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FMCG Industry 

1. http://www.exchange4media.com/45390_cadbury-abp-leave-a-sweet-aftertaste-of-success.html 

Anandabazar Patrika  Group and Cadbury India embarked on an initiative called ‘Cadbury Mishti 

Shera Srishti ’ in Kolkata to build greater brand connect. Bengalis’ sweet tooth is well documented

and they are known for their obsession for ‘Mishti’. ‘Cadbury Mishti Shera Shrishti’ is the first platform,

which has created a fusion of traditional and western form of sweets. Joining the bandwagon were

the top ‘Mishti’ chains of the city, which have created an innovative “Cadbury Mishti” - using

Cadbury Dairy Milk as one of the key ingredients. The top 9 leading ‘sweet making chains of

Kolkata (Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick, Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy,

Bhim Chandra Nag, K.C. Das , Sen Mahasay, Jadab Chandra Das, Hindusthan Sweets, Ganguram

Sweets and Gupta Brothers) competed against each other across the city. Consumers tasted the

“Mishti” at each store and voted for their favourites.

2. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-19/news/31075300_1_ksdl-karnataka-

soaps-detergents-wccl

Karnataka Soaps & Detergents (KSDL), the state-run firm holds a GI right, geographical indicator

trademark, which means anyone can market a sandalwood soap, but only KSDL can claim ’Mysore 

Sandalwood' soap. The government-owned personal-care company has its sights trained on more

than doubling sales: S Shekar, managing director of KSDL, plans to reach Rs 500 crore in revenue

by 2015-16. Last month, KSDL launched the most expensive Indian soap called Millennium

Mysore Sandal. At Rs 720 for a 150-g piece, the company says French company Hermes, which

markets luxury soaps, inspired it. Millennium is being positioned as a brand for spas, boutiques

and five-star hotels. KSDL is projecting 30% revenue increase to Rs 260 crore this fiscal. Last year,its sales only inched up to Rs 205 crore and profits halved. It was forced to take an 8-9% price

increase but still was not able to accommodate the 40% increase in palm oil prices, a key raw

material. The company is also wrestling against limited availability of sandalwood, which led to prices

shooting up 10 times to Rs 40-50 lakh a tonne in 10 years.

3. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-25/news/31099752_1_hul-s-rin-detergent-

brand-laundry-brand

Yet again. Deja vu for P&G as exactly two years ago, HUL had launched an advertising attack on

them in similar fashion blatantly showing their brand Tide, and claimed that HUL's laundrybrand Rin was better. And this time, in a print ad, HUL has compared prices of its detergent

brand Rin with its rival brand P&G's Tide, appealing to the readers which brand is better. Two

months ago, P&G raised the price of Tide Plus powder (950g pack) by Rs 6, to Rs 80, while Rin's

price is still lower at Rs 70 for one kg pack which is now being shown in the new ad. This is exactly

what happened in 2009 when P&G launched a low priced variant of its detergent brand Tide at Rs 50

per kg to take on HUL's Rin, which was priced at Rs 70 per kg.

4. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/kissan-makesfarmer-outits-customer/466705/ 

Hindustan Unilever’s packaged foods brand, Kissan is proposing to make a farmer, or more aptly

a kisan out of its consumer. The latest from the brand: A chance for its consumers to grow a

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tomato sapling. The activation is a first of its kind initiative from the brand after launching its

new brand proposition — goodness of 100 per cent real fruits and vegetables — last year around

September. According to Harpreet Singh Tibb, General Manager, HUL Packaged Foods, the initiative

is all about 100 per cent ‘real growing’ and getting people to experience ‘real products’, all in line with

the brand’s repositioning. Low penetration of packaged foods coupled with a changing socio -

economic fabric (increased urbanism and rising incomes) is what is believed to be the reasoningbehind the renewed focus on packaged foods.

Telecom/Consumer Electronics 

1.http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33179_Telecom+fiasco:+Ad+industry+cautious;+not+pa

nicky 

The telecom industry has been going through an upheaval in the recent past. The latest one is the

cancellation of 2G licenses for many players.

The advertising industry is certainly concerned about the whole fiasco, the industry is equally scared

and cautious, but not panicky as of now. The fear of losing business may come in later, but the

immediate worry for many agencies is to recover old dues in case these companies shut shop. While

agencies at large have reason to worry, the situation may not be all that bad because very few of

these players are present only in the telecom sector and often, the same agency is in-charge of the

creative duties for all the businesses for a particular client. Thus, the affected telecom brands will try

their best to retain their respective relationships with their agencies, for the sake of their businesses in

other sectors beyond telecom.

2. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/brandline/article2916944.ece 

It promises to be yet another scorching summer battle this year in the air-conditioning

segment. On the one hand, Korean majors LG and Samsung which were forced to be on the

defensive last year by resurgent Japanese and Indian brands are better prepared this year. For

instance, LG is readying for the summer war with a Rs 50-crore marketing campaign and

competitively priced AC products. On the other hand, Japanese brands such as Daikin and

Panasonic, and Indian brands such as Blue Star, having tasted blood last time, are hungry for more.

They say they will be getting even more aggressive this year with bigger marketing budgets, channel

expansion and more entry-level products.

3. http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33286_Vodafone+revamps+top+management 

With telecom giant Vodafone India considering an initial public offering (IPO), the company

announced a major organisational revamp. While Sunil Sood was appointed Chief Operating

Officer, Sanjoy Mukherjee took over as Chief Commercial Officer. Earlier, the company was divided

under two operational divisions. While Sanjoy Mukherjee oversaw the north and east zones, Sunil

Sood was in-charge of south and west. Both were directors in the company. In the new structure, four

directors would be responsible for each zone - North, East, West and South.

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4. http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33282_Nokias+hopes+ride+on+Asha

The Asha series, positioned as a cross between a feature and smart phone, bridges a big gap in

Nokia's portfolio. The Finnish company launched the Asha series of phones in India earlier this year.

What makes this launch so important is the brand's positioning and the time of launch. Priced

between Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000, the Asha series is positioned as a cross between a feature andsmart phone. Till now, Nokia's smart phone range started from Rs 11,000. Compare this with

Samsung: Smart phones in its portfolio started at Rs 7,360 and went all the way up to Rs 38,290.

Seen against this, it becomes clear the Asha  range (two variants, Asha  200 and Asha  300, are

currently available in the market, and a third, Asha 303, is expected soon) is aimed to bridge a huge

gap in Nokia's range.

5. http://www.exchange4media.com/45626_uninor-intensifies-campaigns-post-sc-verdict.html

Almost a month after the Supreme Court cracked the whip on telecom majors of India, cancelling 122

telecom licenses that were issued by the Ministry of Telecommunications, several telecom operatorshave intensified advertising campaigns to convince consumers and not lose ground. The latest

affected operator to join the bandwagon is Uninor Telecom, which has intensified its advertising

across all media platforms. The Supreme Court had recently cancelled21 licenses of the company

pan India. As per industry estimates, Uninor’s annual ad spend is to the tune of Rs 100-125

crore. The ‘We Love Uninor’ campaign, which has gone pan India, actually started online and

was initiated by the company’s employees to motivate the entire management – both in India

and at Telenor Group headquarters at Oslo. The management of the company is simultaneously

leveraging multiple communication channels to not just make clear its position on the recent

developments, but also to reach out to stakeholders and assure them of continued services. Started

with a small number of fans and likes, the Facebook page today has positive response. Over

the weeks since the launch of the Facebook page, Uninor saw a number of business partners,

including distributors and retailers, coming on board to show their support.

6. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/clashthe-titans/466674/ 

The battle lines are being redrawn in the 213-million-unit mobile device market in India. If handset

king Nokia is looking to ‘Connect the Next Billion’ with differentiated products and unmatched

experience, close No 2 Samsung is banking on range and smart apps to catapult it to the top

of the heap. While the Indian mobile market is driven by the lowest call rates in the world and a

plethora of low-cost devices that account for 75 per cent of the overall sales, the segment where the

game plans of the Top 2 will play out is the aspirational smart phones where the Korean company has

already cemented its position as the top dog in the fag end of 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2010

smart phones contributed 6 per cent to overall mobile industry. In the fourth quarter of 2011,

the figure had touched double digits to stand at 10 per cent. From 8 million last year, the

number of units is expected to touch 18-20 million before we close the year. Given this, the

urgency with which both Samsung and Nokia are pushing models in the segment is understandable.

7. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/smartphones-for-rs-2500-very-likely-mr-

mittal/articleshow/12125681.cms 

At the World Mobile Congress this week, Sunil Mittal, chairman & group CEO, Bharti Enterprises,

declared he wants smartphone prices to drop to sub-$50 levels. That translates to under Rs

2,500, nearly half the current price of the cheapest Android-powered phones. But if any product

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can defy pricing logic, it is mobiles. So, can you pack in an efficient operating system, apps and email

at a much lower cost and still turn in a profit? Yes, with lots of help from processor manufacturers

like Qualcomm and MediaTek. The processor and LCD display panels make the bulk of a smartphone

cost. As Sunil Raina, Chief Marketing Officer at Lava says, get the chipset cost down and everything

else follows. According to In-Stat, a global research firm, the integration of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and

sometimes FM radio onto a single chip dramatically cut costs in 2010. More innovation from chipsetmanufacturers is in the offing. This is why the research firm predicts Android will ship 339 million

low-end smartphones(under $150 each) by 2015.

8. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-brand-new-configuration/465119/  

With a series of high-decibel launches in the last one year, the most recent one being the government

supported Aakash , tablet computers were expected to obliterate the notebook market in India sooner

than later. The initial sales numbers have been small. India sold close to 2 lakh units in 2011,

compared to 65 million units globally. With a range of big and small players, the market has become

extremely competitive, but no clear leader is in sight. While various estimates indicate Samsung,Apple and RIM (Research in Motion) lead the pack, followed by IT companies like DELL and

Acer, the entry of low-cost manufacturers like Beetel that jumped into the fray to ride the

anticipated boom, has fragmented the market (the last count being 70 different models) blurring

product differentiation. While players are trying to grapple with the clear value proposition that they

can offer a consumer, their experiences offer some interesting lessons.

Media and Advertising 

1. http://www.exchange4media.com/45455_indian-advtg-grew-8pc-at-rs-25594-cr-in-%E2%80%9911-

pitch-madison-ad-outlook.html 

'Cautious Optimism' is how Sam Balsara, Chairman and MD, Madison World, described the findings

of the Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2012 (PMMAO 2012). Owing to slowdown in the

second half of the year, the growth was sluggish at a mere 8 per cent, as against a projected

growth of 17 per cent. Backed on a cautious approach followed by marketers, the year 2012, too

would start slow and is expected to pick momentum only in the second half. PMMAO 2012, projects a

single digit growth of only 9 per cent, taking the media advertising revenues to Rs 28,013 crore.

2. http://www.exchange4media.com/45537_star-2-0-a-star-is-reborn-%E2%80%93-part-1.html

http://www.exchange4media.com/45546_star-2-0-a-star-is-reborn-%E2%80%93-part-2.html

“Advertising revenues at STAR India were in-line with the prior year, as strong local currency

advertising revenue growth was offset by the impact of the weakening Indian Rupee”: In a nutshell,

this statement by Rupert Murdoch in the News Corporation earnings release for the quarter ended

December 31, 2011, summed up the performance of STAR India in a year that many had termed as

‘tough’ for the Indian media industry. In the company’s Annual Report 2010, Murdoch stated “STAR

India saw particularly robust advertising growth and we continue to develop market-leading

capabilities in that important and burgeoning region”. 

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In the last three years, STAR India’s revenue has doubled and profit has more than doubled. The

company’s revenue today is pegged in the vicinity of Rs 4,500 crore, making it one of the largest, if 

not the largest, media companies in India.

3. http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33171_IPL+advertisers+drag+their+feetThe spectre of lower advertiser interest is looming large over the fifth edition of the Indian Premier

League (IPL).

India's largest consumer durables company, LG Electronics, will not be an on-air sponsor this year

during the tournament, which begins from April 4 in Chennai. The official broadcaster of the event is

SET Max. But LG is not the only one. IPL regulars such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Micromax and

Samsung are all saying they are yet to take a call on whether to advertise on the property .

Advertisers as well as organisers are worried about diminishing viewer interest. Last year, the

average viewership for IPL as a whole was 3.91, the lowest for the league since its start in the

summer of 2008. The first season of the tournament had a rating of 5.39, the second had 4.66, and

the third had 5.51. This year, media planners again do not expect average ratings to be over 4, given

the general fatigue with cricket and India's poor performance on foreign soil.

4. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/advertising/brand-

ambassadors-are-the-newfound-marketing-mix-for-real-estate-

sector/articleshow/12032588.cms?curpg=1

Brand ambassadors are the new-found marketing mix for real estate sector. Last year had many

celebrities from Bollywood, sports and glamour world enter the realty sector as brand ambassadors of

prominent developers. The concept was at a nascent stage in the NCR, but once it was tried, it took

the sector by storm.

