markathon april 2013

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Marketing Magazine of IIM Shillong Volume 4 | Issue 10

A p r

i l 1 3

Mr. Rajesh Bagchi

Associate Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech.

Cover Story Valentines - Expression of loveor marketing of feelings?


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markathon |april 2013

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CONTENTS

FEATURED ARTICLES

PERSPECTIVES

SOCIAL MEDIA MINING CAPTURE THE FUTURE 4

BY KRISHNAN CHIDAMBARAM | GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

INGREDIENTS OF AN AGELESS BRAND 7SAURABH SHARMA | NMIMS

COVER STORY 10

VALENTINES - EXPRESSION OF LOVE OR MARKETING OF FEELINGS? KAMALPREET SALUJA | IIM S

VARTALAAP 16

MR. RAJESH BAGCHI ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, PAMPLIN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, VIRGINIATECH.

EYE 2 EYE 20DO SOCIAL MEDIA CONTESTS REALLY HELP IN BRANDING OR DO THEY DIE AWAY ASMERE PUBLICITY STUNTS? PRADYUT V HANDE | SIMS ; NIDHI MITTAL | SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH COLLEGE, DELHIUNIVERSITY

SILENT VOICE 21

TEMPLE RUN 2

ADDICTED 22SWIKRUTI PANDA & SUSHREE TRIPATHY | IIM S

BRAND STORY

FEVICOL23

BY SHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S

FUN CORNER 24

VAIBHAV ANNAM | IIM

UPDATES 25

PRATEEK | IIM S


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Your brand is not whatyou say but what they say!This dictum clearly indicatesa shift in the world order of branding that was earlier defined only by thesellers. Not anymore! Today the they - consumers , playa much bigger role in making a brand distinct or extinct.

As the world shrinks technologically and ourinformational ecology expands, every consumer hasbecome a source of information and his/herinformation serves as a resource for another consumerin need of that valuableinformation. Social media is atthe center of this informationrevolution.

All of us understand that social

media and web space provideus with huge amount of data buthave we really tapped the truepotential of the data on offer? No,however, the progress is well andtruly on and there is huge amountof effort and money being investedin deciphering the data byorganizations across variousdomains . For example, a US

basedDesign Company, has invested

huge amount of money inFacebook just for itsadvertisements. NowFacebook positions theseadvertisements on user pages

based on the browsing patterns of theusers. Isnt it fantastic to know that brands

can also be positioned in the minds of the consumers insuch a novel way? Welcome to the world of social media!

How do you figure out on your future plan of actionbased on Social Media? It is by listening to the

conversations and beingaware of what is happeningin the consumer space ondifferent social mediaplatforms. This is where

Social Media Mining plays a

role. By definit ion, Socialmedia mining is a process thatinvolves extracting data from

data mines, processing thedata and finally creating the

required informationknowledge. Social media

mining has come a long wayfrom the time when it was

mistakenly used by

perspective markathon|april 2013

Social Media Mining- Capture the FutureKrishnan chidambaram

GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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organizations only to market their already popularbrands.

Today, organizations focus on social media mining tounderstand the needs of the consumer and have startedrecognizing social media mining as yet another means

to gain invaluable insights. To elaborate, todayorganizations use the findings of social media miningacross various verticals advertising, sales, marketing,customer service, product development, e-commerce/Retail and risk management to cater to thetarget segment.

A brief overview on the social media miningssignificance in the verticals stated above..,

Advertising right ad, right person, right time,right place

Sales - identify prospects, build rapport, beforethey make their short list

Marketing measure effectiveness of marketing messages and promotions

Customer Service build loyalty by quicklyaddressing customer questions , spot cries forhelp

Product development identify new featureand function requests

E-commerce/Retail identify actionable leadswith intent to buy, identify key issues andinterest purchasing drivers.

Risk Management identify potential fraud,

protect intellectual property

To give a specific example, consider that Samsung islooking at launching a smart phone in a particularmarket similar to that of what its competitor launched aquarter ago. Social media mining would be able to track

all conversations related to the competitors product -features that the consumers felt would have addedvalue to their purchase and filter the negativeattributes. This would act as input to Samsung, which inturn would add all the bells and whistles to the existingmodel before releasing it in the market. Samsungprecisely gets to offer what the customer wants and it isvery likely that this product would be a winner. Fromthe above example we clearly understand thesignificant role of social media mining from anorganizations perspective. But the question remains asto what really happens within the mining process?

Speaking to one of the architects of Serendio Inc , anorganization that specializes in providing social mediaintelligence, gave enough insights on how a raw data isconverted in to useful and actionable information.Harvesting data is the easiest stage in the miningprocess. The harvested data is next passed through

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Saurabh sharma

Nmims, mumbai

Surf is synonymous to detergent powder, just likeColgate is to toothpaste or Maggi is to instant noodles.

Thats the kind of recall a real timeless and successfulbrand creates. Question arises do all successful brandsstay relevant forever? Well the answer is an obvious no;we have several examples ranging from BPL TVs in Indiato General Motors cars in USA, which once ruled themarkets but later lost the hold. So what keeps a brandrelevant forever and why do some brands even

successful market leaders lose their sheen with timeand crash out of competition?

