Mosaic (The X-Ecutive Vol. XVII)

Illustration 2 Illustration 3 Revenues have gone up Significantly 231 crores in FY2017 to Rs 601 crore in FY2019. Music accounted for Rs 489 crore of this number. The balance is derived from the development of television material, films, and publications (Open magazine). Overall margins have more than doubled over the same time. The Rs 489 crore in music revenue comes from Carvaan, as well as licence fees from OTTs, music platforms, TV networks, and anybody else who wishes to use Saregama's library. presence gener In addition, its booming YouTube presence generates ad sales. Carvaan was introduced in 2017, and the fact that sales have increased from 231 crores to 601 crores in just three years reflects the remarkable popularity of the product. Conclusion ''Made for old, sold to young, made for offline, sold online - Carvaan, a unique gift to say you care!” Saregama Carvaan is regarded as one such product that was able to breach its projected market audience and extend to the unexpected public. It was indeed a paradigm shift, not only for its users but also for the company itself. Saregama India has transcended its own expectations by shifting from a retro music company to a vigorous music content creator. It was a very brave move entering into a field that was erstwhile unexplored. But since the risk was high, the returns were also more so. Narrowing their attention and focussing on their target audience went a long way in helping the company shrink its worries. It is often said that 20% of the

population accounts for 80% of the total sales, and Saregama was hell-bent on achieving this from the target crowd. The advertising campaigns and micro marketing campaigns helped the company in connecting with the people at the fundamental levels and this connection proved to be extremely fruitful for the company. Speaking from the point of view of the users of Saregama Carvaan, even they underwent a paradigm shift in the way they listened to music. The tedium of smartphones and the difficulties faced by them due to technical challenges had already caused them enough harassment and all they needed was a simple device to listen to music. Fortunately, the Carvaan proved to be the device that helped them shift from monotony to convenience. It was that rope that pulled the crowd out of the abyss of complexity into the haven of simplicity. Saregama also displayed a particular market to the world, which is devoid of the growing advantages of the digital field. As the world develops more and more features in the digital space, many people are unable to grasp the development, which leads to a demand gap. If this demand gap can be met by a physical product that is simple to use, then there is no reason why the product will not be embraced by the market. It also showcased that no matter how good one’s advertising might be, the product at the basic should be of high quality and value adding. Thinking about it in retrospect, Saregama could have easily gone with a comprehensive design for the product to dilate many eyelids. But their cogent understanding of the target audience forced them to keep it all simple. The result? Profit speaks for itself. References • https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/how-saregama-india-is-trying- to-make-its-business-future-proof/story/407949.html • https://www.saregama.com/carvaan • https://www.impactonnet.com/amp/cmo-file/nostalgia-the-secret-to-carvaans- success-6338.html • https://www.adgully.com/music-mothers-memories-how-carvaan-crafted-its- success-story-86348.html • https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/with-carvaan-saregama- sings-a-new-tune-of-success/article26878506.ece • https://www.medianama.com/2017/11/223-saregamas-unexpected-hardware- success-carvaan/ • https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/saregama-carvaan-nostalgia-in-a- box/103157 • http://www.radioandmusic.com/biz/music/labels/170811-the-success-story- carvaan-vikram-mehras-words

BRAND RESURRECTION: BREATHING LIFE BACK INTO THE DEAD BRANDS As we know, once the brand has been launched, the most AUTHOR DETAILS vital aspect is its survival. If the brand fails to evolve, innovate, or keep its core values intact, it loses its grip on its Tanushree Lahoti existence. To revive the brand back to the market, it needs to comprehend the reason for its devaluation. Once the B.Com. Evening underlying rationale has been detected, it should be 3rd Year repaired, considering the brand image and its core values. St. Xavier’s College Every brand that re-launches has a new story to share. This (Autonomous), Kolkata article has enlisted four brands expounding its revitalization: AUTHOR DETAILS A Brand to Remember – Bajaj Chetak Bajaj Chetak was a highly acclaimed scooter manufactured Vedant Kabra by Bajaj Auto Ltd. which was named after the war horse of the Indian ruler Maharana Pratap. The scooter was known B.Com. Morning for its for its solid built quality and reliability. It took in all 3rd Year the challenges that a horse used for war would take in its St. Xavier’s College strides, hence the name. It could combat the harsh climate (Autonomous), Kolkata or harsh terrain with minimal maintenance. It even played a significant role a significant role in immortalizing the ‘Humara Bajaj’ jingle that aired on national television at that time. Its sales knew no bounds as it continued being people’s favourite until the late 90s. As the markets opened in the 90s, Bajaj Chetak had to contend against premium quality substitutes that were available at an increased convenience. Bajaj could not handle such a sally and had submissively ended the production towards the end of 2005. Rebirth in 2020 – In a bid to be at par with the changing trends in the market, Bajaj Auto has launched an electric scooter that bears the legendary Chetak sobriquet. Its retro design, combined with a familiar-looking headlamp and high endurance preserves its ancient roots and gives it a modern touch, at once. By re-launching the classic brand, the company not only aims to target the nostalgic audience but tries to attract the attention of the environmentally concerned young audience. Back to Basics – Tommy Hilfiger Revered for its affordable preppy, American fashion, Tommy Hilfiger Inc. set off in 1985 launching their men’s wear collection. In 1992, it declared itself public, and soon in 1996, they diversified into women's clothing as well. They focussed on making a move early in the race of trends and were infamous for their bold logo embellished on the T-shirts. With time, they started to over-saturate the market by widening their product line and relinquishing their

on making a move early in the race of trends and were infamous for their bold logo embellished on the T-shirts. With time, they started to over-saturate the market by widening their product line and relinquishing their originality, to appeal to the audience of high fashion brands like Gucci. Besides, the low quality, cheap price tags, and endless promotions tarnished their brand image. The ubiquity of their brand started to dwindle their sales. Rebirth in 2006 – Apax Partners acquired Tommy Hilfiger inc. in 2006 and tapered the product line to keep their roots intact. Learning from European success, they started implementing their strategy. They pulled out from many departmental stores, and entered into a contract with Macy to be the exclusive distributor in the U.S. Along with expanding to newer markets, they ensured dynamic production depending on the preferences of the consumers. Celebrating the Art of Masculinity – Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand operating under Procter and Gamble, which offers male grooming products ranging from perfumes and deodorants to shaving kit and shampoos, used by men of all ages. In the initial years after its launch, the sales started skyrocketing as the brand started becoming popular among men. However, its image of being a powerful brand started getting marred by the negative public sentiment as the perception of the people towards this brand changed over time. Old spice started getting associated with old age and its products were gradually perceived as out-dated and stale. Ergo, once a popular brand, old spice fell prey to negative publicity. Illustration 1 Rebirth in 2010 – With the help of a popular agency, Wieden+Kennedy, their ad Campaign – ‘The man your man could smell like’ featuring a unique blend of comedy and a brawny ex- NFL player went viral. This campaign increased its sales by 27 per cent, successively, in no time. Old spice managed to dramatically change people’s perception of its products and became an embodiment of effective advertising. Reconnecting to its Roots – Starbucks Be it your breakfast or your morning coffee, are you ready to compromise on the quality? Back in 1971, Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl – the founders – smelled

the need for revamping the way coffee was being sold. To meet the growing need for retailing high– quality coffee beans and equipment, they established their first store in Seattle. Later in the mid-1980s, Starbucks was sold to Howard Schultz who revolutionized the coffee culture. Besides serving espresso drinks in their stores, he focussed on selling a pleasant experience to their customers. Their revenue was booming like never before until they encountered the 2008 recession. The economic slowdown coerced this coffee giant to shut down 600 of its stores. Distressed by the plummeting sales, Schultz replaced the then CEO, Jim Donald to find out that the company had deviated from the focus of providing a congenial atmosphere and high quality. Rebirth in 2008 – They came up with a brilliant revival strategy that focussed on enhancing customer relationships. They introduced ‘My Starbucks Idea’, which provided the customers with a forum to connect with Starbucks itself. Besides understanding Illustration 2 the customers' perception of the improvements that they could incorporate, this platform also helped Starbucks in providing cognizance of their working to the customers. The management ensured to align their functioning as per the opinions of their stakeholders- employees and customers. Close to 7100 stores were temporarily closed to provide a three-hour training session to the baristas. How Effective is Brand Revival? The detailed analyses of these four companies have revealed that the following factors make brand revival a lucrative option for the companies. 1. Economical: When a brand re-enters the market under the moniker of its older version, it saves on the cost of starting over with the promotional activities, from scratch. This ensures that the companies invest in quintessential promotional activities rather than undertaking elementary promotional activities. 2. Rectification of errors: Brand revival ensures that the issues associated with the decline of the brand, in the first place, gets identified and understood. This way, the companies minimize their chances of collapse in the long run. 3. Established brand image: The brand must be true to its core values that made the brand successful in the first place. To streamline the product, the company should not let go of its older self. This way, the brand capitalizes on its brand image and gets the desired attention from the nostalgic public.

Learning Outcomes for Other Brands We see five different challenges that need to be addressed by the companies before reinvigorating their dead brands: 1. Timing is the key: The brands contemplating the idea of revival must identify the right time for offering their product or services. For instance, Bajaj Auto’s electric scooter, Chetak is being launched in the times when the entire world is diverting its attention towards renewable sources of energy, amid the rising environmental concerns associated with using traditional fuels. 2. Quality should not be compromised: The quality of the products should be satisfying enough to induce the customers to return. A major part of Tommy Hilfiger’s success can be attributed to the fact that they started working on their product to enhance their customer satisfaction and increase their visibility in the market, in their second act. 3. Using the right set of promotional tools: Old spice managed to increase its revenues by changing the perception of the market towards its products through an effective campaign. It is the responsibility of the brands to engage in effective market communication. 4. Product differentiation: A brand needs to stand out in the market by adding unique elements to its products and services that would act as a point of attraction for potential customers. Starbucks revamped the entire ‘coffee experience’ and changed people’s outlook towards drinking coffee. Conclusion The brands must carry out the cost-benefit analysis to determine the cost of resurrection. If the cost of revival does not exceed the benefits associated with it, revival would be an irrational decision. Conversely, if revived, it is the onus of the brands to strategize and formulate plans to stay afloat in the industry. The brands must thrive to be ahead of the competition by constantly evolving themselves by keeping the long-term perspective under consideration. References • https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/bike-news/bajaj-chetak-electric-price- bajaj-chetak-vs-ather-450-electric-scooter-range-features/1822502/ • https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/automobiles-riding-down-memory- lane-bajaj-chetak/331879 • http://brandfailures.blogspot.com/2006/12/rebranding-failures-tommy- hilfiger.html#:~:text=But%20then%2C%20in%202000%2C%20the,and%20Bev erly%20Hills%20closed%20down. • https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/12/10/turnaround-tommy-how- hilfigers-once-dead-brand-had-its-biggest-year-ever/#788ba36123b5

EVOLVING NICHE MARKET OF CAFÉ – A CASE AUTHOR DETAILS STUDY ON THE MUSHROOMING CAFÉS IN URBAN KOLKATA Dr. Tridib Sengupta Introduction Assistant Professor and Former HOD, Faculty of Cafés are welcoming environments for everyone. The Commerce baseline expectation of a place's aesthetics has grown, which St. Xavier’s College has led to the growth of cafés in part. It appeals to a basic (Autonomous), Kolkata urge to get away from the monotony of everyday life. Is it possible to afford to go to a café every day? Most likely not. It is, however, a place to unwind and reflect if they are feeling creatively starved. Illustration 1 AUTHOR DETAILS Primary reasons why cafés are gaining importance amongst Jumelia Sengupta the millennials, young professionals, corporates, housewives and other sections of the demography are: B.M.S. 3rd Year • Cheaper than Hotels: In terms of food costs, fancy St. Xavier’s College restaurants and hotels are more expensive than cafés. (Autonomous), Kolkata Cafés are much more affordable for young people, particularly those who do not have a lot of money. • Not Designed for Families: Families generally dislike cafés because they encounter children who make noise, laugh, and chat, and why not, it's their own corner. • Fast food: All of their fast-food cravings can be satisfied at these venues easily. • Fashionable and trendy: Most cafés nowadays have a beautiful colourful atmosphere that makes young people feel elated and ecstatic. o A spot for lovers: Nowadays, dating has become fashionable. It's a common practise to hang out with a girlfriend or boyfriend in order to meet her or him.

• A spot for lovers: Nowadays, dating has become fashionable. It's a common practise to hang out with a girlfriend or boyfriend in order to meet her or him. • Start-up Discussions: As more young people are pursuing risky ventures such as starting their own businesses, the topic of start-ups is becoming more prevalent. In this backdrop, there is a huge potential for a detailed study into the arena of mushrooming cafés in the Indian scenario, specifically in urban and semi urban localities, let alone its huge potential in the megapolis and metropolitan cities. The allure for cafés seem to transcend the age barrier and percolating in different segment of the demographics, hence is the justification behind the current study. Marbella’s- The Case Study Illustration 2 In context to the rationale of the study, an example can be sighted of a very successful effort in café marketing, Marbella’s Café established by Nikhil Chawla, a commerce graduate from a renowned city college and coming from a background of a family of shoe business. He first started this café in the posh residential area of South Calcutta, by converting a traditional Bengali ground floor apartment, into an ambiance with a difference to attract the upwardly mobile crowd with surplus income to spare, including millennials, housewives, young professionals and even the elderly section of the demography. The café is open from 12 to 12, thereby providing a timeframe for different sections of the potential customers to touch down and enjoy from a simple cup of coffee to a delectable menu of savouries. The pocket pinch is also taken care of as the menu is affordable and one can even hang around by having a cup of coffee only.

Review of Literature In context of the topic, the following review of literature might be quoted: According to Dhond A. (2012), while the south prefers roasted and ground (filter) coffee, the north prefers instant coffee. “As coffee culture grows in India, a traditionally tea-drinking country, domestic and international chains are planning major expansion plans worth nearly Rs.325 crores over the next 3-5 years,” according to the Financial Express. Players such as Barista, Costa Coffee, Café Coffee Day, and Barnie's have also begun expanding their footprint in the country and overhauling their product portfolios. According to Gangwani (2019), in her publication, A Study on the Impact of Brand Preference and Furniture on Consumer Preference of Coffee Houses,” stated that the focus of the research is on Bangalore's coffee shops. Various elements will be used to study the social aspects of the food and beverage industry, with a focus on coffee houses. Its aim is to investigate the influence of factors such as music, brand preference, taste preference, decor, lighting, and crown on customer preference to visit a coffee shop. According to Indian Coffee Café Industry (2020), Costa Coffee, Café Coffee Day, and Barnie's have also begun expanding their footprint in the country and overhauling their product portfolios. The growing demand from the young population, rising disposable income, rapid urbanisation, corporate culture, and global lifestyle are all factors contributing to the market's development. According to “India Coffee Shops / Cafés Market Forecast, Consumer Survey and Opportunities” (2021), In India, the demand for Coffee Shops or Cafés is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 11% from 2016 to 2021. In addition to India's major cities, such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, the entry of new chains into tier II and tier III cities is expected to be a major factor driving growth in the country's coffee shops/cafés sector over the next five years. India's coffee industry is booming. Objectives of the Study • To find out which demographic segments visit cafés frequently, in the urban backdrop. • To enumerate the reasons for cafés becoming popular and therefore increasing in number in metropolises. • To determine whether pocket pinch or affordability plays a role in the marketing of cafés, in the minds of the potential consumers. • To determine whether influencer marketing plays a role in expanding the customer base. Research Methodology The research instrument used in this study was a Structured Questionnaire. A five

point Likert scale along with dichotomous questions as well as ranks were used in order to analyse the responses. In this study, Simple Random Sampling, under Probabilistic Sampling has been considered in order to minimize the researcher’s biases and interpret more authentic results. The sample size was determined then by using variance or proportion, but due to time constraints, the questionnaire had been sent to 100 potential respondents, out of which, 72 responded (the valid response rate being 100%). Then, the questionnaire was sent to a targeted population of pre-teens and post-teens, students (school, colleges, B-Schools, coaching centres, young professionals. In our study, the data was collected for a period of 5 days. Across-sectional research design involving different groups of people from different socioeconomic aspects was considered in order to get a vast range of varied responses. The study is based on both primary data, collected by circulation the Questionnaire and secondary data collected from previous researches which have been taken from the papers published on Shodh Ganga and other papers on Café Marketing. A convenience sampling, which is a method of Non-Probability sampling was chosen to reach the most accessible members. Further, graphical analysis of statistical data was done and represented by using pie charts and bar graphs. Further, a hypothesis was defined and the inference was drawn by applying the chi-square test to prove the authenticity of data. Analysis and Findings Which one of the following factors is the most important factor for you to decide on the particular brand of the cafe? 35 Choice of Fashion and A place to 30 25 food trends hangout 20 15 10 5 0 Affordability Ambiance and décor Extremely Important Somewhat important Neutral Somewhat unimportant Not important Illustration 3 Importance of factors: The “most important” factor for the choice of a café emerged to be the Choice of food that one prefers and the ambiance and decor of the café. Affordability and a place to hang out with family, Friends and colleagues emerged to be \"somewhat important” factors. Fashion and trends a monster to be a “neutral” factor in influencing the respondents to decide on a particular brand of Café.

Illustration 4 Impact of influencer marketing in choice Illustration 5 of cafés: About 43% of the respondent said that influencer marketing played a very crucial role in influencing their choice of cafés and about 40% said that influencer marketing “might” influence the choice. On the other hand, about 26% of the respondents strongly believe that influencer marketing did not have over very important role to play in influencing their choice. Most impactful genre of influencers: Majority of the respondents, precisely being 57% of the population said that their peer influencer group had a major impact in influencing their choice of a café. About 37% of the population also said that Micro influencers on YouTube and Instagram who do paid brand promotions had an impact on them, while or small Open 5.7% of the respondents were influenced by celebrity mega influencers like actors and sportsmen. Does pocket pinch play a role in the Impact of pocket pinch: A large choice of cafe? population of 63% of the respondents said 5% Yes that their pocket pinch Play the very 32% Maybe crucial role in their choice of cafés. This is No primarily because, the target audience for 63% the booming cafés add the Millennials. 32% of the respondents said that pocket pinch \"might” Play a role in the choice of a café while the rest 5% of the respondents said that pocket pinch did not matter in the choice of selection of a café. Illustration 6

Customer loyalty: The Net Promoter Code shows that around 49% of the respondents are promoters consumers who would highly recommend the café to their friends and family, about 40% of the respondents were passive consumers, would highly recommend a café brand if they really liked it and 5% of them were found to be indifferent in this case. On the other hand, none of the customers were found to be detractors who wouldn’t recommend the café brand. Illustration 7 Hypothesis Testing A Chi-Square test is performed in the following categorical variables. H0: There is no significant relationship between the categorical variables. H1: There exists a significant relationship between the categorical variables. TEST 1 Gender * How often do you visit cafés? Cross tabulation How often do you visit cafés? Gender 1 Count 1 2 3 4 Total % within Gender 9 7 16 2 34 26.5% 20.6% 47.1% 5.9% 100.0% 2 Count 26 2 8 2 38 % within Gender 68.4% 5.3% 21.1% 5.3% 100.0% Total Count 35 9 24 4 72 % within Gender 48.6% 12.5% 33.3% 5.6% 100.0%

Chi-Square Test Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) 13.521a 3 .004 Pearson Chi-Square 14.055 3 .003 Likelihood Ratio 1 .004 Linear-by-Linear 8.147 Association N of Valid Cases 72 a. 4 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.89. Since the p-value of the test is lesser than 0.05 (0.004), we reject H0. Hence, we conclude that there is a significant relationship between gender and the frequency of visiting cafés. TEST 2 Age * How often do you visit cafés? Crosstabulation How often do you visit cafés? Age 1 Count 1 2 3 4 Total 2 35 6 21 4 66 3 % within Age 53.0% 9.1% 31.8% 6.1% 100.0% Total 2 Count 0110 100.0% % within Age 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% 4 Count 0220 100.0% 72 % within Age 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% 100.0% Count 35 9 24 4 % within Age 48.6% 12.5% 33.3% 5.6% Chi-Square Test Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) 11.455 6 .075 Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio a 6 .067 1 .196 11.762 Linear-by-Linear 1.675 Association 72 N of Valid Cases

a. 9 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .11. Since the p-value of the test is greater than 0.05(0.075), we accept H0. Hence, we conclude that there is no significant relationship between age and the frequency of visiting cafés. Conclusion The data is further validated through hypothesis testing, the conclusions derived being “that there is no significant relationship between age and the frequency of visiting cafés” and “that there is a significant relationship between gender and the frequency of visiting cafés.” The mushrooming cafés in the Indian urban market space reflects the mindset of the modern generation of Indians as well as certain sections of the elderly generations. The potential of Café Marketing lies in the fact that the upwardly mobile crowd would like a refreshing ambiance in an informal backdrop(unlike a restaurant or a club) to spend some quality time with their peer group, exchange ideas and probably relax albeit an affordable pocket pinch. For budding entrepreneurs and potential startups, this niche market space provides interesting opportunities for limited investments. Recommendations • Word of mouth publicity followed by social media propaganda play the biggest role in promoting cafés. • The target demography, thought mostly the millennials can be extend to young homemakers, elderly ladies and their family friends as well as grown up and elderly gents dropping in to share a few thoughts with their peer group or probably discuss binaries matters in an informal surrounding. • Since customer loyalty plays a big role in the marketability of cafés, special care should be spared on this vertical with a SOPs like 10% discounts for frequent visitors, 15-20% for special occasions with family and friends, a silver or a gold loyalty card. • Affordability of the items offered in a café should be carefully kept in mind if the café owners, with the items on menu, at reasonable prices. • A final recommendation on the final important factor of decor and ambiance of a café with some USP to attract its potential as well as loyal customers to its threshold. References • Taecharungroj, V. (2016). Starbucks”marketing communications strategy on Twitter. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(6), 552-571. • Thompson, C., & Arsel, Z. (2004). The Starbucks brandscape and consumers’(anticorporate) experiences of glocalization. Journal of Consumer Research,31(3), 631–642. doi:10.1086/jcr.2004.31.issue-3.

• Tripathi, G., & Dave, K. (2014). Exploration of service quality factors in restaurant industry: A study of selected restaurants in New Delhi region. Journal of Services Research,14(1), 9. • Kim, M., Vogt, C. A., & Knutson, B. J. (2015). Relationships among customer satisfaction, delight and loyalty in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. • Ryu, K., Lee, H., & Kim, W. (2012). The influence of the quality of the physical environment, food and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. • Spacey, R., Muir, A., Cooke, L., Creaser, C., & Spezi, V. (2017). Filtering wireless (Wi-Fi) Internet access in public places. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 0961000615590693. • Starbucks. (2016). Starbucks annual report in 2016. • Hyder, S. and Lussier, R.N. (2016) Why Businesses Succeed or Fail: A Study on • Small Businesses in Pakistan. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. • Bulut, M., Demirbas, M., & Ferhatosmanoglu, H. (2015). Lineking: Coffee shop wait-time monitoring using smartphones. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing,14(10), 2045–2058. doi:10.1109/TMC.2014.2384032. • Chakravorti, B. (2010). Stakeholder Marketing 2.0. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing,29(1), 97–102. doi:10.1509/jppm.29.1.97. • Chandler, J., Mueller, P., & Paolacci, G. (2014). Nonnaïveté among Amazon Mechanical Turk workers: Consequences and solutions for behavioral researchers.

DECODING SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING The use of social media channels and websites to promote a AUTHOR DETAILS product or service is known as social media marketing. Despite the fact that the words \"e-marketing\" and \"digital Manvi Agarwal marketing\" are still widely used in academia, for both businesses and individuals, social media marketing is B.M.S. becoming increasingly common. Most social media sites have 3rd Year built-in data analytics tools that enable businesses to St. Xavier’s College monitor ad campaign progress, performance, and (Autonomous), Kolkata engagement. Companies use social media marketing to communicate with a variety of stakeholders, including AUTHOR DETAILS present and prospective clients, current and prospective workers. Journalists, writers, and members of the general Riya Tulsian public are all involved. On a strategic level, social media marketing entails overseeing a marketing strategy, B.M.S. establishing governance, and determining the spectrum (e.g., 3rd Year active or passive use) and the creation of a company's desired St. Xavier’s College social media \"community\" as well as \"tone.\" Firms can allow (Autonomous), Kolkata for this when they use social media marketing. Customers and Internet users use social media to share user-generated content (e.g., photos, videos, etc.) posts on the internet, product reviews, and so on). The Platform of Social Media Marketing Individuals, companies, and other organisations may use social networking websites to communicate with one another and form online communities. When businesses enter these social media platforms, customers have the opportunity to engage with them directly. This interaction has the potential to be more intimate. Outbound traditional marketing and advertisements are less effective at reaching consumers than personal social media marketing techniques. Word of mouth, or more specifically, e-word of mouth, is spread across social networking sites. Because of the Internet's ability to reach billions of people around the world, online word of mouth has a strong voice and a wide reach. An influence network is characterised as the ability to rapidly change purchasing habits, product or service acquisition, and behaviour among an increasing number of consumers. Followers of social networking sites and blogs may \"repost\" comments made by others about a product being advertised, which happens frequently on certain social media sites. By repeating the message, the user's contacts

consumers. Followers of social networking sites and blogs may \"repost\" comments made by others about a product being advertised, which happens frequently on certain social media sites. By repeating the message, the user's contacts would be exposed to it, allowing the message to reach a larger audience. Since the product's knowledge is widely disseminated and replicated, more traffic is directed to the product/company. Consumers can communicate their needs, desires, and values online through social networking platforms, which are focused on creating virtual communities. Then, through social media marketing, these customers and viewers are linked to companies who share their same desires, wishes, and values. Companies may communicate with individual followers via social networking sites. Followers and potential customers may develop a sense of loyalty as a result of this personal interaction. Furthermore, brands can hit a very specific target audience by selecting who to follow on these pages. Social networking sites often provide a wealth of knowledge about the goods and services that potential customers may be interested in. Marketers can detect purchasing signs, such as content exchanged by people and questions posed online, using new semantic analysis technologies. Salespeople can target relevant customers, and marketers can run micro-targeted campaigns, if they understand purchasing signals. The Internet is used by over three billion people around the world. The number of people using the Internet has grown steadily over the years, from 627 million in 2019 to 4.54 billion in 2020. About 376.1 million of the existing population of India has a social media profile that they use on a regular basis. Cell phone use is advantageous for social media marketing because mobile phones have social networking features, allowing users to browse the web and access social networking sites immediately. Mobile phones have evolved at a rapid pace, radically altering the path-to-purchase process by enabling consumers to access real-time pricing and product information and allowing businesses to communicate with their customers. Mobile devices have grown in popularity, with 5.11 billion people using them worldwide, and this has influenced how users communicate with media, as well as having ramifications for TV ratings, ads, and mobile commerce. Digital media consumption is on the rise, with more than 100 million users expected to access online video content via mobile device in India. Pay-per-view downloads, commercials, and subscriptions all contribute to mobile video sales. In 2019, 420.7 million world's cell phone users had access to the Internet. According to statistics, more than 90% of Internet users access online content through their phones in 2021. Advantages The evolution of social media has brought the world to tracks. It has enabled friends and relatives to connect to each other in real time. It gave them a chance to express themselves and revolutionize in different ways. It has also provided businesses and brands an enormous opportunity to reach out in ways which was never possible

