mktthrive19

[mktthrive19]

BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK

The capacity to express or perceive what's funny, humor, is both a source of entertainment and a means of coping with difficult or awkward situations and stressful events. Although it provokes laughter, humor can be a serious business. From its most lighthearted forms to its more absurd ones, humor can play an instrumental role in forming social bonds, releasing tension, or attracting a customer.

What can you do with an impossible, cranky client, or obnoxious fellow employee? How can you change the situation from intolerable to laughable? (without losing your job, patience, or self-respect?) Humor is the answer. Remember, "Humor bridges the gap between the perfection we seek and the imperfections we’re stuck with." It allows us to change our perspective, look at things differently, take a detached view of situations that might otherwise overwhelm us. And that’s a solid business asset.

Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Many stores offer highly promoted sales on Black Friday and open very early, such as at midnight, or may even start their sales at some time on Thanksgiving.

TASK IN HAND:

A visual representation (PPT) including:

A Black Friday sale for the brands assigned, in the US market.

A 30second Video advertisement based on the sale and the products assigned mentioned below has to be prepared.

Presence of the element of Humor in your promotional video.

Prepare unconventional marketing strategies for their companies on how the Black Friday sale is different from their competitors.

A write-up explaining all the above elements (Limited only to one page).

Forget your sleep tonight. This is the last round, make sure you give it all you’ve got!

One last time!

Signing off with the warmest hugs,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

BU-R-STED

Balloon fest '86 was a 1986 event in which the United Way of Cleveland in Ohio set a world record by releasing almost one-and-a-half million balloons. The event was intended to be a harmless fundraising publicity stunt, but the balloons drifted back over the city. In consequence, the organizers and the city faced lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages, and cost overruns put the event at a net loss.

Typically, a helium-filled latex balloon that is released outdoors will stay aloft long enough to be fully deflated before it descends to Earth. However, the Balloonfest’s balloons collided with a front of cool air and rain and dropped towards the ground, still inflated, clogging the land and waterways of Northeast Ohio. In the days following the event, balloons were reported washed ashore on the Canadian side of Lake Erie.

Two fishermen, Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer, who had gone out on September 26, were reported missing by their families on the day of the event. Rescuers spotted their 16-foot (4.9 m) boat anchored west of the Edgewater Park break wall. A Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter crew had difficulties reaching the area because of the "asteroid field" of balloons. A search-and-rescue boat crew tried to spot the fishermen floating in the lake, but Guard officials said balloons in the water made it impossible to see whether anyone was in the lake. On September 29, the Coast Guard suspended its search. The fishermen's bodies subsequently washed ashore. The wife of one of the fishermen sued the United Way of Cleveland and the company that organized the balloon release for $3.2 million and later settled on undisclosed terms.

TASK IN HAND:

It is 1986 and the incident has just taken place. You are Treb Heining, the CEO of Balloon art by Treb, a Los Angeles-based company who conducted this event. You have to justify the publicity stunt and also come up with revival strategies to solve the issues faced and come up with marketing strategies to revamp the city’s image.

DELIVERABLES REQUIRED BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Prepare a printed report of not less than 10 pages containing:

Tragedy Analysis.

Justification for the event.

STP Analysis of the event.

Revival marketing strategies for Cleveland.

Press Release.

2 print ads minimum

Extra deliverables can fetch you brownie points! The report has to be presentable(USE SMART ART MORE THAN TEXT). Make sure you e-mail all the deliverables before 27/11/19, 7:00 a.m. There will be negative marking for late submissions as there is no presentation for this task. 

Submit a printed copy of your report to Khushi 4BBA-B or Tanish in 4BBA-E before 27/11/19, 9:00 a.m. 

Make sure you use your time wisely!

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

Check the blog link for your group task attached below!

https://gtthrive19.tumblr.com/

Teamed Up!

These are your groups for Group Task.

Wherever two numbers have been mentioned, it is required to add both numbers for the same.

All the very best and may the best group win!

