The October 2016 issue of Beacon discusses the Simcon-SIMSREE Consulting Club, which aims to enhance student awareness and skills in management consulting through various activities and publications. The document also provides a comprehensive analysis of the Indian insurance industry, detailing its market growth, regulatory changes, and competitive landscape, highlighting the significant role of Life Insurance Corporation of India. Additionally, the issue features a brand analysis of Bata, examining its global presence, product offerings, and advertising strategies.

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Contents
ABOUT US
OUR TEAM
BRAND ANALYSIS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
EVENT REPORT
CONCEPT OF THE MONTH
CASE ANALYSIS

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OUR PRESENCE
ABOUT US
VISION
The SIMCON - SIMSREE consulting club is an
initiative started in 2012 for those students in
pursuit of excellence in management consulting
and strategic management. Aimed at creating
awareness among the students about consultancy
as a discipline, the club strives to maintain strong
relations with top consultancy firms and provide
platform to craft highly skilled & competent
consultants from SIMSREE. The club is a resource
for information about consulting and a place for
students to obtain real-world consulting experience.
SIMCON provides an avenue of interaction among
faculty, students and alumni through competitions,
live projects, guest lectures, and conclaves. For
this purpose the club has also been publishing its
monthlynewsletter– BEACON (BE A CONSULTANT)
and maintains a FACEBOOK PAGE where latest
news and development in the consulting industry
are posted.
MISSION
To create awareness amongst the students
about consulting industry & its latest trends.
To maintain strong relations with top
consultancy firms.
To provide platform to craft highly skilled &
competent consultants from SIMSREE.
To provide exposure to students via
competitions, live projects, guest lectures &
conclaves.
Contributions invited:
To make this feature a successful effort, we seek continued involvement and contribution from our readers, that is YOU. We
invite articles, research papers, and trivia on themes related to consulting. Be it industry news, consulting trends, a joke, a
cartoon or feedback, we are eager to hear from you. So go ahead, do your research, pen down your thoughts and mail your
entries to simcon.simsree@gmail.com.
Best Regards,
SIMCON - SIMSREE CONSULTING CLUB

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OUR TEAM
ARPIT agrawal
ASHAYDHURI
HUZEFABODABHAIWALA
KARANCHOPRA
NAMANCHANDAK
praCHIKORE
SARANGKULKARNI
YOGESHMOHATA

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OUR TEAM
ADITYASINGAL
JASPRITTANEJA
APURVAGHUTUKADE
MANGESHLAVTE
NIRANJANSATAM
PRIYANKAHEGDE
SWAPNESHSAWANT
VIDHITHAKKER

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INSURANCE
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

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Overview
The insurance industry in India consists of 52
companies in all
• Life Insurance (24)
• General (Non-Life) Insurance (28)
On 6th January 2000, the President of India gave his
assent to the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI) Bill, which enabled
opening up of the insurance sector to private players.
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 has
provisioned for increasing the Foreign Investment
Cap in an Indian Insurance Company from 26% to
49% with the safeguard of Indian Ownership and
Control.
History
Segments of the industry
Distribution Channels and other intermediaries
• Intermediaries involved in distribution of
insurance products are agents, brokers, web
aggregators, Common Service Centers.
• Intermediaries like surveyors and loss assessors
are involved in claim assessment of general
insurance.
• Specialized intermediaries for health services
called Third Party Administrators (TPAs) operate
in Health insurance for issuance of policy cards,
for organizing cash less treatment facility through
network of hospitals, handling and settlement of
claims.
• Insurance Repositories are intermediaries
introduced recently to electronically maintain
data of insurance policies for ease in storage,
retrieval and servicing of insurance policies
Insurance Ombudsman
• Grievance redressal mechanism is provided for
in the insurance sector through the institution
of Insurance Ombudsman set up under the
Redressal of Public Grievance Rules, 1998.
• Complaints that can be taken are partial or
complete repudiation of claims and delay in
settlement, non-issuance of policy, dispute
relating to premium and interpretation of clauses
in relation to claim.
• If not satisfied, the policyholder may ignore the
award and go to the court, consumer forum
etc., and if the customer consents, the insurer
has to implement the award unless it chooses to
approach Court.
Market Size
The life insurance sector in India grew from $ 10.5
billion in FY-02 to $ 61.78 billion in FY-15. In this
period, the premium collected in life insurance
expanded at a CAGR of 14.7%.

