Saturday, September 29, 2007

Scores, Wickets & Endorsements -- Justified ???

Brand:    Reebok
Agency:  Reebok Footwear handled by McCann-Erickson (India) Ltd.
                  Reebok Sports accessories handled by J.W.T.




How does it feel when you find rivals like Australian Cricket Team with savage hitters like Symonds, Hayden, artificers like Hussey & Ponting & my favourite Adam Gilchrist all back to back lined up to take a toll of your day long planning, strategizing, field placing …U see runs on board, statistics of the bowlers bowling, the agonizing sight of fielders standing all in trepidation & grief & watching the ball soar heights & into the crowd ….

ho ho ho …
Now that might a pleasant for a neutral not for the fielding side. (Remember EA Sports Cricket 2007)

But then it has been very aptly said

“You never know … What You can become!!!”

BCCI has a five-year contract with Nike for the team uniform. Nike had won the sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in 2005 with a bid of Rs 199.66 crores, to be very precise (the way I love to be as well as long to be …) beating Reebok whose bid stood at Rs 119.48 crores and Adidas Rs 127.50 crores. But then who knew that there was a blessing in disguise for the loosing ones.

Nike v/s Reebok & Adidas combo has always been adversaries.

Remember Adidas acquiring Reebok being acquired by Adidas in August 2005, for $8 billion. The deal has overshadowed Nike’s acquisition of Converse. And now its team India or should I say Team Reebok …might sound exaggeration to some extent, but is not truly. It’s just that it’s so subtle that You as Nike never came to know when You started loosing your ground. Na na…relax guys & fellow mates … I know, many among us have a strong EVP (emotional value proposition), whether the product is a wrist band, deo-spray or shoes. But this time, call it fluke …fortune favouring the brave … or determination – the way Dhoni says – “Low expectations led to high determination” – Reebok has given Nike a run for its money without even defying its domain. Sreesanth and Sehwag being an exception, all the members of the India’s Twenty20 World Cup winning squad endorse the RBK brand in some form.

Remember Gautam Gambhir with the vector logo on his bat.



What looked like lost opportunity – key cricket stars going to other brands leaving Reebok with lesser known cricketers to choose from – five years ago, became a blessing in disguise on Monday with India’s last-over win over arch-rival Pakistan at Wanderers. For example the blustery & bazooka blade Dhoni was picked up by Reebok only for 20 lakhs four years ago. Today he is known to charge a crore annually.



Reebok had to settle for the likes of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, R P Singh and other newcomers, when the rivals were wooing big daddies of Indian cricket with unheard & obscene amount. Sachin Tendulkar has been endorsing Adidas since 1997 and Nike, which got apparel sponsorship of Indian cricket team, paid large sums to Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan. Juxtaposing to this Reebok has an arsenal of brand ambassadors comprising of Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and Dinesh Karthik. These names might sound insignificant but then they are the ones who brought home the “T20 World Cup – The youngest child of the Game.”

But then don’t you think that cricket is perhaps the paltriest, obsolete & secure way of betting your money when it comes to marketing & communication strategy. I believe it’s like hitting a sitting duck. People from ad industry have commented in the past saying there is a difference between using cricket & using cricket effectively for advertising.

I am waiting guys….what do you say …kyaa ….zara zor se !!



(I dedicate this writing to all cricket lovers out there…. & obviously that encompasses all those who had been a part of that uproar, shouts & swears on the semi-final India v/s Australia & of course the Grand Finale & how can I forget the bowl-out, The India v/s Pakistan head-on. There always had to be smth to commemorate the win…. & I think this is gonna be a good fusion talk – hence went for it... Mrutyunjay)


Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Chips & Tale !!!

Brand: Lay's (Packaged snack)
Agency: J. W.T.




An unlikely weapon of global domination in an arena of super-brands (irrespective of the category of course)!!!

The product features are a hundredth of an inch thickness, light golden colour with a perfect “saddle curl”, salty to palate with a hint of chilly. Lay’s potato chips have proved it time & again. The Chinese might have their “nyen gao ping” - made from rice flour, and the Indians have their lentil (and other legume) namkeens, but Frito-Lay believes they would rather be eating potato chips. The company's research has shown that when given a choice between their local snack and a Frito-Lay chip, consumers in most countries will choose the chip.

Forget the company research, & also forget Lay’s, consider our consumption pattern on campus. There are many who find a differentiation in colour by saying “I want a green & a yellow Lay’s” or may be “a banana chips” as the other option. Putting all such findings & more into practice, Frito-Lay has expanded on all five continents by buying up local snack makers or defeating them with its marketing expertise.

Frito-Lay whetted strategy for moving into new countries where a local snack industry is already established. Rather than face the costs of building a new business in an unfamiliar market, the company identifies the leading local snack manufacturer and offers to buy it out. If the local manufacturer refuses to sell, Frito-Lay moves into the market on its own, using its size and marketing experience to cut into the local manufacturer's sales. Often, at that point, the local company gives in and sells, sometimes for a lower price than the original offer.



For instance Frito-Lay, after buying Walkers, a dominant chip in Britain, the Texas company evangelized the Walkers logo into the red "banner sun" design, as a first step toward changing the brand to Frito-Lay outright. Similar strategies have been implemented for Sabritas in Mexico and Simba in South Africa. The strategy heads at Frito-Lay say that people know what they like & they just want people to recall it as Lay’s – now onwards.

