IIPM-INDIA

MARUTI AND VW TWEEK SMS MARKETING WITH AN INTERACTIVE TINGE TO MAKE IT WORK BETTER

2011-07-19T16:20:00.004+05:30

SMS Marketing is enjoying its time in the sun for indian firms. But the Dark ‘Spam’ Clouds on the Horizon Persist

There is an obscenely high probability that the last text message you received, which purported to market some product or service for your brilliant benefit, was summarily deleted from your mobile’s inbox within two seconds of your reading the initial lines. If the response rates are so low, how is it that companies – and leading ones for that – are still opting for sms marketing? Does sms marketing hold promise as a relevant marketing tool?

“Cost is one big factor which is attracting many companies to use SMS as a medium to connect with the consumer,” says Monik Mehra, founder of My SMS Mantra, a New Delhi based sms list broking company, which provides sms push engines for companies like Cantabil India. List brokers like My SMS Mantra have now mushroomed like nobody’s business as they have large verifiable databases of mobile subscribers. The better ones even have demographic data on such subscribers, making the SMS marketing engine more target effective.

Irrespective, with the increasing use of this medium by the real estate, retail and stock broking industries, SMS Marketing has taken in the tinge of spam marketing. “Often, the consumers simply delete the text even without reading,” shares Anuj Kumar, ED-South Asia at Affle, one of the leading mobile media and marketing solutions companies.

Industry watchers expect the spam trend to continue, more so as demographic filtering of the subscriber data is not of the highest quality. The realty sector has been one of the perpetrators of this spam issue. Accepts Ravi Saund, Head-Business Development, CHD Developers, “Out of the total texts we send, only 10% consumers revert and out of those, close to 10% convert into a final sales,” adding that people have clearly started getting irritated with the concept of SMS marketing. Saund laments the absence of demographic profiling, mentioning how globally, database selling is such a huge business proposition because of the simple fact that the data is available based on various parameters. “India too, will have such a scenario, but only in years to come,” says Saund.

Still, several players from the automobile industry, like Hyundai, Tata Motors, Volkswagen, Maruti Suzuki etc back SMS marketing to the hilt as even one conversion is a bonus for them. While Volkswagen used SMS marketing to increase awareness about the Polo on a huge scale, market leader Maruti Suzuki has also started marketing via texts recently. “The response of SMS marketing activities have been better than expected. In fact, it can be explained by the high cell phone penetration and its frequent usage for all kind of information and interaction,” says Lutz Kothe, CGM – Marketing, Volkswagen Group Sales India. Maruti Suzuki on its part launched an SMS contest for Eeco, which generated a record 2.4 lakh entries. “As it offers a decent cost-value relationship, we also use it for our after sales services,” mentions Shashank Srivastava, CGM – Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School
Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri
Planman Consulting

IIPM in the league of best management institutes of India.....
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Clients are always seeking fresh ideas

2010-07-01T13:56:00.002+05:30

Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

In as much, 21st century clients recognise that their brands need more diversity, flexibility, local flavour and therefore individual attention that is not possible in a big set-up with a mammoth array of clients needing constant attention. Result is that are increasingly abandoning their inhibitions in approaching individual agencies. “Clients are always seeking fresh ideas and perspective that would work for their brand and they don’t care if they come from an agency that is 20 years old or 2 years old. I think with the way things are going you would see more breakthrough work coming from newer agencies,” avers Ramki. Times of India (ToI), which recently shifted its entire creative account from JWT to start-up Taproot (promoted by Agnello Dias & Santosh Padhi) is one that firmly believes in that logic. Says Rahul Kansal, Brand Director, ToI, “There was no risk in shifting our account to an independent agency. Since we were using only the creative services of Agnello at JWT, it was a natural shift for us.”

Industry insiders believe that getting clients for start-ups run by renowned admen is hardly ever a problem. “Clients connect more with the names than agencies anyway,” they say. As ToI moved with Agnello, the Appy Fizz account moved from Grey to Creativeland Asia with Sajan Raj Kurup. Unlike media agencies, where negotiations and bulk business deals matter more, the creative part of the business is usually personality driven. Consciously or not, most guys who go independent are aware that their intellectual capital is their biggest investment into a new venture and clients will follow, whether or not they flaunt a plush office in a swank business area. In a marked departure from existing trends, Acharya (Cut The Crap) in fact totally did away with the regular office routine for his agency. “We don’t have a brick & mortar office. So the only investment that I have put up is the money for our weekly meetings at the best of places and partying wherever we felt like,” he grins, explaining that the only bit of serious money he invested was on technology (so his team could work from home easily) and membership to relevant archives on the web.

Interestingly, ask these independent creative shops and they are quick to say that the biggest challenge they faced was in swaying big ticket account from established agency (that was up for grabs, they aver), neither was raising funds a problem. The tough nut for them (hilariously) was the routine stuff like finding office space, hiring right talent, et al. As Agnello puts it, “Dealing with things that are not our forte, produced some hiccups. We were bemused with things like legalities, registrations, putting admin in place and all that.”

It is their agility, flexibility, quick reaction time and out-of-box creative thinking that is prompting multinats and large domestic clients to fall hook, line and sinker for independent agencies. But the end results were never pre-mediated. So what prompted these guys to give up their fat salary cheques and take the risk in the first place? Jacob answers that with his usual devil-may-care view: “There’s a risk in everything we do, isn’t there? Even standing under a tree has its own share of risks. The desire to create, build and more importantly, the excitement and challenges that go into building an agency overrides any perceived risk,” he points out.

Agnello is more accommodating. “Our only apprehension was whether we were too spoilt by success and looking a gift horse in the eye by chasing this idealistic notion (of going it alone) that perhaps did not exist in real world. But as we came closer to due date, we felt it was perhaps working in more or less the way we thought it would,” says Agnello. Given that ToI, Mid-Day and more followed suit, bet Agnello still feels spoilt for choice. Not just him, so far, most newly-formed independent agencies are having a dream run at the ad box office. The slowdown induced pressure on marketers to cut costs is also playing a role. While none of the independent guys admit it, fact is that start-up fees are at least 15% lesser than those with an established agency. And with that does not have marketer’s salivating in these troubled times, wonder what will...

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years

TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
IIPM Related Links
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)

Here’s the perfect Mr. Creative Suit!

2009-09-17T13:46:00.000+05:30

He would have been a CA but for a friend who saved him by convincing his mom that he would slash his wrist. Kind fellow!

His twinkling eyes and ready laugh belie the hard-nosed number crunching that the man keeps doing day and night. As Head,Creative and Content for MTV India, Ashish Patil not only ensures that his creative juices keep pouring forth, but he happily shoulders the additional burden of the music channel’s Profit & Loss division too. Just the apt example of what we refer to ‘creative suits’ these days! So even if the creative part of his brain (or his team’s for the matter) churns out the whackiest of ideas, rest assured that the shrewd business side of the brain will do its own sifting, toss the idea over the TRPs grill, before allowing it to hit your TV screens! “I think the future belongs to the creative suits. They are a rare breed,” he says, in an almost self-congratulatory tone.

And he does have reason to congratulate himself! Being both creative and business driven can be a blessing in disguise, both for you and your co-workers. “A really crazy joke that we share at lunch, many times just ends up on air at MTV,” says Patil, giving the example of MTV’s Rakhi Sawant and Rakshabandan special. One day at lunch the topic of Rakhi Sawant came up. Rakshabandan was round the corner and someone joked about Rakhi and ‘bhaiyas’. The result was a popular Rakhi Sawant block on Rakshabandhan and the viewers applauded!

Rendezvous with Semi Girebal, a MTV spoof show of ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’ had similar beginnings. “One day I read an article on Simi Garewal getting a new hair-cut and a big debate on her clothes at some party. It was irritating. I mean, who cares? So we came up with the spoof,” explains Patil. Since Star aired its original show on Sunday at 9.30p.m., the MTV dudes aired the spoof on the same day, same time. Semi Girebaal rated four times the TRPs of the original show. Thinking aloud, a rueful Patil says, “I think we destroyed her career. Her contract never got renewed.” Beginning his career as a copywriter in 1992, Ashish was almost destined to be among the creative types in ad world (or so he thought back then) “but the middle class Maharashtrian phenomena overpowered my family. They told me that I can’t earn a living as a writer as I had to get married.” So Ashish went ahead and got a degree from a B-school. He joined an ad agency again, only this time in a different role as a member of the planning team at SSC&B Lintas. But when Patil got a call from a head hunter to join MTV’s marketing team in 1998, he jumped. “MTV is such a cool brand to work with,” he says.

Life at MTV allowed him to dabble in just about anything he wanted. He handled marketing for a while, before making a lateral switch to content in 2003 to head talent and artist relationship. His typical day then would start at 9p.m. with Pan Parag chewing producers, brandishing gold watches and chain, with flashy cell phones stuck to their ears. “And of course, a gun,” adds Ashish. “Usually the conversations were like ‘Ashishji gaane ka rotation thoda badhana chahiye’ and the moment I would answer in the negative, the gun would be out,” he says with a loud guffaw. Signing off, the fourth member of our occult cracks another joke about his stint with MTV. “I am a part of the furniture here. Every Diwali they move me out, dust me and put me back again...” he grins.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Event at IIPM
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM, GURGAON

GHOST RAT

2009-09-09T11:10:00.000+05:30

Ghost RAT, is a Trojan horse that acts as a cyber spying computer program. According to a report published by Infowar Monitor (IWM), the malware has been developed and deployed by Chinese operatives of the hacking community GhostNet, and are using it to hack into some of the most sensitive computer networks on Earth. The report titled, ‘Tracking ‘GhostNet’: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network’ has stated that the Trojan till recently had continued to invade and monitor more than a dozen new computers per week. The GhostNet system deploys malware to selected recipients through a computer program attached to stolen emails and addresses, thereby expanding the network by allowing more computers to be infected. It can even turn on the camera and audio-recording functions, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room. The Trojan horse has allegedly attacked 1,295 machines at NATO and various foreign ministries, embassies, banks and news organisations across the world, as well as computers used by the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles.pest

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Event at IIPM
2300 IIPM students get jobs
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

Ain’t a Virgin, no more?

2009-08-21T12:29:00.000+05:30

IIPM Best B-school

Brand: Virgin Mobile
Agency: Bates 141

Outrageous, flamboyant, unconventional... that’s Virgin’s Hatke route to rope in India’s youngistaan. The campaign’s cheeky humour and in-your-face youth focus has allowed Virgin Mobile to make its mark in an already cluttered telecom market. Devoid of any details about tariff plans etc, the campaign is based on the insight that the Indian youth is not a rebel and knows how to maneuver its way out of troubles. Supported by outdoor and internet, the communication blitz has ensured that the brand boasts one of the highest ARPUs in the industry and a growing customer base.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri’s Profile
IIPM only B-school in India to be Ranked Ahead of The IIMs in so Many Parameters! Regularly!
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

Orange to pink & Hutch to Vodafone, the pug rules

2009-08-03T13:13:00.000+05:30

IIPM Best B-school

Brand: Hutch
Agency: O&M

You and I... in this beautiful world… even as the lyrics sink in, we’re sure you’re already thinking pug and Hutch, oops Vodafone! That’s the power of the Wherever you go our network follows campaign. Cheeka became a rage overnight and the prices of pugs shot up from from Rs.10-12k to Rs. 50-55k. Cheekas’s popularity reflected in subscriber additions. In FY2003-04, Hutch’s subscriber base soared by 138.34% to 5.15 million as against 2.16 million in the last financial year; while revenues rose by 56% in that fiscal to Rs.2,701 crore. Cheeka even became the most often downloaded wallpaper by Hutch subscribers that year. The pug and the You & I slogan in fact saw Hutch through two changeovers successfully. Uncontrollably pugnacious strategy, was it not?

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
Arindam Chaudhuri’s Profile
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

It was a sweet pill, they say!

2009-07-22T12:58:00.000+05:30

IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook

As the largest player in India’s pharmaceutical industry, Ranbaxy’s meteoric rise can be attributed to a lot of factors. But few know that it all started with a defeat. Having lost to Dr Reddy’s Lab in a bid for German drug firm Betapharm, in February 2006, Ranbaxy was looking out for some new growth opportunities and the first one came in the form of Allen SpA, the unbranded generic division of GlaxoSmithKline in Italy whose acquisition definitely placed Ranbaxy on a fast track in $420 million Italian generic market, one of the fastest growing markets in Europe. The second in row was Terapia in Romania (Ranbaxy took over for $324 million) which brought into its kitty a rich pipeline of 157 products with 60 awaiting approvals. Next was Ethimed NV, adding over 20 product registrations to its portfolio and an access to a combined estimated market of $7.6 billion in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. “Ranbaxy’s M&A strategy was centered on gaining market share in the low penetrated and high growth generic markets,” agrees Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP Research, Angel Broking. Moreover, these companies had product portfolios that not only complemented Ranbaxy’s own pipeline but also provided it with springboards at some of the world’s fastest growing markets Else why do you think Japanese Daiichi Sankyo took over this one with a smile!

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
IIPM only B-school in India to be Ranked Ahead of The IIMs in so Many Parameters! Regularly!
Why has IIPM always been opposed to B-school rankings?
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Respected Business School

Have you got the Visa power?

2009-06-22T13:01:00.000+05:30

Detail of all IIPM branches

At a time when consumer confidence is in free fall, Visa has launched its new global campaign, which does not urge consumers to go out & spend more

At a time when the global economy is in a downturn and companies are curbing their marketing and advertising spends, global financial services brand, Visa Inc. has unveiled its first unified global campaign on March 4, 2009. The newly launched $140 million campaign by Visa comes with a new tagline – ‘More people go with Visa’. In the process, the company has dumped its three-year-old slogan – ‘Life Takes Visa’. Taking into account the discretionary spending pattern during recession, the new campaign does not talk about going out and spending more but about less ostentatious spending and encourages more usage of a Visa debit card, instead of cash or cheque in a bid to take advantage of the schemes provided by Visa. Asserts Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing Officer, Visa Inc., “The ‘More people go with Visa’ campaign is an invitation to make the most out of life every day, a powerful message. It’s not about spending more, it’s about using Visa for those things that are important to you everyday.”

