Business Comm
Business Comm
Business Comm
Baidu, Inc. is a Chinese search engine for websites, audio files, and images. Baidu offers 57 search and
community services including Baidu Baike, an online collaboratively-built encyclopedia, and a searchable
keyword-based discussion forum. Baidu was established in 2000 by co-founders, Robin Li and Eric Xu.
Both of the co-founders are Chinese nationals who have studied and worked overseas before returning
to China. In April 2010, Baidu ranked 7th overall in Alexa's internet rankings.
Baidu is the No. 1 search engine in China, controlling 63 percent of China's market share as of January
2010, according to iResearch. Baidu provides an index of over 740 million web pages, 80 million images,
and 10 million multimedia files. Baidu offers multi-media content including MP3 music and movies, and
is the first in China to offer WAP and PDA-based mobile search. Baidu commands about two-thirds of
the booming Chinese search market, successfully holding off Google with a range of services tuned to
local users.
Baidu's strategy is two-fold: continue to maintain a leading position in the Chinese market as well as
expanding its operations into new markets.
Baidu's main goal is to maintain a leading position in the Chinese language Internet search market by
offering new and innovative products to attract and retain a larger user base, attract additional
customers and increase spending per customer; and further enhance their brand recognition. Also,
Baidu aims to continuously upgrade its technology to support increased traffic and expanded services to
maintain customer loyalty. Furthermore, Baidu is trying to expand into new markets, e.g. it has launched
its first overseas operations in Japan in 2008, but is struggling to take away market share from Yahoo
and Google, which have captured the majority of the search market in Japan.
:hums Up
During the late 1970s, the American cola giant Coca-Cola abandoned operations in India rather than
make a forced sale of 60% of their equity to an Indian company. Following this, the Parle brothers,
Ramesh Chauhan and Prakash Chauhan, along with then CEO Bhanu Vakil, launched :hums Up as their
flagship drink, adding to their portfolio of older brands Limca (lime flavor) and Gold Spot (orange flavor).
:hums Up was basically a cola drink, but the company never claimed it as such. :he formula was just as
closely guarded as the famous Coke formula. During the same time, the owners of Coca-Cola͛s bottling
plant, Pure Drinks Ltd., launched Campa Cola and Campa Orange, both of which had a higher dose of
carbon dioxide.
Manmad Hill
:he :hums Up logo was a red 'thumbs up' hand gesture with a slanted white sans-serif typeface. :his
would later be modified by Coca-Cola with blue strokes and a more modern-looking typeface. :his was
mainly done to reduce the dominant red color in their signage. :he picture shows the :hums Up
mountain or, :hums Up pahaad (in Hindi), Manmad hills which has a natural top like the thums up logo
and is a popular sight from trains. Its famous caption until the early 1980s was, ͞Happy days are here
again͟, coined by then famous copywriter Vasant Kumar, whose father was spiritual philosopher U. G.
Krishnamurti. :he caption became "I want My :hunder." It is currently ":aste the thunder!"
:hums Up enjoyed a near monopoly with a much stronger market share often overshadowing its other
rivals like Campa cola, Double seven and Dukes, but there were many small regional players who had
their own market. It even withstood liquor giant United Breweries Group (makers of Kingfisher Beer)
Mcdowell's Crush, which was another Cola drink, and Double Cola.
It was one of the major advertisers throughout the 1980s. In the mid-80͛s it had a brief threat from a
newcomer Double Cola which suddenly disappeared within a few years.
In 1990, when the Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Pepsi was the first to come
in. :hums Up went up against the international giant for an intense onslaught with neither side giving
any quarter. With Pepsi roping in major Indian movie stars like Juhi Chawla, to thwart the Indian brand,
:hums Up increased its spending on Cricket sponsorship. :hen the capacity went from 250ml to 300ml,
aptly named MahaCola. :his nickname gained popularity in smaller towns where people would ask for
"Maha Cola" instead of :hums Up. :he consumers were divided where some felt Pepsi͛s mild taste was
rather bland.
