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November, 2010

mPower Newsletter

From the editor’s desk...

A typical Word Association scenario, these days:

Shahrukh Khan – Kajol

Harbhajan Singh - Century

IIM – Placements

B-School Fest – Backwaters!!!

This Month, IIM Kozhikode tries to ‘Discover the Difference’ through its annual

management festival Backwaters V2.0. Erstwhile, a management-cum-cultural

festival, Backwaters has undergone a metamorphosis this time to stand purely as

a management festival. The scale of the event has already caused frenzy in every

possible media. Between the 19th and 21st of November this year, all eyes will be on

God’s own campus celebrating its flagship event.

In this month’s edition we have a special feature on Backwaters & Horizons, the

annual management conclave. We also have an article by Mr. C.M. SETHI, the

CMD of Reckitt Benckiser who will grace the inaugural ceremony with his

presence. Marketing whiz kids of IIMK decided to get together and write articles as

a group this month and we have featured a couple of

them. Harley Davidson which has been the darling

and dream of generation after generation of hardcore

biking enthusiasts finds itself covered in ‘Konsume’.

We also look at a new emerging class of marketing

termed ‘Cause Marketing’, which is in vogue off late.

Plus, we keep up our promise of delivering the latest in

the marketing world to you!

Special thanks to Ms. Janani Kannan of PGP14 for designing this month’s issue.

IN THE BOX...

Backwaters v.2.10

Pg. 6

The Advent of Harley Pg 12

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

and Innovation

Pg 8

Cause Marketing

Pg 15

In the News… Page 4

Big CBS Prime, the to be launched English GEC from the stable of Big CBS Network has popped up with a

multi dimensional campaign on both Out-of-Home media and Radio in Delhi and Mumbai named 'After You,

Mr. President' just at the time when US Prez Barack Obama is on his much hyped India

visit. The campaign has reportedly been successful in igniting curiosity flame in minds

of viewers as it is indicating towards the humbleness of the channel imparted to

Obama. The marketing campaign tends towards allowing Obama to carry on with his

popularity and impact during his whole visit and will open its pandora's box later. The

hoardings display the American flag, with Big CBS Prime branding. The outdoor has

been launched in Mumbai and Delhi, while the radio campaign is being played out in 10-12 of Big FM's c

hannels.

The car rental company, Avis India, which is a joint venture between the East

India Hotels Group (Oberoi) and Avis Europe, has rolled out an out of home

campaign to promote self-drive rental in India. Avis India launched a self-

drive service in India a couple of years ago - but there was a lack of aware-

ness about it. To create awareness and create a culture for self-drive, the

company launched two driving tours: Magical Deserts of Rajasthan and Hima-

layan Expedition, wherein the interested travelers can rent an SUV at Rs

2,000-Rs 2,500 per day. The campaign, which initiated from New Delhi early

this year, was later introduced in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. Also, the fleet, which consisted of only Tata

Safari vehicles earlier, now includes models such as Ford Endeavour and Mitshubishi Pajero. "There are about

30-35 cars dedicated to this campaign," says Sood.

Big CBS Prime creates anxiety with 'After You, Mr. President'

Avis promotes self-drive through OOH

Kotak Mahindra unveils new campaign for 25th anniversary

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Kotak Mahindra Bank will unveil a high-impact campaign starting from

November 21. Cartwheel Creatives has been roped in for the corporate

campaign, which will feature a series of 10-second television commercials

and print campaigns. Around 10 such short commercials will be on air be-

tween November 21 and 25 across channels.

Speaking to Campaign India, Karthi Marshan, executive vice-president and

group head - marketing, Kotak Mahindra said, “This is a major milestone for

the bank, and is completely clutter-breaking as none of my competition can

talk about it anytime soon. Moreover, the 10-second commercials will be placed immediately after the

programming, so that it generates maximum amount of impact. Hence, these will be the first ads dis-

played during the commercial break, and register maximum viewership.”

IN THE NEWS...