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The general insurance market grew from $ 2.6 billion
in FY-02 to $ 13.9 billion in FY-15. In this period, the
premium collected in non-life insurance expanded
at a CAGR of 13.8%. The number of policies issued
grew from 43.6 million in FY-03 to 126 million in
FY-15, at a CAGR of 9.2%
Insurance density in India grew from 3.57 in FY-05
to 11.23 in FY-15 at a CAGR of 12.1%. Insurance
penetration was 3.3% in FY15.
India is the biggest life insurance sector in the world
with close to 360 million policies. India’s insurance
market is expected to grow 4 times in terms of
premium collected in the next decade. During this
time, life insurance market is deemed to cross $160
billion. India's Insurance industry intends to reach
penetration level of 5% by 2020.
India currently accounts for less than 1.5% of the
world’s total insurance premiums and about 2%
of the world’s life insurance premiums in spite of
being the second most populous country. It is the
15th largest insurance market across the globe with
respect to premium volume.
Drivers for the Insurance Industry
Improving Consumer interest in insurance &
healthcare
Healthcare facilities have improved with the cutting-
edge technology but so have the costs. It seems a
sensible choice to be insured to account for any such
future expenses. With a huge percentage of working
age population with disposable income, it also acts as
a tax-saving financial instrument.
“Premium collected by Indian insurers is 3.30% of GDP in
FY 2014-15”
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
Insurance & Manufacturing sectors on the way up
The ‘Make in India’ initiative will boost the
manufacturing sector for all the industries.
Consequently, this will make the stakeholders insure
theircargoandproperties.Theinfrastructureincludes
the construction of various amenities and facilities
like dams, highways and the likes. Despite a gloomy
global outlook, India has managed to maintain a
good market sentiment in the infrastructure sector.
Travel Industry Upbeat
The tourism industry has benefited a lot with a
weakened Dollar and other currencies. More people
than ever are considering foreign destination for
vacations. This complements the insurance sector
since every leg of travel and stay is insured including
the flights and other means of transportation. The
passenger traffic is surging in the upward path thus
improving the prospects of the insurance industry.
Auto Industry Insurance Surge
Insurance covers for all vehicles is not a new factor
contributing however it is worth noting that recent
flooding events in Chennai caused a spike in the
insurance claims. However, it also made automobile
owners run for insurance cover to account for natural
calamities.
Additionally, the insurance industry caters to an ever
increasing market of automobiles in India.
FDI up from 26% to 49%
Effective May 2015, the government liberalized FDI

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in the insurance sector from the then existing 26%
to 49%. This substantial increase in the capital
foreign investors can pump into the Indian market
will definitely benefit this sector given how capital-
intensive it gets.
“According to IRDAI, the total FDI in insurance sector as on
March 31, 2015, was about Rs.8,031 crore.”
- ASSOCHAM
Major Players in the Insurance Industry
Life Insurance Corporation of India has a lion’s share
in the pie. A 69% market despite numerous players The comprehensive list of life and non-life insurers
can be accessed at below link:
2014
)Crore(
2015
)Crore(
2016
)Crore(
LIC 1656 1823 2518
ICICI Prudential 1566 1634 1650
Bajaj Allianz 1024 876 878
SBI Life Insurance 740 820 861
HDFC Life Insurance 725 785 818
United India Insurance 527 300 200
Birla Sun Life 370 285 140
Reliance Nippon Life
Insurance
358 135 197
Max Life Insurance 435 414 439
List of Life & Non-Life Insurers
PAT for major players (Source: respective annual reports)
*As per section 28 of LIC Act, 1956, 95% of the profits are
returned to policy holders through bonuses effectively meaning
the profits on the P&L statement are 5% of the actual
has been strongly based on its brand and credibility as
a representative of the government.
The non-life insurers’ market is an altogether different
story with private players dominating up to a very
large extent.

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News & Developments
FDI limit hiked up to 49% from existing 26%
Paving way for FIIs to invest in India, the government
has taken another step towards progress. With
a substantial capital inflow, the insurance sector
can definitely attract more takers with innovative
schemes and improved services ensuring the
incumbent leaders do not slack up.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
As an initiative to improve insurance penetration,
Government of India introduced the above scheme
wherein for a nominal premium of Rs.12 per annum,
an individual is insured for maximum sum of Rs.2
lakh.
Health Insurance Probability
Though not a latest update, this policy update has
remarkableimplicationswiththeconsumerbenefited
in terms of service provided by insurers. All insurers
must allow credit gained by the customer for existing
conditions (sum assured, premiums, waiting period,
etc.) if consumer decides to switch the insurance
company or the plan.
IRDA (Issuance of Capital by General Insurance
Companies) regulation, 2012
This amendment provides for an insurance company
operating for more than 10 years to raise capital
through IPOs subject to fulfilling other prerequisites.
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Existing Competitive Rivalry
With 52 players in the arena, the competition has
heated up with the consumer having multiple choices
to choose from. Though LIC of India has the majority
of the market share and despite any unlikely changes
in the incumbent’s outreach, the private players are
coming up with innovative schemes to attract the
customers.
Threat of Substitutes
Though there exist a limited number of competitors,
the threat of substitution is substantial since the
insurance products are evenly matched in almost all
aspects. It becomes easy for the consumer to switch
insurers if he does not continue to see value for
his investments. This threat is compounded by the
fact that the regulator facilitates such a move called
“porting”
Bargaining Power of Customers
The customer is indeed the king here since he has
tremendous bargaining power in terms of the
customizations he needs and the options he has.
Insurers today have agents servicing individual
customer requirements. This has made insurance
easily accessible to anyone.
Bargaining Power of Supliers
Suppliers here are the insurance distributors/agents.
They tend to have a lower bargaining power than
the customers partly because volume of policies is
an important target. Competitors only make it more
difficult for them to hold any kind of advantage
with the insurance companies since policies can be

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substituted easily. With the advent of E-Commerce,
insurance can be obtained without any interaction
with agents. This is another roadblock the suppliers
face reducing their weightage since insurance
companies utilize these alternative modes of
communications which are easier and cheaper.
Threat of New Competitors
Licensing and regulations are strictly enforced by
IRDA making it a not-so-easily-accessible market
for private players to enter. An organization with
enough financial backing and a brand name can
establish itself but despite liberalization since 1991,
very little has changed in this industry with LIC of
India being the most trusted and go-to brand.
Investments in Insurance Sector
• Aegon has increased its investment in Aegon
Religare Life Insurance Company Ltd. from 26%
to 49%
• Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance increased its stake
in Reliance Life from 26% to 49% in a deal worth
Rs.2265 crore with total stake valued at Rs.8630
crore.
• Bupa group raised its stake in Max India Life
Insurance from 26% to 49% in a deal worth
Rs.207 crore.
• France’s AXA invested Rs.1290 cr in Bharti AXA
Insurance increasing its stake by 23% to 49%
Conclusion
Theinsuranceindustryaswehavetodayisdominated
by LIC of India. It would definitely be a Herculean
task to displace it off the pedestal as its firmly placed
due to the legacy it carries and the people outreach
it has. Private players will find it difficult to sustain
in such choppy waters. The only approach as of now
they can adopt is to fend off the competition before
even considering to take on the industry leader.
From consumer perspective, the options have
increasedandimprovedwithcustomizationsavailable
to suit individual requirements. This coupled with an
augmenting penetration of insurance for has ensured
this sector progresses with time. It’s a bright outlook
to this industry despite the trying times for the world
economy with a sluggish growth.
References
IRDAI Annual Report 2014-2015, Insurance Sector in
India - IBEF, Indian Insurance Market, Insurance
Trends - policybazaar.com, Insurance Industry –
Challenges, reforms and realignment (E&Y), CRISIL
– ASSOCHAM Insurance Report

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BATA
BRAND ANALYSIS

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Introduction
Bata brand known for well-made and well-priced
footwear, clothing and accessories, was founded in
1894 in Zlín, Moravia by Tomáš Bata, his brother
Antonín and his sister Anna. Its headquarters is
located in Lausanne, Switzerland. Bata succeeded in
becomingoneofEurope’sleadingshoemanufacturers
in just a few decades, due to smart entrepreneurship
and competitive pricing. In the early 1930s, the
company was present in Switzerland, Germany,
England, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, India and the
Netherlands. By 1960, Bata employed about 42,000
employees owned thousands of companies and
factories in almost every continent. It was one of the
few manufacturers to sell its products all over the
world. In 1970, Bata Industrials was founded to meet
a specific demand for footwear for professionals.
Since then, Bata Industrials has evolved to become
a designer, producer, and marketer of safety
footwear and socks, targeting the professional end
user markets. At present, Bata Industrials is one
of the world’s largest manufacturers of this type of
footwear. It operates four business units worldwide-
Bata Europe, Bata Emerging Markets, Bata Branded
Business and Bata North America.
Bata World-Wide
Bata has recorded its presence in more than 70
countries with over 5000 stores. The 28 production
units are spread across 18 countries. Bata serves
more than 1 million customers every day.
Bata Enters India
Product Portfolio
Bata’s vision is “To make great shoes accessible to
everyone!” It offers footwear for all age groups. It
has over 2500 styles of footwear & accessories. Bata’s
portfolio includes Boots, Formal Shoes, Casual
Shoes, Sandals, Bags, Belts and Wallets for men;
Closed Shoes, Sandals, Head Over Heels, Clutches,
Scarves, Handbags for women & school shoes for
kids.
Competitors
The footwear market in India is highly unorganized
with many local brands still dominating the market.
Paragon & Relaxo are the brands with lower product

