I had wanted to write about successful marketing companies for some time now. Not chronicling their history as much as sharing their secrets of success sprinkled with a few trivia and tidbits. While reading the Fortune magazine today, I spotted one such company that I thought could kick start this series. McDonald’s!
Though quintessentially American, McDonald’s has grown to be a 33,000 restaurant colossus spanning 118 countries with annual turnover of $77.4 billion. Of which, U.S contributes just $24.1 billion. The gargantuan size of the brand could be gauged by its turnover being more than KFC, Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell combined! Not bad for a company whose first day sales from its first restaurant in 1955 were a mere $366.12.
64 million people in 118 countries eat at its restaurants every single day! 80% of McDonald’s are operated by independent owners. Read franchisees.
Though the company had a successful first fifty years or so, the brand was stagnating by the turn of the century. To make matters worse, was the sudden demise of their then CEO and his replacement too having to resign since been diagnosed with cancer. During those troubled times stepped in Jim Skinner its current CEO who had started his career in 1962 working in a McDonald’s kitchen. In fact, this is one of the many reasons for the company’s success. Most of its top execs have worked on the shop floor and hence know the pulse of the consumer.
Skinner is a hands-on CEO who perennially checks on his restaurants and delegates powers lower down to make sure the giant organization doesn’t turn bureaucratic. Skinner is obsessed with satisfying customers, even if it comes at the expense of his own ideas and preferences. A few years ago the company did extensive research on new coffee-cup lids and came out with a version that customers liked but Skinner didn’t. Instead of overruling the research, like most CEO’s would have, Skinner approved the new design and, in the process, came up with his own solution: he keeps a stash of the old lids on hand when he drinks coffee!
McDonald’s is renowned for its spotless service delivered day in and day out. Not an easy task considering it has more than 1.7 million employees across the world. How do they manage? Training; and training in their own facility called Hamburger University near their headquarters at Oak Brook, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. This sprawling 130,000-square-foot training facility trains McDonald's employees in the various aspects of restaurant management. More than 80,000 restaurant managers, mid-managers and franchisees have graduated from this facility majoring in Burgers and with an elective in French fries!
The other fascinating facet of McDonald’s is the speed with which it delivers its food. While the category is fast food, McDonald’s is even faster! R&D is constantly egged by marketing to come up with new dishes and it constantly does. But if the new product overly complicates the kitchen and slows deliveries, the product is not launched; period. This always doesn’t endear Skinner to his finance department. But he always sides with marketing and dismisses those objections with a simple comment: “I want to remind you that it’s harder to make money than it is to count it!”
As a side dish, pun intended, though not McDonald’s doing but symptomatic of its towering presence and influence, its Big Mac serves not just hungry mouths but eager economists too. Through the Big Mac Index! Developed by The Economist magazine a quarter century ago, the Big Mac index uses the price of McDonald's burger in different countries to construct an informal (but surprisingly accurate) indicator of real exchange rate.
India, which makes a debut in the index this week, was found to have one of the most undervalued currencies vis-a-vis the dollar - even more than the Chinese Yuan. That is some fast food for thought!
McDonald has been growing at more than 5% in U.S and much more across the world. In a slow economy, that’s speedy growth from a fascinating fast food company!
CEO Skinner is now 66 years old and people keep asking him when he is going to retire. His response: ‘When I run out of my old coffee-cup lids’!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Team Anna and Brand Promotion
Before I start, this piece is not about corruption in India or my joining the anti-corruption crusade. Not that I am for corruption. Since I don’t have the opportunity to make money through corruption, I am against it! Never mind that…
I am talking here about Team Anna’s campaign. Since it is being termed a campaign and is seeing a ground swell of support, I like to explore it through the prism of marketing to gauge its impact and glean some learning.
The campaign, anti-corruption, is a strong product, yes. But that alone doesn’t explain its success. The marketplace of this country is littered with good products floundering and failing due to bad marketing. But Team Anna’s hasn’t and is flourishing and flowering. And therein lie a few lessons for us marketers. Simple lessons fundamental in nature but then that’s what marketing is, has been and always should be.
First, the target audience of the campaign; the single most stunning reason for its spectacular success: the middle class of India. You see, the rich of this country are few in numbers and don’t open their mouths. And the poor though large in size don’t have a voice. The middle class - the tax-paying public, the law abiding citizens of this country who have put up with this corrupt system for way too long – they represent a huge segment. Team Anna got their segmentation right. Targeting, bang on. And positioning, picture perfect!
Economics-wise, there was pent up demand among this segment and a growing need for an anti-corruption product. Team Anna provided it. The product was accepted by the target with glee and latched up with joy.
The next key is the product’s distribution strategy. Team Anna chose the perfect market to launch their product – New Delhi; in the heart of the country amidst the citadels of power; giving it ample scope to be covered by media – from New Delhi to Navi Mumbai, from Patna to Pudukottai. The product took off in its launch market, and with growing demand elsewhere, it moved seamlessly to the nooks and corners of this country. Word of mouth helped; public relations supported it; and the target audience became the product’s distribution channel as well. Putting even brands like Amway and Tupperware to shame!
As is the case with any other brand, Team Anna now just has to make sure the audience stays with the campaign. In other words, make the audience stay brand loyal. Here, promotion will play a crucial part. And that’s been impeccable so far. Not advertisements; but powerful public relations and a fantastic ground-level initiative – Team Anna’s ‘Fast unto death’. That was a masterstroke. This country supports the meek and stands behind the weak. Fasting was the equivalent of a finely-conducted marketing event or a well-orchestrated sponsorship. Team Anna’s fasting act not only got it ground-level encouragement but media-led support too. Add to it the creative collaterals like Team Anna T-shirts, caps, banners and the grand Indian flag as backdrop have all ensured the success of this promotion campaign.
With a clear STP, comprehensive 4Ps all the campaign now needs is innovative ideas to keep the flame alive. The programme needs legs, as would any brand promotion. If Team Anna could ensure that…….this campaign, apart from its resounding success, would result in something after all to this great nation.
Now, are there any other marketing lessons here? One more, among many. It’s the danger and diabolically twin-edged sword called ‘comparative advertising’. Team Anna’s chief competitor – the Congress Government – had been doing its best to make this campaign a success. By belittling them; by releasing ads against the Jan Lokpal propagated by Team Anna; by discrediting the brand and through it the product, this Government has made sure they shot themselves in the foot and given this campaign a shot in its arm. Just like Rin found out when it tried to screw Tide with comparative advertising and ended up only promoting Tide!
Now, enough of all this marketing talk. As a simple Indian, who do you think will win? This campaign? Team Anna? A strong Lokpal?
I wish it is India!
I am talking here about Team Anna’s campaign. Since it is being termed a campaign and is seeing a ground swell of support, I like to explore it through the prism of marketing to gauge its impact and glean some learning.
The campaign, anti-corruption, is a strong product, yes. But that alone doesn’t explain its success. The marketplace of this country is littered with good products floundering and failing due to bad marketing. But Team Anna’s hasn’t and is flourishing and flowering. And therein lie a few lessons for us marketers. Simple lessons fundamental in nature but then that’s what marketing is, has been and always should be.
First, the target audience of the campaign; the single most stunning reason for its spectacular success: the middle class of India. You see, the rich of this country are few in numbers and don’t open their mouths. And the poor though large in size don’t have a voice. The middle class - the tax-paying public, the law abiding citizens of this country who have put up with this corrupt system for way too long – they represent a huge segment. Team Anna got their segmentation right. Targeting, bang on. And positioning, picture perfect!
Economics-wise, there was pent up demand among this segment and a growing need for an anti-corruption product. Team Anna provided it. The product was accepted by the target with glee and latched up with joy.
The next key is the product’s distribution strategy. Team Anna chose the perfect market to launch their product – New Delhi; in the heart of the country amidst the citadels of power; giving it ample scope to be covered by media – from New Delhi to Navi Mumbai, from Patna to Pudukottai. The product took off in its launch market, and with growing demand elsewhere, it moved seamlessly to the nooks and corners of this country. Word of mouth helped; public relations supported it; and the target audience became the product’s distribution channel as well. Putting even brands like Amway and Tupperware to shame!
As is the case with any other brand, Team Anna now just has to make sure the audience stays with the campaign. In other words, make the audience stay brand loyal. Here, promotion will play a crucial part. And that’s been impeccable so far. Not advertisements; but powerful public relations and a fantastic ground-level initiative – Team Anna’s ‘Fast unto death’. That was a masterstroke. This country supports the meek and stands behind the weak. Fasting was the equivalent of a finely-conducted marketing event or a well-orchestrated sponsorship. Team Anna’s fasting act not only got it ground-level encouragement but media-led support too. Add to it the creative collaterals like Team Anna T-shirts, caps, banners and the grand Indian flag as backdrop have all ensured the success of this promotion campaign.
With a clear STP, comprehensive 4Ps all the campaign now needs is innovative ideas to keep the flame alive. The programme needs legs, as would any brand promotion. If Team Anna could ensure that…….this campaign, apart from its resounding success, would result in something after all to this great nation.
Now, are there any other marketing lessons here? One more, among many. It’s the danger and diabolically twin-edged sword called ‘comparative advertising’. Team Anna’s chief competitor – the Congress Government – had been doing its best to make this campaign a success. By belittling them; by releasing ads against the Jan Lokpal propagated by Team Anna; by discrediting the brand and through it the product, this Government has made sure they shot themselves in the foot and given this campaign a shot in its arm. Just like Rin found out when it tried to screw Tide with comparative advertising and ended up only promoting Tide!
Now, enough of all this marketing talk. As a simple Indian, who do you think will win? This campaign? Team Anna? A strong Lokpal?