Now that’s assertion -- & why should it not be? -- After all it has been widely acclaimed that potato chips have always been very common at almost all possible geographical area where it made its presence. R& D dept. of Frito-Lay had something similar to say when they claimed that it has never been that “Lay’s potato chips have been unsuccessful. It's been successful every single place we've introduced it."

Sometimes Frito-Lay's products are so unfamiliar (not because of as a new entrant in a new market altogether but catering to a pre-existing snack market & bringing clarity to tap consumer) that the advertising campaigns focus on educating consumers in the hope of changing their "consumption habits." In China, Frito-Lay ads show potatoes actually being sliced, so people know where the chips come from. In Turkey, the company distributed pamphlets suggesting new recipes and eating habits: "Try a tuna sandwich for lunch, and join it with a bag of chips."

Its interesting to notice that flavours signed in within the last 15 -20 years but what existed before that & still acquires almost 4 / 5th of the total palate share when it comes to potato chips is the conventional one.

Taste Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega -- Seriosuly seems as if “You can't eat just one....Lagi bet! --- What say???




(Inspired by this person on the fact of argument that why was it that “Ruffles Lays” which had well been accepted as a brand had to undergo a transition & be re-incarnated “Lay’s”???…

Honestly speaking ….even I haven’t hit upon as to what exactly happened….I solicit to all those who have been through my writings prior to this & will go through again this time to please help me out….Your responses is highly esteemed….Mrutyunjay !!!)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Mad Angled to Tikka Masala

Brand: Bingo
Agency: O&M




ITC hasn't had a very smooth maiden run in this market. Its first product “Bischips” was an odd combination of a baked biscuit and a chip and it didn't go down too well with the consumers. So after eight months of making little or no impact, ITC pulled the brand off shop shelves. ITC claims it's the positioning of Bischips that failed. Stocking flavoured potato wafer packs is no longer a wafer-thin business & ITC proves that very well. After taking a beating on the bourses and witnessing a decline in cigarette volumes by 2% in the first quarter due to a price rise brought about by increased taxes, ITC seems to be on the right track again. Consumers appear to have accepted the price rise and volumes are set to go up. This is critical as the tobacco business contributes 40% of ITC’s sales and 72% of its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).

Erstwhile market leader, Frito-Lay's share has dropped from 60% to 45% of the total pie of 2000 crore (20 billion), Bingo has started making an impact with its slow but continuous increase. Bingo flaunts of its 16% market share in less than 8 months & is confident of gearing up to 50% by the end of this year.

Now that’s being aggressive yet dauntless !!!

For nearly a decade, Frito-Lays India grew to be the undisputed champion of the branded part of the salty snack segment. Competition for majority of this period was principally from local brands or by companies whose commitment to the segment seemed suspect. Manu Anand, managing director, Frito-Lay India says, “Our successful model attracted people to this segment for quite some time. Kelloggs came in with Cheez-its and ITC with Bischips.”

While Bischips was a less than successful attempt at cracking the market, ITC’s second foray is a lot more focused, and has met with some pleasing initial results. Bingo was launched in March this year, and in a comparatively short span of time, has managed to create quite an impact — market leadership with a 53% to 54% share in Coimbatore, Chennai and Bangalore, if ITC is to be believed. With pricing at par with the national market leader, Bingo has kicked things off with a large portfolio: 16 different flavours — 10 in potato chips and six in finger snack. In reply Frito-Lays is ready to dawn with 8-10 new flavours, very soon.




Researchers have found that where ITC scores on its distribution channels, Pepsi works it out on “brand recall”. Frito-Lays "Lays" worked it out well with roping in Saif & bringing with the youth link with clear message.

ITC’s retail success has put Pepsi to redo its commercial terms with the Future Group which runs Big Bazaar. As competition picks up, consumers are going to spoil there palate for choice.

The TVCs were created by O&M, which was selected by ITC after the company called for a pitch in June last year. The only thing that I would like to comment on these ads is that they grabbed some attention for people do view non-sense (in true sense & literally)
Well the obvious answers were:

—Wilderness— I mean just have a look at those ads – never expected that from O&M. No connection at all –just look at wht it convey – Bingo. No confusion. Great combination. People said that they would not remember the product but to some extent the ad of course – only because that it was --- Horrrrrrrrrible !!!

The company's target audience is people in the age group of 20-35, the company began with Internet. It created a website www.bingeonbingo.com, which has free offers, games, downloads and even mobile games. The site has been advertised with banners on websites such as Yahoo, rediff and Sify.

Digital Marketing getting its bit of exploitation !!!

But do all its TVCs convey as per the target audience is defined – or should I ask that “Does it convey anything at all?”

Whatever the case may be – One thing is for sure -- ITC have given strategic diversification a new definition altogether. I would rather call it Morphology.

What do you say? – Do Opine !!!





(I read a lot & tried a make a decent presentation with that write up. But somehow or the other I feel I could have arranged things much better…I do feel the urge to bring in all facets & manifestations together …but then I feel like may be it would get monotonous & people might loose interest…do tell me what You feel like ….Mrutyunjay !!!)










Monday, August 27, 2007

Angle of Elevation tilted on an AXIS




Country's third largest private lender, a thirteen year old financial services brand, boasting of a customer base of 6.5 million and a new acquisition pace of 2 lakhs every month – still they say “What’s in a name”(“Whatsinaname.in”).