The product is a global brand licensed to Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), a joint venture between The

Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé S.A. The lifestyle product has been launched in lemon flavor and is being

made available in an 'on-the-go' 400 ml PET bottle priced at Rs 25. It will be available to consumers in

Mumbai through select channels and outlets. The bottle has been specifically designed to resemble a sculp-

ture of sorts and mimic an 'ice rock'. The tagline of the brand is, 'Lighten up; with Refreshingly Light Lemon

Iced Tea!' The product is already present in over 60 countries and is

available in several flavors besides lemon. It has a strong presence in

the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,

Germany and China. The product is being rolled out in phases and the

Mumbai launch is the first part of this phased launch. Next year, it will

be rolled out pan-India. Fort reveals, "This is a test launch, and in 2011,

there will be a national rollout of the product. I, however, cannot put

an exact date to when the brand will move to other Indian cities.

" Nestea primarily targets young adults who are optimistic, energetic

and ambitious. The company specifies that Nestea finds a fit with this trendy TG, as the brand itself stands

for modernity and youth and current trends. The launch rests on the rationale that the culture of consuming

iced tea prevails strongly in India, in part owing to the current café culture. The upcoming advertising cam-

paign will be loaded heavily in favor of focused and experiential sampling. This will be done via consumer

activation programs and road shows at touch points populated by young adults, such as malls, colleges, high

-end traditional trade outlets and multiplexes. The execution, it is believed, is bound to be segmented and

innovative.

Nestea takes the experiential marketing route for India launch

The opportunity in digital ‘second homes’

Brands including LG, Maruti A-Star, Tata Sky, Godrej, Fastrack, Idea and Airtel have gone online with in-

novative concepts. “Scan my bag”, an online campaign by Fastrack, attracted over half a million visitors.

It educated them about the new range of Fastrack bags. Users spent over three minutes (average) on the

site, Fastrack claims. “Engage the user and generate buzz — these

were the two broad objectives of the campaign. During the current

festive season, LG Electronics introduced an online ‘Light a Diya’

campaign, where a visitor could light up a virtual diya, send sweets and

greetings and download rangoli. “In two days, more than 5,000 people

lit the diya. This helps us to create emotional as well as cultural

connect with the visitor, which in turn makes him feel connected to the

brand. “ Said LK Gupta, CMO, LG India. LG spends around Rs 20 crore

on digital media and expects to raise this by 50 per cent next year.

Airtel’s online initiative, “Airtel Real Fans”, received half a million views, with over 2,400 video uploads.

“India’s teeming 550 million-plus youth population makes digital marketing an appropriate youth

medium,” said Mohit Beotra, head - brand and media, Bharti Airtel

The backwa-

ters are no

longer calm

and still, Back-

waters v2.10 is

here to stir up

emotions. The

Annual Busi-

ness School

Meet of Indian

Institute of

Management

Kozhikode is

back, but this

time the fest that has been a

Management and Cultural fest

for all these years has decided

to revamp itself into a pure

management fest to be

launched on a scale

larger than ever.

With the growing

importance of man-

agement forums

and management

conclaves, the insti-

tute and the stu-

dents have taken

this initiative of seg-

regating the Man-

agement and Cul-

tural fest.

The fest is scheduled to take

place in the month of Novem-

ber from 19th to 21st. It runs in

parallel with Horizons, the

Management Conclave where

the biggest business minds of

the nation share

their insights and

their point of view

offering much to

learn with eclectic

perspectives com-

ing on board. The

top 30 B schools

fight it out over a

period of the three

days to emerge the

best biz big wigs.

The number of

events has been in-

creased this year to include

more creative and thought in-

tensive challenges. The

theme of the fest this year is

to “Discover the Difference”

–where the intention is to

revive, redeem and reaffirm

the unique facets of India Inc.

Curiosity has its own reasons

for existing and backwaters

2010 is glad to add to the

repertoire of reasons. It has

promised to be a fest that

will push the budding CEOs

and entrepreneurs to the

limit of testing their logical

construct and get the best out

of them. A perfect platform to

showcase one’s talent and nur-

ture it too, backwaters has

come up with a new set of

events that do all of this and

more.

Backwaters is the only busi-

ness fest in India that places a

lot of emphasis on importance

of social ventures and ideas

that are viable in the develop-

ment sector. This stands out as

a single most differentiating

factor of Backwaters and by

far the most attractive as well.

