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  • StudioBackdrops.com: Platform to Meet the Need of the Creative Community in India

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by StudioBackdrops.com.

    The Photography industry encompasses a range of photographic services, including commercial photography and portrait photography. Photography was once classified as a hobby profession only, but it has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years. The global photographic services market is expected to grow from $39 billion in 2021 to $43 billion in 2022. There are around 2 Lakhs of the photography business in the US, which generated $10.5 billion in revenue. Indian Photographers and cinematographers lack the availability of useful tools. StudioBackdrops.com is an eCommerce photography retailer that meets the demand for tools and techniques for passionate photographers.

    Read to know about StudioBackdrops.com, its founder, the startup story, products, and business Model.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Company Highlights

    Startup Name StudioBackdrops.com
    Headquarters New Delhi
    Industry Ecommerce-Photography and video equipment
    Founder Archisman Misra
    Founded 2016
    Website studiobackdrops.com

    StudioBackdrops.com – About
    StudioBackdrops.com – Industry
    StudioBackdrops.com – Founders and Team
    StudioBackdrops.com – The Idea and Startup Story
    StudioBackdrops.com – Products
    StudioBackdrops.com – Business Model and Revenue Model
    StudioBackdrops.com – Customer Acquisition
    StudioBackdrops.com – Marketing
    StudioBackdrops.com – Challenges Faced
    StudioBackdrops.com – Funding
    StudioBackdrops.com – Recognition and Achievements
    StudioBackdrops.com – Future Plans

    StudioBackdrops.com – About

    StudioBackdrops.com is a D2C platform that provides curated and affordable photography and video equipment to photographers, cinematographers, content creators and production houses in India.

    Their short term vision is to gather the most unique and niche photography and videography products from all over the world and make them available on its platform. They also want to create awareness about these products and educate their audience about the best way to use them.

    Their long term vision is to become the biggest platform for Photography, Video and Audio solutions in Asia. They also want to be able to offer products from every possible vertical in the Imaging Industry to their rapidly growing audience. This would enable creators to buy everything they need to set up their studios directly from one place without having to jump from one marketplace or store to another.

    StudioBackdrops.com was founded with the goal of giving the community of creators and creative professionals access to better tools and equipment at affordable prices. At the same time they want to create a community of creators involved with helping each other create the best content with the equipment they have. And to educate them about new types of equipment and how those can take their work to the next level and compete with the best of the best. They aim to do to the imaging market in India what Nykaa did to the beauty and personal care market.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Industry

    StudioBackdrops.com belongs firmly in the Consumer Electronics industry as a retailer of Photography, Videography and Audio industry related products.

    The global audio and video equipment market size is expected to grow from $149.00 billion in 2021 to $158.81 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6%. The audio and video market is expected to reach $196.50 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.5%. The Asia-Pacific Region accounts for almost 30% of this business. In this region China and India generate the most business with 900 Million + and 600 Million + active internet users.

    With the Indian creator economy growing at an exponential rate, they envision StudioBackdrops.com as the ultimate support system of these creators. Already some of the biggest creators in India swear by equipment from StudioBackdrops.com. As the number of creators and influencers grow, they will always be right alongside them offering them the exact products and equipment they need to keep their content looking fresh and at par with International standards.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Founders and Team

    Archisman Misra is the Founder & CEO of StudioBackdrops.com. He did his schooling at K.R.Mangalam, New Delhi followed by a B.Tech in Computer Science. After his bachelor’s he chose to follow his childhood dream of photography and established himself as a commercial photographer working for some of the biggest brands and agencies.

    StudioBackdrops.com – The Idea and Startup Story

    Archisman Misra had been passionate about photography ever since he was a kid. During my school and college years, he had a yearning to learn more about photography and he went to the best learning resource on the Internet – YouTube. He wanted to increase and improve his portfolio so he started looking for tools that the photography educators on Youtube were using. Many of these tools were not available in the Indian market, and the some that he did find were incredibly out of budget. While working as a professional photographer, he talked to other photographers around him and they were facing the same dilemna. This led to the birth of the idea to create a platform to provide good quality and yet affordable products to photographers, cinematographers, and other creators.

    As with all his ideas, his first sounding board was my parents. He have always dreamed big and has a tendency to get ahead of himself. His parents know this and always counter his ideas with questions. When he had provided valid answers for all their questions, they gave him their blessings, hence validating his idea.

    He started listing down the verticals he would start with and studio backdrops came across as an obvious choice. He started talking with local manufacturers and international brands who were experts in backdrops and at the same time christened the company as StudioBackdrops.com. He also decided to bootstrap the startup with his own savings instead of looking for investors. The journey of ideation, designing and prototyping the idea was something that he went at solo, both to save costs and because he had experience of wearing many different hats throughout the years.

    In October 2016 StudioBackdrops.com went live on Amazon shortly followed by their own website StudioBackdrops.com.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Products

    StudioBackdrops.com Photography
    StudioBackdrops.com Photography

    StudioBackdrops.com is primarily a curated D2C platform selling niche products to the Photography and Video industry. These niche products had not been introduced to the Indian market but yet were often vital to creative processes and studios. Since starting with Backdrops as their primary focus, they kept innovating, improving, and increasing the worldwide standards of the product. I am proud to say that StudioBackdrops.com is home to the largest collection of Backdrops in the world.

    StudioBackdrops.com initially started as a marketplace model of eCommerce where brands and distributors could sell their products. This was the time Amazon and Flipkart were surging in popularity and he quickly realised it would be impossible to compete with them. He immediately pivoted to an inventory model of eCommerce and started reaching out to Manufacturers and Brands and became an importer and distributor for these brands in India.

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    StudioBackdrops.com – Business Model and Revenue Model

    StudioBackdrops.com works on an omnichannel model of Business. The website directly engages with the D2C channels whereas the business development teams handle the B2C and B2B2C channels. StudioBackdrops.com works on an inventory model of eCommerce and hence is a direct distributor of multiple brands across India and is responsible for their marketing and advertising efforts.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Customer Acquisition

    The first platform for the launch was Amazon, quickly followed by the D2C website. They quickly understood that social media and a great customer experience would be the biggest tools to help us acquire more and more customers. This essentially became a big part of their strategy and they mainly depended on word of mouth promotion to acquire their first 100 users. Their customers loved the products they had on offer and became vocal advocates for the brand and quality.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Marketing

    StudioBackdrops.com has followed a very unorthodox route when it comes to marketing. It was decided pretty early on by Archisman that SBDC would be completely bootstrapped and this meant that he needed to achieve a lot of results with the lowest spend. He brought in all the experience he had gathered over the years, shooting campaigns for brands, and being actively involved in marketing them. He was quick to realise that no amount of marketing and ad campaigns could replace solid brand awareness and customer trust. To date, a lot of their marketing still revolves around creating brand and product awareness and helping customers make knowledgeable buying decisions. This builds trust and in turn, they recommend SBDC to their closely-knit community of creators, slowly and steadily building their user base and increasing the demand for the products they have on offer.

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    StudioBackdrops.com – Challenges Faced

    When the country was brought to a standstill due to the pandemic, SBDC was stuck in limbo without a working supply chain and logistics partner. But during the lockdown a completely new opportunity presented itself. The lockdown made stars out of struggling content creators and brought many new ones to the centre stage. The collective creativity of the country was growing and SBDC wanted to help them unleash it.

    As soon as the lockdown eased, they jumpstarted their supply chain, onboarded more logistics partners, and started shipping to 22000 pin codes across India. Their sales saw the largest ever boost once the lockdown was opened, as everyone was shifting to creating content from home. This trend has continued and StudioBackdrops.com has become the destination for content creators looking to add production value to their content and to compete with the best of the best.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Funding

    StudioBackdrops.com remains completely bootstrapped and has not raised any funds to date.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Recognition and Achievements

    StudioBackdrops.com was recently named as one of the top 500 Challenger D2C Brands from India by Yourstory as a part of their Brands of New India Initiative.

    StudioBackdrops.com – Future Plans

    StudioBackdrops.com intends to bring to market a whole host of niche and unique products along with popular offerings across multiple verticals. This is in line with SBDC’s goal to become the largest omnichannel destination for photo, video, and audio in Asia. Along with products, StudioBackdrops.com intends to release a wide range of educational content aimed at Content Creators, Youtubers, Photographers, Cinematographers and more. They are also planning to launch an Incubator Program to support content creators directly. The program will provide content creators with the products they need and professional advice from industry leaders to improve their content.

    FAQs

    When was StudioBackdrops.com founded?

    StudioBackdrops.com was founded in 2016 in New Delhi.

    Who is the founder of StudioBackdrops.com?

    Archisman Misra is the founder of StudioBackdrops.com.

    Is StudioBackdrops.com funded?

    No, StudioBackdrops.com is a bootstrapped startup.

  • Landbot: Best No-Code Chat Builders for Businesses

    Have you come across the new user-friendly conversational app, Landbot, which is considered to be the best chatbot for business in order to drive customers. In other words, Landbot is the best tool for a business to have no-coding conversations with customers at every stage of their journey.

    Moreover, Landbot generating leads to the business that ultimately improves Conversion rate by interfacing your landing pages, establishing workflows as well as creating affiliate relationships between Business and Customers without coding.

    Landbot is a natural evolution of chatbot, connecting customers in real-time by deploying conversations on Whatsapp, Web, or messenger, with its ingenious custom design in a single interface.

    Landbot is a for-profit organization, founded in 2015 and launched in 2017, that aids as a navigation tool to customers through building interactive texting. This helps a business to generate leads as well as sales turnover by optimizing Landbot.

    About Landbot
    How Does Landbot Work?
    Landbot Features
    Landbot Pricing
    Advantages of Landbot
    Disadvantages of Landbot
    Landing Pages
    Landbot Review

    About Landbot

    Landbot is an evolution of chatbot, which helps your business to generate leads by building a no-coding solution conversation as it guides the user throughout the customer journey. It decimates the confusion of customers on the question ‘What to do next?’, as Landbot plays as a navigation/chatbot tool.

    Optimizing Landbot on your website will make your targeted customer take Call to Action (CTA), Click-to-call, or instantaneous responses that eventually end up in the sales funnel. Landbot is known for various no-coding formats such as Landing pages, site embed pop-ups, and website widgets.

    How Does Landbot Work?

    Create your Landbot account

    Pre-build your chatbot by launching your product, and deploying templates that entice visitors to come in. Furthermore, captivating leads to your business by navigating them to take action forthwith.

    Create your own Business workflow

    Business exists to accomplish something, so set your goals in an instructive way. For instance, the most innovative and simple way to entice visitors to your website is ‘Build brick templates’ as it shows the whereabouts of your business in a single interface.

    Conversion process builds personality

    Marketing strategy plays a vital role during the conversion part, as visitors get interested only if the other side’s conversation sounds compulsive, so use emojis and Gifs.

    Setting Google Analytics largely helps to track your insights.

    Create a Landing page

    By adding code, your landing page is all set and ready for a conversation to generate leads.