before. 1. Increased brand awareness Social media is one of the most efficient digital marketing methods which is used to increase brand awareness and business visibility. To begin with, creating social media profiles and increased interaction with others simply increases the reputation of a business. Studies have shown that investing only a few hours per week, the social marketing efforts greatly increases their exposure. American express, a well–known company, leverages the value provided by social media to grow online communities and minimize financial investment. They invite guest authors from various domains to share their knowledge and experiences. 2. More inbound traffic Social media marketing lifts the limitation of reach to only the usual customers. Without using social media marketing, it is usually difficult to increase the loyal customer circle. Social media is a platform which brings people from various backgrounds together. This enables them to expose their business to a wider variety of respective customers. Go pro, considered as the most versatile camera as a total of 16.2 million Instagram followers, 2.2 million twitter followers and over 10.7 million Facebook followers. This is an ideal example of how a company encourages engagement and channelizes traffic through social media. 3. Better customer satisfaction A social media platform gives a company a voice which enables to humanize the company’ objectives. Consumers appreciate the personalized response rather than a generalized statement. Social media presence helps marketers to acknowledge each feedback and pay vivid attention to individual needs of customers and give them the best possible experience. Wayfair is a home décor company. They successfully understood the power of social media and used it inspiringly to sell their products online. They upload content that helps its viewers to learn more about furniture, kitchen updating tips, etc. 4. Cost-effective The ROI of any marketing strategy is one of the most important things to look into. Signing up and creating a profile of social media platforms generally does not require initial funding. Also, the paid promotion activities have a relatively low cost compared to other marketing strategies. The company mint understood this and as a result, gained positive results with optimum investment. Initially the company was less known as compared to its competitors but their digital marketing efforts gained a massive online reach. Their sales have reached 170 million dollars as of now. 5. Gain marketplace insights Social media gives an opportunity to understand the thoughts and needs of our consumers by directly communicating to them. The customer’s interests and opinions can be understood by observing the responses and activities on your profiles. Undoubtedly, Nike is one of the brands with impeccable social media presence. Nike has opened a separate twitter handle dedicated for customer service and gaining feedback.

Disadvantages The way every coin has two sides, the advent use of social media marketing also has some downsides. 1. Negative feedback and risk to brand name Social media provides an open platform and equal opportunity to voice concerns and give opinions. This exposes businesses and brands to vulnerability. Their functioning and sales can hugely be impacted because of bad mouthing and negative comments. Snapchat, being one of the prime examples. After its CEO, Evan Spigel, passed a statement in 2017 which portrayed his opinion on the economic condition of India, gave way to huge controversies. Due to negative comments and backlash by its users, their subscribers fell from marginally. The exact data is unknown because the company did not share specific numbers. 2. Heavily rely on ads Today’s digital world is pre–dominated by advertisements. It is quite capable of reaching specific consumers and an increased reach. While some may argue that it is an advantage, it is extremely harmful for small businesses. Upon a field survey, and personally interviewing small business owners, who sell vegetables and groceries online, it was found about their declining financial state. Consumers are bent towards ordering these basic amenities which is hampering the source of income for these people. 3. Security and privacy policy issues Social media demands personal data and private information of users as well as business. It does not believe in privacy and sensitive information can be easily accessed to. The situation arising with Facebook is well known. The digital world is a threat because of its unending transparency. The 5 Pillars of Social Media Marketing The 5 pillars which are extremely important to build a successful social media strategy are: 1. Social Strategies If you want to post something on social media, the first thing you should do is build a social plan. A social plan strives to fulfil the company's objectives. It includes a plan of action for marketers to step into the social media world. You might now be considering how to come up with a social strategy. to develop a customer-focused approach, questions like the objectives, the social media sites assisting you in reaching your objective and what kind of content would entice your target market? The renowned company Orbit Media is an example of the same. It was considered as “Just” a web design company. They researched and were well aware of their viewer's requirement. They also believe in cross collaborations as it helps in building personal relationships with people along with brand presence. They were at par with their objectives and their social plan, which brings them over 60000 visits a month, with

no external advertising. 2. Planning and Publishing As the number of people using social media is growing, companies are focusing on maintaining a strong presence on social media. This strategy is assisting them in promoting their brand to potential customers. Creation of appealing and insightful content is as easy as sharing pictures or videos on your personal social media page. However, if your aim is to promote a company or product on social media, you should concentrate on developing a post strategy. Parle G, the famous biscuit brand is one of the dominating companies on a social media platform. Analysing the activity span of potential customers and checking the reach and engagement level of posts were a couple of reasons for the brands massive online presence. 3. Listening and engagement Your business page may not have many followers who can connect with you through comments and direct messages in the early stages. However, on posting interesting material, the audience grows. As the social media following grows, interaction through comments and direct messages, automatically grows. If the post is engaging on a regular basis, there's a good chance they'll start sharing it. Comments and reviews in direct messages should be paid heed to. The prime aim is to solve the problem, in any; and try to inculcate constructive reviews and compliments about the brand. Pop–tarts is an ideal example of a company climbing the ladders of success because of engagement techniques. They're particularly effective on Twitter. Pop-Tarts' style is more targeted toward the younger audience – humorous and cynical, – rather than sounding like a brand. They send out a lot of tweets that a lot of Twitter users enjoy. When they post or answer to customers, they use a light hearted tone that makes it easy for people to connect to them. 4. Analytics and Reporting One of the most critical indicators of any online marketing medium is analytics and reporting. If a business page is regularly updated with new material, then the performance of the post or page should be monitored. Any business seeks a report that will assist them in their analysis. The analysis should include details of the scope, number of valuable mentions, reach and increment in engagement level of the posts. Sony, the well-known electronics brand had a rise in the follower growth rate by over 200% in a span of one year. This is because the brand monitored and studied the patterns and trends. They constantly formulated new strategies pertaining to the dynamic environment. An average increase of 350% in the brand awareness was noticed every month. 5. Advertisements Social advertisements are one of the most well-known aspects of social media. If you have the resources and can channelize money into social media, social ads to create awareness and spread the word out about your business. It is a metaphorical assistant that helps you to attract a large number of users and show advertisements to a specific audience.

Unlike every brand, Bewakoof knows how to grow and invests in both social media advertisements as well as Google ads. These ads make it easier for the brand to flourish at a faster and smoother pace. These ads include keywords like merch, online shopping, fandom t-shirts, affordable clothing, etc. Awareness regarding Social Media of the Masses This chapter uses primary data collected by distributing a survey among the students of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. All the observations have been analysed through descriptive statistics and the data analysis is provided below: Gender Distribution: As observed from the above figure, we see that the gender distribution is almost equal, and both categories have been taken into consideration of the study simultaneously to arrive at proper results. Illustration 1 Illustration 2 Age Distribution: As seen from the Illustration 3 above figure, the college goers are our target audience for the study and how they perceive social media is the objective. So, the age group, thus, is justified. No. of hours the Internet is accessed in a day: We infer that the internet users who are really addicted and use it for more than 9 hours are lesser in comparison to others, which is a good sign. 2 hours should be the ideal time to be spent and that range is the highest, so it is concluded that the users of the Internet are actually frequent and social media marketing, the new trend.

Social media applications used the most: In this question, respondents were asked to choose the most 2 common social media apps that they use regularly. It aimed to analyse the different bundles that they select, and it was understood that WhatsApp and Instagram Illustration 4 were the most common ones, not Facebook. Thus, we see that the respondents who are aged between 18-21 mostly use WhatsApp and Instagram almost regularly, both professionally and personally. Purchase of a product online: As it can be seen clearly, almost all respondents have purchased a product online at least once in their lifetime, which clearly shows the technological advancements made by all brands in general on their social media sites. Illustration 5 Influence of advertisements on social media sites on purchase decisions: We infer that 112 respondents out of 206 which is more than 50% of the sample size have been influenced by advertisements on social media which tends to a purchase decision. It means that the advertisements are attractive, understandable Illustration 6 most of the times. It would be important to check why the people are not influenced by advertisements, is it because they don’t pay attention while scrolling or the advertisements are not very clear.

