What Starbucks should do in India!!

Starbucks one of the biggest coffee brands may not be so worried about its operation in India. But there are certain things to ponder upon. With the beverage segment in coffee already divided by others presence, entering the market and making a good impression is a challenge. This means Starbucks should know what tickles the taste buds of Indian consumers, what it takes to change one's regular coffee from others to Starbucks, why should others apart from those who know the brand will try and come back again as their regulars?

Drive Thru Coffee/ Burgers & Pizzas

Quite a few motels/restaurants are their at the highways in India. Road Transport is still not preferable for lot of folks, but it is growing at a faster pace than ever as the highways are getting better. Reservation numbers through RedBus or any other medium are increasingly growing. With roads becoming safer and better medium, soon it will be time for business opportunities for hotels/restaurants to have a Drive Thru/Take Away places near petrol pumps or places where buses halt.

EasyJet Flying High Inspite Downturn in Global Business

EasyJet, UK's low cost airlines & rival to Ryanair, Air France, Lufthansa, is flying high despite weak economic outlook and high fuel cost in Europe. Thanks to a good strategy unveiled last year aimed at business and leisure travelers EasyJet is sailing high tides smoothly, keeping a tight focus on cost to improve margins and finding room for growth in providing better services.

Axe Lynx Outdoor!! Ad banned

The above AXE Lynx Outdoor Ad is banned by advertising Watchdogs for the reason that it objectifies woman and hence is degrading to them. The above poster attracted a lot of complaints for the same reason. In its defense Unilever said the ad shows how the product makes wearer attracted to women in easy going and light-hearted tone. But ASA doesn't want to take the justification.

Airlines in India (need to learn!!)

Airlines in India are facing a tight margin due to increasing fuel prices, high mandatory charges at airports, Weak economic situation and strong competition from competitors. This needs to be tackled before it gets worse and without the measures it is going to hurt all of us be it customers, Airline's employees & employer's or the governing bodies.

A few lessons which Kingfisher, Indigo or Jet can learn are from the Airlines which operates in foreign countries and are leaders in their business. With a cut throat competition in foreign countries, they prevail and fight by innovating things, customizing solutions & giving better options to customers.

Coffee War!!

With established brands like Starbucks and Costa Coffee entering the market, Others(Gloria Jean's, Coffee bean, Java Coffee) ramping up presence in india, it is time for established ones(CCD & Barista) to think a step ahead and attack the most spending segment(Techno Analysts). Opening up as many small outlets in corporate premises or independent outlets in a cyberpark will help more than increasing the numbers in malls or airports.

Ryanair's Marketing Bag

Ryanair is the low cost airline in Europe. Over the years it has been a successful brand and a successful business.Michael O'Leary has a business model with a central focus on cost reduction. In around 20 years he has taken Ryanair from a single plane company to become the largest airline in Europe. The business simply has lower costs and those costs are passed on to their passengers in the form of low fares.

There are lots of factors which contributes to his cost reduction models. Ryanair does not use travel agents so it does not pay agency commissions. It uses direct marketing techniques to extend products and services to customers, which in turn reduces costs. Online booking saves them 15-20% on agency fees.

Ryanair uses Secondary Airports. It is cheaper to from a secondary airport than from the primary/busier airport. Also Since it is less busy aircraft can be turned around very quickly. Many of Ryanair’s destination airports are secondary. For example if somebody wants to go Copenhagen(Denmark) you arrive at Malmo(Sweden), which is a less than 50km drive from Copenhagen.

Keeping aircraft in the air for most of the time is another important part of low cost for which Ryanair has tweaked their operations. There is no check in, One has to show passport and supply your reference number. One cannot select a preferred seat. It is first come, first served. This aids speed. Baggage is deposited directly onto the terminal - it's quick.

Beyond any doubt, Ryanair is one of the strategic marketing successes of the last decade. Undoubtedly synergized by Michael O'Leary - the low cost strategy that it employs is remarkable and industry changing.

What Next for Deals??

Deals war is going on between Snapdeal, Dealandyou blah blah... so many and it will be survival of the fittest. Innovation and persistence is the key here as everyone gets bored after a while. Increasing the domain will be one important factor i.e. capturing more services. Putting up new options like bulk deal, group deal will keep the customers engaged. Will have to wait and watch.

Snapdeal - Dealsandyou - Dealivore - Groupon ...

List goes on!! quite a few have entered the market and a furious competition is expected from global or local players in the near future. But the one who will make the first mark in new cities will be the one who will shine brighter. For instance a friend of mine wanted to gift from one of these e-commerce business to one of his friend in Indore but couldn't find the city enlisted.

India is a deals savvy market. Though metropolitan people have the luxury to spend and overlook the price still most of the shopping is done during season off(when heavy discounts are offered). We go for shopping at Shopper Stop, Pantaloon or Mark & Spenser's but we carry their loyalty cards to get the extra 10% discount on card holders or special days.

