FACTORY SYSTEM: SUICIDES

Prof Rajita Chaudhuri follow some off-beat trends like organizing make up sessions

Deadly workplace...
The plight of migrant laborers world over is no secret anymore

'The development of China as a world factory is a fundamental reason causing these suicidal cases', remarked Pun Ngai, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University, in the aftermath of spate of suicides that has claimed nine lives so far this year at Foxconn electronic plant near the sprawling city of Shenzhen in southern China. This has surely exposed the dirty linen of China's factory system, regarding which nine professors of social science wrote an open letter to Foxconn questioning the very sustainability of China's pivotal position as the workshop of the world. This is not a case in isolation. Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, the largest sports and casual shoe maker in the world, had a rash of four suicides between July and October 2008. 'China Labor Watch' has identified more than 80 cases of suicides in Pearl Harbor Delta of China in last 10 years.

Over the last 30 years, China's internal mobility and consequently their plight has risen manifold with 200 million migrants leaving their home in search of better life. To a large extent, the country dependson these cheap labourers to counterfeit an export-oriented style world factory, which stimulated double digit growth rate for the economy. But in the bargain, basic human rights of these hapless labourers been ignored; they were paid a wage that was below the average of Third World countries; and made it impossible for them to live in cities as they could not encounter the problems of housing, their children's education and healthcare, and other survival necessitates. The use of cheap labour has been a strategic choice for China in the first period of its reforms ' was not without its own weaknesses ' as low wage growth depressed the purchasing power and consequently consumer demand that restricted the sustainable growth of the country. This kind of development model, at least today, is bound to repeat Foxconn like tragedies; as unlike their parent's generation today's urban laborers cannot return home to be peasants again.

Not only in China, this kind of misfortune takes place even in developed country with strong labour laws like in France as well! In France Telecom, one of the largest companies in telecom sector, 34 employees committed suicide between January 2008 and January 2010, blaming it on stress and desolation at work. France Telecom's suicide rate is 15.3 per 1,00,000 per year, more than national average of 14.7. The suicide rates of expatriate workers are always high in Gulf States like Bahrain, but the latest figures available for 2008 shows an alarming rise that has goaded a nationwide action to help the endured. Most suicides are by poor labourers ' 131 of them have committed suicides in Bahrain alone in 2008 ' often because of miserable working conditions and low pay. In Kuwait, the situation is no better, as official rate of suicides by migrant workers is one in every two days! In the month of April alone 12 cases of suicides has been reported there. Therefore, laborer's dignity and means are at stake in many parts of the world, and like economic development social development and social fairness should strike the right chord at the right time.


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

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ASUS G51 & G60

Technical Specifications :
3D Audio
16-inch screen
‘Mecha’ design

The gaming glee: Cogging towards gaming and a futuristic robot-inspired ‘mecha’ design, ASUS’ G51 & G60 notebooks are designed to capture the gaming frenzy with the use of gamer-centric interface elements. The 16-inch widescreen notebook envelopes a 3D audio and a powerful combination of extreme graphics. With its impeccable gaming performance this one is sure a looker in 2010.

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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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Social Networking Sites have become advertising shops

The runaway growth in motorbike sales over the last few years in India has a niche player hungering for a larger share of the pie. By Pawan Chabra

They never cared two hoots about competition, did not encourage scantily clad babes in their ads and barely batted an eyelid before blithely including a comparison with a tractor in their feature list. Obviously, Eicher Motors’ Royal Enfield has had much more going for it than the sheer deep thump of its rakishly upswept silencer. The downside has been that even as Bullet’s cruiser imagery sells 45,000 bikes every year, Hero Honda makes hay in the commuter segment with unit sales crossing 35,00,000 annually. Sure, one should not compare – after all, bike enthusiasts worship the ground that the stylish Bullet walks on, while Hero Honda is merely a convenience for your daily office-goer. Siddhartha Lal, MD, Eicher Motors agrees, “We have no comparison with mass manufacturers. Royal Enfield riders use their bikes for purposes beyond commuting.”

