Case-1

Viacom18's 'Colors' Channel in India Colorful Market Entry and Positioning strategies

On July 21st 2008, Viacom18 – a 50:50 joint venture between Viacom and Network18 – made a
colourful entry into the Hindi general entertainment market of India with the launch of Colors
channel. Led by Rajesh Kamat, ex-executive of STAR India, Colors was an instant success in the
Hindi general entertainment market with differentiated content and disruptive scheduling.
Instead of confusing the audience with its whole array of programmes, Colors created a buzz
with Akshay Kumar hosted show, Fear Factor –Khatron Ke Khiladi and let them try their
channel with fiction like Balika Vadhu. Within 10 weeks of its launch, Colors shot up to No. 2
position with ratings as high as 250 points – ahead of entrenched players like Zee TV and Sony
and posed a serious threat to the undisputed leader, STAR Plus. While a good value proposition,
right positioning and distribution strategies gave
Colors substantial competitive edge, analysts and media experts doubt its sustainability in the
long run amid
intensifying competition, global downturn and labour strife with television producers.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To examine the nature of business for a General Entertainment Channel (GEC) and identify its
critical success factors
•To discuss the need of a unique value proposition and right Segmenting, Targeting and
Positioning (STP) strategies for an entrant to win over entrenched players in the GEC market
• To examine the launch of Colors in the GEC market and its strategies to compete with
established players like
STAR Plus and Zee TV
• To compare and contrast Colors' strategies with those of other GECs in the Indian
entertainment and media industry
• To debate on the sustainability of Colors' No. 2 position in the Indian GEC market and also
identify the challenges ahead.

Case-2

Cafe Coffee Day’s Expansion Strategies

In 1996, India’s largest coffee conglomerate, Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd
(ABCTCL), opened
the country’s first coffee café – Café Coffee Day, in Bangalore. This was the beginning of coffee
café culture in the
traditionally tea drinking country. ABCTCL has traditionally been a commodity coffee player.
With coffee bean prices going down, the company planned to get away with commodity coffee
and export business. As an extension of the coffee selling activity and to leverage the strong
brand image, the company set up a chain of coffee cafés. Noticing the growing popularity of its
cafés, ABCTCL decided to expand the coffee chain into both the domestic and international
markets.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss the emergence of coffee retailing in India

• To discuss the possible growth avenues for coffee retailing in India.
• To discuss the future of CCD after death of the founder

Case-3

Indian Television’s Music Reality Shows: Ephemeral Fame Providers or Enduring

Career Launchers?

Since 1995, music reality shows have become an important part of Indian television
programmes. These shows received a major boost in 2003 due to the advent of media
convergence that enabled television channels to transform their shows into interactive ones
where the audience, through their votes over emails or SMSs, could decide the winners at these
shows. Although this ensures instant recognition for the winners, the sheer number of upcoming
talents spawning out of these shows has led to an uncertainty about the future of their careers in
the Indian music industry.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To understand the concept of reality shows and how they differ from normal television
programmes
• To analyse the reasons behind the evolution and rapid growth of music reality shows on Indian
television
• To debate whether reality shows are safer bets for launching talented singers and whether these
singers can sustain their singing careers for long

Case-4

De Beers: The Right Hand Ring campaign

De Beers, the diamond mining giant spent heavily on promoting diamonds to end customers
through their advertising campaigns. Most of these campaigns were for the bridal category such
as diamonds for engagement, wedding and anniversaries and were targeted at men who usually
bought diamond rings and other jewelry for their
beloved. Realizing that the non bridal category of diamond jewelry also had an immense
potential, DTC, the marketing arm of De Beers launched an advertising campaign in May 2003,
to promote the concept of ‘right hand ring’ targeted at independent and influential women. The
campaign was backed by extensive print, elevision, online and other forms of promotions. The
campaign helped in bolstering the non bridal category of diamond jewelry and got acclaimed at
various international jewelry and fashion platforms. The case highlighting the new advertising
campaign of De Beers, emphasizes on the point that how the global diamond mining giant
indirectly influences the retail sales of diamonds, without being directly involved in retail sales.
This innovative campaign targeted a clearly defined target market with a differentiated
aspirational concept. It was aimed at creating an altogether new category of diamond rings by
altering the design characteristics. A focused differentiation strategy aimed at product extension
was used in promoting the unique concept. The effective use of the 4 P’s of marketing, STP,
cross promotional campaigns and celebrity endorsements has been illustrated through the case.
The case also demonstrates the attitudinal change which the campaign aimed to bring among
women, about the way they perceive themselves and want the world to perceive them.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss the usage of STP model of De Beers’ new advertising campaign

• To analyse De Beer’s strategy using Ansoff’s matrix
• To discuss the effective usage of various promotional tools

Case-5

Apollo Hospitals: Leading the Way to Healthcare Tourism

The trend of seeking medical care elsewhere began some thousands of years ago and has now
emerged as a niche industry. Healthcare tourism offered consumers world-class treatment
facilities at a reduced cost and also offered associated benefits like travel abroad. Around the
world, Hong Kong, Lithuania and South Africa were emerging as big healthcare destinations. In
Asia, Healthcare tourism emerged on the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, which led the
hospitals to seek alternative revenue sources. By 2004, five countries in Asia - Thailand,
Malaysia, Jordan, Singapore and India attracted over 1.3 million medical travellers and earned
over $1 billion in treatment costs alone.In 2005, Apollo Hospitals Group, of India, was the fourth
largest private healthcare group in the world and the largest in Asia. Apollo realised the potential
in Healthcare tourism and capitalised early on the opportunity.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss development of Healthcare Tourism and its growth in Asia

