"Nike Curse" - of phobias and superstitions..! (part I)

What is common between Tiger Woods scandal, Wayne Rooni and his sex scandal, Henry’s infamous handball that took France to the last world cup, the Indian teams poor show in T 20 And Roger Federer loosing his cake walk in Wimbledon this year? 

For many the answer would be vague, for others (you) would have guessed it already… all of them are (were) celebrity endorsers of Nike and got INTO SOUP and thereby spoiling Nike image, this year.. They call it the Nike Curse and that made me sit and ponder a bit more on superstitions that rule my beloved industry… what the hell the brand has to do with the mistakes/errors/goof ups that its endorsers end up with?

A lot many factors affect (negatively) business performance like paraskevidekatriaphobia—(well that is fear of Friday the 13^th) if you go for a survey among people in the western world. Their fear and love (at the same time) of superstitions are well known secrets….But friends with experience of having done business with Americans tell me that a sizable number of the western folks have this fear. I searched for data and it says in US alone about $800 million to $900 million in business revenue is lost on that ‘ill-omened’ date. Indians aren’t that bad you say? Well let me tell you more…

In all probability all of us have in some ways or other, have indulged in some kind of superstitious behavior in a business settings and otherwise, be it starting to meetings on auspicious moments ( Muhurat ) , scheduling an important meeting in alignment with a our horoscope or by wearing a auspicious set of clothes to an interview. I know people who wear the same set of stuff for days together to win clients, their stars may smile at the them but the stink will stare the clients off for sure. It may sound irrational but it seems this whole lot of seemingly irrational stuff has reason behind this, according to psychologists. 

I had a friend in EURO RSCG who strongly believed that having a cup of coffee from a particular vending machine would help us win accounts… he not only propagated this ridiculous belief but also could win over followers with his evangelism. People made fun of him and yet when a D day approached the LUCKY vending machine had a long queue in its front …strange but true!!

I was never a proponent of such stupidity, I felt that pitching is won on merit and hard work, and some greasing and back door activities of course, but having coffee from a certain machine would be the last factor in getting an agency win an account.. I knew this, so did many others, and yet we all did the coffee ritual and the logic was,- Crazy or not, you feel better having done it/them… I admit to have had the coffee a couple of times and have won accounts,,,, HUH !

Just like Friday the 13 th is a bad day, there are some good days as well. Iceland air, for example, ran a promotion in 2007 allowing customers to add on excursions for $7 each, provided they booked by 7/7/07. Now that speaks how much ‘7’ is a lucky number. Another example of the clout of ‘7’ is Wal-Mart's "Lucky in Love Wedding Search," which granted seven couples a free wedding ceremony and reception for 77 guests on the lucky date. Bharti chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and his fascination to the number 23 is famous. 

The more apt example in Indian scene would be of  jewelry sales and purchase of gold which rockets by at least 15-20% during Akshaya Tritiya, a day considered auspicious for the Hindus but lesser known till a couple of years back (at least in the south) ..Similarly during Dhanteras last year the car sales in India went up three times.. Good examples of how Marketing enters into a marriage of convenience with beliefs /superstition. 

In the west, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost on Friday the 13th because people (even the well read ones) are logically risk-averse. Just like in India people don’t like to buy metal on Saturday, so car sales ( and any metals) are usually low on Saturdays …I still remember that at my first agency in Chennai, the boss had wanted me to go back to office and start again after we had reached the main gates of our office , for a client meeting… the reason- a black cat which waded across our path unabashedly and seemingly unconcerned about Lowe or its client Saint Gobain…


Foot note :- I thank my lucky stars I’m not superstitious!
 
To be continued...>>>>>

Once upon a time we played Cricket !!! - Part IV

Part IV of Guest article by Vipin Nambiar - Manager (Space selling) at Indian Express, Mumbai who also happens to be one of my beloved students......

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IPL – A Property for All…

The packed DY Patil stadium with more than 50k spectators bid a fascinating farewell to IPL 3. The show is over. Chennai Super Kings became the King of IPL. Hard Luck for Mumbai Indians, being the most favourites throughout the season.. IPL 3 thus ended with all its Glitz, Glamour and Excitement intact. Thanks to Keiron Pollard, Sachin, Raina for an excellent finale, and the likes of A R Rahman, Shahid Kapoor, Bipasha Basu made the entire evening a sparkling and memorable one...

