Monojit Lahiri examines the reason for the demise of Onida’s Devil, the latest in a list of disappearing mascots

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First things first. Why are mascots created? Be it the Energiser Bunny, the MGM Lion, the McDonald’s clown Ronald, the Merrill Lynch Bull, the Eveready Cat, Smokey the Bear, the Jolly Green Giant … don’t they still reverberate endearingly in public memory, projecting their own brand of charm? Smart, evolved and insightful marketers unleashed these characters with a clear focused agenda – create something memorable in tune with the architecture and value of the brand and project it in a warm, human way that will connect simply and easily with the prospective customer. Make the inanimate come alive in an entertaining and public-friendly way so that, soon, it acquires a life of its own. Leverage it creatively to fuel brand recall.

In recent times, however, this thinking has gone in for a re-think! Be it the adorable Murphy-baby, HMV dog, Asian Paints Gattu, they’ve all exited. Even the iconic Maharajah was handed his walking slick and hat (crown?) before the Air India biggies realised their blunder and brought him back. Thank God, the Amul mascot still cavorts around … As this goes into print, Onida’s ‘Devil’ has been put to sleep – the symbol that epitomised the brand and show-pieced several memorable ad campaigns. What’s behind these dramatic shifts? A hysterical anxiety to be perceived as modern, contemporary, tuned-in and global in today’s competitive and cluttered market? A pitch for relevance and the here n’ now, soft focusing mushy sentimentality and obsolescence? Global companies don’t seem to be in such a tearing hurry to bid their mascots goodbye … why us?

Sid Ray, Executive Director of Response (Kolkatta) fires the first salvo. While he completely goes along the way the KFC and McDonald’s mascots have been successfully retained (even when the look and feel of their focus has been Indianised) he reckons that the Devil is a different kettle of fish. “It is possible that the marketing team felt that with capital investment involved in an age of heavy-duty competition, techno-onslaught and product features playing a key role, the Devil and the slogan have been rendered obsolete. They don’t fit into the scheme of things”. Dipankar Mukherjee, VP – Marketing, Ideas (East) agrees. “Competition, technology but most importantly cost structures have, I guess, forced them to re-look and re-invent their focus. Mascots anyway are cute and stuff but at crunch-time, they are unlikely to influence the purchase intent. Other more compelling, market and consumer-driven aspects come into play”. However, both agree that often, new teams, have a tendency to sling out everything that the old team had brought to the table – just to signal their entry and prove a point!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

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Who said it’s getting murky at Merc?!

4Ps B&M: Do you believe that the increasing competition will pose a threat to your leadership position and especially are the aggressive launches by BMW a point of worry for you?
WA: For us, the important thing is to have a set of satisfied customers as it will be the only factor, which will drive sales & profitability going forward. If you look at India overall, we believe that we have a very good product portfolio and network density. We are currently investing Rs.150 crores in the network itself, both to increase its reach and to ensure that the Mercedes Benz retail experience is the best in the country.

4Ps B&M: When you talk about increasing the reach, are you referring to opening more dealerships in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities?
WA: The expansion will definitely happen in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities basically driven by two things, one is the overall situation of the city i.e. how many people are making what kind of money and how many cars are already on the road. These are some parameters that will determine where we will set up the shop next. The way we set up is in a very structured manner i.e. we will set up the service centre first, moving to sales and then slowly upgrading the sales & service experience to ensure that we give the best retail experience. If you look at the metros, we have new investments coming up there too. We are opening a new showroom in South Bombay, Gurgaon. In fact, by the first half of 2010 we will have 20+ new facilities across the country.

4Ps B&M: You also mentioned about upgrading your retail experience, what is that all about?
WA: This is an investment to upgrade our facilities for e.g. we are moving from a smaller facility to a relatively larger facility so that the consumer can savour more of the Mercedes brand.

4Ps B&M: Is it something like a boutique showroom, which BMW did recently?
WA: BMW is relatively new to the country and so are their investments. We are making all the possible efforts to ensure that Mercedes is not left behind. But I don’t think we will do a boutique showroom rather we will focus on opening significant showrooms, which will give an opportunity to the consumer to experience what Mercedes brand is all about and also experience our product portfolio.

4Ps B&M: But the per cent growth that BMW filed was almost double that of Mercedes in the last fiscal. Do you believe that it will pose a threat to your leadership position?
WA: That’s particularly because of the lower base that they have. If you look at the growth of Audi, it is currently three times to that of BMW.

