So whats this Pepsi Max ? First impression was that its a sugar free diet Pepsi in a new bottle but when did a little bit research,TMSBee found out that itdiffers from both its previous avatars.It differs from Pepsi in that it contains phosphoric acid, acesulfame potassium, calcium disodium EDTA, Panax ginseng extract and twice the amount of caffeine.

The word Ginseng rings some bells.TATA TiON also boasted of having ginseng and its claimed to be a natural stress reliever.But will double the amount of Caffeine do good ?

According to PepsiCo India,Pepsi Max offers consumers a great tasting Cola, with more strength, fizz, punch and an added advantage of no sugar designed for those seeking the ‘Maximum Kick, No Sugar’ experience!

Pepsi Max has an interesting tagline-Maximum Kick,No Sugar.The tagline sets the positioning straight.Its a sugar free drink with something to give you some kick(and obviously has a great taste).Is Redbull listening ?

I found this recent webrelease of Pepsi Max http://pepsimax.webrelease.in/. It talks about Pepsi Max’s launch in India.

The target group is well defined.25 – 35 yr urban males, who want to live in a world where nothing is held back – where everything is bigger, better and brighter!!

The Pepsi Max drinker is the guy who works hard and plays harder – who believes in getting more out of every moment. He is confident, intense, gutsy, street smart, a full-on kinda guy who revels in his laugh-out-loud experiences with his mates.(Source : http://pepsimax.webrelease.in/)

After closely understanding the TG of Max,it can be safely said the closest competitor of Max is Thums Up.No Doubt !

Thums Up as a brand has a similar positioning,similar TG.What differs in the two brands is the health funda.Sugar Free is something what MAX can boast of and not to forget the Kick element.

So What are they charging ? Is it premium priced product ?

Pepsi Max will be available in an iconic, cool and edgy black packaging comprising of Can and PET Packs. The 250ml Can is priced at an introductory price of Rs 15/-, the 330ml Can is priced at Rs 25/- and the 500ml PET is also priced at Rs 25/-.

So it cant be called premium at all.

Recently during the FIFA world cup,This Pepsi ad was doing rounds which actually was of Pepsi Max.

So will Pepsi Max deliver the Kick  or will it be lost in the end like Messi ?

Time will tell.

What Say ?

Micra is Nissan’s first major Indian offering.As a brand,Nissan is not unknown in india.People have seen Nissan cars around.With this latest offering,Nissan is set to become a household name(if micra becomes successful).

After the Figos and the Polos,India is all set to check out the new Nissan Micra.

In India,people tend to ask first up, how much will it cost ?

Micra is aggressively priced between Rs.3.98 lakh and Rs.5.29-lakh which is very competitive.Ford Figo,Volkswagen Polo,Maruti Swift would all feel the heat with this product.

Lets see what the product has to offer.

Equipped with multiple first-of-its-kind features including intelligent key with immobilizer, a push-button engine start-stop system and electric foldable mirror besides other safety and luxury features, Micra will come with 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine and available in three variants — entry model XE (Rs.3.98 lakh), mid-level XL (Rs.4.69-lakh) and top-end XV (Rs.5.29-lakh). Nissan Micra also promises fuel efficiency of 18.06 km a litre. The carmaker also announced a host of customer care and service schemes.

Both Petrol and Diesel versions would be launched(Diesel till end of the year).

Service is one area where they need to understand India very well.Fiat is still suffering due to that.

Ranbir Kapoor is the brand ambassador of the car.This came as a surprise as all the recent cars in the segment didnt go for any brand ambassador.Figo and Polo chose common people and their concerns as the base for their ads.In the past, Brand ambassadors like Shahrukh Khan(Santro),Abhishek Bachchan(Fiesta) have helped the brands become popular initially.

So can Ranbir Kapoor prove to be their best bet ?

Check out the ads

The other thing that Nissan is stressing on in their ads is the ‘Touch’ concept.The’ Touch’ concept seems to have got into everything these days.Touch phones,ipods,TV,PC and now a Car which can be started by a ‘Touch’.The concept seems cool though.

Outside Asia,the car is known as Nissan March.It has been a highly successful car for Nissan.I also went through its website http://nissanmicra.co.in/ .The website seems a bit primitive.It just lets you download a brochure and lets you apply for the car online.Nissan could have come up with a more comprehensive site in the initial days itself.

Overall,the product seems to be a winner.But let time decide its fate.

What Say ?