Catch here is that Metropolitan comprises not even 10 percent of the population. The rest who don't have the luxury to spend but the wish to buy luxury items at affordable price don't have the option. A whole such segment remains untapped and is waiting for such thing to happen. Once somebody enters it will be the talk of the town, avoiding the marketing cost for their customers and vendors.
Times of India has a huge network & resource in India, wonder what Timesdeal is waiting for.

Advertising @ Ryanair

Ryanair spend as little as possible on advertising. It is done in-house. O'Leary himself oversees much of the promotion of Ryanair. They use simple adverts that tell passengers that Ryanair has low fares. Ryanair employs controversy to promote its business. For example in 2009, the company reasoned that passengers would be charged £1 to use the toilets on board. O'Leary reasoned that passengers could use the terminals at either the destination or arrival airport, would speed things up. It was reasoned that this is what passengers wanted. O'Leary also argued that larger passengers should be charged more since they took up more room - again it was reasoned that majority of passengers want this to happen.

Ryanair has been a fun little jokster. Take into account that they have a history of pulling April Fools jokes in the past. There was this prank of Selling porn to on-boards, then their was one with providing moon flights
Ryanair launches moon flights , click here for more details.
After you click another message appears: GOTCHA, Happy April Fools Day, we’ve no moon flights yet, but we’ve millions of FREE earth flights! Click here to book your free flight.

Then there was “first class seating” April Fools prank, which goes as follows
The Irish discount airline Ryanair today announced plans to introduce a First Class section on all of its pan-Europeanflights. Aircraft conversion is scheduled to begin after the busy summer travel season and is expected to be completed in time for the Christmas travel rush.
Ryanair's new premium product will provide travelers with a whole list of unprecedented travel comforts at no additional charge. Travelers will enjoy the following amenities:

Use of Check In Desk
Free Hand Luggage (15lbs)
Free Checked Bag (35lbs)
Boarding Pass
Use of Jetbridge (where available)
Guaranteed Seating
A generous 30" pitch
Reading Light
Window Shade
Overhead Luggage Bin
Free Water
Access to the Newly Introduced Inflight Refreshment Center
Valet Luggage Delivery via Baggage Carousels
Free "Ryanair First" Sticker

Overall Ryanair has been viral in terms of advertising, first you get media outlets to report on the story, creating buzz and free advertising. Then, after it is announced it was a joke, there is another round of free advertising, saying it wasn’t true and how silly Ryanair is being.

5 Star Or No Star

Ramesh & Suresh, the Duo of Cadbury's ad, in their first appearance meet at a shop after a long time and every time they have a bite of 5 star their memory resets. The ad was a Hit; Duo got an identity which was kind of a brand for cadbury's 5 star.


This could have continued like a strip of ads with new innovative ideas on Ramesh & Suresh, but the new marketing campaign which simply focuses on the change in packaging and leaving aside any value addition to the product or any other reason for consumers to reconnect(re-look) makes it negative buzz demolishing campaign. To put icing on the blunder the ad makes it worse and leaves no scope for any person on screen named Ramesh & Suresh.

Mentos "Luv ka The End"

Sounds like Mentos ka The End, after watching the ad I couldn't connect the Luv ka The End funda with its spontaneity and wittiness which mentos has always projected. I came to know after a few searches that it is yet another product going for product placement through films after Kelloggs- Chalo Dilli and Navratana- Dum maro dum, both of them didn't make a lot of sense to me in terms of its connection with the product. Although Mountain Dew - Zindagi na milegi Dobara(farahan aktar doing sky diving after saying- "dar ke aage jeet hai") was somewhere on the lines of movie's takeaways and Mountain Dew's tagline.

Mentos an established brand. Don't need to push so hard, Just yet another creative idea would have done a lot of business for it. This will pulverize the brand and will give a different image which will definitely demolish its positioning.

Coffee or Starbuck mobile!!


Starbuck has truly earned the mobile marketer. Mobile's role in giving legs to social media, print, television, radio, direct mail, catalogs, insert media and the internet is what makes it a standout medium.
Mobile social networking through games(which lets you win real world starbuck reward points), played against friends, in iphone and ipod; SMS dialogue with consumers at MTV movie awards; Happy hour promotion through social media channels has been part of its strategy.
The most important one has been the Starbuck mobile card, which came after a survey from customers who wanted to make things convenient, easy and fast. Card holders could pay the bills without bothering about the queue and transaction time. Such innovative ideas keep the competitors on their toes.
Apart from competitors who strive for better innovation, it keeps customers engaged in new things, it gives brand an edge over others, it opens space for new possibilities, it provides platform for brand to experiment.

Brands need more than just Fans!!

David Parfect: It is crucial for brands to have a valuable proposition for consumers in order to turn friends or fans into brand advocates.
Well said and so true.

