More Aliens Invited in Facebook

In 2012, facebook directs more and more strategic moves by entering into IPO, acquiring Apps Support companies.

For Sharing Photos, mark Zuckerberg has acquired Instagram and employees of Instagram has come under the shades of Facebook. With the Instagram team joining Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is very much optimistic that growth would be more mutually beneficial giving greater experience for the facebook users in sharing photos in their domain.

Another big strategic move by facebook is buying Tagtile, which will give Facebook more expertise about how to approach businesses and convince them to use a valuable service for engaging with their customers. If it can tie its online offers to Tagtile’s service, it will give businesses a way to redeem those offers in-store and show them how effective their offers were. But I’m not sure how much of the acquisition is really about the TagTile box long term. NFC phones are coming, and you can already establish a user’s location inside a store and reward them with QR codes. Foursquare is doing this through check-ins and Shopkick is as well through its dedicated audio hardware.

Thums Up replaces Akshay Kumar with a group of four led by Telegu superstar Mahesh Babu

Akshay Kumar has been endorsing Thums Up for eight years on a trot; he's now 45. Some 30% of Thums Up consumers are women. Andhra Pradesh is Thums Up's biggest market in India.

And some 47% of Indians are under 20. Throw all these seemingly disparate data points into a bottle, shake it vigorously and pronto: you have a brand new fizzy recipe, not for Thums Up itself but for its advertising and promotion.

As brand consultant Harish Bijoor says: "Brand-endorsers age. Brands don't. Brands have two choices. They can either age with their brand endorsers, or they could change their brand endorsers." The marketers of Thums Up are clearly in no mood for the former.

So out goes the ageing Bollywood macho man. Replacing him is a group of four highenergy dudes - one of whom is a woman - and led by Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu, who has been the brand's face down south for five years now.

Suddenly, all those bulleted points at the beginning of this article don't seem so incongruent any more. Akshay and his adrenalin-pumping action on building tops and down sharp cliffs to grab a bottle of his favourite soft drink is passe.

Thums Up has to appeal to - with apologies to Pepsi - Youngistan, the girls included. And if AP is where Thums Up sells the most, Mahesh Babu fits the role to a tee.

It all began a year ago, when Thums Up and Leo Burnett, the creative agency for the brand, brainstormed on the next big idea for the cola brand that would ensure it stayed ahead of the global big boys, Pepsi and Coke. Spools of research tape revealed GenY's upbeat mood and aspirations.

These range from a guy from Gwalior who, after studying engineering, decided to start his own business; to another middle-class Joe from Jhansi who wanted to take up dancing as a profession despite family opposition. Led by such insights, the new summer-campaign of Thums Up released recently moves on from the one-man army that was Akshay Kumar to a story of four friends and their version of daredevilry amidst the highrises of Bangkok.

Justifying the shift, Srinivas Murthy, director - marketing (flavours and Thums Up), elaborates : "The new code of masculinity for Thums Up - real, contemporary and more social - is borne out of their (GenY's ) affinity to do things in groups and lead from the front."

The earlier positioning of the muscular caveman guy who was larger than life is less relevant now, adds Murthy. To put it simply, the attempt is to continue with the position of masculine icon albeit in a more refreshed avatar.

Says K V Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett: "The youth of today belong to a generation that likes to explore , and does it with a level of confidence. They are not looking at becoming the leaders of the world but are happy within their group.

Pepsi Co Extending the Line

With the season started, Pepsi Co has started introducing new Lines and adding SKU lines to the existing brand, say for example Mirinda has been released in 3 flavours - orange , orange masala etc.,

And also other food products like lays and all being released with different flavors endorsed with the cricket players as the cricket fever has started.

In addition with extending Mirinda, 7 up is also planned to give brand endorsement to nimbooz in the name of 7 up nimboo which will directly take the brand credit of 7 up.

With the season in phase, many variations is expected with fresh juices into market from pepsico.

Facebook takes on Groupon

Facebook, the social network, is trialling a new "daily deals" service, putting it into direct competition with early category leaders like Groupon and LivingSocial.

The Web 2.0 pioneer's latest initiative expands on the geo-location tools developed for the company's Places platform, and augments the promotional offers provided through Facebook Deals.

Daily deals will initially run in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.

Visitors can view a dedicated page detailing all the current discounts, money-off schemes and other enticements pursued by marketers, accessing this section of Facebook via a link from their personal homepage.

Similar to Google's search engine, Facebook may have found a way to successfully monetise the long tail of small enterprises, by promising a large audience on a comparatively modest budget.

"Local businesses will be able to sign up to use this feature soon and people will be able to find deals in the coming weeks," a Facebook statement said.

Emily White, Facebook's director of local operations, further suggested Facebook's social focus could now extend offline.

"You won't get your legs waxed with friends," she said. "You dine out, you go to concerts, you do outdoor activities. We want to make sure those experiences are maximised."

Alongside its in-house sales unit, Facebook is working with nine firms, like restaurant booking specialist Open Table, family-orientated social shopping site Plum District and high-end equivalent Gilt City, to source offers.

Zozi, which prioritises holidays and adventurous travel trips, is another member of this group.

"We are very excited about the Facebook partnership. They are an extraordinarily strong company with the largest number of page views on the web," said TJ Sassani, Zozi's chief executive.

"That's helpful when we talk to merchants."

One problem to be overcome by Facebook, and the whole sector, is the fact many organisations, particularly smaller businesses, cannot match demand, and therefore actually make a loss.

"There are some downsides to having a huge audience," said Greg Sterling, a senior analyst at Opus Research.

"For national advertisers, it's double-edged as well. The minute something appears that's any good, people will be all over that."

