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Dr.BR Ambedkar

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While my Parents Pulin babu and Basanti Devi were living

Sunday, June 14, 2009

GO! Get HOOKED! GET ADDICTED!


GO! Get HOOKED! GET ADDICTED!
 
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 257
 
Palash Biswas
 

Marketing strategy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

A marketing strategy[1][2] is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage[3]. A marketing strategy should be centered around the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_strategy

 

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RSA 183/7(20) | WI 163/9(20) (South Africa won by 20 runs) scorecard
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Can Indian government shun mounting demand of allowing FDI into ...

Little About - ‎May 30, 2009‎
This is the age of consumerism and the greatest impact of this notion is easily perceived in the leading metropolises of India. It doesn't matter whether ...

Hamish McRae: The recession may be over, but the recovery could ...

Independent - ‎16 hours ago‎
Put those together and it is hard to see anything other than a lacklustre recovery, which you may say is a good thing, as the excessive consumerism of the ...

Canon targets Rs 100cr revenue from Guj by '10

Business Standard - ‎May 26, 2009‎
Nationally, while B2B forms 40 per cent of Canon India's total business, consumer segment contributes 25-30 per cent. To stimulate the B2B segment further, ...

No Stagnation In Chipmakers

Forbes - ‎Jun 9, 2009‎
Global infrastructure build and consumerism is alive and well--over there in the emerging markets. Here, a replenishment of personal balance sheets and ...

Let's pick a different route

Times of India - ‎Jun 10, 2009‎
India was paid a compliment recently by the National Geographic Society and international polling firm GlobeScan. Their second annual survey on ...

2nd India Shopping Centre Forum Awards' 2009 honours top retailers ...

India PRwire (press release) - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
... Tushar Dhingra, COO, Big Cinemas India Shopping Centre Forum recognizes the importance of best practices in this business, as consumerism and retail ...

Research and Markets: Global Gem & Jewelry Market: An Analysis on ...

Business Wire (press release) - ‎Jun 12, 2009‎
Geographically, the US continues to be the largest consumer for gems and jewellery, followed by China/India, the Middle East and Japan. ...

Global warming is a matter of concern for all

Central Chronicle - ‎Jun 4, 2009‎
This philosophy of consumerism brought damage to our environment. This was realized somewhere in 1970s when the impact of polluted environment began to felt ...

The View From Europe

Stabroek News - ‎5 hours ago‎
... the human need for material possessions, the efficiencies of capitalism, novelty and consumerism, the relationship between consumption and growth and ...

Consumer Durables
Click Here for Specimen Table  
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with State Level consolidated figures)
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
 
http://www.indiastat.com/marketforecast/10143/consumerdurables/10647/stats.aspx

 









 

 'India to turn 5th largest consumer market' ... over the next two decades and India would become the fifth-largest consumer market by 2025...
 

India's economic growth and Rise of Consumer Market

by Arun Prabhudesai · 2 comments

 

India's economic growth has accelerated significantly over past decade or so and so is the spending power of its citizen. The average income has doubled since 1985 and projected to triple in just 20 years. These are staggering numbers and just give you an idea of kind of growth path Indian is currently riding.

The reasons for this surge are many- IT Boom, comparatively liberal economic policies, Opening of Indian markets to foreign investors to a large extent, Political stability…the list goes on…

I think India has done a lot of right things in last decade and we are going to see the fruits in very near future….

I just completed reading comprehensive report prepared by which reports on Income levels of Indians and the Consumer Market growth. This is an absolute must read for a person interested in knowing where India is heading.

I have no doubt in my mind that the opportunities in India are abound, it is just a matter picking up the right ones :) We are lucky to be living in this day of Indian economic change.

Note: This is the 2nd post in the 30 part series that I am doing on Key success factors for doing business in India – A 30 part series !, that I plan to do over next month

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 Friends, just READJUST your VISION while Blind nationality and hundred days HUMAN Flagship Agenda hypes overtake your LITERACY and add deduct judgement. We no longer breathe in a Nation at all.  We live in the Market where the Market is SUPREME and all the Bastardised governance, schemes and policy making dictated by TRI IBLIS Corporate Manusmriti Zionist Apartheid fascist Imperialist World Order of ILLUMINATI, as a Whole is nothing but Marketing Strategy. We have no share until we have EFFICIENT Purchasing power as EMPOWERED Privileged Ruling Affluent Class in this BLOODY DIVESTED DISIVESTED Liberal Free FDI FII RETAIL NUCLEAR Chemical Modified JUNK Killing Raping Cleansing Ethnic Political Economy Colonised!
 
We CEASE to be a NATION or Nationality. Nationality  is a BUBBLE like the T Twenty Showcase full of CHEERGIRLS` Expose, Remixed Skin show and Bastardised Music!As broadband connectivity grows in India – according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) India had 4.73 million broadband internet connections at the end of August 2008 – online purchasing is growing. According to a global online survey by A C Nielsen, a staggering 78 per cent of Indians (who access internet) make purchases online, with credit cards being the preferred mode of payment.
 
Thus, the Generation Next has the only way out!
 
GO!
 
Get Hooked!
 
Get Addicted!
 

The Indian consumer remains one of the most upbeat globally.

 

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence study, conducted by Nielsen, a market research company revealed that Indians are "the most optimistic lot globally who think that their country will be out of the economic recession in the next twelve months." India was at the top of the survey with 114 points, a remarkable 30 points above the global average of 84.

 
India has discarded Traditional Model of development INCLUSIVE and has opted for EXCLUSIVE Industrilisation, Urbanisation, Displacement, Infrastructure, Retail Chain, Modified Seeds and Pesticide, Disinvestment of PSUS as well WELFARE and Services! Indigenous Production system destroyed and LIVELIHOOD wiped out. JOB Loss is the Popular JINGLE.
 
The GROWTH Rate so much so HYPED has nothing to do with the Consumer Prices, Affordability, Food Security, JObs, Livelihood, Employment or real Productivity. It is all about Capital Goods, EXPORT and Import and Durable Consumer Goods!
 

Before the liberalization of the Indian economy, only a few companies like Kelvinator, Godrej, Allwyn, and Voltas were the major players in the consumer durables market, accounting for no less than 90% of the market. Then, after the liberalization, foreign players like LG, Sony, Samsung, Whirlpool, Daewoo, Aiwa came into the picture. Today, these players control the major share of the consumer durables market.

Consumer durables market is expected to grow at 10-15% in 2007-2008. It is growing very fast because of rise in living standards, easy access to consumer finance, and wide range of choice, as many foreign players are entering in the market.
 

A combination of changing lifestyles, higher disposable income, greater product awareness and affordable pricing have been instrumental in changing the pattern and amount of consumer expenditure leading to robust growth of consumer durables industry.

 

A flurry of hi-technology durables are expected to be introduced in the US$ 4.09 billion Indian durables market in 2009. Samsung, LG, Haier and Videocon are among companies planning new product launches in the coming months. Airconditioner (AC) and refrigerator sales spiked 30-35 per cent in April compared to same month last year.

 
GO! Get HOOKED! GET ADDICTED!
 
It is the PERFECT TEN Theme Song for Indian Market in the Global Village! Aggressive Advt.  Campaign overlaps the day to day life and JINGLES turn the RING TONE of life style. STRATEGIC Marketing, SELL OFF, Retail Expansion, Reality Show and Real State, 3G SPECTRUM and Broad band, Terminator and Rising Machines and Humanoids take over HUMANITY! Realty Business, Share Indices and Consumer Durables and Consumer Goods indicate the National Growth Rate. IPL and Twenty 20 World Cup divides the Nation and nationalities further to boost War against Terror,Hate Campaign, Manusmriti Rule, Apartheid and DIVIDE within.
 
IPL Economics was based on the DIVISION within while only India loses and Only India WINS!
 
ICC is worried of INDIA Getting out of T Twenty World cup as it would lose the TV rating and STIFF Fall in ADVERTISING Brands deepening the Global Recession once again!
 
It is GROWING Up with TV Jingles these days: JAB MAIN CHHOTA BACHHA THA! And it is virtually NEVER NEVER Growing as the Faces of Future lose themselves in Virtual Reality only leaving no  scope for Hard TEXT Copy!
 
Bari shararat karta tha, meri chori pakri jati….Jab roshan hota Bajaj!! Remember the jingle? It has been registered in our minds, and it is still there…running in a remixed version.
 
Now VISA and PLASTIC Money have to run RIOTS for an AGGRESIVE slogan: GO! Just Go to the HELL and enjoy! The world is reduced to VITAL Statics and VOGUE is the key word! You need not Cash so NEVER try to get to an ATM! Just go ANYWHERE and the Plastic Money would earn anything for you!
 
Priyanka Chopra, MISS World and Bollywood queen appears CASUAL on small screen and demands: Get HOOKED! Get ADDICTED! And you have to opt for a branded MOBILE SET!
 
What about the ADDICTION! Well, NOTHING wrong! Every PROMOTION depends on just this ADDICTION of the Commodity and we, the consumer CITIZENS have to be ADDICTED as the Generation Next gets INVOLVED in ADDICTION of every kind without any scope of REHAB. And every one has not to a Paris  HILTON!
 