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prices & targeting the masses. Brands like Nike,
Adidas and Reebok are the most famous in the metro
cities and urban India. In the formal shoe market,
Red Tape & Lee Cooper are leading brands. Puma is
the fastest growing shoe brand in India.
Advertising
Vintage BATA Ads
In 1929, Bata ads were simple and straight forward. It
contained little more than two shoes with their price
mentioned along with the name of the company. By
1935,notmuchwaschangedwiththeadsbeingsimple
of Marie Claire and Power Athletics ads appealing to
aerobics fans of the era.
Forafewyears,Batadidnotcomeupwithanyeffective
promotional campaigns. They did not advertise for a
long time. Considering the rising competition and
behaviour of customers it was necessary for Bata to
get into advertising. Advertising was needed to create
top of the mind awareness not only to attract new
customers, but also to retain their old customers.
For example, a Bata customer might want to buy
Relaxo slipper because of the advertisements or the
models used to display it. Bata had to put in more
on repeated exposure and take advantage of various
mediums to do the same.
Marketing Campaigns
“Where Life Meets Style”- Spring-Summer 2014
Marketing Campaign
Bata India launched its new marketing campaign
“Where Life Meets Style” in March 2014 for its entire
range of footwear, bags, glasses and accessories.
The campaign featured a 360-degree multimedia
integration of TV commercials, cinema, print, radio,
and innovative outdoor, promotions, events and
digital platforms. The T.V commercial aired across
channels had been shot to capture a slice-of-life
situation in the lives of people through the focus on
footwear. It used a unique technique of depicting real
life moments by showing the actions only from the
knee down. It included a group of students eagerly
and direct connecting with the consumers. Some
changes were made which were socially acceptable
like the depiction of more personal moments, such as
a woman in her bedroom sleeping on a comfortable
pair of Bata slippers. These ads appeared in ladies
magazines at times. After the Second World War,
advertising undergone major changes and Bata kept
up with it. In 1948, Bata came up with a Swiss ad
featuring a kitten popping out of the top of a boot. In
1960, Bata exploded the global market, adding many
sales outlets and factories all over the world. In
the 1960s the ad industry shifted its focus to more
youthful markets. Bata incorporated photography
into its ads to attract the younger generations.
During 1970s, Bata was at the forefront of fashion
both in terms of product styles and presentation of
its ads of chunky, platform shoes and psychedelic
colours. In 1980s, Bata’s focus was to promote lifestyle
branded products and came up with a series of
campaigns like the almost futuristic, high-tech look

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looking at their exam results, colleagues watching a
cricket match and young girls enjoying their ‘day out’.
The film showcases the leading brands in their latest
styles. The new campaign emphasizes fashion and
comfort of Bata shoes. It is a remarkable milestone
in Bata’s journey.
“Have we met”- Campaign for shoe-lovers
Bata tied up with Digital agency Section to launch
a digital campaign ‘Have we met’ around the theme
of nostalgia. It includes a microsite to extend online
dedicated engagement and reach to reconnect with
younger customers. It also has a short film that enacts
the reunion of two lost friends through a pair of
shoes. Section developed a digital platform for users
Repositioning
Bata had initially positioned itself as a family store
for all footwear and related products. Bata became
a need brand as it positioned itself as providing
products catering to the needs of the middle class
sections of the society. Bata was loved by everyone
in the family. The brand had something for every
member of the household.
It came up with new brands like Marie Claire,
Hush Puppies and North Star. Bata was known as a
manufacturing company which produced footwear
and sold them. It wanted to change its image from
a manufacturing company to a marketing company.
It wanted to be placed in the market as a fashion
conscious and lifestyle brand. It decided to become
more visible in shopping malls and create a shop-
in-shop experience in multi-branded stores. The
company also introduced international brands like
Scholl, Marie Claire, Bubble gummers, POWER, and
North Star.
During the last few years, Bata has focused on
the modernisation of factories & manufacturing
processes. Bata stores are being renovated to provide
world class store ambience & delightful shopping
experience. Bata plans to open 30 new retail stores,
30 new franchise stores & 5 destination stores with
kid’s playing area, food court etc. every year. To
to share a personal message to a friend and select a
pair of their preferred Bata shoe. It helps individuals
relive memories and reconnect with one another.
Bata Club
Bata Club is a loyalty program which offers great
rewards and privileges. Customers need to register
their names & phone numbers to become a member.
With every purchase at Bata stores, points equal to
bill amount get added to the account which you
can redeem at next purchase with Bata. Few other
benefits include new registration bonus, Birthday
bonus, Member’s sale day & Special products in store
at exclusive prices for members. The Bata club has
approx. 6.7 million members & is growing rapidly.

