Everyone loves a good slowdown

Uh... okay, not everybody! But our edit team prowled the roads of India Inc. and zeroed in on a few companies and brands that are loving every burst of the recessionary winds that are playing havoc with the economy. What helps is that India’s slowdown is actually defined as 6% growth. And the smart ones have been making all the right moves to convert the supposed crisis into an opportunity. Now that the green shoots of recovery are showing up all over, the 4Ps B&M team brings you the key strategies of some over-performers who defied every rule in the book and made the best of bad times.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Event at IIPM
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

The first ones to break the news of Jackson’s death

An auction event organised by Julien’s auctions (of Darren Julien), sold a Jackson album ‘Goin’ Back to Indiana’ for $33,750. The auction also featured other collections of Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Social networking sites have also not let-go this opportunity and have done everything possible to give their users real-time updates.

Twitter and Facebook are alleged to be the first ones to break the news of Jackson’s death. Twitter saw up to 5,000 Jackson-related messages being posted per minute and eventually his death emerged as the most discussed subject on the portal. Facebook saw a similar response; with the number of postings tripling during the hour after the news of Jackson’s death broke. Talking on these marketing techniques, Barry states, “Some companies license rights to use a dead celebrity’s image, movie clips, or music and incorporate those things into TV ads or promotional materials. Others just pay homage to the dead celebrity to gain a marketing association with the individual.”

Even IT giants are getting enamoured by the potential of this mammoth business. Corbis, the digital image company set up by Bill Gates, has bought a Beverly Hills company, which owns the image rights to more than 50 deceased celebrities. Corbis takes a 20% cut of the profits from any endorsement, double the usual rate for a living celebrity endorsement. Even celebrity Promotion Companies like CKX rely heavily on dead celebs for their bottom-line. They purchase the intellectual property rights and thus churn out huge money.

And if you thought that only the big brands and consultants can take advantage of legends that have passed away, you could not be more wrong. Just walk the streets of New York, London or Rio De Janeiro and you’ll see markets flooded with Che Guevara, Marilyn Monroe and now even Jackson merchandise, ranging from T-shirts, handkerchiefs and coffee mugs to sundry decorative brick bracks. True, dead celebs make for hot brands, hotter than even the living ones! May their souls Rest In Peace!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Event at IIPM
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM, GURGAON

THE AXA EFFECT

IIPM Admission Detail

In July 2006, Bharti ventured into the financial services sector along with the France-based AXA Group with Bharti AXA Life Insurance, General Insurance and Investment Managers. Their performance in the first year of operation was nothing to write home about. Not only did the life insurance business fail to meet the social sector obligation, it had an equity share capital base of just Rs.1.1 crore as compared to others like Shriram Life Insurance (launched in 2005) and Future Generali (2007) who had a base of Rs.125 crore and Rs.185 crore respectively in their first year. Sure, Bharti AXA has picked up since then and recorded a 1355% growth in first year premium collections in FY 2007-08, but does the company have the potential to bring in the next big leap for Bharti? Tough! Given that the Indian market is largely uninsured and under-insured, on the face of it, there does seem huge potential for private insurers to cash in. But Bharti AXA has largely concentrated on the urban market so far, with limited focus on the mass market - lower income sections, semi-urban and rural markets. Moreover, Bharti AXA’s high-cost operating model has been unable to yield profitability in the low ticket high volume business. N. Wadhwa, MD, SKI Capital Securities, sums up, “Bharti entered the sector without appropriate knowledge and expertise.”

There are others who believe that given Bharti’s stature and reputation in the Indian market, it should be easier for them to get customers for their financial businesses. Asserts Ashok Jainani, Vice President – Research & Market Strategy, Khandwala Securities Ltd, “In my opinion, Bharti’s insurance business will succeed mainly because it is a very capital intensive industry and Bharti AXA has the support of its telecom business and can perhaps even take leads from Airtel’s subscriber base.” He further explains that there is a huge untapped mass potential in both urban and rural areas, which has not been exploited. “Bharti AXA may not be the number one player in the segment it operates in, but it will surely prove to be a profitable venture,” Jainani explains. He may have a point given that Bharti AXA recorded a whopping 511.8% growth in industry-wide premiums received in H1 FY’09 as compared to last year. But even then, the insurance sector has a long gestation period. And with deeply entrenched players like LIC and ICICI Prudential in the reckoning, even if Bharti AXA does well in the short to medium term, it will take time to join the league of numero unos in the business.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2300 IIPM students get jobs
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

Are you ready to become a chatter-box?

