The month of October has been the the best article. Further, we have with month of festivals with Durga Puja and us the COO of Zopnow.com Mr. Sunit Diwali being celebrated with high spir- Saraswat sharing his experience with it and a lot of energy. We wish all our us. readers a lot of happiness and warmth in their lives. In this edition of Brand Story, we bring to you the story of Patanjali and how it In the last two months we have seen is has become a force to reckon with. In a lot of new things in the marketing logoistic we bring to you how Microsoft world like the innovative packaging of changes its logo over the years. Bisleri, unique launch by Jeep at the Umaid Bhawan Palace and many more. Lastly, we are extremely thankful to New stories and advertisements that all our readers for the involvement made an impact or couldn’t create the throughout the year. You inspire us to kind of impact they wanted to. continue to do what we love. We would like to congratulate Ayushi So, thank you for being a part of Chugh, MICA Ahmedabad, whose ar- Markathon and we hope you will ticle ‘The Power of Mobile Marketing continue to enjoy our magazine. Automation’ got selected as the cover story for this month. We congratulate the winner of our column Perspective Cheers, whose article ‘Can USA be the Next Team Markathon Big Market for ?’ got selected as E “The One who D

is always I politically “ T O correct R Of The Month Piyush Jain

AND HIS TEAM..!!

Sharad Astha Daksh

Harsha Akshay Shubham Markathon sept - oct 2016 Andar Ki Baat Andar Ki Baat

Perspective

USA: 01 The Next Big Market for Cover Story Cricket? K Sathya Narayanan | The Power of Mobile IMT Ghaziabad Marketing Automation 06 Ayushi Chugh | MICA Ahmedabad Eye 2 Eye Is associating your 16 brand with sports a win-win or too niche a proposition? 11 Vartalaap Mr. Sunil Saraswat Chief Operating Officer ZopNow.com Bhawana Aggarwal Sahil Bhasin Interviewed By: CBSA Landran NMIMS Mumbai Harsha Daga & Piyush Jain | IIM Shillong MARKATHON IIM Shillong Markathon sept - oct 2016 Andar Ki Baat

SpeciaLs

AD-dicted 18 Catch & Miss advertisements of the month Sharad Srinivasan & Shashank Patel | IIM Shillong

Jab They Failed 22 Why did ZUNE not work for Microsoft? Logoistic Daksh Bhagat | IIM Shillong 17 What does the MICROSOFT logo signify? Shubham Shukla | IIM Shillong

Marketing Gyan

Fun Corner 21 To get the brain tickling Brand Story Akshay Seth | IIM Shillong A look at what Updates 19 PATANJALI has been 23 Fresh from the through Marketing World Harsha Daga IIM Shillong Nishiggandha Kerure | | IIM Shillong

MARKATHON IIM Shillong

perspective sept - oct 2016 I always felt the USA was big market, a “ “ lot of subcontinent people stay here, not only Indians

- M S Dhoni Indian Cricket Captain

he 4Cs which most of the Indians associate Tthemselves with are- Cricket, Cinema, Culture and Community. Is there a link between these Cs? If one USA: closely introspects, Cricket has had a significant im- pact on the other three Cs. Cricket has been instru- mental in connecting ’s culturally diverse com- munity. ‘Cricket is our Religion, Sachin is Our God’, is a mantra which has stuck a chord among millions of The next big die-hard fans in the country. Though Cinema has also had a share in its attempt to unify the nation, its suc- cess has been limited because of language and cul- market for tural barriers. However, the marriage of Cricket with Cinema in the form of Indian Premier League has led to creation a new wave of entertainment not only in Cricket? India but across the globe. Thanks to the shortest version of the game or the T20 format, there is a fundamental change in the way the By game is being marketed and taken to the fans. To- K Sathya Narayanan day’s cricket provides viewers with something called IMT GHAZIABAD as ‘Cricketainment’, where cricket meets entertain- ment. IPL was copied from the Club This has changed the game from being called ‘A Gentleman’s game’ to a game which is no longer gentle. The classical ‘Eng- lishman’s applause’ in response to a boundary or a

MARKATHON 1 IIM Shillong perspective sept - oct 2016

wicket is being replaced with beautiful cheerleaders dancing to entertain the crowd and add more color to the game. Can this new form of cricket make its way into the USA, a market which it has always found difficult to penetrate? What should be the role of the of America Cricket Association (USACA) and International Cricket Council (ICC)? If one looks into the problem at hand from a marketer’s perspective one can rephrase these questions as, ’How do I market a new product in a relatively un- tapped (though existing) geography?’ Why have the earlier ver- sions of the product (other formats of Cricket) failed to capture the market share?’ Before attempting to answer these questions, a dive into history is necessary. History of Cricket in USA

Cricket in USA has seen many ups and downs. The history of crick- et in the country dates back to 1844 when the first international cricket played between USA and . With the emergence of club cricket in places like Philadelphia, New York, Hartford and Boston, the game had gained huge popularity. But after Civil War and World War I, baseball dominated cricket and become much more popular. Though perceived as a children’s sport in its ester years, baseball capitalized on the need for recreation, especially among the US army. The game did not need pitches to be main- tained nor did it take several days for completion of a match.

