1. Page >> 09
NEW Page >> 13
SECTION
Hall-Mark
Campaigns
Page >> 08
Cat n Mouse Chase Are How are companies
The Apple Samsung
regional brands giving going out of their
Battle What are its big pocket MNC s a run way for new product
implications for their money launches
Page >> 16 Page >> 18 Page >> 20

2. EDITOR’S DESK
Dear Readers,
Unveiling yet another edition of your monthly dose of marketing. Hope our
anniversary issue created its “MARK”. We ricochet with a deluge of information to
satiate your marketing acumen. It is our ceaseless endeavour to outdo ourselves
and serve our readers the best pot pourri from the marketing world. Hope it
makes for a devouring read.
In our Cover Story we uncover the nuances of TAGLINE MARKETING and shed light
on the raconteuring ability of a few words. Our Special Story on THE CURIOUS
CASE OF WILL-i-am AND CURIOSITY presents brand building in a different light
and harps on the power of innovative marketing.
We thank our readers for their overwhelming response to our CALL FOR ARTICLES.
THE APPLE SAMSUNG BATTLE: WHAT ARE ITS IMPLICATIONS? is a comprehensive
coverage of the topic. CAT-N-MOUSE CHASE: ARE REGIONAL BRANDS GIVING BIG
POCKET MNC’s A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY? and HOW ARE COMPANIES GOING
OUT OF THEIR WAY FOR NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES? are replete with illustrations
which buttress the author’s point of view. We extend a hearty congratulations to
the winners of our Featured Articles- Biswarup Saha, Isha Pandey & Ankush
Gupta.
The eclectic mix of our MARK-ive, Its all about AD-itude, Tweets, Hall-MARK
Campaigns, BookWorm, Rewind, SquAreheaD and Buzz completes this sumptuous
issue.
Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. So together lets aim high
and fly higher.
Cheers !!
Team – Marksman
The Interface – The Marketing Club of SIMSR
01 SEPTEMBER 2012

3. CONTENTS
TWEETS It’s all about BUZZ SqAreheaD
AD-itude!
03 07 25 24
Brand Bookworm Hall-MARK Rewind
MARK ive Campaigns
05 22 08 23
SPECIAL STORY COVER STORY
The curious case of Tagline Marketing
will.i.am & Curiosity
13 09
FEATURED ARTICLES
The Apple- Samsung Cat-n-Mouse Chase: How are companies
Battle: What are its Are regional brands going out of their way
implications? …16 giving big-pocket for new product
MNC’s a run for their launches? …20
money? …18
THE MARKSMAN 02

6. Brand MARK ive
IBM, originally International Business Machines, is a
multinational computer, technology and Information
Technology consulting company which has its
headquarters in New York, United States. IBM is one of
the few IT companies which has a history that dates
back to the early 19th century. IBM makes and sells
computer hardware as well as software with an
emphasis on software and offers infrastructure services
and IT consultancy services in fields that range from
computers to nanotechnology. It is also known as the
“Big Blue” for its official corporate colour.
1880s – The origin of IBM dates back to the 1960s – The first men on Moon, land with
19th century, although IBM was registered in the help of IBM computers and
the state of New York in 1911 (June 16) as personnel.
the Computing Tabulating Recording
Company. 1970s – IBM introduced “floppy disk”, the
only medium to store personal data.
1910s - In 1911, IBM was merged with
International Time Recording Company and 1980s – The brand IBM entered homes,
Computing Scale Company of America. In schools and small businesses with the
1915 the famous "THINK" signs, the slogan launch of the IBM Personal Computer.
phrased by Thomas J. Watson Sr., were
first used in the company. 1990s - In 1993, IBM recorded a net
annual loss of $8 billion. Louis Gerstner,
took reign as IBM's Chief Executive
Officer on 1st April, 1993 (the 1st outsider
since 1911) and helped the company
miraculously turnaround in just 1 year.
2000s – “Watson” – IBM’s supercomputer
competed on the quiz show Jeopardy, in
1920s - The CTR (Computing Tabulating the show's only human v/s machine
Recording Company) was renamed IBM - match and won the 1st prize of $ 1 million
International Business Machines
Corporation.
1930s – In the 1930s during the Great
Depression, IBM succeeded in growing
while the rest of the U.S. economy
struggled.
05 SEPTEMBER 2012

