Business proposal to a critical target

Consider the case of Infoedge whose team, according to PE firm, ICICI Ventures, had the passion, vision and commitment. Finally, ICICI Ventures saw a great opportunity in the execution capability of the top managers which, it seems, had the ability to take the business proposal to a critical target and addressable market. This was reason enough for the investors. In the past, most businesses have failed because of the lack of management dynamics, rather than the market or technology reasons. This is the reason why IDFC decided to invest Rs.2.600 million, its largest-ever investment in a single firm, in Goodearth Maritime. The investor pumped in Rs.350 million in Doshion Ltd., a water-management company, because of the company’s proven technical and project-execution records.

Most PE players do take into account the investee’s historical financial performance to predict future financial projections. Agrees Sanjeev Aggarwal (MD, Investment Advisor, Helion Ventures), “PE firms are very good at making projections from past data.” The traditional form of financing, based on current business models, is no longer the order of the day since business plan keep changing by the minute and firms invariably have to scout for new things that they need to pursue to be a step ahead of their competitors. Therefore, investors today are more interested in funding companies that have proprietary technology or know-how.

According to Kalpana Jain (Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Thomastu India), other important funding-related factors include the size of investment, sector and location. Private Equity firms cater to investment opportunities, where the business has the potential for realistic growth in an expanding market and this is backed up by a well-researched and documented business plan. This is especially true after the burst of the dot.com bubble, when several venture capitalists and PE firms lost a lot of money that was invested in ideas, rather than provable growth plans. Explains Mukund Krishnawami (Founder & MD, Lighthouse Fund), “Since we lost money, we have become very skeptical.” Sharing his thoughts on this issue, Jitendra Gupta (Executive Director, Finance, Macawber Beekay) adds, “Unless a business proposition is able to offer the prospect of significant turnover growth within a stipulated time frame, it is unlikely to be of interest to a private equity firm.”

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

A heated argument!?!?

No worries. The dehumidifier is ready to fan out the heat

In an increasingly globalised world, businesses want innovative solutions as and when required, and companies that identify lacunae can reap the benefits infinitely. Dehumidification services are one such gap as there is tremendous potential in this sphere. Even though it may not be a business proposition making headlines, it is an important solution today. In a world, where safeguarding expensive technologies and equipment from atmospheric humidity is important, the use of dehumidification techniques becomes paramount. Bry-Air Asia enters the picture here.

A global solution provider in humidity control, drying and air-gas purification, Bry-Air has a presence in all the five continents. With a 90% market share in India & Asia Pacific (APAC) region, its operations in APAC need a special mention. “In India and the subcontinent, we have been pioneers in bringing the concept of humidity control through dehumidification. We have been educating and growing the market for over 25 years,” explains a confident Deepak Pahwa, MD, Bry Air. Bry-Air is one of the few Indian companies, which had gone global early on. The company has bases in high-potential markets such as China, West Asia, Europe and South-East Asia. With almost four offices and a manufacturing plant in China, Bry-Air has established itself as a competitive force in the dragon country.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Sparkling (K)Nights

Hero Mindmine is busy preparing an army that would help serve its global customers. SURBHI CHAWLA finds out what makes Hero Mindmine, the preferred trainer for the Indian BPO sector

As the twilight embraces the horizon hues, darkness starts to take over what has been a bright sunny day! For most working men and women, it’s time to pack their bags at office and head for their respective cozy homes. But then everyone doesn’t have the privilege of enjoying night at homes, for the work time has just started for many. We are talking about an entire fleet of young people who opt for the BPO night shifts, and from late evening to the wee hours of the morning (when only the night owls are awake) are contributing their best to ensure that the BPO sector continues to grow at 35%, like it has been regularly for the past five years. According to a NASSCOM-Everest India BPO study ‘Roadmap 2012 – Capitalising on the Expanding BPO Landscape’, the Indian BPO industry, at present is worth $11 billion and is contributing approximately 40% to the Global Business Process Offshoring market. With factors like recession in the US economy and the new laws, the Indian BPO industry would get a further boost and is expected to reach the $50 billion mark by 2012.

