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If looks could kill, then murder could never be one of Hyundai Santro's crimes. Stocky, fat, and a tad smug, the Korean tall-boy isn't exactly a Shahrukh Khan. Yet, it has sold 1.25 lakh copies of itself in the last two years it has been around. Which leads Santro's manufacturer to believe that car buyers are a little like women: they love to flirt with dashing men, but when it comes to tying the knot, he had better be a stable, family man-like Santro. In fact, Hyundai is going as far as saying that car-buying decision-makers are indeed women. Hence, it is unveiling a new media campaign that pitches the tall-boy at the fair sex. Says B.V.R. Subbu, 45, Director (Marketing & Sales), Hyundai: ''Car manufacturers have this set image of a car buyer: sec a/b male, who's 25-plus. We believe that the lady of the house has a big say in car purchase.'' While not abandoning its 'family car' platform, Hyundai's campaign tries to connect with the women audience at an emotional level. As a conscious effort, it is steering clear of jargon and instead is focusing on how the Santro fits in with their lifestyle, where they are trying to juggle home and office. ''Simple logic and data suggests that a large chunk of demand comes from double-income households,'' says Shovan Choudhury, 36, Senior Vice-President, Bates India, Hyundai's agency. ''And even where this is not so, do you think a woman does not have a point of view in such a large investment?'' he asks. The gender-related spiel would be restricted to women magazines and some vernacular press. Even if the campaign does not end up winning decision-makers, it sure should take care of dissidence. -Shamni
Pande ENTERTAINMENT
Forget Greed for the moment. Look out instead for Superstars, or Yehi Hai Right Price. That's what Kerry Packer's Channel Nine has in store for television viewers-half-an-hour Hindi adaptations of two other globally successful programmes, The Talent Hunt Show, and The Right Price. To be precise, that's what HFCL Nine Broadcasting-in which the Delhi-based Himachal Futuristic has 51 per cent stake, and James Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL) the rest-will offer DD Metro couch potatoes from 7-9 pm, beginning September 11, 2000. In fact, make that between 7 and 10 pm. For, last fortnight, HFCL Nine also grabbed the 9-10 pm slot. HFCL Nine succeeded in walking away with the rights by pitching the highest bid of Rs 62 crore. In May, 2000, the Indian upstart had also emerged trumps when its bid of Rs 59 crore-higher than that of the other bidder, Zee-was accepted by DD for the 7-9 pm band. So, how firm a foothold is three hours of programming (six hours if you consider the repeat telecast the following morning) on DD Metro for Channel Nine? Firm enough, affirms PBL Enterprises CEO James McLachlan, who has put up the project, and who will continue to be a Director on HFCL Nine Broadcasting. ''Three hours of prime time is substantial, if you consider that DD will have 350 million viewers by October, 2000,'' says the 40-year-old. That also explains why Packer chose DD over the satellite channels, which have a user base of just 100 million. What's more, three hours of prime time is also substantial because this band accounts for 75 per cent of a broadcaster's revenues. But, clearly, Channel Nine won't be content with just three hours. To be sure, it might not even be content with only a presence in TV broadcasting. ''Our plan is to build a broad base, and foray into businesses related to media and communication,'' says McLachlan. Will Greed make it by then to the Indian idiot box, with or without Amitabh Bachchan? After all, the programming for the crucial 9-10 slot is still undecided. ''We have the rights to Greed, but we've yet to take a decision,'' says Ravina Raj Kohli, 34, CEO of HFCL Nine. ''Watch this space,'' quips McLachlan. Somebody will. -Brian Carvalho PERSONAL
TECHNOLOGY Accept it -there is no such thing as a personal computer. At work, there may be a desktop on your table, but there's nothing personal about it: unless it is protected by passwords at every access layer, it, and its contents are not accessible to any of your colleagues. Even with hardware and software locks, chances are, your network manager knows what to do to gain access to your machine. And at home, there's family. That's alright, you say-you follow prescribed computing-hygiene techniques. May be, but that still doesn't mean any thing. Did you, for instance, know that Windows can't delete a file. When you use the delete function on a file, it isn't really gone in a puff of logic. It resides on your disk, is unavailable to you, but can be accessed by anyone who knows how to use a software or hardware recovery tool. There's more: those fab pictures of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition you previewed on-line, they are still there on your machine's temp Internet file folder. Think of what this means . Did I just hear you say, Uh-oh? This edition of personal technology is about a software that promises to ensure that your pc is truly personal. Not that there aren't others like it -there are several of its ilk doing the rounds-but CyberScrub (that's its name and you can check it out at www.cyberscrub.com) is the only one that advertises itself as a 'Military Grade File Deletion/Internet Cleaning Utility'. That drew me to it. With CyberScrub, when you say erase, you mean it: the object you're erasing goes. That apart, the first time you run the utility, it deletes all files you previously thought deleted that still reside somewhere on your machine. If you think that's cool, hold your horses: CyberScrub can also delete chat-conversations that are stored in your computer (what did you think?); delete cookies; wipe out your Internet history; and automatically empty folders that contain data that could hurt or embarrass you. There are evaluation versions floating around the free-software sites on the Net like tucows.com; download one (I have), and try it out. End-word: on the Net, be good; if not, at least be safe. -R. Sukumar ON-LINE
TRADING Here's a quick test: all investors who trade on-line are young professionals, own a pc, and make top dollar. True or false? The answer, surprise, is False. BT's straw-in-the-wind survey of on-line trading sites reveals that most participants are between 20 and 50 years of age, they could be salaried or self-employed, they may or may not own a personal computer, and not all of them live in upscale neighbourhoods. Although it is mainly doctors, lawyers, and chartered accountants, housewives are making a few clicks in between their chores. Says Madhavi Puri Buch, 34, MD and CEO, ICICI Direct: ''We have customers who go to cyber cafés to trade.'' That's pushing the rapidly growing virtual market. In just six months since the first on-line exchange was launched, virtual trades have racked up daily volumes running into crores. Geojit Securities, launched in February, 2000, does about Rs 1 crore a day. ICICI Direct, which set up shop in April, 2000, has a turnover of Rs 3 crore a day. And ShareKhan (May, 2000) rakes in around Rs 2 crore a day. Points out C.J. George, 41, Managing Director, Geojit: ''Day trades are set to rise. People with computers in their office will start trading.'' Adds Puri-Buch: ''The Net is imparting liquidity to the market and giving it depth.'' But don't fire your stock broker yet. As long as on-line security issues remain, there won't be any major hegira from the world off-line to the one on-line. -Angana Bharali BRANDED
WATER One of them could have been about safe sex; another about physical fitness, and the other about pure life. If mineral water marketers are trying to jazz their communication up, it is because the product itself is so unglamorous. After all, how much excitement can you pack into a litre bottle of water, even if it has (or does it?) mineral in it, and sports exotic names such as Evian (from Danone), Aquafina (Pepsi's), and Bisleri (Parle's). Says Rohit Ohri, 37, Client Services Director, HTA: ''Bottled water brands are talking to consumers from a purity platform, and targeting those brought up on purified water.'' Till recently, there were few water brands. The credit for kick-starting the market must go to Parle, which first launched a credible bottled water brand way back in 1966. Today, there are 186 brands, 10 of them from top companies. Availability is spurring consumption. For instance, Evian has firmed up its distribution in five major metros in less than two years. Says Suveen Sahib, 34, Area Manager (South Asia), Danone International: ''Since we are positioned at the very premium end, we have decided to address our consumers directly.'' Pepsi's Aquafina has chosen to extend its youth platform. The core platform of Aquafina is built on ''The purest part of you'' punchline. Notes Ohri: ''The communication focuses on health gains. That's an obsession with the youth today.'' Bisleri's TV commercial also reinforces the 'play-it-safe' theme, albeit with a dash of mischief. With more brands such as Perrier from Nestlé, Kingfisher from UB, and Kinley from Coke billed to join the fray soon, the Rs 1,000-crore market looks set to get high on H2O. -Shamni Pande
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