But quiz Lal a little further and you realise that some changes in existing strategies at Enfield are in order. The niche bike brand, which has sold a meagre five lakh units in its 56-year-old history in India, is now targeting a bullish figure of one lakh annual unit sales by 2013. Explaining short-term targets, Lal says, “We are planning to touch 50,000 unit sales in 2009 (targeting a 15% rise year-on-year), followed by a target of 60,000 for 2010.” Already plans are in place for a Rs.65 crore investment over the next three years at its Chennai plant to double production capacity. Question is, can this planned doubling of sales turnover by 2013 be possible without tapping at least a little into the mass markets, presently dominated by Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS? But the dilemma then is, will the Bullet come down a few notches from its cruiser positioning or is there more method to this strategy?

Company insiders are at pains to point out that their new ambitions can be achieved without any dilution in brand equity. “We have been able to sell whatever we manufacture and almost all our models have a waiting list,” explains R. L. Ravichandran, CEO, Royal Enfield. Clearly, Bullet’s established aspirational quotient amidst the Indian consumer is fuelling the ambitions of this bike company. Not putting all its eggs in the domestic market only, Enfield is also working on increasing its already expanding global reach. Its ventures in various developed markets are already a success. “We are exporting 5% of our total sales now. But we will take that to 15% over the next three to five years,” vows Lal.

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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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Daring to think beyond...

If daring is the way at the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), then IIPM has proved that once again by being ranked as one of the best business school in the country. As per a recently concluded survey conducted by Zee Business in a quest to find India’s best B-Schools for 2009, IIPM has been ranked fifth in the overall ranking (two places higher than its 7th position last year and well ahead of three IIMs) out of 30 B-schools. The icing on the cake is that it has topped the rankings in the global exposure category for the second year in the running. IIPM has been credited with placing students in major multinationals abroad, providing enviable global interface for its students through its Global Opportunity and Threat Analysis program, sessions with globally renowned visiting faculties, et al. It has been ranked 8th for placements as it has successfully achieved 2,550 national and 55 international placements for the batch of 2009. “Over the past few years, The Indian Institute of Planning and Management has structurally oriented itself towards fortifying the mandate to internalise internationalism through its strategic academic tie ups (with institutions like University of Cambridge, University of California at Berkeley, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia), student exchange programs and global placements. All such initiatives are driven with only one underlying objective and that is to make education at The Indian Institute of Planning and Management – a truly world class experience,” states Professor Prasoon S. Majumdar, All India Dean Academics, IIPM. Zee Business has conducted this survey (featuring the top 30 management institutes in the country) by interviewing faculty members from various management institutes, corporates, recruiters, students, and young professionals on parameters covering course content, global exposure, placement, industry interface, faculty and infrastructure.

Ratan Lal Bhagat

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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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TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

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Finding its way through turbulence

At a time when domestic airlines are reeling under huge losses and the growth of a foreign aviator in India is debatable, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is further spreading out its wings to grab a bigger piece of the Indian skies. Ratan Lal Bhagat catches up with the man in the cockpit to find out how…

It’s no more a secret that the global economic turmoil has really been harsh on the aviation industry. The financial chaos has not only forced aviators across the globe to take on to various cost cutting, capacity cut and route rationalisation measures to stem their bleeding bottomlines, but has also compelled them to resort to various marketing tactics to stay relevant in this cat-eat-cat world. However, there is a purple cow in the herd who has dared to go against the tide even in these times of crisis. Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong-based airline (which offers scheduled passenger and cargo services to 114 destinations in 36 countries), is not only going all out in its expansion plan in India, but is also leaving no stone unturned to earn itself a set of loyal customers in the subcontinent. But then, will it be able to make it through the turbulent zone in which Indian aviation seems to be stuck at the moment? 4Ps B&M gets candid with Rakesh Raicar, Marketing & Sales Manager (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan), Cathay Pacific to find out the answer to not one such question, but many more...