Though the coming years saw international teams like and Australia touring the USA to play matches, it was only in the

MARKATHON 2 IIM Shillong perspective sept - oct 2016

year 1961 that the United States of America Cricket ing Baseball rated as their favorite sport. Over the Association(USACA), a centralized governing body years, both these sports have been consistently for cricket in the nation, came into existence.- Af maintaining nearly half of the viewership for sports. ter this the next significant landmark was achieved College football, NFL, NBA and Ice Hockey are hav- in 1965 when the nation was admitted into the ICC ing were similar viewership of about 7% on an aver- as an associate member nation. After almost 4 de- age. Though Cricket as a game is more than 2 centu- cades in 2004, the USA national team qualified for ries older when compared to these sports, doesn’t one top international tournaments, the ICC Cham- even have 1% viewership.

pions trophy. The team played its first two interna- Why has Cricket failed to capture the mind- tional ODI matches against Australia and New Zea- share of the US audience? land. The reason behind this is that Americans do not like The USACA has been facing multiple suspensions things to be forced upon them. Be it driving or elec- from ICC right from 2005 due to a number of issues trical systems, the Americans have always devel- which has created a major roadblock in promoting oped unique conventions for even most basic day the game in the country. The previous Chairman of to day applications. While UK and many other Com- ICC, Mr. N Srinivasan remarked,” The country has monwealth economies followed the concept of left tremendous potential but because of governance, side driving, USA pioneered right side driving. financial and cricketing challenges, the opportunity to grow the game is not being properly nurtured”. The nature of switch position is another example Can the T20 cricket packaged and marketed to suit where of opposite effects are observed in UK (up consumer preferences a solution to nurture and means off and down means on) and USA (down grow the game? How to gain the viewership share means off and up means on). In the context of from already established games in the country? sports also, Americans have always taken pride in What are the exiting consumer preferences? viewing and participating in sports such as Ameri- can Football and Baseball, which they have birthed Existing Consumer Preferences and groomed. This attitude has made them averse to other internationally acclaimed sports such as According to Harris Poll study in 2014, 32% of the Cricket and Soccer which have originated in other respondents rated American Football as their most parts of the world. Does it mean Cricket can never favorite sport followed by 16% of respondents rat- penetrate the US market?

MARKATHON 3 IIM Shillong perspective sept - oct 2016

20-20 Cricket: A new offering was conducted with an objective to popularize the sport among the Americans. Recently, six matches in Americans have always found it difficult to embrace the (CPL) and two 20-20 the concept of a tie. Playing for 5 days (Test cricket) internationals between India and have been played in Florida at the , a stadium constructed primarily to host in- ternational cricket matches. The Indian Cricket captain MS Dhoni, in a press release remarked,” As far as effort is concerned, I al- ways felt the USA was big mar- ket, a lot of sub-continent peo- ple stay here, not only Indians”. Though the statement may be true in a sense that USA does have a sizable number of people from sub-continents and inter- national teams playing cricket in or 6-7 hours (ODI cricket) and ending sometimes with the US does attract people from cricket watching di- no outcome has been a chief reason that has made aspora, the existing strategies do not have a great po- them averse towards the game. As a matter of fact, tential to attract a US national, who may be an alien the American psyche cannot stand long at- tention spans. None of the top viewed games by the US nationals last for more than three hours. T20 cricket over- comes the problems faced by the older for- mats, both in terms of time and outcome.

Marketing the newer format and its value proposition will play a vital role in determining the success of accep- tance and penetration of cricket in the country. Mr. to this new concept of cricket. In other words, for Tom Geoghegan, a reputed journalist, in an article cricket to fully tap into the US market, efforts should in the BBC magazine explains,” If cricket is be made to attract the nationals of that market. marketed properly and fans, television and sponsors embrace it, we could see the sport of cricket becom- The following may be some marketing strategies for ing the next great sport in the US.” ICC and USACA:

ICC’s existing marketing strategies 1. Promoting Cricket in Schools and Universities

ICC, in coordination with the other cricketing boards, Games like American Football, and Base- has been making efforts to tap into the US market. In ball have established their prominence through November 2015, an All- Star Cricket Series was con- many School and University level leagues and tour- ducted in iconic baseball stadiums of New York, Los naments. Youngsters were the prime targets for Angeles and Houston. The series featured legendary these sports and they played a significant role as IN- cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne and FLUENCERS for the adults. Unless the game of cricket

MARKATHON 4 IIM Shillong perspective sept - oct 2016 is promoted among youngsters, the game cannot find et can leverage on the popularity of baseball. Exhibi- a success. Traditionally, American national cricket side tion matches between an All-star Baseball team and has always has always constituted of expatriates from national cricket team is bound to get people excited. the Asian economies. Thus, the kids have a never had The ease in the rules of cricket compared to baseball a local star to idolize and look up to. will give the top batsmen an opportunity to dem- onstrate their run-making prowess and impress the 2. Creating 20-20 Leagues fans.