The White Knight is a one of a

kind and absolutely unique

Business Plan competition

which differentiates Backwa-

terv2.10 from all other

business fests; reason be-

ing that White Knight is

not just another B-plan

competition but a social B

-plan plan competition.

With the social develop-

ment and philanthropy

gaini1ng visibility and im-

portance all over the

world and in India, we feel

that this event is highly

relevant. Not just that but

it is also an insight into how

the country’s future managers,

CEOs and policy makers will

require to keep the greater

Page 6 konsume November 2010

The Annual Business School Meet

Page 7 konsume November 2010

picture, the society

and social fabric of

the nation, in mind

while blueprinting

plans and projects.

The corporate

quiz, Bizzathalon

conducted by the

nationally re-

nowned quizmas-

ter Avinash Muda-

liar is expected to

be one of the high-

lights this year.

Avinash Mudaliar is

one of India’s leading

quizmasters and the

former Secretary of

the Karnataka Quiz

Association (KQA),

South India’s fore-

most quizzing or-

ganization, having

conducted more

than thousand quiz-

zes, and won over

800. He is one the

founding members

of Bangalore Quiz Group and

he has also been instrumental

in initiating a quizzing forum in

Haryana, The Haryana Quiz-

zers Forum - Option44. This

quiz is open to MBA students

as well as corporate and un-

dergraduate crowd.

Another flagship event

launched this year is Avatar,

the Leadership Challenge, in

association with ITC. Avatar

calls on to all those individuals

who think they can portray the

best business personalities,

pitch their best voice and put

their best foot forward to be

voted as the “Avatar”. It has

been said “Organization does-

n't really accomplish anything.

Plans don't accomplish any-

thing, either. Theories of man-

agement don't much matter.

Endeavors succeed or fail be-

cause of the people involved.

Only by attracting the best

people will you accomplish

great deeds.” And this event

seeks to find the best people

and watch them outdo the

other on a level playing field.

The event is slated to be the

biggest test of their manage-

ment acumen with challenges

that test every possible ounce

of creativity they have left to

exhibit.

Backwaters v2.10 has organ-

ized a corporate dinner for

this year’s meet and the Mala-

bar Chamber of Commerce as

well as Calicut management

association have been invited

to be the part of the same. The

event Shiksha

which involves

personality devel-

opment work-

shops for over 300

students from

Calicut is a part of

the special initia-

tive taken up by

the students of

IIMK to involve

the student fra-

ternity from in

and around

Calicut. Keeping

this in mind this

year some of the

events have been

specifically de-

signed to increase

the participation

from the under-

graduate students

of Calicut and in-

volve them as a

part of Backwaters

v2.10. Events such

as Shiksha, The

Corporate Dinner and Biz-

zathalon – the corporate quiz

have been designed

with this in view.

Man finds himself

time and again in a

world where uncer-

tainties abound.

Managing under un-

certainty is among

the most difficult

tasks any leader,

manager or individ-

ual faces even in the

best of times espe-

cially when the globalized,

capitalistic world is in sham-

bles and the task looks more

daunting. Backwaters v2.10 is

striving to create a balance

between the crusader and

complacency, to find the cour-

age to drive the engine of posi-

tive change while maintaining

social development always in

sight and in thought. This

year’s annual meet is certain

to be a roaring success.

Page November 2010 konsume

I believe there is every

chance that over the com-ing years India will become one of the two largest

economies in the world. Earlier this month, the

most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, Mr. Barack

Obama made a statement during his India-visit that

“India is no longer a rising superpower; India has

risen”.

I can tell you with author-ity that he certainly con-veyed the sentiments of

Corporate India, which is drawing up huge plans for

the future keeping in mind that, very soon, India will have the youngest task

force in the world. At 63, India is a nation of young

people with over 60% of the population under 25

years; you all are truly the present and the future of India. In the near future,

the youth will play a crucial role in the country’s

growth story. Being a young country in an ageing world, we can fully realize

the potential it gives us only by giving opportuni-

ties to the youth. The pecking order of world economies is undeniably

changing and India will take centre-stage. The

onus is on young people like you to keep the

momentum going.

Coming from a global or-ganisation with deep-rooted Indian operations, I

can tell you with experi-ence that, India is an ex-

tremely heterogeneous market and localization is the key to achieving suc-

cess due to the stark demographic contrasts

that, every region offers. Companies that listen to customers succeed when

customers realise that you are listening to what they

really want.