To maintain such stupendous figures is no mean task and one of the major hurdles that the BPO industry is busy preparing itself for, is lack of adequate skilled workforce. To bridge the apparent talent crunch in the BPO sector, the $4.2 billion Hero Group had set up Hero Mindmine Institute (HMIL) in 2000 to provide training and development (T&D) services to many multinational corporations (IBM, American Express, GE, ABN Amro Bank, MasterCard et al), Indian blue chip companies (Bharti Telecom, Wipro, Hero Honda et al) and even the PSUs (Bharat Petroleum et al). HMIL completely dominates T&D at the ITeS sector, with more than 75% of the top 30 corporates as its clients. In fact HMIL was the first institute to launch BPO training programmes, almost five years back. The year 2008 will clearly be a watershed year for the training institute, as HMIL is all set to introduce ‘international certifications’ for the BPO professionals in India.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Quality & calibre of people

However, coming to the bigger picture, creativity is often defined as the public face of an ad agency; the external manifestation of its culture. Every piece of work builds the agency’s & clients brand. Some experts believe that this brand-building exercise can be measured in 5 ways. One, by the number of clients who stay or leave. Two, the number of pitches to which the shop is invited. Three, the quality & calibre of people it attracts. Four, by what its peers, clients and competitors say about it and five, by the awards they win in major festivals… They also believe that to create truly great advertising, 3 elements are de rigeur. One, the management should genuinely want it. Two, the creative guys should have the ability and confidence to produce it. Finally – the most important – the clients must recognise, green-light and endorse the work and buy it with enthusiasm and vigour.


Another special and spot-on fact is articulated with passion by another hi-profile ad practitioner, “It’s great clients who make great agencies and great campaigns – not vice versa. Remember they are the guys who take the risks, buy the stuff and have the balls to run with the idea! When you look at some of the truly great stuff done in recent times (Apple, Absolut, Volkswagon, Nike, Fevicol, Airtel, Liril, Surf Excel, Vodafone, Perfetti, Aviva, Fair & Handsome, Dove…) chances are, you’ll find a great company behind it… and behind the great company a great visionary who challenges and stretches you as much as you stretch him. There has to be (and usually is) a tacit investment of trust and belief that is both inspirational and stimulating. It drives the process. It can never be a one-way-street.” There is also a word of caution. “The advertising should educate them with evidence. Remember clients are in the business for results – not to tilt at windmills, be courageous and brave for the sake of being perceived as courageous and brave!”

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Big IT giants of India

Let us begin with the four big IT giants of India. Talk of TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam, and you have their establishments already climbing the vertical growth ladder in China. TCS having become the first Indian IT major to reach China, announced a few months back that it would create about 5,000 new jobs over the next four years in China through its JV agreement with Microsoft and three Chinese companies. The JV with a paid-up capital of $14.7 million, and where TCS currently owns 65% ownership (with Microsoft having 10%), already has 500 people working in China. So, India is not just looking to exploit the low cost benefits from the Chinese markets and reap rich returns from Chinese markets, but is also taking the plunge into the Chinese talent pool. Then again, Infosys has set up its service subsidiary in Shanghai, a 200 people camp which has an initial paid-up capital of $5 million. As per Infosys Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., this 20,000-sq. ft. office in the Shanghai Pudong Software Park in China will serve as an alternate delivery hub for Infosys in the A-PAC region. Then there are other IT service majors (read as KPOs and BPOs) which have experienced favourable weather in the Chinese markets. Evalueserve for one launched its KPO (business analytics and research wing) in Shanghai and has done very well for itself as Ashish Gupta, COO, Evalueserve asserts, “We went there to serve the Chinese, Korean and Japanese language markets. Looking at the way matters have progressed, the approvals have been very fast indeed and the experience has been very comfortable in Shanghai.” Then there is Wipro Technologies which has supposedly found a potential hub to serve its global clients as A. L. Rao, COO, Wipro Technologies told 4Ps B&M, “The quality of IT talent is also good. We haven’t found any difficulty in talent for both our centres in Beijing and Shanghai. We are servicing global clients from our Chinese centres,” he says, adding that after gaining experience, Wipro will look at the domestic market, along with the Korean and Japanese markets. “The government response has also been good. But as a centre, costs come are at par with India,” he reasons.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
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IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
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Public Relations