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    Landbot Features

    Being the best chatbot software, Landbot offers a lot of features that are categorized as:

    Basic Features

    • Visual Drag-Drop Interface with No-coding
    • Effortless Media Integration
    • Free Templates
    • Personalize Using Keyword Jump
    • Transfer Customers From Bot to Human
    • Usage of Variables to Categorize User Response
    • CX Optimisation using Multiple Questions
    • Multiple Channels
    • Out-of-the-box Integrations
    • Track Bot Performance

    Advanced Features

    • Individualization Using Conditional Logic
    • Reusable Virtual Bricks
    • Introduce New Variables
    • Formulas to Calculate, Control, and Adjust Data Formats
    • Webhook Feature to Connect Bot to Any Database
    • Dynamic Data Feature that Shows Only Relevant Data
    • Enrich CX using NLP with Dialog Flow Agent

    Design Features

    • Design Customization
    • CSS Edit Option
    • Template Designing
    • Adapt Bot with No-Code Formatting

    Landbot Pricing

    Plan Pricing
    Beginner $39/month
    Professional $80/month

    Advantages of Landbot

    • Highly engaging conversational chatbot that is simple and easy to build without the need to code.
    • It offers complete CSS customization of the chatbot to create a unique experience for users.
    • It covers the full customer journey and offers more leads.
    • It has an attractive interface that is smooth and user-friendly.
    • Apart from Websites, the multiple integration options include WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Slack.

    Disadvantages of Landbot

    • The cost is considered a bit high by many users.
    • Landbot is available only in English.

    Landbot Competitors

    Landbot Competitors
    Landbot Competitors
    • Chatbot
    • ThinkOwl
    • LiveChat
    • Nicereply

    Landing Pages

    There are two types of landing pages on Landbot:

    Static Landing Page

    It is a lead generation landing page that is familiar and well-tested. Lead generation landing pages are pages that collect personal information and establish the first point of contact between businesses and potential customers. It features a copy, form fields, and a call to action.

    Conversational Landing Page

    It is a new kind of lead generation landing page that features a chatbox for conveying the copy, collecting data, and starting a conversation.

    Landbot Review

    Landbot is the best chatbot out there with an intuitive interface, a preview option to test the chatbot in the interface itself, and a great customer support system if you ever get stuck while trying to make a good chatbot.

    Landbot provides the ultimate need of businesses, an ultimate highly engaging chatbot that guides its potential customers in a certain way. Landbot stands out among its competitors because of its Whatsapp integration feature as this isn’t offered by many other chatbot software companies.

    And the fact that a company doesn’t need to spend months coding to create a chatbot is an attractive advantage. The no-code required to create a chatbot offered by Landbot has made chatbot cheap and easy to build. Thus making Landbot the perfect option for chatbots.

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    Conclusion

    If you are a Business concern looking for a chatbot that creates high engagement with your potential customers but also is cheap and makes building a chatbot easy, you should definitely go for Landbot. And the Whatsapp integration feature is undoubtedly a welcoming aspect since Whatsapp is used by almost everyone worldwide and is a favourable form of communication.

    FAQs

    What is Landbot?

    Landbot is a chatbot software for websites. It helps in making websites more engaging through highly interactive chatbots. It is considered to be the most intuitive no-code chatbox builder.

    What are the types of landing pages on Landbot?

    There are two types of landing pages on Landbot: Static landing Page and conversational landing page

    What are the subscription offers of Landbot?

    Landbot offers four main plans and a Whatsapp add-on feature with two main plans.

    • Sandbox: This plan is free.
    • Starter: This plan is offered €30 per month.
    • Professional: The professional plan is offered at €80 per month.
    • Business: The business plan has custom pricing.
    • Whatsapp Add-On for Pro and Business Plans: It is offered at €70 per month.

  • How a Small Marketing Decision Took Coca-Cola Off to Sky?

    Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia, created a new kind of sugary drink sold in soda fountains that gave birth to Coca-Cola. The naming credit of the beverage goes to Frank M. Robinson, as well as for designing the trademark still used today.

    Coca-Cola was founded in the year 1886 and was charged only five cents back then. It was during the same time that the marketing efforts in Coca-Cola’s history were executed through free vouchers or samples of the beverage.

    It is hard not to be amazed by the love Coca-Cola has been getting for 135 years. Today, the coke we know wasn’t always like this, it has gone through various iterations over the years. It started off selling nine drinks a day in Georgia to selling more than 1.9 billion beverages in more than 200 companies around the world daily, that’s how the brand evolved since its inception. Let’s read how.

    History of Coca-Cola

    Before Dr. John S. Pemberton’s demise, he sold off his Coca-Cola recipe to then-American tycoon and Politician Asa Candler. The man behind the success of the Coca-Cola company. He played an instrumental part in spreading the brand across the country.

    Asa Candler
    Asa Candler

    He acquired all the rights of Coca-Cola and incorporated it as The Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and expanded the distribution of the syrup to soda fountains beyond Atlanta. He also promoted the drink by giving it away for free and labeling pharmacies and soda fountains with items bearing the brand’s name.

    The game changed for the brand when a businessman named Joseph Biedenharn, began the concept of bottling the beverage. The significant rise in the demand for Coca-Cola led to the idea that the soda fountain should be portable.

    To keep up with the increasing demand, Candler had set up many syrup plants across the country in places like Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles. During that time, soda fountains were the only way to consume carbonated beverages in the United States. Asa Candler was a savvy businessman, but he underestimated the future of Coca-Cola in that it would be in portable bottles rather than soda fountains.

    In 1899, two lawyers, Benjamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead approached Candler to sell the rights of Coca-Cola to them. In no time, he sold the bottling rights to them for one dollar with a contract that had no expiration date.

    The reason Candler sold off the rights so cheaply truly shows that he believed that bottling would never be a hit. However, things did not go as Candler’s assumptions, bottling did become popular, surpassing fountains sales in 1928.

    The non-expiring contract included that Candler had signed to provide syrup for a fixed rate, which meant Coca-Cola’s profits can only be doubled by maximising the amount of the product sold and minimising the price to the consumer.

    The marketing strategy that made Coca-Cola one of the greatest brands in the world

    The story behind the 5-cent price tag of Coca-Coal

    Why coca-cola didn’t change its price for 70 years?

    The Genius Marketing Strategy of Coca-Cola

    The brand decided to do aggressive marketing campaigns to associate its product with the five-cent price tag. This proved to be a successful campaign because consumers thought the brand is selling the product themselves.

    Coca-Cola 5 Cent Advertisements
    Coca-Cola 5 Cent Advertisements

    As a result, it provided an incentive for retailers to sell at that price, even though a higher price at a lower volume might have made them more profitable.

    Up until the 1950s, the price of coke remained the same at five cents because they did not want to affect the psychological associations among consumers.

    As the soft drink continued to gain popularity in bottle form, it also gave rise to its competitors, who began producing copycats. This incident made advertising an integral part of Coca-Cola.

    They started advertising its product as genuine and running campaigns to urge the public to “demand the genuine”. To beat the competition, they are the first ones to manufacture the contour shaped-bottles. This signature style allowed the company to distinguish its product from replicas. From then on, the brand started making advertisements that always had an impact on its consumers.

    Coca-Cola Bottle Shape
    Coca-Cola Bottle Shape

    Coca-Cola always stuck to its idea of simplicity, they have never strayed from its timeless and fundamental ideals. Over the decades and masses of marketing campaigns, Coca-Cola has consistently expressed one compelling message: the joy of simple pleasure in life with simple slogans such as “Enjoy” and “Happiness” that seem to be working across the globe.

    Even after being a global icon, the brand understood that to reach consumers they have to personalise and speak at a localised level. Every country has its version of a Coke advertisement that is customised to its local culture and language, with the most popular names of each region printed on bottles and cans in place of the brand’s title.

    Conclusion

    So, to play like a boss in the marketing world, one should learn from Coca-Cola’s marketing strategies.

    They set a perfect example when it comes to building a successful global brand. That is by making human connections more relatable, introducing innovative designs and styles while staying true to simple principles, and creating branded experiences.

    FAQs

    When did Coke stop being 5 cents?

    In 1959 when inflation hit the brand stopped selling Coke for 5 cents or one nickel.

    When did Coke cost 5 cents?

    Coke had a fixed price of 5 cents from 1886 to 1959.

  • Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign | A Success or a Failure?

    We have all been there, where our insecurity eats us alive, right? People make comments about other people’s bodies for being obese, skinny, pretty, hairy, and other body-shaming comments without any hesitation or regret. It is at this point that we begin to take strangers’ opinions personally, leading to feelings of insecurity or doubt in ourselves. In the world of being ourselves, both men and women encounter a lot of criticism.’ True beauty is inside,’ as the saying goes, but we don’t take that to heart and continue to undervalue other people’s lifestyles; if we don’t accept ourselves, then who will?

    That’s why Dove launched the ‘Real Beauty Campaign,’ an evolving campaign aimed at boosting self-confidence among women and children. The Dove, in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather, Edelman Public Relations, and Harbinger Communications, launched a global marketing campaign in 2004. Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign was developed throughout a three-year creative strategic research project that identified a need for a new consumer-centric rather than product-centric advertising strategy. Notably, the campaign was developed to persuade women that they are all beautiful in their skin and that this is what true beauty looks like.

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaigns

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign, a Success or a Failure?
    Public Reactions Towards Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign
    Pros and Cons of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign

    Brand Value of Dove Worldwide from 2017 to 2022
    Brand Value of Dove Worldwide from 2017 to 2022

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaigns

    In 2004, the Dove Real Beauty Campaign commenced, intending to celebrate women’s individuality in terms of physical and emotional beauty. According to a survey conducted by Fortune magazine, only approximately 2% of females were satisfied with their physical appearance. The remaining 98% are unhappy with their appearance and feel insecure about their bodies. People still lack confidence about their physical appearances in the present era. The idea of the campaign was ‘beauty is not the absence of flaws, but the ability to embrace them and yet feel beautiful.’ As a result, the Dove beauty campaign made positive feedback, whereby influenced a lot of consumers and impacted positive brand association.

    2004 – Beyond Compare: Women Photographers on Real Beauty Campaign

    “Beyond Compare: Women Photographers On Real Beauty”, a Dove and Ogilvy & Mather show, featured 67 female photographers of all races, colours, and body types, including slim, large, and tanned. The goal of this campaign was to instil a sense of acceptance towards differences among women. This campaign was the beginning of a revolution in the world of beauty. As a result, reactions to “Beyond Compare: Women Photographers on Real Beauty” have been varied, as it is rumoured that the commercial might be framed and scripted.

    2006 – Beauty Crackdown Campaign

    In 2006, Ogilvy & Mather wanted to expand the campaign by producing one or more viral videos for the Campaign for a Real Beauty website. The campaign was an interview-style work meant to highlight how mothers and daughters interacted with difficulties surrounding current perceptions of beauty and the beauty business. Daughter is a film that explores the challenges of self-esteem that many young girls face today. The Dove self-esteem fund backs up its campaign with data showing how people are more likely to have warped notions of beauty. A series of short videos called “Beauty Crackdown” was offered to Unilever as an “activation idea” during the creation of ‘Daughters’. It was originally designed to drive traffic to the Campaign for Real Beauty website, where they could see ‘Daughters’ and participate in workshops. Onslaught and Amy were created by Ogilvy after Evolution. Onslaught is a moving video about the harsh realities of young girls and the impact the beauty business can have on them.

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    2013 – Real Beauty Sketches Ad

    Dove Real Beauty Sketches Ad

    Hugo Veiga developed a video for the campaign called Dove Real Beauty Sketches, a self-esteem and body confidence campaign which was published in April 2013. It went viral, eliciting strong public and media reactions. Several ladies explain themselves to a forensic sketch artist who is unable to see his subjects on the video. The same women are described by strangers who encountered them the day before. When the sketches are compared, the stranger’s image is always more flattering and correct. When women are shown the differences, they have significant reactions. Dove and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts launched Free Being Me in October 2013, to improve “self-esteem and physical confidence” among girls.