4Ps B&M: Considering the ongoing sectoral turmoil, how does Cathay Pacific plans to make its presence felt in the Indian skies?
RR: The year 2008 has been a landmark year for Cathay Pacific in India as we were able to obtain more traffic rights. With these rights we can now operate on a much larger scale and thus encash the potential that the Indian market offers. For instance, while the number of flights operating from Delhi has been raised from 4 to 14, for Mumbai the number has been increased to 10 flights. Further, we have also started our services from Chennai and are even catering to Bangalore customers through our sister airline Dragonair. Moreover, it’s important for us to inform our travellers of the new network benefits that we are offering. During these difficult times we have aligned our schedules and routes and have also lowered our fares to destinations like Bangkok. We have been continuously advertising our new routes, lower fares and schedules through campaign like ‘Launching Bangkok’ via print media, outdoors and lot of online advertisements.

4Ps B&M: Cathay Pacific too has joined the low-fare bandwagon. But, don’t you think with every other player resorting to low fares, brand differentiation has lost its meaning. So, how does the brand Cathay Pacific plans to differentiate itself from the herd?
RR: The low fares are only for our flights to Bangkok. Nevertheless, we offer a price bandwidth to our travellers who can benefit by booking earlier and paying less. Our brand is in the premium airline category and the service that we provide to our travellers is what actually differentiates us from the competition. Moreover, we offer direct flights to Hong Kong that saves a traveller from lot of hassles.

4Ps B&M: How different are the marketing and brand building strategies of Cathay Pacific when one compares India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan with the rest of the world?
RR: We opt for mostly similar marketing strategies for all our markets because we follow a standard service catering pattern, network, frequency, on time service, et al. We aim to maintain a similar level of brand value for all destinations that we fly to. We focus in highlighting our services and benefits to get repeat and new business. Moreover, we have expanded our reach in a big way in the Indian market by increasing the number of flights from each of our destinations and this we have brought to the notice of our customers in the country by advertising this increase in the number of flights in a big way.

4Ps B&M: Cathay Pacific has recently started to specifically cater to the Indian film industry, a niche segment. What is the strategy behind the move? Is the airline looking to tap any other specific segment in the near future?
RR: The film industry, especially the Indian film industry has been doing phenomenally well for quiet some time now and most of the film producers go out to shoot their films at foreign locations like Australia, New Zealand, et al. As we are well connected to most of these desirable foreign film shooting destinations, they prefer flying with us because apart from providing the world class service to these celebrities and their technicians, we have also devised special rates for the large number of equipments and baggage that they carry with them, which is far below to what is charged to a normal passenger. Apart from the film industry we are also working with various tourist boards on such schemes. We are also looking forward to tap the travellers flying out of Mumbai for marine business apart from the usual frequent business flyers.

4Ps B&M: How important is it for Cathay Pacific to serve what has been promised? What are the initiatives that it is taking to fulfill the same?
RR: Cathay Pacific has built a brand over the years based on the high quality services that it offers to its customers. In fact, we, at times, even go out of our way to serve people who travel with us. We always ensure that our travellers have a hassle free journey and the entire crew is working together to serve the customers in the world class way which proves to be the differentiating factor between us and our competitors. We also encourage our staff members to give their best by recognising their services through accolades like the Betsy Award.

4Ps B&M: Apart from the financial constraint, what are the marketing challenges that Cathay Pacific might face in the Indian Sub-continent?
RR: The comparatively higher cost of the various medium of advertisement i.e. print, television commercial (TVC), et al, is one of the biggest challenge in the Indian market. One cannot think of having a TVC with such high costs. Thus, for us the challenge is to work within our budget and reach our target audience at the same time. We, at present, are using our public relations to gain the maximum mileage and promote ourselves in this sub-continent.