One way to create local stars is to create league tour- 5. Check on pricing naments. What Club cricket does is that it will create a platform to learn the nuances of the game. A model Price of the tickets for the matches is one factor in the similar lines of other cricketing leagues across where the USACA or the ICC has to be cautious the world has to be emulated which involves the par- on while planning Exhibition, Club or International ticipation internationally acclaimed cricketers along matches. In the All-Star Cricket matches held in No- with youngsters from the country. Once this is done, vember 2015, the minimum ticket price was as high as USD 50. As a result, the tickets sold for the series did not reach even near a sellout, despite mar- keting for the event was done on the lines of ‘Featuring Cricket’s All Time Legends’. With popular sports like baseball charging not more than USD 55 on an average (highest average ticket price USD 52.34 for Red Sox team for 2015 season), pricing the lowest ticket at USD 50 for a far less popular game is a grave mistake to com- mit! the Leagues can be broadcasted on Television. Gain- 6. Shorter Formats: 5 or 10 Over games ing viewership will take its time, more the people are exposed to the new format more is the probability for If we take a look at Ansoff’s matrix, for an existing gaining a larger viewership. market and a new product, Product development is the right strategy to adopt. Since Americans have 3. Attracting Sponsors always been inclined towards low-scoring games, new versions of the game (product in this case) in a Americans have always loved statistics and advertise- shorter format for 10 or 5 overs will make it similar ments. A game like cricket has a better scope for ad- to baseball, which has traditionally been a game fa- vertising commercials when compared to other sports vorable to bowlers and low-scoring in nature. like Basketball or American Soccer as the frequency of advertisements is high because of the game’s format Conclusion (as commercials can be aired in between every over). This idea can be used while pitching in for the spon- Sustained efforts are required in areas mentioned sors. Attracting sponsors is crucial for the game for above for making the game popular in the USA. getting required finances for player fee and develop- Small milestones need to be set up before attempt- ing infrastructure. The more the number of sponsors ing to penetrate into the entire market. Can USA be entering the game will increase the number of people the next big market for cricket? The outlook for the taking up cricket both as a passion and profession. game in USA has never been so promising but it is too early to comment! 4. Leveraging Popularity of Baseball

Since game of baseball is immensely popular and is similar to the manner in which Cricket is played, crick-

MARKATHON 5 IIM Shillong cover story sept - oct 2016 The Power of Cover Story Mobile Marketing Automation

here are 2.6 billion smartphone users on the planet to- MARKETINGT day, and in less than five years there will be 5.1 billion. And BUDGETthat means mobile phone is one of the most powerful chan- nels which brands have got in their marketing tool box. With this exponential growth projections for next 5 years, it will be a cardinal sin for any new age marketer to ignore the power and reach of Mobile Marketing Automation. To most people, it sounds like three of the most unlikely words combined to- gether to make a phrase of sorts. However, it is much more than just that!

Mobile Marketing Automation

Mobile Marketing Automation (MMA) can be defined as an amal- gamation of modern app analytics solutions, old-school CRM, and web-based marketing automation solutions. Just as tra- ditional Marketing Automa- tion Platforms (MAPs) streamline and organize different aspects of brand messaging, lead generation and lead nurturing; MMA deliv- ers on making the mobile focused campaign management easier for today’s marketers. MMA platforms work within the mobile app ecosystem for delivering actionable insights about users, automated messaging service and user behaviour analytics. Some of the lead- ing MMA platforms providing solution across mobiles, tablets and wearable devices are Urban Airship, Kahuna, Tapjoy, Swrve and Leanplum.

IIM Shillong MARKATHON 6 IIM Shillong

cover story sept - oct 2016

Key Functionalities of MMA Platforms: when it comes to using MMA to boost monetization and increase engagement for achieving seamless om- Leading MMA solutions provide the levers and con- ni-channel marketing. trols to change the mobile app’s user experience on the fly depending upon who is using it, and update it Is Mobile Marketing Automation really without going through the app-store police. Big apps worth it? like Subway Surfer and Plants vs. Zombies along with leading consumer brands such as Starbucks, Marketing automation as a domain is still vastly un- ESPN and McDonalds have been the flag bearers derutilized. With the propagation of smartphones and

MARKATHON 8 IIM Shillong cover story sept - oct 2016

Deadly and Avoidable Pitfalls of MMA

Though mobile marketing automation can build trust, increase customer satis- faction, create new customers and boost existing customers’ number of purchases, but it comes with its own set of pitfalls which are best if avoided. Let’s have a look at some common MMA errors!

1. Blasting (Marketing without personalization)

Irrelevant messages are one of the quick- est ways to annoy customers and increase unsubscribes and opt-outs.

2. Not optimizing marketing for mobile devices tablets, mobile marketing has increasingly become the most impactful and efficient way to reach custom- Not everything that looks good on a desktop monitor ers at exactly the right moment. MMA has the poten- renders perfectly on a mobile device. Brands which tial to save time and increase the bottom line by pro- viding compelling offers and valuable engagements right when the consumers need them.

However, marketers need to address a few questions before misinterpreting MMA as one size fit all strat- egy.

1. Does your TG engage in heavy mobile usage?

For example, do you market to traveling management consultants, multi-regional companies, or smaller and very young organizations whose ecosystem almost completely runs on mobile platforms? If so, MMA might be a natural fit. don’t optimize marketing campaigns for the small 2. How mobile-ready is your sales funnel? screen are losing revenue opportunities with each passing day. Do you have mobile-optimized versions of each whitepaper, case study and in-depth report that your 3. Sending too frequently leads download as they move closer to buying deci- sions? For most people, the only thing worse than getting ir- relevant emails and push notifications is getting them 3. What is the nature of your customer touchpoints? too often. Marketer should take the time to evaluate each customer’s click-through rates, visits, browsing Do touchpoints tend to happen almost immediately and purchase history, shares and other relevant data after encountering some of your marketing messages, that’s been collected to create a customized automa- or do they take days or weeks to unfold? tion schedule.

