A brilliant blog for you to have a look at!

Its not often that I'm lost for words but this blog is hilarious, I don't think anyone can look at it without laughing out loud - really.......  http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

I absolutely promise you will love this - and keep going back for more.  Let me know what you think?

Asians Doing Christopher Walken Impressions

Tosh.0Asians Doing Christopher Walken Impressionswww.comedycentral.comWeb Redemption2 Girls, 1 Cup ReactionDemi Moore Picture

EASTER BUNNIES

I just made two for Lola, they are soooo nice, it was lovely to sit in front of the fire sewing instead of making soap!!!  sometimes its nice to do something different.  I bet my lovely niece Amaya in San Diego makes one - she is so good a sewing.  Let me know Amaya if you do make one.........  Any of you let me know and send me pictures of what you have made.  I will post mine after Easter Sunday when I give the two I have mad to Lola!!

Incredible D-Day Photos

The Denver Post has a lot of fantastic D-Day photos you have to check out.(AP Photo)Thanks Riley!

Cooking Bacon with a Machine Gun

Behold, a new way of cooking bacon. All you need is: bacon, tin foil, some string, your every day, common, household machinegun, and about 200 rounds of ammunition.You start by wrapping the barrel in tin foil. Then you wrap bacon around it, and tie it down with some string.You then wrap some more tin foil around it, and once again tie it down with string. It is now ready to be inserted into the

Post-It Note Fun

Source: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

15 Things You Might Not Know About the Simpsons

Odee has an infographic listing 15 things you didn't know about the Simpson's. Of course, I knew all 15 things, because that's how I roll, I'm better than you. What? Yeah, I went there.

Bad Car Crash

Thanks Riley!

It Happens All the Time

Here we go again. Another yacht on car accident. Wait, what?Via

The Right to Bear Arms

Via

Brand Update : Santoor

This season, Santoor has launched another brand extension - Santoor Deodorant. The brand now has a wide range of products under its brand portfolio. Now Santoor has soap, talc, face wash and now deodorant.

The brand is slowly but steadily moving in the direction of becoming a personal care brand rather than a soap brand. This 600+ crore brand was on a roll last year becoming one of the largest selling soap brands in India. The brand consistently invested in brand building and never shied away from spending in advertising.

The new extension is to cash in on the opportunity for a deo brand for ladies. Although there are many deo brands for the female segment, the market is growing and opportunity exists for new brands also.

I raise the issue of brand dilution when ever I see brand extensions. Although I am a critic of brand extensions, this strategy is inevitable for many reasons. In the case of Santoor, these extensions are a part of Wipro's strategy to make Santoor a family brand for personal care products. Brands like Pond's , Lakme , Vaseline have successfully metamorphosed into Family Brands.

The talking point about Santoor is the positioning. For over 25 years, the brand has been talking about the concept of " For a Younger Looking Skin". All the campaigns were reinforcing that message consistently and powerfully. When the brand moved into talcum powder, it had to deviate from "younger looking" to "freshness". In the case of deo also, the brand is talking about freshness.

Now if Santoor aspire to be an umbrella brand , it may have to dilute or change the core brand positioning of " Younger looking skin " and include brand value like Freshness . This is relevant for products like Deo and Talc . For other products like facewash or creams , the classic positioning will work for the brand.

Another factor is that Santoor soap derives its strength from Turmeric and Sandal . The brand even derives the name from these two ingredients. The positioning also derives strength from these two ingredients. Now when the brand expands its product portfolio, it has to look beyond these two ingredients. Hence if at all the brand wants to expand its horizon, it may have to find other sources of strength.

Related Post
Santoor

Angry Pepper

Hulk angry! Hulk Smash!Via

Cell Phone Explosion

I got these pictures by e-mail. The story seemed made up, but by the pictures it appears as if someone had a cell phone mishap. The hand and the phone seeme to be related, but you never know.

MAKE THESE TOTALLY CUTE BUNNIES FOR EASTER

I love these really sweet bunnies, Thanks to Purl Bee for the idea http://www.purlbee.com/

They are so easy to make, Im definitely going to get sewing this week to make a couple for Lola.

Aimee has done so well while we have been away in Portugal, looking after the mail order side of things and generally keeping it all going.  I came back so inspired after a mammoth soap make with my mate Shelly.  We made 300 bars of rose bud soap for a ladies only Portuguese night out, it was their 25th anniversary so a bit special and they wanted something pink and lovely to give as gifts.  It was our first big Portuguese order, hopefully the first of many.  Anyway, sorry for being so lax with the blog lately, just came back to so much work I had to get on top of that first.  By the way, just to let you know, click on the facebook link on this page to find out about my latest offer for facebook fans, worth it if you like bubbly goats milk soap.

So get sewing guys!  speak again soon.

Cutting

Using the template cut two bunnies from the white felt and two from one of the bright colors.

Sewing

Sandwich all four pieces together with the two white pieces on the outside and the two bright pieces inside.  Pin them together.
Starting at a bottom corner sew through all four layers right along the edge with a small running stitch.

Sew in this manner along the first side stopping at the base of the ear.

Divide the felt into two ears each consisting of two layers of felt (one white and one bright color).  Sew through only the first ear along it's edges.  Leave the other ear unsewn for now.

Resume sewing through all four layers of felt once you get back to the head of the bunny as shown above.