Ratan Lal Bhagat

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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REPaCKAGING GANDHI

Austerity
Ever since Mahatma Gandhi transformed the art of living frugally into high fashion and the last word in being politically correct, austerity has exercised an iron grip over public discourse. Khadi, a Gandhi topi and faux poverty have become the standard tools for political brands and personalities to make a marketing statement. It’s a different matter that the whole thing had descended into a farce and an epitome of double standards before the latest brouhaha over austerity hit the media headlines. So you had the Prime Minister of India counseling captains of India Inc. to practice austerity in these tough times. Even before India Inc. could praise or protest, we were given delicious details about how two cabinet ministers of this ‘austere’ government were living it up in five star hotels. One minister even created a storm about flying ‘cattle’ class. The Indian politician knows that profligacy and austerity are like yin and yang.

And he has mastered the art of being brazenly profligate even while conveying an impression that he swears by Gandhian austerity. Of course, Indian culture and civilisation have always held austerity and simple living in high esteem. So politicians practice austerity; even when they know that the voters know it is all a farce. In these austere times, it has been revealed that the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues in Pudduchery (Pondicherry) spent Rs.3.8 million in six months on ‘tea and snacks’. Take that!

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

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Think Different Think ‘DEAD’

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

Some marketers refer to using historical icons as a goodwill gesture (‘paying a tribute’) and if it serves the added purpose of raking in moolah and raising the brand stature, so be it. But the answer to that question could well range from being financially viable (in some cases) to harnessing the product values with the long lasting untarnished image of the endorser. On one thing though, marketers are unanimous viz. the immortal image of these historical ambassadors provides the requisite ‘X factor’ for their brands.

So it’s not only Brand Gandhi who has been used as a brand ambassador by marketers. Che Guevara, Charlie Chaplin or for that matter even Adolf Hitler, Stalin and Saddam Hussain (recently used in a German AIDS awareness campaign) are also right up there. But, Gandhi has by far been the clear favourite, when it comes to reaching the Indian masses. Remember the ‘Think Different’ campaign launched by Apple in 1997 – with Gandhi in his simple white loincloth and shawl? The image linked an ambassador of immense physical and mental strength to the brand – and helped them break the clutter. Even Italy’s largest telecom company, Telecom Italia used Gandhi in its 2005 campaign and went on to grab the ‘Mezzo Minuto D’oro’ (considered equivalent to the Oscars in the Italian ad-industry) award.

Take the case of Luxor, which has consistently used historical figures to illustrate the usage of its highlighters. Their ads showcase usages of Luxor Highlighter by sketching images of Che Guevara, Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin on their ads. Not only have the ads highlighted the historical heros but also the brand, transferring their heroic qualities to the brand. In the process, Luxor also managed to break and rise above the clutter in their segment. Similarly, Rasayana (the anti-stress tea) showed Adolf Hitler smelling a rose with a caption saying, ‘Make peace with the world. Anti-stress tea from Rasayana.’ The slogan simply made the world identify better with the nascent brand. Hitler’s face on the campaign made way for instant recognition among the target audience and made a simple product look smart and maybe, the brand promise even fuelled initial trial purchase.

Thanks to Cherry Shoe Polish, the image of Charlie Chaplin is still afresh in people’s mind. As a matter of fact, the two have become inseparable from each other. It goes without any saying that Charlie Chaplin is loved by everyone alike. His black-and-white persona and humor are evergreen and what better way to describe a black and white shoe polish than an iconic comedian from the black and white era? Charlie rightfully portrayed the idea of ‘enjoy polishing’. Says Alyque Padamsee (who helped create the first series of Cheery ads), “The focus then was on the “perfect gentleman” and the ‘perfect shine’ on his shoes.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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We screwed up with Windows Mobile!

Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

This was the telling statement Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corp. made while addressing Microsoft’s Venture Capital Summit as he regretted that Windows Mobile could have been launched with a better operating system. Ballmer has rejiged the Windows Mobile Team to recover losses and has given an assurance that “this won’t happen again!”

Neha Saraiya

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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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Invalidating the ‘Medical marketin g’ oxymoron!

