Markathon December 2012 Edition

 

Dear Readers,

In these festive seasons we see everywhere brands diving in the race to bag consumers’ share of wallet. This sight is bliss for all marketing enthusiasts providing them the opportunity to see how companies becomes innovatory to differentiate themselves in the neck to neck competitive market.

FDI has been on the hot topic of discussion for quite a while but there has been another topic too that has taken center stage among the thinkers. Reverse engineering! Does this ring a bell. The developed market is near saturation and top MNCs are turning their focus on the developing and thereafter the emerging economies. Markathon team thought to take the discussion to the new level. The cover story for this edition looks at the emerging economies from the lens of marketing. The story looks for factors that assure MNCs of money to be made at the bottom of the pyramid. It discusses the change in consumer behavior in such economies viz-a-viz the developed nation and suggests marketing strategies to target these consumers.

For corporate speaks, we have Mr. Nitin Bhat and Miss Aditi Vidyarthi both Senior Associate Consultant at Infosys, sharing insights on understanding the Hispanic customers. They go on to suggest the opportunity that lies within this big segment to the companies who should be looking positively on this market.

Moving on, this month’s Vartalaap feature an academician Prof. Parasuraman. He is a Professor and Holder of the James W. McLamore Chair in Marketing (endowed by the Burger King Corporation) and Director of PhD Programs at the School of Business, University of Miami. In this exclusive interview with Markathon, he talks about his industry and academic experiences and the growing importance of Services in Marketing.

With the junior team joining in, we take this opportunity to welcome Annam Vaibhav, Ashok A, Kamalpreet Saluja, Pallavi, Prateek Gaurav, Shashank Tomar, Sushree Tripathy and Swikruti Panda into the Markathon family. With some of the brightest and the most creative minds, we are sure the magazine will reach new heights with interesting sections and articles for our beloved readers.

As always, we will try to improvise and ascertain that together we will learn and grow. Send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com. It will go a long way in helping us create a better magazine for all of us.

So get into the mood of reading to discover the whole new emerging world of marketing.
 
Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon November 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

“Money doesn’t grow on trees” and who would know it better than the common Indian man! With the much debated announcement of FDI in Retail to the big opening of Starbucks in Mumbai, India is fast opening up to the International markets. How will this change the consumer buying pattern and preferences is something worth studying, especially for the marketers. Whatever be the trend, businesses for sure are going to blossom!

Social media is another big thing which has been changing the business environment since the past few years, Facebook playing an important role in it. With Google+ coming up strongly and putting a brave fight now, it takes us to the age old debate of social media and how it is changing our lives. Our cover story for this month focusses on the journey of these two giants and how Facebook and Google+ were conceptualized from the beginning. It takes us through their respective strategies and how each has evolved accordingly. It ultimately addresses the million dollar question of who will survive the test of time and how.

The cover page and cover story for this edition has been designed by Saiprasad Shetye of PGP 12 and we would specially like to thank him for his tremendous efforts in giving life to the parties in discussion. He has rightly showcased that designing is more than just a play of colours and pictures!

Our Vartalaap section for this month covers Mr. Trichy Krishnan, Associate Professor and Vice-Dean at National University of Singapore. He has done extensive research and published articles on a wide range of topics from loyalty programs to pricing strategies. Having received many awards for teaching, he shares with us insights about his research and the latest trends one should be aware of. An interesting read for all marketers and more so for those interested in research!

Last month Marketing Club organized an intra-collegiate event “War of the Brands” based on the concept of Ambush Marketing. With over 60 teams participating, it saw students coming up with exceptional advertisements on a wide range of brands and then ambushing each other’s advertisements, which couldn’t have been more fun. It showcased the immense potential in students today. We have published the winning entry in this edition, hope you enjoy it.

With the new team joining in very soon, we would be looking forward to new sections and modifications to further improve the magazine. So if there is anything on your mind, now is the right time. Send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com. It will go a long way in helping us create a better magazine for all of us. So hold your breath and take a dive into the world of marketing filled with humour, innovation and dynamism.
 
Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon October 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

Recently media has created a buzz around government announcement of allowing FDI in multi brand in India. The 1991 liberalization saw the entry of many foreign players in India. That served Indian economy well for all we know while the apprehensions from various political parties were enormous at that time. The situation is not very different even today since it seems that the nation is divided in its opinion on the repercussions of such policy. Only time will unveil the motives of the policy, be it for the improvement of the Indian economy or the play of politics.