South Korean steel giant, Posco’s India plans, not only ran into major bureaucratic hurdles, but also raised the hackles of ‘displacement-wary’ locals. Despite the ongoing tribulations of Posco in Orissa, effective public relations has been able to ensure that they are not in exit mode, yet. Needless to say, the driving force is the determination to get its biggest foreign investment (the $12-billion integrated steel project in Orissa) off the ground, as quickly as possible

Our public relations efforts have been in providing accessibility to the media every time and all the time. The company’s global reputation has helped the PR efforts in gaining trust and credibility across all stakeholders in terms of conveying its messages. In fact, PR has played its part in bringing opinion makers closer to the company, as well as taking the company nearer to them.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

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IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Positioning

With seven brands in its kitty, it was not easy for Videocon to position itself. But, ‘the Indian Multinational’ changed all that

As Videocon has several brands under its umbrella, we position ourselves according to price and placement of the brand. Our positioning strategies change as per the brand we are talking about. Videocon is a mass-premium brand and we target all around the country including rural markets. Electrolux is a premium brand, Sansui a semi-premium brand which focuses on TVs & LCDs and Akai is a low-end brand which is for the masses. This is how we position ourselves in the Indian market.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Riding the FMCG rodeo

Ravi Naware and Sandeep Kaul take the FMCG plunge for ITC

The first two things that greet you when you enter the ITC food division office (spread over a vast expanse of green in Pulikeshinagar) at Bangalore, are the gigantic product layouts of Ashirvad atta and Bingo, immediately followed by a huge chart displaying AC Nielsen’s survey on the company’s existing product penetration across the country. The team at ITC knocks a red dot off the map everyday, as they go about ensuring their presence in every corner of India, by the end of this year.

Year 2007 saw the Y.C. Deveshwar led ITC, venturing into four new segment - snacks (through Bingo), organic spices (through Aashirvaad organic spices), healthy foods (through Sunfeast Sachin Fit Kit range) and into the personal care segment, giving sleepless nights to HUL and P&G. The strategy is simple, the tobacco major is strengthening its pillars in the most lucrative FMCG segments, food & personal care.

However, in both the segments, ITC is trailing different routes. The cigarette major entered the personal care segment way back in 2005 (with Essenza De Willis perfumes) and is following a slow and steady route (the company launched Fiama Di Wills shampoos in 2007). Depending on the market response, they will launch more products. Affirms, Sandeep Kaul, Head, Personal Care Division, ITC Limited, “After the success of Fiama Di Wills, we introduced Superia soaps and shampoos in a few key markets. This brand is now being rolled out to selective markets.” Going forward, the company is gung-ho on testing the water with new products in 2008.

In the foods segment, ITC is aggressively cooking up plans for ensuring yummy times ahead. If capturing a market share of 16% with debutant Bingo was not enough, Ravi Naware, Division CEO, ITC Foods is now mulling grand expansion plans for 2008. He told 4Ps B&M, “We will be venturing into new areas that’s for sure, but at the same time we will be enhancing our existing business. The bid is to be present in all possible areas in 2008.”

With its food venture, ITC has already gained an edge over global FMCG giant HUL. However, on the personal care front, HUL continues to steal the show. “ITC builds a strong back end support for all their ventures and HUL comparatively has never had the patience to create such a model, on a long term basis. No doubt ITC’s food business is doing well, but in personal care HUL still dominates the market,” explains Mahesh Joshi, Associate, Institutional Equity, Edelweiss Securities Private Limited.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

A journey......toward admiration & accolades

Managing change in an efficient manner adds oodles to the admirability quotient of a company. Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Moser Baer are among a slew of others, who stand testimony to this fact...

