Despite talk about American decline, the world is not prepared for a post-American era

The point was driven home at the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing this autumn, where European and Asian leaders explored ideas for a new global financial structure. For much of the past 60 years, it would have been impossible to hold such a fundamental dialogue without US participation. Today, it is almost becoming a new global norm that neither the international committee nor the US is prepared for.

Despite talk about American decline, the world is not prepared for a post-American era. As irksome as some of its actions have been, particularly over the past eight years, the US remains the world’s most critical champion of the progressive values that have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of abject poverty and political repression. If the US were to play a relatively smaller role in world affairs, and no other system was created to pick up the slack, these values could be at risk.


Although many states now hide behind an alleged universal principle of inviolable state sovereignty, for example, would the international community go back to the old model where states did whatever they wanted to their citizens within their own borders? Do countries around the world believe that they will be better off if the global trade system breaks down or international shipping lanes become less secure? Are countries like China willing to step up and pay their fair share of dues to keep the UN running (China currently pays 2.1 per cent of UN dues, compared to more than 25 per cent for the US), or to capitalise revised international financial institutions or the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria? Unless other countries step forward for the common good, a post-American world could quickly become a far more frightening environment than what it would replace.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

“I am just a party worker”

Who do you think was responsible for the party's success in Rajasthan?

I attribute the party's victory to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Congress workers and the good work done by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre. It is also the victory of the people of Rajasthan. A befitting reply to the grave mistakes committed by BJP.

Will the Congress, which is short of a majority, be able to form a government in Rajasthan?

Yes, Congress will form the government here. We are not short of a majority…some of the independents are in touch with us and as it is, we are much above the required figure needed to form a government.

What do you think were the reasons behind BJP's debacle?

I am not the one to comment on other parties. All I know is that the people have given their verdict. The voters have voted against poor governance. All-round failure and corruption had become the hallmark of the Vasundhara Raje government during its five-year regime. There was a difference between what the BJP said and what it did in the state. In almost 27 incidents of police firing, 91 farmers were killed, the Meenas and the Gujjars felt agitated and cheated.

Who would be the next chief minister of the Congress in the state?

In Congress, a leader is chosen democratically and the party would announce the name at an appropriate time....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Has national security gone to the dogs? If not, then it must…

Training is imparted in obedience, action, refusal of food given by strangers, scent discrimination, tracking, explosive detection, property guarding, spotting and attacking. The first phase of the 9-month training gives stress on basic skills, obedience drill and agility exercises. The second phase is tougher with explosives and narcotics detection, anti-smuggling operation, guarding and searching and causality detection. Every dog is assessed at the end of the training. Three retired BSF personnel impart training to the dogs at the Academy. Training for the first batch, consisting of high pedigree dogs including five German Shepherds and seven Labradors, and their 24 handlers, began in January 23, 2008. The next batch of 18 dogs is ready for training. “The selection of high pedigree dogs is done with meticulous care. Usually, the price of dog varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000, depending on its pedigree. The price for Labradors with six pure generations may go up to around Rs 80,000,’’ says Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and Academy In-Charge, Alexander Jacob.

It is in fact the cost factor that is one of the main deterrents in the optimum deployment of dogs, apart from their own physical limitations. Says J A Khan, IG, Operations, Border Security Force, “The contribution of a dog to the detection of bombs and IEDs is 60%, and that of machines and equipments is 25%, while human success at it can be only quantified at 8%. But there’s a huge cost factor involved. The right pedigree had got to be usually imported, then trained for a year. If not properly used, the dog could die in 2-3 years. In fact, the life of a dog is reduced as much as we use her/him to sniff. Then there is required a personnel solely dedicated to the handling of dogs. There thus results a serious mismatch in requirement and availability. But that is not to deny that if used in a judicious manner, they can be a huge support. Loyalty, as you know, is an unquestionable trait with them.”....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

People hate the dirty face of partisan politics, says Priyanka Rai

The muck started flying from the time the first bullet sang. The Sangh Parivar went into a celebratory mood, as it felt sure that now the Congress had had it… clean sweep for the saffron, they partied. Congress leaders were going through the last motions of the Delhi polls, and pundits in both 24 Akbar Road as well as 9 Ashoka Road went into huddles, working out intangible election mathematics. And in the end, Congress felt that the solid, uncompromising hit back by the country got it the edge and Sheila Dikshit could, just could, win.

After his Mumbai visit, Advani said in his Rajasthan campaign, “Despite the Supreme Court verdict, Afzal has not been hanged. I often feel if Afzal were named Anand Mohan or Anand Singh, he would have been hanged a long time ago." Incumbent Vasundhara Raje, in a tight battle, said: "Though the terrorists got into Taj and Oberois hotels in Mumbai, we have seen how this government has failed to check terrorism." Interestingly, Narendra Modi had described Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare as antinational a week back. But today, Karkare is a martyr for whom Modi has offered a crore of rupees in compensation. It is precisely this kind of filth that got the public’s goat.

And there seems to be a reason for this sort of politics. What the public is saying – though may be not in so many words – is that none of the national parties have a national agenda: they just stick top their partisan interests. That's the real tragedy of democratic India. Each party seems so insecure that for them national security is a non-issue. By hook or by crook, they want the votes, come to the power and stick to it.

The people today do not believe Shivraj Patil’s ‘owning moral responsibility’ and resigning. Sonia Gandhi’s ubiquitous hands were obviously turning the strings that ran the puppets to stem a Congress slide during the coming polls. Media coverage of Patil changing three suits in a span of a few hours of the serial blasts in Delhi had enraged the masses, but there was no expression. BJP points out to the more than 200 blasts during the UPA regime. Home Ministry’s official statistic says it has come down quite a bit from the blasts during the BJP-led NDA regime. Then why resign now? ....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Om Mathur, an RSS pracharak drafted in the party for more than 25 years, has been made the BJP chief in Rajasthan since January this year.

There are reports that the Chief Minister neglected the organisation during the past five years, refusing to meet even her own ministers. And there is dissension, so how are you managing the cadre?
Such things happen only due to lack of communication. I came here in January this year and tried to remove the discrepancies. I organised regular meetings between the party organisation and the government. Ever since, all government decisions are being taken in consultation with the party.