With so much said on the foreign companies entering India, there was a man who created an Indian brand to give every Indian the taste of India. Yes you have guessed it right. The man is none other than the most admired Dr. Verghese Kurien (1921- 2012), founding chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF). He was responsible for the creation and success of the famous Amul brand of dairy products under his extraordinary and dynamic leadership.

Markathon pays its tribute to Dr. Kurien, rightly called the father of the white revolution in India. This edition’s cover story talks about the Indian dairy industry. It examines the growth prospects and the challenges of this industry. The cover story looks into three key players namely GCMMF, KCMMF (Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing) and TNCMPF (Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers) and narrows down to analyze the success story of GCMMF uncovering its marketing mix and distribution channels. 

The launch of “corporate speaks” in our previous edition of September 2012 has been well received by both students and corporates. This month we have Ms. Milana Jagadeesh, Team Leader for France Certification at Cerner Corporation, PGSEM (Batch 2010) Student, IIM B and Dr. Preeti Krishnan Lyndem, Visiting Faculty, Marketing Area, IIM B speaking on the effectiveness of the creativity in advertisements. They explain where to a draw line between creativity and advertisement since these as much as they complement each other, they may repel too. 

Moving on, this month’s vartalaap features a prominent business personality, Mr. Robert Holdheim from the world of Public Relations. Mr. Holdheim, the CEO and Managing Director, India at Edelman is a veteran of Edelman’s Frankfurt, London and NY offices. Having handled important accounts like UPS, Samsung, Tenneco and Corning, he has worked on corporate positioning, Business-to-Business product marketing and crisis management, to name a few. Mr. Holdheim has vast experience in Public Relations and Media Communications and shares interesting insights about this industry and its contribution to business. 

With each new edition, markathon has always strived to move one step forward. From this month, markathon is proud to go green. Henceforth, the winning participants for perspective, E2E and silent voice would be receiving e-certificates thus saving paper. 

As always, we will try to improvise and ascertain that together we will learn and together we will grow. Do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com 

Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon September 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

We would like to thank you all for the overwhelming number of entries that we have received for this month’s edition. We have witnessed a threefold increase in the number of entries. This goes to show how Markathon has developed as a platform to showcase the best minds of the Marketing domain. For a team that puts its soul into a magazine month in and month out, there cannot be a greater source of encouragement.

This edition’s cover story analyses the role of marketing in Political campaigns which today, is the buzzword for most of the political campaigns around the world. The various tools and channels used for marketing political campaigns are examined. The cover story elucidates the importance of marketing in political campaigns by analysing examples from the international as well as local environment.

Also, it gives us great pleasure to launch a new section called “Corporate Speaks”. This new section provides a unique platform for professionals from the corporate world to express their views and perspectives on various marketing issues. Thus Markathon taking one step forward has evolved from a simple platform for students to one that caters to students and corporates alike.

Moving on, this month’s Vartalaap features prominent academician, Prof. Ravi Dhar, George Rogers Clark Professor of Management & Marketing and Director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management. He is an expert in Consumer Behaviour and Branding, Marketing Management, and Marketing Strategy. Prof. Dhar shares with us his experiences from the industry and academia and throws light on trends that will shape the future.

We have also received great feedback about our section “Fun Zone”. And bowing to multiple requests, we have decided to feature it in this edition as well. And work is under way to make it a regular section. Recently one of my colleagues asked me, “why do you take the pain of working on a magazine every month”, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting answer than “Have you ever heard of the story of the scorpion and the frog?” (For those of you who haven’t seen the movie “Drive”, you should definitely read up on the tale of the “Scorpion and the Frog”). I calmly told him, “Because this is what we do”. I admit, I did feel like Ryan Gosling and I could hear Kavinksy’s “Nightcall” playing in my head. But Hey! Who is judging?

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

Sit back and hold onto your “Scorpion Jackets”, because this is going to be a “Drive” you will remember.

Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon August 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

It was loud, it was defiant; above all it was gloriously, tumultuously, spine-tinglingly British. Ninety minutes of dazzling theatre, dance, film and music; a mash-up of cultural history delivered at breakneck speed, Danny Boyle's opening ceremony which set off the 2012 London Olympics was a profoundly breathtaking spectacle. The Indian contingent - around 40 athletes and 11 officials in all - marched into the stadium with the men in yellow Rajasthani turbans, blue blazers and white trousers and the women in yellow sarees and blue blazers. We sure hope India shines this year at the London Olympics.

