Cool infographics

Here's where you can find all the cool infographics on various topics and subjects. Enjoy.

don't carry baggage

You need your baggage to move around. So here's all the dope on the Luggage Industry of India. The category is divided into hard luggage and soft luggage (now, don't ask me the difference). Soft luggage is slowly gaining grounds. Top branded players include VIP (Alpha and Aristocrat are part of VIP Industries), Safari, Samsonite (American Tourister is a part of Samsonite) and Witco. Hidesign is one Indian player who is giving a tough competition to other foreign luxury players like Giordano, Delsey, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. And they are all making a beeline to woe Indian consumers.

Factors that seem to push this industry are low cost air travel and multiple vacation in a year. Rise in business travel and frequent women fliers are setting new trends.

• The size of the organised luggage market in India is pegged at Rs. 800 crore
• The market is growing at 20% y-o-y
• The grey market is estimated to be another Rs. 800 crore
• The market is witnessing 70% offtake in soft luggage

With varied traveller needs, luggage companies are now providing toilet kit holders, garment hangers, laundry bags, shoe bags and expandable bags. Value addition huh. Well, this is indeed a growing market and companies are indeed adapting fast to keep up.

Source: The Economic Times.

Well, don't carry baggage, carry soft luggage. Call the porter...

Dope on Booze

Interesting figures in today's ET. Booze market in India is growing.

• In 2006, sales of beer and other spirits crossed 220 million cases - a growth of 10%
• Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) sales made up half the market
• The market for IMFL is estimated to be around Rs. 34000 crore
• Beer hogged 90% of the rest of the market
• There are estimated to be 200 million regular whiskey drinkers in India
• A McKinsey study sees consumption of alcoholic beverages growing from Rs. 11,500 crore in 2005 to Rs. 71,200 crore in 2025 at an annual CAGR of 9.6%
• Almost 90% of the whiskey sold in India costs less than Rs.300
• The alcoholic beverage market is seen growing @ 15 - 20% if deregulated
• Exponential growth in the premium liquor segment is pulling the entire category
• Imports account for barely 1% of Indian spirits market
• INDIA is the BIGGEST CONSUMER of WHISKEY in the WORLD

Hola, I guess Alcoholic Anonymous has lot of work to do in this country. Anyone out there has any interesting campaign based on this figures. If yes, do revert. And don't drink and drive, you might end up paying the cops more than you drank.

Hic.

Update: More resources:

• Beer sales in India are forecast to grow at a CAGR 17.2% to 2011
• South India consumed most beer - 471 million litre, while north guzzled up 35 million cases
• Kingfisher rules the market with 45% share
• SABMiller brands command 37% market share
• Annual per capita consumption stands at just 0.6 litre compared to 23 litre in China, an average of 73 litre across Europe and 78 litre in US

Hurray.

Indian IT rocks

The Indian IT/BPO industry is expected to post a compounded growth rate of 18.2% in the next 5 years. USD 100 Billion in revenues by 2011. Now that’s an achievement.

In 2006, the Indian IT/ITeS industry (domestic and exports) clocked revenues of Rs. 198477 crore, up 31% over 2005. The IT services/BPO exports pegged at Rs. 130,067 crore in 2006 is expected to reach Rs. 289,857 crore by 2011. Meanwhile, the domestic IT/ITeS revenue is projected to touch Rs. 168,370 crore in 2011, posting a CAGR of 19.7% (IT growing at 16.4% and ITeS at 40.4%).

As reported in The Economic Times.

Communication Policy

In India, insurance is generally considered as a tax saving device instead of its other implied long term financial benefits. We are prone to investing in properties and gold followed by bank deposits. Though this attitude is changing at a fast pace, India still remains an under-insured country. The insurance market is estimated to be USD 700 million according to IRDA and growing 20 per cent annually in real terms for the last 5 years. There are about 18 odd players in the market who offers various Life Insurance products.

