Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#284) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Dec 17, 2012


  1. The company that was established in the 1890s made Cigars and Cigarettes out of chocolate as an alternative to the tobacco variety. During the Second World War, the company’s machine shop even turned out parts for US Navy’s antiaircraft guns. Name the company.
     
  2. What is the sobriquet given to start-up tech companies like NationalField and Amicus and why?
     
  3. This person moved from company to company by cutting jobs and boosting profits. He believed that the primary goal of any business should be to make money for its shareholders. By firing thousands of employees at once and closing plants and factories, he earned nicknames such as Chainsaw Al and Rambo in pinstripes. Name him
     
  4. Which company is linked to the Muppetgate blunder and why?
     
  5. An actress, who started her career in 1966 as a child actor in the Telugu movie, is going to endorse a brand, which was introduced in the 1930s and was named after its owner family’s favourite horse. Name the actress and the brand?
     
  6. What travel accessory is named after a person who served as the Chancellor of Exchequer and as the Prime Minister of Britain, both at different times?
     
  7. Name the organisation, which is pushing for the development of a wireless medical device similar to the one used by Dr McCoy in the Star trek series for instant medical diagnosis. The organisation along with a maker of wireless communication technologies as its sponsor announced a prize $10 million. Also name the device.
     
  8. Whose baseline reads “Bringing our best to you”? 
     
  9. Who said this, “People ask me all the time, don’t you feel guilty for it? And I say that‘s ridiculous. It seems reasonable and rational to control the ____from where you normally sit and watch ____”?
     
  10. Identify the brands they represent



Answers to last week's quiz (#283)


  1. he name for this start-up brand was taken from a character in the song-poem composed by Roscoe Mitchell, an African American composer and Jazz instrumentalist. It was founded by 3 musicians from California, who sold freshly squeezed juice from the back of an old Volkswagen van. It was NASDAQ Company till it was bought by a global MNC. Name the founders, the brand and its current owner.
    Odewalla, a juice brand now owned by Coca Cola. It was set up in 1980 by musicians Greg Steltenpohl, Gerry Percy and Bonnie Bassett, after they took the idea from a business guidebook in Santa Cruz, California.
  2. Connect the word TYPE with these typeface designs - Helvetica, ITC Franklin Gothic, ITC Avant Garde, Optima, Times New Roman and what do you arrive at?
    Monotype Imaging Holdings, a Delaware corporation based in Woburn, Massachusetts. It is the owner of all these typefaces and is listed on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol TYPE.
     
  3. Name the rogue trader and the investment bank he worked for, who accessed a secret account in his firm nicknamed the Umbrella, to hide losses.
    The Ghanaian born and British educated Kweku Adoboli who worked for UBS and was convicted recently.
     
  4. Which company is now presenting its corporate website as a digital magazine and has given it a name after an internal publication it ran for its employees from 1987 to 1997?
    The Coca Cola Company’s website is now presented as a digital magazine instead of a portal and is called Coca Cola Journey
     
  5. This writing instruments brand is believed have been named after characters from a popular vaudeville comedy double act which appeared at a Music Hall in London during the early 1900s. It was the first modern day pen maker to reintroduce the use of casein as a material for making pens. Casein made from milk protein particles are dyed and then laid down under high pressure to form slabs from which the components are eventually formed. Name the brand and its founders.
    Conway Stewart which was founded by in 1905, Mr. Frank Jarvis and Mr. Thomas Garner. Its Winston Churchill edition pen comes with a book of Churchill quotes, a Churchill cigar and a bottle of Conway Stewart ink.  
  6. Name the brand campaign that was made to bring the tea brands Agni, Gemini and Kanan Devan under its parent brand.
    Tata Tea’s Jaago Re (wake up) campaign which is now being termed as a social catalyst.
     
  7. What does this acronym MOOCS stand for?
    Massive Open Online Courses. Related to the online education business.
     
  8. In an article on innovation for the New Yorker last year, whom did Malcolm Gladwell refer to as the ‘Fox and the Henhouse’?
    Steve Jobs was the fox and Xerox PARC was the henhouse.
     
  9. During the 1880s, which alcoholic beverage brand in England got shippers to use their barrels of beverage as ballasts on ships, travelling to and from Australia, guaranteeing its product many months of additional maturation in oak, without the need to find expensive storage space? 
    In 1887, Teacher's Highland cream whisky created a new brand called Australian Bonded Whisky using their barrels of Whisky as ballasts on ships travelling to and from Australia guaranteeing the whisky many months of additional maturation in oak, without the need to find expensive storage space. Innovative indeed.  
  10. Identify the companies from their respective logos. Both are not connected to each other but are in businesses related to agriculture. It surely has a connection with slow left arm spin bowlers.
    1.Agriterra is the largest agri-operators and leading food providers in Africa. Its founder CEO is Phil Edmonds, a slow left arm spin bowler who played for England. 2. The second company is Organic Haus, an all-organic brand that sells products sourced mainly from German, Austrian and Europe. It was founded by slow left arm orthodox spinner Dilip Doshi who was one of the only two Test bowlers that played in their first tests after the age of thirty and yet went on to take 100 wickets.



Sunday, November 18, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#280) Gaurav Sri Krishna / Nov 19, 2012, 00:41 IST


  1. This brand is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the formation of the rock band Rolling Stones by releasing a special edition of its product. The packaging is a crystal bottle that features the iconic lips and tongue logo cut in relief on the front of the bottle with a diamond-shaped decorative stopper. The bottle comes in a stylish box modelled after a black sofa. It also links the launches of its products with the milestones of the band starting from the 60s. Name it
     
  2. What is common between the Hong Kong Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Reserve Bank of India buildings in Mumbai and the richest man in Ireland of the year 2011?
     
  3. In the US it is the tag, in the UK it is either end or strap and in Japan it is the catch. What are these?
     
  4. This product gets its name from the Greek word for “mound or hill”. Its original was version was supposed to have been mound shaped and not flat as it is now. Name it.
     
  5. Which brand has an edition which reads “The 44th President of the United States Barack H Obama Commemorative Edition? It is a brand Obama is seen wearing most times and it gained mileage after Obama’s re-election recently.
     
  6. What is egosurfing?
     
  7. This renowned contributor and guru to the world of management was born in Rumania. He was a math whiz at age of 11 and did book keeping for an icehouse to help support his family. His father becoming a bootlegger in 1919 to help fund his education at University of Minnesota. After World War II, he realised that he could go no further within a corporate structure and therefore struck out on his own. Name him.
     
  8. Name the company that runs its official blog called Snack Chat?
     
  9. Which company’s base line is Always Learning?
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo.

Answers to last week's quiz (#279)


  1. A town pharmacy in Wiesloch, a German city close to Heidelberg and Walldorf, created history in 1888. What was the incident?The town is referred to as the “first filling station in the world”. It is part of the Bertha Benz Memorial route. In August 1888, Benz drove in one of Benz’s newly-constructed patent Motorwagen No. 3 automobiles from Mannheim to Pforzheim, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over more than a very short distance (about 104 km). On the way, she had to find Ligroin, a solvent available only at dispensing chemists’ shops, to use as fuel. Thus, the still existing Stadt-Apotheke in Wiesloch became the world’s first filling station.
     
  2. This entrepreneur owns all the apartments on the 100th and 140th floors of Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa. He rose from a salesman to become a billionaire. Name him and his business group.BR Shetty founder of NMC Healthcare group in Dubai.
     
  3. What is the term used to describe certain products or goods whose demand increases as their price increases? Greater price confers greater status, contrary to the law of demand. iPhone 5 is being touted as one of them.Veblen Goods. The Veblen effect is named after economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified the concepts of conspicuous consumption and status-seeking in 1899.
     
  4. In its 108 year old history this company’s cars sported newly designed badges for the first time in 2012 breaking away from tradition. What is being referred to here?Rolls-Royce celebrated the success of the 2012 Olympic Games at the closing ceremony with the three Rolls-Royce motor cars, sporting newly-designed badges, for the first time in the company’s 108-year history. The new badges, designed by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke design team, replaced the traditional R-R, which was used since start of the company.
     
  5. In India it is called the Style factor, in the US it goes by the name Thread, what is it?Exclusive websites for women launched by P&G in partnership with Yahoo!
     
