Marketing Association at XLRI (MAXI) to Organize its Annual MAXI Fair 2009

Marketing Association at XLRI (MAXI) to Organize its Annual MAXI Fair 2009
On January 17-18, 2009

The Marketing Association at XLRI (MAXI) is organizing its Annual MAXI Fair on the 17th and 18th of January 2009. Started in 1979, the MAXI Fair is a unique effort by the students of XLRI to conduct Market Research within the format of a games fair. The idea was

first proposed by Prof. Sharad Sarin, Professor of Marketing at XLRI, in 1976. Now in its thirtieth year, the success of MAXI Fair may be found in the fact that the format has been widely copied and implemented by business schools across the country.

Every year, prominent Indian corporate bring their marketing research problems to XLRI students, who design elaborate games to solve them. The public attend the fair and play the games and, in doing so, provide data about their preferences. The students then analyze the data and answer the questions posed by the companies.

The Aditya Birla Group, RPG's Spencer Retail and Tata Steel are the three corporate participating in MAXI Fair this year. The fact that they had taken part in the previous year's edition as well is testimony to the quality and accuracy of the marketing research conducted at MAXI Fair each year. Spencer Retail had, in fact, used strategies suggested by XLRI students to facilitate its entry into Jamshedpur the previous year.

In order to celebrate the thirtieth year of the Fair, and in keeping with XLRI's image as a business school with a heart, the students have taken MAXI Fair down the social route this year - for the first time, there are three social organizations participating in MAXI Fair 2009. UNICEF, NEEV and Byrraju Foundation are the three organizations that have chosen MAXI Fair as a means to solve their research problems.

Another new initiative by the students is an attempt to assure increased quality for the research conducted at MAXI Fair. An external agency has been engaged to evaluate and provide feedback on the games and research conducted at the fair.

MAXI Fair had started a rural component in the past couple of years, and this will again be implemented this year. The students will travel to a village outside Jamshedpur and set up stalls there to get data about the product preferences of people in the rural community.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Devika Rajeev,
Senior Executive Member,
External Linkages,
XLRI School of Business & Human Resources, Jamshedpur.

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