How true are reports of Vasundhara Raje’s corruption?
They are absolutely false. Why didn’t the opposition raise these issues inside the Assembly during the past five years of BJP rule? Why are such things being raked up only during the past 20 days through newspaper advertisements? In any case, people living in glasshouses do not have a right to throw stones at others.

Vasundhara is also being accused of being too arrogant, even more arrogant than Narendra Modi. How do you explain that?
Every person has a distinct personality and working style. Those seeing her from a distance may call her arrogant, but those who know her closely know how sensitive and magnanimous she is. Vasundhara is a lady of action, vision and quick decisionmaking.

What impact would the BSP have in these elections?
Rajasthan has traditionally been a state with only two parties. There was never scope for a third party. Election results would bear me out on December 8....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Sun,sea and span

Inhaling the fresh ocean breeze while a cool subtle wind blew my hair away from my face, ignoring the 6 lanes of cars zipping by and the numerous diverse people walking and conversing by me, I was lost in my own world enjoying one of the beauties of California. Standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, bundled up with a light layer of clothing, I began my 2.2 mile walk across the bridge on one of my frequent visits to San Francisco (SF).

However, what made this trip unique was that I had decided to see SF from a tourist point of view, like I had in 1989, during my first visit.

The highlights of San Francisco-day-life are just as exciting and varied as the infamous SF nightlife. From a walk or drive down the world’s most crooked street, Lombard Street, to a cruise to Alcatraz Island, the infamous escape-proof prison meant for the most dangerous criminals until June 11, 1962, when two prisoners broke out and yet died while swimming in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay. Originally built and used as a lighthouse, the ‘Rock’ (as it is locally referred to) has now become a favourite tourist destination, for which daily ferry rides from Pier 33 take place every 30 minutes to allow visitors to experience the ocean and also give them a guided tour of the prison and its history. Alcatraz is known to have held famous prisoners such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud and Alvin Karpis.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Abbas-hamas head-on again

The Palestinian Authority's central council has designated to appoint Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president. It is largely a figurative office, as a Palestinian state is yet to be formed. The position has been vacant since Yasser Arafat's death in 2004.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas ­– who is facing a mounting challenge from Hamas to the authority of his rule – threatened that unless the Palestinian resistance group decides to reconcile with his Fatah movement, he is going to annouce fresh elections. Abbas threatened to issue a diktat early next year that will make both Presidential and Parliamentary polls mandatory. His term in office ends on 9 January. Hamas hurriedly discarded the bid, saying the thought itself was “unconstitutional".

“It's a symbol indicating the political problem that Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and his group are facing while he is going to lose his official position as the (president) of the Palestinian Authority,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a key political figure in Hamas......Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Who is Lt. Col. Srikant Prasad Purohit?

Well neither did it appear to anyone else until investigations of the Malegaon blasts after the arrest of Hindu activist, Pragya Singh, led the trail of the deadly explosions to Purohit and a retired Major, Ramesh Upadhaya, amongst others.

According to insiders in the army, Purohit was given the critical responsibility of raising 41 Rashtriya Rifles, a dedicated counter-terrorism force that operates out of Kupwara, in northern Kashmir. Kupwara remains one of the main points of infiltration of terrorists from across the Line of Control. His tenure in Jammu and Kashmir ended in January, 2005, while serving in the Awantipora-based 31-Counter Intelligence Unit of the MI. Well informed sources say that Purohit’s involvement in the cloak and dagger game dates back to his days in the crucial MI in a Kashmir valley defined by civil war conditions - days where for a military intelligence officer, it would often become very difficult to differentiate between foe and friend. Like all sensitive intelligence assignments, the job demanded establishing contacts with jehadis, a task considered vital for reading the rival’s mind. The purpose: to pick up and collate information and tactical intelligence.


According to the ATS, during one of the raids, the army seized 60 kg of RDX which, later Purohit informed his colleagues, had been dutifully dumped into the Jhelum river. In reality, it was smuggled into Maharashtra by the army officer and his accomplices and subsequently used in the explosions. Military sources told TSI that Purohit was later moved to Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh for pursuing a Chinese language course at the Army Education Corps College – his parent cadre - from where he was arrested by the ATS.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

It's not just America that is celebrating the historic Obama victory. The entire world is in raptures, reports Solana Larsen in this special despatch

Obama said he depended on the national citizen movement that made him President to end the devastating economic crisis the country suffered in the eight years under President George W Bush. "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there," he said amid cheers. This was indisputably one of the most hotly contested elections in US history. Voters stood in record-busting lines that snaked around city blocks, and dared to hope what had seemed impossible two years ago when a first-term African-American senator from Illinois announced that he was running for President.

The jubilation was equally unprecedented. On election-eve 28-year-old Indian blogger Aditi Nadkarni felt impelled to record, "I couldn't vote for Obama. But I wrote him." The young cancer researcher from India who lives in Rochester, Minnesota has been sharing her thoughts on the presidential elections on the South Asian group blog Desicritics.com. Here, she has recounted her personal experiences as an immigrant in the United States and raged against some supporters of John McCain for highlighting Barack Obama's middle name "Hussein" as a disqualifying trait. Indeed for weeks the campaign led by McCain and Palin had been attacking Obama for his alleged association with "a domestic terrorist" from the 1970s. And for some these false alarms actually worked — leading them to drum up wholly unwarranted fears about Obama's religion and ethnic heritage. Was Obama a Muslim? Was he an Arab! That was how it had gone!....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Urgent provisions needed to rescue the poor and destitute

Haris Gazdar, an economist associated with Collective for Social Science Research based in Karachi agrees that at least five per cent additional population has been pushed below the poverty line in recent months. He said it was high time that the government introduce an employment guarantee scheme on the lines provided by India to combat poverty. "In fact, the Pakistan People's Party manifesto has such a provision, but it has not been implemented as yet," he said. Also he added that the poorest sections of the populace should be provided social security and a cash support programme, while their children should be ensured food support at schools.

