BENEFITS/PRICE	MORE	SAME	LESS
MORE	G	R	E
SAME	R	YELLOW	E
LESS	E	D	N

Each individual has their own idea or perception of the benefit or loss from a particular product or brand. The Price-Value perception of products help companies to get a review of their positioning in the market. It does pay much heed to its competitors and completely focuses on the customer point of view and the price that the customer agrees to pay for the product. In this article, I will give an explanation of the products that according to me fall under each one of these 9 categories defined under the price-value perspective model.

More benefits, more price – Airtel was offering a pack of Rs.149 which offered 28 days of free talk time and only 1 GB of data that would expire within a month’s time. The offer price was increased to Rs.448, the offer in this case was extended up to 84 days and data pack was increased to 5 GB which would expire along with the talk time pack after the said time.

More benefits, same price – Lux had come up with an offer that claimed 20 % extra of the size of the body soap than what it was giving before. This meant that at the identical price of Rs. 20, we were getting a bigger bar of body soap.

More benefits, less price – I feel it is highly beneficial for me if I am able to avail something at a cheaper rate, especially, when it comes to travelling. The facility of Uber share makes it possible to travel the same distance at a very cheap rate, almost at 1/5^th of the UberGo price. Uber also offers do prove to be of utmost help. If I reach a threshold of completing 50 rides with Uber then my payment reduces by 25% for the following 5 UberGo rides.

Same benefits, less price – Swiggy coupons are a big a big incentive for me to buy restaurant food. I keep on collecting coupons and credits so that I can get the same food, without any compromise in the quality of the food or service. The price generally reduces by 150 to 200 rupees for one order and most if the times delivery comes free of cost.

Less benefits, less price – Sugar releases new products every now and then. Recently, mini Sugar lipsticks were introduced which come at a cheaper price of Rs. 300 and of course has lesser benefits because they sustain for a much narrower period of time than their bigger counterparts that come in the range of Rs.600-800.

Same benefits, more price – I have been using L’oreal shampoo and conditioner sachets for many years now as it gives a fair idea of how much I have used. Previously, I got it at a price of Rs. 3 per sachet of shampoo, however, now the price has been increased by Rs.2 and there is no evident change in the size of the pack or the quality of the product.   

Less benefits, more price – KFC is a beloved food joint but over time the quantity of food has reduced. For example, the piece of the fried chicken in a chicken Zinger burger has reduced considerably. The number of pieces in a pack of chicken popcorn has also diminished. Nevertheless, due to its ever-increasing popularity, they have no problem in increasing the price of the items and people still buy their food. Therefore, it’s a perfect case of how the price increased along with a downfall in the quality of the food.

Less benefits, same price – The price of Dark Fantasy has not increased but, the size of the biscuits has definitely reduced to the size of a 10 rupee coin. A pack of 5 biscuits costs Rs. 35 which makes each biscuit worth Rs. 7. The number of components has not reduced but the dimensions have definitely decreased.

Same benefits, same price – Colgate is my all-time trust-worthy brand. The price of the particular tube of Colgate has remained Rs. 10 since I can recall, however, the content is the same and so is the price. The quantity of the toothpaste is also the very same.

Style is a matter of personal taste and comfort. It may not abide by the market trends and may remain the same for a particular individual depending on their choice. When it comes to me, I generally wear apparels that go with my body type and thus prefer baggy clothes. According to the present fashion trend, cropped tops and body-cons are quite the style, however, since style is personalized, I do not go by that norm.

Fashion is permanent but it adapts itself with the change in trends and the desire of the masses, transformation in time and industries. Corsets for example are something that originated in the Victorian era. The usage of corsets had declined in the late 1900s but it’s becoming trendy again. The materials used have changed over time. Previously, these outfits were made of wood and cloth which has now been replaced by wires and are much more comfortable.

FAD is a short-lived craze for particular item or style that fades out with time, almost like a craze. Just like balloon pants that have stopped being a thing now. In the past, every other person was going gaga and buying these pants. They were pairing it up with every other top and accessories.

Introductory stage- When a product has been launched very recently and the company is yet to understand the acclaim it will get from the consumers. Examples of such products are maggi fusian flavors and the Berrisom lip tint. Maggi generally game in the masala and the chicken flavor but people were getting bored of it and this is exactly when Nestle took the opportunity to introduce authentic flavors. Make up is something that evolves everyday and each brand tries to introduce a better version of it, the South Korean company of Berrisom is no different.