4Ps B&M: Agreed but BMW again has a target of 3,000 units this year and if Mercedes does almost the same the company did in the first half (1500 units) don’t you think it will be a threat to your leadership position?
WA: For us the important thing is to have the right product and the right processes in the right year in front of the Indian consumer, which will drive both the sales and profitability going forward. We have a good position in the C & the S-class segment and we will roll out the E-class soon, which globally outsells competition.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

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Monojit Lahiri examines this new phenomenon, loaded with contradictions

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Grab this. On the one hand, today more than ever, we reside in a global planet. On the other, the cute something-for-everybody and one-size-fits-all solution is simplistic, naïve and hopelessly obsolete in year 2009, right? No man is an island, is another view countered immediately, substantiated by the fact that man is ultimately the product of his roots and environment and therefore his version/vision of life is bound to be influenced and informed by it. God, so what gives? Is a global campaign – attempting to speak in one language across countries and people in a charming, persuasive and effective manner – a load of bullcrap? Or is it eminently possible if the basic lingua-franca of cutting-edge advertising (clarity, simplicity and imagination) creatively leveraged?

Ad Guru John Hegarty sets the ball rolling by rooting strongly for it and offers solid arguments. “If Hollywood, music and Picasso manages to do it, why can’t advertising? Aren’t we supposed to be specialists in a business mandated to bring brands and people together? Physical borders are man-made. The skill of truly great advertising practitioners is to generate ideas that are border-less. The real communicator looks at areas that unite – not divide – people,” he says. He admits that there will always be (political, ethnic, religious) differences between people, but when it comes to consumer behaviour and responses to brand messages and what they want out of it, amazingly, the similarities are stronger than people care to believe…! Another Dada Simon Sherwood endorses this view full-on and says that “unfortunately agency networks, mostly, are structured in ways that lend credence to the fact that different markets are different from each other. This creates confusion in both perspective and focus.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Sony Bravia KLV-46W300A

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Technical Specification

Screen Size – 46 inch (117cms); Display resolution – 1920x1080p; Response time – 8ms; Dimensions (WxHxD) – 1120x782x307
PRICE: Rs.1,65,000
WARRANTY: 1 year

The Sony Bravia LCD truly reflects the best picture quality standards in its category. Takakiyo Fujita, GM-Marketing, Sony India says, “Sony’s 46 inch (117cm) W-series BRAVIA features BRAVIA Engine 2 which incorporates full digital signal processing technology in all high-quality image processes, thereby maximising the features of display devices and producing sharp, vibrant, life-like images.” It promises the advanced backlight module WCC-CCFL that gives the brightest picture with the improved advanced contrast enhancer and dynamic contrast of 33000:1. The three way high-definition multimedia interface gives you maximum pleasure as far as picture quality is concerned; and this little reason for post-purchase cognitive dissonance amongst its buyers. The USB allows you to gain easy access to the music players and other devices with PC connectivity. With a four-way surround sound feature, the high-quality sound plays a big role in marking the product’s success.

Marketers’ delight: Sony Bravia has arguably the best the picture quality and powerful sound systems amongst all 46 inch LCDs available in the market.

Tester’s note: Pros – Sharp picture. Excellent connectivity. Built-in photo viewer. Comprehensive video settings. Cons – Thin-sounding speakers. No backlight for remote control which makes it unfriendly.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Toyota continues being hit despite expanding operations; the whys...

Let’s be honest! The double digit growth rate witnessed by the domestic auto market simply rocks. Between April-March 2007-08, 1,203,531 cars were sold in India and manufacturers are finding it hard to meet the unfathomable demands. As a consequence, competitors like Hyundai, Honda, and our protagonist Toyota Kirloskar too are all set to expand capacities in India.

According to market reports, Toyota will invest close to $340-360 million for a new plant near Bangalore, which is expected to have an annual capacity of 100,000 units, taking the total capacity of Toyota to nearly 150,000-160,000 units. Srinivas Krishnan of BS Motoring spoke to B&E, “Toyota wants to increase capacity simply because it wants to sell more cars here.” Ironically, Toyota continues suffering hits to their net earnings despite being operationally efficient.