Now that 31st March is approaching, Insurance companies have started advertising heavily. Once considered a boring category, Insurance companies have understood the importance of brand building. Sadly, below is what their communication boils down too:
The essence is Life, Security, Future and Being in control. Same message, different execution.
Life + Security = Retire from work not life (ICICI)
Life + Control = Control your life (SBI)
Future + Control = Kal par control (Aviva)
Security + Future = Mera Farz (ING)

This is how I see the insurance issue. How do you look at it?

Healthy is wise and wealthy

Health consciousness is indeed a cause of concern for us Indians. A closer look at the figures below will explain why:

• 60% of the world’s cardiac patients will be Indian by 2010
• Every fourth diabetic in the world is an Indian
• 120 million urban Indians are seriously obese and Indian ranks among the top 10 obese nations of the world – 70% of diabetes in India is obesity - related
• 800000 Indians are diagnosed with cancer each year
• Strokes kill 2,000 people in India each day
• 5.1 million number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in India, highest in South Asia
• One in three teenagers has a bad eyesight, 30% have decaying teeth and 17% of the country’s 250 million adolescents are overweight

Take a look at the market figures according to a recent CII & McKinsey Study conducted in India:

• Health forms 12% of household expenditure. The third on the consumer’s spend list – higher than apparel and entertainment.
• What’s worrisome is that 76 per cent of the Indian population pays their medical expenses themselves, often wiping out family savings in one stroke.
• Only 20% is covered by health insurance. And the market for potential insurable lives in the country is 315 million.
• The boom in healthcare is slated to rise up to Rs. 208800 crore by 2012.
• The pharma retailing for nutraceuticals - everything from multi-vitamins, diet supplements, sugar substitutes to low fat etc. thepie has crossed Rs. 30000 crore.
• The medical tourism industry in India is currently worth Rs 1,500 crore and the country could well earn Rs 5,000-10,000 crore by the year 2012 and growing at an annualized rate of 30 percent.
• The beauty, fitness and wellness market is estimated to be Rs. 80000 crore in India.
• The fitness equipment industry is clocking an annual growth of 50 per cent.

No wonder modern India is growing conscious and aware about a ‘healthy lifestyle’. Call it wellness or healthy, a sudden upliftment of the old adage “Health is wealth” is hitting us hard. Companies are repositioning themselves to the health platform, new health products are being offered. Dabur, Himalaya, Marico, Nestle, HLL, Britannia, Kellogg’s, Pepsi, Amul, ICICI have joined the band-wagon. Basically, all hustle and bustle around the word ‘well-being.’

• Nestle now stands for Slim Milk.
• Kit Kat went Lite.
• Amul launched probiotic ice creams.
• Mother don’t scold anymore when snack on Kellogg’s.
• Atta Maggi is health bhi, taste bhi.
• Saffola Gold is champion of healthy hearty cooking oils.
• Knorr soup is nourishing souls.
• Sugar Free Natura is on media spend spree.
• Pepsi’s core focus is on Tropicana juices
• Dabur is doing a similar stunt with Real Fruit Juices
• Britannia says ‘eat healthy, think better.’
• ICICI Bank launched the ‘Diabetes Care,’ the first critical illness insurance policy in the world.
  

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is ‘health’ a healthy brand platform?

The desire to reduce health-care costs is one force behind the rise of the wellness industry; the other is the growing demand from consumers for things that make them feel healthier. Lifestyle disease and disorder is really on the rise. So it makes tremendous sense for marketers to deal with consumer’s health concern to be relevant in-case they start losing their market shares. Hence the need for companies to go beyond physical fitness and enter into mental, emotional and physical wellness in their lives.

These changes were restricted to the F&B category initially, but there is a discernible shift from fairness to healthy skin, from beauty salons to spas that offer holistic health, and more male interest in all these categories. True, much of this is still niche, but waiting eagerly to come into full bloom.

Marketers are only happy to embrace anything that’s happy and healthy. Therefore every brand and category is trying to draw upon the benefits of a healthy living. And over a period of time more companies will try to bank on the health platform with an array of new products to lure the Indian consumers.