Keep sewing in this manner until you get to the bottom edge of the body.

Open up the bottom of the shape so the bright felt is on the inside of the opening.  Sew through only two layers (the white and the bright felt) of the bottom edge of the puppet.  Then continue on sewing along the opposite side through just the other two layers.  This will form the finger opening.

Once you're done sewing the body sew the second ear together along the perimeter with a small running stitch.

The Bunny's body is now done and ready to be embroidered.

Embroidering the Face

Draw a face on the bunny as shown on the template.

Using the pink embroidery thread and a satin stitch embroider the nose.

Embroider the eye with a couple of back stitches.

To make the whiskers: Tie a little knot leaving an inch long tail in the cream embroidery thread.  Pull the thread though one of the whisker markings.

On the opposite side wrap the thread once around the needle. Pull the needle through this wrap, forming a small French Knot, and then trim the embroidery thread.

Repeat this for the two other whiskers and trim them so they are all about the same length.
Spray the puppet with water to get rid of the fabric marker markings.

Making the Pom Pom

Wrap the cotton yarn around two of your fingers several times.

Pull this gathered yarn off of your fingers and wrap the yarn around the middle of this gathering tightly and tie a little knot.

Cut the loops to form a pom pom.

Trim the pom pom so it's fluffy and round.

Using the cream colored embroidery thread sew the pom pom tail onto the puppet.

Brand Update : Rin Vs Tide Round II

After the high profile direct attack on Tide, Rin has entered the second stage of its aggressive marketing campaign. The brand has started a new campaign called the Rin 1 crore Challenge. The brand is running a commercial featuring the challenge.

This time, Rin has refrained from directly naming Tide . The brand is using the traditional format of masking the competitor in this challenge campaign. The brand has announced Rs 1 crore prize money if any other detergent can prove that it provides more whiteness than Rin ( conditions will definitely apply).

The new ad strikingly resembles the Rs 1 crore purity challenge campaign of HUL's Pureit brand. Pureit's successful campaign may have prompted Rin to copy the campaign format.

The new campaign is aimed at reinforcing the positioning of Rin as "The detergent that provides the best whitening of clothes". By offering a staggering amount, it is conveying the confidence about the brand promise. It is courageous on the part of the brand to make such a move.

Another striking factor about the new campaign is the new brand ambassador for Rin. No its not Amitabh Bachchan . Rin has roped in Kajol as the new brand ambassador. HUL has really flexed its marketing muscle fully. Kajol gives the campaign some amount of authenticity and attraction to the viewers. I doubt whether such challenge campaigns evoke customer participation but it gives opportunity for marketers to advertise and organize events for brand promotion.

It is nice to see the HUL reviving its competitive spirit. HUL is a marketing machine which went into slumber in the last few years. This is a company that has the best marketing minds of India. Good to see these minds back in action.

Somebody wake up P&G....

Related Posts

Rin Vs Tide Round 1

Rin Vs Tide Strategy

Sucker Punch

Why does he lay the guy on his side?




Thanks Riley!

Outrageous Office Pranks

Women's Day has a list of “Outrageous Office Pranks” including a cube covered with 5,300 Post-its and a Tiki But built in the middle of an office out of a cardboard box and plastic containers. These make my plastic wrap on the toilet seat gag look pretty weak. Still, that time I slashed everyone's tires was still pretty funny. Wait, that wasn't me. Prove it.

Coming Soon. . .

My Earth Hour 2010

"Earth Hour is a symbolic event and is meant to unite people, companies and governments around the world through the very simple act of flipping a light switch. We hope that through events like Earth Hour, a growing number of people, governments and businesses will be aware and concern enough about the climate crisis to start making the necessary changes to be more carbon-efficient.

Earth Hour is not a long-term solution to mitigate climate change. However, it is an important first step to generate awareness, interest and concern over the global threat of climate change. People will only be motivated to take effective action against environmental threats like climate change if they are first made aware of the issue through campaigns like Earth Hour. By participating in Earth Hour, you are agreeing that strong action needs to be taken to find a solution to the climate crisis.

Earth Hour is an important first step. WWF hopes that people will continue to demonstrate their concern about climate change by taking steps towards achieving energy efficiency and avoiding wasteful consumption. WWF will continue to work with communities, governments and businesses to find ways to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change." - WWF

My Thoughts on Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is essentially all about the internet developing to allow more interaction. It has evolved from chat rooms, to message boards, to today's social networking sites and content sharing sites, like Facebook and Youtube. I think web 2.0 has affected society in innumerable ways. To touch upon a few, it has certainly made the world smaller. In previous generations the majority of people did not

Sharpie Art

Women's Day has a list of “Sharpie Art,” ranging from finger nail designs to an intricately decorated Lamborghini. I'd like to meet the person that has enough money to buy a Lamborghini, then decides, what the heck I'll go ahead and color it with a marker. Seriously?

Why You Shouldn't Run Red Lights

Brand Update : Getz RIP (2004-2010)

Another brand is going to be laid to rest. According to news reports, Hyundai has decided to phase out Getz with in two months. The brand is already offered at steep discounts in dealerships across the country.

Getz was the first luxury hatch back to be launched in India. The brand in a way was far ahead of its time. It was launched in a market predominantly oriented towards sedans. The failure of Getz was because of two reasons :

a. Value Proposition

b. Positioning

c.Competition.

