Marketing Ganga

Author: Shabbir Chunawalla

  • Idea Generation Technique — Benefit-Structure Analysis

    It is an approach similar to attribute analysis. Here an indepth interview is taken using a sample of 25-30 individuals or groups. The respondents are asked to recall the occasions for the use of the product. The usual questions pertain to

    • description of the actual operation, e.g. floor cleaning of the toilet
    • the product used on such an occasion e.g.phenyle, Donex, Harpic etc.
    • the benefits sought, e.g.making the toilet germ-free, removal of stains, pleasant smell etc.
    • attributes of the product used, e.g. antiseptic, pleasant smell, economical, deo effect etc.
    • cleaning instruments used, e.g. brush, sponge, mop, broom.
    • the timing of the operation, e.g. early morning, late evening, afternoon.
    • duration of work, e.g. fifteen minutes, five minutes.
    • persons worked with, e.g. self, servants, family members, scavangers.

    The results are used to carryout a comprehensive survey. The multi-divisional matrix will carry the following item.

    Operations x attributes desired x attributes received x benefits desired x benefits received x brands used x occasions x other characteristics x supporting data.

    Initially, product-types ( rows ) and operations ( columns ) matrix can be prepared. It gives the market structure of toilet cleaners, substitutes, complements, frequency,  quantity used. The information of the market structure throws up gaps for which there are no or a few products available. This analysis is also called market gap analysis.

    In the second study, benefits across each brand, and each occasion are spelled out. We can prepare a benefit-deficiency matrix. Some benefits are sought, but are not received. Some benefits are received, but are not sought. The average deficiency of each brand can be assessed. The frequency with which benefits are not received  across each brand is studied. The brands which fail on the desired benefits the most are separated. The reasons are studied. The brands which satisfy the desired benefits the most are studied too. The possible new applications are considered.This leads to possibilities of new products which are bundles of benefits desired for a single operation or task or for a collection of tasks.

    Finally, occasion-by-operation-by-characteristic matrix unfolds demographic and socio-graphic patterns of product uses. It pinpoints particular segments of users who are after particular benefits.

  • Prop Shops

    Prop shops supply  the wherewithal for every creative idea. They offer everything from forks and spoons to antique furniture. They can make available mangoes in winter. The big three prop shops in Mumbai and Propability,  It Ads — a prop shop and Propaganda Co. Production houses prefer a small fee to rent props to buying them and later arrange for their storage. Props can be rented for as little as their cost price. Formerly, production houses carried an inventory of the usually required props, but later they were forced to dispose of the stock in the face of rising real estate costs. The ads shot today require a whole lot of contemporary props, very different from props used in the 1970s when ads carried only product-pack shots and demos. The props today should look realistic as well as aspirational. High-end props are requred these days in life-style ads and ads which use celebrity brand ambassadors. here the suppliers charge a high fee, and consider the item as sold if it is damaged.

  • Circus — Performing Arts

    Circus is an example of performing arts. It has gymnastics, clowns, dare devil acts, magic tricks, trapeze and animal acts. There is sound and light effect. In India, it is housed in a tent set up on rented ground. Abroad, the circus evolved into a theatrical appeal, story telling and musical extravaganza. Abroad, the circus is staged in theatres, and not in outside tents.

    Thalassery is the Kerala’s circus town.Most artistes in an Indian circus are drawn from this area.

    The first acquaiantance with the wild life of a child starts with a circus. But a few years ago, the animal acts have been banned.Recently, the Supreme Court has banned the acts of child artistes.

    In India, there were 22 registered circuses in 2002. In 2011, there were only 14 circuses. The decline is real. The circus industry must reinvent itself. There is a need for innovation. In the West, circuses have studios attached where they research new techniques. In Europe, there are permanent theatres for circuses.

    The Cirque du Soleil of Canada is a successful circus in profits. The Ringling Brothers of the US is also very sucessful. In India, due to lack of grounds in the cities, their high rentals and lesser patronage in the cities, the circus shows have shifted to smaller towns.

  • Achyut Palav — Calligrapher

    Achyut started on a career in calligraphy from Shirodkar School, Parel, Mumbai where he was chosen to write on the board. He later joined J. J. School of Arts. He was mentored by R.K. Joshi. Ulka offered him a scholarship. He did research on the Modi script with the help of D.G. Godase and Ashok Kelkar. In one of the seminars at the IIT, the renowned calligrapher Snider spotted his talents and invited him to Germany. Achyut’s work was exhibited at Germany, London and Netherland. He started Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy. His works will have been exhibited in London between 28th May, 2011 and 5th June, 2011. He also held demostrations and  and workshop in London.

  • National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

    In fashion industry, the turning point came about when the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) was established in 1986. It was set up under aegis of the ministry of textiles. The objective was to channelize the indigenous creativity into garment industry. It has to train students in design, management and technology so as to prepare the Indian designers to assume leadership in the global scenario. The school was the brainchild of Pupul Jaykar, India’s cultural czarina. The school tied up with New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The institute brought about a change in the social attitude towards fashion which was considered a frivolous activity. The NFIT made it a serious business. The retail boom has expanded the range of opportunities offered to the young designers. NIFT’s alumni include Ritu Beri, Manish Arora, Ashish Soni and Rajesh Pratap Singh. It receives 20,000 plus applications for 2000 seats every year. There is an undergraduate course, 4-year B.Tech. There is project work in the last semester.It is headquartered in Delhi and has centres spread across India — Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar and Rae Bareli. New centres coming up are at Kanpur, Bhopal, Shillong and Patna.They intend to set up centres abroad.Though a government school, it has academic autonomy as far as curriculum and day-to-day running is concerned. NIFT helped set up Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) in 1998. NIFT also has faculty development and exposure programmes. It has to develop fashion literature and documents.

