The trend called Social Media

Social Media more than a communication platform has become a trend in the market and in every business model. It depend on the business how effectively they use the medium in their benefit. It is going to be certain that every business may not be able to derive same benefit from it. Some could use it for effective communication, building positive sentiments about the brand online, communicating periodic offers & schemes etc. In my opinion the brands that are youth centric will be able to reap the benefit of social media than any other business. As per the recent survey by a well known agency shows that 50% of the users are below age of 25.. In case of facebook, it is quite difficult to understand how of the actual users are active. It is also possible that, many people opened the accounts because everyone around him/her is in Facebook. 

But no doubt, the platform will a cost effective tool for branding across the globe. Every business should have a clear cut idea particularly on how they are going to use this medium in long term for their benefit rather than wasting the time & money just for the sake of being online.

Mircromax - Success of an Indian Brand

Being India always stays only in words. Many of the brands we use from apparels, cars to mobile are mostly korean, or japanese. But this products certainly ask for a chance from us. Introduced in the Indian market in 2000 and with in 10 years of its entry it had  6.24% of the mobile market share in India. Challenging the big players like Samsung & Nokia, Mircromax went on introducting innovative products with affordable prices. Marketing budget of mircromax in 2012-13 was nearly 150 crore. With such a big spend like this, surely they are aiming to be noticed and be in the top preference of prospects. WIth the introduction of Canvas HD series they made it big in the market. The mobile got a good initial response and positive reviews are going viral in online portals. Even during my recent mobile purchase, mircromax came to me as an option but a second thought of service centres took me away from the brand.

If they solve the issues of dedicated customer care centres in major cities, i will surely give a try to this Indian brand.

Mobile Ads to tap the Mobility

Changes are always inevitable in every field. With the changes in situational factors, things around us also changes. Every marketing guy keeps an eye on things that effects our daily life and the various ways to reach out to the prospects by breaking the barriers. Slowly the shift is happening in the Marketing budgets of many company's, to move from conventional medias to more new generation - cost effective medias. Marketing budgets assigned to online medias saw a steady increase in the last 2 years, making an upward trends of almost 50%. A big role played by Android, Apple, Samsung, made the OS and devices familiar with the customers over a span of 2-3 years. Last quarter of 2012 saw an increase in the sale of Tablets. From a luxury it became something which is affordable. This will pave way for an increase in Mobile ads. Ads are now going to reach us in our mobility. Thus from TV, Outdoor & Print, ads will now move to our pockets. Just one touch or scroll away to catch our attention. 

Encashing the summer by soft drinks

As this years summer extended the duration and the temperature of many cities rising than the normal, the soft drinks brands extended their campaigns by getting associated with IPL and upcoming Champions trophy. Coca cola launched the new campaign "‘Bewajah Khushiyan Lutao, Coca-Cola Pilao’ with new faces from Student of the year movie, Pepsi launching "Oh Yes Abhi" & maaza coming up with "Har mausum Aam" with Imran khan and Parineeti Chopra.
Its all about brand recall for the buyers. More visibility will lead to better recall and act as an impulse during the buying decision. Having such a scattered market and a vast geography, these brands will certainly get their deserved piece of pie.

A car "Made for India"

Since 1997, Honda started operation in India they survived in the Indian market with their petrol models. Their flagship models civic, CRV, city & the new Brio all came with petrol option and had a niche market which was created only with the factor of quality. During these period the competitors came with Diesel variants and raised competition for Honda but they never felt the need for a diesel variant. But now after all these years, Honda is entering into Diesel market with a car termed as "Made for India", Honda Amaze. Dealers already started getting good response from the prospective buyers. But the biggest question is, with the recent diesel price revisions and govt. made it clear to remove the subsidy in diesel by next year, the demand of diesel cars are actually started showing decline. In such a scenario, will Honda be able to make a difference in the market response.

Every Campaign should be a learning

There are certain brands who move ahead of their time and set milestones. There campaigns are never less than a case study and will also works as a booster. To name one is VW. Each campaign of the brand is completely different from the previous one and will stand out due to its standards and efforts put in it by the team. These campaigns some where creates a psychological attachment towards the brand among the customers. Even though you may not be an actual customer of it but still you would love to look for the brand, follow the brand and like the brand back of the mind. 

Each campaign should be a learning for the brand and the marketing team. Thats how you will lift your standards and have a new one after each campaign.

Benefits in the age of Online Marketing

With the availability of smartphones at a starting price of Rs. 5000/- and Tabs for as low as Rs. 8000/- the base of online users has increased considerably in 2012. The coming years will be dominated by Online marketing. Mobile based facebook users increased by 57% in January '13. These social platforms are going to play a vital role as it will serve as a recommendation platform among the peer groups. Along with this more mobile marketing and self developed apps for the OS will also be important. These will eventually benefit the customers as the competition will be more on the quality of services and satisfaction derived from the provider.

Difference in Approach

I recently noticed the difference in the approach of marketing movies from Bollywood & Mollywood. In Bollywood the hype starts atleast 1 month in advance and covers all mediums such as, online, print, outdoor etc over this period. In case of Mollywood the hype starts just 1 week in advance and with songs & promos goes viral slowly with 2 or 3 days before the release. The difference might be due to the vast market both these Industry plans to tap. But still marketing plans in advance certainly helps to keep the product in the lime light and catch the attention of the audience at the right time. Certainly the budgets have a vital role to decide this. Recently an actor from south rightly said, "south knows how to make a film & Bollywood knows how to market a film".