Volkswagen adopted innovative marketing strategies when launching vehicles in India, such as taking out a full newspaper roadblock and creating a talking newspaper ad. The company also used billboards with moving toy cars and silver-colored ads. Some strategies like the talking newspaper ad gained attention but lacked detailed information. Strategies to promote the Jetta could have been improved by making the toy car more noticeable or linking the silver printing more clearly to the vehicle's attributes. Volkswagen also launched a social media campaign asking people to post creative tweets for a chance to win a Jetta.

2. EDITOR’S DESK
SEPTEMBER 2011
Interface-the Marketing Club of K.J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research
(SIMSR) proudly present to you the September issue of “The Marksman”. On this occasion, we
would like to thank all our readers for the overwhelming response for the past three editions.
The cover story for the September issue is “EVANGELISM MARKETING”. The article informs us
about how brands get personality and personalities become brands, and how people become
brand ambassadors just because of their belief and perception about it. It sure is a promising read
for those who wish to devour information beyond text books.
The secondary story, “Volkswagen - breaking the clutter” will talk about the marketing strategies
adopted by Volkswagen in terms of media and advertising after being a late entrant in the premi-
um segment of an already competitive Indian car market.
We also have articles covering the Re-branding of Hero Moto Corp ,Faith Marketing and Market-
ing of luxury goods. We would also like to congratulate Mr. Akshat Malhotra (SIBM,Pune)
for his article of Faith Marketing being the best entry amongst the many articles that we received.
Our regular section of bookworm, tweets and Buzz will surely appeal to all our readers.
With this issue, we would also like to welcome our Junior Marksman team, who now would take
the baton and ensure the Marksman light shines in the months to come!
Happy Reading!
Cheers!!
Team –Marksman
Interface - The Marketing Club of SIMSR
SEPTEMBER 2011 01

4. COVER STORY
EVANGELISM MARKETING
Some brands enjoy a very strong word of mouth while others don’t. The answer
to this mystery might lie in what is known as Evangelism Marketing…
In an age where small firms struggle to the product or service, simply to provide
make it big and big Brands compete to be- benefit to others. As evangelists are not
come even bigger, winning over the con- paid to promote the brand, their beliefs are
sumers mind space and pulling them to the perceived by others as trustworthy and
market place is a game that has chartered credible.
various dimensions. It is a constant race to The word Evangelism means “bringing good
reach out through the TV, print media, ra- news”. It is a term associated with Christi-
dio jingles, outdoor promotions and others anity and refers to a practice of spreading
to take control of all the senses of the cus- information about a particular set of beliefs
tomers. But there is more to marketing and to others in order to make them believe in
promotion strategies than what meets the these set of beliefs. Hence, the marketing
eye. What influences customers to choose term rightly draws from the religious sense,
a particular brand over another? Is it plain as consumers are literally driven by their
advertising or is someone influencing them? beliefs in a particular product or service,
Some brands clearly get much more Word which they preach to others in order to
of Mouth than others. This month, we try convert them.
to explain this trend in the light of Evange-
lism Marketing. Guy Kawasaki, the former chief evangelist
of Apple Computer, is considered to be the
What is evangelism marketing? Father of Evangelism Marketing. He be-
Evangelism Marketing can be thought of as
an advanced form of Word Of Mouth Mar-
keting. Companies are turning the tables
around and are now working on developing
customers who believe so strongly in the
product or service that they freely try to
convince others to buy and use it. Hence,
the customers become voluntary support-
ers, actively spreading the word on behalf
of the company.
Unlike in Affiliate Marketing, where compa-
nies provide incentives in the form of mon-
ey or products to its endorsers, evangelist lieves that people become evangelists simp-
customers spread their word and try to ly to make the world a better place. Kawa-
attract new customers out of pure belief in saki is recognized as being one of the first
SEPTEMBER 2011 03

5. COVER STORY
to use evangelistic methods to promote a get customers to bite.
brand through a blog, a concept which Focus on making the world, or your indus-
spread like wild fire in the marketing com- try, better.
munity.
A complaint from a customer is a god
Creating Customer Evangelists sent gift!
Now as intriguing as it sounds at first, the
fact is that these Customer Care services
help convert already loyal customers into
influential and enthusiastic evangelists.
Customer Experience Research firm TARP
found that customers who complain and
are satisfied are up to 8% more loyal to the
company than those who had no problem
at all.
When customers become truly thrilled
about their experience with a product or
service, they become candid "evangelists"
for the company. This group of “satisfied
believers” can be converted into a power-
ful marketing force to become a growing
"Creating Customer Evangelists", a book by influence on customers.
Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, explains
how companies like IBM, Krispy Kreme
Doughnuts, The Dallas Mavericks, South- Facebook Facebook
west Airlines and many others have suc-
cessfully built their customer base with the Facebook is increasingly becoming an inevi-
help of targeted marketing programs involv- table tool for marketers. Reasons: Creating
ing their biggest fans. These programs have a Facebook page is free of cost, very easy
produced hosts of unofficial salespersons and creates an instantaneous pathway to
who proved to be an inexpensive and pow- evangelists.
erful marketing force. The book outlines You may not realise this, but every time
the framework for developing evangelism you hit the like button on a Facebook page,
marketing strategies in six simple steps- you become an Evangelist. When you in-
1. Continuously gather customer feedback. teract with other fans on a fan page on
2. Freely share your knowledge. Facebook, that interaction is sent through
3. Create effective word-of-mouth net- your news feed, which goes to all your
works. friends, thus urging them to see what the
4. Encourage communities of customers to page is all about.
meet and share. A fan page surfaces questions, problems or
5. Devise specialized, smaller offerings to issues that people are facing and can create
THE MARKSMAN 04