A strong brand is an amalgamation of quality, reliabilityand relevance, which creates a perception of being the

best in the buyers mind. It enjoys a loyalty as long as itdelivers all what is desired by the customers. But thisloyalty of customer may not last forever if the brandfails to capture the changing needs and aspirations of the customers. Nokia once led the market of feature

phones but failed when market shifted towardssmartphones. Whereas brands like Coca Cola or IKEAstood the test of time and retained their strongpositions in the market because they embraced change

and kept on improving themselves.

In a nutshell a truly ageless brand would have a great

recall, an everlasting relevance and flexibility to change.It evolves with time and resonates with customers byexhibiting the following.

Innovation

A brands success is not merely an outcome of what it

delivers; it also depends on the brands prowess of innovating. A brand should be able to gauge the changeearly and find better ways to serve its customers

through productinnovation orinnovation in its service.

Innovation providesearly mover advantageand positions a brand ina favorable position in

the changingenvironment of

demand. Amulobserved a shift of demand fromcarbonated drinks to

health drinks in themarket and grabbed theopportunity by bringing

flavored milk. Whereas

some of the very successful brands like Fiat car lost outwhen it failed to find newer offerings and new entrants

like Maruti 800 took away the market share.

Emotional Connect

A marketer must understand that the benefits acustomer seeks are a combination of tangible andintangible kinds. A good product may win the race onthe basis of delivered value, but to sustain the lead it


Ingredients of an Ageless brand

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has to have a strong bonding with the customer. Afeeling of belongingness with a brand is important to

differentiate itself from the competitors. Like HarleyDavidson motorbikes have created a great emotionalconnect with the customers by creating HOGs. Another

aspect of emotional connect is the feeling of pride thatis associated with the ownership of a brand. On the

contrary if a brand somehow relegates a buyers ego itmay prove to be harmful for the brand just like it

happened with Tata Nano, positioning as a poor manscar backfired as it hurt the feeling of pride associatedwith ownership of a car for an Indian middle class

buyer.

Experience

What makes watching a cricket match in the stadiumdifferent from doing that on television is the

experience. A brand is as good as the experience itprovides to its buyers. It could be an experience of

buying like an Apple product in an Apple store orexperience of using a brand like a BMW car. A greatexperience translates into strong recall value for a

brand. It cuts across the plethora of other rival offeringsand provides the brand a unique position in the mind of buyers. On the other hand a bad experience will not justresult into one disgruntled customer but it will create

negative sentiments about it and in the era of socialmedia and internet it may cause a widespreadunpopularity.

Extension

A successful product in a category can establish a brand

vis--vis the competition and can make it a householdname. Using the brand equity to further extend it intoother categories is a wise idea for a) increasing market

share b) diversifying risk of failure from one singleproduct. FMCG companies are the best followers of thispractice; we have several examples like Mr. Clean, ITC,

Saffola, and Dove etc. that have successfully extendedthemselves into other product categories. But it maynot always be a good idea to extend into a category that

doesnt go well with the brand image. Virgin waterpurifiers, Harley Davidson perfume failed to reap

benefits of brand extension into these categories.


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Rebranding

A brand needs to stay young to fight the competitors. Ithas to have that appealing X-factor to keep consumers

interested and flocking. With time brands tend to losetheir appeal and the heritage value these carry. Some of the products these brands were famous for fail to find

users or a profitable share of the market. So it becomesimperative for the brand to reinvent itself, to revamp its

whole look and feel and reposition itself in the

consumers mind like a new one. Burberry a 150 yearsold brand famous for making trench coats during WorldWar II had lost its appeal completely in the recenttimes. But rebranding it with new designs and adcampaigns renewed the brand and reestablished the

legacy in a formidable way.

New challenges

So all these factors are important for a brand to gainlongevity and stay relevant. But business environment ischanging rapidly and so is the consumer behavior. Social

media is gaining great visibility and has become a biggame changer. There is no longer one waycommunication and consumers are more than willing

voice their opinions. A small dissent can spread virallyand dent a brands image faster than a nuclear fission.Fast pace of globalization is making brands international

and is bringing newer complexities arising out of

different cultures, languages, aspirations and needs.

Technological advancements though pose newerchallenges but open better avenues to comprehendcustomer better. Social media websites like Facebook,

Twitter and web blogs capture customers sentiments

and can be used as a channel to connect with thecustomers. The user-generated content can act as word

of mouth or as a feedback to improve. Another greatadvancement is big data analytics, which allowsmarketers to capture usage pattern of consumers and

to position the brands accordingly thus gainingmaximum traction.


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Valentine's Day is a modern-day festival, imported intoIndia from the West and not a part of our own nativecalendar or traditions. Well, none of this makes it anyless significant. There are many reasons Valentine's Daystands out amongst loads of other such importsincludin g Friendship Day, Fathers Day and Halloween,and one of the reasons ismarketing. It is not that the Indianmarketers are not capitalizing onthe other festival imports; its justthat Valentines Day happens tofall in the lovely spring season andit is not a single-day fete.Marketers have grasped theopportunity and transformed a

single-day event into a weeklongcarnival starting with Rose Day,followed by Proposal Day,Chocolate Day, Teddy Day,Promise Day, Kiss Day andValentines Day.

To throw some light on the originsof Valentines Day, there is asmuch colour and variation when it

comes to its history as there is in the range and diversityof gift ideas offered to consumers. The most popularbelief is that St Valentine was a third century priest whoincurred the wrath of Claudius II, Emperor of Rome.Claudius had apparently ordered that young menshould not be allowed to marry, and instead should beencouraged to join his army. Valentine perceived thisban as injustice and performed marriage ceremonies insecret until this came to the attention of an angryClaudius. Whilst Valentine was imprisoned, it is believedthat he befriended his jailers blind daughter and wroteher a farewell letter, signed from your Valentine,before being executed on the 14 February 269 AD.