Bengali who has been the National Coordinator Benazir Income SupportProgram (BISP) and Member National Finance Commission, believes the extent of economic crisis in Pakistan today is structural. He points out that it was in the making for 30 years but was aggravated during the last eight years. "Without the policies followed in the last eight years, we would have lasted a few more years but we were heading for a doom," he told The News on November 2.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Revive economy: key challenge for the new PM elect

IIPM Publication
At a time when the global financial meltdown has had a dreadful impact on a host of countries, to which the New Zealand and her 4.2 million denizens are no exception, the key challenges before Key remain: slump in the housing prices, 25 per cent drop in currency’s value, 33 per cent fall in the stock markets, and above all, the worst recession in almost a decade due to which the $130 billion New Zealand economy contracted in the first half of 2008. In fact, the economic health of the country is so bad that its central bank has already slashed the interest rates by 1.75 percentage points since July.

To address all these challenges and unemployment in the country, which is at a five-year high, John Key has already proposed to cut income taxes and redirect spending to roads and a high-speed Internet network to help create jobs. He also has plans to instruct the head of various departments to undertake a line-by-line review of their spending so that money can be saved. Moreover, Key is even targeting to attend Asia Pacific Economic Forum in Peru to get external help. But until then, the trader-turned-politician will have to go through tough times to manage the country. ....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Satbir Singh, CEO, Euro RSCG

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Satbir Singh, CEO, Euro RSCG: There are few people in advertising who respond to ‘talented’ and ‘nice.’ Anand is one amongst them. He was first introduced to me as a ‘Hindi’ copywriter. However, in the three years that I have known him, Anand has shown that ideas have a universal language. I would like to speak about the ‘bajaate raho’ campaign that we created for Red FM. Once I handed him ‘Bajate raho’ as the foundation, Anand took over the project with his team and created what I would safely say is the best work for any FM channel. It gave the channel a distinct voice and identity. What’s more, it picked up several awards at the Abbys and Goafest as well.

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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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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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$port$ and $$

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

What’s new about the business of sports in India? Nothing and everything, says 4Ps B&M’s Steven Philip Warner

Business and sports, or rather the business of sports is a global scheme beaten into shape and pronounced with impeccable style from time to time, by one business tycoon or the other. And the storyline woud read no different when it comes to the Indian sub-continent where huge money has flowed into the game of cricket, with big names in business themselves willing to take strike, moving beyond just acts of buying some $1000 worth 10-second TV spots or sponsoring players, teams and some well-flavoured series for millions of dollars. “So what’s so new in this context?” is what you’d question. Well, nothing and perchance everything!

Yes, indeed the business of sports has existed in the game of limited and test cricket, but today this enthusiasm seems to be spreading out to other games as well. And even in cricket, there’s not just one name willing to take that chance; there’re a host of bigwigs garnering enough interest in matters far beyond just buying ad spaces and sponsoring individual players! The reason behind these moves being obvious media coverage and added mileage to their brand equity as Santosh Desai, Brand Analyst justifies, “Really, it is a matter of fact that no matter how rich you are, you have an inclination towards sports. But there’s more to the whole case here; there’s of course a business edge to it all. Brand building being one, the other one is that sports is one thing which automatically gets you public attention and there is no such difference between media and sports in today’s scenario.” And how about buying off an entire team? Seems unconventional when we’re talking about India, but that’s precisely what’s radical about the manner in which capital is being piped into Indian sports. However, much as these developments create excitement, there are concerns about the sudden increased fervour as well as Harish Bijoor, Marketing Analyst discloses, “All of a sudden, every one in India Inc. seems to be excited about the business of sports. Surely, it’s a bubble waiting to burst! The valuations are so high at the moment. However, in the medium-to-long term, this bubble will surely rupture and everyone will realize their slip-ups…”

But the investors seem least bothered. And if you haven’t heard about it, after Subhash Chandra of Zee fame launched the Indian Cricket League, there’s India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani keen on buying off the Mumbai team from the Indian Premier League (IPL, from the stable of BCCI). In the same breath, read about Anil Ambani aspiring to pocket the Delhi team. Speculations are also rife that Shah Rukh Khan of Bollywood and Russel Crowe of Hollywood are lining up to snatch up a team or two from IPL. And cricketers? Well, they can’t be far enough, can they? After Kishore Biyani of Pantaloons and Future Group fame found a willing gladiator in Sachin Tendulkar, we’ll most likely see this unusual partnership sweep away a team from the IPL too.

Names galore even with floor prices of each team touching as much as a spectacular $50 million each for a 10-year franchise! And why just cricket? Talk about Indian soccer too with Sunil Bharti Mittal announcing his $25 million investment (in association with the All India Football Federation, AIFF) to raise standards of talent for the sport in India by establishing a National Football Development Programme called the Bharti-AIFF Academy in Haryana or Goa. Talking about the initiative, Mittal remarked, “We have become too obsessed with cricket and the time has now come for us to develop football in the country. I am starting with a few hundred crore, but I assure you I am ready to invest any amount of money for whatever it takes for the academy and a few other initiatives…” Well said indeed, but then aren’t the stakes rising with every extra rupee invested? Surely, his vision to globalise Indian football and watch India play in the Soccer World Cup comes at a time when India Inc. seems focused to provide more than just a clerical vacancy to sportsmen.

Then there is Vijay Mallya of the United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines fame who is burning tracks with his investment of $100 million in his dream Formula 1 team Force India proves that sports in India carries a meaning much beyond just cricket or even hockey! When asked about the whole development, Mallya’s knee-jerk response is, “I can’t comment on why other industrialist are associating themselves with sports, but in my case, it’s the sheer passion in me for Formula 1 sport that has brought me to this point. I have big plans lined up for F1 in India…” And what do the experts say? Binit Somaia, Regional Director, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation asserts, “Many corporate houses have business interests in multiple sectors. Provided that there is a strong executive team in place to manage the various divisions, there is no reason why Mallya should not expand his horizons. Formula 1 ties in well with the lifestyle businesses and it has the potential to provide excellent global exposure to his brands.” Even Santosh Desai confirms the same as, “The F1 purchase goes with Mallya’s targets and his persona. Nobody wants to invest in a sport like hockey and there are very strong reasons for the same!”