With the rapidly increasing number of millionaires in India, the market for luxury brands is growing annually at a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of about 35 per cent.

 

According to a FICCI-Yes Bank report, India is set to become a manufacturing hub for global luxury brands over the next four to five years and the manufacture of luxury items in India can grow to US$ 500 million. The luxury products market in India likely to grow at a CAGR of 28 per cent to reach US$ 1.2 billion by 2010. The market is expected to double by 2015, touching US$ 2.5 billion.

 

The latest entrant is DKNY which will set up exclusive stores in India.

 
Music is a powerful medium that can bring the emotional qualities of products and services to life and help activate a Brand promise. The beat of the music can literally connect with the heartbeat of the listener. A customized exclusive sonic logo would be created keeping in mind your brand identity. With Remix items the MUSIC is BASTARDISED as the languages as well, HINGLISH is the best example which has become the POPULAR Media language in Print as well as Electronic! Brand identity of the Logo carried through music. An exclusive instrumental version will be composed, which can be used in all your Multimedia/ Audio/ Video Corporate Identity.
 

Slogans and Jingles form an essential part of the advertising industry. The main role of an advertising slogan or radio jingle is to create an identity for the brand. Once the catchy slogan or jingle becomes popular, it further leads to brand recognition and services as a reminder for the target audiences. A lot of effort goes into brainstorming and creating an advertising slogan / tag line / jingle for a brand / product. The creative tag line must fall in place and gel with the overall marketing efforts and corporate identity of the brand being advertised and promoted.

 

FMCGs have seen over 20 per cent demand in rural markets ahead of the 17-18 per cent growth in urban India. According to AC Nielsen, mainstay categories like hair oils, toothpastes, shampoos, skin creams and lotions, and even candies saw more growth in rural markets than urban.

 

The overall number of rural households is estimated to grow to 153 million in 2009-10 from 135 million in 2001-02. Further, as per an NCAER report, compared to urban areas, the 'lower middle income' group in rural areas has nearly doubled. This major consumer base accounts for 41 per cent of the Indian middle class having access to 58 per cent of the total disposable income.

 

The mobile boom has now also hit rural India. According to a report jointly released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ernst & Young, of the next 250 million Indian wireless users, around 100 million (40 per cent) are expected to be from rural areas.

 
We have grown up with popular JINGLES although but we may not Match the SEXY skin shows on screen these dayas. What we have haerd after all! These were the jingles with which I have grown up, and am not ashamed of the fact that even now I do not look around when I just sing my heart out, and most of the times, these are jingles, and these are encrypted on my brain and comes out with the slightest attempt of similarity between the commercial and real life!
 

Khushbu daar anti-septic cream boroline!

Doodh Doodh Doodh, Doodh hai wonderful pi sakte hai roj glassful (Though I hated milk!!)

Na na meri jaan, meri jaan murgi ke andey

Nirma Nirma, washing powder nirma, dush se safedi nirma se aye, rangeen kapra bhi khil khil jaye, sabki pasand nirma!

Buland bharat ki Buland tasveer…hamara Bajaj!

Mammi bhokh lagi, bas do minute! School se aate dhoom machaate
Ek hi baat pe manaate, Maggi Maggi Maggi!"

Pyar hua ikraar hua hai, pyar se phir kiun darta hai dil…(ad for promoting condom use in India)

Glucon- D, yeh jaan mein jaan daal de - peete hi!"

Yehi hai Right Choice Baby…Aha!

Bhul na jana, ECE bulb lana, Jyaada de ujaala din-o-din chalne waala ECE bulb aur ECE tube!

Ras ki rachna Rasna! I love you Rasna…

Amul : Zara si hansi…doolar zarasa…Taste of India

Life Buoy: Tandurusti ki Raksha karta hai Life Buoy…

 

Presently, India is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world, the fourth largest commercial vehicle market, the 11th largest passenger car market and is expected to be the third largest automobile market by 2030.

 

Global auto makers are still bullish on India. Describing India as one of the promising emerging markets Toyota Motor Corporation is going ahead with its US$ 655.60 million second plant at Bidadi, near Bangalore.

 

To drive sales, Daimler Motors, Skoda Auto and Volkswagen, are entering the US$ 4.50 billion auto loan market in the country. Indian auto majors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and M&M are already offering loans through their own finance subsidiaries.

 
 
 

Over the years, it has been seen that certain advertising campaigns have been a huge hit with its target audiences. People, till date, relate to the brand through its catchy and creative ad slogan . jingle. Such is the power of creativity! Here are a few of my all time favorites - radio jingles, advertising slogans and tag lines - I can't help but relate these brands with their creative one liners -

  • Gagan Vanaspati - "Khao Gagan, Raho Magan"
  • Complan - "I'm A Complan Boy - I'm A Complan Girl!"
  • Tomato Ketchup - "Ketchup Hoga Kaddoo Bhara, Isme Kaddoo Nahi Zara"
  • Lijjat Papad - "Kharram Khurram, Khurram Kharram - Mazedar Lazedar Swaad Swaaad Mein Lijjat Lijjat Papad"
  • Nirma Detergent - "Nirma Detergent Tikiya - Iski Jhaag Ne Jadu Kar Diya - Paani Mein Rah Kar Bhi Ye Kam Gale Dheron Kapde Dhoye Aur Zyada Chale"
  • Hawkins Pressure Cookers - "Hawkins Ki Seetee Baji, Khusboo Hi Khushboo Udi, Mazedar Lazedar Khana Hai Tayyeyar - Murg Musaalam, Muttar Paneer, Kheer Aur Dum Aloo"
  • Uma Falls - "Uyii Maa Nahi, Uma - Uma Falls"
  • Texla Tv - "Texla TV Jab Se Aaya, Sabke Mann Mein Texla Hi Chaya"
  • Mentos - "Dimaag Ki Batti Zala De"
  • Sprite - "Clear Hai!"
  • Coke - "Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola", "Piyo sar utha ke"
  • Saffola - "Abhi to main jawan hoon"
 

As rapid socio-economic changes sweep across India, the country is witnessing the creation of many new markets and a further expansion of the existing ones. With over 300 million people moving up from the category of rural poor to rural lower middle class between 2005 and 2025, rural consumption levels are expected to rise to current urban levels by 2017.

 

According to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), Indian incomes are likely to grow three-fold over the next two decades and India will become the world's fifth largest consumer market by 2025, moving up from its position in 2007 as the 12th largest consumer market.

 

The next decade belongs to Indian and Chinese consumers as Asian consumers will continue to splurge owing to improving economic conditions, forecasts the new economic outlook report by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in Toronto released on May 25, 2009. Also, households will be confident that their newfound wealth is not ephemeral, allowing them to reduce precautionary savings.

 

Moreover, approximately 315 hypermarkets are expected to come into existence in tier-I and tier-II cities across India by the end of 2011, riding on the boom in organised retail sector, says a joint study by consultancy firm KPMG and industry body, ASSOCHAM.

 

Marks & Spencer and Reliance Retail joint venture is planning to open 35 more stores over the next five years. It already has 15 stores in India.

 

Carrefour SA, Europe's largest retailer, has said it may start wholesale operations in India by 2010 and has initiated discussions with more than 600 suppliers as part of the plan. It aims to open its first cash-and-carry in the National Capital Region (NCR).

 
Jingle all the way
8 Aug 2002, 2140 hrs IST, Sean Davidson, TNN


WHEN Pune's first private radio FM station, Radio Mirchi launched, it gripped the city. A few weeks later, the station's Radio Jockey (RJs) reached celebrity status.
But in between On The Move and Retro Hour, are the commercial radio spots and jingles that have achieved a fame all of their own. From the Electrolux-Kelvinator washing machines ad to the famous Colgate 'Talk to Me' spot, radiophiles listen as much for their favourite jingle, as their pet show. The questions is, will this translate into business for advertising agencies in the city? With Radio Mirchi producing 70 per cent of its aired radio commercials inhouse, the rest coming from bigger agencies across the country, Pune's ad fraternity have yet to cash in.
Gautam Sahane of Radio Mirchi cites his station's latest technology and equipment as the reason for in-house production. "A few agencies in Pune were making radio commercials for clients of AIR. But after we set up our studio, most of them brought their work to us," says Sahane. Advertising clients now approach the FM station directly to produce jingles and spots, because costs are lower.
"We have in-house talent that does all the voice-overs. Other agencies charge separately for voice-overs. From concept to script to music to final recording, we do it all," explains Sahane. Radio commercials also call for a different type of creativity. "For most radio spots you need concept, song and singer. So it depends on budget and creative requirement," says a spokesperson for ad major, Ogilvy & Mather.
sean.davidson@timesgroup.com
 

'We have turned down three offers '

Daily News & Analysis - ‎Jun 9, 2009‎
The client was very clear -- there are some properties which Nirma owns -- the jingle, the dancing girl. As a brand, they've never done too much with an ad. ...

Reliance GSM Gives Free Calls To Attract Subscribers

WATBlog - ‎Jun 10, 2009‎
The service involves a message tone by Hrithik Roshan, brand ambassador for reliance communication and a Reliance GSM jingle. ...

