CHEERLEADERS FOR CONSUMERS

IN TODAY’S COMPETITIVE WORLD, THE MARKETER CERTAINLY NEEDS TO CREATE THE RIGHT MOOD IN THE POTENTIAL BUYER TO INFLUENCE HIS PURCHASE

Badnaam Munni, the controversy surrounding the song, and the popularity of the song worked wonders for Emami owned Zandu Balm; sales doubled during July- September 2010 quarter. Then, the company decided to use Shiela Ki Jawani to sell Boroplus. And now, Emami is funding the entire cost of a Bhojpuri film song that will mention its Himani Navratna extra thanda hair oil. The idea behind all this: cut through the clutter, reach out to core consumers directly, uplift their mood, and make them buy the promoted brand. Also, media penetration being low in markets for these core consumers – rural UP and Bihar residents – the movie itself will act as a good medium to reach them. Finally, Emami has also entered into a co-branding pact with the movie Dum Maro Dum to promote its talcum powder brand Navratna Cool by using the grabs from the title track of the movie.

MOODY BUYER

All voluntary purchases are dictated by our attitudinal disposition towards an item. So the job of a marketer is to create (when non-existent), enhance (when Brands like (from left to right) Zandu Balm, Boro Plus, KFC and Dabur Chyawanprash are coming up with ads that are helping them to cut through the clutter, reach out to core consumers directly, uplift their mood, and make them buy their products low), maintain (when sufficiently high), or even change (when negative) the right kind and quantum of attitude. Dabur has identified 30 villagers in Bihar & UP who will work along with Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, as ‘immunity ambassador’ for promoting Dabur Chyawanprash. Indianisation of cricket in the form of IPL has meant a heady mixture of film personalities and sports, and a mela atmosphere at the matches. And with IPL setting the pace, hockey is now set to get a faster, truncated avatar with a 6, 8 or 9 members a side team, with matches of only 30 minutes duration, music on the field, and an increased pace of the entertaining game. There will be a new title as well – International Super Series. Reason: The marketers (whether Dabur or BCCI, or the World Hockey Federation) have a common aim, that of ensuring favourable altitude towards the marketed brand.

But when a customer is not interested or involved in processing marketer’s information at a deeper level, his mood itself can create the right kind of feeling towards the marketed brand. While not as intense as emotion, a mood is an affective state that is general and persuasive. A stimulus can create a positive or negative mood; this in turn can affect consumer’s reaction to any other stimulus he happens to evaluate. A person in good mood naturally likes something; the opposite is also true. Domino’s Pizzas sold about 30% more when the ICC Cricket World Cup was on recently. Mood can bias attitudes in a mood congruent direction. Consumers in a good mood tend to give more weight to positive information when evaluating a product. So Close Up toothpaste has designed an advergame Fire Freeze in which you are supposed to kiss your colleague, but without getting caught. Gaming combined with the wide reach of DTH TV is the ideal route to involve youth, the target audience and orient them positively towards the brand. HUL has online games for its deodorant brand AXE as well.

MOOD TRIGGERS

In restaurant business there is something called ‘menu engineering’. This refers to the design and strategic placement of dishes to increase consumer spend. Thus, when people are short of money during tough economic times, the menu should be short, with simple descriptions, and the prices printed right after the dish details and not in a column on the right hand side of the page since the latter practice leads to direct price comparison. Even the menu type size needs to be carefully chosen: in a dimly lit restaurant, unless the target diner is Gen Y, a large and clear format is required. Get the customer into ‘right’ mood for ordering. Not only the menu card, the overall ambience also puts the customer in a certain mood. Warm colours are more likely to draw customers to an outlet but can also create tension. Cool colours on the other hand are more relaxing, but are not so inviting. So when the goal is to stimulate quick purchase, warm colours are more appropriate (like in Café Coffee Day, McDonald’s), in health clubs, sports stadia, et al, where a high level of activity and energy is desirable. Cool colours are more suited when the goal is to have consumers feel calm or spend time deliberating (hospitals, fine dining restaurants). Apple’s stores, for instance, are decorated in white and shades of grey so as to provide a clean, uncluttered environment for showcasing high tech products.



