In-film advertising is a common thing these days. Much too common. (I sometimes fall asleep in a hall even before a movie begins, in the time it takes for the list of sponsors and media partners to display.) But what happens when a brand is so big and so representative of a way of life that its very appearance in a film &mdash; however fleeting &mdash; can add layers to the narrative? I speak of Coca-colonisation, a term that has been used to link the world&rsquo;s most famous soft drink with American cultural imperialism, and sometimes, with other supposedly American qualities such as enterprise, vitality and crassness.

Coca-colonisation of cinema

Business Standard

Reggio Emilia was a big breakthrough for Dutch prodigy Anish Giri. Giri started with 1 from the first 4 rounds, (two draws, two losses). He finished with 15/6 (+4,=2) to grab clear first. The trio of Morozevich, Nakamura, Caruana shared second on 15 each.

Chess (#986)

You might think commerce and creativity seldom go together. But the folks at ING Vysya would disagree. The private bank, formed with the merger of ING Group and Vysya Bank in 2002, has launched a unique initiative at a Mumbai branch where art meets finance, literally. The &lsquo;art branch&rsquo;, spread over 1,300 square feet in south Mumbai&rsquo;s Cuffe Parade, houses an art gallery that gives established as well as budding artists a platform to display their works, in addition to providing the usual banking and financial services. A one-of-its-kind venture, the branch has been designed by Dr Art+Design, a design management studio that provides support services to developers, architects, designers etc.

ING Vysya: The fine art of finance

Timex is trying to change its perception as simply an outdoorsy brand &mdash; it was to be regarded as a brand serious about improving your sports performance. Timex Group India has launched a new range of watches in India dubbed Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) watches. The watches are specially designed for the fitness-conscious and sports enthusiasts. This is probably the first time ever that such an innovation has been tried out for the Indian consumer.

Timex Group: Challenge your limits

A televised campaign in the US has led to a war of words for the top spot in the global tractors market. Days after Mahindra &amp; Mahindra claimed in a US ad campaign that it is the world&rsquo;s largest tractor maker by volume, John Deere, its closest competitor, has hit back.

Tractor battle out in the field

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The top 10 business bestsellers

The bubble gum from Cadbury-Kraft Foods is targeting young adults as opposed to pre-teens.

Bubbaloo grows up

Rehabilitation in India has long been just a support function in hospitals. However, it is now emerging as an essential component of healthcare&rsquo;s continuum of services.

KIT: Evolution of rehabilitation services

    This person exchanged his French citizenship for American in the 40s, saying that it was thanks to the US that he had a wonderful wife, a good job and the ability to do something for them.

The Strategist Quiz (#236)

    Planning Poker is a team building activity for achieving group consensus.

Answers to last week&#39;s quiz (#235)

The turmoil at Kingfisher Airlines brings us to a more fundamental question: How far can you stretch a brand before you actually start hurting it?.

To stretch or not to stretch

Three decades ago Al Ries and Jack Trout warned against the perils of brand extension in Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind. They argued every extension has to alter the core proposition of a brand. As marketers grapple with a slowdown and extensions once again appear more cost effective than launching new brands, the strategist decided to knock on the doors of Al Ries for some answers.

Unless there is an absence of serious competition, extensions never work: Al Ries

Three lakh electric vehicles on the roads by 2020 would mean a reduction of over 16 lakh metric tons of pollution and savings of over Rs 3,700 crore in foreign exchange over the same period.

Is India ready for a green drive?

So what if the global economy is not in the pink of health? India's growth story seems still very credible to global corporations looking to grow beyond their borders. The world's largest hotel chain Best Western International Inc, USA, has down up plans to expand its presence in the country with an investment of Rs 1,600 crore in the hospitality sector. In an exclusive discussion with Rajarshi Bhattacharjee, David T Kong, president and CEO, talks about his confidence in the potential of the Indian market, Best Western's strategic advantages and much more. Edited excerpts.

The focus of tourism globally is shifting towards the East: David Kong

As they say the most successful brand extensions come from companies that really know their customers, even more so that know the limitations of their brand. Our experts discuss extensions that have been successful and those that have the potential to dilute a brand, and what makes some brands more extendible than others.

Brand extension: Good or bad?

Businesses increasingly live with the twin realisation that building brands is both difficult and expensive on one hand and on the other the market equity of many brands seems far greater that the economic value they generate. Brand extension is the natural outcome of these two competing impulses both internal to the corporation and has generally very little to do with realities of the marketplace or consumer mindspace. Brand extensions are seen as a cheaper and less risky way launching new innovations and are not really about creating new brands. While the jury is still out on extensions there is general consensus that they usually fail or are at best moderately successful. Is low risk low return the unwritten future of brand extensions? Clearly seeking permission from the consumers is not working.

Lead, don't seek permission

A comparatively recent entrant to the Indian handset market, HTC is trying to get a strong foothold in the industry with a series of interesting ads.

The world at your fingertips

Nokia, Tata retain the top two slots in the most trusted brands list; Reliance slips to 10th position.

Sony outranked by LG, Samsung 

Kaya, the hair care and skin care services business of Marico (contributing seven per cent to the parent&rsquo;s turnover of Rs 3,128 crore) has just undergone a face-lift. The change has been initiated at several levels. At the most visible level, Kaya will now have a new logo with the tagline &lsquo;love what you see&rsquo;. The new identity, which has been crafted after a period of nine years &mdash; the first since the brand was born &mdash; will span across all marketing efforts. In the second phase, the company will revamp the product packaging and invest in a new retail design.

Kaya goes in for facelift

It&rsquo;s been a long time coming for the motorcycling enthusiast in India, but we think the time has finally come when the bikes one could only ogle at earlier are now increasingly within reach. What triggered this shift in the market was the announcement of the Garware-Hyosung range of motorcycles, the Harley-Davidson 883 SuperLow and also, the Bajaj-Kawasaki Ninja 650R &mdash; all of them tempting the motorcycling crowds with sub-Rs 6 lakh price tags.

Rev Party

Nearly three years after LTTE lost the war, T E Narasimhan visits north Sri Lanka to find a country limping back to normal.

Once tiger territory

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