Incidentally AC Nielsen had recently tabulated country’s “Most Valued Brands”, where in a bouquet of brands from all sectors UTI made it to rank 41. This shows that it has found some attention. The recent re-branding has brought about a lot of discussion among my friends & many others. Especially the TVC; has caught eye-balls almost everywhere.

I remember talking to Arka this morning. In verbatim he said, “Kolkatta mein, agarr tere paas UTI ka debit card hai, toh samajh le tere paas paise hain….Har 5 minute …10 minute ke baad you will find an UTI ATM. They provide the best banking service solution”. Well obviously the best which he said was a kind of vox populi.

I traveled the western line by Mumbai local, during my summer internship everyday. I had stepped down on almost every station on the western line & always used to find an UTI ATM on the eastern or western side. Accessibility is what, I think that have capitalized on. The corporate lingua franca speaks of an ambitious plan to diversify into non banking financial sector. The bank, with a customer base of six million, is planning inorganic growth for its ventures dealing with new areas. It is also overhauling its corporate banking with the involvement of McKinsey.

“We had to change our name to have our own brand and identity. We had to give up the UTI name after using it for 13 years as we were not prepared to accept terms and conditions (including royalty) from UTI AMC to use the name,” explained PJ Nayak, chairman & CEO, Axis Bank, adding that the new name was chosen considering the bank’s pan-Indian as well as international presence. The reason for changing the name UTI to AXIS, what I found was rather an attempt to shed the “public sector connotation”.

The need arose with the fact that the board felt the existence of several shareholder-unrelated entities using the UTI brand, and the consequent brand confusion that the UTI brand generates. Brand UTI is wholly owned by UTI Asset Management Company, which is owned by shareholders who have nothing to do with UTI Bank’s shareholder, SUTI. UTI Bank was authorised to use the UTI name for five years, a covenant that expired in January. In 2002, UTI was split into two — the MF and the special purpose vehicle. A decision was taken then that, the brand name will go to the mutual fund. The shareholding in the bank is with the special purpose vehicle. Other entities will be allowed to use the name till January 2008. Today because of synergies, the brand was as much associated with the bank as it was associated with the mutual fund. Most people think about the bank, when they think of the brand. UTI Bank was always a private sector bank. The RBI has certified it with a private license & out of 11 directors on the board, seven are independent directors. There was always confusion among many of us that UTI Bank meant Unit Trust of India, which gave a perception of the bank's brand name belonged to the government. This confusion will speak no more, as expected after the re-branding.

(Will be coming up with the rebranding strategy of UTI Bank to AXIS in the next post so that the bigger picture comes out after the reasons stated here. This post took me quite a long time -- may be because Banking & Financial Sector is not in my interest but what was exiciting was to find the reasons as why after all this happened --- was there a latent need -- or was it just another marketing & communication gimmick, hope you will find the substance stated worth the effort & attempt behind it...

Mrutyunjay)

Friday, August 3, 2007

“Bhaiya …Ek Bisleri Dena”

A brand name getting generic is perhaps “the” pinnacle, it can ever achieve. When it comes to recall value, it’s a kind of home runs scored if people recall your brand’s name for that product. The commonest of examples is “Xerox”. It’s very unusual for a layman using the word photocopy. It is like getting communicated not by getting or grabbing attention rather by being so non-specific that people obviously opt for it or rather see it in other brands too. Getting copied is also adding value to your credential. You are the buzz hence you are being copied.

There have been attempts in the past to achieve this coveted wish by many brands. Some made it big, some came close. When it comes to scooter, what I can recall right at this moment is “Bajaj”. No doubt “Pulsar” being their brainchild, which also has made a mark of its won by acquiring the largest market share in 150 cc two-wheeler segment. But “Bajaj” will always carry the tag of being referred to as a scooter. I wont say that it became completely generic, at par with the word “scooter”, but to a large extent of course.

Internet search engines have eased of the work of research agencies, advertising agencies (to some extent…hope I am not wrong) & at last for students like who do some intensive search on “Google” to get content on the 4th or 6th page that can be easily copied & your assignment is done. (Not to hurt the sentiments of those who make it a point to go through the content & form their own view point as far as assignments are concerned.) But the search ought to be on “Google”. There have been other popular search engines like Yahoo, Wikipedia, Answers, Ask, Find Articles & the list continues. But the largest share of recall value goes for “Google:”



Drinking water or mineral water has a market of its own in India. The organized market has “Bisleri” on top, which has a market share of close to 63%. While the total market (organized + unorganized),it has been found that there are more than 200 brands that exist & 80% being local player.
Still “Bisleri” – matlab mineral water.

So guys put on your thinking cap & think of brands you think have made or will definitely make such a mark, will achieve the zenith of branding ever. And of course what all could be the possible reasons other than “first mover advantage”. Because as a first mover you do not always end up being “generic”.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

“Pehle aankhen band karo,”

Brand: Airtel
Agency: Rediffusion | DYR.


The latest ad from this super-brand is an explicit expression of how Indians are hit, the most by emotions. No doubt that what sells here is sleaze or SRK, but Indian ads provide all food for emotion. And that is exactly what Airtel has been doing in its ads. The one prior to this where a young lad returns to his grand parents & uses his mobile phone (rather Airtel network), to bring about an interaction between his parents & grand parents, who haven’t met for long. Tears roll down the old one’s eyes. I mean, if not people of my age but still the old ones at place, at home, in a family – they can hear the chords being struck.

