Defining brand identity of Indian milk producer

Defining brand identity of Indian milk producer Amul is the brand name for milk-based products manufactured by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat started in 1946. Its major functions involve collection of milk from farmers, procuring and processing the milk and most importantly, marketing of milk and milk products. Amul is synonymous with White Revolution, instrumental in making India worlds largest milk producer India. Its product range includes milk powders, milk, butter, ghee, cheese, curd, chocolate, ice cream, cream, shrikhand, paneer, gulab jamuns, basundi, Nutramul brand and others. PART I DEFINING BRAND IDENTITY OF AMUL USING KAPFERERS MODEL According to Kapferer, more than the concepts of brand image and positioning, brand identity is more important. It is an identity which the brand defines for it self. The identity of a brand is important to ensure durability of the brand and make it more coherent and realistic. There are 6 aspects to brand identity which are addressed by Kapferers Prism Physique Refers to physical features which generate instant recall and awareness Personality A characterisation of the brand, providing it qualities and mannerisms of a human being to explain its products and services Culture Values that inspire the brand and are reflected in its products and its communication Relationship The brand in a way represents the transactions and exchanges that take place between people and forge a bond between them Reflection The brand builds an image of the user/buyer that it is addressing the image as a result of brand usage by the customer Self-Image The consumer of the brand makes an image of himself as a result of the usage of the brand Kapferers Prism for Amul Physique The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are the unique taste of its milk products, the utterly, butterly Amul girl and the butter. Personality The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are the facts that it is a completely Indian product, traditional and innovative, simple yet honest someone who will never cheat the consumer and only take what is its due Culture The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are that there is a co-operative culture with emphasis on sharing and being socially responsible Relationship The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect is reliability which consumers perceive on basis of product experience. Another feature that is associated with this aspect is being sociable Amul is a part of the consumers social lives as experienced by the extensive use of Amul products Reflection The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect is the feeling of care and concern for loved ones and also, a deep respect and orientation for values. Self-Image The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect include being fun-loving, a proud Indian, who at the same time, believes in quality and is a firm believer in values. PART II CHARTING THE PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE OF AMUL Amul is the brand representation for Gujarat Cooperative Milk Federation formed in 1946 to give farmers their due and protect them from unscrupulous middlemen. Apart from collecting milk, Amul had to find ways to make efficient use of the surplus milk it had which gave rise to launch and marketing of milk-derived products, starting with butter Launched in 1955, butter was one of the first milk products offered by Amul which also helped it to beat its rival, Polson Dairy. The same year, it launched ghee and skimmed milk powder which also garnered success. In 1959, came processed cheese from its stable followed by cheese powder in 1970s which by 80s, had become popular Economic reforms of 1990 brought lifestyle changes and changes in tastes. The management of GCMMF thus, wanted to go with the trends. Thus, there was emphasis on higher quality and diversification of product portfolio. An increase in milk production meant that an increase in consumption base of milk -based products was important to make its products more regular in the households. In 1996, an IMRB survey for GCMMF showed that the consumers wanted that Amul should come out with the following products ice cream, curd, paneer3, cheese, and condensed milk. Thus, the next few years were focused on these In 1997, Positioned as the Real Ice-cream, Amul Ice cream was one of the few milk-based ice creams in the market. Branded yoghurt got a start in India for the first time, when Amul came out with Masti Dahi in 1999. In January 2000, Amul launched Amul Taaza non sweetened, low fat, carton milk which served functional and lifestyle purposes. In November same year, came mozzarella cheese which had use in pizzas. 