Now that you have understood the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how marketers will target you with their next less sugar, low fat, high fiber offering, I’ll go and get my apple before my doctor turn against me.

Wait and watch

India has always been a fascinating country for marketers. With more than 1.2 billion population, marketing in India has a different charm all together. Now look at the watch market for instance. India is the most promising markets for the watch trade across the globe with penetration level of 25 watches per 1000 people, as compared to global average of 250 watches per 1000 people.

Out of the total present demand of more than 30 million units, the ‘organised’ sector supplies only 14 million units valued at $203 million while the ‘unorganised’ sector (read illegal) is worth $232 million. Over the past couple of years the watch industry have shown a decline in growth rate until last year when the market grew by 14.73 per cent in 2006. All kudos goes to Titan for its brilliant marketing initiative. At present there are more than 20000 watch retailers in India. The watch industry is estimated to be Rs. 2750 crore in 2006 and expected to become Rs. 4750 crore by 2009.

Seems like Titan is the only Indian watch maker doing all the marketing juggernauts? Wonder whether HMT is lost forever? Or will India become the new battle ground of Cartier, Omega, Rolex, Tissot, Swatch, Citizen and the numerous other luxury watches opening exclusive boutiques in India? Or can we see a complete brand revival of HMT? I guess we’ll have to wait and watch.

Do anyone of you remember any HMT print ad or a TV commercial?

Music for the ears

The Indian music industry is growing through sea-change these days. Traditionally a cassette and CD playing market, India is suddenly waking up to the potential of digital music. Recent example of digital music by films like KANK, DON, Jan-e-Mann, and Salam-e-Ishq are prime example of the growing demand in digital music. The crucial point is that promoting an album in the physical format is expensive, while the money that accrues from digital sales is all profit because it is one file that is downloaded again and again.

Physical sales of CD’s and tapes dwindled to Rs. 720 crore from Rs. 1081 crore in 2001. Though the number of CD’s sold has gone up from 10 million in 2000-01 to 36 million in 2005, the fall in the sales of cassettes has been drastic. On the other hand sales of mobile music – ringtones, true tones, full track downloads and video clips – have zoomed to Rs. 450 crore with 300 million downloads per annum. This figure is set to double over the next 12 – 18 months.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report on entertainment, the mobile music industry in India will be the largest at Rs. 3600 crore by 2009-10.

India, with its mobile consumer base of 130 million, is witnessing a boom in the consumption of mobile music. This segment s likely to contribute Rs. 120 crore to the bottomline of music companies this year, while consumers will pay up to Rs. 450 crore for downloading music on their phones.

This is another reason why marketers should bank on this growing category. No wonder, mobile companies like Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson are increasingly focusing on music playing mobiles.

And how exactly can they benefit? Maybe start creating more memorable jingles, brand songs, memes, signature tunes etc. which can be downloaded as music on the move. Maybe create a database of consumers who like certain brands and send it as free gift.

Digitization allows music companies to cater to specific needs of consumers. For instance there is a significant market for old classical music by artists and consumers are willing to pay different amounts for multiple devices. Not to forget the advantage digitization allows in combating piracy. To check piracy now phones are designed such that once a track is downloaded, it gets locked on the handset and cannot be forwarded enabling any kind of revenue loss.

Digital music (online and mobile) will outsell physical music in India by the end of this year. It will be largely defined by the growth in the mobile music sector. With new delivery channels of music such as FM stations and WAP sites emerging, entertainment companies, music publishing companies, production houses and equipment manufacturers are waking up to a booming music market. This revenue stream has given lease of life to some very old music companies too.

After music, it will be the digitization of our favorite Bollywood flicks. What’s next? Mobisodes of K serials?? Podcast of Sri Sri and his meditation techniques???

Technology you’re truly transforming.

Pure promotion

Kidstuff Promos & Events conducted a recent survey to find out what role do pr0motions play in influencing buying behaviour. Of the 2612 consumers in 10 cities, 47 per cent of people go for repeat purchase if there are offers. Promotions do help in creating demand for a brand but also help convert a future purchase intention into action.

