nmims njm buzz the markazine december 2012

Contents

Mobile Apps: Hitch your wagon to a star!IIT Bombay

Inspire a generation: The Story of the London Olympics

Word of Mouth: The Cheapest form of Publicity!NMIMS, Mumbai

Are Freebies Enough? A Consumer PerspectiveSIMSR, Mumbai and XIMB, Bhubaneshwar

Industry Watch: Coffee made me do it!

Premiere

Cover Story

Trendz

Expert SpeakInterview with Mr. Rajiv Bhatnagar, COO, Essar Steel

Vantage PointWinner’s Perspective: B-School Competitions

TidbitsThe Latest in Business and Marketing

CompetitionsMitashi Case Study Competition

ED SPEAK

Salil Pawar

Rohan Aggarwal

Arun Shankar

Ragini Kate

Aarti Khatwani

Shreyansh Batia

Annesha Ghosh

Abhishek Bhalla

TeamThe one trait man has retained since time immemorial is also the one trait which has shaped time itself. Our species came into being two hundred thousand years ago. We've been quite busy since then, in the attempt to master our fate and we seem to be well in control till date. In the past, we discovered fire and the elements didn't defeat us. Today, we're on Skype and time-zones don't exist anymore. Two hundred thousand years of winning against the odds: that is what the human survival instinct is really about.

We're still around, because we know how to win. Old habits die hard!

The November 2012 edition of Buzz – The Markazine explores the beauty of man's constitutional inability to lower his expectations, to remain content, to stay put, to accept failure. It's only fitting that our Cover Story features the recently concluded London Olympics, one of the grandest competitive events in the world – where victors weren't only athletes, but also marketers that kept us hooked.

Vantage Point is back too, this time around bringing you lessons from Winners of mammoth B-School competitions in India, L'Oreal Brandstorm and Mahindra War Room. Speaking of competitions, don't miss out on the Mitashi Case Study, to be launched by NJM and Buzz this December. There's more about that in the later pages of the magazine, do read on and stay tuned!

Adding to the quality of content, Premiere houses our best entry this quarter, delving deep into the Mobile App revolution that's taken control over our lives. We're also pleased to include an interview with Mr. Rajiv Bhatnagar, Director – Hazira Facility and COO, Essar Steel in our Expert Speak section which has proven to be an insightful piece on the Indian Steel Industry.

We thank you, our readers, for your article contributions and for your valuable feedback over the last few months. Readers make a magazine more than anyone else does. I would also personally like to thank both the Design and Editorial Teams. Without your patience, dedication and quality work, we'd never have lived up to what this edition is all about.

Ragini KateEditor

Buzz - The Markazine

1| Buzz - The Markazine | December 2012 2 | Buzz - The Markazine | 2012December

Contents

Mobile Apps: Hitch your wagon to a star!IIT Bombay

Inspire a generation: The Story of the London Olympics

Word of Mouth: The Cheapest form of Publicity!NMIMS, Mumbai

Are Freebies Enough? A Consumer PerspectiveSIMSR, Mumbai and XIMB, Bhubaneshwar

Industry Watch: Coffee made me do it!

Premiere

Cover Story

Trendz

Expert SpeakInterview with Mr. Rajiv Bhatnagar, COO, Essar Steel

Vantage PointWinner’s Perspective: B-School Competitions

TidbitsThe Latest in Business and Marketing

CompetitionsMitashi Case Study Competition

ED SPEAK

Salil Pawar

Rohan Aggarwal

Arun Shankar

Ragini Kate

Aarti Khatwani

Shreyansh Batia

Annesha Ghosh

Abhishek Bhalla

TeamThe one trait man has retained since time immemorial is also the one trait which has shaped time itself. Our species came into being two hundred thousand years ago. We've been quite busy since then, in the attempt to master our fate and we seem to be well in control till date. In the past, we discovered fire and the elements didn't defeat us. Today, we're on Skype and time-zones don't exist anymore. Two hundred thousand years of winning against the odds: that is what the human survival instinct is really about.

We're still around, because we know how to win. Old habits die hard!

The November 2012 edition of Buzz – The Markazine explores the beauty of man's constitutional inability to lower his expectations, to remain content, to stay put, to accept failure. It's only fitting that our Cover Story features the recently concluded London Olympics, one of the grandest competitive events in the world – where victors weren't only athletes, but also marketers that kept us hooked.

Vantage Point is back too, this time around bringing you lessons from Winners of mammoth B-School competitions in India, L'Oreal Brandstorm and Mahindra War Room. Speaking of competitions, don't miss out on the Mitashi Case Study, to be launched by NJM and Buzz this December. There's more about that in the later pages of the magazine, do read on and stay tuned!

Adding to the quality of content, Premiere houses our best entry this quarter, delving deep into the Mobile App revolution that's taken control over our lives. We're also pleased to include an interview with Mr. Rajiv Bhatnagar, Director – Hazira Facility and COO, Essar Steel in our Expert Speak section which has proven to be an insightful piece on the Indian Steel Industry.

We thank you, our readers, for your article contributions and for your valuable feedback over the last few months. Readers make a magazine more than anyone else does. I would also personally like to thank both the Design and Editorial Teams. Without your patience, dedication and quality work, we'd never have lived up to what this edition is all about.

Ragini KateEditor

Buzz - The Markazine

1| Buzz - The Markazine | December 2012 2 | Buzz - The Markazine | 2012December

I stn its '21 Annual Words of the Year' vote, the American Dialect Society, voted 'app' (an abbreviated form of application, a software program for a computer or phone operating system) as the word of the year for 2010. Android

thwas launched on 6 November 2007 – and more important than that was the launch of a Google-led consortium of 84 companies (mobile operators, handset manufacturers, semiconductor companies , so f tware companies , and commercialization companies) called Open Handset Alliance. These members swore not to produce phones that run incompatible versions of Android.

So, why is everybody so eager to board this Mobile Apps Wagon? Where did all this enthusiasm come from? What does it have in store for everybody? Where will it take us? These are some questions addressed in this article.

BREW was the first ever mobile application platform with an app store (Qualcomm, 2001). But the actual paradigm shift - from 'Snake' being introduced by Nokia in the 1970's to the 'Angry Birds' phenomenon of today - has happened over various intertwined levels, and it doesn't seem possible to pinpoint the emergence of the first ever app. Back when the world was still toiling with first-generation mobile phones, trade secrets were closely guarded and phone software was developed in-house. When customers asked for more, the Internet arrived as the medium to deliver. Java and Flash websites were launched but could not do justice to the browsing experience on mobile phones. WAP came as the answer at this juncture; and this was when application developments began to come out of company closets. However, WAP could not be customized, there was no built-in billing mechanism, and consumers found it slow and frustrating. Labeled as 'WAP - Wait and Pay', it soon became extinct.

This was when it all geared up: the customer wanted more than just a calling facility in his phone- memory got cheaper, batteries got better

Maheshwar Pathania

Maheshwar Singh Pathania is a final year student of SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. He is an Electronics Engineer from PEC, Chandigarh. He was a part of the MIT’s A c c e l e r a t i n g I n f o r m a t i o n Technology Innovation, India Chapter for Android Application Development at IIT B. He is a hardcore football fan and loves to travel.

AuthorMOBILE APPS:

HITCH YOUR WAGON TO A STAR!

premiere

3 | Buzz - The Markazine | December 2012

and PDAs started running on versions of common operating systems like Linux and Windows. Even traditional desktop programmers could suddenly work on mobiles. Mobile phone manufacturers realized that the in-house application development model is obsolete and they need to go all out for developers. Enlightened, they came up with proprietary mobile platforms. Garnet OS, RIM Blackberry OS, Java ME, Symbian OS, Apple's iOS (2007) and Android (2007) were born and thus began 'Platform Wars' that we still are an audience to.

