Now Penny-wise isn’t Pound-foolish

1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers

Even before the slowdown hit Indian shores, marketing honchos of India Inc. had devised a new strategy to save their dimes in advertising. Companies like LG, Britannia, Maruti, Suzlon et al went dizzy with their maniacal urge to air one corporate ad after the next. The idea was simple. Rather than talking about individual brands the plan was to bring out a slightly longer ad that showcases all the well-known brands that they offer. Besides, it also helped them make star-studded statements about their corporate identity. In hindsight, the move enabled companies to save on precious air-time that they would have spent in talking about individual products/brands. This is what we call getting wise… penny wise!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Pepsi-BBDO Break-up

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After an association of nearly 50 years, Pepsi has ended its relations with its ad agency BBDO in the US. TBWA is the new agency to handle the account. The company offered that it wants to revamp its brand communication across multiple touch points. Thus it decided to shift the agency to infuse a fresh thinking into the brand Pepsi.Losing Pepsi is surely a blow to BBDO. As per Advertising Age's 100 Leading National Advertisers report PepsiCo spent $162 million on brand Pepsi in 2007. Now that surely is a big blow, especially in the recession times when business is already low.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Gambling may be almost an indecent

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When the oil shock first reverberated across the globe in the 1970s, the Detroit duo refused to change, in the fond hope that green will be the colour of envy for rival Japanese auto majors. But today, when Toyota and Honda lovingly brandish their nimbler, fuel-efficient machines at the American consumers, it’s GM and Ford that are not just going green with envy but are literally gasping for survival! To avoid falling into a similar trap, the impulse of going ‘green’ is running faster than blood in India Inc.’s veins. From IT giants to luxurious hotel chains, from automobiles to mutual funds, corporate India is moving fanatically ahead with green initiatives. But will the gamble eventually pay off? Deepak R. Patra digs in...

Gambling may be almost an indecent (well, we said almost, didn’t we!) word in civil society but the green gamble is one that companies globally and in India are almost being coerced into. Cautiously watching and gauging their every activity are not just environmentalists and governments, but also a fast-growing breed of aware consumers who are ostensibly choosing the natural colour over their made-up counterparts. But hey, do consumers, really care as much? Go talk to modern consumers; they are sensitive, they understand responsibility toward environment, are concerned about climate change and want to help protect the earth from effects of global warming. Indeed, a 2007 global McKinsey survey of 7,751 people in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States suggested that 87% of consumers surveyed worry about the environmental and social impact of the products they buy. Encouraging news for India Inc.! But, at the time of actual buying, there appears a mismatch between words and actions. As per the 4Ps B&M and ICMR survey conducted across five big Indian cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore (see pages 70), merely 32% of consumers surveyed had actually bought/or were willing to buy only those products that are marketed as ‘green products’. Even the aforementioned McKinsey survey concluded that no more than 33% of the consumers in their survey were ready to buy green products or have already done so. And possibly then also, they may only be buying organic foods (for personal health) or energy-efficient lighting (of course, that helps them reduce their electricity bill!).

However, more than a few contrarian instances prevail. The green gamble has already paid GE’s Jeff Immelt more than billions of dollars in revenues from his Ecomagination initiative; WalMart’s 2008 report on consumer behaviour reported a 66% increase since last year in consumers’ decisions to purchase five key eco-friendly products viz. CFL bulbs, organic milk and baby food, extended-life paper products, et al. Clearly for WalMart’s 200 million consumers, environment reigns high even in their shopping baskets.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
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Why Are Masscom Students Such Misfits In Ad-Land?!

Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!

Monojit Lahiri probes this disturbing issue

They were the kids who were supposed to be the saviours of the attrition-hit adbiz; the god-sent answers to the galloping exodus of good people suddenly upping and leaving; the bright main-hoon-na brigade all charged to fill in the blanks rendered by the defectors… but guess what? Eight times out of ten, they’ve turned up turnips; well-meaning disasters who didn’t seem to have a clue about the ‘real’ world! Agency and clients continue to crib about these kids “coming from another planet and totally out-of-sync with the ground realities that govern our business.” Shouldn’t the faculty and powers-that-are initiate them into what awaits them once they are out in the battlefield? Isn’t it their responsibility to get them as industry-ready and friendly as possible?

“Actually, its one of the great tragedies of our education system that we pay a pittance to teachers, compared to people in other disciplines in other sectors. Hence the institutes – exceptions apart – attract a lot who have practically no industry experience or people who are not good enough to be absorbed in the mainstream and find it convenient to hide out as faculty in these joints.” That was Santosh Desai, the high-profile CEO of Future Brands. He is of the firm opinion that communication is a far richer, purer discipline than marketing [which borrows heavily from other empirical sciences] and at best is nothing more than a makeshift science. “The atmosphere and environment – for example – that prevails in an advertising agency with its unique work culture, demands and expectations is an entire universe apart from a traditional, conventional workplace. The result is, frequently, there is zero-connect and near non-existent value-addition. For example, Advertising being an idea-led business, is there any focus regarding the critical aspect of how to form, shape, add value, reject or react to an idea?”