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” Charles Darwin once said. Although the statement was made more than a century ago, its acceptability is still unchallenged. In fact, this evolutionary rule seems to have become an integral part of corporate strategies, giving wings to a new jargon – change management – in various board rooms. “Change management is a pragmatic approach, which helps an organisation to attract clients and customers. An initiation of change management prepares the organisation for future challenges,” explains Chandrashekhar of PEP Management Consultants.

At a more micro level, a McKinsey Global Survey on ‘Organising for successful change management’ pointed out the objectives of such transformations. Cost cutting was a consistent theme and over half of the respondents agreed it was a major goal. Another 50% said their company wished to move from good to great performance. Just over 40% observed it was driven by the demands of a restructuring exercise, like a merger, or a divestment. Only 27% felt it had to do with a crisis situation which, according to outsiders, is the most important reason and aim for corporate changes.

However, in India, long-term organisational, strategic, or tactical changes are largely driven by crises. Agrees Ravi Gilani, Founder & Managing Consultant, Goldratt India, “Most of them are externally driven. Less than 10% of the companies have initiated changes on their own.” In fact, as we sieve through case studies, they don’t seem like change, they were more a matter of survival.

By the beginning of this century, Bajaj Auto, once the king of Indian roads and globally recognised as a maker of scooters, was in serious trouble. In 2001, it lost its market leader position to Hero Honda in the two-wheeler segment. Moreover, as middle class India shifted from scooters to motorcycles, Bajaj was unable to garner sizeable market share in the low-priced segment, which was dominated by Hero Honda. It seemed like the end of the road for Bajaj as it was inevitable that scooters would eventually get phased out (Bajaj rolled out the last Chetak on December 31, 2005). Bajaj Auto changed its strategy quietly and swiftly. From being the high volumes, low prices player that it always was, the company established itself as a premium bike player. While maintaining a presence in the low-price section, its Pulsar has become the most-selling bike in the premium segment and Eliminator is India’s only cruiser bike. “This successful transition from a (volumes) scooter-maker to a (niche) bikes one has added a lot to its admirability quotient,” says Saurabh Azad, Finesse Consultancy.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

Hopping friends...

...is the in thing! Ask guys at fropper.com

A fusion of friend and hopper is what Fropper stands for. One of the pioneers in social networking in India, fropper.com is the second largest social networking site in the country. Launched in 2003 with an aim to provide people a platform to connect with friends and relatives, fropper.com today boasts of a user base of three and a half million. In the first couple of years since its inception, fropper.com had a growth of 100% and after that they have been continuously growing at the rate of 50-60% per annum.

Naveen Mittal, founder and Business Head, fropper.com is really gung-ho about the future of social networking and fropper.com. In an exclusive interview with 4Ps B&M, Naveen shares strategies that have ensured that users of fropper.com keep coming back for more.

Why has social networking suddenly become so hot?

If today you find a gold mine walking down your home, wouldn’t every body run after you? That’s the case with social networking sites. Some two and half years ago myspace.com was sold at five hundred million dollars. And when a two-three year old business sells for that amount of money, people realise that there is a lot of money in the business. In short there are three major drivers: One, people perceive that there’s a lot of money in the business; secondly, it gives true value to the user and that it’s not a fad, as people will always have a need to connect; and more importantly, the response by the audience is really overwhelming, more and more people are logging onto social networking sites.

What is the USP of fropper.com? What sets you apart?

The USP of fropper.com can be summed in two major points. Firstly, fropper.com is a site only for Indians and secondly we try to understand the end user’s perspective. These are the primary reasons why we have a far more engaging platform for users than any other social networking site in the country. Whatever services we launch, focus around these two things, the Indian context and the end user perspective.