[mktthrive19]

ALOO LELOOO, KANDA LELOOOO!!

Well, surely it was a long day at work, as you guys are the TOP 7 it can’t really be that easy. But we feel that after all the work you guys did today, you surely deserve a good meal.

Bringing to you the legacy, this is the task that Thrive is incomplete without. ‘The food round’. Restaurant marketing can increase visibility to the general public, attract new customers and boost sales revenue. Restaurant marketing can also succeed at retaining existing customers who may be more inclined to return often if they see a special deal or promotion being marketed. There are several ways to successfully market a restaurant, including running advertisements, handing out fliers, conducting special promotions and offering tastings. Restaurants makeup one of the biggest businesses in the United States and are one of the largest private-sector employers, according to the National Restaurant Association, making marketing an important part of any business plan.

Aesthetes, please check the contacts of the OC members/ Event heads assigned to each one of you, mentioned below.

TASK IN HAND:

You have to come up with the idea of a Restaurant and bring your three signature dishes. The twist here is, the idea of the restaurant you are going to come up with has to revolve around a theme that is based on the interests, likes, and dislikes of the members assigned to you. This means that the given OC members/ Event Heads assigned to you are the Chefs of your restaurant. Consider the following before preparing the dishes and the theme of your restaurant:

Their Qualities.

Favorite Food items.

Any special preferences.

Their Hobbies.

Likes/Dislikes.

Anything you feel fits right.

These members have been very hungry, cranky and sleep-deprived from the past few days, because of which they don’t speak to people much and even if they do, they do it with absolutely zero interest. Now it is up to you on how you would convince them to get your job done! Remember, you cannot ask them the above-mentioned pointers directly as they are disinterested, start a conversation with them by giving your NEX numbers first, keep trying until you get all the information you require.

DELIVERABLES:

A PPT of not less than 5 slides containing:

Idea of your Restaurant.

Service Mix (Extended 3P’s)

Promotion Strategies.

STP.

Minimum 2 Print Ads (*Must include- The picture of your Chef in at least one*).

You may want to take a few extra steps to make your presentation better when you present your restaurant idea along with your dishes.

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

BACKGROUND TASK

Social media marketing, or SMM, is a form of internet marketing that involves creating and sharing content on social media networks to achieve your marketing and branding goals. Social media marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, listening to and engaging your followers, analyzing your results, and other content that drives audience engagement.

The major social media platforms (at the moment) are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Social media marketing first started with publishing. Businesses were sharing their content on social media to generate traffic to their websites and, hopefully, sales. But social media has matured far beyond being just a place to broadcast content. Nowadays, businesses use social media in a myriad of different ways. For example, a business that is concerned about what people are saying about its brand would monitor social media conversations and respond to relevant mentions (social media listening and engagement). A business that wants to understand how it’s performing on social media would analyze its reach, engagement, and sales on social media with an analytics tool (social media analytics). A business that wants to reach a specific set of audience at scale would run highly-targeted social media ads (social media advertising).

As a whole, these are often also known as social media management.

TASK IN HAND:

You are the CMOs of the brands assigned to you, mentioned below. Come up with social media quality content by creating various social media platforms for your brands. Make sure you first introduce the brand to your audience. You will be assigned with various themes/concepts every day based on which your content has to be posted. Make sure the content you post is filled with creative& witty ideas, print Ads, content writing, and anything that you think would be appropriate.

The theme for today is “AMBUSH MARKETING”

Remember this is your background task which means it will end only the day the event ends, you will have other main rounds today, but this will constantly be monitored over the social media platforms. Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram with every post of yours and personally send us the links to your handles by 4:00p.m 26/11/2019. 

Instagram Handle: @theaesthete2019

Make use of current news to rub off your share of profit in it. Use the knowledge provided to you yesterday about the print Ads.

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

PERIODTTT

THAT IS IT FOR TONIGHT, AESTHETES!!!! We wanted y’all to realize the value of this position you are holding right now and why you are where you are. It is pretty simple, you need to keep thinking about what you’ve told us over the call for the next three days, be it TOP 7 or TOP 5, we knew your potential and we want you to realize it!