Illustration 7 Frequency of reading online reviews/blogs before making a the reason why 12 people never refer to the same. purchase decision: As observed from above, sometimes the respondents refer to online reviews and blogs before making the final purchase decision. It completely makes sense to do so. The reviews usually tend to give a real picture of the product, however not always as reviews can be fake too. That might also be Sharing of feedback on the product purchased in the online space: As observed from above, not many people tend to share reviews online for the product they have purchased. In a study about online user behaviour, Jakob Nielsen named this phenomenon “the 90-9-1 rule.” Put simply, the rule states: Illustration 8 90% of online users are lurkers (they read or observe, but don’t contribute.) 9% of users contribute intermittently. 1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions. The fact is, there are 2 sets of motivating factors for people to contribute online: 1. Intrinsic — When the customer is motivated by altruism. They had a good experience, or liked you personally, or simply want to help other “people like them” find something great. 2. Extrinsic — When the user is acknowledged, rewarded, or compensated. Going even deeper, though, we believe one of the following experiences is what motivates a customer to leave a review: • They’re really frustrated. • They’ve been delighted. • They genuinely want to help others. • They feel passionate about the topic or product, and see themselves as a tastemaker. • They are compensated or rewarded.

Usefulness of the presence of social media: As we observe the majority of the respondents agree to the fact that social media is useful to them in everyday life. Whether it is a boon or bane, is debatable as always, but what we know is that it cannot be avoidant. Social media, thus, has become a part of our lives and we cannot Illustration 7 imagine a life without it. It is used for both professional and personal reasons by everyone, so we would also agree with the idea that it is useful in our lives. Conclusion We see that more than 50% of the sample size agree to the fact that online advertisements on social media affect their purchase decisions, and they find social media useful. Thus, we see that this percentage of respondents use social media for purchasing products and connecting to other businesses. It is also seen that there are less people who want to share their reviews and feedback about the product but they are willing to check the ones posted before making the purchase decision. So, it is important for brands that they update the reviews page of their sites. Hence, social media marketing is replacing traditional marketing these days and it is important for companies to adapt to the same or else they will be fossilised. While the field of social media has emerged as an evolving area of research within the business discipline, there is still some confusion about the degree to which different types of social media influence customer buying and what products consumers are purchasing. The aim of this study was to look into the various types of purchasing behaviour observed among people who make purchases based on social media. Our findings suggest that consumers are purchasing goods that are very cheap or very expensive. This unexpected finding suggests that businesses can affect potential sales by motivating their customers to post on different types of social media. Firms could, for example, provide discounts or rewards to customers who promote their products on social media if such recommendations result in future purchases from their related mates. References • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00913367.2017.1405754 • https://www.bluefountainmedia.com/blog/advantages-of-social-media- marketing

• https://coschedule.com/blog/benefits-of-social-media-marketing-for-business • https://techjackie.com/disadvantages-of-social-media-marketing/ • https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/social-media-marketing- advantages-and-disadvantages.html • https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/advantages-and-disadvantages- using-social-media • https://www.sfwpexperts.com/inbound-marketing-series-what-is-social-media- marketing-smm-5-core-pillars-of-social-media-marketing/ • https://buffer.com/social-media-marketing • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219300561 • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qUtLDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg= PR5&dq=decoding+social+media+marketing&ots=yURjn9uOZa&sig=hWr2E4 wZETWVFqcpUEhVTAlUOK0

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Reliance – Netmeds On 4th August 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd acquired 60% stake in online pharmacy Netmeds for ₹620 crore. The deal granted Reliance a 100% ownership of Vitalic’s subsidiaries (Netmeds, Tresara, and DadhaPharma), valuing the parent firm at about $134 million. Acquiring Netmeds enhanced Reliance Retail’s ability to provide affordable health care products and services, and also broadened its digital proposition to include most daily essential needs of consumers. BMC – Compuware In June 2020, BMC, a global leader in IT solutions for digital enterprises, purchased Compuware, a leading provider of mainframe application development, delivery, and performance solutions, for $2 billion. With the acquisition of Compuware, BMC added a sophisticated mainframe DevOps (development/operations) environment, build and deploy tools and utilities, additional data management, measurement and operations software as well as additional compliance/security software. Sprint Corporation-T-Mobile US Sprint Corporation, an American telecommunication Company and T-Mobile US, an American wireless network operator, merged in 2020 in an all shares deal for $26 billion. The deal was announced on April 29, 2018 with T-Mobile emerging as the surviving brand. The reason for this merger was that T- Mobile and Sprint believed that a combined network would deliver better service at lower prices and their combined scale would help them build out a faster and more efficient network. Vodafone Hutchinson Australia(VHA)-Texas Pacific Group(TPG) In consolidation news out of Australia, two of the continent's largest carriers, Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), went ahead with their merger after being given the green light by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).The deal increased Vodafone’s network capacity and empowered its 5G plans, as well as gave the provider extra breathing room for further investments. The two companies completed the merger on 29th June, 2020. Reliance – Urban Ladder Reliance Industries’ (RIL) retail arm has acquired 96 per cent stake in Bengaluru-based online furniture retailer Urban Ladder for over Rs 182 crore. Urban Ladder confronted enormous net losses of Rs 118.66 crore and Rs 457.97 crore in 2017-18 and 2016-17, respectively. This acquisition helped Urban Ladder to fund its losses. On the other hand, the deal contributed to Reliance’s plans of building a stronger retail portfolio that supported its e-commerce play. The merger was completed on 14th November, 2020. 86

Morgan Stanley – E*Trade In October 2020, Morgan Stanley acquired the New York-based discount broker-dealer, E*Trade Financial Corporation for $13 billion. The decision helped Morgan Stanley boost its position across all channels and segments in the wealth management business. E*TRADE has over 5.2 million client accounts with over $360 billion of retail client assets, which got added to Morgan Stanley’s existing 3 million client relationships and $2.7 trillion of client assets. Uber – Postmates In December 2020,Uber acquired food-and-grocery delivery service, Postmates for $2.65 billion. Uber’s delivery ambitions took on greater importance in 2020, as the lockdowns pounded its ride-hail business while boosting demand for food delivery. The acquisition fitted well into Uber's diversification strategy, with ride-share traffic falling amid the coronavirus pandemic, while consumers stuck at home due to lockdowns ramped up ordering from restaurants offering takeout. Microsoft – Affirmed Networks In April 2020, Microsoft acquired 5G specialist company, Affirmed Networks to deliver next-generation 5G networks that would generate new capabilities, new markets, and help advance local economies. 5G would thus enable a host of new opportunities for businesses and society, including autonomous vehicles, smart cities, virtual reality, and a range of other smart industry use cases and services. Intuit - Credit Karma Fintech giant, Intuit acquired Credit Karma, a consumer technology platform with more than 110 million members in the U.S.A., Canada, and U.K for $8.1 billion in December 2020, making it Intuit’s largest acquisition ever. The combined company would create a new consumer finance platform that would make it simple for consumers to make better decisions with their money and take control of their financial lives. Combining with Intuit gives Credit Karma access valuable information like insight into customers' income and ability to make loan payments and thus allowing it to improve its financial product recommendations. Zoox – Amazon In June 2020, E-Commerce giant Amazon acquired Zoox, a California-based company working on autonomous technology to enable mobility-as-a-service for roughly $1.2 billion. The deal drove Amazon into an entirely new business of transporting people from one place to another. 87

