tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36250062570479285032024-02-19T10:48:21.280+05:30THE OPINION TIMESHemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-20704514740005324972010-10-24T15:00:00.002+05:302010-10-24T15:03:57.901+05:30Brand Update : Peter England is the Beginning of Good Things<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-TJ5lBaxghALTHeRlCfNDgeaq1AksyTH510VZ6ovn6MsUkAfa76ELjLB7_HJ7c6qM6qHWVRmba_RjHhMzhhjQ1PUQ2rvIcb7hkscxbehY5MeIrOZ5kRGNHrARquikL1VYf18ei38REkb/s1600/sidharth+peter+england.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 136px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531542946158809618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-TJ5lBaxghALTHeRlCfNDgeaq1AksyTH510VZ6ovn6MsUkAfa76ELjLB7_HJ7c6qM6qHWVRmba_RjHhMzhhjQ1PUQ2rvIcb7hkscxbehY5MeIrOZ5kRGNHrARquikL1VYf18ei38REkb/s320/sidharth+peter+england.jpg" /></a><br /><div>It has been almost four years since I updated about this brand. Peter England has always been my favorite brand and it remains so even after all these years. But somehow I missed to update about this wonderful brand for such a long time.<br /></div><br /><div>In these four years, Peter England has become a Rs 500 crore brand growing more than 30% annually. In the last IPL season, Peter England hit the branding circuit with a bang by sponsoring Chennai Super Kings. The brand also dabbed into suits as well as casual wear in this time. At one point in time, the brand had a campaign featuring Kareeena Kapoor.<br /></div><br /><div>2010 is witnessing another beginning for the brand. The brand has roped in the South Indian Actor Siddharth as brand ambassador and is currently running a campaign featuring the celebrity. Along with the brand ambassador, Peter England is also repositioning itself on a new platform. The brand has changed its tagline to " Beginning of Good Things ".<br />Watch the new campaign here : <a href="http://indianbrands.blogspot.com/2010/10/peter-england-beginning-of-good-things.html">Peter England</a></div><br /><div><br />In their press releases, the brand talks about the new positioning. Peter England wants to epitomize confidence that arises out of self belief. The brand wants to remind the users about their inner strength that will arise of self-confidence and Peter England will be the source of that self confidence.</div><br /><div><br />Although the brand's new proposition sounds good and is a sort of laddering up, I surely miss the first campaign of Peter England - The Honest Shirt . That was a campaign that expressed the brand completely. The promise of a Honest Shirt was embraced by consumers because the message was so simple , direct and relevant.</div><br /><div><br />But how ever, the brand got bored with the positioning and moved over to an aspirational " Honestly Impressive " theme. Although the concept was good, it was no where near the original one interms of relevance and simplicity.<br /></div><br /><div>To be frank, I did not like the new tagline -Beginning of Good Things ( personal opinion !) . The positioning almost is similar to Cadbury Dairy Milk's Shubh Aarambh theme ( for an auspicious beginning). And theme of self confidence arising out of dress is neither new nor clutter breaking. Its just another campaign and the brand will see its sales going northward because of the smart selection of the celebrity.</div><br /><div><br />Siddharth will make the brand more appealing to youngsters. The flooding of the market by various regional brands/private labels and the trend among youngsters to go for street fashion rather than branded ones is making the lives of brands like Peter England difficult . The popularity of Siddharth among youngsters will bring back lot of them to the brand.<br />Peter England as a brand will make sense because of the inherent value proposition. As long as the value proposition remains the same, there is no stopping for this brand.</div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-9277090891446476452010-10-24T14:55:00.001+05:302010-10-24T14:58:16.082+05:30Marketing Strategy : Celebrating the WoW MomentsSeldom does brands hit upon wonderful ideas that capture the attention of the consumers. During the last IPL season, Vodafone hit upon such a wonderful advertising idea – The ZooZoo. Those white cute characters quickly captured the imagination of India. ZooZoos were all around the media with rave reviews, blogs and viral videos. The entire marketing community was watching how the brand will handle the unprecedented success of the ZooZoos.<br /><br />Vodafone themselves was surprised at the success of ZooZoo and it took a while for the company to wake up to the idea of capitalizing the success of ZooZoo by launching merchandises, games, contests and social media engagement. To take the popularity to ZooZoo to the next level, the brand also launched a campaign asking the public to contribute to the advertising campaigns by suggesting ideas.<br /><br />It is important for the brands to capitalize every such wow factors to the maximum. The big ideas can come in the form of a tagline, a celebrity, a brand mascot, a product feature or an advertising idea. Once that big idea becomes highly accepted by the consumers, it is important for the brand to take it to the next level of engagement.<br /><br />Take the example of the MRF‘s association with Sachin Tendulkar and cricket. The association started off as a brand endorsement. MRF’s logo on Sachin’s bat got the brand so much visibility that cricket fans began to ask for MRF bats at sports shops. MRF later launched its cricket kits to cash on the popularity. To celebrate the brand’s association with cricket, MRF also ventured into launching MRF pace foundation which has become a vital talent school for pace bowlers. All these engagements involved investments that could not be recovered on a short-term. MRF also involved seriously into racing sports which had a direct connection with the brand’s offering. MRF began to celebrate its involvement in rallies thereby reinforcing the brand’s credibility as a modern, tough tire brand. In all these activities, the brand involved 100% and the investments was not blinded by a quest for short-term sales spurts.<br /><br />It was a wow- moment for Nike when it chose the tagline “Just Do It”. Customers loved the tagline and Nike did not waste a moment in celebrating the tagline. The tagline became an integral factor in the success of Nike brand. In the Indian context, Idea Cellular Ltd hit upon a hit tagline “ An Idea can Change Your Life ”. The brand also signed up Abhishek Bachchan as the brand ambassador. The brand celebrated these two big ideas together with huge success.<br />Marketers should look for signs of success of their big and small ideas. There is a huge potential for celebration when consumers start talking about those WoW moments. When consumer starts talking about the brand, marketers should take the cue and take the engagement to the next level.<br /><br /><strong>Have a plan to celebrate.<br /></strong><br />In this highly competitive world, time is a precious resource. The brand should celebrate its ideas before the euphoria dies down. More time the marketer spent contemplating on the planning phase, the less effective the engagement. There has to be a plan to systematically enhance the engagement with the consumers in the event of such a wow-moment.<br />Celebrating the brand’s wow moments can have lot of positive rub-offs. It can create an engagement with the consumers. Take the case of ZooZoo. These characters created lot of engagement with the brand and the public (consumers and non-consumers of Vodafone). The ZooZoo fan page in Facebook has more than 3.30 lakh fans. Through these, the brand is able to connect with a larger base of existing and potential consumers who hold a positive frame of mind towards the brand or its campaigns.<br /><br /><strong>Use all the marketing opportunities.<br /></strong><br />We are living in a highly networked world that offers many opportunities to engage with the consumers. Indian marketers are slow in adapting to newer ways of connecting to the consumers. Once Vodafone figured out the celebrating ZooZoo, it went on an overdrive using all the media opportunities. Vodafone is now using social media like Facebook, Orkut etc to create more engagement with the consumers. It also sells ZooZoo merchandise through select outlets. There are also contests and games which consumers can play in the social media that created lot of consumer engagement.<br /><br /><strong>Celebration is an investment.</strong><br /><br />In an era of spreadsheets,ROIs and quarterly reports it is difficult for marketers to quickly quantify the returns for such a celebration. Hence it would be prudent for marketers should consider such marketing activities as a long-term investment. Although there may not be an immediate spike in the sales, one should be able to see the long-term equity that such a celebration can deliver to the brand.<br /><br /><strong>Link the celebration to the brand.<br /></strong><br />While there are a lot of advantages in celebrating the wow- moments, marketers should have clarity in linking the celebration to the brand’s big picture. Brand needs to benefit from the celebration either in terms of better visibility, market share, loyalty or engagement with the consumers. Periodic reviews and assessment will help marketers to justify further investments in celebrating brand’s small and big successes.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Originally Published </span></em><a href="http://adclubbombay.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2503:celebrate-your-brands-wow-moments&catid=81:columns&Itemid=44"><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;">here </span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;">in </span></em><a href="http://adclubbombay.com/"><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Adclubbombay.com</span></em></a>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-39880733228411104262010-10-24T14:49:00.001+05:302010-10-24T15:15:27.975+05:30Brand Update : Idea Wants To Break Language BarrierIdea Cellular has hit upon another smart idea this season with the latest <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElxERkFfAwU">" language barrier "</a> ad. Sirji now wants to break the language barrier using mobile phones.<br /><br />Taking the concept of " An idea can change your life " , Idea cellular has been relentlessly pursuing new ideas in their campaigns. Whether those ideas have any relevance to the brand or not, campaigns were run with passion. This persistence has paid off for the brand interms of brand recognition and also interms of market share.<br /><br />This time the brand talks about how the mobile telephony can the solve the issue of language barrier in a diverse country like India. A country with 28 recognized languages and 22000 dialects, language has been a big problem for those people who needs constant relocation.<br /><br />As a follow-up to the campaign , Idea launched a language helpline across the circles it operates for the general public. Through the helpline, the caller can get the help of a translator . The user should give the message to be translated in English and the helpline agent will translate the message in the language required by the caller. The helpline is open to non- Idea subscribers also.<br /><br />One of the key lessons from the brand is the power of passion. The brand owners are passionate about the brand's positioning and it invests heavily in the campaigns bombarding the consumers with passionate messages. This passion has made " What an Idea Sirji " line a part of the common lingo of youngsters.<br /><br />The ad campaign has been well received by the viewers and it needs to be seen whether the actual service will be used by the consumers. Whether it is used or not, Idea should be congratulated on the consistency and the passion in which it approach the core brand positioning.Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-37465841257665567182010-02-23T21:09:00.001+05:302010-02-23T21:09:20.267+05:30Check out Save Our Tigers | Join the RoarTitle: Save Our Tigers | Join the Roar<br/>Link: http://gotaf.socialtwist.com/redirect?l=-878674465953817285811Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-15934365386924344492009-10-07T23:28:00.003+05:302009-10-07T23:30:34.603+05:30HORN ...OK ...Please!<span style="font-size:85%;">It’s ubiquitous and yet one of the most inexplicable taglines in all of Indian communication. Virtually every truck (recommend that you read Sri Lal More Pictures<br />Shukla’s ‘Raag Darbari’ for perhaps the best description ever of an Indian truck) that rumbles across the country carries ‘Horn OK Please’. Yet no one seems to have a clue as to why, when or how truckers decided to brand their fume bellowing monsters with this line.