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign, a Success or a Failure?

    Dove's Real Beauty Campaign
    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign

    As we all know, Victoria’s Secret, one of the most well-known lingerie and cosmetics brands, has been embroiled in a long-running controversy over portraying their models as skinny and fair angels on a runway plus via an advertisement that to increase geared to be extremely thin with the slogan “the perfect body,” which sparked outrage on various social media. To prevent such a backlash while launching a global marketing campaign, Dove opted to launch its evolution one, the ‘Real Beauty campaign,’ which elicited a mix of positive and negative comments from the public. The marketing effort undertaken by Dove earned two Cannes Lions Grand Prix honours and challenged personal care industries as a result.

    The campaign featured women sharing their viewpoints on Dove products with the phrase “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” and encouraging women to love their real selves.

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign, in particular, had a major impact on brand image, resulting in increased sales and revenue while outperforming its competitors among both male and female consumers of other competitive brands. As a result, Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign became one of the most effective promotional messages in terms of influencing consumer emotions and creating favourable brand associations.

    Furthermore, the campaign became international recognition, which made a positive result in international markets, especially in Australia and New Zealand.

    The Failure of Dove’s ‘Real Body’ Bottle Shape Campaign

    Failure of Dove's Real Body Bottle Shape Campaign
    Failure of Dove’s Real Body Bottle Shape Campaign

    There is no doubt in the fact that Dove’s Real Beauty campaign touched people’s hearts. But the brand’s campaign has also faced backlashes for its extra innovative ideas. In 2017, Dove decided to take a step forward with its real beauty campaign and added the idea to the packaging of its body wash bottles. It created the product bottles in different shapes representing different body types. The main idea behind this was to accept and celebrate different body types.

    However, it received a negative reaction as people found the bottles’ comparison with the body types a critical and unsympathetic move by the brand. The brand’s intention was to promote body positivity whereas the bottles made women more conscious of their body types. This way, the idea to introduce differently shaped body wash bottles for the real beauty campaign flipped and received a massive backlash.  

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    Public Reactions Towards Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign

    Individual adverts made by Dove earned different reactions from the audience. Whereby, People’s self-confidence and self-love are developed as a positive approach. Furthermore, this real beauty campaign set an example of having a significant impact on society and generations, in terms of beauty standards.

    The commercial, on the other hand, is claimed to be authentic, but critics claim that it was photoshopped to hide wrinkles, warts, stray hairs, and other imperfections. Furthermore, some sources claim that the corporation sells skin-lightening goods to dark-skinned persons in several countries, implying that the brand engages in discriminatory marketing and this campaign was established with a profit motive by enticing ladies and young girls to purchase their items.

    Pros and Cons of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign

    The following shows the pros and cons of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign:

    Pros

    • The Dove campaign is credited with starting a global discourse about expanding the concept of beauty. The foremost pro of the campaign is that it defies the unrealistic standards of beauty and promotes the idea of acceptance towards oneself.
    • By questioning beauty stereotypes, Dove hoped to revolutionise the advertising culture. They chose women who defy conventional beauty standards. This presented a different perspective inside the media and real women appeared to be outstanding and pleasant to their female audience. The campaign’s success may be seen in the massive amount of media coverage it has gotten.
    • For Dove’s campaign, media exposure has resulted in $150 million in free media time. Numerous accolades have been given to the campaign. Much of the campaign’s success may be credited to the fact that it was the first digital campaign to direct participants to a supportive online community of over 200 million individuals globally, with over 26 million people partaking in the campaign.
    • Dove has succeeded in redefining the process of shopping beauty stocks to one that is centred on expressing key ideas and interacting with others, rather than simply making consumers feel good about the firm.

    Cons

    • Dove is a Unilever brand and its association with other brands has brought various raised eyebrows toward its purpose.
    • Axe is a Unilever brand, that promotes a message that is opposed to Dove’s objective; their advertisements heavily push the slender ideal and sexualization of women. As a result, Unilever is perceived as hypocritical, and its link with Dove contributes to negative feelings against Dove’s ad campaign and cognitive dissonance in customers. The campaign’s relationship with brands like Axe is the most heinous aspect.
    • Fair & Lovely, a popular Unilever brand aimed mostly at dark-skinned women that encouraged women to want “lighter skin.” This contradicts Dove’s purpose to be more inclusive of all women’s beauty by creating products that attempt to make all women look alike.
    • Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches campaign gained a lot of appreciation on one hand but on another hand, it also received criticism. People were not happy with the fact that the ad only presented white, slim, and pretty-looking women, describing their appearances to the artist. So, in a way, the ad is depicting the same idea that it wants to defy.

    As a result, Unilever is perceived as hypocritical, and their link with Dove could contribute to negative feelings against Dove’s ad campaign and cognitive dissonance in customers. Dove’s dedication to its social objective may be questioned by consumers.

    Conclusion

    Nearly ten years after its inception, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is still going strong. One explanation could be that, despite the criticisms, the campaign can still be considered a positive step forward. The video’s release sparked a lot of debate, both positive and bad, over the message it carried. If Dove’s purpose was to start a global discussion on female body image, it succeeded admirably. Dove ran a fascinating social experiment to see how women perceive their beauty in comparison to what others think. Their goal was to look at the campaign from several perspectives and to entice customers to participate. The message is simple: “You are more beautiful than you believe.”

    FAQs

    Was the Dove Real Beauty campaign successful?

    Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign is full of emotions and it broke all the conventional standards of beauty. This made the brand develop a strong connection with the audience. Thus, the campaign that was launched in 2004, is still considered one of the most successful ad campaigns ever.

    Who is Dove’s target audience?

    Dove mainly targets women between the age group of 18 to 35 years, the age group that prefers to have beauty products for naturally healthy skin.  

    Is Dove cruelty-free?

    Yes, Dove is cruelty-free as accredited by PETA, the animal rights organization.

  • Top 10 Leading E-commerce Companies in the World

    The global e-commerce market is expected to reach USD 27,147.9 billion by 2027.

    By 2040, 95% of all retail purchases will be made online. All these stats show us that the market of e-commerce is booming.

    If you own an e-commerce business then you can make a lot of revenue since nowadays a lot of consumers don’t want to visit an offline store. Instead, they would prefer buying products from the comfort of their homes.

    But, it also tells us that there is a lot of competition in the market. To survive in this ever-growing market you need to constantly innovate, improve the buying experience and provide a high-quality product or service.

    In spite of the highly unpredictable nature of e-commerce, there are some companies that were able to take the e-commerce market by storm. Today, we are going to tell you about the top 10 e-commerce companies in the world.

    1. Amazon
    2. Alibaba
    3. eBay
    4. Walmart
    5. HomeDepot
    6. MercadoLibre
    7. Rakuten
    8. Reliance
    9. Prosus
    10. Meituan Dianping

    1. Amazon

    Amazon Website
    Amazon Website

    You must have expected Amazon to be at the top of the list and why not! We all must have ordered something from this ever-growing e-commerce site. The consumer base and revenue of this company are growing year by year.

    Currently, in July 2022 Amazon has a market capitalization of $1.163 trillion. At the end of the financial year 2022, the company generated a whopping revenue of $477.748B, a 13.99% increase year-over-year. The company has 310 million customers worldwide.

    In 2021, Amazon grew its market value by 73.6 per cent. It made a revenue of $469.822B in 2021, a 21.7% increase from 2020. This is because of the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in lockdowns all around the world.

    As of 2022, Amazon generates $638 million each day. This means that the company makes $7,300 each second, $443,000 every minute, and $26.6 million every hour. So, every week Amazon earns an average of $4.4 billion and every month an average of $17.6 billion.  Considering all these stats if Amazon stops working even for 1 minute they would lose millions of money!

    According to Statista, Amazon.com had over 2.2 billion combined desktop and mobile visits. The company has listed 12 million items across all its categories and services which means that you can buy anything from the site.

    Amazon Prime membership and Prime day are very smart strategies that allow the company to increase their sales.

    Users quickly buy the Amazon Prime membership since they get free two-day shipping and access to Prime Music and Prime Video. Since they are prime members they are most likely to buy products from Amazon regularly.

    Prime day sales incentivize consumers to buy goods and services. In 2021, on Prime day the company made a revenue of $11.79 billion.

    2. Alibaba

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is a Chinese multinational company that has several businesses which specialize in e-commerce, cloud computing and logistics.

    Alibaba.com:

    Alibaba is the biggest wholesale marketplace which connects buyers and suppliers all around the world. Think of it like Amazon. The only difference here is that Amazon serves the American division but Alibaba is for China.

    Taobao:

    An online marketplace that facilitates consumer-to-consumer (C2C) business.

    Alibaba Cloud:

    A cloud computing company that provides cloud services on a pay-as-you-go basis.

    TMall:

    TMall is a Chinese-language website that facilitates business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail.

    AliExpress:

    AliExpress is an online retail company where international online buyers can buy cheap products and services from small businesses in China.

    Lazada:

    Lazada is an international e-commerce company where merchants sell their products and the company takes care of payment and delivery of products.

    Youku:

    Youku is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China.

    DingTalk:

    DingTalk is a messaging app in China that has over 100 million users.

    Cainiao Network:

    Cainiao Network is a Chinese logistics company.

    As you can see Alibaba has created its own ecosystem. The market capitalisation of Alibaba is $331.52 billion. The company has 1.24 billion consumers worldwide.

    In a press release the company said that in the September Quarter of 2021, the company generated a revenue of USD 31,147 million, indicating a 29% year-over-year increase.

    In the financial year 2022, Alibaba group made a revenue of 134.6 billion U.S. dollars.

    The unique thing about Alibaba and its subsidiaries is that they provide opportunities to small sellers to upscale their business.

    3. eBay

    eBay is an American e-commerce company which allows users to buy and sell their products. As of July 2022, eBay has a market capitalisation of $24.47 Billion.

    At the end of March 31 2022, the company’s revenue was $10.265 billion, a 9.17% increase year-over-year. In 2021, the company made a revenue of $10.42 billion, a 17.16% increase from 2020.

    The platform has 185 million active buyers and 19 million sellers worldwide. Most of the users buy and sell electronic products and accessories.

    eBay has implemented advanced technology using which buyers can find the best price for a certain product easily. The ‘best price guarantee’ of eBay also attracts a lot of customers.

    Under this policy, if a user buys a product from eBay and finds a better price from its competitor, within 48 hours the company will cover 110% of the difference.

    eBay also encourages sellers to advertise their products. This helps the company to earn ad revenue. The company has also tied up with PayPal which provides in-house payment services to buyers and sellers.

    4. Walmart

    Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that has established 10,500 stores and clubs in 24 countries.

    It operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores and grocery stores. Apart from focusing on offline stores, the company has started allocating its resources to its e-commerce stores and has expanded its grocery pickup and delivery services.

    The huge chain of offline stores helps the company to sell more goods and services online.

    The company has a market cap of $343.52 billion. Walmart’s annual revenue for the year 2022 was $572.754 billion, a 2.43% increase from 2021.

    Walmart has 2.3 million employees which help the company to rapidly scale their business.

    5. HomeDepot

    Home Depot is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that deals with construction and home improvement products. It is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States.

    The company has a market capitalisation of $294.646 billion. In the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the company reported sales of $38.9 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion.

    According to Statista, the company has carried out nearly 1.8 billion customer transactions worldwide.

