arkmantra is the brain-child of IIFT, encompassing various dimensions

of marketing and exploring horizons of this integral business function.

To bring out the best in the marketing domain from the trivial to the

bizarre things that really matter which is aimed at enlightening the marketers is

the onus of the team. Trend analysis and innovation in the market are two prime

focus areas of the magazine. These, we think, will make you ponder upon how a

company proactively or reactively markets its offerings. Customer value is of

paramount importance to every marketer and we as IIFTians strive to provide

maximum value proposition to our customers, that is, you.

Marketing’s significance lies in value exploration, value creation, value

communication and value distribution. No matter where your interest lies, be it

Finance, HR, IT or Operations, understanding marketing is always important. As

they say, Balance Sheet is also a marketing tool and employer branding is also

fast gaining importance. So Markmantra will not only help the marketers but

also people interested in other streams by understanding the implications of

marketing on their decisions and vice versa.

EDITING TEAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF : Gaurav N. Gudhka

MANAGING EDITOR : Siddharth Girdhar

ASSOCIATE EDITOR : Radhika Ravichandran

M

Change is inevitable. However clichéd it may sound,

ultimate success lies in managing this change. Given

the whimsical nature of the external environment,

there are two ways to manage change- Embrace or

Fight. Avoidance is inane. To cope up with the fast

changing consumer preferences and a short Product

Life Cycle owing to fierce competition, a marketer

has to either be Proactive or Reactive, in order to

create value for the customers sustainably.

Technological advancements, increasing disposable

income, robust media influence and orthodox

societal influences have been critical in increasing the

bargaining power of customers. Customers are

becoming more informed while seeking value for

money be it a low or a high involvement product.

Amidst the bedlam caused by the marketers by virtue

of their extensive offerings to lure the customers, it is

imperative to know the customers‘ psyche to deliver

exactly what they want. Gone are the days when

customers‘ were satisfied with just the product and its

utility. There is only one boss- Customer, says Wal-Mart.

And the boss, in today‘s scenario, seeks a right blend

of Relationship and Utility. This calls for a synergy

between products and their related services. The

better the mix that one delivers, the more customers

one fetches. Product differentiation still remains a

predominant factor while selecting any product and

by differentiation we mean meaningful value addition

to match the expectations of the customers. To cater

to the varying needs of the customers, companies are

coming up with different SKUs (Stock keeping units)

and bundled products and offers. This is not only

restricted to the major FMCG companies but also to

the modern trade juggernauts with respect to the

Private Labels. Organised retail is fast capturing the

hearts of the consumers with increasing quantity of

private labels capturing the shelf space and

consumers reacting to the substitutes of their

preferred brands

without much

hesitation. Also,

Kishore Biyani of

Future Group, the

famous retail

transformer of

India, is making

the best of

Sensory branding

which triggered

his vision of

satisfying

consumer‘s wish to touch, smell and feel products be

it fruits and vegetables or grains. But with the plethora

of information available to the consumers, their

bargaining power has led to the dawn of Crossover

shoppers who buy pulses and grains from the local

kirana stores and visit modern trade retailers to satisfy

their need for packaged and branded products.

Brand loyalty is becoming a near myth with people‘s

preference towards private labels over national

brands.

With increasing disposable income, the purchasing

power of the customers is increasing and more and

more premium products are being sought after which

were once upon a time not matching with the

disposable income. On the other hand, SKUs are

becoming smaller and smaller taking into

consideration consumers needs for quick carry and

consumption, impulsive buying and one time usage.

With technological advancements, marketers have to

be watchful and acknowledge digital leapfrogging.

We see that people who never used the internet or

had a personal computer are using mobile internet

and smart phones. They are not going through a

standard evolution process. Hence marketers are

apprehensive about the changing demands of the

consumers, both rural and urban. Industry boundaries

are blurring as people‘s aspirations have augmented

to seek integrated products. Steve Jobs‘ brainchild

iPod, later iPhone and

now iPad are the best

examples of blurring

industry boundaries as it

incorporates

entertainment industry, telecom service providers,

handset makers, software developers and others to

deliver world-class products that command a

following of their own.

insights and create or modify the products and their

communication by banking upon the elements of

consumer behaviour such as affect, cognition and

environment. As the competition has intensified, cues

associated with the brand play a vital role in forming

customer perceptions. For example, travellers prefer

Kingfisher but not Jet Airways despite providing almost

same services by both the airlines. Dr. Vijay Mallya

plays a global cue which wins over Jet because of his

jubilant personality. Thus the significance of cues

remains paramount.

Consumers‘ preferences are dependent on various

factors. As these aspects change, consumer

behaviour changes simultaneously. Profound analysis

of the consumer behaviour over the last decade

reveals noteworthy changes. There is co-existence of

modernity and traditionalism in India. As modernity is

changing the role of media and information

technology, prospective customers are looking out for

different influencers depending on the channel of

communication. But family and friends still retain the

majority of the say. While the middle class is emerging

and the nation is becoming young, marketers are

targeting growing individualism adopted from the

western countries. People want to pamper themselves

like never before. Kids‘ influence has increased and

women‘s roles have emerged from the past traditions

to a new era of freedom and rights. Women, these

days, are taking decisions for themselves and their

families. Hence we see many promotional acts

targeted at them. Traditional value seekers have

become stronger and more active, one of the

examples is Crossover shoppers.

