Jawbone #277: Stabbed In The Eye

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7 Cool Drinking Glasses

If you are like me you are sick of drinking out of an old paint can the same boring glass. Wouldn't you rather enjoy your favorite beverage from an old boot one of these cool glasses? Here are seven cool glasses:
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Xylys : It Possesses You

Brand : Xylys

Company : Titan Industries Ltd

Agency : Rediffusion

Brand Analysis Count : # 460

Xylys can be termed as India's own premium watch brand. The brand created by Titan Industries is taking on the iconic premium watch brands like Omega, Rado,Patek Philippe, Rolex,Cartier etc. The brand was born in 2006 gain rapid acceptance in the Indian watch market.

Indian luxury watch market is worth Rs 500 crore and is dominated by Swiss and other European brands. There is virtually no presence of any Indian brands in that segment. The rising affluent Indian consumer class and the trend towards more expressive lifestyle accessories prompted Titan to seriously look at this segment. Xylys is currently targeting the lower spectrum of the luxury watch segment.

Xylys was initially launched as a flanker brand for Titan. Titan which is the market leader in the mid-price segment felt that the upper end of their target customers were moving towards iconic global premium brands. With that intention of blocking any such migration , Xylys was introduced at the price range of Rs 8000- Rs 33,000.

Xylys however gathered good momentum with the brand clocking a 50% CAGR growth rate. From being a flanker brand, Xylys morphed to be a powerful growth brand in the course of time.

Titan while carefully analyzing the consumer behavior of premium watch customers, it found that the consumers were highly influenced by the "Country of Origin " association. The consumers loved the Swiss Made proposition and there is a huge association between " Swiss Made " and quality, precision , premium etc. The insight was that it would be difficult for an "Indian Made " tag to impress upon the target segment. Titan thus made Xylys - a Swiss Made watch. Xylys is manufactured at a state-of-the-art factory in Switzerland which has a rich heritage of 80 years in precision watch making.

Xylys' strong point was its design . The brand is being crafted in association with Swiss designer Laurent Rufenacht along with Titan's own designer Michael Foley. The sharp unique designs quickly made Xylys a fast growing brand in the segment.

Xylys was launched as a contemporary brand targeting the upwardly mobile successful men & women. The brand has segmentedthe market based on psychographic profiles. Xylys defines its customers as contemporary dynamic successful persons who has attitude and confidence. The brand wants to celebrate success with them. The customers of Xylys are highly individualistic persons who does what they love. These people would love to express themselves and loves to show their success to the world. The brand has a very well defined brand charter and values which I feel is an excellent marketing practice. ( Read Xylys Brand Charter here).

During the launch phase, Xylys was endorsed by the Actor Rahul Bose, tennis player Carlos Moya and super model Saira Mohan. The basic theme of the launch campaign was the story of how these people tread their own path and became successful.

Watch the launch ad : Xylys Launch

Xylys -Saira Mohan

The brand at that time had the tagline " The power of X " . The brand used " X" to symbolize the differentiating factor in the highly successful people. X also denotes Xylys-the brand.

In 2010, the brand changed its positioning from " Symbol of Success " to " Feeling of Love ". The brand now is talking about falling in love with Xylys. Xylys is currently running a campaign reflecting the new positioning.

Watch the new campaign here : Xylys Possession

The brand have also adopted a new tagline " You do not possess Xylys , it possesses you ".

The new campaign is a significant deviation from the core positioning of the brand. The entire brand personality of Xylys was changed in the current campaign. I wonder why a brand which is growing should try to change its positioning at this critical juncture.

The earlier positioning of Xylys were talking about the highly individualistic expressive nature of successful people while the current positioning talks about how Xylys takes control of such a person. If you look closely the brand is totally off the mark regarding the core values that it stands for. I feel that the agency has not read the brand charter before creating the campaign. The purpose of creating a brand charter is to protect continuity in the communication. The product managers should use the charter as the basis for devising their communication strategies. The current campaign is very difficult to fit into the brand charter.

Regarding the execution of the new positioning , there is nothing worthwhile in the advertisement. The idea of a man being possessed by a product and forgets everything is an idea which has been raped a million times. Even the chocolate brand 5 star uses this idea as the central theme.

Having said that, Xylys' core strength is its design and since watch is an experiential product , consumers may fall for it when they see the designs. But the brand needs to create clutter-breaking campaigns if it wants to fight the likes of Omega , Rado etc.

Xylys has took lot of effort in creating a very good brand charter. Why not follow it ??

14 Strange Candles

The don't all have to smell like flowers and come in a jar, or in tube form; some candles can look pretty cool. Here are 14 examples:
Via

Stupid Cats

Brand Update : Tic Tac moves from Hello to Refreshment

Tic Tac , the mint confectionery brand from the Ferrero group has gone for a new positioning. The brand has changed its positioning from " Conversation Starter " to a " Refreshment that needs to be Shared ".

The brand had gone for a similar repositioning in 2008 when it adopted the tagline " The New Hello ". The brand was then positioned as an " ice-breaker" or " Conversation Starter". The brand after two years is embarking on a new communication route.

Tic Tac is a unique brand. The shape, taste and packaging sets this brand apart from the rest of the mint-based confectionery brand. The brand has also gained good penetration interms of distribution.

The uniqueness of the brand has poised certain positioning issues for the marketer. Since the brand is different from the conventional mint-based products, the positioning should also reflect the uniqueness. Polo is a brand that has used its unique form to its advantage by its positioning based on the " Hole " factor. Tic Tac ideally should have discovered some smart way of communicating its uniqueness. But so far it failed to do so.