Lou Kerner, a Wedbush Securities analyst, argued such a strategy pushes Facebook to the forefront of an increasingly intense online battle.

"Local is the last frontier that the internet has not conquered, and everyone is going after it with a vengeance," said Kerner.

"This news is just kind of an evolutionary moment in Facebook's drive to be a major player in local."

Consultancy BIA/Kelsey predicted US consumer expenditure on "deal a day" goods and services would rise 35.1% a year in the near term, climbing from $873m in 2010 to $1.2bn in 2011, and hitting $3.9bn by 2015.

Based on an optimistic reading - where the amount of featured cities, registered users, average transactions and price beat current forecasts - BIA/Kelsey anticipated the 2015 total might reach $6.1bn.

"We expect to see some shift in local media spending resulting from the adoption of deal a day by local advertisers," said Peter Krasilovsky, BIA/Kelsey's vp and program director, Marketplaces.

"We also believe that deal a day doesn't exist in a vacuum. It will become a part of the growing deals and offers landscape."

To gain a meaningful foothold, Facebook must take on LivingSocial, which has previously received investment from Amazon, and Groupon, thought to be considering an initial public offering.

"Some investors may get spooked," said Sterling. "In the old days, everybody worried about Google entering every segment of the market. And now Facebook is another concern."

P&G pushes big ideas

Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods giant, is using "store-back branding" to ensure the big ideas behind its products transfer from advertising and marketing to the retail arena.

Speaking with business title Forbes, Phil Duncan, P&G's global design officer, suggested adopting an integrated model is vital.

More specifically, while successful ad campaigns - such as the "Thanks, Mom" umbrella effort for last year's Winter Olympics and "Smell Like a Man, Man" on behalf of Old Spice - are key, they cannot function in isolation.

"We make sure we can translate the big idea, or ideal, in a signature visual or with a few simple words. For example, the idea driving the Crest brand is a 'healthy, beautiful smile,'" said Duncan.

This process necessarily begins at the early stages of innovation, as the owner of Tide and Pampers attempts to guarantee its offerings stand out as buyers reach the "moment of truth".

"We tell our teams that as they develop the idea to think about the most difficult branding arena first, which is, of course, the shopping arena," Duncan added.

"We call this store-back branding. We use the store-back branding approach first so we can evaluate whether the big idea will work where and when the consumer is in an actual purchasing state of mind."

P&G now regularly employs digital simulations of supermarkets both to identify the optimal display level to catch the attention of customers, and in focus groups assessing packaging.

"Often the in-store execution, whether it's the packaging or point of sale material, is the only marketing the consumer sees," Duncan argued.

"We need to make sure our communication of the core brand idea is not only reinforced in the store, but that it can stand alone in the store."

Such "retail branding" initiatives must bolster the central product proposition, and can also be deployed alongside alternative channels to help shoppers acquire an overall picture.

"Because packaging is essential in retail activation, we use our online efforts to showcase the packaging within a store environment," said Duncan.

While all of these factors can exert an influence on the ultimate decisions made by customers, this outcome is most likely to occur if marketers emphasise a "single idea", Duncan continued.

In an example of this, the latest creative concept supporting P&G's Gain detergent range is called "Love at first sniff."

This notion has been leveraged to inform various promotional strategies, indicating the cross-media possibilities that result from imbuing a brand with a clear, consistent message.

"Through our television and video ventures we encourage people to literally take the cap off the Gain bottle and smell the detergent," said Duncan.

"Once they actually smell it they're more apt to buy it."

Effectively adapting to the retail space thus offers firms major advantages against competitors by building on the awareness and perceptions created by communications utilising other mediums.

"We've essentially shortened the path to purchase. The objective for all marketers is to use the in-store experience to reinforce the brand benefits as communicated in other channels," Duncan concluded.

Ethics pay for GE, eBay

General Electric, eBay and Aflac are among the world's "most ethical companies", according to a study published by specialist think-tank the Ethisphere Institute.

Ethisphere assessed 3,000 organisations from 36 countries, naming 110 as performing particularly well in terms of citizenship, social responsibility, governance, innovation and leadership.

General Electric, Zappos, Best Buy, Cisco and UPS were some of the leading US players credited with boasting strong credentials in this area.

Insurance provider Aflac has assumed the same status for five years in a row, one of 26 brand owners achieving repeated success on such a scale.

It adopted an extremely open approach during the financial crisis, revealing details of outstanding bonds on the web to reassure investors.

"There is a tendency, I think, in corporate America and in our personal lives to say, 'This will go away, let's not deal with it,'" said Daniel Amos, Aflac's chief executive.

"I have generally found it is better to go ahead and get it out in front of people and if it goes away, so be it. Don't try to wait or it just grows and gets bigger as time goes on."

The 36 new entries featured in Ethisphere's 2011 table included information technology giant Microsoft and consumer goods manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive.

Internet auction pioneer eBay was a further debutant, and John Donahoe, the firm's chief executive, argued this result demonstrates how its core principles can be transferred offline.

"eBay was founded on the belief that strangers could trust and connect with one another through global commerce," he said.

"Building this trust requires a sustained commitment to doing business with the highest level of integrity."

Hotel chain Marriott International, equally praised by the Ethisphere Institute, has ensured the probity of its practices at home remain consistent abroad.

Bill Marriott, the network's chief executive, cited the example of pressure to make unofficial payments in many nations, even for basic amenities.

"There are these 'facilitative payments,' I guess they call them, where you have a general manager of a hotel and they tell him, 'You want your trash picked up at Friday at 8am? We want a little extra.' We don't do it. We just say no," said Marriott.

"When we go outside the United States, I think people are accepting the fact that we don't do this."

"If you have accepted something, then you know that you are dealing with someone who won't put up with it, then it goes away."

