Overview of
ISME Peer Group Competition on
Marketing Premier League(MPL)
In collaboration with
National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN)
Date: 2nd March
Venue: Auditorium at ISME
The concept of Marketing Premier League
The Marketing Premier League or MPL, was conceived as an opportunity for young management students to hone their marketing and entrepreneurial skills through an open competition. This competition was an avenue for blending creativity with marketing strategies aligned with sound business acumen.
Each team had to come up with an original idea for marketing a service. They were given a notional budget of Rs.20 lakhs and with this amount they were expected to come up with a marketing plan for a service oriented business proposition that addresses an existing customer need. The plan should be both, realistic and feasible.
Participating teams needed to include the following in their presentations:
Ă Need Identifiedâproduct/services
Ă STP(Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)
Ă Communication Plan
Ă Marketing Budget
Ă Implementation Strategy
Rules of the competition
1. The teams had to make a PPT presentation outlining their marketing strategies, budgeting and implementation plans. In their presentations they had to include:
¡ Brand logo
¡ Brochure/Print material
¡ Radio advt
¡ TV/Video advt
2. At the end of the presentation the judges would ask questions on the feasibility and other business aspects.
3. The contest was judged by three judges who were strictly neutral and did not have any affiliation to any of the participating teams.
4. The contestants were judged on the basis of three criteria:
a. Marketing Plan â the plan to market the service â What is the service; what is the potential for such a service/market potential; what is the pricing and positioning strategy; how the service is going to made available to the end customers; how the team proposes to differentiate their business/service from competitors and what are/is the competitive advantage, if any, that they possess.
b. Logo and Print Ad â Teams were required to submit three copies of the logo and print advt to the Game Master (GM).
c. Advertisements (both Radio – jingle and TV advt)
5. The prizes for the contests were:
d. First Prize of Rs. 25,000 for the winner â over-all best team
e. Second Prize of Rs. 10,000 for the runner up â over-all second best team
f. Rs. 5,000 for the best Marketing Plan.
g. Rs. 5, 000 for the best Logo and Print Advertisements.
h. Rs. 5, 000 for the best Advertisements (both Radio and TV advt).
6. The team winning First or Second prize was not eligible for the prizes in the other three remaining categories.
7. Judges decision on the grading was deemed to be final and binding on the contestants.
8. The GM (Game Master) was deemed to be the final authority whose decision was final and binding on all contestants in case of any doubt/clarification/grievance/complaint.
9. The order of the presentations was decided by lots
10. Each team was given 20 minutes to present their case and a bell was sounded to signify the end of the presentation.
11. To ensure absolute impartiality, all teams were given codes and each team was referred to by their codes and no team was permitted to reveal their college/institute name. If any team revealed their true identity, even inadvertently, they were warned of disqualification. The decision of the GM was final.
Profile of Chief Guest âDr.Gautam Sathia
Dr. Gautam Sathia, an invitee of NEN, had a very interesting blend of medical training and journalism. He worked in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences as a resident doctor and pursued journalism at the same time. Subsequently, he became the editor of some of Indiaâs best known clinical and professional magazines and journals and also authored a book on Bio-terrorism.
With an avid interest in journalism, Dr. Gautam has been at the forefront of Medical Writing in India. He has edited, written and published numerous articles and papers and has also given talks on various subjects in different institutes.
In 2005, BioQuest was formed and has since grown to 4 offices in India and 4 overseas.Since its inception, BioQuest has won the Global Pyramid Awards twice and the Brand Edge Awards twice for innovation and excellence in Medico-Marketing.
While BioQuest takes up most of his productive time, Dr. Gautam spends his spare time in supporting environmental causes.
Manisha Nayar
Profile of the Judges
Kunal Verma
Mr. Kunal is an Engineer in Computer Science from IIT Roorke and an MBA in marketing from ISB, Hyderabad. He has worked with Texas Instruments for seven years. He became an entrepreneur while pursuing his MBA and started his first venture which was into designing and marketing of customized apparels. He bootstrapped his business and made it cash profitable in the first six months of the operations. He moved on from Whimsia, but his entrepreneurial instinct further led him to set up âSkillwizâ of which he is the CEO. He founded the holding company âAspirareâ of which Skillwiz is the flagship brand.
He has several achievements to his creditâHe was on Indiaâs first business reality show, âThe Pitch,â has been a jury panelist at GSVC at ISB, Hyderabad, features in the Global top 1% of most viewed profiles in LinkedInâs Professional network.
Mr.Rajesh Abraham CEO and Managing Partner at Abraham and Partners Market Builders LLP.
