Kyamovie, Kyamatch, Kyazoonga

Neetu Bhatia, Co-founder, Kyazoonga.com talks about her vision to make Kyazoonga.com a one-stop shop for ticketing solutions...

4Ps B&M: Online ticketing for sporting events is a novel concept in India. How did the idea click for you?
NB: It all began in the summer of 2006. When my brother and I wanted to go for a movie, we realised that there was not a single place where we could check out show timings and whether tickets were available or sold out. We checked with movie theaters to find out if their technical systems could be integrated with a single platform, and before we knew it, we were tying up with all cinema theater chains in the country. We began ticketing cricket once we received the first round of funding. We started with movies first as it is a year round phenomena whereas cricket is seasonal and it is only when team India is playing at home ground that one can see some frenzy. November 2007 was when we first sold online tickets for the India-Pakistan finals in Jaipur.

4Ps B&M: So do movie tickets net in more moolah or are cricketing events more lucrative?
NB: It depends on what we are selling – whether it is sports ticket that we are selling, is it cricket or some other sport. It depends upon the marketability and selling ability of a particular event. Our business model depends a lot upon the demographics and the city where the event is taking place. For instance, Mumbai has a very different buying culture than Delhi. While a customer pays because of the convenience he’s getting; the client pays because of the platform that we provide to sell his offering. So the business model varies for clients, events and situations.

4Ps B&M: What about competition from other ticketing portals like Bookmyshow.com? How do you convince customers to book with you instead?
NB: We’ve seen many competitors come and go in this market. There are very few companies around the world that are able to offer good centralised ticketing platform and can simplify complex problems. We’re not just selling tickets through our online channel, but also through retail stores where people can pay cash and buy tickets. And this is where we’ve differentiated ourselves from our competitors as in retail outlets, the customer does not has to worry about not having a debit or credit card like in the case of online transactions. Currently, we’ve 250 retail outlets and with the kind of strategic partnerships we are looking, we should be over 1,000 by the end of this year.

4Ps B&M: How has been the ticketing response to the recently concluded Hero Honda Cup?
NB: The response has been nothing less than phenomenal. We witnessed one of the largest stadiums in the country, in Mumbai, completely sold out, though it’s unfortunate that the rain wiped out the match. For the Mohali match, we were only selling high value tickets and we’ve seen encouraging response there too.

4Ps B&M: You had the online ticketing rights for IPL 2. Are you bidding for the 2010 Common Wealth Games?
NB: We’re the only sports ticketing company in the country. Everything and anything related to sports is always on our radar and Common Wealth Games are no exception. Our objective is to satisfy all needs of the Indian customer pertaining to sports and entertainment. We’ve recently tied up with a leading amusement park of the country and are also adding adventure sports like sailing in our portfolio. The idea is not just to provide convenient tickets but also to offer value added content to the customer so that we become a one-stop shop for them.

Surbhi Chawla

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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The real licensed Reality TV!

Despite some great original formats, licensing of Indian TV content is negligible. If Bollywood has got global acceptance, what stops home-made reality TV?

4Ps B&M: Do you think original Indian television show formats have the potential to be licensed outside India?
AP: Yes. It is the classic parallel of asking why Indian/ Bollywood films don’t crossover. Here we’re purely talking about the format or story/ characters. Indians have always been great storytellers from time immemorial; take our mythological tales, for instance. So therefore, yes, some of our shows do possess great potential to be licensed out to other countries.

4Ps B&M: … but of course, there must definitely be certain type or categories of shows that have the scope to be licensed out?
AP: Shows that have stories with universal appeal, with characters, emotions that people identify with, fit the bill. Again, certain shows could appeal in certain places, based on similarity of audience profiles, for example in Pakistan. But our soaps could even do well in a place like Brazil. Interestingly, there are times when you could find a connect even in the most unlikely places; look at Mithun & Raj Kapoor’s films becoming a hit in Russia or for that matter Rajnikant in Japan!

4Ps B&M: And how about the scope for licensing of Indian fiction shows to global markets?
AP: I believe the scope for Indian fiction shows being licensed is immense in certain global markets. However, someone needs to pick them up and market them aggressively.

4Ps B&M: Why is it that despite having some very interesting TV show formats in place, licensing them out to global markets has not yet become a regular practice in India?
AP: Well, the focus hasn’t moved sufficiently to alternative revenue streams. For example, Bollywood, in the past, focussed only on the Indian box-office. Then, with a few hits, not just within the South Asian diaspora, but amongst others across the world, they realised the potential of earning more money, and then they started chasing an ‘NRI’ and other content consumers. Same is the case with television shows… Some of it may also be a function of rights. Most cases show that the rights are taken over by the broadcaster. And a lot of them have global footprints, eg. Zee and even MTV India beam (that reaches out goes out to several markets like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, US, parts of UAE and Maldives) and Star... It is monetised through advertising/ subscriptions. But internationally, a lot of the production houses retain rights and then the format holder(s) exploits these through all other sources possible.

4Ps B&M: What needs to be done to encourage the licensing out of original Indian TV formats?
AP: Ease of registration of formats, supporting and facilitating the same through forums at Cannes are a few important steps that will encourage the licensing out of Indian shows. More so, greater consideration should be given to organising more intra-industry events, trade fairs, etc…
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

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The movers...

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l Punit Goenka, currently serving as Whole-time Director & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has been appointed MD of the company w.e.f January 2010. The announcement follows the demerger of regional entertainment vertical of Zee New Ltd. (ZNL) to ZEEL. Post-demerger, ZNL’s six regional channels viz. Zee Kannada, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Talkies and Zee Cinemalu will come directly under Zeel from January 2010.

l Tarun Das, Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) retired on Novmber 3. Das was the Chief Mentor of CII from 2004-2009 and was the Director General of CII from 1974-2004.

l Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL)has announced the transfer of its current MD & CEO, H. S. Lheem to its Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. The transfer will be effective from November 5, 2009. Lheem will be succeeded by H. W. Park, current Senior Executive Director, Administration & CFO, HMIL.

l Dr. Amrita Patel, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has agreed to join the Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

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UNITED IN FEAR

The Mumbai Terror Attacks

The ultimate marketing lesson for a political party in search of a decisive voter endorsement is simple: do not milk the traumatic power of terror attacks to score political brownie points. Terror creates fear, no doubt; but it also unites citizens in an unprecedented manner. For decades to come (or unless a bigger attack happens in future), 26/11 will remain etched in the Indian memory as the equivalent of the 9/11 attack that shook America and convulsed the world. Assembly Elections in many states including Rajasthan & Delhi were scheduled around that time. And in what turned out to be a marketing blunder, the BJP took out full page ads in newspapers asking citizens to vote for a party that could protect them from such attacks. The citizens voted no doubt, but not for the BJP and gave a ringing endorsement to the Congress in Delhi & Rajasthan. Reason: voters found that the product attribute of BJP was definitely not superior to that of the Congress when it came to tackling terror attacks. And it found the ‘fear and hate’ inducing ads distasteful. Of course, there have been occasions when playing on fear has worked – as the Congress did successfully after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. Has the Indian consumer evolved?!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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We believe in fast and unhindered access to our voice & data services

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

Vsevolod Rozanov
President & CEO, SSTL

And to succeed in this strategy, MTS is in fact collaborating with handset makers for more affordable data capable phones. It’s even considering to offer exclusive and subsidised handsets in India much like the global market.

Another thing that works in favour of this service provider is that Open Market Handsets (OMH) have been recently given a green signal in the country, which means that CDMA subscribers would now have a greater choice when it comes to purchase a handset. Though Lenny does not deny this opportunity, but he points out that even with the introduction of OMH in the country, existing customers will have to buy in a new phone to avail MTS services. However, to address the problem there will soon be handsets in India that would be technology agnostic, making it simpler for the subscriber to shift whenever he desires even without changing his/her handset.

No doubt, in the recent past we have seen many new players, be it RCOM’s GSM foray, Aircel or even Tata DOCOMO entering the Indian telecom market, but they all have harped on the low pricing strategy, freebies, et al, and nothing else. Even MTS seems to be going the same way as of now. Though the company has been ranked as number one or two by TRAI in terms of network service in various circles in which it currently operates in, but if MTS wants to make a mark for itself in the Indian market, it will have to work more towards creating a differentiating factor (which somehow seems missing at the moment) and that too before it’s too late.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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Burn‘s’ing desire!

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It seems that Ursula Burns, (the 30-year veteran at Xerox who just took over as its CEO in July this year), is acting boldly to change Xerox’s stodgy image. Well, Xerox has just agreed to buy Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for a whopping $5.75 billion. No doubt, it’s a smart move from Xerox as the combination will result in $400 million of annual synergies, but then, the moot question is will the deal finally take it away from its age-old image of being just a printer company? “We’re creating a new class of solution provider,” Burns said in a statement. No doubt, the move is a big bet to transform Xerox into a $22 billion business that does everything – from collecting tolls and installing systems to retooling business processes and information technology outsourcing. And who knows ACS may prove to be Burns’ most radiant strike in her new role as CEO!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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Designer Tarun Tahiliani gets candid with 4Ps B&M’s Angshuman Paul

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4Ps B&M: If you were reborn, who would you like to be born as?
TT: If I ever get a chance to choose who I can be reborn as, I would like to be born again as myself but with the wisdom I have today.

4Ps B&M: One thing you can’t resist?
TT: Definitely a good scotch.

4Ps B&M: If you were invisible for a day, what would you like to do?
TT: I will go to my office, simply sit there and watch what exactly happens in my absence.

4Ps B&M: What puts you off?
TT: Arrogance and Hypocrisy. I cannot stand it.

4Ps B&M: The perfect festival outfit?
TT: Definitely not a bikini (laughs). If it’s a festival, I prefer to keep it simple and ethnic. However, as a general rule, anything that you are comfortable in, is the perfect dress for any occasion (smiles).

4Ps B&M: Your most cherished childhood memory?
TT: It’s a Diwali memory. I still remember when I was a kid, my grandfather used to get a huge tokri (basket) full of crackers for all of us. And we used to wait for the festival season all year long. I cherish those times.

4Ps B&M: The person you miss the most during a festival?
TT: My mother. I remember when my mother was alive, she used to run around during festivals decorating the house, making various arrangements and ensuring everything was in place.

4Ps B&M: Fashion today...
TT: ...has moved much beyond just east or west and today’s customer is much more concerned about the colour contrast. But I think one should not be so fussy about colour matching and contrasts. For me fashion is what you are confident in carrying yourself. But yes, you should know the right dressing for right occasion.

Angshuman Paul

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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Alok Bharadwaj,
Sr. Vice-President, Canon India
“The best thing innovation has produced is Microsoft. while executing my leadership & management roles, communication, analytics & engagement become very critical & the tools I employ become a mix of my skills & Microsoft’s technology. i Can’t imagine living without such technologies. The most interesting part is that while experiencing MS tools, I find them integrated in their next ‘futuristic’ version. It is as if Microsoft’s R&D staff are listening to my prayers. What an impact their Office 2007 powerpoint has created in my presentations. Microsoft is almost like a part of us. I call it the ‘sixth sense of human body...”

C. S. Rao,
MD, Intel-WiMax Program Office, South Asia & Middle-East
“Simply stated, I, an indian cannot even think of leading an active personal, social and business life without Microsoft. I mean, how can one imagine life with no access to the world on my most habituated way of accessing the web over Microsoft’s Internet Explorer? The fact that I will not be able to generate any document without the Microsoft Word, or that I will lose the opportunity to use MS Excel for any kind of financial analysis or the outlook to send emails, just sounds like I will be pushed back to some age of the dinosaurs. If I lose access to MS’ calendar,, then I would be out-of-sync with my usual present self. I guess, we in India have become conditioned in that fashion. if the PC for indians is about the body-self, then the soul surely becomes Microsoft!”

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!

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Brand Loyalty

Wow! Film stars who are loyal!

In today’s highly competitive environment, brand loyalty is a topical issue, for it becomes difficult for a brand to engage customers for long. Those who do succeed tend to get rewards in terms of customer retention. Loyal customers are also likely to spread positive word of mouth to other consumers, thus becoming advocates of the brand. For the second year running Airtel has topped the Brand Loyalty Index. Airtel continuously engaged its customers with innovative product offerings, VAS and its high value customer retention programme.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
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IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
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Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

IIPM conceptualized the grand final of Dare ‘10 — the most prestigious of international B-school student quizzes

Entry Price: Rs.86
Target Price: Rs.108
EPS: 4.8 (FY10E)
P/E: 17.9 (FY10E)
Time Duration: One year
Rationale: While slowdown in the economy and ad-spend cuts remains cause of concern for print media companies, Jagran Prakashan is expected to post steady growth (up-tick post 2HFY2010E) owing to its strong foothold in the Hindi belt (Dainik Jagran), focus on local advertising and rising colour inventory. Company’s margins are also expected to improve by 750 basis points over FY 2009-11E driven by lower newsprint costs (declined 35-40% from peak of $950), lower losses in new initiatives and higher operating leverage (as ad-rate hikes get absorbed). Further, the company’s 2QFY2010 and 3QFY2010 will register sharpest gross margin expansion due to base effect. This certainly makes Jagran Prakashan a stock to hold on.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
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IIPM, GURGAON
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IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
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Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
IIPM Best B School – EVENTS

Don’t forget the seat belt!

Small surprise that the CEO is like a man possessed, packing in nearly 14 hours of work in a day. He starts his day early (at 5am) and after finishing his hour long exercise regimen, he gets on to work, taking only five minutes off for lunch in between. Given that the luxury car market is expected to grow even higher than the average growth of the passenger car market (around 8-10%) in India, his agenda perhaps would be to corner more market share for Mercedes. Aulbur even seems to have a plan to make reality meet his expectations. Apart from the new E-Class that Mercedes plans to roll out over the next couple of months in India, in a bid to expand its market, the company also launched the improved version of its M-Class SUV in March this year. And to hit back at rivals, Mercedes has kept the pricing of the new model almost similar to the old one, despite added features. Combined with the volume puller C-Class (that accounts for nearly 40% of Mercedes’ total sales in India), the company expects to stay on top of market developments. Hopes are particularly high with the coming festive season. If Mercedes manages to register similar sales figures (banking on the new E-class) as in last fiscal, the going will be smooth for the company.

Importantly, Aulbur is taking a leaf out of his competition’s winning strategies. Despite its late entry, BMW’s dream run in the Indian luxury car market in large parts stems from creating a large network of truly luxurious dealerships, benchmarked to BMW’s global network. An average BMW dealership in India today almost offers a similar retail experience as in Munich or Tokyo. Aulbur is moving along a similar path, with plans to open more showrooms in metros as well as in the Tier-II and III cities to “offer a better retail experience to consumers.” Along with associates, the company is now investing close to Rs.150 crore in its distribution network “to ensure that the Mercedes Benz retail experience is the best in the country,” says Aulbur. Land has already been purchased across the country to build these new showrooms. The show of muscle does not stop there. In a bid to win back its undisputed top slot in India’s luxury automobile segment, the plan is also to ramp up its Bangalore-based R&D facility significantly. The company has already announced that head count is set to go up four fold in the facility.

From new launches, retail reach, pricing controls to unabashedly adopting the winning strategies of its rivals, Aulbur is clearly leaving no room for a mess up in the Indian market. Sure, there is professional pride involved, but there’s also a personal connection. Married to Radha Srinivasan since 1997 and a self-proclaimed follower of democracy, India is second home for Aulbur. And isn’t the taste of success on your home turf always sweeter?

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”
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Sanjay Behl knew what he was letting himself in for when he took on the ceo’s mantle at big tv two months ago.

But it will take much more than a few tough rivals, nonplussed consumers and a late-mover disadvantage to dissuade Behl from the task at hand. Surbhi Chawla meets up with Ambani jr.’s key man...

The first thing that you notice when you meet Sanjay Behl, CEO, BIG TV is his height. At 6 feet plus, and fair as fair can be, his personality dwarfs the room that we sit in. Behl’s marketing charisma however has nothing remotely dwarfish about it. But we are not the first guys to discover that. Anil Ambani discovered it (much to his advantage) almost five years ago when he plucked this marketing wizard out of Nokia and made him the branding centre point of his maiden consumer facing business – RCOM. Behl’s stature within Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) soared when RCOM surged ahead of its rivals in the mobile telephony segment, within striking distance of market leader Airtel. So when Arun Kumar Kapoor, the then CEO of ADAG’s Big TV (the DTH arm of ADAG) jumped ship, Ambani predictably zeroed in on Sanjay Behl to step in as CEO.

High on his success with RCOM, Behl was only too happy to tap into his experiences with the mobile telephony venture to make the DTH business a viable proposition for Ambani junior. Just two months into his new role and Behl is really making serious strategic inroads. “Our experience in enriching the mobile screens of over 80 million customers through popular, interactive and utility value-added-services makes us confident of creating similar excitement, never seen before on millions of TV screens in India,” he says, with barely unsuppressed enthusiasm.

But, Behl’s task is both easy and difficult at the same time. Easy because the DTH industry in India is still in a nascent stage with just 13 million subscribers (while there are more than 403 mobile subscribers) and with growth pegged at 18% q-o-q, there is immense space for Behl to make a play for potential consumers. But the difficulty comes from the persistent non-acceptance for DTH by the masses. A key reason for that is that consumers have not really realised the value proposition that DTH seeks to offer and so see no need for change. Big TV’s obvious late entry into the segment, where Dish TV and Tata Sky have already taken the lead, is another disadvantage.

Recite any number of difficulties and challenges ahead, but it is tough to dampen Behl’s gung-ho attitude. In fact, Behl is confident of changing perceptions about the generic nature of this industry (with pricing being the key differentiation between players till now) by creating BIG differentiations for BIG TV’s offerings. Says Behl, “Value proposition would always be the key differentiators in a customer centric entertainment market.”

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
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Focus on your communication

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Seen the latest ad from India’s leading insurance provider LIC. Haven’t? Well, it talks about the needlessness of adding two K’s to your name to change your professional fortune. Okay, caught the latest Tata Safari Dicor commercial? This one pointedly rubbishes office politics in these troubled times and asks consumers to ‘Reclaim your life’. India’s largest private bank ICICI is doing a lot of ‘rely on us in bad times’ ads; Honda City’s sedan cruises along rough terrain with an ‘enjoy your challenges’ tag line...

If you are still not getting the point – guess its back to the schoolroom for you. Fact is every marketer worth his salt (or should we say 4Ps?) is sending out ‘loaded’ missives to his consumers these days. He’s trying to build a common agenda with consumers and make a moot point about the emotional connect in these unhappy times so that the consumer should buy his brand. Agrees Anisha Motwani, Executive VP-Marketing, Max New York Life Insurance (MNYL): “Times are cautious. Therefore, the message should have a ‘re-assuring’ communication strategy. The tone and content of advertising should be re-assuring that your money is safe with us.” To communicate its credibility, MNYL recently began spreading the message that their international partner, New York Life is the only American financial organisation that has been untouched by the US economic turmoil.

And that perhaps is the reason for all the optimism floating around in the air. Yeah! You guessed it right – because people want to hear good things (especially the overtly optimistic, never say die, Indian people!!).

Big 92.7 FM, the biggest private FM player as per the number of channels and reach – is similarly attempting to cash in on consumer apathy to negative messages. Their ‘Don’t Worry; Be Happy’ theme is receiving rave response. Says Nirupam Sonu, VP – Programming, BIG 92.7 FM, “Honestly there is a lot of negativity in the air. So, we need someone to tell them to be happy and take them a little away from their troubles.” Besides the daily doses of laughter, the station has a programming line up that hosts visionaries and CEOs who give tips on how to stay motivated at the workplace, how to secure jobs, manage expenses, et al, during these tough times. “It is not just about recession and gives no gyan as to when the bad times will end. Instead it is just our initiative to help our listeners,” says Sonu.

Besides the message itself, medium choices and exorbitant ad rates are other niggling worries for marketers. The trick it seems is to review your media budget allocations to maximise value. Little surprise that a host of marketers are lining up media houses to review their options. Chirantan Chandran, Partner-Client Leadership, Mindshare adds that “clients are of course looking for better rates but moreover, the major deciding factor for them is ROI and the accountability of investments. They have become more careful about each step they are taking, they are seeing what they are receiving in lieu of what they are doing in fact what they are investing.” Titus, ex-Senior Creative Director, O&M suggests innovative media vehicles for generating better bang for their bucks. “Communication is changing. We are all awakening to the fact that television can’t solve all the problems,” he says.

TV sure can’t solve problems. Just like chanting, praying and generally invoking the God of good times to banish those depressing thoughts, TV can at best play along the tunes of hope. But the fact is that there is a lot of hope for marketers and companies that can think out-of-the-box. Out-of-the-box need not be out of the world; but it does mean you actually end up feeling good in these so called bad times.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Beat this – 10 million in 2010!

IIPM set to beat economic slowdown

Tourism has not forsaken India, and hoteliers can only rejoice. Leela Nandan speaks to 4Ps B&M...

Qs: Last year was not so good a year for tourism in India. What’s your take on that?
Ans: First of all, I will not agree to the fact that 2008 was not a good year for tourism in India! When we look at ourselves, we may have grown by just 6% over the previous calendar year, but then compare it with the world average – it is far more, because the world grew at only about 2-3%! Definitely this is despite the fact that there was a global meltdown and that there were terror attacks. So that is definitely a very positive thing for us, and in numerical terms, we had 5.37 million arrivals in 2008 as compared to just 5.08 million in 2007. That itself is an indication of the fact that people are continuing to travel to India, and in the month of December ‘08 alone, we had 5.22 lakh people who came to India as compared to 5.96 lakh in Dec 2007; and all this despite the fact that the Mumbai incident happened just before the month of December. So, I think that all this indicates that people the world over do take tourism in India very seriously.

Qs: But what has been the price that Indian tourism and hospitality Industry paid for ‘terror’?
Ans: When you talk of price paid, you can only look at it in numerical terms. We continue to have visitors coming to India in December and in this New Year. We also had more foreign exchange earnings. We also had more than Rs.50,000 crore earnings accruing to our foreign exchange exchequer because of tourism. Therefore economically also the sector has done well.

Qs: It is said that proactive marketing pays off well during times of recession. So how are you marketing tourism as a brand?
Ans: We have launched a very aggressive marketing campaign and we have tweaked our campaigns with new creative in the print and a new online commercial. We have also launched an all India campaign, which is happening as we speak throughout the world, through our offices. We are using the image of a tiger for promotions as the animal is well-identified with India. This communicates a brave and strong image of an ‘Incredible India’. We are also focusing on highlighting the diverse features of India. So while our culture and heritage are well acknowledged and acclaimed the world over, we are also focusing on the fact that our adventure tourism, cruise and rural tourism are products that have a huge appeal in themselves.

Qs: What is the target of tourist inflow set for 2009?
Ans: We don’t fix any year-on-year target as such, but yes we are looking at 2010 giving us 10 million arrivals. Really, the mantra for making this initiative successful is to take full advantage of globalisation.

Dr. Lalit K. Bhanot
Secy. General, Organising Committee, Commonwealth Games, 2010

Qs: With Commonwealth Games round the corner, a huge influx of tourists is expected. Is the Indian hospitality and tourism sector ready?
Ans: The Government of India and the Tourism ministry has formed a committee which is looking after the fact that more and more hotels are built for the same. During the time when this project was started, we had 10,000 rooms in Delhi and NCR regions (including Five stars, three stars and budget hotels et al). The target set for Commonwealth Games was 40,000 rooms. Thus many new hotels are coming up in the same league in the Delhi and NCR regions.

Qs: How many tourists are expected to come in during the Commonwealth Games 2010?
Ans: The number of tourists that are expected to come to India during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 is equal to the number of tourist who flew into Melbourne during the last Commonwealth Games, which was around 5 lakh.

Qs: Last year gave the hospitality and tourism sector in India many hiccups, like the global slowdown and terror attacks . So how do you see Commonwealth Games attracting tourists in the country in the current conditions?
Ans: When there is a big platform like Commonwealth Games, wherein 71 nations are ready to participate, then the tourists can’t help but visit India. Moreover, the whole marketing campaign, including the publicity in 71 nations, makes India an attractive destinations for tourism.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
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2008 HITS & MISSES

1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers

It was a whirlwind of a year. The nation’s sentiment moved from India shining to India pining to India whining; political certainties were challenged like never before and the Mumbai carnage plunged the nation’s middle class into an abyss of dismay and despair. Wrapping up, Aditi Prasad gives a snapshot of the year gone by...

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
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Is that what you just said?

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In other cases too, retailers have either relocated their stores (Big Bazaar has changed the format of one of its stores and relocated another in Ahmedabad), or are pruning and resizing their retail space (Reliance has shed upto 40% of retail space in its hypermarket store at Iskcon Mall in Ahmedabad). Retailers are also in the process of negotiating rentals (primary reason for cutting down on retail space) with the landlords and may even go in for revenue sharing models.

It is true that tough economic conditions have made the retailers realise their folly and amend their mistakes. But given the kind of investment that has already gone into this sector, it may not be possible for all to sustain. As Vedamani puts it, “Retailers who have been in existence for more than five years, or those who have strong capital backing can withstand these conditions, but for others it’s going to be tough.” And indeed, a host of other retailers are left with no option but to pare down on the number of stores they are currently operating. Indiabulls retail has shut down two stores in Ahmedabad, apparel retailers Arvind Brands, Reebok and Raymond too have started pruning their operations.

Certainly Indian retailers seem to have got a good lesson and are now making no two bones to accept that they were wrong in their super fast expansion plans and huge investments within a short span of time. As Goenka says, “In the course of any business, you’ll have decisions which are not always right in terms of location, vendors and demographics. It’s always best that if you’ve made a mistake, correct it.”

Earlier, the focus was only on increasing the square foots and therefore there was a certain level of delegation that happened in selection of areas to open the stores. But now, the retailers have taken the onus on themselves to carry out a proper research on the demographics and demands of consumers in different places. Based on such studies, the retailers are now being extremely careful on where to open their stores. “In future, due diligence will definitely pick up,” concludes Goenka. Well, it better pick up, as only then it will be determined whether the previous mistakes were stepping stones or indeed ‘mistakes’.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

It’s all about having a purposeful fizz!

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PepsiCo’s top honchos are now paying special heed to environmental initiatives. Angshuman Paul finds out more...

PepsiCo’s latest corporate report also talks about environmental sustainability. Can you elaborate on it?
SAL: Our group policy has always been to maintain the eco-system of the locality where we are operating. But now we would be doing that with a clear cut mission under ‘environmental sustainability’ and specifically for the South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) region.

So, what exactly are you planning for this region?
SAL: We would be planting more trees, especially citrus-based fruit trees. We also plan to preserve natural water resources and achieve positive water balance by 2009. In India we will save and recharge more water than what we will use in our plants. MK: Millions of people in this region are suffering from major deficiencies of key nutrients like iron, Vitamin A, et al, which is leading to serious health problems. Thus we plan to launch healthy products to address such issues.

How are these green initiatives helping Pepsi?
SAL: This is not a part of our branding and promotional campaign. We believe we are responsible for the resources that we use in our production process and as such we can’t deploy them. In fact, our multi-pronged approach to reduce water usage across production plants includes innovative reuse and recycling of water. We are also tying up with farmers to save water.

How much are you planning to invest for environmental sustainability?
SAL: PepsiCo Foundation’s commitments to safe water initiatives will reach nearly $15 million in the next three years. The funds will be utilised to address critical water scarcity issues. We will also take up some agri-partnerships projects with farmers. MK: We would also be reaching young women to make them aware of health issues. Our vision is to sell products which are healthy and in the process we will also ensure that we are not deploying any natural resource during the manufacturing process.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!