Talking of automobiles, there’s Apollo Tyres with its investment of Rs.100 crore in developing Indian tennis. So while there is so much at stake considering the crores being invested, a question arises: Won’t this prove detrimental to the businessmen who seem to be devoting more than their share of the clock to issues beyond their business arenas? Precious time wasted – yes that’s the very concern we’re pointing to here. However, Harish Bijoor discards this concern as he remarks, “Like Mallya is investing in F1 and Mittal in football, I am more interested and concerned about the money than their time that they would have to spend on it. However, when reality dawns, they would realise their mistakes and whether they are paying too much for it.”

True enough, there is no doubt that the various capital infusion moves will give increased mileage to the respective commercial however, the risks are no less apparent. And worse, it might just be too late before the participants realise this… Surely, much play and no work will make the Jacks of India Inc. dull boys, very dull!

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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B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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Growth for survival??

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

It was believed, till 1954, that it is impossible to run a mile under 4 minutes. A young medical student in Queen’s England, Roger Bannister managed to do exactly that. Fighting a 40 kilometre per hour crosswind, he ran a mile in under 4 minutes creating history of sorts. Deepak Puri, (a mechanical engineer from Imperial College, London) is not much unlike Bannister. He too faced trying odds (his first two entrepreneurial ventures were put paid due to labour militancy in Kolkata), but went on to create history for Indian business when his third venture Moser Baer, actually became the first Indian company to excel globally at manufacturing optical storage devices.

It all started almost a quarter of a century back in 1983, when Moser Baer began manufacturing floppy discs. The year was significant, as in the spring of 1983 itself, the compact disc technology had just been introduced in the United States. Puri, the visionary had clear plans, and by 1998, Moser Baer begun manufacturing CD-ROMs and today stands tall as India’s largest and world’s second largest optical storage manufacturer. In an interview to Planman Media, Puri said, “We are recognized today as a technology-driven efficient manufacturer and are proud to put India on the global technology manufacturing map.”

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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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China was just such a place,

IIPM, GURGAON

China was just such a place, and few companies who bought or built businesses there, especially in its early days of open-door commerce, escaped a few years of “learning curve” losses. Similarly, a fundamental belief in an emergent technology often means years of struggle before achieving profitability. Insuch cases, you have to hang on. our strategy depends on it.

But prolonged attempts to fix a business where that purpose is gone, rarely make sense.

Without corporate life support – which peripheral businesses usually don’t get, for the obvious reasons – such businesses have no option but to fend for themselves. It’s a slow death for everyone involved.

How much better, then, to give your people their best hope for a better future. The company buying your “failure” usually has grand plans for its resurrection. Fight your inertia, and let them go for it.

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.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM - Admission Procedure
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Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

"BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM"

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

It’s being touted as the most lucrative sporting events of all times. If the favourite teams reach the finals, then the final match alone would attract as many as 300 million viewers!

That’s THE UNOFFICIAL

If you can’t use it officially, then use it “unofficially”, for no one can afford to stay away from this event. The world’s most creative advertising agencies are at their seductive best to grab the attention of the viewers. Everyone knows the reach of this event is tremendous. If you want to target young men this year, this is the event for you.

So if Pepsi, Nike and Carlsberg could not make it to the “official sponsors” list, they have a plan up their sleeves to help themselves win the hearts of this huge TV audience. Nike has used the innocent childhood images of Brazilian star, Ronaldino, to waltz straight into your hearts. Carlsberg on the other hand, decided to use the old heroes of the 1996 World Cup, who it showed enjoying a well-earned pint of Carlsberg after winning a game of football.

Once bitten by Pepsi’s “Nothing Official About It” campaign of 1996, Coca-Cola is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that its arch rival stays out of the stadium, the TV and even the minds of the fanatic fans. It has bought the in-stadia rights for the cup. It has tied up with Adidas to distribute soccer memorabilia. Thus, ensuring that Pepsi does not get a chance to pop-out from anywhere. To top it all, Coca-Cola India is an associate sponsor of ESPN-Star. So viewers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would only get to see Coca-Cola ads on the TV screens during the matches. Pepsi, the virtual owners of cricketing events in India, are not disappointed. They are glad to stick to cricket, which is “the” sport of India. However, considering 75 million Indians watched the soccer World Cup four years ago, one wonders if Pepsi’s optimism is a wee-bit fake. It sure seems to have lost to Coke this time.

While Addidas paid millions, it’s Nike, the “unofficial sponsor”, which is once again hogging all the limelight. Just the way it did in 2002. Adidas, a German company, is going all out to block Nike ads. It would be too embarrassing for it to lose the advertising battle on its home turf. Not to be deterred, Nike has gone ahead and teamed up with Google to create the first social network for the fanatic football fans called “Joga.com” (joga bonito in Brazil means “play beautifully”), where it expects millions of people to register. Today “online” is the “lifeline” of young people, and thus, they believe, would be more effective than the traditional way of advertising. So while Nike is trying to even out with Adidas, Google is trying to settle scores with Yahoo – one of the official sponsors of the World Cup.

Back in 2002, Elvis, once again gave a hit, all thanks to Nike who used a remix version of his very popular song “A Little Less Conversation” for their ads, where they created a “secret tournament”. The ads were so popular that the Elvis song topped the charts and became the number one hit that year. Nike ads were more popular than Adidas. To top it, that year Brazil (Nike sponsored team) beat Germany (Adidas’ home team). This year, Adidas is taking no chances. It’s spent $200 million on its “+10” campaign, which shows how anyone, plus ten players, makes a football team. Its kid, Ronaldinho (Nike ad), vs. kids, who make their football team (Adidas ad). Let’s see who wins.


Lufthansa has dressed up 40 of its aircrafts by putting football decalls on their nose cones. So, even though Emirates has paid the millions to FIFA, it’s Lufthansa with its football nose that seems to have stolen the spotlight!

