Flaunte October 2013 Edition

NDIMFlaunte' October 20132

CONTENTS

The N

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13

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Cover Story:

First Cut:

Mythological Management Lesson:Ramayana (23)

Shopper Marketing(08)

Case Study:Renault Duster (14)

VISA Debit(07)

Articles(26) Biz Quiz(19)Snippets(20)

EDITOR’S DESKDear Readers,

It makes us feel delighted to welcome you to the post festival release of our new edition-Flaunte’. The journey so far has been fascinating and like a dream run for all of us. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the readers of the magazine for showering their love and support on us and making it a success in such a short span of time.

On this joyful note, we present to you an insight into the contents of October edition. This time around, the game play revolves around ‘Shopper Marketing’ as the Cover Story. It is equally well supported by ‘New York Film Festival’ as the Special Story and ‘Visa Debit’ as the First Cut. Coming to the case study, the Renault Duster will take the centre stage. It is not over yet because along with these we take a look at some of the latest happenings in Snippets followed by Ramayana as our modern day Management Lesson. Further, the final showdown will give you an exclusive insight into the prestigious Brand War event organised by NDIM in the month of October.

We hope this issue makes an informative read. Our endeavour continues to be able to add more value to your reading and we are working incessantly towards it. Read on to find out for yourself.

Let us know your thoughts and be sure to come visit us at https://www.facebook.com/FlauntNDIM and on twitter https://twitter.com/FlauntNDIM for more of the latest integrative marketing news and stories.

Keep Reading! Keep Liking!

Team – Flaunte’ Markomania – The Marketing Club New Delhi Institute of Management

?NDIMFlaunte' October 20132

NDIMFlaunte' October 20134 Flaunte' October 2013 5 NDIM

The New York Film Festival 2013

A divine like festival had been occurred in this very world better to say in New York. The New York Film Festival is one of the largest and oldest film

festivals in the world. It was started in the year 1963 when the film was becoming adult day by day. It was the good opportunity to the film festival organizers to overtake the CFF by the sparking opening and the introduction of the Hollywood style.

Special

Story



It is now one of the best film festivals which are not only famous to the western countries but also bulls eye for the eastern film makers. There are various award categories and it is also well-known for its jury board. The board is well balanced by the jury members from different regions of the world. This film festival has some major attraction generator through the world because it has been taking place in the Hollywood’s own country.In this year 2013, the festival was started on 27th September and ended on 13th October. This New York Film Festival occurred in the three major theater halls which are famous for their royal atmosphere and nostalgic memories. Alice Tully Hall was one of the best destinations for the people who are really fond of good short films. The intellectual essence of those films which mainly came from the central European countries had some good impact on the critics mind.

This event treated in USA as a social event and it is a memorable experience to the visitors. To ensure the service it also included the public transportation system under this event. The chief organizer of the film festival arranged the all modern facilities to the participated countries and the individuals to inform all about the event. This year the authority opens an official blog page to share the thinking of the participants as well as of the viewers. This was one of the wise decisions when in the year 2009 it opened official Face Book page to tap the youth. The young generation generally neglected by those organizers and it was corrected when the announcement of finding young talent was incorporated. This had been a good impact on the generation ‘Y’. now days this film festival become smarter, more easy to access through a mobile apps which became very popular to those people who are unable to join the festival directly. These are the decisions which keep the festival far ahead than the others.Not only the main event New York Film Festival, but also all the associate events organized by the same organization have a good impact in the all segments. This festival also has the categorized over view which is very effective for the organizers who really wants to tap the targeted consumers and want to create an unbeatable

position in the minds of them. The festival has also had many associated events. Some of them start with the main event and others happen throughout the year. This thinking has some effect to engage the service receivers all the time with them. The details of the associate events are given bellow:• New York Film Festival – One of the nation’s preeminent celebrations of film from around the world; In 2013, 19 days and nights at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with additional programming at the Walter Reade Theater and (this year) at the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center; Total estimated attendance is 50K; September 27 – October 13, 2013.• Chaplin Award Gala – One of New York’s starriest evenings celebrating the career of a film legend; Past honorees include Michael Douglas, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Martin Scorsese, and Al Pacino.

Star-studded dinner, tribute and after-party; approximately 1100 attendees; typically held in May.• New York Jewish Film Festival – Just had its 20th Anniversary in January; A partnership between the Film Society and the Jewish Museum celebrating works that focus on Jewish culture; This is one of the most highly-attended on-going series that the Film Society produces.

• Dance on Camera – An annual salute to dance-related films that runs for 3-5 days in late January/early February.• Film Comment Selects – An adventurous series of films selected by the staff of the Film Society’s Film Comment Magazine; Typically runs 10-14 days in mid-February and early March.• Rendezvous with French Cinema – The Film Society’s most popular on-going series that highlights new French cinema in partnership with UniFrance; Typically runs for approximately two weeks in early to mid-March.• African Film Festival – A salute to films from many African countries that runs for 5-7 days in early April.• Open Roads: New Italian Cinema – Almost two weeks of new films from Italy in early June; Again, one of the three most popular on-going series that the Film

Society produces.• Human Rights Watch International Film Festival – One of the most important and topical series that the Film Society airs; Includes numerous timely topics on subjects such as migration, immigration, etc., and is produced in association with the Human Rights Watch Organization; held in June.• New York Asian Film Festival – Now in its second year in partnership with Subway Cinema, this series highlights exciting and eclectic Asian films that are skewed more to younger adults; Generally runs for approximately two weeks in early July.• Latinbeat – A celebration of the best of new Latin cinema that occurs for two weeks in either August or September.• Spanish Cinema Now – A salute to the newest films from Spain each December that runs for approximately 10 days to two weeks.

One of the major attractionsof the festival is the seminars and the industrial talk. Those events are generally taken place at the time of the main festival to attract the social gatherings. This event also one of the biggest platform builder for the distributors, producers, etc. The new ideas exchange is always welcomed. The common people also have got the opportunities to interact with the celebrities and exchange the ideas.

This film festival had a good impact in the field of marketing when the sponsors from different segment put their hand behind it. One of the best airlines of western continents, American Airlines was the official travel partner of the festival. While one of the oldest print media The New York Times was standing as the media partner.Kobal Collection, one of the leading clothing brands was the corporate apparel sponsor who made a debut of a fashion era. All international festivals which have a good impact on the socio economic structure should have a support by the leading money

vending corporations. In this particular case one of the leading money vending company, Stonehenge put their steps ahead. The official time keeper was the oldest swish watch manufacturing company Jaeger Le Coultre which provided its limited edition watch to the winners of the various segment of this outstanding event. The organizers of the festival provide food and lodging to all participates and the company named Trump stretched their hands after it’s rising in the global hotel business.This festival has changed the concept of business in the film industry when it incorporated the popular movie and allowed them to entre in this arena. This year, the Hollywood block buster, ‘kill your darlings’was the largest sold movie in the entire one month festival. This movie was directed by John Krokidas, a famous Hollywood director and acted by the young experienced actor Jack Huston. There are many things which are loveable but those should be avoided to prosper and how one can change one’s view was the main flavor of the movie.

