IIPM

He always said.... “I’m damn good at business”

2008-07-21T03:12:00.000-07:00

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Amitabh Bachchan was the last Bollywood superstar who tried to cash in on his star status to build a business empire. King Khan is trying to move much beyond that! By ADITI PRASAD

Late in the 1980s, he burst upon the scene as a gawking teenager in the serial Fauji. Most girls and women loved him; as did some men. Then he arrived in Bollywood as the character Raju who becomes a gentleman – losing his soul for money and greed before redeeming himself. Then he was the successful tycoon in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam. Reel life often mirrors real life, and fantasies often come true. And so you have superstar Shah Rukh Khan in a new role – a can do and aggressive entrepreneur who has global ambitions.

Who would have known that behind the carelessly crafted façade of an entertainer who takes dancing at weddings in his stride, lies the limitless energy and entrepreneurial fire that perhaps only a very few in a million possess. A multi-million dollar deal with the Indian Premier League (IPL), a stake in BAG Films’ entertainment foray, a place on the board of Jet Airways, besides his billion dollar ambitions with Red Chillies Entertainment and VFX, SRK has certainly hedged his bets in the cyclical Hindi film industry.

Even as contemporaries like Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Sunil Shetty are content with floating production houses or launching restaurant chains, as potential retirement plans; SRK has readied himself with a battery of business interests, to launch himself in style alongside the who’s who of India Inc. And his timing is just perfect. Sources opine that the King will continue to proudly flaunt the Bollywood crown for maximum two to four years and Shah Rukh is leaving no stone unturned to make the most of his precious place under the vacillating Bollywood Sun.

Lalit Modi, the suave Chairman of IPL is a sure-shot convert to the growing fan-list of SRK’s business prowess. “In my view, Shah Rukh is the world’s biggest and best marketer,” he exclaims, recounting a recent incident that re-affirmed his faith in SRK’s business acumen. “I met Shah Rukh within a week of his purchasing the Kolkata franchise of IPL. You won’t believe it, but he had already prepared nearly 20 power point presentations that covered the entire gamut – from possible mascots, to team uniforms, to marketing presentations, possible sponsors. He was like a man possessed,” avers Modi. According to Modi, soon after buying the Kolkata team, Shah Rukh had locked himself in at Mannat (his home in Mumbai) for a week to study the game of cricket and to chart out his team’s future direction.

Soumitra Karnik, VP & Executive Creative Director, JWT is also bowled over. “Shah Rukh’s vision for the team is fantastic. The kind of presentations that he had prepared on IPL, were far better than any MBA student could ever have made,” he points out, confident that in years to come, SRK would completely re-define entertainment and sports in India. And Soumitra should know. Having directed SRK in a series of Pepsi commercials, the creative brain has had a fair share of interactions with Shah Rukh the showman turned marketer and business visionary.

For the uninitiated, King Khan bagged the Kolkata franchise of IPL a few months ago - for an estimated $75 million - under the banner of a new sports and games division created under his production company Red Chillies Entertainment. At the time, SRK’s detractors said that playing hockey in college and playing a star coach on-screen for a hockey team (Chak De India) is no claim to fame in the actual world of sports, but Shah Rukh’s keen business vision, is already proving naysayers wrong.

Sources in BCCI affirm that potential sponsors have begun knocking avidly at SRK’s doors for piggybacking his charisma on the cricket field. No surprise here, given that most of the other IPL franchises are biggies of India Inc. (a la Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya & N. Srinivasan), with their own companies & brands to support. SRK’s decision to move in for an IPL franchise has, in fact, put him in the league of these business barons who share the IPL franchise tag along with Shah Rukh.

At the recently concluded IPL auction for players in Mumbai, a blue T-shirt and jeans clad SRK turned up to full house, and sauntered off with stars like Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Shoaib Akhtar, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, among others in his pocket, from right under the noses of these biz biggies. Of course, although SRK had bid for Dhoni originally, in the final assessment, he gave Dhoni the miss. And rightly so, given that Dhoni went under the hammer for an eye-popping $1.5 million.

The nation’s passion for anything cricket, coupled with SRK’s deft marketing manoeuvres, his entertainment jugglery and his unbridled charisma to pull fans into the stadium, is just waiting to set the cash registers ringing for King Khan. “I expect all IPL teams to be worth $700-800 million within 5 years of operations,” avers Modi. But so confident is Modi about Shah Rukh’s ability to make a success out of his IPL foray that he candidly admits: “Of the existing franchises, I expect SRK’s Kolkata franchise to be the first to break even and recover money, and that too within the very first year of operations itself.”

The reason is not too far off the horizon: Shah Rukh’s team offers the best of both world’s to fans – Bollywood and Cricket – and no wonder marketers are clamouring to hop on to SRK’s Kolkata bandwagon. Of course, Preity Zinta, who has bagged rights for the Mohali IPL team (with Ness Wadia), trails a similar route, but her charisma pales beside Shah Rukh’s in-your face star appeal.

What’s more, SRK has no intentions to stop with cricket. He wants to invest his time and money in other sports too, just that “starting with cricket makes more business sense,” says the Badshah of Bollywood himself. The vision is to move onto hockey and eventually football. “If you want to make a particular sport popular in the country, you need to make it sensible, business-wise,” affirms the King Khan.

Cricket is not the only business foray that Shah Rukh is eyeing. Being India’s ruling entertainment czar, where his very touch has the ability to transform the fortunes of a Bollywood flick, a television show or even an on-stage performance, SRK is raking in enough moolah for himself as an actor and entertainer-par-excellence. But the man, who likes to be in the driving seat, was not content with that. He kept hinting to his friends in the industry about his latent entrepreneurial fire. “He used to keep telling me, “I’m damn good at business’,” says Director, Aziz Mirza. And true to his ambition, he made his debut as a businessman in 1999 with his production company Dreamz Unlimited, along with friend Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza. The first film under this banner – Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani – did not do very well. So, he dreamed up the big-budget Asoka, under Arclightz and Films, SRK’s second production banner.

When Asoka also bombed, SRK conceived Red Chillies Entertainment (this time with wife Gauri Khan), and launched friend and Choreographer, Farah Khan as Director in 2004, with Main Hoon Na. The film was successful at the box office and ever since Red Chillies Entertainment has become his main production company. The latest flick under the Red Chillies banner has been the hugely successful Om Shanti Om, which according to Box Office Mojo has grossed $36,410,328 globally (as on February 7th, 2008), becoming the industry’s biggest grosser ever. Expectedly, the marketer in SRK pulled all stops to promote the film globally and in India, tying up with leading global distributors Eros International, and even making a controversial appearance at the T-20 World Cup in S. Africa, dressed conveniently in an OSO T-shirt. In as much, the first generation producer has successfully taken on the established Sony and Columbia banners. When awarded the entertainment business leader award last year, SRK said: “They may have big budgets, big banners, but I have Shah Rukh Khan.”

SRK’s ambitions are rocketing sky high with the latent potential for Red Chillies Entertainment. The latest thing on the production house’s hand is a flurry of entertainment-oriented news programming to be produced for BAG Films’ entertainment news channel – E24 – to be launched in March 2008. The deal has its base in the 10% stake that King Khan bought in Anuradha Prasad’s BAG Glamour earlier this year, a subsidiary of BAG Films & Media, for about Rs.10 crore. Here too, SRK made a detailed study of the business prospects and the revenue model of the proposed channel, before betting his energies in this venture.

The other big slice on SRK’s plate is an offshoot of his entertainment company - Red Chillies VFX. Managed by the supervision trio of Arjun Mitra, Haresh Hingorani & Keitan Yadav, Red Chillies VFX is all about creating and nurturing visual effects for feature movies as well as advertisements. Given the pace at which Bollywood is expanding and when big budget movies are more the rule than the exception, the technology edge of VFX is definitely brimming with potential. Small wonder that Red Chillies VFX has been hived off as a separate business unit. The bid is to not just pick up work of home productions, but to also work with other banners. Started nearly a year and a half ago, Om Shanti Om was the last home production that the VFX team worked on, while Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Honeymoon Travels & Don have been key outside productions. “Our business proposition is exceedingly promising. We’re among the top three VFX studio’s in India and hope to become the topmost in few years. At Red Chillies, we are not going so much for numbers as for quality,” says Arjun Mitra of Red Chillies VFX, even as he takes a breather during a shoot for Nagesh Kuknoor’s movie, in Mumbai’s Kamalistan Studio.

Hollywood is next on Shah Rukh’s VFX roadmap and he’s busy building up capacities to meet the growing demand for his state-of-the-art VFX studio set up. And being the shrewd marketer he is, SRK recently announced his plans to produce India’s most expensive movie @ Rs.100 crore (with oodles of VFX thrown in) to showcase the strength of the subcontinent’s special effects and animation industries to world cinema. But, pertinently, the movie, if anything, will showcase the prowess of Red Chillies VFX to scores of Hollywood studios, which in turn will serve as a potential market for this initiative of SRK.

Arjun Mitra denies any plans to woo Hollywood studios as of now. “We have 70 people in the present VFX team and we need to double that just to cope with the work coming in from Bollywood,” he says. But sources say that infrastructure at Red Chillies VFX is being expanded rapidly to accommodate more assignments.

From merely Bollywood, the noose has been expanded to straddle advertising films too. The advertisement to film ratio for Red Chillies is in the ratio of 20:80, since ad assignments are restricted to brands that SRK endorses. Now, the team is keen on expanding the size of the net to rope in other brands too.

To keep pace with his growing enterprise, SRK recently shifted premises of Red Chillies VFX to Mumbai’s posh Lokhandwala area and his team just can’t stop singing his praises. “We are amazed at his quick decisions. When we asked for a bigger office, he did not hesitate a moment and despite the huge cost of real estate in Mumbai, within a week we had finalised a new place. If that’s not the sign of a good entrepreneur, I wonder what is,” gushes Arjun.

Besides, Shah Rukh is also carefully nurturing brand SRK both on and off screen. Close associates point out that Shah Rukh, in fact, is so obsessed with his brand persona, that he sometimes cannot help referring to himself in third person. Add to that his intelligence, witty remarks, a wicked sense of humour – and you have all the trappings for a media savvy, charismatic and shrewd business leader.

Incidentally, Shah Rukh is not the only Bollywood superstar who boasts having this entrepreneurial fire in his belly. Amitabh Bachchan too headed in a similar direction, but was badly scalded due to the financial mess, which his company ABCL landed itself into. Thankfully, Bachchan bounced back. Kaun Banega Crorepati gave him a new lease of life and he repaid his debts. But, the entrepreneur in him lies dormant to the day. There’s also the jumping jack of the 70s – Jeetendra – who sits as promoter in the Rs.1,515 crore Balaji Telefilms. While one would like to give him credit, he himself passes off all praise to his daughter Ekta Kapoor for the success of this production house. So, it would not be entirely wrong to say that SRK has dared to venture where no other Bollywood superstar has tread.