  6. The Golden Ticket award is associated with which industry?The Amusement Park Industry.
     
  7. Name the brand that has come out with a special edition that pays tribute to Jonathan Swift. The product’s design carries elements of the novel Gulliver’s travels. Multi layer inlays reminiscent of the ropes that were used to bind Gulliver and an engraving showing the imperial army of Lilliput marching between Gulliver’s legs are found on the product.Mont Blanc special edition pen.
     
  8. Many 19th century inventors tried to import a rubbery substance found in a particular Central American tree and use it like rubber. One of them was an American photographer who in the 1860s bought some from a Mexican and failed to make rubber. Instead he ended up inventing something that was altogether new. Name the person and his invention.Thomas Adams, the inventor of the chewing gum.
     
  9. Whose logo is an inspiration of the perforated screen in the Sidi Sayeed mosque at Ahmedabad?IIM Ahmedabad.
     
  10. Identify the 4 brands from their logos and establish the connection between them.

    Energy supplement maker Honey Stinger, Trek bicycles, Anhueser Busch InBev and Nike were sponsors of Lance Armstrong the disgraced sportsman, who have withdrawn their sponsorship post the doping scandal.

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#277) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Oct 29, 2012, 00:33 IST


  1. The variety of a particular agricultural produce gets its name from the fact that its high yields supposedly allow growers to pay their debts. Name it and mention the region/country where it is grown.
     
  2. The CEO of this organisation got battered in a mugging incident a couple of years back. He was forced to handover a $11,000 watch. Post the incident, he called the company that makes that brand of watches and rest is history. Identify the person, the brand, and the resultant of his call.
     
  3. This brand has variants named, Napoleon, Marco, Voyager and Royal. Its base line is No Gas only _____. Complete the baseline and name the brand.
     
  4. What are gravity phones and name the first Indian brand to make them?
     
  5. Expand the acronym DAGMAR and mention when and who coined it?
     
  6. Mohammed Ali and Jimmy Connors were this brand’s spokesmen. At one point in time it launched a budget range variant of its product with the number 33 because it contained 33% of the fragrance of the original product. The company that introduced this brand is named after a Russian family. Name the brand and the company that first introduced it.
     
  7. If one is tracking the share prices of infrastructure companies DPTP, GMR Group, India Bulls and DLF, what is the colloquial term being used for them?
     
  8. Which brand’s baseline when translated means “The Car” in English?
     
  9. Who said this “Many people use research as a drunk uses a lamppost – for support and not illumination”?
     
  10. Identify this European luxury brand from its logo.

Answers to last week's quiz (#276


  1. The founder of this company launched this brand in the 1890s in the northwest of UK. He wanted to make it affordable for people living in the overcrowded slums of Liverpool to protect themselves from the spread of cholera. Name the brand?Lifebuoy soap. William Lever, who founded Lever Brothers, one of the forerunners of Unilever, launched Lifebuoy soap in the northwest of England in 1894. He wanted to produce an affordable soap that people living in the overcrowded slums of Liverpool could use to protect themselves from the spread of cholera. He saw a business opportunity in a social issue
     
  2. The ______. With a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window, the American CIA swear by them. Fill in the blank with the brand name and mention film from which this dialogue is taken.Walther PPK 7.65 mm. It’s a dialogue from the movie Dr.No (1962)
     
  3. Name the founder of an Indian business group who was always known as “King of Coal”?Karam Chand Thapar, founder of the Thapar group. His first business was that of coal which he operated based at Calcutta.
     
  4. Link a company who is enlightening the TERA era with MTNL and what do you arrive at?The Lofty tab. Digital tablets made by Teracom and launched by MTNL.
     
  5. Some of the constituents of this brand are - Lemon peel from Spain, Coriander seeds from Morocco, Liquorice from China, root of the angelica plant from Dresden Germany, Cassia bark from Indonesia. It gets its name from an item gifted by actor Douglas Fairbanks to his actress wife Mary Pickford. Identify the brand?The Bombay Sapphire Gin distributed by Bacardi. Its name originates from the gin’s popularity in India during the British Raj and the sapphire in question is the Star of Bombay. It is a 182 carat (36.4 g) cabochon-cut star tar sapphire originating from Sri Lanka. The violet-blue gem was given to silent film actress Mary Pickford by her husband, Douglas Fairbanks. She bequeathed it to the Smithsonian Institution.
     
  6. Which hospitality group has recently launched a new brand which is the Urdu/Hindi word for personal style?
    Hyatt Andaz. The first Andaz Hotel was opened in California.
     
  7. What is common to Dolomitenmann, one of the toughest extreme sport relays on the planet that is held yearly in September in the East Tyrolean, or Dolomite Mountains of Austria, and a wakeboarding exhibition held at the 1,500-year-old Basilica Cistern in Istanbul Turkey?Initiatives supported by the Energy drink brand Red Bull.
     
  8. Hon Hai Precision Industry Company is better known as?Foxconn Electronics.
     
  9. For which brand was actor Salman Khan its first brand ambassador?Suzuki Motorcycle India.
     
  10. Identify the company from its logo.
    Indus Towers, a JV between Vodafone Essar (42%), Bharti Group (42%) and Aditya Birla Telecom Limited (16%) and is India’s leading mobile towers company. The company, which operates in 16 telecom circles across India, provides services to all telecom operators and other wireless service providers Nadu.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

he Strategist Quiz (#275) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Oct 15, 2012, 00:11 IST


  1. Where would one find these products and why? Gorilla balls vitamin enriched malt candy, Touch of Yoghurt Shampoo, Northwoods Egg Coffee, Male Chauvinist “awfully arrogant” aftershave?
     
  2. Who took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal with the lines “Welcome, IBM. Seriously and why?”
     
  3. A product which film star Jeetendra endorsed some years ago is being revived with Malaika Arora as its new brand ambassador. Name the brand and the company that owns it
     
  4. Which company’s corporate mission or objective is stated as “Creating Kando Together”? Also mention what Kando means
     
  5. What are the three-inch Dorothy, and the two-inch Dotty?
     
  6. This brand has editions of its products inspired by the Hindu Gods — Lord Balaji, Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva. It was established in 1915 and was named after the pseudonym of a leading Russian artist then. The artist’s pen name when translated into English meant “pencil”. Name the founder and the brand.
     
  7. What is the first-of-its-kind initiative that is linked to Yamaha’s scooter brand Ray launched in India recently?
     
  8. Who made this statement “I could prove God, statistically”?
     
  9. What is the term used to describe assorted orthodoxies that govern the thinking of key enterprise decision makers? It is the main means a company uses to make a profit. It includes the cultural norms and beliefs that the company espouses that is deeply held, widely shared, and rooted in the behaviour of the company. It also has a negative connotation when arrogance and resistance to change set in
     
  10. Identify both the images and establish the connection between them. An Indian connection.

Answers to last week's quiz (#274)


  1. This top ranked company got its name as a result of a search for a word that was meaningless and without connotation in any language. 10,000 names were produced by a computer which was finally reduced to 234 by extensive opinion polls amongst 7000 people and finally 6 names were short listed. Further these 6 names were examined for meaninglessness in more than100 languages. Name the company. The Fortune No.1 ranked company Exxon. It is now known as Exxon Mobil after it merged with Mobil in 1999.
     
  2. What was launched with the proclamation “as the friend of The Honest Financier and the Respectable Broker”?The Financial Times of London was launched in 1888, as the friend of The Honest Financier and the Respectable Broker.
     
  3. Connect the Please Touch museum in Philadelphia and the creator of the price tag in organised retail and arrive at the name of a person.Johan Wanamaker, America’s most innovative retailer invented the price tag and also the concept of department stores in 1861. His 8th floor toy department had another first in retailing history: a monorail for the kids that traveled around the entire department, camera dept, piano and organ dept. The monorail car is a feature at Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum now.
     
  4. Which brand ran the Be Idiotsafe campaign? Ceat Tyres
     
  5. What is common to Winston Churchill, The Rothschild family and the Gurkhas of Nepal?Cigars. Churchill and Rothschild are types of Parejo cigars. The Gurkha is a cigar brand. These were first made by the British soldiers from the local tobacco when they occupied the Indian sub continent. The fondness of the British for the legendary Nepalese fighters inspired them to name their cigars “Gurkhas. Currently an Indian K Hansotia owns the brand and it is manufactured in the US.
     
