After a quiet sojourn post liberalisation, Panasonic disappeared. Come 2008 and they were back with a bang. Manish Sharma, the man in command speaks his heart out to Neha Saraiya & Bhuvnesh Talwar on the transformation  Manish Sharma
Director, Marketing, Panasonic India
For a man who has been religiously serving the consumer durable industry for the past 20 years, Manish Sharma was an odd sight. Young, smart, energetic and upbeat as if it was his first day at work, he welcomed us into his office with a smile. As the meeting progressed, his love for the television business became evident. Within seconds, it’s clear that Sharma was meant to be in the electronics industry. Sharma considers himself very lucky due to the fact that he has always been at the right place at the right time. He recalls the way he happened to join companies when they were going through their most challenging times. “In the beginning of my career, I joined LG which had entered India as a joint venture and was struggling to stand on its own feet. After a five year stint at LG, I moved on to Samsung which in those days was betting big on R&D in order to revamp their product line. After Samsung, my biggest challenge came in the form of Haier where I found myself toiling to create its identity in the Indian market. In 2008, I decided to join Panasonic. Known as a top league player around the world for its quality and innovation the company was making a brave and risky attempt to re-establish itself in the Indian market,” says Sharma. The self confessed television buff believes that there is nothing more dynamic and livelier than televisions in the consumer durable segment because the product can speak, interact and build an emotional bond with its customers. But his actual love for televisions boils down to plasma screens. During the initial days of his career, he had a misconception that plasma screens would never be successful in India. This was due to a myth that plasma screens were foreign made products and could never survive the vagaries of both the Indian mindset and environment. That was during the 1990s. Soon after entering Samsung, he realised that he had been wrong all this while. In fact, he became so fascinated with the product that he got a 50 inch plasma screen for his own bedroom. His admiration for the product didn’t end at his home; now he wants the Indian consumers to know about the benefits of plasma screens and has launched a major print campaign for the same. “In order to promote the line of plasma screens from Panasonic, I have recently launched a campaign called ‘Thinking Big of Plasma’ with an aim to educate the consumers and bring in greater awareness about the product.” His aggressive and innovative marketing strategies that have spearheaded Panasonic’s re-establishment drive seem to have paid off big time. While Panasonic’s market share of the LCD market has gone up from 1.2% to 7%, that for plasma screens has thundered up from around 12% to 48%. This has not only given Panasonic a strong foothold in the Indian landscape, but has also transformed its brand image from an audio/VCR firm to that of a digital electronic giant. For more articles, Click on IIPM ArticleSource : 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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coca-Cola has gone the ‘milky way’ by foraying into the dairy segment and coming out with a milk-based beverage, Maaza Milky Delite. According to the recent Forbes Top 50 list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands, the ‘thanda’ secures the prestigious third spot in that list. Would the strong brand of Coca-Cola have the mettle to influence veteran players in the desi dairy segment like Amul, Vita and Verka et al? Anand Halve, Director, Chlorophyll, Brand & Communications Consultancy feels, “Coca-Cola might have a huge global marketing presence but in the Indian beverage market, it only occupies the fourth place. In addition to that, the brand name for this milk based beverage is Maaza Milky Delite and not Coca-Cola Milky Delite/Coke Milky Delite which would let them leverage the brand name as such.” That might be the case, but the reality is that Coca Cola’s Thums Up still rules the market at the number one position – and there is no gain saying the fact that Coca Cola remains the master of understanding the Indian youth. For more articles, Click on IIPM ArticleSource : 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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A detailed look at how this exclusive ranking of top brands in India for 2010 was conducted by 4Ps Business & MarketingThe fifth 4Ps Business & Marketing annual ranking of India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands is here again to tell you which brands struck the cosiest chords with consumers during the year. It was certainly not a cake walk. We teamed up with Indian Council for Market Research (ICMR) to fetch the best from a holistic list of mind-boggling 40,203 brands. However, after a great amount of brain storming, colossal data crunching, and intensive primary research work in three phases over the past seven and a half months, we finally caught on to the swinging mood of the Indian consumers. So, here is the lock, stock and barrel of the method behind the madness of arriving at the 4Ps Business & Marketing