Continue reading »]]> I don’t always agree with him, nor do I like his blatant style of pushing his own agenda, but for once I agree with Mahesh Murthy in this tweet of his. All those years of building up credibility, threatened (not dashed to the ground) by keeping bad company!

I will add, this is true in both our professional and personal lives. You have to know who the people you hang out with, hang out with. Because their reputation and what they do, can imply you do the same. And more importantly, your secrets with them are at risk, if they share secrets and secret dealings with others as well.

Related Articles

• Twitter Has A (Secret) Reputation Score For Every User (techcrunch.com)

Continue reading »]]> There’s a lot of buzz around twitter and how its the next big thing in marketing… here’s a comprehensive and useful piece by Ann Handley

“AdAge calles twitter assinine.
Is it for everyone? No.
But twitter has real use for media companies
and social-media-savvy brands”

7 Ways Marketers Can Use Twitter >

And when you are done reading the above, check out this video via BarelyDigital

Continue reading »]]> Contrary to popular perception (and current brand behaviour all around) you don’t pussy-foot around communication when you’re in the middle of hard times.

In Hindi there’s a phrase ‘bolti-bandh’ which is quite like the English one ‘the cat got your tongue’. Which leads me to say brands that lie low in tough times, stand the risk of behind seen as a ‘scaredy cat’.

Don’t get me wrong and think I am saying that we should indulge in the loud-mouth, open-wallet communication like a lot of brands have done in the past 4-5 years.

I think we need to find the right balance between verbal diorhhea and communication constipation.

These tough times are forcing us to do what we should have been doing all along – going through a rigorous process of finding the right thing to say, and the right way to say it. They are forcing us to define a more focussed and definitive position for ourselves, and work the media planning machine like it has never been worked before.

“To whomsoever it may concern” type of communication has to give way, and the “to you, to whom it concerns” approach has to step in. And “media reach” has to give way for “media relevance”.

I know folk representing or selling mass media channels will either laugh at this perspective, or throw some ppt slides at you talking about how their mass media channel actually reaches your audience!  Sure it does, like buckshot.

Which brings me to new media and the power of narrowcast communication.

And the beauty of it is new media and narrowcast communication works whether you have loads of money, or very little of it!

New Media, New Focus.

Admittedly most new media conferences do nothing to build a case for new media. The usual suspects gather to make the usual presentations on the usual case studies which they’ve been talking about for the past 3 years!

I believe no one in this industry really talks of the complexity of new media and the dynamic roles it can play in influencing and persuading audiences.  Perhaps no one really knows.

Perhaps peope are all selling the wrong case studies as I mentioned above. I for one would like to talk of something more basic – how approximately 30lakhs spent on print advertising in one month, got a client of mine approximately 300 enquiries. At the same time, 30thousand spent on Google AdWords in the same month got the same client almost a 1000 enquiries. And the conversion rate was higher among the AdWords call-ins!

The point is, if we can focus on getting new media right, we can get a lot of focus on our brands.

New Dogs, Old Tricks.

The trick lies in layering time tested marketing techniques, with new media technology. The trick lies in using traditional best practices of advertising and public relations, and applying them to the internet and mobile communication.

New media strategy is not about building websites online, but about building a web of insights online. New media campaigns are not about fancy virals, but about creating a fever pitch of focussed communication. New media is not about clicks, but about clicking with consumers.

That’s the basic simple truth of the matter.

PR kiya to darna kya?

Another great tool in tough times is public relations. I believe if done right, public relations has far greater and longer term value than most people (including its practitioners) give it.

Public relations can helps you make the right point to the right people, who in turn can put out the right message. You use it to educate and influence the influencers.

PR is the only media which actually allows you to even put across a 10,000 word sales pitch to an audience should you so require. How’s that for talking tough and straight?!

Getting it right

I believe recession is one of the final nails in the coffin of euphoria over mass media advertising. The recession is telling you stop wasting money on buckshot, and find new ways of getting your audiences in the bag.

Lesser budgets literally mean “focus your communication, and keep is simple and effective”.

Which brings me to digital media, activation, and public relations. The perfect tools for getting it right.

But in order to use the above effectively, you have to talk tough with yourself and change decades of conventional media conditioning.

Then you will have to talk tough with your ‘Clients’ who will still demand ‘cover-my-ass TRPs and Reach’, since that’s the only RoI most Marketing Managers know…

Communicating for “closure”, not “ask me for a brochure”.

Communication in digital media, activation and public relations is different and works differently from print and television ads. When used correctly, they can put your brand in the right place at the right time like no other.

