MARKATHON

JULY 2010
MARKETING MAGAZINE OF IIM SHILLONG VOL 2, ISSUE 4

COVER STORY
AVIATION: FLIGHT PLAN TO
THE DREAM DESTINATION
 FROM THE EDITOR profit for the first quarter ending June’10. Many of the
low cost carriers like IndiGo, SpiceJet & GoAir are going in
Dear Readers, for a major fleet expansion. Air passenger traffic has
increased by 22%. These are just some of the positive
In the past month, one major marketing news that caught
signs visible at first look. In our Cover Story we have taken
my attention was the BIG BIG decision coming from the
a close look at the airline industry in India and also how
house of Bajaj Auto. At least it was quite big according to
Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) techniques could
my judgement. If your one of them who hasn’t yet
possibly be the ideal tool that airline companies are
realised what am referring to, not to strain your grey cells
searching for to come out stronger from this lull in
too hard. Yes, am talking about their decision to drop the
business.
Bajaj brand name from both their Pulsar & Discover
brands. Henceforth they will be promoted as individual Also for the upcoming issue’s Eye to Eye section, we have
brands sans the Bajaj family name. And all new models sought your opinions on this big move of Bajaj that we
would be under the umbrella of either of these two have just discussed. Do let us know what you think and
brands. whether you agree or disagree with me!!
When I first read this news article, I
was shell shocked. To say the truth, I And finally do let us know what you think about this issue
was clean bowled as to why they and please share your views & suggestions that you think
would make such a drastic decision. would help in making Markathon bigger & better.
This was because as far as I knew,
whenever one heard the name Happy Reading.
Pulsar or Discover for that matter,
the first relation that consumers
made was to Bajaj, the age old Kaushik Subramanian
Our June 2010 brand in the field of two-wheelers.
Cover
And now, here they were having
decided to let go of the rich and immense brand value
and trust that had been earned over aeons.
THE MARKATHON TEAM
The reasoning given was that the Brand Promise and
Target Group of both these brands were at two extremes EDITOR
of the spectrum and hence should not be continued to be Kaushik Subramanian
looked upon as a part of the same family.

Coming to think of it, it makes sense logically. But as an SUB EDITORS

end consumer it will take quite some time for me to come Debanjana Sinha
to terms with the fact that they are disassociating the
illustrious and close to heart Bajaj brand name from their
Samita Patnaik
two biggest selling brands. Only time can tell whether this Samrat Singh Yadav
bold move will pay dividends or otherwise. Saurabh Kumar Sinha
Continuing to keep the topic of discussion i.e. means of Varshik Nimmagadda
transportation, let’s get airborne now!! Yes, you guessed
it right. This issue’s Cover Story focuses on the Indian CREATIVE DESIGNERS
airline industry. Off late, the airline industry has been all Keshav Sahani
glum and sorrowful, what with all the recession, rising oil
prices and ballooning debts. Bankers have proposed
Priyanka Pandit
restructuring the debt of major airlines in a bid to help
them out. The scenario looks like it can’t get any better.
But all is not lost just yet. Both Spice Jet & Jet Airways
have reported profits and Kingfisher Airlines a narrower

2
 Markathon | July 2010

CONTENTS

PERSPECTIVE I
Customer, the New Marketer 4
INDU MAHAPATRA, SOUMYASANKHA MAITI | XIMB

PERSPECTIVE II
Who Disrupts the Disruptor? 6
ASIT KUMAR JAIN | VENTURE ANALYST, INNOSIGHT VENTURES
DESIGNED BY: SOMJEET BEHERA | IIM S

PRODUCTOLYSIS
Pepsodent Kids 8
DEBDIPTA MAJUMDAR | BIM TRICHY

COVER STORY
Aviation-Flight Plan to the Dream Destination
SHWETA SRIVASTAVA, DEBANJANA SINHA | IIM S
11
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Temples Go the Corporate Way 15

markathon
AKHIL VINAIK, BIJAL DANI | NMIMS

EYE TO EYE
Do you think the brand revamp that Star Plus has 19
gone in for will be successful?
SANDEEPKUMAR A.|WELINGKAR BENGALURU, BHAVESH KOTHARI
WELINGKAR MUMBAI