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Today, brand Fortis is offered back to its patients even after they have been discharged. This also helps to grow customer loyalty. The patients are contacted a month after they are discharged. A formalised research model has been built, that gets feedback from the patients who have been discharged about three months back. “Many a time the results show how certain departments are doing better, and that helps us understand which department can deliver better services, so that negative reactions to the brand are taken care of,” justifies Mazumdar. When questioned about the ‘simplicity’ of the print ads (one of which has a doctor and a female patient, with minimum ad-words), Mazumdar defends, “It’s all about that emotional connect with the Indian consumer. We have kept it very simple because we want people to read it very easily, even as they are driving by.” Indeed, Fortis has managed to present the relationship between the doctors and the patients differently through understanding of the consumer psyche as Mazumdar states, “Our campaigns are run based on consumer insights. Many responses in the past have shown that while the doctors are good, they are found to be ‘cold’. Our visuals are about the trust that patients have in Fortis. ‘How do I communicate my support for my proposition’ is what has been kept in mind in the most recent campaign. And this is a clear differentiator as compared to most groups.”

Fortis is also exploiting media vehicles, which are not heard of much in the field of healthcare provision. “We have also run radio advertisements with very clear messages… We have taken three arrows on patient care and expressed it on radio. It is still running on radio. What we are fundamentally doing in our campaign is that we have been trying to use consumer insights in our efforts.” Talking more about above-the-line marketing efforts, the key media vehicles that Fortis is exploring is print and radio. But there is another first from Fortis, that many in even the medical community are oblivious to – that of online marketing. “I have parked aside a good sum of money for my online social networking activities to capture younger audience who are more tech-savvy. We just started using Facebook. We have actually designed an application that monitors all your healthcare symptoms. So you can update your status anytime. The other one is on Twitter where we have created blogs, which lead the users onto our websites…” The basic idea is therefore clear – engage all possible communities. But don’t greater marketing acts call for higher charges to be levied on the consumer front? “Not at all. The fact is that when we advertise, we do not charge higher fees to make up, we simply make up on the scale,” affirms Mazumdar. While speaking about how Fortis has continuously leveraged the Escorts brand, he confirms, “Escorts is a very powerful brand. In fact, when we took it over, it was a much bigger brand than Fortis, and we didn’t want to do away with the brand. It gave us scale, respect and notice in one shot! So we aligned it with the Fortis network that gave us the needed brand building synergy…”

Fortis is currently not on television. The rationale as Mazumdar gives is, “It’s only now we are getting on a national reach. Without such scale, the cost-to-return basis doesn’t make sense.” Fortis has also started something new, whereby if there is a new kind of surgery, it is beamed across to many doctors and patient groups. ‘Friends of Fortis’ is another campaign wherein the patients get to meet the doctors, and thereby the patients become Fortis’ brand ambassadors through word-of-mouth marketing.

From the first hospitals in Punjab to the first one in the NCR region at Noida to the acquisition of La Femme (an all feminine niche clinical arm) and Escorts, the Fortis network brand is one force to reckon with; and for now, Mazumdar does not hesitate in voicing out his disbelief in the oxymoron called Medical Marketing!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
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For white goods makers, a ‘happy’ lot of dealers implies a ‘happy’ festive season.

Savreen Gadhoke & Surbhi Chawla explain why today, dealers are the new kings...

Consumer is king – that statement sounded clichéd for sometime; today it stands challenged! It’s the era of the dealer, and pampering them is what the companies are doing best, especially in the face of the festive season… In May 2009, consumer electronics firm, Asus rewarded its top performing 30 dealers across the country by taking them for a week-long trip to Bangkok. Their stay was arranged in a top-quality five-star locale and a visit was also arranged to Asus’ service-centre in Bangkok. This year too, Asus has decided to take its high performing dealers to an all-paid foreign trip, though the destination has not been finalised yet. There is Samsung too, which offers its mobile handset dealers a trip to South Africa, Dubai, Bangkok, et al, if they purchase 30 units of a particular handset of one model. The offer comes down to a refrigerator for purchasing 20 units. The company also offers a Honda Jazz to big dealers if they purchase products worth Rs.32 lakh.