Where is Toyota going wrong? With a vibrant automotive market, India offers a major opportunity towards future sustainability, but only through massive volumes; an area which Toyota has still not mastered. Toyota – which is already facing strong competition from rival Honda in the D segment, where the former’s Corolla has been a casualty at the hands of the latter’s Civic – is thankfully chalking out plans to launch a new small car in India, based on Toyota’s iQ concept. “Toyota is developing an all new small car for the Indian market,” says Krishnan. But the fact is that Honda, with its planned launch of the smashing small car Jazz, seems to have taken the lead here too. The answer to Toyota is quite simple – mass appeal cars! Or of course, learn Sun Tzu’s The Art of War...& Losses!

Karan Mehrishi

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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To Bear or not to...

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According to Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business & Chairman RGE Monitor, “The credit losses could reach to $1.7 trillion as corporate losses piles up.” With more than 45 of the world’s biggest banks, including Citigroup Inc., UBS AG, Wachovia & Northern Rock reporting a combined $232 billion in asset write-downs and credit losses since the beginning of 2007; the estimates arrived at by the likes of Roubini seem to be more than obvious. For the yet uninitiated (surely there aren’t many of those!), the world’s largest bank Citigroup is in talks to sell $12 billion worth of loans at a loss as part of an effort to shrink its balance sheet, while UBS AG’s share price has plummeted in the recent months after it reported a loss of $18 billion in US subprime crisis.

Is the ghost of 1929 returning to haunt the US? Going by the recent developments in the US it is quite certain that be it Clinton, McCain or Obama, the new American president will be elected against the backdrop of a shrinking economy and on assuming the reins of power corridors, will face months of economic malaise. In all probability, the credit crisis scenario in the US will initially only worsen before improving.

When the leaders of the Federal Reserve Board and the government met on the weekend of March 14-16, they were panicked and fearful of a financial meltdown. A day back, on March 13, 2008; the fifth largest investment bank of US, Bear Stearns, citing reasons of intensified financial constraints, had advised the Federal Reserve and other government agencies that its liquidity position had significantly deteriorated and it would have to file for bankruptcy the next day unless alternative sources of funds were made available. As a part of the conclave, JP Morgan Chase turned out to be the dominating player negotiating and demanding big time collateral and guarantees to buy out Bear Stearns and alleviate the fears of Wall Street. According to risk guru Nassim Nicholas Taleb, “Banking is a very treacherous business, because you don’t realise it is risky until it is too late. It is like calm water that delivers huge storms.” It is ironical that Bear Stearns, regarded as one of the most prestigious on the Wall Street, would become the biggest victim of the credit crunch that has roiled the market since last August, and be acquired for a pittance. Barely a year ago, their shares traded at $159 and JP Morgan Chase left no stone unturned to bring the financial giant to its fold at just $2 a share (share prices were later raised to $10 a share).

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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SALIM-SULAIMAN - brothers in harmony

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Hum Tum, Fanaa, Dhoom, Dhoom II, Krrissh, Namaste London, Chak De! India… Besides being among the biggest hits of the past two years, these movies have also had some lovely music and each of these films owe their chart-topping numbers to the duo Salim-Sulaiman. Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant started out with commercials, moved on to composing for Indi-pop albums like that of Shweta Shetty, and began composing background scores for movies around the mid 90s. They first came into notice when they composed music for the movie Hamesha, but it was with Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot that they truly made it big. Since the past three-four years, almost every big banner production has picked Salim and Sulaiman to compose the background scores of their movies.

Salim and Sulaiman have been raking in awards at the annual award functions too. From Filmfare Awards to IIFA Awards to Star Screen Awards, their talent has been recognised and rewarded by all. The duo is tremendously optimistic about their future and that of Bollywood. “Right now, Bollywood is at its peak. We (the industry) really are doing world class music,” said Salim. Revealing their plans for the future, Salim said, “We are also talking to a lot of people in US for independent American films.”

“We want to start a music school in India, which would concentrate on western classical music. There are a lot of classes and gurus from gharanas, who train you in Indian classical stuff, but a western classical school where a teacher teaches you the violin, is what’s missing and is what we want to get into. We have some string players and orchestra players but we think that 10 years later we won’t have any string players. Western classical music is a big part of our Indian music industry. We need orchestra players in our country. It’s our dream and vision to leave behind something for the industry that has given us so much,” said Salim.

