IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
Talk about ‘beauty with brains’, rather ‘style with brains’, and that outlines the sole reason why Microsoft has cracked into the top 10 league of the 4Ps B&M Best Brands Survey, moving eight places north to the 9th position… It was all about positioning at the end of the day, and the fact that there has been so much into brand building exercise over the past one year! “4Ps is the right term to describe how we actually got there…” avers a thoughtful Ashim Mathur, National Marketing Manager, Microsoft E&D. For a man who is currently spearheading one of the key businesses in the country for Microsoft, this survey result comes as a “no surprise”. “We followed a three-pronged branding & growth strategy – focussing on the ‘right’ retail presence, forging strong partnerships and increasing online presence,” states Mathur. Even when it comes to the Office Home & Student - Fully Packaged Products, FPP, the company got real serious about increasing its visibility, considering that competition was always growing fast on its heels… The company started putting it across at the right ‘places’, which made the brand more appealing and made it all the more visible.
Interestingly, Microsoft has all the more become cautious about its choice of channel partners. During the past one year, it started focusing on the “large format retail outlets” which helped build a stronger Microsoft brand. Pricing too became very critical, yet, the company believed in the power of its distributors to offer the product to the market with the right positioning intellect. When it comes to its hardware business too, Microsoft understood that its products were low-involvement products and hence it tried to “integrate style with science.” There was an immediate need for this considering how fast technological products can become obsolete. The consumers always want something new. “We also launched new products in the blue track platform like the arc mouse & wireless keyboard, etc, which gave that extra punch to the product, making a common purchase feel special,” explains Mathur.
Partnerships was another forte for Microsoft during the past year. Even when you talk about the E&D division, it signed partnerships deals with online portals like zapak (in January 2009, before the World Gaming Day on February 12, 2009), PVR (which opened up a new entertainment zone in an alliance with BluO in April 2009), et al, thus increasing visibility and educating the Indian masses about Microsoft brand being more than just seriousness and game-related. Hence, during the past year, it succeeded in portraying the “360-degree entertainment” quotient.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here
Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
IIPM Best B School – EVENTS
IIPM conceptualized the grand final of Dare ‘10 — the most prestigious of international B-school student quizzes
IIPM B School : King Khan, Bollywood Badshah and Quiz Wiz — that’s Shah Rukh Khan for you
Talk about ‘beauty with brains’, rather ‘style with brains’, and that outlines the sole reason why Microsoft has cracked into the top 10 league of the 4Ps B&M Best Brands Survey, moving eight places north to the 9th position… It was all about positioning at the end of the day, and the fact that there has been so much into brand building exercise over the past one year! “4Ps is the right term to describe how we actually got there…” avers a thoughtful Ashim Mathur, National Marketing Manager, Microsoft E&D. For a man who is currently spearheading one of the key businesses in the country for Microsoft, this survey result comes as a “no surprise”. “We followed a three-pronged branding & growth strategy – focussing on the ‘right’ retail presence, forging strong partnerships and increasing online presence,” states Mathur. Even when it comes to the Office Home & Student - Fully Packaged Products, FPP, the company got real serious about increasing its visibility, considering that competition was always growing fast on its heels… The company started putting it across at the right ‘places’, which made the brand more appealing and made it all the more visible.
Interestingly, Microsoft has all the more become cautious about its choice of channel partners. During the past one year, it started focusing on the “large format retail outlets” which helped build a stronger Microsoft brand. Pricing too became very critical, yet, the company believed in the power of its distributors to offer the product to the market with the right positioning intellect. When it comes to its hardware business too, Microsoft understood that its products were low-involvement products and hence it tried to “integrate style with science.” There was an immediate need for this considering how fast technological products can become obsolete. The consumers always want something new. “We also launched new products in the blue track platform like the arc mouse & wireless keyboard, etc, which gave that extra punch to the product, making a common purchase feel special,” explains Mathur.
Partnerships was another forte for Microsoft during the past year. Even when you talk about the E&D division, it signed partnerships deals with online portals like zapak (in January 2009, before the World Gaming Day on February 12, 2009), PVR (which opened up a new entertainment zone in an alliance with BluO in April 2009), et al, thus increasing visibility and educating the Indian masses about Microsoft brand being more than just seriousness and game-related. Hence, during the past year, it succeeded in portraying the “360-degree entertainment” quotient.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here
Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM ISBE Programmes
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
B-schools expect higher rate of campus placements this year
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
IIPM Best B School – EVENTS
IIPM conceptualized the grand final of Dare ‘10 — the most prestigious of international B-school student quizzes
IIPM B School : King Khan, Bollywood Badshah and Quiz Wiz — that’s Shah Rukh Khan for you