7. Brand MARK ive
DESCENT OF IBM LOGOS: IBM’s near Death and Rebirth! – The World’s
IBM is known for one of the most notable Most Successful Corporate Turnaround!
and distinct logos in the world, simple yet
very appealing, it goes with IBM’s global IBM, had one of its toughest time in the
image. early 1990s. In spite of recording a
profitable year in 1990, in the year 1994, the
company recorded a loss of close to $16
billion due to the changing dynamics in the
IT Industry. The company had money to
sustain for just another 100 days. The
reason behind the sudden shift in fortunes
was attributed to its elephantine size, an
easy going work culture and an inability to
integrate the business effectively to offer a
gamut of solutions to its customers. The
company had to do something fast and
 The logo that was used from 1924 to that’s when Louis Gerstner took hold of the
1946 aims to suggest a globe encircled company and over the next decade brought
by the word "International" showcasing the world’s largest and the most successful
IBM as an international brand. corporate turnaround.
 In the logo that was used from 1947 to With this Louis
1956, the known globe was substituted Gartner had been
with the three plain letters "IBM” which successful in
highlighted IBM’s simplified structure. making the
 The logo that was used from 1956 to elephants dance to
1972 emphasized IBM’s bold, his tunes. With
continuous and grounded approach. Gartner in IBM for
 The striped logo was first used in 1967, around a decade,
totally replacing the bold logo, the company
highlighting the dynamic culture at expanded by around 40% with majority of
IBM. the growth coming from the services and
 The logo in 1972 was developed by consulting division. Also, the stock price of
graphic designer Paul Rand, making the company increased by 8 times during
IBM’s logo one of the most that period. His vision led the growth of
recognizable logos in the world. services and consulting of IBM and
propelled the company back to its
triumphant ways. Louis Gerstner will always
DID YOU KNOW? be remembered in the company and also
across the world in times to come as the
 In 1997, Deep Blue, a chess-playing architect of one of the world’s most
computer designed by IBM won the successful corporate turnaround stories.
second six-game match against world
champion Garry Kasparov.
 IBM set up its 1st office in INDIA in
1951. It re-entered India in 1992 with a
Joint Venture with TATA after its exit
from INDIA in 1970s.
MARKSMAN 06

8. Its all about AD-itude!
50 branches of Mother’s pride and The campaign also aimed at spreading the
Presidium schools spearheaded a 2-month vital message that it’s the ‘Teacher’s
activation called Teacher’s Touch, with Touch’ that ultimately creates leaders.
intent to thank over 2500 teachers for their To throw some light on what the activation
selfless dedication, on the occasion of was about; the first stage urged teachers to
Teacher’s Day. The activation started off on leave a thumbprint on a poster, to honour
1st July,2012 and ended on Teacher’s Day teachers and their teaching. This was
i.e. 5th September,2012. eventually followed by a special SMS
The conceptualization by Out of the Box, service, which involved sending special
India which started off as a crusade, messages to teachers every morning at
metamorphosed into a festival of 7.30. Further, all the teachers were
celebration to thank teachers for their photographed by professional
endless support. photographers, who captured a special
The concept of the ads was to highlight expression of each one of them and life
how teachers have the vision to determine size banners of these photographs were
what their students can become in future displayed on the corridors of every school.
and also to showcase their determination to Also teachers were given personalized
help the students identify their passion. books that saluted their work and effort,
along with a personalized mug embossed
with the message, ‘I have the Touch’.
Media: Print
Client: Presidium Schools
Creative agency: Out of the
box, India
Marico’s Nihar Naturals has recently She then provides a voice over, introducing
launched its new campaign “Chhotte Nihar Natural’s new initiative offer whereby
Kadam Pragati ki Aur” in partnership with each time a consumer buys a bottle of Nihar
CRY India. The campaign aims at Naturals, 2 percent of the proceeds will be
enabling and helping its consumers to contributed to the education of
take the step of providing opportunities to underprivileged children.
underprivileged children, for a bright The campaign thus provides consumers
future. across India a channel, through which they
The TVC, created by BBH India starts off can do their bit for the society and enables
with the Brand Ambassador ‘Vidya Balan’ them to participate in its growth and
walking up to two children who are progress.
studying in the open, giving them both a
cup of tea and encouraging them to study.
Media: TVC
Client: Marico’s Nihar Naturals
Creative agency: BBH India
07 SEPTEMBER 2012