Tic Tac so far has not able to find a differentiated communication platform that reflected the uniqueness of the brand. That is the reason why this brand failed to came out with any clutter-breaking campaigns.

The current campaign and the positioning is no better. Infact it is worse than the earlier proposition of " The New Hello ".

Watch the new ad here : Refreshment to be shared

The theme of a group of bored youngsters breaking into ecstatic dance after consuming the product is an idea from pre-historic era. The new positioning based on " Sharing " is also not capturing/communicating anything unique about Tic Tac.

The brand globally had the positioning statement " Its not just a mint. its a Tic Tac " which is a very powerful positioning platform. I wonder why the brand discarded such a powerful statement and settled from something sub-standard ? It has to be mentioned that the brand also adopts the concept of " Sharing a Tic Tac " in the values but it is not the primary talking point. The current global theme for the brand is centered around " Refreshment " but in India , the brand failed to reflect any of the original brand values.

The new campaign and the positioning of Tic Tac is a big letdown. The brand lost its USP of shape, taste and freshness in the current campaign. I think the brand should first talk about why use it and then talk about sharing it.

Related Post

Tic Tac

Brand Update : Ranbir Kapoor is the New Cool Face of John Players

John Players has a new brand ambassador. The brand chose the current Bollywood hotshot Ranbir Kapoor as the new brand ambassador. Ranbir replaces Hrithik Roshan as the new face of cool. The brand is currently running a print/digital campaign featuring the new brand ambassador.

Hrithik had a tough run last year with most of the films ending up as flops. While Ranbir Kapoor is on a roll these days with plenty of hits and also critical acclaim for his roles. John Players want to cash in on the current success of Ranbir along with the " Cool " looks of the actor.

For a company like ITC which has plenty of cash flowing in to the kitty every year, changing brand ambassadors may not hurt very much. Hrithik and Ranbir are expensive assets and only a firm like ITC can afford to dump stars like Hrithik and opt for the current hotshot within a short span of time.

There is no doubt that Ranbir Kapoor makes an excellent choice for John Players. The actor has the cool looks and attitude and gels with the overall persona of the brand.

I feel that the brand is less aggressive on the promotion front. The brand's noise in the media is very less or rather goes unnoticed. Although some of the campaigns were good, the brand undertook sporadic bursts of campaigns. In that sense, the brand failed to capitalize on the power of the celebrity which endorsed the brand.

The brand is currently relying heavily on celebrity to stay ahead. In a sense, the brand has the tendency to fall into a celebrity trap. For ITC, the cost may not be an issue . But for the brand, it is suicidal to derive equity from an external source. The brand has a wonderful positioning of " Cool " quotient and it should try to like the Coolness to itself rather than rely on a secondary association. Parallel campaigns using other models or dress designs are necessary to derisk the over reliance on a celebrity.

Related Post

John Players

Just Not Right

Stupid cats...

14 Interesting Haricuts

Some people become bored with not looking like a moron average haircuts and decide to do something a little more hideous interesting. Here are 14 examples:
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mahindra Voyager : RIP ( 1997-2000)

Brand : Mahindra Voyager

Company : Mahindra & Mahindra

Brand Analysis Count : #459

Voyager was an ambitious brand, aiming to create a new segment in the Indian automobile industry. But rather than creating a new category, the brand went down the history as a failed one.

Voyager was Mahindra's foray into the consumer vehicles segment. The brand was created in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors .Voyager was launched in India in 1997 and lived a very short life of a little over two years.

Voyager was India's first and perhaps the last luxury Multi-Purpose family van. The brand was positioned as a luxury family carrier and Mahindra hoped that the association with Mitsubishi will give enough reason to charge a premium .

Voyager was based on Mitsubishi's 1968 L300 van. Although the L300 is still in the market, Voyager failed to survive.

The van (MPV) segment in India was and is still dominated by Maruti Omni. The segment was a stagnant one . Indian consumers were never thrilled by the concept of a family van. One of the reason was the poor marketing and product development in that segment. Although some families own Omni, the main users of the van was in the commercial segment. Compared to cars, the van seldom offered a comfortable ride and there were issues regarding A/C and safety. Many consumers buy van for the functional benefit .

Mahindra felt that there is an opportunity for a premium family van. And thus born Voyager.

To begin with, Voyager had the support of one of the leading global automobile brands of that time in Mitsubishi. Voyager had a powerful engine and large space . But Voyager put off the consumer in two aspects - Design and Price.

More than the design, it was the price that killed Voyager. The base version of the brand was priced at Rs 5.25 lakh which was more than the price of a decent sedan. The arrogant pricing virtually scared away the Indian consumers. The consumer was not willing to pay that much money for a non-A/c vehicle.

Second factor that put-off the consumer was the design. Voyager was too boxy and Indian consumers did not like that design. Having said that, we have seen vehicles like Qualis thriving in the market despite poor looks. But in the case of Voyager, it could not boast about the quality , value or brand name.

Another aspect was the service factor. Mahindra and Mitsubishi were brands that are new to consumer market and there was suspicion about the level of service and after-sales support for the product.

The brand campaign was also not able to impress the consumer.The campaigns of Voyager essentially talked about the space and luxury but couldn't find any meaningful differentiator that justified the premium pricing of the brand. Consumers viewed Voyager as a functional product and not as a luxury one and that prevented consumers from paying a premium .