A good movie can’t be enjoyable without good food. To satisfy the test buds of the delegates, there were some food and beverage festivals with this event. Besides those film related events this kind of activities was to attract more crowed there. This was a wise decision

though some of the critics said that the lack of real movie buff was decreasing day by day. So the decision should be taken by the organizers and they should also be careful to increase the popularity by the means of good quality of movie, not by the other things.

This international film festival has some great opportunities and the organizers should nourish them with a careful hand.

So we can keep the hope that one day this film

festival will be the most popular and most famous film festival irrespective of all the

criticisms.

Special StorySpecial Story



VISA DEBIT

It is true in every sense of the word, the world rests on the shoulders of both men and women and this is why Visa Debit has taken an initiative to strengthen

Indian women.Visa Debit launched its ‘’Dream to Advance’’ campaign in 2012 with the aim of taking small steps in changing the world. The latest step is for improving the lives of Indian women in rural areas by educating them and enabling them to become self sufficient. Set in the backdrop of Rajasthan, the ad shows women walking miles to fetch water for their families as a result sacrificing their right to education. It is a common scene in rural India. Visa Debit, after a lot of research decided to find a way in which it can connect

to the issue and bring about a change. The protagonist in the ad film is a woman who after seeing the deserted school in the village is moved to change the scenario. On entering a girl’s school filled with cattle, she asks him about the whereabouts of the girl students. He explains

that they have no time for school, as they have to walk for miles to fetch water. Disappointed with the state of affairs, she logs on to her computer and uses her Visa Debit Card to purchase sewing machines. She tell him that with the Visa

card, she can buy things that are not available locally. The machines soon arrive while she gathers the village women. Underlining the importance of education, she helps them sew Hindi alphabets onto clothes so that they

can learn and practice while fetching water. The song playing the background elucidates the importance of education. She realises that her Visa Debit card has the power to help her bring about the change. She uses it to order some sewing machines while she visits various households gathering women. Women, whether in urban or rural India as a matter of fact anywhere in the world love fashion. Our protagonist seeing the opportunity comes up with a unique idea of combining fashion with education. They also found an innovative way to learn alphabets while doing the various jobs which saves a lot of time of women. She teaches them how to sew alphabets on the ‘’dupattas’’ these women wear. Later in the ad these women are shown wearing the ‘’dupattas’’ while fetching water. Thus demonstrating how the school can be taken to them instead of them going to a school. This shows apart from education they also learnt use of sewing machines. The company approached veteran lyricist Gulzar saab with the idea and he was so touched by it that he wrote a moving anthem for the campaign. According to Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India, the earlier film talked about a common man’s innovation. A simple teacher dreamt of bringing electricity in his village so that children could

study in the evening. So he generated electricity with the help of a cycle. . It was a message of optimism, access and financial inclusion where using Visa Debit card online results in the achievement of a dream. The campaign was

well received and helped the brand build equity, bring positive change across all brand parameters and enhance transactions and volume.The new ad touches a crucial issue in our country. What is the point of giving our country the stature of mother, if the women of that land are left behind and are not given an equal chance to progress? Visa Debit associates itself with the great cause of women empowerment.

‘’There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing’’

Swami Vivekananda

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hopper marketing can be essentially defined as having a clear understanding of the consumer to be targeted with respect to their behavior as shoppers via different appropriate channels so as to leverage such information to benefit all the stakeholder's i.e. the brands, retailers, consumers and shoppers themselves.The world of marketing is changing and changing fast. The onslaught of modernization and technological advancement has empowered the buyer to have more choices at their fingertips. Thus it’s no longer the case that Above the Line advertising and the usage of mass media alone can deliver the brand’s intended image to the shoppers. Mass media today remains challenged if not overshadowed by the social media and innovative real time apps which deliver information to consumers on a per second basis.

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Thus the consumers are already preloaded with a clutter of information which affects their buying behavior largely. Owing to this confusion created by such overflow of advertising information the last battlefield where the brand can play its final cards remains the point of purchase where-in the moment of truth lies.

Globally the average person is bombarded with about 5000 advertisements per day through TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, internet etc. Yet 70 % of all buying decisions are made at the point of purchase itself and thus it becomes not only necessary but utterly essential for brands to market their products in such an environment wherein the biggest chunk of shopping related decisions are made.

This is where shopper marketing comes into play i.e. marketing the brand in a retail environment and this can include managing displays, innovative packaging, personalized promotion, enhanced category management, etc. However, it is to be noted that shopper marketing is not limited to only in-store activities. It is an overall holistic and integrated marketing approach with a wingspan of mass media to point of purchase. Moreover online retail is an overwhelming global phenomenon that cannot be left out.

Fathoming this inevitable shift in the marketing universe, the innovative marketing research department of P&G and their Walmart division along with Satchi & Satchi came up with the very first instance of shopper marketing strategies. Other stalwarts of marketing intelligence like Nike, Johnson & Johnson and Coca Cola were soon to follow and acknowledge this great shift. One example to establish this fact is that

from 2003 – 2006 Nike’s advertising budget saw a 20% hike whereas their ATL budget was cut down from 40% to 33%, eventually giving them a 20% spurt in sales.

The broad aspect of shopper marketing can be narrowed down to three core areas which affect its effectiveness on consumers in the retail environment.

Market Specific Variables: Variations of marketing channels and format play a significant role in a holistic shopper marketing experience. The broad classification of markets based on geographies and economies for example urban and rural are no longer sufficient for appropriate influence on shoppers. Marketers have to realize that one size does not fit all and so every channel and format needs to be in sync with the needs and tastes of each micro segment of shoppers.

Shopper Centric Variables: Every shopper is different be it because of their demographics, their sex or sexual orientation, economic class and power or simply because of their age or culture. Understanding this basic phenomenon is the key requirement for a marketer to get into the shopper’s mindset and value system and gain more insight into the art of shopping. Such clarity will help the marketers to devise strategies which are more attuned to the needs of the shoppers and also to find key targets in every micro segment of shoppers to boost their sales.

Challenges of Design and Execution:Brands often rush into the retail format without a thorough understanding of the repercussions associated with the format itself. The point of sale remains

as the most important aspect of shopper marketing and its conversion to a point of purchase is the ultimate goal. Product design, display design, in store visits and attendants are some the various aspects that a marketer needs to thoroughly analyze to convert potential buyers into happy customers.P&G and Walmart

Credited as the partnering duo that pioneered the field of shopper marketing, these brands still remain one of the foremost players in this game. One such incident which led them to fine tune their shopper driven approach of selling was when they realized that during winter the consumers preferred to buy cold creams, Vicks inhalers, paper towels, etc. from nearby chemists than coming to retail outlets. So they ran a large campaign on encouraging people to stock up before winter than to suffer and then buy. Furthermore

COVER STORY they backed their campaign with various charitable institutions to reach into the hearts of the customers. From that very success P&G has come a long way in bringing more innovative in shop experience and pre shop campaigns, with their holistic advertisements and creative displays.