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leverage the exponential growth of e-commerce
Bata started with e-commerce division. Along with
online business, e-commerce division focuses on tie-
ups with reputed companies & banks like HDFC,
Samsung, Spice Jet, State Bank of India etc. to
increase the brand awareness & customer database.
The launch of new Bata mobile application has
strengthened its e-commerce business. Bata blog is a
style inspiration for the young audience & a channel
for online surveys & feedbacks.
Online Presence
Apart from its vast offline presence, Bata is present
online through its website bata.in and has its own
deliverychannel‘BataHome’.Ithasvariouscategories
ranging from women’s section to men’s, section for
kids and different brands such as Angry Birds, Hush
Puppies, marie claire, Sunshine and many more. The
company has tie-ups with e-commerce sites such
as Snapdeal, Jabong, Junglee and Rediff. In 2014-
2015, its multi-channel business has performed very
well and is expected to continue the same with its
products and service. To facilitate the shopping ease,
M-wallet service has been launched. The company
website www.bata.in has been re-launched where
customers can now their favourite products on social
media. The company also came with ‘Click and
Collect’ where customers can shop online and get
their products delivered to the local Bata shops, this
would also help bring more customers to their shops.
Social Initiatives
Bata launched ‘Bata Children’s Program’ (BCP) in
2010 to help disabled children in the communities
where Bata is present. It has adopted schools in their
areas of operations as a part of this initiative. It has
carried more than 100 initiatives in 22 countries.
Computer labs are set up at BCP schools in Bataganj
and Gurgaon and were able to reach out to 150 girls.
It also came up with Each One Teach One campaign
where volunteers dedicate four to six hours every
month to teach both curricular extra-curricular
activities to underprivileged children. BCP came
up with Each One Feed One campaign with The
Akshaypatra Foundation, where the employees
were requested to donate Rs 750 and with this, they
provided meals to 200 underprivileged children.
Other initiatives include Book Wall Campaign,
Donation of fans in schools, Health check- ups,
Infrastructure improvement in BCP schools.
STP Analysis
Segmentation
Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of
consumers with different needs exist.
Based on Demographics
The demographic factors are age, Income, gender &
occupation. Bata offers products mainly to men &
woman above the age of 14, with limited products
for school kids.
Based on psychographic factors
Personal Activities like hobbies, social events
(marathon), sports, shopping and Personal interests
like fashion, styles are considered in psychographic
factors. Bata being the mother brand covers all these
segments in their portfolio.
Target
Target customer of Bata includes Price conscious

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India with its relentless efforts continues to be the
market leader.
References
Bata, Bata India Ltd. Annual report 2015-16, Bata-
Global, Marketing Interactive
middle-class families, youth looking for affordable
& trendy products. It targets all the age groups & has
something for every member of the family, i.e. men,
women & kids.
Position
Positioning is done in order to locate the brand in
the minds of the customers. The positioning is done
with respect to the brand and product portfolio. Bata
positions itself as a brand that offers comfortable
footwear & stylish accessories for the entire family at
an affordable price.
SWOT Analysis
The government of India has now allowed 100%
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the footwear
manufacturing industry, the proposed reduction in
excise duty on rubber sheets for soles & heels from
12.5& to 6%. Such steps by the government are
beneficial for sector growth. Rapid change in lifestyle
creates huge potential for footwear industry & Bata