IIPM Best B-school

Brand: Reliance Comm.
Agency: Leo Burnett

Bol India Bol increased Reliance Mobile’s (RM) subscriber base to about 46 million in the FY2007-08. In fact, RM’s revenues shot 34% at Rs.14,468 crore and its profits surged a whopping 612% . Phew!!!

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri’s Profile
IIPM only B-school in India to be Ranked Ahead of The IIMs in so Many Parameters! Regularly!
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

If this doesn’t glue you, what will?

Shahrukh khan is coming to IIPM - IIPM 4Ps Quiz

Brand: Fevicol
Agency: O&M
Fevicol’s shadow campaign was and is still considered a masterpiece. It struck a chord with consumers by tickling their funny bone. The shadow sticks to the shutter, enabling the brand to construct a sturdy association with Yeh Fevicol ka jod hai, tootega nahi (bonding). This one sure took Fevicol to its next level of ‘bonding’ with consumers!

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

‘Zav’iation is now in vogue!

IIPM only B-school in India to be Ranked Ahead of The IIMs in so Many

Kishor Zavery, Chairman, Zav Airways, in an exclusive to 4Ps B&M 4Ps B&M: How feasible is it to enter a turmoil hit sector and what are your plans to tackle the same?
KZ: I don’t think this is a time of turmoil in the sector. Our main target is to provide the common people with better services in comparison to others. We are coming up with mid-size aircrafts; seat capacity mostly of 70/80. During our operation, we expect 95% occupancy. Whereas, the big-size crafts with 200 seat capacity are currently operating with just 50% occupancy. The additional 45% occupancy is clearly one of our plus points.

4Ps B&M: What are the challenges that you need to be wary of?
KZ: There is no major challenge as such. The north-eastern region has always been neglected in terms of connectivity. So we witness a sky-high demand for air-taxi services. Looking at this potential, we are entering into the sector. The West Bengal Government and the North-East council are helping us to venture into the market. We are not worried about our competitors in the sector. We would rather, welcome healthy competition in this neglected north-eastern region.

4Ps B&M: Pls share some of your strategies to make Zav’s presence felt?
KZ: Our basic strategy is to provide economical air travel. As we want to connect various destinations with maximum comfort at reasonable prices for our customers. We plan to have a pan India presence in the coming future. Beside fulfilling the aviation need in Eastern and North eastern part of India, providing quality and on-time services with better safety to our customers is high on our to-do list.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM
IIPM Best B-school
Parameters! Regularly!
Why has IIPM always been opposed to B-school rankings?
IIPM : One of the leading and most respected business schools
IIPM students on NDTV Television Chat Show
Four Phase of IIPM Global Plans
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri says
30 professors of international repute to IIPM
IIPM Global B-school
IIPM Alumni Officially on Facebook
IIPM Respected Business School

All hands on the deck, Captain!

Shahrukh khan to Host IIPM 4Ps Annual Business and Marketing Quiz

Great ads, greater roll-out plans, greatest financials... but ‘talent-crunch’ might just play the spoilsport!

Advertising, branding, positioning, geographical outreach... and any other progressive act that you could possibly cook up, were ‘once’ considered just the forte of private sector banks and their foreign counterparts. Not any more! The public sector banks (PSBs) have shed their conservativeness, for good and are tired of being branded as laggards. Today, their approach towards broader outreach, customer acquisition & education and product offerings is anything but the mark of a self-satisfied, complacent public banker. IDBI Bank is one such name, which has opted for an overdrive as far as re-positioning and re-branding are concerned. The project finance institution turned bank, is leading the race and is aptly recasting its business model, strengthening itself through organic growth strategies and basking in the sun of glorified financials!

Its newest taglines: “Not just for the big boys” and “Aao sochein bada” also project the inherent strength of the bank, which, for the first time in a decade, has hit a positive home-run – a positive net interest margin and the highest annual growth in terms of deposits and lendings (30%) amongst all banks in the country. And today, the bank is not just making money for its stakeholders but also working towards ensuring ‘some’ tomorrow for industries across the board. Picture this: IDBI Bank Ltd. is leading a group of lenders to arrange $1 billion debt for Air India (after the airline failed to raise funds from European banks to buy Airbus SAS aircrafts); some reverse osmosis at a time when the biggest of names in the vertical are running around with bailout bowls in their hands (and 9 more for bailout nos.2 to 10). The bank is aggressively pursing the dream of becoming the 5th largest bank by 2011-12, from being the current 8th. This would also help improve its low cost current account savings account (CASA) ratio, which is pegged at 15.22% of the total deposits to somewhere close to 40% (which is the standard for other public sector banks).

So there’s some dream, and happily complemented by ambitious financials. Digest this – it is targeting a growth of more than 100% in its business to touch Rs.3.35 trillion by FY2011 as compared to FY2008. Considering that market reports suggest an estimation of Rs.2.1 trillion by the end of the current fiscal, another good year will just see it get there! So there’s it – great dreams, super numbers and big hopes... but not sans challenges! And what’s the catch? Having obtained the much needed licence from RBI to add 200 branches (at present it has 508 branches and 880 ATMs) by March 2009, its expansion plan had to be ‘carried forward’ for lack of managerial staff. Given the fact that IDBI expects its branch network to grow by 40% (which will indeed enable the desired business growth), ‘talent - crunch’ may just play the spoilsport.

For now though, IDBI is staying away from inorganic diet; having achieved much success in the change process, as Yogesh Agarwal, CMD, IDBI Bank happily quotes, “The bank has indeed come a long way from being a pure development financial institution and is currently transforming into a new generation, full-service commercial bank...” Better safe than dead! But considering that its internal growth plans are paying well, there’s no need to be swept away by the M&A wave... Silent waters run deep... But wait! Is IDBI playing the ship, or is’t the ocean itself? Whatever its intentions, it needs all hands on deck – manpower! [And that one was for you, Captain Yogesh!]

Gyanendra Kr. Kashyap

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM 4Ps Quiz
2300 IIPM students get jobs
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

No individual can be bigger than the game.

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

Interestingly, this statement is especially relevant to marketers who are looking to strike the right shots with their shrinking budgets in a slowdown. Pawan Chabra & Pallavi Srivastava of 4Ps B&M examine why, in humbling times, IPL promises marketers what the best celebrities cannot.

Is thrift the only mantra of the season? Well, market logic dictates that it’s not just about cutting back on your resources (read: marketing budgets) but also carefully analysing where the cost benefit analysis of a marketing investment can work overwhelmingly in your favour. Thus while companies are cutting corners in their marketing budgets, it would all be in vain if they cut the wrong corners!

So faced with the question: In whom to invest? In Hrithik Roshan or Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders? marketers should pause before answering. For the latter promises an intoxicating, blockbuster combination of Bollywood and cricket. Last year, the combo had sent an adrenalin rush through the veins of marketers and advertisers. Most probably, you’re one of those who doesn’t even need to ask how the combo could generate a high sense of excitement among marketers. The answer is obvious. Lalit Modi! The man gave India an excellent platform to combine the protagonists we’ve mentioned above, by his biggest adaptation of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Just brush up your memories a bit and you’ll be able to easily recall the scenario of the last season when everybody was crazily fighting to grab a share of the lucrative IPL cake in any possible form.

Well, if last year, in the peak of the boom, IPL made some sense, this year, in bust times it makes for indisputable business logic! A lucrative deal under IPL may force marketers to channelise their advertising budget from somewhere else, which may also include dropping expensive brand ambassadors or regular advertising spends. That’s the reason why Coca Cola India prefers Shahrukh’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Daredevils over superstar Hrithik Roshan. One look at Coke’s advertising patterns on TV will reveal that Coke has not come up with an ad featuring Hrithik for a long time (after the last ‘Jashn mana le’ ad commercial). Moreover, the frequency of Coke ads has also relatively gone down. Similarly Sprite (for which Coca Cola India has tied up with KKR) also doesn’t have any brand ambassador as of now (Sania was the endorser of Sprite earlier). Undoubtedly, Coke is spending its marketing budget wisely. Probably that’s the reason why they have tied up with Delhi Daredevils for brand Coke and with KKR for Sprite.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Detail of all IIPM branches
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Focus on your brand

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

Take Maruti Suzuki: The now wholly-owned Japanese brand, it seems, changed gears just in time to survive and thrive despite the slowdown. Though not completely unaffected by the slowdown (the market leader posted a decrease in sales for all three months in the last quarter), in January 2009, Maruti Suzuki bucked the trend and reported a 5.59% increase in domestic sales. A closer look at their figures reveal that their recent additions to the A3 segment (D’zire and SX4) is what is making the numbers look so cool. The segment saw a two-fold growth, selling 6,590 units (even higher than their cash cow Maruti 800) as against 2,939 units in the same month last year.

But managing their brand portfolio well is not Maruti’s only claim to the marketing fame. Over the last quarter of stagnating sales, the motor company went on an overdrive to enhance its market penetration. For one, instead of restricting its annual dealer level discount scheme till the end of December (as it does every year to clear year-end sales), Maruti extended the lucrative cash discounts way into February; next up is their strategic tie-up with Corporation Bank to finance Maruti Suzuki vehicles on an all India basis to enable credit access at a time when banks are antsy about lending too easily; and finally, proactively embracing the ‘voluntary disclosure of fuel economy’ to drive home the message to consumers about their leadership in making highly fuel efficient cars. As per Shinzo Nakanishi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the move “would enable customers to make an informed choice when purchasing a car in the market.” Look closely and you realise that all these measures were perhaps aimed at luring those 40 million PSU guys, presently flush with funds they made from the 6th Pay Commission killing. “The recent pay hikes and arrears given to more than 5 million government employees after implementation of 6th Pay Commission report can bring back the lost momentum in the industry,” says Shushmul Maheshwari, CEO, RNCOS.

What did the guys at Maruti do? They revitalised their brand despite and in spite of the slowdown by simply emphasising its core brand proposition – value for money, fuel efficient cars – and increasing its value!

What? You think that was a fluke? Okay, here’s another one!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Detail of all IIPM branches
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Have the cars, lost the road!

IIPM, GURGAON

The company had undertaken some prolific investments in the United States, but now it all appears to be overdone to an extent. While launching the expanded R&D facility in Michigan, Shigeki Terashi, President, Toyota Technical Centre said, “Toyota’s investment of $187 million to advance R&D demonstrates our commitment to the North American automotive industry.” Was this called for? An open question…

As a result of this argument, Toyota after a long hiatus is ready to offload close to 1,000-1,500 regular employees in this crisis. Toyota employs close to 30,000 workers in North America and UK and operates about 11 plants in these regions. The company also plans to trim its workforce further and wants to get rid of more employees through VRS. It is now clear that even for Toyota, the days of halcyon could well be over and a stricter market analysis is the call of the day.

Hit hard, Toyota is already beating around the bush or at least visibly so. Before the entry of the new president from the founder Toyoda family, the company has started working on the ‘Market Vision Plan’. Under this plan, Toyota will be working in a more docile way. For once, the company will be focusing more on product susceptibility to changing market conditions, planning for product launches up to the year 2015 and managing production cycles better. In all likelihood, Toyota must modulate its production in line to the changing demands of the market and must have the flexibility to divert unsold inventories towards more prolific markets.

The last six months have made it clear that even Toyota is not immune to making strategic bloopers. As a result of its aggressive expansion strategy, perhaps gloating from its success of becoming the world’s number one automotive manufacturer; an inevitability that was being talked about for years; Toyota is now making news for the wrong reasons. It has been rightly said, you cannot have too much of a good thing. Now what does Fujio Cho do with all those cars???

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM - Admission Procedure

Play the masterstroke

IIPM set to beat economic slowdown

Don’t be exhilarated by falling home loan rates, the best time to buy your dream house is still to come

Time, money and opportunities wait for none. And thus not timing the opportunity stands for loss of money. That’s why Gurus say have patience. After all it has its own advantages, especially for those who are involved with the financial and the real estate markets. And considering the present market conditions one such opportunity seems to be present ‘round the corner’ for those who are waiting to invest in real estate.

