We are the Confused Boys

Ogilvy & Mather has conceptualised a new TVC for the launch of BlackBerry services for prepaid users on Vodafone. Prior to this, only postpaid customers for Vodafone could access the BlackBerry services. Prepaid users will be able to access unlimited internet, chat and e-mail usage for Rs. 15 per day.The TVC is in the form of a song called “The BlackBerry Boys” which starts of with five top level management men shown singing the BlackBerry song. They think the BlackBerry adds to their already established ‘coolness’. But as they sing along, to their astonishment they see additional young people coming and joining them sing. The younger people through the song talk about the chat, e-mail and surfing features available on the move with BlackBerry. As the song goes on, more and more youngsters join in to sing the song. The film ends with a frame that reads, “BlackBerry on Vodafone Prepaid, not just for office guys, Unlimited Chat and Internet at Rs. 15 daily”. See the ad here

The commercial was great beautifully conceptualized and executed and able to convey messages that blackberry is available for prepaid plans also

But the problem is the positioning of the Blackberry. In last couple of years Blackberry is trying to position itself for the mainstreamSee the Every thing you love Commercial

Earlier blackberry was positioned as a executive phone, a phone that only high level executive uses. Due its niche positioning (Executive phone) blackberry was considered as status symbol and enjoyed a high brand image

As blackberry is going mainstream I believe that it will lose its niche image and corporate stronghold. Moreover, the move will make blackberry highly susceptible to competition from other established brand such as Nokia, Samsung, Iphone.

looking at the strategy adopted by blackberry I remembered reading the book The Blue Ocean Strategy. Blackberry it seems is rowing in the wrong directing, towards red ocean

Bye for now guys. Please do leave your comment

How Google Instant will affect the search Business

What is google Instant:

Last week, Google announced its new search service called Google Instant. Compared to the existing search process on Google – which suggests search terms and displays search results only after the user clicks on the ‘Google Search’ button or presses the ‘Enter’ key, the ‘Instant’ version not only suggests search terms but also displays search results as soon as the user begins to type or key in words in the search bar

For instance, if a user enters the key word ‘coc’, Google Instant will suggest words like ‘Coca-Cola’, ‘coco’, ‘coconut’ and ‘coconut water’ and simultaneously show search results for ‘Coca-Cola’. Now, if the user adds the character ‘k’ to ‘coc’, the search suggestions and results displayed below the search bar will change instantly. In the case of ‘cock’, it shows results related to cocktails

Similar to search results, the search ads served via Google AdWords programme on the right side or top of the search results page as sponsored links, will also begin to appear as the user keys in keywords, even before the user finishes or enters the complete search term. Thus, a user will get to see different and more search ads during the search process on Google Instant

Google instant was based on key technical insight that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that user can scan a results page while you type. Google expects that:

• Using Google Instant can save 2-5 seconds per search
• If everyone uses Google Instant globally, google estimate this will save more than 3.5 billion seconds a day. That’s 11 hours saved every second

Effect on the Organic search Business (search engine optimization)

Google Instant search will have more impact on the organic search business (search engine optimisation) as compared to the paid search (search advertising using Google AdWords programme). Earlier, the focus was on choosing the right set of keywords to make search engine optimisation (SEO) effective. However, from now onwards, the relevance of each word of a search term will become important and search agencies/advertisers will be required to focus on the order of keywords of search term. For example “cheap hotels in Delhi” and “Delhi cheap hotels” could predict different results while the search process is on - based on the order of keywords. However, in the earlier Google search system, both keywords/search terms were treated equally

So the real challenge for the search agencies/advertisers will be to optimize and create content/pages related to each word for a long tail search term

Effect on the Paid Search Business

The advertiser for paid search business pay on the basis of ad group (it represents a grouping or collection of keywords for which a search ad is being served) which means that the advertiser will end up buying more keywords.

In the US, various websites have already started reporting fluctuations in their traffic figures and only future holds the true proportion of the impact.

The Emami Way

In their 1981 book, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, Al Ries and Jack Trout described how positioning is used as a communication tool to reach target customers in a crowded market place. They claimed that the easiest way to occupy a consumers mind is to be the first and much more difficult to remember who is second

Emami, once small-time manufacturer of ayurvedic medicines and cosmetics, is doing just the same. it is making a habit out of entering small, niche segments, developing them into lucrative business propositions and subsequently, spending big on advertising and marketing to retain a substantial share of the market in the face of growing competition

Let’s talk about some emami brands that created niche categories which turned out to be :

Fair and Handsome: The brand created a segment in Rs 1,400 crore fairness cream market. Fair and Handsome has become a Rs 100 crore-plus brand with 84 per cent share in the Rs 137 crore domestic men's fairness cream market, according to Emami's annual report.

Navratna Oil: It is Emami's largest brand that is positioned as a 'therapeutic cooling oil', the company has followed a similar paradigm of developing a niche segment . Launched in the early nineties, the brand continues to enjoy around 48 per cent market share of the Rs 550 crore 'cool oil' category.