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OLA
CASE STUDY

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Introduction to case
Ola is India’s first and largest aggregator of cabs,it is
the result of brainstorming idea of 2 IITians Bhavish
Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. They set up the firm in
January 2011 with its operation limited to Mumbai
only. Now it is the largest cab-booking service
provider in India and provides service in around 100
cities .
Ola translates to ‘Hello’ in Spanish. Probably to
indicate that their services are as easy and friendly as
that, just like saying a ‘hello’.
Ola integrates car transportation within the city
onto a technology platform, ensuring convenient,
transparent and quick service fulfillment for the
customers and driver partners. Customers can access
Ola on the web, through the mobile app or through
the customer service centre.
But Journey of Ola cabs was never so easy as there
weremanychallengesthrownbyUber.Thisisbecause
Uber is a San Francisco based taxi aggregator valued
at $40 bn as compared Ola valuation of $2.5 bn.
Uber has a war chest of $1.5 billion for international
expansion and has committed $400million to grow
and expand its services in India.
Challenges faced by Ola
Failed Ad Campaign
Creating brand awareness is crucial during initial
phaseofanyproduct.Ola’sinitialoffline“ChaloNiklo”
brand campaign did not get desired results. It did not
utilize social media to target right audience.
Surge Pricing
The reason given by aggregators for surge pricing is
more demand. However It was believed the drivers
may be playing the system. Drivers concentrate in
one location, switch off their app, and create artificial
scarcity. They use the second phones to keep track
on the rising prices. Once the surge begins, they log
back again.
Customer Complaints
Drivers are the face of the company and hence their
misbehavior directly affects the brand image. Hence
training them and teaching them to use technology
was a major challenge.Further safety and quality of
service was important. Following was the tweet made
by one of ola’s customer expressing inconvenience
caused due to Ola Cab’s personnels service.
Recovery strategy
Hashtag Campaigns
Ola Cabs’ topical and continuous use of the hashtag
has enabled it to become one of the most well known
radio cab brands on social media according to a
report by Simplify360. Along with catchy hashtag
campaigns, their association with popular events
is also another reason for their high popularity
among social media users. For example, Ola ran
the #AccesstoArmin campaign during Armin van
Buuren’s performance at this year’s A State of Trance.

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Mobile App Awareness
• Facebook has designed a customized mobile
specific methodology by the name ‘App
Analytics’, that enables apps to track and
measure performance. It enabled Ola to track
its performance and make informed decisions
about reaching their customers.
• Olacabs is run by Mumbai-based ANI
Technologies Pvt Ltd. Of the total, around
four-fifths of the bookings come from mobile.
• The meteoric growth of Ola cabs is due to
intensive use of high technology, namely use
of Google maps, fully automated operations,
New security features in Apps ,Use of data
analytics software, ease of payment (using
OlaMoney), tie-ups with clubs, sponsoring
events.
Customer Centric Approach
For any company to perform well it’s Customer
satisfaction Index should always be on higher side.
Ola followed below mentioned principles for the
same-
• Immediate acknowledgment of the mistake
gives relief to the frustrated client.
• A genuine apology from the company
increases an opportunity of getting a second
chance from the dissatisfied client.
• For winning the trust of a dissatisfied client,
understanding of the damage caused is
important.
• Creativity hitting the direct cause help in
converting frustrated client into Brand
Advocate.
• Customer’s tweet :-
Ola’s response:-
The other differentiators of Ola
• Convenience - “Book within seconds and get
instant confirmations. Easy online payments
or cash on delivery. Booking car rentals will
never be a headache again!”
• Quality-“Ourcarsareauditedforcleanliness,
safety and comfort. Our drivers are well
trained and reliable. Sit back and enjoy the
Ola experience!”
• Control- “ We have clear and transparent
pricing listed online. Never haggle with
drivers again on payments and be confident
and assured of what you are being charged
for!”
• Further Taxi for Sure was acquired by Ola
for $200 million i.e., Rs 1200 crore in March
2015 (Business Standard Reporter, 2015).

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ISSUE 10
Number Crunch
• Ola's revenue is growing at an average of 30%
month on month (fastest in its league) and
at least 2000 cars get added on the platform
every month pan-India.
• Over 70% of the bookings come through
the mobile app! The rest significantly comes
through the call centre and a small number
via the website.
• Ola has raised ~$70mn through venture
capital funds and has prestigious investors
like Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Steadview
Capital and Sequoia Capital on board.
Global Examples and Success Stories
• Lyft is a privately held, San Francisco-based
American transportation network company.
The company's mobile-phone application
facilitates peer-to-peer ride sharing by
enabling passengers who need a ride to
request one from available "community
drivers".
• BlaBlaCar is a French startup building a
communitymarketplacethatconnectsdrivers
with empty seats to passengers looking for a
ride. Car owners and ride-seekers sign up
as members of BlaBlaCar much like a social
network.
• Sidecar is a Transportation Network
Company that connects people for shared
rides with operations based in San Francisco.
Will Ola succeed or fail in the long run, only time
would tell us. Till then, we say, “Ole, Ole, Ola!”
(PS - Ole: A Spanish word used as a shout of approval,
triumph, or encouragement)
References
SDMIMD | Honoring a Commitment, Digital
Marketing Training courses, Delhi School of
Internet Marketing, Chandigarh Institute of
International Marketing, Yourstory, Indian
Advertising Media and Marketing News, Analytics
India Magazine