Coca ColaWhen talking of creative marketing

strategies, coca cola is a name which deserves a special mention. One of the best brands in the market today, this company knows how to connect with their customers. Their innovative advertisement campaigns in the mass media are well integrated in various array of marketing tactics linked to social media, print media, etc., right up to the point of sale where the shoppers are greeted with amazingly organized and designed kiosks.

Airtel & VodafoneAirtel and Vodafone, the two most formidable names in India’s telecom industry and hardcore rivals are fully capitalizing the festive spirit of the pre winter and winter season. Their offers to reel in customer cash as well as new customers are multifarious

ranging from reduced call rate packs

(local, STD and ISD), special value added services like religious hymns and songs as caller tunes as well as EBay shopping discounts by Airtel to visiting temples in helicopters by Vodafone. All these offers are based on the understanding of the Indian sentiment during festivals, their need to talk to their friends and families far away and their joy of spending in the festive mood.

AmulA n o t h e r n o t e w o r t h y brand riding the festival b a n d w a g o n

of profits is Amul. Famous for its dairy products, Amul came out with special gulab jamun gift packs for Diwali- trying to cater to the sweet loving Indian crowd in the festive occasion pushed forward by its brand image. More festive additions were the Rejoice assorted chocolates and the Dussehra/Navratri special Utsav ice creams which went out of stock at many stalls set up in puja pandals in Kolkata owing to consumer appreciation, nice packaging and effective pricing.

McDonaldsWhen burger giant McDonalds entered India, they realized the importance of the cultural diversity of the Indian customers with respect to the outside world. Hence the transformation of the pork and beef

burgers to chicken and fish burgers since many religions in India are against the consumption of beef and pork. Moreover they

differentiated their menu keeping in mind the vegetarians-thus the Aloo tikki’s and Paneer wraps. Their concept of happy meals and other cost effective meals were also widely appreciated by consumers. One more strategy that needs mention is the

“McDonalds goes veg campaign” used during Navratri in Delhi NCR region to capitalize on the Indian custom of eating veg food during navratri.

VolkswagenVolkswagen’s Indian campaign has been a series of shopper based marketing strategies to reel in the price conscious Indian consumer. It diversified its premium brand image and wanted to compete in the medium range vehicle sector wherein already lies a number of seasoned competitors. The approach though simple, was nicely implemented with Volkswagen giving out its new model Vento customized for the Indian market in return for an old car and one rupee along with various attractive financing schemes and the ads were spread out widely in the mass media. The success from this strategy has encouraged the company to invest more in shopper marketing to become top players in the Indian market.



Dusting off theCompetition

No other car in recent times has created the sensation Renault Duster has done in the Indian automotive industry.This predominantly European car has won over the Indian

consumer. It has turbo-charged the compact sport-utilityvehicle segment and revived the fortunes of Renault India. This

case study looks at what contributed to the car’s success.By N. Madhavan

CASE STUDY Renault Duster When the French automotive giant Renault first entered India through a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, it placed high hopes on its maiden product offering Logan – a mid-sized sedan launched in

2007. But the car with its outdated looks and high pricing, failed to strike a chord with Indian consumers. Such was the scale of the failure that it ended up killing the joint venture in 2010. Renault’s brand name took a massive hit in India. Ironically, the Logan’s failure laid the foundation for the success of Renault’s compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Duster.

After its break-up with Mahindra & Mahindra, Renaultchose to go alone. It set up a `4,500 crore factory at Oragadam near Chennai along with its global partner Nissan Motor Company. The facility caters to the needs of Nissan and Renault. But the Logan debacle continued to haunt the company. The first few products it rolled out from the new plant were positioned as “image drivers”. It launched premium sedan Fluence in May 2011 and premium SUV Koleos that September. Both were assembled at the Oragadam plant from imported kits. Its next offering was the Pulse, a compact car launched in January 2012. The Pulse was a cross-badged version of Nissan’s Micra, and was also positioned as a premium

offering. Renault's focus on resurrecting its image in India and consequent premium offerings meant poor volumes in a country that prefers value for money.

Renault desperately needed a “volume driver” to shore up its operations. It identified a gap in the SUV segment. “There were SUVs costing 20 lakh and above manufactured by global players and those priced from 6 lakh to 10 lakh produced by Indian companies. We saw an opportunity there,” says Armelle Guerin, Director, Product Planning at Renault India. The company launched the Duster priced between 8 lakh and 12 lakh in July 2012.

The Duster took the Indian market by storm. It fuelled the segment of compact SUVs and grabbed a 23 per cent market share within a year. The Duster’s success was such that Renault had to triple production within months of its launch from seven per hour to 20 per hour. Today, one in three cars produced at the Oragadam plant is a Duster. That is not all. The Duster today accounts for 86 per cent of Renault India’s production, 81 per cent of its sales and 100 per cent of its exports.

How did a predominantly European car win the hearts and minds of difficult Indian customers?

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The Duster’s success is more of a marketing achievement than the result of engineering excellence.Renault’s strategy indicates a coming of age for the car industry in India with focus on customer-centric product development and use of consumer insights to drive engineering. Renault identified a gap in the market and used the customer voice to develop an appealing product. Though the market has matured considerably in the last decade, cars remain an aspirational product bought more for their image than only for their functionality. This is more so with an SUV. If customers were rational and made an objective comparison of costs and benefits, an SUV might not be a good choice except when the terrain demands it. SUVs are big, unwieldy, difficult to manoeuvre in cities, high on maintenance and less fuel efficient. It is psychology and not economics that drives SUV buying. SUVs do provide functional benefits such as more space, off-roading capabilities, more power, and flexibility of use. But many customers never go off road. Renault has understood this consumer psychology. The Duster is designed with flared wheel arches, muscular body, roof rails, raised suspension and big tyres – all visual indicators to create the right image. Also, being small, it removes many limitations of a typical large SUV. The end result is a product that delivers a strong value-for-money proposition of price, convenient handling and mileage. The Duster has opened up a new category which will attract considerable competition. The newness will wear off and the success that has put a large number of Dusters on the road will dilute the novelty of its looks. Keeping the product fresh by perhaps a mid-life facelift should be a priority. Also, heavy use on Indian roads tends to take its toll on cars. Problems like rattles, niggles, mechanical and electrical failures cannot be wished away, and so a robust service support is necessary. Renault has to invest considerably in the service channel to support a volume selling product. This will finally decide whether the customers who flocked in will remain loyal to Renault.

a MarketiNg achieveMeNt

“It is a product that delivers a strong value for-money proposition of price, convenient handling and mileage”Ananda kuttan B. Unnithan,Professor of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

The answer lies in what Renault India did in the 24 months following its decision to bring the Duster to India. The Duster was Renault’s first ‘real’ offering in India after the Logan. “The Logan’s failure reminded us of the importance of understanding the customer, getting the product right and positioning the Duster correctly at the time of the launch,” says Marc Nassif, Managing Director, Renault India. The company went back to the drawing boardto understand the Indian customer. It identified a focus group of about 200 people whose profile matched the potential buyer of the Duster. It then short-listed 30 families from this focus group across five Indian cities for an ethnographic study spread over two months. During this period members of the product development team lived with their target customers to observe them, understand their lives and needs. They also spent time with the customers to know what they liked and did not like about their vehicles. The study threw up 41 modifications that the European Duster needed. Guerin says the exercise enabled the company to understand what a car should have to meet an Indian customer’s needs. “We understood that a critical purchasing factor of a car in India is the exterior design,” she says. “People loved an SUV with rugged looks that stood out in a crowd, but at the same time wanted it to operationally perform like a sedan – easy to drive and [offering] good fuel efficiency.”