Today, Valentines Day has become highlycommercialized and it has caught the imagination of theIndian consumer. With 60% of the Indian populationbetween 15 and 50 years of age, it is no wonder that 14February continues to attract intense interest from

consumers and marketers alike. Over the last decade,businesses have enthusiastically embraced andcapitalized on the commercial opportunities presentedby Valentines Day. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) havevalued the Valentine's Day market in India at USD 27

million or INR 15 billion. Greeting cards, flowers,chocolates and jewellery continue to be staplepurchases whilst gifts that have gained popularity inrecent times include lingerie, champagne, dinnerreservations, spa treatments and other expensiveelectronic gadgets. Ahead of Valentines Day, sales forgreeting cards go up ten times at Archies Ltd, that hasalso introduced more than 200 gifts - from musical gifts,crystal items, quotation books, photo frames and

jewellery especially for this day. For the more tech-

savvy consumer seeking an alternative to the traditionalcard, there is a plethora of Android and iOS apps forsmartphones and tablets.

What is more interesting is how the greeting card andgift market has evolved to include and acknowledge allforms of relationships and situations. To give anexample, lets say a guy gathers the courage to proposea girl on this auspicious day and spends a few thousandbucks to buy a Valentines gift for her. But sad for him,

Valentines Day apps on the iOS App Store

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Valentines Day shopping options available at Indian retail stores

Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan promoting their

movie Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu that released on

Valentines Day weekend. Source: UTVStars

the girl happily accepts the gift and then says, I justwant to be friends with you. He will surely be heart -broken, right! But so what? Marketers have in store agreeting card or a song specifically for the moment. Soin a way, the guys cash outflow is guaranteed

whether the girls response is heartening ordisheartening, creating a cash pool that everymarketer will like to have a greater share of.

If you think that single people have nothing to do

with Valentines Day, you could be wrong.Marketers have started targeting consumers whomay not be giving or receiving Valentines Daycards and gifts this year, but would like to be. Forexample, one approach used by advertisers is to

use positive phrases such as pamper yourself thisValentines and celebrate you, to encourage

single consumers to enjoy their independent statusby treating themselves.

Talking about relationships, Archies has a range of Valentines cards for parents, siblings, children andeven schoolteachers. So, the market for Valentines

Day gifts continues to grow as marketers cannilyidentify other recipients of the gift- givers fondness

and affection. One suchexample that I doubt will beintroduced in India (but wenever know) is the pets sector.I was surprised to read thatPetSmart, a major specialitypet retailer, operating overthousand stores in the US,Canada and Puerto Rico, hasdeveloped a line of gifts forpets featuring over 40Valentine-themed productsfor pet owners seeking totreat their dogs or cats.

In India, the market forValentines Day has beengrowing at a rate of 10% everyyear for the past few years,

mainly due to an increase inInternet penetration. With the emergence of onlineshopping retailers such as Flipkart, Jabong.com andFashionandyou, gifting has taken a completely newform. Now, you can sit in the comfort of your home and

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Valentines Day offers on MakemyTrip.com. Source: www.makemytrip.com

get a gift (with a bunch of fresh red roses and apersonalized message) delivered at the doorsteps of your loved one, even if that loved one lives in the samecity. I know a few people (including girls) who haveproposed their crush through this way, but I think that itis very lame. Why would you think that you are in lovewith a person if you dont even have the courage to

look into that persons eyes and express your feelings?

Moving on, people who actually want to spend qualitytime with their partner on Valentines Day have theoption of purchasing discount deals on top-endrestaurants and spa treatments through e-commercesites like Snapdeal and Groupon. And those who would

like to take their loved one on a holiday;MakemyTrip.com offers customized Valentines holidayswith an exclusive candlelight dinner. RomanticBollywood movies are also planned for release duringthe Valentines Day weekend to cash in on the event(e.g. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu). Overall, the situation is suchthat it has assumed the form of a carnival and notcelebration of an individuals love for another. Whetherit is chocolates, dinner, jewellery or travel everycompany has a solution customised just for you and

your loved one! It will be interesting to see how stocksof such companies fare on the share market in earlyFebruary each year. I will ask my friends who are editors

of Niveshak (IIM Shillongs monthly Financemagazine. If you havent read it, you aremissing something) to throw some light onthis.

It is not only the gift businesses and retailerswho benefit from Valentines Day; some

Indian political parties also make full use of it. If you happen to browse over a few Indiannews channels on 14 th February, you willdefinitely notice news related to politicalparties protesting against Valentines Daycelebrations. Why is it that these politicalparties are only against Valentines Day andnot other Western festival imports? Theanswer is quite straightforward. Evenpolitical parties use Valentines Day to

Supporters of an Indian political party protesting

against Valentines Day

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market their ideology. Someone should tell them thatthere are so many other pressing issues in India thatdemand protests. But these parties know that there isno other marketing opportunity similar to the onepresented by Valentines Day.