COMPETITION
Silent Voice
SAMSUNG 3D LED TV
20
UPDATES
SRIA MAJUMDAR| IIM S 22

3
 Perspective
Customer, the new Marketer
Indu Mahapatra & Soumyasankha Maiti | XIMB
A prize money of Rs. 50 lakh and 1% on the turnover:
this is the new promo campaign for anyone who comes
up with a hit new flavour for Lays. This is in essence
the idea of Co-Creation wherein you are involving the
consumer (one of the stake holders) of your product
into its development.
If winter comes can spring be far behind? So almost at
the same time Bingo asked people to create games,
quizzes et al, around the theme “Bingo har angle se
mmm..”. It got the wackiest of responses from someone
suggesting George Bush should say “I’m sending Bingo
ChilliDhamaka to Iraq”, and not bombs; to a blind man
seeing with his mind’s eye how “yummy” the chips
were.
The new trend is to use the global brainpower to
develop new products, new commercials, and new
virals – whatever a global brainstorming to solve your
problems.Every solution has a reward and big
corporation is asking Innocentive
(Innovation+Incentive) for help.
Customer is the Designer
‘Customer is the King’ not only in terms of purchasing
power and negotiation, customers are now contributing
everywhere; starting from creating ad campaigns,
product or service development contests, co-creating
for the corporations by tapping into their intellectual
capital, who in exchange give them a direct say in what
actually gets produced, manufactured, developed,
designed, serviced, or processed. Consumerism will
never be the same.
P&G realised it, when the then CEO, A.G. Lafley, found
that he was running out of ideas and it was getting
impossible to keep up with the demands of consumers.
P&G’s Connect + Develop were launched to ask
customers to help. Its “Pringles Prints”, where
interesting things were printed directly on the chips was
launched at almost no cost & in no time. Through
‘Connect’, it found a small bakery in Italy which could
do the job for them, proving cheaper & faster than
developing the process in-house.
Markathon | July 2010
And the results so far have been amzing, to say the
least: everything, from Swiffer Wet Jet, Olay Daily
Facials, Crest Whitestrips & Night Effects, to Mr. Clean
Autodry, Kandoo baby wipes and Lipfinity.
Customer Incentives
Most companies are trying to translate the enthusiasm
of their most highly-engaged customers into valuable
marketing. For the customers it can be any of the
following:
•Status: people love to be seen; love to show off their
creative skills and thinking
•Bespoke lifestyle: something consumers have been
personally involved in should guarantee goods, services
and experiences that are tailored to their needs
•Cold hard cash: getting a well deserved reward or
even a profit cut for helping a company develop The
Next Big Thing is irresistible
•Employment: in an almost ironic twist, customer-
made is turning out to be a great vehicle for finding
employment, as it helps companies recruit their next in-
house designer, guerrilla advertising agency or brilliant
strategist
•Fun and involvement:there's pleasure and satisfaction
to be derived from making and creating, especially for
brands one loves, likes or at least feels empathy for
How different is it?
Unlike most advertisements which furnish the
consumers with all the information about the products,
mob marketing ensures consumers get involved with
the brand and have a feel of it. Consumers today are
often well informed and selling them ideas extolling
brands may eventually end up pushing the customer
away. It is difficult now to influence consumers purely
by overwhelming them with information and ‘nice’
advertisements.
15
 Perspective
For Example, At the Apple’s iTune’s store, user-created
playlists enable customers to upload their favorite
music selections and share them with others, who can
then buy the songs if they like. Then there is the open
marriage between customer-made and user-generated
content. The four-year-old South Korean online
newspaper OhMyNews works with 26,000 'citizen
reporters', who send in stories and pictures to make up
80% of its content. OhMyNews pays up to USD 20 per
article, though for many citizen reporters, getting their
name in the paper is the real reward. Fiercely
outspoken, it has successfully challenged the
traditionally conservative press in South Korea.
Effectiveness of the medium
This form of communication with the people makes
them feel involved with the brand. If companies create
enough buzz about such campaigns then the rest of the
promotions can be carried out word of mouth, helping
companies cut down their advertising costs. Thus
brands can register in the ‘Top of the Mind’ of the
consumers and also drive sales.
The Electrolux Design Lab 2005 saw entries from 3,058
design students from 88 countries where they had to
design household appliances for the year 2020. 12
finalists participated in a six-day design event in
Stockholm, including workshops, model building and a
competition for cash-awards, & appliances etc.
Core 77, the industrial design site, teamed up with
Timex for a global design competition called Timex2154:
The Future of Time to celebrate Timex's 150th
anniversary. Designers from more than 72 countries
explored and visualized personal and portable
timekeeping 150 years into the future, with over 640
entries.
New Trend
Crowd sourcing seems to be a
profitable model for businesses.
“Innocentive” uses
the global brainpower
to develop new
products, new
Markathon | July 2010
commercials and new virals; a global brainstorming to
solve your problems – can you beat that? Every solution
has a reward and big corporations (P&G used
Innocentive to launch Pringles print) are turning to
Innocentive for help.
Moving past contests and gifts, this is where it gets
really interesting: co-creators receive a cut of profits
from whatever gets developed based on their input,
suggestions, design or ideas.
Danish ‘Vores’ (‘Our Beer’) claims to be the world's first
open-source beer. The recipe and the entire brand are
published under a Creative Commons license, meaning
anyone can use ‘Vores’ recipe to brew the beer or to
create a derivative. As long as home brewers publish
the recipe under the same license, they’re free to make
money from their effort, which includes free access to
‘Vores’ design and branding elements.
Conclusion
But with the gap between traditional business practices
and truly empowered consumers now reaching
significant proportions, the ‘Customer is Designer’ trend
will only accelerate, moving from the fringes to
mainstream. In fact, ‘Customer is Designer’ may turn
out to be one of the most exciting and long term
engines behind change and innovation that the world of
business has seen in years: a way of thinking that has
the power to redefine the relationship between
customer and brand, between consumer and producer,
something that taps into the most awesome reservoir
of intellectual capital ever assembled.
So, what is the future for the ‘Customer is Designer’
revolution? Maybe Customer-owned? As the number of
‘Customer is Designer’ initiatives grows exponentially,
savvy members of generation will demand serious
compensation; if not a fair percentage of whatever it is
they've co-created. Soon, a simple iPod in exchange for
designing the firm's Next Big Thing just won't do. Also
expect a slew of intermediaries coordinating millions of
knowledge exchanges between producers and
consumers, from talent brokers to project managers.
16
 Perspective
Who disrupts the disruptor?
ASIt Kumar jain | venture analyst, innosight ventures
We can all recall the Aamir Khan Starrer “Thanda
Matlab Coca-Cola” campaign which was a genuine
attempt by Coca-cola to reinforce its leadership in the
cola market. Similarly Pepsi tried hard to match Coca
Cola through its Youngistan and now the My Game
campaign. But can these leaders with their marketing
ploys survive the onslaught of time and virtual
competition!!! In the language of value & volume they
might be the largest, but hang on; we really don’t know
the size of the unorganised (beverage) market thriving
at every nook and corner of the country. The article is
nothing about numbers or ranking, but unravelling a
new development taking place at the
bottom of the market. It’s a fight
between two unorganised disruptors
which ultimately confirms a theory
that a disruptive substitute is always
replaced by another disruptor. Let’s
see how it goes…
The beverage market at least in India
has gone through lots of ups and
downs. It’s simply because it is not yet
the replacement of water as is the
case in the western market. Unable to
change the behaviour of Indians,
consequently all major cola
companies began to sell packaged
drinking water. As a result they have
begun eating away the market share of Bisleri. Many
liquor manufacturers are also following their footsteps.
(It’s better to sell plain water with more profit then the
colored spirit with lots of regulations). But still their
biggest competitor is not just water, but many other
beverages sold locally, by unnamed manufacturer.
Think of their
Unable to change the volume/value
of sales in
behaviour of Indians,
India’s tier 2
consequently all major cola
and tier 3 cities
companies began to sell
and you will
packaged drinking
packaged drinking water.
water definitely get a
feel of their
presence. I am not advocating that they are as big as
Markathon | July 2010
the branded ones, but they have the capacity to disrupt
these incumbents. When packaged water made its
entry into India, people were skeptical about its survival
but now every other manufacturer is making money
and they have also started serving Himalayan glacier
water to us Indians! But do they know how susceptible
they are to disruptors?
After the entry of the packaged drinking water which is
served at around rupees 10 per bottle, there was one
similar entry focused only for the people at the bottom
of the market. These were water pouches, a sachet
cousin of shampoos and masalas. Although they are
unfriendly to environment (plastic
pollution), they have followed a
perfect path of disruption and so are
the ones who disrupted them, about
whom I will explain later So these
water pouch manufacturers started in
very small scale, selling only in their
localities. The big brands took a notice
of the development but chose to
ignore it, since it was not hurting their
customer base. There was only Bisleri
and some other brands which were
available in the road side shops and
railway stations and Bisleri even
became synonymous with bottled
water. But the pouch manufacturer
without bleeding, continuously served the bottom of
the pyramid (1 rupee pouch) and raked in enough
capital to march into the next phase of disruption. They
started manufacturing bottled water and served the
local market. The transportation as well as marketing
cost worked in their
favour as compared to
the branded one’s,
eventually which they
passed on to the retailer.
The retailer was happy
enough to sell the local
bottle water making
double the profit as
compared to selling a
6
 Perspective Markathon | July 2010

