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...

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

Part II 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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Match between Break or Break between Match?

Boundaries, 4’s, 6’s, OUT, CATCHES etc... It rather became a cliché. All these are supposed to be terms used in the game called Cricket. These terms have almost gone into oblivion and been rephrased into some statements.

All Harsha’s, Jackman’s and Shastri’s are busy shouting these…

Oh my goodness, It’s a “DLF Maximum” Indeed a “Citi Moment of Success” What a good “Karbonnn Kamal Catch” Billy Bowden’ funny signals for a “Maxx Mobile Timeout”

Brands are ubiquitous…….. Licking the cream out of every moment of IPL…...

Amongst all the heavy duty campaigns of Save the Tiger, an animal called Mongoose is getting all the attention. Even those left out 1411 Tigers would have badly wished, why the inventor not named the bat after them. IPL is all about that…... Fun and Frolic with much awaited climax and anti climaxes.

In this IPL season we could not see any transformations like CEAT & Godrej (Logo change ads) and Vodafone Zoo Zoos in IPL 1 and IPL2 seasons respectively, thereby helping us to reach a conclusion that this platform is a better place to build Brand Value. It’s a 45 days realty show with a mega final. So the media planning and account planning for a brand also should be in sync with the continuity of the show.

Mobile phones to Consumer Durables to FMCG’s to Soft Drinks, every one trying so hard to get a fair pie of the FCT. Consumer Durables making the platform count to enhance the sales of summer season through ads of AC’s. Mobile operators claiming better network coverage’s and pushing their various VAS (Value Added Services). Soft Drinks finding better ways to quench thirst this summer. The sudden spurt of new Mobile Phone players in the market made Nokia to keep silent this time and paving way for Rookies Maxx, MicroMax, Karbonnn and Videocon…… LG and Samsung are also in the race. Insurance companies are making the most by emotionally blackmailing the audience. So every product category is here to make an impact to get the desired attention. Hope to have a win-win situation for all...

All have one simple strategy – VOCIFERATE. When others are shouting, let’s also do it…

About IPL 3 Breaks, I could sum it up like this – Chaos, Confusion and Obscure.

Best, Bekar and Bewildering …

If there is something called Best IPL ad this time, the whole credit goes to Airtel and Sharman Joshi. Flow of ads being spectacular and recall being the highest, Airtel takes the centre stage this time surpassing Vodafone Zoo Zoo’s. Somewhere the repetitive quotient did not help much for Vodafone. Still it is a crowd puller. Though not 3-4 times (like IPL 1), we wait for the new episode of Zoo Zoo every match and watch it fully at least once.

Oongli Cricket, a new cricketing concept by IDEA is a good IDEA, just to optimize their SMS push. Decent one by Abhishek, his peon and seductress secretary.

Battle between Pepsi and Coke, the clear winner is Coke by all means (cute and smart faces of Imran Khan and Kalki Koechlin and the nice background score), because for many reasons the Ranbir and later on Sanjay Dutt’s teaser not even funda is bewildering all the way. Hope at least the ‘ reveal ad ‘will do some justice. Opinion by some college going DUDES about this ad somewhat stated like this - “Youngistan ka Wow Sucks”.

One more reason to get irritated in this hot summer is the Akshay Kumar’s Micromax Mobile ad. The all hehehehe’s and hahahaha’s was indeed BEKAR. Stupid Chef and nettlesome laughs made me just turned on my channel from SET MAX, the only one time in IPL…….

Now the tale of the best , bekar and the bewildering continues... come back for part III...

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Tail piece :- During a Test match between the West Indies and England, Michael Holding was to bowl to Peter Willey........ The commentator at the time, Brian Johnston, described the action, quite accurately, as "The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey".... need less to say that the whole stadium burst into an uproar of laughter... !

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.....

Gillette Mach 3- Shave India Movement !!!

A survey conducted by Gillette across 8 Indian metros told guys that they might stand a better chance at landing a job, and even a babe, if they are clean-shaven. Men definitely seem to take a cue, with 72% of them preferring a clean-shave to a beard. And they have women's approval, with 90% women across metros admitting to being turned off by a guy's unshaven look. The study didn’t end there for sure and have moved into a movement which they called as Shave India movement which as the name suggests is to make sure that Indians Shave !