The failure of Getz and success of Swift are two sides of the same coin. Both brands belong to the same segment and almost in the same price band. But while Swift rocked the market, Getz had to bite the dust.

Getz when launched in the market was very aggressively priced. Infact the brand was priced at par with sedans like Ford Ikon and Indigo. Indian consumers were not able to understand the value proposition of a high priced Getz. The brand also was not able to tell the consumer as to why they should chose Getz compared to a Sedan. The problem with such a high pricing strategy is that it creates an impression in the consumer's mind which will be difficult to change. Theoretically this is called narrow positioning.

When Maruti launched Swift, Getz suffered because consumers perceived Swift to be a better value for money car compared to Getz. The reason is that consumers know that Maruti cars are less costly to maintain than Hyundai cars. Swift was bigger, sporty and competitively priced which put Getz in a very tough situation.

The campaigns for Getz was also way off the mark. The brand never had a clear positioning . When it was launched, there was no USP or differentiation. The brand started talking about fun then moved to space. So it lacked a clear brand identity which further accelerated the decline .

In marketing terms, we say that brand should offer some compelling reasons to customers to buy. Getz was not able to give any such compelling reasons. The brand had lot of design similarity with Zen which defied its pitch on premiumness. Swift had a radical design which created a newness to the brand.Getz did not have such a "wow" factor.

The recent launch of Hyundai i20 was the final nail in the coffin for Getz. i20 has more chance of survival because the segment of premium hatchback has now developed. Consumers are now aware of this segment and there is genuine consumer interest in this segment.

Getz could have reaped the benefit of the segment it had created , had it offered itself at the price range of Rs 3.5 - 4 lakh. ( I know it is easy to sit in my chair and suggest the pricing strategies). That price range could have done wonders for this brand.

Related Brand

Getz

OUR NEW PODCAST: Geek A Week!

So sickness has overtaken the household, so unfortunately, we don't have a new show for you this week. (Plus, we're off next week for the holiday.) Luckily for you though, you still have something to listen to! For the first time in five years, I have started a new podcast. The show is called Geek A Week and it's the podcast component of my new art project of the same name, I'm making public my phone interviews with the different influential geeks I'm talking with. I thought it would appropriate to give you a chance to listen to it, and if you dig it, go ahead and subscribe!

The first episode of Geek A Week features the geeky lady we all know and love, Veronica Belmont.

Enjoy! And we'll see you with a new Jawbone in a few weeks.

RSS feed.


Download now.

Global McDonald’s Menu Items

Woman's day has a list of “Global McDonald’s Menu Items” including a dish of porridge and chicken strips from Malaysia , the Ebi Filet-O from Japan and Sweet Corn Pie from Thailand.I think that McDonald's should do some sort of promotion where like every week they feature an international menu item for people to try. The item may be awful to American pallets, but it would still be fun.

The Real Meg Griffin

Via

Japanese Tow Motorcycles

I recieved an e-mail that shows some (purportedly) Japanese motorcycles with fold-down tow-racks. After a little research I found that the towing rig carries the weight of the car on three wheels so the motorcycle can still be ridden normally. Since the motorcycle is only providing the torque necessary for towing and doesn’t have to carry extra weight, the vehicle is easily moved and a six

Marketing Strategy : The PR Factor

The PR Factor

Originally Published Here in Adclubbombay.com

In marketing theory and practice, Public Relations have often been a neglected child. Even in the companies’ promotional mix, Public Relations have been given less focus and importance. But in this period of resource constraint, Public Relations have assumed importance that no marketer can afford to ignore.

Traditionally Public Relations department were more concerned with managing media than anything else. This function was characterised by the mundane job of preparing and releasing the press releases and maintaining vital contacts with the media. With the advent of consumerism, corporate began to take serious note of managing the noise about the company and the brand in the media space. Public Relations then assumed the role of crisis management and were put into action whenever such a negative vibes began to surface.

PR never acquired the status of a long term strategic tool for brand promotion. Despite the advantages, marketers were clue-less about using PR as a permanent promotional tool. The fundamental reason is that the power of PR lies in the media. It is a tough task to get the brand /company featured in a newspaper. And it will be a near impossible goal to regularly feature in the media. So virtually marketers believed themselves as powerless in managing their voice in the media space.

But not anymore..

The increasing penetration of internet and the evolution of social media have thrown open new set of opportunities for managing public relations. For that, marketers have to redefine the concept of public relations in the new digital world.

Redefining Public Relations

As the term implies, Public Relations is managing relationship with public. But marketers so far have tried to define Public Relations as managing media. When we redefine PR as managing relationship with public, it is no longer dependent on the media. Media becomes one of the many tools that can be used to reach out to the public.

Why PR was highly dependent on traditional media was because there was no other viable alternative channel to reach the public. Hence traditional media assumed significance as the sole aggregator and distributor of information to the public. Since the audience relied heavily on traditional media, the responsibility of media also increased. All these made the media very powerful. Marketers then tried to manage media so that their message could be given prominence. And now PR has assumed the status of a mere press –releasing mechanism. Companies began to rely on external PR agencies that had the right contacts with the media to get their releases published.

By defining PR as media management is stripping this powerful tool and relegating PR to a necessary evil rather than a strategic tool. When PR is defined as a tool for managing relationship with Public, it acquires strategic importance.

