Is Subhash Chandra finally passing on the sceptre?

As subhash chandra plans a gradual exit, B&E catches up with him and his two sons to discover more of what’s going on at work

It’s strange that someone who’s worth $2.5 billion has “poverty” on his mind; Subhash Chandra does! And it’s a tale that even you would have never ever heard before, or at best, would have discarded, as just another dig from the grapevine. As a young lad, Subhash Chandra wanted to become an engineer. He found the first step in the dark and managed to make his way through the gates of an engineering college. But much before he could justify his faith in Newton, he was asked to empty his hostel dormitory; the reason: Nandakishore Goenka’s pocket (Chandra’s father) wasn’t deep enough to keep his son’s engineering dreams alive. Chandra isn’t too shy about it, as he tells B&E, “I still remember the day I was asked to leave the engineering college, as my family could not afford the fees and the expenses thereof. Otherwise, life would have been different.” This Hissar-born, seventeen year-old lad had to leave college, as his father considered his education a big liability and preferred that Chandra came back to his father’s rescue in the family agricultural business; Chandra’s future, a big black question mark!

Mechanics to agriculture is a transition that few would embrace with a happy heart, but Chandra had no choice. Then, everything changed. Within a year of his joining his father’s business, he had proven the turnaround CEO for dad. A year later, he started a vegetable oil unit and he bloomed yet again. This once self-proclaimed dreamer of hi-tech machines, had heard his calling!

Today, Chandra easily finds a handsome position in any list that would feature the world’s billionaires. Technology’s loss proved media’s gain, and for the past three decades, Chandra has steered his brainchild – the Essel Group. This November he will also turn 60, and as any seasoned lion, in the course of natural progression, he has been in the thick of succession planning activities at work. And he has been gradually passing on the baton to his two sons: Punit and Amit Goenka. Chandra himself has been making public his intentions to give up control over his company for quite some time now. Punit Goenka, Chandra’s elder son, says, “He has given a time of two years, but I don’t think he will ever retire completely.” The younger lad Amit’s response (on when he expected Chandra to retire) was dramatically different. “What?” was his exclamation!

Punit however says, “Five years ago, my father was actively taking all key decisions in the company, but today I see his transition into more of a non-executive Chairman. He doesn’t interfere in the day-to-day business.” Today, Chandra doesn’t even attend the monthly meetings of the company. “I send him a report about these meetings today, but I don’t know whether he checks it or not. But two years down the line, I think we will just see him at board meetings or at dinner tables.”

Meanwhile, the GenNext at Zee and other businesses of the Essel Group looks all charged up and ready. Punit Goenka is spearheading the group’s flagship company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), while Amit Goenka is the vanguard of the technology frontier of the Essel group and is responsible for evaluating and identifying innovations. Amit is the CEO of Pan India Network Pvt. Ltd. He is actively involved in managing the affairs of the lottery business of the group.

Incidentally, Punit’s first love was also technology. In fact, it was Punit who was actively involved in the launch of Dish TV. But later, he was convinced by father to get more involved in the media business. Thus, Punit joined Zee TV in March 2005, a time when the company was struggling hard to retain viewers & advertisers. Even its revenues were falling dangerously. “After KBC happened to Star Plus, it destroyed other channels. But Zee TV made an unbelievable comeback after 2005 and since then, they have been growing steadily. I think they have been lucky to finally get Punit Goenka as their captain. Hope he can keep the momentum going in the face of stiff competition,” said a senior executive working with a General Entertainment Channel.

Today, Zee TV is running neck-to-neck with the top two GECs (Star Plus and Colors). Sample this: the average channel share of Zee TV in the GEC category during the last four weeks has been 19%, just short of the top two – Star Plus (23%) and Colors (22%; refer table). But quiz Punit about competition and he says with a characteristic calm, “My view is that a lot of cheap money has come in, and they have tried hard to capture market share. But we at Zee, are frankly not in this business to raise money from third parties. In terms of profitability, no one can match Zee. So that way, I am already number 1. Number 1 in rating terms is of no use, if you don’t monetise!”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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They’ve finally got The Equation Right

With Sales of Nano once Again on The Rebound, current Tata Motors’ CEO Carl-Peter Forster seems to have Understood The Direct connect between Advertising and Sales in The Indian Market. But Perhaps, this is also a Great time to Re-‘Reposition’ The Car. B&E does a Case Summary

When Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Motors, shared his vision of making a Rs.1 lakh car at the Geneva Motor Show, in 2003, there was cynicism and doubt from all quarters. Tata’s ambition was deemed unrealistic and critics wondered how it would be possible to make a car at almost half the price of the cheapest car (Maruti 800) available in the market. At a time when the automotive industry was still in thrall of “bigger is better” way of thinking, industry executives scoffed at the idea of an ultra low-cost bare bones car. But for Tata and his core team of five engineers led by Ravi Kant (the then MD, Tata Motors), the Nano car project was borne out of deep conviction, and not by any flashy ambition to stun the market and rivals. The team had prepared its ground well, going over all the details of the project with meticulous care and finesse. As such, for them, there was never a shadow of doubt about the viability and feasibility of the project.

So, when Tata unveiled the Nano at a jam-packed Tata Motors pavilion at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi on 10th of January 2008, there were wild cheers and rave reviews for the world’s cheapest car. Everyone, including Tata Motors, assumed that a product with such a low price would be a runaway success. And true to the euphoria and buzz generated by Nano’s launch, the diminutive car racked up more than 200,000 advance orders when it went on sale in April 2009. But the heady feeling did not last long. The Singur controversy over acquisition of farm land for building the Nano plant in West Bengal, along with the subsequent increase in the car price, poor distribution and instances of Nano cars catching fire proved to be a wet blanket for all those expecting the car to be a game changer for the auto industry.

By November 2010, sales of Nano had plummeted to 509 units, a sharp drop from recorded sales of 9,000 units in July 2010. That came as a shocker to not only market analysts but to Tata Motors as well. The dismal November sales was a rude awakening call for Tata Motors, which was counting on its small wonder to attract an annual demand of not less than one million. Yes, there were issues with respect to the sales outlets causing late deliveries and growing concerns amongst people about the quality at such a low price (Rs.137,555 for the lower end model).

But the most critical issues perhaps have been only two – the first one has relates to positioning. With over 11 million two-wheelers sold in India last year (according to SIAM), the company initially only targeted the two-wheeler owners to switch over to the Nano. In all his credible efforts to position the car as the alternative for the family which used a two-wheeler to travel around, Ratan Tata perhaps inadvertently positioned the innovative product as the poor man’s car. In other words, while the intent was brilliant societally, for any consumer buying the Nano, there was the inherent danger of being viewed by his social group as poor. Not even a poor man wishes to be identified as a poor man – and the Nano, to some extent, was doing just that. In summary, there was a great disconnect in the kind of people the company was reaching out to and the kind of people it wanted to sell to.

The second mistake was both in the quality and quantity of advertising. Quality of advertising relates to the both the medium of advertisements used and the kind of advertisement used. For example, while Nano was intended by the company for the lower-end belt, instead of reaching out to the intended segment and understanding their purchase behavior, Tata Motors relied heavily on non-conventional methods: They created a special Nano website where one could design their own Nano and play games; used social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut; leveraged blogs; and purchased online advertising. The online medium was hardly the right way to sell to their target segment and the strategy failed to create buzz around the car. Why did Tata Motors do this? One, because they perhaps thought that the word of mouth recall would be enough to exponentially increase the sales of Nano. Automobile experts are as guilty for this as some even commented that Indian roads will become jam packed within a few quarters of Nano sales. The company did release print ads; but that too as a statement of social action rather than as a sales strategy. Worse, the company refused to straddle the typical sales promotion strategies of having promotional offers, discounts et al being advertised regularly. In fact, the company did not even advertise otherwise regularly. Those were perhaps the banks giving auto-loans that were advertising.

As a result, the company ended up selling 75% of Nano cars in five major cities in India rather than the expected all India demand. And here comes the biggest repositioning learning for current CEO Carl-Peter Forster. For 50% of the people who bought the Nano, it has been their second car. If Carl understands this correlation, then perhaps this is the best time to rejig the ad positioning of Nano to beseech the prospective consumer with the punchline, “Tata Nano: Your first, second car,” than continuing the low-end positioning.

But CEO Carl has done something more – and intelligently. He has ensured that starting September 2010, Nano ads have started appearing in the electronic media channels, and now with increasing frequency. The plain and simple statistical connection between number of ads and sales has been forgotten in the past by many practitioners; luckily, it seems Carl has regained the connection.