Lets talk about some of the marketing trends that arepopular amongst retailers during Valentines week. Weall know what the 4Ps of marketing mix are. Now hereare my 4Ps for Valentines Day :

Premium Image: One would think that topbrands use discount offers to get a higher shareof the pie, but that is not the case. It is veryimportant for a company not to dilute its brandand retain a premium image during this period

to drive sales. Not many people like to give theirpartner a Valentines gift bought during salesperiod, and marketers target this psychologywell

Packaging is the key: When a young boy goesValentines shopping for his girlfriend, he haslittle clue as to what is the ideal gift. He is morelikely to get his hands on a product that isvisually more appealing. I am not saying that

the quality of product does not matter, but

when there are hundreds of products to choosefrom, packaging becomes the deciding purchasefactor

Promotional offers (not discounts) leading up toValentines Day: Many companies are usingsocial networking sites like Facebook andTwitter to get people into their stores or visitingtheir websites. Some of the offers leading up to

Valentines Day include a chance to winsomething, a fashion show at the nearest store,a best dressed couple contest or a chocolatetasting event

Pleasing your customers: No wonder whygreeting cards business hits a new high eachyear around Valentines Day. Its not only theconsumers, but retailers also who sendValentines cards. Everyone loves to get

something in the mail on Valentine's Day. Somecompanies send cards specifically created forValentine's Day to their customers via directmail, while others who have email addresses of customers send e-cards. This is an opportunityfor them to thank their customers/clients fortheir business saying, "We love our customers!"

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One will always meet three kinds of people first who believe that 14 th February stands foreternal romance and an opportunity toshowcase ones feelings in a special way,second who believe that authentic romancewould never accept being forced into one dayout of 365 and the best way to make love lastforever is to show it every day, not just onValentine's Day, and the third who have noopinion because they just dont care. I respectall the three different views but I must admitthat I fall into the second category of people. Atthe end of the day, I myself am a marketingenthusiast, who would love to think of innovative marketing ideas to cater to the first

category of people, but I am not a person whowould buy expensive gifts for my loved ones onValentines Day. What is the fun of giving a giftto a special one when he/she is alreadyexpecting it? The same gift becomes morespecial when your loved one is not expecting itand does not have a gift for you in return. Iwould like to ask the girls who receive printedgreeting cards whether it is satisfying to receivea printed declaration, embossed and gilded

according to a set pattern, and which is aprecise copy of thousands of other cards thathave been sent to, God knows, how many othergirls in the country. In my opinion, greetingcards are considered sweet only if they arehand-written with a personalized message.

There is no doubt modern commercialism willhave true love tightly sequestered intoValentines Day, Teacher's Day, Father's

Day, Mother's Day, Women's Day, Youth Dayand the like. So what really is Valentines Day -Expression of love or marketing of feelings?Different people have different opinions. Nowonders then that while some celebrateValentines with a bunch of red roses and anexpensive gift, others with a peck on the cheekand a hug. And still others by just getting alongwith the business of life, knowing that someonesomewhere cares for them.

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vartalaap markathon|january 2013

Markathon: After pursuing engineering and workingin couple of high technology start-ups in the earlyphase of your career, what drove your interest

towards pursuing teaching as a career path? Whatsort of challenges did you face while making thistransition?

As an Engineer I always felt that my job was to deliverthe best product possible. At some point in my career,however, I realized that even the best products do notsell if consumers dont feel that they need thisproduct. I had this realization when I was working fora startup in Silicon Valley working on an emailproduct. When you send an email to someone (evensomeone living next door), this email might traverseacross the globe before reaching the intended

recipient, leaving imprints at several locations. Theseimprints could be used to reconstruct the contents of the email even if the email were deleted. Mycompany came up with a novel way to send emailsthat were completely secure. These emails could notbe reconstructed after they were deleted. We thoughtthis product would be extremely popular with firms such as banks, for instance. However, this was not thecase. Firms and consumers did not see the need foremail security (this is before these issues becameimportant). The product was ahead of its time andthere was no demand for it. This is when I realizedthat a good product alone is not enough, it isextremely important to pay attention to yourconsumers needs. This led me to the fascinating fieldof consumer research. Here we try to investigate thepsychological underpinnings of how consumers thinkand what is it that they want. I now teach courses insome of these areas Marketing Research, Consumer

Behavior, Judgment and Decision-Making, and so on.

In terms of challenges, I think the biggest challengewas just realizing that a product-centric perspective isunlikely to be successful in todays day and age. Interms of skill set, I had to learn to speak a newlanguage and learn new methods to investigateresearch questions. I also learned that it wasimportant to read widely and keep an open mind. It isalso important to realize that we are also creating

knowledge that we disseminate so it is perfectly fineto be inquisitive and question even the mostfundamental of assumptions and/or findings. Onceyou recognize this the rest becomes easy.

Markathon: Your area of interest lies in studying thepsychological processes that underlie consumerbehavior and decision-making. What in your opinion

influences cu stomers decisions more: appealing to

their emotional side or their rational thinking?

