Indian Journal of Marketing October 2006

Volume XXXVI • Number 10 • October 2006

Celebrity Endorsement- Is It The Only Survival Recipe for Marketers?
Celebrity salespersons are a common calling card of brands these days. A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand. Recently we have seen a strong emergence of celebrity-endorsed campaigns in Indian advertising. Experts believe that when there is dearth of fresh and creative ideas, celebrity endorsed campaigns are used as the alternatives. Advertisers use endorsers to add excitement and glamour to their brands. Basically, celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of glamour, and the hope that a famous face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market.But there’s another side also. Celebrities come with a load of liabilities that are hard to ignore. Whether a client uses a celebrity or not, the job of advertising isn’t reduced. Celebrity endorsed advertising should be accompanied by a powerful idea.
	Smita Sharma Senior Lecturer Rai Business School New Delhi
An Investigation On Differences In The Earnings Through Alternative Marketing Channels: A Study on Rice Farmers in Jessore District of Bangladesh
Due to the limits on alternative ways of improving the living conditions of the farmers, and as rice is one of the main sources of income for rural farmers, its efficient alternative marketing channel is considered as an important instrument in contributing more money for them, and that will lead to a better standard of living. This study focuses on the standard of living, production structure or rice, marketing channel, rice selling, prices, marketing cost and net earnings, earnings differences and farmers’ attitudes towards marketing. A field survey was conducted using the interview method during July to August 2003, in one village (Azampur) of Jhikargacha Upazila in Jessore district of Bangladesh. In the study, 33 rice farmers were randomly selected as respondents where farmers used six types of marketing channels for selling unpolished and polished rice. The study compared on the differences in the earnings through alternative channels and found that the farmers could earn more money when they used the channel for selling the polished rice to the retailers of the polished rice than all other channels. The study also found that a very small amount of rice was sold through the efficient alternative channels due to poor socio economic conditions and marketing problem.
	Shaikh Moksadur Rahman Department of Resource Management & Social Sciences,Faculty of Agriculture Saga University JAPAN
Mass Customisation: An Entrepreneurial Marketing Opportunity
Examples of mass customization are on the rise throughout the world but there are not many significant such consumer offerings in India. This paper explores dimensions of marketing as practiced by small, entrepreneurial firms and explores the fit between those dimensions and characteristics important for the successful implementation of mass customization.This article does not just make a case for adoption of mass customization practices by entrepreneurial firms in India, but also tries to explore those dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing which would help the firms implement their mass customization strategy.The paper refers to recent academic literature on mass customization, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial marketing as well as other related fields. This paper also refers to practices and strategies of many large and small firms which have implemented mass customization.
Rajeev Roy Assistant Professor(Marketing) Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar Orissa
Marketing Innovations Through Information Technology Techniques- A Study on Pharmaceutical Products
An innovation is developing a new idea and putting it into practice. In the competitive strategy of a private enterprise in a market-driven business environment, the term ‘innovation’ is used to refer to the process of bringing valuable new products (goods and services) to the market i.e., from the idea/concept formulation stage to the successful launching of a new or improved product in the marketplace. Through innovation an enterprise seeks to deliver unique new value to its customers. In this context, ‘marketing’ is the understanding of that unique new value and communicating it to the current and potential customers of a business so that the product sells itself.
Dr.P.Veeraiah Lecturer Business and Commercial Division PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh	I.Shivanaga Sreenu Part Time Lecturer in Commerce CKM Arts and Science College Warangal Andhra Pradesh
Effective Mall Management- The Critical Success Factor for Malls Today
The mall-mania seems to have truly gripped the country. To the present generation shopping means much more than a mere necessity and malls are now fast becoming image benchmarks for communities. Everyone seems to have been taken in by the euphoria about the potential of Organized Retailing sector – be it retailers, mall-developers or consumers. The fast growing middle-class population and the rise in women workforce and consumerism over the decade are the major force in driving demand. Daily we have news, reports & discussions in all kinds of media about organized retail sector, shopping center development, FDI in retail and so on and so forth. Mall–management is a term, which figures repeatedly in most of these, but generally it is not understood properly. Traditionally in India, mall-management has been equated to facilities management. As we shall see, its scope of activities is much beyond facilities management, which is essentially a maintenance job.
	Asif Zameer Assistant Professor of Marketing Fortune Institute of International Business New Delhi
Satisfaction Survey for Parents- A study with Special Reference to A Primary School in Vapi, Gujarat
In the past, the need to market their service has not really been felt by the education sector, as educational institutes, be it schools, colleges or universities, especially in developing countries like ours, have always faced more demand than they could cope with. In some instances, there used to be only few schools in the town and people didn’t have much choice about the selection of schools. So in that situation there wasn’t any need felt for marketing of primary educational services. But now, due to the attractive potential and advent of private schools in this field, more and more schools are coming up and competitive situation is slowly changing. People have also become more conscious about education and now they have a number of alternatives available to make choice. This field has a high growth potential and due to this reason it is expected that in the near future more and more schools will be established. Because of difference in style of teaching, quality of teaching, facilities provided by schools, parents have become more particular about selecting the school for their child. Even the schools facing heavy demand have been confronted with the question of being able to choose the desired kind of target customers.
Devang J.Desai Faculty(Marketing) GIDC,Raju Shroff Rofel Institute of Management Studies Vapi, Gujarat	Pankajray Patel Assitant Professor Raju Shroff Rofel Institute of Management Studies Vapi Gujarat