Marketing review

In addition, consumers will be able to preview ring tones, wallpapers, games, etc, before downloading and also be a part of the 'Plus Community', which will soon allow consumers to be a part of communities, blogs and more.

Bank of India launches highly attractive pension schemes
Bank of India has recently launched Star Pensioner Loan scheme under which pensioners including the family pensioners can avail loans of up to Rs1 lakh on attractive terms for personal purposes.

The bank has also launched pensioner's credit cards which are photo-cards affiliated to Master Card and come bundled with user friendly payment options. As they are photo-cards they also serve as means of identification.

The bank has also launched the Pension Delivery at Doorsteps product through which pensioners have the option of getting pension delivered at their place of residence through the Department of Posts.

This is being introduced as a pilot project in a few places in the State of Maharashtra and may be extended to other parts of the country in the near future.

All pensioners who draw their pensions through Bank of India branches and who are below 70 years are eligible for the pensioner cards. Pensioners include state, central, military / defence, banks, railway pensioners.

Family pensioners however are not eligible. The pensioners can draw upto three times the amount of net pension upto a maximum of Rs50,000.

Cash can be withdrawn from over 2600 branches of the Bank up to amount of monthly pension drawn maximum Rs10,000 per month within the overall spending limit.

The card also enables discounted Mediclaim premium up to the age of 65 years.

Apart from the normal interest-free credit for up to 51 days, the card provides concessional interest on overdrawn amounts for senior citizens of 60 years and above

Reynolds to extend association with Tendulkar
Six months after signing up Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador of Reynolds pens, G.M. Pens, which markets Reynolds, says the superstar cricketer has achieved the goals the company hoped he would — that of cutting through the clutter and having Reynolds be perceived as a "big brand".

The company says it plans to "co-create value" with Tendulkar to extend their association further. Though plans are still fluid, it could mean a line of products planned by Tendulkar and jointly branded. Hence, the company is looking at an association that "goes beyond his cricketing years."

GM. Pens hopes to have 35-40 outlets of WriteSite, its branded stationery stores, operating by the end of 2007. It now has 10 outlets across the country, including two in Chennai and shops-in-shops.

Villeroy & Boch opens outlet in India
Villeroy & Boch, the 256-year-old French fashionable tableware manufacturer, has entered the Indian market.

It has opened its first outlet in Hyderabad.

The brand has entered the country with an Indian partner Spa Luxury Lifestyle Ltd and will open boutiques in Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata in the next few months.

The stores would bring in the recently introduced `New House' philosophy by the company worldwide, introducing a new ambience and offering Indian customers a world-class experience in retailing. The store also houses a functional kitchen.

Bajaj launches gearless scooter
Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto has launched Kristal, a gearless scooter. The all-new four-stroke 95cc scooter comes with the DTSi technology along with ExhausTEC for a superior pickup and mileage.

The company says that the scooter develops 7.2 ps of power and is ideal for dense traffic conditions. It also said Kristal was developed as a result of consumer feedback expressing shortcomings of the existing un-geared scooter options.

The scooter is priced at Rs 35,300 ex-showroom Hyderabad.

Big Bazaar's three-day discount sale sees huge discounts
Big Bazaar, the hypermarket arm of the Future Group, special `Maha Savings three days' offer from 26 to 28 January called `sabse saste 3 din', offered products across categories like apparels, furniture, electronics, utensils and food products at the lowest possible prices, coupled with attractive promotional schemes.

Company officials said they expected around a million footfalls from all the Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar stores. Big Bazaar's Maha Savings offers are usually a big event and last year the said offer resulted in a stampede at Ahmedabad.

On the advertising front, the company conducted a 365-degree advertisement well before the three days, by creating awareness of the special three-day offer not only on television, but also through newspapers, SMS and pamphlets.

Emami to launch shampoo
Kolkata: Personal care major Emami is planning to launch a shampoo in four to five variants by next fiscal year.

At present, the company has oil and powder-based hairdyes and Navratna cool hairoil in the haircare category.

According to Emami, launching newer categories ensures overall growth for the company as well as makes consumers feel that there is a lot for them under the same roof.

Segmenting the market according to specific needs has always been the growth strategy for Emami and this time too the company is planning to strike a chord among consumers using the same approach sources said.

Skoda India to launch Fabia
Skoda Auto, the Czech-based carmaker will launch the company's first large-volume small car, Fabia, later this year through its Indian subsidiary Skoda India.

The car will adhere to the small car norms as specified by the Union Budget and thereby will benefit from the 16 per cent excise duty. Carmakers are expecting a further reduction in excise duty to 12 per cent from current 16 per cent for small cars.

Currently cars, which are not longer than 4 meters in length and have an engine of not more than 1,200cc in size in case of petrol and 1,500cc in case of diesel, qualify for the excise duty of 16 per cent.

Skoda plans to launch the same Fabia in India which will be seen at the Geneva Motor show in March this year. The car will have the smallest of the engine configurations ever to be seen in India with an engine size of more than 1 litre or 1000cc.

The car will be powered by a 3-cylinder petrol and 3-cylinder diesel engine.

The only other car that has a 3-cylinder diesel engine is the Accent CRDi.

The Fabia will be available in 1.2 litre petrol and a 1.4 litre diesel engine. The petrol Fabia will take on rivals such as the Zen Estilo, Swift, Chevrolet U-VA, Hyundai Getz and the diesel Fabia will compete with the diesel range of hatchbacks like the Swift, Getz and Tata Indica.

Trai directs Tata Tele to give refunds to Walky customers
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has directed Tata Teleservices to refund the excess amount charged from customers under its Walky plan and has also asked the company to to furnish the number of subscribers "adversely affected" by increase in its tariff plan.

Sources close to the development said the overcharged amount may run into several crore.

The regulator has also asked to submit these details within 15 days.

Walky is the fixed wireless phone (FWP) services from Tata Tele and the services were offered on the CDMA platform.

An FWP is a landline connection, with the last mile connectivity offered over wireless.