Afterall, it pays to be associated with the World Cup. So the Swiss Tourists Board has started luring visitors with an ad, which goes like this “Dear girls, why not escape this summer’s World Cup to a country where men spend less time on football and more time on you?” Well, worth a thought ladies, when you have brawny lumberjacks, and Mr. Switzerland 2005, extending the invitation.

THE OFFICIAL

Old, hackneyed phrases and mundane themes will not work this time. You’ve got to be different to be noticed. It’s estimated that about €2.5 billion would be spent in Germany on advertising. One can just imagine the onslaught of ads, the viewer would be subjected to. According to One Publicis, the media-buying unit of Zenith Optimedia, global ad spending would increase by 6% this year, to $429 billion due to the World Cup. With such an amount of advertising frenzy, it’s obvious, only the good will survive.

So Master Card spent 32 days to shoot its ad, which ends with “football fever. Priceless” 100-odd fans were shown cheering from 30 different countries.

Gillette has a spot, which shows fans wearing the colours of their team and carrying the national flag. Depending on where the ads will be aired, the company plans to digitally alter the colours to match with those of the country where they are being shown. Budweiser has decided to play it safe. It’s an American brand, and Americans have a reputation of having no football knowledge. So very intelligently it’s come out with the slogan “You do the football, we’ll do the beer”. At this point, no one wants to mess with others’ sentiments.

FIFA has signed agreements worth more than $888 million with its various partners and sponsors. For a whole month it would command the viewership in 189 countries, thus making it a very powerful body. It’s laying the rules and everyone is following them. So from June 9 to July 9, the AOL Arena would change its name to FIFA World Cup stadium, Hamburg. It would cost the German authorities half-a-million euros as settlement charges to the stadium sponsor AOL. Twelve German stadiums would lose their official names for the next one month, since they are not the official sponsors and FIFA does not want them anywhere near its game to give them even an iota of publicity. Otherwise, no one would shed those millions to become their official sponsors. Hence, within a kilometer of the 12 stadiums, FIFA forbids the appearance of any logos & advertising of non-sponsors. To complicate matters further, FIFA has demanded that no public events be held on match days


THE UGLY

FIFA needs to take care of its sponsors, for them to take care of it. The 2010 world cup would have only six worldwide partners, unlike 15 this year. One would need $125 million to belong to this elite group. The kind of mega exposure, this event guarantees, it’s not surprising to find sponsors already fighting for that coveted title of “partner 2010”. Not just the 2010, but companies like Budweiser have booked themselves as the official sponsors of the 2014 FIFA world cup, too.

With the rising popularity of sports, it’s the corporate sponsors who have become more powerful than the federations which govern them. These are the companies whose annual revenue is several times the GDP of smaller countries. They are the ones who put millions at stake and want every penny’s worth of return. Sometimes, things take an ugly turn too. Nike sponsors the Brazilian soccer team only because of Ronaldo. It could not afford to allow him to rest, even though he suffered from convulsions the night before the 1998 world cup final. He had to fight it out in the field with Adidas sponsored Zinedine Zidane, else Nike would lose its millions. In order to ensure that the match between Nike and Adidas, oops sorry, between Brazil and France goes as planned, they didn’t hesitate to pump Ronaldo with pain killers and force him to play.

THE MONEY

“Sports” is no more just sports, it’s a merchandise, and the players are peddlers of the goods of their sponsors. When Ronaldo plays, some 2000 jerseys with the number used by him during the game, are sold everyday.

Beckham is a brand to reckon with. Today his hairstyle gives him more media coverage than the number of goals he scores. He has sold sunglasses for Police, clothes for Marks & Spencer, cola for Pepsi, mobiles for Vodafone and now, for $9 million, he would be the face of Gillette for three years. Analysts estimate, he is a brand worth $375 million.

Sports celebrities are demigods today. On the Indian turf, you have sponsors dancing to the tunes of tennis-sensation, Sania Mirza. When she encountered Maria Sharapova, the advertisement rates of that match shot up by 15% in India. She was specially assigned one of the three show courts so that the game could be telecast directly to India, where many were staying up late to catch her on TV.


Cricket is the second religion in India and cricketers are worshipped, by both the fans and the corporates. Sehwag endorsed Dabur tooth powder and stopped the drop in its sales. In fact, the ad recall of the brand increased by 40%.

Sports stars guarantee television exposure of corporate logos when they play their game. That’s what all sponsors are looking for. The rules are straight, if you play well you earn not just fan adulation, but sponsors too, who will ensure that you and your fans wear their brand! The sporting-goods industry is estimated to be over $ 600 billion, which is more than the GDP of many countries. If we do a little more number crunching then consider this, in 1993, $9 billion worth of goods were related to sports, and the top three television networks generated $2.2 billion worth of sports related advertising while the cable networks generated $800 millions.

Every successful star, every and successful sporting event generates millions for the sponsors. When Japanese football games were aired on TV, Fuji Bank got one million new depositors that year! Business houses don’t hesitate to own or purchase sports teams, be it soccer or baseball or basketball. As long as they can be marketed, it’s okay. As long as people remain passionate about the sport, corporates will rake in the moolah. As the D-day nears, you will get to witness some adrenaline pumping action both on-screen and off-screen. Watch out for the sponsors, and see how they bend it better than Beckham!

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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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Honey! I shrunk the consumers

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“Our families rejoice – a new life’s begun. Our circle is richer with the birth of this one!” A happy couple sent out this card when their precious bundle of joy arrived in this world. Little did they realize that along with them, LG, McDonald’s, Whirlpool, Surf Excel rejoiced too. A consumer was born!

Yes its true; today, the age of the target segment seems to be shrinking. Advertisers are realizing the urgency of targeting children while they are still in their diapers; lest some competitor should snatch them away. Advertisers are making their pitches to younger & younger audiences. Today, the age of the target audience has dropped down to two years. No wonder, recent studies have shown that children as young as 36 months can recognize an average of 100 brand logos. According to the Center for a New American Dream, babies as young as six months of age can form mental images of corporate logos and mascots. So, by the time they are 2 years old, they could very well become your loyal consumers. They are, after all, your future breadwinners, and hence worth investing on today. Going by numbers: from $100 million in 1990, today the spending on advertising to children has increased to more than $2 billion. An early bird catches the worm – and marketers are starting as early as possible.