1929 1987 1997 The Wall Street Crash of Regarded as one of the The Asian Crisis began in 1929, also referred to as most notorious days in the Thailand on 2 July 1997 the Great crash of 1929, financial history, Black with the collapse of the was the most devastating Monday occurred on Thai baht. The Thai stock exchange crash October 19, 1987. On this government was forced to within the history of the day, the Dow Jones float the baht due to a lack U.S. The U.S. stock market Industrial Average (DJIA) of foreign currency to reached its peak in August lost almost 22% in a single support its currency peg to 1929, but by then the day and marked the the U.S. dollar. The causes production had declined, beginning of a global stock of the disaster are increasing unemployment, market decline. By the end numerous and contro- and leav-ing stocks in of the month, most of the versial. Thailand's eco- great excess of their real major exchanges had nomy grew into a bubble values. On October 29, dropped more than 20%, fueled by foreign capital. 1929, Black Tuesday hit triggering a global stock As the bubble grew in size, Wall Street as investors market decline. The deficit more ‘hot money’ was traded about 16 million of the U.S. widened needed. The same thing shares on the New York compared to other happened in Malaysia and Stock Market during a countries. A financial strut Indonesia, with the added single day which as a had buckled, and the strain complication of \"crony result wiped out thous- brought world markets capital-ism\". Foreign Debt- ands of investors and tumbling down. Computer to-GDP ratios rose from created a loss of billions program-driven trading 100% to 167% in the four of dollars. The other models that adopted a large Association of causes of the stock portfolio protection policy, Southeast Asian Nations exchange crash were low as well as investor panic, (ASEAN) eco-nomies in wages, the proliferation of are believed to have 1993–96, then shot up debt, a struggling agri- triggered the crash. The beyond 180% during the cultural sector, and an Black Monday of 1987 worst of the crisis. The IMF excess of large bank loans revealed the role of stepped in to stabilize that could not be monetary and technological currencies of South Korea, liquidated. innovation in increased Thailand, and Indonesia. market volatility. The financial crisis gripped much of East and 88 Southeast Asia.

2000 2009 2020 The Internet bubble, which The Eurozone crisis was a It is regarded as the worst is commonly known as the multi-year debt crisis that global economic crisis dot.com bubble was a had been taking place in since the Great Depression stock market delusion the European Union since in the 1930s. The crisis caused by excessive the end of 2009 when the began due to various speculation of Internet- world first realized that government restrictions related companies in the Greece could default on its against production created late 1990s. Between 1995 debt. The Eurozone debt to contain the ongoing and its peak in March crisis was the world's COVID-19 pandemic. The 2000, the Nasdaq greatest financial threat in first major sign of a Composite stock exchange 2011, and in 2012 it only got recession was the collapse index rose 400%, only to worse when it escalated into of markets during the fall 78% from its peak by the potential for sovereign 2020 stock market crash, October 2002, abandoning debt defaults from Portugal, which began in late all its gains during the Italy, Ireland, and Spain. February and lasted bubble. During the crash, The European Union, led by through March. But the many online shopping Germany and France, found stock market crash was companies, like Pets.com, it difficult to support these short-lived, and many Webvan, and Boo.com, members. They initiated market indices around the also several communi- bailouts from the European world recovered or set new cation companies, like Central Bank (ECB) and the records to recover by the World.com, North Point IMF, but these measures northern autumn of 2020. Communications, and didn't keep many from According to a study by Global Crossing, failed questioning the viability of the World Bank, it states and were forced to pack the euro itself. It was caused that some regions may not up. Some companies, like by a balance-of-payments even recover until 2025 Cisco, Amazon.com, and crisis and was even more and beyond. Qualcomm, lost an worsened by the inability of outsized portion of their states to resort to de- market capitalization but valuation. managed to survive. 89



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NFTs ARE MAKING PEOPLE RICH – IS IT THE NEW CRYPTO BUBBLE? “On 19 February, an animated Gif of Nyan Cat - a 2011 meme AUTHOR DETAILS of a flying pop-tart cat - sold for more than $500,000. A few weeks later, musician Grimes sold some of her digital art for Shreya Raizada more than $6m. Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey is auctioning off his very first tweet, and bidding has B.M.S. reached $2.5 million. And NBA Top Shot, a marketplace for 2nd Year officially licensed basketball highlight clips, has seen more St. Xavier’s College than a quarter-billion dollars change hands over the last 30 (Autonomous), Kolkata days, minting multimillionaires along the way.” – Business Insider. Illustration 1 These are a few of the many NFT headlines making the rounds on all social media apps across the globe. Everyone is shocked by the sheer amount of money involved in these deals and are trying to figure out why is it worth so much? There are even cases where images of NFT artworks are copied and shared countless times on the internet and few artists even retain the copyright ownership of their work, so they can continue to produce and sell copies. So, what difference does it make to buy an NFT artwork? Let us try to decode it starting from the basics. NFT stands for Non-fungible tokens, where non-fungible means it cannot be interchanged with anything else because of its unique properties. Another example of non-fungible asset are rare paintings like “Starry Nights” by Vincent Van Gogh, which is one of a kind. You can of course take a photo or buy a duplicate one but there will only ever be just one original painting and it cannot be exchanged for anything else. To make it simple, let us take the example of money, a

Rs.100 note can be easily exchanged for 5 of Rs.20 notes as both of them have the same value, i.e., money is fungible. Evolution of NFTs NFTs first appeared in 2017 as part of ‘crypto kitties‘, a blockchain game that was based on algorithmically generated pictures of quirky and cute cats (some of them were rarer than others), which could be bought and traded as NFTs. Today, NFTs represent a plethora of digital artwork ranging from gifs and jpegs to tweets and music, gaming items, domain names, physical items and investments, and collaterals. It is a blessing for artists as it allows them to sell their artwork in a digital form to a global audience of buyers directly, eliminating the need for displaying the artwork in an auction house or gallery which kept a significantly greater portion of the profits from the sales. They can also choose to program loyalties into digital artwork so that they receive a percentage of sale profits each time their artwork is sold to a new owner. NFTs have also caught the fascination of game developers. Numerous games let their users make in-game purchases that cost real money. But if those items are NFTs then the players can recover the money and even make profits by selling the items once they are done with the game. This model is mutually beneficial as even the developers could earn loyalty every time an item is resold. A virtual reality game by the name of ‘Decentraland’ allows NFT purchases of virtual lots of land. One gamer purchased 64 lots and combined them into a single estate, named it “The Secrets of Satoshis Tea Garden” and sold it for $80,000. It was worth so much purely because of its desirable location and road access. Now you can only trade your digital items but shortly you’ll be able to outfit your avatar and digital home on the blockchain. An Argentinian designer Andrés Reisinger recently sold ten pieces of virtual non- existent furniture on Nifty Gateway for $70000, which can be placed in any 3D space or open-world games like Decentraland, Minecraft, etc. NBA Top Shot is making huge profits by tapping into fan’s nostalgia, which plays a significant role in buying decisions for NFTs. It is an NFT platform for the sale and trading of digital basketball cards that feature highlights of great plays. Many of the NFTs sold on the platform are now incredibly pricey even though there are more than one of almost all of these NFTs. The platform has already handled more than $250 million in transactions. In an interview with CoinDesk, Cuban said, “We can sell virtual gear, sneakers, art, pictures, videos, experiences, anything our imagination can come up with we can sell. We are looking at adding virtual jewellery, accessories, and clothing that we create to real pictures in social media. So, you can add cool Mavs virtual sneakers that look as real as the ones on your feet to your posts.” “The tokenisation of physical items isn't yet as developed as their digital counterparts. But there are plenty of projects exploring the tokenisation of real estate, one-of-a-kind fashion items, and more. NFT creators can also create \"shares\" for their NFT. This gives investors and fans the opportunity to own a part of an NFT without having to buy the whole thing.”- Ethereum’s official website.