MARKATHON 9 IIM Shillong cover story sept - oct 2016

4. Not including a Call To Action tions showing up in their inbox or their phone’s home screen. ‘Paradise Pizza & Grill’ gives its customers a What’s the point of sending an in-app message about free piece of cake on their birthday. a new feature without telling customers where to click to get a tour! 7. Relying solely on one channel

Combination of in-app messaging, emails, push no- tifications and social media is far stronger than the individual components, and brands that don’t use MMA with at least three or four channels are doing themselves a disservice.

8. Not using A/B Testing

How does a business know which mobile marketing tactics are working and which aren’t? A/B testing en- ables marketers to compare the effects of two or more

MARKETING BUDGET5. Not capturing important data

There are touch points to capture data from the very second a customer learns about a brand to long after they’ve made a purchase. Businesses are missing the boat if they’re not collecting this marketing goldmine.

6. Over selling

Customers are inundated with people trying to get them to buy something. Sometimes, the best way of selling is to not sell! Sharing information, giving

versions to determine the best options. This process will almost always produce results that far exceed the time and money spent on analysis.

Conclusion

Mobile marketing automation has emerged to address the disconnect between what consumers want and the tools that are available to brands. When implemented correctly, it results in higher retention, greater rev- enues, more engagement, and customer delight. De- spite the clear advantages, penetration of MMA is low at this point. Even the largest players, like Starbucks, away something of perceived value, sending remind- Virgin Airlines, Amazon, Ebay, Macy’s etc. have only ers or even just making consumers laugh can be a re- gotten into the space recently. This means the best tips freshing break from the constant onslaught of promo- and tactics are being rewritten every day.

MARKATHON 10 IIM Shillong vartalaap sept - oct 2016 “ VARTALAAP

An Interview with Mr. Sunil Saraswat

Mr. Saraswat has more than 20 years of experi- ence in diverse fields ranging from FMCG, Health- care, Technology and Consumer Durables. An alumnus of IIM, Calcutta he has an interest and expertise in sales, channel management, P&L management and go-to-market strategy. He is currently the CEO of Zopnow.com, an e- commerce business which aims to improve the grocery buying experience for its customers.

Chief ZopNow. com Operating Officer

MARKATHON 11 IIM Shillong vartalaap sept - oct 2016

“Earlier you had only a bunch of com- panies in specific segments and then “ the economy really opened up

Markathon: Sir, you have been into this do- began, because the HULs and the P&Gs are main for quite some years now. How do you great product makers, but they will never un- think marketing has changed over the years? derstand the cracked heels like Paras did. So I think the change is here to stay, with newer I would say that the change has been gradual trends coming up. and has come into effect due to many fac- tors. One such factor I see is the change of Markathon: What is your take on social the entire Indian business landscape. Earlier marketing? Do you think the social message you had only a bunch of companies in spe- based ads work well for the brands that en- cific segments and then the economy really gage in them? opened up and people like Karsanbhai Patel started the wave of change. Honestly speaking, I don’t know the answer. But the way I look at it is that an advertise- So earlier the marketing space was dominat- ment has to speak to the consumer, i.e. your ed by the monopolies of MNCs and then the target group, and not broad amorphous con- Indian companies and products like Nirma, sumer group. In our days what we used to call Paras, and Dabur started coming to the fore- the USP-unique selling proposition- of a prod- front and identified the gaps that these MNCs uct is what was used for advertisements so were not catering to. That is when the change I’m not very convinced with the whole social

The HULs and the P&Gs are great product makers, but they will never understand the cracked heels like Paras did.

MARKATHON 12 IIM Shillong vartalaap sept - oct 2016 only angle. ucts. So what is it that they can do to become successful, beyond playing at the price point? Advertisement for commercial products should be done in a way that connects your What I understand is that most companies do offering with the target consumer, whereas not create products for that segment. What giving social messages should be left for social causes. I think consumers figure Otherwise, I think you are try- “ out these days what the “ ing to make a fool out of your customer and I think consumers brand is saying and what figure out these days what the brand is saying and what is it that is it that they truly mean they truly mean.

Another major issue, according to me, that makes me think this doesn’t work they do is make products for the middle class well is that at a micro level where there is or the upper middle class and then they sim- constant conflict between the marketing ply take this so called premium product cre- team and the sales team leading to little or ated for the premium customer, take away a no interaction between the two. It is the thing or two from it to lower the cost and then classic debate between ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ and sell it to the rural consumer. this is where the marketers, and any person working in an organization for that matter, That is somehow not the correct thing to do. must ensure that values like empathy are So to truly capture the masses of the country, you should probably work on identi- Work on identifying the fying the needs of the rural consum- ers, develop insights based on that needs of the rural consum- and then go on to create a product for them rather than simply pushing ers, develop insights based a product created for another seg- ment. on that and then go on This is the whole product part of it, from there whereas the entire gamut of sales and marketing is different. So if you go to any urban area, say Bengaluru worked upon and used for the benefit of the for example, the salesman can just park his organization as a whole. bike and do his 40 calls, whereas in rural mar- kets he will have to drive around for 40 kms to Markathon: In the context of the rural mar- maybe do just 20 calls and hence the cost of kets, many products are just me-too prod- distribution is higher, and therefore the distri-

MARKATHON 13 IIM Shillong vartalaap sept - oct 2016

Markathon: What according to you is the biggest mistake mar- keters across industries tend to make?

Well, at times the message that they are trying to convey is just simply ‘too good’ and doesn’t re- ally connect very well with their audience. Now how can you talk philosophy when you don’t know the ground realities of the con- sumer? And this is one of the big- gest issues that marketers today face. Because they come from very privileged environments whereas their target segment does not.

