabica coffee beans (TATA Coffee) and
roasting facilities. In addition to this, the collaboration to
promote responsible agronomy practices, including
training for local farmers, technicians and agronomists
to improve their coffee-growing and milling skills, is a
welcome practice.
The present production and domestic consumption
make for a considerable difference in the demand and
supply equation, favoring a potential capitalization by
new entrants.
Moreover, the concept of coffee chains in India has been
positioned around selling a much loved, cordial and
welcoming ambience for youngsters to interact,
hangout, spend soothing time amidst while providing
coffee and scrumptious snacks.
“Coffee is not India’s preferred drink and hence the market is not big enough”
to the ‘Tea and Coffee industry’ has
increased from just 186mn in Jan
2010 to 460mn in Dec 2010 and the
increase has been very steady.
However, there are a lot of pitfalls
with such a burgeoning investment Srikkant
spree on the industry. IIM S
According to Coffee day 54% of Indians still prefer tea,
17% prefer plain milk while only 13% of Indians prefer
Coffee for a drink. Also, coffee is predominantly a south
Indian drink where ‘filter coffee’ is the most preferred
which none of the coffee retail chains provide. This
choice of the coffee retail chains has further restricted
the market potential.
Secondly, the target market of these retail chains is
largely the ‘affluent youth’ in the upmarket. These retail
chains have long ago moved from ‘product selling’ to
‘experience selling’. The value chain of the coffee
industry is like this: Arabica grade coffee is valued at Rs.
142 per kg at production, exports yield a rate of Rs. 165
and Retail selling is at a rate of Rs. 260+. However, in a
CCD, the average price of coffee which used 12-16gram
of coffee at a cost of Rs.4 is Rs. 42. This kind of pricing
means that all new entrants will only be competing in the
upmarket leading only to increased competition.
Thirdly, fixed costs are extremely high and in most stores,
just the rent eats up to 20% of the sales. A lot of these
stores require extensive styling and lot of initial
investment goes into the outlet design. This nature of the
industry favours ‘price wars’ which is bound to affect the
industry’s margins and pricing. It is clear that this
stereotypic model of growth is not good enough to take
in this kind of rapid investments and it is time the ‘Coffee
retail’ industry looked at a different model of growth.

Topic for the next issue’s Eye to Eye:“ Amul in increasingly looking beyond Gujarat for procuring its
Milk needs. Do you think this will add to their huge success story or is it taking a wrong step moving
”

out of its core zone? ”

Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is
10th April 2011. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.
20
war zone | silent voice markathon | march 2011

Silent Voice
LAST MONTH’S RESULTS
Theme: “GlaxoSmithKline Healthcare’s launch of toothpaste
Brand Sensodyne in the Indian market”

WINNER: Subasree Srinivasan | ISB, Hyderabad

Congratulations!!!Subasree receives a cash prize of Rs 500!

HONORARY MENTION

Taranjeet Singh Puri| NMIMS

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “The Launch of Minute Maid 100% Juice by Coca Cola after
success in Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh and Pulpy Orange. ”

LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD: 10th April, 2011

EMAIL ID: markathon.iims@gmail.com

Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice_<Your Name>_<Institute>only.