6. COVER STORY
an immediate fix-it list. It gives the company Macintosh. This gave rise to what is now
called “Software Evangelism”. Apple for-
merly had a "Why Mac?" evangelist site.
Then the company ran “Get a Mac”,which
gave PC users numerous reasons to switch
to Macs. Several third-parties still host and
a feel of what resonates with fans by the maintain Apple evangelism websites.
number of comments and "likes" people
give on each post. Thus, a Facebook fan What’s your Starbucks Idea?
page can be a strong indicator of how well
a brand is doing. Starbucks Corporation, the world re-
nowned Coffee company, opened its doors
Apple took the first bite to its loyal customers in 2008 by starting an
online community for them in 2008 called
The Evangelism Marketing movement start-
ed at Apple Computers in the 1980s, with
the launch of the original Macintosh. It was
Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist, who helped
popularize the idea of a company evangelist
by uniting the developer community to
write software specifically for the Mac.
The primary function of an evangelist in the
early days of the Mac was to convince soft-
ware developers to write software for the
My Starbucks Idea. This website was de-
signed to invite suggestions for products or
services and feedback from customers.
During it‟s first year, My Starbucks Idea
generated over 70,000 ideas through the
website and close to 50-60 changes were
incorporated based on customer sugges-
tions.
HOGS!
Harley Davidson has been into Evangelistic
Marketing for a long time now. Harley
SEPTEMBER 2011 05

7. COVER STORY
Owners Groups(HOGS), an initiative by take her photo.
Harley Davidson is a common platform for In her concerts, she recites the “Manifesto
Harley fanatics to interact with each other. of the Little Monsters”, dedicating all her
This organization organizes local and inter- success to her fans. The official little mon-
national events like road trips, biking chal- ster greeting is the outstretched Monster
lenges, concerts, etc. for Harley lovers Claw Hand. You would even find fans
around the year. It is a great place to find showing each other the Monster Claw out
people who share love for Harley Da-
vidson bikes and it has grown into a dynam-
ic community for biking enthusiasts.
Lady Gaga!
She‟s just 25 and with 2 Grammys, more
than 8 million albums sold worldwide, an
army of diehard fans, she has the whole
world singing to her tunes. Lady Gaga can
be cited as a shining example of Personal
Evangelism Marketing.
She doesn‟t like the word “fans” so she
calls them her “Little Monsters”. By giving
her fans a formal name, they can freely re-
late to each other and feel like they are a on the street. Quite the brand recall don‟t
part of an exclusive social group. She you think?
doesn‟t like professional photographers tak- Whether it‟s her performance art style
ing her photos but its ok when her fans stage shows or her bizarre outfits, Lady
THE MARKSMAN 06

8. COVER STORY
Gaga has created mass hysteria across the Evangelism Marketing can be particularly
globe. With millions of followers on Twit- beneficial for small businesses and start-up
ter and Facebook hooked on to every ac- firms. For instance, Yolkshire, a small busi-
tion of hers, it‟s only fair to say that not ness in Pune witnessed a 20% hike in sales
only is Lady Gaga an outstanding artist, but after it was promoted on influential blogs.
is also a great Marketing Mind!
Brands like Nokia, Reckitt Benckiser, MTV,
etc approach digital agencies like Prinstorm
Evangelism Marketing in India India and Bloggers Mind to find bloggers
and tweeters who are the right fit for their
While we see Evangelism Marketing pre- brands.
sent in a big way in the countries of the
west, the concept of evangelists is still in its The agencies then approach them to pre-
nascent stage in India. Digital evangelists view and evaluate the brands and create a
are now fast becoming the means for buzz about them. In turn, they are provided
brands to connect with consumers and cre- with incentives that range from providing
ate a positive buzz around brands and new exclusive content and first hand reviews, to
product launches in India. Karthik Shriniva- freebies and pay checks. They actively ask
san, Mahendra Palsule, Gautam Ghosh, bloggers for feedback and use their net-
Jairaj P- these are people who feature in works to reach out to a larger community.
the list of India‟s 100 Most Influential Peo-
ple on the Web.
Reckitt Benckiser used popular gadget and
Interestingly, almost 50 of these top 100 gaming bloggers to tweet and blog about
are virtually unknown names who have their new game Urban Thrill. The company
made a big impact on the Virtual World. created the game so that it could connect
Big brands in India today realize that these with the youth. The incentive to play was
influencers on the web can make a big dif- that winners would get a ticket to a desti-
ference when it comes to selling their nation of their choice. By engaging the gam-
products and services. Aditya Swamy,
ers through blogs and twitter, the game in-
Channel Head, MTV India in an interview
said “By giving early adopters a special ex- creased its online players four folds in just
perience, they seamlessly become brand two weeks, thus creating more awareness
ambassadors. and buzz around the brand.
When we launched Coke Studio, we
looked for hardcore music fans who were
active in social media to come and experi-
ence a recording first hand. MTV Roadies
has become a cult today. Getting to see
content before it goes on air is very special
experience for these fans.”
SEPTEMBER 2011 07