In 1993 Coca-Cola re-entered India after a prolonged absence from 1977 to 1993. But Coca-Cola͛s entry
made things even more complicated and the fight became a three-way battle. :hat same year, in a
move that baffled many, Parle sold out to Coke for a meagre US$ 60 million (considering the market
share it had). Some assumed Parle had lost the appetite for a fight against the two largest cola brands;
others surmised that the international brands seemingly endless cash reserves psyched-out Parle. Either
way, it was now Coca-Cola͛s, and Coke has a habit of killing brands in its portfolio that might
overshadow it. Coca-Cola soon introduced its cola in cans which was all the rage in India, with :hums Up
introduced alongside, albeit in minuscule numbers. Later Coca-Cola started pulling out the :hums Up
brand which at that time still had more than 30% market share.
[edit]
Re-launch
Despite its strong overall equity, the brand was losing its popularity among the core cola drinking age
group of 12 to 25 year olds, partly due to nil advertising.
Coca-Cola apparently did try to kill :hums Up,[4] but soon realized that Pepsi would benefit more than
Coke if :hums Up was withdrawn from the market. Instead, Coke decided to use :hums Up to attack
Pepsi. :he Coca-Cola Company by this time had about 60.5% share of the Indian soft-drink market [1]
but much to its dismay found out that if it took out :hums Up, it would remain with only 28.72% of the
market (according to a report by NGO Finance&:rade in India), hence it once again dusted out the
:hums Up brand and re-launched it targeting the 30 to 45 year olds.
:he brand was re-positioned as a ͞manly͟ drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities.[5] Known to be a
strong drink with more power packed into it than other colas, it was a favorite in Rum based Cocktails,
as in ͞rum and :hums Up.͟ :hums Up kick-started an aggressive campaign directly attacking Pepsi͛s :V
ads, focusing on the strength of the drink hoping that the depiction of an ͞adult͟ drink would appeal to
young consumers. ͞Grow up to :hums Up͟ was a successful campaign. :he brand͛s market share and
equity soared. :he brand was unshakeable and Coca-Cola͛s declaration that :hums Up was India͛s
premier cola brand in terms of market share did not surprise many.[6]
Other campaigns from :hums Up build on its ͞strength͟ and its perception as a macho drink.[7] Ads
showing the :hums Up man, riding through the desert in search of a cantina that sells :hums Up rather
than drink another cola, stuck in the minds of many Indians and caught the imagination of youngsters
who want to be seen as men.
:hums Up went from being the only cola in the cantina to facing competition from both Coca-Cola and
Pepsi. :wenty-six years later it͛s still a top cola in India and is one of the strongest brands in the country
across categories. :he brand name͛s positive associations of victory, achievement and celebration are
apparently merited as it continues to do well despite a challenging landscape.
:hums Up͛s first competition came in the form of Campa Cola. :here were allegations of aggressive
exchanges between the two brands at street level but :hums Up (owned by Parle at the time)
apparently won the battle both on the ground and in the consumer͛s mind. Campa Cola discontinued in
2000 (only to re-emerge as less of a challenger in 2002 from Pure Drinks New Delhi).
For a short while :hums Up͛s strong taste enjoyed success across the country with scarcely any
competition; the brand reigned supreme in the cola market (even though it did not refer to itself as a
cola).
In 1990, the Indian government opened the market to international brands, and Pepsi was the first in.
:hums Up went up against the international giant for an intense onslaught with neither side giving any
quarter.
:he entry of Coke, in 1993, made things even more complicated and the fight became a three-way
battle. :hat same year, in a move that baffled many, Parle sold out to Coke for a mere US$ 60 million.
Some assumed Parle had lost the appetite for a fight against the two largest cola brands; others
surmised that the international brands seemingly endless cash reserves psyched-out Parle. Either way, it
was now Coca-Cola͛s, and Coke has a habit of killing brands in its portfolio that might overshadow it.
