S’MARKETING CONVENTION 09 SMART STRATEGIES TO BEAT EMERGING MARKETING CHALLENGES

S’Marketing Convention was the first ever two-day conference held by the Confederation of Industries of India (CII) that solely focused on the current challenges faced by the marketing world. Marketers, formerly the fulcrum of any organisation, are now being questioned on their effectiveness in respect to their ability to handle the huge proliferation of brands, changing customer profiles, rising consumer power, which leads to declining differentiation and few breakthrough ideas. The apparent solution is a dramatic change in strategies as marketing reinvents itself. Smart marketing – the key to future growth!

The convention was attended by several leading businessmen and Marketing Professors teaching abroad, whose extensive experience in the field added great colour and value to the occasion. After the inaugural lamp lighting ceremony, Mr. C. K. Ranganathan, Chairman, humbly welcomed everyone while introducing the key issues of the conference, the six factors that were an integral part of marketing: the attitude and mind-set of the marketer, creating trust and living upto it, differentiation, functional cohesiveness within an organisation, simplicity of concept and beating the competition just enough to make a mark in the consumer’s mind and not overdoing it.

Next, Mr. K. S. Ramesh, Chairman S’Marketing Convention, spoke about marketing becoming more tactical rather than strategic and that the dependence on excessive data should be leveraged to create new avenues of growth. Mr. Santosh Desai, Managing Director & CEO of Future Brands, gave the keynote address, emphasizing that marketing is not about business, but about adding value and meaning to customers’ lives. Marketers should have a clear reading and understanding of the consumers’ needs, fill those gaps and thus bridge the distance between them and the organisation. It’s all about delivering genuine expertise!

Mr. B. Santhanam, the chief guest, President of Flat Glass South Asia & Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd., spoke about engaging the non-consumers and occupying a larger space in the market in which there was no competition. While giving the vote of thanks, Ms. Anita Gupta, Senior Vice President & Managing Partner JWT, expertly summarised the key learnings of the first session.

Prof. Sanjay Putrevu, Associate Professor-Marketing of the University of Albany, started the next session by saying that marketing has to find new ways of being relevant in these changing times and the emerging media and the instant availability of information should be leveraged to reach the customer’s and make them feel that the organisations are investing in their lives. Ms. Mythili Chandrasekar, Senior Vice President & Executive Planning Director JWT, brought out the changing notions of privacy in India and the widening dimensions of culture. She also spoke about consumers being the ambassadors of a brand and therefore the importance of making them co-marketers of the organisation.

Mr. Shripad Nadkarni, Director Market-Gate Consulting, emphasized on creating a harmonious synthesis with the hard data gathered and the deep understanding of the consumer as an individual and as a part of the whole “clan”. Mr. Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner Bartle Bogle Hegarty (India), spoke about increasing the consumer touch-points and the necessity to come up with strong brand ideas that can be promoted in any medium.

The post-lunch session was inaugurated by Prof. Gopalakrishnan Iyer, Professor-Marketing & Director Center for Services Marketing & Management, Florida Atlantic University, who continued the thread from the previous discussion, by saying that old TV medium was fast losing the audience due to advertising clutter while the digital media showed great promise for future growth.

Mr. Arun Tadanki, Managing Director, Yahoo India Ltd., spoke about the internet having significant capability to target, engage and create impact on the Indian youth and that the advertisers must wake up to its true potential. Mr. Deepak Goel, Chief Executive Officer, Drizzlin Media, discussed how to leverage the social media to make each consumer the organisation’s brand ambassador. Adding to the ongoing discussion, Ms. Subha George, Chief Executive Officer, Media Edge, expounded on the measurability aspect of the new medium and the possibility of greater differentiation in it.

The final session of the day was commenced by Prof. M. J. Xavier, Professor-Marketing, Great Lakes Institute of Management, who gave a brief introduction on Customer Relationship Management. Mr. K. Krishnamohan, Chief Executive Officer, Fifth C, focused on the key aspects and advantages of high impact analytics which had contributed to the success of some famous companies such as Google and Amazon, while Mr. Suneel Aiyar, Associate Director Pricewater Coopers, focused on the benefits of efficiently managed CRM.

On the second day, Mr. N. K. Ranganath, Managing Director, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd., presented a completely new viewpoint, by saying that we have to give attention to things which are not connected to our business, because they indirectly affect it.

Carrying forward the critical issues faced by marketers, Mr. T. Krishnakumar, CEO Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., emphasized on four aspects of any trade, which are establishing transparent relationships with customers, delayering the market and so having direct relationship with dealers, and creating a win-win situation for both the consumer and the organisation.

Mr. Ramesh Viswanathan, Executive Director, Cavinkare Pvt. Ltd., focused on the needs of the hour which are innovation at every level of the business and the infrastructure for extensive distribution. The last speaker of the session, Mr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chaiman, ECR India, took a diametrically opposing stance by stating that consumers do not have any power, and to empower them, we have to have “co-creation”, which is a better understanding of the consumer needs, normalisation of the demands and supplies and the lack of any wastage.

In the next session, Prof. Trichy Krishnan, Associate Professor-Marketing, National University of Singapore, talked about the exploding Indian economy, followed by Mr. Raghunath Mandava’s (CMO Airtel Ltd.) speech on the challenges of exploiting new avenues of growth, while strengthening the core competencies, having clear strategic goals and establishing credibility in the market.

Mr. Rajiv Narang, President Erehwon Consultants, expanded on the process of innovation, such as thinking out of the box, getting new insights, not falling in the trap of proof-seeking, but taking the entrepreneurial outlook of how to make it work. In other words, it’s all about climbing an unknown mountain – “Innovation is about leadership!”

Offering a fresh perspective, Ms. Sonia Manchanda, Co-Founder, Idiom Consulting & Design, described through some stunning visuals, the importance of design in brand building.

The post lunch session was started by Mr. V. Balaraman, Chairman & CEO, Boardroom Advantage, who introduced a different aspect to marketing – having and retaining talented marketers. After him, Mr. Jayant Singh, Managing Director, Henkel India Ltd., spoke about paradigms shifts that resulted in talent management being the responsibility of the entire organisation, especially all the leaders and not only of the HR. Mr. Prasad Narasimhan, CMO, Virgin Mobile Ltd., concurred with the previous speakers, adding that the getting the right talent is a big challenge. Ms. Anuraddha Oza, Senior Associate-Human Capital, Mercer India Ltd., differed on this point, saying that talent was available but that the people needed the right kind of training. Prof. S. Sriram, Executive Director, Great Lakes Institute of Management, believed that there was often a disconnect between the CMO and the company’s strategies, which had to bridged with marketers earning credibility through thorough customer knowledge, focus on customer experience, embracing technology and strongly encouraging an ROI culture in the organisation.

In the final session of the convention, after the welcome speech by Mr. C. K. Ranganathan, Mr. Laxman Narasimhan, Managing Director, McKinsey & Company, gave the keynote address. He threw some light on the critical roles of the CMO which were, breaking the markets into smaller sections (granularity) in search for potential markets, creating a cross-functional integration, and lastly using advanced supporting tools to gather data, get breakthrough insights and thus drive the company’s strategy and goal to fruition.

Finally, the chief guest of the day, Mr. D. Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India Pvt. Ltd., spoke at length about the changing FMCG markets and the emerging growth opportunities in rural India. He also reiterated the need for maximising the no. of customer touch-points and the need to enter into the adjacent space or category of any existing brands. He concluded with a few words on creating an eco-system that gave complete solutions to consumers.

The two-day conference ended on a high note with a heartfelt vote of thanks by Mr. K. S. Ramesh, Chairman of the S’Marketing Convention.

Apart from being invaluable because of the expert advice and knowledge shared by all the speakers, the convention attempted to create a renewed interest and vigour in the marketing field, which was fast losing its premium position. I am sure that the numerous take-aways from the conference would encourage the new generation of marketers to reinvent themselves and strategically face the current crisis.

Above all, this first-time opportunity of interacting with some of the giants of the industry, was for us, an unforgettable experience!

Contributed by Ishita Deshmukh, Marketing & Communications Varsity, CBS Batch-4 (2009-10)

CBS Students in CII Convention- Coverage in TV

Short interview given by CBS Marketing Students for Jaya TV during the
CII S'Marketing Convention 2009


Courtesy: Jaya Plus TV

TiECON Chennai 2009- Creating Entrepreneurs, Shaping Minds!

This year’s theme –“Enterprising India – Creating Tomorrow’s Entrepreneur” attracted over 1000 entrepreneurs, investors and business school students and saw the cream of Chennai’s business elite and India’s investing community participating as panelists and speakers.

N Srinivasan, Vice-chairman of India Cements Ltd., inaugurated the one day conclave and also gave away TiE Chennai Entrepreneur Awards for 2009 starting with Kalainithi Maran of Sun Network who received the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Winners of the other six categories of the awards were - Kami Narayanan of Pre Global Media - Woman Entrepreneur of the Year; P N Vasudevan of Equitas Microfinance - Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year; M B Nirmal of Exnora International - Social Entrepreneur of the Year; Satish Babu of Univercell - Extreme Entrepreneur of the Year; Ravi Appaswamy of Appaswamy Estates and the Residency Group of Hotels - Next Gen Entrepreneur of the Year and M V Subbiah of Murugappa Group - Family Entrepreneur of the Year. N. Srinivasan of India Cements Ltd. was chosen unanimously by the jury for Lifetime Achievement. Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman & MD of TVS Capital Funds Ltd. moderated the entire awards session.