Over the years, this Raju has helped a host of brands acquire the Gentleman status in the Indian marketplace. Guess it’s SRK’s payback time to himself now. Albeit an unconventional one, Mr. Khan is well on his way to become another coveted gem in the glittering crown of corporate India.

With inputs from Pallavi Srivastava

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Apollo God? Alive?! Today?!?

2008-07-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

It’s time to understand that the ancient ‘healer’ lives on...

Greek mythology presents Apollo as the ‘Healing’ and ‘Sun’ God. He was blessed with the power of omnipresence, no matter what the weather... Cut to the present, supernatural powers only seem...well, ‘a thing of the past’. And who’d believe in some ancient Greek God ‘Apollo’ today? Who would?

Surprisingly, many do... and yes, in the present times! Of course, it’s the Apollo Hospitals chain we are referring to here – the largest chain in the whole of Asia with 8000 beds in over 41 hospitals! Today, it’s a name that has come to associate itself with expertise at healthcare! And just as the saying goes, ‘The big only gets bigger,” today, the health major is only geared up for aggressive expansion and mighty investment plans. To ensure that its plans see the light of the day, it is also roping-in many investors – firstly, to create that massive capital pool required and secondly, to hedge total risks involved. The company is also gearing-up to test waters in many ‘untreaded’ health segments. To talk about its infrastructure expansion plans, the group is planning to roll-out a huge 400-bed hospital in Mumbai. And there’s more with the group all-set to expand its muscular arms into the tier-II cities. And none can perhaps beat its excitement about its exorbitant Rs.7 billion investment plan. So does expansion and penetrating into greener pastures spell no risks for the mammoth?

Affirms a company spokesperson, “We at Apollo believe in expanding our services, which (basically) means – taking risks. But we are prepared and each year, as a part of our growth strategy, we try to get into many new areas where nobody has entered.” Hence, merrily banking upon such a strategy, the group is extrapolating an astonishing 40% growth in net profits for the financial year 2007-08.

But here’s a sweet surprise – scintillating financials are not the only reason why the awe-inspiring healthcare titan has stolen the ‘health show’. Compared to its rivals (whose expansion strategy have always rotated around buying-out old hospitals and renewing them), Apollo has always believed in the truth – ‘Old may be gold, but new is diamond!’ And moving along the same line of thought, it has set up many brand-new facilities, and today considers it its secret to success. No wonder, the group has set a target of having a mind-numbing 10,000 hospital beds in India by 2008; from the present 8,000!

However, despite its tremendous growth strategy in place, it should also watch out for competition from many rivals planning a vigorous few years ahead. For instance, Fortis Healthcare Ltd is planning to invest a monumental $500 million to increase its hospitals count by 40 in the next 3-4 years. However, this first-moving giant, who is also credited with becoming the first one to implement the ‘tele-medicine’ concept in India is all set to soar as Sudhir Nair, Head, CRISIL Research agrees, “Telemedicine is one such innovative technology, which if used effectively, would help improve the efficiency of doctors. It was a brilliant move from Apollo indeed...”

Innovative treatment, increased presence, better doctors... the group has everything going for it at the moment. Perhaps, Apollo God lives on... Why? Don’t you think?!

Edit bureau: Angshuman Paul

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Done counting the zeroes yet?

2008-07-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

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No one like Mukesh Ambani, when it comes to creating wealth

What goes into the making of good quality life? Get yourself a dream American job, find a sprawling British mansion to live in, eat authentic Chinese cuisine, a traditional Indian wife, and... and what? Shares of Reliance Industries limited (RIL), so that you remain afloat in times of financial distress?!

For decades, RIL has been a good partner to a significant group of investors, amidst the not so significant stock-savvy Indians. The adage – survival of the fittest, applies not just to individuals but also to companies, communities and countries, believes Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, RIL. Whether in terms of creating shareholder’s wealth or the conviction with which it does business, there is admiration all around for RIL and Mukesh Ambani. And not without reason. The company which started off with textiles, today straddles polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining, oil and gas exploration & production. If father Dhirubhai laid strong foundations of the Ambani empire, son Mukesh has carried forward his legacy and business acumen perfectly, since his death in 2002. Just the increase in share prices of RIL in last five years has been a smashing 1,000%. Little surprise that awards and accolades for the elder scion of the Ambani clan abound, the latest being the United States-India Business Council leadership award for “Global Vision” 2007, in Washington.

Clearly the strategies that have been thought up by Mukesh Ambani to take Dhirubhai’s legacy forward have paid off in multiples. Here come a few of the strategies that have helped Mukesh and RIL scale dizzying heights. Firstly, “RIL is primarily a B2B company. 99% of its companies are B2B, and secondly, 55% of our revenues come from export. Because of this, we don’t need much of marketing and sales. Even if we do, it is sparse. Particularly in 2007, we have done no marketing,” confirms a Reliance spokesperson.

The year 2007 has been particularly eventful for RIL, even as its oil and gas exploration & production arm has gone on to script amazing success stories. The Empowered Group on Ministers approved the pricing formula for sale of gas from KG D6. The company also announced its first oil discovery in Krishna deep-water basin on the east coast of India. However, the company prefers to be modest about its accomplishments. “Success can’t be defined in particular terms. One has to have the conviction that oil and gas can be found there – it depends purely on luck. We might be trying for 3-7 years to explore an oil basin, but due to luck, one may strike in a lesser time. It’s the lucky person who strikes the goal,” says the spokesperson.

