Updates || Harsha Daga || IIM Shillong || February 2016 edition

New Product Launch

Freedom 251, the world’s cheapest smartphone unveiled

With the announcement of this product, it is seen not only as a new product but as a catalyst to the dream of taking digitization to the corners of the country. World’s cheapest smartphone - the $4 Freedom 251 is set to be made in India. The company behind the project - Ringing Bells - received a huge coverage in the media and received beyond positive backup from users around the world. Well, only time will tell how efficiently the consumer needs are met.

Domino’s radical pizza delivery car is ruling the streets

Though it is not for consumers to purchase, the idea behind this state-of-the-art pizza delivery car

with a built-in warming oven is to enhance customer experience. Domino’s has been a leader in pizza delivery since years and they could maintain this stature only because of the innovative processes of pizza making and delivery, be it its Heatwave bags or the pizza lovers’ Batmobile. A J.P. Morgan restaurant analyst quoted "Dominos is a technology company disguised as a marketing company disguised as a pizza company". Brand up, Domino’s!

Brand Extension

Bisleri challenges the industry with Pop

With the launch of four variants of carbonated soft-drinks under the brand name Bisleri Pop, the 50 year old giant is set to re-enter this segment. After more than 20 years of Parle selling off their soft-drink business to Coca Cola, here it is..back with a bang. How well do they compete with the well-established-deep-pocketed MNCs is what we are eager to see. While we enjoy this show-down of the interesting cola flavors, do you want to know who will make it happen? It’s advertising agency Soho Square, a unit of Ogilvy & Mather India.

Green Mango Fanta has an answer to that

Interestingly, with the arrival of Bisleri Pop, Coca-Cola has also launched a Green Mango flavored carbonated drink under its Fanta brand. Now, this is war! But the fact that launch of India specific Green Mango Flavored Fanta was done in line with the Make in India summit deserves some kudos on being right on time. Coca-cola plans to add more variants such as litchi and strawberry by sourcing the raw materials from lakhs of local farmers. This is what we call a truly ‘Glocal Approach’.

Market Development

Garmin launches Vivosmart HR Activity Tracker

Here is the latest addition to the extremely handy and sophisticated fitness gear by Garmin, and guess what? It is available in India; thanks to SnapDeal. With its activity tracking features, additional workout support including timed activities, and smart notifications vívosmart is like having a personal coach and assistant right on your wrist. Further exploring this opportunity, Garmin plans to invest close to Rs. 900 crores in India by the end of 2016. Go Run!!

Ad Watch

Official 2015 FIAT 500X Super Bowl Commercial

This tongue-in-cheek humorous depiction of how FIAT’s 500X got Bigger, More Powerful and Ready for Action with a “Blue-Pill” meant for an old man that he accidentally dumps out of his bedroom window. And it’s wonderful to see how without the use of any sports gear, FIAT made its ad relevant to Super Bowl through the tag line and garnered more than 14 million views on YouTube.

Brand Watch

BrewDog spills its secrets to engage communities

In order to involve the home-brewing communities, BrewDog made recipes of all its 216

beers publically available. They say it is their way of “giving back” to the community as their name has also grown from the same place. By doing this, the brand has very swiftly made a space for itself in the hearts of the people. At the same time, it is a subtle scar on the face of their competitors as they believe the strength of their brand is derived from unique brewing abilities and not just the ingredients. Now this is some confidence!

PepsiMojis explores the language of Emojis

A picture is worth a thousand words, but hey, Emojis are no less. This summer, the “Say It With Pepsi” campaign is all set to boost consumers in getting their point across through their internally designed emoticons. The designs don’t only have a global appeal but some are also customized for local markets. Emojis deliver marketing messages "graphically, quickly and in a relatable way," Toronto-based branding consultant Jeff Swystun said in an interview. We can’t wait to share one ;-)

Xerox announces its split

Reflecting industry dynamics, we will now see Xerox as two separate listed companies, one carrying its legacy printer and documentation solutions while the other will focus on its business process outsourcing unit. Whether the two separate entities will carry the same brand name or decide to deviate will determine the valuation of this mammoth brand that has seen the highs and lows like no other.

Special Feature

Brand Forum, Sydney 2017

Australia’s biggest event dedicated purely to brand strategy & management saw participation by more than 350 executives hooked on to over 35 experts from the domain of branding. Take a look at the highlights here: