Lalu's way to nirvana: Take a train

MANAGEMENT GURU

After reviving loss making railways and teaching BSchool grads a thing or two about management, Lalu Prasad Yadav is on a new mission these days. From the land of Buddha himself, Lalu recently flagged off a luxury train which traverses through prominent Buddhist pilgrim centres across India and Nepal. Christened ‘Mahaparinirvana Special’, the train starts from Delhi tracing Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Varanasi, Shravasti and Lumbini in Nepal along with hitting Taj Mahal & Fathepur Sikri during the week long journey. The measure is believed to give a boost to tourism and to the cash registers of Railways. Fully AC with all comforts, the fair falls in the range of $80-$150 varying according to class & season.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Queen of the Oscars too?

MANAGEMENT GURU

There is something about Helen Mirren that makes her portray the royalty so honestly and intricately that one can’t help but wonder if she’s as blue-blooded as the characters she plays! The Queen premiered shortly after her Emmy for playing the title role in Elizabeth I, a television mini-series, and apart from her striking resemblance to Her Majesty, she offers an insight into the thoughts and emotions running behind her stoic silence post the demise of Princess Diana in this movie. Aft r its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Helen Mirren’s performance earned her a five-minute standing ovation and ever since, praise has poured in from all over the globe to applaud her potent performance. A three-time Academy Award nominated actress, we say Dame Helen Mirren should win the Best Actress in a Lead Role hands-down!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

May the best party win...

MANAGEMENT GURU

...and if that's the case, neither the Congress nor the SAD would qualify!
Election rhetoric in Punjab is getting shriller with every passing day. As the D-day (May 10) approaches, the state is witnessing unprecedented heat in the wintry months. Both Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress are fully geared up to woo the electorate. By raising the corruption issue against the Akalis, the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, is desperately trying to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat'. On the other hand, SAD leader Prakash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbeer Singh Badal, are up in arms against the Congress government for its dismal performance on all fronts. Riding on the chariot of populism, the SAD-BJP alliance promises to provide wheat at the rate of Rs.4 and pulses at Rs.20 a kilo.

The emotive issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna link is conspicuously absent from the election debate. Initially, SAD (Badal) had attacked Congress on the issue, but later on, in many of the election rallies in Muktsar and Bhatinda districts, no mention was made about the water dispute. Interestingly, even the Chief Minister had once mentioned that “we will die but not let even a single drop of water go outside Punjab." However, when the state Governer Motilal Vora said that he will abide by the Supreme Court ruling, the Punjab CM went mum.

The state is currently in deep economic doldrums. With a financial crisis knocking at the doors; state industries in red and farmers crying out for help, the mood is certainly sombre. Both Amarinder Singh and Prakash Singh Badal need to ponder over the mess they have created through mindless policies, and depriving people the benefits of good governance.

Edit bureau: Vikash Kumar

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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The Juggernaut Rolls

IIPM PUBLICATION

How about buying insurance along with vegetables? Well, soon you will be able to find insurance policies making their way to Reliance Fresh supermarket; originally meant for fresh fruits and vegetables. The idea is to extract maximum value out of the retail stores. With an elephantine investment of Rs.250 billion, Mukesh Ambani is all set to alter the Indian retail landscape. Till date, the company has opened over 40 stores across Hyderabad, Jaipur & Chennai and recently opened nine stores in the national capital region. Reliance Retail is expected to open the hypermarts in the first quarter of the new financial year. The move, if successful, will seal Ambani’s success in the retail domain. However, Reliance Retail is not going to have a smooth ride as almost all top business houses are lining up with their retail plans and also the old blood like Pantaloons, Subhiksha et al, are gearing up for the big retail war. If the company is able to duplicate what it did in other sectors, Reliance Retail is slated to be a behemoth in itself.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Manmohan Shetty, Founder and Chief Managing Director, Adlabs

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Truly, while radio might be Adlabs’ baby, its first offspring (film processing) continues to give an annual growth of 11% – the company controls an eye-plopping 80% of the film processing businesses in Western India. Adlabs diversified into processing of movies in 1989 and into film exhibition in 2001, bringing in the multiplex culture and in the process proving many questioning critics wrong. Ever since Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, through ADAG, took a stake in Adlabs last year, the perception of Adlabs has changed within the minds of Indians to be not just a typical sole proprietorship, but way beyond that, to be a global case study of one of the best startups India has to offer.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

The original sweet and salty biscuits

IIPM PUBLICATION

Brand : Parle Krackjack
Agency : O&M
Baseline :The original sweet and salty biscuits.

Description: A man watches TV, munching Krackjack biscuits. The phone keeps ringing and wife keeps thanking various callers. The husband gets irritated; the wife tells him that it’s her birthday. He is feeling guilty for not remembering, when suddenly the doorbell rings. It’s the pizza guy. The husband pretends that he’d asked the pizza boy to get candles, and finally shoos him away. The wife catches on, but smiles. Then, both feast on Krackjack biscuits.