I think this is a very interesting question. Thedefinition of rationality itself is unclear differentexperts and different fields have different opinions onthis. If we assume that by rational side you arereferring to cognitions then my answer is itdepends. There are many factors that go into playwhen consumers make decisions. These factors couldrelate to characteristics of the product, the context inwhich the decision is being made, the individualsmaking this decision, and/or their interactions. For

instance, some products (such as hedonic products)are more affect rich (e.g., a new camera) while othersare of a more utilitarian nature (e.g., a toaster or adishwasher). All else being equal, for hedonicproducts emotions might play a more important rolethan cognitions. Context also plays a huge role. If decisions have to be made quickly consumers maymake decisions that are based on intuitions andinstinct rather than after cognitive deliberations. Forinstance, when making a choice between a chocolatecake and a salad, when cognitive capacity is limitedconsumers will often buy the chocolate cake as it ismore affect-rich (it appears to their emotional side).However, when cognitive capacity is not limited, theyare more likely to choose the more virtuous product(i.e., salad). Individual differences also may influencewhich of the two strategies are useful. Some of us relymore on cognitions than others. For such individuals,a cognitive approach may yield greater success.

Markathon: Can you share with us some of yourinteresting research work on numerosity? Are there

any firms which have successfully implemented

these techniques?

The goal of this research stream is to understand howconsumers interpret numerical information. In one of my papers with a former student (Xingbo Li), westudied how consumers interpret loyalty programpoints. For instance, imagine that a firm offers aloyalty program: Get $6 off on earning 1000 points.How good is this deal? What if instead the deal were

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Get $6 off on earning 100 points. Would this seemlike a better deal? Why?

As you might well imagine, often deals such as theseare mere illusions. Consumers should not be focusingon the points needed but should be paying attentionto the actual money one needs to spend to earn thesepoints. Thus, one should also pay attention to howmany points one earns per dollar spent. In the firstcase, firms might also say that for every $1 thatconsumers spend, they earn 10 points, while in thesecond case, every $1 may fetch 1 point. So, in bothcases consumers end up spending $100 to earn the $6discount, yet perspectives may differ depending onwhether consumers focus on total points needed orpoints earned per dollar spent. We investigate what

happens when consumers focus on the 1000 pointsneeded (we call this distance) or on the points earnedper dollar spent (we call this step size). We also studywhy this happens. We find that when consumersfocus on distances in the medium they like themedium with smaller distances more (100 pointspreferred over 1000 points), but when consumersfocus on step sizes, they like the larger medium moreas the corresponding step sizes are larger (10 pointsper dollar vs. 1 point per dollar) and they feel they canget to their goal faster. These findings are importantto firms designing loyalty programs. It may be betterto design programs with smaller total distances, but if consumers are likely to focus on step-sizes, it may bebetter to design programs with larger total distances(as step sizes will be larger in such cases)

In another project with a Marketing Professor at theUniversity of South Carolina (Ashwani Monga), westudied how consumers interpret information that isprovided using different units. For instance, a 6 monthtime delay could also be expressed in days as a 182days delay. In this project, we investigated how andwhy consumer interpretations might vary. We showthat when consumers focus on numbers, they aremore sensitive to differences expressed in smallerunits (i.e., a duration of 182 days seems larger than a6 month duration) as the corresponding numbers arelarger (182 vs. 6). However, when consumers focus on

units, they are more sensitive to changes expressed inlarger units (i.e., a 6 month duration is larger than 182days) as these consumers ignore the numbers and paymore attention to units and a change in a larger unit

(change of months) appears larger than a change in asmaller unit (change of days). We also show thatwhen events are likely to occur in the near future,consumers are more likely to pay attention to thenumbers, but when events are likely to occur in thedistant future, units become more important. These

results are important in contexts where consumersare provided numerical information such as durationof warrant periods (90 days vs. 3 months), shippingtimes (7 days vs. 1 week), and/or size of products (36inch vs. 3 feet long table) and affects willingness topay and other inferences that consumers make.

Yes, firms do try to understand and learn from ourresearch. I have had discussions with credit cardcompanies as well as firms that design loyalty

programs on some of my work.

Markathon: The easier a goal is to see, the closer itseems, profound indeed. How do you think this can

be used innovatively by marketers?

In this research we demonstrate that the ability tovisualize a goal has important benefits for bothconsumers and managers. We demonstrate thatexternal markers that increase the ability to visualize

ones goal increase goal proximity perceptions andhave a positive impact on goal pursuit. In other words,the ability to visualize leads you to believe that youare almost there. For instance, showing progresstowards a goal with a progress bar (vs. with numericalinformation) leads to the perception that the goal isnear and increases consumers abili ty to visualizereaching this goal. Managers can use such kinds of visual depictions to inform consumers of theirprogress towards loyalty rewards. This is likely to

increase loyalty relative to other ways of presentinginformation (e.g., providing numerical informationrelating to the number of points earned etc). Showingprogress using progress bars in consumer waitingcontexts can also reduce perceptions of wait timesand help evaluations. Managers can also use theseapproaches to improve performance of employees(for e.g., showing them visual depictions of what theyneed to do to reach a sales goal).

Markathon: You have researched extensively inunearthing how consumers form pricing judgements.What are some of the latest pricing techniques being


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used by brands for influencing consumer buying

decisions?

In one of my projects we find that the order in whichprice and benefits are presented to consumersinfluences their price perceptions. For instance,consider the following two deals: $29 for 70 items vs.70 items for $29. Which is a better deal? We find thatfor larger packages when unit price calculations aredifficult, consumers use the first piece of informationto make judgments about the deal. So, when price ispresented first, they anchor on price and do notadjust for benefits as much. On the contrary, whenbenefits information is presented first, they anchor onthe benefits and do not adjust for price. Therefore,consumers prefer deals where the benefits

information is presented first.