"New USPs and marketing concepts are fast evolving and some of the recent entrants are indeed

focussing on their advertising and marketing campaigns," Roopak Jain, the Vice-President of JM

Housing Ltd, said. Assotech has signed with former Miss Universe and film star Sushmita Sen.

Supertech has signed on Twinkle Khanna. Ajnara India Ltd, a major realty player with projects in Raj

Nagar Extension, Crossings Republik, Noida and Greater Noida, has recently roped in Kangna

Ranaut to endorse its projects. Prateek Group has not one but two brand ambassadors, Rajeev

Khandelwal and Prachi Desai. 

5. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-20/news/31079720_1_online-advertising-

advertising-market-e-retailing 

The online advertising market in India will touch Rs 7,000 crore by 2015, driven by

increasing Internet penetration and a large number of young people, says the Indian e-Retail

report. The online advertising market, which comprises search, display, rich media, video and

classifieds is currently pegged at about Rs 1,850 crore (USD 410 million). It is about seven per cent of

the overall advertising pie, the report said. "This is less than the global average of 15.5 per cent, but is

probably ahead of where it should have been relative to the Internet penetration in the country," it

added. Advertisers in India are now spending 5-10 per cent of their advertising budgets on the

Internet. 

6.http://www.exchange4media.com/45608_font-colorredflashed-yesterday-zee-enters-%E2%80%98over-the-top-tv%E2%80%99-segment-with-ditto-tv.html 

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Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has launched Over-The-Top TV

(OTT) distribution platform, Ditto TV, which will offer Live TV channels and video on demand to

consumers across various devices. OTT will enable ZEEL’s content from leading genres such as

GEC, sports, lifestyle and news to be taken across platforms such as mobile phones, tablets,

laptops, desktops, entertainment boxes and connected TVs. Zee is expecting this digital initiative

to be around 10 per cent of its overall revenues. Currently hosting a total of 21 channels, Ditto TV hasalready partnered for content with Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Television), TV Today

Network, BBC, and ZEE.

Digital Marketing 

1. http://www.nielsen.com/in/en/news-insights/press-room/2012/nm-incite-social-media-brand-equity-ranking-q1-2012.html 

Samsung Mobile Phones is at the top of the list of the top 20 brands that have mostsuccessfully generated social media buzz and positive online public sentiment, finds the

Social Media Brand Equity Ranking (SMBER) index, launched by NM Incite, a

Nielsen/McKinsey company. SMBER uses an innovative model of analysis to measure and rank

brands based on the volume of associated buzz on social media sites and public sentiment

surrounding the brand in the online world.

NM Incite analysis identifies broad patterns of volume, sentiment, frequency and content themes

from publicly available social media sources that can include blogs, blog comments, boards, forums,

groups, Facebook, Twitter and other online services. Analytics for volume, topics and sentiment are

derived from a combination of advanced algorithm-driven text analysis and human scoring of

messages that contain relevant keywords, phrases, brands, products, and issues.

1 Samsung Mobile Phones

2 Ford India

3 Maruti Suzuki

4 Nike

5 Flipkart

6 Mahindra & Mahindra

7 LG Electronics

8 Volkswagen India

9 Channel V

10 Sony Ericsson

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11 Hyundai Motor India

12 Maggi

13 Nokia

14 Airtel

15 Vodafone

16 Tata Docomo

17 HTC

18 Microsoft Xbox

19 BMW India

20 Sony India

2.http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33194_Social+conversations+can+be+used+to+measur

e+brands+health:+Shiv+Singh 

At this year's edition of ad:tech in New Delhi, Shiv Singh, Global Head, Digital, PepsiCo delivered the

keynote address, speaking on real-time marketing and how digital marketing promises a healthierreach compared to traditional advertising. With 30 billion Facebook status updates, 250 million

tweets being published and 5.3 billion views on YouTube every day, Singh says that the world

has just become a lot more challenging for brands and digital marketing . Singh explained the

power of real-time marketing with a simple example. He said that if Lady Gaga was spotted with a can

of Pepsi at a particular place, and someone captured the video immediately, mashed it into a creative

and broadcasted it online in the next five minutes to Lady Gaga fans all over the world, it becomes a

very powerful and immediate connect for the brand with the fans. He compared the same to the

traditional communication procedure, which takes a lot of time to be produced and eventually

distributed, thereby further emphasising the power of real-time marketing.