Buyer behaviour and consumption patterns

Consumers may also like a brand better when they are put in a good mood through an advertisement or any other mode of communication. When ads for Huggies disposable diapers picture tender moments between babies and parents, they also generate positive feelings for the brand. Why do you think Johnson & Johnson is able to sell its ‘overpriced’ baby products to not-so-rich Indian mothers? – Through control on consumer/ buyers’ mind due to its highly liked and recalled commercials.

Besides, today’s customer wants to experience a brand in real time. Vending machines should deliver candies to condoms to cans of soft drinks; pop up retail space is a must wherein companies offer an experimental area for sampling the brand. There should be online/mobile platforms allowing users to get opinions on quizzed brands in real time.

Thus, a marketer has several opportunities to induce positive moods in consumers, ranging from service encounters to point of purchase contacts to marketing communication. Total Mall at Bangalore offers a free pick up and drop service to customers. Max Retail has employed NIFT graduates to help buyers select their wardrobe. Lifestyle and Madura garments promise to homedeliver the garment of your size in case not immediately available in the store. Consumers linger in stores with a pleasant ambience, increasing the probability of purchase. In marketing communicationboth the media and the message can influence the consumer’s mood. Both KFC and McDonald’s have introduced products that are heavy on spice, since spicy food is a staple for many in India. KFC has positioned itself as a youth oriented brand with teens and young adults as its main targets. The Nick channel has licensed Dora, one among many adorable characters that it has, to Colgate, while the brand has recently tied up with McDonald’s. Soon SpongeBob Happy meals will be a part of the fast food joints’ menu. Nokia, after witnessing a steady loss of its marketshare in India, is trying to rope in Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra as brand ambassadors, since the two can communicate the ‘trust’ factor to the target buyers.

CHOOSE TRIGGERS FOR YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS

Today’s girls no longer believe in fairy tales, nor are they waiting for the Prince Charming to arrive or being swept off their feet. In DDLJ, Raj comes to India looking for his Simran. Now, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone opt to go their separate way instead of maintaining a long distance relationship in Love Aaj Kal. Movies like Break Ke Baad, I Hate Luv Storys, and Love Aaj Kal have altered the love games. Now couples throw break up bashes in Hindi films, which earlier were all mushy affairs. With the changing stance of the society towards premarital sex, breakups, and divorce people have stopped swearing by love tales. The attitudes have changed. Thus, the marketer needs to create the ‘right’ mood in the potential buyer to influence his purchase.

So, how does understanding the customer mood help marketers? Well, it provides moods cues to aid in consumer information retrieval, and it helps create positive mood states in retail or other purchase settings; this in turn should hopefully culminate in actual buying behaviour.

CHEERLEADERS FOR CONSUMERS

INDIA INC., AND THE ZEN MONK

SOME COMMANDMENTS OF LEADERSHIP THAT ONE CAN DRAW FROM M. S. DHONI’S PERFORMANCE, INDIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL CRICKET CAPTAIN SO FAR

Cricket in India is not merely a game; it’s a religion practised by the entire nation. In that sense, it is truly a unifying force. So it was hardly surprising that people fasted (or ate only specific food items), performed havans, and made all kind of offerings to their Gods to make sure that India lifted the World Cup 2011. Why, even Yuvraj Singh wore a divine totem as a lucky charm. How much did all this contribute towards India’s win on that fateful day of April, is acceptably arguable. But no one – and there is no exception – would dispute the contribution of M. S. Dhoni or MSD or Mahi, the cool commander of the cricket brigade in bringing the glory to us all. Imbued with a positive attitude, he had told Gary Kirsten (the India coach) to keep the champagne ready to be uncorked after the final victory at Mumbai as early as when India had registered a win over Bangladesh. For Dhoni, winning has become a second nature. Ganguly made a belligerent announcement of India’s arrival on the firmament of world’s cricket when he waved his shirt in 2002. But Dhoni’s casual sleeveless tee appearance after the latest triumph declared that India could well repeat these celebrations many more times in future. The leadership provided by unflappable Captain Cool has made all the difference.

