Adidas and Puma were founded by two German brothers, Adolf “Adi” and Rudolf Dassler, who were initially partners in a shoe-making business. Their company, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik – Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory achieved success. Adolf and Rudolf Dassler started their shoe business together in their mother’s laundry room in Herzogenaurach in 1924. They gained recognition at the 1936 Olympics. The best part is that the brothers initially found success with their athletic shoes.  

But their relationship worsened, leading to a bitter feud and the subsequent split. Adolf founded Adidas, while Rudolf founded Puma. The rift between the Dassler brothers, who founded Adidas and Puma, stemmed from a combination of personal and business-related issues. Their contrasting personalities, business philosophies, and a significant misunderstanding during an air raid incident in World War II all contributed to their falling out.

As with many families, even Dassler brothers had tension from their families. The brothers’ wives did not like each other and with operating and living in the same villa, it eventually came to a head during World War II when the Allies were bombing Herzogenaurach, their village. As Adolf and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter already occupied by Rudolf and his wife, he exclaimed, “The dirty bastards are back again,” referring to the Allied forces. Rudolf felt that the remark was directed at him and his family. But Adolf meant it for the Allied forces. The Allied forces in World War II were an international military alliance formed to oppose the Axis powers primarily Germany, Italy, and Japan. The principal members included the UK, US, Soviet Union and China.

World War II significantly reshaped the world by splitting it into two opposing ideological blocs: the Western, democratic, capitalist bloc led by the United States, and the Eastern, communist bloc led by the Soviet Union. This division, known as the cold war, changed the geopolitical scenario and political dynamics. Dassler brothers Businesses had differing views on the business which led to a growing rift between the brothers. Similarly in some other incident Rudolf also muttered some ugly remarks which were not meant for Adolf, but the misunderstanding kept brewing. Further powering the feud was Rudi’s recruitment into the German military and subsequent imprisonment by the Allies. He believed Adi and his wife were responsible for getting him recruited. 

In fact, the bothers could reign the world: Adolf Dassler was known for his focus on product innovation and technical design, while Rudolf Dassler was a Master of Marketing and sales. They could do wonders. But frequent disagreements and tension within the company, made them officially separated in 1924, with Adolf establishing Adidas and Rudolf founding Puma. Sadly, the brothers’ feud extended beyond their business, dividing their hometown and creating a fierce rivalry between the two brands that continues to this day. 

Adidas is strongly associated with football. It’s a global leader in the sport, sponsoring major tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions Leagues  as well as top clubs and individual players. Adidas’s long history in football, from pioneering innovative boots to supplying official match balls, has cemented its iconic status in the sport. Lionel Messi and David Beckham were long-standing associations with the brand. 

Puma offers hiking and trail running shoes with features like NITRO Foam and PUMAGRIP Attire for traction, they are more widely recognized for their athletic footwear, apparel, and collaborations in football, running, and other sports. Puma’s Explore NITRO hiking shoes are a recent entry into the outdoor market, designed for various terrains. Puma is associated with a wide range of sports, including football, running, basketball, golf, and motorsport. They also have a strong presence in track and field and team sports like handball, rugby, and volleyball. Recently, Puma has also entered the badminton sport. Puma has several global brand ambassadors. Rosé from the South Korean girl group Blackpink is a global ambassador, representing the brand in various campaigns and storytelling. PV Sindhu, the Indian badminton player, is also a global ambassador, with India being the first country to promote badminton for Puma.

This is how the Dassler brothers’ rivalry gave the sports world two great brands, it gave innovative designs and opened a competitive landscape that continues to influence the industry.  The rivalry drove innovation leading to better products. Both Adidas and Puma are leading brand in sports world.

Future Group diversified into numerous sectors like insurance, financial services, and real estate, expanding too quickly without a strong financial foundation in its core retail business. The rise of strong competitors like Reliance Retail and online platforms like Flipkart and Amazon put pressure on Future Group’s market share and revenue. Covid 19 lockdowns and store closures during the pandemic severely impacted operations and cash flow, forcing Future Group to default on its debts. This proved to be the final blow, as it left no path to recovery.  The lesson to be learned is that a strategic, well-researched diversification plan is crucial for success, ensuring that new ventures offer profitability and are sustainable.

Strategies fail due to poor execution, which shoots from factors like lack of leadership commitment, poor communication, inadequate employee engagement, and a disconnect between strategy and operations. Designing a strategy is one thing but implementing and executing it is more important. Organizations fail strategically when they carry unrealistic goals, inadequate resources, a failure to adapt to changing circumstances, internal misalignment of processes, and a general lack of capability building to support the strategic objectives.  Some of the reasons why strategies fail is as follows:

Execution Problems

The failure of strategy execution is a common and costly issue in organizations today. While there are many reasons why leaders struggle to translate strategy into action, common themes include a disconnect between strategy and operations, overemphasis on internal matters, lazy leading, and a lack of accountability. Kodak invented the first digital camera but failed to execute its strategy to transition fully to the digital market. The company refused to hold its digital strategy for fear of harming its existing, highly profitable film business. This led to a significant loss of market leadership to competitors who adapted to the new digital landscape. Kodak’s decision making delayed the execution, the firm kept on procrastinating its digital strategy. 

Poor Implementation

This is the most common reason for failure; plans are often developed but not properly operationalized or tracked. Lack of timely implementation and misjudging market scenario are some of the reasons why strategies fail. Motorola largely “failed” by missing crucial innovations in the transition from early mobile phones to smartphones, including a slow adoption of 3G technology and the rise of touch-screen devices, leading to a loss of market share to competitors like Nokia, and later, Apple and Samsung. Other factors included internal issues like frequent management changes, a bureaucratic structure, and a failure to innovate beyond their successful Moto Razr line, which was followed by a period of declining product quality and market relevance before its acquisition by Google and later Lenovo, which marked a shift toward low-cost Android phones.

Lack of Alignment

This occurs when departments and employees don’t understand how their work contributes to the overall strategy, leading to wasted effort. eBay is an online auction site where companies and individuals bid on products. eBay represents another strategic planning failure example where a merger was the cause. In 2005, eBay decided to merge with Skype, thinking it would enhance their business. However, the values and systems of the two firms did not integrate well with each other. In 2009, eBay reversed the merger but already experienced significant decreases in stock.

Inadequate Resource Allocation

This can sabotage execution, as teams lack the necessary budget, staff, or technology to achieve their goals. Subhiksha, a prominent Indian retail chain, pursued an aggressive expansion strategy to quickly increase its market share and mark. The rapid expansion was not backed by adequate capital support or robust operational systems. The company expanded faster than its financial resources could sustain, leading to a collapse. This is a clear example of a strategy failing because the necessary financial resources and operational resources.

Leadership and Culture Issues

Insufficient Leadership Commitment is the biggest danger. Also focus on perks over vision can undermine strategy, sending a negative message throughout the organization. An example of how poor leadership can cause organizational strategy failure in India is Satyam Computer Services, where its founder, Ramalinga Raju, engaged in financial fraud and made unethical decisions that led to the company’s downfall and required a forced sale. In the case of Satyam, Ramalinga Raju’s decision-making and lack of ethics led to a massive financial fraud, undermining any articulate strategy the company might have had. Ramalinga Raju’s failure was the massive corporate fraud at Satyam Computer Services, where he, as founder and chairman, fabricated company accounts to inflate share prices and misappropriate money, leading to the company’s collapse and his imprisonment. The fraud, revealed by Raju’s confession in 2009, was discovered after the collapse of the Hyderabad property market exposed the company’s financial irregularities and ultimately resulted in the acquisition of Satyam by Tech Mahindra.