With a streak of 6 Olympic gold medals, the Indian men’s Hockey team remained unbeaten from 1928 to 1956. And with a total of 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals, Indian men's field hockey team is the most successful field hockey team in Olympic history. Today, its dismal state in India is as true a fact that it is the national sport of India. If we take to look at the reason for this, we can go on to list various pitfalls. We may even say that Hockey, as a sport, has been unfortunate because of various organizational and performance issues. But what if we say that problem lies in marketing of Indian Hockey? Our cover story this time focuses on this very issue and tries to address the shortcomings of Indian hockey, marketing style.

To quote Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith from the ‘A Team’, “I love it when a plan comes together.” We would like to believe that Google is celebrating Markathon by displaying a very aptly themed doodle today, the day we release our magazine.

For our corporate Vartalaap we have with us Shri. V. Satyanarayana Reddy, the Chief Executive Officer of Chennai Division of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. Having joined Apollo in 1989, Shri. Reddy has a rich experience on over 23 years. He shares with us his valuable experience and the growth story of Apollo and the healthcare industry in India.

We have another interesting personality for our academic Vartalaap, who became famous for using conjoint anlaysis for predicting job offers which students at the B-school would take up. Professor V. Srinivasan, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus at the Stanford Business School, shares with us the finer nuances of conjoint analysis and market research.

As always, we will try to improvise and ascertain that together we will learn and together we will grow. Do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com

What are you waiting for? Enjoy yet another incredible journey that we bring to you through this issue.

Happy Reading!
Team Markathon

Markathon July 2012 Anniversary Edition

Dear Readers,

When we celebrate our birth anniversaries, we are excited and feel glad to complete our previous years of life, but there also lingers a shadow over us, the shadow of despair which makes you realise that you are now closer to the end of your life, however this is not the case when we celebrate the anniversary of the day when a thought became reality, a thought which was born to create and carry forward the legacy for years to come. Yes the thought we are talking about here is the thought of the first Monthly Marketing B-School Magazine of India, which was realised four years back and came out to be known as Markathon. We are proud to carry forward the legacy of the previous teams and having lived up to the expectation of the readers. As you go through this edition, we have tried to create an illustrious, memorable and delightful experience for you through our touché of design, diversity of work and the dedication of souls behind making it a successful celebration of our another year of commitment. We truly appreciate Mr. N Krishna Chaitanya, PGP participant of 2013 batch at IIM Shillong for helping us in an effort to engage you through his acumen of quizzing.

At this juncture, Team Markathon feels privileged to thank eminent personalities from
the world of Corporates and Academia who took time off their tight schedules to give interviews and for being patient with our team. We would also like to express our gratitude to readers across the nation for their continuous support and enthusiasm. We extend our sincere regards to the faculty and the administration at IIM Shillong for mentoring us and supporting us throughout this endeavor. But ultimately what has been the backbone of achievements and recognition of Markathon so far is the team work, dedication and that strive among each one of us to make it big and better for Markathon is what’s commendable!

With this theme, we are glad to present to our readers, the fourth Anniversary edition of Markathon which is dedicated to those, who had shown the courage to choose the journey different from others, on the path, full of risk and uncertainty. Yes, we are referring to the budding entrepreneurs, who, through their passion, enthusiasm and courage, were able to create successful start-ups in the country. The kind of vagueness under which these people put their heart and soul without the assurance of funds and infrastructure gives a totally different perspective of marketing from the ones given by the brains sitting in the boardroom of top notch corporate houses.

Going with the theme, our Vartalaap for this month features Ms. Shradha Sharma, Founder and Chief Editor of yourstory.in. After working at top positions in Times of India and CNBC TV18, Shradha started Yourstory.in in 2008 to provide a platform to support entrepreneurial start-ups across different parts of the country. Techsparks, a forum created by this company helps small start-ups and business ideas, by providing a lot of visibility and access to investors. We also have another Vartalaap from the world of Academia featuring Mr. Kavil Ramchandara, who is a famous professor at Indian School of Business and has specialization in resource building and competitive strategies of new firms and family businesses. He shares with us the marketing aspects considered by start-ups to make their business profitable and sustainable in future.

This time, we put a sincere request to give us your valuable feedback and suggestions at markathon.iims@gmail.com for this edition to help us serve you better.
Be ready and cautious for the incredible journey because this is “The Road Less Travelled”.