Now, he needs to steal some time from his packed schedule and offer leadership lessons to the captains of the Indian industry. A recent survey in India by Harvard Business Publishing says that gaps in leadership pipeline have emerged as the biggest HR challenge. Organisations now are likely to invest nearly 41% of their budget in leadership and management development within their companies. Indubitably, many Indian companies would love to give their left arm to engage MSD as their leadership trainer. Examples are available aplenty in media reports. While K. Ramkumar (ICICI Bank) is all praise for Dhoni’s positive motivational leadership, Santrupt Misra (Aditya Birla Group) appreciates his equanimity & calm composure, and Suvojoy Sengupta (Booz & Co.) likes his trait of leading from the front. Apparently, even IIM-A would like to appoint him as a professor. Until then, and if that happens, can we draw some commandments of leadership from Dhoni’s performance?

WINNING HIGH OCTANE BATTLES

A leader of the caliber of Mahi has a number of traits and multiple tasks to perform, so as to steer his organisation to sustaining successful performance.

Commandment 1: Have a vision & pursue it relentlessly.

Since Dhoni took over in 2007, he has given his team a vision of being top rankers in test cricket and one-dayers. In the match against Pakistan, Shahid Afridi was defensive and tentative but Dhoni was decisive and sharp (Imran Khan’s words, not mine!). Both were under high pressure but Mahi exhibited greater guts. He is always confident about trusting his instincts. He is not afraid to make mistakes and admits them, if he does (as he did, in Mohali). The solidity and intent in him makes him different from the other captains. He is a true visionary.

Commandment 2: Be unafraid to go by gut feel, the intuition.

A leader, then, correctly specifies what needs to be accomplished, and breaks it down into discrete bits. Dhoni has unerring instincts, based on which he takes chances; he wins the impossible gambit more often than not. Despite losing Ganguly and Dravid, because of their poor running between wickets, he still won the series 2-0 in Australia. Only he could have given the untested Joginder Sharma the final over in the T-20 final against Pakistan in 2007. He helps the team focus on the target, breaks it into smaller goals. Dhoni always thinks on his feet being no stickler for obstructing rules. So he promoted himself in the batting order in the final match against Sri Lanka. He takes decisions based on logic applicable at the moment. He does not like to complicate his decision making by entertaining too many counter thoughts.

Commandment 3: Manage with what you have; don’t lament over what you lack.

A great leader like Dhoni knows the strengths of his team well – but understands the weaknesses even better. When he was asked whether he was comfortable playing without Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Dravid during the inaugural T20 Cup, he replied with his characteristic candour: “I play with what I have, not with what I don’t.” The job of a leader is to allocate tasks and resources to the team members in such a way that each one of them knows what is expected of him & understand the importance of his contribution. In Mohali, he told Yuvraj, Raina, & Harbhajan to keep their cool, control the emotional outbursts, and contribute to the best of their abilities. Yuvraj was eventually declared the ‘Man of the Tournament’.

Commandment 4: Be a coach, mentor, and leader to your assets.

Dhoni puts steel into Team India’s spine. He has been able to instil and make the best use of cool aggression of youngsters like Kohli, Raina, and Gambhir. He has always acted like a buffer between his boys and the general public or the media hostilities. Performance was the only thing that mattered. In the end, what saw Team India become world champion was the fact that they were ready and confident that they would win.

Commandant 5: Monitor and control the performance of your resources; keep them on track.

Dhoni went beyond merely motivating them. He made sure that the team players backed each other and did not criticise any member even if he had a hard time in the field. Zaheer bowled frugally, Yuvraj performed to more than justify his reentry, Sehwag stuck to his job of giving India a flying start, while the youngsters made best of all the opportunities which came their way. Since Dhoni knew that his team was prone to distractions during the long gaps between matches, he would remain connected, checking even the daily routine of the players.

Commandment 6: Provide and receive feedback from others. More importantly, ensure that it is acted upon.

While the CWC-2011 was in progress, Dhoni did not mince words when he publicly said that he was concerned about his side’s fitness, which in turn was likely to impact India’s batting and fielding performance. To lessen the demotivating impact, however, he also added that as long as the team won, people would forget these shortcomings. He makes accurate and insightful judgment about people and performances, including that of his own. He openly admitted that he did not assess the Mohali pitch accurately. He candidly accepted that dropping Ashwin for Nehra thus was a mistake.