The retail end of the survey, conducted across 820 stores in 10 cities, shows that promotions work well in modern retail outlets. Interestingly, about 59 percent of mall-goers had participated in a promotion through SMS and over the telephone, 44 percent through a contest, and only 28% used the traditional scratch cards.

Source: Businessworld Magazine

India Facts

Some interesting facts revealed in the latest issue (15 Years After) of Business Today magazine. Do grab a copy for your own reference at the earliest.

• According to a Deutsche Bank Report, India is likely to be the world’s third richest economy by 2020, with a GDP of Rs. 64 lakh crore
• Today, 1.6 million people earn more than $100,000 a year; the number will grow to 3 million by 2010
• 544 million Indians will likely join the consuming middle class between 2006 and 2015; current size estimated 250 – 300 million
• Total consumption estimated around $550 billion in 2006 as against $300-340 billion in 2002
• Market for luxury products in India is estimated at $444 million today; it was almost non-existent a decade ago
• FMCG industry will grow to Rs. 1,06,300 crore by 2012 compared to Rs. 60,000 crore now
  
• 21 million Indians have a home loan today compared with only 2.6 million 10 years ago; this is likely to double in the next 3 years
  
• Total number of credit card issued is 13 million (just 2% penetration) and 32 million users of debit card, while average monthly spend on cards is as low as Rs. 1500
• Television penetration in 2005 stood at 50% of the total population of which 60% are C&S household
• Refrigerator penetration is 12 per cent

Where is all this taking us? Definitely not Mainland China. Pun unintended, our culture is slowly sinking into consumerism and the middle class is indeed growing in size. Says, Mr. Rajeev Bakshi, "The growth base is still very small, 60 million people who can actually afford goods and services will not be the growth driver. When this number becomes 130 million over a period of three to five years and attains a critical mass, thats when the FMCG sector will start booming." To add on that Mr. Gurucharan Das says, "If the economy grows over 7% annually in the foreseeable future and the population increases by 1.5 percent and literacy rate keeps rising, then half of India will turn middle class between 2020 and 2040."

After going through all this, I am left with several questions on my mind. Things are growing faster, things are changing even faster, what role will advertising play on these newly enlightened-uplifted-new-age consumers? Will advertising re-incarnate itself as an information provider or become a true facilitator to the buying/consumption process? Will advertising become more scientific or more artistic?

If you have answers to this, do write back.

A Brief Recap of 2006

Today is the last day of 2006. So I decided to make a brief note on all the important 'happenings' in the Indian Marketing, Advertising and Media industry.

The 2006 Hot categories:

Automotive: 15 new car launches, year 2006 was a roller coaster for the 4-wheeler market in India. Luxury car makers like Rolls Royce, Audi, and Porsche formally entered the Indian market. Players were gung-ho about the hatchback segment in 2005, this year mid-size sedan was the flavor. Ford Fiesta is the biggest winner, Honda City is losing its sheen to Chevy Aveo. Honda Civic gained at the cost of Toyota Corolla and Chevy Optra. The entry level car Maruti 800 is now a passé and Alto has taken up that space.

Similarly, more than 20 new launches in the 2-wheeler category. Bajaj Pulsar is a clear winner in the premium bike segment but losing out shares to TVS Apache. Hero Honda Splendor, once the largest selling bike in India has suddenly fallen back with the entry of more mean machines.

Retail: The Retail Monster finally made its presence felt in the Indian market. New players joining in, old players consolidating their business, emerging specialized players, growing hypermarkets, indeed retail was a show stopper. Big Bazaar got bigger, Subhiksha took up 'Morcha against Kharcha,' Food World became Spencer, Rmkv sold more silk sarees, Globus, Westside, Pyramid lost their edge and Shopper's Stop became more exclusive. And more on Indian Retail Yatra, here.

