Markathon January 2011

Dear Readers,

As I write this editorial the screaming headline that caught my attention was the entry of the iPads in India. This gadget has earned the title as the fastest selling gadget ever. Within a year of its launch, it has sold nearly 15 million units, earning close to $10 billion in revenue. It was first launched exactly a year ago in the US on the 27^th of January, 2010 and was up for grabs since April 2010. Considering the launch in India has been pretty delayed, also taking into account that it was launched in Hong Kong & Singapore in July 2010.

Now why am I talking about the iPad in a marketing magazine? Yes, the brand Apple in itself is a case study in itself for budding marketers. But here am talking about the effect that the iPad/tablets as a product category can have. It has the ability to change the face of marketing. I will tell you why. Just the game changing nature of the product is mind boggling. Industries as varied as entertainment, media, gaming, business solutions are waiting to see the long term effect of iPad per se and tablets in general with bated breath. An entire ecosystem is getting created around the iPad. Applications for Apple products are a flourishing industry. Most apps available will go pay sometime in the future, creating a new stream of revenues for content producers. Mobile advertising that has been an enigma to advertisers since time immemorial due to the small size of phone screens can now come of age owing to the larger screen size of tablets. For advertisers whose primary complain is their inability to reach out to an increasingly fragmented market, tablets will offer a new opportunity of creating targeted messages for a well defined TG. The introduction of iPad and other tablets sure is going to ensure exciting times ahead for marketers.

In this month’s Cover Story we have decided to look upon the most popular newsmakers in the world of marketing.The top stories that captured the audience of the consumers, the latest innovations that caught the eyes of advertisers, brand turnarounds, new ideas employed by FMCGs to get closer to the consumer and much more.

In Vartalaap, we have Ms. Anjana Vivek, the founder of VentureBean Consulting, a venture consulting firm and a Guest Faculty at IIM Bangalore. She shares her thoughts on the Venture Capital industry in India and the changes that have occurred over time, what are the factors that are considered while funding a new venture and the importance of marketing in the success of a start-up.

Hope you like the issue as ever before and looking forward to your precious feedback as always. Signing off and wishing you a happy and prosperous new year once again on behalf of the entire Markathon team.

Happy Reading!

Kaushik Subramanian