Markathon October 2013 Edition

Dear Readers

After Raghuram Rajan it was goddess Durga’s turn to give the economy the much needed boost and she sure didn’t disappoint us with thousands of shoppers braving the rains, traffic jams and rising prices to flock to the high street and malls across metros and smaller cities dispelling the fear of a slowdown in demand this season because of the dual demons that inflation and interest rates are. Even the auto industry which has been gloomy for almost a year now due to the declining sales ended up smiling.

Staying true to the mood of the season, the Markathon team wanted to give an additional reason to cheer to its readers. After an intense brainstorming session we came up with the idea to publish some of the articles from the past that we would have loved to have in our magazine but couldn’t at the time they were sent.

So be ready to have a blast from the past for we have some really thought provoking and insightful articles ranging from a shampoo that cautions it is not for consumption to how the companies today are using the power of crowds to a fare on Facebook and Twitter with a ‘real’ twist.

It has been more than a month since Pepsodent sounded a cry of war against Colgate and a lot has been written and discussed about it but the opinion is still divided on its effectiveness. This time in the section “Eye2Eye” we see what the student community has to say about this.

For our “Vartalaap” this edition, we have an exclusive interview with the Vice President India and South West Asia of the brand which is on the mission to spread happiness, Deepak Jolly of Coca Cola. A Public Affairs professional with 29 years' of experience, Deepak  in this interview talks about the successes and challenges that Coke has come across in recent times and his journey so far in the company.

Check out what went wrong with Barbie’s boyfriend Ken in the second offering for our recently introduced section “Jab they Failed” and what we think about the book ‘Brand Leadership’ by the guru of brand equity David Aaker in the section “Bookmark”.

With so much in line waiting for you, wait no more and savor the delight that this latest edition promises to be. Your feedback is invaluable to us so keep us posted on what interests you and what doesn’t by writing to markathon.iims@gmail.com and we promise, like goddess Durga we too won’t disappoint you.

Happy Reading!

Team Markathon

Markathon September 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,

As we receive overwhelming appreciation of our an­niversary issue released last month, we take a mo­ment to thank you for the continued support and participation you have been showing throughout this 5 year long journey. You are the source of our moti­vation and your constant feedbacks help us keep rel­evant to your needs.

As the month of September turned round the cor­ner, the temperatures nosedived and so did the frail Indian economy. The Indian rupee hit the rock-bot­tom even though the unfortunate Subbarao left no stones unturned. Soon the man of the moment Ra­ghuram Rajan came as a messiah to the dying econ­omy and sentiments improved. The inevitable hap­pened as BJP finally nominated Narendra Modi as its presidential candidate for general elections next year. The society at large found some closure at the landmark death sentencing of the four accused in Nirbhaya gang-rape. In the business scenario, noth­ing has been more talked about than the momen­tous acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft that has us geeky customers biting our nails for what’s next in store while Apple fails to make a mark with its 5C’s and 5 S’. HUL’s Pepsodent had consumers at the edge of their seats as it took potshots at Colgate reviving the great ad wars. 
The beauty of things imperfect, incomplete and im­permanent is seeping into business as the ancient Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi gains ground. This month’s cover story ‘Wabi Sabi and Marketing’ is a fresh take on how this novel concept is finding rel­evance in the business world and what marketing and innovation has to do with it. As the author says, ‘things need not always be perfect to be good’. Do read this quirky story and decode for yourself the recipe for perfection, or decide if you need it at all.
For our Vartalaap this edition, we have an exclusive interview with Mr. Vinod Sharma, Assistant Vice President-Sales & Marketing at Alkem Labs Ltd. In a career spanning over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, he talks about his extensive experience in areas of new business launch, turn-arounds in busi­ness unit and in developing new business module through a long term business approach.
Chuckle along as we have in store for you the tangy Brand Story of Dabur Hajmola as it continues to in­dulge the young and the old in a unique manner for over four decades now. Keep guessing as Fun corner eludes you with some of the most quirky and innova­tive print ads ever produced.
With so much in line waiting for you, wait no more and flip through the latest edition. Do keep us posted on what interests you and what doesn’t by writing to markathon.iims@gmail.com and we promise we will come back bigger and better, time and again.

Happy Reading !!

To the new beginnings and for our love towards Marketing.

Cheers!

Team Markathon

Markathon August 2013 - Anniversary Edition

Dear Readers,

Before you dive deep into the exciting world of marketing, we would like to take a moment to thank all our readers. Markathon completes yet another year in decoding the mysteries of marketing. And what a year it was. It witnessed a change of guard, added a new section to its ever expanding array of offerings, saw an outpour of insightful articles and most importantly a lot of love from its readers. All this and much more could not have been possible without you.