Communication in these new media/methods put more pressure on you, because they place your brand right up in the face of your audiences in a relevant context. Which means your message better be right and to the point.

And when you’re up so close to your audiences, they will be more demanding and less forgiving. Which means when you get your one shot at the audience, it better be the right one.

Which essentially means, when you talk tough, you must also be ready to walk the talk. If not, then tough luck.

Continue reading »]]> Okay, I see Breaking News on CNN that the organisers of IPL have decided to hold the tournament outside India. Simultaneously, I see Narendra Modi slamming the government on the security reasons that have led to this decision.

Of course, Modi is not alone with his vulture-like behaviour, as I see the rest of the non-ruling political parties jumping around and blaming the government for what is clearly a decision of the IPL organisers led by BCCI and Lalit Modi.

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Why cannot Lalit Modi and BCCI be a little patient and waiting for the elections to get over, instead being selfish and self-centred for wanting to stick to the dates in the middle of the elections!?

Of cource, it would be stupid of me to ask, why are opposition political parties blaming the government?

But why are fans across the country falling for what seems like selfish blackmail of the BCCI, and manipulation of political parties!?

CAN WE PLEASE THINK CLEARLY FOR A MOMENT?!

Of course it will be a huge shame if we cannot hold IPL in India due to security reasons. We are a stronger nation than most, and are very capable of taking care of ourselves and our people.

But everything has its limits of stretchability. Imagine our already stretched and under-armed security forces not only having to deal with a long-drawn-election schedule, but also having to do double-time to protect sports stadiums across the venues, hotels, and other gathering spots for fans!

Of course if IPL moves out of India because of security fears, it will mean we’re bowing down to terrorism. We must hold the tournament here, and show the terrorists we are not afraid.

But who took the decision to move IPL out? It wasn’t the government, it was the impatient BCCI that took the decision. The government just told them to wait till the elections are over..!

I BELIEVE THIS IS ALL JUST BLACKMAIL AND MANIPULATION, and we the people are unwitting pawns in the scheme of things.

BCCI knows the Indian public will be aghast, and blame the government. The BCCI knew that the opposition will act in the manner that it has. The BCCI probably hopes the government will now go out of the way to facilitate the matches on the dates Lalit Modi and Co want.

Narender Modi and Co have finally found a stick to beat the Congress with… instead of beating themselves up as they have been doing over the past couple of months! They finally have something to say, which people across the country will foolishly fall for!

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? CRICKET OVER DEMOCRACY??

Both the Modis can take their apologies and anger and… um, well, find something sensible to talk about for a change!

We have general elections once in 5 years and we need to focus on getting that right. Democracy is more important than any cricket match in my book, no matter how many Bollywood stars dance a jig in the stands.

If we want to see the matches in person, and in India, let’s just delay the IPL till the elections are over. Or watch it on TV in the comforts of our home.

Get real people! Let’s get our priorities right!

Continue reading »]]> I have always been fascinated by my own Google results. Call it narcissist, but I am concerned about what I am linked to, and who is linked to me (pun totally intended). My results (all 184 of them at this moment) vary from positive, vague, to totally misleading.

My postive results throw up my LinkedIn and Facebook public profiles; articles that appeared in Economic Times, Afaqs, and other publications on me; my own writings as a blogger and commenter in various places, and such.

The vague are vague to most of us, because the link text and original pages are in Chinese, Russian, and Korean ~ reviews (and award listings) of some of my creative work and marketing writings cross these parts.

And the totally misleading, but which I personally wish was true, talks of me sitting on a fat bounty of money – lol!

I must confess, I have worked to keep these results the way I want them to be – including ensuring the lastmentioned result stays around, though not in a high or obvious place

How? It is quite simple, yet complex. And I will leave Julia Angwin to enlighten us on the matter. I spotted this piece of hers this morning on my WSJ Blackberry reader (ahem, name dropping helps too, you see).

Julia Angwin writes candidly how she worked with Google to ensure she looks and stays positive and well linked. I hope she counts this link as a positive one

An excerpt, followed by the original piece by Julia:

“One of the paradoxes of the digital age is that the boundless freedoms of the Internet also constrain our identity. Before the ubiquity of search engines you could go on a date or a job interview and construct a narrative about your life that fit the situation. No one in your book group had to know that you were a punk-rocker in high school. But it’s much harder to package yourself in the Google era. Online, your digital identity often comes down to the top 10 links on your SERP, or search-engine results page.”

Read the whole article here.

Continue reading »]]>

What You See Is What You Get!

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America is landmark in many ways. In fact, Obama’s slogan of “change” holds true in many more ways than perhaps even the man and his spin doctors would have imagined.

But that’s not the point of this post. Enough has, and will be written about what his election symbolises and heralds.

I would like to touch upon the learnings which we as Indians and Marketing professionals in particular can gain from the US Presidential elections.

By sheer design, the US Presidential election is about people and the things they stand for. In this case it was clearly Barack versus McCain. They both had a stated agenda and a vision each. Everyone knew what both of them stood for. They cast their votes based on an informed choice. And they know who to hold responsible for failure to live up to promises.

Simple and beautiful isn’t it?

Can we say the same about the Indian election process? Can we say the same about the way companies market brands?

Party Poopers All: In India, the election process, though extremely well designed by our forefathers, has been diluted to suit the politics of our politicians and the mindlessness of the masses. Allow me to elaborate why I am taking such a stand and using such words.

In India, we vote for Parties not people. So invariably we have no idea who the two top Executives of our country (Prime Minister or President) will be, until the day he or she is actually elevated to the post!

Not surprisingly therefore the euphoria of voting for a winning party, often comes with a feeling of betrayal and being let down on finding out who takes the top spot.

Likewise in India we have Parties with a stated (and printed) manifesto, but with a completely different (unstated but expected) agenda. Secular on paper, right wing religious in reality.  Progressive on paper, corrupt in reality. The list goes on.

Of course, we have no one particular person to hold responsible for unkept promises. Which is why we are the way we are.

Brandishing Nothing: Companies of course do slightly better than Political Parties. Their brands usually do stand for something – stated or otherwise.

But the marketing process itself is so unstructured and based on individual beliefs, that the actual product value proposition and position can remain a closely guarded secret between the people who created it, and the file in which it resides.

Except for a few large global MNCs who have their entire branding and communication process documented like a religion and practiced as a culture, most other companies Brand communication is left to the whims and fancies of the people on the ground.

The result is the confusion of choice on the ground among consumers. And the winner of market share is usually the Brand that spent the most money, and not necessarily the Brand which is better.

“So Brands and Politicians, lend me your ears.
I come not to praise you, but to bury your obstuse promises and cloudy visions.

For the evil that you do, lives on in our hearts.
And the good is interned in the hidden swamps of our minds.

If you want to live up to your ambitious,
you have to give up your grievous faults”

Endnote:
While I am not a fan of all things American, I do believe there are great learnings from the US Presidential elections. We need to spot, absorb, and act on them. And that is a Change we must all look forward to!

Continue reading »]]>

Bharti

Wow. I just picked up The Times of India which I hadn’t read all day and *boom* it hit me – the full page ad revealing Bharti’s new logo and corporate identity.

I don’t much care for the ad which is sweetly written with all the right things thrown in (amateur copywriter at work) but I really like the logo.

I cannot state any particular “professional and logical” reason for liking the logo, but I just think it is refreshing, pleasant and friendly to look at.

Whatever Bharti’s reasons for choosing the colours and design, the once again sweet-pappy explanation falls short of what the logo is.

I don’t see how blue reflects depth and expansion… oh, i got it – blue for ocean and sky! Orange for passion – hmm okay. And two arrowheads signify focussed diversity… hmm okay, so that’s how you explain two arrows moving in different directions…

Well regardless of the ad, I think this is one good corporate identity change. And I humbly suggest the agency doesn’t try too hard to explain it… rather it conserve energies in making sure everyone knows it’s changed!

The logo will certainly help set Bharti apart from other companies in the telecom sector as well as be seen as more stylish than its Indian MNC counterparts in telecom (Reliance) and other categories.

See their new Corporate Identity at work here. I think the colours orange and blue need to be deeper for the web. Mixed together online, with so much white all around, they risk being “cheaply jarring”. Or maybe we’ll get used to it.

Continue reading »]]> The other day I was in small electrical shop in Shakarpur market, and was looking for an power extension board – “give me the best quality” I requested.  The shopkeeper smiled with pride, and then with great flourish revealed to me his “best quality” extension board.

No it wasn’t Philips, Bajaj, or any such familiar name… but instead the box read “UttamBrand” (name changed). Seeing my confused look the guy now looked at me with disdain… “yeh naam aapne suna hi hoga..? best quality hai… sab bade-bade company inhi se letey hain aur apna chhap lagate hain…” (you must have heard of this brand… it’s the best quality… all the big companies buy from them and brand them as their own).

“Yeah right” I said, then realising I had no other option and I needed it urgently I asked about the warranty/guarantee… and quick came the response “Main hoon na!” (I am here as guarantee).