In recent months, Tata Motors has also reviewed the issues related to production, quality standards and supply chain management of Nano cars. The company is additionally chalking out plans to enter new growth markets and export to countries like Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. To push sales, the company has already announced open sales of Nano cars for the entire country. For a long time Nano was not available off the shelf in many states. “It was only after the inauguration of the Sanand plant that we could plan for open sales of Tata Nano. We decided that we would do this in a phased manner in tandem with fine-tuning our marketing & sales infrastructure along with the finance support” said a Tata Motors spokesperson to B&E. By January 2011, the company had extended open sales to the rest of the country instead of the earlier system of having to book and wait for delivery.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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BRASS TACKS

New Delhi-based nonprofit Wildlife Protection Society of India suggests that since the tiger numbers have declined, at least 141 leopards have become victims of poaching so far in 2008.

It’s not that we don’t want to settle down at one place with good amenities, but working in the forest comes easy to us and all other vocations seem difficult. My children are studying here in the school run by WWF, especially for our kids. And after living here, they now don’t want to go back to the jungle life. Though we might earn more money in what we do and there is nothing like living with one’s own community, we are still ready to settle here if the government helps. But if it takes long, we will have no choice but to resume hunting. To you all, animals must be important more than human life, but for us they are a means of living.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Turnout mystery!

Unthinkable voter turnout initially baffled analysts, but it seems this is realpolitik

Groom Piara Singh, wearing a sehra (wedding head gear) became the centre of attraction at the Bikhangala polling station in Udhampur district when he arrived in a vehicle along with 60 baratis. Polling staff as well as voters, already standing in a queue, were amazed to see the marriage party at polling booth. And a woman, injured on the way to her booth, cast her vote before she went to the hospital. And this is the story of Jammu & Kashmir today. Separatists had issued an election ban diktat. But the result? In all but two constituencies, voters amazed India: the highest turnout registered was 77 per cent in Mendhar constituency in the first phase. Even more surprising is that Mendhar had seen a voter turnout of 60 per cent in 2003. Surankote and Poonch-Haveli also saw tremendous rise in voter turnouts. Surankote had voted 40 per cent in the last election and this time scored 74.38. This rubbished all predictions of a poll washout under threat from terrorists and moderate separatists, so much so that when this happened analysts were hard pressed for a proper explanation. The ground reality was two-fold. Many voters, without wanting their names out, told TSI that it is all right for separatists to give a call, “but so long as we are in India, we need the MLAs for our every little need. Who will get us the power, the water or the roads?”

Besides, it is also a fact that many in the Valley came out to vote in chilling cold because they feared staying at home would give the Bharatiya Janata Party a lead. And for the village people, this was one occasion, too, to go out and do something different than just sit and shiver at home!....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Political analysts liken this to the Santhal Rebellion

In fact, it was when the leaders – including Lalmohan Tudu, Sidhu Soren and Chhatradhar Mahato - went to inform the Lalgarh police station about the Rail Roko call, that senior officials assured them of looking into the major issues. The Committee sat for four hours to hammer out the deal with Additional District Magistrate (General) Aaron Israel, Additional Police Super (Town) Shubhankar Sinha Sarkar, DSP (Operation) Arnab Ghosh and other senior administration officials.

It is important to recall that the massive tribal stir that swept away CPI(M) cadres and chased away police from village after village in the entire Jungle Mahal area, flared up in protest against mindless police atrocities in the wake of the so-called bomb attack on a convoy of state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on October 8. Police unleashed a massive repression. A pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage in brutal beating. Police arrested three school children and some women, accusing them of trying to assassinate the CM! By the way, the atrocities were focussed in the same Chhotopelia village where the tribals surrounded the CRPF party on December 8.

The upsurge has now spread across Bankura, West Medinipur, Purulia and also Nadia and Barddhaman, where tribal people are not so large in numbers. And Lalgarh today is being likened by analysts to the Santhal Rebellion against the British Raj that had shaken the Empire! Possibly sensing is, Bhattacharjee apologised for police atrocity in the state Assembly, but that has clearly cut no ice....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

"Even if the militants are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, who do you think we are fighting?"

The Mumbai carnage and subsequent developments have also alarmed the US government because war between India and Pakistan would mean diversion from the "war on terror", that is neither in the interest of the US nor the vast majority inhabiting South Asia.

"In some ways that whole region is like a forest that hasn''t had rain in many months and one spark might be enough to touch off a blaze," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino on December 1, the same day US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Pakistan to provide "total" cooperation with India on the Mumbai attacks, as she began a trip that includes a "solidarity" visit to New Delhi.