MAHI DESERVES IT ALL

Harish Mariwala (Marico) says Dhoni is a perfect fit for HR and strategy position, Venugopal Dhoot (Videocon Group) is willing to even make him an Executive Director. And Harish Bijoor thinks that he would be suitable for the position of Head, Internal Branding. Boards of many Indian companies are drawing new and tough rules to link CEO pay with performance, or lack of it. In Dhoni’s case, this year’s package of Rs.77 crore (including endorsement fees) will hardly be grudged by anyone after such a sterling performance. 2010 FIFA World Cup final was viewed by 1.5 million people, IPL-3 by 9.6 million, CWG -2010 opening ceremony attracted eyeballs of 30 million, Budget 2011 was witnessed by 37 million. And the CWC-2011 final? The number swelled to 67.6 million. During the winning moments, the match got a TVR rating of 21.44, breaking all previous records. Dhoni gave reasons to rejoice to all the stakeholders. The legendary tennis player Bjorn Borg used to have a pulse rate of about 50 upon waking up and 60 in the afternoon. One could bet Dhoni’s has never crossed 10 – at least, metaphorically speaking.

“Dhoni has transcended the ranks of captain to become a true leader,” says Imran Khan. While that could be now often heard hyperbole, the truth is, we couldn’t agree more. Dhoni practices a fine blend of transactional and transformational leadership, as mandated by the exigency of the situation. Not dictated by copybook rules of leadership, he adapts his style to the requirements of the game. Of course, he might not be able to sell coffee for nuts – but he’ll be able to instil the fear of God in your salespeople to ensure they perform phenomenally. Now, which company will have a problem with that?

INDIA INC., AND THE ZEN MONK

LIMITS OF A BORDERLESS ORGANISATION

VERTICAL INTEGRATION IS PROMPTED BY A MOTIVE TO REDUCE COSTS. IT MAY ALSO GIVE A PRODUCER ENHANCED CONTROL OVER HIS ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

With a 30% margin clothing business had allured many textile mills. But now, most of them, such as Arvind Mills, are opting out of this high risk, high margin industry. They realise that the highly labour intensive business is facing a chronic shortage of talent pool, and with cyclical sales patterns, offers everyday new challenges in face of high rejections of the finished product. Vertical integration is virtually nonexistent.

Now read this: Garment companies at Tirupur and Bangalore have felt that backward integration and consolidation have become crucial to the growth of textile industry as uncertainty in raw material availability and cost have been unnerving. Assured quality, timely delivery, saving on transportation cost and even availability of raw materials are some of the benefits for integrated companies. Vertical integration helps them control the costs at various points in the supply chain. Further, a company can be flexible with the order quantity as it need not outsource any work that might require a minimum quantity.

Contradictory, ain’t the above two scenarios? Well not really.

MAKE OR BUY DECISIONS

A firm integrates backward/upstream when it undertakes to produce raw materials and semi-fabricated inputs that might otherwise be purchased from independent producers. Firms integrate forward/downstream when they move toward further finishing of semi-fabricated products and the wholesaling and retailing operations that put manufactured goods in the hands of consumers. Amway, for whose 123 products (across personal care, home care, cosmetics, and gift items) Indian market is growing at 25% annually, has planned to invest Rs.400 crore to set up its first manufacturing facility in India. Currently 85% of company’s products in India are produced by seven contract manufacturers. Retailer turning producer – an example of backward integration.

In a contrarian fashion, however, in March 2004, Sunil Mittal created a flutter by outsourcing the very heart of his telecom business – technology and networks. At that time Bharti had 8.4 million subscribers; this number was expected to grow to 50 million by 2014, the terminal year of the deal period. By December 2010 it already had more than 150 million subscribers. So now the outsourcing also includes billing, application development, customer relationship management, network expansion ... The success of this model has prompted even the rivals like Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, Videocon, and others to follow suit. The whole arrangement freed up Bharti’s senior management bandwidth to focus on what they know best – build the brand, customer acquisition, and strategy formulation while the partners (IBM, Nokia, Ericsson) deliver on signed service levels.