branded one that too at a low price point. The We can rightly equate the development of bottled
consumer too was happy enough to take away the local water industry with the theory explained above. Now
product in the name of Bisleri (bottle water = Bisleri). So they have started selling mineral water (an expensive
what I found is nothing but a trail of disruption working product). Again, the branded players may be growing at
over the years to challenge the incumbents. As double digits but their local colleagues are not way
explained by Clayton Christensen, the distinguished behind. Certainly a time will come when they will be left
professor of Harvard and the one who coined the term with no other option but to acquire these local units at
Disruptive Innovation, disruption works whenever there sky rocketing prices to quench their thirst for
are underserved or overshot customers. It works in the profitability.
way as explained below:
Similarly for the cola companies there are disruptors as
1) The incumbent ignores the entrant as their well, but not working in the right direction. Rather they
customer base is not affected have become a disruptor to the water pouch industry.
2) Rather it gives space to the entrant to grow, as These are again locally manufactured soda water or
serving the bottom of the market is less sweet water available at similar price point
profitable to the water pouches.
3) It moves upward serving more profitable Recently I found that
customers giving the less profitable ones to the water pouches were
new entrants being banned in one of
4) In the mean while the entrant with a very cost the major city of Orissa
effective business model makes profit and and the biggest
passes through a techno-managerial beneficiaries of this
development development were not
5) It goes up-market and starts serving the the bottled water
customer base of incumbent with simplicity, manufacturer but these
affordability and convenience local made soda/sweet
6) The customer responds to the call of the water companies who were
entrant and the incumbent does nothing but certainly a weak disruptor to the cola companies, but
again flees up market for better profitability finally worked somewhere.
with very high quality products and the race
continues till the other calls it quit.

markathon 7
 Productolysis
Pepsodent Kids
DebDipta Majumdar | BIM Trichy
Pepsodent has established itself as a strong, reliable
brand commanding the second place in terms of
market share next to Colgate from Colgate-Palmolive
Ltd. The product line of Pepsodent is wide spread right
from lower end to the higher end addressing the basic
needs of decay protection & advanced whitening to
specific medical needs with Pepsodent G gum care and
Pepsodent Sensitive. The customer expectations of the
toothpaste market are good taste, fresh breath, clean
teeth, more foam and proper cleaning.
Children are influencing around 41% of the total
purchases in the total consumer market and children
are permitted to make decisions in 65% of the total
purchases in the toothpaste purchases. In this case
ideally, a product for the children, launched properly
should be a runaway success. Realizing this, Pepsodent
introduced Pepsodent Kids and Pepsodent Junior in
November 2007. Contrary to the expectations,
Pepsodent Kids did not taste success. Colgate’s Bubble
Fruit is the direct competitor of Pepsodent Kids.
Pepsodent Kids comes with an attractive squeeze down
pack in attractive colors with three variants, namely -
1. Barbie (pink color)
2. Superman (Blue color)
3. Tom & Jerry (Orange color)
Product Strategy
Retailer observations for product improvement mainly
involve two factors:
1. Size of the Pack
2. Color Variants
Small sized packs
As against the popular notion of high price of the
Pepsodent Kids, the market can be sustained based on
the exclusivity of the product for the Kids. Indeed the
high pricing of Pepsodent Kids as observed in survey is
not real but a perception created by its ‘Pack Size’.
Markathon | July 2010
Analyzing the competitor Colgate’s Bubble Fruit pricing
strategy sheds light on the same as given below.
Product Weight(Gms.) Price(Rs)
Pepsodent Kids 80 45
Colgate’s Bubble Fruit 40 22
As it can be observed, the pricing is not high but it is the
pack size that gives them that impression. Tooth Paste
Customers (Parents) can be classified into:
1. Informed Customer - the one who looks into the
details deep into the contents of the product
even that is not communicated by the marketer.
2. Un-Informed Customer - An uninformed customer is
one who doesn’t look into all the details.
 Alternatives
To take the product to the masses, the competitor
reference prices in the minds of the customer must be
made comparable. In other words, Price need not be
reduced but the Pack Size can be reduced. Two inherent
advantages in this approach are:
• The uninformed customers’ views that the product
is in the same price as others.
• The informed consumer who may be price
conscious will try to use it.
An average Indian family of 3 members uses single 80
grams pack for a month. Introducing 80gms pack in the
child segment might not be well received because there
is only one consumer in place of 3. The size of the family
usually determines the quantity of the toothpaste
bought and in our case the number of kids in the family
forms another important factor.
Hence, reducing the size of the pack may be a viable
and apt option to increase the children toothpaste
market share.
8
 Productolysis Markathon | July 2010

Color Variants
It’s been a proven fact that children are attracted to
bright colors more than the dull dark colors. The
variants available in the market are Tom & Jerry
(Orange Packs), Barbie (Pink Packs) and Superman (Dark
Blue Packs). By the sales figures in the retail outlets, it
was seen that the children respond positively only to
first two variants.
the advertisements. But in either case, the stress will be
higher only when the product has established its
footprint in the child’s mind.
In the second stage Decider or Ultimate Buyer, the
parent analyzes the products safety and whether it is
good for the child’s health. Based on their inferences
and the level of urge by the child they decide to buy the
product.

