Aug 5, 2011

When A Leader Brand Becomes A Challenger Brand – Tata Sky


In the world of marketing, there are two types of brands – leader brands and challenger brands. Leader brands are those brands who often command the largest market share or value. They mostly have a first mover advantage or are early entrants in the category. They have deep pockets and often act like a bully. Challenger brands are new entrants in the category who have the ability to change the game as the stakes are relatively lower compared to a leader brand. They can either belong to the same category or come from a different one to create a disruption in the category. A classic example is what Apple did to Sony Walkman with iPod.

However, in some cases a leader brand can also become a challenger brand. It ise not complacent with its success. The brand constantly keeps innovating and raises the bar for the competition. Some brands that follow this are Apple, Amazon, Facebook.

One such Indian brand that seems to fit this is Tata Sky. Even though this brand had the first mover advantage in the DTH category it keeps introducing new and innovative offerings at regular intervals. This offerings are often industry firsts where other players like Airtel, Videocon, Reliance have no choice but to copy and make it available to their customers

Tata Sky has launched many firsts in the DTH space. Some firsts, according to my guess, include Interactive TV with ActivZone like games, education, movies, cooking, darshan etc; pause and record live TV feature; HD channels; pay per view movie; recording on the go and the latest of all is a Tata Sky Mobile Access App.

Available free on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch this app allows you to see what your facebook friends are watching, set reminders for your favorite shows, use your phone to control the TV, discover the most-watched and highest-rated shows and much more. This is currently the number one app on the Indian app store.

I do not know about their services as I am not their customer yet (using CAS offered by cablewala), but if at all I am going to switch to DTH, it is certainly going to be Tata Sky.

I only hope they stay true to their promise of ‘Isko laga dala toh life jingalala’

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Jun 22, 2010

Top 12 Blockbuster Movies That Should Be Re-Made Into 3D

Mr. James Cameroon has changed the way we are now going to see movies on the big screen. Avatar in 3D is the biggest hit in the Hollywood history and has set the trend for others. Currently, every third movie released in the multiplex is a 3D version. Now, only if Mr. James had invented this technology few years early we would have got a chance to see our favorite blockbuster movies in this new technological avatar.

Nonetheless there is no harm in wishful thinking. Here is a list of top 12 blockbuster movies which I think should be made in 3D. The visuals effects in these original movies are so brilliant that the 3D version will be just breathtaking and outstanding.


1. Transformers - 1 & 2


2. Lord of The Rings Trilogy

3. Independence Day


4. Minority Report


5. Armageddon


6. The Matrix


7. King Kong


8. Iron Man


9. Harry Porter Series


10. Gladiator


11. Day After Tomorrow


12. Shrek

Mr. Steven Spielberg are you reading this!!! :-)

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Apr 22, 2010

It Is Time To Take Your Brand Up With ‘Air’vertising

IPL 3 season is on and if you have seen even one match (I’m sure it is more than one) you would be surprised to see some new ad formats. Micromax during strategic timeout, Karbonn mobile in a middle of an over and Kingfisher at the time of Third Umpire are just some of the new ad formats that would have caught your attention. According to me, the one that stands out (or should I say stands up) is the MRF blimp hovering in the air.

Each time the camera focuses on the MRP blimp you just cannot miss it. In fact the blimp also gets a mention by the commentators. The best part about this MRF blimp is that it is clutter free, non-intrusive and non-irritating (like most of the other TV commercials). It is a first of its kind format and it seems to have caught the attention of the other marketers as well. Vodafone too has created its own blimp (they call it airship) and have a contest where the winner gets a chance to fly in it. http://is.gd/bDanR

Volkswagen has used this medium recently to the launch its Beetle. http://is.gd/bDakl

Tata Photon took to skies to promote their Tata Photon Plus mobile broadband service in Bangalore http://is.gd/bDalG.



IKEA too has interesting campaign where we see furniture falling from the sky in the middle of a street.








Welcome to the world of ‘air’vertising. Although this medium has not been used extensively, this one is sure to grab the advertiser’s interest and consumers eyeballs. I am sure we will see more use of ‘air’vertising by the marketers in the near future as the format is new, unconventional, clutter free and effective. Airships, Blimps, Air Balloons, Sky Banners are just some of the ‘air’vertising options which can be used by the brands in their campaign.

So next time when the campaign is on air…we know where to look.

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Apr 10, 2010

Achieving Your Childhood Dreams – Randy Pausch Last Lecture

There more than 1 lakh self books to choose from at amazon.com. These self help books are self prescribed motivational pills which help us when we are down. The effect of these books is temporary and lasts only for few days. No wonder we have so many best sellers. I believe that speeches given by individuals whose lives are truly inspiring and motivating are more impactful and moving than reading these slef help books.