MAKE, DO NOT BUY

A coffee plantation yields about 400 kilograms of Arabica grade, valued at Rs.142 a kilo, for Amalgamated Coffee Company. This can be exported at Rs.165 (i.e one sixth more than the local market price). But each kilo of coffee powder sold at roast and ground outlets in India sells for about Rs.250, i.e a markup of 50% from the farm gate pricing (taking into account roasting loss of about 18%). Finally, a mug of coffee at Café Coffee Day sells at Rs.42 on average, using 12-15 grams of coffee; this is Rs.4 worth of coffee per mug. This has prompted the owner of 10,000 acres of coffee plantation to set up more than 1,000 coffee retailing outlets (the highest number in India, and the fifth highest in the world) and reap the fruits of vertical integration by reducing costs and extract higher incremental value.

Vertical integration is prompted by a motive to reduce costs. It may also give a producer enhanced control over his economic environment. Upstream integration, for example, helps to ensure that supplies of raw materials are available as and when needed at a certain cost & quality parameter. Tata Motors has its own forging plant. There are many other advantages such as confidentiality of technology, barriers against potential entrants, and so on.

BUY, DO NOT MAKE

Unfortunately the choice is not so obvious always. At least, some of the benefits of vertical integration can be achieved through outsourcing. So, for every Tata Motors there is a Maruti Suzuki, for every Reliance there is an Indo Rama; they prefer to stick to knitting. These companies argue with equal convincing force: outsourcing may actually mean availability of supplies at competitive prices. Thus, with the imposition of 10% excise duty on branded garments in the latest budget, Van Heusen is contemplating sourcing them from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, though currently 90% of the brand’s manufacturing is done in India. Then the input needed may be of highly specific dimensions requiring very large operations to enjoy economies of scale. For McDonald’s the humble potato is a very critical input, what with 30% of its customers coming to McDonald’s only to eat French fries. But due to unsuitable quality of locally grown potatoes, it invited Mc- Cain, its global partner, to come to India and set up shops here; through contract farming route McCain accesses right kind and sized potatoes so that when fried at exactly 168 degrees Celsius for precisely 3 minute and 10 seconds, the restaurant gets perfect golden coloured patties. So, instead of vertical integration, it is argued, the benefits can be achieved through contracts or informal agreements. Each firm then remains free to adjust its own scale of operation and to deal with others. Each firm will have its own incentives thereby obviating the need for an administered system as would have been required in a joint (vertically integrated) company. To be sure, the problems arise for such agreements when there are marked changes, say, when there is a sharp fall in demand, or the technology changes considerably, or when it is contract renewal time that may either be pre-planned or initiated by one side because of changed circumstances. Bombay Dyeing, for example, once crossed swords with its international raw material suppliers over the issue of purchase price of Paraxylene, wanting to convert contracted price into spot price.

DEEP END OF THE POOL – OR SHALLOW?

It is also crucial to decide how vertically integrated must the firm be or obversely, to what extent can a firm satisfy its needs through outside procurement of large scale economy components, perhaps avoiding thereby some diseconomies of managing a larger organisation (such as moral hazard, limited span of control). Noteworthy it is that while resource allocation in the market is normally guided through prices, within the firm the same job is done through the conscious decisions and commands of management. The activities will be performed intrafirm if transaction costs incurred in using the price mechanism exceed the cost of organising the same activities through direct managerial controls. These transaction costs could be high due to price shopping, communication of work specifications, contract negotiations, and even tax regulations. On the other hand if the pricing power vests with a large supplier and he exercises it to detriment of the buyer, the latter may decide to produce something intra-firm, even at a higher cost. Generally, we could say that more prone the markets are to a breakdown of competitive supply conditions, the stronger will be the buyer’s incentive to integrate upstream. So you may decide to go as far as Kodak did once – rearing its own sheep to obtain gelatin to be used in photographic films. Likewise a firm likes to integrate downstream when margins are mouth watering. A Yash Chopra dabbles into film distribution and exhibition.

LIMITS OF A BORDERLESS ORGANISATION

THE JANUS-FACED ATYPICAL INDIAN CONSUMER

If a marketer wants to succeed in india, he needs to do two things. One, he has to be culture conscious. And two, he needs to adapt to it, and that too very fast!

“Only naïve arrogance can lead Westerners to assume that non-Westerners will become westernized by acquiring Western goods.”– Samuel Hutington in The Clash of Civilizations. Infidel, quirky, disloyal, undecided. These are perhaps the epithets MNCs would like to reserve for the Indian consumer. He remains unimpressed by sleek ads supporting world famous brands. He welcomes McDonald’s, yet rejects the westernised system of multi-course meal, retaining his preference for the traditional thali. He buys the latest devotional music CD while on the way to watch a Tom Cruise starrer over popcorns in a multiplex. While marketers like generalization, categorization, low uncertainty, and high predictability, in India they draw a blank. There seems to be no typical Indian consumer.