I wish it is India!
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Brand India!
The
world’s business press is going gaga on a success story called India; how
we have grown in the last decade; how we could get to be the top 3 economies of
the world soon and so on. I am proud and all that, as much as you are.
Yet,
as a marketer, graciously allow me to claim so please, I was always
worried about how as a nation we had a bigger problem to confront. Our economy has
been largely demand-led. It’s the internal consumption economy of ours that has
been driving our growth; nothing wrong with that. But for us to grow in stature
and lead the world we need to grow strongly through exports and, more
importantly, we need to conquer world markets with Made-in-India brands.
Put
simply, we need Indian brands, in more than a few categories, rule the world. I
always wondered if I would ever get to see in my lifetime, Made-in-India
brands dotting the top sellers list across the world
Unfortunately, to start making world-beating brands we had to correct years of a deprived
image that India has had; a third-world country with third rated facilities that
had rotten and could stand up only to raise a begging bowl at the World Bank or
the IMF.
Students
of International Marketing would know the term, Country-of-origin effect. COE is
any influence that the country of manufacture, assembly or design has on a
consumer’s positive or negative perception of a product. A company competing in
global markets today manufactures products worldwide; when the customer becomes
aware of the country of origin, there is the possibility that the place of
manufacture will affect product or brand image. Consumers tend to have
stereotypes about products and countries that have been formed by experience,
hearsay and myth; English tea, French perfume, Chinese silk, Italian leather,
German beer, Russian vodka, Jamaican rum to name a few.
Given
this, and with an image like what we had, I used to think what we should do to
make Indian brands big in world markets.
I wondered how, if at all, we could rectify this image crisis.
Now,
I see the seeds of change being sown; slowly yet surely. Not through an
advertising campaign to change world’s view about us; not by a Public Relations
initiative to rectify fallen image; but from an unexpected source. Human
trafficking!
Don’t
get me wrong. I am not talking about flesh fetish here as much as export of the
gray kind: Indian talent and intellect!
MasterCard,
Pepsi, Citibank, Reckitt Benckiser, Motorola, Deutsche Bank, Vodafone and
McKinsey….Do you know all these MNCs are or were headed by Indians?
Do
you know, ever since Kraft bought Cadbury’s, it has picked 21 top crew
from Cadbury’s India operations and has sent them to head its different
divisions across the world?
Time
magazine says CEOs are India’s leading
export!
And
therein lays a trickle that is waiting to grow into a torrent. Indian talent is
now global property. Indian intellect is leading giant corporations. Added to
it our, the now clichéd, software prowess, India would begin to be seen hi-tech,
talent rich and intelligence endowed. In other words, the perfect launching pad
for the world to see us in a different light.
Hopefully,
in the near future, just as Swiss cheese, German engineering, Japanese
miniaturization….it would be time to add a new Country-of-origin effect: Indian
intellect!
Now
is the time for Indian manufacturers to enter categories that require intellect
and talent: packaged software, publishing, education, low-cost engineering,
pharmaceuticals, R&D, space exploration and the works. Now is the time to
build Made-in-India brands. I know our companies will. And I also know the
world will begin to accept them with glee.
I
am confident, now more than ever, I will see Indian brands rule the
world…in my lifetime.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Woman’s wear down….and Funfills!
Found
two contrasting news items in the business press last week. Two different news pertaining
to two different companies yet with one underlying theme – sheer stupidity!
The
first news item was about Blackberry’s, the clothing company. They have decided
to pull down their woman’s wear. No damn it, not in the sexual sense of the
phrase! But Blackberry’s have realized that its woman’s range – which is sold
in the same brand name as their men’s – is not doing well, and have decided to kill
its woman’s range and pull it off the market.
They
should have never launched their woman’s wear in the same name as their men’s
in the first place. Guess, I might be accused of being sexist and male
chauvinist but I am talking about the stupidity of their brand extension and in
their erroneous, and now proved fatalistic belief, in thinking the men and
woman’s wear can be sold with the same brand name. A stupidity that had
afflicted ColorPlus before with the same disastrous result. ColorPlus woman is
going down too. Women, pardon the pun please!
And
about the other news item, Cavinkare has decided to launch a new brand of confectionery called Funfills. No problem with that. Only that, it is to be
called Chinnis’ Funfills.
What
is Chinnis?
Yup,
masalas! A range of masalas – for the South Indian kitchens.
And
what is it now? Chinnis Funfills.
Excuse
me, but can someone tell me if they will ever buy Aachi Chocolates, MTR
Chicklets, Sakthi Lollipops, MDH Mints or Everest Éclairs?
So
why would anyone buy Chinnis Funfills? Except if you are part of Cavinkare’s marketing department; who then would have to take every goddamn
piece back from the market when it, and it will, fail and have to eat their own confectionery, their own words and their own stupid branding strategy.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Change is (not) here!
There is change. And there is going to be no change!
The change I am referring to, as is evident on the screen, is in this blog – relaunched; hopefully rejuvenated. Yet another of my unflinching attempts to start afresh; to start anew; to be constant, consistent and customary. Will I keep my word this time? I want to. I will. I hope!
But the change I wish to talk about is ‘change’ that is not going to be around. As you would know, RBI will withdraw 25 paisa coins from the market starting today! These coins will not be in circulation and can’t be used as legal tender for payment. Soaring metal prices and rising inflation have made these coins unviable, they say. Change is here, ironically, by not being there anymore!
Wonder what it means to us marketers. Here are a few possibilities and pitfalls. Feel free to add to this list.
What happens to sachet brands that are priced at Rs. 1.75 or Rs.2.25? Either they have to move their prices backwards, say to Rs. 1.50 (which would squeeze their profits) or move up to Rs. 2 (which might pit them against their closest premium brand jeopardizing their market share).
A favourite price promotion resorted to by many sachet and low-priced brands was ’25 paisa off’. Not any more, I suppose.
Lower SKU brands like 20 gm talc packs, toothpastes, shampoos etc., now have to jump 50 paisa at a time, when they wish to increase their prices. Would it not make them think twice about increasing prices from now on?
What about Bata? They obviously can’t continue to price their products like they normally do, say Rs.1095.95! God bless their souls (my pun be damned!)
Forget marketing for a minute. The bigger problem in all this, as I see, is among the small-scale philanthropists among us. Let them not think of sparing their change on beggars. Lest they wish to get them….thrown back at their kind faces!
The change I am referring to, as is evident on the screen, is in this blog – relaunched; hopefully rejuvenated. Yet another of my unflinching attempts to start afresh; to start anew; to be constant, consistent and customary. Will I keep my word this time? I want to. I will. I hope!
But the change I wish to talk about is ‘change’ that is not going to be around. As you would know, RBI will withdraw 25 paisa coins from the market starting today! These coins will not be in circulation and can’t be used as legal tender for payment. Soaring metal prices and rising inflation have made these coins unviable, they say. Change is here, ironically, by not being there anymore!
Wonder what it means to us marketers. Here are a few possibilities and pitfalls. Feel free to add to this list.
What happens to sachet brands that are priced at Rs. 1.75 or Rs.2.25? Either they have to move their prices backwards, say to Rs. 1.50 (which would squeeze their profits) or move up to Rs. 2 (which might pit them against their closest premium brand jeopardizing their market share).
A favourite price promotion resorted to by many sachet and low-priced brands was ’25 paisa off’. Not any more, I suppose.
Lower SKU brands like 20 gm talc packs, toothpastes, shampoos etc., now have to jump 50 paisa at a time, when they wish to increase their prices. Would it not make them think twice about increasing prices from now on?
What about Bata? They obviously can’t continue to price their products like they normally do, say Rs.1095.95! God bless their souls (my pun be damned!)
Forget marketing for a minute. The bigger problem in all this, as I see, is among the small-scale philanthropists among us. Let them not think of sparing their change on beggars. Lest they wish to get them….thrown back at their kind faces!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Kerala!
My plane was on its descent to Kochi airport when it hit me. No, not a bird hit but a realization. I was going back to Kerala after a gap of almost twelve long years. A state I had visited more than a handful of times in the mid 90’s.
Looking through the window, this time I could see tall buildings, wider roads and much more traffic than I had ever seen in the city. But what amazed me was the lush greenery the city had maintained; even enhanced.
Getting off the plane that early morning and walking towards the terminal in a refreshingly cool 19 degree temperature was a surreal experience. Surrounded by greenery, a railway track at the end of the runway with an express train chugging along it and watching the airport built in typical Kerala style – which in itself was built by a Private-Public partnership – was just plain unreal.
If all that didn’t mesmerize me enough, the drive to the city certainly did. Yes, the city had grown but seemed it hadn’t. The urban city seemed to maintain its rural character and rustic charm. Rivers meandering through the city, well-maintained banks and boardwalks, a green canopy wherever you saw….the city was testimony to the successful marketing of Kerala as a terrific tourism destination.
Kerala is a classic marketing case study on the power of using marketing to promote a piece of geography as a tourist destination. Here, sample a few facts that prove what well-organized tourism and well-planned marketing could do to country and its people - something Kerala has been able to perfectly plan and professionally pan out.
Kerala is the fastest growing tourist destination in the country with over 4 lakh international and 64 lakh domestic tourist arrivals every year.
The tourism sector alone accounts for more than Rs.1,000 crore investment every single year and provides employment to more than a million Mallus!
The state generates close to Rs.13,000 revenues from tourist arrivals every year. (A figure Tamil Nadu government is able to generate by only selling liquour!)
Foreign exchange earnings of the state amount to around Rs. 1,550 crores a year.
No wonder National Geographic Traveler magazine rates Kerala ‘one of the ten paradises on earth’ and ’50 places of a lifetime’!