He is an alumnus from the Schulich School of Business at the York University in Toronto/Canada and an engineer by core competence. Mr.Abraham believes in leveraging consulting to help businesses address real life issues in a pragmatic manner. His 17 years of experience has been a journey with a number of prestigious firms including Chemtex, Wockhardt, Det Norske Veritas and IBM’s Strategy and Change including a geographic coverage spanning across India, South Asia, Middle East, North East Asia, Western Europe and Canada.
Ms. Manisha is an MBA in Marketing and has a good mix of corporate work experience and teaching. She worked in the Sales department of Fujitsu, ICIM, and Garware Paints in New Delhi.
She has also taught in NIS-Sparta, CMR Institute of Management and BMA in Bangalore.
Ms.Manisha is presently a senior Faculty at BMA and teaches Marketing papers like Marketing Management and Analysis, Advanced Marketing Management, Product Management, Services Marketing, Consumer Behavior and CRM.
List of participating teams
1. CMS Business School, Bangaloreâteam-1
2. CMS Business School, Bangaloreâteam-2
3. Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management, Calcutta
4. IFIM, B-School, Bangalore
5. School of Business Studies, Bangalore
6. Indian Academy School of Management Studies
7. ISME, Team-1
8. ISME, Team-2
9. ISME, Team-3
Welcome address by Prof.Nitin Garg, Director, ISME
Prof. Nitin started off by welcoming all the participating teams, judges and students from outside and from ISME. He said that this was a proud day in the history of ISME, as this was the first MPL inter-collegiate competition to be conducted by ISME.
Prof.Nitin explained that ISME strived to provide academic inputs in a corporate ambience to make it more relevant and useful to students. He emphasized the fact that the faculty at ISME are not only from all over India, but have work experience from different parts of the world which adds to the rich quality of inputs.
He said that the aim at ISME is to explore the option âCan we make you entrepreneurs and not just managers?â To make you job creators and not just job seekers? To do this, one needs to develop business acumen and inculcate risk-taking which is our endeavor at ISME.
He said that ideas per se are not important today as most ideas or innovations have already been created, but it is implementation that is vital. He emphasized that both, implementation and marketing are important. And MPL has been designed towards infusing this spirit in students.
In conclusion, he stated that the MPL is conceived not just as an academic exercise, but to motivate the students sufficientlyâ not only students at ISME but also the outside studentsâ to start new ventures.
Talk by Prof. Vivek Garg, Director, ISME
He made a brief, but lucid and focused talk by speaking about the innovative culture at ISME and said that at ISME we will be innovative in whatever we do, and MPL is one such innovative effort. He said that the main idea behind the MPL was to ignite the passion of students so that they carry the entrepreneurial spirit back to their respective campuses. In conclusion, he welcomed all, especially the Chief Guest Dr.Gautam Sathia and expressed profuse thanks to NEN for supporting this effort of conducting the MPL.
Overview of Chief Guestâs address
Dr. Gautam Sathia, an accomplished medical entrepreneur himself, spoke with great passion on the topic of entrepreneurship. He appreciated the concept of the MPL as in his experience this was the first time that a B-school had come up with this idea of a contest that focuses on not just the marketing but also forces the teams to develop their own unique advertisement material along with the business plan.
He said that in an entrepreneurial venture the Business plan is only the first step. He advised the students to believe in two things:
Ă To believe in your plan and,
Ă To believe in yourself
But, he said, that at the end of the day, it is all about selling. Selling, he said, lies at the base of every venture. He gave the interesting example of the IPod and how it was not actually invented by Apple but marketed and sold by them so successfully. This was because Steve Jobbs was himself a great salesman and he imbued his organization with his selling spirit.
Dr. Sathia advised all would-be entrepreneurs not to shy away from direct selling or from other so-called menial jobs if such jobs are important for the business.
He exhorted the students to think about âmaking a difference.â He said that you should ask yourselves, âCan I make a difference?â
He said that two things are importantâ
a) The idea, and
2) The person behind the idea
He talked about his venture and gave a background about his company, about its origin and its growth over the years.
He quoted the example of the U.S. and U.K. and why they are ahead in developmentâbecause they invested in R & D and were the forerunners in creating âIdeationâ and âInnovationâ cells.
In light of the above, he said that he was glad that ISME is making you, the students, to come up with ideations/innovations instead of merely teaching mundane management methods and topics.
Summary of the presentations of each team
1. Team no:CCMPL13103: Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management, Calcutta
Business: âNurture Indiaâ
This team presented a business plan called âNurture Indiaâ which was essentially a venture that dealt with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The plan was to undertake CSR activities on behalf of medium sized companies with profits ranging between Rs.5 crores to 25 crores by charging a small fee of 5% of the value of the CSR activities as they opined that companies of such small size would lack the resources to undertake CSR activities on their own although they are obliged to do so by law. Thus, Nurture India steps in to do this on their behalf and helps them to fulfill their statutory CSR obligations. This was essentially a B2B venture located in and around West Bengal. They proposed to deploy their marketing strategy through appropriate TV, radio advertisements and printed brochures as well as on the internet, billboards, and newspaper advertisements and through social networking sites.
2. Team no:CCMPL13106: CMS Business school
Business : âFive Stars on Four Wheelsâ
This teamâs business plan was a mobile fast food restaurant called, âFive Stars on Four Wheels.â The team planned to supply hygienic and wholesome fast food items on wheels at IT work places in Whitefield and other IT parks. Their target customers were Techies, especially those working in night shifts. The team planned to supply hygienic and good quality fast food to IT employees at or near their work places which would be very convenient for them. They planned to provide much better quality food than the roadside vendors and also provide a better overall experience which IT employees would like.They planned to market their services through leaflets and menu card which would be distributed to all the organizations where their vans would be located. Before commencing business they would obtain all the statutory permits and licenses required. But they mainly planned to rely on word-of-mouth publicity as they believed the best advertisement is by those satisfied customers.
3. Team no:CCMPL13102: CMS Business school;
Business : âHomedelâ
This team commenced the competition by presenting their project called âHomedelâ which deals with grocery supply to homes. The teamâs business plan was to start a partnership firm dealing with supply of home needs, primarily groceries. They planned to ensure that supplies reach the order placerâs home within 2 hours. The main objective was to save the customer the trouble of travelling and time spent for buying groceries. As they planned to buy the bulk of groceries on wholesale basis, they would pass on the benefit of the price to their customers. The main advantage of course was the convenience of buying the groceries while sitting at home and doing their regular activities. They presented their radio advertisement and print material which included brochures. They had also designed a nice logo to fit the theme.
Team no:CCMPL13117: ISME
Business: âCBAYâ
This teamâs business proposal was a Laundromat service called âCBAYâ. They planned to operate a Laundromat in Whitefield for young professionals who normally do not own washing machines. Their business plan was not merely restricted to individual customers but also envisaged a B2B segment which included hospitals, hotels and PG accommodations. Their tag line was, âThink Global, Act Local.â They also planned to provide pick-up and drop-off facilities for people who could not actually come to the Laundromat. Their advertisement strategy included sponsoring a charity ball in communities, distributing T-shirts and hats with company name and logo. They also planned for print advertisements, radio jingle, TV clip, and Google Adwords. They also planned to provide several value-added services such as social park concept, woolen softener, super detergents, and stain removers. Their video in particular was very humorous and evoked laughter.
5. Team no:CCMPL13118: ISME
Business: âLittle Roseâ
This teamâs business plan was to provide child-care services called âLittle Roseâ. They had a good tagline, âA Home Away from Home.â They planned to target children in the age group 1.5 years to 4 years, of families with working parents. They planned to provide day-care and play-school facilities depending on the need. They had also zeroed in on a location near Cosmos mall in Kundanahalli. They planned on providing several value-added services such as vaccination, a pediatrician for checkups and had also planned to tie-up with some reputed schools to facilitate admission for these children in such schools once they reach school-going age. This was their USP. Their advertisement strategy included print such as pamphlets, & brochures, TV clips, radio jingle, hoardings and newspaper advertisements. Their video clip containing interviews with satisfied customers was humorous and was received well by the audience.
6. Team no:CCMPL13114: Indian Academy School of Management Studies
Business: âChaat Chariotâ
This team presented their business proposal called âChaat Chariotâ which serves different chaat and other south Indian vegetarian snacks at very competitive prices, hygienic and of high quality but on wheels as this outlet was a mobile van restaurant. They planned to park these restaurants-on-wheels at various locations in Bangalore where IT companies and colleges are located to cater to readily available customers and also in certain residential localities. Their business proposition envisaged dine-ins, take-aways and home deliveries. They introduced a rather unusual technique called âbundling âwhich was a combination of chaats and other assorted items. They planned to advertise their presence through newspaper inserts, pamphlets, bus ads, online banners, a very catchy radio jingle, and cable TV advertisements. They came up with an interesting tagline, âThereâs more to Chaat.â
7. Team no:CCMPL
13104: IFIM, Business School
13104: IFIM, Business School
Business: âBhavishyathâ
This team presented a business plan titled âBhavishyathâ which was an interface between customers, who are mostly students and their parents, on the one hand and mentors/counselors on the other. Bhavishyath would provide the connectivity by placing the customer with the right mentor/counselor to help the students to understand their strengths and weaknesses and then to decide on the right option of career choice. Their target group was students between the ages of 14 to 21 years and their proposed geographical region was Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. They planned to communicate their services through blog postings, social networks, workshops in schools and video trailers on YouTube. Bhavisyath would also make available information regarding schools and courses to help their customers. They would charge a fee for providing these services.
