EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Indian market is witnessing some major changes. More consumers, more buying
power and more media reach. Then there is the rise of digital media, the fragmentation
of mass media, the growing power of young consumers and the growing below the line
activities.

Marketers acknowledge that above the line advertising is just one variable that impacts
sales among other including pricing, distributions etc. Products and services that are
promotion elastic tend to be highly impacted by price-offs and discounts which increase
the likelihood of consumer buying the same. In comparison, products and services that
are advertising elastic see higher sales with increased advertising. Many successful
categories and brands in Key Urban Towns (KUT) are price sensitive and hence
promotion elastic. Marketers then choose to divert advertising budgets to on-ground
promotions including BTL and activation that show a direct impact. In comparison,
premium brands that have a greater uptake in metros (given higher purchasing power)
tend to be advertising elastic which means that the more they are advertised, the higher
is the likelihood of sales.

One of the key points in the start of was in 1971, where Ray Tomlinson sent the very
first email and his technology set the platform to allow people to send and receive files
through different machines In the 1980s, the storage capacity of computer was already
big enough to store huge volumes of customer information. Companies started
choosing online techniques, such as Below the Line marketing rather than Mainstream
Marketing, this kind of databases allowed companies to track customers' information
more effectively, thus transforming the relationship between buyer and seller.

There are two kinds of marketing strategies that can be used to promote any product:
 Above The Line Marketing
 Below The Line Marketing

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These category names reflect the business practices of marketing agencies.

Below the line marketing generally refers to marketing practices making use of forms of
promotion that do not involve the use of mass media, where, in a firm’s use of an
advertising agency, there is usually no commission charged by the advertising agency,
and thus the expense typically appears ‘below the line’ on the ad agency’s bill to the
firm.

Whenever a start up, or small businesses, begins advertising, it begins with Below the
Line marketing. Below the line marketing methods include comparatively low cost
methods which are targeted towards a specific audience, and the communication is
meant to reach directly to the customer. Most top companies use a combination of
both – Above the line as well as below the line marketing.

ATL marketing involve:-

 Radio: Pan-country or pan-city radio broadcasts
 Television: Advertising campaigns directed at the regional or national level
 Print media: Promotional messages in newspapers, online articles, and
advertisements

BTL Marketing involve:-

 Sponsorship: Events, competition

 Public Relations: Press conferences, viral marketing
 Direct marketing: SMS, emails, social media posts, pamphlets
 Outdoor advertisements: Billboards, fliers, banners, sandwich boards

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CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

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 INTRODUCTION

The origin of term “BTL” is the following: an advertising manager of Procter & Gamble
developed promotion campaign media-plan that included main media channels: TV,
press, outdoor etc. He underlined it, summarized the expenses and only after recalled
about the board on fairy, souvenirs, gifts etc. He added these expenses to the list
“below the line”
BTL is usually opposed/contrasted to ATL (above the line) – advertising in its traditional
distribution channels: press, TV, radio, outdoor, movie, Internet. The annals of
Marketing Management have witnessed a tug of war between advertising and sales
promotion since inception. But in the early phase of twenty first century this war has
taken a new avatar in form of Above - The- Line and Below - The- Line activities,
widening both scope and intensity of this war.

Above-the-line propagated traditional marketing channels that strive to reach a mass

audience with messages that reinforce a brand communicate general product
information or inspire an emotional response. “Below-the-line” initiatives, by
comparison, acts like traditional direct marketing efforts – they aspire to establish
targeted relationships between marketers and individual consumers, and offer
comparable ease in measurability

With increase fragmentations and demographic along with the increased pressure to
increase effectiveness of marketing communication soon BTL activities started
substituting ATL activities and there has been a steady growth in BTL expenditure in
this century . With its unique ability to personalize and customize communication this
form of communication is slowly replacing the mass media advertising.

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 Above the line Marketing

ATL is a type of advertising through media such as television, cinema, radio, print, and
Out-of-home to promote brands or convey a specific offer. This type of communication
is conventional in its nature and is considered impersonal to customers

Sub Heads of ATL

 Newspapers.
 Magazines.
 Radio
 Television

1. Newspaper
Newspapers are one of the traditional mediums used by businesses, both big and
small alike, to advertise their businesses.

Advantages
• Allows you to reach a huge number of people in a given geographic area
• You have the flexibility in deciding the ad size and placement within the
newspaper
• Your ad can be as large as necessary to communicate as much of a story as you
care
• Exposure to your ad is not limited; readers can go back to your message again
and again if so desired. • Free help in creating and producing ad copy is usually
available
• Quick turn-around helps your ad reflect the changing market conditions. The ad
you decide to run today can be in your customers' hands in one to two days.