The same evening, on the way back, I asked my car driver to take a different route to the airport than the one he had taken in the morning. Not that I had expected to see anything different. It was still the same: greenery, canals, streams, tons of foreigners and thousands of tourists infesting the city like ants would sugar!
I was still pondering over all this as I got on to my flight; amazed how a state could not only market itself better but also get geared to its marketing push and live up to the promise offered to its customers.
As the plane took off and Kochi became nothing but thousands of bulbs and lingering lights through the window, I just leaned back and realized: here is one of the few brands that could actually live up to its baseline…
God’s own country!
Looking through the window, this time I could see tall buildings, wider roads and much more traffic than I had ever seen in the city. But what amazed me was the lush greenery the city had maintained; even enhanced.
Getting off the plane that early morning and walking towards the terminal in a refreshingly cool 19 degree temperature was a surreal experience. Surrounded by greenery, a railway track at the end of the runway with an express train chugging along it and watching the airport built in typical Kerala style – which in itself was built by a Private-Public partnership – was just plain unreal.
If all that didn’t mesmerize me enough, the drive to the city certainly did. Yes, the city had grown but seemed it hadn’t. The urban city seemed to maintain its rural character and rustic charm. Rivers meandering through the city, well-maintained banks and boardwalks, a green canopy wherever you saw….the city was testimony to the successful marketing of Kerala as a terrific tourism destination.
Kerala is a classic marketing case study on the power of using marketing to promote a piece of geography as a tourist destination. Here, sample a few facts that prove what well-organized tourism and well-planned marketing could do to country and its people - something Kerala has been able to perfectly plan and professionally pan out.
Kerala is the fastest growing tourist destination in the country with over 4 lakh international and 64 lakh domestic tourist arrivals every year.
The tourism sector alone accounts for more than Rs.1,000 crore investment every single year and provides employment to more than a million Mallus!
The state generates close to Rs.13,000 revenues from tourist arrivals every year. (A figure Tamil Nadu government is able to generate by only selling liquour!)
Foreign exchange earnings of the state amount to around Rs. 1,550 crores a year.
No wonder National Geographic Traveler magazine rates Kerala ‘one of the ten paradises on earth’ and ’50 places of a lifetime’!
The same evening, on the way back, I asked my car driver to take a different route to the airport than the one he had taken in the morning. Not that I had expected to see anything different. It was still the same: greenery, canals, streams, tons of foreigners and thousands of tourists infesting the city like ants would sugar!
I was still pondering over all this as I got on to my flight; amazed how a state could not only market itself better but also get geared to its marketing push and live up to the promise offered to its customers.
As the plane took off and Kochi became nothing but thousands of bulbs and lingering lights through the window, I just leaned back and realized: here is one of the few brands that could actually live up to its baseline…
God’s own country!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Human Branding!
Branding sure has come of age, in India. Forget whether we have learnt the intricacies of it. Ignore if we have become adept in executing it. Never mind if we have or not mastered the art of it in its highest form. Yet, we have reached the supreme form of branding - branding humans!
I am talking about body shopping! No, am not referring to Naidu Hall, but am talking about the IPL auction. That was human branding at its very best. People buying and selling humans – cricketers they may be, but humans – as if they were packaged goods.
Hello branding!
Amazing, the circus that happened last weekend and sadly I didn’t watch it on TV and caught up with it only through the newspapers. Boy, what an exhibition of brands, branding, buying, selling, pricing, value offers and more. Here are a few things that stood out to me in that brand bazaar.
There were brands that were bought for its sheer badge value. Never mind if the brand was worth it in the first place. Yuvraj Singh for $1.8 million was a joke. I mean he is (was!) a good cricketer and all that but that man has a serious attitude problem. Probably he was paid more for his attitude than for his acumen. Then there was Irfan Pathan going for $1.9 million. Delhi Dare Devils has paid the price of BMW for a Nano!
And there were brands that have gone on SALE. I mean, take the sad case of Michael Hussey – Mr. Cricket to those who know him and I am one too – and he has been sold for a mere $425,000. Contrast that with Robin Uthappa – who went for $2.1 million. Atrocious! The other SALE item was Shaun Marsh – a delicate, dashing and dangerous opening batsman - who was bought by Kings XI for a mere $400,000. That’s Aadi thallupidi to me! And guys; watch out for a guy called Clint McKay bought by Mumbai Indians for a laughable $110,000.
There were a few lessons for consumers in this auction. Never spend mountains of money on one or two players. Kolkata Knight Riders has spent close to $4.5 million on just two – Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. One injury, one bad season or a few wrong umpiring decisions and the game is over for KKR. Along with it their season’s hopes! The proverbial don’t-put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket works everywhere. But luckily for KKR, they have had a few big-ticket items at small prices. Brad Haddin at $325,000 was a damn steal.
Contrast that with the approach of Chennai Super Kings. CSK spent $8.6 million on 18 players! They have not paid exorbitantly to any one individual – minus Dhoni and Raina - yet have managed to pick up strong utility players who can collectively win matches for them. To me, what works for CSK is their belief in building a core team – that plays together for years so they could spend time together, build a bond and play as a team. It’s the only team that pretty much looks the same as the previous years’. That to me is a big plus. Other teams are going to take time to build camaraderie and spirit, but by the time they do it, if they manage to do it all, IPL 4 would be over! CSK has got it bang on: Build a core team Nurture a cohesive culture. And watch productivity soar. Smart HR policy at work!
If there is one other thing that stood out to me – that looked different from the principles of branding – it is the absolute lack of emotion in purchases. Brands are largely bought by the heart and rarely by the head. In contrast, this IPL was bereft of emotion. Royal Challengers weren’t carried away by Rahul Dravid and he was instead carried away by Rajasthan Royals at less than half his base price. The delectable Laxman was not picked by his own hometown. And Ganguly lost his place and pride. Rationality ruled; emotion expired!
Will all these brands – bought and sold - deliver? Therein lies another big lesson for marketers. Perform, and watch your professional fee pump up. Saurabh Tiwary’s base price was a mere $40,000 in 2008; his current pick-up price is $1.6 million. R. Ashwin’s base price two years ago was $30,000 and his current selling price is $850,000. Under promise and over deliver and the consumer would not only hold your brand to dear life, but will even allow you to pick the price you want from his or her pocket!
As an aside: Ironically, this is my 100th post. Glad I have scored a century even if I had taken four long years to score it. Guess I have played like Rahul Dravid! I know I lack his flair; I have not played by the book like he does. And importantly, I lack his divine grace, incredible amount of concentration and unbelievable levels of determination. Yet, in my own way, I have managed to score a century! And that I know is only because of you.
Thank you, my friend, for reading!
I am talking about body shopping! No, am not referring to Naidu Hall, but am talking about the IPL auction. That was human branding at its very best. People buying and selling humans – cricketers they may be, but humans – as if they were packaged goods.
Hello branding!
Amazing, the circus that happened last weekend and sadly I didn’t watch it on TV and caught up with it only through the newspapers. Boy, what an exhibition of brands, branding, buying, selling, pricing, value offers and more. Here are a few things that stood out to me in that brand bazaar.
There were brands that were bought for its sheer badge value. Never mind if the brand was worth it in the first place. Yuvraj Singh for $1.8 million was a joke. I mean he is (was!) a good cricketer and all that but that man has a serious attitude problem. Probably he was paid more for his attitude than for his acumen. Then there was Irfan Pathan going for $1.9 million. Delhi Dare Devils has paid the price of BMW for a Nano!
And there were brands that have gone on SALE. I mean, take the sad case of Michael Hussey – Mr. Cricket to those who know him and I am one too – and he has been sold for a mere $425,000. Contrast that with Robin Uthappa – who went for $2.1 million. Atrocious! The other SALE item was Shaun Marsh – a delicate, dashing and dangerous opening batsman - who was bought by Kings XI for a mere $400,000. That’s Aadi thallupidi to me! And guys; watch out for a guy called Clint McKay bought by Mumbai Indians for a laughable $110,000.
There were a few lessons for consumers in this auction. Never spend mountains of money on one or two players. Kolkata Knight Riders has spent close to $4.5 million on just two – Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. One injury, one bad season or a few wrong umpiring decisions and the game is over for KKR. Along with it their season’s hopes! The proverbial don’t-put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket works everywhere. But luckily for KKR, they have had a few big-ticket items at small prices. Brad Haddin at $325,000 was a damn steal.
Contrast that with the approach of Chennai Super Kings. CSK spent $8.6 million on 18 players! They have not paid exorbitantly to any one individual – minus Dhoni and Raina - yet have managed to pick up strong utility players who can collectively win matches for them. To me, what works for CSK is their belief in building a core team – that plays together for years so they could spend time together, build a bond and play as a team. It’s the only team that pretty much looks the same as the previous years’. That to me is a big plus. Other teams are going to take time to build camaraderie and spirit, but by the time they do it, if they manage to do it all, IPL 4 would be over! CSK has got it bang on: Build a core team Nurture a cohesive culture. And watch productivity soar. Smart HR policy at work!
If there is one other thing that stood out to me – that looked different from the principles of branding – it is the absolute lack of emotion in purchases. Brands are largely bought by the heart and rarely by the head. In contrast, this IPL was bereft of emotion. Royal Challengers weren’t carried away by Rahul Dravid and he was instead carried away by Rajasthan Royals at less than half his base price. The delectable Laxman was not picked by his own hometown. And Ganguly lost his place and pride. Rationality ruled; emotion expired!
Will all these brands – bought and sold - deliver? Therein lies another big lesson for marketers. Perform, and watch your professional fee pump up. Saurabh Tiwary’s base price was a mere $40,000 in 2008; his current pick-up price is $1.6 million. R. Ashwin’s base price two years ago was $30,000 and his current selling price is $850,000. Under promise and over deliver and the consumer would not only hold your brand to dear life, but will even allow you to pick the price you want from his or her pocket!
As an aside: Ironically, this is my 100th post. Glad I have scored a century even if I had taken four long years to score it. Guess I have played like Rahul Dravid! I know I lack his flair; I have not played by the book like he does. And importantly, I lack his divine grace, incredible amount of concentration and unbelievable levels of determination. Yet, in my own way, I have managed to score a century! And that I know is only because of you.
Thank you, my friend, for reading!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
New Year Resolutions
It’s that time of the year again.
The beginning of a new one; a new dawn; a new phase of life; an whole new start………and all other such nonsense!
To me, personally, the fun part of New Year has always been watching people make resolutions. “I will start doing this.” “I will stop doing this.” And what not. Do they seriously mean them? Absolutely. Will they follow them religiously? Absolutely………..not!
I just don’t believe in New Year Resolutions. Not because I don’t have anything to drop, add or delete. But because of my inability to live up to them or execute them. When it comes to New Year Resolutions, I have always had just one: To never have one!
Since I am not going to have one myself, I thought I would do the next best thing - help give a few resolutions for others to follow; to who else but to my own fraternity. Here are a few New Year resolutions to all the marketers and advertisers – present, past and future - that they can adopt for the so-called New Year.
1. I shall not blindly use a celebrity to advertise my brand. I would rather build a brand that becomes a celebrated entity in its own right.
2. I shall not resort to stupid brand extensions and would rather strive to make my brand stand for the generic like Google, FedEx, Bisleri etc.
3. If I am selling a brand to men, I shall not position it on ‘Sexual Attraction’ like Axe, Set Wet, Wild Stone and a million other brands. Agreed, most men have only one thing in the mind. Yet, I will try and discover new insights to base my brand positioning on.
4. I shall not resort to cheap ‘Sale’, stupid ‘Price-offs’ and unintelligent ‘Offers’ to promote my brand and would rather try and build a brand on old-fashioned marketing values like consumer understanding, spotting need gaps, product innovation etc.,
5. I shall not think that the best way to promote my brand is to sponsor the most popular programme or event without ascertaining the level of fit between the sponsored event / programme and my brand like is the case with the stupid Fair & Lovely Fourth Umpire and brainless Airtel Super Singer. I shall explore better ideas like Britannia 50-50 sponsoring the Third Umpire decision.
Do I seriously believe the marketers would do any of these? Not even in my wildest dreams. But what the hell; it always feels good to give New Year Resolutions to others. When they fail, and believe me, they will, I can always make it the topic for my next blog post!
Does it mean my next post would be on December 31st 2011?
The beginning of a new one; a new dawn; a new phase of life; an whole new start………and all other such nonsense!
To me, personally, the fun part of New Year has always been watching people make resolutions. “I will start doing this.” “I will stop doing this.” And what not. Do they seriously mean them? Absolutely. Will they follow them religiously? Absolutely………..not!
I just don’t believe in New Year Resolutions. Not because I don’t have anything to drop, add or delete. But because of my inability to live up to them or execute them. When it comes to New Year Resolutions, I have always had just one: To never have one!
Since I am not going to have one myself, I thought I would do the next best thing - help give a few resolutions for others to follow; to who else but to my own fraternity. Here are a few New Year resolutions to all the marketers and advertisers – present, past and future - that they can adopt for the so-called New Year.
1. I shall not blindly use a celebrity to advertise my brand. I would rather build a brand that becomes a celebrated entity in its own right.
2. I shall not resort to stupid brand extensions and would rather strive to make my brand stand for the generic like Google, FedEx, Bisleri etc.
3. If I am selling a brand to men, I shall not position it on ‘Sexual Attraction’ like Axe, Set Wet, Wild Stone and a million other brands. Agreed, most men have only one thing in the mind. Yet, I will try and discover new insights to base my brand positioning on.
4. I shall not resort to cheap ‘Sale’, stupid ‘Price-offs’ and unintelligent ‘Offers’ to promote my brand and would rather try and build a brand on old-fashioned marketing values like consumer understanding, spotting need gaps, product innovation etc.,
5. I shall not think that the best way to promote my brand is to sponsor the most popular programme or event without ascertaining the level of fit between the sponsored event / programme and my brand like is the case with the stupid Fair & Lovely Fourth Umpire and brainless Airtel Super Singer. I shall explore better ideas like Britannia 50-50 sponsoring the Third Umpire decision.
Do I seriously believe the marketers would do any of these? Not even in my wildest dreams. But what the hell; it always feels good to give New Year Resolutions to others. When they fail, and believe me, they will, I can always make it the topic for my next blog post!
Does it mean my next post would be on December 31st 2011?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Power(less) Brand Strategy
HUL is at it again. They have decided to launch a new brand called ‘Sure’ - a deodorant at a price that is affordable.
Nothing wrong with that. Only that the new brand is being launched at the expense of Rexona deodorant. Looks like HUL is planning to phase out Rexona – eventually. Though the phasing out would initially be restricted onlyto advertising support being withdrawn for Rexona. (Source: News item in Business Line dated May 13th)
Why? Though the news item doesn’t mention I am assuming it is a fall-out of the Power Brand Strategy HUL unleashed a few years ago. Phase out smaller or one-off brands and merge them with a big brand from their own stable so they could have a smaller yet a more focused portfolio of brands.
I might not have the brilliance of the collective minds of Levers, or even be able to match the individual minds of the organization, but I wonder what’s been the hidden logic, if there were ever one in the first place, behind these mergers? Isn’t marketing about creating different brands for different segments? Isn’t why we have concepts like Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning.
By merging brands aren’t they weakening the brands by making it stand for many things. For instance, Denim meant talc at one point of time and was reflected in a fairly strong presence the brand enjoyed in the talc category prior to its merger with Axe. Now that it has been merged, what’s Axe’s market share in talc? Zilch. Don’t believe me? Take this simple test. When I say Axe, what comes to your mind? Deo, women, sex……. But I bet talc is not one that props out, does it? Denim died and along with it a strong talc presence.
Rin, the undisputed leader in ‘whites’, lost it to Tide – not just because of Tide’s brilliant campaign but also, in its own way, because of its merger with Surf Excel. Rin meant ‘whites’; Surf Excel meant ‘dirt removal’. Two different things in the consumer’s mind. When merged, ‘Rin Surf Excel’ didn’t mean a thing - neither ‘whites’ nor ‘dirt removal’. The ‘whites’ segment of the category lost a name and was promptly filled by P&G with Tide. Are you surprised Tide today has twice the market share of Rin? You should be surprised Rin still exists!
Merging Rexona soap with Hamam was another master move to kill one, or worse, both brands. A master move if the competitors had done it to HUL. Pity, it was HUL doing it to themselves. Where is Rexona soap now? Last heard the brand managers at HUL were cleaning the shelves of any remaining vestiges of the brand.
This summer they have merged Pond’s Magic talc with Pond’s Dreamflower talc. Pond’s Magic had not seen advertising support since 2003 summer. What seems to have happened, I surmise, is another exhibition of extreme stupidity in the name of Power Brand Strategy. Pond’s Magic stood for ‘Attraction’ and Pond’s Dreamflower talc stood for ‘Confidence’ and then moved to ‘Beauty’. Post the merger of the two brands the combined entity seems to stand for ‘?’. You see the TV ad and try and figure out, if you can. By the way, both brands are now declining in the market. They are getting powdered by competition, allow me to pun!
I guess, it’s now deodorant time - merge Rexona with Sure so they could do to the brand what they had already done to their other brands so far. Never mind if Rexona is strong now. By the end of the year, if not early, Rexona deodorant would start to stink.
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the infamous Power Brand Strategy conceived, created and caressed at the citadels of India’s foremost marketing company – Hindustan Unilever.
I am ‘Sure’ you get the picture. Damn my pun again!
Nothing wrong with that. Only that the new brand is being launched at the expense of Rexona deodorant. Looks like HUL is planning to phase out Rexona – eventually. Though the phasing out would initially be restricted onlyto advertising support being withdrawn for Rexona. (Source: News item in Business Line dated May 13th)
Why? Though the news item doesn’t mention I am assuming it is a fall-out of the Power Brand Strategy HUL unleashed a few years ago. Phase out smaller or one-off brands and merge them with a big brand from their own stable so they could have a smaller yet a more focused portfolio of brands.
I might not have the brilliance of the collective minds of Levers, or even be able to match the individual minds of the organization, but I wonder what’s been the hidden logic, if there were ever one in the first place, behind these mergers? Isn’t marketing about creating different brands for different segments? Isn’t why we have concepts like Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning.
By merging brands aren’t they weakening the brands by making it stand for many things. For instance, Denim meant talc at one point of time and was reflected in a fairly strong presence the brand enjoyed in the talc category prior to its merger with Axe. Now that it has been merged, what’s Axe’s market share in talc? Zilch. Don’t believe me? Take this simple test. When I say Axe, what comes to your mind? Deo, women, sex……. But I bet talc is not one that props out, does it? Denim died and along with it a strong talc presence.
Rin, the undisputed leader in ‘whites’, lost it to Tide – not just because of Tide’s brilliant campaign but also, in its own way, because of its merger with Surf Excel. Rin meant ‘whites’; Surf Excel meant ‘dirt removal’. Two different things in the consumer’s mind. When merged, ‘Rin Surf Excel’ didn’t mean a thing - neither ‘whites’ nor ‘dirt removal’. The ‘whites’ segment of the category lost a name and was promptly filled by P&G with Tide. Are you surprised Tide today has twice the market share of Rin? You should be surprised Rin still exists!