Much of this boils down to the local talent we employ.

At Reckitt Benckiser too, we differentiate ourselves

from rivals by the people we employ and the respon-sibility and entrepreneurial

drive we encourage from day one. The rapid growth

of our markets in India means we have a hunger for new talent. The educa-

tion system in India is pos-sibly the most competitive

in the world – far more so than any in the developed

world.

The leading universities are creating some of the brightest graduates any-

where in the world, but we are looking for people who

can offer something more

than just intelligence to fill

our key sales, R&D, mar-keting and supply chain positions.. Entrepreneurial

spirit, dynamism, con-sumer insight and an urge

to make things happen are just as important. It is a combination of those ingre-

dients that can lead to a fulfilling career at Reckitt

Benckiser where our unique culture means suc-cessful entrants can expect

rapid promotion and gen-

erous rewards.

We allow people to take

ownership of their ideas, implement them with pas-

sion and gain satisfaction from the entire process. That enables us to keep

ahead of the market and our competition and moti-

vates our talented work-

force.

In many ways, the growth

of the Indian economy is reflected in the rapid ex-

pansion of Reckitt Benck-iser. As India pursues a strategy of rapid change

and development, so must we as a leading global

force in the provision of household, health and per-sonal care products move

and adapt.

An example that I’d like to discuss here is the launch

THE SPIRIT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION C.M. SETHI CHAIRMAN & MD Reckitt Benckiser

Page 9 November 2010 konsume

THE SPIRIT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

An example that I’d like to

discuss here is the launch of Veet in India. Veet is one of the leading depila-

tory products in the world but we didn’t simply im-

pose the same launch on India as we had run with in the rest of the world. Our

local staff was instrumental in selecting which products

within the range would work in India, choosing the size of the packaging and

creating a whole marketing strategy. We chose differ-

ent advertising initiatives from the normal TV cam-paigns, making far more

use of outdoor advertising and in-store marketing

campaigns that gave the launch a completely differ-ent look from those in

other areas. Those local decisions, which were

taken by people at a far lower level than country or

brand managers, ensured we were able to take Veet from launch to the leading

brand in just a few years.

That success would not have been possible without

allowing junior employees with young and fresh ideas

to take the initiative. Many of the lessons we learnt from this have now been

applied elsewhere in the world. India, with its prolif-

eration of small stores, and culture that changes from

state to state means giving

local talent the ability to prove their own ideas is even more important. But

it is not just ideas that cross borders. We actively

encourage all our staff to spend time outside of their home countries. The move-

ment across geographies, coupled with our own train-

ing programme which is recognised as one of the best in the industry, makes

people better managers and encourages personal

development.

But the movement is far from one-way. Managers

from across the world have worked in India, picking up ideas and developing initia-

tives along the way. It means that we are Reckitt

Benckiser, a global com-pany. We very much work

with multinational talent across countries and that is reflected in our style of

management. More than 60 nationalities are rep-

resented in our top 400

global managers.

Giving staff the opportu-

nity to experience other cultures enhances their exposure to new ideas

and makes them adapt-able is a key factor which

drives innovation. Our industry and our brands

can only thrive if they are

constantly changing – not just for change’s sake but to offer consumers better

products and give them something that can im-

prove their lives.

It never ceases to amaze me at how our country and

the business landscape are changing. But what excites me most of all about the

India story, is the knowl-edge that with the talent

we have in the country and the people we recruit, the potential is almost limit-

less. Thanks to the drive and initiative of our talent,

we have created entire markets in India where none previously existed

and there is still so much more we can do. All that

restricts us is the bounds

of our own imagination.

C.M. SETHI CHAIRMAN & MD Reckitt Benckiser

The wait of Bike enthusiasts

would finally be over in a

month with the launch of much

awaited entrant into the mar-

ket – Harley-Davidson. The ex-

citement over the famed bike

maker entering India is already

palpable online. A clock on the

Harley Davidson-India website

is counting down hours, min-

utes and seconds for the

"adventure" to begin. Harley-

Davidson is the global leader in

cruising and touring motorcy-

cles and ranks as one of the

strongest brands in the world,

with motorcycle sales now in

more than 70 countries. India’s

rapidly growing economy, rising

middle class and significant in-

vestment in construction of

new highways have opened the

door to leisure motorcycle rid-

ing.