Coca-Cola apparently did try to kill :hums Up, but soon realized that Pepsi would benefit more than
Coke if :hums Up was withdrawn from the market. Instead, Coke decided to use :hums Up to attack
Pepsi.
:hums Up had the equity to take on Pepsi and soon an all out war was on. In 2001 :hums Up took the
battle to Pepsi by openly challenging it to a blind taste test. :he aggressive move was intimidating and
unexpected, turning the tables on Pepsi, which was now at the receiving end of a taste challenge. :he
results from the challenge were in dispute from both ends but the battle of the mind was won by :hums
Up, whose advertising overshadowed the question of accuracy.
Still, despite its strong equity overall, the brand was losing its popularity among the core cola drinking
age group of 12 to 29 year olds.
:he brand was positioned as a ͞manly͟ drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities. Known to be a strong
drink with more power packed into it than other colas, older consumers mix it with rum for a ͞rum and
:hums Up.͟
:he brand launched a campaign that focussed on the strength of the drink, hoping that the depiction as
an ͞adult͟ drink would appeal to young consumers. ͞Grow up to :hums Up͟ was a successful campaign.
:he brand͛s market share and equity soared northwards. :he brand was unshakeable and Coca-Cola͛s
declaration that :hums Up was India͛s premier cola brand in terms of market share did not surprise
many.
Other campaigns from :hums Up͛s build on the ͞strength͟ of its cola and build associations as a macho
drink. Ads showing the :hums Up man riding through the desert in search of a cantina that sells :hums
Up rather than drink another cola stick in the minds of many Indians and caught the imagination of
youngsters who want to be seen as men.
From a brand that was virtually unchallenged to a brand that was stifled, :hums Up stormed back after a
near death experience. :he brand proves that its strength lies not just in its taste but also in its
performance. :he grown up tag is an enduring one and will probably counter Pepsi for a while to come
]
A vision powered by passion is necessary to build a social enterprise. :o do so, without profit motive and
primarily to serve humanity. (vission : eliminate needless blindness)
Headed by Dr. Aravind Srinivasan, Administrator, Aravind Eye Hospitals and Postgraduate Institute of
Ophthalmology, Madurai.
Founded in 1976 by Dr. G. Venkataswamy with the mission to eliminate needless blindness, Aravind is
the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world. :aking its compassionate services to the
doorstep of rural India, Aravind's stunningly effective strategies vaulted barriers of distance, poverty and
ignorance to create a self-sustaining system. From April 2009 to March 2010, including the work done in
the Managed Eye Hospitals, over 2.5million out patients were treated and over 300,000 surgeries were
performed. In the field of eye-care, the Aravind model in tackling blindness, reflects this commitment to
society. An institution that started with 11 beds, now caters to 8 per cent of India's eye care needs and 3
per cent globally.
:oday the Aravind Eye Care System encompasses five hospitals, three managed eye hospitals, a
manufacturing center for ophthalmic products, an international research foundation and a resource and
training center that is revolutionizing hundreds of eye care programs across the developing world.
:hey operate using the Hub and Spoke model. :he Centers with the base are enabled by telemedicine
technology from University of California Berkeley. :hey have about 32 centers today working on the Hub
and Spoke model, where the Hub is the base hospital at Madurai and the Spokes are the various centers.
:he network of not-for-profit hospitals and vision centers performs 300,000 eye surgeries each year --
70% for free -- using broadband connections to on-call doctors in city hospitals for instant diagnosis.
Camps in rural areas screen thousands of patients weekly.
:he origin of Suzlon Energy Limited can be traced back to 1995, when its founder :ulsi :anti
incorporated the company and entered renewable energy segment. Suzlon started its journey with a
small project to supply wind turbine generators for a 3.34 MW windfarm project in Gujarat, India. Since
then, Suzlon has not looked back and today it ranks as the world's 5th leading, and India's and Asia's
leading manufacturer of wind turbines, with over 2,000 MW of wind turbine capacity supplied in India
and across the world.
