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P&G – one of the giants of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) which manufactures wide range of consumer goods.

Also, the company is increasing the pack size of its mother brand ‘Tide’ which will be available in the market from March 12 2010.

As of now, Tide brand is available in the market in two variants – ‘Lemon’ and ‘Chandan’ with the pack size of 20gm (single use sachet), 100gm, 200gm, 500gm, 1 kg and 2 kg. It is available at the price of – RS 10, Rs 20, Rs 26 and Rs 56 at present.

Moreover, the company has started the shipment of the product with the increased grammage. On the increased grammage of the product, P&G said that they took this step keeping in mind to reach as much home-makers possible with great value.

Let see, if people continue to say once again “Tide hai toh White hai”!

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Rajesh Pratap Singh will be the designer for Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale at the forthcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Asia’s biggest and India’s premiere fashion & trade event.

Wills Lifestyle further strengthens its association with the internationally applauded designer as this is the second time that Rajesh Pratap Singh is the Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale Designer. This season the two pioneers in style and innovation once again come together to set new benchmarks in creativity and fashion.

The grand finale collection called ‘Bespoke Tales’ is inspired by the evolution of making of clothes and will showcase new experiments with textiles, shapes and colours. Most importantly, it is an honest look at the art and craft of the trade. Rajesh Pratap Singh will also create an exclusive collection for Wills Lifestyle inspired by the grand finale theme that will be retailed from Wills Lifestyle stores across the country in September 2010.

Announcing this at ITC Maurya, Atul Chand, Divisional Chief Executive – ITC’s Lifestyle Retailing Business Divison, said, “Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale has always set new benchmarks in creativity and has been a great mix of fashion and entertainment. This season one of India’s most distinguished and celebrated fashion designers, Rajesh Pratap Singh, will be taking the same tradition forward and will create magic on the ramp in his signature style.

He further added, “At Wills Lifestyle, we have embarked on a unique initiative – of a corporate partnership with India’s leading designers to retail their exclusive collections at our stores and making designer-wear accessible to our customers and thus furthering the agenda of promoting the business of fashion. This coming season, Rajesh will be designing an exclusive collection for Wills Lifestyle stores across the country.”

Mr. Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI said, “We are delighted to have Rajesh Pratap Singh once again as the Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale designer at the upcoming edition of the WIFW. He is one of the most respected designers of the Indian fashion fraternity and we are very proud of his achievements. This accolade further emphasizes our belief in his ability to design garments that epitomizes perfection and simplicity. His approach towards strong aesthetics has helped Indian fashion reach a global appeal. We are convinced that he will put forward an exciting collection that is dynamic and meaningful for the forthcoming 15th edition of WIFW.”

Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Pratap Singh said, “It is wonderful to be back as the Wills Lifestyle grand finale designer. It is the perfect platform for me to be able to extend my aesthetic to. Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week has always played an important role in India’s creative fashion success stories and I’m delighted to close the week once again.”

The grand finale collection is inspired by the evolution of making of clothes and will showcase new experiments with textiles, shapes and colours. Most importantly, it is an honest look at the art and craft of the trade, the people who constitute the industry and dialogues within the fashion industry.

The Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale will take place on Sunday, 28 March 2010 in New Delhi at NSIC, Okhla, Phase III.

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SkodaAuto (India) – has been operating in India since November 2001 as a subsidiary of Skoda Auto a. s. Czech Republic (Volkswagen Group), one of the fastest growing car manufacturers in Europe. The car company has 4 models on sale in India – Skoda Superb, Skoda Octavia, Skoda Laura and Skoda Fabia.

Awards for the all new ‘Skoda Superb’ includes – Best Sedan of the Year – Auto Bild India Golden Steering Wheel Awards 2010; BS Motoring Executive Car of The Year 2010 – Business Standard Motoring Awards 2010; Entry Premium Car of the Year – NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2010; Executive Sedan of the Year – ET Zigwheels Awards 2009; Best Fun to Drive Car of the Year – ET Zigwheels Awards 2009

And, the new ‘Skoda Laura’ successfully continued its perfect 10/10 drive with accolades at the prestigious Overdrive – Best Variant of the Year – Auto Bild India Golden Steering Wheel Awards 2010; Midsize Car of the Year – Overdrive – CNBC TV18 Awards 2010.