It is in a form of simple but effective story.A cub is being shown alone waiting for its mother who might just not return from the forest.The number 1411 in the end leaves a mark.

Tiger is our national animal.It has been my favorite animal from the time i remember.Recently i went to Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai and saw 3 4 tigers.When i saw them i just kept looking at them,such was their aura.But now i feel saddened by the fact that just 1411 are left in India,which has this animal as its national symbol.

The site SaveOurTigers is well made.It has used Social Media to the fullest.Facebook,twitter,blogs have been effectively used.

You can also join the roar as i have done already.When i saw their ad,it said speak up,blog,share in the end.What better purpose can my blog serve ?

Many big stars like Mahendra Singh dhoni,Baichung Bhutia are supporting the cause.

Still i am a bit skeptic of how can spreading awareness to people like us save the tigers when hunters,poachers and killers are still roaming around in the forest killing them ?

I hope i am wrong.

What Say ?

FIAT has had a very strange relationship with India.We all do remember the Premier Padmini which was on roads till 2000.Even today majority of the TAXI’s in Mumbai are Padmini.

Premier Padmini is a word that sounds a little lesser known and lesser recognized.Many would think,Which Padmini,Which premier car is he talking about ? Now when i say majority of the TAXIs in Mumbai are FIATs it makes a lot more sense.

Both sentences are somewhat true.In India,a company named Premier Automobiles Limited(PAL) started making a version of FIAT cars in India.In 1951, they began producing versions of the Fiat 500 for the Indian market. This was followed by the Fiat 1100 in 1954. In 1973, the Premier name was used on their vehicles for the first time, the Premier President, based on the Fiat 1100 as Premier Padmini. In 1978, they launched the Fiat 124-based Premier 118 and 138D models.Over the years,Premier Padmini could not establish its brand and the car was always referred to as FIAT in public.Decades went by but the name and main design of the car didn’t change at all. For decades ,the car came to be known by FIAT and just FIAT.Many people knew that this infact is padmini made by an Indian company on some FIAT’s design.But in Pre-Liberalized India,this was the king.

I even found a print ad of Premier Padmini.

Things changed when FIAT actually came to India post liberalization,They entered India with FIAT UNO in 1996 with PAL as partners but things didn’t work out as  PAL delivered just 617 cars  out of 30000 ordered.Then in 1997 they again launched it with a JV with TATA Motors.

The problem with FIAT was that the image that people had of FIAT was the Premier Padmini.That image refused to go away.I remember when i was a kid even i used to think that way.

FIAT tried hard in Indian markets,but Indians had moved on with Maruti and were apprehensive about  FIAT and its image of the old FIAT 1100 (the 19 50′s Italian model which we see even today on Indian roads).

Even then UNO picked up well.The Uno was initially a success in India, but then it faded badly due to poor dealer support.

Here comes the reason where the case becomes a lot more curious.

One of my friends went to a TATA  Showroom to enquire about Punto.After some talk about FIAT cars,the salesman suggested him TATA Safari and Indigo instead.FIAT and TATA Motors have common showrooms at major  places.So this is a problem,a big one.

In India FIAT has two major problems

1) The old brand image made by Premier Padmini is still stuck in the mind of people.

2) Problem with partners at the actual touch point and service centers.

The first point is fading with cars like  Punto,Linea coming out of FIAT Stable,but what about point number 2.This reason is actually acting against FIAT and many consumers are shying away from FIAT due to it.

Now FIAT is totally dependent on TATA for Sales ,Service and Spares.This is a point where FIAT needs to more inclusive.They cant allow this to be their weak point in India.

There are 11 companies in India in passenger car segment.With Maruti having 60% of market share,things are tough for the other 10 companies.

Things are improving for FIAT as the sales are improving for them but the above two points really need to be sorted out.

What Say ?

UPDATE : The Premier in the above post has recently come in news for their new SUV.Premier RIO is the name of the SUV.

When Tata Tea launched ‘Jaago Re’,All stood and watched.’Jaago Re’ was a catch line and it made people think.Then they took the campaign to new heights and made it very successful.

Now TATA Tea is back with its new campaign on similar lines ‘Aaj Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru’.This version takes the issue of corruption and urges citizens to awaken and fight against it.

Corruption is something that is eating india from within from years.This campaign hits the problem of corruption right on the head.

Sangeeta Talwar, Executive Director, told reporters here: “As the world recovers from one of the worst financial crisis, there will emerge a new world economic order, in which India will play a significant role.