As we have entered into a new decade, we might

want to acknowledge some of the covert yet implicit

aspects of consumer behaviour. Sensory branding in

conjunction with sonic branding is one such aspect

which marketers should work upon. This will help to

gain customer confidence and enhance brand recall

and association. Marketers need to be tech-savvy to

cater to the elation of the digitalized world and social

media framework. Marketers must try to convert

satisfied customers into highly satisfied garnering

loyalty, rather than turning dissatisfied customers to

satisfied ones. Green consumerism is gaining impetus

in the market place. With increasing knowledge of

and concern for environment, customers are going

the green way, specially as the global economies are

fast recovering from the downturn.

Economics suggest rational customers tend to

maximise utility out of the product they buy to satisfy

their need. Other aspects such as emotions are

something that the marketer needs to handle with

élan. Needless to say, as the product life cycle is

becoming shorter, marketers have to constantly strive

to create and deliver value to the customers. The

fundamental 4 Ps are critical to decide the fate of a

product in the ever-changing global scenario.

Gaurav Gudhka

MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

.

There‘s a secret dream that every international

marketer‘s heart harbours, whether it remains a

distant dream for long or not is the question. The

underlying thread that weaves through all the

hype surrounding catchphrases like ‗glocalisation’

is but the convergence of consumer preferences

globally.

The ‗Global Village‘ is no more a myth thanks to

the rise of global capitalism, falling of barriers to

international trade, increasing interconnectedness

and a cross-fertilisation of ideas, which has been

further fuelled by the convergence of media and

technology and increase in income. Today, we

see a certain degree of homogenisation in the

global consumption patterns as national borders

and traditional cultural boundaries blur rapidly,

leading to the identification of global segments.

Yet, the idea itself isn‘t novel; Theodore Levitt in his

landmark 1983 article had argued that this

homogenisation of needs and wants was

inevitable as the rational consumer would

invariably prefer standardised products of high

quality and low price. So when

we see McDonalds

prospering around the

globe, western fashion

becoming common in

many eastern countries

and cross border music

channels like MTV

becoming a rage

everywhere, it‘s of little

surprise to the

international marketer.

The evidence is for

everyone to see

essentially in the form of

various marketing messages

of omnipresent brand identities predominantly in

the FMCG and technology sector. People around

the globe are developing preferences for the

same products, wearing the same type of clothes,

watching the same TV programs, and playing the

same digital games on their computers! And these

consumer behaviour trends are being reinforced

all the more by the print media, radio, TV and to a

great extent, the Internet.

Nevertheless, the convergence isn‘t perfect and its

foundations are regularly questioned in view of the

substantial variance in consumer behaviour across

nations. But with differences of per capita GNP

progressively disappearing, culture has become a

powerful variable to explain this trend, and which

the Hofstede studies also corroborate. National

culture, which is broadly the values, beliefs, norms

and behavioural patterns of a national group, is

subject to global culture‘s continual influence,

which in turn is instrumental in reshaping an

individual‘s personal culture. Even as these global

cultural values get transmitted to the individual, he

retains a set of core values, which helps explain

this partial

heterogeneity in

consumer

behaviour. Still, the

consumer tastes

appear to be

driven less and less

by long standing

local and regional

traditions, and

more by

perceived

desirability of

global brands.

Simultaneously,

there seems to be a shift in values as well towards

standardisation.

Products of culture-association, like alcoholic

beverages, etc. are harbingers of the degree of

cultural convergence. Research shows an

increasing health consciousness among

consumers as they switch to beverages containing

less alcohol, also a switch from the local traditional

drinks to beverages that are seen as more

fashionable and healthy has been observed.

Apart from such products, digital convergence

too is being largely guided by consumer

preference. Consumers globally have shown a

preference for mobile telecommunication

handset size similar to that of the current PDA or

mobile while adopting a considerably larger

display, thereby directing R&D to increasing the

pixels per inch, while still maintaining the

portability. But obviously, given some degree of

heterogeneity in this trend, partial, rather than

perfect, convergence is expected.

But the good news is that research also shows that

concerted strategic marketing efforts can affect

consumer perceptions and actually alter

consumer choices. This means, to be effective, the

various marketing activities like standardising the

product, identical brand names, uniform

packaging, synchronised product introductions,

similar advertising messages across markets in

various countries, have to be integrated and

coordinated well. Advertising should seek to

portray products in idealised and desirable

context, because globally consumers buy the

products that they believe express their identities.

The global marketer should take heart from the

fact that cultural traditions aren‘t impenetrable,

and that consumer choices can be affected by

intelligent strategic marketing, which is an

interactive and evolutionary process. Tempting,

though it may be to read the consumer psyche

every day and regularly adjust your marketing

model to it in consonance with local traditions, it is

not sustainable in the long run from an

international marketing perspective. The key is to

identify homogenous global segments so that if at

all any customisation is required, it is minimal.

Standardised marketing strategies and products

are actually the future drivers of cultural change

and consumer convergence.

Jayant Rana

MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Sitting with a friend in the hostel, I saw an

advertisement on the net promoting a Hybrid

car. My friend wondered aloud on how many

consumers would be willing to spend those

extra bucks for the environment. This triggered

a series of questions. Are all the efforts that

corporates put in for promoting green

consumerism worth it? In the post recession era,

are there enough green consumers to target

them as a separate segment all together? Is it

important to target the niche green consumer

or focus on green behaviour that people feel

like following inherently?

Consumers belonging to either school, the

green or otherwise, would follow trends and

buy products that are green, if given the fact

that it would solve their problems in a similar or

better way as the non green product, the

catch being, without any extra inconvenience

in terms of cost and operational difficulty. Why

would not people want to make their planet a

better place to live in? The only answer I could

think of was that, it was due to the personal

inconvenience that would result from the use

of the product or due to the lack of awareness

about the product or its long term positive

effects.