Sit back and enjoy this edition!

Regards,
Team Markathon

Markathon June 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

The summer heat is not the only thing that is soaring. Of late the hike in petrol prices and their subsequent reduction post a much talked about “Bharat Bandh” has created quite a buzz. With cartoons, comic strips, facebook pages and celebrity tweets, social media ensured that it was the talk of the town. With automotive sector taking the toll, we were wondering if car manufactures would go as far as reducing prices of four wheelers in order to attract customers or will the nation take a much needed look at an alternate fuel? Whatever be the response, marketers will have to be on the vigil.

Marketing is never a one-size-fits all approach. While on one hand urbanization is causing more migration of rural residents, a large part of our nation continues to be rural. Are these two markets poles apart or are marketers just catering to two faces of the same coin? Our cover story for this month “Rural vs Urban Marketing – Where lies the difference?” uncovers the two Indias within our country and the similarities and differences among its buyer patterns . Through various examples, we bring to you, the factors influencing consumer behaviour, the mindset of rural and urban India, success stories and failed attempts.

Our Vartalaap for this month features Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Vice President - Strategic Planning and New Business Development at Mahindra and Mahindra group. Having passed out from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Mr. Ghosh has played many strategic roles in Mahindra as President of Mahindra USA and later at M&M. He shares with us insights about Mahindra and Mahindra, the Utility vehicles business and the changing Indian automotive market.

We are nearing the end of two eventful years of Markathon, and this could never have been possible without the constant support, suggestions and enthusiasm of each of you dear readers. In these two years we have evolved from being a magazine to getting an identity, learning from our mistakes and adapting to our limitations, just like any other startup. Having talked about so many big businesses and corporate heads in our past issues, we now want to dedicate our upcoming “Anniversary issue” to the new generation entrepreneurs and business associates with the theme of “The road less travelled”. As we cross this landmark, we look forward to hearing your opinions on the same. Articles are invited on how start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures have managed to grow with their limited marketing budgets and resources at disposal.

As always, we will try to improvise and ascertain that together we will learn and together we will grow.

Do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com
What are you waiting for then? Enjoy yet another incredible journey that we bring to you through this issue.

Happy Reading

Regards,
Team Markathon

Markathon May 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

With the scorching heat of summer and the daily routine becoming tiresome, the ongoing IPL is one thing that is keeping us occupied, to some extend for sure. Though the craze has faded over the years with shuffling players and unanticipated performances, but the cricket crazy nation that we are living in, nothing can make it less popular, not even its overdose. Marketers are utilizing it to the fullest to reach out to their targeted consumers, be it the cellular phone service providers like Vodafone or the leading soft drink providers like Coca Cola. In lieu of the ongoing craze, we too have highlighted IPL in few of our regular sections, hope you like it.

From the innocent days of galli cricket to the youthful college days spent in canteen, from the night outs in hostel to the coffee breaks at the ever demanding work place, life has never been easy. Something which has helped us keep going are the small entertainment packages that come along, be it in the form of the cartoon corner in newspaper or the recently released animation flick - The Avengers. In this issue, we have tried to cover one of the biggest source of entertainment to kids and youth alike i.e. the Animation industry.

As we try to adapt to the dynamic business requirements in this competitive scenario, captivating the customers holds the key to every challenge. Animation comes handy under such scenario where innovation is the lone driver. Thus animation having moved beyond entertainment is catering to the needs of many industries and businesses and helping them achieve monumental growth. The cover story “How animation drives businesses” explores this aspect of the appealing and engaging Animation industry. Emphasizing its use in the much talked about movies and advertisement space and the hidden applications in the form of content development and online marketing, it takes you back to your Disney days, gives you a ride with ZooZoos and leaves you with after thoughts on its unlimited scope in business application.

Our Vartalaap for this month features Mr. Sachin Gupta, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Johnson Cornell University and Professor of Marketing at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. With an expertise in Data driven marketing, his research focuses on interesting areas like measurement of returns on marketing investments. With special interest in prescription drug, consumer goods and hospitality industries, one among his many awards has been the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly's best paper award for his article on customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry. With valuable inputs on different industries and quantitative marketing techniques, readers would definitely not want to miss this interview.

With busy schedules for those enjoying their work lives and lazy vacations for those relaxing in the luxury of their houses, hope this issue brings about some variation in your daily routine and takes you back to the good old days of Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry.