Hitachi Data Systems, the storage solutions provider, similarly made Ethisphere's list, and has taken rigorous steps to guarantee its activity is suitably transparent.

"We've set up a solid program with the best proven features, including a global anti-corruption program developed for our operations around the world," said Jack Domme, Hitachi Data Systems' chief executive.

"Having this distinction by an external, independent review benchmarked against companies across industries sets us apart as an industry leader and employer of choice."

The Ethisphere Institute reported members of its cohort have outperformed the S&P index by an average 7.3% a year since 2007, and delivered a 27% return to shareholders over the same period, beating a norm of -8.5%.

"This year we had more nominations for companies based outside of the United States than ever before," added Alex Brigham, its executive director. "We also had more foreign-based companies recognised than ever before."

"This is a positive sign to us, as it indicates that ethics is becoming a serious issue around the world."

These 42 enterprises housed mobile operator Singapore Telecom, Brazilian health and beauty manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos, and Indian real estate group the Housing Development Finance Corporation.

Unilever plots R&D drive

Unilever, the FMCG giant, is heightening its focus on innovation, seen as a key growth driver given rising commodity costs and challenging trading conditions in the US and Western Europe.

The company, which manufacturers leading brands like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Persil detergent and the Dove beauty range, has adopted a different approach to R&D after appointing Paul Polman as chief executive.

Guiding principles now incorporate rolling out fewer, but more substantial, new items and brand extensions, often unveiled in between 30 and 40 markets in quick succession.

Recent introductions include Dove Men+Care, the Knorr Stock Pot and Axe Twist, and the firm believes many such projects can realistically be expected to deliver incremental revenues of €50m ($69.7; £43.4m) in their first year.

Speaking at the Reuters Global Food and Agriculture Summit, Michael Polk, Unilever's president of global food, home and personal products, suggested current results proved progress had been made.

"In 2010, roughly 33% of our turnover was touched by innovation, which is a very good number by industry standards," he said.

"That's a big number. We hope to sustain that, and will sustain it, if not increase that."

Looking ahead, Unilever intends to fuel future sales expansion through delivering new offerings capable of making a significant impression on the bottom line.

"Innovation will step up in 2011 versus 2010. It needs to. And in 2012 versus 2011. It needs to in order for us to realise the ambition we have stated externally," said Polk.

Advertising and promotions play an integral role in supporting this pipeline, and the Anglo-Dutch operator has boosted its outlay here by €700m across the last two years.

Improving the effectiveness of communications has been a major objective during the last five years, enhancing what Polk termed the "equity benefits that have accrued to our brands".

Overall, Polk described Unilever's primary "formula" as "great brands and innovation ... the work we are doing in the marketing area on the brands themselves, product quality, product performance and innovation."

Such values could be essential for the company, as the input costs required for raw materials like edible oils, tea, tomatoes and milk are growing, set to make up 4% of Unilever's turnover in 2011.

As raising prices will also form a central part of the organisation's strategy in response to this trend, creating goods able to command a premium thus constitutes an important goal.

"We will price to the degree the consumer is prepared to pay ... without compromising our growth agenda and to the degree that the competitive environment allows," said Polk.

Tata Motors turns to retail

Tata Motors, the Indian automaker, is seeking to boost sales of its Nano "minicar" by selling it through the stores of discount retail chain Big Bazaar.

Owned by Future Group, Big Bazaar started offering Tata Motors' pioneering low-cost vehicle to shoppers in 120 outlets around a month ago.

"This began as a pilot project to see whether a car can actually be sold through a hypermarket," said Sandip Tarkas, Future Group's customer strategy president, told Livemint.

"So far, it has lived up to the expectations."

More specifically, Big Bazaar has sold 450 units to date, or 5% of the total 8,262 Nano purchases made by Indian consumers across February 2011.

"There is a lot of commonality between Big Bazaar consumers and prospective Nano buyers"

"Big Bazaar as a concept appeals to the masses and with over 150m footfalls every year, we are trying to see how we can sell Nano, which has a similar positioning."

"The arrangement has been in place for over a month now and we're encouraged by the results so far."

This approach marks the latest evolution of Tata's efforts to stimulate demand for the Nano after sales hit just 509 vehicles in November 2010.

It has begun using an increasingly diverse range of alternative vendors, as well as kiosks, to engage potential customers in different settings than car forecourts, and also offers several financial plans.

"Tata Motors may have now realised that for a product like Nano, conventional distribution systems such as car showrooms can only help to an extent," said Sonam Udasi, head of research at IDBI Securities.

"Big Bazaar's customers, mostly value conscious people, will directly fit in the profile of Nano buyers."
Given the promising results of this trial scheme thus far, Tata Motors and Big Bazaar are considering their options as to how it can be developed going forward.

"We believe there is synergy in the customer segment being targeted by Tata Nano and the Future Group through their Big Bazaar outlets," Debasis Ray, Tata Motors head of corporate communications, said.

Amazon mixes "desire", price

Amazon, Colgate and Nokia are the brands most effectively balancing building "desire" with competing on price, a multimarket study has revealed.

Drawing on shopper data from the annual BrandZ rankings, research firm Millward Brown assessed perceptions covering 7,341 products in 22 countries.

Each item was analysed in terms of desirability and price, with the gap between these figures employed to inform an overall "Value-D" index rating.

A total surpassing 100 points indicated that intangible factors played a greater role than cost in shaping attitudes.

Just 7% of consumers solely emphasised financial matters when making purchases, measured against 20% ten years ago.

By contrast, 81% of the panel agreed wider contributors exerted an important influence on such decisions.

"Too many brands fail to fully optimise their power and instead overemphasise price and downplay desire," said Peter Walshe, Millward Brown's global BrandZ director.