Distressed by the response from the individuals, Voyager aggressively pursued the commercial segment and became popular ( to certain extent) as ambulance vehicle. That was a final nail in the coffin. Voyager suddenly was branded as an ambulance vehicle which further distanced the individuals from the brand.

Indian consumers only have one reference point for vans i.e Maruti Omni. Omni is a highly functional product and its pricing also reflects that aspect. Voyager failed because it could not break away from that functional association . Neither the product design nor the benefits forced the consumers to think differently about the product. Since Voyager looked and felt like a van, it should also be priced like the van ( Omni) could have been the justification of the consumer while rejecting the brand.

Explaining the Plot of Inception

Warning - SPOILERS

So I did some reading today trying to find someone that shared my interpretation of Inception, but I couldn't find one, so I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you.

In short, I believe that Mal was correct about their world being fake, and Cobb was wrong.

When Mal and Cobb went deep into limbo together they lost all sense of reality. When Cobb finally came to the

Russian Cult Worships Gadget Hackwrench

From odditycentral.com:
If you’ve never heard of the cute Gadget Hackwrench, she is a Disney character from the Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers cartoon series. This female mouse was the team’s pilot, mechanic and inventor. That’s all pretty impressive, but she’s hardly worthy of her very own cult, don’t you think?Well, believe it or not, a group of Russian fans of Gadget Hackwrench have created a

Burger Made from Ground Bacon

What? No slices of bacon on top? No cheese? No mayo? What a pansy burger. From wired.com:

Having read about the difficulties people making such burgers have had keeping them together, I decided to add one large egg to the food processor along with the 19 slices of bacon. I ground the bacon and the egg together, then, using my hands, pulled the mixture out and used a hamburger press to make a

Rock n Roll Brides, Rockabetty Studios and Restoration Cakes!

Well with names like that these three intrepid, enterprising, exciting, wacky, fun and fantastic companies all run by women must surely grab your attention!

All three are on Twitter and that's how I became aware of their fantastic businesses.

I'm relatively new to Twitter but currently have the pleasure of tweeting with Duncan Bannatyne of Dragons Den fame, Andy Murray (although he doesnt tweet much) and Ben Bradshaw to namedrop a few...........  If you want to be one of my followers tweet @soapchickuk and say hi or follow the link on this page - it's fun.

Best of all I have made some really good contacts for the business particularly people who live locally.  I went and visited a new photographic studio in Exmouth called "Exmouth Studios"  funnily enough - run by Edd King and Claire Sloan they have taken over a lovely old building, done it up beautifully and are offering a wide variety of service from portraits to photo printing (they have a very large photo printer).  The studio is located in the old Red Cross Hall on South Street in Exmouth, opposite the side of the Blackmore Theatre. Post code for sat nav is: EX8 2SA.  They are a very friendly bunch but don't just take my word for it, go and say hello - Edd makes a wicked cup of tea!

Anyway, I digress.  I wanted to tell you more about the three linked businesses I have met on Twitter.  They all have something to do with weddings.

Rock n Roll Brides is run by Kat Williams who runs a bridal service with a difference, in her own words

"my aim is to provide a little haven of kick ass weddingness in the overly poofy, pastel and often puke-worthy wedding world. If you’ve ever picked up a bridal magazine and felt queasy, or trawled the internet and felt disheartened by what you didn’t find, well my friend you are in the right place!"

My kind of girl - her blog is excellent (click the link above) its funny, fully of brilliant photos and ideas, I really recommend you have a look.  I was so chuffed when she featured my cupcakes recently.   Kim has also featured another two wonderful businesses Rockabetty Studios and Restoration Cakes on her blog. 

This is one of the terrific photographs from Kims blog, taken by Rockabetty Studios who specialise in wonderful photo shoots with fab vintage clothes and accessories with the aim of turning any bored housewife or working girl into a stunning glamor puss!!  Its a picture of Charlotte Gamble of Restoration Cakes whose celebration cakes have a stunning vintage feel and will really bring that WOW factor to your party or wedding.  Do take the time to visit these three ladies sites, I promise you will not be disappointed.

I now need to go away and count up the pennies, I would sooooo love to have one of those studio shoots, I am the most non photogenic person in the whole world, if they could make me look even one tenth as good as Charlotte I would be amazed!!

If Batman and Superman had a Baby

Can you imagine how much killing power this baby would have?

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk For Shubh Aarambh

Cadbury's Dairy Milk has recently launched a new campaign " Shubh Aarambh" ( meaning Auspicious Beginning ). The campaign is the refined version of the earlier Payday campaign which evoked mixed response from the Ad analysts and consumers.

The Shubh Aarambh campaign reinforces the occasion based positioning of Dairy Milk. The brand has been trying to position itself as a symbol of enjoyment and celebrations. Indians have the tradition of sharing sweets on auspicious occasions and also when one initiates a venture/activity. Whether the activity is small like writing an exam or huge like starting a company, sharing of sweets is an integral part of the event. The belief is that good things happen when one starts a venture on a positive note ( like sharing sweets).

Dairy Milk very cleverly captured this tradition and incorporated into its brand story. The new campaign takes the brand to the center of this tradition linking Dairy Milk to Sweet and Auspicious Beginning.

While the previous PayDay campaign was a narrow interpretation of the occasion based positioning , Shubh Aarambh has given the brand a broad playing ground. In my opinion, the brand has hit upon a really great Big Idea. The concept is very much Indian and offers huge opportunity for creatives to weave great stories for the brand.