As the demon of slowdown slowly creeps into the Indian economy and the government is trying to shrug-off all concerns with its stimulus packages. As part of a good news for aspiring real estate buyers and as a result of the combined effort from the government and the Reserve Bank of India, home loan rates have come down substantially. While the interest rates on loans up to Rs.5 lakh has been restricted up to 8%, the same for loans between Rs.8 lakh and Rs.20 lakh is fixed at 9.5%. Moreover, the above mentioned rates can be fixed for up to five years. Now, with these cheap and easily accessible loans at their disposal, its a natural tendency for many of the aspiring home buyers to jump forward to buy their dream house. But then, they should not forget the rule of timing the market. Because as of now, though we have witnessed a slight fall in real estate prices it’s still far from what is being anticipated. (Some very optimistic valuations show that the prices would go down by 40-50% across India. However, few pessimistic research firms like Macquarie Securities confirm that the price falls in most part of India would be around 25%).

Moreover, the real estate players, who are still holding onto their around 50% profit margin, are set to enter into a phase of debt repayment soon. Considering their present liquidity starved situation, the upcoming debt repayment would mean that they are bound to cut on their prices to be able to realise funds stuck in unsold and halfway through projects. And then we may see some real fall in real estate prices. Going by the logic, it’s definitely not advisable to invest in real estate at the moment, feel many experts. Indraneel Karlekar, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Research & Strategy, ING Clarion Real Estate Securities explains to 4Ps B&M, “The macro economic indicators are not yet favourable for investing in reality and the investors should wait for now.”

However, while playing the ‘wait and watch’ game one must not forget the fact that over-waiting with greed may also dampen their profitability. By the way, did you manage to time Satyam’s scrip? Well, some did. Believe it or not, they have tripled their money!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Khiladi unbuttons!

1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers

Joining the league of Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Sania Mirza; Akshay Kumar, in 2008, became the global brand ambassador of Levi’s 501 collection. While SRK, Rai and Mirza have been the global faces of Tag Heuer, L’Oréal and Adidas respectively; roping in Kumar for the relaunch of their 501 ‘Live Unbuttoned’ campaign, at a time when he was at the peak of his popularity was definitely a smart move by the honchos at Levi’s. The year also saw international luxury watch brand – Tissot – rope in the new chick on the block, Deepika Padukone. It seems that Indian Bollywood stars are all set to take on their international avatars.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

When virtual hopes truly come alive, online...

IIPM Admission Detail

SANJEEV BIKHCHANDANI, MD & CEO, INFO EDGE (INDIA) LTD.
naukri.com has been the cash cow for Info Edge (India) Ltd. Here is the man who began it all, talking what his prime focus and targets are, pan-sectors, pan-globe!


How has been the journey of Info Edge since inception?
The journey has been wonderful. It had witnessed its own ups and downs. We have a very successful job and matrimony business and we are in the process of creating one in the real estate also. Even our gulf operations are also doing well. Thus, overall we are satisfied with the growth of the business.

Has the global economic slowdown affected your online portals business?
Yes it has affected us, as in this quarter we grew at just 24% compared to a fantastic 60% in the same quarter a year ago. So undoubtedly, the slowdown has affected us. But a major reason behind this fall in growth was a negative externality. It was because of the slump in hiring due to global economic slowdown.

Out of all the portals which one is the most profitable one and why?
The largest in terms of revenue is naukri.com, followed by Jeevansathi.com. But undoubtedly, naukri.com is the most profitable one. Although in Q2 of this financial year we saw a slump in growth, but the overall profitability of the portal has remained high. And as I mentioned about the major reason behind this drop in growth, it is all to blame on the discouraging yet true global turmoil. The reason for naukri.com being the cash cow is that we have the first mover advantage till date.

What are the challenges that you face in your business of online portals?
There are a lot of challenges and the recent one is the maintenance of strong growth amid the present slowdown. Moreover, managing your employees and curtailing expenditures are the other challenges. As we presently have a total of nine businesses, maintaining all their health is a challenge.

What’s your take on the competition in the industry?
You see, we expect that our competition will be more affected by the slowdown than us. Thus we expect that we would come out strongest from the slowdown in every manner.

How much revenue is earned from advertising?
Much advertising comes from job related sites and things. Non-job related sites contribute only 3%-4% of our total revenues. Which are your main target market cities in India, and what are the factors that you consider before moving to a city? Our main target markets are Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune, but we also have presence in Tier I and Tier II cities. But before moving to a new city, we look at the local market and consider factors such as internet penetration and the web traffic.