Additional impact

The Week - ‎May 19, 2009‎
"Our advertising was based on the different phases of election. For instance, radio jingles went on air in a particular city only when the poll date drew ...

Aggi-Paddy's Taproot India gives a fresh twist to Brand Nirma

exchange4media.com - ‎May 19, 2009‎
Taproot India is the creative agency behind the campaign, while Purnima Advertising is the media agency on the Nirma account. The film has been produced by ...

MTV India Sweeps 17 awards at Promax India

RadioandMusic.com - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
The Promax/BDA Awards recognize excellence in on-air promotion, branding and advertising across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. MTV took home 17 awards at ...

Leo Burnett's Baby Rap jingle makes it to NYF finalists

RadioandMusic.com - ‎Jun 4, 2009‎
The campaign for Lingo India, has been shortlisted in the Business Products/ services category. Germany leads the pack in the finalists just announced, ...

Vintage Spot

Express Buzz - ‎May 17, 2009‎
He has also won the RAPA (Radio and Television Advertising Practitioners' Association of India) award twice- in 1985 for the jingle of Sunanda weekly (''I ...

Winners, losers and also-rans

Business Line - ‎Jun 3, 2009‎
The costliest exchange has been that of the vastly overrated Robin Uthappa for India's premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan, which, incidentally, was announced ...

Luther Center Stage Series subscription tickets now on sale

Luther College News - ‎Jun 4, 2009‎
and for a variety of advertising jingles, all ages will enjoy the quintet's vibrant sound mixed with playful antics. The Reduced Shakespeare Company present ...

by Anand Halve

What will go into brandbuilding in the future?
When one does a bit of crystal ball gazing, the essential element involved of course is imaging what changes will take place around us. Let us consider what changes are likely to affect brand-building in the years ahead. But before that, a few words on my perspective on this issue. It seems to me that too many times, the issue of branding is seen only in the context of "the shopping bag and advertising"; the assumption being that branding exists only, as Portia feared, "in the suburbs of good pleasure". My belief is that we have now entered an era where people are quite happy to be mobile billboards for Nike and where their brand choices are statements of their life, the view being almost that "I am the brands I use". Consider what image you form of three persons (in the chart below), about whom the only things you know are their preferences in certain product categories. See how easily one forms mental pictures of these three hypothetical persons? It is because the brand choices place them in certain social settings. The point is, therefore that the issue of branding needs to be viewed in a much larger context than the marketplace — it needs to take into account the life space of society. Therefore we need to look at changes in both the marketplace and in the lifespace. The changes taking place in the marketplace are quite clear. Perhaps the most important phenomenon is the relentless pressure of financial institutions and the stockmarket, seekinga "15 per cent growth per annum ad infinitum". This puts enormous pressure on managements, often leading to what might be euphemistically called irrational exuberance. One of the results of this is the imbalance between supply and demand, caused by excess capacities across industries. Thus we are seeing periodic increases in the number of players followed by mergers and shakeouts across categories. Think about the end of Delta and Northwest in airlines; AT&T in telecom, TOMCO and Balsara in FMCG in India, Daewoo and Rover in automobiles…the list goes on. Second, there is the explosion of competition and the choice available to customers. The increasing opening up of markets is merely making this more so. Thus brands such as Haier, TCL, BenQ, Sagem and others, which you had never heard of, are now crowding the shelves. Third, this intense competition compels mar keters to seek the bases of competitiveness, which are frankly, over the top. Consider for example, a recent case of a washing machine that had a "speaking" facility. Now is that a really meaningful benefit? Do consumers want washing machines that talk? Next, will they want a toaster with a sense of humour? Advertising for brands of garments routinely offer success in careers and with women, brands of cosmetics regularly offer life-altering changes in hair, skin, and complexion.


Change 1: The democratisation of Brand messaging
While consumers obviously apply an adjustment factor to the legitimate advertising license, I suspect that there is a critical, inexorable change that is taking place in the lifespace of society, thanks to exaggeration on an unending basis. This important change, is that the prospect or consumer does not anymore, consider advertising a high credibility source of information.
In fact, they are now – more and more – taking charge of the messaging. Here is what Bob Garfield, Columnist, wrote in AdAgeOnline recently (October 11, 2005) in an article titled, "How the Open Source Revolution Impacts Your Brands". This is what he said, in part: Hear that? In the distance? It's a crowd forming — a crowd of what you used to call your "audience." They're still an audience, but they aren't necessarily listening to you. They're listening to each other talk about you. And they're using your products, your brand names, your iconography, your slogans, your trademarks, your designs, your goodwill, all of it as if it belonged to them — which, in a way, it all does, because, after all, haven't you spent decades, and trillions, to convince them of just that? Congratulations. It worked. The Great Consumer Society believes deeply that it has a proprietary stake in you. And like stakeholders everywhere, they are letting their voices be heard. Why? Because the information society is reversing flow. What began as an experiment among a few software nerds has, thanks to the Internet, expanded into other disciplines, notably media and law. But it won't stop there. Advertising. Branding. Distribution. Consumer research. Product development. Manufacturing. They will all be turned upside down as the despotism of the executive suite gives way to the will, and wisdom, of the masses in a new commercial and cultural epoch, namely: The Open Source Revolution.
 
Challenges Of Predicting The Unpredictable
by Jairaj Jatar

How should marketers insulate themselves from sudden shocks? There is a revolution spreading across the business landscape. Across every industry customers are becoming more demanding and less loyal. There is a sea change occurring in terms of what satisfies customers and what keeps them coming back for more. What worked yesterday cannot be presumed to work today, and what satisfies well today almost assuredly will not satisfy tomorrow. The key trends noticed in the market can be encapsulated as:

* Refusing to pay prices presumably inflated by layers of middlemen
* Turning up their noses at sellers' limitations on delivery periods, warranties and payment standards
* Opting for generic or clone products instead of brand leaders
* Negotiating harder for the absolute best deal

But, this new world of change need not unsettle us, so long as we are willing to understand its demands and rethink our products and services and ways of coming to market. Today, the operative word in business is customer loyalty, which is defined as "an act of binding the customer - intellectually or emotionally - to a course of action." If a product or service meets buyer's needs at the first occasion, and is offered at a fair price, that buyer has compelling reasons to come back for more, in a quest for "value" that suits him.
Thus, loyalty is a combination of three crucial elements:

Product or Service quality: It deals with the
tangible aspects of product performance and service delivery.
Price: Simple! It's what the customer paid for the product or service.
Intellectual or emotional bonding: It involves the essence of how we choose to spend or time, money and effort.

Let us now evaluate what impact this buyer's revolution can have for individual businesses. Perhaps, it's best to start with what measures of yesteryear will have reduced impact in the future.

* Excellent quality alone is no longer a differentiator.
* Low prices alone are not a differentiator.
* Excellent service alone is no longer a differentiator.
* Customer satisfaction is passé.

The path for tackling unpredictability of the new information age is two-fold: 1] Knowing your customers, 2] Enticing them to stay with you.

Find out what the customer wants
The quest for reducing unpredictability thus lies in providing customers "value" and meeting their expectations. Ideally, we would like to offer a unique experience tailored to each customer. But, a more practical and effective approach is to define groups of customers who share similar expectations. Segmenting the market on the basis of needs and expectations, and choosing the segment to tackle, will be the starting point to reduce uncertainty in business. Rushing in with one-size-fits-all Imagine the situation faced by an automotive fuel retailer who launched a loyalty card for its customers. The card-based scheme was offered to every customer who entered its forecourts. The start was promising as many customers opted in. But it was quite clear after a few months that repeat usage of the scheme was half of what was expected. Instead, in the mistaken belief that all its customers would obviously prefer to participate in a scheme, the fuel retailer introduced uncertainty in its day-to-day business.

 
The future is all about a competitive context that is different - a context that
needs to be understood carefully before planning a foray that is different

by Harish Bijoor

Marketing is too important to be left to marketing people! Ouch! That hurts! But that is the reality of the future for sure.Are you gearing up for change? Are you concerned about being competitive in the long term? Time to re-think the line. Marketing is too important to be left to marketing people.