Watch the launch ad here : Shubh Aarambh

The concept also gels with the brand's tagline " Kuchch Meetha Ho Jaye ". The launch campaign is targeted at younger generation and hence the brand added a little humor and twist into the campaign.

Shubh Aarambh is a great idea for this great brand. It will be interesting to see how Dairy Milk milks this idea to the fullest.

Naturally Made Soaps appearing at Honiton Show and Taunton Flower Show

Yup, come and see us, the new Budleigh Soap http://naturallymadesoaps.blogspot.com/
will be on sale and so will the new Devon Cream Tea cupcakes which are selling like hot/cupcake/scones ........... to be sure!!

Honiton Agricultural Show - Thursday 5th August

Here is the map of the show site at Honiton, print off this one, showing where the craft tent is and I will give you a free soap of your choice!  Come and meet me and my lovely helper Dot.  We will make you very welcome.

Taunton Flower Show 6th & 7th August

Do the same with this map for the Riverside Craft Area at the Taunton Flower Show, make sure you bring this print off with you and get your FREE soap.  This show is the premiere flower show in the area, come to the historic Vivary Park and see a real British flower show at its best, lots for the family to see and do.  A kids/family area with a wild west theme will feature this year.

Im sooooo looking forward to meeting you all, have a great summer and lets hope we have some good weather.

Jawbone #276: I Love You Cleveland

Regionalism. Harvey, LeBron and Steinbrenner. Blinko's. Waking up in Sushitown. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe!

Leave us a voicemail message: 216.236.GEEK!
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15 Dogs Wearing Ties

Dogs are so cute, and they make really great BBQ pets. Some people with sad lives spare time like to dress up their dogs, because they are delusional think it's cute. And I'd have to agree, just look at them, they think they are people! Silly puppies.
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Help Amy Win a Trampoline

My good friend Amy of Amyoops.com wants to win a trampoline for her kidos. Apparently she can do so if you take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to vote for her. You can do so here.

Thanks!

Poop Transplant

Dr. Alexander Khoruts, a gastroenterologist, saved a patient by transplanting a piece of her husband’s excrement into her colon:

Dr. Khoruts decided his patient needed a transplant. But he didn’t give her a piece of someone else’s intestines, or a stomach, or any other organ. Instead, he gave her some of her husband’s bacteria.

Dr. Khoruts mixed a small sample of her husband’s stool with saline

Allen Solly : My World , My Way

Brand : Allen Solly

Company : Madura Garments

Ad Agency : Ogilvy

Brand Analysis Count : # 458

Allen Solly is a brand that changed the dressing habits of Indian executives. Launched in 1993, Allen Solly attained a near cult status in a highly competitive readymade market within a short period of time.

Allen Solly's heritage dates back to 1744 when this brand was created by William Hollins & Co . In 1990, the brand was taken over by Madura Garments which launched it in India in 1993. Madura Garments which was looking for an unconventional brand targeting young professionals found a fitting brand in Allen Solly.

Madura Garments rightly spotted a need for a casual work-wear among the young professionals. The growing young working class and the rise of the IT clan of employees further reinforced the potential of a relaxed formal wear.

Allen Solly entered the market with the blockbuster concept of Friday Dressing. The idea was not new. Globally the there was a marked trend towards relaxed workwear and Allen Solly pioneered that concept in the Indian market.

Allen Solly launched office wears in colored shirts and Khaki trousers which became an instant hit. For the first time, Indian consumers were exposed to the idea of relaxed formals. Indian consumers took the bait and rushed to color coordinate their wardrobe with enthusiasm.

Not stopping by these, Allen Solly further experimented with

unconventional shades like beige and tan. Soon the logo attained cult status among the Indian consumers . Allen Solly was in a way announced the coming of age of the mature global Indian workforce.

In 1995, the brand launched ultra bright colors in the formal segment. Colors like yellow, brown , red etc was introduced as formal wears. The yellow shirt featured in the TV commercial became a big hit among the consumers.

The brand further reinforced its cult status with the launch of wrinkle free cottons and checked formal shirts. The young restless generation lapped up the unconventional formals and used it as an expression of their personal freedom.

From the sales data,the company noticed that there was a huge demand for trousers of size 26-28 from women. Taking a cue, Allen Solly launched its range of women wear which was well accepted by the target group.

The competitors soon caught up with the concept of Friday Dressing. Every brand launched similar ranges and colors and soon relaxed formal wear became part of normal work wear. Allen Solly was valued at Rs 250 crore brand by now.

In 2009, the brand went for a repositioning exercise. Allen Solly found that there is a shift in the demographics of the target segment. While the workforce of 1990s were predominantly of the age group of 26 +, now youngsters of age 22-23 yrs have started entering the workforce. The brand wanted to be more relevant to the new young working class. Also the brand somehow wanted to attract consumers beyond the workplace.The worldview of the young consumers have also changed. Earlier success in life was measured based on work. But now the success is more holistic . Allen Solly wanted to reflect this change of perspective of the young consumers.

This thinking prompted the brand to change its positioning from a work-wear to a fashion brand. The brand positioned itself as a casual brand for all occasions.

To reflect the change in positioning, the brand changed its brand campaigns.In 2009, the brand launched its famous " I Hate Ugly " campaign targeting the youth.

The basic proposition was to reflect the irreverent , non-compromising attitude of youngsters towards life. This in-your- face communication struck a chord with the consumers and critics and the brand was able to break the earlier association of the brand as a formal wear.

The brand created a big noise in the market with I Hate Ugly campaign and it will be interesting to see how the brand carries forward the momentum.

