 Red FM What makes 93.5 red FM one of the most preferred radio channels on air today? and what are the issues bothering its management team? 19 years back, any plebeian in India who’d turn on the radio, would sing to the tunes of one channel - the All India Radio (AIR). It was the business and life for all radio listeners. The opening up of radio waves resulted in private FM channels taking up the lead in the FM space in no time over AIR. And there are some that outshone the majority. If one were to mention the favourites amidst a host of radio channels, 93.5 Red FM would be one of the chosen few amongst the top three. Flagged off in 2003, the radio station now has the reputation of being one of India’s most contemporary music stations. Red FM has taken full advantage of the fact that most radio stations have done little to stand out amidst the clutter; differentiation in program content has been key. Red FM’s ‘bajate raho’ attitude has been key to the marketing. B. Surender, Senior Vice-President and National Sales Head, 93.5 Red FM tells 4Ps B&M, “Initially, Red FM was present only in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, and 46 other stations across as many locations, were known by the name SFM. Once we decided to re-brand all 49 stations as Red FM, we came up with the ‘Bajate Raho’ concept, which worked magic for us. It appeals to the youth, explaining Red FM’s fan following amongst teenagers...” The concept has two elements. One is the functional element, which involves playing super-hit and contemporary music round the clock. The other is the emotional element. Adds Surender, “We call it the emotional element because people actually connect to it. Moreover, this emotional element is also what differentiates us from other radio stations.” Everything that is happening with the channel is a deliberate attempt to capitalise on gen-next. About two months back, Red FM repositioned itself as ‘Aaj ke zamaane ka radio station and not baap ke zamaane ka’. The move explained Red FM’s newly discovered positioning strategy without a doubt. Says Nisha Narayanan, Senior Vice-President - Programming & Projects, RED FM, “Through our innovative promotions on and off-air, Red FM has been able to strike the right chord with its listeners and has established itself as one of the most differentiated brands in the Indian radio industry.” For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadershipProfessor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gatorade did it in the USA in 2001! Indian marketers Are of late investing big money in mela marketing. DO rural consumers matter that much? Fairs (melas, as we better know them) have always been an integral part of the Indian life style. It’s difficult to find a person in the country who has never visited a fair or come across a Bollywood flick with a typical 1970s storyline of family separation and re-union, all happening in melas (mostly Kumbh mela). Well, the creative brains of our marketing world know this better than anyone else! After clichéd cult of ‘Lost and Found’ mela brothers created by script writers, it’s these marketing honchos who have brought fairs to the centre-stage by using them as a platform to market products. So much so that big fairs like the Mahakumbh held in Haridwar, Lord Jagannath’s car festival in Puri and Surajkund mela et al now find prime importance when the companies plan for their BTL activities. But certainly, the roots of such mela marketing are not just desi by any means. In USA, for example, in 2001 the sports drink giant ‘Gatorade’ tried to cash in on the theme of Thanksgiving and invested millions in marketing its drink during the Thanksgiving fairs across the country. Later, in 2008, they even came up with a TV commercial Replay which was also built around a match that has always been played on the eve of Thanksgiving. Not that Indian companies were alien to this – but till now, mela marketing simply was seen as a social service for rural folk (aka e-choupals, for example). But this year’s various melas, including the iconic Maha Kumbh Mela that started in January and lasted till the end of April, have seen surprisingly huge investments in product marketing campaigns. In the Kumbh Mela, the element of novelty was 26 brands marketing their products using the mela as the focal point of their campaign. For instance, Dettol marketed itself with a tagline, “Kumbh mein Snaan ek baar, Dettol mein Snaan baar-baar” (Bathe in the holy water of Kumbh Mela once, bathe in the water with Dettol regularly). Boroline came up with “Kumbh se Punya Kamao, Boroline se Achchi Twacha Banao” (Attain bliss by visiting the Kumbh Mela, attain a softer skin by using Boroline). The question is, does mela marketing work? Especially if you’re not in the FMCG industry? Shankar Das, Marketing Head-Boroline, G.D. Pharmaceuticals, tells 4Ps B&M, “You cannot think of a better direct promotion of your brand than what you get in these fairs. These fairs attract huge chunks of people from different strata of the society at one place for the longest period of time. And all this while, they are exposed to your brand. The impact is substantial and it does have an edge over other modes of marketing.” Mela marketing has proved to be a beneficial strategy and the company has incorporated it across regional melas in places like Orissa and Gujarat. Their next destination is Jharkhand and the regional fair that is going to be organised in the coming months. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadershipProfessor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abhijeet Pandit, VP – Sales, Marketing & after Sales, Hover (nissan’s india partner) on why brand awareness is a key roadblock for them and more... Nissan is surely one of the least heard names in the automobile space as far as India is concerned. Perhaps not in the near future. Just having realised the potential of one of the fastest growing economies in the world, this Japanese auto major is now running very hard to make a mark for itself. In an exclusive interaction with 4Ps B&M, Abhijeet Pandit, VP – Sales, Marketing & After-sales, Hover Automotive (Nissan’s India partner), reveals the company’s aggressive marketing plans and talks about the challenges ahead. Excerpts: With the launch of Micra, Nissan has just started marketing aggressively in India. How do you plan to take it forward?Micra is the first CKD (Complete knock down) production model in the country from Nissan and as such our strategy for it is different from the one we had had for our previous models. It’s a model that will bring in high volumes for us and our motto is to increase the awareness of the brand Nissan in the Indian market through it. In fact, we have already started the process by roping in Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor as the brand ambassador for Micra and the response is great. People have started recognising the brand Nissan with Ranbir being there in our ads. Further, we have also tried to price our cars very competitively which has got us a tremendous response so far. In terms of distribution, we are focusing on the A and B category to ensure that we reach out to the maximum. We are also implementing the global Nissan standards in India. This will make sure that the sales and dealership personnel are at par with their global counterparts. Globally, Nissan does not favour the brand ambassadors for their automobile brands, in general. So, why is India an exception in this case?You are right. Globally, Nissan is not known for roping in brand ambassadors to ensure success. But the case with India is unique. As Nissan is virtually the last player to enter the Indian market, so, obviously, Nissan in India requires a brand ambassador. Further, keeping in mind the bullish targets of the company, both in terms of volumes and market share, the strategy requires a brand ambassador who can take the awareness level high instantly. The Indian consumer knows Honda and Toyota very well but not Nissan. Some people even ask that whether Nissan is an American company or a Japanese company. Therefore, we had two options to choose from: movies or cricket. And we zeroed in on Bollywood, and eventually Ranbir. In fact, the response has been great so far. Micra got close to 2,000 bookings even before its official launch and is now moving towards the 3,000-mark. All this has been possible because of our aggressive marketing efforts. Before GM and Ford moved into the small car segment, they had an expanded distribution network in place. But in the case of Nissan, you still have only 20 dealers across the country. What is the reason for this cautious approach?We are targeting a rapid growth in our sales and distribution network, but you need to understand that on the way we need to ensure that the dealership has right infrastructure and right processes in place. We don’t want to compromise on Nissan’s global norms. We are very strict when it comes to sales and services standards. However, we have a target of opening 100 dealerships by the end of FY2012. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadershipProfessor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 23, 2010, people on Mumbai roads had their curiosity aroused with billboards all around mentioning, “A Mystery Shampoo!! 80% women say is better than anything else.’ It evidently was P&G’s buzz creation to launch the new version of Pantene on August 1, 2010. But HUL quickly turned the tables around. They came out with a parallel billboard campaign on July 28 splashing, “There is no mystery. Dove is the No.1 shampoo.” HUL’s timing ensured a big brand recall loss for P&G. Rahul Mathew, Executive Creative Director, McCan Erickson, says, “Ogilvy was smart enough to seize the opportunity. Full credit to them for getting the commercial on air in such a short span of time.” This is the quickest advertising turnaround in Ogilvy’s history. This is the first instance of ambient advertising in India where a mystery campaign has been usurped by such rapid aggression. But then, is liking the ad equivalent to liking the shampoo? Would Dove in reality outbeat the new Pantene in hard market sales figures? That’s another story altogether... For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air India which incurred losses over `55 billion during both FY 2008-09 and 2009-10, had signed a multimillion dollar deal with Australia based Cato Purnell Partners for a major rebranding exercise to be showcased during the CommonWealth Games. The estimated value of the deal was $1.6 million; but in the wake of losses, the rebranding exercise has been dumped. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that amidst such loss, the hefty amount for rebranding was uncalled for. However, the company is fulfilling its commitment towards the Games as it has to fly all the players and delegates free which will cost around `500 million. Lack of sponsorship from the private sector for the beleaguered games has to be partly borne by the national carrier adding to its liabilities. With the latest news of Air India suing Boeing for a billion dollar amount (for delayed delivery of carriers), one can imagine that push is coming to shove. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Suk Ling Gun Suk Ling Gun, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab, South Asia
What is your opinion on how the perception of Indian IT brands has changed since the 1990s?