9. Hall-MARK Campaigns NEW
SECTION
Hippo hit a sixer when it launched the This tempting offer was taken up by a lot of
Indian food league campaign this IPL fans .People unleashed their creativity with
season .This year, Hippo’s fight against loyalty for their teams dripping from each of
hunger started with our national obsession their comments.
Cricket, marinated with our national fixation
@KeshavSingla
with Food!
ROSH GOLLA is delicious.....It’s just like
This campaign revolved around the rivalry
Hippo... GOL GOL Hippo...Gol Gol Golla
existing between the cities/states
participating in the IPL, but with a twist.
@RajdeepBarman
People’s emotional connect with their city
rosh golla is the best sweet in the world.
was channelized via FOOD.
khabo golla, jeetbo re!!!
Hippo had a dedicated micro site where
people could login with their respective
@RinaChoudhary
Facebook/twitter ID and enter the tastefully
Hippo says today Idli Sambhar will win as
done Hippo site. The menu card consisted
Idli is lighter than fatty roshgolla and can
of teams in IPL like Pav Bhaji for Mumbai,
swim better in sambhar.
Idli Sambhar for Chennai, Dal Bati for
Rajasthan, etc.The ‘Today’s Special‘menu
These were a few tweet based comments
card consisted of the match scheduled for
during the final match between Chennai
the day. So say, if a match between Delhi
super kings and Kolkata knight riders.
daredevils and Kings XI Punjab was on,
Hippo cleverly leveraged our love for
they would simply say Papdi Chaat Delhi
snacking through this campaign. While
vs. Aloo Paratha Punjab. By referring to the
cricket is our religion, Hippo knew Food is
specialty dishes from that region people
not for our thoughts but for our stomach. So
immediately connected. And the ‘free’ hit
it served two flavors with one spoon. The
that people received was the Hippo Bean
flavor of our regional specialty and that of
bag. The Hippo bean bag was a giveaway
our spicy cricket moments. And we are not
for the audience who posted their
complaining!
comments and posters on the site.
THE MARKSMAN 08

10. YOU LIKE IT...IT LIKES YOU | VALUES STRONGER THAN STEEL
| JUST DO IT| I'M LOVIN' IT
C A tagline is nothing but a short set of words that companies use to associate
themselves with their company or brand. It communicates the highest
O priority message about your brand identity, in a reminiscent manner. It
presents a precious opportunity to communicate point of differences,
V solutions or benefits, promises on everything from letterhead to
website. The fact is taglines, good taglines, do an important work that no
E other element in an ad could possibly ever do.
They can punctuate, urge,
R crystallize, energize, intrigue,
raise the bar and most
importantly provide the crucial
barbed hook at the very end of
S the advertising experience—that
memorable little brand byte that
T stays with you when everything
else within the ad has faded from
O your memory. When you think
about it, for at least the last 75
R years, no other advertising genre
or element has been more
Y sustainable, more powerful and
more engaging than the tagline
(with the possible exception of
the jingle which very often is a
tagline put to music.)
A tagline is a very important element of branding. It can be one of the best
brand communication tools, if used right. However, you don’t always need a
tagline to have a successful brand. Some big brands such as Google don’t
use a tagline. But a fine tagline is the single-most powerful, condensed,
petite expression of your brand that you can ever have.
09 SEPTEMBER 2012

11. COVER STORY
Taglines show their real worth when you want to bring your brand in front of
people and ally with them in little space and time. The tagline is the first
impression that your brand creates. However, a tagline is not an explanation
and it shouldn’t tell a long story. It needs to inculcate the feeling you want
people to have about you. For that reason, you should take great care in
creating one. The key is having a clear idea of what your brand stands for.
Taglines are the first step and an
integral part of brand building
campaign. Their value builds for
years, and over time, a nice tagline
can be your best as well as least
expensive form of advertising. If
your company name, logo and
tagline are all working together as
they should, they definitely become
an ad in and of themselves. Then it
doesn’t matter what your company
does, your tagline creates an
opening expression. People will
keep in mind this slogan even
before a company name.
The point to be noted is that, like food, literature and art, the tagline can be
meaningful and priceless. And more so today than ever, as the explicit sell
becomes less present in ads, the presence of the tagline becomes more
important. It is very often the sole bearer of the brand’s message.
People memorize taglines for products from their early childhood. In fact,
some taglines become so deep-rooted in the culture that they are familiar to
people who hadn’t even taken birth at the time the tagline was dynamic, and
who never used the product.
Whenever a brand is born, it very often suckles at its tagline teat. Also, when a
brand dies, the legacy it leaves is usually the tagline. To quote just one of
countless, if earliest, examples, when Standard Oil was taken over by Amoco,
and then by BP, what did people retain of the original brand? “You Expect
More From Standard, And You Get It.” Granted, those of us who still retain
that tagline are starting to die off; nevertheless, it far outlived the brand.
Because no other component has the latent to convey this much unforgettable
touching stuff about the brand with such a communicative economy. If the aim
is to find a hook that will succinctly express your brand, and your customers’
attitude towards it, nothing else works as well as a tagline.
THE MARKSMAN 10