The new campaign is  a “360 degree integrated marketing campaign”, which will connect equally with consumers across the retail network of Tata Tea, as also through online and mobile touch points. Various on-the-ground initiatives will take the message closer.

Here is the first TV commercial of the campaign.

Print Version

Lets see how successful this Campaign turns out to be.

The Last ‘Jaago Re’ campaign was not only popular but also helped TATA Tea acheive a whopping  annual turnover of Rs 4,800 crore.(source Business Standard).

I hope this campaign actually brings in change and affect the corrupt officials in our country.

But just what TATA Tea has to figure out is that two similar campaigns one after the other dont cause customer fatigue or lack of interest ?

What Say ?

Now you need not go to an ATM if you need cash.if you are in a mall,shop or a restaurant,you can just withdraw cash from a POS(Point-of-Sale) Terminal like bill counters.

Thanks to Reserve Bank Of India(RBI) for this move.

Click this link to read the exact letter from RBI to banks and system provider(VISA/Mastercard):  http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5184&Mode=0

Conditions :

1. This facility is available only against debit cards issued in India.

2. The maximum amount that can be withdrawn at POS terminals is fixed at Rs.1000/- per day.

3. This facility may be made available at any merchant establishment designated by the bank after a process of due diligence.

4. The facility is available irrespective of whether the card holder makes a purchase or not.

5. In case the facility is being availed along with the purchase of merchandise, the receipt generated shall separately indicate the amount of cash withdrawn.

6. Banks offering this facility shall put in place a proper customer redressal mechanism. Complaints in this regard will fall within the ambit of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme.

7. Banks offering this facility shall on approval by their respective Boards obtain one time permission of Reserve Bank of India, Department of Banking Operations and Development under Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. (A copy of the Board note / approval may be enclosed.)

What does it mean for us ?

1) It means that we need not find ATM like fools when ever we are in need of cash(very obvious).

2) Debit Cards will become more useful and popular as well.

3) More Freedom.

4) No excuse like No ATM nearby so i couldn’t buy  :)

India is seeing  lot of changes off late in such money matters.From the introduction Debit Cards to the withdrawal of money (from any bank ATM) without service charge,we have come a long way.

Now this new system would give us more power.

The only issue that can be faced is Merchant – Bank Integration.Many times we notice that Merchants(the shop owners) are not comfortable accepting credit or debit cards.I have heard many a times,”we will charge 2% extra if you use card !”.

So would all merchants be happy with this change ? But I am pretty sure that Customers(we,the people) would be happy.

In fact I am elated.I have faced this problem many times and even thought that Cant i get take money from the shop owner and swipe my card in return as a transaction !

Thanks RBI for listening !

When speaking Spanish, especially with an Argentine accent, people tend to say “Pecsi” instead of “Pepsi”. They have said it like this for years, and Pepsi has responded by launching a campaign changing the second P to a C, believed to be the first such change for the venerable brand.

According to a recent survey, 25% of the population says it that way. So BBDO Argentina (ad agency) came up with the idea of simply making “Pecsi” the spelling and launched an integrated campaign to support it.

The motive was clear, get closer to consumers, by including those who weren’t pronouncing the name of the brand correctly but also by focusing on saving and standing by consumers’ sides in a time of crisis. In Argentina, drinking a Pepsi costs one peso less than drinking a Coke. The message: If you drink Pepsi, you save. If you drink Pecsi, you save as well.

The bottle

The commercial

The Coca Cola had also done something similar in China.The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax” depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, “ko-kou-ko-le,” which can be loosely translated as “happiness in the mouth.”

Ko-Kou-Ko-Le

Coca Cola has to do it to suit the local flavour and especially the name to make some sense(or no nonsense) but what about Pepsi’s (or Pecsi’s) campaign ?

On one website i read an interesting quote ,”Whats next Pepsi ? A “bebsi” for Arab countries?”

or may be Papsi(with Accent) for India.

One more strong argument against this is that 75% of the crowd has no issue in pronouncing Pepsi as Pepsi( and not Pecsi).So is this campaign just for the 25% ? Or it is an emotional branding for the rest of other 75 % too ?

What ever the reason apart from Consumer Connect Pepsi(or Pecsi’s) campaign seems to generate a lot of interest world over and surely it will help the sales team.

Argentinians also pronounce Pizza as Picsa so whats next Picsa Hut haan !

Comments Please !