The Renault Duster’s success, in my opinion, can beattributed to the following factors: 1) Category growth: Growing demand for SUVs -thanks to a number of launches by both Indian and foreign car makers, as is the case in most markets. 2) Competitive pricing: Almost all SUVs had been priced above 15 lakh, with most foreign models priced above 25 lakh, creating a sweet spot at 10 lakh and below, where the Duster is perfectly priced. 3) Safety: Given the bad traffic in most cities and horrendous accidents we see every day, the safety features of SUVs score higher versus sedans, as the perception is that they are safer, especially for families with children. 4) Increased road travel: The poor quality of roads and highways, and increased road travel by families for holidays and leisure makes SUVs very desirable. 5) Image: The macho image of SUVs and the perception they can be used on rugged terrains, although most people may never do any off-roading, makes them a hit. 6) Fuel economy and high price of petrol: This created a strong demand for fuel-efficient diesel cars. All these factors, along with focused advertising and best-in-class after-sales service, have made Duster the top-selling SUV for the past few months, showing that even in a depressed market, if the brands get the 5Ps (product, price, promotion, place and people) correct, consumers will reward them through increased off-take. The competition in the category will only intensify, with Ford being the first to come with EcoSport, another SUV offering very good value, and other brands are sure to follow. For Renault to continue with the success, it must focus on the elements that made Duster a hit – best in class after-sales service, competitive pricing (not necessarily the cheapest), understanding the needs of its consumers by continuing to connect with them, and offering very competitively priced service and spares – an area where most brands seem to fail.

The views expressed here are personal.

get the 5ps correct

“The competition in the category will only intensify, with Ford being the first to come with EcoSport, and ther brands are sure to follow” Rajat Wahi, Partner, Consumer and Retail, KPMG

There were other lessons as well. The study revealed that Indian consumers liked a strong dose of chrome on their cars, especially the exterior. They liked body-coloured bumpers. Inside the car they preferred a dual-tone interior, and wanted the switches for power windows on the door rather than in the central console. Since a good proportion of Indian cars are chaufferdriven, the rear seats needed special treatment.Indians preferred inclined seats for greater comfort. Rear air-conditioning was critical and so was the armrest, a mobile charger and a reading light. Some storage space was also welcomed. The European Duster did not have these attributes. Renault made several changes in the car to suit Indian conditions. These included reinforcing the suspension to tackle rough Indian roads and offering a higher ground clearance. It added more brackets to the car’s doors as they tended to be used roughly. The engine was tuned to meet the quality of the fuel in India and deliver high efficiency of at least 20 km per litre. The tuning of the engine was done in Paris- the company shipped diesel from India to get the tuning right. In early 2011 the company conducted a customer clinic in New Delhi to validate its learning. It put the prototype of the European Duster, after the necessary changes, alongside rival cars in a price range of 7 lakh to 12 lakh, and asked a few potential customers and car experts for their views.



All of them had to also sign a confidentiality agreement with Renault. “What we got was a ‘wow’ ”,recalls Guerin. “The feedback we got showed us that we were on the right track.” The company then set to make actual changes in the car. “We identified a 3F strategy – Fast (the adaptation to Indian needs must happen within 12 months), Frugal (on limited budget) and Fantastic (with no compromise on quality)", says Karim Mikkiche, Managing Director, Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India, whose team executed the changes to the car. Three teams – the product development team, Renault’s design studio in Mumbai and a team of engineers – began to work as a small company within Renault India. Nassif, the India MD, was empowered to speed up decision making. “We realised early that to achieve the 3F objectives we needed the modifications to be done locally with a local team. That helped. We executed the changes in 12 months, within budget and ended up with a product people love,” says Nassif. “Such a success would not have been possible if the modifications were done in Paris.” No doubt, there were challenges. Paris refused to accept the set time frame of 12 months and termed the budget proposed too low. Some modifications were discouraged as it involved a lot of engineering (rear air-conditioning) or structural changes to the car (inclined rear seats). “We had to convince them that these were needed to offer the best product to the consumers here”

says Nassif. When the car finally hit the market, Nassif was proven right. Today, more than 60,000 Dusters are running on Indian roads. “The Duster succeeded because it is the right product at the right time in the right segment at the right price", says Sumit Sawhney, Executive Director for Sales and Marketing at Renault India. Abdul Majeed, Partner and Leader for automotive practice at consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, India, says global car majors are realising that customer voice in product development is critical. “Renault has tasted success because it took the pains to understand the Indian customer", he says. Off late, Sawhney’s job has become a daunting task. SUV sales – like auto sales in general – have slumped in recent months. Enhanced competition from rivals such as Ford’s compact SUV EcoSport is eating away the Duster’s market share (it has dropped to 20 per cent in July). Nassif, for his part, has a different challenge now. The Duster has resurrected Renault’s brand image in the country, and Nassif realises the company needs to capitalise on the car’s success. “The Renault brand cannot sustain in India only on the Duster. We will need more products", he says. Renault India needs many more Duster-like successes.

Source: Business Today

Q1. Which Indian firm manufactures spray machines fully in Indian technique?Q2. What is the brand name of the mixer grinder of Eureka Forbes?Q3. Which company gives free health services to the street dwellers in India?Q4. Which apparel brand introduces its leather collection from France?Q5. Identify the logo:

Q6. Connect the pictures and identify the brand name:

Q7. Identify the missing figure:

Q8. Which food and beverages brand, owned by Kraft can be associated to the image?

Q9. Which brand is this image related to?

Q10. The name of a Volkswagen brand is related to a Joseph Kessel’s novel Coup de Grace. Name the brand?

BIZ QUIZ



SNIPPETSGoogle to bring India's top heritage sites online

Technology giant Google has tied up with the government and the Archaeological Survey of India to bring online the country's major heritage sites like the Taj Mahal, Khajuraho and the Ajanta and Ellora caves.The initial target is to cover the country's 100 most important heritage sites. According to the plan, Google will create 360-degree online imagery that will be available on Google Maps and also on the World Wonders site. Google signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry of culture and the Archaeological Survey of India. However, Google did not disclose the required investments and timeframe for making the planned sites available online.

