Who are the Blackberry Boys?

Raving reviews of O&M's new look for Vodafone Blackberry users. Now Blackberry services are no longer accessible only to the top & premium segment.

All guns blazing, anyone who can afford it, please access it.

The advertisement in itself, I agree is quite clutter-breaking & different. A group of typical top management executives dance to a catchy tune of being the ‘Blackberry Boys’. Then comes in a guy in summer wear & is followed by many more facets representing the Indian youth populace.

A simple & clear communication that a Blackberry is for everyone.

I agree that the market for smart phones have opened up; & coupled with growing consumerism, many companies have started betting big & spending top money to lure the young Indian.

Nokia is the company getting hurt, their dwindling market share, especially within the smart phone segment has been led by the growth of Blackberry & other competitors.

Now that the context has been set, the question I’m raising here is Blackberry’s strategy. Especially for a high involvement product – a smart phone costing upwards of 10 grand.

The manager who is paying top rupee to purchase the phone with the most gizmos & easiest access to business usage will now have his favorite Blackberry Bold being used by one and all. 

How is Research-In-Motion (RIM) differentiating between these varied sets of target groups by launching an umbrella Blackberry campaign?

Nokia had successfully managed to do the same by having extensions for their various consumer segments & price points. But within Blackberry these distinctions do not seem to come out that strongly. 

Not to say that Blackberry needs to go the Nokia way, but just to bring about the argument that it is easy for a smart company to take Blackberry’s place in the premium segment.

I thought maybe a HTC, but their recent strategy seems to be nothing in line, it seems like all the companies need their phones to be sold to anybody & everybody who can buy them.

Maybe something as basic as Targeting needs to be relooked.

Has Shopping become complicated?

Published article in Point of Purchase Magazine - Feb '2011

Who says shopping isn’t complicated? With the number of variables being plugged into shopping every day, it has become an art & a science both for the Shopper & the Marketer.

But, who has made shopping complicated?

In the current Indian scenario of such intense competition, the rate of change is constantly pushing new limits. Just a couple of years back, an Organized Retail in-store innovation used to make marketing headlines & office talk across companies. Now, they all seem common place. Every week, companies are fighting for space & retailers are auctioning it to the highest bidder. As the End-cap prices sky-rocket, brand managers need to innovate constantly in-order to engage the shopper just that little bit extra.

The options for a typical middle / upper-middle class urban household meanwhile are ever increasing. The phenomenal success of malls & multiplexes, irrespective of their high-end pricing speak for themselves. Shopping behaviour is changing & fast, led by: rising household incomes, brisk entry of more foreign players, a younger India & penetration of technology. For FMCG in particular, it is predicted by booz&co. that 30% of total trade will come in from modern trade by 2020. 30% across India would mean a number in the range of 70% for Urban India.

The Concept of Shopping thus has & will continue to become more complex, especially for the Marketer.

Almost every FMCG player has accorded special focus towards the Modern Trade format & has infrastructure & managerial capabilities dedicated towards this channel.

What about Traditional Retail or General Trade as in FMCG parlance? Companies are realizing the potential these 8 million mom-and-pop stores provide. Currently and in the near future, they will continue to remain the most preferred format for a majority of Indians.

A leading FMCG company for instance, accords the same importance of a Modern Trade outlet towards all of its top Grocery turnover mom-and-pop stores. The same margins, the same schemes and the same quality of dedicated merchandising. This is the future, the evolution of the so-called unorganized sector. ‘Necessitated by the local retailer’s need in face of competition, but driven by the various FMCG players in the industry.

As a fundamental consequence, this leads to a multitude of options for the Shopper. They are spoilt for choice even within their conveniently placed local Grocer.  Has this led to Shopping becoming more complicated? Well, it has certainly become more attractive for the Shopper.

Let me cite the case of private labels in Modern Trade. Two of India’s leading Food Retail chains both have private labels placed right beside popular brands from established market players. These private labels play mainly on the ‘significantly lower price’ or on the ‘higher weight for the same price’ angle. A typical Middle class shopper might get severely conflicted during purchase in many low involvement categories, thereby playing into the hands of these private labels. 

A shopper thus starts to assimilate more & more information on price & weight (ingredients, freshness, freebies etc.) comparisons thus leading to the point of inflection in the brand vs. price trade-off. Ultimately the simple decision of buying a Floor Cleaner now involves a complex matrix of numbers & scientific text.

Challenging times in Shopping behaviour ahead, ‘the more the merrier’ seems to be the ‘shopper’ mantra till date, as the ‘Marketer’ continues to grapple with building capabilities to tackle the same.

The Mysterious Games we Play

It was a complete Mystery; I was flummoxed at the news article after reading it, ‘HUL foxes P&G through successful Ambush Marketing’.

It was a great outdoor marketing campaign by P&G in Mumbai, and I think it did get foxed and frustrated by HUL, but the outcome of the whole melodrama that followed is still uncertain.