 Alternatives Retailers strongly feel that the ‘urge’ from children is

• Attractive colors can be introduced to keep children missing in the case of Pepsodent Kids. Hence the
pulled in to try the new variants every time. marketing strategy must be targeted in two directions –
• Special limited editions during festive seasons & towards the children and the parent.
holidays can be sold to increase revenue.
 Alternatives
New cartoon characters in the current day channels • Colorful television commercials featuring cartoon
(Jetix, Cartoon Network etc.) can be added as new characters of interest for current generation
variants. By the TRP ratings, children are found to watch children.
Jetix channel’s Power rangers show more and form a • At the same time, Newspaper/Television
potentially attractive market for the new variant. commercials must convince the parents that the
Moreover, each character in the power rangers can product is effective and makes brushing fun for
form a pack design adding more income to the sales children.
figure through the collectors’ series.
Pepsodent has already established trust in the minds of
An additional survey conducted among the children of customers as a total family toothpaste. The time of
age 10-14 years indicated that children tend to telecast of the two advertisements and the programs
remember the swadeshi products more than the which need to be sponsored should be different for two
foreign products. They are able to remember Ruf & Tuf sets of
jeans though the kids watch Lee and Wrangler advertisements.
advertisements more. Creating paste for our own Indian
The one which
characters like Krish or Mowgli in Jungle Book may be
aims at the
more appealing to children.
mothers must
Marketing Strategy be telecasted
during day
First, the child, the consumer watches the hours and
advertisement, urges the mother or father for the sponsoring the
ownership of the same, parents verifies whether it is vernacular TV
safe and purchases for the child.

Alternatively a child can get

impressed by the product
attractiveness, on visiting a retail
outlet or through his friends in
school. The urge may come at first
sight or because of the impact of

9
 Productolysis
Serial shows will help the product. The message can be
“Mummy, my mouth tastes sweet and look my teeth
shines like silver.”
The other aimed at the children must be telecasted in
Cartoon Network, Jetix, Animax and others. Thus, the
marketing strategy gets tuned to winning the child’s
heart and parent’s trust at the same time.
More than the Survey
In an FMCG industry, any consumer contact with
theproduct/brand initiates a communication between
the product and
consumer/custome
rs.The following
personal
suggestions
derived from the
survey, emphasis
on the way the
product is
presented to the
end customers.
“Pepsodent Junior” and “Pepsodent Kids” can be
bundled together. Pepsodent Junior launched along
with the Pepsodent Kids is moving well in the market.
Pepsodent Junior can be bundled with the Pepsodent
Kids in a small total dental solution kit.
1. The kit can be introduced along with a “Kids Stand”
to hold only the Pepsodent Kids toothpaste and
toothbrush in sockets. The sockets must be made to
hold only the Pepsodent products.
2. The Kids Stand can be introduced in variety of
themes matching different characters. The kit can
also contain a booklet/ sheet depicting a small story
or characters description. The children view these
as their toy and also feel proud of owning it.
3. Children generally use the toothbrush for 3 months
but the toothpaste gets over in a month considering
40 gm pack. Hence once the tooth paste gets over,
children refill the socket with Pepsodent Kids
toothpaste in that place.
Markathon | July 2010
Promotional Strategy
Every children’s product has to be promoted not only
through TV commercials but also from non-
conventional events. A nation/State wide drawing
competition can be organized for children of classes 1
to 7 standard. The competition can be conducted only
to the children belonging to upper class, upper middle
class and middle class families i.e., in the schools in
which they study. The competition can be conducted in
district levels, state levels and national levels. Prizes can
be characters in the Kids series or the Pepsodent Kids
Kit itself.
This campaign must
be supported with a
newspaper campaign
and the combined
cost will be lesser
than a TV campaigns.
The school
management will
support the initiative
since such initiatives bring out the inborn talents of the
children.
Display pattern
During the personal interviews with the store managers
and the assistants, it is noticed that in some stores that
the product is not actually displayed at a height easily
assessable to the children. In a research for consumer
browsing pattern of the products done with help of eye
cameras fitted in the goggles, it is found that the adults
mainly look at the products at the level between their
chest and hip and the children at their eye level. Adults
do not generally look at the products at their eye level.
HUL’s sales representative must be informed to ensure
the product placement at a height range of 110cms to
130cms. This enables easy identification of the product
needs by the children and they urge their parent to buy.
CONCLUSION
By following this marketing strategy we can bring up the
sales and market share of Pepsodent Kids in no time.
10
Cover Story Markathon | July 2010

Aviation
Flight Plan to the Dream Destination
Shweta Srivastava, Debanjana Sinha | IIM S
The first quarter of 2010 brought some good news to the Indian airlines industry.
According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), domestic air travel in
India has reported growth of 20% in the first quarter of 2010. After the double-
digit fall in traffic in the first quarter of 2009, this means that passenger numbers
are up around 7% in Q1, 2010. India’s domestic traffic slump began in June 2008
and it eroded the bottom line of almost all the carriers and led to industry
consolidation. Battling rising Airline Turbine Fuel costs, excessive low cost carrier
challenge, errant employee unions and political interference, the dream destination
for this sector looks quite far.