Marketing is therefore the key concern of every Tom, Dick and Harish in your organisation. It should be. From the CEO to the chaprasi at the door, marketing is a ubiquitous fetish to adopt and cherish for the future ahead of us. Firstly, marketing is all encompassing. It is about all of us in the business of life itself. Not a moment goes without the need of a marketing intervention. From the early morning cup of coffee to the late night tryst at the potty, marketing intervenes every moment of our lives. We can't live without it. It is a part of our lives and indeed a part of our psyche at large. Never mind then whether the man at hand is an entity urban or an entity rural, the needs are largely the same. The same set of bellies and bladders that crave for food and drink and the same set of teeth that crave that brush with hygiene early in the morning. Marketing therefore needs to be inclusive. Inclusive about all our needs and inclusive about every one in the chain that contributes today and have the potential of contributing tomorrow. Marketing is about competition then. The day of the early-mover-marketing is over. In comes the day and age of the mature market. The mature market where top-lines are under threat to the oldest marketed categories of them all. Consumers have lived in these categories pretty loyally for long enough. There is a huge need and want to move to the better product and the better price. Marketers are hastening this process further. As marketers cut prices, one in tandem with another, bottom-line profits become thinner and thinner. The vain quest for the top-line is hurting the bottom line no end. As all of this happens and the premium of the brand, built assiduously over all these years vanishes, the concept of branding itself is in question. The markets are therefore drying up. The early marketers of the day did his job pretty well. The marketer of the day is however finding it tough to go forward. The future is all about a competitive context that is different. A competitive context that needs to be understood carefully before planning a foray that is different. As traditional markets dry up, time to look at the new. Look at the standard process the Indian marketer has adopted over the years. Step one was into the nascent urban market. Pluck the low hanging fruit of urban first. Pluck then the higher handing fruit of urban. Go then to the low hanging fruit of rural (43 million homes). And then into rural that is just about developing (90 million homes). The only reality out there is competition. Marketers of the day face competition in one of the following four formats. The competitive advantage of India in world markets is best assessed by taking a quick peek at the models of competition possible in markets of the present and the future. If I am to look around the nations of the world and correlate models in current use, there are four distinct patterns that emerge. Four clusters that have whole sets of nations congregating in models those seem to work for each of them differently and with different levels of efficacy. Needless to say, the peculiarities of each nation in question dictate the distinct choice they have made for themselves. Let's visit the clusters. And let's call them all kinds of animal names.

1. The Earthworm Model:
The passive model of competitive reaction. The invitation theory that is best practiced by the earthworm. A rich worm really. It knows the basics best. It is in constant touch with the earth that it seeks nourishment from and nourishes back simultaneously. A fundamentally strong being. Several problems in this model though. It is passive for one. Non-reactionary. A model in the self-fulfilling prophecy mode. The best example of the fatalistic theory in practice. When faced with danger, all it can do is continue its humble journey in the earth. Competition kills this model with ease. There is no reaction. The fatalistic model of competition at its best! Is Indian marketing here?

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Marketing strategy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Marketing
Key concepts

Product / Pricing / Promotion
Distribution / Service / Retail
Brand management
Account-based marketing
Marketing ethics
Marketing effectiveness
Market research
Market segmentation
Marketing strategy
Marketing management
Market dominance

Promotional content

Advertising / Branding
Direct marketing / Personal Sales
Product placement / Public relations
Publicity / Sales promotion
Sex in advertising / Underwriting

Promotional media

Printing / Publication / Broadcasting
Out-of-home / Internet marketing
Point of sale / Novelty items
Digital marketing / In-game
Word of mouth

A marketing strategy[1][2] is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage[3]. A marketing strategy should be centered around the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Key part of the general corporate strategy

A marketing strategy is a written plan which combines product development, promotion, distribution, and pricing approach, identifies the firm's marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segment, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of resources. It is most effective when it is an integral component of firm strategy, defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and competitors in the market arena. Corporate strategies, corporate missions, and corporate goals. As the customer constitutes the source of a company's revenue, marketing strategy is closely linked with sales. A key component of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing in line with a company's overarching mission statement[4].

Basic theory:

  1. Target Audience
  2. Proposition/Key Element
  3. Implementation

[edit] Tactics and actions

A marketing strategy can serve as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a set of specific actions required to successfully implement a marketing strategy. For example: "Use a low cost product to attract consumers. Once our organization, via our low cost product, has established a relationship with consumers, our organization will sell additional, higher-margin products and services that enhance the consumer's interaction with the low-cost product or service."

A strategy consists of a well thought out series of tactics to make a marketing plan more effective. Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives[5]. Plans and objectives are generally tested for measurable results.

A marketing strategy often integrates an organization's marketing goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. Similarly, the various strands of the strategy , which might include advertising, channel marketing, internet marketing, promotion and public relations can be orchestrated. Many companies cascade a strategy throughout an organization, by creating strategy tactics that then become strategy goals for the next level or group. Each one group is expected to take that strategy goal and develop a set of tactics to achieve that goal. This is why it is important to make each strategy goal measurable.

Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially planned and partially unplanned. See strategy dynamics.

[edit] Types of strategies

Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business. However there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below:

  • Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are classified based on their market share or dominance of an industry. Typically there are three types of market dominance strategies:
    • Leader
    • Challenger
    • Follower
  • Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength refers to the firm's sustainable competitive advantage. The generic strategy framework (porter 1984) comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes. These are Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a dimension of Focus-broad or narrow.
    • Product differentiation
    • Market segmentation
  • Innovation strategies - This deals with the firm's rate of the new product development and business model innovation. It asks whether the company is on the cutting edge of technology and business innovation. There are three types:
    • Pioneers
    • Close followers
    • Late followers
  • Growth strategies - In this scheme we ask the question, "How should the firm grow?". There are a number of different ways of answering that question, but the most common gives four answers:
    • Horizontal integration
    • Vertical integration
    • Diversification
    • Intensification

A more detailed scheme uses the categories [6]:

  • Prospector
  • Analyzer
  • Defender
  • Reactor
  • Marketing warfare strategies - This scheme draws parallels between marketing strategies and military strategies.

[edit] Strategic models

Marketing participants often employ strategic models and tools to analyze marketing decisions. When beginning a strategic analysis, the 3Cs can be employed to get a broad understanding of the strategic environment. An Ansoff Matrix is also often used to convey an organization's strategic positioning of their marketing mix. The 4Ps can then be utilized to form a marketing plan to pursue a defined strategy.

Marketing in Practice

The Consumer-Centric Business

There are a many companies especially those in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG) market that adopt the theory of running their business centered around Consumer, Shopper & Retailer needs. Their Marketing departments spend quality time looking for "Growth Opportunities" in their categories by identifying relevant insights (both mindsets and behaviors) on their target Consumers, Shoppers and retail partners. These Growth Opportunities emerge from changes in market trends, segment dynamics changing and also internal brand or operational business challenges.The Marketing team can then prioritize these Growth Opportunities and begin to develop strategies to exploit the opportunities that could include new or adapted products, services as well as changes to the 7Ps.

Real-life marketing primarily revolves around the application of a great deal of common-sense; dealing with a limited number of factors, in an environment of imperfect information and limited resources complicated by uncertainty and tight timescales. Use of classical marketing techniques, in these circumstances, is inevitably partial and uneven.

Thus, for example, many new products will emerge from irrational processes and the rational development process may be used (if at all) to screen out the worst non-runners. The design of the advertising, and the packaging, will be the output of the creative minds employed; which management will then screen, often by 'gut-reaction', to ensure that it is reasonable.

For most of their time, marketing managers use intuition and experience to analyze and handle the complex, and unique, situations being faced; without easy reference to theory. This will often be 'flying by the seat of the pants', or 'gut-reaction'; where the overall strategy, coupled with the knowledge of the customer which has been absorbed almost by a process of osmosis, will determine the quality of the marketing employed. This, almost instinctive management, is what is sometimes called 'coarse marketing'; to distinguish it from the refined, aesthetically pleasing, form favored by the theorists.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ UK govt businesslink marketing strategy guide.
  2. ^ Marketbut strategy Australian administration small business guide.
  3. ^ Baker, Michael (2008), The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit, Cambridge Strategy Publications, p. 3, ISBN 978-1-902433-99-8 
  4. ^ Baker, Michael (2008), The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit, Cambridge Strategy Publications, p. 27, ISBN 978-1-902433-99-8 
  5. ^ Marketing basics Marketing strategy based on market needs, targets and goals.
  6. ^ 12Manage (2009). [http://www.12manage.com/methods_miles_snow_four_strategic_types.html Four Strategic Types (Raymond Miles and Charles Snow)]

[edit] Further reading

  • Laermer, Richard; Simmons, Mark, Punk Marketing, New York : Harper Collins, 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-115110-1 (Review of the book by Marilyn Scrizzi, in Journal of Consumer Marketing 24(7), 2007)

This document prepared and presented by
Business Resource Software, Inc.

 

Marketing Plan
The information for this article was derived from many sources, including Michael Porter's book Competitive Advantage and the works of Philip Kotler. Concepts addressed include 'generic' strategies and strategies for pricing, distribution, promotion, advertising and market segmentation. Factors such as market penetration, market share, profit margins, budgets, financial analysis, capital investment, government actions, demographic changes, emerging technology and cultural trends are also addressed.

There are two major components to your marketing strategy:
  • how your enterprise will address the competitive marketplace
  • how you will implement and support your day to day operations.
In today's very competitive marketplace a strategy that insures a consistent approach to offering your product or service in a way that will outsell the competition is critical. However, in concert with defining the marketing strategy you must also have a well defined methodology for the day to day process of implementing it. It is of little value to have a strategy if you lack either the resources or the expertise to implement it.

In the process of creating a marketing strategy you must consider many factors. Of those many factors, some are more important than others. Because each strategy must address some unique considerations, it is not reasonable to identify 'every' important factor at a generic level. However, many are common to all marketing strategies. Some of the more critical are described below.