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Disadvantages
• Ad space can be expensive
• Poor photo reproduction limits creativity
• Newspapers are a price-oriented medium; most ads are for sales
• Expect your ad to have a short shelf life, as newspapers are usually read
once and then discarded.
• You may be paying to send your message to a lot of people who will probably
never be in the market to buy from you.
• Newspapers are a highly visible medium, so your competitors can quickly
react to your prices

2. Magazines

Advantages
• Allows for better targeting of audience
• The smaller page permits even small ads to stand out
• High reader involvement means that more attention will be paid to your ads
• Better quality paper permits better colour reproduction and full colour ads 12

Disadvantages
• Long lead times mean that you have to make plans weeks or months in
advance
• The slower lead time heightens the risk of your ad getting overtaken by
events
• There is limited flexibility in terms of ad placement and format.
• Space and ad layout costs are higher

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 3. Radio

Advantages
• Free creative help is often available
• Rates can generally be negotiated
• Radio rates have seen less inflation than those for other media
• Radio is a universal medium enjoyed by people
• Gives your business personality through the creation of campaigns using sounds
and voices

Disadvantages

• Listeners cannot go back to your ads to go over important points

• Radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing something else while
listening,

4. Television

Advantages
• Television permits you to reach large numbers of people on a national or regional
level in a short period of time
• Independent stations and cable offer new opportunities to pinpoint local
audiences
• Television being an image-building and visual medium, it offers the ability to
convey your message with sight, sound and motion

Disadvantages
• Ads on network affiliates are concentrated in local news broadcasts and station
breaks
• Preferred ad times are often sold out far in advance

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 Below the line Marketing

Below the line sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely aimed at consumers.
With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to achieve communication
objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there has been a need to find out more
effective and cost efficient ways to communicate with the target markets. This has led to
a shift from the regular media based Marketing.

Below the Line uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of
advertising to promote products, services, etc. than Above the Line strategies. These
may include activities such as direct mail, public relations and sales promotions for
which a fee is agreed upon and charged up front. Below the line advertising typically
focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail and e-mail,
often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize response rates.

More recently, agencies and clients have switched to an 'Integrated Communication

Approach.' BTL is a common technique used for "touch and feel" products (consumer
items where the customer will rely on immediate information rather than previously
researched items). A BTL technique ensures recall of the brand while at the same time
highlighting the features of the product.

Some of the ways by which companies do BTL (below the line) promotions are by
exhibitions, sponsorship activities, public relations and sales promotions like giving
freebies with goods, trade discounts given to dealers and customers, reduced price
offers on products, giving coupons which can be redeemed later etc.

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Below the line sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely aimed at consumers.
With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to achieve communication
objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there has been a need to find out more
effective and cost efficient ways to communicate with the target markets. This has led to
a shift from the regular media based advertising a definition of below-the-line sales
promotion given by Rohan Salvi is- ‘An immediate or delayed incentive to purchase,
expressed in cash or in kind, and having only a short or temporary duration’.

Methods of below the line sales promotion

1) Cash backs
2) Price promotions
3) Gift with purchase
4) Competitions and prizes
5) Loyalty incentives

1. Cash back:- it is an incentive program operated by companies where a

percentage of the amount spent is paid back to the account holder of that
company.

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2. Price promotion:- Promotional pricing is a temporary measure that involves
setting prices at levels lower than normally charged for a good or service.
Promotional pricing is sometimes a reaction to unforeseen circumstances, as
when a downturn in demand leaves a company with excess stocks; or when
competitive activity is making inroads into market share or profits

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3. Gift with purchase:- in this strategy the companies give gifts to their
customers on the purchase of products in bulk or up to a certain amount. The
gifts are pre-defined and the amount or minimum limit of purchase is also pre-
set.

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4. Competitions and prizes:- in this strategy the companies organizes a
competition where they ask their buyers as well as potential buyers to take
part in that competition and they ask them few question or give them task to
complete, the winner of that competition wins prizes.

5. Loyalty incentives:- is an approach to marketing based on strategic

management in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing
customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing and loyalty
marketing all form part of the customer proposition.

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 Examples of Below the Line Marketing

Most of the big brands are following the suit of BTL promotion because of rising prices
of media based promotion, advertising clutter and increased impulse purchasing.
Some of the interesting examples are:

Most of the educational institutes like career launcher, Time and PT are holding
informative workshops and free tests for students which give a direct interaction of
these institutes with the target customer and hence a suitable platform to sell
themselves.

Ring tones and music videos on cell phones are helping the entertainment industry to
promote for a music video or a movie for dirt-cheap rate as compared to media
promotion.

Various companies sponsor sport events to promote their brand, but now a day media
companies like Hindustan Times are holding weekly events throughout the country in
which companies can put up their stalls, display banners and posters and arrange for
some fun activities. These events give the companies a platform at very low price to
promote their brand and increase visibility among target consumer.

These companies also give discount coupons to winners in the games, which in turn
boost the sales of the products and ensure that first time users try these products as
well. Pepsi organized an inter school cricket event for 425 schools across 14 cities
which did wonders for the company by promoting the brand amongst the right target
customer for almost no cost.

Most of the pharmacy companies do BTL promotion by getting shelf space through
doctors to display their products or by giving away free calcium tablets again through
doctors, knowing that for a patient a personal advice from a doctor would hold more
value as compared to a commercial advertisement.

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Another interesting BTL promotion was by NIKE. An athlete dressed up in Nike
sportswear could be seen jogging on an elevated treadmill for the whole day on
National Highway 8, Delhi.