THANK YOU. 

With this edition we begin yet another journey with the promise to make the ride even more enjoyable, interesting and insightful for you. Talking about new beginnings, what better symbolizes it but the phoenix which rises from its own ashes and if you thought phoenix belonged to the world of mythology, think again. Our cover story for this month “Rising From Ashes” talks about phoenixes from our world - brands that scripted the miraculous turn around stories be it the rebel Harley or our very own home grown Dabur. 

The corporate Vartaalap this month features Mr. Jatin Lakra, the current marketing manager for Tata Motors Utility Vehicles and Mr. Pawan Bindal, the Head of the Sales and Marketing Solutions Department at Dun & Bradstreet India. For academic Vartaalap we have with us Ms. Barbara E. Kahn, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor of Marketing and the Director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. 

To make the Anniversary edition even more special we have an exclusive section “Freshly Brewed” by one of our alumni Mr. Keshav Sridhar who talks about the two kinds of marketing – marketing that you are taught in the classroom and the marketing you learn in the real world. 

This month’s edition holds a lot of other surprises for you. To begin with we have introduced a new section this month – “Jab They Failed” and there are a lot more prizes than we promised. 

“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been” 

To the new beginnings and for our love towards Marketing.

Cheers!

Team Markathon

Markathon July 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,

As the monsoon season sets in and the beautiful rains capture your imagination, it’s time to let all your creativity flow. Most of the readers would be back to college after their internship stints where they would have excelled with their innovative ideas and marketing insights. The month gone by was full of activities and events, some were expected and some threw us out of our seats. Cannes Lion set the tempo for the marketers as it was time to reward the brightest minds in creative communication. Numerous Indian ad agencies won laurels for their out of box campaigns striking a chord with the consumers.

P&G, the global FMCG giant came up with its launch of first toothpaste in India extending the Oral B family. Even in world of sports, we saw some head turning, jaw dropping moments like India winning the ICC champions trophy, Djokovic losing to Murray and the likes. As we celebrate our happiness of being together, it’s time to thank our readers who have been pouring in their thoughts from across the country and throwing light on the various facets of marketing enriching our journey with thoughts and ideas that delve deep into the creative world. We are really thankful to you as you are equally responsible for the success of our magazine and we look forward to your feedback as it will only help us getting better with every edition.

The cover story this month unravels the mystique world of ‘Shopper Marketing’. With consumers not being the typical shoppers, it was necessary to address the shoppers per se and communicate with them through in-store campaigns and initiatives. It’s a must read for the budding marketers as it brings you closer to the latest development in the retail world. For this month’s Vartalaap, we get you perspectives of Mr. Vishal Singh, an Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University Stern School of Business. He brings in- depth experience from psychology research and retail competition. The world of retail is changing rapidly and it is very important to get hold of consumer psychology to gain competence and consumer loyalty and this section will enrich you with knowledge packets from the business guru. For this month’s Book Review section, we get you inside the world of one of the most powerful brand in this world: Coca Cola via the journey of its one time CEO Neville Isdell. The book captures the journey of a man from an entry level employee to the man at helm calling the shots. Addicted will give you a thought provoking analysis of two trending ads while updates section gets you heads up on the recent happenings of the marketing arena.

We are also proud to unveil the logo of Marketing Club of IIM Shillong with this edition of Markathon.

Sit back and enjoy this issue!

Happy Reading!

Team Markathon

Markathon June 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,

As always, this summer was full of activity both inside and outside the world of marketing. Millions of people who regarded it as a religion were left disappointed after cricket in India went through some ugly patches over the last three weeks. Indian Premier League (IPL) was scarred with controversies including betting, spot fixing and match-fixing. Pepsi used the very lucrative platform of IPL to launch its own brand of a much fizzier drink, Pepsi Atom, with Sushant Singh Rajput as the brand ambassador. While it is yet to fizz up the Indian market, Pepsi should hope it carves a fair share for itself in the pie of Indian soft drink market (worth Rs 50 Billion). Mumbai Indians emerged victors in the sixth edition of the IPL, Bayern Munich were crowed the kings of Europe and Rafael Nadal reinforced his supremacy on the red soils of Paris. The chant and brand of “NaMo” is getting stronger and stronger even as the old guard in Bharatiya janata Party reluctantly gave in to the demand of a greater majority for a greater good. Narayan Murthy’s arrival in Infosys seemed to please the share market sentiment about the iconic Indian IT firm.

We want thank you all for the overwhelming number of entries that we have received for this month’s edition. 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 simply cannot be any greater source of encouragement.