Growth stage- When the product is being received well by the customers but still has an opportunity and scope to grow even more. Air pods are becoming trendy and being widely accepted which is the very reason why even I got a pair. Xiaomi phones are really affordable and handy but it does not have the widest sale in the world, it is based in China still has a much larger scope to outgrow other companies.

Maturity stage- The product, when it comes to a stable condition, is considered to have acquired maturity stage. Lotte Chocopie is still a sensation even after a long time of its release and so is Dark Fantasy.

Decline stage- After achieving the maturity stage, the product slowly becomes undesirable due to the monotonous experience gotten from it. Until and unless there is a variation brought about of any sort, it is difficult for the product to hold its ground in the market. I had once bought a blackberry phone but since it went out of fashion as well as there was no up-gradation of sorts, I switched to Samsung. Many candies like the nestle eclairs have become obsolete overtime only because its competitors had taken over the market and they were unable to come up with anything new.

Unilever has been there for over a century, since 1872. The brand mostly produces products of personal care, cleaning agents, personal care and beverages. Throughout its journey it has faced ups and downs and have released products that have not been acclaimed as well as the others. But today it is the manufacturer of 400 brands and earns about 53.7 billion euros as per 2017 records. It is a London and UK based company started by the Lever Brothers and later joined by Margarine Unie to finally give rise to ‘Unilever.’ It is a multinational company and deals with over 190 countries.

Every company is evaluated on the basis of certain scales or meters, BCG matrix is one like that. The Boston Consulting Group help corporations to analyze their business units, that is, their product lines. This helps the company allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management, and portfolio analysis. Some analysis of market performance by firms using its principles has called its usefulness into question.

The ‘cash cows’, i.e. the products that ‘milk’ high amount of cash despite the slow growth of the industry itself. The investment in these products is the least, still they tend to generate cash. In case of Unilever, products like Surf Excel washing powder, Lifebuoy soaps, Ponds cream, Lipton iced, Close Up toothpaste, Rexona deo, Blue Band margarines and finally Knorr soups, that held the market strongly for Unilever. In terms of geographical segment America segment comes into the category of cash cows around 33% of company revenue is generated by America segment each year.

The ‘dogs’ are the products that barely manage to earn overhead profits for the company, they earn the break even amounts. The return on assets ratio is depressing for a company that earns considerable profits. Unilever has produced certain products- wheel, supreme tea and lifebuoy shampoo.

The ‘question marks’ are products that have a low market share in a high-growth market. It generally takes place at starting point for most businesses. Question marks have a potential to gain high market share and eventually become star products, and then further turn into cash cows when market growth slows. If that does happen, then after years of cash extraction, the product will degenerate into dogs when market growth declines. Clear Shampoo, Rin and comfort are the three products that proved to be a question mark for Unilever. In terms of geographical segment Europe comes into the category of question mark because Europe contribute the lowest share in company revenue.

The ‘stars’ products for Unilever is Sunsilk hair care, Lux body soap, Wall’s, Fair and Lovely and Energile. They are graduated question marks with a market or niche-leading trajectory and units with a high market share in a fast-growing industry. They require high funding to compete with rival companies and maintain their growth rate. At a point when industry growth slows down, if they remain a niche leader or are one of the market leaders, star products become cash cows; otherwise, they turn into dogs due to low relative market share. In terms of geographical segment Asia segment is producing highest revenue around 40% of company total revenue. Asia geographical division also comes into the fold of stars.

Unilever has achieved quite a few milestones in terms of being environment friendly. They have started programs such as zero-non-hazardous waste production in over 600 sites. Unilever has a range of beauty brands that include products like Dove and Tresemmé, and they have announced that all of its offices, factories, distribution centres, data centres, R&D facilities and warehouses around the globe are now powered by 100% renewable grid electricity.

I had thought the movie ‘Moneyball’ was based on baseball teams, their rivalry and a mere story of games won and lost, when I had started watching it. One thing that I missed missed out was the lesson that the movie intended to teach. I got a keen understanding of how the road not taken can actually lead to the path of success. In this case, the idea of the film was “The goal should be to buy wins, not players”. A completely different perspective from what traditional baseball was all about.

