Friday, April 09, 2010

IS THE FEMALE CONSUMER STILL IGNORED, NEGLECTED & UNDERVALUED?

While each person’s perspectives are different, there are four broad areas where any sane marketer and company would be well advised to look – and tap. They comprise food, fitness, beauty and apparel. Financial services and health care are also businesses worth zeroing-into. The challenge is to offer easier and more convenient ways to make purchases in an environment where – unlike Indian husbands, 71% of who pitch in on household chores – they get no support from their spouses.

It is believed that when the recession slowly moves out, women will occupy an even more important position in the economy. Then seat belts that cut into the neck, pedals that the woman driver can’t reach, badly designed seats, nothing for women who wear high heels when they drive; kitchen shelves so high that only men can reach them, low security inside apartments should be closely reviewed. Also, in this age of working women keeping long hours in unsafe metro cities, how about a phone that has alarm buttons, instead of the corny colour pink? Or a free beeper with every working moms phone so her kids could just beep and she could call back, pronto? These points apparently were mooted, but cell phone manufacturers found them unimportant and trivial and instead concentrated on pink/floral glitter phone!

It’s time companies and marketers wake up to this new reality, cast aside chauvinistic blinkers and convert these challenges into opportunities. There is a whole slew of commercial opportunities in women’s social concerns. Women seek to buy products & services that do good for the world and hence brands that resonate physical and emotional well being, provide care and education for the disfranchised of the world and encourage love and connection, will benefit. It’s time to recognise the power and equity of the women customers. They will no longer take crap, increasingly trash male-specific selling patterns, resist being stereotyped, segmented by age or income or worse – lumped together into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ woman club.

Beyond looking at them as ‘geographical market’, they should be viewed as intelligent, respected and cherished target groups, with their very own wants, needs, apprehensions, insecurities, dreams … and of course, [sometimes] deep pockets too! That would be the best way to gain breakout growth, loyalty and market share for a sublime and undervalued fraternity who occupy half the sky.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM exposes Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam
IIPM - We will change your outlook : Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam is exposed

Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎
IIPM Related Links
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

Thursday, March 25, 2010

GILLETTE MACH 3


AGENCY: MEDIACOM

OBJECTIVE: To increase Mach 3 razor trials & increase market-share.

SITUATION & IDEA: Despite being present in the market for more than a decade, Gillette Mach 3’s sales were flat due to premium pricing. Research said that consumers thought highly of Gillette Mach 3, but not about shaving per se. But they did enjoy arguing. And so the ‘India Votes: To Shave or not’ idea was born, giving a chance to argumentative Indians to do just that.

EXECUTION: A first of its kind shaving survey was commissioned with questions like ‘Are clean-shaven men more successful?’ and ‘Does the nation prefer clean-shaven celebrities?’ The survey results were bombarded across TV, radio, print & online media. Actors Milind Soman and Kunal Kapoor were roped in to shave off their beards to entice consumers.

RESULT: Not only did the trials for Mach 3 increase 400 times after the campaign, the market share of the brand went up by 25%.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian :- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM exposes Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam
IIPM - We will change your outlook : Career 360 and Mahesh Peri scam is exposed

IIPM Related Links
IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Why Mad. Avenue loves sweet deals?


IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme

Will the ad world soon be mourning the death of brand Cadbury? Or perhaps Irene has a more ‘Krafty’ plan...

In a bid to create a “global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery & quick meals,” Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld has laid siege to one of the crown jewels of corporate Britain. Irene’s bold move to acquire Cadbury for $16.7 billion has shaken other confectioners like NestlĂ© & Hershey out of sweet reverie. After all, if Irene (who is sixth on the 2009 Forbes list of most powerful women) pulls off this coup, Kraft will become number one in the global confectionery market, creating a $51 billion company and its market share would touch a cool 14.9%, toppling the apple cart of Mars, which currently rules the market with a 14.5% share.

The advertising world too has been shaken out of its reverie. Even though the deal is far from done, Madison Avenue is already salivating at the prospect of the $2.7 billion advertising monster that the acquisition is likely to create. As per Ad Age, in case of a marriage, in the US alone, the merged entity would together spend close to $1.5 billion in marketing (See table for details).

With Mars’ acquisition of Wrigley last year, further consolidation in the industry was expected. And Cadbury being the second largest confectioner, it was perhaps ripe for the picking. Irene has said that Kraft is “eager to build upon Cadbury’s iconic brands & strong British heritage.” Irene’s altruistic vision notwithstanding, as it happens more often than not in such cases, the acquired brand gets absorbed into the host brand. In this case that will mean the end of Cadbury as we know it. Says Rob Frankel, Branding Expert “Chances are that Cadbury’s entire history and brand value will slide into oblivion, as Kraft absorbs it.” We have our fingers crossed. Do you?

Vareen Ray

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”

IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
IIPM B School : King Khan, Bollywood Badshah and Quiz Wiz — that’s Shah Rukh Khan for you