Merging Rexona soap with Hamam was another master move to kill one, or worse, both brands. A master move if the competitors had done it to HUL. Pity, it was HUL doing it to themselves. Where is Rexona soap now? Last heard the brand managers at HUL were cleaning the shelves of any remaining vestiges of the brand.
This summer they have merged Pond’s Magic talc with Pond’s Dreamflower talc. Pond’s Magic had not seen advertising support since 2003 summer. What seems to have happened, I surmise, is another exhibition of extreme stupidity in the name of Power Brand Strategy. Pond’s Magic stood for ‘Attraction’ and Pond’s Dreamflower talc stood for ‘Confidence’ and then moved to ‘Beauty’. Post the merger of the two brands the combined entity seems to stand for ‘?’. You see the TV ad and try and figure out, if you can. By the way, both brands are now declining in the market. They are getting powdered by competition, allow me to pun!
I guess, it’s now deodorant time - merge Rexona with Sure so they could do to the brand what they had already done to their other brands so far. Never mind if Rexona is strong now. By the end of the year, if not early, Rexona deodorant would start to stink.
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the infamous Power Brand Strategy conceived, created and caressed at the citadels of India’s foremost marketing company – Hindustan Unilever.
I am ‘Sure’ you get the picture. Damn my pun again!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Go slow. Sex in progress!
Marketers have always liked making ads that evoke feelings – be it the warm and fuzzy, cute and cuddly kind or the standard ones – that evoke humour, fear or the oldest feeling among them all – sex.
Sex in advertising certainly arouses; but does it arouse an interest to buy? Well, that’s been a moot point.
Sure, there have been a few brands, here and there, that might have used sex in their advertising to succeed, but in general, most marketing theorists and academicians agree sex doesn’t sell – apart from the ones that certain women sell for a living!
But of late, did you notice, quite a few Indian ads have been oozing with sex. Not as blatant as it might get in porn films, but certainly flirting with different shades of it. It ranges from the blatant use of couples kissing in Close Up ads to the undressing of a bride in the Zatak ad to girls feeling their essentials in a few other ads that I find difficult to recall now.
Well, that is one of the problems of using sex in advertising. The consumer remembers the flesh, fizz and frivolous in the ad and not as much the brand name itself.
There who belong to the ‘sex works in advertising’ school of thought, quote Axe to support their point. Agreed, Axe uses sex. But is it in their advertising?
Think. Axe promises sexual attraction, as their positioning platform. Period. Except in one or two of their ads, by and large, Axe doesn’t showcase blatant sex in their advertising. They are smartly left to the viewers’ imagination.
Wouldn’t you agree that’s a smarter thing to do? And more sexier too!
Sex in advertising certainly arouses; but does it arouse an interest to buy? Well, that’s been a moot point.
Sure, there have been a few brands, here and there, that might have used sex in their advertising to succeed, but in general, most marketing theorists and academicians agree sex doesn’t sell – apart from the ones that certain women sell for a living!
But of late, did you notice, quite a few Indian ads have been oozing with sex. Not as blatant as it might get in porn films, but certainly flirting with different shades of it. It ranges from the blatant use of couples kissing in Close Up ads to the undressing of a bride in the Zatak ad to girls feeling their essentials in a few other ads that I find difficult to recall now.
Well, that is one of the problems of using sex in advertising. The consumer remembers the flesh, fizz and frivolous in the ad and not as much the brand name itself.
There who belong to the ‘sex works in advertising’ school of thought, quote Axe to support their point. Agreed, Axe uses sex. But is it in their advertising?
Think. Axe promises sexual attraction, as their positioning platform. Period. Except in one or two of their ads, by and large, Axe doesn’t showcase blatant sex in their advertising. They are smartly left to the viewers’ imagination.
Wouldn’t you agree that’s a smarter thing to do? And more sexier too!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Brand IPL
I know this is a marketing blog – which you might violently disagree with - and I have a few thoughts on IPL 3 – which you might not necessarily agree with far less like. Some of these thoughts might not have anything to do with marketing yet I felt like using this forum to share the same with you.
First and foremost, there is this huge debate about the existence of IPL after Lalit Modi - actually Lalit Kedi (The Tamil word for ‘fraud’). First of all, there is a lesson here for all and sundry. Distance the brand from people, promoters or professionals who run it. Something, I had talked about here a few months back. No one is worried what would happen to Nestle if its current chairman dies. Do you even know who its current chairman is? That’s how it should be. Brand should be visible; not its custodians. Since IPL had been so intertwined with Modi, we are needlessly debating if it would exist long after Modi exits.
Brands need to be persisted with and supported even if they don’t take off in the short-run. Mumbai Indians is a prime example. A team that was languishing in the bottom of the table the last two IPL’s ended up runners this year. It could be due to better team performance et al, but foremost was the support their owners extended to the team in terms of money, bigger buying during the auction etc.,
And hey my hometown won! Not just this year’s IPL – which is great – but what gave me more satisfaction was the fact that Chennai won the Fair Play Award as well. I am quite old-fashioned when it comes to cricket. I like the 70’s and 80’s style of cricket. Play fair. Play to win. Chennai did!
Talking about the final, and for that matter every match played across the country, what a partisan crowd we Indians are. We pride in saying we love cricket. The heck we do. We love our team, whatever that restricted term is; that’s all. If we really love the game, we need to love it no matter who plays. We need to appreciate and applaud opponents when they play better. Every crowd in the country, with the exception of Chennai, applauded just their home team.
The worst was the Mumbai final. Here is a team that comes from behind and wins their home team and not one person stood up and clapped for Chennai. The 50,000 fans that day should hang their heads in shame. Even better, come and watch the Chennai crowd appreciate good cricket – no matter who plays that.
And the worst was when the match got over. During the award ceremony, there was hardly a handful in the stadium to get up and applaud when Dhoni went to pick up the cup. Yeah, I understand it was getting late and all that, but my point is this: Would the crowd have left if Mumbai had won?
If you think every other city would have behaved the same way, I would like to remind you of the 1999 test match when Pakistan won us by a mere 14 runs in spite of that heroic Tendulkar’s effort. It was an agonizing loss after coming so close to victory. Yet, not one person in Chepauk stadium left, me included. We all stood up and clapped as the Pakistan team went around the stadium on a victory lap. We are talking an International Test Match, guys. And we are talking about our arch enemy. Yet, I feel proud to say we stood up and saluted them. It was like saying, ‘We all hate you alright. But you guys won. Well done.’ Shame on the Mumbai crowd.
The final yet again proved, if proof was necessary, how poor a captain Tendulkar ever was and would forever be. People just talk about his not sending Pollard early. But that was just his fifth or sixth big mistake that day. He couldn’t read his own pitch right and picked just one spinner. He couldn’t keep his cool and was seen visibly yelling at his team when things went wrong. Mumbai might have come to the final but that was not Tendulkar’s doing. If so, why couldn’t he bring his team anywhere close even to the semis in the previous two editions of IPL? He is poor captaincy material – that was abundantly clear when he captained India and lost matches left, right and centre – both abroad and at home.
Tendulkar could be a great batsman – of which I have no doubts – but he isn’t a gentleman as he is always made out to be. I could quote instances galore from past but one thing would suffice. In Raina’s second over (when they were 87 for 2) he clearly edged the ball to Dhoni. Remember guys, the ball brushed his glove on the way to Dhoni – something he could clearly have felt. Yet, he turned his back on the umpire and refused to walk. Legally right, yes. But morally? Great batsman, agreed. Good gentleman?
Raina walks when he edges. Dhoni walks when he thinks he is out. Gilchrist walks when he knows he has to go. Isn’t this why this sport was once called a gentleman’s game?
First and foremost, there is this huge debate about the existence of IPL after Lalit Modi - actually Lalit Kedi (The Tamil word for ‘fraud’). First of all, there is a lesson here for all and sundry. Distance the brand from people, promoters or professionals who run it. Something, I had talked about here a few months back. No one is worried what would happen to Nestle if its current chairman dies. Do you even know who its current chairman is? That’s how it should be. Brand should be visible; not its custodians. Since IPL had been so intertwined with Modi, we are needlessly debating if it would exist long after Modi exits.
Brands need to be persisted with and supported even if they don’t take off in the short-run. Mumbai Indians is a prime example. A team that was languishing in the bottom of the table the last two IPL’s ended up runners this year. It could be due to better team performance et al, but foremost was the support their owners extended to the team in terms of money, bigger buying during the auction etc.,
And hey my hometown won! Not just this year’s IPL – which is great – but what gave me more satisfaction was the fact that Chennai won the Fair Play Award as well. I am quite old-fashioned when it comes to cricket. I like the 70’s and 80’s style of cricket. Play fair. Play to win. Chennai did!
Talking about the final, and for that matter every match played across the country, what a partisan crowd we Indians are. We pride in saying we love cricket. The heck we do. We love our team, whatever that restricted term is; that’s all. If we really love the game, we need to love it no matter who plays. We need to appreciate and applaud opponents when they play better. Every crowd in the country, with the exception of Chennai, applauded just their home team.
The worst was the Mumbai final. Here is a team that comes from behind and wins their home team and not one person stood up and clapped for Chennai. The 50,000 fans that day should hang their heads in shame. Even better, come and watch the Chennai crowd appreciate good cricket – no matter who plays that.
And the worst was when the match got over. During the award ceremony, there was hardly a handful in the stadium to get up and applaud when Dhoni went to pick up the cup. Yeah, I understand it was getting late and all that, but my point is this: Would the crowd have left if Mumbai had won?