A Bhubaneshwar-based dealer of electronic appliances dealer also shares his experience of travelling to Europe for having successfully sold 200 LCDs of a company. This is just a snapshot of how big consumer electronics and durables giants are wooing their dealers to improve upon their sales, particularly during festive seasons. The stakes are really high this time around, as the previous year wasn’t really something to cheer about. The past two quarters (Q4, 2008-09 & Q1, 2009-10) have been disheartening in terms of sales. And with Dussehra & Diwali falling in two different months this year, consumer durables & electronics companies are quite excited about both months being high-growth and activity-laden. Shantanu Dasgupta, VP, Corporate Affairs & Strategy – Asia South, Whirlpool, confirms, “We are hoping to register a 35-40% growth over last year and are aiming for sales revenues of around Rs.600 crore during this festive season alone...”

The high optimism reflected by these white goods entities has a strong footing. According to the most recent Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey 2009, Indian consumers have a good perception about personal finances and job prospects, which reflects in their willingness to spend on discretionary items. The survey reveals that 39% of Indians think that it is a good time to make purchases. Encashing upon this opportunity, sellers are leaving no stone unturned to make sure their cash registers ring in this time; and to this end, a host of consumer schemes are being launched – like Sony’s ‘Zero Percent Finance Offer’, Haier’s ‘Bhagya Lakshmi Festival Promotion Offer,’ et al.

In order to achieve their revenue targets, it is imperative for companies to not only launch consumer discount schemes, but also trade schemes (dealer incentive programs). Also, with the 6th Pay Commission hiking salaries of those in the public sector by releasing Rs.16,000 crore, manufacturers and retailers are hoping to pocket at least 10-15% of that amount. But what is it that makes the dealers and modern retailers (like Reliance Digital, X-cite, Croma, et al) such an integral part of the entire value chain and how do companies keep them happy?

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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25 AND GETTING YOUNGER

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“Hero Honda posts its strongest-ever quarter in Q1’ 10” - Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

“Hero Honda reports leadership performance with 50% net profit in Q2’ 09” - Tuesday, October 21, 2008.

Ask the dapper Anil Dua, Sr. Vice President (Sales and Marketing), Hero Honda about Hero Honda’s slowdown-defying growth of late and pat comes the reply: “This growth has been possible primarily due to a smart strategy – which we internally call – the “multi-focal” approach. The strategy is built on four ‘building blocks’ – keep refreshing the product range constantly; build brands and invest continuously in them; keep expanding the distribution network; and support the new launches with innovative 360 degrees communication and ground activation. And we plan to stay true to this strategy.”

In fact, just in the last few years – even as the nation was supposedly reeling under the slowdown wave, the bike company has notched up some definitive wins in the otherwise hiccuping Indian bike market, primary among them, a significant increase in market share to take their tally up to 59% in the segment. Amidst the jamboree of celebrations of Hero Honda entering into its silver jubilee year, the bike major has not only strengthened its financial position, but also its existing product portfolio by launching new bikes and smart branding initiatives. Facts themselves speak volumes – a growth of 12% in FY’09 (as against industry growth of 5%); 32.43% increase in net income (recorded at Rs.12.8 billion) and a 19.23% rise in net sales. Nearest competitor, Bajaj recorded a de-growth of 21% in the last fiscal.