15
21
specials | bookmark
Tata: the evolution of a corporate brand
Morgen Witzel
Review by sria majumdar
Penguin Books India | Hardcover Edition, Price
Rs.600 approx.
Morgen Witzel is reputed for his clear and logical
articles on a range of management issues. With a
background in history, he has worked as a researcher,
writer and editor for over 20 years. It is a trifle difficult
to review the book of a man who is known for his book
reviews in Los Angeles Times. He is an Honorary Senior
Fellow at University of Exeter Business School where his
‘Medici to Microsoft’ module is taught to MBA
students. Morgan Witzel is the author of fifteen books
on business management, including ‘Management
History’, the best-selling ‘Doing Business in China’ as
well as ‘Be Your Own Management Guru’
published in 2010.
Summary
As the name suggests, the book talks about
the Tata brand and its significance in the
present context. The research and work that
has gone into the book is evident from the
completeness of the book. Every aspect, from the
origins to growth and development of a corporate
brand, to social responsibility and employee and
customer perception to the global brand equity- the
book covers it all. Starting from the history, it shows
how the strong heritage of the group contributes
heavily to its brand equity in India. The discussion
cannot be complete without the Tata values, including
responsibility towards employees, customers, society
and all stakeholders. In the global context, the brand is
yet to make its mark and the book ends with challenges
that lie ahead for the Tatas.
Organization
One of the key strengths of the book is the way it has
been structured. The first chapter, ‘From Values to
Value’, gives the reader an introduction to the world of
Tata. Very aptly, the book begins with the founder,
markathon | march 2011
Jamsetji Tata and his values which
have given the group its strong foundations. With a
historical background of various Tata companies, and
excerpts from the life of J.R.D Tata, the book builds a
strong base for the reader to understand the Tata way
of business and its ethics. It is much later in the book
that the corporate brand building exercise of the 1990s,
pioneered by Ratan Tata is described. As a logical
follower, the discussion moves on to brand symbiosis
where the author explores the relationship between the
corporate brand and other individual brands within the
group. Towards the end of the book, the perception of
the Tata brand from consumer and employees point of
view has been elaborated. Also, the international image
of the Tata brand in the wake of major
acquisitions and expansion is important for the
brand in the future. Government, Press and
Tata’s Social Service goals have been discussed
and the book concludes with ‘Not just a brand
story’ that summarizes Tata’s approach to
brand management and looks at some of the
key challenges facing the brand.
Verdict
4/5. The Tatas are omnipresent in India. Be it Tata Salt
or the Tata Nano, it is difficult to find an Indian who is
not aware of the brand. Yet, the book manages to
intrigue and hold the unwavering attention of the
reader. The book is a must read, not only for a branding
enthusiast, but for anyone who wants to learn how to
run a successful business based on values and create a
brand that needs no publicity.
Bottom-line
The book is easily available in bookstores or online
stores. Priced at Rs.600, the book is on the expensive
side, but is worth every penny for a branding
enthusiast. It is the perfect mix of branding and history,
and gives clear insights into the past and the future of
the Tata brand.
22
specials | brand story
Brand Story: AMUL
Sana akhtar | IIM S
The Anand Milk- producers Union Ltd. started as a
movement in 1946 by a group of farmers keen to free
themselves from the intermediaries. At the time Amul
was formed, consumers had limited purchasing power,
and modest consumption levels of milk and other dairy
products. Thus Amul adopted a low-cost price strategy
to make its products affordable and attractive to
consumers by guaranteeing them value for money.
Each failure, each obstacle, each stumbling block can be
turned into a success story. In the early years, Amul had
to face a number of problems. With every problem
came opportunity- a chance to turn a negative into a
positive. Milk by products and supplementary
yield which suffered from the same lack of
marketing and distribution facilities became
encumbrances. Instead of being bogged down
by their fate they
were used as stepping
stones for
expansion. Backward
integration of the
process led the
cooperatives to advances
in animal husbandry and veterinary practice.
Amul follows an umbrella branding strategy. It is the
common brand for most product categories produced
by various unions. Amul's sub-brands include variants
such as Amulspray, Amulspree, Amulya and Nutramul.