Tata Shaktee is a strong rural brand from Tata Steel, for roofing products, has BTL
activity in the form of Haat participation. By having a stall at Haat, Tata Shaktee
engages potential consumers in interactive games around differentiating attributes of
the product. Also, discount coupons are given for interested buyers, with details of
nearby retailers.

Strategies of BTL

• Coupons
• Price promotions
• Money refunds
• Competitions and prizes
• Point-of-sale displays
• Frequent user / loyalty incentives

Coupons
• Coupons are another, very versatile, way of offering a discount.
• Consider the following examples of the use of coupons: -
• On the back of till receipts
• A cut-out coupon as part of an advert
• On a pack to encourage repeat purchase
• In coupon books sent out in newspapers allowing customers to redeem the
coupon at a retailer

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Price Promotion
Price promotions are also commonly known as" price discounting".
These can be done in two ways:
(1) A discount to the normal selling price of a product, or
(2) More of the product at the normal price.

Price promotions however can also have a negative effect by spoiling the brand
reputation or just a temporary sales boost (during the discounts) followed by a lull when
the discount would be called off.

Gift with purchase

The "gift with purchase" is a very common promotional technique. In this scheme, the
customer gets something extra along with the normal good purchased. It works best
for:-
• Subscription-based products (e.g. magazines)
• Consumer luxuries (e.g. perfumes)

Competitions and prizes

This is an important tool to increase brand awareness amongst the target consumer. It
can be used to boost up sales for temporary period and ensure usage amongst first
time users.

Money refunds
Here, a customer receives a money refund after submitting a proof of purchase to the
manufacturer. Customers often view these schemes with some suspicion - particularly if
the method of obtaining a refund looks unusual or onerous.

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Frequent user / loyalty incentives
Repeat purchases may be stimulated by frequent user incentives. Perhaps the best
examples of this are the many frequent flyer or user schemes used by airlines, train
companies, car hire companies etc.

Point-of-sale displays
Shopping habits are changing for the people living in metropolitan cities. People prefer
big retail outlets like Big Bazaar to local kirana stores. Most of the decisions of buying
are taken by the virtue of point-of-sale displays in these retail outlets.

Basic Differences between ATL and BTL advertising

Above-the-Line Marketing Below-the-Line Marketing

Are tailored to reach a mass audience Are targeted to individual consumers,
based on their expressed needs and
preferences
Establish brand identity or reinforce Issue a “call-to-action,” inspiring specific
emotional concepts surrounding a product customer activity or tailored messages
or brand about a product or brand
May or may not drive customer response Drive individual responses
Are difficult – if not impossible – to Are highly measurable, allowing marketers
measure with any accuracy insight into their return-on investment, as
well as those tactics that are (and are not)
working
Cater to the mass market Establish one-to-one relationships
between consumers and marketers

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 Various tools of below the line marketing

1. Internet Marketing
 Social media Marketing
 E-mail Marketing
2. Outdoor Marketing
3. Sales promotion
4. Pamphlets & brochures

Internet Marketing
Quite undoubtedly it is one of the favourite tools of marketing nowadays, considering
the mass level penetration of the internet. In fact till date, many marketers are confused
whether internet marketing can still be considered as below the line.

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Internet marketing itself is divided into two types:-

Social Media Marketing:-

Marketing through social media channels like Facebook, Twitter , linked in, Google plus
or others. Facebook pages can be used by companies to offer products to their
customers and to get in touch with customers. Sponsored products can be used
for promotions Similarly, Linkedin in fact a proper B2B portal with many head hunters
using Linkedin for recruitment. Thus, social media marketing is by far the most
commonly used tactics of below the line marketing.

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b) Email marketing-

Email marketing does not only involve push marketing like the old days. It has instead
converted to a combination of push and pull marketing nowadays. Major banks and
corporates communicate various offers to their customers through email to retain them
or to cross sell products. Many companies start tapping into a database via email
marketing. Many blogs and affiliate sites are also using Email marketing to sell
products.

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Internet marketing can also use tools like Google or IOS apps. Viral videos too can be a
part of internet marketing. The list of things you can do on the internet is ever growing
and hence it is one of the strongest and fastest growing vehicle for BTL marketing.

Outdoor advertisements

Another massive tool of BTL marketing, outdoor advertising has been used since ages
in the field of marketing. In fact, where outdoor advertising mainly involved large
billboards, they have now moved to using large televisions or pixel screens in public
areas like restaurants, parks etc. And the hoardings are reserved for highways or out of
city locations.

The target of outdoor advertisements is to get a higher mind share from the customer.
Just by looking at the ad in a restaurant, or while driving on the road, or while sitting in
the park, the customer begins to recall the ad when he is making a purchase, thereby
giving the ROI as well as the brand equity to the brand which is advertising via outdoor
advertisements. However, calculating ROI via outdoor advertisements is very difficult.

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Sales promotions

Ever noticed how E-commerce companies have boomed in the last decade because of
the word “SALE”. Every other month there is a sale. If not by one E-commerce
company, then by another and each of them are at loggerheads on who can sell
cheaper. Why do these companies want to sell cheaper? Because then they can sell in
high volume. Which is the dream of any company and hence sales promotions are a
common tactic used in below the line marketing.