Though products are manufactured and services are offered by companies, brands are built only by customers. A substantial amount of resources are spent by companies in building their brands. While some companies have been extremely successful in sculpting positive brand equity, majority of them have failed more often than not. Though failures are mostly unanticipated, there are some obvious mistakes which would lead a brand to its peril. The cover story of this month is a compilation of seven such “sins” which brands must stay away from. There is no right way in marketing, which makes the domain even more challenging. Even biggies like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Ford have failed miserably in implementing some of their own marketing strategies. Any marketing activity must be completely in sync with the expectations of customers from a brand.

There would be times when you are completely awed by some people in your lives. Al Ries, the father of positioning era, can be safely counted as one among such people. This man coined the term “positioning”, which is almost used ubiquitously nowadays in marketing. Even though we had him before on “Vartalaap”, we believe you will indeed benefit from the wise words of this marketing guru.

Always high on entertainment, this month’s “Fun Corner” will nudge your grey cells with advertising campaigns. Know more about Dettol in “Brand Story”.

Team Markathon congratulates the winners and all the participants.

 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

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

Markathon April 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,
The month of April marks the beginning of the Indian summer season. However, things got heated up in the month of March itself for the Indian Cricket enthusiasts who celebrated India's 4-0 whitewash over Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. It is a historic feat as the series victory is India's biggest win in its Test history. The month of March also witnessed the launch of the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy S4, which according to many is a prominent sign of Samsung's lead over Apple in the smartphone market. Indian consumers can get a hand on the new gadget in the last week of April. Also, IPL fever returns in the month of April with the start of IPL Season 6, an exciting time for all marketing enthusiasts providing them the opportunity to witness new innovative television commercials that brands use to differentiate themselves in highly competitive market.

We would also like to thank you all for the overwhelming number of entries that we have received for this month’s edition. 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 is a fresh perspective on Valentine's Day and how it has gained tremendous popularity over other festival imports in India. There are many examples of why 14 February continues to attract intense interest from consumers and marketers alike. Over the last decade, businesses have enthusiastically embraced and capitalized on the commercial opportunities presented by Valentine’s Day. This poses a question that is answered by different people in different ways. The question is whether Valentine’s Day is an event signifying expression of love or it is the marketing of feelings? Read the cover story to find out whether the writer shares similar views with you or not.

This month’s Academic Vartalaap features an interaction with Mr. Rajesh Bagchi, Associate Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. Rajesh studies the psychological processes that underlie consumer and managerial decision-making and takes special interest in the field of consumer pricing judgments. In this exclusive interview with Markathon, he talks extensively about his interesting works of research and shares his learnings from what he believes is one of the most rewarding professions one can get into.

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

Markathon March 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,

As we approach the spring season, we leave behind the month of Feb, which happened to be an eventful month as well. Of course we cannot skip the month without talking about the 'Valentine week', which happens to be an amazing marketing campaign, converting a one day affair into a week-long celebration for 'so-called lovers'. Everybody is in the horde to cash in on this golden opportunity and the e-commerce sites happened to make the most of it, by conducting innovating contests on social media and offering huge discounts.

However in the midst of this all, the tragic rail accident in Allahabad and the barbarous bomb blasts in Hyderabad shook the nation, yet again raising the pertinent question in the minds of the common man 'Is our life so cheap?', yet again casting the doubts about one's safety in the country and more so, the relationship with Pakistan. As if, it were not enough, the two-day strike by the All Indian Union Groups added fuel to the already widespread fire.

On a lighter note, Chetan Bhagat's third book has been adapted into movie, and is also garnering rave reviews from the media and the critics alike, even though he himself continues to be a victim of the social media bashing, this time for excessively promoting the movie. On the advertising front, there were some beautiful ads by ICICI Prudential-'Bande achhe hai', SBI and L&T Insurance, which were instantly able to touch the hearts of the viewers.

As the advertisers bombard the poor prospect with plethora of ads, out of despair, the subject has learned to tune these out of his/her life. The mundane content flooding every probable channel has simply taken them away from the brand itself at times, forget recall. But even today if something unnatural happens at the corner of vision, you take note of it. So is born ‘Ambient Marketing’. This month’s cover story elucidates the genesis of this very concept, clears the concomitant myth, cites its colossal impact and at the same time brings on the plate the ethical dilemma associated when it may scale up to intrude our privacy.

The corporate Vartalaap of this month features the interaction with Mr. Sanjeev Handa, currently the General Manager, Marketing at Maruti Suzuki, India. He has had an extensive experience of over two decades in the fields of Marketing, Brand Management, Sales and Media in leading global organizations such as NDTV Media, India Today, JWT, and Business India Group before joining Maruti. Having headed the marketing division for Maruti's 'power' brands - Swift, SX4, Dzire and Kizashi and played a key role in formulating advertising strategies for famous brands like Hero Honda, Microsoft, General Motors, and Bank of America among others, this man with such rich experience inspires us to play the game shedding all inhibitions.