The gap that is there can be filled by accurate market research, however, marketers do not spend enough time in the field and out- source these tasks to specialists, not understanding that there is a limit to which these specialists bution model has to be very different than it can help, If they do more of the job them- is in the urban setting. selves, the product and the communication would be far better as it would be built on the So some companies give out separate mar- brand manager’s insights rather than that of gins to distributors for what they sell in the the Agency. rural area vis-à-vis for what they sell in the urban settings. At the same time, the tracking Markathon: Many big companies today are of these sales is equally important. trying to involve the customer in the prod-

uct designing phase to ensure they perfectly After ensuring a stable distribution system, deliver to the consumer’s requirements. Ac- you also need to create awareness amongst cording to you how feasible is something like the target group. Apart from TV and maybe this for local/regional players? SMSs, Haats prove to be a strong congrega- tion point where below the line marketing ac- Maybe not possible for most players but tivities can be undertaken.. sometimes this might just become the game changer for you. So as per whatever I have

MARKATHON 14 IIM Shillong vartalaap sept - oct 2016 eye2eye read about it, Dainik Bhaskar is apparently a dependency on a research company to do player that does it very well. Whenever they the work. The max support that the mar- decide to enter a market, they first fix the goal keting guy should look for is gathering the that they have to be amongst the top two required sample, while he himself conducts newspapers in the market. the interviews and carries out the research.

They then go to close to 200,000 consumers Markathon: Sir as you are also working with a startup, what is your take on these big dis- count days that are being offered by Amazon, Flip- kart, Snapdeal, etc.?

I personally don’t gel that well with this idea of dis- counting. It is very easy to get customers through discounts but the ques- tion that has to be thought about is “Are they the right customers?”. I don’t think that they are the right cus- tomers, you should not be targeting them. You are just burning investors’ money through this.

One should have proof of concept, better business with their initial set of papers, then take feed- models. The intent is very important. Some back, incorporate the changes and go back to entrepreneurs have the right intent initially them to further understand the needs and re- but they after some time seem to be run- quirements of the consumer. This way they co- ning after money rather than at building a evolve the product with the customers. Here great business. maybe 200,000 is a very big number and if you clearly have your target segment in mind there Let me stress this point a bit further, if you can be ways to derive the same results with a are a teacher then why do you teach and smaller sample. how do you teach? if you are a marketing guy then what is your intent, why are you But what is important is the company’s intent doing this? Are you doing this to please your to cater to the exact needs rather than just boss or are you really focused on your con- do what it knows and then push the prod- sumers? So whatever you do I think your ucts. Here again I would like to highlight the intent or Niyat is the most important.

MARKATHON 15 IIM Shillong eye2eye sept - oct 2016 With the spate of advertisements leveraging the recently concluded Olympics, Is associating your brand with sports a win-win or too niche a proposition?

BHAWANA AGGARWAL SAHIL BHASIN CBSA NMIMS LANDRAN MUMBAI

Though event advertising is one of the Sports isn’t a game, it is an emotion. ways to advertise the product, but the people who be- People don’t just play or watch it, they feel it. Brands have come a witness of the Olympics are from different walks been capturing this emotion since decades. Looking at of life. About 7.5 million tickets for Olympic Games,2016 India, in the last decade a lot of new domestic leagues were sold, around 10,500 athletes participated, 500,000 have emerged. The viewership patterns are changing and foreigners travelled to Brazil to experience Rio 2016 live, sports are no longer watched by young males only. Tech- 85,000 security personnel ensured safety and security nology has been an enabler for brands with live stream- and about 3.6 billion people from all over the world glued ing and ads which can’t be skipped. Thus, the choice of a their eyes to led screens to experience the gala event. particular sport or a sporting event doesn’t happen over- Further according to Human Rights Campaign, at least 41 night. were LGBT Olympians against 23 LGBT in 2012. Before associating, a brand needs to ponder over certain With such diversity in the viewership, how could asso- factors. The scale of the sports event, relevance of their ciating one’s brand with sports be a niche proposition? product or message with the event, telecast timings in As per the statistics and the media reports, a leap year their target market and the popularity of the sport in the event like Olympics attracts people from different strata eyes of the customer are the key factors. Advertising in for different reasons. Some watch Olympics as they are sports has its benefits. Firstly, the audience sits for long sports lovers, some watch because they want to romance hours having repeated exposure to the advertisements. their senses with extravagant ceremonies at the event, Secondly, for a passionate audience any advertisement some become part of it because they want to cheer up which enhances the emotion or relieves the pressure is the athletes who are representing their own country and appreciated. Finally, good content creates a long-term others for varied reasons. If an event has the capacity to brand recall. bring together people with varying demographics, then it acts as a Golden platform to address a huge diversified Some experts argue that the reach becomes specific and potential market segment at one place. the cost per exposure is high due to sky-rocketing prices of big events. Sports associations should be a part of the The cost of “reach per person” gets reduced drastically overall marketing strategy and not be standalone events. as through a single media a huge market segment gets Brands need to figure out ways of activation and engage- targeted. Hence, the companies leveraging on the Gala ment in the associated event, advertising alone may not sports event like Olympics, through advertising, carve be always enough. Sports associations if done in an- ef a win-win situation for themselves as the viewership of fective manner is a win-win for brands in the age where their content gets assured due to the fan following of people not just watch but also stream , share and tweet such an “Influential event”. good content leading to organic branding.