9. SPECIAL STORY
Volkswagen-Breaking the clutter
Redefines innovation, grabs maximum eyeballs, the most talked
about!! Message innovation or just another media innovation?
fɔlksˌvaːɡən - The People‟s Car
Volkswagen‟s marketing team focuses on
its key brand pillars- innovation, to make a
strong impact throughout the roll-out in
India. Innovation was showcased not only in
Volkswagen‟s product introductions, but
also in its communications and advertising.
Road block in newspaper-
When it first started in India in November
2009, it combined its campaign with Times
of India to bring out a successful roadblock
that blocked out other ads and filled up the
entire paper with its own ads, wholly or
the innovation. But after this, one can ex-
partly in thirteen of the twenty two pages
pect advertisers to drill holes in other
of the newspaper. This roadblock did grab a
newspapers too.
lot of attention and created awareness for
the brand.
World‟s First Talking newspaper
The advertisement was carried in some 2.2
VW Polo- Hole in newspaper million copies and a small talking device
The Times of India had a car-sized hole in was attached to it. The talking newspaper
its special edition, courtesy the Volkswagen ad created a sensation in India, and gar-
marketing team who drove their New nered worldwide attention for taking print
Volkswagen Polo through the eight pages. advertising to a new level.
The hole, when aligned with the main edi- But other than the initial shock of having to
tion showed the Polo car. hear from your paper – the novelty wore
The advertisement did stand out, and must off quickly – as there wasn‟t much detail to
have caught the attention of every reader. the voice message, other than usual mar-
One doesn‟t know if Polo, the company keting information.
that makes the popular mint candy called
Polo- a mint with a hole, was happy with
THE MARKSMAN 08

10. SPECIAL STORY
Till date it is one of the most discussed and tisement printed on silver sheet that ac-
blogged topics and the most searched sub- companied TOI.
ject amongst the online community. So it The jacket connotes the USPs of the all-
wasn't just the ad that did the talking but new Jetta. Silver is VW communication col-
got its readers talking about it too! or , thicker cover represents the quality of
Volkswagen (Toy car on logo) Bill-
board
The Billboard had a VW logo and a small
model of a Jetta which navigates through
the logo and traces the path cut out inside
the VW. This hoarding was an honest ef-
fort at doing something innovative and
catching the attention of potential custom-
ers.
Better if paid attention to details!!
The company is trying to promote the
brand more than the car itself as it can be
seen in the picture the model car of Jetta
was hard to notice. The model car moves
so slowly that it takes some time for you to the car, and glitzy looks stands for the all
figure out if it is moving or stationery. new design of the new Jetta.
On a Downside: The excitement created
How it could have been better?! by the media and the information provided
by VW about Jetta is not that exciting.
If their primary objective was to familiarize Glitzy silver printing diminished the appeal
people with the logo of the brand, they of the car itself. Silver foil printing is new
might have just fared better by displaying but the link between that and Jetta does
only the logo and done without the car in not get established to a layman.
motion or they could have made the car
glow in the dark or used a bigger model to #anything4jetta- This campaign has
make Jetta noticeable. taken Twitter by Storm
Volkswagen Jetta- paint it Silver Grey Digital has designed a social media
With the launch of the new Volkswagen campaign, wherein users need to post a
Jetta, Volkswagen came up with an adver- wacky tweet on what they would do to win
SEPTEMBER 2011 09