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ISSUE 10
BUG BOUNTY
CONCEPT OF THE MONTH

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Concept of the Month – Bug Bounty
A Bug Bounty program is a challenge offered by
companies for reporting bugs and security lacunae
with their website or software. The individuals
who point out the vulnerabilities are recognised
and awarded with monetary prizes. Such programs
ensure that the company identifies and looks into the
issues before it gets exposed publicly.
Bug bounty programs have been implemented
by giants like Apple, Facebook, Google, Yahoo,
Microsoft, Reddit etc.
Origination and History
The original ‘Bugs Bounty’ program was created
by an employee of the Netscape Communications
named Mr. Jarrett Ridlinghafer. Mr. Ridlinghafer
recognized people who were interested in finding
the bugs in different browsers and discovered that
many of those were software engineers who were
fixing the bugs and publishing them on the ‘Netscape
U-FAQ’ website or on the news forums along with
the workarounds of these bugs.
Ridlinghafer thought that the company should
leverage these valuable resources and drafted out a
proposal for the 'Netscape Bugs Bounty Program'.
The first official 'Bugs Bounty' program was launched
in the year 1995 and turned out to be a huge success.
Bug Bounties
Some of the Notable Bug bounty programs in the
recent years are as follows:
Facebook started paying researchers who reported
security bugs by issuing them custom branded ‘White
Hat’ debit cards that can be loaded with funds every
time the researchers discover new vulnerabilities.
In 2014, Facebook stopped issuing the debit
cards.Since it launched in 2011, Facebook has
awarded around $4.3 million to a little more than
800 researchers. The Facebook bug bounty program
determines the payout based on the level of a bug's
risk than its complexity. In the year 2015, total
amount of $936,000 was rewarded to 210 researchers
with an average payout of $1,780. Recently, a 10 year
student from Helsinki has become the youngest
recipient of a $10,000 award under the program,
after he found vulnerability into the photo sharing
application – Instagram.
United Airlines announced a bug bounty program
where the reward was given in the form of ‘free air
miles’. The reward was based on the basis of the
complexity of the bug. It did not include the flaws
found on aircraft such as avionics or in-flight wifi.
Also, the regulations stated that the researcher should
not disclose the flaws to public or any third party.
Google announced a major change to its ongoing
Vulnerability Reward Program in the year 2013.
Previously, it used to cover Google products in its
program but the new program was expanded to
include high-risk free software applications and
libraries primarily designed for networking or low-
leveloperatingsystemfunctionality.Rewardamounts
for qualifying bugs range from $100 to $20000.
Microsoft and Facebook partnered in 2013 for

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ISSUE 10
providing financial support to The Internet Bug
Bounty - a program designed to offer rewards
for reporting hacks and bugs for a wide range of
softwares. The softwares covered by the program
include Adobe Flash, Nginx, Ruby PHP, Ruby on
Rails, OpenSSL, Python, Perl Apache HTTP Server,
Django and Phabricator. This program assisted in
harnessing the collective intelligence of the security
researchers to help protect valuable customer data.
In 2016, US Department of Defence announced
its bug bounty program known as the ‘Hack the
Pentagon’ program. The program targeted public
facing websites and had paired up with HackerOne
– a Silicon Valley based firm who advised, operated
and executed the program. The program ran for
duration of 25 days and saw 1410 hackers submitting
138 legitimate reports. HackerOne promptly paid
$75,000 as rewards to the researchers.
Conclusion
While the use of ethical hackers to find bugs can be
very effective and organizations have been benefited
with such bug bounty programs, such programs
can also be controversial. Hackers can pose a threat
of exposing the vulnerability to the world if the
developer organization fails to respond promptly.
Also, such a program cannot completely eliminate
the need of research and inspection processes.
To limit this potential risk, some organizations are
offering closed bug bounty programs that require
an invitation. For example, Apple has limited bug
bounty participation to few researchers.
Bug bounty sponsors have found a way to make all
the searching and failing time cost free to the software
companies. Though they are in essence an extension
of security testing programs and are time saving and
relatively cost effective, companies should ensure
effective implementation of such programs.
References
History of Bug Bounties - BugCrowd, Microsoft
Security: Security Vulnerability, Hack the Pentagon
Bug Bounty Cybersecurity Program: from idea to
successful results – HackerOne, 10-year-old gets
$10,000 bounty for finding Instagram vulnerability
| Ars Technica