Image courtesy: aschiontry 11

 Cover Story
The 9th largest market in the world, the aviation
industry in India is one of those sectors that saw a
constant pace of growth among the other industries in
the world over the past many years. One of the most
dynamic industries, it has witnessed an exponential
growth over the last two decades. Ever since the
government’s open sky policy was implemented, the
industry trudged on a growth path registering y-o-y
growth rate as high as 18% resulting in the entrance of
many overseas players. For some time, it seemed that
the fairy tale will never end.
Then the recession came and the aviation sector that
witnessed a double digit growth in recent years began
resorting to rationalisation. Private Indian airlines,
which in the past had experienced massive growth,
started demanding a “bailout” in the form of reduction
in taxes and airport charges etc from the government
and even threatened to ground their planes if their
demands were not met. A case that needs special
mention in this context is that of Air India. The
Maharaja piled up accumulated losses of over Rs 7,000
crore and debt exceeding Rs 16,000 crore. As a result, it
was forced to cut salaries and cancel order for new jets.
The situation got so grave that it headed for a major
government sponsored restructuring, after being
denied bailout. Joining it, among others, were
Kingfisher Airlines, IndiGo and SpiceJet, with
accumulated losses of Rs 2,444 crore in 2007-08 and
expected to stay in the red in 2008-09 with losses of
over Rs 10,000 crore. The following two figures show
the current condition of the Airlines Industry.
Source: Airport Autho rity India, DGCA
Markathon | July 2010
Source: DGCA
Challenges are many and problems need to be
overcome. The current status speaks high of the sad
plight the industry is in, but we would like to list some
reasons as to why I think the industry will revive and be
among the top 5 aviation markets in 5 years.
Standing by the customers
Recession, undoubtedly, took its toll over the aviation
industry but one must stop awhile and look at what
happened in the western airlines. US Airways started
charging for blankets, and they already charge for water
leading to a seeming decline in airline provisions and
the imposition of new fees on almost every service of
value to travellers. Ryanair is famous for being the most
hated airline in Europe, since it hardly takes care of its
customers. Interestingly, bad times have not resulted in
a disregard for customer service in Indian aviation.
Surprisingly, this is not the trend in Indian carriers.
Private airlines have ramped up their customer service
even in the Economy Class with special focus on
personalized service. Jet Airways recently won the Best
First Class award, and Kingfisher does everything it can
to uphold its 5-Star Airline status. Indigo started the use
of automated screening systems to validate passenger
names on the boarding passes, a technology used for
the first time by an LCC in India. The airlines also came
up with special deals on all their routes.
Is it that someone forgot to tell these airlines that they
were in a recession? Probably not! But their focus on
keeping the customer happy will definitely pay off in
the long run. It is a known fact that it costs 5 times as
much to bring in a new customer, than to keep an
existing one. And this mantra was religiously followed
by the Indian carriers by utilizing the “back to basics” of
customer service. The loyal customers will never ditch
12
 Cover Story Markathon | July 2010

them. And when good times return, these same happy Indian economy among the fastest growing
customers will contribute their best to generate enough even during recession
brand awareness through word-of-mouth to bring in The word “recession” has disappeared from the
new passengers. vocabulary now. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
has raised its India growth forecast for 2010 to 9.4 per
Being resilient pays off cent from 8.8 per cent. Despite the fact that India's civil
Unlike airlines in the Middle East, most airlines in India
aviation industry was the second largest loser after the
do not have any special privileges like reduced oil prices
US due to the recession worldwide, more than anyone
or backing from a government with deep pockets. This
else, it’s the Indian carriers that will reap the best
forced them to act on their own to cut costs to remain
rewards of a still-active Indian economy, if they play
afloat in these difficult times. And they successfully did
their cards right. And till now, they haven’t let most
it. Instead of bothering the customer with frivolous
people down when it comes to crises handling.
charges like in US airlines, Indian carriers cut costs
where it mattered. The Indian Aviation sector has the potential of
absorbing up to USD 120 billion of investment by the
Kingfisher Airlines swiftly postponed plans for more
year 2020. It’s high time that the regulatory and policy
overseas route launches like Singapore, Hong Kong etc
framework is aligned with the needs of the civil aviation
– since they tend to be resource heavy at the beginning.
industry to encourage serious investment in the sector
Jet Airways did away with glamorous but bleeding
and create a safe, secure, efficient and environment
routes like that to San Francisco. Moreover, they both
friendly system conducive to healthy growth.
either delayed the delivery of new aircraft, or leased
them to airlines like Turkish and GulfAir. Most airlines in
India switched to focused marketing efforts, rather than Kingfisher Airlines- CRM the way
blanket campaigns to get more bang for the buck. And
forward…
Kingfisher and Jet Airways came up with a code-share
Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) is positioned as “Full Frills -
alliance to save costs keeping aside their competitive
True Value Carrier”. In order to achieve this, KFA had to
aspirations. It is this resilience and fast action that will
differentiate itself from the then market leader, Jet
pay off well in the end.
Airways. It dedicated itself to Customer Relationship
Management to initiate its customer base and retain its
profitable customers. Some of the initiatives by
Kingfisher Airlines are:

13
 Cover Story
Roving Agents
KFA combined its IT expertise and customer service to
create the concept of “Roving Agents”. The Roving
Agent is a Kingfisher staffer carrying a handheld that is
connected to the main reservation and check-in system
wirelessly using Wi-Fi, and a portable thermal printer,
attached to the staffer's belt, that links with the PDA
using Bluetooth. Guests flying with Kingfisher carrying
only hand luggage can be intercepted near the
entrance. Using a ticket's PNR number, a Roving Agent
can help guests choose a seat on their plane, print a
boarding pass from the printer on the Rover's belt and
send passengers straight to security check. On a typical
day, at a busy airport like Mumbai or New Delhi, this
initiative can help save a passenger seven or eight
minutes. It might not sound like much, but for a
business traveler pressed for time and catching a flight
at the last moment, eight minutes can come very
handy.
Partner Program
Although frequent flier’s program is done by all major
airlines in the world, KFA’s partner program tied with
best brands in across industries to provide functional
quality to its loyalty program, the King Club. It teamed
with the stalwarts in various sectors to help its loyalty
program members earn and redeem points. All its
partnering and co-branding efforts are targeted
towards acquiring and retaining its most valuable
customers, i.e., the globe-trotting business traveler.
Some of the examples are:
• Passengers can earn miles by travelling in the major
international airlines around the world. This
includes Emirates, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines, Qatar Airways, Delta Air Lines and
Continental Airlines.
• It tied up with the major banks, both national and
international, such that the each brand’s star and
premium credit cards can earn mileage to King Club
customers, through each transaction.
• Their hospitality partners include The Hilton Family,
Oberoi Hotels, Leela Hotels, Ananda, Trident Hotels,
Ista Hotels, The Park Hotels, The Paul Hotels and
ITC-Welcomgroup.
Markathon | July 2010
• They even tied up with publishing partners like
Harvard Business Review and Fortune to expand its
global customer base.
Such diverse portfolio of partnering is unheard in India
and it has provided KFA the competitive advantage over
other carriers with true focus that “The right Customer
is the king”
Add-On Selling strategies:
Kingfisher Airlines have successfully integrated its
Customer Relationship Management to cross selling
very well.
This includes transaction in Air Boutique ONLINE – KFA’s
premium online reward shop. It is the first of its kind in
the Indian airline industry. This is a 24 hour service that
is exclusive to King Club members and customers can
redeem reward points merchandise.
The reward points or the King Miles for KFA are
transferable to family and friends at a nominal value
unlike many carriers in India. This flexibility allows KFA
to acquire newer customers and strengthen its
customer base considerably. It has also integrated its
Kingfisher Holidays with its loyalty program. This
completes the full circle of impact of UB group in
hospitality industry.
All the above examples show the superiority of
Kingfisher Airlines in delivering the right mix of
technical and functional quality in its service. Its ability
to manage customer service at the actual touch points
and provide newer avenues of experiencing its superior
pre and post journey is unmatched in the India airlines
industry. Only time will tell if its customer focused
strategy will help it pass through the difficult times of
negative bottom line and an immensely regulated
airlines industry.
Way Ahead
India is yet to witness a success story like Southwest
Airlines where the integration of marketing, CRM and
technology and route optimization led to record
revenues irrespective of condition of the industry. With
the domestic traffic boosting up, it is high time that
carriers utilize the best practices in customer service
from around the world and turn the tables for the
Indian aviation industry.
14
 Strategic Analysis Markathon | July 2010