2001 saw Amul tie-up with Tata Coffee for instant coffee distribution in July while in August, they entered ready-to-eat segment with parathas, cheeseburgers and sandwiches under Snowcap brand which also had ketchup. Soon, Snowcap came out with pizzas in flavours like tomato-onion-capsicum, fruit pizza (pineapple-topped), mushroom and Jain pizzas'(pizzas without onion or garlic). Amul also entered the domain of soups called Masti in tetra packs with flavours like Hot n Sour and Tomato. In 2003, Amul discontinued its flavoured milk brand Shakti and launched Amul Kool instead in an attempt to target the youth with its cool and trendy positioning but with a nutritional base In 2007, bottled water segment caught Amuls attention and it looked to launch Narmada Neer brand of water, in the aftermath of its failed attempt earlier to market Jaldhara brand of bottled water of NDDB. In July 2008, bakery segment became the next area to venture in with the plans of GCMMF to manufacture biscuits and cakes In February 2010, GCMMF declared plans to launch a tea brand having already sold it to their milk producers at concessional rates. In July same year, came the plans to market a milk-based sports drink called Stamina which would compete directly with Gatorade and is aimed at sports professionals More recently, Amul has announced plans to launch pro-biotic lassi by the coming summer season in major metros of India having already test marketed it in Ahmedabad. PART III THE CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF AMUL OVER THE YEARS The crux of all promotional strategies used by Amul is the concept of rotation. With every new product that Amul comes out with every 3-4 years, a new promotional campaign for the same is launched which helps it to stay in touch with its customers. Since Amul markets a wide range of milk-based beverages and products, it aims to move the consumers through this value chain from loose milk to better quality products with Amul providing those to the consumer The communication strategy follows a pattern of umbrella branding which means that Amul became the common name for most of its products and the promotional campaigns also tend to focus on the same aspect Amuls main strategy has always been to advertise the Amul brand and not the products as such. The communication of Amul dates back to 1966 when Sylvester Da Cunha got the account for Amul butter as before that, the advertisements were corporate in nature and quite boring. Sylvester, along with designer Eustace Fernandez, gave birth to the famous Amul moppet which since then has become the symbol for Amul. The utterly, butterly campaign began with hoardings and bus panels as media vehicles as with limited resources, that was the only possible option and also provided a much better frequency to the campaign. In its early years, Amul continued to advertise through billboards for its butter but in the late 90s, it came to realise that its image was not as savvy as its competitors and its forays in chocolates was taking a beating against rivals like Cadburys and thus, it looked to other media like TV soon leading to its all-pervasive Taste of India campaign which linked to its inherent Indianness and also became an underlying, consistent theme for its future communication strategies. In 2000, Amul got into other strategies of brand-building when it sponsored a nation-wide contest to find Amul Butter girl and Amul Cheese boy through its program Surabhi All these efforts, coupled with Amuls outstanding product quality and distribution network, meant that with just an ad budget spend of 1% of its revenues, it was able to gain significant mileage and visibility. But with passing time, came up concerns that with respect to increasing competition from players like Brittania, Nestle and others, Amul was compromising on its visibility and its effectiveness was now restricted to point-to purchase advertising. Therefore, in the last 3-4 years, Amul has gone all out in its communication strategies. In places like Delhi and Chennai where they cant put up hoardings, they are moving their topical advertisements to print. Amul is also looking to actively use digital media to its advantage with its venture into virtual world Second Life in form of virtual parlours where it intends to showcase its earlier ads and even replicate its co-operative model. Its below-the-line activities, in form of Amul Vidya Shree awards to school students and Amul Food festival are already going strong In TV, Amul is going in a completely new form as it looks to attract the youth actively to its products and has thus, rolled out campaigns like Hey Dude Wheres The Dudh? and Chill Your Dill. But amongst all this, the legendary Amul moppet will continues to hold its place as it still has legacy value for Amul and a symbol despite its efforts to woo the younger generation. With the Amul topicals continuing to draw its inspiration from contemporary events, it continues to maintain its status and relevance amongst every age group of consumers