Do give us your feedback about this edition and suggestions for the magazine at markathon.iims@gmail.com.

Sit back and enjoy this edition!

Regards,
Team Markathon

Markathon April 2012 Edition

Dedicated to Team Markathon 2010-12: Our Mentors, Friends and Seniors without whom this wouldn’t be possible.

Dear Readers,

As we sit down to pen this editorial, we are at a loss of words to describe what we feel. The feeling of being at the helm of one of the country’s most reverberating marketing magazine is yet to sink in to each of us here at Team Markathon. This being the first edition by team 2011-2013, it is very close to our hearts. Working under the 2010-2012 team we have helped the magazine scale new heights. We have associated with some of the most eminent personalities in the field of marketing and have seen a phenomenal increase in our readership base.

Taking the culture of Markathon forward, our cover story for this month “A global design for Indian fashion” analyses the Indian fashion industry. The cover story examines the present scenario of the Indian Designer segment Industry through various examples. It identifies the various challenges faced and highlights the amount of untapped potential this industry has to provide for the future. The cover story also gives strategies that could be employed to catapult this nascent industry to a global stature.

Our Vartalaap for this month features an eminent personality from the Media and Entertainment world, Mr. Farokh Balsara, Partner at Ernst & Young, one of the big four Consulting firms. He has been E&Y's media and entertainment practices leader in the country for over a decade and currently drives the segment throughout Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. He talks to us about the growing media and Entertainment business and some of its intricacies in the Indian context.

From the academic world, we have John Hauser, Professor of Marketing at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has expertise in marketing and product development areas, including the design and marketing of new products, customer satisfaction incentives and new product forecasting models. The proposer of the world famous Voice of the Customer methods, talks about the intricacies of marketing on wide range of topics from marketing science to virtual customer methods.

We also have a special section where we would like to bid farewell to 2010-2012 Team Markathon, who have guided us at each step and have been very critical to make Markathon what it is today.

This edition is not only special to us members, but marks a significant change in leadership for Markathon. We have certain changes lined up for you over the next few editions. We will constantly strive to make Markathon “Bigger, better and Stronger” (And you thought only Kanye West could do that)

We would like to thank our readers who’ve constantly sent in their feedback and suggestions to improve the magazine. As always, we will try to improvise and ascertain that together we will learn and together we will grow.

Do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com.

Sit back and wear your seat belts, because this is going to be a ride you will remember.

Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon March 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

I would like to start off by thanking the readers for the overwhelming response to the Markathon Collector’s edition. The feeling of putting together so many big names over the last couple of years sunk in only once we compiled them into one edition. The names stand as a testament to the efforts put in by every member of Team Markathon since it was founded. The edition also helped us move back from running one month late, and embracing a new date format. Markathon will now be released in the beginning of the month rather than at the end of every month.

Over the years Markathon has had cover stories taking the readers through various sectors and giving them the marketing overview of the same. This month, our cover story looks at the Advertising industry, which has evolved in a very interesting and radical way post liberalisation. It is a fascinating read , aptly titled ‘David vs Goliath’ , we look at how the small, boutique communications firms are competing against the likes of Ogilvy, JWT, Lowe Lintas and others. These small firms have carved a unique niche for themselves and are creating waves in the industry.

Our Vartalaap for this month covers an eminent personality from the world of advertising, Mr. Ramanujam Sridhar, the CEO of Integrated Brand-Comm Pvt Ltd. A communication consultant, author, columnist, teacher, trainer, cricket enthusiast and a passionate social activist, with his diverse interests and expertise has the credit of guiding organizations like R K SWAMY BBDO, Prathibha Advertising and Mudra Communications under his eminent leadership. He talks to our readers about branding, advertising and public relations and its future in India.

From the academic world we have Professor Mohanbir Sawhney, Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management. Prof. Sawhney who is known for his scholarly work in the field of digital media and ecommerce, was named as one of the 25 most influential people in e-Business by Business Week. From research ranging from digital marketing to organic growth to network-centric innovation and widely recognized as a global thought leader he talks to our readers about innovation and ecommerce opportunities in India.

This edition is also very special to me because it is my last one as an editor. It has been one year since the 2010-2012 team took over and we’ve had a great time working for the magazine. It also makes us proud that we had some wonderful Vartalaap guests in this period and also launched a very special Anniversary issue in the month of July. We also launched the magazine with the IIM Shillong Golf Cup wherein Team Markathon came out with a special Sports Edition featuring the interview of Harsha Bhogle.