Poor Communication

This prevents employees from understanding and internalizing the strategy, making it difficult for them to act on it. Kingfisher Airlines, owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, was once a prominent Indian airline. However, the company faced a major crisis in 2012 when it suffered severe financial difficulties, leading to grounded flights, unpaid employees, and mounting debts. The company’s key stakeholders, including employees, customers, and regulators, did not engage during this crisis. Non-transparent and ineffective communication further damaged the brand’s reputation and contributed to the eventual downfall of the airline.

Toxic Organizational Culture

Can hinder strategic efforts, creating struggle to change and a lack of collaboration. A big example of a specific failed company due to toxic culture is elusive, reports highlight BYJU’S as an Indian company with a toxic, forced sales culture, contributing to widespread negative employee experiences and potentially contributing to its significant failures and downfall. Reports of a toxic organizational culture at Byju’s is cited as a reason for worker dissatisfaction and contributing to the company’s overall struggles, according to World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. The company has undergone significant restructuring, including mass layoffs and the closure of almost all its office spaces in India, to reduce costs and streamline operations.

Failure to Adapt

 Adaption to surrounding and market is very important for organizational survival. Bisleri, a household name synonymous with bottled water in India, decided to tap into the booming carbonated beverage market in 2006 with the launch of Bisleri Pop.  However, their established brand identity didn’t translate well to this new category. The branding of Birleri as clean drinking water had built its reputation on trust and purity. Consumers associated the brand with clean, healthy drinking water. Launching sugary sodas under the same brand name created confusion. Why would a company known for its commitment to pure water be making sugary drinks? Consumers remained hesitant to embrace Bisleri Pop. Consumers couldn’t adapt to Bisleri’s Pop sugary soda.

Conclusion

Brands often fail due to poor strategies. Some of them are failures to innovate, understand their target audience, adapt to market trends, and execute plans effectively. Examples like Kodak, which missed the digital photography revolution, and Kingfisher Airlines, undone by reckless expansion and poor finances, highlight how flawed strategic planning can lead to a brand’s downfall.

The Wikipedia defines ethics as a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. It is also known as moral philosophy. For all of us ethics means living our life responsibly; to review whether our actions are right or wrong. Ethical behavior is that which is morally accepted as “good” and “right” as opposed to “bad” or “wrong” in a particular situation. All of us live in an ethical illusion about ourselves. The ethical illusions are discrepancies between how we think and how we behave and how we take an action. It also includes our sense of reasoning for our behavior. Laws are the regulations established, and usually written, by a governing power. Ethics are the morals of a culture, and often times, they inform the laws that are made. The distinction is that, while you may obey the law, you might not always act ethically. It would be a rare case for something to be ethical, but against the law. An important point to keep in mind is that ethics do not have any associated punishments when broken. A law, however, specifically sets the types of repercussions that should occur should it be broken.

Some of the top B Schools in the world are revamping their syllabus adding business ethics as a core paper, adding projects on ethical values. The process of revamping is for also pondering over and challenging the standard of business wisdom practiced for decades. Ethics and social responsibility seems to be in limelight by some serious thinkers and practitioners. Why?

Business organizations dawdle from ethical practices because of compelling and persuasive day-to-day organizational practices. Ethics take a backset because of the multifaceted processes and practices of businesses which leaves little time or penchant to divert attention to the moral content of organizational decision-making. Morality in business appears to be so obscure and qualitative in nature that it lacks substance in relation to business objectives and goals. Business relies on quantitative performance than qualitative performance. The pace leaves hardly any time for the managers in reworking their decisions based on ethical framework. Hence the entire frame work and thinking of the managers lacks ethical decision making. Dear folks, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle sadly have no place in the twenty first century business environment. A yawning gap exists between philosophical knowledge and business practices. Each generation has learnt ethics and morality with a divergence! Morality is just a dictionary word. Yet, like it or not, there has and will continue to be a surge of interest in ethics.

Ethisphere, a US based Research Company dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility published its 110 business houses all over world for their ethical behavior in 2011. Through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis, Ethisphere reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries. Some of the ethical companies are Adidas, eBay, Microsoft and Colgate Palmolive. From India only HDFC Bank has entered the list.

In the world famous Enron case we saw when the legal noose tightens around the corporate; one question that arises is why the legal fraternity drag in Enron’s auditing firm Arthur Anderson? Is it possible for an entire auditing firm to be guilty of a crime in connection with an auditing engagement? I think the Enron scandal is symptomatic of something much broader than Enron. I think it’s symptomatic of a breakdown of the ethical values of business over a period of perhaps 20 years, a gradual erosion of business ethics that brought investors to an Enron. Friends haven’t we witnessed since then a whole host of Enrons as we moved down the road. So here goes my question -What ethical lesson should we teach our students? A Satyam Case, Enron Case, I Gate Case, 2 G, 3G, Common Wealth games, Bofors, Fodder scam, IPL, City Bank the list can go on and on. Our memories are so short, that by the time we are fatigued with one scam there appears another scam. The big money, the lifestyles of cheaters, their overstated personas, and the glamour that comes with money feature more prominently in the young minds if the ethical frameworks in these and many other case studies are not tackled in the class rooms.

The fundamental of any business firm cannot claim to be ethical firm if it looks at profits and numbers while ignoring the legality and legitimacy. Today, businesses and industries increasingly find themselves facing external pressure to improve their ethical practices. The alert and well informed customers today scrutinize business activities. Pressure groups are a good example of this. They are external stakeholders they focus on activities & fair practice of industries with direct and indirect actions which at times has forced some firms to close down their shutters.

In a recent editorial, the Wall Street Journal announced that ethics courses are useless because ethics can’t be taught. Although few people would turn to the Wall Street Journal as a learned expert on the teaching of ethics raised an objection. But, I am seriously asking: Can ethics be taught?

In conclusion, many aspects stimulate a person’s development in life; the early childhood when impressions are made, the culture at home, parent’s backgrounds, surrounding, his own experience, and one of the most crucial factors is education. Subjects like business ethics, morals or social responsibilities challenge students to look at issues from a universal point of view. These subjects move their thinking upward with intensity. I think ethics can be taught at any stage in life, but how a student absorbs it, observes it and examines it depends on his/her upbringing. However, the efforts of B Schools giving eminence to ethics in their curriculum cannot be overlooked because developing ethical leaders is both an academic imperative and a critical issue for business world.

How cooking brings you closer to your near & dear ones

Guys if you don’t cook you are losing out on a fantastic skill to have. Not only does it save you time and money on food which you buy from outside, it can also contribute to improved health, bring you closer to your near and dear ones besides it is a great stress buster.  While stress numbs your senses, cooking stimulates them. It’s a sensory experience: touching, washing, cutting, chopping, grating, aroma, seasoning, the visual delight and even the sizzling sound everything can just rouse your senses.