The Protagonist’s Physical and Social Conditioning in Charlotte Perkins :: English Literature

The Protagonist’s Physical and Social Conditioning in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. The wife, protagonist, in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is trapped. Suffering from a â€Å"slight hysterical tendency† (p 676), an affliction no one really understands, her husband, a physician, prescribes a treatment, which offers her little support to be well again. Her condition is further aggravated by limitations of her social role as his wife. She is confined, controlled and devalued by her husband. She is powerless to renegotiate her situation. She is trapped by her treatment, her environment and her social role as a wife, with no hope of change. Given the hopelessness of her situation, she chooses to overpower what she can defeat, a figment of her imagination. The setting is a colonial mansion, which the husband, John, has rented as a place of respite for her recovery. It is run down and neglected, like his wife – run down from her illness and emotionally neglected, as her desires are overruled by his practicality. The mansion has housed children in the past. The nursery serves as the couple’s bedroom, where â€Å"the windows are barred† (p 677), to prevent the children from injuring themselves from a fall. Like the children, she is protected and imprisoned. This â€Å"atrocious nursery† (p 677) is covered with â€Å"a smouldering unclean yellow† (p 677) wallpaper, which becomes her obsession. Surrounding the mansion is plenty of fresh air, an aspect of her treatment. But the wife suspects an air about the house -- an air of an unwanted presence. Being isolated, the mansion is a perfect place for her confinement, another aspect of her treatment. Her husband has prescribed a version of the â€Å"rest cure†[1]. His â€Å"rest cure† amounts to being idle. The wife is a writer with artistic sensibility. She is deeply offended by the yellow wallpaper and its â€Å"sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin† (p 677). She needs an outlet to express herself, through writing, but is prevented from doing so, as part of her â€Å"rest†. However, she still writes, covertly. John is a physician, an expert on physical illness. Being practical, he is not predisposed to be an expert on the artistic temperament. She disagrees with her treatment, but remains silent on that issue, displaying appropriate wifely behaviours. To be appropriate, to exhibit â€Å"proper self-control† (p 676) is required as his wife in the nineteenth century. She is the property of her husband and must appear to submit to his will. John is, by modern standards, a control freak -- a well intentioned control freak. He controls her environment by choosing the mansion and the choice of

Pozzo & Lucky’s Relationship

During the two character’s appearance in act 1 we learn a lot about both characters through the relationship they have with each other. While Lucky’s lack of speech under Pozzo’s domain makes it difficult to identify his personality, we can still infer a lot about him. ‘Pig’, ‘hog’ and ‘swine’. All abusive vocatives thrown at Lucky by Pozzo. An instant indication that the relationship between these two characters is far from friendly, and makes the relationship between Vladimir and Estragon seem certainly pleasant. It is clear that Lucky acts as a type of servant to Pozzo and this is clarified when he attempts to describe their relationship in the quote â€Å"He wants to mollify me, so that I'll give up the idea of parting with him†. It is instantly clear that Pozzo’s character is extremely arrogant. He lords over the others, and he is decisive, powerful, and confident. When his character is introduced he refers to the other two as human, but as inferior beings; then he condescendingly acknowledges that there is a human likeness, even though the â€Å"likeness is an imperfect one.† This image reinforces his authoritarian god-like stance. Pozzo's superiority is also seen in the manner in which he eats the chicken, and then casts the bones to Lucky with an air of complete omnipotence. Yet there are several quotes after he becomes acquainted with Vladamir and Estragon for example â€Å"I'd very much like to sit down† and referring to them as ‘gentlemen’ which suggest that, due to his long and lonely journey, he seeks the approval of them both and to be, as he quotes ‘old friends’. This provides the audience with a hint that despite has vast knowledge he is lacking somet hing which he cannot gain from Lucky which is a companion. Together the two characters represent the antithesis of each other. From one man who seems to be incapable of not contributing his input to someone who barely speaks a word. An inexhaustible amount of polarities can be applied to their relationship. However, Beckett has left a lot of information unsaid; Pozzo tells us that his profound knowledge was taught to him through none other than Lucky himself, whether this is simply a metaphorical term is undetermined however this does hint to the audience that perhaps the two characters were once not so dissimilar. Further enigma is created through pozzo exclamation that Lucky has become insufferable: â€Å"I can't bear it . . . any longer . . . the way he goes on . . . you've no idea†. This leaves the audience alienated in terms of context, we are unaware of Lucky even speaking let alone driving someone to such an extent. This could also be seen as a malicious side to Pozzo’s character as he could potentially be lying as he sees Estragon and Vladimir warming to Lucky and is envious of that. Read also Intro to Public Relations Notes Similarities can be seen between Pozzo ; Lucky’s relationship in comparison to Vladimir ; Estragon’s, in a sense that, the two relationships have an element of irascibility. Vladimir and Estragon fail to agree on things and often find themselves in disputes, yet they are still bound by each other and depend on one another. This is, in many ways mirrored in Pozzo and Lucky’s relationship, although there is a much bigger gap in terms of authority. Despite this, the two still depend on each other and are even bound by a rope which could be representative of an umbilical cord which brings about references to religion, life and other common themes within the play. To conclude, the relationship that Pozzo and Lucky have is very significant in the play and when the tables are turned in act 2 with Pozzo losing his sight we learn a lot more about the two characters than in their introduction in act 1. The master and the servant have little in common but are bound to each other much like our main characters Vladimir and Estragon.