PS: This is the only motivation you need in your life, every time you feel like quitting!

With lots of love,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

CALL CALL CALL!!

To know the next task call the below-assigned event heads!

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes!

[mktthrive19]

YOUR GUIDE!!

Attached below are a few samples of how we expect your presentations to be. Make sure you implement it the same way.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11LR8zyBLeiWd-y3mxau2LEEfnRkt9mVT?usp=sharing

Plagiarism will have a strict action! 

Learn. Don’t copy!

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

TOP 7!!!

Without any further delay:

NEX 1

NEX 8

NEX 13

NEX 29

NEX 30

NEX 34

NEX 39

Congratulations Aesthetes! You guys have actually made it to the TOP 7 of this event, whether you planned for it or not! All your hard work was clearly visible today, the amount of value you all have given to this fest has definitely left a mark for us to remember you all. 

Be it TOP 10 or TOP 7, once an Aesthete is always an Aesthete! You guys have given us a lot to be inspired by and trust me, now we remember you not at NEX numbers, but as an individual with your names. You guys did a great job! Pat yourselves and this is a harsh truth but, the extra effort always mattered. 

With warm Regards and open arms,

Team Aesthetes!

[mktthrive19]

BEWARE OF THE SPYWARE!

In May 2019, WhatsApp identified a bug in its call function. The bug was used to install a malicious code into users’ phones On October 29, it identified the malicious code as Pegasus.

Pegasus is a spyware that can be installed on devices running certain versions of iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, developed by the Israeli Cyber arms firm, NSO Group. The code is transmitted by calling the target phone on WhatsApp. It enters the phone even if the call is not answered. This is only one of the ways of delivering Pegasus.

Once installed, it can send the target’s contacts, calendar events, phone calls and messages on communication apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to the spyware’s controller. It can also turn the phone into a spying device by switching on its camera or microphone. Over 100 human-rights activists, lawyers, and journalists were targeted across the globe including several lawyers and journalists in India.

WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against NSO Group recently, accusing it of helping the Indian government spies break into the phones of roughly 1,400 users, including political dissidents, journalists, and government officials, across the world. The company denied the allegations.

WhatsApp created a stir by prompting the government to ask the instant messaging app to explain the breach as it is a matter of public concern whether Indian tax-payer money has been spent on this kind of cyber-surveillance requiring the expenditure of crores of rupees and a vast infrastructure of information technology.

TASK IN HAND:

You are the representative of the Indian Government and you have to defend the allegations put up against you by the media and citizens and come up with solutions to tackle this issue.

[mktthrive19]

THE LOST ISLAND!

Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. A small canal divides the island into two separate parts. The island first appears in the historical record in 421, and was populated until the residents fled warfare in 1379. For more than 100 years beginning in 1776, the island was used as a quarantine station for those suffering the plague and other diseases, and later as a mental hospital. Because of this, the island is frequently featured on paranormal shows. The mental hospital closed in 1968, and the island has been vacant since. Visits to the island are prohibited.

Sometime after the island had become a quarantine station for ships arriving at Venice in the 18th century, a plague was discovered on two ships. The island was sealed off and used to host people with infectious diseases, leading to legends of terminally ill Venetians waiting to die before their ghosts returned to haunt the island.

A doctor allegedly experimented on patients with crude lobotomies. According to various reports, most recently by the Travel Channel, the doctor jumped from the bell tower in the 1930s after claiming he had been driven mad by ghosts. He later died. Decades later, nearby residents claimed to still hear the bell, although it was removed many years earlier.

With more than 100,000 plague victims and mental patients buried on the small island of Poveglia, human bones continue to wash up on its shores. Many believe that hundreds of thousands of tormented souls still remain trapped on Poveglia Island. From the massive influx of plague victims who were forced onto the island to those who were tortured at the mental hospital that was once stationed there, a sense of sorrow and suffering continues to permeate from the island to this day.