I stared at the guy like I stared at the plumber, the tile repair guy, and the local kirana shopkeeper before him who tried to pass off something of dubious lineage and quality to me as quality “guaranteed by them” !

“There’s this crazy Indian belief that you have to take someone’s word – even if you don’t know them. How often we see it abused by people who haven’t met before and will never see again…”

I think this is the same belief that drives some brands and their CEOs to star in their advertisements and endorse their brands – “Buy my brand, main hoon na!” they claim.

Admittedly, when the late Dhirubhai Ambani did so, he did with a lot of credibility and the stature of a company that had done very well. And when a packaged masala company shows its patriarch in their advertisements there is some credibility because the brand and its patriarch are well known.

For the rest, I think its just absurd self-promotion.

Here’s my list of the adventures and misadventures of CEO brand endorsers.

CEO Brand Endorser No. 1 – Masala Man

The Old Man in the MDH Masala Ads. He’s lovable, likeable and seems credible enough to appear in their packaging and ads.

He’s okay, way to go old man!

CEO Brand Endorser No. 2 – Thumbi

note the thumb!

I call him “Thumbi” for his trademark action in every ad he appears. If you look closely at his photo in the press ads, you’ll find his name and designation in small type.

Yeah, I am talking about the CMD of Country Club, “thumbing” his way through the end of each of his ads.

His sudden, out-of-the-blue-and-context appearance in each ad is a bit absurd… But being the CMD of a club where you expect personalised attention even from the top guy, you get used to it, and can live with it.

CEO Brand Endorser No. 3 – Colonial Leftover
Okay, so here’s this white guy talking to us from a television commercial. And he says that we don’t have to spend any money on maintenance with his cars, because his company will take care of that. And then, he puts his hand on his heart!!!

Whoa! Whoever recommended that the expat CEO of GM should appear in their ads needs to get their brains examined.

I can imagine it working for Rattan Tata and Tata Motors,  but know he never will take this road. But has anyone heard of this guy (Sorry sir, nothing personal)?

What’s his context – market leadership, innovative thinking, celebrity status..? Do you think his being a “gora” is going to impress people? I remember another senior guy from the same company also appear in ads before. What’s the plot??

I know agencies need to suck up to their clients… but I am sure there are less obvious ways to do it!

CEO Brand Endorser No. 4 – High on attention
Thankfully liquor brands are prevented from advertising overtly on television. Or else we’d have to see this dude in our faces a lot more.

I am speaking of the head of a liquor company who used to appear in their radio ads – giving his name and all – and asking people to drink responsibly. “Yeah dude. Where’s your responsibility to common sense?”

Why should I listen to you? Is it because I see you hanging around models and famous people in Page 3 parties and pictures? Is it because they pose with you because your company sponsors the events and for no personal connect with you?!

CEO Brand Endorser No. 5 - Pehle Khushi, Abhi Gham
I almost forgot about this one… But there was this marriage between Karan Johar’s company and NDTV or something. So we had the lovable Karan (who we all love as a film-maker) appearing in ads talking about how this relationship was like “family” and that their channel was going to really make us happy…

Is that family still around..? I have no idea, but would love to know…

But I think Karan should stick to making brilliant feature films. Leave the ads to the lesser mortals.

EndNote to myself:
I have to remove the “Blatant Self Promotion” tag on this blog.

Continue reading »]]> Somewhere towards the end of my career as an “advertising professional” I realised the business of advertising had become more about “getting billing” and less about “adding value” and it was the key reason I switched to being an independent consultant.

I don’t blame them really, because most ad agencies are reeling under the double-whammy of a) constantly fragmenting audiences which they’re not designed to address, and b) reducing commissions which they’re not geared to live with.

And nowadays when I receive SMS Alerts about “new business wins” by ad agencies, I cannot help but laugh at the ridiculous and delusional messages ad agencies put out every time they sign on a new account. None of these messages and follow up press releases have any bearing on reality, or the task which they’re really signing on for…

“TUV Communications wins 50 crore XYZ Business” or “ABC Worldwide wins 100 crore Brand123 advertising account”.  It’s like everyone’s trying to outdo the other with “look! my budget is bigger than yours!” rather than speak of the impact of the brand and the task ahead and what it really means for the agency and brand.

The follow up press releases are cliched and meaningless too “We are delighted/honored to handle the business says the Agency dude…”  invariably the Client is not available for comment… or if there is a quote it will be that “the agency was chosen for its fresh thinking and ideas…”

Hmm. Really? What a surprise!