Reaching out to Public

The fundamental objective of PR is to build and manage relationship with the stakeholders. Traditional PR tools like press releases, lobbying, inviting journalists to the factory, press meets etc are all passive actions surrendering the power of information to the traditional media. The assumption is that without media, information flow to the public cannot happen. This assumption has prevented many marketers in identifying and investing in new methods of reaching out to the public.

The internet has opened up a new media which could be effectively used by the marketer to reach out to the public. While television and newspapers are the most effective media to reach masses, marketers have to create new channels and mediums through which they could communicate to the public.

PR is not free.

PR is often defined as a non-paid form of communication and this view of PR has prompted marketers to ignore investing in building PR assets. In a rush to get the ‘free publicity’, marketers tend to spend huge amount of money on short-term publicity stunts that may not have much effect on the brand equity.

Marketer should start to think about investing in Public Relations. Investing means that marketers should be able to built and manage new channels for communicating with the stakeholders. These include creating dedicated PR personnel, toll free numbers, well designed websites and more importantly a long term strategy.

Have a story to tell

PR is about relationships and brands have to first take the initiative in reaching out to the public. Having a toll free number or a website is not enough for a consumer to get in touch with the company. This is where the long term strategy comes into play.

Both the public and the media are fond of stories. Brands need to tell touching stories if it wants to catch the fancy of the media and public. Brands like Apple, Harley Davidson are powerful storytellers and both media and the public are hungry for more stories. Hence the starting point of any PR activity is to create stories. Create a powerful story and media will love you for it.

Harnessing Social Media

Social media has assumed lot of significance in recent times. Marketers are still clueless on ways to use this powerful media to their advantage. Social media have also tilted the power balance of traditional media. Now there is a true democratization of information and media no longer commands the power it had a decade ago.

The challenge is to use the social media for maintaining public relations. Marketers have to be self-less in dealing with social media. Hence candid sharing of information and thoughts can be facilitated through this media which has the power to generate very valuable word-of –mouth publicity.

Be a good citizen

While venturing into PR, it is important for marketers to be good corporate citizens. Brands which strive for good causes have always been the darlings of media and the public. So while creating powerful stories, marketers should pitch for that story which strikes a chord with the public.

Infosys has built its brand not by spending huge money on advertising .It became the media’s darling because it represented a story, it is a good citizen and the management invested in managing the relationship.

EARTH HOUR 2010

EARTH HOUR 2010:

is at 8:30PM on Saturday 27th March 2010 around the globe.

Choose to vote and switch off and appreciate

Allah SWT bountiful mercies and favours

without electricity for 1 hour.

WHAT CAN YOU DO:

· Make sure you rechargeable batteries are on for your digital Qur’an

· Have sharing moments with family, candlelit dinner, bbQ

· Create your earth hour lantern, play some games, get into family circles, read or memorize Qur’an and dhikir

· Go outdoors just to look at the sky and stars and

say Mashallah! Subhanallah! Alhamdulillah!

“And the Earth—We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused (life) of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner”

KID'S EARTH HOUR

Lets visit to learn more!

CLICK www.earthhourkids.org/

31 Digits

The 6-year-old boy, from the city of Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province, has a total of 31 fingers and toes - 16 toes, and 15 fingers (although one of those fingers is incomplete, being a fork at the end of the right thumb.) Three fingers on each hand are fused together.

1 Year Old Happy Meal

It smelled delicious for a few days. I’d get a whiff of those yummy French fries every time I walked into my office. After a week or so, you could hardly smell it. My husband worried that when the food began to decompose, there would be a terrible odor in our home. He also worried the food would attract ants and mice. He questioned my sanity. NOPE, no worries at all. My Happy Meal is one year old

Guy Breaks His Leg

Warning, it's gross looking.




Thanks Riley!

Nifty Garage Door Covers

Are you sick of your boring garage door? Well does Style Your Garage have the product for you.Garage doors have until now mostly been mouse grey and ugly – and often spoil the appearance of well-maintained homes. But now, the days of those hideous garage doors are numbered! That’s because the new photo tarpaulins from style-your-garage.com can give monochrome up-and-over garage doors a whole new

Bacon Roses

Via

Pooh

What?Via

25 Best Indian Brand Slogans

This is my pick of 25 best Indian Slogans

1. Pepsi : Yehi hain Right Choice Baby

2. Thums Up : Taste The Thunder

3. Surf : Daag Acche hain

4. Tata Safari : Reclaim Your Life

5. Asian Paints : Har Khar Kuchch Kahta hein

6. Air Deccan : Simplifly

7. Rasna : I love you Rasna

8.Frooti : Fresh N Juicy / Why Grow Up

9.Coca Cola : Thanda Matlab Coca Cola

10. Raymond's : The Complete Man

11. Bajaj Pulsar : Definitely Male

12. Dairy Milk : Swad Zindagi Ka

13. Peter England : The Honest Shirt

14.Bingo : No Confusion, Great Combination

15. Boost : Boost is the secret of our energy

16 Polo : The mint with a hole

17. Lifebuoy : Thandurusti hain vaham

18. Ceat : Born Tough

19.MRF : Tyres With Muscle

20.Havelles RCB : Shock Laga Kya

21.Idea : An Idea can Change your life

22. Hutch : Where ever you go , our network follows

23. Maggi : Taste Bhi, Health Bhi ( Ketchup : Its Different)

24. Onida : Neighbor's Envy , Owner's Pride

25. Kingfisher : The King of Good Times

*The list is random and not ranked according to my liking

I may have missed some good ones. Please share your list of best Indian brand slogans.