For such dreams and for melodies that can inspire more to dream, Salim-Sulaiman are brothers we’re placing our bets on for the coming years.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Can Pakistan’s weapons fall into the wrong hands? By saurabh shahi, shahid hussain and mayank singh

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It’s an issue that grabs the mainstream headlines at regular intervals. It’s also a debate where, depending on the existing situation, the importance of supportive or critical voices of nations, diplomats and experts keeps fluctuating wildly. Recently, when two Pakistani nuclear scientists were ‘kidnapped’ near the country’s north-western border with Afghanistan, several Indian experts thought that the duo had actually ‘defected’ to terrorist group, Al Qaeda, to offer their services to build a nuclear weapon.

These believers in ‘rogue nukes’ pointed out that similar incidents had happened in the past. “Pakistan’s top nuclear scientists, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, met Al Qaeda members on two occasions in 2000 and 2001, and shared sensitive nuclear secrets. As far as the kidnapping of two scientists is concerned, I don’t say that they are going to join hands with the terrorists. But it has happened once, and I am not sure that it’s not going to happen again,” says Reshmi Kazi, Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis in India.

Adds Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal (retd.), Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, “Three Pakistani nuclear scientists were arrested and handed over to the US intelligence agencies in 2001. Two of them were senior scientists, who had set up an NGO, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, after their retirement, and its membership comprised nuclear scientists and military officers known to have close links with Taliban, former Afghanistan’s conservative-religious regime, which gave a safe haven to Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden.

In India, such conclusions gain credence, especially when advisors like M.K. Narayanan, National Security Advisor, espouse similar sentiments. A month ago, without naming Pakistan, he said that “credible reports suggest that the region has been both a source and destination for proliferation of weapons of mass destruction material and equipment, a situation that is a cause for concern. A great threat to stability from nuclear weapons in the hands of volatile states cannot be discounted.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Maddening déjà vu

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Mr. Chidambaram faces stark choices all over again

As Dalal Street – along with many other streets from Tokyo to New York – started behaving like a new jet aircraft whose pilot has lost control, one couldn’t but help wondering about the days in mid 1990s when the C. R. Bhansali scam had put paid to the hopes raised by Mr. P. Chidambaram as Finance Minister. The stock market scam then was also associated with two things. First, it was tantalisingly close to and linked with the East Asian melt down of 1997. Second, elections were in the horizon and Mr. Chidambaram threw fiscal caution to the winds by announcing huge Fifth Pay Commission hikes for government servants. Back then, the US economy was still not as profligate a borrower as it is today. Nor were China, Russia, Iran and Venezuela swimming in dollars.

It is 2008 now and there is a strong sense of déjà vu. Stock markets around the world – particularly in Asia – have been tumbling like nine pins on fears of a recession in the US economy. India is no exception except the fact that the economy and Dalal Street are far more integrated with global financial markets than they were in 1997. It will probably be a matter of time before the latest Indian stock market scam is unveiled. Mr. Chidambaram is the Finance Minister who has been often dreaming about dream budgets. General Elections are not too far away. The Sixth Pay Commission has already submitted most of its recommendations for pay hikes for bureaucrats. So don’t be surprised if Mr. Chidambaram surrenders to UPA realpolitik and one of his colleagues announces a huge pay hike for government servants – without a single word on administrative reforms recommended by successive pay commissions.

As it happened after 1997, there are huge chances that Mr. Chidambaram may not remain the Finance Minister because his government will probably be voted out. But once again, his successor will have to struggle with the havoc that has been created by tumbling markets, panicking economies and ‘no comment’ finance ministers who pay more attention to electoral compulsions than their own convictions. Who said history doesn’t repeat itself again and again?

Sutanu Guru

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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King fissure or Dare Deccan?

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Kingfisher’s takeover and proposed merger with Deccan raises questions...

Just a few handful of days after Vijay Mallya announced that Kingfisher would merge with Air Deccan, came the announcement of Mallya’s 46% stake ownership in Air Deccan going up to 50% through a block 4% purchase on Indian stock exchanges. But really, despite all the pricing advantages that the acquisition of Air Deccan provides to Kingfisher, B&E tells you why this merger makes little logic!