The recent one is of course…sheer emotions. Child returning from school – it starts raining – the child enjoys the rain – calls his father & ask him to close his eyes & makes him hear the water droplets falling outside. Bingo – you tend to get back to your school days. Remember what all dim-witted things you did while you were in school.

The prior ads to these other than the one mentioned earlier here were more in to mass appeal. The SRKs & Tendulkars’ type, which, were rather more into tapping the upstream, & A3 segment. The recent ads are more in to relations. It is more like putting relations at par with the network.

“Kuch bandhan atoot hote hain, jaise Airtel ka network.”



Juxtaposing this one with the “You & I – in this beautiful world” of Hutch seems as if both the ads are of same genre. Both tend speak of their web extent. Where as in comparison to BSNL Cellone has roped in Perky Priety as their brand ambassador, and is looking for some desperate attempt to hold on to their present position.

But the “baap” all, as far ads are concerned is the latest from the “Idea” front. The monkey picking up the cell-phone….too good an ad. A concept not virgin but cleverly worked out.

Now its your turn – take a close look at all the four ads & check which seems to convey the message to a certain extent of satisfation.



Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Petrosexuality @ 160 / 58k

Apache RTR 160
Agency: McCann-Erickson


Packed with 15.2 BHP and first time features, Apache RTR 160 (Racing Throttle Response), speaks pure aggression. TVS Apache RTR (Racing Throttle Response) is packed with 160cc over-square engine which oozes out 15.2bhp in order to reach the top speed of 118kph; is available at Rs.58,584 (ex-showroom, Delhi). What has put the prior success of Apache (150) on note is its mileage – “the” thing which almost every typically Indian looks whatsoever the cc might be…Phew !!



Well the ad is all about style, attitude with the a little bit of “oomph” factor, not from the lass of course, but from Apache itself. Apache has found its bit of share, rather bite of share by coming next to the pulsating sales of Pulsar DTS-I in the 150cc &150cc(+) segment. I remember the first where some street-smart dudes cast a spell on a girl who is on a so-called date with her man, while the guy seemed to be at a business meeting. The guys grab the girls’ attention by performing stunts.

Bajaj Pulsar was launched at a time when Hero Honda was at its peek, with all Splendors & Ambitions doing wonders. But the show stealer played its part. Pulsar slowly waded its way all through the way every-time. Whether it was the strategy to launch Ambition, Ambition 135, and Achiever in a close range to get a pie of the biker’s pick or whether it was launching HONDA Unicorn, an assumed substitute to CBZ (which was unfortunately not doing well). The strategy was to build on mileage but to no avail.

The recent ad speaks about practical classes….I mean practical classes on road. Just precisely exact to grab attention of wannabes. The ad made me recall some parts of “Five Point Something”. Wish such a thing took place there too. It speaks about confidence not of a playboy of course, but of a cool dude. What is it that drives these creative guys to make ads for all 150+ cc bikes almost of the same taste? (The latest Pulsar being just a bit different, just because there were no ladies shouting “it’s a male”.) What makes the Pulsar 220 ad class apart is more of the animation & the music. Rest all ads as far as I can recall were of the same genre. The CBZ Xtreme –being a more of over rated exaggeration of animated stunts. And of course the dialogue “Thinking is such a waste of time”…seems as if this reincarnated machine is gonna face the same consequence as that of its predecessor.









Thursday, June 14, 2007

Answers to the THE F1 BLUE BOOK -- TAKE A PEEK !!!


So here are the answers for the THE F1 BLUE BOOK -- TAKE A PEEK !!!. Check out for all those hits & misses you got ....Vroooom!!!!!



Ans 1: Nick Heidfeld (presently BMW Sauber)

Ans 2: Fernando Alonso (presently VODAFONE Mc Laren Mercedes)

Ans 3: Juan Pablo Montoya (presently in NASCAR)

Ans 4: Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve

Ans 5: Melbourne

Ans 6: Sepang Circuit, Malaysia

Ans 7: Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya

Ans 8: Monaco, Circuit de Monaco
Do tell me your score!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

THE F1 BLUE BOOK -- TAKE A PEEK !!!

With 4 days left for the US GP (Indianapolis) there has been ups & downs, controversies & caveats from all possible places in an F1 cicuit. Will Hamilton continue with his form; will Alonso make a comeback; can Nick Heidfield put upa a better fight this time. And what about Massa & Raikkonen, can they bring Ferrari back to track. Undoubtedly, the US GP promises to bring nail-biting action & some more surprises.

In the mean time, I bring some serious quizzing actions & some brain racking. Some hitz & some misses. The following 8 questions will give you an idea of where your stands as far as F1 is concerned.

Good Luck !!!!



NOTE: The quiz moves as the question follows a picture. Try & see how many bullzye do you hit !...

Q. Well if the talk of the F1 tinsel- ville is Lewis Hamilton, who recently won the Canadian GP, then this person above, is left no behind. In 2001 Sauber gave him his maiden chance as a rookie along with Kimi Raikkonen. He was the only flawless driver in 2007 Monaco GP, next to Hamilton. Oops!... I think, I almost uttered the answer.


