Social Cause Marketing - FM ASSIGNMENT

ITC - Indian Tobacco Company

Social Cause Marketing

Social-Cause Marketing is a very powerful communication tool for the brands to stand out.
The partnerships between brands and charities can increase customer loyalty and help the
brands stay in consumer’s minds. It is a way of communicating company’s Corporate Social
Responsibility through marketing communications.

ITC

ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of over
US $ 30 billion and a turnover of US $ 6 billion.

ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers,
Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology,
Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products.
While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels,
Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its
nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and
Stationery.

E-Choupal

ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one of
the country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in the last decade). The
Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its
competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. E-Choupal
as a more efficient supply chain aimed at delivering value to its customers around the. The e-
Choupal model has been specifically designed to tackle the challenges posed by the unique
features of Indian agriculture weak infrastructure and the involvement of numerous
intermediaries, among others.

Problems Before e-Choupal was introduced:

Traditionally, these commodities were procured in “mandis” (major agricultural marketing

centers in rural areas of India), where the middleman used to make most of the profit. These
middlemen used unscientific and sometimes unfair means to judge the quality of the product
to set the price. Difference in price for good quality and inferior quality was less, and hence
there was no incentive for the farmers to invest and produce good quality output.
After e-Chopal was introduced

The platform facilitates flow of information and knowledge, and supports market transactions
on line.

It transmits Information (weather, prices, news),

It transfers Knowledge (farm management, risk management)
It facilitates sales of Farm Inputs (screened for quality) and
It offers the choice of an alternative Output-marketing channel (convenience, lower
transaction costs) to the farmer right at his doorstep

e-Choupal is transaction platform that brings together sellers, buyers along with information
and service providers. e-Choupal is a model with characteristics namely:

Customer centric,
Capable of being used for many commodities and multiple transactions,
Uses local talent and local people and develops local leaders,
Can be extended to local as well as global procurers,
Makes local entrepreneurs to extend their innovativeness,
Many others can join the market as transaction time is low.

Current Statistics

Today 4 million farmers use E-Choupal to advantage – Bargaining as virtual buyers’

co-operatives, adopting best practices, matching up to food safety norms etc. Being linked to
futures markets is helping small farmers to manage risk better. E-Choupal has been specially
cited in the Government of India’s Economic Survey, for its transformational impact on rural
lives.

YES I would like to be a part of this company. With the help of the organisation we can
conceive various plans to replicate the success achieved to other states and expand the
services offered to other commodities.

Submitted by,
Roshan Sorly
FM - 625