Baba Ramdev

Ban all currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. People can't take a bribe of Rs 100 crore in Rs 20 notes

Baba Ramdev could be the next Adam Smith

Business Standard

Confusion about disparate voices and the tone of voice is harming the party's carefully crafted brand identity

Brand AAP under threat

"I once sailed for a king. I obeyed men of privilege and wealth. Now, I bend my knee to no man. My only oath is to my crew and together we will take back what is rightfully ours. With blood and steel, we shall stand up to the powerful. Captains will curse our flag, and kings will fear it. As long as empires generate wealth and riches, we will be there to bleed them dry."Edward Kenway, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's "Under the Black Flag" Trailer.After the disappointing instalments of Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Assassin's Creed III, I didn't have high hopes when I started playing the latest in the series. But, I swear by Blackbeard's bushy mane, Black Flag is the best.You play as Edward Kenway, a pirate who loves rum. In a confusing fight, he kills a rogue Assassin and takes his robe and wrist-blades. Soon after, he finds himself in the midst of a group of Templars looking for the Observatory. It is a tower from where you can spot anyone in the world. Kenway wants the Observat

Ready for Assassin's Creed? Aye, aye, captain

In the vast pool of smartphone applications, educational apps are often overlooked since majority of users stick to games, utility applications and what not. But once in a while an app comes along that keeps you glued to your device. Imagine if you could learn your preferred foreign language on your smartphone. Wishful thinking? Well think again because this is where Duolingo comes in.A free language-learning application, Duolingo allows English-speaking users to take lessons in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian. It also offers lessons in English for Dutch, Russian, Turkish and Hungarian speakers. What initially started as an online platform (www.duolingo.com), is now also available on iOS and Android devices.I am game... for learningDuolingo uses a combination of games and translation to make the whole learning process easy and 'addictive'. Users start from basics and slowly progress as they complete each level. You start each level with 'four hearts'. Answer a question

Learning on the go with Duolingo

We look at some smartphones that are loaded with useful features and give some punch, and at the same time go easy on your pocket

Smartphones sans big tags

Subbaraju Alluri

Singapore has emerged not only as the regional hub for MNCs but its ad industry is also servicing accounts from India and China. Grey Singapore's CEO Subbaraju Alluri, popularly known as Raju, tells Digbijay Mishra that the brain drain from Indian advertising to Singapore has made a positive impact. Clients spend more on digital in Singapore than in India, he says. Edited excerpts:People have pointed out a brain drain of Indian advertisers to Southeast Asia. What has been the impact?I would say it has been mostly positive; we have young professionals with an abundance of experience and knowledge and that works to our advantage. In a creative industry, we are always in search of diversity of ideas, with diversity comes opportunity and strength.Do Singapore agencies get to work on international mandates?Yes, there are a number of global accounts being serviced from Singapore, not only at Grey, but other agencies as well.How does the Singapore ad industry differentiate itself from other A

India and Singapore are on a par in digital strategy: Subbaraju Alluri

Retailers in FMCG sector outpaced other sectors in FY12 with 5.3 per cent growth in revenue and was the only sector which was recession-proof. In FY12 it accounted  for more than half of the top 250 companies and two-third of total revenues of the top 250 companies , says a Deloitte report

FMCG outpaces specialty retailers

One of the founders of the London School of Economics also contributed to the term that describes the process of negotiations between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions. Name the person and the term that was coined. Name the commodity that goes by the names Grandma Mary's, Amish paste in the US and Vaishali, Best of All, Punjab Chura in India. Name this Indian business group that ensured that vegetarianism was followed in all its offices, cafeterias and company functions until it took over an Australian company in 2003 where Foster's beer and barbecues was a part of the worker's daily life. Now this business group serves non vegetarian food in its offices in India too. Which brand during the 1920s used statements of Neville Chamberlain, who was then the health minister, that read "Eat more Milk - It is a perfect food" in its ads? Name the person and the term coined by him that describes Internet access that is instantly and

The Strategist Quiz (#341)

Ganesh Bangalore

What has been the most interesting sales promotion you have engineered so far?We understand how critical it is to look at technology for delivering our products to consumers. In June 2013, Neutrogena rolled out its sales campaign that was a reflection of this synergy. Called the Healthy Skin Adviser, it was a unique application used at our stores for tablet computers. The difference, however, was that instead of merely giving information about the products, it was specially used by our salespersons at various Neutrogena outlets to help consumers choose the right Neutrogena products based on their requirements. This application became a facilitator of sorts to move our products from the shelves and enhance consumer interaction. It was an interesting campaign, especially given that Neutrogena is a relatively new player in the beauty market.Who did you primarily target: new or existing customers?By default, we were targeting new consumers who were coming to our outlets and testing the bra

The skin advisor app enhanced consumer-brand interaction: Ganesh Bangalore

The claim that the customer is king has always rung somewhat hollow. Now the digital marketplace has helped it come true

Crowned at last

The Indian economy in 2013 looked inviting to players who were more inclined towards off-shoring roles to India. This led to a surge in demand for senior roles across the finance, operations and analytics functions, where techno-finance continued to be in demand as organisations were trying to upgrade and integrate their ERP platforms.A lingering trend was seen in the product control function, which continued to be in the hiring spotlight. While some banks began setting up their teams from scratch, others were already equipped with this function and worked towards reinforcing it with international products that would enhance it further. The combination led to a strong demand for such skill sets. At the VP and director level, the NRI candidate pool remained a favourite.Analytics sustained its popularity, with risk analytics being an exception to the norm. The growing demand of regulators and emphasis on risk, control and compliance further fuelled the demand for such roles as the year w

Opening up new opportunities

From Ramayan to the latest Devon Ke Dev..., religious mythologies are a staple on Indian television