Amul('s) Stamina

Amul , a Symbol of quality, a superb business model which started out as a co-operative movement has pushed itself strongly in an Indian economy. Morally empowering the women and farmers to collect milk from their cows and pass it on to them for a price. A very good example of supply chain management is going to relaunch its product Stamina, which was not a success in 2006.

Re-launch, yes you read it right. Stamina, a whey based drink, made from whey protein which is a liquid remain after the milk is curdled and strained. Although the product has stamina increasing properties but Amul needs to spread the word clearly.

Yes it is true, most people when asked about sports drink imagine only Red Bull, Cloud 9, Coke's Burn etc - in short Energy drinks. So Amul has to create first its own audience as it is totally a different segment. Energy drinks have caffeine which can cause dehydration during physical activity. This one has protein which increases the stamina.

Amul has a few obstacles. First is the not successful Stamina 2006. Amul needs to change that impression first. Second comes as competitors, not as the same segment competitors but since it is a sport drink people will compare it with different energy drinks. So it needs to build a different segment and be the best in it. The time taken to build with bring more competitors in the same segment which will be its upcoming third hurdle.

On the better side, Amul has its brand name, the most trusted one. This is the drink which will not be restricted to sport centric segment. It can make easier for mothers, how to give their kids protein rich diet. Health and proteinx freak gym riders will be ready to include it in their diet. Mid -40's, 50's, 60's... and aged are often recommended by doctors for protein in their diet especially when it comes to stamina.

Its not that easy as it looks. Amul will have to play a real guju(cunning) game here. It should really focus on the segmentation of the product and also on how to bring this product as part of a routine diet as this one has the potential. A campaign which can bring in everyones attention and roll the wheels for stamina.



Cadbury's : Glass and a Half Full


Latest campaign launched in UK. Just Wondering how different the approach Cadbury have everywhere. India Cadbury is targeting it as a sweet or desserts, UK Cadbury doesn't have the tiniest sign for the same.

Deals! Deals! Deals! LivingSocial to Groupon

LivingSocial has gone a step ahead in the deals world with its hyper local(penetrating into tier 2 cities with deals) idea. Indeed a good idea. Hope it has done its homework in terms of number of people having access to deals , people giving positive response in having it as part of their spendings, Vendors ready to join hands and most importantly its own ROI.

Why not?? Vendors will get better marketing and ROI, compared to what they get from local advertisement spendings to establish their business. People in Tier 2 or 3 cities are more cost centric and would definitely love it, in fact this will be encouraged more than what it is in tier 1 cities.Only the ROI will be less for livingsocial as compared to Tier 1 cities given the number of vouchers sold are same in the time period. As these cities have less expensive stuff to offer.Only thing that will matter is access to the deals. Given a good access, this thing is going to Rock & Roll.

Levi's Water Less

Here is an example of how social media can bring brand's Charitable and Responsible image. Everyone knows the math and how abouts of this event which saves water and provide it to impoverished areas.


Levi's through this initiative not only saves water from its manufacturing process, but also expects consumers to save water once it reaches to their closet. In an effort to help conserve water they've created a campaign encouraging us to care for our jeans in sustainable ways(hilarious ones).


First thought that came to my mind after seeing this was, I already wash my jeans once in 2 weeks, Is it some kind of joke that i need to wash my jeans even less. But this really have got attention of many folks irrespective of how effectively its global social footprints will be or will it be just another marketing gimmick. The idea is good and right on time with respect to buzzing social media marketing, also rightly said by global women's marketing Mary Alderete "Consumers are now more discerning and are looking for brands that share their value system. It’s not enough to just go out there, sell your product attributes and involve consumers in a transaction."
At the end of the day whether it is apparel Louis Vuitton's Panda in China, fizz king Pepsi's Super Bowl campaign, Pedigree(Dog food awareness) or any other brand, everyone today is following the same league (Social Media).


Absolut Temptation

Absolut Temptation Indeed, Simply Amazing....


A simple idea just given a good thought and put at the right place(Consumers have to wait at luggage belt).Also travelers love this while travelling so best timing. Least expensive, minimal effort and most fun, maximum coverage(as everyone who sees that will convey the fun moment at the most boring place) thats the benefit of good guerrilla thinking .

Nivea: Everyone feels as Native Brand

Nivea, sold in more than 200 countries, has come a long way as it turns 100 today. Experts have given multitude of reasons for its success, chiefly it is inexpensive for its quality. Other reason being brands ability to adapt and transform itself into other products, but with nivea it is impossible to ignore the word 'Native', as it is considered that this blue pot is found in almost every home in lot of countries. People actually consider it as native brand across the globe, which by itself is tremendous value for Nivea. Kudos to Team Nivea for bringing home so much value and trust.

aise he .. mood ho gaya!!

तेरे न होने की खबर इन कानो में गूंजती है
दिल सीजता है और आँखें तुझे ढूँढती हैं ..

तुझे क्या पता तेरे न होने में क्या है यहाँ
ऐसा लगता है जैसे सुन्न हो सारा जहाँ...