One such talk was given by Randy Pausch, professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He gave his last lecture at the university on achieving your childhood dreams. His speech is full of humour, antidotes and surprises. It is an hour long speech but every second of it is worth it. In case you are time starved then you can pick up his book and read at leisure.




Some of my favourite quotes from his lecture are noted below.
  • We cannot change the cards we are dealt just how we play the hand.

  • Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.

  • You got the get the fundamentals down because the fancy stuff isn’t going to work.

  • When you are screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up.

  • When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a very bad place to be.

  • You critics are the one who tell you they still love you and care.

  • Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

  • Become a professor because you are such a good salesman that any company who gets you is going to use as a salesman and you might as well be selling something worthwhile like education.

  • Be prepared: 'luck' is where preparation meets opportunity.

  • Find the best in everybody; no matter how much long you have to wait for them to show it.

  • Be good at something: it makes you valuable.

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Dec 22, 2009

Why A World Class Brand Is Not 'Made In India'!

Every time I look at the top 100 global brand list (http://bit.ly/rqrH) it makes me wonder why not a single Indian brand features in the list. What are the reasons that Indian brands fail to make the cut? Are Indian products below global standards? Is it because Indian companies lack technical expertise to make such products?? Or does the Indian consumer mindset act as a roadblock?

I think it is difficult to single out one key reason why Indian brands do not fare well on the global map. Superior product quality is one main ingredient missing in our Indian brands (http://bit.ly/a2A0n). Besides this, I see three 'CO' reasons which explains why Indian brands fail to become world class brands.

1) ‘CO’UNTRY’S IMAGE - Remember the simple math equation we studied in school - A = B and B = C hence A = C. Well, this equation also holds true when we talk about country's image impacting the local company’s image and in turn affecting the product image of the company. (Country’s image = Company’s image = Product’s image)

The values, beliefs and image of the country play an important role in shaping the success for the brands of the local companies of that country. Switzerland is the best example to explain this.

Switzerland as a country stands for high quality, precision, class, innovation and aspiration. These same qualities are reflected in their brands. Brands like Rolex, Swatch, Swiss Army Knife are world class brands not only because these are great products, but the country's image lends its credibility and values to these brand to make it a truly world class brand.

Other countries like US, Japan and Germany are fine examples where the countries values are ingrained in the brands.

When we talk about India, corruption, poverty, world’s back-office and Incredible India are some of the attributes get associated with our country. One marketing campaign (Incredible India) is not going to be enough to correct the image of our county. These strong negative connotations have severely tarnished the image of the country. Due to this, no matter how well our Indian companies try hard to make a global brand, the fact that it is ‘Made in India’ will always act as a dampener. Would you wear a Levis or a Rolex or Gucci if it was made in India?

2) ‘CO’MPANY’S FOCUS

At first we Indians drove Fiat than came the era of Maruti Suzuki and now we have Nano, the world’s cheapest car. This sums up the underlying philosophy of the Indian companies and the Indian market. Indian companies make products which are affordable, durable and most importantly, which satisfies the basic utility of the product. Making aspirational products which has top class design and style is still not the focus of the Indian companies. Is the Indian consumer market driving our Indian companies to make such products or are the Indian companies forcing the Indian consumers to accept such products? It is a typical chicken and the egg problem of which comes first.

Today, where MNCs have entered the Indian shores, Indian companies like Reliance, TATA, Godrej, Videocon, Bajaj are feeling the heat and fighting a losing battle when it comes to brands. These Indian companies have large market capitalization but small market share and even smaller brand equity compared to foreign brands across consumer categories.

3) ‘CO’NSUMER PSYCHE

Indian consumers purchase habits can be aptly summed in three words. ‘More (quantity) for Less’. Indian consumers crave for more quantity at the same price, preferably at the lesser price. Indian consumers are value conscious customers. Value for money is the most important proposition for the Indian consumers. Brands are still looked upon as products and quantity is still the king for an average Indian consumer. This psyche will be seen across the country be it metros or small towns. Maruti, Lifebouy, Rin are not the best brands in their categories but they are leading brands in the country working on the price proposition.

Bottom-line is will India ever have a brand which will be called a World Class brand? A brand which will be used by consumers across the globe? A brand which will be in the same league as Disney, Apple, Google, Toyota etc?

Do you think India can have such a brand? or Does India already have such a brand which can be called a global brand? Do share your thoughts.

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