"The consumer usually desires a brand first and then considers the price to determine whether to purchase or not."

Some 31% of the featured offerings fell in the "good value" category, rated more highly for appeal than by how expensive they were.

Key characteristics shared by this group - members of which posted an average score of 111 points - included being "friendly", "fun" and "kind".

Another 28% of the sample fitted the definition of "poor value", viewed as relatively cheap but lacking in broader allure.

This selection, associated with words such as "innocent", "different" and "rebellious", received a collective rating of 95 points.

Only 11% of goods and services met the "justified premium" criteria, performing well in both areas, seen as "attractive", "trustworthy" and "creative", and generating a norm of 108 points.

Elsewhere, 30% of Millward Brown's pool were "expensive", boasting attributes like "sexy", "assertive" and "in control", and comparatively large price tags, therefore averaging 90 points in all.

Online retailer Amazon easily led the charts, logging 133 points for desire and a modest 87 points for the amount typically charged, yielding a combined 146 points.

"Amazon.com has mastered the art of being a trusted brand that consumers want to buy goods from," said Walshe.

"Its pricing is perceived to be great value, but it is its brand power that attracts customers in the first place."

Colgate, the toothpaste, was in second with 133 points, drawn from 122 points for desire and 89 points regarding price.

Nokia, like Amazon and Colgate inside the "great value" cohort, claimed third, as these numbers hit 128 points, 122 points and 94 points respectively.

Pampers was the leading product from the "justified premium" segment, lodging 112 points concerning the outlay required by shoppers, and 130 points for desire, translating to 126 points as a whole.

Visa completed the top five on 125 points, the same as Coca-Cola and Microsoft, although the latter two members of this trio registered higher figures when judging desirability and price.

Fast-food chain McDonald's reached 124 points, Nescafé logged 120 points, and Lidl secured 118 points, almost wholly driven by its focus on discounting.

Aldi, Kia, Vaseline, Suzuku, H&M, Dove and Hyundai were the other brands scoring particularly well in this area.

While not making the top ten, BMW, Apple and Sony all held an aspirational appeal, but also seemed expensive to respondents.

Coke tops UK grocery charts

Coca-Cola remains the biggest-selling grocery brand in the UK, according to a new report.

Trade title The Grocer has published its latest annual ranking of the leading products in the country by value sales, based on Nielsen data, and found Coca-Cola became the first member of the list to surpass £1bn  ($1.8bn; €1.3bn) in returns in 2009.

The soft drink also yielded an 8.3% improvement in 2010, as totals reached nearly £1.1bn.

In response to the challenging financial climate, Coca-Cola has adopted a stricter approach, trimming the number of items on store shelves, and zoning in on core priorities.

"You mess with a winning formula at your peril," said Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer editor.

"And the perilous economy has persuaded many of Britain's biggest brands to play it safe, most notably Coca-Cola, the biggest of them all."

"In the past two years, it has stripped the proposition back to just Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero. And to telling effect."

Warbuton's bread held second, logging a 1.5% lift as figures hit £742.4m, and PepsiCo's Walkers crisps secured a 4.2% increase, to £591m.

Hovis, also in the bread category, took fourth but experienced a 6.5% decline, delivering £426.1m, and Cadbury's Dairy Milk expanded 11.8%, to £418.3m.

This latter result came despite considerable controversy surrounding the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, the American food group.

Kingsmill was the third entrant from the bread sector, with its £389.9m marking a 4.8% jump on the previous 12 months.

Nescafé, the instant coffee owned by Nestlé, saw a 3.5% rise to £384.9m, and Lucozade, GlaxoSmithKline's energy drink, posted a 9.4% leap, coming in at £370.1m.

Demand for Andrex toilet tissue grew by 1%, on £353.7m, but Robinsons soft drinks slipped 2.3%, to £314.8m.

Pepsi's eponymous cola and Tropicana followed in the rankings, generating £308m and £292.2m respectively.

Doritos, falling within Pepsi's Frito-Lay division, enjoyed an impressive annual uptick, growing 20.7% to £123.7m.

"One of the most important 'insights' to emerge in recent times is the 'big night in'," said Leyland. "The most obvious beneficiary has been Doritos."

Heinz had two products in the top 20, as soups racked up £230.3m, augmented by another £228.7m in sales of its Beanz range.

Cadbury's Biscuits, made under licence by Burton's Foods, featured in the 100 best-selling lines for the first time, over 30% higher than the previous year, on £88.2m.

Elsewhere, Mars witnessed an even more difficult trend, as its main chocolate bar was off 14%, receiving £102.1m.

Richard Buchanan, director of brand consultancy The Clearing, argued the chocolate segment's resilience had largely been driven by female shoppers, leaving Mars at a disadvantage.

"Mars is looking a bit past its sell-by date," he said. "Look at its black, red and gold branding - it is the Ford Capri of chocolate bars. It oozes masculinity."

Goodfella's pizza actually dropped out of the top 100, registering a 15.5% decline, to £74.7m.

The Black and White milk range owned by Robert Wiseman dairies also recorded a surge in revenues, climbing 19.1%, to £156.5m.

Apple's iPad 2 sells out

Apple's iPad 2, the latest version of the company's pioneering tablet, appears to have sold out on the first day following its US launch, new figures suggest.

Piper Jaffray, the investment bank and securities specialist, surveyed 236 people waiting to purchase an iPad 2, and also visited retailers such as Target, Best Buy and Apple's store network to assess current availability.

It estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 units of the improved device were snapped up during its opening weekend, measured against 300,000 for the original product, introduced in April 2010.

Moreover, nearly all of the second-generation appliances were obtained in one day, as inventory apparently almost entirely ran out on Saturday, March 11.