Sales promotions of 1 + 1 free, 30% free, are all used to push the stock in the market or
liquidate old stock. Alternatively, sales promotions can also be used as a product
introduction gimmick.

Sales promotion is not used only at the customer level. At the dealer level, the dealer
can be given additional discounts just so he picks up higher volumes and hence focuses
on the product to sell it better. A dealer might have 10 different products in front of him.
And he is bound to concentrate on the 1 product which is giving him better margins.

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Pamphlets, brochures

The list of paper material which can be used for BTL marketing is huge. You can use
visiting cards, flyers, pamphlets, banners, brochures, paper inserts, anything and
everything that your mind can think of. Alternatively, nowadays even Kiosks are in high
fashion. There are vehicles which have rotating ads on the sides, and these vehicles
keep running around in a designated area to attract customers

The ideas for various types of below the line marketing techniques keep coming up and
each of them are being implemented and polished. When people became blind to
display ads, then most websites started showing related content ads. When people
became blind to Outdoor hoardings, the ad guys started showing ads on televisions
within restaurants and public places.

Like any other form of advertising, Below the line marketing too is ever evolving.
However, the effectiveness of some traditional marketing techniques like Pamphlets and
brochures cannot be ignored even today. On the other hand, in internet marketing,
every new day brings a new way to market a product to customers.

The marketer who has enough budget in his hand will go for Above the line marketing,
where the ROI is calculable, an can be at least researched. The marketer who has a
low budget, but wants to make an impact, will think of tactics which fall under the
domain of Below the line marketing.

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Chapter-2
COMPANY
PROFILE

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 Aditya Birla Group
ABG is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Worli, Mumbai, India. It
operates in 34 countries with more than 120,000 employees worldwide. The group was
founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857. The group has interests in viscose staple
fibre, metals, cement (largest in India), viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon
black, chemicals, fertilisers, insulators, financial services, telecom.

The group had revenue of approximately US$48.3 billion in year 2019. It is the third-
largest Indian private sector conglomerate behind Tata Group with revenue of just over
US$100 billion and RIL with revenue of US$74 billion.

History
Aditya Birla Group is one of India's largest conglomerates and also claims to be the
most international of the country's major corporations. The company acts as a holding
company for more than 72 manufacturing and services subsidiaries throughout India,
and in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, China, Egypt, and
Canada. Aditya Birla's major subsidiaries include Grasim, the world's leading producer
of viscose staple fibre, and a manufacturer of rayon grade pulp, cement, sponge iron,
textiles, and chemicals, Hindalco, a leading producer of aluminium and copper;
UltraTech Cement, which produces Portland cement and related products. Aditya Birla
Nuvo manufactures clothing, textiles, and carbon black and is India's second largest
producer of viscose filament yarn; Indo Gulf, a fertilizer producer Birla NGK Insulators
which is the world's leading producer of insulators; and Idea Cellular Ltd., a mobile
service provider jointly owned with fellow Indian conglomerate Tata Industries.

The company also produces software and provides IT services, and operates a number
of products subsidiaries. The company's Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. is the second
largest private sector insurance company in India, and its Birla Sun Life Asset
Management Co. is the country's fourth largest assets manager. In other areas, the
company claims to be the world's eighth largest producer of cement and the world's
fourth largest producer of carbon black. It generate revenues of nearly $7.6 billion per
year. The company is led by Kumar Mangalam Birla, son of Aditya Birla.

24
Indian Financial Dynasty in the 19th Century

The Aditya Birla Group was founded in the 1960s by Aditya Birla, who started building
his business empire at the age of 24. By then, however, the Birla family had been one of
India's most prominent industrial and financial families for nearly a century. The origins
of the Birla family fortunes lay in the second half of the 19th century, when in 1870 Seth
Shiv Narayan Birla launched a cotton- and jute-trading business in the town of Pilani, in
Rajasthan, India. Despite the British occupation, and the attempt to establish
monopolies by the British trading companies, Birla succeeded in building the family's
first fortune.

The next phase of the family's success came at the beginning of the 20th century, when
Birla's grandson Ghanshyam das took over as head of the family fortune. The younger
Birla led the family into the industrial sector, setting up a jute mill in 1919. The Birla
family also became important supporters of the independence movement led by
Mahatma Gandhi. Ghanshyam das Birla not only provided the financial backing for
Ghandi, he also participated in the talks with the British that ultimately led to the
country's independence. The company's wealth, and its intimate connection with the
new Indian government, enabled it to emerge as one of a small number of Indian
families that dominated India's quasi-socialist economy through the end of the century.

With independence, Birla began developing his industrial empire in earnest. The family
quickly branched out into a number of sectors. Just days after the country's declaration
of independence, for example, Birla founded Grasim Industrial Ltd., opening a small
weaving plant in Gwalior. By 1950, Grasim had begun importing the recently developed
rayon fibre, and it began producing rayon-based fabrics. In 1954, Grasim launched its
own rayon production, opening a factory in Nagda. By the mid-1960s, Grasim also had
launched production of the rayon pulp itself.