11. SPECIAL STORY
the all-new Jetta. There are multiple ways in its products or its advertising. Even its
to participate, including mobile (texting or simple tagline evokes attention bringing
recording a message), posting one-liners, both things to the front, one; that they are
pictures and hilarious videos. The more ac- a superior German engineering company
tive the involvement, the better are the and two; that they have full confidence in
chances of winning. their product lines when they say it is THE
car and not A car!
Volkswagen‟s proposition for the all-new
Jetta was simple- that one can do anything Volkswagen Gallery
POLO
JETTA
to drive VW. VW decided to test their
proposition with a simple question: Would
you do #anything4jetta?”
GOOD Number Score- Over the first
three days, the campaign recorded 54,000
Tweets. Peak activity was as high as 2,900
tweets an hour, and the website received
100,000+ views in three days. The
BEETLE
@volkswagenindia account also netted an
incremental 4,000 followers, fostering a
community for future activities.
Das Auto- The Car
Through such campaigns VW clearly sends
out a message that it is not ready to com-
promise when it comes to innovation, be it
THE MARKSMAN 10

12. FEATURED ARTICLE
MARKETING OF LUXURY GOODS
- Divya Bhatia,Welingkar Mumbai
“Why do I need to know how the watch market is doing? I‟m
in the business of luxury”, Patrick Heiniger, Ex-CEO Rolex
What you all associate with Tommy Hilfiger, LUXURY PRODUCT MARKET
Nakshatra, Armani, Nike, Titan, Levis, Wran-
gler, Bausch and Lomb, Adidas, Ralph Lauren,
Marks Spencer, Prada and Christian Dior !
Luxury has
never been
something
easy to de-
fine, yet this
mystery
concept is
something
highly de-
sired by one
and all alike. Luxury goods give the owner Source: A.T Kearney Research Report
the psychological benefits of esteem, pres-
tige and status. HOW TO MARKET LUXURY
GOODS?
MARKET INSIGHTS
Luxury good market in India is one of the The 3 important features of a luxury brand
most diverse and challenging market. The are:
size of the luxury market in India is around
$7.5 billion in 2009 & it is estimated to 1. The brand itself
reach $30 billion by 2015. In India there is a 2. The reputation of the product or ser-
great untapped opportunity for luxury busi- vice provider
ness. Five out of ten wealthiest person of 3. Price-value relationship of the luxury
the world are from India. 1.7 million Indi- brand
ans qualifies as rich. Subdivision as (super
rich, sheer rich, clear rich and near rich). And they have great story to tell
These rich people can be well targeted by Clearly marketing of luxury brand is more
brands. India is still a virgin market for lux- than selling a product. When you buy a
ury goods. Companies like Swatch, branded bag or branded watch the purpose
Montblanc and Chanel are only ones repre- is not that you need bag that can be served
sented in limited way. by a normal bag or that you need to know
Source: www.cpp-luxury.com , time. So beyond the function there is
www.siliconindia.com something else. You need to have sense of
SEPTEMBER 2011 11

13. FEATURED ARTICLE
superiority. Real attraction has been to be
associated with something authentic and
genuine.
LUXURY CONSUMER
X-fluent Spend the most on luxury
(extremel and are most highly invest-
y fluent) ed in luxury living
Butter- The most highly evolved
flies luxury consumers. They
search for meaning and
new experiences and have
the least materialistic orien-
tation
Luxury Are focused on health and
cocoon- home. They spend most of
ers their luxury budgets on
home-related purchases
Aspirers Those luxury consumers
who have not yet achieved
the level of luxury to which
they aspire
Temper- A newly emerged luxury
ate Prag- consumer who is not all
matist that involved in the luxury
lifestyle
Source: Experiential luxury report Source: A.T Kearney Research Report
Unity marketing, 2008
THE MARKSMAN 12

14. FEATURED ARTICLE
AD WORLD
CHANGING TRENDS:
E-MARKETING Luxury brands are focusing on their exclu-
sive customer. The message of their adver-
Initially Luxury brands had very less online tisements is pretty clear.
presence. There can be reason for very If you need to ask how much our stuff
less online presence as luxury brands are costs, you can't afford it. Most of print ad
investing very much on their stores; they of jewelry featured a close-up of a hefty
want to give physical surrounding and per- gem and read the straightforward text, but
sonal attention of luxury to customer. For there won‟t be mention of price.
them luxury is not only in their
products but also in their stores. Brands are coming with slogans like:
But now trends are changing,
luxury brands along with exclu- RAY BAN: GENUINE SINCE 1937
sive stores are also benefitting TITAN: BE MORE
by use of internet marketing. Wider audi-
ASMI: FOR THE WOMEN OF SPIRIT
ence, easy access,
Convenience, time saving, research and ad- SANGINI DIAMONDS: HEERA HAI SADA
vertising are some of the benefits of E- KE LIYE
marketing.
All these slogans show that brands are fo-
www.luxurionworld.com , India‟s first cusing on authenticity rather than price.
portal to cater the needs of consumer of
luxury brands. Act as two way communica-
tion between brands and consumer.
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 13
01