Q. The easiest one. No hints, no clues. The close-up, the helmet & the impression, c’mon guys. Nail it.

Q. The diver in the picture above a crossover race winner, who has victories in Formula One cars, Champcars, IndyCars, Grand-Am Prototype cars and NASCAR stock cars. He was also famous for being a hot head in F1 during his time (2001-06). His exit from McLaren brought in Alonso.
Q. The surname of this F1 driver above coincides to one of the famous racetracks of F1, which appears every year in F1 calendar. The driver has a “Jr.” next to his name as his father also carries the same name. His father also was an F1 driver with only 2 active years between 1981-83. His father began & ended his F1 career on the same track itself. It was the same track about which the question mentions earlier.

Q. This place or rather the track stands as a similarity between Alonso & Karthikeyan. The similarity, if stated would rather push you very close to the answer. Try to hit a “HOME RUN”.
Q. This year in his second race for McLaren, Fernando secured the team's first win since 2005 with a commanding drive at this circuit. Now that must be an easy task. Fernando got into McLaren recently.

Q. Giancarlo Fisichella holds the record of fastest lap on this track of 1 ’15.641 (1 min 15.641 secs). This place also happens to be the home track of a world champion. Which place or track is this?
Q. The place mentioned above is one of the coveted wishes of any F1 driver. Considered to be the most difficult among all F1 racetracks, this circuit is more often called a street or even a lane. What makes it difficult is that it is so narrow that there are only some countable points where one can think of overtaking. Which place is this?











Monday, June 11, 2007

RISE OF THE "BLACK PEARL"

Lewis Hamilton, 22, the first black driver in Formula One history, added his first F1 victory to an already remarkable career start by winning the crash-filled Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on Sunday. Hamilton started from the pole, also for the first time. Apart from losing the lead for three laps when he made his first of two pit stops, he led all the way and was never challenged. The youngster has six consecutive top-three finishes in six starts, something no other first-year F1 driver has accomplished. The only one to give the Mercedes McLaren driver any competition during the 70-lap race on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's 2.71-mile road course was BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. He chased Hamilton all day without catching him. The only thing that kept the race close at all was accidents — four full-course caution flags that wiped out the leads Hamilton built with seeming ease. He kept winning the restarts though and beat Heidfeld to the finish by 4.3 seconds. It was a stunningly calm performance from the Rookie driver as Championship rivals Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen all found some or the other impediment. The Canadian event was all messed up with accidents & penalties & the only 2 drivers who sustained the track were Hamilton (Mc Laren) & Nick Heidfield (BMW Sauber). With timings getting close for Hamilton, controversy were not far behind.

Villeneuve slammed Hamilton's aggressive starts in Britain's Autosport magazine this week. When will these chopping moves (cutting to the sides) stop?" Villeneuve told the magazine. "Lewis is not getting penalized for these things and his behavior off the start line has started to look like Michael used to." Films of the starts haven't shown any dangerous moves by the rookie, other than two weeks ago in Monaco, where everyone jostles for position because overtaking on the track is next to impossible. Hamilton surprised at the controversy said, “He has a right to his opinions," Hamilton said. "I respect that. But this is racing. If I was cutting across so there was a chance of taking them out, I would totally agree, but that's not been the case in any of the races.”
Besides this there are some anger, which the rookie had to keep buried in him just after the Monaco event where Double world champion Fernando Alonso won the showcase race ahead of the Briton after Ron Dennis (Mc Laren Team’s Boss) told them effectively not to race each other after the first pitstop to safeguard a one-two finish. The question was Hamilton & why not Alonso? The reason later stated to Hamilton was that he was the No. 2 driver for the team. Not only this. Mclaren got into difficult waters after FIA set a probe as to what exactly happened that the rookie made way for the reigning champ to get away with Monaco (perhaps the most coveted track any F1 driver would dream of winning some day). There was a similar case earlier when Rubens Barichello (then standing for Team Ferrari, now starring for HONDA) had to make way for Schumacher. That decision had triggered questions about so-called 'team orders', banned by the governing FIA after the infamous Austrian Grand Prix of 2002 when Ferrari ordered Brazilian Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher win.

Dennis said his conscience was clear. "We don't have team orders, we had a strategy to win this race," he said. "I make no excuses for instructing the racing drivers to slow their pace after the first stop and to effect our strategy. On the contrary, Hamilton had qualified with a far heavier fuel load than Alonso -- a tactical move that would have won him (Alonso) the race had the safety car come out and given an advantage to those able to make only one stop. In the end, the safety car stayed in. Despite celebrating his fifth podium in five races, the Briton fuelled the flames by saying he had number two on his car and was the team's number two driver. Dennis denied Alonso was favoured and said McLaren had only ever manipulated a race in exceptional circumstances. But just before acquiring pole for the Canadian Grand prix, he made it clear that he was no Rubens & the next time such an order comes his way, he will no more be a part of McLaren.
Alonso now leads the standings on race wins, level with Hamilton on 38 points. Despite celebrating his fifth podium in five races, the 22-year-old Briton fuelled the flames by saying he had number two on his car and was the team's number two driver.
It would be interesting to see how does the Spaniard (Alonso) reverts to all these in due time. He has proved his mettle but no doubt is facing perhaps the toughest guy on he track as on today.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007


Undoubtedly, he is spell-bounding! He means, when he says “Kuch Khaas Nahin…Bas Duniya Ko Nacha Raha Hoon….” The ad has stood at the pole position for the past few weeks; followed by Chevy’s Aveo U-Va (Saif Ali Khan takes Rani Mukherjee on a ride in his new Aveo U-Va. “How about some Coffee”…). And for Sony Ericcson, it’s none other than the perfectionist “HRITHIK”. The ad is nothing different or unusual. It doesn’t even have some long & striking dance steps. But again it’s none other than Hrithik who walks away with an equal share of the accolades as that of the brand ‘SONY’. Motorola & Sony Ericcson have always positioned their phones as a walkman or MP3 player or as an i-Pod phone that puts everyone on a rhythm instinctively.