    HomeDepot’s huge chain of offline stores and awesome customer service has helped the company to become successful.

    Recently, the company has invested a lot of money to digitally transform its operations. In 2021, the company launched the “Rent Online, Pick-up In Store” (ROPIS) functionality where customers could view equipment online and make reservations for them in advance from the comfort of their homes.

    The company has partnered with Google Cloud to take their digital transformation efforts to the next level.

    6. Mercado Livre

    Mercado Livre Website
    Mercado Livre Website

    Mercado Livre is the largest e-commerce and payments ecosystem in Latin America. The company operates in 18 countries.

    Using this platform users can buy, sell and make the payment for the products. MercadoLibre has a market capitalization of $35.26 billion.

    The company’s annual revenue for 2021 was $7.069 billion, a 77.92% increase from 2020.

    In 2021, the company gained 139.5 million unique active users. Mercado Livre has been aggressively investing in logistics to make its delivery more effective. In the fourth quarter of 2021, nearly 90% of the shipping was carried out using its own network.

    7. Rakuten

    Rakuten Ichiba is Japan’s largest e-commerce that operates in 29 countries. Using this platform consumers can buy electronics, clothes, books, baby essentials, apparel and much more.

    Apart from e-commerce the company also provides financial services, video distribution services and communications services.

    The company has a market capitalisation of $7.45 billion. If we look at Rakuten’s latest financial reports we can notice that the company’s current revenue (TTM) is $15.03 billion.

    Rakuten provides loyalty points to its customers which are linked to their credit cards. This means that every time customers make a purchase from Rakuten they earn points. The company has 1.6 billion customers around the world.

    8. Reliance Digital

    Finally, an Indian company on this list! As we all know, Reliance Industries is a multinational conglomerate that has a diverse business in telecommunications, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, mass media and textiles.

    Reliance is India’s biggest retailer, with more than 12,000 stores. The company has put up its foot in the quick commerce segment by launching JioMart. Using this platform users can order 50,000+ grocery products online.

    The company’s fashion e-commerce portals Ajio and Reliance Digital performed well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Reliance has a market capitalisation of US$243 billion. Reliance Industries became the first Indian company to cross 100Bn$ in revenues.

    Reliance industries is also the 10th largest employer in India with a workforce of 236,000 employees.

    In FY2021, Reliance Retail generated a revenue of Rs 1,53,818 crore and a pre-tax profit of Rs 9,842.

    9. Prosus

    Prosus is a Dutch multinational conglomerate company. It is Europe’s largest consumer Internet company and one of the world’s largest tech investors.

    The company has invested a lot of its money in companies from different sectors like fintech (PayU), food delivery platforms (iFood, Delivery Hero and Swiggy), and EdTech (Stack Overflow, Brainly, Udemy), retail (eMag) and e-commerce (OLX).

    In 2021, Prosus delivered revenue growth of 51% to US$9.8 billion from its e-commerce ventures.

    10. Meituan Dianping

    Meituan-Dianping is a Chinese shopping platform for consumer products and retail services like dining, delivery, travel and much more.

    The company works on the model of a ‘super app’ where users can buy movie tickets, order food online, read restaurant reviews, buy different products and services and do much more from a single app.

    Meituan has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion. In 2021, the company generated a revenue of 179 billion yuan.

    In the first quarter of 2022, Meituan’s food delivery and in-store business along with hotel and travel segments achieved an aggregate operating profit of RMB5.1 billion.

    Conclusion

    As you can see all the top e-commerce companies are constantly innovating and providing high-quality products or services to their customers. The companies have understood the behavioural pattern of the audience and are trying to make the lives of the people better. Remember, when your product or service is helping people you will always succeed.

    FAQs

    Which is the world’s largest e-commerce company?

    Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce company with a market capitalization of $1.163 Trillion. At the end of the financial year 2022, the company generated a whopping revenue of $477.748B, a 13.99% increase year-over-year.

    Is Alibaba bigger than Amazon?

    No, Alibaba is not bigger than Amazon.

    Which country is No 1 in e-commerce?

    China is the world’s biggest and fastest-growing e-commerce market in the world. The e-commerce market in China is growing at an annual growth rate of 21%.

    What is the biggest online market?

    eBay is the biggest online marketplace that serves over 180 million buyers worldwide. The company operates in 190 markets around the world.

  • How Tesla Became the Biggest Name in the Automobile Industry?

    The Automobile Industry is one of the giants in the global economy. It has been around forever and has gone through its fair share of changes and innovations over the years, however, one of the most influential and sustainable innovations is that of Electric Vehicles.

    And although this concept floated since its invention by Robert Anderson in 1832, it was put into the mainstream spotlight by Tesla in 2008 with its first Electric Car, the Tesla Roadster. No major company thought of taking up this concept before it was in many ways made cool by Tesla despite it being incredibly sustainable and way ahead of its time.

    Many experts in the industry have speculated about the EV Concept and as a result, Automobile Industry as a whole would not have been such a hot topic if Tesla was not the driving force behind it.

    Although Tesla has not seen a profitable year yet, it has had many profitable quarters and sticks to its vision of making Electric Vehicles affordable for almost everyone.

    On 1 July 2020, exactly 17 years after its incorporation, Tesla became the world’s most valuable automaker with a market capitalization of $206 Billion, surpassing Toyota. But how did Tesla start? Who was behind it? What makes this futuristic company different from the rest? Where will it be after 10 years? Let us find the answer to these questions.

    History of Tesla
    Musk’s Four Round Investments
    Marketplace and Stocks of Tesla
    Different Strategies Implemented by Tesla
    Vehicle Models
    The Journey of Tesla to Emerge as the World’s Most Successful EV Brand
    How Tesla Is Dominating the Ev Industry?
    Problems With Tesla Models and the Future Ahead

    History of Tesla

    The founders of Tesla- Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning
    The founders of Tesla- Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning

    Originally known as Tesla Motors, Tesla was co-founded and incorporated on 1 July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. The influence behind Tesla was GM’s failed attempt at EVs in 2003 despite the vast potential and high efficiency of battery electric cars.

    The third employee was Tom Wright and in February 2004, Elon Musk whose name today is almost synonymous with Tesla contributed $6.5 Million and became the chairman of the BOD. Martin Eberhard was appointed as the CEO and JB Straubel joined in May 2004. After a lawsuit settlement in September 2009, all three original employees can call themselves co-founders.

    Tesla’s initial goal was to start the production of premium sports cars for early adopters and after securing a respectable customer base, move into the mainstream vehicles like sedans, Trucks, and luxury cars. The first car produced by Tesla was the Roadster in 2008.

    Musk’s Four Round Investments

    Elon Musk- the current CEO and the largest investor in Tesla
    Elon Musk- the current CEO and the largest investor in Tesla

    First Round

    The Series A Investment in February 2004 included Company Technology partners along with different ventures and private investors.

    Second Round

    The second round investment was worth $13 Million and it included the addition of Valor Equity Partners to the funding team.

    Third Round

    The third round investment was co-led by Musk and various technology partners. It consisted of $40 million in May 2006 along with Tech Partners. This round also included investments from Google, and eBay among others.

    Fourth Round

    The fourth round of investment included another $45 Million in internal investment and the total investment went up to $105 million through private financing.

    Marketplace and Stocks of Tesla

    Tesla launched its initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ, the second American car company after Ford Motor Company to do so.

    Tesla became the world’s second most valuable automaker with a market capitalization of $104 Billion and on 1st July 2020 the most valuable by reaching the milestone of $202 Billion.

    Despite the above milestones, Tesla has not seen an overall profit in any financial year. At the end of 2019, it posted a loss of $862 Million on revenue of $24.6 Billion.

    However, this fact is often overlooked as Tesla leans towards a societal concept rather than a profit-making one.

    Different Strategies Implemented by Tesla

    Business Strategy

    Tesla follows a typical business strategy like the technological sector, i.e, targeting early adopters with a high price and gradually lowering the price as they move on to the bigger markets. For example, Tesla’s First model, Roadster was of a lower volume and higher price compared to Model X and Model Y.

    Production Strategy

    Like Musk’s other projects, Tesla’s production strategy includes high degrees of Vertical Integration which is rare in the automobile industry, as companies outsource most of the components from their suppliers.

    Sales and Marketing Strategy

    Instead of a conventional dealer network, Tesla opts to sell its vehicles online through company-owned showrooms. It offers the customers an option to customize their desired vehicle. Tesla does not rely on a heavy advertising policy Elon Musk with his massive Twitter following is an unofficial marketing manager.

    Technological Strategies

    Tesla relies on heavy electrical technologies to get its production done. As a vertically integrated company, they design batteries, motors, glass, and innovative models like Autopilots.

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    Vehicle Models

    The first model of Tesla- Roadster
    The first model of Tesla- Roadster

    As of 2020, Tesla sells three car models, Model S, Model X, and Model Y.

    The Unveiled models include Roadster 2020 and the highly awaited Cybertruck. These products have different versions to them based on affordability. Musk said that there will be more innovative models down the road which would be more affordable than the current ones.

    Unfortunately, there will be no Tesla Motorbike.

    Zoomcar Success Story – Services | Founders | Business model | Revenue | Wiki
    No more worries about petrol mileage, fuel costs, insurance, and car breakdowns! Self-drive cars from Zoomcar have given customers more control, privacy, andfreedom. Book a self drive car in any city you visit with the app on your phoneand feel at home wherever you go. Zoomcar has enabled driving…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    The Journey of Tesla to Emerge as the World’s Most Successful EV Brand

    There are several car manufacturing companies found across different parts of the World. However, when we talk about Tesla, it does stand out from the rest of the companies due to the initiation of something different.

    Tesla is quite popular for its EV model cars which have created a path for Tesla to emerge as the World’s most successful brand.

    To achieve this tag, Tesla made every step resourceful. Tesla brand was started with a sample model featuring cars with a high cost and few models. This invention was to just ensure that myth revolving around the EV cars can find their dissolving points. For the start, Tesla manufactured just 500 units in a year and was responsible for many revolutionary programs.

    The next model introduced by Tesla was about changing the manufacturing units to a greater scale and on contrary, it decreased the price of the model. This model was a great way to give head-on competition to the other luxury brand models.

    Tesla also connects directly with its customers rather than depending upon the franchisee network. Tesla sells its products directly to customers and has a web-type global network to get it settled as a global brand.

    Tesla mainly focuses on the customer buying experience to get more recognition from people. Several showrooms and galleries are placed at multiple locations by Tesla to have a much-organized system.

    Tesla Showroom
    Tesla Showroom

    Apart from this, Tesla has a good marketing strategy and a well-developed plan to sell its brand. Tesla also has a good financing backup and a few well-known investors. All these things make it possible for Tesla to emerge as the World’s most successful EV brand.

    How Tesla Is Dominating the Ev Industry?

    We can assume that Tesla is dominating the EV industry based on the fact that the EV sales of Tesla are approximate 2.3 times higher than that of other brands as per Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. The rate of growth observed by Tesla in the EV industry is almost double that of any rival brand.

    If we look at the Tesla market in the US, it is safe to say that the EV market in the US is highly dominated by Tesla for years now. For that instance, the EV cars of Tesla accounted for 79% of the overall rate of new cars registered in the US during 2020 and 69.95% of the newly registered car for the year 2021.

    If to believe the available facts and data, it can be estimated that Tesla will still keep on dominating the EV industry for a few more years but with the condition of increasing competition.