Some 30% of individuals interested in buying the most recent addition to Apple's portfolio were picking up the 64GB iPad 2, 41% wanted a 32GB equivalent, and 30% preferred the more basic 16GB model.

More specifically, 47% stated a preference for the 3G and WiFi, meaning 53% had chosen the WiFi-only iPad.

Perhaps the statistic holding greatest importance for Apple was that 70% of people acquiring an iPad 2 had not bought the first version of the firm's slate.

"We believe this shows Apple is expanding its base of iPad users, which is critical to maintaining its early lead in the growing tablet market," Gene Munster, a senior analyst at Piper Jaffray, told Fortune.

"As the user base grows Apple's lead widens, and the company has a proven track record of building unmatched brand loyalty, which we believe will be a potent combination as the tablet market evolves."

Overall, 38% of the panel mainly intended to access the iPad 2 for surfing the net, 22% cited sending and receiving email, 14% wanted to watch video, 17% emphasised gaming, and 6% would employ it as an e-reader.

Elsewhere, 51% of this group had previously purchased a Mac and 49% possessed another form of personal computer.

However, a limited 3% minority expected the iPad 2 to replace these machines, while 97% anticipated utilising both channels.

Exactly 80% of the sample owned an iPod, standing at 65% concerning the iPhone, and 24% regarding Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

Deutsche Bank also called 100 retailers, including 50 outlets operated by Apple, 20 apiece by Best Buy and Wal-Mart, and the remainder belonging to AT&T or Verizon.

Chris Whitmore, a Deutsche Bank analyst, argued that Apple had set a new benchmark, even compared with the organisation's high standards.

"Our checks pointed to a shocking 100% stock out rate across Apple/authorised retail stores just a few hours into the official launch Friday evening, contributing to what we believe was one of the company's most successful product launches to date," he said.

India key for Unilever

Unilever, the FMCG giant, is putting India at the heart of efforts to double its revenues by 2020.

The company can trace its history in India back to 1888, but believes local unit Hindustan Unilever (HUL) could now be set to experience an unparalleled expansion in sales.

"India is the second-most populous country after China, and the bulk of our consumers are here," Paul Polman, Unilever's chief executive, said, the Business Standard reported.

"The volume growth in the country has been the best in the last 30 years and we are rolling out bigger and faster innovations."

He added: "We will create another HUL in a short period of time than what we did in last 100 years."

Given the rapid changes occurring in India as a result of rising affluence and infrastructure development, considerable flexibility is necessary on the part of corporations.

"The growth rate in India is so fast that it looks like a different country every six months," said Polman. "Every time I come, I get energised because there are so many things happening.

"If you take a helicopter view, this country is moving fast in the right direction. There are more people coming out of poverty and the standards of living are improving."

Around 75% of Unilever's emerging market sales are generated from its household and personal care products, with food only contributing 25%, and redressing this imbalance could prove a substantial task.

"The penetration of packaged foods in India is just about 4% to 5%," said Polman.

"The cooking environment here is complex. I don't deny the importance of foods in our business. But to be able to double the business, foods would have to grow at 50% per annum."

While launching established brands in new areas has formed a central element of Unilever's strategy, it is also attempting to meet the distinct requirements of local shoppers.

"The mantra here is always been, what is right for India long term, is right for Unilever," said Polman.

"It is with this vision and modus operandi that we have built one of the most successful companies in India."

"The potential here is enormous. We see the potential to continue to grow as well as we are doing now."

Elsewhere, Polman suggested India would be a "feeder of ideas" for R&D across the globe, a trend which applies to Asia as a whole.

"Companies will shift their innovation capabilities and their new introductions to emerging markets," he said.

One example of this is Pureit filters, currently present in 4.5m Indian residences, providing safe drinking water and stimulating revenue growth.

"It will continue to reach more households as consumers realise the need for safe drinking water," Polman said.

"But the key point is that we are taking the learnings derived here to other markets. We are rapidly looking to roll out Pureit in markets such as Indonesia, China Vietnam and Brazil."

Having recently established a wide-ranging sustainability agenda, Polman stated Unilever is not worried about governmental proposals in India which could demand firms set aside 2% of profits for social projects.

"We are on a … sustainable business model, where everything we do is around improving the health nutrition, sustainable growth, ensuring that the total value chain benefits from where we are," Polman said.

PepsiCo turns to nostalgia

PepsiCo, the food and beverage giant, is turning to nostalgia as a way of promoting a number of its leading products.

The company has recently been selling "throwback" cans of its eponymous cola, using a template and colour scheme like that featured in famous ads starring model Cindy Crawford during the 1980s.

Over the last few months, these offerings have boosted Pepsi sales by one share point, with roughly half this figure, or approximately $110m, counting as incremental growth.

Indeed, the organisation has decided to extend this programme for the foreseeable future, including using sugar, as was traditionally the case, rather than the more contemporary high-fructose corn syrup.

Elsewhere, the firm has introduced versions of its Mountain Dew soft drink which echo a design originally developed in the 1960s.

Snack brand Doritos, part of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, tapped the same strategy for its Taco Flavor Tortilla Chips in an initiative created in the run up to the Super Bowl.

Such was the success of the 1980s-inspired packs that they sold out, and Frito-Lay is thus going to make them a permanent addition to its range, implementing slight reformulations before launch in around a month.

"It's a return to a simpler world," Shiv Singh, head of digital for PepsiCo, told USA Today. "There's a massive teen trend around simplicity and authenticity."

The nostalgia habit reaches into other sectors, from Volkswagen's reinvention of the Beetle, Disney remaking the hit film TRON, and Adidas boasting a "Classic" selection of sporting goods.