TEMPLES GO THE
CORPORATE
WAY
Akhil Vinaik,
Bijal Dani |
NMIMS

India has always Temple Tourism is emerging as a

been known for powerful and popular stream of the
its diversity and tourism industry, much ahead of eco-
cultural tourism, adventure tourism, heritage
heritage. It is tourism, medical tourism “Having
home to temples listed on the stock exchange”
various A distant reality! Not Really? The
religions tourism industry has huge growth
and potential due to increased
disposable income in the hands of
growing middle class population
and Government campaigns
similar to “Incredible
India” to promote
tourism.
communities that
For instance, in Andhra Pradesh,
co-exist in harmony. Hindu temples
heritage temples are being spruced up. Under
now have a noticeable
development of heritage tourism circuit, then
presence across the globe and form
Tourism Minister and the present Municipal
the cynosure of India’s cultural
Administration Minister Anam
tradition and spiritual succour.
Ramnarayana Reddy has sanctioned
Rs.23 crore in 2008 for developing
TEMPLES – TOURIST
heritage temples in the
ATTRACTION district and lot of
Since time immemorial, temples have been identified
development work is
as major tourist attractions for India. Not only do they under progress.
qualify as brand ambassadors of our nation’s heritage,
but also contribute to the economy. Therefore, it
BULLION VAULT
becomes imperative to view temples and their potential
India is arguably the
from a different lens. Over the years, temples have
largest bullion
evolved from being just centres of pilgrimage and
market in the world.
prayers. They are now avenues where people seek
It is worth noting
knowledge on Hindu philosophy, Spiritual
that Indian
Transcendence, Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation.