India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands 2010… FIRST PHASEThe Phase I started with preparing a holistic list of local, national and international brands (40,203) present in India, which was then scaled down to a master list of 1,412 brands based on the growth, reach, demand and availability (in at least 4 metros and Bengaluru) further divided into 32 broad categories with over 100 sub categories. Both domestic and international brands having their presence in India were taken into consideration for the final phase of the research. Next, ICMR prepared a structured questionnaire on parameters of Brand Awareness and Preference. Based on the questionnaire a primary research was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai with 3,500 respondents. Based on the frequency of brands under the parameters, as found in the primary research, ICMR shortlisted top 200 brands across all categories. SECOND PHASEThe second phase of the survey was initiated after tabulating the top 200 brands. A structured questionnaire was formed and one-on-one interviews were carried out with 6,000 respondents in 10 cities (Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai) across India. In order to avoid any bias, the order of the brands was changed for each of the cities. Each of the cities was divided into four zones namely North, South, East and West to ensure complete coverage of the city in terms of the target audience. Further, the respondents were selected based on socioeconomic classification (SEC) i.e. education, occupation, gender and monthly income. In case of the respondents such as housewives, students, et al, the monthly income of the Chief Wage Earner (CWE-Head of Household) has been taken into consideration. This survey intended to account for the Brand Equity (difference between perceived value of the brand and the core product, i.e., the total value of the brand minus that part of the value “owed” to the core product, which equals the value that accrues from the brand part of the product) of various brands by asking the respondents to rate them on the following parameters: Brand Image and Perception: A unique set of associations within the minds of target customers which represent what the brand currently stands for and implies the current promise to customers. 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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nisha Narayanan, Senior Vice-President - Programming & Projects, 93.5 Red FM Red FM has been taken to the streets of smaller towns as well. How difficult is it to maintain the same level of quality in Tier 1 & Tier 3 locations?Initially we existed as SFM / Suryan with around 45 stations set up from Jamshedpur to Shillong and Warangal, Rajkot, Nagpur et al. It has been very challenging to understand the nuances of each local city and overall as a network, Red FM has been local in nature by reflecting the ethos and flavour of the city. The challenge actually lies in the fact that the same quality of being present in the metros has to transcend to other cities as well. Since the re-launch as Red FM, there is a lot more synergy now in the process of consolidation and moving ahead. Your experience in the radio industry spans more than a decade. How has the industry evolved in these many years?I have actually been around for close to two decades in the radio industry. Since the time of All India Radio alone, a lot has evolved in the radio space in terms of commercial space. Initially, individual radio stations had to air programmes for a few hours on AIR by buying commercial air time. Then came Phase I of commercial FM and then Phase 2 opened up the radio spectrum to a wide range of around 91 cities all over India. In Phase 3, radio should see a huge evolvement with 700 licenses and the smaller towns covering at least 60% of population that is exposed to the radio. Earlier, the radio was always disregarded. However now, with the setting up of stations in Phase 2 and Internet radio, campus radio and community radio coming of age, the medium has come to be regarded by all as a serious medium. We now even have an industry body to take up the Radio issues with the Government. The radio is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14% from 2010 to 2014. Further to that, it is also being looked up as an advertising option. Unfortunately, policy restrictions are still a hindrance. It must be more flexible to FDI, news & current affairs, networking, multiplicity in programming which is being looked at for Phase 3. From ‘Aap ki farmaish’ to ‘Malishka ke jassos’, how has programming evolved at Red FM?From the early days of ‘Asli Masti’ to ‘Bajaate Raho’, brand Red FM has seen a transformation which holds great significance in the way radio is being perceived today. Through the years, Red FM has been one of the most consistent brands in the industry, be it its music policy of playing only contemporary hits, or its ‘Bajaate Raho’ attitude. Through its innovative promotions, Red FM has been able to strike a chord with the listeners and establish itself as one of the most differentiated brands in the industry today. 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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 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.
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