But even before understanding the ramifications, one has to clearly differentiate between an acquisition and a merger! Acquisition simply means the purchase of shares of one company (Air Deccan in this case) by another (Kingfisher Radio, a Vijay Mallya company). Both companies remain separate legal entities despite the acquisition. A merger, on the other hand, means that the two companies cease to exist separately, and are seen in legal terms as one new company (with perhaps different brand names within the new entity). Given this, Mallya’s issues are as follows:

Legal issues:

It’s akin to the difference between a live-in relationship and a marriage. Till the time the two companies remained separate, any financial exigencies of Air Deccan remained legally isolated within that airline itself. But now, Kingfisher – and in turn the UB Group – would become lawfully liable to pay for all such financial demands that Air Deccan might have to pay. Given the bloodbath already present within the industry, such a merger move seems highly questionable, when an acquisition was already giving the best of both worlds to Kingfisher, which takes us to our second point... Financial issues:

Gopinath had commented previously to us, “We’re aiming for profitability by 2008 and will achieve it!” Well, with a combined accumulated loss touching an outrageously scandalous Rs.20 billion (Rs.9.923 billion for FY’ 07 alone), this merger seems to have put paid to those plans too!

Branding issues:

Once the merger comes through and Air Deccan becomes a Kingfisher division (rather than a different company), the highly benchmarked Kingfisher brand could be crucified on the altar of consumer perception. A fear much real now as there have been confirmed reports of Air Deccan passengers who, after their flights have got cancelled, were given tickets on Kingfisher. With horror tales all abound about LCC flights being cancelled at the drop of the hat, Kingfisher’s pristine brand value is bound to start falling alarmingly if consumers cannot differentiate between the two brands in the coming months.

Operational dis-synergy: One logic of the merger could have been that after the merger, Vijay Mallya, without being questioned by shareholders, could have easily utilised all the capacity of Air Deccan – from pilots (which Kingfisher requires by loads), to maintenance infrastructure, to parking bays, to airplanes themselves! Though Vijay Mallya has mentioned that there would be one management team for both airlines, with a Wall Street Journal publication now reporting that Captain Gopinath has confirmed both airlines would be kept operationally separate, even this concept of synergy falls down!

Shareholder value decimation:

This factor is the most important for any CEO. It was perceived that the merger announcement could reduce the Kingfisher share worth, but would necessarily improve Air Deccan’s share value as shareholders would feel their brand image is being catapulted into the big league. Let’s see what really happened! Well, on December 18, 2007, Air Deccan’s share was trading at around Rs.316. With the news of the merger, Deccan’s share price plunged by almost 15% in a single trading session; and continues to languish! By the last closing of trade on December 26, 2007, Deccan Aviation had already lost a huge Rs.5.7 billion in stock value on the bourses!

The positives:

Still, it’s not the end of the world yet. In fact, just based on the acquisition (and not because of the merger), there are huge pluses. Already, the combine has emerged as the largest domestic carrier in the country with 570 daily flights, connecting 69 destinations across the country, a feet they’re managing with a smashing fleet of 78 aircrafts! That’s larger than that of even Indian, the government airline, which has 74 aircrafts! With the largest combined market share in India (around 32%: DGCA data), the kind of quasi-monopoly pricing the combine could demand might be enough to change the profit equation within a period of three years. Of course, with Kingfisher’s 106 new Airbuses (including 5 superjumbo A380s) and Air Deccan’s 54 A320s scheduled for delivery over the next 5-7 years, infrastructure support (including parking bays) could prove to be quite a major stumbling block.

Clearly, the acquisition of Air Deccan notwithstanding, the subsequent proposition of merger seems to be made with less positioning and financial standing. Well, when we asked Gopinath about the similarities he sees with Mallya, he divulged, “Our interests and lifestyles are ‘totally different’! We sometimes get together and enjoy each other’s company, but that’s it...” Well Sir, we hope you both continue ‘living-in’ this relationship rather than jumping into marriage! They say marriage lasts seven lives...

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Retailing brand India

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Meeting the Western challenge head-on and exporting brand India abroad

Perhaps the toughest and most daunting challenge that any minister faces in India is the man who runs the Union commerce and industry ministry. Kamal Nath has to ensure that the relentless rise of the rupee against the dollar doesn’t lead to a slow down or even a reversal in export growth. With the INR continuing its unprecedented appreciation, exporters are already crying hoarse about lost orders and the sceptre of millions of jobs being lost. Nath also has to lead the Indian delegation when the First World and the Third World sit together again in 2008 to break the deadlock that has stalled WTO negotiations. In 2007, his pugnacious remarks on the double standards practised by the developed nations have been quite controversial. Clearly, Washington and Geneva are terribly fond of the man. Then again, the minister has to somehow ensure that his two pet projects within the country – SEZs and FDI in organised retail do not get stalled by activists and the Left. In between, he has to find time to play a key role in the Assembly elections that are due soon in his home state Madhya Pradesh. A formidable agenda indeed.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Private schools...