15
 Strategic Analysis
temples own more gold than even the Reserve Bank of
India. This is primarily due to the fact that temples
receive gold coins and jewellery as donations. The scale
is so huge that commercial banks have tie ups with
temples to process their gold holdings and big temples
have dedicated departments to manage their donations
that come in the form of gold and silver ornaments, in
addition to coins.
SERVICE BRANDING
Having understood the significance of temples beyond
the obvious, it would be worthwhile to study and
analyse how they can be moulded in the shape of
brands having a distinct image in the minds of the
people. In a broad sense, they are service units catering
to a mass population of pilgrims and worshippers.
Therefore the need for temples to be recognised brands
with best-in-class service that reaches out to the
common man. Three essentials of a service branding
exercise encompass Reach, Recognition and Reputation,
the 3 R’s as we popularly call them.
Drawing a parallel with any service industry where
operations form an integral part of any business entity’s
existence, temples too need a strong operational plan
in place. In essence, it would mean formulating a
framework and set guidelines to provide service to the
visiting pilgrims and make their visit to their place of
worship a comfortable and fulfilling one. There is a
paradigm shift commensurate to the above reasoning,
as can be substantiated by the fact that temples are
going in for ISO certifications. An ISO certification
essentially signifies a standardization of procedures and
processes, practices, monitoring mechanisms and
continuous improvement plans. In a nutshell, it is a
measure for quality management systems.
A Ram temple in old Bhopal now flaunts an ISO
certification for following a quality management
system. The certificate was awarded to the trust for
standardising the process of worship, for the facilities
provided to devotees, for quality management and
transparent purchase system, while sticking to their
Vedic traditions. The government is also planning to set
up an apex body to promote temple tourism and
facilitate the modernization of temples in India.
Markathon | July 2010
In addition, the advent of the internet and its ease has
led to revolutionary changes in the way many temples
are managed.
THE STATUS QUO
Golden Temple
• Tie up with Financial Institutions: Tied up with
HDFC to accept donations online through a secure
payment gateway.
Siddhivinayak
• Adoption of technology : Temples now offer
convenience of darshan to the devotees through
“Online darshan”-Live web casting of the deity
• Dedicated website : The temple officials are in the
process of even updating their financial results on
the website
• Payment gateways : Provide a mechanism to
receive donations, through Credit Card, Online
Banking accounts, Cheque, Demand Drafts or
Money Orders
• Auction gold and silver ornaments donated by the
devotees : Part of the auction money will be given
to social causes and the rest will be utilised for
activities in temple
Tirumala Tirupathi
• Religious significance : Sri Venkateswara temple in
Tirumala has a significant importance in India’s
religious milieu
• Service facilities : In the form of sevas, with
advance booking
• Online Booking : Sevas constitute special prayers
and can now be booked online
• Online donations
• Distribution and marketing : Cassettes and CD’s of
Vedas, Sankirtanas and Pravachanams
• Purohita Sangham: Dedicated association known as
the ‘Purohita Sangham’ which conducts marriages
16
 Strategic Analysis
and other sacred functions like naming ceremony,
etc.
• Strategic Tie-ups :Tie-ups with professional
marriage agencies and cottages are provided for
accommodation
ISKCON
• Spiritually rich culture :Individuals from all over the
world visit Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari temple and
spend a few days to benefit from and inculcate
values from the spiritual culture
• Guesthouses & Travel assistance: The Guesthouse
at ISKCON Juhu facilitates guests to attend spiritual
program at the temple. Dedicated department to
facilitate travel for devotees
• Imparts spiritual education : Versatile Institution
actively disseminating spiritual education
THE HIDDEN AGENDA
The above mentioned snapshots of various practices
lead us to conclude that temples are indeed more than
mere places of worship. The whole concept now
encompasses a gamut of activities and services. These
make the entire experience an enriching and
memorable one for the common man. The brains
behind this have appropriately struck the right chord
with the Indian populace and tapped the right nerve,
namely, the emotional and religious sentiment. Indians,
by tradition relate personal goals, joys and sorrows to
their religious Gods. Thus, a huge potential to make it a
viable and sustainable model.
It is worth noting that many temples are now trying to
have a global presence to reach out to the Indian
community abroad. In particular, this is of relevance in
UK, USA, Canada, Singapore and many such countries
where there are a lot of Indian immigrants.
In addition to this, movies are a very strong medium by
which Indian temples and tourism can be promoted. In
fact many Bollywood movies use exotic temple locales
to shoot important sequences. For instance, Rab Ne
Bana Di Jodi, is the most recent example. Considering
the massive spread and reach of Indian cinema, it gives
a huge exposure to India as a tourist attraction.
Markathon | July 2010
If such is the magnitude to which temples impact the
economy of the nation, it would not be a Utopian
dream or an improbable suggestion to have Corporates
engaging themselves in this domain. As an abstract
example, if the Tatas tie up with the Siddhivinayak
temple or the Isckon temple, to improve upon the
operational aspects and other issues pertaining to its
management, the whole concept of the ISO
certifications and service quality becomes all the more
validated. This would also enable Corporates and
business honchos to project such activities as CSR
(Corporate Social Responsibility) and enable them to
improve and build upon their brand equity. Public-
private partnerships to make it a professional set up is
also on the cards. However, the core element of any
such venture should be to make the entire experience
for the devotees a comfortable and fulfilling one.
There has been an instance where Amitabh Bachchan
was invited at a temple in South India to offer prayers.
Roping in celebrities to endorse a temple can add
immensely to the emotional value and connect with the
masses. Temples also promote art and culture and
provide a platform to veteran and upcoming artists to
perform. Sometimes, even commercial shows are held
with historical monuments and temples in the
backdrop. Such forms of display add to aesthetic beauty
around which the event is centered and help pull
crowds. In addition, a series of religious festivals are
celebrated with fervor. Many of the funded temples are
willing to extend necessary financial aid to poor and
deserving students.
Strategizing the Road Ahead
Definitely, the marketers and companies would benefit
from booming religious tourism, since they would get a
platform and discover new territories to sell their
products and services. They would also take part in
developing these strategic locations along with local
development authorities.
• Provide basic sanitary facilities: Along with they
could promote their products i.e. if a company
sponsors the Free or Paid Rest room facilities, its
products would only be sold.
17
 Strategic Analysis
• Constructing rooms : For devotees to stay and
promote their products
• Offer free/paid transportation facilities
Promotion of their products/services
• Pharmaceutical companies : Sponsor free medical
camps to promote products
• Food products companies : Set up their outlets to
sell products with subsidized /actual prices
• Clothing/Garment companies: Set up stalls to
promote their products and services
Markathon | July 2010
It clearly shows that there is a dual benefit of offering
services to the society as well to promote their
products/services. This would definitely provide a
: lucrative mind space among the potential target group.
This underlying purpose might not have been achieved
even by spending millions on conventional promotion
tools. Thus, there is a paradigm shift in the
management mechanism to tap the culturally rich
heritage of our nation and develop a sustainable
business model with societal benefits.
1188
 Eye to Eye
Do you think the brand revamp that Star Plus has
gone in for will be successful?
Satellite Television Asia Region
popularly known as STAR is owned
“Challenge is to stand out in the heavily crowed entertainment clutter”
by Rupert Murdoch’s News
Corporation. In the year 1992, the
then government of India opened
up cable television to private
players. Star Networks leveraged
Sandeepkumar A. the situation to its best benefit.
Welingkar Star Plus (then Star TV) was
Bengaluru
dominant in the general entertain-
ment segment in multiple slots for the next 10 years.
There are lot of reasons for a company to go in for brand
revamp, in our case with the new tag line “Rishtawahi,
SochNayi” it appears that the channel wants to keep its
target audience intact and target them with new age,
refreshing content. The challenge for STAR Plus is to
stand out in the heavily crowed entertainment clutter.
After “Kaun Banega Crorepati” sequence, the content
pipe line has literally dried up in comparison to other
general entertainment channels.
The brand revamp exercise saw STAR Plus spending
around INR 200 million. It has created fantastic
awareness among the target audience, but how much of
it will translate into interest is a wait and watch
proposition.
Not leaving any stone unturned, the channel is in the
process of launching series of new programs, some in
the prime time, a critical slot it lost to Colors few months
back only to regain it later.
Analyzing and anticipating the competition from 200
odd new age general entertainment channels is a
sensible strategy it has adopted. Brand revamp has
provided the channel with a broader visibility. With solid
content and other activities around the brand (STAR TV),
it will help it fly through the turbulence safely for few
more miles.
Topic for the next issue’s Eye to Eye is“Do you think Bajaj Auto's decision to drop the Bajaj name
from Pulsar & Discover bikes is a wise decision?”
Your opinion (view/counterview) is invited. Word limit is 250-300. Last date of sending entries is
16thAugust 2010. Include your picture (JPEG format) with the entry.
Markathon | July 2010
Once upon a time there was a
“Channel revamping has seen a varied degree of success in the Indian TV scenario”
storyteller, whose stories
became a hit among the
women of every household,
women who had grown up
listening to grandmother tales.
These women started to find
themselves in the characters of Bhavesh Kothari
the storyteller, as the Welingkar
modestsister, or son-forsaken Mumbai
mother-
-in laws.These stories were identifiable, like they
were scenes picked out from their very lives!
This storyteller, none other than Star Plus, had ruled
the Indian GEC segment for 7 years in a row but
Colors, whose shows weren’t merely household
stories, were so different & contemporary that in 2
years, it displaced Star from the no.1 position!
That was the time when Star started to think
seriously about its positioning. After a yearlong
research, they decided to revamp the brand with a
new look, new logo, new tagline and even new
shows. On June 14th, 2010, their 10th anniversary,
Star Plus unveiled its new red colour looks and the
new tagline “Rishtawahi, SochNayi”, clearly
signifying that it will follow the path of Colors. But
they couldn’t back this ‘new thinking’ promise with
its shows. The channel could manage to get only 443
TRPs in the following week, just slightly more than
its previous rating.
Channel revamping has seen a varied degree of
success in the Indian television scenario; SAB TV
revamped itself to success with its light hearted
soaps; Sony tried but failed last year. So far, the Star
Plus revamping has not brought enough points to its
TRP kitty, but it will be interesting to see if the Indian
women accept the old storyteller in the new look!
19
 Competition Markathon | July 2010

Silent Voice
LAST MONTH’S RESULTS
Theme:“Samsung 3D LED TV”

WINNER:KARTHIKEYAN T | NITIE, MUMBAI

Congratulations!!! Karthikeyan receives a cash prize of Rs 500!