Some of my other research shows that incidentalexposure to background colors can influence price judgments. We find that in auction settings exposureto red increases consumers willingness to pay relativeto exposure to blue. We show that this occursbecause red increases aggression relative to blue.Because in auctions consumers compete with otherbidders, an aggressive consumer tries to outbid other

consumers. This increases their willingness-to-pay. Incontrast, in negotiations and in fixed-price settings(e.g., in retail contexts), red decreases willingness topay and lowers purchase likelihoods relative to blue.This is because in these contexts, consumers are notcompeting with other consumers but are directlycompeting with the seller. So, an aggressive consumerin these contexts tries to get the best deals possibleand so this lowers their willingness to pay.

In general there is a lot of interesting work emergingin pricing contexts. These relate to what kinds of discounts should be offered, whether consumersprefer 50% of f on a product or prefer a buy one getone free deal and why. There is also someinteresting research on how presentation formats of discounts (e.g., percentage off vs. dollars off)influence consumer judgments. I suspect in thecoming years there will be more interesting work inthese areas.

Markathon: Today many academicians question therelevance of loyalty programs. In which industries do

you think these programs are found to be more

effective?

I think the problem with loyalty programs is that lessthan 1/4 th of consumers enrolled in these programsactually end up redeeming rewards. I think part of theproblem is that firms believe that once consumershave enrolled in these programs their job is done. Likein any relationship, it is important to not take yourpartner (in this case your consumer) for granted.Firms should keep engaging with their consumers andtry to understand their needs. For instance, instead of offering generic programs a one size fits allapproach firms need to learn how to communicatewith consumers and customize loyalty programsbased on usage level, individual differences, and

needs. I also think that firms should be frank andhonest with their consumers and not only offer themgood value (it costs so much more to get a newconsumer), but also keep them informed of how theyare progressing towards rewards.

Generally, loyalty programs tend to work well in thetravel sector (airlines, hotels), and with credit cards.They could work well in other sectors if firms aremore creative and kept in touch with their consumers.

Markathon: What would be your advice to our

readers who are looking for a career in marketing?

I think in todays day and age it is very important tolisten to your consumers. Being able to understandhow consumers think and how they interpretinformation can be a huge asset. The ability tointerpret secondary data is also going to be veryimportant. There is a lot of data out there and being

able to make sense out of this will be important.Hence being comfortable with statistical tools will beuseful. Social media is another important andemerging area. Consumers are likely to be influencedby others and the roles that these social networksplay will be important too. I think the future will beabout customization and firms that can learn to adaptin this fast-paced world will be most successful. So, Ithink marketing professionals will need to have thesame skills be willing to learn new things, listen to

your consumer, and keep an open mind. But mostimportantly, enjoy your job. This is probably one of the best kinds of job you can get.


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Topic for the nex t issue Eye to Eye: Digital Marketing: Death knell for Traditional Marketing or Jumping the

gun?

Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is 15 th April,2013. Include your photograph (JPEG format) with the entry. Entries without photo will be discarded.

Do social media contests really help in branding or do they dieaway as mere publicity stunts?

Pradyut v hande | SIMS, pune

In an age of increasingly innovative marketingstrategies, propelled by prudently leveraging thereach and impact of new media, carefullyconceptualised and target consumer specific digitalmedia contests present an efficacious brandbuilding/reinforcement avenue. As long as thesecontests are easy to follow, offer appealing prizes andadequate windows of participation; they providecompanies with the ideal platform for active

consumer engagement and direct interfacemanagement. Moreover, such contests instill agreater degree of consumer participation andstakeholder sentiment, thereby, supplementing thevalue delivery chain. As a result, brands benefit fromenhanced word-of-mouth publicity, what withconsumers donning the mantle of "virtual brandambassadors" with aplomb.

Encouraging consumers/fans/followers to upload

pictures or videos as part of a contest furtheraugments the consumer-brand connect and theelement of brand accessibility. Saying that, companiesought to focus on the relevance,frequency and participatory incentives of such contests in order to ensure thesuccess of any digital media campaign.At the end of the day, these contestsconstitute a short-term, highimpact marketing strategy.Unless carefully executed,managed, updated andrefreshed; these initiatives canrapidly become stale anduninteresting. The degree of engagement thus, becomes a critical factor in the longrun.

nidhi mittal | sbsc, delhi university

Social Media contests in particular have gained inpopularity and can be a powerful catalyst forspreading a brands message where it matters most.Online marketers are finding that social media is greatfor holding online contests that boost awareness andengagement for consumer brands. One of the mosttempting types of social contests for brands to run isthe Retweet to Win style contest on Twitter or Getmore likes as you can on Facebook.

These are not just the publicity stunts but create alasting impact of products image on ones mind.People use social media in their free time, rather than

just traditional use for updating their status oruploading pictures. The contests provide them achance to do the new things. These make consumersassociate a specific product with a specificmanufacturer. These should aim at involving people,their ideas and the way they want to see the product.

It not only helps in knowing what the consumer wantsbut getting them design what they want. A bond iscreated between the product brand and thecustomer. As others can also see a persons activity,some of them also try them. A company can ask thecontestants to identify the characteristics of theirproduct and thus increasing the awareness regardingit. The latest 4E mix is must to be considered. This isengage, educate, excite, and evangelize. Only a well

define strategic contest can help in creating aniche. As more and more of young generationis getting divert from television to socialmedia. The role of online contests in creatingbranding is increasing. But people dont search

for brands rather solutions to daily lives. Thus,companies need to be the solution provider.

war zone | eye 2 eye markathon | april 2013

Brandsbenefitfrom enhancedword-of-mouthpublicityasconsumersdonthemantleof"virtualbrandambassadors" The role o

online contestsincreatin brandin is increasin.Onl awell deine strateiccontest canhel increatin aniche.