“No means no...” But actually not for long; and every child knows that. They have to just keep on asking till parents give in and buy them what they so desperately want. This “keep asking strategy” is reaping rich dividends not just for children, but for marketers too. They have, in fact, quantified it too. On an average, kids have to ask nine times till their parents give in. That’s for the ones who are 12-17 year old. The younger ones are even more persistent. They don’t hesitate to ask for the same thing more than fifty times. It takes enormous will power to refuse fifty times... and parents do give in. Marketers apparently had never underestimated the ‘power’ of a whining child; and those who have used this ‘power’ have raked in the moolah too. So all you do is keep the ads coming, and wait for the child to change the “No” to “Yes”.

just for kids

“I love you Rasna,” cooed a cute moppet, and soon every child wanted to drink Rasna. But that was a long time ago when things were simpler and little kids played with little cute toys. Today, it’s the era of ‘Beyblades’. Anyone with a child in the age group of 4 to 14 years knows what I am talking about. Rasna has done it again. It has once again managed to hook its target audience. It has started India’s first Beyblade Championship. As the little ones imitate their favourite Beyblade characters (“Tyson” and “Ray”) and many more, the company is all set to count the money. As the Beyblades start spinning, so do fortunes, and Rasna and the kids shout in unison, “Three, two, one, ho ja shuru!!!” Even ICICI is not far behind Rasna. It started the “Young Stars” account. No marks for guessing their brand ambassadors – Tom & Jerry. They captured the hearts of generations of youngsters & today are capturing their wallets!

The charm of a child is irresistible and no one knows it better than a mother and a marketer... and of course, McDonald’s! From the ambience of their outlet, to their concept of “Happy Meals,” this intelligent firm has made sure that kids drag their parents to McDonald’s outlets every time they want to eat out. The 2 billion dollars that McDonald’s shells out every year sure seems to be effective. So the Indian version of McDonald’s – Nirula’s – is trying to catch up by offering free ice-creams to students who have excelled in their examinations. Novartis decided to go a step further with its best seller Calcium Sandoz. It went directly to schools in Ahmedabad and distributed Calcium Sandoz in doggy packs along with doggie eraser, scale and pencil. After all, it pays to catch them young.

We are the world; We are the children...

The future of mother earth rests on the tiny shoulders of young children. So does the onus of building market shares in today’s business era. Today, competitors are using these tiny people to fight it out with their competitors in the market place. Who would have thought that purchase decisions on products like cars, washing machines and washing powders would be decided by children! But that’s a fact. Today, children decide almost everything, and parents are too stressed and short of time to hold their ground. Today, children are more aware about products and brands available, than even their parents.

Today, those are kids who decide whether they want a stylish car, or a big car, or a fuel efficient one. So while Maruti Suzuki shows an irate father shouting, “Oye Chhote bas kar yaar,” to stop his child from driving his toy car all over the place, the smart Chhote chirps back, “Papa ki karan, petrol khatam hi nahin honda!” The father slaps his forehead in awe and appreciates the lad and calls him a champion. Hyundai Santro knows that the little girl who gives away all her piggy bank saving for a “maroon car” will have her way. So, while the whole house wishes for the black, it’s got to be the maroon which the loving “Chachu” Shah Rukh gets for his loving niece. “Hoga Har Sapna Sakaar” promises a Santro to all the little decision makers.

If that were not enough, it’s not just the colours, but the size of the car which is decided by these lilliputs. So, when the school girl says that Maruti Esteem is a big car, her father feels he’s done well in life and smiles. Not to be outsmarted,

Indica advocates, “If you can’t have it, snatch it.” So the little sweetheart runs away with the bigger car of another boy. After all, it’s only human to want more, and Indica gives more. Be it mileage or comfort or color or style, kids know it all. Marketers are waking up to this fact. So, Surf Excel did not hesitate to give up the hard working, thrifty Lalitaji in favour of the charming brother who fights with the puddle that made his sister cry. Sachin and Shah Rukh were unable to pull it off alone, and Britannia and Sunfeast have to use the charms of two little naughty boys to convince the kids to buy their biscuits. If you have to win a trophy, eat a Sunfeast biscuit. If you want to be naughty, you need the energy of Britannia Tiger. And if you have to outsmart the adults, have a Parle-G. It’s no more just star power, but kid power, which makes ads work today.

While for all these years Horlicks used to talk to mothers about nutritious value of their products, now its “Aipong, Opang, Jhapang” for the smart child who needs no one to convince him what’s good for him. The mother just stands and appreciates the choice her child makes. All these years Colgate had been the market leader with its famous “Ring of Confidence,” which kept the family and the company’s market share safe. When competitor Pepsodent came in, it talked directly to the child and promised him that his mother would allow him all the things which were not good for his teeth, because Pepsodent would fight away all the germs. It was not just the germs, but also now “Dhishum-Dhishum” for Colgate’s market share and it learnt its lesson well. It tried hurriedly to scramble back with the help of a tiny kid’s voice that said “Mera Colgate. Meri big Suraksha.” Kids are a force to reckon with – you can’t ignore them. It’s a fact that kids influence 43% of the brand purchase decisions. Advertisers are pulling out all steps to keep kids surrounded by advertisements. India’s top advertising spenders are those whose products are consumed predominantly by children. Nestle tops the charts, followed by Britannia and Cadbury.

The The New Movie-Goers

Back in 1977, little boys carried “Howdy Doody” lunch boxes to school, after watching “Star Wars.” No one could imagine back then the amount this industry would grow. We all know that the five “Star Wars” films grossed nearly $5.7 billion in box office sales worldwide. However, what skipped the attention of many was another stunning number. Toys and merchandise sales of the movie were a staggering 9 billion dollars. Add to this another $4.3 billion towards video games and DVD sales. Every hit movie spawns a whole new set of toys for children. Toy Story almost spawned a mini industry in Buzz Lightyear merchandise. Months before a Harry Potter film hits the theatres, the sale of its merchandise goes to dizzying heights. Harry Potter is so much of a craze that Bajaj Discover has used a look-alike to promote the sale of its bikes in India.