You begin the creation of your strategy by deciding what the overall objective of your enterprise should be. In general this falls into one of four categories:
  • If the market is very attractive and your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry you will want to invest your best resources in support of your offering.
  • If the market is very attractive but your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you must concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering as a stepping stone toward this objective.
  • If the market is not especially attractive, but your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry then an effective marketing and sales effort for your offering will be good for generating near term profits.
  • If the market is not especially attractive and your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you should promote this offering only if it supports a more profitable part of your business (for instance, if this segment completes a product line range) or if it absorbs some of the overhead costs of a more profitable segment. Otherwise, you should determine the most cost effective way to divest your enterprise of this offering.
Having selected the direction most beneficial for the overall interests of the enterprise, the next step is to choose a strategy for the offering that will be most effective in the market. This means choosing one of the following 'generic' strategies (first described by Michael Porter in his work, Competitive Advantage).
  • A COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY is based on the concept that you can produce and market a good quality product or service at a lower cost than your competitors. These low costs should translate to profit margins that are higher than the industry average. Some of the conditions that should exist to support a cost leadership strategy include an on-going availability of operating capital, good process engineering skills, close management of labor, products designed for ease of manufacturing and low cost distribution.
  • A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY is one of creating a product or service that is perceived as being unique "throughout the industry". The emphasis can be on brand image, proprietary technology, special features, superior service, a strong distributor network or other aspects that might be specific to your industry. This uniqueness should also translate to profit margins that are higher than the industry average. In addition, some of the conditions that should exist to support a differentiation strategy include strong marketing abilities, effective product engineering, creative personnel, the ability to perform basic research and a good reputation.
  • A FOCUS STRATEGY may be the most sophisticated of the generic strategies, in that it is a more 'intense' form of either the cost leadership or differentiation strategy. It is designed to address a "focused" segment of the marketplace, product form or cost management process and is usually employed when it isn't appropriate to attempt an 'across the board' application of cost leadership or differentiation. It is based on the concept of serving a particular target in such an exceptional manner, that others cannot compete. Usually this means addressing a substantially smaller market segment than others in the industry, but because of minimal competition, profit margins can be very high.
Pricing
Having defined the overall offering objective and selecting the generic strategy you must then decide on a variety of closely related operational strategies. One of these is how you will price the offering. A pricing strategy is mostly influenced by your requirement for net income and your objectives for long term market control. There are three basic strategies you can consider.
  • A SKIMMING STRATEGY
    If your offering has enough differentiation to justify a high price and you desire quick cash and have minimal desires for significant market penetration and control, then you set your prices very high.
  • A MARKET PENETRATION STRATEGY
    If near term income is not so critical and rapid market penetration for eventual market control is desired, then you set your prices very low.
  • A COMPARABLE PRICING STRATEGY
    If you are not the market leader in your industry then the leaders will most likely have created a 'price expectation' in the minds of the marketplace. In this case you can price your offering comparably to those of your competitors.
Promotion
To sell an offering you must effectively promote and advertise it. There are two basic promotion strategies, PUSH and PULL.
  • The PUSH STRATEGY maximizes the use of all available channels of distribution to "push" the offering into the marketplace. This usually requires generous discounts to achieve the objective of giving the channels incentive to promote the offering, thus minimizing your need for advertising.
  • The PULL STRATEGY requires direct interface with the end user of the offering. Use of channels of distribution is minimized during the first stages of promotion and a major commitment to advertising is required. The objective is to "pull" the prospects into the various channel outlets creating a demand the channels cannot ignore.
There are many strategies for advertising an offering. Some of these include:
  • Product Comparison advertising
    In a market where your offering is one of several providing similar capabilities, if your offering stacks up well when comparing features then a product comparison ad can be beneficial.
  • Product Benefits advertising
    When you want to promote your offering without comparison to competitors, the product benefits ad is the correct approach. This is especially beneficial when you have introduced a new approach to solving a user need and comparison to the old approaches is inappropriate.
  • Product Family advertising
    If your offering is part of a group or family of offerings that can be of benefit to the customer as a set, then the product family ad can be of benefit.
  • Corporate advertising
    When you have a variety of offerings and your audience is fairly broad, it is often beneficial to promote your enterprise identity rather than a specific offering.
Distribution
You must also select the distribution method(s) you will use to get the offering into the hands of the customer. These include:
  • On-premise Sales involves the sale of your offering using a field sales organization that visits the prospect's facilities to make the sale.
  • Direct Sales involves the sale of your offering using a direct, in-house sales organization that does all selling through the Internet, telephone or mail order contact.
  • Wholesale Sales involves the sale of your offering using intermediaries or "middle-men" to distribute your product or service to the retailers.
  • Self-service Retail Sales involves the sale of your offering using self service retail methods of distribution.
  • Full-service Retail Sales involves the sale of your offering through a full service retail distribution channel.
Of course, making a decision about pricing, promotion and distribution is heavily influenced by some key factors in the industry and marketplace. These factors should be analyzed initially to create the strategy and then regularly monitored for changes. If any of them change substantially the strategy should be reevaluated.