‘Moneyball’, starring Brad Pitt as the protagonist, started off as a generic sports-related film that was about to show the audience the challenges faced by Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) while trying to make his team, Oakland A, win the league. Back in 1980, most of the players were chosen on the basis of how they looked and how they carried themselves, Runs Batted In and Key Performance Indicators. They did not think in terms of winning runs but portraying a glittery picture of their team. This is exactly where they had gone wrong. Oakland A had a 46 million dollar budget which was quite less than what the Red Sox and the Yankees were offering (a whooping 120 million dollars). Beane’s main challenge was to heighten the level of the game within the meager budget. Peter Brand’s character made Beane realize this problematic area and they began to recruit players who were highly undervalued. These players had the potential of putting up a tough competition with the help of a little bit of assistance. From then onwards, Brand, using the formula of sabermetrics (it is a statistical analysis of data used especially in baseball to evaluate the performances of individual players), studied the entire scenario of baseball in America. Finally, they gathered a team of underrated sportsmen who could work on a lower pay, yet put in as much effort. In the meantime, he had to take certain tough decisions like letting go of a player for his disability, trading of a teammate, Pena, to another team and face the loss of Giambi, Damon and Isringhausen to other teams who offered them higher payrolls. Pertaining to their strategies and their ability to stand strong against all odds, Oakland A won 20 matches in a row in the Major Baseball League 2002 which broke the previous record and set a new milestone for the future generations. However, they were unable to win the finale and since then it had had been a conscious effort from the side of Beane to actually win at least one finale.

Billy Beane was a student when the scouts had selected him to play for Oakland A, on seeing his brilliant performance back in school. He was young and inquisitive, so he had given into it. After his game deteriorated, he retired as a player and took up the role of a General Manager. It was him who had understood that a different perspective was required in order to turn around the course of events. In spite of him not being a coach himself, he could decipher the sheer requirement of the hour that, only replacing the players would not work in favour of the team. As the movie flew forth, Billy’s character build up could be seen prominently. He had refused to become a scout for the Red Sox when given the offer for it, he rather chose to stick to his team and work on them.

The basic lessons that I learnt from the movie is that, for any sort of marketing which includes online marketing, going through data and analyzing them is the key criteria to actually convert the ‘clicks’ into ‘customers’. A new and fresh idea, a different angle and unique method of approaching things can make all the difference and push one further towards their success.

Every brand resorts to a particular set of rules when it comes to marketing their products. The product placement method comprises 3 stages – segmentation, targeting and positioning.

Segmentation is the first stage where the entire mass of consumers is identified and segregated into sections which would help the brand in targeting a particular sector and thereby sell the product. These groups consist of like-minded individuals or have a common factor in all of them.

Next in line comes the targeting where, after evaluation, one segment is selected as the target to which the company intends to sell their product. This is an accumulation of people who will treat or receive the product in a similar fashion. The advertisements and the marketing schemes are crafted keeping in mind the references of this target audience.

Finally, positioning is the image that the brand wants to uphold in front of the audience. It is the perspective that the consumer has of the product. This can be identified by a symbol, image, design, name or a combination of the above.

There is an ocean of products in the market and every product falls under a broader category. Taking this into consideration, I have taken 3 umbrella products – soft drinks, talcum powder and shoes, to explain the implementation of these marketing strategies.

SOFT DRINKS

Thums Up :  Thums up is an age old product from the house of Parle Argo. The brand had clearly segmented the consumers in terms of who are energetic individuals and can involve this drink in their parties, from people for whom it is harmful to consume sugary carbonated drinks. Therefore, automatically the popularity among the youth and students is more than any other sections of the society. Along with that, it targets parties where there is requirement for a base for cocktails, thums up is one of the most sought after drinks. Now comes positioning of the commodity. Thums up has always presented itself as an energetic drink, has a strong taste and finds itself synonymous to enthusiasm, power and liveliness. The long borne tagline of the product has been “Thums Up – taste the thunder”. They have chosen brand ambassadors like Salman Khan, Mahesh Babu and Ranveer Singh who are essentially youth icons. The very act of ‘thumbs up’ instills the idea of cheerfulness and positive motivation just like the message it bears about achieving new and more challenging goals and pushing everyone to achieve greater heights. Thums up has the maximum market share of 47% when it comes to soft drinks because it has a youth oriented target and it’s USP is that it is a strong and frizzy drink having a very masculine and adventurous look to it.

Frooti : Frooti was a pioneer in its field to have introduced the first fruity drink, that too in a tetra ack. the marketing strategies taken up by Frooti when it began its journey was to check who could be their consumers. The market was segregated in portions like who could afford the drink, the age of the consumer, where the drink would be actually available and finally the acceptance of a mango drink. Following this, the next step is always targeting potential customers. Frooti has targeted children, youth, working individuals and elderly people. The secondary targets of the company are the travel industry and recreational activities. Various packages have been brought out for different sections of the society like the smaller tetra pack to make it handy for the kids, the 1 liter family pack is for the consumption of a family and smaller 10 rupees packs for the financially weak section. Finally, the ositioning of the brand is that they do not want to ass the roduct as a drink for children only so they have crafted advertisements that involve the youth and romance, family and familial bonds.  With the ‘Bindaas campaign’ the company wants to tell the audience that its ‘cool and trendy’ to drink Frooti. The brand ambassadors like Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan and Varun Dhawan has given the brand better exposure. It is the idea of an “on the go” mango drink is the USP of the Frooti. “Mango frooti- fresh and juicy” and “why grow up?” are jingles and taglines worth remembering and therefore seems aligned with the positioning of the brand that, i.e. a fruity mango drink for all. It covers a market share if 25.6% in the Indian market.