Consider an individual, newly promoted at

work, who is looking to buy a bigger car than

his previous one, within a certain budget. (S)he

is told by his/her environment friendly

colleagues that a bigger car would cause

more pollution. Further they suggest that if he

wants to go forward with a bigger car he

should choose an environment friendly one

(like a Honda Civic hybrid), but which might

cost way above his budget (about 8 lakhs

above non hybrid version). In all probability he

would go for a non environment friendly car.

Now here lies the opportunity for the product

manufacturers. The product should not be

thought of as simply an offering for green

consumers but for every consumer. If the

environment friendly car would have been

priced keeping in mind the green outcome

rather than the green consumer, then it would

have been priced a bit more competitively

and would have been preferred by our

consumer.

Lately, there has been an increase in the

awareness levels of the people about the

advantages of green behaviour. But there is a

downside to this both during growth and

recession. The high cost of some of these

products restricts their usage and hence

purchase during the declining stage of the

economy because during that period

disposable income of people fall. Certain

green behaviours like buying small cars and car

pooling is not preferred by people during the

growth stage of the economy when people

have high disposable income, due to social

status and perception

Looking at the winning side Pay-as-you-go

(PAYG) is emerging as a winning consumption

model for the environment. For example, if we

look at the power sector smart grid initiatives

provide consumers with innovative pricing

models that incentivize them to reduce or shift

energy use during peak periods. Another

innovative model which is being developed in

the car insurance field in U.S.A wherein a

person takes insurance from State Farm and

pay on the basis of how much and how

responsibly they drive.

So is there a solution? Maybe! Professors John

Thogersen and Folke Ölander of the Aarhus

School of Business (Denmark) examined the

relationship between values and green

behaviour. Thogersen and Ölander examined

the impact of recycling on the values and

behaviours of Danish consumers over the

course of one year. The findings of the study

said that marketers face an uphill task if they try

and address environment friendly behaviour

before addressing values because it is the

values which drive behaviour and not the other

way round. Another important finding also

suggested that it is easier to influence the

buying behaviour of consumers who already

hold environment friendly values.

So the feeling is that there is no consensus on

whether green consumerism is growing or

declining but one thing is for sure that it is

bound to grow in the future for the sake of

mother earth. This is the cue for marketers to

tap this consciousness in consumers.

Siddharth Girdhar

MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Creating strong brands has always

been one of the highest priorities of

most of the brand managers and

advertisers since long. That‘s

because a strong brand helps in

creating a strong positioning for the

product, increases top of the mind

recall, enhances brand loyalty,

offers the scope for product

extensions, and leads to financial

advantages through the idea of

‗brand equity‘. So in an age of

thousands of brands competing for

a limited amount of the consumer‘s

mindshare, creating a distinctive

communication strategy becomes

of utmost importance.

Celebrity endorsements are one of

the most popular ways marketers

try to pique the interest of

consumers in their product

offerings, since people quickly

recognise them and are naturally

attracted towards celebrities. It

also leads to more trust in the

brand as it gets endorsed by a

credible source. But even after that

stamp of credibility on a brand,

taking decision on which brand to

finally choose from all other close

alternatives can actually be an

anxiety-inducing activity for a

customer. And this anxious decision

making, leads to a critical post-

purchase evaluation of the

product or service on whether its

performance meets the

expectations, or not.

In this age of aggressive

advertising and brand

promotions, we see many a

celebrity endorsing a number of

brands, and also a single brand

being endorsed by multiple

celebs. This can potentially

create confusion in the minds of

the consumer, which coupled

with a performance-

expectation mismatch can lead

a psychological tension in his

mind, also known as cognitive

dissonance.

The term ‗cognitive dissonance‘

was coined way back in 1957 by

Leon Festinger, who described it

as a psychologically

uncomfortable state or

imbalance that is produced

when various cognitions about a

thing are not consistent. The

theory of cognitive dissonance

suggests that an individual has

cognitive elements (or

"knowledges") about himself, his

past behaviour, his beliefs and

attitudes, and his environments. If

one cognitive element follows

from another, they are said to be

consonant. If one does not follow

from another, they are said to be

dissonant and arouse the

psychological tension called

cognitive dissonance. And since it

is psychologically uncomfortable,

the individual changes the

dissonant cognitive element to

reduce the dissonance. Also,

stronger the cognitive

dissonance, the more strongly

motivated he is to reduce

dissonance by changing the

cognitive element.

For many years now, marketers

have been making use of the

public fascination with

celebrities by employing them

as endorsers or spokespersons

for their product and service

offerings. McCracken defined a

celebrity endorser as "any

individual who enjoys public

recognition and who uses this

recognition on behalf of a

consumer good by appearing

with it in an advertisement".

Even though celebrities are

given special attention because

they are perceived to be

different from the rest of the

population, yet they are also

considered to be like everyone

else, persons with whom the

public can identify and with

whom they can form para-

social relationships.

The following benefits of using

celebrities in advertising have

been identified:

capturing the

audience's attention

adding credibility to the

product or brand

making the

advertisement or

product easier to

remember

making the brand

easier to recognise, and

assisting in achieving

positive attitudes

towards the brand

There has also been a

steady rise in expert

endorsements in

advertisements in recent

times, which enhances the

believability of an

advertisement primarily due

to increased source

credibility.

Celebrity Endorsements and

Cognitive Dissonance

It has been sufficiently

established that the selection of

the ‗right‘ celebrity, who

matches with the attributes

assigned to the product, is

crucial for the effectiveness of

the advertising campaigns.