तुझे सोचता हूँ पर तुझे लगता है बकवास
ज़ालिम तेरे बगेर मेरा ज़ह्नूम है कारावास ..

जब तू समझेगी इस प्यार को, खुदा न करे देर हो जाये..
मेरी ज़िन्दगी तेरी ज़िन्दगी से पहले रुक जाए..
देख नहीं सकता इस मासूम चेहरे को इतना खामोश
खुदा रखे तुझे खुश और मुझे कर ले अपने आघोष

Lemonade growing Market share, Opportunity for others too!!

Lemonade's share is growing in fizzy drinks category, also in non-aerated. Indian palate especially in summers is also associated for thirst quench with aam panna or Jal jeera or pudina mint , which can be aerated and non-aerated. Pizza hut has one of the drinks on similar lines & CCD has just added in its menu. Both of them have positive response and good feedback for the same. Fiz big shots should try this to tickle Indian's taste buds.

Confessions of an Ad Man - David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy, the father of Advertising and the most sought after in today's advertising Industry, wrote this book. This book depicts ogilvy's previous jobs experience and how he learned to lead from them. He worked as a chef, a door to door salesman, a social worker, a farmer, an associate in research for motion picture.

His learnings from his past experiences and applying them are simply astonishing. The way he learned from Dr.Gallup(research for motion picture) about the habits and mentality of Americans. Also from his head chef, who was a great lesson of leadership in ogilvy's life.

Ogilvy continues talking about how to get good clients, keep clients, great campaign efficiently in ad industry, but it has great leadership lessons which can be applied anywhere. He also gives lots of tips on categorical approach to different industries to build downright unique campaigns.

All in all the way he learns from all his ex-employer leaders and applies to build his own brand & leadership qualities is truly impeccable, so the book has soak up lessons for wanna be leaders and for those who are leaders.

Brand Failures by Matt haig


Fascinating is the word for this book. 100 Spectacular Brand disasters from most of the global giants, who set on sail with multi million dollar campaign, only to sink without a trace.

The book is one of the best from the learning perspective as it extensively takes the before launch scenarios, during launch hurdles and the aftermath. It also gives the checklist of lessons learnt hence providing ' how not to' advice.

Book starts with few classic failure examples (New Coke, McDonald's, Ford Edsel). It further takes us to 'Idea Failures' in which it takes few examples as how Pepsi AM(for those who don't want caffeine through coffee) didn't work or Rasna's Orangejolt(launched just because of competition) and many other idea failures.

Book continues with examples of 'Extension Failures' in which it suitably explains Bic, a pen brand, if extended to underwear can be a disaster or Harley Davidson, extended to perfumes yet another disaster or even colgate, toothpaste extended to kitchen entree followed the same league. Pond's Toothpaste was yet another one. People like Ponds for fragrance, there was no link for fragrance here and hence the failure.

Next comes 'PR Failures' which has examples of McDonald's McLibel, Exxon etc. 'People failures' has example like Fashion cafe, which had no connection between model and food.

'Culture Failures' has hilarious and amazing examples like Pepsi's slogan in Taiwan was 'Come alive with the Pepsi generation' which translated to 'Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead', then there were translation problems for cars like General Motor's Chevy Nova (in Spanish it meant 'it doesn't go') in Latin America, Mitsubishi Pajero(in Spanish it meant 'Masturbator') and lot many.

Re-branding Failure has examples of Tommy Hilfiger for its logo. 'Tired Brand Failures' which has one of the most oldest and famous brands like Yardley, Kodak, Levis etc. The reason for failure was very much simple people just wanted to move on with the world and evolving technology in case of Kodak and for Yardley & Levis, it had many new competitors focusing the youths and next gen.

Brand Failure is not just the lessons of failure, what to do or what not to for only Marketing enthusiasts it typically projects learning values for how to maintain the brand 'ONESELF'. So it is not a book just for folks involved in branding but for everyone.

Dairy Milk: From Taste to Dessert

Like any of us, a product's life history undergoes many phases.Cadbury's one of the most popular product - Dairy Milk wasn't an exception.Looking through the history, the way Cadbury marketed Dairy Milk with different campaigns, focusing & projecting it in various ways & alluring people to indulge in their sweet tooth in some way or the other.

Way back in 1994, Cadbury's market was stagnating so it launched Real taste of life (kya swaad hai zindagi mein) which managed to get young adults.


In 1998, Cadbury saw many young adults still need rational justification for having chocolate, it launched ' Khane waloon ko khane ka bahana chaihiye.



Also, not much back in the past, Shubharambh and kuch meetha ho jaye displayed cadbury as a special occasion 'meetha' category. Like the one displayed by Thanda Matlab... (Coca Cola).




Meethe pe kuch meetha ho jaye: Dairy Milk's ongoing attempt to move away from special occasion product to one that is consumed daily.