Good Morning!

Assalamualeikum everyone!

This little birdie is here to give its Salaam with lots of love

it's been quite busy for us here

and we hope you've had a wonderful and fruitful holiday break Inshaallah!

Hang in there, more coming up soon!!!

Cool 1974 Camper Trailer

3 Legged Bear

Disco Monkey

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're stayin' alive, stayin' alive. Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin', and we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.Via

Lonely Puppy

How cute is this? Very. Quit answering your own questions Nick, it's annoying. It is? Yes.Via

Perspective

With some pictures, and moments in life, it all depends on the angle. Here are examples:Looks like she sprang a leak.A wiener-pug.I ain't been dropping no eaves, sir, honest!Boop!The bird never ate another bean burrito again.Smoosh.Dude, that weed was awesome.Ah!Beep!Yuppie clown.Man, it's humid today.Remember Teen Wolf?Polly Pocket.Teehee.Dogs are cute.I got these in an e-mail, and unfortunately

Jawbone #268: Welcome Back, 70's! (REPOST)

On this episode, Nora and I talk about such diverse topics as powdered milk, problems with cable TV and our quest to interview Ke$ha. Thanks for listening!

Music: MC Frontalot | Charity Case
Leave us a voicemail message: 216.236.GEEK!

RSS feed.


Download now.

Marketing Strategy : Going Back to Basics

Going Back to Basics

Originally Published here in Adclubbombay.com

In the 1973 classic text, “Management: Tasks, Responsibilities & Practices”, Peter Drucker asks firms to answer five very pertinent questions.

What is our business?

Who is our customer?

What is of value to the customer?

What will our business be?

What should our business be?

Even after 36 years, these simple questions are of profound importance to marketers who are facing one of the toughest times since Great Depression. These questions are more relevant today than ever before. During the period of exuberance, firms tend to forget to answer these key questions and land up in a trouble of their own making. Firms forget value, customers and commonsense when faced with unprecedented growth. This over confidence resulted in inflated prices, aggressive expansions and unrelated diversifications. It is time for marketers to revisit these basics and set their focus on consumer.

Defining the business

One of the fundamental questions that marketers should ask themselves is to clearly define the business. While defining the business, one has to be careful about setting the scope of the business. Too narrow a scope can severely limit the growth of the business. Too broad a definition can cause confusion.

If a marketer narrowly limits the definition of his business by focusing on the product, he will find himself in a state of marketing myopia – a term popularised by Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt. A myopic organization defines its business narrowly which blurs the organizations ability to spot competition from other categories. Further, myopia limits the marketer’s ability to change itself according to changing consumer preferences.

When a marketer becomes too focused on his product, he fails to understand the competition from different types of products satisfying the same consumer need. Although this may sound very simple and obvious, many large organizations and brands have suffered out of this myopia. For example, Scooters which once ruled the Indian market suffered near –death stage due to competition from a different product category of motorcycles. IPod has now occupied the position once owned by Walkman. Ujala redefined the cloth whitener category with a different product form.

The key to a proper business definition is to take the focus away from product and focus on consumer. Marketers must define the business around the customer. The focus should be on the customer rather than the product. Once the organisation redefines itself making the customer as its centre, a world of opportunities will be thrown open.

Too broad a definition blurs the focus of the firm. It is where the firm must be able to understand the consumer it serves. Apple Computers were able to leap forward with its products like Iphone and IPod because it understood the consumers and never restricted itself to be a computer manufacturer.

Understanding the Consumer.

In the highly insightful book “ What the customer wants you to know “ Dr Ramcharan states an important rule – “ The more you know about your customer, the better you and your company will be at identifying and devising products and services that will help address them “

Marketers should be able to collect all the information about the consumers and their buying behaviours. One of the key strength of Hindustan Unilever Ltd is their enormous knowledge about the Indian consumer psyche. This has enabled them to create new products and new business models which are very much in line with consumer’s needs and wants.

Who buys the product and why he buys the product are the two important questions that a marketer should be able to answer.

Consumers buy solutions and not products. Value has been the keyword for success in Indian market. Products that do not have an intrinsic value will not survive in the market. The crisis that most firms now face is a result of the failure of firms to keep their products with in the value expectation of the consumer. When the consumer confidence dips, he turns to those products that offer value. Even in times of recession, consumer needs are not exhausted. He just postpones the decision to indulge till the confidence is back.

The future of business

Predicting the future of business is often the most difficult tasks for a marketer. And marketers have to make decisions regarding the future course of actions.

To predict and determine the future of a business should be based on the firm understanding of the consumer. According to Peter Drucker, this task of making judgements about future should start with a demographic analysis. Demographic analysis is the study of the population and the trends.

Indian market is also witnessing a demographic shift with the younger consumers now becoming the major consuming segment. Those brands which foresee such a demographic shift would be ready with new products and strategies targeting the young consumers.

This calls for massive investment in developing knowledge about customers and their behaviour. Many Indian advertising agencies have realised this need and created specialized departments and Chief Knowledge Officers who are in charge of creation and dissemination of knowledge.