By launching a consolidated global marketing campaign, Visa can achieve cost efficiencies, as now the company will not have to come up with different communication strategies for different countries. In the international markets, Visa will launch a TVC titled ‘Gofesto’, that will be customised according to each Visa region. Saurav Bhattacharya, Marketing Director, South Asia, Visa told 4Ps B&M, “With a journey across the globe, the ad will show people enjoying simpler things in life. The idea is to showcase that life is not about collecting possessions but collecting memories & experiences.”

After the US credit card bubble burst, consumers were sucked deep into the credit vortex. The public perception about credit cards plummeted. A ripple effect of all this was also felt by Visa & MasterCard in the debit card segment, even though here they primarily work as card processors and not lenders. As per BrandIndex (a daily measure of public perception of more than 1,100 consumer brands across 32 sectors), in the first two months of 2009, Visa’s overall buzz score fell 5.7%, while MasterCard dropped nearly 10%.

As a result Visa and its newly roped in advertising agency TBWA have embarked on this global repositioning journey to improve the public’s perception of credit and debit cards. The TBWA team has been advised to tread cautiously and not overwhelm consumers with a deluge of advertisements that showcase expensive and ostentatious purchases beyond the means of the common man. After all there is little hope of any gain from pain!

Vareen Ray

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Morality, where art thou?

2009-05-05T17:33:00.000+05:30

IIPM - Admission Procedure

Most large Indian corporate houses are family run businesses. Be it the Tatas, Birlas or Ambanis; one after the other, the mantle of the company is held by an insider. While Lord Meghnad opines that “regardless of whether there are family run businesses or not, good corporate regulation rules are needed;” Jackson asserts, “India needs strong corporate governance laws to counteract both the nepotism intrinsic to large family run businesses and the fall-out from Satyam’s fraud.” And this is precisely why India needs good corporate governance laws to be enforced. Explains Moriarty, “Uncertainty is one of the biggest threats to public trust & investor confidence.” Stakeholders trust the Directors to create leadership that is competent & ethical in its approach. “While getting regulations right is necessary, it is not sufficient for ensuring ethical practice in the day-to-day operations of firms,” adds Moriarty. There is a dire need for India Inc. to differentiate itself from other emerging markets of the world and therefore restoring investor confidence is of utmost importance, at least for the time being.

The corporate scandal at Satyam has put a blot on the equity of brand India Inc. and has reinforced the need for strong corporate governance laws. For India to regain confidence of its global allies, it will have to resort to certain measures. Asserts Jackson, “Indian companies should take steps to improve internal management controls…” Companies should also focus on enhancing communication with their business allies, partners & stakeholders and practice transparency in their business actions. “Greater transparency will not only show which firms may be at risk, but also, more positively, which firms are strong,” explains Moriarty.

There is also a need for financial watchdogs like SEBI to pull up their socks and enforce laws, which makes it mandatory for companies to allow transparency in the company books. Jackson adds, “India’s Parliament must weigh in judiciously by strengthening corporate governance laws. The government must provide a fair playing field that attracts capital and this cannot happen without corporate governance standards at par with OECD countries.” Asserts Lord Meghnad, “Companies should demand that regulators are independent of all political influences.” Moriarty also recommends that “audit committees, corporate governance committees and compensation committees of the board be comprised of independent directors.”

The damage has already been done and image of Brand India Inc. has been tainted on the world map. And here, there is a lot that India can learn from Korea, which also has innumerable records of corporate scandals (Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo, et al). Says Jackson, “Like India, Korea is highly reliant on the global economy and has a reputation for nepotism… Korea is no stranger to corporate fraud tarnishing its reputation.” As long as the Satyam case is taken as a one off case, the impact on India Inc.’s global image may not be too substantial or long-lasting. But for other Indian companies, this is a lesson well-learnt. Often, the public is too irrational in its thinking. There may be no connection between two companies, but the public may view one through the lens of another. Besides regulations, instilling corporate ethics is also important, which can be aptly instilled by the Directors of the firm. “Unless India Inc. appears collectively responsive to the outrage over Satyam by improving transparency and corporate governance measures, India Inc.’s reputation as a Mecca for service-based outsourcing may be permanently damaged,” concludes Jackson. Lesson learnt: Never ride a tiger if you know for sure that you can’t get off without being eaten!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

From it hub to Killers’ Adda

2009-02-24T14:34:00.000+05:30

“If you are in Bangalore and are still alive, you must be grateful to the murderers who have let you live… at least for today. Safety and security deserted this place a long time ago. And to ask us if we expect Bangalore Police to keep us safe is ridiculous!” says Raghavendra, resident of Bangalore’s prestigious retirees’ paradise in Jayanagar, which is fast turning into a killers’ adda.

Is Bangalore safe? This is a question that must be dwelt upon by anyone who is connected in any way to this city. After becoming a soft target for the terrorists within a couple of years, the once exuberant Bangalore is today rapidly turning into a ‘great corridor of burglars and killers’.

On January 20, the dwellers of Jayanagar woke up to the news of the cold blooded murder of three women, all from the same family. The next day, Gayathri, 25, housewife, was found murdered in her apartment.

A quick look at the statistics is scary. Bangalore has seen no less than 20 murders in the first 21 days of the year, which means not a single day has gone by this year that has not brought in the news of spilt blood of the innocent. The body count for the New Year started with the murder of Muniraju, a money lender, on January 2. Later, the city shuddered in fear as 79-year-old Rangan and his 72-year-old wife Vasantha were found ruthlessly murdered in their house in Jayanagar. Thefts, killing for cash and jewelry, murder of women living on their own, murder for vengeance – all these have now become a routine in the city. Even the city police now seem to be quite fed up of these daily crimes, keeping in mind the pace at which Bangalore Police carry out the investigation. The cases, it appears, won’t be solved anytime soon.....Continue

“It’s financial aid, not extortion!”

2009-02-19T11:41:00.000+05:30

What action have you taken against your party MLA accused of killing a PWD engineer?
We arrested him within hours of his crime. I asked him to meet me but he sniffed my ploy of getting him arrested from my house and went back to Kanpur. We tracked him down by tracing his mobile calls. We have also arrested almost all the accused and those sheltering them.

If the MLA was extorting money for your birthday contribution, what action did you take against him?
I haven’t asked anyone to raise money for my birthday. BSP workers have for long been celebrating my birthday as arthik sahyog diwas (financial aid day) and they enroll fresh members by getting membership fee of Rs 10 to Rs 100. This not only contributes millions to the party’s kitty but also helps expand its membership base.

If MLA Shekhar Tiwari says he was raising money for my birthday then that is not true and I will teach him a lesson. I know that he was a muscleman even when he was with Samajwadi Party.

Then why did you induct such a criminal in your party and even fielded him in the Assembly elections?
You know, when you are in power, you have several agencies at your command to conduct background checks on any person. But, in opposition you are handicapped and have to reply on the information provided by the person. We did know that Tiwari was a toughie but had no idea that he was a criminal.

But he remains in your party. Are you protecting him?
I told you, I am going to teach him a lesson so that no other BSP worker would dare commit a crime and bring disrepute to the party. We have slapped him with Goonda Act, Gangsters Act and National Security Act. I have instructed my party men to practically ostracise Tiwari and his family. But before expelling him from the party, I want to investigate whether there is a deeper conspiracy, whether he acted at the instance of somebody else. Otherwise, like Amarmani Tripathi he too would simply hop over to the Samajwadi Party after being thrown out of the BSP.....Continue

In the midst of all the hype and hoopla about 3G services

2009-02-11T13:46:00.000+05:30

The coming of 3G in India would also be significant because of the fact that the broadband penetration in India stands at a meagre 3-4 per cent in comparison to 28 per cent for mobile phones. According to TV Ramachandran, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India, “The majority of the Indian population would experience broadband through mobile phones rather than fixed lines.” One of the reasons for this trend is that it is virtually impossible to lay fibre cables in India to the remotest of points. So it would be more viable for both companies and users to access internet, or rather broadband internet, through their mobile phones.

However, most people have the perrception that as 3G is more efficient and can handle much greater traffic, it would mean an era where there would be no calls dropping. This is not the case because the drops in the calls are caused by the congestion in the network. Although the introduction of 3G would lead to some improvement on this count and a better voice clarity, subscribers would continue to be bugged by call drops!

Another question that plagues the junta about 3G is whether they will be able to use their existing phones when 3G comes into play. If the customers want to use just voice based services, then there would be no need for them to look in to their existing handset or even think about getting a new one. However, if the subscribers are looking forward to try out this much hyped (you bet!) 3G, and want their pocket gadgets to be as competent as their computers, then in that case one would have to pick up a handset that is 3G enabled. But this does not necessarily mean that one would have to buy a new handset as there are plenty of 3G-enabled handsets already available in the market and for all you know you might be using one already.....Continue

Will the tigers be declawed?

2009-02-02T11:36:00.000+05:30

Army ready to conquer the rebels' last bastion

The capture of Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass by the Sri Lankan army has understandably created great euphoria among many sections of the Sinhalese society in Sri Lanka. The fall of Kilinochchi on January 2, the de-facto capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) regime, was a devastating blow to the Tigers. Now their movements are confined to the jungles of Mullaithivu district. The army claimed on January 11 that its troops were making their way across the Mullathivu forests, the last bastion of the LTTE.

Earlier, the LTTE had total control of the northern and eastern provinces. However, after its military power started declining progressively after the Karuna, the former eastern commander of LTTE split with Prabhakaran in 2004, it has been losing much territory. It lost Kilinochchi in 1996 after a fierce battle, but the town was regained two years later through a military operation called 'Unceasing Waves-2'. Hence, though the army’s present victories have weakened the Tigers’ capacity to retaliate, it has not struck the death knell for the LTTE. Some prominent Tamil leaders of Sri Lanka, like TULF leader V Anandasangaree, call LTTE the greatest obstacle in the country’s path to achieve durable peace and a political solution. But critics believe the greatest obstacle to be the government’s failure to initiate any serious constitutional reforms that can satisfy the minority community’s demands for equality and regional autonomy.

Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda, a prominent political scientist and constitutional expert of Sri Lanka, told TSI: “Military defeat of the LTTE will certainly weaken the bargaining capacity of all minorities for political equality and for sharing state power. But the Tamils aligned with the Sinhalese political establishment are likely to accept a state of inequality for the minorities in a post-LTTE scenario. They think that LTTE is the main obstacle to negotiate Tamil rights with the Sinhalese political leadership. For them, it is a legitimate trade off.”....Continue

Of fashion fables and foibles

2009-01-22T11:07:00.000+05:30

Ramp walks, arrogant super-models, conniving modelling agency heads, wardrobe malfunctions, and delusional ex-models on the street – expectedly, it’s all there in Madhur Bhandarkar’s take on the fashion industry, Fashion. It is a hard-hitting look alright, but being a first of its kind perspective as far as Bollywood is concerned, it does get away with a few inconsistencies.

In trying to bridge the chasm between perception and reality about the glam world of modelling through the story of the rise and fall of model Meghna Mathur (Priyanka Chopra), the film does stand out, thanks to its well crafted fashion show sequences, intense performances and a nice dose of self-deprecating gags.Priyanka Chopra deserves special mention for easing into the metamorphosing role from an aspirant to supermodel who then goes on to lose her modelling mojo. The other two models, Shonali (Kangana Ranaut in a pretty charged performance) and Janet (Mugdha Godse strides confidently into a role that belies her newbie status) hold their own as well. Even the support roles – Ashwin Mushran as the very gay Rohit Khanna (suspiciously familiar to Stanley Tucci’s character from The Devil Wears Prada) and Kitu Gidwani as Anisha Roy – are well executed, though some are a bit caricaturish.

Bhandarkar packs every news-bite possible about the fashion industry into the script, which slightly loses focus in the latter half. Bhadarkar offers a gossip-column-tinted view of the fashion world but as is his wont he commendably manages to touch a chord and also agitate the viewer’s mind. In short, the invite to this ‘Fashion’ show goes, come for Madhur Bhandarkar, stay for Priyanka Chopra!....Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

On the night of November 26

2009-01-12T17:20:00.000+05:30

I heard about both these incidents on the same day and the contrast hit me hard between the eyes. Our young CEO was lucky, but there were many others who stumbled upon their deaths because while they too did not know what to do next, unlike the CEO, the dice just didn’t roll their way. And yet, I have a feeling that if there were a handful of other professionals like these South African heroes – people who had some notion of what could be done to save their own lives and those of others around them, perhaps many more would’ve walked out alive from the Taj.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again - we are a people under siege and we’re practically on our own. It took a nine hour long ‘quick reaction’ for our commandos to be brought to location (and that they had to be brought there in ‘BEST’ buses, tells you about India’s ‘most terrorised’ city’s levels of preparedness). You might rant and rave, and light enough candles to pave the Marine Drive with wax, but you can bet your last recession-hit rupee on it that nothing, absolutely nothing is going to change if anybody with a voice (and that’s not you or me) in this great dysfunctional democracy can help it. There could be more terrorists tomorrow, and there could be more bombs; there could be cyclones, tsunamis and earthquakes, but help would only reach once it’s too late for most.

But we can’t remain helpless, at the mercy of the guy with the gun, whichever side he might be on. Just like the South Africans, instead of letting ‘terror’ paralyse us, surely, we too can prepare ourselves for such an eventuality. I wanted to know if there was anything I could do if I was stuck in a burning building with ruthless gunmen on the prowl? Is there anything we could do to hold the fort and save lives (including my own) until help finally arrived? Turns out, yes, we can…

I asked two of India’s most well known security consultants and martial artists – SWAT and Krav Maga Chief Instructor (India) and veteran Karateka Vicky Kapoor and Shaolin and Police Kung Fu and Kali Master Kanishka Sharma – the same question: what can a lay civilian can do in a 26/11 scenario? Apparently, conscription helps. A country that has had to fight insurgency almost since the day it was born would obviously do well if every citizen was also a soldier. “…it builds a sense of nationhood… makes you more aware as citizens”, says Kapoor. Well, but that’s not an option for now… what else?...Continue

What a voyage!

2009-01-08T13:08:00.000+05:30

When I was standing in the queue to enter a grand cruise ship from Singapore bound for Langkawi Islands and Phuket Islands my emotions were the same as that of Rose’s (Kate Winslet) in the 1997 super-hit film “Titanic”. It seemed unbelievable and I knew that this four-day trip is just going to be a fun-filled escapade!