Competition and downslide makes people innovative..... The rule is applicable to Brands as well !!! Shaving is a huge industry in India ( no exact size in crores is available because of the uncertainty in terms of Rural vs Urban and organized vs unorganized) but a major chunk of it is left for the crude and unbranded stuff.. Even among the urban dwellers not all of them think of a shave as a priority and even if they do stuff like Gillette mach 3 would stay a bit far from their grocery list for obvious reasons… Now that is tough for a brand in its maturity stage in its existing market space… go back to basics where ,Kotler famously have suggested various options for brands that move up and down in their PLC.. while in their maturity stage do a market modification, product modification or go for a marketing mix modification…

Gillette Mach 3 seemed to have began the modification process quite in right time…some time back they walked into the Cannes festival and came with a gold for the To shave or Not campaign…. Now in an attempt to make more men shave (more users) and more shave per man ( more use per user) it has come out with a bit shocking( positive or negative is the way one sees it) way to reach and communicate to the audience,,, The Shave India Movement ,an off shoot of Women Against Lazy Stubble (W.A.L.S),which is supposedly a serious activity that has research back ups, celebrity parades (Minissha Lamba, Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse), and tabular columns to support …and a huge price cut too …..Now, Gillette is offering the Gillette Mach3 at Rs 125 only, so men don't have an excuse any longer for not shaving.

Three things are told to men by this campaign….

1.) Till men don't shave, they will not co-operate with them.
2.) Now that the comfort of Gillette Mach 3 is affordable, there are no more excuses to not be shaving.
3.) If men don't shave, they shouldn't expect women to groom themselves either.

Personally speaking, I for sure wouldn’t buy the 3 rd one… it is nothing but impossible.. I mean women and not grooming...HUH…

There are people who will laugh and smirk at the thought of a shave India movement but from a Marketing communication point of view this is a blitzkrieg of sorts and has reached the people but the impact part is yet to be seen………...

Have they all started shaving?

For that matter have they reached women, whom they want first to be convinced that they in turn can convince/conspire/cajole their men- husbands/brothers/BF’s/ colleagues etc etc to shave or loose whatever in stake…

The idea is simple- the execution is with a big bang, the ads did not look like ads, media influx was ensured , people sat and watched, some with gusto, some with a shriek , some with apathy and many with a disbelief … for a major part of India for whom saving their day to day lives is in question, a shave is the last thing in their priority… The ads but were not talking to them I suppose… not that the campaign hasn’t left a few doubts in my mind… the celebrities ,to be frank and with all due respects to them didn’t evoke any feelings in me.. may be because I am from the south and I DON’T SHAVE ( that seems to be the assumption) but when I talked to my friends and students who are from the North they also seem to be similarly unmoved by the ladies( the celebrities who they feel are unappealing) who says they get turned off by the sight of a lazy stubble…

One guy said who cares?
Another one asked me Minissha who?

But for me off late this “India” thing is enamoring … to look different is the objective and the Lowe directed Walk and Talk campaign and the Small B acted Talk for India (on the 26/11) anniversary did touch me as a TV viewer and I really feel that now Idea is doing a good job but I don’t plan to leave my Vodafone and Airtel for Idea and even if I will do I will move to a Docomo for reasons that every one seem to be moving for……

Gillette and Mach 3 is what I use and may be I am biased but I have to go on record saying that it did impressed me- I mean the idea but the execution could have been better.. it could have covered more areas geographically ( people in the south also shave) trust me!, it could have taken in better and appealing endorsers who when say we hate men who don’t shave, Men really felt depressed, it could have used BTL as well like getting hold of unshaved LAZY guys in malls and supermarkets, multiplexes and beer parlors preferably when they are with their girlfriends and try the trick (I am told that W.A.L.S will be launching a number of interactive forums, film festivals and workshops to spread the core message of the movement - The clean-shaven, confident look over the lazy and scruffy stubbled look)… It is easy to say it could have done this and said that but for what they have done as of now ..three cheers to Gillette and Bates, the agency behind this different campaign !!!!

Tail piece : I hear that Moods condoms is also joining the India bandwagon following Idea and Gillette.. Any guess what would they call their campaign?

Quaker oats-Good morning to u'r heart !!!