For all the bad publicity IPL is earning in the past so many days, I have one thing to say, just like the short format of the T20 version of cricket, the controversies, too, will be short and entertaining(it already is entertaining and nothing more). The sooner one gets sprung up; the faster it gets dusted. My passion towards cricket and IPL from the last 3 years, compelling me to pray that nothing bad should happen to put off curtains to this behemoth event called Indian Premier League. Because it’s indeed the biggest marketing extravaganza ever happened in India, by most (if not all) measures. A golden goose for all…

In this controversy, the ultimate winner is Media Companies by all means. They welcomed it with both hands ,easily filling in the slots. The controversies tearing many masks, opening the intricacies of the Big Mine Called IPL… Not getting much into the controversy side, because I don’t have Valid Proofs, which everyone is asking for… Will this havoc create a permanent dent on the credentials of IPL? Let’s wait and watch …

Have you happened to hear the Nerolac Jingle whenever the Score summary of IPL matches was being shown in CNN IBN? This one hour program on IPL is named Cricketainment. Or the Sidhuisms in the program called Cannon Summer Slam III with Sidhu in Times Now. Be it regional or national, every news channel in India has got half an hour to one hour exclusive programs on IPL. Had you missed a sixer, OOPS, sorry, a DLF Maximum or a Citi Moment of Success you would have tuned into these programs and got a glimpse of it.

Even you can have chats with all time greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sidhu, Harsha Bogle and many more. These are brilliantly devised marketing programs. That’s the only reason why these so called 24x7 News Channels didn’t get into more fights over the telecasting issues with the IPL governing body and SET MAX. These innovative IPL properties successfully fetched in many of the big advertisers on board.

Each and everyone was eagerly selling out IPL to make that extra buck this summer. Some days back, Lalu Prasad Yadav was demanding the nationalization of IPL, where it’s already a Universal Brand. The Top 5 News Channels registered and Average Ratings of 1.5 to 1.75 for their Exclusive IPL Programs.

IPL was not spared by the newspaper dailies. Times of India has come out with a 3-4 pager exclusive feature on IPL called IPL THREELLER. From Scorecards, to Today’s Matches, to Players Columns to whatnot, every single column of the broadsheet has been attached to a brand. Not just TOI, but all the leading dailies tried to fetch in many advertisers on board by their 20-100 sqcm box ads....( click on the first two pics attached with this article) IPL, thus creating opportunities for all, despite which and what field they are in.

Websites featured IPL also registered a healthy growth in the last 45 days. The websites’ HITS were on a high. Be it to check the scorecard, or to go through the players or teams profile, for all reasons Indian Cricket Websites pulled in more eyeballs this time.

Its not just IPLT20.COM, which is the official website of IPL, which registered steepness in their growth curve, but sites like Cricinfo, Rediff.com etc also took a greater share in the pie. Better and fast mobile browsing helped many to have a quick check while they are on the go. The easy and free browsing applications are doing a world of good for those mobile savvy cricket fans. Thanks to the live Youtube featuring also, which really enhanced the spectrum of fan base across the world.

IPL Mobile Connection

IPL thereby making fans in all strata of society right from a 3 year old to 60 year old to housewives to Chaiwalas to whonot. It’s indeed the biggest and most successful realty show India had ever produced. Let’s all wish and pray all the conspiracies, problems and probes on IPL will end up soon and expect a clean and transparent IPL 4.

I retire with a heartfelt thanks to all who read this article that got spread in four episodes… God bless !

(Pic courtesy- Financial express- Brand wagon)

Once upon a time we played Cricket !!! - Part III

Part III of Guest article by Vipin Nambiar - Manager (Space selling) at Indian Express, Mumbai who also happens to be one of my beloved students.

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Best, Bekar and Bewildering…

One good thing or rather the best thing about IPL lies in the fact that quality and thrilling cricket is being played all the time. So much excitement that even housewives take the front seats for the live telecasts, which really ends up in calling the Pizza guy for a home delivery. In short Good Business for all… (40-50 minutes lagega boss... IPL chaaloo hein na sir, zyadaa orders aa rahe hein... - Excerpts from the home delivery call for a chicken biriyani with the owner of Hotel Banana Leaf, the nearby hotel to my building – call timing 9.50pm)

For the Brands and Ad Agencies, the cardinal rule here is, “to make quality ads and get the audience well connected to your brand”. To divert the audience from the match, you really need to buy out those 5-10 seconds from them. To a greater extend Airtel; Max New York Life Insurance and Vodafone were successful in the first leg of the tourney. And this clarity of thought made the new born species “ZOOZOOs” were a tremendous hit last year. It touched everyone from a 6 year old to 60 year old.