The ship, for a little woman like me, seemed like a huge white monster almost touching the sky, with thousands of windows, unending corridors and numerous life-boats (the first thing I looked out for, especially after watching “Titanic” innumerable times!). On arriving, the ship’s mascots – a ‘lion’ and a ‘duck’ – and bikini-clad women, greeted us and also posed with us. I entered the main atrium which was no less than a five-star hotel’s reception with three golden horses prancing, and an orchestra playing in the background. I was spell-bound by the grandeur and opulence of the ship and set out for a tour around. But first, I went to see my room which had a perfect sea view, and sitting outside in the balcony I could feel the oceanic winds caress my face. Then I made my way to the top of the deck only to find the whole world on board! The deck had a swimming pool, jacuzzis, saunas, jet pools, gymnasium, mini golf course, basket-ball court, spa and fitness centre, kid’s pool, video arcade, shopping area, library, and what not! “I wouldn’t have a minute free!” I thought to myself after seeing those amazingly fun-filled ‘entertainment packages’.

On the following day, as I looked out for what to eat, I noticed that apart from the European cuisine, there was Indian cuisine as well which was very thoughtful and a commendable gesture on the crew’s part to cater to their guests’ liking. The ship housed various restaurants, be it the ubiquitous Taj Mahal, an Indian, Chinese, Italian or Japanese. So whatever ethnicity and culture the guest may have belonged to, they had a huge variety to choose from.....Continue

The viciousness of the Mumbai attacks expose a new security flank: an unguarded 7500 km of desolate coastline. Ranjit Bhushan reports.

2009-01-03T16:06:00.000+05:30

The question is being asked against the background of the RAW intercept.

The Navy chief has other problems at hand. US Intelligence officials told the CNN that their government had warned India of a maritime attack on Mumbai. The message was conveyed twice, including once in the last week of October, 2008. Security was maintained for a week and then the guard was dropped since nothing happened during that period. “Indian officials are prone to look at short term gains and not the long term picture,” the American official told the CNN. The Navy chief has angrily refuted the charges saying ``there was no such RAW intercept which was handed over to us” and rather than a security lapse, it was a systems’ failure.

Certain things have emerged clearly for which the Navy needs to answer. It is the first line of defence in international waters and the Coast Guards come as a second line, so to obliquely hint that Coast Guard was unable to pick up the trail of the killers is to put the cart before the horse. In addition, sources say that there is a lot left to be desired as far as coordination between the Navy and Coast Guard is concerned.

Now that broom closets are being opened, the callous neglect of the country's coastal defences is coming into sharp focus. India has 7,516 kilometers of coasts and most of it remains unmanned.

Gujarat and Maharashtra police officials examining the trail taken by the killers have interviewed fishermen on the coastlines of two states and the story that is emerging is of a coastline without any police restrictions, frequent and unregistered entries of fishermen back and fro Pakistan, forgery of smart I-cards issued by the Gujarat government identifying the fishermen, which according to one account, was flashed by the killers on the kidnapped boat, Kuber when accosted by an unnamed Coast Guard patrol.....Continue

AMAZE: The world shows up! Retro reprise

2009-01-02T13:34:00.000+05:30

In conversation with Marcia Barrett

What kind of music was Boney M influenced by?
I can’t speak for everyone but I was influenced by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Barbara Streisand and many others. I was influenced by a whole range of music before I started to sing.

How did the Boney M band come together?
I was a soloist earlier, I was an established vocalist in Germany, handling my own shows. I heard this producer was seeking people for his band, especially black people. I was a bit reluctant at first but then I decided that I should give it a break and I am glad I made that move.

How much of Boney M is in Marcia Barrett and how much of Marcia Barrett is in Boney M?
I would say quite a bit. My voice is there in most of Boney M music. I am a vital part of the sound of Boney M, and that’s what people buy even before the video is launched. I brought my know-how, how to sing – my gift from god – how to execute everything well with Boney M.

When you are on stage, do you still get the same response from the crowd as the yesteryears?
Yes, being the only Boney M member I get a great response from people. I feel that I’m the last one so I get the same enthusiasm from the audience. It is incredible, it feels great to see that people are happy to see at least one from the original group.

There must have been creative differences within the band; how did you cope with those?
No, it didn’t happen to us. We always had tons of writers. “Breakaway” was written for me specially. We never had a situation in which members would say that I would like to sing this or that. It was up to the record company. Soon you’ll hear my “Survival” album. It’s all from my personal experiences, when I was healing.

What changes do you see in the current music scenario?
I think they are more like “gilli gilli gilli” … (laughs) There are quite a few good artists. They are good in dancing and they have good bodies. On the whole, I am a little disappointed though. They tend to follow trends. They think if they are not like others, they are not in.

What keeps you busy besides touring?
There is a new CD coming up. I wish it was out soon so that my fans could know what we’re up to. It’s an exciting album and it’ll make people want to keep hearing Boney M......Continue

Intelligence speak: Needed, raw political will

2008-12-22T13:18:00.000+05:30

Vikram Sood
Former RAW chief

The fidayeen attack on Mumbai is not only one of the biggest terror attacks in Indian history; it is the first of its kind. The terrorists have been misleading the media by claiming to be members of Hyderabad Mujahideen. The fact is that the audacious attack is part of a deep conspiracy against India that I am sure will gradually unravel. We are still to get the total picture.

This terror onslaught is much like the 1993 Mumbai serials blasts to avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. These latest attacks were extremely well orchestrated and carried out with the help of foreign elements. My own feeling is that even the underworld could be involved. And of course nothing of this scale could have happened without liberal assistance from locals. The underworld must have provided them with the logistical support needed to carry these out. Now, after Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is the turn of India to become the terrorists’ target.

Among the questions that must be answered soon is how the terrorists were at all able to land in Mumbai with their huge arms caches. Also, how did they reach these hotels? Were they or were they not frisked by the security men posted there? An intensive probe is needed to ascertain just how the terrorists managed to sneak in. This is why I say that they were helped and protected by local elements. An attack of this complexity could simply not have been planned in a day. The terrorists must have come to Mumbai and been around for long enough to do a meticulous recce of the areas they targeted. What particularly baffles is why the police so miserably failed to get wind of their movements. There is thus a persistent question mark on the efficiency of the Mumbai police.....Continue

Ring of confusion

2008-12-18T13:46:00.000+05:30

Everyone knows that if you want to estimate the age of a tree, you count the number of rings that make up its trunk. But would you do the same thing if you wanted to estimate the age of the rings?! Rings of planet Saturn, that is. Scientists are trying to calculate the age of these mysterious rings, and have estimated it to be 100 million years old. They reason that since the rings are shiny and reflective, the particles they contain are young and therefore the rings themselves are very young. Others however feel that with the age of our solar system being much older (4.55 Billion years), Saturn’s rings can’t be such a recent development. Who’s right? Sit back – it’s going to take a while....Continue

IIPM

2008-12-13T16:24:00.000+05:30

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Astro-psephology: who will win?

2008-12-13T16:21:00.000+05:30

Starting with 1998 elections, psephologists, and what can arguably be termed ‘swingologists’, who changed their predictions hourly as reports of vote counting came in, looking at a swing here or a curve there, have all failed. So have the exit polls. Not just that, each exit poll (depending on which news media house was doing it, may be) contradicted the other, all going wild and none scoring a point, let alone the bull’s eye. The classic example of exit poll malfunction was in 2004, when most polls gave Bharatiya Janata Party a sweep. Congress romped home in a coalition instead. Recent times has seen politicos increasingly looking up to the galaxies and their readers for predicting their futures. So TSI decided to give it a go. Here are some astrological predictions from famous fate readers, each contradicting the other, many contradicting themselves too! And let’s wait till the results to check out which wins: psephology or astrology.......Continue

The BJP’s five-year term in Madhya Pradesh has fired the imagination of a lot of people who are keen to contest on the party ticket

2008-12-10T14:05:00.000+05:30

What is the main election plank in Madhya Pradesh?
It has to be Congress’ inertia; its complete failure at all the fronts. In fact, being an opposition party, Congress does not have any issue that it can raise against the government. In fact, it is unable to raise questions on the performance of the government.
Congress has leveled serious allegations against the government including her inability to stop crime against women, arrest the increase in communal skirmishes and hunger deaths among others…
What can I say on that? I mean the work done by the government is there for all to see. There is no doubt that BJP’s tenure has been exceptional.
BJP’s prospects in the state can take a hit with the entry of parties like Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Bhartiya Janashakti Party…
The state has witnessed a two-party struggle since 1962, I believe. And I am pretty sure it won’t change this time around too. In fact, this time too, only BJP and Congress are claiming to form the popular government. I mean there is no space for other parties here. Yes, they might gain a few seats here and there because of the delimitation. However, it is highly unlikely that they will be successful in increasing their share of vote.

But will it make a dent into BJP’s share of vote?
Some people get this bizarre idea that the party is dependent on an individual. BJP is a cadre based party. It is not a one family show. People who think like that are going to face a reality check in these elections. I am pretty sure that BJP will have a surprise return.

Do you have the cadres to take the message of the government?
Yes we do. We are ready. ...Continue

Bhattacharjee's pipe dream!

2008-12-05T11:26:00.000+05:30

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's claim that his state is an island in the dark sea of law and order stands shattered. Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasad learnt this bitter lesson when they were returning after the foundation ceremony of Jindal Steel Works at Salboni, West Midnapur district, on October 26. Within 30 minutes of CM's departure from the site, a massive bomb blast took place, barely 20 metres away from the car carrying the ministers and JSW chairman Sajjan Kumar Jindal.

It is a measure of law and order failure that even after this, it was not the police which informed Bhattacharjee that his guests had been targetted. Rather, it was Paswan who called the CM up and told him. On November 3, Paswan sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking proper security, especially while travelling in West Bengal....Continue

Just a minute dmitry...

2008-12-01T13:52:00.000+05:30

IIPM Publication

It was no accident that Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, announced a fresh missile deployment within hours of Barack Obama's election as US president. It was an attempt to knock the new entrant off the nerve; however, it also underlined Russian position vis-à-vis US design to deploy missile shield in Eastern Europe – Russia’s playground since time immemorial. While it offered the Russian leader a chance to charm the domestic audience who have had enough of western bullying in years when Post-USSR Russia lied low after its cold war defeat; it is equally true that given the Democrats’ indisposition about the missile shield in comparison to the Republican hawks, Russia jumped gun too early this time around.

Over the years, in an endeavour to bolster NATO members in the east of reciprocal security guarantees, the US and other western NATO states have time and again infuriated dormant Russia. However, a blatantly one sided approach of the west on Georgian affair and proof of American provocation of its headstrong President Mikhail Saakashvili, has made Russia come out of its cocoon. Medvedev's military message was also intended to daunt the Poles and the Czechs, who are to host the bases for the Pentagon's silos for 10 ballistic missile interceptor rockets. The missile that has been finalised to be deployed in retaliation in Kaliningrad is Iskander-M......Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Further support of women’s rights is a must to ensure better stability of family life

2008-10-25T14:30:00.000+05:30

As women gain collective rights, and especially as men accept their changed roles, many disruptive effects of family change are ameliorated. In US, divorce rates for well-educated women are now much lower than for less-educated women, and women with good jobs or who have completed college are more likely than more traditional women to be married at age 35. Today, going to work decreases the chance of divorce. In families where the wife is employed longer, men tend to do more and better child-care, with measurable payoffs in child outcomes.

Of course, marriage will never again be as stable or predictable as when women lacked alternatives. But change has far less negative consequences when women have access to economic rights than when they don’t. In the Nordic countries, out-of-wedlock births are much higher than in US, but children of single mothers are much less likely to experience poverty, and spend more time on average with both biological parents, because cohabitation there is more stable than in many American marriages....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Finally, the right brew?

2008-10-21T13:23:00.000+05:30

Lavazza’s attempts to gain synergies from Barista seem to be working well so far

Just as Indians developed a growing passion for eating out, they have also developed a phenomenal penchant for coffee. The land of tea drinkers has indeed created an exorbitant café market of Rs.8 billion (according to Technopak Advisors) and the organised coffee chain in the urban market is growing at a breakneck 35% per annum. It is no surprise that the organised coffee chain has been brewing hot over the past few years. But interestingly, successive owners of Barista have failed to take the heat.

The company has been through three changes in ownership in a time span of just six years, and four CEO changes in a time span of five years. A coffee chain started by Amit Judge of Turner Morrison, Barista was sold off to Sterling Infotech Group (65% stake for Rs.300 million) and to the Tatas (remaining 35%). Maverick NRI businessman – C. Sivasankaran, who owned Sterling Infotech, has a penchant for acquiring companies but no intention to hold them for the long run; even the Tatas. So the Tatas sold off their stake to Sterling and finally Sterling sold it to Italian coffee major Lavazza....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Green to the gills?

2008-10-11T14:21:00.000+05:30

Here’s B&E’s lowdown on how to walk the ‘green mile’ without losing your way!

Nothing in the last few years has gained so much prominence the world over as much as global warming and climate change have, so much so, that from the food we eat to the clothes we wear, and from the cars we drive to the houses we live in, everything has been re-engineered and redesigned to make it more environment friendly.

But all this noise has also led to confusion in the minds of many. Just the other day I caught up with a friend who is ever so determined to reduce her carbon footprint. She drives 20 kms to this shop that sells organic food when she could easily buy inorganic food from the neighbourhood store, or better still, order it over the telephone just so she could do her bit for the environment. Usually the one to have all the answers, she asked, “Should one buy organic vegetables produced in far away places or inorganic stuff grown nearby?” Now that’s probably getting too deep into the matter, I thought. But if you belong to the school of thought that thinks that the whole deal gets a little confusing at times, there are simple things that could make a difference. Information overdose has had the most conscious of people confused. That said, we do have a problem at hand and a little thought is all it’ll take for us to make a difference......Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Crisis in Bihar BJP blows over

2008-10-07T15:19:00.000+05:30

Coordination body to calm down rebels seeking Modi's head

The looming crisis in the Bihar BJP unit has abated somewhat. The rebel MLAs who had been demanding the head of deputy CM Sushil K Modi for failing to protect their interests in the Nitish-run government, have been told by the party that there can be no leadership change. All it would promise was a coordination body with rebel leaders on the board. “The rebels can rebel as much as they like, both Modi or and state BJP president Radha Mohan Singh will stay put for the moment. A reshuffle is out of the question,” said a senior BJP leader in Delhi. A section of the party had been targeting Modi after two senior ministers from the BJP were dropped from the Nitish Kumar Cabinet and the portfolios of two more were changed.....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Patented out, legally redeemed

2008-10-03T13:34:00.000+05:30

As lawyer Kindler loses court battles, army man Clark strengthens his defences with a flanking strategy

Every time a new face takes on the mantle of a CEO in a pharma company, bold promises and impressive statements are the order of the day, giving aggrieved shareholders assurance of better times ahead. But perhaps, deep inside, every incoming CEO of a pharma company is well aware that he could be in for several sleepless nights ahead, as he simultaneously keeps track of expiring patents, lawsuits, litigations, et al, not to mention sluggish sales volumes and increasing generic competition. Some make the cut and some don’t and the story of the head honchos of Pfizer & Merck illustrates this perfectly.