If you think every other city would have behaved the same way, I would like to remind you of the 1999 test match when Pakistan won us by a mere 14 runs in spite of that heroic Tendulkar’s effort. It was an agonizing loss after coming so close to victory. Yet, not one person in Chepauk stadium left, me included. We all stood up and clapped as the Pakistan team went around the stadium on a victory lap. We are talking an International Test Match, guys. And we are talking about our arch enemy. Yet, I feel proud to say we stood up and saluted them. It was like saying, ‘We all hate you alright. But you guys won. Well done.’ Shame on the Mumbai crowd.
The final yet again proved, if proof was necessary, how poor a captain Tendulkar ever was and would forever be. People just talk about his not sending Pollard early. But that was just his fifth or sixth big mistake that day. He couldn’t read his own pitch right and picked just one spinner. He couldn’t keep his cool and was seen visibly yelling at his team when things went wrong. Mumbai might have come to the final but that was not Tendulkar’s doing. If so, why couldn’t he bring his team anywhere close even to the semis in the previous two editions of IPL? He is poor captaincy material – that was abundantly clear when he captained India and lost matches left, right and centre – both abroad and at home.
Tendulkar could be a great batsman – of which I have no doubts – but he isn’t a gentleman as he is always made out to be. I could quote instances galore from past but one thing would suffice. In Raina’s second over (when they were 87 for 2) he clearly edged the ball to Dhoni. Remember guys, the ball brushed his glove on the way to Dhoni – something he could clearly have felt. Yet, he turned his back on the umpire and refused to walk. Legally right, yes. But morally? Great batsman, agreed. Good gentleman?
Raina walks when he edges. Dhoni walks when he thinks he is out. Gilchrist walks when he knows he has to go. Isn’t this why this sport was once called a gentleman’s game?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Bullshit Branding
Not everyone in India loves cricket. Not certainly the IPL broadcasters and the ad sponsoring brand advocates. What started as a 'Citi Moment of Success' has now reached 'DLF maximum'!
What then explains the addition of utter nonsense like ‘Karbon Kamaal Catch’ or ‘Max Mobile Time-out’? I see two more such nauseating terms being added next year; and a few more after that. All to kill the proverbial goose for a few rotten eggs.
As such, cricket lovers are being forced to hear utter banality that masquerades as commentary and sheer stupidity that goes around as expert analysis. We seem to have a bottomless pit of nincompoops who claim to be commentators and cricketing experts – led by the trying-to-put-that-accent Gavaskar to the non-stop-nonsense Morrison and many other I-have-no-idea-what-cricket-is in between them.
It’s a pity a cricket-loving nation such as ours can’t produce a few good commentators. All we have are those who say stuff that any mentally deranged maniac would murmur.
'That was a great shot’ – Aren’t most boundaries hit that way?
‘The first 6-overs are crucial’ – In which other matches are they not?
‘That’s a lovely ball’ – Are they referring to Preity Zinta’s or Shilpa Shetty’s?
And to top all this diabolical verbal diarrhea comes this brand-new bullshit: ‘Karbon Kamaal Catch’ and ‘Max Mobile Time Out’.
And don’t you harbour hopes that it will stop here. The idiots at IPL are not going to care two-hoots about whether we like or dislike this triteness and are bound to go ahead with more such nonsense in the years to come.
Being the obliging soul I am, I thought I could help the guys at IPL come out with a few more; and in the process help you poor soul to brave yourself and be mentally prepared when they hit you in the next edition of IPL. Here’s my two-bit to the branded banalities that can be bestowed on us next year.
When a captain makes a wrong move: ‘That’s a Fair & Lovely F***-up’
When a dot ball is bowled: ‘It’s a Dabur Dot Ball’.
When there’s a misfield: ‘It’s a Garnier Fructus Goof-up’.
When a run-out is missed: ‘Ooh it’s a Gillette Close Shave’.
When a catch is dropped: ‘Oh boy, lifebuoy’.
If over-branding can kill, we have a mass murderer in our midst - IPL!
What then explains the addition of utter nonsense like ‘Karbon Kamaal Catch’ or ‘Max Mobile Time-out’? I see two more such nauseating terms being added next year; and a few more after that. All to kill the proverbial goose for a few rotten eggs.
As such, cricket lovers are being forced to hear utter banality that masquerades as commentary and sheer stupidity that goes around as expert analysis. We seem to have a bottomless pit of nincompoops who claim to be commentators and cricketing experts – led by the trying-to-put-that-accent Gavaskar to the non-stop-nonsense Morrison and many other I-have-no-idea-what-cricket-is in between them.
It’s a pity a cricket-loving nation such as ours can’t produce a few good commentators. All we have are those who say stuff that any mentally deranged maniac would murmur.
'That was a great shot’ – Aren’t most boundaries hit that way?
‘The first 6-overs are crucial’ – In which other matches are they not?
‘That’s a lovely ball’ – Are they referring to Preity Zinta’s or Shilpa Shetty’s?
And to top all this diabolical verbal diarrhea comes this brand-new bullshit: ‘Karbon Kamaal Catch’ and ‘Max Mobile Time Out’.
And don’t you harbour hopes that it will stop here. The idiots at IPL are not going to care two-hoots about whether we like or dislike this triteness and are bound to go ahead with more such nonsense in the years to come.
Being the obliging soul I am, I thought I could help the guys at IPL come out with a few more; and in the process help you poor soul to brave yourself and be mentally prepared when they hit you in the next edition of IPL. Here’s my two-bit to the branded banalities that can be bestowed on us next year.
When a captain makes a wrong move: ‘That’s a Fair & Lovely F***-up’
When a dot ball is bowled: ‘It’s a Dabur Dot Ball’.
When there’s a misfield: ‘It’s a Garnier Fructus Goof-up’.
When a run-out is missed: ‘Ooh it’s a Gillette Close Shave’.
When a catch is dropped: ‘Oh boy, lifebuoy’.
If over-branding can kill, we have a mass murderer in our midst - IPL!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Marketing Maayaajaalam Awards - 3
Time, as is said often, does fly. It feels like we were discussing Marketing Maayaajaalam Awards - 2 just a few weeks back. A year has flown since then, flown fast and furious. It's time for its third convention.
As is the case with this forum, I intend inviting voices and votes about a few categories.
The best brand launch of the year
The best advertising of the year
The worst brand failure of the year
The expected brand failure of 2010
Send in your choices. You can even open new categories if you so wish. Any brand, marketer or advertisement that you feel needs to be rewarded or reprimanded.
The awards close very soon - December 31st 2010 to be precise!
Nah, just kidding. Do send in your entries soon.
And by the way, belated though, wish you a 2010 filled with 2000 fun!
As is the case with this forum, I intend inviting voices and votes about a few categories.
The best brand launch of the year
The best advertising of the year
The worst brand failure of the year
The expected brand failure of 2010
Send in your choices. You can even open new categories if you so wish. Any brand, marketer or advertisement that you feel needs to be rewarded or reprimanded.
The awards close very soon - December 31st 2010 to be precise!
Nah, just kidding. Do send in your entries soon.
And by the way, belated though, wish you a 2010 filled with 2000 fun!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Researchers are being researched
It seems to be the flavour of the month. The hunter being hunted; policemen getting arrested; doctors catching swine flu; and now, market researchers being researched.
It’s been a torrid and troublesome time for market researchers. Too many of their ilk is being forced to face up to their goof ups. Two significant developments these last few weeks have brought the researchers into spotlight. And not for good reasons either.
The first one pertains to radio listenership data in the recently published Indian Readership Survey (IRS). Big 92.7 FM has been shown doing well in cities like Ahmedabad, Jabalpur and Jaipur. Good news to BIG FM you think. Only problem is, Big FM doesn’t even operate in these markets! Even an illiterate lunatic, half drunk and dazed, woken in the middle of the night would tell you something is amiss here.
And you are talking IRS – that’s the largest continuous readership research study in the world with an annual sample size exceeding 2.5 lakh respondents!
A giant goof up to say the least.
The second pertains to another reputed research company - A.C. Nielson - one of the world’s largest retail audit firms. If you didn’t know much about them, this is what they have to say about themselves: We offer an integrated suite of market information gathered from a wide range of sources, advanced information management tools, sophisticated analytical systems and methodologies to help our clients find the best paths to growth.
Their monthly reports, covering tons of categories, spell out what every marketer wishes to know: who buys, what is bought, when it is bought, how much is bought, where it is bought and much more.
What seems to be the problem? Nielson’s clients are increasingly disillusioned by the numbers reported. The sales figures stated by Nielson don’t tally with the sales figures the companies have notched up in the marketplace. If Nielson can’t project my company sales properly, how can I expect them to project others’, they argue. Valid, one has to agree.
And some of them have even stopped subscribing to these expensive Nielson reports. You are not talking any Johnny-come-lately but the big and the best of Indian marketing - Dabur, Godrej and I gather, even Hindustan Unilever.
Nielson, after denying these allegations, have finally promised to look into the issue and sort things out. And so has IRS.
Researchers are being forced to do some serious soul searching!
It’s been a torrid and troublesome time for market researchers. Too many of their ilk is being forced to face up to their goof ups. Two significant developments these last few weeks have brought the researchers into spotlight. And not for good reasons either.
The first one pertains to radio listenership data in the recently published Indian Readership Survey (IRS). Big 92.7 FM has been shown doing well in cities like Ahmedabad, Jabalpur and Jaipur. Good news to BIG FM you think. Only problem is, Big FM doesn’t even operate in these markets! Even an illiterate lunatic, half drunk and dazed, woken in the middle of the night would tell you something is amiss here.