What El Dorado was to 16th-17th century explorers, the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin is to 20th-21st century investors, including Mukesh Ambani. RIL holds 90% participating interest in the KG Basin & Canada based partner Niko Resources holds the rest 10%. The first gas find of RIL, which is also the largest gas find in the world, was in 2002, where production is scheduled to begin in 2008.

“The KG Basin gas find catapults the company into one of the largest gas players in India, having a capacity of 40 mmscmd, which is further expected to double in a year’s time,” opines Sarabjit Kaur Nangra, VP, Research, Angel Broking. “At present, KG Basin accounts for almost 10-15% of the overall value of RIL. The key reason behind the success of RIL has been the huge scale up that the company has been able to do for the individual segments,” feels Kaur.

Now Mukesh Ambani has his eyes set on achieving global leadership, evident in RIL’s recent expansion plans and latest acquisitions. Petroleum, chemical and oil & gas segment have been on a high growth trajectory, on back of robust GDP growth, posing a growth of 9.4% and 17.9%, respectively, last year.

Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) the greenfield petro-refinery in a SEZ in Jamnagar, Gujarat (being set up by RIL) will ink a new chapter in the history of RIL and its stakeholders. RPL will be the world’s largest grassroots refinery. Even before commencing operations, RPL has set global benchmarks in project implementation and wealth maximisation (RPL stock jumped from Rs.60 in January this year to Rs.290 in November). Not surprising, when you remember that scalability of businesses is RIL’s key vision, it automatically translates into maximised shareholders’ wealth. All one has to do, is to remember the key ingredients of a happy life, of which RIL (or at least their stock) may have now become an integral part! Just ask the millions of investors who’ve ridden the RIL boom!

Edit bureau: Sunanda Roy

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Hey! Where’s my tattoo?

2008-07-07T04:06:00.001-07:00

IIPM, GURGAON

...lost in the capsules, maybe!

Honey, it sure must’ve been the truest moment of love when you got ‘I Love Dick’ tattooed on your body. So what if your relationship with the bozo lasted just three weeks. Or even if it later occurred to you that it was the stupidest decision of your life. Heck, tattoos and love are for keeps, aren’t they? Fret not, we’ve got a simple exit strategy for you, and no we aren’t referring to the costly and painful multiple laser treatments used to remove tattoos. Developed by Harvard Dermatology Professor, Rox Anderson,and marketed by a California- based company called Tat2BeGone, a spanking new ‘permanent, yet removable’ tattoo imprinting dye, slated to rock tattoo parlours this fall, guarantees that if your boy friend’s history, so will be your passion-forsaken tattoo. The tattoo ‘brew’ is created by ‘storing dye in microscopic capsules’ that, though permanent, can be zonked away with the swish of a painless and cheap ‘single’ laser session. Mike Cowasji, a renowned tattoo artist says, “At last, we’ll not have to rack our brains when a customer wants to get a tattoo removed! Also, we’ll get a cleaner canvas to work on!” With a report suggesting 36% of Americans aged 18-29 having tattoos, one can wonder how easily this ‘vanishing’ elixir will encourage more of ‘em yankees. Come to think of it, if only those Harvard nitwits could’ve invented some such inkpotion for our glorious graduation marksheets and our marriage certificates and our performance appraisal forms and for... Hallelujah, the Lord gives new hope!
Edit Bureau: Pooja Priyadarshini

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM - Admission Procedure
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Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

BANNED!

2008-07-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

IIPM - Admission Procedure

Is I&B Ministry’s ad ban spree mere outrage at obscenity or a move to gag the industry?

The thunder-down-under (read men’s jocks!) has been given a solid jolt by being served (legal) notice to stop the plunder and surrender to the august body called the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B). Two ads in this category – Amul Macho (ranked as Bakwaas ad by 4Ps B&M) and Lux Cozy have been alleged to have a ‘negative’ effect on zillions of tele-viewers and generally playing havoc with the very concept of ‘family viewing’!

Coming ahead of the proposed broadcast bill – designed to control media outbursts of the wrong kind – the banning of these ads is being seen by many in ad-frat as sending out the wrong signals. Within the media industry as a whole, advertising was the only vertical where self regulation had been somewhat successful, with ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) exercising some control. ASCI had given these two ads the ‘clean’ chit just about a month ago, and the I&B (over?)ruling now has only served to undercut the ASCI authority. The word ‘gag’ has also been making the rounds.

Before anything else, what are these ‘evil’ ads about and what are they saying – or showing – that have shaken up the sensibilities of these august bodies? The Amul Macho ad shows a young, attractive woman at a ghat, with a bundle of clothes, who is seemingly washing her husband’s Amul Macho underwear. Her expressions while washing the garment (arguably totally fantasy driven) shocks her companions and her body language blows their mind. The voice-over comes on to the super: Amul Macho – Crafted for Fantasies. The Lux Cozy ad too has a washerwoman, who’s calling at an apartmentto collect laundry. A man (wearing only a towel) opens the door; but accidentally drops the towel. Well, the washerwoman’s eyes – darting fast and furious - at the undies, register naughty delight!

The powers-that-be are however far from delighted at these slip ups and refuse to believe it is ‘andar ki baat hai’ anymore. Over-ruling ASCI’s earlier green signal to the Amul Macho ad, they have banned it as ‘vulgar’ and ‘unfit for family viewing’ and point toward sustained pressure/complaints from the general viewing public. According to ASCI, the difference in opinion (between the two) comes due to the difference in the respective codes being followed by them. Now, that’s a real original one!