My heart is healthy and seems to be of similar age to my age, certifies Quaker oats online heart test that I took just now in their portal…(Quaker Oats in association with The Times of India and Apollo Hospitals announced the launch of ‘Mission to Make India Heart Healthy’…….Quaker Oats has also developed a portal http://www.goodmorningheart.com/, which helps assess risks associated with the heart and provides a range of solutions and information on how to stay Heart Healthy. )

Frankly for me this category was quite out of my radar as it was underdeveloped and /or elitist if I may say so. (I am not forgetting Kellogg’s who for years have been now fighting the Idli’s ,Sambar’s and Parathas creating, investing and making the category look like one category worth its name…I have also in mind the Mohun’s ,Murginn’s and the good old Bagrry’s who is a kind of a first mover but it required the marketing muscle and might of Kellogg’s to make the category)

Quaker was a late entrant into the oats segment( in spite of its international hi repute) into the not so clear market place as there are no official figures on the size of the market. But, industry players say it’s the fastest growing segment of the breakfast cereals category with growth in “high double digits.” Oats constitute 30 per cent of the breakfast cereals in volumes and 18 per cent in value terms of the category while the top four brands constitute 90 per cent of the oats market….branded convenience breakfast cereals market ( Markets segmenting and resegmenting happens over night ) is growing at a healthy 23% but even today almost 80% of the branded breakfast cereal market is been dominated by cornflakes…

Quaker oats but was not to be seen glaring us from TV screen and newspaper sheets…..Now suddenly its there everywhere in what I thought was a best clutter breaker among the clutter of multiple media messages on health and healthy foods/snacks/drinks/eatables and the like ….Linking it with your heart and that too passively…. It has broken the clutter in two ways than one…

One of course by suddenly owning the health positioning by being its most responsible player, (if not the only responsible player)

And two by being a late mover its role in developing and nourishing the category was less, but it has redefined it, it has also made sure that it takes steps so that it virtually IS the category in the process…..

Though the traditional Indian breakfast is still predominant, the market is changing – especially in the metros and many other cities where there is high literacy and a young working population –at least that is what this guys (the new breakfast types) seems to believe… their muscle and deep pockets but haven’t made much of changes and their varying positioning across the years ( From health, nutrition, anytime nutrition and what not,,,) haven’t cut much ice into the heavy eaters that Indians are ( remember the Indian saying "have break fast like a King, lunch like a Lord and supper like a beggar") and above all the huge price tags that Kellogg’s and the like came with was an inhibition for the average Indian.. Good that Kellogg’s is now an anytime snack, particularly and evening snack for tired kids (games marketers play!)….And now extremely good that Quaker has moved this way ….It is for sure -New and fresh!!!!

With India said as the world’s coronary ailment and diabetic capital, oats was a category anticipated to trace speedy growth rates as more consumers get increasingly health-conscious. Quaker oats saw it and threw the batten before others. The more I spend time in the website, the more I read ads like the one above and the more I see it on TV I can but only appreciate the wizards behind this striking move. Smart case of a Marketing long sight and even smarter case of Marketing Communication that is serious and yet clutter breaking, simple and yet competitive, path breaking and redefining a whole new category!!!

NB : The above article is compiled with information and statistics from various sources ……The author would appreciate errors and mistakes if pointed out and would be happy to stand corrected .

Tail piece:-

A judge was interviewing a woman regarding her pending divorce, and asked, "What are the grounds for your divorce?"

She replied, "About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the property with a stream running by."

"No," he said, "I mean what is the foundation of this case?"

"It is made of concrete, brick and mortar," she responded.

"I mean," he continued, "What are your relations like?"

"I have an aunt and uncle living here in town, and so do my husband's parents."

He said, "Do you have a real grudge?"

"No," she replied, "We have a two-cars and have never really needed one."

"Please," he tried again, "Is there any infidelity in your marriage?"

"Yes, both my son and daughter have stereo sets. We don't necessarily like the music, but the answer to your questions is yes."

"Ma'am, does your husband ever beat you up?"

"Yes," she responded, "about twice a week he gets up earlier than I do."

Finally, in frustration, the judge asked, "Lady, why do you want a divorce?"

"Oh, I don't want a divorce," she replied. "I've never wanted a divorce. My husband does. He said he can't communicate with me."

The Fun Gun !!!

Two guys are moving about in a supermarket when their carts collide.

One says to the other, "I'm sorry - I was looking for my wife."

"What a coincidence, so am I, and I'm getting a little desperate."

"Well, maybe I can help you. What does your wife look like?"

"She's tall, with long hair, long legs, firm boobs and a tight ass.What's your wife look like?"