Allen Solly also changed the tagline to " My World , My Way " to reflect the new brand proposition. My World , My Way reflects the strong individualistic view of the youngsters who own their world and create their own rules.

In a way, the brand has completely shed its earlier DNA. No longer the brand is associated with formal wears. The brand literally exited the category of relaxed formal wears which it has created. One reason can be that category itself became irrelevant since all brands have their own line of relaxed formal wear. Brands like Color Plus has successfully established itself in that category .

In the new avatar, Allen Solly is targeting the ever- fickle young generation whose concept of fashion changes by the day. The brand has identified a gap for a premium fashion brand specifically targeting this segment. Although brands like Levi's have a strong equity in the market, there is a gap for a player like Allen Solly.

Allen Solly's repositioning is a loss to the generation who saw the Friday Dressing avatar of this brand. Lets us hope that Allen Solly will repeat what it has done to the Work-wear market in 1993.

Want: "I Did This to You" T-Shirt

My wife is moody pregnant, and I think she would really hate appreciate the humor of it, if I showed up in this banana hammock t-shirt.Via

Farmville Bandits

With changes in technology and society comes entirely different kinds of crime. For example, apparently now people hack into other's Farmville accounts, and wreak havoc.

What Happened to Matthew Garber (Little Boy from Mary Poppins)?

Matthew Adam Garber (25 March 1956 – 13 June 1977) was the child actor who played Michael Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins.
What did he do after Mary Poppins you ask? Well, he only acted in one more movie after that. Matthew Garber again paired up with Karen Dotrice (his sister from Mary Poppins, Jane Banks) in the 1967 Disney movie, The Gnome-Mobile. They played the grandchildren of a rich

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel

Jewel, disguised as a mild mannered businesswoman, drops by a local karaoke bar and performs some of her classic songs to a completely dumbfounded audience.

Gourd, Gun, Cat... Wait, What?

Oh I get it. It's because... No wait.

Oh I see, he is posing with those because... Nevermind.

Oh he... Hmmm.
Via

Love 2 Pooh

Via

The Story of Batman

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A Couple of Bacon Links

As you may or may not know, I enjoy the hourly occasional slice of bacon. Here are a couple neat links on the subject of bacon.
Quiz: Are you addicted to bacon?
Infographic: How to use bacon to make your life incredible and amazing.

Foot Long Cheeseburger

Carl's Jr. is testing out a Footlong Cheeseburger that is essentially a sub stuffed with hamburgers. (Carl's Jr. to KFC) "You can take your Double Down and shove it."
Via

Update:

Actual pictures of the sandwich.
Via

Fluffy McCloud

In this quirky multimedia animation, a freckled cloud just tries to help but ends up lighting a town on fire.

According to filmmaker Conor Finnegan:

This is my graduate film from IADT National Film School.. Its a bit of a mix of stop-motion, live action and hand drawn animation, shot in my attic on a Cannon EOS 5D, Cannon 450D and a 7D too (basically any camera i could borrow from friends and

12 Artist Interpretations of City Skylines

When we profiled playing card artist Bryan Berg recently, we fell in love with his sculpture of the New York City skyline, inspiring us to find the most unique cityscape masterpieces out there. From New York City designed on a hanger to San Francisco built entirely out of gelatin, check out these urban-inspired creations and find out exactly how the artists pulled them off.

Brand Update : Flipkart - From Bookstore to Store

Regular readers of Marketing Practice know that I am not a big fan of Brand Extensions. I always feel uneasy when a brand moves from its defined space to a broader field of play . Flipkart has done just that. From a simple , clutter free online bookstore, the brand has now become an online store selling not only books but mobiles, music videos and gift vouchers.

Reflecting the change in the business strategy, the tagline of Flipkart has also changed from " The bookstore at your door " to " The store at your door ".

Flipkart within a short span of time was able to quickly gain consumer interest because of the simple interface , better pricing and quick service. Customers like me who found other sites like Indiaplaza too cluttered began to look at Flipkart as a serious alternative. In my opinion, Flipkart was a classic example of a brand which offered a simple highly focussed solution for the customer.

Not any more !

Flipkart now is not a bookstore. It is now an online store just like any other online stores. The only differentiating factor is that it retains the simple interface.

The change in the business model of Flipkart will have a serious impact on the brand itself. The brand was built as an online bookstore and now has diluted its core positioning . Now what is the difference between Flipkart, Indiaplaza, Infibeam, tradus and numerous online stores that retails everything from books to innerwears.

While in the books' retailing Flipkart has demonstrated its strength in getting the best price and ensuring fast delivery, will it be able to do that in other categories like mobilephones ? The business logic behind Flipkart to get into other categories is to get more revenue, the question is whether it could demonstrate its success in other categories aswell.

There can be many reasons behind this move :

• Book margins may be underpressure and does not make business sense to concentrate on books alone because of price/margin/competitive pressure.
• Wanted to emulate the business model of Amazon which successfully moved from books to other categories
• Investor pressure to deliver more returns.
• Other categories offered lucrative opportunities.
• Want to cash in the brand equity.
• Founders want to build scale and exit ?

Does it not make sense for Flipkart to concentrate on books alone and become the best/largest/most profitable online bookstore in the country ? I assume that the founders may be under pressure to grow very fast and give more returns to the " angels " who have invested in the venture ( its my assumption !).

I am not going to predict the future of Flipkart as an ordinary store. But in a branding point of view, Flipkart will be diluting its current stature as a highly efficient online bookstore. Thus leaving its exclusive space to potential competitors.