And you are talking IRS – that’s the largest continuous readership research study in the world with an annual sample size exceeding 2.5 lakh respondents!
A giant goof up to say the least.
The second pertains to another reputed research company - A.C. Nielson - one of the world’s largest retail audit firms. If you didn’t know much about them, this is what they have to say about themselves: We offer an integrated suite of market information gathered from a wide range of sources, advanced information management tools, sophisticated analytical systems and methodologies to help our clients find the best paths to growth.
Their monthly reports, covering tons of categories, spell out what every marketer wishes to know: who buys, what is bought, when it is bought, how much is bought, where it is bought and much more.
What seems to be the problem? Nielson’s clients are increasingly disillusioned by the numbers reported. The sales figures stated by Nielson don’t tally with the sales figures the companies have notched up in the marketplace. If Nielson can’t project my company sales properly, how can I expect them to project others’, they argue. Valid, one has to agree.
And some of them have even stopped subscribing to these expensive Nielson reports. You are not talking any Johnny-come-lately but the big and the best of Indian marketing - Dabur, Godrej and I gather, even Hindustan Unilever.
Nielson, after denying these allegations, have finally promised to look into the issue and sort things out. And so has IRS.
Researchers are being forced to do some serious soul searching!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Zoozoos are back, but…..
Vodafone is on it again. Their marketing honchos have decided to bring back the Zoozoos.
Is it because they feel it worked for them earlier? In that case, why they dropped it is anybody’s guess.
Is it because their subsequent campaigns didn’t work? In that case, what was ailing those campaigns that this Zoozoo are going to address - is again anybody’s guess.
Or is it because they are worried stiff over the fact that new subscribers seem to be dancing over to Docomo and not visiting Vodafone. If you have been following Telecom reports you would know that Vodafone has been pushed to fourth on the list of brands that has been able to attract new subscribers.
In other words, Vodafone is growing slower vis-à-vis other key brands in the category. Their run rate has fallen, so to speak. And they have brought back their pinch hitters – the Zoozoos – to attract attention and appeal to the new subscribers; in other words, to accelerate their run rate.
Will it work? I doubt.
I say so for two reasons. One, for the very reasons I had outlined in my previous posts, the Zoozoos are attracting attention to themselves and not as much for Vodafone.
Two, this now-you-see-now-you-don’t use of Zoozoos have diluted their impact sufficiently if not substantially. Vodafone probably doesn’t realize the Zoozoos, at best, is just an advertising gimmick with hardly any long-term value.
Did you notice not many have been talking about the new set of Zoozoo ads? In fact, did you even know they are back?
Therein lies the answer!
Is it because they feel it worked for them earlier? In that case, why they dropped it is anybody’s guess.
Is it because their subsequent campaigns didn’t work? In that case, what was ailing those campaigns that this Zoozoo are going to address - is again anybody’s guess.
Or is it because they are worried stiff over the fact that new subscribers seem to be dancing over to Docomo and not visiting Vodafone. If you have been following Telecom reports you would know that Vodafone has been pushed to fourth on the list of brands that has been able to attract new subscribers.
In other words, Vodafone is growing slower vis-à-vis other key brands in the category. Their run rate has fallen, so to speak. And they have brought back their pinch hitters – the Zoozoos – to attract attention and appeal to the new subscribers; in other words, to accelerate their run rate.
Will it work? I doubt.
I say so for two reasons. One, for the very reasons I had outlined in my previous posts, the Zoozoos are attracting attention to themselves and not as much for Vodafone.
Two, this now-you-see-now-you-don’t use of Zoozoos have diluted their impact sufficiently if not substantially. Vodafone probably doesn’t realize the Zoozoos, at best, is just an advertising gimmick with hardly any long-term value.
Did you notice not many have been talking about the new set of Zoozoo ads? In fact, did you even know they are back?
Therein lies the answer!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Men of 'Steal'
We all know our Indian movie makers can never make good movies of their own, exceptions apart, though. Most often than not, they have to pilfer popular playwright’s work, filch Hollywood films, steal scenes and lift ideas from around the world.
The Indian advertising industry is no different and it has always had more than its fair share of thieves and robbers - barefaced souls who have blatantly stolen stuff from foreign ads. And I am not talking about stealing just ad themes or execution ideas; sometimes even ad jingles are brazenly borrowed and silently stolen.
Want proof?
Click on this slick flick…… No marks for guessing the brand though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfiwDRDvgng
As irony would have it, this piece of info was passed to me by a good friend of mine in……………….where else, advertising!
The Indian advertising industry is no different and it has always had more than its fair share of thieves and robbers - barefaced souls who have blatantly stolen stuff from foreign ads. And I am not talking about stealing just ad themes or execution ideas; sometimes even ad jingles are brazenly borrowed and silently stolen.
Want proof?
Click on this slick flick…… No marks for guessing the brand though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfiwDRDvgng
As irony would have it, this piece of info was passed to me by a good friend of mine in……………….where else, advertising!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Senseless Marketers and their Sensational Sense of Humour
A career in marketing might be hectic and chaotic; tension-filled and pressure-mounted. But you have to give it to marketers for their amazing sense of humour. They never let their busy lifestyle mar their incredible talent to make people laugh. Just scan the business press and read about the marvelous marketing magic weaved by marketers. It is sure to open your heart, widen your smile and even let you have a deafening laugh. Want proof: here is a comic gem I found in the business press recently.
A Kolkata-based FMCG major is diversifying into cement business and will invest Rs1,750 crore to set up production units in the next three years. “We are diversifying into the cement business, considering the potential and demand of it in the country, particularly in the eastern region. The total investment for the venture will be around Rs1,750 crore for the next three years,” the company’s group director Mohan Goenka said.
As part of the new plan, the company will set up a fully integrated cement plant in Chhattisgarh with an installed capacity to produce 3.1 million tones. He also added the product will cater to the eastern region only.
Oh, by the way, the company in question is Emami.
Now, where is the humour in all this, you wonder? The company is launching its cement under the ‘Emami’ brand name.
Yup, you heard it right. ‘Emami Cement’. What do you say?
I guess it would just be a matter of time before other marketers too get their comedy act together and launch a laugh riot. When that happens, boy we could well expect these: Lakme Housing, Pond’s Shipping, Garnier Fertilizers, Fair & Lovely Steels, Nivea Nuclear Plants and many more.
And, not for a minute, should we underestimate the marketers of industrial brands. Be rest assured; they would come all comic guns blazing to invade FMCG turf. Get all set to welcome: L&T Facewash, DLF Sunscreen Lotion, TISCO Talcum Powder, ONGC Room Fresheners to name a few.
Though strictly not within this ambit, yet as a parting shot, allow me to present my favourite: Harpic Mouthwash!
A Kolkata-based FMCG major is diversifying into cement business and will invest Rs1,750 crore to set up production units in the next three years. “We are diversifying into the cement business, considering the potential and demand of it in the country, particularly in the eastern region. The total investment for the venture will be around Rs1,750 crore for the next three years,” the company’s group director Mohan Goenka said.
As part of the new plan, the company will set up a fully integrated cement plant in Chhattisgarh with an installed capacity to produce 3.1 million tones. He also added the product will cater to the eastern region only.
Oh, by the way, the company in question is Emami.
Now, where is the humour in all this, you wonder? The company is launching its cement under the ‘Emami’ brand name.
Yup, you heard it right. ‘Emami Cement’. What do you say?
I guess it would just be a matter of time before other marketers too get their comedy act together and launch a laugh riot. When that happens, boy we could well expect these: Lakme Housing, Pond’s Shipping, Garnier Fertilizers, Fair & Lovely Steels, Nivea Nuclear Plants and many more.
And, not for a minute, should we underestimate the marketers of industrial brands. Be rest assured; they would come all comic guns blazing to invade FMCG turf. Get all set to welcome: L&T Facewash, DLF Sunscreen Lotion, TISCO Talcum Powder, ONGC Room Fresheners to name a few.
Though strictly not within this ambit, yet as a parting shot, allow me to present my favourite: Harpic Mouthwash!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Docomo’s dilemma
I have always believed, exceptions apart, the state or government should not interfere in the market and should rather let the market decide. Markets are far more efficient in leveling themselves than any government rule or policy can hope to achieve.
This has yet again been clearly played out in mobile telephony. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was trying to mandate all telecom companies to charge calls on a per-second basis instead of the per-minute basis that they were all following. Telecom companies cried foul and said TRAI was exceeding its brief and was trying to arm-twist them.
While this debate was raging on in the corridors of power, the marketplace, where it all mattered, was witnessing the emergence of something sinister. Docomo launched its services with this very promise ‘Pay per second’.
‘Why pay in minutes when life can change in seconds’ was their war cry. New subscribers and quite a few younger audience – who keep changing their provider – heard it loud and clear and started migrating to Docomo.
Docomo soon became the brand that attracted the most new subscribers in mobile connections. It even overtook market leaders like Airtel and Vodafone in new subscriber acquisition. To throw some numbers, Docomo added four million new subscribers in September alone. And it continues to march on.
Docomo’s spectacular growth has startled the existing biggies and guess what they did. They have started to charge ‘per second’ too. And we are talking all the big brands – Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance – who once pooh-poohed this very ‘per second’ manner of charging.
Market forces have achieved silently what TRAI was trying to achieve shouting. Well done Docomo!
But my marketing mind (kindly allow me to claim so) now has a different worry. More a worry for Docomo than it is to me. Docomo was clearly positioned as a ‘per second’ charger. By default and by their design, that’s how they had positioned themselves. Now that every other player is offering the same thing, has Docomo lost its only weapon? Does ‘per second’ billing makes sense for a brand when every other brand in the category is offering the same thing?
