Uber guru of international marketing & advertising, Prof. Unnava is Associate Dean of undergraduate programs and Professor of Marketing at Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University.

Prof. Unnava is an alumnus of premier Indian and U.S. institutes - Indian Institute of Management Calcutta , Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (B.Tech) and Ohio State University (Ph.D.). He stands for global excellence in the field of marketing education and is a part of world knowledge heritage. His research focuses on issues related to brand loyalty, consumer response to advertising and sales promotions, and consumer memory.

Unnava's work have been published in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Letters, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Advances in Consumer Research. He is on the editorial review board of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Unnava's experience includes teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels in courses like marketing management and strategy, marketing research, consumer behavior, promotional strategy, human memory processes and international marketing. The American Marketing Association named him Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher in 1997.

Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University

Fisher College Of Business of Ohio State University is a leading college in the US . It's MBA program is ranked as one of the top 25 MBA programs in the United States . The college is also world-renowned for its individual areas of expertise including corporate finance, brand management and supply chain management. Notably, Fisher College was ranked third in the United States for its leadership in supply chain management.

The deliberately small program with approximately 150 students admitted per intake allows the students to reap the advantages of being in an up-close and personal environment. Students have ample opportunity to learn from fellow classmates in team assignments and benefit from the diversity of their classmates-there is a wealth of variety, be it in terms of country of origin (roughly a third are international students) or prior educational and professional experience. Over 60,000 students here have equal access to all the resources of the major research university.  

Talk - " The Birth and Growth of Angie's List " by Prof. H. Rao Unnava
Date - March 10 th , March 14 th March 15 th and 17 th March 2006
Venue - Rai Foundation Hydrabad, Rai Foundation, New Delhi, Rai Foundation, Bangalore, Rai Foundation, Mumbai

Captivating a large audience at Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, Prof Unnava, the fourth speaker for the Rai Global Spark Lecture Series, talked about "The Birth and Growth of Angie's List " that focused on a US private company Angie's List that is growing very fast and how Prof. Unnava's troubleshot the issues faced by the start-up of the company and how Angie's with the expertise and advise of Prof. Unnava arrived at the marketing formula that worked and made it successful .  

Interacting with the media, faculty and students of Rai foundation and the general public, Prof Unnava briefed the audience about Angie's List, a website directory and company of home and garden services. The directory and site lists 26,000 Southern California providers, from air-duct cleaners to wrought-iron fence installers, who have been recommended by clients, then evaluated by the company's staff.

Angie's List, which debuted in Los Angeles , is part of a growing number of directories that bring the instant approach to the home improvement industry. The directory blends the contact information of a telephone book with frank consumer reviews. Businesses cannot nominate themselves, pay to be included or advertise. The company relies strictly on customer referrals and not deep-pocket advertisers. The company publishes other editions in various parts of USA .

Prof Unnava gave details about how the concept started and what was the problem. The problem faced a majority of Americans was the need to find someone for the home improvement industry to install a central humidifier at home or the alike job etc. Then there was a need to make the right choice which involved talking to friends/colleagues to get recommendations regarding service providers.

This gave birth to an idea to have such a service providing company, which could inform and recommend the best service providers. But this was an uphill task as there were already many directories providing information about companies. But then after Prof. Unnava and the owner sat down and brainstormed about the entire industry, they came to some valuable points. These were that there is no reliable rating of service providers in and around the area. Many service providers in market were missing and there was no rating of these services providers.

After conversations with colleagues about the value of such a rating service and conversation with friends about features they desire, Prof Unnava formulated the preliminary product idea and came up is Angie's List, which took care of the whole issues faced by a genuine client, in his wanting for a ideal information about a service providing company.

The company makes money through subscriptions (Angie's List is $5.95 a month) or selling their printed directories. Vendors who have been recommended by clients, reviewed by researchers and included in the book can elect to pay a $375 production fee to have their portfolio posted on the site and the directory also.

Angie's List staffers take consumer empowerment one-step further: They contact a business if there is a dispute and try to resolve it. But most of the power of the list is in the hands of customers who need something as major as a home contractor or as minor as a locksmith to change a deadbolt.

Dissatisfied customers express their views by filing real-life experience reports. Was the work completed on time? Did the repairperson clean up the mess? Do anything odd? A member reported a repairman who was caught sniffing shoes in her closet. The reports contain grade ratings (A to F) and user comments.

An Angie's List subscriber with a rodent problem can click onto the animal removal category and find an "A" grade given to Zenith Environmental Pest Control in Canoga Park along with a detail of the work done for one client (spraying for ants and mites and removing two pigeons from the eaves), the cost of the work ($330) and this no-spin appraisal: "The company has always been reliable, and whenever we had ants inside the house or out they were able to come pretty soon after we called. I did feel that the pigeon thing was a little expensive, but I had nothing to compare it to." The listing also includes number grades on quality, cost and value.

Monthly membership for Angie's List, which can be canceled at any time, gives users unlimited access to the website service and call center. Subscribers also receive a printed 32-page monthly magazine on home trends and consumer pieces.

Prof Unnava also suggested that report cards on the companies on Angie's List be graded on overall experience, price and quality of work, responsiveness, punctuality and professionalism. He also sent reports for work done by companies not listed. Now Angie's List receives 10,000 new reports a month.

The first help this directory offers is guiding homeowners on who to call. Angie's List staffers at a toll-free phone number listen to the problem and identify who should come to the rescue. The company now has directories in 27 regions.

Another benefit to using Angie's List is that if providers know their work is being evaluated, then posted where 250,000 members across the country can see it, they are more eager to please. Just as businesses can't pay to be included, they can't pay to be excluded. There is a place, however, for them to respond to customer complaints.

The Prof Unnava while winding up talked about the last part, which is a regular research and analysis of how much success was obtained? The entire process during the first year was highly research-intensive and had significant analysis of data. There were s everal meetings where hypotheses were generated and tested. In the end Prof Unnava was happy to tell every one about the best companies that he have been involved with.