How do you enhance the India focus at Fropper?

We are a social networking site for Indians. There are 50 or 100 odd foreigners but the larger user base is Indians. We keep in mind the Indian context while we are designing our services. For e.g.: we are not a nation which is all English speaking. Keeping that in mind, we have created a platform which de-emphathises the English language. It tells the user that simple English is not a prerequisite for expressing your feeling. In future, we have plans to make fropper.com services more regional in nature. Then there is also the authenticated group feature. Today you can login various sites with lots of commercial misuse and lot of copy paste going on and people writing whatever stuff they want because people don’t monitor that. But at Fropper, we create something we call the authenticated group. You are free to express whatever you want but you are not free to promote your business and you are not free to put in adult stuff at Fropper, as Indians are very conservative by nature.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Trying to bond with India

Venkatesh Kini has been spearheading Coca Cola India’s marketing initiatives to restore the cola major’s lost glory
Their marketing plank for survival is no longer restricted to just the traditional cola wars. Even as the world wakes up to ‘healthy drinks’, fizzy colas as a market segment are taking a beating. Small wonder that the year 2007 saw Coca Cola India spend a considerable amount of time and effort in strengthening its brand positioning in the country. And in the midst of all this action stands Venkatesh Kini, Marketing Head, Coca Cola India.

Excerpts from the interview:

What expectations from the ‘Little Drops...’ campaign?

This campaign encompasses the 5Ps of our strategy going forward – people, portfolio, planet, partners & profit. Essentially an umbrella integrated campaign, Little Drops of Joy, should tie everything we are doing in this country together.

Compared to other players in the market, how has such a positioning helped Coke?

No other products in our segment have been able to connect themselves with India. Coca Cola has been able to occupy a position in the Indian consumers mind. This is what we wanted to convey and will do the same in future promotions too.

The sabka thanda ek campaign also targeted a similar positioning?

Yes, we wanted to show that Coke has become a part of everyday life and entire country agrees on one thing – that’s thanda has to be Coke. We’re emotionally attached to Indians, be it Sabka thanda ek or Little Drops of Joy.

You unveiled the Coca Cola Lounge in 2007. Is retail a separate opportunity?

Red Lounge concept is a one-stop destination for the youth to hang out, where all Coke products will be available. When we plan to launch new products in India, these lounges will make it easy for us. The initiative will also uplift the Coke brand name among the youth. Ultimately, we are planning to develop the Red Lounge as a family hangout place, as that will allow us to additionally increase our target audience.

Any new future promotion plans lined up?
Our brand ambassadors like Aamir Khan for Coke or Akshay Kumar for Thums Up will remain the same. We will come out with new ad campaigns and it will be 360 degrees including print, TV, a new look website. We will also intend to invite media for a plant visit, which will be called a Little Trip of Joy.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

From Happydent to Aamir

One of the original rock stars of modern advertising, Prasoon Joshi is looking forward to “make” more brands in 2008

His claim to fame spreads far and wide. And the 38 year old suave marketer, ad-man, poet and lyricist, carries it off in great style. As Executive Chairman of McCann Worldgroup India, Prasoon began 2007 with a bang, with his superhit Happydent (palace) commercial. He followed it up with campaigns for Microsoft Xbox, Parachute (Gorgeous Hamesha), Coca Cola (Little drops of Joy), among others. What he is most excited about now is Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par, for which he’s penned some ‘memorable’ lyrics. We caught up with the creative genius to get his drift for 2008.

What has the year 2007 meant for you?

Quite hectic, really! It began with the Happydent television commercial and ended with Aamir Khan’s maiden directional venture, Taare Zameen Par.

The Happydent ad was quite ‘different’ for the category?

Happydent TVC – the 10th most awarded this year globally, according to the Gunn Report – exaggerated the brand proposition, but I genuinely felt that in India, male vanity, especially when it comes to sparkling teeth, is not taken seriously. That’s when I thought, what if the world is lit only by human teeth? If they are sparkling with light, why not have them light up an entire city?