Cadbury now wants chocolate to be in household's daily consumption habit may be in dessert or in snacks. It has stepped into the market with long haul strategy to attract all age groups which is a very strong move. It looks Indian sweets as its competitor and not Nestle(what a way to make your competitor feel low). Keeping that in mind it also wants to compete and push dairy milk in Indian Sweet style.

Post inspired from here

Charlie Chaplin, The legend forever

The most creative and influential artist of the silent film era. A war torn world needed a gift of comedy and he was there. Finest Artist and Mesmerizing Work.



Hats off - Sir Charlie

ZooZoo saga continues after 3G to Super Weeks Teaser

I wonder what the creative guys at vodafone must have briefed to their heads for approval of 3G ad campaign, especially when all other competitors were talking about how 3G helps see live content, faster internet speed and low pricing, and these guys were showing rajnikant and superman. Credit should be given to the brand manager too, who took the risk and approved the creative rendition.


With the plethora of TVCs on air during the ICC tournament, zoozoos kept their charm. After the success of Vodafone-3G teaser Campaign followed by an awesome ad campaign in the ICC world cup 2011. Vodafone has launched 'super weeks' teaser campaign for IPL-4. Zoozoo doing push-ups, getting body massage.
Not sure where vodafone is going to us with this, but zoozoos will keep their style, kudos to their creative team. Waiting for Pandora to open in entertainment and services from vodafone.

IPL-4 or Brand War??

The fourth season of Indian Premier league has kicked off. It's not just the public that is excited about the cricketing action, Sponsors and advertisers have have queued up for their brand war. Mumbai Indians top the table for brand value with owner Reliance Industries(big shot). Moreover, sachin's consistent performance has attracted lot more sponsors.

Debutant Bridgestone, wants to increase its awareness through brand Sachin and Harbajan. Orbit, a chewing gum, is associated with all the 10 teams. Coca Cola has increased its spendings by 30%, wants more impact for its brand. CSK is suddenly a hot property, despite a four-fold increase in its entry price for sponsors, new sponsors are lining up. For instance Aircel has extended its contract for another 3 years, Reebok for another 2 years. India cement is thankful to CSK for growing its popularity in northern markets.

Team owners are all smiles. 20 more sponsors and 2 new teams have joined the IPL-4 bandwagon to bring in more fun and fight, which will go for next 50 days.

Mood-Based Marketing

First it was Google which started showing up ads based on your search, although a person does not always search based on mood. Then retail stores came up with an idea that music helps consumers feel cheerful and upbeat and hence making them spend more.

Mood decides the type of music one wants to play, based on the music you play on your PC or phone, relevant ads will pop up. It scores tracks in a user's music library based on attributes such as: anger, tender, sensual, pleasant and tempo.

So next time if you are listening to 'Pyar humein kis mode pe le aya' don't be surprised if you see a matrimonial ad(to end the wait for 'batiyaan bhujane wali').

Mobile Marketing, a good bet

Moblie marketing is more than just sending SMS or MMS to consumer. It is a marketing platform where an idea can be reached personally unlike the mass media marketing. It is very efficient if a product has personal appeal or customized as per the consumer i.e. In this kind of marketing different segments can be attracted with customized interest as required in particular segment. It started with the concept that whenever a person receives a message, he/she thinks that it must be friend's message and is very enthusiastic about reading or replying to the person.

From the consumers perspective this marketing is good to an extant but the bulk one is really not tolerable, also the bulk one creates a notion that every marketing ad is crap. So it is ignored and is frustrating when it comes often, which kind of deviates from the whole purpose of marketing.

After all the talks about Mobile wallet & Mobile PCs, this is going to be a good bet for a long time from now. Although this type of brand building is very expensive for new start-ups in terms of technology but with time it will come down to expendable levels and will be enjoyed by a lot more chunk of marketing players.

Pepsi obsessed with Social Media Marketing!! - got hit hard

Pepsi for the first time instead of investing in Super Bowl,US's biggest game, diverted its campaign towards dialogue marketing with consumers to suggest best choice for social cause. It used facebook, twitter, iphone applications etc to get response for what will 'refresh the world', consumers can than vote for their favorite causes and pepsi would give millions to these and social media to promote the impact that its generosity had on causes.

There was a spectacular response with lots of votes, likes and followers but there was only one snag, despite all these big talks and social media response numbers, Pepsi's sales started to slide. For the first time in living memory it lost its number two spot and Diet coke overtook it.

Pepsi admitted its fault and said it needs more of product oriented marketing and advertising. After looking at its arch-rival's (coke) marketing campaign which was equally focused on Super Bowl, Social media and few other events, Pepsi had no choice but to see the axe which they hit themselves(lost its Market share by whooping 5%).

Deals!! A good way of Marketing ?

