Innovative ideas

SPARKS

Until now, market research teams have been accosting adults in malls, multiplexes, high-streets and almost everywhere else. As if that wasn't enough, they have discovered a new target audience "" kids.

Children's media brand Disney and media-buying major, Group M have tied up to launch KidSense, an initiative to understand and explore the Indian children's market, one of the largest markets of its kind globally.

KidSense aims to show how children influence purchase decisions in categories as varied as confectionery, cars and even insurance companies.

Earlier this year, two research companies, Indica Research Practices and Consulting and Third Eye, did the groundwork research for KidSense. About 4,000 children aged between four and 14 years, across 12 markets in India, were studied over a three-month period.

Based on their age, the children were grouped into three main groups: four-five years, six-nine years and 10-14 years.

The children's tastes, behaviour and influences on purchase decisions on 15 product categories, such as confectioneries, commodities, FMCG, white goods and services and so on, were analysed. Will market research teams now add schools and playschools to their list of hotspots?

For a while now, organisations have been trying hard to cut down attrition and stress levels, by not overburdening their employees.

Yet, looming deadlines, pending projects and unfinished tasks tend to keep employees on office premises, beyond work hours. So organisations are trying to find a new way to keep employees out of offices.

Take telecommunications major Bharti Group and sports brand Reebok as examples. Both companies switch off all lights in their offices at the official closing time.

So employees are left with no choice but to light candles and find their way out of the building. Often, this comes as a surprise because employees aren't told on which weekday the lights will go off. This ensures employees don't while away time chatting away in the cafeteria and spend work hours productively. After all, employees don't really want to miss a deadline, do they?

If you are A large-format food retail outlet in a locality where even the international pizza chains offer an only-vegetarian menu, then stocking meat and fish in the store could be a strict no-no.

HyperCity, a hypermarket that recently opened its doors in Mumbai, sorted out this issue at the time of planning its Mumbai outlet. The cold storage that stocks cold cuts is stocked not too far from the entrance of the more than 1 lakh sq feet outlet.

However, if you are a vegetarian, you can pass by without getting offended by the smell of fish. The reason: the non-vegetarian section is a special cabin that's nicely positioned in the left side of the store "" near for the patrons, non-intrusive for the vegetarians.

From introducing cheaper fares to offering platter-fulls of frills, airlines have been trying every possible gimmick to lure passengers. First, Kingfisher Airlines introduced in-flight entertainment. Now, low-cost carriers (LCC) are joining the race as well, through another form of in-flight activity "" in-flight shopping.

Go Air, recently tied up with AVA Merchandising, the Indian wing of $20 million global retail major, Group Envision Merchandising. For passengers, that simply means, they can buy top-of-the-line brands at discounted prices in India. The shopping catalogue lists well-known brands in home, office and personal products like mobile phones, perfumes and apparel.

Except the price tag and the security check tag, there's another sticker on the products. Passengers can shop for them only in the skies. The products ordered, are delivered free of cost to the passenger's doorstep. Is that enough to lure customers to board Go?