DISAGGREGATE THE CULTURAL CODE
In a traditional category like tea, regional variants abound. So some brands like Tata Tea’s Kanan Devan are formulated specially for specific regions. Even the cultural practice of preparing tea is dependent on the availability and quality of milk and water is that area. While in western UP the husband decides about the brand, in Kerala it is the wife. In general, women have a greater say in South & East, where they tend to be better educated. There are cultures within culture. Averaging a four cornered regional culture will yield a nonexistent entity. How else do you explain the above average demand for cherry coloured fridges in Kolkata and Sunsilk Black in south? Food items, similarly, in India are actually of three kinds – sustenance, occasional, and entertainment. The first kind is part of the socio-cultural ritual; no brand has been able to break the mould yet in this category. A Kellogg’s had to beat a hasty retreat when it tried to project itself as ‘the’ breakfast item, rather than being one of the choices. But Maggi, successfully, entered the occasional category by offering a unified benefit – convenience. And now that the concept of ‘health for the healthy’ is the dominant cultural code, Maggi has adapted itself accordingly. A choice of different flavours  provides insurance against regional rejections. Pizza Hut keeps repositioning itself every now and then since it has failed to realise that the Indian consumer still treats pizza as an entertainment food; he does not permit ‘foreign invasion’ into the sustenance category by products like pizzas or noodles. Pepsi – essentially an international product with a very Western personality – realised early that the Indian mind uniquely filters things Western. So it came out with hybrids, synthesizing Western and Indian music with typical Indian imagery married to Hinglish taglines (Yeh Dil Maange More, Youngistan Ka Wow et al). Nestle is continuously trying to figure out the changes in behaviour pattern for coffee and tea in India as is Johnson & Johnson by analyzing the psyche of the Indian mother and her concern for her child’s hygiene.

CORE VS. PERIPHERY
The Indian notion of self is transcendental unlike the Western one where it resides within the body. So even if a ‘here and now’ philosophy guides today’s youth, the deep-rooted tenacious traditions have not been abandoned. Indian youth simultaneously wishes to break free from the societal shackles, yet be attached. So parents remain providers, and therefore must be respected and obeyed. Parents of course are becoming open minded, democratic, and more sensitive to youngsters’ choices of careers, friends, and lifestyles. Mithai and Mcdonald’s, Michael Jackson and Mangeshkar sisters, fasting and fast food create no disharmony – as long as the amalgamation does not seek to change the inner core, the ingrained values. Social mores though are still dictated by an attitude of conservatism and conformity. Marriage (even if based on love) has to be arranged;  remarital/extramarital sex is still a social taboo if publicly known, hypocritically acceptable if privately practised.Indians have a high tolerance for ambiguity and a very well developed sense of jugaad (quick fix solutions). India is not a structured and system driven market. ‘Imported’ Baywatch beauties are welcome to invade viewing space but Indian lasses performing the same act would invite a charge of sacrilege!

CULTURE IN TRANSITION
Actually, our culture is permanently in transition since axiomatically, it has its roots in basic conditions of human life, including material conditions, natural environment, climate, and the ways in which people earn their living, as also in the historical experience of human communities which include interactions with other cultures. So culture can be perceived as a dynamic succession of overlapping ideologies rather than a static unity. Culture is a flow with three stages – residual, dominant, and emergent. In health and nutrition products, for example, the residual stage was about buying insurance against ill health, augmenting poor quality food and general nourishment. The dominant stage today is ‘health for the healthy,’ serious nutrition, learning to cope with stress, being fit, balancing success and happiness, atoning for a life of excesses, etc. A marketer has to offer products that incorporate these stages to succeed in the market. The market for coaching is flourishing since today, taking tuitions is an act for excellence in career unlike times of yore when only ‘weak’ children would be tutored.

SO WHAT IS THE SUCCESS MANTRA?
A marketer’s value system and overall profile is moulded by the culture in which he grew up, worked, and socialised. The reason why marketers like Marico, Dabur, and Haldirams are more successful than their multinat counterparts is precisely this. In order to succeed, two things are needed: a marketer has to be culture conscious; and two, he has to adapt to it.