Snapdeal, Delivore, Dealsandyou ... etc are few websites which in the recent past have capitalized internet shoppers with their amazing deals and hence growing their business. They are also a very good platform for marketing any product which has not got public attention. They not only target deal-hungry consumers(most of us are) but also grab attention of those who don't have the need to buy and make them feel the urge to buy (just because something is cheaper and good, people are ready to spend and give a try).

Groupon(another deals website) has different model than the above mentioned ones. It has given a step ahead thought on that. Its discount increases as the number of buyers cross a certain limit. However the story doesn't ends here. Gap has come up with yet another idea ' Lets make a Deal', in this Gap offers a deal on apparels and if buyer don't like it, he/she can make a counter-offer before making its final offer. It clearly overruns the offers which the above deal sites has to offer.

Deals business seems to be stable as it gives platform for marketing of the product and also gives consumers to save extra bucks. Its beneficial at both ends. It gives consumers the reviews of what they are getting and also to marketers the review of the product and what their product can do in the market if discounted or priced in certain range limit.

Dawn of Mobile Wallets not so far!!

Google to come up with Electronic wallets which will bring an end to paper and card currency notes. Although it will take time to get established and work in India. Even if it is launched it will carry lots of ifs and buts on security issues. People will have issues with security on wireless data flow, non secure transaction, hacking, misplacing mobile. But eventually this all will seem to be secondary as and when technology improves and people start realizing how much flexibility it provides in terms of different accounts, cards, paper money.

Well played by coca-cola!!

Indeed a good strategy by putting teaser commercials and follow-up television commercials. Market strategist can learn a lot from this and it is well placed to envy its competitors.

Firstly it has reduced its marketing cost by taking inputs from the consumers. Getting the best marketing idea from the market itself and at the same time marketing also, what a way to market your product. I mean what can be better than this that a product is being marketed in the way consumers want it to be. It simply eliminates the ifs and buts, pros and cons of this or that type of market strategy in board meeting when you directly have consumer feedback of what they want to see.

Secondly with the cricket season at its peak with coke's gully cricket they have penetrated well enough. Also with the sprite(for youth) and limca(refreshing romance for old) changing its focus on the segment is the rightly judged as it is accepted by the consumers.

Now Kids,who are discouraged for having soft drinks and health conscious youth,who themselves avoid fizzy drinks, can turnout to be non-profitable segment. With its launch in Minute maid health drinks this segment can also be covered. Not sure if they have done justice to this segment, even when they have the opportunity and product to do so. Although it has a tight competition here but with a good market campaign and quality, market share can be brought up in no time.

M-commerce!!

Mobile commerce, in all its forms, is growing exponentially. U.S. consumers of all ages are using their mobile devices for shopping on-the-go, making more frequent mobile payments, and using their mobile device as a connector of other sales channels (for instance, researching products and services on their phones while standing in a physical store). But is it the same story for India. More than that how much potential it has in India.

M-Commerce in banks is the best example to see in India. It has been fruitful journey so far for the service providers. M-commerce has not yet penetrated in retail sector to an extant at which Australia and US are right now. Its a great opportunity for Mobile tech corps to tie with retail corps and let the service flourish. Also PayPal who doesn't want to be late this time should see a growth destination(India) and should consider some tie-ups.

For the reason that in coming years we will be accustomed to mobile wallets , which will further boost M-commerce growth. So any move towards M-commerce before mobile wallets are launched will be an added advantage as growing technology will refine it further.

As far as secure transaction is concern few hiccups are always there, as it was there when internet secure transaction started, but with time and technology it will overcome the loopholes or shortcomings and will make it customer friendly.

FDI in Multi Retail Brand!!

Four years and still we are waiting for what??

FDI in multi retail brand seems to be a good oppurtunity for the agriculture sector, logistics sector and retail sector. I see it as some kind of revolutionary measure as it is completely going to change the whole process of retail market. Boon for a lot and ban for a few(although will be compensated in a bit less for them too in other ways).

Firstly, farmers(perishable food producers) will be most benifited as they will be able to sell their products with good profit margins and will not have to indulge in one sided bargaining(as with the local stores or kirane walas), With better margin they will have better future opportunities.

The Second category who will gain will be government, hoarding and supply chain hurdles will be solved automatically. Demand will be met in ease with supply as lot of foreign investors will bring in new technologies to store and transport perishable food (Although it will be a challenge for them) which will reduce the waste and will in turn bring down the demand. Inflation will also see some downtrend as a result.

Thirdly, economy with such volume foreign investment will also see huge development in this sector and will also multiply with years to come. It will ease the pressure of food products from CPI at significant level.

Finally, Foreign investors will see increasing growth in what they invested and their returns in monetary terms will keep multiplying as and when they grip different states in the country. It will again entice foreign investors to invest in market as well as direct investment in this sector in India.

30th March in the annals of Cricket fans History!!

