Fighting floods, inviting funds

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B S Yeddyurappa, the first BJP chief minister in south India, will complete two years in the office on May 30. busy organising the much hyped Global Investors’ Meet to be held in June, he claims it would throw open new avenues of development in the state. Some would agree, others not. B S NarayanaSwamy grills the CM on issues political and social exclusively for TSI

You’ve been in office for two years. Are you satisfied with the work done by your government so far?

A person should not be satisfied with the results at any point. Because once you are satisfied, you are likely to stop working hard. We have done a lot of work in the last two years, but a lot more remains to be done in the coming years.

Your government is going to spend hundreds of crores of rupees on the two-day Global Investors Meet (GIM) next month in Bangalore. How feasible is the move to invite huge investments when the state is facing a severe power crunch?

Some brainless people are spreading the rumour that we are spending Rs 1000 crore on GIM. Actually, the expenditure is not even Rs 100 crore. As for the power crisis, I would like to inform you that the government is not going to provide power to every new industry. Many industries would generate power for themselves and would perhaps give the surplus to us. There’s no need to worry.

I am sure that in terms of the overall development of the state, the GIM will become a milestone. We are expecting to attract huge investments—about four lakh crore rupees, to be precise—in a number of areas such as infrastructure, micro and small enterprises, tourism, education, power and health. We are focussing on development in both rural and industrial sectors and simultaneously to generate employment. Many global industrial giants are participating in the event.

It’s being said that the government is more interested in global investment than in rehabilitating lakhs of people displaced by last year’s massive flood?

During the last two-three decades, more than 350 villages have been repeatedly ravaged by floods. But previous governments did not care to make any arrangements for the rehabilitation of those affected. Last year’s flood was of unprecedented magnitude. Now they (the Opposition) are accusing us of not paying attention to this matter. But the fact is that my government is keen to rehabilitate flood-affected people, and we have already done a lot for them. We have distributed the compensation money and have allotted dwelling units to the affected. We are planning to allot around 10,000 more houses this month. It was delayed due to the model code of conduct for the gram panchayat elections. We have acquired around 5000 acres of land to build more dwelling units for the affected. The process for laying power lines and providing drinking water is on. Why, even union home minister Mr. P. Chidambaram appreciated our efforts and speedy work towards rehabilitation.

According to a recent study jointly conducted by FICCI and KAF (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), 42 per cent of the investors are not happy with conditions in the state. They say starting a business here is difficult…

As compared to the neighbouring states, Karnataka has far better conditions and infrastructure for investment. Perhaps the only difficulty is the power supply. But we have already taken steps to generate sufficient power. I hope Karnataka would be self-sufficient in the power sector very soon. The Opposition says that the power crisis is not as much about production as it is about distribution? Is it true?

They make these accusations to hide their own mistakes committed during their rule. The power leakage during distribution has come down by 25 per cent in our regime.

Your government has repeatedly been accused of trying to protect some tainted ministers. The Opposition has been demanding their dismissal but you have not yielded so far?

It’s not the Opposition’s job to advise as to who should be in the cabinet and who should be thrown out. It’s the people, and not the Opposition, who decide who is tainted and who’s not. And the people have given their mandate to us. There is no tainted minister in my cabinet. The Opposition keeps levelling such accusation just for the sake of it.

What do you think of the Governor’s show-cause notice to your tourism minister G. Janardhana Reddy, seeking explanation on his alleged involvement in some illegal activities?

I don’t want to comment on this.

Experts have opined that the recently inaugurated Mysore airport has failed to meet international standards…

I have already made it clear that we will extend full support to the agencies concerned for putting in place the safety mechanisms in Mysore airport and the other proposed airports in Shimoga and Gulbarga. We have instructed that passenger safety should be given priority in the construction of these two airports.

Why has your promise of granting more power to the Lokayukta not materialised yet?

The issue will be discussed in the coming Legislative Assembly session. We will take a decision soon.

What’s your opinion on the UPA government’s proposed amendments to the RTI Act?

The central government should not take any decision in this regard in a hurry. It should allow for a national debate on the issue and then consider all shades of opinion before taking a final decision on the amendment to the RTI Act.