Delighted with the awards, Reinhard Fleger, Member of the Board, Sales and Marketing, SkodaAuto said, “We are proud and privileged to have received these prestigious awards for both our sedans, the new Skoda Laura and the all new Skoda Superb. It is a great beginning of the new year for all of us.”

Adding on the achievements, Thomas Kuehl, Board Member, Sales and Marketing, SkodaAuto India said, “It is an extreme proud moment for us as all Skoda Products introduced to the Indian market.”

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Sony India – it offers variety of electronics and hi tech gadgets to fit your every day and professional needs.
The company is doing so to strengthen its brand image. The marketing campaigns will begin ahead of the scheduled June launch of its three dimensional (3D) televisions range in the country.

As per media reports, Masaru Tamagawa, managing director (MD), Sony India on the plan said the consumers have become more technology savvy and by launching new technologies such as 3D, they are making efforts to provide consumers with the best. Also, a part of the marketing investments will go towards promoting 3D televisions’ range in the country.

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Mahindra Group is a large industrial conglomerate in India, with operations in the automotive, farm equipment, financial services, trade and logistics, automotive components, after-market, IT and infrastructure sectors.

NBA – founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada.

The Mahindra NBA Challenge League begins on April 17 2010 when participating teams tip off at the St. Dominic Savio and Mustan YMCA courts in Mumbai. It will nurture players in the 14-18 age group and will start off in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai and will run for 7 weeks every year.

Moreover, the league will provide basketball enthusiasts and newcomers to the game the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the game and apply their skills in a fun, competitive environment. Individuals and teams interested in registering can visit www.nba.com/India/Mahindra .

Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director (MD), Mahindra Group on this association said, “We are delighted to be partnering with the NBA to create a multi-city recreational league in India. In a cricket loving nation such as India, we feel it is important to encourage other sports as well and we believe basketball is perfectly suited to bring communities together and promote healthy, active lifestyles to Indian youth.”

Then, David Stern, Commissoner, NBA said, “Mahindra is the perfect partner for the creation of a new recreational basketball league for Indian fans. The BFI, Mahindra and the NBA share a long-term commitment to growing the game in India and to using the values of our game to make a positive, lasting impact in Indian communities.”

Further, on the same line, Harish Sharma, Secretary General, BFI said, “Basketball continues to grow in popularity across India and now youngsters in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai will have the opportunity to play in an organized league and further develop their skills. The launch by Basketball Federation of India and the NBA of the Mahindra NBA Challenge is very exciting and will help accelerate the basketball development of Indian youngsters.”

Over the years, M&M has encouraged various kinds of sports including owning the Mahindra United football club in Mumbai.

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Kaya Clinic – it is a beauty and wellness chain. It provides all the skin treatments and skin services for the Indian skin. At present, there are 101 Kaya skin clinics in operation in India as well as in some foreign countries.

As per media reports, Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico on the development said that they plan to open 4-5 Kaya clinics in Saudi Arabia and the Middle-East in FY 11, and have no plans to expand in the domestic market by next year.

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Max New York Life Insurance Company Ltd. – it is a joint venture between Max India Limited, one of India’s leading multi-business corporations and New York Life International, the international arm of New York Life, a Fortune 100 company.

Max New York, recently, launched a programme ‘igenius’ – it is an independent multi dimensional program aimed at all-round development of children across various strata of the society. It also serves as an ‘umbrella brand’ for Max New York Life that binds all the child activities together which will engage children and parents throughout the year.

And, Media2win promoted the igenius programme all across media with focus on the digital medium. The website www.igenius.org forms the hub of all information related to the programme. All the social media engagement, conceptualized and managed by Media2win, which aims to connect with parents and provide them information on all aspects of child development and parenting.

Moreover, Max New York Life aims to capitalize by providing the right kind of content to parents via the following digital tools – Facebook – www.facebook.com/igeniusprogramme ; Blog – www.igeniusblog.org ; Youtube channel – www.youtube.com/igeniusprogramme

However, with a forthcoming Twitter presence, the intention is to create discussions and interaction with parents. Associations with experts in related fields have been planned and their contributories will be shared through video interviews, blog posts and articles, for e.g. – a guest post by Rajan Arya, founder, nurseryadmissions.com (http://igeniusblog.com/2010/02/11/nursery-admissions-2010-2011/).

Moreover, Max New York Life has also partnered with www.indiaparenting.com and www.smsgupshup.com .

