Monday, September 1, 2008

A hydrating formula makes makeup last longer

compact powder

Shiseido Majolica Majorca Pressed Fantasia 24H Refill & Case (Shell White Case + Refill) (Shell White Case) (Refill) (Jewel Compact Case + Refill) Condition : Brand New Country of Origin : Japan, Tokyo A hydrating formula makes makeup last longer. This powder is meant to be a makeup and skin care powder. So, it can be worn 24 hrs! Even at night!This is a white finely milled powder that leaves on a soft glow, not shimmer or shine. It leaves a mat finish on your face.

Modern Compact Powder

compact powder

Compact powder with luxuriant design and funny style.

Compact Powder for Your Sexy Face

compact powder, beautiful skin

Compact powder for your sexy face. Make your skin to seen smooth and bright.

Brand Update : Tata Indica

Tata Motors recently launched the new generation Indica Vista. The best selling car from Tata Motors has become even better with a new look and a new positioning.
Tata Indica was launched in 1998 and has sold more than 9 lakh cars so far. It is the second largest selling car trailing Maruthi Alto. Indica is a classic example of managing product life cycle efficiently.
From a shaky start, Indica has come a long way. Written off by many skeptics as Ratan Tata's unachievable dream, Indica has proved skeptics wrong by selling huge numbers. The core strength of the brand being its value proposition.

To sustain in a highly competitive market for more than 9 years is no child's play. Tata Motors has invested heavily in both product and brand development over these years. The new launch is yet again another proof of the company's resilience.

Indica Vista is Tata's entry into the luxury hatchback segment. The segment is dominated by Maruthi Swift. Indica Vista replaces seven variants of the original Indica V2.
Over the last few months, the sales of Indica was showing a decline. A classic case where the product reaches the declining maturity stage. And as theory says one strategy is to go for product modification.

Vista comes with a new style, more space and a new set of engines. The car sports Quadrajet and Safire engines which was build jointly by Tata Motors and Fiat. The new Indica Vista comes in the price range of Rs 3.50 - 4.50 lakh price range.
The original Indica is also retained in the product line. Now Indica offers a wide choice to the customers from price points of Rs 2.80 lakh to Rs 5 Lakhs.

The brand Vista sports a refreshing next generation look . Indica had the weakness of not looking peppy or sexy. That put off many young customers. The new Indica Vista is more curvy and looks pretty cool . But not as sexy as its competitors like Swift or Getz.

The brand now sports a new tagline " Changes Everything ". The slogan is primarily telling the consumers that the brand has changed. The ads are also more tuned to attracting the new generation.
Watch the new tvc here : Indica Vista

More than looks , I feel that Vista will sell more because of value proposition. The acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar and the Tata Nano has helped a quantum leap interms of brand equity for Tata Motors.

Moon Art



On the heels of the announcement of my new art project, I also found some time to sneak in some new art for both Coulton AND Paul and Storm. Mike "Spiff" Booth, of WOW Machinima video fame, requested art for his iPod for the Song Fu Challenge songs "Always the Moon" and "Cruel, Cruel Moon". I hadn't planned on creating new art for the songs, mostly because I was jammed to the gills with other work. But I found some time to answer Spiff's request and you are all better for it. Here are the new images for the songs. Feel free to put these on your iPod as well.

ON EDIT: To round it all out, I added one last image...an illustration of the Rifftones song "Moon Shines".

ON EDIT 2: The Moon Shines image was blogged by Bill Corbett at the Riffttrax blog today. Check it out, I was compared (sort of) to John Kricfalusi! Also, WTBU video was linked as well!

Upcoming Art Project - Now It Can Be Told!

For those of you who have been following me on Twitter, I have been making some reference to a super secret art project I've been working on for DragonCon. Well, since the DragonCon weekend has come and gone, I can finally reveal what I've been working on and will be working on over the next few weeks. I am collaborating with Ken Plume from QuickStop Entertainment and John Robinson from NeedCoffee on a children;s book called "There's A Zombie In My Treehouse!" The book cover and website was unveiled this past weekend at DragonCon and you can now sign up for updates at the website. With any luck, the book should be available late fall and I'm sure I'll blog about it when it happens. Until then, head on over and show your support by signing up for updates. More will be coming soon, I'm sure.

And if you are interested, see the full size cover and teaser poster art at my Flickr site.

Best Marketing Practice : Customer Ombudsman

Best Marketing Practice #2

HUL has introduced a unique practice in India by launching a Customer Ombudsman. In July the company appointed a retired Justice Mr M S Rane as the customer ombudsman. It is for the first time that an Indian FMCG company has appointed an ombudsman for customer grievances.

Ombudsman are usually officials who are charged with the responsibility of representing the public by investigating and addressing grievances and complaints of the public. ( Wikipedia).

The current move was a part of the Lever Care initiative of the company which was started in 2007. Through Lever Care , the company wanted to provide a single point of contact for addressing consumer complaints and feedback .

The Lever Care works through a system of call centers and designated officials who will handle the complaint management process. The customers are encouraged to contact the Lever Care numbers/email etc in case of a grievance.

According to the company, the complaint pack will be replaced by the company with a new one . Then the complaint will be processed for further action.

According to the press release, those complaints which could not be resolved through Lever Care will be routed to the Ombudsman who in turn will investigate the complaint .The decision of the mediator will be binding on the company and not on the consumer.

I was intrigued by this news. Why should an FMCG company put so much pain in the complaint management process. I was under the impression that FMCG companies will not be facing much complaints compared to consumer durable companies and service firms.

According to a report in Livemint , HUL has around 200 cases in various courts against it ( I was surprised ). Court cases can take away lot of time energy and money from the company. HUL hopes that such an alternative will help both the customers and the company to handle complaints and grievances quickly.
I think its a good proactive move by the company to make things easier for the consumer to address his grievances. I think its a best practice because its usually a nightmarish experience for a customer to get his problem addressed. Ombudsman helps genuine customers to get a speedy unbiased redressal.

Secondly HUL really doesn't need such a mechanism when compared to other businesses.Most of the products are of high quality, less priced and the service element in its products are negligible. Still the fact that the company has invested its time and energy in reaching out to the customers is quite laudable.