Which department in the state has been the best performer in your view?

I would not like to mention any particular department. All the departments are development-oriented though some departments need to initiate more reforms. I am glad to mention that in the rural development area, we are the number one state in the country. Also, Mysore is rated as the second best city in Indian in terms of sanitation and overall cleanliness.

Your government has seen many controversies during the two years of your rule. How do you feel regarding these imbroglios?

We have passed through many agni pareekshas (trials by fire) successfully in the last two years of my regime. We are confident that we will complete the remaining three years just as successfully.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Let’s begin with some real brand valuation figures here: The Millward Brown Optimor 2009 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings honours the Japanese Toyota as the number one global auto brand, with a brand value of $29.91 billion. The others that follow in the list are: BMW ($23.95 billion), Porsche ($17.47 billion), Mercedes ($15.50 billion), Honda ($14.57 billion), Nissan ($10.20 billion), Ford ($5.92 billion), Volkswagen ($5.84 billion) and Lexus ($4.55 billion). The Interbrand/BusinessWeek’s Annual Ranking of the Best Global Brands for 2009 shows that the top valued auto brands in the world are: Toyota ($31.33 billion), Mercedes-Benz ($23.86 billion), BMW ($21.67 billion), Honda ($17.80 billion), Ford ($7 billion), Volkswagen ($6.48 billion), Audi ($5.01 billion), Porsche ($4.23 billion), Ferrari ($3.52 billion) & Lexus ($3.15 billion). Two lists, one surprise – none of the names mentioned in the two much-revered lists given above (read as: the most valued auto brands in the world) feature amongst the top sellers of four-wheelers in the country. As per SIAM’s report, the top five sellers of four-wheelers in the country are – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (with a market share of 47%), Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (16%), Tata Motors Ltd. (15%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (7%) and General Motors India (4%), clearly indicating that for starters, global brand equity amidst a plethora of brands in the Indian four-wheeler market means nothing more than just a number! Of course, if we talk about the luxury car-market in India, everyone knows that the products in this segment sell due to their prestige and brand values, as even Debashish Mitra, Head - Marketing & Sales, Mercedes-Benz India shares with us, “In luxury cars, the consumer has made his mind towards a particular brand before going in for the final purchase. Thus the brand in such a case makes a lot of sense.” But as far as the mass car market is concerned (the most critical segment, as far as the Indian market is concerned), the secret here is to realise that in order to have a best-selling brand in the Indian auto market, all you need to do is focus on marketing your vehicle well, which most necessarily needs to be a cost leader (and therefore competitively priced) with an engine that doesn’t catch fire!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Watch that rogue bullet...

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With India and China pulling up their socks in Africa, is the west already threatened? By Karan Mehrishi

The presence of the American seventh fleet in the Bay of Bengal during the 1971 India-Pakistan war was greatly discomforting to India. The same was with China in the late 1990s, when US Nimitz class carriers continued to patrol the East China Sea, during the escalated dispute between China and Taiwan. More than the military buildup in their backyards, what was more bothersome for these two Asian giants was the fact that they were being strangulated by sheer pressure tactics, ridiculed due to their inability to return the favour. They have been waiting all along for their turn for a quid pro quo, now its pay back time with a war waging somewhere else than Asia…

Here the casualties are not soldiers, they are brands and apparently the Asians are performing these operations with their own indigenous brands. During the last decade, China and India have tactically increased their presence in the world’s most strategic yet unexploited region, Africa. Long considered as a dark continent, some African nations today record double digit growth records in GDP. The world can no longer afford to ignore Africa anymore as the stakes have risen multifold. Africa not only has the capacity to offer scarce minerals and other natural resources to the world but also a potentially large and diverse consumer market. Traditionally, European brands (Europe was an erstwhile colonialist of the region) were the primary sources of consumer goods accounting for almost half of all African trade while America, whose military eminence was far greater than its economic eminence, had brands which influenced African socio- economic structures for more than five decades as American goods have a cultural affinity to the African people. Even though both Europe and America had a firm footing in Africa until recently, they have somehow lost to the strategic expansion of the new ‘colonialists’. Replacing Pfizer, Chevrolet, IBM among many others; Indian and Chinese brands like Tata, Haier, Ranbaxy, Mahindra, NIIT, Lilliput and Cherry have offered the African consumer what no one else could, quality with affordability. Dying and unsustainable western brands are no longer viable for Africa as competition is intense. With their fast expanding economies and voracious demand for oil, natural resources and ready markets for their manufactured goods, India and China have been at the forefront of African businesses. Feeling the heat of the slow down and their reduced ability to expand in less developed markets, the once powerful American and European MNCs are now slowly loosing the contact with Africa. “For the short to medium term, I expect a period of contraction on the part of American corporations, who despite their global dominance have failed to build truly distributed and multi-nodal organisations. As American economic concerns begin to dominate their thinking, their ability to develop and expand global businesses will suffer,” says Aditya Dev Sood of Center for Knowledge Societies.

