TriviaYogi i - Bizz 3

Q1. Hundreds and thousands of times, for her I searched in chaos, suddenly, I turned by chance, to where the lights were waning, and there she stood.
These lines compare the search for retreating beauty amid chaotic glamour with the search for one's dream while confronted by life's many obstacles. Identify this company (a big hint there)

Baidu.

The name of Baidu is inspired by a poem constructed in the ci form by the poet Xin Qiji, written more than 800 years ago during the Song Dynasty. The poem compares the search for a retreating beauty amid chaotic glamour with the search for one's dream while confronted by life's many obstacles. Hundreds and thousands of times, for her I searched in chaos, suddenly, I turned by chance, to where the lights were waning, and there she stood. Baidu, literally meaning hundreds of times.

Q2. This was the first logo designed by the company’s founders in 1976. Not continuing with it for long they replaced it with the iconic logo that we know today. Name this maverick company.

Apple Logo. Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne designed the first logo. It depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an Apple Tree. It was immediately replaced by the one designed by Rob Janoff (the rainbow coloured silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it)

Q3. The founder J Darius Bikoff began his personal quest for better water in the early 1990s when a New York city water scare lead him to scour local supermarkets for a healthier alternative to tap water and a more beneficial option than spring water. There were many waters out there, but none offered any more value than the rest. When Bikoff did his own research, he found a void in the bottled water industry. He thus created ______________ brand. (think M&A)

Glaceau

A brand form Energy Brands Inc. The Tatas have picked a 30% stake (for $677 million) in this US based company. Their immensely successful line of products includes the vitaminwater, fruitwater and smartwater.

Q4. He worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software post his MBA and in 1995, he founded Yoyodyne a leading interactive direct marketing company, Yahoo! acquired Yoyodyne in late 1998. Last year he launched his new venture Squidoo. Identify this personality?

Seth Godin.

Godin graduated from Tufts University in 1982 with a degree in computer science and philosophy, he earned his MBA in marketing from Stanford Business School . From 1983 to 1986, he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software.In 1995, Godin founded one of the first online marketing companies, Yoyodyne. He sold the company to Yahoo! in 1998. As a part of the sale to Yahoo!, Godin became Vice-President of Permission Marketing at Yahoo!

Q5. The Mosaic symbol of this company is meant to convey the diversity and dynamism that define its group cos around the world. In its bright colors and unmistakable energy, the Mosaic symbol is meant to be a visual metaphor for the _______ family of companies. Which group is being referred to here?

Altria Group. It is the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International, Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. It changed its name from Philip Morris Co to Altria in order to reflect its identity as a parent company for both the tobacco and food companies

Q6. In 1806 William founded this company which predominantly sold starch, soap, and candles he then partnered with Francis Smith and subsequently in 1812 purchased Smith's share of the company after which he offered a partnership to his brother Bowles. In 1820 they introduced their company's two major products Windsor soap and Pearl starch. The entity as we know today was formed in 1928 after a merger with B.J.Johnson Soap Co. Identify the company.

Colgate and Palmolive. The B.J. Johnson Soap Co was renamed to Palmolive & Co due to their best selling soap. It took over Peet Brothers to form Palmolive Peet Co. In 1928 Palmolive Peet Co merged with Colgate

Q7. Identify whose print ad is this and it's purpose? (very workable)

Nike.

It is an ad for a fictional furniture brand depicts the soccer star Marco Materazzi as a durable armoire. Carlo Cavallone, a copywriter at Wieden & Kennedy in Amsterdam , the agency that created the campaign for Nike, says the ads were intended to rub it in a bit, but without being chauvinistic. Materazzi is shown in the shape of an armoire, as a stylized representation of a fictional furniture brand called Armadi Materazzi. Its slogan: Solidit mondiale testata a prova di testate (World-class solidity, proven to be head-butt-proof).

http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nikelk8.jpg

Q8. It was started in 1892 with the manufacturing of biscuits in a small house in central Kolkata. Later the business was acquired by the Gupta brothers and operated under the name of V.S.Brothers. In 1918 C.H. Holmes, an English businessman was taken as a partner and the company was launched with its present name. A well known Indian business family and Groupe Danone are stakeholders in it. Name the company.

Britannia Industries

Q9. This question was forwarded by a friend (Ashish Dikshit) and a further exploration lead me to a biz angle :-D.

What do the pictures / symbols signify? What's the business application of these pictures/symbols? (a toughie)

These are Crop Circles (agriglyphs) (http://www.circlemakers.org/evolution.html). Crop Circles are areas of cereal or similar crops that have been systematically flattened to form various geometric patterns. The biz application part is Advertising. Circlemakers is one such company founded by John Lundberg (UK) which is into advertising through crop circles. Circlemakers.org has created numerous crop circles since the mid 1990s for movies, T Shows, music videos, adverts and PR Stunts. Clients to date have included Microsoft (X Box campaign), Nike, Shredded Wheat, AMD, Hello Kitty, Pepsi, Weetabix, BBC, The Sun, Mitsubishi, O2, Big Brother, National, NBC TV, Orange Mobile, History Channel and the Discovery Channel.

Q10. An easy one to end with, identify the companies with their NYSE ticker symbols

BOL - Bausch and Lomb

HDI - Harley Davidson (On Aug 15 2006 the ticker was changed to HOG)

FNM - Fannie Mae

MHP - McGraw Hill Publications

WHR - Whirlpool Corp