So, what does Mobile Application Software bring to the table? Let's look at India - a developing country with a lot of coders and a lot of consumers. Let loose an application programming platform and allow people to

make money out of it; with virtually zero start-up cost – you can't think of one reason why this won't work. The ecosystem in India seems ideal for app developers, HTML 5 is here for seamless integration of services, 3G has been launched for data transfer without any hiccups and 4G is already on the cards. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with Google recently concluded a short course in India called 'Accelerating Information Technology Innovation' in which some 30 students from IIT Bombay participated. They were given insights into entrepreneurship based on Mobile apps. In just two months, seven start-up pilot ideas came up – talk about speed! The Application business has also given birth to various new revenue models in Mobile world - the freemium model and virtual goods are additions to the already existing revenue models like subscription based, advertising, paid apps and offer and survey models. Consumers find that their

demands of speed, reliability and 'I must see only what I want to see' are met in Mobile apps. As the 'Dollar 1 Apps' flood the markets, this economy is betting on scale with pricey apps only at the tail end.

‘Getjar' (A directory and download service of mobile games and apps by independent developers) predicts that the global app economy will hit revenues of $17.5 billion by 2012. A recent Nielsen survey finds that if Smartphone users in India were a country, it would be larger than Australia. Android rules the roost in India with Indians spending an average of 2.5 hours on smart phones daily. This level of consumption has brought smiles to the faces of a lot of industries. Marketers and advertisers have inundated the markets with innovative adverts that can be pushed into a mobile phone and not annoy the customers like bulk SMS

used to.

Consider telecom - Aircel recently adopted Blyk, via which users get free talktime and SMS for watching advertisements on a daily or weekly basis. The question still remains though - 'How does one be non-intrusive yet effective?'

“Why is everybody eager to board this Mobile Apps Wagon?”

I stn its '21 Annual Words of the Year' vote, the American Dialect Society, voted 'app' (an abbreviated form of application, a software program for a computer or phone operating system) as the word of the year for 2010. Android

thwas launched on 6 November 2007 – and more important than that was the launch of a Google-led consortium of 84 companies (mobile operators, handset manufacturers, semiconductor companies , so f tware companies , and commercialization companies) called Open Handset Alliance. These members swore not to produce phones that run incompatible versions of Android.

So, why is everybody so eager to board this Mobile Apps Wagon? Where did all this enthusiasm come from? What does it have in store for everybody? Where will it take us? These are some questions addressed in this article.

BREW was the first ever mobile application platform with an app store (Qualcomm, 2001). But the actual paradigm shift - from 'Snake' being introduced by Nokia in the 1970's to the 'Angry Birds' phenomenon of today - has happened over various intertwined levels, and it doesn't seem possible to pinpoint the emergence of the first ever app. Back when the world was still toiling with first-generation mobile phones, trade secrets were closely guarded and phone software was developed in-house. When customers asked for more, the Internet arrived as the medium to deliver. Java and Flash websites were launched but could not do justice to the browsing experience on mobile phones. WAP came as the answer at this juncture; and this was when application developments began to come out of company closets. However, WAP could not be customized, there was no built-in billing mechanism, and consumers found it slow and frustrating. Labeled as 'WAP - Wait and Pay', it soon became extinct.

This was when it all geared up: the customer wanted more than just a calling facility in his phone- memory got cheaper, batteries got better

Maheshwar Pathania

Maheshwar Singh Pathania is a final year student of SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. He is an Electronics Engineer from PEC, Chandigarh. He was a part of the MIT’s A c c e l e r a t i n g I n f o r m a t i o n Technology Innovation, India Chapter for Android Application Development at IIT B. He is a hardcore football fan and loves to travel.

AuthorMOBILE APPS:

HITCH YOUR WAGON TO A STAR!

premiere

and PDAs started running on versions of common operating systems like Linux and Windows. Even traditional desktop programmers could suddenly work on mobiles. Mobile phone manufacturers realized that the in-house application development model is obsolete and they need to go all out for developers. Enlightened, they came up with proprietary mobile platforms. Garnet OS, RIM Blackberry OS, Java ME, Symbian OS, Apple's iOS (2007) and Android (2007) were born and thus began 'Platform Wars' that we still are an audience to.