Which other brand communication excited you in 2007?

Well, there was the successful launch of Xbox. The Parachute campaign also won an award, which celebrated everyday moments of a women’s beauty and gave it solid positioning. Then of course, there was the Little Drops of Joy (Coca Cola) campaign, which was really a 360 degree effort. It went beyond advertising to touch CSR. The (Jhoot bole Kaua Kaate) Tehelka TVC also creatively marketed a strong point of view and it hit target spot on. But I can’t end 2007 without mentioning Taare Zameen Par. It’s an amazing effort by an amazing person called Aamir Khan.

What does year 2008 look like?
Pretty promising! We’ve picked up the Reliance’s corporate campaign. Microsoft should be on board, very soon Britannia is set to launch some new products, which will come to us. At the macro level, I see traditional barriers breaking and the lines between servicing and creative are blurring. More and more creative people are at the helm of affairs and lots of planning and servicing people are providing path breaking strategic insights. It takes two to really tango!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Watch it… again!

Victorinox, makers of the legendary Swiss Army Knife have recently launched the second generation of the unbeaten flash light watch – Night Vision II. A timepiece engineered to perfection, redefining style and elegance with a completely new streamlined stainless steel case and an architectural bracelet with a fully integrated concealed LED flashlight located at digit 12. If ever there was a unique blend of quality and style, it was this! Price Rs.21,000

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Try banking with a banker who gets better each day...

ADITYA PURI...
MD, HDFC Bank
Try banking with a banker who gets better each day...
Unlike his name ‘Aditya’ which means sun that emits fire, he is cool & jovial. Aditya Puri, MD, HDFC Bank, won ‘The Asian Banker Leadership Award’ in 2006 and under his leadership, HDFC won the ‘Best Bank – India award (conferred upon by both Euromoney & Finance Asia) in 1999 & 2000. He implemented strategies aimed at making HDFC’s facilities state-of-the-art and offering superior products than competitors! “Aditya Puri has been a revolutionary, magnifying HDFC in five years. He has made it the fastest growing bank with 115 branches and best managed bank with over 2,300 employees in India. He is a person with clarity of vision. Customers buy on his strategies!” says Manisha Porwal, Analyst, Arihant Capital Market Ltd.. Thirteen long years with HDFC and he only seems to get better with every passing day. What more would you want from a leader?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

He’s no pushover; and he’s intent on combining the best of the old and the new...

A.K. PURI...Chairman & MD, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd
He’s no pushover; and he’s intent on combining the best of the old and the new...
For nearly three decades, this man loyally served Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., to finally earn his reward in September 2004, when he filled the coveted top slot in the public sector giant. As Chairman of BHEL, A.K. Puri – with his outstanding leadership skills – has steered this public sector power equipment major to greater heights. His contributions in key functions like corporate management, international marketing, planning and manufacturing are the stuff of legend in BHEL corridors. He had earlier spearheaded the introduction and assimilation of modern technology for controls and instrumentation (C&I). Under his guidance, BHEL surpassed its Rs.10,000 crore turnover point in September 2005 and experienced a surge in economic value addition in 2004- 05. Never one to rest on past laurels, Puri is already looking ahead. “There is plenty of opportunity to deliver further profitable growth... We are focussed on building on our success,” he told BHEL shareholders at their 42nd Annual General Meeting.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Medium has a capacity