Trade is booming between Asia and Africa more than it ever did, sidelining the west in the process. As per several agencies bilateral trade between Africa and China has already crossed $100 billion. The trade is majorly dependent on China’s oil trade with West African countries of Angola and Nigeria. Thanks to oil and affordable Chinese brands, according to some reports, the Sino-Africa trade has grown by more than 560% in the last decade alone, far more than with any developed market! India is not behind either, with investment in Africa exceeding the $5 billion mark so far; Indians are firing all cylinders. According to Fantu Cheru, Research Director at Sweden’s Nordic Africa Institute, “Trade between Africa and India is expected to grow from $25 billion today to $50 billion by 2011.”

Apart from the Black Gold, both Asian giants are in a race to consolidate their positions in Africa. With heavy investments in infrastructure, power generation and technical assistance the Asian powers are strategically spreading their tentacles in African daily life. If plain economics is allowed to do the talking, then China is perhaps the only country which pips the trade balance in Africa’s favour. China’s more than $8 billion trade deficit with Africa is reason enough to give chills to America & Europe, whose deficits with Africa are now declining. China already imports almost 50-60% of African timber and minerals along with 15% of its oil and intends to increase the figure substantially. The export of raw materials to Asia gives the imported Asian brands an upper hand in Africa as they attract fewer taxes and compete better vis-à-vis western brands. The brands are also enjoying a higher penetration level in Africa and are even replacing some western brands in certain sectors.

However, there are differences of opinion to these arguments. Washington DC based Sebastian Mallaby of The Council on Foreign Relations is not impressed with this ongoing renaissance. He believes that all the US and European investments and brands in Africa are in line with the rule of law, while the record of China in human rights, for instance, is not that great. When asked whether India and China would dominate African markets sooner than later, he replied, “I feel that rather than China and India dominating Africa, there will be a mixture of investments in Africa and that will be healthy.”

Analysts believe that if Asian brands eventually become more dominant than the established western brands, Asia could meet its aspirations of dominating the African market. It will not only bring the unexplored African consumers to its kitty but also win the love and respect of people in that country. Who ever wins in the domain of Africa, one thing is for sure, there will be a ‘brand’ new war waging in the region. European and American brands had better acknowledge the reality, and soon. May the best brand win!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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“Indian consumer has surely come of age”

PETER BAKER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, H&B STORES, DABUR

Though retail outlets have mushroomed across the country, the industry is still in its nascent stage in India. However, for consumers it’s a gala time ahead...

Last year Dabur forayed into retail by rolling out ‘new-u’ stores with a focus on health and personal care products. And after one year, in a free-wheeling conversation with 4Ps B&M’s Angshuman Paul, Peter Baker, CEO, H&B, Dabur discusses the current state of affairs of the Indian retail industry and where they are...

Where do you think does Indian retail industry stands when compared to its global peers?
There are lots of differences. Indian retail industry is still in a very nascent stage when compared to its global counterparts. Logistic and supply chain is an issue which many players often ignore. I mean, abroad, much more emphasis is given on setting up a supply chain before opening a retail outlet but that doesn’t happen in India.

But compared to Europe or US, isn’t infrastructure a major challenge for Indian retailers?
Yes, that’s a key challenge as transporting things from one place to the other requires at least seven days and this delays the retail cycle. Moreover, to get your goods ordered much in advance, you also need to create a good storage system, which actually very few retailers do in India. I think when it comes to focusing on back-end operations, Indian retail industry’s standard would be just 50% as compared to 100% of global retailers.