The market environment is in a state of constant changes. Take the case of media. Five years back, very few predicted the explosion of social media in India. Blogging was unheard and Orkut and Facebook was not in vogue, no one was Twittering. Even now Indian marketers are clueless on how to understand the social media and take advantage of the popularity of orkut and facebook.

This is the right time to go back to basics, redefine the business and make the entire business operations centred on the consumer. There will be pain in the process but it will be worth the effort.

Stinky Meat

What would happen if you place a plate full of fresh meat out in the wilderness over a couple of weeks?Find out at StinkymeatVia

Nifty Car Stunts

Glenwood Canyon Rockslide

This rock slide kept Glenwood Canyon (CO) closed for several days. Can you imagine driving along this road when the slide happened? Amazing.As many as 20 boulders, ranging from 3 feet to 10 feet in diameter, hit the interstate. CDOT estimates the largest rock weighs 66 tons and some are as big as semi trucks. The largest stone weighed 66 tons. About 120 feet of steel guard rail and 100 feet of

All Things Irish

Jazz was nice enough to send a link to a page celebrating all things Irish just in time for St. Patrick's day. And by all things Irish, I mean almost entirely alcohol related. Gotta love the Irish. Unless you are Scottish like me, then I suppose you don't have to.

18 Retro Soda Ads

I love soda, like a fat kid loves cake. It's been around a long time because it's tasty, like pizza, only less filling. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Enjoy 18 retro soda ads:The text on the right could not be more choppy and fragmented. "Alive! Yet subtle. And not so sweet."Most people don't realize that Squirt got it's name from the terrible diarrhea it causes."Because of the real root

Paul's 40th Birthday Video

A little late to the party here, (literally). Fans of Paul and Storm have probably seen this already, but I was fortunate to be asked to be in Paul's 40th birthday greeting video. You'll see me, along with some much more notable geeks in the video. And don't forget to stick around for the Kevin Murphy portion at the very end. (NSFW because of language, just letting you know). Enjoy!

Paul's 40th Birthday Video from Paul and Storm on Vimeo.

Nifty Links

10 Worst Product Names EverIncluding “iPad”, a snack called “Krack Nuggets” and a soft drink called “SARS.” I'll save you some time, "Krack Nuggets" have very little street value.13 Hilarious HolidaysIncluding “Be Late For Something Day” and “International Talk Like a Pirate Day." Wait, not I'm not supposed to talk like a pirate every day? Argh.8 Comic Strips Worth Taking Another Look AtIncluding

Zonkey

A zonkey (also known as zebrass, zebronkey, zeass, zeedonk, zedonk, zebadonk, zenkey, donbra, donbri, donkra, zebrinny, zebrula, and noochie) is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. "Zonkey" is not the technically correct name for such a cross. The most commonly accepted terms are zebrinny, zebrula, and zedonk. Donkeys are closely related to zebras and both animals belong to the horse family.

Micromax : Nothing Like Anything

Corporate Brand : Micromax

Ad Agency : Lowe Lintas

Brand Analysis Count #447

Micromax is a challenger brand in the highly competitive mobile handset market. This Indian firm is shaking up the market dominated by MNCs. Micromax was founded in 1991 by Rajesh Agarwal . Micromax in its original avatar was a distributor of computer hardwares. In 1998, three more people Sumit Arora, Rahul Sharma and Vikas Jain joined Micromax as co-founders.The company branched out from a mere distributor to a marketer of telecommunication equipments.

It was in 2008 that Micromax ventured into the mobile handset market. The brand wanted to create a base before taking on the large players . Hence as a go-to- market strategy, Micromax concentrated on the rural market first. It was a different move altogether since most of the marketers tend to concentrate on the urban markets then move to the rural markets.

Micromax launched its first phone in the rural market with a very unique USP- 30 days battery standby time. The brand was launched from a consumer insight that most of the rural households do not get enough electricity to recharge phones on a daily basis . Hence a phone with a 30 day battery standby would be a worthwhile differentiation. The first product was a big success. The first product Micromax X1i priced at Rs 2150 was lapped up by rural market.

The success of X1i enthused the company to go aggressively into the market. But tapping the rural market is not an easy task. There is severe logistics pressure in servicing these markets. One of the first things that Micromax did was to establish the distribution network . According to a report in Forbes India ( March 5,2010), Micromax created a distribution network comprising of 34 super distributors, 450 distributors and around 55,000 retailers. The brand could also take advantage of the inroads made by other brands into advantage.

One of the highlight of their distribution strategy was that Micromax managed to make these dealers pay in advance by offering them more margins. Marketers will vouch that the most difficult part in managing distribution is the payment collection part. According to the news report, Micromax managed this hurdle through this strategy of more margins for advance payment. It is not a new strategy to offer such kind of discounts for advance payments (cash discounts), but to make a retailer accept such an offer is indeed a remarkable feat (if the Forbes report is true).

Unlike many challenger brands, Micromax was careful in its product strategy. Although all Micromax products were towards the lower end of the pricing spectrum, the brand was focusing on adding more features at a reasonable price . The focus was more on value than price. What I have noticed while going through their product range was that there was some USP in their products which offered more value. I think , that value orientation with a clear differentiation was a significant factor that aided the significant growth of this brand in Indian market.