12. COVER STORY
No image, no headline, no punch line, no celebrity spokesman, no viral
video, and no nothing sticks and communicates like a good tagline. Mostly, it
is often the tagline alone which makes sense of the words and/or images
which precede it.
And while the tagline, on the face, may express the benefit or the brand bond
on a deeper level, it itself can be a critical component of that very bond or
benefit. The tagline satisfies a deeply engrained, inherent human desire to
wrap things up tidily and with a twist. This universally shared desire is often
most sensitive in advertisers themselves. They just love that short and
snappy, catchy, crystallized expression of what their brand is about. Apart
from the corporate ego of it, a good tagline can assist everyone in the
company stay determined. Satisfying this desire to wrap things up efficiently
and with a twist, by itself, may or may not be sufficient explanation for using a
tagline, but it certainly is, at a minimum, a happy by-product.
Nike was founded in 1978. While it
was clear that Nike was a brand
focused on footwear and sportswear,
no one knew precisely what it stood
for until 10 years later when the "Just
Do It" campaign was launched.
Right away, the message began to
echo. It was no longer about just a
shoe or a pair of shorts; it was about
a state of mind. You don't have to be
an athlete to be in shape or tackle an
obstacle. If you want to do it, just do
it. That's all it takes.
This tagline is a proof that a brand needs to give itself time for a tagline to
marinate before anyone can truly understand what it means to its audience.
Cadbury Dairy Milk encapsulates a gigantic breath of emotions, from shared
values of family togetherness, to the personal values of individual enjoyment.
Essentially, it stands for goodness.
In 2004, the `Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ campaign was launched, seeking to
increase CDM consumption by making it synonymous with traditional
sweets (Mithai). Having Amitabh Bachchan as the face and voice of the brand,
the campaign went on to become a very huge success.
11 SEPTEMBER 2012

13. COVER STORY
People could relate to the commercials that were published to
promote Cadbury Dairy Milk. How many can forget the `Pappu Pass Ho
Gaya’ advertisement? The country cheered on as Pappu fell in love in the
‘Pappu Love Test commercial’. Then came`Miss Palampur’ and the country
celebrated the beauty pageant with a difference. The ‘Kenya’ commercial that
was aired in 2008 celebrated the true spirit of cricket and that of true
sportsmanship. In 2009, it aired another commercial under the `Kuch Meetha
Ho Jaaye’ platform, called the `Pay Day’ commercial.
In the year 2010, the `Shubh
Aarambh’ campaign was
launched, drawing lines from
the traditional Indian tradition
of having something sweet
before starting off with
something new.
With `Shubh Aarambh’, Cadbury took forward the Dairy Milk journey a step
further into the hearts of its million lovers.
If the tagline were no longer filling a need, it would have no endurance value
and would plainly disappear. But taglines continue to dominate the advertising
arena as they have throughout the course of advertising. The need is clearly
still there. The task of advertisers and the tagline writers they rely on is to
revalue the tagline, to dig deeper to find the nugget, to spot the little piece of
pith that rings true, that emanates from the true voice of the brand.
The point is taglines are here to stay and that too
for good reasons. Our environment is saturated
with lot of commercial messages. The need and
desire to be quicky and entertaining in the
broadest sense is surely increasing exponentially.
As advertising adapts to increasing pressure to
communicate even more concisely, and to up the
entertainment quotient, the tagline becomes a
more and more valuable means to achieve those
ends. And so true to itself -
“A good tagline is one of the least expensive forms of marketing
you can develop and use.”
THE MARKSMAN 12