Tata Sky announces Everywhere TV smartphone appTata Sky, one of the leading direct-to-home service providers in the country, has announced the launch of Everywhere TV, which will allow subscribers to enjoy their favourite TV channels and movies-on-demand anytime, anywhere. Available to Tata Sky subscribers, the service can be availed by downloading Tata Sky's Mobile app from the Apple and Android stores. Subscribers of Everywhere TV service will have to pay Rs 60 per month and can avail of 50 TV channels.

TOI launches Right To Information DayAfter Youth Parliament which had the youth in a face-off with parliamentarians, TOI has added another leg to its I Lead India campaign, by initiating RTI Day. People want to question the government and its allied agencies on why the roads are broken, why there is no water in the taps and why the electricity bills are so high, but most do not know how to do this and whom to ask. Taking a cue from the situation, The Times of India (TOI) has initiated its latest campaign, titled RTI Day, which takes up the task of spreading awareness about Right to Information (RTI). Through the initiative, people can put forward their questions to different government agencies on the matters most relevant them. The campaign began on October 12 and will culminate on October 25.It includes regular print advertisements in all editions of TOI along with radio promotions of the same. The creatives for the campaign are designed by Taproot India.The campaign also includes workshops across 18 cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar. The workshops will train people on how to frame an RTI and put forward their questions to the government agencies.

Samsung launches smartphone with curved display screenSamsung Electronics, the world's best-selling smartphone maker, has launched a handset with a curved display screen called the Galaxy Round, the smartphone will feature a 5.7in (14.5cm) display. Samsung said the curved screen display would help consumers use some of the features on the phone, including those that enable users to check information such as date, time and missed calls when home screen is off, with more ease. At the same time, users can also change music tracks on their phone, even while its display is off. The Galaxy Round will initially be launched only in South Korea. The firm gave no indication of its plans for a global launch.

ITC expands its footprintITC Hotels has further expanded its bouquet of premium hotels with the opening of the ‘WelcomHotel Bella Vista,

Panchkula - Chandigarh’. The new 49-room boutique hotel will be managed by ITC Hotels under the chain’s ‘WelcomHotel’ brand. Located in the heart of the tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, the hotel is just 10 kms from the Chandigarh airport and easily accessible from the business districts.The hotel’s Europe-inspired design philosophy blends indoor and outdoor spaces that offer tranquillity in the midst of a bustling city environment. The rooms and suites offer spectacular mountain views with facilities and services designed to cater to the needs of both, business and leisure travellers. Exemplifying the WelcomHotel brand promise of efficiency and warmth, the ‘WelcomHotel Bella Vista, Panchkula-Chandigarh’, is committed to creating new benchmarks in hospitality.

Air Costa takes offThe regional airline - Air Costa, first to be set up under the government of India's regional airline policy in South India - took to air with two Embraer jets. The airline will be headquartered at Vijayawada, and have Chennai as its maintenance centre. This start-up comes seven years after the launch of Paramount Airways, which too flew Embraer jets. Air Costa has plans to invest about Rs 610 crore over the next two years. The airline has taken delivery of two E-170 jets and, will add two more E-190 jets in November. In all, Air Costa plans to have 10 E-190 jets by end of 2014, and take the

total fleet size to 25 by 2018 in phases.

Airtel introduces ‘myplan’Bharti Airtel Limited has released a new commercial for its latest post-paid plan, called ‘myPlan’. Conceptualised by Agnello Dias of Taproot Communications and directed by Ram Madhvani, the commercial focuses on the plan’s unique feature – a post-paid plan tailor-made for every individual. myPlan is an innovative step in this direction which

highlights the fact that every customer is different – some spend their time on STD, some on local calls and some on data content. myPlan allows such customers to create a flexible & customized plan depending on their specific needs. The TVC is a stylized montage of various individuals using their phones in different

ways, and ends with the creation of a plan through a simple abacus. The abacus will also be a key in-store feature that customers can use to plot their usage and create plans. The commercial is accompanied by an outdoor campaign in several cities and POS material.

2013 Skoda Octavia launched in India at Rs 13.95 lakhSkoda has launched the 2013 Octavia in India. It has been priced starting at Rs 13.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Built on the MQB platform, there are seven variants to the third-gen Octavia with three engine options. These are namely 1.4 TSI, 1.8 TSI and 2.0 TDI. Transmission options are a 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic and a 7-speed automatic. The 2.0TDI can be had with both manual and automatic options.In terms of styling and comfort, the new Octavia includes bi-xenon headlamps with quintessential DRLs, 16-inch alloys, automatic sun-roof, parking sensors, cruise control, airbags and cornering function for the lamps. These features will differ on the three variants namely Active, Ambition and Elegance.



MYTHOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT LESSON

RAMAYANA

A Premium on VAluesSticking to some core values which are steeped in righteousness eventually leads to success. The main protagonist, Rama, is depicted in Ramayana as an epitome of virtue. He is an ideal king, an ideal son and a pragmatic person. He sets high ethical standards in warfare and invariably sides with dharma, or righteousness.A random sample of all successful business houses which have been around for more than a century now – Godrej and Tatas, for instance – is ample proof that ethics in business do pay dividends in the long run. Names of such business houses enjoy tremendous brand equity in the market; understandably, that rubs off on their products as well.

HigH on motiVAtionThe Ahalyaa episode is all about a good leader enthusing a team of demoralized members who have become zombies over a period of time and have stopped delivering results. Once ‘woken up’, they are fully charged and start performing along expected lines.Rama wages a war on Lanka with very limited resources, backed by an army which is pretty out-of-the-box or unconventional. It is an army which is highly motivated, expecting minimal facilities. Goes on to show the superiority of motivation levels over the availability of physical resources. A CEO who is out to increase his market share needs the back up of a highly motivated sales staff which – if motivated well – would go all out to win the hearts and wallets of the company’s customers.

mergers And AlliAncesWhen a merger is based upon a congruence of basic value systems of both the parties involved, long-term benefits accrue.

With the rising hope of independence came the hope of industrial growth and development, which meant getting oneself ready for a giant

leap. In the dairy topography, Amul is now the biggest name not only in India but also on the Indian subcontinent.‘Amul ‘- the name itself holds a position in the minds of the consumers. Its brand equity is so high that it introduced itself into the FMCG sector without conflicting its brand image.The ‘White Revolution’ was coined by Amul and has built itself a strong ground on the Indian shores of business by bringing out milk in a packaged form. The vanguard was none other than Dr. Verghese Kurien. It was under his guidance that India transformed from a milk deficient

country to a milk sufficient country. Known as the ‘Father of White Revolution’, the movement started by him alleviated thousands of people from poverty both within and outside India.His ‘billion liter idea’ consisted of creating co-operatives for each village wherein farmers were paid fair prices for the milk brought in by them and this milk was later distributed and also exported abroad. This was the main reason behind the success of the company in India and for that reason the ‘Milk man of India’ was awarded most of the civilian awards, the Padma Shree (1965), the Padma Bhushan (1966) and the Padma Vibhushan (1999) by the Government of India.