Indian IT Brands may not have made it to the Interbrand list of best global brands back in 1990s but they do enjoy tremendous brand recognition across the globe, they have a loyal customer base and a large share in the market. Indian IT organizations and Global IT brands here have contributed to making India an IT super-power. With the integration of the Global Brands, the Indian IT Brands have become really strong over time. They have been built on sound values, principles and ethos.
With rising commoditisation, how can brand differentiation be created?
As the marketplace is becoming more crowded, it is important to have a very clear value proposition to have a strong positioning. Identifying the uniqueness in the product (products) is the key.
To create a positioning that cuts the growing clutter, you should come across as genuine, hardworking, clear and honest. The messaging should be a simple as can be.
Manish Sharma , Director – Marketing, Panasonic India Off late, Panasonic has been consolidating and aggressively building up its brand equity? What’s the current status?Our intention was to improve the top of mind awareness and also connect to the youth. Our use of brand ambassadors and association with major sports like cricket and football have made this successful. Recently, the company made an announcement that it will tap the lower segment through the Sanyo brand. What’s your strategy for the same?We are in process of introducing products for mass segment, which has a huge potential in India. Our recent introduction of 32 LCD model backed by “Sound for India” offer is a step in this direction. The model is designed for Indian market and comes with a powerful sound and low power consumption. It is positioned to enhance affordability of consumer for a 32 LCD TV. Panasonic still has a negligible presence when it comes to rural India. So how do you plan to enter the rural market?We have aggressive plans to expand our retail presence to Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. As a first step, we have expanded our service infrastructure in these markets. Then, we are expanding our product line up in smaller screen LCDs, direct cool refrigerators and affordable home theater models. To back all this, we have campaigns to create awareness and bring the product closer to the consumer. Our recent launch of “Sound for India” campaign is a part of that endavour, which will be a series of road shows and exhibitions across 70 cities. Does Panasonic perform a test run of its proposed campaigns before breaking it to consumers. What insights went into the existing campaign?We perform a brief or extensive research periodically to evaluate our campaigns. Before designing “Sound for India”, we understood the necessity of penetrating Tier 2 and 3 towns and provide a touch and feel experience to our customers. The current campaign compliments the design and launch of our new LCD model. Consumer Audio Visual (CAV) is a segment you are currently focussing on. What are the other verticals where you are betting big?We have equal focus to establish the home appliances category in India. Signing Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador for home appliances is part of that. Air conditioners are leading the way now. We have launched a series of AC models this year and a manufacturing facility is also coming for the same. With consumer durables giants spending huge bucks on celebrities, there’s a lot of clutter in the market. How do you stand out then?We have a unique mix of “Bollywood” and “Sports” marketing. More over the campaigns are designed to stand apart. We put a lot of focus on educating the consumer about the strengths of our products, which involves lot of activities on both ground and shop level. A key element of Panasonic’s marketing is sports sponsorship (e.g. FIFA Association). Are there similar plans for Commonwealth Games?Sports marketing is an integral part of our marketing strategy. Currently, we are focussing on cricket, soccer and golf. Our association with Delhi Daredevils and AIFF is being continued for the year and we have been leveraging on these associations through TV and print campaigns. What are your future marketing plans and what will be your budget for the same?We will continue our aggression for marketing our products and enhancing the brand image in Indian market. We will invest a value equivalent to 20% of our revenue during FY2011 for advertising and promotions. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......