  • Animation Films of Films Division (FD)

     

    FD animation were committed to do social education. The importance of family planning was depicted in A Great Problem. The Treaty of Unity emphasised national integration.The Threads shows how to fight terrorism by being unified. The Banyan Tree teaches non-violence. You Said It teaches how the elected representatives are accountable to the voters. Sandesh emphasizes the importance of food. Homosaps  illustrates the evolution of man. Balloon illustrates how rumour spreads. Trip depicts how life is transient. Gokhale created Chaos. Shaila Paralkar is the first woman animator of India. Her contributions are The Saviour, Last Drop, Gandhi through the Eyes of a Cartoonist. The other prize winning entries in the collection of FD are My Tree, Boy or Girl — How?, Suno Bahurani, Don’t Spare Me Shankar. In recent years, Nandkumar Sadamate produced Picasso Metamorphoses and Ravi Jadhav produced Landscape. Sushma Potdar produced A Place in the Sun. Bidai shows the effects of dowry. ABC encourges eye donation. End Game shows the evil of war. Lost Horizon illustrates the ill-effects of urbanization. Education is Her only Future shows how education liberated a woman. She Could Do You Proud fights against female infanticide.

    Some other animation films in FD’s collection are Skin in the Bin, Precious Water, Law of Nature,The Thinker , Freedom, Solidarity, Bottled Cannibals, Two Thalis, Kahani Har Zamane Ki , Universal Peace, Kati Patang, Swayamwar. Some of the directors FD animation movies are V. G. Samant ( Hanumaan fame), Ram Mohan, A.R.Sen, G.K.Gokhale and Paramod Pati.

  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

    These days the companies have realised that success in today’s competitive market place is by providing customer service of quality and their grievance redressing mechanism. A contact or call center is one such mechanism which handles customer calls and complaints. It is a third-party customer contact desk. It does beyond call handling, and tries to establish comprehensive customer relationship management system. Theses services are outsourced. Many companies from abroad are outsourcing significant amount of customer contact services from India. It is what we call Business Process Outsourcing or BPO. If companies just rely on their internal resources, it may result in customer dissatisfaction. A plethora of communication devices may not be helpful. These should be a simple response number. Customer contact centers are common in service industries like credit card companies, banks and cellular phone companies. Third party customer contact centers are increasingly being used by FMCG companies, consumer durable companies and insurance companies. These centers also provide telemarketing solutions. Some companies get forms filled up online, courier them to be signed, collect them with supporting documents and submit them. A call center enters into an agreement with the company. In centralised model, all calls across various cities are handled by customer service representatives, ( CSRs ) in a single location. If the central location is at place  called X, and calls originate from Y and Z centers, they are received  at the respective local switches to be re-routed to X. In distributed option, the local centers take care of the calls. The hybrid model is a mixture of the two. Companies improve brand perception by employing the services of call centers. A company will have to advertise a customer service number.

  • Digital Intermediate (DI) Processing

    Of late DI technology is responsible for the visual appeal of most of the Hindi films. It does colour adjustment and gives the scene a distinct hue. It makes the image a lot more pleasing to the eye. DI technology is the Photoshop of the film industry. A cinematographer gets another opportunity of lighting his shots. The shades of complexion can be changed. Gaudy garments can be made subtler. Be it an actor, a landscape or an object, DI enables to achieve the desired results by working on these. The director’s vision is carried forward by the cinematographer. The cinematographer’s vision is translated by the DI operator. Just as the building structure must be sound before it gets decor in terms of colour, the basic cinematography must be sound for DI to contribute its mite. Jodha Akbar’s song Azeemushaan Sheheshah had great visuals, but involved very little of DI work. Most of the work was done prior to DI processing.Reshamiya’s  Karzzzz had many sequences in DI to lend a rich feel to the movie.

  • Abid Surti — Cartoonist, Author and Social Worker

    Abid Surti, a six-year old child at time of the World War II, witnessed in Mumbai the British soldiers passing in trains from Bombay Docks to the VT station on their way to Burma. The kids ran after the train to collect food items, confectionery and coins the soldiers tossed off to them. Once, they threw a comic book — a Walt Disney Mickey Mouse. That inspired Abid Surti to be a cartoonist for the rest of his life. He created Bahadur, a superhero who saved villages from dacoits. Alok Sharma has produced a documentary on Indian comics called Chitrakatha : Indian Comics beyond Balloons and Panels. Abid’s story forms the crux of this documentary. It has shaped the genre in India. It dates back to 1961. Apart from Abid Surti, Anant Pai and Pran, the other comic artists are Anupam Sinta ( Raj comics ), Dilip Kadam and Govind Brahmania ( cover artist for Bahadur and Shuja ).Abid also crated Dhabbooji for Dharmyug.He has written several books. Right now he works for water conservation and fixes leaky tapes himself to save water.

  • Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI)

    The NRS and IRS have merged into a new identity called Readership Studies Council of India in 2011. RSCI is now now conducting the biggest reaership survey in the world. Before 2006 both IRS and NRS released their reports. After 2006, NRS stopped the exercise. IRS was the only research body left. NRS was managed by INS, AAAI, and ABC. IRS was conducted by MRUC. The two have come together and a new committee has been formed. The most important issues the RSCI needs to resolve include the size of the sample, the kind of qualitative research to be done, the investment and the periodicity of the research report. Right now the sample size is 2,62,000. The report is called  IRS. Lynn de Souza is the first elected chairperson of the RSCI. Her job is to transform the study so that it becomes more relevant to a changing media world.