The Environment
Environmental factors positively or negatively impact the industry and the market growth potential of your product/service. Factors to consider include:
  • Government actions - Government actions (current or under consideration) can support or detract from your strategy. Consider subsidies, safety, efficacy and operational regulations, licensing requirements, materials access restrictions and price controls.
  • Demographic changes - Anticipated demographic changes may support or negatively impact the growth potential of your industry and market. This includes factors such as education, age, income and geographic location.
  • Emerging technology - Technological changes that are occurring may or may not favor the actions of your enterprise.
  • Cultural trends - Cultural changes such as fashion trends and life style trends may or may not support your offering's penetration of the market
The Prospect
It is essential to understand the market segment(s) as defined by the prospect characteristics you have selected as the target for your offering. Factors to consider include:
  • The potential for market penetration involves whether you are selling to past customers or a new prospect, how aware the prospects are of what you are offering, competition, growth rate of the industry and demographics.
  • The prospect's willingness to pay higher price because your offering provides a better solution to their problem.
  • The amount of time it will take the prospect to make a purchase decision is affected by the prospects confidence in your offering, the number and quality of competitive offerings, the number of people involved in the decision, the urgency of the need for your offering and the risk involved in making the purchase decision.
  • The prospect's willingness to pay for product value is determined by their knowledge of competitive pricing, their ability to pay and their need for characteristics such as quality, durability, reliability, ease of use, uniformity and dependability.
  • Likelihood of adoption by the prospect is based on the criticality of the prospect's need, their attitude about change, the significance of the benefits, barriers that exist to incorporating the offering into daily usage and the credibility of the offering.
The Product/Service
You should be thoroughly familiar with the factors that establish products/services as strong contenders in the marketplace. Factors to consider include:
  • Whether some or all of the technology for the offering is proprietary to the enterprise.
  • The benefits the prospect will derive from use of the offering.
  • The extent to which the offering is differentiated from the competition.
  • The extent to which common introduction problems can be avoided such as lack of adherence to industry standards, unavailability of materials, poor quality control, regulatory problems and the inability to explain the benefits of the offering to the prospect.
  • The potential for product obsolescence as affected by the enterprise's commitment to product development, the product's proximity to physical limits, the ongoing potential for product improvements, the ability of the enterprise to react to technological change and the likelihood of substitute solutions to the prospect's needs.
  • Impact on customer's business as measured by costs of trying out your offering, how quickly the customer can realize a return from their investment in your offering, how disruptive the introduction of your offering is to the customer's operations and the costs to switch to your offering.
  • The complexity of your offering as measured by the existence of standard interfaces, difficulty of installation, number of options, requirement for support devices, training and technical support and the requirement for complementary product interface.
The Competition
It is essential to know who the competition is and to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Factors to consider include:
  • Each of your competitor's experience, staying power, market position, strength, predictability and freedom to abandon the market must be evaluated.
Your Enterprise
An honest appraisal of the strength of your enterprise is a critical factor in the development of your strategy. Factors to consider include:
  • Enterprise capacity to be leader in low-cost production considering cost control infrastructure, cost of materials, economies of scale, management skills, availability of personnel and compatibility of manufacturing resources with offering requirements.
  • The enterprise's ability to construct entry barriers to competition such as the creation of high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of scale, exclusive access to or clogging of distribution channels and the ability to clearly differentiate your offering from the competition.
  • The enterprise's ability to sustain its market position is determined by the potential for competitive imitation, resistance to inflation, ability to maintain high prices, the potential for product obsolescence and the 'learning curve' faced by the prospect.
  • The prominence of the enterprise.
  • The competence of the management team.
  • The adequacy of the enterprise's infrastructure in terms of organization, recruiting capabilities, employee benefit programs, customer support facilities and logistical capabilities.
  • The freedom of the enterprise to make critical business decisions without undue influence from distributors, suppliers, unions, creditors, investors and other outside influences.
  • Freedom from having to deal with legal problems.
Development
A review of the strength and viability of the product/service development program will heavily influence the direction of your strategy. Factors to consider include:
  • The strength of the development manager including experience with personnel management, current and new technologies, complex projects and the equipment and tools used by the development personnel.
  • Personnel who understand the relevant technologies and are able to perform the tasks necessary to meet the development objectives.
  • Adequacy and appropriateness of the development tools and equipment.
  • The necessary funding to achieve the development objectives.
  • Design specifications that are manageable.
Production
You should review your enterprise's production organization with respect to their ability to cost effectively produce products/services. The following factors are considered:
  • The strength of production manager including experience with personnel management, current and new technologies, complex projects and the equipment and tools used by the manufacturing personnel.
  • Economies of scale allowing the sharing of operations, sharing of production and the potential for vertical integration.
  • Technology and production experience
  • The necessary production personnel skill level and/or the enterprise's ability to hire or train qualified personnel.
  • The ability of the enterprise to limit suppliers bargaining power.
  • The ability of the enterprise to control the quality of raw materials and production.
  • Adequate access to raw materials and sub-assembly production.
Marketing/Sales
The marketing and sales organization is analyzed for its strengths and current activities. Factors to consider include:
  • Experience of Marketing/Sales manager including contacts in the industry (prospects, distribution channels, media), familiarity with advertising and promotion, personal selling capabilities, general management skills and a history of profit and loss responsibilities.
  • The ability to generate good publicity as measured by past successes, contacts in the press, quality of promotional literature and market education capabilities.
  • Sales promotion techniques such as trade allowances, special pricing and contests.
  • The effectiveness of your distribution channels as measured by history of relations, the extent of channel utilization, financial stability, reputation, access to prospects and familiarity with your offering.
  • Advertising capabilities including media relationships, advertising budget, past experience, how easily the offering can be advertised and commitment to advertising.
  • Sales capabilities including availability of personnel, quality of personnel, location of sales outlets, ability to generate sales leads, relationship with distributors, ability to demonstrate the benefits of the offering and necessary sales support capabilities.
  • The appropriateness of the pricing of your offering as it relates to competition, price sensitivity of the prospect, prospect's familiarity with the offering and the current market life cycle stage.
Customer Services
The strength of the customer service function has a strong influence on long term market success. Factors to consider include:
  • Experience of the Customer Service manager in the areas of similar offerings and customers, quality control, technical support, product documentation, sales and marketing.
  • The availability of technical support to service your offering after it is purchased.
  • One or more factors that causes your customer support to stand out as unique in the eyes of the customer.
  • Accessibility of service outlets for the customer.
  • The reputation of the enterprise for customer service.
Conclusion
After defining your strategy you must use the information you have gathered to determine whether this strategy will achieve the objective of making your enterprise competitive in the marketplace. Two of the most important assessments are described below.
Cost To Enter Market
This is an analysis of the factors that will influence your costs to achieve significant market penetration. Factors to consider include:
  • Your marketing strength.
  • Access to low cost materials and effective production.
  • The experience of your enterprise.
  • The complexity of introduction problems such as lack of adherence to industry standards, unavailability of materials, poor quality control, regulatory problems and the inability to explain the benefits of the offering to the prospect.
  • The effectiveness of the enterprise infrastructure in terms of organization, recruiting capabilities, employee benefit programs, customer support facilities and logistical capabilities.
  • Distribution effectiveness as measured by history of relations, the extent of channel utilization, financial stability, reputation, access to prospects and familiarity with your offering.
  • Technological efforts likely to be successful as measured by the strength of the development organization.
  • The availability of adequate operating capital.
Profit Potential
This is an analysis of the factors that could influence the potential for generating and maintaining profits over an extended period. Factors to consider include:
  • Potential for competitive retaliation is based on the competitors resources, commitment to the industry, cash position and predictability as well as the status of the market.
  • The enterprise's ability to construct entry barriers to competition such as the creation of high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of scale, exclusive access to or clogging of distribution channels and the ability to clearly differentiate your offering from the competition.
  • The intensity of competitive rivalry as measured by the size and number of competitors, limitations on exiting the market, differentiation between offerings and the rapidity of market growth.
  • The ability of the enterprise to limit suppliers bargaining power.
  • The enterprise's ability to sustain its market position is determined by the potential for competitive imitation, resistance to inflation, ability to maintain high prices, the potential for product obsolescence and the 'learning curve' faced by the prospect.
  • The availability of substitute solutions to the prospect's need.
  • The prospect's bargaining power as measured by the ease of switching to an alternative, the cost to look at alternatives, the cost of the offering, the differentiation between your offering and the competition and the degree of the prospect's need.
  • Market potential for new products considering market growth, prospect's need for your offering, the benefits of the offering, the number of barriers to immediate use, the credibility of the offering and the impact on the customer's daily operations.
  • The freedom of the enterprise to make critical business decisions without undue influence from distributors, suppliers, unions, investors and other outside influences.
 

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Consumer Durable Industry in India - 2007
PSi, Inc., Feb 2007, Pages: 7


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This report describes the demand trends for consumer durables in India. The report highlights key issues influencing cement supply prices in India such as prices and distribution reach. The current industry structure and trends in product segments are also analyzed in this report.

Key Topics

- Introduction
- Demand
- Supply
- Major Players
- Current Trends
- Outlook



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http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/481014

Future of Indian consumer durables market

parker_new.jpg

By Vipin Agnihotri

In my opinion, Indian market is fast moving towards high-end customized products, which are aesthetically designed to complement the modern households. The need at this moment of time is to continuously innovate and come out with product variations across categories to meet the expectations of a varied class of customers.

This year, the leading consumer durables players forecast 15 per cent growth for the sector. In 2006, the consumer durables and home appliances sector experienced growth of 14 per cent and was pegged at Rs 3.7 billion.

According to sources, dismantling of quantitative restrictions on imports of consumer electronics has let to customer tariffs gradually coming down. In such environment, the industrial units could only survive by improving the efficiency and productivity.

India is a fast developing country and is proving to be a major challenge to the already established countries of the world. The industry expects to grow by 10 per cent for refrigerators and 60 per cent for washing machines this year. In a sector, where new products are being introduced with increasing frequency and lifecycle of products getting shorter, research and development plays an important role.

I believe that this area needs to be regularly updated with newer technologies, so that the innovations are meaningful to the customers. Setting up of manufacturing facilities by MNCs in India, which not only meet international standards but also reduce trade barriers between two countries and give a thrust to the exports of the company, which is very important.

At this moment of time, the consumer electronic industry has come a long way and is making state-of-the-art products and quality is earmarked immense importance. Point to be noted here is that the quality of any product is directly linked with exports from India to other countries. India has lately become a manufacturing hub for many companies to make quality products. In the last few years, this sector has shown tremendous growth, resulting in annual growth rate of close to 50 per cent.

Suggested Reading:

Top IT hotspots in India

Two value stocks to buy at present

http://www.theindiastreet.com/2008/02/future-of-indian-consumer-durables.html

 

Introduction

The background

The success of the "The Market Skyline of India, 2002" that identified the top 68 city markets in India encouraged us to come up with an updated and expanded version of the previous issue. "Indicus Consumer Market Report" series expands the coverage to all districts of the country and also provides greater demographic and consumer details.

This state series is an attempt at bringing together disparate information on demography, expenditure, and economy, with a consumption perspective at the district level. The objective of this book is to go as far as possible in defining the consumer profile for all parts of the state. As in the previous edition, this work also ventures into territories where 'no one has gone before'!

India is highly heterogeneous in terms of socio-economic conditions, life-styles, etc. However, there are many broad similarities at the district level. The ICMR District Consumer Profile gives in-depth details at the district level for the entire nation.

Why invest in "Indicus Consumer Market Report: District Profile"

Organizations have long sought information on consumers. Large budgets are earmarked for assessing the potential market and understanding the consumer. But to continuously grow in this competitive era, new consumers have to be targeted while retaining the old. This requires market information – that is costly, and up-to-date information – that is costlier still. Ironically, good quality information is even then rare. Keeping this in mind the book is specifically designed to ensure better marketing planning and consumer profiling, better sales efforts, better targeting of the consumer and sales/marketing channels.

The book is highly objective. Consequently, it is devoid of our views, interpretations, and debates. The aim is to help the reader generate uncommon insights about the number and type of consumers in respective districts. The data used are only from the most credible and latest sources such as The Census of India, Reserve Bank of India, National Sample Survey Organization, etc. However, these organizations are not oriented at providing consumption and consumer related data for marketing purposes. They are more oriented towards giving credible information on demography, economy, and economic characteristics of the people.

The Indicus team with its expertise in quantitative analysis has worked on highly credible raw data to bring to you information that is directly relevant for marketing purposes. The estimates for 2004 presented therefore are those that are most relevant for marketers as they are designed specifically for their requirements. Consequently information on size, numbers, characteristics, penetration, growth and seasonality is provided for each of the districts. Apart from these details, we have also included information on the urban markets separately.

What it contains

The state series of the "Indicus Consumer Market Report: District Profile" provide the reader information on potential consumers in all the 593 districts of India. Each of the nineteen volumes covers one of the major states and in some cases two states and also the surrounding union territories. Each state volume is divided into 3 major sections. This is the introductory section. The second section provides information at aggregate levels – country (all India figures), zone, and states. The third section contains tables that provide the consumer market profile of each of the districts within the state. 