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war zone | silent voice markathon | april 2012

15

Shobhit Agrawal| Shugato Banerjee |NMIMS

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE:McDonalds Health (Fictional) LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD:15 th April, 2013

EMAIL ID: [email protected]

Send your entry in JPEG format named as SilentVoice__only.

Silent VoiceLAST MONTHS RESULTS

Theme: Temple Run 2

WINNER: Ankur Baj and Pulkit Kohli

Great Lakes Institute of Management, ChennaiCongratulations!!! Ankur and Pulkit receive a cash prize of Rs 500!

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war zone | silent voice markathon | april 2013
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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PRODUCT: Acer Aspire | S7 Ultrabook

POSITIONING: Optimized touchscreen experience withthe most beautifully built Ultrabook ever

CREATIVE AGENCY:Mother London

YouTube Link

Ad-dicted

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzO_DzGpH0

PRODUCT: Idea

POSITIONING: An idea can change your life!

VERDICT:

Catch/Miss - Catch

This ad aptly portrays a two-fold idea central topromoting the brand image of Idea. First, itcommunicates how powerful a simple idea can be in

resolving the most demanding complications of oursocial lives. With time turning into a rarity, it is becomingincreasingly difficult to appreciate and empathize inrelationships that seem to snap at the smallestprovocation. Secondly, and more importantly, it showshow our mobile phones have taken over our lives andare a close reflection of us. The campaign with a tagline- ek doosre ko samajhne ke liye telephone exchange,what an idea, very well communicates a simple yetpowerful thought through a well-executed commercial and once again reinforces the brands tagline An Ideacan change your life!

specials | ADdicted markathon | april 2013

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Sushree tripathy | IIM S Swikruti panda | iim s

CONCEPT:

The ad is created with an attempt to portray that thenew Acer Aspire helps people discover their hiddenambitions and pursue them to carve a completelydifferent side of theirs in the world. So here it goes byshowing the gorgeous Megan Fox confronting herhidden desire to be a marine biologist. In this pursuit shesat with her Acer Aspire for days together to seek all theavailable avenues highlighting the wonderful build andgraphics of the laptop. Finally she went up to join a

group of scientists and helped them develop software tocommunicate with dolphins by translating the soundsthey make. Towards the end, the ad says See the

Ultrabook that helped transform Megan Fox.

VERDICT:

Catch/Miss- Miss

Though the ad is still bang-on on the fact that Acershould be projected as an aid to pursue the wildest of hidden desires, but this time around the central catchpoint has somehow shifted to Megan rather than thelaptop with its brilliant build and exceptional touchexperience. Going scientifically as well, the ad hasblundered by ignoring the fact that the aquaticmammals can talk. If this were not enough, in order tokeep the randomness factor alive, why on earth it had tobe something as random as visualizing the goddess of beauty in the drape of a scientist with a Ph.D. Towards

the end its an absolute overdose of Ms. Fox whichmakes you even forget what the ad was all about andeven the name of the laptop. Could it be worse!

CREATIVE AGENCY:Lowe Lintas, India

YouTube Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbFK6xndsoE

CONCEPT:

With a pop of a daily morning bread toast, starts anequally routine argument among a typical Indianmarried couple. Their young son suddenly gets anidea to bring them closer to each others life andhardships. He decides to exchange their mobilephones for a day and then starts a series of wrongnumbers from each others part of daily lives. T hroughthis confusion emerges a clear picture at both endsabout how the other manages their daily chores and

work life and brings them together, all this madepossible by a simple idea of a telephone exchange.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzO_DzGpH0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzO_DzGpH0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbFK6xndsoEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbFK6xndsoEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzO_DzGpH0


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10

BRAND STORY: FEVICOLSHASHANK TOMAR | IIM S

An unquestionable market leadership with 70%

market share, a legacy of 54 years, a whopping total

of 99 awards for advertising excellence, a network of

1000 stockists and 60,000 retailers is indeed very

impressive for a brand having its core customer as the

carpenter.

It takes a lot for a brand to reach the epitome of

brand recall and become synonymous with the

product category. Fevicol, in its signature blue and

white packaging with a logo of two elephants trying to

pull apart a piece of wood stuck by Fevicol, will always

remain eponymous to an adhesive that binds for life.

From warding off competition- both small-scale to

multinationals like Hoechst Dyes & Chemicals (which

had a similar brand of white

glue called Movicol ); to

creating a durable bond with

carpenters; to innovative

packaging and retailing that

brought the brand within

buying distance of

households, the Fevicol

story is one of progression

and reverence on how to

transform a brand in a low-

involvement category into

one that enjoys recall and

equity reserved for colas, soaps and shampoos.

Indian carpenters have been swearing by its name,

since Fevicol was launched in 1959 by Pidilite

Industries to target the synthetic glue market in India.

Its ease of application, consistent quality, widespread

distribution network and excellent customer relations

have made it the champion in its category.

While competitors constrained their product

distribution to hardware stores and timber marts,

Fevicol pursued a direct marketing strategy to capture

the minds of carpenters- chief decision makers of the

adhesive to be used in furniture. A plethora of

activities were taken up to be close to the customer.