The family's interest in textiles and rayon in particular led it to acquire another branch,
Indian Rayon Corporation, in 1966. That company had been founded just a decade
earlier, and in 1963 had expanded with the construction of its own viscose filament yarn
factory in Veraval. As part of the Birla family holdings, Indian Rayon, that later evolved
into the Birla group's largest sub conglomerate - Aditya Birla Nuvo, developed
25
diversified operations, including the production of garments, textiles, carbon black, and
insulators. The company also entered cement production, launching its own factory in
1985.

In the meantime, Birla's industrial interests had led it into a new area, the production of
metals, and specifically aluminium. The family established a new company, Hindalco, in
1958 and began construction of their first smelter. That complex, in Renukoot, launched
production in 1962. By 1967, the company had set up its own power plant, in
Renusagar, described by the company as "a significant strategic move." The company
later branched out into copper production as well.

The development of the family's business interests had been turned over to Ghanshyam
das Birla's sons, K. K. Birla, C. K. Birla, and B.K. Birla. While B.K Birla took over the
family's raw materials and related industrial operations, his brothers took charge of other
Birla family holdings, including Hindustan Motors, part of India's big three automakers,
and The Hindustan Times, one of the country's major newspapers.

International Pioneer: 1970-80

In the mid-1960s, Birla joined his father, B. K. Birla, in that branch of the family
business, which by then consisted of Grasim, Hindalco, and Indian Rayon. By the end
of the decade, Aditya Birla, then 24 years old, was placed in charge of these
companies, which formed the basis of the Aditya Birla Group.

The younger Birla soon proved himself a visionary, leading the company's development
from an India-focused industrial group to India's first and largest internationally
operating conglomerate. The company enjoyed the advantages of India's "License Raj,"
a license-permit-quota system devised by the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal
Nehru that made it difficult for new domestic competitors to emerge. Although this
system protected and reinforced the Birla family's interests, it also subjected the Birla
group to strict capital controls. At the end of the 1960s, however, Aditya Birla
recognized a means of skirting these controls, through the development of foreign
interests.

26
In 1969, Birla launched its first subsidiary, Indo Thai Synthetics, to produce and export
synthetic yarns in Thailand. Into the 1970s, the company continued to invest in
Thailand, launching two new subsidiaries in 1974. The first of these, Thai Rayon,
launched production of viscose rayon staple fibre, which it marketed on a global basis
as Birla Cellulose. That company quickly grew into a major exporter, while also
supplying the Thai textile industry.

The company set up in 1974 was Century Textiles Co., which operated a weaving and
dyeing plant, producing Centex-branded fabrics, including polyester, rayon, linen, and
later lycraand others. By the end of the 1970s, the company's Thai holdings included
Thai Carbon Black (TCB), founded in 1978. Carbon black, also known as soot and
lampblack, was used as a black pigment for inks, food colourings, and especially for the
production of rubber tires. TCB grew strongly, building the world's largest carbon black
facility on a single location, and counting among its customers the global big three tire
manufacturers. The company was particularly successful in Japan, where it captured
more than half of the total carbon black market.

Birla's success in Thailand encouraged the group to extend its operations elsewhere in
the region. In 1975, the company launched a joint venture in the Philippines, to produce
spun yarn. The operation became the basis of the group's other Filipino holdings,
grouped under the Indo Phil name. Malaysia became the company's next foreign
market, with the opening of an edible oil production subsidiary in 1978. That business,
Pan Century Edible Oils, became the world's largest single-location palm oil refinery.

Steady Growth through the End of the 20th Century

The Birla group's expansion continued through the 1980s. The company moved into
Indonesia in 1982, setting up PT Indo Bharat Rayon. In Thailand, in 1984, the company
expanded into the production of sodium phosphates for the detergents industry,
establishing Thai Polyphosphates and Chemicals. The company added yet another Thai
unit in 1987, deepening its interests in that country's textile sector with the founding of
Thai Acrylic Fibre. The company also expanded into the chemicals market in Thailand,
founding a joint venture, Thai Peroxide Co., with the United States' Corporation in 1989.

27
In the meantime, Birla's Indian holdings continued to expand and diversify as well.
Grasim, for example, added cement production in 1985, launching the Vikram Cement
plant at Jawad, in Madhya Pradesh. By the beginning of the 1990s, that operation had
tripled its production capacity. Through the 1990s, Grasim added other diversified
businesses, including merchant exporter Birla International Marketing Corporation in
1992, and Vikram Ispat, a gas-based sponge iron factory, in 1993. Grasim also
expanded its cement holdings, opening two new cement plants, Grasim Cement in
Raipur and Aditya Cement in Shambhupura, in 1995. The growth of Grasim's cement
operations led Birla to transfer its other cement production operations from Indian
Rayon into Grasim.

This restructuring was launched under the leadership of Aditya Birla's son, Kumar
Mangalam Birla, who took over the company after his father's death in 1995. Until then,
the Birla group of companies had been described by Institutional Investor International
Editions a "murky empire." The younger Birla, who had been educated at the London
Business School, now became determined to transform the company into a modern
corporation. Birla now led a restructuring of the company's holdings, grouping all of its
businesses under the single umbrella holding, Aditya Birla Group. Birla also continued
to streamline operations, regrouping various industrial operations into a more coherent
structure.