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

...can provide ‘Education for all’

Henry Fielding once said, “Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality” … the statement is of assistance in slapping the claims of the reverential policy makers who vouch for public schools.

The United Nations promised “education for all” in the Millennium Developmental Goal (MDG) by 2015. Beats the wit out of anyone that how on Earth will it be possible with only 25% of all schools in Ghana being government schools, 34% of such schools in Lagos state of Nigeria and only 35% such schools in slum area of Hyderabad and equally contemptible percentage of government schools in other underdeveloped countries! So does that mean that the UN MDG is wearing that confident look only because it banks on the private schools? Private schools might charge more fees, but that again is only because they deliver quality. And why are private schools subjected to such badmouthing, anyway when even the not-so-well-to-do families choose private schools over government schools? Seriously, the umpteenth claims of “education for all” which try and promote public schools do not hold any water … because education in true sense owes gratitude to private schools only.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

The Godrej Gameplan

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

The yesteryears locksmiths have made a huge effort to shake the rust off their staid brand image... Will the ‘Preity’ magic work for them?

The name that once was an indomitable leader of the Indian white goods industry – Godrej & Boyce – is making an effort to come back into the reckoning. The makeover may have been kicked off post the dawn of the new millennium, but recently these activities have been renewed with a fresh vigour. Even the mother brand, after its logo change (which from the monotone red, is now vibrant and colourful) denotes that Godrej is no longer satisfied with just being a trustworthy brand, instead being contemporary and hi-tech is the new mantra.

The new-look Godrej is a welcome relief from the Godrej of yesteryears. The dull TVCs then were supported more by technical details of products than anything else. Remember the PUF ads, where a sturdy man (dressed like Spiderman) used to describe the technical details of Godrej refrigerators to the Indian junta. “The guiding principal for all Godrej communication has been to stay away from gimmicks that would mislead the consumer,” affirms Priyanka Udeshi, Design AVP and Client Service Director, JWT. She adds that innovations and technology were always stated up front and all claims made in the commercials were backed by research. The strategy, at that time, enabled Godrej & Boyce to create an edge against other desi players (like Allwyn and Kelvinator) and helped the consumer goods major to dominate the market. However, with the entry of the Korean chaebols in the late 1990’s, Godrej’s empire was shaken up. Outshined by the slick ads of foreign players, brand Godrej started to loose its sheen. Even senior officials from Godrej & Boyce accept that they had lacked in promotion and branding activities as compared to the new foreign entrants in the market. But no more! “We felt that the time has come to reposition and change our branding strategy. The bid was to showcase the stylish side of the brand and connecting it to generation next,” reminisces Kamal Nandi, VP-Sales & marketing, Appliance Division, Godrej & Boyce.

Hence begun the process of rejuvenating the brand, as reflected in recent ads. The company began with roping in a brand ambassador for the first time (the ‘bubbly’ Preity Zinta), and followed it up by unleashing a series of ads that showed the colourful side of the brand. “Preity’s association with the brand has been well thought in terms of brand fit and hence has been re-validated time and again,” elaborates Priyanka. More recently in 2006 – Godrej launched the Eon range as its imagery driver, keeping in mind the shifting purchase parameters and lifestyle trends of the Indian youth. Preity has been the face of this brand extension too.

And it’s not only via advertising that Godrej plans to remain relevant to today’s customer. In order to move with the times, last year, Godrej Eon launched the widest variety of colours in its product range. This year too, the Godrej camp plans similar innovative offerings. Explains Priyanka, “A recent example is the launch of the new Godrej Edge refrigerators that deliver fastest ice making, coupled with five star energy ratings,” adding that the range is all set to be advertised in a product centric fashion.

Godrej may be reinvigorated and looking to give a tough fight to rivals that dare to cross its path, but hey, while Godrej has been planning and plotting its comeback and stylish makeover, competition has not been sitting idle either.