The ad practically has nothing to say about the phone which except something towards the end, “...the Sony W200i with Bass Reflex Headphones…” This again shows that they still want music to be as their positioning cue than speaking of camera or some other technical attribute. My prior entry was regarding the Pepsi Gold ad, which never had any celebrity being featured, as of till now. Still the ad has soared very well & ranks 3rd this week in the chart. So is it that celebrity endorsements or tagging a celeb to a product (brand) makes it’s a more affable besides carrying the ‘TOM’ (Top of Mind) at the pole.

There have been ads in the past which never caught the ‘TOM’, so very well until they were tagged with some well known personality. Right now, I can remember ‘Victor GL’ which didn’t work when it was launched, until the brand chose Sachin Tendulkar as ambassador. Same was the case with 'Fiat Palio', Sachin again was the person concerned here too. It’s a tried & tested process in India, that celebrity endorsement will impact the sales figure of a certain commodity – indubitably leverage its brand value.


But then if that is the case, then is it that we are at a contradiction to what a brand value is as per marketing management is concerned. It’s very obvious that even I, or say SONY, itself (keeping in mind not to tarnish SONY’s brand image & placing the text just as an assumption) may actually launch a very good-looking mobile phone model tomorrow & may be again Hrithik will promote it on air, on screen, but the product bombs. No doubt, it will have some appreciable sales till then. So what next??? You find troubles in coming days. The battery doesn’t withstand long durations & gets discharged. The cell-phone falls down & it’s done. No looking back to it. The service centres or the spare-parts may not be readily available. You throw your cell-phone, promote bad ‘WOM’ (word of mouth) and discuss it intensively in your peer group – what else can be done….

Hrithik, any day is my favourite & will always be. I love dancing & music is something, I can’t live without. But is that something which drives me to buy a cell-phone. I might sound illogical, because today a mobile phone is deemed to have more than what a phone has to offer. People want to carry their office with them & thus brands like “i-mate”, “hp’s iPaq Pocket PC”, “Black Berry” etc. but then why not include the W200i in SONY’s sound system category & promote it as something that allows you to talk to your friends too, just as your neighbour’s phone does phone does. Let the music system be the USP itself. I am not at all negating to what the ad has to deliver. But it seems as if all these products are in a form competition with Apple’s i-Pod, distinctively or indistinctively.

Let’s see ……how far does “the thump” sets the world free!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Pepsi Gold - Positioning...Sarcasm or Ambition ???

The launch of the new Pepsi taste, ‘Pepsi Gold’ along with its new slogan - ‘World Cup Ko-La’ had the perfect timing, but sigh…we could not get it. So they proposed a new angle to it by getting hold of energetic youngsters who are more enthusiastic about winning the next cup rather than crying over spilt milk. May be I was emotional; there are others too in my friend circle & beyond that who will share the same thought process. But then thinking from sales & promotion point of view, well its important that your product sells, but at the cost of the sport loving population’s emotion…hmm sounds sarcastic.


Pepsi Gold
, the specially created cola campaign for World Cup, is now on to salvage operation to maintain continuity in its campaign & preserve the original theme. The new communication features a bunch of kids asking a tailor to stitch oversized team uniform and ask for delivery after four years. At first, I felt as if it was a mockery to the team, to the image of the sport in India.


“Chaar saal baad, Agla World Cup hum laayenge” is the dogma these teenagers fling back at the startled tailor. “Pepsi is about youth and optimism and people should learn to take defeat in their strides. It’s about regrouping to move ahead, not retreating to your shell. In the ad, teenagers have been shown with optimism and moving ahead,” –a Pepsi spokesman, said. First, India loose to minnow Bangladesh, & then the official world cup cola drink, Pepsi Gold comes up with something else than what it had begun with as a world cup campaign. It seems, at times as if they are trying to be bigger than the game.

Or should I say that Indian marketers see a phoenix-like rise for the country’s beleaguered cricket team, after its embarrassing exit from the ICC World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean’s, may be in the 20-20-world cup. Presenting, the remarkable Indian spirit --spirit of the game or spirit of the marketers who want sales at the end of the day by any means. So what next …… from the ad creators?????…A background score of “Hum Honge Kamiyab..Hum Honge Kamiyab”…for a cola ad. How would that sound ???…
Waiting for critics & analysts pen down their views...well I hope nuanse, Mo-Jo Jo-Jo & our vaastav guys are listening. Oooops ....I forgot the delectable desposition, ....waiting for U too to comment.