3.http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33225_In+India+there+is+a+disconnect+between+the+n

umber+of+people+spending+time+on+the+internet+and+where+the+media+dollars+are+being+spent

:+Richard+Dunmall 

Richard Dunmall, Vice-President, Global Accounts and Agencies, Microsoft Advertising and Neville

Taraporewalla, Country Director - Microsoft Advertising, Advertising and Online, India expressed their

opinions on the massive opportunities digital marketing offers brands in India in the current times, the

barriers to cross for marketers and the catching up that has to be done.

4. http://www.exchange4media.com/45633_storytelling-is-a-great-tool-for-digital-marketing-microsoft-advertising%E2%80%99s-rich-media-rocks.html

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There are innumerable brands trying to reach same consumers; many publishers providing premium

content; great creatives but sometimes direction less... what can be a brand builder’s solution to a

market scenario with such dynamics? Tell a story, or so suggested industry experts at

Microsoft Advertising’s Rich Media Rocks 2012 forum, that took placed in the Capital on March 1,

2012.

Trevor Yeats, Senior Product Marketing Manager of Reserve Media and Advertising Tools, Microsoft

Advertising threw light on how brands can benefit from the global rich media strategy. “Brands have to

rethink the way they are telling stories on digital. These stories have to be innovative, immersive,

simple and efficient,” he said. 

Showcasing various case studies where Microsoft Advertising had tied up with clients such as

British Telecom, Samsung, Volkswagen, Disney etc to create impactful advertisement, Trevor

discussed the benefit of using different formats specified by IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) like

Filmstrips, billboard, pushdown, sidekick, slider and portrait to garner maximum attention. “Interest,

desire and loyalty of consumer increases multifold by telling interesting stories using the rich media

tools. Time spent per ad has doubled while brand recall has quadrupled by using rich media tools in

many of our campaigns,” he shared.

5.http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33113_7th+Edition+of+Indias+Buzziest+Brands 

India's Buzziest Brands is one of the uninterrupted public polls in the advertising and marketing

space. It has been conducted every single year, without a break. In doing so, it has managed to

capture how the nature of buzz has changed. For the uninitiated, buzz in this case is defined as the

viral effect that takes place when consumers voluntarily talk about brands as opposed to marketers

talking about them. Few brands achieve this privilege - and privilege it certainly is. Even when brands

do create buzz, consumer interest frequently does not last.

1 Airtel

2 Facebook

3 Flipkart

4 Hero

5 Samsung

6 Google

7 Snapdeal

8 Cadbury

9 iPhone

10 Twitter

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Miscellaneous 

1. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/marketing-budgets-rise-for-some-giants/465633/ 

For the last couple of months, forecasters have been predicting that 2012 would be a better year forMadison Avenue and media companies as more marketers increased advertising budgets. That

outlook is starting to brighten further as some of the biggest spenders reveal plans to open their

wallets even wider than had been expected. The skies seem to be sunnier as marketers including

Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever step up

spending or product introductions or both. Example: Procter & Gamble started last week what it

described as the “intrigue phase,” or teasers, for its introduction of Tide Pods, a one-step laundry

tablet that will be promoted with a marketing budget estimated at $150 million for the first year. The

“reveal phase” is to begin on Sunday, with a commercial for Tide Pods during the ABC broadcast of 

the 84th Academy Awards.

2. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/adidas-targets-teen-girls-for-13-bn-sales/464725/ 

Adidas AG already dominates the global soccer market. It is now targeting teenage girls more

influenced by music and fashion than sports. By expanding its NEO fashion outlets, which offer

such looks as metallic leather boots, and by exploiting social-media platforms including

Facebook and Twitter, the world’s second-largest sporting-goods maker hopes to attract 14 to

19 year-old girls. The company estimates the effort may bring in an additional $1.3 billion in

revenue by 2015.  The three-year-old NEO fashion chain has made inroads in Russia, India and

especially China, where it has 1,000 stores. With the opening in Hamburg this month of the first of 10

stores planned in Germany, Adidas is pushing into the more crowded and more competitive fashion

market in Western Europe, where Inditex SA and Hennes & Mauritz AB are already firmly established.

3. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/willadani-makeover-work-/465895/ 

Full-page ads scream ‘Global’, ‘India’ and ‘Adani’, waking up the morning reader to a brand new

group. The Rs 33,000-crore, Ahmedabad-based Adani conglomerate is in the throes of a

makeover aimed at transforming it into an Indian multinational that has operations across the

globe. Its refurbished identity boasts of three colours - green, blue and orange - representing

its three main businesses — resources, logistics and energy — that morph into the colour

purple, the group shade.  While the Adanis have employed the services of Omnicom-controlledbrand consultancy Wolff Olins to recast its identity, the question is: can the makeover help change the

image of the group battling tax authorities, environmentalists and the government?