So, what does Mobile Application Software bring to the table? Let's look at India - a developing country with a lot of coders and a lot of consumers. Let loose an application programming platform and allow people to

make money out of it; with virtually zero start-up cost – you can't think of one reason why this won't work. The ecosystem in India seems ideal for app developers, HTML 5 is here for seamless integration of services, 3G has been launched for data transfer without any hiccups and 4G is already on the cards. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with Google recently concluded a short course in India called 'Accelerating Information Technology Innovation' in which some 30 students from IIT Bombay participated. They were given insights into entrepreneurship based on Mobile apps. In just two months, seven start-up pilot ideas came up – talk about speed! The Application business has also given birth to various new revenue models in Mobile world - the freemium model and virtual goods are additions to the already existing revenue models like subscription based, advertising, paid apps and offer and survey models. Consumers find that their

demands of speed, reliability and 'I must see only what I want to see' are met in Mobile apps. As the 'Dollar 1 Apps' flood the markets, this economy is betting on scale with pricey apps only at the tail end.

‘Getjar' (A directory and download service of mobile games and apps by independent developers) predicts that the global app economy will hit revenues of $17.5 billion by 2012. A recent Nielsen survey finds that if Smartphone users in India were a country, it would be larger than Australia. Android rules the roost in India with Indians spending an average of 2.5 hours on smart phones daily. This level of consumption has brought smiles to the faces of a lot of industries. Marketers and advertisers have inundated the markets with innovative adverts that can be pushed into a mobile phone and not annoy the customers like bulk SMS

used to.

Consider telecom - Aircel recently adopted Blyk, via which users get free talktime and SMS for watching advertisements on a daily or weekly basis. The question still remains though - 'How does one be non-intrusive yet effective?'

“Why is everybody eager to board this Mobile Apps Wagon?”

Bharti Airtel claimed over one million downloads. As more and more users switch to Mobile apps from basic mobile internet; this translates into increased data usage and thus more dollars for Service Providers. Mobile apps have evidently brought about a change in the whole concept of mobile phone as a product, which was once positioned in consumers' minds as a device to make calls. It then became a status symbol, and now it seems that they are a platform for customised apps and data transfer services. Money lies in data transactions for service providers who are able to provide customers with what they want

Let's take it forward from the Platform Wars to look at the future. BREW is definitely a dinosaur. A study by Vision Mobile finds that Symbian developer abandonment rate has accelerated from 39% of developers last year to 52% in 2012. Clearly, developers heeded Nokia when it unambiguously declared it would bet its Smartphone business on Microsoft. Blackberry is also in trouble with its USP of fast messaging, irrelevant with what Android and iOS have to offer in terms of communications. This does not come as a surprise that RIM experienced a 25% decrease in year on year shipments in Q1 of 2012. It can also be observed in India that the final battle will be Android v/s Apple; the rest will either join one of the forces or cease to exist. Windows 8 has been a ground of war between its apps and Internet Explorer, with one trying to eat into the other's share of user access time.

Banking firms have boarded the app-wagon too, with a transaction on M-banking costing one-tenth of what it would cost at a branch. Even Bollywood refuses to stay behind; Ra.One released a mobile game as a pre-launch gimmick to make a place in kids' minds. Every industry that you can think of from the depths of rural India to the most modern urban setting finds space in the mobile application domain. 58% of Fortune 50 companies have dedicated mobile apps. The giants are actually engaged in developing mobile application strategy for their firms. There is

hardly any use you can't put an app to.

Talking about why people buy apps, here is an interesting take. iStore has an app, 'I am Rich' worth $999 and it pretty much does nothing!

All it does is display a glowing red gem on the handset screen. While the application was available, eight people bought it, at least one of whom claimed to have done so accidentally. Six US sales at $999.99 and two European ones for €799.99 netted between $5,600–5,880 for developer Armin Heinrich and $2,400–2,520 for Apple. All for a status symbol!

With voice tariffs going down in the basements the service providers hope to replicate the success of Apple's I-store. In 2010, within 20 days of its launch and with next-to-nothing publicity (other than online) Atul Bindal, President, Mobility at

premiere

It is also clear that Microsoft perceives smart devices as leaning towards touch screen - the apps are neatly tailored for touch screens only (wonder what this augurs for laptops and desktops!). For early adopters it may be a big hit but for the majority, one predicts it could be too much too soon. It is also yet to be seen what the developers have to offer in the space of Enterprise Applications, a field that has recently picked up pace. Keep an eye on the names like Affle, Twist Mobile, Nextwave and other early adopters.