While the I&B Ministry bemoans that “more than vulgarity and obscenity, the ad is derogatory because it’s not breaking away from stereotypes,” advertisers insist that what is being deemed “offensive” is only “actual clutter-bursting for a brand!” JWT’s Josy Paul who had worked on one of these commercials says that while the responsibility of the creative guy certainly comes into play, “the other three i.e. client, consumer and channel must not be overlooked, forgotten or ignored. It is a collective thing,” he avers. Are those for/ against the proposed broadcast bill listening carefully?
Edit lead: Monojit Lahiri

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

High, wide…inside!

2008-07-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Indoor cricket to strike the winning sixer?

Even as the world of sports has undergone sweeping changes in the past few decades, with newer avenues being explored by several organisations to harness potential talent that would set new benchmarks on the field, here is a brand, Neo, way to go about the entire exercise. Neo International Sports Academy (NISA), launched a year ago, is crafting inroads into the arena of sports training, marketing and management by promoting the unique concept of indoor cricket in the country.

Mushtaq Khan, MD, NISA spoke to 4Ps B&M on this unique initiative. Some excerpts from the interview:

Would indoor cricket work, when youngsters still play cricket in gullies?
Gully cricket is not producing Ranji players and test cricketers. It is a pastime, or a distraction. As Kapil Dev and Dean Jones have both opined, these indoor centres will be the best thing that could happen to budding Indian cricketers. Not only will they develop skills and fitness, but they will become competitive at an early age. The big advantage, that young Australians have over young Indians is that they play competitive cricket at an early age. Indoor cricket is a short, fast game where skills and instant decision- making are paramount for success and it is our intention to provide this facility for schools.

Where will these centres be?
Indoor cricket centres will be built in areas where there could be up to 50,000 school children with no real sporting facilities. Besides indoor cricket, we’re looking at providing nets and coaching for outdoor games, indoor soccer, tennis and volleyball as well.

Is there a way to channelise your offerings for financially weak but talented youngsters?
These will be destinations with a lot many attractions, hence won’t be solely reliant on income from indoor cricket. The cost of the cricket will be subsidised by these other elements. We have researched other pastimes and their costs, and will establish ours accordingly.

What are the challenges NISA faces in India, which has a vast untapped talent pool?
The major challenge is making all these services available to as many Indians as possible at an affordable price. We feel confident that India is ready to embrace this enormous stride forward into making the nation competitive in an array of sports and regaining some of the pride that we lost in the Caribbean World Cup. We don’t think India wants to rely just on our cricketers. Let’s regain our place in world hockey and tennis; we have the right temperament for golf and other sports too. We have all the ingredients. We are working with several school groups and we’re always on the lookout for partners. India is a very large country and the opportunities are equally immense.

Are you working out synergies with the BCCI and other sporting bodies too?
We are working at the grassroots level, mainly with schools. It is now accepted that a child will develop so much better with a good balance of physical and mental activity. Schools are now recognising that sport is an essential requirement for a complete education. It is natural that some of these youngsters will turn to sports as a career and NISA will be there to help them. We feel confident that as our work and success progresses, so will our association with the major sporting bodies here. Their success depends on talent coming through and if we’re there to aid in moulding and providing that talent, then they should want to engage with us! 4Ps

Edit bureau: R Prasad

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

GOOGLE

2008-06-11T23:46:00.000-07:00

Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Brand Google is soaring globally, but its India strategy clearly needs more punch

Every one loves the $144.6 billion giant Google! And why not, thanks to them, you have the world at your finger tips! It might have slipped fifteen places to a seemingly unimpressive number 37, but surely, with 53.7% of the world search-engine market share, it undisputedly stands tall and worthy to be called a brand that garners a swashbuckling $10.6 billion in revenues during 2006 (at a growth rate of 121.6%, since 2002). The year 2006 also witnessed quite a few acquisitions, starting with Google’s acquisition of YouTube – a popular video sharing website, making it a huge rage among the youth. Then in October 2006, it cemented its hold even on the working population with its acquisition of Jot Spot, an enterprise social software. Despite its activities being on a global scale, India has not found itself out of action when it came to playing a role in this giant’s business development. The brand has given millions of Hindi-speakers a reason to rejoice with Google News in Hindi and has even come out with two venture capital funds, Seedfund and Erasmic. Shailesh Rao, MD, Google India told 4Ps B&M: “We want to be a catalyst for the India entrepreneurial spirit and create new services for the Indian market.” Google has also initiated its ‘click-to-call’ ads in India, a tie-up with Bharti Airtel to provide a mobile search option. Brand ‘Google’ has clearly left its competitors with no choice, but to ogle!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

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BRAND BUSTERS

2008-05-19T01:31:00.000-07:00

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The following points are the prime criterion for selecting, short-listing and ranking the winning ads in this section:
• Product positioning clarity
• Clinching benefit to the brand
• Presence of a power idea
• Visibility of brand personality
• Expectancy of communication
• Single-minded focus of message
• Reward to the prospect
• Visually arresting
• Painstaking craftsmanship
Here’s the 4Ps B&M verdict for the fortnight ended June 4, 2007. First come the print ads, then the TVCs. Ready for a piece of action?

BRAND : HSBC
HEADLINE : We understand that no two businesses are alike
BASELINE : The world’s local bank
AGENCY : Contract Advertising
4Ps TAKE : Wow! So simple, yet so striking. All of us know that diverse kinds of business structures exist, but HSBC has beautifully used this fact to take forward its theme of customised treatment for its customers. The pictorial comparison of two different types of business families at once puts across the point. If the last campaign had a young girl with her new torn jeans and her matronly mother as protagonist; this time there are two sets of ‘Board of Directors’ rooted in two separate management styles: one that of a familyowned business and the other of a professional corporate structure. The theme easily brings out the single-minded focus, which is to promote HSBCs commercial banking that serves ‘all kinds’ of customers. The visual blends well with the theme and communication is bang on. The body copy explains the process of selecting practical banking solutions for customers, once the bank gains a thorough understanding of them. Overall, another great one from HSBC, which claims to be the world’s local bank!

