MxMIndia

Tag: IAA Awardwinners

  • Arun Srinivas, vice president, skincare and make-up, HUL, won Marketer of the year: Personal Care

    Meet the IAA Awardwinners-6: Arun Srinivas

    Arun Srinivas, vice president, skincare and make-up, HUL, was awarded Marketer of the year: Personal Care at the IAA Leadership Awards held last week. Here he spoke with RITU MIDHA minutes after receiving the award from I&B Minister Manish Tewari

     

    What would you say is key to HUL’s marketing excellence?

    At HUL it is always consumer first – and that has resulted in in them being with us for decades and more.

     

    This award is a testimony of effort that people have put in across the teams – and is a motivation for us to sustain performances like this.

     

    Do you see the growth for personal care products coming from rural areas or urban ones?

    Penetration of personal care categories in rural areas and small markets would be on the rise as they become more and more affluent. Equally there is opportunity in larger cities and metros because our per capita consumption in many of these categories is still very low compared to even other developing nations.

     

    There is a real task of building relevance for these categories, more so in smaller towns and rural areas – and that would bring in growth.

     

    What would be a bigger growth possibility for HUL – market expansion or eating into competition’ share?

    In personal care it is still about growing the market, and widening the market size – and depth in terms of rural access etc.

     

  • Chandramouli Venkatesan, Executive director Chocolates & Biscuits, Cadbury India. Marketer of the year: FMCG – Food & Beverages

    Meet the IAA Awardwinners-5: Chandramouli Venkatesan

    Chandramouli Venkatesan, Executive director Chocolates & Biscuits, Cadbury India was awarded Marketer of the year: FMCG – Food & Beverages at the IAA Leadership Awards last week. He spoke with RITU MIDHA soon after receiving the award.

     

    What would you attribute this award to?

    When you put in effort, you do not do it for awards. However, when you win the awards – the recognition definitely makes you feel good.

     

    As for this award specially, It is an honour to get this award – as you are nominated and awarded by very competent peer group. Cadbury is an excellent brand to work for – which is much liked by the consumers. We have an excellent time and partners – and together we are quite effective.

     

    You have worked with smaller or younger brands earlier – how does your experience in Cadbury differ from them?

    It ultimately boils down to the task – there are different kinds of tasks.  While in some cases, you are fighting competitive challenge, in others you are working towards growing the category in the country. For instance, in case of chocolates – though it is a very strong market, one still needs to grow the market. Nature of challenge varies – but all jobs are challenging. I do not think there is any easy job there.

     

    You are speaking of category expansion – to what extent is it possible to expand the market?

    Per capita consumption in India is 110 grams, in developed world it is 10 kilgrams – so we are 100th per capita of developed world – so there is a very very long way to go – and opportunities are immense. Hence, as market leaders our focus continues to be expansion of the category.

     

    What would be the key growth segment for Cadburys?

    Our focus is three tiered. There are opportunities in all segments – be it rural, urban or upper end market.

     

    Do you see rural consumer contributing here?

    Rural is actually very strong. Overall economic development and information and awareness explosion – thanks to media penetration is very strong, has led to rural consumer demanding and consuming better quality products.

     

  • Quick chat with Anuradha Agarwal, Senior VP, Brand Communications, Insights & Online at Vodafone India

    Meet the IAA Awardwinners-4 | Anuradha Agarwal

    Anuradha Agarwal, Senior VP, Brand Communications, Insights & Online at Vodafone India was adjudged the Telecom Marketer of the Year at the IAA Leadership Awards held last Saturday. Excerpts from a quick chat with MxMIndia’s Ritu Midha

     

    What is the key to marketing success?

    For service sector, more so in telecom – it is consumer engagement and satisfaction. We have an excellent team and partners – people have really liked our services and communication, and it sure has helped in connecting with consumers.

     

    We really do whatever it takes to keep the customer happy – be it the quality of network, quality of services or quality of customer care.

     

    As an outsider, what one largely notices is advertising – what else constitutes effective marketing for a telecom brand?

    Advertising is just the tip of the iceberg. A large number of things go in marketing of a telecom brand. We have 150 million customers – and not all of them can be reached through advertising – advertising is more of a brand building activity.

     

    We do segmented offers, targeted and point of-sale activities, new offers, new tariff plans, specialised offers – depending on where the consumers are located – what their requirements and needs are. We even strive to fulfil consumers’ unfulfilled needs – for instance mobile internet. Key here was to provide it in such a way that even consumers from a not very evolved educated world can take advantage of them.

     

    Do you believe mobile Internet in country has a large scope?

    Our belief is that in near future, the Internet revolution in the country would be led by mobile. A number of people in our country, unlike the Western world, experience Internet on the mobile first. We need to be ready as an organisation and as an industry that consumer needs are met in terms of discovering content and services.

     

    Would you say the same is true of rural markets as well? Would language not be a barrier there?

    It is true of every customer everywhere who can actually get on to the Internet and watch a little video, listen to the music or get some information.

     

    If Gangnam style can be successful across the world it clearly tells you that Internet has no language barrier. There is a lot of audio visual content that goes on – and it would make sure that language is no barrier.

     

    How important is the role that digital marketing plays in your strategy?

    We always believe that we must go where the customers are. As a company, we have used digital extensively in the last few years – and as more and more consumers move to the Net – we would be there to interact with them. We have always been doing things to engage customers on the Internet rather than informing them because it is a different medium, and needs to be treated differently.

     

    Coming back to mobile consumption, do you think there is still a need for educating consumers?

    There are different kinds of customers. It is the classic adaptation curve – some people are ahead of the curve and some people are still catching up. There are new technologies of phones, and devices – and people are coming to terms with what a phone can do. It may be education of a different kind – maybe not the basic education but about the possibilities – and what is the next big thing.