<br /><br />Even stranger is the fact that very few truckers or cleaners are likely to be conversant with English. Still no matter where they hail from — Punjab or Pondicherry — they stick to the branding code. We will never know what was going through the mind of the anonymous copywriter who wrote this enduring tagline.<br /><br />But what we do know is that he/she manage to forge an enduring emotional connection with the target audience — the sort that commercial marketers would crave for.<br /><br />A connection so strong that logic and powerpoints (not to mention articles such as this one) can neither decode nor wish away. Had this been put into research by a truck manufacturer, in all probability he would have been told that it is rubbish, means absolutely nothing and will never work.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozZ_21DA0zalVjXXillX_gz60s3Gr_KomBA3uFkuNVEa9oU2nTewrflKfOpb1ncoKhVmme9KJ2YMHG51kJBUCG0fWk8NPJb2bcTHrHMLnNK2UcJNWgLMDh_g_CvtQZbyNCTMipCGoEX46/s1600-h/horn.jpg"><span style="font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389919115734389570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozZ_21DA0zalVjXXillX_gz60s3Gr_KomBA3uFkuNVEa9oU2nTewrflKfOpb1ncoKhVmme9KJ2YMHG51kJBUCG0fWk8NPJb2bcTHrHMLnNK2UcJNWgLMDh_g_CvtQZbyNCTMipCGoEX46/s320/horn.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">There are numerous other such ‘unofficial’ taglines, which fly in the face of convention and Kotler, anyone of which could have been used as the column title. However, few bring a smile to your lips after all these the way Horn OK Please does, few have such a curious syntax and well this is the phrase that I like best, and as the writer I get to choose.<br /><br />As for the column itself it will focus on the oddities related to all elements that go into the task of brand-building — be it by large marketers or unorganised efforts — and consumerism in India. It might occasionally stray from the defined brief, and when that happens just think of it as brand extension, no matter how tenuous the link is. If you don’t like it then just ignore it and if you do then ‘Horn OK Please’.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Up in smoke<br /></strong><br />Few brands in India have, over the last two decades, demonstrated the power of a brand as the cigarette brand, Marlboro. For years, paanwalahs across the country (in an era when there were no cell-phones or<br />internet) charged the same price for a packet of Marlboro (the smuggled version, since it was not legally available). The pricing that the paanwallahs arrived at was not based on a simple conversion of the dollar/pound price plus (adding the cost of procurement through smuggling.<br /><br />Instead the brand was typically pegged to the most expensive Indian brand and retailed at a Rs 10 mark up to it. After every Budget when Indian cigarette brands hiked prices, Marlboro prices were recalibrated by the paanwallahs to ensure that the premium for the brand remained (even though it being a smuggled commodity, the budget had no impact on the brand.)<br /><br />Strangely enough, in the last year or so ever since the brand has been legally retailed, this price premium has totally disappeared. Today it costs just Rs 2 more than a packet of Gold Flake, Rs 4 less than a pack of Classic Milds (at a single-stick level it’s five bucks for all these three brands) and Rs 10 less than a packet of Benson & Hedges (all prices are MRP in Mumbai).<br /><br />Even more intriguing is the fact that while the ‘Made In India’ Marlboro pack retails at Rs 90, the smuggled ones are priced at a discount. It’s not easy to explain the transition. Perhaps the brand was far more aspirational when it was less freely available. Perhaps over the years with far more people travelling abroad far more regularly, a brand like Davidoff, which is largely of the smuggled variety, has managed to reposition Marlboro into the mass-market cigarette that it is globally, even in India.<br /><br />Perhaps the MNC never really fathom e d this parallel brand valuation that it enjoyed. Perhaps it is a conscious strategy by the marketer to gain a wider audience. Whatever the reasons, one of the best demonstrations of brand equity for the last two decades by an iconic brand nurtured by unconventional brand guardians (local paanwallahs) has now finally come to an end. </span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-86368700046772679992009-10-07T23:17:00.004+05:302009-10-07T23:23:21.244+05:30Onida - The devil going to hell...!<span style="font-size:85%;">According to a report in Economic Times, Onida has decided to send its iconic mascot- The Devil to Hell. According to the report, the brand feels that Devil is no longer attractive to the consumers and hence the decision to remove it. The report further says that the brand is working on a new mascot.<br /><br />The report gave me a sense of Deja_vu. This is not the first time that Mirc Electronics ( brand owners) has scrapped the Devil.<br />In1998, Onida withdrew the mascot citing the same reasons that they have given now. The explanation given in 1998 was that Indian consumers no longer find Devil, who symbolizes Envy, relevant. So they scrapped the famous tagline " Neighbour's Envy, Owner's Pride "</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrNJhHzyAYSK7Rhw_dyaA-oYWaJJ9Rmqxo98yWWJ4bxrBoQiyJzYj2Z78dRr1EgUT4nLToOom2i-IScs4PgNokRapFNa_Lis6JDbfcrLs_XUGxD8vMX7rfYpYGZFp4CW3bE9wTQxJRjcV/s1600-h/onida+devil.jpg"><span style="font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389916635357039410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrNJhHzyAYSK7Rhw_dyaA-oYWaJJ9Rmqxo98yWWJ4bxrBoQiyJzYj2Z78dRr1EgUT4nLToOom2i-IScs4PgNokRapFNa_Lis6JDbfcrLs_XUGxD8vMX7rfYpYGZFp4CW3bE9wTQxJRjcV/s320/onida+devil.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> together with the Devil. But ever since it changed the tagline and mascot, Onida never found a powerful positioning .<br /><br />After six years of drifting around, Onida brought back the Devil with much fanfare in 2004. Media and brand enthusiasts welcomed the move and eagerly awaited the Devil in a changed modern avataar. But the comeback was damp squib. The brand suffered heavily due to ownership issues within the company. There was no brand promotion or new product launches worth talking about since 2004. If at all there were launches, promotions were not sufficient enough.<br /><br />Now in 2009, Onida is redoing its old strategy.<br /><br />Onida is facing a marketing problem and not a branding problem. Everything is fine with the brand. People recognize the brand, love its mascot. The issue is on a larger perspective. It needs to concentrate on its entire marketing mix not just the brand elements. Changing the devil and bringing in a new mascot is not going to do any good to Onida.<br /><br />The Economic Times report suggest that Onida is changing its brand elements because of competition from Korean brands like LG and Samsung. These Korean majors has built its position in Indian market riding on Product strategy rather than on heavy duty brand promotions. Their products were good, reasonably priced and well promoted. In the case of LG and Samsung, nobody really cares about the tagline. For them , the product speaks for itself.<br /><br />Onida failed because its products failed. I was a die hard Onida fan . I loved my Onida KY Thunder Television. But after that there was nothing remarkable about Onida. No high technology products came from this brand.Onida became successful because the Devil was backed by products that really created envy in others. Now there is nothing to envy about Onida. Last year, I bought an Onida DVD player which boasts about playing scratched DVDs but the product failed miserably.<br /><br />Now in the consumer durable space, brands are coming out with new advanced products on a monthly basis. Technology keeps changing and most brands are moving with break-neck speed to catch up with consumer expectations. In the case of Television, flat is now old and brands are talking about plasma, LCD etc. What is Onida doing in this space ?<br /><br />Onida is now in one of the most difficult times. The brand needs to come out with a product that will change the game. Changing the mascot is secondary at this point of time.<br />Onida has launched its new campaign after putting the devil to rest. The campaign is aimed at repositioning and rejuvenating the brand. The brand is trying for a comeback after years of uncertainty which made this (once) iconic brand lose its share in the market.<br /><br />Watch the new campaign here : Onida new campaign<br /><br />In my last post on Onida, I commented that Onida's real problem is not branding but marketing. The brand desperately needed break-through products and embrace new technologies. If the new ads are any indication, the brand is moving in the right direction. The brand is trying to launch products with new features, which is the right thing to do .<br /><br />Regarding the brand campaign, Onida now has a new tagline- " Tum Ko Dekha to ye design aya" meaning " Designed with you in mind ". The brand replaced the iconic devil with a new-age couple as the protagonists.<br /><br />Onida is now repositioning on the basis of " Customer Oriented Design". The brand is saying that its products are designed with the new-age customer in mind. The new tagline has nothing new in it and "customer-oriented" design positioning is used by many brands before. In comparison with the classic "Neighbor's envy , Owner's Pride", the new campaign falls short of expectation. ( Another viewpoint here)<br /><br />In the consumer durable space, it is the product features that attract the buyers not the ads. If Onida can give technologically advanced products at reasonable price, consumers will definitely try it out. But there are issues in such a product oriented strategy. Most of the new features can be copied easily by the competitors unless otherwise protected by patents. When Onida launches a DVD player which plays micro-sd cards, other players are bound to follow. It is in this scenario that branding becomes important. Onida needs to convince the consumers that its products are better designed and technologically superior. It is about managing perception .Features can be copied by competitors easily but changing perception is a difficult task.<br /><br />Onida needs to work hard on creating and nurturing new perceptions about itself in the mind of the consumers. Long way to go for this brand......</span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-90395344110992697152009-10-07T23:08:00.003+05:302009-10-07T23:12:56.047+05:30Unwanted-72 : Bring Your Lost Moments Back<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SERl8jQrK8UyqA-rxGi923RASDpWAjh6FcxBrcDUvJKtxAZM6LuxCzvhvT0WhAK4qMgzrWQLbQoVwqXHHE2m8E6ahHJG1X8ICr_FAMWJymJTi2g0NxNebfhAKiPxS1ijTbSApg2ukJGD/s1600-h/unwanted.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389914926563702114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 82px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SERl8jQrK8UyqA-rxGi923RASDpWAjh6FcxBrcDUvJKtxAZM6LuxCzvhvT0WhAK4qMgzrWQLbQoVwqXHHE2m8E6ahHJG1X8ICr_FAMWJymJTi2g0NxNebfhAKiPxS1ijTbSApg2ukJGD/s320/unwanted.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">I-pill now have a competition. Mankind Pharma . Mankind Pharma was established in 1995 and has its presence in antibiotics, ED , Gastro, Antifungal Cardio segments. The company has forayed into the OTC segment with a range of products from sanitary napkins to emergency pills.<br /><br />Unwanted-72 is a morning-after pill. This emergency contraceptive pill is directly competing with the market leader i-pill from Cipla. I pill is the first OTC emergency contraceptive pill in India. These pills were allowed to market through OTC in 2005.<br /><br />Unlike other contraceptive pills, emergency contraceptive pills are not a family planning tool. These pills are used to prevent unwanted pregnancy arising out of various situations like unexpected and unprotected intercourse.<br /><br />I-pill has stirred up the market with a high profile, highly controversial ad campaign. The market has reacted quite positively to the product ever since.<br />As usual, the moral police of India has been creating lot of noise decrying this product as an anti-moral product. The noise made by these hypocrites have only helped increase the popularity of morning-after pills.<br /><br />According to a report in Economic Times, 78% of pregnancies in India are unplanned and 5% are unwanted.There are about 1 million unsafe abortions in the country every year. Hence these pills offer a safe way to avoid pregnancy and abortion.