XLRI's Marketing Fair

From The Hindu, National Edition, Business Page, January 2, 2005

* * *

JAMSHEDPUR, JAN. 1. XLRI, Jamshedpur, is organising its 26th edition of marketing fair tomorrow. This year's edition involves corporate giants such as Colgate Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser and BPCL to name a few.

*

"Over the past few years we have decided not to limit ourselves to FMCGs as market research is an inherent need of all companies," says Ritesh Bhardwaj, Secretary, Marketing Association of XLRI (MAXI), in a release.

*

Brooke Bond tasted success to the tune of Rs. 100 crores with the idea of newly packaged tea on the fair's recommendations. When ITC was making a foray into the biscuit market, it decided to rely on the Xler's ideas.

*

So is it just about game stalls set up in the fair to capture valuable data about consumer behaviour? Not quite. On one occasion, the students were seen networking with masons in and around Jamshedpur. This was for a paints major, who wanted to find out to what extent the decision is taken by the user and how much influence the mason is able to exert. This would help the company in tailoring its brand communications.

*

Over the years, XLRI has created a huge knowledge base about the lifestyle, attitudes and behaviour of the Jamshedpur population. This helps them in simulating exact clusters according to the companies' requirements.

*

Read This Story On The Hindu's Site