Baba RAMDEV...perfect Marketer

Baba ramdev, the man respected by many Indian families for his contribution to Yoga is one of the Best Marketer, he teaches yoga by conducting free Yoga Camps all over the world, His target segment is not the common man but the middle income families, rich business families and the idle house wife watching TV.he has positioned himself as a man who wants to serve the society free of cost but look at his potential revenue centers right from charging/accepting donations for running ashrams, selling his VCD's and DVD's of his yoga practices,expensive medicines. He also consults people while conducting these camps, the consultation is free but the medicine prescribed is too expensive and the person has no choice but to buy the medicine, this is because of the fact that in the buying behaviour process the influencer plays an important role due to the credibility factor attached to the Influencer who is advising the buyer in his purchase. same is the case with the purchase of medicine, an individual purchases the prescribed drug due to the Credibility factor attached to Doctor. Baba ramdev VCDs are sold for 12$ and are shipped world wide and the promotion is done by the spiritual channels like Astha and Sanskar. That's marketing for us but social service to many people.

If you are drunk thats business for MERU CABS

Meru cabs, is a leading taxi service provider in India currently operating in all the metros, now the company has its target segment as the corporate clients and the luxury or tourists who visit the city, the company has identified a niche market for its services by identifying the need for people who are over drunk during the weekends, The company provides Taxi services to those who are drunk and are not in a position to drive themselves home, it smartly advertises by placing small notes on the table which have the following statements "If you are not able to read this lines properly its time to call MERU CABS". I was really impressed by the company and its ability to identify new market, In marketing it's all about identifying new markets and serving them efficiently. A niche is a profitable segment, all you need to do is identify the Niche , A niche segment is like a cash cow, you can milk the benefits for a period of time and there are little chances that your competitor copying the idea as the niche segment are less price sensitive compared to other segments and stay loyal to the company who are the first movers in the market.

INNOVATE OR DIE

One size fits all is not true for segmentation, you need to identify the different segments and target/cater to the segment which is the most suitable for your product/service, A single product cannot cater to the all the segments, you need to differentiate and position your Product/service according to what the segment needs, Marketing is all about identifying your target segment and catering to those specific target segments effectively, Companies providing different services generally alter the service or modify the service according to the target segment needs, yesterday while going through my college notice board I saw an advertisement of Safexpress (one of the leading logistics company in India), Campus 2 home was the new service which they were offering to the students who were shifting their luggage after the completion of course,

Product/service: Campus2home,

Service delivered: Shipment of your luggage, belongings from Campus to your location.

Target segment: Top 100 B-schools and other premium institution

Positioning: Hassle free transfer and a one stop solution.

They have tied up with IIM’s and other major colleges for business, in today’s competative world you need to identify the segments or potential segments and design your product/ service accordingly. There are many segments which are untapped in India and there lies a huge scope for marketers to develop their businesses.

It prays for u ...If u pay

Too busy with life, no time to offer prayers for the lord, the internet has solution for that

CLICK on this website and this will pray for u for a prescribed fee of $4

http://informationageprayer.com/

LMN---the emergency lemon refresher

Today in the canteen i saw a new tetra pack named LMN, my curiosity made me find out what that was and it was our humble drink Nimbu pani by the PARLE AGRO ltd the oldest makers of fruit juice in India.LMN is the SMS version of lemon and comes with a tagline “The Emergency Lemon Refresher” it is priced at Rs 10 for a 200 ml pack,The taste is not that great and didn't match to the home made Nimbu pani.The company has targeted the youth and adult segment currently its competitors are the road side stalls of nimbu paani and LMN has a clear advantage over the hygiene factor,packaging and availability, Parle claims that this will start a new war of non-cola beverages,even Pepsi has ambitious plans of its Nimbooz,we can see that there is a huge scope for business in the healthy fruit juice segment due to the change in consumer behavior towards healthy drinks even the flagship bnand of Parle has gone through major transformation.
Something about the product
LMN is a non-carbonated fresh fruit juice ,the first branded nimbu pani in india with richness of vitamin C and no artificial flavors

Reliance Infocomm GSM's...cheap marketing..