On the programme, Anisha Motwani, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Max New York Life said, “As part of our 360 degree campaign for igenius Programme, social media provides the kind of creative platform with a long term impact which we need for engaging our target audience. The initiative undertaken by Media2win will help us build brand, buzz and community for our igenius activities.”

Then, commenting on the social media initiative, Namrata Balwani, COO, Media2win said, “This is an exciting initiative for generating content relevant to the entire community of Indian parents with their young children. Social Media is the key to building a strong connect with our potential audience & we aim to provide interesting information & encourage discussions. With the growth of Social Media channels in India, there is an ideal platform to share & engage continuously – content is the key here and we have a well formulated content plan for the year.”

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Linc Pen is a Kolkata based pen manufacturer and one of the top pen brands of the country.
Under the association, Linc Pen would be an associate sponsor and the official pen of the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2010.

Rajasthan Royals is owned by a consortium of international investors comprising of – Suresh Chellaram, Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Raj Kundra and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

As per media reports, Deepak Jalan, managing director (MD), Linc Pen on this association said that they are extremely proud to be associated with Rajasthan Royals.

On the same line, Raghu Iyer, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Rajasthan Royals said that they are working with Linc Pens on an activation program involving schools which will help grow their brands and they even look forward to a fruitful relationship with them.

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Adgully speaks to India’s leading brand nurturers and digital agencies to understand how they are leveraging the networking revolution.

Why Social Networking Sites?

“India’s population puts us at an advantage!” said Arun Mehra, the COO of Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd. ”The online penetration is just 3-4 per cent, and less than 1 per cent of our total population has a Facebook account. And the percentage of people using Twitter is even smaller.” Mehra said that despite the percentages, India was already the 5th largest consumer of Twitter in the world, owing largely to Bollywood’s enthusiasm for it. “And we are in the Top 10 list of consumers of Facebook. The influential audience is definitely online and things are getting better by the day,” he said.

Rahul Mehta, the business head of Ching’s Secret, said, “There are approximately 5 crore Indians and 1 crore NRIs online. Facebook alone has 1.2 crore Indians and 40 lakh NRIs.” Mehta said the RoI on social media was substantially higher than what was offered by traditional media. “These numbers are comparable to most national newspapers,” Mehta said. “Facebook is best place to reach Sec A+, A and B+. With internet penetration deepening, the numbers will rise in the next three to four years,” he said. Ching’s Secret has 98,826 (and counting) fans on Facebook.

Khushboo Maheshwari, the head (digital) of OMD, said, “Today, 5% of Indian population has an online presence and it is growing at a rate of 35% CAGR. In other words, 50 million users have a presence on social media.” And the numbers were growing, Maheshwari said. “With the government planning to spend Rs18,000 crore over the next three years to lay a 5 lakh km optic fibre cable network to reach every gram panchayat, the growth rate is going to touch 100% CAGR,” Maheshwari said. Mobile, web, and broadband will be critical to the growth in the coming years, Maheshwari said.

Mihir Ferrao, who looks into Social Media Optimization and ORM at Starcom IP feels that Internet in India needs to grow by atleast 20 to 25% year on year, to shake off the constant comparisons with TV and Print. He said, “The only reason why we do not get a fare share of advertising budgets is because, next to the reach & penetration of TV or Print, we are very small. But if we look at the concentration of brand TGs on TV & Internet, then surely the Internet will have higher traction.”

Saagar Dhoke, the founder of FunElement said that the e-revolution had helped to bridge the gap between the product and the end consumer, be it for a movie or an FMCG product.

As for the group being targeted online by marketers, Ritesh Patel, the brand manager of CEAT, said, “Social media has indeed proved to be a very useful medium for a brand like CEAT.” He said that CEAT aspired to be a youthful brand. “And it finds complete match of TG in this medium,” he said.

The Approach

Sandeep Singh, the business head of Quasar, said that promotional activities designed for online platforms could be a campaign lead in which the target audience is engaged for a specific purpose and for a short duration. Or, brands could choose a more strategic and long-term initiative. “In a campaign lead, the idea is to use social media platforms to create a buzz and receive feedback from the community represented by the target audience,” Singh said. “Strategic initiatives involve the management of social presence from brands’ online-reputation standpoint, and the use of social platforms as a medium of continued dialogue with the prospects and customers.” Singh said experience suggested that the one-size-fits-all approach did not work. “Every product and campaign needs a different approach and activation strategy,” he said.