How cooking is therapeutic

A psychiatrist working in London, Mark Salter suggests that cooking and baking activities could be therapeutic for patients with depression. They can stimulate cognition, get people working on memory tasks and allow patients to connect with a feeling of nurturing and protection. I’d argue that cooking and baking have another benefit: the possibility of sharing, and the enrichment of interpersonal relationships that occurs as a result.

His claims are supported by some counselors, therapists and mental health treatment centers all over the world which use cooking therapy as a tool for their patients. In addition to helping people learn skills for independence and self-care by teaching them how to cook wholesome, balanced meals, cooking can also help patients get more active, grounded and connected with their environment. And evidently the focus on tasks can be beneficial for a brain in turmoil.

How cooking can open a world of opportunity

You don’t have to love cooking, but knowing the basics and feeling competent in the kitchen can open a world of opportunity to improve your quality of life. We are busy doing so many things in our lives. We have better things to do than slave away in kitchen cooking a breakfast, meal or a dessert. Until you champion the task of cooking the planning, shopping, chopping, cooking, preserving and cleaning involved in making a meal can bore you to death. Frankly speaking it does.

I feel there is nothing else than cooking which offers instant gratification. If you’re cooking for people whom you love and care for, your cooking can nurture relations further. The praise and appreciation that you get for cooking from your loved ones is a feeling of elation. Cooking involves innovation, imagination, novelty and thinking. You can go on innovating mixing ingredients, styling your preparations with a variety, using different materials while dishing out new recipes.

Why Cooking is an honest work

Another thing about cooking is that it’s honest work. It takes you on a delicious ride and gives you a different high and yet keeps you grounded, in touch with reality. It helps you clear your mind, it stimulates new ideas, and it refreshes your outlook. It keeps you occupied – keeping you busy and helping you to forget about worries for some time.

So friends please don’t give up on cooking. It’s a great reliever. 

Many must have noticed in some or the other parties some guys turning into quarrelsome jerks when they are drunk, while some other guys get all blubbery, saying things like “I love you, I missed you, you are such wonderful person man” to everyone. Such drunken guys and girls are sometimes pain; some burst out crying and sometimes there are guys who spill out secrets of others. Does the personality of people who get intoxicated reflect their true disposition? Does their real personality get unmasked because the alcohol makes it impossible to keep up the façade? Or does alcohol just do weird things to our brain, with mottled but not significant results?

Some people get very serious and philosophical when intoxicated. They sit in a corner looking at ceiling with a very serious face. Rarely people behave the same as their natural self when they get intoxicated. Does the behavior vary depending on the drink? Let’s say if they drink beer, wine or hard liquor? I have observed some of my friends become really happy when they have beer; some get into a lousy mood when they consume rum; and there are two friends of mine who start singing and dancing loud and glad to be alive when they mix drinks. I think generally, the person that comes out with the application of alcohol is that person’s “real” personality. It’s because alcohol lowers a person’s inhibitions, so whatever facades of their personality they would normally bottle up for fear of social unacceptability are just dropped due to intoxication. it’s usually the ugly opinions that people keep bottled up that tend to pop out when alcohol is consumed……everyone has a child hidden deep down, the child pops up and we get those expressions like “I love you, man” and those hugs and kisses.

Alcohol has been a part of the human diet for at least 10,000 years. In the U.S., over 65% of adults regularly have at least one alcoholic beverage a year. Typically, a low-to moderate amount of alcohol is defined as no more than one drinks a day for women and older adults, and two for men. One drink is usually one 1/2 ounce or 15 grams of alcohol, which equals approximately 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. However, these guidelines are tailored by each individual.

However, alcohol tends to make your inhibitions go away. It makes a normally quiet person feel quite gritty and talkative. And, sometimes makes a decently normal person angry and asshole. One evident fact is that inhibitions are part of our genes, part of our personality, and also part of our learned behavior. We have read and sometimes seen famous personalities get into brawls after consuming alcohol.  Shahrukh and Salman (both Khans) had a huge fight at Katrina Kaif’s birthday. Both Sallu and SRK have worked professionally together and even been friends off screen. Both had moderate drinks at the party; SRK apparently said a few things out of line that did not go too well with Salman. It turned out to be an ugly fight. Some famous industrialists have has ugly fights in public after drinks.

After certain amount of alcohol is consumed by a person, his/her brain starts to release dopamine, the more alcohol the more dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical your brain creates to make you feel good.  It makes the body want to do things that is healthy for it. When a person consumes little more than normal drinks it will release so much dopamine that your brain can’t tell the difference between a good decision and a bad decision.

It is said drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. Alcohol makes people do stuff they wouldn’t normally do. So you will see people driving at higher speed, picking up fights, singing, dancing, hugging others, passing unwanted remarks at others, doing all sorts of unusual things. Some purposely get drunk to do wrong things and say ‘sorry’ the next day with an excuse that they did all those ‘wrongs’ under the influence of alcohol.

Do you know corporate use drinking as trick? When a person gets drunk in a party, his/her boss observes the behavior. Many of his personality facets are observed by the boss, which were nicely under wrap till then. Few drinks make a person more confident, they gather more courage to express them better, and feel less accountability for their actions. Intoxicated communication is sometimes used in order to meet up certain targets or make plans in a group. A lot of confession is made under the influence of alcohol which is trickily used by the bosses.

According to Bruce Bartholow, author of “Alcohol Effects on Performance Monitoring and Adjustment: Affect Modulation and Impairment of Evaluative Cognitive Control”, alcohol doesn’t make you behave badly; it just makes you care less. For all of you trying to apologies or put right some unwanted words, the excuse, “I was drunk, I didn’t mean it” stop using this lame excuse at once. Bartholow, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science, concludes that alcohol dulls the brain’s “alarm signal” that warns you when you are making a mistake. These dulled warnings are what lead to the loss of self-control we often regret after one too many.

So the next time when you are in a party, at a bar with friends, or at home taking drinks take a pause, when your brain signals that your body cannot take more drinks. Because that’s what drinking is all about: it is not a whirling, plummeting gamble of life. Don’t just throw away all your inhibitions and deliberately drown yourselves in a liquid.

 Today e-commerce is become part of our life. The arrival of e-commerce and m-commerce (mobile) has transformed the entire retail sector.  Retailers are tapping multiple channels for selling their merchandise; from traditional stores, using catalogue, through the internet and more and more via smart phones and tablets, no stone is left unturned. Technological advancement means that the store is omnipresent! It’s now everywhere, in consumers’ pockets, at their homes and at the mall too. For surviving the competition in the e-commerce world distribution has become key component of the business. Supply chain and logistics experts have become key players and the other important element being real estate – strategic locations for Distribution Centres (DC).

While retailers are developing their multichannel strategy multichannel marketing which refers to the practice by which companies interact with customers via multiple channels, both direct and indirect, distribution strategies also need to be worked at a faster pace especially when the bar has been raised with delivery models like same-day and next-day delivery at the customer’s doorstep.

Retail supply chain executives go for locating fulfilment facilities closer to their customer base in order to meet service commitment goals such as aggressive delivery schedules.

