The two different books positioning and differentiation says the same thing. The book by Jack Trout on differentiation – Differentiate or Die is repackaging of his book coauthored with Al Ries on positioning – Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. In my views when Jack Trout separated from Al Ries wrote Differentiate or Die to position Trout & Partners Ltd. Truly a positioning genius. I strongly believe that it hardly matters what you call the activity of buying share of consumer mind – positioning or differentiation you are doing same thing.
Brand managers across globe are busy differentiating their products or say working hard to position them. However, the major problems with most of the companies are that they don’t understand the concept of differentiation or positioning. In most of the cases they work on differentiation for the sake of differentiation. The situations in a few cases are so grim that some brand managers really don’t know the difference between a name and a brand. Addressing similar situation, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott says that If you don’t keep giving customers reasons to buy from you, they won’t. Awareness is absolutely worthless if it doesn’t lead to sales. In my views one can’t blame the brand manager solely for the problem. The problem of positioning also depends on the proliferation of me-too products. Today any company can come out with almost similar product that their competitors have within a few days.
The brand managers of successful brands take their brand for granted. They don’t work on them regularly and as a result the charisma of brand goes down. It is vital to remember that even the strongest brands don’t stay their way without working on them regularly. They need repositioning or for your convenience you may call it brand maintenance. The brand needs to be renewed or redefined constantly, else it will die.
The market analyst firm also correlate branding with the data analysis and ROI of marketing; and few other marketers believe that it’s advertising which position products. In my vies branding is not only about advertising and data analysis – it’s also about understanding how consumer lives are changing and how is it impacting consumer preferences. I believe branding is also about developing and implementing strategy which is grounded on a deep understanding of consumers that connects companies. Authors, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott in their book The End of Advertising as We Know It says that Advertising is a lot more than just television commercials – it includes branding, packaging, celebrity spokespersons, sponsorships, publicity, customer service, the way you treat your employees, and even the way your secretary answers the phone.
Parsvnath SEZ Ltd. appoints three independent directors
Parsvnath Developers Limited is one of the leading real estate companies in India. The Parsvnath Group has a diverse business portfolio of commercial complexes, shopping malls, integrated townships and group housing. Besides strengthening its position in core operations of real estate, Parsvnath Developers is striving to bradbase its product offerings by catering to emerging markets and segments
Parsvnath SEZ Ltd. plans to develop 17 SEZ, having a total saleable area of 367 million sq ft, in various segments like pharma, gems and jewellery, IT/ITES, biotech, handicrafts, leather, food processing and automotive sectors apart from multi-product SEZs. Out of the planned SEZs, four have already been notified by the Centre at Indore, Gurgaon, Dehra Dun and Nanded. Parsvnath Developers has appointed R J Kamath, D N Davar and B K Goswami as independent directors of Parsvnath SEZ Ltd.
D N Davar is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers and a fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. He was also the former Chairman of IFCI Ltd, the company said in a statement.
B K Goswami, prior to joining Parsvnath has worked at apex levels with the Centre, state governments and several other government undertakings, it added.
R J Kamath, is former Chairman of the Andhra Bank and Canara Bank.
Parsvnath SEZ Ltd. plans to develop 17 SEZ, having a total saleable area of 367 million sq ft, in various segments like pharma, gems and jewellery, IT/ITES, biotech, handicrafts, leather, food processing and automotive sectors apart from multi-product SEZs. Out of the planned SEZs, four have already been notified by the Centre at Indore, Gurgaon, Dehra Dun and Nanded. Parsvnath Developers has appointed R J Kamath, D N Davar and B K Goswami as independent directors of Parsvnath SEZ Ltd.
D N Davar is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers and a fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. He was also the former Chairman of IFCI Ltd, the company said in a statement.
B K Goswami, prior to joining Parsvnath has worked at apex levels with the Centre, state governments and several other government undertakings, it added.
R J Kamath, is former Chairman of the Andhra Bank and Canara Bank.
The Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding
Harley Davidson, Volkswagen Beetle, Star Trek, Apple Computers evokes passion in their customers and command loyalty. They are called a cult brand. The cult brand stood the test of time, which includes adverse market conditions, merely through the support of loyal customers.
Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno in his book, The Power of Cult Branding goes into depth to distinguish between harmful and benign cults. The authors outlines The Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding which postulates the basic rules that cult brands consciously follow to build and sustain their status in the minds of their followers:
Rule 1. The Rule of Social Groups: Cult brands give people the opportunity to become part of social groups – groups of like-minded people who prefer being different Just like HOG.
Rule 2. The Rule of Courage: Creators of cult brands tend to be fighters and winners. It helps brand knock people’s general attitude and liking to be associated with winners. The owners of the cult brand portray an attitude of brazen courage and adventure.