BRAND : Incredible! India
HEADLINE : Ever met the talking murals?.....come alive.
AGENCY : R.K. Swamy/BBDO
4Ps TAKE : Guess, bringing out great campaigns has become more of a habit than a task for the Incredible India guys. It’s Goa that the Incredible India team has zeroed in on this time as it swoops down on the sun, sea and sands of Goa. If you thought that this delightful destination is only about lovely beaches, rocking parties, colourful carnivals, flea markets and cheap port wines then you are sadly mistaken. Incredible India has taken upon itself to promote the heritage-laden churches of Goa that are attracting religious tourists from all over. The visual comprising Basilica of Bom Jesus is superb and attractive, while the power idea – to promote this state and its churches is brought out well. Above all, it’s the communication that sounds very inviting: talking about the blend of Indian with European art, and the visual conveying the architectural marvel complete with carved woodwork and realistic murals. Wonder how they manage to bring out unknown facets of India, campaign after campaign with such ease that both invite and amaze. Yeh dil maange more...!

BRAND : ICICI
HEADLINE : When you travel, one is more powerful than ten
AGENCY : Dentsu Marcom
BASELINE : The card that travels
4Ps TAKE : When you have great offers at hand, it only makes great sense to combine them with powerful campaigns. And this one’s just that! It promotes ICICI’s Thomas Cook Titanium MasterCard by promising to ease the burden of their consumers while travelling abroad. The message is loud and clear – the ad introduces the card and lists its various USPs (it can be used at any airline, hotel and establishment) along with the offers that come with it. The body copy signs off in style – it pays to travel light. The red background is attractive and the lead visual of a wallet with only the card in it, is expressive. The headline is powerful and conveys the message with clarity. The ad scores high on bringing out the brand personality of ICICI bank as it promises that one can easily do away with all other forms payment. Powerful, in the truest sense!

BRAND : NIIT Imperia
HEADLINE : You are not the boss…..without you.
BASELINE : Give your signature more weight
AGENCY : Contract Advertising
4Ps TAKE : What strikes first in this rather simple looking ad is not the visual or the brand but lines written in white and bold – You are not the boss. And yet, the meeting doesn’t start without you! This time it’s the working professionals that NIIT is attracting, encouraging them to get another degree, and ‘add more weight to your signature’. The campaign scores on the sheer power of the headline that compels one to read on. The power idea to entice working professional with the promise of empowering them, is brought out well. The body copy is informative and lists the benefits of this management course. And the USP is revealed subtly – A certificate from IIM. Well, any ordinary ad would have raved and ranted on this very aspect but not this one. The ad is detailed but not cluttered. We’d say – an ad that matches the standards of those whom it aims to attract.

BRAND : Canon
HEADLINE : Sleek zindabad… Technology zindabad
BASELINE : Delighting you always
AGENCY : Dentsu Marcom
4Ps TAKE : First of all, thank you Canon for showing us the funkier side of Sachin. It was only in the last issue that we had Olympus harping on its digital technology and this time we have Canon boasting about its sleek body and multi-faceted detection technology and that’s the reward to the prospect. The visual with Sachin Tendulkar in his cool-dude avatar hogs the limelight, while the hip guys n’ gals just fill the background. The headline – Sleek Zindabad... Technology Zindabad not only up the youthful appeal of the ad but also reinforces the USPs of the product. The body copy informs about the various features of the product. The ad really stands out on one aspect – it gives a very Indian touch and funky feel to a technology brand that has its roots in Japan. Sachin Zindabad!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

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‘Chai’ or ‘thanda’ what’s the global funda…

2008-05-07T00:31:00.000-07:00

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... behind Tata Tea’s adieu to Glaceau and Coca Cola tying the knot instead?

Rub Aladdin’s lamp and whoever the appearing genie is beholden to, can use his magical prowess to amass enormous power for himself. A throwback to those pages from Arabian Nights, in the 21st century corporate world, the genie has assumed the form of Glaceau or the US-based Energy Brands Inc.. Last year, the enhanced water maker was the global expansion genie for the 68- year-old Ratan Tata, who purchased 30% equity of Glaceau. This year, Glaceau stands testimony to Tata’s aborted dream. In contrast, for soft drinks major Coca-Cola, Glaceau was a distant dream, which would bring it into the reckoning as a serious non-fizzy drink maker. This year, the dream became reality, with Coca Cola acquiring 50% of the health drinks major (as also Tata’s 30% stake) for a staggering $4.1billion in cash.

So why did Tata Tea sell its minority stake in Glaceau (for a cool $1.2 billion) so soon after acquiring it on August 23, 2006 for $677 million? Was the $523 million profit enticement enough for the $22 billion Tata Group to exit a lucrative business? At the time of the acquisition in 2006, Tata Tea had claimed that the strategy was to enable Tata Tea’s global expansion plans as a beverage giant, and enhance their portfolio beyond simply tea. By bidding adieu to Glaceau, are they thwarting those ambitions? What is Coca- Cola’s gameplan? What’s on the mind of Ratan Tata and Neville Isdell (CEO of Coca-Cola)? 4Ps B&M raises the curtain on why Tata got rid from Glaceau and why Coke lovingly embraced it.