Angshuman Paul

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Surjo Dutt (31), JWT

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Surjo Dutt (31), JWT. A college dropout who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. After all, it is important in the advertising industry that one makes a good start and it was just his luck that he started at JWT. “It is a great learning place with some fantastic people around me that helped polish me,” he reminisces. So much so that he has stuck around at JWT for nine years now and feels that it is the environment at this agency that drives him further. Work might be similar at other agencies and ‘moolah’ too would not be a substantial differentiator, however it is the environment that matters to him and keeps him going. A complete bike freak, Surjo is dying to work more on the Hero Honda account that JWT has. He does not consider himself creative enough and is still trying to figure out what creativity is. He has worked on a number of top notch brands like Pepsi, Nestlé, Hero Honda, ESPN, but is humble enough to call all his work fairly decent.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

The two international stations in India

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

The final challenge is infrastructure. Given the existing facilities at Indian airports, with Jet & NACIL owning up to 80% of overnight parking bays in Delhi & Mumbai (the two international stations in India), other players will have to wait before they can start receiving additional wide-body, long distance aircrafts from Boeing and Airbus. With lack of infrastructure in Indian airports, players are incurring huge losses and are unable to expand their scope of services.

Further, Indian carriers deploy 355 aircrafts on domestic routes presently. With another 195 aircrafts to be received by 2011, the total will touch 550. With total domestic passenger count touching 78.4 million as per 4Ps B&M projections (refer Figure 3; the figure being 78.8 million as per CAPA), footfalls are clearly not enough for airlines to make profitability on just domestic routes. Moreover, with average prices having risen by 18% over last year, this passenger volume prediction is based on an optimistic approach, which makes it all the more dangerous for domestic airlines’ financial health.

Mhatre explains this situation as follows, “Considering current capacities that domestic carriers are building up, I feel we would be in a situation where capacity will exceed demand if players do not fly international.” The picture appears prettier on the international front where there are fewer players and the forecasted traffic growth of 15% till 2010 means that passenger count will touch about 22.1 million as per 4Ps B&M estimations (refer Figure 3; 25 million as per CAPA) – clearly enough for ensuring profitability on international routes. Even Surbhi Chawla, Aviation Analyst, Angel Trade confirms, “The average yield per passenger for an airline in the domestic sector, whether budget or full-service is about Rs.2,000-2,700. In the international sector, the average yield works out to about Rs.20,000-25,000 per passenger. In a highly competitive environment, where domestic full-service carriers have been competing for market share with budget carriers, it makes great sense for them to fly on international routes.”

Then, there is of course the competitive onslaught of other LCCs, which ply on international routes, but then as experts feel, there is enough room for everyone as far as international skies are concerned. Hence, LCCs as a threat factor can be ignored for now. Mhatre feels that, “LCCs playing on international routes would not prove challenging because there is enough room for everyone. On international routes, LCCs and Full Service Carriers can peacefully co-exist.”

But the $4 billion question still persists. Should investors part with their hard earned moolah to fund the over reaching ambitions of domestic carriers who are already in the red? Perhaps they could refuse, but then domestic carriers are an integral part of India’s economic development; they just have to mend their ways, or rather bend their planes… toward international skies that is.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

India Cements Ltd.

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Investee: India Cements Ltd.

Investor: Fidelity, ABN Amro, HSBC, et al

Investment Value: $137.67 mn

The capital raised through this deal will give the much-needed impetus to ICL’s expansion plans. Substantiates V. M. Mohan, ICL, Joint President (Corporate Finance), “We are in the process of raising capital to fund a Rs.1,450 crore expansion plan that would double its cement production capacity to 18 million tonnes over the next two years, and to set up a 40-50 MW captive power project and buy two ships for coal transport. The QIB issue is a part of that.” The company may also reduce their debt balance through these issues.

Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) – Fidelity, HSBC, ABN Amro, among others – in a deal worth Rs.592 crores bought 7.5% stake in India’s third largest cement firm, India Cements Ltd. (ICL) in December last year. Considered to be the largest cement player in South India, the company boasts of seven manufacturing locations, spread over Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. ICL issued 20.78 million shares at Rs.285 per share, including premium, to these QIBs. With an objective to become a pan India cement manufacturer (and plans to increase capacity to 18 MTPA by December 2010), the company wants to use the net proceeds of the issue primarily for capital expenditure and other expenditure support. They also plan to finance new projects through this issue. The cement maker is setting up two plants in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, besides having several mining leases in these two states. Considering the boom in the domestic infrastructure and real estate market, the demand for cement has been going up for some time; and ICL is poised to benefit from this latent potential.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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