• To understand the strategies followed by the leader in this Industry in India and the marketing
efforts undertaken by it
• To understand 7 P’s of marketing of Apollo Hospitals
Case-6

Indian Hair Color Industry: L’Oreal’s Foray

L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company entered the booming Indian hair color market in
1997. Since then, it has been meeting demands of its Indian consumers, competed from local and
international companies and expanded from cities to the two and three-tier towns of India. This
case provides detailed background information on the Indian Hair colour industry and the
competitive scenario. It describes L’Oreal’s entry and marketing strategies, the hurdles it has to
overcome in India. The case offers scope for discussion on L’Oreal’s competitive position in hair
color industry. It also provides information for discussion on the problems it faces due to the
business environment in India and future plans for L’Oreal India. The case also provides scope
for discussion of marketing efforts by other competitors

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss the competitive positioning of L’Oreal

• To understand the structure of Indian hair colour industry
• To discuss the competitive scenario and L’Oreal’s marketing strategies

Case 7

Capsule Hotels: A Case of Reverse Positioning?

From luxury to budget to no-frills and boutique... the major hotel giants are moving ahead with
innovative concepts,and the outcome – a never before choice for business as well as leisure
travellers.Forging ahead amid stiff competition andindustry growth nearing maturity, hoteliers
are constantly thinking of new value innovations. One such innovation gave birth to the no-frills
concept, based on a typical Japanese capsule hotel along with considerable inspiration from low-
cost airlines and first class accommodation on air flight. Particularly visible in popular regions of
the US and Europe, they set a unique and distinct competitive position in the market. However,
in an industry where customers identify their lifestyle with the hotel brands, known for luxury
and comfort, how would no-frills budget hotels appeal to the customers? Given their strategic
pricing, can these hotels earn sustainable profits amid competition from high-end as well as low-
end hotel segments?

Pedagogical Objectives
• To discuss the development trends in the global hotel industry and its growth across the years
• To understand various operational aspects of hotel industry and their implications on the
performance of the hotel companies • To examine Japanese capsule hotels, their characteristic
features, and services offered
• To examine the rise of no-frills budget hotels in Europe and the US
• To analyse the role of location in the success of the new concept hotels
• To examine growing competition in the industry between different hotel categories
• To evaluate the success of these newconcept hotels and identify their growth potential.
Case 8

Google: From Search Engine to Power Brand

In mid 90s, two students from Stanford University planned to develop an online search engine,
Google. The name Google was derived from the word 'googol' which meant a mathematical term
for 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Over the years the company became globally the largest search
engine. Besides restricting itself as the number one search engine globally, the company was
known for its friendly products and continuous innovation. In 2005, the company emerged as
number one brand in the survey conducted by Interbrand, surpassing brands like Apple, Nokia,
Sony and Starbucks. The case discussed in details about the evolution of brand Google from an
online search engine to globally the leading brand. It also covers how Googol plan to retain its
superiority over Yahoo and other online search engine.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss about the online search engine

• To discuss how Google became the most popular search engine
• To analyse Google as a power brand
• To discuss how Google enriched its product portfolio.

Case 9

The Virgin Group: Branding Ahead

Richard Branson, the 56-year-old creator of the Virgin brand, is a prime example of
entrepreneurial success in global business. The Virgin group has created over 200 companies
worldwide employing more than 25000 people with a sales turnover of $8.1 billion for the fiscal
year 2005. It has become a byword for quality, innovation and a sense of competitive challenge.
Virgin has delivered value for money to customers and used e-commerce activities to upgrade
old products and services into new avenues for success. Virgin’s uniqueness lay in the fact that it
had minimal management layers, no bureaucracy, a tiny board and no massive global HQ.
Employees’ interests were always given the highest priority over those of customers and
shareholders. The issue Branson faced was to prioritise the challenges likely to crop up in the
next decade. The case is structured to enable students to discuss: (1) the primary product groups;
(2) marketing strategies; (3) the challenges likely to confront Virgin; and (4) the outlook for the
future.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To analyse the strategies adopted by the Virgin group to succeed in different, and also
unrelated, business areas
• To understand the marketing mix formulated for diverse product groups.
Case 10

Bank of Baroda: The Rebranding Strategies

It is generally said that change as a response is not as definitive a measure of leadership as
change as a proactive step. Organisations do respond to demanding situations. Some responses
are turnaround strategies, some are restructuring strategies and some others are re-engineering
exercises. Bank of Baroda with its 97 years of unblemished history has ushered in an ‘adaptive
change’ as opposed to a ‘technical change’ under the leadership of its chairman, Dr. Anil K.
Khandelwal. A rebranding exercise was taken up as a part of this change to revitalise the bank. It
was of a scale that had rarely been witnessed in any government-owned financial institution in
India. The complete makeover of the external facade of the bank was completed in 53 days and
the new brand was launched on June 6th 2005. Within a month, the re-branding was hailed as a
successful initiative by all quarters with even the skeptics becoming believers. However, with the
Indian banking industry being opened up to foreign players, the competition might blur these
historic changes.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To discuss the relevance of branding in banks, especially public sector banks

• To understand the Indian financial system and the evolution of the Indian banking
industry
• To make out or oppose a case for consolidation in the Indian banking industry
• To delve deep into the concepts of brand and branding in the context of Bank of Baroda
• To analyse the concept of brand equity as applicable to banks with specific reference to
Bank of Baroda
• To contextualise the need for change, the process of change and continuous monitoring of
change envisaged in Bank of Baroda’s organizational transformation.
• To discuss the future of BoB post merger.