Recently my friend bought the new GSM connection of Reliance mobile attracted by the tariffs they were providing,there was a plan for STD of Rs650 in which u get 589 talk time and night calling to any Reliance network free between 11 pm to 7 am..the worst part of this plan is your network is completely busy the whole night and your call doesn't get connected ,,my Professor told me once that brand effects our daily life it was true..and i could see it by the way my friend was getting frustrated as he was not able to make any calls at night. companies should follow strict code of ethics and shouldn't lower the price to attract the customers and not issue connections if their infrastructure doesn't support the load of connections..

Naye packet mei beache tumko cheej (nimbooz) purani

Apni chhatri tumko dedein kabhi jo barse paani
Kabhi naye packet mein bechein tumko cheez puraani
Phir bhi dil hai hindusatni
Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani

these were the lines running behind my mind while i heard about NIMBOOZ

Nimbooz...is the name of the new beverage launched by Pepsi in India and the product is already in test marketing in Gujarat,Nimbooz is the result of the much awaited product from the Pepsi and it was an out come of an extensive marketing research.the product is under the 7up Brand, the reason being the 7up brand equity has been reducing over the years due to the advent of sprite as market leader in that segment and by introducing Nimbooz which can be categorized as lemon drink segment it hopes that it can revive the Brand Image of 7up. Pepsi has been shifting its focus from a normal beverage(aerated drinks) to a health drink beverages and Pepsi claims that the Nimbooz contains pure and real lemon juice. Pepsi is coming out with new advertisement with a value proposition of "Ek dum Asli Indian", you might be interested in knowing the price of the Nimbooz..the Nimbooz is priced at Rs 10 for an 200ml pack 15 for an 350 ml pack..well i'm excited about Nimbooz and want to try it out...what about U ? ?

strepsils...first advertisemnent

This was a very old ad by Strepsils..found it interesting,,,
check it out

Slumdog and Country Of Origin Effect

Would Slumdog Millionaire be nominated for the Oscars if it was made by an Indian director? Would you watch the movie if it was an Indian release, The answer is NO. If it was MADE IN INDIA, The film would go unnoticed until & unless it has sex or shahrukh in it, why is that people are so excited of the movie now, that’s just because it’s nominated and won Oscars. The country of origin effect has a major role to play even in the entertainment business and it is clearly evident in the SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE success story as the movie was produced by a British director and released world wide it got huge appreciation world wide,Slumdog has brought great recognition to the Indian Film Industry and the god of music A.R.Rehman,soon rehman would be flooded with offers from worldwide and this Oscars opens door for the Indian Cinema worldwide, the day is not far when even movies would be outsourced to India...
JAI HO

Let controversies Do the Job

Controversy always excites people as it's human nature to give an ear to all the controversial news,Ask any one about the controversy he can give you all the facts and figures about it,ask the same person any national news he wouldn’t be able to speak as much, Marketers have many a times used controversial marketing to communicate,the key benefits of controversial marketing is that

1. You need not pay much to promote
2. Bad news or rumors spread faster than good news

Controversy, if planned right is an effective low cost marketing tool that gives your product excellent media coverage,If you can manage the media well and do not mind the extra dose of adverse publicity in the short term.


In India one person who uses this effectively is Mahesh Bhatt, before launching any movie he builds up controversy and floats in the media, the controversy he uses on the Actor ,most of the time Emraan hashmi or the actress or the steamy scenes which get free publicity by the media, I remember the movie Kalyug, which the director first planned to name the movie as Blue Picture which was called back and renamed as Kalyug, I watched the movie and the movie was a clean film and similarly the movie Paap was promoted and hyped due to controversial name,
The key in controversy marketing lies in being able to predict the danger point, and thereby controlling the outcome of the controversy – kind of letting the car run downhill in neutral, but knowing when to brake and halt before the momentum gets the better of the vehicle.