15. FEATURED ARTICLE
GENDER BIAS COUNTERFEITS
Initially all luxury brands were quite famous Do they affect the brand? They have both
among females. But now brands are also the positive and negative effects on the
looking towards male consumer. Items brand. I think they don‟t damage a luxury
such as cufflinks, belts, wallets, luxury brand much in a negative way. No one go
wines, champagnes and cigars are now on for counterfeits if they have ability to buy
the wish-lists of many Indian men seeking the original one. A person purchases the
luxury brands. brand not because of the product but for
experience.
But you see people carrying fake product
Clothing, Fra- on the streets, this may affect the brand!
grances, Premi- This is not the case. Counterfeit might
um Footwear, allow us to offset non exclusive image of
Home Electron- the brand. But counterfeits are very
ics, High End strongly used to measure market de-
Watches, Mobile mand. One of the reasons you know that
Phones a luxury brand is healthy, is when it has
attracted a good deal of counterfeits.
RESEARCH
The main question which bothers luxury
brand is: To what degree we ask the cus-
tomer what they want?
Jewelry, Cosmet- Brands do not spend much on research.
Most of luxury brand are fashion brands
ics, Skincare, Lin-
and they believe fashion is not about
gerie, Handbags giving consumer what they want, it is
And Mobile about changing the things.
Phones But now in changing trends brands do
involve themselves in simple research focus
group, surveys, sales data etc.
By marketing luxury brands at large scale brands are making themselves available to large
number of people. So the question which arises is
“Making luxury goods affordable to large number of people decreases its value”?
It was case in the past. In the present global world brands are selling large number of
products. The trick is to get as many sales as possible, but while maintaining a very high
level of quality and also using price to maintain that exclusiveness
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE MARKSMAN 01
14

16. FEATURED ARTICLE
Faith Marketing - Akshat Malhotra ,SIBM Pune
Strategies of marketers selling spirituality and related
products and services
dian context. Absence of a market leader
The alarm bell rings exactly at the time you also signifies it to be a blue ocean unex-
set it up but you still feel a little sluggish. plored by many entrepreneurs. India being
You take a shower, dress up meticulously considered as a land of snake charmers for
and get ready to head towards the exami- ages has now become an IT superpower,
nation center. Of course, today is the D- yet the belief and attitude shared by many
Day, for which you prepared year long. Indians regarding spiritual products remains
And you don‟t want to mess up with any- unshaken.
thing. You leave home
and sud denly 15 Many of us will go
minutes down the drive that extra mile to
you recollect that you buy these products
have forgotten to wear as if they are a pana-
the amulet given by cea for all of our
your mom on the ad- problems. All we
vice of that distant aunt need is some expert
of yours. Is it wise to go opinion and advice
back home or is it get- to choose which
ting too late? You figure product to use and
it out that without when. Branding this
wearing it; anyways product category
there is no chance of can help in increas-
you excelling into exam. ing the credibility of
So you rush back to these items. An
home as you have now Source: http://1.imimg.com/data/4/4/MY- interesting thing is
decided to take that gi- 977126/religious_10471168_250x250.jpg that you pay a pre-
ant leap of faith this mium price to buy
time. such products which doesn‟t gives even a
fraction of guarantee that they will fulfill the
This is the power exercised by lucky requisite you were looking for. Since it is
charms, amulets, gemstones and different impossible to tell with absolute certainty
yantras laming to bring all the happiness about whether any such product will serve
and success of the world to you. And many its purpose, the best way to promote it is
of us will even pay a premium price to use using the recommendation of opinion leaders
these products. The global market size for such as Astrologers, Palmistry and Feng
spiritual products and services is estimated Shui experts, Taro card readers, Zen and
to be approximately $100 bn. And most of meditation experts. The advertisements of
it is highly unorganized, especially in the In- the same can also be placed among vehicles
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 15
01

17. FEATURED ARTICLE
of mass media such as newspapers, maga-
zines which will eventually help in spreading
the word-of-mouth publicity among masses.
The typical Indian consumer always yearns
for value and feels more confident about his
purchase if it satisfies this basic premise. To
increase the value factor, these products
can be coupled with jewelry which guaran-
tees some certain monetary returns to the
customers and also to enhance the aesthet-
ic value since the mystical power of these
products can‟t be assured in a quantifiable
manner to the customers. For this purpose,
liaisons can be formed with large jewelry
Source:
houses such as Gitanjali, Tanishq, D‟Dmas
http://www.oios.in/Om/astrology.jpg
for below the line promotions.
the users and inviting people to interact
Since special products coupled with special with each other on real time basis where
features come at a premium price, custom- everyone can share their expert opinion,
ers now demand an extended period of myths and ideas with each other.
service as well. Hence, to resolve the post-
purchase dissonance if any, a help line is a With the proportion of disposable income
must. Added to this, offers such as a “free increasing among Indians backed by the
consultation with our astrology expert eve- ability and willingness to experiment with
ry three or six months till one year of the luxury products, this product category
purchase” can be clubbed with the prod- is definitely poised to see some action hap-
ucts. Not only this, during non-peak hours, pening in next few years. As according to a
similar help line can be used for telemar- Persian saying “Go and wake up your luck”
keting and providing consultation by rings a bell with many of those who are
charging a nominal fee from subscribers. yearning to raise their bar of success and
How can we forget to formulate an online happiness filled life. Amen!
marketing strategy? An interactive website
can be used so that customers themselves
can browse through vast collection of
products available.
Most of these products have a certain ritu-
als on how and when to use it using man-
tras, shlokas etc. These methods can be
provided on the website as a part of the
package and as a limited feature for every-
one else. Social media and public forums
can be used to increase awareness among
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE MARKSMAN 01
16