Let me start digging into the ambiguity of consumer durables. To everyone’s surprise it’s a clutter amongst the big clutter. Samsung, LG, Godrej, Voltas, Whirlpool. My vote goes to Whilpool and Voltas in this category, wherein they sticked to one creative at a time with Ajay, Kajol and Yuvi. Whirlpool is the only product that has succeeded in the clutter to remind you by its sub product name ie, WHIRLPOOL MASTERMIND. Even though Yuvi is bit out of place in the ad, it has managed to create a good recall. Yuvi’s involvement here is because, you get free Reebok shoes and watches autographed by Yuvi and their partnership with Kings XI Punjab.

Do you remember any of the LG or Samsung ads in category?

3D TVs, Washing Machines, Refrigerator, ACs, in short all products from their bouquet. They made confusion by infusing all of them amongst their corporate ads as well. So badly planned and even worse implementation. 3D TV’s in India? What bizarre idea. In India, only a few satellite channels offer us so called High Definition Mode, and this 3D is just “Dhoor Ki Baat Hein”… TURN ON TOMORROW tag from Samsung is completely lost in the queue. Like always LG has no clarity in their ads. Not even the Akshay’s ad- of wooing the girl at his place which is a complete nonsense. Voltas was an exception with a good jingle backing it up. The “SENSIBLE HAIN SENSIBLE HAIN” jingle with Grandpa and some kids made some difference. The message of the ad is also well conveyed. Talking about the various product features, which will in turn save your energy, is indeed a well tried attempt…… Better ad films with limited product exposure would have reaped better results for LG and Samsung. They should have zeroed down on AC’s and Fridges, which is the immediate necessity for the summer.

Another major Product Category is Mobile Phones. Good try by the newcomers. One category which is really benefited from spending good bucks in IPL. Nokia and Sony Ericson paved way for Maxx, Videocon, MicroMax, Karbonnn Mobile, Aircel INQ and so on. Samsung for their lower end versions with ads of Aamir Khan, did exceedingly well for the brand. The ad is beautifully directed with an emotional touch, stood out from the crowd. Good work done by famous director Anurag Kashyap. I believe there are 2 or 3 more episodes of the same ad and to be rolled this IPL season. And we can proudly call this as well planned strategy. This sensible continuity will help the brands to get better connectivity with the consumers. All players have one thing in common - “Economy Business Phones”. Suddenly we could see everyone busy selling their business phones, which made even the Giant Blackberry to advertise. And to our surprise, they were showing us the FUN side of Blackberry. Direct association with Mumbai Indians can give Videocon a booster among the lot. Too much shouting will not really help here as it can lead to much more fluster.

In between those star studded Mobile Service ads [Sharman Joshi for Airtel, Dhoni for Aircel, Abhishek for Idea and none other than ZooZoos for Vodafone], the new Videocon Mobile Services ads (without any stars) were indeed well crafted and superbly narrated ones. It really touches the heart for its Life’s Most Valuable yet so simple SIGNALS that we all would have faced or would be facing in our daily lives and by attaching it to the so called Better Network, is simply delighting …

One classier example of superior connectivity with the audience is Max New York Life Insurance. It is simply charming... Max New York Life Insurance being the biggest spot buyer in the first week of IPL definitely did the trick through the series of their SMART KIDDO ad. Like Samsung Mobile Phones, they also bridged the gap between their TG. Such ads are fun to watch and easy to recall.

Hyundai another biggest spot buyer, trying hard with the same films, did nothing great. Hope the product quality helps them in retaining their loyal customers. Nothing fresh to get the X factor to convert a Maruti owner to Hyundai. “Can we change the name to i10”, Oh God, Change the ad itself…

Videocon D2H ad makers had no idea about what are they up to… Bizarre!!!

Tata Photon, Kent purifiers, MTS Broadband, Park Avenue, Vaseline (New Fairness Cream), Spinz Deo’s, TVS Jive, Axe Deo’s, Club Mahindra. The list of advertiser goes on and on… Latest entry being Videocon Mobile Services and Sprite…

The resurrection of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals Vengeance, Punjab’s Problems, Chennai Super Kings’ fight back, all opened up the table for this season’s IPL. One thing is unequivocal; all can expect more cracker burst in the second leg of IPL 3.

To be continued...>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Tail piece : -

Javed Miandad called Merv Hughes that he's nothing but a "fat bus conductor"during a match.......

"Tickets please!" MH calls to JM after he gets him out in the next ball...

Crouching audiences, hidden products - Part I

My article as appeared in the Advertising express magazine of February 2010......

Mandira Bedi, in sizzling attire walked around the sets of “Deal ya no deal” and in between made calls from her mobile and attends them, the mobile phone makers name is visible, and the CSP’s jingle goes on air again and again in what would look to the common viewer as just another happening. Big B, in KBC2 signed in a particular bank’s cheque and made sure that it is shown to the camera, to get full attention of the viewers. So Did SRK and many others. It has been here for long. The Rishi Kapoor starrer “Karz”, is one example where an entire song was shot with a back drop of Emami , the skin care brand. It is still going on and his son and the “Rocket Singh” film,I am told is full of brands that make a parade.

All these are examples of product placements in Indian TV programmes and cinema. But the hero of a popular serial in star plus who got affianced in a Fair and lovely commercial would score the first position for being innovative to the core … the commercial went on an on in the serial (in the serial and not in between) and that irritated a few eyeballs, but crept in passively into most of the brains that saw it. The quest is on-- to place products in TV programmes without causing audience frustration and yet delivering the message.

The Ofcom Broadcasting Code of UK defines product placement as “the inclusion of, or reference to, a product or service within Cinema or a TV programme in return for payment or other valuable consideration”.

Practically speaking, Product placement is a marketing practice intended to purposely slot in products and brands into the body and content of cinema and programs in TV which in most cases is done in a delicate manner so that the main content of the program (the story line in the cinema) is not diluted. That is an ideal situation, which is often violated and people are driven to believe that the programme makers have more fish to fry than it meets the eye.

Types and effectiveness

As TAM India describes,there are three kinds of product placement in film content – Hyperactive Placements, Active Placements and Passive Placements.

1. Hyperactive Placements: - It happens when the product placement is blunt and blaring and no attempt whatsoever is made to distinguish between the programme content and the product in question. Ramya Krishnan and her description of the famous Chennai jeweler in the Sun TV programme Thanga vettai shall be quoted here. Hyperactive placements, which is accompanied by a supportive trigger (Like an ad of the product in the consecutive commercial break) leads to a big increase in brand awareness

2. Active Placements, are again showing products or making the name heard in overt fashion, such as a man talking about a Maruthi Zen and later driving away in one. The Hindi film “Guru” and the 1960 mercedes benz is an example. An Active Placement, when with an additional trigger, according to studies, leads to a 17 per cent increase in brand awareness. Spykar Jeans and the way it is smartly inbuilt in the script of the block buster move Namaste London falls in this category. The same film also incorporated other brands like “Bharat Matrimony.com, Hutch small recharge and a host of others in it.

3. Passive Placements are subtle insertion of the product in the programme without making it too very obvious. Surprisingly in India it is more effective than the other two particularly in films and programmes when combined with an additional trigger, led to a whopping 191 per cent increase in brand awareness. If you have seen the film “Chak de India” the way brands like Aaj tak, ESPN, Ultra tech cement and Puma was built in passively will prove the point. Mc Donald’s in the same film, where a main twist of the story happens ,didn’t stare at the viewer but helped a lot in building the brands Indian ness, passively.

Depending on the indispensability of the placement, (Russel 1998) has identified three major types of product placements- i.e. screen placements, script placements and plot placements.

Based on the level of incorporation and the intensity of the merger with the story line, product placements on the silver screen is classified into three--Implicit, non integrated explicit and integrated explicit (d’Astous and Seguin 1998).

The more explicit it is, the more will be the unholy relation between the partners of the total programme. However and whatever be the types, Product placements are on the rise. In the overall ad spends of brands in 2004 where it was just a 3 % allotted for product placements now it has gone up to six per cent last year and analysts predict that by 2007, product placements would include almost 12-15 per cent of the total advertising spends of brands.


Why product placements increase?

a. Easy and big money- for the product placement agency and for the programme producer

b. Absence of legal restrictions, clearly defining the border line between programme/editorial content and Advertising.

c. Commercial break ads are not taken seriously and are not considered trustworthy. In programme placements rectify this negative perception by facilitating passive learning.

d. Increasing operational costs for broadcast houses makes it imperative for them to looks for other revenue sources.

e. Clutter and audience fragmentation is making the world of commercial breaks increasingly murky and this makes product placements grow.

To be continued.....