There were huge outdoor hoardings, model bus-stops, and full page print ads by P&G to create excitement over Pantene and its new packaging. Carefully ironed out, or so P&G envisaged. It was too open to attack, and Dove took the bold step and stepped into the fray. Kudos to HUL for getting it done ‘within a day’. I think it was more of a, ‘done within a month’ than ‘a day’. Competition intelligence as they call it, has definitely come into play here. HUL was waiting for the bait to get hooked on. But still, a campaign rolled out within a few weeks is commendable. (Brand executives would concur)

But did it achieve anything for HUL? Brand connotation with the ‘Mystery Shampoo’ is and will always be Pantene; Dove did nothing to change that.

All that HUL visualized was a retort back at P&G through the necessary buzz within everybody’s mind. They achieved the buzz, but inside the marketer’s head. The consumer was left lurking during the delivery of the Dove message. (‘There is no Mystery, Dove is the No.1 Shampoo’)

Marketing circles were talking about it for weeks, I should know, I was there. But the real consumer, the actual user of the brand & the product didn’t see any value in the fracas between HUL and P&G.

Sadly, this event might in the short run; temporarily, end such campaigns, where the consumer is kept at the edge of his/her seat before the prized message is communicated.

Betting Big on Celebrity Endorsements

Why do Marketers go for Celebrity endorsements? The reasons could be many; the highest recall among consumers, immediate positive impact on sales, new brand launches and re-introductions etc.

As a few experts put it, the reason could also be one of pure pressure from the top management to deliver on the brand and see immediate results. The pressure is definitely not unreasonable, as in today’s competitive scenario, the number of touch points that a consumer is exposed to, is showing a manifold increase. Hence, after years of meticulous R&D on a particular product, there is a rush on the Marketing side of the new brand.

The valid question that needs to be raised is the rationale or science behind each celebrity endorsement, from the marketer’s angle. From the celebrity’s angle, the rationale is purely one of personal choice or value of contract.

Breaking the clutter within multiple touch points, warrants the Marketer to come up with innovative attributes that will latch onto the consumer’s mind. Unfortunately, this is definitely not possible each and every time, with multiple people handling multiple brands in an organization. FMCG biggies in India have all implemented excellent clutter-breaking media from time to time. But everyone’s had their share of naïve moments.

The prospect of bringing some sense of sanity and consistency into marketing leads to celebrity endorsements. Statistics on the latest survey show that only around 30% of the consumers would consider the purchase of a brand based on a popular face. A higher percentage would associate themselves to a brand, if the celebrity is actually linked to the brand message in some way or the other.

Many pundits are now arguing about the ‘Tiger Woods’ phenomenon, ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’. Whether the associated brands have been affected or not, is debatable. Only Gatorade, would have suffered an immediate impact, due the withdrawal of an entire range of ‘Tiger’ branded drinks.

In India too, many brands solely run on the back of successful celebrities, the flip side would be a ‘Tiger’, but the positives weigh much more than the intangible probability of the brand getting hammered. Especially in light of Brand Managers changing almost every 2 years.

The only simple mantra, can be to stick to one’s ‘Brand message’ atleast for established brands, irrespective of the celebrity or non-celebrity route, Airtel is a good case in point. For new brands like Max, Karbon & MicroMax (IPL), ‘celebrity’ power could be the only way forward in a highly competitive category like Mobiles.

 This post is a consequence of the Brand Equity article on Celebrity endorsements.

Gift Cards - The talking point in Organized Retail

Retailers in India have already started the concept of co-branded credit cards. A current example would be the aggressive salesperson in any Spencer’s store showcasing the HSBC-Spencer’s offering.

Another vivid example would be the Future Group credit card which had TV ads across channels for quite some time. The response though had been lukewarm.

With organized retail sales looking downward over the last year, especially in Q3 and Q4 of 2008-09, these offering had disappeared from the table. But, Q1 & Q2 of 2009-10 have been particularly good, with around 15% growth in the sector on the back of a successful festive season.

The new buzz word that is coming up in Retail circles is the Gift card, which is basically gift vouchers/certificates in the form of smart cards.

They will be profitable for retailers as it will breed loyalty through repeat purchases. There will also be a significant portion of card value (10% in America: Economist) which are never redeemed.

Retailers in India are still nascent when it comes to maintaining a comprehensive customer database, and this will be a small, yet significant step towards the same.

The future for gift cards will yield many innovatively packaged offerings similar to the trends in America.

A few examples from the Economist:

1) Target: Gift cards that double as wind-up toys

2) Gift cards through email

3) Best Buy: multiple people can contribute small amounts for an expensive gift card to be created

4) Time based gift cards during the day. E.g. Happy hour shopping times for Gift card redeemers

Expiry dates in gift cards will foster consumers to buy within a specified period and this will always help the retailer waiting on the other end. If not redeemed this goes directly into the company’s kitty. But a lot depends on how the retailer will handle consumers who arrive at their store with expired gift cards. A balanced act will go a long way in establishing the customer friendly side of a retailer.

Another interesting trend in America would be the auctioning of such gift cards online. E-bay is estimated to sell 100,000 gift cards every month through the second-hand route. Consumers give up gift cards that they are unable to redeem online at almost half their price.

All this leads to a overall healthy trend for the gift card concept.