Beverage: A bad year for the cola companies. The pesticide issue stirred up unnecessary controversy and sales were hurt. Fruit and Fruit based drinks gained popularity, Pepsi & Coke increased their focus to tap on this rising segment. Appy launched a new viral. Dabur Real and Tropicana gained while Lipton Ice Tea after all that noise in 2005 is no where in the picture.

Mobile Phones: One of the top spending category in the Indian Media. Sony Ericsson Walkman phone with its fabulous “I (logo) whatever” campaign managed to connect with Indian Youth. They stole the show during the last quarter of this year. Nokia, though a market leader seems to lose out on its communication edge. Motorola, which created KRZR and MING this year, got Abhishek to speak for them. LG Chocolate did find some taker but Samsung is no more to be seen. MMS and Bluetooth are two features which is a must-have feature for Indian cell phone buyers.

Male Hair Grooming: As a category it was always there and Brylcreem was the leader. Enter, Parachute Aftershower and Set Wet Hair Gel, the category is hot and happening. 'Dhoni Style' and 'Spikes' were the two most popular hair cuts in 2006. More brands with similar products will be in the offering .

Gaming: Xbox stole the show, Zapak.com made news and Sify Game Drome surfaced all corners of the Indian cities. Grey market made brisk business selling consoles. Sony, Nintendo, Gameboy are devising their entry strategy for the Indian market. Barbie, Bratz, Lego and other soft toys have suddenly become playmates of a by-gone era.

IT & Cousins: HP made computers personal, Lenovo made the dog dance, Compaq got SRK and for Dell, the shares fell. Apple jolted and played down on price. Laptop picked up, PC went below the 10K mark and more Indians are buying computer.

Web Portals: Job site Monster.com offered jobs to all, Bharatmatrimony got more and more Indians married, Makemytrip/Yatra allowed Indians cheap travel, Yahoo/Google remained the undisputed rulers and being a member on Orkut become all craze. Well... MSN, Rediffmail and Indiatimes do exists but hardly any users these days.

Indian interpretation of Innovative Marketing – 2006 Chapter:

In 2006, Indian Marketers got innovative in their approach; cause marketing, network marketing, guerrilla marketing and with all those fancy name that adorns the word ‘marketing,’ well, they are copying western formats but doing a decent job.

• Pond’s now stands for, “Violence against Women”
• Elle has taken up, “Breast Cancer”
• Turtle Shirts is “Rehabilitating Endangered Turtles”
• ITC with its e-Choupal Initiative is bringing sunshine to Rural India.
• Wills Lifestyle and Lakme are synonymous to Indian Fashion
• Sunsilk has taken the initiative to connect with pretty Indian girls via Gangs of Girls.com, Whisper was quick to follow with BeingGirl.com
• CNN IBN started Citizen Journalism and TOI went all colour by announcing a Fashion Show

2006 Shake-ups (Events and Issues that made Media NEWS):

Industry Related:
• Mittal-Arcelor steel deal
• Tata-Corus steel deal
• Bharti-Wal-Mart Retail Ruckus
• Reliance Fresh entering the Retail market
• How many FM stations do you want?
• Is DTH the end of our Cablewalas
• Sensex crossing 14K mark
• Lalu Prasad Yadav giving lectures at IIM and HBS Students visiting him
• Modern retail vs Kirana Stores
• China vs India
• Lastly, Hutch-Essar-Reliance-Vodafone telecom deal at the end of the year

Politics, Bollywood and Youth Related:
• Medical Students going on strike against Reservation Quota
• Aamir Khan for speaking about Sardar Sarovar Project
• Rang De Basanti and the aggression of Indian Youth at college campus over trivial issues
• Salman Khan sent to Jail for Black Buck Killing
• Munna Bhai’s Gandhigiri
• Sanjay Dutt court case for the Mumbai Blast
• Navjot Singh Sidhu convicted of Murder
• SRK taking over Big B as Don and now Hot Seat Owner in KBC 3
• Is Mamta holding back economic development in WB?