<br /><br />Critics say that the popularity of such emergency contraceptives will give wrong message to youngsters especially teens. These pills often acts as a confidence booster for these youngsters to go wild. These theories are based on the assumption that Indian Youth are the epitome of high moral values...<br />Another criticism about these products is that the marketers often suppress the information regarding side-effects of these pills.<br /><br />Coming back to the brand, Mankind has been aggressive in tapping the emerging OTC product market in India. The company has been promoting its Sugar- substitute brand Kalorie 1 heavily using Wasim Akram as the brand ambassador.<br /><br />Unwanted-72 has an interesting brand name. I was surprised at the brand name when I saw this brand's commercial . First I thought it was naive on the part of the company to name a contraceptive brand as Unwanted -72. The name sounded very amateurish and too theoretical. I thought i-pill was a stylish name compared to unwanted-72.<br /><br />But later on further thinking, i found lot of logic in using such a brand name. According to text books, brand names have to be simple , easy to understand and remember and should be able to convey the purpose of the brand. If you look at theory , Unwanted-72 is an ideal brand name.<br /><br />Unwanted denotes Unwanted Pregnancy<br />72 denotes the hours within which this pill has to be consumed after the intercourse.<br /><br />So Unwanted-72 makes sense<br /><br />or does it ?????<br /><br />Well ... for a lady who is so tense and worried about a possibility of an unwanted pregnancy , does the brand name matters ?<br /><br />Even if you put the brand name as After-Screwed - Up Pill, consumers will buy it provided it is effective..<br /><br />My personal opinion is that the brand name is too amateurish .Parents will have tough time explaining it to a kid who sees the ad and asks about the product. In the company point of view , the brand name is so simple and direct, that every one can understand what the product is.If you are targeting a mass market, such a simple brand name is very advantageous</span>. </div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-88982229976919622242009-10-07T23:02:00.003+05:302012-03-24T17:38:41.294+05:30Quick Gun Murugan: The Good The Bad The IdliQuick Gun Murugan could claim many records. For example, the first film with a vegetarian cowboy. Or the Bollywood film with the most happily <br />voluptuous heroine in the last three decades (Rambha’s first item number is a bitch slap to size zero appeal).<br /><br />Or the first Tamil-English crossover hit (though it’s hard to say what language the film is really in since subtitles and spoken words sometimes happily go their own way, and it was also filmed with Hindi and Telugu versions). Or the most eye-poppingly colourful Indian film ever, thanks to the saturated colours and hyper-real detailing carried over from its origins on Channel [V] – a comic book film, as its director Shashank Ghosh describes it happily.<br /><br />But one record that is may also have is for being the first promotional film to become a feature film. The only vague parallel might be with the UK’s Nick Park whose clay animation short film Creature Comforts became a popular series of ads, and then a TV series, as well as inspiring his Wallace & Gromit films. With Park too there were doubts about whether what worked in the short time spans of promo films could carry over to feature film length, but the Wallace & Gromit feature won an Oscar.<br /><br />Quick Gun Murugan might not be quite at that level (though it would probably be a better choice than whatever stitched-up critics’ choice is sent as the Indian representative). But when some critics cribbed that it drags in the second half, there was a palpable sense of them groping for things to say about a film of a kind they didn’t know how to pigeonhole.<br /><br />At around 90 minutes the film is tighter than almost any Bollywood film. In fact – another record – it is probably the only Indian film where the international edit is even longer. “We felt we had to explain things a bit for foreign audiences,” says Ghosh. Since the film features gangsters named the Mullagapodi boys and bombs planted in Mumbai’s dabba service for terrorist-cum-dosa-promotion purposes, he’s probably right about that.<br /><br />Despite this inventiveness , considerably polished production (the film is a testament to the higher production standards brought into Bollywood by ad film directors ) and a truly amazing title performance by Dr.Rajendra, who has to manage the difficult task of spoofing the stereotypes of the South Indian film world he comes from, while still keeping his character convincing enough to believe in, its still not clear if the film will be a success.<br /><br />Thanks to the knock-on effects of the film strike, it’s been launched amid a glut of other films, on perhaps fewer screens than it deserves, and it’s possible that audiences too might simply not know how to handle such a genre bending film.<br /><br />This is one reason why it took so long to make. Rajesh Devraj, the writer who dreamed up the Quick Gun Murugan character at Channel V, wrote the script almost 10 years back. Ghosh has known Devraj from their days in Hindustan Thompson Associates and then Channel V, and has had a relationship with him as close and contentious as any long term married couple. But underlying it is a respect for Devraj’s creative abilities strong enough for him to play executor to Devraj’s ideator, so he shopped the script around to Bollywood producers. And always got the same reaction: “They would laugh and laugh when they read it, but then say, ‘nahi, nahi, it won’t work.”<br /><br />It was the same problem as the critics; everyone could recognise the comedy, but didn’t know how to classify it, and in a business like Bollywood <br />where people must gamble crores on hunches, that’s deadly. Perhaps the best advice Ghosh got was from Ram Gopal Varma: “He told me not to make this as my first film.” Varma’s point perhaps was that so much would have to go from Ghosh to make the film it would probably be unviable, and it would be best to cut his chops on something else first. Ghosh took the advice and made Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, another madcap, but less radical film. It wasn’t a great box-office success, but got attention, and gave Ghosh the confidence to make Quick Gun Murugan, and enough credibility for the producers to gamble on him this time.<br /><br />Despite having to undergo this protracted genesis, Ghosh is no critic of Bollywood’s ways of working. “It’s essentially an insane business model, and yet you have people willing to take risks and work with huge dedication and professionalism towards the creation of a film,” he says. He draws an unfavourable contrast with advertising where he points out that no one will work without immediate and considerable payment, and where the default position is not to take risks.<br /><br />“When I moved to TV I went from an environment where people didn’t do things, to one where everyone just did, at once and all the time!” At Channel V, Ghosh says, “we were client, creative and producer all at once. It was hugely exciting and hugely scary, because suddenly you were responsible . In advertising you never take responsibility .”<br /><br />Ghosh does credit his advertising years with one benefit: “You learn to listen. As a creative you are supposed to be talk to the final consumer , but first you have to listen to client, servicing, account planning...” Many creatives simply rebel, but Ghosh, who’s rather more thoughtful than his extrovert demeanour suggests, acknowledges value in those other voices.<br /><br />When he went to TV he took a classic Account Planning learning of the importance of focusing on a consumer group like SEC A rather than “the sort of guys you hang around with at Toto’s pub.” Except that instead of calling it SEC A he called it “The Legend of Tinku Bansal” and put up a detailed note on who Tinku Bansal was: “the sort of guy who used M-C /B-C in every sentence , except when his mother is around, and who sells toilets in Karol Bagh and has his shirt open to his waist...”<br /><br />Tinku Bansal was the person for who Ghosh, Devraj and the rest of that inspired Channel V crowd created characters like Udham Singh and Quick Gun Murugan. And if enough Tinku Bansals watch Quick Gun Murugan, then Ghosh and Devraj will have delivered. Even if the film is not a box office hit, it has all the potential to become a cult classic, which will show returns over time and different formats. Ghosh grimaces at talk going around of a sequel called The Good, The Bad and The Idli; what’s more likely in the near future is the gaming version he’s working on, and the comics that Devraj has already started creating.<br /><br />There’s also a range of merchandising ready, and any marketing manager with sense must surely be racing to be the first to tie the “Mind It” man to their brand. Because for all their mixed feelings about advertising, this is what Devraj and Ghosh have pulled off – far more than any recent Bollywood film, except perhaps the Munnabhai series, in Quick Gun Murugan they have developed a brand character with the look, the line and the legs to carry campaigns in ways which most ad creatives can only dream. Forget the Oscars or Filmfare awards, it’s the ad awards and, more important, the ad budgets, at which this vegetarian cowboy should aim.Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-49999499483503202902009-10-07T22:52:00.003+05:302012-03-24T17:41:15.079+05:30Goodbye Mr Loyalty: Is brand loyalty dead?<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >The consumer is an infidel. Marketers might take a stronger exception, to this rather strong statement. But the truth, not sugar coated, is out in the open. Scan any market and you will observe that consumers follow loyalty only in the breach, be it in fashion, technology, durables and even careers. We say what we say because loyalty, or the lack of it, goes beyond brand loyalty to a larger societal shift in the way consumers view loyalty, and disloyalty. Staying loyal to your employer, career, or for that matter... relationship is no longer sacrosanct. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >That possibly explains entrepreneurs spotting business opportunities and the rise of portals like second shaadi, second career and so on. Speak to the so called ‘disloyal’ consumer and you are likely to spot a sentiment that says “Loyalty , what’s that?” or “Oh, you are so old-fashioned” . That disloyalty-is-cool is also being reflected in the advertising of these times. The Airtel Digital TV commercial featuring Saif Ali Khan ditching his childhood sweetheart in a nano-second is just one illustration. On YouTube only a minor part of the comments on the ad actually express anguish over the fact that Saif changes his mind after one fleeting glance and opts for Kareena Kapoor. (The majority are more interested in details like the singer of the ad jingle or how the jilted model looks better than Kareena Kapoor.) However, there are still some pockets where you will continue to see some semblance of loyalty. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >But these are the exceptions where consumers are forced to stay in a relationship with a brand because of the associated problems in changing service providers — for a gas connection, electricity supply or staying with the same telecom services provider to hold on to the phone number. Marketers do not buy these arguments very easily . For them loyalty is anything but dead. “How else do you explain Nokia’s dominant market share in cellphones,” asks D Shivakumar, managing director, Nokia. Others like Sanjay Purohit, director-marketing , Cadbury agrees that “experimentation is now a part of life for consumers who are forever seeking variety” but does not see it as a problem that’s going out of hand. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >However, there is a mounting stack of evidence to suggest that few companies are prepared to tackle the evolving consumer. A study by ClozR, ad agency Dentsu’s customer relationship and loyalty division suggests that only 60% of companies even have a stated plan of dealing with customers. Worse, most managers have discounted the accuracy of their customer contact information, with estimates varying from as low as 40% to 55%.<br />Sandeep Goyal, chairman , Dentsu says that loyalty, if any exists today, is by default as the choice consumers make when all other factors are constant. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >According to social scientist Shiv Viswanathan, the loyalty quotient is defined by the community you belong to, the status you have, the friendships you make and above all the memories that connect these worlds. He says, “The loyalty quotient has gone beyond the patriotism of the thing, to loyalty to an ecology.” But this ecology is fragile. For instance, see how the concept of friendship has evolved. Earlier people had a few “thick and fast friends” . Today, friendships are defined by the number of connections on your social network. The more friends, the better is your social status . It’s widely accepted that these friends are not forever . One bad experience and the relationship is finished for good. Ditto with brands. “There are too many of them in the market and the relationships between consumers and brands are not as thick as it would be in the past,” says Ashish Misra, chief strategist and business head of Mudra’s brand strategy division Water. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >Brand marketers however disagree that consumers today are outright flirts, or even that they look at all brands with the same pair of lens. You will always have a few good friends and similarly a few close brands, is their argument. But even in this set of beliefs the tenets of loyalty are being redefined. For the traditional concept of brand loyalty as we knew it — consumers staying loyal to a single brand in a given category at any point of time — is on the verge of extinction. “Even if consumers switch between brands, they will always switch within a given consideration set,” reasons Shivakumar. And belonging to that consideration set can vary depending on what category one belongs to. If the ability to innovate ensures your entry into the consideration set in the case of mobile handsets, it is “the loyalty towards the country of origin is high in automobiles ,” as Neeraj Garg, director, Volkswagen puts it. In the spirits business , consumers choose their brand and even variety of spirits according to occasion , companions and the time of the day they are consumed, says Amrit Thomas, EVP, marketing, United Spirits. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >For example , the same consumer might order for white spirits when they are in the company of females, but order whisky when they are in an all male group. Similarly , the same consumer might consume chilled beer in the comfort of home on a sunny afternoon. If that was bad enough, the brands consumed on each of these opportunities could belong to different companies. But if you thought this type of behaviour was typically male, Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director, Parle Agro shatters that perception. “Let’s be warned. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" ></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:arial;" >Women in metros are slowly imbibing qualities that we’ve always associated with men,” she says and adds that this is seen even in their relationship with brands. “They experiment, they flirt and they change their minds as often as their male counterparts do. Considering that these are women with money to spend, marketers have taken notice of this trend of disloyal women consumers.” </span></span><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">Battle of the sexes aside, the behaviour according to advertising veteran Anand Halve, has a lot to do with the change in emotions. “Earlier consumers had a loyalty equation based on the emotion that ‘you have done so much for me over the years’ . Now the ‘what have you done for me lately’ question often surfaces.” That question has become a nagging one, even in categories once considered to be having the highest loyalty quotients - foods and skin care for example. To ensure that such consumers do not desert your brand in droves, it is necessary to ensure that there are enough safeguards in place. “You have to protect yourself against the next big innovation,” says Shivakumar of Nokia. The handset maker does so by launching one new handset model every two weeks and is also graduating into services in a big way. Cadbury’s on its part says Purohit offers what consumers want — variety. In the UK for instance, Dairy Milk the company’s mother brand has 27 variants. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">But chlorophyll’s Halve warns that in catering to the consumer’s quest for variety you could run the risk of over-innovating . “You can innovate your way to hell.” According to Dentsu’s Goyal that’s one lesson brands could learn from those who breathe the L word everyday — the loyalty programme managers. In the past, loyalty programmes would send you brochures offering discounts on everything from delivering bouquets to buying chocolates, irrespective of whether it was an airline or a department store. “Loyalty itself got commoditised. Only when you stay relevant to your primary category does the value of loyalty go up,” he says and adds that companies are learning from their mistakes. But as Viswanathan says, what is loyalty today, might not be loyalty tomorrow . </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">“The loyalty quotient is a circle of memory. They are not numbers which provide an index of loyalty but a polysemic notion where a thing is tied to ideas like friendship, joy, everydayness and their beauty,” he says. Probably, loyalty is due for rebirth. Another day, another time, and another form. Science Of The Times The trouble with concepts like loyalty is that they float happily about reality and yet seem to define the real for people who make decisions around markets. Taken seriously loyalty quotients like the word mid-life crisis, say too much and too little. Taken playfully, it shows connections that we may not otherwise think about. For example, brand loyalty is a bit like a love affair. As a philosopher once said, the thing about love is the amount of tension it can stand. To love a product is not like loving a human being. But when a product is treated like a human being, brand loyalty is born. The irony is, instead of loyalty being defined by patriotism or ethnicity, it is defined by brand loyalty. What I mean by this is that the loyalty quotient is contoured. The community you belong, the status you have, the friendships you make but above all the memories that connect these worlds define a loyalty quotient.</span></span></span></span> </span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-61941462067686948302009-10-07T22:27:00.006+05:302009-10-07T22:42:54.676+05:30Fair & Lovely : Chand ka Tukda<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Fair & Lovely ( FAL) is the brand that revolutionized the Indian Skin care industry. This brand is World's first and largest Fairness cream brand with a presence in 40 countries and a value of around Rs. 6 billionIndian skin care market was dominated by conventional beauty care products like Bezan,Multani Mitti etc. FAL changed all that. Launched in 1975, FAL is the product born in the Unilever</span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1270/405/1600/Fair-&-Lovely-lady.0.jpg"></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> research center. In 1988 the brand went international. FAL commands a market share of over 70% in the Rs 1000 crore fairness market in India.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389904890692852818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKboff7ryS3wdjp41D4CjtQnGyveSsOv-nWyWHRUrVD9GgmoAOhtFps5cQABUMb1xjsJj4Q_JN2F6doNOGedhyphenhyphenprAoOcZs1OZIMVWYYU7zPx9oiiv5RmoGg5lniT6OcKinz_D8mb8k9hjC/s320/fair%2526lovely.0" border="0" /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">FAL virtually created and owned this category for long. In the fairness market, FAL enjoyed monopoly till Cavin Kare entered this lucrative segment with Fairever. The success of Fairever prompted many players like Godrej to tap the market. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">FAL sustained the pressure from the competitor by careful branding and new product launches. The brand never failed to emulate and learn from the competitor .When Fairever launched the ayurvedic variant, FAL launched a much better variant. Then came the competition from Ozone Ayurvedics with their brand No Marks trying to carve a niche. HLL countered with FAL Antimarks and launched a controversial comparative ad that took the steam out of No Marks. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">When Fair ever launched the soap, FAL also responded with soap. FAL never allowed the competitors to gain an upper hand in the market which it created. FAL achieved such tremendous success because of careful branding and ad campaigns. Initially HLL to do some ugly talking about fairness. Some of the ads were controversial because of gender inequality and stuff like that. It was necessary at that period because the category was new and the brand should first talk about the need to be fairer. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Now the brand has laddered up to more aspirational values like "Transformation of Women" The insigh</span><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1270/405/1600/fairandlovely_cricket_0707_2003_7.0.jpg"></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">t is that the transformation will be more than skin deep. The ads showing a girl achieving the ambition of being a cricket commentator ( a male bastion) were very much effective in connecting with the TG.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">HLL has also extended the brand to more aspirational values by launching Fair& Lovely foundation that works for Women Empowerment achievement and Transformation which are the qualities for which FAL stands for. FAL have also launched a premium subbrand Perfect Radiance to tap the premium segment of the market. Fair & Lovely was able to dominate the fairness market because of careful marketing and is a showcase of the marketing genius of HLL.</span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-47892724794310895822009-10-07T22:16:00.010+05:302009-10-07T22:45:47.875+05:30ZEN .....bye ! bye !<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMQ8bztUmwQ50gZbTKdpCT8cAKgNgyzJkvH58VboIFkUE8XHHIQ-c3Fu2phOXM9CRaxUUeNbjjUgBgSTbp6DyUU94H0aIOQtJn-FoCL7n_NvbwMTUxaTbQMZ2KI6b8l5iwTsADg-hp-58/s1600-h/maruti_zen_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389902339801858530" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 125px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMQ8bztUmwQ50gZbTKdpCT8cAKgNgyzJkvH58VboIFkUE8XHHIQ-c3Fu2phOXM9CRaxUUeNbjjUgBgSTbp6DyUU94H0aIOQtJn-FoCL7n_NvbwMTUxaTbQMZ2KI6b8l5iwTsADg-hp-58/s320/maruti_zen_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">One of most popular Indian auto brands has been laid to rest. Maruti Zen is dead. On August 25, Maruti announced the launch of new Estilo. The Zen brand name has been taken off. Now there is only Maruti Estilo.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">It is a sad moment for all brand enthusiasts. Zen was a wonderful brand. A brand which personified sportiness and performance. The old Zen owners s</span></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">till swear by the brand . The jelly bean shape, roomy interiors and the peppy performance gave Zen an unique identity.It was surprising to see Maruti messing up this wonderful brand and finally killing it .Zen Estilo was launched in December 2006. The car is a refurbished version of an outdated Japanese car MR Wagon. </span><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The entire product was different from the old Zen. Maruti chose to use Zen as the primary brand and Estilo as the subbrand for the new product. The strategy was to retain the brand equity of Zen to drive the sales of the new product. But the strategy backfired.In a way killing the Zen brand will be good for Estilo. For Estilo, association with Zen was a liability. Interms of style or performance, older Zen and Zen Estilo was miles apart. Those who checked out Zen Estilo expecting the same performance and sportiness of old Zen were visibly disappointed. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Estilo was a different car with a different brand personality. Launching Estilo as Zen Estilo actually created a negative impact for the car because Estilo was more of a style oriented girlish car compared to the sporty Zen. Now Estilo is an independent brand and can develop its own persona. The new Estilo comes with a new look and a new K-Series engine.It is sad that a wonderful brand like Zen was being killed without being fully utilized .