Kurien: the utterly butterly

health maker



The alliance between Rama and Sita is a turning point in the Ramayana for more reasons than one. Sita is brought up in the household of the sage-king Janaka. When Rama gets banished to the forest after their marriage, she displays a clear absence of any hedonistic tendencies and chooses to accompany him to the forest. Without a synergy of this kind, the sequence of events could have been quite different!Likewise, the friendship of Rama and Sugriva sets a good example of mutual cooperation between two people facing a similar predicament in life and career. What follows is Sita getting traced in Lanka and Ravana eventually getting vanquished.When Etihaad decides to team up with Jet Airways, or when Tata Steel ties up with Corus, the parties involved are looking for synergies in their respective core strengths, so as to tap their joint business potential better.succession PlAnningDasaratha’s plans for installing Rama on the throne of Ayodhya do turn topsy-turvy, but the existence of a clear succession plan can never be denied. This is meant to ensure continuity in governance. It helped that besides being the eldest son, Rama was liked by all and hence chosen to lead the kingdom once his father passed away.As per Raghuvansham of Kalidasa, when the time comes to relinquish his body, Rama divides it equitably between his two sons – Lava and Kusha.

well-managed companies ensure that the career development plans of their top performers are directly linked to succession plans. Ideally, good leaders invariably groom at least three managers under them. When one gets promoted to the coveted slot, it is quite likely that two others may seek greener pastures elsewhere. Whatever happens, the goals and the processes involved in achieving the same enjoy uninterrupted continuity.

leAVing tHe comfort ZoneWhen Rama gets ordered to remain in the forest for a span of fourteen years, Sita and Rama take it as an opportunity to engage with the ordinary citizens of their kingdom, rather than remaining confined to the comforts of their palace. This helps them to understand the ground realities better. CEOs and marketing honchos of today who travel through the hinterland to get a better first-hand feel of the customer’s pulse do a far better job of servicing the market.

excellence in executionThe plan to locate Sita gets brilliantly executed by Hanuman. The wisdom with which he conducts the search and the single-minded pursuit of the goal is an example worth emulating by managers at all levels. While crossing the sea, he declines an invitation from Mount Mynaaka to take some rest on the way.The manner in which he assures Sita of his genuineness exhorts managers to conduct commercial negotiations by first setting the anxieties of the opposite party at rest.

concern for enVironmentFor three days, Rama prays to the god of the sea to grant a passage to his army. Nothing happens. Rama then shoots arrows into the bosom of the sea, whereupon the sea-god appears and explains that he is bound by the laws of nature, just like earth, air, space, light and all constituents of the universe. Creatures living under his shelter he cannot forsake, but surely a shallow area can be shown where a causeway can be built.Rama accepts the sea-god’s apology and orders the building process to start. Thus, the objective is met without damaging the eco-system.In the current context, governments all over the world are realizing the importance of striking a judicious balance between economic growth and environmental concerns. Rama’s approach inspires us to strive to find the middle path and ensure that Mother Nature is not unduly disturbed to pave way for crass commercialism.

dePendence on Yes-menRavana is a highly learned and accomplished person. One of the reasons for his downfall is to neglect the advice of nay-sayers. His wife, Mandodari, brother Vibheeshana and grandfather Malyavaan – all advise him to return Sita to Rama. Instead, he chooses to listen to his courtiers who play on his ego and pride and advise him not to do so.A couplet in Sundara Kanda of Ramcharitmanasa clearly advises us to ignore the advice of a paid deputy, a doctor and a teacher who speak positively out of either fear or expectation of a gain. A king who acts upon such motivated advice loses his kingdom, his body and his righteousness (dharma) as well.

HumilitY in VictorYWhen Ravana is on his death-bed, Rama exhorts Lakshmana to learn the tenets of good governance from him. Lakshmana approaches Ravana rather haughtily first and fails. Rama then advises him to approach Ravana with due humility, whereupon Ravana speaks of the pitfalls of procrastination and shares his knowledge about statecraft and diplomacy.

Power of AttorneYThe sincerity with which Bharata takes care of the kingdom’s affairs while Rama is away speaks of true values of follower-ship. Upon his return to Ayodhya, Bharata informs him that the kingdom’s revenue had gone up ten-folds during the fourteen years he was away.Here is an excellent example of a kingdom held in trust and good faith, much akin to the present day concept of a power of attorney getting appointed to take care of administrative and legal matters of a business when owners are not readily available.

mAke HAste, But slowlYRama has won the war and is on his way back to Ayodhya. He decides not to rush back. Instead, he stays back at Sage Bharadwaj’s ashram for a night and makes enquiries about the state of affairs in Ayodhya. Also, he sends Hanuman upfront to break the news of his imminent arrival to Bharata who is living like an ascetic in Nandigram. He moves to Ayodhya only after receiving adequate feedback about its current situation.

leAdersHiP trAits With the possible exception of his handling of Sita upon her return from Lanka, Rama conducts himself in an exemplary manner throughout the narration. Whether it is befriending Nishaad Raaj, refusing to return to Ayodhya when Bharat approaches him in Panchavati, conducting the last rites of Jataayu, accepting Vibheeshana in his fold or even when reuniting with his mothers and brothers upon his return to Ayodhya, he sets a high bar for humanity in general.In the corruption-infested times we live in, his leadership traits inspire managers to do their best even under the most trying circumstances.

rAm rAjYAThe concept of being fair to all is the bedrock on which modern management is based. For those in power at the top, an impartial conduct of those in authority is a sine qua non for the morale of the people. Sita gets banished to the Valmiki ashram when an ordinary citizen casts an aspersion on her character. Rama’s role is not much different from that of a true-blue CEO whose loyalty to the company’s overall welfare is unflinching.Skirt-groping CEOs who have a roving eye and managements which look the other way just because they accord a higher priority to business goals than to the character of their top honchos could take a leaf out of Rama’s conduct.



The TATA Aviation saga: An eternal story

By Arun Kumar M, IIM Ahmedabad

The essence of air transport is speed, and speed is unfortunately one of the most expensive commodities in the world, principally because of the disproportionate amount of the power

required to achieve high speed and to lift loads thousands of feet into the air. This is strikingly illustrated by the fact that while an average cargo ship, freight train and transport aeroplane are each equipped with engines totalling about 2,500 H.P., the ship can carry a load of about 7,000 tons, the train 800 tons and the plane only two and a half tons – JRD Tata at the Bombay Rotary Club.Never has a company been as deeply involved in flying as the Tatas and that too for a very long time. JRD Tata’s love for flying started way back in the in 1920s and it has been an ever going story since then. He was inspired by Louis Bleriot, a pioneer in aviation, early in his life and immediately took to flying. Tata obtained the first pilot licence issued in India in 1929. He was known as the father of Indian civil aviation.It all started with Nevill Vintcent’s idea of flying mail flights from Bombay to Colombo in the 1930s. He found a supporter in JRD Tata. He had founded Tata Sons, a division of Tata Group in 1932. After 3 years of negotiation, they won a contract to carry mails, Tata Aviation Service, and subsequently the Aviation Department of Tata Sons was formed. It was named as Tata Air Services, which was later renamed as Tata Airlines in 1938. However, it was later nationalised as Air India.