For the academic Vartalaap, we have with us Prof. Manoj Thomas, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornel University. He conducts experimental studies to unveil the non-conscious mental processes that influence consumer behavior. He has identified several interesting effects such as - the left digit effect, the ease of computation effect and the credit card effect – that characterize how heuristics and feelings influence our everyday decisions.

This month’s Addicted section is waiting to amuse you with its new look. It would not let you flip away without a chuckle.

Without further ado, walk through this impeccable marketing odyssey.

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

Sit back and enjoy this issue!
 
Happy Reading

Team Markathon

Markathon February 2013 Edition

Dear Readers,

As we step in to the realm of the year 2013, celebrations have begun in our land of festivities with Makar Sankranti, Lohri and Pongal in the month of January, each bringing out the best from marketers across to capture the hearts and minds of consumers.

The year 2013 will witness the largest congregation of devotees at the holy city of Allahabad. The irresistible attraction associated with the magnificent Kumbh fair has drawn researchers from Harvard Business School to study the factors of success of such a grand event.

This month also saw the celebration of the Republic that we are. However, the assault of the two shaheeds on the LOC sent shivers across the nation, urging many to question the bilateral ties of India with its neighbour. Huge uproar of criticism for the same was also observed in the social media circles, reinforcing its relevance.

Social media, in itself, has proven to have various implications on the Marketing domain. How does a marketer make the best use of social media for effective marketing? The answer lies in Big Data. Be it consumer engagement, consumer behaviour analysis or targeted promotions, big data is the most potential tool for marketers. This month’s cover story illustrates the key insights about big data, its application in various sectors of the industry and the challenges and opportunities posed by it to the marketers.

The corporate Vartalaap of this month features the interaction with Mr. Dharamendra Satapathy, VP and Head of Marketing, TATA Asset Management. An alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Management with a diverse experience of more than 15 years in the field of Marketing, he has previously worked in the advertising field with the likes of Lowe Lintas and RMG David. He shares insights about his stint in advertising, media, PR and knowledge management at Tata.

For the academic Vartalaap, we have with us Prof. Patrick Barwise, Emeritus Professor of Management and Marketing at London Business School and chairman of ‘Which?’, the UK’s leading consumer organization. Widely recognized for his publications on management, marketing and media, his book Simply Better, is widely appreciated and won the American Marketing Association’s 2005 Berry-AMA Prize. He talks about the latest trends including neuro-marketing and video ethnography. We hope that you will find this edition of Markathon as informative and interactive as always.

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

Sit back and enjoy this issue!
 
Happy Reading
Team Markathon

Markathon January 2013 Edition

 

 

Dear Readers,

We are waking up to a brand new year, and as we reflect on the year that was, 2012 was a year most of us would never forget! Even as December 21, 2012 went by uneventfully, inhuman atrocities like that inflicted on the girl whose only innocent crime was to take a bus home have been touted to be the end of humanity. Markathon pays tribute to the brave girl! On another sad note, the cricketing legend called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar retired from One day format of the game, much to the despair of thousands of fans who worshipped him as the God of Cricket. A fan aptly quotes “The Mayans were right after all, without Sachin the world has truly ended!”

The year also saw some major happenings in the world of Politics, with Obama and Modi retaining their thrones, the Kasab trial finally coming to a close, and the E-citizens making their voices heard when posting on Facebook became a supposedly punishable offence. For us in the field of business, it was indeed an end of an era with Mr. Ratan Tata passing on the reigns of Tata Empire to youngster Mr. Cyrus Mistry. Only time will tell how well he fits into the big man’s shoes!

That said we have all come to the consensus that “this too shall pass” and are waiting to ring in the coming year. It is once again that time of the year where festive discounts and sales are at their peak, and customers make a beeline to the stores, be it offline or with the growing popularity of e-tailing, online stores. Team Markathon has a brilliant analysis of the impact of festivals and special occasions on consumer behavior in this month’s cover story. We bring you detailed insights into the exact reasons behind this trend. The cover story also compares and contrasts the strategies used by Indian vis-à-vis global companies.

In our Vartalaap for this month we have with us young Mr. Karthik Venkat, Founder of eSparSha online merchandiser. Karthik started eSparSha with his friends who shared similar passion to do something of their own after graduating from MNNIT Allahabad. He heads the Sales and Distribution division of eSparSha and shares insights about online retailing and the genesis of eSparSha.

To make the New Year’s edition as special as your coming year, we have incorporated all the special sections in this month’s magazine. We are hopeful that the read will be enjoyable, interesting as well as insightful this time too!

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

Sit back and enjoy this issue!
 
Happy Reading
Team Markathon