Harley-Davidson often abbrevi-

ated as Harley or HD is an

American motorcycle manufac-

turer. The company manufac-

tures heavyweight motorcycles

(over 750 cc). The motorcycles

have a distinctive design and

exhaust note.

Harley has been in business

since 1903, “Four young men

experi-

mented with

internal

combustion

in a tiny

wooden

shed. Not

only does

the shed not

burn, but

the motorcycle they build goes

on to serve for over 100,000

miles”

Harley-Davidson has been able

to build a community of enthu-

siasts around its brand that in-

cludes members from very di-

verse groups, and with almost

no advertising. How does the

king of heavyweight motorcy-

cling keep its fans so loyal? It

gives them a reason to

"belong."

It has global community of rid-

ers, 10 million bikes on the

roads, million members of the

Harley Owners Group (HOG)

that are active members world-

wide.

Harley Davidson appeals to con-

sumers through brand identity.

“The value of brands in today’s

environment is phenomenal.

Brands have the power of in-

stant sales; they convey a mes-

sage of confidence, quality and

reliability to their target mar-

ket.” Everybody recognizes the

bar and shield symbol of a

Harley Davidson --"Buy a

Harley, buy the best --ride a

mile and walk the rest!"

Another marketing strategy

Harley Davidson uses is the slo-

gan “Live to Ride.” They create

an image by telling consumers

that while riding one of their

bikes it relieves a lot of stress.

Since Harley has a huge recog-

nizable brand image, this gives

the Harley motorcycle a favor-

able resell value. Many motor-

cyclist treat their Harley’s as

investments. After all, Harley

cannot build the motorcycles

fast enough to keep up with

demand.

Harley also uses their website

as a marketing strategy. The

website provides a means of

communicating with all of the

riders and soon to be riders. It

Page 10 konsume November 2010

The feeling of freedom and being one with the Nature comes only from riding a two

wheeler

“The wait is finally over for Harley-Davidson enthusiasts in the country. Beginning April,

motorcycle enthusiasts would be able to start bookings for their very own Harley-

Davidson.” Business Line

“The iconic US cult bike maker Harley Davidson is set to enter Indian markets , two years

after it was first granted permission to start operations in the country.” Business Standard

“Harley-Davidson to launch 12 motorbikes in India.” Economic Times

Page 11 konsume November 2010

is a way to stay connected to

Harley and the Harley

mystique

When Harley-Davidson was

being written off by the

American media and critics,

the company responded with

this—“You can file our obitu-

ary where the sun don’t

shine. Screw It. Let’s Ride” —

that pretty much sums up

what the company, its bikes

and their cult bikers are all

about. Here is a sample—

“Only 2 kinds of bikers out

there—those that ride

Harleys and those that wish

they did! ”

Harley Davidson uses cus-

tomer surveys and motorcy-

cle rallies to conduct their

marketing research. This re-

search has influenced Harley

to start to manufacture mo-

torcycles for women. Women

riding motorcycles has in-

crease 10% since 1987. On

their website, Harley has a

separate web page for

women riders. On this page,

topics include why women

ride, learning to ride, women

riders making headlines, and

the history of female riders.

Harley-Davidson is finally in

India, a move that may

sweeten prospects for the

iconic American brand as

it struggles with numer-

ous challenges, not least

the continuing economic

recession back home.

Harley-Davidson is expected

to ship fewer bikes both

within the US and worldwide,

the credit crisis continues and

there are job cuts to deal

with.

With distinct income groups

emerging, companies will

need to look at a differenti-

ated portfolio in order to lev-

erage the increase in willing-

ness to pay.

The motorcycle market share

is about 83% of the total two

wheeler market in India.

Three-fourths of the total ex-

ports in the two wheeler

automobile industry are

made in the motorcycle seg-

ment. Increasing relevance of

urban India and growing

share of large cities within

urban India are important

triggers for Harley.

By 2014, the middle-high in-

come band will consist of a

substantial 11 Mn house-

holds. At a median income of

USD 22500, this segment

represents a total income

pool of nearly USD 250 Bn.