Is skilled manpower a bottleneck for Indian retailers?
Earlier skilled manpower was a major challenge in India. In Europe the retail has been happening for more than five decades and people are willing to take this as a profession. But in India retail was just picking up and no fresher was willing to enter this industry. But now things are changing as Indians are realising the importance of retail industry. So, I don’t think that finding talent is a major challenge now.

Do you think Dabur has been able to address such issues?
Yes we did and that’s the reason we took so long to set up our first ‘new-u’ outlet. We did our homework, we were well equipped with everything. It was then we decided that now we should open our first store.

But didn’t you miss out big time as Fortis HealthWorld has already rolled out about 50 stores?
No, there are examples of players across various segment, which have entered five years late than any other players, but yet they are doing so well. The market is growing and there’s potential for many players. Health and beauty retailing is growing as the well-being market of the country is annually fetching an extensive business in billions.

Tell us about the current penetration level of ‘new-u’ across the country.
Right now we have nine stores. Three in Hyderabad, three in Delhi, and two in Bangalore. We would be opening 12 more stores in this fiscal and 30 more stores in the next fiscal. At the initial phase we believe in going slow. But we will be investing Rs.1.4 billion in retail and in next five years, & we would be having 300-400 stores. Right now we want to concentrate on selected metros.

In the next five years what changes do you expect in the Indian retail industry?
The next 12 to 20 months would be tough due to rising real estate cost. This might even force many small players to shut down their stores. Hence many small players will leave the market. But the next two years following that would be great time as the retail industry would be in its boom. From consumer’s perspective definitely there is much great time ahead.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Associating with assests...

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

...seems to be the work mantra at Satyam’s BPO; Naresh Jhanghiani gives some highlights of the unique work experience at the company

“The Human Resources team at Satyam can actually predict the chances of an Associate leaving the company BPO using an in-house tool...”

Ever since India gained ground as the world’s leading BPO destination, several companies have set up shop to grab a chunk of the BPO-bite. From Indian majors to global giants, third-party providers to captives, the number of companies that comprise the BPO industry today is mind-boggling. If there is one set of stakeholders that has benefited the most from this boom, it is the people who run this industry. The best talents today have a range of prospective employers to choose from. How do companies keep Associates motivated? How do companies retain the best talent? The answer, in simple English, is ‘job satisfaction’. Only, creating ‘job satisfaction’ is easier said than done. A few time-tested thumb rules hold the key - understanding Associates and their needs better, adopting a proactive approach towards creating Associate delight, creating a high-energy workplace best suited to young Associates and creating an eco system of opportunity. Here’s what we, at Satyam BPO, have done to retain the best talents and keep them performing at top gear across their life cycle in the organisation.

At Satyam BPO, all employees are addressed as Associates. This is on the basis of the belief that being in the service industry, Associates are the most important asset for the organisation. As such, treating them as partners, rather than employees, bestows them with the pride that they are partners in a successful relationship, while putting the onus on them and to ensure that a successful partnership is created. This kind of an environment results in mutual admiration and in forging of successful long term relationships.

Satyam BPO considers Associates as the organisation’s locus point where all the policies and guidelines revolve around them. The Human Resources team can actually predict the chances of an Associate leaving Satyam BPO using an in-house tool called Proactive Retention Intervention for Young Associates.

Satyam BPO offers innovative learning opportunities to Associates through its Centre for Leadership Excellence (CLE) which specialises in behavioral training. The CLE team also conducts customised training programmes based on team requirements. We also leverage two learning schools – Satyam School of Learning and Satyam School of Leadership (SSL) for leadership and organisation development programmes. We promote internal job changes, enabling Associates to move laterally or horizontally to other teams and support functions. Satyam BPO’s SPRING program provides for faster growth opportunities to Associates.