Well, how about some real honest messages and quotes like the following:

“TUV Communications wins mandate to turnaround XYZ Business amidst tough market odds. While the number of 50 crores seems large, it is really media spend, and the agency will only get about 7.5 crores out of which it will have to manage a team of about 15 people in an office with huge overheads.

While the finance guys are excited at the thought of new revenue, and the servicing guys are excited about how the brand will look on their CVs, creative guys haven’t yet realised they will not be able to do anything new, but turn out the same old crap the brand has done for the past 5 years.”

or alternately how about a news report like this:

“Four agencies – AB, CD, EF and GH win over 200 crores IncredibleBrand business. They all have different mandates – one will do the film, the other some print ads, one will do the leaflets and one will spend the year trying to find something to do. However none of them can offer what the category and brand really needs – a digital strategy!

No agency is going to get media commission, rather a tiny fee from which they will have to feed over 50 employees on the business between the four of them!”

So what’s the real deal? Who are they kidding? Or are ad agency folk to used to selling puffery, that they fail to see it when it lands in their own laps??!

Continue reading »]]> In the battle for mindshare and market share, some companies in India have gone out of their way (way, way out sometimes) and hired celebrities to endorse their brands.

While some celebrities have done a fantastic job (as actors and as endorsers), the rest have just ended up wasting a lot of money, and insulting consumer intelligence.

For your viewing pleasure and intellectual exercise, I have rated 5 of Bollywoods top male stars who are also Brand Ambassadors. Naturally, No. 1 is who I think is the best, and No. 5 is the one who needs to give it a rest!

.

Bollywood Male Celebrity Brand Ambassador Number 01: Aamir Khan

When it comes to Bollywood stars endorsing brands, this Khan is King by far. Whether he is endorsing the brand as Aamir Khan himself (Titan) or whether he simply plays an actor in the TVC (Coke, or Tata Sky) he is brilliant. Each commercial is a delight to watch (like his films) and am sure is a “heart-and-mind magnet” for consumers!

.

Bollywood Male Celebrity Brand Ambassador Number 02: Abhishek Bachchan

This AB baby is the darling of many a commercial. Brands like Motorola have milked his real personality (on and off screen) to the hilt, and used his uber-cool, easy-going, like-able and aspirational character to max in their commercials. And Idea Cellular has got AB the actor to pull off brilliant scripts, brilliantly!

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Bollywood Male Celebrity Brand Ambassador Number 03: Akshay Kumar

You don’t get to see this super-star in many commercials (which is why he is not closer to the top). But when you do see him in ads, he is credible and pure delight to watch! This dude gets all our Thums Up!!!

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Bollywood Male Celebrity Brand Ambassador Number 04: Hritik Roshan

Film opens on a dull and boring situation (choose any context depending on your product).
Enter Hritik.
Hritik uses product (place your product here).
Hritik starts dancing and camera focuses on his curls and boo.. err biceps.
Everyone dances around the product and becomes happy.
Cut to pack shot.
Cut to close up of Hritik saying the brand name and tagline.
Repeat for any mobile phone/computer model.

Why can’t brands and agencies use Hritik’s great acting skills like the team on Parle Hide n Seekdoes!? Why cannot they come up with brilliant ideas and scripts, instead of using him like some cheap “item number”? Sorry Hritik, nothing personal, but looks like the Ad/Mkt professionals around you need to get their act together!

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Bollywood Male Celebrity Brand Ambassador Number 05: Shah Rukh Khan

If you didn’t know who SRK was, and you saw him for the first time in an Ad, you would never believe he is the guy they call “King Khan” or the “Badshah of Bollywood” – because sorry to say, far from being King, he comes out as nothing better than a court jester!

Bad brand-celebrity matches. Lazy ideas. Bad scripts. Tacky productions. These are the unfortunate ingredients of SRK the brand ambassador.

HP/Compaq and ITC Sunfeast in particular need to take a leaf out of Pepsi’s book- perhaps the only brand that knows how to use King Khan properly. Or at least if you cannot replicate Pepsi’s intelligent creatives, at least try to use him in a ludicrously entertaining manner like Hyundai does!

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Footnotes to Brand Managers and Agency people:
01. Celebrity endorsement is not an idea, it is at best a ‘strategic first step’. You still need a good script and an idea.
02. If you have a Star in your TVC, get a good TVC Director. Not just one who isn’t overawed by the star, but also one who the star will listen to.
03.  And before you do both the above, ask whether the brand really needs it… or are you just a celeb-slut looking for your delusionary brush with fame?

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