Agreed, Docomo was the first player to offer it. But when a brand harps on a functional benefit and a functional benefit alone, will it lose its edge when others also offer the same functional benefit?
Remember, the other brands have other stories to tell too while Docomo has just this one to scream about. And something that is not theirs alone, any more.
Is this why Docomo is trying to create a youthful personality to itself through their new ad - guys and girls humming the Docomo jingle in the friendship express? Is that sufficient reason for people to purchase this brand? What do you think?
Oh yeah yaaa ohhh. Docomooohhhhhhh!
This has yet again been clearly played out in mobile telephony. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was trying to mandate all telecom companies to charge calls on a per-second basis instead of the per-minute basis that they were all following. Telecom companies cried foul and said TRAI was exceeding its brief and was trying to arm-twist them.
While this debate was raging on in the corridors of power, the marketplace, where it all mattered, was witnessing the emergence of something sinister. Docomo launched its services with this very promise ‘Pay per second’.
‘Why pay in minutes when life can change in seconds’ was their war cry. New subscribers and quite a few younger audience – who keep changing their provider – heard it loud and clear and started migrating to Docomo.
Docomo soon became the brand that attracted the most new subscribers in mobile connections. It even overtook market leaders like Airtel and Vodafone in new subscriber acquisition. To throw some numbers, Docomo added four million new subscribers in September alone. And it continues to march on.
Docomo’s spectacular growth has startled the existing biggies and guess what they did. They have started to charge ‘per second’ too. And we are talking all the big brands – Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance – who once pooh-poohed this very ‘per second’ manner of charging.
Market forces have achieved silently what TRAI was trying to achieve shouting. Well done Docomo!
But my marketing mind (kindly allow me to claim so) now has a different worry. More a worry for Docomo than it is to me. Docomo was clearly positioned as a ‘per second’ charger. By default and by their design, that’s how they had positioned themselves. Now that every other player is offering the same thing, has Docomo lost its only weapon? Does ‘per second’ billing makes sense for a brand when every other brand in the category is offering the same thing?
Agreed, Docomo was the first player to offer it. But when a brand harps on a functional benefit and a functional benefit alone, will it lose its edge when others also offer the same functional benefit?
Remember, the other brands have other stories to tell too while Docomo has just this one to scream about. And something that is not theirs alone, any more.
Is this why Docomo is trying to create a youthful personality to itself through their new ad - guys and girls humming the Docomo jingle in the friendship express? Is that sufficient reason for people to purchase this brand? What do you think?
Oh yeah yaaa ohhh. Docomooohhhhhhh!
Friday, November 06, 2009
Roadblock to nowhere
I don’t consider myself well equipped to write about media (or for that marketing) but a media innovation being praised by all and sundry caught my attention and I decided to make it the topic of this belated post!
If you didn’t know already, on September 17 all consumers who watched any of Star’s 10 channels saw only HUL brands being advertised. HUL had, to use a media term, roadblocked all advertising time and space in Star’s ten channels and had only their ads for the entire day.
The world stopped revolving and exclaimed ‘my god’. The entire nation stood up and applauded the most earth shattering event since this nation became independent. ‘HUL has done it again’, screamed the who’s who of marketing.
Done what? This mind of mine fails to grasp the outcome of all this. So a few million people watched only HUL ads all day, fine. But, how many of them felt they were watching only HUL ads. Or how many of us know which company makes most of the ads that we watch or the bulk of the brands that we buy.
Do we know who makes Oral B?
Do we know who makes Medimix?
Do we know who makes D’Cold?
Do we care to know?
It is not just about a simple case of buying inventory from Star. The premium cost for such a strategy is obscenely high and my media sources say it would have been about 100%. Businessworld magazine estimates HUL’s ad-spends that day at about Rs.1,000 crores!
So what did HUL actually achieve by spending a fortune? People got to see only Surf or Lifebuoy or Pears or whatever that was dished out. To the average Mrs. Housewife it’s just another day of ads on TV. Even assuming she never switched to any other channel– Zee or Sony or Colours - during ad breaks, what would have she got? Agreed, she probably didn’t get to see any HUL competitive ads that day. So what? She saw them earlier and she would be seeing them the next day; the day after. Why need to spend Rs.1,000 crores for this? Isn't this the classic case of putting-all-advertising-eggs-in-one-media-basket?
Has recall of HUL brands increased tremendously post this? I doubt. HUL has yet to comment on that. Knowing HUL, they would have done a study by now to ascertain the impact. Their silence screams the deafening impact of their media innovation. Zilch!
You see, this media roadblock strategy might gain people’s attention if a single brand does it with a single message on a single day. For instance, Hutch used this roadblock strategy in 2007 in Star, when they changed the name to Vodafone. All day, a single focused message that Vodafone wanted to achieve – ‘Hutch is now Vodafone’. Maybe that made sense. But different brands of the same company being advertised on the same day – to the consumer, is just another set of advertising. Spending a fortune on it is strategically foolish and creatively futile.
I wondered why any company would even do this. Was I missing something in all this? So I called my media friend – one of the most respected media minds in the country – certainly one of the few I respect - and posed him this question.
Why would a company spend Rs.1,000 crores on just one set of channels on a single day? Who would benefit?
The soft-spoken friend of mine smiled and said, ‘First, the brand manager would. He or she would show it as something different that they attempted and executed. Secondly, the media agency would have earned brownie points and a fat media commission as well. And thirdly Star TV, which would have made a quiet killing’.
But what about the brands, I enquired. He smiled even more and said, ‘Who cares about them’!
If you didn’t know already, on September 17 all consumers who watched any of Star’s 10 channels saw only HUL brands being advertised. HUL had, to use a media term, roadblocked all advertising time and space in Star’s ten channels and had only their ads for the entire day.
The world stopped revolving and exclaimed ‘my god’. The entire nation stood up and applauded the most earth shattering event since this nation became independent. ‘HUL has done it again’, screamed the who’s who of marketing.
Done what? This mind of mine fails to grasp the outcome of all this. So a few million people watched only HUL ads all day, fine. But, how many of them felt they were watching only HUL ads. Or how many of us know which company makes most of the ads that we watch or the bulk of the brands that we buy.
Do we know who makes Oral B?
Do we know who makes Medimix?
Do we know who makes D’Cold?
Do we care to know?
It is not just about a simple case of buying inventory from Star. The premium cost for such a strategy is obscenely high and my media sources say it would have been about 100%. Businessworld magazine estimates HUL’s ad-spends that day at about Rs.1,000 crores!
So what did HUL actually achieve by spending a fortune? People got to see only Surf or Lifebuoy or Pears or whatever that was dished out. To the average Mrs. Housewife it’s just another day of ads on TV. Even assuming she never switched to any other channel– Zee or Sony or Colours - during ad breaks, what would have she got? Agreed, she probably didn’t get to see any HUL competitive ads that day. So what? She saw them earlier and she would be seeing them the next day; the day after. Why need to spend Rs.1,000 crores for this? Isn't this the classic case of putting-all-advertising-eggs-in-one-media-basket?
Has recall of HUL brands increased tremendously post this? I doubt. HUL has yet to comment on that. Knowing HUL, they would have done a study by now to ascertain the impact. Their silence screams the deafening impact of their media innovation. Zilch!
You see, this media roadblock strategy might gain people’s attention if a single brand does it with a single message on a single day. For instance, Hutch used this roadblock strategy in 2007 in Star, when they changed the name to Vodafone. All day, a single focused message that Vodafone wanted to achieve – ‘Hutch is now Vodafone’. Maybe that made sense. But different brands of the same company being advertised on the same day – to the consumer, is just another set of advertising. Spending a fortune on it is strategically foolish and creatively futile.
I wondered why any company would even do this. Was I missing something in all this? So I called my media friend – one of the most respected media minds in the country – certainly one of the few I respect - and posed him this question.
Why would a company spend Rs.1,000 crores on just one set of channels on a single day? Who would benefit?
The soft-spoken friend of mine smiled and said, ‘First, the brand manager would. He or she would show it as something different that they attempted and executed. Secondly, the media agency would have earned brownie points and a fat media commission as well. And thirdly Star TV, which would have made a quiet killing’.
But what about the brands, I enquired. He smiled even more and said, ‘Who cares about them’!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sound bytes bites!
I have been caught up with work, travel and other such mundane things these past few days. That, coupled with my legendary laziness, is the reason why I have not updated my blog - not that you care I know!
As a stop gap, as a relief to your eyes, yet as a pain to your ears, here's a link to some audio bytes. I was interviewed in Aaha FM - a popular Tamil FM channel in Madras, owned and run by Kumudham magazine - a few weeks back on, what else, marketing.
If you have a few minutes - 45 of them to be precise - click on the link and check out yours truly.
A caveat though: The interview is in Tamil. For those who can't understand it and wouldn't feel like listening to it - lucky you!
http://www.archive.org/details/BadriSeshadriKizhakkuPodcastWeek6
_SatheeshKrishnamurthytalkingtoSatyanarayanonMarketin
As a stop gap, as a relief to your eyes, yet as a pain to your ears, here's a link to some audio bytes. I was interviewed in Aaha FM - a popular Tamil FM channel in Madras, owned and run by Kumudham magazine - a few weeks back on, what else, marketing.
If you have a few minutes - 45 of them to be precise - click on the link and check out yours truly.
A caveat though: The interview is in Tamil. For those who can't understand it and wouldn't feel like listening to it - lucky you!
http://www.archive.org/details/BadriSeshadriKizhakkuPodcastWeek6
_SatheeshKrishnamurthytalkingtoSatyanarayanonMarketin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)