A lot of fun along with serious work is an everyday affair at Satyam BPO. In each process there is a Chief Fun Officer (CFO) who is responsible for driving fun at work initiatives within their assigned processes. Connecting with the Generation ‘Y’ is a pre-requisite for successful HR professionals. Handling a young group of go-getters can be interesting and needs to be handled deftly. It requires experience to keep them engaged. A long-term holistic view is taken to undertake and succeed in the same. Satyam BPO provides Associates an opportunity to incubate themselves before taking on larger responsibilities. Satyam BPO considers Associates as partners in organisation, and this relationship drives mutually beneficial success patterns.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Ad cauldron bubbles with ‘change’

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

So why was JWT’s creative intelligence not good enough for the Oswals? After all, clients globally die for long-term and mutually rewarding partnerships with their communication agencies. Advertising veteran Jagdeep Bakshi, who has just been elevated as Global Business Director-Unilever in JWT believes that account reviews happen because “clients think that they are getting good ideas, but not great ideas. And that if they change partners they can get great ideas.” But he adds that is not the way to enhance brand communication. “The right way is to motivate your current partner to churn out better ideas,” he explained to this magazine. But clients think differently: “Monte Carlo is now moving beyond woolen wear and we needed to think of something new and different,” a source in Monte Carlo told 4Ps B&M.

Another client that recently changed its long-standing relation with its advertising agency is Emami. It shifted its brand Navratna Oil account from Publicis Ambience to Mudra. In a guarded e-mail reply to our questionnaire, Emami spokesperson Harsh Agarwal said that an agency change is sometimes necessary to challenge established mindsets. “Thinking styles and structures need to be broken down and re-invented. This disruption often leads to the genesis of breakthrough thinking,” he says.

The writing is on the wall. Once citadels of creating and nurturing brands together, the client-agency relationship is deteriorating faster than you can say Daag Acche Hain. The developing situation – easily attributable to the fast changing complex business environment – is a far cry from the pre-1992 haydays, when long-term communication strategy meant 5-8 years, and short term meant 2-3 years. Now clients (read: companies, both MNCs and domestic biggies) want results and they want them quick. Long-term means a quarterly review and short-term means ‘get me results this week dude, preferably tomorrow!’ And if you can’t deliver results ‘yesterday’, I’ll just as easily walk over to the next guy in line. Agencies have certainly lost the high-pedestal they once enjoyed, when clients perceived them as creative demi-gods; and didn’t dare de-construct their mumbo-jumbo for fear of hurting their fragile egos and arty sensibilities. “That time is over,” sums up Sushil Pandit, hotshot of The Hive, a Delhi-based ad hot-shop.

Being in one of the world’s fastest developing markets, brands in India are stepping on the accelerator to carve their place in the consumer’s mind, before competition walks away with full glory. In a business world full of heavy-duty jargons like brand equity, fragmentation, shakeout, globalisation, convergence, spiral effect, et al, clients are no longer one-dimensional. And as marketing pressures rise, they have brought most of the brand communication blitzkrieg – including research, data mining, consumer insights, even communication strategy – under their own tutelage, with the result that agencies de-graduated from being marketing partners to first communication consultants, then to advertising consultants. The blast of media fragmentation - has further fragmented even advertising into layouts or scripts or digital campaigns, as clients hire specialised digital agencies for their digital needs now.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble…

IIPM, GURGAON

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble…” so sang the Shakespearean Witches of Macbeth. Were they talking of advertising agencies? asks 4Ps B&M’s aditi prasad

They were once comrade-in-arms for a common cause. Today, they are simply up-in-arms – against each other. The bubbling cauldron of client-agency relations in business has overflown and come full circle, from a time when advertising agencies were partners in growth for the client, to them being relegated with a tag of mere script-shops in the 21st century marketing landscape. Worse, the client-agency imbroglio seems to be deepening at a time that Indian creativity is winning accolades globally. Indian advertising romped home with no less than 23 metals - a first! - from the prestigious Cannes Advertising Festival earlier this year. Back home, if winning awards are a matter of much back slapping among agencies, they are simply adding to discontent among clients, who believe that the focus for most agencies has shifted from ‘how do I add more value to my client’s business’; to ‘how do I make better ads and win more awards’.