Suzlon has developed and implemented several large-scale windfarms throughout India. In
Vankusavade, Maharashtra Suzlon has developed a windfarm that is stretched over 29 km of rugged
mountainous terrain averaging over 1,000 meters above sea level. :his windfarm has 566 W:Gs and has
an installed capacity of over 205 MW. Vankusavade windfarm successfully demonstrated the viability of
large, utility-scale windfarms in India. In Sanganeri, :amil Nadu, Suzlon is developing a windfarm with a
planned capacity of over 500 MW. Similarly, in Dhulia, Maharashtra, Suzlon is developing one of the
largest windfarms of its kind in the world with a planned capacity of over 1,000 MW once complete.
Suzlon has presence in all the major international markets. United States, the largest market for wind
energy worldwide forms Suzlon's largest market outside of India. Suzlon has also received major orders
from Australia, Brazil, China, Italy, Portugal and South Korea. In terms of global footprint, Suzlon's global
team is spread across four continents: Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. Suzlon has its
international business headquarters in Denmark, Global Management Center in Netherlands, and
research and development centres in Germany, and Belgium. In North America, Suzlon has its US
corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois and has offices across the continent to provide marketing,
projects and service support. In Asia, Suzlon has presence in India and China. Suzlon's office in
Melbourne, Australia is responsible for sales, marketing, project implementation and service support for
the emerging Asia Pacific Market.
Vedanta is a mining company headquartered in London. Anil Aggarwal and Naveen Aggarwal are the
owners of this company. :hey have huge mining interest in several states of the country including in the
Chattisgarh state of India.
When Chhattisgarh came into being, the Vedanta group owned company ͚Strelite͛ bought a 51 percent
stake in state owned BALCO for about Rs 551 crores and took over the company's management. It was
the first public sector undertaking to be disinvested under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
government at the Centre.
:he Sterlite group excavates around five lakh tonnes of bauxite every year from a place called Mainpat
in Chhattisgarh annually. Besides, it͛s also excavates 300,000 metric tonnes of bauxite in Kabirdham
every year. In spite of reaping such rich dividends, Sterlite never bothers to pass on even a few benefits
to its workers.
In fact, the list of the irregularities committed by the Sterlite Company is endless. :he Company resorted
to deep-hole blasting for excavating bauxite, and this has a violent impact on the whole area. It created
cracks in the farm land, and farming cannot be done on cracked surfaces. :he blasting has also caused
an increase in health problems among the residents.
:he farmers whose land was taken were promised huge compensation but were left at the mercy of
private contractors. Not only did the farmers lose their land and their houses, but they were also forced
to live in small camps or rented houses.
In 2003 Sterlite Company cheated the government crores of rupees in taxes and got caught. :he person
who took up their legal case was PC Chidambaram, who is currently the home Minster of India, and a
lawyer by profession. Chidambaram was also a member on the board of directors of Vedanta Company
for a while.
:he forests of Chattisgarh which contain these mineral deposits are also home to lakhs of Adivasi or
indigenous people who are variously called Koli, Munda, etc. Even though sixty three years have lapsed
to our country͛s freedom, no government till this date has provided these Adivasis with even basic
amenities like education, roads, ration cards, etc
:he condition in the areas where Adivasis reside is so miserable that hardly many of the people there
cross the age of 40 years. In this short lifespan they have to survive on the forests whatever little the
Mother Nature can offer them.
:he Vedanta Company could not start mining for the precious deposits without driving the hapless
Adivasis out of the forests. :he government made some devious plans to force them out and in the
beginning, the Advasis refused to move out but later protested. Government sent in the armed forces
and the Adivasis left their villages and ran into the forests.
:he government created a people͛s army called ͚Salwa Judum͛, which burnt down villages, beat up
children and men and raped women. When harassment by the government continued, the Adivasis had
no option left but to rally behind the Naxalites and take up an armed struggle.