Topic for the next issue: “Can Big Discount Sales by E-tailers result in Long Term Customer Retention?” Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 10th November 2016. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry. Winners will receive a prize money of Rs. 500 each!

MARKATHON 16 IIM Shillong By shubham shukla IIM Shillong

icrosoft is a company with which all of porate logo of the company from 1987 to usM our familiar. In fact for most of us, the earli- August, 2012. This was the time when Micro- est memory of a computer would be hearing the soft took huge strides in its business to be- Windows tune on booting the system. Microsoft come one of the most successful enterprises was founded in the year 1975 by Mr. Bill Gates all over the world. It is called as the “Pac- and Mr. Paul Allen and in its tenure of 41 years it man” Logo because the first O in the name has seen a few changes in the design of its logo in order to stay relevant according to both customer needs as well as the direction in which the com- pany wants and needs to move. 1975 - 80 is shaped like the popular video game char- acter “Pac-man”. The logo was designed by Microsoft started out with a groovy looking logo American graphic designer Mr. Scott Baker. which was symbolic of the 70’s-80’s culture of The logo uses a Helvetica Italic typeface and disco in the United States. The 2 ‘o’s actually the real reason for the slash between the first represented O and the succeeding S is that the company glowing disco wanted to cultivate an image that it also had lights. This a soft side. In the 1980’s Microsoft was gain- logo was just ing the reputation of a company which was a makeshift hard-nosed and which would do anything one arrived at for profits and for which customers and their by the found- needs were not of prime importance. This ers and as the business started flourishing and logo was in fact a response to that. The bold became more serious, it was replaced by another lettering was done away with in favor of a logo. more fluid font in order to symbolize speed and motion in an era in which technological 1980 - 87 prowess grew by leaps and bounds. This logo is popularly referred to as the blibbet 2012 - Present logo. This logo still holds a special place in the hearts of people who have been working with Mi- The current logo by Microsoft tries to lever- crosoft from the very beginning so much so that age the power of the Windows OS symbol. there is still a Blibbet burger served in the Micro- The company realized that the Windows soft campus as a tribute to this logo. Blibbet sig- symbol is much more popular around the

world compared to its corporate logo and so nifies the first O in the logo which has horizontal including the same in the logo was a smart lines and a hole in the center. Another significant choice on the part of the company. The com- aspect of the logo is that the company name is pany retained the simple font of its name in featured in all uppercase characters which signi- order to showcase that it was a simple com- fies a boldness and aggressive stance by the com- pany focused on serving customer needs to pany. the best of its abilities.

1987 - 2011 Hence we can see that even the mightiest of firms need to evolve and rebrand This logo has been associated with Microsoft for themselves in order to remain relevant the longest amount of time, serving as the - cor in the eyes of the customers. AD-dictedAD-dicted december sept - oct 20132016

By SHASHANK PATEL By SHARAD SRINIVASAN IIM Shillong IIM Shillong

PRODUCT: Paper Boat - Chilli Guava PRODUCT: Bajaj Platina ComforTec – Jhatka Mana Hai

POSITIONING: Teachers’ Day & it’s nostalgia POSITIONING: The new Platina gives the most comfort- able ride in its category CREATIVE AGECY: Karishma Lintas CREATIVE AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather CATCH YouTube Link: YouTube Link:: https://www.youtube.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= watch?v=j58DNZUk0kw YKnDxscNgPg CONCEPT: CONCEPT: The advertisement attempts to differentiate The ad starts with the ubiquitous sound of the bell ring- R the new Platina ComforTec by highlighting ing and the sound of children talking. Then a voice over its superior ride quality. starts by addressing Hitesh sir, a teacher who has a repu- To demonstrate this, two tation of being strict. In the entire TVC we see visuals MISS Tanjore dolls, Gulabo & Paro of students, teachers and various classrooms with the are placed on a Platina Com- voice over reminiscing what Hitler Hitesh sir used to do. forTec and a competitor’s bike respectively. A bumpy But after so many years his teachers’ day card is still due. ride follows, with a catchy background score, after which Then the voice over mentions that they have started Gulabo is unmoved. Paro fails to survive the ordeal

working hard but not as hard as him. The ad ends by VERDICT: Miss wishing Happy Teachers’ day and a visual of the paper Bajaj’s attempt to capture the functional benefit of ‘20% boat flavour chilli guava. lesser jerks’ is evident but we are unsure if they have achieved it with this TVC. Markathon believes Platina be- VERDICT: Catch ing a mass market product needed a creative & convinc- Occasionally, one tends to reminisce about one’s child- ing line of advertising if one were to move away from the hood, memories of homework, pranks, the friends, teach- usual ‘Mileage Warfare.’ Although the TVC is creative, ers and the joyful life. In this one and half minute ad by there are multiple logical fallacies in it which we believe Paper boat the old school days comes to life. It is about an could work against it. The ad, with its quirky idea & catchy annoying teacher whose teachers’ day card is overdue. It background score is sure to remain in the minds of the shows how teachers are hardworking and perform their audience but whether it will convince people is a question tasks diligently without expecting anything in return. we feel is answered.