"Never mind, let's look for yours!"

Reminds me of agencies who run behind what others have ,no matter how old and ugly is the one in hand, it is better than two in the bush !!!

Have a funfilled week end folks !!!

DIGITALisation of brands ... the starting point...

It is a tale of social media make over..Six years ago when I left advertising and joined teaching, the world was new to this millennium. The Y2K bomb had burst and the world was quite more a safe place. Industry was booming, liberalization was quite happening, the giant Alcatel’s were slowly being replaced by sleek Nokia’s, more people traveled by air and discussions of more private airlines were on air..More people spend more on more and more unwanted products and more people looked slim, handsome and sexy.. more houses came up, more flats looked spruced up, new and more cars on the roads that made our cities look like live hell here on earth, more gadgets- wired and wireless-appeared, more communication happened and more faster it happened.

I but was more amused with the advent of new media spaces than when I was in full stream advertising. As a management teacher who taught the new gen the nuances of modern day marketing and advertising, I got into the net working sites like twitter, orkut and linked-in, little knowing that they are going to be the new media sites for advertising as well. The end of advertising as we know it said, Zergio Zyman and I bet it is happening. The agencies of the past I mean the ones who live in the past, the ones where the kind of places like I have worked, the ones who thought and still think that they know and hence they define Advertising, resist any such idea of the age old realm of Advertising moving from TV and the print to the new age stuff like DTH and OOH and worse to the twitters and facebooks which are more about tête-à-tête with the TG than about one sided announcements that Ad’s as we knew them used to be.

Today, Brands who thought old, (even the oldest ones) seem to be rethinking. Coke for instance is trying to balance its late acceptance of their awakening to the digital truth by being fair more aggressive in its digital presence. Coke now will think beyond giving away Coca cola T shits and will get digital in constant dialogue with the young through programmes like My Coke Rewards in the US and Coke Zone in the UK…

This is in continuation to the Sounds of Coca-Cola programme where people where asked to submit videos in which they replicate the noises they associate with opening, pouring and drinking Coke. To enter, but, participants need to visit Facebook, the social network, to find out the details, and then use an "app" to upload their entry, with the best efforts possibly going on to feature in an ad campaign. So you have to be the facebook type already or better become one to be of the coke type.. the message is simple… This all is happening in spite of their respective agency(ies) criticism of any thing which is new and digital…

India too isn’t left behind,,, given the oft quoted age group that is making India look younger than much before(54 per cent of the population is below the age of 25 and 72 per cent is below the age of 35)….the scene is fast changing here as well.. how else other wise can one explain the phenomenon where companies like Hindustan Unilever(remember the Lipton Stay Sharp online jigsaw challenge), Procter & Gamble, Cadbury’s and Tata Tea( jago re was a hit) have increased their digital ad budgets for individual brands.

India’s consumption driving group of youth are increasingly spending more time online and they are now no longer limited to the metros or the happening places as we called them.. Smaller towns and cities also have gone up in terms of spends… Well…. did I say PHENOMENON there? HUL, P&G, Cadburys.. etc spending more money on digital is phenomenon in itself because they are FMCG players basically and hence require more ad spend and more customer interaction points as compared to others because it’s the customer familiarity that drives their sales…The web is an equal if not a better tool (as compared to the main stream media) for awareness, persuasion and reminding – the basic functions of advertising as we knew it… (Being first in their ladder of thoughts)…Yeah! The reach and the coverage is an issue still in India given the socio economic facts but that doesn’t seem to be deterring our main stream brands in seriously going digital ….

The whole game is not new ..the world has seen success stories like Sunsilk's sunsilkgangofgirls.com or Mattel's barbie.com but the main stream mass advertisers have been shying away in spite of what digital marketing experts and consultants seems to be vouching for … between the war of choices one thing is but certain – the internet and digital space may not replace the mainstream media at least in a larger part of our landscape but can go hand in hand … the news is that it has begun !!!!

This is the concept of Sapir-Worf hypothesis that sociologists talk about when they suggest that 'the language that one speaks reflects the looking glass through which the person comprehends the world and act in it' is a quite important analogy for the Marketing discipline( the Advertising or Marketing Communications community in particular) to understand. The cart off is that ideas, concepts, and images in the wisdom of advertising (as we know it) shape and delimit the domain of Marketing communications as a practice……

Social networks and digital space.... Even if you're not ready for a presence there, go there; find your customers and observe them. Listen to what they're saying.... it is the starting point....