Peter Madden, a branding consultant, suggested a major benefit of this approach was gaining the attention of older shoppers keen to relive times past.

However, when done properly, it similarly appeals to younger consumers who believe that "retro" products carry a certain cachet.

"You'd think it's a step back, but it's really a leap forward," he said.

Coffee battle brews in China

Starbucks and Nestlé are both attempting to enhance their respective positions in the Chinese coffee category, a sector witnessing a surge in demand from affluent shoppers.

"The potential for growth in the Chinese coffee market is enormous," Adrian Ho, head of coffee and beverages Nestlé, Greater China, told the Asia Times.

"Per capita coffee consumption currently stands at a mere five cups per year. In Hong Kong the figure rises to 60 cups, and in Japan 300 cups per year."

Increasing discretionary expenditure among the professional class has contributed to stimulating interest for out-of-home and instant brands in major urban centres like Beijing and Shanghai.

"For many Chinese, especially in big cities, coffee is part of a lifestyle aspiration," said Ho. "More and more young professionals are choosing to start the day with a cup or two at home.

"We are currently running the world's biggest coffee sampling project in China."

Alongside basic sachets, jars and cans of coffee, Nestlé has launched high-end gift boxes and brand extensions featuring creamer and sugar.

It also intends to boost support for its premium Nespresso capsules and machines.

"Trends are very favorable. Roast and ground coffee is getting more popular every day," said Ernest Yong, Nespresso Asia's marketing manager.

"We view Nespresso as a mass luxury product which a growing number of Chinese will learn, want and be able to enjoy."

Estimates from research provider Euromonitor International suggest Nestlé held 70% of the instant coffee category in China last year, beating Kraft's 15%, and Jiangsu Mocca Food's more modest 1%.

As well as trebling the size of its network in mainland China to 1,500 branches by 2015, Starbucks hopes to exploit the burgeoning at-home sector.

"It represents an exciting opportunity for us to expand our reach to instant coffee drinkers, China's largest coffee market segment," Wang Jinlong, Starbucks China, said.

From early April, the firm's Via range will be sold in Starbucks' 800 outlets across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with a plan to then introduce it into hotels, grocery and convenience stores.

"We see a big opportunity in packaged goods in China," said John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International.

Via has been highly successful in existing markets such as the US, but Starbucks' aspirations extend beyond this product alone.

"We will develop more drinks and cakes as well as embrace our deep coffee heritage," said Culver.

Starbucks is also boosting its R&D capabilities by setting up an innovation hub in Shanghai, with a particular focus on tea, and may consider making acquisitions to gain further ground.

"We do not grow just to grow. We grow in a way so that we protect our brand and culture," Culver added.

Nestor Osorio, executive director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), predicted the world's most populous nation could evolve in a manner previously demonstrated by one of its Asian counterparts.

"The growth in China's instant coffee market owes a great deal to Nestlé extensive marketing and a promotional campaign by the ICO in the late 1990s," said Osorio.

"Japan was at the current Chinese consumption level in the mid 1960s but now consumes over seven million bags. It's likely that China will follow a similar growth path."

Diageo targets US shoppers

Diageo, the spirits group, is heightening its focus on shopper marketing as it tries to engage American consumers in new ways.

The owner of Johnnie Walker and Guinness has been exploring this area for three years, developing a rigorous model attuned to the preferences of both retail customers and the public.

In reflecting a greater commitment to the discipline, Diageo appointed Jonathan Nell as director of shopper marketing two years ago.

"It's a lot about getting aligned behind what you're trying to achieve, and sometimes even at the senior level we hadn't really worked through, internally, what that meant," he told CPG Matters.

Another key component of its strategy is guaranteeing the activity across such an emerging format is coordinated with wider communications efforts.

"We needed to make sure it connects with what we're doing in consumer marketing, and maximising investments," Nell added.

Securing support from retailers also holds an essential status, meaning acquiring a clear understanding of the whole path to purchase, and executing simultaneous trials in multiple outlets.

"It has been critical to work with those customers because they have the data that can really validate the performance of the exercise," Nell said.

The firm draws on statistics concerning demographics, purchase events and usage occasions, and reported sales growth topping 10% in branches where programmes have been fully implemented.

Indeed, in a demonstration of the potential impact offered by this approach, Diageo has uncovered several pieces of vital information.

"Our shoppers are - more so than anybody had thought - the typical shopping moms," Shawn Fitzgerald, Diageo's shopper planning director.

"It's women who are making the purchasing decisions in our category and going on the shopping trips."

"It helped us produce a model that we used to really change people's way of thinking about who we should be talking to - and why females are important."

Similarly, in-depth investigations revealed chances for sales Diageo had previously missed, as its brands are integral to many comparatively everyday gatherings.

"We had a tendency to focus on the big events - big parties where spirits in particular play a prominent role," Fitzgerald said.

"There are a lot of other, more frequent occasions that happen throughout the year, and tapping into shoppers for those occasions is a bigger opportunity.

"We reframed our thinking about how to focus on more year-round events," he added. "It sounds simple after the fact, but it's actually a very powerful change and transformation in our thinking."

Recent campaigns include the "Simply Cocktails" merchandising schemes aimed at irregular buyers keen on mixing drinks, but generally lacking confidence, and thus appreciating guidance.

This platform is divided into three separate levels of complexity, to ensure consumers and retailers can fulfil their individual requirements.

Given the target audience increasingly look online before buying items in store, Diageo adopted an integrated stance, suggesting cocktail recipes and food pairings for its drinks on retailers' websites.

"This is a journey. We've got some really large-scale tests in place right now," Fitzgerald said.

"All of the test results we've gotten are directionally consistent not only with growing our brands, but also growing the entire category."