Ind-pak WC semis is like a comet seen once in a century. Looking at the speed and price at which its tickets were sold out,I think that nobody should be allowed to be in the stadium. Truth is there is no one who would not envy the crowd who is going to watch the match live. I mean the only option 2-3 days before the match to watch it live could be that either you disguise as a janitor or a pitch roller in the stadium or if at all you are in the police dept. lick your seniors ass to put you in the ground security force.

Now what the hell is this with no fly zone over the stadium perimeter. Gosh!! they ruined my plans to hire a private chopper with samosa, popcorn and coke ;).

Also sitting in front of these sports channels watching highlights of earlier ind-pak matches & listening to the on going discussions on news channels,I feel they should reschedule the match to today, without anymore delays. I can't wait to see the action between afridi-gambhir, sachin-aktar and may be new ones :).

Damn! I will envy even those who will be standing outside the stadium that day when the match is going on.

So much for a cup of coffee!!

I wonder 'So much for a cup of coffee!!', accepted that it is required for a business growth. But if one really wants to think of business i feel it should be from a customer's perspective. A Business strategist for the medium or short term market capital(capture or gain) overlook a few aspect what a customer wants and what he/she would like at the first place or once a while( or often, which should be in this case).

Lets start with working professionals(at any level) or college students or school kids hanging out with anyone(friends or family or professional meet). Now irrespective of the group mentioned above everyone will love to have anything which they had it at home or in the past where they liked it because no matter how many experiments you do at different places to get good taste, you always want to come back to that one place once a day which genuinely (authentically) tastes the way you want it(gives you that comfort luxury and ways to express yourself).

Now for Starbucks and Dunkins, i would say it is a good opportunity because tea serving nation has learnt to have coffee(they should thank CCD and Barista) but already profitable part of market is captured(not fully) by these two good competitors. And i think jinx can be broken but it will need a round about way. If the premium segment(starbucks and dunkins) wants to move the crowd to its stores it need to make youngsters addict for it. It is always next generation which changes the course of action of previous generation.

If premium segment launch their campaign with school or college students and tier 2 cities(with affordable prices) in parallel with tier 1 cities with different themes for different segments. The reason why it will be a good choice because it is these folks who come to tier 1 finally with good corporates and big names.

I don't say it is very easy and neither an assurance that it will work because tier 2 cities don't have so much expenditure power but it was same when coffee business started in India nobody thought it will be such a huge business, it worked out well and will continue. And on that i bank my thought, to capture the crowd from your competitor you need to do not only something different but something better which can pull you on top.


Travel


The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine



Censorship!! for a better cause

Television and Radio programs are the form of motion graffiti which set trends for modern youth, ways to keep updated for every youth's parent and one of the only means of liked entertainment for the aged ones.In my view it is of atmost importance to keep offensive language and indescent behaviour away from such form of daily life needs.

Firstly, lets start with kids, they watch TV on a regular basis and learn most of it from such sources. They are the quickest learners because they hardly prejudice or judge if what they are instilling is even worth. for example lets say a show is being racist for a particular community, now a child from the same community will build animosity and hatred for others, and on the other hand another child from some other community will also have racist comments inculcated in him/her.

Secondly, TV and Radio are the mass media means. Youth, many a times listen to what is being said and become aggressive. Every youth around the world always looks up to some star icon(famous TV star or politican or journlist or any famous industrilist) and they have an urge to follow them. Now if any of them by any means show offensive behavior, it becomes their style(inspite of them having judging capability).

Thirdly, Every parent and aged people think the time they had in their life was the best and now it is growing way out of culture. If they see the same or even worse in this form they will not be able to appreciate the greatness which new generation brings in any form.

Offensive language and behavior will only worsen the mankind's attitude, will push away from each other and also from entertainment(tv and radio). Although it unleashes the art in some but restricting it them only will be best for the entire community.

Whats your stance on this? keep up the good work!! or be a spoilsport!! Think twice before saying no to censorship. It may be fun today but tommorow be ready with an answer to next generation and also for facing the consequences.

Axe Lynx Excite



Tried it, but no angel fell for me, not even my maid :P .... What's next Axe??

Workplace & Personal Mix!!

Oil and water cannot be mixed into one, water stands distinct from oil. Same goes with the personal and workplace life.One cannot make two ends meet beacuse workplace just need to know what your skills are and what you are good at. Private and personal life can bring in lots of ifs and buts in one's workplace.

Firstly, not everyone is from the same background or same culture or even if all the things are similar not everyone has same thoughts. So a person from a particular culture can be not liked in a workplace and it can hinder his growth. Just because his community is not accepted in the society, he will have to pay for it. Lets say americans don't like particular african culture people, they won't accept him if they come to know about him.

Secondly, not everyone has the same status-quo, people at workplace come from different parts of the country. All of them do not enjoy the same position in society. It happens that if a person in a team is from a small village and others are related to big industrialist or politician family, there is always a difference which is felt by the whole team and conseqences are faced by that one person which is further bound to effect his work.