Leveraging the God market

Jiggy George

India will see more licensing opportunities emerging from the digital world, Jiggy George tells Abhilasha OjhaGiven that it is a relatively new market, what is the biggest challenge companies are grappling with when it comes to evolving a scalable brand licensing strategy?I believe in the three 'tick' marks which are important in licensing around the world, of which the first two work very well in India. The number one is entertainment and in India, everyone has access to it. Two, people have brand awareness and even the so-called niche brands are becoming accessible to many because India is a young, aspirational market. Our consuming class, therefore, is large. The third part that is not happening is retail. And this is hampering the growth of brand licensing somewhere. Yes we are waiting for the 'intersection' to happen and as organised retail grows, this business will grow exponentially. Tom and Jerry can reach audiences in India through television but retail is yet to reach this se

Growth in e-commerce will fuel growth in brand licensing in india: Jiggy George

Do you know 70 per cent of fraudsters are between the age of 36 and 55, and 61 per cent of these are employed by the victim organisation. Also, in 70 per cent of frauds, the perpetrator colluded with others. These are the findings of the KPMG global analysis of 596 fraudsters member firms, investigated between 2011 and 2013. The study says there is no particular trait and all types of people commit fraud if the opportunity presents itself. Also the economic instability, new technologies and innovation, increasing connectedness of the world in cyber space have created opportunities for people to gain criminally.Among frauds, misappropriation of assets is the most common type of fraud. However, the study says cyber-related crimes are the most damaging because it is difficult to estimate their effect before it is too late. Therefore, companies must invest in talent to reduce large data to identifiable events and operate seamlessly across borders to enable quick reach in case of cyber frau

Forewarned is forearmed

Today's media agency manager is grappling with a changing media consumption landscape. Here's how his life has changed

New age media management

1 Who invented and uses a typeface called Ecotype? It is its main typeface and was designed to help it manage and respond to electronic transmission and different printing conditions at its international production sites.2 That was easy "has now become "make more happen".  This brand made this announcement by ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ recently. Also it is running a campaign across social channels titled "What the L is going on at ____?. Name it3 This biologist first published an article in 1997 in a journal called Perspectives in Biology and Medicine titled "Towards an Understanding of Intuition and its Importance in Scientific Endeavor." The author used a metaphor that explores the science and experience of intuition. Unfortunately before this biologist could publish a book on this topic, a popular author capitalised on it . State the metaphor and the person who originally coined it and also the author who used this metaphor and created a business bestseller.4 The US Justic

The Strategist Quiz (#340)

The Economist, a magazine which still calls itself a Newspaper. Staples. Lois Isenman, a biologist first coined the metaphor Blink. Malcolm Gladwell wrote on the same subject in his best seller titled Blink. Tobacco companies. The apologies from Altria Group, Reynolds American and Lorillard will come in the form of online and full-page print ads in the country's 35 largest newspapers' Sunday editions as well as on commercials that will run on the three largest TV networks throughout the year. Current cigarette smokers will also find a printed apology attached to their packs. The Japanese Liquor giant Suntory Holdings recently acquired the US based Beam Inc, makers of Gilbey's& Jim Beam whiskies, for $16billion. Bruce Doolin Henderson. He founded the Boston Consulting Group in 1963. The organisation TED, which stands Technology, Entertainment & Design. The current finance minister, P Chidambaram. Silver Ceiling. Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray.  cereals for General Mills.There wer

Answers to last week's quiz (#340)

THE END OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEby Rita Gunther Mcgrath* Published by Harvard Business Review Press* Price:Rs 1,250* Focus on short-lived opportunities instead of competitive advantageCONTAGIOUS: WHY THINGS CATCH ONby Jonah Berger* Published by Simon & Schuster* Price: Rs 499* What is it that makes online content go viral?THE INNOVATOR'S SOLUTION: CREATING AND SUSTAINING SUCCESSFUL GROWTHby y Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E Raynor* Published by Harvard Business Press* Price: Rs 1,250* A seminal work on disruption - for everyone confronting the growth paradoxTILT: SHIFTING YOUR STRATEGY FROM PRODUCT TO CUSTOMERSby Niraj Dawar* Published by Harvard Business Publishing* Price: Rs 1,250* A road map for marketing managers: how to obtain a competitive advantage by tilting towards customersDAVID & GOLIATH: UNDERDOGS, MISFITS, AND THE ART OF BATTLING GIANTSby Malcolm Gladwell* Published by Little, Brown and Company* Price: Rs 599* A new interpretation of how we think about obstacles

The Strategist top five

As two white-collar crime movies become frontrunners for the Oscars, the aurthor looks at Hollywood's greatest films in the genre

Crime pays

My most fashionable friend dumped her handbag on my dining table and announced in wonderment, "I passed a Starbucks in Punjabi Bagh!" Sounds innocuous; actually remarkable. A canny observer, she meant to say that West Delhi - new-rich, but to centre-city folk as poor in class as it is in trees - was suddenly kosher for global brands seeking Indian spenders. The contrast was with old-money, supposedly upper-crust and leafy South and Central Delhi, where in a previous age (that is, until a few years ago) any big brand would have fired its opening shots.As anybody who visits our capital can observe, we Delhiites practice a rather mad segregation between the rulers and the ruled. The border between the green middle bit and the brown and grey outer swathes is so stark as to be shocking. Come down off a flyover through a clutter of commercial signboards and suddenly all you can see is low brick walls and large whitewashed houses peeping through abundant greenery. British-built Central Delhi

Change from the heart

Honda City Diesel

Hyundai Verna

Honda has taken to diesel and come up with its completely new City sedan. Ranged against it is the new version of the erstwhile segment leader, Hyundai's Verna. The author puts them in the ring.

Jostling for pole position

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