When Jeffrey Kindler took the helm of the $139.5 billion Pfizer Inc. in 2006, he dauntlessly proclaimed to completely transform virtually every aspect of doing business with concrete, hard-hitting action plans. ...Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Time to (re)reorganise

2008-09-22T15:16:00.000+05:30

Unilever continues to restructure its operations, but to truly revive, it must focus on market shares

It has some of the world’s best managers and some of the most prolific brand portfolios. Yet, Unilever seems to be way past its prime, the days when the mere mention of its name commanded tremendous respect and admiration. Thanks to inability to cope with market trends, the company is desperately seeking a route back to good ol’ days.

Although 2007 has been a better year, there still remains a lot to achieve. While announcing results for the nine months ending September (turnover increased by 4% to €30.3 billion & net profit by 20% to €3.3 billion), CEO Patrick Cescau had enthusiastically commented, “Focus on our growth priorities, together with stronger innovation, improved speed to market & better in-market execution, is delivering consistent & sustainable organic growth.” 2007 results, to be announced as this magazine goes to print, are expected to be in line with company expectations of 3-5% organic growth.

Yet, as always, there are some devils in the details. As per Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills, a large part of the increase is due to rise in prices, i.e. value growth (around 2.5% in price growth estimated in Q4, 2007). The company underperforms peers like Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle & Cadbury in organic growth for 2007. Market shares are lower in 2007 compared to 2006 in most categories across Europe & US; deodorants being the only clear saving grace. Morgan Stanley analyst Michel Steib also maintains an underweight rating. He adds, “Unilever’s headwind from commodity costs will double from around 200 bps in 2007 to over 400 bps in 2008 estimate for the full year.”

The company had announced plans to do away with a whopping 20,000 jobs in August last year. Even emerging markets, long touted as a saving grace are facing the flak, evident from recent news of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) doing away with 50 managerial positions. Comments K. Sudarshan, Managing Partner, EMA Partners India, “Earlier, HUL was insulated from the global parent and the company was designed for the high growth era.” He adds at the rates of growth prevalent at that time, they could carry non-performers.

Now the parent company is taking up more control, and redundancies are being created for jobs particularly in category innovation, manufacturing and even HR functions in India. The power brand strategy created further pressure. The bulge is mainly in the upper middle management, or 3A & 3B category. Also, it is no longer the top employer of choice in India’s key business schools.

With such tidings in one of Unilever’s key markets, it’s quite apparent that these are trying times for the company. More than restructuring and cost cutting, it’s important to get its brands back in the reckoning as far as market shares go. Perhaps that should be the most credible starting point to bring some vitality to this Anglo-Dutch behemoth.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
'This is one of Big B's best performances'
IIPM to come up at Rajarhat
IIPM awards four Bengali novelists
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

2008-09-20T15:28:00.000+05:30

The VAS space, currently dominated by text and picture messages, along with ringtones and data downloads, has in itself driven the user to maximising these services. The reason, according to Durbha, has a lot to do with impulse usage. Instantly he takes out a handset, clicks a picture and sends it across to this reporter’s e-mail address. The process, as simple as counting 1 to 5, but what held attention was that the entire operation was done through a phone costing just Rs.4000.

“We’ve got 10.2 million ‘unique’ users, who only sample our VAS, less than 5 times a month. Probably this number exceeds the total number of subscribers of many service providers across the world,” says Durbha. For now, the future seems brighter than ever before. With Reliance now foraying into the GSM bracket, it seems all set to duplicate its tactics and win itself another enthusiastic horde!

In India, the mobile VAS industry, according to IAMAI, expectedly hit the billion dollar mark by December 2007 and in that figure, we see a jump of nearly 60% over December 2006. Currently the most optimistic figures put VAS at 12-15% of revenues of a mobile service provider. As Mahesh Prasad, President, Applications & Solutions Group, RCOM, puts it, “If Japanese and Koreans can derive 25-30% of revenues from VAS, there is no reason we cannot.” Concludes Durbha, “There are a lot of clichés involved when we talk about the future of mobile phone services and in particular about VAS... Unfortunately, they’ve all become much over-hyped. But, eventually, under all that hype is a reality.” And surely there is little doubt now that RCOM has moved far beyond the company that broke the lower end of the price barrier to provide mobile services that were ‘cheaper than a post card.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
'This is one of Big B's best performances'
IIPM to come up at Rajarhat
IIPM awards four Bengali novelists
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Malaysia must begin to mull...

2008-08-25T12:57:00.001+05:30

...ways and means to make sure that the minority communities are not discriminated against
The subtle equilibrium of the inter-racial politics of Malaysia has come under serious peril from an unanticipated front & the response from the Malaysian Government poses critical questions about freedom of expression. A relatively unknown conglomerate of Hindu NGOs named Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) called a mammoth rally in Kuala Lumpur, to air its objections about the so called marginalisation of the Indian ethnic minority community (read Tamil Hindus). Apart from that, in a somewhat comical demand, the organisation also demanded compensation from Great Britain for the community’s exploitation during the colonial era. An off the guard government came quickly to action & arrested the top HINDRAF leaders.

Surprisingly, HINDRAF’s mass mobilisation has made very little or no appeal to non-Hindus, many of them Indians. The situation was somewhat worsened by the un-diplomatic participation of Indian politicians in a war of words with their Malaysian counterparts. M. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu reacted angrily to the events. The RSS grabbed the chance to show itself as the sole propagator of Hindu cause & talked about “global unity of Hindus”. As always, authorities too, jumped the gun.

Many ethnic Chinese & Indians, who form the two main minority communities, are uncared for, particularly concerning an affirmative action programme named ‘Bhoomiputra Programme’ that gives privileges to Malays in business, jobs & education. What made the issue complex was the fact that any attempt to air ethnic minority grumbles in Malaysia is always projected by the Malay dominated government & administration as a threat to national security & cannot be allowed to be glossed over, without mentioning the 1969 race riots, which had Malays & Chinese against each other, that claimed several lives. The same happened this time as Sami Velu, the Minister for ethnic minority Indians & himself a Hindu, termed the protest irrational & accused RSS and other NRI Hindus of trying to destabilise the country.

Nevertheless, HINDRAF thinks otherwise. P. Uthyakumar, the legal advisor of HINDRAF told B&E, “Sami Velu is a proxy of the UMNO led government. In exchange for the salary, the royal awards and also some government contracts, his job is to cheat the Indian community.” Meanwhile, Malaysia has said that it is willing to sacrifice public freedoms for the sake of national stability. It can be concluded that recent events have deeply affected the social fabric of Malaysia. For a novice, Lord Rama is the most favoured hero of Malaysians & stage performance on Ramayana, the most watched event. There is a lesson to be learnt there.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

The Palestinians

2008-08-20T14:13:00.000+05:30

The Palestinians are the cause of exiting and ex-presidents. There’s no real electoral payback anticipated in supporting them. Jews and Israel-loving evangelicals dwarf any Arab lobby to the extent that it’s not even funny. President Bush is now on the exit track. And it’s time to rectify the fundamental error he had made in allowing the war-on-terror rhetoric to wrongly discredit the Palestinian national movement.

His best hope in Annapolis may be the Texas connection. If Bush gets behind Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister who attended the University of Texas, things may finally move on this front. But for that to happen, he has to stick with him. Fayyad, 55, is the can-do face of the Palestinian movement. Just like his people, he’s long been in the wilderness. Unlike many of them, he hasn’t succumbed to the culture of the victim. “One year,” he said in an hour-long conversation, “is more than adequate to come to a peace treaty and end this conflict.”

In seven years in office, Bush has been, in fact, quite uninterested in such an ending. He has hallucinated about roads from Baghdad to Jerusalem. He also talked about two states and later lost interest in the initiative. The American Middle East policy has, in fact, been quite distracted and unbalanced on the whole. Now, overcoming his Clinton angst, Bush has summoned the parties to Annapolis, Md. But clearly, it’s happening too late in the day. The rising Middle Eastern power, Iran, has not been invited to the conference. Nor has the Hamas. What’s instead present, and that too in abundance, is desperation. Bush must use it.

The Palestinians, on one hand, are desperate because they are now looking at a dead end. They’ve been the losers over six decades of strife, through ineptitude, corruption & Arab hypocrisy, apart from their susceptibility to victims’ hollow consolations. As Fayyad had earlier noted, “Last year more than 50,000 Palestinians emigrated. How is that consistent with ending the occupation?”

The Israeli desperation, on the other hand, is relatively quieter. The economy has indeed blossomed, but not the Israeli soul. Four decades of occupation since the 1967 war have been a scourge for the country. Jewish precariousness still persists. The diaspora Jew did not go to Zion to build the Jew among nations.

Bush faces Palestinian weakness and compromised Israeli strength. He must offset the weakness by standing with the Palestinians on core demands. He must insist on Israeli sacrifice – territorial and ideological – in the name of US-guaranteed security. “Without peace,” Bush should tell the Israelis, “the Arab birth rate and the jihadist tide will eventually wash over you.”

Fayyad told me he’s coming into the conference Tuesday “disappointed that more progress has not been made.” On core issues – Jerusalem, borders, settlements – the impasse has prevailed. Annapolis can solve nothing actually; all it can do, realistically speaking, is to jump-start an intense process.

That process then needs essentially three elements, Fayyad told me. First, there should be an explicit framing within the context of UN Security Council resolutions, including 242, that makes clear Israel’s obligation to, in Fayyad’s words, “end the occupation that began in 1967.” Second, the Annapolis conference must result in an Israeli commitment to freeze the West Bank settlements and to remove illegal settler outposts, which will be paralleled by Palestinian commitments to “institution building and fighting terrorism.” Third, “we must get a reference to a timeline, a conclusion of final status peace within the Bush presidency.” Fayyad is right. A return to the 1967 lines, plus or minus agreed swaps, is the only plausible basis for a two-state accord. An Israeli settlement freeze is the first step to a Palestinian buy-in. A time table is the anchor all the talking needs. I asked Fayyad how he’d reassure Israel about security. He became animated. “Political pluralism is fine, but I can’t tolerate security pluralism. There’s no such thing as militias running around taking decisions! That has led to catastrophe. Law and order is basic. I said in a speech the other day that Nablus is more important than Annapolis! It is. The people of Nablus need security, just like Israelis.”

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial,

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

MOTHER OF ALL MATRICES...

2008-08-13T16:03:00.000+05:30

It’s not the experience of a lifetime; it’s the lifetime of an experience, says Raunak Roy
I used to have a t-shirt that said “100% virtual, the real me is at home!” I must have lost it, as I don’t see it in my cupboard any more. But sometimes, I wonder how easy it would have been to send another me to work on an especially cold December morning. I could just sleep at home. Well, apparently the day is not far away, as this story will tell you. Allow me to introduce you to a shocking future involving virtual reality and MMORPGs. If you have never heard of an MMORPG and you think it is some esoteric piece of software, you are surprisingly close to the truth. MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

It connects millions of people across the world on a single online platform in the form of a 3D virtual world, which is also a game. Most people consider Second Life to be just another MMORPG. But they are confusing between a MMORPG like “Ragnarok” and a 3D virtual world like Second Life. The difference is elementary. The former is – as the name suggests – a game, and thus, has a victory or a defeat. You can play different scenarios, but the game will end with someone winning and someone else losing. 3D virtual worlds are not games but complete environments that you just virtually inhabit. Based on the features of the world, you could have specific objectives but there is no winning or losing involved. If this basic difference is clear, think about this: you could have an MMORPG inside a 3D virtual world, which could have a win-loss scenario. So you are in a virtual world playing a virtually virtual game with some resident of the virtual world.

So what does the future have in store? Now, that’s the million dollar question. And we cannot see the future. So we do the next best thing: predict it. We base our prediction on some of the things happening right now that look too futuristic to be true. And along with this disclaimer, I must warn you that most things in this feature will sound like science fiction if you are not plugged into the concept. But today’s science fiction is always tomorrow’s reality. And we can all agree to that. If any of you watched Star Trek in your childhood, I am sure you remember the small communication device Captain Kirk used to whip out of his pocket. We all have one of those in our pockets today.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Straight from the horse’s mouth

2008-08-12T13:51:00.002+05:30

Sudip Bandopadhyay
CEO, Reliance Money

Instead of naming top five schemes per say… during the last three years generally infrastructure schemes have given good returns… this means that the funds which had focus or were more overweight on infrastructure have given better returns during the last three years as compared to say a diversified equity fund or a sector fund like Pharma or IT. For instance, DSP Tiger and Tata Infra have given very good returns of over 42% CAGR during the last three years. Also few dynamic funds such as Opportunities Fund from DWS, Kotak and ICICI Pru Dynamic Fund have given over 40% CAGR because of active portfolio management by fund manager.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

The Maximum Returns

2008-08-11T17:09:00.000+05:30

When analysed category wise, the maximum returns were delivered by the Gold ETFs, a huge 41.56% return per annum. S&P CNX Nifty (12.63%), Sensex (12.46%), Equity FMCG (11.72%), Equity banking (11.49%) and BSE Small Cap (10.73%) were others who managed to delivered handsome returns. But, sectoral fund categories (Technology and Auto) have delivered negative returns to the tune of 15.38% and 14.88% respectively.

A careful analysis of the performance of the existing 34 fund houses reveals that there are schemes, which have offered returns higher than stock markets despite the market mayhem. Interestingly, most of the outperformers are actually equity-based funds. And analysts are hopeful about other equity-based funds will also bounce back soon. Sharing his views with 4Ps B&M, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, CEO, Reliance Money avers, “Barring past two quarters, the returns from the diversified equity MF have been over 40% CAGR over past five years… we should understand equity per se is associated with risk; but we believe this is a temporary correction more to do with global factors than over our own economy and in the medium to long term we believe equities will definitely give better returns as compared to other assets classes.” His words justify the basic investment rule: if you want handsome returns, invest with a long term perspective.