Sprite: Sprite is the drink for all and everyone who are looking for some soft to quench their thirst. The entire market is segmented veryordinarily between who want to have a simple and honest drink and on the other hand who want caffeinated and coloured drinks. Since the brand has no inhibitions on whom to specifically target, it has a huge market and it targets more or less all age groups as well as people from all the backgrounds. Sprite has a very straightforward positioning which states that the drink is fashionable and uncomplicated – “Seedhi baat no bakwas”. The USP of this drink is that it is clear and has a lemon flavor. Sprite occupies a market share 7.1%. The name of the product ‘Sprite’ meaning spirit goes the idea of high spirited people and their beliefs of “University of Freshology”.

TALCUM POWDER

Dermi Cool : Dermi Cool is a product that primarily falls under the category of prickly heat powder. It is very evident that they will target the ones who affected due to too much heat and suffer from rashes or body odour. The segmentation is also done on the basis of the geographical location of a place because the powder will only be effective in areas that have hot and humid temperature. Even the positioning of the product is very to the point, that during the sultry summers, one should use dermi cool to avoid rashes and remain odourless by killing bacteria and keeping the individual cool and relieved. The USP of the good is – it not acts as a coolant but also has a bacteriostatic formula. The very name of the product mentions the word ‘cool’ and makes the strategy crystal clear, “Aya mausam thande thande dermi cool ka” is their tagline which tries to give a positive angle to the soaring tempertaure and dripping sweaty weather.

White tone face powder: The name is very suggestive of what the USP of this talcum powder is. It is the job of the powder to provide instant fairness – “De gora nikhaar, instantly”. Segmentation is done on the basis of, which talcum powder provides fairness and targets mainly women from the urban section of the society who want to lighten their skin tone. The positioning of the brand is closely knit to the USP and the tagline of the commodity which says that if girls use white tone face powder before leaving home they get instant skin toning and lightening as well as are protected from the tanning. The market share of the product of

Ponds :Ponds has been recognized as a product that is known for its fragrance and the fact that it helps women take care of their skin which is also their positioning strategy. It occupies around 65% of the total market share. They mainly target urbane women as well who are conscious of their skin. Their main motive is to mostly render individuals odourless. The brand has taken in actresses like Aditi Rao Hydari to promote their brand name. “Pond’s, has been listening to women’s needs and desires for 150 years and delivering new products customized to their skincare needs”- is the USP of the brand.

FOOTWEAR

Bata : Bata has been ranked 3^rd in the market analysis all over India. Bata has been always been seen as a brand which romotes school shoes for kids. This was how it was previously positioned. However, Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput had been hired to actually break this myth and make people believe that even Bata makes high-end fashionable footwear for everyone, men, women and children. Bata has no specific target consumers, they try to take in people from all sections of the society and make their reach as extensive as possible. The tagline –“shoes for all” also re-emphasizes the idea of inclusiveness of all, which again is the USP of the brand along with the promise of making comfortable shoes for all.

Nike: Nike is a world renowned brand with 47% of market share. It has one of the most famous taglines –“Just Do It”. Very much like its tagline, the positioning of the company is done accordingly. The image of the company is that of an athletic brand, the range of shoes are for people who are physically active and that is exactly what the company tends to target. Innovation and inspiration are the two main ideas behind the positioning. The USP of the brand is that they have moved from product focus towards focusing on attitude so that they can bring about some change.

Woodland: This company occupies 5% of the market share. Woodland sounds like a rough and tough shoe that is durable and strong which is the USP of the brand- “Tough soles.. for the tough soul”. Outdoor & trek footwear & accessories is the segment what the company focuses on and in it targets the people who are adventurous and want to go out on treks and tedious outdoor activities. They position themselves similarly, stating that they are an outdoor brand for shoes as well as claim to be eco-friendly.  

Apps have made our lives so much easier than our parents could have ever imagined back in their time and with every passing day newer apps are being launched, making life further convenient for us. Each application has been the brain child of an individual who thought bigger and better than their contemporaries which made their inventions become a go-to solution. Every product has its USP which makes it different from the others, that acts as an incentive for the users to keep going back to it.