Motorola’s dynamic and articulate Marketing Director, Lloyd Mathias is up next. He believes that most traditional Masscom Institutes in the country, unfortunately, choose to be [comfortably] inward looking, still concentrating on old Case Studies from Harvard Business School. “In today’s day and age, this is totally irrelevant! They need to understand that if the kids have to go out and work in an Indian environment they ‘must’ necessarily connect with the Indian reality.” Mathias then goes on to make a strong case for the biggies, the movers n’ shakers – Omnicom, WPP, Publicis – to get together and arrive at a common solution where an environment/climate is created to allow for a more enlightened faculty and sharper, industry-friendly student community.

The new Golden Boy of Indian Advertising [the soft-spoken, low-profile Agnello Dias, JWT’s NCD, whose amazing Lead India campaign fetched India her first-ever Grand Prix at the recently concluded Cannes Ad fest] adds his own evolved input. He believes that Masscom – as a discipline – is a fluid science and has to be understood in that vein, from day one, by everyone engaged with it. “The problem with most schools and institutes is that the curriculum and syllabi seldom bears any connect with the present or future … it seems to be entrenched firmly in the past! The result is that while the jargons, terminology and catch-phrases are picked up, nothing that is truly relevant is. Why? Because even between the time they’ve done the exams, got their results and started looking out for jobs, the dynamics of the business could’ve changed … and where would that lead them?” Ivan Arthur, veteran, creative, heavyweight of JWT in the sixties, seventies and eighties rounds off this debate on a truly positive and meaningful note, offering solutions that everybody [including these distinguished practitioners] are looking out for. He points towards Walter Saldhana’s Aicar Business School in Neral, Maharashtra. Its an institute, which is pragmatic, rooted to ground realities, living in the here and now. It promotes learning-by-doing as its defining philosophy. “We set up an integrated communication agency in the campus that actually handle live accounts. Students are taught the processes and costs of acquiring and managing accounts. They also have to learn the pain of losing some of them. Clients pay the institute for the work done by students, of course with close and active supervision of the faculty and mentors, all experienced ad professionals. Clients include names like Eureka Forbes, IMS Learning, Old Spice, IL&FS and Aicar B-School itself. The practical experience is supported by robust classroom sessions, which deal with diverse subjects … world literature and mythology, aesthetics, semiotics and cultural anthropology. We believe that beyond being effective managers, they should be well-rounded human beings with those softer edges of refinement and sensitivity.”

Are you listening Santosh, Lloyd, Aggi and everyone out there?

Way to go, guys…!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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If India has its brands, China has its infrastructural-prowess

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During a recent leisurely sojourn in Egypt, I was in no mood to roam around, suppressing my marauding instincts. However, as Cairo basked in the pleasantries of the Mediterranean Sun, I decided to give in to my vagaries of exploration. Already satisfied with the Egyptian heritage, the next stop was glitzy downtown Cairo and what better place to start than ‘The Omaha Endi Mall’, one of the most happening places around. Inside, I was greeted by the usual upmarket brands galore, but what surprised me was an unusual sight. In the middle of this brand hoopla, there was Lilliput, an Indian kids wear brand. With a conceited yet anxious mindset, I entered the corridors of the spanking showroom oozing those world class lines. As I waited there in awe, a mother and her three kids entered the shop and I could not help but ask their perception of Indian brands. “Well, I like the quality and clear cut fashion of the Made-in-India labels, Chinese brands are there too, but not that good to feel and wear,” said the prospective customer. This was no innocent answer to a direct question; it symbolised the choices of the African consumer and the power of Indian brand names.

Back home, the first thing I did was to meet the Egyptian Ambassador to enquire about the inside story behind the success of the Indian brands among Egyptian consumers. “If you consider India particularly, then India and Egypt have a strong link even thousands of years ago and this cultural legacy has helped Egypt become unique for India,” averred H. E. Dr. Mohamed Higazy, the Egyptian Ambassador to India. My curiosity awakened, I couldn’t restrict the story to India. Stealthily old neighbour China had found a place!

The first obvious question is that is the time really ripe to enter the so called ‘Dark Continent’? Traditionally, businesses in Africa have behaved like ‘caterpillars’ – uninteresting, slow moving and easy to step on. Conditions are still somewhat similar, but change is creeping in fast. “The place is still financially challenged, but it’s no doubt one of the hottest markets today. We had been in Africa for 10 years now and it’s definitely the next big market,” asserts Rajendra S. Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Technologies. Pawar is not alone. There are many of his ilk who feel that the continent has not only seen daylight, but that the sun is shining brighter each day. “Even Sub-Saharan countries are clocking growth rates of over 7% in the past years. Per capita income is also increasing. The time is ripe for Indian firms to invest in Africa,” adds V. Thatty, Deputy GM, International Operations, Bank of Baroda (the bank operates in Africa through a subsidiary arrangement). Some, however, are treading more cautiously. “The main problem we see is the lack of regulatory infrastructure in most African countries,” says Rahul Virkar, Spokesperson, ICICI Bank (International Operations). “We at present have our representative office in South Africa but in the near future,” he adds optimistically, “we may go for a wholly owned subsidiary there.”

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...