They rolled out their first memorable campaign in 1985 for the inimitable CD100. “Fill it, Shut it, Forget it,” they said, and the whole nation chanted with them. Hero Honda and the brand it epitomises has come a long way since then. If creating a brand buzz is all about occupying every available mind space of the consumer, Hero Honda has certainly cracked the code. Right from Dhak Dhak Go to the communication that harped over its mileage power (where the boy drives all the way to wish his girlfriend ‘goodnight’), consumer insights have been the key for Hero Honda this last year. “The idea was born from the consumer insight that relationships get stronger when people get closer,” says Elvis Sequeira, VP & ECD, JWT Delhi, the agency that made the campaign. Money was also plowed into the brand. Just the new corporate brand tagline ‘Dhak Dhak Go’, flaunting eight celebrities in a music video, cost Hero Honda Rs.2.5 crore. The idea was to announce to the world that Hero Honda is now 25 years younger so that it appealed more to its target audience – the aspirational Indian youth.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
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Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!

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Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You

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THE MOMENTS BEFORE ‘EUREKA’

Archimedes may have coined the term in his bath, but for us it really took a lot of midnight oil & number crunching to say ‘Eureka’. Read the minutes...

Financial year 2009 was a trying period for most, starting from buyers to sellers, financiers to investors to companies and even brands. But as David F. D’Alessandro, author of Brand Warfare says, “A great brand stays that way in part because it has no tolerance for anything – or anyone – who threatens the reputation of the enterprise.” So what if it’s slowdown or a global meltdown? Brands, like relationships, ought to grow in times of crisis, right? Well, maybe!

Despite market conditions, most valuable brands are still thriving in the hearts and of course, in the minds of the consumers. Their irreverent tag-lines are still making it to the most-happenin’ crowd lingo; their witty storyboards are still compelling millions to either laugh-out-loud or leave them with glistening eyes and a heavy heart; and virtually every home is overstuffed with brands popping out of the walls, the kitchen and the washroom. But then, do you think it’s true for every brand? Well, don’t scratch your heads. The fourth 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 40,190 brands. However, after a great amount brain storming, colossal data crunching, and intensive primary research work in 3 phases over the past 6 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…

PHASE I started with preparing a holistic list of local, national and international brands (40,190) present in India, which is then scaled down to a master list of 1499 brands based on the growth, reach, demand and availability (in at least 4 metros and Bengaluru) further divided into 32 broad categories with 99 sub categories. 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, Bangaluru and Chennai with 3000 respondents. Based on the frequency of brands under the parameters, as found in the primary research, ICMR shortlisted top 200 brands across all categories.

PHASE II witnessed another survey carried with 6,300 respondents across 10 cities (Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai) in one-on-one interview format. In order to avoid any bias, the order of the brands was changed for each of the cities. Respondents were selected based on socioeconomic classification (education and occupation), gender and monthly income.

This survey intended to account for the Brand Equity of various brands by asking the respondents to rate them on the following parameters: 1. Brand Image & Perception (what brand stands for and promise); 2. Brand Performance (sales, profit, growth as perceived by consumers); 3. Brand Loyalty (inclination towards the brand); 4. Brand Awareness (or recall-a measure of the brand’s marketing communication); and 5. Brand Association (how far has the brand become synonymous with the product category). The respondents rated each of the brands on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the highest). The survey results are then compiled to draw the final list of 4Ps B&M India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands.

PHASE III saw ICMR conducting an opinion poll with 2500 respondents across 5 cities to vote for the brands under the various heads viz most promising brands, premium brands, best serviced brands et al. See pages 64 – 69 for details, but note that the ‘Top 5’ brands in these categories are not restricted to those placed among top 100.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
IIPM Best B School – EVENTS
IIPM conceptualized the grand final of Dare ‘10 — the most prestigious of international B-school student quizzes

Savreen Gadhoke puts the big question to the man himself... How?

Evergreen entrepreneur C. K. Ranganathan has gone down in golden letters in way too many management books because of the manner in which he beat heavyweight multinats to become India’s sachet king. Now he is looking to shed CavinKare’s regional positioning to reach out to a pan-Indian urban audience.

The year 1983 was a watershed of sorts for the underdog. On one hand there was Captain Kapil Dev who took the sensational catch to dismiss the dangerous Viv Richards, taking underdog India closer towards its historic World Cup win at Lord’s; and on the other, there was Nirma, a local FMCG player that had only just begun to make deft inroads into the detergent powder market, which till then was considered the sole bastion of the all-powerful multinational Hindustan Levers and their popular detergent Surf. The brainchild of Karsanbhai Patel, Nirma completely revolutionised the detergent powder segment with its ingenious pricing and swept the lower end of the market. The battle between Levers and Nirma continued for two decades, but around the turn of the millennium, eventually the deep-pocketed MNC won. As per the Centre for Industrial and Economic Research (CIER), by Y2K Levers had overtaken Nirma in brand awareness in rural households with 88% penetration as compared to Nirma’s 56% penetration. Nirma had clearly lost out to its muscled multinat rival.

Not every domestic FMCG player suffered the same fate as Nirma though. Around the same time as Nirma was taking the winds out of Surf’s sail, another domestic FMCG company was upping its ante. By 1985, through a reverse merger with Vidogum Limited, Dabur (once a small time pharma company) became a public limited company. Over the years, Dabur successfully entered the healthcare, personal care and foods businesses taking some of the sheen off its MNC counterparts. Unlike Nirma, the Burmans of Dabur turned over the company to professionals in 1998 and reached the magical turnover of Rs.1,000 crore by the turn of the century, leaving behind its small beginnings forever. In segments like shampoo and juices today, the Rs.112 billion Dabur Group continues to give sleepless nights to multinats like HUL and PepsiCo respectively.

This brings us to India’s third home-grown FMCG company, CavinKare. Interestingly, CavinKare too has an inextricable association with events that took place in 1983. At a time when HUL was busy fighting Nirma in the detergent market, little did the MNC know that in a lesser known town (Cuddalore) in Tamil Nadu, a young entrepreneur had taken it upon himself to transform the nation’s shampoo market. With Rs.15,000 in hand, C. K. Ranganathan, now famously called India’s sachet king, launched his Chik shampoo sachets in 1983. Ranganathan did not have deep pockets and so distributors were reluctant to stock Chik Shampoo. So he thought ingeniously, approached bicycle hirers and inspired them to become entrepreneurs. Initially, Ranganathan collected a demand draft of only Rs.2,000 from these bicycle guys in lieu of handing over bags full of Chik shampoo sachets to sell in rural Tamil Nadu. But in no time the demand draft’s grew to Rs.5,000 and then Rs.10,000. By 1992, Chik Shampoo had become the market leader in South India’s shampoo market. By the time FMCG multinats got wind of the sachet revolution in the hinterland’s, Ranganathan had already swept the market.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
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With over 90,000 members MHRIL is set for big move, but the road ahead is bumpy, says Neha Saraiya.

Nevertheless, you enjoy your holidays, that’s all they want...

“Yes, the land is under litigation. But we are staying crucial financially. As we think we have a very strong case in Munnar property and above all we are proud of our resort as it is the first resort that we had set up,” gushes an effervescent Ramesh Ramanathan, MD, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Ltd (MHRIL). (For those who don’t know much about the whole episode, on July 3, 2007 an order was passed by the Sub-Collector, District of Devikulam canceling the assignment of the Munnar land to the company stating “it as an agricultural land.”)

But then the days have changed, today MHRIL has a rock solid number of members, 91,997 (as on May 31, 2009), and the list is growing at a CAGR of 32%. What’s more interesting is that the same Munnar resort now contributes around 2.17% to the overall revenues of the company (FY ‘09).

However, what has done a wonder for this holidaying arm of the Anand Mahindra Group is its unique business model. The company has an integrated model, which takes care of all its operations – marketing, acquisition of land, servicing of clients, providing value added services, and resort operation et al – under one entity. Thus this mixed business model not only enables the company to tone down the cost of operations considerably, but also provides an edge when it comes to adoption of a change. Probably that’s the reason for which the recent downturn that left all major hospitality players in despair, could not dent MHRIL much.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Events at IIPM
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON