Brand.i august 2012

High on marketing... August 2012, Vol. II, Issue 1

Here we go again!!
It is the same time of the year again; new confident faces with eyes which are
aspiring extraordinary dreams are roaming around the campus. The new batch
of future marketing professionals has arrived and so have we. Completing one
year of successfully publishing Brand.i, we again begin the journey around sun The
hope this will bring more laurel and accomplishments to us and you all.
The XXX London Olympics games are going on in London which is a big Team
marketing phenomenon in itself. When an event is participated by more than
over 10,000 from around 200 national Olympics committee its coverage is
bound to be exceptional. The opening ceremony of the games was being
watched by more than 4 billion people worldwide which is more than half of the
entire planet. This kind of coverage for a brand can't be generated by any other
event. The many event winner will be showered with not only awards and
rewards but also get good enraging from endorsing brands but that will be after
the event, for now we should talk about the Brand.i.
Team Marcom
Arjun Kant Chadda (Convener)
In this edition we have covered a wide variety of marketing practices and Akshaya Shah
phenomenon ranging from NGO branding to the Kolaveri Di fever, surrogate
Himanshu Chauhan
advertising to Flash Mob and even more. Our authors this time comes from even
more diverse background than ever. While Bhushan Mahajan from FMS, Delhi Sahil Lohra
has written about the flash-mob and its use as a marketing tool, Garvita Kumar Sanjay Raturi
from IIM Lucknow has discussed the benchmark Indian social campaigns,
including my favourite piyo glass full doodh tv commercial. Authors from
Jamia Millia Islamia, Symbiosis Pune and NITIE have contributed in this edition
of Brand.I Editorial Team
The cover story by Sanjay Raturi and Sahil Lohra of MIB, DSE does not tell you Arjun Kant Chadda
about a marketing concept but about phenomenon in itself or better about the Akshaya Shah
madness named The Dark Knight Trilogy. This article explores various facets of Himanshu Chauhan
the trilogy from social media following to real life role playing from some fans. Sahil Lohra
Feedback, Op-eds, suggestions, complaints, and brickbats are welcome. Do write Sanjay Raturi
to us at marcom@mibdu.org, now I signoff with hope that you will found this
edition as interesting and unputdownable as the previous editions.
Cheers
Himanshu Chauhan
Concept & Design
Editorial Team Himanshu Chauhan
Brand.i

Disclaimer
This magazine does not reflect the views and opinions of MARCOM, MIB or DSE – they belong to the
fabulous individuals who contribute to it. The images, logos, photographs and other materials are
use for non commercial purpose and are proprietary content of the owners.

MIB, Delhi University|BRAND.i, Vol. II, Issue 1, August 2012

4S of Facebook
Facebook
asa
Brand
By: Nikhil Goyal
BITS-Pilani

I t all happens on the
Facebook “wall” where
845 million active
users make friends, share
pictures and videos, and
comment on posts. From
friends and games to
advertising, Facebook has
emerged as a brand in
social networking. Let us
understand Facebook in a
brand's perspective with
the help of 4S.


Solve-The Problem recommend page, generate direct discussions,
and monitor customer feedback and brand
Social networking sites (SNS) solve the problem
reputation.
of connecting to people we already know.
Facebook in particular solved the problems like Scale-Up
corporate advertisement and gaming on social
Facebook is getting bigger and bigger. The
networking. Users have a wide option of games
biggest year for Facebook was 2010 when the
and applications available on Facebook. The
number of active users went up by sixty nine
primary problem that this SNS solved was
percent to 248 million. In 2011,
Privacy. It was user's privilege
Facebook generated revenue of
to allow others to tag him/her
$3.71 billion. Over the years
in a picture or share the
Facebook became a global
personal information with
story. Facebook was a venture
particular set of people as
which had a lot of potential for
settings were available for
customization and growth.
visibility of profile to be
Facebook actively added new
public, friends, friends of
features which attracted more
friends and custom. In other
users and hence became a
SNS like Orkut, people were
potential house for
able to view others' profiles,
advertisement. The latest
friends, communities, and
feature 'Timeline' displays the profiles activities
friends regardless if they were 'friend' or not.
over a period of time. Facebook also attracts the
Facebook solved this problem to a great extent.
best talent around the globe and this is a one
Significant- Differentiation reason for the constant innovation in Facebook.
Now FB plans to go public in 2012 and it is
Since its inception, Facebook was different from
expected to raise $5 billion of funding.
other SNS like LinkedIn (considered to be more
professional), MySpace (applications and Secure-The Market Share
gaming options were absent), Twitter (you will
By the end of the year 2011, FB had a market
have more following depending on your
share of 63.26% in social networking. Facebook
popularity), Orkut (failed to meet the integrity
has focused on privacy and usability which its
and privacy expectations) and the new Google+
other predecessors failed to do. Facebook is
(it failed to give a reason to the users to migrate
simple to understand for every age group
from Facebook as most of the features were
person. The 'Mini Feeds' which show the activity
already in Facebook). For users, Facebook was an
of other 'friends' on the user's wall like 'ABC is
entirely different experience. The tagging
now friends with XYZ' is the fuelling feature of
system, the 'Like', applications and games (Mafia
Facebook. Such features enable users to expand
wars and Farmville are among most popular
their network and being active. Such innovation
games) addicted the users to Facebook. For
has helped Facebook to secure a double digit
corporate and brands, Facebook was different.
growth and secure a stable environment to
While the community pages in Orkut could
generate revenues.
foster negative feelings in users by comments
and forums as there was no control over them, Facebook is the new meaning of being 'Social',
the Official Facebook Page became a one-stop of and it has added a new value to the world.
the brands and products to publicize, Facebook innovated how we connect.

02


A
Bullet
for my
Valentine
O
f course, not a
bullet being shot
through the barrel
of a gun, but the “Bullet”
whose thunderous sound
makes me skip a heartbeat
every time somebody zooms
past me in this machine,
which has always caught my
fantasy ever since I set my
eyes on them.

By: Karabi Kachri
MIB, DSE


Thanks to my uncle, who introduced me to the partnered with Madras Motors in india to form
“Bullet” while I was quite young (I am yet to what was called “Enfield India”. As per their
learn how to ride one, but someday I’ll and that agreement, Madras Motors owned majority
day is not that far away!). And ever since then, (over 50%) of shares in the company. The Enfield
this has been to me what shiny black or
white horses are for the knights or
princes or princesses.
Let’s flashback to time, and see what
and why “Bullet” is a “Bullet” and not
just some product providing you a
mode of transportation.
The Royal Enfield Bullet was originally
a British overhead valve single cylinder
4-stroke motorcycle made by Royal
Enfield in Redditch, West Midlands, but
now produced by Royal Enfield Motors,
the successor to the British company, at
Chennai Tamil Nadu in India. Royal
Bullet thus came to dominate the
Indian highways and with each
p a s s i n g ye a r, c au ght t he
attention of the entire nation and
its popularity kept rising.
In 1990, Enfield India entered
into a strategic alliance with
Eicher Group and later, merged
with it in 1994. It was during this
merger that its name changed to
Royal Enfield. In 1996, when the
government decided to impose
stringent norms for emission,
Royal Enfield was the first
motorcycle manufacturer to
comply, a tradition which has
Enfield motorcycles were being sold in India stuck on thus making emission norms being one
ever since 1949. The Bullet 350 was chosen as the of the most important factors the company
most suitable bike for the job of patrolling by the focuses on.
police forces as well as for the armies by the
Indian government. The Indian government Most of us who have grown up watching Hindi
ordered 800 of these 350cc motorcycles, which movies will definitely remember the hero on a
was quite a huge order during those days. motorbike ... it had to be a Royal Enfield Bullet.
Eventually, in 1955 the Redditch Company Notably starting from the 1975 movie Sholay,

04


featuring Amitabh and Dharmendra on the repositioned as a cool urban bike though a third
Bullet, now 36 long years down the line even if of Enfields are still sold in Punjab, Haryana and
we just look at 2011 movies, we can see the Delhi. “If our all-India market share is 0.5%, our
Enfield featured prominently. In fact over 5 Sardar market share is 10-15%,”says Lal. “The
movies have the hero or heroine using the really long-term master plan is to take Royal
Enfield! India still loves the Royal Enfield Bullet Enfield to a very different space. Our brand must
and it has a special appeal. be intricately woven in with long rides. When
someone buys this bike it should be because he
Indian movies featuring Enfields in 2011 are:
thinks he can drive it to the Himalayas,” says Lal.
Singham, Zindagi Na Milega, Dabangg, Tanu
He also plans to look at areas such as after-
Weds Manu, Turning 30, etc.
market service, spare parts, customization,
And just while driving around in the streets of accessories (though Enfield has tried the last
Delhi, you will find a lot of men zooming past before and failed), and exports to developing
you in their Bullets with that thunderous markets. “It’s counterintuitive but developed
appeal… countries were buying us earlier because of the
Siddhartha Lal’s (MD and CEO of Eicher Motors) vintage factor. Now that our products are much
memorable ride at 18 on the Royal Enfield Bullet better in terms of reliability, we can sell to
has transcended his passion into a full-blown developing markets,” he says.

obsession and is now manifesting itself in his What “Bullet” offers is an experience, and a
efforts to infuse new life into Royal Enfield and strong emotional connect with its owner. It’s not
its enigmatic flagship brand “Bullet”. As with all just, as I earlier mentioned- a product, but
Bullet die-hard bikers, for him, the Bullet something beyond the materialistic aspect… It
symbolises the ultimate biking experience on has evolved as a brand; people associate
Indian roads; everything else on two wheels and themselves with it such that they in fact have
even four wheels for that matter, is insignificant. Royal Enfield Riders Club across the globe. It’s
not just the passion of biking, but riding a
The business model is finally working after
“Bullet” itself is a passion.
more than a decade-long struggle. In the past
few years the brand has been successfully

05


Subliminal
Advertising in
Ambient
and Media
limitationsto
creativity

S
By: Anubhav Rawat o would you not
bat an eyelid
MICA
when Coke tries
to sell you a bottle
made in the shape of a
curvaceous woman, or
when the intimidating
Jolly Roger of Walt
Disney’s Pirates of the
Caribbean reminds you
of its flagship
trademark Mickey


Sometimes I imagine myself as a fish. A fish flash hundreds of images for you, are not always
swimming through the vast oceans of as lucid as they seem to be for the simple reason
seemingly endless aquatic environs. A fish that that they convey a lot more than what meets the
sees through its diminutive globular eye the eye.
expanse of a world submerged in water. It sees
In a paper published in an online edition of the
the myriad hues of sprawling coral reefs and
journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
desolate outcrops as it scuttles through every
Sciences, researchers report that people can
nautical mile. And then I wonder if it could ever
unconsciously process the meaning of
imagine a world outside of the ocean.
subliminal words. In another report, Princeton
A human brain may not be as primitive as that of University’s Joel Cooper found that television
a fish, but it is undoubtedly susceptible to viewers watching a program of “The Simpsons”
manipulation through a massive influx of became thirstier when subliminal messages
ambient media in contemporary times. Every related to thirst were embedded in the program.
day we step out for work, there is always a huge And this may be just the tip of the iceberg. In the
billboard waiting to grab eyeballs. We get on a wake of widespread forays into ambient media
metro or a bus and we are surrounded by advertising, the saturation of ideation becomes
hanging straps that tell us about a new mobile inevitable. According to a study conducted by
phone service. Even on our weekend getaways to Derren Brown, A UK based mentalist and
nearby shopping malls we sceptic; two copywriters
see a flurry of hoardings from one of London’s
with spectacularly leading Ad agency were
b e au t i f u l f ac e s t h at made to design a
implore us to buy what campaign for a product. It
they have to sell. With turned out that Derren
various corporate houses already had a design
now scaling up on their ready with him and when
OOH (Out Of Home) advertising budgets, it the two of the agency men came up with theirs, it
becomes crucial to understand the effects of was an 80 percent match. Derren goes on to
subliminal messages hidden within an explain that he studied the milieu extensively to
otherwise forthright advertisement. come up with the design, and the copywriters
came up with almost the same, although in their
One that can be seen or felt gets registered and
case the elements were registered
the one that gets registered moulds our
subconsciously. This underpins a critical
perception towards the world. So would you not
argument about the vulnerability of some of the
bat an eyelid when Coke tries to sell you a bottle
most creative minds in the industry to pick up
made in the shape of a curvaceous woman, or
cues from their surroundings so much so that
when the intimidating Jolly Roger of Walt
ideas are never created; only recycled and that
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean reminds you of
too in an increasingly predictable fashion.
its flagship trademark Mickey Mouse? And this
doesn’t apply solely to visual media. Adverts are Subsequently the discussion brings to the fore an
out there to tap into all of your sensory faculties. arguable lack of ingenuity in ambient media
So don’t be alarmed when you come across advertising and poses a serious question mark on
theories of backmasking of songs to propagate free-flowing creativity. A way out: Don’t be a fish
subliminal messages. The digital banners, that in the ocean. But I’d rather hear a fish say that.

07


Branding
Throughout
Life cycle
of
Product
By: Ashish Agarwal
FMS, Delhi

B ecause the purpose
of business is to
create and keep a
customer, the business
enterprise has two – and
only two – basic functions:
marketing and innovation.
Marketing and innovation
produce results; all the rest
are costs. - Peter Drucker


Marketing in its very etymology includes As the product changes from being introduced
‘market’ and that is what any product or service to being accepted by the customers, the role of
launched desires to serve. The aim of a business Marketing in growth of product changes from
to earn profit is met through its customers and establishing the Brand to creating brand Loyalty
herein comes the role of Marketing. Marketing is and increasing the customer base. It is more
necessary to realize what products or services about making the consumer realize the
may be of interest to customers, and the strategy company’s unique product proposition that
to use in sales, communications and business demarks it from the competition around. The
development . growing market share in Telecom is the youth
and realizing the same Airtel has recently
An idea is just a potential business. Now to
launched its ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai”
realize the possibility of the conversion from
campaign. The campaign catches the youth’s
idea to business is where the point of marketing
sentiments and positions the brand in the most
starts. Marketing since Inception of the idea of
vibrant and happening target segment.
the product or service to be offered is when the
curiosity is created in the minds of the customer. In today’s fierce market competition, relatively
Marketing during initial phases helps to nurture similar product quality, and excessive marketing
products, position them strategically, assess the by all companies, the quality of service provided
competition, and work toward products’ after-sales of the product becomes a major
development. A very generic idea of marketing differentiator for any customer. Poor after-sales
an idea was displayed by Mark Zuckerberg when has more annoying effect on a customer than
he used the faces of students of Harvard minor faults in the product quality, as it directly
University to spread his idea of comparing reflects on the customer friendliness of the firm.
photos online. Moreover, recent Economic downturn has made
everyone realize the importance of after sales
Successful Launching a product is as important
service marketing (eg. Chevrolet Motors) when
as developing it. Devising a Marketing strategy
customer buying sentiments were all time low.
aligned with the Customer and partner needs
provides the product much needed recognition There has never been any doubt about the
and acceptance from its target audience. Various importance of marketing but realizing its
aspects of Marketing in launch broadly involve potential from inception to conclusion has led to
(a)Market Analysis, (b) Competitor Offering, the creation of successful global brands in Ford,
(c)Targeting Customers, (d) Unique Value Apple or Indian Brands; Tata, Airtel. From
Proposition, and (e) Pilot Customers among Inception of the idea of Product or service to its
others. Apart from creating awareness about the conclusion which covers the whole life cycle
product it also dictates important budgeting and Marketing has definitive and significant role. At
long-term planning decisions. A successful last it becomes imperative to mention that
marketing campaign drives hundreds of first Quality of product or service is quintessential
time consumers who in turn spread word of and Marketing can only enhance and accentuate
mouth driving other thousands. Today it is the USP of the product making them more
common to see Bollywood movie makers desirable.
exploring new avenues to market their product
(the movie, its music, its ringtones) during the
release of the movie.

09


Whydid
the
Dar
knight
Rise????

A
superhero with
no superpowers
is like a warrior
without a sword. Or is it?
Think again. Batman,
the titular superhero,
defies all such
preconceived notions of
proprietary for one.

By: Sanjay Raturi & Sahil Lohra
MIB, DSE


He does not have any superpowers but his own of 12 people and seriously injuring several
scientific knowledge, detective skills, athletic others. Yet another, albeit a little less horrendous
prowess and sophisticated weaponry more than case, involved the movie website
make up for it. There have been innumerable www.rottentomatoes.com, wherein fans vented
merchandise and multiple movies related to the their anger on some of the critics who gave
Batman franchise, but what really stands out is negative reviews to the recent movie in the
the Batman Trilogy. Thematically darker than franchise(The Dark Knight rises) Some even
the other Batman movies, the Batman Trilogy, went as far as to send death threats to the critics.
conceived by Christopher Nolan, has curiously The interesting thing is, the critics provided
been a successful movie franchise. Objectively their reviews after watching a special screening
assessing, it has an intelligent and coherent of the movie whilst it wasn't even released for the
storyline with a strong emphasis on populace. Still, the fans lambasted and hurled
character building. The Trilogy expletives at them on the website even
consists of the movies :" b e f o r e watching the
Batma movie and forming an
opini
n Begi
on
ns(2005),
themsel
T he D a rk
ves.
Kni
This
ght(
c l e a r l y
2008) and The Dark
indi c a t e s a
K n i g h t
s t r o n g allegian
Rises(2012)", all o f
ce towards
which have a cardinal ele
t h e franchi
ment of the win of good over evil. Batma
s e . And in its entir
n, however, has often been a butt o f
e t y , it is quite evident that the Batm
several jokes on the internet. A number
a nTrilogy has indeed left a successful
of videos are available online which parody
imprint in the entertainment arena, the world
the Batman series and have attained the "viral"
over.
status. Some of those compare Superman with
Batman and display the latter comically as an Now, this is an understatement to say that
inferior superhero by sheer comparison. These Batman series is blockbuster trilogy. It would be
jokes, parodies and spoofs have significantly justified to say that dark knight has turned out to
been instrumental in fuelling the hype that be more than a movie, it has become a
surrounds the Batman Trilogy. Evidently, there phenomenon. Some of us might argue that if
has been a patent fanaticism for Batman and this this is a phenomenon than so was all the other
transcends geographical boundaries. One of the superhero movies that came before it, however
recent cases in question was that of the Colorado how many movies caused a massacre like
Shootings, when a masked gunman, apparently Colorado on its opening day. Indeed the dark
inspired by The Joker(one of the villains in the knight rose beyond all the expectations.
Batman series), entered a movie theatre and
Colorado incident gives rise to a new debate, was
went on a shooting spree, resulting in the death
this incident by any chance caused due to a very

11


successful marketing campaign of Christopher darker antagonist. First it was The Scarecrow &
Nolan's team. It's one thing to see images of Ra's al Ghul then Joker and now finally Bane
violence and brutality in our movies; it's another
People relate more to joker than to Batman. All
thing to be subjected to them through a massive
over the Internet, facebook, twitter, myspace etc
onslaught of ubiquitous movie advertising.
told you how expensive it was to be batman. I
That's what troubles me the most about the
mean, just to look like batman you needed to
spend $6 million and
almost same amount for
his flashy toys. The
movie was marketed in a
way that it showed
dominance of Joker's
character. Grim posters
were designed; Joker was
marketed all over social
media as the biggest
villain of the decade. We
see the same pattern
being repeated with
Dark Night Rises.
Also the role of modern
Colorado killings: the possibility that the day meme cannot be ignored in the social
accused killer's violent fantasies had somehow marketing of any product. Trolling has serious
been inflamed not by the movie but by the impact on a products perception in the market.
unsettling advertising images surrounding it. You open any such site and you find multitude of
Without getting into right or wrong, let's focus meme showing you bad boy image of Bane. This
on what did we learn from this experience. It tactic was never in place at the time of Avengers,
made one thing very clear dark side appeals to they never emphasised on the dark side of Loki
today's generation. Historically, all batman in the advertisements.
movies have done well on the big screen, ever If you see the promos of the Dark Knight Rises
since the first Batman movie in 1966, hence the carefully you would notice that appearance of
expectations of Batman fans were always high. Batman in the official trailer is intentionally
Amidst these expectations Nolan's team did kept scarce. In a 1min 39sec long trailer batman
what a good showman is supposed to do, they appears for about 10 seconds that too mostly
gave the viewers what they wanted. More than a using his fancy bat mobile or other toys.
great hero, people needed a greater villain. As All of the above leads us to one conclusion here
rightly said “every hero needs a villain”. Ever dark side is in demand, gone are the days when
since the beginning of the Batman trilogy in good guys were in demand; it is the time of Dark
2005, every time they came up with an even Knights.

12


Branding
The Way To Enter
Rural Markets

R
ural India consists
of about 6 lakh
villages with around
70% of country's population.
It constitutes a market
where life has evolved
through deep rooted
community values, social
rituals, joint families and
age old customs and By: Aditya Mittal
traditions. SIBM Pune


The rural market is heterogeneous, fragmented, acceptance and reach. Rural gatherings like
complex and remains largely untapped. Due to festivals, cinema halls and so on can be used as
this increased exposure of brands and products, venues to promote brands. Direct Marketing and
the rural youth have evolved as influencers in events( like road shows, film shows and street
the purchase decisions of households .The rural theatre) can also be used to promote brands. The
consumer is shifting to toothpaste and toilet success of any DM campaign depends on the
soaps, to motorbikes and consumer durables and field workers and their sensitivity and emotional
this transition is fueled by factors like awareness, connectivity to rural markets.
affordability, availability and acceptability. Rural Events:
The five major factors in creating brand In the rural context, one of the best ways to
awareness among rural consumers are capture the attention of the audience is through
communication through mass media, publicity Event-management. Some of the interesting
through word-of-mouth & opinion leaders, events that can be conducted are Road Shows,
experiential education, price sensitivity & value Melas, Street-Theatre, Film Shows and so on.
for money proposition and distribution reach & These make a visually strong impact and build
overcoming language barriers. Today long term brand recall. Rural public are the
distribution and reach are the most important target audience and hence the portfolio of event
yardstick in creating brands for rural markets. management has to be handled professionally
Even expensive brands are doing well because of with diligent care and broad perspective.
deep distribution.
Database Creation & Management Information
Branding strategy Systems
Rural Branding Branding in the rural context can be highly
The rural market is a fast growing one and has a effective and there is a need to create a database
huge population with a great level of disposable which will contain details of target segments at
income. To encash this, products have to be the village level .This data is essential for
specifically developed to meet the needs of rural reaching the target accurately and helps our
markets. Rural branding is different from urban marketing plan and communication strategies.
branding. The first step towards rural branding Management Information System along with
is to research and gain insights about the rural Database management paves ways for a
markets. Based on the research, different congenial rural marketing through the
communication campaigns have to be information and data available for effective
developed with a lot of rural sensitivity. A strong interpretations and use.
insight into rural consumer behavior and The biggest hurdle is low penetration rates.
sensitivity to their values and beliefs are Distribution is the key to generate sales. Brand
essential. Rural market research includes not builders acknowledge that income levels are
just gathering data but analyzing them and going up, infrastructure is slowly improving and
linking the findings to promoting products. lifestyles are changing, but the pace of this
Communication campaigns change is slow. Hence, long term gains become
The entire communication strategy has to more prominent but the golden rule to sell in
devise a system based on research findings. villages remains the same: products must be
These have to be developed in the regional priced low, profit margins must be kept to the
languages and set in the local culture for easier minimum and the marketing message must be
kept simple.

14


Logos
and the Success
of Divine Proportion
T
he creation of
differentiated,
successful and
sustainable international
brands has gone beyond the
promotion of tangible,
functional and salient
benefits into the mystical
realms of emotion,
perception and image.

By: Mohit Talwar
NITIE


In an attempt to create global brands, companies logo itself, divided into: a perception of the
now strive to evoke emotions in customers, and graphical parts and perceptions of the
then link these to the brand in ways that can be referential parts.
sustained across international borders.
Extrinsic properties are properties originating
Symbols, more specifically logos, are a more from the associations with the company behind
efficient management tool to orchestrate the the logo. These associations, in return, are partly
desired features that the organization wants to defined by the behavior of an organization in the
express towards its stakeholders. Selecting a past, and by the intensity of the communication
logo is an arduous in which they express
task for companies their values to
and includes the external and internal
d i f f i c u l t i e s audiences.
distinguishing which
Few people know that
logo would be
visually compelling
remembered the
logos created follows
best, be most liked, or
Aesthetic theory and
create the strongest
t i d - b i t s o f
sense of familiarity
mathematics, called
on initial exposure. In
Golden Ratio or The
addition, it is possible
divine proportion
that desired
(a/b = 1.1618!!). Petal
responses are not
arrangements in a
achieved because the
red rose, da Vinci's
selected logo has a
“The Last Supper”,
design that is difficult
The Monalisa and the
to store or access in
Greek Parthenon all
m e m o r y, i s n o t
have in common the
likeable, or fails to
same geometrical
evoke any sense of
proportion. Indeed,
meaning. Logos are
the same proportion
successful only if two
is found in many
preconditions are
globally successful
fulfilled. First,
brands' logos like Toyota, Pepsi, Apple, NGC, BP,
stakeholders must remember seeing the logo
Disney and many more.
(correct recognition). Second, logos must
remind stakeholders of the brand or company Some believe it is a universal constant of design,
name (recall). Logos can fulfill them in two the signature of God. Whatever you believe, the
ways, either by intrinsic or by extrinsic pervasive appearance of divine proportion in all
properties. the logos we see and the sense of balance,
harmony and beauty in all those brands we see is
Intrinsic properties of a logo are properties
amazing. Isn't it?
resulting directly from a confrontation with the

16


Taking the road
less travelled

W
ay back in
1970s when the
Indian
"brandscape" was relatively
young and unexplored, a
company was striving to
liberate itself from its
Western York and adopt a
truer Indian character.

By: Zainab Sayeed,
AJK Mass Communication Research Centre
Jamia Millia Islamia


A more fitting birthday present could not have in itself. As far as advertising was concerned, the
been than the one ITC gave itself on its 16th company recognised the fact that advertising
birthday (August 24, 1926). Purchasing a plot of plays a crucial part in the marketing approach
land which is now famously renowned as by persuading customers to buy products.
Virginia House was the company's first step Hence, reducing the emphasis on having to sell.
towards Indianization- shedding the title of Two years later when their biscuits were
Imperial Tobacco Company and adopting India launched, the company used the very same
Tobacco Company. colours of Red and Yellow as were the
trademarks of Wills Cigarettes.
In the present era, when branding has come a
long way from distinguishing cattle ownership, In an age when corporations were viewed as
ITC has held itself in good stead. What makes money minters who were only concerned with
the brand's story unique is the subtle and bottom line figures, ITC chose to debunk all
delicate manner in which the transition from a those mental frameworks by devising E
predominantly tobacco product manufacturer Choupals so as to spread the benefits of
to a socially responsible corporate was made. technology in rural India as well. The idea was
exemplar and radical, so much so that it was
Ask your parents to
later chosen as
v o i c e t he f i r s t
a case study at
thought that
H a r v a r d
comes to their
B u s i n e s s
mind on hearing
School as well.
ITC and the least
It paved the
common response
way for more
surprisingly will
w e l f a r e
turn out to be
schemes later
cigarettes. This is
b y t h e
despite the fact that
government
Wills is integrally
also and hence
associated with
can be credited
ITC. However, the company has very
as the first impetus provider that worked
strategically ensured several recalls to the term,
towards creation of a sustainable society as well
'Wills' other than the socially ostracized
as environment.
cigarettes. For even till this date 50% of its
revenue share is from tobacco and its products. This investment towards the creation of what
So how did ITC manage its brand repositioning? ITC fittingly terms as “responsible luxury” has
been possible only through its far sighted
In 2001 when the Government of India banned
planning. Venturing into hitherto neglected
advertisement of cigarettes and several anti
sectors and creating a niche for itself through
tobacco groups were into heavy campaigning,
both backward integration and synergizing its
ITC, like a wise man, decided to go with the wind.
varied businesses, the ITC growth story is
It dropped the dots from its name to the extent
definitely inspiring as it set new rules in the
that ITC ceased to be an acronym for Indian
brand game.
Tobacco Company and became a brand identity

18


Sticky
Brand
Loyalties:
a Strategy

B isleri and
Thumbs Up.
What is
common between these
two brands apart from
the fact that both of
them have grown into
generic names for their
respective product
categories?

By: Rishi Sonthalia
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bangalore


Well, they both were born in the same stable of than the company itself. In such a situation in
Parle! Along with these two, Parle has long been order to prevent the acquiring company to take
an incubator for several of India's iconic brands
like Parle G, Frooti, Monaco, Mango Bite,
Krackjack and I can go on and on. But how come
not many know about the parenthood of these
products? It's simple. Until a few years ago they
did not add their own name to the product
brands and let it flourish as single entities
(except for Parle G biscuits of course). This is
why the loyalty of the customer lies with the
product brand and not with Parle.
This brings us to the modern day scenario where
branding is multi level and multi faceted. It can
be at a Corporate Level, Product level or Joint
Branding. This is how companies like Tatas advantage of the target companies' decades of
maintain loyalty with their organization and the branding exercise. Companies like the Tata
parent brand is more endearing than the group entities have set up a “Poison Pill” as well.
product itself. The Tata brand name is much In case an entity of Tata is acquired by way of
larger than just Tata Steel or a Tata Motors or hostile takeover by any competitor the entity can
TCS. Tata Sons which is the owner of the brand no longer use the Tata brand name in the new
has infact signed an agreement with all its entity. Although this will save on the royalty
subsidiaries regarding a royalty payment system costs but will lead to a transfer of only the
and a code of conduct based on it. The physical assets with the character of the brand.
agreement entitled Brand Equity and Brand But this strategy has its downside as well. How
do you account for this promotion of Tata name
above the business unit name? Why should, say,
Tata Motors pay for branding the Tata brand all
by itself and then pay royalty for the same as
well. To truly understand this dilemma one
must see Tata Steel or a Tata Motors as an entity
separate from its parenthood whose objective is
to maximize profits and “value” for its
stakeholders. To resolve this issue many
Promotion (BEBP) involves payment of royalty companies have come up with a solution.
ranging from 0.1% to 0.5% of the turnover based Apportionment of costs between the parent
on the brand leverage in the organization. brand entity (in this case 'Tata' name) and the
So back to the main topic again. In case of the Product brand (say, Tata Motors). This solution
Tatas, it is not possible that the companies or seems plausible as they also receive revenue in
brands of the same can ever become bigger than the form of royalty for it.
the parent company itself as it happened with So your child and customers remain yours
Thumbs Up or a Bisleri. This makes it easier for a forever!!
competing company to acquire the brand rather

20


Look
who is
Screwing
Us
M arketing as a
function has
changed a lot
over the years. And unlike
finance function, marketing
is not based on cold logic,
which makes the “change”
very tough to measure.
Below is an illustration for
what we can say –
Marketing: Coming of age.

By: Reema Verma


Marketing as a function has changed a lot over Nielson’s research, modern trade is picking up,
the years. And unlike finance function, and consumer spending on FMCG items at
marketing is not based on cold logic, which modern retail stores is set to triple to nearly
makes the “change” very tough to measure. US$5 billion by 2015 from US$1.8 billion today.
Below is an illustration for what we can say – And imagine the extremities of options available
Marketing: Coming of age. – shop in malls or local nearest store, or choice to
buy a watch, mobile or car - every product has a
range- a low price to high price.
Rewinding back to post 1991, we see that this was
not the case. There were very few players - Bajaj
for 2-wheelers, Fiat and Ambassador for cars,
Crown and Sharp for TV, Godrej, Kelvinator for
refrigerators. People had to book a car two years
prior, there was a lottery system and waiting for
getting a product.
After 1991, power of consumers started growing.
And now is the age when companies have to
Here, “color” is used as a symbolic entity; withdraw and replace their products even if a
Though we would all agree that it is the true minor fault is noticed. Sometimes clichés do the
story of color too!
Future of Marketing:
Marketing boasts itself to be metamorphosed
from being blatantly selfish to subtly selfish.
Though all the marketers would hate the latter,
but it is one of the main ingredients requisite to
run a business successfully. A company’s
marketing function is absolutely right in being
self-interested, self-seeking.
“The real best companies in the world and best
marketers imagine the unrecognized needs of
their customers,” declared author Chip Conley ,
best justice – Today customer is in fact the king
author of “The Peak” and a highly sought after
in India.
speaker. And yes this is indeed the future. In
continuation of our simplified example, it So does that mean companies or their marketers
essentially means that based on rich customer are at the mercy of consumers? To a little extent
experience data and proactive triggers to my yes, but they are smart too and gather brownie
future event they would know what colored points for creating a need for products that the
shoes I need in that particular event. This is an “Kings” are not even aware of before. And before
oversimplification, but we get the point there. you realize, you are already addicted to café latte
and we continue to fill our lives with more and
Status Quo in India:
more things we can live without.
India is now a buyers’ market. According to

22


Piyo Glass Full Dhood
The
for
Indian benchmark
Social Campaigns

M ost of us
would
instantly
recollect the famous
dhood dhood
campaign which
stormed the
Television in 1998. It
was an instant hit
among the masses. It
showcased people of
all ages, of different
lifestyle and the fact
that milk is an
essential part of their
life.

By: Garvita Kumar
IIM Lucknow


Can you name the Bollywood singer who began children shown shouting ‘give me more‘. The
his career with singing a jingle for a milk recommendation of a magician & a cricket
Advertisement? (Hint: The Doodh hai player made it attractive for kids.
wonderful advertisement) The Advertisement showed a man in office
Yes, it is indeed Kunal Ganjawala. Most of us singing about his favourite drink. Also, two
would instantly recollect the famous dhood elderly couple dancing their way to 99 years of
dhood campaign which stormed the Television age!! How can it be possible? Apparently, milk
in 1998. It was an instant hit among the masses. can make it possible. Thus, it was conveyed that
It showcased people of all ages, of different milk is not just for children but also for adults.
lifestyle and the fact that milk is an essential part But one important aspect was missing in the
of their life. Explaining in jingle the varied uses campaign, which nowadays women‘s horlicks is
and health benefits of milk, the campaign set a using. Horlicks advertisements consist of soulful
high benchmark for the Advertisement Industry jingle with strong lyrics about the life of women.
in India. The advertisement depicts the varied roles and
The campaign was launched as part of responsibilities of women thus recommending
Operation Flood or White revolution of India, milk with Horlicks for their health. This element
which was started by National Dairy was missing in the NDDB campaign. They could
D eve lo p me nt B o a r d ( N D D B ) f o r t he have shown women drinking milk to gain
development of dairy Industry in India. energy for their routine household choirs or
Following the increase of outlets for milk and work in office.
milk based products, the campaign aimed at Traditionally, milk was consumed only in
increasing the consumption of milk amongst winters (hot badam or haldi). But this campaign
Indian population. The consumption of milk in delivered the message that it can be consumed
1995 was 198 gm/day which was too low as in any season. The advertisement also specifies
compared to internationally set standard of 250 the quantity of milk one should consume.
gm/day. Therefore a survey was conducted in Also this campaign tried to spread awareness
1995 by NDDB among 1,00,000 households. It amongst consumers to check for purity by
showed that there was low direct consumption of checking the symbol of Mother Dairy on the
milk because of the rising popularity of soft product. So the quality is assured & subsequently
drinks among teenagers and the conception so is a healthy life.
amongst adults that milk was essential for
growing children but not for them. China, traditionally non milk drinking society, is
eyeing India to export its dairy products. But
The campaign was aimed at repositioning the India banned the products following the quality
milk among the three primary target segments- threats. Maybe China should, instead of trying to
comprising children, teenagers and adults. For export dairy products to India, launch such
teenagers, milk was repositioned as an exciting, campaigns in their own country to increase their
refreshing & energizing drink from the old, sales in the home country.
conservative & traditional drink. Be it two couple
romancing over milk, a beautiful girl licking her To conclude, the influence of this campaign over
lips after the tasty drink or the muscle hunk our minds has been immense, from
vouching for it, all targeted the youth of the repositioning it as a cool drink to influencing
time. For children, the campaign showcased adults to drink and lastly to drink milk in all
milk as tasty and healthy; with a bunch of seasons.

24


Car on lease
iAspire, are you?
By: Anshika Srivastava

Y our neighbor,
the one with
two small kids
and a Benz; how does
he do it? Is he just
rolling in extra money
to buy a 30 Lakh car?
Chances are, he isn't.
This is because many
luxury cars makers are
providing cars on lease.


In the era of “Use and Throw”, a luxury car on 22,000 bought luxury cars in 20111. It indicates
lease may prove to be a good move. If you that there is a huge scope to target the
appreciate good things, enjoy a luxurious life or population that aspires to have an expensive car.
change cell phones every 6 months-it's likely
An operational move

that you shall be driving the latest model of For securing a car loan, you would probably end
Mercedes after reading this. To make car up with lots of meetings with the bank, loan
ownership economical and hassle free, officers and endure a plethora of
Mercedes-Benz introduced car on lease in India documentation. But for a car lease, you only
in Oct, 2011. The concept has already gained need to contact the car dealer and understand
popularity in US and Europe and now it is in the contract. It is more or less like testing a car.
India. In my opinion, car on lease is a profitable After the end of the lease, if you like it, take it
step for any car manufacturer because it covers home. If not, just drive it back to the dealer
all aspects of business, as shown in the figure without worrying about finding new potential
below: buyers. More so, it will make your life easier.
A strategic move A financial move
India - home to 150,000 millionaires- is a place If you are in love with a luxury car that is too
where young businessmen and executives are costly for your financial status, a car lease plan
increasingly stepping in. Out of these, only can provide that car to you without any down

26


payment. The best part is, you need to pay lesser an additional channel for marketing their new
monthly fee in comparison to a car loan; you can models and can connect with the potential
even pay lower rates if you want to take the luxury car customers. In fact, this will enable car
contract for a longer time. makers to introduce comparatively newer cars
into the used-car market. It will easily attract
A car is depreciated at a high rate, approximately
individuals (high net worth) because they can
15 – 20% WDV2, i.e. after 3 years it would cost 30
proudly own the vehicle without having to
– 50% of the original cost. So in a lease plan, if
withdraw the last dime from their bank account.
you really love the car, you can still own it by
giving the rest of the cost, which is quite less. A move for aspiration
The table below shall provide a rough idea of In India, aspiration levels are very high and
the prices: people are willing to spend that extra penny.
This plan is a perfect match for this aspiration.
*Source: LeasePlan India; lease tenure: 4 years;
The value given by car leasing contract cannot
interest rate (fluctuating from 17% upwards at
be measured in monetary terms only. It in fact

Segment Ex Showroom Price Lease Rental/ Month* Monthly EMI (RoI: 14%)
Segment A Rs. 3.5 Lakh Rs. 9,600 Rs. 9,453
Segment B Rs. 5.1 Lakh Rs. 13,760 Rs.13,775
Segment C+ Rs. 9.4 Lakh Rs. 24,500 Rs. 25,390

the moment); includes repair and maintenance; feeds one's ego by being someone who drives the
includes taxes; discounts from the dealers; latest car model.
value-added services.
Yes, there are some disadvantages too, such as
1 Shally Seth Mohile (2012, January 16). expensive auto insurance and mileage penalties.
Mercedes, BMW target wealthy individuals with But if you like driving a new vehicle every few
lease model. livemint.com, page 6. years and not paying for costly repairs, you may
enjoy the advantages of leasing a car, and you
2 The written down value (abbreviated as WDV)
can. There are a few potential pitfalls for car
is the depreciated value of an asset (movable or
makers as well. They need to have a thorough
immovable) for purposes of taxation.
methodology to calculate the residual risk. If
A marketing move such values go wrong, it can cost the company a
With this concept in place, companies can secure lot of money.

27


Flash mob:
the
marketing tool

I magine you are heading
to work or just shopping
in a mall when
suddenly, about 200 people
serenade you whilst singing
and dancing. When the song
ends, the mob disperses as
quickly as it appeared! All
over the world, people have
been left inspired, surprised
and amused by the
wonderful haphazardness of
flash mobs.
By: Bhushan Mahajan
FMS, Delhi


1. Make use of social networking like Facebook, bring loads of traffic, but if you don’t have the
Orkut and Twitter to its potential. Set up a product to keep people’s interest, all your hard
Facebook event, organise “tweetups” and use work could be wasted.
mobile apps to assist on the day whilst the event
4. Select a bustling and a lively, central location –
takes place.
give people no choice but to notice you. A flash
mob won’t be a success if there is nobody to see it.
5. Select an appropriate performance and a
routine and make sure it stays true to your brand
or cause. If the firm is a start-up, a “Freeze flash
mob” could be an exciting and thought-
provoking way to get people talking about your
brand.
Flash mobs appeal to a wider audience- both on
and offline. The contemporary stunts are
distributed on traditional and digital media,
2. Be proactive and upbeat. Take pictures and reaching out a wider audience and helping to
upload the show and performance onto create stronger brand awareness whilst
YouTube or Daily Motion. The more the pictures impelling traffic to websites and products. This
and videos are circulated, the more you increase tool is gaining momentum in India but upon
brand awareness. becoming a hit marketing tool, flash mob may
perhaps lose its sheen later due to frequent use.
3. A good quality product behind the flash mob
is essential. A creative and an original stunt will

29


Flash mob is a kind of guerrilla marketing, way last November when a 23-year-old person
which is basically an unconventional system of led a 200-people mob to dance to the popular
promotion that relies on time, energy and tunes of 'Rang de Basanti' (RDB) at CST railway
imagination rather than a big marketing station in Mumbai. The entire crowd was caught
budget. by surprise as they never witnessed such an
extraordinary dancing mob in one of the most
Nevertheless, flash mobs are not just quick
crowded stations in Mumbai.
stunts. Since the first mob in 2003, the trend has
become worldwide, transforming from a • Don 2
random way to bring people together to an
The one planned at Ambience mall in Gurgaon
astute marketing tool. In reality, more
for the promotion of Shahrukh Khan starrer
Don 2 started off with a small cluster of boys
indulging in a fake fight and asking each other
:"Where is Don?". And then, the boys, along with
other group members, started dancing over the
song “Zara dil ko thaam lo” from the film. The
budget was very low for this kind of promotion
and the mob got a phenomenal response from
the crowd.
• Nokia Lumia
In December, Nokia India held five
simultaneous flash mobs across Mumbai, Delhi,
businesses( including Ray-Ban, Fox and Wells Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata to mark the
Fargo) have drawn insights from these launch of the Lumia 800 in India. Right in the
performances as part of strong, interactive centre of popular malls in all these cities was the
marketing, advertising and PR campaigns.
Success stories from the flash mob marketing
arena:
• T-Mobile
In 2009, T-Mobile produced a series of three
flash mob ads which is now among the most
successful viral campaigns in recent history. The
first of the three Ads showed some dancers
breaking into a routine on a busy London
station. Voted “TV Commercial of the Year” at
the 2010 British TV Advertising Awards, it is now Nokia Arc kiosks, and tons of Lumia 800
the most watched flash mob video ever, with branding where the customers were introduced
over 30 million views on YouTube. to the new product.
Coming to Indian front: Following are five advisable points for a
• In India, the flash mob tool kicked off in a big successful occurrence of a flash mob:

30


Surrogate
Advertisements
and The Liquor
Industry

A
dvertisements
have a strong
influence in our
life. We like them
because they provide
information and create
awareness about the
market.

By: Sourabh Sahu
IIM-Indore


Their significance in the corporate world cannot advertisements. Later it was found that the basic
be underestimated. But many times, some aim of these surrogate advertisements was to
advertisements are accused of misleading promote their liquor brands like beer, wine,
people. Some such instances made the vodka etc. This brand extension is an act of
Government impose a ban on advertisements of bypassing the advertisement ban.
alcoholic beverages in the media in the year
What Do The Corporations Have To Say?
2002.
The industry segment has its own standpoint in
What Is Surrogate Marketing All About?
defense. The liquor lobby claims that everything
As a reaction, the liquor majors have introduced is in accordance to the Government regulations.
various other products with the same brand "If a brand has equity, why shouldn't it be allowed
name for the purpose of reminding their old to advertise? Also, brand extension is an industry
customers. Heavy advertising is practice adopted by different
done so that the customers do product categories," comments
not forget their liquor brands, Alok Gupta of UB group. "When
for which advertisements are we advertise our products, we
banned. The advertisements for follow all the guidelines,"
such new products are placed declares president, sales &
under the category of marketing, RadicoKhaitan.
"Surrogate Advertisements". They clarify that they have
With the only objective of stopped showing liquor
compensating for the losses advertisements and they are
arising out of the ban on free to use the brand name for
advertisements of liquor, this any other products. Even the
new avatar of advertising has C o n f e d e rat i o n o f I nd i a n
become a loophole that's Alcoholic Beverages
challenging the Government's Companies (CIABC)
action. However, the companies can claim that advertising code maintains that advertisement
the order is being implemented and of products (real brand extensions) by the liquor
advertisements of liquor are banned, but the industry must be allowed.
objective of the Government behind imposing
The Final Verdict?
the ban is not fulfilled.
After the directive from the ministry of
Backing By The Alcohol Industry
information and broadcasting, the surrogate
The liquor industry is a prominent player in this advertisements are seldom shown on television.
game. Few surrogate advertisements shown in Now the companies will have to reframe their
print, electronic and outdoor media are - policies. But who will take care of print and
Bagpiper soda and cassettes & CDs, Haywards outdoor media is not certain. Also, according to
soda, Derby special soda, Kingfisher mineral ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India),
water, Imperial Blue cassettes & CDs etc. These surrogate advertisements are harmful. Now it
products bear exactly the same brand name and will be up to the ASCI to take up the matter with
logo, which we saw earlier in liquor the respective companies.

32


Branding
an
NGO
D oes branding a
particular
identity
commercialize it or add
a selfish motive to the
particular product or
entity?

Suneet Choudhury
IIFT, Delhi


This is precisely what we will try to understand prospective donors and volunteers. In order to
by studying the impact and the need of branding ensure that there is greater participation from
in an organization, such as an NGO, which has a volunteers and the donors alike we can use the
different motive altogether from any business following approaches:
unit or operation.
Character-driven story: Pick up one person
We will divide the following article into three whose story identifies with the story of your
parts 1. Branding— Unique Emotional organization. It can be a staff member, a client, a
Proposition 2. The need for story telling in an volunteer if you’re an NGO, or a beneficiary of
NGO 3. Establishing a two way communication your activities. Tell the story of that character as
channel process for an NGO lively and humanly as you can. It will carry your
message across and it will add an aura of
1 .Branding—Unique Emotional Proposition
humanity to what you do.
What sets one NGO apart from the other when
Action-driven story: Can you build your story on
the dynamics of a plot and conflict with a
common enemy? Journalists love conflict
because it gives life to the story. Who are you
fighting and why?
Atmosphere-driven story: Your activities take
place in a location / moment of utter magic.
Describe this magic and make people want to be
a part of it – and of your organization and your
story.
Emotion-driven story: People engage because
they find themselves in your story.
they are all involved in philanthropic activities?
In an ideal scenario all the NGO‘s would have 3. Establishing a Two way communication
been able to attract participants from the society process for an NGO—
to take part in working for various causes which
The figure below describes explicates the need
affect and impact our world. However such a
for two way communication process for NGOs
case doesn't exist and it becomes essential for the
NGO to make an emotional pitch to the target
audience just like in the case of any product or
service. Most NGOs believe that fund raising is
the biggest problem which is impending them.
However with NGOs we must remember one
rule: “Money is not an obstacle nor is it a goal”.
2. The need for story telling in an NGO—
The need for a proper story to be developed by
an NGO is to capture the attention of all its

34

MIB, Delhi University|BRAND.i, Vol. II, Issue 1, 3, Feb 2012
MIB, Delhi University|BRAND.i, Vol. I, Issue August 2012

Viral Marketing -
The Kolaveri

Fever!!!

K
o l av e r i d i ? ’ -
W i t h o ve r 1
crore views
within a few days of its
online release on
Youtube® and the fact
that it is the most
downloaded song over
Ko l av e r i c r a z e w a s
phenomenal.

By: Nitin Gaur
06 Brand Trivia SIBM, PUNE


The quite recent craze among today’s youth is link that read something like this: “WANT A
the song – ‘Why this Kolaveri di?’- A song with FREE E-MAIL ACCOUNT? SIGN UP FOR
silly lyrics and a peppy tune. Over 1 crore views HOTMAIL TODAY!” And yes, believe it or not,
within a few days of its online release on this strategy went on, as we now call it VIRAL.
Youtube® and the fact that it is the most
Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to
downloaded song over the past few months has
marketing techniques that use established social
publicized a very important medium of
networks to produce exponential increase in
marketing used by smarter marketers- THE
brand awareness, through self-replicating viral
ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA.
procedures, similar to the spread of a computer
virus. It can often be word-of-mouth delivered
and improved online; it can harness the network
effect of the Internet and can be very useful in
reaching a large number of people swiftly. In
foreign countries, this has been a regular facet of
marketing campaigns – be it films, TV shows,
product launches or even campaigns of
elections.
Viral marketing starts with a single recipient,
increases in geometric progression to target a
bigger audience and then through exponential
progression targets a large population and
Viral Marketing refers to the marketing
techniques that use pre-exiting social networks
to produce an increase in BRAND AWARENESS
through self-replicating VIRAL processes. It is a
marketing phenomenon that facilitates and
encourages people to pass along a marketing
message voluntarily. Viral marketing is a
medium of marketing which uses the online
network or media to promote the product or
services.
The term VIRAL MARKETING first became
prominent when used to describe a marketing
campaign for the e-mail service
HOTMAIL.COM. When hotmail first began, finally it becomes a population in itself.
they decided that the best way to entice new
Earlier, people’s social lives were dependent on
customers would be to reach the friends, family
the number of parties they attended, number of
and colleagues of each user they had. So, in the
neighbours they knew and the community
footer of each and every mail that was sent from
activities they were part of. Now, it is dependent
a hotmail account, the HOTMAIL team placed a
on the number of friends they have on Facebook,

36


the number of likes they get for their posts, fan the footer of the electronic message. Example-
followers on Twitter or the number of online www.hotmail.com
communities they are a part of.

And so it is not unwarranted to expect that viral Buzz Marketing: Involves celebrities discussing
marketing will probably redefine the way about products and experiences with a hint of
marketing is carried out in the years to come. controversy.
The reason is that this significant part of the
Incentive Viral: It calls the users to take action in
global population is tech savvy and is connected
order to be rewarded.
to the internet the entire day. Regular
promotions might cover only a particular set of Undercover Marketing: It occurs when people
audience at a particular time but online do not know they are being marketed to.
marketing will reach people at their homes, User-managed database: It refers to different
offices, schools and colleges. database of prospects that client generate
themselves with the help of online service
TYPES OF VIRAL MARKETING
providers.
Pass-Along
Buzz Marketing 4 Pillars on which VIRAL MARKETING rests
Incentive Viral are-
Undercover Marketing
Users
User-managed database
Visibility
Awareness
Pass-Along: A short note that will be sent on to
Trust
other internet users and it is usually attached to

37

MARCOM - The Marketing Cell of MIB,
Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics
University of Delhi, New Delhi - 110007
To Subscribe a free online copy, write to : marcom@mibdu.org
Like us at facebook.com/marcom.mib

Brand.i august 2012

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (17)

Similar to Brand.i august 2012

Similar to Brand.i august 2012 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Brand.i august 2012