I wish that the brand replicate its success in the current ' diluted ' avatar.

Related brand

Flipkart

10 Hilarious Newspaper Headlines

Anyone who watches The Tonight Show with Jay Leno knows that every Monday he does his popular “Headlines” segment. Poking fun at anything from misspelled words to hilarious wedding announcements, Leno has no shame in exposing absurdities that have been printed in newspapers throughout the U.S. Well, WD couldn’t resist getting in on the fun, so read on for 10 of our favorite hilarious headlines.

Stop-Motion Animation: "Big Bang Big Boom"

15 Most Memorable Movie Quotes

Good acting, complex characters and interesting plotlines are all essential components of a great movie. But you know a film is iconic when hearing just one line immediately brings the movie to mind—whether you've seen it or not. Whether they've been parodied to death, like Arnold's famous "I'll be back," or become classic like Field of Dreams' "If you build it, he will come," the 15 one-liners

Deep Fried Butter

That is disgusting! Everyone knows that margarine is much better for you.
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Suitcase Converts to a Scooter, Stroller and Luggage-Cart

Agent's Move-On wheeled luggage has a scooter board that unfolds from the back of the bag so that your kid can ride along behind you, or you can stack other pieces of luggage on it, turning your suitcase into a redcap's luggage cart. There's also a version that works like a stroller for babies and toddlers.
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Another Funny License Plate

Thanks Adam J.

Brand Update : Ujala Techno Bright

In an aggressive move to take on the giants of Indian detergent market, Ujala has launched its premium range of detergent brand Ujala Techno Bright. Touted as an advanced stain removing detergent, the brand is currently promoted in the southern Indian market.

Jyothi Laboratories which are the owners of Ujala brand, which is the market leader in the cloth whitener category, have big plans for the brand. Ujala Washing Powder which was launched in 2003 so far was catering to the lower price segment. The brand is very popular in the Southern states. Jyothi Laboratories wants to take this brand to the next level and fight against the mighty Surf , Rin , Tide and Ariel.

For this Ujala has roped in none other than Sachin Tendulkar to endorse Ujala Techno Bright. The launch ad is currently running across Southern States. According to news reports, Sachin will endorse the Parent brand : Ujala and Techno Bright may be the first sub-brand to get the endorsement from Sachin.

It seems little odd that a cricket maestro is endorsing a detergent brand but such a move is going to give a big boost to Ujala's brand equity. Across the diverse Indian geographical markets, Sachin's endorsement of Ujala brand will improve visibility and to a certain extent positively impact the image of Ujala. Further, the presence of Sachin Tendulkar will add momentum to the acceptance of Ujala's brand extensions across India.

Ujala Techno Bright 's attempt to challenge Surf is no small fight.Surf has incredible brand equity and premium perception which is not easy to break. Ujala through Techno Bright is aiming for an upward stretch ( low priced to premium) which is a difficult strategy. Consumers perceive Ujala Washing Powder as a medium/low priced product and to make them pay the price of Surf for this product-line- extension is not an easy task. The presence of Sachin Tendulkar may be of some help but will that be enough to break the perception is something to watch for.

The launch ad of Techno Bright is nothing much to talk about. The creative is average and talks about the efficacy of the product in a rational way. The brand right now has not attempted to talk about anything more than functional aspects.

It is interesting to see that despite having a strong personality like Sachin as the brand ambassador, Techno Bright has not used him in the package . I do not know whether the contract restrict such a usage , but the brand would have gained so much if it used Sachin Tendulkar on the brand package because it can impact the purchase decision at the store.

With Ujala Whitener generating cash for the company, Jyothi Lab is attempting bigger role for Ujala brand. Having Sachin as the brand ambassador at this point when his brand equity is at the peak is a very smart marketing move. The company has a strong distribution network and has shown its capability to humble mighty competitors like Reckitt Benckiser. It will be worth the time to watch how Ujala plays this game.

Related Brand

Ujala

25 Unique Pairs of Cufflinks

For those of you that may not know, a cufflink is a decorative "button" worn to fasten the two sides of the cuff on a dress shirt.
Before cufflinks, people tied together with their cuffs with "cuff strings." Seriously, they did.
During the reign of Louis XIV that shirt sleeves started to be fastened with boutons de manchette, or "sleeve buttons," usually pairs of colored glass buttons joined

I Want - Pro Thumb Wrestling Ring

JURASSIC COAST SOAP!

I could not stay in bed this morning, just had to get up and cut up yesterdays soap to see what I got.  Soap making is so wonderful, nothing is totally predictable and you never know how each batch is going to turn out.  That can be good and can be frustrating too but my experience is that, even if your ideas don't turn out exactly as you wanted you usually get something good.  Its this journey of discovery that is my main driver in the business making me go on trying out more ideas and new ways of creating them.

I have been thinking about this particular idea for a long time.  I live in East Devon, very near to the World Heritage designated stretch of coastline called the Jurassic Coast.  This stretches for 95 miles from East Devon (Exmouth) to Dorset with rocks recording 185 million years of the earths history.  Quite an amazing place and I really wanted to mark this somehow, in soap!  My favorite bit is the cliffs and beach at Budleigh Salterton, the river Otter snakes its way down joining the coast here and it it a truly breathtaking place.  The beach is characteristically covered in wonderful elliptical pebbles, part of the ancient pebblebeds from the area, the cliffs are red and very dramatic and the sea is quite often stained red on rough stormy days.  I believe the cliffs are red because they were once sand dunes and form part of the Triassic section of the Jurassic Coast.  I wanted to capture a slice of this scene.