    US Electric Vehicle Sales
    US Electric Vehicle Sales

    Problems With Tesla Models and the Future Ahead

    A 2025 Tesla Model S
    A 2025 Tesla Model S 

    Despite having an innovative approach and putting customer satisfaction ahead of profits, Tesla has come up short on various aspects.

    The durability, handling, and repairs cost are some of the quality-related problems that come with a Tesla model. The repairs and maintenance costs are very high and as a result, so are the Insurance costs. Apart from this, Tesla repeatedly comes up short in meeting deadlines regarding production, but this can be attributed to their decision on Vertical Integration.

    Whatever the case may be, the company fixes some of its flaws with every new model and with its futuristic.

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    Conclusion

    Tesla is the first brand to introduce electric vehicles on the roads. The models designed by Tesla also stand out from others due to their characteristics. Tesla created a safe way for the EV models to run on roads and also made them available at cost-effective prices.

    With its uniqueness, Tesla is now dominating the EV industry and has successfully evolved as an EV brand across the world. The above article contains information like the history of Tesla, Investors and stock shares of Tesla, strategies planned by Tesla, the future of Tesla, and a few other basic information.

    FAQs

    Who are Tesla’s competitors?

    Tesla’s competitors are Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN), Lucid Group Inc. (LCID), XPeng Inc. (XPEV), Li Auto Inc. (LI), etc.

    Why is Tesla so famous?

    Tesla is majorly famous because of its cutting-edge technology involving battery technology and electric powertrain.

    Is Tesla the biggest car company?

    The company is the biggest in the world and can be defined in many aspects. If we talk about the profit, then yes, Tesla is counted among the eight largest car companies across the world.

    What is the rank of Tesla in the world?

    Tesla falls at the rank of 65 on the “Fortune 500” list for the year 2021.

  • How Entrepreneurs Market to Audience in Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cities – A Case Study

    A wise man once said – ‘Good Marketing makes the company look smart, whereas Great Marketing makes the customers feel smart’.

    Yes, the customers are definitely going smarter by the day, and all of this is not just led by the technological advancements and innovations that we are seeing globally, today’s industries, entrepreneurs and marketers also play a significant hand in it.

    One of the best examples is India itself, which is the next big thing in terms of startups and entrepreneurs, who are growing each day, and that too with the aim of gearing the country ahead in the global canvas.

    Entrepreneurship in India today is no longer a myth. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) India Report (21-22) entrepreneurship in India has noticeably expanded in the past few years. The Total Entrepreneurial Activity rate, which is the percentage of the adults who are starting up with or running a new business has increased from 5.3% in 2020 to 14.4% in 2021.

    The Growing Penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets!
    Why are the Startups and Entrepreneurs choosing Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets of India?
    Advantages of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities with Growing Startups and Entrepreneurs’ Focus on Them:

    Amit Nigam – COO & Executive Director, BANKIT
    Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism)
    Sanjay Tiwari – Co-founder, 21CC Education
    Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas
    Krishna Murthy – Founder of Teach My Lesson
    Shivram Choudhary – Founder, Codevidhya
    Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky
    Raj N – Founder, Zaggle
    Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab
    Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically

    The Growing Penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets!

    Though the Tier 1 cities of India have always been the regions to pilot for the entrepreneurs and startup founders from across the world, the entrepreneurs of India are not simply satisfied with the penetration in the first-class cities of the country. They are focusing largely on Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, and beyond.

    As per the recent census, India has registered a total of 4000+ towns, and only 8 cities among them are classified as Tier 1. So, it can easily be realised that a considerable section of the Indian population resides in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and more.

    The IT industry was one of the first to realise the potential of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India. This happened when they found that the Tier 1 cities have reached a saturation point. The startups of India have largely caught up with the changing trends. Besides, being geared up with the new-age Government of India schemes like Digital India, Startup India initiatives, and more, the Indian government has also joined forces with the status and entrepreneurs of today to gift India a golden future that the whole of India can enjoy!

    20% of Indian startups belonged to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India in 2017
    20% of Indian startups belonged to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India in 2017 

    Only 20% of the startups came from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India when reported in 2017. This was a growth from 16% of the startups of India, which came from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India. These numbers rapidly rose up to become 50%, as per April 2022 reports.  

    The penetration of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets today is on a rise holding the hands of the unicorn startups of India and all other budding startups and promising ideators of the country.

    Research conducted in 2019 pointed out that out of over 16,000 startups registered in India then, nearly half of them have their business centres in smaller Indian cities.

    Why are the Startups and Entrepreneurs choosing Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets of India?

    Numerous industries and startup founders are looking to penetrate the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets of India because of more than one reason. Some prominent ones are:

    • Growing competition in the Tier 1 cities
    • Lack of employment in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
    • Gaining more audiences/customers in these cities
    • Improving the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
    • Expand their businesses
    • Affordability in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
    • Support of the Indian government to start up in these cities  

    The growth of startups and startup initiatives in these smaller towns in India are not only proving to be effective for the startup founders and entrepreneurs. The Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are also reaping significant benefits due to the advancements taking place there.

    Advantages of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities with Growing Startups and Entrepreneurs’ Focus on Them:

    Some of the major benefits that the Tier 2 and Tier cities of India are enjoying with the improvement of industries and markets for startups and other companies in India are:

    • Upliftment of the standards of living in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
    • More income to the people living there
    • Access to quality goods and services
    • Improvement of facilities
    • A reduced movement to the Tier 1 cities
    • A reduced dependency on imports

    It ultimately boils down to the marketers and entrepreneurs of the country, who would actually be there and advance the growth of the industries in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets of India.

    Here are some of the glimpses of some major companies that includes the Indian unicorns, who have actually proved that the Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities are marketable enough in these modern times:

    DailyHunt

    The business model of DailyHunt largely banks on the sharing of vernacular language content, a majority of which is spoken in tier 2, tier 3 cities, and beyond in India. So, though Dailyhunt is headquartered in a Tier 1 city, Bengaluru, the company focused on the other cities right from the start. Besides, its acquisition of companies like LocalPlay, a hyperlocal platform for video and news content, is also in line with its objective of boosting its hyperlocal presence in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 geographies of India along with cementing its present position as a leading local language content discovery platform.

    Moj

    Owned by Mohall Tech and headquartered in Bengaluru, Moj is an Indian video-sharing social networking platform that supports 15+ languages. Much like Dailyhunt, Moj’s business model also revolved around video content sharing in vernacular languages, which itself targetted the cities beyond the Tier 1 cities of India. Furthermore, the banning of the viral Chinese video sharing platform TikTok on June 29, 2020, also played an angel’s hand is lifting the platform up to help India emerge as an Aatmanirbhar country.

    Did you know the downloads of the Moj app crossed 50K in Google Play Store in just 2 days?

    Paytm

    The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-founded fintech company that focuses on UPI payments and other services including banking, eCommerce services and more, is not only known to the Tier 1 cities but is famous beyond them as well.

    Speaking on its penetration in tier 2 and 3 cities of India, Paytm revealed that around 50% of its userbase is from the smaller cities of India – Panipat, Rohtak, Pondicherry, Surat, Ranchi and more. This remarkable feedback that Paytm has pulled up is largely attributable to its multilingual app and the growing demand for easy UPI transactions, which are conveniently done via our phones, irrespective of their types.

    Flipkart

    Walmart-backed Flipkart is a leading ecommerce company, which not only cares for their customers in the Tier 1 cities of India. When last reported on June 17, 2021, Flipkart revealed that over 52% of its customers come from the tier II and beyond cities. This increase in penetration in Tier II, Tier III cities, and beyond has been a combined result of the promising opportunities that these cities have and the zeal to expand the reach of the company.

    Cosmetics and Beauty Products Companies like Sugar Cosmetics, Nykaa and more

    Gone are the days when cosmetics and beauty products and services were restricted to the Tier 1 cities of India. Beauty regimes are now a significant part of the daily routine and vocabulary of millennial women, regardless of where they hail from. With the rapid penetration of smartphones in the smaller cities today, the women in tier 2, tier 3, tier 4 cities, and beyond are not behind even by a step from their Tier 1 counterparts.

    Reports revealed that over 15% of the occasional cosmetic users who belong to the secondary and tertiary cities have tried their first face primers, foundations, BB creams, and more in the past 2-3 years. The online beauty marketplaces like Sugar Cosmetics, Nykaa, and more have a large hand in it though, who have actually made shopping for cosmetics and beauty products, availing of beauty services, and more, easier by bringing them online. The Covid-19 pandemic breakout, along with bringing the great resignation, major recessions, economic breakdowns, layoffs, and more such calamities, has also helped industries and individuals grow in many ways. One of such benevolent effects of the coronavirus pandemic is that it ushered in a new period of work from home where the countries and the working professionals living in them learned about the potential of the internet and were more close to the things happening online. An inclination to purchase cosmetic products also increased this way.

    To know how businesses market to their audience in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, StartupTalky reached out to entrepreneurs from diverse fields. Here’s what we got to know about how they market to people in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities:

    Amit Nigam – COO & Executive Director, BANKIT

    Amit Nigam – COO & Executive Director, BANKIT

    BANKIT tries to reach the tier 2 and tier 3 segment of the audience through retailers who are already familiar with the customer and can reach them more effectively. This helps in overcoming the most common challenge that companies face while reaching consumers in Tier 2/3 areas: Gaining their trust.

    Difference between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences – By Entrepreneurs
    Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning – the STP approach is a model used bybusinesses to cater their customer segments in a more sophisticated way. Basedon the the nature of organisation, objectives, industry, market scenarios etc.,the STP approach differs. The overall market is catered by the…
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism)

    Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ

    The future of online media will be defined by those who create content, produce stories in the language which the masses understand. And that’s what we precisely do at NEWJ. Within a short period of two years since inception, we have grown our regional network base to 12 languages (including English and Hindi). Our in-house data capabilities help us build predictive models on the content consumption patterns across social media. Our state-of-the-art tech architecture collates user consumption & computer vision data to derive insights and patterns on how a content piece will perform. This enables us to connect with and market our content effectively.

    Entrepreneurs Face these Problems while operating in Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cities
    Wondering what are Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities? Based on population density, Indiancities are classified as X (tier 1), Y (tier 2) and Z (tier 3) categories. WhereTier 1 contains metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai & so on, Tier2 has cities like Gurgaon, Vellore, Kochi etc., The remain…
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Sanjay Tiwari – Co-founder, 21CC Education

    Sanjay Tiwari – Co-founder, 21CC Education

    These cities are seeing increasing attention and fast infrastructural growth. You now have state-of-the-art warehouses coming up on what used to be farmland. When we create content for these audiences, we use our expertise to explain the process, i.e., what has to be done, along with why it has to be done-why keeping something chilled matters or why a bar code matters, why it’s important to be able to trace something. So you have to explain much more of the context.

    Then there is language to consider that requires a constant feedback loop and intelligent design to ensure that the platform’s UI is flawless and simple without being simplistic.

    Building presence in these markets requires a different approach as growth in awareness may be slow. As mentioned above we’re doing that via distribution partners which may include certain tech companies soon. CSR initiatives on behalf of certain trusted names in the logistics space have also allowed for our outreach to increase in these locations.

    Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas

    Market to tier 1 , tier 2, tier 3 audiences
    Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas

    Social media like Facebook and Instagram are the best modes to reach
    to tier 2 & 3 customers, said Sudha Anand, Founder of Swaas.