Retail chains are therefore finding online logistics more cost-effective. They rather opt for this than open more traditional stores that require an entirely different kind of distribution model. Therefore, retailers are evolving their regional distribution networks with the addition of e-commerce distribution centres. Traditional warehouses which act as stores require lesser investment and machinery and fewer staff.  The new e-commerce distribution centres, which involve direct order fulfilment, can cost three times as much and involve three times as many employees.

Retailers need to consider points such as proximity to key customers, tax incentives, sales tax and the availability of local labour which are vital for business when searching for the right location for their e-commerce distribution centres. Also, the global spread of technology into multichannel retailing has also opened up new markets in both developed and developing countries. While online sales are growing in the United States and UK, China and Hong Kong are following the trend. China’s consumers are fast embracing e- and m-commerce and are spending most of their money online. And as technology and commerce is expanding faster, retailers are finding it difficult to keep pace with logistics and infrastructure because these two fields are still emerging with newer software and newer gadgets.

In most cases domestic logistics service providers are unable to provide services to fulfil high volumes of customer parcel shipping at low costs and within a realistic delivery time frame, this noticeably impacts the direct-to-customer channel. Retailers have to thus establish their own distribution networks or rely on outsourced express shippers.  This leads to an opportunistic gap in the market for third-party (3PL) and forth-party (4PL) logistics companies and investment in industrial real estate infrastructure.

In the US for the past two decades, U.S. companies have been shifting production to markets with lower labour costs. However, as energy costs rise and labor becomes more expensive in Asian markets, companies are increasing near-shoring and on-shoring. Firms which opt for all-water options but cannot tolerate the lengthy shipping times from Asia are shifting some operations to near-shoring destinations such as Mexico or Central and South America and even back to the United States.  With production and demand closer to home, retailers can respond more quickly to trends and changes in buying patterns.

Nearly 80 percent of retailers say that online sales have increased in the past five years with some reporting increase of 25 percent or more. This has forced retailers to change the traditional distribution network for their e-commerce model. 3PL and 4 PL providers have gained a huge role to play in the e-commerce business model.

Generally, 3PL provider’s main business is to provide logistical services as its core activities. The logistics services offered are based on the range of its logistics’ function. They include freight forwarders, courier companies and other companies integrating & offering subcontracted logistics and transportation services. 4 PL differs from third party logistics in some of these ways: 4PL organization is often a separate entity established as a joint venture or long-term contract between a primary client and one or more partners; 4PL organization acts as a single interface between the client and multiple logistics service providers; ideally all aspects of the client’s supply chain are managed by the 4PL organization; and it is possible for a major third-party logistics provider to form a 4PL organization within its existing structure.

4PL was originally defined by Accenture as a trademark in 1996 and defined as “A supply chain integrator that assembles and manages the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization with those of complementary service providers to deliver a comprehensive supply chain solution.” but the concept has almost changed at present.

4PLs have also been referred to as “Lead Logistics Providers”. In the present scenario, new crop of companies have emerged who are actual transportation companies too. While a 4PL is sometimes described as non-asset-owning service provider, their role is to provide broader scope managing of the entire supply chain. The 4PL model offers a platform to get companies thinking about long-term strategy; developing an idea of what they want their future supply chain scene to look like.

If you look closer, the 4PL model actually drives 3PL outsourcing. The difference between the two activities ultimately comes down to scope. In a traditional transactional role, the 3PL will hold on to scope—managing a warehouse, for example. With a 4PL model, the scope recedes and flows. The service provider scales resources depending on different skill set requirements that turn upwards.

If e-commerce brings the logistics industry closer to the point of consumption, it has boosted the demand in the logistics industry. Would it be wrong if we call Amazon and Wal-Mart logistics companies? At heart, these companies are retailers; but, actually on the basis of the economics of these two companies, Amazon and Wal-Mart are far, far better at handling the logistics of their trade than their competitors and hence they are the leaders. Distribution is their core competence.

If you read the case of Amazon.com one understands how important firm’s logistics is in e-commerce. Amazon.com has come a long way since its founder and chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos, stopped imagining the company as a virtual bookstore. It has evolved into an online retail giant that generated US $74.45 billion in revenues in 2013. It is worth mentioning that much of that came from its support of more than two million companies that used Amazon to sell their products online and distribute them to customers. Under the company’s various programs, Amazon not only provides its customers with a means of advertising and selling their products, but also offers to store those products in its fulfilment centres; pick, pack, and ship them; and provide customer service which includes handling returns.

In the process of developing its network to support those services, Amazon has built out an infrastructure which by recent account includes 145 warehouses around the world! 84 in the United States, four in Canada, 29 in Europe, 15 in China, 10 in Japan, and seven in India. This collectively accounts for more than 40 million square feet of space. Amazon has also made substantial investments in material handling systems, including the acquisition of Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012.  Kiva is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, which designs robots, software, workstations, and other hardware that has been used in the distribution facilities of companies such as Staples, Office Depot, and The Gap. The systems produced by Kiva are expected to be an integral part of the distribution network now being developed by Amazon. Amazon has also made major investments in cloud computing. At the same time, the company has been developing transportation capabilities to support its Amazon Fresh same-day grocery business. That’s called might of an e-commerce company!

All of us come across people who love to talk, talk and talk about themselves. We sometimes have to put up with someone who just won’t shut up, or someone who is too loud, or who has little to say but takes long time to say it, or someone who always talks about the same topic over and over again. It’s killing and frustrating for others who either try to be patient or good for the sake of it. At times, this “I”,”me”, “myself” is a boss whom you need to tolerate for obvious reasons; sometimes it can be somebody senior in age or relation. Why do they do this and what’s the best way to handle them? Such boring people simply lack social skill. They think they are enjoyable to be around with. But the fact is actually they make other hate them.

Do you know people who say ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘myself’ frequently suffer with depression and anxiety? According to a new research conducted by scientists of the University of Kassel, Germany, found that the people who use first-person singular “I’ are more likely to be depressed than those who tend to use plural pronouns, such as ‘we’ and “us”. The finding suggests that these people are unable to spend time alone and are attention-seekers. By contrast, those who use ‘we’ in conversation are healthier mentally and more social. They are good at balancing their relationships, https://www.opaortho.com/valium-treatment-anxiety/.

In the age of social media everybody is busy sharing information, photographs and details about themselves on face book and tweeter; people like to update their status, their opinions on various issues. Nobody may care about their opinion except themselves, but new brain research suggests that it can make a person feel good simply by sharing his likes and dislikes. A research suggests that it provides some sort of subjective value: It feels good. Let’s get it right, science says 30 percent to 40 percent of our speech has to do with ourselves “self-disclosure.” It is a behavior that we do all of the time, day in and day out.

So, why did evolution encourage humans to feel good when they talk about themselves? People are motivated to self-disclose for the reason of bonding with someone, with a group or a circle. Dr. Paul Zak, a brain researcher and founding director of the Center for Neuro-economics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, says that human beings are social creatures; if they did not disclose information, then others might stop interacting with them. Animals do this with smells and movements, and humans do this with speech. This study reveals how our brain evolved to motivate sociality, which is quite fascinating.