Amazon- Who would refuse the offer of everything being delivered to the doorstep while being able to choose from such a wide range of products. Every order is one click away. One gets a complete idea of the goods from the details provided on the site along with its picture. Household items, clothes, accessories, electronics, you name it, you get it on Amazon. Besides that, the facilities like returning items if found damaged, refund of money and world class customer service on call and through social media, instills the trust of the customers in the brand. Since the product reaches to us directly from the retailer and Amazon just acts as a market place for goods, it is able to give their customers discounts as the intermediary costs are cut down. Amazon also guarantees the quality of certain products that are marked as prime which is an additive advantage. Amazon is a company of innovation and thus has come u with its own services like Amazon Music, Amazon Prime, Amazon Home Services, Amazon Destinations and many more. Gadgets like Alexa have also boosted the name and the functionality of the brand name. Moreover, the marketing and advertisements have left a prominent mark on the consumer which actually makes the brand name more desirable. A culmination of all these factors is what binds the customer to the brand.

Apple- Apple is a company that has been in the headlines since its inception due to controversies and also because of the good work that the company has been able to achieve. Presently, it has made a big name for itself and has a great brand value. A lot of people are blown away by the brand name and refuse to use any other brand but apple, this is called brand loyalty. The idea behind the loyalty is the influence that the brand has on certain people, the motive the brand has, the message they want to propagate and the ease and comfort they are able to provide to the customers, a lot of which is spread through marketing and advertising of the brand or the product. All of these have been achieved by the company as they have tried to make the product worth having. They have always strived to be different and innovative. The owners have not thought of inventing anything, except the Macintosh, but it has been their goal to make things better and literally make it the “apple of everyone’s eyes”. Other than having their own way of approaching things, it has got one of the best customer services. Apple products hardly get infected by viruses, seldom hang and have a very good speed of working, all these being essentials in today’s hectic life. This has been possible because of the advanced technology and software used by them for every single commodity they produce. The farsightedness of the owners has helped the company in their progression and kept them ahead of their competitors.

Google- Google is like an umbrella under which a lot of apps and services are compiled. Services like- GooglePay is a payment gateway, Hangout is a messaging app and Youtube is a video streaming site. But most importantly Google maintained its position as the best search engine because of Search engine optimization. Besides these is the facility where fact checking can be processed, i.e. you can upload any picture can and check the original date of release of the picture, this feature helps a lot in busting fake news. Therefore, very easy to use, the results have clarity. The results come in order of relevance hence it Google is dependable.

Facebook- Facebook is a social medium that helps people connect to each other and is a platform for expressing views and opinions. Facebook has been such a hit because it was one of its kinds at the time of its inception. No other social medium is as diverse as Facebook because it allows us to share images, videos, audios, share other’s works, message each other, upload statuses, comment or react on the post of others. Facebook has also become the hub of many start us and budding entrepreneurs. Besides all these, one can keep track of the activities of their loved ones like their birthdays, where they were travelling to, which movie they have gone for and many more. This forum therefore has a great brand value because it attracts a humongous number of people as customers.

Instagram- This a is owned by the owner of Facebook and it started off as a platform to share various forms of media like images, video and audios. Various other companies have used Instagram on which they advertise their own products and services. It seems very much like the features of Facebook but then Instagram has a better privacy setting. Unlike Facebook, Instagram does not deal in too many things and gives importance only to visual aesthetics and is simple to use.

Uber- It was previously very difficult to approach local cabs or autos and pursue them to drop us at our desired location. Uber has made life very easy for everyone, although the cost of it is higher than the public transport but people nowadays prefer comfort and urgency over money. It is safer to use since the cars can be tracked on the maps, the drivers are rated on the basis of their services and lastly the passengers get all the information about the car and the driver before they board the car. The option of sharing the cab reduces cost of travelling.

Youtube- This is essentially a video streaming site where anybody can make their own channel and uload videos. The range of videos is immense and recently Youtube has started producing series which are called Youtube originals. People can now upload status on youtube as well as long as you have a channel on the site. Facilities have been made so that certain videos can be downloaded or added to the ‘watch later’ playlist to be viewed at a delayed hour. Subscription allows channel bearers to earn money if they have a considerable number of followers. This very feature has helped a lot many artists to showcase their form of art and they have gained fame from there. The best part of the site is that all the content can be availed for free of cost.

Netflix- This video streaming platform has a plethora of content. There are TV series that are featured on Netflix and there are many series and movies that have been produced by Netflix. The streaming is constant and completely bereft of advertisements. The subscriptions are comparatively cheap and the account is sharable so it further cuts down the cost of accessing it.