In 1940, Tata Steel started operating the Sonari Airport in Jamshedpur and owned a small fleet. In 2001, there was a joint venture between the Indian Hotels Company Limited and the Singapore Airport Terminal Services for airline catering. In 2002, Taj Air started a luxury aircraft and private jet charter service. In 2008, Tata formed a JV, BJETS, with Brlley Group of Singapore for fractional ownership of aircraft with operations in Singapore and India. Tata Technologies also formed a JV, TATA HAL, with Hindustan Aeronautics for building aerostructures. Tata also bought a 33% stake in the Genoa-based maker of engines for aircrafts, Piaggio Aero Industries. In 2009, Tata Aerospace Systems, a JV with Slkorsky for helicopter cabin parts and aircraft components, was conceptualized and another JV, Nova Integrated Systems, was formed with the Israel Aerospace to develop unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2011, Tata Lockheed Martin was formed for assembly of defence aircraft parts. In 2012, Indian Rotocraft Limited, a JV, was formed with Augusta Westland to assemble AW119 helicopters in India. However, once Ratan Tata retired and handed over the reins to Cyrus Mistry, Tata Sons has entered in two major

ventures in 2013. One is for a low-cost carrier AirAsia India, a JV with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd and Telestra Tradeplace in which the Tatas have a 30% stake. The other, Tata-SIA Airlines, is a full-service airlines with Singapore Airlines in which the Tatas have a 51% stake and Singapore Airlines has the remaining 49%. The AirAsia proposal was accepted by the FIPB in March and the Tata-SIA Airlines proposal was accepted in October, just recently. The deals may have been finalized after his retirement but these were ongoing talks before his retirement, after the FDI policies had changed. It was Ratan Tata who had recommended these deals to Cyrus Mistry and the Tata Sons Board. Even now, although Mistry and Tata Sons are involved in the strategy making process, whenever they need some help, they turn to Ratan Tata. A trained pilot, he is the most experienced man in India with respect to aviation. His passion and obsession are so high that he even established a flying

club in Jamshedpur when he was posted at Tata Steel.However, despite the huge enthusiasm for flying, the Tatas never really took off in the aviation industry. The JV with the Singapore Airlines is their third attempt. The first attempt was in 1997 but later they withdrew after lacklustre response and resistance from the authorities. Ratan Tata’s hatred towards bribing was well known and this proved to be the roadblock when a minister asked for around 15 crores to start the airlines. The second attempt was made in 2000 when Tata and Singapore Airlines tried to buy 40% in Air India. However, they had to withdraw again due to political resistance and corporate subterfuge.However, the two new ventures provide more hopes for the Tatas, who are banking on the fact that India’s airline seat per capita is only 0.07 compared with 3.35 of Australia, 2.49 for the US, meaning India’s aviation industry is still ripe for growth. So has the aviator truly returned? Guess we must wait and watch.

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Is South Korea the new Japan for Consumer products?

By Bhanu Putumbaka, IIM Trichy

South Korea has been enjoying an increased market share in consumer products, surpassing Japan in the recent years. The top brands have gained recognition in the US, Europe and other emerging market economies due to their high quality and competitive prices. There are a lot of factors that contributed to this surge in exports, the most important being the export-oriented strategy adopted by the top companies in the country.

Family-run conglomerates-Chaebols have diversified into emerging markets like China, Brazil and India. This helped reduce the risk of dependence on the developed countries and averted the adverse effects of the economic downturn on exports. Moreover, the R&D culture adopted by the companies is helping them offer diversified products at competitive prices. Also, the Capex rates have been high even while investments have reduced in other countries owing to the crisis.

The automobile industry has been the game-changer for the Chaebols. Their market share of the automotive industry has increased continuously over the years. Hyundai motors and Kia motors together occupy a global market share of 9%. The strength of these firms lies in the proactive approach to competition and external environment. These companies have expanded into emerging markets and reduced the dependency on the developed markets where auto sales have reduced drastically. This is the case even in other verticals. In consumer electronics, Samsung and LG dominate the markets. Samsung has a 23.6% market share in the global mobile handset market. It has achieved this by flooding the market with different products at various price levels. It also dominates the semiconductor industry in DRAM used for personal computers, laptops et cetera. While Samsung did this, LG gained a strong market share in emerging countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, where it entered early.

Owing to these brands the country’s brand image is growing. More and more domestic companies are looking to transcend into overseas markets. Consumer goods companies like KT&G, CJ CheilJedang, AmorePacific are planning to expand outside Korea.

But there do exist problems. The continued economic dominance of the Chaebol is choking start-ups and sucking out talent from the job market. Growth of SMEs is needed for economic decentralization and this is being hampered. Only when young graduates take risks and become entrepreneurs, innovative firms emerge. China is a dominant exporter and a main competition for South Korea. Although South Korea has been rapidly increasing its exports by building shipyards to facilitate trade, China keeps exerting its dominance, more recently by surpassing the Koreans in total trade volumes.

Japan on the other hand is losing its competitive advantage in exports. The Fukushima disaster increased the costs of energy and also resulted in a lack of trust. The appreciation of the yen and growing competition from China and South Korea resulted in a loss of market share in the global exports for consumer products. Also, raising input costs resulted in the shifting of manufacturing plants by the top companies like Honda, Sony Corp, Toshiba and Panasonic to other countries. Fall in domestic consumption, indecisive government regulations, unfavorable tax and trade policies, all resulted in shrinking profits for the manufacturing firms. Manufacturing production fell and thus Japan recorded trade deficits for 14 straight quarters. The exodus of these facilities (Japanese firms) also resulted

in a decreasing growth rate and a loss of jobs. It raised a debate on national interest vs. corporate profitability. This exacerbated the negative effect on the economy already in turmoil after years of continuous deflation and an aging population.

Shinzo Abe took over as the Prime minister promising to revive the economic situation. Through his policy ‘Abenomics’ he announced a three-way approach to increase domestic consumption and make exports competitive–expansionary monetary policy, fiscal stimulus and structural reforms. This resulted in depreciation of the yen and made the Japanese exports more competitive. But there is a risk that increase in government spending along with monetary easing will increase the existing debt levels. There was an outcry against the consequences of Abenomics by countries like South Korea, which competes with Japan for a market share in consumer products.

Due to these policies, the yen appreciated 20% against the dollar. This provided the required boost to Japanese exports but the effect varied among different sectors. The reasons for that included foreign currency debts, profits and losses made by the subsidiary companies.

