Marketing Ganga

Author: Shabbir Chunawalla

  • Women Make Up Artists in India

    There is an association called Cine Costume, Make up Artist and Hair Dressers’ Association (CCMAA). It barred the registration of any female make up artist,  making make up an exclusively male domain. In 2014 November, the Supreme Court asked the Association to put an end to this practice which continued for 59 years. The SC felt this is harassment of women in the 21st century which is ‘ inconceivable and impermissible.’ It asked the film industry across the country including regional cinema hubs to ensure equal opportunity for women.

    Charu Khurana who worked as a make up artist of top film stars and politicians broke into this exclusive male club on the strength of the supreme court order. She is the first woman to be registered by CCMAA. Even after the SC order, the association was reluctant to register her, but had to comply after the court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against its office bearers.

  • Criticism of McDonald’s

    McDonald is quintessentially American. According to Dileep Padgaonkar, former editor of the Times of India, it subliminally seeks to profit from the prestige attached to American power and influence and to American values as well. It makes some concessions in a global set up — it uses lamb instead of beef in India and in Muslim countries it uses only halal viands. Being an American symbol, it is targeted in many countries.Eric  Schlosser, an investigative journalist published in 2001 a critique of the fast food industry entitled Fast Food Nation. He reveals that until 1990 McDonald cooked its French fries in beef tallow. Since then the chain has switched to pure vegetable oil. He also pointed out that till 1997, hamburgers were made from the meat of barren cows who were fattened on livestock waste. He also revealed that the flavour, aromas and texture of the fast food had more to do  with chemical engineering than to culinary skills.

  • Cutting Edge — Crystal Glass

    Crystal is like poetry frozen in time. Poetry because it is beautiful. Poetry, because although it is exquisite, you need to acquire an appreciation for it.

    According to European standards, crystal is 24 per cent lead-bearing glass. However, Ameriacan standard defines crystal as glass that is perfectly clear irrespective of its lead-content. Hand cut crystal  must have 24 or more per cent of lead oxide, or else the crystal would be brittle. Fine crystal is a a glass mixture which contains  6 to 10 per cent of lead oxide. Lead crystal glass mixture contains 10 to 24 per cent lead oxide. Full lead crystal is glass mixture that contains 24 per cent or more lead oxide.

    The popular brands are Orefors, Baccarat, Waterford, Riedel, Tyrone, Lalique and Swarvoski.

  • Beers — Lagers and Ales

    Beers are put into two classes –lagers and ales depending on the type yeast to brew. Lagers are lighter and use bottom fermenting yeast. Ales are thicker and darker and use top fermenting yeast.Ales have a bitter taste. Pilsner is a lager that is brewed in the style used in Czechoslovakian town of Pilsen.Beers have on an average alcohol content of 3.2 to 5 per cent.There are pale lagers as well as ales.There is a dark variety of lager.There are brown ales, Porter and Stout ales. Weis beer is falvoured infusion much like other liquors made out of wheat.There is light diet beer too.Iced beer is more concentrated and contains the same alcohol in less volume. It is brought to freezing temperature and the frozen water is separated and a part of it is removed.Draught is unpasteurised beer. It is fresh, though faintly yeasty.You can keep it for three days without regeneration and a month with regeneration.

  • Unique Buying Proposition (UBP)

    As we know, unique selling proposition was relevant when a product could be differentiated on the basis of some technological advantage. Since then we have an era of product parity on account of shortening of time between the introduction of an innovation and a me -too copycat product. Consequently, USP does not work. In the absence of meaningful differences, all brands tend to get commoditised, and the only differentiator the marketer uses is the price. The lower the prices, the greater are the chances of being preferred by the consumer. This affects profitability and long term prospects of the business.

    Instead of USP, we now talk in terms of UBP — Unique Benefit Proposition. USP was the marketer’s say about the the product. UBP is what the consumer wants to hear from the marketers. In this approach, the consumer research is carried out to get insight — what the consumer really want and how our product can be connected to that primal need. A luxury car as an asset may be bought to flaunt wealth. But explicitly, the consumer may not say so. If safety is emphasised, it becomes more acceptable. It gives the consumer a permission to buy the luxury product. Later, the asset becomes an object of envy for the neighbours. Of course, even the competitors may try to find out what the consumers actually need. If our understanding of the consumers is better than that of the competitors, we shall win, and vice versa. This understanding is the basis for Unique Buying Proposition.

  • Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

    This concept is the brain child of Rosser Reeves who popularised it in the 1950s, and codified it if a 1961 Random House book Reality in Advertising.

    Reeves defined USP as a proposition to the consumers which is so strong that it can move the mass of millions, i.e. pull  them over to our product. He contends that the consumer tends to remember just one thing from an ad — one strong claim or concept. Each ad must make a proposition to the consumer.

    A crucial part of Reeves’ theory is that the proposition or promise made by the ad must be one which the competition has not so far made. It is unique He also expected the marketer to give reasons  for the effectiveness of the unique proposition. At its face value, this concept is alright . Technological capability was so unique in his days that others took years to catch up with it. But these days benefits and capabilities no longer remain unique for a long time. In his days, Reeves strategy of product diffentiation was viable, but is no longer valid today. A technological or functional advantage cannot sustain a product/brand for long. We are in an age of parity.

    Revees doctrine suggests that consumer behaves rationally. Research and common sense suggest that this is not so.

  • Fournier’s Brand Consumer Relationships

    Fournier has identified fifteen different types of relationship between the consumers and the brands.

    Casual friendship In this relationship, there are least expectations. Even the interactions with the brand are not frequent. Just consider a casual beer drinker, he changes the beer brands.

    Close friendship This is a relationship with bonding and sharing. Just imagine the relationship between a professional examination’s coaching class and a student.