Even though the relation

between the product and the

endorser's profession mightn’t

always be evident, but his

lifestyle and mannerisms must

match the product, lest the

value will be lost. The ultimate

test is that the combination of

celebrity and the product

should create trust and

confidence in the consumer

and induce him or her to

accept the product as genuine,

useful and correctly priced.

In this way, the celebrity can act as

a trigger for the initial introduction

to the product and then the

product itself becomes the focus

because of its utility value to the

customer. But still, unless there‘s a

long term perspective, the

promotion would lack depth as it

may appear to be an isolated

activity, which is why there

emerges the need for creating

Brand Ambassadors. So even

though the life of a single

promotion might be small but in

reality its impact would carry over

to the next event or period, where

it can be renewed with some

differentiation but with same

vitality. Brand Ambassadors,

therefore, do more than just

endorse products; they actually

give it recognition and portray its

continuity in marked contrast to a

one-off campaign. This is what

creates a bond between the

celebrity and the consumer and

develops and affinity that

marketers hope will last for a long

time.

Additionally, research has pointed to

the possible negative consequences

of using celebrities who are mired in

controversy, and an endorsement

can succeed only when an

association is fashioned between the

cultural meanings of the celebrity

world, on the one hand, and the

endorsed products, on the other. The

best endorsements, consequently,

derive their efficacy from the

successful transfer of meaning.

To further strengthen the theory,

respondents to select researches

have expressed doubts that

celebrities used or even like, the

products they endorse, and that

they do endorsements only

because they are paid for them.

Also it has been established that

consumers place more weight on

negative information, as against

positive information, when they

have to form judgments about

brands, people, companies, and

so on. All of these contrasting

ideas that the marketer tries to

superimpose on consumers‘

already set ideas, spark off

cognitive dissonance.

Case Studies: Cognitive

Dissonance at Work

A brand is identified and

distinguished by various factors

and one of them is brand

associations. Celebrity

endorsements significantly add

value to brand equity. This value

is termed as ‗Borrowed Equity‘

to describe the value of the

celebrity. Some practical cases

from different sectors are

elucidated here, to understand

the relationship between

Celebrity Endorsements and

Cognitive Dissonance.

FMCG SECTOR

India has a vast FMCG sector

with around 180 FMCG

companies catering to a

population more than 1.2 billion.

Naturally, there is a plethora of

brands on offer in the extremely

competitive marketplace. To

break this clutter of brands and

win the consumers‘ mindshare

and heart-share, marketers try

to create high recall value with

the help of celebrities, which

increases the advertising

budget manifold. Although

these might be low involvement

products and the points of

parity remain more or less the

same, in order to emphasise on

the points of differentiation,

celebrities bring great sense of

rationality and consistency into

marketing. The market leader

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. spent a

whopping Rs. 2,449.02 crore on

advertising in the year ended

March 31, 2010. Name any

prominent brand in any sector

and there will be a celebrity

endorsing it. But what are the

chances of these celebrities

generating sales or causing

dissonance?

Bitterness over sweetness,

Big B at the rescue

In 2003, Cadbury faced an

unforeseen challenge, when a

few instances of worms in Dairy

Milk bars were reported in

Maharashtra. To restore

consumer confidence in its

chocolate brands and reduce

cognitive dissonance, Cadbury

signed up Amitabh Bachchan

as

brand ambassador to do some

heavy duty endorsement,

putting his equity at stake.

Cadbury in conjunction with

O&M created a campaign

which banked upon both

rational and emotional appeal

along with a revamped poly-

flow packaging. One of the ads

showed Bachchan visiting a

Cadbury plant, inspecting the

systems and processes and

finally consuming a bar of

chocolate to be convinced

that there's nothing wrong with

the brand. The other ad

featured Bachchan and his

granddaughter to emphasise

that the product was absolutely

safe for children. The company

bounced back soon after the

campaign hit the screens. The

recovery began in May 2004

when Cadbury's value share

went up from 69.4 per cent to

71 per cent after significant

advertising spend of Rs.40 crore,

up by 15% for the Jan-March

quarter.

Best celebrities during the

worst times

In 2003, the controversial

pesticide issues shook up Coca-

Cola and PepsiCo and resulted

in much negative publicity and

cognitive dissonance among

consumers. Both soft drinks

majors came up with high-

profile damage control ad

films featuring their best

and most expensive

celebrities. While Aamir

Khan led the coke fight

back, similarly PepsiCo

brought in SRK and Sachin

Tendulkar together. Indian

consumers wanted

someone credible to assure

them Coca-Cola wasn't

loaded with dangerous

pesticides and no one seemed

better than Aamir Khan. In a

television testimonial, a serious

but humble Khan, arms crossed

behind his back, told everyday

Indians that he cared for their

safety. The dreamy actor

donned a hairnet and looked

studiously at a test tube held by

a man in a white lab coat inside

a Coke bottling plant. He stared

into the camera and told

Indians to come see the plant

for themselves. And in the final

act of the 60-second ad, Khan

pulled a bottle of Coke Classic

from the manufacturing line,

popped the top and gulped

fearlessly. The fact that it

opened its plant to the public

sent a message that it didn't

have anything to hide.

The flux following King

Khan’s Lux advertisement

In 2005, HUL‘s Lux brand of soap

celebrated its 75 years of

existence and glory. To break

away from the tradition of

getting beautiful actresses to

endorse the brand, HUL tried

something new by choosing

Shahrukh Khan to endorse Lux,

target market remaining the

same as he appeals to women

across various strata. The

metrosexual appeal of SRK was

pertinently used as a soft touch.