    13 Ways to Market Your E-Commerce Website in 2021
    Having organized an ecommerce website is a job half done. The rest of the job isproper marketing of the website to gain more customers as more and moreindividuals become aware of the website, the sales increase and therebyestablish the virtual presence of the ecommerce initiative. As the word of…
    StartupTalkyYash Gupta

    Krishna Murthy – Founder of Teach My Lesson

    Krishna Murthy – Founder of Teach My Lesson

    Here are some of the points highlighted by the Founder of Teach My Lesson:

    • Clearly articulate the value offered in plain terms
    • Price solutions aptly. Price is often the proxy for quality, and solutions priced considerably lower than the benchmark are seen as not trust worthy
    • Leverage locally accomplished individuals to endorse the brand and build credibility. Related to this, use local micro-influencers and not mega influencers.
    • Make customer ratings and review visible and vocal; everyone relies on reviews
    • Deliver on the promise – the customer journey need an enjoyable yet straightforward. Under promising and overdelivering is better than vice versa
    • India is progressing, and customer expectations are high across tiers, ‘Chalta hai’ ab nahi ‘Chalta hai’

    Top Free Digital Marketing Tools for Every Entrepreneur
    Digital Marketing is one of the fastest-growing industries in India. It isgrowing at a rate of 15-20% yearly in India. Digital Marketing jobs haveflourished in the country in recent years. There are a lot of freelancers andDigital Marketing agencies coming up in the country. Digital Marketing too…
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    Shivram Choudhary – Founder, Codevidhya

    Shivram Choudhary – Founder, Codevidhya

    Thankfully, with the advancement of technology, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities have proper access to the Internet today. With the campaigns that we run and the marketing we perform, it is easier to spread the word to our target audience regardless of their City-tiers.

    Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky

    Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky

    With regards to the marketing approach in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, building local partnerships helps majorly to gain trust but we also focus on digital marketing and content marketing with a vernacular approach to find paying audience.

    Raj N – Founder, Zaggle

    Raj N - Founder, Zaggle
    Raj N – Founder, Zaggle

    Brands need to innovate exclusively for rural consumers because the values and sensitivities of the rural audiences are a stark contrast to that of their urban counterparts.

    Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab

    Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab

    The pandemic has resulted in a lot of changes on the ground. One of the most prominent of these is reverse migration and increased online buying in Tier 2 and 3 cities. On one hand, several kirana stores across cities and towns pivoted online, while on the other, many young professionals and graduates moved back to their towns driving rural consumption and demand. Established players like Flipkart and Amazon, through Samarth and Flipkart Wholesale and Prione respectively, are betting heavily on the rural entrepreneurship story.

    The tier III environment is immensely different from tier I and II and therefore, communication to potential customers requires a specialized and integrated approach. Indian market is very diverse and demands regional connectivity. OTT (Over the top) players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, etc., are expected to spend Rs. 150 crore this year. We can see the push that is given by global companies towards local languages to enter the market of Bharat. Similarly, fintech industry is also expected to provide local language support and focus on user interface which is seamless and intuitive to expand its user base.

    Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically

    Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically

    Marketing is always audience-led and the strategy has to involve a mix of the best mediums through which one can reach relevant audiences. Considering the emphasis that Indians place on education, keeping respective market nuances aside, the core TG for Practically i.e parents of kids aged 11 to 17 and the kids themselves, exhibit the same need across markets, and that is ‘a need for innovative learning’. To reach out to them, in the COVID era, the most impactful mediums of marketing have been TV and Digital. In pre covid era, BTL activations in such markets have acted as a crucial support to the main campaign. Radio & Print (regional) can also be looked at to effectively drive awareness among these audiences & build credibility. The key is to understand the touch points of your product, study customer journey and effectively strategize marketing for this segment. The correct choice of medium matters the most.

    Conclusion

    From leveraging locally accomplished individuals to personalizing linguistic features, entrepreneurs are leaping well above their grounds to rightly market in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Hope their views gave you an insight into how to market in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

    FAQs

    What are tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India?

    The Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and beyond are simply the classifications of the cities of the country on the basis of development. Hence, the most developed cities in India are the Tier 1 cities, then comes the Tier 2 cities, and so on.

    What are some of the business ideas in tier 2 and tier 3 cities?

    The tier 2 and tier 3 cities are growing with the increased absorption of the internet and the modern initiatives and schemes by the Government of India to improve the cities beyond the first-class cities in India. Here are some of the most promising business ideas for growth in tier 2, tier 3, and more cities of India:

    • Financial firm
    • Advertising company
    • Beauty salon
    • Grocery store
    • Consulting company
    • Real estate business
    • Food delivery company
    • Farms
    • Nurseries
    • Manufacturing units
    • Clothes business
    • Consultation company
    • Logistics company

    What are some of the Indian companies that are focusing on the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India?

    Most of the companies today are focusing on the Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and beyond in India. Some of the most prominent companies that are encouraging customers from Tier 2 and tier 3 cities are Paytm, Moj, Flipkart, Dailyhunt, Nykaa, Sugar Cosmetics, and more.

    Which industries are foraying into tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India?

    There has been an increasing foray into the tier 2 and tier cities in India in the past few years. Some of the major industries that have already entered the tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 markets in India are:

    • Gaming
    • Fintech
    • Real estate
    • UPI
    • Edtech
    • Entertainment
    • News
    • Fashion
    • Food delivery
    • Logistics
    • Crypto

    How many startups have their reach to the cities beyond the tier 1 cities of India?

    As per the recent survey results, out of all the startups thriving in the country at present, around 50% of them have their reach, their business centres, in the tier 2 cities and beyond in India.

  • Top 6 Social Issues Campaign by Top Brands

    Brands release multiple marketing campaigns to increase awareness about their product and ultimately boost their revenue. These ads are placed on various social media apps, websites, newspapers and on television.

    But, should the brand only focus on making revenue? Don’t you think it is the duty of the brands to raise their voice on social issues? The answer to both of these questions is an absolute yes. The positive thing here is that most of the brands have actually raised their voices against social issues.

    Today, we will tell top social issues campaigns done by brands that aimed to create a positive change in society.

    1. UNAIDS: The Mirror
    2. Good News Is GenderFree: Prega News:
    3. Unacademy: Teach Them Young
    4. Dove: Stop The Beauty Test
    5. Truecaller: Shabd
    6. RadioCity: Cutting Paani

    1. UNAIDS: The Mirror

    Transgenders in India face a lot of social discrimination and are often pressurized to behave in a certain way. They are not given proper education and very few job opportunities are provided to them.

    Shockingly, 98 per cent of transgenders in India leave their house or are thrown out. Trans teens have much more suicidal tendencies than the ones whose identities match what is written on their birth certificates. Transgender women have the highest HIV rates, up to 40 per cent.

    To make parents understand that they should accept their children as they are UNAIDS, a leading global organisation that aims to end AIDS, launched a video campaign named ‘Mirror’.

    In this video, a young boy is not interested in playing with other children during the kite festival. He goes downstairs and drapes himself in a woman’s scarf.

    He then dances with joy. Although after a few moments his mother and grandmother catch him dancing. The boy is scared to see his mother. Although the mother smiles and starts dancing with her son.

    The video ends with a beautiful quote, ‘Let’s see our children the way they see themselves’. Within just 2:30 minutes the video encourages parents to allow their children to grow as they want to and make their lives happier.

    Transgender from all around the country like Australia, Thailand, America, Uganda, Kyrgyzstan and Brazil resonated with the video and said that even though the video is shot in India the message is universal.

    2. Good News Is GenderFree: Prega News

    Gender inequality has been prevalent in India for many years. Most people prefer a boy child and don’t wish to get a girl child. People feel that a girl child will be a burden on the house.

    The worst thing here is that most people have a mindset that a man will achieve a lot of success in life while women are only good for handling household chores. This is the exact reason why people pray to get a boy child.

    To change the mindset of the people Prega News, which provides pregnancy detection test kits, launched a video campaign titled ‘GoodNewsIsGenderFree’ on International Mother’s Day.

    In this ad, a mother-in-law wishes to get a healthy child irrespective of gender. The company tells the people that instead of praying for a boy child you should rather wish for the mother and baby to be healthy during the pregnancy. The video has generated 16 million views on YouTube.

    3. Unacademy: Teach Them Young

    If you want boys to respect girls then you must teach boys about gender equality from a very young age. To spread this exact idea among Indians, Unacademy launched a video campaign on various media platforms titled, ‘Teach them young’.

    In this video campaign, a father teaches his son to respect her sister’s boundaries and tells him not to interfere in his life unnecessarily. The campaign teaches us that boys should respect the privacy of their sisters and shouldn’t consider them weak.

    Protecting your sisters, mothers or wives is a good thing but, always assuming that they need your help is the wrong mindset. 2.3 million people have watched this video on YouTube.

    4. Dove: Stop The Beauty Test

    Dove is a popular personal care brand that manufactures a wide variety of hair products, skincare and deodorant.

    In India, body shaming and colour biases are prevalent. What’s worse is that people consider these things funny or normal and don’t understand the negative impact it creates on the minds of the people. Body shaming decreases the confidence of people and creates serious mental issues.

    To stop this, Dove released a video campaign titled, ‘Stop the beauty test’. The video shows how women are discriminated against for their weight, height, skin colour and hairstyles. It encourages viewers to see the inner beauty and skills of the person. The video has 32 million views on YouTube.

    5. Truecaller: Shabd

    Stalking is another big issue in India. In 2018, 1 woman became the victim of stalking every 55 minutes. Although this number would have surely increased tremendously in 2022.

    Stalking is a criminal crime that destroys the mental peace of the victim. The feeling that one gets when someone is following them is one of the worst feelings in the world.

    Unfortunately, most stalking cases are not reported. To encourage women to take action against stalking Truecaller launched a video campaign titled, ‘Shabd’ which was based on a true story.

    The video tells a story of a mute woman who is stalked daily by an unknown man. The stranger traumatizes the woman by constantly messaging and calling her due to which she is under deep stress.

    Although one fine day she decides to register a complaint against the men in the police station. The video tells the viewers that it is not okay to be quiet and that everyone should take action against stalkers. The video has 2.5 Million views on YouTube.

    6. RadioCity: Cutting Paani

    In 2019, India was going through the worst water crisis. According to a 2019 NITI Aayog report, 600 million people in India are water deprived.

    The four water reservoirs in Chennai went completely dry. Hotels and Restaurants were temporarily closed due to a shortage of water and residents had to stand in long queues for hours to get water from water tanks.

    Several offices in 2019 had asked the employees to work from home since their offices as well had a limited supply of water. What’s worse is that between 2007 and 2017 groundwater levels in India had declined by over 60 per cent.

    To make people understand the importance of water and encourage them to use water only when required, Radio City launched a ‘Cutting Paani’ campaign. In this initiative, a small video was released with a peppy song where the RJs gave ideas to people on how they can save water.

    They encouraged hotels, restaurants and corporations to serve only half a glass of water to avoid wastage. The video featured big actors like Salman Khan, Raveena Tondon, Arjun Kapoor and Disha Patani.

    Radio City partnered with AHAR, the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, to distribute ‘Cutting Paani’ certification stickers to the hotels and restaurants.

    Conclusion

    As you can see a lot of brands have launched various campaigns to change the mindset of the people. Since these brands are popular and have a huge audience base these campaigns create a huge positive impact. It is good to see that brands don’t just think about generating profits but also wish to make society a better place to live.

    FAQs

    Should companies campaign on social issues?

    It is the duty of the companies to raise their voice on social issues. As brands have huge followings they can bring a positive change in society. Brands also benefit from this as they create a positive image in the minds of the customer and might see a growth in their profits.