How do you plan to market your portals in India?
For different portals, different marketing strategies are followed by us. Like for instance, for naukri.com, we sponsor HR events and do direct marketing. For Jeevansathi.com, we do a lot of advertising including online and television advertising along with telemarketing. However for Shiksha.com, we don’t do much of telemarketing but do online and sales force marketing.

How has the real estate slowdown impacted you?
It’s in our interest. Builders need buyers and we are the most efficient way of bringing buyers to builders, and therefore we are used a lot more. So it has affected us adversly.

Do you have any major tie-up at the moment?
Yes, we do have some tie-ups with media publications in the job space. However given a choice we prefer to operate alone.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

According to Prof. Nicholas Stern

IIPM Admission Detail

According to Prof. Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, India Observatory, LSE, “The world needs to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 2 tonnes per capita by 2050 and India would need to do the same. Therefore, India needs to look ahead now.” Easier said than done, as – even for the Indian government – to move over to the so-called green fuels in one shot is not only prohibitively costly, but downright impractical.

Add to it the fact that carbon trading, as a concept, and as a monetary unit, still lacks global acceptance. Said Bill Sneyd, Director, Advisory Services, The Carbon Neutral Company to 4Ps B&M, “There is still a lot of volatility associated with the carbon price. This is caused primarily by the economic downturn – the expectation is that there will be lower demand for Allowances under the EU-ETS because companies are contracting (or at least not growing as fast as was expected).” Add to it the fact that there have been growing voices in the EU that post 2012, India and China should be restricted from trading in the carbon market unless they also take mandatory sector-wise energy efficiency targets. Clearly, unless Indian companies learn the art of being as unethical as developed economies and their companies have been, perhaps India will continue getting carbon-date raped!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Lost in childhood memories

IIPM Admission Detail

Games is another media that has given a blow to the comics industry, for comics are a great source of gaming content. “Comics, with the right story line and characterisation, can make a great premise for a game,” says Salil Bhargava, CEO, Jump Games Pvt. Ltd. For instance, in the past Jump has created the hugely popular mobile games based on Virgin Comics’ Shakti series – Devi, Sadhu & Ramayan 3392 AD.

All this combined is painting the print comics industry red. Sales of popular comic books have registered negative growth during the past few years. Statistics for 2005 show that Tinkle, one of the leading children’s magazine of Amar Chitra Katha, went down to 40,000 copies a month from one lakh a year back. Diamond Comics too suffered a similar fate as sales dropped from a good 25 lakh copies a month to 14-15 lakh copies a month. Another possible reason for the decline in sales is the marketing expenses. There has hardly been any kind of a promotional event or advertising exercise or workshops that could evince interest in kids and parents alike. “The cost involved to create comic books is no more simpler with the artist fee soaring, with heavy job opportunities available through media & animation,” comments Clifford.

So, what is the way out for our beloved colourful characters in the comic strips? Giving the characters a Bollywood touch is one way perhaps. The Indian psyche always react to their on-screen idols. Having them as comic characters would in fact give our old comic strips a fresh and contemporary look. Also with the Bollywood craze increasing abroad, the comic book industry could actually benefit from the huge NRI fan base of actors scattered worldwide. The industry should also look at the rich heritage of mythology and folklore that our country has. “We need to tap them through comics rather than trying to imitate the western super heroes alone. There has to be an even blend to suit the palates of today’s consumers. The style has to be adapted to tell the story the way world wants. We also need to have strong domestic comic themes and characters to sustain longer and face competition,” says Ramaprasad. A potential market that has so far been neglected is hinterland India. The huge rural populace is still addicted to their daily dose of comics. “Using information channels and media, the comic industry guys should tap the big potential in rural and regional market, especially for low cost titles,” advises a senior illustrator in the comic industry.

Be that as it may, our comic book makers need to sit up and re-look at their business models, and ensure that the joy of reading comics does not get lost in oblivion in the future.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

A FIELD DAY FOR THE MEN

IIPM, GURGAON

The US banking sector isn’t for the boys anymore and the going may not be easy even for banks that avoided the sub prime trap, but lack scale. Time for critical decisions, says sunanda roy of 4Ps B&M

Just pick them up if your ‘chopsticks’ (read: financial strength) are strong enough! That’s the scene today at the breakfast tables of banking giants that managed to ride the turmoil; because fallen banking giants who have been swept of their feet by the financial storm, make for easy pickings today...

“Wall Street’s leading investment banks have either disappeared or been transformed by the credit crisis,” state Patrick Armstrong and Morgan McGowan, Assistant Economists at Moody’s Economy.com. At the beginning of 2008, there were five major US investment banks that did not also have commercial banking operations: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. The first two have now become bank holding companies, subject to greater regulatory scrutiny and tighter restrictions on their activities. Bear Stearns was sold to JP Morgan Chase in a deal brokered by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department in March. Lehman Brothers was forced to declare bankruptcy, and Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch. More recently, of course, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are locked in a takeover battle for Wachovia. The US banking system, which was highly fragmented for a long time, has seen enormous consolidation as a fallout of the credit crisis. “Four of the top 15 financial institutions in terms of market capitalisation in the S&P 500 stock index at the beginning of the year have gone away in recent weeks and we may see some more going away,” intimated Neena Mishra, Senior Banking Analyst, Zacks Investment Research. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, which collectively held 21.4% of the country’s deposits at the end of last year, now hold 31.3% of the deposits. At the beginning of the year, Bank of America was at the top of the list, with a market cap of $183 billion; it’s now in second place with $138 billion. JP Morgan Chase was in the third place at the beginning of the year, but has moved up to the first with $141 billion market cap.

JP Morgan entered the current downturn in a sound capital position and with significantly fewer problem assets than its peers. It has been taking advantage of its relative strength by picking up assets cheaply. The bank also benefits from better goodwill with creditors, counter parties, and even government officials. “JP Morgan indeed appears to be among the relatively limited number of banks that have the capital strength and competitive position to absorb such transactions”, feels Gregory T. Siegel, Equity Analyst, Credit Suisse.

We may see further consolidation in the banking space as bigger players seek to build up their position and may be assisted by regulators in doing so, as we observed in the past few deals. Ultimately, we will see the US banking scenario dominated by the few survivors. For consumers, it would mean lesser bargaining power but also the convenience of a wider array of offerings from one shop. JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup have all bulked up recently. They are all large depositories and all universal banks at this point. “Goldman and Morgan are still pure investment banks, but in a new regulatory structure. It would not be surprising to see them evolve more towards the universal banking model,” added Matthew. With recent deals, it looks as though we may be headed towards a meaningful consolidation wave of US banks. Smaller banks may find it harder to continue alone, while strong larger banks may stand to benefit. Stronger medium-sized banks could conceivably migrate higher to larger-bank status, given the likelihood of a fewer number of large global banks. “In general, we’re seeing the ultimate triumph of the commercial banking model,” opined James Kim - Editor in Chief - Finance, FierceMarkets.
Moreover, banking power will now be concentrated in the hands of a few large banks, notably the big three JP Morgan, Bank of America & Citigroup. The rest, will, of course face the critical choice of whether they should look to make a giant leap; or wait for the right set of chopsticks!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

A real mover & shaker

IIPM, GURGAON

With 25% share of the online ad pie, Interactive Avenues has big names in its kitty

When a company wants to advertise using traditional media like print or TVC, the obvious choices are the JWTs and Rediffusions of the ad world. But with alternate media forms like digital, online, OOH, et al, becoming more popular the very same companies look at new agencies with expertise in the new media forms. Although online advertising accounts for just 1% of the $5 billion advertising market, it has still become a favourite place for agencies to park their moolah. Interactive Avenues, which started shop in 2006, is a self-proclaimed specialist in offering creative digital marketing solutions to advertisers and marketers. In its two years of existence, the agency has cornered almost 25% of the online advertising pie in India.

With over 200 digital marketing campaigns for biggies like ICICI, AOL, Future Bazaar, Colgate Palmolive, Reliance ADAG, Tata Mutual Fund and ITC Foods, Interactive Avenues has a successful track record, thanks to its presence across all verticals, making it a full service digital agency, wherein all digital services are housed under one roof – from media services to creative, from search marketing to social media optimisation, from SEO to analytics. “Our aim is to be a leader in each aspect of digital marketing, be it creative, display or search on the Internet and mobile,” states Anjali Hegde, Co-Founder & VP, Interactive Avenues.