First and foremost is that this medium has a capacity to target consumers across socio-economic classes – from a Merc to a Maruti driver, and even to a bus traveller – as explained by Abhishek Kandoi, Director, Flash Media Ltd, to 4Ps B&M, “We can capture all sorts of target audience that is not a possibility with any other media.” No wonder that Hutch, Tata Indicom, Airtel, HLL, Suzuki, GM, ING Vysya, ICICI and many more have started using the OoH space with a special emphasis on outdoor advertising. Also, apart from Mumbai and Kolkata, Delhi is also emerging as a major hub for such advertising, especially pegged up by Delhi Metro that has attracted a host of advertisers including airlines, banks, retailers and TV channels. Even in the US, as reported by L.A. Times, a host of 150 big brands such as GM, Coke, Nokia etc have made special campaigns for the OoH media; as a result of which, the US OoH industry has shown a smashing 27% growth in 2006. Alyque Padamsee, considered the trend spotter of Indian advertising, asserting the importance of outdoor media, had once said, “For years and years, advertisers have wanted to impact customers with audio-visual force while they shop.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

OoH

The New Mantra For Recall
Out-of-Home advertising was never this fashionable a term in India; and it’s rocking further Billboards! Billboards! Billboards! Ever wondered why Mumbai has so many of them and Delhi almost none? Don’t fret; we’ll give the dope on the deal. The Supreme Court had banned billboard advertising in Delhi in 1997; but the rule might just change with the Supreme Court, after a period of ten years, appointing a two-member committee last month to review the past decision and to submit a new draft regulatory code for allowing billboards in Delhi! Code or no code, the fact is that billboards have since time immemorial been a snappy way to communicate the marketing concept to the consumer; allowing him the choice of consumption (that is, he can choose whether to see the billboard or not). Thriving on this tool is the new concept of Out-of- Home (OoH) media, which comprises not only billboards and hoardings, but also newsstands, buses, airport, malls, taxis et al. This industry in India has a whopping compounded annual growth rate of 14% (ICMR estimates) and there are various reasons for this.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Does Ford really ‘gets it’?

Perceptions are really important for Ford!
When Ford hired Allan Mulally, the erstwhile VP of Boeing, it was on the notion that the new President & CEO will replicate his earlier successful strategies at Ford as well. The belief system had its roots firmly attached to a non-owner chief, one who had an industry expertise in dealing with difficult market situations. Since then a year has passed and Ford still finds itself in the same quagmire bogging its future sustainability. Ironically, even the July 2007 sales charts portray a picture which is very different to Ford’s expected outcomes. Inspite of several initiatives taken by the Blue Oval, the manner in which the company’s way forward programme has been implemented, is still a question! Poor performance blunted the effervescence brought about by the crispy sales of Crossovers. Sales of these mini-SUVs increased by 40%, but the decline in other segments crashed all hopes.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Competitive challenges

Total July sales stood at 195,245 units, a significant decline of 19% compared to the same period last year. Mark Fields, Ford’s President of Americas said, “We know we have a lot of work to do, and July is a sobering reminder of the economic and competitive challenges we face.” Ford knows well that the excuses are not really working and shareholders are abandoning the major in a way similar to that of the consumers. Ford needs to restructure its portfolio, operations & capitalize on the emerging Asian markets more effectively. So is Ford really listening? Ford’s Becky Sanch told 4Ps B&M earlier that Ford is constantly evaluating its business. Well, that better not be a notion this time or is it still!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Real life version

It seems more like a real life version of the classic science fiction published in 1870 – “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” interwoven with a modern day suspense thriller. But, if reports are to be believed, then Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen & Russian oil czar Roman Abramovich are in this fast growing league. “In the last year alone, we have seen a great rise in the number of requests coming in regarding our submersibles. Most requests are from mega yacht owners. We are currently building two custom submersibles for private clients,” reveals Karen Hawkes, VP, Marketing & Communications, Hawkes Ocean Technologies (world’s only manufacturer of winged submersibles). No doubt, owning a luxury sub, and that too, custom built, does set the adrenaline rolling for these flamboyant high rollers. But it’s no cheap thrill surely! From two-seater submersibles to around 200 feet long luxury vessels, you have to shell out anywhere from $1 million to $80 million. By the way, there are a number of genuine undersea enthusiasts too, exploring shipwrecks for hidden treasures. The ultra rich searching for treasures? More than enough to make Maslow turn in his grave, we say!!!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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