Despite present market volatility, Assets Under Management (AUM) of the MF industry surged by 55% to Rs.5.05 trillion as on March 31, 2008 from Rs.3.26 trillion a year ago. In addition, more than 600 new schemes were launched during last year and as many as six brokerage houses are awaiting regulatory approval for commencing operations. Notwithstanding the present downward trend, estimated market surges in the near and distant future, are all set to compound the potential of the industry. Analysts expect to see an annual growth momentum of over 35% per annum, in years to come. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) assesses that the asset base of the industry will touch $520 billion by 2015.

Yet, the present market volatility cannot be ignored. Combined with a global economic slowdown, fears of a US recession, deteriorating domestic fiscal scenario and of course, over dependence on foreign fund flow, market pundits continue to point toward uncertain times, and NAVs of major funds have crashed nearly 25-30%. Avers Ashok Jainani, VP, KSL, “The markets have turned volatile and reacted sharply to the crisis in global financial markets over the last three months… The NAVs of equity funds have dropped to reflect the turbulence in equity markets worldwide.”

But lower NAVs also appear as a blessing in disguise, as investors are now prudently considering the scenario as the best time to invest. Such investors, even if they don’t care for ‘statutory warnings’, the 4Ps B&M Best and Worst Mutual Funds list will serve as a ready reckoner about which funds have done well till now, and which have ripped apart investor hopes. Anand and his ilk can be just that much more future ready!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

“Cars are what I breath”

2008-08-06T17:13:00.000+05:30

A 4Ps B&M exclusive with the man who would be king... Fourth in line after Chairman R. C. Bhargava, Maruti’s Executive Officer, Mayank Pareek speaks...

"As a market leader our strategy is to be in all the segments and with full force. When we think that the market is right, we time our entry"On the future of the small cars Mayank Pareek,Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India is known to be a small car market for quite some time now and this is primarily because of the low penetration levels here. As of now only 9 out of 1,000 people own a car. Naturally, every body desires finally to upgrade. So we look forward to help this vast multitude of population to get a car. To give a prospective, even countries like Pakistan have car penetrations of 20 per 1,000! So demand for small cars will always be there in India. Secondly, if you see demographic wise, if you divide the households into 4 categories, i.e. deprived, aspirers, middle class and rich-the middle class households will almost double to 48% by 2010-11. Therefore demand for small cars will be extremely big.

On Maruti’s penetration strategy
As a market leader our strategy is to be in all the segments and there with full force, but we time our entry. When we think that the market is right, that is the time we enter. So today we offer from entry level 800 to the Grand Vitara, so we offer a full gamut of options to the customers. As market for larger cars opens up, we have launched the SX4 and DeZire.

On A-Star concept & India role
See design is a collaborative project between India and Suzuki Japan, but yes Indians are playing a big role. This car is made in India for the global market and supplied through out the world. India will be the central manufacturing hub. In October we will launch the A-Star and the Splash sometime next year.

On Maruti nich product plans
Every vehicle performs to expectations of the concerned customer. India as a country does not have large numbers and we are a mass manufacturer here. We enter a market with large numbers, when the market is ready we will enter it in the future. There are very small number of customers who want those niche products, volumes have to be at least in thousands.

On image enhancers
We have always been launching limited editions through out, like the versions of the Zen (Carbon and Steel). As we talk about brand enhancement and image buildup, we already do two big rallies. ‘Raid de Himalayas’ and have been doing it for the last seven years and it is extremely popular. The whole point is to connect with the youth of this country. Then there is the rally ‘Desert storm’, with participants from India and abroad. The idea is to build the brand and to know the customer.

On being customer focussed
Continuously our endeavour is to launch vehicles which suit this country and when we launch we look at the leadership position, we don’t want to be marginal players. So our core strategy is customer focus rather than product focus. What ever the customer wants we will provide. If he needs new model we will provide them, if he needs new engagement in terms of brands we will do that as well. So we continuously try to evaluate what the customer requires. This is a continuous process. Almost 700,000 customers visit us every month and tell us things that helps us in building our future strategy.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Touching today and tomorrow

2008-08-05T13:51:00.000+05:30

If you ever plan to use your employee as your brand ambassador, remember to take a leaf out of HCL’s 30-second spot book...

It has always been an asking task to give a human face to technology. But for the Indian technology giant, HCL Technologies, it wasn’t very difficult to showcase how over the years, the company had unwittingly become an integral part of its consumers life. After all, HCL has been India’s sole hardware brand for decades. So, in April 2007, when HCL decided to give itself a modern and global face, the domestic tech giant picked its own employee to make a communication splash. With a telling tagline – ‘Technology that touches life’ – the commercial began with a hitchhiker (an employee of HCL) taking a lift from an investment banker. During the journey, the hitchhiker explains how HCL Technology is an integral part of everyone’s life. Exactly a year later in April 2008, HCL technologies came up with a sequel to the ad in which the world is shown coming to the employee and talking about HCL making an impact in their lives.

If you are still wondering why an employee was the chosen one for this task, ask M. Sundararajan, Associate VP-Marketing, HCL Technologies. “HCL’s 55,000 employees are the very heart of the company and key among HCL’s stakeholders and HCL’s catch phrase. What better route therefore than to use the HCL employee as the protagonist, which instills a sense of pride and a strong connect with the brand,” says Sundararajan. Small wonder that unlike MNCs in the domain (Lenovo, HP, et al), the brand has steered clear of roping in a celebrity ambassador till date. And the strategy has indeed paid off. A brand tracking research conducted by IMBR, revealed that HCL leads in the ‘Top of The Mind Recall’ amongst IT companies and has an equally high ‘Spontaneous recall’.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Now for some Micro’hard’ talk

2008-08-04T17:12:00.000+05:30

What had started as a good ol’ peaceful offer for merger, is now turning into a rather unpleasant war of words between Steve Ballmer and the Yahoo! board of directors.

Despite an elongated period of negotiations (since Microsoft put forward their proposal to buy Yahoo! at a 62% premium to the closing price on January 31, 2008, the day preceding the announcement), the stalemate continues. Steven A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corp. said in a letter on April 7, “The goal in making such a generous offer was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction.” But since speed is a pipedream still, Ballmer has threatened to take the battle to the shareholders and also that the valuation will be reduced significantly.

“Yahoo! is pulling out all the stops to try to prevent such an acquisition, primarily because I believe management really does feel that Microsoft’s $44 billion offer is too low,” feels Richard Dorfman, MD, Richard Alan Incorporated (a New York-based investment firm) and Chairman, TransMedia Institute. If first quarter numbers are good, it would signify Yahoo!’s best shot at gaining some power in negotiations with Microsoft ahead of its Saturday deadline to accept the software company’s nearly $44-billion takeover offer. A good Q1 would mean that Ballmer eats crow.

Even if a combined Microsoft-Yahoo! is unable to dethrone Google as the online advertising leader, the combined company would still be a very substantial player in this extremely profitable business. The present Yahoo! sentiment is tough to agree with but the situation shows it all. Others are equally getting vehement at the situation. “At the moment, Microsoft is mired in a three-dog fight to acquire Yahoo!”, reveals Marc Edelman, a New York law professor with an expertise in antitrust law. At present it’s competing against Google, which has tons of free cash flow and AOL, which presents lower antitrust risk. At least publicly, Microsoft is the only company that has submitted a formal acquisition bid. Plus, of these three companies, Microsoft may stand to benefit most based on synergies between Microsoft’s core business units and Yahoo!’s web-based capabilities. “Yahoo! will eventually sign a sale agreement with Microsoft but is using Google and AOL to try to convince Microsoft to both increase its bid price and incur the antitrust risk of regulators rejecting the deal on antitrust grounds,” adds Marc.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Will SAIF be the next Temasek or Blackstone?

2008-07-31T16:02:00.000+05:30

It is the largest PE/VC player in China. It manages the biggest non-sponsored Asia fund. Since 2004, it has invested huge sums in Indian firms. And now, with its ability to spot new opportunities, it hopes to become the Numero Uno PE player in India, says ASIF AHMED

In March, 2006, Ravi Adusumalli, General Partner and India head of SB Asia Infrastructure Fund, better known as SAIF Partners, flew from the US to ink a deal with a media company to invest in a new line of business related to electronic media. In a chat then, Adusumalli, who debuted at 77 in the Forbes’ “The Midas List, 2008,” told us that he believes in a strong ‘local’ team that is fiscally responsible. That was an eye opener as most global Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) players used to fly down from their home country, sign an agreement, and return back. So, talking about an India-dedicated team was certainly a rare occurrence.

In fact, SAIF goes a step further: it is one of the few PE/VCs that have separate teams dedicated to the firms that it has invested in. What this means is that investor SAIF Partners has an in-house office inside the investee firm’s headquarters. And this unique strategy works well with the investees. “It’s good to have people, who are more intelligent, around us,” says Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the MD of One 97, which is one of SAIF’s portfolio companies, where the investor’s office is located.

But this is just the beginning of this story. And in the arena of PE/VC segment, it is probably one of the most successful business scripts. When it started in 2001-02 as a Joint Venture between Japan’s Softbank Corporation and America’s Cisco Corporation, the world’s largest router company, the fund’s mandate was to invest and drive technology firms in the Asia-Pacific region. In the beginning, most of SAIF’s investments were in China and South Korea.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Investee: HDFC

2008-07-30T17:02:00.000+05:30

Investor: Carlyle Group

Investment Value: $650 mn

Says Tejinder Singh, Analyst, Arihant Capital Markets, “The rationale for the deal is primarily the Indian growth story, which HDFC has successfully reflected. Carlyle Group has shown much interest in the housing finance domain, a niche area; thanks to the surge in disposable income of Indians. Its interest in this domain is also highlighted by the fact that it has picked up a significant stake in Repco Home Finance for a cool $27.7 million. For the purpose of growing, expanding and even maintaining its position in the market, a lot of capital will be needed and thus the association will be a long term one. Though they have no clear categorisation, it is the overall industry opportunity that guides their investment in India. Be it Repco or HDFC, it goes on to prove that investments being made by Carlyle in this segment are long term in nature. Besides capital, PE firms also bring with them international expertise in terms of technology and management, besides closely monitoring management developments.”

The deal between Indian mortgage major Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) and the New York headquartered PE giant Carlyle Group set a new record for PE transactions in India. Following the foot steps of ICICI Bank, HDFC struck a deal valued at Rs.26.38 billion (Rs.1,730 per share), which gave Carlyle Group a 5.6% stake in HDFC. The deal was a part of the larger vision of HDFC to raise Rs.31.14 billion by selling 18 million shares. The investment for its first Indian deal was made from Carlyle’s large cap fund (Asia Partners II). HDFC has plans to use a part of the proceeds to maintain its 23% stake in its subsidiary HDFC Bank. A part of the proceeds will be further used to fund growth in HDFC’s insurance (which needs over Rs.6 billion every year) and mortgage businesses.

King no more The Maharaja takes a final bow

2008-07-29T16:39:00.000+05:30

Air India’s legacy mascot is given a boost...out of the door – 4Ps B&M delves into royal history

As the driver used to pick us up from our school, dispassionately herding the thoroughly hungry and raucous lot of us students into the bus, the grime and the heat of the afternoon sun – garnished with a motionless traffic jam – perhaps can never be forgotten that easily... And neither can be forgotten those spectacularly huge Air India billboards standing resplendent in the sun, glorified by the mascot we all knew as the Maharaja, billboards we would crane our necks to see, for not only were they creativity benchmarks of those times, but also because we, er, loved the Maharaja!

Born in 1946 – with all credit of his ideation going to the late Bobby Kooka (the then Commercial Director of Air India) – this royal ruler stole all eyes, proudly donning a fresh avatar each time he was happily placed on the government airline’s towering billboards of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and right within the churning 90s too.

His attire, persona and communiqué – sometimes dressed as a sumo-wrestler; sometimes playing the snake charmer and some other times, becoming a part of Moscow’s popular chess board – all combined to make him perhaps the most recalled brand of us Indians through the latter part of the last century! When 4Ps B&M caught up with the effervescent J. Bharghav, Head, Corporate Communication, Air India, he expectably and quite succinctly agreed on the unbeaten popularity of the Maharaja, “Around 30-40 years ago, the advertising of Air India was purely conservative as Air India spent most of its advertising budgets on hoardings based on current affairs fancying the Indians at large with the Maharaja as the spokesperson.”

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Pester Power

2008-07-22T16:07:00.000+05:30

Marketers are realising that the wallet may be in the hand of the parent, but purchase decisions are being influenced by their kids. The success of Maggi stands testimony

Maggi as a brand, has grown strongly because of consumer pull, availability, convenience & wide variety of taste. The pester power has given boost to the brand in three ways. Firstly, children get excited with the taste and ask for Maggi when they come back from school. Secondly, the pester power of kids has made mothers consider variants like Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles & Maggi Dal Atta Noodles as a wholesome snack for its apparent nutritional value. Thirdly, the pester power influence from kids to kids has a strong demonstration effect. All this has helped Maggi to become a favourite & powerful brand.

Physical Evidence

In global markets, FedEx is the last word on timely delivery commitments

FedEx remains one of the best long term stories in transportation with considerable growth opportunities, an impressive track record and a strong franchise that should continue to deliver superior returns. Today, FedEx has evolved into a global transportation and logistic powerhouse, providing a portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services through companies operating independently, competing collectively, and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Innovation or detonation?

2008-07-21T12:06:00.000+05:30

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

‘Take on anything’ is what the company believes in. Literally!

Bull’s eye is what every capitalistic entity aims for today, their arrow being their respective specialised competency! The $6 billion Mahindra Group is no different in this regard; its arrow – innovation. The group currently stands as the leading manufacturer of Utility Vehicles (UVs) in the country, ahead of many biggies. The company with its flagship auto manufacturing arm Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has forged its presence in five continents and has also established itself as a global player. Even in the face of competition, during 2007, M&M was rated amongst the top three auto majors in India as per a customer satisfaction survey. Today, M&M commands a stunning 44.8% market share in the UV category, which despite having slipped by 1.5% in the first half of 2007 as compared to first half of 2006 is to say the least comprehensive for a giant which has over 62 years of manufacturing experience to boast about. Today, the Mahindra Group has built a strong base in technology, engineering, marketing and distribution, elements which stand key to its evolution as a innovation and a customer-driven behemoth. Recently, M&M also launched the new ‘Mahindra Bolero Limited Edition’ where 4Ps B&M caught up with Vivek Nayer, Vice President – Marketing Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

4Ps B&M: What is the motive behind your latest launch of the Bolero ‘Limited Edition’ in the market?