The company in their website claims to have invested heavily in the product development. The brand boast of launching many firsts in the market like

30 day battery life

Affordable QWERTY phones

Affordable Double Sim etc

Besides the focus on product development, Micromax has invested heavily in brand building. The brand is one of the big spenders in the current IPL. Micromax has centered much of its brand building exercise around cricket. It was one of the principal sponsors of the South Africa VS India ODI series in 2010.

Most of the brand promotion for Macromax is centered around products. I havn't seen a corporate brand building campaign from Micromax. The ads are for individual products highlighting the product features and USPs.

Micromax has the tagline " Nothing Like Anything " which initially appeared confusing to me. Perhaps the brand wants to convey that every product from Micromax has something unique. It is not just like any other product.( I need to have more clarification on this regard).

The brand's promotions , although heavy, is a big let down. Some of the campaigns are good but most are below par. For example , the Micromax Facebook ad was outright disgusting. Most of the campaigns like Gravity, MTV , EEZPad was very ordinary basic ads. There was no brand building theme behind those ads. They talked about the product and that is it. I feel a visible lack of creativity behind those ads.

In a big marketing move, Micromax roped in the Bollywood Action hero Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador. This move is going to boost the brand recall of Micromax to new heights. Akshay Kumar has strong equity both in urban and rural markets. The association with such a big star will also have a positive impact on the image of Micromax. The brand can now overcome the perception of a low price product.

But the first campaign featuring Akshay Kumar was nothing but pure noise. I couldn't believe that Lowe Lintas could come out with such a pathetic ad. Watch it here.

The new Gamolution handset was supposed to be a game changer for Micromax. But the campaign was a big let down. With a star like Akshay, the brand could have done much much more rather than some funny noises and acrobatics. I think the agency was stuck in a stereotype as to how to use Akshay Kumar.

The new game handset uses the motion- sensor technology with bluetooth ( as I understand). So one can play games using the computer and handset. I don't think that the ads were in anyway doing justice to the brand's intention. Motion Sensor games are not new to the Indian markets but playing games on a PC using mobile is something new. I am not sure whether the ad essentially communicated the innovation.

A very poorly made ad like this will do more harm to the image of Micromax. The brand may get lot of eyeballs due to the ' noise ' and celebrity power, but a low quality ad will reflect in the image perception of Micromax. A lot of my students said to me " Have you seen that Akshay ad, its crap !!" . Micromax has lot of powerful positives that many consumers doesn't know. I came to know more about this brand only after I digged for information to write this post.

There is a risk of the brand perceived not as an aspirational brand but a ordinary price warrior if it does not focus on the quality of the communication.

Micromax now have a wonderful chance of moving up the ladder. With a good product range, reasonable pricing base and a high profile celebrity, the brand could have positioned itself as an aspirational brand. Instead of also ran ads that lack any brand vision, Micromax would do well if it could bring in some class in their campaigns.

The brand should also move from a product oriented ad campaign to a brand building mode. Micromax as a brand should be developed focusing on the core brand values like innovation and value orientation. When the product range widens, it may not be practical to sustain individual campaigns. So it is time for Micromax to position the Family Brand and develop a brand identity.

5 Longest Place Names in the World

#1 – Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateahaumaitawhitiurehaeaturipuk-akapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahuWith a whopping 105 letters, it is officially the longest place name in the world. It is the Māori name for a hill in southern Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.#2 – LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochIt is a village on the island of Anglesey in Wales. It is the longest

18 Uniquely Nerdy Rings

Likewise, I like 18 of you, so here are 18 uniquely nerdy rings.Binary ring.A steak ring. Perfect for your vegan friends.Mrs. PacMan. Your half mesh glove wearing friends will love it.Periodic table rings. Never again will you be unable to remember what your ring is made of.PacMan ring set. Because you can, that's why.Lego rings. You can even bling it out, as on the right.One Ring. Now you can be

Brand Update : Lux

Lux has a new endorser. True to the brand's heritage of being endorsed by the reigning queens of Bollywood, the brand has roped in Katrina Kaif as the new Lux girl.

The brand is currently running the campaign featuring Katrina across the channels for its new Purple Lotus cream variant.

Watch the ad here : Katrina Lux ad.

What is interesting is the change in the tagline of the Lux brand over the last few campaigns. Ever since the brand discarded its classic tagline of " Filmi Sitaroan ka saundarya sabun" , Lux has not been able to find a fitting tagline. The brand later adopted the taglines " Celebrating Beauty " and then later to " Why worry about beauty " . The last campaign had the simple voice over like " Lux with Beauty Oils ". The brand this time has further reinforced the USP of the brand as " Soap with cream and beauty oils".

This time Lux has used a new positioning " kaliyon se Thwecha ke liye" translated to " Skin as soft as budding/blossoming flowers ". While Lux with beauty oils is a more rational feature oriented pitching, the brand is also talking about the brand promise of a " Softer looking Skin". It is good the see Lux settling with its USP and positioning.

But the gain of Lux has resulted in a loss for another brand Dyna. Dyna which is the soap brand from Anchor Group was banking on Katrina Kaif for building the brand. The entire Dyna brand was heavily depended on Katrina rather than its positioning or differentiation. With Katrina ending the association with Dyna, it will be interesting to see the future of Dyna brand.

Related Brand

Lux

Who Wants Fajitas?

