The other day I came across this interesting piece of trivia while reading Hiroyuki Takeuchi, "50% of Japanese companies do not have a marketing department. 90% have no special section for market research. The reason is simple…everyone is considered to be a marketing specialist"
I think, this little nugget of info quite captures the raison d'etre of Strategic Marketing's genesis. It's quite simple in its revelation and so revealing in its simplicity. After all, the purpose of any business is to sell and make a profit. In that respect, every department must be cued and clued into the wants, desires and nuances of the market they serve.
All these ramblings aside, I think this issue of SM could not have come at a more appropriate season. It fairly crackles with the thunder of the writer's convictions and rains down opinions, wisdom and learning (You must forgive these poetic spasms...I personally ascribe it to the weather).
But as they say, God is in the details, and so the details are what we will now dwell on.
The recently crowned Media Maharaja or Kreative King at Cannes – Piyush Pandey – speaks on tackling customer reticence towards advertising in a slowdown phase in our new section "The Guru Says...". To complement his view from the supply side of this equation, Mr. G. Krishnan puts forth a perspective on whether Indian Media Companies should diversify or not. Thought leaders posit their stances on the challenges faced by rural marketers in the article on the recently concluded the Strategic Marketing Forum held here in Mumbai. In addition, Sampa Chakrabarty Lahiri provides readers with a sneak peek into the rural market – the pitfalls and the profits thereof.
Then we have two articles on Brand Management – one by Anand Halve on the pros and cons of the extending brand names and the other by Arvind Singhal on the cost implications of building brands.
Needless to say, there's much more with Atul Phadnis on the much touted Optimiser software available for media planners, a piece on ECR - Efficient Consumer Response and case studies designed to enlighten and illuminate.
All in all an issue that promises a fantastic read and much, much more!

Happy Reading!
BHASKAR DAS
bhaskar.das@timesgroup.com .