Maheshwari of OMD described one of the agency’s typical media activity. “Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited has been quite active on the social media,” Maheshwari said. “We have uploaded Wealth Creation Study (WCS) Videos on YouTube and also created a LinkedIn event page for the WCS awards ceremony. Besides, we also have a Scribd page where we have uploaded different annual WC Studies.” The creation of Wikipedia pages on the Motilal Oswal Group, on Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal had been completed, Maheshwari said. “As a result of these activities, seven out of 10 results on Google are owned and controlled by Brand Motilal Oswal for the search Wealth Creation Study,” Maheshwari said.

Zapak has carried out several similar campaigns; Axe, Ponds, and Mahindra campaigns — which used a mix of available options — are among the most successful Zapak works. Mehra listed the focus areas: “Fan pages and groups, gaming and other fun applications on platforms like Orkut and Facebook, an active handle on Twitter.” Mehra said it was essential to link the APIs (application programming interface) like OpenID and Facebook Connect to one’s site to promote easy communication and conversations.

Ching’s Secret advertises regularly on Facebook and YouTube, the brand’s Mehta said. “But a lot of traffic has been generated virally because of the content, quizzes, contests on Facebook.” He said that in the end, social media was a long-term strategic investment. “It is not brand building but genuine relationship creation and maintenance,” he said. “And like any relationship, it takes time to build.”

Describing the two aspects of promotion — social applications and paid advertising — Vahishta Mistry, the VP (interactive) of UTV Bindass, said, “We use both options equally well.” For ‘Emotional Attyachar’, social advertising was placed on Facebook and other sites. “And we also released an application on Facebook,” Mistry said. “Applications turn on engagement to high levels, users get to communicate with the brand, and they understand the values of the shows.” On the other hand, advertising draws people who are unexposed to the brand, Mistry said. “So the two options serve different purposes and we use as much of both as we can,” he said.

Patel of CEAT said that any one people-engagement tactic would not work in isolation. “If you create a fantastic social application and do not promote it, it will die a natural death owing to the lack of critical mass required to give it a viral effect,” he said. “Similarly, only paid advertising will fail to generate brand interaction with consumers which is the essence of social media.” Such a tactic would evoke the feeling of a one-night stand and customer would probably not engage with the brand in question in the future, he said.

Starcom IP’s Ferrao, also said that lots of their clients are slowly waking up to the fact that social media is a growing phenomena in India. He informed, “Some of our clients whom we have brought onto the social space are Himalaya Herbal Tea and Foster, while we are enhancing the social presence of brands like Tata Teleservices and Pantaloons.” He said that the results they have got, in terms of fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter etc. have given the client reasons to be excited. “And has initiated thoughts of how do we leverage these groups further,” he said.

Pros and Cons

Social Media Apps

“Most brands feel that going to SNS will put their brands up for public scrutiny, which is considered a disadvantage,” Singh of Quasar said. “But I consider that to be an advantage because it gives you a good reality check to improve your product or service.” But on this channel, Singh warned, one wrong step could snowball into something highly detrimental to one’s brand, in matter of minutes. “So you should learn to do it well than not doing it at all, as you can’t run away from such platforms if your consumers are flocking them,” he said. “You will have to embrace them today or tomorrow.”

What about the negative comments that a forum or community receives on a day-to-day basis?

FunElement’s Dhoke said, “SNS can definitely contribute to making or breaking the brand image. Brands should be very cautious in venturing into SNS.” While developing advergames for the brands, Dhoke suggests subtle branding techniques to his clients. “Constant hammering of the product is a complete turn-off to the player and user,” he said. “Same applies to social applications and games. The app should highlight the main features of the app in a very exciting way rather than in the brochure style.”

Maheshwari endorsed Dhoke’s assertion about treading carefully. “Yes, a single bad comment or rumor can severely damage the reputation that a brand like MOFSL has taken great pains to establish over the years,” Maheshwari said. “Also since SNS connect users from different parts of the world, it takes little to no time for bad news to spread.”

Patel strongly believes that a consumer’s negative feedback could be used to create customer delight. “Today, more and more brands are engaging directly with consumers through various discussion forums, networking sites and forums to understand their expectations,” he said.