 To find out more about this wonderful part of our coastline click here for the World Heritage Site web pages http://www.jurassiccoast.com/

So how to do this.  I needed to make pebbles, lots of them!  But rolling lots and lots of balls of soap takes ages and anyway I could not then create the way the pebbles look.  They are really beautiful, reds, pure white, black, greys and almost cream.  lots have streaks, dots, lines and spots in them so how to get that effect?  I had to think hard

I decided to roll out chunks of CP soap that I had already made in advance especially for this project, goats milk soap but left absolutely natural in colour.  Each roll was coloured using ground charcoal, red oxide and yellow oxide which seemed to make sense to me as they are all natural earthy pigments.  Some rolls were split down the middle, covered with a light dusting of colour and put back together so I could get lines.  These would be placed in the soap to create the pebble effect.

I decided I wanted a mixture of warm, summer like scents evocative of suncream, ice creams and warm skin as well as a fresh, ozone kind of smell to represent sea breezes and beautiful skies.  Discolouration might be a problem as I chose to use sandalwood and vanilla, so I only scented the cliff section thinking that if it is going to go brown on me (because of the vanilla) that would not matter too much.  The Gracefruit scent "Rice Flower" http://www.gracefruit.com/ was my ozone choice.  Its really light, a bit floral and very fresh, I love it.  Like most floral scents it goes very fast in CP soap, I knew I would have to work fast and be careful, so I only used this in my last layer, the sky.

So how did it turn out?  I am so pleased, it looks great and smells so beautiful.  I know its going to change, I think the cliffs will get darker and the sky will change too.  I did want to get more white into the sky and swirl a bit but the Rice Flower set so quickly I only just had enough time to get it into the mold!

I know soap makers always talk about cutting up the soap, I thought you might like to see how I do this so here's a step by step for this project, you can see how exciting it is to finally reveal the hidden design inside.

The side of my plywood mold (made by my lovely boyfriend) has now been clipped off and the teflon liner slides out easily.

I then peel back the liner to begin to reveal the various layers of this soap.  I wanted to create quite simply a slice through the scene revealing the sea at the bottom swirling around a pebble beach with the lovely red cliffs in the background and a dramatic sky above - well that was the aim!

OK, now we begin to see a slice emerge, not the complete thing yet as this is just the very end of the loaf cut off to give me a good straight edge to start to measure out my bars.  It is giving an idea of the finished thing though............ I think.  Im still holding my breath at this point.

Now I carefully measure of one inch sections of the loaf which, when cut will provide me with 2 bars for each slice, 44 in total.

And start to cut, the two end pieces are at the back of the loaf, still not sure of the final look yet.........

And there it is, a slice of Jurassic Coast soap inspired by Budlegh Salterton!!  Yipee, its nice, I think.  I wish some of the pebbles were a bit darker but I like the stormy look of the sky and the swirly sea round the lower pebbles, exactly what I wanted!

I cant help playing around with the slices to make a landscape scene!  the slices to the right of the picture are the finished size.

The finished loaf, all cut up, ready for trimming and curing.  I cant tell you how nice it smells, its exactly what I wanted, the sandalwood really comes through and the ozone sky gives a sunny lift.  I really love it, think this might be a keeper - What do you think?

Marketing Q&A : Marketing Career Vs Sales Career

Sir , I want to build a career in marketing but I don't like to do sales. How can I get a marketing job without doing sales ?

- I have come across this question a hundred times in my career as a teacher. The eager beaver MBAs wanting to build a career in the glamorous world of marketing without having to sweat it out in sales. By marketing careers, they mean all those jobs that involves creating marketing strategies, brand management etc and not the field sales jobs.

Understandably so !

Sales jobs , although plenty to find, are tougher than ever before. Many firms focusing on growth at any cost has virtually eliminated all possibilities of ethical selling. Many firms believe sales can be /should be done by everyone in the organisation irrespective of whether that person is fit for such a function. It is not how you sell but how much you sell that is now counted.

MBAs , from those tier II business schools ,who inevitably land in such sales jobs find their dreams of a professional marketing career shattered. The high pressure selling, four letter expletives, hire and fire stories, rude clients make their initial corporate years something comparable to hell. It seems to them that they are in a rut from where there is no escape...

Is this the marketing that Kotler speaks about ? When am I going to think about the strategies, 4 P's , branding etc ? How long am I going to wait till I get such a job ?

These are my thoughts about building a career in marketing !

My personal opinion is that it is better to have some hardcore sales experience in sales before thinking about a career in the so called glamorous world of Marketing. Sales will give you lot of inputs about customers, their needs, behaviour, how the channel works etc which will be of tremendous help to you when you enter into the world of marketing strategy. You will be able to device practical marketing strategy since you know how the market works.

Having some sales experience also acts as a career insurance . That experience will help you to be employable even in times of recession. Hence even if you have landed yourself in a sales job you did not like, it is better to stay there for the experience of it ( if all other factors like pay, working environment etc are good ). I have seen many students who initially were skeptical of a sales job later thriving in it. So shed all those inhibitions on being a Salesman. You have nothing to lose except those meaningless calender years.

Having said that, there are marketing jobs that young MBAs can look for which may not have a sales content. Marketing research , Analytics, Creatives, Designers, Retailing , Business Analysts etc are some of those marketing jobs where direct sales component is not present. But these jobs are limited and hard to get.