Fevicol Furniture Books showcasing latest furniture

designs with illustrations and measurements, Fevicol

Champions Club for building a social network of

carpenters, Sponsorships and Knowledge Series to

engage with Architecture and Interior Designing

fraternity, and initiatives such as Jud jayein tyoharon

par for community building for families of carpenters

have all made it the most trusted and preferred brand

for its customers.

Fevicol brands success was leveraged by launching

versions suitable for the retail market. Product line

extensions were done through a spate of uniquely

packaged Fevicol products in collapsible tubes, glue-

sticks and other usage-friendly versions, available for

students as well as professionals. The introduction of

various packaging formats helped transition the brand

from the image of an

industrial product to an

all-purpose glue.

Fevicol was promoted

as an attribute to

bonding. The adhesive

brand soon became a

household name,

thanks to its interesting

campaigns - Bob Christo

wrestling with a chair

made of Fevicol, a

politician who is glued

to his chair, a hen that lays unbreakable eggs, an

overloaded bus, a joint family that refuses to fall

apart, a persistent cyclist following a pick-up loaded

with Fevicol, the moochhwali campaign, and manymore.

The brand has been consistently reinvented through

its creative non-traditional advertising through in-film

placements in movies, outdoor activation campaigns

such as the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

activation or the placement in hummable tunes of the

famous item song Fevicol se in Dabangg 2.

Fevicol is a brand that will be recognized and

cherished forever through its catchphrases Pakde

rehna, Chhodna nahi and Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Zor

Laga Ke Haisha .

specials | brand story markathon|april 2013

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specials | Fun Corner markathon|february 2013

17

uess the ascots

Fun corner

Vaibhav annam | IIM S

specials | Fun Corner markathon|april 2013

1 ) R o n a l d M c D o n a l d

2 ) T u x , m a s c o t o f L i n u x

3 ) P o p p i n F r e s h , o f P i l s b u r y

4 ) B h o l u o f I n d i a n R a i l w a y s

5 ) M r S i x F l a g s o f S i x F l a g s

6 ) M a r i o o f N i n t e n d o

7 ) B i b e n d u m o f M i c h e l i n

8 ) F i d o D i d o o f S e v e n U p

A n s w e r s

9 ) E n e r g y B u n n y o f E n e r g i z e r

1

2

3

4

5

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7 9

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By prateek | IIM-S

BRAND LAUNCH

With Arms wide open, the world welcomesGalaxy S4

The Korean electronics giant Samsung recentlyintroduced its latest offering, the Galaxy S4 extendingthe legacy of the Galaxy S series. The phone offerseverything one could imagine and beyond. The phone ispowered by eight core processor and flaunts a 13megapixel camera. The 5 inch AMOLED display is surelygoing to be a big hit with consumers.

Sony says game on with its PlayStation 4

The gaming zone is likely to get heated up with Sonybringing its latest edition of gaming console, much tothe delight of the gaming fraternity. With its previousthree predecessors selling more than 300 million units,all eyes are on the PS4 to revamp Sonys gamingdivision.

JLR plans to rule the road with XJ UltimateEdition

The luxury carmaker from the stable of Tata unveiledthe latest ultra-luxury sedan to capture the imaginationof the super-rich. With a price tag of approx. 1.9 crore,and interors suited for individual preferences of massage and other indulgences, this dream machine is

surely going to take Indian roads with a storm.

BRAND WATCH

Web browser Mozilla to enter mobile OS territory

The hyper competitive mobile OS domain gets a newentrant with Mozilla joining the bandwagon of Apple

and android. Mozilla known for its browsing applicationintroduced its OS for mobiles which is open-source and

Web-based, allowing third party developers to developand sell application without having to share revenue.

WildStone adds a touch of elegance with Dia

Mirza

After a series of wild ad campaigns, WildStone hascome up with a sense of class and elegance by roping inethereal beauty Dia Mirza. Through its latest campaign,the deodorant major aims to show the effect of theproduct on mature, married lady next door and hencetries to capture the imagination of married people.

Tata Motors high on hopes with Aria part two

After a flop show by Aria in the high priced Multi UtilityVehicle Segment, Tata Motors is looking forward forchange of fortunes with its sub 10 lakhs variant of TataAria. The auto giant is likely to compete with MahindraXUV500 and Toyota Innova for market share to give asubstantial push to its debt laden balance sheet.

MEDIA

Star Sports 2 set to enhance sports bouquet inIndian subcontinent

ESPN Star Sports present their latest offering to cater tothe undying appetite for sports through the sixth sportschannel. Their stable already includes channels like StarSports, Star Cricket, Star Cricket HD, ESPN and ESPN HD.The channel will air live and non-live events acrosscricket, soccer, tennis, motor racing and golf.

MTV, Lenovo transcending borders throughmusic

As they say, music and talent knows no boundary. Toidentify and promote wizards of art, the two companieslaunched Lenovo-MTV CO:LAB, an integrated socialplatform that will enable gifted youths from sevencountries - India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia,Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - to connect with

like-minded individuals with different artistic skills

specials | updates markathon | april 2013

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Please send in your comments/feedback to:[email protected]

Visit: www.iims-markathon.in

Team Markathon, IIM Shillong
mailto:[email protected]://iims-markathon.in/http://iims-markathon.in/mailto:[email protected]

markathon april 2013

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