Boroplus Antiseptic Cream: Flagship brand of Emami, Boroplus, now marketed as 'India's No. 1 antiseptic cream', accounts for about 74 per cent of the Rs 269 crore boro creams segment in the country

Taken together, these three brands – Fair and Handsome, Navratna Oil and Boroplus Antiseptic Cream - contribute about half of Emami's total revenues

The strategy of creating a niche segment and being the first mover have really paid very well for Emami because MNCs don’t to enter small or non-existing segments or until the segment gains a certain size and seems profitable to enter.

Brand Endorsement Dymystified

From ages marketing wizards are trying to demystifying the puzzle of brand endorsement. The questions are endless
What makes the brand endorsement successful?
Is celebrity endorsement affects the sales?
Can celebrity overshadow my brand? What is the proper mix?
Here in this new article I have tried my hand on solving the piece of puzzle.
Let’s take a look at the components of Brand endorsement

Perceived Brand Personality of the Product (PBP)
Perceived brand personality of the brand is what consumers think about your product. For example what do you think when you see Fast Track watches. Sporty Trendy, youth driven so these are the perceived personality of the product.

Perceived personality of the Brand Endorser (PBE)
Perceived personality of the Brand Endorser Is what consumers think is the most prominent attribute of the endorsers i.e. What is about the endorser which is most talked about in the media. For e.g. Bipasha Basu is known as fitness freak (sugarfree), Kareena Kapoor for Style ( Sony Vaio) and flamboyance nature, Akshay Kumar for his sporty and adventurous attitude (reality show Khatron ke Khiladi)
During endorsement two interaction happens which can make a difference between a successful and unsuccessful campaigns

Interaction between PBP and PBE
An endorser’s personality should match the brand personality of product and vice versa. Here I would like to emphasize the word “perceived” because how the consumers are perceiving the endorser that is the personality of the endorser in the minds of consumers’. The more the fit between the personalities of the two, more the consumers see the connection and credibility.

How consumer views the fitness between endorser and the product
A question for all of you. Would you believed Kareena Kapoor when she was featured in an Ad of Boroplus cream. I bet you wouldn’t. How a style diva of Indian film industry put a meager cream like Boroplus. This is what I am talking about.
When Product and endorser come together on a platform, consumer will always look for connection and ask will he/she use this product? In other word does both complement each other.

The last but the most important thing is the creativity. Brand endorser should be used creatively. I remember the how Tata Sky was launched using Amir Khan as an endorser and Dish TV with Shahrukh Khan. I ask you which one you liked and which one looks more credible.

I think all of you must have understood what is behind brand endorsement. I will keep updating this post with examples.
Till then Bye for now and please post comments , feedbacks and related examples, I would really appreciate it

Can Big B create Magic For Sony

Hello World,

Big B is coming back as the host of the fourth season of the decade old Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). And this time it will be on Sony Entertainment Network and not the News Corp-owned Star Plus.

Sony is currently lagging at fourth place amongst Hindi general entertainment channels, behind Star Plus, Zee TV and Colors. Sony will be hoping the Big B can do for the channel what he did for Star Plus a decade ago - propel it to the top of the charts.

According to TAM Media Research (TAM), the first season of the property that had run for 270 episodes had an average television viewership rating (TVR) points of 14.1 while the average for the second and third seasons (the third was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan) dropped to 11.1 and 6.8 TVR points, respectively.

The big question: Can Big B create magic for Sony like he did for Star Plus. Well I am skeptical this time . My reasons are:

When KBC launched first it was the first reality show on television and the Big B's first TV appearance as a host of the show. The concept of reality show and appearance of big star such as Big B was unique to Indian audiences. I am afraid that this time around Sony is failing to create the buzz

The success mantra of realty shows is to provide content that appeal to masses, offer something unique and fresh each day to avoid boredom. According to media reports With KBC, Sony TV is looking to bring huge changes in the format. But how far it can go is a matter of conjecture, given this is an international format licensed from Celedor, a UK-based TV production firm. In the past also KBC did not offered anything new to the audience in the last two seasons.According to TAM Media Research (TAM), the first season of the property that had run for 270 episodes had an average television viewership rating (TVR) points of 14.1 while the average for the second and third seasons (the third was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan) dropped to 11.1 and 6.8 TVR points, respectively.

Looking at the kind of investment Sony is making on KBC I expect that the show will be telecasted in prime time (8:30-10:30) when the ad rates are highest. The problem here is the prime slot is already booked with number of highly popular tele serials. Just have a look at the TRP ratings as of 11^th August 2010

(1 ) Zee TV 2100-2130 - Pavithra Rishta

(2) Colors 2200-2230 - Uttaran

(3) Colors 2230-2300 - Naa Aana Iss Des Laado

(4) Zee TV 2000-2030 - Jhansi Ki Rani

(5) Zee TV 2130-2200 - Agle Janam

(6) Colors 2130-2200 - Laagi Tujse Lagaan

(7) Zee TV 2030-2100 - Yahaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli

(8) Colors 2030-2100 - Bairi Piya

(9) Zee TV 1930-2000 - Choti Bahu

(10) Star Plus 2100-2130 - Bidaai ---

These TRPs tells the whole story behind the desperation Sony is facing. All the soaps listed above are well established. It will be very hard for Sony to get the share from this pie. The only positive that Sony can take from here is that not a single show is reality based

Sony for its part hasn't had much success in the past with such shows. Madhuri Dixit hosted Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hain, Govinda hosted Jeeto Chappar Phaad ke and Salman Khan hosted Dus Ka Dum, but none could set the fire

I am quite sure that executives in Sony must be counting on the charisma of Big B to create Magic for Sony.