Vivek Nayer (VN): Customer is on the constant lookout for something innovatively different. That’s why we have launched this model with customised differences in the aesthetics.

4Ps B&M: What is your target audience market for this new variant of Bolero?

VN: We are targeting at the urban-youth, mostly in the metros because they can easily connect with this car. Considering that there are only 1000 units available and that there is immense craze for SUVs among the youth, it should work well.

4Ps B&M: M&M is planning to come up with a new launch, the ‘Bolero Spykar’ during 2008. What difference would it make to the company? VN: Frankly, I am not aware about it till now. However, there is always something new happening. Last year, we took out a variant of the Bolero, which increased our sales by 35%. We would hope for anything along similar lines from future launches!

4Ps B&M: What about future plans?

VN: With M&M you can always expect more and more innovation in the market – it’s the name of the game.

Edit bureau: Pawan Chabra

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Performance

2008-07-18T12:37:00.000+05:30

When a government-run entity prides itself on being a Rs.2.75 lakh crore entity in terms of Mcap, you wonder, “Is the government machinery working alright?” With ONGC Videsh Ltd. and ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd. promising an even brighter tomorrow, this PSU deserves honour for its consistent performance

As an explorer and primary producer, ONGC controls the raw material i.e. crude, while HPCL, BPCL et al are all dependent on crude oil. The learning curve effect is the greatest advantage for ONGC and it has helped it reduce its project execution time. Stronger geographical presence and data collection has further increased its efficiency. Despite the fact that as an upstream company it has to share the burden of 33% oil subsidy its performance is praiseworthy. Retaining talent at the mid-level has been a problem though; all thanks to its PSU status. It has a huge cash reserve too. The company can very well take advantage of the heightened crude prices, the only hindrance being the administered price mechanism. Despite government apathy, the company continues to perform well and will surely be more successful in future.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Hungry for more power

2008-07-17T17:17:00.000+05:30

With a strong balance sheet, this one’s eyeing mega growth projects

Commenting on the Q3 2006-07 performance, Prasad Menon, MD, Tata Power had said, “The company is poised to acquire a significant national footprint and assume a steep growth trajectory. Our track record of steady project implementation and superior service augurs well for our consumers and various stakeholders moving forward.” And looking at the projects pipeline that Tata Power boasts of, his speech may not be very different at the end of Q3 2007-08.

With the government planning to increase total installed generation capacity to 2,05,000 MW by March 2012, from 1,24,310 MW at the end of March 2007, the power sector looks definitely lucrative. Almost all players in the segment are excited about the future. But going by nature’s law, ‘the first mover will have its own advantages.’ The Prasad Menon led Tata Power has announced projects to enhance total installed capacity to 12,000 MW from the existing 2,323 MW in the next five years. As Sanjeev Zarbade, Analyst (Capital Goods), Kotak Securities, says, “Tata Power is progressing in its projects, whereas others have made announcements, with no real progress. This is likely to keep Tata Power a step ahead in this race.”

Part of the Tata Group for over seven years, Menon had previously scripted a success sage for Tata Chemicals. Small wonder that Tata Power is also blossoming under his ageis: The 4,000 MW Mundra Ultra-mega Power Project (for which the company has signed a contract with Toshiba Corporation for Turbine Generators) is progressing as per schedule. To meet higher demand for coal, it has also acquired a 30% stake in two Indonesian coal mines. To add an impetus, the company is also developing a coal block along with Hindalco. Apart from the Mundra project, expansion projects that are currently underway include 120 MW expansion at Jojobera near Jamshedpur, and a 250 MW expansion at Trombay, near Mumbai.

Further, Tata Power is also planning to enter shipping and logistics to facilitate coal shipment for its power plants. This would help the company to control its supply chain, vital for their aggressive capacity expansion and production.

The company has high aspirations in the global arena too. Menon is eyeing to bid for Singapore state investor Tamasek Holding’s interest in three electricity companies, Tuas Power, PowerSeraya and Senoko. The bidding is expected to be over by late 2008, and the book value of these three companies is $1 billion. Tata Power has also been invited to participate in the bidding for a project in South Africa to build and operate two gas-fired power plants. If it bags the contract, Tata Power would need to construct open-cycle gas turbine plants by October 2008.

IS “TODAY’S WOMAN” IMPACTING “TODAY’S AD-SPACE”?

2008-07-12T13:13:00.000+05:30

wonders whether the “New Woman” is appropriately reflected in adland or...

Once, not very long ago, women portrayed in advertising reflected all the pristine virtues of Nirupa Roy – aka, Mother Earth! Eternally sacrificing, unconditionally loving, caring and forgiving, she was the definitive 24x7 giver, wanting (or expecting) nothing in return except the well-being of her family. Excuse me, but what about her life, needs, wants, dreams, desires and aspirations? “What dreams, drives, desires are you babbling about, dummy? What crap are you letting fly, you regressive moron? She is a mother, okay and this is her life, okay?!” hisses a seven-star chauvinist pig! Today, as we bogey towards the end of ’07, has this Stone Age projection of women in adville moved on? Is it keeping pace with times? Is it more real, contemporary, authentic? Is the new Indian woman – cool, confident, aspirational, successful, multi-tasking – coming through or is Adville hemming and hawing, paying lip-service, indulging in tokenism, playing safe by re-enforcing the stereotypes?

Voices and opinions differ. Young ad person Dolly Jha believes that too little is done towards it. For every Frankfinn ad, there are a whole clutch of stuff depicting women as bimbos and sex objects. “The male-specific product category are the worst offenders – gutkas, shaving creams, deos, Maruti SX4 – pushing the pseudo-sophisticated button to up the ante. Disgusting!”

Journo Roma Kapadia disagrees. “Firstly, change doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time. Secondly, advertising is neither about morality nor approximating reality in a manner that makes everyone happy. It is a seductive marketing tool with a one-point programme – to sell! The guys behind these ads are not dumb. They are professionals who have a very tough job to do in a competitive market place. Surely they know what they are doing” Overall, she believes that Adville is on the right path.

Roma could be right. Smart n’ sassy gals in tees; Young, bright and attractive women scoring brownie points in the boardrooms; Independent young lasses choosing their life-partners or colour of Scooties, in style; Girlie gangs whooping it up – or being wooed by romantic hubbies play-acting as “chefs”… all these images are flashing across present day ad content on TV.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

The real Indian IT Pioneer…

2008-07-10T16:54:00.000+05:30

HCL has a brand new mascot! The seemingly know it all, funny yet globe trotting HCL employee is more then just arrogant. What he truly represents is the changing face of HCL, a company which not only operates in India but is working towards a better global future as well! With its 51,000 employees spread across 18 countries, HCL has become one of India’s true multinationals with interests in diverse genres such as financial services, retail, life sciences and healthcare, telecom, media, hi-tech and manufacturing. HCL Technologies focuses on what it calls ‘transformational outsourcing’ specialising in areas which will have an eventual impact on the future and business as a whole. According to Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL “Since its inception three decades ago, HCL has always dreamt fearlessly and is responsible for many firsts in the computing landscape. We could well be called a ‘pioneer in modern computing’.”

Sitting at $1.5 billion, revenues have been increasing at an incredible 30% per annum and the momentum is strong! Moreover HCL Technologies prides itself as being one of India’s foremost organisations in terms of innovation. With its relentless struggle to maximise its shareholder and business value, India’s fifth largest IT company will invest close to $625 million toward the establishment of three SEZs across the country. The centres will focus on future technologies and their eventual operationalisation. Even though HCL does not find itself as voracious as its other Indian counterparts like Infosys and Wipro, the company still is a force to reckon with. Going by its new found chutzpah, only sky is the limit for this forceful and fearless dreamer!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Pioneering success

2008-07-09T13:06:00.000+05:30

India becomes the favourite hunting ground for this Japanese giant... willing to make a mark and re-define what ‘Pioneer’ means...

Shogatsu is the most important holiday in Japan; the date on the Julian calendar being January 15. And guess why its so? It’s the Japanese New Year of course! But unlike other new year dates, this one holds more significance than just being a simple new year date, for it’s also considered pious and the perfect day to start a new venture, taking lessons from the mistakes made in the year gone by. In the modern corporate world, these can come in the form of new product launches, new merger announcements et al. And this company is no exception, as it plans to the age-old Japanese norms; planning new launches in a and around the Japanese new year... this is what we discovered when we caught up with its MD, Akira Haeno on a bright winter morning.

And all this while if you were left wondering which entity we’re talking about, it’s Pioneer Corporation, the Japanese giant which has indeed taken the Indian market by storm – from car stereo systems to Mobile entertainment segments... Pioneer has galactic plans when it comes to its mobile entertainment business group, filled with highly innovative products promising it a strong control over the Indian market.

And before we shot across any question, he took the lead (an inborn leadership quality) as he asserted, “India is an emerging market and has a huge multitude of rising middle-class. So I feel there is a great potential for us to expand in the country.”

“So what’s the investment like?” we asked him. To this his prompt reply was, “We have planned to invest $5 million and we know that this sum alone isn’t sufficient to cover this huge country. Hence, we are planning for more such outflows in our upcoming budget.” Surely, with the rising middle-class consumers’ per capita income rising by the day, the market demand from the Indian market too is appreciating. A fact to which he shows cognisance as he remarks, “We have our factories in China and Thailand and recently we have invested in both which would increase their capacity to double. This would help us to address the rising demand in the Indian market.” Then there is the retail wave crashing on the Indian hinterlands. Not a problem for Pioneer as it plans to set its exclusive outlets too! Quite clearly, when it comes to business in India, Akira is serious, damn serious!

And what about his global forays? Well, he expressed his willingness to spread Pioneer’s wings across the globe, with a keen focus on increasing market control in Central and South America, Russia and Southern Asia. However, all of them would come with huge challenges regarding which Akira displays his awareness; what with cut-throat competition from global giants like Sony, JVC, Panasonic et al. However, he also agrees that despite the hurdles, he is not too scared of the consequences, no matter how big the challenge as he confesses, “Our products have very innovative features and secondly of course, it’s the quality of our products that will ensure that we’d become the number one company in the businesses we are in. Think about it; in spite of biggies, we are doing very well in India...”

We decided to check the facts and promises financially too. In the recently declared Q2 FY07-08 results, it was revealed that this Japanese had witnessed an operating profit rise of 6.3%, with revenues from car electronics sale, both in India and overseas recording an appreciation of a terrific 10.9%! Numbers don’t lie indeed, and if we are to believe this old truth, then Akira and his team seeem to understand what their customers most want as Akira states, “Understanding consumers helps us to create products, which no other players have created till now. Like, sorry to say but India is quiet dusty and this causes a lot of problem for the consumers so we have come up with a dust secured flap or cover for all products to solve this problem...”

A team worker is what he has always known to be, he believes that no goal is impossible or too difficult if the right team is in place. Surely, this commander knows where his ship is headed.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

The 2008 HR ‘Panchatatva’

2008-07-08T17:15:00.000+05:30

As India Inc. continues to grow at a stupendous growth rate and many Multinationals plan to spread their wings in India, there’s a likelihood of a talent crunch. So, HR is likely to need a special charter. SURBHI CHAWLA presents the coming trends in five critical areas

Sandip Grover, VP (Human Resources), WelspunThe Rise of the ExpatriateBeyond doubt, the trend of hiring expatriates is gaining ground in India and the year 2008 would see this trend gain more popularity. However, employing expatriates would not be visible across domains and businesses, but would be spread in limited sectoral spaces. For example, I can see their numbers increasing in the retail space and other technical spaces like piping engineering. There is going to be a huge demand for foreign employees in several specialised domains. Apart from that there are also companies like ours who are bullish about setting up shops in other countries. So, we are looking at the foreigners to help us understand these new and potentially-attractive markets that we are planning to enter in a better way. The inputs from expats will be especially a bonus in the case of markets like China, which are a little difficult to understand.

From green fi elds to cat walks, here is a man who’s responsible for it all!

2008-07-07T11:46:00.000+05:30

Y. C. DEVESHWAR... Chairman, ITC
From green fi elds to cat walks, here is a man who’s responsible for it all!
He has grabbed global recognition – for both ITC and himself! And of course, it’s the Chairman – Y.C. Deveshwar we’re talking of. Imagine how a company can miraculously stretch its brand name renowned for tobacco to other food products... that’s what ITC’s done to perfection! Surely, this diversification strategy under him has metamorphosised the tobacco company to a flashy conglomerate; little wonder why he was honoured with the ‘Businessperson of the Year 2006’ award by the ‘UK Trade and Investment’ organisation. He has also increasingly stressed on the critical role of Indian rural economy through various rural initiatives like e-choupal. Talking of his rural plans, he says, “We want to create a network of 20,000 e-choupals extending coverage to 100,000 villages across India...” Wills Lifestyle, John Players, Sunfeast Biscuits, Ashirwaad atta et al stand testimony to the fact that Deveshwar is indeed the ‘perfect FMCG strategist’ for urban and rural India.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Tipped for the top post in SBI, he swam across to country cousin IDBI instead!