Sports Related:
• Brazil or Germany but turned out to be Spain in FIFA World Cup
• Pathetic performance of Indian Cricket Team
• Dada is back to the squad
• Wanted more jockeys in Indian Hockey
• Sania please wake up
• Peas and Bhupathi no more Bhai-Bhai
• Is Santhi a girl or a boy?

Celebrity Endorsement:
• Use them, don’t use them
• Use them effectively
• Bring accountability
• Performance based remuneration

Agency Related:
• Dearth of Talent and what can be done?
• Training, the new tool in town
• New media and its effectiveness
• Via You Tube or Picture Tube?
• Agency - Brand’s partner or Client’s supplier?
• Is Omnicom planning big moves?
• Creative Award or Campaign Effectiveness?
• In-film placement of brands reached a new height with James Bond, Don & Dhoom-2
• Why Santosh did what he did?
• Planner and Creative – True partner or fallacy?

This was indeed a great year. Keeping tab of things was not so easy and I'm sure, I've missed out on lot of things. If you come across something interesting which I’ve missed out, do post your comments.

Wish you all a very Happy and a Prosperous 2007.

Fly your Flag High

A recent article in Economic Times caught my attention. It was about Adbusters new Flag which replaced the Stars in the US flag with logos of American brands.

Logos and Flags have certain similarities.

• A logo is a symbol which represents a company, product, service
• A Flag represents a country, a state or a service(to the nation)

A logo is not just an image or a symbol; it is the embodiment of the organization. A flag is a symbol of a nation and its people (though there are several types of flags). The uniqueness of a logo is often necessary to avoid confusion in the marketplace among general public, affiliates etc. Similarly, flag designs exhibit a number of regularities, arising from a variety of practical concerns, historical circumstances, and cultural prescriptions that have shaped and continue to shape their evolution.

Here are few similarities that designers should follow:

Basic principles of a Logo:
Should be unique
Should be simple
Should be uniform (colors, shape, form, consistency, clarity)
Should be distinctive

Basic principles of a Flag:
Keep it simple: So simple that even a child can draw it from memory
Use Meaningful Symbolism: The flag’s images, colors or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes
Use 2-3 Basic colors: Use colors which contrast well and come from the standard color set
No Lettering or Seals: Never use writing of any kind
Be Distinctive: Avoid duplication but use similarities to show connection

Vexillology is the scholarly study of Flags, and considered a branch of Semiotics. A person who studies flags is a Vexillologist and the person who designs one is called a Vexillographer

Traveling Online

(c) Copyright Oddisgood.com

Creating new categories seems to be the new business mantra in the Indian IT market. Technology has helped open novel avenues and vulture capitalists are eyeing every move by entrepreneurs to park and grow their monies. As internet penetration in the Indian market increases, more and more innovative online services will be available.

According to IAMAI, internet users in India have reached the 37 million mark in September 2006, up from 33 million in March 2006. This number will rise to 40 million by March 2007! And, India has over 9 million broadband users in 2006 which is expected to touch 20 million by end of 2007 as per TRAI. What it means is that innovative online services will grow quantitatively and qualitatively.

Currently, the Indian market is following worldwide trends. Easy to see why the timing seems to be perfect for the growth rate that has been projected. Online B2C e-commerce is growing at 80% y-o-y as per IDC. At first it was the Online Matrimony players who gained. The latest ones to cash-in are the Online Travel players, a segment that has suddenly become red hot.

The travel market in India is estimated to be around USD 14 billion, that includes railways, bus services, air services, private vehicle services. The online travel market was around USD 300 million in 2005, crossed USD 750 million in 2006 and is expected to cross USD 2 billion by 2008. At 125% growth rate, online travel market is the fastest growing e-commerce segment, accounting for close to 60% of the total e-commerce pie. In addition, the entire online travel segment is fuelled by the rising number of air carriers. 12 operating airlines and more than six new players expected to begin service by next year.

Big budget spends to attract low budget travelers is the name of the game. Players like Makemytrip.com, Yatra.com, Cleartrip.com, Journeymart.com, Travelguru.com and new entrants like Sify, Indiatimes Travel too are making their presence felt in the market.