How & Why NFTs Work? “A digital-only artwork has sold at Christie's auction house for an eye-watering $69m (£50m) - but the winning bidder will not receive a sculpture, painting or even a print.” – BBC News This news clip might impel you to question the psyche of the person who bought the artwork in a multimillion deal. This brings us to the next point where we understand how and why NFTs work. NFTs are non-tangible assets in a digital world that can be bought and sold like any other asset. They are a unique digital token that can be understood as a certificate of ownership. Just recently, Bitcoins were regarded as the digital answer to currency, now NFTs is being eulogized as the digital answer to collectables. You might still argue that traditional artworks are valuable to collectors because they are rare and unique. For most collectors, if they are aware of the existent of an original piece of something, they’re more likely to yearn for that piece and are even ready to pay a premium for it. Scarcity explains why sneakerheads obsess over the latest limited-edition drops from Nike and Adidas but more so it has value because it has a physical presence then how do we explain the high worth of NFTs which are merely digital files that can be effortlessly duplicated. As with other cryptocurrencies like Ether, Bitcoin, etc, NFTs are stored as unique digital tokens on a shared ledger known as the blockchain. Forging, removing, or destroying the records is a herculean task because the ledger is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. Being on the blockchain allows easy tracing of the original owner and eliminates the need for third-party verification. “When someone transfers one NFT to someone else, the code, which represents the NFT, also gets transferred to the other person on the blockchain. This makes sure that one can check on the blockchain who owns the NFT. When an NFT is created it is put up on the blockchain and is time-stamped, therefore it makes digital ownership very simple and easy to identify,\" said Nischal Shetty, chief executive officer of WazirX. Additionally, NFTs can also contain smart contracts that may give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token. But unlike regular cryptocurrency, NFTs cannot be directly exchanged with one another. NFTs are indivisible, i.e., they cannot be divided into smaller denominations, like another cryptocurrency. The reason behind the success of NFT is the motivation for the buyers and traders of getting rich quickly. Most cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have little to base their values on because it is not yet extensively used as a substitute for currency in the real world and is bought by people hoping it will be worth a lot more in the future. Its value lies solely in the fact that other people value it. NFTs at least have some kind of scarcity and real-world link – however tenuous. Although NFT developers can create any number of NFTs, they are purposely limited to add value. So, in the middle of a blockchain boom, it’s a new and exciting outlet for speculative money. NFTs have become significant because it fuses several puissant social and financial trends, namely cryptocurrency, virtual-reality, memes, and social media- fuelled speculative frenzy. Artists who wish to sell their work as NFTs need to sign up on a marketplace, then “mint” digital tokens by uploading and validating their information on a blockchain (typically the Ethereum blockchain). Doing so usually costs anywhere from $40 to

$200. They can then list their piece for auction on an NFT marketplace. Tech entrepreneurs and brothers Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster grasped the early mover opportunity and launched an NFT art marketplace called Nifty Gateway. It prioritized accessibility and usability, enabling newbies (both sellers and buyers) to trade easily. It was adopted rapidly by a myriad of users who ended up buying and selling more than $100 million worth of art during its first year. Dark Side of NFT However, fancy it may sound, there is also a dark side to this whole NFT mania. There are barriers to entry to get on the NFT bandwagon as it costs money and requires tech-savviness to sell an NFT. Legal experts are constantly scrambling to adjudge how existing copyright laws will interact with this new technology, as certain artists have had their work copied and sold as an NFT without their permission. Some artists are even setting up their tokens so they’re compensated every time their work is resold, like an actor receiving a royalty cheque when his/her show airs on TV as a rerun. As more and more people are trying to buy and sell NFTs, bargains will be harder to come by and the likelihood of overpaying will be higher. In the short run, it may still be easy to flip NFTs to new and inexperienced buyers rushing into the market because of all the hype. But as that hype inevitably dies down and NFTs become just another kind of collectible, it will be harder to turn a profit — simply because everyone in the market is trying to turn a profit, too. Is it a Bubble? Let us try to figure it out ourselves by considering a few tell-tale signs of a bubble and whether they apply to the NFT segment or not. • A bubble in layman’s terms is anything that is overvalued. NFTs are currently trading at skyrocketing prices and it is only expected to go upwards due to the massive growth potential of the industry. • When people who cannot afford it are buying it, there is reason to worry. With NFTs, we have not yet reached that stage as there is still a shroud of uncertainty and lack of information about NFTs being a reliable investment option, and risk- averse investors are still keeping their distance. • When the value of anything is priced in accordance with the desire of people to own it rather than use it. Basically, if it becomes a social symbol more than a useful asset. NFTs are based on the concept of scarcity, which gives NFT owners a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction as they are in possession of something exclusive, almost like a signed copy. And so, everybody wants their hands on it only because it is exclusive. Since everyone wants it with the intention of getting rich quickly, the prices keep going upwards and a good bargain is hard to get. And since there is gigantic demand, there will come a time when supply will increase manifolds and prices will come crashing down leading to the burst of the bubble. Some even believe that the value of these NFTs will go to absolute zero and it is a very risky investment to make.

Illustration 2 Given that most of the characteristics of NFTs are similar to that of an industry that is in a bubble, we can say that NFTs are in fact in a bubble but it is just speculation for now. It remains to be seen whether the speculation holds true and if yes, what will be the impact of the bubble burst on the existing investors and the mindset of the potential investors. Whether NFTs will emerge stronger than ever or they will lose their value and importance? Only time can tell. This NFT buying frenzy can be attributed to being a collective emotional reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic or it might be considered as the beginning of a new digital market segment. Some people, however, are almost certain that NFTs are in a bubble. They believe NFTs are a replica of the dot-com bubble and just like the dot com bubble didn’t mean the end of the internet, likewise NFTs are also here to stay. Despite the booms and busts, the NFT segment is going to attract a lot of new investors moving forward. References • https://marker.medium.com/why-the-nft-craze-is-a-bubble-waiting-to-pop- ad35922ca210 • https://time.com/5947720/nft-art/ • https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56371912 • https://www.coindesk.com/investor-gary-vaynerchuk-says-nfts-are-like-the-dot- com- bubble#:~:text=Non%2Dfungible%20tokens%20(NFTs),%2Dcom%20bubble%2 C%20Vaynerchuk%20said.

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