Deterioration in Pakistan-India relations would only strengthen anti-democratic and fascist forces in South Asia, including rogue elements in intelligence agencies and would be a blessing in disguise for Islamic militants adamant to push Pakistan back to the medieval ages.

"The timing of the Mumbai carnage clearly indicates that terrorists want to sabotage the peace process between Pakistan and India. The two neighbours should seriously cooperate to apprehend the culprits and refrain from accusing each other because that would only serve terrorists," said Karamat Ali, director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, a thought echoed by Anis Haroon, general secretary, Pakistan-India People''s Forum for Peace and Democracy.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Jallianwala Bagh.

Defending the renovation work, trustee S. Mukherjee says; “We are not destroying any historical site. In fact we are preserving and renovating the memorial so that more people can relate to it. Otherwise the old building would have crumbled.” However, one of the lanes demolished was the one in which patriot Udham Singh, who was later to kill General Dyer in England, had helped the injured and the dying. A new wall is being constructed at the main gate for a light and sound show that is to be introduced here.

However, ITDC engineer maintains that the bullet marks on the walls are being preserved carefully and red sandstone is being used to give the monument a heritage look. The ambitious project was proposed by Maninderjit Singh Bitta, former president of the Indian Youth Congress to late Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao. However, the project could see the light of the day only after a high-level meeting of the board of trustees was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The project also include making of videos and CDs of the proposed light and sound show and distribute it throughout the country as part of an awareness campaign. The next question is about an entry fee. “All the historical monuments in the country have an entry fee, the only exception being the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial entry for which is free for visitors," says Mukherjee. Baba Bilga says: “The government should not convert the historical monument into a tourist place.” But no one is listening, as the old order changeth, indeed, yielding place to the new.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Chartered accounts win!

The Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI), one of the last three All India Institutes still remaining at Kolkata, is all set to shift to Delhi. The shift, interestingly, is motivated by a strange logic: to be in closer proximity with the power lobby at the Centre! However, many of the members fear a hidden agenda behind amalgamating the ICWAI with The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) at Delhi, where now cost accountants will be swallowed by their bigger counterparts, the chartered accountants.

Since it is being felt increasingly difficult to feed the growing number of practicing chartered accountants, it is now necessary to substantially take away the market of practicing cost accountants, disclosed sources close to ICAI, speaking on condition of anonymity. The CAs will do all the work, including those earmarked for cost accountants, while the latter can be junior partners or employees of chartered accountants in multidisciplinary firms now being envisaged in the Limited Liability Partnership Bill 2008 tabled recently in the Parliament.

The Bill seeks to dilute, or eliminate, the provision of cost audit by cost accountants. For instance, in Clause 131(2) of the Bill on Statutory Cost Audit, the very ‘qualification’ of cost auditor has been omitted. Clause 131(5) of the Bill specifies that ‘qualification’ of general auditor (financial auditor) will also apply to cost auditors and such ‘qualification’ of auditor is specified in Clause 124(1). And what is that qualification? “A person shall be eligible for appointment as an auditor of a company only if he is a chartered accountant in practice”. It means chartered accountants will now do cost audit, replacing cost accountants!....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

The myth of freedomania

Do freedom and development go hand-in-hand in the context of undeclared province, region or territory? Both freedom and development are integral and are equally needed for overall growth. To make things clear, let’s consider the newly independent state of Kosovo – in Europe. Are average Kosovars happier after the independence?Are they economically, socially or psychologically better off than they were under Serbian rule? Issues like ethnic conflicts, corruption, economic hollowness, high unemployment rate along with dearth of investment, poor living standards, inadequate energy, food and basic amenities still loom large and are putting question marks on the hurried independence exercise. It continues to be the most underdeveloped state in Europe with per capita income being less than $1,565. GDP growth rate remains very low at around 2-3 per cent while the unemployment is over 40 per cent.

On this the World Bank had prophesied that even with six per cent annual GDP growth rate (which is double than the current growth rate), it needs at least 10 more years to cut the unemployment by half (from 40 per cent to 20 per cent). For most Kosovars, independence was a dream come true but unless the basics like electricity, safe drinking water, education and employment become norms than exceptions and unless the Kosovar polity meets every promises they made during the freedom struggle, freedom in its real sense would continue to be elusive.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Encounters in the Wild

I was woken just before dawn by the persistent calls of warblers and sunbirds. Emerging sleepily from the confines of the ancient forest bungalow, built during the British Raj at Dimbhum in Kerala's Satyamangalam forest block, the first sight to greet me through the light mist was a bevy of small minivets adorning the compound trees like so many scarlet and yellow Christmas decorations. The freshness in the air, the sounds and the ethereal ambience created by the mist enveloped me and transported me to days when all of India must have been as verdant, as invigorating.

Lost in thought, I was shaken from my reverie by a bird which flew low over my head from behind me to settle on a nearby banyan tree. Through my binoculars I saw its flaming-orange and black coloration and leafed through the Salim Ali's Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent to discover its flycatcher identity. I quickly added another `tick' to my lifetime tally of 210 species of birds and settled down in the short grass, a steaming flask of tea for company, to observe the bird from a distance of less than 20 metres....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Assam Blasts - Ominous Bloody Thursday

Harekrishna Deka
ex-DGP, Assam & Sr Journalist

India has increasingly become the target of terrorist bombings in the recent past, with blasts in Jaipur, Gujarat, Bengaluru and Delhi taking the lives of scores of people. Had the explosives not been recovered in Surat in time, and had the conspiracies in Mumbai and Chennai not been detected, the catastrophe would have only been greater. That organisations such as Indian Mujahideen that could in reality be a form of SIMI, and that there is a form of jihad that a section of communal extremists now subscribes to as a means of revenge is becoming more apparent by the day.

So, is there a foreign hand that now extends from a neighbouring country, in so far as the blasts in Assam on October 30, 2008 are concerned? One must mention in this context that the needle of suspicion in India’s blasts over the past months has often pointed to Harkat ul Jihadi Islami (HUJI), an organisation that has its roots in neighbouring Bangladesh. The blasts in Assam have meanwhile been claimed by an outfit called the Islamic Security Force of India (ISFI-Indian Mujahideen). The IM suffix, one gathers, could link the outfit to both HUJI and SIMI.

Significantly, the ISFI is not an organisation that has appeared suddenly out of nowhere. It was way back in the year 2000 that the Special Branch (SB) of Assam Police had gathered evidence regarding the existence of such a group. There is enough such evidence to establish that the ISFI at that point in time attempted to organise the Muslim community against Bodo ultra groups such as National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), which operated in the lower Assam districts. It was then that the name of Muhammad Mushtaqil, the secretary of ISFI, first surfaced as a terror element who had the support of the al-Qaida and was associated with the al-Omar, an outfit that operates in Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK). One could analyse that the ISFI, which then kept itself beyond the radar of the country’s intelligence agencies used its time to broaden its base of operations. While there were then no established links of the ISFI with HUJI, one shouldn’t overlook the fact that Bangladesh’s HUJI is a creation of the al-Qaeda and that the HUJI called itself the “Bangladeshi Taliban”. One, hence, could believe that the ISFI comprises a sleeper cell of the al-Qaeda.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Faced with near total isolation, DMK is trying to woo PMK

IIPM Publication
Inside DMK, there are intra-party and family feuds. Meanwhile, continuing power shortage in the state is a thorn in DMK’s flesh. Karunanidhi took an aggressive stand in the Lankan issue and even he won the support of PMK. Ramadoss participated in the human chain organised by DMK and both leaders met each other briefly then. But after that the softer line on the Lankan issue – penned by a Central diktat – found Karunanidhi become the whipping boy of all state parties, including the PMK. Perturbed by all these, there was a strong rumour last week that Karunanidhi might quit Chief Ministership!

This is why the PMK is now crucial for DMK. Ramadoss has not immediately extended the olive branch. The ongoing Assembly session, perhaps will throw some answers to the future course of the party. “There is speculation that our leader would like to meet the Assembly elections midway, along with the general elections. Meanwhile AIADMK wants to upset us in the Assembly by causing defections. Till parliamentary elections, it is tough time for us,” a senior DMK functionary told TSI. But Karunanidhi has weathered many a storm in his career. He may come out successfully this time too!....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Bottled Up and battlelines drawn

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If fizzy colas were not enough, as summer approaches, the market is all set to witness a tough battle in the packaged bottled water segment too. Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina, Himalyan and a host of regional and local players have jumped into action. May the ‘purest’ marketer win, says PAWAN CHABRA

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two well-known men. One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom; and the other is the crafty Ramesh Chauhan, who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs.500 crore bottled water brand, Bisleri in the country, from his 1st floor office in the sprawling aqua green Bisleri facility on this highway.

Chauhan may be short, stocky and nearing 70, but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota. After all, despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with Kinley and PepsiCo with Aquafina) and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks, Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment. He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs.2000 crore Indian bottled water mart. “We have no competitor. Our biggest competition is our own incompetence,” he grins, describing how it is the unorganised sector, which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers. Bisleri claims 66% market share of the organised segment. “If we were present where the unorganised players are selling, they would not be there at all,” grimaces Chauhan.

He’s not too far off the mark. Till last year, the number of bottled water licences issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) were above 1800. But while the figure includes a host of regional players, it also includes MNCs like Kinley & Aquafina; as also domestic giants aka Bailey (Parle Agro) and Himalayan (acquired by Ratan Tata last year). While the regional players may be sweating it out in their home turfs, the national biggies are fully geared up to wrestle it out with Bisleri in the Indian bottled water combat zone.

And as the weather in the country is getting hotter by the day, so is the competition in the Indian bottled water market. Says Homi Battiwalla, Vice President, Emerging Categories, PepsiCo India, “We are among the top three players in the packaged retail water business. This year, we have aggressive plans for Aquafina and will be focusing on consumer engagement.” At the start of the year, PepsiCo revamped Aquafina’s 500 ml carry pack for the Indian market, giving it an an enhanced translucent blue label to entice consumers. Starting April end, the soft drink company will also replace all existing packs of Aquafina, with new labels. “Packaged bottled water is a low margin game and is more or less an impulse purchase even today, so marketing plays a crucial role,” avers Abhishek Jain, Research Head Stocksidea.com.

PepsiCo is not alone in upping its competitive antennae. Kinley, the second biggest bottled water brand in India, from the Coca-Cola stable, is also going great guns. The beverages giant is now giving final touches to launch BonAqua in India, another packaged water brand from its global portfolio. The bid is to position BonAqua in the premium segment – to take on Bisleri’s recently launched variant called Bisleri Himalayan Water, which is positioned in the premium segment. Coca-Cola India is banking on modern trade to give its premium brand the requisite fillip.

Analysts opine that with Ratan Tata at its helm now, even Himalayan (which operates in the premium segment) should be preparing to up its stakes in the bottled water mart. Nearly 70% of the market share in this niche segment is held by Himalayan. The brand is also a clear leader in the institutional sales segment, where its USP of being ‘packed at source’ has helped Himalayan considerably. “Himalayan is packed at the source and its composition is entirely different as compared to other brands in the industry,” opines Jain. With both Bisleri & Coca-Cola giving a shot at this premium segment, institutional sales of premium bottled water can well emerge as a high potential market for the industry in coming times.

Coming back to the mass packaged water segment, in a business where distribution plays a vital role, Bisleri’s slow and steady market expansion since 1969 has given it an upper hand vis-à-vis competition. Sources in the industry agree that distribution can help this impulse purchase product like no other marketing activity can, including advertising. Bisleri boasts over 50 manufacturing plants across the country (ahead of competition), the latest addition being at Andaman & Nicobar islands. “The more plants you have, the more is your distribution reach. For this low margin biz to be viable, plants need to be within a 150-200 km radius of the distribution circle,” explains Ruchika Desai, Brand Manager, Bisleri.

On the other hand, thanks to their soft drink business, Aquafina & Kinley have managed to capture an altogether different distribution channel, that of modern retail formats. Chauhan minces no words, when he launches an attack against them. “Kinley & Aquafina have a total dissolved solids level (TDS) of less than five (where zero TDS stands for distilled water) and Bombay Municipal water has 40 TDS. So, Municipal water is much better in terms of minerals.” Easy to say, but tough to digest without scientific laboratory tests. Given that for the average consumer there is hardly any differentiation between various bottled water brands, Bisleri constantly needs to be on its toes to protect its market leadership. Chauhan evinces his company’s plans to launch a slew of product extensions soon, including flavoured water.

For sure, as the summer of 2008 approaches, the battle between the bottled water majors for market share is going to get hotter. Bottom line is – how quickly can these players grab consumer attention and bottle up his impulse spending for thirst quenching.

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).

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What an idea, sirjee

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Social messaging in advertising…

"MONOJIT LAHIRI examines this new and exciting genre that’s grabbing eyeballs and attention and challenging the old order that defined advertising solely as a one dimensional, sell-sell-sell game!"