The edible oil products are grouped around Dhara and
Lokdhara, mineral water is sold under the Jal Dhara
brand while fruit drinks bear the Safal name. Amul was
also the first to launch Pro-Biotic Wellness Ice cream &
Sugar Free Delights for Diabetics.
Amul has grown on the basis of its greatest strength:
co-operative culture, co-operative networking, market
acumen and respect for both producer and the
consumer.
If a brand’s value is to be judged by the ease with which
it can be recalled, then Amul’s marketing campaign
wins hands down. With its clever use of topical events,
markathon | march 2011
Amul’s utterly butterly campaign has won the brand
several accolades.
Playing the role of a social observer, its weekly
comments have tickled India’s funny bone since 1967,
when Sylvester Da Cunha’s irrepressible Amul girl first
had her say. ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious!’ hummed a
thumb-sized girl, dressed in a polka-dotted frock and
just like that, a star was born -- a ‘pun’ loving star, who
with her bold tongue-in-cheek topicals, made way
directly into the hearts of millions. When the first
hoarding of Amul came up in
Mumbai, it became an instant
hit, especially with
housewives. The ultimate
compliment to the brand
came, when a British
company launched a butter
product last year, and called it Utterly Butterly. And the
brand has managed all this despite spending less than
one percent of its revenues on advertising. It is
interesting to note that the Amul girl has always been
flying high on the hoardings but never seen on
television.
What I like most about the Amul brand is that they have
been consistent over the communication campaign and
brand strategy. AMUL has positioned itself as "Taste of
India" and has ensured that their communication is in
line with their positioning strategy. The corporate
campaign caters to people belonging to all walks of life
and across cultures.
The success story of Amul says one thing to all the
other ad campaigns that did not manage to last too long
or had to get a whole new look in order to stay in the
market. It’s a mixture of keeping with the times, humor
and understanding the need of the hour of the people.
Amul boardings are a thing of attractions in India.
23
specials | updates
AD WATCH
Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh launches ‘First
Love’ campaign
The new campaign for Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh
takes its previous positioning of “Bilkul Ghar Jaisa”
(Just like home) to the next level. The new
campaign focuses on the sweet and sour memories
that one experiences during the childhood .The
‘First Love’ campaign centres around the core
proposition of Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh as being
the next best alternative to home-made lemonade.
It shows how a sip of Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh
triggers nostalgia in you and evokes all the sweet
and sour memories of life that one might have
experienced while growing up.
Samsung promotes 'Virus Doctor' ACs with
new campaign
Samsung India has unveiled a new campaign to
promote its latest line of air conditioners, featuring
brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra. Samsung's in-
house agency Cheil Worldwide SW Asia has worked
on the campaign. The new commercial talks about
the how even walled homes are not virus free. It
promotes the product as a health benefit including
features that go beyond just cooling to eliminate
viruses including H1N1 as well, thus safeguarding
people's health. The campaign went on-air on
March 12 and was spread across all traditional
mediums.
Lee launches new ad campaign
Denim brand ‘Lee’ has launched a new ad
campaign “A Lee Don’t Lie!” starting March 2011.
Lee Europe and Brussels-based agency “The
Satisfaction” have worked on this advertisement.
The idea behind the campaign is that heritage and
authenticity count more than fast fashion labels.
Lee banks on its 120-year-old philosophy with a
markathon | march 2011
lecture in credibility, stability and truth. The focus
lies on double denim looks of 2011 for him and
her. The campaign will roll out in Germany, France,
the UK, Italy and Scandinavia in print, online and
outdoor advertising as well as within many in-store
and POS events.
Nike India launches new ad campaign
featuring Men in Blue
Sportswear brand Nike has released a new ad
campaign Bleed Blue Pledge in a bid to cash in on
the on-going ICC World Cup. The commercial was
created by JWT of Bangalore, India. During the 60-
second ad, the members of the Indian Cricket
Team articulate the passion for cricket in this
country. This ad demonstrates Nike’s deep
connection to the sport, and to Team India. “Bleed
Blue Pledge” has utilized both social and broadcast
media, to reach millions of India’s devoted cricket
fans. The teaser makes its world premiere March