So, what needs to be done now? There is a need for a sustainable growth in exports. Domestic consumption needs to be revitalized to get the economy back on track. The future strategy has to concentrate on the domestic market but for now, the economy is on the right track, depending on exports to reign in the deficit. There is also an opportunity to improve global markets in delivery services, convenience stores and medical care. The Koreans are carefully observing this. Being fiercely competitive, they know their challenge is not over yet. Although they might be the runaway leaders as of now, other emerging economies are ready to pounce in, and they seem ready for it.

Source: International Trade Statistics 2012-World Trade Organization

Leading exporters in World merchandise trade (2011)

Source: International Trade Statistics 2012-World Trade Organization



Can Biyani Strike it big with Big Bazaar Direct (BBD)?

By Ishita Kumar, IIM Kozhikode

The Indian retail market is estimated at $490 billion with only the organised segment making up just about 10 per cent. In a slowing economy, a large chunk of the organised segment is

bleeding thanks to rising operating costs. Technopak's latest retail report says that since more than 85 percent of the transactions are in cash, under-invoicing and non-reporting of sales is the order of the day. High credit in the system translates into high distribution cost and an inefficient supply chain.

Big Bazaar Direct is a culmination of e-commerce and personal door-to-door selling. The project is speculated to become bigger than Big Bazaar, which is the brainchild of Future Group. The model would be an unprecedented one, even such a model has not been implemented globally. At the very core of this new model, it would be driven by franchisees who would take orders by personally visiting the customers. Order taking can be integrated with back-end supply chain to assure product availability at all times. The catalogue would contain nearly 1000 deals on certain selected products like groceries, furniture and electronics. Perishable commodities like dairy items, fruits, vegetables do not feature in the catalogue. One of the key feature of this system is that the tablet can be

updated daily to show the changes in purchase price and deals. BBD shall also contain periodic training material to timely test the awareness level of franchisee owners.

The model requires an initial investment of Rs. 3 lakhs which is a sum of refundable security deposit of Rs. 1 lakh, a set-up charge of Rs. 1 lakh for BBD tablet, initial launch material and year’s training module. The remaining 1 lakh would be franchisee’s e-wallet, which would be the base money for placing orders. When the owner places the order, it gets deducted from the e-wallet. The customer receives an SMS and the delivery is promised within a period of 7 days. Customer would pay cash-on-delivery, an additional shipping charge would be levied if the entire billable amount is less than Rs. 500Some of the unique features of this model are that there would be that there would be no restriction on the area or territory while placing an order. The customers only need to punch his / her correct area code. The franchisee would earn commission on the product sold, which would range in the order of 3 and 20 per cent. These commissions are divided into slabs depending on the type of the item. Apart from this, every fifth month franchisee’s marketing and branding will be supported by the relationship managers of BBD. In addition to this, knowledge seminars would

be conducted to further strengthen the business concept.A lot of thrust is on Tier II and III markets and it is expected that the share of e-tailing would jump from 0.2% to 6.5% by 2023. Also, the business model would yield greater amount of working capital for the company. This simple plan needs an outstanding and a flawless execution for it to be a success. Some of the key points of focus should be essential commodities rather than high margin yielding products like electrical appliances. It should not be ignored that consumers look for touch and feel products in store and might not order them without experiencing. There is a very strong proposition of selling jewellery via the e-franchise model and Gitanjali Group has allowed stocking up of jewellery worth Rs. 5 lakhs to allow on-the-spot jewellery selling

At present there is a need to focus on areas which already have a strong customer base and high level of selling is assured. There is a need to fix monthly targets for franchisees. Incentive programmes would keep the franchisee owners engaged. Also, one cannot ignore the mammoth task of making delivery on-time. They should probably take help from Domino’s wherein they promise to return the billed amount if the pizza reaches the customers late. The delivery time should be brought down to two days since customers would not wait longer for the FMCG products. Also, there is a need to incorporate the fact that most of the order placing occurs in the evening,

hence, scheduling should be done accordingly. Also, there is a need to look for automatic or faster segregation of products at the warehouse. Also, bulk delivery requires big vehicles, it brings with itself the time needed to make delivery at the customer’s door and then parking the bigger vehicle, somewhere away.

It is very important to have confidence in the business models following the right kind of resources that would ensure survival. The bigger the brand, the industry begins to expect more. If Future Group is prepared for every contingency then, this model would turn out to be a huge success.



Kumar, AVP, Jindal Steels, Mr. Naman Sharma, CEO, U’th Times, Mr. Manjit Singh, RM Total Oil and Mr. Sidtharth Shukla, ASM, Khaitan Electricals Ltd. Associated brands were like Nike, Khaitan, Tata, Coca-Cola and many more.There was also a cash prize of Rs. 9000 to the winner, Rs. 6000 to the Second Position holder and Rs. 4000 to the Third Position Holder. There were three consolation prizes for best presentation, display and advertisement of Rs. 2000 each.First position was bagged by NDIM 2013-15 Team, comprising of Ravish Dalvi, Ruchika Singh, Gunjeet Singh and Parvinder Singh. Second position was again bagged by NDIM 2013-15 Team, comprising of Pratyasha, Sayan, Angshuman and Arnab. Third Position was also bagged by NDIM 2013-15 Team, comprising of Abhishek, Durgesh, Shahnab and Binny.Best Advertisement prize went to NDIM Team 2013-14, comprising of Chandan, Kanhaiya, Himanshu and Rupesh. Best Product display prize went to NDIM 2013-15 Team, comprising of Rakhwinder, Priyavarat, Sreemanta and Papori. Best presentation prize went to Asia Pacific Institute of Management, comprising of Ankur, Akshay, Rahul and Ankit.

Brand War is an annual mega event of Marketing Club of New Delhi Institute of Management in which various brands and products are being

promoted by the students of top B-schools of the country in their own unique way, using all the different marketing tools. This year it was organized on 5th October at NDIM Campus. Co-sponsors of the event were Sampark India Logistics Pvt. Ltd. and Uth Times. The students showcasing their unique marketing skills, astonishing and innovative campaigns, catchy jingles, spectacular presentations and product display, stunning advertisement signified the unexplored talent of the youth vying for the appropriate opportunity to innovate and unleash new avenues of advertising world."Brand War 2013” the mega Inter college competition witnessed the grand war of brands among the twelve finalist teams from various B-schools. There were twelve teams which participated in the event. There were eight judges from the corporate world. Mr. Santosh Mishra, DGM, Yebhi.com, Mr. Rohitashva Singh, Head Market Operations, Yebhi.com, Mr. Ashish Nalwa, Marketing Head, Pristine Business Solutions, Ms. Sanya Nakra, Consultant, Pristine Business Solutions, Mr. Ashwani

BRAND WAR



BIZ QUIZANSWERS

A1) A.B. Udyog

A2) Tornado

A3) Apollo Munich Health Insurance Ltd.

A4) Natalia

A5) Stonehenge, A leading fund management company

A6) Nokia

A7) Ambi pure

A8) Tang

A9) Amazon

A10) Scirocco


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Flaunte October 2013 Edition