Thirdly, Private life you might not be the same person as you are professionally, which is to say almost everyone is different in their personal life. Personal life you have family or friends and workplace life you have working professionals or professional friends or jealous professional friends. So you have to deal with them differently and to tackle them together is never a good idea. Also, a jealous working professional friend might take advantage of you if he knows your personal life.

All in all Workplace and personal in one combo is not a good mix!! Don't you agree??

Social Media has been around for long

When i was a kid i used to wonder why my grand mom used to be so curious about the postman coming to the house, be it a special occasion from her side or senders. She used to be very quick in terms of responding to her friend/relatives, no matter her friend was in next street or different city. She used to enjoy every bit of 'Catch-up' part in the message and used to discuss it with everyone in the house. Now if you take this time further back you will find the same incidences. Human being has been social animal for ages, call it AD or BC. It is just the mode of communication which is evolving.

It is interesting to see that marketing has pitched in with these evolving modes of communication. Social Media marketing has been quite effective in terms of spreading the word about a new product or getting the end result of a marketing campaign. It has been effective and one of the best way of marketing. The pace at which it is growing makes one feel that there is no tomorrow. Also, with the technology and innovation there seems to be no end to this. So when a few generations back it was word to mouth marketing, it is now wall to wall & tweet to tweet.


FDI in Airlines Industry!!

FDI in Airlines is pending for quiet sometime and it should be taken into consideration. Air carriers will get a breather from the cut throat competition and spiraling oil prices. China did it long back. Government should take steps to relax regulations.

Airlines will be able to come out of debt and will think to provide good bare minimum services. Also as this industry will get lot of investment, our tier 2 airports will develop and new technologies will come with it. It will create jobs and revenues will multiply. Indian air services will compete at global level to take it all together to newer heights.

Thinking from consumers perspective, it will be easier to travel across borders, improved services, benefits and cheaper, better quality control, safety measures will improve, better connectivity and what not.

Things that can concern are air pollution due to increased air traffic, though not to an alarming extent. Also Foreign investors can make it a money making model if a lot of leverage is given in terms of regulation, of which chances are less because their brand will also be at stakes.


Teaser Campaign: Better way for Marketing??


Guess it depends mostly on the expectations met based on the hype set. This hype set can prove to be best or worst depending on what you have in store for consumers. Teaser thinking has been a very bad experience for Ford Edsel, which was named after Henry Ford's son "Edsel". It was launched with the teaser slogan: 'The Edsel is coming'.


Teaser campaign which Ford thought will give it the best marketing by generating enough curiosity among the consumers actually backfired them. It was a car designed from a manufacturer's perspective and not from consumer's perspective. Its name was compared with weasel, grille was said to look like Vagina with teeth, Design was criticized, nothing much special about it and overpriced. Now this happens when consumer's expectations are very high and one can't blame consumers. After the dazzling Thunderbird, consumers had lot of expectations from Edsel(credits to hype for teaser slogan). It was not supposed to be revolutionary car but an evolutionary car. Blame it to research for not finding what people wanted or expectation(hype)
which was not met.

I wonder what would have happened if the expectation set were not that high?? Here is a perspective which i think would have helped in promoting the launch of Edsel. If the teaser had restricted the consumer's expectation, Edsel would have secured a different place in the market. Teaser plays the most important part here because once you give a flash of thought mind rambles in thousands of directions, which builds expectations and hence the comparison starts when actually it is in front of you. It never meets the expectation. Just imagine if someone gives you a thought that there is a James bond sci-fi movie just round the corner, looking at his past movies one can imagine whether his/her thoughts will have any limitations and when such movie comes it might miss to strike a chord, which is what happens a lot many times with a multi-starer-hyped our very own Bollywood movies. In a way teaser should be focused and should not carry with it any idea about the product which the product actually doesn't have in it.

PS: Edsel was denigrated as "The car with the toilet seat grill".


Process matters not the Final Product

Today's "consumer" driven world doesn't accept that. Customer Relation can put an enterprise on top or can bring down at the same time, also customer feedback can get you one of the best inputs on the product. Consumer is the one who gets the final product and so it is the final product that matters.

With the choices of products hitting the market frequently, consumers have gone way smarter over the past few decades. A client or a consumer expect the best service no matter how or what is the procedure it has followed. If the service is not worth his spending, enterprise should be ready to loose the competition, its process won't be able to save it from the brand damage and losses.

Now this can happen with any industry. Lets say a Business strategy implementation firm is approached by a famous client. Now the ball is in client's(consumer) court. Based on what he wants(final product) he will recommend(to other clients) or will come back with better hopes. Here final product will benefit both client and enterprise in acheiving their respective goals.

But lets say if the process is followed. It might happen that it will not lead to final product what is required or it may have other consequences like will take time, more money, will exceed the deadline, which will have negetive effect on enterprise's reputation.

Its only the final Product which goes to the consumer and consumers are active Social Media users, which is the future. Which puts enterprise's future at stakes if they don't go for final product.

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