  6. This brand was truly born when the founder observed that his twin daughters suffering from cerebral palsy, were finding it difficult in gripping a pen or a pencil due to lack of co-ordination and undeveloped muscles. He went on to invent a writing instrument which is now a popular brand. Name the founder and the brand. The Yoro pen was invented in Taiwan by Bao Shen Liu. It is named after his daughters Yoyo and Roro.
     
  7. The history of this product can be traced back to a recipe created by the Roman chef Apicius, in which “a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened it was cut up and then fried until crisp, then served with honey and pepper.” Name it. Biscuits.
     
  8. Which brand’s loyalty program is christened GoodLife?Hero Motorcorp
     
  9. What is the term used to describe an advertising campaign in which the advertisements are shown infrequently over a period of time?Drip Campaign
     
  10. Identify this comic character and the NASDAQ listed company that created it. A series of comics related to this character are published online in various languages embedded with stories that have elements of its products.Captian Zilog created by Zilog Inc the microprocessor company

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Oct 01, 2012, 00:58 IST



  1. The second publication of the founders of this company was nicknamed the Yellow Bible. Name them and their company which is now owned by BBC.
     
  2. This first of its kind product was signed with its designer’s initials F.F. when it was launched in 1971. A requirement of a Japanese company gave rise to this invention. Name the person who designed it.
     
  3. Whose logo contains the Biscione, the emblem of the House of Visconti, rulers of Milan in the 14th century and a red cross on a white field, the emblem of the city of Milan?
     
  4. What is common to these brands: Best-Locks, Oxford, Tente, Built to Rule and Cobi? A particular term is used to describe these companies.
     
  5. This merger was billed as the biggest one in the early 2000s, but was halted in its tracks by the competition authorities of Europe. For the first time in history the European authorities forbade a merger that had been passed earlier by the US authorities. The US justice department gave its assent and insisted that the acquiring company sell off its helicopter business for security purposes. The CEO of the acquiring company had even deferred his retirement for a year to see the deal through. Name the companies involved.
     
  6. This brand was truly born from love, as it was created by a man as a gift for his wife. In the 1950s, chemist Graham Wulff saw his wife Dinah’s frustration with the thick, waxy beauty creams that came in shoe-polish tins. They left her skin looking greasy, and they certainly didn’t fit with her feminine sensibility. Graham wanted to create a new beauty product for her—one that could not only moisturise her skin, but also leave her feeling beautiful and feminine. Name the brand.
     
  7. Why did Rolls Royce and Estee Lauder change their brand names to Silver Shadow and Country Moist respectively after their post launch fiascos in Germany?
     
  8. Whose top selling brands are Mahacef, Ranidom, Gudcef, Unwanted and Noble?
     
  9. What is the term used to describe a good or service that is characterized by excludability and non-rivalry in consumption?
     
  10. Identify the visuals and establish the connection between the them.

Answers to last week's quiz (#272)


  1. Considered to be the father of the tablet computer, this person has driven innovations ahead of his times. He is also credited with the design of what is often called the world's first PC. He created the prototype of the first tablet way back in1993 and launched one in 2002 when he was with Microsoft. Name him.Chuck Thacker. He was the chief designer of the Xerox Alto, a machine launched in 1974 that is often called the world’s first PC. He also built the Windows XP Tablet PC ,also the world’s first.
     
  2. In which company is this term FOSS used to describe a cadre of elites who have assumed powerful positions? Also expand it.Friends of Sheryl Sandberg (FOSS) is a term used at Facebook to describe a cadre of elites who have assumed powerful positions under the leadership of its COO Sheryl Sandberg
     
  3. This management technique was first applied by the United States Agency for International Development in the late 1990s. It earned recognition as an approach to managing the change process in organisations. It focuses on what an organisation does well rather than on eliminating what it does badly. Name it.Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
     
  4. Name the first building Le Corbusier completed in Ahmadabad in the mid 50s.The Mill owners Association Building situated on the banks of the Sabarmati. It was a fitting tribute to the textile industry, which generated the city’s wealth at the turn of the 20th century.
     
  5. When this single use camera was launched, it is stated that customers in the US called customer support to find out if it could be used during the week. Why? Also name the manufacturer. Since it was branded Weekender by Kodak
     
  6. This person was known as ‘The Man Who Bought The Company’ went on to become one of America’s leading entrepreneurs. While he was working with Lever brothers in the 50s, he is known to have persuaded a roomful of hardened buyers to buy Pepsodent toothpaste by making a brief but memorable sales presentation that featured a trained monkey. Name this person. Viktor Kiam. He first made his fortune as the President and CEO of Remington Products, which he famously purchased after his wife, bought him his first electric shaver and he liked the product very much.
     
  7. This brand was created when its founder got inspired by, an odor-absorbing solution developed for hunting apparel to prevent deer from getting tipped off by the smell of a sportsman’s sweat. The patent was held by a 126-year-old American company acquired by an Indian business group in 2008. It won the Harvard Business School’s Alumni New Venture Contest for startups with less than $1 million in invested capital this year. Name the brand, the American textile company, the Indian company that owns it and also the name of the trademarked solution.Knockout, the female undergarment brand created by Angela Newman. She bought the patent for the odor absorbing solution NO TRACE from Dan River Inc which is now a subsidiary of GHCL Ltd part of the Dalmia Brothers group.
     
  8. Whose official blog is Blue Tales?
    JetBlue
     
  9. Whose trademarked baseline is "Go the Distance"? Apollo tyres
     
  10. Identify the company from its logo.

    Mastercard Worldwide’s Corporate logo  
There was 7 all-correct entry for The Strategist quiz #272.
S. Abishek Aditya from Noida wins Rs 2000. The winner of the cash prize was chosen by drawing lots.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Great to see 55 readers getting last week's quiz right. 

The Strategist Quiz (#271) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Sep 17, 2012, 00:59 IST


  1. What carries the following brand names — White Star, Steerage, Lifeboat, Anchor, and Capt. Smiths?
     
  2. Who said this- “I don’t know why we call it a mouse. Sometimes I apologise. It started that way and we never did change it”?
     
  3. Whose motto in Sanskrit reads: Bahujan Hitaya Bahujan Surkhasya? When translated it means, to promote happiness and welfare of the masses through education, information and entertainment.
     
  4. This person got two opportunities his way, which helped him discover a new product. First when he was asked to find a material to make plastic gun sights during World War II and nine years later when he was at Eastman Kodak he was assigned to develop a new material for jet plane cockpits. Name the person and the product he invented?
     
  5. In business management what is “the118”?
     
  6. The chairman of which company in the annual report for the year 2011-12 stated that his company was working on a “Holding Pattern”? What does that mean?
     
  7. The founder of this company was the captain of the US team that won the America’s cup three years before he launched his company. In 1979, he was thought to have perished in a storm at sea while participating in the fastnet race. He survived and skippered his 61 foot yacht Tenacious to a corrected-time victory. Name him and the company he founded.
     
  8. What is the term used to describe collaborative sharing of web content organised around one or more particular themes or topics?
     
  9. With which brand is the 7-Election campaign linked and what is it?
     
  10. Identify the brand from the caricature in this visual?

Answers to last week's quiz (#270)


  1. he trademark of this brand was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1876 and was called the Infant Hercules. This brand is being manufactured and sold in India since the mid 50s. Name it. Woodward’s Gripe Water. It is manufactured in Chennai by TTK Pharma
     
  2. This perfume is based on the molecular structures of blood and semen. According to promotional materials, the perfume uses a first of its kind fluid technology to combine notes of atropa belladonna, Tiger orchid, incense, apricot, saffron and honey. Name the brand and its creator.Lady Gaga Fame is the world’s first black Eau de parfum created by American singer Lady Gaga. It is made by her company Haus Laboratories in collaboration with Coty
     
  3. The logo of this global brand has the colours of the flag of the country of its origin. In its logo the blue colour represents trust, and the yellow colour depicts happiness, optimism and imagination. It was founded by a 17-year-old in the early 40s. Identify the brand.IKEA
     
  4. Ironically whose technology was christened FairPlay?It is a digital rights management (DRM) technology created by Apple Inc., based on technology created by a company called Veridisc
     
  5. What is the term used to describe this system which is a collection of financial entities, infrastructure and practices which support financial transactions that occur beyond the reach of existing state sanctioned monitoring and regulation? Hedge funds and instruments like Credit Default Swaps fall under this category.Shadow Banking system
     