Via

Jawbone #267: I Am Len Pain

On tonight's show, we record the show twice, something we haven't done in quite a while. But I think the show came out better the second time anyway. Thanks to all those in the chatroom who actually got two shows for the price of one. Tonight we talk about auto-tuning, geeks, and much, much more. If you like the show, subscribe!

Music:
Auto Tune The News | Turtles

Leave us a voicemail message: 216.236.GEEK!

RSS feed.


Download now.

Marketing Strategy : How to Create Consumer Centric Innovations

How to Create Consumer Centric Innovations

Originally Published here at Adclubbombay.com

What can you do with a boring product like a dishwash bar? Can you bring excitement into it? Is it possible to make innovations to a product like dishwash bar? A look at Vim, the market leader in the dishwash bar category, will give valuable insights on making innovations which are meaningful for a consumer. Vim have a plastic coating which prevents the bar from getting soggy because of its constant contact with water. This simple coating gives the product long life and thus adding more value to the product.

Innovation is considered to be a key factor that will ensure the future of a company. Companies like Gillette (now a part of P&G), 3 M, Google, and Apple have their entire organization focused on innovation. Successful firms have developed a culture of innovation which becomes the part of the DNA of the entire organisation.

In future, India is believed to have potential to lead the world in product innovations. The fact that many global IT firms have their product development centres in India is a proof of the growing stature of India as a global innovation hub.

Indian marketers are also not far behind. Indian companies have been able to provide breakthrough marketing practices that acts as a model for emulation for their western counterparts. Notable in these innovations are the e-chaupal (ITC) and Project Shakthi (HUL), GCMMF etc.

Although we have seen a significant rise of product innovations in India, we are yet to create an innovation culture in Organizations. The level of investment in research and development in Indian companies are yet to reach global standards. The fact that we don’t have an Indian equivalent of a 3M or a Google is a reminder of the enormous task before us.

In this era of global competition, marketers cannot afford to be complacent. This is a market where categories are becoming irrelevant. Mobile phones are competing with cameras and computers. Two wheelers are competing with cars and airplanes competing with railways. Marketers cannot afford to be myopic to competition. Now firms have to run faster in order to survive.

When markets become too fluid, organizations should be investing in creating products for the future. Organizations need to understand the changing consumer mindset and also the changes that are happening across various markets.

There are three approaches to innovation. One approach is to strive for a pure innovation which results in an entirely new product. The second approach is to innovate incrementally and continuously. The third approach is to innovate on building efficiency in operations. What HUL did for VIM was an innovation which was an incremental innovation. The company created a new method of tapping rural market through Project Shakthi which was a process innovation.

Innovation doesn’t always means that the company should come out with an entirely new feature or a product. Innovation also can be in the form of imitation. Professor Theodore Levitt calls it Innovative Imitation. Innovative imitation is where the firm tries to bring in innovations that are happening in other industries to their field. Vim recently relaunched itself with anti-bacterial property which was an innovative imitation of its nearest competitor.

Continuous and constant innovation strategy is going to be the key for organisational success in future. But in order to succeed, these innovations should be customer centric.

Innovations should be visible and should be authentic for a consumer. The period where a marketer can get away with “New and Improved “label is over. The challenge for the marketer is to make the process of improving their offerings continuously.

The best way for getting new ideas is from the consumer. A consumer may not be able to give a list of new product ideas. But by observing his life, the marketer can get lot of ideas for improving the product and also new products.

Have a plan for innovation

The first step in creating an innovative culture is to have a plan for innovation. Large or small, firms need to have a plan of innovation. There has to be people who should be responsible for innovation and most importantly there has to be a budget for innovations.

Celebrate Failures

While Google, 3M and Apple are celebrated for their innovations, the long lists of the failures encountered by these companies are often forgotten. Not every new product ideas are well received by consumers. When encountered by failures, firms must not penalise the innovator but should be doing a thorough analysis of reasons for failure.

Make the customer the centre of innovation process

In the highly insightful book “The Game Changer”, the authors Ram Charan and A.G.Lafley describes how P&G made their innovations customer- centric. In the book, the authors narrates an example where the product development team for a new heart-burn medicine created a life sized cardboard cut-out of a consumer which they named Joanne. They put this cut-out in a chair in their conference room. In all the meetings discussing the new product’s launch, there will be the presence of this hypothetical customer. The team used this hypothetical customer to focus their discussions on those ideas that will have a meaningful impact on the consumer.

By looking at how a customer uses the products and how the product impacts his life gives valuable inputs for future innovations.

Brands can innovate in product form by launching the product in new shapes and sizes. The shampoo category witnessed explosive growth after the product being introduced in sachets. The simple innovation in packaging made the product category affordable to millions of Indian consumers.

Products also innovates itself by making it easier for consumers to use the product. For example TVS recently provided balancing side-tyres to its Scooty which enables the users (Girls) to learn to ride scooter on their own.

Brands can innovate by making it easier for consumers to store the product .Bru recently added a flavour lock ( plastic clip) which kept the coffee powder fresh and eliminated the need to transfer it to a container.

Products also can innovate by satisfying problems faced by consumers. Asian paints launched samplers which helped the consumer to test the colours before purchasing it. Nightingale popularised un-dated diaries which gave this product an unlimited shelf-life.

Whether big or small, innovations will be successful only if it made some impact on consumer’s life. The most important decision that a marketer should do is to make customer the centre of his innovation strategy.