On receiving mixed reviews, SRK

said, ―I don't know why it should

be such a big deal‖. Consumers

were taken aback to see SRK

bathing in a tub with petals

which looked like a gimmick

causing some sort of

dissonance. "The execution of

the ad could have been slightly

subdued‖, added Prasoon

Joshi, Regional Creative

Director, McCann Erickson. K. V.

Sridhar, National Creative

Director of Leo Burnett reacted,

―The ad is not tastefully done

and it seems Shah Rukh with his

clean-shaven chest is sharing a

private joke with the actresses.‖

Case of a Celebrity Endorsing

Many Brands

Tiger Woods, one of the most

esteemed sports personalities till

November 2009, had a host of

brands under his belt. And

consumers did believe that Tiger

actually preferred most of the

products he endorsed which

included Nike apparels, Titleist

golf balls, Gatorade energy

sports drink, Gillette products,

American Express card, Tag

Heuer watches, Accenture and

GM’s luxurious Buick. All the

brands he endorsed perfectly

suited his stature in the society

and sports fraternity. These

products gained a lot owing to

the borrowed equity acquired

from Woods‘ glorious appeal.

After signing Woods in 1996,

Nike golf balls saw a growth of

$50 million while the turnover of

golf line amounted to $250

million. But, after all it was

borrowed. Ultimately, after

Tiger‘s string of disgraceful

confrontations and infidelities,

the brands discontinued their

relationship with him. According

to a US study titled ―Celebrity

Advertisements: Exposing a

Myth of Advertising

Effectiveness‖, Woods was

rated as the worst celebrity of

2010 with his endorsement of

Nike. A study done by Ace

Metrix revealed that TV ads

featuring Woods lifted the value

of the campaign by minus 30

per cent.

Cognitive dissonance in this

case is due to the antipathy

caused by Tiger’s acts which

led to a loss of $7.5 million to

the various brands together.

Consumers of the products

endorsed by Woods showed

resentment towards Woods by

abandoning those products.

This is because consumers

despised Woods and naturally

their faith in the brand

endorsed by Woods was

baffled.

In recent times, there has been

such a deluge of celebrity

endorsements that it has led to

the very clutter that it aimed to

break. Here‘s a small piece of

statistic.

Fig 1. AdEx India analyzes

the Celebrity Endorsement in

TV during H1 ‗2010.

MS Dhoni has endorsed a

number of brands including

PepsiCo, Reebok, Exide, TVS

Motors, Videocon, Reliance

Communications, Dabur Honey,

Aircel Communications and

many more. Clearly, an

overload of brands and

categories associated with one

star. Bollywood baadshah Shah

Rukh Khan endorses Omega,

Tag Heuer, Pepsi, Hyundai,

Clinic All Clear and Airtel

among other brands since 1992.

Amitabh Bachchan endorses

Pepsi, ICICI, Parker Pens,

Nerolac, Dabur, Reid & Taylor,

Maruti Versa, Cadbury and a

few social messages too.

This over-exposure can be bad

for the brand. Each celebrity is

called upon to push maybe a

dozen brands or so which is

great for the celebrity, but it is

quite daft for the brand

because the impact of the

celebrity reduces as the number

of brand endorsed increases. As

many brands are endorsed by

one celebrity, all the brands

may not get equal borrowed

equity from the celebrity. This is

because people will remember

only those advertisements in

which that celebrity's

value is derived

more and the

celebrity is in good

fit with the brand.

Rest of the brands

won‘t get much

attention as the

recall value will be

low.

This leads to

dissonance in

consumer’s minds.

People have to

make a choice

between two brands

competing against each other

or against those being equally

attractive. If a celebrity

endorses different categories of

brands and changes brands

frequently, a consumer is bound

to have dissonance, as to what

exactly is being endorsed by

him. Also, when a particular

brand has many celebrities

endorsing it, dissonance takes

place as to which attribute of

the celebrity is exactly reflected

in the brand or the product.

Developing a Model for the

Marketer from Theory

Through this analysis we have

found out that celebrity

endorsements certainly do

spark cognitive dissonance, but

can also be used to harmonise

this dissonance, when need be.

In the Pre-purchase stage, a

customer is flooded by a

plethora of brands. In order to

select one out of them, a

rational consumer would

evaluate the most likely brands

on the basis of several

parameters. When the points of

parity are more or less the same

among the available choices, a

celebrity endorsement

influences the buying behaviour

by developing an association

with the customer. In the Post-

purchase stage, celebrities

reassure that the choice the

consumer has made is correct

by enhancing the perception of

the brand.

Consumers normally try to

overcome cognitive dissonance

by any of three ways- Justify,

Blame or Deny. For instance,

Smoking is injurious to health. But

quite often than not, people

behave ostentatiously to

associate themselves with their

symbolic groups. Also,

celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan,

who is considered as the King of

Bollywood, further spur the drive

to smoke by smoking in public.

This justifies consumer‘s

cognition. Consumers may also

blame tobacco companies,

and sometimes even outright

deny that all the information

regarding smoking being

injurious to health, is even

credible, only to reduce their

cognitive dissonance.

Sometimes celebrities

overpower the brand while

seldom their performance might

also demean the brand. Hence,

marketers have to take a

cautious call on celebrity

endorsements. Customers are

very vulnerable to even slightest

of movements in the

surroundings and are quick to

react. Celebrities not just cause

cognitive dissonance but also

help to cure it. Amidst the

bedlam caused by the

marketers, celebrities can make

or break the brand.