</span></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-66240759522372005002009-08-20T13:42:00.009+05:302012-03-24T17:34:50.820+05:30Ford Fiesta : Go Fida, excuse me GO What?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4bEP8QyTTrf18U5eLRxiHF0fGXzusbWLve4VKu-SS1WwrxKnl1AITXQtxixNHtj2n_QP20K76Cghfm4pLN_RD9ZNoBoaoQ93I_4-TH7Mo1Dg72KvFhIpHNQL_ZFZqxl449Gd8PSavQRj/s1600-h/4.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 169px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372260654343231858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4bEP8QyTTrf18U5eLRxiHF0fGXzusbWLve4VKu-SS1WwrxKnl1AITXQtxixNHtj2n_QP20K76Cghfm4pLN_RD9ZNoBoaoQ93I_4-TH7Mo1Dg72KvFhIpHNQL_ZFZqxl449Gd8PSavQRj/s320/4.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Brand : Ford Fiesta</span><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#000000;">Agency : JWT</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#000000;">Base line : Go Fida</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#000000;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#000000;">This exciting new powerhorse from the Ford Stable is set to hot up the Indian automobile scene.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#000000;">Ford has tasted its success with its josh machine which is considered as a stylish and powerful car which is priced sensibly. Then the entire market witnessed a large number of product launches and the competition was carving in to Ford's market. Hyundai with its aggressive marketing was able to beat Ford with their Accent .Ford is fighting back with the launch of Fiesta.Fiesta is priced aggressively at around 6lakhs is set to capture a fair share of the market.</span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;">As usual Ford is also relying on the bollywood stars to sell its car an this time roped in Abhishek Bachchan to endorse the car. The campaign is executed by JWT.</span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;">Regarding the campaign, I have my own reservations. I know hindi but the term Fida is strange to me, so it will be for the entire south indian market. josh although it is an Hindi word, south indian languages also have similar words. but Fida is a real strange word. Only yesterday I came to know that it meant "mad about something" .............well fine....</span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;">Ford will have to spent some money on teaching the Non hindi speaking consumers about the main positioning statement " Go Fida"<br />Marketers should be careful about the positioning statements and its linkages with the market. It is important that they understand a diverse maket like India with 17 odd major languages and million dialects. So does it make sense to have a positioning statement that is simple and could be understood by the target market.</span></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;">Fiesta will be successful because it offers excellent value for money proposition, the one and onluly one proposition that works in India, but for the campaign and positioning , I have my doubts</span></span></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-67746830337306970672009-08-20T13:31:00.004+05:302012-03-24T17:42:13.222+05:30IMAGE Branding !<div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">CONSUMERS are exposed to several kinds of advertisements during a day — some of them may have a conscious impact and some sub-conscious. (A consumer may start liking the brand or develop a certain association with it because of the co</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">nstant exposure over a period of time even without realising it.</span></span></span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;color:#000000;" >During a TV serial which may be watched by thousands there are several kinds of advertisements. There are consumer products. There are durable category brands and there are services brands. Some of them use lifestyle appeals and some use celebrities. Given the clutter of marketing communication and the limited time which consumers have to comprehend these, it is critical to have the right kind of imagery associated with the brand. </span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery is the kind of associations a brand could get linked with over a period of time. It has an impact on how consumers perceive the brand and how they will react to it in the long run. For example, Horlicks had a `drink for the sick' association a few decades ago. Will consumers have clear associations for Boost? What kind of association would a niche drink like drinking chocolate have in the minds of consumers? Brand imagery plays an important role in shaping the association in the consumer's psyche. Several years ago there were only a few brands in most categories so it was easier to develop an association with a brand. Once an association was developed it stayed with consumers for a long time. Today's context is different, with several brands attempting to create an image. </span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" ></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Old brands are in a complex situation — it will be difficult for them to suddenly develop trendy new imagery, and the images which they have developed are either not very relevant today or competitive brands are developing more relevant images. For several years, Robin Blue was associated with whiteness in fabric wash. The packaging and the bird on it symbolised whiteness and was a household brand. Bajaj Scooters had a `family vehicle' image. Now Honda, which leads in the scooter category, has developed a different image. Iodex, a brand which was identified with sprains, is overshadowed by other brands which have developed several associations which may be relevant to the times. It may be interesting to find out how many consumers currently think of pioneering brands in any category and the reasons they probably do not think about them when the need arises. (Several pioneering brands have a low market share or are no longer there in the market. Brand imagery or not being able to sustain it is one of the reasons for their being absent in consumers' `consideration set.</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" >Why is brand imagery important?<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >It is important because it conveys the stance of the brand. Raymond's current TV advertisement shows the corporate type playing with pups. The evolution of this stereotype is conveyed by this positioning, which places an emphasis on the finer aspects of the lifestyle which executives would like to follow. It uses imagery which goes beyond the functional attributes (for which the brand has established a reputation). </span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" ></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery is important because a brand has to adapt it to the changing environment. Vicco's facial cream for skin has all along been positioned amidst the occasion of a wedding. Fair & Lovely, a brand which was launched later, had taken a different kind of imagery and is adapting it to the changing scenario with the use of variants. HMT, which was positioned as a value-based Indian brand of watches, was overshadowed by Titan which developed distinctive and memorable imagery (besides providing sophisicated technology). </span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery is important because a company which has several brands for several segments could use it to ensure strong associations be created with each of its brands. Creating the right kind of imagery prevents confusion from arising in the minds of consumers. Fast Track and Sonata brands are both from Titan but have a clear image with regard to their target segment associations. </span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery is useful for a brand to create a contemporary image. VIP, the luggage brand, for several years relied on the `attribute' image but has taken a new approach to create a `mood' around the brand with its `Bye Bye' commercial. The commercial, apart from bringing emotion into the travel situation, also showcases the ease of handling which may be an attribute which consumers look for when they select their luggage brand.</span></div><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 220px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371954166419610466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAb9b0HAMJe9KXxUrCIv7zmFb2V7FHqkCLcuga4ipwu8GfhQSfFa8jhyphenhyphen8GXy2SmdLc3865WkQ1Fx9Ji0v-QEttQRolwXO5T12HLeBcVcBQGv_493qABLBkBVohTgQUHj7JIfsLjIMl-4p/s320/3.jpg" /></span> </span><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery is required to sustain a brand's association (managing imagery is a different aspect in itself and is not addressed in this article). Advertising for Vicks' popular offering of yesteryear, Formula 44, which has not been seen in recent years, has resumed. Imagery has to be sustained, especially when competitive offerings arise. Imagery may also be useful to create fresh associations with a brand (circumstances under which such strategies could be adopted is again a conceptual issue which requires in-depth understanding of the market and consumer behaviour). For almost three decades, Liril was associated with fresh, green and waterfalls but has attempted to create novelty through the `orange' variant, in packaging and visuals. The new bike brand, Centra from TVS, attempts to create imagery associated with fuel economy.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" ></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >When several brands in the category were using functional attributes, Caliber introduced a brand personality to convey the self-esteem associated with the brand by the use of a story with appropriate imagery. Fortitude, courage and perseverance were the personality traits which could be associated with the brand.<br />Imagery could also involve logos to enhance awareness levels among consumers about a brand's proposition. Air India's Maharaja symbolising hospitality is an example.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Imagery is very useful when a brand attempts a new and radically different strategy. Timex entered India with its low-end offerings and in the last two years, it has introduced a number of high-end watches creating the appropriate imagery in its advertisements. Without such a change, consumer perception about the brand cannot be altered. Eno's (digestive powdered drink which probably created the category in India several decades ago, Iodex pain balm and Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate, Ezee liquid detergent from Godrej and the Brylcreem brand of hair cream are probably some of the brands from the past which could have made better use of imagery to create a contemporary perception about themselves.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Decades-old brands such as Lifebuoy and Lux have managed themselves with several kinds of imagery during this period of time with variants. Imagery is useful when a brand introduces a variant after it has established itself on a specific benefit. Dettol soap, after establishing itself on the protection-from-bacteria proposition, introduced a variant with moisturiser and employed a different kind of imagery.</span></span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" >Kinds of imagery</span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >There are various kinds of imagery brands could use. Attribute imagery consists of amplifying the specific characterstic which is being used by the brand. After a long interval, Promise toothpaste has started using its clove oil attribute in its TV spots.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Imagery could be created through visuals or copy in the advertisement. PUF was highlighted by Godrej in refrigerators to create `attribute-based' imagery and enhance the brand's perception. The current positioning of several brands in durable categories attempt attribute type of imagery supported by visuals. The `Sixth Sense' pitch of Whirlpool refrigerator and the Atom (denoting compact size) air-conditioner from Hitachi are examples.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This imagery helps a brand if it could constantly stay ahead of competition through its attributes which are well received by consumers. Sony with its strong thrust on technological innovation is an example. Its Trinitron and Wega TVs were advertised with this kind of approach. </span></span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >An attribute conveying a strong benefit could also be used by a pioneering brand if the benefit is relevant to the consumer. Herbal ingredients as an attribute were blended with the stereotype of an elderly lady by the Himalaya brand (formerly Ayurvedic Concepts) which specialises in herbal over-the-counter products. Certain kinds of attributes such as oxygen in a toothpaste or colourless cola may not convey clarity from the point of view of consumers.