Monday, April 2, 2007


French Connection (British fashion house)
Founded: in London by Stephen Marks, 1969.
Company History:
Introduced French Connection label, 1972
Launched menswear collection, 1976
Hired Nicole Farhi as designer, from 1978
Introduced Nicole Farhi label, 1983
Launched “fcuk” marketing campaign in Britain, 1997
Debuted "fcuk" campaign in U.S., 1999
Expanded into lifestyle products through licensing, late 1990s and early 2000s
Created first television/cinema advertising, 2000
Acquired mail order company, Toast, 2000
Opened San Francisco-based U.S. flagship, its 50th U.S. store, 2001
Purchased all of its U.S. operations, 2001
Company Address: 60 Great Portland Street, London W1N 5AJ, England
Company Website: www.fcukinkybugger.com




In the year 1969, Stephen Marks came up with a range of tailored up-market womenswear in traditional materials marketed under his own name. That was for the first time that French Connection came into being. Marks recognized the need for a less expensive but carefully conceived womenswear collection for a broader market. Marks introduced the French Connection label in 1972 and four years later showed its first menswear collection. The firm was one of the first British companies to address the market for well-designed, accessible men's casual-wear, and soon expanded into both formal and informal clothes for men, women, and children.

"fcuk" was one of the first British companies to have addressed the market for well designed, men’s casual wear, & very soon expanded into both formal & informal categories. It also catered to the children section in the age group of 6-16 as a scaled down version of the brand, French Connection for menswear & womenswear. The lion's share of revenue, however, remained the menswear division, which grew exponentially since its origination.

French Connection design studios were based at the company's headquarters at Bow, East London, and led by Nicole Farhi, who trained in Paris and worked for many major French and Italian companies before joining the firm in 1978. French Connection's design philosophy, in its own words, was to "always give its product that extra fashion content and value," for clothes "remarkable for their comfort and reliability, their continuing anticipation of fashion trends in fabrics, shape, lengths, and styles and their attention to detail."

After nearly failing in the late 1980s, French Connection once again was one of the hottest and fastest growing brands in Britain during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Thanks to its controversial and suggestive marketing campaign, and subsequent re-branding under the "fcuk" logo. Thought the letters did represent the firm's initials (French Connection UK), it was controversial due to its use by porn purveyors on the Internet to get around censors.

It was in April 1997 that "fcuk" started branding its clothes. Though an acronym to French Connection United Kingdom, its closeness to one of the vilest slang words ever used –"fcuk" has always served its purpose. Purpose of grabbing attention, making a distinct recall value in customer’s mind over others. The negative hype "fcuk" got due to associations like AFA-American Family Association rather added to its popularity.
This association pressed onto the idea that this brand was into promoting unethical & offensive cult. The fragrance section of "fcuk" contains some names like “fcuk Her” -- for men & “fcuk Him” – for women. Besides these there were campaigns in a certain party at New York, which had its doors knobs with cards, which read “fcuk in progress”. A holiday promotion was also called for the fragrances, for stores to issue "License to fcuk" cards, which included a code to enter at “scenttobed.com” – (a promotional website by "fcuk") for a chance on a trip for six to Club Med and a list of "best pick-up lines." A $10 million marketing campaign built on the theme "Scent to bed” was to push the fragrances toward teens. They advertised the product in teen-oriented magazines. The promotional slogan read, “scent to bed”, which was again close to sent to bed. The posters showed a teen couple cuddling each other in bed under a bed sheet as their only sheath.

The US Opearation sof “fcuk” were never upto the mark & so by late 1990s early 2000s, the firm purchased the remainder of its U.S. business (it had previously owned half , the San Francisco operations patterned with London operations). In February 2001”fcuk” prepared itself for a major expansion effort. In 2001, fcuk began its first non-print advertising campaign, with its controversial positioning maintained, but in a slightly more subliminal way. 21 June 2001-- the ads showed a couple kissing and whispering to each other with words beginning in "f, c, u" and "k." The woman's head then moves down the man's chest until it is invisible under the frame of the screen, and the man says, "FC you kinky bugger". The ad ends with a fcuk-logoed condom. The ad ran in cinemas in the UK because it was rejected for television; in the U.S., it ran on cable networks such as MTV.

The ads, as well as the company's website, attracted the notice of the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, resulting in some censorship, but more than enough publicity to make up for it. The campaign was so successful French Connection decided to re-brand itself under the"fcuk" name, creating packaging, hangtags, and store designs reflecting the logo and minimizing the French Connection name. As of 2001, the company had 60 stores in the England as well as 2,000 other outlets in the UK; its Oxford Street store in London boasted a banner with the words "the world's biggest fcuk".








Sunday, April 1, 2007

The man behind the brand "Honda" & now "Motorola".


He shocked the European Marketing community when he announced that he is leaving Honda & that his new role in Motorola is a real change in pace. He gets up at 4.30 a.m. in the morning & that is where all similarities come to an end between him & a business magazine journalist/interviewer. Energetic is the beginning if it comes to describe Thompson. The marketing man feted for bringing Japanese car-maker Honda into spot-light is a quick talking & sharp thinking system. In his 11 years of existence with Honda he was nominated as marketer of the year a several times. The last figures that can be recalled by the time he was about to leave Honda is that the quarterly report said earnings were up by 133% to 219.5 billion Yen.

First, Fast & Fantastic
The mobile phone market is fast, fashionable but above all fickle. And I think that all of us do agree t this point. There have been instances when we have seen groaning at ourselves, at the fact that “wish I would have a waited for some more days, I would have always had a better model than the one I have now….”.
Truly stated. Simon Thompson explains that pulling emotional strings is the way to keep customers loyal. What do you say? ….