Recognising the points

elaborated above, Marketers

have to be cautious that there

brands don‘t suffer from a

cognitive dissonance, and can

adopt the following few

measures to reduce this

dissonance.

Choose celebrities very

carefully, while keeping

his/her image in sync with

that of the product.

Discontinue with celebrities

that are mired in

controversies continuously

Psychologically increase

the attractiveness of your

product and decrease the

attractiveness of the

rejected alternative

Change the existing

opinion about the forced

action to make it more

consonant

Compliment the

consumer's wisdom

(reflected in their purchase

decision)

Offer strong guarantees or

warranties

Increase the number and

effectiveness of services

and provide detailed

brochures on how to use

the products correctly

Conclusion

It‘s now quite evident that

celebrity endorsements do

spark cognitive dissonance,

which may lead to the

customer switching brands

to reduce it. Also, celebrities

do help in improving the

image of a brand, but that‘s

not sustainable for either the

brand or the celebrity if the

product is not good.

Marketers must be aware of

the impact this dissonance

can have for their brands,

and must operate carefully,

if they want to make their

brands the market leaders.

Gaurav Gudhka Jayant Rana

MBA (IB) 2010-2012 MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Today a Brand is not just an identity of a

product or a service or anything that

differentiates itself from the competitor and

reaps in profit. A Brand has transformed itself to

become the identity of the consumer. Gone

are the days when a Brand used to highlight a

company‘s offering. Today a Brand focuses on

consumers, their emotions, their status and their

self-esteem.

Customer equity, along with Brand equity is fast

gaining importance. Valuing customers is as

important as valuing brands as both are said to

be mutual beneficiaries. None can work in

isolation. Although, the focus has moved from

the product to the customer, customer is no

more the king, with brands growing bigger and

better than ever. Producers are working

towards converting a want into a need.

Products like a photo copy or a chocolate is

known as Xerox and Cadbury in India. That‘s

the power of a brand.

TATA is one of the most respected and trusted

Brands of our nation and

when someone uses a

TATA product or

service, the person

feels dignified; (s)he

feels valued. This is the

power of Brand ‗TATA‘.

TATAs have worked

very hard to lay a strong

foundation to the customers‘ dreams. It

symbolises self-esteem when the ―one-lakh

Nano‖ is driven by an average middle class

who could not afford a car. TATAs have also

been a part of Indian culture. Whenever a

marriage takes place in

India, one of the most

common things gifted to

the groom is Titan watch.

No other brand has been

able to take its place. This

goes on to say that a

brand like TATA has found

its place in the hearts of

the Indians and has become a part of the

culture which in turn gives a sense of

complacency and identity to its users. This is

Cult Branding.

In this extremely competitive world, for a Brand

to survive and evolve as the consumers‘ most

preferred choice, it has to fight the cut-throat

competition by creating points of

differentiation. A Brand must focus on

something that will provide its users an identity

which is easily differentiable if not superior to

that of others. IKEA, one of the most innovative

companies of the world, is delivering

excellence in terms of its functional and well

designed furniture line which is absolutely

affordable in order to reach as many

customers as possible rendering a sense of

dignity in them. It symbolises technological

superiority with simplicity so that the users feel

more valuable.

Today‘s consumers use brands to build their

own identities. Some even like to be known by

the brands that they use. If your brand can give

them that, it will survive, and if the identity takes

into account the cultural aspects of the

consumers, they will love your brand and make

it immortal. Not that it‘s always a brand that

has to strive. These days customers eye the

most coveted brands like Apple and

Volkswagen to be attached to in order to

enjoy a superior status.

Market Researchers not only gather

demographic information but cultural

influences and preferences are also taken into

consideration, so that a Brand does not remain

just a Brand but become a way of life. Brands

need to value the culture, using the uniqueness

of target groups to market themselves

accordingly. Those who have done that have

been very successful like McDonalds.

It has proved to be a truly global brand by

adopting the cultural differences of different

regions to merge it into one.

Branding is a dynamic process and everybody

is trying to build an eternal Brand. For one to be

successful it has to learn to be empathetic and

make use of the cultural and emotional

aspects and the values attached with the

consumers. Branding, today, means branding

lives (of its users) which in turn will help a Brand

live longer. It‘s for time to decide who will rule

whom. For the moment Brand and Customers

stand at par.

Niyati Trivedi

MMC (AV) 2010-2012

Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication,

Pune

After World War I, Adolf (Adi) Dassler, a German, started making high quality

handmade sports shoes in his mother‘s laundry in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria.

In 1924, his brother Rudolf joined hands with him. Together, they established

Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). Little did they

know that some day their brand of shoes will be a lovemark in the global

market. The sales picked up fast and with Afro-American US sprinter Jesse

Owens winning 4 golds wearing Dassler shoes in 1936 Olympics, the sales was further

boosted. But as they prospered, rift grew between the two. From business to politics (both of them had

joined the Nazis), they disagreed on a great deal of things which eventually led to the split of the

establishment in 1948 and thus the formation of two spectacular companies called Adidas (Adi Dassler)

and Ruda (Rudolf Dassler). Later Ruda was renamed as Puma.