On the Indian turf too, “Koi Mil Gaya” captured the imagination of thousands of young children as they flocked to the movie hall with their parents and later bought “Jadoo” merchandise. Kids are so important today that movie makers are writing scripts and action directors are directing action scenes so that they can be converted into video games for children. It said that action sequences of Star Wars were tailor-made for video games. Be it Charlie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, or Laurel & Hardy, all the movies which entertain kids were always very popular. However, George Lucas with his Star Wars showed the world how to build a fortune too! No wonder, instead of a pay rise, he was happy when 20th Century Fox gave him the merchandising and sequel rights of all the Star Wars films!


Hi-tech Boom

No time for parents to buy you a pet? Don’t worry children, all you need to do is log on to neopets.com, and own a virtual pet, all yours to love and to take care of in just a few seconds. This website is loaded with games full of opportunities for brands to tout their logos & ads. Today, this site has around 11 million users. Children prefer it to watching TV. The Neopia food shops sell Nestle sweets, Oreo Cookies et al to name a few. The Disney Theater link on this site shows cereal ads of General Mills. So, as children take care of their pets, they get familiar with various brands without even realizing it.

Postopia.com is another of those gaming sites where brands have linked their names to games so that children don’t forget them. We don’t need no education

Kids are glued to their TV sets. Most have one in their bedrooms. An average child sees 20,000 commercials every year. They are exposed to so much, so soon, that by 3 years, many are demanding products with specific brand names. It’s no surprise that children know more about Ronald McDonald than about their local heroes. Just when you thought you could turn off the TV and switch away your problems, you have Channel One. It offers a 12-minute news broadcast daily to more than seven million teens across American schools. Advertisers are ready to give their right arm to be a part of the commercial break that comes with this 12 minute news broadcast! Channel One does not hesitate to charge $195,000 for a 30 second ad. Where else would you get such a large captive audience!

Marketers are running helter-skelter to find ways to tap this burgeoning market. Kids surely are the new consumers. According to an estimate, 24% of the US population are kids, and the figure is estimated to remain stable till 2020. Clearly, marketers are finding newer ways to reach out to this huge market and communicate to them. So put on your Harry Potter glasses and start thinking-small, for honey, we just shrunk the consumers!

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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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Larger than Life

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Can’t shut ‘em off with a TV remote, can’t flip ‘em away like a mag, can’t change their channel like in a radio...Billboards are the most radical medium for advertisements today

While Madonna cooed, “Don’t cry for me Argentina,” as she played the role of Evita Peron, many on the Indian roads banged their cars into each other as they gazed wide-eyed at the hoardings of Evita soap and gasped, “Who’s that girl?”

So while Madonna’s song notched up to number 2 on the Billboards, a different success story was up on the billboards in India. As Lisa Ray looked down at passers-by from the huge billboards advertising Godrej’s Evita soap, commuters couldn’t take their eyes off her and soon, everyone wanted to know all about her and the soap, making both of them popular overnight.

Clearly, billboards can create a lot of impact if handled properly. They have proved their effectiveness time and again. Be it in UK, where The Economist has been using them for over 14 years, or be it India where Amul has been using them for decades to promote their products.

BILLBOARDS ARE BACK

If the movie “Cars” has once again got the cash registers rolling for Disney-Pixar animation studios, then those are cars that have once again sparked off a huge interest in billboards and the outdoors as a medium of advertising. Billboards are fast becoming a medium irresistible to advertisers and media planners. Definitely, those are the super highways and high speed cars that are responsible for the comeback of good old fashioned outdoor advertising. More and more people are on the roads, making the ‘viewership’ of this medium larger and larger day by day. All this while, billboards and hoardings had been playing second fiddle to the king of media – Television. Now all of a sudden, there is a twist in the tale and outdoors has become a powerful tool to reach out to customers.

“Speak up: It’s in your DNA!”

Hoardings in Mumbai urged people to speak their mind up and also made them curious. People wondered and waited, “What was it all about?” It was the run-up to the launch of the Zee-Bhaskar newspaper named DNA (Daily News and Analysis), which used outdoor advertising almost exclusively for spreading its launch message across Mumbai. People started talking about it. So much so that the Times Group was tempted to copy the ad-campaign to promote their newspaper Maharashtra Times. While the original DNA hoardings showed faces of people with their mouths pasted over by grey tape and below that ran the tagline: “Speak up: It’s in your DNA,” the Maharashtra Times, in its newspaper pages, showed people peeling grey tapes off their mouth, and the tagline went like this: “Speak up, its in your DNA – Maharashtra Times.” Of course, the ads proved a little expensive for Times, as Zee immediately slapped a Rs.100 crore lawsuit. However, our point is proved – billboards work. Billboards are an excellent way to reach a large audience. No wonder Reliance Infocomm, Hutch, Tata Indicom are all fighting it out in the “open,” using outdoors to attract consumers.

When the New Zealand Listener Magazine wanted to attract young readers, it designed an innovative billboard campaign. Using the website www.i-think.co.nz, young readers were encouraged to sort out, arrange and place various news, events and issues under four heads, that is, topical, interesting, tedious or dated. Every week, the magazine showcased the results on billboards. The magazine realised how billboards were a vital medium to make this strategy work. Without doubt, innovation is the key to success, when it comes to outdoor advertising; and Unilever has done it again – this time out in the open – on the streets of New York City! It has made a “Dirty Clothes Bus” that has caught the attention of all. What’s this bus for? It’s an advertisement for a detergent. The caption on the bus reads, “How much can one small bottle clean?” and the bus itself is covered with dirty clothes. For the first time, someone got the desired stares with clothes on, than off!

London has a favorite jumping point for would-be suicide planners. Just opposite this point, a wise guy put up a hording which read, “Before you jump, give us a call.” It was actually an advertisement for a job site! Simply too good, or should I say simple and good? Yes, outdoors is a medium where you have to KISS your way into the hearts of consumers. Keep it short and simple, and it will rock! The outdoors is where all the action lies today. According to a survey done in US, 78% of advertisers thought that today, traditional television commercials had become less effective. In summary, everyone prefers taking their goods outdoors.