Is it not time that the sleeping ones too wake up?

NB:- even as I was typing out this article, my Google reader tells me this peice of news... Brands such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut and Gap have all developed iPhone "apps" in an effort to connect with consumers, and are enjoying a variety of benefits as a result, particularly when these tools have featured in ad campaigns run by Apple itself.

Now I guess my point is made .........

Dealing Mrs Doubtful - Marketing that did'nt...PART 1

A woman walks into a convenience store. She walks straight to the manager and asks, "Do you have any small note-books?"
"Sorry," says the manager. "We're all out."
The woman shrugs, and asks, "Well, do you have any mechanical pencils?"
"Nope, don't have that either," says the manager.
The woman feels her stomach rumbling and asks, "Do you have Geometry boxes?"
The manager shrugs, "Sorry."
"Hmmph. How about colouring books?" says the woman.
"Nope. Don't have that."
"Wow!" the woman shouts, "If you don't have anything, you should close the stupid store!"
The manager shrugs, "Don't have the key."
*****************************************************************

Let us call her Mrs. Doubtful. She wanders around the apparels shop or a white goods show room with mind full of doubt and suspicion and no one to attend to her. She symbolizes a large group of customers everywhere, in every business premise, wanting to decide and buy but unable to.

Marketing research has always tried to dissect and analyze various types of customers, and have come up with dictums like "the customer is always right” and “every customer is equal”. The same group who professes ‘value creation and delivery for customers’ classified them as platinum, gold, silver, copper, sand and even muck (let God forgive this modern day apartheid). Apparently the focus is on value to the seller (Marketer) and not the idiot who is the buyer….

Some have classified customers based on their response patterns- like Meek, Aggressive, High roller, Rip off and chronic complainer. Christopher Lovelock coined the term JAY customers to refer to dysfunctional customers who deliberately or unintentionally disrupt service in a manner that negatively affects the organization or other customers. So the rules are changing. Kings and queens, at least them who are not worth their cost of maintenance have been dethroned. Here let me introduce to you a new set or customers- Mrs. Doubtful.


Mrs. doubtful – who is responsible?

Some businesses are of high contact types, where the interaction with the customer is high and the contact points and occasions that the customer has to meet the with the organization is high. A savings bank account can be taken as an example. Here the chances of trouble between the two are more and the service provider, in many cases, takes Mrs. doubtful for a ride mercilessly. You and me have experienced that and have felt releived and good to do the ATM and NET banking types.. atleast we can avoid the barking from the other side of the counter....

Medium contact type businesses like an insurance service or post purchase stages of having bought a hi-fi music system has less calamity in terms of Mrs. doubtful getting an unfair treatment. That is except when the system refuses to sing and the seller showing a cold attitude to her calls. Her consideration set is long and vivid, and these days’ even durables look like FMCG’s with the brand influx and hence decision is long pending and she remains doubtful until the purchase.( even after that but it is a different case altogether)

Almost zero contact types like for instance a shampoo brand or a fairness soap (even failing to deliver those glorified promises) will result in almost no commotion at all.There is a better shampoo with a better promise and there is a better fairness soap with a better hope on sale and Mrs Doubtful simply have no doubts on them, she just walks in....

So the lack of differentiation and the resulting identity crisis that many brands across product categories suffer from is the main contributor for the existence of Mrs. Doubtful. The levels of doubts becomes deep and hard as the product category becomes complex, moving from habitual and variety seeking (Ref: Henry assael’s model in Philip Kotler), but the doubt exists, nevertheless.

Technology in many cases adds to the doubts. CRM methods- of course the modern IT enabled ones-in many cases leaves existing customers unhappy, who spreads their dissatisfaction among others, including Mrs.doubtful, causing more doubts in her types....

Companies in their quest for expanding their customer base often forget existing customers and run behind new ones, leaving them unhappy and causing more and more doubtfuls. Remember the old saying- an unhappy customer is your worst publicity. Old sayings are better left in the past... at least that is what our Marketing guys seem to be doing....

TO BE CONTINUED >>>>>>>

Well done Marketing Practice...

My friend and co blogger Harish and his blog is rocking !!! success seems to be raining like the monsoon showers here in Kerala. Salutes and Three cheers from the the Advertising team of Adformula......