Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Answers to last week's quiz (#237)


  1. An engineer from Siemens India was challenged by his wife to repair an imported electrical appliance manufactured by Braun of Germany. Instead of doing so he designed a new one and founded his own brand. Name the person and the brand. Sathya Prakash Mathur founded the Sumeet brand of Kitchen appliances.
     
  2. Who arrived at these three discriminators namely: Financial discipline, empirical creativity and product paranoia to suggest that these helped companies achieve outstanding results in highly volatile environments?Jim Collins and Morten T Hansen in their book Great by Choice.
     
  3. Inspiration for the design of this brand dates back to pre-World War II vehicles made by a company in Nebraska, USA. It entered India in 1960 and left in 1971, reappeared during the 90s that lasted till 1999. It is making a comeback again as a luxury brand and likely to be launched next year. Identify the brand.Italian Scooter brand Vespa manufactured by Piaggio of Italy.
     
  4. On the day of which product’s launch did the CEO of the company respond to a reporter’s query on its pre launch market research by saying “Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he launched the telephone”?Steve Jobs responded to a reporter by saying “Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market Research before he launched the telephone” on the day the Apple Macintosh was launched.
     
  5. The founder’s mother suggested a Sanskrit name meaning a falling star or meteor, for this ad agency. Name the founder and the ad agency.Ulka, founded by the late Bal Mundkur. It now exists as FCB Ulka.
     
  6. Apart from being known as the inventors of the worldwide web and Facebook, what else are Tim Berns Lee and Mark Zuckerberg known for notably? They find themselves in the list of notable hackers known for their hacking acts.
     
  7. Which music company intends to trademark the first few lines of a song produced by it in order to use it as a brand? This will be the first of its kind in India.Sony music intends to trademark the first few lines of the super hit viral song Why this Kolaveri di.
     
  8. Which brand has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888?National Geographic.
     
  9. Who uses the Murder Investigating Strategy while pitching for new business? It is assumed that the key period for solving a murder is normally the first 48 hrs.Advertisement agencies. Having agreed a direction and way forward with the client, the agency’s strategy is to hone and refine the direction agreed upon in the first 48 hours.
     
  10. Identify the financial services and beverage brand from their logos, and mention the unique transaction they entered into at the end of 2011.
    Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) by virtue of being state-owned after the global financial crisis, sold 900 odd pubs it owned in the UK to Heineken the beer brand.
There were 24 all-correct entries for The Strategist quiz #237.The winners who will receive a copy of The 60 Seconds Leader are Arup K Pal, Hooghly; Sufia Fatimi, Ahmedabad; P N Bakuli, Kolkata; Rajani Gaynar, New Delhi; Devki Nandan, New Delhi; Sanat Kumar Mukherjee, Kolkata; Hena J, New Delhi; P K Mishra, New Delhi; Rashi Agarwal, Jhunjhunu; Sangeeta Sharma, New Delhi. Arup K Pal also wins Rs 2,000.

The Strategist Quiz (#238)

The Strategist Quiz (#238)
Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jan 30, 2012, 00:10 IST


  1. The initial design of this vehicle had two soft doors with vinyl windows, a cloth roof and a metal bar as a safety measure. The manufacturer concluded that people would not want a ‘half a car’ and therefore shelved it for something better. Name the company and the brand.
     
  2. This company launched a brand of cosmetics after it found that out of its library of chemicals it had 4000 of them related to anti-oxidants that prevent photographs from fading. Since photos and the human skin contain collagen, it launched a cosmetics brand whose name means ‘Tomorrow’ in its home country. Identify the company and brand.
     
  3. This person was nicknamed Mile-a-Minute Harry as he surged through the store as brightly as the new invention of electricity. He is credited with one of the first innovations in retail industry. Name the person and his innovation.
     
  4. The CEO of which company dubbed as Atomic Anne resigned recently?
     
  5. The founder of this company while building its first 4-cylinder motorcycle drew inspiration from the statue of Buddha in a temple in Kyoto. Name the person and the company.
     
  6. He is called Donald _____ in Japan and Uncle ______ in Singapore. Who is he?
     
  7. What is common to Mahout, Pig and Zookeeper?
     
  8. The CEO of which company is dubbed as the ‘Monkey Boy’ because of his antics at his company’s annual global business meetings?
     
  9. This person while working with the Royal Air Force conceived the idea of the first long distance tow–glider for troops. Who is it?
     
  10. Identify the brand from the image which is a part of its logo. It changed its name twice and finally adopted its stock ticker symbol as its name.
Ten all-correct entries will receive a copy of Debadutta K Panda’s Understanding Microfinance published by Wiley India (books courtesy: Wiley India). One lucky winner will also receive a cheque for Rs 2,000. Send your entries to strategist@bsmail.in. All entries must carry the postal address of the contestant. Last date for receiving entries: January 31, till 8 pm. Previous winners, employees of Business Standard and Wiley India and their families are not eligible to participate.

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#237)


The Strategist Quiz (#237)
Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi Jan 23, 2012, 00:03 IST


  1. An engineer from Siemens India was challenged by his wife to repair an imported electrical appliance manufactured by Braun of Germany. Instead of doing so he designed a new one and founded his own brand. Name the person and the brand.
     
  2. Who arrived at these three discriminators namely: Financial discipline, empirical creativity and product paranoia to suggest that these helped companies achieve outstanding results in highly volatile environments?
     
  3. Inspiration for the design of this brand dates back to pre-World War II vehicles made by a company in Nebraska, USA. It entered India in 1960 and left in 1971, reappeared during the 90s that lasted till 1999. It is making a comeback again as a luxury brand and likely to be launched next year. Identify the brand.
     
  4. On the day of which product’s launch did the CEO of the company respond to a reporter’s query on its pre launch market research by saying “Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he launched the telephone”?
     
  5. The founder’s mother suggested a Sanskrit name meaning a falling star or meteor, for this ad agency. Name the founder and the ad agency.
     
  6. Apart from being known as the inventors of the worldwide web and Facebook, what else are Tim Berns Lee and Mark Zuckerberg known for notably?
     
  7. Which music company intends to trademark the first few lines of a song produced by it in order to use it as a brand? This will be the first of its kind in India.
     
  8. Which brand has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888?
     
  9. Who uses the Murder Investigating Strategy while pitching for new business? It is assumed that the key period for solving a murder is normally the first 48 hrs.
     
  10. Identify the financial services and beverage brand from their logos, and mention the unique transaction they entered into at the end of 2011.

Answers to Quiz No. 236


Answers to last week's quiz (#236)
Strategist Team / New Delhi Jan 23, 2012, 00:05 IST


  1. With whom is the phrase “No Free Hunch” connected?
    No Free Hunch is the official Kaggle blog. Kaggle is an innovative solution company for statistical/analytics outsourcing, that harnesses the power of crowd sourcing.
     
  2. What system was introduced into the rest of Europe and the world by émigré Venetian glass-blowers to protect their skills against those of local workers?The system of patenting. It is claimed to have been first introduced in Venice Italy during the late 1400s.
     
  3. This person exchanged his French citizenship for American in the 40s, saying that it was thanks to the US that he had a wonderful wife, a good job and the ability to do something for them. Name the person and one the first’s linked to him.General Georges Doriot is considered as the person to have started the first Venture Capital Company.
     
  4. What was priced at USD 666.66 as the mark of the beast when it was introduced for the first time?The first Apple Computer designed by Steve Wozniak co founder of Apple. The pricing was Wozniak’s prank.
     
  5. Who own the brands A+ and a+? One of them is accused of infringing the other.A+ is Amul’s dairy brand and it is claiming damages from Nestle for infringing on its brand by launching a yoghurt brand a+.
     
  6. What is the term that describes people working in a shared work environment alongside with others normally not from the same organisation? It was coined by a Game designer, writer and humorist. Name him also.Term ‘co working’ was coined by Bernie DeKoven in 1999.
     
  7. Founder of this brand held a variety of jobs including: farm hand, streetcar conductor, an army private in Cuba, rail yard fireman, blacksmith’s helper, insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator. His brand is the main sponsor of a cricketing event called the Big bash. Name him and the brand. Colonel Harland Sanders founder of KFC. KFC is sponsoring the T20 Big bash cricket tournament currently being played in Australia.
     
  8. This chocolate brand was named after a young boy who frequented the candy shop, flirting with the girls who were working there. The owner on hearing his name often while being beseeched by the girls, named the product after him. Name this brand now owned by Nestle.The chocolate bar Oh Henry.
     
  9. Who had launched a brand called Pingo?Parle’s pineapple flavoured fruit drink which did not take off.
     
  10. The logos below represent companies that have the same name. Identify them. 
    The first logo represents Merck of Darmstadt, Germany, the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in the world. The second one belongs to the US corporation Merck which merged with Schering Plough in 2009.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Strategist Quiz (#235)


The Strategist Quiz (#235)
Gaurav Sri Krishna / New Delhi January 9, 2012, 0:08 IST

  1. In which international listing will you find ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, HUL, Bharti Airtel and Wipro together?
     
  2. What does the term Planning Poker mean and who uses it generally?
     
  3. The CAT (Computerized Axial Scan) was invented in the UK in 1974. The success of which pop band facilitated this invention and why?
     
  4. What term best describes the current US economy which has more of the wealthy and poorer classes with the middle class getting squeezed.
     
  5. In which country is it being predicted that the reign of Mattel’s Barbie may be short lived because of the launch of a doll called Princess Secret?
     
  6. What is common to Port Sunlight and Bourneville, both considered to be model villages in England?
     
  7. Evolution, Extinction and Rolling Hitch are beverage brands that pay tribute to person who dabbled in medicine, the Church, botany, geology and natural history in the 1800s. Name the company and the person after whom these brands have been named so.
     
  8. Whose brands are August systems, Bailey Network Management and Kent?
     
  9. Where is the world’s oldest barber shop located and when was it opened? It's now a luxury brand that also sells grooming products for men.
     
  10. From this logo below identify the company that made waves in 2011.