He added: "The bottom line is that our customers gain from the insights behind the tests, and we're fulfilling shopper needs."

P&G tops TV ad charts in UK

Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal and Reckitt Benckiser were the highest-spending TV advertisers in the UK last year, new figures show.

Trade body Thinkbox has published its latest annual review of the television industry, entitled A year in TV 2010.

Based on data from Nielsen Media Research, it reported that the category increased by around 8% in size year on year, with spot and sponsorship returns expanding by an even greater 15%.

As such, television revenues reached a new peak, of £3.6bn (€4.2bn; $5.8bn) net and £4.2bn gross, in 2010.

The medium's share of overall expenditure also grew for the third year in a row, and has achieved a relative position previously held in the 1990s.

"The increase in TV ad investment reflects both commercial TV's continued success in attracting record viewing and the growing evidence of its unrivalled ability to create business profit," the study said.

"In particular, there is growing recognition of TV advertising's ability to generate web activity, from search to purchase."

On a corporate basis, Procter & Gamble - the owner of Pampers and Febreze - delivered a 31.7% improvement, reaching £156.5bn.

L'Oréal took second, down 2.7% on £86.1m, and Reckitt Benckiser occupied third despite cutting back 5.2% to £76.9m.

Unilever, in fourth, strengthened its communications support by 10%, hitting £75.2bn, and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 12%, to £74.2m.

The Home Retail Group, parent of Argos and Homebase, yielded a 54.6% lift, at £55.6m, but Government expenditure, in line with the promised austerity measures, fell 46.5%, on £52.9m.

Kellogg's registered a 15.1% contraction, coming in at £51.3m, Mars raised its adspend by 36.2% to £49.4m, and BSkyB's increased by over 110%, attaining £63.4m.

At the brand level, furniture retailer DFS boasted the largest total having logged a 5.6% expansion to £34.6m, figures standing at 32.6% and £29.1m regarding McDonald's.

Dreams bed superstores splashed out £23.7m, while Argos and Asda both invested more than £22m, the only other offerings above the £20m benchmark.

By sector, retail retained the lead role, and was up 24.1% year-on-year, with companies in the media and entertainment segment also jumping 16.8%, claiming second place as a result.

Financial services provided an 8.8% leap, and leisure and equipment posted a 72.3% increase, and drink grew 45.8%.

One trend driving TV's performance was the fact 967 advertisers either made their debut or returned after at least a five year break, a group including Sharp Electronics and dairy brand Yeo Valley.

Google targets Indian growth

Google is seeking to leverage online display, video and social networking ads to drive growth in India.

As may be expected, the American corporation is hoping to build up its main source of income in the Asian nation, where internet penetration and digital literacy are rising rapidly.

"Search is our core business. It will remain core to us and we will continue to invest in that," Shailesh Rao, managing director of Google India, told the Business Standard

Concurrently with these efforts, however, the organisation intends to further develop alternative offerings, such as its display network.

"Globally, the display ad business for Google is $2.5bn," said Rao. "In India, the display ad business is a substantial part of our revenue. It's well north of 10% of our total revenues in India."

YouTube will play a vital role in this strategy, and the video-sharing portal hosted a live stream of the government's Union Budget last week in a tie-up with CNBC TV 18.

This included showing ads alongside the speech given by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, rather than interrupting coverage to air commercials, as was the case on TV.

Elsewhere, Vodafone recently ran homepage banners supporting the roll out of its 3G service in India, one element of an integrated campaign led by television.

The mobile operator also boasts a popular branded YouTube channel in India, attracting 8.5m hits to date, boosted by extremely successful ads featuring animated characters called ZooZoos.

Among other firms exploiting YouTube are Tata Motors, which promoted its Aria model, while confectionary giant Perfetti sponsored reality programme Zor Ka Jhatka when it was added to the site.

In January, Reliance BIG, the broadcaster, allied with consumer goods manufacturer Hindustan Unilever to fund the premiere of Bollywood Film Dabangg on YouTube.

MTV has also run video ads for the new series of MTV Roadies on Orkut, a social network owned by Google.

An advantage of making greater use of online is receiving real-time feedback on performance, and a growing reach across the country.

"We will help you build brands, engage with your audience and acquire customers, retain customers," said Rao.

"We have a full suite of online platforms with a massive user base that we can bring to help you execute your marketing strategy."

L'Oréal goes digital in UK

L'Oréal, the cosmetics giant, is enhancing its digital capabilities in an effort to engage UK shoppers in new ways.

The company has named Julie Thompson as its first digital director for luxury brands, joining existing counterparts in charge of the firm's parallel consumer and haircare divisions.

Thompson will assume responsibility for ranges like Lancôme, Biotherm and Beauté, and has been handed the brief of adopting an "umbrella perspective", Marketing Week reported.

L'Oréal is also aiming to strengthen its understanding of current and potential customers by appointing social media evaluation and analysis specialist Mymarketmonitor to track buzz for all UK brands.

Such activity incorporates gathering information from official editorial content, alongside assessing material posted on blogs, social networks, chat rooms and forums.

While this tie-up essentially takes the form of a "listening and watching" programme, the insights gained are expected to inspire the organisation's marketing and public relations output.

"Listening and engaging with our audience is crucial and we have embraced the opportunity digital media gives us to communicate with our customers," said Emma Dawson, communications director of L'Oréal's UK luxury products arm.

"Both our PR and marketing teams will be looking at how it comes together and how we can develop our strategy from a 360-degree perspective and maximise activity across both functions."

This move marks a major step-change for L'Oréal, and reflects the evolving trading climate.

"As a corporation we haven't monitored digital conversations and the time has come for an online strategy across the business," said Dawson.

"We need to have much more visibility about what's being said about our brands online."