Check yourself; are you the “I”, “me”, “myself” person? Do you always seem to find a way to make the conversation go about yourself? If yes, please understand that others feel very uncomfortable around people using the word ‘I’ more than three times per minute. Too much usage of the word ‘I’ can be an indication of either of two things: lack of empathy or excessively large longing for validation. As far as empathy is concerned, all of us in this world have a need to socialize with fellow human beings; socializing consists of exchanging of thoughts. Conversation is but obviously exchange of thoughts. Discussions are an endeavor that allows us to live together in this densely populated world. However, whenever the balance between giving and taking of thoughts becomes vague and distorted, we start feeling uncomfortable and we try to withdraw. By talking about ‘I’ too much, the conversation goes tangentially haywire. By talking about what ‘I believe this’ n ‘I believe that’ habitually, you totally take away the right of others with who you are in discussion. You disallow others from contributing to the conversation. And that is what is considered to be anti-social behavior.

As far as validation is concerned, if someone is using the word ‘I’ frequently it means the person has a disproportionately large need for receiving validation from social environment. This need consists of a sense of ‘wanting to be listened to.’ The question is: Why would someone keep talking about his own ideas while knowing that the listeners might not find his discussions pleasant? Well, maybe the person does not understand that his behavior is considered to be anti-social. Somebody needs to tell him to curtail the “I” in him. Or maybe the person knows the entire above but still doesn’t consider it to be anti-social; then he can only be called loathsome.

However, it is often very difficult to draw a line between what is a healthy contribution to a conversation and what is a smug or an arrogant urge to express one’s ideas. The former is admirable and can function therapeutically, constructively and even emphatically. Speaking is after all the best medium we have at our disposal to make others aware of our thoughts and beliefs. Of course creative arts such as poetry, a book, a story, a painting, a musical piece says a lot about the creator and his message. Yet, social interaction in terms of the spoken word still seems to govern human expression.

Even in the age of social media, face-to-face communication allows people to absorb the often subtle gestures, facial expressions and tonality that are required in order to express our deep thoughts. These days in over usage of electronic communication, a well-intended well written frank statement is much more likely to be misinterpreted than the same message being spoken out loud. Oral communication has advantage as the intricacies present in human speech can make all the difference for interpreting a message in either the intended or unintended way.

All said and done, sometimes however it might be infuriating, we just have to let the ‘I-talkers’ realize that it’s time they listen to others tolerantly. Occasionally we just have to be ‘harsh’ and tell them that their conversation is going bizarre and haywire. And, we can learn something from it; even by mistake if we sometimes do the “I-talking” how boring it is for others.

Today India is celebrating its 66^th Republic day. It was on January 26th, 1950 that the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly Sovereign, Democratic and Republic country. On this day, India finally enjoyed the freedom of spirit, rule of law and fundamental principle of Governance. Indians experienced autonomy from this date.

Today I want to mention those few centenarian Indian companies who have seen it all – the good and the bad in this land. We need to salute those companies which have seen a century or more in India. They have contributed to the nation’s economic growth and have witnessed the two World Wars, the Great Depression, India’s independence struggle, many natural disasters, the licence-permit raj, controls on foreign exchange and expansion, and the globalization reforms of the 1990s. Change is simply inevitable. Change is something that will happen no matter how hard we try to stop it. Change is a part of the world we live in. These century old companies have seen it all, and they modified themselves along the way to continue doing business. I would say that they are experts in managing the change. They sometimes fumbled in their journeys but had the grit to turn around. Today they are still standing tall, and hence we need to salute them!

Jessop & CO 1788: This two century old company’s roots go back to 1788 when Breen & Company was founded in Calcutta. In 1820, Henry and George, sons of William Jessop acquired Breen & Company on behalf of Butterfly Company established in Derbyshire, England in 1790. These two companies merged together to become Jessop & Company. Subsequently in 1973, the company was taken over by the Indian Government and Jessop became a Government of India undertaking. In 1986, with the formation of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited (BBUNL) Jessop became a Public Sector Holding Company under administrative control of Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Industry, and Government of India. Statutorily Jessop became a subsidiary of the Holding Company.

In 2003, Government of India divested its stake in Jessop & Co. Ltd under privatization programme and sold its 72% stake to Ruia group owned by Pawan Kumar Ruia, who turned it into a profit making entity. This company is in production of construction equipment and road building. During the last two centuries, the company has consistently modernized and streamlined its production facilities by keeping abreast with the latest technology and has introduced many new products for core sector industries in the country. Kudos to this 2 centuries old company!

State Bank of India 1806: The evolution of State Bank of India can be traced back to the first decade of the 19th century. It began with the establishment of the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta, on 2 June 1806. The bank was redesigned as the Bank of Bengal, three years later, on 2 January 1809. It was the first ever joint-stock bank of the British India, established under the sponsorship of the Government of Bengal. Subsequently, the Bank of Bombay (established on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (established on 1 July 1843) followed the Bank of Bengal. These three banks dominated the modern banking scenario in India, until when they were amalgamated to form the Imperial Bank of India, on 27 January 1921.

An important turning point in the history of State Bank of India is the launch of the first Five Year Plan of independent India, in 1951. The Plan aimed at serving the Indian economy in general and the rural sector of the country, in particular. Until the Plan, the commercial banks of the country, including the Imperial Bank of India, confined their services to the urban sector. Moreover, they were not equipped to respond to the growing needs of the economic revival taking shape in the rural areas of the country. Therefore, in order to serve the economy as a whole and rural sector in particular, the All India Rural Credit Survey Committee recommended the formation of a state-partnered and state-sponsored bank.

The All India Rural Credit Survey Committee proposed the takeover of the Imperial Bank of India, and integrating with it, the former state-owned or state-associate banks. Subsequently, an Act was passed in the Parliament of India in May 1955. As a result, the State Bank of India (SBI) was established on 1 July 1955. This resulted in making the State Bank of India more powerful, because as much as a quarter of the resources of the Indian banking system were controlled directly by the State. Later on, the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act was passed in 1959. The Act enabled the State Bank of India to make the eight former State-associated banks as its subsidiaries.

The Times of India 1838: The Times of India brought out its first edition on 3rd November 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. The paper then used to get published on Wednesdays and Saturdays under the direction of Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar, a Maharashtrian Reformist. It used to contain news from Britain and the world, as well as the Indian subcontinent. In 1850, it began to publish daily editions.

The Times of India has gone through many ownership changes until 1892, when Thomas Bennett and Frank Morris Coleman, who drowned in the 1915 sinking of the SS Persia, acquired the newspaper through their new company, Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Today Times of India is the largest mass media company in India. The company remains a family-owned business as the descendants of Sahu Jain family controls majority stake in Times Group. The Times Group has over 11,000 employees and revenue exceeding $1.5 billion. It is considered India’s pride. Its detailed news coverage with seriousness and intellectual analysis has made it one of the leading daily newspapers. After Indian independence, this newspaper’s insistence on accuracy, its avoidance of sensationalism, its serious tone, and its coverage of international news enhanced its prestige in India and in the world. Millions of Indians cannot start their day without having a glimpse of this newspaper. In spite of so many substitutes to this brand, it still enjoys the leadership position.