Leading Diversified Conglomerate in the New Century

Aditya Birla nonetheless remained committed to its structure as a highly diversified

conglomerate. The company also took advantage of the liberalization of India's
economy, launched during the country's economic crisis in 1991, to enter a number of
new areas. In 1988, for example, the company launched a petroleum refining joint
venture with Petroleum Corporation. The company then entered the
telecommunications market, forming a joint venture with AT&T of the United States,
Birla AT&T, in 1995. That company merged with Tata Communications in 2000,
becoming one of the country's leading telecom groups.

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Through Hindalco, the company launched fertilizer production, under subsidiary Indo
Gulf in the late 1980s, in 1998 Indo Gulf added the production of copper as well. In
2002, Hindalco was restructured, with its fertilizer production spun off into a separate
company, Indo Gulf Fertilisers. Indo Gulf's copper business was placed directly under
Hindalco. By then, Hindalco had acquired major rival Indal, an aluminium producer
founded near Kolkata in 1938. That acquisition was completed in 2000; two years later,
Indal boosted its aluminium foil production through the purchase of control of Anapurna
Foils. Indal was merged into Hindalco in 2004.

Other new markets for Birla included software development and IT services, which were
regrouped into Birla Technologies Ltd. in 2001. The company entered the power
generation market through a joint venture with Power gen PLC. In 1999, Birla added
financial services to its range, forming a joint venture with Canada's Sun Life
Assurance.

Into the mid-2000s, Birla also continued to expand its international network. The
company made its first entry into the North American market, acquiring the Athol Ville
Pulp Mill in New Brunswick, Canada. The purchase, completed in 1998, established
Birla as the world-leading producer of viscose staple fibre and also marked its first major
foreign acquisition. In 2003, the company turned to Australia, buying up the Nifty
Copper mines in Western Australia. The purchase enabled Birla to develop into an
integrated copper group, supplying its factories in India with raw material. Later that
year, the company bought up a second Australia copper mine, at Mt. Gordon. In that
year, as well, Birla extended its reach into the mainland Chinese market, where it
established a carbon black production unit, Liaoning Birla Carbon. Back at home, the
company launched a project to build a new aluminium production complex in Orissa,
beginning construction in 2005.

Birla's international expansion continued to drive the company's growth into the mid-
2000s. In 2005, for example, the company reached an agreement to acquire the St.
Anne Nackawic Pulp Mill in Canada , in March 2006, the company announced its plans
to build a $350 million viscose staple fibre plant in Laos. Aditya Birla had grown into one
of India's leading conglomerates, and a major player on the world market.

29
Principal Subsidiaries

Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd.; Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.; Alexandria Carbon Black
Company S.A.E. (Egypt); Alexandria Fibre Company S.A.E. (Egypt); AV Cell Inc.
(Canada); AV Nackawic Inc. (Canada); Birla Mineral Resources Pty. Ltd. (Australia);
Birla Mt. Gordon Pty. Ltd. (Australia); Century Textiles; Grasim Industries Limited;
Hindalco Industries Limited; Indo Gulf Fertilisers Limited; Indo Phil Textile Mills
(Philippines); Indo Thai Synthetics; Liaoning Birla Carbon Co. Ltd. (China); Pan Century
Edible Oils (Malaysia); PSI Data Systems Limited; PT Elegant Textile Industry
(Indonesia); PT Indo Bharat Rayon (Indonesia); PT Sunrise Bumi (Indonesia); Thai
Acrylic Fibre; Thai Carbon Black; Thai Peroxide; Thai Rayon; Trans Works Information
Services Ltd.

Principal Competitors

RPG Enterprises; Tata Sons Ltd.; Murugappa Group; Jaypee Group; Amalgamations
Ltd.; Dabur India Ltd.; Balmer Lawrie and Company Ltd.; Escorts Ltd.; HMT Ltd.;
Greaves Cotton Ltd.; Bombay Burma Trading Corporation.

Financial services

Aditya Birla Capital (ABC) is the umbrella brand for all the financial services business of
The Aditya Birla Group. Aditya Birla Capital is the holding company for Aditya Birla
Finance Limited, Aditya Birla Health Insurance Limited, Aditya Birla Housing Finance
Limited, Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Limited, Aditya Birla Money, Aditya Birla
Myuniverse Limited, Aditya Birla PE Advisors Limited, Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset
Management Company, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual
Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Limited and Aditya Birla Asset
Reconstruction Company Limited. ABFSG ranks among the top 5 fund managers in
India (including LIC) with an AUM of US$23 billion.

30
 Having a strong presence across the life insurance, asset management, lending
housing finance, equity & wealth management and distribution, online money
management portal- Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse, general insurance advisory and
private equity and health insurance businesses. In FY 2013–14, ABFSG reported
consolidated revenue from these businesses at just under ₹70 billion and profits of
about ₹7.5 [Link] financial services arm of the group is currently headed by Ajay
Srinivasan.