So what exactly is fuelling this sudden, unexpected boom in this industry? Primarily it is the convenience of desktop destination choosing, price comparison, the get-off-your-butt- every-weekend hysteria and of course, loads of disposable income of urban youth.

In such a scenario, how do the coming days look like for traditional brick and mortar travel agencies? Well, they too can have a share in this pie provided they focus on an all-new target audience, and perhaps offer them with low cost railway and bus tickets.

Now for the new segments that’ll emerge in the coming years. One of them is easily the Heli-taxi service. Imagine dialing 1009 and a helicopter landing on your terrace within 10 minutes. And taking you places. But in a lighter vein, there seems to be one hindrance that needs a little working on. Adequate space on your roof!

I often wonder when will Space Tourism become cheaper and affordable so that one fine day, I can wander in the deep blue sky above, past the moon, and seeing what really lies in those famous black holes. Till I get my hand on my personal Teleportation Machine, let Yatra.com arrange my tickets to Chennai.

Have you planned your New Year destination yet ?

Tween twist

Tween as you all know refers to prepubescent children. Though, the term Tween varies according to different sources. A child in the age group of 8 to 12 years starts to act think and reflect more teen and adult natures. They form an opinion of their own. They look forward to share more with their friends than their parents. Therefore, as a consumer segment they are of a growing importance to marketers.

India has the world’s largest population of tweens with over 116 million and growing. 60% of Indian tweens live in poverty and the number of tweens living on the street is rising while the urban middle class tweens boast of spending, significantly. Indian tweens are of no different from their western counterpart. To them their self-image is as important as the ‘cool factor.’ The only difference between the teens and the tweens from a marketing perspective is that the later is still under their parents’ wing. They are growing with technology. Internet has helped them to find an identity and give them a voice. They are rejecting anything that seems like a child product. While the boy-tweens are very much into sports (both indoor and outdoor), girl-tweens are avid readers of glossy magazines. They are more informed and influence heavily in any family purchase decision.

The KGOY (Kids getting older younger) factor is hitting the industry hard. Marketers in India are clueless on how to talk to them in the tone and manner that they like. How to talk to techno-savvy tweens of tomorrow remain a million dollar question.

The key to future success in marketing to tweens lies in interactivity. Harry Potter swept tweens the world over with its book series, movies series, merchandise; ‘Krissh’ with its multi-dimensional approach achieved some success.

So how will the future look like?

• Confectionery will still remain largest area of expenditure.
• Soft drinks will find stiff competition from health drinks and fruit drinks.
• Traditional toys and games will suffer setback from electronic/video games, Game consoles will be really BIG, robotic toys will take over Barbie’s of the world.
• The influence of celebrities on tweens will be significant.
• Tween Specialist stores will spring up.
• Tween specific products will be on the rise eg. Young Nokia, Young Samsung, Young iPod, Young Nike, Young Levis will find a market of its own.
• Make-your-own products will see a boom time.
• Plethora of tween specific finance products will be offered by banks.
• More tween specific media content will be seen on TV e.g. TVS Junior Sa Re Ga Ma, Tween Idol, Tween Roadies. Tween specific websites will appear e.g. Wiki Kids, Ask Jeeves for Kids

Brands are beginning to recognize the power of tweens as you can see. Reckless consumption due to growth of economy will become the norm. Tweens will develop a conscience of their own, will grow sensitive to their environment and demand products that will conform to their expectations.

If you think the tween market will really get twisted then let’s debate on this issue and keep your comments coming.

Buy Button in the Brain

Neuromarketing is the study of the brain’s responses to ads, brands and the rest of the messages filling up the cultural and societal landscape. It is now one of the hottest new tools in the trade. At the most basic levels, companies are starting to shift through the piles of psychological literature that have been steadily growing since the 1990s' boom in brain-imaging technology.