Rule 3. The Rule of Fun: nothing can match the taste of freedom and independence. Cult brands offer their customers an opportunity to pursue and satisfy their innate passions, thus taking their minds away from the serious responsibilities of life.
Rule 4. The Rule of Human Needs: Cult brand focus on the needs of their existing customers and give regard to their feedback, rather than expending energy to win new customers. Cult brand work on enriching the customer experience and treat the customers as King. The cult brand offers every person wants to be heard and feels happy when their opinion is valued.
Rule 5. The Rule of Contribution: Cult brands believe in giving back to their customers the profits they generate to develop and support customer communities, thus forging lifetime relations with them.
Rule 6. The Rule of Openness: Cult brands are open to one and all i.e., they are indifferent to caste, creed, socio-economic backgrounds of customers, etc. they do not discriminate among customers. They fulfill the human desire of caring, sharing, bearing and belonging.
Rule 7. The Rule of Freedom: Cult brands promote the underlying themes of freedom and non-conformity with memorable sensory experiences.
Through meticulous research and scores of interviews Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno have uncovered the remarkable and untold stories behind nine very successful cult brands. The nine brands are Star Trek, Harley-Davidson, Oprah Winfrey, World Wrestling Entertainment, Apple, Volkswagen Beetle, Jimmy Buffett, Vans Shoes, and Linux.
Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno in his book, The Power of Cult Branding goes into depth to distinguish between harmful and benign cults. The authors outlines The Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding which postulates the basic rules that cult brands consciously follow to build and sustain their status in the minds of their followers:
Rule 1. The Rule of Social Groups: Cult brands give people the opportunity to become part of social groups – groups of like-minded people who prefer being different Just like HOG.
Rule 2. The Rule of Courage: Creators of cult brands tend to be fighters and winners. It helps brand knock people’s general attitude and liking to be associated with winners. The owners of the cult brand portray an attitude of brazen courage and adventure.
Rule 3. The Rule of Fun: nothing can match the taste of freedom and independence. Cult brands offer their customers an opportunity to pursue and satisfy their innate passions, thus taking their minds away from the serious responsibilities of life.
Rule 4. The Rule of Human Needs: Cult brand focus on the needs of their existing customers and give regard to their feedback, rather than expending energy to win new customers. Cult brand work on enriching the customer experience and treat the customers as King. The cult brand offers every person wants to be heard and feels happy when their opinion is valued.
Rule 5. The Rule of Contribution: Cult brands believe in giving back to their customers the profits they generate to develop and support customer communities, thus forging lifetime relations with them.
Rule 6. The Rule of Openness: Cult brands are open to one and all i.e., they are indifferent to caste, creed, socio-economic backgrounds of customers, etc. they do not discriminate among customers. They fulfill the human desire of caring, sharing, bearing and belonging.
Rule 7. The Rule of Freedom: Cult brands promote the underlying themes of freedom and non-conformity with memorable sensory experiences.
Through meticulous research and scores of interviews Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno have uncovered the remarkable and untold stories behind nine very successful cult brands. The nine brands are Star Trek, Harley-Davidson, Oprah Winfrey, World Wrestling Entertainment, Apple, Volkswagen Beetle, Jimmy Buffett, Vans Shoes, and Linux.
Film insurance in India
In December 1998, after signing the deal for Taal with Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd, United India Insurance had approached a few London and Tokyo based insurance companies to re-insure the film. The re-insurer refused to re-insure Indian films, citing the complete lack of accountability in film production in India. The re-insure were looking for a commercially viable project, backed by detailed reports regarding the risks involved, the financing of the project and completion schedule etc. However, the issue of financing was found to be the biggest stumbling block for the development of the film insurance industry in India. The hesitance of the foreign insurance companies was completely justified as the Indian film industry was completely unorganized. Those were the days when the distributors, music companies and financiers were the major sources of funds for the film industry. The other prominent source of financing were financiers such as diamond merchants, brokers, builders and other cash rich businessmen, charged very high interest rates, generally in the range of 36-48% per annum. The cheapest source of financing for the film industry was underworld mafia.
The problem ended In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry.
The Cine Mukta Policy
In the history of Indian Film Industry, Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd produced Taal was the first Hindi film to be insured. United India Insurance drafted the policy from scratch and honored producer-director Subhash Ghai with naming the policy The Cine Mukta Policy. The film insurance can not be standardized it is dynamic. The structure of the film insurance mostly depends on the film. A production house can take part insurance or can also insure entire film.
The insurance premium also depends on various factors. A film where large sets had to be put up, the policy would be heavy on insurance for properties and sets, a film shot in a single room/bungalow etc., insurance on the properties and sets could be completely avoided. A film where the actors performed dangerous stunts, extra insurance had to be taken. The insuring companies do not cover pre and post-production problems, box office results and the loss of profits.
