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
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