All the success achieved is owed to the wonderful team I had, each one of them has worked with immense dedication and passion for the magazine and I am thankful to them. A special mention for the designers, who are probably the most patient folks, working painstakingly to create the beautiful stories month after month and also tolerating all the last minute changes the editorial team submitted to them.

The faculty and administration at IIM Shillong has been very helpful to Markathon and supported us in every endeavour. Prof. D K Agrawal has always been a pillar of strength for the Markathon team. Dr. Shajahan’s kind words of encouragement and thoughtful criticism have ensured that the team has put its best to improve the magazine in every way. I also have to thank Prof. Harwant Singh Chabbra , the faculty co ordinator for Marketing Club who has been a constant source of inspiration for us.

I am sure the incoming team of members for the 2011-2013 will put Markathon on a higher pedestal than it is currently. I am happy to hand over the reins of the magazine to them. The magazine will now have an Editorial team as an entirety and the position of Editor has been done away with.

I would also like to thank the readers who’ve constantly sent in their feedback and suggestions to improve the magazine. Signing off; one last time.

Sit back and enjoy this edition!
Happy Reading!
Jitesh

Markathon: Marketing Gurus Collector's edition

Dear Readers,

Since Markathon started its journey in April 2009 as the first monthly marketing magazine from a B-school in India, we have had an amazing experience. The magazine has scaled newer heights with each edition and has given the readers their monthly dose of marketing. We have released the magazine at the end of every month unlike most major magazines. Team Markathon has finally decided to change this. From March onwards, we will release the magazine at the beginning of the month. To ease this transition, we have decided to come up with a special February edition which is a ‘Marketing Gurus’ Collector’s edition.

In this special, we have compiled articles and interviews from all of our esteemed guests right since the inception of Markathon. A one page editorial can never be enough to express the gratitude we have for each and every one of them, who have been patient enough to grant us time for telephonic and email interviews. We have also had some very special articles from renowned names such as Dipak C Jain, Dean of INSEAD and also Martin Lindstrom, one of the foremost names in the world of marketing.

I doubt if there is any other magazine which can boast of exclusive interviews from Al Ries, Jack Trout , David Aaker and Seth Godin. To have achieved all of this within a span of 3 years has made all of us at Team Markathon extremely proud. We have to thank the team from the founding batch of Markathon lead by Asit Jain who gave us an outstanding platform to begin with and the batch of 2009-11 for continuing the wonderful work.

We have also covered a gamut of Indian personalities right from Harsha Bhogle (Cricket Commentator and Author), D Shivakumar (MD, Nokia India), Hasit Joshipura (MD and VP, GSK Pharma India), Santosh Desai (CEO, FutureBrands) and Nadia Chauhan (Joint MD, Parle Agro ) among many others.

From the academia, Markathon has played host to Professors from B-schools all over the world from Harvard Business School, Wharton School of UPenn, Said Business School of Oxford University, INSEAD, Kellogg School of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, Tuck Business School and others. Personalities like Douglas Holt, Tarun Khanna, Dr.Jagadish Sheth, Sunil Gupta, Jagmohan S Raju, Nirmalya Kumar, and Praveen Kopalle being some of them.

I am sure all the readers of Markathon will cherish this Collector’s Edition and save it for a long time to come. There are 43 Articles/Interviews in all in this Marketing Gurus edition. We will be back with the March Edition in the first week of the next month.

As always, do send in your feedback/suggestions to markathon.iims@gmail.com
Sit back and enjoy this edition.


Sit back and enjoy this edition!
Happy Reading!
Jitesh

Markathon January 2012 Edition

Dear Readers,

Another recession seems to be around the corner. The mood has been glum for quite some time. Unlike 2008, when the economy around the world seemed set to touch the sky until the bubble burst in September 2008, and there was no stopping how deep the economies fell. This time, the entire world seems prepared for it; it is almost as if everyone has given up, just waiting for the economy to take another downward spiral. The downward trend seems to have begun in a slower manner because of the fear of recession rather than recession itself. The Indian stock markets have had one of the worst years in recent history shedding more than 25% of its worth in the calendar year 2011.