Interactive Avenues took advantage of being a first mover in the digital marketing arena & had received funds from Sequoia Capital India to boost its business. The agency works as a consultant and partners with clients to ensure that their business objectives are achieved using digital media. The idea is to provide value added counsel with the advertisers and publishers, in order to participate in the overall marketing process of the companies. In 2007, Interactive Avenues created ‘Attack of Germosaurus’ viral campaign for promoting Oral Health Month, Travelguru ‘Reserved for You’ campaign, etc. The agency has a number of firsts to its credit – country’s first digital Agency of Record with ICICI Bank, first Google Video ad & first honoree at Webby Award. All this has given Interactive Avenues an edge over others.

What’s more? With the number of Internet users increasing in millions, Internet search along with display will add many zeroes to the agency’s profit figures. Asserts Hegde, “Our pitching strategy is generally centered on one big idea, which would provide the most creative solution to the client’s marketing objective. We also take a long term view of the business to ensure that the ideas presented are cost effective, scalable & sustainable. We go after clients, who in the long term, would benefit from the digital space. All our plans are directed towards becoming a dominant player of the digital ad market, when it becomes 10% of the total ad market.”

What makes Interactive Avenues stand apart from others in the same genre is its ability to help advertisers understand the true potential of the digital medium. “It feels really great when advertisers and publishers take pride in our work,” adds Hegde. Well, now you know that there is a thinking agency that aims to help advertisers meet their ‘Business Objectives’ using digital media.

Neha Saraiya

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Getting ready for a brand blitz? Wait...

4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007

Typically, the bigger the brand, the more the chances of it being picked up by counterfeiters to copy, fake and sell. From shampoo, batteries, auto components, clothes to DVDs-CDs, prescription drugs and electrical equipments, every product in every industry is vulnerable. Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Executive Director and Deputy CEO of Mount Everest Mineral Water Limited (another bottled water brand facing the onslaught of smart fabricators) explains, “The counterfeit market is impacting not only companies and their consumer base but also affects the country’s growth.” Incidentally, the government is losing over Rs.9 billion every year, due to sales tax accruals from such unauthentic products.

Market watchers confirm that highly popular and advertised brands are the most likely victims of counterfeiting or piracy, targeted because of their demand and the ‘aspirational’ tag attached to them. The FMCG sector is reportedly losing Rs. 80 billion every year due to counterfeiting, where as SIAM estimates the size of the counterfeit auto parts industry at between Rs.44-63 billion. Says Zaheer Khan, Chairman, EIPR: “Companies spend huge amounts on advertising to increase market share by 1-2%. Anyone losing 10-20% share due to counterfeiting is a huge revenue loss.” Adds Aakash Taneja, Executive Director, Institute of Intellectual Property, FICCI, “Estimates suggest that Bollywood alone suffers losses to the tune of Rs.30 billion every year with films alone suffering Rs.20 billion annually to piracy.” The black market for pirated software in India stands at a whopping $1.275 billion. You do the math!

On their part, more often than not, companies turn a blind eye. After all, imitation is the best form of flattery, right? And if only 2-3% counterfeiting of your brand is there, you wouldn’t bother. But Khan says that it’s important to have checks and balances. “Counterfeits can never stop, but can be brought down to manageable limits. Limits can be defined by brand-owners only,” he says.

Vedavalli Rangan, Industry Manager, ICT Practice, Technical Insights, Frost & Sullivan adds that while in the short run, imitation may seem the best form of flattery (seemingly enhancing brand awareness), “in the long run, the company loses out on its brand image.” The impact is felt largely in rural parts of the country, as illiteracy and low-awareness makes identification of brands synonymous with their packaging. The task of the fake manufacturers becomes explicitly easier in such cases, as they retain similar packaging with minor name modifications - a la Bonds for Ponds, Flair and Lovely for Fair & Lovely, Abibas for Adidas, et al.

The government, investigation agencies and IPR enforcers are making best efforts to track and tackle the menace, but in a country boasting a huge and diverse market, not to mention a less-than-stellar record of coordination among enforcement agencies, the counterfeit industry is flourishing and how. Entrepreneurs like Komla and Das are being born every day. And while the trendy marketer can hardly afford to shun advertising, the only solution in sight appears to be further strengthening brand awareness, reach and penetration, so consumers are not taken in by ‘Demin’ instead of Denim!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!
IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...