Dabur 1884: The name is derived from Daktar Burman and the company was founded in 1884 which is today India’s largest Ayurvedic medicine & related products manufacturer. Dabur was founded by Dr. SK Burman, a physician in West Bengal, to produce and dispense Ayurvedic medicines. German company Fresenius SE bought a 73.27% equity stake in Dabur Pharma in June 2008 at Rs76.50 a share. The German company had also purchased another 17.62% shares from the market through an open offer at the same price. Dr. Burman designed Ayurvedic medication for diseases such as cholera and malaria. Dabur’s Ayurvedic Specialities Division has over 260 medicines for treating a range of ailments and body conditions, from common cold to chronic paralysis, http://www.papsociety.org/priligy-dapoxetine/. Dabur International, a fully owned subsidiary of Dabur India formerly held shares in the UAE based Weikfield International, which it disposed of on 25 June 2012.

Today, Dabur India Ltd is one of India’s leading FMCG Companies with Revenues of over Rs 7,073 Crore & Market Capitalization of US $5 Billion. Building on a legacy of quality and experience of over 130 years, Dabur is today India’s most trusted name and the world’s largest Ayurvedic and Natural Health Care Company.

Britannia 1892: The company was established in 1892, with an investment of Rs.295. Initially, biscuits were manufactured in a small house in central Kolkata. Later, the endeavor was acquired by the Gupta brothers mainly Nalin Chandra Gupta, a renowned attorney, and operated under the name of “V.S. Brothers.” In 1918, C.H. Holmes, an English businessman in Kolkata, was taken on as a partner and The Britannia Biscuit Company Limited (BBCo) was launched. Kerala businessman Rajan Pilai secured control of the group in the late 1980s, becoming known in India as the ‘Biscuit King’. In 1993, the Wadia Group acquired a stake in Associated Biscuits International (ABIL), and became an equal partner with Group Danon in Britannia Industries Limited.

Britannia is known for its most dramatic corporate sagas; after a most bitter corporate board room squabble Pillai gave away the control to Wadia and Danone. Today, it is one of the biggest food products company.

Century Textile & Industries 1897: In 1897, the company was established as Century Textiles Limited and listed on BSE with its Registered Office at Mumbai. Till 1951, the Company operated only one Cotton Textile Mill in Mumbai. In 1956, Company began its Rayon Division at Kalyan, near Mumbai to manufacture Viscose Filament Rayon Yarn. The Company diversified into production of Cement by establishing its first cement plant at Baikunth, near Raipur in 1974.

The textile mill stopped the production in Mumbai in 2006 due to increase in operating costs and labor problems. The new plant in Jhagadia, Distt. Bharuch became functional in 2009 with the name Birla Century and is producing only fine and finer fabrics in 100% Cotton fabrics. The company has exclusive showrooms across India in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kota, Ahmedabad etc.

Today Century Textile and Industries is a textile, cement, paper manufacturing and export company based in Mumbai. The main business activity involves manufacture of cotton textiles, yarn, denim and paper. It also produces viscose filament rayon yarn, tire-cords, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, salt, cement pulp, and paper. The company also has a substantial dominance in the international textile markets and exports its products to more than 45 countries around the globe. Century Textiles & Industries Limited is an IS/ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 company. The Government of India also awarded it with ‘Three Star Export House’ status.

CESC 1899: The first demonstration of electric light in Calcutta was conducted on July 24, 1879 by P W Fleury & Co. In 1881, 36 electric lights lit up a Cotton Mill of Mackinnon & Mackenzie. The Government of Bengal passed the Calcutta Electric Lighting Act in 1895. The first license covered an area of 5.64 square miles (14.6 km²). On 7 January 1897 Kilburn & Co. secured the Calcutta electric lighting license as agents of The Indian Electric Company Limited. The company soon changed its name to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) in 1897; but this company was registered in London.

In 1970, the control of the Company was transferred from London to Calcutta. In 1978 it was renamed as ‘The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Ltd’. The RPG (R.P.Goenka) Group got associated with The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Limited from 1989, and the name was changed from The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Limited to CESC Limited. In 2011, CESC became a part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which was formed on 13 July 2011 by Sanjiv Goenka, the youngest son of Dr RP Goenka, the late founder of RPG Enterprises.

Shalimar Paints 1902: The history of Shalimar Paints describes the history of the paints industry in India and also in South East Asia. Shalimar Paints was founded in 1902 by two British entrepreneurs AN Turner and AC Wright as Shalimar Paints Colour & Varnish Ltd. In the same year, the company set up a large scale manufacturing plant in Howrah, West Bengal, the first such plant in entire South East Asia. In 1928, Pinchin Johnson & Associates of UK bought control from the British entrepreneurs AN Turner and AC Wright. In 1963, the company’s name was changed to Shalimar Paints Ltd. after Turner Morisson & Co stepped in as new management.

Today, the company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of decorative paints and industrial coatings. Some of India’s iconic buildings and structures such as the Howrah Bridge, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Salt Lake Stadium, the building of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and many others, have been, and continue to be painted with Shalimar Paints. In 2014, this century-old paint brand rejuvenated its logo and refreshed its positioning to connect with today’s consumers.

Hotel Taj Mahal Palace 1903: The hotel’s original building was commissioned by Tata and the hotel first opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903. It is said that Jamshedji Tata decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city’s grand hotels of the time, Watson Hotel, as it was restricted to “whites only”. However, this story has been refuted by some. The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer, W. A. Chambers. The builder was Khansaheb Sorabji Ruttonji Contractor who also designed and built its famous central floating staircase. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million today). It’s worth mentioning here that during World War I the hotel was converted into a hospital with 600 beds. The Taj Mahal Tower, an additional wing of the hotel, was opened in 1973. It was designed by Melton Bekker. On 26 November 2008, in a series of attacks in Mumbai, this hotel as well as the Oberoi hotel was attacked by Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamist terrorist group, during which material damage, killing of guests, occurred including the destruction of the hotel’s roof in the shootout. Taj Mahal is the one of the oldest landmark of Mumbai.

Friends it’s worth a mention here that Mr.Ratan Tata went all out to care for each and every employee of the hotel to help them recoup from the shock. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind were constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required. Mr. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected. That’s the Tata cuture!!!

ITC Ltd 1910: It was established in 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, the company was renamed as the Indian Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and further to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. The periods in the name were removed in September 2001 for the company to be renamed as ITC Ltd. The company completed 100 years in 2010 and as of 2012-13, had an annual turnover of US$8.31 billion and a market capitalization of US$45 billion. It employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is included in Forbes 2000 list. Today ITC is one of the renowned business conglomerates globally. Its diversified business includes five segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business & Information Technology.

ITC’s e-Choupal initiative is designed to make the power of the Internet available to Indian farmers. The company places computers with Internet access in rural farming villages, serving both as a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. As of July 2010, 6,500 e-Choupal services are operating across 10 states reach more than 4 million farmers in about 40,000 villages. The potential of e-Choupal is also being tested through pilot projects in healthcare, educational services, water management and cattle health management. In 2008, this initiative was recognized in the list of “Innovations to make markets more inclusive for the poor” in World Development Report Sep-2008 by the World Bank.