4. http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33271_Walmart+to+sell+Hero+bicycles+worldwide

Breaking the near monopoly of Chinese bicycle manufacturers, the Pankaj Munjal-promotedHero Cycles has clinched an agreement with Walmart, the world's largest retailer, to supplybicycles across the world. It will supply bicycles priced at $200 (roughly Rs 10,000) a piece. 

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Pankaj Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Cycles, said, "In bicycles, we intend to double our sales to 10

million units annually by 2015. For that, we are exploring new geographies. We are approved with

Walmart and can leverage their network to expand overseas."

The US retail major sources virtually all its bicycles from manufacturing units in China and Hero

Cycles would be the first Indian supplier. Walmart, the largest seller of bicycles in the US, used to

source a large part of its bicycles from Huffy's plant in Ohio in the 1990s. But, increased pressure

from Walmart to cut costs forced Huffy to close its plants in the US and rely increasingly on factories

in China to keep production competitive. That led to Walmart's reliance on China's low-cost

producers.

5. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/brand-equity/will-cokes-200ml-pack-price-cut-

cannibalise-thums-up/articleshow/12078019.cms 

Summer is still a few weeks away, but cola brands have already started feeling the heat. While most

brands are closely guarding their marketing secrets for the season, Coca-Cola surprised pundits

when it dropped the price for the 200 ml returnable glass bottle ( RGB) by 2 to 8. 

That may not seem unusual - after all in the past the Coke Company has cut price. However, most of

those reductions were across all brands in the portfolio, from flagship Thums Up and Sprite to Limca

and Fanta. This time, however, the exercise applies only to Coca-Cola.

6. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/brandline/article2942960.ece

From soft drinks to soap, desi ghee  to detergents, a host of brands which had virtually been

consigned to the pages of history are making a sudden comeback. Beverages giant Coca-Cola

revived the Citra brand of clear lemon soda earlier this month, after nearly twenty years. It had

acquired Citra, along with Thums Up, Limca and Gold Spot, from Ramesh Chauhan's Parle and

promptly killed it 19 years ago. But, just like it found out with Thums Up and Limca, some brands can

prove impossible to kill. Despite active de-marketing in the initial years, Thums Up not only hung

on stubbornly, but actually grew  – faster than the flagship Coke brand, and even outmuscled

rival Pepsi Cola's Pepsi brand in the market. Today, Thums Up is the market leader in the Rs

13,000-plus-crore Indian soft drinks market, with an estimated share of close to 16 per cent.

7. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-truth-vs-hypebig-retail/466678/  

The kirana store rules India thanks to three major advantages it offers ? location, time of delivery and

personalised credit.

8. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/engagingconnected-consumer/466677/ 

Studying the needs of customers and identifying the best ways to deliver the key elements of

engagement will help businesses connect with them better. Razorfish, one of the largest global

interactive marketing and technology agencies, studied how Virgin America engages customers in a

groundbreaking study, “Liminal: A Razorfish Analysis of Customer Engagement in Transition.” Thereport was designed to surface the answers for any brand seeking new customer insights.

8/2/2019 Mktg Headlines - A Snapshot - 9th March, 2012

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9.http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=33206_Burger+King+may+foray+into+Indian+quick-food+market 

Burger King, the global food chain serving hamburgers, may come to India riding piggyback

on one of the largest European restaurant operators.

AmRest Holdings, which has several restaurants across Central and Eastern Europe, could likely

become the partner for the Florida-based Burger King, world's second largest burger-chain after

McDonalds, Burger King's prime competitor. Poland-based AmRest Holdings SE recently announced

its entry into India and also its first in Asia, with plans of opening a chain of restaurants serving Italian

cuisine. One of the first outlets of La Tagliatella is set to open before middle of this year. If Burger

King finalises plans with AmRest Holdings for the India market, this would be its fresh attempt at

breaking into the India's quick-service restaurant market worth $13 billion (Rs 63,700 crore) and

growing roughly 25-30 per cent a year, according to Euromonitor and market research firm RNCOS.

India's entire food-service market is estimated at $64 billion (Rs 313,600 cr). Burger King

aborted India plans at least twice earlier, once with DLF and prior to that with Kishore Biyani's

Future Group.