Both the brands are widely embraced today. While Adidas is the

largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest

in the world after US‘s sensational Nike, Puma is one of the major

rivals and has lately been inclined towards US markets. They are

quite akin in the way they market their offerings: sports utilities and

lifestyle products i.e. footwear, apparels, and accessories. They

have always been ecstatic sponsors of various football and Olympic

events and teams. Having done humongous promotions and sponsorships in the past, in

recent times, Adidas introduced a new ball for the FIFA WC 2010 called ‗Jabulani‘

which met with criticism with respect to control of the ball and the whereas Puma

has signed two year deals to make the kits of Newcastle United, Motherwell,

Hibernian & Burnley from the 2010–11 season and has renewed the contract with

Jamaican sprint superhero, Usain Bolt until 2013. Adidas was not only the official

sponsor of the 2010 Football World Cup

but it also sponsored teams such as Spain,

Argentina, Germany, France, Mexico and South Africa.

Puma sponsored the teams of Ivory Coast, Cameroon,

Ghana, and Angola besides Italy, Switzerland, Paraguay

and Poland.

On one hand, Adidas conquered Reebok in 2006; on the

other, Puma was taken over by Pinault-Printemps Redoute

(PPR), a French luxury group which has Gucci under its

belt, in 2007.These blood brands have a strong foothold in

the global market but it may seem that Adidas is more

proactive globally as compared to Puma which happened to be more so after Horst, Adolf‘s son, took

over and supplemented the growth. He sold sports utilities by using sports events as an advertising

platform thereby promoting sports invariably. For quite some time Puma tasted bitter losses and soon

learnt that the product is what matters in the end. Puma is a doing a great job in lifestyle products

whereas Adidas has an edge in sports shoes. Both the companies bank upon innovation and quality.

Puma‘s largest market is US followed by Japan. Being the sponsor of Usain Bolt of the Olympics fame,

Puma has gained huge success in China after 2008 Beijing Olympics.

‗Impossible is nothing‘ holds true and has changed the outlook of not only Adidas but also Puma. Better

and innovative products have helped these blood companies to survive through the thick and thin and

emerge as global leaders. Adidas wins over Puma having six times the financial resources and is more

focussed on core sports like football and tennis in addition to a stronger distribution network. Although

Puma has missed the bus, it has the calibre to lead the league in the years to come. Way to go bro!

Sukesh Chande

MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

I learnt how to grow brands at Ogilvy & Mather. (1973-87) I learnt how to grow people who grow brands at Lintas. (1987-91)

In 1992, I invented a way for people to learn-while-earning.

That was the birth of Univads, which evolved into Univbrands. Because there are more ways to grow brands than just ads.

And the best way to learn to build brands is the same way that you learn to ride a motorbike. Someone shows you the gears and rides

along with you to make sure you don't fall off. And once you learn, you never forget.

That's what I now do for a living. I help people master the various

common sense ways there are to build brands. And the beauty is that the coaching can be done online. And on-the-job. So you get to earn while learning. You don't even have to take time off to get

trained.

This way training is no longer a cost. It becomes an immediate source of profit.

Earning is believing.

Specialties

Word-of-Mouth Marketing; Self-Financing Promotions; 21st Century Brand Building; Relationship Marketing; Idea Management; Presentation & Communication Skills; Helping people grow in their

careers

Mr. SUMIT ROY, Founder Director at UNIVBRANDS

Q1. Having worked in the advertisement industry, how do you think the media communications have

evolved over the last decade?

That's going to take a book to answer well. But here it is in a tweet. 21st century "advertising" is now a

conversation. You can choose to listen and respond. Or be prepared to fall like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.

Q2. Marketing communication channels have had an evolution from Print to Television to Internet.

Further, do you see word of mouth marketing complementing these existing channels or is it the next

stage of evolution?

Word of Mouth is much older than any of the media mentioned here. I don't quite agree with the

"evolution" analogy at all. While each medium that you have mentioned may have become popular

at different periods of time, they have not become extinct and given way to a next generation like

Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon to modern day Homo Sapiens.

All these media will survive and grow. In fact, each will help the other grow. Word-of-mouse is not going

to kill Television or Print or Radio or Out-of-Home. They will integrate. (Most have already. Notice the

number of other media that mention website addresses and Facebook pages.) It's not WOM vs Print or

WOM vs Television. It's WOM x Print x Television x .....

This spreads the reach of a brand in Geometric Progression instead of just the Arithmetic Progression

that we were used to in the last century.

Q3. Mobiles (e.g. blackberry) and Music Players (e.g. Apple Ipod) are two such accessories which

have been branded to create a high degree of involvement with the consumers. Can this concept be

successfully extended further to other such products?

Branding through product design and consumer involvement has been around for a long time. From

Dhakai Sarees to K C Das Rosogolla the Indian Entrepreneur has been more savvy than Business School

Bred marketing professionals. It's the marketing professionals who are now rediscovering common

sense.

Q4. Do you think that the branding exercise is losing its relevance in the FMCG and apparel sector with

the increasing sales of private labels which are sold just at the point of sale with very low branding

efforts?

The question is based on a mistaken belief that you first produce a product and then you create a

brand around that product. Another B-School generated myth.

By "private labels" you probably mean "store brands". It is perfect common sense to first create a brand

by winning the trust of a set of consumers. (You first create "good will", a common sense term that all

shop keepers know but I guess B-Schools don't find fashionable.) Then you provide them the products

that they want. And since they trust your "brand" they will also trust the products you certify with your

"private label".

A brand has an intangible emotional relationship that a set of consumers values. It isn't produced in a

factory, Any quality product or service that is consistent with that relationship will be acceptable under

that "brand". You don't necessarily need money to build a brand. You need an idea that has an

emotional connect. And you need effort. Yes, money can buy you that emotional connect and effort.

But just money won't get you there. You still need the emotional connect that wins over the hearts of

consumers.

Q5. How is the success of a Brand Building Campaign measured quantitatively and qualitatively over

the time?