With spending patterns simi-

lar to the high income group,

this segment represents a

very significant chunk of the

consumer base. Incomes are

slated to increase faster in

urban India. Expectedly, share

of urban India in the country’s

net domestic product would

go up from 52% in 2000 to

over 60% in 2011.

"India is important to our

long-term vision of being a

truly global company," said

Harley-Davidson Inc. presi-

dent and chief executive offi-

cer Keith Wandell. "We are

committed to India for the

long-term, and we are fo-

cused right now on establish-

ing a strong foundation."

With more than a billion con-

sumers, the promise of Indian

prosperity has lured even

other players like Ducati to

the Asian country as well.

The legendary motorcycle

brand is set to enter India

with its full range of five

THE ADVENT OF HARLEY

motorcycle families, the Sport-

ster, the Dyna, the VRSC, the

Softail and the top-of-the-range

Touring series. Twelve models of

Harley-Davidson would be

launched in the country. The

company has established a sub-

sidiary to be located in Gurgaon,

near Delhi, and has begun the

process of seeking dealers.

The Managing Director of Harley

-Davidson India, Mr Anoop

Prakash, says this is set to de-

velop a whole new leisure riding

segment in India.

The bikes are priced in the range

of Rs 6.95 lakh and Rs 34.95 lakh

ex-showroom.

“Our target customers are in a

broad range from the average

enthusiast to the cruiser bike

fanatics. The wide price band

offers something for every one,”

says Mr Prakash.

While bookings begin in April,

Harley-Davidson will start deliv-

ering the motorcycles from June.

The bikes would be sold, ser-

viced and distributed directly by

Harley-Davidson. Initially, the

company would have five dealer-

ships in Delhi, Mumbai, Banga-

lore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh

with the aim of increasing the

dealerships to more than 20 in

the next five years.

The bikes will be imported as

completely built units (CBUs).

India hasn't set a limit on the

number of Harleys allowed in the

country. But there is a 60% tariff

on the imported bikes, plus an-

other 30% or so in various taxes.

The cruiser's popularity seems to

have far outweighed other con-

siderations like price. A niche

market for superbikes is quietly

picking up pace in India, with en-

thusiasts increasingly seeking

that tantalizing rush of adrena-

line, undeterred by the high

prices of these roaring mean ma-

chines. While the regular models

on offer have engine powers

ranging from 100 cc (Bajaj Boxer)

to 350 cc (Royal Enfield), the su-

perbikes on Indian roads start

from 1,000 cc (Yamaha’s YZF R1)

to 1,300 cc (Suzuki’s Hayabusa).

The positioning of superbikes is

for a limited segment as they

cost between Rs.125,000 and

Rs.5 million - some custom-made

machines can even go higher.

Says Sanjay Tripathi, head of

product planning and brand

management with Yamaha In-

dia:”The customers of super-

bikes already have two-three

cars. They are real bike lovers.

They can splurge as much money

on a bike as they can for a car.”

There is also an equally thriving

grey market of superbikes as im-

port duty is as high as 113 per-

cent. As a result, auto majors like

Bajaj and Hero Honda have not

gone above a 250 cc bike.

"Given the rapid development of

India's economy and physical

infrastructure, this is exactly the

right time to bring the world's

greatest motorcycles to one of

the world's largest motorcycling

nations," Harley-Davidson Motor

Company President and COO

Matthew Levatich said.

The Indian two-wheeler industry

is highly concentrated, with

three players-Hero Honda Mo-

tors Ltd (HHML), Bajaj Auto Ltd

(Bajaj Auto) and TVS Motor Com-

pany Ltd (TVS) - accounting for

over 80% of the industry sales.

Initial success with the bikes

came with the low CC models.

The demand of the Indian Cus-

tomers will better quality, ser-

vice and low maintenance.

People consider Harley an icon.

In India Enfield can pose as a

small substitute. The estimated

market for superbikes is at 600-

700 units a year

The company had about 400

people on their bikes through

boot camp programe to promote

the brand. Through this it is go-

ing to continue to get people do-

ing events all over the country.