WhatsApp- WhatsApp is a messaging app but the facility of uploading status and sharing media has enhanced the experience of messaging. One can keep track of their friends and family through the status they upload. It is very simple to use which is the reason why WhatsApp has gained more popularity than any other messaging platform. The messages are encrypted which protects the privacy of an individual and other privacy settings further helps in maintaining secrecy. All these come together to make this application extremely popular among all the generations.

Gmail- Unlike Yahoo, Gmail was able to make a mark by making the process of emailing very easy and accessible. The facilities of attaching files, segregating spams, promotional content, social content and others have helped the users to maintain their mails in a better organized fashion. Moreover, it also allows everyone to chat one on one.

The similarity between all of the above brands is that it somehow makes our life easier and entertains us in some way or the other. These as assist us and help us stay connected. All these brands have great marketing strategies and advertisements to promote their content.

The possible difference among all the aforementioned brands they focus on different aspects of our life. One concerns entertainment while another concerns security while another looks at connectivity.

I recently got the opportunity to visit an enriching panel discussion by women (and male) authors, publishers, slam poets and poets. The event was organized by ‘She The People’ and was called Women Writer’s Fest. It was held in Fandom at Gilly’s. The women’s channel strives towards a better representation of women on TV and acknowledgement of their talent. The itinerary included a talk with Kubbra Sait, discussion on online and offline book publishing, a conversation on feminism and finally poetry reading.

Out of all the inspiring lecturers whom I encountered, I connected with and enjoyed the most when panelists were speaking of Feminism. Five very eminent personalities had taken the stage and threw light on their concept of feminism. The moderator of the discussion, Nandita Bose, lit up the entire room with her impactful voice and kick-started the talk. Among the speakers were:  Aruna Nambiar, Devi Yeshodharan, Sajita Nair and Rachna Singh. Nandita Bose initiated by drawing reference from Sait’s jestful remark that she was elated to see a handful of men who had come down to hear these women “rant”. Bose was of the opinion that though Kubbra Sait said it jokingly, it has been the condition of the society, if men speak, they convey a hardcore material but if women speak its effects are mostly simmered down. Then she moved on to Rachna with the question of how feminism is such a misunderstood concept among the masses.

Singh, who is also a stand-up comedian by profession has written books recently- ‘Band Baaja Boys’ and ‘Mom’s gotta live’- said, that during the inception of Feminism, women mostly desired the physical space that was lacking in their lives. She took up the example of Virginia Woolf, one of the earliest feminist writers, to explain her point. In the present scenario, according to her, women are fighting for their “inner space”. She prefers to define feminism as “quality” and not equality. The author has been a survivor of breast cancer and while fighting this devil she found a blessing in disguise. At the hospital she was able to make a sick and frightened child laugh. This affected her trail of thoughts and she then realized that humour was her strength. From then Singh started concentrating on comedy and made it official. A part of her book was read out of by her and it left us rolling on the floor laughing. Nandita Bose exclaimed that we all got a little glimpse of her show amidst the discussion very different from it.

The moderator moved on to Devi Yeshodharan. Devi has been a chief strategy officer as well as worked for the government as senior manager in policy and communications. Working among the big shots of the country she understood the value of being strong and dependable. The character of Aremis in her book “Empire” shows a 12 year old girl in the form of a warrior, fighting battles and waging wars. This shows how a woman takes up an assumed man’s role in a man’s world.

Sajita Nair, who was the nex speaker, had a similar idea about women in a man’s world. Sajita served as the Captain in the army holding the position of Service Commission Officer (1994-1999). She was one of the firsts in the army since the Indian Army had started recruiting women officers only from 1993. Her opinion about differed from that of Rachna Singh. Nair impressed the idea of equality because of her army background. Everyone in the army was supposed to be treated equally and she could not have backed out or given a lesser physically taxing drill just because of her gender. Therefore, she had to strive evenhandedly towards qualifying and maintaining their positions. In a world of patriarchy, she says, women do look up to men in terms of bodily exertion.

Finally, the last speaker of the evening was Aruna Nambiar. She read a portion of her book “The Monsters Still Lurk” which mainly deals with humour and nostalgia. It also talks about social difference and is mainly a comedy of errors. Nambiar’s story is not essentially a feminist narrative but it has strong female which remains oblivious in most novels. It is focuses on a family saga with a man as the protagonist yet keeping in mind the importance and essence of having prominent female personalities. She has a reverse perspective of feminism where men feel vulnerable, where men feel relatable to women. People also have a notion that women writers lack in sense of humor so the author is trying to break this stereotype. She says that “feminism is to question what a woman can or cannot do or write about.”