14. the curious case of
will.i.am and curiosity
S
On 28th August 2012, Earth received a voice message from Mars.
P SETI(Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) would have had a field day
had it been from the Martians or any aliens we have come to perceive so
E well; thanks to Hollywood’s rich embellishments!
But this signal-despite its extra terrestrial origins-turned out to be a song
C called Reach for the stars, performed by an artist called Will.I.am. The focus
of this article is on the buzz surrounding this phenomenon. But before that, a
I glance at our protagonist..
A Will.i.am is famously known as one of
the singers of the pop group Black
L Eyed Peas. As a solo artist he has
composed music which ranges from
S rap to electro-pop. His work has
earned him 7 Grammys and a
T recognition which few musicians of his
caliber have been able to achieve. But
O this talented musician also has his
hands in many other pies.
R One would surely remember him as a mutant with teleportation ability in the
movie “X Men Origins-Wolverine”. If one would think harder, images of him
Y appearing in music videos alongside artists like Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj,
Cheryl Cole & Justin Timberlake would also come to mind. What might not
come to mind is the fact that Will.i.am is also the Director of Creative
Innovation at Intel, the microchip giant! He also owns a clothing line called
i.am.
This versatile artist has made his mark not only as a singer but also as a
master collaborator. He has promoted the brand Will.i.am unlike any other
musician. He has been involved in projects whose breadth ranges from
politics to microchips. One of the latest collaborations has been with the soft
drink giant Coke with whom he partners to promote the brand EkoCycle.
13 SEPTEMBER 2012

15. SPECIAL STORY
This branded line of products would comprise of luxury goods made out of
recycled Coke bottles. With Ekocycle, the singer has brought his creative
designing sensibilities to create high end products with value additions.(Did
we forget to mention that he had attended the Fashion Institute of Design and
Merchandising in California?). This product line will go “live” the following
year.
CANDID SCRUTINY
Will.i.am’s new song “Reach for the Stars” debuted worldwide on 28th August
2012. This song is quite different from the kind of music that he is associated
with. However, it is not the song that raised eyebrows. It was the song’s
mode of unveiling that made history.
The song was streamed via the Mars Rover Curiosity!!
Curiosity “played” the Will.i.am song on August 28th and it was unveiled in the
form of a video at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena,
California, USA. The collaborative effort came to fruition with the joint effort of
NASA, i.am angel( a non-profit organization owned by Will.i.am which is
dedicated to "transforming lives through education, opportunity and
inspiration") and Discovery Education. According to Will.i.am, the song Reach
for the stars is special. It is not the typical pop song of a genre that the singer
is known for. It has more of western traditional composition which combines a
lot of elements of orchestrated symphony.
From marketing perspective, this latest move of the helmsman of the Black
Eyed Peas is brilliant. He has managed to bring the elements of
CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility), brand development and market
expansion in one act. His objective- to reach out to children and make higher
education more appealing-has been quite successful. The mystical images of
another world coupled with a song that stirs introspective strings has already
won the hearts of millions. The sincerity of the campaign is evident, but here is
another thought- the singer has thus increased his market base by a huge
quantum in one bold move. The “intellectual” strains of the song have appeals
to all age groups. The platform for its projection, the music and the cause, all
add to the depth of the promotion of the Will.i.am brand which now stands out
amongst all musicians. In one majestic swipe, the singer has earned the
respect of the scientific and academic community too.
THE MARKSMAN 14