6 Common Myths About Language and Grammar

In the book Language Myths, edited by Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill (Penguin, 1998), a team of leading linguists set out to challenge some of the conventional wisdom about language and the way it works. Of the 21 myths or misconceptions they examined, here are six of the most common. The Meanings of Words Should Not Be Allowed to Vary or Change Peter Trudgill, now an honorary professor of sociolinguistics at the University of East Anglia in England, recounts the history of the word nice to illustrate his point that the English language is full of words which have changed their meanings slightly or even dramatically over the centuries. Derived from the Latin adjective nescius (meaning not knowing or ignorant), nice arrived in English around 1300 meaning silly, foolish, or shy. Over the centuries, its meaning gradually changed to fussy, then refined, and then (by the end of the 18th century) pleasant and agreeable. Trudgill observes that none of us can unilaterally decide what a word means. Meanings of words are shared between people--they are a kind of social contract we all agree to--otherwise, communication would not be possible. Children Cant Speak or Write Properly Any More Though upholding educational standards is important, says linguist James Milroy, there is, in reality, nothing to suggest that todays youngsters are less competent at speaking and writing their native language than older generations of children were. Going back to Jonathan Swift (who blamed linguistic decline on the Licentiousness which entered with the Restoration), Milroy notes that every generation has complained about deteriorating standards of ​literacy. He points out that over the past century general standards of literacy have, in fact, steadily risen. According to the myth, there has always been a Golden Age when children could write much better than they can now. But as Milroy concludes, There was no Golden Age. America Is Ruining the English Language John Algeo, professor emeritus of English at the University of Georgia, demonstrates some of the ways in which Americans have contributed to changes in English vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation. He also shows how American English has retained some of the characteristics of 16th-century English that have disappeared from present-day British. American is not corrupt British plus barbarisms. . . . Present-day British is no closer to that earlier form than present-day American is. Indeed, in some ways present-day American is more conservative, that is, closer to the common original standard, than is present-day English. Algeo notes that British people tend to be more aware of American innovations in language than Americans are of British ones. The cause of that greater awareness may be a keener linguistic sensitivity on the part of the British, or a more insular anxiety and hence irritation about influences from abroad. TV Makes People Sound the Same J. K. Chambers, a professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto, counters the common view that television and other popular media are steadily diluting regional speech patterns. The media do play a role, he says, in the spread of certain words and expressions. But at the deeper reaches of language change--sound changes and grammatical changes--the media have no significant effect at all. According to sociolinguists, regional dialects continue to diverge from standard dialects throughout the English-speaking world. And while the media can help to popularize certain slang expressions and catch-phrases, its pure linguistic science fiction to think that television has any significant effect on the way we pronounce words or put together sentences. The biggest influence on language change, Chambers says, is not Homer Simpson or Oprah Winfrey. It is, as it always has been, face-to-face interactions with friends and colleagues: it takes real people to make an impression. Some Languages Are Spoken More Quickly Than Others Peter Roach, now an emeritus professor of phonetics at Reading University in England, has been studying speech perception throughout his career. And what has he found out? That theres no real difference between different languages in terms of sounds per second in normal speaking cycles. But surely, youre saying, theres a rhythmical difference between English (which is classed as a stress-timed language) and, say, French or Spanish (classed as syllable-timed). Indeed, Roach says, it usually seems that syllable-timed speech sounds faster than stress-timed to speakers of stress-timed languages. So Spanish, French, and Italian sound fast to English speakers, but Russian and Arabic dont. However, different speech rhythms dont necessarily mean different speaking speeds. Studies suggest that languages and dialects just sound faster or slower, without any physically measurable difference. The apparent speed of some languages might simply be an illusion. You Shouldnt Say It Is Me Because Me Is Accusative According to Laurie Bauer, professor of theoretical and descriptive linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, the It is I rule is just one example of how the rules of Latin grammar have been inappropriately forced on English. In the 18th century, Latin was widely viewed as the language of refinement--classy and conveniently dead. As a result, a number of grammar mavens set out to transfer this prestige to English by importing and imposing various Latin grammatical rules--regardless of actual English usage and normal word patterns. One of these inappropriate rules was an insistence on using the nominative I after a form of the verb to be. Bauer argues that theres no point in avoiding normal English speech patterns--in this case, me, not I, after the verb. And theres no sense in imposing the patterns of one language on another. Doing so, he says, is like trying to make people play tennis with a golf club.