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Colgate was perhaps the earliest of toothpastes to advertise the benefits of using the brand. Low-involvement categories such as lubricants can also use benefits. BPCL's Speed brand showed the reliability of using the brand through an emotional reunion of alumni. Ericsson's mobile phone advertisement illustrated the compact size of the brand. Samsung conveyed its `extra space viewing' or one of its TV models using a theme. LG's Golden Eye too used a `story' to convey its benefits. </span></span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >For certain categories of products, benefits could be conveyed directly so that consumers can quickly understand the benefit. Fast-moving goods which do not have a glamour aspect (like a dishwashing bar) could make use of this approach. Vim followed this approach to reinforce its durability. Sunfill, the soft drink concentrate from Coca-Cola, conveys the benefit of economy to appeal to the segment which may not frequently be consuming soft drinks. </span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Moov, which was not the pioneer with regard to pain balm, created an appealing benefit-based imagery leading to the brand's acceptance. Moov also effectively used imagery to compete with Iodex on the `staining' aspect of the offering. Britannia's success in the biscuit category could be attributed significantly to the use of imagery with a focus on health. Kanan Devan's tea brand captures the freshness benefit in its packaging. </span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Symbolic imagery which revolves around fantasy, status, self-image and group fun is popular in certain categories such as soft drinks, cigarettes, apparel, liquor brands, cars and television. </span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Onida was probably the first TV brand to use the status appeal. It created the Onida devil which symbolised the jealousy of the `neighbour.' The visual was effectively backed with the copy `Owner's pride: Neighbor's envy.' It should be noted that in a durable category the brand should offer technological features concerning the quality of the offering or the aesthetics to sustain such a symbolic imagery. It could be observed that this imagery did little for the brand when it came out with other electronic products. </span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Even well-known brands such as Mercedes and Rolex strengthen their symbolic imagery with attribute-based positioning at periodic intervals so that consumers would be able to perceive the brands as superior offerings. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are well known for their imagery associated with symbolism in the Indian context with the backdrop of celebrities.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As mentioned in the earlier part of the article, this approach is used by apparel brands for men and women (Be: and Allen Solly being the brands for the latter). Almost all cigarette brands at the higher end of the market were using this approach and may continue to do so with the new categories they are into in the form of brand extension (Wills Lifestyle apparel brand). Bacardi used this approach to create awareness about the sub-category. Hero Honda's Passion Plus and Kinetic's Zing had `cool' features to back up symbolic imagery. </span></span></div><div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" >Imagery and its management is a crucial aspect as brands are perceived through associations and not reality.</span></div></span><div></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-11832970096082655542009-08-20T10:48:00.008+05:302012-03-24T17:46:27.019+05:30Alpenliebe : From the Alps<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9QpDjf2vVgEJM7yC_YG9_zdqHKY95ipOS5tdXW8sM4MyL998kO8AoWojsS-9Nat8YWOwrf4GUajK-YqmbbhJ82Mgr2HdGUvgeBO_XsrdtRkf2SxBMD1f5tTOV9w2hyphenhyphenjrqYf5WO4ZacaB/s1600-h/1.png"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 199px; height: 117px; float: left;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371927802596342658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9QpDjf2vVgEJM7yC_YG9_zdqHKY95ipOS5tdXW8sM4MyL998kO8AoWojsS-9Nat8YWOwrf4GUajK-YqmbbhJ82Mgr2HdGUvgeBO_XsrdtRkf2SxBMD1f5tTOV9w2hyphenhyphenjrqYf5WO4ZacaB/s320/1.png" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >In the 1200 crore sugar confectionery market, Alpenliebe is the single lar</span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1270/405/1600/alpen.gif"></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">gest brand in India estimated to be worth around 160 crore. The brand is positioned as a family candy and has been one of the most successful brand in a highly competitive market.The brand came to India with the entry of the global giant Perfetti in India in 1994. Van Melle came to India in 2001.</span> </span><br /></span></span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1270/405/1600/alpen.gif"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In 2001 the Italian and Dutch companies merged together to become Perfetti Vanmelle ( PVM).Now the Indian venture is the second largest of their global portfolio next to China.In the products of PVM, Alpenliebe is the star. With effective and aggressive brand building , this brand has grown to become the single largest brand in the segment. The brand is a unique case study because of its peculiarities ie the name and the size.Alpenliebe is a very complicated name. I searched for half a day to understand what it means.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> </span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;color:#000000;" >Their website does not have the answer nor do other marketing sites.Then a friend </span></span></span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1270/405/1600/alpads.gif"></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" >of mine suggested that it is related to mountain Alps. Taking half hour on the translate.google.com , I found Liebe means Love. So by all probability Alpenliebe means From Alps with Love ( its my guess, inputs are welcome).So it is a Herculean task to teach Indians ( with 24 languages and a million dialects) pronounce a brand name that does not have a meaning. Theory says that the brand name should be simple, reflect the brand values and easily pronounced. Alpenliebe broke all rules.It is said that the initial 30 second ad of Alpenliebe pronounced the name 5 times to ensure that the TG pronounce it correctly. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ><span style="color:#000000;">Why such a complicated brand name is another question all together. But this risk paid of in that the name became the biggest differentiator and reflected an International image. It is known fact that Indians are crazy about foreign brands and Al</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptyU2G9DvP5Sv8q9Xb4hp90zvdkXxzkLmF-j2RBUWNfPsfhxoS0fpD3970uhH0z7kpZ9WKCDnrCPoNqbOJgLwguEOxtvYOzTm2NI_R4QGyV5U4xlH9EJhKr4GMpVNQpMv3NXC-BzxJdyR/s1600-h/2.png"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; height: 110px; float: right;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371927522599912418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptyU2G9DvP5Sv8q9Xb4hp90zvdkXxzkLmF-j2RBUWNfPsfhxoS0fpD3970uhH0z7kpZ9WKCDnrCPoNqbOJgLwguEOxtvYOzTm2NI_R4QGyV5U4xlH9EJhKr4GMpVNQpMv3NXC-BzxJdyR/s320/2.png" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;">penliebe capitalised on that.The shape was also unique because most of the candies at that time was rectangular or cylindrical but Alpenliebe came out with a round shape.More than the shape and </span><span style="color:#000000;">the name , the product was really good .The company changed the taste of this brand to suit the Indian Palette making it more Caramelliar ( my usage) than the international one.</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ><span style="color:#000000;">The brand is available in three flavours: milky caramel, Cream strawberry, Chocolate. A lollipop extention was launched last year.Perfetti knows the method to build the brand. It is not hesitant in spending lot of money on Alpenliebe through high decibel interesting ads. The brand is positioned as a Family Candy with kids and elders sharing the limelite. The ad where the boy imitates the "father at Home and Office" is a hilarious one</span>.</span><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;color:#000000;" ><span style="color:#000000;">The market for Candies is expected to degrow in coming years. We have to see how Alpenliebe copes with this.Alpenliebe is a classic case of marketers defying the theory and also highlights a simple truth " If You have money to spend, you can make a consumer sing in your language without understanding a bit of it . " anything is possible</span>"</span></span></span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-16652832961711539742009-08-03T16:53:00.005+05:302012-03-24T17:47:28.446+05:30IS SOME ONE LISTENING ?<div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >One of the most heartening things about teaching or writing is finding someone who wants to listen and act on what you said or wrote. A few I bumped into expressed their desire to jump into entrepreneurship as well.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >I have never felt any better!One common refrain I hear though is ‘what business should I start’. My simple answer has been, ‘Whatever that interests you’. You see, you don’t decide to be an entrepreneur and then search for an idea. You get this fantastic idea that makes you want to get into entrepreneurship. In other words, you nurture a dream and go in search of realizing it.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Abdul Kalam in an interview to a Tamil TV channel explained what he meant when he said ‘the young should dream’. He said ‘a dream is not what happens when you sleep. A dream is one that doesn’t allow you to sleep’.</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">A quote, worth its weight in gold, which should be pasted on every room and etched in everyone’s heart - especially in every aspiring businessman.</span></span></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >To help those looking for the next big idea to venture into business, here are a few. These are virgin ideas – untested and unexplored. Well, that’s why they are virgins, aren’t they!</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >A book store only for kids: Agreed, there are more than a few book chains and standalone book stores. But my point is, are there many specialist kids’ book stores? A book shop only for kids? A place filled with cartoon characters; kids’ music; smaller racks for kids to browse easily and friendlier staff. Wouldn’t you feel better taking your kids to a pediatrician rather than to the doctor you go to? </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >That’s what a kids’ book store would be for them!A book store only for English novels: Staying on the subject of book stores, a bulk of books bought is of the fictional kind. So why bury it within philosophy and photography? Why hide fiction among management and material sciences? Why cover it with computers and cooking? Open a store that is filled with fiction – by genres, by authors, by time period, by classics. You can create a place of pure fantasy, unfettered with other nonsense.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >A chain of Laundromats: More and more women are going to work; more and more men are choosing to live single; more and more bachelors move to newer towns to study and work. All this means one thing – lots of dirty clothes and no time to clean them. How about a chain of Laundromats a la Yankee style. On a Sunday morning or weekday evening, picky your clothes, walk to your nearest Laundromat, drop a few rupees, dump your dirty clothes, hang around a nearby restaurant or coffee shop, come back, pick up your clean clothes, go home……..live hygienically every after!</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >Funeral services: This is an idea whose power can be seen, unfortunately at the scene of bereavement. It’s sad when someone passes away. But it’s terrible to run the funeral amidst the loss of a dear one. Minds are numb, feelings are overwhelmed and rationality is clouded with heightened emotions. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >How could one still plan for everything, administer the arrangements and finalize every little thing. What about a ‘Funeral Services’ company that would enter the scene and execute every little thing smoothly – arranging for purohit, getting the funeral van, booking the cemetery, getting the doctor’s certificate to letting the body be cremated there, cleaning up the house post the departure etc., All for a fee, of course. So the loved ones can share their grief in peace.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >Two-wheeler service centre: Aren’t there mechanics and 2-wheeler service centres dime a dozen in every neighbourhood? There is, agreed. But when 2-wheeler owners need to give their vehicles for a service, it’s a day they have to depend on public transport or the unreliable autos since most service centres are closed on Sundays. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >Now, if only there were a chain of 2-wheeler service centres (now that itself is a relatively new idea) that were open 24x7. You drive back from work or college, drop your vehicle in the 24x7 centre and go home; next day morning, on the way to college or work, you stop by your branded service centre, pick up your beauty and bingo you are on your way. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" >A new idea, wouldn’t you agree!These are just some starters. I am sure you have an incredible new business idea yourself. Maybe you would want to jump into it later. But if you don’t intend to, don’t let the idea die with you. Post your idea here. It’s as good as organ donation.Someone might pick it up, pursue it, progress on it and prosper from it. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:Courier New;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;" ></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" ><span style="color:#000000;">And when the business becomes big, you can probably tell your grandkids that it was your idea.Who knows, the guy who borrowed your idea might one day come back and buy you a beer</span>!</span> </span></span></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-24970172707148536072009-08-03T16:22:00.003+05:302012-03-24T17:49:20.156+05:30BRANDVERTISING<div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-family:courier new;color:#000000;" ><span style="color:#000000;">It takes years for a product to become brand. What is it that a product needs to be able to build brand equity? First thing is that you have to start with a commodity. Soap is a commodity. Salt is a commodity but still it has been branded, right? So you take a commodity and then through very clever positioning in the market depending on the pricing, packaging and quality - then you build an advertising campaign around it. Take the very famous example of Liril - it is an ordinary green soap. We embedded the idea of having the lemon feel, the fresh perfume, then we gave it the stripes. People felt aah! Nimbu taazgi! Today's century we are talking about Brandvertising</span><span style="color:#000000;">. It means to take a brand and give it extra qualities - both rational and emotional. For eg. just two years ago a brand was launched which did not exist and today it's a 100 crore business. It is called 'Fair and Handsome'. It was padamsee idea and with the Emami company they built a brand. The competition was Fair & Lovely which you can't beat. For women it's a gospel, a god brand. People completely believe in it. Thirty crore or more just on one product. So they thought the product could fit the male market cause the males were using fair and lovely but not admitting it embarrassed the. So they positioned it for the males - everyone laughed and said, males won't use a fairness cream. And they proved them all wrong. In the first year it went from 0 - 40 - 50 crore. Now it's 100 crore. Advertising people are the smart guys who think of what the consumer wants. To build a brand you have to know the consumers' insight. They made the brand macho SRK was the brand ambassador and he said, I used this. Male skin is tougher - why use a woman's cream?</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Take MRF - 30 years ago we said the 'tyre with muscle'.<br /><br />Air India Maharaja is based on graciousness, Indian hospitality and luxury. A lot depends on how you take care of your brand. You have to create, give it a symbol, give it a human quality.<br /><br />Lalitaji revamped Surf - Surf was going down. Today I see a lot of brands doing funny ads. Humorous ads are ok when they are selling a Mentos - dimag ki batti jalao - low priced products. But when you are selling a TV, car, a fridge... I don't remember one fridge ad which is not like all the others. Positioning it differently is important. You need a switch factor from competition. To build brand equity even in a market that is hit by recession, people's wallets have been squeezed - so you have to see how you can give value for money. Never reduce the price - that?s a big mistake. Cadbury's, Coke, Dalda in the olden days - got into a big problem because they used mattu on in dalda. It happens sometimes there is a small truth and it is exaggerated by the media. They like scandal. Truth is boring. You should see what is the problem?<br /><br />For eg., Dettol had a problem when Savlon said the leading antiseptic has only one antiseptic. We have two. So Dettol said hit back.padamsee said no - your's is a god brand. The minute you retort you loose the advantage of being a god brand. They came up with a simple line saying trusted by docs for over 25 years. Savlon was new - they had no 25 years. So eventually their sales came down. Don't ever be defensive.<br /><br />Like in the Satyam scandal the owner has admitted the fraud but is the company a fraud or just the owner who tried to milk some money? Take a look at it. Saying Raju has done this but the company has so and so assets - take the rational route, not emotional saying do you want to throw the whole company in the gutter?<br /><br />What Cadbury's did was excellent. They didn't bring Amitabh Bachchan immediately. They improved their packaging. The 5 rupees Cadbury packaging is the best! Then they got Amitabh in the Cadbury's plant saying is completely safe and he feeds it to the child. They had to correct the product first - first rational and then emotional. Then customer is happy.<br /><br />Colas need to look at what Cadbury's did. People say the water used is contaminated, it's no good saying we use the same water in America, in </span><span style="color:#000000;">UK. That doesn't make any sense. First correct the product, then bring in an ambassador. It is very difficult because worry is an emotion. It is investors. In such case to bring in Deepak Parekh is a great decision. He has an absolutely clean reputation. He's not flamboyant, he's not Vijay Mallya. He has a great past record in HDFC. They should have him speaking.Shareholders will certainly look at other options. If the person who takes charge after the scandal is willing to correct the errors cooking books and takes charge any company that gets into trouble - if Ratan Tata says I'll take over that company, people will invest, like in the Satyam case Deepak Parekh.</span></span></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-60333755356127607932009-07-18T17:13:00.001+05:302009-08-20T12:05:40.707+05:30India – 127th country to legalize GAY Sex…? GAY HO…!<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">I cannot criticize the judges for the judgment but argument might sound hilarious….Just a parable…If this trend of judgment follows in criminal cases, a time may come when crimes might also become fundamental right of criminals.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">*</span><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Homosexuality is no longer a crime in India. India stopped living in 1800s a few days ago </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* If A R Rahman were to compose a song today it’d be: Gay ho! Gay ho! Gay ho! </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* Gay sex now legal in India. Slumdog Millionaire sequel could be surprising </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* There is a huge opportunity for a gay dating website </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* What a stupid judgment. Is this India? </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* The world’s 2nd most populo-us country has taken a huge 1st step towards LGBT equality! </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* It’ll not be too far when men will also be targeted for rapes </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">* Given the alarming & growing imbalance in India’s gender ratio, the decision to legalize homosexuality couldn’t have come at a better time </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;">* Waiting for long overdue revelations from friends now that homosexuality is legalized in India<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ffff00;">In a victory for gay rights activists, the Delhi High Court legalized homosexual acts among consenting adults holding that the 149-year-old law making it a criminal offence is violative of fundamental rights & not punishable.<br /><br />Everyone has the right to live the way they want as long as it doesn't bother or infringe in the rights & freedom of others around them. & Legalizing it has to be done by keeping these factors in mind.<br /><br />When ever people talk with logic & fact & figures, we have tendency to take shelters of Our tradition & culture. We own Indian had culture of Sati & child marriage & people during that era used to support saying it as Indian Culture. Why do we keep quite when we see a father rapping a daughter in same Indian So called Rich culture society Or a man just divorce by saying few word. Why we don’t raise our strength to such matter. Please, believe that what you & or anybody feel attracted to opposite sex may not be happening to others. Its simple fact & proved by science. It’s all over world & in all religious community. Have you ever thought why you get attracted to a Girl & not man? Its not you but because of your Hormonal attraction. Nobody teach the sex to a child Or animal, It come on its own Its natural & few of us have problem attracted to opp. sex , why do you advocate of so called religious policing. They are educated enough to understand.<br /><br />Anti-Gay supporters, please, give a break to these people. What harm has this decision caused you?<br /><br />Is this decriminalization going to affect you at all? & don’t talk shit about Indian values, customs & morals. How many of these do you follow yourself. Less than 1%, I say. So do not try to be such sick as to not let them be a part of society. Even the kamasutra, the oldest sex treatise in the world, recognized homosexuals. What the hell are you talking about? So let’s shut up & close this matter.<br /><br />Homosexuality is not a disease which needs any kind of rehabilitation or physical treatment...we have no right to exercise brutal force on 2 consenting individuals...they can take of their consequences...why do v have to interfere? if we are not comfortable with gay sex, then so be it-just stay away...but we have no right to influence somebody else's personal decision…it is up to them to stay protected...whop are we to bother them & interfere into their personal lives??<br /><br />Its high time we as democratic Indians be more open minded....BY THE WAY I'M STRAIGHT (HETERO), but I support gay rights….</span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-7647026865661840932009-07-16T16:16:00.000+05:302009-07-16T16:20:20.582+05:30Budget 2009 - HIGHLIGHTS<span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ffff00;">Govt plans to bring back economy to high growth of 9%<br />* GDP growth dipped to 6.7% in FY'09<br />* FM to make pre-budget talks with state FMs annual affair<br />* Fiscal deficit up from 2.7% to 6.8% of GDP<br />* Return to fiscal prudence at the earliest<br />* 'Aam admi'(Common man) is focus of all programmes and schemes<br />* IT. Excemption limit raised; Rs 15,000 for Sr.citizens<br />* Limit raised by Rs 10,000 for tax payers, including women<br />* 10% surcharge on personal income tax scrapped<br />* Fringe Benefit Tax abolished<br />* No change in corporate tax<br />* Defence gets Rs 1,41,703 cr, up 34%<br />* Total fiscal stimulus in 2008-09 amounts to Rs 1,86,000 cr<br />* IIFCL to evolve mechanism for increased funding of infra<br />* IIFCL to re-finance commercial bank loans up to 60 per cent in critical projects through PPP to tune of Rs 1,00,000 cr<br />* Allocations for highways being stepped up by 23 per cent<br />* Funds for housing, amenities for urban poor up Rs 3,973 cr<br />* Funds for JN Urban Renewal Mission up 87% to Rs 12,887 cr<br />* Assistance for storm-water drainage project up by Rs 300 cr<br />* Farm credit target up at Rs 3,25,000 cr from Rs 2,87,000 cr<br />* Interest Rates incentive to farmers to repay loans on time<br />* Additional Rs 1,000 crore for accelerated irrigation scheme<br />* Export Credit Guarantee scheme extended till March 2010<br />* 2% interest subvention (IS) scheme extended till March 2010<br />* IS scheme to cover 7 job-oriented sectors, including textile, handicrafts and handlooms.