Good Luck Sony

Is David Gonna Win

Hi World,

Indian mobile handset market is going to get bloody.

Nokia is losing market share in India. According to the 09-10 data Nokia market share dipped from 64% in ‘08-09 to 52.2%.

The biggest winner is Micromax which has gained a market share of none to 4%. The question is "Will Micromax win this War"

In my opinion it will be not very easy for Micromax. My reasons are as follows

Nokia has built a strong brand image. Although the Nokia phones are considered costly but their quality is never questioned

Strong focus on R&D will let Nokia launch innovative and improved product

Great after sales service network

Micromax has won the initial battle (thanks to IPL, IIFA and Akshay Kumar) by registering its brand on the minds of consumer but It has to still win the war of gaining trust of consumers who are buying these phones because they are cheap and good looking. But the trust can only be gained by superior product quality and great service.

Micromax and other low cost brands may be able to capture some share from established brands but premium and most profitable segment will always be for established brands. The segment where consumers are early adopters, need innovative products and quality

Only time will tell what Micromax is upto. Stick to the low cost strategy or move up the ladder and gain brand loyalty and trust of consumers

I believe the case is exactly what Nirma did to Rin and Japan did to America "Awakening the Sleeping Giant"

Bye for now and do leave your comments

Rebranding Rupee

Hello World

Indian never had a rupee symbol. We used to express it in various ways such as INR, Re and Rs. So, What would new symbol mean for India?

Its all related to brand image improvement.

India is an emerging economy. Today the world is talking about India which is expected to be a super power by 2020. Like a brand it is going to establish itself in coming years.

But does this brand India has a logo of its own? The sign which symbolizes India in world economy.

The rupee symbol answer this question. If branded properly symbol will:

Represent India in World financial market

Represent growing economy, largest economy and confident economy of India

Acts as a differentiator amongst other south Asian countries

Success of this effort will lie in attaining the visibility of the symbol both internationally and nationally. Indian govt. should make sure that it is adopted and used by all the stakeholders

In the end as every brand has to deliver the underlying promises. As Sundar G. Bharadwaj, visiting Wharton professor of marketing and professor of marketing at Emory University says "It has to demonstrate that it delivers the underlying promise. You can’t just claim something and fail to deliver. Eventually it will come back to bite you.”

We Indians hope that it never bite us.

Please post your views about this blog to improve my skills

bye for now

War for an English Pie

Recently I read an article in a business magazine about the competition amongst english movie channels in India. Article discusses about the quest of English movie channels for leadership in this niche segment.

Now let us explain you the overview

· There are approximately 11 english movie channels in India

· Major channels are (source: TMA Media)

o Star Movies: English movie channel with largest market share (41%)

o HBO: English movie channel with second highest share of 39%

o UTV World Movies: A uniquely differentiated channel that offers International award winning movies of different languages. Market share 5%

o Zee Studio: English movie channel with market share (6%)

So what’s the problem with English movie channel industry? The problem is:

· The segment account for only 5% of total viewership pie in the country. All the channels compete in this small segment

· Low English speaking population

· Major markets are 8 metro cities

But how these channels are making money? The channels garnered 300 crores of ad revenue this year as compared to last year’s revenue of 220 crores, a growth of 36%

These are channels are employing various strategies to increase their market penentration rate and ad revenue of their channels such as

· Inclusion of subtitles in the movies

· Choosing the blockbuster titles

· Selecting movies which has high revenue generation capability even with high repeat rate

I would like to particularly mention the channel UTVAction channel which telecasts action movies, the most popular genre with Indian population, dubbed in hindi for the masses, a good strategy to achieving penetration in tier B and Tier C cities. These kind of channels forms a entry level brands and launching pad for other pure english channels.

The road ahead is quite tough for UTV Worldmovies, is other differentiated channel that offers International award winning movies of different languages. The channel operates in a niche within niche segment. I believe that potential consumers for this segment are real movie buffs who want to move beyond Hollywood to experience the international cinema.

Only the future will tell us who will win the War over the viewership.

Please post for comments.

Bye for now till the next time.

Hi Everyone, So I am here now, creating my first blog post at blogger. You know what guys, since the last two days I have been researching which one should I join: Blogger or WordPress and Blogger got luckier.

Anyways guys I am Marketing Consultant by profession and loves the field of marketing and its various aspects. My area of interest are branding, advertising, PR etc.

What really fascinates me is the presence of marketing in every day life and how simple men and women uses it ( It is quite funny actually). I will share these experiences with you.I will also be blogging about major marketing case studies.

As I am a working professional, I will be blogging as the time permits

Please do leave your feedback and comments on my posts. I need them to further enhance my blogging skills

Good Bye Untill next time