Unilever pursues simplicity

Unilever, the FMCG giant, wants its brands to play a relevant and simplifying role in the lives of consumers.

At the 4A's Transformation Conference, Keith Weed, Unilever's chief marketing and communication officer, stated conventional models are inadequate for understanding the current media environment.

"The biggest issue is purely the complexity and fragmentation that's out there," he said, according to AdAge. "The expression 'digital marketing' isn't very helpful. It's about as helpful as 'traditional.'"

"The most challenging thing I see right now is the amount of choices out there."

As a result of this process, overcoming competitive clutter is increasingly difficult, but opportunities remain for advertisers offering something unique.

"You physically cannot get through the day without being bombarded with all of these messages, and the way you get through the day is by engaging with the brands you want," said Weed.

"We're going to see more brands simplifying people's lives."

Entertaining consumers will also become an essential tool deployed in order to effectively reach current and potential customers.

"We're going to have to make our brands much more media properties," said Weed. "[We] have to connect much more with content and make our brands more relevant."

As part of achieving this goal, 20 Unilever executives undertook a "digital journey" to Silicon Valley last year, signing advertising deals leveraging Apple's iPad and exploring potential partnerships with Disney.

Moving from a local to international perspective is equally important, as around a third of shoppers worldwide engage with Unilever's products each day, while digitisation and globalisation are also reducing traditional boundaries.

"We can't afford to be niche in what we do," Weed said. "I need to know what's going on in the US, what's going on in China, in Indonesia, in India."

With a wide range of societal trends - from the rise of social media to rapid growth for emerging economies - posing challenges to established brands, Weed argued inaction was not an option.

"You're not going to be a great prize fighter, a great boxer by watching people box and reading some boxing magazines. The only way you're going to do it is to get into the ring and have a fight," he said.

Such logic applies to ad agencies, most particularly in the digital space, as Unilever is planning to consolidate its roster.

"Now is the time to show us your best, because down the road, we won't be working with all of you," Weed said.

More specifically, Unilever will attempt to concentrate activity among fewer shops, often on a multinational basis, alongside building regional lists where core countries exist.

"You can't believe how many digital agencies we're working with now," said Weed.

Unilever has established relationships with creative networks including Bartle Bogle Hegarty, DDB, JWT, Lowe McCann and Ogilvy, and hopes to replicate this model in the new media world.

"We've had relationships with them for decades," said Weed. "I want to be where there's innovation, insight, and to do that you need to connect with a team of people. So I'm a believer in working with agencies for a very long time."

While numerous brand owners have used procurement departments to drive the maximum returns from their marketing partners, Weed suggested this system was not the issue.

"If you're in the advertising world you've got to blame the marketers, not the procurement people. I reckon they are hiding behind the procurement."

He added: "To be clear, at Unilever, whether it's on a media project or whatever, it's the media expert leading or defining what we want ... Once we define what we want, we'd like to get it as efficiently as possible."

Starbucks takes new path

Starbucks, the coffee house chain, is seeking to build a unique model encompassing both the retail and consumer products sectors.

Having witnessed declining sales due to the economic downturn, the firm has closed 900 under-performing stores, alongside redesigning 1,000 branches in the last year alone.

"There was a dramatic change in consumer behavior. On a parallel track, Starbucks has to assume responsibility for decisions that were made. There were self-induced mistakes," Howard Schultz, its ceo, told USA Today.

"We had to navigate through our own issues and deal with the cataclysmic financial crisis. The past two years we've done our best work. We're a much stronger brand because of the recession."

He added: "The qualitative scores of the Starbucks brand, speed of service, cleanliness of store, trust in the brand and overall satisfaction are at record levels going back a decade."

Embracing technologies like mobile payments and loyalty cards, and taking a leading status on social media, have equally played a role.

"Over the past 18 months, we've become more relevant to our core customer and younger audience. The maturation of the company has enabled this. These are the best of times for Starbucks," said Schultz.

While Starbucks traditionally defined itself as a "third place" for shoppers, the corporation's ambitions now extend into broader categories, a move anticipated by the removal of the word "coffee" from its recently-modified logo.

As a further signifier of this trend, the organisation's Via instant coffee brand is on sale in 30,000 supermarkets and equivalent outlets.

"Beyond coffee, Via will become a portfolio of other things," said Schulz. "The future of Via is not only what it is today. Other coffee products and other things will emerge from the technology we created."

Starbucks may be celebrating its 40th anniversary, but is also forging a model for the coming decades, based on delivering offerings "complementary" to its existing stable.

"We're deeply committed to creating a consumer product business with a wide variety of other food and beverage products," Schultz said.

"In addition to a national footprint in retail stores, we're developing a world-class consumer products business that will give us the capability to build brands and distribute them ourselves into grocery stores."

Via, and a bottled Frappuccino, were initially solely sold in Starbucks prior to being rolled out elsewhere, and this approach could prove a useful one.

"What we're going to do is first introduce products to our stores before we introduce them to the grocery trade. If you look at coffee, tea, food and juice, we think there are inherent opportunities," said Schultz.

"If you look at health bars or grab-and-go products that are in our stores, we think we can significantly enhance them and make them more widely available.

He added: "Our hope is that the scale will rival the size of our US retail business."

Schultz expressed confidence about Starbucks' prospects, as it is "uniquely positioned" to bridge the gap between the retail and FMCG sectors.

"No national retailer has created this capability into grocery. And no Coke or Pepsi has created a national retail company," said Schultz.

"We'll be the first company to operate on both channels and integrate it with a significant rewards program."

Starbucks plans to open somewhere in the range of 100 to 200 branches in the US annually for the short-term at least.

But markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China also present huge possibilities, Schultz added.