Aditya Birla capital

Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL) is the holding company of all the financial services
businesses of the Aditya Birla Group. Through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, it
manages aggregate assets worth more than Rs3000 billion and has a lending book of
Rs600 billion (including housing) as of December 31, 2018. ABCL is among the top five
private diversified NBFCs in India. It is also one of the largest private life insurance
companies, asset management companies and general insurance brokers in the
country. The company has undertaken various internal and external sustainability efforts
to be a sustainability leader in its sector.

Aditya Birla Capital Limited is the holding company of all the following financial
services businesses:

 Aditya Birla Finance Limited

 Aditya Birla Health Insurance Limited
 Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited
 Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Limited
 Aditya Birla Money
 Aditya Birla My universe Limited
 Aditya Birla PE Advisors Limited
 Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company
 Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
 Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund
 Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Limited
31
Products

o Insurance

o Wealth management

o Financing

o Advising

Aditya Birla health insurance co. ltd.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited (ABHICL), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital
Ltd (ABCL), is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings of South
Africa. ABHICL was incorporated in 2015 wherein Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL)
and MMI Strategic Investments (Pty) Ltd. hold 51% and 49% shares respectively.
ABHICL commenced its operations in October 2016 and is engaged in the business of
health insurance. ABHICL’s current product portfolio consists of unique offerings
including chronic care and incentivized wellness.

ABHICL recorded a gross premium income of Rs. 3,155 Million in nine months of
FY2018-19 and has covered more than 1.3 Million lives as on date. ABHICL has nation-
wide distribution presence in over 650 cities through branches and partner offices, 9
bank assurance partners and over 17,100+ direct selling agents.

ABHICL serves as an enabler and influencer of health and healthcare choices that
customers make, in addition to being a payer of healthcare expenses. Thus, ABHICL
would act like a much-needed catalyst to grow the prevalent health insurance landscape
in India through product innovations and a wider choice of consumer relevant products.
ABHICL has invested considerable time and effort to understand existing correlations
between good health and individual health choices. ABHICL’s product philosophy aims
to combine understanding of this science with an assessment of unaddressed needs of
large customer segments which presently remain unfulfilled.

32
Features & Benefits of Aditya Birla Health Insurance
Aditya Birla Health Insurance is already operating in the Indian market, and it currently
offers multiple products for individuals, families, and groups. Some of the key features
and benefits of ABHI can be listed as follows.

 Flexible plan options: Aditya Birla offers variety of plans based on the
requirements of customers. Plans are available for individuals, families, and
groups. There are plans available for specific benefits including personal
accident, critical illness, cancer, etc. In addition to this, there are plans that
provide benefits for groups.

 Multiple sum insured options: Customers can choose the sum insured amount
based on their requirement and affordability. Under specific plans, it is possible to
get coverage for up to Rs.2 crore.

 Wellness coaching: One of the features of Aditya Birla Health Insurance is that
it provides access to health industry experts anytime and anywhere. Customers
can get their doubts clarified anytime by various health specialists online.

 Network hospitals: company has a big network of hospitals and doctors.

Customers can access the list of hospitals and doctors in their cities/towns by
visiting the company website.

 Health Returns: company offers rewards for healthy behaviour in its customers.
Customers can access this information by visiting the company’s official website.

 Tax relief: The premium amount paid towards various health insurance policies
under Aditya Birla is eligible for income tax benefit as per section 80D of the
Income Tax Act.

33
Plans Provided by Aditya Birla Health Insurance

Aditya Birla Health Insurance offers a diverse range of plans based on the requirements
of customers. The plans offered by the company can be listed as follows.

Plan Basis (Individual, family,

Plan Name Policy Term
etc.)

Activ Health Essential Individual and Family 1 to 3 years

Activ Health Enhanced Individual and Family 1 to 3 years

Activ Secure - Personal

Individual 1 year
Accident

Activ Secure - Critical

Individual 1 year
Illness

Activ Secure - Hospital

Individual 1 year
Cash

Activ Secure – Cancer Individual 1 year

Activ Assure - Diamond Individual and Family 1 to 3 years

Group Activ Health Individual and Family 1 year

34
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Objectives of the study
 To identify the factors which are responsible for Below the Line Marketing
strategy
 To identify the various mediums used for below the line marketing
 To know and understand the customer buying behaviour with below the line
marketing
Methodology
This project is prepared with the help of primary data and secondary data and
suggestions from the concerned professors. The secondary data is taken from various
books, newspaper and magazines. While for primary data I have got questionnaires
filled in by my classmates and family members. Overall this project has been completed
with the combination of secondary data and primary data.

All the information related to the topic is carefully scrutinized to avoid the risk of biased
analysis.

Research Design

Research design is considered as a blueprint for research, dealing with at least four
problems: which questions to study, which data are relevant, what data to collect, and
how to analyse the result. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the
information needed to solve research problem. The best design depends on the
research question as well as the orientation of the researcher. The study in this project
is a research. The research design used in the project is Descriptive Research Design.

Sample and sampling method

Sample- Sample unit consist of investors and non-investors.