16. SPECIAL STORY
The artist’s modesty in
contrast with his flamboyance
also adds to the favorable
image.
(For the benefit of the science newbies,
In doing a charitable act, he has who might not know much about
managed to attract audience who Curiosity, here is an (offbeat)
may or may not have been explanation- Curiosity is one of the
interested in his music earlier. most sophisticated vehicles doing off
His face has become symbolic as road runs on one of the farthest
a singer cum humanitarian of terrains known to man- Planet Mars!
NASA. This balance of It is a well known fact that music
personality commands loyalty. It celebrities have a way of showing off
is a feat which is certainly difficult by the use of their vehicles. Now
to achieve with negligible picture a SUV sized vehicle on a
investment. distant planet playing a Will.i.am song!
Another observation is the sheer ………The singer certainly has earned
brilliance of the concept which bragging rights which will not be
otherwise was not possible at surpassed anytime soon. )
any level of investment cost.
NASA-despite immense budget cuts- would never allow its assets to be used
for music promotions (or for that matter, any other commercial purposes) at
any cost. Even if it did, the price would be too steep for any business to break
even.
Now bearing in mind that his collaboration
with Coke Ekocycle(high end products
made out of recycled bottles) is due for
launch next year, this brand image
enforces both loyalty as well as increase in
sales. The Curiosity broadcast comes
barely a month after the Ekocycle
announcement and it clearly depicts the
brand reinforcement strategy adopted by
Will.i.am.
Over the years, Will.i.am has diversified his interests and successfully
promoted himself as a solo artist and a celebrity who has myriad facets to his
personality. The Curiosity chapter has added another feather to his (signature)
hat!
15 SEPTEMBER 2012

17. FEATURED ARTICLES
The Apple-Samsung Battle:
What are it’s implications?
-Biswarup Saha, IIM Kozhikode
The viral photo (shown below), circulated on Facebook, most aptly sums up the
situation post the judgment in the Apple-Samsung patent infringement case.
While Samsung and Apple were battling
in and out of the court, Nokia, pioneer of
the smartphones, was lagging behind in
the race for the numero uno position in
the smartphone segment. However,
Nokia with its Lumia series with
Microsoft’s Mobile Windows OS is
planning to make a big comeback.
Into the Future
The mobile phone industry has
mainly three interdependent
stakeholders with variable
dependence as shown in the above
figure. These players are – the
equipment manufacturer
(handsets), the software developer
(OS), and the network provider.
Any dispute between two players in
a sector, affects all the players in
the remaining two sectors.
The first and most publicized implication is the business ethics. Apple
executives claim that this case will serve as a reminder to all those who reap
the rewards of someone else’s idea.
Customers
However, the most interesting implication in this regard is how the
consumers will react to this judgment. The Samsung Galaxy S III has sold
over 20 million units in 100 days. Analysts say that the new Apple iPhone 5
will sell approximately 10 million units in a week. The impressive figures
suggest that each product has its niche customer base. One may also
conclude that customer will not get involved in the quagmire of legalities
between the two giants.
MARKSMAN 16

18. FEATURED ARTICLES
Handset Manufacturers
The verdict in favor of Apple has increased the awe for the company. The
trial has brought a lot of publicity to the company and its product. This has
worked well for the September 12, 2012 launch of the new iPhone 5.
This development has left its competitors in a rush. Nokia and Motorola have
launched, between themselves, five smartphones, a week before the launch
of iPhone 5. The companies hope that this gives them a “potent weapon” in
the global mobile industry. However, analysts have given them a thumb’s
down because they lack the ‘wow’ factor. Did Nokia and Motorola
compromise on product features and capabilities for a quick entry in the
market?
Software Developers
The case in point, pitted two of the world’s most used OS – Apple’s iOS and
Google’s android –head-to-head. The verdict has actually affected the
distribution of the android OS. Since phones operating on android have very
similar physical characteristics as those of iPhone, mobile manufactures will
be vary of using android. Two likely outcomes are that handset
manufacturers will look for newer platforms, like Nokia’s tie up with Microsoft
for the Widows Mobile 8 platform for its Lumia smartphones, or develop
newer OS in-house, like Samsung’s BADA.
Apple vs. Google
One of the parties in the case is Apple the other being the collaboration
between Samsung and Google. The entire episode has been dubbed as war
of hardware.
“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of
Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Steve Jobs told his
biographer. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m
willing to go to thermonuclear war on this.”
One of the most affected players in the case is undoubtedly, Google. So, one
has to ask, who was Apple’s intended target?
17 SEPTEMBER 2012