Advertising is the public face of marketing with an uncomplicated, one-point-agenda-to make products disappear from the shelves to the right hands and homes, with consistency and speed. Over time, areas like patriotism and social service have deployed advertising, but, at best, they were cute to watch tickling the feel-good glands… at worst, boring and preachy. Predictably these efforts came from the government quarters. Typically the issues tackled were ‘safe’ ones, never remotely touching sensitive themes like caste, religion or politics. As far as they were considered, these subjects were taboo and totally off-limits.

Much water has flown under the bridge since those politically correct and sanctimonious times with ‘Social Messaging’ coming centre-stage as a powerful, persuasive and significant agent of social change. Ravi Naware (chief executive, food division, ITC) lays it on the line when he says that way beyond the much touted CSR, “consumers today seem to be interested in more than just a great ad or quality product. They are interested in products that echo their own values.” Adds Ajit Varghese (MD, Max India, an ageny that works closely with Britannia), “We are witnessing a strong trend where brands are utilising issues that surrounds the consumer’s immediate environment and addressing them through mainstream ads.” Advertising, from time immemorial, has been consistently bad-mouthed by a section of society labeling them as shameless promoters of excess and useless mass consumerism. This has been fiercely defended by the ad fraternity citing examples where advertising has indeed attempted to be an agent of social change. As this issue goes into print, at least three ads of this ‘genre’ are presently occupying center-stage and inviting both attention and admiration.

The first - an Airtel ad - shows kids on either side of a barbed wire fence, jump the barrier to indulge in a game of football in no-man’s land. In an extraordinarily simple but powerful way, it works as a magnificent metaphor for communication as a solution to end all conflicts, wars and battles. Says Arvind Mohan ( Chief Strategist Officer, Rediff DY&R), “ We wanted to create branding that went way beyond the purchase intent and made people proud to be associated with the brand.” Adds Amatesh Rao (National business head, Rediff DY&R), “Admittedly commercials with social messages don’t immediately bring about change, but they reflect strongly the change that is happening in society… a change that may not be perceptible or articulated but definitely taking shape in collective fashion, in the sensibilities of new age youth in a resurgent India.” The Tata Tea ad comes next. The communication thought is truly clutter-busting, attempting to migrate tea from being a physical and emotional vitaliser to becoming a catalyst for social awakening. Percy Siganporia (MD, Tata Tea Ltd) quite categorically emphasises that the focus is to emotively connect the product with issues that drives the heart, mind and soul of India’s emerging social consciousness. Executive Creative Director Amer Jaleel of Lowe (the agency behind this ad) sensed the restlessness among today’s youth and extended the concept of “waking up with tea” in a stunning communication package that embraced social awakening, giving a whole new dimension to the term ‘Jago re’.

Lowe struck target again (group creative director Nikhil Rao, take a bow) with yet another brilliant, breakthrough concept that redefined the very meaning of Idea. Executive Chairman Balki was clear about the focus – how to position the brand as a better ‘Idea’ than anyone else and elevate it from transactional issues like price and value. Targeting politics as a platform and humorously – yet pointedly- dramatizing the social inadequacies that plague the nation, with a mobile number (not a name) as an identity tag, the Idea Cellular communication truly deserves the fulsome ‘What an Idea, Sirjee’, salute!

Amidst the accolade and approval that has greeted these ads, there have been dissenting voices too. Is this brand of advertising relevant to the basic job it’s meant to do? The popular consensus seems to be a resounding, yes. In today’s environment, marketing and branding are increasingly becoming real, rooted and relatable. Hence they have a legitimate and deserved space. Besides, these ads reflect that magical, seamless embrace with reality. Do today’s ‘I-Me-Myself’ generation really connect with the Jago Re or the Idea Cellular communication-without-barrier stuff, absorbed as they seem to be in living life, king-size?

Of course, they are! It’s a total myth that today’s youth only believes in celebrating life and are totally blind, uncaring and insensitive to the social inadequacies, causes and concerns. Never before has there been such passionate and dramatic demonstrations of rooting for justice (Jessica Lal case) or such immense acceptance for movies like Rang De Basanti. Sure, today’s youth enjoy life, but their hearts continue to be in the right place, solidly re-affirming the validity and relevance of social messaging in advertising! Truly a great idea, sirjee!

MONOJIT LAHIRI

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 :-
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For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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