An artist, frustrated by the current American President’s administration, made a small painting, which apparently looked like George Bush’s face. But on close inspection, it was actually made of monkey heads in marshes. When the art gallery refused to display it, some anonymous donors picked it up and projected it on a giant billboard in Manhattan. They knew 400,000 car owners daily would see the painting projection and form their opinions about the futile war Bush is fighting in Iraq. The billboard was such a hit that bidding for the painting by the little known artist has already touched $4,000!

Billboards offer endless creative possibilities. No wonder, Coca-Cola is taking on Pepsi full throttle in the outdoors. It’s going all out to promote its new beverage Coca-Cola BlaK with its new slogan – “The Coke side of life”; and hoardings will be its primary medium. Not long before, Pepsi too went outdoors to woo people with a kick and a kiss. While Priyanka Chopra offered the kick of coffee, Kareena Kapoor promised the kiss of cola, as Pepsi launched its Pepsi Cafe Chino flavour. Buses were painted and dressed up and had these two beautiful girls promising a kick and a kiss to youngsters. They did arouse a lot of interest; however, it was more kick than kiss for Pepsi as the product’s taste did not go down well with consumers!

Even the traditional London cab has today turned into a very popular vehicle for outdoor promotion. It has become a medium for reaching mass audiences. New product launches, brand building exercises et al are all being done through taxis! Be it Coca-Cola, or Gillette, or Haagen Dazs, all have used taxis to “drive home” the message to customers.

BILLBOARDS ARE FUN

Technology has been largely responsible for the rebirth of this medium. Billboards are no more those wooden boards that took so long to paint and were so quick to fade. Today, you can download music, play games, watch videos, design your own sneakers, and even purchase them – all directly from the billboard.

In New York City’s Times Square, Walt Disney World has a billboard advertising its theme park. You can send a text message to the number displayed, and within seconds, you receive an SMS supporting your query, and even asking whether you would want to receive further promotional messages. In fact, one of the longest billboards in the world – 100 feet wide – belongs to Coca Cola. It’s placed in London’s Piccadilly Circus. Being amongst the largest is not its only claim to fame. The billboard astoundingly changes with the weather too. So if it’s rainy, the billboard displays rain drops; if it’s windy, it displays ripples; but more than this, if you wave at the billboard, most astoundingly, it waves back! Another product, Absolut Vodka, has rock star Lenny Kravitz on its Manhattan billboard, inviting passers by to turn on the Bluetooth connectivity on their mobiles to download a free four minute MP3 track, while they wait for the street light to turn green!

BILLBOARDS BUILD BRANDS

Supporting the shift, big advertisers and popular brand names are today putting their faith and money on billboards. The Independent used only posters for promoting its newspaper, and sales increased dramatically by 9%. British fashion label FCUK (French Connection United Kingdom) built its brand only with the help of billboards. When Smirnoff wanted to improve its sales in New Zealand, it used the word “OFF” in different innovative ways and plastered it on hoardings all over New Zealand. It used simple one-liners like, ‘Pressure OFF’, ‘Dance your ass OFF’, ‘The half day OFF’. The term “OFF” was from the Smirn”off” bottle, placed in such a way that only the “off” part was visible. So for any kind of an ‘off’, it had to be Smirnoff. Dramatically, the sales of the vodka increased by 35%.

When India wanted to attract tourists, it took its hoardings of “Incredible India” straight into Times Square, New York. They wanted to showcase India as the ideal destination for Yoga, Ayurveda etc., but wanted those tourists who were willing to pay. For this, they had to make India look irresistible. The most effective and fastest way was through billboards.

BILLBOARDS ARE SPECIAL

The rules of the game have changed. It’s a whole new world out there, full of innovations and limitless possibilities. Billboards are far from boring. They can be so much fun today and so creative. The medium itself is so unique. Unlike television ads, one cannot zap billboards into oblivion with one’s remote; unlike in a magazine, one cannot turn pages and miss the ad; unlike radio, one cannot turn a billboard off! If you are on the road, you are bound to notice it. Whether it creates an impact or not depends on its creativity. The billboard is a huge canvass, which gives the company a chance to make a brand look larger than life. The billboard gives that power in your hands. The best part is, all this comes at a fraction of cost. Billboards cost three times less than newspapers, half as much as radio, and seven times less than television. Outdoors, without doubt, is one of the most powerful marketing tools.

BILLBOARDS GO TO FIFA

While you are busy rooting for your favourite team during the FIFA World Cup, don’t forget the billboards lined up alongside the stadium. They are a great way to promote brands and products. After all, all of them did shell out $45 million to $50 million to be present inside the football grounds. Interestingly, the city of Frankfurt is turning itself into a huge billboard for FIFA. The road from the Munich airport to the World Cup stadium has a huge cut-out of the German national football team goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The city is using billboards to project itself as a hospitable, sport-loving, cosmopolitan city. Be it Leipzig or Munich or Hamburg, all of them together are posting their passions on billboards, welcoming the players, the tourists and the game. Those are the billboards that have turned Germany into a large playground and taken the football fever to dizzying heights. Billboards have been building up the tempo much before the advent of the Cup. Nike was seen rooting for the underdog USA with the help of a giant billboard on 7th Avenue in New York City. First, a hoarding went up which read, “The World No Longer Wants To Play Us.” Then the 70 foot billboard was changed to “BEWARE,” showing the American footballers ready to take on the match. The message was designed to give soccer fans a rallying cry. Even Coca-Cola had dedicated two of its billboards inside the stadium to its fans. Fans of the teams playing a particular match were allowed to create art works – on the billboards – that would convey a sense of national pride and enthusiasm. What was earlier reserved for the sponsor’s name and logo, had now been changed into a work of art by Coca-Cola for the 2006 World Cup. The dazzling billboards, the vibrant colors, the numerous messages emblazoned on numerous billboards – these posters changed the whole environment of the country.

Indisputably, and undeniably, when you want to make it large, you’ve got to take your message to the big stage – the outdoors. If you want to create an impact, beat competitors, you’ve got to make it larger than life!

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!