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MTV
BRAND ANALYSIS
GUEST LECTURE
EVENT REPORT

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ISSUE 10
Event Report - Guest Lecture
SIMCONorganizedaguestlecturebyDevangMehta,
Head & Senior VP, Wealth Advisory, at BNP Paribas
on 4th of September, 2016. He is the alumni of JBIMS
from the 1996 batch with diploma in investment
studies and has worked with top notch firms like
Anand Rathi Securities and Angel Broking­. The
lecture revolved around the discussion on evolution
of financial markets in the Indian economy. Mr.
Mehta started the lecture by talking briefly about his
career in finance. He then discussed about the Indian
stock markets NSE and BSE, giving basic idea about
the need for stock markets, how BSE started in 1855
wherein 5 stockbrokers would sit under a banyan
tree in front of Town Hall in Mumbai which later
shifted to Dalal Street in 1874 and became an official
organization in 1875. BSE became the first stock
exchange to be recognized by Indian government in
1956 under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act.
In the year 1980 BSE moved to Phiroze Jeejeebhoy
Towers at Dalal Street in Fort, Mumbai which has
been home to the stock exchange till date.
Mr. Mehta then talked about the advent of Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that worked as a
regulator for securities market; he then talked in brief
abouttheDemat(Dematerialized)accountswhichare
used to hold the shares electronically. Moving ahead,
he talked about fundamental and technical analysis
of the stocks and securities listed on a stock exchange.
The fundamental analysis also known as the top down
approach helps relate the fundamental factors to the
performance of the company, the industry or the
economy and thus provides an analytical framework
which helps in decision making.
On the other hand technical analysis is basically
the study of the market carried out as a supplement
to the fundamental analysis. It is basically the study
of variation of stock price based on its demand and
supply in the market and provides a simple and
inclusive picture of the price of security. Sir then
discussed about the effects of stock markets on
Indian economy, stating that if the stock markets
do well then it creates a sense of confidence about
the direction of the economy. Sir also talked about
negative interests rates in ageing countries like
Japan. The students found the lecture beneficial and
an engaging one where they asked questions related
to the topic and Mr. Mehta answered them all. We
thank Mr. Devang Mehta for taking time out from
his busy schedule and sharing valuable knowledge
with the batch.
Key Takeaways
Fundamental and Technical analysis
The fundamental and technical analysis is carried
out to predict the price of a security by studying
the factors affecting the economy, industries and
companies. The fundamental analysis studies the
effect of economy, industry on a macro scale and

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microeconomic factors such as company’s financial
condition and its management. The main objective
is to determine the direction of national economy as
it affects the corporate profit, investor attitudes and
expectations, which thus helps in investing at right
time in right security. Fundamental analysis is a three
phase analysis, which includes analyzing economy,
industry, and company. Economic analysis helps
assess economic situation of the nation, industry
analysis is done to gain insight on prospects of a
group of industries and lastly, company analysis is
done to analyze financial and non-financial aspects
of the company to determine whether to invest in
that company or not. Fundamental analysis helps
in making long term investments, spotting the right
company with valuable assets, a strong balance
sheet, stable earnings, and staying power, and it also
provides the good understanding of the business &
also key value drivers within the company.
Technical analysis is directed towards predicting the
price of a security. The price at which a buyer and
seller settle a deal is considered to be the one precise
figure which synthesis, weighs and finally expresses
all factors, rational and irrational, quantifiable and
non-quantifiable and is the only figure that counts.
The most commonly used method for technical
analysis is the Dow Theory. According to Charles
Dow “The market is always considered as having
three movements, all going at the same time. The first
is the narrow movement from day to day. The second
is the short swing, running from two weeks to a
month or more and the third is the main movement,
covering at least four years in its duration”. It states
that the behavior of the stock is 90% psychological
and 10% logical. The Dow Theory only determines
the direction of market and not the actual stock
prices or the future movements of the market.
One of the basic tools used in technical analysis is
charting. It is believed that stocks follow a particular
trend due to an inbuilt inertia until an opposite force
created by the demand-supply changes acts upon it.