Our respect for corporate brands fluctuates due to their management change and product offering. But, let’s not forget that these old corporations have been the strong pillars of our economy. Credit goes to these organizations for developing a steady business culture.

A jingle is a short tune used in advertising; it contains one or more hooks (it’s a musical idea which often is a short riff, passage or phrase) which helps promote explicitly of a product or service. Jingles are hummable, catchy little slogans. They are typically a form of sound branding. Because we can hum them, they are phrased with catchy words which can be remembered easily. Jingles live a longer life. Though they seem trifling, they are successful at getting us to remember a product, to buy the product and even make us think we need the product to be accepted or successful.

The first jingle was born in 1926 in Minneapolis, Minn. when an a cappella group played a quartet in praise of “Wheaties” – a General Mills breakfast cereal. Executives at General Mills were actually about to withdraw Wheaties from the market, but when they noticed a point in its popularity in the regions where the jingle was aired, they changed their minds. The company decided to air the jingle nationally on the radio, and sales went through the roof. Eighty years later, Wheaties is still a household staple in kitchens across the globe.

Since then, jingles have become an important part of any advertising campaign. Some jingles will never die, and they have become a part of our lives. Effective jingles have the capacity to build tremendous brand equity of a product. A successful jingle promotes a positive image, making the consumer more likely to want to purchase the product.

Music can fulfill several tasks when it is used in advertisements. The appealing and entertaining aspect of music helps making an advertisement more interesting. Captivating jingles can make the commercials attractive and engage attention of viewers. From this point of view music need not necessarily manifest any special affinity with a particular product or service in order to play an effective and useful function. The music functions more as bridge between viewer and advertisement. Another basic attribute of music is to support an advertisements structure and continuity. Music adds dramatic approach to a TV or radio commercial. The narrative of the commercial becomes more meaningful with the music. Jingles are also called ‘Singing commercials’ and they have made a self-contained genre.

Look at the lingering jingle of Nirma washing powder; it is one of the most famous jingles. It’s been years down the line but the jingle of Nirma is still jingling in the ears of Indian People. It was of no importance whether the detergent gave clothes the “Dhood si Safedi” or not. But the feisty and spirited ad made a marvel out of the brand. Think of Nirma and the picture of a little girl twirling around with her white frock cannot be forgotten. This jingle has become so familiar in our minds. Nirma took on the might of giant multinationals and wrote a new chapter in the Indian corporate history!

Jingles have the poetic and emotional appeal; it scores over logical, informational advertisements. I think this happens because music can provide a message without the customer consciously noticing it. For providing rational facts in the same time “mixtures of speech and song provide advertisers with opportunities for both logical and factual appeals. Music can therefore function as a nonverbal identifier for certain groups with different musical taste.

Do you know that in sixties and seventies companies wishing to advertise on Radio used external radio stations like Radio Ceylon and Radio Goa (then Goa was under Portuguese control). Radio Ceylon was a popular station as it aired film songs, which was banned on All India Radio (AIR) because the then Information & Broadcasting Minister Mr. Balkrishna Vishwanath Keskar – who thoroughly disapproved of film music. However, in 1965 when Ms. Indira Gandhi was Information & Broadcasting Minister under the Prime Minister Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri, she changed things. In 1966, Ms. Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister and she gave serious attention to the use of Radio as a mass media. In 1967, the government accepted the recommendations of an expert committee under the former Director of AIR – Krishna Chandra Sharma. And ads started broadcasting on radio which further saw a spurt in sweet and melodious radio jingles.

Even today the jingle “tandurasti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy, lifebuoy hai jahan tandurusti hai wahan” rings in our ears. Similarly ‘Utterly, Butterly, Delicious AMUL’ was another great success.

In the seventies India witnessed a lot of new agencies being set up, including the Mumbai-based Rediffusion, Trikaya Grey and Chaitra and the Chennai-based R. K. Swamy & Associates. Reliance Group setup Mudra Communications in Ahmedabad. In 1977, Doordarshan started accepting ads. It changed the life of Indian ads radically and brought a qualitative leap in making of ads. I still remember the first TV ad was a still for the Topaz brand of razor blades from the house of Malhotras and the first ad prepared for TV was of Jenson & Nicholson modeled by Dalip Tahil and Maya Alagh arguing over the color of their bedroom. This ad was created by Rediffusion. There were only 3 TV Programs on Doordarshan. I still recall we never got irritated when in between the programs ads were played. The programs were: CHITRAHAAR, PHOOL KHILE HAIN GULSHAN, GULSHAN and Sunday Evening Feature Film. And, due to TV ads, lesser known brands were marketed with ease all over the nation.

And then in early eighties the Hawkins Pressure Cooker jingle sung by Preeti Sagar (My heart is beating, Film Julie singer) the jingle words were “Hawkins ki seeti baji, khushboo hi khushboo udi, Mazedaar, lazzedaar khaana hai tayyar, aji khaana hai tayyar! Murg Musallam, Tomayyto Soup, Matar Pulao, Maaki Daal, Kheer aur Dum Aloooooo Har vyanjan swadisht banaaye, minton mein jhatpat pakaaye Hawkins! Hawkins! Hawkins Pressure Cooker! Every Indian household thought of buying the Hawkins Pressure Cooker.

Alyque Padamsee of Lintas was approached by Lever Brothers to write an ad film for HAMAM. He drafted script showing a bikini model bathing with HAMAM under a waterfall. This idea was absolutely rejected by Lever Brothers considering that Indian housewives are restricted to kitchen, and they rarely go out for a picnic or a movie. Padamsee then made a simple ad “chehre ki sundertaa ko nikharta HAMAM”. See how ads show the transformation in society, its culture and philosophy – time passed and Lever team once again told Alyque Padamsee to write another ad film for a new soap – LIRIL. Alyque took out the old and rejected script from his cupboard, changed the title from HAMAM to LIRIL and rest is the history. Within 10 years the Indian housewife was elated from her mundane surroundings to a more confident and earning woman. The Liril ad showcased the modern and liberated Indian woman to the world. It was the hottest ad in the early 80s. Which showed the LIRIL girl drenched under the falls wearing only bikini? The ad was all about waterfalls, abundant water and the girl splashing about. The background score was “la…la la la laaa..”. The la,la, la notation just went about with a hummable tune. The first Liril ad was a masterpiece of with unmatched caliber; it was a product of Alyque Padamsee’s imagination. It was shot in Kodaikanal at a waterfall a little beyond Guna caves. LIRIL brand became largest selling brand of soap in Luxury Soap Segment. Both men and women used it!

I recall this sweet little jingle of Bajaj Electricals. It seems Bajaj Electricals made a historical success by giving a fight to Philips bulbs with their jingle “Jab mein chhota baccha tha, badi shararat karta tha, meri chori pakdi jaati,…aur roshnee karta Bajaj” the attractiveness of this jingle is haunting. The ad shows a kid hiding and reading comics, then a young man sneaking in room from window and at the last shot of an old man sneaking into the fridge for some sweet.  The changeover in pitch and tone from a childish jangle to the old man’s rattle is so fascinating in this jingle.

Some of the older jingles can still bring a smile on our faces. They are inseparable from our lives. They have become iconic and like diamonds they will remain with us forever.