Aishwarya Rai Effect
In June 2000, Aishwarya Rai met with an accident. The accident costed United India Insurance, a sum of only INR 1.6 million but it attracted substantial media coverage as it was the first instance of the Hindi film industry availing the benefits of film insurance. The film insurance was the in thing for the film Industry. United India Insurance, piggyback on the Aishwarya Rai Effect by July 2001, had insured around 8-10 films, for sums varying from INR 25 million to INR 220 million. The insured films included YashRaj Films – Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan Productions – Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Dreamz Unlimited’s – Asoka.
The credit for pioneering the film insurance business in India goes to the producer-director Subhash Ghai. He was the first Indian filmmaker to insure his film Taal. The landmark film Taal was insured for a sum of INR 110 million with United India Insurance in 1998. The move was welcomed by both media and film personalities as opening of a new chapter in the Indian film industry.
The problem ended In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry.
The Cine Mukta Policy
In the history of Indian Film Industry, Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd produced Taal was the first Hindi film to be insured. United India Insurance drafted the policy from scratch and honored producer-director Subhash Ghai with naming the policy The Cine Mukta Policy. The film insurance can not be standardized it is dynamic. The structure of the film insurance mostly depends on the film. A production house can take part insurance or can also insure entire film.
The insurance premium also depends on various factors. A film where large sets had to be put up, the policy would be heavy on insurance for properties and sets, a film shot in a single room/bungalow etc., insurance on the properties and sets could be completely avoided. A film where the actors performed dangerous stunts, extra insurance had to be taken. The insuring companies do not cover pre and post-production problems, box office results and the loss of profits.
Aishwarya Rai Effect
In June 2000, Aishwarya Rai met with an accident. The accident costed United India Insurance, a sum of only INR 1.6 million but it attracted substantial media coverage as it was the first instance of the Hindi film industry availing the benefits of film insurance. The film insurance was the in thing for the film Industry. United India Insurance, piggyback on the Aishwarya Rai Effect by July 2001, had insured around 8-10 films, for sums varying from INR 25 million to INR 220 million. The insured films included YashRaj Films – Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan Productions – Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Dreamz Unlimited’s – Asoka.
The credit for pioneering the film insurance business in India goes to the producer-director Subhash Ghai. He was the first Indian filmmaker to insure his film Taal. The landmark film Taal was insured for a sum of INR 110 million with United India Insurance in 1998. The move was welcomed by both media and film personalities as opening of a new chapter in the Indian film industry.
Google – search engine
Google was the largest and the most versatile search engine on the Internet. The search engine had a robust workload and query-processing abilities. Realizing the importance of a fast, scalable search engine, Google employed linked PCs to quickly find the results of a query. This resulted in faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs. Google used PageRank10 and Hypertext-Matching Analysis11 technologies to provide fast and accurate results. Besides, it employed special software robots called Spiders that built a list of important key words found in the millions of websites on the Internet. This process of automated listing was called web crawling.
About 95% of Google’s revenue came from advertisements, primarily through its two popular offerings, AdWord and AdSense.
About 95% of Google’s revenue came from advertisements, primarily through its two popular offerings, AdWord and AdSense.
Yahoo– search engine
Yahoo pioneered the online commercial directory concept when it first launched the service in 1994 but did not pay much attention to search services during its initial days, preferring to source it from other parties like Open Text, Alta Vista, Inktomi and eventually, Google. Yahoo realized the importance of search engines in the late 90s when they
gained prominence and started affecting e-commerce to a level that almost a third of online ad revenues were generated through them.
Yahoo started focusing on search engine business starting October 2002, by outsourcing the service to Google. The purchase of Inktomi for $235 million in late 2002 and subsequently Overture in October 2003 (for $ 1.6 billion) made Yahoo the owner of two of the largest and the oldest of the commercial paid search services. This also gave Yahoo 100 billion new users and the capability to promote its own internal search engine through innovative advertising solutions that competed with Google’s AdWords and AdSense programs.
In February 2004, Yahoo scrapped its relations with Google and began using its own search engine instead. The Cable News Network (CNN), the leading media giant, replaced Google for Yahoo in May 2004 to provide algorithmic and paid results to its users.
gained prominence and started affecting e-commerce to a level that almost a third of online ad revenues were generated through them.
Yahoo started focusing on search engine business starting October 2002, by outsourcing the service to Google. The purchase of Inktomi for $235 million in late 2002 and subsequently Overture in October 2003 (for $ 1.6 billion) made Yahoo the owner of two of the largest and the oldest of the commercial paid search services. This also gave Yahoo 100 billion new users and the capability to promote its own internal search engine through innovative advertising solutions that competed with Google’s AdWords and AdSense programs.
In February 2004, Yahoo scrapped its relations with Google and began using its own search engine instead. The Cable News Network (CNN), the leading media giant, replaced Google for Yahoo in May 2004 to provide algorithmic and paid results to its users.
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