2008-07-04T13:21:00.000+05:30

YOGESH AGARWAL... Chairman, IDBI
Tipped for the top post in SBI, he swam across to country cousin IDBI instead!
From a one time ailing financial institution to India’s foremost developmental institution, now poised to even foray into high growth areas like retail banking, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has indeed come a long way. And so has Yogesh Agarwal, the newly appointed CMD, who took charge of this institution, in July this year. Former Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India, Yogesh Agarwal was tipped to succeed outgoing SBI chief A.K. Purwar, but he landed into the top slot at IDBI instead. A banking veteran, Agarwal’s contributions to India’s largest bank, during his 35 year stint at SBI (he started off as a probationary officer in 1972) were vast and varied. In fact, he was also the first to spot an opportunity in the gold banking business, was back in 1997. With IDBI, Agarwal’s focus is pretty clear: “work for the long-term vision of the company, that automatically takes care of the day-to-day affairs of the business.” Says Jitendra Balakrishnan, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank, “Agarwal is very formal and elegant in his approach and his experience with SBI will come handy in IDBI’s long term vision of becoming an institution with a wide gamut of services.” Hear hear!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Dumb

2008-07-01T12:42:00.000+05:30

My mom-in-law just couldn’t figure out what that lady in the ad was doing and frequently asked me to explain… I am delighted ban ho gaya. Advertising should have some moral limits.” Not everyone agrees with this take. Mitali Gupta, a journalist, believes too much is being made about “this silly ad! Hey, c’mon guys, its only a dumb TVC, okay? The ad guys took the titillation & naughty route to grab eyeballs and public attention, which I think was cool b’coz what the hell do you say about a jock, anyway? Chill, man!” Creators of the ad believe that the uproar is happening only because it is truly a clutter-busting ad, standing out and making waves (in a dramatic and meaningful way) in a category that is truly tough to penetrate… Ooops, was it a faux pas? Didn’t mean it. We are outta here, guys. Its getting too hot!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Public morality

2008-07-01T12:35:00.000+05:30

Fumes ad practitioner Atul Malhotra, “the problem with these guys is that they consider themselves selfappointed guardians of public morality without even trying to understand the reference to the context angle. Don’t these people see FTV, MTV, Hollywood or Bollywood movies?” “Which planet do they inhabit, yaar? Is our tradition, culture and sabhyata so fragile that a couple of ads can threaten it? C’mon guys, wake up and taste the… lassi!” He says that you wanna ban stuff – ban gender bias & religious intolerance because they infl uence and poison the mind of people – not some corny undergarments ads, for chrissake! Preeti Paul, a media executive agrees with the basic premise of Malhotra’s argument but concedes that the Amul Macho ad did exceed the limit. “It’s defi nitely cheap & titillating and appears to have been created to shock & stimulate viewers.” Housewife Seema Suri agrees. “Which sicko pervert directed the actress and dreamed up the concept? I mean that suggestive look and body language, that glazed expression, it was so embarrassing!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Shock or embarrassment

2008-07-01T12:32:00.000+05:30

And accidentally his towel drops. Before he can register shock or embarrassment, the washerwoman’s eyes dart towards the undies, registering uncensored delight & approval in a flirtatious manner. The Moral Police, however, didn’t share in any way the washerwoman’s joy, were not remotely amused at this ‘slip-up’ and refused to dismiss the affair as ‘andar ki baat hai’. They termed these ads “vulgar, indecent & suggestive” and sent out strong messages to the ad fraternity & channels to be careful and exercise restraint in the stuff beamed out, or else… This isn’t the fi rst time. Over a decade and a half ago, the Marc Robinson-Pooja Bedi Kamasutra ad with the tagline ‘For the Pleasure of Making Love’ had the powers-that-were in a tizzy. Subsequently the Arbaaz- Malaika coffee ads as well as the Milind Soman-Madhu Sapre TUFF ads created a crazy furore – as did the recent XXX flavoured condom ads. Neo Sports ads (tongue-in-cheek turned foot-in-mouth?) covering the recent ODI series in Feb’07 also came under fire and was termed ‘racist’ by the high priests. Fact is obscenity, vulgarity, suggestiveness, insinuation, et al represent tricky areas for the simple reason that they are all relative, subjective and contextual.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

You’ve got Mail

2008-06-30T16:34:00.000+05:30

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

The right message and design along wth the right database, can turn a direct mailer into a really lean, mean , marketing machine.

Back in 1886 a young railroad telegrapher in Minnesota acquired a shipment of unclaimed and thus undeliverable gold-filled pocket watches. They were exceptional in quality. He also happened to have a list of 20,000 names and addresses with him of railroad employees just like him. It struck him that they too would need an accurate timepiece. So he mailed each of them a letter which stated that he had just purchased an unclaimed freight of watches, whose quality he personally vouched for. He was selling them at a bargain price. Would they buy one from him?

If legend is to be believed, he sold all his watches in record time. Not just this, some of his new customers were soon ordering additional watches. So he mailed another letter to all his old customers, asking if they wanted more of those watches. Many said “Yes”.

If that was not enough some of his now regular customers, sent some of their watches for repair. So this time round he sent another letter to his customers, that he could also repair their disabled watches. He now expanded, by including repairing of watches as part of his business. Eleven years after his fortunate purchase of that unclaimed freight, his one page mailer had turned into a mail-order catalog of more than 750 pages with 6000 items. By 1902 the sales of his company had exceeded $50 million annually. The man was none other than Richard Sears, who founded the Sears, Roebuck & Company. Today the Sears Roebuck catalogue has become a household name. That’s Direct Marketing. If one has to go by definitions, then the best and the simplest was given by Drayton Bird. He said “any advertising activity which creates and exploits a direct relationship between you and your prospect or customer as an individual is Direct Marketing”.

Customers are getting more and more demanding. They expect greater variety of product and service to match their individual needs. They need to be targeted and marketed to directly, with tailor-made products. So direct marketing is growing in importance day-by-day. Today just about every company engages in direct marketing of one sort or another. In fact there are some businesses that are based on direct marketing – like Reader’s Digest or Time Life Books. Tools and techniques of direct marketing can be used effectively by any enterprise. Warner Brothers used it to promote their World War II movie “Memphis Belle”. They mailed 7,00,000 post cards offering a special $1 discount to each recipient and a guest for evening performances of the new movie. Interestingly these recipients were purchasers of the Time Life books or videos on subjects such as World War II, Nazi, Germany etc – all likely to be interested in the movie. Warner Brothers had formed a new organization Time Warner with the publisher Time Inc. They used this affiliation very intelligently to promote their movie. Direct Marketing did help in increasing ticket sales.

“If you sometimes unbutton your collar at the office we suggest you read on”. This was an advertisement for The Custom Shop Shirtmakers. It explained how only a custom made shirt could provide that extra quarter inch which was not possible in a readymade shirt. The ad. concluded by saying that “once we have your pattern you can reorder by mail or phone – very convenient” Come to think of it now you could actually order a shirt on the phone!

Back in 1952 Soichiro Honda and Mr. Fujisawa knew that one day they would have the best bikes in the world. Honda would make them and Fujisawa would market them. Honda soon made the Cub F-type. It was a small lightweight 50cc 2-stroke engine. It was smart and cute. This was also the time when often they would be asked by car dealers “What does this Honda Company do?” It was really difficult for them to get dealers and convince them to stock their product. That’s when Fujisawa thought of the numerous bicycle shops all over Japan. He decided to contact the country’s 50,000 bicycle shops by using a direct mail brochure. It was a masterpiece. It clearly showed how well he understood his customers. He wrote “After the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) your ancestors took the courageous decision to launch the imported bicycle in Japan and they are still the basis of your business today. But now customers want bicycles with engines. We at Honda have made such an engine. Please reply if you are interested”. Fifty – four years ago, there were no automated means of sending out 50,000 letters. Every single one had to be written by hand. The work was given to freelance clerks. However time was short so all the staff joined in to help. The response was incredible. They received 30,000 enthusiastic replies.

From movies to shirts to bikes – everyone has gone the direct way and it works. A good direct mailer is always a very useful marketing tool. A product is just a bundle of benefits; your direct mail copy lets the consumer “sample” the product’s benefits before he buys it. An intelligently written mailer can work wonders for the bottom line of your organization. Bi-Intelligent, Inc. a New York based software company was selling a product called “Easyfire” which could enhance the performance of several software applications. It was priced at $89.50. The company sent out mailers where the headline on the envelope read “For $89.50 you can make your IBM as easy to use as a Macintosh”. Surely a lot of people did open those envelopes.There are numerous factors to keep in mind while working on a direct mail campaign. Remember the simple 3C’s rule.

a. The Customer

The customer is the lifeblood of any organization. Every business is about creation and cultivation of customers. As Peter F. Drucker once observed “Companies are not in business to make things, but to make customers”. So you need to understand your target market well viz a viz – in terms of what are their need and desires, and what is it that will motivate them to buy. Not just this you also need to cultivate your customers. There is no tool stronger than direct marketing which helps in knowing and cultivating customers. Today with the help of technology, you can easily find out who are your repeat purchase customers, who are the one time buyers and who are the most loyal. Accordingly you can customize your mailers and achieve better results.

So, know your customers well, and establish a relationship with them. Sales are simply the results of such successful relationships.

b. The Contents Once you know your market well, you can design a content which appeals to it. Anyone can write a letter, but not everyone can write an effective letter. An effective letter is one which clearly indicates “What’s in it for you”. The reader should know instantly how he or she will benefit from the offering. The reader should feel that he is the special one. If you can give a personal tone to the letter chances of success are higher.

Enthusiasm is contagious. Show it in your letters. Write like a winner. Open your sales argument with your strongest sales points. The reader will definitely respond. Even though there are no rules yet some sentences always work. Like

a) I have something you want….

b) I want you to have this, but If I don’t hear from you I’ll have to offer it to somebody else.

c) You can still get rich…

To these claims, if you can add something which makes those claims sound authentic, you have hit the nail on the head. To the above three claims you could add sentences like

a) Here’s why or This is why I’ve chosen you for this offer.

b) That’s because …

c) This is what will happen…

There are some tricks which somehow always work.

1. Open your letter with a question. It immediately and almost always involves the reader.

2. Use exclamation marks… the reader will exclaim with you!

3. Your contents should compel the reader to open the envelope. If you can do that, you have been successful. Consider this. You received a letter which says “Congratulations! You are our million dollar prize winner…”. Chances are you will open the envelope.

4. Case studies have shown that a reader typically reads the first few lines of the letter and then his eyes go down the page to the P.S. So the postscript is your best buddy. Its always a good idea to incorporate the main points of the letter in the P.S. once again.

5. Always call for action at the end. Either ask them to call a toll-free number, or create a deadline. A deadline usually increases the rate of response. 6. “Brevity is the soul of wit” said William Shakespeare. He could not have been more correct. A short letter with short sentences and very simple eighth grade english always works.

7. The Golden Rule is that there is no rule. Before you launch your direct marketing, blitz test, test and test. If it works it’s a rule! Follow these tips and you would be ready to make a rocking mailer.

b. The Contact The actual people who receive a mail from you are very critical. You must have the right mailing list. A good database is a very powerful tool and companies go to any extent to build it.

Gerber is a company known for baby food. The company entered into life insurance. While the baby food was sold off the shelf the company decided to sell its insurance policy by mail order. The insurance covered the child till he was 27 years old. The slogan they used to market to the parents was “Ask your baby about us.” Initially they had no database. However once the people applied, the company soon started targeting the children, once they became young adults. The mailer said “Your parents bought this life insurance for you when you were born and have been paying the premiums ever since. Isn’t it time you started buying your own life insurance?” The company had developed a relationship and was now leveraging that. Many of the children did stick to Gerber Life Insurance – just like their parents. If this was not enough, when the parents became grandparents, Gerber sent them a letter reminding them, how they had insured the lives of their children. Now wouldn’t they want to do the same for their grandchild? Not many refused!

A mailing list afterall is not just a collection of addresses. It is a list of people who actually need your product or service. Gerber for one sure has developed a very strong and relevant mailing list.

The falling birth rate in Britain was a cause for concern for C&J Clarks Ltd., Britain’s largest shoe manufacturer. The retailers started stocking less and less of baby shoes. Magazine advertising was not helping much either. So the company decided to go direct. They contacted 2,80,000 new mothers while they were still in the hospital and presented them with a “Bounty Box”. It contained a letter offering a poster which could be hung in the infant’s room and had a copy describing the various milestones the infant would pass through – like when would he start crawling then sitting then speaking then walking. When he would start walking he would need shoes. So the letter also described the benefits of buying the right “First Shoes” for the child. About 15% mothers wanted the poster. So Clarks soon had a database of 42,000 customers. When the children of these mothers were about to start walking, the mothers once again received a letter from Clarks with a leaflet describing how to choose the right shoes and the hazards of choosing ill-fitting shoes. Of course as the baby grew he would require another pair and there always was a letter from Clarks to remind the family where to go to. These letters always resulted in increase in sales because they were targeting the right customers.

The success of any direct mail programme depends of the Contact list. Make sure its relevant. Otherwise it doesn’t take long for “Bulk-mail” to become “Junk-mail”. That’s the razor’s edge you walk on. So you need to select your prospect with care.

Finally, remember studies have shown that it takes eight to ten contacts before people remember your message. No wonder you see the same ads being repeated again and again on T.V. So don’t stop mailing. Keep in touch with your customers constantly. Keep knocking on their mail boxes and keep reminding them about you and your product – they will take notice. If your mailer is well written and relevant they will respond. So go ahead reach out directly to them and say – you’ve got mail! It will work.

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Accor lets go off Red Roof top!

2008-06-28T14:43:00.001+05:30

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

The French hotel group Accor has finally completed the sale of Red Roof Inn - its US based hotel chain comprising of 341 hotels. Accor, which has a long list of successful hotels like Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6, sealed off the deal for a whopping $1.3 billion to a consortium comprising of Citi’s Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund. The strategic move by the group is expected to reduce its adjusted net debt by about $1.14 billion. Accor with its ambition to be the world leader in budget and economy hotels, after shedding weight, now plans to focus heavily on its Motel 6 group - a low budget motel chain in the US with 928 establishments at the moment. And the brave plans are all there too! The group plans to open 200 more units in the United States and Canada by 2010. A good deal indeed!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Phon(e)y? Not really!

2008-06-28T14:41:00.001+05:30

IIPM, ADMISSIONS FOR NEW DELHI & GURGAON BRANCHES

Wondering what to give your jet-setting top boss this festival season? Giftworks, the new brand from Archies, has the solution with their striking range of Swedish royal antique desk phones. Coupled with a vintage hue, these phones have an air of exclusivity and will sit perfectly in theplush cribs of the society’s upper crust. Costing just Rs. 4,999 each, they’re also among the few affordable luxuries...