The mood of the economy is visible in almost all sectors which have witnessed slower growths compared to a bullish 2010-2011. The airlines industry is in such huge losses that Air India might recover only 20 years later (if everything goes right) and there seems to be no respite for Kingfisher either. The consumer electronics industry has also seen a sharp downturn and almost all major players have reported lower sales in 2011-2012.The rising crude oil prices, burgeoning inflation and frequent interest rate changes have only added to the worry. The automobile industry has been the worst hit with net profit taking a 64% dip in Q3 compared on a Y-o-Y basis – the lowest in almost 4 years. The story is along similar lines for other companies with decreased sales owing to lesser consumer spending.

Surprisingly, the Luxury car market seems to be operating in entirely different conditions. Companies selling luxury cars in India, right from the likes of Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar and BMW have never been more upbeat about the Indian consumer. BMW has had a record year of sorts and is set to challenge Mercedes for the top spot for India’s highest selling luxury brand – a spot which Mercedes has held for more years than one can remember. Team Markathon has a brilliant analysis of this sector in this month’s cover story. We bring you detailed insights into the exact reasons behind this trend and also how some of the luxury car companies are making a beeline for India. The cover story also compares and contrasts the strategies used by the major players in the Indian market.

Our Vartalaap for this month has one of the most distinguished names in the world of Automobiles – Mr.Mayank Pareek, Executive Director of Maruti Suzuki India Limited who handles the Domestic and International sales for MSIL. He speaks to us at length about the intricacies of marketing in the automobile sector and about Maruti’s successful brands over the years. We are extremely grateful to Mr.Pareek for taking time out from his schedule to talk to Markathon. From the academia we have Mr.Praveen Kopalle, who is Professor of Marketing at Tuck Business School, Dartmouth. An expert in Pricing and Marketing Analytics, Mr.Kopalle discusses the various trends taking shape in the marketing world with respect to emergent
consumers and also about pricing perceptions. We thank Mr.Kopalle for giving Team Markathon this wonderful interview.

Sit back and enjoy this edition!
Happy Reading!
Jitesh

Markathon December 2011 Edition

Dear Readers,

2011 has come to a close and what a year it has been! Tata Sons finally has a successor to Ratan Tata - Cyrus Mistry has proved to be the proverbial dark horse and is all set to don the chairman’s hat come December 2012, when Ratan Tata’s tenure ends. The story of how Pallonji Mistry’s son dropped out from the panel formed to choose an heir for the conglomerate and become a candidate for the same race is fascinating. Interestingly, Cyrus Mistry is an Irish national and will become the first non-Indian citizen to hold the chairmanship of Tata Sons. During Ratan Tata’s tenure, the Tata brand went from being an Indian conglomerate to one of the best recognised brands worldwide. Several high profile international acquisitions saw Tata become a truly global player and Cyrus Mistry has a difficult task ahead in terms of matching his predecessor, leave alone outshining him.

2011 also saw the launch of the much touted ultra-low cost Indian tablet – Akaash. This tablet is supposed to revolutionise education in India. Education in India has often been overlooked and the Government’s policies have always fallen short of amending it. Team Markathon was fascinated by how the Education industry in India works and how it has changed radically in the recent past. Our cover story for the month ‘Education – An Evolving Landscape’ looks at this evolution from a marketing perspective and also gives out interesting snippets on how some companies are innovating to tackle some of the biggest issues plaguing the education sector in India. I am sure the readers will find this story a fascinating read. December’s Vartalaap has two of the biggest names Markathon has ever seen. The first is Jack Trout. Jack Trout, who along with Al Ries ( Interviewed in July 2011 edition of Markathon) came up with the concept of Positioning in 1972, is the pre-eminent guru of Marketing Strategy. He has authored over 10 bestsellers dealing with the domain of Marketing and has consulted the who’s who of the Fortune 500. He talks exclusively to Markathon on various topics right from his education years to his assignments with Indian companies like the Bajaj Group.

From the world of corporates, the Vartalaap for this month features Mr. D Shivakumar, the Managing Director and Vice President of Nokia India, who is set to take over as the head of the newly formed India, Middle East and Africa sales region covering about 90 countries. In this exclusive interview for Markathon, he talks about his days at IIM Calcutta and also about Nokia’s strategies to overcome the slump it currently faces. The readers will certainly not want to miss this excellent interview. 2011 was a great year for Markathon with many great interviews and also the wide range of sectors we covered in our cover stories. Team Markathon is grateful to all the readers for their constant support and encouragement throughout the year. We hope 2012 will only see us scaling newer heights.

Sit back and enjoy this edition!
Happy Reading!
Jitesh