1 + 1 = 3 ....The AXE EFFFEKKKT

Axe is one of the most known brand all over the world and they have done it by always being unconventional in their products and their marketing communications. Their marketing communications always had a transformational appeal and to be precise sex appeal to it, which was well positioned according to the product and the target market.
After the success of chocolate variant, Axe this time came out with a new concept of using two variants, instead of one and experiences the new fragrance, this is something unique or strange and the big question is why will a customer buy two variants and then use it together?

A new campaign and other promotional strategies were created for awareness and curiosity about using two products together .Unilever’s agency developed a media-neutral campaign where “mixed fragrances” corresponded to “mixed women.”
The idea was to show men the power of mix and matching women with different tastes and preferences. The promotional campaign of TV and billboards and flyers that showed how men could match up different parts of the female body. In the second phase consisted of interactive billboards where men could vote on their favourite combinations through their mobile phones or the AXE website. And they were successful in Latin America after this launch. Will this AXE EFFECT work in INDIA ? ?

INNOVATION....is the name of game

Competition is intense and how harder you try your competitor imitates you in no time. This is the world of marketing,and you need to differentiate your self in this world of advertisement. Innovation is what drives the whole business,companies innovate new ways to maximize share of heart and how do they do it??
is by exploring all the untapped consumer touch points and trying to catch their attention by new media.shown here are examples of 3D advertisement which will soon be a part of our daily brand exposures. now what catches customer attention ???
1.you have to be different
2.channel or media device appeal
If you innovate and you are the first to do it, the customer will surely see what is this new thing ..?? as human is a curious animal,if something is new he'll surely pay attention and tends to remember for a longer time.change is the name of the game..do it or your competitor will do it.

THE BIG " M "

Mc Donald’s has the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants and it has been continuously accused of national problems like obesity in the U.S and it is really surprising that first page on Google image search displayed these images which really surprised me and it states the perception of few people towards this brand. The last picture of the fat giraffe was an anti-Mc Donald campaign when MC Donalds was entering Africa,conveying the message that it will lead to obesity problems in Africa as it did in U.S.....Surprisingly in India, we are not aware of all these issues and our Janta is crowded at all the Mc donald stores and loves to munch on the Burgers and MC donalds with their appropriate pricing is able to draw huge crowds.

classics from Indian advertisement

This 1955 Brylcreem ad featuring the inimitable Kishore Kumar appeared in the pages of Filmfare. This was the time when Kishore Kumar was gaining popularity and eventually becoming the most-wanted actor of the decade, having 12 silver jubilee and three golden jubilees - one of his movies running for continuously 30 months!" and he was choosen as the brand ambassador of brylcreem,see the brylcreem advertisement then and now,see the change in the product offering,from hair cream to hair gel,the packing from a jar to a stylish new tube.Brylcreem has been the market leader in India and continuous change in product and communication mix has what kept the brand alive..

This ad came in the year 1982


This was one of the catchy ad by mahindra and mahindra
The advertisement was for targetted at niche segment who could afford the luxury to own a jeep,

Mahindra Classic
The call of the wild

Branding of "NAAPTOL.com"

Branding is all about giving name and life to your product.Choosing the brand elements is very critical component for any marketer as it is through these brand elements customer get to know your product and create a unique position in their minds,Reading through the economic times special edition(Brand equity)today, there was a full page color print of a new website "NAAPTOL.com" which fascinated me. The service they are offering is a website, where a consumer can compare the prices of products and locate the stores which offer the lowest price.These kind of websites are quite popular in U.S and the fever is catching up in India.The owner of website gets income from the stores which get listed their products as well as the commision per transaction.what I liked about this product(website) was the name that is the NAAPTOL.com.Naaptol means comparision of prices or measurement of quantity in Hindi. the brand elements has been chosen very precisely. that is
1)It is MEMORABLE,unlike the other websites in the same segment,which have names like pricescan.com,priceindia.com compared to these names naaptol is easy to remember and gets that Indian touch.
2)It is MEANINGFUL: what the site does is comparison of prices.and that's exactly the function of this website
Successful websites which provide service in India prefer to keep the name in a Indian language like baazi.com,shaadi.com,naukri.com,yatra.com.And these all have been successful in brand recall.