In conclusion, I would like to say that it had definitely been enlightening and educational. The authors were very approachable when it came to taking questions and answering them. This event will again be held next and I am looking forward to attending it again.

Facebook is a platform where people share their views, share posts they like and obviously interact. This idea of social media cropped from the mind of a student of Harvard who wanted to make it big, stand out in a room full of people, wanted to create a name for himself. However, it had all started from his hatred towards his girlfriend. He created a platform called Facesmash where people could choose who was prettier between two girls. From there he came across Harvard Connect which also was not his original idea (took it from the Winklevoss brothers) but be knew what needed to be to make it big. He took Harvard Connect and turned it to “The Facebook”, and finally “Facebook”.
Mark Zukerberg knew the skills of marketing from the beginning of his career, he was aware of the fact that his project needed to spread for it to get the recognition. Looking at it from the perspective of marketing, we will notice how the Facebook first spread across the Ivy League colleges, to Stanford under the vigilance of Sean Parker, then to California, the high schools, ultimately it allows the users post pictures and goes international on October 2005.
The social, psychological and marketing aspects of the popularity of Facebook goes hand in hand. Zukerberg knew that the youth wanted something new all the time. They look forward into the future expecting something unique and quirky everyday. Therefore, Facebook posed as the ultimate discovery where people could put up their pictures, have a chat, be connected to individuals through out the world. Facebook was a revolution of a kind since the availability of internet in 2000. The company essentially targeted the niche group of young adults who tagged every upcoming thing as “cool”. Depending on these tendencies, a hype was created among the students who spread the release of Facebook.
On December 6th 2006 Facebook was opened to everyone and was available on mobile phones which was not the case previously. This hyped the number of users to 12 million. Every now and then Facebook kept launching advanced facilities like videos, the like button, groups, video calling, reacts, acquisition of Instagram and then of WhatsApp. The consumption mark had reached over a billion. Pertaining to this humongous reach, many entrepreneurs chose this platform to sell and buy goods and services. Therefore, Facebook did not remain a platform just for connectivity but for business and jobs.
Nevertheless, all the marketing had come to a point of stagnation after a period of time. Every company or product has a life cycle. It may revive from the last stage, decline, but Facebook is not being able to stand back on its foot. There are a few reasons for it, the first one being that people have found better alternatives. Facebook is no longer considered to be the best place for uploading personal content like pictures and videos. This also stems from the idea that the owner of this company cannot be fully trusted. Facebook has been plunged into a number of scandals like spreading of fake news, the Hacking Scandal of 2018 and the Data Harvesting Scandal have affected the image drastically. Moreover, Instagram and WhatsApp seem more convenient and safe to the users. As mentioned before, Facebook is a place where everyone can express their opinions and needlessly to say that social and political causes call for debates. Every topic is being debated upon and the users are becoming tired of trying to justify their point of view. At this stage people are getting attracted towards platforms that has nothing to do with instigation. Finally, Facebook has come down to a creative standstill. There is nothing new or unique about the medium that separates it from it’s contemporaries.
In conclusion, Facebook had reached to a millions and billions of users within approximately 15 years of its inception but a lot of factors have declined the number users. The society’s psyche has been influenced and affected due to the aforementioned reasons and at present only some brilliant marketing can possibly be able to pull it back to its previous status.

Mass communication as we know it is a method of exchange or impartation of information over a medium that reaches out a huge number of people. On the other hand, technology is merely the application of scientific knowledge, put together for useful and practical purposes. Therefore, both the components target the wide spread of knowledge.

Over the years, the technological advancements have affected the methods of mass communication to a great extent. If we look back on our past, the primitive methods of mass communication involved bellowing in the megaphones for announcements. Mass communication in the form of entertainment was brought about through folk dramas, theatres, puppetry or even the Panchayat in various villages took up initiatives to spread awareness. As we move forward in time, we see the advent of newspapers. With the invention of the Printing Press, the newspapers came into existence and had a major impact in communicating news to the people, educating them about different parts of their homeland as well as different parts of the world.

In 1920, the first radio broadcast was made which set off the tone for a progressive approach of communication. One person could reach out to hundreds of people at the same time. Previously, the communication had only been one is to one, that is, over phone calls through landlines or telegrams. This constituted of the level of personal communication. John Baird was responsible for the next big technological revolution. The television proved to be an ultimate mode of mass media. People could then view, in the form of motion pictures, everything that was happening around the world. It could be made possible due to the geosynchronous communication satellite which was launched after a period of 17.5 years. The television enjoyed all its popularity until the arrival of the ultimate master. Mobile phones and computers and the availability of internet on them. Every day newer and more advanced applications started featuring on the phone.

