Imagine getting into a fragmented and messy market for wheat flour (atta), where there's no supply chain, no consistency in quality, no brand loyalty, or even proper packaging. Kolkata-based tobacco giant, ITC, did just that more than three years ago, and far from get scared, it plunged right into the market. Result: Its Ashirwad Atta today boasts of a whopping 45 per cent share in the branded and packaged wheat flour segment. It did something similar in biscuits, where it took on two major players (Britannia and Parle) and has generated 8 per cent of the market in just two years.

   Sure, it helps that ITC is a marketing behemoth that spends a staggering Rs 226 crore on advertising. But that alone can't explain why ITC has been able to crack the staples and biscuits markets. "ITC's traditional strengths of brand building, trade marketing and distribution provide distinctive sources of competitive advantage in the market place—whatever may be the product or service," says ITC's Chairman, Y.C. Deveshwar. The company believes, say its executives, that at the heart of a great brand is a great product. That means investment in product development. Last year, for instance, ITC spent Rs 54 crore on research and development of various products. "For any leader in its field, innovation is a byword for success. ITC's marketing prowess has been significantly enhanced by a constant flow of innovations that have become benchmarks in the industry," says Kurush Grant, ITC's head of FMCG and tobacco businesses. Pre-printed vinyls instead of hand-painted hoardings, and planograms at points of sale are two such innovations.

   Aggressive marketing has sent ITC's non-tobacco FMCG sales soaring. In 2004-05, that part of the business fetched a relatively modest Rs 564 crore (it's a Rs 16,510-crore company we are talking about here), but last year the figure almost doubled to Rs 1,013 crore. Agreed, ITC has some consumer products such as incense sticks, stationery and even apparel that aren't doing as well, but it is evident that with each passing year, the company is looking less and less like the tobacco giant it once was. "At the fundamental level we haven't changed," says Grant. "We still retain our passion for obtaining consumer insights and understanding consumer behaviour," he says. At the end of the day, marketing is all about reading the consumer's mind.