TASK IN HAND:

Participants have to come up with strategies to convince the government of Italy to make Poveglia a tourist spot and marketing strategies for the Island of Poveglia and how they would attract tourists to the Island.

DELIVERABLES:

A Report and a PPT of not less than 10 pages and 15 slides containing:

Strategic analysis of the Island  

STP analysis

Strategies to convince the government of Italy.

Unconventional Marketing strategies.

Conventional Marketing strategies.

2 print ads.

Video advertisement.

Build tourist attractions.

Creative infrastructural ideas.

Budget

Extra deliverables are always appreciated, Creativity is the key. Online submission of the task is 25.11.2019; 12:30 p.m. There will be negative marking for late submissions, so make sure you submit on time. Printed copy of your report is required.

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

Update:

Deliverable 8: Come up with creative print Ads for Railway freight Industry.

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

StableUnstable.

The transportation industry in India has been known for the significant contribution in the development of Indian economy, by also supporting various other industries, including agriculture, infrastructure, mining, etc., to grow. Out of several means of transportation such as road, rail, water and air, road and rail have proven to be responsible for shipping maximum number of cargos throughout India. Here, we will compare both the modes of surface transportation on various aspects and see how they contribute to India’s economy.

The freight industry has been growing at the rate of 8.5% per annum. The logistics sector has a major role to play in increasing India’s GDP, by contributing 6.5% in 2012-13, which has grown from 6% in 2001-02. This is due to the increase in road transportation to 4.9% from 3.9% within the same duration. On the contrary, railways show the reduction in their GDP share from 1.2% in 2001-02 to 0.9% in 2012-13.

Due to the large number of privately-held road transport companies, there is a fierce competition between them, which has led to the reduction in shipping costs. While railways being operated by government, minimal rise and fall in prices have been noticed.

Freight movement traffic

Today, railways and roadways are considered the most crucial modes of transportation. The rails being the major medium initially, road transportation has dominated the industry over the past few years. While the railway traffic share in 1950-51 was tremendous 80%, roadways managed to take over 65% in 2011-12. Even though Indian Railways transports nearly one billion tons of goods every year, which is a considerably a high number, railway system achieved growth of only 1% in 2015-16 as compared to 4-4.5% in the recent years.

The major causes for the shrinkage of this percentage are expensive fares, limited capacities and extreme competition. And, therefore,  road transportation succeeded to overtake railways in the last couple decades. Also, railways lag behind when it comes to providing satisfactory customer service, where the construction of new highways have opened possibilities of doorstep service, which further boosted the demand for roadway freight movements.

Reflection of Freight Traffic

National transport development policy committee predicts that the projection of freight movements by road vs. rail transportation would be 50:50 of 2031-32 as compared to present scenario of 65:35 in 2017. These calculations are based the assumptions that the growth rate is 1.2 times the growth rate of GDP.

There is an assumption of 15% increase in railway transportation within the next 15 years, which has been focused to reduce environmental pollution and encourage green transportation. This will impel logistics industry to take up the rails and waters as more eco-friendly transportation modes.

Bottom Line

Although roadways are currently ruling the freight industry, truck owners will have to adopt environmentally-friendly ways in order to sustain in the logistics market. Otherwise, they may be pressured to shut down or invest in other ways if these issues are not addressed. This may reflect a drastic change in the transport sector.

TASK IN HAND:

Prepare a report of not less than 15 pages containing:

Strategies to improve the business of Indian Railways.

Industry analysis

Compare both the sectors and justify which sector has to be given more importance.

Solutions and Plan of action for the problem.

SWOT Analysis for both sectors.

STP Analysis for Roadways.

Come up with a budget for the same.

Extra deliverables are always appreciated. Make sure you submit the task to the official email ID before 2:00p.m 24/11/2019. There will be negative marking for late submissions. We do not expect a printed copy of the report so make sure you submit it online.

Research is the key and creativity adds a cherry on the cake. 