T.T. Rengarajan, founder, Alma Mater, delivered a keynote address on leadership. Based on a research of 500 successful people across all walks of life, he listed seven characteristics that were common to all these successful people, which included the likes of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, and Leonardo da Vinci. The seven characteristics are: (1) passion, (2) mastery in communication, (3) team [a strong team to propagate/execute the vision of the successful person], (4) high energy levels, (5) faith, (6) value-based life, and (7) methodology of their own.

As flamboyant and unconventional that Kris Srikkanth is, he delivered a “quickfire keynote post lunch,” as J. Krishnan, Conference Chairman of TiECON 2009 put it, to keep the audience at their wit’s end and also deliver some valuable lessons. He stressed upon believing in oneself, passion, and decision-making as lessons from sports for entrepreneurs. For each of this trait, he had a story to relate.

C. K. Ranganathan, MD, Cavin Kare, the inspiration that he is today for young entrepreneurs, delivered his keynote with panache. His simple demeanor belied his stature of a successful and innovative entrepreneur, and his sincere expression of his life’s lessons made this keynote on timeless principles worthy.

The most valuable lesson he delivered was on tax evasion. When generally people in low-margin, high-volume retail business believed in evading the exorbitant 105% excise tax and a high 20% sales tax, C.K. Ranganathan stood a class apart by paying the taxes without evading. This helped him secure a loan without collateral from a bank manager who found his tax credentials worthy. Then, when people had faith in him, he soared to heights.

The sachet pioneer, [he bought the sachet into the shampoo industry by marketing Chik shampoo in a sachet for the first time to differentiate] also explained the importance of involving all ranks of staff in decision-making as each one of them could bring insights that would not be available at the top. He wished all the budding entrepreneurs the very best in their ventures, in conclusion.

Speaking after inaugurating the conclave, N Srinivasan, Vice Chairman & MD, India Cements Ltd., said, “Access to more funds, better and stronger relationship between universities and industry, flexible curriculum structure and schedule at educational institutions besides on-campus incubators will accelerate entrepreneurial growth in the country.” He also called upon governments and successful entrepreneurs to come forward and provide a funding base that will give impetus to entrepreneurship.

According to J Krishnan, Vice President, TiE Chennai and Chairman of the 2009 conference, “This year it has been bigger with more delegates and bigger names as speakers. The team has worked hard to create simply the single largest platform for entrepreneurs in Chennai and we look forward to being back next year even bigger.” A great learning from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

Contributed by Pranesh Padmanabhan, Marcom Varsity, CBS Batch 4, 2009-10

CII S'Marketing Convention 2009

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CII S'Marketing Convention 2009

Team Building is Fun!

From Fire walk to Dance on the pool it was two full days of Fun, Fun and more FUN! Of course the learning was unlimited as well. Seiger group’s two day out- bound team build program was nothing less than a Super hit!

Day 1 started with Balloon toss which proved that individualistic objectives will take the team nowhere and thinking as a team should be the objective for any work that we do.

Kulamandu – This Marble pass game was creative indeed! We learnt that out-of the box thinking is necessary to find better solutions to our problems. It also showed us that every member in the team is equally important.

Longest link – Optimum utilization of resource is the key for any process was the learning. It also proved that for a team we can break barriers to any extent if the team has to win.

Gold Hunt – A real Brain storming activity. The importance of choosing the right route to success bypassing various situations which could dampen our pace. The mantra is Planning, analyzing and negotiation.

Day 2 started with an obstacle course which included ‘Electric fence’, ‘Tarzan swing’ & ‘Rope walk’. The objective was trust the team, face challenges boldly and rise up to the situation while the pressure is on.

It was too exhausting and thus demanded a dip in the pool. Following this we had the Moon Walk where the team had various handicaps like tied legs and being blind folded. We as a team had to go through a particular path negotiating with the opponents and reach our goal. Our ‘CBS Mimicry gang’ utilized the following break with their skills to imitate their class mates!

Hoopla was a real ‘flex yourself’ activity where we had to go through a spoke-less wheel without breaking the chain. It clearly proved how much we need to be flexible to meet the rising demands.

The highlight of the show was the ‘Fire walk challenge’ where we had to cross a ‘bon fire’. Yes! You read it right. Our heels were numbed by ice and we literally walked on fire! Courage to face any burning situation- quiet literally.

Curtains came down with all folks tapping to the tune on the dance floor. Two well-spent days worth a life time to understand our classmates better and work well as teams.

Contributed by Trisha Saxena, HR Varsity, CBS Batch 4, 2009-10