Sample size- 100

Sampling method- convenient sampling

35
Types of data

Data has been collected both from primary as well as secondary sources as described
below:

Primary Data: - It is original primary data, for the specific purpose of the research
project. Primary data is collected from questionnaire filled by people and trough direct
communication with respondents in the form of interview.

Secondary Data: - It was collected to add the value to the primary data. The secondary
sources of data were taken from the various websites, books, journals, reports, articled
etc. this mainly provided information about the Mutual Fund and ULIPs industry in India.

Limitations

No study is free from limitations. The limitations of this study can be:

1. Sample size taken is small and may not be sufficient to predict the result with
100% accuracy.
2. The result is based on primary and secondary data that has its own limitations.
3. The study only covers the area of Delhi that may not be applicable to other
areas.

36
 Chapter-3
DATA ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION

37
 DATA ANALYSIS

Interpretation

 According to my survey I found that 56% of male respondents were there

 According to my survey I found that 56% of female respondents were there.

38
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 83% of respondents are of age group 20-30
years and 7% are above 40 years of age.

39
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 44% of respondents are students
 According to my survey I found that 31% of respondents are salaried people.
 According to my survey I found that 23% of respondents own businesses.

40
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 85% of respondents have heard about below
the line marketing
 According to my survey I found that 15% of respondents haven’t heard about
below the line marketing.

41
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 65% of respondents like the methods used in
below the line marketing
 According to my survey I found that 33% of respondents don’t like the methods
used in below the line marketing and rest are not sure.

42
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 35% respondents were contacted with E-mail
 According to my survey I found that 27% of respondents were contacted with
phone call.
 According to my survey I found that 23% of respondents were contacted by SMS
 According to my survey I found that 8% of respondents were contacted via pop
up ads.

43
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 80% of respondents receive offers on their
phones
 According to my survey I found that 18% of respondents don’t receive offers on
their phones.

44
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that e-mail is the medium that is widely used by
the companies (53%) to provide offers to their customers.
 Phone call is the medium that is used 41% by the companies.
 Pop ups influence 29% of the respondents.
 SMS influence 27% of the respondents

45
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 43% of respondents receive these offers
twice a week
 According to my survey I found that 36% of respondents receive these offers
daily.
 According to my survey I found that 15% of respondents receive these offers
weekly.

46
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 65% of respondents find these offers helpful
 According to my survey I found that 33% of respondents don’t find these offers
helpful.

47
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that most respondents were influenced by
coupons.
 According to my survey I found that phone calls and SMS were also influential in
changing buying behaviour of customers.

48
Interpretation
 According to my survey I found that 75% of respondents are overall satisfied with
the Below the Line Marketing Strategy
 According to my survey I found that 18% of respondents are not satisfied with
this marketing strategy.

49
 Findings

 I found that people between the age group of 20-30 are more aware about Below
the Line Marketing
 I found that students and salaried class people are more aware of Below the Line
Marketing and its strategy
 I found that 85% of people have heard about Below the Line Marketing
 About 65% people like the methods used by Below the Line Marketing
 About 35% people receives offers of Below the Line Marketing through E-mail
 About 80% people receive the offers on their phones
 About 65% people receive these offers via E-mail
 Maximum people receive these offers twice a week
 About 65% people find these offers helpful
 Maximum people find the coupons and phone calls influencing their buying
behaviour
 About 75% people are satisfied with this Below the Line Marketing strategy

50
 Conclusion

The following conclusions are drawn from the Findings and Analyzing
the report

From the research we conclude that the companies should definitely focus on
people of age group between 20-30 years as they are young and they are fond of
new products, they can take risk of trying new things and moreover they are the
earning class.

Companies should target market their product and services to the people of age
group between 40-60 years, they can be their potential buyers. These days most of
the companies are targeting only young people and are missing on targeting older
people. These people are also earning and this age group is also walking shoulder
to shoulder with 30-40 years old.

People are aware about the Below the Line Marketing and the companies are
successful in making their offers reachable to the customers. Due to the presence of
technology the companies are able to reach each and every potential customer of
theirs as well as their existing customers and it is also helping them in providing
lucrative deals as well as offers making people aware about below the line marketing
strategy.

The companies are successful in segmenting their target customers as well as

positioning their product with this marketing strategy. Mobile phones and internet is a
very good platform in implementing this marketing strategy as it is providing a bigger
target audience.

51
 Recommendations

 Mostly people among age group 20-30 are more aware about Below the Line
Marketing so the company should pay more attention to this age group as they
are about this marketing strategy.
 As the age group of 40-60 are less focused on, companies should focus on this
age group to acquire new customer as this segment is untouched, this will give
new customers as well as boost to the sales of the company.
 Companies should focus on more on students and salaried class people
 E-mail is more popular among the people for this marketing strategy so
companies should try to focus on this medium to lure in more customers through
E-mail
 Maximum people are receiving the offers twice a week, companies should give
the offers daily to boost their sales
 The coupons influence the buying behaviour of the customers so companies
should give more coupons offers to customers to retain previous customers and
this will also help them in acquiring new customers.

52
 Bibliography

website Referred:-

 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]

Books Referred

 Marketing Below the line(study in management) by Christopher Martin

 Below the line Promotion by john wilmshurst

53
Appendix

54