COURSE CASE MAPS @ IBSCDC

IBSCDC, continuing its tradition of advocating case methodology and case pedagogy at MBA programs, has put together all the relevant case studies meant for a specific course in the form of a Course Case Map (CCM). Now you can teach an entire MBA course using IBSCDC's case studies. Like it is said in ibscdc.org's home page, if MBA is all about case studies, you can define the focus and the rigor through IBSCDC's case studies. Each Course Case Pack (CCP) comes with a pack of resources that can be ideally and effectively used for delivering a course. Each CCP consists of:
(a) Case Studies
(b) Structured Assignments
(c) Teaching Notes
(d) Executive Briefs (Video Case Studies)
(e) Video Interviews
(f) Effective Executive Interviews

Identifying the Scope for Social Cause Marketing: Brand Image Vs Social Consciousness

As the general elections for 15^th Lok Sabha (2009) were drawing close, the battle for votes stirred up in India. While, political parties were busy launching election campaigns, few brands took up the responsibility of sensitizing the citizens about their responsibility of exercising their voting rights. Tata Tea’s Jaago Re! campaign was one such campaign that went down very well with the citizens and redefined the nature of brand association and social cause marketing in India. With message, “Election ke din, agar aap vote nahin kar rahe ho, to aap so rahe ho” (If you are not casting the vote on election day, you are sleeping), Tata Tea pulled 618,157 people towards www.jaagore.com site for voter registrations. People instantly connected with the tag line.

Jaago Re! ad campaign, was started by Tata Tea as a Cause Related Marketing (CRM) initiative in September 2007. In June 2007, Tata Tea Ltd. (Tata Tea), one of the world’s leading companies in branded tea sector, became the largest tea vendor (in terms of volume share) in the world. Soon after attaining this position, Tata Tea elevated its communication efforts to the self-actualization level through Jaago Re! campaign. As part of Jaago Re! Tata Tea is spearheading many social issues and in the process was able to build a social aura around the brand which should augur well for the brand in the long run.

Tata Tea’s Jaago Re! campaign so far received good response from critics and also brought success for the brand (both tangible and intangible success). Nevertheless, the question rises, when does a CRM initiative become successful or when is the scope for CRM programme high. Companies, usually take up CRM initiatives after they had built strong brand heritage and value. Similarly, Tata Tea also initiated Jaago Re! campaign after it had built a strong brand image and market leadership. Could it have been as successful as it is now if the same campaign was launched, let’s say, several years ago when the brand had not yet become a global brand? Therefore, is there any relationship between brand life cycle and the timing of a social cause marketing initiative? There is also another important element that has an equal impact on the success of CRM intiatives – company’s target customers. If a company’s customers are highly ethical and socially sensitive, CRM initiatives will receive huge response.

The scope for CRM programmes, at various levels of consumer’s social awareness/ social consciousness, can be assessed with the help of the following matrix.

In the above matrix, X-axis indicates social sensitivity/social empathy/social consciousness of customers and Y-axis indicates brand image/reputation of the companies. The following possibilities can be derived from the given matrix –

• When social awareness (SA) among customers is low, and brand image of a company is also low, there will be no scope for CRM initiatives. For instance, if a not-so-well known company propagates social awareness to less social-conscious consumers, the response from consumers is negligible and hence the success of CRM initiatives would definitely be null. This is because, primarily, consumers would not pay heed to company’s good messages since they are highly individualistic. Secondly, the company is not carrying any brand image.


• When SA is low and the brand image is high, CRM can still work for companies. For instance, when a renowned brand promotes a cause using its image, the response from consumers would be minimum. This is because, the number of consumers who have the ability to appreciate the company’s efforts of promoting social causes are low.
• When SA is high, brand reputation is low, success of CRM is moderate. This is because; the number of socially sensitive consumers is high. As such, once the company wins the trust of the customer, its CRM initiatives clicks very well.


• When SA is high and brand image is high, the success of CRM is very high. This is the ideal state for initiating CRM initiatives. Company is sure to witness the success of its CRM initiatives.

Thus, the success of CRM depends on, at which stage of the brand life cycle a company is taking up CRM program and who are the target consumers.

IBSCDC on YOUTUBE

IBSCDC, Asia Pacific's largest repository of management case studies, has conducted interviews with a few enterprising entrepreneurs, leading politicians, sports celebrities, senior executives and NGOs specialists and all the samples are available both on IBSCDC and YouTube

All these video interviews have been conducted with a specific management learning mind. These video interviews can either be used independently or along with case studies. All these video interviews bring rich learning insights and they can effectively aid students' managerial skill training.

