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Go Air is changing its positioning from a no frills (low cost) airline to something in between a no frills and full service airline. I think even Jet Light is also taking this positioning. Now is this a good idea? The term that is being used by both is “value” carriers.

Big TV has taken the Airtel DTH’s teaser campaign and turned it into its own. They have taken the red chair to promote their own products. Now is this a good idea?

I recently read an article about Renee Mauborgne’s book “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make competition irrelevant.” I have not read the book but what her concept seems to be based on the concept of positioning or finding a gap in the marketplace which Al Reis and Jack Trout have explained it very well in their books. She uses the example of Cemex, a Mexican cement company which basically positioned cement as a gift item because of the desire of Mexican to build cement houses and were able to increase its sales tremendously. This is just positioning for a particular segment of people. Similarly, the example of Nintendo Wii and Sony’s Playstation 3, I think all about positioning and finding a gap in the market.

According to me, the options available to Vijay Mallaya were just two when he bought Air Deccan which are as follows:

It seems that Indian Express (IE) is going through restructuring so that it can raise funds to revive and grow uits print media business.

I am a little surprised as to why Vijay Mallaya (VM) is so confused about branding issues related to his airlines as he has been pretty successful at building his other brands.

Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper in the India, has a appointment supplement called Powerjobs which it distributes along with its main paper. Powerjobs supplement from, at least an outsiders perspective, is not doing well even though HT folks have told me that they are making some money from it. The leading appointment supplement is Times of India’s (TOI) Ascent against which the appointment supplements of every other newspaper competes. According to me, the market position of Powerjobs is getting from bad to worse. I don’t remember the last time any of our clients advertised in this paper even though we release appointment advertisements in TOI-Ascent on a regular basis (By the way, I run an advertising agency).

I have never been able to understand people who put undue pressure on their kids to come first in class. Only one out of the many contestants or participants or students will come first or become a champion. Everybody cannot become a champion

Red Bull is trying to give Coke and Pepsi a run for their money. It seems that Red Bull seems to have the right and the wrong idea. First, what’s right about the idea. It seems that Red Bull is launching a premium cola in the US at $1.49 for a 12 ounce can which is expensive than Coke or Pepsi. There is no premium price cola and they have certainly found a gap in the market. One cannot fight with Pepsi and Coke head on. They have to be attacked from the side, in other words flanked.

In an interview in Economic Times (7/3/2008), Aditya Birla stated his criteria for being involved in an industry. He said that he will only participate in an industry only if they have 1,2 or 3 position otherwise they will quit. Well this is nothing new. Actually, its a criteria borrowed from Ex GE’s chairman (I am forgetting his name. Sure sign that I am getting old) who built GE based on the same criteria. However, I do not think this makes sense.

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