MARKATHON 18 IIM Shillong brand story sept - oct 2016 Brand Story nishiggandha Kerure | IIM Shillong

n the year 2005, a renowned yoga guru and his child- ‘becoming part of every SKU in an Indian kitchen’. Its man- hoodI friend established an FMCG company to provide ufacturing facility at Haridwar (Patanjali Food and Herbal its consumers with the benefits of Ayurvedic medicines Park) houses a dedicated R&D centre to generate a con- through a product portfolio of pure food and natural bev- sistent pipeline of new products. When the Maggi fiasco erages. As of October 2016, the business had earned rev- took place, it took the organization barely three months enues to the tune of USD 769.23 million in FY 2015-16. to create its own instant noodles which now pose a threat Since it is not to Nestle and ITC a publicly amongst others. listed compa- Patanjali is working ny, Patanjali’s towards launching finances are powdered hair dye, mostly close- butter milk in - pow ly held. Yet, der form, caffeine- the growth free chicory cof- of Patanjali fee etc. innovative Ayurved Lim- products as well. ited or PAL Recently, the DRDO (estimated at also sought out Pa- a staggering tanjali’s help for 146.31% in herbal supplements terms of Y-o- and food products Y revenues) that are to be dis- is something tributed in both do- that cannot be ignored by the brand-conscious Indian mestic as well as foreign markets. customers who have so far relied on the HULs and P&Gs The company follows information-based advertising ap- of the industry. Nor can it be ignored by the buyers of un- proach where health benefits of a particular product are branded products who now have an incentive to turn to Patanjali’s offerings, thanks to the promised health benefits at a discounted price when it comes to compara- ble brands.

Though Patanjali offers products ranging from dal and pulses to herbal gulal, across categories of grocery and staples, ready food, beverages, personal care, health care and households; its primary source of income are Cow’s Ghee, Dant Kanti and Kesh Kanti. Even though many of its other products have low volume of sales or profitability, the company highlighted instead of promoting Patanjali’s own offering continues to operate in those category for its objective of in the same.

MARKATHON 19 IIM Shillong brand story sept - oct 2016

Though Baba Ramdev himself holds no shares in PAL, he beyond purchase of INR 499. Though it is not completely has become a brand-ambassador for all its products, having like other corporate organizations, Patanjali has been reached about 70 million individuals so far and estimated quick to implement ERP for better mapping of inventory, to reach 200 million more. The beginning of the Aastha TV SAP, a mobile app to locate the nearest outlets to buy channel with his yoga telecast in the mornings earned him a huge fol- lowing, now ben- efitting Patanjali. This cost-effective method of mar- keting also saves Patanjali approxi- mately 12-18% of the net sales value that other FMCGs are known to spend on advertising and promotions. In turn, Patanjali is able to provide an attractive discount on the company products and KRA-based internal system. its products and pass on the savings to its customers. Hiring from renowned firms such as Dabur, Alkem Labo- ratories etc. and tying up with online recruiting portals When it comes to dis- such as naukri.com, Patanjali is ensuring its access to tribution network, Pa- professional management and some of the best talent in tanjali already boasts of the industry while it incorporates the science of Ayurved 0.2 million outlets and in household items. the 10,000 franchisees that are Chikitshalyas Going forward, the company has leased warehousing and Arogya Kendras. space of 1.2 million sq. feet across 20 cities in the coun- Earlier, a single distribu- try with the objective of increasing the same to 2 million tor managed both the in the near future. With differentiated products such as food and cosmetics cat- seabuck thorn dietary supplement and sugar free Chy- egories which now have awanprash, Patanjali is aiming to double its revenues to been separated. The dis- reach the figure of INR 10,000 Crores by March 2017. tributorship is given at With the growing trend of health-consciousness in ur- district, tehsil and even ban, semi-urban areas and a large, untapped market of at mandi levels, proving unbranded product consumers mainly in the rural re- the growing penetration gion, the business has a huge potential to continue its of the brand Patanjali. To upward trajectory. And it is no wonder that CLSA recently take advantage the e-commerce wave, it has also made its wrote a research note that was titled ‘Wish you were list- products available online where free delivery is provided ed Patanjali’!

MARKATHON 20 IIM Shillong fun corner sept - oct 2016

AKSHAY SETH IIM Shillong

MARKATHON 21 IIM Shillong jab they failed sept - oct 2016 Jab They Failed DAKSH BHAGAT IIM Shillong Microsoft Zune

opularly referred to as Microsoft’s failed attempt On the Demand side, Microsoft never gave a reason to toP take on the iPod, Zune which was first released in No- its consumers to buy Zune or to drift away from iPod. On vember 2006 always remained a “me too” answer to the the Marketing front, Microsoft aimed at the Social hip- iPod. The features offered by Microsoft were way ahead sters versus the Pod people. But, it seemed that it was of time than any other device of a similar kind in the in- designed to pacify dustry during that time period. Even though Zune wasn’t only the major la- Microsoft’s core product, still a lot went both in terms of bel executives and expense and efforts in order that it reaches the hands of didn’t focus nearly the segment, already obsessed with Apple. Then what enough on pleasing went wrong? Let’s try and find out. the consumer. Zune also never got the Before looking at the plausible reasons for its failure, marketing support let us look at a few numbers that reflect the trend. The needed to establish world’s largest software company believed that it would the brand as a viable be able to compete with the Apple iPod, which had been alternative to iPod/ in the market since 2001 and dominated the multimedia iTunes. player and music download business around the world. Bloomberg Television said that between the launch date When you’re running up against a product as popular and and mid-2007 only 1.2 million Zune players were sold. In solidly entrenched as the iPod, you need to undercut it May 2008, Microsoft said that it had sold two million play- significantly on price if you expect anyone to even look ers since its launch. The Wall Street Journal reported that at your version. The 8GB Zune only costs $10 less than its revenue from the Zune player was $85 million during the much sexier Apple equivalent, and if you step up to a 120GB 2008 holiday season Zune, that gap compared to $185 not only dimin- million in the same ishes, it revers- period in 2007. es. The Zune 120 actually costs a On a Design level, dollar more than the Zune lacked style the Apple iPod and the simplicity Classic 120GB. of Apple’s interface. What incentive Perhaps more im- is there for a portantly, though, buyer to even the Zune could not consider deviat- be used with Apple’s ing from the safe iTunes program, status quo when an even more dominant product in its market than the there’s little or no discount for it? iPod. By integrating the music experience (from cradle to grave), Apple created strong disincentives to any competi- Hence, in 2012 it officially pivoted from the “Zune” brand- tor that just could not be overcome. Everything that was ing and launched Xbox Music. And that has since become unique and innovative about the product never worked Groove. Conclusively, the Zune wasn’t as complete a fail- for it such as the Zune-to-Zune “squirting” feature, which ure as you may believe. But what many people don’t know lets you send a song wirelessly from one Zune to the next. is that Zune sparked much-needed reforms at Microsoft. That feature was way ahead of its time in 2006, but was Along with the Xbox, the Zune project marked one of the ruined by record company restrictions that let users listen company’s first attempts to create innovative hardware to shared songs only three times within three days before and software, not just stuff that looked like it had been erasing them. ripped off from Apple.

