LIFE AT IMI-B

Are we prejudiced about middle India consumers? I ncreasingly, we are finding consumers saying ‘Oh no, not again’ when they see another top established star in advertising or public service commercials. So, while established stars are always at the top of the Forbes and other celebrity indices, they are more a reflection of the box office earnings and fame ranks. But those ranks may be hiding something very potent for marketers – of how tired consumers are, of seeing their favourite stars too often. And more importantly, we need to answer the question ‘how relevant are they for our target audience?’. For example, a few years ago, to mark the launch of its new XE model, car maker Jaguar enlisted singer Emeli Sandé, actor Idris Elba and designer Stella McCartney to ramp up interest from a new audience. Or Seinnheiser used Miley Cyrus to endorse its range. Steve Dalton, director of marketing at Sennheiser said, “Over the years we have decided that it’s not right for us ...

Despite housing close to 70% of the country’s population, rural markets in India have been by and large neglected by businesses in favour of urban geographies. Even mainstream business enterprises, despite their abundant resources, have made limited inroads into this vast market. Factors such as a lack of services, infrastructure, and essential facilities such as banking institutions have been touted as the main reason behind this lack of traction in rural geographies. Rapid advancements in technology and increased inclusiveness, however, have dramatically increased the scope for business expansion in rural geographies. With digitisation in India accelerating at an unprecedented pace, rural markets are benefitting from the increased interconnectivity. The brand narrative for rural markets is shifting from empowerment to genuinely paying attention. With rural geographies offering businesses across industry verticals a plethora of opportunities, brands are vying for greater...

IMPACT OF FESTIVAL ON CONSUMER SPENDING HABITS BY-  Prof. Manit Mishra Associate Professor, Marketing International Management Institute, Bhubaneswar T he festive season has arrived and the brands have decided to leverage it with “surgical strikes” on consumer wallets. To quote Jim Collins: “Greatness is not a function of circumstances. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” The brands, retail as well as product, had made their choice in the run-up to festivities. The harbinger was the most unlikeliest and unpredictable ally a retailer can wish for: India Meteorological Department (IMD). With IMD predicting an “above normal” monsoon for 2016 in the month of April, and the actual monsoon not displaying a significant variance from it, the track was laid for the consumption carnival to begin. The government too pitched in and said – enough is enough, it is time to bless the babus with Lakshmi before the festive ...

The Internet of Things (IoT) - The trend which has become an increasingly growing topic of conversation and the one that everyone is waiting for. We all are aware of how internet has connected people to people, but now taking another step forward internet is going to connect things like never before. The IoT is the idea of physical objects, devices, or even people being connected to one another and to the internet(Courtesy: Wikipedia).  This can be anything ranging from your smartphone, wearable gadgets, headphones to smart television sets. It has the ability to change how everything physical in our life works. Well for those of whom who don’t know, IoT is already among us with Fitbit, Google Glass, Self Driving Car, Apple iWatch -- all being popular examples of our increasingly connected lives. What does this mean for digital marketers? Well, the IoT opens up even more digital channels for marketers to track. The increased volume of data bri...

The Lok Sabha on 29 November 2016 passed the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Finance Act, 2016. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 28 November 2016. It imposes a higher rate of tax and penalty in respect of undisclosed incomes. The Bill proposes to introduce the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan (PMGK) Yojana, 2016.  Under the scheme, taxpayers will be required to declare their undisclosed income possessed in the form of cash or deposited in banks, post offices or Reserve Bank of India before a notified date. The money from PMGK will be used for projects in irrigation, infrastructure, primary education, primary health, housing, toilets and livelihood.  Provisions of the Bill • The cess will be known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Cess and will be used for welfare of weaker sections. • The taxpayer has to deposit 25 percent of the undisclosed income into the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 201...