    How can brands talk about social issues?

    Brands can launch video campaigns or upload posts on various social media platforms to spread awareness about social issues like gender inequality, racism, poverty and many more. They can also hold webinars and conferences.

  • Ericsson – Lending Its Hand in the Evolution of Mobile Networks

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Ericsson.

    Ericsson is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company is a worldwide leader in delivering ICT solutions. Its services include cloud applications, mobility, and broadband.

    The Company offers its products and services to mobile and fixed network operators, as well as provides communications networks, telecom services, and multimedia solutions, globally.

    Ericsson – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
    Headquarters Kista, Stockholm, Sweden
    Industry Telecommunications equipment, Networking equipment
    Founded 1876
    Founders Lars Magnus Ericsson
    CEO Börje Ekholm
    Website www.ericsson.com

    Ericsson – About and How it Works?
    Ericsson – Logo and its Meaning
    Ericsson – Founder and History
    Ericsson – Mission
    Ericsson – Joint Venture With Sony
    Ericsson – Business Model
    Ericsson – Revenue and Growth
    Ericsson – Funding and Investors
    Ericsson – Investments
    Ericsson – Acquisitions
    Ericsson – Competitors
    Ericsson – Challenges Faced
    Ericsson – Recent News
    Ericsson – Future Plans

    Ericsson – About and How it Works?

    Ericsson Corporation is a leading multinational firm of telecommunications and networking equipment, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson Inc. primarily serves network operators, transportation companies, utilities, and broadcasters in the US.

    Ericsson’s growing services also offer consulting, network build-out, network optimization, and network management and maintenance services. Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers.

    The company enables the full value of connectivity by creating game-changing technology and services that are easy to use, adapt, and scale, making the customers successful in a fully connected world. Its core network products are antennas, transmitters, switching systems, and other gear used to build wireless telecommunications networks.

    Ericsson – Logo and its Meaning

    The company prepared several variations of the stylized E. It is also called “Ericsson’s three sausages” which is actually a tilted letter ‘E’.

    Ericsson's Company Logo
    Ericsson’s Company Logo

    To create a smoother identity, the geometry of the logo was altered to align with the pixel grid, meaning it would appear rendered on digital screens.

    Ericsson – Founder and History

    Founder of Ericsson - Lars Magnus Ericsson
    Founder of Ericsson – Lars Magnus Ericsson

    s and undertake small mechanical engineering jobs. Once the telephone arrived in Sweden, Ericsson began being commissioned to repair and install the new invention.

    He quickly realized the possibilities of the telephone and started improving and creating his versions of the device. The first telephones manufactured by Ericsson were presented in 1878. Shortly thereafter, Ericsson’s unique wall-mounted telephones would soon become known throughout the world as the “Swedish pattern”.

    Today the company is leading the way in creating a connected world, one where new technologies transform the way we interact and communicate. Through its innovations and ICT solutions, the company helps transform industries and create a world of new possibilities.

    Cisco- Journey of the biggest American multinational company
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on. Cisco is involved in the design, production and selling of networking equipment.Cisco isn’t the f…
    StartupTalkySarika Anand

    Ericsson – Mission

    Ericsson’s mission is to lead transformation through mobility. Ericsson’s mission statement says, “We empower our customers to connect people and transform industries, as well as address some of the most pressing challenges of our time like climate change, and in doing so create a more sustainable world.“

    Ericsson – Joint Venture With Sony

    Sony Ericsson Logo
    Sony Ericsson Logo

    Sony Ericsson got into the alliance on 1st October 2001 and the main objective of this joint venture is “to develop an alliance that would allow Ericsson to reduce spending on the costly development of next-generation mobile phones at a time when many European telecom companies see their inventories piling up as the world’s cell phone market is growing much more slowly.”

    Joint ventures often failed because of companies not being able to build customer base products, due to which customers switched to other competitive products that provide them with more reliable and innovative products. This is also the main reason for the failure of a joint venture with Sony Ericsson.

    They were providing innovative products but their marketing strategy was not as effective and they could not attract customers.

    They were not providing the advanced versions of mobiles as early as other competitors of mobile phone manufacturing were providing. Their R & D was slow as compared to other mobile phone manufacturers. They were not focusing on a proactive approach, they were also not productive or reactive. So this led to the downfall of this joint venture.

    Ericsson – Business Model

    The company operates three reportable business segments:

    • Networks – Provides products and solutions for mobile and fixed communication, radio networks, core networks, IP and transmission networks, and cloud.
    • Global Services – Provides network rollout services and professional services – specifically, managed services, customer support, consulting and systems integration (CSI), and network design and optimization services.
    • Support Solutions – Provides software-based solutions for BSS and OSS, TV and media solutions, and services/solutions for the mobile commerce ecosystem.

    Jio – The Company that Revolutionised Telecommunication Industry
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on. When do you think a revolution came in the telecommunication industry? Well, themost common answ…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Ericsson – Revenue and Growth

    Ericsson said its revenue increased by 3 percent to SEK 55.1 billion in Q1 2022 as the reason for the increment in the network business.

    Year Amount Percentage Change from last year
    2021 $27.088B +6.94%
    2020 $25.331B +5.37%
    2019 $24.039B -0.94%
    2018 $24.267B +2.77%
    2017 $23.613B -9.26%

    Ericsson – Funding and Investors

    Ericsson has raised a total of $663.2M in funding over 3 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 5, 2018, from a Post-IPO Debt round.

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Jun 5, 2018 Post IPO-Debt €250M European Investment Bank
    Dec 27, 2017 Post-IPO Equity $370M Nordic Investment Bank, Svensk Exportkredit
    May 30, 2017 Post IPO- Equity – Cevian Capital

    Ericsson – Investments

    Ericsson has made 20 investments. Their most recent investment was on Jan 5, 2022, when Formant raised $18M.

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Jan 5, 2022 Formant Series A $18M
    May 6, 2021 Einride Series B $110M
    Apr 9, 2019 PubNub Series D $23M
    Jun 11, 2018 Balena Funding Round $5M
    Jan 31, 2018 Trifacta Series D $48M
    Sep 12, 2016 PubNub Venture Round $6M
    Jun 27, 2016 Cask Venture Round –
    Jun 27, 2016 Balena Series A $9M
    Apr 13, 2016 Jolata Series B $7M
    Nov 5, 2015 Cask Series B $20M
    Aug 24, 2015 Mirantis Series B $100M
    Jan 21, 2015 Pluribus Networks Series D $52M

    Ericsson – Acquisitions

    Ericsson has acquired 39 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Vonage on July 21, 2022. They acquired Vonage for $6.2B.

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    Vonage July 21, 2022 $6.2B Vonage offers a business communication solutions that can easily upgrade customer and employee services
    Cradlepoint Sep 17, 2020 $1.1B Cradlepoint offers a cloud-based network solution to connect people, places, and things over wired and wireless broadband
    Genaker Mar 12, 2020 – Genaker was founded in 2004 as an independent company dedicated to developing innovative mobile solutions
    CENX Sep 4, 2018 – Cenx provides carrier Ethernet interconnect solutions for service and cloud exchange providers
    VidScale Apr 4, 2018 – VidScale is a provider of hardware and cloud-based CDN and transparent caching solutions
    Allolio&Konrad Dec 1, 2016 – Allolio&Konrad provides business consulting services to the telecommunication industry
    Ericpol Jun 21, 2016 – Ericpol Sp. z o.o. is an engineering company that has been operating on international ICT market since 1991
    NodePrime Apr 5, 2016 – NodePrime develops datacenter infrastructure platforms
    FYI Television Jan 19, 2016 – FYI Television, Inc. (FYI) is a global TV metadata and entertainment image content expert, accumulates and distributes TV entertainment
    Envivio Sep 10, 2015 $125M Envivio provides software-based solutions for multi-screen video processing and delivery
    TimelessMIND Apr 9, 2015 – TimelessMIND is a consulting and systems integration company specializing in operations and business support (OSS/BSS)

    Ericsson – Competitors

    Ericsson’s top competitors include Amdocs, Infosys, Cisco, ZTE, Huawei, and Nokia companies.

    Ericsson – Challenges Faced

    On 7 December 2019, Ericsson agreed to pay more than $1.2 billion (€1.09 billion) to settle US criminal and civil investigations into foreign corruption. US authorities accused the company of conducting a campaign of corruption between 2000 and 2016 across China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Djibouti.

    Ericsson admitted to paying bribes, falsifying books and records, and failing to implement reasonable internal accounting controls in an attempt to strengthen its position in the telecommunications industry.

    Ericsson said its revenue dropped 2 percent to SEK 49.8 billion in Q1 2020 as compared with 48.9 billion in Q1 2019. Ericsson said the Covid-19 pandemic had a limited impact on operating income and cash flow in the quarter. Gross margin excluding restructuring charges improved to 40.4 percent (38.5 percent).

    The revenue of Ericsson from 2017 to 2021 in billion dollars
    The revenue of Ericsson from 2017 to 2021 in billion dollars

    Huawei Technologies | Company Profile |
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on. Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, an ex-military officer. It wasmerely formed as a priv…
    StartupTalkySarika Anand

    Ericsson – Recent News

    • Ericsson has successfully completed the acquisition of a cloud communication service providing company Vonage.
    • Malaysia is selected to be the manufacturing hub of Ericsson’s 5G equipment in Asia.
    • Ericsson upgraded Telstra’s optical network capacity to 400GE
    • Ericsson is ready to take 5G into space along with other firms like Qualcomm and Thales.
    • Ericsson is approached by Reliance Jio along with Nokia for 5G telecom gear.

    Ericsson – Future Plans

    • Ericsson has its hand in the evolution of mobile networks and 5G. Their next plan is to make 5G the worldwide standard for the upcoming generation of wireless tech. The company is working with several other mobile operators AT&T, China Mobil, Deutsche Telecom, Korea Telecom, Turkcell, TeliaSonera, Verizon, and Vodafone telecom to make 5G a reality.
    • As we all know, IT is no longer just a support function and it needs to be redefined again and again with the changing needs, something that Ericsson has always been up to. The company’s Cloud solutions are designed as digital factories: software-defined, automated, and accessible easily.
    • As we move into the Networked Society, devices will become more capable and integrated into vast numbers of different applications across sectors. Ericsson takes a holistic view of the Internet of Things (IoT) by providing key solutions to make it happen like the company-managed connectivity services, applications, and systems integration activities. The Ericsson approach is to ensure that all the necessary parts exist for stakeholders and users to benefit from the Internet of Things.

    Conclusion

    Ericsson is a new-age ICT solution-providing company headquartered in Sweden. The company has its mission decided to empower people and create new technologies that define today’s issues with sustainable solutions.

    Ericsson is a leading telecommunication and networking company that has been in a joint venture with different firms and is currently competing with companies like Infosys, Huawei, Nokia, etc. The business model and plans of Ericsson are also discussed above.

    FAQs

    What does Ericsson company do?

    Ericsson is a Swedish technology company that provides and operates telecommunications networks, television and video systems, and related services.

    Who are Ericsson’s competitors?

    Ericsson’s top competitors include Amdocs, Infosys, Cisco, ZTE, Huawei, and Nokia.

    Who owns Ericsson now?

    The two majority owners of Ericsson have remained the same from the time of its foundation. The two owners are named the Wallenberg family and the Handelsbank Sphere.

    What is Ericsson famous for?