  6. Which 75-year-old bakery brand is named after one of the first ladies of the United States?“Cakes and pastries fine enough to serve at the White House.” That is how Roy Nafziger, Interstate Bakeries founder, described his Dolly Madison snack cakes at their introduction in 1937. Roy’s fascination with the First Lady Dolley Madison inspired him to name it so
     
  7. The founder of this business group first worked for seven years without pay for an indenting firm in Madras. On the passing away of the owner in 1928 he inherited the business. The firm represented Beecham’s and Lever Brothers of UK. Also the Indian Postal department has issued a Rs 5 stamp in his honour. Name him.TT Krishanmachari founder of the TTK group of companies. He was also the Union Finance Minister in Nehru’s cabinet
     
  8. The only manufacturer of trains and planes in the world uses this baseline ‘the evolution of mobility’. Name it. Bombardier
     
  9. The names Mea, Andrea, Emma, Andrea, Stephanie and Olivia are connected with which brand?Lego. They are part of the Lego Friends range of products that exclusively target girls. This is a first in the history of Lego, which has always made unisex products
     
  10. Identify the company from its logo in the visual?
     Saint Gobain

Sunday, September 9, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#270) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Sep 10, 2012, 00:06 IST


  1. The trademark of this brand was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1876 and was called the Infant Hercules. This brand is being manufactured and sold in India since the mid 50s. Name it.
     
  2. This perfume is based on the molecular structures of blood and semen. According to promotional materials, the perfume uses a first of its kind fluid technology to combine notes of atropa belladonna, Tiger orchid, incense, apricot, saffron and honey. Name the brand and its creator.
     
  3. The logo of this global brand has the colours of the flag of the country of its origin. In its logo the blue colour represents trust, and the yellow colour depicts happiness, optimism and imagination. It was founded by a 17-year-old in the early 40s. Identify the brand.
     
  4. Ironically whose technology was christened FairPlay?
     
  5. What is the term used to describe this system which is a collection of financial entities, infrastructure and practices which support financial transactions that occur beyond the reach of existing state sanctioned monitoring and regulation? Hedge funds and instruments like Credit Default Swaps fall under this category.
     
  6. Which 75-year-old bakery brand is named after one of the first ladies of the United States?
     
  7. The founder of this business group first worked for seven years without pay for an indenting firm in Madras. On the passing away of the owner in 1928 he inherited the business. The firm represented Beecham’s and Lever Brothers of UK. Also the Indian Postal department has issued a Rs 5 stamp in his honour. Name him.
     
  8. The only manufacturer of trains and planes in the world uses this baseline ‘the evolution of mobility’. Name it.
     
  9. The names Mea, Andrea, Emma, Andrea, Stephanie and Olivia are connected with which brand?
     
  10. Identify the company from its logo in the visual?

Answers to last week's quiz (#269)


  1. The day iPhone was launched in 2007 to whom did Steve Jobs send this message and why - “couldn’t have done it without you”?Wendell Weeks, CEO of Corning which supplied the Gorilla glass in six weeks just in time for the launch. It stopped producing it in the 60s since Corning could not find a market for it then
     
  2. Which company runs the GameChanger program, whose mission is to provide seed funding and guidance to cutting-edge ideas and foster a culture of innovation? Shell, the oil company
     
  3. This person worked in the Art department at General Electric Company. He is known for a very popular comic strip that first got published in 1958. Two of the characters from his comic strip were named after his colleagues at GE. Name him and his creation. Johnny Hart creator of the comic strip BC and the Wizard of Id
     
  4. The ad agency JWT made several attempts to promote this brand as a summer time drink during the 1940s. In one of the advertisements the copy reads - “As a pick me up ____with a little Sherry or old Brandy is a drink for the Gods”. Name the brand.Horlicks
     
  5. This eminent inventor and scientist in the 1870s tried to teach his Skye terrier to growl in words and with his elder brother made a speaking machine that was modeled on a lamb's larynx. He always listed his occupation simply as "teacher of the deaf". Name him.Alexander Graham Bell
     
  6. Name the world’s largest derivative exchange where trading it claims is at speed of light. Two billion order messages per second. NSE (National Stock Exchange of India)
     
  7. During the 1850s in London what were decency boards and where were they found?Decency boards were placed along the sides of the top deck of double Decker busses that had an open top. They were used to prevent young men glimpsing the ankles of ladies riding on the top deck. They were also used for placing advertisements
     
  8. Keeping with the changing times which brand has dropped its 50 year old tagline “We try harder” and has introduced a new one recently?Avis, the rent a car company’s new tag line is “It’s your space”.
     
  9. Which brand claims on its website that its inspiration is spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar?Chocolate health drink Ojasvita.
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo in the visual?
    Sugarapova, a company set up by tennis star Maria Sharapova in the US, that sells premium gummy candy.

Monday, September 3, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#269) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Sep 03, 2012, 00:02 IST


  1. The day iPhone was launched in 2007 to whom did Steve Jobs send this message and why - “couldn’t have done it without you”?
     
  2. Which company runs the GameChanger program, whose mission is to provide seed funding and guidance to cutting-edge ideas and foster a culture of innovation?
     
  3. This person worked in the Art department at General Electric Company. He is known for a very popular comic strip that first got published in 1958. Two of the characters from his comic strip were named after his colleagues at GE. Name him and his creation.
     
  4. The ad agency JWT made several attempts to promote this brand as a summer time drink during the 1940s. In one of the advertisements the copy reads - “As a pick me up ____with a little Sherry or old Brandy is a drink for the Gods”. Name the brand.
     
  5. This eminent inventor and scientist in the 1870s tried to teach his Skye terrier to growl in words and with his elder brother made a speaking machine that was modeled on a lamb's larynx. He always listed his occupation simply as "teacher of the deaf". Name him.
     
  6. Name the world’s largest derivative exchange where trading it claims is at speed of light. Two billion order messages per second.
     
  7. During the 1850s in London what were decency boards and where were they found?
     
  8. Keeping with the changing times which brand has dropped its 50 year old tagline “We try harder” and has introduced a new one recently?
     
  9. Which brand claims on its website that its inspiration is spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar?
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo in the visual?

Answers to last week's quiz (#268)


  1. What is common to Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, Jay Leno, Sharon Stone and Paul Ryan - Republican VP candidate?They all worked at McDonald’s when they were teenagers.
     
  2. Which airline created aviation history when they started to serve passengers with re-useable cookie tins?Indigo Airlines. It started selling cookies in reusable tins in 2007.
     
  3. Who won a Nobel Prize in Economics for demonstrating the fact that when sellers have information about the quality of a product that buyers don’t have, the sellers are the primary losers, as suspicious buyers drive down prices or abandon the market altogether?In 2001 the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded jointly to George A. Akerlof, A. Michael Spence and Joseph E Stiglitz for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information.
     
  4. This company is celebrating its Platinum Jubilee this year. It was established by Lingam Brothers and Vijendra Rao in a spirit of Swedishi-ism, to be owned, controlled and managed only by Indians. Name the company. United India Insurance Company Limited, was founded in Chennai in 1906.
     
  5. DoCoMo when translated in English means “Everywhere”, but which company’s baseline is Everywhere?Iridium, the satellite phone company.
     
  6. What is the term used to describe a kind of shareware program that keeps reminding the user to register, purchase or take some other action through one or more popup windows?Nagware
     
  7. This invention replaced a church key that was required for opening metal containers. In the late 1950s the inventor/engineer and tool manufacturer, was forced to use the bumper of his car to open cans of beer because he forgot the church key. Name him and his invention.Ermal Fraze of Ohio invented the first practical pull top can and it was unveiled in 1963 by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
     
  8. When this list was first launched by a famous business journal IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak and Merck were ranked in the top five. Name the listing and the year of publication.IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak and Merck were ranked in the top five of Fortune’s first listing of America’s Most Admired companies in 1983.
     
  9. What is common to Steve Jobs and Edwin Land, the inventor and founder of the company Polaroid?Both of them had to resign from the companies they started.
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo in the visual?
    The Belgian chocolate brand Godiva.
There was no all-correct entry for The Strategist quiz #268.

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#268) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Aug 27, 2012, 00:11 IST


  1. What is common to Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, Jay Leno, Sharon Stone and Paul Ryan - Republican VP candidate?
     