And who better than a Harley

customer to explain what that

means

“Joining the Harley Owners

Group (or becoming a H.O.G.

member), is not so much about

buying a bike as embracing a

unique recreational lifestyle. No

other "product" can draw hun-

dreds and thousands of enthusi-

asts to weekend rallies staged

around the country” H.O.G

Saurabh Batra

Kapil Agarwal

Page 12 konsume November 2010

Pagkonsume November 2010

Turn over to the back cover

of the notebook you carry

around. What are the odds of

it posing an optimistic picture

of 8-10 year olds diligently

scribbling A-Z on black slates?

When ITC entered the pre-

dominantly unorganized Rs

5,000 crore stationery- writ-

ing industry in 2000, Navneet,

Kores and Ballarpur Industries

(Matrix) were the heavy-

weights in the sector. But in

less than a decade ITC has

taken over the branded sta-

tionery-writing segment. One

can always attribute this phe-

nomenal success to the com-

pany‟s inimitable distribution

network. A push-driven mar-

ket, stationery writing mar-

keting was always about en-

suring that your notebook is

the one that the customer

lays his/her hands first on.

Things have changed though,

and quite dramatically so.

Customers of all age-groups

from teeny-weeny not-teens-

yet to the

Doctors that

don‟t cure

patients

(PhDs), pre-

fer opting

for an ITC

notebook if there is one

available. What is it that in-

duced this loyalty? Quality?

Pricing? Distribution? Doesn‟t

look like it. “It‟s the one-

rupee that gets contributed

to the government‟s Sarva-

Shikhsa Abhiyaan,” points out

Ms Ajaya Bajpai, teacher at

Gokuldham High School in

Mumbai. On noticing the shift

from a wide array of branded

and unbranded homework

notebooks submitted two

years ago to a majority of

the students submitting their

homeworks in a Classmate,

Expressions or Saathi; she

casually mentioned the same

to her class. “It helps edu-

cate village kids,” was the

reason that came out with

unanimity.

Cause-marketing as it is

popularly known, refers to

marketing that involves a

symbiotic relationship be-

tween a profit making entity

and a cause taken up by an-

other entity which requires

some sort of assistance to

flourish. It typically involves

a business tying its marketing

strategy to the fundraising

needs of a charitable cause

for the benefit of both par-

ties.

What started off on an ex-

perimentation basis by Mar-

riott Corporation in 1975 and

Famous Amos Cookies in 1979

became a full-grown force to

reckon with, with the success

of the „Cause-related market-

ing campaign‟ initiated by

American Express in 1983 for

the Restoration of the Statue

of Liberty project. A penny

for each use of the American

Express card, and a dollar for

each new card issued was

given to the Statue of Liberty

renovation program. Over a

four-month period, $2 million

was raised for Lady Liberty.

As for American Express, the

number of new cardholders

grew by 45 percent, and card

usage increased by 28 per-

cent, thanks to the cam-

paign.

Founder of Causemarket-

ing.ca and author of Cause

Marketing for Nonprofits,

Jocelyne Daw suggest that

one must keep the 7 C‟s

framework in mind while

zeroing on a cause-marketing

Cause Marketing

A Chance to give back

Page 14 konsume November 2010

Cause Marketing

A Chance to give back

campaign. The seven C‟s in-

clude having a common

Cause, Collaboration for the

cause, Combining assets,

Creating value, efficient exe-

Cution, Communication and

finally ensuring sustainable

and desired Community and

Corporate outcomes.

The 7Cs of Cause-Marketing

Framework can be seen in

action as follows:

Achieve cause goals and

mission

Community and corporate

outcomes

Implement cause program

Communicate

Execute

Build case marketing pro-

gram

Create value

Combine assets

Collaborate

Create cause-marketing ori-

entation

Cause

Source: causemarketing.ca

As the global markets slowly

shrug off the lull caused by

the recession, marketing ex-

perts believe that in a gloomy

economy wherein consumers

are still wary and looking to

curb their spending, they will

prefer to spend their money

on brands that take responsi-

bility and help improve the

world. Probably this was the

wakeup call that alarmed the

marketers across the globe

and gave a vital push to cause

marketing.

Pepsi, which marketed its

products in the US using the

„Refresh everything‟ mantra

all of 2009, wherein it asked

consumers to talk about ways

to change their world, is go-

ing a step further this year.