Sample this: Two months ago, after a 15 year relationship, Oswal Woolens Mills’ flagship brand Monte Carlo showed the exit door to its agency JWT India (incidentally, JWT’s metal tally at the 2008 Cannes was the highest among Indian agencies) and hired rival McCann Erickson instead to handle the Rs.20 crore Monte Carlo creative business. The account review set tongues wagging in the advertising industry. After all, through the years, JWT’s creatives had helped Monte Carlo become the market leader in the woolen wear segment. Some cried foul play; others hung their head in silent resignation, certain that this was just another indicator of skyrocketing client ambitions and their sometimes unreasonable ‘ivory tower’ expectations.

Monte Carlo is not an exception. According to Spatial Access, an India-based media auditing firm, just between January-December 2007, over 485 accounts totaling a billing of approximately Rs.5,493 crore came up for review in the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity, with FMCG brands leading from the front (54 reviews), closely followed by media (53 reviews), real estate (38 reviews) and apparel (26 reviews) players. Clearly, something’s brewing. Of course, some key movements are coming from global realignments (Wigan & Kennedy won the global creative account for Nokia, so their Indian counterpart benefited), but overall the rising break-ups in the fraternity, smack of the inherent suspicion and simmering resentment that has scratched away the surface calm of client-agency relationships.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!
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These boots ain’t made for walking

IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA

In fact, Adi Godrej was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to recognise the value of tying up with multinational companies soon after reforms struck the Indian marketplace like a thunderbolt after 1991. He has taken the lead in the Godrej Group forging strategic alliances with such venerable companies and brands like Sara Lee, Hershey’s, Procter & Gamble and even the iconic GE. The Sara Lee and the Hershey’s tie ups are still going strong. But the loss of P&G and GE as partners did represent lost opportunities for the group in the FMCG and the white goods segment. Not that there was much that Adi Godrej or his group could do about it. According to him, the joint venture with P&G was doing extremely well from day one till partner P&G took a strategic decision to shift focus from soaps to detergents. Ariel replaced Camay as the central thrust of the multinational in India. So they parted friends. But Godrej is still nostalgic about those exciting days. They had launched a soap brand called Ganga, using film star Govinda as the brand ambassador. The brand had an immediate emotional connect with the Indian consumer and was a huge hit. “But then, folks at P&G decided not to use the emotional connect. And that was that,” he says. Even the joint venture with GE for white goods died a natural death because, in Godrej’s words, “the then Chairman, Jack Welch, had taken a strategic decision to take GE out of segments where the company was not in the top three. In white goods in Asia, GE was not in the top three.” The group has moved on since then, but there remain the tantalising prospects of opportunities lost.

But, history and nostalgia are not important for the group at the moment. The future beckons, along with the challenges and opportunities. And one of the biggest challenges in recent times has been to manage the sprawling product and service portfolio of the conglomerate. In the FMCG sector alone, there are three companies. Then there is a presence in security systems (locks), white goods, agri-business, real estate, retail and food, among others. Can the whole group discover and leverage the synergies of various business segments to forge a coherent group strategy for future growth?

Enter an entity called Strategic Marketing Group (SMG) and the next generation of the business family. The SMG is a kind of umbrella organisation that will adopt marketing strategies across the group and leverage synergies wherever possible. It is headed by the 30-year-old daughter of Adi Godrej, Tanya Dubash, whose formal designation is Executive Director and President (Marketing), Godrej Industries Ltd. It is this SMG headed by Tanya that is now credited with a series of brainstorming sessions that has led to the new logo, the new catch line. “We are getting quicker…we are getting faster” and a whole new focus on the young generation. “We want to be youthful and do something for the future that benefits all the citizens and this needed to be conveyed to our consumers in a big way,” says Tanya Dubash. In fact, most top managers have embraced the concept of the SMG wholeheartedly and now realise that future growth will come from the strategies devised by this core group. “We have big plans for the FMCG sector and now the overall group will work together to leverage from all possible ways. Like in the case of logistics, publicity and retail presence will have a common base that will help us leverage all the three FMCG companies. This common base is Strategic Marketing Group (SMG),” declares Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sinha, COO, Marketing & Operations, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL). Though there is no official confirmation, insiders revel in revealing the fact that –through SMG – the group is planning to spend Rs.1 billion every year on branding exercises.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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