Name: Simon Thompson
Age: 39
Education: Computer Science Degree, Leicester University
Career: 1992—Area Sales Manager, Unipart International
1992—positions in Glasgow, Tokyo, Los Angeles, working on pan-European programmes & eventually marketing director for Honda (UK);
2006—European Marketing Director, Motorola.

Well the things mentioned here are extracts of an interview of Simon Thompson, taken by Morag Cuddeford Jones.

…customer relationship with mobile brands is all about telephony technology…

Simon Thompson said that Motorola is close to defining the first emotional brand in the mobile phone category. Without handsets operators can do nothing & vice-versa. Most of the brands in the market today have been technology inside-out company. People don’t get excited about the airtime rather they are excited about the product. People say it’s all about experience. It should be a combination of beauty with brains that would no doubt bring the customers close to the brand.

“To be associated with fashion brands is something which is very natural for us. If you take another brand that’s is not inherently fashionable then it doesn’t seem to be a natural fit & I don’t believe that it works as well.” –Simon Thompson. But one should always take care of. The fashion brand attachment can be overdone. The last agreement of Motorola that I can recall of is the one with Dolce & Gabbana, which is a long-term deal rather. No doubt that others will soon be following the strategy soon. But it’s always a risk in such cases. For example the UK market perceives it to be very flashy or ornamented rather but again in Spain, Dubai, South Africa & Italy, it is considered fashionable & is very much accepted.

We studied globalization & cultural identity & I have also done a presentation on it. So while analysing this article, I tend to recollect some of those points that had been discussed in prior classes.
This question from MC Jones to Thompson reflects cultural diversity in geographical distribution & that marketing strategies have to be always vital in case of geographical segmentation. The question:

MCJ: “You are a part of an American company, operating in Europe. The latter is arguably more mature territory in terms of mobile use. How does this impact the brand?”

ST: “As an organisation Motorola understands that Europe is where it happens in terms of the design and & technology. I would say that Motorola is mature enough to understand that markets are different at different places. For example if it’s about winning the Asian market then it’s all about distribution. There are some American cultural references that aren’t applicable in all market. The MOTO PEBL ad warning against submerging in water [the ad showing that the phone used as a stone to skim across oceans] may be changed soon in the European market, but believe me it was a good job that we included it in North America. We are in the middle of having a discussion about how culturally relevant we are.”

Thompson has something to confide to all young marketers out there. He says that marketers do not have to be on board. He says that he has worked at al level of organisation & if one has really compelling reason to get something done & one can engage people for that, he is bound to get what he wants sooner or later.

Speaking on the Motorola Cult
I used to work for a more philosophical, steady paced, long-term business. Motorola’s mantra is first, fast & fantastic. The great thing is that anything can happen today. The flip side is that anything can stop today. If you could wrap the long term thinking of Honda into the fantastic execution of Motorola, you would have an awesome business. It’s great particularly here where you can make a mistake & it’s forgotten about in a couple of months, such is the pace of change in the mobile market. It encourages risk because the cot of binning a project is less. It helps keep you competitive.


Thursday, March 29, 2007


Brand: Bata
Agency: JWT

Currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, it operational business units are Bata Europe, Bata Asia Pacific-Africa, Bata Latin America and Bata North America. It has retail presence in over 50 countries, production facilities in 26 countries. To add to its reputation, it has already sold more than 14 billon pair of shoes till date! – Bata was the brainchild of Tomáš Baťa (pronounced as toh-mash-bat-yah) who was a cobbler by profession. Kudos to World War I that BATA made its mass presence felt for the first time with mass production. Bata was founded in Zlín (then Austro-Hungarian Empire, today the Czech Republic).

Apart from shoes, BATA also diversified into other areas (tyres, toys, plastic fibres, etc.). Zlín factory was place of headquarters and largest part of the company.

Today BATA India caters broadly 6 varied types/collection of shoes.
They are:
· Hush Puppies
· Dr Scholls
· North Star
· Power
· Marie Claire
· Bubblegummers

Hush Puppies Bounce technology for shock absorption and energy return in every step. Wave Reflex outsoles provide complete freedom of movement for your feet. Natural latex rubber and unique reverse action design waves unite to provide ultra flexibility.

Dr Scholl's from Bata provides you with maximum comfort whole day long. The unique Anatomic Insole will give your feet that extra cushioning needed to keep all stresses at bay from your feet while providing support from all sides. The ribbed surface of the insole gently massages your feet while walking. This boosts the circulation and keeps you active all the day. The soft sole absorbs all the shocks while walking.

North Star Shoes have graphics and prints and are shoes of style and edge. They are in all types of materials, with the looks of casual cool. Stylish, trendy comfortable and durable, the range is ideally suited to the urban environment. The youth market is attracted to the brands retro styles, including designs from the late 80s as well as contemporary interpretations, making it a highly sought after brand name.

Power is a Bata International Brand, which continues to spark an emotional connection with the masses by providing athletic footwear at very affordable prices. First launched in 1972, it has created a niche for itself in the sports segment. POWER is inspired by the same passion to perform that is inherent in the athletes who use our products. POWER as a brand stands for Durability, Trends, Responsiveness, Performance and value.

Power Slogan: Be Smart
“A new terminology replacing “Value”, The Power customer is a Smart consumer, not just a value consumer.”
Bata’s fashion lifestyle product for ladies is “Marie Clarie”. Marie Claire stands for Contemporary and modern styling, adaptive to an active lifestyle yet elegant and feminine.