Glaceau & global dreams…
Well, Tata Group’s overtures in the global takeover game needs no introduction. The 30% stake in Glaceau was just one more in a series of strategic acquisitions that commenced way back in 2000, with the acquisition of Tetley. But the Glaceau acquisition was different from the rest, in as much as it marked Tata Tea’s foray into the global energy drinks market, and that too with a company whose products – vitaminwater, fruitwater, smart water and vitaminenergy brands – straddled the entire spectrum in the high-potential water and energy drinks segment.

The bullish CEO of Tata Tea, Percy Siganporia even extrapolated that the global energy drink market would be worth $10 billion by 2009-10. But before he could reap the rewards of this lucrative market, Tata Tea sold off its stake to Coca Cola. Analysts that once hailed Tata Tea’s acquisition of Glaceau as a strategic investment were stupefied.

Senior officials at Tata Tea claim that they exited Glaceau because Tata’s did not want to be a minority stakeholder in any entity. Wonder why they bought it in the first place, knowing that Glaceau was a prime target for acquisition by myriad beverage giants in the US, in the face of a slump in cola sales versus a boom in healthy drink sales? And once the Atlanta-based giant bought controlling stake in Glacaeu, Tata Tea was left with little choice but to make a polite exit, given its decreased clout within the company. Analysts believe that Tata Tea’s time would have been better spent in fortifying backward linkages in its existing value chain. “Tatas should have focused more on Indian tea estates and its processing aspect rather than acquiring global brands from a different segment,” feels N.K. Basu, Principal Advisor of Indian Tea Planters Association.

A slight miscalculation and Tata Tea literally has had to abandon the dark horse which could have won it the global beverages race. Meanwhile, Tata Tea is not abandoning its ‘watery’ ambitions, even though they are virtually re-starting from scratch. Heard about their latest plans of acquiring 26% stake in Mount Everest Mineral Water Limited (MEMW) for Rs.115 crore. Great plans we’d say, considering that MEMW also has an alliance with USbased March Supermarkets Inc., but it will possibly take a lifetime for a controlling stake in MEMW to deliver what Glaceau could have delivered in just a few deft strokes.

Why did Coca-Cola buy Glaceau? This one’s easy. According to Beverage Digest, the market of carbonated drink moved southwards by 0.6% in 2006 and colas are on the receiving end of step motherly treatment in Uncle Sam’s land. Coca- Cola badly needed to diversify and Glaceau, with an eye-popping growth rate of 200% fits the bill. A f f i r m s , Muhtar Kent, COO of Coca- Cola, “It sharpens our existing focus on re-establishing sustainable growth in our home market and is an opportunity to build an expanded active lifestyle business, first in the US and then around the world.”

The other reason why Coca-Cola romanced Glaceau was arch rival PepsiCo. Confused! Well, PepsiCo’s Propel fitness water is the leader in the US’s enhanced water category (with 36% market share), while Coca-Cola has negligible presence. Given Glaceau’s market share of 17% in the segment, Coca-Cola’s strategy of straddling Glaceau’s prowess in the vitamin-water and energy drinks segment will pay off, sooner than later.

In India, within days of this global acquisition, the cola giant announced that in next three years, it would invest $250 million in this burgeroning market. But despite being in sunny spirits here (Coca Cola India’s bottling operations would turn profitable in 2008), the cola major has “no plans to launch Glaceau brands in India, at the moment,” a Coca-Cola India spokesperson told 4Ps B&M. Adds Purnendu Kumar, Principal Consultant, Technopak Advisors, “There is no awareness of these beverage brands and existing players have already captured the market. There is scope for new foreign brands, but it needs a proper brand building exercise.

For now the genie has left Tata’s ambit, and landed with a chuckle in Coca-Cola’s arms. Glaceau was financially lucky for Ratan Tata, but could not deliver on its starry promises. Just being the lucky owner of Aladdin’s lamp is not enough. You need the ability to judiciously command the genie to do your bidding. And that is not easy, as Aladdin’s mischievous uncle will tell you!

Edit bureau: Angshuman Paul

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

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If you Thought that the colour of success was red, blue or pink; think again, my friend! It’s positively Green...

2008-04-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

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Madonna will “speak to the planet” at Wembley stadium in London. She would call for mass global change to reduce carbon emissions and to tackle the “climate crisis.” Former US Vice President, Al Gore, has turned into an environmental campaigner and has started a spectacular series of concerts across the world called “Live Earth” to raise awareness about global warming. The world’s biggest stars would perform across all the seven continents (even Antarctica!) to appeal to the world to reduce its “carbon footprints”.

In fact, Carbon foot printing is the latest buzz among environmentalists. It is a way of measuring how much impact you, as an individual or a corporate, have on the earth in terms of units of carbon dioxide produced. You can now calculate your carbon footprint (how much you have contributed to polluting the earth); you can even offset your carbon footprint. You could plant a tree in Kenya to help reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, your wedding too can now be customized to become “carbon-neutral”. Instead of receiving 10 juicers or 5 toasters you could ask your guests to donate trees to organisations like carbon footprints.com at the cost of £10 per green tree.

The world is getting more and more carbon literate, especially with the scare of global warming looming closer and everyone wanting to leave a greener earth for their children. Many are busy calculating their carbon footprints by measuring the amount of CO2 they are producing through consumption of gas, heating and electricity. Even the means of transport – not just cars, but lights too emit CO2 and cause environmental damage – and people across the world are doing their best to cut it down as much as possible.