4ps take: How do you promote the brand value of a biscuit? Simple – just make positively addictive! In this ad, Krackjack stands for such an ‘addictive’ brand persona that people forget important things – like wife’s birthday. The storyboard is sweet and naughty, and at the same time very slice of life; and the plot weaves in the brand’s core proposition – the sweet and salty taste of Krackjack.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

Brain dead OR JUST…BRANDED?

IIPM PUBLICATION
Also in the face of all this, arises the dangerous situation whereby companies are merrily raising their axe to cut down on their brand portfolio. Unilever is reducing its brand portfolio from the current 1600 to 400 so-called ‘superbrands’ and its competitor, P&G, is increasingly focussing on its fourteen top brands out of the approximately 300! And while there may arise confusion whether deletion of brands is a healthy exercise, Professor Nirmalya Kumar, Harvard Business School conceded that, “... deletion of brands is neither straightforward, nor well-understood!” Indeed, there is no denying that killing of unprofitable brands becomes imperative, yet, there has to be clarity of vision while doing so.

So the learning remains – kill your brands if you have to... but make sure your consumers don’t mourn... Or else, it’s your company for which they’ll mourn next!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

Government can’t abdicate basic responsibilities

IIPM PUBLICATION
And so the Supreme Court has delivered its verdict: Nursery schools will not be allowed to conduct interviews of children and parents during admissions. Middle-class India and cash rich schools are in a tizzy about the alleged mess this situation will create in upwardly mobile urban India. There are darkly elitist visions of how pampered brats from rich urban families might be forced to share class rooms with children from slums and beyond. Of course, urban parents know that getting their kid admitted into the ‘right’ nursery school will almost certainly reap a rich harvest in the future. No wonder, the mainstream media that largely reflects middle-class concerns and fears, is writing reams about how the state has no right to interfere with private schools that provide excellent facilities and education. You even hear sporadic demands that the state-run schools be handed over to the private sector that will do a better job.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

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4Ps Release :- Is your car acting pricey?

IIPM PUBLICATION
Amidst New Year celebrations and reverie comes in the news of price hike from auto majors like Honda and Hyundai. Honda’s City, Accord and Civic models will fall under this strategic move, while the newly launched ‘CR-V’ will be kept out of it. The rise in prices may be upto Rs.10,000. Even Hyundai is putting a new price tag on its models including the flagship Santro, amounting to 2% increase. According to the company officials, the hike in input costs has led to the increase in prices of selected car models. And Skoda and Toyota might join the bandwagon too.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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Ridding a MIN(e) of hassles... Mutually!

IIPM PUBLICATION
The Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) recently launched the much awaited unique Mutual fund Identifi cation Number (MIN). Investors that have obtained the MIN by submitting their documents once, can get invested with any mutual fund offerings using the MIN. This will save consumers from reproducing their documents to fulfil the 'Know your Customer' norms under the SEBI guidelines, every time they approach a new fund house which will be valid for a lifetime. Those investing Rs.50,000 or more will have to obtain MIN effective from January 1, 2007. MIN which will be free of cost will be provided by CDSL Ventures Limited will keep the records for the investors.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

Guess you’ll have to watch this space to get an update!

IIPM BEST B-SCHOOL
On the client side, Snigdha Goswami of NTPC seems more generous toward such demands. “It is really a question of policy decisions that percolate from the top,” she points out, adding that since NTPC is not an FMCG in a cut-throat competitive market, the demand for cutting edge creative work is very limited, but whenever such requirements have arisen, “I am proud to say, we have paid.”

Why? “Simply because we believe that creative excellence must be recognised and applauded and what better way to demonstrate appreciation than going beyond mere lip-service and handing them a pay-cheque.” Do others agree? Guess you’ll have to watch this space to get an update!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

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An ad within an ad? Or is it?

IIPM PUBLICATION
Aby Baby may not have been able to prevent his family’s recent visit to Varanasi (with Aishwarya in tow) out of the media glare, but did you notice the way he sneaked in a MotoRazr (a brand he endorses) in an American Express TV ad? Celebs are known to promote the brands they endorse in public and in films etc., but flaunting one product in another’s ad? That’s intriguing! Of course his suave act wowed us, but the American Express ad left us wondering if the placement of the MotoRazr was as intentional as that of Abhishek himself.

When contacted by 4Ps B&M, Motorola said that though they did not have any formal deal with American Express, Abhishek did check with them if he could carry a Motorola model, since the storyline required a phone anyway... “This shows the product’s popularity and also builds up the salience of the brand,” says Lloyd Mathais, Director – Marketing, Motorola. Add to that the fact that India being a sensitive market, if audiences spot star endorsers carrying a rival brand, it does not go down well for the celebrity or the brand concerned. So when Tendulkar rolls his Fiat Palio on MRF Tyres in the former’s ad or John Abraham pours Castrol into a Yamaha bike in a Yamaha campaign, don’t blame it on mere coincidence. Guess, celebrities endorsing a series of products does come as a blessing in disguise!

Edit bureau: Surabhi Agarwal

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Malay Chaudhuri – Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

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