In its 2005 “Year of Ideas” issue, The New York Times Magazinelisted nation branding among the year’s most notable ideas. The way a country is perceived can make a significant difference to the success of its trade, business, tourism efforts, as well as its diplomatic and cultural relations with other nations. Simon Anholt coined the term ‘nation branding’ in 1996 and since then he has been working with governments to help them plan the policies, strategies, investments and advance which lead their country towards an improved profile and reputation. America has become the largest and most powerful brand in the globe; it virtually shapes the world in almost all dimensions such as national governance, policies, exports, people, tourism, economic and social status etc. In the fast growing global village nation’s branding is considered as big as federal mega-projects. Steve Silver and Sam Hill, both marketing experts define nation branding as most complex (brand) positioning problem; how can we brand a nation? A nation is as big as a Meta brand inclusive of numerous mega brands. There are so many mega activities of in a nation such as political governance, commerce, education, human resource development, environment, foreign affairs, infrastructure, environment, tourism, culture and heritage etc.

Few years back marketing Guru Philip Kotler launched the World Marketing Summit (WMS), an annual gathering of professionals, in Dhaka to find solutions to global challenges such as climate change, healthcare and skill development. The purpose of the summit was building strategies for creating a better world.   When somebody asked a question to Philip Kotler how emerging economies like India and China should build brands?  He answered the question plausibly stating that emerging countries need to understand importance of marketing strategies. Imagine importance of marketing for building brands as big as nations.

In the emerging economies like China, India, Russia and Brazil many businesses are in the first stages of life cycles, most of these are product driven companies. In India lot of companies are just focused on market share, instant profits, and very little focus on marketing values. In some developing countries marketers have now recognized the importance of lasting impact of branding exercise, reputation and importance of being customer-driven.

Mr. Kotler’s advice to the business world is to become a brand that has distinct meaning. He says it is not enough for companies to be known for what they are producing or manufacturing; for instance it is not enough for people to know that Nike makes athletic shoes. Nike means much more…… It’s a lot of work!

Nation Branding: Role of Government

Coming back to nation branding; the role of governments is to appreciate the best companies around and to assist them in becoming more excellent in the country, and then in the region and then in the world. The government should make it easier for companies to be export-driven, to put in quality control policies, to raise adequate funds as and when required. The government needs to have business friendly approach.

Any nation in the world cannot take its position for granted. The economic scenario changes swiftly. According to leading economists in the world, there are approximately 28 emerging economies which are marching ahead. Countries like Brazil, China and India are regarded as the largest in the world today though the G8 has not included them. There are countries like Greece and Italy who are losing their foothold from the stable nations in the world. Greece is already in major breach of euro zone rules on deficit management and with the financial markets betting the country will default on its debts, this reflects badly on the credibility of the euro. There are also fears that financial doubts will infect other nations at the low end of Europe’s economic scale, with Portugal and the Republic of Ireland coming under scrutiny. If Europe needs to resort to rescue packages involving bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, this would further damage the euro’s reputation and could lead to a substantial fall against other key currencies.

The concept of branding is viewed as ‘cultural diplomacy’ of nations. It is a somewhat new way of looking at a nation, but every nation is already a brand. Every nation is perceived in the minds of people differently living elsewhere in the world. Some countries are known for good things, some for bad, and others have mixed perceptions. Based on these perceptions, other nations in the world interact and do business with other nations, either contributing to its development or hindering it. For example Africa is associated with civil war, Iraq with suicide bombings and Cuba with Fidel Castro’s dictatorship. On the other hand countries such as the US, Canada or France, are perceived positively for decades for their sound political and economic development. Nation branding is based on the underlying assumption that every nation is a brand good or bad depending on its efforts. The important thing to realize about branding a nation is that one of its ingredients is the intensification of something that is found already within that nation.

Singapore – Rise from third world to first world

Singapore’s stunning rise from third world to first world in a matter of 30 years was spearheaded by an intensive and rigorous closely-coordinated programme of nation branding. Today, brand Singapore attracts the investments, business, trade, tourism and talented human resources from all over the world which is helping it further to become more flourishing nation. This state is internationally known as a vibrant, safe, corruption-free place to do business. Name any of the great businesses of the world; everybody wants to be in Singapore! The vibrancy and liveliness of the nation in its culture and the fine art attracts more and more tourists. In global surveys of quality of life, Singapore regularly tops the charts.

Singapore’s exit from Malaysia was a unique historical situation. It is hard to think of another example in history when a state was expelled from a larger country. Singapore’s problems for its fight of independence were not distinctively glamorized.  High levels of unemployment, lack of sanitation, scarcity of potable water, and ethnic conflict were some conditions that marred Singapore then and still typify many third world countries today. It was common scene then on the streets of the country Chinese and Malays often fought street battles that ended in bloodshed.

The unusual effectiveness of the Singapore government has won worldwide acclaim over the years. The Institute of Management Development’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 1997, ranked Singapore as the country which has adopted most effective and fastest strategies and implementations in government policy. Berlin based Transparency International placed Singapore in fourth place worldwide in 2003 for absence of corruption. To explain Singapore’s economic success, it is important to understand the predominant themes that have distinguished its governance from less successful third world countries. At the heart of the Singapore model is the social contract that was articulated between the ruling PAP (People’s Action Party) run government and the people of Singapore. In essence, it said that while the people were willing to accept more government control they also gave up some individual rights. People worked hard while the government created the environment which delivered prosperity and a better quality of life.

The World Bank ranks nations on various parameters on the basis of ease of doing business, from 1 to 183. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. This index shows the best countries the world which allows businesses to prosper.  As of today, Canada ranks number one in this list.

Environmental scanning of a nation for brand building

Environmental scanning of a nation helps in the brand building exercise of a nation. It is the study and interpretation of the political, economic, social and technological events and trends which influences businesses to establish in a nation.  The following parameters involve in environmental scanning:  

Economic Environment

It is very complex and dynamic in nature that keeps on changing with the change in policies or political situations. It consists of three elements: (i) Economic Conditions of Public (ii) Economic Policies of the country (iii) Economic System and other Economic Factors such as infrastructural facilities, banking, Insurance companies, money markets, capital markets etc.

Political environment

The government policies affect the businesses extensively. Political beliefs of Government, political strength of the country, relation with other countries, defense and military policies, centre state relationship in the country, thinking of opposition parties towards business Units attract or distract FDI in a country. 

Socio-cultural environment

Influence exercised by social and cultural factors, not within the control of business, is known as Socio-Cultural Environment. These factors include: attitude of people to work, family system, caste system, religion, education, marriage etc.

Technological environment

A systematic application of scientific knowledge to practical task is known as technology. Everyday there has been vast changes in products, services, lifestyles and living conditions, these changes must be analyzed by every business unit and should adapt these changes.

Natural environment

It includes natural resources, weather, climatic conditions, port facilities, topographical factors such as soil, sea, rivers, rainfall etc. Every business unit must look for these factors before choosing the location for their business.

Demographic environment

It is a study of perspective of population i.e. its size, standard of living, growth rate, age-sex composition, family size, income level (upper level, middle level and lower level), education level etc. Every business unit must see these features of population and recognize their various needs and produce accordingly.

We Indians should take some lessons to brand ourselves in the globe.