18. FEATURED ARTICLE
Hero Honda Re-branding to Hero Moto Corp:
Do you Like it? - Pratima Rani, IIM Kozhikode
After its formal separation from Honda While “Hero” has been traditionally linked
Motors, Hero Group recently undertook a with non-motor based conveyance like bi-
massive rebranding exercise to appropri- cycles, brand “Honda” is widely respected
ately position their parent brand “Hero” in for its technological sophistication and ex-
the market and transfer the huge brand eq- cellence usually associated with Japanese
uity, loyalty and connect that the brand brands in motor engine based vehicles. On
„Hero Honda‟ has enjoyed over the past 27 the other hand, “Hero Honda” stands for
years of its existence, to the new parent an Indian brand with global quality and ap-
brand „Hero Moto Corp‟. peal in the psyche of its target segment.
The advertising blitzkrieg intended to cre-
ate the same kind of psychological associa-
tion that Hero Honda created with its cus-
tomers. Hero Honda, riding on the back of
“Dhak Dhak Go” campaign, intended to
instill a sense of pride among its Indian tar-
get segment for owning an Indian brand
which directly appealed to people‟s heart
due to its superior, world-class engineering
and services. In the nutshell, it represented
the aspiration and confidence of an Indian
The 360 degree advertising, leveraging al- to take the world by storm and to an-
most all forms of conventional media plat-
nounce with pride that we have arrived.
forms, ranging from print to electronic to
OOH to social media, seem to be primarily The new series of advertisements, through
focused on maintaining the customer con- its theme “Hum Mein Hai hero”, endeavors
nect and trust that the brand is known for
since it launched its first product in joint
venture with Honda Motors of Japan in
1984.
One of the biggest challenges that the
group faced was to reposition the parent
brand “Hero”, which was traditionally asso-
ciated with bicycles, as a trusted brand for
motorcycles. All three brands, “Hero”,
“Honda” and “Hero Honda” trigger three
different emotions in the mind of the cus- to create the same connect with the cus-
tomers. tomers. By highlighting that we all have the
potential to excel and its more about confi-
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 17
01

19. FEATURED ARTICLE
dence in one‟s abilities than the abilities
themselves, the advertorials attempt to long commercial beautifully created by ace
push the real message, that “Hero” touches film director Anurag Kashyap under the su-
and is inseparably intertwined with every pervision of Law and Kenneth Communica-
Indian‟s life. tions (India) Pvt. Ltd, are based on Indian
A completely new and appealing brand logo
designed by London based Logo specialist
Wolff Olin's was unveiled to mark the new
nomenclature of the business enterprise,
„Hero Moto Corp‟, reducing its previous
name „Hero Group‟ to obsolescence. The
new logo and name underlined its inde-
pendent presence and identity in the Mo-
torcycle segment, and successfully con-
veyed the message that the brand was no
longer confined to bicycles and tricycles,
but had shifted its trajectory to the next
level of value creation and delivery. It also
endeavored to allay any fear among its ex-
isting and potential buyers that it may not
be able to be as successful in its new, self-
dependent technology avatar.
characters with strong determination and
The series of advertisements, most catchy spirit indulged in different acts of heroism.
among which have been the television com-
mercial with an attractive jingle by the cele- It successfully portrays that Hero Moto
brated Indian Music Maestro and Oscar Corp has the confidence and expertise, like
resurgent India, to make big on the world
stage. Overall, the new rebranding exercise
seems to have hit the right chord among
the customers and though it is too early to
declare a verdict, it can be safely said that
till now, it has been largely successful in
avoiding dilution of brand equity of the
group and has maintained the customer
connect. And yes, I like it.
Winner A. R. Rehman, appropriately sup-
ported the message that Hero Moto Corp
has matured to the level where it can take
on the world on its own. The 2+-minutes
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE MARKSMAN 01
18