    Compartmentalized friendship This friendship is situation specific. A consumer chooses a brand of ice-cream on the basis of the group where it will be consumed. If it is a family, he will choose a particular brand of family pack and if he is amongst friends, he will choose cones of some other brand.

    Kinship This is an involuntary union,e.g. mother’s recipes are chosen by a chef.

    Committed partnership  This is a voluntary long term relationship. A brand is endorsed after years of experiencing it.

    Marriage of convenience Here there is a chance encounter with a brand leading to long-term relationship. You try icing on the cake at a friend’s place and then continue the habit thereafter.

    Arranged marriage This is imposed long-term relationship.A consumer continues to use a detergent recommended by a washing machine company.

    Childhood friendship Here there is nostalgia about childhood.You continue to take the same beverage which you took as a child.

    Courtship When you test a product before making a commitment. To illustrate, you test two lip-sticks before selcting one.

    Rebound relationship There is a replacement wish here for some reason. A perfume is replaced as it reminds the woman of a previous marriage.

    Dependence There is obsessive attraction here. A man is perturbed when he does not get his brand of cigarettes.

    Fling This is a short-term engagement. You choose another perfume, though you carry the guilt of not choosing the usual one.

    Enslavement This is involuntary forced relationship. A bank account holder with a rural branch may be unhappy, but there is no alternative.

    Adversarial relationship It is hostile. A brand is hated and so not chosen.

    Secret affair This is a clandestine relationship. A diabetic consumes high-sugar foods.

     

  • Relationship Building and Brand Personality

    As brands evolve their personality, we tend to interact with them, and form a relationship with them, just as we do with human beings. This relationship can be understood by the attitudes and behaviours the consumers and brands display towards each other. There is a two-wayrelationship here-consumer’s perception and reaction to the brand and brand behavior and reaction to the consumer. The first dimension of consumer’s perception and reaction has been emphasised more by the researchers. But even the second dimension, i.e. brand’s behaviour is equally important.This duality once understood fully helps in developing appropriate brand strategy.

    We illustrate this duality by an illustration. A teacher is perceived by a student as competent, caring and well-read individual who lectures effectively. It indicates a positive relationship. However,the perspective changes when we consider what the student thinks the teacher thinks about him. The student’s view is that the teacher regards him as irresponsible and mischievous. Whether the teacher really thinks so is not so important. The relationship depends on the student’s perception of the teacher’s attitude. It becomes an unpleasant relationship for the student, but this may not strike the teacher.

    Brand managers may think that the consumers have a pleasant and positive relationship with the brand. But they have to take into account what the consumers think the brand’s thinking is about them. Brand managers should understand the consumer’s perception of the brand as the object of their attitudes, and should also learn about the subjective brand, with its own set of attitudes. This dual perspective is more realistic. The second perspective of the brand attitude is a matter of marketing research.

    A dignified and exclusive charge card like American Express conveys to the consumer that I will put you in big league, and will make you recognised. It further conveys that you will be given a red carpet welcome everywhere. An out-of-the reach platinum card may have an intimidating personality and may convey to the consumer that I am too pricey for you to afford me, and you are free to opt for another card if you do not meet the eligibility criteria. Brand personality is the discriminator whereas the consumer segment is homogeneous.This greatly helps in developing the brand.

  • Magnum Opus — Muhammad -2015 Film by Majid Majidi

    An expensive $35 million production, this film depicts the life of young Muhammad from the time he was born till he becomes 12 years old, and reaches Syria.The film has been directed and cowritten by celebrated Iranian film maker Majid Majidi. A special  set of Mecca as it looked in the 6th century was created for shhoting this film at near a city called Qom in Iran, and some scenes have been shot at South Africa. Cinematography is by Vittoro Storaro, and music by A R Rehman from India.

    The pre-production work was started in 2007 and the first draft of the story was ready by 2009. The actual shooting started in 2011. Andeson managed the VFX.Rossi has done the make up.The filming has been completed by 2013. A world premiere was proposed at a festival in Iran but was abandoned due to some technical glitches.It was released for a limited audience in Tehran on February 12, 2015.The film is likely to be resented by the Sunni Arab states.

    There are going to be two sequel to the film — one in which the prophet’s life till he becomes 40 will be projected and the other after he becomes a prophet.

    The film is tri-lingual — Arabic, Persian and English.

    The trailer you can see on YouTube.

  • Brands and Commodities

    When consumers do not perceive any differentiation between competitive offerings, we call them commodities. Here one product offering is just like another in a particular product category. Generally, food items such as milk and vegetables or raw materials are iron ore or bauxite come to the mind. Maybe, there are quality differences, but when specifications are given, one milk bottle is just like another milk bottle.

    Commodities are bought on the basic of price or availability. They are not purchased on the basis of the manufacturer’s name , or the brand name. Petrol is sold as a commodity, based on price and some promotions like mileage points to ensure repeat purchases.

    A commodity can be converted into a brand. This starts with value add-ons like packaging and promotion. Similarly, brands, tend to get back to the commodity status if the marketing assets base is allowed to erode.

    Brands and commodities are distinguished on the basis of added values. A brand represents more than the summation of its components. It has some additional attributes for the buyer which may be either real or perceived. Mostly, these added values are emotional values. A product acquires these values by a particular marketing mix of product, price, promotion and place. A particular mix helps in developing a position of the product in the mind of the consumer. Commodities, being undifferentiated, occupy virtually identical positions, and thus are substitutable. A well-positioned brand is difficult to substitute.

    The core product represents the tangible features of the product, and can be copied. The augmented product made by added values called product surround differentiates it.

    The larger the product surround as compared to the base product, the greater is the differentiation from the competitive product.