Superstars like Madonna and Kate Moss, thanks to their private jets, their super luxury cars and their ultra lavish lifestyle are among the worst polluters and have the largest carbon footprints. This is no small matter and companies are now under pressure to reduce their green house gas emissions, and come out with more carbon- neutral products, services and even events. No wonder even “Live Earth” concerts are being lambasted for causing immense emissions. With stars jetting in from around the world, fans arriving in gas guzzling cars, thousand of tonnes of rubbish, and sound equipment using so much power, these events are slated to become big polluters. Ironical?!

Green Marketing is Smart Marketing

Companies are now developing products keeping the environment in mind and marketers are using “environmental- friendly” as the new trick to sell their products and make them look more attractive. Running short of ideas? Well, you could get great ones by just brainstorming with an environmentalist. The Arm and Hammer brand of baking soda for 7 years had no growth in sales. Then they decided to market their products as an environmentally preferable cleaning agent. Sales rose by 30% in 35 months!

Toyota and British Petroleum too are big organisations that have realized the power of eco-innovation and green marketing. Toyota has beaten its domestic competitors, hands down, by introducing new automotive eco-innovations. Its ecofriendly cars like Prius are slowly eating away into the competitors’ market share. British Petroleum’s advertising campaign “Beyond Petroleum” highlighted the company’s support of renewable energy recourses. It is one of the very few companies that mention climate change in their annual reports.

Shareholders are today demanding that companies reveal more about the environmental impact of their products and explain what they are doing to make them more environmentally compatible.

Ireland’s largest insurer “Irish life and Permanent” has launched “green loans scheme,” designed to reward borrowers, who wish to borrow money for environment-friendly improvements to their homes by offering them a 1% discount on the normal lending rate for its personal loans. Similarly, HSBC had started a “green sale” that reinforces the bank’s commitment to environmental issues. It would donate £0.50 to WWF for every customer who signs up for internet banking during the period of sale. It expects to raise £1 million this way. Such schemes have helped HSBC to become the world’s first carbon neutral financial service provider.

Wal-Mart too is testing an energysaving retail store design. Philips has introduced energy saving bulbs. P&G’s new laundry detergent – Tide Coldwater is designed to clean clothes effectively in cold water, & hence help the consumers save energy. Steelcase, the world’s largest office furnit u r e manufacturer has come out with a “Think Chair”, which is 99% recyclable – its presence symbolizes a smart socially responsible office! Xerox promotes its solid ink printer as being non-toxic and producing 90% less waste than laser printers. McDonald’s is doing all it can, to show to the world that it cares by incorporating a series of environmental and social initiatives. Early this month, it announced that it would turn its spent cooking oil into bio-diesel fuel to power vans in the UK. Its menu now has coffee, soya, et al, that is sourced from companies, which do not destroy rainforests. Its décor of bright red & yellow is slowly being changed to dark green to reinforce its environmental faith and have a positive influence on consumers.

Pret-a-manger, a sandwich chain in the UK today has 1.3% of the sandwich market eating out of its hand. It snatched the share from Marks & Spencer (the original inventors of the sandwich for lunch concept). They did this by using only natural ingredients and minimum preservatives and making sure everything in their shop was recyclable, as also caused minimum waste (of paper) & damage to the environment. GM too launched a campaign “Live green, go yellow” to promote its flexible – fuel vehicles & its support of ethanol-based gasoline.

Green: Colour of money

It’s the youth that are turning more “green-conscious” today. According to a poll done in America, 50% of the respondents from the age group of 18-29 years, said that they were ready to spend more on products that were organic/environmentally-friendly or fair trade. It shows that Generation Y is obviously more environmental savvy than its seniors.

No wonder, the very popular website among the youth called “Second Life” where people create virtual doubles of themselves, has launched a competition for the best idea to redevelop an area in the city and make it more environmental-friendly. People from everywhere participated, which shows that people want to do something for their surroundings, if given an opportunity.

Countries that have suffered environmental disasters like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (India), the Exxon oil spill, the Chernobyl disaster (Ukraine) that caused radioactive contamination are today demanding their pound of flesh. They want better, safer products & don’t mind paying more, but they want to put an end to these manmade disasters.

Green is the new mantra. Anything “green” sells, even the green Ogre “Shrek”! It raked in more than $600 million and created history as the largest domestic debut ever for an animated film in the USA. Remember how Popeye, the cartoon character, solved all his problems by gulping down a jar of green spinach – well, if you want to win and watch your competitors turn green with envy – go green!

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative

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From bestsellers to blockbusters

2008-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

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Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind, et al were all bestsellers before they become thundering blockbusters. Not only these, the best of Hollywood cinema has been picked up from the best pot-boilers. But, when it comes to Indian films, such cases are few and far in between. However, cinema adaptations of books have seldom failed to work their magic at the box office. Fascinated by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s book Pather Panchali, Satyajit Ray decided to portray it on silver screen. The film went on to become one of India’s most recognised films globally. When it comes to cinema inspired by literature, Bengali cinema boasts the maximum numbers – Devdas, Choker Bali, Parineeta to name a few. In recent times, Vishal Bharadwaj, has mastered the art of putting life into the written word. His critically acclaimed Maqbool was a take off from Shakespeare’s Macbeth; while the recent hit Omkara was a local spin off on the great playwright’s Othelo. Even Booker prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake was recently translated onto celluloid by Meera Nair and was well-recieved. Nevertheless, the fact that on the Indian cinema has largely ignored the literary powers of Indian authors, is intriguing. Does Indian literature lack the punch or are desi filmmakers not book-savvy? The jury is still out!

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned M a n a g e m e n t G u r u and Economist) Initiative