21. FEATURED ARTICLES
- Ankush Gupta, IMI Delhi, PGDM
Recently, the famous American rapper, Will.i.am, launched his latest sound-
track on planet Mars. The song is titled ‘Reach for the stars’ and was
broadcasted in an unprecedented manner by NASA’s rover Curiosity stationed
on the surface of mars.
This little story tells us how
marketers all over the world are
doing things differently, trying to
make an impact on the public and
making their presence felt. ‘Reach
for the stars’ is a depiction of the
singer’s love for science,
technology and space exploration.
And could there be a better way
than to collude with the finest
aeronautics agency in the world
and make magic happen 150 million miles away from the surface of the
earth?
This is just one of the many examples of companies thinking out of the box
and defying all conventional logic to make things happen for them.
Samsung’s latest release – Galaxy S3, also under the limelight for a series of
patent infringes, claims to be ‘Designed for humans’. The message they
intend to convey is clear - that this handset has everything a human being
needs in life – and nothing else – there are no supernatural claims. Even the
launch of this product was held independently at an exhibition centre in
London, instead of the regular worldwide Consumer electronics show.
With so much of clutter in the market space, the average consumer’s mind
may be perceived as sponge soaked in water, and so various brands are
trying to squeeze this sponge as hard as they can to make space for
themselves. The quest for launching products differently is not new. Back in
MARKSMAN 20

22. FEATURED ARTICLES
2007, the advertising team of
Steven Spielberg’s film
Transformers roped in the
famous illusionist Franz Harary to
demonstrate the transformation
of a car into a 30 foot robot live
on stage in front of hundreds of
people, thereby hinting at what
was to be expected in the movie
and thus creating worldwide
curiosity and interest.
In light of the social media rampage, companies all over the world are trying
hard to get their hands on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and YouTube to break new
grounds in innovation and strive harder than ever to exceed customer’s
expectations. A near perfect example is that of the soundtrack ‘Kolaveri Di’, a
viral marketing campaign by the producers of a Tamil film titled ‘3’. Now
whether this actually was a leak, as claimed by the organization, or not, is a big
debate, but what they managed to do was to create a mass presence of an
otherwise limited Tamil film industry.
Another on-going ad campaign is that of
RIM, called ‘people-action’ in which they
are trying to revamp Blackberry’s alert
icon ‘splat’. The strategy they have
followed is lurking out bits of information
every now and then through
newspapers etc., trying to create a
sense of curiosity among the general
public. This may also be looked at as an
opposite of viral marketing.
Whether they will successfully manage this or not will have to be left to the
future, but one thing is for sure – there is no room for relaxation in this ever
changing dynamic world.
21 SEPTEMBER 2012

23. Bookworm
The New rules of marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott
David Meerman Scott is a Marketing Strategist, an advisor About the Author:
to many upcoming companies in marketing technology.
He is also the author of many e-books, article in
Huffington Post, blog titled Web Ink Now which is ranked
as one of top marketing blogs. He has also published
many books such as Newsjacking, Real time Marketing
and PR , Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead,
World Wide Rave( having co-authored the last two with
Brian Halligan) etc. He is also keynote speaker at many
corporate events.
He is currently working as recovering marketing VP of two
publicly traded US companies.
About the Book: This book talks about how social media and online
marketing are changing the rules of marketing and
transforming the marketing landscape from mass markets
to niche markets. It talks about the Long Tail of marketing
and PR which is basically about catering to niche markets
and reducing production and distribution costs. It is a very
good guide on how to use the emerging marketing and PR
techniques for anyone who wants to market their products.
The book covers everything from networking sites to blogs
as a means of marketing and includes good examples of
companies who have used the new rules of marketing and
PR to market themselves. It also talks about how not
adapting to these new rules can hurt companies. The
downside is that having taken too many examples to
explain makes the book repetitive thereby a bit tedious in
some parts. Also the book covers mainly the U.S
landscape, so how these new rules apply in emerging
markets like India are not covered. In all the book is a
good read and explains the intricacies of new age
marketing & PR well.
Rating : 3/5
THE MARKSMAN 22