  2. Which airline created aviation history when they started to serve passengers with re-useable cookie tins?
     
  3. Who won a Nobel Prize in Economics for demonstrating the fact that when sellers have information about the quality of a product that buyers don’t have, the sellers are the primary losers, as suspicious buyers drive down prices or abandon the market altogether?
     
  4. This company is celebrating its Platinum Jubilee this year. It was established by Lingam Brothers and Vijendra Rao in a spirit of Swedishi-ism, to be owned, controlled and managed only by Indians. Name the company.
     
  5. DoCoMo when translated in English means “Everywhere”, but which company’s baseline is Everywhere?
     
  6. What is the term used to describe a kind of shareware program that keeps reminding the user to register, purchase or take some other action through one or more popup windows?
     
  7. This invention replaced a church key that was required for opening metal containers. In the late 1950s the inventor/engineer and tool manufacturer, was forced to use the bumper of his car to open cans of beer because he forgot the church key. Name him and his invention.
     
  8. When this list was first launched by a famous business journal IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak and Merck were ranked in the top five. Name the listing and the year of publication.
     
  9. What is common to Steve Jobs and Edwin Land, the inventor and founder of the company Polaroid?
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo in the visual?

Answers to last week's quiz (#267)


  1. She was one of Hollywood’s most glamorous silver screen goddesses of the 1930s and 40s, also a mathematician and Inventor who married six times. She worked along with a music composer and came up with the notion that multiple frequencies could be used to send a radio transmission. This concept provided the basis for a globally well known technology company that first commercialised it in 1995. In fact this company is indebted to her for its existence. Name the actress, the company and the technology. Hedy Lamarr. She came up with the notion that multiple frequencies could be used to send a single radio transmission. This was the basis for the CDMA airlink, which Qualcomm first commercialised in 1995.
     
  2. Which product is named after Forest Mars of the Mars chocolate family and Bruce Murrie, the son of a Hershey company executive?M&Ms
     
  3. What is common to Chessy poofs, Duff Beer and Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans? Name the two attributes that are common to them.They were once-fictional products from literature, TV shows and films. They are now available in the real world.
     
  4. This term has been thought to have first been used in an article published in the March 24, 1986 edition of the Wall Street Journal. However, the term was used prior to it by two women at Hewlett-Packard in 1979. Also Carly Fiorina, HP’s erstwhile CEO and chairperson, used the same term upon becoming CEO and chairperson of the board. What is the term or phrase being referred to here?The Glass Ceiling. Katherine Lawrence and Marianne Schreiber, of HP used the term in 1979 to describe how while on the surface there seemed to be a clear path of promotion, in actuality women seemed to hit a point which they seemed unable to progress beyond.
     
  5. This inventor and founder of a Fortune 500 company filed for a patent in 1890 and received US patent no. 468,258 for one of his inventions in 1892. 78 years after his death in 1984, he was granted an U.S. patent for another invention related to his 1892 invention. Name the person and these two inventions.William Painter the inventor of the crown caps for bottles which he received a patent for it in 1892 and in 1984 he was awarded the patent for the bottle cap lifter, now known simply as a ‘bottle opener’.
     
  6. Whose brands are Mahamantri and Shahzada?Finlay’s textile brands now owned by the National Textile Corporation
     
  7. This 148 year old retail chain's slogan for the last 75 years is “Never Knowingly Undersold”. The government in its home country is inspired by its business model which includes 81,000 partners who own the company and share its profits. Name it.The John Lewis chain of Stores, which began its operations in 1864 in the United Kingdom
     
  8. Name this businessman who is the second largest individual land owner in North America and owns the largest herd of 55,000 plus bisons?Ted Turner, the founder of CNN
     
  9. Kareena Kapoor and John Abraham are brand ambassadors for a particular product range being sold by an 131 year old company. Name it. Kareena Kapoor and John Abraham brand ambassadors for women’s and men’s grooming range of products of Philips India
     
  10. Identify both the logos and mention why the first logo changed to the second one.
    Erstwhile Patni computers and iGate technologies. Patni computers merged with iGate technologies.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#267) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Aug 20, 2012, 00:51 IST


  1. She was one of Hollywood’s most glamorous silver screen goddesses of the 1930s and 40s, also a mathematician and Inventor who married six times. She worked along with a music composer and came up with the notion that multiple frequencies could be used to send a radio transmission. This concept provided the basis for a globally well known technology company that first commercialised it in 1995. In fact this company is indebted to her for its existence. Name the actress, the company and the technology.
     
  2. Which product is named after Forest Mars of the Mars chocolate family and Bruce Murrie, the son of a Hershey company executive?
     
  3. What is common to Chessy poofs, Duff Beer and Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans? Name the two attributes that are common to them.
     
  4. This term has been thought to have first been used in an article published in the March 24, 1986 edition of the Wall Street Journal. However, the term was used prior to it by two women at Hewlett-Packard in 1979. Also Carly Fiorina, HP’s erstwhile CEO and chairperson, used the same term upon becoming CEO and chairperson of the board. What is the term or phrase being referred to here?
     
  5. This inventor and founder of a Fortune 500 company filed for a patent in 1890 and received US patent no. 468,258 for one of his inventions in 1892. 78 years after his death in 1984, he was granted an U.S. patent for another invention related to his 1892 invention. Name the person and these two inventions.
     
  6. Whose brands are Mahamantri and Shahzada?
     
  7. This 148 year old retail chain's slogan for the last 75 years is “Never Knowingly Undersold”. The government in its home country is inspired by its business model which includes 81,000 partners who own the company and share its profits. Name it.
     
  8. Name this businessman who is the second largest individual land owner in North America and owns the largest herd of 55,000 plus bisons?
     
  9. Kareena Kapoor and John Abraham are brand ambassadors for a particular product range being sold by an 131 year old company. Name it.
     
  10. Identify both the logos and mention why the first logo changed to the second one.

Answers to last week's quiz (#266)


  1. One of the cartoon characters owned by Hanna Barbera is also a brand name for a range of children’s multivitamins sold in the US. Name the cartoon characters and the company.Bayer Consumer Care markets its children’s range of vitamins under the Flintstones brand name  
  2. This thin grade of paper used for printing books which have a large number of pages is technically called lightweight offset paper. By what other name is it known? An Indian company now has global plans for it. Bible Paper. ITC Ltd has lined up global plans for the Bible paper business.
     
  3. Which famous university’s motto is the name of the Roman goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue?Harvard University's motto is Veritas. In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth
     
  4. An employee of RCA said this in the late 60s when his company launched his invention to the world in a press conference “The story of _____has all the ingredients of a good novel. There was excitement, frustration, success, failure and personal tragedy”. Name him and his invention.George Heilmeier inventor of the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
     
  5. In the late 1920s the founder of this company purchased the bankrupt Stewart Battery Company’s battery eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment at auction for $750. By what name is this company now known?Motorola
     
  6. Which company was the first one to offer paperless proxy voting for its employee shareholders?Microsoft
     
  7. The company that owns this brand does not know exactly how this brand introduced in the early 1900s got its name. A popular theory is that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during manufacturing. Name the brand. Hershey’s Kisses
     
  8. What was the resultant after a premature obituary in 1888 headlined “The merchant of death is dead”, which meant that the founder of a company became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before?Alfred Nobel deciding to leave his vast fortune to endowing the prizes that bear his name to encourage peace and progress
     
  9. What is being billed as the Taxi of Tomorrow?The Nissan designed NV200 London Taxi. The same taxi versions have already been unveiled in Tokyo and New York
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo. It suddenly got noticed when it signed up a sensational brand ambassador.Chaze Mobiles, an Indian cell phone manufacturer which signed up Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone as its brand ambassador. This was the first brand endorsement for her in India

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#266)- Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Aug 13, 2012,

  1. One of the cartoon characters owned by Hanna Barbera is also a brand name for a range of children’s multivitamins sold in the US. Name the cartoon characters and the company.
     
  2. This thin grade of paper used for printing books which have a large number of pages is technically called lightweight offset paper. By what other name is it known? An Indian company now has global plans for it.
     
  3. Which famous university’s motto is the name of the Roman goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue?
     
  4. An employee of RCA said this in the late 60s when his company launched his invention to the world in a press conference “The story of _____has all the ingredients of a good novel. There was excitement, frustration, success, failure and personal tragedy”. Name him and his invention.
     
  5. In the late 1920s the founder of this company purchased the bankrupt Stewart Battery Company’s battery eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment at auction for $750. By what name is this company now known?
     
  6. Which company was the first one to offer paperless proxy voting for its employee shareholders?
     
  7. The company that owns this brand does not know exactly how this brand introduced in the early 1900s got its name. A popular theory is that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during manufacturing. Name the brand.
     
  8. What was the resultant after a premature obituary in 1888 headlined “The merchant of death is dead”, which meant that the founder of a company became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before?
     
  9. What is being billed as the Taxi of Tomorrow?
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo. It suddenly got noticed when it signed up a sensational brand ambassador.

Answers to last week's quiz (#265)


  1. This company’s first sales agents in India began work in Chennai and Kolkata in 1912. It uses a term to describe smaller or ‘daily-portion’ packs designed to be bought on a regular basis which are manufactured locally, using local raw materials to minimise value chain cost. Name the company and the term that describes this product practice. 
    Nestle India. ‘Popularly Positioned Products’ (PPP) strategy
     
  2. This chain of retail stores started in 1970. It was born out of the belief by its founders that shopping had become a tedious and boring pastime and they wanted to create a fun shopping environment and accordingly conceptualised these stores. It is now part of a global brand. Name it? Game, Africa’s largest discount retailer which is part of the Massmart group owned by Wal-Mart now
     
  3. In the London 2012 Olympics, no advertisements are allowed in the stadium and no logos may be emblazoned on the athletes kits except for two brands. Name the brands and state the reason for this exception.Otto Bock and Sainsbury’s, are the main sponsors of Paralympics. Otto Bock is a prosthesis manufacturer and Sainsbury’s a British supermarket chain  
  4. With which brand are the following related: Hockey butt, zipper garage, cuffins and sniffle catcher?These are all features of clothing made by Lululemon athletica
     
  5. This person undertook a road trip from Peshawar to Tuticorin and from Quetta to Kolkata in the early 1920s. By covering 7500 miles to understand the Indian market he is credited with India’s first ever market research study. His research trip resulted in an unexpected outcome, a set of road maps of India, which he drew for the Automobile Association of India. Name him.Larry Stronach, who ran one of the leading ad agencies of that times, LA Stronach & Co from 1923 till the 1960s in India.
     
  6. One becomes a member of this club only if he survives a gun shot. The members of this club owe their lives to an invention that had almost been discarded before its remarkable properties were discovered. Name the club.The DuPont Kevlar Survivor’s Club.  
  7. Where have the following trinities associated with the London 2012 Olympics got incorporated: the third time that the games have been held in London — 1908, 1948, 2012; the Olympic motto ‘faster, higher, stronger’; and the vision of this year’s Games, To unite ‘sport, education and culture?In the triangular Olympic torch that was designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby
     
  8. This agricultural produce is used as a controlling agent in oil wells to facilitateeasy drilling. It is India’s no.1 farm export. Name it.Gaur Gum
     
  9. Which company’s FMCG brands are endorsed by Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan, the only two actors who have currently modeled for them?Xpert dishwashing soap and Venus bathing soap manufactured by Rohit Surfactants Pvt. Ltd, makers of Ghari detergent  
  10. Identify the brands, one from its logo and another from its mascot and establish the connection between the two.

    The Dida Sportswear and Top Ramen are co-sponsors of the Indian Olympics team at the London 2012 Olympics. Top Boy is mascot for Top Ramen noodles

Sunday, August 5, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#265) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Aug 06, 2012,


  1. This company’s first sales agents in India began work in Chennai and Kolkata in 1912. It uses a term to describe smaller or ‘daily-portion’ packs designed to be bought on a regular basis which are manufactured locally, using local raw materials to minimise value chain cost. Name the company and the term that describes this product practice.
     
  2. This chain of retail stores started in 1970. It was born out of the belief by its founders that shopping had become a tedious and boring pastime and they wanted to create a fun shopping environment and accordingly conceptualised these stores. It is now part of a global brand. Name it?
     
  3. In the London 2012 Olympics, no advertisements are allowed in the stadium and no logos may be emblazoned on the athletes kits except for two brands. Name the brands and state the reason for this exception.
     
  4. With which brand are the following related: Hockey butt, zipper garage, cuffins and sniffle catcher?
     
  5. This person undertook a road trip from Peshawar to Tuticorin and from Quetta to Kolkata in the early 1920s. By covering 7500 miles to understand the Indian market he is credited with India’s first ever market research study. His research trip resulted in an unexpected outcome, a set of road maps of India, which he drew for the Automobile Association of India. Name him.
     
  6. One becomes a member of this club only if he survives a gun shot. The members of this club owe their lives to an invention that had almost been discarded before its remarkable properties were discovered. Name the club.
     
  7. Where have the following trinities associated with the London 2012 Olympics got incorporated: the third time that the games have been held in London — 1908, 1948, 2012; the Olympic motto ‘faster, higher, stronger’; and the vision of this year’s Games, To unite ‘sport, education and culture?
     
  8. This agricultural produce is used as a controlling agent in oil wells to facilitateeasy drilling. It is India’s no.1 farm export. Name it.
     
  9. Which company’s FMCG brands are endorsed by Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan, the only two actors who have currently modeled for them?
     
  10. Identify the brands, one from its logo and another from its mascot and establish the connection between the two.

Answers to last week's quiz (#264)


  1. This was the only brand before Havells that saw value in the late Rajesh Khanna. It struck its first in film placement deal for a movie starring the superstar where he played the owner of an agency in the movie that was named after this brand. Name the movie and the brand.Emami’s first in film placement was for the 1983 movie Agar Tum Na Hote starring Rajesh Khanna, Raj Babbar and Rekha
     
  2. Whose cell phone brand is christened “Chairman” and what is its claim to fame?It is the world’s first luxury hybrid smart phone from the house of watchmakers Ulysse Nardin
     
  3. This brand is from a central European country and its name when translated in its native, means pity/shame. It is quite a popular brand in India. Name it.The Czech auto brand Skoda
     
  4. Who said this “You always start with a fantasy. Part of the fantasy technique is to visualise something as perfect. Then with the experiments you work back from fantasy to reality, hacking away at the components”?Edwin Land inventor of Polaroid
     
  5. At the age of five the founder of this company started selling matches to his nearby neighbours and by the time he was seven, he realised that he can buy matches in bulk cheaply in Stockholm and re-sell them individually at a very low price and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded his porfolio. Name him and his companyIngvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA
     
  6. Which brand is offering the winner of a new-flavour contest the option of a prize based on sales of the new flavour that he or she inspires? Also mention the title of this campaignFrito Lay’s Do us a Flavour campaign
     
  7. Connect the Lloyd’s Building in London, the Dresdner Bank Building in Frankfurt, IBM Tower in Johannesburg, the Elf Towers in Paris, the Etisalat building in Abu Dhabi and the New York times building with an individual who is considered to be an achiever?Alain Roberts known as the French Spiderman climbed all these corporate buildings with his bare hands. Also ran into trouble with some of them since he was never accorded permission to do so.
     
  8. Launched in the early 1900s Highland Milk and Jersey were two of the three names that were considered for this brand. By what name is it known today?Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate
     
  9. Identify the brand from this description — “A tribute to the man who stands up for what he believes. Who is brave enough to fight injustice and discrimination. Who leads by example.” This brand is the world’s largest brand in its category by volume. The Indian whisky brand Officer’s Choice
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo?
    Microsoft Office’s new logo released recently when office 2013 was announced

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#264) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jul 30, 2012, 00:58 IST


  1. This was the only brand before Havells that saw value in the late Rajesh Khanna. It struck its first in film placement deal for a movie starring the superstar where he played the owner of an agency in the movie that was named after this brand. Name the movie and the brand.
     
  2. Whose cell phone brand is christened “Chairman” and what is its claim to fame?
     
  3. This brand is from a central European country and its name when translated in its native, means pity/shame. It is quite a popular brand in India. Name it.
     
  4. Who said this “You always start with a fantasy. Part of the fantasy technique is to visualise something as perfect. Then with the experiments you work back from fantasy to reality, hacking away at the components”?
     
  5. At the age of five the founder of this company started selling matches to his nearby neighbours and by the time he was seven, he realised that he can buy matches in bulk cheaply in Stockholm and re-sell them individually at a very low price and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded his porfolio. Name him and his company.
     
  6. Which brand is offering the winner of a new-flavour contest the option of a prize based on sales of the new flavour that he or she inspires? Also mention the title of this campaign.
     
  7. Connect the Lloyd’s Building in London, the Dresdner Bank Building in Frankfurt, IBM Tower in Johannesburg, the Elf Towers in Paris, the Etisalat building in Abu Dhabi and the New York times building with an individual who is considered to be an achiever?
     
  8. Launched in the early 1900s Highland Milk and Jersey were two of the three names that were considered for this brand. By what name is it known today?
     
  9. Identify the brand from this description — “A tribute to the man who stands up for what he believes. Who is brave enough to fight injustice and discrimination. Who leads by example.” This brand is the world’s largest brand in its category by volume.
     
  10. Identify the brand from its logo?

Answers to last week's quiz (#263)


  1. In the early 1900s bankers chose this person to run a failing New York based meat packing company. This company through an earlier subsidiary used animal by-products from its slaughter houses and started out making tennis racket strings, violin strings, and surgical sutures. Identify the company and the person after whom it is named.Wilson Sporting Goods Company. It was first known as Sulzbeger & Sons and was renamed after Thomas E Wilson was appointed president of the company.
     
  2. In the telecom industry what are Cows and Colts?A cell on wheels, usually referred to as a COW, is a mobile cell site that consists of a cellular antenna tower and electronic radio transceiver equipment on a truck or trailer. COWs are used to provide expanded cellular network coverage and/or capacity at special events such as major sporting events. COLT is a cell on Light Trucks.
     
  3. What was the resultant after the US treasury secretary Tim Geithner saw people using their phones to make remittances in India and deputy secretary of treasury, Neal Wolin saw mobile banking in action in the Philippines?The US treasury department set up a competition for developers and lay people as part of MyMoneyAppUp Challenge, asking them to develop a mobile application for people to manage personal finances better.
     
  4. Who is building retail malls in the country under the Trillenium brand?Tata Realty
     
  5. In the world of business what is known as the first Supper? The inaugural credit card transaction of Frank McNamara founder of the Diners Club card
     
  6. Name the designer clothing brand that has tied up with builders in India to brand high-end apartments?Armani
     
  7. Which company’s marketing philosophy was founded on these three principles — empathy, focus and impute?Apple computers
     
  8. At which company’s headquarters will you find outdoor sculpture that includes work from major modern sculptors like Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Alberto Giacometti?PepsiCo in New York
     
  9. For which brand did Jayaprada, Sridevi, Ravi Shastri, Vivian Richards, Allan Border and Kabir Bedi feature in its advertisements?Vimal from Reliance
     
  10. Identify the mythological beast from the image and name the company that has adopted it as its official emblem. It is also found on the packaging of most of its consumer non-durable products.The Sharabha, a mythological creation from the Puranas

Friday, July 27, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#263) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jul 23, 2012,


  1. In the early 1900s bankers chose this person to run a failing New York based meat packing company. This company through an earlier subsidiary used animal by-products from its slaughter houses and started out making tennis racket strings, violin strings, and surgical sutures. Identify the company and the person after whom it is named.
     
  2. In the telecom industry what are Cows and Colts?
     
  3. What was the resultant after the US treasury secretary Tim Geithner saw people using their phones to make remittances in India and deputy secretary of treasury, Neal Wolin saw mobile banking in action in the Philippines?
     
  4. Who is building retail malls in the country under the Trillenium brand?
     
  5. In the world of business what is known as the first Supper?
     
  6. Name the designer clothing brand that has tied up with builders in India to brand high-end apartments?
     
  7. Which company’s marketing philosophy was founded on these three principles — empathy, focus and impute?
     
  8. At which company’s headquarters will you find outdoor sculpture that includes work from major modern sculptors like Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Alberto Giacometti?
     
  9. For which brand did Jayaprada, Sridevi, Ravi Shastri, Vivian Richards, Allan Border and Kabir Bedi feature in its advertisements?
     
  10. Identify the mythological beast from the image and name the company that has adopted it as its official emblem. It is also found on the packaging of most of its consumer non-durable products.

Answers to last week's quiz (#262)


  1. Built to Last is the title of a popular business book written by Jim Collins. Name the business group that uses the same phrase as its logo.Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group
     
  2. “Soon Vapour magnesium is going to compete with brushed aluminum.” What do you infer from this statement?The shell of Microsoft’s surface tablet to be launched in October 2012 is made of vapour-deposited magnesium, or VaporMg. iPad’s shell is made out of brushed aluminum.
     
  3. The English brought to India the criollo variety but the plants were too weak to survive the harsh Indian climate. After Independence, an MNC brought in the sturdier forastero variety and planted them along with coconut plantations in Kerala. Name the MNC and the commodity being described.Cadbury Fry and Cocoa plants
     
  4. This firm has designed a complete line of bathroom ceramics and furnishings, a kitchen sink, a battery ceiling lamp, a champagne refrigerator, an office trolley and a cell phone. It is a renowned luxury brand. The bathroom series is branded F1. Name it.Porsche Design Studio. It’s latest creation is the Porsche Blackberry Phone.
     
  5. Who uses the slogan “Where dreams are made” and for what?Korean Air for its Airbus A380 series of flights
     
  6. What is common to Dr Swati Piramal of the Piramal group and Walter Issacson, CEO of Aspen group and author of Steve Jobs’ biography?Both are members of the Harvard Board of Overseers, one of the two boards governing Harvard University
     
  7. Name this company whose name comes from Latin for day and Greek for world.Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business that owns brands like Johnnie Walker, J&B, Smirnoff, and Baileys
     
  8. What is common to Usha fans, Delmonte Tomato sauce and John’s umbrellas?All these brands use India’s most famous animated character, Chota Bheem for their promotion
     
  9. Whose brands are Excellence Chili and Excellence Sea Salt?Lindt, Swiss Chocolate brands. Dark chocolate with Chili and Sea Salt.
     
  10. Identify both logos from the visuals and name a brand that is connected to both of them.

    Vauxhall and Hindustan Motors. The Contessa was a model of a car manufactured by Hindustan Motors (HM) of India that was based on the Vauxhall Victor FE. The Victor was stopped in 1979 and the production of Contessa ended in 2002.

Monday, July 16, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#262) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jul 16, 2012, 00:09 IST


  1. Built to Last is the title of a popular business book written by Jim Collins. Name the business group that uses the same phrase as its logo.
     
  2. “Soon Vapour magnesium is going to compete with brushed aluminum.” What do you infer from this statement?
     
  3. The English brought to India the criollo variety but the plants were too weak to survive the harsh Indian climate. After Independence, an MNC brought in the sturdier forastero variety and planted them along with coconut plantations in Kerala. Name the MNC and the commodity being described.
     
  4. This firm has designed a complete line of bathroom ceramics and furnishings, a kitchen sink, a battery ceiling lamp, a champagne refrigerator, an office trolley and a cell phone. It is a renowned luxury brand. The bathroom series is branded F1. Name it.
     
  5. Who uses the slogan “Where dreams are made” and for what?
     
  6. What is common to Dr Swati Piramal of the Piramal group and Walter Issacson, CEO of Aspen group and author of Steve Jobs’ biography?
     
  7. Name this company whose name comes from Latin for day and Greek for world.
     
  8. What is common to Usha fans, Delmonte Tomato sauce and John’s umbrellas?
     
  9. Whose brands are Excellence Chili and Excellence Sea Salt?
     
  10. Identify both logos from the visuals and name a brand that is connected to both of them.

Answers to last week`s quiz (#261)


  1. In the recently concluded Rio +20 Earth summit, more than 50 countries and 86 corporations, including Walmart and Unilever, signed a declaration supporting a measure of wealth that goes beyond GDP by including the value of natural assets such as soils, watersheds and fisheries. What is this measure called?Natural capital accounting
     
  2. A software outsourcing company was set up by two San Diego entrepreneurs in a 600-cabin cruise ship off the coast of California, just over the 3-mile border that marks international waters. An innovative engineering service which creates high end software engineering jobs in the US while still providing lower overall costs. Name the company and the trademarked phrase they created to describe their business strategy.David Cook and Roger Green set up Seacode, a software company on a ship and called their business strategy, Hybrid Sourcing
     
  3. Which was the first company in India to market LPG as a cooking fuel to domestic consumers during the mid 50s?Burmah Shell which later got nationalised in 1976 and was renamed as Bharat Petroleum
     
  4. Prince Bernhard, consort of the Dutch queen and prime minister of Japan were involved in a multi-country bribery scandal involving an US based company during the 70s. Name the company.Lockheed Corporation
     
  5. What is common to Prachi Desai, Yujraj Singh, Remo Fernandes, Zaheer Khan, Mario Miranda and Mahima Chaudhary?They were all brand ambassadors for Goa Tourism
     
  6. Whose employees are referred to as Crayons?
    Employees of the Supercomputer company Cray Inc.
     
  7. Which product was announced through this advertisement that read “We thought you’d like to have something only fictional heroes like James Bond, Walter Mitty or Dick Tracy are supposed to own”?An HP advertisement announcing the first pocket scientific calculator in 1972
     
  8. Whose brands are Gemini, Rath and Silkroad?Cargill India
     
  9. This building was built by Greek business family in Mumbai in the 1920s. It was known by its family name till 2003. A Greek inscription carved on the front door stone lintel of the building reads “Walk the straight line”. What is the building’s new name and who is its current owner?TCS House formerly known as Rallis House. It is now the headquarters of TCS.
     
  10. Identify the brand from the visual. Every year during mid June to the first week of July it is noticed more.
    Christy, the UK based towel brand that has been the exclusive supplier to Wimbeldon for the last 25 years. It is now owned by the Indian Welspun group.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

This week's Quiz - Printer's Devil

Dear Followers of the Strategist Quiz
Ignore the quiz published today. Seems to have been some kind of mix up and questions from the week before last have got published again.
Apologies on behalf of my publishing team.
Gaurav Sri Krishna  

Answers to last week's quiz (#259)


  1. When Amul was building a modern dairy plant to process liquid milk UNICEF and other diary experts declared it impossible to process liquid milk into powder and other solid products. Undeterred, Dr Kurien’s team went ahead and achieved one of the firsts in the world. What is it?Amul was the first in the world to convert buffalo milk into powder, butter and Ghee etc
     
  2. Whose in house magazine for its employees is called the Magic Carpet?Air India
     
  3. This name the brand that was presented through India’s first colour advertisement in the mid 40s. Also name its ad agency.India’s first ad agency B Dattaram founded in 1905 and was responsible for the first colour advertisement for Ramtirth Brahmi Hair oil.
     
  4. What term did Stuart W Cramer, a leading textile engineer from Charlotte, North Carolina, introduce in 1906?He used the term air conditioning in a patent claim filed for a humidifying head, , giving the fledgling industry in 1906 its name
     
  5. Whose baseline reads “If We ask the right questions we can change the world”?Dassault systems
     
  6. Name the two global technology giants that are embroiled in a controversy which is dubbed as “the Itanium situation”.HP and Oracle
     
  7. This person known as the London Whale was mainly responsible for a $2 billion loss that hit a Wall Street bank. Name him and the organisation he represented? Bruno Iksil, a London based trader of JP Morgan. He had influence in the credit derivatives market which spurred some of his counterparts to dub him the London Whale.
     
  8. Name this entrepreneur who at the age of 26 started selling trouser material branded as White, Blue, Brown(WBB) and launched a brand called Manz Wear in India?Kishore Biyani
     
  9. Which organisation orients its employees around the concept it calls Scootitude?Scoot airlines, a low cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines
     
  10. Identify the character in the images and the brand that uses it as its logo. The first image shows its logo from the 50s and the second image is its current logo.
    Staedtler, the german pencil and writing instruments company. The logo represents the image of the Roman god of war.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#259) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jun 25, 2012, 00:51 IST


  1. When Amul was building a modern dairy plant to process liquid milk UNICEF and other diary experts declared it impossible to process liquid milk into powder and other solid products. Undeterred, Dr Kurien’s team went ahead and achieved one of the firsts in the world. What is it?
     
  2. Whose in house magazine for its employees is called the Magic Carpet?
     
  3. This name the brand that was presented through India’s first colour advertisement in the mid 40s. Also name its ad agency.
     
  4. What term did Stuart W Cramer, a leading textile engineer from Charlotte, North Carolina, introduce in 1906?
     
  5. Whose baseline reads “If We ask the right questions we can change the world”?
     
  6. Name the two global technology giants that are embroiled in a controversy which is dubbed as “the Itanium situation”.
     
  7. This person known as the London Whale was mainly responsible for a $2 billion loss that hit a Wall Street bank. Name him and the organisation he represented?
     
  8. Name this entrepreneur who at the age of 26 started selling trouser material branded as White, Blue, Brown(WBB) and launched a brand called Manz Wear in India?
     
  9. Which organisation orients its employees around the concept it calls Scootitude?
     
  10. Identify the character in the images and the brand that uses it as its logo. The first image shows its logo from the 50s and the second image is its current logo.
     

Answers to last week`s quiz (#258)


  1. Which brand’s mascot is named after a legendary NBA Basketball player and coach?
    Twitter’s iconic blue bird is called Larry. It recently underwent a change which shows the bird looking up.
     
  2. What is an Audimeter and also by what other name is it known?
    An electronic device attached to a TV set that monitors which programmes are watched by whom 
     
  3. This celebrity is the first person to have hit the milestone 25 million followers on Twitter and therefore has started her own social networking website. Name the person and the social network. Name it.
    Lady Gaga and her social network called Social Monsters 
     
  4. Which brand recently got its logo out of hock?
    Ford Motors blue oval logo 
     
  5. An Indian e-commerce company installed 15 hand pumps, in a village in India so that villagers no longer have to walk for miles to quench their thirst. Pleased with the contribution the villagers showed their gratitude by renaming the village after this e-commerce company. Name it.
    The North Indian village Shiv Nagar changed its name to Snapdeal.com nagar 
     
  6. This company worked recently on a project internally called “Project Signature,” along with while creative agency Leo Burnett and digital agency VML to execute the new brand strategy and identity system. Name the brand and the new tagline this exercise resulted in.
    Kellogg’s new verbal identity – Make Today Great 
     
  7. Whose products are branded Yoga and Tai Chi, which are actually methods of breathing, exercising and meditating?
    Ultrabooks, manufactured by Lenovo and Asus are branded Yoga and Tai Chi 
     
  8. Whose brands are Myth, Cheer and Joy?
    Procter & Gamble 
     
  9. What was called Kiva Han and what is its claim to fame?
    The world’s first coffee Shop opened in Constantinople Turkey and was called “Kiva Han” 
     
  10. The three images are linked to one company. Identify it and state the reasons.
    EW Scripps company the diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, TV and syndication. It conducts the Spelling Bee contests in the US and syndicates the Dilbert cartoons

Monday, June 11, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#257) Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jun 11, 2012,


  1. Who said this and for which product “We adopted the razor blade theory. Sell the razor at a reasonable price and people will buy the razor blades”? 
  2. Which brand uses this baseline “The taste of Freedom”?
     
  3. India’s largest shaving brand is a low profile one that is owned ironically by the third generation of a Sikh family. The Sikh faith forbids its men from shaving. Name it.
     
  4. What is common to these companies — Adidas, Boeing, Colgate Palmolive, Gillette, Lavazza and Mahindra & Mahindra?
     
  5. While on a voyage to Calcutta as an apprentice sailor during the 1830s, this person whittled out of pine wood a prototype of his invention that is now a world famous product. One of the names for his famous models is Peacemaker. Name him and his invention.
     
  6. Which company caused a few jaws to drop in the early 2000s when it outsourced its IT functions to HP, its HR department to IBM and its facilities management to Jones Lang LaSalle?
     
  7. What was discovered when Shashikant Phadnis, a graduate student from India working in London during the early 70s, misunderstood when his supervisor asked him to test a new chemical he had just synthesized and instead tasted it?
     
  8. This company’s plan to downsize its retail stores in India is called Route 2015. It is currently battling a scam within the company. Name it.
     
  9. ’Energy to Succeed’ is the baseline of this foreign coaching company that has a basein India to coach students for the IITJEE entrance examinations. Name it.
     
  10. Identify the logo and also name the firm that designed it?