Ferrao of Starcom IP sees the clear advantage of social networking sites in the entire brand experience which one can bring to the consumer. He said, “With Facebook and Twitter, you can communicate so many brand properties to those people who want to listen!” he believes that by doing so, you know the effort is not going to waste and that your initiatives could actually lead to sales.

The Future

Patel also highlighted the fact that only a select age group was active in social media. “While Youngistan is spending more time online, the older age group is not very active yet,” he said. “Also, online options are more popular in metro and tier-II cities. Internet penetration is still an issue in rural India.”

But Dhoke sees things differently. “Things will change in the next five to six years,” he said. “When 3G is operational, the number of internet users will grow by about 25-35%. It is estimated that by 2013, India will have the third largest Internet user base.”

Singh goes a step further and says that as in the West, the audience is now online. “When you refer to the audience, these are the guys with high disposable incomes and spending power,” he said. “These guys are online for sure. And most brands are eying their wallets. If you talk about numbers, we still have some way to go to before the medium reaches the masses.”

Mehra said that the Indian audience was enjoying the internet and its offerings. “Gaming is an offering that has now become a passion among the youth,” Mehra said. “The online gaming industry is growing and how! Year-on-year, we are recording a rise in the number of gamers in the country.” He said that Zapak, which was started just three years ago, already had 7 million unique registered users, and continues to grow. “Soon, there will be a day when the online Indian farmers on ‘Farmville’ will outnumber all the real farmers of our country put together,” he said.

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To join the bandwagon latest is India’s largest cement manufacturer, ACC Limited. The cement giant has announced their association with Kings XI Punjab, one of the eight teams participating for the championship and would be partnering with the team as their official team partner showcasing the brand on the arm of the apparel of the team members.

Clearly, the strategy would help the company reach out and connect with masses as there is no other sport in India apart from cricket that has a huge fan following and appeal. With a strong base and presence in Punjab and North India, the association would also help the company help its customers and channel partners getting exposure with the Kings XI team through a series of interactive innovations.

As part of their marketing strategy, ACC Limited would be running a number of promotional activities during the 2010 Indian Premier League season. Along with featuring the brand on Perimeter boards, placards and all, the company is also planning to come up with a new ad campaign involving the team captain Yuvraj Singh along with other team members.

Moreover this is not the first time that ACC Limited has gone with a brand promotional strategy that involves cricket as the medium. Its association with cricket goes way back in the past during 50s and 70s of the era when a list of great players were a part with the group. It was among one of the first to offer full time employment to cricket players and has a history of having legendary players of the likes of – Rusy Mody, Ramakant Desai, Madhav Mantri, Bapu Nadkarni, Dilip Sardesai, Polly Umrigar, Sunil Gavaskar and Karsan Ghavri, working on board with them as employees.

As the association with Kings XI Punjab also marks the cement giant’s re-union with cricket after quiet a long break, the excitement was also evident with what Sumit Banerjee, CEO-MD, ACC Limited said about the venture, “I feel happy that ACC is associated with cricket once again after long years particularly because it is a company that has an unmatched history of supporting cricket decades before the game became so commercially successful.”

Speaking on the same lines, Jayanta Datta Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer (CMO), ACC Limited said, “Once upon a time, we used to be employers of India’s legendary cricket names like – Polly Umrigar, Madhav Mantri, Bapu Nadkarni, Dilip Sardesai and Sunil Gavaskar to name just a few. Now it feels good to be associated with contemporary names like – Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakara, Brett Lee and Irfan Pathan through our association this year with Kings XI Punjab.”

Anil Srivatsa, CEO, Kings XI Punjab, also had a similar view point to share on the association, “Kings XI Punjab is thrilled to announce its partnership with India’ foremost cement and concrete manufacturer – ACC Cement. We are happy to partner with ACC Cement as both of us have synergies of being passionate, innovative and trendsetter in our respective businesses. We look forward to cement our relationship with the company and our fans with this association for years.”

However, ACC has just not been limited with cricket when it comes to its association with sports. In fact, it might come across as a surprise to few that the company’s townships and factories have been actively involved in promoting district level sports including sport meets for rural and tribal people.

Also to add on, the company had lent support to Indian National Boxing Team in 2004 as an initiative to encourage certain genres of sports. With legendary players of 60s – Premjit Lall and Naresh Kumar being full time employees with the company, Tennis has also been one of the sports that it has been associated with.