Executive Brief

Executive Brief

Case studies have become a powerful instructive lifeline for business schools. Management education has changed because of them, which even helped globalize it. Many more changes are also sweeping in (culled from experiences):

• Internet has a gold mine of information that, if channeled properly, can grow into rich knowledge. This trend has even altered the role of a teacher - from a knowledge provider to a learning facilitator
• Students are seeking more than classroom learning. Just analysing case facts and figures is no longer making classes come alive
• Not every faculty can work out a case study as it must be. It requires strenuous hard-work and disciplined training.
• Business schools can shape the best talent but can't get them to teach. Teaching doesn't seem to fit in as a lucrative job

Closely observing these pertinent changes have got us, at Icfai Business School Case Development Centre (IBS CDC), thinking as always. Solutions were hard to come by, but we got around this dilemma too. Months of shrewd thinking and careful testing created a novel product, Executive Brief.

Executive Brief is by nature a video presentation. It recounts dilemmas faced by an executive, who can be an entrepreneur, manager, VP, CEO, etc. These dilemmas can either be retrospective or futuristic. Of course, business schools have to instill valued corporate virtues in their students.

Their multimedia edge can take learning to the next level, seizing student's fleeting attention for quite some time. That's not to say that they can replace case studies. But Executive Briefs can become nice add-ons to student's learning, as case studies are. This, we strongly feel, after we tested them out and got a glowing response from students as well as the faculty. And if the executive is around when the Executive Brief is played out, nothing like that. Running through some of these Briefs, one can feel the joy in using - and learning from - this powerful pedagogical tool. This product tries to speak to the students in their language - the language of videos (YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter!!!).

Social Cause Marketing In India

When I recently saw print and video advertisements about Tata Tea's Jaago Re! campaign, I was pleasantly surprised. It was pleasant because of two very important reasons. It's probably one of those rarest of rares - where a company is not advertising (at least directly) about its product. It is an equivalent of PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in marketing, probably! The advertisement is sensitizing the Indian people about their voting rights and almost convincingly arguing that it's a responsibility (once in five years hopefully). I am sure you would have come across " Har Subah Sirf Utho Mat. Jaago Re!" campaign. Wasn't it pleasant, for a change? Secondly, it is talking about the most powerful and vibrant part of any functional and operational democracy - people voice.

Of course, apart of Tata Tea, other Indian companies - HUL, for instance - have taken up social causes too. It's a welcome change from all these FMCGs? Why only FMCGs, by the way? I hope we would see more of these social cause marketing campaigns.

Of course, the cynics would have their plate full of arguments. Why not? After all, if there's no free lunch, why this? Just the way Adam Smith said, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages".

The arguments aside, I am intrigued about :

(a) Why social cause marketing? What is the intended objective? Why should companies commit their shareholders' money for social issues? Or is it to do with the company's values?

(b) What is the difference between a Social Cause Marketing initiative and a Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, after all?

(c) Just the way brands are endorsed by celebrities (famous sports persons, actors, etc) , should a social cause be endorsed by a powerful brand, in that the powerful brand becomes the celebrity endorser for the social cause taken up? What happens if an important social cause is addressed by a not-so-well-known brand? Would it have the same reach as a powerful brand would have?

(d) At what stage of brand life cycle, would it be meaningful for any brand to get out of its comfort zone and start embracing social causes?

(e) Are the social cause marketing initiatives truly sustainable?

Tech Mahindra Logs in to Satyam Computers

Tech Mahindra Logs in to Satyam Computers

Finally, the search is over. Tech Mahindra takes over the beleaguered and bruised Satyam Computers, by acquiring 51% stake (31% through preferential allotment and 20 % through open market). On April 20th 2009, Mr. Anand Mahindra was in Satyam Learning World where he addressed the press and the Satyam's Leaders. And the message was clear; 'we are here to stay and we want you to stay with us (including the interim CEO, Mr. A. S. Murthy)'. He planted a beautiful sapling in the forelawns of Satyam Learning World's campus in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The employees reactions were mixed. I had the pleasure of talking to many of the employees and majority of them were elated that it was taken over by Tech Mahindra. For all of them, it didn't matter who is going to acquire Satyam. For, seldom their opinions would have mattered. When I specifically asked about Tech Mahindra, most of them are happy that it's being taken over by a company headed by Mr. Anand Mahindra, a HBS-educated manager. He is one of the very invited guests on HBS's forum to reflect on the 100 years of Harvard MBA sharing the forum along with Jeffrey Immelt and others. He is shrewd, business-savvy, forward-looking, pragmatic and he can make the difference. After all, it's he who made the difference with his "Scorpio" that came and stung Indian SUV lovers. Hopefully, he would do the same thing at Satyam Computers too. All the Satyam loyalites are however in a quandary: Will Satyam's name be retained?

What do you think Mr. Anand Mahindra and his team must be doing in handling this phase of the transition? Would Tech Mahindra be better off with or without Satyam's tag?