Manufacturers are already present in India for smart cards, who are currently in advanced talks with retail biggies.

The advantage for consumers is pretty obvious; a gift card would be the ideal choice for any wedding, birthday and other such occasions.

Volkswagen 'Road-block' for India

“German Engineering, Made for India”
An entire Times of India edition blanketed with only Volkswagen, over and over again as each page was turned on by surprised readers & confused marketers. Confused & in awe only because of the gravity of the money that had been spent for the day, 11th November 2009.

This is the kick start of a 40 crore campaign by Volkswagen India, who have also come up with a Television ad recently, showcasing their brands.

The print ads introduced and appraised readers to the various Volkswagen brands that are currently available (Passat & Jetta) & the ones that are lined up for India (Polo, Beetle, Touareg).

Each brand of Volkswagen caters to a different target group, and the company is hoping that the 40 cr. media spend will help establish all its brands; they certainly got people talking for almost a week now.

The media spend will include print, TV, outdoor & the internet.

Expect the internet & outdoor impact to be similarly innovative-Mudra Group


The 40 cr. question?
is whether this will boost their numbers, which were poor in Oct' 2009. They operate in the very niche top end of the business, which accounts for less than 2% of overall car industry sales. India is touted as one of the growth markets for Volkswagen and they are not that far behind Mercedes or BMW in their numbers. Apr to Oct sales show that they are only around 700-900 cars behind.

The main question is the relevance of such a blitzkrieg campaign in a daily known for being friendly (readers may spell irritating) to full page print advertising. Is this the best channel for a niche top end brand like Volkswagen? Would it do any good if the word-of-mouth continued in the lower floor circles of an office?

Brand building, definitely yes! & a good job at it too, but at what cost, is the 40 cr. question. Meanwhile entertainment galore for readers & marketers alike, let’s hope the numbers look up, while people look forward to the Beetle & Polo hitting the hard Indian roads.

The Coca-Cola University: Parivartan

FMCG companies in India are all looking towards increasing their penetration into rural markets. Coke, the world's largest non-alcoholic beverage company is looking at semi-urban and rural markets as its future growth paths.



The 'Parivartan' program- targeting retailers

Coke's new strategy involves training retailers in a program launched by the Coca-Cola University. In 2007, the company launched Coca-Cola University — a virtual, global university for all learning and capability-building activities.

The company calls this the "parivartan" program (meaning "Change" in English). Shop owners (traditional retailers) are given training on displaying and stocking products well. The goal of the innovative training program is to provide traditional Indian retailers with the skills, tools and techniques required to succeed in a constantly changing retail scenario.

Presentations (including audio/visual technology) in local Hindi language help small retailers (with stores less than 200 square feet in average size) to better understand the concepts involved. Each retailer also receives a Coca-Cola "Certified Retailer" certificate at the conclusion of the program.

The program, which debuted on Dec. 18 in Agra, will equip "mom-and-pop" shop owners with the skills, tools and techniques required to succeed in India's evolving retail landscape. All invited retailers attended the session, which allowed them to learn in a formal setting using leading-edge audio/visual technology and engaging presentations conducted in the local Hindi language.

Here are some of them: print a visiting card with your telephone number; around 80% of your business comes from 20% of your products, so build up visibility for these; try and display posters of discounts; organise a home delivery facilty; be courteous to your customers-SundayET. The content is structured around the four pillars of retail—customer, shop, stock and finance.

And this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. The programme has covered 20,000 retailers in North India so far. “Based on their feedback we are developing ‘Advanced Parivartan’ that will cover issues like shop layout and location, display, basics of finance, knowledge of credit card transactions, people management skills, among others.

For Coca-Cola it’s a big pie. There are around 12 million retailers in the country, out of which kirana stores account for over 90% of the Rs 7,40,000-cr retail business in India. But a company official maintained that these retailers would not be pushed to stock Coca-Cola products through this programme. Some of these retailers don't even stock soft drinks.

The idea was supposedly born out of a meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos around two years ago when Coke’s global chief met the commerce minister of India and suggested running the programme in India. Also, as a token of goodwill gesture, an accidental death insurance of Rs 1 lakh is being provided free of cost to all the attending retailers as a protection against any eventualities.

In bigger cities the company has conducted Parivartan programme in classrooms or by hiring hotels. The classroom Parivartan programme has been organised across cities in UP and Punjab -Agra, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Haldwani, Bilaspur, Kolkata, Faizabad, and Rajamundry.

The ‘Coca-Cola University on Wheels’ has also covered small towns such as Hoshiarpur, Mukeria, Nakodar, Phagwara, Nawanshahar, Malerkotla, Barnala, Khanna, Moga, Jalandhar, among others. Going forward in the future, Coca-Cola’s plan is to scale up this initiative by taking it across India.

http://article.wn.com/view/2009/05/03/CocaCola_India_launches_CocaCola_University_on_Wheels/

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/The-Sunday-ET/Coca-Cola-India-launches-Coca-Cola-University-on-Wheels/articleshow/4477620.cms

http://www.casestudyinc.com/Articles/Coke-Strategy-Training-Retailers.html

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/news_india_retailers.html