Sunday, May 5, 2013

Markathon May 2013 Edition



Dear Readers,

We are curling closer towards the warmth of May. Air is fresh and sunny. And when the bees are busy hoarding their honey, most of you, our beloved readers, would be busy in their internships. For some it would be a comeback into the corporate world and for some it would be a dream beginning. All the marketing enthusiasts out there would be going great guns putting all their marketing knowledge into action. We hope Markathon would have helped you gain at least a little amount of that knowledge. Biggest business news of April should be the Quarterly earnings report of Apple Corporation. It reported its first dip in profits in almost a decade bringing end to one of the greatest winning streaks in modern era, at least for now. Also for all the sports fans around the world, there was no shortage of excitement. Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United has already won the EPL with still one more month to go. In India, our own IPL’s sixth season is making us glued to our TV sets with action packed matches. Also it is turning into a battleground for the latest Cola war. Pepsi has spent crores of rupees to bag the title sponsorship and Coca cola is coming up with so many strategies to bypass the anti-ambushing laws and to capitalize the moment.

Yet again, the enthusiasm of the participants has been mind- blowing. Our team is having tougher time every month in deciding the winning entries. Your enthusiasm and constructive feedback will help us only getting better and better in providing you with a cornucopia of marketing knowledge.

This month’s cover story is quite offbeat. It is about a film star who has become a cult brand in the film industry. Our friends at IIM Shillong have written a stupendous piece of article on the journey of the brand Rajinikanth right from the launch to this day. There are certain brands, which has defied all the laws of marketing. Except for the product P, they never follow the other P’s of traditional marketing mix. People never mind paying high price; are never tired to go and find the product themselves and they never look for promotions. One such brand is Rajinikanth, who has been the undisputed box office darling for more than three decades in South India. Do read the cover story for a punch-packed article, similar to his movies.

In this month’s Corporate Vartalaap we got a little candid with Ms. Babita Baruah, Executive Business Director at JWT Delhi. In this short and sweet tête-à-tête, Ms. Babita Baruah speaks about her life and time in the competitive field of branding. She also spills some beans about her forthcoming book. Flip through the pages to read this intellectual piece of interview.

Also we have the usual sections to keep you engrossed till the last page. The Bookmark section will review you about “Data driven marketing” by Mark Jeffery. Radical Thoughts will speak about the most debated ‘Apple failing or not’ story. Addicted will yet again give you a beautiful analysis of two trending advertisements.

Team Markathon congratulates the winners and all the participants and you people make us what we are today.

With a host of exciting stuff lined up for you, waste no time in taking on this delightful journey as you flip through the pages of the latest edition of Markathon.

As always, do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

Sit back and enjoy this issue!

Happy Reading!

Team Markathon