    Ericsson is famous for its service of 140 years in the industry. Since its start, it has made many revolutionary products and is responsible for some best-known products such as mobile phones, managing networks, etc.

  • Top 7 Countries That Faced Hyperinflation

    You can hardly predict some cancers before it grabs the whole body to an extreme stage. Basically, hyperinflation is a wolf under the sheepskin. The news, the experts, the cunning industry, and even the government may hide the truth to protect the aftermath. Many companies employ a widespread technique to convince the consumers that costs are stable, even though you’re paying more for less weight with the same packaging. Hyperinflation is a negative catalyst that may act slowly but steadily to summate long-term accelerating inflation. So, we will go through 7 case studies of hyperinflation-affected countries of all stages (growth, maturity, and decline) in the economic graph.

    What is Hyperinflation?
    Countries that Faced Hyperinflation
    Russia
    Iran
    Turkey
    Lebanon
    Sudan
    Zimbabwe
    Venezuela

    What is Hyperinflation?

    Hyperinflation is a terrible stage of uncontrolled inflation with a sustainable panic of supply shortage despite paying more. A country has to face the problem when it has enormous national debt, declining foreign reserves, and long-term political uncertainty. In external events, such as war, and lack of global confidence in the economy, worldwide pandemics push the problem to a negative slope. A government will fund its reaction to the crisis by taking on debt, but it can’t afford services and releasing additional money in the market to make up the difference. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s tweet at the end of October 2021 fuelled the panic of hyperinflation across the US amid the tough time of the pandemic.

    Global Inflation Rate from 2016 to 2021
    Global Inflation Rate from 2016 to 2021

    Countries that Faced Hyperinflation

    Hyperinflation is a dreadful state of condition for any country. The following are some prominent countries that faced hyperinflation and the reasons behind them:

    Russia

    The world’s second-largest arms and crude oil exporter, Russia is heading towards significant inflation, possibly a burst into hyperinflation. The economic data coming out during the Ukraine invasion is not very healthy. Apart from the war, the Kremlin is fighting with an internal three-point trap triangle of (hyper) inflation-pandemic sanctions. As per reports, the Russian regulatory bank called CBR raised the interest rate by 20% to save the ruble from the western red eye of sanctions. As a result, the ruble tanked at a record low of 25% this March.

    Amid fear of losing oil and arms export hegemony, the country faces isolation from the West and the US. Investors are trying to get into a safe escape. Many billionaires shut down their business operations as a protest. The economy is being drained of cash. One month down the line of conflict, Moscow enrolled with 3.5 lakh Ukrainian refugee shelter houses, and inflation zoomed up 15.66% this March-end, expecting a 20% fear of inflation in this financial year as per a central bank survey. SWIFT system and payment card firms are ceasing operation in Russia, which is a significant setback for the country. The CBR is struggling to control capital outflow( movement of an asset out of a nation), escalated by the record-long shut down of the Moscow exchange.

    Moscow’s financial advisors have shown public confidence to revive their internal banks with additional reformation. It will take some time to confirm the post-invasion period Russia copes with the odd or cross the red inflation line to join the hyperinflation club. Though, as per experts, it has intense symptoms of hyperinflation.

    Russia's Ukraine Invasion
    Russia’s Ukraine Invasion

    Iran

    In March 2022, the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI) reported an annual inflation rate of 40.2%. The Islamic Republic owned 10 % of the world’s oil, 15-17% of its gas reserves, and 7% of its minerals. So then, why is Iran also sinking towards hyperinflation? Literally, Iran has everything for cooking except the cook!

    Weak diplomacy also pushed EU and US sanctions on energy, tech, financial service, and foreign trade. Iran’s president asked its central bank to stop releasing data as it is higher than the SCI tally. Diplomatic gaps weaken the trade deficit.

    The country is suffering from basic needs like water. Protesters rioted in Tehran’s streets, resulting in deaths and arrests. The country is accused of state-sponsored disinformation, a dangerous trend to hide the disease rather than treat it.

    A silver lining of hope is raised after the US Congress gets its new president from the democratic party in January 2021. Iran is trying to get the Indian market oil with a rial-rupee deal. The US-Tehran has shown some positive signals of melting down relations with the nuclear deal ahead of the Russia-Ukraine war.

    Turkey

    Ankara crossed the 50% inflation red line and entered the hyperinflation zone with a 54% index as of March 2022. Despite president Recep Erdogan’s battle with the recession, the Turkish people have not achieved a new normal since 2018. His equation to fight inflation is lowering the interest rate. Unfortunately, his flawed policy slipped the currency lira to a loss in the last year. The uncontrolled depreciation of the lira has created a hugely detrimental impact on the economy. There has been a certain increase in the exports, but the following adverse consequences are more than the actual gain:

    • The significant drop in purchasing power is the result of devalued currency; the salary class people need to pay more lira for the same or less product. Therefore, the loss of purchasing power is a severe impediment to economic growth.
    • To minimize the inflation risk, Turkish banks have stopped encouraging lending to ensure less money in the market. It has no option when they are unable to raise interest. In the long run, it has an even worse effect on increasing the country’s brain drain. Foreign currency is taking a break, and investors are rushing out of the country. This leads to job or employment problems at worst.

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    Lebanon

    The civil war inflicted on Lebanon’s lira is losing the battle and ending in triple-digit inflation of 215%  in front of the US currency. It is enough to cripple the retail, health, transport, and fuel sector investment. With 78% poverty, the country is trying to get a good deal from the IMF. But the corruption grappled the country at such a deep level that its central bank had to face inquiry and slap from the lawsuit. The United Nations confirmed that the Ponzi scheme was a major red flag behind the economic meltdown. Beirut tried to reshape its economy with tourists to the Gulf help. But in 2011, the neighbouring Syria unrest put the country in financial collapse again. In the meantime, the Hezbollah-Iran tie miffed some major gulf countries.

    The fall of money was fuelled by the central bank’s direct financing of the government’s public deficit during the civil war. As a result, money has entirely lost its essential rules and everything that made it a reliable store of value. The Govt, despite a defaulter of foreign debts trying to survive with the help of the World Bank and IMF. Another good news is, recently, the new Lebanese govt got a ‘positive outcome’ certificate from the Saudi kingdom. Hope it will improve their credit pipeline.

    Sudan

    After a military coup, riot, and political uncertainty, the East African nation is more chaotic; debt-trapped Sudan announced it would float its currency as economic conditions deteriorated. According to United Nations officials, Sudan’s food crisis is expected to drop due to the African country’s economic collapse, displacement, and ruined harvests. After the military took over the US, IMF and World Bank suspended their million-dollar aid and SDR (special drawing rights of IMF). Another setback is that the separate region of South Sudan holds 75-80% of oil production in the Upper Nile state.

    Since 2016, the country has faced a lopsided economic downturn, covid and coup pushed it on the verge of catastrophe. With the shrinking GDP of 2020 by 3.6%, the country summed up the cycle and added a 359% inflation rate. World food program data warned that about 5.8 million people suffer food shortages and malnutrition. In the current scenario, the political paralysis of Sudan is a significant issue of hyperinflation and food shortage. Moreover, it blocked the foreign fund in the African nation.

    Inflation among countries
    Inflation among countries

    Zimbabwe

    Are you fed up with hearing about hyperinflation in different countries? Here is Zimbabwe for you with a ray of hope. The government had robust growth of 838% inflation in July 2020, and now, there is a significant drop at 50% in August 2021. During this challenging time of pandemics, war, and sanctions, it is not easy to revive the economy from hyperinflation in such a short period. Chronic symptoms of hyperinflation are coming out like lower growth, hunger, a debt-driven economy, low income, jobless youth, and collapsing health sector. It was not fun when the African bread bucket turned half of the population into a beggar.

    It was a tough time for the drug-addicted, debt-ridden country when it was announced as having the highest inflation rate in 2019. With a fast depreciating currency and hyperinflation nearing 800%, most commoners watched their hard-earned money turned into a paper bunch. The country suffered 90% unemployment which coerced University graduates to sell vegetables in the market. The confused Reserve Bank of the country introduced a bond note with a 1:1  value against the dollar, but the market doubt was fainting its importance rapidly. In 2019, the Reserve Bank announced RTGS$ and banned foreign currency in domestic transactions.

    Pandemic norms encourage digital payment worldwide, and it was reshaping the economy of Zimbabwe. It pushed the RTGS to POS transactions. EFT(Electronic Funds Transfer)and the Card payment system showed robust growth in 2021. Thus, it saves money printing the ‘need’ of a hyperinflationary economy. The rural part also enjoyed financial inclusion (finance access to the poor class), and the govt can track them with the tax system. The untapped section is directly under the payment system. Online transaction access to the internet among youth generates various business ideas worldwide. Bitcoin and crypto came to the discussion table of policymakers.

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    Venezuela

    Venezuela Inflation Rate as Compared to Previous Year (by Statista)
    Venezuela Inflation Rate as Compared to Previous Year (by Statista)

    The South American Country seems to be the king of the hyperinflation kingdom without any competitors nearby. In 2018, it reported 65,374.08% inflation, which means people need to carry money in a car dicky for daily retail shopping. A bunch of cash becomes useless in the economy. In the same year, 48k teachers left the country (remember, they are not sacked) to relocate to neighbour-based countries for livelihood.

    There was a mass exodus in the middle of 2018. About 4 lakh people left the country, and it was not for armed conflict but terrible hyperinflation. Among the country’s top human resources, doctors, professors, and IT professionals were fleeing the country, leaving unfilled posts. The country faced mass blackouts, and people used candlelight or cell phones during an emergency. The country dried out of medical supplies and doctors; patients had to wait for half a year for an emergency operation.

    Critics blame policies of socialism. Experts accused the country of suffering from printing money and a fiscal deficit. Once known as the giant supplier of crude oil, the comfort of the oil zone hit back Venezuela in 2014 after oil prices fell continuously. Since 2014 the country has shown a significant drop in GDP in negative growth.

    There is a thin sign of revival in 2021; Venezuela reported a surge of the foreign reserve by $5.1 billion. The country’s central bank claimed to curb inflation by ‘only’ 686% for the same year, a great short-term relief.

    Conclusion

    Here we did not consider the crisis-hit Sri Lanka or war-torn Ukraine. Moreover, since August 2021, Afghanistan has been out of the internal statistical audit.

    Therefore, there is a high possibility that the hyperinflation club will get new members. On the other hand, controlling hyperinflation is far more difficult due to the enormous political cost of the typical solutions. In reality, one reason that can turn inflation hyperinflationary is the populist administrations, which are being trapped in a situation where they cannot make practical efforts to reduce inflation.

    It is better to control it in the inflation stage. So, the policymakers or government need to take some bold and reformative steps to prevent the money flow in the economy. It also needs diplomatic efforts, so that the countries can avoid printing $100 trillion notes like Zimbabwe.

    FAQs

    What is hyperinflation?

    Hyperinflation is extremely high and rapidly increasing inflation. It is said to have occurred in an economy when the prices rise over 50% in one month due to economic disturbances and depression.

    What causes hyperinflation?

    The main causes of hyperinflation include:

    • High National Debt
    • Price control that leads to an increased shortage
    • Economic output decline
    • Lack of faith in government

    Which countries are facing hyperinflation?

    • Venezuela
    • Sudan
    • Lebanon
    • Iran
    • Zimbabwe

    What is a healthy inflation rate?

    A healthy inflation rate is 2% which is considered good for economic growth as in this situation, people are more likely to make purchases in the present rather than wait when they expect prices to rise.