The entire range of inventions has not only connected people better but also has turned the entire world in to one “global village.” Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp (or some other social media platform) have brought in immense opportunities in the field of mass media. All forms of mass media have been used by advertising agencies to promote their brands. Therefore, it has been useful in terms of marketing besides imparting knowledge. It is technically spreading of information when we talk about advertising and marketing. It gives the viewers an idea about what is new in the market, it places before the audience a thousand varieties from which they can pick and choose. Every form of mass media has served as a stage for upholding the uniqueness and the talents of people, be it television or social media or print even.  Another important aspect of mass media is the influence that it has on people. Anything that is sensationalized can impact the opinion of the people. This may have a positive or a negative impact, depending on the type of news. Technology has served as the basis of progression in every aspect of life.

When we talk about technology and its function, it has its pros and cons of how it has affected the methods of communication and in turn affected the humans. First, if we talk of the benefits of it- one can express their views on a public platform like Facebook and Twitter, which becomes a beacon containing views of the people from all over the world and every comment (unless made private) is subject to criticism which in turn gives a better idea of contradictory standpoints. The habit of blogging is very informational to many people along with it, it is form of creative expression on a individual’s part.

Technology has made communication super-fast. Each and every news channel like, “Times Now”,”Aaj Tak”,”Zee News”, and ”Al Jazeera” have their online channels on Youtube or have apps available, so that it is easier for people access it when they are travelling. Now, at the click of a button we can view live matches taking part in the other hemisphere, real-time reporting gives instant access to world wide news feed. Even the rural parts of the country have benefited from it as they get access to the nationalized channels, like Doordarshan, which previously was impossible to achieve without the help of technology. One cannot deny that technology has made information much more affordable than it ever could be. Major media houses have resorted to a technological approach when it comes to promoting their products. Without technology the process marketing would be almost impossible as they might have to distribute pamphlets all over the country instead of just posting one advertisement, besides that, these companies would not have been able to get individual feedback of their customers on their products.

Mass media fueled by technology also has a bleak side to it. Services like Amazon and Flipkart do make life easier for us but makes us extremely lazy and reduces human interaction. Similarly, the use of social media and remaining in contact only through them somehow erodes the connectivity overtime. People take all forms of news as the ultimate truth as it comes to them. They do not feel the need to verify if it is fake or not and, very conveniently, they forward it. This may give rise to protests, riots, misconceptions within the community or even throughout the country, such is the power of technology and mass media.

Therefore, technology, since time immemorial, has played a great role in improvising the avenues of mass communication. It can be said that without technology, mass communication would have failed as a concept because of its lack in outreach to the masses.

Consumer behavior does not follow any set rules. However, the entirety of it can be distinguished in various categories. In digital shopping there are more than one type of buyer, you may be a user of a particular website, a customer or a consumer of it. As one of these you may be – a wish lister, a brand-oriented visitor, a rational visitor, a maximizer, a satisfier and finally a hesitator. Therefore, each individual show traits similar to these.

I, personally relate to a few of these qualities. It is best to define myself as a rational visitor and a hesitator.

As a user, I exercise my right to browse but unlike a wish lister or a brand-oriented person, I do it only when it is required. If I have to get a gift for someone or buy something out necessity, I go through the online portals for choosing an item that would actually be of some importance rather than buying fancy items for show. This explains the idea of me being a customer as well. Since the gift bought by me is ultimately being consumed by someone else, elaborates that I prefer being rational as a user as well as a customer. Even as a consumer I buy items out of requirement for a particular occasion and not because something caught my attention while randomly window shopping. Most clothes that I have bought from Amazon or Myntra or Flipkart is because I had to buy clothes for Durga Puja. That time of the year, everyone purchases new clothes, so do I. Other than this period, I am against spending money aimlessly.

I am sometimes hesitant in buying items at the thought of their authenticity. There have been quite a few incidents where it was necessary for me to buy an electronic device and physically visiting the shop was not possible. Therefore, I had no other option but to purchase it online. I had pondered over the idea of it for days before I could actually order it. Even when it comes to presenting a gift to a loved one, I get stuck, think a lot before actually ordering it. I check the details over and over to confirm about the warranty and every other detail.

In conclusion, I would like to say that every individual has their set patterns of buying or availing goods and services. Everything that goes on in their minds is somehow influenced by any particular incident or they are influenced by the society and the people with whom they grow up.