The company‟s „Pepsi Re-

fresh Project‟ will be used to

market all its soft drinks and

will have a heavy social me-

dia presence as all its con-

sumers will list their social

projects online and vote on

the winners. The company

has pledged to fund projects

worth at least $20 million

during the year for people to

„refresh‟ their communities.

Rival Coca-Cola is not far be-

hind. The company will be

sending three people — also

chosen by voters online — to

206 countries as part of its

„Open Happiness‟ campaign

for its Coca-Cola brand.

These three winners will

meet with fans, post stories

and pictures from all the

countries online, and find out

what‟s needed to make peo-

ple happy in each of these

countries.

In India too Coca Cola‟s tied

up with Indian Oil and Cancer

Patients Association to pro-

vide its kiosks and equip-

ment, which are located at

oil stations and are run by

cancer patients.

Natural calamities like earth-

quakes and floods are the

perfect opportunity for com-

panies to venture into cause

Page 15 konsume November 2010

Cause Marketing

A Chance to give back

marketing and also generate

a large-scale positive social

impact and corporate re-

sponse. When the Tsunami

struck southern parts of India

in 2003, P&G donated a total

of Rs 32 lakh towards reha-

bilitation efforts via the

Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

Procter & Gamble, USA, also

contributed through funds

and the distribution of its

„PUR‟ water purifying sachet

products making purified wa-

ter available to the victims.

It seems Tatas have taken the

cue from this and are devel-

oping „Swach‟, ordinary

man‟s water purifier provid-

ing clean drinking water to

large percentage of Indian

population which is unable to

afford the likes of Eureka

Forbes.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene

was also the first company to

launch the eye restoration

corporate project - Project

Drishti -- in association with

the National Association for

the Blind (NAB). It restored

the sight of over 250 blind

girls all over the country

through corneal transplant

operations. The company‟s

product „Whisper‟ provided

an initial funding of Rs 2.5

crore for the project with an

additional Re 1 contribution

for every pack sold. The

product registerd 32% growth

despite being higher-priced.

The company in association

Child Rights and You (CRY)

and Sony Entertainment Tele-

vision has also been promot-

ing primary education. Prod-

ucts like Tide, Ariel, Pantene,

Head & Shoulders, Rejoice,

Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Gil-

lette Mach 3 Turbo or Pam-

pers commit Re 1 of every

sale irrespective of profits to

primary education-focussed

programmes.

If developed correctly a stra-

tegic cause marketing pro-

gram will definitely induce

the modern consumer to sat-

isfy his/her yearnings to ex-

press the values believed and

positively impact societal

needs while also procuring

value from the product.

However, there is the danger

of consumers becoming cyni-

cal of cause-marketing cam-

paigns if the fit between

partners is not done well. For

instance, there will be a dis-

connect, if a woman‟s cloth-

ing retailer supports an anti

smoking campaign. It will

make more sense for the

company to promote, raise

funds for a women-related

cause.

A point in case is HUL‟s Fair &

Lovely Foundation offers the

Project Saraswati scholar-

ships for graduate and post-

graduate studies to young

women facing financial con-

straints.

Cynics still doubt the real im-

pact created by these pro-

grammes. But like Ms Mary

Kay Ash, one of the most out-

standing businesswomen of

the twentieth century who

worked tirelessly to create

business ownership in more

than half a million women,

once put it ‘Aerodynamically,

the bumble bee shouldn’t be

able to fly, but then the

bumble bee doesn’t know it,

so it goes on flying anyway’

If you keep flapping long

enough, you are bound to

start flying some-day, the

bumblebee too did!

At the end of the day, we all

want our jobs and companies

to mean more than selling

credit cards and biscuits and

toothpastes and shampoos

and cold drinks successfully.

Business can‟t be just about

doing well and selling well.

There has to be more to it. It

has to be about doing good.

Cause marketing is the way!

Rashmi Gupta

Chirantan Shah

Sumeet Gupta

The Marketing Club @ IIM Kozhikode

Please send in your comments/feedback at

mpower@iimk.ac.in

Or give us a buzz ……..

Chirantan shah +91-9539011960

Dhruvan Barar +91-9539011630

Rashmi Gupta +91-9539011654

Santosh Hegde +91-9946639416