23, 2011 on Nike’s Cricket Facebook page.
BRAND LAUNCH
Marriott to Launch New Brand In Europe
Marriott International is to unveil its new brand,
Autograph Collection, with the opening of four
hotels in Spain as part of its plan to double its
European portfolio by 2015.The four properties
include AC Santo Mauro in Madrid, AC Palacio del
Retiro in Madrid, AC Palacio de Santa Paula in
Granada and AC Baqueira Hotel & Spa in Baqueira.
The new hotels are part of the company's recently
formed joint venture with AC Hotels. As part of the
joint venture, a new brand, AC Hotels by Marriott,
which comprises 86 rebranded AC properties, will
join Marriott's Autograh Collection portfolio in
Spain, Italy and Portugal, along with four additional
hotels
24
specials | updates
Spenta Multimedia launches Indian edition
of Domus
Spenta Multimedia has announced the addition of
Domus to its portfolio of consumer titles. Domus,
the Italian bilingual international magazine on
architecture, art and design, is distributed across
88 countries and also appears in Russian, Arabic,
Israeli, Chinese. A monthly magazine, Domus India
will hit the stands in May 2011. The rationale for
the new media product was India’s rapid growth in
all aspects of infrastructure. The Indian edition of
Domus will refract, examine and
narrate contemporary architecture, design and art.
Sony redefines DSLR Experience with
Brand new Launch
Sony Indian has launched an excellent exciting
lineup of DSLR cameras, the actual 55 (SLT-A55V)
and 33 (SLT-A33) which accomplish the actual
highest-level overall performance with regard to
both photo and film recording. It is highly
responsive camera performance, with world's
fastest continuous shooting at up to 10 frames per
second with continuous AF on the 55, and up to 7
frames per second on the 33.
BRAND NEWS
SMG to handle global strategy and
planning for Microsoft
Microsoft has appointed Starcom MediaVest
Group (SMG) to handle its global media strategy
and planning. Following a media agency review
announced in January 2011, the company has split
its duties between incumbent Universal McCann
and SMG. McCann will continue to manage
Microsoft's media planning and buying outside of
North America. The combined account size is
estimated at around US$1bn.
markathon | march 2011
Bloomberg expands operations in India
Bloomberg L.P. officially opened its new office in
Mumbai on March 14, more than tripling the size
of its office. The expansion is in a bid to
accommodate increased customer support for its
growing customer base in India. The company
informed that BloombergUTV claims to reach 30
million households in India presently. The
announcement was made at a Bloomberg client
event in Mumbai, where leading financial
executives attended the office opening with a
keynote address by Dr. Vijay Kelkar, non-executive
chairman.
MediaCom bags media mandate of
MakeMyTrip.com
MediaCom has won the media business of
MakeMyTrip.com following a multi-agency
pitch. MediaCom’s aim is to focus on the
communication strategy as part of our aggressive
marketing plans. MediaCom believes that
association with makeMytrip.com would prove to
be a fruitful relationship.
BRAND RELAUNCH
LG AC repositions brand with new ATL
campaign
LG air conditioners have gone in for a brand new
repositioning along with its foray into ATL
communication. In-house agency of the brand, LG
Ad has created the commercial. The TVC revolves
around a healthy and energetic family that breaks
into an extempore game of football all because of
the energized environment that the family lives
in. The role of communication was to challenge the
consumers’ paradigm of how ACs are viewed and
bought by taking the proposition to a level beyond
functional aspects of the product.
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specials | updates markathon | march 2011

Tata Photon repositions brand with new
campaign
Tata Photon Plus has unveiled a new campaign that
talks about getting things done faster allowing
people with more time on their hand to do stuff
they wanted to do. Contract Advertising has
worked on the new positioning of the brand and
the TVC was released in early March 2011. The
Advertisement campaign is an attempt to strike an
emotional space in the consumer’s mind in order
to connect better with our customers/ prospects in
a relevant and engaging way. The Ad is supported
by an extensive outdoor campaign.

ARTICLES ARE INVITED

“Best Article”: Priyadarshi Bhattacharya | DMS, IIT DELHI
He 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 10th April 2011. Please send your entries marked as
<ARTICLE NAME>_<SENDERS’ NAMES>_<INSTITUTE> to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

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Please send in your comments/feedback to:
markathon.iims@gmail.com
Visit: www.iims-markathon.in

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