In rural India, for example, the panchayat head or the school teacher acts as an opinion leader. So when Asian Paints launched its Utsav range, the salesmen painted the house of the mukhiya, village post office, or library to demonstrate the effectiveness of the paint. The marketer needs to communicate with the customer in a language and idiom he understands; urban communication may actually backfire in rural settings. For example, advertising that depicts women showing off their lustrous hair post a head wash is actually a turn off for most rural women who cover their heads. Culture is very important to people. Their preference for fundamental cultural values is emotional, not rational. They may even regard certain social norms and traditions as eternal and sacrosanct. So even if a marketer regards some norms as irrational, anachronistic, or distasteful (for instance, dipping biscuit in tea) he must remember he is not a crusader. Britannia decided to reformulate its Marie biscuits so that these would not break and get drowned in tea when dipped. Going one step further, in its commercial, it showed people actually dipping the biscuit in tea so that the consumer no more felt embarrassed about the practice. Important take away: Don’t only be tolerant, adapt to cultural practices. When intensive customer research told HUL that ladies had a hidden wish to feel refreshed when bathing as if they were under a water stream, the immortal positioning for Liril soap was born.

The broad role of a woman as a homemaker has not changed – what has gotten altered is merely her external appearance. But the scope for selling, say, cosmetics to a larger number will exist if you take advantage of changing cultural labels for your product category. Earlier, cosmetics were ‘enticement aids’ (hence, nice girls would not wear them); now, they are ‘grooming’ aids for older women (wrinkle lift creams) and ‘self expressions of individuality’ among young ones (Elle-18). Even bathroom fixtures are trying to change their label from utilities to statements of lifestyles.

A marketer has an onerous task in understanding, analyzing, and interpreting the complex web of relationship between culture and consumer behaviour. But with an operative TINA (There is No Alternative) factor, this is the price of success he has to pay.

 It is not the consumer who is quirky; it is the marketer who refuses to see the market through a cultural prism. True success is understanding the cultural mores, norms, and values of each target segment, while at the same time retaining the brand’s essence.

THE JANUS-FACED ATYPICAL INDIAN CONSUMER

Cracking The Marketing Campaign Code. Finally!

There are Some Unique Elements which Determine Whether a Marketing Campaign or a Product Launch Succeeds or Crashes. Call it The 6 ms Approach of Marketing!

“You don’t need my investigative skills, dear Dr. Watson,” said Sherlock Holmes, “to realise that a marketing campaign is working when a simple spinning top or a two bit rubber band goes out of stock even at a fancy price of Rs.200-400 or Rs.90.” Alright, so we made it up. The ace detective never said it. Indubitably, however, no one can refute the truthfulness of the concocted statement. Beyblade is nothing but a branded spinning top, repackaged and coated with some shiny stuff, worth Rs.5. Promoted directly and indirectly through websites and TV shows as Storm Pegasus, Tornado Wing, or Seggitario, it makes children act like extortion dons coercing and reigning over their parents, who surrender and buy in addition an ugly plastic contraption called ‘Arena’, the battleground for these branded warriors.

Wipro had launched an offering called Pace, when the recession was on in the US; it addressed issues like capital saving and efficiency for user clients. But since the last six months, the customers are asking for revenue enhancers – they are no longer looking at an offshore version. So Wipro proposes to launch a new campaign in February 2011 that will talk about improvement in product cycle time and not just about costs. Customers now are looking at the speed at which solutions can be delivered, so that ROI can be realised soon, not 18 months later. This sure warrants a change in product offering and marketing communication.

MARKETING IS CUSTOMER
ORIENTED: THAT’S AN OLD HAT
Okay, but are you aware as to who is your customer? Actually the marketer-customer relationship has evolved through three stages and is now in the fourth one. And in a heterogeneous market like India, all the four versions may coexist. In the initial phase, there existed pre-determined groups of buyers who were certain to buy. Individual differences and preferences counted for nothing. Products were created without much feedback from the users who were targeted through one way communication. In stage 2, a customer became an individual statistic but without much of a unique identity. He was spoken with, feedback obtained, and changes were incorporated for redesigning the product. In the next stage, a customer is identified as a unique entity. The products are reconfigured based on deep understanding of his needs. The communication is on a one-to-one basis. Finally, in stage 4, the customer is being treated as part of an enhanced network; he co-creates and extracts business value.