Also remember that hardcore marketing jobs like Brand Management, product management are often not advertised. Most of these jobs are filled through lateral placements. The point is that these jobs may not come to business school campuses other than the top 10. Hence the task is to network while on the job and find the right contact who can land you that dream job.

My advice to fresh MBAs is not to be heartbroken if you don't land up that marketing job of your dreams. Slog it on sales job , get some experience, network and land your dream job.

Happy 4th of July!

God bless America!

Brand Update : Logan Loves India

Automobile enthusiasts were curious about the future of Logan after the brand was taken over by Mahindra. The Renaulth - Mahindra JV was in trouble after Renault began to aggressively pursue multiple JV in the automobile market. The issue resolved after Mahindra buying out the JV. As of now Mahindra will be promoting the Logan brand.

The first move that Mahindra made after the buyout was to rationalize the price of Logan. The price of Logan was reduced by a massive Rs 60,000 and the brand is now retailing at Rs 5.35 lakhs . Logan was struggling to make decent numbers because even at Rs 6.5 lakhs, it was finding it difficult to convince the customers about the value proposition. The market is also witnessing a new consumer attention towards premium hatchbacks which is eating into many sedan's market share.

Once Logan got the attention of consumers with its attractive pricing, the brand moved into the next marketing step - communicating its new value proposition to the consumers. Logan is currently running a new campaign " Logan Loves India " ( which is also the new tagline). The new campaign is highly rational and talks about the brand's strong points like Space and Mileage. Although these attributes are talked about by every brand in the class, Logan is trying to project itself as a brand made for India.

Watch the campaign here : Logan Loves India

In the new campaign , the brand uses testimonials of customers to drive home the value proposition of the brand.

One of the burning issue between the Mahindras and Renault was over the product specifications. Mahindra wanted the size of the Logan to be trimmed to take advantage over the tax rules but Renault was cold on such a move. With Mahindra now in full charge of the brand, such a move can be seen in future.

Logan was always trying to position itself as a value brand and the latest commercial only refreshes the brand's core positioning. When the brand was launched , consumers were convinced about the brand's value but the brand messed it up. Now the onus is on Mahindra to bring back the trust factor in consumers. With Renault exiting from JV, there are serious doubts about the future of Logan. The task of the brand is to convey that trust to the consumers that Logan is here to stay. "Logan Loves India " campaign may be trying to do just that

Related Brand

Logan

Bye bye Tea party soaps and HELLO Cream Teas!!

I'm both excited and sad today.  I have been working like a trojan to get my new soaps put together and I'm really annoyed with myself that I did not take step-by-step photos, I think they would have been fun, oh well, next time.  I was sad as I had to say goodbye to my "Mad Hatter Tea Party" cupcakes.  Its funny how I get attached to my soaps, but I really do!  I am just hoping that their new owner and bride-to-be is as happy as I am.  Her wedding in at the end of July and I wish her all the best for a beautiful and sunny day.  Here they are for one last time nestled in their new special cupcake boxes, don't they look snug?  I'm so glad that the corners of the tablecloths just fit above the holes for the cupcake bases - pure luck! (by the way, they are all CP soap apart from the jam)

So now to the exciting bit.  My lovely daughter Aimee had the idea.  "Mum why don't you make some cream tea cupcakes?"  To which I replied "Great idea!!" (because I stupidly think I can make anything in CP soap and I love a challenge)
We live in beautiful, sunny Devon, England and a tradition both here and in Cornwall is to have a cream tea.  For those of you who don't know what that is I will explain.  You order a cream tea, and it has to be at a proper old farmhouse with a lovely garden full of roses, and out comes a tray groaning with china teapot, milk jug, cups and saucers and a serving dish full of handmade, just out of the oven that morning, plain scones.  (am I making you hungry yet?) - also on the tray is a dish piled high with homemade jam, full of fruit and smelling delicious and then the main event - Rich, golden and scrummy clotted cream.  If you don't know this wonderful stuff you have never really lived.... its gloriously stiff, never really runny, with a crust that breaks as soon as you put your spoon into it - my sister, who now lives in California - can eat it straight off the spoon!!  This is what a table usually looks like.....

So today I put them altogether.  For those soap makers among you, I had already made the fruit using rebatch CP soap scented with berries FO and had made a basic goats milk and olive oil soap with added honey and poured this into my molds the day before.  I cut the "scones", sponged the freshly baked look using natural oxide pigments, made up my special whipped clotted cream CP soap and put them all together.  I am so pleased with the results!

STRAWBERRY JAM AND CLOTTED CREAM

BLACKBERRY JELLYLICIOUS

So, the end of a very busy but productive day and that has to be good.  Now I want to go and look up lots of other countries national, favourite sweet/pastry dishes and see if I can make them in soap.......  Oh my, I think I'm on a roll........  ideas please?

22 People Playing the Lying Down Game

So apparently there is a group on Facebook called The Lying Down Game Group. People lie down, face first, arms at their side, body rigid, take a picture and post it on the internet. Yep, it's every bit as cool as it sounds. Here are 22 people playing the lying down game.

Why is that guy covering his face? Awesome. That looks pretty high up.That could end painfully.Bonding with the natives.Yeah,

Worst Invention Ever? The Swiss Army Garden Tool

Someone really thought this was a good idea.

Santa T-Shirt

Haha, kids are so dumb.
Via

Gun Egg Fryer

The complaint I've always had, is that my eggs don't look deadly enough. So, you can imagine my relief in finding this little beauty. Yes sir, the gun egg fryer will turn any baby chicken into a delicious gun shaped breakfast.