24. Rewind
Brand-O-Mania
For the first time Interface conducted a CSR Event in association with the Rotaract Club by
organising a Brand Equity Quiz “BRAND-O-MANIA” for Rotaract Club members and
students of SIMSR on 9th September, 2012. It gave a platform to the budding marketers to
showcase their mettle.
A total of 60 teams participated from SIMSR and Rotaract Club. The first round was a
shortlist round on the basis of which top 10 teams were selected. In the second round the
10 teams vied with each other in the CONNECT round followed by dumb charades.
The second round gave us the top 5 teams who battled it out for the medals and the
certificates. In the final round- Ad-mad round, which was pretty interesting, each team was
given a product to be sold with 10 minutes at their disposal to decide the product name,
tagline and an advertisement for the same.
The event was a big hit and gave a chance to the participants to brain storm and put on their
thinking caps for creative ideas to make the ads.
Participants from Sydenham were the winners of the quiz with a team from SIMSR as the
runners up. Both, Winners and Runners-up were given medals and certificates.
Inquizzitive
Since its inception, Interface has been organizing ‘INQUIZZITIVE’, the biggest Business Quiz
of SIMSR, every year.
This year 'Inquizzitive' was conducted on 24th August 2012. A whooping 90 entries were
received, of which 6 finalist teams were shortlisted after a 30 minute mind boggling
questionnaire round.
The quiz focused on four rounds i.e. TVC, Print Ad, Connect and Personality guessing. There
were special goodies for the audience as well.
The event was a huge success and the winners came out with flying colors after a nail biting
tie breaker round.
Certificates were given to all the finalist teams and cash prize was given to the winning team.
Vibhav Kamat & Rajnil Thakur
(PGDM-Communications)
bagged the first position with
Siddhartha Lodha & Mohit Sharma
(PG-A & PG-B )
as the runners up!
THE MARKSMAN 23

25. SquAreheaD
24 SEPTEMBER 2012

26. BUZZ
THE CROSSWORD ACROSS
1. As per the Indian FDI policy for
Insurance, FDI is allowed only upto
26%. Aviva is a British
company/brand. Name its Indian
partner which owns 74%.
3. Tokio Insurance has a JV with
IFFCO for General Insurance. With
whom do they have a JV for Life
Insurance?
6. Name the travel brand which
Google has acquired from John
Wiley to provide information on
hotels and destinations.
8. Jet has merged Jet-Konnect
and Jet-Lite. Which brand name
has been retained?
THE CLUES
DOWN
2. Which company prides itself as
the world’s largest digital satellite
linked cinema chain?
4. Who has acquired Bharti’s
Centum learning division?
5. FDI in retail is not allowed as
per the current policy of the Govt.
of India. With which Indian group
is Wal-Mart collaborating to launch
in India as soon as it is announced?
7. Which international corporate
has 42 dots in its logo?
9. Most logos carry one icon. The
logo of which company has as
many as 25 icons with symbols
such as sun, DNA, bee, flower and
heart?
9. Unilever
8. JetKonnect 7. Sony 6. Frommers 5.Bharti
4. Everonn 3. Edelweiss 2. UFOMoviez 1. Dabur
THE MARKSMAN 25

27. CALL FOR ARTICLES
OCTOBER 2012
Articles can be sent on any one of the following topics*:
1. The newspaper talks, shivers and even smells nice! Is
this the new level of innovation in print media!
2. Gangnam Style - viral effect of the video.
3. Facebook vs LinkedIn – with Facebook entered in
professional networking (Glassdoor) & LinkedIn to
break into social networking.
*Please ensure that there is no plagiarism and all
references are clearly mentioned
1. One article can have only one author.
2. Your article should be from 500-600 words and
MUST be replete with relevant pictures that
can be used to enhance your article.
3. Send in your articles in .doc/.docxformat with
font size 11 (Arial) to:
interface.newsletter@gmail.com
4. Subject Line: Your
Name_InstituteName_CourseYear.
5. Kindly name your file as: Your Name_Topic
The best adjudged article will be given a winner's
certificate. Deadline for submission of the articles: 11:59
PM , 16 October 2012.
26 SEPTEMBER 2012

28. To subscribe to "The Marksman", Follow the link:-
http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com/the-marksman.html
OR drop in a mail/contact us at : interface.newsletter@gmail.com
Subject line: Subscribe: Your Name_Institute Name_Course Year
THE TEAM
COVER STORY SPECIAL STORY It’s all about AD-itude
Mandar Dongre Vivek Misra Nitya Kumar
SquAreheaD Brand MARK ive Hall-MARK Campaigns
Pallavi Srivastava Priyam Prasad Smriti Sudish
TWEETS BUZZ BOOKWORM
Meeta Khatri Nishant Singla Divya Damera
DESIGNING PROOF READ PROMOTIONS
Nishant Singla Roma Sehgal Richa Garg
Divya Damera Mandar Dongre
Follow us at: Website:
http://www.facebook.com/simsr.interface http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com
http://interfacesimsr.weebly.com/the- /the-marksman.html
marksman.htm
THE MARKSMAN 27