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
ARINDAM CHAUDHURI’S 4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE IIPM...
IIPM Economy Review

sensational eye opener

2008-06-27T12:53:00.000+05:30

So if you have not been the first mover or have nor been able to invent something new, don’t worry. Gillette didn’t invent the safety razer, it was a company called Star! Gillette marketed it brilliantly. In fact iPhone is not as good as the original called IBM Simon which was priced at $900 back in 1994 and had most of the features found in today’s smart phones. In fact its buttonless touch screen interface was better than iPhones. Yet, the IBM Simon flopped. History is proof that it’s not the largest, strongest or fastest that survive, but the ones who are ready to adapt. And sometimes it’s actually good to be the second best. As Avis once stated in its ads “We are No. 2, that’s why we try harder.” Spot a winning product, a winning trend, keep an eye on customers needs, be flexible and don’t sit on your initial successes, for competitors are always keeping an eagle eye on you. Keep moving, try a lot of things, but keep only those that work and quickly discard those that don’t. Henry Ford once said “I believe, the best strategy is to be the first person to be second.” After all, first ain’t always good enough!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Royal Crown Cola

2008-06-27T12:48:00.000+05:30

You just need to be alert about the best practices and incorporate them. “Shamelessly copy best practices,” says Jack Welch. That’s innovation for you. Throughout its history, Japan excelled at finding the best the world had to offer and then adapted and improved it. It is this that accounted for its stunning economic growth between 1945 and 1985. Just being a pioneer is no big deal. Nearly 47% of all market pioneers fail. Chucks invented the disposable diapers, yet it’s Pampers (of P&G) which is the leader. It was not Coke or Pepsi that invented the diet cola but a company called Royal Crown Cola. Ericsson was the first mover in the mobile market, but Nokia realised that it was design which appealed more to the consumers. Nokia leads the mobile phone market today. Similarly, Matsushita has always got a piggy ride on other firm’s inventions (like Sony), rarely inventing any thing new. It just identifies the winning products, makes them and markets them well.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Gillette didn’t hesitate to develop Mach 3

2008-06-27T12:46:00.000+05:30

Gillette didn’t hesitate to develop Mach 3 which would kill off its own product Sensor Excel, which was a highly profitable product. Cannibalising your own product is a tough call to take, but that’s what survivors are made of – they don’t fall in love with their old inventions, they move on. Overnight delivery was not a new concept but FedEx gave a whole new meaning to it. The US Postal Service is still reeling from that one. The automobile industry in the 50’s and 60’s was in an enviable position. However, during the 70’s oil crisis, consumers demanded smaller fuel-efficient vehicles and only those who stood up and took notice reaped rich dividends. No wonder, Japanese auto-makers easily captured the US car market. There is no guarantee of continued market dominance where technological innovation is possible. If you need to survive you need to keep innovating and changing. It’s not necessary to discover something new.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Mouth watering Indian lands

2008-06-26T13:24:00.000+05:30

The company has also tied up with PVR Cinemas and various domestic airport authorities (in Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata) to open its outlets. And what about a measure of its success? Well, the sheer fact that the company broke even during 2007 proves that it has more than silenced its critics. And there is more good news with the company’s revenues growing at a blinding CAGR of 200%! But here again, a word of caution as many QSRs have lined up to unfurl their colours on the mouth watering Indian lands. Talking about the challenge, Ashish assserted, “Sustainability in restaurant business depends on creating more and more flagship products. We have been doing that on constant basis and we make sure that our flagship products are low priced,” says Ashish. Sure enough, despite many challenges, Yo! China is all set to grow... both in India and globally.... And how sure are we? Well, think about it – didn’t you see the crowd outside a Yo! China outlet the last time you passed by it? Well, thanks... Your answer, answers it all!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

BRAND : Ansal API

2008-06-25T13:18:00.000+05:30

BASELINE : Building Lifestyles since 1967
4Ps TAKE : The real-estate sector is booming and most construction companies are advertising wisely and aggressively – making hay while the sun shines, of course! Then, isn’t it ironic that despite its 40th year in the construction biz, Ansal API’s print ads in red & black still look so bland and uninspiring. No wisecracks, no striking visuals, instead only a body copy full of achievements listed in a boring, monotonous manner. Even the visuals appear to be cut and pasted from some award function’s invitation card. Well, we are only left wondering whether the minds behind this ad, really used their minds in the first place. Bleak words and visuals apart, they clearly forgot to position the product, leaving no reason for the consumer to keep the brand recall intact. Raising skyscrapers is no doubt commendable and bringing smiles to millions, even better. But a humble request to Ansals: If you sincerely wish to promote yourself, make an effort and flip through the 7 commandments of advertising. The rest will follow automatically.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

BRAND : Shark Tooth

2008-06-25T13:17:00.000+05:30

BASELINE : Lead the way
4Ps TAKE : For those who don’t know about Shark Tooth, let us give you a background first (because after seeing this horrendously misleading ad, you won’t be able to gather anything, anyway). Almost a year back, Diageo launched Shark Tooth, a Vodka which comes in two variants, Shark Tooth and Shark Tooth Extra. And this surrogate ad of Shark Tooth does literally nothing to add value to the brand. The story board is hardly related to the product in question and the script is as unrealistic as it can get. A couple of businessmen are asking people to vacate a house near a seaside, when hero-Shiny Ahuja enters and asks them to buzz off. The adamant men ask Ahuja to show them the boundary-line of the house, our man whistles and a shark comes racing from the sea and creates a boundaryline on the land. Now how lame is that! Apart from the forced association built between the brand name and the unwanted shark, there is zilch else that makes even a bit of sense in this TVC. Hello! Learn the ABC of advertising before you go all out for the consumers!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

BRAND : Igo TV

2008-06-25T13:16:00.000+05:30

BASELINE : Choo lo aasman
4Ps TAKE : At first, you feel that this is a promotional campaign of Daler Mehndi’s latest track, but hey, as the ad finishes, the logo of Igo TV pops up unexpectedly. Only then do you realise that it’s Igo TV promoting its television sets. The logical question: What is an ad without a ‘decent’ storyboard called? No, let’s re-phrase that. What’s an ad with a ‘stupid’ storyboard called? This one’s as pathetic as they come. Not only a confusing ad, but also one that fails on all counts. If ads were just about roping in a famous face as brand ambassador, guess every brand out there would have acquired a fair chunk of the market by now. Unfortunately it requires more. Mehndi is wasted and even the communication is meaningless with the brand boasting better sound than hearing Mehndi ‘live’ (sound clarity, anyone?). Forget touching the sky (choo lo aasman), this one requires some good positioning and brand strengthening on the ground first...

A toilet worth $19 million!

2008-06-24T16:02:00.000+05:30

Outsourcing in space at its best...
NASA is in the line of fire once again. Having lost the ever-famous video of man’s first step on the moon, causing speculations about the theory of the moon landing hoax last year, guess what they’ve done now! They have purchased a Russian built toilet system for a whopping $19 million for the International Space Station (ISS), claiming that it was cheaper than building their own from scratch. The expensive toilet will be installed on the American side of the ISS in 2008, while the Russian half will have to make-do with the old system only. This is part of a larger $46 million deal that NASA signed with Russia’s RSC Energia. The space station toilet physically resembles those used on Earth, except it has leg restraints and thigh bars to hold astronauts down. A NASA spokeswoman claims, “It’s like a miniature municipal water treatment system.” The system is similar to the one used at the space station currently, except that new one will be able to recycle urine into safe drinking water. Eeks! About $16 billion of the American taxpayers’ money goes to NASA’s funds each year and hey... here’s how NASA has chosen to spend it. And if the Russian built space toilet is similar to the one already in use on the space station, they could just as well have improved upon the design they already had in use, isn’t it? Why buy a whole new system anyway? They surely wouldn’t be designing it from scratch if they already have one in service for sure! Well, the $19 millions are already spent, so no sense in arguing. NASA is NASA and NASA puts its funds in things they want. That much money for a highly engineered toilet, but one that 99.9% of the world population will possibly never ever use! Welcome to planet Earth...

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Successful in capitalising

2008-06-24T15:59:00.000+05:30

Closely tied up to it, have been incessant price cuts, a tactic the Chinese customers have actually fallen for, hook, line & sinker. By reducing average voice revenue per minute by 19.8%, the company was able to increase total minutes of voice usage by a whopping 230%! The company has also been successful in capitalising on the VAS space. Revenues increased by 35.5% to touch RMB 41.91 billion. Colour ringtones & MMS were stellar performers, rising by 90.3% & 76% in revenues respectively. While detractors may condemn its monopoly, the fact remains that China Mobile is proving to be quite adept at innovating business practices to retain leadership & profitability. And with the 2010 Beijing Olympics just around the corner (China Mobile being the official mobile services provider), its dominance over the Chinese consumer mind space would be just about complete.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

The dragon’s breathing fire!

2008-06-24T15:54:00.000+05:30

China mobile ‘achieves the unachievable’
Do pyramids have false bottoms? Not really, though one could indeed get that impression if one analyses the rising fortunes of China Mobile Ltd.. The company, is clearly riding the crest of China’s telecom boom, with a virtual monopoly over the sector. Recently, the company announced its results for H1 2007, and posted a fabulous turnover of RMB 166.6 billion (y-o-y rise of 21.6%), and profits attributable to shareholders of RMB 37.9 billion. Moreover, the growth in subscriber base is on a consistent upswing showing 21.4% growth y-o-y to reach 332.38 million, a commanding market share of 68%. Stated a confident Mr. Chairman, Wang Jianzhou, “We are adept at leveraging our innovations to face changes in the business environment.... In the second half of 2007, we will continue to focus on exploring rural markets, expanding VAS & optimising our network....” Rural markets have been at the core of China Mobile’s strategic reorientation, as urban markets of China gradually started approaching saturation. Half of the new subscriber additions in H1 2007 came from the rural markets.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

MARUTI

2008-05-22T11:48:00.000+05:30

It moved the nation. And now the brand has moved itself to the second position

At number one last year, Maruti has slipped a notch to sit perched atop the number two slot in the 2006-07 rankings. Reason: aggressive competition from most domestic and foreign brands, including Hyundai, Tata and now GM. Nevertheless, the brand, which made possible the middle class dream of driving four-wheelers, has rightfully emerged as the most powerful car brand in the country ever. Domestic sales hovered close to 549,317 units in April-March 2006-07 (SIAM), boosting market share to an unbeatable 51%. Consumers always expect a ‘better and bigger buying experience’ from Maruti and the company has not disappointed. The JD Power Survey has ranked Maruti as the best performer in terms of customer satisfaction and over all sales experience, for two consecutive years. But though Maruti is a powerful brand when it comes to small cars; it finds itself in cold waters when it comes to the niche ‘brand conscious’ higher segments of the industry. To fight consumer apathy, the company has unleashed the spanking new SX4 this year. A phenomenal brand, but will it be able to reign supreme in its current weak spot (the mid-size segment) with the ravishing sedan SX4?

For complete IIPM article click here
Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof.Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank

The Sunday Indian

HBO’s leading light!

2008-05-01T14:36:00.000+05:30

Shruti BAJPAI... don’t be deceived by her soothing appearance, this one’s a hardtaskmaster
It may sound clichéd, but Shruti Bajpai, (Country Manager, South Asia, HBO) is a live example of what we call beauty with brains. The style and elegance that forms her persona combined with her unbeatable intelligence (and all this just at the age of 36!) is what brings this lady to the 4Ps B&M list of ‘40 under 40’.

An MBA from Jamanalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Shruti has taken HBO to even bigger heights in emerging Asian markets; partnering HBO’s journey since its inception in India in 2000. Ever since she has steered the channel and consolidated it, with the objective of establishing the HBO brand in the India. On being quizzed upon how difficult is the corporate journey for women; Shruti says, “I don’t believe in the issue of gender bias. I’ve had a positive experience throughout my professional life with a lot of encouragement from my employers.”
She currently holds the responsibility of managing HBO’s complete business in India. Under her visionary leadership, HBO has become the preferred destination for entertainment. The channel has won the Indian Telly Awards for the ‘Best English Movie Channel’ for three consecutive years (2004, 2005 and 2006), a fact that speaks volumes about Shruti’s visionary strategies and the success that has followed.

Food biz: feeling the heat?

2008-04-01T11:17:00.000+05:30

While Mother Dairy aspires to be a food biggie in the near future, presently its fruit and vegetable venture is constantly threatened with entry of biggies like Reliance. Sunil Bansal, Fruits and Vegetables Division of Mother Dairy, however, defends his turf saying that “other players have a presence far away from the city hubs, but we have a strong presence in the neighbourhood. Moreover, we are comparatively low priced and factors like our ‘touch and buy’ policy have made us consumer friendly,” he snaps.

Agreed that such strategies are enabling the company to clock staggering sales worth 400 tonnes of fruits and vegetables everyday, but what Bansal should remember is that retail biggies are not the only threat in the processed foods and vegetables market, which Rabo India Finance estimates will be a Rs.8,200 billion by 2009-2010. ITC and Dabur have also entered the game with all cylinders firing. Dabur already commands the Rs.500 crore packaged fruit based drink market (Dabur’s Real has a market share of 57%). So is Safal under threat? Replies Thachil, “In processed peas, Safal is the market leader and we are just two years old in juices. It will take us time to capture the market. Safal is doing well in exports too.” Not a hollow boast! Last year Safal generated a cool Rs.100 crores worth of exports.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

The Sunday Indian

Interactive LED (Light Emitting Diode) Coffee Table 100,900.3 INR

2008-03-07T17:16:00.000+05:30

Drinking coffee just can’t get better than this. With luxury bringing you à la mode, trendy, chic table – coffee drinking would soon be a new experience altogether. Standing 18” tall and measuring 31’’ wide and 62” long, this coffee table possesses interactive lights in the form of thirty-two ocular sensors which use a mere 35 watts of electricity, a switch beneath it and a mono cord. This handsome table also has 480 sensors which are LEDs working as per the movement on it, sensing movement above and shimmering accordingly, aided by completely analogue circuits. For those who crave for their regular caff eine intake, here's a new flavour for your cuppa!

No Man Land’s Fort- 326,916,847.6 INR

With increasing number of famed fables wanting to own ‘land on sea’, No Man Land’s Fort gains humongous weightage. Built in 19th century, this fort joins prominent names such as Horse Sand Fort, St. Helen’s Fort and Spitbank Fort and is an enormous tourist attraction. Located about a mile from the Coast of Portsmouth, this place serves as a luxury inn and has an indoor swimming pool, a couple of helipads, in addition to 21 rooms. Carved out of granite, this fort stands at 60 feet above the sea and is 200 feet in length. Looks like another extravagance awaits the rich and the famous…

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative