THUMS UP

What happens when the thunder-bird gets stuck in a thunderstorm? Take a cue – look at Thums Up
Three decades and umpteen brand wars since its launch, Thums Up still makes us ‘Taste the Thunder’ every time we gulp it down. Be it with the strong taste or its brand communiqué, the brand has always remained a favourite among Indian masses. During 2006, the cola brand augmented its presence in minds of its patrons and rolled out ‘Rural Games’ for second time in row in the country. Also, the brand has featured commercials with actor Kunal Kapoor, besides featuring its chief ambassador Akshay Kumar.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

HORLICKS

Vanilla, toffee, elaichi, chocolate and more, India is a key market for Horlicks!
GlaxoSmithKline is promoting Horlicks in India in a very aggressive manner. Proof: Last year consumers voted it at Rank 83, this year it has jumped up 26 notches to sit happily at Rank 57. Though many may argue that this may be due to its rivals losing visibility, the fact remains that here is one brand that has made a lot of progress in the last year. Says Zubair Ahmed, MD-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare: “In 2007, our single minded focus will be on profitable top line growth. We expect such growth to be fuelled by our brands Horlicks and Boost, behind which we will continue to invest aggressively.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

LIC

The insurance major needs no introduction. It’s only nimbler now in the face of private competition
With 200 million Indians insured under the LIC shelter, the brand is doubtlessly one of the most trusted one in India today. Known for its deep rooted ethics and customer service, LIC well understands that it’s not only about doing business, but as a government organisation it has a social responsibility to fulfil as well. Despite the deluge of private insurers, LIC has maintained its numero uno status with an overwhelming 75% market share (and with annual premium income touching a splendiferous Rs.559.35 billion)! It leads the pack by a yawning margin with ICICI Prudential coming second with just 7% market share (phew).

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

DABUR

With brands like Dabur Vatika, Hajmola & Real under its belt, this one has a lot to live up to...
Remember that non-glamorous face in the ‘Ghane mulayam kale baal... Dabur Amla Kesh Teil’ advertisement? Then how gradually, the ads gained greater charisma by roping in celebrities like Juhi Chawla and Karishma Kapoor, followed more recently with the likes of Rani Mukherjee. Similar is the story of Brand Dabur and its gradual revamp from a staid brand to a vibrant one today. The catalyst: Careful restructuring of the whole operational structure of the company and doing away with its umbrella brand strategy. During the second half of 2006, the brand judiciously turned its focus to individual product branding. Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India explains: “We had realised that consumers found it difficult to distinguish Dabur as a corporate brand and as a master brand. So we decided to embark on a brand recast to identify brands based on their product properties.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

PEPSI

This brand captured hearts, no sooner did it whiz into India with its ‘choice of the young generation’ campaign

This brand has had a happy run in India, what with brand ambassadors comprising the who’s who of Bollywood and cricketers? But recent events have not been so happy for this cola major. First the pesticide debacle happened, and was closely followed with their highly betted-on Men in Blue facing a shameful exit in the cricket World Cup stakes. Ooh Aah India fell on its face, but did PepsiCo crumble? No way! The company bounced back with a happier projection for the next World Cup... seen their Pepsi Gold ad featuring kids vouching for 2011 World Cup?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

HEWLETT PACKARD

Powerful – precisely the adjective you’d use to describe this technological titan
Bill Hewlett and David Packard couldn’t have imagined that decades after their toss-a-coin name computer-manufacturing establishment, they’d be able to stand tall as the world’s largest technological vendor and scorn at mighty brands like IBM and Dell! Hansel D’ Souza, Brand Consultant, Hansel Marketing and Advertising, says, “HP has been a worldwide player and has used its technical expertise to capture market share.” In India, HP’s products are available across 1,900 retail outlets – including 1,500 grand multi-brand retail outlets and 400 exclusive HP outlets. And when it comes to empowering the brand with something to talk of, HP scores high with 342 service centres across 155 cities. And if ever it were asked: why HP still looks as fresh as ever, the answer comes via its constant innovative launches – the most recent being the stylish Compaq Presario SR5000 series PCs. Another pioneering product launch was the HP Photos mart A516 that has the ability of wirelessly printing quality photos via Bluetooth enabled devices! Globally, dark clouds hung over this $91.7 billion revenue churning giant, with the eventful exit of Chairman Patricia Dunn, but HP has found a saviour in Mark Hurd, the transformational CEO, who has now proved that profits are not passé at HP!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

LG

Life’s good for this Korean chaebol in India. Is the ‘Indian Multinational’ listening?
One of the most aggressive Consumer durable companies in India, the going’s been really lucky for LG. The company made its presence felt across the wide spectrum of the market with aggressive campaigns, coupled with strong below the line activities. The roping in of Abhishek Bachchan as ambassador gave a fresh look n’ feel to this brand. LG also launched Toon Dhoom – a path breaking communication strategy for all-important Diwali season and the strategy paid off, with sales touching a new high during the season. But, LG’s dream of hogging up all the limelight as key sponsor for ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy was shattered due to the dismal performance put up by the Men in Blue. Girish Rao, VP, Sales and Marketing, LG India, says, “FY 2007 has been a rather eventful for LG as a brand. We signed on AB as our brand ambassador and of course our shift towards premium imagery with the launch of products like Chocolate phone, TV DIOS and Time Machine also kept us on the run.” Here’s one MNC brand that has consistently kept its Indian counterparts on their toes. Any wonder it is the topmost consumer durables brand in the rankings of India’s Most Valuable Brands.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

HERO HONDA

They’ve moved up two notches from our last year rankings. Here’s why...
Despite intense competition from arch rivals, Bajaj and TVS, Hero Honda (HH) is today the world’s largest motorcycle maker in terms of volumes, with over 39.76% market share in India. Their strategy: to stay keenly focussed on the executive and entry level bike segments. In the last financial year, HH launched 8 products (New Karizma, GlamourFI, CD Dawn, et al) across segments. HH also made an important move by re-launching its CBZ brand. But, this company that first tasted success with its ‘fill it, shut it, forget it’ campaign, remains far too focussed on the affordable segments. (HH is still a distant fourth when it comes to the premium segment). According to auto expert Tutu Dhawan, “HH is happy being an executive segment player, they don’t see much rational as a premium segment player.” Even in the executive segment, Bajaj and TVS are giving it tough competition. But Hero Honda is not giving up. Despite a poor growth of 11% in FY07 (as opposed to a sector growth of 13%), its Karizma is not about to disappear anytime soon. You don’t become number one for nothing, but hey, there is danger lurking in your backyard dude!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

BRAND PERFORMANCE

So what exactly is brand performance? No rocket science really. It’s the consumer’s perception of how a brand has been able to stand out amidst the clutter, due to various brand building exercises it undertakes, including distribution, word of mouth publicity, ad campaigns, promotional activities and other marketing initiatives, as opposed to close competitors.

No surprises then that Pepsi with its strong below the line activities, coupled with a healthy brand portfolio and shout-out loud advertising, has climbed up the ladder of the Brand Performance index. If rival Pepsi is there, Coke cannot be far behind. But Coke lands 7th position, and not surprisingly, with Thums Up being the flagship Indian cola for the Atlanta behemoth. Airtel, with its ever-expanding subscriber base has also joined the club. Godrej, Infosys, Maruti and Tata Group are also no surprises to be a part of this group, as they remain clear market leaders in their respective sectors.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Eliica–10,696,408 INR

So what's the hottest thing on eight wheels? No not a truck, but a car built by Tokyo’s Keio University. Eliica which is actually short for Electric Lithium-Ion Battery Car is self explanatory for a car that runs on, well, battery! And, since it has four wheels to steer the front, the acceleration and turns are amazingly smooth. Capable of zooming from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds, Eliica has been test driven already by former Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi. Prototype still, this one's a scorcher!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

As consumer boom had its run?

led by leveraged purchases of new homes automobiles, consumer debt in India as tripled from four years earlier to Rs.6 trillion (about 15% of annual gross domestic product). After three increases by CICI Bank in its lending rate, auto loan is bursals fell in Q4 FY07 compared to he previous year; a fact confirmed by oth Bajaj Auto &Hero Honda.

For Indian banks, now is the time to reorganise their loan book. And perhaps also increase exposure to corporate borrowers for whom the current high interest rates aren’t a big deterrent as most of them are looking beyond the present business cycle. Even FM P. Chidambaram, in a meeting with bankers, asked them to rebalance their portfolio. He said, “They must rebalance their portfolio so that adequate credit at correct prices is available to productive sectors.” Saugat Bhattacharya, VP, Business & Economic research, UTI Bank agrees to an extent, “As per data available till December 2006, personal loans absorbed 29% of incremental non-food credit, mainly as loans to housing sector & ‘other retail loans. So, some banks did ride the wave of retail banking & consequently, have been too aggressive.”

The continued focus of Indian government on infrastructure & SMEs and emergence of new businesses like organised retail presents a great opportunity for Indian banks to expand horizons. In the current environment of monetary tightening & higher borrowing cost, those banks which focus on cost effective resource mobilization will hold the key till the time Y. V. Reddy finally can see the light.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

1. 2.. 3... twist!

Is India all set to sell out its strategic interests to meet the growing demands made by Uncle Sam?!
Two years ago India entered into a civilian nuclear agreement with the US, hoping that this would help it clinch a strategic deal with the sole super power of the world. But little did India realise that the American empire would first cater to its own imperial interests and its non-proliferation agenda before granting India the coveted status of a nuclear nation.

Nine years ago, on May 11 and 13, India had marked its arrival on the global strategic landscape with five underground tests at the Pokhran nuclear range. The event was hailed as the triumph of Indian nationalism over the non-proliferation diktats imposed by the global nuclear club (USA, UK, China, France and Russia). Shakti ‘98 (name of the operation) was celebrated as the reassertion of India’s independent decisionmaking ability in a largely unipolar world. Although, the pre-test preparations were carried out under total secrecy and the execution was clandestinely conducted, the post-test announcements to the world were loud and clear.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Recycling waste!

Syringes pose the biggest hazard
According to World Bank and Ministry of Health’s recent report, 65% of syringes used in India are unsafe. The demand for syringes is nowhere less than 5 billion annually, but analysts reveal that merely 1.5 billion of them get manufactured in the country.

There have been reports that doctors and medical professionals have swindled patients by using unsterilised syringes. Furthermore, the syringes are reported to have been used for more than 25 times before being disposed off . Alarmingly, these syringes most oft en carry within them life saving drugs into the vitals of a human being. More than 1.3 million children reportedly die each year from infected syringes, and that not less than 22 million people get infected with one or the other form of infectious diseases.

Further, on a daily basis, it is also estimated that 60% of plastic syringes used in Delhi’s hospitals are infected and unsterilised. Even the destroyed syringes are picked up from dumping sites, washed, repacked, and resold. This dangerous practice would increase the spread of blood-borne infections, and of course, deaths. Time we cared?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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