Surprisingly few businesses have kept tabs on the studies - until now. "Most marketers don't take a single class in psychology. A lot of the current communications projects we see are based on research from the '70s," says Justine Meaux, a scientist at Atlanta's Bright House Neurostrategies Group, one of the first and largest neurosciences consulting firms. "Especially in these early years, it's about teaching people the basics. What we end up doing is educating people about some false assumptions about how the brain works."

For decades, marketers have relied on behavioral studies for guidance. But some companies are taking the practice several steps further, commissioning their own fMRI studies. In a study of men's reactions to cars, Daimler-Chrysler has found that sportier models activate the brain's reward centers -- the same areas that light up in response to alcohol and drugs -- as well as activating the area in the brain that recognizes faces, which may explain people's tendency to anthropomorphize their cars.

Increased activity in the brain doesn't necessarily mean increased preference for a product. And no amount of neuromarketing research can transform otherwise rational people into consumption-driven zombies.

Of course we're all influenced by the messages around us, that doesn't take away free choice. Marketers have long known that some brands have a seemingly magic appeal; they can elicit strong devotion, with buyers saying they identify with the brand as an extension of their personalities. The BrightHouse research is expected to show exactly which products those are.

No one has discovered a "buy button" in the brain. But with more and more companies peering into the minds of their consumers, could that be far off?

Reason for Anger

In a recent study conducted by Williams and Mattingley (Current Biology, vol. 16, pp 402-404, June 2006) which goes on to show that men detect angry faces more rapidly than women do. On the other hand, women are faster a picking out a happy, sad, surprised or disgusted face. The addition of neutral distractor faces to the search display has little effect on the detection of angry male faces by either male or female observers.

Quote from the article: "In humans, evolution has resulted in marked differentiation between males and females, including differences in the structural and functional organization of the brain. These differences are reflected in patterns of cognitive and behavioural abilities. For example, females tend to perform better than males at fine motor and perceptual discrimination tasks, whereas males are better at route-finding tasks. Males are also physically larger and more aggressive than females, and so more likely to pose a physical threat. Such physical differences between the sexes may in turn have shaped the cognitive processes involved in detecting threatening behaviour in others. Early detection of an angry facial expression, for example, might reduce the likelihood of an injurious or potentially fatal confrontation. Similarly, detection of a fearful expression might warn of a potential threat in the immediate vicinity. Although much emphasis has been placed on such cognitive and physical distinctions between the sexes, few studies have investigated differences in the efficiency with which males and females perceive facial expressions, despite the potential importance of affect perception for survival......From an evolutionary perspective, the potential for physical threat from a male is greater than that from a female. A perceptual system that prioritizes detection of angry male faces, which directly signal potential threat, is therefore likely to be advantageous."

Interesting. All the more reason why we should take a crash course on Anger Management.

Mouthful of words

A new research from the Keller Fay Group has found that the average American mentions specific brands 56 times during approximately 100 conversations in a week's time (via advertising age).

Other findings from the research include:

• Positive mentions outnumber negative mentions 6 to 1
• 92% of brand conversations are happening offline, of which 20% happens over phone
• Only 9% of conversations are "mostly negative"
• People are more likely to pass along good mentions than bad ones - so good news travels faster than bad news!
• 41% of conversations mention advertising
• 72% of opinions about brands are shared by family members and personal friends, 13% are shared by co-workers and 7% are shared by a professional or expert on the topic
• The Internet (12%), television (7%) and newspapers (5%) are the top three media channels most frequently referenced in brand-related buzz
• Email, instant message and online chat rooms/blogs comprise 6% of word of mouth

Wondering if things are any different with we Indians. We talk a lot, we have strong opinions and offline word-of-mouth spreads even faster in India . Any good example of "Brand Talk?"

Treasure Trove

NMA (Newspaper Marketing Agency) is a great site for some interesting news, advertisements, facts & figures, case studies. Basically all that can help you make your presentation, point of view or knowledge base better.

Some very interesting facts about Cognitive and Brain Fingerprints can be found here. Happy Reading