Rajasthan Technical University 2009 M.B.A m-106 keting Management - Question Paper
Rajasthan tech. University
M.B.A. one sem (Main/Back)
February 2009
M-106 Marketing Management
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M. B. A. (Sem. I) (Main/Back) Examination, February - 2009
(M-106)
Marketing Management
Time : 3 Hours) (Total Marks : 70
[Min. Passing Marks : 28
The question Paper is divided in (mo Sections.
Section A contains 6 questions out of which the candidate is required to attempt any 4 questions. Section B contains short case study/application based one question which is compulsory.
AH questions are carrying equal marks.
Use o< following supporting malerial is permitted during examination. (Mentioned in form No. 205)
1... _ ... _____ML.............2. .........Nil ..........
Marketing Management is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value*.
- Elaborate.
Marketing Plans are becoming more customer and competitor ented." Comment.
Marketing Communication strategies for the rural market.
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3/ What factors and psychological processes influence and affect consumer behaviour ? Sustaintiate with examples.
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>t*Kach stage of the product life cycle calls for different marketing stratttriM." - Elaborate. /
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5 . (pj What factors should a firm consider while totting up its
pricing policy ? I
(blProduct strategy calls for making co-ordinated oecisions on \s product mixes, product lines, brands and packaging.'
- Comment.
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6 Differentiate between Advertising and Sales promotion.
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Read the case carefully and attempt the following questions : Namak ho Tata ha, Tata Namak!
The history of iodized, vacuum-evaporated, packaged salt in India was pioneered by Tata Salt in August. 1983. Tata Chemicals, the company byhxoJ Uw fcftmd, takes tHe~&ipt crertrrfortooverfoig the commodity salt_.into a high-quality branded 'product. To millions of Indian housewives it offerrt arelcome move away trom the loose, unbranded salt of questionable quality to the assurance of dean, pure salt, certified by ifkdias htly tru9ted l)U8ineM house. Tata Salt delineated the standards and attributes that consumers now demand in the product
hvgjenie prtxhirtren.j>untv. nutrition. and iodine content._ThuR was Bifm a new categ&ry in the food additives segment.
Over the years, Tata Salt's business has grown from strength to strength. It has become a household name with top-of-the-mind brand recall and has garnered 41% share of Indias branded-salt segment, as against 23% by its nearest competitor. And thanks to the purity and reliability of the brand, the preference for it spans all segments of the market: housewives; restaurateurs; industry; manufacturers of packaged snacks, <2olas and n am keens; and even the Indian government.
The Tata Salt brand has many accolades to its credit, which stem from its association with trust, reliability, honesty and credibility, qualities inherent to the Tata creed of business. Its jingle 'Namak ho Tattf jca, Tata Namak'. an audio mnemonic for the brand, speaks volumes of its headship in the salt market.
Competition *
Post Tata Salt's entry, as consumer acceptance of branded salt grew, the category became more appealing to potential manufacturers. Also, with extremely low entTy barriers, the next two decades saw the launch
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... of scores of new national and local brands of packaged, iodized salt.
launch Captain (Vlt thatptwjon itself as a frpOTriiiesidL Captain CoaiCscnlry was indirectly advantageous as it sensitise3pc>t jo branded bait and they_steri<>3 shifting from non-branded or local products to\fro'national brands. Tata survived ifrfftSpMin CoalT onslaught owing to its innate superiority, strong distribution network "jud thp .overall category-expansion that resulted from Captain Cook's rnlryj ........ ......~
In 1996. another national salt brand, Annapurna, was launched. by HLL. It was positioned on the health Senefit* of iodine. Although by the time iodization had nearly become a given in branded salt and consumers did not perceive it as a differentiator, with aggressive marketing Annapurna soon became the 2nd largpst player with 35ft market share (behind Tata, by now at 3%).
Then, with the growing number of players and possible market share erosion, Tata Chemicals conducted a market research study in 1998 u> understand the conumer psyche. The results placed Tata Salt high on characteristics such as saltiness, iodnation, free flow, purity and whiteness. Consumers thoughtofTata'Salt aVtho 'salUer saif. Ta ta enca&ned this positioning in its next commercial starring Ingjatefl-known chef Sanjeev Kapoor approvin/Tata Salt loTUipse attributes,
By lato 2001 and early 2002, several regional, domestic and multinational players started jostling m the branded sale market. Their aggressive marketing tactics, colourful and attractive packaging, and high decibel advertising created quite a stir in the market. As a consequence, the branded salt category posted a healthy growth rate of -1% as consumers migrated from the non-branded segment. However, the overall category growth (branded and unbrandod) was a mere 1% since it was difficult to get the population to consumer more salt beyond a cetain level, and now there were no non-users who could be converted. Therefore, most of the growth had to come from the unbranded-to-branded category conversion.
Advertising Strategy
Looking at these factors, Tata devised its new advertising strategy. It took the competition head-on and in September, 2001 Tata Salt was re-introduced with a new campaign that touted its purity, a core virtue of thebrand. This positioning as the "pure salt* was rooted in the fact that Tata Salt was manufactured using the vacuum evaporation technique, which rendered its end-product much purer than the more commonly used refining technique of washing the salt with water and adding some more chemicals. For the consumer, the proof of purity lay in their experience of distinctly 'saltier salt1, relative to these offered by other brands, and the certificate of trust lent by the Tata name. The
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packaging was also changed to a more premium-looking pack, a response to consumer feedback. All of this translated into a better value proposition for the consumer and dominant market share for the brand.
Soon alter. Tata Chemicals looped in consultants to track the brand and assess its marketing strategy. The result* revealed that Tata Salt's brand equity index was 7. which was ahead of the competition But the marEetig strategy study revealed that in spile of the strong brand awareness, the differences between the players were ' getting murky. This made Tata redefine the problem and set new objectives as follows :
. -'"To break free from clutter in the category caused by the recent
entrants.
Exand the base of the. category by bringing in new users and
garner markct-share of 38-40%.
Revised Advertising Strategy
In view of the above objectives, Tata decided that the best way to differentiate was to connect with the consumer at an emotional level, since competitors were focusing on the functional properties of salt. So, while Tata Salt has thus far been positioned on the rational aspects of 'purity', its new positioning would caity this proposition forward but' within the larger context of the consumer's life, encompassing ,6oth rational and emotional manifestations of purity.
In addition, being the market leader. Tata wanted to grow the market by increasing the use-base. Tata Salt realised that there was nothing like a strong 'leadership claim' to meet this end. It felt that by elevating the brand to the status of a national icon, it could not only expand the user-base but also break free from the clutter.
Tata.Salts greatest strength as a brand was derived from its association with trust. Its parent, the Tata Group, had built its equity on the very concept of leadership with trust. These concepts would be highlighted in the next campaign. Thus, tbo advertising strategy was aimed at rendering the twin messages of a) purity (rational and emotional expressions) of the brand and b) its leadership position.
This advertising strategy then planted the seeds of the 'Desh ka namak' campaign.
Questions :
(a) Comment on the Marketing-Mix Strategies of Tata Salt.
(b) What strategic approach has Tata followed in its Desh Ka Namak* campaign ?
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