LEONID MUSATOV, CMO, SSTL TALKS TO SURBHI CHAWLA ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE MTS BRAND IN THE INDIAN MARKET MTS may sound as a relatively new name to the Indian consumer but considering the fact that it is the eighth largest telecom brand globally, one can be certain that this Russian giant is in no mood to be one of the me-too operators in the country. As the company tries to bag more consumers via its aggressive schemes and promotional packs, it is equally concerned about maintaining a healthy bottom-line as it is running hard to attain break-even by 2013. 4Ps B&M caught up with Leonid aka Lenny Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) to discuss the journey so far and the future strategies of this operator for the Indian market. Aggression is the right word to discuss the marketing strategy of MTS. Is it driven by the end of the slowdown blues?I would not call it aggression but yes, we have reached a certain stage as we got optimal coverage for our efforts. It was actually intentional from our end to first concentrate on regional advertising, which involved more of outdoor, in-store and regional press. And now if we go on television, it’s very much part of our initial plans. This approach is very different from the strategy of Tata DOCOMO and other new operators that went on TV from day one. For me, this is a sign of burning money. We are much more disciplined in our approach to shape up our investment. Initially, consumers in India had a certain apprehension in their mind to switch to CDMA technology. As a pure CDMA operator, do you still see this mind block prevailing or has the Indian consumer gone past that?India is a unique market. What we initially saw was that CDMA was always looked at as poor man’s mobile in the voice segment. However, in the data card segment, the preferred dongles were from Reliance and Tata, which were also CDMA driven. Clearly, there is a balance coming in the market and differences are getting eliminated. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HE SUPPLIES SHOES TO TOP BRANDS IN 24 COUNTRIES AND ALSO DREAMS TO SELL HIS OWN BRAND RED TAPE IN THOSE MARKETS WITHOUT ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST. SHUJA MIRZA, VP – MARKETING, RED TAPE MEETS ANGSHUMAN PAUL He’s a second generation leader taking ahead the flagship brand of Rs.300 crore Mirza International Ltd – Red Tape. In an exclusive conversation with 4Ps B&M Shuja Mirza, Vice President – Marketing, Red Tape talks about the challenges and opportunities that lies ahead for the group. You paid heed to making Mirza International Ltd. a completely independent company in leather business that processes, manufactures and retails its own products. How difficult was it?Not really, we already had the expertise of manufacturing as we were already exporting shoes and other leather goods. The challenge was in creating and promoting the brand Red Tape. My father created the brand and the challenge in front of me was to take it to every consumer in this country. You have 45 stores across the country, where apart from shoes you have also introduced apparel and denims under the Red Tape brand. Are these merchandise manufactured by you?The mission behind opening these stores is not only to promote the brand equity of Red Tape, but also to make Red Tape a one stop solution for our audiences’ dressing need. These products are mainly outsourced. But yes, we do a thorough quality check before offering it to the customer. Indian retail scenario for shoe and leather goods is now swathed with numerous brands. How do differentiate yourself from them?Our products are neither too high priced like the global brands, nor too cheap like many regional brands. Our expertise is in leather. So we are banking upon providing fine quality leather products at an affordable price. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIKAS JAIN, FOUNDER MEMBER AND BUSINESS DIRECTOR, MICROMAX EXPLAINS TO SURBHI CHAWLA HOW HE OVERTHREW THE DOMINANCE OF BIGGIES LIKE NOKIA, LG... AND MORE Just two years ago, Micromax was virtually an unknown company. But today, it’s not only the country’s 3rd largest mobile handset manufacturer, but also set to taste the waters overseas. 4Ps B&M grabs on to Vikas Jain to learn about the company’s future plans, both at home and abroad. When you started, there weren’t any Indian players around. What prompted you to get into a market that was completely controlled by large MNCs?We already had a B2B business under which we were carrying out a lot of research on market insights and understanding the psychological profiles of consumers to ascertain what would they want from their device. During one such meeting, we found out that consumers were actually compromising in terms of the device that they want. So there was a clear need gap and that prompted Micromax to venture into handsets with an objective of providing devices that were nearer to what the customers wanted. Also, at that time there were only five players – Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung and we realized that the mobile market was going to be big and only five players may not be able to address to the entire market. Having established a brand, now the second biggest challenge for you would be to drive in repeat sales. So are you seeing the same?Yes, we see a lot of Micromax consumers upgrading to another Micromax phone, which is a sign of the consumer delight. What is your current average selling price?Right now it’s at Rs.2,500. But we can see it only going up as we are expanding into the urban market and planning to launch some more 3G phones, EVDO phones, Android and Windows based smartphones. Which are the international markets that you are looking at?We have operations in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. UAE will join the list next month followed by Latin America, which is next on our agenda. For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri ( Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's WebsiteIIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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