Conventional wisdom has it that the Indian middle class values price over almost any other attribute in its purchasing decisions and is relatively indifferent to environmental concerns. Ergo: the market for green brands and products is too small to consider. A recent global survey suggests that consumer goods marketers who continue to think this way are missing a big opportunity for growth.

Green signals from the middle class

Business Standard

Mahindra &amp; Mahindra (Mahindra) is now ready to go to town with its sedan, Verito. It has launched an ad campaign for the face-lifted version of the erstwhile Logan. The campaign will try to build new associations around the car to distance it from its predecessor sold by the Renault-Mahindra joint venture. While the first Logan campaign had stressed on the Renault pedigree, the new campaign for the Verito depicts the characteristics of its likely owner.

Mahindra & Mahindra: Moment of truth

With network operators shying away from unlimited mobile broadband data plans, consumers are migrating to WiFi networks as a cost-effective measure.

Hi-5 for WiFi

In the second leg of its journey in India, Clarks Shoes is putting its best foot forward. The UK-based retailer, which re-entered India this year through a 50:50 joint venture with Future Group, launched its first store in April. It has five stores currently and plans to ramp up its footprint to 20 stores by the end of the year. While the focus will be on Mumbai and Delhi, the company is also eyeing Pune, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In addition to exclusive outlets, the brand will retail through shop-in-shops and Metro shoe stores.

Clarks Shoes: Best foot forward

If you are a smartphone user, you might have experienced your mobile battery running out of power while surfing on 3G networks, Wi-Fi or streaming content to the device. In such situations you will need a backup battery, more so if you carry a touchscreen 3G device. However, you should make sure that you get one to charge multiple devices. To find out how many times a phone can be charged with the portable charger, you would need to divide the mAh of the charger by the mAh of the phone. Here are a few portable battery chargers that are available online and in store to provide you with a seamless experience when you face battery woes next time.

Smart way to charge up

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as medical testing at or near the site of patient care. The driving notion behind POCT is to conduct the test conveniently and immediately for the patient.

KIT: Point-of-care testing

    The King&rsquo;s Speech, the Oscar winning movie, paid tribute to King George VI&rsquo;s triumph. Name the writing instrument brand that has come out with a special edition in his honour.

The Strategist Quiz (#206)

    This late animal celebrity was found on postage stamps. Tens of thousands of bank ATM cards featured its face. A candy maker used to churn out more than a million replicas of it as gummy candies a day. The zoo in which it stayed was listed in the local stock exchange and showed profits during the years of its existence and as a brand it generated more than $140 million in business. Name this celebrity and the place it inhabited.

Answers to last week's quiz (#205)

Apart from a new logo and tagline, India&rsquo;s third-largest channel is going in for a massive content overhaul.

Zee shows off its 'desire to succeed'

After &lsquo;Utterly Butterly Delicious&rsquo;, it&rsquo;s now &lsquo;Health-a-licious&rsquo; for Amul. The country&rsquo;s leading dairy products player has re-launched Amul Ghee (butter oil) in what the company calls a &lsquo;Gen-X&rsquo; avatar.

Amul takes ghee to young India  

For Spencer&rsquo;s, the 148-year-old retail brand now part of the Rs 12,000-crore RPG Enterprises, big is the new beautiful.

Think big

French marketing communications group Publicis has split its India digital entity Solutions Digitas into two. The firms &mdash; Solutions India and Digitas India &mdash; will operate as separate profit &amp; loss centres under its Vivaki agency network, Publicis said.

Publicis splits digital agency into two

The logistics market in India is difficult to crack &mdash; it is small and fragmented. Making things worse are complex taxation and regulations. But analysts say it&rsquo;s going to be the next big growth driver for the country. At the recent launch of its dedicated freighter service between India and Europe, Michael Drake, regional managing director, TNT Asia Pacific, noted how the global express delivery company was optimistic about India, one of its key markets in Asia Pacific. The launch of the India-Europe service is part of TNT&rsquo;s plan to bolster its presence on the Asia-Europe routes. The new service will run five times a week between New Delhi and TNT&rsquo;s European air hub in Belgium, with a stopover in Dubai on its way back to the country. In this interview to Ruchika Chitravanshi, Drake talks about the company&rsquo;s growth strategy in India and the challenges ahead.

Q&A: Michael Drake, Regional MD, TNT Asia Pacific

Two engineers from the country&rsquo;s premier engineering institution decide to venture out on their own and create social impact. In the process, they create Eko, a service that fosters financial inclusion. The banking service leverages community relationships for increasing the reach of basic financial services. It provides a safe gateway for funds deposits and withdrawals. The service is meant especially for people from low-income backgrounds.

Low-cost banking on mobile

Consumer durable behemoths are taking the battle for 3D dominance from television to other viewing devices. The first to make a splash in India is LG, as it recently launched a range of 3D PC (personal computer) monitors. The launch is expected to be followed by LG opening PC gaming zones in the country. These zones will be opened in collaboration with two gaming companies, one which has a strong CPU (central processing unit) focus and the other which has a strong graphic-card technology.

LG moves into a new zone: 3D gaming

Globally, the Sony image may have taken a beating with hackers making merry with the data of Playstation users. But closer home, the company&rsquo;s joint venture with Ericsson &mdash; Sony Ericsson &mdash; is leveraging the appeal of mobile gaming to propel its brand presence among youth.

Sony Ericsson plays it hard

Technology and advertising executives have been talking up the potential of ads on mobile handsets since before Apple Inc introduced the iPhone in 2007. Now, they may finally be ready to use them.

Ad agencies woo tech firms at Cannes

Democracy has taken deep roots in the corporate world in the 20 years since liberalisation.

No longer sui generis

Rajiv Bajaj does yoga, used to play football with company workers, and draws business lessons from homoeopathy.

The radical entrepreneur

MTV&rsquo;s channel head Aditya Swami talks to Aabhas Sharma about what makes a brand work where almost everything is competition.

Work meets leisure

In a last-minute settlement between the Finance Minister and the Home Minister, over what has come to be known as &lsquo;India&rsquo;s Chewingate&rsquo;, both leaders have jointly issued a statement that seeks to put the matter to rest. &ldquo;We are concerned that the media has been reporting news of a rift between the two ministries, and of a growing distance between the leaders of the cabinet. To allay such stories, we would like to announce that we have the highest regard for each other, seek each other&rsquo;s guidance on important matters, and only yesterday shared a lollipop and a candy bar while we rode our tri-cycles around North Block.

Aching news

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