20. NEW ENTRY
It’s all about Ad-itude!
This is the new section we are introducing where we will be picking good advertisements that touched a
chord among the viewers.
Company: McDonalds Company: Vodafone
Ad Agency: Leo-Burnett Ad agency: Ogilvy &Mather
Ad description :
Ad description:
The moon dazzling in the starry night sky
and hands (made of McDonalds‟ fries…lol) Storyboard: The ad shows a guy whose
raised in a prayer. This is how McDonalds day starts by checking his Facebook notifi-
greeted everyone Eid Mubarak this year. cations. He is hooked on to Facebook the
This ad takes the cake away for sheer entire day, updating his profile, uploading
“simplicity”. Open palms and the Eid ka photos, spying on his ex‟s new catch and
chaand... these are the only two elements chatting with friends. "He's always on Face-
which tell the entire story of the ad and book"-is the theme song of this TVC that
create an instant emotional connect with promotes Vodafone‟s latest Facebook
millions across the globe. It‟s innovative, Phone- Vodafone 555 blue.
effective and just with the use of three col- The ad has highlighted all the special fea-
ors -yellow, black and white, it sends out a tures of Facebook like instant notifications,
clear message: Celebrate Eid with McDon- status updates, pokes and so on. It instantly
alds. McDonalds has for many years been
makes a connect with the fast moving, so-
using such innovative advertising strategies
to capture the minds of the people. This is cial networking youth who are high on Fa-
a brilliant strategy of how well an Interna- cebook. In this ad, Facebook truly comes
tional company connects with its custom- alive in a grand musical Broadway like fash-
ers on an emotional level by going ion with a delightful background score to
“Glocal”. go with it which makes it a fun watch.
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE MARKSMAN 01
19

21. BOOK WORM
BOOKWORM
Predictably Irrational -
By Dan Ariely
“Predictably irrational”, makes an insightful
read for all marketing enthusiasts. Nobody
has better explored the unexplained, irra-
tional consumer behavior towards decision
making like Dan Ariely. The book questions
the widely accepted consumer behavior
theory of utility maximization. It is engag- sions conveniently, ignoring other possible
ing, rebellious and ground breaking, yet unseen causes. Dan Ariely at times seems
simplistic in thought and process. to be making sweeping statements that
could go either way.
Why to buy?
At the heart of every marketplace are its
people. The greatest skill a marketer can
have is an understanding of people and
what guides and influences their decision.
The book shatters many long held doc-
trines about consumer behavior. First, con-
About the author
sumers are independent individuals and
consistent in choice. Second, consumers Dan Ariely is an Israeli American professor
know what they want and thus their choic- of psychology and behavioral economics.
es are rendered predictable. Third, con- He teaches at Duke University and is the
sumers can gauge the value, as Ariely founder of The Center for Advanced Hind-
writes, “we know all the pertinent infor- sight
mation about our decisions” and “we can
calculate the value of the different options Rating
we face.” Dan, through this book has re-
vealed how people get swayed by impulse, 3.91/5
emotion and contextual feelings, falling prey
to anchoring effects, immediate gratifica- (Courtesy : www.goodreads.com)
tion, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators and
endowment effect among others. The writ-
ing is riveting, funny, credible and smart.
Why you might not buy?
The book seeks to confirm irrationality
with experiments. But the most obvious
faux pas the book apparently makes, is of
simplifying the results and drawing conclu-
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 20
01

22. REWIND
A RECAP OF INTERFACE EVENTS
Event: Guest Lecture-PepsiCo
Speaker: Mr. Tushar Srivastava, GM and
Senior Key Account Manager of PepsiCo, Mumbai
Date: Saturday, 3rd September, 2011
Venue: Seminar Hall, SIMSR
About the Speaker:
Mr. Srivastava has done his BA in Economics from Osma-
nia University followed by a PG Diploma in Sales and Mar-
keting from Rajendra Prasad Institute of Management Sci-
ences. After his stint at P&G, he worked at Kellogs India
as Area Sales Manager from 1998. He joined Pepsi in Oc-
tober 2006 as Key Accounts Manager in Modern Trade.
Topic of Discussion:
Discussion on Sales and Distribution channels of
F&B sector, structures implemented and problems
faced in the supply chain.
Takeaways:
For the students of SIMSR, it was a great experi-
ence to have a speaker from an esteemed brand
like PepsiCo in the campus. Along with an engaging
talk, Mr. Srivastava answered a wide variety of
questions asked by the audience very enthusiastical-
ly. It was a much awaited event and greatly enjoyed
by SIMSRites.
Parting Words:
Inspite of all the glamour associated with it, PepsiCo and in
general, the whole F&B sector is not a very easy place to
work in. You have to be on your toes at all times making
sure that you are at par or ahead of your competition. Make
your future decisions wisely and I wish all the students here
best of luck for the future!
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE MARKSMAN 01
21

23. TWEETS
It‟s no secret that Google has been ramping up its use of the
Google Doodle. There seems to be a new one almost every day,
and this outing is, despite being animated, one of the less ambitious.
It doesn‟t sway with the movement of a laptop‟s accelerometer, or
let you play a tune by clicking your mouse, as previous efforts have.
It‟s just a dressed-up YouTube video. Google hasn‟t even bothered
to hide the player controls.
The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger is shaping up to be
an iconic business case saga and a judicial milestone. They
take it as an easy way to become market leaders and gain
monopoly if U.S. Department of Jus- tice lets them go ahead
with it
Reports of the loss of an iPhone prototype, the second
instance in a year and a half, has created suspicion that the en-
tire event could be a publicity stunt by Apple to market the de-
vice. In April 2010, Apple lost an iPhone 4 prototype that went
missing in a bar just before its release. But Apple was lucky to
get it back after it had been sold by a finder to tech blog Gizmo
do for $5000. But this time Apple is having a tough time getting
back its iPhone 5, which was reportedly sold on Craigslist for
$200.
Automobile major Mahindra, on Monday announced
its five year association with the Buddha Internation-
al Circuit (BIC). Mahindra will provide 25 Scorpios as the
official support vehicles to the BIC, at its facility in Greater
Noida. In turn, BIC is supporting the popular Mahindra
„Adventure Initiatives‟ throughout the year like The Great
Escape, the Monastery Escape - off-road rallies. As per the
agreement, Mahindra will provide 25 Scorpios including 10
Scorpio VLX and 15 Scorpio Gateway to be used in the the
October 30 F1 races.
UK firm Reckitt Benckiser has overtaken
Wipro Consumer Care for the first time in
the 8,800-crore Indian soap market, as its germ-
fighter Dettol emerged the third largest soap
brand in the country. According to market researcher Nielsen's data,
Reckitt was the third-largest soap maker in the country with a 9.1% share in the market
in value terms in June this year, ahead of Azim Premji-promoted Wipro, which had 8.1%
share with brands such as Santoor and Chandrika. Wipro, however, said it is not con-
vinced by Nielsen umbers. Hindustan Unilever, with brands such as Lifebuoy and Lux con-
tinues to be a clear leader in the segment with 45% share, followed by Godrej Consum-
ers, according to Nielsen data.
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 22
01

24. BUZZ
Map the crossword with the visual and textual clues
Theme : Old Logos
THE CROSSWORD •Across
3.Originally a phoenix with wings out-
spread to match the program‟s original
name: Phoenix. For legal reasons, the
name was changed and the logo was re-
drawn.
5.2nd largest Korean conglomerate after
Samsung and was established as Lak-Hui
Chemical Industrial Corp.
6.Started by several California banks as a
competitor to that of Bank of
America.
•Down
1.This logo for a concept came up in a
designing competition conducted by Chi-
cago based company on first Earth day.
Identify concept.
2.The Company is actually the acronym
THE CLUES for the questions
of its Italian name and is based in
Turin, Italy.
4.Earlier name of the company was
CTRC, Computing-Tabulating-Recording
Company. What is the current name.
7.Began as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co.,
Ltd, in Japan in 1920, and produced
weapons for the Japanese in the Second
World War
8.Founded in 1937 by the Nazi trade un-
ion, the German Labor Front and it was
called the "the People's Car".
9.Founded in 1906 in Rochester as The
Haloid Photographic Company by Ches-
ter Carlson.
9.Xerox
1.Recycle 2.Fiat 3.Firefox 4.Ibm 5.Luckygoldstar(LG) 6..Mastercard(across) 7.Mazda(down) 8.Volkswagen
Answers -
THE MARKSMAN 23

25. CALL FOR ARTICLES
OCTOBER 2011
Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:
a) All Marketers are liars! Please give your views either for
or against the topic.
b) Marketing without spending a single rupee- Old Monk. How
have they done this?
c) The 4Ps of Anna Hazare campaign.
*Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all references are
clearly mentioned
 One article can have only one author.
 Your article should be for 500-600 words and MUST
be replete with relevant pictures so that it can be used to en-
hance your article.
 Send in your articles in .doc/.docx format with font size
11 (Arial) to: interface.newsletter@gmail.com
 Subject Line:Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year.
 Kindly name your file as:Your Name_Topic
The best adjudged article will be given a winner's certificate
with the noteworthy articles being published in the September
issue and on the Interface website / Facebook page.
Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59 PM ,
12th October, 2011.

26. The Marksman is the newsletter of INTERFACE , the Marketing
Club at K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai.
Images used in The Marksman are subject to copyright.
The Marksman does not take any responsibility of any kind of plagiarism in the articles
received from students of other colleges.
To subscribe to "The Marksman", Follow the link:-
http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com/the-marksman.html
OR drop in a mail to interface.newsletter@gmail.com
Subject line: Subscribe: Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year
Contact us at: interface.newsletter@gmail.com
Website: http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com
THE TEAM
COVER STORY SPECIAL STORY It is all about Ad-itude !
Tilottama Sanyal Hinal Shah Tilottama Sanyal
Hinal Shah
BOOKWORM REWIND COVER PAGE
Niyati Chamyal Tilottama Sanyal Vibhav Shukla
TWEETS BUZZ DESIGN
Upveen Tameri Sujit Mishra Vibhav Shukla
Yash Chamaria
Follow us at: http://www.facebook.com/simsr.interface