8. Team no:CCMPL13119: ISME
Business: âSakshamâ
This team came up with a vey novel business plan of providing self-defense training to women students and employees called, âSakshamâ. Their self-defense system incorporated techniques from two martial artsâTaekwondo and Judo. By combining the basics of these two martial arts, they planned on offering a simple, yet very effective, self-defense system to infuse confidence in girls to protect themselves. They planned to publicize their services through leaflets, posters which would be distributed in the targeted colleges, radio jingle and a TV clip. They had also planned to hold demos in colleges during college fests to publicize their self-defense school. The training was also open to men and was not restricted only to women. They came up with an arresting tag lineâ âWhen No doesnât work, a well directed Kick surely will.â Their Video clip was entertaining. This team also presented an actual demo of a self-defense technique demonstrated by a girl on a boy to display its effectiveness.
9. Team no:CCMPL13105: School of Business Studies
Business: âPerky Chizzlesâ
This teamâs business involved the setting up of a fine dining restaurant called âPerky Chizzlesâ. They planned to provide varied facilities such as, board room for meetings cum dinners, banquet halls for parties and a multi-cuisine restaurant which offered healthy, organic food prepared by expert chefs. They also proposed to provide home delivery, planned on providing cooking classes for students, separate veg and non-veg cooking sections, separate cabins for groups. Their marketing plan was to publicize their restaurant through print ads, media ads, setting up of their website, pamphlets and brochure. Their marketing strategy included giving special discounts to customers for practicing eco-friendly habits such as bringing their own re-usable containers and also giving of loyalty cards to encourage repeat customers. They also proposed to host green events, special themed dinners, and use only organically grown vegetables.
Awards:
1. The first prize for best overall presentation was won by team no: CCMPL13117(âCBAYâ)from ISME and were awarded a cash prize of Rs.25,000/-
2. The second prize for overall presentation was won by team no: CCMPL13118 (âLittle Roseâ)from ISME and were awarded a cash prize of Rs.10,000/-
The prize for best Marketing Plan (Rs.5000/) was won by team no: CCMPL13103 (âNurture Indiaâ) from IISWBM, Calcutta
3. The prize for best Logo and Print Advertisements (Rs.5000/)was won by team no: CCMPL13102, (âHomedelâ) from CMS, Bangalore.
The prize for best Advertisements (both Radio and TV advt (Rs.5000/) was shared by team no: CCMPL13102 (âHomedelâ) from CMS, Bangalore and team no: CCMPL13119 (âSakshamâ) from ISME.
Conclusion and vote of Thanks
The programme was a grand success and everyone present was entertained and found the event very informative. The event was very efficiently organized by Prof.M.L.Prasad who delivered the vote of than
ks and thanked all the participating teams for their enthusiasm and commitment. He thanked the judges for their active participation and for their incisive questions which added to the knowledge of the participating teams. He thanked Prof. Shyam Prasad for coordinating the juryâs evaluation of the competition. He also thanked the audience for their disciplined support and decorum. He concluded by thanking the student co-coordinatorsâ Gujjula Raja Sekhar Reddy, Sannala Phanisai, Shantanu Anil Raikwar, Punith Chowdary Tummala,Prasad Sanjay Kakade, Mayur Mahesh Kulkarni, Naveen Pareek, Mohit Verma, Priyanka Satish Mokal,Kolluri Prathyusha, Tusharika Pant, Twarit Shailesh Kumar Tarpara, Mansi Parikh.
ks and thanked all the participating teams for their enthusiasm and commitment. He thanked the judges for their active participation and for their incisive questions which added to the knowledge of the participating teams. He thanked Prof. Shyam Prasad for coordinating the juryâs evaluation of the competition. He also thanked the audience for their disciplined support and decorum. He concluded by thanking the student co-coordinatorsâ Gujjula Raja Sekhar Reddy, Sannala Phanisai, Shantanu Anil Raikwar, Punith Chowdary Tummala,Prasad Sanjay Kakade, Mayur Mahesh Kulkarni, Naveen Pareek, Mohit Verma, Priyanka Satish Mokal,Kolluri Prathyusha, Tusharika Pant, Twarit Shailesh Kumar Tarpara, Mansi Parikh.