     

  • That Star India had a brilliant run in 2012 was proved once again when the broadcast major was declared winner in Marketer of the Year: Media & Entertainment category at the inaugural IAA Leadership Awards held recently in Mumbai

    Meet the IAA Awardwinners-3 | Differentiation is not enough: Gayatri Yadav

    The recipient of the Marketer of the Year for the media and entertainment category, Gayatri Yadav, Executive vice president, Marketing & Communications at Star India, chose to downplay her role in the award and instead credited the team. MxMIndia’s Johnson Napier caught up with Ms Yadav soon after she received the metal from I&B Minister Manish Tewari to gather her reactions on the win and more.

     

    What are your initial reactions to the inaugural Leadership Awards instituted by the IAA?

    This is a fantastic initiative where they’ve managed to get three different disciplines together; it’s something I have not seen anyone else do. The organizers need to be applauded.

     

    The line-up of shortlists under your category comprised the who’s who from Media, most of whom shone brightly with their performance last year. What worked in Star India’s favour?

    Where the award is concerned, I think it belongs to the whole team at Star and not to any one individual. What makes the media as a discipline challenging from a marketing perspective is two aspects: one is that it is a very dynamic category in the world. As a category this is the only one that undergoes a change almost every day. You may have categories like Telecom etc where the pricing and other such factors may change but the product doesn’t see any fundamental change. Media is the only category whose dynamics change every day when you’re catering to the consumer. The other aspect is that the consumer always has infinite choices at his/her disposal and unless you have something exciting to offer them they won’t stay loyal.

     

    What would be your advice to fellow marketers so that they’re ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow?

    There has to be a relentless focus today on knowing who your consumer is and what they aspire to be tomorrow. And, differentiation is not enough; it is necessary for one to disrupt. Whoever follows these precepts will emerge winners in the long run.

     

  • Anil Dua, Senior Vice President – Marketing and Sales, Winner – marketer of the year – 2-wheeler

    Meet the IAA Awardwinners-2 | Every year is action-packed: Anil Dua

    By A Correspondent

     

    How has the two wheeler category been performing – and how would you rate Honda Motcop’s performance vis-à-vis the industry?

    Two wheeler category, this year, has been subdued. Two wheeler industry is used to of double digit growth. Last year it was 15%, and year before that 24%. The growth this year, so far, has been 4 to 5%. But the market sentiment is good, and things are going to look up.

     

    As far as Hero is concerned, we just finished January – where we have recorded our highest ever numbers.

     

    Would you say major growth for two-wheelers would now come from rural markets?

    Whether the growth comes from rural and small town markets, or from metros is very product specific. If you look at some of our products like Impulse, pleasure, Ignite – urban areas are contributing majorly more so from small towns. As for rural areas – they are not highly penetrated, and hence there is far more scope. If monsoons are good – leading to good agricultural growth, and good fund flow, and infrastructure development – then certainly rural areas would drive growth.

     

    Can you share your plans for higher end brands and products?

    As is public knowledge, we have tied up with EBR. Idea there has obviously been to look into high cc products – which we are developing and they would see the light of the day in due course of time.

     

    So when do we see real action in high end segment?

    Every year is action packed for us and if you look at the last half decade or so, every year we bring 7-8 new things to the customer. The coming fiscal is not going to be any different. Having said that, when you are No 1, you have to be there in all segments. Hence, action would not only be in high cc segments – but across segments.

     

    Lastly, your expectations from the budget.

    The economy needs some drivers of growth and we are optimistic about the budget which would have stimuli for growth. As the Indian market is under penetrated, low interest rates and ease of penetration would definitely help.

     

  • Meet the IAA Awardwinners-1 | Leadership can only be earned: Sam Balsara

    In his long and illustrious career, Sam Balsara has played a key role for the Indian advertising and media in industry forums and the government.  And as As Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, he is known to have a keen sense for offering top value to clients even as he is a formidable force at client pitches.  Last Saturday, at the IAA Leadership Awards, Mr Balsara was recognised with the Media Agency Head of the Year award. In the first of the interviews with IAA Leadership Award winners, Mr Balsara shares with RITU MIDHA what lies at the core of Madison’s success

     

    How would you define a leader?

    I don’t think you can consciously become a leader – it’s your actions that make others recognise you as a leader. Leadership, to my mind can only be earned – and that is why there are very few leaders. I am not saying that I am one of them.

     

    What would you attribute this award to?

    I am not sure if I have done too much to earn it. Maybe, it can be attributed to the unique ownership position of Madison. There are not too many independent media agencies in the world – and probably industry acknowledges that surviving and driving for so long in this highly competitive world is no mean feat. I am thankful to the industry for considering me worthy of this award.

     

    What lies at the core of Madison Media’s success?

    A very simple premise: we are serving our clients, and we should deliver a much greater value to them than we are earning from them.

     

    You are a role model for many – what do you think would be the right steps for these youngsters.

    What I have followed is publicly known – but I must clarify – that is not the only way to success or leadership. It took me 16 years of working with large companies on the client and agency side, before I stepped out on my own – younger people these days don’t have the patience to last out that long trying to gather experience, expertise, knowledge before you can set out on your own. One of the things I had in my mind as a criteria and which I believe every entrepreneur should have – would I join that agency as an employee if I was not the owner of that agency. It is an important yardstick to follow before you set up on your own.

     

    Do you think people at any level can show leadership traits – or does it come only as you climb up the ladder?

    Generally CEO or Head of an organisation is recognised as a leader but to my mind even a media planner or an account executive can earn mantle of leadership. Leadership is something that you can demonstrate at every level. Leadership qualities are immediately noticeable to those around that person.

     

    TOMORROW: Anil Dua and Gayatri Yadav