<br />* Commodity Transaction Tax abolished<br />* New pension system trust exempted from STT; DDT<br />* Minimum Alternate Tax hiked to 15% from 10%<br />* Tax holiday on petro sector extended to natural gas<br />* 100% tax deduction on political donation<br />* Stimulus for print media for another six months<br />* Fertiliser subsidy to be nutrient-based, not price<br />* Expert Grp to form viable pricing for imported petro goods<br />* Banks and insurance firms to remain in public sector<br />* Rs 100 cr one-time grant to expand banks in unbanked areas<br />* Govt committed to provide Rs 100 a day as wages under NREGA<br />* Allocation of Rs 39,100 cr to be made for NREGA<br />* NREGA coverage increased to 4.74 crore households in FY'09<br />* Work National Food Security scheme has begun<br />* Allocation for Bharat Nirman being raised by 45 per cent<br />* Rs 2,000 cr rural housing fund under National Housing Bank<br />* Mission for female literacy with focus on minorities, SC/ST<br />* 50% of all rural women to be brought into SHG programmes<br />* Full interest subsidy for students in select institutions<br />* Five lakh students to benefit<br />* Modernisation of national exployment exchanges<br />* Action for social security to unorganised sector workers<br />* New pension benefits for 12 lakh jawans and JCOs from July<br />* One lakh dwelling units for paramilitary forces personnel<br />* Unique Identification Card to citizens in 12-18 months<br />* Provision of Rs 120 crore for UIC project<br />* Rs 2,113 crore allocated for IITs and new IITs<br />* Rs 3472 cr for Commonwealth Games from Rs 2112 cr<br />* Customs, excise and service tax base rates unchanged<br />* For Indira Awas Yojana, allocation increased 63%<br />* IT returns to be made simpler<br />* 8 missions being launched under Plan on climate change<br />* Allocation for market development assistance scheme up 148%<br />* Allocation for Rural Health Mission raised by Rs 257 cr above interim budget<br />* Rs 500 cr for rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils<br />* Rs 1,000 cr for infrastructure in cyclone-hit area in WB<br />* Total expenditure crosses Rs 10 lakh cr for first time<br />* Share of direct taxes in revenue increased to 56% in FY'09</span>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3625006257047928503.post-26538461231856802052009-07-16T14:41:00.005+05:302009-07-16T16:21:42.120+05:30Demystifying The Budget 2009<div align="justify"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Before analyzing lets see who PRANAB MUKERJEE IS….He rose through a series of cabinet posts to become the Finance Minister of India</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> from 1982 to 1984. In 1984, he was rated as the best Finance Minister of the World according to a survey of Euromoney magazine. His term was noted for India not withdrawing the last US$ 1.1 billion instalment of an </span></span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMF IMF" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMF"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;">IMF</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;"> loan. Dr. Manmohan Singh was serving RBI as Governor during Pranab's term as Finance Minister. He was victimised by a coterie of Rajiv Gandhi by not being included in Rajiv's cabinet after Lok Sabha election held subsequent to Indira Gandhi's assassination. He was pushed out of the Congress party for a brief period, and during this period he formed his own political party Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, but later merged it with Congress party in 1989 after settlement with Rajiv.</span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranab_Mukherjee#cite_note-FM_Pranab.27s_first_priority:_Presenting_budget_09-10-3#cite_note-FM_Pranab.27s_first_priority:_Presenting_budget_09-10-3" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranab_Mukherjee#cite_note-FM_Pranab.27s_first_priority:_Presenting_budget_09-10-3#cite_note-FM_Pranab.27s_first_priority:_Presenting_budget_09-10-3"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;"> His political career revived when </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._V._Narasimha_Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._V._Narasimha_Rao"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;">P. V. Narasimha Rao</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;"> chose to appoint him as deputy chairman of the planning commission and subsequently as a union cabinet minister. He served as External Affairs Minister for the first time from 1995 to 1996 in Rao's cabinet. In 1997 he was voted </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outstanding_Parliamentarian_Award Outstanding Parliamentarian Award" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outstanding_Parliamentarian_Award"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ff0000;">Outstanding Parliamentarian</span></a><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">.</span><br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Now with above credibility we analyze as follows<br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#ffff00;">Viewed in the backdrop of a challenging external environment & in the context of the new government's mandate of inclusive growth, budget 2009-10 scores reasonably well on all fronts. The finance minister has reiterated the need to put the economy back on the 9% growth trajectory. The finance minister had to do a tough balancing act between the conflicting objectives of accelerating economic growth, carrying the underprivileged sections of society along and fiscal prudence. The highlight of the budget is the continued focus and increased allocation for schemes targeting inclusive growth. While this may put fiscal pressure on the government in the short run, it may create demand and stimulate the economy.<br /><br />The finance minister has remarked that the government is committed to returning to fiscal responsibility and budget management (FRBM) targets at the earliest and that is reassuring. The markets are disappointed with the higher budget deficit and the lack of policy announcements on FDI. The fiscal deficit is indeed high and the very high interest burden as percentage of GDP is a source of concern, but I am confident that the government will take corrective measures as soon as the global economy stabilizes. Besides, we can expect progress on policy issues in due course of time.<br /><br />Finance minister may have increased the income-tax exemption limit for senior citizens by Rs 15,000 but the move is unlikely to earn him too many pats on the back. The exemption limit will now be Rs 240,000. It is not enough, "The money saved is so insignificant that it will make very little difference to our lives." The complaints are not surprising since the amount of tax paid will be only Rs 1,545 less than what they shelled out in 2008-09. Apart from this, all categories of taxpayers stand to benefit greatly in case their income is more than Rs 10,00,000, thanks to abolition of 10% surcharge on total tax liability in this budget. The changes in tax rates are more or less along expected lines, except the increase in MAT rate. The announcement of implementing a goods and services tax (GST) from April 1, 2010 is a positive. One of the key issues facing the government is oil subsidies and the need for a market-driven pricing regime for petroleum products. Subsidizing petrol and diesel is unproductive and undesirable. This issue is also likely to be addressed in the near future. For the government, the challenge now is to reduce the fiscal deficit to moderate levels. It also needs to focus a lot more on implementation of policies. As the finance minister said in his Budget speech, the challenge is to reorganize and improve delivery of services to the common man and ensure that the benefits of pro-poor schemes reach the deserving.<br /><br />More money in the hands of the middle class and rural folk will spur demand for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) like soaps, detergents, shampoos and cosmetics in the near term. And they are set to become even more affordable in the long run, if all goes well with the rollout of goods and services tax (GST). There’s a small catch. Dental hygiene became a tad expensive with rise in price of toothbrush due to a duty hike by 4% to 8%. It’s not clear how existing duties would be eventually merged with GST, the FMCG industry will benefit from sops doled out to salaried individuals on the tax front and the rural thrust in the budget. India’s 350 million strong middle-income consumers contribute 40-45% to the revenues of the FMCG sector, pegged at Rs 1,20,000 crore. “Removal of surcharge on income tax itself will increase an individual’s post-tax salary by 5%. This is good enough for the FMCG sector. “Increased spending on farmers and the poor will further fuel demand growth in rural India.“GST will reduce evasion of taxes and will provide supply chain benefits to the industry which will further lead to cost saving.” However, product prices will be determined by the level at which GST is introduced.<br /><br />IT is facing tough times, with a decline in global outsourcing orders and growing protectionist cries in developed markets. And, the IT industry desperately needed some solace. And that’s what India’s international showpiece sector got from the budget. The extension of tax holiday under sections 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act for one more year benefits IT units that would not have completed 10 years of operation by then. More than 70% of the industry would benefit from this, especially a lot of smaller companies. The older companies will have more of their units completing 10 years by next year, Many grey hair estimate that the effective tax rate on the company will go up to 24-25% next year, from 18-20% now, because of many of their units going out of the purview of sections 10A/10B. There are two other advantages. Packaged software is no more a product, but a service. It will not attract VAT but service tax. The other is the move to set up an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for resolution of transfer pricing disputes. “Formulation of ‘safe harbor’ rules to reduce the impact of judgmental errors in determining transfer prices will eliminate confusion, complexity and disputes It simplifies the process of doing business, with its moves on transfer pricing, packaged software and FBT,”<br /><br />India Inc got a jolt in the form of a hike in rates for Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT). Companies paying MAT—instead of the regular corporate tax—could soon see a higher outgo under this head as the finance minister hiked rates from the earlier 10% to 15% After including the different surcharges, the effective rate would now be nearly 17%.MAT is the tax that a corporate compulsorily pays in case its corporate tax outgo—after accounting for all the exemptions—is below a threshold limit. In taxman’s parlance it is the tax that a corporate pays on its ‘book profit’, which is different from its profit in ‘the profit & loss’ account. In India, MAT was introduced about 15 years ago after the government found that despite substantial profits, a large number of corporates were not paying any tax. Often MAT is criticized as an antithesis to any concession or exemption. Even if there is some justification for MAT, in a slowing economy it is more important for a company to have immediate cash flow, international tax and corporate law expert. “When more and more developed countries are reducing their tax rates to a level below 30%, a MAT rate of 15% definitely looks higher,’’.In India, a number of IT and infrastructure companies pay MAT instead of the regular corporate tax. “These (companies paying MAT now) may end up paying a higher tax now,’’. “There’s nothing much one can do about it except absorb it,’’ A case of grin and bear <strong>it.</strong></span></div>Hemachandran.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00748878048012594932noreply@blogger.com