Recently a newspaper came to our campus and gave us an exclusive offer for the college students which were – 6 months subscription for Rs. 149, 9 months subscription for Rs. 199 and 12 months subscription for Rs. 299. It was no brainer to choose for the second option and more than 95% students opted for 9 month subscription. This was no coincidence or consumer’s choice but the company wanted them to take 9 month subscription even when 12 months…    Read More >>

What happens when a brand advertises? In most cases, the sales, awareness of the product and the urge to buy increases. Yes, we all know that. We also know that product development and advertising are very costly procedures. But an even costlier (and somewhat rare) procedure is that of a Product Recall. It’s costly not only because it involves notification to the public, repackaging and loss in production/manufacturing time but also because it destroys reputation that was built over years…    Read More >>

When I used to open my Facebook page back in 2009, all the advertisements that I used to see were only about getting a good job. When I got my job in mid 2010, the ads changed to those pertaining to higher education, mainly about an MBA or an MS. These ads only stopped when I finally got into an MBA course in Mumbai. Of course, I did update my profile at each of these stages. So, what is it…    Read More >>

The recent craze among today’s youth is the song – ‘Why this Kolaveri?’- A song with silly lyrics and a peppy tune. Over 1 crore views within a few days of its online release on Youtube and the fact that it is the most downloaded song over the past week has publicised a very important medium of marketing used by smarter marketers- the online social media. Viral marketing is a medium of marketing which uses the online network or media…    Read More >>

Yes, paint. MBA students are always talking about two particular kinds of ‘goods’- The first being automobiles and the like –  the good ol’ consumer durable and the other being mobile phones, pretty much FMCG in today’s markets. Part of the discussion is occasionally about the concerned industries in India approaching saturation, at whatever point in time. And as focus of such discussions shifted to paint owing to trimester-end presentations, as a friend rightly pointed out, ‘The paint industry in…    Read More >>

‘If we’re smart, we don’t wait for a challenge.’ Innovation is a key driver of growth in this day and age where ‘stagnancy’, as a word and a concept, can be categorised as a curse in business; and it is incumbent on every business person to explicitly lead and manage it. Leading strategic thinkers are moving beyond a focus on traditional product and service categories to pioneer innovations in business processes, distribution, value chains, business models, and even the functions…    Read More >>

I went to watch Rockstar today, not just because I am a movie buff but also because it had a power packed marketing campaign knit around it. Respect for all that effort made me bunk my official college festival and choose to watch the movie first day first show. Apart from the brands like Ranbir Kapoor, Imtiaz Ali, AR Rahman – a gripping track involving love, lust, fanaticism and stardom, not to mention the numerous women sighing and screaming by…    Read More >>

You are walking down the aisles of a mall next door; you fill your cart with whatever you can grab. You wonder why the whole mall looks like a scene out of the idiot box and proceed to the payment section. And what do you find? Voila! Hrithik Roshan, all decked up, standing across the billing counter, asking you to watch his latest show on Star TV. Beware! Don’t pass it off as a gag, the day is not far…    Read More >>

Many of us turned into ‘revolutionaries’ this July. The transformation required none of the expected protest marches, no dharnas, no violence and not even fasting! Kudos to the 7-week Anna Hazare campaign that shook the country, raised the eyebrows of corporate honchos and defied the concepts that were made famous by Philip Kotler. The pride and passion symbolized by the Gandhi topi – commonly perceived as a corrupt posturing of politicians – made a dynamic statement of truth. This is…    Read More >>

‘Quit Smoking!’… ‘Exercise Daily!’… ‘Get a Mammogram!’… ‘Save Water!’… ‘Use a Condom!’… ‘Don’t Litter!’… Can we help an individual, or a community, adopt healthy behavior? How can we instigate a positive social change? These actions call for a change in the existing behavioral patterns of people for the benefit of these individuals, or the society at large. Social Marketing can play an essential role in achieving such objectives. What is Social Marketing? Social Marketing is a technique of using marketing…    Read More >>