EXCELLENT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS REST ON SIX Ms.
A marketer needs to follow the six Ms approach in order to make his marketing campaign future proof.

1.Precocious child or sweet sixteen? The marketer needs to define the target market in terms of demographic, psychographic, geographic, behavioural, and mediagraphic profiles. But, also realise that demographic variables fail to differentiate consumer behaviour. For example, 30-40% of consumers of premium brands are not necessarily SEC A. They could very well belong to SEC B or C. Partly, this is because over the last two decades, value drivers have changed from mere value for money and good quality to greater choices, service, and experience at retail level. When Hero Honda introduced the Passion, it had youth in the age bracket 18-30 years in mind who stayed in urban/semi-urban area and belonged to SEC A or B. More importantly, the customer was described as enthusiastic, who was considering a bike as an extension of his personality, was a style and looks conscious guy, someone who wanted something decent but price competitive.

2. Merchandise, the second M: The marketer must make it clear what is on offer, in terms of attributes, benefits, and values. Titan learnt two important lessons. One, watches are no more a time-keeping device but an everyday accessory and a style statement for the customer. So it positioned the brand accordingly. Two, one needs to lead the market with emotional innovation and keep repositioning the brand accordingly. So the latest catchline is ‘Be More’. Airtel, the number one brand in mobile communication, decided to make life simple for consumers by offering them simple and transparent services, communication and tariff plans and bills, since this is what the customer wanted.

3.Motive, the third M: An excellent campaign is based on deciphering the real reason behind the target prospect considering the product. So why did Kellogg fail in India? Because it attacked traditional belief that Indian breakfast was healthy; because in India pan-India breakfast item is a utopian concept, rather regional food preferences prevail This is because while cereals are light on tummy, Indians prefer heavy breakfast. Indians prefer spicy and savoury breakfast, not sweet. In brief, customers were not driven enough to buy. A Reebok failed initially because, in a nascent market, it talked about ‘marvel of engineering’. Focus on the sizzle, not the steak.

4.Message, the fourth M: It is the excellence of marketing campaign that made Dabur Chyawanprash rule over more than half the market. In one such effort, the positioning became ‘Banaaye andar se strong’ (makes you strong internally). Initially, when Dabur’s communication agency had focused on the rational appeal, the company had rejected it. Finally, the message with an emotional appeal was chosen. We also have to decide on the right choice of source (Toyota Etios) and package the message appropriately so that it stands out in a clutter (Jaago Rey campaign by Tata Tea). So an effective message is all about right positioning, brand image, and communication.

5.Media, the fifth M: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, SRK, Aamir, Amitabh and a whole lot of other film stars are on social media (Twitter, Facebook, et al), to keep in touch with their fans, take their feedback, and update them. This helps them strengthen their bond with their followers. A marketer has to decide whether to use a personal communication channel (Salman Khan selling tickets at Delite Cinema in Delhi) or non-personal (mass media, ambience/atmosphere, events, et al) one. The singular objective is to get, and stay, connected with target customer.

6.Measurment, the sixth M: It was only after ‘Bheetari Shakti Ka Vikas’ line failed to work, that Dabur decided to change it to ‘Banaaye Andar Se Strong’. Since curative positioning made the customers treat Dabur Chyawanprash as a medicinal product, the positioning was changed to preventive, thus placing it in a broader ‘desi’ tonic category. In determining the effectiveness of a campaign one should be clear about what is to be measured (Sales or communication effects?) and appropriate tools of measurement (Focus groups, sales waves et al). The feedback obtained thereby will give an idea whether to continue with the campaign (Cadbury retaining its positioning of celebrations with Cadbury) or modify it (Pizza Hut) or drop it (Ericsson, when people mistook the mobile brand being designed only for ladies).

It is on the strength of excellent and effective marketing campaigns that Maggi adorns the kitchen shelves of virtually all urban households, Cadbury is accepted as suitable ‘Meetha’ option for all occasions, and Lux makes all ladies aspire to look like their favourite film stars.

Cracking The Marketing Campaign Code. Finally!