An end to this article comes with some food for thought. This one comes from Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired – the famous American Technology magazine:

“You wake up and check your email on your bedside iPad — that's one app. During breakfast you browse Facebook, Twitter, and The New York Times — three more apps. On the way to the office, you listen to a podcast on your smart phone - another app. At work, you scroll through RSS feeds in a reader and have Skype and IM conversations. More apps. At the end of the day, you come home, make dinner while listening to Pandora, play some games on Xbox Live, and watch a movie on Netflix's streaming service.

You've spent the day on the Internet — but not on the Web. And you are not alone.”

Will applications kill the web? Wait and watch.

References:

! All references have been mentioned in the article by the

author

Bharti Airtel claimed over one million downloads. As more and more users switch to Mobile apps from basic mobile internet; this translates into increased data usage and thus more dollars for Service Providers. Mobile apps have evidently brought about a change in the whole concept of mobile phone as a product, which was once positioned in consumers' minds as a device to make calls. It then became a status symbol, and now it seems that they are a platform for customised apps and data transfer services. Money lies in data transactions for service providers who are able to provide customers with what they want

Let's take it forward from the Platform Wars to look at the future. BREW is definitely a dinosaur. A study by Vision Mobile finds that Symbian developer abandonment rate has accelerated from 39% of developers last year to 52% in 2012. Clearly, developers heeded Nokia when it unambiguously declared it would bet its Smartphone business on Microsoft. Blackberry is also in trouble with its USP of fast messaging, irrelevant with what Android and iOS have to offer in terms of communications. This does not come as a surprise that RIM experienced a 25% decrease in year on year shipments in Q1 of 2012. It can also be observed in India that the final battle will be Android v/s Apple; the rest will either join one of the forces or cease to exist. Windows 8 has been a ground of war between its apps and Internet Explorer, with one trying to eat into the other's share of user access time.

Banking firms have boarded the app-wagon too, with a transaction on M-banking costing one-tenth of what it would cost at a branch. Even Bollywood refuses to stay behind; Ra.One released a mobile game as a pre-launch gimmick to make a place in kids' minds. Every industry that you can think of from the depths of rural India to the most modern urban setting finds space in the mobile application domain. 58% of Fortune 50 companies have dedicated mobile apps. The giants are actually engaged in developing mobile application strategy for their firms. There is

hardly any use you can't put an app to.

Talking about why people buy apps, here is an interesting take. iStore has an app, 'I am Rich' worth $999 and it pretty much does nothing!

All it does is display a glowing red gem on the handset screen. While the application was available, eight people bought it, at least one of whom claimed to have done so accidentally. Six US sales at $999.99 and two European ones for €799.99 netted between $5,600–5,880 for developer Armin Heinrich and $2,400–2,520 for Apple. All for a status symbol!

With voice tariffs going down in the basements the service providers hope to replicate the success of Apple's I-store. In 2010, within 20 days of its launch and with next-to-nothing publicity (other than online) Atul Bindal, President, Mobility at

premiere

It is also clear that Microsoft perceives smart devices as leaning towards touch screen - the apps are neatly tailored for touch screens only (wonder what this augurs for laptops and desktops!). For early adopters it may be a big hit but for the majority, one predicts it could be too much too soon. It is also yet to be seen what the developers have to offer in the space of Enterprise Applications, a field that has recently picked up pace. Keep an eye on the names like Affle, Twist Mobile, Nextwave and other early adopters.

An end to this article comes with some food for thought. This one comes from Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired – the famous American Technology magazine:

“You wake up and check your email on your bedside iPad — that's one app. During breakfast you browse Facebook, Twitter, and The New York Times — three more apps. On the way to the office, you listen to a podcast on your smart phone - another app. At work, you scroll through RSS feeds in a reader and have Skype and IM conversations. More apps. At the end of the day, you come home, make dinner while listening to Pandora, play some games on Xbox Live, and watch a movie on Netflix's streaming service.

