Kerela’s bucolic symmetary

Shahrukh khan is coming to IIPM - IIPM 4Ps Quiz

Brand: Kerela Tourism
Agency: Stark Communications

Be it for its backwaters, Ayurveda or Mohiniyattam, Kerela has invited tourists from across the globe for decades. These already favourable winds enabled the agency to come up with the God’s own country campaign in 2000. The tagline gave Kerela a life of its own. As the campaign gathered momentum, the number of tourists grew. In 2005, 3.45 lakh international and 59.46 lakh domestic tourists visited Kerela. Next, Kerala Tourism signed up ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan to direct its campaign. Not only did this one work wonders for the brand but also a few others (like the ‘Rain, rain, come again’ print ad) which wooed potential tourists in certain West Asian countries

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

Namita Chhetri, CEO, ICMR, Planman Consulting, disagrees

IIPM : One of the leading and most respected business schools

If proof of the pudding is in the eating, then Tamagawa is putting his words into action. Walk into a Sony shop and you’ll realise that for one, the company has changed the branding of their exclusive retail stores – Sony World – to Sony Centre, brushed up their brand shops and upgraded their displays, ways of demonstration and even the quality of floor salesmen to world standard level. Tamagawa claims that these moves would provide new shopping experiences to the consumers that cannot be availed of in any other consumer shop in India.

Strangely, despite the recent excise duty cut, Tamagawa says Sony just might increase its product prices, “If the current exchange rate continues or further declines in FY09, we may not be able to avoid a price increase. Furthermore, the duty structure of India is still very high compared to other countries, and the consumer is the one who pays this high tax. The government should consider a reduction in the duty structure as a means to stimulate consumer demand.”

Namita Chhetri, CEO, ICMR, Planman Consulting, disagrees, “The real killer of all these glorious attempts of Sony is not the duty structure but Sony’s refusal to understand that providing consumer finance drives consumer sales in the Indian electronics industry!” There seems some sense in the logic as, while the industry average for financing products is at 40%, Sony India finances only a measly 5% of its total product sales.

At the end of the day, the fact is that Sony was the first foreign company to be allowed into India with 100% FDI. And it’s certainly not going to be the last. Unless Sony fortifies its consumer loyalty levels, rising competitive pressures and reducing duty structures might see a day when Sony ends up getting the shorter end of the market stick, both in differentiation and in price.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
IIPM only B-school in India to be Ranked Ahead of The IIMs in so Many Parameters! Regularly!
Why has IIPM always been opposed to B-school rankings?
IIPM students on NDTV Television Chat Show
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri says
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

Articulate & savvy, the Cookie Queen speaks...

IIPM : One of the leading and most respected business schools

4Ps B&M: The Danone controversy is resolved. The mood at Britannia?
VB: The mood in Britannia is driven by our performance and results and is upbeat because we have seen profitable growth. The shareholding pattern of Britannia does not impact our strategy in the profitable pursuit of growth.

4Ps B&M: You’ve worked with various MNCs across continents? Which one has been your favourite stint?
VB: (Laughs) Its very difficult to choose one. They’ve all been my favorites because there were different challenges in different markets & different companies. In some places it was about increasing the overall market because we were category leaders. In others it was a greater competitive focus. In Britannia, the task was different. I had to ask myself, what can I do with a brand that already has tremendous equity? So in each company, I had different sets of opportunities and challenges and I enjoyed each stint.

4Ps B&M: What has been your strategy for Britannia?
VB: Quite simply, about how to sell more biscuits, bread, dairy, et al, to more people in more places. Naturally, the questions you ask yourself are different. How to make biscuits an impulse purchase product? What are the personal consumption traits of the consumer? How to activate the brand at the point of sale, how to create a diversity of packages and price points, how to create operational excellence, both at the back-end and front-end, how to leverage the financial, marketing and technical strengths of the company to create a competitive advantage. The answers to these questions formed a path for me to follow and approach the market strategically.
4Ps B&M: You’ve implemented many structural changes at Britannia. Did you encounter resistance?
VB: Whenever there is a change, there is bound to be resistance, some people chose to leave, and they did. We brought in a lot of fresh talent and capability. But the important thing is when you are open about change, you can count most people in. For me, it was about creating an energetic, open & transparent environment, where people were inspired to do best work. That meant creating formal and informal channels of communication, making myself and the leadership team accessible to all. You’ll notice that anybody can walk into my room here or send me an e-mail or SMS and everybody gets a response.

4Ps B&M: How have these structural changes boosted Britannia’s growth?
VB: Apart from the 20% plus compound annual growth we have seen in the last three years, we have significantly increased our capability across the board. For example, in the last two years, we filed three new technology patents, outpaced the industry in innovation, won several awards for our products and advertising. We’ve doubled our bread, cake and rusk portfolio. Our dairy business is worth approx. Rs.200 crore today. We also acquired new businesses overseas.

4Ps B&M: Experts say Britannia lacks aggressiveness. Comment.
VB: Results drive reputation. If 22% growth is not aggressive, then I don’t know what aggression is. Isn’t having the largest product portfolio in the industry, out-pacing market growth and taking bold and responsible steps like removing trans-fats and fortifying 50% of the portfolio, aggressive? Also Britannia was one of the eight companies world-wide recognised by Time and Bill Gates as an example of Creative Capitalism. I think people get more enamoured by form rather than actual substance.

4Ps B&M: Plans for the coming year?
VB: The main driver of growth in 2009 will be superb execution right through the value chain. New launches in the coming financial year will also continue to drive growth. We’ll focus on a mix of brands, packs, geographies, categories and price points to deliver profitable growth. Our credo is everyday consumption – Marie is for morning tea, bread & cheese is for breakfast, NutriChoice is for the adult tiffin – and we’ll continue to enrich our portfolio with products that are healthy and delightful across bakery and dairy spectrums, different price points and geographies in line with that credo.

4Ps B&M: Your vision for Britannia?
VB: I want Britannia to be the best brand of India. It has already been ranked as the best food brand of the country. Now I want Britannia to be a “part of everyday life” of our consumers.

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

More of IIPM.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook

! IIPM ! Arindam Chaudhuri ! GIDF ! Planman Consulting ! Business & Economy ! 4Ps Business & Marketing ! The Sunday Indian ! The Human Factor ! The Daily Indian ! Kkoooljobs.com ! Amaze08, New Delhi ! IIPM Old Brochure ! IIPM 4Ps Quiz !