Who can benefit – An enabling tool

Relevant and good quality information is the key ingredient for any marketing strategy or sales effort. This volume provides information on many different aspects of consumers and consumption. It does so at the national, zonal, state, district, and sub-district level. It allows the comparison of the various districts in terms of their market potential, market size, consumer characteristics, growth, seasonality, as well as penetration levels of key assets.

For the senior-market strategist it enables the prioritization of locations where greater marketing emphasis needs to be placed. It also enables the strategist to identify whether their marketing efforts are in line with the consumer characteristics in different parts of India. The senior market strategist can also better identify the differences between zones and even states in terms of the quantifiable characteristics.

For the zonal manager it enables the identification of the right districts and urban areas to appoint dealerships, prioritize efforts, and motivate sales teams. It further enables the comparison of the difference between current sales efforts and those that are more in line with the demographics and market size characteristics.

For the sales teams located in particular districts and towns it enables the better identification of locations where new efforts need to be started and where older channels need to be strengthened. Most importantly, it provides a benchmark against which to compare current strengths and weaknesses of their sales channels.

For smaller firms and individual entrepreneurs it enables a more in-depth focus into different local markets than is currently available. Zonal and state perspectives are available from other publications and sources as well. However, smaller businesses require a more local perspective. The emphasis on district and even sub-district in all states and UTs of India enables them to further identify where they need to expand their marketing/sales channels and efforts.

However

Market research might be a science, but we believe that marketing is an art. Quantitative information is but one pillar on which it rests. And however good its quality might be, it cannot substitute for intuitive and qualitative understanding of the local markets and consumers. Moreover, many consumer characteristics are product specific that are not covered here. Fine details on specific local markets and/or consumer characteristics can only be obtained from good primary research involving on-the-filed primary data collection. This book therefore stands between fine consumer-local market specific research and macro studies. It is designed as one aid in obtaining an overview of the local markets across the country.

We are open to, and welcome, suggestions and will incorporate those possible in the next edition of the Indicus Consume  Market Report. 

http://www.indiaeducationstat.com/india/publication/introduction.htm

MGI's analysis shows that if India continues on its current high-growth path, over the next two decades the Indian market will undergo a major transformation. Income levels will almost triple, and India will climb from its position as the twelfth-largest consumer market today to become the world's fifth-largest consumer market by 2025.

As Indian incomes rise, the shape of the country's income pyramid will also change dramatically. Over 291 million people will move from desperate poverty to a more sustainable life, and India's middle class will swell by more than ten times from its current size of 50 million to 583 million people. By 2025 over 23 million Indians—more than the population of Australia today—will number among the country's wealthiest citizens

The geographic pattern of India's income and consumption growth will shift too. By 2025 the Indian consumer market will largely be an urban story, with 62 percent of consumption in urban areas versus 42 percent today.  While much of this new wealth and consumption will be created in urban areas, rural households will benefit, with annual real rural income growth per household accelerating from 2.8 percent over the past two decades to 3.6 percent over the next two.

Indian spending patterns will also evolve, with basic necessities such as food and apparel declining in relative importance and categories such as communications and health care growing rapidly.

The upcoming changes in the Indian consumer market will create major opportunities and challenges for Indian and multinational companies alike. Businesses that can meet the needs of India's aspiring middle class, keep price points low to reflect the realities of Indian incomes, build brand loyalty in new consumers, and adapt to a fast changing market environment will find substantial rewards in India's rapidly growing consumer market.  Likewise, India's policymakers will be challenged to keep India on the path of economic reform while addressing major challenges in infrastructure and social investment. The rewards, however, will be substantial progress in poverty reduction and a rising standard of living for much of India's population.
 
Launch this chapter (PDF - 1.80 MB)
http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/india_consumer_market/executive_summary.asp

Consumer 2.0

Volume no. 2, Issue 5, February 2009

From around India

Biyani slows expansion plans
Pantaloon Retail, which houses the Future Group's main formats such as Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Food Bazaar and Central, had plans for a total space of 14.69 million sq ft by financial year 2009 and 19.25 million by FY10, according to analysts tracking the company. Now, Pantaloon Retail is expected to end its ongoing financial year, which ends on June 30, with a total space of 12 million square feet.

Retail loan rates may dip to 3-yr low on cooling inflation
This is expected to spur demand in housing and other rate-sensitive sectors such as automobiles. It would also help provide some support to declining demand as it could increase consumption in general. 

India auto sales slide 7.4 per cent in January
India's auto sector skidded into deeper trouble in January, with domestic vehicle sales falling 7.4 per cent from a year ago to 768,622 units as tight credit and slowing growth dampened demand, an industry body said Monday.

LG plans to double handsets mkt share
LG lords over 27 per cent of the Rs 32,000-crore per annum Indian consumer electronics market. Starting from scratch about 12 years ago, it now enjoys almost universal brand recall in the country. 

Kingston records impressive growth in 08, charts plans for 09
Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, announced impressive 2008 business growth in India, recording over 300% growth in

Bajaj to launch KTM bike by mid-2009
for Bajaj Auto, excitement with the niche high-end bikes will begin in mid-May, when the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is expected to hit the roads. Its price tag is expected to be in the range of Rs 2.5-3 lakh, company officials said.

Hyundai launches new Verna in 4 variants
The new Verna range includes two petrol variants - 1.6 VTVT & 1.6 SX VTVT - and two diesel variants - 1.5 CRDi VGT & 1.5 SX CRDi VGT. 

IDFC Mutual Fund launches India GDP Growth Fundv
The scheme aims to capture the growth in India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The scheme would endeavour to represent the growth in GDP by capturing the growth in the constituents of the GDP.

Beam Global launches premium single malt whisky Ardmore
Ardmore will be available at general liquor shops in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to begin with and will be priced between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,500, the company said in a statement.

Household structures in India
Nuclear, joint or extended families? Which segment dominates and what are the trends? The bulk of Indian households in both rural and urban areas are nuclear. Extended families (where parents stay with a married child) are the next in importance – fastest growing segment. Large joint families are an insignificant percentage. The trends indicate rising share of extended families, which are likely to have far reaching implications on consumer behaviour.

The bulk of Indian households in both rural and urban areas are nuclear Extended families (where parents stay with a married child) are the next in importance – fastest growing segment Large joint families are an insignificant percentage

household

  Know about Indicus Products here

Bleak near term outlook for Commercial Vehicles

The SIAM Conclave in February revealed the bleak outlook for commercial vehicles. Things are expected to get worse in the near term. Some takeaways
Booz & Co – Base forecast for Medium and Heavy CVs – unit sales to dip from 260,000 units in 2008 to 180,000 in 2009 before a slow recovery to 250,000 in 2012 ICICI Bank – All CVs unit sales expected to dip from 488,000 in 2007-08 to 368,000 in 2008-09 and recovering to 490,000 in 20010-11. Industry expects HCVs and MCVs to lead the downturn and only SCVs and LCVs are expected to display positive growth.

HT Covers Indicus Consumer Handbook

household

Insights from Indicus

Delusional about growth!

Rate cuts

Cap on the number of Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP)licences: Defies the logic of the market

Continuing Opportunities in the Indian Financial Sector

Consumer Demography and Markets in Top cities of India

Monetary policy in uncharted territory

"Clean" Coal for power generation

Middle and lower middle income segment is driving housing demand

From around the world

Barclays' stressed assets rise in India
The Indian unit of Barclays Plc., the third biggest UK bank by assets, is facing pressure from increasing bad debt that's pushed up the British bank's impairment charges for 2008.

Consumer Confidence Index Hits Historic Lows
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in December, inched further downward in January and remains at a historic low of 37.7 (1985=100), down from (an upwardly revised) 38.6 in December

Consumer confidence among upstate New Yorkers rose for the fourth consecutive month in January
"Buoyed by the new administration's commitment to economic stimulus as well as advertisers' sales drumbeat, current consumer confidence climbed cautiously this month among increasingly resigned New Yorkers," said Douglas Lonnstrom, SRI's founding director, in a news release.

Jobs: Map shows states hit hardest; forecasts for rebound
Every U.S. state and 95% of the nation's metropolitan areas will end 2009 with fewer jobs than they started with, while only two sectors — education and health services, and government — will add workers.

Consumer buying makes up 70 percent of economy
The rate has wavered. In 1929, the year the Great Depression began, consumer spending was nearly 75 percent of the nation's economy, a share that grew to 83 percent in 1932 as business spending shrank

Consumers Still Buying Green Through Economic Changes
Most consumers have not cut back their spending on green products, according to a new survey.

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Global search engine Google said it would not censor content on its network but would act swiftly to redress any complaint. Cyber attack | World of browsers

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Yashwant Sinha to remain in party

Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, who has resigned from all his party positions, on Sunday clarified that he would remain in the party to serve the people of his constituency.

Police suspect atomic scientist committed suicide

Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
BANGALORE: Karnataka police on Sunday said they suspect that Kaiga atomic power plant scientific officer Loganathan Mahalingam, 47, had committed suicide by jumping into the swollen Kali river on June 8 when he was reported missing.

Mamata orders 'high' food prices to be cut in new train

Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
HOWRAH (West Bengal): Railways minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday publicly disagreed with the prices fixed for food items on board a new express train and asked the officials to reduce the rates.