You've spent the day on the Internet — but not on the Web. And you are not alone.”

Will applications kill the web? Wait and watch.

References:

! All references have been mentioned in the article by the

author

“INSPIRE A GENERATION”:

THE STORY OF THE

LONDON OLYMPICS

Authors

Siddhi RawoolSiddhi graduated from VJTI Mumbai and worked at Larsen and Toubro Ltd. for two years. She swears by the tenet "Seedhi Baat No Bakwaas", has a penchant for learning languages , finds solace in making greeting cards and is a feisty Mumbaikar.

Jaideep BanerjeeJa ideep g radua ted as an Electronics engineer from Fr. Agnels, Bandra. He worked in TCS as a datawarehouse developer. He loves discovering new genres of rock music, reveres Roger Federer and has been a hardcore Mclaren Mercedes fan.

Akansh GuptaA k a n s h g r a d u a t e d a s a n Electronics and Telecom engineer from MIT, Pune. He worked at Singapore Telecommunications in pre sales and sales. He loves travelling and watching movies. He is a proud tifosi and FC Barcelona fan. He is an absurdist.

All three are currently pursuing their MBA at NMIMS, Mumbai and are part of the Buzz Editorial Team.

COVER STORY

The motto Citius, Altius, Fortius- faster, higher, stronger typifies in many ways the changing dynamics of the present world. With these thoughts strongly ingrained in the minds of the organizers along with the burden of a strong legacy of Beijing, the London Olympics were inaugurated on 27 July 2012. Roughly one individual for every six million on planet Earth stepped up onto the Olympic podium this year at the recently concluded London Olympics.

LESSONS APLENTY

So did sports rule the roost in the Olympics? Not exactly when you have a global viewership of around 4.8 billion! This meant that marketing brains working overtime over how to grab maximum eye balls and leverage the cascading effects of social media.

Begin with a roar: The opening ceremony is a perfect platform for a host nation to display its culture and leave behind a legacy. A $42 million show directed by Danny Boyle saw the Queen, Daniel Craig, Rowan Atkinson and David Beckham come together on one stage. Not surprisingly, the BBC reported a peak audience of 27 million for the London ceremony.

Make a 'difference': The London Olympics 2012 introduced live 3D coverage and super-high vision coverage for the first time in the history of the Games. Developed by Japanese broadcaster NHK, Super high vision offered 16 times the definition of HD and 22 channel sound. Additionally, 33 'true 3D' cameras were used to capture close to 230 hours of 3D coverage.

Riding the wave: This was certainly not the first Olympics where social media came into prominence but the London Games surely exemplified the multi-purpose tool that social media is. Fans put up display pictures of their favourite sporting sensations in the run up to the event. The 'oohs' and the 'aahs' of successes and near misses were heard louder on Twitter and Facebook.

7 | Buzz - The Markazine | December 2012 8 | Buzz - The Markazine | December 2012

Usain Bolt's signature pose 'The Bolt' was mimicked by people across the globe after he smashed every record in the book.

Think Olympic spirit: Pierre de Coubertin who founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was of the view that the important thing in life was not to triumph, but to compete, and that too against oneself.

The struggle of the human spirit beyond barriers both physical as well as mental is what kept us glued to our screens. The media went abuzz when Mary Kom, the 29-year-old Indian, a mother of twins had to settle for a bronze. Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Kim Rhodes, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh gave writers across the world fodder for cover stories.

Controversy means multiplied eyeballs: From the logo controversy which invited the Iranian backlash to racism on Twitter, from a sea of empty seats in stadiums to doping which has terminated careers for famous sportsmen, the Olympics were not left without their fair share of controversies. Even before the event started, the organizing committee came under severe fire because of security lapses, ill-equipped transit facilities from the airport to the village and the gate crashing of an unidentified woman with the Indian contingent.

MARKETERS HAVE A FIELD DAY

The London Olympics was also a celebration of unique marketing campaigns! Major brands

“The London Olympics 2012 introduced live 3D coverage and super-high vision coverage for the first time in the history of the Games. Super high vision offered 16 times the definition of HD and 22 channel sound.”