HONORARY MENTION

KAWAL MAHATRE| Welingkar, MUMBAI

20
Competition Markathon | July 2010

DIMPLE BHARIL |Indian Education Society (IES),MUMBAI

ASHWINI VASUDEVAN |Welingkar,MUMBAI

NEXT THEME FOR SILENT VOICE: “Pepsi Max. Max It!”

LAST DATE OF SENDING THE PRINT AD:16thAugust, 2010

EMAIL ID: markathon.iims@gmail.com

Send your entries in JPEG format only.

21
 Specials
BRAND LAUNCH
ITC goes the Cuban Way
The country’s largest cigarette maker has teamed up
with La Aurora to unveil a mint-fresh line of premium
hand rolled cigars. These Armenteros cigars from
Dominican Republic will be available in myriad shapes
and sizes. ITC hopes these will differentiate it from the
competition as it competes with other imported brands
in a market where increasingly more Indian consumers
are exploring cigars as a consequence of exposure to
global lifestyle.
Italian Chimneys in India
The world's largest chimney manufacturer, Elica is all
set for an India launch, and plans on setting up a
manufacturing plant in Pune. Apart from meeting
domestic demand, this plant will supply products to the
company’s OEM partners globally. In addition, Elica
plans to have distribution outlets in the top 20 cities of
the country in the next few months. In spite of poor
penetration and low consumer adoption of chimneys,
India is viewed as a potential market.
Bose launches new Home Style Systems
Bose introduced four all-in-one music and video
systems, the T-class and V-class home entertainment
systems. They combine 5.1 surround sounds with Bose
Unify Intelligent Integration system. This technology
endeavours to be the easiest program to setup and
control, which can be controlled with practically any
device. There are features like a built-in radio and iPod
dock, and the systems offer automatic video up scaling
to 1080p via HDMI.
COMPANY WATCH
Dish TV’s new CEO
Dish TV India Ltd has roped in Mr R.C. Venkateish as the
CEO. Mr Venkateish was the MD, India and South Asia
region for ESPN-Star Sports for seven years. He has also
held numerous senior positions with brands like
Markathon | July 2010
Smithkline Beecham, Nestle India, Gillette and Kellogg
India.
Godrej acquires Hair Care Company
FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products Ltd completed
the acquisition of Argentinian hair care company
Argencos.
GCPL has been on an aggressive acquisition binge in
recent months. The Indian FMCG had acquired
Indonesia's household-care company, the Megasari
Group and Nigeria's Tura soap brand. It also obtained
Sara Lee's 51 per cent stake in their joint venture,
Godrej Sara Lee.
BRAND WATCH
MS Dhoni beats Tendulkar’s record
Dhoni broke Tendulkar’s record, although off the cricket
field this time. Days after he got married to his
childhood sweetheart, Mahendra Singh Dhoni signed a
$42m, 2-yr deal with the sports management firm Rhiti.
Tendulkar's $40m, 3-yr contract with Iconixwhich was
signed in 2006 was previously the highest contract
amount for an Indian sportsperson.
Hidesign Repositions Itself
Leather bag-maker Hidesign is targeting to reposition
itself as a complete lifestyle brand. The company, in
which global luxury brand Louis Vuitton has a 20 per
cent holding, wants to extend its brand name to
watches, sunglasses, jewellery and accessories among
other accessories.
The company has also announced a sub-brand ‘Ayesha'
for the young, fashion-conscious consumers.
Toshiba’s New Brand Ambassador
Japanese firm Toshiba has signed Sachin Tendulkar as
its brand ambassador for its product categories of
laptops, LCD TV and home appliances for corporate
branding in India. For the last two years, Vidya Balan
has been representative of Toshiba in India.
22
 Specials Markathon | July 2010

Toshiba believes that Sachin’s achievements and AD WATCH

constant pursuit for excellence is in line with Toshiba’s
‘Leading Innovation’ tagline. Without ZOOZOOS

Vodafone is back with yet another fresh and innovative

MEDIA
campaign; this time a green ‘animated’ parrot to
Nissan ties up with Fever FM popularise the brand's Rs 4 bonus card offering for
prepaid consumers.
Nissan Micra has launched a unique promotional
campaign in association with Fever 104 FM where in, The theme of the ad, in which Bomran Irani has
famous RJs Anurag Pandey and Karan Singh will conduct provided the voiceover, is that a paltry sum of Rs 4
shows from a Micra on the move over a 4 day period. provides myriad offerings on the card.
The idea is to promote ‘Coming to office in style and
Contrary to the Zoozoos which were created to target
comfort’ and project it as the preferred mobility
the intelligentsia, this campaign aims to reach out to
solution for city traffic conditions.
the bottom-of-the-pyramid.
The car boasts of category first features such as keyless
~ Sria Majumdar | IIM Shillong
entry, push button engine start/stop system and
electric foldable mirrors.

Articles are invited

“Best Article”: Bijal Dani & Akhil Vinaik |NMIMS
They receive a cash prize of Rs. 1000 & a letter of appreciation.

We are inviting articles from all the B-schools of India. The articles can be specific to the regular
sections of Markathon which includes:
• Perspective: Articles related to development of latest trends in marketing arena.
• Productolysis: Analysis of a product from the point of view of marketing.
• Strategic Analysis: A complete analysis of the marketing strategy of any company or an
event.
• International Column: Articles covering latest marketing trends, innovative practices,
branding strategies etc. in the global perspective.

Apart from above, out of the box views related to marketing are also welcome. The best entry
will receive a letter of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 1000/-. The last date of receiving the
entries is 16th August 2010.
Please send your entries to markathon.iims@gmail.com. The format of the file should be word
doc/docx.

23
Please send in your comments/feedback to:
markathon.iims@gmail.com
visit: www.iims-markathon.in

© Team Markathon, IIM Shillong