By the amount that you can sell the brand at. For its "good will". Another way to measure the

effectiveness of a brand building campaign is to measure the change in the number of customers who

are willing to strongly recommend the brand to their friends and relatives.

Q6. A House of brands (e.g. TATA) vs. A Branded house (e.g. Hewlett Packard), Which of these is better

in terms of risks involved and advantages accrued from branding and communication?

Both can be equally good. What matters is the nature of the emotional relationship that the consumer

is looking for with the brand. As an integral part of the relationship, you decide whether you want to

marry a particular person or marry into their family. Most people in India prefer to have a relationship

with both. If you are looking for a short term fling, (use each other, for mutual benefit, without a long

term relationship), you probably wouldn't care much about the "house". Notice how Fastrack, actually

from the house of Tata, chooses not to highlight that it is from that "house". So it all depends on the

emotional truth that the brand chooses to be based on.

Q7. There is always some inertia among consumers to change their existing personal care products

(facewash/creams/toothpaste). As a branding consultant, suggest some ideas to overcome this?

Discover an emotional truth that overcomes that inertia. Then build your brand around that truth.

Interviewed by:

Rajesh Noudury & Siddharth Girdhar

Hierarchy-of-effects theory | The series of steps a consumer takes in order to receive and use

information in order to reach decisions about actions they will take.

Horizontal marketing | Joint marketing efforts that allow two companies to produce different products

yet market them together. Sometimes horizontal marketing is referred to as symbiotic marketing.

Sonic Branding | It is the use of sound to reinforce brand identity. Sound branding is increasingly

becoming a vehicle for conveying a memorable message to targeted consumers, taking advantage

of the powerful memory sense of sound.

Brand Chain | The brand chain begins where the classic supply chain ends. While the supply chain is

made up of value-adding inputs leading to the product, the brand chain begins with product

development and focused on the customer. Through brand platforms and programs it delivers multiple

forms of downstream value. The brand chain consists of creative brand interactions between customer

and company, customer and product.

Affiliate marketing | It refers to using a network of partners to market a company—usually internet-

based in which a company rewards or compensates an affiliate for each customer directed to it.

Affiliates can include blogs, shopping sites, and comparison sites.

Co-branding | An agreement between two brands to work together in marketing a new product, such

as Dreyer's Ice Cream flavoured with Baby Ruth candy pieces (promoting both brands on the label).

Differentiated marketing | Sales growth strategy in which several market niches or population segments

are targeted with different products for each niche or segment.

Prestige pricing | Setting a high price based on the quality and the demand for which consumers are

willing to spend. For example: Starbucks gives a feeling of a high end product by its packaging,

delivery and product promise, based on years or consistent promotion in its iconic coffee houses as

"creating a product of excellence

Price bundling | Selling 2 or more goods or services as a single package, as in Taco Bell offers 2 hard

tacos, a burrito, and a drink in a package for 1 price (usually a saving if you add up the prices of each

individual item).

Selective distribution | Contracting with several, but not all available channel members to move the

product through the commercialization schedule. Attention is given to those channel members willing

to give special attention to the product or service, such as employing a sales force to help sell/move

the product to the next channel.

Siddharth Girdhar

MBA (IB) 2010-2012

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Company: APPLE Inc

Sector: Computer Hardware,

Computer Software, Consumer

Electronics, Digital Distribution

New Products: APPLE iPad2,

iPhone5 and Apple TV

Technology major Apple is all set to launch

an entire re-programmed dual GSM-CDMA

iPhone and iPad comprising an increased-

resolution screen and an SD card slot, and

a fresh and new Apple TV along with an A5

processor competent of giving out 1080p

video. Apple's forth coming product line for

the year 2011, comprising the iPhone 5, iPad 2 and the 2nd

generation of the re-developed Apple TV are already

gathering a lot of responses. iPad shall continue at 10

inches but the surprise factor is both the front and the back

cameras and if that is not a huge surprise then there's also

a SD slot. Price might rise a little but will remain under$850

in US.

Company: Yamaha

Corporation

Sector: Conglomerate dealing in musical instruments,

automobiles, audio/ video, vehicle engines

New Products: New upgraded YZF-R15 and scooter BW125

Yamaha has a few interesting launches planned

for mid 2011. The Japanese major has been

launching new products and upgrades

consistently for the past three years since it

regained ground following the launch of the YZF-

R15 and the FZ series and the recently launched

SZ series. For 2011, Yamaha launched the new

upgraded YZF-R15 in the month of January and

the new bike has significant exterior changes as

well as minor tweaks to the engine and a fatter

rear tyre along with a split-seat setup. Also on

cards are the Yamaha scooter models, the Fino

and the BW125. The ex-showroom price of the

new YZF-R15 ranges from Rs.1-1.5 lakhs.

‗Why should boys have all the fun?‘ Because Yamaha is

giving them enough reasons to.

Organisation: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

Sector: Telecom

New Service: Mobile Number portability

Mobile number portability, or MNP, lets cell

phone users change their service provider while

retaining their number. The service was

introduced in the northern Indian state of

Haryana on Nov 25 and was extended across

the country from Jan 20.

India is the largest and second-fastest-growing

telecom market in the world, with about 730

million wireless users. The launch of MNP in the

country is likely to prompt operators to further

reduce call tariffs--already among the lowest in

the world--to gain users from rivals or retain

existing ones.

Karishma Talwar

MBA 2010-2012

FORE School of Management

“Marketing takes a day to learn.

Unfortunately it takes a lifetime to master.” - Philip Kotler

Send your feedback and comments to iift.markmantra@gmail.com