Mumbai police chief Gafoor replaced

Hindu - ‎18 hours ago‎
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, under fire for his leadership of the force during the November 2008 Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks, has been moved to Maharashtra's Police Housing Department.

Attack on students in Australia cause for concern: Tharoor

Hindu - ‎6 hours ago‎
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Attack on Indian students in Australia was causing a great deal of concern but India did not want to view the situation as a problem between the two countries, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said here on ...

Ice breaker: Indian envoy, Pak minister hold talks

Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI: In the run-up to the first summit-level handshake between Manmohan Singh and Asif Zardari in Yekaterinburg, India's envoy to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal met Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik on Saturday to discuss Pakistani ...

Paswan opposes women's bill in present form

Hindu - ‎3 hours ago‎
New Delhi (PTI): The LJP on Sunday joined the bandwagon of parties opposing the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form and demanded provision for "sub-quota" for dalits, backwards and minorities.

Poll debacle: CPI(M) top brass may face cadre wrath

Hindu - ‎6 hours ago‎
New Delhi (PTI): The CPI(M) top brass may face the wrath of party cadre at the Central Committee meeting here later this week on issues ranging from infighting and corruption to withdrawal of support to the UPA and the Third Front issue.
No VS at EMS centenary Indian Express

Smooth sailing for CM in Aila zone

Times of India - ‎15 hours ago‎
HINGALGANJ (North 24-Parganas): Twelve hundred villagers packed into 10 houses as all other huts in the village have been washed away.

Congress to go it alone in 2010 Assembly polls in Bihar: Ahmed

Hindu - ‎1 hour ago‎
Patna (PTI) Asserting that its vote share had increased in the last general elections in Bihar, the Congress on Sunday said it would have no truck with Lalu Prasad's RJD in future in the state and would go it alone in the assembly polls due in 2010.

Heavy rain, snow casts shadow over Amarnath pilgrimage

Times of India - ‎9 hours ago‎
JAMMU/SRINAGAR: A day before the annual Hindu pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir begins, the weather gods turned whimsical, lashing the region with continuous rain and snowfall on Sunday.

Meira should quit party while holding Speaker's post: Somnath

Hindu - ‎4 hours ago‎
New Delhi (PTI): Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Sunday suggested that incumbent Meira Kumar should quit her party while holding the post, saying that political affiliation should not lead to "conflict of interest".

There will be gradual removal of troops from inhabited areas ...

Hindu - ‎Jun 12, 2009‎
SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday said he would look into the issue of withdrawal of the Armed Special Forces Powers Act (AFSPA) and that there would be gradual removal of troops from inhabited areas.

All-round development for a better state

Times of India - ‎18 hours ago‎
BANGALORE: The government will focus on rural prosperity and creating job-oriented skills, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has said.

CBI pressurising me to confess; Patil, remand till June 20

Press Trust of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
Panvel (Maharashtra), June 14 (PTI) NCP leader Padamsinh Patil, arrested in connection with the murder of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, has accused the CBI of pressurising him to confessing to the crime and undergo scientific tests even as the ...

Boyfriend admits he pushed Sameera off Charminar

Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎
HYDERABAD: It seems jealousy not debt was the motive in Sameera Begum's tragic death. The 18-year-old was allegedly pushed off the Charminar by her boyfriend on Thursday.
Minar death Calcutta Telegraph

Memorable four-year stay in India: Tajik GCs

Chandigarh Tribune - ‎19 hours ago‎
It was an emotional moment for the nine Gentleman Cadets (GC) of Tajikistan who passed out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) today.

Let's meet 100-day target: PM to team

Times of India - ‎Jun 11, 2009‎
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday asked his team of officers to improve delivery of the government's 100-day checklist by reducing red tape and seeking wider feedback even as reform of health and education sectors were identified as ...

Thailand promises equal education to all children

Mizzima.com - ‎Jun 12, 2009‎
by Usa Pichai Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Chaiwut Bannawat, Thailand's Deputy Education Minister on Friday said the government will introduce a new policy of providing equal educational opportunities to all children in the Kingdom including over 100000 ...

OFB scandal will lead to delays in artillery modernisation: Army

Times of India - ‎Jun 12, 2009‎
NEW DELHI: The Army on Friday admitted that the blacklisting of Singapore Technologies (ST) and six other companies in the corruption scandal surrounding former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chairman Sudipto Ghosh would hit its already delayed artillery ...

Bing comes with a bang into search business

Hindu - ‎20 hours ago‎
KOCHI/CHENNAI: In Chinese, it means a certain answer, or response to a query. It is also short, easy to spell and say and more attractive than 'Live Search.

Aamir: I was inspired by Arnold

Times of India - ‎4 hours ago‎
I have been bodybuilding for two years but have not been able to achieve the desired results. After reading your blog, I realised I was over-exercising and hardly resting.

Police suspect atomic scientist committed suicide

Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
BANGALORE: Karnataka police on Sunday said they suspect that Kaiga atomic power plant scientific officer Loganathan Mahalingam, 47, had committed suicide by jumping into the swollen Kali river on June 8 when he was reported missing.

No fraud in Iranian elections: Ahmadinejad

Times of India - ‎1 hour ago‎
TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday rejected the opposition's claims of electoral fraud, saying his re-election was "real and free" and could not be questioned.

Love epic tops Bollywood awards

BBC News - ‎17 minutes ago‎
The Indian historical film Jodhaa Akbar, about a Muslim-Hindu relationship, has dominated an Indian film awards ceremony, with six prizes.

BJP in generational battle

Sify - ‎42 minutes ago‎
New Delhi: A month after its stunning election defeat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which once took pride in its disciplined cadre, has its top leaders tearing at one another in a blame game that is seen as a power struggle between two generations ...

Mumbai Police chief transferred for role in 26/11

Sify - ‎6 hours ago‎
Mumbai, June 13(ANI): Following severe criticism for failing to take charge during the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor was on Saturday transferred as Director General (Housing) of Maharashtra Police.

Airbus Warns Output Could Drop as Much as 25% in 2010 and 2011

New York Times - ‎2 hours ago‎
By NICOLA CLARK PARIS - Airbus executives warned over the weekend that output at their European factories could fall by as much as one-fourth over the next two years as the aircraft maker and its suppliers adjust to the sharp drop in air traffic and ...

Saving Satyam's investors

Sify - ‎6 hours ago‎
The rapidity with which the stock market has marked up the price of Satyam Computer after its 'provisional' financials were revealed, raises one critical question.

Mamata orders 'high' food prices to be cut in new train

Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
HOWRAH (West Bengal): Railways minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday publicly disagreed with the prices fixed for food items on board a new express train and asked the officials to reduce the rates.

Tiger prisoner describes end of the war

BBC News - ‎16 hours ago‎
By Saroj Pathirana A former prisoner of war of the Tamil Tigers who managed to escape days before their final defeat has denied reports that he was used to carry a surrender message from the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) leadership.

Ashutosh Kaushik arrested for drunk driving

Daily News & Analysis - ‎4 hours ago‎
Mumbai: Winner of reality shows Big Boss and MTV Roadies, Ashutosh Kaushik was caught by the traffic police for drunk driving in Andheri Friday night.

Ferguson expected Ronaldo to go

BBC Sport - ‎4 hours ago‎
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he was resigned to seeing Cristiano Ronaldo leave Old Trafford. The 24-year-old Portuguese winger is poised to complete a record £80m move to Real Madrid, with reports suggesting the deal has long been ...
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Attack on students in Australia cause for concern: Tharoor

Hindu - ‎6 hours ago‎
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Attack on Indian students in Australia was causing a great deal of concern but India did not want to view the situation as a problem between the two countries, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said here on ...

Class Advantage: Honda's new hatchback Jazz

Economic Times - ‎18 hours ago‎
Jazz is not just a simple name that inspires life. Coming in a small size, Honda's new hatchback offering is loaded with features but comes with a heavy price tag of Rs 7 lakh.

ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009 / News

CricInfo.com - ‎40 minutes ago‎
Australia undid a gutsy batting effort from West Indies, beating them comfortably by eight wickets in Taunton. Australia also boosted their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, recovering well from the defeat to New Zealand earlier in the ...

New ARM chips headed for iPhone, Palm Pre?

CNET News - ‎Jun 13, 2009‎
by Brooke Crothers ARM, the company that designs chips for the world's smartphones, said handset makers will deliver the first models using more than one processor core next year, as high-end mobile phones begin to mimic the hardware attributes of PCs.

Younus rallies team for Ireland clash

The Press Association - ‎1 hour ago‎
Pakistan captain Younus Khan has urged his side to "crush" Ireland and book their place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20.

Pak tribal warlord vows to take on Baitullah Mehsud

Indian Express - ‎4 hours ago‎
A top Pakistani tribal leader has vowed to wipe out the feared warlord Baitullah Mehsud. A top Pakistani tribal leader has vowed to wipe out the feared warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who has pushed Pakistan close to collapse.

Biden: Important to enforce NKorean sanctions

The Associated Press - ‎32 minutes ago‎
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday committed the US to enforcing new UN penalties against North Korea while acknowledging that "God only knows" what ruler Kim Jong Il wants from the latest showdown.

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