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

CLASH OF BRANDS!

As time goes by, the consumer is gradually becoming progressively more intelligent, and more difficult to reach through traditional marketing strategies. Gone are the days of the famous 4Ps, marketing strategies and solutions went intergalactic a fair few years ago.

Guerrilla marketing is unconventional marketing activities intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. It is more about matching creative ideas and wits than matching budgets. Rather than marching their marketing dollars, guerrilla marketers snipe away with their marketing resources for maximum impact.

Ambush Marketing refers to the strategic placement of marketing material and promotions at events that will attract consumer and media attention. It has been defined as “the practice whereby another firm, seeks association with the sponsored activity without payment to the activity owner”. This company attempts to deflect some of the audience's attention away from the sponsor to itself. But as time has passed by, Ambush Marketing is moreover related to Ambushing a competitor, in subliminal ways that are as per the legal code of conduct to place themselves higher in the market. They are no longer just market competitions, but wars.

TASK IN HAND:

These are the companies allotted to the following NEXs and you have to come up with Ambush and Guerrilla marketing strategies for your company targeting your competitors mentioned below:

DELIVERABLES:

You are required to make a PPT of not less than 10 slides, containing:

Competitor Analysis.

Marketing Strategies with campaigns (Both Ambush and Guerrilla)

Print ads (Minimum 4)

Extra deliverables are always appreciated. Make sure you email all the deliverables to mkt.thrive19@gmail.com before 23/11/2019, 9:00 a.m. There will be negative marking for late submissions. Please take it seriously this time as there is no presentation for this round. Please use minimal paper as we do not expect a printed PPT/report.

Remember, Your competition is not a competition anymore, it’s a war (quiet literally).

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.

[mktthrive19]

Top 10!!!

Before reading this, guys you have done a great job making it this far! This is a very big deal because, from 78 people, that is 39 pairs, you were the Top 15. Pat yourselves and be proud of it! We thank you for being a part of the Aesthetes Family, and we have no hard feelings for you. Please don’t be disheartened, because remember experience matters more than titles. 

Congratulations Top 10! The competition now is palpable. Gear up and tie your laces, for the last and best few days left!  

[mktthrive19]

Hint:

You can post make the blog post on an Instagram/Facebook/twitter account and not necessarily a blog page!

[mktthrive19]

VERSACE? MORE LIKE WORSE-ACE!

As if the world of fashion isn’t already full of controversies, recently, luxury brand Versace got into trouble with its brand ambassador in China, Yang Mi.

After Versace released a problematic T-shirt in China, the actress and brand ambassador of Versace announced that she would be ending her cooperation with the label. The T-shirt in question is innocent-looking but upon closer inspection people have criticized that it seems to suggest that Hong Kong and Macau — both of which are special administrative regions of China — are their own countries. This is something that the country's leadership and nationalist social-media groups are extremely sensitive about, especially at a time when citizens of Hong Kong have been taking to the streets to rally and protest to voice their dissatisfaction with China's control.

This act of Versace had serious repercussions. Yang Mi chose to drop the brand claiming that Versace has harmed China's sovereign and territorial integrity. Which caused Versace to lose their market in China and tarnished not only its own brand image but also the image of actress Yang Mi.

TASK IN HAND:

You are the Chief Marketing Officer of the brand Versace and are required to come up with techniques and strategies to gain back the Chinese market. In addition to this, you are also required to come up with strategies to recruit Yang Mi back, since without her the company would not be able to resurface efficiently in the Chinese markets.

DELIVERABLES:

You are required to come up with a report of not less than 15 pages, containing:

Marketing Campaign with a timeline.

Marketing Strategies.

PR Strategies.

A blog post regarding the matter.

Extra deliverables are always appreciated. Make sure you email all the deliverables to mkt.thrive19@gmail.com before 21/11/2019, 10:30 p.m. There will be negative marking for late submissions. Printed report for this task is required.

Make sure you are constantly implementing the feedback given to you!

Warm Regards,

Team Aesthetes.