MARKATHON 22 IIM Shillong By Harsha Daga | IIM Shillong

Bisleri launches its Rockstar to sway you

At a price point of just Rs.8, Bisleri aims to capture the ‘convenience and afford- able’ section of the market. The packaging is innovative to give it an aesthetic appeal to pull the consumers and at the same time, increase the visibility off the shelf by ensuring that a 300ml bottle doesn’t look too small to quench your thirst.

Now snap in style with Spectacles!

The company is introducing its first hardware as a cool range of glasses which can take videos and directly up- load to your Memories on Snapchat using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. And to ensure that the audience connects with the company beyond just an image based social media platform, the company is re- branding itself by changing its name to Snap Inc. Well, if this is not an example of the brand being relevant, then what is?

MARKATHON 22 IIM Shillong Nestle to expand its Indian portfolio

The Swiss company is all set to enter the Indian market for premium choc- olate variants and pose a challenge Mondelez and Ferrero, which are cur- rently the leaders in the country. Along with an exotic line of European chocolates under its brand Alpino, which is set for relaunch, Nestle is also bringing newer variants of its existing offerings like Munch and Bar One. By doing this the company is not only widening its product portfolio but also reducing the dependence on Maggi, after the fiasco.

Yuvraj Singh gets into ap- parels, for a cause!

The entire nation went through the peak of their emotions when Yuvi went through countless ses- sions of chemo. And four years ago, Yuvraj Singh established a foundation to help the betterment of cancer patients, which will now be supported by the profits made out of the clothing line of YouWeCan (YWC). We believe this is one of the best concoc- tions of sport, business, and humanity resulting into a rooted brand. PS: Did you notice that when we read the brand name with its tagline, it actually says ‘Yuvi can fight cancer’?

MARKATHON 23 IIM Shillong updatesDucati unviels its cruiser march 2016 bike range in India

For the first time, legend- ary bike maker-Ducati launched its cruiser bike segment. In India, cur- rently cruiser bikes are seen as an aspirational segment, resulting into a high growth experienced by brands such as Harley Davidson. With the trend being so peculiar, Ducati has given the Indian au- dience the best mix of a cruiser experience and a high performance thrill.

Cole Haan arrives in India

Iconic American footwear and accessories brand Cole Haan, which special- izes in dress leather and casual shoes, is now avail- able in India. The brand seamlessly fills the gap between affordable and luxury where it is above fast fashion but below the LVs. The growth experi- enced in the last year cou- pled with a high expected progress path of luxury footwear in India, it seems like the right time for Cole Haan to hit the nail.

MARKATHON 24 IIM Shillong Jeep saw a legendary launch at the Umaid Bha- wan Palace

A flawless blend of rug- gedness and luxury, Jeep makes for one of the most difficult combinations to exist. So with a car so magnificent, a brand so legendary and a story so unique, the launch of its new variants had to be regal and off-beat. The event didn’t just show its audience the capabilities of the vehicle or its luxury status, but allowed them to actually feel it by being a part of the launch hosted by the Maharaj Raghav Raj Singh of Udaipur, at the picturesque royal palace.

Apple launched the latest MacBook Pro

Apple has unveiled a new generation of MacBook Pro with better features and striking innovations, as usual. Apple products are always seen as the fu- ture of the Industry, be it the iPod, iPhone, or the all new Mac. By doing away with standard USB ports and the function keys be- ing replaced by a fancy Touch Bar screen, the lap- top is up to set a trend which the other players in the Industry ought to follow. It’s the ‘Product’ of the 4 Ps that makes Apple what it is today.

MARKATHON 25 IIM Shillong digi-tally sept - oct 2016

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Articles are invited “Best Article”: K Sathya Narayanan | IMT Ghaziabad He receives a cash prize & a letter of appreciation

We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be absolutely any- thing related to the world of marketing but it should be an original work that is not pub- lished elsewhere. The articles can be specific to the regular sections of Markathon which includes: •Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena. •Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing. •Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of marketing strategy of any company or an event. Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The format of the file should be MS Word doc/docx. The last date of receiving all entries is 15th November, 2016. Please send your entries marked as